Tim was on his way back from Big Belly Burger, it had taken him longer than usual because normally when they saw him coming there was a bag with his usual meal and a slip to request a toy all ready to go. The workers there had gotten used to their antics and knew what they ate and that each time they would request a toy after them. When he told them that he was picking up for a friend too, they were a little shocked but gladly made another to go.

He had let slip that there should be a Grey Arrow toy and that she was too proud to ask them to do it herself. It made the workers laugh as they told him they would take it into consideration.

He had grappled through third street and was on his way to the roof he left Rory on over on fourth when he saw that she wasn't alone on the rooftop. As he got closer, he recognized the signature orange and black helmet and urged his feet to go faster. 

Before his eyes, he saw as Rory tried to put up a fight only to be taken down in seconds. Tim had yet to see her lose a fight, that wasn't training with Cass and he wasn't ready for it. He was still a few rooftops away when he watched Slade raise his sword and stabbed her, the blade poking out from the other side of Rory's body.

Tim stopped dead in his tracks, the bags of food falling from his hands. He watched in horror as he removed the sword from her, Rory trying to stop him when his feet began working again.

"Rory!"

Slade looked up and disappeared from sight, and Tim rolled onto the roof sliding next to Rory's limp body. He pulled his cowl off, hot tears falling from his eyes as he pulled her onto his lap. Rory was losing a lot of blood and she was losing it fast. He took her chin and turned her to look at him as she spurted blood from her lips and watched as she lost consciousness. 

Not wasting a second, he tore the cape off his back and pressed it to her stomach to try and stop the bleeding, quickly losing his composure. 

"Rory, please wake up." he sobbed. "Open your eyes and look at me sweetheart, please."

His hands and lap were quickly covered in her blood and pressed the comm in his ear. "Somebody, please! Rory she-she's hurt and losing too much blood."

Immediately, Bruce's voice sounded through the link. "What happened, Tim?"

"I-I don't know, I went to go get food and I c-come back to see her fighting Deathstroke and he-" Tim could get the rest of his sentence out, his voice caught in sobs as he watched Rory's life slowly slip away. "She won't make it back to the cave, I'm not even sure she will make it to a hospital."

"Tim, you need to breathe. If you start losing it, then we will lose her for sure. Start for the hospital and one of the others will meet you on the way. Remember, keep yours and her identity secret until you get to the doctor. Dick is giving him a call as we speak."

Tim placed the mask back on her face, his hands trembling as he wrapped her in his cape. Rory had gone deathly pale, and her breathing was slowing. "No offense, but I don't give a fuck about identities right now Bruce." he snapped pulling the cowl over his head, picking Rory up and running across the rooftops. 

He tried to keep the tears at bay as he grappled across the city towards the hospital, one wrong move and it would kill them both. Jason and Dick had told him that they were waiting for him outside the back entrance to the hospital that was reserved for the vigilantes when they needed it.

Dropping down, they both ran over their faces going pale at the sight of Rory. She looked dead in Tim's arms, they were scared she already was if they didn't notice the slight rise and fall of her chest. Jason took Rory's limp body in his arms and ran her inside as Dick tried to console a hysteric Tim.

"Richard Grayson, get the fuck out of my way." he snapped, trying to get past him.

"Tim, you need to calm down before I let you in." Dick tried reasoning.

"Calm down?! I just watched her get stabbed and you're telling me to calm down!?" He tried pushing past him, Dick wrapping his arms around him to keep him in place.

"She needs me! I can't leave her!" Tim tried fighting out of his hold, he needed to get to Rory to see if he made it in time. The thought of her slipping away while he was stuck outside was killing him, he had to be there.

Tim slowly lost the fight in him, and slumped against Dick's arms and let the cries out. Dick held him close to his chest, comforting Tim as he cried begging and pleading that she would be okay.

The door in front of them opened and out came Steph, she had tears in her eyes. "Jason got her to surgery, they're working on her now. I brought clothes for Tim, let's get him inside and cleaned up."

Dick gave her a nod and helped his little brother to his feet and led him through the door and toward a bathroom. Jason, Damian, Alfred, and Bruce were waiting there for them, concerned at the state Tim was in. He looked devastated, the light in his eyes was gone as Dick took the clothes Damian was holding and helped him in with Jason and Damian right behind.

Bruce went to follow his sons when Alfred placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Let them take care of him, Master Bruce, Master Tim needs his brothers. Let him come to you when he is ready."

Bruce looked at his butler and nodded slowly. "You're right Alfred, let's go sit with the others and check on them." 

Alfred gave him a nod of approval and followed Bruce as they sat with Cass, Steph, and Babs who were in the waiting room.

Damian was the last in the bathroom and he locked the door behind him, not wanting any intruders interrupting them. Dick had Tim at the sink with his cowl off, the naturally bright look he had was gone. His eyes had almost gone a dull grey and it worried him to see Tim this way.

Tim had gotten a look at himself in the mirror, it looked like he had walked out of a horror movie. He was covered in blood; so much blood that his stomach turned at the thought of how much Rory had left in her. His face had smears across it, the thick substance dried to his skin.

Dick had grabbed a paper towel and started to wipe the dried blood off his face slowly. Tim stayed quiet the whole time, not sure what to say anymore. The scene of Rory slumping over as Slade stood above her wouldn't leave his mind. 

His hands gripped the sink so tight, his knuckles were turning white and he swore that he heard a crack. Jason and Damian stood off to the side, they were unsure of what to do but the one thing they did know was that Tim needed them with him even if it was in silent support.

Dick finished wiping the blood off his face and gave Tim a sad look. "Alright, we need to get the suit off you. Do you need help getting it off?" 

Tim's eyes glanced over at Dick and nodded slowly. This was when Jason and Damian stepped forward as Tim discarded the suit the two of them picked up the pieces and placed them in a trash bag to get back to the manor so it can get cleaned.

His chest still had blood on him, it had seeped through his suit as he held Rory in his arms and Tim felt sick. Quickly he turned and vomited into the toilet, whimpering as his body heaved the contents of his stomach out of him. Jason walked over and sat next to Tim, on the floor holding a rag and the clean clothes.

"Come on babybird, let's get you into some clothes okay?"

Tim nodded and took the rag, wiping the rest of the blood off of him before taking the shirt from Jason and pulling it over his body. Dick and Damian both took his hands and pulled him to his feet so he could get the sweats on. His legs were shaking under him, so he leaned against Jason as he pulled them on.

Looking in the mirror again, he looked better than he did but his eyes were still dull. "Was there any news?" he asked, speaking for the first time since he stepped into the building.

"She's in surgery, and we'll get the updates as they happen," Jason explained.

Tim nodded as he pulled on the shoes and ran a hand through his hair. "Let's head over then." The other three nodded and led Tim out of the bathroom and towards the waiting room where the others were waiting for them.

Walking in, Tim saw that the whole family was there along with Roy and Jesse. They had stayed in Gotham, wanting to have some time for themselves and be close to Rory in case she needed them again. The two of them were sat in a corner, Roy's face was red with tears as Jesse held him and tried to comfort him.

Hearing the boys come in, they all looked up and Steph got up and ran over to Tim and pulled him into a tight embrace. "Are you alright, Tim?" she asked.

Tim wrapped his arms around her and shook his head, "Not really Steph..." he muttered.

She pulled out pf the hug and looked at him, worry written all over her face. "Everything is going okay so far, Rory is alive. You got her here in time."

Tim looked around, he wanted to see Rory but he knew that it was impossible while she was in surgery. Bruce stood up from his seat and walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Tim, why don't you come and sit? We'll get you a cup of coffee and all of us will wait here with you okay?" 

He looked up at his adoptive father and hugged him tightly. Bruce looked a little surprised at his action as he wrapped his arms around his son and held him tight as Tim cried into his shirt. He rubbed his back as he held Tim close to himself. 

"I wasn't there to stop him... I promised that I would protect her and I failed Bruce." he sobbed.

"Tim, you didn't fail her. Rory is still alive because of you, you brought her here and she is being taken care of as we speak." Bruce comforted. Tim looked up at him as he wiped his eyes.

"Thanks, Bruce," he said softly.

He looked down at him and gave him a smile. "Of course, son."

He led Tim to an open seat as Cass came over with a large cup of coffee. "Do you want to talk about what happened?" she asked softly.

At her words, Roy and Jesse looked up. He knew for sure that they would want to know what had happened. With a sigh, Tim inhaled the scent of his coffee and felt himself relax softly.

"It was Deathstroke, I don't know what happened but when she came into view I noticed that she wasn't alone. Upon closer inspection, I noticed who it was. It didn't matter how fast I ran, I didn't get there quick enough before he took her down and stabbed her with his sword."

As he explained it, the memory flashed in his mind again and his hands began to shake once more. Dick noticed and took the cup from his hands before kneeling in front of him. "Tim, look at me."

His eyes rose up from the ground and looked to Dick. "It's okay, you don't need to tell us anymore. Why don't you get some rest, we'll all be right here listening for news."

Tim wanted to fight, but he had spent all of his energy fighting Dick and worrying about Rory that he just simply gave him a nod and leaned his head on Steph's shoulder and instantly fell asleep.

As Tim slept, everyone kept an ear out for anything related to Rory. It was about three hours after Tim had fallen asleep that a nurse walked in and looked around.

"I am looking for Mister Wayne?" she asked.

Bruce sat up, his suit jacket was draped across Tim's body as he and Steph slept quietly. Quietly, he stood and walked over. "That would be me, how is she?"

Those who were still awake, Roy, Jason, and Damian, watched listening for anything.

"Miss Queen is alive, the operation was successful. She lost a lot of blood, so we are going to need to keep her here for further observation until she recovers enough that she can go home with you. You were very lucky this time, we almost lost her." the nurse explained.

Quickly Roy stood up and walked over. "When can we see her?" he asked.

"She is being transferred to a room as we speak, within the next hour you will be able to go in and sit with her but she will probably sleep for a while.

Bruce nodded at her words. "Thank you, and tell the doctor I said thank you as well." he smiled.

The nurse blushed a little and nodded. "Yes sir, have a good night," she called and walked back through the door.

With Roy's sudden movement, Jesse had woken up and stood next to Roy and took his hand rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Anything new babe?" he asked.

"Rory's out of surgery, we'll be able to see her soon," Roy muttered. Jesse sighed and pulled Roy back over to their chairs. 

"Now that you know she is okay, get some rest Roy." he pushed Roy onto the chair and grabbed his jacket, and propped it behind his head. Almost the second his head rested on the jacket Roy was out like a light.

Jason watched the interaction between Bruce and the Nurse with Damian sat at his feet playing a game on his phone. "So when we can go back, are we going to wake him, or do you want me to take him home?"

Bruce shook his head. "No, you and I both know that he will be better off seeing her first before even bringing up the thought of going back to the manor. What you can do is get the other's back, maybe make them sleep. I'll stay here with Tim, Roy, and Jesse. Those two are not technically mine, so I can't make them do anything."

Jason huffed a laugh at his words "You can't make me do anything B, but I can usher them back to the manor."

Bruce rolled his eyes with a light chuckle. "You never did anything I told you to begin with."

Jason flashed him a grin before poking Dick awake and informing him of the situation. He agreed with a yawn and started to wake the others slowly, making sure that they didn't wake Tim in the process.

Jason had to literally carry Steph out of the room, she was so tired as Dick followed with Cass and Damian at his side. Barbara had gone home hours ago, she had her dad pick her up explaining that Rory had an accident and she was there to support the others with Alfred following behind.

Bruce watched as they left, his eyes glancing over at Tim who was still asleep and curled up with his suit jacket. It had been another hour before the nurse returned, offering to escort them to her room. Bruce gave her a nod before he gently shook Tim awake.

Tim jumped, the jacket sliding off his torso as he looked around. "Where's Rory? How is she? Is she okay?" he asked quickly.

Bruce placed a hand on his shoulder, picking up the jacket. "She got out of surgery an hour ago, the nurse is ready to take us to her room. Come on." He helped Tim to his feet and grabbed the cup of coffee that was still slightly warm. 

The four of them followed the nurse down the halls towards the room they had set aside for Rory. It was the last door on the right on the fourth floor, and she slowly opened the door. Tim was frozen in place, scared of what he would see on the other side. He knew her injures were bad, but that didn't stop the fear creep up into his heart.

Roy looked and saw the look on Tim's face. "Come on kiddo, we'll go in together." Tim looked at Roy and gave him a grateful smile.

"Thanks, Roy." 

The two of them took a deep breath as they walked into the room. Tim's breath caught in his throat at the sight of Rory in the hospital bed. She had IVs in both arms filled with saline water and blood with an oxygen tube in her nose. His eyes filled with tears, Rory looked so fragile like this. 

Rory was anything but fragile, and she would kick his ass if she ever knew he thought that. Roy had a similar reaction. Jesse walked in and took Roy's hand as Tim walked in further and took a seat next to the bed. Bruce stood and watched from the doorway as his son took Rory's hand and ran his thumb across the pale skin.

"I'm sorry..." he cried softly, unable to stop the tears from falling. "I didn't keep my promise, but I swear that I will be here for you every day." Tim wiped the tears, not letting go of her hand. He could feel her pulse faintly under his fingers and it told him that she was alive but not by much.

He had so many things he wanted to do with her, and this night made him realize that he could lose Rory in the blink of an eye. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, have a family with her amongst many other things like going back to France, and taking her to see his favorite places around the world. 

He placed a soft kiss on her hand, not daring to let go in case she disappeared right out from under his fingers.

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

This was fun right? 

I swear I have no plans to kill of Rory. Again, it's not cool to do that. I'm looking at you, Veronica Roth...

But next chapter we are finally going to find out what happened that night with Deathstroke in Star City. 

Hope you all have a good day!

Until Next Time,