Lori chuckled and pulled Bruce away sending Jason in.

Jason froze in the door way and took a deep breath. "Is this how you felt when I died?"

"I'm sure it's close. But I definitely felt worse, because you actually died. I'm still alive." Rosemary said with a grimace.

"It's...God Rose." Jason swallowed. "I'm sure everything will be alright."

Rosemary smiled. "Exactly." She said. "Everything's going to be fine. The doctor said the surgery went well, and I'm going to make a full recovery. Sure, I'll have scars, but that's part of the job. So please stop looking so guilty."

"I'll try Rosey but at least you can adopt someone like me. A orphan on the streets with no one who cared about him." Jason ruffled her hair. "I'll send Damien in." He headed out and vanished cursing at Damien who had pushed him out of the way.

"Are you alright Rose?" Damien looked so worried. It was the first time he looked so frightened.

Rosemary rolled her eyes a little. When Damian came in, she smiled a little at him. "I'm fine, Damian. You can come closer, I'm not going to break apart." She gestured to a chair next to the bed. "Sit down, please. I want to talk to you."

"there's nothing to talk about." Damien stayed next to the door. "Just be more careful."

Rosemary scowled. "There is a lot to talk about and you know it. I'm not going to shut up until we talk, so you might as well get it over with." She said sternly.

Damien made a face and sat. "Why are girls so stubborn?" He pouted.

Rosemary chuckled. "Because if we weren't, boys would never listen." She said. Then she looked at Damian directly and her smile vanished. "Damian, the reason Peter followed me home is because I left our date early. And the reason I left my date early is because I couldn't stop thinking about you. Damian, why didn't you tell me that you...felt that way?" She asked. "I never would have made that date if I'd known."

Damien froze and took a breath. "Lori was wrong I don't feel that way. If that's all." He stood a stubborn set to his jaw. "I'll let you rest."

"Damian Wayne don't you dare lie to me!" Rosemary snapped. "We're both teenagers now. Did you ever wonder why I never had a boyfriend until now? It's because I was waiting for you! After all this time, I finally decided to give up on hoping that you'd ever feel the same...and then Lori tells me that you do. How could I possibly stay on that date, once I found out...?" She sniffled, starting to cry but trying not to. "And now you're telling me that wasn't true? Well why don't you tell me the truth, then? Just tell me, once and for all, how you actually feel, because I can't handle trying to guess anymore!"

"Don't cry." Damien groaned. "Lori had no right to tell you that. I wasn't going to say anything ever. It's a conflict of interests and I'm not going to wind up like dad with one child by someone who loved him but married to the person he actually loves." He sighed. "Just forget Lori said anything and find your happiness."

Rosemary sniffled again. "I don't understand. Why would you end up like uncle Bruce? It's easy to avoid if you know better than to sleep around." She was failing her attempt to not cry. "How can you tell me to forget? I can't just forget...I can't ever forget, because I already know where my happiness is. I found it a long time ago, when you showed up. Maybe auntie and Lori shouldn't have told me, but you should have. You must have known how I felt. It's not like I ever hid it. You know exactly how I feel, and that I've felt that way for years...so you have to know that my feelings aren't going to change."

"It complicates things Rose and you know it." Damien sighed. "I thought it would go away if I ignored it and we could find someone else to love who wasn't put at risk every night. I'm sorry Rose but I could never pick between you and a hostage. It's bad enough as is if we started dating it would be ten times worse."

"But that means neither of us will ever be able to have a regular relationship." Rosemary said. "Because we'll always be forced to choose between our relationship and our work. The only way either of us could ever be happy is together, because we already know everything about each other, because we already together all the time, because we both understand the risks. Because we've both already been doing this for years." She argued her point as much as she could. "Besides, everything is going to be different now, anyways. I can't change how I feel, and neither can you, and now that we both know, things are never going to be the same for us. We can't just ignore it. That will make everything more awkward. And...we've always worked better as a team...so it's only natural that it would be the same for this, right? If we let things get awkward, we won't work as well together. But we could keep being a team...even stronger than before. Don't...please don't do this to me." She had lost the battle, and tears flowed freely now.

Damien stared at her. "Don't cry Rose you know I'll do it without thinking of what's est if you cry." he sighed and looked away. "I wasn't planning on dating anyone ever. It makes things to hard. I didn't want to admit I had fallen for you because I was suppose to be different. On top of the crime fighting I am the heir to my grandfathers kingdom and I mean to claim it and do good for the world. I can't involve you in that world it's a thousand times more dangerous then crime fighting."

"But you never bothered to ask how I felt about it. Don't I have a say in what I do with my life?" Rosemary asked. "What if I don't care about the danger? What if I want to be there with you? Am I supposed to spend the rest of my life staying a safe distance away from you? That's not fair, Damian. That's torture. I'm never going to be happy with someone else. I know, I tried, and I could only think of you. If you're trying to protect me, at least ask if I want to be protected first."

"I can't help it Rose. I grew up in that life I only escaped because Dad and Lori protected me. Just think about it Rose." Damien swallowed I don't want you jumping into it."

"I'm not saying I'm going to jump into it." Rosemary said softly. "It's not like the decision has to be made right now. We've still got a few years before they think you're ready. I just want to give us a chance. I want you to consider that instead of you always protecting me, we could work together as equals."

"I'll still protect you." Damien stubbornly glaring at the floor. "It's what I do." He shifted. "Just focus on getting better we'll worry about dating and other life decisions when you aren't in the hospital." He still hadn't looked her in the eye knowing he would just give in if he did.

Rosemary sighed. She knew she'd gotten as far as she was going to for now, so she let the subject drop. "Alright. Damian..." She looked up at him. "Thank you for saving me. I knew you'd come." She smiled a little bit. "You saved my life. So...I owe you one. Okay?"

"If I said to pay me back you had to drop the dating thing would you?" Damien smirked not expecting a yes.

Rosemary's gaze dropped to the floor. "Yes, I would." She said. "You saved my life, so of course I'd do that if you said it would make us even."

Damien blinked. "We'll see how you feel when your up and moving." he stood. "Sleep well." he headed off ignoring the others as he headed for the car.