DISCLAIMER: Birds of Prey and its characters are the property of Miller/Tobin Productions, Warner Brothers and DC comics. No infringement intended.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to: My big thanks to Nightstalker that always help me in the beta and giving me ideas. You are wonderful friend.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.

Siren's Call
By Jaguarin

Part Three

The Shining was always a good movie. Jack Nicholson really was a great actor and more so when he acted like a crazy man. It was the kind of film where you could invite your girlfriend and enjoy when she yelled in fear and hugged you strongly, looking for protection.

But in this case she couldn't expect Barbara to jump into her lap, looking for her protection. Barbara wasn't easily scared after all the things she had lived through and fought. So, she was content lying in the redhead's lap, watching the movie. Dinah had left an hour ago; Gabby had called and invited her for coffee with some friends from school.

It was good for the kid go out and focus on other things, not just work and street fights. Then, Babs and she had just settled in on the couch, enjoying a movie. A good one.

Helena tried to focus on it; the problem was that it was hard concentrate with Barbara's nails distractedly scratching her scalp. Maybe no one had explained to the woman that a cat would fall asleep easily when someone was scratching her scalp. And she was not an exception. She tried to keep her eyes open, but it was really hard. Her eyes felt so heavy.

Very heavy.

She felt like she was in heaven; she wanted to be there her entire life, just enjoying the play of those fingers against her skull.

Suddenly, the fingers moved lower, following the line of her spine. Slowly, they began to explore her skin up and down, creating electric charges. It was nice. The Barbara's hand stopped on her lower back and, with lengthy strokes, she began to sweep her fingertips from the young woman's waist toward her belly. Helena couldn't avoid purring. The feeling was amazing. Her touch was magic, wonderful.

Barbara caressed her for long minutes. Her hand moved as if she was trying to discover every curve and line of her body. Then, she changed her direction. Helena couldn't avoid trembling when the perfectly painted nails scratched at the waist band of her pants.

The caress was turning her on. She felt her nipples harden, an throbbing between her legs increasing. Barbara was just being nice and her body didn't understand it. It was a natural reaction; she wanted so much touch to her back, feel her skin under her fingers. She needed to stop her or her instincts would betray her. It took great effort to remain controlled and extend her hand to grab redhead's wrist gently. It was not the way she wanted Barbara; she really loved her and she didn't want to screw it up from the beginning.

Barbara didn't know the effect of those fingers on her. The brunette took a deep breath to steady her heart; she was about to say "no," but the words never got the chance to form. Barbara, knowing she would reject her, slipped her hand into her blouse and took possession of one of her breasts.

"You are mine," Barbara whispered and leaned in to kiss her.

The bolt of erotic sensation that shot through her, left her too dazed to object. Barbara pulled her up and both melted into a warm embrace; Helena put her legs on each sides of Barbara's thighs and, lost in an erotic kiss, she couldn't think straight. Barbara pushed her blouse up roughly and trapped her breast, sucking first one, then another of her sensitive mounds in earnest.

Helena moaned and arched under the touch, grabbing Barbara's head between her hands to keep her close. Her head swam; she felt overpowered by a strange desire. She loved what this woman was doing to her and she couldn't make her stop.

She began to move her hips against Barbara. Her breath grew short and she felt a warmth almost like liquid fire growing inside her. She was about to come and Barbara hadn't touched her below yet.

She needed her so much.

She kissed the top of the red head and forced her to head up to trap her soft, warm mouth.

When her eyes found Barbara's, she felt her heart stop.

This was not Barbara.

This was insane.

"You are mine." Quinzel's face came into view, smiling at her.

Feral eyes noticed she was not longer in the Clock Tower, she was once again inside Quinzel's office. Yes, she knew the place perfectly well: the walls painted in dark colors, the big windows showing the snow that was falling over New Gotham.

Helena could only look at her in dazed confusion. The damn crazy woman was there, she was with her on the leather couch; the blonde had a hand holding her thight against her and the other one was still playing with her left nipple. She wanted to stand up, to run away, but her body was trapped by the pleasure of the touch of the blonde's hands.

"I can see your need…" Quinzel kissed her neck with soft touches, her tongue licking the tender skin. "I will fill you with pleasure, you want me, every time you see me you will know that you want me and nothing else will be in your mind."

Helena felt the blonde's hand move inside her underwear and within her lower lips.

"You owe me, Helena."

The dark woman growled and surrendered to her. She couldn't stop herself, she was Quinzel's. She knew it was wrong, but she wanted her so bad.

"Give yourself to me, Helena."

The brunette felt a new wave of desire sweep over her. She knew that Quinzel said her name constantly to show her power over her. She began to move her hips to the rhythm of the woman's fingers and closed her eyes surrendering to the pleasure. Stroking the blonde's cheek softly, against her own, she felt her orgasm build up -- slowly, inevitably.

"Fuck!" Helena, yelled hitting the floor.

It took her a few seconds to recognize where she was. She was at the Clock Tower again. The living room was lighted with dim lights; the television was on. She put her palms on the floor and began to push herself up, but stopped the movement when she noticed who was on the couch.

Quinzel.

Her mouth felt dry. She moved her head, this couldn't be. She wasn't dreaming.

She felt the tempo of her heartbeat increase, a chill run down on her back. What was happening?

What strange power had the mad woman over her?

Quinzel had been touching her and the worst part was that every time her former therapist touched her, it was as if her body was on fire; she couldn't deny her call. It was like a siren's call, an evil siren's call that would pull her to her death; her mind was blocked when she heard her, she just wanted to lay with the other woman and lose herself in touches and kisses, in wild sex.

That was so damn sick. Yet, even knowing this, she couldn't control herself.

"Shit." She growled, covering her head in her hands. This was so wrong; what was happening to her? She wanted to wake from this nightmare.

"Helena."

When she heard her name, she pushed herself back with her feet. It was her voice… her damn voice. She didn't want to listen to her anymore. She couldn't deny her call, she couldn't disobey what she asked. She could only give in to the lust, an inexplicable and overwhelming lust for the other woman.

Quinzel had hypnotized her in some way, she was sure of it.

She felt slender fingers taking her wrist and a hand on her back trying to soothe her.

She didn't want it. Not anymore.

She loved Barbara, she couldn't fail Barbara. Her heart belonged to the redhead.

The hand on her back moved toward her shoulder.

She loved Barbara. This was not right; the hand was burning her.

"Don't touch me!" she growled, grabbing the hand strongly.

"Helena! Ouch!" Quinzel grimaced in pain. She tried to free herself with her other hand, but Helena was stronger.

"Never touch me again!" the young woman gritted her teeth angrily glaring at her. "Never…"

"You are hurting me! Helena!"

She didn't want to hear her name on the mad woman's lips again.

"Shut up!" she yelled, yanking her hard. Quinzel fell on the floor next to her and hit her back against the coffee table. Helena stood up, growling and fisting her hands. She was going to kill this woman; she didn't want to listen to her anymore, she wanted her out of her head.

Quinzel winced in pain and rolled on her back.

"Bitch!" The brunette lifted her fist to her.

"Helena, it's me!" The woman covered her face with her hands to avoid the blow.

Feral pupils blinked, the blonde hair changed suddenly to long, red hair. And the hated features transformed to the beloved ones.

Barbara.

The brunette shook her head. She looked again at the woman on the floor, confused.

Barbara?

What the…?

"Helena, it's me, stop." Barbara rubbed her arm. She had hit the table hard.

The dark woman, perplexed, stepped back. "Barbara?"

"What is happening to you, Helena?"

"I…. I'm sorry…"

Helena hesitated a few seconds. She saw Barbara trying to sit and she hurried to help her. What the hell had she done? She grabbed her arm and looked her.

"I'm sorry, Barbara, I didn't…"

Suddenly, the face of woman on the floor changed again to Quinzel's, the blonde woman laughed hard

"Come on, Helena," she said. "Don't be pathetic. You are mine, nothing can change it."

The brunette moved away quickly, in surprise. What the hell was happening?

The blonde smiled, holding her knees against her chest. "You love my hands and my mouth on your body, you love what I make you feel every time I touch you, every time I'm inside you…" Her eyes sparkled devilishly. "…Every time I make you mine."

"No…" Helena took another step back. "No, I'm not…"

Quinzel laughed hard and Helena covered her ears. She didn't want hear this anymore. She turned and ran toward the big doors of the balcony. She needed to escape, to be far from her.

"You always will be mine, Helena." It was the last thing she heard before she jumped off the balcony.

"Helena!"

Barbara watched her, stunned, as she ran outside; she was disturbed, very disturbed. The young woman had fallen asleep on her lap watching a movie; she had been distractedly scratching her head when Helena begun to move restlessly and whimper softly. She knew she was in the middle of a nightmare and had shaken her a bit to wake her up.

The younger woman woke suddenly and had abruptly opened her eyes. She saw terror in her pupils, and, petrified, the young woman had pushed herself back, far from her. The movement had caused the girl to lose her balance and fall to the floor. Barbara had tried to hold on to the her, but the suddenness of Helena's movement caught her off guard.

The brunette had stared at her, disconcerted, breathing hard and heavy, looking at her with wide eyes as if she was a demon; she was trembling; Helena never showed fear, as she had seen in her eyes tonight.

She had seen that face just one time before.

Fear, terror, loneliness.

Seven years before, after Selina's death. Helena was hurt, in pain.

It had happened a few months after Helena had moved in with her. The young girl had been grumpy and absent all day. After returning from school, she had locked herself in her room. Barbara had felt useless, physically and as a person; it was so hard to try to connect with a difficult teen, and even more so when she still couldn't understand and handle all the emotions that were inside herself.

How do you help someone when you are hurting too?

But she couldn't lose her. So, she had gone to talk to the teen, only to find her in her room in darkness. She was startled when she saw the shining, feral eyes reflecting in the dark room. She wheeled toward her and found herself trapped in eyes filled with fear, helplessness and pain. Helena was lost without her mother. She was alone in the world; she didn't have family, she didn't know if she had a father. She was alone in a dark city, living with a paraplegic woman.

The redhead had moved out of her chair to sit on the floor next to her; Helena had finally let Barbara embrace her; then, the girl had hugged her back and cried, letting her locked emotions flow out of her heart. It broke her heart. Helena was a sweet girl whose world had been shattered suddenly; she couldn't understand it, she didn't know about her mother's dark past.

Barbara had cried, too, healing her soul, she hadn't cried in front of anyone, or alone. They had both held the pain in for too long.

The look that she had seen then, was the same one that she saw tonight.

Helena seemed to be lost in another world, she was seeing someone that she hated, someone of whom she was afraid.

Barbara sat on the floor and rubbed her wrist; surely, she would have a bruise. Helena had a strong grip on her. Her brain struggled to understand what had happened to Helena. She had rejected her touch with hate, the girl had yelled at her not to touch her, but she was sure she wasn't referring to her, but another woman. She had said 'Bitch!'

Just, which woman?

And afterwards, when she had recognized her, Helena realized her mistake and had tried to help her, only to change again in a few seconds. The brunette was seeing something that really frightened her. And she was going to investigate what it was.

She pushed the table back with her hands and pulled herself toward her chair next to the couch. Helena was inside some deep nightmare and she needed to wake her up. Two names came to mind: Harley Quinn and Scarecrow. They were the only ones that she knew of that could play with people's mind.

Quinn had been in jail for the past seven months, but she was a dangerous criminal and Barbara knew she could never say never with that mad woman; Scarecrow was free, but his criminal activity was low. She would try to locate him and check on him.

She was a damn coward. She attacked Barbara and ran. How was it possible that she had done such a thing? To the most important person in her life? Maybe she needed help, but… how could she face the older woman after what had happened?

What was happening?

She still didn't know.

It was frightening.

She was frightened.

Her arms crossed over her knees, the brunette sat with her back to the wall on the eleventh floor of one of the tallest buildings in New Gotham. The nightmares were really scaring her; not just because she could feel the woman's hands on her, smell her breath… she felt as if Quinzel was still controlling her. It was a feeling had her nerves on the edge.

Every time it was the same, her body responding to the crazy blonde, her mind lost in sensations and tastes. The strength of her nightmares was increasing. It was hard to admit, but she was afraid of not handling it, afraid of losing control.

She was still shaking, her entire body was shaking.

Shit. She brushed her hair back with both of her shaking hands and stared at the city below. Streets full of cars and lights. Her mind twisted in confusion, she couldn't think straight, she needed to control herself, but the voice was still there, echoing in her hears, burying in her skull.

'You will always be mine'.

She lowered her head and covered it with her hands. She didn't want to listen; it was as if Quinzel was inside her head. The sentence repeated over and over in her ears.

"Shut up…" she growled in a low voice.

What had she done?

She had almost hurt Barbara.

Correction…

She had hurt Barbara…

Thinking she was Quinzel, she had pulled the redhead against the table and she was sure she had bruised her arm with her strong grip on her wrist. She had run away instead of staying to help her. She never ran away. She would never abandon Barbara when she was in possession of all her faculties. She was not acting rationally; she was not herself. She couldn't understand her reaction… She felt fear; a deep and terrifying fear that she hadn't felt in years. A fear that she couldn't control.

What was happening to her?

'You will always be mine'.

She could have sworn it was Quinzel in the living room. A second later, it was Barbara, wincing because she had hit her back on the table in the living room. It was even more confusing when Barbara's face changed in front of her eyes to Quinzel again.

Her hands were still shaking.

Damn!

Angrily, she stood up and slammed her hand against the wall with all her strength, trying to clear her mind and stop the voice inside her head. Maybe it was not the best idea because she saw flashes in front of her eyes at the same time that she heard the bricks of the wall breaking and the bones of her hand cracking.

"Fuck!" she growled, grimacing in pain and cradling her hand.

Great, now she was really screwed, she was sure her hand was broken. She bent over and bit her lips. That had really hurt.

It took her a few seconds to recover her breath. Well, at least it had helped to clear her mind. Quinzel's voice was not in her head anymore.

Barbara.

Her thoughts moved toward her.

Brave hero she was.

Her knuckles were bleeding, she tried to touch her hand, but it hurt like hell. Oh great. She took a tissue out of her pocket and covered her hand carefully. This would take a couple of days to heal. She was half-meta, right, but not Superman.

But she would wait, she needed to know how Barbara was doing. Her eyes looked up and she could see the Clock Tower in the distance. She sighed with sadness.

She wanted so much be there and know if she was all right, but… she was so ashamed of her behavior; Barbara would be seriously disappointed in her. The redhead never would abandon her; she never did it.

Barbara was probably pissed now. She had disappointed her…

Again.

The shaggy head bent. She felt like shit.

She had failed Barbara so many times in her life, and Barbara had always been there with infinite patience, always trying to support her with love and warmth. She had been there in her worst and darkest years. She had saved her.

And she, she that said she loved Barbara with all her soul and heart, had run away and left her alone, scared of a stupid frikkin´ nightmare; like a scared child.

Maybe she was that, just a child. Barbara was too much for her and she was aiming too high. She had dreamed of her all these years; her heart had a light hope that maybe Barbara would see her; and the truth was that she didn't deserve the love of a woman like her.

Her eyes locked on the Clock Tower again.

Barbara would surely still be frightened by her behavior; and annoyed at her silent exit. Maybe the redhead needed help and she was here, just standing around like an idiot.

Helena hesitated; she needed to know how she was. After all, it was her fault. Without thinking anymore, she gave jumped to the rooftop of the building closest to her.

"The anniversary of her mom's death is close, could it be that?" Dinah asked, kneeling on the floor as she cleaned the coffee from the wooden floor. When Barbara fell on the table, she knocked over dishes, snacks, cups and glasses.

The teen returned home after Barbara called her. Her guardian had explained what had happened and they had immediately looked for the brunette in her usual places, like the Dark Horse and No Man's Land, but were unsuccessful. Gibson hadn't seen her in days, but said he would ask his friends to keep their eyes open. It would be hard to find her; when Helena turned off her mic, it meant she didn't want to be found.

"Maybe, but I'm not sure… she was really scared." The redhead put pieces of a broken glass in a trash can. She paused, then continued. "She had a look in her eyes that I haven't seen in years… it was as if she was seeing a monster."

"Maybe you need to talk with her seriously about those dreams."

"I did the other day... she said they're just nightmares. I asked her to trust me and to talk to me when something is wrong." She leaned over and continued picking up the small pieces on the floor.

"I'm sure this is about the anniversary." Dinah looked at her mentor's wrist. It was really bruised. "She really hurt you."

"It's okay, I'm used to this. In fact, I had worse bruises when I was Batgirl."

"I can imagine." The girl used a cloth to clean the floor. "I don't know how you could handle so many bad guys without powers."

"Training."

"Helped you to become a good detective."

"Yes, that too."

"I'd like be as good a detective as you someday."

"You are very good, Dinah, don't forget it."

The blonde finished cleaning and put the cloth in a trash can. She put her hands on her knees.

"Do you want me to run another sweep? Maybe I'll find something."

Barbara brushed back the hair that fell over her face. She straightened and looked outside, through the windows. The night was dark, no moon. She liked this kind of darkness; it was like feeling the power of nature, what else could cover half of the world in darkness? No human power, just the natural one.

Helena was a force of nature. A natural soul -- wild, untamed, almost like the night. She had a strange feeling. In some way, she felt Helena was okay and she just needed some time to be alone. She was not really alone, the night was her sanctuary. It soothed her; it was her place to pray and heal her wounds.

She always knew that Helena had a strange and fascinating connection with the night since she was a child. She had seen it in her eyes. However, she hated every time the younger woman did this; every time she avoided talking and hid. She was good with her fists and feet, but very bad with words.

She sighed and shook her head. "I don't think you will find her, she is hiding."

"From who?"

Barbara wheeled her chair back "From whom," she corrected absentmindedly. "Maybe herself; she will come back and then… I promise you, we'll have a serious talk. Let's go to bed." She was sure she wouldn't sleep, but she couldn't do any more… at the moment.

Dinah didn't like the idea, but, as Barbara said, they couldn't do anything else. Helena would appear when she was ready, she was sure of it. And she would do it soon as soon as she realized that she almost hit Barbara.

Outside, a dark figure crouched next to a gargoyle, holding her wrist. Her first and only thought while she was running toward the tower was Barbara; she had left her lying on the floor. Maybe she was hurt and needed help and Helena had run away like a damn coward. As soon as she arrived, she felt a great relief seeing that the kid was there and that Barbara was sitting in her chair. At first sight she seemed fine. Her mind yelled at her to go inside and check on Barbara, but she was afraid she would be angry -- and surely she would be.

She felt a stab of pain in her hand.

Crap. It hurt like hell.

Her fingers were swollen; she needed to bandage her hand. She was meta, not bionic, and she couldn't ask Barbara for help this time.

She looked again inside the Clock tower. Red was okay, that was the important thing, now she needed to think about how to apologize and ask for forgiveness. She couldn't tell her about Quinzel. What would she say anyway?

My dreams are about me fucking the mad woman who killed Wade?

She winced; her hand was throbbing.

She stood up and looked down. It had been difficult to climb up with her broken hand and it would be only a bit less difficult to descend.

Great. Just great.

She was staring at the screen of the Delphi. She tried all day, but she couldn't concentrate. All her thoughts were on Helena and her strange behavior. As she used to do when she didn't want to talk with anyone, her young friend had turned off her mic and hadn't answered her phone.

She needed to keep working on her research about the mysterious 'boss' that was trying to buy sophisticated, illegal weapons. She opened a window on her computer, maybe she would find something in the Interpol files. Hacking it was a piece of cake.

Barbara looked at the clock on the screen. She hadn't called Helena repeatedly, but it didn't mean she wasn't worried about her; so she had looked for other ways to figure out if she was okay. Monitoring the security cameras around New Gotham had been unsuccessful, as had calling Reese. Luckily, she knew her pretty well, and she had sent the teen to look in all her favorite night spots.

The usual codes didn't work, they changed the passwords every day, so it was always a small challenge.

Helena really had an unknown dark side. She sometimes wondered if Helena was straight or not. She used to date men, so many that she had lost count.

Barbara opened another window and tried to find the correct password.

But she was sure that Helena was open minded and that she had 'female' adventures, too.

She stopped her typing, the thought made her feel a bit uncomfortable, what if Helena had a girlfriend and she didn't know it? Of course, Helena never had said a word about dating women, but it was a possibility.

Nah… she shook her head and kept looking for the code.

The brunette just talked about her crazy parties, her wild friends, but she was quiet about to whom her heart belonged.

She thought that the man of her dreams would be Reese, the handsome detective, but she seemed to just have fun with him -- flirting and going out some times, nothing formal. Helena was a strange and fascinating combination, sweet and tender, sometimes a child and, at other times, an aggressive character, a bad attitude the power to kill.

A deadly combination.

No one code worked… she needed to be careful to avoid being detected, she tried another combination, her hands dancing across the keyboard.

Many people feared Helena, but not her. Barbara was afraid for her; she knew that Helena was vulnerable and easily hurt, emotionally. For that reason, she hid her feelings and her real self behind that strong, stubborn personality.

She wheeled her chair back in annoyance. Damn. It was useless; she couldn't keep her mind focused on work, just Helena. She moved toward her room and changed her clothes for bed.

She had been trying all day to organize her thoughts, to find a way to apologize and to say "Sorry I screwed everything up." She was still feeling guilty for Wade's death, for Barbara sadness. It was all in her mind. She needed to calm down and control her guilt. That was the thing that was creating the dreams. She was sure of it.

Yesterday was a nice day. The lunch, the talk, the laughs. She had laughed so much, She closed her eyes and saw Barbara next to her, watching a movie… the feel of those long fingers playing on her skull. The warmth and happiness that had filled her…

And she had fucked it up with her nightmares.

She had been walking and walking with no destination, trying to find the courage to step into the Clock Tower and say "I'm sorry. I'm trying to find a reason for those stupid nightmares. I'm trying to stop feeling like Quinzel's puppet." The bitch was in jail; she hadn't seen her since that day, but in the last month she had felt her inside her head.

Finally, at the end of the day she was here, standing outside the window of her beloved friend -- freezing and feeling like an ass as she looked for a way to apologize.

She heard the door of Barbara's bedroom opening and she crouched, hiding to the side of the window. Light filled the room. She pressed her back against the cold wall and closed her eyes, listening to her heart racing. Dammit. It pissed her off sometimes that she felt like a stupid teenager in love. She heard the sound of the motorized chair and waited a few seconds. The sound changed. Barbara had moved. She was sure of it.

The sound stopped.

She slowly turned her head to look through the window.

Barbara was not on the bed or brushing her hair. Her eyes moved to from one side to the other, trying to find her. Blue eyes finally found their target. In the reflection of the big mirror in the bathroom, she could see Barbara sitting on the stool with her back to her, making a pony tail.

She would go inside and talk with her now.

It was as if she was carrying a big empty space inside her heart, knowing that she couldn't talk with her, enjoy her company. Barbara might be angry and maybe she would yell at her, but she would endure it, it was worse to not be able to be close to her.

Her thoughts almost stopped when, with a quick movement, the redhead removed her blouse. Her back was spectacular, firm, soft, with a few sprinkles on it.

Her mouth was dry.

No bra…

Wow…

She was so beautiful.

Barbara stretched her arms and slowly moved her head in circles. Then, she kept still and lowered her head. She moved a hand to her shoulder and began to rub it slowly.

Helena's eyes were glued to the redhead's movements. She almost could feel her own hands rubbing those slender shoulders, not just rubbing her shoulders, feeling each inch of soft skin under her fingertips. She could then lean in and kiss her long neck, feel her tremble under her caress; her -

hands moving slowly following the lines of her arms, down where she would find her soft hands and intertwining their fingers.

Then she would turn her head and steal a kiss from Barbara's lips. A soft kiss, where she would give herself to her, in just one caress, letting Barbara see her soul, her heart, her unconditional and eternal love for her.

She needed a cold shower.

Helena sighed, blinking. Barbara was not in the reflection anymore. She had gone long ago. Her eyes identified the sound of water running.

She opened the window slowly and moved inside the room. She needed to talk with Red.

She couldn't wait any longer and, besides, if she kept hiding the older woman would get angrier each day. She sat on the small sofa next to the window and tapped with her fingers on the arm. She began to repeat over and over, in her head, how to apologize to Barbara.

After a few minutes, she couldn't sit anymore, so she stood up and paced slowly in the room.

She would say she was deeply asleep –which was true- and then explain that she was dreaming about an old enemy –also true- and that she was fighting with her –that was not exactly true, but it was much better than saying she was fucking her- and that, then, she woke up and the dream was so vivid that she thought that Barbara was the her –again, true-.

Maybe she needed to change the beginning, but the main problem was that she would have a hard time trying to explain why she had run away and disappeared for so long…. Barbara was smart. Maybe she could say that she awoke this morning at her home and thought it was all a dream and she…

No, that was not going to work. She brushed her hair back.

She could tell her that she had stumbled and fell. She would say she had hit her head randomly retuned to consciousness a few hours ago.

No….

She played with her fingers over her mouth. She would say she'd had a nightmare and that, then, she had run away still confused by her dream -well, that was a fact that she couldn't deny- and that she had found a bad guy on the streets with meta-powers and they had…

"What are you doing here?"

The voice really caught her off guard.

Oh shit.

Barbara was at her bathroom door with a hand on the towel over her head and a light robe covering –barely; she swallowed- her body. She had been so deep in her thoughts that she didn't hear the woman finish her shower and wheel inside the room.

"Hi…" the brunette mumbled.

Barbara noticed her bandaged hand, she lowered the towel with which she was drying her hair and stared at her. "Helena, what happened to you?"

Double shit. In her catalogue of excuses, she hadn't thought of any explanations about how she had broken her hand.

"Was an accident…"

"I know your 'accidents'. Did you cut your hand??" Barbara was next to her in the blink of an eye, and took her hand.

The young woman winced. "Ouch…"

"Your hand is broken?" the red head asked, surprised.

"Yeah, but…it's fine…"

Green eyes burned in anger. She was really in trouble now.

"No, it's not fine." Barbara threw the towel toward the bed and turned toward one of her drawers/ "Sit."

"Barb..."

The older woman stopped and turned her head. "I said, sit." Her gaze was not friendly; she was in pissed off. It was best to not contradict her and obey.

Barbara took out a first aid kit she had inside the drawer. She wheeled toward Helena and put the box on the table next to the couch where the brunette was sitting.

"What happened?" the redhead asked, taking the scanner and carefully taking the young woman's hand. It was swollen and bruised.

"I hit a wall." Shaggy bangs ducked; a mistake.

Telling the truth was not a good idea at this moment. Barbara didn't show any emotion; she kept her eyes on her electronic device. After a few seconds, she put it to the side.

"All right," she said, "you have a trauma. You have fractured your scaphoid and your ring finger… but it's in good alignment, you will need a cast for a week, anyone else would need it for five weeks or more; I'll need to cast your forearm and wrist. Let's go to the lab."

The redhead wheeled outside her room. Helena was afraid to speak, so she just followed her in silence. Barbara was a very controlled person, but when she was mad, she was mad. Angry Barbara was much worse than angry Helena. She felt her heart beating fast, waiting for the moment in which the redhead would pounce on her and rip out her throat.

Barbara went toward her cabinet, looking for the items that she needed.

Her hand still hurt like hell. She sat and extended her arm carefully.

Barbara wheeled toward her and put the tray with supplies on the exam table.

"I imagine you bandaged your arm-- never do it again." Barbara said, carefully taking the brunette's hand and lifting the scissors to cut the bandage. "You will screw it up if you don't first check the bones." She began to cut the material slowly, to avoid hurting the brunette with an abrupt movement. "Now, could you tell me what's going on with you? You attacked me, ran away as if you had seen a ghost and disappeared, leaving me worried as hell about you." She laced her last words with anger. "And tonight I found you stalking in my room at two in the morning with a broken hand."

"I'm sorry, Barbara, I'm really sorry," Helena hurried to say.

Barbara removed the bandage from Helena's hand with an abrupt movement.

"Shit!" the young woman cried. The 'I'm sorry' thing hadn't been successful; her hand was really throbbing now.

Barbara examined the hand carefully and looked for an injection in her tray.

She didn't like needles, but, in this case, she knew would be useless to argue with Barbara.

"It's very swollen, you will need this." The former Batgirl took a small bottle and prepared a solution.

"And I'm still waiting for your explanation, Helena."

"I'm sorry… It was a pretty bad nightmare… I didn't mean to hit you." She had thought about it so much and had been staring at the older woman from outside, from the balcony, hesitating, afraid of Barbara's reaction. She had hurt the redhead in her craziness and she needed to find a good excuse for her behavior. It was difficult to talk about her dreams. After all, it was just a little uncomfortable talking about fucking the person who tried to screw up their lives and whose boyfriend killed her mom and stole Barbara's ability to walk.

"You didn't," Barbara inserted the needle close to the wrist of Helena's wounded hand, "But you almost did it."

"Ouch! That hurt! I hurt you… I threw you against th…"

Barbara moved back and interrupted her words "That did not hurt you…. What hurts me is that you keep hiding what's going on from me." She threw the needle in the trash.

Helena remained still, without saying a word.

"About what are your nightmares?" Barbara played with her fingers against her chin. "Wait, let me rephrase… About whom are your nightmares?"

Pinned by a hard gaze, Helena moved back uncomfortably. The redhead took a new bandage and moved toward the brunette.

"It's not "who" Barbara…" Helena mumbled. Her mentor was pushing her against the wall.

"Well, explain it to me, then, because I don't understand."

Helena's eyes fixed on slender hands moving gently to bandage her hand. She noticed a dark bruise on her friend's wrist. She had screwed up again. She had hurt Barbara. She put her free hand over Barbara's gently.

Barbara stopped her work, surprised by the gentle movement and raised her eyes to meet blue pupils.

"I'm sorry," Helena whispered. "I didn't mean scare you, I didn't want to hurt you."

Barbara couldn't hold that look mixed with sorrow, sadness and love.

The brunette ducked her head, ashamed. "I didn't want to ran away, you know I never would, but…"

The redhead didn't speak, she waited for her, she gave her time to organize her thoughts, to trust in her. To open her heart.

The dark woman sighed, still staring at her former mentor's bruised wrist. She needed to tell her, but… she was so ashamed to confess something so dirty.

She felt dirty. She didn't want to disappoint her… more.

"It was about that night..." She finally said, turning her gaze to the side and releasing Barbara's hand. She didn't have guts to look her in the eyes. "About the night when you and mom…"

"Why didn't you want to tell me?" Barbara asked, exasperated, as she finished bandaging Helena's hand. "This is not the first time, we have talked about this, I asked you to trust me and you said "you would."

"I didn't want to worry you…"

"You know very well it worries me more not knowing what's wrong with you."

"I'm sorry, Barbara…"

"Why did you run away?" Barbara couldn't hide her anger any longer. "Why did you just leave and disable your mic? Why didn't you call me all day? Why is your hand broken? Why did you…?"

"Because I was ashamed!" Helena stood up, extending her hands. "I felt ashamed that I threw you against the table, because I almost hit you in my madness!! That a dream was so strong! I broke my hand hitting a wall because I was frustrated and annoyed with myself! Because I had run away like a damn coward and had left you here alone!! I didn't know how to come back and tell you I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Barbara, I'm really sorry." She held the red head's gaze, asking for understanding, for forgiveness.

Barbara shook her head and took the cast.

"Please sit."

Helena obeyed in silence, extending her hand on the medical table again. She felt defeated, tired… stupid.

"Helena…" Barbara said, almost in a whisper. "Please don't do this to me again. Don't leave me here alone like you did yesterday."

Helena lowered her head, hiding behind unruly hair. Both were silent for a few moments.

The older woman secured the cast on the young woman's arm. She was sad, she knew Helena's nature. She knew that she still had a hard time trusting others. She knew Helena trusted her, but she also knew that the brunette kept silent about her fears, it made her feel vulnerable. Barbara would love to have the girl's total confidence.

Helena had a hard time looking at the redhead; she had lied again and she was really worried. She was failing her again. Barbara was touching her so gently, just asking her to be honest, to be open with her. And she was trying, but she couldn't… she couldn't confess the dark secret plaguing her mind.

Barbara finished her work and turned to pick up her items. "All done, you can go."

She didn't hear any movement or sound by her young partner and turned to find deep blue eyes watching her.

"I'm fighting my nightmares, Barbara," Helena said, trying to find the correct words, "But it's hard when you don't know how to handle it. I have incredible abilities, but fighting yourself, you know, it's harder. It's harder than a fight with punches, kicks… because you are fighting against your own fears and limitations. I'm trying, Barbara, I promise, and I'm not going to give up… just give me time…"

Barbara took a deep breath and smiled. She nodded and took the brunette's hand in her own. "Just remember I'll be always here to support you."

"I know." Helena lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. "Thanks."

Barbara knew Helena was trying, and that's what was important.

"Someone must help these guys, they disappear easily," the teen said, drinking a coke and dancing in her place. The night club was full of young people drinking, smoking and laughing. The music was excellent. She had dreamed of come to this place a long time ago, but she was a minor.

Finally, her dream had come true, and it was pretty cool.

"Do you think?" Helena asked, leaning on a wall with a drink on her hand, her other hand inside her pocket. She was staring at her shoes.

They were dirty.

"They always disappear easily. And the arsenal they are creating is not something that would be easy to hide." Dinah sipped a bit more of her coke.

"We'll catch them." Helena brushed her shoe against her pants.

"Yes, we must stop them before they start a war." Dinah noticed a woman that stepped close to her friend.

The woman eyed to her up-down. The brunette didn't seem to realize it.

Helena extended her feet. Yeah, now it looked much better.

"Why are people so obsessed with power? I will never understand it," the blonde said, resting her back on a rail and turning to look at her.

Helena brushed her other shoe against her pant leg, too. Dinah crossed her arms. Helena was definitely in another world. She looked at another woman sitting at the bar that hadn't stopped staring at the brunette all night.

"Hi, beautiful." The blonde turned her head in time to see a woman who had walked up to Helena, smiling.

Helena smiled back and winked at her. The woman was a tall blonde and had a great body; her mini-dress didn't leave much to the imagination and it had snagged Helena's attention.

"She is happy that you are coming home more often," Dinah said, trying to regain her attention.

That got her interest, Helena forgot the woman and lifted her head to look at the teen.

"She told me." The girl kept talking to her, "she said she missed you a lot."

The brunette just smiled to herself. It was good to know that Barbara missed her. She had missed her too, more than she could imagine.

"But she is worried about your behavior…"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"You must, you almost pounced on her a few days ago."

"I said I don't want talk about it," the brunette said coldly.

"Well, you must, before you hurt someone, or yourself, seriously…" Dinah pointed at Helena's hand.

Helena ignored her and turned her head to the side. She was not in the mood to talk about it. She was at the club that night because she had promised to take the kid to one of the most famous night clubs in the city as a thank you for saving her life that day at the warehouse, and it was much better than letting the blond borrow her blue skirt.

Another woman appeared from nowhere and she stepped close to Helena. This one was worse than the other one, she looked like Gisele Bündchen. Dinah couldn't believe her partner was so popular with the same sex. She thought the older woman was just stubborn and grumpy all the time.

"Hi, Tiger, are you alone?"

"She is with me," Dinah hurried to say, grabbing her arm. Helena rolled her eyes.

"Oh… you like kids." The woman winked at her and put a piece of paper in her right pocket "When you want to be with a real woman call me."

The woman turned and suggestively walked toward the bar. Helena felt her mouth go dry, she was damn hot; wow. She turned to glare at her friend. "You are not with me."

"I am, you brought me here." Dinah looked around, it was full with women and men… but…. her eyes examined each corner of the place just to be sure. Suddenly, she gasped. She glared at Helena. "Are we in a gay bar?"

"Yep."

"You brought me to a gay club?"

"You wanted to come here." Helena sipped her drink.

"But you could have warned me!!" Dinah said indignantly.

The brunette lifted an eye brow. "Don't tell me that you are scandalized to be in a gay club."

"No, but you should have told me."

"No one has flirted with you, what's the problem?" she shrugged her shoulders.

"Does Barbara know you are gay?" the teen asked curiously.

"I don't think so, I never talk to her about the girls, just the boys. You know her. Maybe I would make her feel uncomfortable." The brunette looked for the paper inside her pocked and read it.

"Wait… so you date boys too?" Pale blue eyes opened wide, shocked.

"Of course I have date men too, but after being with a woman, no more men for me."

"I thought you and Reese…"

"Oh, we flirt sometimes," Helena said, winking at the blonde that had gave her the paper. "It's just fun. I used to do it with men."

Dinah took the piece of paper that Helena had in her hand.

"Hey! Give that to me!" the dark crime fighter protested.

"I didn't know you were so popular with girls."

"What did you expect? I'm sexy and hot."

"Why are you flirting with other girls, if your heart belongs to Barbara?" Dinah ripped the paper into pieces.

"Flirting is a game kid. Nothing serious. It's like an sport. You must practice every day to be the best."

Dinah sighed and shook her head. "Barbara said you have been nice."

"Is that bad?" Helena said.

"'Very nice" Dinah emphasized each word. "You know… If you don't want her to notice what you feel for her, you better not be so nice. You can be nice, but not too much, it's not you. You understand? You are only that nice when you are courting a new love. Have you been that nice with her?"

"Well…" Helena sighed, giving her empty glass to a waiter that walked by her, "Maybe I kinda flirted a bit the other night."

"Fli…? You flirted with her?" The teen almost choked on her coke. She never thought Helena would have the courage to do it.

"Yeah, just to know… Do you know? She was in the kitchen trying to get a coffee bag on a high shelf. "

"No, I don't know."

"Whatever, she didn't notice it."

"What did you do?"

The dark woman quirked an eyebrow again. What the hell was she doing talking about this with a teenager?

The brave criminal fighter, the terror of the darkness, the hunter of the night; the hero most feared by the worst criminals in the underworld was in love like a corny girl-- with a woman that didn't see her.. and she had a teenager as a confidant.

This would ruin her reputation. She really needed to find more friends.

"I was trying to see if she would react…" she explained, avoiding Dinah's eyes. "Maybe if she knew I'm interested in her, it would wake up her interest in me."

"Oh… I see… and?"

"Well, as you said, she is pretty distracted and, essentially, completely clueless. But don't worry, I think I must move on."

"Move on?"

Helena sighed. Why she didn't have a dumb partner like Oliver and Hardy? Abbot and Costello? Of all the metas in the world, she had a smart girl as a partner, and worse, she was just a damn teen.

"She will never look at me as a woman," she finally said.

"I thought that was the point." Dinah raised her finger.

"What?"

"She sees you as a woman and she is a woman, too." Dinah crossed her arms and looked at her partner. "Things would be different if you were a man."

"But I'm not a man."

"Yes, I know, so you are screwed with her."

"You are not very helpful." Helena glared at her "Has anyone ever told you that before?"

"I'm telling you the truth! You are screwed! She loves men, not women!"

"Forget it, let's go." The dark woman walked toward the exit, followed by the teen. She was not in the mood for this 'supportive' conversation.

"Why so soon?" Dinah asked, disappointed.

"You were complaining a few minutes ago because we are in a gay club."

"But music is fun."

Helena shook her head. Barbara would surely look for them soon to start sweeps. At least coming here had helped to distract her a bit from her dreams.

Maybe Dinah was right and Barbara would never see her as a love interest because she was a woman, but this was something that was unrelated to being a man or a woman. It was just about feelings and she was sure Barbara would love her as much as Helena loved her. She needed to figure out what was in the redhead's mind.

Part Four

"So, then, Gabby asked me to go with her to the cafeteria and I went. The guys were working on a science project and they were stuck on a formula; I read the problem and I noticed the solution was easy. So I explained the solution to their problem and they were surprised. They were very happy and told me I'm smart. And, Barbara, I didn't use my TK. They invited me to a party this weekend. It's a big place close to the beach called "Coconuts", people says it's pretty cool and.."

Barbara worked at the Delphi while Dinah sat next to her recounting her entire day at school and her activities. She leaned over the screen and pushed her eyeglasses up her nose with her index finger, wondering why nature hadn't provided teenagers with a 'pause' button. She wondered if she had talked that much when she was young. She couldn't remember, but she was pretty sure she had just been focused on books and studying.

It was hard to concentrate on her work with one part of her brain listening to Dinah and the other part thinking about Helena. She seemed to have returned to normal. She hadn't mentioned anything about her nightmares in the last week.

"It's cool, no?" Dinah said finally.

"Yes," Barbara said, noticing she had been so distracted that she hadn't heard the entire conversation. "It's pretty cool." She needed to pay a bit more attention to her.

"I'm happy. I don't think I'm the nerd I thought I was."

"You are not a nerd. You are a smart and wonderful girl." Barbara put her hand gently on her charge's arm. "You were insecure, but, now, you are growing and that confidence helps you a lot. People see you differently, not just as a shy girl."

"Thanks, Barbara, I'm happy because people are not just seeing me as 'zipper girl' or a nerd. Helena must have changed her mind too, she finally took me to a bar…" The "r" sound faded off as Dinah realized her grievous mistake.

Barbara narrowed her eyes. "Helena took you to a bar?"

"Well…not a bar, it's a cool place where you can dance and listen to music."

"And drink…" Barbara lifted an eyebrow.

Dinah lowered her head and tucked some hair nervously behind her ear. "Well.. that too," she mumbled.

"A bar, then."

Grimacing with an "I'm really sorry" face, Dinah nodded. She was in big trouble now. Why couldn't she keep her mouth shout?

"Well, what bar was it?" Barbara hated the idea of a teenager inside a bar. Especially the one living with her. She and Helena would have a serious talk later, but, now, she tried to sound casual to find out exactly what had happened.

"Everybody talked about the "W" as a great place… so… I asked her…"

"You asked her?"

"Yeah… I was taunting her. I wanted her to lend me her blue skirt, but she wouldn't, so I asked for this instead and she said yes and I thought…."

"Stop." The redhead raised her hand. She needed to back up a bit and Dinah sometimes talked in a very confusing way. "You asked Helena to take you to a bar, knowing that you are too young?"

Dinah nodded.

"Why?"

"Remember that I rescued her that day when that guy hit her hard on her head? She told me she owed me a favor and I told her that I wanted her blue skirt one night and she said "No way, anything except that."

"So you asked her to take you to the bar."

"Yes, I was sure that she would say no, but she said okay." Dinah played with her fingers nervously.

"All right, I got it… and what happened, then?" Barbara asked focusing all her attention on the young girl. This was interesting, Dinah blackmailing Helena, who would believe it? She removed her eyeglasses and chewed the arm. Her inner gears started to work again, now that her initial surprise was over, Dinah minor at bar big problem for Helena.

"Well… we went there. I figured she must have talked with one of her friends because I got in easily."

"Figures." Barbara nodded.

"But I didn't drink any alcohol," Dinah said quickly. "Helena only let me have lemonade and cokes."

"I see she was worried about your health and safety."

"Yes…" Dinah lowered her head.

"And… what happened then, Dinah?"

"The place is cool and the music is excellent. I danced, but in my place; Helena was right next to me the entire time, she was there almost all night, standing next to me with a scotch…"

"Oh, I see…" Barbara said in an ironic tone, "It was very nice of her keep an eye on you. She forgot to flirt with the men."

"Well, actually she didn't flirt with men." Dinah put her hands on the seat of her chair and lowered her gaze to look at the floor.

This time the redhead blinked, turning the words around in her head, analyzing them from several angles. Did she mean that Helena hadn't flirted at all? Or that…? "She didn't flirt with any men… So, with whom did she flirt?"

Dinah closed her eyes. She had opened her big mouth again. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Dinah…."

"Well… I didn't know before, I know now because I asked her why so many women were eyeing her or flirting with her."

"Was Helena flirting with women?" Barbara had a strange feeling in her gut, as if it was suddenly empty.

"Oh no, no…" Dinah explained trying to correct herself. "I was dancing in my place and I noticed they were trying to get her attention; they called her 'beautiful', 'tiger'…"

"Tiger?"

"I guess she must be good in bed."

"Stop, I don't want to know." Barbara raised her hand again. She was suddenly really disconcerted. Helena liked women? The idea hit her brain hard. Sure, it had crossed her mind, but she'd never known for sure. An idea came to her mind suddenly and she felt a stab in her chest. Green eyes fixed on the ashamed girl. "Dinah, I want you to look at me."

Shyly, the teen obeyed. Her mentor was really annoyed this time. Why hadn't she shut her mouth is time?

girl bit the nail of her index finger and asked in low voice, noticing the angry look on Barbara's face. "Didn't I mention that before?"

"No…" that was enough. Helena was officially dead.

"Oh shit…" Dinah knew she was done for. What a way to fuck up everything in less than five minutes. It had to be some sort of record. Helena would kill her, if Barbara didn't kill Helena first.

Barbara took a deep breath; she organized her thoughts for a few seconds and moved forward, crossing her hands over her knees and looking to the blonde.

"Okay, again," she said in a controlled voice, "You are a minor -- straight, as I understand it."

Dinah nodded.

"And you asked Helena to take you to a gay bar when she didn't want you to borrow her blue skirt."

"Actually, I didn't know it was a gay bar until I saw the women flirting with Helena," Dinah interrupted.

"Okay, so… you asked Helena to take you to a bar that you didn't know was gay."

"Yes."

"And while you were dancing, Helena was flirting, thanks to her great 'sexual magnetism'?"

"Technically, the only one that got her interest was Gisele Bündchen."

"Okay, what happened next?"

"Nothing, we left. Helena said it was time and we left."

"All right." Barbara nodded. She moved back and pressed the buttons on her wheelchair, she turned toward the Delphi screen, "Grounded for a week."

"A week? But if…"

"And if you say one more word it will be two."

The teenager stood up, making a face. It was best was shut up and take the punishment. It was all her fault, she had screwed up. It was best to go now as she needed time look for a good hideout before Helena returned.

The brunette arrived late, after her shift at the Dark Horse Bar. They hadn't gone out on sweeps, but Barbara said she had something important to talk about. And if Red wanted to talk about something important, it would, without doubt, be important. Maybe it was about the 'Boss'-- they had discovered three hideouts over the last few days, almost thirty five tons of weapons. The man surely wasn't happy and would be looking for another place to hide his arsenal and recover all his lost equipment.

The Clock Tower was empty when she arrived. She looked around; the Delphi was in stand-by mode and a dim light filled the place. When the lights were dim lights, Barbara hadn't be there for a long time. She was probably taking a shower. So, in the meantime, Helena would kill her hunger. She went toward the kitchen and opened the cupboards, looking for pop-tarts. Finding some, she opened them and dropped them in the toaster.

She began to hum as she walked toward the fridge. She took a big bottle of cold milk and opened it.

She loved milk. It was a cat thing. She downed almost half of it immediately.

The toaster dinged, announcing the now toasted poptarts. She put them on a plate and sat at the table, eating happily.

Barbara wheeled into the kitchen with a dark green top that exposed the firm muscles of her arms; the black pants were almost pasted to her legs and her long red hair fell over her shoulders.

It was, in Helena's not so humble opinion, a really hot combination. She couldn't avoid staring at her. Wow. She really looked great—well, Barbara looked great in anything.

"Hi." She sipped more of her milk; her mouth was suddenly dry.

"Hi, 'Tiger'…."

The brunette coughed, spewing milk across the table.

"Careful, you will ruin your jacket." Barbara tossed her a napkin.

"Sorry… cough… "

"… Or do you prefer 'Beautiful'?"

Shit. Helena wiped her lips. She needed a quick idea to get herself out of this.

"So…" the redhead asked, taking a cookie from a plate on the kitchen table, "how was the night at the bar with Dinah?"

The attack would be hard and incessant; Barbara was not giving her time to breathe. She couldn't believe the kid had opened her big mouth, but she couldn't lie. Knowing Barbara, things would be worse and she didn't know how much the girl had said.

"She told you." The young woman cleaned the milk off the table.

"No. She would never betray you. Let's just say she gave me a hint…" the redhead smirked, "and then I just had to ask the right questions."

Helena rolled her eyes. As always, Dinah talked too much.

"It's not good that you teach her bad things."

"Come on, Barbara, I'm helping her practice empirical research."

"What?" Barbara narrowed her eyes.

"But don't worry, I kept an eye on her at all times."

"She is just a teenager, Helena!" Barbara said, exasperated. "Heavens!"

"Barbara, the kid needs to learn about life. They aren't bad things, just experiences."

"Then show her experiences proper for her age."

"Well, being a crime fighter is not exactly proper for her age." The brunette leaned back in her chair. Yes, this was going well. She was making good points.

"You know what I mean; you were in lots of trouble at that age."

"I was not."

"Are you sure? I spent half of my salary on Tylenol." Barbara crossed her arms over the table and leaned forward, glaring at her.

"Okay, okay, maybe I was a bit of a rebel… but I learned a lot." Helena crossed her hands over the table and also leaned forward, her eyes meeting Barbara's.

"Doesn't look like it."

"Hey, I'm still learning."

After such a long time living together, she had learned to read Helena like a book. Well, after Dinah's confession,… Helena had a damn charm that made difficult for Barbara not to give in and finish by asking her to just apologize. And she was very smart… she was now trying to distract her from the main topic.

"I would love," Barbara said, trying to go back to the topic at hand, "really love for you to explain to me why you took Dinah to a bar…?"

"She just danced and drank coke, I promise. She wanted to go to the bar. I thought it would be good for her."

" …a gay bar?"

Crap. Dinah was so dead.

"Oh… that…" Helena mumbled.

"Why did you take Dinah to a gay bar? You broke the rules, you helped her to get in a place that is prohibited for minors! You encouraged her to break the law! That is wrong! You know I hate that! Don't ever do this type of thing again!"

"Barbara!" Helena stood up. Why she was so stiff about this topic? "Please! Sometimes kids want to have fun! Life is not just about rules!"

"Helena, I could understand it if you were a teenager! But you are not a kid-- Look at you, you are a woman."

The brunette turned her head toward her. Barbara was seeing her as a woman? Had she really said that?

"You are a woman, a complete and mature woman."

Helena remained still, staring at her. "Do you think?"

Barbara's eyes examined the young woman in front of her-- slim, wild, with an incredible beauty and inner strength. She had noticed many times when they were out together how young men turned to see her, and how she flirted with them. She remembered how proud she had felt that Helena was sharing the time with her and not with other people, to get her complete attention. Helena really was sexy. Helena was not a kid anymore.

"Yes, you are… you are beautiful, Helena."

Both looked at each other in silence for long seconds. The brunette felt her heat beating harder. Barbara thought she was beautiful? WHOAA!! That was cool! Her gaze softened, she couldn't move her eyes away from that beloved face, trying to keep the moment forever. Barbara was looking her in a strange way, she had never seen it.

The older woman felt hypnotized under the gaze of the young woman. She was trapped, suddenly, in those familiar blue eyes. A lurch in her stomach and something she couldn't understand made her felt uncomfortable. She broke the moment, looking away.

"And understand please, Helena, a gay bar is not a good idea."

"So next time… I should take her to a straight bar?" the brunette asked, playfully.

Barbara rubbed her forehead. "I don't want you to take her to any bar!"

"Do you have something against gay people?"

"I don't have anything against gay people."

"You are angry because I took her to a gay bar." The brunette, amused, rested her hip on the table close to Barbara.

"Of course."

"So you don't like gay people."

"I have no problem with gay people. I don't like bars!"

"I don't believe it."

"I like all kind of people."

"I have an idea." Helena stood up, with a bit of pop tart still inside her mouth and cleaned her fingers on the napkin. "Let´s go."

"Let's go where?"

"To show me you have nothing against gay people."

Only in Helena's mind would it be possible to conceive the idea of taking Dinah to a bar.

The plan was to scold Helena about her behavior and make her understand the young girl couldn't be in a bar, it was wrong. They were totally different, like night and day. Helena's experience when her mother died had changed her forever. Dinah could never be what Helena was. The brunette had been trying to escape her pain, experimenting with every wild thing she could find. Her emotions had been out of control.

Dinah's reaction was different after Black Canary's death. She had focused on school and work; it helped her that she hadn't really had a relationship with her mother since she was a small child.

Helena was a good girl – woman, Barbara corrected herself - with a big heart. She just needed to learn to respect limits. She was sure that experience would help her learn. She was just as Dinah said, stubborn and pig-headed; patience was the key with her. Usually she could subtly push Helena to her goal with persuasion and patience, and it was almost impossible for the brunette to convince her to do anything against her will. Usually, when she had a choice, it was because she had think about carefully, analyzing all possibilities.

She sipped of wine and tasted the texture. White, Italian, semi-sec, her favorite. She put the glass of wine on the table

Now… How the hell had Helena convinced her to go to the gay bar in question?

Definitely, her young charge always found a way to get what she wanted.

The brunette secured a V.I.P. lounge. It was ready when they arrived, as was a cold bottle of her favorite wine. She had thought of every detail. From her seat, she had a view of the entire bar and she didn't have to worry about people pushing her chair or stumbling against it. She watched the floor below; people were around tables talking and moving with the rhythm of the music. The main dance floor was full of men and women dancing. She took her cup of wine and played with it in her hand. As Helena said, the place was really nice.

Helena.

She smiled. Lifting her head, she studied the younger woman. She was dancing next to her; she was totally lost in her dance, with her eyes closed and moving her arms and hips with the loud music. The movements were soft, sensual like a cat; Helena had the same powerful sexuality of her mother.

She looked stunning wearing that pretty red blouse with long sleeves and red pants. It seemed they were painted to her body showing her nice...ass….

Nice ass?

Well, she had it. Her eyes moved around the place and noticed a woman, staring at her friend. Well, not exactly staring, she was devouring her with her look. The dark woman didn't notice her. It was not the first time she had seen a woman eyeing her friend; she had seen two or three more looking at her. Including a beautiful, tall blonde with blue eyes, an elegant nose, and wearing a red dress that fit on her body perfectly.

The woman must be was the 'Gisele Bündchen´ that Dinah had described. She laughed lightly to herself.

"So… how is it?" the thin brunette suddenly asked, sitting down next to her. She took a napkin and wiped her forehead.

"How is "it"?" Barbara asked in confusion.

"This place…" Helena waved her hand around vaguely.

"It's very nice…" The redhead couldn't lie. The place was excellent.

"I told you, it's cool."

"You love to come here, as I can see," Barbara smiled, crossing her arms over the table, "many people know you."

Helena leaned over the table, as well, and smirked. "Well, it's always good to go out sometimes and not just to kick asses." She took the bottle of wine and raised it. "Want a bit more?"

"Sure. It's a great wine." Barbara extended her glass toward her. "How did you get it?"

"I have secrets too, my dear Oracle. I just want you have a great time here tonight."

Helena's smiled seemed to light up the room. She filled her own glass, too.

"It was a nice touch."

"Thanks."

Barbara moved back in her chair and watched the dance floor. Notes of a soft ballad filled the bar, the lights dimmed; she could see couples hugging each other and dancing. Her mind traveled back in time. She loved to dance when she was young. Yes, she liked to study, but she also loved to dance. For her it was as artistic as gymnastics. She used go out with Dick at night. They were wonderful moments, being wrapped in his strong arms and resting her head on a firm shoulder.

His cologne was great. She suddenly felt nostalgic. She missed the possibility of dancing like that again someday.

Helena interrupted her thoughts, raising her glass. "A toast?"

"Sounds perfect…" Barbara turned her head. "For…?"

"A perfect night?"

"A perfect night."

They tapped glasses, smiling.

"I told you the kid is safe with me," Helena said, joking. She was in a good mood and Barbara seemed to be having fun. That was good. Lately, she'd been working too much and almost had forgotten just to go out and have fun. "I'm an excellent bodyguard."

"I'm still not so sure." Barbara sipped her wine, amused.

"You are safe with me now, no?"

"I'm always safe with you, Hel."

The brunette felt butterflies in her stomach.

"…But I'm not yet sure about Dinah," Barbara added, frowning "I don't think that learning about your love for lawlessness is a good idea. I have enough headaches with you."

"But I'm charming, too, and damn sexy."

The older woman laughed. Helena was incorrigible. It would be fun taunt her a bit more. "Yes, Dinah told me you have amazing sexual magnetism."

Helena rolled her eyes. Did Dinah have to tell absolutely everything about their night at the bar?

"Maybe she was right. I see you have some fans around here," Barbara said smiling. She rested her elbow on the table and put her index finger on her cheek. Dinah had cleared up Helena's sexual orientation, but she wanted to hear it from the younger woman herself. "They don't stop looking at you."

"I look hot, huh?"

"Well, you love to flirt with anyone."

"Not exactly anyone…" Helena raised her hand. "I have standards."

Barbara lowered her gaze and played with her fingers on the mouth of her cup of wine. She hesitated a moment.

"Hel, are you gay?"

The brunette didn't expect that question at that moment.

"Why?" She looked at the redhead curiously.

"Just curious-- you like to come to gay bars. I haven't known you to have a formal boyfriend, we never talk about your romances, and I imagine you have a lot."

"Not so many, most of them are rumors."

"As were those two boyfriends you dated on the same day at the same time?" Barbara asked in amusement.

"First, they were not boyfriends," Helena noted, pouring more wine in her glass. "Second, it was a mistake-- I miscalculated the time. Third, I needed to flirt with them. One was very good in chemistry and the other guy helped me in math."

She drank her wine, she needed it. She was now certain that the kid told Barbara about her sexual preferences and lying to the redhead would not be a wise choice. She set her glass on the table and raised her blue eyes to met green.

"But, to answer your question... yes, I'm gay." Barbara would hate her after her confession, but she was and she couldn't do anything against her instincts and preferences.

The redhead nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" she asked.

Helena took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. "I thought it was something you wouldn't like, and I didn't want to disappoint you."

"You don't disappoint me." Barbara held her gaze. "I love you for who you are. This doesn't change anything between us."

"Really?" Helena asked, a bit surprised. She had always been afraid of Barbara's reaction. She was a traditional woman that that believed in marriage, heterosexual relationships and those things.

"Of course. Why would things change? You are the same-- dark hair, blue eyes, an excellent crime fighter; you empty my fridge every five minutes and you are always grumbling." Barbara raised her glass to sip her wine, but stopped short to point at the brunette "Ah! And with great sexual magnetism."

The brunette laughed. She was incredibly relieved knowing her confession hadn't bothered the older woman. "Sorry, Barbara," Helena played with glass, "I should have told you before."

"Don't worry, Helena, I understand." The older woman looked at her gently. "My education was traditional and I have my beliefs, but at the core of those is respect for other people. I respect you and what you are. Never forget that."

"Okay."

"Toast?" the redhead raised her glass.

"Toast!"

Barbara enjoyed the time with her friend; the hours passed quickly and she didn't feel it. She was a good friend, good company. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a nice evening. The last few years she had focused on work and saving the city. Definitely, she needed to go out more often.

Helena went downstairs, she told Barbara, to thank her friend, the owner of the bar, for the table and wine. The music changed again to the first notes of the last radio hit. Many couples practically jumped on the dance floor, moving to the music of Madonna's latest hit.

Barbara watched her friend's movements and noticed someone else was doing the same.

´Gisele Bündchen´ didn't take her eyes off the brunette.

Helena was on the lower floor talking to very handsome guy. She imagined he was the manager of the place. They spoke a few minutes and the brunette laughed before she shook the man's hand and moved through the throng of people toward the elevator to join her again.

Barbara saw ´Gisele´ move toward the brunette, a cup in hand. She stumbled 'accidentally' against the dark haired woman and threw the liquid in her glass against her own clothes.

She lifted an eyebrow.

That was the fakest movement she had ever seen.

She saw Helena excusing herself, thinking she really had caused the 'accident´, and helping the blonde to clean the blouse barely covering 'Gisele''s skin with a napkin.

The blonde said something to her and the brunette nodded; they walked toward the bar. Helena seemed to be asking for a drink. The woman said something and Helena smiled; they talked a few seconds. Then, ´Gisele´ moved her hand toward the brunette's arm and touched the material of her blouse.

Barbara rolled her eyes. So predictable. Surely, she was saying the blouse was beautiful, the material soft and, the usual, "Where did you get it?"

She was flirting with Helena.

The woman resting her hand on the brunette's arm. The movement of 'Gisele's' hand became overly friendly; Helena turned toward the counter and spoke to the bartender. The blonde rested her hand on the brunette's lower back.

Dinah told her that Helena was interested in the blonde, that she had thought she was hot, but she had interrupted their flirting that night. Now, it seemed she had the opportunity in her hands. The woman closed her distance and playfully said something in Helena's ear.

The dark haired woman laughed again, nodding.

She looked around. The place was full of gay couples. How could Helena bring Dinah to this bar? To any bar? It was so irresponsible. Dinah was still a child and Helena had much more experience. She was supposed to take care of her. How the hell had Helena managed to escape a scolding?

She always did this.

A waitress at the counter gave 'Gisele' the drink, the woman raised her hand, resting it on Helena's shoulder; they talked a few seconds more. Helena reached her hand out and the woman suddenly leaned in and trapped the young woman's lips between hers

She turned her head to another place. Irritated, she swallowed the last remaining wine from her glass in just one movement. How had she let Helena drag her to a bar? This was an ideal place for the brunette, but she... she was too old for these things.

Dammit.

She wasn't sure if she was angrier at herself or at Helena. The younger woman always involved her in her games. She never took anything seriously. This place was ideal for her, casual adventures, drinks, dancing. Helena had her mother's genes within her. Selina was a natural flirt and so was Helena. Flirting was like breathing. Both turned heads with their strong presences, and both had great beauty. Helena was her mother, loved freedom and taming her soul would be impossible. She had tried her best with Helena, taking care of her since she was a teen and showing her how to handle her frustration, pain and anger, but when it came down to it, nature's call was nature's call.

She was a free spirit; a wild cat.

But this place was definitely not for her even less so for Dinah.

She looked at her watch, almost two o'clock. Whatever, she needed go back, tomorrow was work day. She asked the waiter for the check and paid it.

"I'm back," Helena said, sitting in her chair.

"All right." Barbara picked up her bag and her coat.

"Where are you going?"

"Time to go, it's late. But you can stay if you want." She dropped a few bills on the table.

"Go? Why?" the dark woman asked confused. She picked up the bills and gave them back to her.

"I told you, it's late." Barbara ignored the extended money and moved out of the VIP zone.

"Barbara… wait." The brunette followed her. "Barbara, I invited you! You don't need to pay. Why do you want to leave so suddenly? Did someone bother you?"

"No, no one," the redhead, answered icily as she wheeled toward the exit.

"Hey, wait." The brunette stood in front of her blocking her way. "I thought you were enjoying the place."

"You involved me again in your games to avoid being scolded."

"Wait, wait." She couldn't understand what was happening. Barbara had been enjoying herself, laughing a lot and, suddenly… "What are you talking about?"

"Helena, this is not a place for a minor! You know it! And you involved me in your games to bring me here and prevent me from yelling at you for bringing Dinah here."

"What?" She hadn't seen it coming. Helena was forced to jump to the side to avoid Barbara's chair.

Helena tried to follow her again, but stumbled against a couple. She excused herself and ran to search for the redhead. She reached her at the exit. "All right, I was wrong to bring Dinah here. I'll never do it again, but, as you can see, the place is safe, no one bothered her; she just drank coke. I promise."

"That is not the point. The point is that you act like an irresponsible kid."

"Why are you so mad? You were happy a few minutes ago.. What happened?"

Barbara stopped and faced her. "What happened is that I don't like your games. It's time that you grow up, Helena. See you tomorrow."

Helena sighed. "All right, if you want go, okay. Let me get my coat."

"It's not necessary, I'll drive myself."

"Huh?" That statement surprised the young woman.

"I´ll drive myself. It's in the opposite direction of your place. I don't want you to have to go out of your way."

"Barbara…"

"Helena, I'm tired," Barbara said with a chill that could cut the air. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Helena stepped aside and let her wheel toward the parking lot.

"Why are you so angry?" she shouted at her. "What happened?"

The redhead didn't respond.

Helena brushed her hair back, confused. Barbara was really angry and in a pretty bad mood. She watched the redhead disappear between the people. What the fuck had happened? Everything had been perfect. She threw her arms up in the air and walked back to the bar.

She couldn't understand why the redhead's mood had changed so suddenly. She was laughing, enjoying the night… she sat on her table and looked around. The place that was so full of life minutes ago now seemed to be empty and boring. She felt frustrated, sad, angry; raising her hand she asked for a bottle of scotch. She was not in the mood to go back to her place and just be there alone.

She stared at her hand still in the cast. Barbara always took care of her gently. Maybe the most depressing part was that she didn't have a clue as to what the hell was in her mind. She was so complicated sometimes, but she loved her anyway. Helena was the fierce, the feared and the strong crime fighter, the terror of criminals – and she was as love sick as a teenager, in love with someone who would never love her back.

The bottle arrived and the waiter poured her a glass of scotch.

It was ironic, she only needed to flash a smile to have any woman…except the one she wanted. It had never been and would never be. Sighing in disgust, she swallowed the contents of her glass. A waiter arrived and filled it again.

"Fill it, Mike," she said.

"As you wish, Ms. Kyle."

The brunette looked again to the dance floor. Stupid, dumb, disconcerted, frustrated… and, dammit, deeply in love; so many feelings in just one moment were really making her want to scream and run.

"She will never love you back."

Helena turned in surprise and stood up.

"Quinzel?"

What was she doing here?

"She doesn't know you exist." The blonde sat in front of Helena, crossing her legs. She was wearing a short skirt and a black top. "Why do you waste your time thinking about her? Besides, she is boring and… I don't think you could have too much fun… she is in a wheelchair."

The brunette glared at her angrily. She stepped towards the woman threateningly, but the blonde didn't blink, in fact, she smiled at her.

"Easy, kitty cat… stand down."

Without knowing why, the brunette froze in place, holding back the desire to pounce on the psychotic woman and hit her hard. She could still feel the anger boiling in her blood.

Quinzel extended her hand and took Helena's glass of scotch from the table. She sipped it delicately. "Mmm… wonderful, my favorite." The blonde leaned in and put her hand on top of the brunette's. "You are hurt, she is hurting you. She doesn't care about you, but you… you are important to me." She lifted her hand and kissed her fingers.

Helena gasped, feeling the soft touch and a strange tickling running through her body.

The blonde stood up and put Helena's hand over her shoulder. "Dance with me, Helena." She wrapped her arms around the brunette's waist and began to move slowly with the rhythm of music.

"You…" The young woman couldn't understand the spell the woman had on her, she couldn't resist her call.

"Shh…" Quinzel said, pressing her index finger against soft lips, "Don't think, forget her, you are mine and I'll give you all the pleasure you need and want." She finished the sentence pressing her lips against Helena's.

The young woman couldn't hold back and responded to the kiss, holding the woman tight against her and moving slowly, following the rhythm of the soft music. She felt her mind twisting. Every time she was in the blonde's arms or kissed her, all her senses caught on fire and she could only focus on touching her, on making love to her.

The brunette felt another body pressing behind her, a second set of arms wrapping around her waist. She separated her lips from Quinzel and turned her head back; it was the hot blonde she had stumbled against downstairs. The tall blonde smiled at her and kissed her neck.

The brunette arched under the soft contact. Harleen buried her head in the brunette's shoulder and raised her face a few inches to whisper in her ear: "Kiss her…"

Helena hesitated and remained still. Quinzel smiled and bit her lobe gently.

"Kiss her-- she wants you… you want her…"

The brunette turned her head and fixed her eyes on the other woman's.

'Gisele' moved her head forward and brushed her mouth against Helena, who moaned under the contact, as the woman took position of her lovely mouth. She deepened the caress with her tongue and Helena kissed her back.

She didn't know what happened, she just knew that the friction of the beautiful women against her were making her tremble with anticipation. Those full, firm nipples against her back, Quinzel taking position of her breast with one of her hands while she nipped her neck.

"Barbara doesn't love you."

"Not true…" Helena broke the kiss and looked at the criminal, confused.

The blonde cupped the brunette's face in her hands. "She is using you to get what she wants. When she don't needs you, she'll just push you away… she is playing with your feelings, Helena. Listen to me, Helena. You belong to me because I love you, because I want you… and you want me, you want me so much…"

"I want you so much…" The young woman leaned in and kissed her.

She lost herself in the kiss. She didn't know how, but when she realized it, they were sitting on a couch. Touching and tasting. She was holding the mad woman against her, lost in a duel of tongues -

and the tall woman behind her caressing her back and kissing her neck. Quinzel suddenly laughed and moved back taking a glass from the table. She raised it.

"A toast for my little bird."

The blonde took a glass too and lifted it before drinking the entire glass. Quinzel sipped hers as well and put the glass to Helena's lips.

"She is beautiful, no?" Quinzel smiled at Helena, glancing toward the tall blonde. The young woman turned her head and stared at 'Gisele'. Quinzel licked her ear lobe slowly. "Just accept."

Helena noticed the tall blonde moving her hand down to caress her thighs. Quinzel didn't give her time to think, she kissed her rough and hard, her hand unbuttoning the younger woman's blouse.

"Forget Barbara, you are mine."

"Quinzel…." She mumbled between kisses, "We are in a bar…"

The blonde's face came in to view; she smiled at her. "It doesn't matter, the only thing that is important to you is what I want."

Helena jumped in her place; the other woman was between her legs. She tried to push her back, but Quinzel trapped her hand.

"No, Helena, let her do it… I want to see it."

"We can't… We are in a public place…" Helena panted, feeling excited and scared. The woman separated her legs and raised her skirt. Skirt? When had she changed to a skirt? She was wearing pants.

"You must do whatever I want. I want to see you come…."

"I…" The brunette arched her back when she felt lips in her most intimate area. They were rough and demanding. Quinzel, then, moved her blouse to the side and sucked a soft mound in her mouth. Helena bucked and held Harleen's head tight against her.

"Fuck!"

She couldn't stop herself. Her body trembled in pleasure and a cry died in her mouth. Why was she was doing this? This was crazy, she needed to stop it. She closed her eyes, feeling spent and dirty at the same time. It was when she felt Quinzel's arms around her again, her lips kissing her that she realized she couldn't do this. What the hell was wrong with her? She couldn't let her keep controlling her.

She pushed Harleen back lightly with her hands.

"We are just starting." Quinzel smiled as she tried to lean in to kiss Helena again, but the brunette stopped her movement.

"No…"

The blonde didn't seem to hear her and brought their lips together. Helena felt her body humming again, trembling in desire.

"No." She moved her head back.

"You can't say no…" Quinzel moved forward and kissed her again.

The brunette felt the demanding tongue tasting, caressing. This was the woman that had killed the man that Barbara loved. It was from the girlfriend of the psychopath who had paralyzed Barbara and killed her mother. She felt sick, she was sick.

"You love my touch, Helena." Quinzel whispered in her ear "You can't choose because you are mine; I'm your soul, I'm your darkest desires, I'm all you need."

She woke up abruptly. Hard rock music filling the place; Helena noticed she was still at "W". People were talking friendly, dancing downstairs, everything was normal, but she still could feel the her heart beating rapidly in her chest, her body burning in excitement. She was alone, sitting on a couch, with no trace of Quinzel - or the blonde. Something triggered in her mind and she lowered her gaze to check her clothes. She touched herself, trembling; she was wearing red pants. Suddenly, the pieces fell in place. Another nightmare.

When it would end? She was tired of it. Tired of feeling Quinzel controlling her mind and soul. Her eyes peered through the rail and she could see downstairs; bodies moving under the changing lights. She felt her heart stop when she saw Harleen dancing between two handsome men. She stood up like she'd been shocked and glared at her therapist, wrapping her hands around the rail which such force that she bent it.

What was the damn bitch doing here? She turned to go downstairs and stopped in her tracks when she almost bumped against Quinzel. Her confusion grew when she saw that the girl behind her was Quinzel, too. She stepped back and saw a big mirror to her side, Quinzel's image was smirking at her. Angry, she moved to her left and noticed another mirror there. Quinzel's image was there too! Her head snapped around, her reflection was everywhere.

"Stupid bitch!" The brunette took a chair and threw it against the mirror in front of her.

Barbara always liked her coffee with a bit of sugar, but not in this case. She wanted it strong. She couldn't sleep as she was still feeling upset because Helena has taken Dinah am improper place for a minor. She did not seem to understand that she had done anything wrong; she stopped her thoughts, well she had accepted it, but… whatever. It was a gay bar and Dinah was just a kid. She didn't have anything against gays, she had many gay friends and they were incredible people. The place was, indeed, very nice, the music excellent. She'd been very comfortable and had a great time. Helena was good company.

She adjusted her robe and put the tray with the coffee on her lap. She pressed a button on the arm of her wheelchair and turned to wheel toward Delphi.

Helena had been nice at the bar, she had a great time; she had been relaxed, happy. The wine was perfect, the environment, and, suddenly, she… she had seen Helena kissing that woman. It snapped her back to reality. She was supposed to have been scolding Helena, not enjoying herself in a bar. In some way, Helena had used all her charm to distract her from the main topic and, then, had used her charm on 'Gisele.'

Well, it wasn't a big kiss, just a fast one, but… that was not the point, the point was that maybe she had kissed other woman in front of Dinah and that was not right. It wasn't appropriate for her to kiss anyone in front of the girl. The younger woman had taken Dinah, a minor, to a bar and she was right to be pissed and angry and annoyed. She was right to want to leave from that place as soon as possible and to react to Helena in the way she had.

She was right.

She stopped in front of Delphi and pinched the bridge of her nose.

No, she was not right. She had overreacted. She was trying to convince herself that her reaction had been correct, but she couldn't, she was wrong. Helena was being nice, trusting her and revealing one of her deepest secrets and she…

Helena was gay. She had been afraid to tell it to her for so long. How many years? She didn't know. The brunette was happy that Barbara had accepted her as she was and then she had overreacted without reason. They already had talked about Dinah and Barbara returned to same topic. She had treated Helena unfairly. Why?

The Delphi alarm distracted her from her inner debate and she moved forward. She put her coffee to the side and pressed some keys at her computer keyboard.

A disturbance, nothing strange. Friday night, many young people were partying, but something caught her attention-- the address. She moved the cursor on the screen.

W Bar.

She had been there with Helena almost an hour ago. She tried to contact the brunette, thinking that maybe she would be still there. Her GPS was off.

Typical Helena. Her instinct told her she needed to investigate a bit more, something smelled bad.

She intercepted the police radio. There seemed to be a big fight inside. They described a person that had started it. Barbara quickly hacked the security system cameras. She would get access to the videos.

She found a video where she could see people pushing and kicking each other. The fight was in the V.I.P. area, where she had been with Helena. She located a camera closer to the lounge she'd been in. She rewound the tape and saw her young partner throwing objects against the mirrors. A man tried to stop her and she had pushed him back, starting the fight. She didn't like this. She rewound a few more minutes prior to the fight. She could see Helena sitting there alone, unmoving, with a glass in her hands. Checking the time on the clock in the top corner of the image, it was taken almost ten minutes after she had left. She was going to fast forward the tape, but she stopped her movement when she noticed the sadness in Helena's face. The image froze in her mind.

Helena was not an expressive person and less so when it was about her deepest feelings. But in this image she could see it. Barbara felt guilty, she had been rude with her and she really needed to apologize. She noticed, then, that the brunette was almost perfectly still for the next five minutes.

Suddenly, the young woman jerked up, she was disturbed, her movements erratic; Barbara saw her bending the rail with her hands and then looking around, disoriented. She was not acting normal. The brunette took a chair and hurled it against a mirror. The fight started.

What the hell was happening to her?

Barbara's first instinct was to protect her partner. She typed as faster as she could and saved the tapes in her system, while deleting them bar's security system. When she finished, she again studied the videos where Helena appeared.

Part 5

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