-Dick's POV-

I hovered near the operating table. Alfred was checking and re-checking her vitals and all the systems. I sat in a chair, watching her. After she had freed me from Joker, I contacted Bruce and he was taken away. He laughed the entire away. I was surprised he could even chuckle with how close Athena was to killing him.

I rushed her to the Batcave as quick as possible. After Joker was safely locked away, the rest of the Bat family took care of the released inmates rather fast. I was glad; I didn't want to leave Athena.

I saw her arm twitch. Rushing to her side, I was blocked by Alfred. "Is she awake?" I asked, looking over his shoulder. He placed his fingers on her wrist to check her pulse. In a blink of an eye, she grabbed Alfred's wrist in a tight grab.

She hazily opened her eyes. Alfred yanked his hand from her grip. "Oh, sorry. Instinct," she mumbled, sitting up. I pushed through Alfred and rushed towards Athena. She giggled at my urgency.

"Are you okay?" I grabbed her arm and kissed her forehead. She waved me away, but I didn't budge.

"Back off Grayson before I put you on the ground," Athena threatened. Instead of acting though, she rested her head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, lifting her off the table.

"Master Athena, do you know the reason why you passed out?" Alfred helped Athena take out her IV after she had tried to rip it out herself.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I know, Pennyworth."

"Sarcasm is not unknown to me, Master Athena. You lost lots of blood, maybe gallons," I looked at the girl next to me in amazement, "You are all patched up now, but next time, don't keep going on a mission when you have two bullets lodged in two different limbs."

"Please," she coughed, "I've been through worse."

Batman and Robin came crashing in through the waterfall. Tim got out of the car as fast as possible and ran towards Athena and I. "Are you both okay!? I heard the Joker almost blew you up and then poisoned Athena!" He took off his mask and looked over Athena and I.

"We're both fine, Timmy," Athena patted his head and hugged his shoulder.

"What exactly happened in that warehouse, Nightingale?" Batman strolled up, taking a seat at the Bat computer. I remembered what had just happened.

Athena was tricked by the Joker into almost killing Bruce. And Joker was her uncle.

I looked over to Athena. Her eyes looked distant, like her mind was somewhere else. I had been noticing it in her since the moment I met her. Alfred had once told me it might be a symptom of PTSD. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her into me. She took a sharp breath and turned back to Bruce like nothing had happened.

"Joker is my uncle," she said, unwrapping my arms from her and stepping forward. She lifted her chin and pushed out her chest. I always thought she was so brave. Even when she had to do or say something bad, she took it upon herself to not be afraid.

Tim and Alfred gasped, but Batman stayed stone faced. He was already checking DNA databases. "So, he is directly related to you by blood?"

"Yes, but you won't find his identity. My father made up the surname Thomas and even then the League of Assassins destroyed all my real documents," Athena stood behind Bruce.

"Why did your dad make it up?" Tim asked.

"Because he wanted to escape the Black Sharks and start a family," she answered, nonchalantly.

"He was in the Black Sharks!?"

"He was a co-leader," she chuckled, "funny, I was here to assassinate the leader. It turns out my father damned himself by having me."

"Don't say that," I cooed.

"It's true. My entire bloodline would still be alive and well if he never decided to have a family," She snapped, turning around to face me, "I became an assassin to honor his death, but he was not honorable. I killed people for Ra's to honor his death, but his hands were not clean. That means..."

"No it doesn't," I tried to be positive.

"That means all the destruction I've caused was for nothing!" Athena shouted, "This entire time I've been trying to free myself from the burden of my dead family, but it turns out my entire bloodline isn't dead!"

"Athena--," I stepped closer.

"My dear uncle is still alive! That's right! I have family and he's locked up in Arkham! HA!" She laughed, the sound rippling through the cave and disturbing the bats on the ceiling. Athena dropped to her knees, covering her face.

I slowly stepped beside her and kneeled down. "I'm sorry..." she mumbled.

"He isn't your family," Bruce said, "Blood doesn't mean family. Trust and care is what makes your family." He got up from his chair and squatted down to her level.

"Joker and I have the same blood..."

"That doesn't mean you are like him. Look around, Athena," Bruce took off his cowl as she raised her head, "you are in a room surrounded by people who trust and care about you. We're your family." And then, the unexpected happened. Bruce reached out and hugged Athena. She went stiff for a moment and so did he, but they both eventually melted into it. It was a strange, yet heart warming sight.

But, it only lasted for a moment. They both cleared their throats and backed away. Bruce went back to his computer and Nightingale walked up the stairs to the Manor. I followed behind her.

"Dick, I'm alright. Stop trailing me," Athena said as she walked to her room.

"But what if you're going to torture some Black Shark members?" I joked, still continuing to follow her.

"I don't do that anymore." She stepped into her room and took a deep breath. The room was dark and I could barely see her in her Nightingale uniform. She started to close the door on me as I stood in the threshold.

"Oh come on, Athena. I was joking. I'm sorry," I whispered, holding the door open. Through the darkness and thick quietness of her room, all I could see were her dazzling blue eyes.

"It's not that. I want to go to sleep. I haven't slept in my own room for months," she whispered back.

I was embarrassed, but I couldn't take my eyes away from hers. She was like a deep water fish and her eyes were her lure. She kept drawing me in, closer and closer. My feet followed my heart and crept closer and closer to her.

I couldn't see her body in the dark, but I knew we were face to face. I could feel her breath against my face. My heart was beating so quick I could hear it in my ears. It was so silent I was wondering if Athena could hear it too.

I leaned in to kiss her. I knew exactly where her lips were. I got closer and kissed her.

Unfortunately, it wasn't her lips I kissed.

"Goodnight Dick," Athena said, removing her hand from my lips. I sighed and let her close her door.

I went to my room down the hall. My room was dark too. I wobbled to my bed, finally realizing how tired I was. I collapsed into my bed.

But I didn't sleep. My body was tired, but I couldn't go to sleep. I kept my eyes open and stared at my ceiling for hours.

My door creaked open. In any normal circumstance, I wouldn't of heard it. But, since I was trained by Batman, I heard the slight shift when the wood of my door scraped the hinge. I turned my head, but I didn't see anything.

I felt a pressure as something got on my bed. As soon as it laid down next to me, I knew what it was. I looked Athena straight in her tired eyes.

We just stared at each other for a moment. I laid out my arm and let her lay on my bicep. She pressed her hands against my ribs as she flipped on her side. A beam of moonlight came through the window and illuminated her face.

Her long eyelashes were resting on her pale cheek. I silently counted the tiny freckles that dusted her nose.

"Grayson, stop staring at me." Athena broke the heavenly silence with her angelic voice. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or some inhaled Joker venom, but in that moment, Athena seemed like a fallen angel complete with bright halo. She definitely made me feel like she was my angel.

"I thought you wanted to sleep in your room?"

"It's too dark in there." She opened her beautiful eyes. I saw the full moon reflected in them.

"You? Thinking the darkness is bad? Really?" She was quiet. I smirked. "Oh, I see."

"See what?"

"I got you figured out pretty well, Thomas."

"You don't know anything about me," she said, smiling quickly.

"Oh yeah? Try me."

"What is my favorite book?"

I smiled, remembering when I first re-met the gorgeous creature beside me. "The Odyssey. Especially the ice cream edition," I winked.

"Shut it. Favorite color?"

"Red."

"Favorite food?"

"Before or after a mission?"

"Before," she scolded.

"Oh...that's easy! Fresh dragon fruit."

"Best childhood memory?"

"That one time I let you use my acrobat swing," I quipped.

"You wish."

It was quiet again. Athena went off in thought. When she returned, I felt the shift in mood.

"You heard what Joker said, Dick. I was going to kill Bruce, that's why I came here," she breathed. I almost didn't hear her.

"I know."

"Then why do you trust me? You hated me for just being an assassin and yet you're cool knowing your adopted dad was my target?" She tried to sit up, but I pulled her back down.

"But you didn't kill him. This whole time, you have had all the opportunities to kill anyone in the Bat family, including Bruce. But you never went for it," I spoke up, "I trust you because you aren't a cold hearted assassin. You didn't kill Bruce no matter what motivation you had because...because you trust us too."

"I--,"

"So, why? Why do you trust me, Athena?"

The moon disappeared as she closed her eyes. When she reopened them, I fell even more. "Because I love you, Grayson."

She said it first. She never said it first. We had been dating for over a year with only a small gap in between. She never said it first.

"Another thing to add to my trivia," I said, kissing her gently. She smiled and I pulled her closer.

The moon reflected in her eyes.

~~~~~Double upload of two loonnnggg chapters so sorry this one is shorter. It's been awhile since I wrote from Dickie's POV. Thank you guys for the support! Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow if you aren't already!~~~~~~~~~