Sophie paced outside the door. Restless and worried, palms clammy, she wiped them repeatedly against her suit. She checked her watch, ran her hand through her hair. They should have been back by now, they really should have been. But there had been no word from Kate in hours… and none from Julia.

Sophie paced the corridor, waiting idly, helplessly, as it felt to her. It was a disconcerting feeling, something she wasn't used to, and certainly one she would never agree to in the future, no matter how much they insisted. She wished there was somebody she could talk to, somebody she could ask for back-up. But… In the last few days since she had uncovered the truth about Batwoman, she was reminded time and time again that secret-keeping was a lonely way to be, and that at times it really was like carrying the world on your shoulders. There was no one she could tell and no one she could call. If anything, she was the back-up, if only they would call her, which she knew they wouldn't. If there was one thing she could not stand, it was feeling so useless, as things appeared to her in that moment.

She looked at her phone, wondered whether it was too soon to touch base with Luke again, then thought she probably shouldn't distract him. She just needed to trust that they knew what they were doing, and that the duo, as they had assured her prior to undertaking this mission, were a good team together… Her ex and her ex's ex, who she hoped would become her girlfriend soon, if she lived through the day. It certainly was of some reassurance knowing that Kate had the suit, the same kind that Batman wore, and that aside from all her skill in defence and offence, skills she excelled at, she had the suit to protect her as well. But Julia… Julia had nothing like that. She had only herself, relied solely on her own fighting skills and her sense of cunning to keep her out of any real harm's way. Which… Considering the amount of times she had been ripped to shreds on other people's account — getting blown up while wearing the batsuit; taking a bullet for Sophie herself, saving her life; getting kidnapped and beaten bloody; electrocuted — was currently not much consolation. Sophie paced the corridor, wiped her hands against her suit once again.

The doors opened, Kate entered the corridor. Wig in hand, batsuit on, she walked past Sophie.

"Kate! Are you okay? What happened?!"

"I'm fine. But Hush got away. We'll have to try again another time."

"Wait… Where's Julia?"

"She's… On her way," Kate frowned, nodded towards the door. "I have to go find Mary. It's urgent."

Sophie looked from Kate to the corridor doors, did not wait for an elaboration. She flung the doors open, ran through, and there, in the lobby, limping, holding herself against the wall, looking as though she was about to collapse, was a pretty, familiar blonde.

"No—"

Sophie rushed to Julia, grabbed her under arm, supported her upright, helped keep her on her feet.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"Oh you know, luv," Julia replied vaguely and closed her eyes in pain. "Same old."

"You were supposed to call me!" Sophie protested. "I could've been there, I could've helped—"

But it was no good, Julia was fading, she had trouble standing on her feet… And there was no one else in the lobby to help them.

Wasting not a moment, Sophie swopped her arms under the woman, picked her up. She carried her through the doors into the corridor, towards the sick bay, while the woman rested limply in her arms. But as they approached the bay, Sophie noticed that the girl had opened her eyes and was staring at her… And that her expression, which till then had been contorted in pain, had transformed into a subtle smile.

"Please stay awake…" she whispered.

"Of course," Julia replied. "Wouldn't want to miss a moment like this."

She wrapped her arms about Sophie's neck, smile spreading over her lips.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Sophie asked, confused.

"Can you really blame a girl for looking at you in anything but this way?" Julia replied playfully.

"Wha…" Sophie paused in her step. "Julia… Are you serious right now? Are-are you even hurt?"

"That depends on your definition of 'hurt'."

Sophie let her down to the floor. Julia groaned, clutched at her waist.

"I don't understand," Sophie replied. "What's going on here?"

"I may have made a little wager with Kate about which one of us would carry the other 'bridal-style' first," Julia replied, wincing in pain. "And I may be just a tad bit happy about the outcome."

"What?!" Sophie stared at her incredulously. "You mean, you faked being hurt to get me to carry you?!"

"Actually…" Julia withdrew her hand from her abdomen. Her palm was stained red. "I lost the bet," she smiled happily and shrugged.

Sophie gasped at the sight of blood.

"You were shot again—" she said, distraught.

"Don't worry, luv. It's just a scratch."

Sophie wrapped her arm about the woman, led her through to a bench. Carefully, she lifted Julia's shirt to reveal an open wound where a bullet had grazed her ribs.

"It's worth it," Julia reassured her.

"I don't see how…" Sophie frowned.

She grabbed a gauze and cleaning solution from a cabinet.

"Well… I get to be looked after by Gotham City's toughest Crow agent, don't I?" Julia smiled smugly.

Sophie looked at her a moment, shook her head, but could not help smile also. She cleaned Julia's wound, gently wrapped the gauze about her waist. When it was done, she carefully fixed her shirt over the bandage. Julia smirked.

"What?"

"Oh, you know… Some lame joke about my shirt getting in the way."

"You can joke about it now…" Sophie retaliated, "But I was really worried when I didn't hear from you guys. I should've gone with you." She tried to smile as she said this but could not hide the slight tremble of her lip.

Julia looked at her inquisitively.

"I'm sorry, luv…" she said. "But you don't ever need to worry about me, okay? One way or another, I find a way to land on my feet."

Sophie met her gaze for a moment, then bit her lip and looked down.

"What?" Julia asked.

"It's nothing. It's… It's the way you say that word…" she said and shook her head again, affected by a shyness she preferred to hide.

"Which word is that?" the blonde asked, curious.

"You know… That British one…" Sophie replied.

"Ohhh… You mean 'luv'," Julia smiled broadly, amused. "In that case, you should wait till you hear me say the word 'love', luv…"

Sophie raised her eyebrows, glared at her.

"Now you're just doing it on purpose."

"I would never…" Julia replied with a look that spelled out the opposite.

Her eyes were soft and swimmy from the physical blows she had endured not half an hour prior, but there, looking into Sophie's eyes, their warm radiance, their genuine concern and care that extended towards her, their affection, and longing, it almost erased the pain.

"Then again…" she continued, tilted her head, "How could I not when you look at me like that?"

She and Sophie had been dating almost a week but Sophie still found herself disconcerted by the Julia's direct gaze, her knowing eyes, her playful smirk. Her hands turned clammy again, and she knew that the only way to conceal how she felt around the blonde was to kiss her. She touched her lips to Julia's, pressed in lightly on her, eyes closed, and allowed herself to get lost in the taste of her. It was a gift Julia gladly welcomed and reciprocated.

When they parted lips again, parted for a moment, Sophie whispered "'Luv'…"

The breath of the word grazed over the other's mouth. Julia smiled, pulled Sophie in closer and kissed her again.