Sorry for disappearing – I've needed to re-evaluate where this story was going, after I had a bit of a review at me in the YJ for it not being what they wanted. It is going to eventually YJ based, but I wanted to give the character a deep background. I moved it a bit into Batman, but it will eventually be back there. Thanks to those who are loving the story. Enjoy!

Sitting in the car with Dick, Alfred was looking for a safe spot to drop us off.

"I wish you would have let me just drive ourselves Alfred, it's too much hassle when I'm just going to a coffee date."

He looked knowingly at me in the rear-view mirror. "It is my job, Miss Indiana. I will be running errands while you have your meeting and will pick you both up when you're ready."

I nodded and grinned at Dick. It was a Sunday. Bruce was who knows where, doing who knows what. When I get time with Dick, I use it well. He's been doing so well at school and considering I had barely seen him the last few days, I decided to drag him along. Once the car came to a stop, we hopped out and quickly made our way to the busy street to the coffee shop. After sitting in a booth furthest from the front, I lined up to order and looked out the front to see Veronica.

"Ronnie!" I motioned to her, catching her attention. Her face lit up and she dashed over to me, hugging me tightly.

"Indiana Smith!" She let go to look at me. "Look at you." She smiled, revelling at me. It had been almost a year since we parted ways. Ronnie ended up going to Blṳdhaven and still works as an EMT there.

After taking a seat and introducing Dick to Ronnie, we spent the better part of two hours chatting away about our lives. Ronnie has got a great guy in her life, her job is going well and they've even started looking at getting a dog.

"So, what do you do?" She asked, slurping away at her drink.

"I work as a private medical technician for this security firm. It's good money, I get a lot more free time to do things and I get to travel a little too."

She nodded impressively. "Wow. Then there's this… Bruce Wayne thing." I blushed a little, with Dick giggling. "Is he good to you?"

"Yeah." I looked up at her solemnly. "He is so great. Bruce is the reason Dick is living with us."

"Living with you? Did you move in with him?"

I nodded. "My lease was up. He offered. I have a roof over my head and food to eat, I get to be with one of Gotham's favourite sons and help raise a gorgeous ten-year-old." I gave Dick a squeeze. "My life is pretty damn good."

CM

I spoke way too soon. That night, soon after I got Dick to bed, my watch went off. I looked at it. There had been an explosion. My watch then started ringing.

"This is Indy."

"Please zeta to the Watchtower for an immediate fly-out."

"On my way." I got changed and used the zeta in the Batcave, it was the quickest way to the Watchtower. Once at the Watchtower, I made my way down to the hangar and was gone again within minutes. No one questioned how I used that Zeta and for that I was thankful.

"Who are we picking up?"

They all looked at me. "You didn't get told?" I shook my head. "Batman is down."

In that moment, all the blood from my face drained. I couldn't show any emotion.

"Landing in 5!" Diana called out.

As we landed, the back door opened and I couldn't get down there fast enough. I got to where Superman and Flash stood guard, waiting for us to get there.

"Report!" I knelt down and started checking him over. Cuts all over him, some minor and some quite deep.

"Explosion occurred 25 minutes ago, Batman was caught in the blast. Wounds from shrapnel, head injury to the back of his head from force of the explosion, maybe with other injuries internally." Flash said. I put a neck brace on him and we get him into the quin-jet.

"Batman? Batman squeeze my hands if you can hear me." He was motionless as we set off again. His breathing was a little ragged, but manageable. I couldn't count all the little nicks he has, so I wait to do anything else until I got back. I couldn't help but let a tear slide down my cheek.

CM

Once he was in a medic bay bed, I got to work. He needed an MRI, CT scan and x-rays. I worked away furiously to get all the metal out of him, with Hal Jordan helping me. Every time we dug something out we made sure to stitch it and cover it. Batman started to soon wake, so we made sure all the metal was out and scanned him.

It would take a bit for the scans to be finalised, so I consulted his file. Many suspected concussions and sprains, but he apparently never wanted to be looked after by medical staff. It was only when he was majorly hurt or knocked out on JL missions that he was tended to by a medic. I began to note all that had happened when Hal knocked.

"He's come to." I get up and go with him to the bedside where Batman was already trying to take the drip out.

"Uh, uh, no." Hal put green restraints on him.

"I'm… fine." He mumbled, trying to get free.

"No, you're not. I'm waiting to see if you've cracked your skull. You still have a neck brace on you too, so I think you need to not fight this right now. Please." He still struggled a little, but his eyes met mine and he stopped. I went to the computer to check what had come through. All the scans go through to an expert on earth before getting sent back to the medic bay with notes and a plan I follow. No cracked skull, which meant I would just need to stitch the back of his head up. "Hal, roll him over please."

It took about 20 minutes to numb and then stitch his head, but after that, he surprisingly didn't have any breaks that were present. Hal left to join a debrief and I sat beside Batman's bed, writing up the report.

CM

I don't think I had ever seen him sleep so peacefully. I spoke to Superman and Wonder Woman at around 3am. Batman was removed from the active duty roster at my request and would be moved to his quarters in the morning. As I went to my quarters to get changed, I received a video call.

"What happened?"

"Richard John Grayson. What in the world are you doing up?! What are you doing in the cave!?"

He shifted a little in the seat, a sneaky grin on his face. "I broke in… and hacked the batcave."

"Dick!"

"What's wrong with Bruce?! I know you left after you said goodnight. Alfred has been readying the master room with medical stuff."

I rolled my eyes. This kid was too smart for his own good.

"He was caught up in an explosion. It isn't anything I couldn't handle. He will be sore and will not be active for a little while. Go. To. Bed." Dick looked a little distressed. "It's fine. He's fine. I'm fine. It will all be ok. Alfred will just have to look after you today instead of me. Go to sleep, I'll see you later." Alfred had by this time made his way to behind the chair, giving me a knowing look as I hung up.

CM

I brought a lunch of soup, plain buttered bread and an electrolyte drink into NW3. It was good, I got some one on one time with Bruce without raising suspicion.

"Oh look, you're finally up." I stuck my tongue out at him as I sat his food on the bedside table.

"You are not funny." He tried to glare at me.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been hit by Superman a few hundred times."

I nodded sympathetically, sitting at the end of the bed. After all the emotion I had bottled in, I knew that I had to keep going with the façade that I can't show emotion. He still seemed a little out of it and tired, which was expected.

"Uh, well… I'll let you be. Please stay in bed. Bland food just until you're able to have a full meal and some electrolytes are there too. I'll be in later, let me know if you need anything."

I went to get up and got to the door when I heard, "Are you ok?"

I plastered a smile onto my face and turned. "I'm fine, just glad you're doing better."

After a few hours doing some debriefs, wound checks and a meeting with Superman, I retired to my room finally. Opening the door, I got the shock of my life.

"Holy flying…" Bruce was in my bed, watching TV. "What are you doing out of your quarters?"

He looked over at me. "You told me to stay in bed. You didn't say which bed to stay in."

I looked out the corridor, left and right, checking no one was around before shutting the door. "What happened to you're Batman here and Bruce down there?"

"Well I don't have a cape on right now." He stiffly moved some covers and opened his arms. I rushed over to him and leaned onto his shoulder, his arms encasing me. I couldn't stop the tears. He didn't say anything and neither did I. I gently guided my hand over his chest where my stitches were.

"I could have lost you." I whispered.

Surprisingly he nodded. "I know and I'm sorry you had to stitch me and restrain me. I don't like being in a hospital setting. I'm just… so used to being independent. Not having a care in the world holding me back. But now I have two. I have Dick and I have you. I've never had to think about my actions effecting someone close to me. While I still work, I go into it knowing that if something does go wrong, I want you looked after."

"Ok?" I was a little confused as to what he was getting at.

"We have been together for close to 18 months. We have had to look after a child in the meantime and… we have become a family. Something I never originally wanted or needed in my life to live." He took my hand. "I love you. I don't know when or how I figured it out, but I do. And when the time is right, when everything falls into place, I want to make that forever."

I had never heard Bruce be so open about his heart. About what he wanted with us. I kissed him deeply, my hands wrapping around his neck, pulling him close. "Bruce Wayne, I love you too." He gingerly pulled my closer too, before I yawned. "But right now, I think we should just sleep."

He nodded, closing his eyes and not letting me go… and I was not going to complain.

I know it's a lot, and a bit all over the place, but you guys deserve this I'll try and update a little more regularly.