Ever since that first visit to the Manor, Barbara and Steph often invited Dora over after the shop hours. Tim had recovered as well and resumed his consistent presence at the coffee shop.

He had stopped by for dinner that once and was helping Dora wind up the shop and Alex too had left for the Iceberg Lounge.

"It's good to hear you talk again," Dora remarked as she handed him a plate of the cookies that had been left. He took a cookie from it and placed it in her mouth, watching with a smile as she laughed and did the same with him.

"Damian preferred my silent days," he replied, "and so did Jay. Because then the two got to tease me without hearing me snap back at them."

"Your family is weird," she shook her head, "but very welcoming. It seems as if I've known you guys from a long time. Especially Barbara and Richard."

"You have not yet met the other half of our family. There's Cassie, Duke, Kate and if I went on naming all of them I would get confused myself."

"Seems like Mister Wayne adopts whoever catches his attention," she remarked lightly and he laughed.

"He has reached that level where he would see any new face in the Manor and automatically assume that he must have adopted him or her as well."

"Understandable."

Clearing up the shop area, the two had switched off the lights and gone to the kitchen.

"When do you have to leave for patrol?" Isadora asked, her eyes flickering towards the clock.

"Soon after dinner."

"Oh so we should fix everything up quick then. I don't want to hold back the city savior."

Tim was searching the cabinets for the plates, then placed them on the table while Dora brought over a bowl full of spaghetti. They were having dinner when all of a sudden, Tim spoke up, "Dora, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," she looked up at him with a soft smile playing on her lips.

"Does it really not bother you, me being Red Robin, I mean? Like I have to leave at unexpected hours, I am always held up due to the cases I work on and I don't have enough time to take you out often... But still you... You never make a fuss of it." His blue eyes flickered in uncertainty and his hand reached up to the back of his neck, a habit of his whenever he got a bit hesitant or uncertain of his own words, "I mean... It's a little unfair on you."

She thought for a while before answering, "of course, I do want you to spend more time with me. But I know how hard it is for you to manage both lives at the same time. I would never pressurize you into anything, Tim."

He had gently entwined his hand through hers, "sometimes I wonder what good I ever did to get you as a reward."

A trace of red spread on her face as she shook her head, "funny you're wondering what good you did when each night you help out the citizens and protect them."

"Still..."

"Come on, Tim, when are you going to realize how much you mean to other people? Why do you keep degrading yourself?"

He lowered his gaze, "I don't know..."

"But I will keep reminding you that you mean a lot to me, to your family and to every single person who looks up to you as Red Robin," she remarked in a gentle tone, "now finish up or else dinner will get cold."

She pointed towards the clock gesturing him to finish up his meal so that he wouldn't get late for patrol. He focused back on his food but her words were still ringing in his head.

When they were done, they placed the dishes in the dishwasher and cleared up the table as well. It was almost time for him to leave and they had come out to the darkened shop area when Dora took him by surprise, gently cupping his face in her hands as she reached up on her toes to kiss him.

He wrapped his arm round her waist, bending down as he dissolved in the kiss. When he was with Dora, he temporarily forgot all the burdens weighing him down. When he was with her, nothing else mattered.

And though the clock was ticking off the seconds in his head, he did not want the moment to end.

She broke off the kiss for they were both breathless but didn't pull apart from him. Even though she had never voiced it out loud, at times she couldn't help but get worried for him. He put his life in danger each night and the types of dangers that lurked in Gotham left little probability of a safe escape.

Despite the dark he seemed to have noticed the slight tensing of her features as a thousand thoughts whirled in her head regarding the dangers he faced on a daily basis. "Dora... Is something wrong?"

"No."

But he had picked up on the edge in her voice as his hands fastened onto her wrists that were still cupping his face, "you are worried about me?"

She didn't deny that once, "all the time..."

"Don't be, it's not my first patrol night. I will make it out alive tonight and the night after and so on. Because I know you're waiting for me here."

"Good, don't ever forget that," her features relaxed.

"I would never."

She smiled and his forehead rested against hers and he could hear her quickening heartbeat clearly in the silence of the place.

"I love you, Dora," finally the words he had thought of saying to her so many times before but couldn't escaped his lips. Her brown eyes softened but she did not have to reply because deep down he knew that already and so did she.

That once, Tim leaned forward and captured her lips with his own in a sweet lingering kiss even though he had always let her take the first step before then. It was the sort of kiss that meant a lot of things at the same time; a promise, a tender longing and a clear trace of gratitude.

But the two were interrupted when the alarm on his phone went off signalling that it was time for him to leave.

"Best of luck," she mumbled as she pulled apart, "and don't get thrown around like a Frisbee."

He smiled, gently caressing her cheek, "I'll try my best."

***