Disclaimer: See the first page, Chapter 1.
The next morning found Helena fussing over Barbara while sitting in the red heads lap having coffee. Dinah wandered into the kitchen half asleep. The lyrics of the song she had woken to were still ringing through her mind making her feel more and more depressed by the second.
When the clock radio had gone off, she had been dreaming of trying to get Katie to go out with her on a date, and Katie kept giving her excuses of why it wouldn't be right to go out. Then, the song playing just made everything worse.
Then, to walk into the kitchen after very little sleep, and the cause of some of that loss were sitting there being all kissie-cuddly was just too much for the teen to take. "Oh come on. That's just - wrong! Give me a break here!" Bright red, she made her way to the coffee.
Laughing at Dinah's discomfort, Helena gave Barbara one last big kiss and got up off her lap. "I need to go talk to that new renovation company. Go over their bid. All the references came back very positive and enthusiastic."
"I have to say, I'm pretty impressed at how you've taken this all on Hel." Barbara all but beamed at her lover.
"Ok, that's about as much as I can take of all this - mushy stuff from you two!" Dinah started for the exit, when Barbara stopped her by grabbing her robe.
"We have something we need to discuss." Turning to Helena, she murmured, "I'll see you later," and offered the brunette a quick kiss. All the while she maintained a strong hold of her young charge.
"Bye Babe. I'll call you when I'm done so we can go shopping." With a wink, Helena left.
Dinah sat down at the table, looking grumpy she muttered with a sarcastic lilt, "Well, if you two aren't the picture of domestic bliss this morning."
Barbara looked at Dinah sharply, "And aren't you just a bit bitchy this morning!"
Dinah had the decency to look sheepish at her behaviorWhile Helena, who had not actually left the tower yet, shouted, "She's just pissed because she ain't getting any!"
Barbara looked a bit annoyed at that comment while Dinah turned a deep red color. "So, want to tell me what is wrong with you this morning?"
"I didn't get much sleep last night." Maintaining a bright red hue, Dinah got up from the table to pour herself a cup of coffee.
Barbara turned to watch the young woman walk across to the coffee maker, waiting for her to continue. After Dinah had poured some coffee and still hadn't answered the red head, Barbara spoke up.
"Dinah, are you going to tell me why you didn't sleep well last night?"
Turning to face Barbara, Dinah had a slightly pained look on her face. "It's kind of embarrassing. I just don't know what or how to say it."
"How about you just blurt it out." Barbara suggested.
"Um, I would fall asleep okay, but then I would fall into a very realistic dream of, um..." Dinah stopped and crossed to the cabinet across from her, opening the door and reaching for a pop tart, she rushed through the rest of the explanation. "I would fall into a dream where you and Helena were making love to me."
Barbara sat there dumbfounded for a moment. The shy blonde turned and peaked out from under her hair that had fallen in front of her face.
"I see. Well. Ummm... I don't know what to say. I guess that could be considered normal. I mean you are awakening into your sexuality and ..."
"No, it's not that kind of dream." Dinah groaned. If it was at all possible, she was even more embarrassed! "It was so real, like I was there, with you two in the room last night. I could feel every thing that was passing between you two... until I made myself wake up that is."
"And last night was the first time this happened?"
"Well, um, no... But the other times were so faint - it seems that this is getting stronger almost every day." Dinah sounded very frustrated.
"When did you first notice it?" Barbara asked while heading to her beloved computer console.
"Shortly after Alfred and I went to stay at the Manor. I noticed a day or so after I had been at the Museum."
"Did anything happen around that time that was out of the ordinary?"
"Not that I remember. I mean nothing major outside of being upset about Helena. Then there was you asking me to leave the Clock Tower." Dinah turned around and sat down on the table top next to the computer that Barbara was working on, her face scrunched up in concentration, trying to remember what had gone on around that time a couple weeks ago. "Oh, I met Katie! I had met her at the Museum that day."
It was as if a collective bell had gone off. Both women turned and looked at each other. "Barbara, do you think that..."
"Katie could be a catalyst for your meta abilities. "
"Huh?"
"Interaction with her may be causing your abilities to bloom, if you will, a little quicker than nature had originally planned. Tell me everything you know about Katie and what you have told her."
A few hours of testing, questions, and answers later, Barbara sat back from the results of the cerebral cortex scanner. "Well, I am seeing marked differences in the test results since the last set taken around the time Carolyn; your mother was here. I'm thinking I need to have a talk with Katie. I need to get an idea of her empathic abilities. If they are of a meta-latency, then we need to look at how she effects not only you, but other Meta's abilities."
Sitting back with a sigh, Barbara continued, "We need to get her in here."
"I can call her if you want. Invite her for dinner or something."
Barbara was preoccupied, already thinking of all the implications and possible complications this could cause. "Ok."
Dinah turned to go and get the phone when Barbara realized what she had agreed to. "Dinah, no, wait. Let's invite her to brunch on Sunday. That will give me a little more time to do some research." At that moment, the phone rang. Dinah continued on across the room to reach it.
"Hello? Hi Helena. Yeah she's right here, hold on." Dinah held the phone out to Barbara.
"Hey Hon... Yeah... No... I'll tell you later... Right. Ok, you want me to meet you down in the garage in 5? No problem. Bye." Barbara punched the Talk button and laid the phone down on the desk.
"So you two are going shopping? Together?" Dinah asked a little taken back.
"Yes we are. We need to get some new furniture for the Penthouse. Are you going to call Katie about brunch on Sunday?"
"Yeah. I will in a minute. So, furniture shopping? The Penthouse isn't even started as far as renovation and you are going to buy furniture? Where will you put it in the mean time?" Dinah asked, her tired, grumpy demeanor beginning to really get on Barbara's nerves.
"There are plenty of rooms that won't be needed right away down there, so the furniture can be stored there. Tell you what Dinah, after you get off the phone with Katie, I think you need to take a nap." With that she rolled on past the blonde, grabbing her wallet from the side table by the couch, she headed toward the elevator.
"A nap? You want me to take a nap?"
"Yes. I'm tired of your snapping." Entering the elevator, she did a quick spin before the door closed, giving Dinah a meaningful look as the elevator doors closed.
Dinah crossed her arms in front of her and kicked at the floor a little. Pulling herself up short, she realized she was acting more like a 10 year old, not the 17, almost 18 years that she was. Picking up the phone, she headed to her room to call Katie and then lay down. She was dragging a bit.
---
Barbara rolled out of the elevator just as Helena rolled up to the curb in the Hummer. Hopping out of the driver side door, Helena jumped over the hood of the vehicle to help Barbara in to the passenger side. She then pushed the wheelchair into the closet they had next to the elevator. Before getting back into the truck, she leaned in through Barbara's window and claimed the red heads lips for a quick kiss.
"So, where did you want to start?" Barbara asked as Helena climbed in behind the wheel.
Leaning over and burying her face into Barbara's neck, Helena mumbled, "I wouldn't mind starting here… but we would need to move it to back there - Ow! You didn't need to slap me that hard."
"You didn't complain last night when I did, now did you?" Barbara smirked and she leaned in and kissed Helena's cheek. "How about we hit someplace for lunch first? We haven't even talked about what style furniture we want in the bedroom."
"Style? There has to be a style? We just need a bed that doesn't have broken rod irons poking out at all angles!"
"Yeah! And whose fault is it that the head board is broken?"
"Yours."
"Mine? How is it mine?"
"You are the one who got me all worked up as I remember. Well, I think it was you." Stopping the Hummer as she pulled up to a red light, Helena placed a finger on her lips, as if thinking very hard. "Hmm, let me see. Locked in the Clock Tower. Sleeping in your bed. Red hair. I'm pretty sure it was you." She turned and looked at the red head seated next to her, eyebrows raised in a mock innocent yet questioning expression.
HONK!!! HONK!!!
Laughing at the lack of response from Barbara, who was sitting there with an expression that was a mixture of disbelief and embarrassment, Helena peeled out into the intersection toward their lunchtime oasis.
While eating, the two women spoke of what Helena had thought about the renovation company and its owner. The brunette had spoken to her for the first time that morning.
"The owner is a woman named Marianne. She kind of reminded me of Lauren Bacall, with a low smoky sounding voice. Anyway, she runs several crews, each specializing in different areas. Like electrical, plaster, construction, and plumbing. And the crews are a mixture of men and women, which I liked the idea of. She knows the penthouse. Evidently, she knew Bruce." Helena paused to take a bite of her hamburger.
"Marianne, who sounds like Lauren Bacall? Was she rather statuesque? Last name of Place?" Barbara asked, forming an idea of just whom this woman really was.
Taking a swig of soda, Helena swallowed and nodded in the affirmative before shoving several French fries in to her mouth. "Why?" she asked around the spuds.
"Marianne knew more than your father, and my father for that matter. She was a really good friend of your Mom in their younger days."
"Really? I don't remember Mom mentioning her before?"
"They had a falling out before you were even thought of Hel." Barbara stabbed a tomato from her salad and held it out for the brunette.
"So?" Helena said after biting the tomato from the fork.
Looking up puzzled, "So?" Barbara asked back.
"So, why was there a falling out? Was Marianne taking to horn in on Mom's action as Catwoman?" Then doing a bad impression of Groucho Marx, "Or horn in on Mom's action as Catwoman?"
All Barbara said in reply was, "Yes."
Helena dropped her French fry onto her plate and sat back in her chair. "Oh. So, Marianne was competition for Mom with the art works and Bruce." She stated flatly.
"Well, I wouldn't say she was true competition. She didn't have the finesse that your Mom had and gave up pretty quickly. Especially after I caught her in a robbery and delivered her to GCPD. She had her lawyer there pretty quickly. Her family was one of the wealthy of Gotham, lower end of the wealthy, but they could still pull strings. She went straight and took an interest in some of her father's businesses. Headed a couple up even. Guess she got tired of the big corporate stuff if she's running a renovation company."
"Well, I was impressed. She had the blue prints of the penthouse already and took a lot of notes about what we were thinking about." Chomping on a French fry, Helena continued on. "That explains why she looked at me funny when I introduced myself. I hadn't given my full name over the phone." Leaning in conspiratorial like, "You don't think she'll try and pull something do you?"
Taking the brunette seriously, Barbara sat back and thought for a moment, as she opened her mouth to speak, Helena started to laugh.
"Barbara! I was joking!"
"Well, now that you brought it up, there is a possibility. I want to look in to Marianne's background if you want to go with her company. Do me a favor and don't sign any contracts until I have had a chance to do that, alright?"
At that moment, the waiter brought the check, so Helena's argument was cut off before it was even started.
Helena snatched the bill up before Barbara could put her hand out. "The least I can do is get lunch." She added a sultry smile and lifted eyebrow, inviting Barbara to argue.
Helena slipped some cash into the little folder the bill came in, got up and circled the table to stand behind Barbara's chair. "Shall we go?" she asked as she leant down and softly kissed Barbara's neck. This caused the red head to get the shivers and the butterflies started to flutter in her stomach.
"The things you do to me woman. Lead on MacDuff!" Barbara ducked her head a little to try and hide the blush creeping up her cheeks.
As they exited the restaurant, who was coming in except Marianne Place, dressed in flowing black dress pants and a mid thigh length silk jacket.
"Well, Helena Kyle! We meet again!" Marianne said softy.
"Marianne. Good to see you again. I'd like you to meet my partner, Barbara Gordon."
"Of course, Miss Gordon, it has been awhile, hasn't it."
"Um, well… yes, Miss Place. I believe the last time we met was at my father's retirement gala."
"Indeed. The finest police commissioner this city has ever had. Although, Commissioner Martin is making quiet a name for himself, isn't he. Your father did a good job in training his replacement. Well, I'm sure you two have a full afternoon ahead of you. Don't let me hold you up." Marianne held out her hand to for Barbara to take in a handshake. "It is so good to see you again, Barbara. May I call you Barbara?"
Barbara smiled depreciatingly, "Of course Miss Place."
"No, please. Call me Marianne. Since there is a chance we will be working together, may as well be comfortable in addressing one another."
"Yes, well, we won't keep you, um, Marianne. Have a good afternoon."
Marianne nodded and smiled. She then turned and headed into the nearly empty restaurant.
"Helena, close your mouth and quit staring. " Barbara said, turning to head to the Hummer.
"What the fuck was that all about. Why didn't you tell me you already knew her?"
"I did. Well, I did - sort of, tell you that is." Barbara pulled her chair up along side the Hummer as Helena unlocked the door.
"You told me you caught her and turned her in. Are you saying she knew you were Batgirl?"
"No. Dad handled the arrest that night, since I had brought her in. That's when Marianne turned her affections from your fath - from Bruce to my dad."
"Excuse me?"
Barbara took her time buckling her seat belt. She felt uncomfortable talking about her own background let alone her families, but she reminded herself that Helena was not a stranger or an outsider anymore. She was family. She turned and looked at Helena anew. Helena was now a member of the Gordon family. Smiling softly because she really liked the sounds of that, Barbara reached and took Helena's hand in her own. "I love you Helena Kyle." Barbara beamed due to her realization.
Helena turned, a little uncertain of where that had come from, and smiled a crooked smile back at Barbara.
Seeing the question in the brunette's eyes, Barbara started in on the story of the police commissioner and reformed wannabe burglar as Helena headed the Hummer toward furniture row.
"Wow. Sounds like they were quite the item for a while. Yet you still insist that you don't know her all that well." Helena said while nosing the Hummer into a parking spot close to the first store.
"I don't. I was caught up in school and crime fighting. Plus, I spent a lot of time with you and your Mom." Barbara just shrugged, like it was no big deal.
"And there was that guy." Helena added, not one to forget the old ghost from Barbara's past.
Totally confused, Barbara looked at Helena with a fiery eyebrow raised in question. "Guy? What guy are you talking about Helena?"
"The guy who stole your heart. Swept you off your feet? The guy that broke your heart that you still haven't forgotten?!?!" It was still a sore spot for Helena that Barbara hadn't told her about this before on her own.
"The guy who… what?" Shaking her head totally confused, Barbara continued, "Helena, I have no idea what you are talking about."
"That day we went on our picnic, to the penthouse, you told me you had been in a pretty serious relationship. I was just wondering if you were ever going to tell me who…" Barbara interrupted the red head at that point.
"Oh, that. I was kind of hoping you had forgotten, but I should have known better. Helena, now isn't a good time to talk about that. I promise, tonight. After dinner, if we have some quiet time to ourselves, I'll tell you anything you want to know."
Helena looked at her with a look that said that she doubted that would happen, but nodded in the affirmative, agreeing to hold off for now. She pulled the Hummer into a parking space and shut off the engine. Turning to Barbara, she smiled, "So, which store did you want to start with?"
After several hours of shopping and trying different beds as well as couches and chairs, the two emerged from the elevator to a dark Clock Tower. Helena set the packages down behind the couch while Barbara headed up to the Delphi unit. Flipping on the monitor at the main console, she was instantly absorbed in the reports running across the screen.
Helena ran up the stairs, taking two at a time to deposit a couple of the packages into their room. She stopped at Dinah's door and knocked lightly. When there was no answer, she opened it a crack to find the room empty.
"Blondie isn't here. No note up this way. Anything down there?" she asked as she descended the staircase.
"Hm? Uh. No. Nothing down here. Maybe in the kitchen." Barbara said with out taking her eyes from the monitor.
Helena made her way into the kitchen and actually found two notes. One from Alfred that dinner was in the oven, and one from Dinah saying she was going to a movie with Katie. Knowing her partner well enough, Helena started setting the table and pulling the warmed dishes out for dinner.
Meanwhile, across town, Dinah and Katie had run into Gina and Gabby. Gabby was doing her best to talk the two into going out dancing instead of seeing a movie.
"Come on Dinah! When was the last time you came out dancing with us? No - don't bother answering that! I'll answer it for you - A DAMN LONG TIME!" wrapping her arms around Gina, she lowered her voice a little, switching tactics mid-stream. "Come on, wouldn't you love to be able to show your new girl just what that body of yours can do?"
Dinah, who was beginning to turn red closed her eyes to gather her thoughts. Before she could open her mouth, Katie spoke up. "That sounds like a lot of fun! Where do you guys usually go?"
"We usually go over to The Tunnel." Gina said, shrugging a little bit as she said it, thinking Katie wouldn't be interested in going to a dance club that catered to under 21.
"They play pretty decent music, but I can get us into Chaos if you want. I know the owner and if you promise to not try and buy booze, he'll be good about it - just because its me." She turned and looked at Dinah to see if the blonde would be interested. "I mean, if you want to Dinah. We can always catch the movie some other time." She took Dinah's hand to pulled her away from the other couple a little. "Give us a second girls."
"Dinah, if you don't want to, we don't have to."
"I know. I just don't… didn't know if you would want to - you know, go out dancing. I mean its not like this is a, um… not like its ah…"
"Not like this is a date?" Katie stated.
"Yeah." Dinah said a little deflated after all that.
Shaking their still joined hands, Katie continued, "Well, a first date has to start someplace, and if you don't mind, I was thinking that this could be a first date. You know, for you and me."
Dinah went a little weak in the knees and started to go down. Luckily, Katie caught her around her waist, halting her downward motion. Gabby, being Gabby, couldn't resist. "Well, looks like they want to go dancing. They have already started and we don't even have any music yet."
Gina swatted Gabby on the shoulder. "You can be such an ass Gab! Come on, let's give them a little room to talk." Gina grabbed her hand and pulled her across the street to look into a closed antique shop.
Dinah recovered, trying to put into place her "Huntress" persona. Standing straighter, she smiled what she hoped was a seductive smile at Katie. "I think I hear a bass beat with our name on it!"
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