Find Her, Keep Her
Chapter Two: Home
Don't own YJ… at all.
Just as a refresher:
Alfred Pennyworth- 60
Bruce Wayne- 30
Dick Grayson-14
Birthday – Nov. 11
Jason Todd- 13
Tim Drake- 12
Stephanie Brown- 10
Damian Wayne-8
*Previously*
"And her name?" Mr. Wayne stood and walked to the large window that over looked the city. Traffic was beginning to form as people left work to head home for the day. "Did Leslie give you a name?"
The timer on the oven went off just as the front door slammed shut. Bruce could hear the five kids arriving home from school. "Giselle Hart. Leslie found her birth certificate at Metropolis Hospital." There was a bit of a pause and the phone call was put into speak phone. "Dr. Thompkins requested that you visit her tonight if you wish to move forward."
Bruce arrived at the Medical Clinic around 6:30 in the evening. He had left a voicemail for Leslie after he ended his call with Alfred. His appointment with Dr. Thompkins was at 7:00. The current time: 6:55. If there was one thing that Mr. Wayne knew about this doctor, it was that she was a stickler for time.
He did manage to kill some time though. The billionaire took a few laps around the hospital therapy gardens. After about ten minutes, he stopped in the gift shop to pick up a few things for the kids at home. For Dick, he chose a large candy bar. Jason and Tim both got tiny parachute men while Stephanie got a new bear to add to her collection. As for Damian, a shiny Rubik cube caught his eye.
What he was holding in his hands, however, is what he took the most time to pick out. A white rabbit with a yellow ribbon tied around its neck for this mystery toddler. Dick had suggested gaining the trust of a little one is to offer a present. He tested this theory when Stephanie came home. All of the boys gave her a different type of teddy bear, and so started her collection; more importantly, started her trust with each of the strangers in the large mansion. For some reason, this rabbit caught Bruce's eye and he had to purchase it. There was something about the soft fur, pale pink nose, and tiny smile that just gave him a good feeling about the rabbit.
The sound of a door creaking open brought him out of his thoughts. Dr. Leslie Thompkins walked out of her office, coat on her arm and purse over her shoulder. "Well, I'm not going to stand here all day Mr. Wayne." She locked her office door and began to head to the elevator.
Bruce stood and followed behind her, stuffing the rabbit back into his brief case. He made it just in time to catch the elevator and stood next to the doctor. "So, where exactly are we going?"
"You said you wanted to see this girl." Leslie said as the elevator stopped on the next floor. "Visiting hours are almost over, so you should probably visit her soon."
Bruce furrowed his eyebrows, "Visit her?" The elevator doors closed and the pair began to go up once more. "I just wanted to make sure she was alright."
Finally, the elevator arrived on the pediatrics floor. Babies crying could be faintly heard along with the various machines doing their jobs. Dr. Thompkins led Bruce down the third hallway, "Well, what better way than to make sure with your own eyes." At the end of the hall in a corner room was their destination. "I'll just warn you, she is only about one so she's probably exhausted. A nurse should arrive with her evening bottle in the next half hour. I've let the staff know that you're on her visitors list so there shouldn't be any problems. You've got my number if there are any."
On that note, Dr. Thompkins left Bruce at the doorway. After a moment, he took a deep breath and walked into the room. By the window was a simple rocking char. In the middle of the room was a tiny crib with monitors and wires all around. The crib was lined with a pale pink blanket and a few toys were inside the crib. The blinds were drawn for the evening and the only light was coming the dimmer in the room.
Bruce quietly stepped up to the crib and peered over the side and looked at the tiny girl inside. The baby was awake, but entertaining herself with some of the toys that were in the crib with her. After a few moments of just watching her, the baby finally noticed the new body in the room and looked up. Her eyes were a light brown color, just like the short hair on her head.
Giselle began to let out little whimpers after seeing Bruce observe her. The billionaire's eyes widened in panic, "No no no! Don't cry!" He set a hand on her stomach, "I know I don't look familiar but I was the one who brought you here little one."
As much as Bruce wanted that to work, the baby had a few tears slip onto her checks. Not knowing what else to do, Bruce picked her up and held her close, "Please don't cry Giselle." He began to pace around the room, bouncing the baby up and down as he walked around.
Slowly, but surely, the little girl began to calm down and relax into Bruce's chest. After letting go of a breath he didn't know he was holding, Bruce sat down in the rocking chair, sitting the girl on his lap. The two of them were looking each other over again in the silence of the room. After a few moments, Giselle began to get antsy again, and that was when Bruce remembered the gift in his brief case.
Carefully, Bruce reached into the black suit case and pulled out the white rabbit. "Here Giselle, look at the little rabbit!"
Gaining her attention, Bruce handed the little toy over to her and watched her reaction. A big smile graced her face as she laughed with the rabbit in her arms. "Bunny!"
"That's right!" Mr. Wayne was relieved that she liked the gift, "That's a bunny!"
Stephanie, along with the other boys and Alfred, were currently taking the large black Yukon to a large mall in the heart of the city. Alfred, with suggestions from Stephanie, was tasked with picking a theme for her nursery. She was really excited to be getting a new sibling, especially because this new sibling was going to be a girl. Not that the boys weren't fun or good enough, but they didn't always enjoy tea parties or playing with Barbie's.
Dick had suggested that, just like with Steph, they should each find a gift for her when she came home. A loud sigh was heard from the middle row of the car. Said sigh came from Jason, the teenager had his arms crossed as he looked out of the window. "I don't understand why we have to get this baby a gift." He said, looking at Dick, "She's a baby, it's not like she'll even remember!"
"Because it's the thought that counts." Dick answered, "Besides, it gets us all to bond one more time before there's a new baby in the house."
Jason just rolled his eyes, placing his headphones over his ears. "Well, I think it'll be a good idea Dick." Tim said, pausing his videogame. "Stephanie really liked all the bears that we got her!"
"We're not doing the bear thing again are we?" Damian asked.
Dick shook his head, "No, I think if we all pick something different, she can put a toy to a face to a name."
Stephanie smiled, "That's it!" She turned around from the middle row to look at Dick and Damian, "Dick you're a genius!"
He laughed, "Well, I know I'm smart but I wouldn't go that far."
"Why's he so smart Steph?" Tim asked, focusing on his game.
She took out a notepad from her purse along with a pen. "Because he gave a great idea for the nursery! Zoo animals! The walls can be a yellow color and white furniture will look so cute! The room will be covered with tons stuffed animals!"
Alfred looked at the children with the rearview mirror with a smile on his face, "That sounds like a wonderful idea. I believe that Master Bruce, along with the little girl will love it."
)()()(
The mall was particularly crowded today, most likely due to the school year coming to a close. Mr. Pennyworth led the group of children into the mall, holding tightly onto Damian's hand. He could not afford to chase the eight year old around the mall again. Alfred stopped at the map by the large fountain. "Alright children," he began, turning to face the adolescences, "Master Damian, Miss Stephanie, and I will stay together while Master Richard, Master Jason, and Master Timothy will stay together. We will meet back here in one hour."
Damian smirked, "We're team Ace, you guys are team Base."
"Yes sir!" Tim said, giving him a grin, "I'll watch out for Jason and Dick for you."
Stephanie laughed, "Don't forget, we're doing zoo animals!" With that, 'Team Ace' headed towards the west side of the mall while 'Team Base' went to the west.
Damian didn't want to admit it, but he really didn't want another sibling in the manor. Dick and Stephanie were great. They always offered to play with him whenever he wanted them to, even if Stephanie always wanted to have a tea party. Tim was a great person to practice with in the training room, but didn't really ever want to hang out with him. Jason, on the other hand, never gave him the time of day unless there was something in it for him. What changes were a little baby going to bring to the manor? Stephanie was already so excited, so she was probably going to stop playing with Damian. Dick would have to help out more, so there was less time for Damian there too. Time training would diminish, and so would the time with Tim. This baby was going to be more trouble than she was worth, and that's all Damian knew.
'Team Ace' walked into the department store, heading for the infant portion of the store. Once Stephanie saw the furniture, she ran over and began taking note on what should be bought and shipped over to the manor. Alfred watched the little girl scurry around, picking out the matching furniture and bedding like it was her job. "Well, this might be easier than I thought." He said to Damian, looking down at the little boy.
"Great." The eight year old said, "The faster this gets done, the faster we get home."
That brought a red flag for Alfred, and he made a mental note to let Bruce know when he returned for the evening. "That was so easy." Stephanie said, coming over with her notepad full of crossed off items. "This was the best theme ever. So simple, right Dam?"
He shrugged, "Yeah sure, now can we go?"
"We need to get her gifts first, then we can go." She grabbed his hand and started for the toy section, "Alfred, I marked off everything with some sticky notes! Damian and I are going over here to find our gifts!"
The older man just laughed, going to find someone to help him quickly place an order to ship everything over to the manor. Stephanie had to drag her younger brother across the department store to where they needed to go. Stephanie already had an animal in mind, a big giraffe. "Steph, it's this way." Damian said, now leading her over to the appropriate aisle.
The duo arrived and Stephanie saw exactly what she was looking for. At the end of the aisle was a giraffe that had to be about five feet tall! "She'll love it! Whatcha think?"
"Don't you think its kinda…big?"
Stephanie shrugged, "Yeah, but I don't want it to be just any old giraffe!"
He couldn't find a flaw in that logic. The shelves before him were full of stuffed animals ranging in shape, color, kind and price. Damian walked up and down the selection for almost ten minutes. This crazy pacing ended when Alfred arrived, bill in hand. "Have you made your choice yet Master Damian?" He asked, coming to stand behind Damian.
"This will do." He said, pulling a lion with a very shaggy mane off the shelf.
On the other side of the mall, 'Team Base' was just waiting for Jason to pick out his gift. This task was simple for Tim and Dick, knowing just the right gift to get their baby sister. Dick had chosen a blue elephant, just like the one that he had been given by his parents. Tim, on the other hand, went for a panda bear. The little bear had a heart shaped patch on its left paw.
Jason just did not care enough to pick anything that the other boys would approve of. He first picked out a teddy bear, not even listening to what the plan was. Then, he mindlessly pulled a large whale from the top shelf. Most of the time spent was saying no to Jason's choices. "Why don't you two just pick something then?!" The teenager finally said, tossing a peacock toy into the display.
"No Jason," Dick said, sitting on the floor and playing on his phone. "this is your gift, not ours."
He rolled his eyes, just getting frustrated at this point. "Fine, then let's just get this and go! I've got exams to study for!"
With that, he grabbed a light green turtle with a brown shell. Tim smiled, "That's prefect Jay! It looks like Squirt from Finding Nemo."
)()()(
Batman and Robin were patrolling the city, currently sitting on top of the national bank, looking down. It was a quiet evening with just one robbery occurring earlier in the evening. It was just about midnight, and the quiet hero was gazing towards the hospital. For the past few days, he would stop by after work and sit with Giselle until she fell asleep for the evening. The two of them were rarely disrupted, and if they were, it was usually just to give the baby her bottle. Bruce had grown very close to the little girl, and began the adoption paperwork this evening.
Robin, the detective-in-training, took notice that his partner in crime was paying close attention to the hospital. "So, when do the rest of us get to meet her?" he asked, taking a seat on the edge of the building and peering straight down.
The Caped Crusader didn't take his eyes off the building, "Leslie says that it would be best if we came during a time when the hospital was not packed, as to not draw attention to ourselves."
"Makes sense." Robin said, "But if we have to wait any long, I think Stephanie is going to lose her mind and Alfred will just take us there himself." Before The Dark Knight could answer, the Bat signal was shining bright in the sky, and the Dynamic Duo were headed to meet Commissioner Gordon.
The school year finally came to a close, and not a moment too soon for all of the children who lived inside of Wayne Manor. Dick, Tim, and Stephanie finished the school year with straight A's. Damian had received only one B and Jason…passed…every class.
As the bus pulled up to the manor's gates, the children watched as many movers were bringing loads of new furniture into the house. Alfred was standing on a lawn giving directions to the movers while Bruce was pulling the Yukon out of the garage. "Bruce!" Stephanie shouted as she began to run towards the black car. "What are you doing home?!"
Bruce parked the car, getting out and greeting his children. "Dr. Thompkins requested that we meet her tonight, and Alfred will be finishing up with these gentlemen in the next half hour."
"We finally get to meet the baby?!" Steph grinned, slightly bouncing on her toes.
"If you would quickly put your belongings away, then we can get there right on time." Alfred said, coming towards the group of children, "Quickly now, we do not want to keep Dr. Thompkins waiting now do we?"
