The darkness was so warm, like being wrapped in an old blanket by the fire while drinking hot chocolate, and she never wanted to leave…
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-!
Startled awake, Jules groaned as her consciousness brought along every ache from her workout the day before.
Reaching blindly for her alarm clock, the brunette flinched as it crashed to the floor on accident.
"Oops…"
Lifting her head from her pillow now, she pulled poor device up by its power cord and smacked the button.
Silence filled her room, and she fell back onto the mattress with a tired groan, not wanting to get up yet…
"Julia? You need to get up, or you'll be late."
A louder groan answered the old Marine in the doorway, and Mike sighed.
"I told you that staying up for that Star Wars marathon was a bad idea."
"But it was awesome…" Jules whined childishly, looking up at her grandfather with the best Puppy-Dog Eyes she could muster so early in the day.
"Doesn't change the fact that you have to get up and start the day."
Groaning again, she levered herself up and swung her feet off the bed, reaching around for her shoes.
Smiling at her childish antics, Mike turned to get back to breakfast.
"Better hurry up, or I'm letting Tiny loose."
Green eyes widening in surprise, Jules practically leapt across her little bedroom to find clothes for the day.
Deciding that today was a 'yellow day', she pulled out a shirt from her collection of tops and found the appropriate skirt and socks in record time.
Shrugging out of her 'Digimon' pajamas, she stuffed them under her pillow haphazardly and yanked the t-shirt over her head after fixing her bra.
Straightening the words 'Don't Worry, BEE Happy' over her chest, she hopped while slipping into the skirt, the yellow ruffles scratching her unprotected thighs.
Landing on a computer chair, the brunette spun a full three-sixty while tugging on her yellow and black striped thigh-high socks.
Planting her feet to stop the chair, Jules shook away the dizziness while digging around under the desk for her combat boots.
"Aha!"
Triumphant, she quickly tied the footwear on and jumped out of her seat, skipping out into the main room.
"Morning, Tiny!" She greeted, ruffling the black ears of the massive Great Dane lounging on the couch.
Tail thumping against the cushions, Tiny rolled over onto his back, growling in pleasure as Jules scratched his belly.
"Good boy." She cooed, rubbing behind his ears before heading into the kitchen.
Mike was already sitting down with his morning coffee and a newspaper, frowning at whatever news he was reading.
Seeing this, Jules put an extra skip in her step and kissed her grandfather on the cheek as she passed him on her way to the opposite chair.
"Bad news?"
"Is there any other kind in this city?" The grizzled old Marine grumbled, folding the paper contemptuously.
"There's always politics." She reasoned, nursing a mug of black coffee.
"And you don't call that bad news?" He joked, half-smiling.
Smile widening now that the worry in his eyes was fading, Jules gulped down her coffee and stood.
"Better get going. The kids will be running the place if I don't get there soon."
Knowing this was true, Mike sat back as she ran to the front door, causing Tiny to fall off the couch in surprise while chewing on his leg.
Once the canine had registered that his owner was ready to leave, Tiny scrambled to his feet and bounded over.
Skidding into the door in his excitement, the Great Dane sat down and begged, his big blue eyes pleading to come along.
Unable to say no to those eyes, Jules picked up the leash and clicked it on the tags resting against the dog's white throat.
"I'm taking Tiny!"
"Just bring him back when you're done!"
Giggling at her grandfather's humor, Jules pulled an old Marine jacket down from the coat hanger with her keys and phone.
"Will do!"
Knocking her hip into the wood to force the door open, she slipped into the hallway with Tiny right on her heels.
Jiggling the lock until it caught, the brunette made sure that the barrier was firm before tugging Tiny down the hall.
The canine was quick to take the lead, and they soon boarded the rickety elevator at the end of the hall.
Scratching behind Tiny's ear so his leg thumped, Jules pressed the button for the lobby and settled back in the small compartment.
Humming the 'Spongebob Squarepants' theme song as a metallic ding sounded, the young brunette skipped out of the elevator, saluting the doorman on her way out.
The streets were bustling, even at seven in the morning, and Jules forced her way into the stream of bodies.
Allowing Tiny to pull her in the right direction, and part the nearby people with his irritated growls, Jules rifled through her pocket as her 'Make It Shine' ringtone went off.
Quickly putting in the password on her smart-phone, she pressed it to her ear.
"Hello-Hello?"
"Hey, Jules. Is all the evidence ready for court?"
"It's practically gift wrapped." Jules assured with a grin.
"Just show it to the judge, and there's no way Zsaz won't get jail time!"
"What would I do without you?"
"Have very empty prisons?"
They shared a laugh, and Jules looked up to see the child care center just across the street.
"Gotta go, Rach. I'm about to be mobbed by a group of kids."
"You lead such an exciting life." Rachel replied good-naturedly.
"Don't I?"
Leading Tiny across the street so they wouldn't get run-over, Jules opened the front door with her hip.
"See you later?"
"Later."
Ending the call, she grinned at the room of excited young faces as Tiny let out an excited bark.
"Alright, whose ready for some real fun?"
Stepping into the metal paradise that was her lab at the Gotham Police Department, Jules closed the heavy door and smiled at the 'THUNK' that signaled the lock had engaged.
Dropping Tiny's leash so the Great Dane could go to his makeshift bed of blankets and pillows, she grabbed her lab coat and threw it on.
Rolling her shoulders as she walked around the massive evidence table, the green-eyed brunette powered on the formidable computer in the center of the room.
Once her password had been entered and accepted, the rest of the equipment hummed to life, ready for work.
Flipping the switch to turn on the light that served as the evidence table's surface, Jules typed in a quick four-digit password into a small keyboard, unlocking the drawers.
Twisting her pigtails up into buns, she plucked some plastic gloves from her lab coat pocket and put them on with a 'SNAP'.
"Ready for work, boy?"
Tiny's tail thumped against the floor in answer, and she grinned, pulling evidence bags out of the now-open drawers.
"Just what I was thinking."
Fine grains, slight luster, opaque-
Jules paused in her notes at a knock on her door, the messy scrawl of her handwriting left uncompleted as she straightened.
"Come in!"
Rachel's tired face peeked around the doorway, and Tiny barked a greeting as Jules grinned, pushing aside the microscope she had been hunched over.
"Rach! How'd the case go?"
The look on the woman's face darkened at the question, and Jules grin faltered.
"Rach?"
"I'm sorry, Jules…He got away."
Eyes widening in surprise, Jules leaned back in her comfortable computer chair.
"But…"
"Dr. Crane convinced everyone that Zsaz was insane." Rachel admitted.
"I know your evidence was compelling, but they didn't even consider it…"
Letting out a tired breath, Jules leaned back heavily and rubbed at her eyes, minimal sleep and hard hours catching up with her.
Something was set down in front of her, and she uncovered her eyes to see a jumbo-sized container of 'Sunshine Caf' sitting innocently on the table.
"I thought you might need a pick-me-up." Rachel explained, trying to smile.
Blinking up at her friend, a grin broke out across the young woman's face.
"Thanks, Rach. I really need it."
Taking a long sip, Jules breathed out through her nose and spun leisurely in her chair.
"It doesn't matter, anyway! We'll get 'em next time!"
"What makes you so sure?" Rachel wondered, half-smiling at her friend's antics.
"'Cause good always triumphs over evil!"
Rachel didn't have the heart to tell her that evil was already winning.
"Then you'd better get back to work-."
Using her foot to stop spinning, Jules followed the other woman's gaze to whatever had cut her off mid-sentence.
Her happiness dissipated like smoke, and she felt tears welling up in her eyes.
A picture hung on the wall of three young children, all smiles and laughter, on a bright summer day.
The memory of their missing friend was still painful, and Jules looked away to keep the tears back.
'I wish Bruce would come home…'