Warning: Some Strong Language . . .

Dick poked his head into the library. He really wasn't expecting to find Elle there, but she wasn't where he'd left her which was in their new bedroom in the wing opposite that of the rest of the family. Dick had seen the wisdom of providing them a little distance from the rest of the family after the second time Damian and family had interrupted them when their 'play' had gotten a little exuberant.

At least this last time he and Elle had been dressed, albeit for bed. The first time, on the night before Christmas, that hadn't been the case. Bruce had suggested the move since the two of them were going to be married in a couple of weeks. It would give the newlyweds a sense of privacy, he had told them, and a place for them to call their own during their stay at the manor.

Elle had spent the morning moving their things in while Alfred, Bruce, and the boys had emptied out a couple of other rooms for some of their furniture. Elle planned to create a sitting room and office in two of the bedrooms across the hall once they had collected their furnishings from their old apartment. It should tide them over for the four months or so that the couple planned to remain in Gotham City.

They would see where fate would lead them next after Dick tracked down the assassin that had been hired to kill him and Elle, and discovered the person responsible for the hit placed on their heads.

As it was, Dick was a little surprised to find his fiancée at one of the two tables in the library's confines with a box full of papers spread out around her. She was pouring over several documents and didn't hear him at all.

"What are you reading," he asked.

Elle jumped a little, startled despite the noise he had purposely made to avoid doing just that.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack," Elle complained as Dick bent down to kiss her. She was smiling by the time he finished. "Okay, forgiven."

"You never answered my question," he pointed out; pulling out a chair to sit beside her.

"Oh, these are some of the things that my chief financial officer sent over a couple of weeks ago from the company detailing the items we're planning to go over at the meeting on Monday." She closed a folder and laid it aside in favor of another. "You should have seen the spreadsheet I had laid out earlier. It took up the whole table."

"What meeting is this? I thought we had a meeting with the lawyers on Monday," Dick frowned at the report Elle pulled out. "Did they call to cancel on us?"

"No, that meeting is still on," Elle told him a little reluctantly. "I'm talking about the company meeting with the board of directors at Hamilton Industries. I missed the last one, so it was rescheduled for Monday morning at ten."

"Hamilton Industries?" Dick's frown suddenly cleared. "Oh, right. Bruce will let you use his study for the conference call, I'm sure, but isn't the meeting with the lawyers at nine? You're going to be cutting it close."

"No, I won't. I'm not meeting with the lawyers," Elle said slowly. She met his eyes. "I need you to attend that meeting for me. I'll be in route to H.I. at that time."

Dick blinked and suddenly the frown was back. "You mean in route to Chicago?"

Elle nodded. "I cannot miss another meeting with the board. It's imperative that I attend this one."

"You can 'attend' the meeting here through a conference call," Dick informed her. "You don't need to go to Chicago for it."

"Yes, I do. Don't worry," she said. "It's already been taken care of. The company jet will pick me up at the Gotham City municipal airport because it's closer to the Manor. I arranged for a helicopter to meet me upon landing and transport me directly to Hamilton Industries from there."

Dick was already shaking his head. "You can't go! It's too dangerous!"

"Dick, I cannot miss another meeting. Last time was understandably unavoidable, but this time I have no such excuse."

"Excuse? Last time was unavoidable because you were in the hospital! And you're not going to this one because there is still a contract out on your head! How's that for an excuse?" Dick glared at her.

"If I miss this meeting, Dick, I might as well just hand over the company to Aiden now," Elle stated calmly.

He blew out a breath in frustration. "Okay, fine. I get it. When do we need to leave?"

He didn't miss the slight wince in Elle's expression at his question.

"We don't," she answered him with a regretful smile. "I need you here to meet with the lawyers Monday and discuss the evaluation results from the psychiatrists with them." She ignored the growing anger in his face, and plowed ahead. "I expect they will want to meet with each of the doctors individually."

Elle pulled out a manila envelope and handed it to him. When Dick refused to take it, she laid it in his lap. "My copies are in here with the contact information for each of the psychiatrists I used. They are going to be here until Thursday. After that, they will all be leaving until the court hearing when they'll return to provide testimony on my behalf. I'm going to need you to help arrange that for me."

"Elle," Dick said carefully. "I am more than willing to help with this, but not if it means you go back to Chicago alone. We can reschedule with the lawyers when we both can be here."

"There is no time for that," Elle corrected him, "and no one else can do this for me but you."

"Bruce can . . ."

"Bruce has his own business to run," she reminded him.

Dick shook his head, "I'm sure he would be more than willing . . ."

"Dick, stop!" Elle reached out for his hand. "I don't want Bruce to do this for me. I only trust you with this."

"Elle, certainly you know by now that you can trust Bruce."

"I do . . . with a lot of things. I know how much you trust him," she said.

"With my life," he declared. "What's more is that I know I can trust him with yours."

Elle looked away. "I'm not there yet, Dick. I know he would do this, but this is my life; our life . . . I-I'm just not to that stage yet. I need you to do this for me, Dick. No one else."

"You can't go to Chicago alone," he insisted.

She crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "You keep repeating yourself, but the answer remains the same."

"At least let Bruce . . ."

"Dick, stop it!" She slapped a hand down on the table. "I won't have it being said that I needed Bruce Wayne to hold my hand and walk me through a board meeting. If I am going to run this company, I have to do it on my own. The board needs to be able to trust my decisions and they won't do that if I show up with the owner of Wayne Enterprises on my arm."

"You're being unreasonable!" Dick leaned forward and grabbed Elle's forearm. "Surely the board would understand that these are extenuating circumstances. The man who was hired to kill you just escaped from police custody!"

"He was hired to kill you, too," Elle pointed out.

"I can handle myself," he pointed back.

Elle pulled free of him and stood up; her own temper flaring. "Whereas I can't? That's the gist of it, isn't it? Elle can't handle anything by herself! Elle always needs someone else to take care of her!"

"Elle, it's not like that." Dick stood up and moved to toward her, but Elle shoved him away.

"First, I had to prove myself to my father. Then, I discover that I need to prove myself to a judge and a troop of psychiatrists, and now . . . Apparently, now I have to prove myself to you, too!"

"Elle, come on," Dick attempted to soothe her. "You know that's not true."

"Uh huh, and what about Babs," she snapped.

He blinked at the sudden change in subject. "Babs?"

"Barbara Gordon! Did she, or any of your other girlfriends, get this specialized treatment?"

Dick gaped at her; unsure where Elle was going with this. "My other girlfriends? What are you talking about? This has nothing to do with Babs or any of my past girlfriends! This is about you and . . ."

"There it is again!" Elle voice rose. "It's always about me! Why we moved to Gotham City; why we're living in the manor; and why you won't let me do my job! I must be really pathetic," she muttered in disgust; turning her back to him.

"This is about you and me, too, Elle; the both of us. You and I, we're in this together, baby." He moved up behind her and slid his arms around her. "I shouldn't have to remind you of that."

After a moment, her shoulders slumped. Elle turned in his arms; one of her hands moving to cup his face.

"It is," she agreed. "It really is. You and me against the world . . . But this partnership needs to be equal, Dick. I need to be allowed to pull my own weight and do my share."

He shook his head. "Not if it means making yourself a target."

"Maybe if he . . . she . . . whoever this is sees that I won't be stopped; that nothing is going to hold me back, he'll give it up," she looked up at him, pleadingly.

"Now, you're just being naïve," Dick told her softly.

"Naïve?" Elle's voice hardened. "No. You might have gotten away with saying that four months ago, but you don't get to say it about me now!" She shoved her way out of his arms. She moved back to the table and began gathering together the reports, charts, and graphs. "I'm going to my meeting," she stated firmly. "In Chicago. Alone."

"Where is that willingness to compromise now? Or does that only apply when it comes to me," Dick snapped.

"I won't have anybody walking me through life like I'm some kind of toddler," Elle told him through gritted teeth. She grabbed a handful of folders and shoved them into her briefcase. "I don't need someone to constantly shield me from all of life's unpleasantness!"

"Unpleasantness? Having a contract out on your life is more than a bit of unpleasantness!" Dick waved his arm in the air in his frustration. "No one would penalize you for taking a few precautions. In fact, it would be a reasonable move made by a competent woman who understands her importance in the world, both to her company and to the people who love her."

Elle snapped the briefcase closed with a sigh. She turned around and leaned back against the table's edge.

"What exactly are you suggesting?"

He had a glimmer of an idea. "Let me think on it for a bit first."

"So, it's true."

Dick didn't bother looking; he already knew who his visitor was. He had heard him opening the window, but even if he hadn't, the cold rush of air would have given it away.

"What's true, Jason?" He called back over his shoulder, keeping his attention on his task.

"You came crawling back to the manor like some kicked puppy."

Dick wasn't rising to the bait. "I don't know where you get your faulty information, but you might try verifying it before opening your mouth and letting your ignorance escape."

Jason snorted and slid the rest of the way into the room; shutting the window behind him. "And yet, here you are," he said. "Nice try, though; moving your room from its place of honor into a different wing. Took me a while to find you in this pile of rocks."

Dick continued to ignore him as he finished setting up the computer for Elle in what was going to be their office. Alfred had provided them a couple of desks and some bookshelves. It was more than Dick needed. He was satisfied with a laptop on a card table, but he knew Elle would appreciate the thoughtfulness behind the gesture. Some of their own furniture would be going into the room next door.

"So, what's the guy's name?" Jason sat in the leather chair and propped his feet onto the desk next to the monitor.

Dick didn't pretend to not know what he was talking about.

"Didn't get a name," he muttered as he finished up. "You were born in an alley, not a barn. Get your boots off of the desk," Dick said as he shoved the offending footwear to the floor.

Jason caught the arms of the chair as his boots landed with a thump. As insults went, it wasn't bad, but Jason ignored it to focus on Dick's answer.

"Are you kidding me? Someone puts a hit out on you and you didn't get the guy's name?" Jason laughed. "You must be losing your boyish charms, Grayson. Maybe if you ask nicely, I'll give you tips in interrogation techniques."

"You got a reason to be here, Jay, or are you slumming today?" Dick moved around the desk and sat in the chair provided for visitors.

Jason snorted. "I can't believe B doesn't have the guy's vitals hung up in the trophy case by now. Having someone out to get the golden child usually sets a fire under the old man's ass."

"The assassin escaped police custody early Friday morning," Dick admitted reluctantly.

"Police custody? That's a joke, right?"

Dick scowled. "A good officer was killed in the process. That's not a joke!"

Jason replaced his boots onto the desk. "That you thought the BPD could hold him is. Corruption is so thick there, I'd be surprised if he didn't get a police escort out of the building."

"It was out of the hospital, and he had help," Dick told him. "Outside help."

"What makes you say that?"

"The way the cop was killed, and the fact that our assassin wasn't in any shape to pull it off by himself," Dick confessed.

Jason's eyes sparkled with interest. "So, you did manage to kick his ass a little before turning him over to your buddies on the force."

Dick shrugged. "He was feeling it, although it didn't stop him from shooting me."

"You let him shoot you?" His brother laughed again.

"I wouldn't go so far as to say I 'let' him do shit. He was aiming for Elle."

The laughter stopped. "Your girlfriend? What the fuck? What the hell was she doing in the line of fire in the first place?"

"He came after her while I was out. He beat her and used her to try and trap me. But we believe that Elle was his main target. I was incidental . . . a bonus, you might say." Dick smiled bitterly. "But regardless, whoever it is wants the both of us dead."

Jason winced. "Oh, damn. She okay?"

"Yeah, but it was close . . . For the both of us," Dick admitted. "Bruce insisted she would be safer here, and I . . ." he blew out a breath, "I agreed."

"I only heard about the contract out on you," Jason told him. "Nobody said anything about a second hit on a woman. You sure your girlfriend was the intended target?"

Dick paused as he considered this new piece of information. "Pretty sure. Based on what the guy said, if he couldn't get to her, he was to come after me. But he was getting paid for the both of us."

"Curiouser and curiouser," Jason rubbed his jaw.

Anything else he had been about to say was interrupted when the door was kicked in. Tim entered the room with dramatic flair; bo-staff at the ready. Bruce followed on his heels.

"The alarm went off," Bruce told them. "I thought if it might be you, Jason, when we didn't hear sounds of fighting coming from the room. We have a front door. I'm fairly certain you know where it is."

"Took you long enough. In that amount of time, if I wanted to kill him, he would have been dead five times over, and you'd have walked into an empty room," Jason drawled carelessly.

"Don't be an ass," Tim sniped as he set his bo-staff aside.

"I was down in the cave when the alarm went off. You being on the opposite side of the manor took extra time that we can ill afford. He has a point," Bruce frowned at Dick. "Perhaps we can put off the move until a more convenient time."

Dick waved his hand. "Forget it. We're not moving back. It took all day to get most of our stuff moved over here."

"And if it were Elle alone in here," Bruce asked.

"I'm here," Dick said. "We can add an additional alarm to the windows; one that sounds aloud as well as the usual silent ones."

"Wait. Elle's here?" Jason looked at him.

"What part of what I just told you didn't you get," Dick snarked. "Elle was the main target."

"So, why's the word out on the street for you alone?" Jason wondered aloud.

"There's a contract out on Dick, but not Elle?" Tim glanced between the room's other occupants. "Does that mean that Dick was the main target after all? That Nameless only took Elle because she was home alone at the time?"

Bruce and Dick were both shaking their head.

"No. Elle was the target, but this makes sense," Bruce looked at Dick. "It also narrows our list of suspects."

"How so?" Tim glanced at the two of them. "You two know something that we don't know."

Dick slammed his fist on the desk. "I knew that bastard had to be lying!"

"Apparently, Dick knows more than all of us," Bruce commented. "Care to share?"

"Elle's brother is the only one besides you and her grandparents who know!" Dick gritted his teeth. "He's the only one who hates her, and me by association."

Jason's eyebrows went up. "He hates her enough to kill her? That's harsh!"

Tim snorted. "You're one to talk, brother dear."

"Yeah, well, you're not nearly as pretty as she is," Jason snarked.

"But I was under the impression that he was attempting to regain control of the company and their father's estate through legal channels," Bruce frowned. "Does the estate roll back to him upon Elle's death?"

"No, it goes to me or any children we might have," Dick clarified. "But Elle's made sure that he's aware that with my death, the company and estate would go to you. Maybe his hatred has grown to the point he no longer cares about the inheritance?"

"It's possible, but unlikely," Bruce pursed his mouth in thought. "There has to be someone else, someone the two of you aren't yet aware of, who is doing this; someone who understands the nature of the bond. What about her mother's family?"

"Bond? What bond?" Tim looked back and forth between them, but Bruce and Dick ignored the question.

"Although the family legend is common knowledge, as far as I know, no one else in the family have any idea of the truth behind it. And you've met her grandparents. There is no way either of them would do something like this," Dick insisted. "And anyway, what would there be to gain? Her father's estate wouldn't go to either of them, or to any of her mother's family."

"What of her grandparents' estate? Is there another beneficiary that would gain her portion should she die?" Bruce asked.

"You'd have to ask Elle about that," Dick said. "That isn't something that we've talked about yet. Cedric died so recently, I'm hesitant to remind her of her grandparents' mortality."

Jason glanced at Tim, but saw that he, too, was in the dark. Bruce and Dick were talking about things only they were privy to.

"Mind letting us into the loop, here?" Jason interrupted. "Or should the Replacement and I leave you two alone?"

Bruce remained tightlipped, but Dick frowned at them. He looked at Bruce; a question in his eyes. The two had long learned the fine art of non-verbal communication. So had the later Robins while in the field, but no one else understood Bruce well enough to manage it in their daily lives.

Bruce shrugged. "It's up to you and Elle, chum. It's not my secret to share."

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Now, that sounds ominous."

"Family legends and mysterious bonds," Tim murmured. He looked at Dick. "Does this have anything to do with your weird actions a few weeks ago when I visited you in Bludhaven?"

Jason snorted, but didn't comment.

Dick sighed; running a hand through his hair. "They are family," he muttered more to himself than to Bruce. "It makes sense that they should know."

That thought was interrupted by Bruce's cell phone ringing. Bruce glanced at who was calling, and then answered it.

"Yes, Alfred," Bruce spoke into it. "Sorry, we should have let you know immediately that it was safe. Jason came for a visit . . . I don't know, but I'll ask him." He hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket. "He and Damian had taken Elle to the Batcave," he explained. "They're bringing her back up now."

"Don't tell Elle about the contract that's out on me," Dick told them. "I don't want her worrying any more than she has to."

"Do you think that's a good idea," Tim asked, "not telling her?"

"She has a lot on her plate right now," Dick told him. "Besides, I don't want her thinking it's safe for her to go out alone. Anyone after me would know the best way to get to me would be through Elle. Better to assume that she's still the primary target."

"Why do you believe she's a target? If the guy didn't admit as much, the originator of the contract could be someone Dickhead wrote a ticket for or some shit like that," Jason asked.

"I'm basing my opinion on what Elle told me," Bruce said.

"No. I heard the guy. He was definitely after her, too," Dick told them at the same moment.

"Whoa! Wait, what?" Tim shot his eldest brother a look. "What do you mean what you heard? Did the guy admit something to you that no one else knows about?"

Dick ran a hand through his hair; a sure sign of frustration. "Elle . . . She accidentally filmed her attack."

"What? When did you find this out, and why didn't you mention it earlier?" Bruce frowned.

Dick glared at him. "Because it isn't a comfortable video! It's . . . hard to watch."

"I realize that," Bruce softened his tone; laying a comforting hand on his eldest son's shoulder. "But it could give us a clue to the person's identity who is behind this."

"I watched it the other night with Elle. I didn't hear anything concrete, but then again, I wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind to notice any clues he might have dropped." Dick shrugged; his gaze dropped to the floor.

Tim gaped. "You watched it with Elle? Oh my God, how did she take it?"

"I didn't know about it when I put the video on," Dick admitted. "Elle had forgotten all about it, what with everything that had happened. We were watching some earlier videos and it suddenly popped up at the end. Needless to say, it didn't go over well."

"Perhaps we can pick something up you missed," Bruce commented. "Do you still have it?"

A gamut of emotions ran across Dick's face before he nodded. "I, uh . . . I'll need to make a copy for you."

"You don't have to watch it again, Dick. A fresh set of eyes might be all that is required." Bruce told him.

"No," he was shaking his head. "Whoever is behind this, it seems personal. Maybe I might know the person . . . met him or her before. I should watch it again and pay attention to what the guy says rather than what he's doing." He sighed. "It will be hard, but it has to be done."

"When you're ready, take it down to the Batcave," Bruce instructed. "Less likely chance of Elle seeing it again."

"Right," Tim said. "The sooner we find this bastard, the better."

"We'll leave you to it," Bruce squeezing Dick's shoulder again in support. He looked up at his wayward son. "Alfred wanted me to ask if you're staying for dinner, Jason."

Jason looked up at Bruce. No one but family would have noticed the brief flicker of surprise that had crossed his face. "Oh, uh . . . I . . ."

"You're always welcome," Bruce added quickly.

"I don't know," Jason hemmed. "I have to get back to my sector of town."

"Elle would love to see you again," Dick told him in a bid to convince him to stay. "In fact . . ." A small smile edged his mouth for the first time since Jason made his appearance. "I have something I want to ask you."

Jason eyed Dick warily. "Should I be nervous?"

"Wouldn't be a bad idea to be a little nervous. It could be a walk in the park, or it could be extremely dangerous," Dick told him. "Either way, I need someone I can trust."

Tim snorted. "And you're asking Jason?"

Jason raised an eyebrow. "The Replacement has a point. You sure you trust me?"

"I think I can trust you in this," Dick said. "I'll find out when I ask you."

"So, ask already," Jason griped. "Why all the mystery?"

"Later," Dick told him as the door to the room opened. "After dinner."

Elle walked in at that moment, followed closely by Damian and Alfred. "Jason! What a wonderful surprise," she smiled. "You are staying for dinner, then?"

Jason narrowed his eyes at his elder brother. The edge of his mouth lifted in a crooked smile at the joyful woman who seemed to fill the room like a breath of fresh air.

Dick grinned as Elle walked in his arms and leaned against him. There were few people in this world who could stand to disappoint Elle when her heart was set on something. Jason would be staying.

As if on cue, Jason shrugged. "Might as well. Patrol can wait a couple more hours."

"Very good," Alfred nodded, pleased. "I'll set another place at the table for Master Jason, then."

"He can have my place," Damian snarked. "I've suddenly lost my appetite."

"Damian," Elle's voice contained a significant amount of dismay at the boy's rudeness.

"Fine." The boy rolled his eyes as he turned to walk out. "But I'm not sitting next to him."

Jason barked out a laugh. "Welcome to the family, Elle. Life is bound to be more interesting with you in it."

REACTIONS?

Let me hear from you! It inspires me to write for you faster . . .

I will be splitting my time between this story and another that I plan to finish up in the next couple of weeks. But the wait shouldn't be long between posts. Check on my profile to see what I'm up to if you haven't seen an update within a week of this one.

For the guest who requested Elle meet Helena Kyle and bring her into the fold . . . I honestly don't know much about Helena Kyle. I know that on Earth 2, Selina and Bruce marry and have a daughter named Helena Wayne who grows up to be the Huntress, but again, that is just a general knowledge. Much like the reason I don't write in Stephanie Brown and Cassandra Cain, it is because I don't really know a lot about them. They fall in the gap from where I stopped reading comics and where I picked them back up again. I'm learning, but not enough to do them justice . . . At least not yet anyway. For now, it will just be the boys and even there I tweak a little bit of personality and history to work in my particular AU: Let's call it - Earth 22. ;D