Who: Danny Rand, Dinah Lance (Bruce Wayne cameo) What: After her attempted arrest and days of non-contact, Dinah gives Danny a call. Where: Wayne Tower, Gotham City NJ & The School of Thunder, New York, NY, respectively When: Tuesday, May 14th, during this scene Rating: PG
She was officially the worst girlfriend ever. Not only was she a wanted fugitive who had evaded arrest (more than once at this point), but without much warning she had cut all communication with her close friends and family- Danny included. Add to that the fact that she had accepted help from her ex-husband who sold her out to make a quick buck, got shot in the head (just a little) and abandoned her twenty-something would-be savior to the officers who had been chasing her in the first place and this was generally turning out to be a really, really crappy week. And clearly made her the worst girlfriend ever.
Dinah waited impatiently while the secure phone that Batman loaned her just for this call rang and rang and rang. She was laying back against the headboard of a large bed in the penthouse of Wayne Tower which was to serve as her infirmary for the next few days, one chunk of her now-dyed-black hair shaved down to the scalp, divided into two neat sections by a line of six stitches holding shut a deep, but superficial head wound.
She hadn’t even changed clothes yet and her hair, neck, shoulders and the back of her head were still sticky and damp from her own blood. The world was still tilting and spinning like a funhouse ride, but the unmarked, unlabeled and probably illegal painkillers that Batman had given her were doing their job to dull the screaming pains of her body down to nothing more than tolerable background noise. She felt a little floaty-drugged up, but figured she could probably carry on a conversation pretty well.
Besides, she needed wanted to talk to Danny and to assure him that, despite a few close calls, she really was okay.
~
Danny was not one to freak out and lose his cool, but he had pretty much been a complete mess since Dinah disappeared. It would be one thing if she was missing, but it was quite another when he knew through the grapevine that she was injured. And not knowing the severity of her injuries only intensified his concern for her. He knew she was tough-that she was quite possibly the toughest woman he had ever known-but that did not make any of this easier.
He needed to know that she was ok. That she had not been arrested.
But mostly he wanted to know if she was alive.
Since word hit of what happened to her, he had scoured Gotham for any tell tale sign of where she was, or where she might have been, largely to no avail. Though he had more than a few encounters of his own in his attempts to find her.
When the phone rang the first time he was in deep meditation, trying to calm his nerves. He opened his eye, but when he did not recognize the number he dismissed it as one of the myriad business calls he received on a daily basis, even though he made a point of never giving out his personal number. As the ringing continued however he gave in enough to grab his phone and click the ‘Talk’ button.
“Rand.”
~
Dinah smiled at the sound of his voice. It was only about this time that she realized she’d been holding her breath while the phone rang. It was good to hear a friendly voice- but more than that, it was good to hear Danny and to know that he was okay too, even if concerned.
“Hi.” She said with a long pause after like she expected him to know who was on the phone by just one word alone. Which she only realized was ridiculous after a good five seconds of dead air, “Sorry, fair warning- Pointy Ears gave me some pretty heavy duty pain killers so I might be a little spacey, so uh... yeah sorry about that. It’s Dinah.” She wasn’t sure if Danny would know who “Pointy Ears” was per se, but she had this thing about saying certain people’s names over the phone-- like “Oracle”, or “Batman”. Even if Bruce was certain it was a secured line, those weren’t names that she used lightly in everyday conversation.
“Sorry I didn’t call sooner. It’s been... God, it’s been a hell of a day-- week... whatever. I’m okay though. I just... wanted to say I’m okay.” There was a horrible, hollow kind of weight in her chest that she clearly recognized as guilt and she made a bit of a grimace and just barely managed to keep herself from taking the phone and smacking it into her forehead-- if only because the stitches in her scalp were greatly against that plan of action.
~
The irritation he had been feeling when he answered the phone completely disappeared the second he heard her voice, to be replaced by an abrupt sense of relief that left him momentarily speechless as she spoke and he listened. His breath caught in his throat, his mouth worked, but he was not all that capable of words. A student passing by where he was started to come to him out of concern for how he appeared, until he waved the young man off with a gesture of his hand and a forced smile.
When Dinah reassured him that she was ok the second time, he was partially leaning against a wall with his free hand behind his neck. After all of his wild speculations as to what may have happened to her and the things he had heard and seen, he had seriously begun to wonder if he would hear from her again, and now that she was speaking to him again, he found it difficult to form a single coherent thought.
His voice was hoarse, but full of relief as he spoke.
“I.. you.. “ He wasn’t trying to be accusatory. And after what she had been through, the last thing he wanted to do was lay any sort of guilt trip on her. “I was worried. Really.. really worried about you, but.. it’s so good to hear your voice.” None of the rest of it mattered.
Although there was one thing he did have to know.
“Are you hurt? I’ve heard some.. pretty terrible things.”
~
“I’m sorry.” She said sincerely when he said he was worried. That certainly hadn’t been her intention- it was just an unfortunate by-product. But even knowing that he would be worried hadn’t stopped her from dropping off the grid-- that was the part that sucked the most really, knowing full well that she was going to worry him, and doing it anyway. Then again, she hadn’t seen much of a choice at the time. This was probably why so many people in their line of work preferred to work (and live) alone. “I didn’t want anyone to trace me back to you. It’s not really a secret that we’re seeing each other, but it’s not really common knowledge outside of our circles either.” She’d hoped to keep all of this mess off of Danny’s doorstep, if at all possible, he had the kids to think of and would probably end up in a lot of trouble himself if anyone put together who he was and what he did (outside of the billionaire philanthropist bit). “I’m sorry.” She added again, just to show she meant it.
Instinctively, she reached up to touch her head when he asked about injuries and managed to stop herself before she actually touched her stitches, glancing around to see if Batman was going to scowl and wag a finger at her.
“I’m okay. I’ve got a bit of a concussion so I had to get off the road for a while. And...” Well there was no easy way to put the other part, and her brain was too foggy to try that hard either, “...I’ve got a couple stitches in my head because I might have been a little... you know, shot... but just a little.” She added the last part quickly with a grimace, idly running her fingertips over the oddly fuzzy patch of her head where Batman had shaved her hair to give her stitches.
“Lots of...” She frowned, wearily dropping her head back against the headboard of the bed and lay her free hand in her lap (so she wouldn’t poke at her stitches). “Lots of crap went really wrong tonight, but I promise I’m okay. Pointy Ears gave me a couple stitches and is keeping me awake for the next twenty-four hours or so. Which really sucks,” She added with a slightly frustrated chuckle, “because I’m really tired.”
~
On the other end of the line, Danny’s mouth literally fell open as she spoke. He knew that she was hurt, he figured it was bad, but.. this was just short of dead as far as he was visualizing it. Which was likely a worse picture than she actually was but he could not help the places that his mind immediately went to as she described her injuries.
“I’m sorry, but... shot a little? What is that? You’ve either been shot, or you haven’t, and if you have been shot then...”
He took a breath, regained his composure, and was more level when he spoke again.
“I’m sorry. This whole thing.. I just don’t want anything to happen to you. Or anything worse I should say at this point.” Danny knew without question that he deeply cared for Dinah, but this situation was really showing him how true that was with each painstaking moment. His only real consolation was the knowledge that she had found some sort of refuge and that she was at least relatively alright.
“Can I come to you?’ He did not want to ask about her traveling. Not in her condition. “I don’t know what sort of treatment you are receiving, but I could heal you up. Get you back on your feet. Hide you, shelter you, whatever you need...” Even as he spoke the words he sort of realized that this phone call was probably going to be the best he got, but he had to try regardless.
“...or money. I could get you some money. Whatever you need.”
~
It was weird (and later she would probably blame it on the drugs and concussion) but the first thought that came to mind at Danny’s repeated offers had nothing to do with the situation at hand. Actually, the thought was about Danny being dangerously sweet and caring, and in that specific moment she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt how perilous a relationship with Danny would be. He was disarmingly kind, and generous, and good...
...and one day, he was going to break her heart.
She acknowledged the thought with a strange, rueful but accepting kind of smile, then pushed it aside. It was probably just the drugs.
“Well, yes and no. Someone shot at me, but she wasn’t a very good marksman, thankfully, and kinda just grazed me. It bled for a while and Pointy Ears had to shave some of my hair off to give me stitches, but it’s really not that bad. Oh, I’m a brunette now.” She added the last part a little groggily, having just caught sight of a chunk of hair that had fallen over her shoulder.
“I don’t need any money.” She said with a fond chuckle. Really, she should probably be taking this more seriously and not smiling like a silly school girl; but for now, the storm had passed. She was relatively safe, and not dying as far as she could tell, and Danny made her smile. She would take her smiles where she could get them right now.
“I don’t...” She started to say, looking around a little to see if Bats had been listening in somehow (which was only half ridiculous to think that he would eavesdrop on her private conversation). “I don’t think that’s a good idea. It’s not really my place to invite someone over to... and Pointy Ears can be kind of … uh...” What was the best word? The mental image that sprang to mind was of Batman barking like a German Shepherd at every neighborhood jogger who just happened to run past his yard, “...territorial.”
But all the same, she wasn’t really in a position where she could turn down help so easily. Not when she had no idea where she was going to go next, or what she should do, or how to keep her head above water.
“I don’t think he’s going to let me leave for a couple days anyway-- but maybe I can swing up through New York once I’m given a clean bill of health?” She didn’t want to endanger Danny anymore than she already was, but she knew some people in New York who she could probably call some favors in on... and maybe she could get a chance to see him for a little while.
~
Bruce had not been eavesdropping. He had been in and out of the room getting things settled for the next few days of Dinah’s stay, most importantly, arranging with Alfred for food, toiletries, and clothing to be brought for her as soon as possible. He did, in this comings and goings, get the general gist of things, which was that Danny had been worried, was relieved to hear from her, and was now more worried than before after hearing what had happened.
Of course Bruce wasn’t going to let Rand come to the penthouse, that was an impossibility. It would require him revealing his identity, one of his safehouses, not to mention compromising all of the kids. And it was likely that those looking for Dinah knew about her relationship with Rand and would be watching him.
Hearing Dinah’s drug-weary prevarications, Bruce easily slipped the phone from her hands. “She’s fine,” he said bluntly. “I’m looking after her, she’ll be on her feet in a few days. Don’t worry. The people looking for her are probably watching you; if you try to see her, you’ll probably lead them right to her and endanger yourself. No one’s going to find her here.” He was trying to be reassuring - he really was. Dinah was safe with him; no one knew she was here, nor would they think to look for her in Bruce Wayne’s penthouse, of all places. She couldn’t be safer, or - between himself and Alfred - in better care.
~
It was not possible for Danny to simply stand still and listen to Dinah. So as she spoke, he found himself passing the length of the practice mats, back and forth, over and over, without being conscious of it. While it was somewhat of a relief to hear how superficial the gunshot wound had been, the idea of stitches was worrisome nonetheless. And in any other situation he would have enjoyed the thought of her changing things up with her hair, but right now it just added even more weight to an already heavy situation.
And it did not help that she was apparently getting groggy.
He had not expected that he would be able to see her. Especially if she was with who he suspected. But at least the possibility of meeting up with her was not completely extinguished as she mentioned heading to New York once she was able.
“Alright, alright.. if you’re sure.. and that sounds good, but make sure you are able to function properly before making the trek. And Dinah before anything else happens I just wanted to...”
His words trailed off when he heard the new voice. Was this ‘Pointy ears?’ He could not say for certain, but the words came hard and fast. All of the justifications made perfect sense as to why he could not see her, but did little to alleviate his frustrations. When the voice finished, he actually had stopped pacing. Instead he was leaning forward with his free hand pressed against a window overlooking the street below. He did not like it, but he had to assume Dinah would have gone somewhere that she would feel safe, and that she likely was being taken care of just as he had been told she was. Which really left him no option but to grudgingly accept things.
“Thank you”, he said. “She’s... she’s very important to me.”
~
It shouldn’t have been so easy for him to simply snatch the phone away from her. Her reaction time had slowed considerably, and Batman had already stolen the phone by the time she thought to grab for it, catching nothing but empty air instead.
And she wasn’t happy about it. In fact, Dinah was highly indignant that he’d just taken the phone from her like a child who was running up a frightfully expensive long distance bill. “Hey! Give that back.” She said, reaching for the phone. She wanted to know what Danny was going to say “before anything else happened”. “Hey! Hey! Give it back!”
Seeing how her spacey demands weren’t getting the reaction she wanted, Dinah rubbed her face with both hands, then dropped them to glare without much menace. Still, no returned phone. She had to step up her game.
In one of those moments that fell right into the categories of it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time, no-one-is-going-to-get-this-but-me, and you-had-to-have-been-there, Dinah upped the ante to get the phone back.
“Bark bark bark.” She sassed at Batman’s back. She didn’t actually make a barking noise, just said the word ‘bark’ over and over. “Bark bark bark. Barkity-bark bark.” She scowled at him, crossing her arms over her chest.
Hey, if he was going to treat her like a child...
~
Bruce paused a moment before answering. “I understand.”
If he’d intended to say more he was interrupted by Dinah’s attempted to win back the phone. Batting her hand away, Bruce looked down at her, raising an eyebrow at the comically fierce expression on her face, but what really sealed the deal was when she began to bark at him.
He laughed. A sharp crack of surprised laughter, and he had to pull the phone away from his mouth because Batman did not laugh. Not like that. Bruce tossed the phone in her lap, smirking. “Come to me for protection...” he teased, still in a low voice as he sauntered out of the room.
~
Danny nodded on his own end, and was about to say something else, when he heard... some sort of shuffling. And then he arched both of his eyebrows and stood up straighter at his place by the window as he tried to figure out whether or not someone had actually just been barking on the other end of the line. Were it possible, he would have suspected one of his students had picked up the line but no. He was on his cell phone and completely without a clue. When the noise ended as abruptly as it had begun, he shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, and turned his back to the window.
“Uhm. Alright. Well. Take good care of her, then. And... let me know if she is house broken or not.” It was odd to joke at a time like this, but clinging to humor was better than thinking about the condition that she was in. “I have a lot of expensive furniture.”
~
She might have given a much more adult kind of gesture if it hadn’t been for the fact that Bruce returned the phone, so instead she settled for sticking her tongue out at him. Apparently petulance was in style today.
The phone landed on the bed, since Dinah didn’t have all the proper coordination to catch it, and quickly put it back to her ear, just in time to hear Danny’s confusion-- and joke.
“Hey.” She said, chuckling and trying not to, “He’s the one that’s...” She started to say but trailed off, already having lost her train of thought. “See if I ever introduce you two. Ganging up on poor defenseless me.” A yawn interrupted her playful chiding, and Dinah rubbed at one side of her face . Most of the adrenaline had left, and exhaustion was setting in. She felt drained.
“Can I meet you somewhere in a couple days?” She asked, not wanting to invite herself (and all the trouble she brought with her) over to the school. Honestly, she didn’t even know if Danny would want her there anymore-- at least not now.
~
Danny immediately stood up straighter when he heard Dinah again, and smiled. She might be in bad shape, but he figured it had to be a good sign that she could still make fun. Even if she was clearly exhausted.
“Of course, yeah.” He wanted to say ’The sooner the better’, but knew that it would be more appropriate to think of it in terms as ’As soon as you’re better.’ Because otherwise she would run the risk of getting hurt again, or hurt worse, if she happened upon any sort of trouble on her way out to New York from where ever she had managed to find shelter. He did not imagine that he had to clarify, but he did so regardless.
“I mean, yeah, as soon as you are able. Just come to the school when you can. If you can manage to give me a heads up before you arrive, great. If not, I’ll deal. Just be careful whatever you do.”
~
She didn’t notice it herself, but almost as soon as she had Danny on the phone again and could hear his voice, she was smiling. And, for maybe the first time in the history of their fairly new relationship, Dinah didn’t argue-- not even playfully.
“Okay.” She agreed, that content smile never fading from her face, and reached up to push her hair behind her ear, only to find that particular piece missing. For not the first time, she had to stop herself from touching her stitches and dropped her hand to her lap where it seemed like it would get in less trouble.
“Okay, that sounds... that sounds great.” She said with sincerity, nodding despite the fact that he couldn’t see her. “Pointy Ears is loaning me this phone that does... I don’t know... super untraceable phone things- so I’ll text you when I’m on my way into the city.” Which she hoped would be sooner rather than later.
“And hey, Danny? Thanks.” She added, looking at her hand in her lap. “Thank you.”