Rory flinched away from the explosions as she was dragged down through the theater, towards the stage where Harley was swinging her bat around, a limp in her step from the knee Rory messed up. People were screaming, and she could do nothing to help her but hope that Tim's message to Bruce went through. 

"Hey, boss! I got something for you!" the thug yelled and pushed Rory towards the villain. Harley looked over and saw Rory stumble towards her, and swung her bat onto her shoulder. 

"Why the hell did ya bring me her? I want the Arrow-Bat, not some hoity-toity socialite." she snapped, the thug grabbing Rory by the arm.

"She was with one of those Wayne boys, I figured we could get some good shit if we used her to our advantage." Harley walked towards them and circled Rory as if trying to figure out who she was. Stopping in front of her, Harley used the bat to tilt Rory's head upwards to get a better look at the necklace.

"Well, she does have some very fine bling. Ya must have some good amount of money unless you're that boys sugar baby." she grinned. "Take the necklace and earrings, then get rid of her. " Harley ordered and walked off humming a tune.

With a jerk, Rory was drug off backstage and thrown into a wall. Looking up at her captor, she saw an unsavory look in his eyes and that was never good. Before he could even lay a hand on her, Rory kicked him in the groin as hard as she could and went to make a break for it.

She didn't get very far before two more showed up and threw her back into the wall, hitting with a whimper. There was no way she was getting out of this unless she was willing to take the risk. The thug she kicked grabbed her by the throat and held her up against the wall cutting off her airflow.

Her hand flew up to try and pry his off of her, but his grip was stronger and she was getting weaker. Rory's legs thrashed about trying to kick something as dark spots clouded her vision and she could feel herself fading. 

Before her vision blacked out, Rory saw two canisters drop from above and began to fill the area with smoke. The next thing she knew, she was dropped to the floor as there were a series of grunts and cries of pain coming from the smoke. Feeling an arm wrap around her, she was lifted into the air and set on the metal walkways above the theater.

Rory started coughing to try and catch her breath, her hand on her chest. There was a pat on her back and she turned to see Robin sitting there, his eyes hidden behind the whites of his mask. 

"You alright Sonnet?" 

Rory gave him a nod and sat on her knees, taking deep breaths to refill her lungs with oxygen again. "Thanks, Rob." she rasped.

Robin pulled something out of a pocket and gave it to her. "Batman said to give you this, keep it in and stay out of sight," he said and took off down the metal path. Rory looked at the item in her hand and saw that it was a comlink.

Putting it in her ear, she pressed the button. "About time guys," she said softly, her throat hoarse still.

"Save the chatter for later, where was the last place you saw Tim?" Batman asked.

"Top box, left side of the theater. There were three thugs there still when I was dragged off. Make sure he's okay Bats." she forced out, coughing once she finished talking.

Looking below, she saw Harley looked irritated. "Come on B-Man! Where's the girl? I have a few things to say to her, and Mistah J wants to greet her personally." she called. "He promises he will be nicer to her than he was the last one! Honest!" 

What the hell was going on? Why did the Joker want to meet Grey Arrow? She had only been in town for a month and a half and she already made enemies. There was a loud explosion on Rory's right and she turned to see that the metal walkway was rigged with explosives. Quickly she got up, trying not to fall off from the path shaking violently.

Rory took off down the path hoping to beat the bombs, not wanting to fall to her death. She pressed the com again. "Uh guys, I'm going to need a little help."

"Seriously Sonnet? Not even 10 minutes and you're in trouble again?" Robin's voice sounded.

"The walkway is getting blown up and I am running on a grate in heels. Unless you want one of them shoved up your ass, come get me!" her voice came out even worse than before, with Rory trying to raise her voice to hell at them.

She kept running, trying not to get knocked off but the bombs were getting closer and closer to her. Turning the corner, she saw the ladder that led to the ground floor and urged her legs to move faster, but not fast enough.

"Guys seriously! I am running out of path!" she cried.

Right as her foot left the previous grate, it blew and fell to the floor. Rory knew she wouldn't get off the next one before it too blew up so she made the only choice she could. "One of you better fucking catch me!" she said and jumped off the grate. 

Rory was only airborne for a few moments as the rest of the walkway blew up before she was caught. She caught a glimpse of red and knew who had caught her. "Thanks for the lift Hood," she muttered, holding on tight to him with her dress swaying behind her.

She felt him chuckle as he dropped her on a more sturdy platform. "Just saving the princess from a fiery death is all." Rory punched him on the arm.

"Be happy I don't push you into the fire." she croaked, her voice barely audible now.

"You should really stop talking you know, it will only make your voice worse." Red Hood kicked a window open and led her out of it onto the rooftop of the theater.

"Well, you guys should stop leaving me in places that I can get blown up," she muttered. Red Hood heard her and laughed. 

"Alright princess, hang on." he pulled her close and grappled to a nearby building. "Go inside and stay there. I'll be back to pick you up in a few." and he took off to go back into the theater.

Looking around, Rory saw a roof exit and went through the door and down the stairs. Where was she? Once she got to the bottom of the stairs, she saw what seemed to be a warehouse turned into a living complex? Was this one of the safe houses, if so who's was it? She saw that the place was very neat and tidy and Rory knew that neither Dick nor Tim were all that tidy, especially Dick. That guy was a slob, Tim just left clothes everywhere.

Damian wasn't to the point he needed a safe house, and she knew this was not one of Oliver's or anyone from Team Arrow, so it must be Jason's. Rory took off her shoes, and slowly she limped to the bathroom, her feet in immense pain from running in heels. She looked at herself in the mirror and cursed to herself.

"Steph is going to kill me."

Her hair was a mess, and her skin covered ins ash and smoke effectively ruining the dress. Well, it was good while it lasted. Grabbing a washcloth, Rory started to rub at her arms trying to get it off without hopping into a shower. Yeah, it was Jason's place, but she felt like she was already overstepping.

Jason walked in about forty-five minutes later, the attack on the theater was over. Tim was already back at the cave and made Jason go back and get Rory. Hearing the water run, he walked to the bathroom and saw Rory leaning against the sink as she rubbed the black off her arms.

"You might as well take a shower, princess," he said crossing his arms.

Rory looked up, she was about to speak but the words were caught in her throat. The pain she felt trying to talk hurt more than she could say, but Jason could tell what she was trying to say.

"Tim is fine, I'll give you some clothes and you will shower and get clean. The boy would probably have a heart attack if I brought you back looking like this." 

Rory gave him a glare, only making him laugh. "I'll be back." and he walked out.

Rory turned to look at herself in the mirror again and took out the earrings and removed the necklace. She could see yellow prints beginning to form on her throat from the guy's hand, it was going to leave bruises for a while at least.

It didn't take long to wipe the makeup off, but the thing Rory was dreading the most was taking her hair down. Luckily, Jason decided to show his face again with a towel and clothes. Noticing the look of dread, he walked over and stood behind her. 

"What's the problem?"

Rory huffed and pointed at her hair with an irritated look. Jason laughed understanding her problem. "Alright don't move. I can't tell you how many times I had to help Steph and Babs with their hair after galas and events have gone wrong." he began to pull the pins out of her hair, the strands falling in her face. "I can't tell you how many times that tends to happen." 

Rory stood there quietly listening as Jason talked to fill the silence and pulled the pins out of her hair. Soon it was all taken down and falling down her back in messy waves. "Alright, I'll be on the couch. Take a shower and change but don't take forever. Tim said I half an hour to get you back before he comes looking for you instead." he chuckled and walked out the bathroom shutting the door.

Rory locked it behind him and started the shower, letting it warm up before getting in. The water was soothing on her skin, relaxing the tense muscles in her body and making the pain in her throat subside a little. 

It didn't take her long to clean the smoke and ash off her body, what took her to longest was washing the hairspray and knots galore out of her hair. The stuff Jason had in the shower wasn't really meant for long hair but it worked still.

Turning off the water, she stepped out and wrapped herself in the fluffy towels. Her thoughts wandered to the night's events as she dried herself off and began to pull the clothes Jason gave her. Harley blew up the theater because she wanted to draw out the Grey Arrow, not just because she wanted revenge but because the Joker wanted to meet her.

Rory knew Jason's past with the Joker, Stephanie had told her on one of their previous girls nights and what he did to him was awful. It was no wonder why Jason was the way he was, but she understood it. Going through something like that, it changed you. 

Once she was dressed, Rory noticed that the clothes she was wearing were women's clothes. Why the hell did Jason have a stash of women's clothes at his safe house?  Exiting the bathroom, she saw him sitting on the couch like he said he would be and walked up, tapping him on the shoulder.

She must have taken Jason by surprise because he immediately swung his arm to hit whoever was behind him. Luckily for Rory, she had quick reflexes and ducked before he could hit her. Looking over he saw her poke her head out from behind the couch. "Oh, it's just you. Sorry."

"Whose clothes are these?" she whispered, the strain on her throat easing some from the shower she had taken. Jason blushed a little and rubbed the back of his neck. 

"They might be Kori's." 

Rory looked at him in confusion, why would Jason have some of Kori's clothes stashed- oh. Her eyes went wide and she looked at him, the look on both of their faces showed that neither of them wanted to talk about the fact that they both had slept with Kori in the past.

"You should probably take me back." Rory forced her voice to come out louder, but all it did was squeak making her only more irritated.

Hearing her squeak made Jason laugh, the tense air was gone immediately. "Come on princess, if we take any longer Tim will hunt me down." He led her out to his garage and climbed into a red, very expensive looking car. Of course, he owned a red car, this was Jason after all.

Climbing in, Rory threw the bag that had her dress and such in it in the back seat before buckling up. The drive to the manor was quiet, mainly because of the fact that Rory still couldn't talk without straining her voice. But of course, Jason cracked a few jokes here and there, making her giggle.

Once they got to the manor, Rory grabbed her bag and hopped out of the car. Her ankles were still in pain from sprinting in those heels, so every step was painful and she was still limping. Jason had tried to carry her, but she refused and threatened to kick his ass with some very vulgar hand motions.

Alfred was the one to meet them at the door, instantly pulling Rory into a hug with a sigh of relief. Rory hugged him back with a smile on her face. "I'm okay." she croaked. He let her go and tilted her head up to examine her neck.

"I'll make you some tea Miss Aurora, you've bound to have a nasty sore throat," he said. "Master Tim is in the cave with the others, I'll bring it to you down there." then he walked off towards the kitchen to make Rory some tea. 

Rory and Jason walked down to the cave, she finally let him carry her once they got to the metal stairs because every step she was hissing in pain. Once they got down there, he set her down and they entered the cave. 

Everyone was huddled around the bat computer talking about the attack amongst other things when Cassandra looked up and saw her. "Rory!"

Everyone turned to look and saw Rory and Jason standing there. The first to get to her was Stephanie, she literally pushed everyone to the side so she could hug her first. Rory let out a laugh and hugged her friend back. "Sorry about the dress, Steph. It's no longer white, to say the least." she rasped.

She shook her head, "To hell with the dress, I'm just glad you're okay." 

"What's with the limp?" Dick asked.

Rory reached into the bag and pulled out the mangled pair of heels. "You try running for your life in these, on a metal grate no less." 

"Why were you running?" Cass asked, standing next to Barbara. Rory's gaze pointed at Damian who was standing there with his arms crossed. "Someone put me on a metal walkway rigged with explosives."

"Would you rather I let you get strangled?" 

"You're right, thanks for saving me only to put me in another position that I needed more saving," she said, Rory's voice faltering at the end. She really needed to stop talking. 

"Alright, no more questions." Jason pried Steph off of Rory and handed her a whiteboard and marker. "Here, now will you stop talking?" 

Rory took the whiteboard with a frown on her face and hit him on the head with it. Then wrote the word 'Asshole' on it. 

Jason laughed and nodded to his left. Rory looked and saw Tim there, he was in a different outfit but his hair was a mess, and his blue eyes looking exhausted. He walked over and grabbed her face, kissing her deeply.

Rory knew Tim wasn't one for PDA, but this showed just how worried he was about her. Smiling against his lips, she pulled away from the kiss and wrote the words 'I'm okay.' on the whiteboard.

Tim read them with a chuckle and pulled her to him as he wrapped his arms around her. Rory buried her face in his chest and gripped the back of his shirt, not wanting to let go. "I was worried, when they got to me Damian said that he had gotten you out." 

Rory nodded and Tim pressed a kiss to the top of her head and held her tightly. Bruce cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him. "I'm glad the both of you are okay, but there are things we need to discuss."

Barbara pulled up surveillance footage of the attack and zoomed in on Harley. Hitting play, they watched as Harley called out for Batman to bring out Grey Arrow, and that the Joker wanted to meet her.

"Joker wants Rory, and none of us know why. Until he is stopped, she is not to go out alone on patrol or even casually. Someone will be with her at all times, and she is not to go anywhere near the Rogues Gallery at all. We don't know who else is trying to get her to him, so we aren't going to take the risk." Bruce explained.

"Now if any of you even want a Christmas, then get to bed or no Santa Claus." Everyone rolled their eyes at Bruce, no one in the manor believed in Santa Claus anymore, but the sentiment was there so they gave a smile and a good night and went up to their rooms.

Tim walked Rory to her room, his touch not leaving her whether it was holding her hand or putting his arm around her. She must have worried him a lot, Rory could see it in the way he moved. She gave his hand a squeeze back and smiled at her.

She opened her door and grabbed Tim by the collar, pulling him in as he gave her a confused look. The door wasn't even shut yet before she planted her lips on his, Tim kicking the door shut behind him. His hands went to her waist and pulled her against him, kissing her deeper.

Rory couldn't use words to tell Tim how she felt, her throat was hurting again and the whiteboard was stupid. With a hold on his collar still, Rory pushed him onto the bed and climbed onto his lap kissing him deeper. Tim's hands ran up her back, pulling her impossibly closer to him.

There was a knock at the door, making the two of them pull apart. Slowly, she got up and opened the door and saw Alfred there with two cups of tea on a tray for her and Tim. "I figured Master Tim would be with you, so I brought him a cup as well." 

Rory gave Alfred a thankful smile and took the cups, bringing one to Tim as Alfred shut the door behind him. Tim took the cup as she sat next to him and sipped it slowly, letting the warm liquid coat her sore throat. Once the cups were finished, they set them on the nightstand. Rory climbed into the bed and looked at Tim.

"Stay?" was all she could get out, but it didn't hurt. Tim gave her a lopsided smiled and climbed into bed with her, pulling the covers over them both. Glancing at the clock, they both saw that it was officially past midnight.

"Merry Christmas Briar Rose," he said softly and kissed her nose.

"Merry Christmas Dragon Boy," she whispered and pecked his lips softly before closing her eyes and falling into a deep sleep.

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This was fun, and poor Rory just can't catch a break. I enjoyed writing this one, and it didn't take very long either. But what did you guys think? Also, Tory is now one of my many OTPs.

Until Next Time,