When Damian was killed in Batman INC I wrote this fic for Steph fans on the cbr boards, since she didn't exist at the time but had a very fun 'frenemy' relationship with the little assassin.

Stephanie swallowed as she listened to Tim speak on the other side of the phone line.

"The-there's no chance it's fake? No way he's gone off to Africa or something?"

"Fraid not." Tim replied. "This is as real as it gets."

Her hand shaking, Steph put down the phone. She turned around and walked slowly out of the kitchen. Unfortunately, her mother was in the living room.

"What's wrong?" Crystal asked. "You look white as a ghost."

"N-nothing." Steph said.

"Stephanie, what is it?"

"I said there's nothing wrong! Steph yelled. "Just leave me alone!"

She ran upstairs, leaving her mother unsure of how to respond.

Stephanie locked the door to her room and began to cry.

"Little twit. Always leaping before you look. Always biting off more than you can chew."

She rubbed her eyes, trying to wipe away the tears. But they wouldn't stop.

"Then again, who am I to talk?"

Steph opened the drawer where she kept hidden her pictures of herself with the vigilantes she was closest to. Most were of her with either Tim, Cass, or Babs. But there was one of most of INC. She smiled at the image of herself smirking as she gave bunny ears to the scowling Robin from behind.

Now she wished she had at least one picture of just herself and Damian.

She never considered herself to be friends with him before. In fact, they couldn't stand each other. But they had reached something of an understanding. And she had felt so bad for him that she had made it one of her missions to teach him how to have fun.

'It's not fair." she said to herself. They all knew the risks. Contrary to what some believed about her, she knew them as well as anyone. But he was so young.

Stephanie closed the drawer. She couldn't talk to her mother about this. She couldn't reveal that Robin was dead, or that he had been eleven years old. Crystal already disapproved of the vigilante lifestyle. But it really sucked to not be able to talk to her own mother about a peer of hers dying.

Steph entered her closet and reached for the box on the top shelf that contained her costume. If Damian's death was affecting her this much, it must be truly crushing for his father and former partner Dick. Everyone would be in mourning.

Knowing Batman, he'd keep his feelings bottled up and push those he needed away. But if he was smarter this time and allowed others to try to comfort him, the least she could do was provide a shoulder to cry on.