Warning: Language . . .

Dick looked past Shannon's shoulder, scowling. He had waited for her but Elle hadn't come home before it was time for her to perform, so he came to the club to see her. It was too bad that she wasn't here for him to see! He glared at the stage.

"Why is Randi up there?" he asked the hostess. "Elle's supposed to be performing tonight."

"She didn't tell you she was going to the recording studio today?" Shannon looked at him like he was a slug.

Dick turned his scowl on her. Yes, Elle did, but not that it would take all day but he didn't think that Shannon required an explanation. "No, she didn't," he lied, just to annoy her. "My work schedule hasn't given us much time to eat together, let alone talk. Why don't you fill me in?"

He knew Shannon, at least initially, liked him well enough but since that stupid three week separation, it was like she was expecting Dick to act like an asshole and disappear again. She was prepared for the next big break up and had been treating Dick accordingly when Elle wasn't latched onto his arm and acting as a buffer between them. Well, it wasn't going to happen!

"She promised Daniel Carr that she'd do his background vocals on his new CD. They've been at the recording studio all day. When it looked like it was going to extend into her show time, Elle called Randi in as a favor." Shannon shrugged.

Dick blinked. "Who the hell is Daniel Carr? That's not our waiter, is it?"

"Daniel is a singer. And no, he isn't your waiter," Shannon snarked.

"Good, because I liked him. I would really hate to see his car get impounded by mistake," he sniped. "So, why I haven't met this guy?"

"Like I would know that?" Shannon pushed him aside so that she could greet the next group that came in. "Hello! Welcome to Chez Donovan's! Come in and enjoy the show," Shannon said as she took their cover charge and gave them all a hand stamp.

"So . . . Elle's in . . . Gotham City?" Dick stared at her as he made the connection. Bludhaven didn't have a recording studio but Gotham City did.

Shannon turned back to him. "Yes, of course she is, at the recording studio there," she repeated the information as she would to a particularly dim-witted three year old.

"How did she manage to get there?" Dick wondered aloud.

"Daniel took her. Don't worry," Shannon grinned, evilly in Dick's opinion. "Those two are old friends. Like this," she said, holding up two fingers crossed. "I'm sure Daniel will be more than happy to give her a ride home."

Shannon shivered in reaction to the glare he gave her.

"You're not jealous, are you?"

"No," Dick snapped. "I'm not jealous!"

"Okay," Shannon quipped. "Because you were looking a little green there, you know," she traced a circle in the air in front of her eyes.

"She should have been home by now though, shouldn't she?" Dick glanced at his watch. "I mean, she was gone before I got home at three this afternoon."

Shannon gave him a look. "Do I look like I know anything about making an album? You could ask Randi but she's kind of busy. You're welcome to wait but there's a cover charge if you weren't here for dinner."

"I've never paid a cover charge before," Dick complained.

"That's because you were always here as a guest of the entertainer," Shannon smirked and made a show of looking around her. "But I don't see her anywhere."

"You," Dick narrowed his eyes and told her in a calm voice, although he was feeling anything but calm, "are a bitch."

Shannon shrugged, unconcerned. "I always thought she forgave you far too easily," she replied.

"Where's Brian?" Dick asked. There was something he wanted to ask the restaurant owner anyway. Better to do it while he was here, and Elle wasn't with him.

Shannon goggled at him. "Seriously? You're too cheap to pay the cover charge? You have to call the boss?"

"I need to ask him something," Dick growled. "Could you just send for Brian . . . Please?" Dick forced a smile through gritted teeth.

Shannon picked up the two-way radio. "It's your funeral . . ."

Brian Donovan was even more antagonistic toward Dick since their run-in at the hospital the night Elle had interrupted that mugging. He didn't stop Dick from coming to see Elle's shows or for dinner but that was more about Elle than any forgiveness he might have discovered. But maybe after he heard Dick out, Brian would be more open to finding it than he was currently.

Dick was still at the club two hours later. He had tried calling Elle's cellphone numerous times but it continued to roll his calls over to her voicemail. No one was picking up at her apartment, and in desperation, Dick had even called his own apartment. He was beginning to get more worried than annoyed. What if that singer-fellow had an accident? What if he had put the moves of her and attacked her when she had brushed him off?

What if she hadn't brushed his advances off?

Now he was wishing he hadn't stayed to speak to Brian. He should have just gone to Gotham after her. It was so late, though, Dick had thought for sure that they would have missed each other in the process. So he had stayed . . . And fumed when he discovered that he still had no messages. She could have at least sent him a damned text! Why wouldn't she send him a text?

What if she couldn't send him a text? What if she were lying in a ditch beside the road somewhere between Gotham and Bludhaven, bleeding out?

No, he couldn't think like that. He had known the second she had gotten into trouble with the mugger. He had felt her fear when those three men had attacked her. She wasn't hurt or in trouble . . . He tried to focus on what it was she was feeling but it apparently only worked when she was either in danger or within a certain distance. Although he remembered Cedric saying something about feeling Esmeralda from another continent, but he supposed that could have been related to their extended separation and not in general. Dick found himself wondering if the bond would develop or evolve with time . . . It was something he needed to ask Cedric at some point. Maybe he could call the man tomorrow.

He waited impatiently backstage for Randi's next break, pacing a hole in the floor. So, when she came through the curtain, Dick grabbed her arm and rushed her over to a chair. He wasn't so far gone that he didn't hand her a water bottle, though. He knew from Elle that singing for so long was hot, tiring, and thirsty work. The stage lights alone meant that the singers could become dehydrated easily.

"Ow! Hey, what's up?" Randi complained before she realized who had her. "Dick? What's going on?"

"Randi, Elle went to that recording studio today and still hasn't made it back!" He blurted.

Randi peeked at Dick's watch. "It must have run over. It happens a lot." She blinked at him. "Are you okay?"

Dick ran his hand through his hair again, either unaware or uncaring, that he was making it stand up at odd angles. He met her eyes and sighed.

"No," he admitted. "Not really. I don't know anything about making an album. It's normal for the process to take all day and run late into the night?"

"It's not ideal but Daniel has a deadline he has to meet for this one," Randi told him. "It was why Elle called me to take her place tonight so that they could finish it rather than reschedule for another day . . . Have you been worrying all this time about her?"

"She hasn't answered my calls or texted me once," Dick answered pitifully.

Randi smiled and chuckled. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't actually laughing at you. It's just that it's sweet that you care so much. I know that several of the people here are still ticked off at you for that misunderstanding but Elle explained things to me and she just looks so happy now, happier even than she was before. I can't fault you with that . . . And I'm certain that you won't let it happen again . . . will you?"

"No. No, we have it all worked out," Dick assured her. "Things couldn't be better." He huffed and the hand swept through his dark lock in yet another pass. "Well, if she would just call me or come home, then things will be better."

Randi looked at him sympathetically. "It could run as late as three or four in the morning," she said. "I suppose we could call the studio. Maybe we could get through. Maybe someone is still manning the phones." She looked at his watch again, midnight. "If we hurry, that is. I'm scheduled back on stage in another five minutes."

"Randi, you're the best," Dick swore.

"So, I've been told by countless admirers," she laughed, waving at Dick to follow her back to the dressing room and the phone that was there.

Elle held a hand over her earphones and adjusted the mike in front of her.

"So, you want to take it again from the top," she asked.

She picked up the drumsticks and twirled them about between her fingers. She was exhausted but didn't call for a break. She wanted them to be finished so that she could go home.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate this," Daniel Carr thanked her yet again. "This will be my best album yet, thanks to you."

Elle laughed and waved away his comment. "You did well enough the last time," she commented.

"Even then, it was thanks to you," he told her.

"I didn't even sing on the last album!"

"You did on the one before it, though. And last time you saved me a bundle on musicians," Daniel laughed. "You never told me how many instruments you can play."

Elle shrugged. "Most of them."

Daniel caught one of her hands in his, and kissed the back of it. "I still think you should marry me," he told her, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Imagine the sweet music we could make."

Elle yanked her hand out of his good-naturedly. "Sorry. You're too late. I've already got a boyfriend."

He knew this about her by now. Daniel had been flirting with her on and off all day and she had repeatedly reminded him of her relationship status throughout. Elle was beginning to lose her patience with him.

"I'm talking marriage and you speak of high school crushes," he placed his hand over his heart. "I'm devastated."

"You're a Lothario," Elle countered.

"I'm a . . . What?" He asked.

"Lothario," Elle repeated. "Look it up."

"I can't look it up if I can't spell it," Daniel shrugged.

"It means you are a one-night stand kind of man. I'm a forever kind of woman." Elle murmured.

"That's the perfect way to send your boyfriend packing," Daniel smirked. "Just tell him that."

Elle smiled.

"And, in case you didn't hear me correctly, I was asking you to marry me. That's hardly a one-night stand kind of question." Daniel reminded her.

"True, but you didn't mean it," Elle told him confidently.

"The hell I didn't," Daniel declared. "That is why I picked this next song for you to sing with me as a duet."

Elle blinked. "You can't be serious," she asked him incredulously. "You're joking, right?"

He handed her the music. Elle glanced down at the pages and gaped, then realized he was messing with her. "This is a Valentine's Day album. Of course you would want to include a duet! Nice joke! You almost got me there," Elle laughed.

"Would you, at least, think about it?" Daniel asked.

"Daniel, you are beginning to creep me out," Elle shook her head. "Don't spoil a good thing here with romance. I'm already in a relationship and I'm happy with it."

"You don't seem to be happy with it. You seem kind of annoyed," he noted. "Every time he is brought up, you get this frustrated look on your face."

"I'm not annoyed or frustrated at Dick," she declared. "I'm annoyed and frustrated at you and your constant flirting!"

Daniel smirked. "His name is dick?"

Elle narrowed her eyes. "Daniel, grow up!"

"If he is all that, then why haven't you called him?" he asked.

Elle threw a drumstick at the man's head. He ducked but she hadn't been all that close. There were reasons why she had been one of the last chosen for the team in elementary school. Her athletic abilities were strictly limited to swimming and diving, unfortunately.

"I don't want to take tons of breaks and be here all night," she snapped. "I'm wanting to get this done and go home!"

It ticked her off even more that he had begun the session with the other musicians and background vocalists and saved most of the stuff that he needed her specifically for until last. It made for an exhausting day but more irritating was the fact that, except for Jim in the control booth, it was just her and Daniel now.

She glanced at the clock and was shocked at the time. One-thirty in the morning? Was it really that late already? Damn it! Now she would need to take a break. Dick was probably worried sick about her but her cell was in the other room.

She stood up and set her remaining drumstick down. "I'll be back. I can't believe how late it is. I need to call Dick."

"I suppose we could finish this up in the morning. It is late," Daniel agreed. "I'll pay for you a room at the hotel where I'm staying."

Elle glared at him over her shoulder. "No, thanks. I want to go home."

"But it's too late to drive all the way back to Bludhaven and be back here in the morning by seven," Daniel complained.

Elle stopped and turned around slowly. "You promised me a ride home tonight when we finished."

"But we're not finished, are we?" Daniel smiled.

"You knew, didn't you," she accused him. "You planned for this thing to run late. You said you were on a tight schedule. If you have the studio reserved for tomorrow morning, then we could have called it quits hours ago! I could have had dinner with Dick! I wouldn't have had to call Randi in to do my show!"

"But look at how much we've accomplished," Daniel told her.

"You . . ." she shook her finger at him. "You are an asshole!"

"Ah, baby," Daniel ran to catch up to her. "Don't be like that."

He grabbed her shoulder to stop her. Elle batted his hand away angrily.

"Do not touch me," she snarled at him before stomping over to where her bag was.

It was so late. She couldn't ask Dick to pick her up this late. He was probably out on patrol already, anyway. She could call a cab but she didn't have enough cash on her for a trip back to Bludhaven. That would be astronomical! This was why she needed a car of her own! Elle moved to snatch up her bag but Daniel got to it first, yanking it out of her reach.

"Are you serious?" She glared at him. "Do you really want to go there?"

"Let me explain," he said.

She held out her hand. "Give me my bag."

"Look, Elle, I know you're mad," he began.

"You have no idea," she sniped, making a lunge for her bag.

"But if you would just listen to me!" Daniel pulled it away from her.

"I'm done. I am out of here. Do not call me again," Elle kicked him in the shin, making him drop the bag. She grabbed it and turned on her heel. Bruce would be out on patrol as Batman but Alfred should be home. Maybe she could call Alfred to pick her up?

When she heard Daniel start after her, Elle darted out into the hall.

"Jim," she cried out, even knowing that the sound engineer wouldn't likely hear her from the booth.

Elle didn't bother to run to the control booth with Daniel barreling down on her. She ran toward the stairs, one hand rummaging through her bag for her phone. Maybe she should just dial 911?

"Elle, stop! Wait!"

"Back off, Daniel," she warned him. "Go away and leave me alone!"

"You have nowhere to go, you know," he yelled at her.

"Anywhere is better than here with you," she retorted.

"Come on," he whined. "Don't be like this!"

Elle ignored him and went straight for the stairs. It was probably a bad idea but for all of Daniel's arrogance and manipulations, she didn't think he would actually hurt her.

"Just talk to me," Daniel burst through the door behind her.

Damn it!

"Why don't you ask Yolanda or Kristi? They both like you," she yelled at him, struggling to keep ahead of him without breaking her neck by falling down the stairs.

"They don't have your voice," Daniel returned immediately.

"They sing great," Elle jumped the last three steps, stumbled but kept her footing. She started down the next flight.

"That single we did three years ago when I was in Chicago? It hit the top ten for eight weeks straight, Elle," Daniel said. "Eight weeks! I've never been able to do that again."

"So sorry for you, Daniel," Elle groused. "But I wasn't in a position to do more at the time. My father didn't want me to pursue a career in music at all!"

"But your father's out of the picture now," he reminded her.

She burst through the door and into the hallway that led to the lobby area. Daniel grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"I wasn't kidding when I asked you to marry me," he told her; pushing her against the wall. "Elle, the music we could make together."

"You're delusional," she told him, ducking under his arm. She ran for the front.

Daniel grabbed her arm again but this time Elle was ready. When he swung her around, she brought up her can of mace and sprayed it in his face. Amazingly, he didn't let her go but continued to hold onto her as he swiped madly at his face with his other hand.

Elle dropped the can and punched him in the eye.

"Ow," she yelped; shaking her hand out. But it made Daniel let go of her.

Elle spun around to run again when Daniel lunged at her. She fell into the wall but kept her feet.

"Damn it! Why'd you have to do that," Daniel yelled.

He fumbled for a better grip when Elle grabbed his wrist, pivoted and yanked as she dropped down onto one knee. It wasn't picture perfect, but Daniel went where he was supposed to go which was over her shoulder and onto his back. He landed with a thud.

"Ugh! What the hell?"

Elle gave a little victory squeal as she leapt over Daniel's supine figure. She couldn't believe that actually worked! She was so going to reward Dick for his brutal self-defense lessons he had forced on her. That was awesome! She looked over her shoulder to see Daniel climbing back to his feet and stumbling in her direction. Elle yipped in surprise, turning back around . . . and ran smack into the front doors!

"Ow!"

The glass doors were locked! It was almost two in the morning; of course, they were locked! They now had an imprint of her face on them. The receptionist would have to clean them in the morning. Elle fumbled for the slidebolt at the top of the door but it wasn't enough. There was still the lock to contend with. She glanced behind her as Daniel gained on her.

"You can't get out," he laughed. "I have the key."

If she had the time, Elle could pick the stupid lock.

"Give me the key, Daniel and go wash your face," she told him. "You could go blind if you leave that stuff in your eyes too long."

"What," he yelped. "What the hell did you spray me with?"

Actually, she was lying to him. She didn't think he would go blind from the mace she sprayed him with but he didn't know that. Both eyes were puffy and streaming but one was blackening and swelling more rapidly than the other.

Hah! She had done that!

"My boyfriend is a cop," Elle told him. "Give me the key and I won't press charges."

"Charges? For what? You beat me up!" He held a hand over his black eye. His nose was running.

Elle held up her phone.

SNAP!

"What was that sound," Daniel asked warily.

"I took a picture to remember you by," Elle told him sweetly. "If you give me the key to the doors, I won't post it on the internet."

Daniel bumped into the water cooler. He fumbled around until he could splash water onto his face. He blinked as the cool water helped to ease the burning of his eyes. He flung the snot running down his face away from him, splattering the floor, the wall, and the innocent fichus tree.

"You bitch! If you post that, I will sue you for . . ." Daniel stopped; blinking rapidly his swollen eyes.

"Go on," she challenged. "I'm waiting. Sue me for what exactly?"

"Nothing," he muttered; digging his hand into his pocket, he tossed her the keys none too gently.

Elle dodged the projectile and watched warily as he trudged back the way he came.

Huh? "I guess I'll just set these on the desk when I'm through," she called to him.

"Whatever," he waved a hand in the air.

Elle picked up the keys and waited until the elevator doors closed behind him and the numbers indicated he was going back up to the recording studio. Satisfied he wasn't going to sneak up on her while she unlocked the door, Elle turned around to do exactly that.

And screamed, dropping the keys in the process.

Batman stood outside of the glass doors looking all grim and dangerous. The edge of his hard mouth lifted into what Elle would describe as a smirk.

She blinked. Yes, that was most definitely a smirk! Did he know? No, they had decided to keep her knowledge a secret for a short time. He didn't know but it made Elle wonder about that smirk. She unlocked the doors and stepped back as the Dark Knight of Gotham City swept into the room all dramatic-like. Elle bit her lip to keep from grinning as she turned to drop the keys on the receptionist's desk.

That cape was really cool.

"I should have figured that it wasn't me that made him retreat like that if the mace, the black eye, and being flipped hadn't done it," she remarked casually as she turned back around.

"I saw," Batman replied. "Not bad. Not good enough, obviously, but not bad."

He kind of sounded like Bruce trying to talk in a bass voice. Not bad, she thought, not good enough, obviously, but not bad. She could tell though. When she wasn't starstruck or exhausted or distracted by a gunfight and rescuing babies from a watery grave, she could tell. Then there was the chin . . . And the shoulders. Still, all in all, his costume did a lot more to hide his identity than Dick's did.

"My boyfriend is a cop. He just started showing me a few self-defense moves recently," Elle said for conversation. What did one say to her boyfriend's dad when she wasn't supposed to recognize him as a caped crime-fighter?

"I know," he said. "He called me and asked me to check on you. He should be here any minute now."

Elle's mouth opened and closed a couple of times. What was she supposed to say to that?

"He . . . did?"

"He did." Batman peered around her.

Elle looked over her shoulder. Nothing in the hallway. She glanced back at Batman.

"He told me you knew," Batman said.

Elle's eyes widened. "He told you?"

"He said you figured him out in minutes. That the rest of us were foregone conclusions after that." Batman held the door open for her.

"You don't mind," Elle asked cautiously.

"You were going to have to be told about us regardless, at one time or another," he admitted. "You don't mind?"

Elle shrugged. "I've seen him in action a couple of times. He seems like he knows what he's doing." Actually she thought he had been amazing! "I trust him to come home alive."

The smirk was back. "Do you, now?"

"He'd better," she said with a slight hint of a threat in her voice.

"He'd better what?" A new voice entered the conversation.

Elle glanced around until Nightwing dropped down beside them. Her gaze was immediately appreciative. Man, she loved that costume! He looked fantastic in it! Rawr!

"Was there any trouble?" He looked over at Batman.

"Nothing she couldn't handle herself," Batman admitted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nightwing's head swung back to Elle. "Hey! My face is up here," he reminded her, pointing.

Elle jerked her eyes up guiltily. "Not my fault. You're the one with the skintight outfit that shows off all your tasty assets."

He sighed. "Did you have to say 'tasty'?"

Elle snickered. "Yes?"

"You didn't call me," Nightwing complained.

"I was working."

"You make me call you when I'm working," he retorted.

"She does?" Batman glanced at Elle again, curiously. "And you comply?"

Nightwing huffed at him. "None of your business. I'm here now," he told his former mentor. "You can go."

"My town. I'll go when I'm ready," Batman leaned back against the building.

"I can't believe you showed up like that," Elle stated, indicating his costume with a wave of her hand.

"You need to answer the question," Nightwing reminded her.

"What question?" She blinked, innocently.

"What trouble did you have to handle?"

He was too focused, Elle groused. "The kind that's been handled," she smiled.

Nightwing leaned down into her face. "Did he touch you?"

"No?"

She was a lousy liar. "I'll kill him," Nightwing growled.

"Not like that, you won't," Elle told him, grabbing his arm. "For what possible reason would Nightwing travel to Gotham City in order to defend my honor?"

He frowned at her and turned to leave.

"Hey! Where're you going now," Elle yelped.

"To change clothes," Nightwing grumbled.

"Don't be ridiculous! He just asked me to marry him . . ." Elle blurted.

Nightwing spun around again. "He what? And what exactly did you tell him?"

Elle gaped at him, incredulous. Was he serious? "What do you think I told him?" When Nightwing continued to stare at her, she snarked. "I told him that I was free this weekend."

Nightwing's sense of humor was missing, however, and he reached for the door to the building, his costume be damned . . .

Elle grabbed his arm again. "Stop! Would you just stop a minute? I told him no, of course! I can't believe you would even ask me what I said to that!"

Batman stepped away from the building. "If this little lover's spat is going to continue, perhaps it should do so in private. It's late, so I had Agent A prepare rooms." Batman shot a grapple into a nearby building and flew up and out of sight in mere seconds.

Elle whistled. "That is so impressive. I'd love to do that some time."

Nightwing slid an arm around her waist. "No time like the present," he said.

Elle pushed against his chest. "Not until you admit you were jealous."

Nightwing scoffed. "Jealous? What makes you think that?"

Elle swirled a finger in front of her eyes. "Because I had been under the impression that you had blue eyes but, right now, they are a distinct shade of green." Well, actually they were the opaque white lenses, but he knew to what she was referring.

He frowned down at her. "You know, you are the second person that's told me that this evening."

"Thank you for coming after me," she whispered to him. "You never have to be jealous of me, you know."

"And I'll always come for you," he promised.

Smiling now, he glanced around. The street was deserted. Dipping his head, Nightwing kissed her quickly. Then, before she could regain her wits, he shot a grapple toward a building in the direction he had left his bike and they flew up into the air.

Elle's delighted laughter echoed for several long seconds after the two had disappeared from view.

REACTIONS?

I have to admit, I really loved writing this one.