Disclaimer: The characters in this work of fiction belong to Time Warner/DC Comics and are not being used for profit. They were oodles of fun and are welcome to come over and eat cookies with me anytime. This story works under the assumption that Commissioner Gordon knows that Cassandra Cain is the new Batgirl. I deduced this from the No Man's Land novel, so if you disagree with me, have fun, but don't write to me, because I don't care. *** Holiday (Drop) Ins by Smitty (smittywing@yahoo.com) *** "Merry Christmas, Babs." Dick Grayson carefully clinked the edge of his glass against Barbara Gordon's identical flute. "Merry Christmas, Dick," she replied, crinkling her eyes as the glasses tapped cheerfully together. They link wrists and leaned close to each other to drink from their respective champagne glasses. And then drink from something else. Unfortunately, a less-harmonious ringing interrupted them before they got that far. "Someone's at the door," Barbara said quietly, heading to her computer to find out who was visiting this cold, windy Christmas Eve. With poorly disguised disappointment, Dick followed her, retrieving the domino mask that he'd left on an end table. Christmas Eve didn't mean crime stopped, but for Dick, an early tour of Blüdhaven--followed by a tour of Gotham--was enough. At least for now. "It's Daddy," Barbara said, staring at the monitor. "You need to go." "Go?" Dick echoed. "Just sit on the balcony for a few minutes," she suggested. "It's late. Daddy won't stay long. Not as long as you're going to stay," she teased with a wink. "I can stay in the bedroom." "No!" "The work room?" "You really think Daddy won't go in there?" "The bathroom?" "Go!" Dick slapped on his mask, not caring that it was a little crooked, and hoisted himself out the window. "VR room?" "Remember what happened last time?" "I'll be on the balcony if you need me." *** "Daddy!" "Hi, Barbara." Jim Gordon leaned down to kiss his daughter on the cheek. "What are you doing out so late?" "Oh…" Jim Gordon twisted his hat in his hands and looked sheepish. "The house seemed lonely, so I went for a walk and saw your lights on. Figured maybe you were lonely tonight, too." "Aw, Daddy," she said, holding out her arms to hug him. "You'll always have me." "I know, pumpkin," Gordon replied, hugging his daughter. "Mind if an old man takes off his coat?" "No, not at all. Do you want something to drink? Some hot coffee, maybe?" "That would be great. It's snowing out there, you know." "It is?" Barbara grinned weakly and tried not to look toward the balcony. *** "So then Bullock takes this hot dog and—" Gordon broke off as a bell chimed. "Someone here?" "Let me check." Babs went into her computer room to look at her monitor. The image on the screen was of an impatient Black Canary holding a large gift basket. She was wearing jeans and a tan jacket trimmed in fluffy white that made her look like an Australian sheep herder. Barbara shook her head and buzzed her up. She heard a tapping on the glass door of her balcony and twisted her head around to investigate. She had to grin when she saw Dick's face look questioningly at her. She shrugged and made a face at him. He responded by pressing his nose against the glass. Barbara suppressed a laugh and went to the door. "Dinah just showed up," she whispered. "This might take a little longer than I thought." "It's cold out here," Dick whined after stealing a kiss. "Well here, maybe this will help," Barbara suggested. She leaned her head out the windy gap again and gave him a kiss that left the last peck in the dust. "There, now hang out in the shadows and be silent like a good vigilante." Ignoring his puppy dog eyes she closed the door and turned. She went back in the main room just as her father was opening the door for Dinah. "Dad, this is my friend Dinah," she said, trying to sound nonchalant. Surely her father wouldn't recognize— "Nice to meet you, Dinah. Jim Gordon, Barbara's father." Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. "I've seen you before. Aren't you the Black Canary?" Dinah's smile was dazzling. "Yes, I am! I can't believe you recognized me!" "I saw you on television," Jim told her with a wide grin. "You do good work." "Aw, you're so sweet." Dinah tilted her head charmingly. "Hey, you're the police commissioner, aren't you? Babs never told me you were so prominent, although I guess I should have put it together." Gordon straightened his jacket and tried not to look too flattered. "Yes," he admitted, "I am the police commissioner, but I certainly wouldn't call myself prominent." "Oh, I definitely would," Dinah assured him. "Everyone knows who you are!" Barbara rolled her eyes and silently accepted the large gift basket Dinah had lugged with her. "So, uh, Ms. Lance. How do you know my Barbara? I don't remember her ever being a member of the Justice League!" Jim Gordon chuckled heartily. Behind her father, Barbara leaned her forehead into her hand. "Oh, we met…at the library," Dinah said, her highly developed talent for creating plausible explanations busy at work. "I also work as an operative for Oracle, the information database for the JLA. So I get sent out of the country a lot. Babs here has been helping me learn how to research local customs and important language phrases and other vital information so I can be less dependent on Oracle to pull me through difficult situations. It's hard to be everywhere at once, even for a computer," Dinah added, nodding enthusiastically. "Really? So this Oracle thing is just a computer?" Jim Gordon mused, tugging at one end of his mustache. "I'm pretty sure there's a person on the other end," Dinah confided in him. "Although I've never seen him and a lot of his work is computerized." "Really?" Jim mulled over this information. "Huh." *** "Hey." Robin touched down on the balcony next to Dick. "What are you doing out here?" Nightwing bounced on his heels and glared up at the young man who now wore the red and green suit. "I'm waiting," he growled. "Her father showed up and I was in my pajamas." Robin grinned. "He'll be gone soon. Bab'll pull the big yawn, I'm tired deal and you'll be back in the cockpit." "Yeah." Dick dared a glance back toward the warmth and light of the living room. "Except Dinah showed up." Tim's grin vanished. "Go home," he advised Dick. "No good can come of this." "No," Dick decided. "Tim, it's time for you to give Babs your Christmas present." "I got Babs a Christmas present?" *** "I *hated* Wuthering Heights!" Dinah exclaimed. "'I love you but you're beneath me'? What kind of cop-out was that?" "Dinah, those were different times," Jim Gordon was trying to explain to her. "I know! And she would have had to give up all her social status and pretty dresses and stuff to marry him but if she really loved him, wouldn't she do it? Wouldn't she? And I don't know what was up with that not knowing she was pregnant thing…I mean, you KNOW when you're pregnant, you know?" "I know," Jim told her, quickly. "No need to go into details." "Right. Now Pride and Prejudice I liked," Dinah continued. "Sure, Darcy came off as a stuck up snob at first, but then look at what a good guy he was, underneath. And when Elizabeth finally realized that, she totally went with him." "Well that's true," Jim conceded, as another alarm sounded. "Babs, honey?" "Let me go look," she offered, smiling weakly. Who now? She wondered, pulling up the screen that showed the picture from her hallway camera. The picture clearly showed two dark-haired young men, one of whom she would recognize anywhere. "It's Dick Grayson," she told her father and Dinah. "And a friend of his, I guess." "Dick Grayson?" her father frowned. "What's a young man doing visiting this late?" "Uh…maybe he say my light on, too," Barbara offered. "Hmmph." *** "I hope that IOU I left on the neighbor's window was ok," Tim griped as he and Dick climbed the stairs to Babs' apartment. "I hope I can get the closet shut again," Dick griped. "Dinah almost caught me when I was trying to get my spare set of clothes out of Babs' bedroom, and I left the closet door open." "What? Do you have a Nightwing suit sitting on her laundry basket or something?" Dick responded with an embarrassed look. "Nice." Before Tim could comment further, the door opened and Barbara welcomed them into her living room. "Hi, Babs," Dick said, easily. "I was hanging with my buddy, T—" "Alvin Draper. Nice to meet you." Babs blinked. "Um, we saw your light was on and I wanted to say hi." "Oh, well that was very sweet of you," Babs smiled, with a second glance at 'Alvin'. "Look Daddy, Dinah, my friend Dick and um, his friend dropped by to say hi." "Dick," Commissioner Gordon greeted the younger man cautiously. "Hey—Aren't you Tim Drake? The kid who got stuck in Gotham during No Man's Land?" Tim shrunk, visibly. "Yeah, I think he is," Dinah agreed cheerfully. Tim groaned. *** Babs found everyone a seat and Dinah had produced a cheese log from her basket. Jim Gordon was in the kitchen, in search of crackers. He had just returned when a deafening crash echoed through the room. Seconds later, the klaxon attached to Babs' security system started to wail. As a group, they rushed to the computer room to see Batman silhouetted in the broken glass, holding the still body of Batgirl. "Batman?" Gordon asked in surprise. His eyes flitted to the ominously limp body in the Dark Knight's arms. "Is she hurt badly?" he asked in alarm. Babs reached up and took Dick's hand in her own. He squeezed it comfortingly, but didn't take his eyes from the scene. "Batgirl fell," the Dark Knight growled. He paused to scan the crowd. "Barbara's been letting her stay with her. We were nearby." Gordon nodded. "David Cain's girl." "Wow, it's Batman!" Dick exclaimed, belatedly. "Neato!" Tim piped up, catching on a little late. His voice barely hid his concern for Cassandra. "I thought he was just an urban legend." Batman ignored them, pushing through the little group to follow Barbara to the living room where he could lay Cassandra on the couch. Dinah pushed the two boys after her , slapping them both in the back of their heads when she'd cleared the doorway and Jim Gordon's vision. "You two sound like sideshow plants," she hissed in their ears. "What's wrong with you?" Alone in Barbara's haven of computer equipment, Jim Gordon looked around at her collection and shook his head. "Yeah," he mocked. "We're really pulling one over on the old man." With a roll of his eyes, he stuffed his hands back in his pockets and joined the crowd. *** "Her pulse is good," Barbara reported. "Respiration good, no temperature. No visible blood or broken bones. What happened?" "She fell." "Thank you, Mr. Eloquent," Barbara replied under her breath. "Cassandra," she continued, patting the girl's cheek. "Cassandra, wake up." To everyone's surprise, Cassandra bounced right up, tugging off her mask. "Scrooge!" she accused, pointing at Batman. Black Canary choked back a laugh. "Grinch!" Standing on the couch, she pointed a finger accusingly at Batman. "No Christmas spirit. Must come in!" Dick suppressed a laugh as Dinah lost all hope of controlling hers. "You mean, you brought Batman here to get some Christmas spirit?" he asked incredulously. "You faked half-dead to get Batman here?" Tim clarified, his voice slightly accusing. Cassandra nodded proudly. "No go home. Saw party!" Everyone exchanged grins. Everyone, that is, except Batman, who looked stonier than usual, somehow. "We need to get back out there," he said, turning to the door. "Batman." It was Jim Gordon's voice. One of the few voices Batman had no power to ignore. "Stay with us. Be a family. Just for a little while." Batman hesitated, not sure what he was reading in Jim's words. Finally, he nodded. He glanced back at Black Canary, who was leaning in a doorway holding her sides as her laughs subsided into the occasional giggle. "Black Canary," he finally greeted her. "You're looking well." That comment mysteriously sent Dinah into new peals of laughter, which she hastily swallowed. Batman merely stared at her, then turned his attention to Barbara's introductions, nodding as if he'd never met Tim or Dick before. His back was to Gordon, but somehow he felt the other man's eyes on him and suddenly felt very fake. "Um, I was actually planning to do this privately," Dick suddenly spoke up. "But I really can't imagine a better time than now, surrounded by Babs' friends and family…and a nice vigilante to keep her father from killing me." As everyone stared at him, he pulled a box from his pocket, dropping to one knee. Batman took a step back to get a better view of the room. "Barbara, I can't remember a time when I knew you and didn't love you. There were times when I knew I wasn't good enough for you, and there were times when you claimed not to be good enough for me. But I think we both know that's history. I want you to be the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I see when I go to bed. I'm a cop, Babs, and I guess we both know it's not an easy life…but I'd lasso the moon for you. I'll do everything in my power to make every day better than the one before, and Babs, I'm asking you to marry me." Dick opened the box, displaying a perfectly cut heart-shaped diamond on a gold band. Babs stared at the small piece of jewelry and bit her lip as Dick removed it from the box and took her hand. "Yes," she whispered in disbelief. "Yes, yes, of course I will!" Dick slid the ring on the third finger of her left hand and suddenly everyone was cheering and offering congratulations and hugging. Jim Gordon lounged against the wall and casually removed his service revolver from its holster. He made a show of opening the barrel to make sure it was loaded. Dinah promptly relieved him of the weapon, swiftly taking it apart as she babbled on about how her father was a cop and taught her to take guns apart when she was eight years old. Gordon looked uncomfortable and shot a glance at the impassive vigilante lurking in the kitchen doorway. A small headshake and a quirk at the corner of the mouth and for just a moment, Jim was sure that the Batman was laughing at him. And if not him, Jim decided, then perhaps at the vivacious blonde who as rapidly reassembling his police issue weapon, sans bullets. As the commotion died down, Barbara lifted her hand to stare at the glittering gem once more. "I don't believe it," she whispered. "I don't know what to say." Tim cleared his throat. "I know what to say, " he spoke up. Everyone turned their attention to him. "Batman and Black Canary are standing under the mistletoe." The two superheroes immediately looked upward as the rest of the party shared a laugh at their expense. Batman cleared his throat. "C'mon, Batman, " Gordon chided. "Is what they say about men in tights true?" Batman shot him a withering look, then turned to Black Canary. "I had noth—" she started to protest. She never finished. Batman swung her into a low dip, bestowing on her a kiss that silenced the entire room. Everyone stared at the couple, engaged in an embrace that was looking to last longer than Dick's proposal. "What was it they say about men in tights?" Batman asked, as he set Dinah upright and turned his glare on a very amused police commissioner. "Nothing at all," Gordon assured him. Dinah leaned against the doorframe, staring at the masked vigilante in front of her. "'They say his heart grew three sizes that day'," Barbara commented mysteriously, rolling into the kitchen. She returned minutes later with a tray of small plastic cups and a punchbowl. "I have some eggnog," she said. "It's non-alcoholic. I thought it might be the thing to usher in Christmas Day." As she spoke, the chimes on the grandfather clock behind her began to sound the midnight hour. She passed around the cups, making sure everyone had one. "We need a toast," she told them when she was done. "Something Christmasy." "'Every time bell rings, another angel gets wings!'" Cassandra contributed cheerfully from the couch, where she had been watching the proceedings. Barbara grinned. The movie had been on several times that week, each of which Cassandra had watched with equal rapture. "'It's not the getting, it's not the giving, it's the loving'," Dick suggested. "You stole that from Garfield," Babs admonished him. "I wouldn't touch him with a 39 ½ foot pole?" Dinah suggested, grinning at Batman. Babs rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored her friend. "Please?" she asked. "Anyone?" Tim stood up and held out his cup. "God bless us," he intoned, solemnly. "Every one." Quietly they all tapped cups and, echoing the sentiment, welcomed Christmas Day. Fin Author's note: 'They say his heart grew three sizes that day' and 'I wouldn't touch him with a 39 ½ foot pole' both came from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas. 'Every time bell rings, another angel gets wings!' was paraphrased from "It's a Wonderful Life." 'It's not the getting, it's not the giving, it's the loving' comes from the Garfield Christmas special. 'God bless us, every one' comes from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol".