****************************************

Disclaimer:  Okay, let's see how this goes -- No money being made!  I'm
poor, and I'm writing this simply for my own enjoyment.  All characters
belong to DC, and I own nothing!  Is that all I need? :)

Author's note:  Please be nice.  This is my very first attempt at writing
and posting, and feedback is MORE than welcome to be sent to
gabi@gies.com.  So is CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. But if you flame me, I'll
cry. :)  This should have probably been posted right at the New Year, but
I didn't get it done in time.  Besides, it's sweet enough for Valentine's
too.  I hope all you Dick/Babs fans enjoy it.  That said, on to the story.

             ****************************************

Dedicated to Jody Revenson who wrote the story that inspired me to even
attempt this writing.  While this is a follow-up story to her "Oracle and
Nightwing," which can be found on Luba Kmetyk's website "Fonts of Wisdom,"
at http://home.att.net/~lubakmetyk, it is NOT a sequel.  Jody has her own
plans for the characters and this material will not factor into her
stories.  My story was simply inspired by Jody's writing and with her
permission, I'm presuming that her story is part of my own timeline.  I
hope I have done justice to the amazing characterizations within her
story, and I'd like to thank her for her praise, proofreading and support
for this effort.

Also dedicated to Samy Merchi and Immortal Dreamer, who are the most
encouraging people I know and helped me a great deal when I started to
learn all about Barbara Gordon and got me started reading DC Comics, and
to Becky Wareing, one of my inspirational proofreaders who helped me when
I just couldn't seem to get an idea to feel right.

             ****************************************

A New Year to Remember
Terri Hayes

        9:52 pm.  New Year's Eve.  If it had come seven months ago, she'd
have probably "Bah, humbug'd" through the whole thing.  Instead, this
year, she found herself smiling a lot.  Sometimes the twists and turns
life takes can be unexpected, she mulled to herself as she kept her eyes
on her computer terminal.  Though it was likely to stay quiet tonight, she
intended to remain on duty until just before midnight.
        Barbara Gordon, known to the superhero world only as Oracle, was
actually HAPPY.  Amazingly enough, her happiness was tied to the one
person who she never thought she'd have another chance with.  'We've come
full circle,' she thought to herself with a small smile.  Years ago, she
and Dick Grayson were involved in an intimate relationship which she later
ended with excuses about their ages. At twenty-two to his sixteen, it
could have been a consideration in their intimate relationship.  'But it
wasn't the real reason I ran,' she conceded to herself.  She'd been
afraid, he'd gotten too close.  As Robin and Batgirl, each following their
crimefighting paths, they'd had so much in common. He understood the
pressures and pains of having two lives.  Like two halves of a whole, they
fought back to back fiercely and then made love with a depth of passion
she never found with anyone else.  Destroyed when she turned him away, she
never let herself imagine there would come another time for them.  The
twists of Fate, she thought.  It had been idyllic, the past seven months.
        Well.... *almost* idyllic.  Barbara couldn't help but smile,
remembering the numerous necessary adjustments. The physical adjustments
weren't all that difficult, though Dick's commute from Bludhaven to Gotham
could be rough at times.  He now left some of his clothing and a couple of
his costumes in the cleaned out closets, and though discussions about the
possibility of Barbara moving up to Bludhaven came up occasionally, no
move was imminent toward that drastic change.  There were practical
considerations for it, as well as emotional ones.  Dick's apartment needed
to be overhauled to handle Barbara's wheelchair and equipment, but there
was also an emotional security for her in this apartment which she wasn't
ready to relinquish yet.
        The emotional adjustments of their relationship were quite a bit
harder than any of the physical ones, though the situation seemed to have
settled recently. Dick began spending more time in Gotham, usually four
nights a week.  They'd had their share of arguments, certainly. Barbara
was used to having things her own way and there are inevitable conflicts
that come when familiarity breeds laxness.  The third time she found
herself unable to go from the bathroom to the living room because Dick
unthinkingly left a hundred things strewn in her chair's path, a
knock-down, drag-out fight ensued that finally ended five hours later.
Dick's apology for being so thoughtless sent Barbara bursting into tears,
much to his confusion.
        Barbara contemplated that fight long and hard as she sat at her
terminal.  They were both in the wrong that time, she knew.  Dick for not
thinking about her limitations, Barbara for using the defense mechanisms
that were ingrained in her.  Fear of the relationship not working out
preyed on her mind for days prior to the blowup and, coupled with a heavy
bout of PMS, she lashed out at Dick with startling ferocity over such a
minor thing. Trying to drive him away before he could leave her, she
realized now, before he could see all her flaws and destroy her by walking
out of her life again.
        Okay.  So it actually wasn't anything close to idyllic those first
weeks, with periodic outbreaks of such insecurity from one or the other of
them.  Stemming from his parents' deaths and Bruce Wayne's habitual
emotional distance from everything, Dick's underlying insecurity about
losing his loved ones solidified into a kind of emotional wariness.
Batman's rejection of Robin as a partner bit deeply into the younger man
and the desertion of his former fiancee, Koriand'r, only increased Dick's
feelings of loneliness and abandonment.  Unlike his mentor, he refused to
close up and allow the injuries to his heart make him over into the image
of the Batman.
        Or so he thought.  Occasionally, Dick could be counted on to
utilize what Barbara termed privately as 'Bruce Wayne tactics' to distance
himself from her.  At those times, probing for any answers got her
nowhere.  It was as if Dick retreated into himself at times to battle his
expectations of being abandoned again, now that he'd opened his heart one
more time.  She tried hard to be understanding, though every once in a
while she got impatient with his brooding and drew him out with a
well-placed comparison to Bruce.  It never failed to pull Dick out of his
stupor to deny such allegations.
        At other times, Dick just hid his fears and uncertainties behind
the jokes and puns that served them both so well in the past.  Though the
age difference between them back then might have been worth commenting on,
their relationship remained the one time that she'd ever felt what she
thought real love and emotional fulfillment should be.  Hiding their
terrors behind joking banter, so different from Batman's stoic silence,
was their way of emotionally distancing themselves from a situation they
might not get away from in one piece. Even now, Barbara knew, Dick kept
those defense mechanisms tightly in place to safeguard himself from the
possibility of losing someone else from his life.
        She tried to be careful with his emotions, listening when he
wanted to talk and changing the topic when he didn't.  Barbara allowed
their banter to ease him through the desolate moods as much as possible,
understanding their relationship was still on shaky ground. Long buried
and unacknowledged, their feelings for each other had only grown through
the years and made them each vulnerable to the other.  They knew each
other better than anyone else would probably ever know either of them.
Sharing long discussions in the darkest hours of the night, she gave him a
peek at the very core of her self and she knew he allowed her the same
rare privilege, telling her things that he never considered telling even
his fiancee. Those hours - the ones where you can tell someone all your
deepest, darkest secrets without fear, the ones where you say all the
things you'd never say face to face or admit to in the light of day -
those were what built their relationship.  At the same time, the emotional
investment was frightening.  Dick's insecurities about loving anyone
would only be overcome by time.
        Barbara slipped out of her reverie to glance at the clock.  10:22.
With a sigh, she wheeled herself away from the computer terminal.  It
would beep if she was needed.  Dick had promised he'd be home in time to
celebrate the incoming New Year with her, but it seemed like forever until
then.  Would he make it, she wondered.  Maybe, maybe not.  She looked
around the room and decided that physical activity would keep her mind
from counting the minutes down only to be disappointed.  It was highly
likely that Dick would be late and she didn't want to get upset over it.
'The price of life as a vigilante's woman,' she mused.
        As she began to pick up his clothes off the back of the couch to
take them in her lap toward the bathroom hamper, Barbara laughed softly to
herself. "And here I am, picking up after you again.  You make me crazy,
you know," she mused aloud in an affectionate tone.  Upon reaching the
bathroom, she picked the three shirts up out of her lap to place them in
the dirty clothes hamper and then stopped.  Lifting them, she buried her
face in them for a moment, inhaling his scent deeply.  She missed him when
he wasn't here.  At times, that frightened her.
        To complicate matters in their relationship further, Barbara's own
insecurities ran extremely deep.  Her paralysis, caused by the Joker's
bullet, damaged more than her spine.  It had, for years, damaged her faith
in her womanhood.  Though the physical aspect of their relationship had
worked itself out relatively easily, perhaps mostly due to Dick's prior
intimate knowledge of her body and what she found pleasurable, the
emotional aspects were much more difficult to get past.  Taller and
smarter than most of the boys in her classes at school, she intimidated
them too much to be asked out on many dates.  Additionally, though it
wasn't on purpose, her father's profession and position as Gotham's Police
Commissioner had scared off several potential dates for Barbara.  Her few
relationships later had been sabotaged by her life as Batgirl.  Perhaps on
purpose, she acknowledged to herself.  She wasn't about to let anyone
close enough to hurt her, and so she let all of those potential
relationships drift away.
        While the adage that girls matured faster than boys may have held
true for many, it wasn't the case for Barbara.  Her high school years left
her feeling isolated, as if there was something wrong with her for being
too tall and too smart and too whatever, and the relationships she engaged
in prior to Dick hadn't touched her soul the way he did.  Her emotional
development at the time didn't allow for the depth of feeling Dick
inspired in her young heart and she used incredibly stupid excuses to send
him away, to put distance between them and isolate herself again.
Expecting to be insulated from the riot of feelings she couldn't
understand, to be able to shut her emotions off again, she found herself
in shock when her heart's devastation was instead the result. It didn't
lessen through the years, it only got easier to hide as she retreated
behind work.
        Following her convalescence from the Joker's gunshot, she armored
herself against what she considered "pitying looks" from everyone, further
enhancing her mental and physical isolation in a fortress of her own
making. Using her formidable intelligence and her skill with computers,
Barbara built a new life for herself.  Everything she would ever need was
stockpiled inside her apartment so she wouldn't have to go out.  Her
contract work through the library was done via the Internet or expressed
out by messenger, her social life was mostly online, and she even had her
groceries delivered.  Very few of her transactions were face to face.  If
necessary, she could withstand a siege. She let no one close enough to
touch her physically or emotionally.  But always inside the impenetrable
armor was a young, lonely woman with just a small hope that someday
someone would see through the tough facade.
        Barbara smiled just a little.  He always saw through her. When had
she *ever* been able to fake him out?  Never, she silently acknowledged
with a grin.  He could read her like an open book when he chose to, and
yet there were times when she was SURE he went out of his way to make her
actually say what was on her mind instead of just letting her hide it
behind the wall of silence.  She figured that it was because he and Bruce
never talked things out, and he didn't want their relationship to have the
kinds of misunderstandings that had developed as a result. Both scarred by
the past, the trust required to actually say something to each other's
face could sometimes be hard, but it was worth it. She made him into a man
when they were young, showing him that his passion could take him beyond
his loneliness... and then the incredible man he became made her back into
a woman.  He made her face up to what it meant to have and maintain a real
relationship, reminded her what it was like to trust the other person
enough to verbalize the things that she'd rather not say.  And it scared
the hell out of her.
        What if she failed him?  What if living life with a paraplegic
woman got to be too much strain?  What if it actually lasted a long time
and for some reason she became completely dependent on Dick to do
everything for her?  Before he opened her heart back up to the intense
emotions that she was capable of, she'd been much like the Greek Oracle
that she'd named herself for - cut off from most human contact, the most
casual touch denied power to reach her.  He so easily breached those
defenses built up with such care, and what happened?  She became
vulnerable. Some day, Barbara thought, it would all crumble around her.
He would become disgusted by all she couldn't share with him, by all she
couldn't do, by the bowel and urine collection equipment she was compelled
to use.  It didn't matter that all of the equipment was emblazoned with
the acrobat label of Grayson Industries, she fretted, it was just another
symbol of her inadequacies.
        Barbara slowly set down the shirts she was clutching against her
cheeks, her hands shaking slightly with the force of her insecurities.  How
could they have a lasting relationship, how could they have a family?
Barbara's certainties in her own non-perfection had pushed her into
lashing out at Dick on an almost-regular basis once he started coming to
see her all the time.  Utilizing the same sarcastic repartee that always
went on between them, she wielded the words with much more biting force
than usual. It was as if she was trying to push him back out of her heart
before he could leave of his own volition, terrified that if she let this
relationship continue, it would end in disaster again.
        Fortunately, though Dick couldn't always see and wouldn't
acknowledge how his own insecurities were making him react to Barbara, he
knew her defense mechanisms and how she used them intimately. He was
prepared for her to fight the growing intimacy, knowing it would panic her
at times.  He was as patient and tender with her insecurities as she was
with his.  Which is to say, sometimes he pandered to them, and sometimes
he shouted at her.
        Barbara's smile became wistful.  Those were some amazing displays
of temper, but the making up was certainly worth it.  It took some time to
work things through, for each of them to really believe the other saw them
differently than they saw themselves.  The past month really had been
pretty close to perfect, with just the right level of disagreement and no
huge blowups. Each had something to offer the other, though Barbara was
quite certain he gave more than he got.  In the past several months, she
could see the difference in herself.  She was more sure of herself,
confident and at ease with their shared environment in ways she never
thought possible.  She felt like she could ask him to do things for her
without giving up a part of herself whereas asking for help before was a
weakness to be despised.  He didn't pity her, didn't see her paralysis as
making her less of a woman, and that changed her world.  Her father once
said that it would happen that way.  She believed him, now.
        Sometimes Barbara wondered how she'd lived so many years alone,
without the man who was rapidly becoming the other half of her very soul.
It then usually occured to her that she *hadn't* in fact been without him.
They had always maintained between them a tight, trusting bond of
friendship.  A closer bond, in fact, than either ever really encouraged
with anyone else.  Without ever consciously realizing they were building
their future, they built their relationship on the foundation of years of
friendship and shared secrets.
        She glanced at the time. 10:52pm... was he going to make it?  The
computer's 'talk window' chimed, bringing Barbara's attention to the
screen.  The computer identified the request as coming from the comlink
carried by the current Robin, Tim Drake.  Curious, she wheeled back to the
computer and opened the 'response window', asking into her headset,
"Everything going okay, Robin?"
        Robin's reply was a cheerful, chipper grin.  "Yeah, things are
cool.  I just wanted to wish you a Happy New Year.  Batman's sending me
home to be with my Dad, since he's got his own social obligations and
doesn't want me out there on my own.  Not that I'm complaining, mind
you... this time. Take care, okay?"
        Barbara's grin was easy as she answered, "You too.  Have a good
time, and Happy New Year."  As the link closed, Barbara pondered the
situation.  Every New Year's Eve, there was a party in the historic Gotham
City Renaissance Hotel attended by all the 'up and coming' society
members.  Her father and Sarah usually attended, since her father was of
sufficient rank and social position in the Gotham hierarchy to merit an
invitation, and Bruce Wayne always put in an appearance as well.  Knowing
Bruce, he would be hovering atop one of the largest buildings in Gotham
following the party, watching the revelers in the street and keeping the
petty thugs from hassling the innocents.
        With a soft sigh, Barbara shook her head.  Bruce would do what he
had to in order to feel that he was living up to his own expectations,
regardless of anyone's worry or wishes that he might take a little time
just to enjoy the holiday.  Knowing Alfred was alone at Wayne Manor with a
private bottle of champagne, awaiting the return of one of the men he
considered his 'sons,' Barbara made a mental note to call him and wish him
a Happy New Year at midnight.
        She checked the time again...10:59pm.  An hour to go. It was
beginning to look like Dick wasn't going to make it. Barbara scowled
slightly at the computer and wheeled away from it again, entering the
kitchen.  Thanks to her building being owned by Wayne Enterprises, the
necessary renovations to her apartment following her paralyzation were
completed before Barbara was released from the hospital.  The kitchen was
a masterpiece for a person in a wheelchair with a freezer/refrigerator
combination that only stood three and a half feet tall but was wider than
the norm to still hold everything she wanted.  The stove was much the same
way, with the oven set all the way to the floor and still full-sized in
such a way as to make the stovetop still accessible to Barbara's reach.
It made for an interesting sight when Dick did the cooking, she thought.
        Reaching into the refrigerator, Barbara removed the pepperoni and
cheese for crackers along with a container of onion dip for chips. Amused,
she surveyed her choices as she spread them onto a tray for moving them to
the living room.  Surveying the choices of food on the tray, she said
aloud, the habit of talking to herself an old one, "I don't have a clue
how you eat so much junk and stay so slim.  Even before the chair, I
couldn't eat the sheer volume of this crap that you put away."  She
laughed softly to realize how well she knew his food preferences, "Sugar,
starch, fat, and more sugar... I think I covered all the food groups."  
Cheese, meat, crackers, chips and dip, champagne already in a bucket in 
the living room... it was just about all set.
        She'd tried, Heaven knows, to get him to eat better stuff.  Her
refrigerator was always full of cottage cheese, fresh fruit when it was in
season, and fresh vegetables for snacking on.  He always turned his nose
up at them, telling her that he didn't have to worry about his weight. She
wrinkled her nose while she chopped, wryly saying, "Must be nice to have
thighs that don't gain two inches for every indiscretion."  She returned
to the refrigerator one last time to pull out the bowl of cut vegetables
that she kept full for snacks as well.  Negotiating around the kitchen
easily, she settled the tray, laden with all but the crackers and chips,
carefully onto her knees and wheeled herself and the snacks to the living
room.  A check of the time told her it was getting late... 11:29.
        Resignation and mild annoyance battled for dominance as she
decided he wasn't going to make it.  Although she wondered if she should
even bother, Barbara returned to the kitchen to retrieve the rest of the
snacks.  As she wheeled herself back through to the living room, her
annoyance began to get the upper hand. Thudding the bowls down on the
table, she grumbled, "I should have known better.  Damn... he's *always*
late!  I should have told him to try for 11:00, and then maybe he would
have POSSIBLY made it on time."  She grimaced as she caught up the remote
control to the TV and clicked on the New Year's celebration in Times
Square on the music channel.  At least they'd play music and not just be
chatting.  Maybe she'd phone Alfred early and they could toast in the New
Year together, as it commenced.
        The thought depressed her.  This was her first New Year with Dick
as a couple, and she'd tried so hard to make it special.  How could Dick
just not show up?  She rolled her eyes at herself, realizing she wasn't
really upset. She was simply acting selfishly, wanting him here instead of
out there.  If he was late, it was likely because someone else's New Year
might have a tragic beginning if he hadn't stopped to help whatever
situation it was. "You're so predictable, Boy Wonder... I'll be surprised
if you're not late for your own funeral, too busy kicking someone's butt
to jail to arrive," she murmured softly in mixed resignation and
amusement.
        "What, you're trying to kill me off and bury me already, Babs?
Sheesh, and here I'm not even late!"
        Barbara jumped slightly, laughing as she turned to see Dick in
full Nightwing regalia standing in her living room.  "You made it!"
        Nightwing smirked, "I'd have made it sooner, if you weren't such a
security fanatic, woman.  I came through the back way."  His eyes lingered
over her from behind his mask, amusement and love in the azure depths.
        She raised both her eyebrows, eyes sparkling with mirth.  "Oh
terrific!  How long did it take you this time?  I love it when you test my
systems."  The double entendre was mild, accompanied by a wicked waggle of
her eyebrows at him.
        Dick peeled the mask off his face with a chuckle, "It's actually
pretty good... took me 20 minutes to figure out exactly what you'd done
and another 15 to crack it.  Good job."
        Barbara nodded, looking pleased with herself.  A security system
that could hold off Batman and his star protege was her aim, and it looked
like she'd finally made it.  "Excellent!  That means I don't have to worry
about getting mugged in my sleep," she teases. "Devising something better
than that would be a pain, but maybe I'll do it sometime just to keep you
on your toes."
        She grinned upward, admiring the tall, graceful form before her.
More softly, sincerely, she continued, "I'm so glad you made it... I was
starting to think that you'd gotten tied up."
        Dick winked playfully in return and moved to stand directly in
front of Barbara's chair, lowering himself to capture her lips in a
heated, tender kiss.  'God, she's beautiful,' he thought to himself. There
was nothing in the world quite like coming home to the warmth of her
passion and affection.  He loved to tease her just to watch her eyes
twinkle as she tried to withhold her laughter.  He responded to her
innocent comment with a huskily suggestive whisper, "Nope... no one's
allowed to tie up the Boy Wonder except you.  And since you lost the keys
the last time, I don't think I'm playing that game with you anymore."
        Barbara blushed and put her hands up to cradle his cheeks,
laughing softly, "I knew where the key was the whole time, I just wanted
to see how long it took you to get out of them.  If you'd been getting
timed by Bruce, you'd have flunked."
        Dick made a sound that was probably muffled laughter and just
kissed her lingeringly again.  He murmured softly as he drew back, "Let me
go change my clothes and then we'll have plenty of time to watch the ball
drop and toast in the New Year."
        Barbara let him go reluctantly, her green eyes shining with
happiness to see him.  "Go on... I have some cheese and crackers, among
other munchies. I thought you might have skipped dinner."
        Her tone was tender, and he touched the tip of her nose with his
finger, promising, "Sounds great, I did.  I'll be right back."  Dick
headed into the bedroom, already in the process of removing his skintight
costume and heavy gauntlets.  A shiver of anticipation passed through
Barbara as she eyed the highly defined muscles of her lover's back. 'Wow,
that man's just... hot!' She let her thoughts dwell on just how hot while
he changed clothes in the other room.
        By the time Dick returned to the living room, the volume of the
television was muted.  Barbara was watching the picture for a moment as
the cameras panned the crowd in Times Square, giving him a moment to just
look at her. It was 11:37pm, and they had less than a half an hour before
the ball dropped in Times Square.  He wondered, not for the first time,
when he'd ever been as happy as he was just this moment, his eyes
lingering on Barbara's beautiful face for long seconds.
        Noticing his arrival, Barbara held the champagne bottle out,
breaking into his reverie with a soft tone and a smile.  "Hey you... are
you awake over there?"  He took the bottle from her with a wink, popping
the cork with an efficient twist of his wrist, and poured the champagne
into the two glasses set out and ready for the celebration.  He allowed
himself the private amusement of knowing that if the evening came off the
way he planned, there would be still more cause for celebration.
        Dick took both glasses and moved to sit on the couch, leaving
Barbara plenty of room to maneuver herself out of her wheelchair to join
him there.  Then, returning the glasses to her once she settled, he pulled
her legs across his lap so that they were sitting as close as possible.
He took his own glass back when they were both situated.
        Playfully, the two lovers shared the snacks set out in front of
them, sipping their champagne with enjoyment.  Most of the time, they
ignored the TV, except to check the time occasionally.  Barbara fed Dick
choice tidbits from her fingers, and he returned the intimate favor.
Laughter laced its way through the moments as Barbara made a face and
refused to eat a bit here or there of the fat-filled foods that Dick
devoured with appreciation.  Dick refused to eat her "rabbit food" in
retaliation, so a compromise was reached when she conceded defeat and ate
several pieces pepperoni and some onion dip, forcing him to crunch on
carrots.  A disgusted face, of course, accompanied every crunch.  The
faces were as much a part of the ritual as sharing tidbits from each
other's plates at dinner.  Neither of them particularly disliked anything
on the tray, it was just a game.
        As the clock ticked downward toward the New Year, Dick swallowed
the bite he was eating and picked up his glass to hold it out.  This was
the moment he'd been working on for most of the day.  He finally thought
he had the speech right, and this was the crucial test. His voice took on
a slightly deeper timbre than normal as he spoke. "I'd like to propose a
New Year's toast as the ball falls."
        Barbara smiled easily and asked, "What toast?"  She held her glass
to the ready as she looked up into his eyes.  Amazing how all the slight
annoyances of just a half hour ago were gone in the contentment of just
having him here with her.  If she could choose a moment to live in
forever, maybe this would be it.
        Dick touched the rim of his glass against hers and whispered while
his intense blue eyes held her gaze captive, "Barbara... you've been the
person that I trusted with my innermost secrets, both dreams and
fears...."  He swallowed hard, and continued, "You've always been my
sanctuary, and losing you almost destroyed me."  He paused, having trouble
with the words though the sentiment behind them was evident.  "Your pains
and fears have always hurt me... and your strength has always humbled me."
He reached out to touch a lock of her coppery hair, more sure of himself
as he managed to get the words he'd rehearsed for three hours tonight on
the rooftops out without tripping himself up.
        As the ball in Times Square began to drop, fifteen seconds
remained in the old year and the crowd began to chant the countdown.
Barbara's throat closed up with sudden insight. Tears shimmered in her
eyes as she listened silently, her hand beginning to shake where it held
her champagne glass.
        Dick smiled faintly, choked with emotion as he steadied her hand
with his own rather shaky one.  He made a false start, and then finished
in a soft rush, "I've always known that I loved you, and I want to spend
the rest of my life showing you. Will you marry me?"  At the last word, he
held his breath.  Those weren't quite the words he wanted to say, there
were so many more clogging his throat that he couldn't seem to push past
the lump that resided there.
        He'd planned it all out... damn!  Did he say all the important
parts, he wondered frantically?  He couldn't remember what he said and
what he left out, his mind drawing a complete blank.  Time held no meaning
in those interminable moments of terror, with both of them frozen and
looking into each other's eyes.  His mind in that split second berated him
for not waiting longer and practically screamed, 'What is she thinking?!'
Barbara, for her part, looked as if she was at a complete loss for words.
Her mind had made itself up sometime during the evening's ponderings over
her life, but she couldn't seem to formulate words.
        Barbara managed to stifle the soft sob that rose in her throat,
responding the only way she could, nodding her head slowly up and down in
answer. For a long moment, Dick didn't quite comprehend.  Then his
expression turned ecstatic.  "Yes?  Yes?"  Her nods continued more
energetically and he leaned forward, kissing her passionately as the last
two seconds of the old year elapsed and the new one began.
        Barbara's kiss was full of tenderness and tears, love and
affection.  Neither noticed that the champagne glasses had fallen to the
floor and left puddles of the sparkling liquid to seep into the carpet.
Wrapping his arms around her tightly, Dick tugged her carefully the rest
of the way into his lap.  She buried her face against his neck for a
moment, cradled securely in haven of his arms, and then pulled slightly
away to draw his mouth into a heated kiss, tongues mating with fervent
passion.  When they both finally drew back for air, she rested her
forehead against his and whispered softly, "You gave me back something I
never thought I'd have after I was shot. The faith to love and the
security to say it to you. I love you, Dick Grayson."
        As she pulled away to meet his eyes, she had to smile.  If she had
to choose her moment for time to stop, she would choose this one instead.
Her lips were crushed by the insistant ones of her lover, and she muzzily
remembered briefly that she was going to call Alfred.  The thought was
promptly lost, the phone call not made for hours....

            -----------------------------------------------

        A New Year to remember, that's what this one would be, Barbara
told herself.  She'd thought that last year was the one that she'd be
thankful for.  And it was, it brought Dick Grayson back into her life,
something which she would always remember.  She would be grateful for last
year, but the upcoming one had even more things in store.
        She smiled down at the exquisite diamond flanked by smaller,
equally exquisite sapphires on her left ring finger.  Dick had impeccable
taste, and the future was so much more inviting than it had ever been
before, beckoning to her with the promise of happiness.