A/N: After weeks of interruptions, illnesses, and other crises, plus having to handle a succubus determined to take Tim's life force, the Bat Family finally gets a vacation, to the Bahamas, but is it the trip of their dreams? Warning some chapters contain explicit mature themes!

Serpent in Paradise

Part 26

Alfred drove through Gotham after dropping Dick off at the clock tower. He headed south along the main road that led to the Manor. Everyone was leaning back relaxed and glad to be going home. Tim was watching Samantha's face as they drew closer. The Manor came into view and Samantha Clark's eyes grew wide.

"You live there?" Samantha asked as they drove through the gates. 'This place was extravagant. My goodness.'

"Yeah, well Bruce is a billionaire, so, it's home." Tim replied.

"A billionaire? Bruce is a billionaire?" Samantha was astounded. 'I can't accept this. It's going to take my entire life to pay them back.'

"Are you all right?" Tim asked. He couldn't help notice how Samantha's face paled at the mention of Bruce being a billionaire. "It's okay, see Bruce doesn't accept anything in return. In fact, this has been done through the Wayne Foundation, and well, he's left me in charge of that. This is the kind of thing the Foundation does; finds people who are worthy and need assistance. They have all kinds of programs. I help the inner city kids keep out of gangs with a project I call Neon Knights. It's been pretty successful so far. Through the Foundation, you can receive a scholarship to further your education. Please, Bruce wants to help you because you helped me."

"I…I…" Samantha had to catch herself from reverting back to her island accent. It was just too much.

"Let me tell you something. Dick told me this once. When he first came to live with Bruce, he was overwhelmed, too. See, Dick was originally with Haly's Circus. Bruce took him in because, well, he understood what Dick had gone through.

"Dick was part of the circus?" Samantha asked.

"Yes," Tim replied. "He and his parents, they were called the Flying Graysons."

"I've seen a poster of them. It was an old one though."

"He was eight when his parents were killed. I saw it happen. I was between 2 or three, but I never forgot it. Their trapeze broke, both ropes. Dick was on the ground when it happened. It turned out their trapeze had been sabotaged. Bruce understood because his parents were shot. Someone tried to rob them, so he knew how Dick felt."

"So, Bruce understands?" Samantha felt grateful for this family.

"Yes, he does. I know he would, if you tell him. I lost my parents as well, but not all at once. My Mother died when I was 13. She and my dad were prisoners of a voodoo witch doctor while trying to help refugees. My mother drank water that contained poison. My dad was killed later, by a criminal called Captain Boomerang. Bruce took me in and adopted me.

Samantha watched as Tim's aura turned into a sad swirling vortex of pain. 'He must've taking his parents' deaths really hard.'

"Bruce knew my parents before that so it made the transition easier. It wasn't like we were total strangers. My father owned Drake Industries even though he preferred archeology and helping others. Talking about those events isn't easy. It's a year and six months since . . . I guess my pain is still fresh . . . Even with Dick and he's had longer to heal, but you never really forget."

Samantha pulled Tim into a hug. "You need to grieve still."

"Yeah, you could say that," Tim said, not totally admitting. There was more pain than he wanted to admit to, more pain regarding his past that he kept hidden. Tim saw that Alfred was pulling up to the front door. "Come on. I'll show you around." Before Tim could take Samantha's hand Damian grasped him by the shirt and leaned against him. "What is it Damian?"

Tim noticed Damian had this strange look in his eyes as if he never saw the place before. Amnesia? "What's the matter? You know this is home, don't you?"

"Home?" Damian said the word like he was trying on a new pair of shoes for the first time and wondering if they fit.

"Yes, home. With Father, Alfred, Dick, and Jason, though Jason doesn't always stay. And me."

Damian stared at the front doors of the Manor again. It did feel familiar. He hopped out of the car and slowly headed up to the doors.

"You should keep an eye on him since he seems more comfortable with you," Bruce said to Tim.

"Come on Damian. I'll take you up to your room," Tim said as he grabbed Damian's hand.

"No," Damian protested. 'I want to explore." He headed to the east wing."

'I think I better keep an eye in him like Bruce said,' Tim thought with concern. "Alfred can show you to a room." Tim added to Samantha."

"Okay," Samantha replied a little less than enthusiastic. She was overwhelmed with the house, but she could not help watching Tim as he followed Damian.

Damian made his way down the hallway. Something was drawing him to there. He ended up in the Wayne family chapel. Tim followed Damian as quickly as he could. "Hey, your room isn't over here."

"No." Damian passed a vase and pressed on a wall. A passage way popped open. What's in here?"

'He's heading to Martha Wayne's art studio,' Tim thought. "Damian, do you remember this place?"

Damian walked up the stairs and got greeted by a lot of artwork. Everything felt natural. He felt at peace here. He walked over to the table and started to sift through some of the artwork. He found one piece that looked familiar.

"Damian, can you stay here by yourself for a moment? I want to talk to Father," Tim stated. He used Damian's term for Bruce once again because the 11-year-old boy was most familiar with the term.

"Okay."

Tim went and found Bruce. He was talking to Alfred about putting Samantha in the room next to Jason. "Bruce?"

"The room next to Jason is empty, so it would be perfect. I don't want to put her in the East wing. It would be too isolating. What is it Tim?" Bruce asked.

"I think Damian may have some selective amnesia."

"How so?"

"He didn't recognize the manor as home at first," Tim explained. "And yet, he went straight to your mother's art studio."

"That does not sound good. I think we need to have Dr. Leslie do some tests. We'll take him in tomorrow."

"I'm going to stay close to him for now," Tim stated. "See if there is anything I can learn." Tim headed back to the art studio in the East wing. He didn't mean to abandon Samantha, but Damian needed him and Tim needed to learn more.

Damian heard Tim come back up the stairs. "Timmy doesn't this look like Auntie Samantha?" Damian held up a sketch.

Tim's eyes grew wide when he got a good look at the drawing, forgetting for the moment that Damian used his nickname instead of calling him by his last name like he normally would do. It looked exactly like Samantha. How did Martha Wayne know what Samantha looked like?

"Yeah," Damian smiled. "This is Auntie Samantha, right."

"Is there anything written on the back?" Tim asked.

Damian handed the picture to Tim so he could examine it. Tim turned the drawing over. "There is something written here. It says Island Girl. There is a little more, but it's a little faded. I think we need some better light."

"Flick the light switch," Damian suggested. "It's over there on the wall."

"Thanks," Tim smirked. He could have done that himself. He went over and turned on the light and read the script. Chills ran up his spine. 'Island girl . . .aura healer . . . Red bird's heart . . . And . . . The rest is too faded to make it out.' The message, however, was clear.

"What does it say? Is she supposed to be with us?"

"Looks like it little D. Damned if I know how Martha Wayne knew. What brought you up here?"

Damian shrugged. "I don't know. I just remembered that this is my room."

"You did mention about moving up here. Did Father okay it?" Tim asked.

"I don't remember. I think he said okay."

"That had to have been . . . Oh boy . . . Now I remember . . . I'd rather forget about that," Tim blushed. "Yeah, maybe it would be good for you to have your own space. You can really practice your art up here. Do you think we should show Samantha this?" Tim asked, pointing to the drawing.

"I want to show her," Damian went to grab the sketch from him.

"Careful! We don't want to tear it. Maybe we can figure out what the last line says. I'm thinking the first word begins with an N but I can't be sure." Tim handed it to Damian. "Be very gentle with it. It's pretty brittle paper." The image got Tim thinking about whom else Martha Wayne might have drawn. 'Looks like we're going to be looking through more of Martha Wayne's drawings in the future.'

"Where's auntie at?" Damian headed down the stairs.

"She might be in the living room," Tim said, sheepishly. 'I'm going to have to apologize for leaving her alone. This place can be overwhelming.'

Damian trotted back down to the living room. Samantha was looking around with a glass of juice in her hand. She was examining the photographs sitting on the piano when Damian approached. "Auntie Samantha look! It's you!"

Samantha put her glass of juice down just in time to have her arms full of Damian.

Tim caught up to Damian and approached Samantha. "I'm sorry for running off. I was going to give you a tour, but thought it was better to keep an eye on Damian. Anyway . . . He wanted to show you something that he found."

Samantha gently took the paper away from him and stared at it. 'It's me. In the drawing Samantha saw she had her hands in front of herself. They were glowing. "Who...who did this?"

"Read the back," Tim stated. "Maybe you can make out the last line. It was drawn by Bruce's mother Martha Wayne."

Samantha turned the drawing over and carefully scrutinized the description. "This...this is the island girl, she's taken Red bird's heart. She's an aura healer . . . I can't make out the last part. It's too faded."

"I can't make it out either." Tim added. 'Bruce could with the resources in the cave, but I don't dare reveal that. Not yet. Not unless . . .'

"How…how did she know...I can do that?" Samantha asked. "I really didn't know I could heal aura's . . . I . . ."

"Damian thinks it's you," Tim stated. The look on Damian's face caused him to pause. "Excuse me, Damian may I see you for a moment." Tim went out to the hall and led Damian into Bruce's study.

"Yes?"

"What was that look you just gave me?" Tim asked.

"What are you talking about?" Damian stated confused."

"You gave a look that said without a doubt that picture is her. But there's a problem."

"There is no problem, that's her!"

"That's not the problem," Tim exclaimed. "Red bird's heart? That obviously refers to me. I'm the only one of this clan that uses Red as part of my BIRD Name. Problem is she doesn't know."

"Well, tell her," Damian stated, calmly. "I don't see an issue with that. You two are obviously close to each other. I'm pretty sure she can keep a secret."

"What act are you playing? You just sounded like your old self."

Damian rubbed my head. It was starting to hurt. "Don't yell at me."

"I can't tell her I'm Red Robin not without revealing everyone else, Robin."

"Caine I lay down now?" Damian went to lean on Tim. "My head hurts. And I feel sick. Am I supposed to feel sick?"

Tim was snapped out of the argument. "You've got a concussion. We need to get you treated for that right away."

"I . . . I don't want to be taken down there. Can I lay with Auntie Samantha?"

Damian was sounding like the little kid again, which worried Tim. "Why don't you want to go to the cave? You know that's where the medical bay is and Alfred can help you." Tim knelt down in front of his brother. "Damian, you have to tell me what's going on."

"My head hurts, and I feel weird, like there is two of me. I feel I should act a certain way, but . . ." Damian rubbed at his head.

'Samantha said his aura was chipped, like a piece of himself was broken off,' Tim thought. "Damian, how does Aunt Samantha make you feel?"

"I feel better . . . safe," Damian replied.

"Yeah . . . I do know what you mean, but I don't think she can heal you in the same way she healed me. And she did heal me. I don't know how she did it, but she did."

"Am I broken?"

"Your head is hurting, right? I have an idea. It may sound crazy, but if we can get Samantha to pose in the same fashion as in the drawing . . ." Tim grabbed Damian by the hand and headed back to the living room. "Come on little brother. I think I know how to heal you."

Damian let Tim guide him back out to Samantha. He was quick to cuddle up to her.

"Damian, why don't you sit on the floor right at her feet," Tim instructed. "Samantha, I'd like to try something."

"Okay." Samantha waited as Damian sat facing her. He looked as if he was in pain. "What do you need me to do?"

"I'd like you to place your hands on either side of his head, but don't touch him. Feel him, like you did with me." Tim sat on the floor behind Damian to support him. Something was telling Tim Damian was going to need it. "Now focus your energy on the part that is broken. I know you can see it in your mind. This time focus on bringing the pieces together."

Samantha hovered her hands on either side of Damian's head. She focused on his aura. It was like it needed to be sewn together to be fixed. She reached for both ends in her mind, letting the energy come to her hands. They were glowing a bit. It surprised her and she didn't want to get excited then mess up. Samantha grabbed the pieces that were torn and brought them together, like the pieces of a puzzle. She held them together and focused a bit more, feeling the pieces mold together. Damian fell back against Tim. Once Samantha was done, she let go, stopped focusing, then darkness claimed her.

Tim needed to know if what Samantha had done worked first before he could check on her. "Damian, hey little brother, wake up. We're home."

Damian felt someone shaking him. "Stop it or I'll break your fingers." He swatted at the offending hand.

Tim grabbed Damian and hugged him. 'IT WORKED! I got my brother back! She did it!'

"DRAKE! Unhand me!" Damian tried to wiggle free.

Tim continued to hug Damian for another minute or two. Then he moved over to Samantha. She was unconscious and laying on the couch. The energy drain must have been too much for her. "Samantha, Sammie," Tim coaxed as he brushed her hair away from her face. "Come on honey. Wake up." Tim leaned in and kissed her on the mouth. "Please, you did it. You healed Damian." Tim gave her another kiss. "Please, wake up my island girl." This girl had stolen his heart and he hoped it wasn't breaking.

Samantha tried to shake herself awake. Opening her eyes she blinked slowly. She was face to face with Tim. "Tim, did it work?"

"It did. He's healed. You did it." Tim was aware that Damian was staring at the two of them somewhat confused.

"Yay go me," Samantha smiled weakly. She looked over at Damian. "Are you okay?"

"What are you two going on about?" Damian had this urge to go over and hug Samantha.

Tim looked at the mantle clock. It was after 2:00 in the afternoon. "Dick, Jason, and Sasha will be back for dinner at six. We have just enough time to take a nap. Alfred set aside a room for you next to Jason. Want me to carry you?"

"Please," Samantha pleaded. "I don't think I can walk." Healing Damian had taken a lot out of her. 'If I'm going to do this, I should practice more.'

Damian still had a confused look as if he wasn't sure what happened and how we got home. He was even confused at seeing Samantha. Damian was going to ask what happened, but he felt tired all of a sudden. "Can we discuss what happened during dinner tonight? I'm going to take a nap also."

"Sure," Tim picked up Samantha and carried her up the stairs and into the bedroom next to Jason's room. Her suitcase was already in the room. "Here you go, my island girl . . . Is there anything else?" Tim placed her in the center of the bed.

"Take a nap with me?" Samantha smiled back. It was as if Tim was taking pride in calling her his island girl. It made her feel special.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Come. Lay down." Samantha tried to pull Tim next to her.

Tim crawled in beside her as Samantha continued to pull on his shirt. He held her in my arms and she rested her head on his shoulder. Samantha started to hum a small tune her mom used to sing to her to get her to fall asleep faster. As Samantha hummed a tune Tim started singing the words.

Samantha was surprised to know that Tim knew the song. "How you know an Island song? Have you heard it before?"

"My housekeep would sing it to me to help me fall asleep when I would have nightmares. A woman taught it to her. It was several months after I had witnessed the Grayson's deaths. She was hoping the song would soothe me. It would, but something always felt missing, like the voice was all wrong."

"Usually lovers would sing it to each other, but some of the words change when children sing it or its a lullaby for them." Samantha grasped Tim's hand in her own.

"I can see why. It's a beautiful song. Funny a few times my housekeeper sang it to me I would dream about a girl on an island looking northward across the water. The song reminded me of that."

"Did the girl in your dreams look like me?"

Tim looked closely at Samantha and recalled the dream. 'This was either some coincidence . . . Or my dream really did come true,' Tim thought. "She looked exactly like you . . . My dream . . . Somehow came true . . . My island girl . . . You really are my island girl."

Samantha cuddled closer to him. "Yeah? I'm glad I'm her then. I feel as if you're too good for me, like this is all a dream. I'm going to wake up and be back in that room Devlin kept me in."

"No . . . I won't let him," Tim declared. *Then he remembered that Devlin was returning to Gotham, to pay his respects. 'He's got to know we've escaped. Maybe it's high time Red Robin looks into his whereabouts.'

Samantha leaned up and placed a kiss on Tim's lips. "Be with me when I wake up?"

"Always."

Samantha gave a content sigh and let her eyes close.

Tim was soon drifting off to sleep, dreaming of soft ocean breezes and swaying palm trees, and an island girl, looking north across the water.

Continues with Part 27