She had called him several times by then but it almost always went directly to voicemail. There were a few rare instances when his phone was powered off but he had never once picked up the call, intentionally or otherwise.

She could have convinced herself that he was busy but she couldn't keep herself in the dark anymore. He had always made time for Barbara even when he was swamped with work, the reason he wasn't doing so anymore wasn't a secret from her.

"Hi, you've reached Richard Grayson. I'm probably busy right now or else I would have answered right away. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Have a great day, bye."

Barbara had been hearing that cheerful pre-recorded voice every time she had called. But she couldn't bring herself to leave a message, besides, what was she supposed to say?

An apology could never suffice for the pain and heartbreak he had gone through due to her.

He hadn't called her back either even though he would have seen the loads of missed calls from her side. It was clear that he still didn't want to talk to her and on his part, it was rather justified.

There was a time when they were closer than the other's heartbeat but one wrong decision had torn them apart, setting fire to everything that existed between them. One impulsive decision and the need to keep it a secret had led to a domino effect of trust breaking between them and then finally, that shattered trust took its toll on their relationship.

Now as months had passed and they had still not talked to each other, Barbara feared that it had severed their friendship as well.

She never wanted things to end on such a terrible note but she never got to explain when she still had some time to set things right.

It was all in shambles now; their love, trust, and years long companionship.

All due to one mistake that she should never have made in the first place.

The call disconnected yet again and she couldn't leave a message, all her words choking up inside her. She put her phone down with a resigned sigh, hands reaching up to massage her throbbing temples. All that silence and distance was driving her to the edge of her wits but there was nothing she could do to make it stop.

She had tried to do all she could to move on but it was to no avail. After being shot by the Joker, she could no longer go out as Batgirl, but she returned to her vigilante life as Oracle, operating behind the screen of the Batcomputer and supervising the Bat vigilantes on their missions.

She had returned to that dangerous side of her life despite her father's reluctance because she needed to keep herself occupied or else her thoughts spiraling with guilt wouldn't let her live.

A knock on her bedroom door startled her and she looked up, realizing it was almost time for her to go to the Batcave and get ready for her duties as Oracle. The knock sounded again so she turned her wheelchair to face the door and said, "Come in."

Shortly after, Jason Todd stepped in with his bright smile and stormy blue eyes. He was Batman's young protégé; another orphan adopted by Bruce and holding the title of Robin that was passed down to him from Richard.

Batman. Another topic she'd rather avoid for the time being.

"Hi, I was coming back from my theater class and thought we should go to the cave together," Jason remarked, his cheerfulness lightening the dull atmosphere that Barbara was in earlier.

"Great, how did your practice go?" She asked, putting a smile on her face as she knew the boy was brimming with excitement to spill his day out to her.

After Richard had left, Jason only had Barbara other than Bruce and Alfred to talk to. He preferred sharing everything with her rather than the older men as according to him, they were too serious for his liking.

However, he adored Alfred and called him grandpa, an act that had earned him the honor of being Alfred's favorite too.

Jason was about to launch into a thorough explanation of his day but paused as he saw that Barbara looked somewhat down. Her eyes were full of warmth but there was a lingering sadness on her features that he couldn't possibly ignore.

"Is everything alright, Barb? You look sad to me," he spoke up instead, taking her by surprise.

"Sad? Of course not," she tried to brush off his concern but couldn't keep denying it for long.

All that sadness and guilt was eating her up internally and she needed to confide in someone but couldn't bring herself to do so.

"Hey, you always hear me out when I rant to you about all the things that go wrong in school," Jason stepped closer to her, his eyes focused on her in genuine care, "I can do the same for you, y'know. Don't feel like you don't have anyone to talk to."

A soft bittersweet smile creased her features as she reached out to ruffle his head affectionately. Jason was young but very considerate of others' emotions. That empathetic side of his personality was visible to only a few special people whom he considered his family, such as Barbara, Bruce, Alfred, and Richard.

"Thank you, Jason, I am glad you're here for me."

He nodded with a smile, "That's what friends are for, right? You can ask me anything and tell me anything you want to, I will listen."

She paused, considering what to share with him. Her life had become a complicated mess that she didn't want to burden Jason with. But she could ask him about Richard, perhaps he knew how he was doing.

"Did you talk to Richard lately?"

Silence engulfed them until Jason nodded, deciding to share it with her that he had talked to his older brother. "Yes, he called me last week."

Hearing that seemed to have given some hope to Barbara as she straightened, her eyes focused on him, "Really? How is he?"

"He sounded okay, happy even. He asked me to come to Bludhaven for a weekend but I haven't talked to Alfred and Bruce about it," Jay admitted, "I really want to go though. It's been long since we saw him."

It certainly had been a long time since they had seen him.

The last time she had seen him, his face was so full of pain and agony that she couldn't erase that sight from her memory. He had felt betrayed, the signs of the trust he had in her shattering were visible in his eyes.

His eyes had always been clear as glass, reflecting exactly what he thought and felt. At that moment, he had felt hurt, and she felt guilty for it.

"Did you talk to Dickie though?" Jason asked carefully but that seemed to be the last straw.

Barbara held her head in her hands, trying to hide the tears that were welling up in her eyes, "No... I haven't. He never answers my calls."

Jason felt at a loss of how to comfort or console her. He didn't know the full extent of the conflict between Richard and Barbara but he could see it was hurting her terribly.

"I... I will talk to him," Jason offered, "maybe he's just busy and couldn't talk to you. He definitely will if I tell him you're worried."

"No, don't do that, please," she looked up, her green eyes full of the tears she was holding back, "I don't want to make things worse between us."

"But they won't get any better either if both of you keep delaying it," he remarked and she was surprised at the sheer honesty of his words, "I don't know what made you two grow apart but you need to sort this out. Soon."

She pondered on his words, knowing he was right. If they left that issue without addressing it, it would tighten its grip over their hearts like poison ivy, leeching them out of all their good memories and vitality.

"How about I come with you when you go to Bludhaven?" She suggested, at last, thinking about the whole situation carefully.

Richard wasn't picking up her calls but their issue was something that could not be sorted over a phone call either. It had to be done face to face.

"Good idea, I will talk to Alfred and let him handle it with Bruce," Jason agreed, "I am sure things will work out for the better."

"I hope so," she replied, thinking what would happen if Richard refused to see her too.

She wasn't ready to face that sort of rejection but there was no other way. She had to sort out her past mistakes or the guilt wouldn't let her move on with her life.

***