I slowly opened my eyes, finally returning to consciousness. The first thing I was aware of was how sore my body was. Glancing down at my leg, I saw that it was wrapped, a small spot of blood on the bandage.

The second thing I realized was that I wasn't in my apartment. I tried to figure out where I was until a thought suddenly hit me.

"(y/n)," I whispered, my eyes widening. "She was there. She saved me."

I glanced around the room, trying to figure out where she was. And where I was. I was currently half sitting up in a bed. There were a few decorations around the room, but not enough to give away where I was.

I suddenly froze when I heard something, or rather, heard something stop. I hadn't realized it before, but the shower had been running. Whoever was inside had just finished up. I tried to listen for movement or voices, but the person was silent. Several minutes later, the door to the bathroom opened and a familiar figure stepped out, drying their hair with a towel.

"(y/n)?" I said.

She looked up at me, smiling gently.

"You're awake," she said, hanging her towel over a chair and walking towards me. She sat down on the edge of the bed. I carefully looked at her. She still had the same familiar (e/c) eyes and (h/c) hair, though it was styled differently. She was much taller now and appeared muscular. She suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts by asking, "How are you feeling?"

"Slightly sore," I replied, finding my voice. "Where are we?"

"Still in Bludhaven. I brought you to my apartment."

"How long was I out?"

"About two hours. I got you here, cleaned your cuts and leg, called Bruce to tell him you were alright, then went out to stop that gang's plans. When I got back, you were still out so I took a shower. How long have you been up?"

"A few minutes." I paused. "So, uh, what have you been up to lately?"

"Not much. Taking care of criminals every now and then, same as you."

"Is that where you got these scars?" I asked quietly.

(y/n) nodded. She was wearing a tanktop, showing off part of her back, her shoulders, part of her chest, and her arms. I could see scars that looked like bullet wounds and stab wounds.

"The criminals around here don't tend to play nice, though Gotham isn't much better."

We sat in silence for several minutes, just staring at one another. Questions raced through my mind, but I voiced the main one that kept on repeating.

"Where did you go, (y/n)? You disappeared one night with no warning and no one knew where you went. Kaldur and Wally told me they saw you at Bruce's gala, but you didn't tell them where you had been."

"After I left," (y/n) sighed, looking into her lap, "I had gone to Central City. I moved in with Black Canary. She trained me over the years and gave me updates on your team. On some occasions, I even followed you all on your missions."

"Seriously?" She nodded. "But why didn't you reveal yourself to us? We would have been more than happy to welcome you to the Team."

"I didn't think I would be able to handle being on the Team. After what happened on our last mission with Batman, I wasn't ready to be on another team."

I froze, a thought coming to my head.

"Wait, did you leave because of our conversation after the mission?"

"Yeah. I couldn't handle you yelling at me like that for a single small bullet wound. You had received much worse from much worse villains and you always waved it off like it was nothing."

"So you left because of me?" She nodded ever so slightly, her gaze staying trained on her hands in her lap. I sat up more and moved my legs so I could sit beside her. I gently lifted her face to look at me. "(y/n), I'm so sorry. I never meant to drive you away. I had only wanted to keep you safe. It scared me to see you hurt. You were my best friend. After you left, I felt so lost, empty. I didn't realize until after you were gone that I had feelings for you."

She stared at me with wide eyes.

"You had feelings for me?" she whispered.

"Still do."

A small smile worked its way onto her face.

"I like you too, Dick."

She suddenly leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on my lips. I was stunned for a moment but as (y/n) pulled away, I kept her in place, kissing her back. I held her close to me, kissing her until we ran out of air. We pulled away from one another and I rested my forehead on hers.

"I've missed you, (y/n)," I said, looking into her (e/c) eyes.

"I missed you too, Dick."

"Can you promise me something?"

"Hmm?"

"Promise never to leave like that again. I don't know what I'd do if you did."

"Never."