Hi Readers – I am sorry - I've played with this for a couple of extra days. It isn't where I'd like it to be but whatever I do, I feel like I'm not improving it so I thought I would post it anyway. It's a decent length, I just wish it would flow better. I am too distracted, my horse is really sick and we are waiting to find out what's going on.

Not too much happens here but there is a lot coming up in the couple chapters. Author's notes at the bottom. Please review!!

Chapter 24

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Girlfriend

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"Kori, did Dick find you?" Vic asked warmly as Kori approached the group.

"Yes he did. He is, uh, taking care of something and will return shortly."

Although she was trying her best to hide it, it was obvious to Victor that Kori was upset.

"Are you sure everything is alright little lady?"

"Everything is fine Victor."

"Dick is not being a dick is he?"

Kori smiled at that. "No, he is not."

"Kori, I know its not my business, but he was jonesing to find you and I am a bit surprised that he didn't come back with you. Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Kori sighed. "Victor, may I speak to you in confidence?"

"Sure, Kori."

"I sent Richard to speak to Barbara Gordon. She confronted me a little while ago and she was acting, well," Kori wanted to chose her words carefully, "she did not seem... right. So I had Richard check on her." Kori also wanted to make it clear that she had sanctioned his leaving.

"Okay." Vic said, quite surprised. He had been friends with Dick since they were children and knew Barbara fairly well. He had seen Dick and Barbara talking in a not particularly friendly manner earlier when they were tailgating and he also knew that Dick had no real interest in his ex-girlfriend.

"You do know Kori, that it is over between her and Dick and he is just crazy about you."

Victor wanted things to work out for Dick and Kori. He was such a romantic at heart. Vic had never seen his long time friend so enthralled with a woman, and he also couldn't remember the last time he saw Dick as happy as he had been that day. But even though he hadn't known her for long, Vic was feeling a big brotherly-type concern for Kori. He hoped he'd never have to chose between them; mediate between them, sure, that was right up his alley, but not chose.

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As time passed, Kori became a bit crestfallen and anxious, Richard was going to miss the end of the polo match. What was keeping him? Well, she knew the answer to that – Barbara. But, how was she going to get home? He wouldn't dare abandon her, would he? Kori tried not to let her own insecurities affect her, because deep down she was certain Dick would never do that to her.

Victor addressed the group, "Alright guys, lets go back for a bit more tailgating. We can head back to my place when we get thrown out."

As the stands emptied, Kori was following close behind Victor when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kori, its me."

"Hello Richard."

"I'm on my way back. Sorry it took so long, but you were right."

"Oh, I was afraid of that."

"At least I got her home safely."

There was a tug at Kori's heart hearing that. Presumably no one else was able to help Barbara - whether or not that was Barbara's design, Kori could only guess.

"That's good."

"I'll fill you in later," Dick continued, "Where can I find you?"

"We are heading back to Victors party of tailgates. The match just ended."

"I'll meet you there. I'm so sorry I didn't get to see the rest of the match with you. And Kori?"

"Yes, Richard."

"You are the best."

"Thank you. I will see you soon."

"Bye."

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As Victor, Kori and the rest of their group made their way back to the field. Victor ran interference for Kori, which she was glad for. Dick's extended absence was certainly curious, and no doubt a number of people had taken notice.

When they got back to Victor's car, she grabbed a soda and decided to stand off to the side a bit, leaning against a tree, waiting for Dick. She wondered if things with Dick would always be this complicated.

"Why hello, Dr. Anders. Its good to see you again."

She jumped slightly. Deep in thought, she hadn't heard anyone come up behind her. She turned to find Dr. Xavier Red.

"Hello, Dr. Red," she said coolly. He had really made her feel uncomfortable after the incident with Cooper and she really wasn't in the mood to talk to him right then.

"Please call me Xavier," he said with a smile that made her think he was on the hunt. "I would have made an effort to stop over sooner, had I known you'd be with the gang from the ER today."

She didn't like that smile or the way Xavier had said that but she wanted to be polite. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't just walk away.

"Actually, Xavier, I am on a date. We ran into everyone here."

Xavier was not deterred. "Lucky guy. Nothing serious I hope."

"Well, actually it is." Kori gave him a hard look. Who did he think he was? She reconsidered just walking back to the group.

"Well where is he? I can't imagine anyone leaving you for very long. Someone else might come along and sweep you off your feet."

Did he just lick his lips? "I am expecting him shortly." Kori replied, backing up a step. Xavier was really making her nervous.

Kori noticed something caught Xavier's attention over her shoulder. Before she could turn Xavier had started to move around her, saying "Don't worry about this guy, I'll get rid of him for you," way to close to her ear for her liking.

She turned to see Richard staring hard at Xavier, arms down at his side, closed slightly into fists. Dick did not like the way Xavier was looming over Kori and he noted that she looked very uncomfortable.

"Oh, there you are Richard!" Kori said, brushing past Xavier to intercept Richard, very relieved.

Dick looked at Kori approaching him and his entire body language changed - his face softened, his eyes brightened, and his whole body relaxed.

Kori was swept up in Richard's embrace and they shared a quick kiss on the lips. Xavier stood there a bit stunned.

Richard looked carefully into Kori's eyes and said softly, "Are you okay?"

"I am now," she assured him.

Satisfied with that, Dick chose not to go caveman on Xavier, at least for the moment.

Kori turned within Richard's embrace and took a place at his side, both of them still holding on to each other with both arms, smiling happily.

"Red, I see you were reacquainting yourself with my girlfriend." He couldn't help himself – his tone was cocky and the look on his face was very self-satisfied. Hopefully Xavier would get the point.

"Dr. Anders, Dick Grayson is your date?" Xavier said before he could stop himself.

"Why yes," she responded and then with some enthusiasm, "isn't it wonderful?!" Yeah, she was turning the dagger a bit, but Xavier really bothered her, and it was her way to make sure he knew she wasn't interested.

"And she makes me very happy," Dick said, but not just for Xavier's benefit. He meant it. He leaned in for another quick kiss which Kori happily returned.

"Well that's great," Xavier offered trying to sound sincere, still looking a bit lustfully at Kori.

"It is," Dick said, staring hard at Xavier.

Xavier met Dick's stare, then looked back at Kori and with a smile, "Well, I am going to leave you two alone then. Kori, it was wonderful to see you again," and without looking at his colleague, "Grayson."

"Red," Dick growled.

He definitely would not hold back if Xavier made Kori uncomfortable again.

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"I'm so sorry that took so long, Kori." Dick said, turning back to her.

"It is fine Richard. I feel better that Barbara got home safely." She smiled, finally able to relax a bit, "I missed you."

"I really missed you. I have barely gotten a chance to spend any time with you since lunch."

"What would you like to do now?"

Her tone was innocent and she certainly meant it that way but the things that came to Dick's mind were anything but. He pushed away those thoughts quickly, he was in this for the long haul and there was no way he was going to ruin things by rushing it.

"It's up to you Kori."

"Victor says that the tailgating will continue until we are, as he put it, 'thrown out' and then the party is to move to his residence."

"That sounds fun."

He had been having fun with Kori and everyone from the ER, between the drama of Barbara. He wanted to be alone with Kori but he knew that they were taking their time getting to know each other.

"I will need to contact Uncle Galfore to let him know I will be late."

Dick gave her a confused look, so she explained, "He would think that it was not appropriate for us to be out alone all day and all evening this early in the relationship. By informing him that we are with a group of our friends, he will be less concerned."

It had been a long time since he had to worry about a young lady's father, or in this case her uncle, but Dick knew it was their way and he was fine with that. He wanted to be with Kori and he certainly wanted her to be comfortable.

"I really don't want Galfore to be mad at me."

Even with the reassurances Dick had given Galfore, he knew that he was under a great deal of scrutiny.

"Richard, does Galfore intimidate you?" she teased coyly.

"Yes," he replied with a slightly embarrassed laugh.

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The rest of the day Dick and Kori enjoyed themselves immensely. They continued to have a great time with their friends and Victor made sure there was plenty to eat and drink. As a team, Dick and Kori beat everyone else in Badminton. Dick really enjoyed her enthusiasm and the way Kori hugged him each time they won and often when they had just gotten a good shot in.

It was nearly 11 PM when things were finally winding down at Victor's and Dick and Kori finally said their goodnights to the remaining stragglers.

Dick and Kori walked hand and hand back to his SUV. As he let her into the passenger side, he stayed close, gave her a light kiss on the cheek and "there you go" so close to her ear that it made her shiver. Kori had boyfriends before, she even thought she was in love a couple of times, but she never felt anything like the physical attraction she felt toward Dick.

Dick walked around and got into the driver's seat. His pulse quickened as he saw her smiling at him. He flashed her a quick smile in return and was putting the key in the ignition when he felt Kori's hand on his arm. He was trying so hard to control his urge to kiss her passionately and that control was about to snap.

Her look was expectant, so Dick leaned in to kiss her and Kori met him half way. For her, she was just so drawn to him. She wanted to kiss him so badly and she just hadn't been able to stop herself.

Kori loved the feeling of his warm lips on hers as his hand cupped her cheek. After a short while, she felt his tongue gently lick her lower lip, and she couldn't help but smile as she opened her mouth to receive him. Their tongues slipped past each other so deliciously slowly and Kori thought she could just die from the sheer thrill of the kiss.

For Dick, the kiss was sweet torture. As he finally deepened the kiss further, he knew that he would soon have to rein in his desire for her. He moved his hand from her cheek to her waist and held it there, but when Kori snaked her arms around his neck and pulled her chest into his, he started kneading her gently. Kori responded by using her tongue in a staccato manner, quick touches with it on his tongue that felt like light electrical shocks. He moaned softly and he realized he could spend the rest of his life kissing this woman.

He wasn't sure whether to be thankful for or curse the console that separated the two captain's chairs in the front seat. He wanted to touch and caress her everywhere. He knew this was where things had to stop as they were already getting out of hand. He brought both his arms around her back and he pulled her a bit closer. He pulled back from the kiss, and both of them found themselves breathless. The look on Kori's face went from disappointment to relief.

"I apologize," she began, blushing deeply, getting upset. "I am the one that insists on the taking of things slow, I had no right to kiss you like that."

"Kori, that kiss was wonderful, beautiful, it was perfect. Please feel free to kiss me anytime," He said with a smile, hoping that would relax her, but she still looked upset. "But if it was too much, that's fine. We can wait to kiss like that again. We won't do anything we aren't ready for."

"But I fear you will be ready and I will not." She turned away slightly, looking out the front window.

"Kori, look at me," he pulled her chin gently until her eyes met his, "I am perfectly happy to wait, please take things as slowly as you need to. I care deeply about you, you realize that don't you?"

"I know you do Richard, and I care about you."

He pulled her back into a hug and gently stroked her hair, each reveling in the feeling of being in each other's arms. They stayed there for quite a while, just holding each other, listening to the beating of each other's heart, even with the accursed console in their way.

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Dick had always been perfectly happy to see his dates go before. Whether it was the end of night or in the morning, no matter who the woman was, he was more than ready to get back to his own life and solitude. Maybe even more than ready. In fact, if the analogy of chewing ones leg off to get out of a trap had not been invented, Dick Grayson would have probably come up with it.

But Kori was different. He drove very slowly back to Embassy, wanting to spend as long as possible with her. His mind was reeling, when could he see her again? He wouldn't care if he appeared desperate, he knew that he couldn't stand to be away from her for very long.

"So Kori," he said as they drove, their hands laced together, "can I see you tomorrow?"

She stifled an 'eep'. She was surprised, but very happy to hear his request. "I do believe so, yes, Dr. Grayson." she replied coyly.

He chuckled. "I've got some things I have to take care of for Bruce, but why don't I call you after lunch?"

"That would be fine, but in case you get distracted, may I call you?"

"Of course, but if you must know, you are my only source of distraction Kori."

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A/N: Big chapters coming up I promise! A few things you might have questions on:

First off, I am planning on doing something more with Barbara's problem, which will be an issue of dependency rather than something more recreational. Dick will discuss it with Kori as soon as he knows more, and we'll get to know about how things went when Dick went back to check on Barbara. Secondly, as to why Dick didn't make a scene when he saw Xavier talking to Kori, he trusts her and as for Xavier, he might have reason to confront him later (hint, hint), but for now, it wasn't necessary. And finally, I want to remind everyone of the age of the characters. Kori is almost 30 and Dick is a year or two older. She is adjusting to having such desires - remember, women hit their sexual peak at 30 ;-)

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