A/N: Holy crap guys I can't believe so many of you are reading this story. You could say I'm floored/baffled/confounded/perplexed/mystified/flummoxed (in a good way of course). I just want to thank you all so much, you really have no idea how happy your reviews make me! So without further ado, here's the next chapter as promised!

"What are we doing in a bar?" Eli said in disbelief. She hadn't really known what to expect, but it certainly wasn't this.

"Come on, they have the best fries in the city. Perfect comfort food," he said, laughing as he practically dragged her into a booth.

"Well I guess since we're already here . . ." she mused. "But don't get used to this, Robin," she said with annoyance. Since they got out of his police cruiser, she was finally able to think more clearly. It had seemed the hospital was so oppressive that she had forgotten almost everything about her situation.

"Well, Barbara, we'll just have to see about that!" She smiled, not able to stay even remotely mad at him. Eli looked around the bar that he insisted they go to, and she realized how comfortable it seemed. What she loved about places in this part of town was the community feeling. The walls were covered with old photos of Gotham, and the chairs were worn. Guitars were bolted to the wall, and smooth music filled the air. People were laughing and the atmosphere seemed almost home-y.

A waiter quickly came to take their order, but before she could say anything, John had ordered for her. "We'll have two beers and share an order of fries." The waiter nodded as John thanked him.

"I am capable of ordering for myself you know. And how did you know I'm a beer person?" Eli said as she rolled her eyes.

"You don't seem like the kind of person to like girly drinks," he laughed honestly. She shrugged and couldn't deny what he said since it was true.

Suddenly, she realized that she was still clinging onto John's jacket. She quickly shrugged it off and handed it to him over the table. "Thanks John. You really know how to take care of people, don't ya'?"

"Nope," he smiled grabbing the jacket and brushing her hand with his, "just you."

Eli laughed comfortably and rolled her eyes again at his forwardness. "Oh shut it. I'm sure that's what you say to all the girls."

Before John could deny what she said, the waiter brought over their order and set it right in the middle of the young pair. Eli's stomach suddenly growled as she realized that she was extremely hungry.

"These fries are life-changing, try some," John said after shoving a couple in his mouth unceremoniously. He pushed the plate over to her side of the table, watching her intently as she grabbed two and took a bite.

"Oh my god . . . these are amazing," Eli said before instantly eating what was left in her hand as John followed suit.

"Told ya'! I've found it's the best cure for a stressful day." Eli nodded in agreement as they both grabbed a few more fries.

For the next hour, they talked about anything to keep Eli's mind off of her Dad. She was genuinely interested in what he did in college and how he decided to become a police officer. The same went for John, he liked to learn about her life and what she did. By the end of the night, the two knew a lot more about each other than they did hours earlier. Sure the small amounts of alcohol had loosened their tongues, but neither said anything they regretted. Both Eli and John were comfortable sharing personal information with the other.

"Shit," Eli mused as they walked out of the bar together. "I left my car at the hospital. I completely forgot. And I didn't lock it. And I parked in a handicapped spot. And-" John put his arm around her shoulders and quieted her rambling.

"If you get a ticket, just bring it to me. Don't worry about it. I'll drive you to visit your Dad tomorrow, and then you can pick it up . . . You know you're funny when you ramble," he chuckled. Eli loved the sound of laughing. She could feel his chest vibrate against her body gently, and it made her smile.

"You're right. Jeez, I feel bad. I'm going to owe you for, like, the next year if I don't start driving you places." She looked up at John as he kept his arm around her. He rolled his eyes and she hit him gently in the chest. "I'm serious, I don't like owing people. Or being waited on!"

"I already told you that I like helping you. So technically you don't owe me anything," he smiled and hugged her closer to him. "Come on, I'll walk you home. It's illegal to drive under the influence you know. And I am a cop." Eli smiled, feeling happier than she has felt in a very long time. It felt like years since the last time she was so open with someone, and it was almost a relief. Like a thousand pounds of stress that had been building for years was finally off of her shoulders, and she could finally be happy. Eli didn't like rushing into things normally, and she didn't quite know if she would have let John hold her so close if she hadn't had those beers. But at the moment it felt right, and she didn't want to ruin it.

...

"Her car's here, but she's not in the hospital. We've looked everywhere," Barsad, Bane's second-in-command, muttered into the phone.

Silence came from the other line. Barsad inspected the car more as he kept the phone pressed to his ear. The doors had been open, so she should have come back to it soon. He was told that Barbara Gordon wasn't the kind of woman to leave her car unprotected. Moments later, Bane's unmistakably menacing voice filled the silence. "Do what you have to do. Be successful, for we cannot fail."

...

The next morning, Eli hummed happily as she got ready. Everything seemed to be going her way, and she looked forward to seeing her Dad and John. She took her time as she ate and put on her clothes, wanting to monopolize her good mood. And since it was the weekend, she didn't have to even worry about going into work.

Her phone rang soon after she was completely ready to face the day. The caller ID made her smile when she realized that it was John and so she quickly answered it.

"Hey Eli, when do you want me to pick you up?" he said cheerily.

"I was hoping around lunch time. I want to bring my Dad some food other than that hospital junk," she answered as she rummaged through her refrigerator to see what she could pull together before adding, "If that's okay with you, of course."

"No that's perfect. I'll be over in an hour." With that, he hung up and Eli went back to going through her kitchen to pull together some sort of lunch for her Dad. That took up most of her time, waiting for John to come pick her up.

As if like clockwork, the familiar police cruiser pulled into her driveway and Eli threw together everything she needed for the day into her leather satchel. She remembered to grab her keys since she had to pick up her car. Eli hoped that nothing happened to it, chiding herself for forgetting about it.

"Long time no see," John yelled out the window as she locked the front door to her house. After forgetting about her car, it made her extra cautious for the time being.

"Funny," she said dryly as she slid into the passenger seat and handed him a brown paper bag.

"What's this?" He said, inspecting the bag.

"Well I made lunch for my Dad, so I figured I'd make you something too. It's partly a thanks for yesterday," his face lit up, like she had just handed him a hundred dollars. "Don't be too happy until you try it. I can't guarantee it's that good," she said modestly.

"It's food. And I love food," he chuckles as he set the bag down and drove off toward the hospital. "And it's perfect because I have a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it."

Eli frowned as she looked at his concentrating face. "If you have a lot of work to do, why are you driving me? I could have walked!" She immediately felt bad, chiding herself for allowing herself to be waited on again. After today, she was going to make sure she went back to her independent self. No more letting John take time out of his day to help her out.

"Oh no, no, no," he said quickly. He didn't like it when Eli was stressed, so he explained himself. "I was heading that way anyways. I have to talk to Bruce Wayne about a problem with an orphanage he used to fund, and the hospital is on the way."

"Okay good," Eli said in relief, though she still felt guilty about mooching a ride off him. She was definitely done relying on other people to do things.

...

"How're you doing Dad?" Eli said once she realized her dad was awake. When she first got to the hospital, he had been passed out because of all the drugs they had injected him with. She took that time to ask the doctors how he was doing, but nothing had changed since yesterday. Eli killed the rest of her time by moving her car, luckily there was no ticket. Though John said he would take care of it if she did get one, she didn't want another reason to feel less independent.

"Batman visited me last night," he mumbled under his oxygen mask. Eli gently took the seat next to him and set up his lunch on the table over his bed. When she registered what he said, she froze.

Eli looked at her Dad incredulously. "What?", she whispered in disbelief. At first Eli thought she had heard wrong and that he was hallucinating or something, but he seemed adamant. He slowly paraphrased their conversation, and Eli held onto his every word. Batman had been her idol, she practically worshipped him when she was younger. Hell, I still do, she mused to herself.

"Is this about Bane?" she asked, putting two and two together. John had filled her in on what happened with her Dad, so she knew everything. Even the part about the masked mercenary in the sewers. It was almost too ridiculous to believe, but she was sure her father was telling the truth.

"Yes . . . I told him that he needed to come back. That Gotham needs him again." Gordon struggled with the words: partly because of the oxygen mask and partly because of the personal guilt he felt for Batman's disappearance. Eli hoped that if Batman decided her Dad was right, he was up for the challenge. Eight years was a long time to be missing.

After another hour of talking, the nurses started to rush in to change his wound dressings. Eli decided this was the best time to leave, seeing as he needed to rest. As she left, she tried to picture this Bane person that he had described to her. She asked for his personal account of what happened, partly out of curiosity but mostly out of concern. Her Dad wasn't getting any younger, and this kind of stress wasn't healthy for his heart. The monster that he portrayed sent shivers down her back, and Eli hoped that she would never have to meet him face-to-face.

...

It was mid afternoon by the time she started to leave the hospital, and the sun was still up. The crisp, fall air blew her red hair wildly around her face as she stepped out of the doors and walked to her car. She hugged her coat closer to her body, hoping that it would block the harsh wind.

She walked around to the back of the hospital briskly, hoping to get out of the colder weather quickly. It's definitely going to be a harsh winter, she thought to herself absentmindedly as she dug through her bag for her keys.

Suddenly, the loud sound of approaching footsteps gave her a twisting feeling in her stomach. It's nothing, she said to convince herself. You're just being paranoid, she said again.

Though, Eli was raised in Gotham and she knew it was better to be prepared than be a victim. She had her keys in her hand, but still rifled through her purse looking for her pepper spray. Eli had carried this particular can since she graduated college and never had to use it, and she hoped to keep it that way. Her fingers gripped the cold canister and gently held it to her body just in case.

The approaching foot steps sounded closer, and Eli started to walk faster. There weren't any other people in the alley-way leading to the hospital parking lot, and the desolation seemed to make Eli even more anxious. Calm down, you're being stupid, she tried to convince herself but even her thoughts were shaky. Her own subconscious was betraying her.

"Barbara Gordon?" a male voice enunciated from behind her. She paused, clutching at the pepper spray in her hand, and turned around slowly. Her eyes fell on a rather tall man with dirty cargo pants, a matching dark shirt, a utility vest, and a red undershirt bunched around his neck.

Eli hesitated, wondering whether or not she should even engage the man. She didn't recognize him from anywhere, so that didn't help. Eli kicked herself for stopping, she should have just kept walking and pretended that she hadn't heard him. But it was too late for that, they had made eye contact.

". . . Yes?" Eli kept the pepper spray hidden in her hand as the man took a step toward her. Her heart was beating so fast that she thought it was going to burst out of her chest.

"You have to come with me," he said stiffly. Eli noticed that his movements were very austere and almost militaristic. She was sure he probably served in the army overseas because of his slightly foreign accent.

Eli decided to act as naive as possible, hoping to be able to run to her car when the time came. "Sorry, I'm, uh, r-running late. I have to go," she stuttered while turning on her heels quickly, acting on pure instinct.

As she turned away from the approaching man she halted, frozen in place. While she was engaging the other man, another man had snuck up behind her. When she turned, he was only a foot away from her. Again, she acted on instinct and ripped out the pepper spray from her pocket, aimed it right at his face, and hastily pressed the button on top. Clear liquid erupted from the nozzle and met it's mark. The man bellowed in agony as he clawed at his burning eyes.

Eli took no time to see what else was happening, and her fight-or-flight drives kicked in as she ran toward her car. The parking lot was in sight, but it was still too far away. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the man she had sprayed doubled over in pain, but the man she saw originally was no where to be seen. Suddenly, she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her torso, pinning her arms to her side. Eli struggled, trying to remember the self defense that her Dad taught her, but for the first time in her life, her mind went blank. It was the man who had recognized her earlier. Somehow he had doubled around and cut her off from the parking lot.

"You're not going to cause more trouble now, Miss. Gordon. Correct?" Eli wasn't listening though, she was trying to worm her arm free from his grasp and use the defensive spray once again. "I'll be taking that," the man grunted, prying the canister from her locked fingers.

"What do you want?" she yelled, maybe hoping to get the attention of anyone around the corner. But she didn't have any luck; everyone seemed to be inside trying to escape the cold weather.

"In time you'll know. But for now, I'm going to need you to be quiet," the man said surprisingly calmly. Eli looked up at his determined face, trying to figure out what he meant, but what she saw made her panic even more. In his hand was a needle filled with a clear substance. Once she saw it, he promptly jammed it into the side of her neck. Eli hissed in pain as she felt the needle slide through her exposed flesh and into her jugular vein. The pain disappeared almost immediately as the clear liquid drained into her blood stream. The effects were instantaneous: her vision began to blur, her heart rate calmed, and she began to see stars. Within a few seconds, the stars turned into black spots and the spots expanded until she couldn't see anything. The last thing Eli could remember was an intense feeling of vertigo as her muscles relaxed and she collapsed onto the cold ground.

A/N: Ohhh cliff hanger! Sort of... Haha you all knew it was coming! Get ready for some major action in these next chapters! I can't wait to write them! How do you guys think the plot's progressing so far? I hope it's not too dull, I promise it gets more action-y soon! Please review :)