The continuous shrill ringing of the telephone and the pounding on his door competed with the irritating alarm clock and the rattle of the pager as it went off on top of his nightstand. All four going at once barely fazed the exhausted young man, who lay naked a top of forest green mangled sheets on his king size bed. As the annoyance refused to dissipate, he reluctantly rolled over and headed towards the bathroom. Officer Grayson was scheduled on duty in forty-three minutes. Ignoring all the earlier attempts of communications, that he was sure would only slow him down; he instead reached and turned on the lap top computer. Instantly seeing Oracle's beautiful face framed with red shimmering hair, he became instantly alert, much better than an entire pot of coffee.

"Morning, Red." Dick smirked as he greeted his personal information broker.

"Don't you mean late afternoon former boy wonder?" She teased. In the last few months the two had been getting closer, their relationship moving forward. As nervous as that made her, she could do nothing to stop the hands of fate, as it did indeed seem that Officer Dick Grayson, Alias Nightwing, was to be her destiny. As Dick continued buzzing around the laptop getting ready for his impending shower, she couldn't help but smile at his easiness in her presence. She felt honored that he shared so much of himself with her. This afternoon, she felt extra privileged indeed.

"Um.. Dick?" Barbara Gordon inquired, as she sheepishly checked out the young man's excellent physic. Her eyes darting from his handsome Rom features to his taut nipples, encircled with ebony hair, down to his rock firm rippled abs and flat stomach.

"Uh huh?" Dick answered sleepily as he leaned over the bathroom stall.

"Are you? I mean you seem to be?" Much to her surprise and delight this afternoon's peek a boo session was quite revealing as her emerald eyes caught sight of his black hair starting a glory trail just below his navel and leading to...

"What?" He growled as he completely missed the toilet and hit the bathroom flooring.

"Naked?" She giggled.

"Well darling, I don't usually wear my uniform in the shower..." Teasing her with his patented Grayson smile, he continued. "Hey listen before I go, anything going on in Gotham I should know about?"

"No, all's pretty quite, well as quite as Gotham gets anyway. But why ask me? Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"No thanks. I prefer getting the 411 from you. You're much prettier."

"Excuse me Officer?" The elderly woman picked up her pace to try to catch her neighbor before he mounted his motorcycle.

"Yes, ma'am?" Dick tried not to be obvious when he looked at his watch. He had exactly twenty-one minutes to get to the station. Unless he flew through the afternoon's rush hour traffic, it would take a miracle to make it on time.

"I hate to bother you young man." She sounded so troubled that Dick couldn't help but turn around.

"No, that's alright. Is there something I can do for you?" Dick put his helmet on the handlebars and listened as she explained.

"Well, you see, it's my Henry..."

"You're late." Lt. Wariner barked as Dick came screeching into the parking lot of the precinct. Glancing at his watch he groaned. Who could have guessed that it would take almost thirty minutes to talk sense into Henry? A tabby with an attitude, just the way to start his day, Dick mused.

"Yes sir. It won't happen again." Dick quickly took off his helmet and tried to rush past the Lt. without further incident.

"That's what you said yesterday rookie. Something about going to the gas station for a neighbor who had run out."

"Um, yes sir." Dick paused, annoyed but unwilling to express it.

"SO what was it today?"

"A cat sir... in a tree."

The Lt. looked to the rookie with scrutinizing eyes. Trying to figure out if the young man was on the level. Realizing that there were few, if any, other officers on the Bludhaven force that would stop to help neighbors who had run out of gas or who's cat had got stuck in a tree, Lt. Wariner chose to shake his head and walk away rather than reprimand the youngster for doing what the rest of them should have been doing all along. He suppressed a smile as he commanded.

"Carry on Grayson."

"Aye Sir." Dick let out an audible amount of breath that he had been holding. Getting past Wariner had been easy. It was his partner, Sgt. Amy Rohrback that he really had to worry about. As if she had sensed his presence, Sgt. Rohrback exited the precinct with thick manuals in hand, shoving them at him as she walked past.

"What are these Sarge?"

"Handbooks rookie. Look at them carefully. I will be quizzing you."

"But I thought I was through with instruction manuals when I graduated the academy."

"The Bludhaven Police Academy is a joke rookie. You still have a lot to learn. No way I'm turning you loose on these streets without knowing all you can. Now CRAM."

With an exasperated sigh, Dick chose obedience over an argument. "Yes, ma'am."

'And I thought training with the Bat was tough.' Dick mused.

Approximately one hundred and forty two pages later, Officer Grayson rubbed his fatigued eyeballs and dared to put down the instruction manuals long enough to respond to a call that he and Sgt. Rohrback had received.

Arriving near the pier, it was obvious the reason for the disturbance call. Two rival junior gangs, The Flaming Dragons and The Jade Tigers, were going at each other with a vengeance. The oldest members of each gang couldn't have been older than fifteen.

"Geesh, Sarge. Their just kids."

"Kids with weapons rookie. DON'T forget that."

Since the fight between the two gangs was fully involved, Sgt. Rohrback opted to wait until back up could arrive. She stayed totally alert, watching for any signs that the gangs may turn their anger and violence towards the police car. Officer Grayson lacked her patience, and when one kid placed the barrel of a gun to another kid's head, Dick was out the door of the police car, running towards them, before his more sensible partner could stop him.

"Police, FREEZE."

"What shit you talking man? You don't even have no damn gun on you!" The leader of the Jade Tigers looked around suspiciously, trying to figure out where the rest of this homey's crew was.

"And what you got for back up punk? A girl?" The two gangs erupted in laughter. Officer Grayson used this to his advantage. Turning on his charm and upping the wattage on his million-dollar smile, Grayson gave them something other than each other to focus on until backup could arrive.

"I have an proposal for you guys. Anybody here interested in earning some extra cash?"

The oldest member of the Flaming Dragons shook his head, as if it to clear it. He simply couldn't believe an unarmed police officer was standing before them shooting the breeze. The guy had to be incredibly brave or incredibly stupid, or maybe...

"Hey shit head, you on crack or sumthin'?"

"No way! My daddy would kick my butt!" Dick quipped as he worked his way back towards the car turning his back on approximately fifteen to twenty armed boys. Casually, as though he hadn't a worry in the world. Sgt. Rohrback however was praying and practically hyperventilating. As multiple police cars with sirens began to approach, Officer Grayson tried one last attempt.

"The name's Grayson, I'm in the phonebook. Give me a call if any of you decide you want to hear my offer. Oh, and unless your fond of Juvie Hall you might want to get out of here now, cause those sirens you're hearing are from cops that DO have guns."

Behind him, two gangs scattered and disappeared into the night just as the first backup car approached.

"MY GOD! Rookie! You're insane!"

"Um.. Does this mean I have to go back to reading manuals?" Officer Grayson asked uneasily.

"HELL YES!" Came Sergeant Rohrback's retort.

Being lectured all the way back to the precinct, was the price paid for his impulsiveness. There was no way for Sgt. Rohrback to know that Dick Grayson had trained along side the Batman for the majority of his life, as Robin the Boy Wonder. Later he had become a hero in his own right and had adopted the identity of Nightwing. Moving from Gotham to Bludhaven and working solely on his own had proved to be a major adjustment. Nothing could have prepared him however for his adventure into law enforcement as a rookie on the Bludhaven Police Force. With the majority of the police force on the take, he constantly had to watch his back. Was it an accident or divine intervention, that he 'just happened' to be partnered with one of the very few good cops on the force? He preferred to see it as a sign. A sign from a higher power, that he was exactly where he was supposed to be.

"ROOKIE! You listening to me?" Sgt. Rohrback yelled. Her no nonsense voice boomed inside the tiny confides of the police cruiser.

{No ma'am, truth be told, I tuned you out about twenty minutes ago...}

"Yes Ma'am. I'm listening and I understand. I apologize for my carelessness."

At his, little boy in a jam voice, Sgt. Rohrback eased up a little. She admired her rookie's tenacious spirit. She however, could not let him know that. No way was she going to let the brightest hope the Bludhaven P.D. had had in a long time, get himself killed by impetuous behavior.

By the time the shift had run it's course, and all the paper work had been filled out, it was well after midnight. Officer Grayson was looking forward to the ride home to unwind before donning his costume as Nightwing. As he went over possible cases to work on for the evening's rooftop adventures, his mind kept coming back to the Batman. He had no idea why his former mentor was so heavily in his thoughts, but he had been so all day. Even though the two were on better terms than they had been in literally years, he still often felt uneasy when talking to his surrogate father. That's why he often checked up on the Batman's progress and well being from other close family and friends. He supposed guilt was what was bothering him. It had been entirely to long since he had talked to Bruce Wayne or his evening Batman persona. He decided it was time to make a Gotham appearance and surprise the Bat. With his destination foremost on his mind, Officer Grayson failed to notice a few of the officers standing along side a police car parked beside his motorcycle. When he did notice, it was only seconds before he was completely surrounded by them.

"Rookie, Sgt. Williams has been awaiting your answer."

Dick recognized the ringleader to be Officer Alan Graversen. Sgt. Peter Williams was on the take and did little to hide his infractions. Graversen had become one of his prize enforcers. Dick did a quick scanning of the muscle around him. Seven police officers, all ruthless and armed, had him completely encircled. No doubt, Nightwing could take them out with little effort, but his Officer Grayson persona had to be far more careful about letting others see his incredible gymnastic and fighting skills. If he were to have a secret identity, it would have to be kept low keyed while he was in uniform. Staring Graversen in the eye, he appeared as unimpressed by their show of force as he really was.

"I already told Williams. I became a police officer to make a difference." Moving closer and jamming his index finger into Graversen's chest, he reiterated.

"I" Jab.
"Am" Poke.
"NOT" Double jab.
"For" Poke.
"SALE!" Push.

The fight was on. When Sgt. Rohrback exited the precinct, she saw her prize rookie holding his own against several of Bludhaven's worst. She fired a shot into the air and then brought her weapon down and aimed it right into the chest of Officer Graversen. Her message received, he called off his enforcers. Sgt. Rohrback couldn't help but notice that all of them sported broken bones and bloody noses, while Officer Grayson didn't even appear to be winded.

"You'll be changing your mind rookie! REAL SOON!"

"Hello beautiful! You're a sight for exhausted, bloodshot, burning, itching, watery eyes." Dick Grayson smiled as he looked upon the face of the one time Batgirl, now known as Oracle. She appeared to him from inside his laptop computer, as if by magic.

He had stopped at his apartment to shower, change and find out where the Batman might be working tonight. Oddly enough, he was actually looking forward to spending some time with his father figure. He needed to talk to Bruce. Being able to be just himself around the one person who knew him best was very therapeutic in stressful times. Since he had a day off coming up in the morning, he had made up his mind to talk over with Bruce a strategy that had been playing out in his mind all night. A way to get those kids back in school and keep them off the street. He needed some advice on how to handle, hard to handle, teenage boys. His plan had run into a snag however, when he failed to locate either the Batman or Bruce Wayne.

"So what can I do for you handsome?" Babs flirted. Try as she might, she hadn't been able to shake the mental image of his unclothed exquisiteness from earlier in the day.

"Doll have you talked to Bruce lately? I can't seem to reach him."

"Hmm, not since last night Dick. You want me to try?"

"Yeah and when you get him, patch him through to me. I'm going out."

"Any destination in mind tonight, twenty something wonder?"

"Yeah. I think I'll check out some of Bludhaven's Blue Boys. See what you can dig up on Sgt. Peter Williams and Officer Alan Graversen. I'll be in touch."

"Will do, Oracle out."

A night of pressing underground lowlife's proved both exhausting and useless. No one was willing to turn over on a member of the Bludhaven Police. Nightwing realized that this might be one case he would only be able to work as Officer Grayson. That accomplishment brought him both personal and professional satisfaction.

Checking in with Oracle one last time before retiring for the night, Nightwing learned that there was still no word from Batman. When he expressed his concern to Oracle, she smiled her reassurance as she informed him that Bruce Wayne had been to work at Wayne Tech these last few days. It was only at night that he couldn't seem to be reached. Nightwing knew Batman's relentlessness when he was pursuing a case and without Alfred there to save him from himself, Batman was free to devote more time than ever to his crusade.

"All right, if he does surface let me know. I'll try to reach him at Wayne Tech in the morning."

"Rohrback!" Sgt. Williams' voice boomed through the hallways. She didn't flinch, her years on the force had long ago taught her to stand her ground with bullies.

"Yes, Sergeant?"

"Where's that rookie you're plagued with?"

"I'd hardly called it plagued, Sergeant. That rookie is a good man, and he's making a damn fine cop."

"Yeah, whatever. I need you and him to get down to the warehouse on Gardner Street. Got a weapons buy going down and Lt. Wariner requests the two of you for back up."

"It's Grayson's night off."

"Better call his majesty's butt in. Wariner said the bust is scheduled for nine."

"We'll be there."

Dick rolled over and growled at his phone, but it did little to stop the incestuous ringing. He tried through a sleepily haze to understand why the answering machine was falling down on it's job. Finally, he remember he had thrown the defenseless object through the air earlier in the morning.

"WHAT?"

"Officer Grayson?"

Dick hoped his heavy sigh wasn't audible.

"This is Grayson."

"I'm sorry for disturbing you. My name is Kristina Morgan. I'm Billy's mother." The woman sounded so distressed that Dick found himself rolling over and actually waking up enough to talk to her.

"Billy? Do I know your son?"

"Well not really but you saved his life last night, in the gang fight you intercepted. A boy had a gun to my son's head." As tears filtered through the phone lines, Grayson's entire demeanor changed.

"Yes Ma'am. I remember Billy. How is he?" His words soft now, the worried mother relaxed.

"You risked your life last night. You. You saved my son. I .. just don't know how to thank you enough."

"Well, actually there is one way..."

Kristina Morgan held the line, listening intently, as Officer Grayson explained his plan.

Dick received exactly twenty minutes extra of quality slumber before his former partner summoned him. When Bruce called his phone had a differential ring, something he had set up with the phone company.

"Bout time you checked in Kemosabe." Dick grumbled, wishing Bruce had been located the night before. Thus sparing his sleep time.

"Yeah been busy with Cindy, or is it Mindy?" Bruce Wayne put on his best unintelligent act, letting Dick know someone was in the room with them. Realizing they were on speakerphone, Dick played along.

"Knowing you they're probably twins."

"Now, son, you know I have sworn off twins since the Randi and Candi mishap last spring." Laughing, Bruce's blue eyes twinkled with mischief. Bruce's secretary Ann turned her back to keep her boss from seeing her roll her eyes. Shaking her head disgusted, she delivered the days mail and left the office quickly.

"Okay Kiddo, we're alone. How's it going?"

"Kiddo? Bruce, I'm twenty- three." Dick protested.

"Uh huh, you're point?" Bruce teased affectionately. This was his first contact with his surrogate son in weeks. He had missed picking at him and just the general companionship that family provides.

"My point is I haven't seen you in awhile. Think we could get together tonight? I finally have the night off."

"So you want me to just drop everything for you. Is that it?" Bruce asked. Dick was pleased by his joking manner. It truly was good to hear his voice.

"Yep. Drop EVERYTHING. Be at my apartment at around nine. I need your help on a case."

"Isn't nine a little early for that kind of help?"

"Naaw, I don't need the Bat. I need Bruce Wayne. I have an idea of how to help a group of troubled kids."

"Count me in. See you at nine."

Dick's sleepy smile remained on his face as he easily drifted back off to sleep, this time with the ringer turned off.

"Wake up rookie!" Dick shook his head furiously. Surely he must have dreamed the sound of Sgt. Rorhbach's aggravated voice, as it screamed for him to get his lazy butt up, over and over and over...

"ROOOOOOKKKKIIIIEEE!!!!!!!!"

"Oh nooo." Dick objected as he comprehended that it was in fact the Sergeant, at his door, on this, his only day off in months. Dick jumped up quickly when he heard the front door opening. Hearing the building's superintendent Clancy, as she chattered away with Sgt. Rorhbach right beside her, Dick reached for something, anything to conceal him.

"Rookie?"

Dick's blush was the only thing that covered him as the two women gasped and then giggled as he ran for the solace of the bathroom.

Clearing her throat, Sgt. Rorhbach attempted to hide her amusement.

"We've got to work with Lt. Wariner tonight on a sting in a warehouse on Gardner Street. We need to get together on some things, run through possible scenarios before the actual event. Lt. Wariner is very particular about his operations. He asked for you by name. That's excellent progress for a rookie. Or anyone else for that matter."

Still in the bathroom, with the door cracked just enough to hear them, Dick tried to hide his embarrassment and his annoyance.

"Sarge, I appreciate the vote of confidence and all but I've made plans for tonight."

"Well they just got changed rookie. Now put some clothes on that exceptional body and lets get a move on!"

Clancy laughed so hard she let out a snort, inciting her to laugh even harder. Before her tenant and his merciless boss left the building, Clancy promised to catch Bruce Wayne and explain that Dick would be a little late...

~Gotham City~

In an upstairs room of Wayne Manor, a struggle was ensuing. Though he preferred to carry out his assignments in less high scale locations, assassin for hire, Donovan Raye preformed his duties without remorse. His assignment had been a simple one; kill one troublemaking Bludhaven Police Rookie named Richard Grayson. Raye's employer gave no specifics as to how or when, as long as it was done quickly. Grayson had been stirring up too much attention to the daily goings on of some of the most influential people in Bludhaven. There was no room for a whistle blower at the top. He had been given a chance to get with the program and proved he could not be bought. The only other answer was termination. And termination was Donovan Raye's specialty.

Looking down at the remains of Gotham's socialite Bruce Wayne, Donovan Raye allowed himself a wry smile. With Grayson's father out of the picture, Raye had persuaded his boss that Grayson would not be such a formidable enemy after all. Killing Wayne before hand only made good sense. No wealthy grieving father to stir up politicians and have the Bludhaven Police Department looked at under a microscope. Not to mention the fact that the emotional repercussions would throw off Grayson, making him easier to snare. Playing a simple game with the mouse before having it for dinner, Raye flipped open his cell phone and reported his victory to his employer, Sgt. Williams.

"Wayne's dead. In a few hours the Grayson kid will be joining the dearly departed."

"Very good. Any problems with Wayne?"

"He was a scrapper but I held the element of surprise, what's left of him is in a puddle in his bedroom floor."

"Any witnesses?"

"Place is empty, 'cept for Wayne."

"Good. Get out of there. Report when you get back from the warehouse tonight. I want Grayson finished by then.."

"You sure this is the right address Sarge?" Impatiently, Dick's eyes darted around the entrance of the warehouse. It didn't look like another sole was anywhere near the place. Had the weapons buyers sensed a set up?

"This is the place, alright." Both Grayson and Rohrback fought against the urge to jump when a knife was pulled on Dick through the cruiser's open window.

"Leave your weapons on the seat and get out slow." The low growl ordered. Both rookie and sergeant did as asked.

Leading them into the warehouse, Donovan Raye paused when he saw Lt. Wariner entering from the side door. Unsure of the lieutenants loyalties, Raye held the knife lower in Officer Grayson's back, out of view from the advancing lieutenant.

"You must be Raye." Wariner acknowledged. Thus leaving no doubt that he was on the side of Sgt. Williams, the dirty cop that had gone out of his way to kill Officer Grayson.

"Raye? Donovan Raye, the mercenary?" Dick questioned, the situation becoming clearer.

"The one and only, Kiddo."

The building long left abandoned, was filled with only the sound of two people breathing and a bomb's timer going tick, tick, tick. As she regained consciousness, Sgt. Amy Rohrback looked over to her rookie partner. He sat, slumped on the ground beside her. His ebony curls matted with the color of crimson. Wriggling around, she managed to get her rope bound hands to his. Feeling of his wrist, she realized her partner wasn't in any real danger. Although his breath was coming in labored attempts, causing her to think him unconscious at first, she began to realize he was in a self- induced trance of some kind.

"Rookie, can you hear me?" She tried hard to keep desperation out of her voice. Squeezing his hand she tried once more.

"Dick, come on partner, I need some assist here."

Officer Grayson's eyelids fluttered, as his body slowly started to stir. He returned the squeeze of the hand but couldn't stifle the moan of protest his body gave when he tried to move his head. A gift Lt. Wariner had given him while tying him up.

"Rookie, I know you're in a bad way, but we've got a situation here... Seems that we've been left to become part of the rubble when this building blows. Which according to that timer by the door, we've got just over four minutes. Any ideas?" Though her thoughts were full of fear, she made no outward showing of it. Her tone was simply that of a veteran cop giving her partner a briefing. Dick appreciated her calm demeanor, more than she could have possibly realized. He treated her with his patented Grayson smile as a reward.

"That head injury must be bad, if you think you've got something to smile about." She muttered, still fighting with the ropes on both her hands and feet.

"Four minutes? Piece of cake Sarge." Officer Grayson wiggled rope bound fingers behind his back. With some concentrated effort he was able to bring his fingers behind his belt and secure an ultra thin pocketknife. Flipping up the blade, he had her hands freed immediately and she then took the knife and did the same for him.

"Somebody was a boy scout." She whispered, mostly to herself, as she made quick work of ridding them of the ropes that bound their feet as well.

"Come on Rookie, time to book." Glancing at the timer she saw they only had three minutes, forty five seconds left. Sgt. Amy Rohrback put all her strength into pulling her partner up from the floor.

"I'm glad you didn't say time to blow this joint." Officer Grayson quipped calmly. Must be the adrenaline, she reasoned.

"Sarge wait, what happened to Raye?" His voice had an edge of determination and raw grit to it that Sgt. Rohrback had never heard come from him before.

"The guy with the knife?"

"Yeah, where is he?" Dick asked anxiously.

"He didn't make it. For some reason he jumped the Lt. when Wariner hit you in the head. The Lt. shot him several times."

Dick felt the room start to spin. 'Oh God, Oh God...'

"Where? Where is he?"

"He drug him over there.." Sgt. Rohrback pointed hurriedly to a human heap lying by the explosive device in the center of the warehouse.

"Sarge, I'll be right behind you.. Go!"

"He's dead rookie! No way to help him now. We've got to get out of here!"

"Amy, I promise, I'm right behind you. Get out, and call for help! PRONTO!" The look in his blue eyes left no room for arguing. Despite her reservations, she knew when it came down to it she had to trust her partner.

"Make it fast blue eyes." She yelled.

Officer Grayson grabbed Donavan Raye and despite being pressed for time, found himself checking his surrogate father for a pulse.

"Come on Bruce, don't do this to me..." As he felt the body in his grasp begin to stir, a flood of relief washed over him.

Draping an arm around his neck for support, Officer Grayson placed another arm around his waist. Try as he might however, he couldn't get his feet to cooperate. The wave of nausea that overpowered Raye left him gagging and fighting not to be sick.

"Um.. Kiddo, I think you better go on without me." Donovan Raye sunk back to the ground, despite his partner's best efforts to keep him upright.

Still Dick refused to leave him.

Yanking with all his strength got the determined Officer nowhere, with less than two minutes left on the timer. His voice was challenging as he once again draped his arm around Raye's shoulders and pulled till he was on his feet.

"Damn it Batman, get up!"

With all the concentrated effort of years of physical and mental training, Batman regained command over his body, forcing his legs and feet to match time with that of his partner's. Officer Grayson moved slowly at first until he was sure Batman had his bearings, then he moved like lightening flashing through the empty warehouse, reaching the door and bursting out it, at the last possible second.

The roar the blast made was deafening to the two, as the force from it slung them helplessly up and then over, sending them crashing down hard into the asphalt of the parking lot. Parts of the building shot out at them, raining down debris and flames as they attempted to dodge further injury. Raye first noticed his shirtsleeve ablaze when he felt the rookie officer beating his arm hard. Before he had time to react, the fire was out. There, sitting on the ground, Batman proudly reached and ran trembling fingers through his son's disheveled raven colored tresses.

"It's s'okay partner, we made it. Thanks to you."

"You've got some 'splaining to do Lucy." Dick managed to growl in his best Ricky Ricardo voice. Earning him a rare smirk from the Batman.

"I just thought you might need some help."

"Help? I get blown up and my head bashed in, not to mention scared to death when I thought that you...." After a brief brake in his voice Officer Grayson continued.

"You call that help?"

"Uh huh." Came the light hearted reply.

~Epilogue~

Dick tried to continue his duties at the precinct without giving much thought to the menacing glares he received from the majority of his coworkers. By now, it was all over the national news that Officer Grayson had brought down Lt. Wariner, Sgt. Williams and Officer Graversen. All with just a little help from Sgt. Amy Rohrback and an unidentified uncovered agent.

Apparently a packet of evidence had been given directly to the governor, with copies sent to President Luthor personally. Of course, just for insurance, a copy of the evidence had been leaked to the press. That 'unidentified undercover agent' was very adamant about Officer Grayson's safety.

"You won't be here long Rookie." Sgt. Hassen snarled as he and the new group of enforcers walked by the desk. Dick glanced up, seemingly unimpressed by the threat. Sgt. Rohrback shook her head and suppressed a smile at the deja vu. Before Dick could answer, Officer Britcher called to him from the front desk.

"Grayson, you got some people here to see you."

"People? What people?"

"Looks like the whole damn town. You better get up here."

Dick and Amy exchanged looks and she let him know in a glance, no matter what the trouble was, she was on his side. He smiled his thanks with his eyes. Something she had learned to look for from him. Together, the two walked towards the front desk with Sgt. Hassen and his enforcers in tow.

A slender woman, with worn jeans and a pretty smile stepped forward. She was holding a huge basket of flowers and balloons.

"I'm Kristina Morgan, Officer Grayson. We spoke on the phone about my son Billy."

Dick began to relax as he recognized her voice, yet he was still confused why so many people had gathered.

"We are all representatives from the neighborhoods of this precinct. We want to thank you for all that you are doing for this city. Helping neighbors with various problems, opening boys clubs to keep our kids off the streets, bringing down corrupt city officials. None of this has gone unnoticed. We just wanted to say thanks for giving us back pride in our community."

Dick suddenly realized that close to a hundred people were waiting on him to say something. Try as he might, words would not come to him. Finally, he reached for the basket of flowers and balloons and held it up over his head for all to see.

"To Protect and To Serve." Officer Grayson felt a lump in his throat as he repeated his oath and the community cheered. Television crew lights blinded his eyes, angling for the best shot for the eleven o'clock news. The reporters failed to see however the scowl in the eyes of Sgt. Hassen as he looked to his adversary with boiling hatred. They failed also to see one man, standing to the side of all the commotion, glowing with love and parental pride.

"Way to go Kiddo." He whispered.