It was difficult to convince Mona to leave Talia on her own in such difficult times for the League but the woman made sure to make her understand that it was the only option left. Eventually, Mona had to agree though she wasn't willing at all to go to Gotham.

"I want you safe, child, and it can't be possible if you stay here," she had hugged her tenderly before letting her go because deep down, she felt as if she would never see Mona again.

"Ummi, I don't want to leave you," she mumbled, holding on tightly to her.

"I know. But you're not leaving forever, right? I'll call you back when things get better," Talia gave her a soft reassuring smile, an expression that not many people had had the chance of seeing on her features, "but for now, I can't risk your life. If you stay here, you'll get targeted due to me and I don't want that."

She nodded with a heavy heart as Talia pulled apart, her fingers stroking her head gently.

Udit and Mona left the base that night because Talia had warned them to keep their departure a secret, knowing full well that if there were traitors among the League, they would target them and not let them leave.

And though they had boarded the train and were on their long journey to Gotham, Mona couldn't stop herself from thinking that they had made a huge mistake in leaving Talia alone at the base. 

True, the woman was skilled and deadly, able to defend her own self against whole battalions single-handedly. But if something fatal happened to her, the rest of the members of the League might not be as loyal to help her out as Mona and Udit had been in the most recent attack.

Exhaustion was overcoming her as they had been traveling for hours and she wasn't accustomed to it. She wanted to go to sleep but each time she would close her eyes, thoughts about Talia, the attacks, and the other side of her family that she was going to meet very soon would flash in her mind, making her uncomfortable with all the worries clouding in her head.

She was worried about what could happen to Talia if there was another attack in their absence and she was also anxious about whether her father, who probably didn't even know she existed, would be able to accept her or not. She might not have known the full extent of Nyssa and Tim's past, but she knew enough that accepting an assassin child could be a problem for any person.

She looked sideways at Udit who was sitting alert, his sharp eyes looking out for any sign of danger. Knowing that he was keeping watch and would alert her if something went askew, she closed her eyes briefly. Though she didn't realize when sleep overpowered her and she drifted off into a deep fatigued slumber.

Udit got startled when her head dropped on his arm, turning to look at the girl who was fast asleep. He became even more alert at that, knowing that he had to be very careful lest someone came after him and Mona.

And even though he was tired himself, sleep had abandoned him as he felt entitled to a huge responsibility since he had to make sure Mona reached Gotham safely. His eyes flickered toward his watch again, noting that there were still a few hours left till the next station.

From there, they had to take a bus to the nearest city and book a flight to Gotham. 

He hoped nothing went wrong in the meanwhile as there was still a lot of travel waiting ahead of them and he knew he would only be able to rest when he fulfilled his task.

***

Dora woke up as she felt Tim's arms retrieve from her and looked up to see that he was sitting on the bed. And though it was hard to see clearly due to the darkness in the room, she felt that he was slightly shaking, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare.

She sat up as well, switching on the table lamp on her bedside table, dim yellow light spreading through the room. And it was then she saw that he indeed looked as if he had had a terrible nightmare. His blue eyes were wide open, and his heartbeat was racing but he was forcefully silent, not wanting to disturb her.

"Tim?" She called out softly and he tilted his head to look at her, trying to force a smile on his face but failing to do so. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine..." Even his voice was unsteady so she edged closer, her hands closing on to his arms. "Go to sleep, Dora, it was nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing to me."

His blue eyes gazed into hers entreatingly, "please... Go to sleep."

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" Her voice was even softer as she asked, knowing that he was very troubled right then, "you always say we don't have any secrets but I can see you're troubled for the past few days still you never tell me the reason."

He took in a deep breath, "I... I don't know how to tell you."

"Just like you've told me everything else," she squeezed his hands in her own in reassurance, "you know I will understand."

He nodded but his throat felt parched, his voice getting stuck as the words were half-formed in his head. He couldn't voice it out no matter how hard he tried.

"Timmy please," she leaned closer and kissed him softly, "tell me what's bothering you."

"I... I told you about Nyssa and how... I was..." His voice trailed off, the look on his face rather painful.

She wrapped her arms around him, bringing him close in a comforting hug. He needed that most at the moment as he held tightly to her, his head resting on her shoulder.

"I just found out a few days ago... That... That Nyssa had died in the past year but... But she has a daughter who might be... Might be..."

He was unable to complete the sentence but Dora understood clearly what he meant to say. She had stiffened, realizing that in those three or four days he had been going through such a lot yet he was as usual suppressing it within himself.

"I hope it's not true," he mumbled, "Damian went to the League and he met her, told me her name is Mona... I am really hoping Damian had a misunderstanding and that child, whoever she is, isn't my daughter."

She kept silent knowing that if she interrupted him, he would never be able to tell her everything. But she kept rubbing his back soothingly, in her silent way of letting him know that she understood and she was going to be there with him no matter what happened.

"It took me so long to move on from all that happened. It took me a year to get back to normal and yet... It's almost as if those wounds I had tried so hard to heal are being torn open again," his voice shook and his blue eyes were welling up, "I am not ready to face anything that reminds me of Nyssa... I am not ready to put up with anything that takes me back to the darkest period of my life. Because... Because I'm scared. Dora, I'm scared that if I went back, I would never be able to pull myself out of that darkness."

She pulled apart slightly and his grip tightened on her but she didn't let go of him, instead, she brought her hands up to cup his face, tilting it so that she was looking straight into those teary blue eyes.

"Tim, look here," she was being very gentle with him, knowing full well that he needed her love and support, "I'm always going to be here to pull you out of whatever darkness you fall into."

He nodded, his hands gently fastening on her wrists, "I know but I am still scared. Damian said that she might be coming to Gotham and I... I am not ready for that. I don't... I don't want to find out if their assumption regarding her parentage is correct. I don't want to deal with any of this."

She made him lie down on the bed, her hands still caressing his face tenderly as she spoke, "I understand. But you can't run away from this either. You know very well that problems get solved only when we face them."

He looked at her, a frustrated look seeping into his eyes, "this is not a problem! This is a living, breathing proof of what I have been through... This is a child, for God's sake Dora, a child that I never wanted, was never willing to... Never..."

She silenced him as her fingers brushed against his lips, her heart churning in pain to hear him say that. She knew he was referring to Mona and not to the child Dora had had to let go but it still hurt.

It somehow threatened to tear open her barely healed wounds as well.

He sensed that she felt hurt and his eyes widened in alarm, "Dora..."

But she shook her head, trying to push those thoughts out of her head, "look, if she comes to Gotham, we will be able to check whether she's really your daughter or not. If she isn't, well and good..."

"But what if..."

She took in a deep breath, "and if she is your daughter, we will have to face this still. We've got Bruce, your siblings, Alex and so many other people to help us through this, right? We will face this the best we can."

He still seemed uncertain, "I don't want to..."

"Life seldom gives a choice, Timmy," her voice was low as she wiped off a stray tear from his face, "but I promise you, none of us will let you relapse into this darkness you're so scared of. We'll pull you out of it, I promise."

***