Safe (BatBoys)

Therapy Session

"Was she telling the truth?" He asks again in the same tone. I almost pause.

"Yes," I say as simply as possible. I feel the need to explain but I don't think I can speak right now. I keep my eyes straight ahead.

"Who did you threaten? And what's more, what did you threaten?" He asks. I swallow thickly.

"I, um, it was, well, um, the Jo-" I stop myself. "The J-mm." I try again. "Harley's ex," I say. I just can't say his name. I can't.

"What did you say to him?" He asks, I almost didn't hear him over the thudding in my ears.

I try to remember and I feel tears spring to my eyes. I force myself to remember it. If not the images then the sound of his voice. I grip onto my arms so tight I think I might draw blood.

"H-he." I take a deep breath to stop my jaw from trembling. "He asked if I would scream," I state through grit teeth.

"And what did you say?" He presses simply. We've stopped walking, but I'm not sure when that happened.

"I told him that he would be the one screaming. All that was on my mind was trying not to seem scared, I promise I didn't try to name drop or anything." I say quietly. My eyes are drowning in tears that absolutely will fall if I blink.

"I believe you. Who did you name?" He questions, his voice sounds just a little softer. I take a very deep breath, focusing on keeping my voice steady.

"You, Nightwing, Red Robin, Red Hood, and Robin. It was a detailed threat." I laugh pitifully. The tears fall and they continue to prick at my eyes.

"That's alright. As long as our identities are safe we have nothing to worry about." He says calmly. He doesn't seem mad, but he's also great at masking emotions.

"Okay. Um, I'm just going to-" my escape gets cut off.

"Hey, Bruce! We got a call from Arkham- Whoa! Cora are you okay?" Tim asks, running down the steps. I wipe at my face furiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just some waterworks." I say casually, forcing a smile onto my face.

"I don't believe that for a second, but the call is for you actually," Tim says in a deadpan. That shocks me enough to stop my tears.

"Why would Arkham want to talk to me?" I ask. Tim shrugs. He hands me the phone, which I hesitantly accept.

"Hello?" I say, holding the phone up to my ear.

"Hello, is this Cora?" I hear a serious voice ask me.

"This is she," I reply.

"You have a request from an inmate. Harley Quinn." The voice states. I blink dumbly for a long moment.

"What's her request?" I ask hesitantly. I see Tim and Batman looking at me expectantly.

"She's asked that you visit her either tonight or tomorrow. You would be fully supervised and guarded at all times." They say.

"Did she say why?" I question, trying to decide if I should or not.

"She mentioned that you're overdue for a therapy appointment." I pause. Did she seriously request to see me in prison because of a deal made months ago?

"I'll have to check with Mr. Wayne. I can give him the phone if that would work better." I say, looking directly at Batman. He pulls off his cowl and accepts the phone.

Damian walks down the steps as Bruce is talking to the person. He wraps an arm around my shoulders, most likely noticing my red-rimmed eyes. I see Bruce hang up and he looks up with a tired expression.