"Stephie, honey, it's not going to kill you to take a night off. You look so tired."

Hunched over the plate of waffles in front of her, half awake, raising her eyebrows in quizzical response, Steph slowly straightened up and reached for polka dot coffee mug.

"I look tired, mother dearest, because I just woke up. Not for any other reason. Fret not!"

The corners of her mouth twitch into a small smile before sipping at the coffee, Crystal clicking her tongue in annoyance.

"I 'fret', Stephanie Brown, because you're, well, you. You run around with a cape and do dumb things."

Pointing with her fork, the pre cut piece of waffle dripping with syrup as she waved it over her plate.

"And a cloak. And sometimes no costume. I do dumb things naturally. Don't blame the suit."

Sighing and sitting across from the blonde, adjusting her glasses, Crystal stared down her daughter, in no mood for her joke deflections.

"Stephanie. You've died once already. And been in a coma. I worry about you. Every night. Every time there's a call out, and it's a young woman, I think they're going to be bringing you in. Again."

Sighing, popping her food into her mouth and talking with her cheek packed, Steph reached across the kitchen table to take her mother's hand.

"Mom. I assure you. Oracle and I would never allow that to happen. The only reason I ended up in West Mercy General when I was in the coma was because the super gals panicked and went to the nearest hospital."

Scowling at Stephanie furiously, who was now offering a food packed, chipmunk cheeked smile, making it difficult for Crystal to tell whether she was being serious or not, she just sighed.

"Just… try not to die again."

Squeezing Steph's hand softly, Crystal lowers her eyes to the scarred knuckles of the blonde.

"I try everyday to not die. Does that make you feel better?"

Steph says softly, all jokes gone from her voice.

"No. Not even a little."

She squeezes tighter.

"Can't help you much there, mother. I have a job to do."

Stephanie says flatly.

"Why is it your job to do?"

Crystal raises her voice. It wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation. Pulling her hand back, and getting to her feet, Stephanie says calmly, as she leaves the kitchen.

"So people like me don't have to step up and have to do it for themselves when no one looks out for them. Or their mothers."

"Steph wait-"

She was already halfway up the stairs.
Chasing after the blonde, white medical coat flapping after her, Crystal wasn't as fast as the younger Brown. The bedroom door slammed in her face, lock clicking. Crystal knew by the time she went back down to the kitchen to get a knife to turn the safety mechanism from outside the door, Stephanie would likely have gone out the window, and taken her car to get to 'work' hours early, to prove a point.
Steph snagged her bag up as she barreled across her bedroom, through her bedroom window up and slipped out onto the roof.
It didn't bother her that she was still in her pyjamas, she was going to change anyway.
Dropping down off the roof, into the garden bed and setting off at a trot around to the Compact, slipping inside as her mother flung open the front door, Steph threw the Mini into reverse and squealed out of South Holden.
In the Firewall, assembling 'rangs en mass, cowl hanging loose behind her head, scanner blaring, contemplating the existence of a frankenrang, a call over the scanner caught her attention.

'ATTENTION ALL UNITS: FIVE ALARM FIRE IN MIDTOWN. ALL UNITS-'

Steph was already on the move. Pulling the cowl down over her face, running towards the Ricochet, she was out of there like a shot.
Skidding to a stop alongside the bustling fire trucks, prepared to offer assistance any way she could, when she saw a younger looking woman struggling with a firefighter.

"PLEASE! I HAVE TO!"

"Ma'am, you can't, it's too dangerous!"

Slipping up to them, Batgirl puts her hands on both their arms to get their attentions.

"What's the problem?"

"My baby!"

The woman wails, clutched Stephs wrist. The firefighter, looking defeated, and wounded shakes his head.

"I can't send any of my men back in there! It's a death trap!"

Digging her oxygen mask from one of her belt pockets and clipping it to the bottom part of her cowl, Steph looks to the building.

"Good thing I'm not one of your men then. Which floor, what window. Be specific."

With a small yelp, the woman drags Steph a little way off to the side, and points up to the fifth floor, sixth window across.

"The firefighters just grabbed me. He was in his bed, I didn't-"

"No time. Shh"

Firing her grapple off above the window, Steph rocketed up towards the flame engulfed building. She didn't have the heart to tell the mother what the likelihood was that her child was going to be ok, but she would hate herself if she didn't try.
Crashing feet first through the window, flicking her lenses down to protect her eyes from the smoke, she saw good signs. This room wasn't on fire.
Yet.
But with her just introducing fresh oxygen to the situation who's to say how long that would last.
Seeing curled up in the furthest corner from the door a small figure, she took small, careful steps, lest the floor give way.

"Hey buddy… you still with me over there?"

She called wearily. Seeing the head slowly raise she moved faster. Unclipping the mask from her cowl as she crouched, she held it to his face.

"I'm gonna get you outta here, ok? Your mom sent me. Hold onto this for me."

Glancing back at the window, she quickly realized she wasn't going to be able to carry a child out of it. Her years of night time acrobatics, and frankly, luck, had gotten her through that much smaller than she had thought window.
Unclasping her cape she half picked him up, giving a small smile as she moved him as gently as she could as she moved with haste. Wrapping him in the cape, before getting to her feet and tucking the last piece of cape across his face, she swallowed hard.

"This is gonna be a bumpy ride, but I have to cover your face so you don't get burnt ok? But you get to tell everyone later you ran through fire, ok?"

With a small nod of agreement, tucking the scared little face away, Steph gave a small squeeze of support to the kiddlet, before crossing to the door, taking a deep breath, and flinging it open.
The heat on the exposed lower half of her face was searing, and immediate. Tucking her chin into the bundle of cape and child she was carrying, and willing herself not to breathe, she took off at a run. Looking for the first hole in the floor she took it, grapple in hand.
Swinging into the next blazing hall, mentally correcting her path for the front of the building, Steph kept moving. No longer existant front doors in sight, the thought crossed her mind.

'My luck the floor gives out right now and I fall into a flame filled basement to die again'

Skidding to a stop in the zone kept clear out the front, ash falling around them, coughing, weezing, realizing that you cannot hold your breath and run for your life at the same time, she flicked back the cape over her little bundles head.

"How you doing?"

She asks softly.
The wide eyes travel from her face, up to the building behind them.

"....we were in there?!"

"Yeah buddy. We were in there."

"MY BABY!"

"Mommy?!"

The little head snaps around, lowering the mask. Steph pushes it back up to his face and moves towards the ambulances, the very grateful mother meeting them there, with an almost crushing hug.

"...thank you."

After an awkward beat, and a shuffling of feet, Steph just pulled a tight lipped grimace of a smile.

"No need to thank me… I'm just doing my job…"

After standing, watching and making sure the oxygen masks got swapped appropriately, and being handed back her cape, Steph nudged the boys foot as he looked around the inside of the ambulance.

"Remember what we talked about. You ran through fire. You get to brag about that to your friends."

"And met Batgirl!"

He chirped, to which she shook her head slightly with a genuine half smile.

"That one's not as cool though. Be good. Don't give the doctors or nurses a hard time, ok?"

"Ok Batgirl."

Shaking her head, she made to take her leave.
Sitting on the roof of West Mercy General, looking out at the city, coughing slightly still, she sighed.
Sure, she did something good tonight. She did something good last night, and she'll probably do something good tomorrow night, but how much good will make up for the people that died because of her? The fact she started a gang war and destroyed the city? The fact she single handedly handed it all over to Roman Sionis on a silver platter?
And what if the floor had given away on her tonight? That mother would have lost her son. And Crystal would have had to deal with losing Steph. Again. What about Lea? How do you explain that to Lea?
Giving up her baby wasn't even her biggest regret. Her biggest regret at this point was becoming Robin.
No. Losing the Robin mantle because she didn't know how to listen.
Feeling a buzz against her thigh, Steph scowled softly, digging out her phone.
A text. From her mother. Of course. She wasn't going to read it right now. She didn't have the energy. She was however, going to go break into the nurses break room, and give her mother a hug.
Whether Crystal needed one or not, Steph needed it.