Regan Knight was many things; a historian, a delicious cookie-maker, a girlfriend, a daughter, a movie lover, a Shark Week aficionado. But one thing she wasn't, was an idiot.

Dick Grayson was hiding something from her, and she was starting to think she maybe knew what it was.

She met Nightwing the day before she met Dick. A week later, Dick came to the museum, and that night, Nightwing had to save her again. Between that night and the gala, she'd spotted Nightwing two more times, both after Dick had given her his number. Once when she was walking home from campus just past midnight, and the final time was the day before the gala.

She'd skipped class to help out with last minute set up, and had walked home at around 11 that night. Yeah, it was only a five minute walk, but there was still multiple allies where she could get grabbed. She hadn't told Dick about either of those walks home, but he still knew, and she'd never been able to figure out how.

Until recently.

When she met Red Robin at the gala, he'd told her that Nightwing had described her as a spitfire. And then the next day, Dick himself had told her that he described her as a spitfire, too. Sure, calling someone a spitfire wasn't an uncommon thing; plenty of people could be described as spitfires, Regan included. But that? That was too much of a coincidence.

Regan hadn't seen Nightwing since she got with Dick. Not even a glimpse of him swinging down the street. Sure, in her entire life, she'd only seen Batman a few times. But the various Robins were easy to spot, with their brightly colored suits. Red Robin was the same, and while Red Hood tended to stick to Crime Alley, if he came up to Gotham Proper, then he was easy to spot, too. Even Nightwing, in a black suit, was easy to spot. Everyone knew to look for that flash of blue.

The fact that Regan had seen Batman in the last 6 months, but not Nightwing, was weird. It was like he was avoiding her area. She'd seen Red Robin more in the last six months than she ever had, before, and was seriously considering waving him down to ask what had happened.

But then Dick started acting weird.

She'd known he tended to keep weird hours; the man was a detective, if a new piece of evidence popped up at 1 in the morning, then time was of the essence, and he needed to be there. But the injuries he came home with, they scared her.

Dick Grayson shirtless was a hell of a sight. His tan skin and smooth muscles were wonderful and beautiful. But some of the scars, they worried her. Gunshot wounds, stab wounds, wounds from things she didn't think she'd ever be able to tell what caused it. Most of them were faded, and he was able to easily deflect her from them.

"I'm a cop, babe," he reminded her. "In Gotham no less, and I'd been in Blüdhaven first. Getting injured on the job is part of it."

Okay, fine, she could let that go. But when bruises showed up… Regan would always remember one of the first bigger fights they had. Dick had said he'd been at his desk all day long, and then when he took his shirt off that night, there was a bruise on his side, that definitely hadn't been there the night before. He wouldn't tell her where he got it, and she'd taken that as him not trusting her with something.

They didn't speak for a day, until Regan showed up at his apartment with cookies.

He'd forgiven her, but it was clear that whatever had caused that bruise, wasn't something he wanted to talk to her about.

Still, Regan was beginning to think that her boyfriend might just be the masked vigilante, the first Robin, Nightwing.

It all came to a head the day after Regan met his family.

Dick had said he'd had a long day and was tired, so he hadn't gone to her apartment to see her after work. Which was fine- Regan wasn't a clingy person, and they'd been texting on and off all day. She knew he was safe, and he'd sent his customary good night text before bed, so she made sure he knew she loved him, and went to bed.

For the last six months, Regan had woken up to a good morning text every single morning. It was something she adored, knowing that he thought about her in the morning enough to want her to know. It was a part of her routine, now, to turn off her alarm and respond to his text. Only, that Tuesday morning in late April, there was no good morning text.

"Well, he said he was tired last night," Regan reminded herself. "Maybe he slept in." the thought was probably ridiculous, as Dick never slept past 6 on weekdays. But if he was sick, then he'd be sleeping. Yeah, he was just sick and sleeping it off. She'd go visit him after work, she decided, and sent the good morning text herself, instead, just so he knew she was thinking about him.

She texted him throughout the day; finals week was two weeks away, so Regan had been spending a good amount of time during her work day studying, locked in her office so no one except Natalie could bug her. But that day, she couldn't concentrate to save her life. Dick wasn't answering, even when she said she was going to his apartment. They'd traded keys just a few weeks previous, so she'd be able to get in. But still, the longer she went without hearing from him, the more worried she got.

Regan's day had been long, but she finally was able to leave, and instead of turning towards campus, she went the opposite way, to Dick's apartment. He lived nearer to the center of Gotham, in a nice building. Letting herself in, Regan looked around. The bed he had for Gracie was in the living room, and his kitchen looked untouched. There wasn't any sign of the bowl he would have used to eat his cereal that morning, and Regan's heart began to speed up.

"Dick?" she called, moving towards the hallway. "Are you here?" opening the door to his bedroom, she found it empty, his bed made like he'd never even slept in it the night before.

"Dick?!"

Grabbing her phone from her back pocket, Regan shakily dialed his number. It went straight to voicemail, either dead or deliberately turned off. Regan could feel herself panicking. He hadn't gotten into contact with her all day, the last text she had from him was from the night before. His apartment looked like he hadn't been there, and she had no idea where he could be.

Wait.

Her thought that Dick might be Nightwing, meant that the rest of his family would likely be the rest of them. Damian would be Robin, and Tim Red Robin. That left Bruce to be Batman, and Jason Red Hood. She had no idea who Batgirl was, but right now, that didn't matter. What mattered was that Regan was about 99 per cent sure that her boyfriend was a vigilante, which meant the rest of his family probably was, too, and if he had been injured, then that would explain why she hadn't heard from him all day.

She was going to go to Wayne Manor, and demand answers.

…

The op had been horrible from the beginning. Nightwing, Red Robin, and Batman had met Red Hood, Robin, and Batgirl at the warehouse where Crane was testing a new fear toxin on innocents.

The only ones who hadn't gotten a face full of toxin had been Batman and Red Hood. Everyone else had eventually been gassed, and Nightwing had been shot through his shoulder.

Once Batman and Red Hood had finally gotten Crane and his lackies tied up and the police there, the two managed to drag everyone, all screaming, to the Batmobiles. Luckily, they'd had the foresight to bring two.

Once they got everyone back to the Batcave, Bruce tranquilized everyone affected so they could sleep through the rest of the toxin's effects, and sent samples of their blood to Lucius Fox so he could get started on an antidote. Dick's shoulder was stitched closed while he was asleep, but no one thought to check his phone.

Dick's phone was right next to the Batcomputer, but it had been turned off. So the fact that Regan had spent the entire day trying to get ahold of him, had gone completely unnoticed.

Around midday, Lucius came over with the antidote, and everyone affected were given it. Bruce, Jason, and Alfred all took vaccines against it, so in the future, that particular strand of the toxin couldn't affect them. Damian was the first to wake up, followed by Stephanie, and Tim. They'd all trudged upstairs to get some actual sleep, the toxin taking all of their strength from them. Dick, however, was still asleep by 6 that evening.

"The fact that he hasn't woken up, yet, is seriously worrying me," Jason said, staring down at his older brother with his arms crossed.

Bruce sighed tiredly. "He's a big guy, the antidote is gonna take some time to work its way through his body," he said.

Jason only hmm'd in response. Both were silent, until a thought hit Jason. "Hey, we called the police station to say he wasn't coming in today, but did either of us think to call Regan? Because I know I didn't."

Bruce blinked, and then sighed again. "Damn it, I knew I forgot something," he said, putting his head into his hands.

"She's probably worried sick, Dick texts her all day usually," Jason said. Going over to the Batcomputer, he picked up Dick's phone and turned it on. All at once, multiple texts and missed calls popped up on the screen. "Ten texts from throughout the day, and 3 calls," Jason reported, before reading the texts she'd sent aloud.

"Good morning."

"I haven't heard from you yet today, are you okay?"

"Dick are you alright?"

"You're really starting to freak me out"

"Babe, come on, this isn't funny"

"I thought the other day went really well, did I miss something?"

"I'm coming over to your apartment after work"

"Where are you?"

"You weren't at your apartment, I'm seriously freaking out, where are you"

"I'm going to Wayne Manor."

Jason looked up at Bruce, eyes wide. "That last text was sent 45 minutes ago, assuming she got a cab…"

"She's probably almost here," Bruce finished. "Go upstairs to wait for her, try and run damage patrol."

"What if she asks where he is?" Jason asked.

"If she hasn't already figured out that Dick is Nightwing, then she isn't nearly as smart as I thought she was," Bruce answered. "Tell her the truth, if she asks to see him, bring her down."

Jason nodded, and ran up the stairs to what he hoped wouldn't be an explosive confrontation with his brother's girlfriend.

Regan arrived a few minutes later, practically banging on the door.

"Hey, Regan," Jason said, opening the door to let her in.

"Where's Dick?" she asked immediately, for now ignoring the fact that he'd said anything to her.

"What makes you think he's here?" Jason asked, trying to pretend that he was confused.

"Cut the crap, Jason, I already know that Dick's Nightwing, and you're Red Hood and Bruce is Batman," Regan said. Jason looked at her, his eyes wide in shock. "Okay, so I'm more like 96% sure of it, but either way, I haven't been able to get into contact with him since last night, and it's really freaking me out, Jason, he never just ghosts me like this!"

"Hey, hey, calm down," Jason said, placing his hands onto her shoulder. "Dick's here, alright? And you're right, we're the Gotham vigilantes, and he got injured last night. We've got him downstairs."

"He… he was injured? Is he okay?!" Regan nearly demanded, looking distraught and close to tears.

"He got shot through the shoulder, and a dose of fear toxin, but we gave him the antidote, and stitched him up; we're just waiting for him to wake up," Jason soothed, bringing her over to the secret entrance of the cave. Pressing the right keys on the grand piano in the center of the room, Jason moved the grandfather clock and led her down into the cave. "He's right over there," he pointed to the medical area of the cave, where Dick was still passed out on a cot, Bruce standing watch over him.

"Dick!" Regan exclaimed, rushing over to him. Bruce stepped aside, allowing his son's distraught girlfriend to reach him. Someone had taken him out of his Nightwing suit, and he now wore a white wife-beater tank top and black sweat pants. His right shoulder was covered in bandages, white and pristine. "Is he going to be alright?" she asked, running a hand through his hair and pushing it out of his face.

"He's going to be okay," Bruce said, stepping back up to stand next to her. She sat in the chair by his bed, and now was grasping one of his hands in both of hers. "We got an antidote for the fear toxin a little before noon today, and gave it to him. We have a vaccine for you, if you want to take it. His shoulder was stitched up, and he's always been a fast healer. He'll be okay once he wakes up."

Regan nodded and brought Dick's hand up to her mouth, pressing a kiss to his knuckles.

"Thank you," she finally said, voice soft, and eyes refusing to leave Dick's face. Bruce nodded, and left the two alone.

…

A few hours later, just as Regan was copying down the notes Sasha had sent her into her notebook, Alfred showed up.

"Miss Regan, I have dinner on the table if you'd like some," the elderly butler said, standing a few feet behind her.

Regan turned to look at him, and then turned back to Dick. "Oh, thank you, Mr. Alfred, but I really want to be here when he wakes up," she said, reaching forward to brush some hair out of Dick's face again.

"I'll bring some down for you," Alfred said. He watched his eldest grandson and his girlfriend for a long moment. "I've seen Master Richard have a couple of girlfriends, Miss Regan, but none, it seems, have been nearly as devoted as you. Only one was like you, but she never managed to figure it out."

"Like me?" Regan asked, turning back to look at the butler.

"Someone who isn't a vigilante," Alfred clarified. "The original Batgirl, first, and then StarFire," he said. "He had a civilian girlfriend for a few months a year or so ago, but she never figured out that he was Nightwing."

"Yeah, he told me about a couple of girlfriends," Regan said. "Barbara and Kori, I think he said their names were. But he never mentioned another."

"The other civilian, I think, is what you younger generation call a fling," Alfred said. "Barbara is the daughter of Police Commissioner Gordon, and the original Batgirl. She goes by Oracle, now. Kori is StarFire. He's still friends with both, as much as someone can be friends with their exes."

Regan nodded. "Yeah, he told me he was still friends with them," she admitted. "I met Barbara, once, at the police station. I'd brought Dick lunch. She was there visiting her father. She was really nice." A sob tried to force itself out, and Regan tried, unsuccessfully, to hold it back. "He's had two girlfriends who were superheroes, Mr. Alfred. How can I ever compete with that?"

Alfred frowned. "Miss Regan, he doesn't want you to compete with them," he said, his voice soft. "I remember thinking that he really liked Barbara, and Kori, but then I saw him with you. He loves you more than I've ever seen him love anyone, Miss Regan. And I practically raised him."

"So you're probably the authority, right?" Regan asked, bringing her hand up to wipe away her tears.

"I am," Alfred said. "Trust me, Master Richard loves you, more than I ever thought a man could love a woman. Don't let him go over this."

"I've suspected he was Nightwing for a long time," Regan admitted after a moment of a silence. "Last time I saw Nightwing was right before Dick and I got together. Haven't seen him since. But he kept coming home with these injuries that he claimed was from his job, from being a cop, and it was easy enough to dismiss them. But then he came home one day after sitting at his desk all day with a huge bruise, and he wouldn't tell me where it came from. And there's the fact that Nightwing knew my name without me ever telling it to him, and twice I saw Nightwing when walking home late at night, before we got together, and I could have called Dick to come get me, but didn't, so he shouldn't have known that I walked home late those days, but he still knew. It just… It made sense, to me."

Alfred took this in, and nodded. "You are a very smart woman, Miss Regan," he finally said. "Certainly a lot smarter than I think any of us took you for. We should have known better, you're getting a Master's degree after all, we knew you were smart. I just pray that this doesn't make you give up on him."

"I love him, Mr. Alfred. This… This just proves to me that he's braver than I ever thought. Stronger than I thought." She looked at him, them, with tear filled eyes. "I wish this was something he wasn't doing, and I hope you don't think less of me for that, but I love him, and it's going to take something a lot bigger than this to run me off."

"Trust me, Miss Regan, if it were my choice, none of them would be doing this. But I find that just being there, helps them a lot," Alfred said. "Are you sure about dinner? I made lasagna."

Regan smiled slightly, the first smile she'd cracked all day. "Thank you, Mr. Alfred, but I really want to stay with him. If it's not too much trouble, do you think you could get someone to go to my apartment and feed my dog? I know Jason, Tim, and Damian really liked her when she stayed here." She dug into her backpack until she grabbed her keys and held them out to the butler. "Her food is in the cabinet right next to the closet in the kitchen, just a scoop."

"Of course," he answered, taking her keys. "I'll get Master Jason over there soon as possible. And I'll bring dinner down for you."

"Thank you," Regan whispered. And then she surprised him by getting up and hugging him.

Regan was shaking, which Alfred could understand. Whether she suspected it or not, she'd just found out that her boyfriend was a vigilante. Not only that, but she'd had a really long day of worrying about him. She was exhausted, worried, and hungry. When she finally let him go, she sat back down in the chair by Dick's bed and pulled her notebook back into her lap. Her laptop, where the email from her classmate with that day's notes in it, was resting on the edge of Dick's bed, although the screen had gone black.

Alfred went back upstairs to get dinner for her, and handed off her keys to Jason with the request that he go feed her dog. He was more than happy to do so.

…

Alfred brought Regan a slice of lasagna and a nice big piece of homemade garlic bread. Both were delicious, and Regan honestly hadn't realized how hungry she was until she was eating food. He brought her a second slice, that she also devoured, if not slower, and he even offered dessert, which she declined.

She sat by Dick's bedside, declining Bruce's offer of staying in Dick's room overnight in favor of staying with Dick. Jason took feeding Gracie a step further by bringing her to the Manor. The lab mix was currently curled up at Dick's feet, her head resting on his legs.

Regan fell asleep around eleven, also known as hour 20 of Dick being knocked out. Bruce, Jason, Damian, and Tim had all left for patrol, leaving the cave quiet. It was easy for the chirping of the bats overhead to lull her to sleep. It was almost midnight when Dick finally started to stir. He felt the pressure on his leg, and what felt like a hand on top of his own.

Finally forcing his eyes open, it took a moment for Dick to recognize that he was in the Batcave, in the medical area. The hand on his, he quickly realized, was Regan's. She was asleep, hunched over with her arms crossed on the edge of his bed and her head resting on them. Her left arm was stretched out from under her, her hand on top of his. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a low bun, probably something she'd thrown it into hastily. The pressure on his leg, he was surprised to find, was actually Gracie. The dog had lifted her head upon feeling him move, and crawled up the bed to lick his face when she realized he was awake.

"Hi, Gracie, what're you doing here?" he asked, bringing his hand up to pet her. "Bruce has a strict no dogs in the Batcave policy, girl."

Slowly, Dick pushed himself up, mindful of his stitched up shoulder and to not jostle his girlfriend. Some of her hair had escaped the bun and was inching towards her face, so he reached forward to push the strands back behind her ear. This, of course, woke her up.

A small "Mm," escaped as she came back to conciseness, her own eyes blinking open. She registered that Dick was awake only a few seconds later and practically shot up in her seat.

"Dick! You're awake!" she exclaimed, relief filling her voice. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm okay," he nodded. Reaching forward, Dick swiped his thumb under one of Regan's eyes. "Hey, I'm fine, alright? No need to cry."

"No need to cry?!" Regan exclaimed. "Dick, I couldn't get into contact with you all day! I called, I texted, I went to your apartment, and nothing! If I hadn't already suspected that you were Nightwing, then I'd still be out there looking for you! Luckily I'm apparently smarter than I look, because I figured out who all the Gotham vigilantes are, and came here! And do you know what I found when I got here? My boyfriend, knocked out because of fear toxin, with a bullet hole in his shoulder! Of course I have a reason to cry!" with her mini rant done, Regan began to pace, gasping for breath, her cheeks inflamed.

She'd been genuinely worried about him all day long, and had been sitting next to his bed for several more hours. She, personally, thought she had every right to be upset right now.

She paced back in forth behind the chair for a moment, her hands going to her hair.

"God, I'm sorry," she said, suddenly stopping, and sounding very tired. "You got shot and I'm over here throwing a tantrum." She rubbed her hands over her face.

"Hey, no, you're right," Dick said. Carefully sitting up all the way, he slid out of bed and took the three steps it took to get to her. Wrapping his arms around her to bring her close, he said, "I should have told you about this a long time ago, I know. I just… didn't know how to bring it up."

Regan sighed and finally lifted her arms up to hug him back, resting her head on his chest. "I could have brought up that I thought you were Nightwing. I should have, as soon as I had more evidence than 'he knew my name'."

Dick snorted at that. "Yeah, that's why I started avoiding you as Nightwing after we got together; didn't want you ask about that and recognize my voice or something." Pressing his lips against the top of her head, he took her scent in. She'd showered that morning, but seeing as it was nearing 1 in the morning, the scent of her shampoo and perfume had long since faded. His arms tightened around her. "I love you, Rae."

"I love you, too," Regan said, finally looking up at his face. He stared at her, looking deep into her eyes, and finally raised his hands to cup her face, leaning down to kiss her. His kiss was soft, loving. It encapsulated every feeling he had for her.

"Come on," Dick said when he finally pulled away. "My bed upstairs is a lot more comfortable than that chair."

Regan let out a tired laugh. "I mean, that chair wasn't uncomfortable," she said. "But yeah, a bed would be nice."

"To bed it is," Dick agreed. "Gracie, come on!"

The dog barked and jumped off the cot to follow the couple up to Dick's childhood bedroom. Sure enough, Dick's bed was, in fact, a lot more comfortable than the chair she'd gotten an hour or so of sleep in earlier. And being in Dick's arms was quickly becoming the one way that Regan could fall asleep.