Legend

"I'll be there as soon as I can," I said, and turned off the phone. I didn't expect to get back before going to the office, so I quickly dressed in my clothes for work and quickly stuffed another change of clothing into my messenger bag, then grabbed my phone and took off running. I ran to the tower, where I picked up an emergency kit that I had in case I needed to call on my paramedic training and the portable tissue accelerator, then hit the street. This being New York and the tower where it was, it wasn't hard to get a cab and we made good time to the hotel. By now the hotel personnel knew that I was seeing a resident and I didn't get any questions. I knocked on his door and it opened slowly. I eased through it as Damian started to slide to the floor.

I was able to catch him before he got too far down and helped him into his bedroom, which was fortunately the closest room. I stripped the bed quickly and helped him to lay down on the sheet. He tried to suppress it but he whimpered in pain. I hit the lights and started to dig through my kit. I took his blood pressure, checked his pulse, pupil dilation, skin, and respiration, slipping a pulse oximeter on his finger. His respiratory rate was higher than normal, but his pulse oximeter reading was 96%, so the respiratory rate was likely due to the pain he was in. Pupils dilated normally, pulse rapid and a little weak. His skin was slightly cool and sweaty and his blood pressure was down. He was wearing his Robin costume, and it was going to be hard to cut through; it was layered tac fabrics, maybe with Kevlar in there somewhere. I found the zippers and started to ease him out. There wasn't significant blood aside from a bloody nose; his nose was very definitely broken. The girlfriend in me cringed at the livid bruising coming up all over his torso and arms, but I hung onto the paramedic part of me that noted it and moved on. I eased his... pants? leggings? down and saw that there was bruising on his thighs and shins, but these weren't quite as bad as the ones on his upper body. There was also an integrated protective cup, I was thrilled to see. I administered oxygen, caught up the notes on his condition, gently eased a firm cushion from the chair under his legs to raise them, flipped a light blanket over him to help with the symptoms of shock and ran an IV of fluids.

I saw his phone on the nightstand and called Alfred as I began an abdominal examination. "Master Damian?" he asked alertly. Who the hell is that awake at this hour of the morning?

"Sorry, Alfred, this is Alex. Damian called me earlier, saying he'd been in a hell of a fight, excuse the language. So I came over as quickly as I could and found him in distress." I relayed the information on the vitals. He asked questions and once much of the IV had been discharged, I repeated the vitals. Damian was more alert, his blood pressure rising, pulse stronger and slower. Good, good. His skin was warming and drying as well, and Damian was able to give a summary of events; he'd been investigating some suspicious activity and been surprised by a gang; he thought they were Penguin's men. He'd managed to get free, get back to the hotel, and call me. I had Damian be quiet so I could listen to his lungs and bowel sounds, then used percussion to check for irritation. There was pain, tenderness, and slight rigidity over the upper right quadrant, indicating possible rib fracture. But there was good news, too; there wasn't a full or doughy feeling anywhere, suggesting that there wasn't internal bleeding, the combination of rigidity and guarding that presents with intestinal leakage wasn't present, and his pelvis was stable.

Alfred had me go to the extensive closet; in the corner, obscured by a couple of suits of formal wear, was an ultrasound machine on its cart. I smiled. I knew how to conduct the FAST exam. It wasn't part of the paramedic training, but I'd had some very slow shifts during training and a technician showed me in detail. It took a little time to get the instrument up and calibrated, then I checked the pericardial, periphepatic, perispleenic, and peripelvic spaces, explaining to Damian what I was doing as I went. There was no sign of fluid. I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned on a laptop on the cart and sent the images to Alfred to confirm, then cleaned Damian's face while we waited. Damian said he had to go to the bathroom, which was good.

"Test for blood, Alex," Alfred instructed absently, and I accompanied Damian to the bathroom. He was a little embarrassed, but when the test showed no blood, I told him it was worth it. I helped him back to bed and got him settled. By this time, Alfred had reviewed the ultrasounds and was of the opinion that there wasn't internal damage, just an absolute crap-ton of bruising (that would be my descriptive terminology.) He told me the combination to the suite safe, where there were painkillers and muscle relaxants, which ones to use and how much to administer, and told me to go ahead and use the portable tissue accelerator on Damian. It wasn't as powerful as a full-size one and each treated area would take more time, but Alfred praised my quick thinking. I got Damian settled the most comfortably and started the treatment. I set Damian's nose, which was not pleasant for either of us, then Damian fell asleep quickly, but Alfred said it wasn't a problem and asked about my schedule. He said he would come by before I had to leave for work and keep an eye on Damian, which made me feel a lot better. I was kind of hoping that he'd take Damian to the bat cave for a more thorough examination with more instrumentation. We hung up and I put my kit back together, put away the ultrasound, and in general cleaned up, boosting the temperature in the room to be sure he didn't take a chill. I pulled up the chair next to him and set my phone alarm, napping in between slowly moving the tissue accelerator around his body and checking him for distress that I might have missed. About an hour and a half before I had to go to work, I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth, and put on my makeup so I wouldn't look too disturbing to my clients. I was grateful for my long hair, it meant I didn't have to fuss. I took out my clothing for the next day and set them down inconspicuously on a table. Damian woke up when I checked on him again.

"I'm sorry to have dragged you out of bed," he said quietly.

"I'm glad you called," I said absently, then made him stop speaking as I took his vitals again. Everything was within normal ranges. I adjusted the accelerator again and sat on the bed by his side, taking his hand. "Do you want some more pain killers?" I asked, smoothing his thick, silky hair off his forehead.

"No, I don't really like to take drugs," he said. He smiled slightly. "It's sure nice to wake up to you. You're prettier than Alfred." I grinned at him.

"That she is, Master Damian," Alfred said crisply, and I heard the door to the suite close. He and Bruce strode into the room.

"Doesn't anybody beside my girlfriend knock?" Damian asked plaintively and I got up to allow Alfred room to check on Damian. Bruce patted my shoulder when I sat on the chair again and handed me a keycard.

"Damn it, Dad, this is my suite," Damian said peevishly. "I wanted to offer her a key." Bruce sighed, plucked the card from my hand, and gave it to his offspring. Alfred finished his exam and didn't think there was anything worse than bruising, and he stepped back to stand by Bruce expectantly. Damian looked sulky, but his expression softened as he looked at me.

"Alex, darling, I'd like you to have a key to the suite. Come by any time you want, for any reason, even if I'm not here," he said, holding the card out. I took it, smiling at him, and got up for a light kiss. He had a split lip, which made his smile less broad than usual. Did I just hear Alfred sniffle a little? Surely not.

"Thank you, honey. I've got to get to work now, but call me if you need anything. I'll be back after I get off work." He looked hopeful.

"Can I persuade you to stay the night?" he asked, and I brushed his cheek lightly.

"I'd planned on it."

"I can drop you at the tower, Miss Alex," Alfred offered, and I sighed. I would have loved to take a personal day, but that's inadvisable when you're the only employee who can do your work. He insisted on taking my paramedic bag and escorted me down to a black Rolls Royce. He was going to tuck me into the back, but I stood by the front door handle and smiled. After a moment he smiled back and held the door to the front passenger seat. The interior was black and purple leather, different but very nice. Alfred let me poke all the buttons on the console as we spoke about Damian's exams and condition. He glided to a stop, and with perfect indifference, parked in the loading zone of the tower to open my door and hand me my bag.

"Have a productive day at work, Miss Alex," he said, and smiled as I thanked him. Bemused by the way my morning was going, I went inside and trotted down the stairs to work. After lunch, there was a flower delivery; a box of gladioli, Queen Anne's Lace, and irises--strength of character and generosity, haven, and valor. The card read 'Plus yarrow. They didn't have any.' That meant healing. I grinned. He'd created a spreadsheet that drew meanings from several websites after the one we'd been using was taken down and it was faster and more fun to use it. Later, there was a bouquet of roses, in bloom, an assortment of pale shades; the colors weren't all in the playbook, so I went with the quantity and a bouquet of mature roses meant gratitude. They sure were beautiful.

After work, I went to the hotel feeling both eagerness and trepidation. He'd given me a key, after all, and that was a big step. "Honey?" I called out, sticking my head in the suite and looking around before the rest of me followed cautiously.

"In here, beautiful," he said groggily from the bedroom, and after taking off my coat and stowing my messenger bag beneath the entry table, went in to see how he was. He sat up in bed , the sheet sliding off his torso. It was only faintly bruised now, and I relaxed. "Alfred took me out to the mansion after dropping dad at work for a session with the big accelerator," he said. "I'll get another treatment before going to work tomorrow." His eyes had shadows around them but nothing like the raccoon eyes most people got after a badly broken nose. He touched the nose gently. "Nothing the accelerator can do for that," he said wistfully, then held out his arms. I cuddled in gladly for the hug, then we curled up in bed together and talked. Alfred had been busy--he'd come by earlier with a hearty soup and bread for our dinner. After dinner, we watched a few episodes of 'Stranger Things' and went to bed early.

"Can I borrow a t-shirt to sleep in?" I asked. "I forgot to bring anything."

He went to the closet and drew out a large, flat box. "I thought about that," he said easily. "I saw your clothes there and it's just for work, so I did a little shopping in between naps." He kissed my neck, leaning over the back of the chair as I opened the box. Inside ivory tissue paper was a long-sleeved dark pink nightgown, short, soft knit fabric with satin around the hems, and a gorgeous silk robe in a delicate pink, lined with a darker pink; the hems were all padded for a luxurious effect, and the sash had an intricate knotted fringe on each end.

"Wow," I said.

"I saw it and thought of you," he said in my ear. "There were other nightgowns I'd love to see you in--translucent chiffon, delicate laces--but that's for later. This looked warmer."

I kissed him. "I sleep with you and you're nice and warm. But this looks really comfortable. Thank you, honey. The robe is just...gorgeous."

"My pleasure. You're a gorgeous woman, you should have things that are as wonderful as you are." He kissed me gently. "And I thought, since you have a key--I was going to offer it this weekend, in a more romantic setting, it wasn't just Dad trampling all over my moment--that you could bring some things over. I have plenty of drawers and closet space."

I grinned and brushed his lips with mine. "Are you tired of sharing your toothbrush?"

"I got you one," he said, nuzzling me. My palms were a little sweaty at this step, but...

"I'll bring some things over this weekend." His eyes warmed. Then he yawned.

"Sorry, it's not the company," he said hastily. I laughed. Using the tissue accelerator made you tired. We got ready for bed, and as I slid the nightgown on, I reflected that it felt kind of weird. We usually slept naked together, but this would be nice. The fabric was soft and warm on my skin. When I got into bed next to Damian, he grinned and proudly held out a fuzzy lump to me. When I investigated, I found that they were warm, fluffy socks. I hated sleeping with cold feet.

"You think of everything," I said as I eagerly put them on. Then I cuddled up to his side and drew up the sheet and duvet, draping my arm across his chest. He put his hand over mine.

"I'm sorry for waking you up and dragging you over here to deal with this mess," he said quietly. "I could have called Alfred, but I wanted you instead."

"I'm glad you did," I said. "I'm glad I was able to help you. You mean a lot" the world "to me."

"You're important to me. Robin is also who I am."

"I know. I'm not asking you to quit, just...minimize the damage when you can. I always want you to come back to me."

"Always," he breathed, and turned on his side. I think he was going to kiss me, but we bumped noses and he swore, sitting up, his eyes watering. I patted his eyes dry and drew him back down. We both needed a good nights' sleep.

He dropped me off at the tower on his way to the accelerator treatment before work. I kissed him goodbye, very carefully, and got out of the car. But before I closed the door, I went with my impulse and leaned back in. "I love you," I said, then closed the door and went into the tower.

Forty-seven minutes later, three dozen red roses showed up at the desk. And a bird of paradise, in a separate vase. "I love you," the card read. "Deeper than the Challenger Deep. Stay with me tonight. I can't wait to tell you face to face."

Of course I agreed.