I'm on duty when I get the call that we need to get down to the District. Something big and gun-filled is going down. My partner is driving, and unfortunately very intent on not letting me sneak off again. He's my friend, so he hasn't reported me, but he said if I do it again he will.

Grumpy, I check my gun and restock my belt with extra ammo. Deluca, my partner, takes a sharp corner, nearly fishtailing as we join the mass of other squads.

We launch out of the car, leaving our lights flashing and doors open as we run up to the force, who's taking refuge behind open car doors. Gunfire is sparse here, but the thick of it can only be reached by running fifty yards of open air. So we're back here, waiting for someone to have an idea.

I start suggesting some to my captain, but he, as usual, doesn't want to try any. "Grayson! Get back!" he eventually snaps at me.

I sulk away. All my plans would've worked, but the Captain is always afraid something will change. He's a fan of controlled environments with known results. Which is never a police's life.

Searching for a way to get through this myself, I spot a figure on the fire escape behind the barricade of police cars we've set up. It's waving at us. Or, more specifically, me. I'm the farthest back from my comrades, so I can't tell if it's because of my position or me as person.

Regardless, I jog over. As I near, I realize I recognize this person, as both Grayson and Nightwing.

I barely catch myself from greeting her by name. "What are you doing here?" I ask instead, stepping out of the other officers' line of sight.

She looks annoyed. Incredibly annoyed. "I was hanging out with this guy, Lance, and somehow we got mixed up in this crap. He ran off to find his brother a little while ago, but some of his friends are still in there."

"How did this happen?"

"I don't know. I think one of their 'members'" she uses air quotations "was trying to steal something off one of those guys, but they're a gang and have guns, so…" She gestures behind her and shrugs. "I'm not a part of this. And also, I have to throw Lance off the pier."

I regard her with calculation. She's barely contained, but I don't think it's from anger. Yes, she's annoyed, but the strain in her voice sounds different. Worse. "Do you have any ideas?" I ask her.

"Just surround them," she stresses, exasperated. "I don't care. You guys are cops, you shouldn't just be sitting there…"

Now she sounds far away, and I worry about a concussion. "Can you stay here?"

For whatever reason, she sits on the fire escape heavily, leaning her head back on the brick.

I go back to my team, who are still just standing there. I go up to my captain, suggesting once more that we do something. He ignores me. I threaten to go by myself, and he waves me off, muttering, "Yeah, do that."

I don't think he heard me. I'm white noise to him.

Whatever. That's consent.

So I skirt the furthest squad and take off over the pavement. My partner shouts at me, but I'm already halfway across the empty space, staying low and running in unpredictable patterns. When I reach the gunfire, I take cover behind a nearby dumpster for a split second to assess, compiling where the enemies are, their targets and attentions, and what they are likely to do next.

After a moment, I leap into action.

It's surprisingly easy to disarm the outliers, avoiding notice for several seconds before they realize there is a mutual enemy. By that time, I've disarmed several and have the attack plan of the rest figured out.

In less than a minute, all twenty or so of the gangsters are on the ground. I'm joined, now that the gunfire has stopped, by my team. My captain yells at me, threatening to put me on probation, fire me, the works. But we both know the force doesn't function without me, and besides. He told me I could.

Wasting as little time as possible, I pack the gangsters into the squads, check on the kids Dani had warned me about, and then steal away to go talk to her, throwing a goodbye to my captain over my shoulder. To my utter shock, she's still where I left her.

I ask her if she's hurt.

"My foot, I think. I was just going to stay here until you guys left. Maybe overnight? It'll be better in the morning."

"May I?" I gesture to her foot. She raises an eyebrow, as her foot is about eye length. In a swift movement, I plant my foot on the nearest rung, which is a little over four feet off the ground, and swing my other leg up and over the rail, landing neatly on the platform next to her.

She gives me a mild look of surprise as I kneel next to her and take her foot in my hands. She winces a bit when I feel along it, so I withdraw and set it back carefully. "It may be fractured," I tell her, though I'm pretty sure it's just a sprain. "And you're bleeding from your head."

Her hand comes up to the side of her head, brushing her fingers along the dried blood there. "It's barely a scratch," she insists. "It's already stopped bleeding. I hate hospitals and refuse to go there."

"I'm not saying you should go to a hospital," I defend. "Just… Come with me. I don't want you running around on a possibly broken foot. Besides, I have food and a shower."

She stares, looking me up and down, probably trying to gauge if that's even half a good idea. I'll admit: it's probably not. I mean, if it were anyone other than me. She's quiet for a while until finally giving me a reluctant nod.

I move to help her up, but she does it herself, warning me off with a look. With a shrug, I swing over the railing and land, crouched, on the ground. When Dani does the same, I catch her around the waist before she can land on her hurt foot, immediately setting her down after.

She looks a bit surprised, almost like she forgot she was hurt in the first place. Then she nods over to the empty streets. "Where is everyone?"

"They're all packed away."

"So we're just going to walk to your house?"

I shrug, looking up at the sky. It's not raining. "It's only a couple blocks away."

She rolls her eyes and stubborns forward, heavily favoring her hurt foot while scowling. I'm guessing it's because she decided to come with me anyway. To be honest, I'm a little surprised at myself too. It's not often I decide to bring in strays. But what can I say? She's practically Jason.

"How old are you?" I ask cheerfully.

"You ask a lot of alarming questions," she responds dully.

"I'm a curious soul." Unapologetic, I lead her around the corner with a smile. She rolls her eyes. "What's your name?"

She sighs, but answers, "Dani. With an i."

I grin. "I'm Richard Grayson, but you can call me Dick."

She barks out a laugh.

"No, seriously."

At my plaintive tone, she laughs harder. "That's so unfortunate," she explains, as if I don't already know.

"I blame popular culture."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm named after a boy."

"Danny?"

"Wow, how are you still a cop?! You should be a detective."

I laugh at her sarcasm. "Don't I know it."

We get to my apartment complex, and I buzz us in. Dani watches a couple of the residences here that are wandering around the lobby with their guide dogs/people. When we get in the elevator, she asks about it.

"I live above a home for blind people," I answer casually. "Ironically, I like the view."

She rolls her eyes again. When my elevator stops at my floor and I lead her into my apartment, I watch her eyes mark my living area. I see her notice the cleanliness, the lack of dishes in the sink, the single set of keys I put on the counter, the bare walls and empty living room.

She still walks inside, so I'm guessing I passed whatever test she'd set for me in her head. I shrug off my coat and belt, hanging them on the sad, empty coat rack. When I turn back around, she'd opened the drapes for my large window. "I see what you mean," she mentions. I see her watching the glass for my reflection.

"And you rolled your eyes." After that, I go to the closet, grabbing my smaller first-aid kit. "Not to be 'alarming' as you'd put it…" She gives me an annoyed look. "But do you want to wrap your foot or take a shower first?"

Dani thinks for a minute before saying, "Shower, I think."

"I think I have some clothes your size. My brother has problems with his dad, so he keeps a supply of them in case he wants to be pissed off here."

She laughs again. "You're so creepy. 'Come home with me, little Dani', 'take a shower, Dani', 'wear my brother's clothes, lit-'"

"I get it, I get it," I interrupt, trying not to find it funny. "It's not creepy. I prefer to think of it as nice."

"Sure, sure…" she waves me off and goes towards where I'd gestured to the bathroom. "No thank you, your brother can keep his angst wear."

She shuts the door as I laugh.

I know it seems unlikely that Dani would just go to a random dude's house, but she's been doing this awhile and I would think she has a pretty good judge of character.

Thanks for so much positive feedback!

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