Nightwing's Daughter (Fanfic)

Home Sweet Home

Nightwing's Daughter - Chapter 3

Home Sweet Home



I don't even remember the ride back to the manor at all. In truth I didn't even want to go back there, because it would only mean recapping the mission, something I hated doing. I know it was in order to help me improve my crime fighting skills, but it meant that my flaws had to be picked out. Didn't the media do that enough already? I was starting to find that report for college very ironic.



The road that lead to the Batcave was dead, I sped up, being a completely curve-less road I was in the cave parking my bike in no time. I was the first one back. I swung my leg over my bike, removing my helmet as I walked sullenly over to the Bat computer in the middle of the room. Nothing of my pervious happy mood from earlier on in the evening remained. It had all been snatched away by the events at the chemical plant. Sighing somewhat tiredly I sank into the chair that was usually occupied by the Robin, staring absently around the cool, echoey cave.



"Tea?" I jumped out of my skin. Alfred had snuck up behind me with a pot of Earl Grey. When we were little, Robin and I were convinced that the family butler was a ninja. Now we were older, we came to the conclusion that he wasn't a ninja; he just had the rooms of the manor bugged. However thus far neither Robin nor I had found any evidence to support our theory. Even with our mentors help. He must just be really good at his job, that or he was a secret mind reader. I took the tea gratefully.



I was halfway through my cup when we heard the familiar reeve of the Bat mobile. Looking up my stomach lurched. The doors opened, I watched as Batman jumped out of his seat and run to the passenger door at the front of the car. As Nightwing jumped out of the back seat, Batman helped Robin out. All three walked towards us.



Alfred walked forward, heading towards Batman and Robin, offering his medical expertise. Nightwing headed for me as the three other men headed towards a private part of the cave where Robin could get patched up. I couldn't look at him as he out stretched his arms. We just stood there, the pair of us. Once it was apparent I wasn't going to walk into his embrace he broke the silence after a moment or two. "It wasn't your fault you know. The Joker shot him, not you. I heard what the reporters were asking you, don't listen." I looked up at him; his hands made to pull me into another hug that I again refused. "If I had showed up earlier... if I'd arrived with you, like I should have..."



"Then we'd all be dead, you would have been disarmed like we were, and we all would have gone down together. You weren't called out, you used your initiative, you saw the news, guessed we'd be there and turned up just in the nick of time." He made to hug me for a third time, on this occasion I deliberately backed away. "Later yeah?" I nodded, mumbling something about professionalism. He just looked at me.



In an attempt to distract myself I made my way over to the corner of the cave that housed all of the medical supplies. Batman had left in order to get changed, leaving only Alfred and Robin. There was a curtain like the ones that separate hospital beds between the three of us. I looked back over my shoulder to find Nightwing scanning news channels with the Bat computer. I turned back to the screen, shaking my head, trying to focus on the small talk that Alfred and his third grandson were having. Something about witty comebacks, after some easy laughter was exchanged, I interrupted. "Everything ok?" I tried to keep it casual, but I had a feeling that the two knew I was worried and upset, so Alfred drew back the curtain. "Everything seems to be in order," he assured me, "The curtain was for you and your Fa... mentors benefit rather than ours." He smiled, I was glad he caught himself. "Sooo, no lasting damage?" I asked rocking back and forth on my heels. "None." Confirmed the faithful butler. Robin let out a mocking sigh of relief, smiling devilishly up at me. "Don't feel bad yeah? Those reporters have no idea what they're talking about, if you wanted to shot me, you would have gone for the kill." I snorted I looked between the two, smiling, happier than I had been a couple of minutes ago.



The door to the cave slide open, revealing a sharply dressed Bruce Wayne. "Glad to see you're patched up." He nodded in Robin's direction. "Right, that's it for the night. You two can stay if you want it's late,it's a long drive back to Jump City and then Blüdhavan." Nightwing turned to look at his once mentor, smiling as he said. "Thanks, but no thanks, I love long drives." Batman looked taken aback, but nodded none the less. "Alright then, if you're sure." That was it? No run down of the mission? No personal criticism? Was he feeling ok?



"I am." He walked forward to shake Bruce's hand, Bruce accepted the gesture. As Nightwing made his way out of the cave it was my turn to bid goodnight to Bruce Wayne. I walked towards him. He embraced me in a hug, I was shocked, this was very uncharacteristic of him. He whispered quietly in my ear, "Thank you for being there tonight. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. Be proud of yourself Starling, you single handily took down two of Gotham's criminal masterminds." I smiled as I pulled away from him. "Thanks." As I said my farewells' to Robin and Alfred, telling the younger of the two to ring me and tell me how he was in the morning, I walked away. I was just by the entrance to the Batcave when I turned at hearing my name. "Don't keep him out Miss Grayson. It may do more harm than good." I blinked at Alfred's words, "I won't, thank-you Alfred."



-N.D-N.D-N.D-



I met him outside the entrance to the cave next to where he had concealed his car. We got in and I instantly turned on the heat. After a moment or two I pulled off my mask, my eyes stung slightly as the air hit them. We were right on the outskirts of Gotham before he spoke. "How are you Charlotte? You don't seen yourself," When I didn't know what to say he continued, "You seem stressed to say the least." He kept his eyes on the road. I sighed, I still didn't say anything for a while, I was thinking about how to word this correctly. "Sweetheart?"



I cleared my throat. "I've been better I suppose..." He looked at me; he'd removed his mask without me noticing. "I-I think I've bitten of more than I can chew to be honest." I exhaled a breath I didn't even know I was holding. "In what way?" I tried to hold it together, I hadn't cried in a very long time, and I wasn't about to start now. "In every way. The Joker was right; I'm nothing more than a kid." I felt the car buck slightly as he heard me admit this. Before he could interrupt however, a whole torrent of words I had been repressing for weeks - months even - spilled hazardously from my mouth.



"I thought I was ready, but I wasn't, I thought I knew what I was doing when I moved out, but I didn't." I heard the pitter patter of rain on the windows of the car, looking up I saw that the weather had taken a turn for the worst - once he dropped me back to the flat, he'd have a hard time driving in this. Thinking of my flat caused me to tense up, I wanted to scream at my stupidity. After a couple of deep breaths I finally managed to continue. "I'm paying my rent barely on time, to do it I'm in a job I hate, during my breaks and when I get home, I'm doing college work, I'm falling asleep in lessons. Then when I'm finally done I hardly get any rest, because more often than not the Bat signal goes off, or I'm joining the Titans, helping them clean up Jump city. I know you'll probably ask 'Well yeah didn't you come to me or Bruce?' Truth is I felt I couldn't because I was scared of being told 'I told you so'." Through all of this he stayed silent, just driving.



I now became aware that the car was slowing down to a stop. I looked up again; we were in Blüdhavan, in the poor weather conditions, I hadn't even noticed the road signs. What was he doing? We were in his drive way. "I thought you were dropping me off?" He looked slyly at me, "I never actually said I was dropping you home now did I?" I got out the car, walking slowly to the front door. He opened it letting me in.




He took me by the hand and led me into the living room; he hadn't changed a thing in my absence. He sat me on the settee, sitting himself right next to me, just like he used to when I was little. He held me, brushing the top of my head like mum used to do when I was feeling at a loss as to what I should do. "You're staying here tonight." It was a statement, not a question. I nodded into his chest. "The one thing I didn't want you to do, and you did it anyway." He mumbled into my hair. "Huh?" I pulled myself away to look at his face. "When I was your age, Bruce had just adopted Jason, I was hurt and hot headed, I was convinced I knew it all, I left after a really big fight with Bruce, I couldn't talk to him for years, I'd just turned twenty-one when I finally plucked up the courage to speak to him again. Then about half a year later, your mum found out she was going to have you. Bruce and I started to build bridges. I always made sure that you never had cause to leave like I did." His voice had become constricted, I could tell he was about to cry, he always got teary when he talked about mum.



"I never left because of you dad. You know that right? Please tell me you didn't think I left because of you?" I looked at him to see a sheepish expression cross his face. "You did, didn't you?" I gave him a disbelieving smile. That turned into a giggle, which turned into a great big laughing fit. "What?" He asked astounded. "I... Can't... Believe... You... Thought... You..." I breathed heavily and leaned back into the settee cushions. Once I had returned to somewhat normal, I continued. "I left because it was easier to get to college, instead of travelling nearly two hours each way a day! It's just that they ran out of student accommodation and I had to rent a flat. So I had to get a job to pay for that flat. You know all of that!" He nodded, as I turned slightly more serious. "I work in an office dad. An office. I'm nothing more than a runner for the big suits! I may as well go work for Granddad at Wayne Industries." I shook my head sadly at my own stupidity "I didn't come to you, because I didn't want you to worry. I wanted you to think that I could cope, that I could stand on my own two feet. Just like you could at my age." He looked stunned, when he came out of his stupor, he cleared his throat and began to say "But... you have a trust fund for this sort of..." I cut him off. "Stand on my own two feet." I repeated. He looked at me with a knowing gaze, hadn't he said the same sort of thing when he left the manor?



I stood and stretched, making my way into the kitchen. After turning on the light, I filled the kettle and flicked the switch, waiting for the water to boil. Dad followed me. "What do you want to do?" I jumped slightly, I knew he was close, but I didn't realise he was right behind me. "What do you mean?" I turned around to look at him as the kettle boiled. "You can't keep doing this to yourself, running yourself so thin that you're paranoid of hurting yourself and others. That's why you freaked out so much when Tim got shot tonight, you were convinced it was your fault." He spoke the truth, at the end of the day he knew me inside out; he was my dad after all. "I don't know." I did, I just didn't want to ask. To say out loud what I had wanted, all I wanted since about a month after I left. He knew though, because it had been all he wanted when he had left Bruce. "Come home." Again not a question, a statement. The tea was abandoned as I nodded and was finally encircled in an enveloping hug.



That night I got the best night's sleep I had had in months all because of him. I was with dad, I was home.