Tim was hurting. His mother had passed away. His father was in a coma. He was living in the manor. He had to answer questions from the press and his father's company to keep the company from going under. He hardly slept. He didn't speak much. He ate very little. And he looked like Bruce did most mornings. Like he was done. But he kept going because he had to. And he didn't have time for anything or anyone unless it was Bruce. And even then only if it was business.

Hailey didn't know how to help Tim. But Alfred did. He always had a cup of coffee ready for him. Always had food and encouraged him to eat more. Sometimes Hailey heard them talking in the kitchen at night. But she didn't linger or eavesdrop. She gave them their space. Alfred did more for Tim than Bruce. And Bruce and Alfred were arguing again when they thought no one could hear them. When Tim wasn't home but Hailey was. And she sought out an escape.

Gotham. She always went to Gotham. Her old neighbor Mrs. Suarez always welcomed her with open arms and food. Hailey missed living next door to her. She visited as often as she could. But she spent most of her time at the community center. She hadn't even realized that she was staying out later and later. Even Alfred seemed to forget to fetch her. But Hailey didn't mind taking the bus. One of Mrs. Suarez's grandkids walked her to the bus stop whenever he ran into her as she left the community center. The once in a while run-in turned into an everyday thing. Hailey hadn't thought much of it. Manuel was friendly. And Hailey assumed it was Mrs. Suarez who'd persuaded him to walk her to the bus stop. But she couldn't have been more wrong about the situation. And if she'd known the true reason why Manuel sought her out, she would've put a stop to it. Maybe she still could…

"Manny, please, you need to stop," Hailey said trying to push Manuel away. He'd pulled her into an alleyway and leaned towards her with his hands encircling her to keep her between him and the wall. "I don't want to do this."

"Hailey, come on. Stop playing hard to get," Manuel said. "It's been weeks. It's time to take this to the next level."

"Seriously, Manny. I'm not interested in taking this to any level. I thought we were friends—"

"Friends don't walk you to the bus stop every night, baby. Friends say see you later not see ya tomorrow," Manuel told her. "You're always saying tomorrow with that sexy smile."

Hailey pushed him a little harder. He'd almost kissed her that time. And it didn't matter what she said he had a reply ready. "Ok. So now I know we're not friends. I didn't know that. But I don't want you, Manuel. Not like this."

"You don't have to be scared of what you feel, baby," Manuel said and leaned in closer.

Hailey grabbed his face with her hand and squeezed. Her other hand was on his chest and she was pushing him away. But he was pressing forward. "I'm not scared. I just don't want this. Stop—"

"No means no," said a voice from above.

Hailey and Manuel both looked up at the same time. And then suddenly Robin was behind them ripping Manuel out of her arms. Manuel was hit behind the knees and he screamed. Then he scooted away from Robin who was blocking Hailey with his body.

"You think I care? Keep that stupid bitch," Manuel said and hobbled out of the alley as fast as he could.

"You idiot!" Hailey said and smacked Robin upside his head.

"Ow. Hey. What gives?" Robin said, protecting his head and turning to look at her.

"I had that under control. And you pissed him off. Now he's going to come back more aggressive and I'm going to have to kick him in the balls and Mrs. Suarez is going to be so mad at me," Hailey said and covered her face with her hands.

"Woah. Woah. Slow down," Robin said. "You knew that guy?"

"Yes! He's… It doesn't matter. The point is I could've talked him out of it. And then he would've—what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Robin sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He shook his head and held out a hand. "Come on, I'm taking you home."

"I'm fine taking the bus," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're fine taking the bus! You almost got raped. I'm not letting you out of my sight," Robin said stubbornly.

"Raped?! What are you talking about? He was just trying to kiss me."

Robin facepalmed. "You don't know anything about boys, do you? And that kid had like three years on you."

"I know enough. He wasn't going to—"

"He was."

Hailey stared at him and it slowly dawned on her that the situation had been a lot more serious than she'd believed. She just didn't think– "But I know him."

"Yeah, I know."

Hailey wrapped her arms around her middle. She suddenly felt very exposed.

"Was he really–?"

Robin didn't answer. Instead, he held out a hand for her to take. So she did. He walked down the street with her to a nearby coffee shop where he left her with a girl wearing an eggplant hoodie. Hailey was too lost in thought to pay much attention. She eyed the drink and muffin placed before her skeptically. And before she'd realized it, Robin was back. He walked her to his bike and they sped away from Gotham towards Bristol at a breakneck speed. But Hailey didn't notice. Nor did she realize that Alfred had been waiting at the door for her. She slipped right by him and went straight to her room. It wasn't until she was lying in bed close to falling asleep that she jerked awake. She gasped and covered her mouth.

"Tim," she said softly. Robin had Tim's voice. So if Tim was Robin maybe that meant he was handling things better than she thought. He didn't need her. So her uselessness was forgiven by the karmic deities somehow and sent him to help her? That didn't make any sense. But being Robin was a good thing. That meant Tim was okay. That he would be okay. But just in case he wasn't, she said a silent prayer for him like she did every night since Janet Drake died.

Hailey closed her eyes. It seemed like hours before she fell asleep but it had only been a few minutes.

When she woke up in the morning, Bruce was in her room.

"Dad?" Hailey said sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She yawned. "What are you doing in my room?"

"I heard about last night," Bruce said and stood up from the chair he'd been sitting on to sit on her bed.

"I know how to defend myself," Hailey said. "I take self-defense classes at the community center."

"I am aware of that," Bruce said and ran a hand through her hair so that he could see her face clearly. "I was told that this person was a friend. And sometimes we don't know how to defend ourselves from a dangerous situation when it's a friend who's causing it."

"Yeah," Hailey said and sighed. She rubbed her arms feeling cold even though the room was warm. "But I guess he just wanted me to think we were friends. So now I know not to hold back next time."

"From him?" Bruce said and Hailey nodded. "There will be others. And maybe the next will be a friend. It could be a boyfriend. Maybe a stranger. But the one thing you need to remember is that at any time if anyone makes you feel uncomfortable no matter who they are or where you are, don't hold back. And Hailey, don't forget to scream for help."

"Scream?" Hailey said curiously.

"Yes. I know it's important to feel in control. To know that you have the power to defend yourself. But sometimes your opponents will be stronger than you. Sometimes they won't. Regardless, if you scream for help they can't say that you were saying one thing but really meant another. Because unfortunately saying no or stop is not enough. Not with certain types of people. You have to scream for help without panicking if at all possible. Always look for an exit, a way to escape, before you start to defend yourself."

"I understand," Hailey said with a nod. She never would have thought she'd find herself in a situation like the one she'd been in the night before. And it scared her.

"I want you to wear this whenever you leave the house from now on," Bruce told her, handing her a watch. He pointed at a button on the side. "That's a panic button. If you're ever in trouble push the button."

"What happens when I push the button?" Hailey said looking at the watch curiously.

"Help will be on its way as soon as possible."

"Help?" Hailey said and looked at Bruce. "Like the police?"

"An alert will go out. If the police are closest, they'll arrive first."

"And if they're not…?"

"Batman will head your way."

"Oh," Hailey said in surprise. "Okay. But what if I accidentally push it?"

"It's fine," Bruce told her. "If you're aware that you have accidentally pressed the button, call the manor or me. We'll turn off the alert."

Hailey nodded. "Do I have to wear it all the time?"

"Preferably when you leave the manor."

"Even for school?"

Bruce nodded.

"Are you overreacting just a little bit?"

Bruce closed his eyes and sighed. "I might be."

Hailey smiled and hugged him with watery eyes. She was glad he overreacted because now she didn't have to be scared to leave the manor. She didn't want to feel scared to leave the manor. But she kind of did. And she didn't like that feeling.

Bruce was stunned momentarily that she hadn't been upset. But he relaxed and hugged her back.

"Thanks, Dad," Hailey said softly and moved away. "I was scared."

Bruce pulled her in for another hug and rubbed her back. "It was a scary situation to be in."

Hailey started to cry. She felt so stupid. She could've easily hit him and gotten away. But she thought she could talk him out of it. The more she tried the more she realized he wasn't going to back off. But she hadn't done enough to defend herself. Because she knew him. She knew him. He wasn't supposed to try to hurt her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Bruce said softly.

"No."

"That's okay."


When Hailey came down for breakfast, Tim was there. And he was acting like he didn't know anything. Like he hadn't been the one to save her. And she had to act like she didn't know he was Robin. Because if he wanted her to know he would tell her. Jason had told her even though he wasn't supposed to. Tim probably wasn't supposed to either. And so they ate quietly. Hailey eyed him every so often. And Tim pretended like he didn't notice or that he wasn't watching her surreptitiously.

After breakfast, Hailey walked outside to the gardens. She kept fiddling with the watch on her wrist. Bruce had told her to wear it whenever she left the manor. Did the gardens count? Was she supposed to wear it while she was still on the manor grounds? She wasn't sure. She probably should have asked more questions. The watch felt heavier than it was. It was probably some sort of mental thing. Something subconscious that made her feel like she was wearing shackles instead of a watch. But they weren't real. Not the shackles. Not the weight. It was just her fear. But if she didn't wear the watch and it happened again…

"Hailey," Tim said as he came up behind her. She yelped and turned around to face him with her fists up. "Woah, hey. Just me."

"Yeah," Hailey said and put her hands down. "You scared me."

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault. I was just thinking," Hailey said and turned around to face the garden again.

"About what?"

"Shackles," she said without thinking.

"What?" Tim said, sounding confused. "Why shackles?"

Hailey shrugged. Then she fiddled with the watch again. Tim's eyes honed in on the watch then he eyed his own wrist that had one similar. He sighed heavily in understanding.

"Bruce is just…"

"Overprotective, yeah I know," Hailey said with a small smile. "But it's kind of funny when he acts like a dad. He's so bad at it most of the time. But then he shows you another side of him. And you know that he really cares when he does something like this." Hailey lifted her arm to show off her watch.

"Yeah," Tim said and shook his head. "That's true. But he's a better dad than mine was."

Hailey looked at him then. Tim looked so sad. She grabbed his hand and looked at the flowers as they swayed in the wind. She wanted to know how Tim's dad was but she was afraid to ask.

"The doctors think he'll wake up soon."

"Your dad?" Hailey said and looked at Tim again.

"Uh-huh," Tim said but he wasn't looking at her.

"That's good, right?"

"Sure," Tim said and squeezed her hand.

Hailey didn't say anything. She didn't think it was her place. She didn't know much about Jack. He went out of town a lot. With Janet. Without Tim. Maybe Tim was just pretending they were still out of town. When Jack woke from his coma and was around without Janet then her death would be real to him. Maybe that was why he wasn't excited about his dad waking up.

Hailey knew she should say something but she didn't know what to say. She knew what it felt like when someone died. The hole it left behind. The disconnect that you felt when the world kept going like the person who'd just died didn't matter. The knowledge of having to go one without them. And the guilt of being alive and wanting to stay alive regardless of what happened to them. But even still, that didn't mean Tim felt the same way. Or maybe he did. And if he did, he might not want to talk about it like she didn't want to talk about it. Not when her dad died. Not when Jason died. And not when her step-mother died. Because that one hadn't even hurt. But it made her feel so much more guilty because it didn't. Like Lynn hadn't mattered to her even though she did just not like her dad had mattered.

Hailey wanted to cry. Not for the people she lost but for Tim. Because she didn't think he could anymore. And if he couldn't cry maybe she should cry for him. But maybe not when he was standing right next to her. So instead, she squeezed his hand a little harder. She prayed for him to have a little peace right now and the strength to cry when Jack woke up. When she finished her prayer, she felt him squeeze her hand back and then he exhaled. Then he turned to look at her and smiled. She smiled back and then crushed him with a hug. Just because she couldn't thank him for saving her as Robin, she could be thankful for his smile. And when he hugged her back she felt like the world had righted itself just a little in Tim's favor.