Author's Note: Greetings everyone. Some of you may be familiar with a little story I wrote back in August titled 'All They Knew.' If you're not familiar with it, then I hope you decide to check it out, since this story is a direct sequel to that one. Now before we get to the story, I'd like to point out that although I have some vague ideas about where this story is going, it is still very much up in the air. As far as I can tell (and please correct me if I'm wrong) this story and its predecessor could technically fall within the continuity established in Batman Beyond. Fans of that show will remember that Barbara ended up married to someone other than our favorite ex Boy Wonder. I might end up writing this story in a way that neatly ties in with that chain of events, or I may veer off into my own little universe and throw continuity to the wind. I would greatly appreciate any ideas, thoughts, or opinions you have on what direction to go with this. Also, I want to thank everyone who reviewed the earlier story. I'm writing this sequel for you guys and I honestly didn't mean to make you wait so long for another installment. There were several false starts before I hit on an idea that worked. Happy holidays everybody.

Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to me. I am making absolutely no profit from their use in this story, its just a way to burn time during my vacation. The title for the story as well as the lyrics come from the song 'Everything Changes' by Staind. I didn't write that either. Please don't sue me as I am but a lowly college student

If you just walked away
What could I really say?
Would it matter anyway?
Would it change how you feel?

I am the mess you chose
The closet you cannot close
The devil in you I suppose
'Cause the wounds never heal

"There you are. Planning to sneak out a window?"

"Something like that."

Closing the door with the hand not holding her glass of champagne, Barbara watched Dick stare fixedly at the dying embers in the fireplace. "It's almost midnight; you're going to miss the countdown."

"There are three hundred drunken investors in the living room. I think I'll be able to hear it from here."

"Everyone's been looking for you,"

Half-turning away from his perusal of the quickly dwindling flames, Dick favored her with a rueful smile. "Everyone?"

"Yeah," Barbara replied, frowning at the air of sadness that seemed to encompass him. "Everyone."

"So…Alfred then?"

"You would think, but no. Actually it was Tim. He mentioned something about shaving cream and bottle rockets?"

"Yeah, you might be safer not knowing the details."

"Well, if he does anything to liven up this snore fest, Alfred will skin him alive."

"I'm sure Alfred would, but our host Mr. Congeniality would probably dump an extra million into the kid's trust fund."

"Only if it ended the party within the next three minutes, otherwise I'm betting fifty thousand." Crossing to stand next to him, Barbara raised her glass to her lips, using the action to mask her quick but thorough inspection of the former Boy Wonder. Tonight, he'd traded in his Nightwing uniform for a seldom worn tux.

"How did Alfred manage to convince him to throw this thing anyway?"

"My guess? Constant, unending nagging since at least February."

Dick nodded absently and began fiddling with the knot on his tie.

"Hey," Barbara said softly, running her thumb along the back of his hand. "What's up with you?"

She watched his eyes fly up to meet hers before settling back on his well-polished black shoes. "Come on, Barb, I hate these things almost as much as Bruce does."

He was lying and they both knew it. "Then why'd you show up in the first place?"

For an eternally long moment, the crackling fire was the only sound in the room. Then finally, without looking directly at her, Dick murmured, "I need to go."

"Sneaking out huh? Mind if I tag along?" It was a pointless attempt to lighten the mood, play dumb, pretend that she didn't know exactly what he was telling her.

Holding her gaze for the first time since this exchange began, Dick shook his head in the negative. "I can't spend another year like this Barbara. I'm leaving Gotham."

It was now Barbara's turn to avoid eye contact. Slowly, taking far more care then the act required, she went to place her wineglass on a nearby end table. Idly, she recalled that that particular piece of furniture was crafted sometime in the early fourteenth century. Alfred would skin her alive if he discovered even the slightest hint of a ring.

All the coasters were scattered in other rooms.

And she was stuck in here.

With Dick.

Dick who was taking off with virtually no warning.

Again.

"Two years away wasn't enough?"

"I'm sorry; I never meant to hurt you."

"Don't flatter yourself."

"Babs..."

"I'm honored, actually. At least I got a goodbye this time."

"You knew I couldn't stand working with him anymore."

Barbara wasn't sure if he was referring to the first time he'd disappeared or the more recent declaration to do so. It hardly mattered one way or the other "I knew you were angry, I knew you were upset. You'd been angry and upset for a long time before that without abandoning everything the next day."

Dick was suddenly in front of her, searching for her eyes. "There was nothing left to abandon. The only thing I still cared about was you, and you'd already made your choice."

"Is that what this is about, is that why you're so bitter? Did you seriously expect me to pick a side in the little war you had going with Bruce?"

"Like I said, you already had," he answered darkly.

"How could I, you never gave me the chance! You ran away without so much as a second look."

"Are you saying that if I told you I was leaving things would've been different?"

Barbara opened her mouth to respond, only to close it a few seconds later. Dick's whole bearing had changed when he'd asked that question, his voice going considerably softer. And the way he was looking at her, the intensity of it…

"Barbara?"

Swallowing hard, the redhead forced herself to speak. "You don't sound like you're talking hypothetically."

Another long pause, the silence unbearably heavy. Then, "Come with me."

Thankfully, Barbara was a very controlled person when she needed to be, and was therefore able to stifle her first reaction to Dick's request. Nervous, disbelieving laughter surely would've hurt things rather than helped them. "You're being serious."

"It's not something to joke about."

"Dick this…this is insane. I can't…this is crazy."

"After what we've both dealt with, you consider this crazy?"

"When my entire life is here, you haven't even told me where you're going, and you spring it on me like this? Yeah, I consider that crazy."

"Bludhaven."

Barbara who'd been trying to estimate the number of inmates currently held at Arkham and, more importantly, whether the facility had enough room to house one more, was caught off guard by the statement. "What?"

"I'm moving to Bludhaven. You know how close that is to Gotham. I'm not asking you to pick up and move to Alaska."

"My life is here," she repeated.

"You mean Bruce is here."

"It's not just Bruce and you know it. It's my father, Tim, Alfred, my job…"

"So Bruce then."

Frustrated beyond measure with Dick's unreasonableness, Barbara was finding it difficult keeping her emotions in check. "Do you really hate him that much?"

"No, no I don't. I'm not stupid, Barbara, I know what he did for me."

"Then why?"

"Because I know what he's doing to you, too, and I'm tired of it."

"How many times are we going to argue this? He didn't force me into this life, I chose it."

"I know that now, I do. That's not the point."

"Then what is?"

"It'll end badly, Barbara, one way or another. You're smart enough to know that. When I left the first time, I didn't think I'd ever come back- "

"Then why did you," she cut in harshly.

"I didn't think I'd ever come back," he went on as if there'd been no interruption. "This time I know I'll be back eventually."

"What are you saying, Dick? Because for someone who claims to be nothing like Bruce you sure managed to pick up his cryptic non-answer habit."

"I'm saying I don't want to come back here for your funeral."

"Dick, you can't-"

"Barbara don't. You're the math whiz, you know all about statistics. We can't keep winning, it's just not possible. I'm going to get a call one day from Alfred or Leslie or whoever telling me that we rolled the dice one too many times and that'll be it. And if it's not you it'll be Tim. Or Bruce. I can't be here when that happens."

Barbara looked away, blinking her eyes rapidly to keep the tears from falling. She couldn't even fight him on that one because deep down she knew he was right. Of course, that didn't mean she was about to give up. "What are you going to do? When you get there I mean. We both know you're an adrenaline junkie. Somehow I don't picture you sitting behind a desk for eight hours a day."

"I'm…I'm thinking of becoming a cop."

"A cop? You're kidding right? You want to preach to me about risk-"

"It's nor preaching and the risk isn't anywhere near the same kevel. And when it comes to you getting hurt, I'm not just talking physically. Say your luck doesn't run out, that you keep going without getting shot or paralyzed or ending up in a coma. It won't matter because you'll still wind up with nothing. Bruce and his rules and his mission will take everything you have and it still won't be enough."

"So you asking me to come with you is what? You don't want to play hero anymore but you still want to save me from him?"

"I want you to be happy, Barb. You're not going to get that if you keep doing this."

"And disappearing all that time, moving from place to place, that made you happy?"

"No, but it was better than being here. Every time I experienced a little bit of happiness, every time I did something for myself he made me feel guilty. I was being selfish for taking you to a movie once a month. I was being selfish when I decided to study for my midterms instead of chasing Killer Croc through the sewers. I'll admit that he's changed, but not that much. He'll treat you and Tim the same way he treated me. Is that what you want?"

He was pleading with her with a fervor that bordered on desperation. For the first time in over two years, there were no walls between them. His eyes begged her to give in, to understand.

"I can't." That couldn't have been her voice. That shaky, choked whisper sounded nothing like her. Yet by the look on Dick's face, she knew it had to have come from her lips.

"You sure?" The acoustics in this room must be off. Dick didn't sound like himself either.

"Yeah." It was winter. She was coming down with something. A cold probably. That would explain the golf ball sized lump in her throat.

"There's nothing I could say?"

She shook her head. "I couldn't convince you to sleep on this for a few nights?"

He mirrored her earlier action.

Barbara listened as the party guests began chanting backwards from ten.

By the time they'd reached five, what little distance there'd been between Dick and herself was gone.

Somewhere between five and zero, his lips brushed against hers. The kiss was brief, tender, and full of loss.

She heard the joyous shouts of party guests, heard glasses clinking together in toasts to a happy new year. At least someone was happy. She wasn't sure who had initiated the kiss, but she was definitely the one to break it. Dick's face was a picture of sadness.

"Sorry."

He wasn't apologizing for the kiss. She didn't want him to. "Yeah, me too."

Dick nodded rather awkwardly, meeting her eyes one last time. "Goodbye, Babs."

"Bye."

That kiss was a long time ago.

Several years at least, though she was having difficulty remembering exactly what year they had rung in together that night.

They shouldn't be doing this.

She shouldn't be doing this.

It was a purely emotional response that would only complicate an already difficult situation.

A month ago, she'd shown up at his apartment unannounced, an emotional train wreck.

He called her the following week, asking what she thought of the idea of starting things over between them. No pressure, no strings, he just wanted her back in his life. As a friend.

Naturally, having lost contact with almost everyone else she'd ever cared about, Barbara agreed.

It wasn't a big deal. So there was history there, so what?

They didn't talk again.

Until last night when he called her and casually inquired as to what she was doing to celebrate the New Year.

She should've lied, told him she had a party or a date or a root canal planned for that evening.

Instead, she'd been honest.

And now here they were.

In his apartment.

Kissing.

As usual, Barbara wasn't sure who made contact first. All things considered, that piece of information was probably irrelevant anyway.

"Sorry," Dick mumbled as he pulled away.

'"Don't be."

And, just because they hadn't had enough awkward pauses between them over the years, here was one more to add to the list.

"So…what now?"

Barbara shrugged helplessly. His guess was as good as hers.

In fact, there was only one thing she knew for certain at that moment. Things with Dick were about to get complicated again and she had absolutely no idea how to deal with that.