Hey everyone! I'm back and I have started a new story that I am basically in love with! The other three stories are going to be on hold for a little while I'm afraid but I think with the school year starting that I will start typing and writing again.
Now onto the new, awesome story!
Revised: 8/26/2012
Caught in the Middle:
Chapter One
The small body hit the ground with a grunt. The body, a boy's, sat up slowly and looked around frantically. His breathing was heavy.
"Bruce?" A voice called down to the boy.
Bruce looked up at his friend Rachel. Her face held fear and concern for him. She disappeared from view and Bruce heard her calling for help.
It was at this time he finally took in his surroundings. The well, which he had fallen down, was about a twenty foot drop. He was surprised that he had not lost consciousness when he landed. It was damp at the bottom and when Bruce exhaled he could see his breath. The well walls were covered in moss and other fungi that would grow in places such as this. The overall atmosphere of the well was damp, dark, and scary for a young boy such as Bruce. He shivered.
A scuffling noise caught his attention. Bruce turned his head and saw a small cave. The scuffling noise came again and he held his breath. The feeling of fear escalated.
All of a sudden, bats came flying out and swarmed around Bruce. He screamed and tried swatting the bats away but it didn't work. The bats were flying so close that he could feel their wings on his face. That feeling made Bruce feel claustrophobic. It seemed that there was no way to get rid of the bats. They just kept coming out of the cave.
-Somewhere on a State Highway-
A lone car drove down a road going towards Gotham. Soft opera music was playing on the radio in the car. However, the calming feeling the music gave off was no match for the tension in the car. The three people in the vehicle were not talking. Two adults sat in the front seats, staring ahead, frowns in place. In the back seat, a little girl sat with silent tears running down her face. The young nine-year-old tried to keep her sobs to a minimum but every few seconds a small hiccup would escape her lips.
Yes, the Roth family was having another fight. Finally, John Roth, the crying girl's father, spoke.
"For God's sake, Selina, it's just a play we are going to see! What's so bad about it?" John asked his desperate daughter.
"It's boring and all the people there are mean to me, they glare at me and pretend as if I don't exist!" Selina cried out.
"Well, Sweetie, they aren't used to a young child attending a play." Selina's mother, Amy, added. "Just one more, okay?"
Selina sniffed and grudgingly said, "Okay."
John and Amy turned around in their seats to smile at their daughter. Unfortunately, nobody saw the big truck coming at their car as it drifted into the other lane.
-Wayne Manor-
Bruce was curled in a ball crying softly at the bottom of the well. The bats had left a few minutes ago after they had swarmed around him. It appears that they no longer deemed him a threat to them after a while of trying to scare him off.
A scraping sound from the top of the well caught Bruce's attention. He jerked his head up, fearing that the bats were coming back. But he saw only his father, Thomas Wayne, coming down the well using a rope and harness.
When Thomas got down to Bruce he held out his hand.
"Bruce, it's alright, come on."
Bruce reached up and grabbed his father's hand.
-On the side of the Highway-
Selina coughed, her lungs trying to get rid of the smoke that was coming from the car's engine. She took a couple breaths, trying to replenish the precious oxygen her lungs had not been able to get. The air did not clear and the only thing that Selina completed was breathing in more smoke. She struggled to get her seat belt off. When she heard the quiet click of it becoming unclipped she quickly opened the car door. She stumbled out of the car and collapsed a few feet away on the hot pavement. Her legs could no longer hold her small body up.
After a couple deep breaths of clean, smokeless air, she finally remembered what had happened. When her father turned back around, he immediately turned the steering wheel to avoid the big truck. They missed the truck but went zooming off the road. Her father could not avoid the tree that was in front of them. They had crashed head on into that tree.
Selina forced herself to stand up. She ran over to the car which was now beyond repair. The whole front end of the car was bent and dented badly from the impact of the car hitting the tree. The engine was on fire. It was small but still dangerous.
"Mom! Dad!" Selina yelled as she ran over to the car.
She yanked open her father's door; she had difficulty because the door was crunched around the hinges. The sight inside was not pleasant. Her father was leaning against the steering wheel; his head was covered in blood as if someone had painted his head red with a paint brush. His eyes were glazed over as he stared unseeingly at her. Selina's father was dead. She let out a scream and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Selina…" A weak call came from the other side of the car.
Selina ran around to the other side and opened the door. Her mother was sitting back in her seat. Blood was dripping out of her mouth.
"Mom-" Selina choked out.
"It's okay, Selina, I can't feel anything." Amy hushed her daughter and tried to smile but it came out as a grimace. If another person was there, they could have seen that Amy was in a lot of pain even though she said she was not.
"Mommy, are you going to be okay?" Selina had hope in her eyes and it broke Amy's heart.
"I don't think so, Selina. I just want you to know that I love you, okay? And your father loved you." Amy's voice was getting fainter. "You are amazing and don't ever let anyone put you down."
"Okay, Mom." Selina's voice cracked and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
Amy struggled to breathe, "Selina, I want you to turn around and start walking, okay? Don't stop until you find someone and have them call the police." She didn't want her daughter to see her pass away; it would scar Selina for life. The least she could do was spare her that pain.
-Wayne Mansion-
Thomas carried his son inside his house, or mansion—the more appropriate word for the huge, palace like home. Bruce cradled his broken arm against his chest. He had not realized he had broken it until his father had picked him up. As they passed Rachel and her mother, Bruce handed the arrow head to Rachel. Her mother started apologizing profusely but Thomas just waved her off, saying that it was not her fault.
"Will you need an ambulance, sir?" Alfred Pennyworth, the Wayne's butler, asked.
"No, I will take him to the hospital. Alfred, could you get the car?" Thomas replied.
"The Mercedes?"
"Yes, that will do."
"Right away." Alfred quickly walked off to get the car.
Thomas walked off to the kitchen to get some ice for his son's arm.
"What happened at the bottom of the well, Bruce?" Thomas asked his son as he opened the freezer to get some ice.
"Bats attacked me." Bruce said quietly.
"Well, you do know why they attacked you right?" Thomas asked as he put ice in a plastic bag and grabbed a dish towel to wrap it in. He gently placed it on Bruce's broken arm.
"No." Bruce answered putting his hand on the ice to keep it in place.
"They were afraid of you."
"Afraid of me? The bats attacked me, why would they be afraid of me?" Bruce asked his eye brows furrowed in confusion.
"They wanted to protect their home and each other so they tried to scare you away by attacking you." Thomas explained. "All animals feel fear sometime in their life."
"Even the scary ones?" Bruce asked smiling.
"Especially the scary ones." Thomas answered returning the smile and Bruce nodded in understanding.
"Master Wayne, Master Bruce?" Alfred's voice came from the front door.
"We're in the kitchen, Alfred." Thomas answered.
Alfred appeared in the doorway with his coat, hat, and gloves on. He also had Thomas' and Bruce's coats.
"Are we ready to go?" Alfred asked in his English accent.
"Yes, but hold on a second. Let me get a sling for Bruce's arm." Thomas replied as he got the first aid kit out from under the sink. He got out a sling and helped his son put it on. "Alright, let's go."
Alfred handed Thomas his coat and draped Bruce's coat around Bruce's shoulders since one of his arms would not be able to go through the sleeve.
All three of them left the mansion and got into the car and Alfred drove off toward Gotham.
Most of the car ride was spent in silence. Bruce sat in his seat looking out the window. It would seem like Bruce's life was perfect and that any other child would want his life, which they do, but no. Bruce did not like his life as much as he should. He did not have very many friends. His one real friend was Rachel. They only met because her mom was the Wayne's gardener and landscaper. All the other kids he had met were sons and daughters of other rich families. He did not like them. They acted all snooty and as if they were better than everyone. One boy even insulted Rachel she came over to play with Bruce. The boy had gotten punched in the face, courtesy of Bruce, who had witnessed it all. Rachel and he hung out usually everyday as long as Bruce was not in his lessons or Rachel was not in school.
The reason why Bruce fell down the well was because Rachel had found an arrow head and would not let Bruce see it. When he had finally gotten it he had hid behind a rock wall on some rotten boards which happened to be covering the well. His weight was too much for the boards to hold and they broke.
"Sir." Alfred's slightly panicky voiced brought Bruce away from his thoughts.
Bruce looked down the road in the direction that Alfred was pointing in and gasped. A car had crashed off the road and into a tree. It was fully engulfed in flames.
"Alfred, pull over the car!" Thomas yelled as he got ready to get out.
Alfred pulled the car over and got out with Thomas and made their way over to the car quickly. "Bruce, stay here!" Thomas called over his shoulder.
Bruce moved to the front seat to get a better view. It looked like the car had been on fire for a while. He could faintly make out two bodies in the front seat. They were unrecognizable. Bruce tore his gaze away from the wreck. The sight made him feel sick. His gaze was drawn to a small figure through the smoke that was stumbling down the road.
Forgetting his father's orders to stay where he was, he opened the car door and started running past the wrecked car. He ignored the pain in his broken arm that running caused. Bruce dodged the lunge that his father made for him and then ignored his shouts. He was focused on that figure.
"Hey! Stop!" He yelled as he neared the figure now identified as a girl.
The girl spun around at hearing a voice that was not her own. But in the process of spinning around so fast, she lost her balance and fell down onto the ground.
Bruce quickly knelt down next to the crying girl. The girl sat up and brought her knees into her chest. She buried her head into her knees and wrapped her arms around them. She started weeping quietly.
Bruce reached out with his good arm and tapped her shoulder lightly. The girl stopped crying and looked into Bruce's eyes. Her cheeks were stained with tears. Her grayish-blue eyes were shiny from crying, her brunette hair was messy and her face had soot all over it. Despite all of that, Bruce still thought she was pretty.
Bruce forced himself to stop staring at the beautiful girl. "Hey." Bruce said as he sat down next to the girl.
"Hi." She croaked back, her voice raw from crying so much. She cleared her throat.
"What's your name?" Bruce asked.
"Selina. What's yours?" Selina asked her voice more normal since she cleared her throat. She wiped her eyes.
"Bruce."
"What happened to your arm, Bruce?" Selina asked as she spied the sling on Bruce's arm.
"I fell down a well." Bruce answered sheepishly.
"How did you do that?"
"Bruce?" Another, older voice interrupted.
Bruce and Selina turned toward Thomas and Alfred.
"Yes, Dad?" Bruce asked.
"We need to get uh-" Thomas paused, looking for a name.
"Selina." Bruce filled in.
"—Right, we need to get Selina to the hospital."
Bruce and Selina nodded and Bruce helped, as best her could without one of his arms, her to her feet. As she took a few steps she stumbled. Thomas caught her and picked her up like he had done with Bruce. He started walking to the car, with Bruce following, at a brisk pace while calling behind his shoulder, "Alfred please call the police and have them send a couple police officers to the wreck along with a fire truck and an ambulance."
Alfred nodded and got his cell phone out.
When they got to the car, Bruce opened the back car door and Thomas sat Selina on the seat. She grimaced a bit as he set her down and Bruce noticed.
"Selina, are you okay?" He asked.
"My side hurts a bit and my wrist does too." Selina answered while looking at the car that held her parents bodies in it. Bruce saw this too and moved into her line of sight.
"Hey, it's going to be okay." Bruce tried reassuring her and grabbed her hand in his own. Selina offered a small, watery smile and nodded her head slightly.
Thomas watched the interaction between his son and the broken girl silently. He could see that Selina was comfortable with Bruce. He was a bit surprised with the show of affection that Bruce showed when he grabbed Selina's hand. He was usually a shy boy; he had not even done that to Rachel.
The next couple minutes were spent in silence until police sirens could be heard down the road. Alfred had joined them just as the cop cars, two fire trucks, and the ambulance pulled to the side of the road. The fire fighters started to get to work as soon their truck had stopped. Two officers and the ambulance people came over to the group of four.
Thomas and Alfred started talking to the two officers while the two ambulance nurses started to check Selina out for any injuries. Selina shrunk away from the nurses and clutched Bruce's hand.
"Honey, we need to make sure you're okay. We won't hurt you." One of the nurses tried reasoning with Selina.
Selina shook her head and the nurse looked at Bruce for help.
"Selina, it's okay, they're here to help you. I'll stay with you." Bruce gave Selina's hand a squeeze. Selina looked up at him then nodded and stepped toward the two nurses still holding Bruce's hand.
The nurses did a basic checkup. The whole time they did the checkup, Bruce and Selina held hands.
Finally, it was time to bring Selina to the hospital and that was when the trouble started.
"Honey, you have to come with us." The nurse held out her hand which Selina shrunk toward Bruce again.
Bruce immediately felt Selina's discomfort and stepped in front of her. "Why does she have to go with you?" Bruce asked.
"We have to get her to the hospital to take x-rays of her wrist, young man. You have to let her come with us." The nurse said sternly.
"No! She is most comfortable with me and she wants to stay with me!" Bruce growled out of clenched teeth.
The nurse opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by another voice. "What's going on here?"
The three turned to see the police officer that had been talking to Thomas and Alfred looking at them with an eyebrow raised. The officer had light brown hair and a big mustache. Thomas and Alfred watched from behind him.
"This young boy won't let me take the girl to the hospital." The nurse said.
The officer turned to Bruce and Selina. "Mr. Wayne, why won't you let the nurse take Ms. Roth to the hospital?"
"Because she is most comfortable with me and she wants to stay with me." Bruce answered.
"Is that what you want, Ms. Roth?" The officer asked Selina.
Selina nodded.
"Well it is up to the parents to decide what happens to her since she is not an adult." The officer said more to himself than the people around him.
"Officer, just let her come with me, I'm a doctor at Gotham General and there is no serious injury that she has." Thomas stepped forward. Bruce and Selina smiled.
The officer relented after a moment of thought.
"Okay, Bruce you sit up front with Alfred and I'll sit in back with Selina on the way to the hospital." Thomas ordered as he moved to get in the back with Selina.
"Can't Bruce sit in back with me?" Selina protested speaking for the first time since she talked to Bruce.
Thomas thought for a second weather it was a good idea or not and finally nodded his head. Bruce ran around to the other side of the car and got in the back seat next to Selina, Thomas closed Selina's door and got in the front passenger seat, and Alfred got in the driver's seat and drove away.
Bruce looked at the girl who sat next to him. He noticed she was shaking so he took her hand in his for the second time that day. Selina's head whipped around to look at Bruce who was now looking out the car window. Although it looked like he was not looking at Selina, he was watching her out of the corner of his eye. He squeezed Selina's hand in reassurance and he saw her smile. She squeezed his hand back.
In the front seat, Thomas and Alfred smiled a knowing smile.
When they reached Gotham General, Alfred pulled into the emergency entrance. There was already a stretcher waiting for Selina. When the nurses tried to separate Bruce and Selina again, they refused again. Bruce could see that Selina was still scared and he did not want to leave her with these people.
"Bruce, you need to let Selina go with them. She's hurt and she needs medical care." Thomas tried to reason with his son.
"I don't want to leave her! She's afraid and I'm the only one here she feels comfortable with." Bruce said angrily.
"What if I be her doctor, that way she could be with someone she knows." Thomas tried again.
Bruce seemed to consider this then finally nodded his head. "Okay."
Bruce and Selina released each other's hands. Thomas helped Selina get on the stretcher as a nurse started to guide Bruce to the x-ray room. Alfred followed the young boy down the hall. He hoped Selina will be okay.
In the examination room, Selina was overwhelmed.
First she was walking down the road away from her wrecked car; the next thing she knew was that she was talking to this boy. Then these people were trying to get her away from the comforting boy who she liked a lot. And then she was in a car holding the same boy's hand whom she had never met before. Now, she was lying on an exam table with a doctor, who appeared to be the kid's father, standing over her. She was being asked many questions about what had happened, and if it hurt when he poked and prodded a body part. Selina winced when the doctor, Thomas was his name if she remembered correctly, touched her wrist and her ribs on her right side.
When the examination and the x-rays of her wrist and ribs were done, Thomas was wrapping bandages around them. Selina's mind went from thinking of her dead parents to thinking of the boy in the car, Bruce.
Why did he hold her hand? Why was he so protective over her? Why did he care?
She had been surprised, very surprised, that when she was stumbling down the road, Bruce was the once who saw her first. Thomas and the butler, Alfred, should have been but they had been too focused on the flaming car than Bruce, who looked at his surroundings. Then, in the car, Bruce had held her hand. They did not even know each other. Finally, he was very protective of her when the nurses were trying to separate them so they could be examined. But something about Bruce comforted Selina and made her feel safe. She did not know how to explain it but she wanted to see him again.
After being examined, Selina was put in a hospital room to rest. She fell asleep quickly. Thomas stayed just outside her door to keep an eye on her and to make sure his son would not come barreling in the room to check on Selina.
Meanwhile, Bruce sat impatiently on his exam table, waiting for the slowest doctor on earth to finish wrapping his arm in bandages. Luckily, he had only cracked his radius in his left arm so he only had to wear the cast for a month and a half. He glared at his cast that was an ugly cream color. Bruce wanted to go see if Selina was okay.
Why was he so protective over her? Why was he so drawn to her?
Bruce felt drawn to her ever since he sat down next to her on the side of the road. He wanted to protect her. He did not like seeing all of the pain that was in her eyes. He wanted to make the pain go away. Bruce needed to see her, that want was the only thing that consumed his thoughts.
"Alright, Bruce, you're all done." The doctor informed him as he stepped back to allow Bruce room to get off the table.
Alfred, who had been sitting in a corner, stepped forward. "Master Bruce, we should be getting home."
"Can't I see Selina, Alfred?" Bruce asked not trying to sound too eager and desperate.
"Master Bruce, she needs her rest. She's been through a lot in the last couple of hours."
"Can I just check on her for a minute?" Bruce pleaded.
"Alright, but only for a minute." Alfred chuckled.
"Yes!" Bruce cheered and quickly ran out the door only to have Alfred call for him to slow down.
Bruce and Alfred had a nurse lead them to Selina's room. When they got there, they saw Thomas standing outside Selina's room talking to the two police men who were at the crash. Bruce ran up to his dad and tried to get his attention.
"Dad?" Bruce tried.
Thomas stopped talking to the police officers and looked down at his son. "What is it, Bruce?"
"Can I see Selina?" Bruce asked hopefully.
"You can see her until the officers have to talk to her, but be quiet, she might be sleeping."
Thomas watched as Bruce's face produced a large smile. Bruce hurried over to the door and opened it quietly. He entered the room with Alfred walking in behind him. The door shut with a click.
Bruce looked at the bed that held the girl of all his thoughts. Selina was asleep, resting peacefully. He walked over to her bed and pulled up a chair. He sat down and looked at her. Now that her face was clean, he could see it clearly. Her skin was tan from being in the sun and she had no freckles on her face unlike his which had many.
"Bruce?" A voice whispered and Bruce looked up into grayish-blue eyes. "What are you doing here?" Selina asked.
"I came here to see you." Bruce replied as a faint pink tinged his cheeks.
Selina smiled and opened her mouth to say something but was cut off when the door of the hospital opened.
Both Bruce and Selina looked over and saw the two police who were at the crash coming in with Thomas following close behind them.
"Bruce, come on." Thomas said while motioning his son to follow him.
"Why?" Bruce asked curiously.
"The police have to ask Selina some questions about what happened."
Selina grabbed Bruce's hand, which was lying on her bed, as soon as Thomas finished that sentence.
One of the police men, the one with the big mustache, saw this and looked between the two like he did an hour or so before.
"Can Bruce stay?" Selina asked. Bruce nodded his head, agreeing with Selina. He wanted to stay too.
The police men looked at each other and the one with the mustache agreed. They did not need a crying girl with no one to comfort her.
Alfred and Thomas knew this was hard for the small girl so they stayed too. They thought it was best if Bruce and Selina had as much time as they could together before they separate.
"Selina, my name is Officer Gordon and this," he pointed to his partner, "is Detective Morgan. We are going to ask you some questions, okay?"
Selina nodded, gripping Bruce's hand tighter in her own.
"Okay," Detective Morgan started, "Now this will be hard but we need to know what happened in as much detail as you can give."
Selina could only nod again.
"What happened before the crash?" The detective asked.
"Me and my parents were having a small fight because we were going to this play that I didn't want to go to. I didn't want to go because everyone there ignores me." Selina started. "We finally stopped fighting and my mom and dad smiled back at me. When they turned around, there was a big truck coming at us. Dad avoided it but we went off the road and crashed into a tree." Selina's voice cracked at the end and Bruce gave her hand a squeeze.
While Selina was talking, Detective Morgan was writing this all down on a pad of paper.
"What did the truck look like? Tell us what you remember."
"It was a light blue and the paint was peeling."
"Was there any words on the trailer when is passed?" The detective asked.
"I couldn't tell." Selina responded.
"What happened when you woke up after the car impacted the tree? Did you see anyone?" The detective moved onto the next question.
"No, I didn't see anyone. I got out of the car and opened my dad's door. He was already…" She could say the word so she didn't finish her sentence, "My mom was hurt and she told me she loved me b-be-before s-she told me to w-walk away." A few tears ran down Selina's face as she stuttered the last of the sentence out. Her voice cracked again.
"What did you do after that?"
"I don't really remember, I did what my mom told me to do. And the next thing I know, Bruce was kneeling down next to me."
"Okay, thank you Selina for telling us this. You helped us a lot." Officer Gordon added as Detective Morgan finished up on his notes. Gordon stepped forward and patted Selina on her shoulder; she gave a small smile through her tears.
As the officers left quietly, Selina dissolved into tears. Alfred and Thomas looked at her apologetically while Bruce sat beside her on the bed and put his arms around her. (Carefully, of course, with his broken arm.) Selina hugged him back.
"It's okay, Selina." Bruce whispered into her ear.
There was a knock on the door that interrupted Selina's soft crying. Alfred walked over and opened the door. A lady with long, straight blonde hair stood in the door way. She was wearing a business suit and a fake smile plastered on her face.
"May I help you?" Alfred asked nicely.
"Yes, you can. I'm here to talk about Selina's living arrangements and where she will live from now on." The lady answered in a sickly sweet voice.
Bruce felt Selina stiffen in his arms and immediately tightened his hold on her. "What do you mean 'where she will live from now on?'" Asked Bruce alarmed.
"Well she can't live at the hospital, sweetie." The woman said smiling gat Bruce and he frowned. "I need to find her a home because she doesn't have any more family."
"Do you really need to do this now? The poor girl just had her parents die," Thomas whispered to the lady.
Selina pulled her face up from Bruce's chest where it had been laying and glared at the lady. "I want to stay with Bruce." Selina stated to the lady and the lady's fake smile faltered. Bruce glared at the lady, too.
Thomas and Alfred glanced at each other. This was not good. Bruce and Selina had gotten too attached to each other. Bruce did not have very many friends and when he met someone he really liked, he latched onto them. But Selina was different. He was protective over her, more protective than he was over Rachel. And not to mention the blush that Bruce got every time Selina holds his hand. The two had a strange connection that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Both men knew what question will come up in this discussion and the thing is Thomas was actually considering it.
Bruce turned to Thomas with pleading eyes. "Dad, can't Selina live with us?"
And there was the question.
Thomas sighed.
"Please, Dad, we have enough room and more than enough money to pay for everything Selina needs!" Bruce added trying to convince his dad.
Thomas thought about it. It was true that the Waynes have more than enough of everything to support one more family member. And he and his wife, Martha, had always wanted a daughter along with their son Bruce.
As Thomas opened his mouth to answer, Bruce and Selina leaned forward. "The Waynes would love to have a new member of the family."
Bruce beamed and hugged a shocked Selina. Alfred smiled and Thomas started to talk to the social worker about the forms.
"Where do I fill out the forms?" Thomas asked.
"We will send you the forms in the next month since a lot of kids have been being adopted and we have been overly crowded with work." The social worker explained and Thomas nodded and showed her out the door.
Bruce drew back from the hug. "Isn't this great Selina? You get to move in with me!" Bruce asked the still shocked Selina.
"I'm going to live with you?" Selina replied in a daze.
Bruce nodded enthusiastically.
Selina sniffed and leaned into Bruce's arms. She kissed him on the cheek. Bruce could not stop the blush that stained his cheeks. Alfred laughed.
-End Chapter-
There, I hope that you like this new story!
Okay some things to clear up:
Selina is not going to be catwoman even though catwoman's name is Selina too. I just happen to love the name Selina.
And you can yell at me all you want when you leave me a comment for not updating anything for like three months…oops sorry! Just don't make it too mean okay?
OH! And please leave comments and constructive criticism okay?
Until Next Time,
Hope's Survival
Cheers!