The Archer | T.D. ✔

Chapter Thirty-Six

Tim pulled up to the manor, his hand holding tight to Rory's for the entire drive. The two of them had talked about different things on the way from the case and how far Tim had gotten in her absence to the idiotic things Dick and Jason did on the daily. He had asked what she did in the month she was gone, but Rory shrugged and said that she didn't do much.

What he didn't know was that Rory still worked while she was gone, with the safe house being untraceable she could hack into anything and not get caught. She had dedicated weekends to getting into Penguin's systems, branching off of signals of the others while they were on patrol.

Of course that meant she heard and saw everything they did while they were out, Bruce may not have known but everyone had a bad habit of stopping at Belly Burger while they were out and requested that the kid's meal came with a toy tailored specifically for them. The one that did it the most was Jason and Dick, they stopped at least twice a night to ask. She even heard Barbara from her end as well and picked up on things they didn't.

During this time, she had learned some things that Tim didn't know about the case. Penguin wasn't working with Harley and Ivy, more so he worked for them. The only reason he was doing what they asked was that Ivy threatened to have him eaten by one of her monster plants if he didn't cooperate. A good chunk of Cobblepott's men knew this, but he had threatened them into silence by threatening their families and such. 

What intrigued her the most was the fact that Ivy and Harley were not working with the Joker at all. Ever since Dick and Jason had busted her out of his captivity, he hadn't been seen in Gotham. She wasn't sure if she should feel relieved or worried about it, considering who had put him up to the task of kidnapping Rory in the first place. 

The last thing she had picked up, was that Slade was still in Gotham. She would catch glimpses of his trademark black and orange before hacking into traffic cams and such to find him. It was a mystery if he knew that she was hiding during that time or not, but it seemed that he was looking for her. It was mainly through Tim's or Jason's cams that she would see him since she had normally patrolled with one of them.

She wasn't sure was his plan was, it definitely involved her. These were all things she needed to bring up to the Bat sure, but there were more pressing matters on hand at the moment. Tim parked the car and looked at her.

"So, what do we do if you are pregnant Rory?" he asked.

Rory went to speak, the words caught in her throat. "I'm not sure Tim, I would probably have to retire along with officially telling the League no. With both of our inheritances, we wouldn't need to worry much about money and buy a nice place in the safer parts of the city? We'd have to keep secret that Red Robin has a kid, that would only put a target on our backs" she sighed. "There is a lot to think about, but we can figure all of that out if it comes back positive this time okay? Right now, let's just focus on figuring out what the hell is wrong with me."

She unbuckled and went to get out, but Tim pulled her back by the shoulder and kissed her softly. Rory giggled and kissed him back, and saw that multiple people were running out of the manor, trying to get to them first. In the lead was Jason and Steph, but she had managed to jump up and flip off of his shoulders pushing herself in the lead. Rory braced herself for impact as Stephanie collided with her, hugging her tightly.

"Rory, if you ever run away again I will kick your ass," she said. Rory wrapped her arms around her friend and held her tight. 

"I'm sorry Steph, I really am I just didn't know what to do. It was an asshole thing to leave like that, and I want to make it up to you." 

Stephanie laughed and looked at her friend. "You can make it up to me by naming Rory Jr. after me." 

"Rory Jr.? What the hell Stephanie?" Jason asked, pulling her back and looked at Rory and pointed a finger at her.