The door was being knocked upon rather impatiently and judging by the impatience Helena knew exactly who it could be. Crushing the cigarette she had been smoking, she got up from the couch and opened the door.

She wasn't surprised to see Jason or rather Red Hood, standing out there. But seeing who he was carrying had surprised her. But she said nothing just then as she stepped aside to let him in and cleared up the couch so he could place Irina down on it.

By the time she had locked the door and returned, Jason had taken off his helmet and his face indicated that he was both exhausted and anxious at the same time.

Helena looked down at the unconscious figure of Irina Luthor, raising an eyebrow at him skeptically.

Jason merely shook his head in reply, grabbing a half empty bottle of alcohol from her kitchen, downing it in a huge gulp.

She could see that whatever had happened had been terribly draining for both of them. So she decided to give him enough time to tell it all to her by himself. While she busied herself in checking Irina for any fatal injuries.

"I couldn't think of anywhere else to go," he spoke up at last, "so I brought her here."

"I figured," she replied, covering her with a blanket, "what happened to her?"

"Remember the Luthor case I had mentioned once? Well, we were supposed to hold Lex back but his own suit malfunctioned resulting in his death. But the media has been spreading the propaganda that he was killed by us."

"I saw the news," she shrugged, "they're assholes who'd even sell their souls for a rating." She had started to treat her injuries, placing a cold swab on her forehead as Irina had been burning up in fever by then. She had begun to treat the rest of the wounds as well by applying tincture and bandaging the cuts.

"Since Irina had no idea what had actually happened, she went to the crime scene and found her father's dead body. Of course she blamed us and wanted revenge, but Tim being the absolute dumbass that he is, went off to face her on his own."

"Oh," she looked up at him noticing that the flush had started to rise on his neck from the liquor that he was downing in his system, "put the bottle back, Jay, no more drinking right now."

Without any argument, he placed the bottle on the table, leaning his head back as if exhausted, "and the little bitch didn't tell her who he really was... He let himself get beaten up. Dick and Dami had taken him away but I'm sure they'll be in some hospital by now. His injuries weren't minor enough to be just treated by Dr Thompkins."

Helena looked back at Irina in sympathy, "I bet she's reduced to such a state after finding out about Tim."

"She was devastated," he replied vaguely, "trust me, Helena, I've never before seen anyone like that and it shook me up badly."

She checked her forehead, "she's burning up in fever."

"For a second I was scared that she was going to die from the guilt," he mumbled, "she lost consciousness but kept repeating those damn three words: I hurt him. And believe me when I say that I've never felt more worried for anyone my whole life."

She gently took his hand in hers, squeezing it in a reassuring gesture, "after going through so much her reaction was bound to be like that, she will take some time to get back to normal."

Jason was worried about her too but his mind was flickering towards Tim as well. He wanted to know whether he was okay or not.

"Helena, can you do me a favor?"

"Shoot."

"Can I leave her with you for some time? I have to check up on Tim as well."

She nodded, "fine. Let me know how he's taking it."

He looked at her gratefully, nodding his head as he stood up, "right. Just stay with her at all times when she wakes up, I don't want her to hurt herself anymore than she already has."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to leave her alone even for a second," she added, "I've had enough experience by now. Remember when you left Cass in my care? I still can't figure out whether that girl was suicidal or murderous."

"She was both. And I don't know about Irina but I think she will be extremely unstable as well."

She stood up as well, accompanying him to the door, "keep me updated about Timmy, so that I'll know how to handle her questions when she wakes up."

He kissed her gently in farewell then put his helmet back on, "thanks, love."

"Now go, Jay, you know Dick won't be able to handle everything on his own for so long. I'm certain he'll be having a panic attack right now while that little demonic brother of yours will be pestering him as usual."

She shut the door and locked it as he left, turning her attention back to the battered up girl on her couch.

A soft sympathetic sigh escaped her as she sat down beside her, cautiously taking her head in her lap, brushing away the tears and dust from her face.

Helena could see clearly that the night's events had torn her apart completely such that even though she was unconscious, still her face depicted pain.

She kept stroking her head gently in hopes that it would wake her up. At last Irina's worried features had started to ease so Helena rested her head back at the couch as well, her hands still gently massaging Irina's forehead and temples in order to soothe her frayed nerves.

No wonder she had gone through two of the most shocking revelations of her life. The first being the death of her father and the second being the guilt of fatally hurting the man she loved herself.

And Helena had been correct in saying that it would take a considerable amount of time for her to get back to normal.

***

As promised, Helena took great care of Irina but she didn't wake up the entire night. Helena had gone to sleep on the couch as well, with her head still placed in her lap and her fingers resting gently on her forehead.

She was woken up by a sound of something crashing and sensed some movement as well so she opened her eyes to see Irina searching the whole room frantically.

She immediately got up, grabbing her by the arms tightly, "what are you doing?"

"The keys... Open the door. Right now!"

Her eyes were still terror stricken as they darted around the room searching for an escape route.

"Irina, look at me," she held her still, turning her face towards her.

"Let me go! Please," she was struggling against her hold, trying her best to somehow escape.

Helena realized that she had probably not recognized her or was too traumatized to do so, "it's me. Helena. Jason's girlfriend, remember?"

She had started to tremble again as her hands reached up to grab her arms in an attempt to steady herself, "Helena? But why am I here? Who brought me? And where's... Where's... Tim..."

"All in good time, dear," she made her sit down on the couch, "you have to relax first."

"Relax?" Her voice rose to an alarming pitch but was still quite unsteady, "how can I relax after all I did... I hurt Tim, Helena, I hurt him so so bad..."

"I know," she resumed in a gentle voice, "Jason told me everything."

Her grip on Helena's arms tightened, "please tell me he's alright... He... He isn't... He isn't..." But she couldn't bring herself to complete her sentence as her voice stuck in her throat and tears streaked down her face.

Helena was trying her best to calm her down even though it was proving to be rather difficult, "he's being treated. He'll be fine soon. And then I'll take you over to see for yourself."

Irina was looking back at her with wide horrified eyes and though the tears had stopped pouring down her face, she was still on the verge of crying.

She gently gathered her in a reassuring hug, rubbing her back soothingly, "everything will be fine, dear. Trust me."

"It's all my fault," she mumbled, holding on to Helena tightly, "I fucked everything up. And if you're going to say now that it wasn't my fault, then don't. Because I know it is."

"I wasn't going to say that," she replied, "but the truth is that it's not entirely your fault. Just partially."

"But I still hurt him..."

"He knew what your reaction would be like very well. And still he decided to face you on his own. That was his fault. He knew that you weren't aware of his secret identity and still chose to keep you in the dark. So if you hurt him under the impression that he was someone else, then you can't really blame yourself for that."

"What does it matter now? The thing is that he got hurt and I was the one who caused him pain."

Helena sighed, finally pulling apart but still holding on to her arms, "Irina, you hadn't known it was him under that cowl. Do you think you would have done the same if you knew? No. So please stop giving yourself too much blame."

She shook her head, "I hadn't known about him but I had always suspected. His scars, his injuries, his excuses... I could always see through that but this once I chose to ignore it. It was almost as if I knew!"

"Honey, calm down," she spoke, "what's done can't be erased. But it won't get any better with you putting the blame on yourself. That won't change anything." 

"But you don't understand, Helena," she looked up at her, green eyes struggling in conflict, "I love Tim so much that I can't bear to lose him. But everything's finished now... I have lost him. I hurt him with these very hands, I hurt him even though I had always assured him that I would be the one to save him from any distress he falls into. But... But... I failed. I failed to save him this time. In fact I was the one who reduced him to such a horrible state."

Helena sighed, nodding her head a little, "to be honest, I do understand. You don't yet know how I found out that Jason was Red Hood." Her words had sparked her curiosity so she resumed in hopes that it would distract her temporarily, "I was a second away from plunging an arrow into his heart when the asshole removed his helmet. Trust me, these Wayne boys would go to any lengths to keep their secret hidden. And only when they are about to get killed by the love of their life, do they decide to share the secret."

"But I don't think it was as bad as what I did to Tim..."

"Oh no, it was," she elaborated, "Jay and I had been on opposing sides. He was a vigilante and I was an outsider, and though he fluctuates between justice and crime, I had been fully a criminal back then. And an unstoppable one too. Getting rid of seventy people in half an hour was no big deal for me. But me and Jay just connected so well with each other that even though we've been through a lot, we've fought alongside as well as against each other, but we're still together."

Irina had gone silent as if pondering on her words. 

"You love Tim and he loves you back, right? Then no matter what happens you two will find your way back to each other. Just like me and Jay have done so. The best thing to do right now would be to hold yourself together and hope for the best," she took her hand and lifted her off the couch, leading her in to a room, "now I want you to take a shower, okay? Choose whatever you like from my closet and change into it. Then you'll have breakfast with me and we will go to the hospital to see Tim together."

"I can not..."

"Why not?"

"How will I ever look at him? He probably hates me now. And I won't blame him if he does," she bit her lip trying to hold back the emotions inside her, "he will never ever forgive me."

Gently cupping her face in her hands, Helena spoke, "do you know how Tim's like? He just doesn't care about himself. He has no sense of self preservation. But he cares a lot for the people he loves. He will forgive if anyone hurt him, but he won't ever forgive if anyone hurt his loved ones. And right now, Irina, you are hurting yourself. Even though you know that you're the person he loves most. He will definitely forgive you for what happened last night, but he will never forgive you for giving pain to yourself."

Irina knew she was right, she knew very well that Tim was that sort of person and if he found out that she had been blaming her for all if that, he would probably use all means to make her think otherwise. She sighed in resignation and asked, "what should I do then?"

She led her to the closet, "right now, just take a bath. I'll fill the tub for you with warm water and trust me you'll feel a lot better. And though I know my closet isn't as fancy as yours, still I'm sure you'll find at least something that you'll like. So just pick out a dress and go get fresh. I'm preparing breakfast, okay? And I won't take no for an answer."

Despite herself, Irina did as she was told because she was aware that Helena only meant to be kind to her so she didn't want to bother her anymore than she already had.

She didn't pay much attention to what she picked out to wear since her brain was still preoccupied by the tiresome thoughts of what had passed between her and Tim last night. The grief of her father's death was still fresh but the guilt of hurting Tim had clouded over it completely. Because if Lex and Tim were to be compared, her affection for Tim was much greater.

The bath felt rather soothing to her though. She washed herself off carefully as each part of her body was aching with pain but the most agonizing pain was churning in her heart which seemed to be torn apart entirely.

Changing into the dress she had picked, she came out, holding the wall for support as her body still seemed to be rather unsteady.

Though as she stepped out into the living room, she saw Jason sitting on the couch. Seeing her emerge from the room, he quickly stood up and held her by the waist, helping her to come out and made her sit on the couch with him.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked.

"Awful," she replied, but then her mind flickered towards Tim again as she asked, "do you know anything about Tim? Anything? Have you seen him? He's not in a critical condition, is he? He's going to be fine, right?"

He nodded, "I'm coming straight from the hospital. He is not in any danger now and the doctors say that he will recover soon."

A sigh of relief escaped her and Helena came out of the kitchen as well, placing the breakfast on the table, "see, he's going to be okay. Now try and eat a sandwich at least, you haven't eaten anything since yesterday."

The three sat down for breakfast together but it seemed as if Irina couldn't bring herself to eat anything. Even though she was physically there, mentally she seemed miles away.

Upon Jason and Helena's insistence, she managed to eat a single sandwich but when Jay placed a cup of coffee in her hands, her eyes started to pour again. Coffee reminded her of Tim and thinking about him reawakened the guilt and regret in her heart.

"Hey, Irina, you'll have to be strong now. If you broke down like this, Tim would be very disappointed in you."

She didn't reply as she took a sip out of her cup but the tears were still rolling down her cheeks. Disappointment... She had gone past that by almost killing him last night.

Jason knew that he had to distract her with something or else she would start crying so he decided to tell her about her aunt's visit, "your aunt was extremely worried for you. She called both you and Tim but since she couldn't talk to you guys, she came to Wayne Manor instead."

The distraction seemed to have worked as the tears ceased and she was looking at him instead, "Aunt Lena...?"

"Yes. Richard talked to her and told her that you two were involved in a road accident. Now I want you to listen to me very carefully, okay? Damian is staying with Tim right now and Dick will be coming over with your aunt any moment but we have not told her the truth. So you'll have to stick to our version of the story."

"She's coming here? Now?"

"Yes. According to what we told her, you two were involved in an accident and we kept everything hushed so that the press couldn't get a whiff of it. Tim was admitted to a hospital because he was hurt worse while you were staying at a friend's home. We told her all this so that she wouldn't get suspicious. Now we want you to comply with it."

"But... But I can't face her like this. I... I'll break down the second I see her."

"Trust me, I won't let her ask any probing questions from you, but please just don't tell her anything right now," Jason assured her.

She nodded in affirmation, understanding the delicacy of the situation. If they didn't tell Lena, she would get anxious too and given her nature, she would probably alert the police to find Irina and Tim and then as a consequence everything would be leaked out to the press.

"Now hurry up and finish one more sandwich at least," Jason remarked though his voice had a hint of an order in it, "she will be here any moment and we don't want to give her the impression that we haven't taken good care of you. She will also bring your stuff such as your clothes and phone because we requested her that in order to avoid the press, you will have to stay here until Tim recovers."

She nodded in reply but placed back the sandwich, drinking only the coffee in her hands. They didn't force her to eat more since they knew it was rather difficult for her.

"Has Tim woken up yet?" her voice was low as she asked, fearing that the answer wasn't going to be positive.

Jason shook his head, "not yet. But he will wake up soon. His surgery went successfully and according to the doctors, we don't have to worry about anything now."

"He had a surgery?"

"Well... He did have a few broken ribs so..."

Noticing her expression, Helena spoke up immediately, "I swear to God, Ren, if you start blaming yourself again, I'll break your ribs too."

She didn't say anything then but glanced at the clock. Her aunt was going to be there any moment and of course she would have a lot of questions. The only problem was that Irina knew she won't be able to control herself in front of Lena. Because the two were so close that they could tell when the other was hiding something.

And Irina was afraid that she would break down the second she would lay eyes on her aunt. The only consolation was that both Jason and Helena were with her to handle the situation if anything went wrong.

***