See part 1 for disclaimer

***************************************************

Babs opened her laptop and opened the IM program.

'Hey, girl!'

'Dinah, why are you on every time I log on?' Babs typed.

'Because I want to know everything that's going on. Is he there?'

Babs smirked. 'He just left...'

'Did you get more pictures?'

'One full roll and it's only been a day,' Babs replied, then added, 'Tomorrow, we're going to give ourselves a tour of the city.'

'Cool,' came the response. 'What's your room like?'

'Yes, Dinah, there's only one bed,' Babs smiled.

'How'd you know I was gonna ask about that?'

'I know you too well,' Babs typed.

'Oh. Well, I gotta go... do... something. Later,'

The IM program notified Babs that Dinah was no longer connected. She decided she'd try to IM Robin.

'Your dime. What's up? :)' came his response.

'Not too much,' she typed. 'I've got some pictures I want to show you, but you can't say *anything* about them to Dinah.'

'Okay.'

Babs loaded the cartridge. So what if she didn't tell Dinah about the camera being a digital/zoom combo. She attached several files to an email and sent them to Robin.

'I got them. Gonna take a look. BRB.'

Babs waited while he checked out the pictures.

'Babs! Those are blackmail quality! Did Dick *really* try surfing or did you do some picture editting in PhotoShop?'

'He really did! Did you notice his hair? It's amazing, he actually *looks and acts* like he's been surfing all his life!' Babs typed.

'He does have the ability to fit in anywhere.' He paused. 'Any more news on Tony Methier?'

'We found him,' she answered.

'Good!' Another pause. 'The pics are safe with me. Send more! I gotta go, talk to you later.'

Babs was notified that Robin was no longer connected so she shut down the laptop and closed it. She smiled.

~~*~~*~~*~~

Nightwing climbed in through a third story window that had been left open. He grinned at the incompetence of Tony and his friends. With his night vision on, he searched the room. It looked like an office, but there was nothing around to prove whose it was, not even a filing cabinet or a name plate.

He went to the door, eased it open, and looked out into a hallway. He stepped into it and made his way to the next door. He listened for a moment, then, finding it quiet, eased the door open and went inside.

There, on the desk, sat a name plate. It was Tony Methier's "office."

Nightwing allowed himself a smile. 'Guys who run a surfing competition don't need offices... however, drug lords sometimes use them.'

He noticed that, again, there were no filing cabinets. He checked out some papers that had been left on the desk, finding nothing but a bunch of forms for the competition. He picked up a few and looked them over. Nothing too suspicious.

He sighed. This search was going nowhere fast. There was no proof that this "competition" was a cover for drug dealing--where were the drugs? There had to be more than just "offices" in this building.

Nightwing decided to call it a night and try again the next night. He slipped through another window and was gone into the night.

~~*~~*~~*~~

Babs was sitting out on the terrace, looking at the stars, when Nightwing joined her.

"Star gazing?"

She nearly jumped, then laughed. "Why am I not used to that?"

"Because I didn't actually *mean* to make you jump?" he said.

Babs handed him a robe, which he accepted and immediately put on.

"Some of that dye is still in your hair," she commented.

After removing his mask, Dick turned and glared at her. "I'm considering dying it once more and leaving it alone until we're ready to leave. It's too much trouble spending all that time and then washing it out."

Babs shook her head. "I can't believe I'm starting to really get used to you as a blond."

He smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah," she said. "Did you find anything?"

"Nothing but a bunch of competition forms," he replied, propping his feet up. "Just have to try again tomorrow. I would've tonight, but..."

Babs raised an eyebrow. "Just because we're sharing a bed..."

Dick burst out laughing.

"What?" she asked.

"The look on your face... priceless!" he managed to say between fits of laughter.

Babs narrowed her eyes.

~~*~~*~~*~~

"Okay, maybe I shouldn't have laughed earlier..." Dick said, trying to get comfortable on a cot Babs found in the closet.

"It's too late to take it back now. Maybe if you behave from here on out, I'll *think* about allowing you to share the bed with me," Babs said, then shifted herself around on the bed.

Dick frowned as she turned off the light. She was relishing the silence until...

"I feel like I'm in JDC again," Dick muttered.

Babs sat herself up and turned on the light so he could see her glare.

"Sorry," he said, sinking farther down into the cot.

She turned off the light again and laid herself back down.

Dick laid motionless, staring at the ceiling, thinking. He rolled over onto his stomach and reached underneath the cot. He pulled a duffle bag to the front and began a quiet rummage, intent on finding something. He came back up and rolled onto his back again, this time, smiling, with an arm around Elinore.

~~*~~*~~*~~

The next morning, Barbara woke to a beam of sunlight in her eyes. She stretched, sat up, and a smile crossed her lips. She was looking at Dick, still sound asleep on the cot at the foot of the bed, with an arm around his stuffed elephant.

Babs reached for her camera and took a few quick pictures. She tucked the camera away again, then moved herself to her chair. She wheeled over to him. Her smile had since changed to an evil grin.

"Dickie?" she said, quietly.

He moved slightly.

Babs almost burst out laughing. "Dickie?"

Dick shifted restlessly this time.

"Dickie?" she said, louder this time.

He moved agian, then mumbled, "Few more minutes..."

This time, Babs leaned over and planted a kiss right on his lips. She pulled away smiling.

Dick opened his eyes and gave her a half-asleep, half-surprised look.

She grabbed Elinore and placed the elephant on his chest. "Did you have a good night's sleep, Dickie?" she teased, then made the stuffed animal dance a bit.

He closed his eyes. "Oh, man... I'm *never* going to hear the end of this."

"Oh, come on. I think it's cute," Babs said, the petted Elinore.

Dick frowned. "Just don't tell Dinah, okay?"

"Okay," she answered, smirking.

"Babs," he said, trying to coerce her to make a promise.

"I won't say a thing," Babs said.

Dick muttered something, then sat up, and stretched.

She sat back and crossed her arms.

"What?" he asked.

Barbara smiled. "You're paranoid."

"Am not," Dick said.

"Are to."

"Am not."

"Are too!"

"Am not... hey!?" he protested. "I've got hair to color I don't have time to argue about... what was it?"

"Paranoia rings a bell," Babs said.

Dick got up and grabbed some things to take into the bathroom. As he passed her, he said, "Am not!" He entered the bathroom and closed the door, loudly, behind himself for emphasis.

~~*~~*~~*~~

An hour later, Dick emerged from the bathroom. Babs was sitting on the bed with her back against the headboard, watching tv.

"And I thought *I* spent alot of time in the bathroom," she said, smirking.

Dick frowned as he passed between the bed and the tv. he stopped just after the tv and turned to look at it. "Cartoon Network, Babs?"

"What's wrong with the Cartoon Network?" she asked.

"Well... uh, nothing really, I guess. There's nothing else on, though?" he said.

""Not too much at 6am... Dickie," Babs replied, then grinned.

"*Why* do you have to keep calling me that?" Dick asked, exasperated. "What happened to Former Boy...?"

"Shh!" she said. "If I use any of those, someone may pick up on them." She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, maybe, if whoever's in the next room is holding a glass to the wall," he said.

"Are you going to go sign up for that competition or not?" Babs asked, becoming aggravated.

"It's too early. Actually, I was thinking about going down to the gym," Dick said.

"Good. While you do that, I'm going to catch up on *business*," she said and pulled out the laptop, seemingly from nowhere.

"Just don't share any more *news* with Dinah, okay?" he said, heading towards the door.

"I won't," Babs called after him as he was going through the door. She then opened the laptop and IM'd Dinah.

'Now what?'

'Morning to you, too :P' Babs typed.

'Too early.'

'*razz*' Babs left the IM program, closed the laptop, and smiled.

~~*~~*~~*~~

Dick entered the gym and looked around. There were a few guys scattered around, otherwise, the place was empty. He began scanning over the equipment.

"Come on! I even offered to share my water with you!"

Dick stopped cold. "No..." He looked over to the guy and girl standing against the far wall. The guy had red hair and the girl looked annoyed and disgusted. Dick knew of only one guy who fit the description of "red-headed, with a tendency to annoy women (and Dick, for that matter)" ...Roy. He shook his head and continued checking out the equipment, hoping that Roy wouldn't notice him.

The girl walked away from Roy, leaving him confused. "Was it something I said?!" he called after her. "Damn... I must be losing my touch or something." He scanned the room finding no other girls, the same guys, plus one guy who apparently snuck in while that girl was dissing him. He decided to go greet the newcomer.

Dick watched as Roy began to move closer. "Shit," he said, under his breath.

"Hey, another early bird!" Roy called out, moving closer.

Dick rolled his eyes at Roy's wonderful choice of words and tried to ignore his friend's big mouth.

Roy came up next to him. "You new? I've been here every morning for the last week, so I know the regulars. You must actually be staying here in the hotel, too..."

Dick tuned him out, concentrating on the odometer of the exercise bike. He had figured he would start with a machine that didn't require much concentration, seeing as how Roy wouldn't leave him alone once he...

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" he asked, suddenly, trying to get a good look at Dick's face.

"Don't think so," Dick said, flatly, while trying to keep Roy from getting a good look at him.

However, Roy was very determined. He clamped the palm of each hand on Dick's face to hold him still and get a good look. He squinted, stared... then suddenly it dawned on him. "Robbie!?"

"Trying to blow my cover, Arrowbreath?" Dick asked, removing Roy's hands from his face.

"No... What the hell are you doing in California?" Roy said.

Dick smirked. "Why are *you* in California?"

"Nuh-uh, I asked you first," Roy said, waving his index finger in Dick's face.

Dick sighed audibly, then caught Roy's wagging finger. "I can't tell you here. I'm staying in room 203..." He let go of his finger.

"I'll be there in an hour," Roy offered, then cocked his head to one side and grinned. "Nice hair."

"Roy..." Dick said, using "The Voice."

Roy put his hands up in defense. "Okay, you can tell me about that later, too." He put his hands down. "I gotta go, Lian's probably turned our room upside-down and inside-out by now." He turned and ran for the door.

Dick leaned forward on the handlebars, mentally exhausted. "Why did he give me only an hour to go warn Babs and recover?" He thought about that for a moment. "Damn... he sees I'm with Babs and I'll *never* hear the end of this." He got off the bike and bolted for the door.

~~*~~*~~*~~

The door to the room flew open and Dick practically fell in. "Babs!"

She glared at him. "What're you trying to..."

"Roy's here," he stated.

Surprise washed over Babs's face. "Arsenal?"

"And Lian," he added. "Oh, and Roy's going to be here in about forty-five minutes."

"In other words, I make myself scarce or *neither* of us will ever hear the end of this," she said.

~~*~~*~~*~~

"Robbie?!" Roy called, pounding on the door

Dick yanked open the door and pulled Roy in. "I told you already, Bowhead, I'm supposed to be incognito. You're not helping matters at all."

"Sorry... So what's with the new look? Lose a bet?" Roy said, then made himself comfortable in a chair.

"I'm tracking a guy named Tony Methier, who's a major drug dealer. Seems he's based here and is covering his operations with a surfing competition. I figured I would get in on the competition and get some much needed concrete evidence to put him away for good. This is supposed to be my California native, surfer-dude look," Dick explained.

"Ride a wave, yet?" Roy asked.

"Yeah, I did and stayed on when two more waves joined it," Dick answered.

"It's you," Roy said, then added, "I mean, the look itself says surfer, but if you can hang ten, or even hang one, it's no longer a disguise. Wow. Hey, has that girlfriend of yours seen you lookin' this way?"

"Her name is Barbara and, yes, she has and, well, she wasn't too thrilled with it at first, but I think she's gotten used to it," Dick said.

"Cool. "Oh, hey, I'm in room 307. Let me know before you patrol, I'll come with ya." He got up and headed for the door.

"See ya later, Roy," Dick said, avoidng his queston.

"Later," Roy said, then stopped before closing the door and added, "*Dick*." He grinned and slammed the door after him.

Dick glared at the door, then let out an exasperated sigh. "Why couldn't I have run into Wally? Why is it always Roy?"

~~*~~*~~*~~

Dick stood in the entrance of the restaurant and looked around.

The maitre d' joined him. He looked Dick up and down. "May I help you... Sir?"

Dick returned the eyeing. "I'm looking for Rachel Hampton."

"*Who,* may I say, is asking?" the maitre d' said, then cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Rick Malibu," Dick answered, then crossed his arms over his chest. He watched the rather snooty maitre d' look over the sheet of paper on his clipboard.

Mr. Snooty then smiled. "Ah, right this way, Sir."

Dick rolled his eyes and followed him to the table. He sat down across from Babs. "Hi, Rache." He glared at the maitre d', who seemed to be waiting to see if she recognized him.

"Hi, Rick!" Babs said, tossing her own glare on Mr. Snooty.

"Do you wish to see a menu?" he asked.

"Water's fine, thanks," Dick replied, then grinned.

The snooty maitre d' turned and left.

"Interesting guy, that Snootface... er, maitre d'," Babs said, then smirked.

"Very," Dick said, then smiled.

"How did the second meeting with Roy go?" she asked.

"Could've gone better. Now, he wants to go patrol with me," he said, quietly, then paused. "Say, is there any possible way that you could find someone else needs him so he'll leave us alone?"

"Way ahead of you... and, no, I can't. Besides, Wally's the only one who can really stand him and he's out of the country for the time being," she said.

"Damn," Dick said, under his breath.

"*Anyway,* where are we actually going to eat?" Babs asked.

"Hmm, well, there has got to be a Denny's around here somewhere," he suggested.

"Shall we?" she said.

"Lets," Dick said, then stood.

~~*~~*~~*~~