A/N: This is the last chapter I've written out. I have a lot more chapters planned, but I haven't written them, and I'm not currently into Batman. I hate to disappoint everyone, but after this, In Plain Sight is on indefinite hiatus. I will do my best not to abandon this story and will write for it as soon as I can.

Warnings: language, violence

Part 1C FOUR: Life Together

Elle

Life is pretty boring if you don't spend it with anyone. That's why I'm trying to make friends. That's why I'm trying to spend more time with every member of the Batfamily, plus Jason. I want to live my life to the fullest, and one step towards doing so is to have people surrounding me.

Of course, I get sidetracked a lot. And I'm not very good at balancing friends and family and Jason. But I'm trying. And trying is better than letting life just pass me by. I'm doing my best to include everyone else into my life. Easier said than done. Secrets upon secrets upon secrets weigh me down, and I'm forced to push others away.

But I'm still trying.

Sunday, November 1

I woke up late, tired from the party. It was nearing 10:20 in the morning. I rushed to get ready, ate a quick breakfast, and then told Bruce that I was hanging out with Jasmine and Chance. Bruce gave me twenty more dollars and I hurried down to the city. I bought a muffin at a small shop to break the twenty and then took the bus to near Jason's apartment.

I let myself in. Jason didn't look up from where he was watching television. I tossed the muffin at Jason. He didn't even flinch.

"You're here early," he said, eyes glued to the screen.

I rolled my eyes. "So, we going or what?"

"Get changed."

I did so. Already, my heart pounded in excitement. I couldn't wait to leave.

Jason and I rode his motorcycle to about 10 minutes away from the neighborhood where Eric Tanner lived. We left his bike in an alley and then we jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Trust me, it was scary. But I was getting used to it. The adrenaline helped me get over my slight fear of heights. When we reached Eric Tanner's house, we broke in and searched the place. Surprisingly quietly.

Eric Tanner was doing some sort of paperwork in what appeared to be his study. I narrowed my eyes and tensed. I resisted the urge to attack him. Jason and I needed to find out where he was keeping the kids. Jason and I exited the house and watched from a nearby rooftop, waiting for Eric Tanner to leave.

A good two hours later, he did. He got into one of his cars and started driving off. Jason hotwired the other car and followed. I kept a hand on my gun at all times, ready to shoot at any moment. We drove around for about thirty minutes, until we reached an unmarked building. Jason entered from the back while I entered from the front.

What I saw inside sickened me. Children, ages five to eleven or twelve, tied together with rope. Most were shaking and crying. I stuck to the shadows, knowing that while I could probably take down Eric Tanner alone, there were other grown men guarding the kids.

I clenched my fists. Who the fuck kidnapped kids to whore them out? These men should be killed. They deserved it. I was briefly surprised by my thoughts, but stood by them. These men shouldn't be given the opportunity to plead in front of a jury.

"This one's pretty," Eric Tanner eyed one of the kids, petting her hair. The girl cried harder and shut her eyes tight. "She'll get me lots of money, I bet."

"Hands off the kid," Red Hood said sternly, gun aimed at Eric's head. Eric let go quickly and tried to run away. Unfortunately for him, he ran right in my direction. Grabbing my gun out of its holster, I stepped out of the shadows, blocking the exit.

"Going somewhere, sleaze ball?" I admitted it wasn't my best, but whatever. Besides, I was in front of children. I should probably keep my swearing down to a minimum.

"Take them! Take the children!" the coward standing in front of me begged, eyes wide with terror. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed how scared he was. Of me. And probably the gun in my hand as well.

"You think we'll just let you get away with this?" Red Hood asked darkly, angrily, disgustedly. "You are a sorry excuse for a human being."

"Who does this? Especially to children," I glared.

It was then that I realized he was just a distraction. I felt someone creep up behind me. Thinking fast, I ducked and jammed my left elbow into whoever was behind me. The man doubled over but grabbed my wrists and twisted them, forcing me to drop my gun. I tried to headbutt him but he moved out of the way.

A second man came towards me. Using the man who held my wrists, I leapt up, pushing my weight into him. He struggled to keep upright. I kicked out at the man in front of me, getting him just below his throat. The kick helped me shift my weight, and the man behind me went tumbling onto his back with a pained grunt. I used his moment of weakness to free myself from his grasp and to grab my knife. I slashed at the man coming up behind me and then quickly moved so that both men were in my sight.

But then I heard the children crying, frightened even more by the fighting. I did the stupid thing and let the Elle side of me back out. I hesitated and even glanced over at them. One of the men barreled into me, sending me to the ground. I dropped my knife. He picked it up. The other man held my gun, pointing it at me. I froze.

Two gunshots sent them to the ground. I looked over at Red Hood. Even though I couldn't see his face, I knew he was pissed with me. I quietly untied the children, who all ran out to who-knows-where. A part of me wanted to follow to make sure they'd be okay. The other part of me didn't know what to do. So I stood there, staring at the ground and avoiding looking at the dead bodies, waiting for Jason to speak.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" he yelled at me. I flinched. Memories of Nico came to the forefront of my mind. I tried to remind myself that Jason wasn't Nico, that he wouldn't hit me … But I couldn't stop myself from starting to hyperventilate.

"When you fight, you don't fucking hesitate," Jason spat, coming towards me. I tensed. "And what did you do? You fucking hesitated." Jason got a little too close or a little too loud because the next thing I knew, my eyes were closed and I was bent over a little, trying to protect myself.

Silence.

Then, "Jesus Christ, kid, I'm not going to hit you." He sounded exasperated and concerned at the same time, if that was even possible. Jason put his hands on my shoulders. I flinched violently, stepping away.

"Stop it," I whispered hoarsely. "Please stop." I backed away a couple of steps, my eyes still closed and my whole body shaking. I tripped and fell to the ground. Images of Nico kept flashing in front of me. "I'll be good. I promise. I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt me. Please." Before I knew it, I was sobbing. "Please don't hurt me."

"Kid," I heard, but I didn't hear, I couldn't – Nico. Nico was going to hurt me. No, please, no! "Elle, look at me."

I opened my eyes. Nico was there, yelling at me, calling me worthless and stupid and – and – I shut my eyes again and put my hands on my ears.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll be better. I'm sorry I'm stupid. I'm sorry I'm worthless. I'm sorry. Don't hurt me. I'm sorry."

"Elle." The voice was firm, not Nico's, but Nico was louder and I was scared and didn't I get out of this relationship? "It's Jason. Remember? I'm not going to hurt you."

Yes, I remembered Jason, but the man in front of me was definitely Nico. I heard him call me names, shout at me, threaten to hit me if I didn't stop crying.

"Elle, he's not here. Nico isn't here. You broke up with him, remember? He can't hurt you again."

Hesitantly, I opened my eyes. This time, I saw Jason in front of me, crouched down, an uncharacteristically concerned and serious expression on his face. Wait, when did he take off his helmet and mask? Where was I again? Nico –

"He won't hurt you again," Jason told me, looking into my eyes.

"But what if he tries?" I sobbed, not quite aware of my surroundings yet. Yes, I'd broken up with Nico, but how long ago was that? Weeks? Days? Hours? Minutes? Why didn't anything make sense? What was happening to me?

"I'll kick his sorry ass," Jason said.

Without thinking, I leaned forward and cried into Jason's chest. A few minutes later, I felt him wrap his arms around me tightly. I didn't know how long I cried. All I knew was that I slowly came back into the present. I recalled that I had broken up with Nico and that he hadn't been bothering me, that my brothers and friends were protecting me.

And then I realized that I was crying into Jason's shirt. I broke away from him quickly and stood, wiping my eyes the best I could with the mask still on. I straightened my shirt and jacket and took a breath.

"Sorry," I said, not looking Jason in the eye, even when he stood up. "I'm just going to go home now. I'm sure you can handle the rest of this by yourself."

"Elle," Jason said hesitantly, awkwardly. "If you need to talk. Or, you know, beat someone up…"

I didn't answer. I made my way to Jason's apartment, changed, then returned to Wayne Manor. I'd thought I was over it. I'd thought I was doing better. I guessed I thought wrong.

That night was the worst nightmare I'd had in a long time. I woke up crying and couldn't get back to sleep. I kept seeing the images whenever I closed my eyes. The darkness closed in on me, making it difficult to breathe. I heard the voices from my nightmares, both the one I'd just had and the ones I'd been suffering for years.

Without thinking, I opened my bedroom door, but hesitated in front of Tim's. I didn't want to wake him up. And I didn't want to be a bother, especially over something as stupid as a nightmare. But Tim did say that I could go to him if I needed to. Sniffing, I opened his door quietly and entered the room, closing the door behind me.

This was the first time I'd ever been in his room. I disliked being in other people's rooms. It was like seeing who they were, stripping them down. It was their personal space. That's why I hovered near the door for another minute before shuffling softly over to the bed, where Tim laid. I stood there, watching him sleep.

I opened my mouth, tried to get my voice to work, but was unable to. I tried a couple more times. Getting frustrated and embarrassed and ashamed, the tears started falling harder and faster. I gathered all of my inner strength and finally was able to voice out a shaky, whispered, "Tim."

Tim didn't wake. I bit my lip and shifted my weight from one foot to the other. I was getting antsy and frustrated and I considered just leaving. I was an embarrassment. I couldn't handle one stupid nightmare. And then I let out a small sob by accident.

"Tim," I tried again, still shaky and insecure and nervous and only slightly louder, but it seemed to wake up the slightly older boy.

"Mmwha?" Tim opened his eyes and stretched. My face flushed red and I avoided his gaze as he took in my appearance. "Elle? Wha's wrong?"

I opened my mouth, but once again I'd lost my voice, so I shut my mouth once more. I let out another broken sob, though. I curled my arms around myself and shrugged.

"Did you have a nightmare?" I nodded shakily, closing my eyes, ready to be told to grow up or to go back to my room. I was surprised to hear Tim shift around in his bed. I opened my eyes to see that he'd moved over and held the sheet open for me. I bit my lip, hesitating.

"Come on."

Tim's gentle prompting was all it took for me to climb in bed next to him and break down crying. I laid beside him, head pressed into his chest. He rubbed my back and held me. Neither of us spoke.

Thursday, November 26

It was surprising how fast the month of November passed by. It was already Thanksgiving Day. My bruises were nearly gone. Unfortunately, my nightmares hadn't left. They plagued me more than ever. But I refused to go to Tim unless it was a really bad nightmare. I didn't want to appear any weaker than I already was.

Because it was Thanksgiving, Dick was visiting. He even had an extra week off after this. It was great to see him again. By the amount of hugs he kept giving me, I assumed that he'd missed me, too.

The first term of school was nearly over. Only about a month was left. I'd raised my grades a lot, thanks to Jasmine and Tim. Bruce was proud of me, even if he didn't outright say it. Alfred, on the other hand, did outright say it. And so did Dick, but he was, well, Dick.

Speaking of Jasmine, I missed her during the break. But she had family coming from the Dominican Republic, who they almost never got to see, so they were spending time together. I understood, but I still missed my best friend.

And speaking of friends …

ELLE: You should come over. It's Thanksgiving and you're family.

JASON: Thanks but no thanks.

I sighed. Why did Bats have to be so stubborn?

ELLE: Fine. But we're hanging out tomorrow.

JASON: You're paying.

I grinned.