DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything, nor am I writing this for profit. The characters belong to the WB and DC comics. No copyright infringement is intended.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Phryne for all comments, suggestions, corrections, and just plain work that goes into beta reading any story – but especially one of mine.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you for reading. Any comments or criticism can be directed to adliren@gmail.com. This story is a continuation of the series What it Means to Be a Hero. If you haven't read the first part, Getting Back on Your Feet, I suggest you do so now (but really, it's up to you).
SERIES: Part two of the 'What it Means to Be a Hero' series.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
What it Means to Be a Hero
Part 2: A Different Way of Thinking
By adliren
(1)
Rocking slightly with the waves that lapped against the New Gotham docks, the Fallen Star seemed to eerily echo the city in the distance - both formed from shadowy lines, hunched over and painted on the dark canvas of the night. The cargo ship was scheduled to unload at its twilight arrival but, after a routine docking, no one had disembarked. The harbor master, having gone aboard to see what was wrong, had immediately run back out, his face white, and called the police.
Huntress reached up to rub her eyebrow, a habit that often displayed her frustration, and sighed when her fingers encountered stiff neoprene. Sliding a finger under the offending obstruction, she allowed the sea breeze to cool her overheated skin. She hated wearing a mask. Even if it barely covered any of her face, it was too much in her opinion. She continued to poke and prod the material, trying in vain to make it fit more comfortably.
Helena forcefully brought her hands down and clutched the edge of the building that offered a clear view of the Fallen Star. Golden eyes scanned the dock dockyards searching for anything unusual, but the night was quiet and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Except for the occasional flutter of wind-tossed paper, there was no movement at all.
Looking to her left she identified the shape of Nightwing, also scouting from the rooftops. Canary would be down below, probably still in the Hummer, waiting for Barbara's signal to move in, just as Nightwing and Huntress were.
Helena's com crackled to life. "Everything seems clear. There's no evidence of movement on the security cameras. Anything on your end?" They both responded in the negative. "Okay then. Huntress, Nightwing, approach slowly, we don't know what we're dealing with. Canary stay behind them and act as backup."
Huntress didn't bother to respond, instead, she casually stepped off the seven-story building to land gracefully on her feet a moment later. She waited patiently as Nightwing descended on a wire, and together they headed toward the cargo ship. When they got within a hundred yards, Nightwing indicated that she should head up the ramp and he would take the direct route onto the deck using a cable. Helena nodded in confirmation, and without another word she flowed up the metal incline.
Reaching the deck at the same time, the two crime fighters quickly took defensive positions, fully expecting to be attacked by an assailant. It paid to be paranoid in their line of work. In this case however, it didn't appear to be necessary; the upper level of the ship was as deserted as the rest of the docks.
"Oracle, we're on deck. No sign of anything strange. Certainly nothing to make the harbor master call the police." Nightwing's voice was low, the sound only carrying a few feet from his body.
Dick had been handling most of the communications with the woman on the other end of the coms for several months now. Huntress' contributions were generally confined to one word acknowledgments, or terse descriptions. Helena knew the strain was starting to wear on all of them, but it couldn't be helped. It seemed that she and Barbara were able to maintain a working relationship, but their friendship had suffered a crippling blow.
Helena winced at her own choice of words. That's what it felt like, however - as if her heart had somehow been paralyzed by Barbara's discovery of her feelings and her subsequent rejection of all that the older woman had offered. It didn't matter that she'd had good reasons for turning Barbara down; nothing seemed to matter when she was faced with the loss of her best friend.
She'd hoped that time would start to heal the painful wounds, but that dream had faded and eventually died as the months wore on and they continued to interact only as Huntress and Oracle, rarely even meeting in person. If Helena thought not being able to touch the other woman had been agony, she would now admit that this was an insignificant pain when compared to the torture of not being able to even see Barbara.
Somehow they had managed to limp through the summer in their current condition. Barbara had taught summer school and Helena had thrown herself into work at the Dark Horse and summer classes at the university. She had been shocked at how well she had done in her spring semester, the classes giving her something to focus on besides the gaping hole in her life that Barbara used to fill. It looked as if she would do just as well this summer if things kept going the way they were, and Helena saw no reason for them to suddenly change. She might even graduate with honors. Wouldn't that just make Barbara proud?
Except Barbara didn't know anything about Helena's life anymore. She had purposefully cut off all contact that wasn't strictly related to defending New Gotham. Helena was well aware that Dinah sometimes let Barbara know that she was alright and what she was doing, just as Helena pumped the blond for information on the older woman every chance she got. But other than that and the fact that Helena showed up for sweeps, she figured Barbara wouldn't even know if she dropped dead.
Sometimes Helena wondered if she would know; she already felt dead inside.
"Go ahead and check the lower decks, but be careful. Something doesn't feel right."
'Ya think? Seems like another day on the Royal Caribbean to me.'
Helena desperately wanted to voice her flippant response, but it wasn't her place anymore. Oracle had made it clear that she wanted it to be strictly business between them unless Helena wanted to discuss their failed attempt at being more than just friends. Since Helena didn't, she just kept quiet.
"We copy, Oracle. Moving in."
Nightwing signaled for Helena to lead the way. She would never admit it, but Dick had actually been really great about all this. He hadn't once tried to bring up the situation with her which was fortunate - she didn't think she could have kept from smashing his face in - instead, he had just continued to go on sweeps and avoid her whenever possible. It was one less irritation that might potentially send her over the edge, and she was grateful.
Helena considered taking the steps one at a time, but didn't like leaving her legs exposed, so instead she took a small leap, landing gracefully at the bottom of the steep staircase – or she would have if something wet and glistening hadn't coated the floor, causing her to slip and fall on her side.
Instantly recognizing the smell . . . and feel . . . of blood, Huntress scrambled to her feet. The congealing liquid was everywhere, splashed on the walls, drenching the hallway floor, even dripping from the ceiling, and now a good portion of it coated Helena as well.
"Holy fuck!"
Helena's exclamation had been nothing more than a shocked whisper, but Oracle immediately heard the distress behind the words.
"Huntress what do you see?"
"Blood, lots of blood."
Helena sounded like she was trying not to breathe, her voice a thready murmur. If the situation was as bad as Huntress' voice intimated, Barbara couldn't imagine the assault on the other woman's meta-senses. She tried to speak soothingly, not wanting to disturb her even more.
"Are there any bodies, Huntress?"
"No, there's nothing. Just the blood." Barbara heard a series of thuds over the speakers. "Hang on a sec, Nightwing's coming down."
"Holy shit!"
"Yeah that was my reaction too. At least you didn't take a bath in it."
Barbara let out a sigh. If she was making jokes, even ones in poor taste, Helena was probably fine.
"Nightwing, Huntress, see if you can locate the missing crew members."
"Uh, Oracle, they're not going to be in one piece. I'd really rather not go on a scavenger hunt for body parts."
Did Helena think she liked ordering her to? If she could Barbara would be out there herself, instead of being stuck in the clock tower waiting for them to report.
"Just find them, Huntress."
Barbara winced when the sharp retort left her mouth. She didn't mean it, but Helena just made her so frustrated.
There was silence over the coms, until Nightwing spoke. "We're going now, Oracle. I'll check the crew quarters and Huntress will take the hold."
"Fine, make sure you keep checking in."
Barbara hated putting Dick in the middle of this, but from the very beginning he had been there for her.
When Helena made her pronouncement that they couldn't become romantically involved, something had died inside of Barbara. That was the only way she could think of it. Some hope that she hadn't even known she possessed simply folded over and expired, leaving her feeling as empty as the day she realized she would never walk again.
The anger - no, the fury - that had overcome her in the last moments of their conversation met a quick end, leaving her feeling drained and horribly depressed. She didn't know what to do. Everything had happened too quickly, too fast. As Batgirl, she had been used to thinking on her feet, taking whatever life threw at her, but since the shooting that was no longer an option. Now after almost eight years of very little change in her personal life – barring the Quinn incident – suddenly everything had changed in the space of a few hours.
Of course, looking back, something she couldn't seem to avoid doing, it had been building steadily, just waiting for the right time to explode in a burst of fiery destruction, intent on taking her with it. Life as she had knew it was in shambles, and she truly didn't know if she could put herself back together this time. This time there was no Helena to help her.
Rolling out onto the balcony, she wrapped her arms around herself and simply tried to breathe.
That was how Dick found her shortly after returning to the clock tower, some sixth sense alerting him to Barbara's need. She was hunched over in her chair, shoulders shaking as she tried desperately to keep the tears from falling. Without a word, without asking what had happened, he simply wrapped her tightly in his arms and rocked with her, whispering apologies into her hair.
Managing to get herself somewhat under control she pushed him back. "What are you apologizing for?"
Dick looked so sad and lost Barbara found herself wanting to comfort him. "I'm so sorry for pushing you. If I hadn't said anything, this wouldn't have happened."
"Do you really believe that? Obviously you saw the way Helena felt about me . . . and the way I felt about her."
Barbara wasn't sure Dick could hear her final admission over the sound of the wind. It was so new, admitting her feelings for Helena – hell, even admitting to feelings in general. She hadn't even known about them until a couple of hours ago.
Idly, she wondered how many other people knew or suspected. Alfred's name ghosted across her consciousness. That was a given, Alfred knew everything. Sometimes she wondered why she didn't just retire and have him become Oracle. He'd probably do a better job.
Recognizing the self-pity and hating it, Barbara tried to push down her feelings. "Why didn't anyone tell me sooner?!" She wasn't really sure she was taking to Dick, but he answered anyway.
"Well, I didn't know. Of course, I sensed something after she came to live with you, but I never put two and two together."
"I'm glad you didn't! I couldn't have handled knowing she was in love with me then. It would have been wrong!"
Dick made gentle shushing movements. "I know, Babs, but things change. You both changed and grew up. I never thought I'd admit it, but Helena's not so bad anymore. She's still surly, sarcastic, cocky, violent, insensitive, and just plain rude, but she's also become a great crime fighter. I don't understand it, but I know she loves you. I don't know why she won't admit it."
"Oh Dick, I know she does. She admitted it, and then went on to tell me that nothing could come of it. She gave me some nonsense about her nature making her too unpredictable and she couldn't risk it."
Barbara was helpless to keep the bitterness out of her voice. She hated when people tried to control her life, and as far as she was concerned that's just what Helena had done. She'd made a decision that should have been resolved between them. Barbara should have had some input in the relationship since - even if she knew nothing else - she believed Helena would never willingly hurt her.
"Maybe she was right."
"She wasn't." Barbara was adamant.
Dick gave a rueful laugh and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "You know… if this were a trashy romance novel, I'd sweep you off your feet and you'd seek comfort in my arms after being scorned by your one true love."
Barbara scowled at him. "First of all, there would be no sweeping of feet; maybe sweeping me off my chair…" Her lips turned down as she became serious. "Second, Helena is not my "true love." I was ready to try a romantic relationship but, dammit Dick, I haven't had time to figure out how much I love her."
"I hate to point this out, mostly because I know you could still beat me up, but you two have been together a long time. Maybe it's not so much about analyzing how much you love her, and more about recognizing what the love you've always had for her has become."
Barbara took a moment to sort through this tangle of words. When she was done, she gave a small sigh. "When did you get so smart?"
Recognizing that Barbara needed some space and time to think, he replied simply. "I've always been this smart; everyone just focused on the green tights and made assumptions."
Before she could contain it, a burst of laughter escaped her throat. Pretty soon, Dick was joining in, and they laughed until tears were pooling in Barbara's eyes.
"Thank you Dick. I needed that."
"My pleasure Babs."
Several minutes passed in comfortable silence.
"So what are you going to do?"
Barbara gazed out at the city. Helena was out there. She wanted to hate the brunette for putting her through this, except she knew the other woman was hurting just as much as she was, maybe more. Helena's emotions had always controlled her, and Barbara was worried. She was even more worried, however, about the consequences if she tried to push the brunette. When Helena admitted that she could hurt the older woman, Barbara could not have imagined the horror in those pleading blue eyes.
For now, it seemed best to let Helena set the pace. Barbara would wait for her to decide that she was wrong – which she was – and then do something about it. Now that she knew what she wanted, she was going to get it, but she wouldn't be the one to go begging. Helena couldn't hold out long anyway, she'd never been able to. Eventually, when Helena was ready, she would approach Barbara again, and they could start working through their mutual attraction.
Keeping her eyes on the twinkling lights of the city, she purposefully answered Dick with words from the past. "I'm going to give her the time she needs and be here for her when she's ready."
"Oracle?"
"I'm here Huntress."
Barbara's thoughts returned to the present when Helena's voice came in over the speakers.
"I'm in the cargo hold. I've found the crew."
"Are there any survivors Huntress?"
". . . No."
She waited a moment. "Huntress?"
When Helena finally responded, Barbara quickly began opening search windows on the Delphi, scanning her database of known villains. Something very bad had come to New Gotham.
"There's no blood Oracle, but they've all been . . . chewed on."
"You gonna come in?"
Dick was looking at her impassively, making it clear he didn't care what she did. Helena was pretty sure it was a front, but she couldn't call him on it. He was just asking a simple question, it just happened to be one she didn't have an answer for. And neither one of them wanted to discuss what they had seen on the Fallen Star. That had just been . . . bad.
They were both standing on a building across from the clock tower. From their position, they could see Barbara working diligently at the Delphi, her fingers flying over the keyboards and the lines of concentration on her face. Helena was positive she had never seen anything more beautiful – or more out of reach.
"Nah. No need."
Dick rolled his eyes. "You know you're going to have to talk to her eventually."
"You can handle the debriefing and Dinah can catch me up on the plan tomorrow," Helena responded, deliberately misunderstanding.
"Fine, do whatever you want. I know this is hard for you, but you're not the only one hurting. You'd know that if you bothered to talk with her."
"I've tried talking to her. She always shuts down on me unless it's Birds of Prey business." Helena got up and paced, venting some of her frustration.
"Maybe you should try talking with her about the one thing you both need to discuss."
"I . . . can't." Helena hated admitting her weakness, especially to Dick. "I don't know what she's told you, but I did what I had to. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, and I can't keep talking about it. It's over." With that pronouncement, all the energy seemed to flee her body, leaving her exhausted. Exhausted, covered in blood, and without the one thing that had consistently made those conditions bearable in the past. Sighing, she let her body drop onto the ledge and hung her feet over the side.
She felt Dick sit down beside her but kept her eyes on the ground far below. An old woman with a red scarf covering her hair was walking slowly past, leaning heavily on her cane. On the opposite side of the street several teens were gathered around a doorway, sharing a pack of cigarettes. Broken streetlamps that the city couldn't seem to maintain left the whole scene in shadows that only her augmented eyes allowed her to pierce. She wondered what drove the people underneath her to venture outside in the night when they couldn't see what stalked them.
"You should probably go on in."
"Yeah I probably should." Dick continued to sit on the ledge next to her, idly swinging his feet. It made him look much younger, and suddenly Helena could see the boy Bruce Wayne had taken in and raised as his son. It was a distressing observation for the brunette. She didn't want to like Dick.
"How come you guys are called the Birds of Prey?"
Talk about a question from left field. Helena looked over at her fellow crime fighter and raised one eyebrow slowly to indicate her uncertainty.
"I mean, Barbara was a bat before, I always figured if she started a team it would be some kind of bat . . . team." Dick rolled his eyes at his own words, saving her the trouble.
Helena chose not to answer, and instead asked a question of her own; even though she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer. "Did you and Barbara ever talk about it, starting your own team?"
"Sometimes. We both knew we wouldn't be Batman's sidekicks forever. I mean, can you imagine a thirty year old man being called Robin?" Helena was helpless to stop the snicker that escaped her tightly clenched lips. "But, yeah, we used to talk about it. Sometimes we thought we'd both go solo, take on new identities, new lives, but we always thought Batman would be around if we needed help." Dick sighed and ruffled his hair. "It's funny how things work out. I ended up going alone and Barbara formed a team with Batman's daughter."
"Yeah, funny." She hated being reminded that Batman was her father. At least Dick hadn't tried to compare her to the legendary vigilante; otherwise she would have had to hurt him.
There was an uncomfortable pause before Dick spoke up. "So why are you called the Birds of Prey?"
"You're not going to let this go are you?"
"I wasn't planning on it. It just doesn't make any sense. You're Huntress, she's Oracle, why the birds? You chose the name even before Canary showed up."
Helena sighed, giving in. "Fine. Freaking detectives." Dick smiled charmingly at her, or she supposed it was meant to be charming, she just found it annoying.
"Okay, let's see. Well after I had been going on missions for about a year, I realized that Barbara was feeling kind of left out . . . not that she would ever say anything. I would go out and kick ass, and she would monitor me using the Delphi; we were always separate. I was Huntress and she was Oracle, but that wasn't really the truth. We were a team, so I decided we should have a team name.
"When I first brought it up, she just kind of brushed me off, saying it wasn't necessary and would just cause unnecessary confusion, but I wouldn't let it go. I thought if we had a team name, it would make her feel more involved. I was still so worried about her, afraid she would sink back into the depression."
Helena stopped for a moment, remembering the times when she was certain she would come home from school to find Barbara had finally given up and done something unforgivable. She had tried desperately to get Barbara interested in living again, even if it was from a wheelchair, but she was never able to tell if she was succeeding. It didn't help that she had her own share of rage and agony to deal with.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there."
Helena wasn't. While Dick did sound truly sorry, the fact was, he had abandoned Barbara when she needed him most, but Helena couldn't regret his absence. It had given her a chance to be the one Barbara turned to.
"It was a long time ago." Could she do tact, or what? "Anyway, she must have been giving it some thought, because one day when I was bugging her about it she threw up her hands and said "Fine, we're the Birds of Prey", and just like that, we had a team name."
Dick was looking at her quizzically, obviously expecting more. When she didn't say anything, he rolled his eyes. "Okay, but why are you called the Birds of Prey?"
Helena rocked her head back to look at the sky. You couldn't see many stars in the city, but a few spots of scattered light pierced the darkness. She sighed, thinking back to the conversation so many years ago.
"When I asked her, she gave me this big long explanation which I won't repeat because it would take forever and I don't remember anyway, but I do know it had to do with Greek mythology. She said it fit with our code names. Oracle is obvious and Huntress had something to do with the goddess Artemis. So, a bunch of Greek shit. Anyway, she said that we were rebuilding our lives out of the ashes like the Phoenix, another Greek myth, and so we'd be the Birds of Prey."
Helena didn't bother to tell him that she could remember the conversation almost word for word. Barbara had seemed so animated and truly alive when she had explained her choice to Helena that she wouldn't have argued with the other woman if she had chosen to call them the Pink Butterflies, or whatever.
"Mostly I just think it gave her a chance to redesign all of our equipment, like my necklace and those modified batarangs that Dinah loves so much."
"Yeah those are pretty cool."
"Just wait until she demolishes some of your personal property with them." Helena scowled, remembering some of Dinah's first attempts with the weapon.
Suddenly Dick's com crackled to life. With her meta-abilities Helena was easily able to listen in.
"Nightwing, do you copy? What's taking so long? We need to debrief and figure out what came in on that ship." Barbara's voice sounded strained, and Dick and Helena could see her typing furiously on the Delphi.
"I'm here Oracle. I just stopped to have a little heart-to-heart with Huntress."
There was a noticeable pause, and when Barbara responded, her voice was hesitant. "Is she coming back with you?"
Dick looked at her and raised one eyebrow in silent question. Helena considered her options. She hated just running back to her empty apartment, but the thought of enduring the awkward conversation and silent looks that currently defined her relationship with the other woman made up her mind. Glancing at Dick she shook her head slowly.
Levering herself off the ledge with none of her usual grace, fingers scraping against the rough brick, she took a final look at Barbara through the clock tower windows before turning around. As she started running in preparation for making the leap to the next building, she heard Dick telling the older woman that she wouldn't be coming and Barbra's quiet acceptance.
"They're just being so stupid!"
Dinah let her head bang against Gabby's bed frame as she vented her frustration with her mentors.
"I mean, would it kill them to act like adults? Okay, it might actually be fatal for Helena, but Barbara should know better. They're not even talking about it. It's always, work this, evil villains that. I can't take it!"
Gabby eased herself onto the bed next to her best friend where she was sprawled on her back with her head hanging off the side. Her blond hair brushed the carpet with each agitated movement, and the question of what it would feel like running through her hands kept distracting Gabby from the topic of conversation.
"Seems like they're putting you in the middle an awful lot."
Dinah quickly shook her head. "No . . . well yeah, but they don't mean too. It's just hard sometimes. Helena asks me all these questions about Barbara and Barbara doesn't ask, but she gets this really depressed look when I don't have anything to tell her about Helena. I just wish I could make it better."
She looked so miserable that Gabby wanted to wrap her arms around her . . . which was a bad idea. Gabby was pretty sure if she did, she would never let go, and she wasn't ready for Dinah to figure out her feelings quite yet. For now, she would just have to be the supportive friend.
"You're doing everything you can. You can't force them together, love doesn't work like that."
Suddenly sky blue eyes were looking directly into her hazel ones. "Have you ever been in love?"
Gabby hesitated. Normally she would have laughed off the question, but she couldn't, not with Dinah looking at her the way she was, both curious and shy.
"Yeah, I've been in love."
"Do you like it? Being in love?"
Gabby thought about all the sleepless nights spent thinking about the girl sitting next to her, knowing that she couldn't possibly feel the same way. She remembered having to watch Dinah dance with all those guys at the club, and how relentlessly her friend had pursued Matt at school while Gabby had been forced to offer encouragement.
"Sometimes I don't. It's easy to get hurt."
"It's just…I look at Barbara and Helena, and it's so obvious that they're made for each other, but they won't do anything about it. They're both so miserable, and I was wondering if love is always like that."
Dinah dropped her head and let her hair cover her face. Gabby felt her heart break, hearing this confession from the other girl.
"Oh Sweetie, it's not that bad. Helena and Barbara are a special case, and I really think it'll work out for them in the end. Love can be wonderful, can make you feel alive and like every day is worth living." She gently reached out and pulled an unresisting Dinah into her arms, unable to stop herself. "If you find someone to love, you shouldn't let anything stop you. No matter what happens, it's worth it to be with someone you care about."
They held each other silently for long moments before Dinah gently pulled away. When she turned her face towards Gabby, there was a determination there that hadn't been present before.
"Okay, but I think I'll take it slow. We've got plenty of time."
Gabby wondered when she had missed the shift in conversation. "Um . . . okay. You're right. We're only eighteen . . . plenty of time."
Suddenly Dinah turned serious again. "I need to ask you for a favor."
Oh God, I hope she asks me to kiss her.
Gabby quickly gagged her inner voice and reminded herself that she did not, in fact, live in one of those stupid teen dramas. She tried to pay attention to what Dinah was saying, but her eyes kept straying to the other girl's mouth.
"I need you to stay home at night for awhile. Something really bad is hanging around Gotham and I don't want you to get hurt."
That caught her attention. "When you say something bad, you mean bad as is in guys wearing too much leather and nicknames with "Big" in them, or bad as in, um, meta-human bad?"
Gabby was still getting used to the idea of people with special abilities. If Dinah hadn't repeatedly demonstrated her own powers, she was sure she still wouldn't believe it. She loved that Dinah could move things with just her mind, it was so handy, but she wasn't sure how she felt about the other girl's touch telepathy. However, Dinah was so nervous talking about it, and from what she had been able to piece together about the Redmond's, she had good reason. Gabby tried her best to be supportive.
While she was slowly coming to accept the superpowers, she was having real trouble accepting that Dinah routinely went out and battled the forces of evil; it was too much like a comic book or bad Hollywood movie. Plus, she worried about her friend constantly. Gabby knew that Nightwing or Huntress always went with her, and over the months she had slowly begun to learn about the team of vigilantes based in New Gotham, and had come to trust both of them, but that didn't lessen her anxiety. All it would take would be one mistake, and Dinah would be gone. She wasn't sure she could deal with that.
Dinah seemed to hesitate before she answered. "Um, bad as in . . . eating people, bad."
Gabby suddenly felt lightheaded. "Oh." Several seconds passed while they avoided each other's eyes. "So . . . I'll just stay home then."
Dinah gave her a small smile. "Thanks, I appreciate it."
"Shouldn't I be saying that to you? You're going to be the one out there trying to catch this thing."
"Well, I doubt that I'll really have much to do. Usually Helena or Dick catches the bad guy and I just act as backup, but that doesn't matter. Knowing you'll be safe makes it easier for me to stay focused." Dinah blushed as she made her admission.
Gabby couldn't help teasing her friend, even though she was dead serious. "Well knowing you'll be focused makes it easier for me to feel safe."
Dinah gave her a bright smile. "Well, knowing you know that I know I'll be focused makes me feel safer."
"Dinah, what are we talking about?"
"I have no idea."
Dinah knocked her with a shoulder and Gabby responded in kind. Soon, an all out pillow fight was in progress and they were once again simply regular teenagers spending time with their best friend.