PROLOGUE

"It's official, dude," Wally glanced over towards the driver. "You've turned into Batman."

The statement yanked Dick out of his thoughts and back into the present. He glanced away from the road long enough to send a questioning look at his best friend and passenger, Wally West.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Wally slurped his 44 oz. soda. "It means that you're brooding - Again."

Again? Dick sighed. He couldn't help it. Ever since he and Babs had broken up this last time, he just couldn't seem to shake the funk that had come over him. Always, there had been something holding them back, keeping their relationship from progressing onward. The last argument had been an ongoing one they had had throughout their stormy, on again/off again relationship: his constant need to seek Bruce's approval.

"Sorry, Wally. I know what with all the changes in our lives we don't get the opportunity to just hang out together like we used to and now I'm ruining it."

Wally turned concerned eyes toward his companion. The line creasing Dick's brow hadn't been there last time they'd been together. "You're not ruining it, but you do seem down this time. What's up?"

"It's nothing, I promise," Dick said, turning on the radio. Music poured out of the speakers, loud enough to prevent easy conversation.

Wally reached over, turning it off.

Damn it! Dick thought, sighing. He didn't want to screw up this rare get-together talking about his problems.

"Dick, come on. It's me here." Turning in his seat as far as the seat belt would allow, Wally reminded him, "We've always been able to talk about anything."

"It's - Look, I'm fine. Forget about it."

"Spill it, hunk wonder," Wally teased.

"Don't call me that!" Dick snapped.

Wally blinked. It was an ongoing joke between them. Girls had always adored Dick in his alter ego, Robin, but especially since he had gone through puberty. Wally had often teased his friend that it was those hot pants he used to wear as Robin that made the girls swoon, although as Nightwing, Dick still managed to find more than his fair share female groupies.

"Ah, woman troubles, eh?"

Dick's lips whitened as his mouth tightened. "Babs troubles."

"Wait, what? When did you two got back together?" Last Wally heard, the couple had split up eight months ago. This time had been particularly hard as Barbara had returned Dick's ring. Wally respected the woman who had been Batgirl and was now making her mark against criminals as Oracle, a kind of all-purpose superhero information hotline, since being paralyzed by one of Joker's bullets. Unfortunately, she seemed to throw a wrench into Dick's life as often as she did with criminals.

"No, we didn't." While the statement was flat and unemotional, the tic in Dick's jaw said it was otherwise.

Wally took a chance being honest with his friend. "You know, if Babs were the right one for you, she wouldn't keep putting you through this hell every other year."

"We just have to work through a couple of issues . . ."

"Dude, look. There will always be issues. You don't just give a guy back his ring every time a new one crops up."

"This is an old one," Dick offered. "It's my fault, really, something that I need to fix. Once I figure out how to manage it, we'll get back together and then, everything will be perfect."

"Your fault? It's not that thing about Bruce again, is it?" Disgusted, Wally looked out the window, but the view was wasted on him when his friend was hurting.

"She has a point, Wally, and you know it. I need to grow up, start living my life without worrying about what Bruce thinks of me. I'm still working through my 'daddy' issues."

Disbelieving, Wally gaped across the car. "Seriously? That's what she said? Bruce raised you; he trained you, made you his partner and his heir, and finally adopted you as his own son, not that you haven't been exactly that from he took you in . . . It isn't wrong for you to want Bruce's approval or to want to make him proud. I still look for Uncle Barry's approval, too, you know. Batgirl has had a problem with doing things Batman's way from the first day she put on the tights and cape. As a result, she expects you to choose her side and holds it against you if you don't."

Wally watched Dick's depression morph into a scowl. Crap! Did he really say that out loud? It's been something he had believed for a long time but never had the nerve to say before. Dick had been in love with Barbara since he was fifteen so, for selfish reasons, Wally had always bitten his tongue when it came to her. After all, criticizing a girlfriend was a surefire way to end a friendship.

"No, that can't be it," Dick argued. "She works with him too closely for that to be true. This is more about me."

"Stop it! This isn't about you, Wally snapped. "Look, you and Bruce have finally worked through your problems and are speaking to each other again. Since the two of you have come to terms, you are calmer, more sure of yourself, happier even . . . At least you were until Barbara dumped you. If anyone has a problem, Dick, it's Barbara, not you."

"I know she still loves me, though," Dick whispered.

Seeing the sheen in his friend's eyes, Wally made himself calm down. "Okay, maybe you're right. I just can't help thinking that whatever her issues with Bruce are, they're more important to her than whatever love she has is for you."

Shocked, Dick stared at him a moment. A car horn blared, making him swerve back into his own lane. He pulled into a parking lot before he got them both killed.

"She doesn't hate Bruce," he insisted, shifting the car into park.

"I never said she hated him, but, as long as she has a problem with him, she's going to expect you to have one with him as well." Reaching over, Wally took Dick's hand as a way to emphasize what he was saying. "I saw what those years of being estranged did to you. Not only that, but it kept you away from Tim and Alfred, too. Is it fair of her to demand you choose between her and your family? Is love so selfish that it cannot share you with the most important people in your life?"

Dick dropped his head back against the headrest, rubbing his face with his hands. Was this just a way of handling the emotions and stress or was he scrubbing away tears? In the entire time, Wally knew him, he had only witnessed his friend losing it twice. Seeing Dick this unhappy hurt Wally, too. He just didn't want to lose his friend because of his stance over what Wally had come to believe was an unhealthy relationship.

He tried another tack. "What has Bruce said about all of this? I assumed you've talked with him about it, or maybe to Alfred . . ."

"I haven't talked with him about it other than to tell him that we broke up."

"What did he say to that?" Being the other side of the issue, Wally often wondered what Bruce had to say about Barbara.

"Nothing," Dick snorted. "You know how Bruce is. He nodded and grunted, his way of acknowledging what I said then, continued as if nothing happened."

When it came to his first partner, Wally knew that Bruce wasn't as uncaring as he sometimes appeared. Although it wasn't always obvious, the man loved Dick Grayson as his own son and, because of that, Wally knew he would have an opinion on the matter. For whatever reason, Bruce was keeping it to himself. Perhaps, he felt the same fear that I've had, Wally decided. He didn't want to risk being critical about Barbara and losing Dick as a result.

"Alfred?"

"Alfred's been surprisingly mum about it as well," Dick admitted.

"Well, you can't just sit here waiting for Barbara to change her mind," Wally pleaded. "You're stagnating. You're going to have to move on whether you want to or not. It's been eight months since you two broke up. Have you even been out with anyone since then?"

Dick laughed dryly. "No, but crime's down in Bludhaven."

Wally rolled his eyes. Without warning, the speedster slapped Dick on the arm. "You know what you need?"

Dick eyed him suspiciously. "I'm almost afraid to ask."

"You need to get laid."

Tension drained out of the car as the two men burst out laughing.

"Seriously. I know this girl . . ."

Dick held up his hand. "Stop."

"Right. What I meant to say is that Linda knows this girl . . ."

"No offense, Walls, but I don't want you introducing me to anyone, even Linda's friends, but," he sighed, "but, I'll admit that maybe you're right - this time."

"I am?" Wally grinned. It wasn't often that he was right. "Of course, I am. You know, there was this scientific study that proves that sex relieves tension by releasing these endorphins . . ."

"Not that part, idiot," Dick laughed briefly before sobering. "What I meant to say is that . . . maybe I should start dating again."

"Good for you! Just promise me something first."

Dick's brow wrinkled curiously. "Yeah, okay. What's that?"

"No redheads!"