Author's Note

Summary: Dick stated in Nightwing Annual #1 that before she married John Grayson, his mother had been a dental hygienist. This is just a possible story of how two people from such diverse backgrounds might have met and fallen in love.  

Acknowledgement: I know nothing about dentistry or any of the dental health professions, so I apologize profusely for the flagrant errors that I probably made! Note: Mary Grayson's maiden name has never been stated, to the best of my knowledge, so I've given her the last name, Richardson. (Don't laugh "Mary Tyler Moore Show" fans!)

Disclaimer: All the characters are owned by DC Comics and Time/Warner; this is an original story that does not intend to infringe on their copyright. Feedback is welcome!
Copyright 1999

****

John and Mary: the Flying Graysons!

by Syl Francis

"Some things were just meant to be..."

****

The emergency came in at the start of regular office hours. The young man was in excruciating pain, but managed to control it. He held an ice pack to his mouth and moved with careful, deliberate motions. He was dressed in bloodstained, formerly white, tights, which left nothing to the imagination. A garrulous, older man, slightly overweight, dressed in a Panama hat and Hawaiian shirt, accompanied him. His loud voice carried throughout the clinic, demanding instant attention.

Mary rushed out of her tiny cubicle where she'd been setting up for her morning patients. Steve followed closely behind.

"What seems to be the problem?" Steve asked.

"Are you the doctor?" asked the young man's companion.

"Yes, I'm Doctor Bryson." Steve looked over at the young man and moved quickly to him. He addressed the older man, "Sir, why don't you give my receptionist the necessary information? I'll take a look at this young man. By the way, what's the patient's name?"

"What? Oh, this is Johnny...John Grayson."

****

Haly sat in the reception area tapping his foot impatiently. He must have checked his watch sixty times in as many minutes. Finally, unable to wait any longer, he walked over to the receptionist and was to about to demand information, when the door from the examination room opened.

"Mister Haly?" Steve asked.

"Yes, Doc. Tell me, will he be all right? Can I take him home?"

"Whoa, slow down, Mister Haly," Steve said, motioning Haly to sit down. "John's suffered a serious fracture to the jaw. I've given him something for the pain, taken X-Rays, and run the usual diagnostics, but what your young friend needs right now is a hospital. I can make arrangements to have him transported to Miami General. There, he can have the required oral surgery performed."

"Can't *you* do it, Doc? I've got to get 'im back to the circus. We're opening the season in two weeks at the Miami Fairgrounds. John's my main act, Doc! I can't afford to lose him."

"Mister Haly, I'm afraid that even with surgery, John's not going to be able to do much of anything for awhile," Steve shook his head apologetically. Then curiously asked, "Just what exactly *does* he do anyway? I mean how did he receive such a serious blow to the jaw? Did he get in a fight?"

"Who? Johnny Grayson fight? No way, Doc! Everybody loves the boy! He grew up in the circus. Comes from a long line of circus performers. His mother and father, God rest their souls, met while doing a circus charity benefit for Korean War orphans. They got married and carried on the family tradition of the Flying Graysons! John's an aerialist, Doc. He grew up about a hundred feet in the air. I think he took his first steps on the high wire."

Haly's proud recitation of John's lineage came to an abrupt halt.

"Johnny was practicing his opening triple loop, when that idiot new catcher I just hired *missed* him! He MISSED him!!! Johnny was right there...On the mark...where he's *supposed* to be! But that has-been, Marko, missed his cue and was still on the back swing, when Johnny released. If I find out that Marko's been drinking on the job, I'll kick him from here to perdition!"

Haly put his head in his hands.

"Johnny could've been killed! He was practicing without his safety line, like always. Thank, God, the net was up, because he wasn't prepared for a complete miss. I mean, Johnny can do the triple loop blindfolded, Doc. He *never* misses! So he just wasn't expecting it, I guess, and he didn't fall right...He almost missed the net, but managed to catch it at the last moment. Unfortunately, he struck one of the reinforcement joints on the guide wires.  Doc, if Johnny can't open in two weeks, I'll be ruined!"

Steve shook his head again.

"I'm sorry, Mister Haly, but John's injury is extremely serious and painful. He'll need time to recuperate. My assistant, Mary Richardson, is with him at the moment. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must make the necessary arrangements to transport him to Miami General. You may go in and see him. He's pretty much out of it because of the painkillers, though."

Haly nodded sadly, but walked into the examination room. A young woman in hospital greens stood over Johnny. He was resting quietly on the examination table. His bloodstained tights had been removed, and he was now dressed in a hospital nightgown. Johnny's eyes were closed, and he appeared to be sleeping. Noting that Johnny was apparently holding Mary's hand, Haly looked at her, his eyebrow shooting upwards.

Mary looked down at her patient's hand and blushed prettily. She shook her head, as if to say, It's not my fault, honest!

"It's not my fault, honest! I've tried to get him to let go, but he just holds on tighter." She looked down at their hands again. "My, he *does* have a strong grip, doesn't he?"

Haly smiled at her observation.

"When your life depends on having a strong grip, young lady, you sort of tend to concentrate on making it as strong as possible." Mary looked at him clearly not understanding.

"John's an aerialist. Trapeze artist," he explained succinctly. Mary's eyes widened.

"Wow!" she said, impressed. "I don't think I've ever met a real circus performer before. Is he any good?" she asked. Haly looked insulted.

"Young lady, John Grayson happens to be ranked amongst the top ten of the world's best aerialists! He's performed with the finest circuses around the world! I consider it an honor and privilege that he's signed on with the Haly Circus for this year's tour." His face fell suddenly. "But now, with this injury...I don't know. There may not *be* a Haly Circus after this season."

Mary looked down at the sleeping man. She couldn't help but admire his perfect physique, obviously a hallmark of his dangerous occupation. He had dark, wavy hair, which he wore slightly longish as was the current style.

Furthermore, John had the most intense eyes she'd ever seen. So stormy gray, Mary could almost feel the barely concealed power that seemed to lie, tightly coiled beneath his quiet exterior. And even with his face swollen and discolored from his injury, she knew that he was probably handsome, as well.

Mary couldn't believe this. She was acting so unprofessionally! She'd *never* been this way with any of her patients. She was just a small-town Oklahoma girl who'd dreamed of living in Miami all of her life. When she'd graduated from Oklahoma U, she'd made a beeline to the Sunshine State and never looked back.

The life of glamour that she'd dreamed of never quite came to pass, but she nevertheless enjoyed Miami's endless beaches, its exciting nightlife, and diverse culture. She'd learned many Cuban recipes, and because of the dental clinic's clientele had improved her high school Spanish.

A circus performer, Mary thought, studying her patient admiringly. She sighed. Down girl! You'll probably never see him after today.

****

After John Grayson was loaded onto the ambulance and taken away, Steve's small clinic returned to its usual semblance of order. Steve was proud of his practice. He'd only graduated from Dental School three years ago, and already he had a real up and coming practice. He was already thinking about taking on a partner and expanding.

He thought of Mary Richardson. She'd been with him almost from the start. They'd dated casually, nothing serious at first, because he wanted to get his clinic established before even considered marriage. But now? Steve thought about Mary. His quiet and shy dental hygienist and surgical assistant was a steady, dependable worker, and she had a wonderfully open and sweet disposition.

"And lucky me," Steve said aloud. "She's also gorgeous!" He hadn't even realized it until that night three weeks ago when he escorted her to the Dentists' Annual Black Tie Charity Ball. This was the first year he'd decided to attend and asked Mary to accompany him. The simple black dress she'd worn had taken his breath away! Mary's appearance turned heads that night, and claimed his heart.

****

"Hey, Stevie-boy," teased his colleagues. "You've been holding out on us! Who's the doll?"

"Yeah, Steve," another said, this one married, "how about an introduction?"

"Sure, Jim," Steve readily replied, "but what would Margo say?"

"Margo would say, it's time to go home, little man!" The friends all broke into laughter, as Margo grabbed Jim by the ear and started pulling him to the door.

In the end, Steve never introduced Mary to any of his lecherous colleagues, electing instead to keep her all to himself for the evening.

****

That night Steve decided that Mary was the girl for him. He'd invited her for a weekend of boating down the Florida Keys this coming Saturday. They were both certified divers, so he planned to ask her to marry him while they were underwater exploring the coral reefs. He had it all planned out.

While she was carefully exploring the beauty and mystery of the reefs, he'd indicate that he'd found something. When he had her attention, he planned to show her the engagement ring. Maybe he could find a fake oyster shell to put it into.

"Hey! That's an idea!" Steve said, nodding excitedly. "This weekend, Mary Richardson, I'm asking you to marry me!"

Steve happily returned to his patients' reports.

****

Mary felt strangely restless after her circus performer patient was transported to the hospital. The EMTs had to pry his fingers loose from hers.

"We may have to start cutting, Mary!" one teased.

"Or you can accompany us to the emergency room," the other one said. "We can always use another *hand*!" Mary grimaced at the bad pun.

"You two just better take care of my patient," she threatened. "Remember, I know where you work!"

"Hey, if we start coming to this clinic to have our teeth cleaned, will you let *us* hold your hand, too?"

Mary smiled at the memory. Her thoughts inadvertently returned to John's perfect body.

"Mary Richardson!" she chastised herself. "Get a grip! The guy's probably married and has ten kids!" But still, as she studied her other patients' X-Rays, her mind kept wandering back to John Grayson.

Tidying up after her last patient, Mary looked up as Steve walked up to her open cubicle door.

"Hey, gorgeous," he said easily. "Ready for the weekend?"

Mary turned her back to him, under the pretext of putting some instruments away. She felt like cringing at the "gorgeous" comment. Mary liked Steve. She'd gone out with him casually on a few occasions. He was a sweet, considerate, and dependable friend, but Mary wasn't really attracted to him.

And until the formal ball they'd attended a few weeks ago, she thought he felt the same way. Now, his whole demeanor was changed. He'd become more attentive and seemed to be hanging around her cubicle more often just to say "Hi!"

In other words, Steve was becoming a nuisance, but she didn't know how to discourage him. Nor did she have the heart to hurt him. Steve had hired her right out of college, and together, they'd built the practice to where it currently was. Mary loved her job, but she didn't love her boss, she suddenly realized. She already dreaded the weekend, and what Steve probably had planned.

Mary turned around and smiled brightly.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," she said. Steve returned her smile.

"Hey, may I give you a ride home?" he asked, hopefully. Mary's car was currently in the shop and her co-workers had graciously taken turns giving her rides to and from work. She shook her head.

"Oh, Steve, I really appreciate it! But I have some late shopping I need to do. I'll probably take the Metro downtown, then catch the bus home. But thanks!"

Steve walked into her cubicle and took her gently in his arms.

"Are you sure, Mary? I wouldn't mind driving you around and helping you do your shopping."

"Oh, don't be silly, Steve! I'll be fine, and I *like* taking the bus. It's always interesting meeting new people. Really, I don't mind!"

Steve gave her a chagrinned smile, but released her.

"Okay, but I'm still picking you up bright and early on Saturday! So, you'd better have *all* of your shopping done by then, young lady!" He gave her a friendly peck on the cheek and left.

Mary sighed. Saturday was three days away.

"Well, I have three days to come up with the world's worst flu symptoms," she muttered. Mary felt immediately guilty. No! She had to clear the air, and she had to do it *before* Saturday. It was obvious to her that Steve was planning a romantic weekend getaway with her. She shook her head. Why did their relationship have to change?

Mary looked around her little office, giving it a cursory glance to ensure that everything was in its proper place. Pausing at the door, she looked back once more. She felt a twinge of regret inside her. She hated to change jobs, but she didn't see how she'd have a choice after this weekend.

****

Mary walked up to the hospital reception area. A full day had passed since John Grayson had walked into her life. She couldn't seem to get the circus aerialist out of her mind, so today she'd decided that she was going to visit him. Mary hoped that by seeing him again, face to face, she'd finally be able to push his memory aside and move on with her life. She'd just about decided that if Steve proposed marriage this weekend, she was going to accept.

Just call me Sensible Mary, she said sarcastically.  

"I'm here to visit a patient named John Grayson." The hospital receptionist sighed and gave Mary a long-suffering look.

"You and just about everybody else *and* their dog!" The receptionist pointed towards the waiting room with a slight crook of her thumb.

Mary turned in the direction indicated. She blinked in confusion. What was all that noise? She turned back to the receptionist, noting that her nametag said "Sally."

"Don't ask, miss," Sally said tiredly. "I just work here! I've already called security and they're on their way. If I were you, I'd stay out of the waiting room until the clowns and the rest of the lunatics have all been removed!"

As soon, as Sally finished speaking, two armed police officers came running up. They quickly ran past the reception area with just a glance. Sally merely pointed towards the sound of the disturbance. Within seconds, the waiting room began emptying out.

The slightly dazed policemen stood on either side of the doublewide doors holding them open for the procession that exited. Mary watched stunned as, yes, she realized, Clowns, just like Sally reported, and jugglers (who were juggling ten pins), tumblers (who exited while doing cartwheels in tandem), and a dog trainer (with his three trained poodles) all paraded past her.

Mary saw that there were more circus performers, but she didn't know what to make of them. One obese woman, who was tattooed in over 99 percent of her body, walked by, holding her head up with regal dignity.

Mary turned open mouthed to Sally. Sally shook her head and sighed.

"They began arriving about an hour ago. It wasn't too bad at first, almost kind of neat, you know? Then the dog act arrived, and well, no dogs allowed. I mean this is a hospital, and no telling if soon afterwards we'd've had a visit from  the lion tamer. Anyway, they've been getting rowdier, so I finally had to call security."

"A fine thing," one of the clowns muttered in passing. Mary saw that he was smoking a non-filter tipped cigarette. "Imagine, not letting us visit Johnny!"

Another clown, with a perpetual sad countenance painted on his face, reached over and took his companion's cigarette.

"Yeah, a fine thing," he agreed, taking a long drag.

"Hey!" Sally called. "No smoking in the hospital! Can't you clowns read?" Realizing what she'd just said, she put her head in her hands. "Aw, never mind, just go! Please? I've got patients!"

"See if *we* ever come back!" "Yeah, Philistine!" "It's bigotry! That's what it is! Circus folks are always getting the shaft from outsiders!"

Mary finally turned and hid her smile.

****

Mary knocked tentatively, then entered the darkened room. John Grayson was sitting up on his hospital bed, reading quietly by the light of his bedside lamp. He looked up as Mary entered, and squinted at her, trying to place her. Mary felt instantly disappointed.

"Okay, dummy," she told herself, "he doesn't even recognize you! You're a complete idiot, Mary Richardson!"

John's eyes suddenly lit in recognition. He reached over to his nightstand, and taking pad and pen, he quickly wrote.

John turned his pad so that she could read: MARY, RIGHT?

Mary smiled and nodded delightedly. "Yes, that's right. And you're John Grayson! I'm sorry about your friends. They were just evicted from the hospital, because they were getting a little rowdy."

John shrugged his shoulders unconcernedly. His eyes becoming serious, he looked down at his pad again, hesitated, then wrote again. Looking up her as if gauging her reaction, he slowly turned the pad again: YOU'RE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN I'VE EVER MET, MARY. WILL YOU MARRY ME?

Stunned, Mary read the message a second and third time. She looked at John to see if he was joking. He had to be joking. She uttered a short disbelieving laugh.

"Marry you? You're joking! I mean, we've just met. You don't even know me!" Mary stopped short and looked at John again. His serious, icy gray eyes were boring into hers. She could tell that John was not joking. She felt her heart fluttering. Mary began pacing around the room.

"Mary Richardson, this is totally crazy!" she said to herself. Then repeated it out loud. "This is totally crazy! *You're* crazy! Marry you?" She shook her head at the impossibility of such a thing. "It's crazy!"

YOU'VE SAID THAT. John's eyes smiled, then he wrote again. LOVE'S CRAZY! LET'S BE CRAZY TOGETHER!

"But we've just met," Mary protested. Not believing that she was considering the startling proposal, Mary walked slowly towards John's bed and sat down on it. "We don't even know each other, John." She paused, studying his eyes. "You don't marry someone you don't know."

I _DO_ KNOW YOU! YOU'RE A BEAUTIFUL ANGEL, MARY. MARRY ME, AND I'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO SPREAD YOUR WINGS AND FLY SO HIGH YOU CAN ALMOST TOUCH HEAVEN.

"Or fall on my face and break my jaw?" she teased. John's eyes grimaced at the comeback.

OUCH! YOU'RE CRUEL, LADY! His eyes smiling wickedly, he scribbled some more quickly. SEE! I'M LEARNING MORE ABOUT YOU WITH EACH PASSING MOMENT!

Mary laughed at his quip.

John's eyes smiled in turned, then turning abruptly serious, he wrote again, this time slowly.

MARRY ME, SO THAT I MAY SPEND ETERNITY LEARNING EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT YOU!

Mary took the pad from his hands, her eyes filling with tears. She couldn't even be considering this, but she was. Since John had walked into her life, and fallen asleep holding her hand, he's all she'd thought about. She smiled at the memory of the EMT workers having to pry John's fingers loose from her hand.

Slowly, Mary reached her hand shyly out to him. His eyes smiling happily, John reached his own hand out. As their fingertips tentatively touched, Mary knew that she wouldn't be accepting Steve's proposal this weekend.

"I guess some things were just meant to be," Mary said.

The End

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