by Lauren
See part 1 for disclaimer.
***************************************************
"I can't believe there's still no answer," Dick said, replacing the receiver to its cradle.
Babs glared at him. "Genius, they're probably out surfing." She rolled her eyes and supressed a "duh!".
Dick shook his head. "I hate it when criminals use a perfectly legit idea for illegal purposes..."
Babs laughed.
"I didn't mean that to be funny, Babs, besides I wasn't finished," he said.
Babs continued snickering.
"What? What is it? Is it about me?" Dick asked. He reached over and tried to look at the laptop's screen.
"Hey!?" she said, moving it away from him. "None of your business what I'm doing here!" She continued laughing.
"It *is* my business if it's about me and you didn't answer my questions. Now, lemme see!" Dick said, then reached over Babs trying to grab the laptop.
"No!" Babs laughed. She held the laptop at arm's length, playing keep-away and wondering why he just didn't get up to grab it.
"Oh, come on!" he complained. "Was it Dinah? Did she say something about me?"
"You're becoming quite the Paranoid Wonder, aren't uou?" she commented, smirking.
Dick stopped reaching for the laptop, placed both hands palm down on the bed, looked right at Barbara... and pouted.
Babs burst out laughing.
He quirked an eyebrow, then stood up. "I'm going to find out what this is about, I promise you."
"Are you sure that's a promise and not a threat?" she asked, grinning.
Dick sighed. "First Roy shows up to annoy me and now you're talking about me behind my back right in front of my face. Some vacation this is."
Her expression softened. She put the laptop back on her lap, typed a little, then waited. She smiled, then closed the laptop. She held it out to him.
"Now, you're giving it to me?" he asked.
"Will you just put it on the table over there?" Barabara snapped.
He did as told. "Well?"
Babs grinned. "Now, come back over here."
"Huh?"
"Will you just get back over here, next to me?" she said, then patted her hand on the mattress.
Dick shrugged and, again, did as told, and sat next to her once more.
"You know..." Babs started, then placed a hand on Dick's cheek. "I really like this new look of yours."
"Yeah?"
She smiled. "Even the stubble's cute." She rubbed her thumb along the unshaven hair on his chin. "It's about time *I* took a vacation and acted like Barbara again."
"How so?" Dick asked, playing along.
"This is a good start..." Babs said and drew him closer.
Just before their lips met, there was a knock at the door.
"If that's Roy again, *I* want a piece of him," she said.
Dick smiled. "Take a number. The line forms to the right." He got up, went over to the door, looked through the peep hole, and sighed. "I'm going to rip him a new one." He turned to Barbara. "Be right back." He grabbed the room key and went out into the hall.
"Hey, Robbie, what took ya?" Roy asked.
"Hmm, let's see," Dick said, then tapped an index finger to his lips. "Oh, yes, now I remember, I was *trying* to spend some time with my girlfriend, Arrowbreath!"
"Well, geez, you don't have to get your shorts in a bunch," Roy countered, then let his gaze drop, momentarily. "On second thought..."
Dick held up his room key just under Roy's nose. "Say it, and I *will* make this fit up your nose, Bowhead."
Roy put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, I won't say it... I guess this means tonight's patrol is out of the question."
"You got it," Dick said.
Roy sighed. "Fine... Lian makes for better company, anyway." He turned on his heel and was halfway down the hall in a matter of seconds. Wally would have been proud... of his speed.
Dick opened the door and went back into the room, closing the door behind him, then put the chain back in place.
"You threatened him with a key up his nose?" Babs questioned.
"Yes, I did and I'm proud of myself for not drawing an audience to watch Nightwing, disguised as a surfer dude, kick Arsenal's ass," Dick said, sarcastically. "*Anyway,* maybe now things can get back to their usual semi-normal state."
"So, just what did he do to warrant such a threat?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow.
He returned to his spot next to her on the bed. "Let me sleep on the bed tonight and I might just *show* you." He smiled, mischievously.
"You can get your hopes up, but nothing else... yet," Babs said, then winked.
~~*~~*~~*~~
"Hey, Tony!" Dick called, walking down the beach.
Tony Methier turned to greet him. "Rick! Excellent, some of the guys were just getting ready to start some trial runs, you know, get ready for tomorrow."
"Yeah, I figured I'd get some practice in myself. Also, I'd tried to call..." Dick said.
"But got no answer? Yeah, we're having a bit of a problem with the phone company," Tony said. "Say, where's your lovely friend?"
"Rache is doing some sight-seeing," Dick answered.
"Good, good. Why don't you go pick out a board," Tony said.
"Okay," Dick said, then headed towards the boards. 'Why did he ask about Babs? What's with the phone company excuse?' He looked over the boards. 'Man, the one I rented yesterday was in better shape than half of these put together.' He continued inspecting the boards and finally found one that looked half-way decent.
~~*~~*~~*~~
Babs watched from the terrace with binoculars as Dick picked up a board, tucked it under his arm, and jogged towards the water. She noted the discussion between Dick and Tony and wished that they'd thought to bring a waterproof bug with them.
She watched as Dick rode the waves as well as he had the day before, but this time stayed on through the third wave. However, the fourth wave wasn't meant to be and she felt her breathing catch momentarily as he dove into the water, then resurfaced seconds laters. She smiled.
Dick dragged the board--and himself--out of the water, then walked up the beach. Just before replacing the board, he looked up towards the terrace where Barbara was watching. He set the board back and was immediately joined by Tony.
"That is some excellent wave riding, there, Rick!" Tony said.
Dick noted the false enthusiasm in Tony's voice. "Thanks." He nodded towards the surf boards. "You've got some nice boards."
"The best around!" Tony exclaimed.
Dick almost had to bite his lip at the comment. "Well, I'm going to go rest up for the competition. I'll see you tomorrow, Tony," Dick said.
"See ya tomorrow!" Tony said, then waved after Dick.
Dick walked up the rest of the beach towards the hotel. 'That guy is really getting on my nerves... he's almost as bad as Roy!' He shook his head. Atleast tonight, he knew to check out the surf boards.
~~*~~*~~*~~
Dick sat, tapping a pencil on the table next to him, while Babs typed.
"I hope that isn't Dinah you're chatting with," he said.
She glared at him over the top of the laptop, then smiled. "Nope, it's the current Boy Wonder."
Dick picked up another pencil and turned on the radio. "The boy genius figure anything out?" He began drumming the pencils.
"He's working on it, but nothing substantial," Babs replied.
He continued drumming with the pencils.
"*Dick*!" she said, very loudly.
He stopped and looked at her innocently. "What'd I do?"
Babs sighed, audibly. "Shouldn't you be trying to piece something together using these clues?"
"Well, I *was* going to wait until I got back tonight, but if you insist..." Dick said.
"Yes, I do insist! You're annoying me!" she said.
"Really?" he asked, a grin forming.
"Yes!" Babs said, almost laughing.
Dick's grin turned into a mischievous smile. "Why don't you tell the current bird-boy that you'll IM him later..."
"Because I have to beat you up?" she finished. "Sure, I'll tell him that."
"Ba-abs!" he whined.
She laughed again, then typed something and closed the laptop.
"So, what'd you tell him?" Dick asked, quirking an eyebrow.
Babs returned the mischievous grin he'd given her. "Oh, just that you're a whiny, annoying..."
"Babs!" he said, laughing.
"I told him I'd IM him later after you get back," she said, then added, "assuming I don't knock you out first."
"How kind," Dick commented.
"Aren't I?" Babs said.
~ ~ ~
Nightwing slipped in through an open second story window. Are these guys *purposely* leaving these windows open for me? He turned on his StarLite lenses and looked around the room.
It turned out to be a storage room for the surfboards. He smirked, remembering the boards he'd looked at earlier, with defects only a trained eye could see. He noticed the labels under each board.
He grinned upon finding *Rick's* board and pulled it out of the rack. Again, he saw the minor defects and shook his head.
He pulled out a few other boards, noting the same defects... hairline cracks that could easily split the board in half with the right pressure.
He moved across the room and found a lone door with "Private" written on a piece of paper taped to it. He tried the knob and it opened.
Inside, the room was filled with sandwich bags full of white powder. He picked up on of the bags and smiled. "Gotcha."
And just as quickly and quietly as he had slipped in, he vanished out of the building and into the night.
~ ~ ~
Babs yawned and stretched.
"Don't tell me you're getting soft from vacation," Dick commented, removing his mask while entering the room.
"Did you find anything?" she asked, suddenly alert.
"A whole load of surfboards that look like they came from the reject pile and a whole *shit-load* of cocaine. I have a feeling the winner won't be receiving a trophy," he replied.
"When do we let the cops know?" Babs asked.
"All the competitors tomorrow will have reject board except for Tony--and I'll be renting mine--so, I say we let the cops know just before the competition starts. Hopefully, I can out-surf that dofus and be able to nab him more easily... after all, he'd have to give it to me sometime," Dick explained.
"It sounds too easy," she commented.
He pulled off the shirt of his costume. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?"
"What if that stash *isn't* what the winner gets?" Babs asked.
"I'm hoping we won't have to worry about that," Dick said, then sat on the end of the bed. "You didn't IM Dinah after I left, did you?"
"Why would I do that?" she asked, innocently.
"Babs..." he said.
"Okay, maybe I did. Happy?" she said.
Dick grinned. "Not yet." He crawled up the bed, plopped next to her, and propped himself up with an elbow. "So, can I use the bed tonight?" He gave her a pleading look.
"Why do you have to give me that look?" Babs complained. "I always fall for it... Okay, you can use the bed!"
He smiled. "You're the best."
"You're spoiling me with all this attention. I may have to ask you to move in with me when we go home," she said, then winked. "Of course, dad would most likely try to chase you away." She paused. "Of course, he'd have to have something like a bazooka to do that."
"It would *take* a bazooka to make me leave," DIck agreed. He reached up, pulled her face down to his, and into a kiss that seemed to last forever.
Babs pulled away, smiling. "I'm glad I came with you..." She paused, then added, "Short Pants."
"Kill the mood, why don't ya?" he said, then grinned.
"Oh, go to sleep," she said, then clicked off the light.
"Oh, all right," Dick said.
~ ~ ~
Just before sunrise, Babs woke up. She looked over at the sleeping form next to her. I could really get used to this... She paused in her thoughts. Did I just think that?! She shook her head and looked at him again.
For a change, Dick seemed to be sleeping soundly. He was now on his back with his arms over the sheet.
Barbara found herself watching him... the rise and fall of his chest. Her focus shifted to his arms and travelled up to his shoulders. She almost frowned when her gaze landed on his scar.
She looked at his face again... the now two day stubble, the shorter, dyed-blond hair. She had to admit she really liked this look, but at that moment, she would have given alot of things to be able to brush that cowlick from his forehead. She wondered if when his hair grew back to its original length if it would come back.
She sighed, quietly.
~ ~ ~
Dick gave his reflection a grin. "So, we meet again, huh?" He stuck his comb into the running water and ran it through what was left of his hair. He exited the bathroom as Babs was waking up.
"Mornin'," he said, cheerfully.
She rubbed her eyes. "G'mornin'." She stretched.
"We've got about two hours before the competition..." Dick began. 'And I can't decide what to do." He began pacing.
Babs quirked an eyebrow. "Eat a light breakfast?"
He frowned. "I gotta rent a board, practice one more time, alert the cops... decide whether to shave this mess off my chin or not..."
"Dick!" she said, loudly.
He stopped pacing immediately and looked at her.
"What you *should* do is have a little something to eat," Babs admonished.
"There's that baby-sitter again. I thought I left you on the plane. So, what did you do with my girlfriend?" Dick said, then grinned.
She glared at him.
He gulped. "Okay... not in the mood for joking around." He lowered his gaze to the floor. "I'll go get a cereal bar from the vending machine." He began walking towards the door, while humming "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch."
~~*~~*~~*~~
Dick walked down the hall. He turned a corner and nearly got run over by a little girl and her father. "Roy!?" he exclaimed, now leaning against the wall.
"Hey, Robbie!" Roy greeted.
Lian stopped and turned. "Unca Ni-"
Roy held an index finger to his lips to shush her.
"Unca Robbie!" Lian said, gleefully, and ran full force towards Dick, and nearly jumped on him to get him to pick her up.
"Man, Roy, what're you feeding this kid?" Dick asked, grinning.
Roy looked at the vending machine. "Every type of snack from this thing." He jerked his thumb at the offending machine.
"Unca Robbie looks funny," Lian said, smiling.
Dick looked down at the little girl. "Why, thank you, Lian." He rolled his eyes, then looked at Roy. "I thought you two were on the third floor."
"We are, but the vending machine up there's empty." Roy answered.
"How surprising," Dick said. "Well, I've got to get a cereal bar and go back to my room before my girlfriend comes to find me." He handed Lian over to Roy and "attacked" the vending machine himself, getting a Nutrigrain bar, a Snickers Cruncher, and Pop Tarts.
"Light breakfast, Robbie?" Roy asked.
"Yeah. I'm gonna be surfing in about two hours so..." Dick said.
"Hey, Lian, wanna watch Uncle Robbie surf later?" Roy asked his little girl.
She looked confused at first, then shrugged. "Okay!" She smiled.
"See ya later, Rob," Roy said, then turned to go.
Dick watched and, after they turned the corner, he sighed and went back to his room.
"That's a light breakfast?" Babs asked.
"Spare me, Babs, please. I just ran into Roy again. This time, he had Lian *with* him, who, by the way, almost blew my cover. I don't know why he doesn't teach her..." Dick ranted.
"To shut up and eat?" Babs asked.
Dick tore into the Snickers Cruncher, took a bite and handed the Nutrigrain bar and PopTarts to Babs.
She eyed the snacks and held up the Pop Tarts. "Saving these for later?"
"Yup," he said, his mouth full of candy bar.
Babs shook her head, then mumbled, "So well mannered."
~ ^v^ ~ ^v^ ~ ^v^ ~
Babs sat on the terrace, binoculars in hand. She'd already made the "anonymous" call to the cops about Tony's little contest.
She watched as ten young men, one by one, hit the surf. Of the ten, Dick was second to last, with Tony being last.
Dick had indeed rented a board, which was a good thing considering none of the other competitors lasted for more than two waves. This time, he rode five waves. Later, he watched as Tony did the same.
Dick sighed, then shook his head. "Dammit," he breathed.
Babs watched as Tony came back to shore and walked over to Dick. She tried to watch Tony to figure out what he was saying, but he turned away. After a few minutes, they shook hands, but Tony initiated it, then motioned for Dick to follow him.
"Should've brought a waterproof bug," Babs muttered.
"Well, you, my friend, are a truly gifted surfer. Because of your talent, I have something I'd like to share with you," Tony said, as they left the beach.
"Like what?" Dick asked.
Tony smiled. "Now, Rick, that would spoil the surprise!"
Dick fought the urge to laugh in this guy's face, then punch him out. He knew Babs was watching and had already called the cops. It was just a matter of letting the guy walk right into the "trap."
Which he did. Tony led Dick to the warehouse in question.
"Come on inside and I-" Tony began as he opened the door, but was promptly cut off when the door seemed to swing itself open.
"Freeze!" the officer called out, holding a gun on Tony.
"Shit," Tony mumbled, then turned tail to run, but he wasn't alone.
Dick was quickly on Tony's heels. He vaulted over Tony's head, executing a lone summersault and a simple twist to land facing Tony, who stopped in his tracks.
"What the hell's the meaning of this?" Tony asked, loudly, as the cops approached.
"Tony Methier," the same officer as before said, "you're under arrest for selling and buying illegal drugs..."
As the officer continued, Dick used the opportunity to make his exit and go back to the hotel.
After the officer finished reading Tony his rights, he turned and looked for "Rick." "Dammit, rotten undercover cops."
"Excuse me?" the officer said.
Tony looked confused. "You mean that guy, Rick, who just jumped over my head, wasn't a cop?"
"I've never seen him before, not that it matters. You're the one we've been looking for. Now, it would be best if you come along peacefully..."
The cops handcuffed Tony and placed him in the back of the squad car, that had been parked in an alley.
~ ^v^ ~ ^v^ ~ ^v^ ~
Dick joined Babs on the terrace. "Looks like we leave for home tomorrow."
Babs raised an eyebrow. "Home? Don't you mean," she pointed at herself, "Gotham," and then pointed at him, "Blüdhaven?"
"I mean, I'm hanging around you long enough to (1) get this color out of my hair and (2) to make sure you don't show any of your *multitudes* of pictures to anyone, especially Dinah," Dick said, sitting down next to her.
"Are you kidding? I'm saving them for blackmailing purposes," Babs said, then smiled.
Dick gave her a look of mock amusement.
~~*~~*~~*~~
"Only midnight and I'm getting ready for bed," Dick complained.
Babs rolled her eyes. "Not again."
"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm not used to it," he replied, then sat down next to her and looked around the room. "I think this is the first hotel room I've ever liked."
"Maybe it has something to do with who your roommate is," she said, innocently.
"You think so?" Dick said, then grinned. He leaned over, placed his right hand on her cheek, and pulled her into a kiss.
Babs responded by placing her right hand on the back of his head. She briefly ran her fingers through what was left of his hair and pulled away. "You know what, I never really got to play with that ponytail you had." She grinned.
"Awe, Babs, please, one new hairstyle a year is too much for me!" he said.
She laughed. "I'm sorry, but it's true!"
Dick frowned. "You're disrupting the mood."
"Mood? What mood? Where?" Babs asked, then grinned again.
He sighed. "I give up." He clicked off the light on his side and laid back, pulling the sheet up over him. "'Night, Babs."
"'Night, Dick," she replied, then clicked off her light and laid back, pulling up her half of the sheet. A grin formed on her face as she allowed her hand to do a bit of travelling.
Dick was staring up at the ceiling, wondering why she actually called him 'Dick'. He was sure he hadn't done anything wrong *this* time. His thoughts were interrupted when he thought he felt something brush against his leg. "Babs?" he whispered. Receiving no answer, he shrugged it off.
About a minute passed and he felt it again, this time against his thigh, just below the leg of his shorts. "Babs?" he tried again, but still didn't receive an answer.
Two more minutes passed and he felt a tickle at his waist. He looked over at Babs. 'I wonder if this hair dye is seeping into my brain...' he thought, seeing that she was asleep.
Dick was just about to fall asleep when, again, he felt the same "tickle", but this time against his *namesake*. He laughed out loud and turned to look at Babara, who was now looking at him, smiling.
He smiled. "Don't get me wrong, I *really* liked that, but maybe a little warning would help next time."
There was just enough moonlight coming in the room for Barbara to see him wink at her. "What kind of warning would you like, Sexy Wonder?"
"That would do it," Dick replied, then kissed her again.
*** ^v^ *** ^v^ ***
"I'm going to miss being a surfer dude," Dick said, running a hand through his not-quite-so-blond hair.
Babs rolled her eyes and closed up her bags. "I think everything's ready to go. You've got yours?"
He lifted his t-shirt to reveal the Kevlar underneath. "All set." He grinned.
"Good," she said, smiling. "Everything's gonna be okay until we get on the plane." She shot him a glare.
"What?" Dick asked.
"No hassling *anyone* this time, alright?" Babs said.
"I don't know if I can promise that..." he said.
She sighed, audibly and irritably.
*** ^v^ *** ^v^ ***
Babs connected her headphones into the jack on her laptop. She glanced over at Dick, who, thankfully, had actually fallen asleep before finding out the, yet again, the in-flight movie was "BioDome."
She downloaded some of her favorites MP3 files that she'd made and eventually fell asleep.
*** ^v^ *** ^v^ ***
"Unca Robbie?"
Dick groaned, still asleep, but aware of the possible intrusion into his unconscious state.
"Unca Robbie!?"
He awoke when he suddenly felt about 55 pounds of little girl climb onto his lap, squirm around, almost knee him twice, and was now staring at him. "Lian?"
"I found you, Unca Robbie!" she said, gleefully.
"Did your father put you up to this?" Dick asked.
Lian nodded, happily.
"And where is your father?" he asked.
She pointed behind him.
Dick smiled. "Thank you, sweetheart." He picked her up and stood. He put her down and turned to go down the aisle, but found who he was looking for just two rows back. "Hey, Bowhead, lose something?" He motioned towards Lian.
Lian ran to her father and jumped on his lap.
Roy grinned. "Can I help it if she loves her uncle?"
"Well, no, but could you help this following me around thing? I'm almost thinking Bruce *made* you do this," Dick said, quietly.
"Are you kidding?" Roy scoffed. "I found out where you were from Dinah."
Dick slapped a hand to his forehead. "My God, the whole JLA and all of the Titans must already know then," he whispered. He flopped down into the seat next to Roy.
"And what's so bad about that?" Roy asked.
"*He* doesn't know about this," Dick said.
An evil smirk crossed Roy's lips. "This could get interesting."
"Don't even *think* about it, Arrowbreath," Dick said.
"Just can't let a guy have a little fun," Roy said.
"No, I can't, atleast not at my expense," Dick said and stood. "And no more sending Lian after me." He went back to his seat next to Babs.
Roy turned to Lian. "Good job, sweetie."
She smiled brightly at his comment.
Barbara eyed Dick as he sat down with a plop and a sigh. "Maybe you should get restraining orders against Roy." She smiled.
Dick just looked at her. "Still wouldn't help." He slumped down. "I'm starting to think I need a vacation from my vacation."
Babs leaned in closer to him. "We'll talk about that later," she said, with a wink.
Dick smirked. "*Do* tell!"
*** ^v^ *** ^v^ ***
Dick dumped his bag on his couch. Babs sent him home after an hour of trying to talk her into not telling anyone about the trip.
"You're back."
Dick eyed the shadows, then raised an eyebrow. "You knew I was gone?" He smirked.
"You stopped a major drug dealer."
Dick glared into the shadows. "What else do you know?"
"Barbara went with you."
He swallowed hard. "And?"
"She let you near a surfboard."
He lowered his eyes to the floor.
"You dyed your hair blond."
Dick raised his eyes, but not his head. "How. Did. You. Know?"
"Barbara told Dinah."
Dick clenched his fists and the figure disappeared from the shadows. He looked over at the window and saw Robin looking in, with a smirk on his face.
"I thought you knew Dinah can't be trusted with *any* type of secret. The only ones she keeps... well, even *that's* not right. She cannot keep a secret. Period," Robin said.
Dick walked over to the window. "Anything else I should be aware of?"
"There's the pictures..." Robin began.
Dick rolled his eyes and sighed.
The End...?
(Author's Note: I thought up an idea for a sequel but haven't attempted
it yet. We shall see!)