August 19. 0300h

        Batgirl launched herself easily across the alley, bridging the
distance between the two fire escapes and landing almost silently.  She
shifted onto the railing and snaked out a toe, catching it on the lintel of
the nearest window and sending her body after it.  She stood perfectly
balanced on the four inch wide strip of stone for a moment, her fingers
finding the release catch they'd installed.   A quick motion and then it
was easy to slide up the lower pane of the double hung window.  Another
move and she was standing in their living room.
        She stayed where she was, still and listening.  Her hearing tuned
out the various whirs and soft grinds of fans and the refrigerator motor,
focusing in on the sound she wanted - the deep, even breathing of sleep.
Satisfied, she closed and relocked the window and glided across to the open
bedroom door.
        The faint light from the street showed that Tim had barely moved
since she had left him - he still slept curled on one side, the top sheet
pulled up to his chest.  She nodded to herself.
        It had been a quiet night in Gotham, she reflected, cutting back
through the living room to the kitchen.  Three muggings, one prostitute
getting beaten, a small gang border skirmish.  It was probably as quiet in
the 'Haven, although maybe the BPD had already moved on Blockbuster.  She
suspected not - they'd be coordinating some morning sting.
        She opened the fridge for water and saw that the plate she'd left
for Tim was undisturbed.  Made sense if he hadn't woken.  She snagged a
carrot stick from it and then reclosed the cellophane wrapping it.  If he
slept until morning, she would insist they go out for a proper breakfast,
but he might still wake before then.
        Munching contentedly and swallowing more water, she walked into the
bathroom.  A gentle pressure on a tile behind the door folded back a small
section of wall into what passed for a lair in their little apartment.  It
really was just enough space for uniforms and weapons and a corner for the
more powerful computer that networked into the desktop that sat
unassumingly on Tim's desk.  And to change.
        Three minutes later, Cassandra Cain exited the little room through
it's other entrance - the one that led back into the bedroom.
        Tim still slept.
        Smiling faintly, Cassandra set down her water bottle on her night
stand.  She stretched, enjoying the air on her bare skin after a long night
in her suit.  Then she lifted her side of the top sheet and slid into bed
beside her sleeping lover.
        Now Tim did move - not to wakefulness, but toward the warmth of her
beside him.  He nuzzled up to her shoulder, prompting her to wrap a
protective arm around him.  As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered if
this was what love felt like.