Saving Grace: a Batman fanfiction

Chapter 18

**AN Hey guys, just to clear some things up about the plot for minimum confusion while reading: Basically, the owner of the group home ‘sold’ Grace to Harley for a lot of money. Harley wants Grace for a reason that you’ll only fully find out later! Enjoy, and please let me know what you think! Feedback MORE than welcome!

    If it were Jason’s life that were on the line, Dick thought morosely, he wouldn’t lay a finger on Grace at all. No, because Jason would much rather die than have anybody hurt Grace.

    For all of Jason’s bravado, killing, roughness around the edges, he was in a way gallant, and that was something that Dick admired. If it were Jason’s life on the line, Jason would look him in the eye and snarl, ‘Fuck it, Dickie-bird, it’s fucking ME, death doesn’t scare me. I’m gonna dead you if you lay a finger on her. One finger, Dick.’

    And Jason’s life WAS on the line, but so was Barbara’s, and so was Damian’s. And they were all going to die if he didn’t cooperate. He and Grace would, too. That was what Harley had told him, after he and Jason were separated, Jason dragged away kicking and cursing vivaciously.

    The cursing was probably a good sign, Dick had thought privately as Jason disappeared out of sight. At least it meant he wasn’t hurt. Dick’s knee throbbed from a hard blow from Harley’s spiked club. It was entirely possible that he had torn his ACL, he realized, but he couldn’t think about that now. (And he deserved it. Oh, he deserved it.)

    As much as it killed him to leave Grace there, slumped over, unconscious at his feet, because of him, because of his hands, he knew he had to. Because Damian was his baby brother. And Barbara was his girlfriend. (And she was his Li’l G, he thought sorrowfully, staring down at her. That meant something, right? Just not enough?)

    He forced himself to walk away then. To leave her and cross the basement to sit on the bottom of the stairs, head in his hands. He just hoped she would understand one day. Forgive him.

    The mission was dead from the beginning. Jason and Dick were ambushed the second they were isolated. Their comms were destroyed, their weapons were taken. Batman was with the Justice League and neither Jason or Dick had told Tim or Damian their whereabouts. Dick would fight tooth and nail if he didn’t think it would end up with somebody dying-- wherever Jason was, he hoped he felt the same.

    Dick wasn’t stupid. Nightwing didn’t let emotions take priority over lives. There was only one way for everybody to get out of this alive. Grace had to take one for the team. (Which wasn’t really fair, Dick thought, flushing red. She never asked to be on their team. She’d left it, actually.)

*****

    She woke up cold.

    That’s the first thing she noticed, the cold unevenness of the rough stone floor.

    The chill seeped in through her side, where she was slumped over on the ground. Chilled her to the bone. She sat up shivering.

    Sitting on the stairs, staring at her unemotionally, was a man in a blue vigilante costume-- Nightwing. Grace stared at him, disgruntled and confused-- was he here to save her? What had happened to Harley? Then he stood up and took a few steps towards her, and it all came rushing back at once.

    The back of her head slammed against the wall as she scrambled away from Nightwing.
   
    “No-- No--” she pleaded, drawing her knees up into her chest. Her heartbeat was pounding in her ears. “Don’t.”

    He didn’t stop walking towards her so she raised her voice, desperate. “I said don’t!! Stop. Stop it.”

    He must be emotionless, Grace thought, because not a single feeling flickered across his face. Granted, it was mostly hidden by his mask and cowl. But his eyes were cold. As cold as the floor. No, colder.