A light knock on the door snapped A.J. and Dick to attention. They scrambled up, all ease that had settled between them gone in an instant; ready to defend themselves to the bitter end if necessary.

There was a brief pause before the door creaked open, before someone tall and broad stepped through. A.J. instantly felt herself relaxing.

'It's just me,' said Teddy, holding his free hand up in an empty gesture that brought a small smirk to A.J.'s face. He stepped out into the light, shivered slightly as the wind picked up. Instinctively she started to shrug his jacket off, but he dismissed the action with a slight shake of the head. 'I thought I should let you know Tim's been great with the press. We –'

'Tim?' asked Dick, protectiveness and pride bleeding through the simple name. He took a step forwards, as if he could rush down there and take it all back.

Teddy's face broke out into a bright grin, he raised his hand again as if to hold their friend back. 'Said the weapons were something a private security firm were working on for us. We were just testing them.'

What he didn't say hung in the air between them. Dick seemed to tense more at the idea, rather than relax, but he paused. 'Should we go save him from the hounds then?' His tone was light, the cheerfulness that they were all used to, but the tension in his shoulders gave him away; the way he seemed to be hunched slightly.

'I say we leave him,' joked A.J., moving forwards, briefly resting a hand on his back before moving towards her brother. 'But the sooner we can get back to the hotel the better.'

Teddy chuckled softly. 'You just hate the dress.'

She shrugged, shot him a small smile over her shoulder, but her attention had strayed back to Dick. She could practically see him piecing himself back together, sorting out the persona that the press and everyone had of him.

'Your point?' she challenged her brother gently.

'Just that there's no way you can get your money back on it,' teased Dick as he started towards them, a small smile ghosting his lips that settled her nerves slightly.

Maybe after tonight they might actually be able to have a reasonable holiday .

But A.J. wasn't exactly holding her breath.

***

The hotel seemed a little less impressive when they finally trudged back there. Dick's muscles seemed to ache with every step. It shouldn't have surprised him, it had been a gruelling few hours, even by his standards, yet still it managed to. All he really wanted was a long, hot bath, but also he was still buzzing. Part of him screamed out to go back out there, to make sure that other things weren't going horribly wrong.

'Don't,' A.J. whispered, snapping his attention towards her. Tim was ahead of them, opening the door as he chattered away excitably with Teddy. Somehow he had managed to extract them all from the questions and the flurry of what civilians felt after villains had attacked. A.J. took his wrist lightly.

'Don't what?' he asked innocently, shooting her a small smile.

She raised an eyebrow at him, but he knew she'd seen the outward signs of his itchy feet, even if he didn't really know he was showing them.

'Dick?' Tim said, holding the door open.

'Sorry, what?'

Tim rolled his eyes. 'We all right to watch the train launch?'

'You were just there?!' complained A.J., but there was no sincerity behind it. Confusion fluttered behind her expression. 'Wait, he's trying again so soon?' She glanced towards Teddy.

'But Maxwell Lord's doing another –'

'It's fine,' Dick said, recognising something like weariness behind his voice. He was suddenly ridiculously tired. 'It'll be interesting to see.'

'Think we can watch it in peace?' Teddy asked as they moved into the main part of the room.

'Us? Never,' joked Tim as he dropped into a chair, the remote already clasped in his hand.

Laughter bubbled up in the room, but Tim and Teddy fell silent quickly, distracted by the news report that had flickered to life. Not that Dick was really paying attention to it. He found himself looking at the screen, taking none of it in. His mind was still reeling, trying to figure out why the train had been significant, to riddle everything out so they could prevent it from happening again. He knew that sometimes there was no reason, sometimes it was for the sake of chaos but this time he was –

'Woah, you look wrecked!'

Only a gust of wind had alerted Dick to the fact that Wally had arrived a moment before he spoke. How he'd got in the room, Dick couldn't be bothered to dwell on, but he felt a smile curling onto his face nonetheless.

'Good to see you too, Wal,' murmured A.J., scootching up a little before the young man dropped into the seat beside her, almost squashing her. She awkwardly tried to push him away from her, grumbling the whole time.

'Can you go anywhere without causing drama?' asked Wally, finally settling and shifting so that his arm was resting along the back of the coach, his attention on Dick. Once again, he felt as though someone were trying to read him.

'Sshh!' hissed Tim, barely shooting Wally a smile of greeting before he turned his attention back towards the television.

Wally grinned, amusement obvious behind his expression. But it quickly turned sour as he surveyed the little group, taking in the wounds that they were still trying to figure out for themselves. 'Trouble magnets,' he murmured.

'And you're not, Wal?' teased Dick, grinning at him.

'You here to race the train?' Tim suddenly seemed as though something else was more interesting than the screen. He turned to look at the young man with bright eyes, eagerness written in every line of his expression.

'Now that is something I'd pay to see. Not you though,' A.J. said, cutting off Wally's comment before he could even make it.

'I really should've thought of that,' he said.

'Not that it isn't great to see you,' noted Teddy, brow furrowing slightly as he rubbed his shoulder somewhat absently. 'But what are you doing here?'

'Am I not allowed to come see my favourite holidaying vigilantes?' Wally asked innocently. But there was something about his expression that unsettled Dick. It seemed to be more in motion than usual, as if he were trying to cover something up.

'Come on,' Dick said softly, tapping his friend on the shoulder, 'let's leave them to the TV.'

The two of them stood up, Wally a little more eagerly than Dick had anticipated. A.J. shifted as well, but something about his expression must have told her he needed to do this alone. She was dropping back an instant later, her attention never once leaving the two of them, flicking back and forth as if she could figure something out. Dick wondered if even Wally had noticed it.

He nodded towards the kitchenette, motioning Wally that way.

'A bit of warning might've been nice, Wal. I could've –' Wally was there one moment and gone the next. In the next breath he was back, not even panting, and holding a large bag of takeaway food in his hands. Dick was under no illusion that the others were already enjoying their own favourites as well. Wally ripped open a paper bag. 'Got food in,' Dick finished unnecessarily. 'You know, there's no need to show off.'

Wally scoffed, shoving a few fries into his mouth. 'Says he who just tried to take on aliens. Twice!'

Dick let out a low laugh as he grabbed a burger. 'You say it like it was intentional.'

'Is anything intentional with you and trouble?' Wally teased, moving to sit on the work surface. 'What about the time you and Kory were trying to have a date?'

'Hey, the pickpocket really should've chosen a better mark,' countered Dick, a small smile slipping onto his face at the memory.

'Or what about the day you all but back flipped off the Wayne Enterprise building just –'

'You dreamt that!' Dick countered, but the amusement behind his friend's eyes assured him he was being teased. He sighed deeply, snatched a fry off the paper and dipped it in the tomato sauce. 'Anyway, in the words of someone from the Potter verse: "Trouble usually finds me."'

Wally chuckled, grabbing a hot dog and biting into it, almost ravenously. A sure sign that there was more to this meeting than what it appeared on the surface. Wally was checking up on him more than he cared to admit.

'What's happened?' Dick's tongue suddenly felt as though it were made of lead. It didn't want to form the question, didn't want to think about the fact that something else might have happened while he was unable to do anything about it. That it could be Barbara or Jim, or Bruce or Alfred that they were burying next.

Wally coughed on his hot dog, and instinctively Dick hit him on the back.

When he was all right again, Wally wiped a tear away. 'Nothing like that,' he said thickly, before clearing his throat and trying again. 'I really just wanted to make sure you were all OK. Your little escapade made the news.'

Dick groaned, tapped his head lightly on the cupboard doors. 'Alfred's gonna kill us.'

'Trust me, pretty sure he and Bruce were basically on the plane here when I left.'

'They weren't already halfway here?' asked Dick, smirking at his friend.

Wally offered him little more than a shrug. 'Babs assured them that with the four of you there was no chance of something too terrible happening.'

Famous last words, Dick couldn't help but thinking. Somehow he managed to keep the comment back.

'Anyway,' said Wally, grabbing a handful of fries, already the speedforce seemed to be crackling around him, 'I left Barry dealing with Grodd all by himself.'

'See you soon,' Dick said, patting him briefly on the back.

'Don't be a stranger. And have a holiday!' Wally said, before disappearing with little more than a gust of wind being left in his wake.

With a sigh, Dick turned to lean on the counter. His thoughts were a swirl with everything that had happened. They'd wanted a moment's respite, a moment to forget about what they had grown up with, with everything that had happened in less than a month, and instead they'd ended up thrown back into the storm.

But, at least he'd managed to have a conversation with Clark. At least he'd learnt something. He didn't know if he'd be able to use any of it, but it was a start.

'I know he's quick, but that was literally the shortest meeting he's ever had with one of us.'

A.J.'s voice brought a small smile to Dick's face. He wiped a weary hand over his face before turning to face her. There was concern pinching her brow; her hair was scraped back like normal, but a few strands were falling out of it now, tumbling over her shoulders. Already she'd changed out of the dress, put her pyjamas on.

'He just wanted to make sure we were all right,' Dick told her.

She nodded, but he could see that there was something close to disbelief behind her eyes. 'We're all jumpy then,' she said in a low voice, moving to lean on the counter beside him. For once he wanted to pull her in for a hug, to remind himself physically that she was there. But he knew better than that, knew that she'd pull away from him.

'Hard not to be when you've got that much energy, hey?'

A.J. shrugged, almost dismissively. 'Anyway, we should probably be on Teddy and Tim control so we don't get done for being too noisy or something.'

Dick scoffed, ran a hand through his hair. 'I think Cat Grant'd be disappointed if there wasn't some story like that for us.'

'But when have you even enjoyed doing the expected like that though?'

'You've been a bad influence on me, Miss Kane,' he teased, nudging her shoulder briefly before scooping up his food. Maybe this time they might actually be able to have a little time relaxing. Surely nothing could go wrong by just watching the television.

***

Two weeks. A.J. couldn't quite believe that their two weeks in National City were already over, that they were heading back to Gotham. Already the earlier days of exploring the city were memories that brought smiles to her face. She was glad that somehow, most of their drama had been got out of in the early days. They had managed to stay out of the spotlight, mostly, after that. Any other attacks were merely news reports they caught in the evening. She knew that she wasn't the only one who'd been wishing that something else might happen though. Not that any of them had said anything, simply trying to make the most of the quiet they finally had.

Her stomach was knotted. She was both thrilled by the prospect of going home, and terrified. The latter of which wasn't helped by the reminder that they had a plane journey to contend with as well. Yet she was already lost in the whirlwind that was the airport; Teddy clinging to her bag so that she didn't get lost, too distracted by everything around her. Still trying to take it all in.

'Thank you, Mr. Sheerer,' Dick said politely, before pulling the phone away from his ear, slipping it back into his pocket. There was a bright grin on his face, one that she was slowly getting used to again. A kind of lightness about it that she was scared might get shattered when they touched back down in Gotham. 'I've got a viewing.'

'You what?' asked Tim sharply, pulling attention his way. He'd looked away from the boards telling them when all the planes were getting in, still flickering through all the information.

Dick looked a little sheepish as he glanced towards A.J.. The two of them had spoken about his idea of moving, even leaving Teddy out of the discussions just so Tim didn't feel completely in the dark about everything. In hindsight, it would've been better for all of them to talk about it, to figure out what exactly they were going back to. But the truth of the matter was they didn't know. Dick was still in two minds about if he was going to pick up the cape again, though even he admitted that he couldn't go back to Robin; there were too many dark memories linked to that, too much that they all would be better off forgetting.

'You know,' she said, shooting a smile towards her brother, who looked as baffled as the teenager, 'there's an epic guest bedroom in this one. I made sure of it.'

'Only so you could have that guy staying. What was his name again?' Dick teased, looking to Teddy for assistance. But A.J. clapped him around the back of the head, grinning when he scowled at her and rubbed the spot.

'You're thinking of moving?' asked Teddy, ignoring the distraction. There was a look of concern behind his eyes, but it was the fact that A.J. could practically see the cogs of his brain turning that worried her. She wondered if he might not find a reason for them to stay in Gotham, or to disperse properly. Suddenly her chest tightened. What if he didn't want to come with them? It had been bad enough when they were all over the world, travelling and studying, living their own lives. The prospect of it happening for more than a few years filled her with a kind of dread she hadn't expected. It was almost as if she were losing them in the same way that they'd all lost Jason.

She stepped out the way of a flurry of people, glancing towards Dick.

'Only to Blüdhaven,' he admitted, a small smile flicking at the corners of his lips. He was trying to smooth everything out, the way that Bruce had taught him. They hadn't expected this to be so difficult. But he wasn't exactly unprepared for it.

'Does Bruce know?' Tim asked, his voice smaller than expected. There was something like irritation behind his eyes, A.J. noticed. As if he hated them for even thinking about leaving, as if he were trying to think of something that might make them stay. Even a twenty minute journey seemed too far after everything that they had been through together.

'Not yet,' admitted Dick as they joined the queue to check their luggage in. 'And I don't think that'd be a good greeting.'

'Yeah, hi and bye, that'd be everything that he's ever dreamed of,' grumbled A.J..

Dick lightly nudged her shoulder with his. 'Anyway, that's something we can deal with later,' he said, waving a hand as if to dismiss the subject. 'I really wish we'd got more of those pastries before we left.'

Teddy gave a dreamy sigh. 'Think we could order them to be sent to us?'

'These Wayne Brats could,' teased A.J., looking to Tim. But he was scowling at her ever so slightly. She knew it was more to do with the fact he felt they were abandoning him than anything else, but that didn't stop her feeling as though maybe they should have said something sooner. 'You wouldn't want to come anyway,' she added in a low voice as Teddy and Dick started talking about the bakery, about all the things that they had done.

'Why not?' grumbled Tim. He was doing a wonderful impression of a moody teenager. She couldn't help but think about how proud Jason would have been if he could see the boy now.

'Because someone needs to look after Bruce.' Dick's tone was soft, and while he wasn't looking at them, instead smiling at the person behind the desk, A.J. recognised the regret behind his eyes, recognised the fact that he was, at least in part, blaming himself for everything that had happened, wondering again if he shouldn't have stayed.

'Pretty sure Alfred can do that,' Teddy reminded him gently, hauling his bag onto the side. 'But Blüdhaven's not too far.'

'Far enough,' grumbled Tim, but A.J. could have sworn that there was the glint of something like adventurous cheer behind his eyes. He was looking forward to the idea of visiting them, to exploring somewhere new. He was excited to have somewhere to escape to if it all got too much. She was glad that they might be able to give him that, if the time really ever came to it.

***

The flight, as ever, was horrendous. For all Dick's attempts to get A.J. talking about the apartment viewing, to get her reliving the holiday, her thoughts continually swirled back to the fact that they were flying. That she was trapped in little more than a tin can. Once again, she envied Teddy for being able to sleep, to forget everything else that was going on.

She was the first off the plane out the four of them. She sucked in a deep breath, coughing slightly. Somehow she'd missed the smog, missed the fact that there was always some kind of bitterness to the air. The conversations of the others washed over her as they boarded the shuttlebus, as they headed into the airport. Occasionally she put in her two pence, suggested something that they'd forgotten, but mostly her thoughts were swirling back to the story of Nightwing and Flamebird. About the night on the roof when Dick admitted that he wasn't sure what to do any more.

The flash of lights caught A.J. off guard. She shielded her eyes, tried to shut out the noise of questions hurled their way and the clicking of cameras.

Ah Gotham, how she'd missed it.

'Quite the welcome committee we've got going on here,' joked Dick, gently placing a hand on her back, guiding her towards where he must have spotted Bruce and Alfred. Somehow he always seemed to notice the things like that. The rock in the storm.

'Only because we made names for ourselves, again, in National City,' said Tim.

'You'd think people would be bored of us by now,' teased A.J., smiling gratefully when she spotted Alfred. When she noticed the familiar cracking of his professional mannerisms and saw the small smile lingering at the corner of his mouth. He was glad that they were back, that they were all OK. Not that she didn't notice his eyes flicking across them, taking in everything that might have changed, all the wounds that were slowly healing.

'A quiet holiday not what you were looking for?' asked Alfred, gathering up the bags as best he could, even with them trying to insist that they took their own. He brushed off their comments with little more than a wave of the hand.

'Too boring,' joked Teddy, but A.J. had spotted the loosening of his shoulders. After everything they had seen in this city, everything that had happened, this was still home. He knew the troubles that they were going to face, knew what to expect in a sense. And that, for him, was more than a simple comfort.

'Did you enjoy it, though?' asked Bruce, looking around at them all with the kind of intensity that A.J. was used to. It was a look she linked more to Batman than anything else, but there was a kind of comfort behind seeing it. She'd missed it, without really realising.

'Yes!' said Tim, excitement evident behind his voice, his grin brighter than A.J. had been expecting.

'Missed a decent home cooked meal though,' said Dick, grinning towards Alfred.

'I think I can rustle something up for you,' Alfred assured them, turning to shoot a small smile at A.J..

She couldn't help but grin back at him. Something twisted inside of her. Was going to Blüdhaven really the best decision? After everything they'd been through, was going away properly what they needed, or was it just their attempt at running away again? And in the end, if they were all together, did it really matter?