"What the hell Bruce!?" Rory and Roy both looked at Bruce Wayne with confused expressions. "Why did you keep us in the dark about all of this when he is our best friend?" she asked, throwing her hands into the air and winced. Her tumble down the stairs earlier that night had left her stomach and ribs in bruises, and they hurt.

"Because, if Slade had control on him that means he has to have contact with Jesse somehow. If he overheard what we were thinking, then he would change his plan and catch us all of guard." Bruce explained leaning against the bat computer.

"Oh, so being chased through the Manor with my best friend throwing knives and shit at me isn't catching me off guard? That's great to know, but I want to know what the fuck it is then!" she snapped.

"He's my boyfriend and you didn't bother to let me in on it as well?" Roy asked while he stood next to Rory. 

"I'm sorry to the both of you, and I admit that you were right when I should have told you sooner. But there was no guarantee that the two of you wouldn't raise suspicion. That's why I kept you inside Rory, I couldn't let you out and not Jesse." he explained.

Rory crossed her arms, leaning against Tim as he held her close to his chest. Watching Rory almost get strangled and then walk through the Manor to see what he tried to do to her, it set him on edge. She was almost killed again, but this time he was there to save her before something bad happened. He rested his head on her shoulder as he tightened his grip around her waist.

It was yet to be revealed that he, Jason, Dick, and Barbara knew about it and Tim wasn't looking forward to it at all. He had a bad feeling that Rory would be mad at him for keeping it from her, but he did it to keep her safe.

"So what do we know?" Roy asked.

"We found an empty syringe that once belonged to Jervis Tetch, more commonly known as the Mad Hatter. His specialty is mind control, but it's different than Ivy, Scarecrow, or even the Joker's toxin. When we ran tests on the three of you, he ruled him out because he is still stuck in Arkham." Dick spoke up.

"The reason we ran the tests, to begin with, was that when we found the two of you, Jesse was nowhere to be found. In fact, we found him in the Bowery across town. That's what started out suspicion about him being more involved than we initially thought." Jason added.

"Hence why we went back tonight to look. I told Barbara to get you out of the Manor before he had his chance to hurt you. I guess he must have been listening because she said the power went out almost right after we told her to get you out." Tim said.

Rory turned to look at him. "You knew?" 

Tim bit his lip and nodded. "I wanted to tell you, I did Songbird but the risks were lower with you in the dark. I'm done taking risks with you and your life," he said.

She pulled out of his hold and looked at him. "What the hell happened to no secrets between us huh? Or was all of that just a bunch of mumbo jumbo to you?" she asked.

"Rory, I hated keeping it from you! We all thought it was safer that you didn't know and were going to tell you about it all after we got back from patrol regardless if we found something or not," he said, grabbing her hand. 

"Tim, I deserved to know before he tried to kill me! I wouldn't have let myself be put in that kind of position to be hurt in the first place, I got lucky I only got freeze burn on my arm and strangled. I get you wanted to protect me, but I can protect myself if I know what the hell is going on." she said looking at him. Rory felt his fingers interlock with hers as if he was scared she was going to run.

He let out a sigh and dropped his head. "You're right. If anyone can protect themself, it's you and we all should have trusted you more. But with Slade controlling Jesse, he would have picked up on things way faster than normal and noticed that we were onto him than just killing Jesse instead." 

Rory's gaze dropped to their hands, and how they seemed to fit perfectly together. His thumb brushed over the black diamond that rested on her finger while they stood there silently. She understood what he was saying, in the long run, it was safer that she didn't know but Rory hated being kept in the dark more than anything. When she was younger, Oliver kept things from her thinking that it would give her nightmares. Little did he know that she had constant nightmares from the day her parents died.

"I love you, Rory, I just want to keep you safe."

She looked up at him and gave Tim a soft smile. "I love you too Tim, but maybe keep me in the loop next time okay?" she asked. He nodded and kissed the back of her hand.

"Deal." 

Rory rolled her eyes and looked at Bruce. "This is a one-time thing, so you better enjoy it while it lasts. I am sorry for yelling at you earlier, I wasn't exactly nice." she rubbed the back of her neck and looked at the ground. "I was upset for being kept in the dark and it wasn't fair I took it out on you when you are letting me live here and haven't kicked me out. Heaven knows I have given you plenty of reasons to do it." 

Bruce gave an amused smile. "Apology accepted, and for the record, you have officially cleared for patrol again." 

Rory's head picked up. "Really!?" 

Bruce gave her a nod. "You can start back up tomorrow, but for now try and rest while you can. We're in for a couple of long nights if we are going to find Jesse and Slade," he answered and turned back to the computer.

She turned and saw that Roy was still frowning next to her. Slowly, she reached out and took his spare hand. "Why don't you and I go out on patrol tomorrow and start looking for him okay? He isn't doing this on his own account, you and I both know that he would never hurt one of us on purpose." 

Roy glanced down at her and gave a slight smile. "Sure thing kid, we have to reunite the three musketeers." he chuckled softly and ruffled her hair before pulling her into a hug. Wrapping her arms around him, Rory tightened her grip on him. She knew that he was worried about Jesse, the two of them really loved each other. Just looking at them, it reminded her of her relationship with Tim and special it was to her.

Jesse was always closed off but hid it behind his sarcasm and quick wit. The day he got his meta powers, Jesse was kicked out of his house for being a freak and that was when he ran and met the Flash and Kid Flash. Initially, they tried to help him but couldn't. It was when Barry decided that a trip to Star City was a good idea, Jesse had finally met Rory and Roy. 

Immediately, they became fast friends. They had a special connection with each other that they didn't have elsewhere. Together, they were the three musketeers and fought crime together. 

Rory looked back at Tim as she let go of Roy, as he laughed. "Go on, I'll be here in the morning Twinkle Toes." She punched him lightly on the shoulder and walked with Tim out of the cave hand in hand.

As they walked up, Tim swung her hands with a laugh as he kissed her cheek. Rory rolled her eyes but giggled, keeping a tight hold on his hand. Once they got to her room, Rory pushed the door open and pulled him in. Tim had changed into civilian clothes earlier before they all had the talk, but she hadn't gotten the chance to change yet because she was busy getting checked up on by Alfred who was locked in the broom closet, unconscious the entire time.

It was safe to say that no one was happy with Slade, it was an unspoken rule that no one laid a hand on Alfred. Slade had used Jesse to do that, and he was going to pay for it. 

As she changed, Rory tried to hide her hisses of pain. The tumble down the stairs really did a number on her body, but she wasn't going to let that stop her not when she had just gotten cleared for patrol again. 

Tim leaned against the back of the door as he watched her struggle to get her shirt up and over her head, getting it stuck at her shoulders because it hurt to move much more. He had to admit, he thought it was cute watching her try and get her shirt off only to get stuck with her hands stuck in the air as she struggled.

"Would you like some help there dear?" he asked. 

"No, Timothy. I can do this on my own," she answered with a huff, trying to wiggle out of her shirt more only getting herself more stuck.

He laughed and walked over, placing his hands on her bare waist before slowly sliding them up her torso. Rory shivered under his touch and huffed. "Are you going to help me get this off, or are you going to stand there and tease me?"

His hands grabbed the part of her shirt that was stuck and slowly lifted it up and past her head, pecking her lips as he tossed the fabric to the side. "Better?" he asked with a laugh.

Rory gave him a playful glare before she grabbed his shirt and pushed it up slowly. "Slightly, but it's not fair that you are wearing a shirt when I'm not. We need to fix that."

Tim raised his brow at her not-so-subtle attempt of trying to get him to undress. "Someone is in a mood tonight." he watched as Rory slid her hands inside his shirt, and traced the lines across his stomach.

"You act like you haven't tried this before." she grinned, sliding her hands around to his back as she trailed her nails down his skin softly.

Tim looked down at her and tried to keep his mind from wandering to what he wanted, versus what they needed which was sleep "Rory, you need to rest. You fell down the stairs if you forgot because I can see the bruises forming." he tried.

Rory gave him a look as she pushed him down on the bed and straddled his lap. "I can sleep after, what better way to tire me out, right?" she asked, as she pulled his shirt off of him her hands sliding down his chest.

He grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands off of him. "Rory, I'm serious." he chuckled.

"So am I Timmy, I know you want to." she grinned. Tim took a deep breath, he could not deny that he wanted to but he couldn't. Everyone was worried about her enough as it is, and would probably check on her constantly and the two of them were in a very compromising position.

"Rory, I can't promise that no one will try to check on you in the night. I don't think you want them walking on something we don't want them to see." 

She gave him a look and let out a sigh. "Alright, but you are going to make it up to me later. And I'm taking this." Rory bent over and grabbed the shirt she took off of him and pulled it on. Her pants were discarded and she crawled into the bed wearing just the shirt.

Tim looked her over with a smile before curling up next to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. "You look good in my clothes, you should wear them more often." he teased, kissing her forehead. 

Rory smiled and closed her eye as she curled into him. "Maybe I will, they smell like you. I love it." She buried her face in his neck as she drifted off, as Tim played with her hair in his fingers as he drifted off to sleep holding Rory tight in his arms.

Throughout the night, like Tim had expected several people came and checked up on her regardless of the fact that Tim was there and he would be the first to know something was wrong with her. Dick came through at least four times, Jason only twice, and everyone else poked in only once, to make sure that they were okay.

When the morning rolled around, Rory was wrapped around Tim as he was trapped underneath her. Their legs were tangled together, and her hands were wrapped around his waist as he held her close to his chest. Tim opened his eyes to see her mop of brown hair in his face, as she slept peacefully on his chest. 

He let out a soft laugh as he rubbed her back softly. Most times, Rory was ready for a fight waiting for a chance to kick ass but in moments like these, she looked like an average girl who didn't have to worry about an assassin trying to kill her every day. Tim wished more than anything that he could take away all of her pain, but then that would take away who she was. Rory was who she was because of the pain she had felt in her life, it made her stronger and someone worth admiring. 

It was his favorite thing about her, Rory never let anything stop her. She wasn't one to give up, and he never wanted to see the day she gave up.

Rory stirred on his chest, with a groan. "Morning handsome." she smiled softly.

Tim kissed the top of her head. "Morning baby girl, did you sleep well?" he asked. She looked up at him and gave a nod. 

"Yeah, it felt nice. But I'm worried for Jesse," she admitted.

"We all are, everyone is not going to stop until we find him okay?" he asked.

"If he's hurt him in any way-" she started, but Tim shushed her. 

"Don't think like that. Why don't we go down and get breakfast okay?" he asked. Rory gave him a nod and got up, pulling on a pair of shorts so she was wearing more than his shirt. Tim grabbed a spare shirt, and they walked down to the kitchen hand in hand.

Breakfast and the rest of the day had gone relatively well, Alfred was nursing a headache from the hit Jesse had given him the night before and the stairs to the garage were unfrozen now so they were no longer a hassle. The hard part was fixing the study, ice was everywhere and multiple of Bruce's expensive items had ended up in the wall because Rory had thrown them in the dark.

She didn't want to mention the item that laid in the garden below the study, figuring it was better for Bruce or Alfred to find it instead of her telling them where it was. 

Throughout the day, they all bounced around ideas to where Slade was holding up with Jesse. It couldn't be far, Jervis' tech didn't have that long of range. The popular theory was Amusement Mile, where he had shown up the first time with Roy since Rory arrived at the Manor. 

Looking back, she had been around for almost a whole year. November it would be a whole year, and December would be a year since she started dating Tim. A lot had happened in the last year, Rory reunited with her childhood friend, got shot, kidnapped and tortured, had a pregnancy scare, stabbed, blown up, and not to mention everything else that had happened in between.

Rory and Roy were suiting up, they along with Tim and Jason were going to check out Amusement Mile. Bruce had Damian, Steph, Cass, and Dick going with him while they check at the various spots in the city. He had wanted them in larger groups this time, since they were possibly going up against Slade they had better chances of surviving in groups. He wouldn't be able to stop them all at the same time.

They looked at each other as they put on their masks, Tim coming up and taking her hand as Jason placed a hand on Roy's shoulder. "We'll find him Roy, and we will bring him home," he said. Roy looked at his friend and gave him a grateful smile.

Once they were ready to go, the four of them climbed onto their bikes and rode off into the night towards Amusement Mile. The drive was silent, neither Red Hood nor Arsenal were cracking jokes and it showed just how worried they were about Jesse. He was part of the Outlaws with them, and the whole team cared for him.

Pulling into Amusement Mile, they saw that it was quiet. Almost too quiet. Slowly, Rory got off of her bike and took her helmet off, and looked around. It hadn't changed much since the last time she was there and that was when she had gotten shot by Harley's goons. 

Red Robin, Red Hood, Grey Arrow, and Arsenal walked into the front gates with their weapons up and ready in case there was an attack. They stood back to back as they assessed the area, making sure that there was no one in sight. 

"Alright, so I doubt that if he is here that he is waiting at the front gate. My bet is that he is in the tunnels underneath the park, that's the best place to hide." Red Hood said, looking at the others.

Grey Arrow let out a groan. "Are you kidding me? The last time I was down there, Red and I got caught and I got shot twice! I don't know if any of you remember that, but I do and Slade is worse. We don't want to trap ourselves in a tiny tunnel and assuming he still has control over Freezewire, there is no way we would survive an attack down there. Not against Slade and an A-class metahuman." 

"Arrow is right, those tunnels are tight enough with two people down there. If the four of us go down, it leaves the surface vulnerable and those below prone to any attack he could send in." Red Robin agreed. 

"So what do we do?" Arsenal asked.

"You stand still long enough that I can shoot you." 

Everyone's body stiffened before they all dove out of the way, the bullet that came from above barely missing Grey Arrow by inches. If she had been a second late, then she would be on the ground bleeding out. Each of them took cover behind various items, looking at the man responsible.

"Nice to see you again Aurora, but I'm afraid you won't be with the living much longer." Slade grinned, aiming his sniper rifle at her again and fired it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next battle with Slade is here! I have BIG things planned for the next chapter, BIG THINGS! But you gotta have some of that Tory fluff before we go into the storm right?

Anyway, the sequel is coming along nicely! Chapters might slow down here possibly, it depends on if I get the job I applied for or not and if I manage to keep this odd stroke of inspiration I've had every day since I started The Archer.

Hope you all have a good one!

Until Next Time,