Dani's To-Do List

- Eat Grayson's food

- Use Grayson's shower

- Steal Grayson's brother's pajamas

- Get free medical care

- look through a sick atlas

True to Grayson's word, there's a taxicab idling a street over from where all the cop cars are, their lights just barely visible through the alleyways. He opens the rear door and helps Dani climb off his back and into the car. She buckles herself in – she just knows Grayson is going to make her – and waits while he radios in that he's heading out, that his report will be submitted by the end of the night, and that he'll see them all for his next shift.

When he gets in the car, he rattles off his address to the cab driver and buckles himself in, glancing at Dani to confirm she also has her seatbelt on. What a mother hen! He and Danny could start some kind of overprotective brother club.

… Because Grayson has brothers. Grayson only reminds Dani of her older brother.

… She's only known him a week! Shut up, ghost instincts, he's not fraid.

"Can I ask why you look like you rolled around in dirt?" Grayson asks conversationally, interrupting Dani's intense argument with her ghost core.

"I was digging," Dani said. "Treasure, and all that. But it was just a mass grave."

Grayson immediately looks alarmed, and the cab driver pops his gum, unconcerned. Honestly, what a king. Ain't nothing going to distract him from his work.

"A mass grave?"

"Mmhmm. I didn't see that many bodies, but probably at least two or three. You should really have someone check that out. I was digging only a couple of blocks from where we ended up."

"There is not a mass grave. You did not spend the evening digging up a mass grave." Dani can actually see his hair graying.

To spare him, Dani shrugs. "Okay, if you're so sure."

With a look of dismay that quickly grows the longer she doesn't announce she's kidding, he mutters into his walkie-talkie. "Witness says there's some kind of grave a couple of blocks from the construction site. Possibly an old mob dumping ground." He looks at her, releasing the button on his radio. "You know, they keep cameras on their old sites. That's probably why they sent hitmen after you. Why were you digging up a grave exactly?"

Dani smiles mischievously. "I told you. Treasure."

"And where did you get the idea that there was treasure there?"

"Someone told me to look there," Dani answers, truthfully. "But I can't say more than that."

Grayson scrubs his face with his hands. He does that a lot. Must be a stress response. Danny says Dani induces a lot of stress.

"Okay, that's… well, it's not fine, but we're moving on," he says. His radio blares, announcing the discovery of the gravesite. Grayson looks even older. "We're moving on," he reiterates, before shooting a quick "10-4" back into the microphone. "Kid, you're going to give me a heart attack."

"I have that effect on people," Dani says, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Not sure why though."

Grayson just looks at her. Dani pretends she doesn't notice.

The driver announces their arrival, also mentioning the total – $67.88! That's straight highway robbery! And Grayson hands over $80 in cash!

"Just how much cash do you carry?!"

Grayson just smirks and crouches down to let her climb back on his back. They're in front of a nicely lit building that stretches up into the clouds with the rest of the skyscrapers, the walls a pretty dark red brick with black wrought iron. Grayson climbs the flight of steps to the entrance, types in a passcode, and carries them both inside.

It's a really nice place. Dani notices that immediately. There are real plants around the lobby. Mail slots line one wall, with chairs lined up facing them. The other wall has a couple of doors with signs announcing a pool and gym.

Grayson follows the nice carpet path heading to one of the four elevators across the open space.

Dani looks around in fascination. Didn't Grayson mention he lives alone? There's no way he can afford this place on a policeman's salary, right? Not unless he lives in a broom closet or something.

When they reach the elevator, someone else exits the gym door and makes their way over to the elevator too. It's a middle-aged woman in sportswear with short brown hair and a pair of sunglasses. Dani wonders at that for a moment before she spots the golden retriever in a harness at her side. Oh, she's blind.

Man. She can't pet that dog.

The elevator arrives, and Grayson holds it open for the approaching woman. "11," she tells them.

"I know, Ms. Teller," Grayson replies, a grin in his voice as he taps the right button. "Late-night ellipticals again?"

"Oh, Dick, nice to run into you," the woman says, breaking out into a more genuine smile. The dog, while still focused, wags his tail a couple of times without looking at him. "Yes, you know me. It's so peaceful working out alone. Isn't that why you go at the crack of dawn?"

"You caught me," he banters back. The elevator is swift, rising to the pressed floor with barely any noise. It must be one of those really nice ones. "I'll see you around."

The woman smirks at the wording. "And I'm sure Carly will too," she says, gesturing at her dog, who's pulling at the harness to guide her out of the elevator. "Have a good night."

"You too!"

Grayson – Dick?! – presses the button to his floor next, the very top one that's not even labeled with a number, just an uppercase 'P'. It beeps twice and he has to offer his thumbprint on the pad below the buttons for the elevator to start rising. Dani needs to address this, but first… As soon as the doors close, Dani demands, "Did that woman call you Dick?"

"Uh, yep. Did I not tell you that's my name?"

"Your name is Dick?!"

He lets out a soft laugh. "Yes, yes, I know. I've heard it all. My full name is Richard. My mom gave me the nickname and she was Romani. Dick doesn't mean the same thing over there."

"Dick," Dani mumbles in disbelief. "Wait, Romani? I knew you were something! I was leaning toward middle Eastern, though."

"Nope, the Baltics, and only half. My dad was American." Should she mention all this past-tense? …Nah, it's not her business.

The elevator door opens into a huge penthouse apartment. It's easily the size of three normal apartments, with a comfortable living room area, a dining table surrounded by chairs, and a kitchen with granite countertops. As they pass into more of the room, Dani sees that the far wall is just one big window, curtains cracked open to display a view of the city.

"There's no freaking way that you afford this on a policeman's paycheck," Dani breathes as she's set down on one of the bar chairs.

Dick – ahhh that's so weird – laughs. "Absolutely not. My dad owns the building."

"Is your dad mafia?" Also, wasn't he using past-tense to refer to his dad? Eh, what does Dani know.

He laughs again, shrugging out of his police uniform to reveal a plain white tee underneath. He hangs the shirt and his equipment on a shelf with hooks next to the elevator doors. "No, but he is very wealthy. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised you don't know who I am."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He shrugs, kicks off his shoes, and makes his way back over to her. "My dad's pretty famous, is all. Do you want to take a shower? I think I have some clothes that might fit you."

"No, I want to talk about this place," Dani demands, sweeping her arm wide. "First, everything's in braille! And that lady had a service dog!"

"This is a building for people that are visually impaired," Dick answers easily. When Dani doesn't make a move to get off the chair, he gives up and rounds the counter to pull out a glass from the cupboards. There are rows of identical glasses of different styles, short and tall, and four each for different alcoholic beverages. Is she in an iKea? What is this? How rich do you have to be to have matching glasses?

Okay, maybe her bar is a little low.

"My dad funds it so they can get the cheapest possible rent," he continues, filling the glass with filtered water from a pitcher in the fridge. (The almost completely empty fridge. This is looking more like iKea every moment.) "The first few floors are rented out to optometrists and other specialists to make it easy for tenants to make it to appointments. The top ten floors are more pricey for those who don't have eyesight problems. I mean, there are only so many blind people in the city, and this place is huge. The top floors cover most of the cost of the property." He slides the glass over to her.

"This is the most surreal experience," Dani mumbles as she takes the offered glass and downs half of it in one gulp. The water tastes great. She needs to find out what filter that is and see if she can get a water bottle with it installed. This taste reminds her of the fresh spring water in Switzerland. "Why do you live here?"

"Ironically, I like the view." He waits for Dani to roll her eyes and then answers, "Like I said, my dad owns it. Rent's cheap."

"Yeah, nothing cheaper than free," Dani mutters. Dick grins at her but doesn't deny it. "Do you even live here though? There's like… nothing personal here."

His face falls a little, and he looks a little embarrassed. "Uh, yeah. I'm almost always out, so it's mostly a place to crash. Besides, it's never really felt like home, y'know? Seems kind of pointless to decorate it."

"Maybe if you decorated it, it would feel like home."

"Home is my family," he replies, like that isn't the sappiest thing Dani's ever heard anyone say outside of an after-school special. "I have pictures of them in my room, though." He goes to a nearby closet and pulls out a huge first aid kit. It's the size of a suitcase; what does he have in there, an MRI? "Anyway, I can get out antiseptic and stuff if you want to take a shower. I have a guest bathroom with all the stuff you should need, and some clothes that might fit."

Oh, that's right, Dani had some thoughts about that. "That is ridiculously suspicious," Dani points out. "Why do you have those things, exactly?"

Dick blinks, surprised, and looks up at her like it hadn't even occurred to him how creepy that was. "Oh. My youngest brother comes to stay every once in a while. He's going through his rebellious teen phase and everytime he gets in a fight with our dad he comes here to cool off. I have a drawer of his things. He just turned thirteen, and he's a bit taller than you, but they should fit alright."

"Oh." Dani can't sense any deception in that. This whole night, the man has been vibrating with gentle protectiveness that soothes Dani's paranoia. She may not be the best judge of character, but from what the guy's vibes are saying, he's being sincere. "And he won't mind?"

Dick laughs openly at this. "Oh, he certainly will, but it's not as though we can't afford more clothes. Besides, he's not even here. Let's see if anything fits."

Dani… well, Dani kind of likes the idea of making Dick's brother mad at him. Chaos is in her blood, after all. Dick helps her into a nearby room, similarly decorated with storefront-esque interior design – white comforters. White! How boring– and sets her on the chest at the foot of the bed. He rifles through the dresser, pulling out athletic wear that only looks a size or so too big.

"Sorry, he doesn't have any lounge wear, and his pajamas are literal robes, but here are some yoga pants and a t-shirt. Let me know if they're uncomfortable or anything."

"Robes?" Dani asks, accepting the proffered clothes. They're of very high quality, soft and stretchy, and Dani wonders if she can keep them. "Like a wizard?"

Dick huffs out a laugh. "More like a long dress." He pulls out an example, and he's right. It's a plain gray dress-like garment, with billowy half-sleeves, a high collar, and buttons that go half a meter down the front. There's embroidery along the right shoulder. Dani is sold. She makes grabby hands at it, the other clothes pushed aside on the bed. Dick looks conflicted. "He'll actually be so mad though."

"And I'll actually be so gone though," Dani counters, giving him her best puppy dog eyes. She's lying, and she thinks Dick knows that too. She's already committed and she really wants that shower, but now she also wants those robes.

He relents with a sigh. "I guess I shouldn't have shown it to you then." He hands it over, and it is soft. Egyptian cotton, maybe?

"Why does he wear robes?"

"He grew up in Pakistan."

Dani accepts the answer, fully prepared to question him further after her shower. The dust plastered to her skin is starting to itch, though, so she'd really rather get clean as soon as possible. Dick seems to notice this and walks over to the nearby door, opening it to reveal the bathroom.

"Everything you need should be in there. I'm going to order some food, if you have any preference?"

"Pakistani," Dani requests without hesitation. "Something your brother would've eaten. Except Americanized, so he'd be truly scandalized."

Dick rolls his eyes. "Let me see if I can find anything that delivers." He heads out, closing the door behind him. Dani examines the robe again. She can't find a tag, and that makes her wonder if it's authentic. If it is, she's definitely going to buy a set of her own. Pakistan is officially on her list, just for this robe.

She locks the bedroom door and does the same to the bathroom, just in case. She keeps her hearing trained on Dick, who goes into another room down the hall and starts changing, if the rustling of cloth and opening drawers is anything to go by.

Dani turns on the shower and runs it just on the side of too warm. Steam starts to fill the room almost immediately. She loves this apartment. She doesn't hesitate to shuck her clothes off, knowing that if there was any camera in here it wouldn't catch any clear shots of her. Perks of ectoplasm interfering with tech. Something about it being highly conductive? Danny has some theories, but Dani personally thinks it's just because magic and technology don't mix well.

Besides. Dani isn't actually all that concerned about Dick. It just pays to be cautious, is all.

It's a bit of a balancing act to keep off of her swollen foot in the shower, but Dani manages it well. Granted, the whole thing is made much easier by the shower being in a small cubicle rather than a full bathtub, but she's not complaining about the extra advantage.

While she's cleaning up, she listens as Dick finishes his own shower in two minutes flat – Dani is definitely going to run up his water bill to compensate – and makes his way to the kitchen. There's the sound of another drawer opening, papers shuffling, a huff, and then the faint tippy-taps of fingers on a screen.

Dani uses her fingers to scrub her hair with some of Dick's angsty-brother shampoo – seriously, sandalwood and cinnamon? What's this guy trying to prove, exactly? – as Dick scrolls through his phone. There's the sound of ringing, then a thickly accented voice. Dick asks for their specials, orders all of them, and then adds an order of paya and naan bread.

This guy is such a pushover. Dani giggles as she rinses off her hair. She kinda wonders what else she could get him to do… Though, maybe she shouldn't. Dick is a great guy, and Dani doesn't want to push him away by acting like she's after his money.

Dick finishes up the call but quickly makes another one. Dani has moved on to scrubbing every inch of her skin with body soap that also smells like wood, though she can't quite place the kind of tree. It reminds her of Chinese forests in the morning dew. She likes this one.

In the other room, the call connects.

"Master Dick," comes a pleasant voice in a rich English accent. "I hope you are doing well. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"I'm just calling to let ya know I'm going to stay in the city this week. Let Dami know for me?"

"Of course, my boy. Is there any reason why?"

"Uh, kinda, but it's nothing bad. There's this street kid that I'm hanging out with. I don't know when she's planning on leaving, so I want to stay in the city in case it's soon."

Dani pauses. Well… That's suspicious.

"Indeed?" comes the polite reply.

"Oh, Alfred, you'd love her," Dick gushes, and Dani is even more bewildered. "She reminds me of Jason and Tim and Dami all in one. She's such a menace. I met her at the precinct on Sunday, but I ran into her a couple more times after that. She's just this cute little thirteen year-old that has the most adorable obsession with maps!"

Uh.

"Master Dick, it sounds as though you've gotten quite attached."

There's a pause. "...Maybe," comes the sheepish reply. "I may have let her wear Dami's night thawb. I… I actually don't think she's planning on giving it back, so..."

Drat! Busted.

"Oh, dear. I'll order another and have it sent over. Is she there now, by any chance?"

"Yeah, she's in the shower. She got into some trouble tonight and I convinced her to come home with me."

Even the sigh is British. "Is she alright?"

"A twisted ankle, but other than that just some scrapes and bruises. I have the medkit out. I doubt she'll want to go to a hospital."

Well, he's right about that.

"Hm. I have full faith in your capabilities, Master Dick. Do remember that others do not get attached quite so quickly, though? She may not trust as easily as you do."

Dick sighs. "I know. I'm being careful. It's just – we get along really well. I want her to like me."

"Oh, my boy. I'm certain she'll love you. Just have some patience."

Dani thinks she's heard enough. She doesn't feel suspicious of Dick's intentions, but she also isn't sure how she feels about him calling someone that's probably a family member and raving about her. It makes her skin itch uncomfortably at the attention. (She's nothing to get hyped up about.)

She shuts off the water, even though it hasn't even started to run cold, and pulls back the curtain.

"Sorry, Alfred. I've got to go. Would you keep this on the DL from the rest?"

"Of course. Have a good night, sir."

The call clicks off. She hears the phone get set on the counter, a heavy sigh. Packages crinkle as he rummages around in what she assumes is the giant first aid kit.

The teen towels off and pulls on her underthings, mentally noting that she should pick up some new ones sometime soon. Then she pulls on the… what did Dick call it? A thawb? She pulls on the thawb and buttons up the collar. It's loose around her throat, higher than she's used to but not unpleasant. It's a little big, but all pajamas should be too big. That's what makes them comfortable.

Dani unlocks the bathroom door and heads out, careful to step gingerly. She can already feel the ligaments realigning, but it's still painful to put any pressure on it. Once she's in the hall, she uses the wall as a crutch to get back to the main area.

Like she assumed, Dick is organizing some medical supplies. He looks up when she enters with a smile. He's wearing sweats and a light blue t-shirt with Hudson University written in faded cursive on the chest. His hair is damp, though not nearly as soaked as hers. Hers will take several hours to dry, but ah, well. It's just the curse of having long, thick hair.

"Let's put some triple-ab ointment on your hands. Did they bother you at all in the shower?"

"Nah, I used my fingers," Dani says as she climbs up on the bar stool and offers her hands. Without all the blood, the wounds don't look all that bad. There are only a couple of punctures in the meat of both palms, and they've already stopped bleeding. Dick applies some clear ointment to them liberally, then some fancy hand bandages to cover them up.

"Knee?" Dick asks, crumbling the wrappers of the bandages up in his hands and tossing them on the counter.

Dani has now realized a critical flaw to the otherwise heavenly thawb. She's only wearing underwear underneath. She doesn't think Dick is a creep, but she also doesn't want to let him examine her knee or ankle in what's essentially a dress. "Uh… I need some of your angsty brother's shorts," she says, ready to hop off the stool. Dick puts a gentle hand on her shoulder, eyes lit in understanding.

"No problem, I can go grab some for you. Did you need anything else? I don't have any girl stuff here, but I can get someone to deliver anything you need."

"No, I'm fine," Dani mumbles. She must be bright red.

Dick just gives her another smile and heads back into the guest room. He returns with a lightweight pair of gray shorts and hands them over. He turns his back, and Dani quickly shimmies into them and then hops back up on the barstool.

"Good?" Dani mutters an affirmative, still mortified, and he turns back around. "Okay. Knee?" She offers it up without complaint.

He ends up wrapping her knee in gauze, since the jagged cut is big enough that a single bandage, no matter how large, wouldn't be able to cover it all. Dani's glad for the swift bandaging, since she can already tell that the wound is trying to close. Thank Ancients for being covered in dirt before, since most of the more minor scrapes and almost all the bruises have healed up already. Dick is far too observant to miss something like bruises magically disappearing.

Dick turns his attention to her foot. He prods it a couple of times, checking for breaks, and Dani clenches her jaw at the pain. Dick winces sympathetically each time. It's only a few moments before he declares, "I think it's just a sprain. We'll wrap and ice it and you have to stay off it." He gives her a stern look. "Then, if it isn't feeling better by next week, we'll think about getting an X-ray."

"It's not broken," Dani denies. "I didn't feel anything break."

"Hm." He doesn't look convinced as he retrieves an ACE bandage and starts unclipping it from itself. "Fractures usually don't feel like breaks when they happen."

"I know my own body," Dani grumbles. She's more durable anyway. Her bones take a lot of pressure to break, and tonight was just landing on it a little weird.

Dick nods indulgently and begins to expertly wrap up her foot. It immediately feels better to have the bandage hold her torn muscle back in place so there's no weight on it.

"How's that feel?"

Dani tries to rotate her foot and finds most of her range of motion restricted. She gives him a satisfied nod. "You're really good at this."

"Thanks. I'm an acrobat." Dick starts cleaning up the materials. "I've twisted my foot many, many times." He tosses the medical trash into the bin and washes his hands at the sink. "Is there anything else that hurts?"

Dani does a mental check, but she doesn't find anything. She shakes her head.

"Alright, let's get you to the couch. Time to ice it."

Dani pretends to grumble, but she lets him lead her to the couch and elevate her foot on a pillow he sets on the coffee table. He goes back to the kitchen and returns with a gel ice pack wrapped in a tea towel. "Let me know if the cold starts to hurt," he warns as he settles it on the injury. "I'll add another towel."

Dani rolls her eyes, but he takes that as confirmation.

"While we're waiting for takeout, I'm going to get my reports out. While I do that…" He goes to the bookshelf that covers the opposite wall that also houses a TV and several gaming consoles. He picks up a tall, thick book from the bottom and waves it in her direction. "Voilá! As promised, my atlas." He sets it on her lap.

Dani wants to grumble and rant that she's not a child who needs to be entertained, but this is a nice atlas. So she lets it slide just this once.

She cracks open the book, which, whoa, has never been opened before, if that spine crack is anything to go by. She flips to the page on Pakistan. Her interest has been piqued.

Dick grins at her before grabbing his laptop off the side table and settling down to fill out his reports.

It's the most peace Dani's ever been at in the presence of company – Danny excluded.

It's kinda nice to sit and read an atlas for a while.

The issue with most atlases is that they're usually new like this. Nobody looks in atlases anymore, but they still have to be updated frequently, so they're usually published and then forgotten about. Dani's favorites are old and worn, and it's always a bonus if someone has annotated it. All of hers are annotated. She circles places of interest, has post-its that add additional info, and sometimes she'll even tuck in additional maps.

Still, a map is a map, so... she's entertained.

She identifies a few places that look really interesting and reads up on some of the excerpts of culture that line the side. If this was her atlas, she would highlight any mentioned festivals and put a note on which time of the year she should visit to experience the most.

But it's not hers, so she refrains.

After Pakistan, she flips to Mongolia, then Ethiopia, then Papua New Guinea. There's no particular reasoning behind each country, which is the point. She doesn't know what she'll find, so it's better if she randomizes it.

Before she knows it, a quarter hour has passed and the two are interrupted from their work by an alarm on Dick's phone. He takes off the ice pack and returns it to the freezer, and then they go back to work. Twenty minutes later, they're interrupted again, but this time by a blinking request to enter the penthouse on a screen next to the elevator.

"That'll be the food," Dick announces. Dani looks up from her current country — Honduras — to watch him go to the elevator. He accepts the request with a tap on the screen and heads to the kitchen, taking out dishes and filling up two glasses of water. A couple of minutes later, there's a ding, though the elevator doesn't open. Dick has to manually go over to it and open it with the press of another button on the nearby screen.

Dani wonders why he doesn't just have a door like a regular human.

A tired-looking Asian teenager hands over several bags of takeout. Ancients, Dick ordered a lot of food.

Dick hands over some cash and thanks the guy for coming by. The aroma starts to waft into the apartment. Dani smells the spice and her stomach wakes up with a vengeance. When she goes to get up, though, Dick glares at her. "You stay put."

"I want to eat at the table," Dani complains. "I can elevate my foot there too."

He studies her with skepticism. Dani doesn't know why. She's an angel.

"Fine," he relents. "Let me set up." He puts the dishes on the table and starts pulling out takeout containers from the bags. Dani gets impatient and stands up. Dick immediately comes to her side to help her hobble to the table.

It's overkill. She can already feel her foot healing. A bit of walking isn't going to set her back much.

Dick helps her put her foot up again. Dani scowls at him in thanks.

"What did you order?" Dani asks, as if she doesn't already know.

"Pakistani," he answers. Then he starts pointing out the different dishes, warning her of spice levels as he goes. Which is completely unnecessary; Dani loves spicy food. She has very minimal tolerance for it, but she loves the way her whole mouth burns.

Dani opts for trying some of everything. She doesn't like the haleem very much – Dani's not sure why, but lentils are the bane of her existence. The I, which is a type of bread covered in curries, is delightfully spicy, but once the sauce waterlogs it Dani isn't so much a fan of the texture. Ooh, and the rice dishes! There's four of them (Asia loves their rice), two with vegetables, one with some kind of meat, and the last with the spiciest sauce. Dani likes that one a lot. It makes her whole mouth riot.

"You said you're an acrobat?" Dani asks when she needs to pause eating because her mouth is on fire. She may actually cry, lol. She loves this food.

Dick nods, swallowing before explaining, "My parents and I performed in a traveling circus as the 'Flying Graysons'."

"Really?! What circus? I've never gone to a circus!"

"Haly's," Dick responds. "I'm surprised you've never gone to a circus, given how much you've traveled."

"It never occurred to me to look for one, I guess." Dani doesn't say that she only vaguely has an idea of what circuses are from brief descriptions from Danny when he was telling her about Freakshow. Other than the whole mind-control thing, they seem pretty cool. "Why did you stop performing and become a cop instead?"

His face flashes with pain and he looks down at his plate. "Uh, my parents died on the trapeze when I was nine. I got adopted by my current dad and that was the end of that." Ohhhh, that's why the parents are referred to in past tense, but his dad is still in present tense. Wait, Dani, focus. He just trauma dumped on you.

Dani eyes him, trying to better gauge his mood. Death is an end, but it isn't nearly so bad when you've seen the other side and know what comes next. Dani's sure Dick's parents are enjoying their afterlife, waiting for him to join them in their eternity. But that doesn't negate the pain Dick feels now. She wants to reassure him, but how would she explain how she knows? She wants to ask how they died on a trapeze when that was what they did for a living, but she knows better than to ask about deaths. She wants to comfort him, but she doesn't know how.

Dick shakes his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get heavy." His smile is back, but it looks a little sad. "It was a long time ago. Haly's circus still performs, though, and if you're ever interested I have old tapes of some of our performances."

"Uhh, yeah," Dani mutters, shoving more food in her face. She still feels awkward. "Sounds good."

Dick examines her, and Dani feels exposed under his observant gaze. Luckily, he seems to sympathize with her discomfort and changes the topic. "So, which country were you in last?"

"I was at the UN embassy in Belgium," Dani responds. "I ran through all the countries in two hours. Who knew world travel was so easy?"

Dick's eyes glitter with amusement and curiosity. "That's pretty illegal. How'd you do that?"

Dani shrugs with a grin. "Very very quickly."

He huffs out a laugh and asks her what Belgium food she liked the best. The chocolate, obviously. It's famous for a reason.

As Dani tells him about her stay in Brussels, Belgium's capital, she finishes sampling all the different dishes and grabs another piece of naan for her to nibble on. She doesn't mention seeing a UN meeting with some of the representatives from the Justice League. It's the reason she made a list of heroes she wanted to meet and what cities she'd meet them in.

For some reason, most of them are in America, so off to the States she went.

Speaking of The List, she could cross off Nightwing.

… Nah. She's not done with Blüdhaven yet.

After she's full and her ankle throbs less as it gets the rest it needs, Dani starts to feel exhausted. Her adrenaline crash from earlier is resurging with a vengeance, and Dani suppresses a yawn as Dick goes to ask her another question about Brussels.

"Time for bed?" Dick asks, amused. "It is almost midnight."

"Midnight," Dani scoffs, but she doesn't pick up her head from where she's resting it on her hand. "How early."

"Yeahhhh, let's get you into bed."

"…nooo, I haven't even told you how I got to America yet."

"There's time tomorrow," he assures her. He stands up from the table and helps her to her feet. Dani leans heavily against him, disinclined to try hopping around on one foot. With a huffed laugh, Dick easily takes her weight and shuffles them the long, long ten meters to the guest bedroom. He helps her get into bed, pulling back the comforters and propping up a pillow for her foot. "There are guest toiletries in the cabinet above the sink. Let me grab you a drink of water —" and he does just that, leaving the room to grab a bottle of water from the fridge and returning to set it on the bedside table closest to her side "- and you should be good. I don't have work until the evening tomorrow, so whenever you wake up we can do breakfast. If you need me, I'll leave my door open, alright?"

Dani doesn't point out that she never really agreed to stay the night, but the bed is decently comfortable — a bit soft, but better than the ground — and she is really tired. So she nods, snuggles down in the blankets, and lets Dick turn off the light and shut the door, thoughtfully locking it behind him.

She doesn't sleep right away, of course. She's not worried about surveillance in here, and she's certainly too comfortable to get out of bed to double-check all the entrances, but she listens for him as he leaves.

He cleans up dinner. She hears the running of the dishwasher, the sound of takeout containers being transferred to glass containers (rich tupperware?), and the open-close of the fridge. When he's done, he goes back to the couch and takes out his laptop. She listens for several minutes as he types, but he just seems to be doing normal work.

It gets really boring really quickly.

Dani decides she's safe and lets herself fall asleep.

Dani wakes up disoriented but well-rested. Sunlight peaks around the cracks in the blackout curtains. With a groan and a big stretch, Dani climbs out of bed and makes her way to the bathroom. Her foot is practically brand new, except for a slight ache when she pushes off on it.

She brushes her teeth — bacteria tends to die a painful death in her mouth due to the ectoplasm in her cells, but it doesn't do anything for morning breath — and splashes water on her face. Her reflection, which had been obscured by the steam from last night's shower, peers back at her.

Huh. She hasn't had a face this clean in a while. She's paler than she thought. And her hair is wild. It sticks up in a thousand directions, and most of the top is defying gravity to make her a few inches taller by sheer hair volume.

Dani slaps some water on her scalp to dampen it a bit and calls it good.

She focuses on any noises in the vicinity and picks up the sound of a washing machine running and the light tap-tap of a keyboard. Dani figures it's safe enough and opens the bedroom door. The tapping pauses, then picks up again a moment later.

Dani walks out into the brightly lit living area, where the curtains have been pulled back to let the light in from the massive full-wall window. Dick is sitting at the table, his laptop open in front of him and a spread of papers to the side.

"Good morning," he greets, closing the laptop to give her his full attention. It's weird. "How's everything feeling?"

"Good as new," Dani tells him, climbing up on the bar stool. "What's for breakfast?"

"Way to hide your intentions," Dick teases.

"Oh, was I unclear? I'm only here for food!" she crows. "Now where's it at, rich boy?!"

Dick laughs. "I was waiting for you to wake up to order. What do you want?"

"Do you not have any food in this entire place?"

His bright grin turns a little sheepish. "I usually order in. Uh, I'm not a great cook."

"You're ridiculous," Dani laughs. "You can't even make toast?"

"I mean, I can, and I can make cereal too."

"Hm, a regular Gordon Ramsey," Dani quips. She thinks for a minute, trying to decide what she wants. Honestly, she kind of wanted something homemade, but oh well. She'll take free take out too. "I want crepes. And bagels. With jam."

"What kind of jam?" Dick asks, already pulling out his phone.

"Um. All of them."

Dick laughs. "All of them it is." He messes around on his phone before setting it down with a smile. "Done. Should be here in twenty minutes."

Dani kicks her feet. What should she do until then?

"How's the swelling?"

"It went way down," Dani reports. "It barely even hurts anymore, and that's really only when I put pressure on it."

"That's good," Dick says, looking genuinely relieved. "I was worried you might've gotten a stress fracture. Those are a pain to heal from."

"He says from experience…"

He smirks. "Absolutely. At least three, maybe four. I really like gymnastics."

"You'll have to show me sometime," Dani mentions idly. "Seems like it'd be cool."

Dick beams.

Dani decides it's a good time to make herself busy. She gets off the bar stool and goes over to the couch, making sure to favor her ankle so he doesn't think it completely healed in the last eight or so hours. She grabs the atlas and flips it open to a random page, landing on a page about Haiti. She'd never even heard of it before, so she's quickly sucked in.

Taking the hint, Dick busies himself by cleaning up his spread of papers. She wonders if he's working on a case. Actually, that reminds her…

"Did you ever solve the case of that guy who got hit by the car?"

Dick looks up from his work. "No, but Nightwing did. He dropped off a culprit and evidence two days ago. It was a murder — an ex-wife still on the will who was hoping to collect his life insurance before she was taken off his papers."

Huh. "Why is it always the ex?"

"Crimes of passion are popular, I guess," Dick replies. "But speaking of the case and how we met and whatnot… do I get to know your name yet?"

Dani blinks. "Oh. I completely forgot I didn't tell you." Well, it doesn't seem like he'd put her name in the system. "Off the police record?"

Dick grins. "Of course. I'm not sure if I mentioned, but your prints were mixed up and they never got scanned in."

Oh, he was one thousand percent behind that. Dani wonders if Dick is one of those corrupt cops, but it doesn't really make a ton of sense given Dani's not giving him anything for it. Maybe he's planning on making her disappear? She focuses more strongly on her empathetic sense, but she doesn't get any bad vibes, just a weird sense of… mischief? It matches the sparkle in his eye.

"My name is Dani," she introduces herself, enjoying the glee that overcomes Dick's face, "with an i."

"It's a pleasure to formally meet you, Dani-with-an-i."

Dani smiles at him and then turns her attention back to her book. Dick continues cleaning up with a bit more pep in his step. What a dork.

When the food comes, they sit at the table again and dig in. Dani lathers her crepes in jam and roll them up into tubes. There are eight jams: strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, boysenberry (which is nasty, in Dani's opinion), raspberry, peach, apricot, and orange-cinnamon marmalade. Dani is very impressed with the spread.

She even thanks Dick this time, which he responds to with glittering amusement in his bright blue eyes.

After she packs away eight crepes with eight different jams, she grabs one of the warm bagels and lathers each side in her two favorite jams: the blackberry and apricot. The boysenberry can burn. Actually cursed.

Dick eats almost as much as she does, but he doesn't seem to like the orange jam much. He actually likes the boysenberry, which makes Dani incredibly suspicious of his tastes. He also sips from a paper cup of what he identifies as tea as he scans the newspaper.

Dani really likes tea. America's tea is disgusting though, so she doesn't bother asking for a taste.

"Would you like to do something today? I don't get on shift until five."

Dani considers this. "There's a lake I want to find in the woods. Legend says there's a forty-foot dog-snake monster there."

Dick considers her. "How about we let your foot rest today, and we do that another day?"

"Don't tell me you're scared of the monster," Dani teases, pouting.

"If there's an actual forty foot dog-snake hybrid monster, yes, I absolutely will be scared. Who wouldn't be? Honestly though, I'd probably be most scared about how it managed to escape widespread detection til now."

"Maybe it's shy," Dani guesses. "Maybe it just needs a friend."

"Well sadly, I believe it will have to remain friendless until you're more suited to hiking."

"You're not the boss of me," Dani mutters. Dick grins at her melancholy.

"How about a video game?"

This does pique Dani's interest. She loves video games, but she only has the opportunity to play them when she visits Danny. "Which ones?"

"Pretty much all of them," Dick brags. He's cleaning up again, thoughtfully grabbing Dani a drink of water before she can ask. Dani sips the cool water, again pleased by its taste. "What do you want to play?"

Dani thinks about it for a minute. What is she in the mood for? Something multiplayer, but not Mariokart or party. Something open world, maybe? Oh, it's so obvious! "Minecraft," she decides. "I want to build a sick tower."

Dick agrees, and in twenty minutes they're on the couch exploring the opening setting of their shared survival world.

Dani wastes no time in starting a wood tower, though she has to close the top the first night when a spider climbed in and took her down to one heart. Only Dick coming to the rescue with his stone sword and raw pork chops saved her from certain death.

The two of them don't really work together, but whenever Dani is in trouble she'll shriek until Dick abandons what he's doing and runs to her aid. She just wants to build, bro. (When Dick suggests they start a creative world, though, Dani calls him a coward and sets him on fire with his own flint and steel.)

Dick orders sandwiches for lunch and reveals he'd ordered her a change of clothes. Dani found this strange, but the more she gets to know Dick, the more she understands his obsessive need to provide. It's not even limited to her. He pauses the game to ask her what he should send his sister who was apparently having a bad time at her dance practice. Without too much context, Dani helps him choose a monstrosity of a fro-yo order, with more calories in pure sugar than most people eat in a week.

(Apparently, his sister —Cass— loved it. She sent a picture back of a spoon filled with a heaping pile of gummy bears, skittles, sprinkles, and sugar crystals. It looks disgusting, like eating a pure pixie stick dissolved in syrup, but Dani's glad she liked it.)

So the clothes were weird, but Dick mentions they're just to replace the clothes she was wearing last night, since they were all dirty and he didn't want to do her laundry until after she woke up.

"Plus," he says as he pulls out the clothes from the dryer, "they were looking a little worse for wear."

Dani rolls her eyes but accepts the change of clothes. They're almost the same as her others, though the material is of much higher quality. (Rich people, honestly.) The shirt even has a compass design on the front.

Agh. She's so easy to buy, because she is filled with intense fondness for this ridiculous way-too-pretty police officer for his obvious enjoyment in picking things out for her. And she loves the shirt. It's a cool olive green — adventure green, as Dani calls it.

Luckily, he stops at the clothes. She would've been a little overwhelmed if he also got shoes for her.

Freshly dressed, she heads back into the living area and finds Dick paying the sandwich guy. She happily accepts her own order and chows down, this time insisting they eat on the balcony, their legs dangling off the edge through the wrought iron bars.

"So your ankle is good as new, then?" Dick asks when they've finished their sandwiches. She'd been giving said ankle a little limp, but it really was good as new as far as Dani could tell.

"I can walk on it," Dani answers instead. She doesn't like lying, not really. She prefers to tell the truth since it's so bizarre no one believes her anyway… Though with Dick, she should be a little more careful. Man sees all, as far as she's learned. "So I think it's fine."

Dick hums, unconvinced. "I'm guessing I can't ask you to stay while I'm at work?"

"You can ask," Dani says. "But the answer will be no." He looks at her a little sadly. "Relax, I'll be careful. Yesterday was a bit of an outlier. Besides, I'd pretty much lost them."

He doesn't seem reassured. "Will you at least promise to give me a call if you run into trouble?"

"Uh. I don't have a phone, actually."

"Oh, I might have an extra somewhere…"

"I also don't want a phone," Dani stresses. "I can't get them to work, I'll probably break or lose it, and it's just one more thing to carry."

Technology hates Dani. Her human form is better than her ghost's, for sure, but signals get jumbled and the only thing she can consistently transmit is static. Everything in Amity has been thoroughly contaminated by the ambient ectoplasm, so most of it works with ghostly interference, but Dani hadn't bothered to grab a phone last time she was in town.

Plus, clothes were one thing, getting her a phone is a whole other.

Dick doesn't look pleased by this.

Dani shrugs. "I've been doing this for a long time, Dick. I'm not going to suddenly drop dead now."

"That is kind of how death works," Dick grouses. "You could've been shot so easily."

"Good thing I wasn't," Dani shoots back. "I can take care of myself. I like hanging out with you, but I don't need any of your help."

Dick seems to pick up on her growing frustration and backs off. "Sorry. Older brother instincts, I guess."

Dani grumbles, but she understands. Danny is the same way. But she can take care of herself, and they need to stop treating her like she's made of glass.

"Then where are you going?" He asks instead. "The lake?"

"Nah," Dani replies, "That's a daytime thing. I might hit your Chinatown, or maybe the pier? We'll see, there's a lot left to explore."

"Careful in Chinatown, there's a few crime families that are pretty active right now," Dick frets. "And the pier is usually where drug deals go down, especially when it gets dark. Oh, and make sure you avoid 7th —"

"I do, in fact, know these things," Dani interrupts. "I always do my research."

"Like last night?"

Dani gets up from the balcony, Dick close behind. Dani glares at him. "I scouted the area beforehand, and I had someone I needed to help. I told you, last night wasn't normal." She's starting to feel attacked, honestly, so she thinks now is a good time to head out. "I think I've overstayed my welcome." She stomps away, Dick hurrying after her.

"No, no, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that!"

"Yeah, but it's not your business," Dani snaps, giving him a hard look. "Get over your hero complex, Grayson. I'm not someone you need to take care of, and you won't be at fault if anything does happen to me. I'm my own person, who makes my own decisions. You've known me for less than a week, and you don't know a thing about me."

Dick holds up his hands placatingly as she grabs her sweatshirt and pulls it over her head. "I'm really not trying to stop you, I promise! I just… I don't know, I worry."

"Well I'm not yours to worry about," Dani snaps. She calls the elevator. "See ya around."

Dick's hands are fluttering around, and his face is flashing through a bunch of emotions. Fondness, exasperation, desperation, determined and worried. "I'm sorry! Look, at least know you're always welcome here. Anytime, day or night. If you press my floor I'll approve it and you can come on up." The elevator arrives and Dani steps in. Dick holds open the door, but only to stall it once to get out his last little bit. "Please, forgive me. I'm overprotective, it's just who I am. I really enjoy hanging out with you, and I'd really like to see you again."

Dani sighs. "We'll see." Dick's heartbroken face is the last thing she sees as the doors shut and she heads down to the lobby.

This just proves Dick doesn't know her very well. She's obviously going to go back.

Dani gets overwhelmed by affection easily. She needs distance to sort out her feelings, to reassert her own independence, and relax. Her core is all jumbled and confused, already half-claiming this rando as fraid, and she needs it to chill out.

She's just worried if she stays, she'll feel like she can never leave.

Trauma, right? It's a blast.

Anyway, time to check out the haunted hotel.

Hm. I love this chapter, but I'm afraid there's not much action. Hopefully, you'll at least appreciate all the brother-sister bonding going on. As a little treat, I decided to merge chapters 4 and 5 back together. It's a ridiculously long chapter, but I feel like you guys deserve a lot. Thanks so much for reading!

As for the rest of the Batfam, I'm getting them in as fast as I can. I wanted to have Dick head back to Gotham by the end of chapter 6 (now chapter 5), but I ended up changing that since I thought up a really great scene for MORE bonding. But there is some Tim in that one, so look forward to that I guess.

Thank you guys so much for the response for the last few chapters... that alone had me write more than sIxTy PaGeS in less than a month. That's insane, you guys. If only I could write my academic papers so explosively. Well, maybe I would, if I had people as excited to read it as y'all are for the new chapters.