My thoughts were hazy and sporadic. I remember someone crying and pain flaring through my whole body. My name was called a lot and I wanted desperately to answer whoever it was, but my eyes were glued shut and my mouth refused to open. A beeping started that was driving me mad but I was helpless to stop it.

When movement returned to me, so did my breathe. I took a deep gulp of air that only tripled the pain I felt. I jerked straight up and felt strong hands gently holding me down. Someone was talking in a soothing voice in my ear as the beeping sound got worse.

"Lissa, it's okay. You're safe now. Just relax. You're heart rate is spiking."

I blocked out the pain and did my best to focus on the voice. I looked at its source and saw Bruce leaning over me. My Dad. Our eyes connected and he pulled me into a gentle hug.

"You're okay now."

"What happened?"

As my senses returned to me I recognized I was in a hospital. The boring grey walls were outdone only by the boring white sheets of my bed. Three different machines were hooked up to me, the annoying beeping coming from the heart monitor. As I calmed down the severity of the noise lessoned and I could think a little clearer.

"Dick told me about he and Roy's suspicions of Mr. Napier. When your brother and I went downtown, you two went out to the park. When we didn't see our associate downtown Dick figured this meant Mr. Napier was not who he said he was, and he headed to find you. But it turns out he was wrong. Our associate found you before Dick did. He restrained and incapacitated Mr. Napier before attacking you. You had a critical chest wound and your life was fading quickly.

"Part of the notes Dick recovered from your little unplanned vacation a few months ago included a detailed formula for the medicine they made you take for your...treatment. I had managed to recreate it, adding a few tweaks of my own, and Dick had a sample on him the other night. With you in critical condition, he made an important call. He administered the dose and recreated the situation of your experiment."

I tried to contain my emotions. 'Recreated your experiment' clearly meant Dick gave me the serum the Joker had cooked up and lit me on fire again. I knew because we were in a hospital room, Bruce couldn't activate an EMP to disable any listening devices for fear it would interact with the machines currently connected to me by needle, but hearing the whole thing in obscure terms didn't help.

"What happened?"

"His hunch was correct. Since you were only injured, the experiment didn't have to be taken to...such lengths as last time. There was just enough stimulus to kick start your body's unique survival system and you stabilized. This was three days ago. You are currently in Gotham Private Medical Center and you'll have to be here a few more days at the very least while you recover."

"What does Rin thinked happened?"

"More or less what actually did. He saw the attack with his own eyes. He did not see Dick tend to your wounds, however, nor does he know the significance of what happened."

"Is he okay?"

"He had some mild bruising from the restraints used on him and a fracture rib but he's fine. He's been practically breaking the door down waiting for you to wake up."

"Thanks Dad, it means a lot that you're here."

"I'm just glad you're okay." he smiled and gently squeezed my hand.

The door to my room slid opened and I jerked my head, immediately being hit with a wave of nausea. Before my head could stop spinning a pair of arms were thrown around me.

"Princess, I was so worried about you."

"I'm fine, Rin. Thanks for coming." I hugged back to the best my weak arms would allow.

"Lissa, I'm needed back at the office. I'll stop in tonight and see you, alright?"

"Okay Dad. I love you."

"I love you too." he gently squeezed my hand before leaving the room. As I followed his movement I saw two more figures standing against the far wall, looking convincingly ashamed.

"Lissa-"

"I believe you owe someone an apology."

They reluctantly turned to javrin who, for his benefit, was trying his hardest not to look smug. Dick was the first to speak and offer his hand in a peaceful shake.

"Javrin, I would like to apologize for my actions. I assumed the worst of you and I was wrong to do that."

"Water under the bridge." he shook the hand quickly while giving him a smile.

I turned my eyes on Roy, who gave a dramatic eye roll before he spoke up. "And I as well."

"Not quite as eloquent, but I'll take it." Javrin held out his hand to Roy who reluctantly shook it like it was taped to a live wire.

"We came here to say we're sorry to you as well, Lissa." Dick said softly. "We were wrong to hound you about Javrin."

"It's alright. Like Javrin said: water under the bridge." Dick squeezed my hand gently and I gave him a smile.

"Now if you two wouldn't mind, I'd like some time alone." Javrin stood up, clearly not leaving any room for negotiation.

They both gave me a 'is he for real' look but ducked out of the room after giving me kisses on the cheek. Javrin resumes his place on my bed, stroking my cheek softly.

"You really whipped them back into shape."

"They just need a lesson in not being assholes. Are you okay?"

"Besides almost killing my girlfriend? I'm great."

"Rin, this is not your fault."

"I agreed to come get you. I took you to that park. I sat on a metal bench. And you almost died."

I took his hand. "This is not your fault. This is The Prince's. You can't hold yourself accountable for his actions."

"I'm sorry Lissa."

"And I said you have nothing to be sorry for." I kissed his knuckles. "Want me to tell you a secret?"

"Yeah?"

"Roy and Dick thought you could be The Prince."

He gave me a confused look. "Me? Why? I thought they were just mad I was with you, or they thought I was going to feed you to sharks or something."

"Because you beat Roy in a fight when he was all high and mighty about being the best on the wrestling team. He thought the only person who could beat him in a fight was a superhero. Literally. They wanted me to catch you in the act or something so they could turn you into the police."

He chuckled. "They really thought I could be him?"

"Yeah. So when the Joker was on the news the other night they made me call you so we could prove it."

"Did you think I was?"

"Of course not. I told them they had to apologize to you and stop hounding me about being with you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Princess." he smiled and kissed my forehead. "So how are you feeling?"

"I mean, I've been better. Did they say how bad it was?"

"He missed your heart and Thoracic Aorta by millimeters. You had a lot of blood loss on the scene. You broke your sternum and cracked a rib, not to mention all the tissue damage. A punctured lung didn't help anything either. They said it was a miracle you lived."

"No wonder every breath feels like I'm dying."

"Hey, you don't get to make dying jokes. Not yet." he pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I was so scared when I came to that you were going to be lying there dead."

"It will take a lot more than that to get rid of me." I winced as I adjusted in the bed. "Okay, maybe just a little more to get rid of me."

"I promise when you get out of here, I'm going to take you on the date of your life."

"Just having you here is enough for me right now." I yawned as a wave of fatigue washed over me. "Will you still be here when I wake up?"

"Always." he whispered as I closed my eyes.