Chapter Seventeen: A Night Terror and a Revelation

(AN: Batman is not mine)

He still did not want to reveal that he knew that RJ and Blue-Jay were one and the same, but he also knew that it would be dangerous, even deadly to leave her alone and untreated if she did indeed have PTSD. She acted normal around Robin and Tim, but when he wasn't around there was no real way to tell how she was doing.

Pulling into a hidden spot on the far side of the Falcon estate, Batman quickly and quietly made his way to the house and to RJ's bedroom window. The window was locked, but it only took him a moment to open it.

Batman entered the girls' room and closed the windows behind him before turning to find her in the middle of a nightmare. She was tossing and turning and had tears streaming down her cheeks as she whimpered piteously in her sleep.

For a moment, Batman stood beside the bed, unsure of what to do, then he reached over and gripped the girls' wrists. She began to thrash wildly, her whimpers becoming soft cries as he pulled her to him. Wrapping his arms around her he pinned her to his chest, restraining her arms and legs so she could not twist free or hurt herself.

Witnessing his parents' murder had left Bruce with PTSD and the nightmares still haunted him. According to Alfred this was exactly what Bruce had often done when he was having a particularly violent nightmare and this was what Alfred would have to do to keep him from hurting himself.

He covered her mouth so she would not scream and bring anyone running, though he was sure that only her butler was in the house, her parents being off in Europe somewhere.

As he held her she thrashed harder than ever and suddenly her eyes flew open and she stared him straight in the face. But she was not looking at him, this he knew, she was looking at something that he could not see and her eyes were filled with pure fear and rage. She was having a Night Terror.

Still holding her immobile, Batman spoke softly to her "Blue-Jay." The moment she heard his voice the girl stopped thrashing and lay in his arms, tense and trembling. Carefully shifting his grip on her, Batman slipped one of his hands into hers. "Blue-Jay, I know that you're scared, but you have to listen to me, alright?" she twitched slightly and he squeezed her hand gently "I want you to squeeze my hand, if you do that then whatever you are seeing can't hurt you." Immediately the small girl began to squeeze his hand as hard as she could.

Once sure that she would not scream, Batman uncovered her mouth and moved his now free hand to her head. Slipping his fingers into her hair he began to massage her scalp slowly and gently. After a little while she began to relax, though she never let go of his hand. When she was no longer tense, Batman removed his hand from her hair and took a sedative from his belt, she barely even twitched as it was injected into her bloodstream and closed her eyes as she was returned to a more peaceful slumber.

As he put her back down on the bed, Batman could not help but realize once again just how small she was. For the first time he wondered if she ever got scared out on the streets, especially when she had started out. Robin had had him, Nightwing and Batgirl, but Blue-Jay had been all on her own. He remembered the night his parents had been killed and the years after it, the feeling of being so small in a world so vast and merciless. He wondered if she had ever felt that. More than likely.

After looking at her for a few more moments, Batman pulled the covers over her and stood. Walking to the door, he paused to glance back at her before leaving her room. He knew that she would not remember his presence when she woke in the morning. In the meantime, he had someone else to speak to.

It did not take him long to locate Pierre's room, it was on the ground floor, where Alfred had told him it was.

After he had discovered that his old friend was in Gotham, Alfred had given Pierre a call and they had rekindled their friendship. Alfred had told him that if RJ was up to something, anything, then Pierre would be just as involved as Alfred was with Bruce's own exploits. Meaning he would know everything there was to know about Blue-Jay and any injuries or plans that she might have.

He had only just entered the room when the light was switched on, revealing the elderly man sitting in the chair beside his bed. "I had the feeling that you would be turning up tonight."

Batman glared at the man but he only chuckled, saying "My dear boy, do you really believe that I would have been able to stay employed here without learning to survive a death-glare like that one?"

Batman didn't answer him instead he asked his first question "How long has she been having Night Terrors?"

The old man sighed sadly "Ever since Valentines day, though it had always been nightmares until now. She usually meditates to keep them back." Batman nodded, as he had suspected, she must have just been too tired tonight and had fallen asleep before she had gotten the chance to clear her mind. And the memories being brought back to the surface would also have contributed to the unusual intensity of the dream. He asked his next question.

"Has she been eating less than normal?"

Again the old man nodded "If you are asking these questions to see if she had PTSD I can save you the trouble of trying to piece it together: she does, and it's getting worse. I started looking into Psychology not long after she took up her new activities. I have been caring for her ever since she was born, I am not about to start slacking off now." He added at the questioning glance from Batman.

"Since she was born?"

Pierre looked sad when Batman raised an eyebrow at this. "Robyn's parents give her everything she could ever want except their affection. They are never here, they do not know their daughter at all, the first time she met them she was about six years old. Until they deemed her old enough to be shown off she hardly ever left the grounds and her only friends were her birds."

Batman was disturbed by this news. No parent should put travel over their child, no matter how much money or business they might have in other countries. He was pulled back to the present by Pierre speaking again. "I have never seen her work so hard to gain someone's approval, you know."

"What are you talking about?" Batman asked, unsure as to what the man was getting at.

"She has never had a real parental figure in her life before now and weather or not she will admit it to herself she has been seeking your approval from the beginning. She looks up to you more than anyone else I have ever seen."

Hearing this Batman felt shocked and awkward and decided to change the subject back to what he was here to find out. "Has she spoken to you about what she saw that night?" Pierre shook his head.

"She won't talk about it at all, I have tried, but she seems to want to do nothing more than forget it. But you know as well as I do that she will never be able to forget what she saw." The Dark Knight nodded and the older man continued "She blames herself, you know. She thinks that she should have at least tried to save them, she will never learn to forgive herself of her own accord, she needs help that I can't give her."

Once again Batman did not like where the conversation was headed and said "Thank you for telling me this, now if you will please excuse me." And with a flutter of his cape he was gone, the windows standing open to tell where he had exited.

Rising from his chair, Pierre moved to the windows and looked out of them to see the shape of a bat silhouetted against the moon for a few moments before it vanished. The old man stood in the window in silence for a moment, then said in a whisper so soft that he barely heard it himself "You are the only one who can save her from herself, Batman, she needs you, even if she won't let herself see that. She needs a father."

(Please Review!) AN: I am so sorry that I took this long. I have several other chapters already written, so I just have to post them. I love you all for continuing to read!