A word not generally used will be found here – Just a head's up! Welcome to the conclusion of "The Bridge" – Part 3. Not the end of the story, just the end of the scene . . .

The Batmobile skidded to a halt at the Gotham side of the Fourteenth Street Drawbridge. The cops had the entire road blocked off, obviously to prevent the crooks from escaping. The gunfire indicated that the men were desperate enough to continue to fight although the only end for them was prison or a body bag.

Batman and Robin leaped from the car and vaulted over the police cars. The officers themselves startled, but gave them no trouble. Indeed, many of them appeared relieved for the backup. Red Robin's cycle weaved through the maze of vehicles undeterred by the roadblock. He was able to pull ahead of Batman once through the line of cars.

With no supports to use, their grapple guns were worthless on the drawbridge. They had no choice but to run. Batman's longer legs allowed him to pull ahead of Robin, though not by more than a few feet. As they topped the slight rise that marked the center of the bridge, Batman could suddenly see the action ahead of him. The sounds of gunfire grew louder with each slap of his boots. The vast number of flashing lights up ahead was an epileptic's nightmare!

Despite all that was happening, Batman's eyes searched the tangle of cars that littered the bridge between them and the firefight. A few people had remained in their cars whether from fear or from injury, he couldn't tell. One or two were hunkered down on the near side of the cars, using the vehicles as protection from whatever stray bullets came their way. Most ran towards the safety of the police roadblock. He saw one or two people lying alongside their cars as well; victims of either the wreck or a bullet, he didn't know and he didn't stop to find out.

It wasn't until they neared the firefight that he recognized what was left of his Aston Martin Vanquish. It pressed against the railings of the bridge, but had been unable to punch through the stressed metal. No one was in the vehicle. Batman's eyes continued to search, perhaps a little desperately now, for a familiar figure dressed as he was.

There!

A hole in the bridge's railing marked the spot where some unlucky car had plunged to the river below. Silhouetted against the backdrop of the Bludhaven docks, was a hunched figure of a weeping woman, and near her knelt the form of Batman.

Although he knew that Dick hadn't brought any gear with him, Batman couldn't believe that he wouldn't do something to help the police take down the gunmen. Dick would think nothing about risking his own life to protect the lives of his brothers in blue, and yet, there he knelt, unmoving. Fear coursed through his veins. Why wasn't he moving? This was what Alfred had been trying to relay through the comm earlier, that something was wrong with Dick. He wanted to go to him immediately, but they were all at risk as long as those gunmen continued to fight.

Red Robin had joined the fray, however. Already the sounds of gunfire had decreased dramatically. The police had stopped firing in fear of hitting the young vigilante. The only guns firing now were those of the gunmen. Robin hesitated at the sight of the lone Batman figure hunched on the road, but then attacked the fight ahead of him with angry vigor; joining Red Robin in his effort to stop the gunmen for good. Already the gunfire had lessened as Red Robin neutralized one threat. One down, one vehicle of bad guys left to go. With the two boys on top of their game, this left Batman the freedom to check on his eldest son.

He moved the last few feet slowly, so as not to startle Dick. He was far too close to the edge for comfort. Any sudden movement could send him tumbling into the blackness beneath them. He held his hand out, reaching until he grasped Dick's shoulder, and pulled him back away from the hole in the rails.

"Are you okay," Batman asked, careful to not use Dick's name.

Dick looked up at him, but was unresponsive; the little skin that was exposed was incredibly pale. Damn! Batman couldn't see behind the white lenses that shielded his son's cerulean blue eyes from the world at large. He flicked up the lenses, placing his body between Dick's and the woman now behind him.

Nobody was home, he thought, fearfully. Glassy, blue eyes looked at him, but didn't see him. Batman ran his hands over the younger man, searching for signs of injury or blood. High up on one shoulder was a tear in the cloth. Blood seeped sluggishly from the minor gunshot wound. The costume hid whatever other injuries Dick might have sustained, however. No broken bones that he could tell. But there was something wrong. Dick was in shock, but the question was why?

Batman pulled the cape around his son's shoulders more closely, to block the chill from the bitter wind. The Bat suit would work to mitigate the cold. He wasn't worried about hypothermia, but shock could lower blood pressure dangerously, and warmth would help his boy's body cope.

He looked around him now. The weeping woman was moaning, but Batman couldn't tell from here what injuries she might have sustained in the car crash. He was assuming that it was her car that went through the guardrail. He looked to find other bodies, living or dead, but frowned when there was no familiar figure of Elle's white Nightwing costume anywhere.

He decided to risk it. No one was around except the woman who appeared to be near catatonic in her hysteria.

"Dick," he whispered, harshly. "Dick, talk to me! What happened?" Batman had to give him a shake, and call his name louder to reach his son through the fog. "Talk to me! What happened? Dick, where is Elle?"

The concern the young woman had exhibited for his son's feelings earlier made it difficult to believe that Elle would run away and leave him in such a state. But then again, people often acted out of character in life-threatening situations. Perhaps she was just fine, sitting in the back of one of the patrol cars he had passed coming in. But it didn't feel right to him; that scenario.

"Dick, Where is Elle?"

As he watched, Dick's eyes focused on him. His son frowned as if confused, and then crumpled into despair. "S-she . . . she jumped." Dick stammered. "The car fell, and she jumped in after it."

Batman's head jerked around to stare at the broken guardrail in disbelief. They were easily four-stories up! Perhaps she fell in, because he could not imagine a scene in which a woman would willingly throw herself into a freezing river from this height unless she was mentally unstable enough to commit suicide. Batman knew he was not so bad a judge of character or unable to read people that he wouldn't have pegged Elle as a suicide in seconds of meeting her.

"You mean that she fell in?" Batman felt the need to clarify. He would have to see the Commissioner about getting the river dragged. God! Dick had just found her . . . What kind of cruel bitch was Fate to take the woman away from his boy so soon?

"She jumped," Dick began yelling. "She jumped in after the car! She jumped!"

Batman blinked at Dick's vehemence. His story didn't change, however, despite his obvious mental confusion. "Why would she jump? I'm assuming the woman over there is the one from the vehicle. Why would Elle jump when the woman is safe?"

"The baby," he muttered, his mouth turning down miserably. "She went in after the baby."

Batman's eyes widened. That would explain a lot. If there was a child still in the car, Elle might have mistakenly thought she could save it. He had never guessed when he got up that morning that he would be ending the day with two bodies; those of a child and the woman Dick had fallen in love with.

"I couldn't reach her," Dick cried. "I tried, Bruce! Two inches! I missed her by only two fucking inches!"

Batman slapped a glove hand over his son's mouth. He glanced around, but they were safe at the moment. No one was close enough to hear, not even the mother. But he needed to get Dick out of here before he inadvertently blurted out anyone else's secret identity.

"Shh, I know you tried. I'm so sorry, son," he crooned softly in Bruce's voice. Dick leaned his head against Batman's shoulder as if the energy he needed just to remain upright had all but failed him.

Dick nodded. Bloody tears leaked from beneath the cowl. Ah, Batman thought, there was the other injury. The cowl had hidden it from view, and the material must have absorbed a good amount of the blood, until the tears had given it away. He wanted to push the cowl out of the way, but he had already acted so far out of character that he couldn't risk it. People would notice the person that Batman had singled out for special attention, the person he chose to help instead of confronting the crooks; the person he had passed others by to reach.

The gunfire had ceased. Batman hadn't even noticed when that had happened, so intent on Dick he had been. But as he looked up, he could see Robin and Red Robin trotting up to them, concern written across both of their faces so blatantly that no mask could hide it.

"How is he," Red Robin asked as soon as he was close enough he didn't need to shout.

"In shock," Batman explained. "Grazed by a bullet, and a possible head injury beneath the cowl. I cannot be certain of any other injuries until we get him home."

Robin stood closer than he needed to, but otherwise remained silent. Worried though he may be, Damian was more likely to deny the emotion than to make a scene.

Red Robin was searching the area. "Where's Elle," he asked, quietly so as not to be overheard.

Not wanting to explain out loud, Batman tilted his head in the direction of the river. Batman could almost see Tim eyes widen behind his lenses. He ran over to the edge of the bridge and looked down.

"Oh, my God," he whispered, horrified. "Are you kidding me?"

"the gunmen are taken care of," Batman asked, verifying what he already surmised.

"Yes," Robin answered finally. "There were gunmen in both cars; three in each. The police are taking them away even now."

Batman nodded. "We need to get him home. He's too confused at the moment to be trusted not to call any of us by name."

"But what about . . .," Red Robin waved a hand at the dark waters.

"Later. I'll call the Commissioner and make arrangements. Go get your bike, and meet us back at the cave," Batman instructed.

A commotion sounded behind them, in the direction of Gotham. People were cheering. Three of the masked men exchanged glances. What was going on now?

In a moment, they could see a white figure making its way toward them at a trot. A policeman came running up to her, blanket in hand. He wrapped the green material around her shoulders. He tried to take whatever it was she was hunched over from her arms, but she jerked away from him. When she looked up, the now familiar white mask greeted them. She started running.

"Elle?" Dick was staring at the miracle making her way toward them. "Elle!" He pulled away from the supporting arms of Batman and Robin, and began running. Alert now when only moments before he had been almost completely unresponsive.

Batman and Robin moved quickly to catch up. News reporters were making their way around the police barricade now that the danger had passed. They had only moments to secure the two before their secrets were broadcasted across television screens citywide.

The fog of despair that had been clouding Dick's mind lifted at the sight of a soggy, dripping figure with his emblem emblazoned on the front of her tunic. Part of his mind was questioning how it was she was alive, but the rest of him simply rejoiced that God had given her back to him, apparently none the worse for wear. As he neared her, he saw yet another miracle appear in her arms.

"I-is . . . Is that the baby from the car," he asked, incredulous.

She nodded, grinning at him happily. She cuddled the shivering infant closer. Dick was in awe . . . The child was alive! Cold, but alive! It was making cranky, fussing noises; a weak cry which he supposed it was entitled to after its brush with death.

"I need to get it to its mother," she said. It was finally bright enough on the bridge to see more than a shadow in her arms. Elle stared down at the pink jumper and limp, soggy bow. "Her! I need to get her to her mother," she smiled.

Dick readjusted the blanket over her shoulders, wrapping his girlfriend and her precious cargo up so as to block the wind that was stronger on the bridge than it had been on the shore. They made their way back toward the huddled figure of the young mother.

Red Robin swerved to a stop in front of them on his motorcycle. "Oh, my God, are you all right," he asked them both.

Elle looked up, startled by the appearance of one of Gotham's heroes. She blinked. "Is that a costume or are you the real deal?"

Red Robin seemed to remember that she didn't know him in this guise. "Both," he grinned. "Need a lift?"

Elle glanced at Dick. Now that she was here in his arms and the child moments away from being reunited with its mother, she suddenly felt the loss of the adrenaline that had kept her going since the adventure began. Her knees became wobbly and her arms began shaking. "Oh, I don't know that I could hang on right now. C-could you take her back to her mother," she asked, handing the bundle off to the young hero before she could drop her. "Tell her to take her to the emergency room. I had to give her rescue breaths to revive her. She will need to be checked over."

Red Robin quickly pulled his cape around the small bundle of pink and precious in his arms. He watched the amazing woman sag against his brother. "Of course, ma'am," he nodded. "You did an incredible thing. Thank you." He carefully turned the cycle back the way he came, drove back toward where the mother was receiving medical attention at last. He slowed only to show Batman and Robin the bundle he carried, and moved on, eager to return the child to her mother.

Batman slowed upon approach. "Are you two . . ."

"We're better now, Batman, thank you," Dick answered for them both. His eyes seemed clearer now. His voice was strong and his confusion of earlier absent. There was still blood seeping out from beneath the cowl, but like the graze on his shoulder, it looked to be easing on its own.

Elle gaped at him, recognizing the genuine article in front of her. She also had blood running down her face, mingling with the water from the river. For being in a car accident and diving from a four story bridge into frigid water, she looked remarkably fit. She was shivering violently now and appeared exhausted, but she was still standing on her own two feet. He hadn't been mistaken about the strength he had sensed in her the previous night. Batman thought she had earned a rare gift tonight.

"You did well, tonight," he rumbled, allowing a true smile to briefly grace the face beneath the cowl. "You saved that child."

Elle returned the smile shyly. "My boyfriend actually did the saving," indicating Dick beside her, startling everyone. "He pulled the mother from the car just seconds before it went over the side of the bridge. If he hadn't torn out the driver's side window, I would never have been able to reach the child in time. I couldn't budge the doors."

Dick stared at her, incredulous. "You dived into the water after the baby, not I!"

She kissed his cheek. "He's so modest," she declared, smiling. "He's actually an off-duty officer from Bludhaven's police force."

Robin looked from the couple to Batman and then back again. He kept his opinion to himself, which was fortunate because at that moment, they were all rushed by reporters.

Dick's senses seemed to have returned to him enough, that Batman was no longer afraid all their secrets would be exposed. He appeared to be letting Elle handle the media, giving them the truth, which for once wouldn't reveal anything. Just Dick Grayson, off-duty cop, and his girlfriend getting caught up in the drama while on their way to a big Halloween bash on the other side of town.

Dick's Batman costume distracted them enough that he could back out of the fray. He and Robin moved out of the way as unobtrusively as possible, hoping to be gone before the rabid reporters realized they had disappeared.

Batman and Robin would head to the cave, and Bruce Wayne would reappear in order to pick up his eldest son and his girlfriend from the local emergency room. All's well that ends well tonight, thank God. Tomorrow, however, would be another day, and he was anxious to verify Dick's health and get the story in full. He had no doubts that it would be a very interesting tale, indeed.

All kinds of questions should be popping up now . . . Good. The answers are coming, but all in good time.