A/N: I'm so, so, so, sorry about the delay in the updates. Vacation is nice, but vacation without WiFi isn't as nice. Now on with the story!

Chapter Fourteen

They managed to convince everyone that they needed to rescue the boy. Tim, Ellie, Barbara and Dick were ready to charge in there without any plan to get that little boy back. Each knew a part, or all, of the truth and that little bit spurred them to get going. How they managed to do it was impressive, but they did it.

That's how they got to be standing outside an abandoned apartment building in the slummiest side of Gotham. Prostitutes literally walked every street corner and gunshots rang out regularly.

"Does everyone know the plan?" Batman asked through the comm's.

"Yes."

"Roger."

"Yessir."

"Got it."

"Yep."

Barbara ran along the roof and stood by Nightwing. She desperately needed to talk with him. And she needed to talk with him as soon as possible. She needed to get his opinion before she could decide anything.

"Nightwing, can we talk?" She asked gently.

"Can it wait Batgirl?" Was all he said. He leapt onto a nearby rooftop without waiting for her to answer.

"'Can it wait Batgirl?'" she mocked. "Sure it can wait. I only wanted to tell you that I was pregnant with our child. Oh, no, that can totally wait. It won't completely change our lives."

She rolled her eyes and surveyed the area around her. The target building was really a dump. Every window had been broken and only some were boarded up. Some had been boarded up, but then were ripped down. The remaining glass was filmed over and grimy. A few bricks were missing along the outside. Dick's son was in there. And she was going to get him out.

She shot her grappling hook and swung down to perch on a window ledge.

Dick landed on the lower rooftop and took out his binoculars. He stared at the building through them. He flipped them to thermal mode. The building glowed blue. Frantically, he searched through the building for anyone. Even though he looked for the boy and his captor he was thinking of Barbara.

What did she want to talk about? He wondered.

He wasn't going to lie. He loved Barbara. There was no denying that now. He loved her and craved being in her presence every moment of every day. He loved the way that she attempted to cook, despite her unfortunate skills. He loved the way she laughed at him when he made mistakes, no matter how embarrassed he was at the moment. He loved her. But he couldn't. Not anymore.

That little boy in there was Barbara's son. Barbara's. That would mean that Barbara would find that one guy and she would get married and she would have that little boy and Ellie. And as much as he wished that Babs would pick him to be the one, he knew that it was unlikely. With their jobs and all.

A small red figure caught his attention. He zoomed into the figure. He could make out a small form crouched over. He enhanced the image. He squinted on the image. Jamie was tied to a chair. He zoomed out and looked around the floor to see if anyone else was there. All clear.

Nightwing replaced the binoculars in his utility belt. Time for some action. He took a few steps backwards then took a running leap off of the building. He flew through the night air. He flipped once, twice, before crashing through a boarded window.

Nightwing tumbled a few times inside. He crouched on his knees and looked around.

"Nightwing status," Batman barked.

Nightwing pressed the comm in his ear. "Nothing unusual here. I managed to break through into the building."

"So, that was that crash we heard? Thought you were getting your ass kicked," Wally joked.

"Shut up Baywatch."

"Thanks Artemis."

"Anytime. Now get that little boy out of there."

Just like that Nightwing was alone with his thoughts again. He switched the lenses in his mask. He scanned around looking for his target. He switched his lenses back to normal and started to walk around. He withdrew his duel eskrima sticks and held ready. He looked into rooms as he walked past.

"No! Stay away!"

Nightwing swung around. He'd only been around the boy for a little less than twenty-four hours, but he knew that voice. Jamie. He ran down the hallway and burst into the room at the end. He didn't care about the racket he made.

"No! Stay away! Don't hurt them!" Screamed Jamie.

Nightwing realized that Jamie was asleep and having a nightmare. A pretty bad one at that.

"I'll do what – No! Daddy!"

"Jamie, wake up. You're okay. It'll be alright," Nightwing whispered. He walked over and began to untie the child from the chair. When the boy's hands were free he started hitting everything with his little fists. Tears streamed down his face.

Nightwing gently caught the wrists of his son.

"Jamie, wake up. I've got you. You're safe now," he murmured.

"DADDY!" Jamie shrieked one last time, his eyes flying open. He looked at Nightwing holding him and clutched tightly to him. "Daddy, I'm scared."

Nightwing blinked. Did he-? Did he just-? He shook his head. The boy was obviously in a semi-delusional state. Why else would Jamie call him Daddy?

"It's alright Jamie. I'm here. I'm gonna get you out of here. I'm gonna get you back to your parents," he reassured the boy.

"Are you now?" Snarled a deep voice.

Nightwing stood up, holding the boy close. He held one arm out with an eskrima stick to ward off attack. Jamie feebly clutched his neck.

"You're done terrorizing this little boy. Do you understand?" Nightwing growled. Discreetly he signaled his team to converge on his location.

"Trying to stall are we? A very Bat-family move. Clever. But it won't work. By the time they get to you, both of you will be dead."

"I think that I proved you wrong. Shall we see what else we can prove wrong?" Snarled a female voice from in the dark shadows.

Batgirl stepped out from the shadows looking like she was ready to murder someone.

A/N: Again sorry for the delay! And as always, Review! :D