"Are you feeling better now," Bruce asked.

"Not by much," Dick growled.

He had changed back into his civvies as soon as they zeta'd back to the Batcave. Bruce loaned clothes to Arthur who had decided to join them when Dick nearly collapsed under the impression that Elle was in some kind of danger. But there wasn't a way to explain why three superheroes suddenly swooped down to this particular woman's rescue, so they had paused only to change before they headed out to Bludhaven.

"Do you still believe she needs help," Arthur asked as they piled into one of Bruce's sports cars.

"Yes," Dick answered tightly. "I can't explain it. It's like this feeling that has been plaguing me for the past couple of weeks, but multiplied by a hundred."

Arthur nodded; accepting his vague description as fact.

The car was built for speed, but even it didn't compare to the Batmobile. Too bad there wasn't a plausible reason for the billionaire to drive it. When someone needed help in their civilian personae, it was a bitch that they were limited in what they could do in response to what the average Joe could do. Although they could commandeer Wayne Enterprises' helicopter, it would take just as long to arrange it as it would to just use the Jaguar.

Arthur didn't look especially happy to squeeze himself into the backseat of the sports coupe. If you weren't well over six feet in height, the leg room wasn't half bad, but Aquaman was forced to sit sideways if he didn't want a quick lesson in contortionism.

Although Dick was the shortest of the three, he refused to be confined. He wanted to be the first out as soon as the Jag stopped. Tonight was Friday. It was one of Elle's nights to sing, so the club was where they were heading. He wondered if the sudden fear and pain he had felt meant that some overzealous fanboy tried to force himself on her. He ground his jaw in frustration. Hadn't Donovan promised to hire more bouncers?

Arthur had tried to reassure him that even at one/eighth Atlantian, Elle was likely stronger than the average woman; maybe even as strong as an average male. Dick wasn't nearly so optimistic. Her reflexes and speed were on par with the average woman that he could see while on land, but he admitted that in the water, she was anything but average.

It took far too long before Bruce found parking near Chez Donovan's. Igor was out front, but he frowned at Dick as he bounded for the door, Bruce and Arthur behind him.

"You're wasting your time," the behemoth growled at him.

Dick ignored him and pushed into the club entrance. Shannon was working tonight. She also sent him a frown, coming around the counter to meet him. Dick went straight to the doorway leading into the club and stared. What was Randi doing on stage? Where was Elle?

"She's not here," Shannon grabbed his arm. "You need to leave, now, before Brian sees you."

"Where is she," Dick turned on her; urgency in his voice. "I need to find her!"

Shannon stood her ground. "I don't know what went on between you two, but I think it would better for everyone if you just left her alone. You've hurt her enough."

"I didn't stop texting her; she stopped texting me," Dick stated in his defense, but the guilt was already navel-deep and getting deeper.

"Texting? Seriously? You never even gave her a reason why you stopped taking her calls; stopped coming around, stopped everything!" Shannon poked him in the chest. "We all told her to stop 'texting' you long before she agreed."

Dick opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted when a hand spun him around and a fist slammed into his face.

"You are not welcome here anymore, Mr. Grayson," Brian Donovan snarled at him. Dick stumbled back into Arthur as Bruce stepped in front of his son.

"I told you not to hurt her," Brian continued advancing until Bruce's hands came up to restrain him. "I warned you that she was an innocent. She had no experience with playboys' sons who think nothing of getting they way and then dumping the poor girl by the wayside without even a goodbye."

Dick wiped at the trickle of blood from his split lip. "It wasn't like that, Mr. Donovan! I didn't take advantage of Elle. She overreacted when I was called away." He stood in front of Brian and carefully pushed Bruce aside. "Where is she? I need to find her. Is she home?"

A buzzing stopped Donovan from answering him. He pulled his phone out of his pants pocket and glanced down at it. "I need to take this. You and your father can leave." He glanced at Arthur. "You, too, if you're with them."

Donovan stepped away and put the phone to his ear.

Shannon came over and pulled Dick aside. "She quit a couple of days ago," the hostess told him. "She and Jasmine, one of the backup singers, were here earlier to pick up her things from the dressing room."

"She quit?" Dick gaped at the pretty hostess. "But music is her life! She would never just up and quit. Did her father have anything to do with this?"

Dick knew that Cedric Hamilton had been pressuring Elle to come back to Chicago, but he had been under the impression that the man was going to back off since he recently approved of their relationship.

"What the hell? When?" Donovan's voice rose in surprise. He was still on the phone. "Where are they taking her? Right! Stay with her, Jasmine, until I can get there! You need to call her father. No, I don't know his number; get it from her phone. No, don't call him. She's better off without that dick!" Donovan's eyes flicked over to the three men. "I'll meet you there, Jasmine. I'm on my way!"

Dick grabbed his arm. "What's going on?" That sounded serious, and if Jasmine was with Elle . . . He had a bad feeling about this.

Donovan looked at Shannon. "You need to tell Morris and Frank that I'm going out. I don't know if I'll be back tonight. Have Frank handle the closing."

"What? Wait," Dick spun the man around; grabbing his lapel. "Where are you going?"

"Back off, Mr. Grayson. She doesn't need more stress right now. She needs her friends; the people who care about her." Donovan held onto Dick's wrist, but couldn't get the man to let go.

"I care about her," Dick snarled. "Where is she?"

Donovan blew him off, and stalked out the door. When Dick tried to follow him, Igor stood blocking his way.

"Your boss told us to leave," Dick told him. If they were fast enough they could follow Donovan to Elle.

Igor shook his head. "You can leave after Mr. Donovan drives away."

Shannon came over and took Dick by the arm. He started to resist her, but Igor wasn't going to let him go without a fight; something he really couldn't do a Dick Grayson.

"Do you really have a reason why you've been avoiding her," she asked. Unlike many of restaurant's employees, Shannon knew he was also a cop. "Work related?"

Dick nodded. It wasn't exactly a lie, but neither was it police business, so he kept his mouth shut and let the hostess assume what she would. It wasn't a good excuse, but he knew he would be able to get more information from Shannon if he could get her to forgive him.

"Look, I know Elle doesn't have a lot of experience with men, and it's possible that she overreacted considering what you do for a living, but you can't do this to her again; just disappearing and keeping things from her," Shannon pleaded with him.

"When I told you she was taking this hard, I meant that she can't even function anymore. It's making her ill. If you think for even an instant that this might happen again, then you need to let her go. I can't even imagine how much worse this could be if she forgave you and another misunderstanding happened again."

"Shannon, I need to find her. Is she home or did she go back to Chicago tonight?"

"She said that she was taking her stuff home," Shannon admitted. "She didn't specify whether it was here or Chicago, but I assumed it was her apartment. I doubt she would begin a trip back to Chicago this late."

"Right," Dick gave her a fleeting smile and squeezed her hand in gratitude. "I'll try there first."

"Dick?"

He turned back.

"If you hurt her again," Shannon told him, "it won't be just Mr. Donovan who punches you in the face."

Dick nodded. "Duly noted."

"Don't let them do anything until I get there!"

"Mr. Hamilton, I can't tell them that!" Jasmine gaped at Elle's cell phone. "And I don't think that they would listen to me, anyway."

"Damn it! Just don't allow them to give her any blood yet; not without my approval. Where is Grayson? Why isn't he there?"

Oh, shit! Elle didn't tell daddy that she and Dick had been on the outs? Was she supposed to do it?

"Um, he's not here right now. I haven't been able to contact him yet," she lied. "But Dick wouldn't be able to make decisions for her any more than I can."

"Find him, Ms. Daley. It's imperative. I should be there in another 30 minutes."

Jasmine hung up. She should have told him. How was she going to get Elle's old boyfriend to the hospital? What if he refused? Or took one look at Elle's number and didn't pick up. He hadn't picked up any of her calls in the past several weeks, so why would he start now? Maybe if she called him on her own cell phone? He might pick up if he didn't recognize the number.

She scrolled through Elle's contacts praying that she hadn't deleted Dick's number in a fit of pique. Oh my God, he isn't in here! He wasn't under the D's or the G's . . .

She glanced at the ambulance driver. "What's Dick short for?" God, certainly his mother hadn't given him that name!

The driver glanced back at her and laughed. "Prick?"

She gave him a look. "Seriously?"

He looked abashed, and then cleared his throat. "Um, I don't know. Maybe Richard? You know, like Rick is?"

"That's stupid! How the hell do you get Dick from Richard?" Jasmine grumbled, scrolling through Elle's list to the R's.

"Same way you get Bob from Robert or Billy from William?" He pursed his lips and shrugged.

"Gah! What is wrong with people," she muttered. Richard Sawyer; Richard Whitley, but no Richard Grayson! Elle deleted him! What was she supposed to do now?

She continued scrolling for no other reason than she didn't know what else to do when something caught her eye. Jasmine stopped and scrolled back slowly.

Oh, girl, you didn't . . . Jasmine grinned, despite the situation. She hit the entry entitled 'Sweet Cheeks'.

Taking a risk because if this was the wrong number, she was going to be so embarrassed; Jasmine hit call. If it was the right number, but Dick didn't pick up, she would try again on her own phone.

It was ringing.

"Elle! Elle, is that you? Oh, God, baby, are you all right? Talk to me!" Dick's voice came through the phone after just one ring. He sounded frantic!

Well, good! That asshole should sound frantic after the hell he put Elle through, Jasmine groused in her head. She wouldn't even be calling him if Elle's dad hadn't insisted.

"This is Jasmine, Dick."

"Jas? What are you doing with Elle's phone? Is she all right?" The fear came through the phone easily.

"How did you know something was wrong?" Brian had told her to not call Dick, so who could have told him?

"I've been trying to call her for the last hour. She wouldn't pick up, so I assumed something was wrong." He told her.

"She had her phone off." Jasmine explained. She knew Elle had been avoiding her father for a couple of weeks; maybe to avoid telling the man about her break up?

"Are you at her apartment?" Dick asked.

"No, we're still in the ambulance," Jasmine admitted.

"Wait! What? You're going to the hospital? Which hospital? What happened?" The fear was back in his voice.

"It was crazy. We were walking home from Donovan's when we interrupted a mugging. We're on our way to Mercy General Hospital." She heard him relay the information to someone else.

"We should be there in . . ." Jasmine looked to the driver for confirmation. "How long until we get there?"

"Another three minutes," the driver told her.

"Three minutes," she repeated. "Listen, Dick, I called Elle's father and he requested that you be there. I know you two are on the outs, but do you think you could show up? Just for a little while? Elle's hurt and scared, and she really misses you. Please? I think it would help her get through this to know you are there."

"What? Of course I'll be there! I'm on my way now. And we didn't break up, Jasmine. We've just had a misunderstanding. I went to the club to talk to her and clear things up when I think you must have called Brian." Dick told her. "But he left without telling me what was going on."

"Yeah, well, you aren't on Brian's list of favorite people right now," Jasmine told him sarcastically. She sobered. "Dick, Elle believes you don't care about her anymore. I know you two have only been going out for a short time, but she is taking this so hard it's scary. Look, we're going to be arriving in just a minute so just get yourself here ASAP, okay? Mr. Hamilton is flying in and will be here in another twenty minutes or so."

"Is she hurt bad, Jas? How is she really?"

"It's bad, Dick. You need to hurry. Mr. Hamilton has given me crazy instructions and the doctors aren't going to listen to me, and honestly, I don't think they should! I need you here to either back me up or to tell me to shut up because I don't know what to do!"

The ambulance pulled up to the emergency entrance. The doors to the back opened and suddenly the driver was out the door; helping the paramedics to unload their patient.

"We're here," Jasmine told him, hurrying to catch up. "I've got to go. Please, hurry, Dick! She needs you. Don't let her down."