Just by looking at Roselyn, Barbara knew Rosie was Ivy's daughter. The teen was literally a petite version of Poison Ivy. The only thing that differed was her hair color. Barbara could see Ivy in Rosie and she had to admit, she was happy for Pamela because this meant she was able to have a child (or children, depending on whether or not she should count Rosie's deceased twin) in her life. She had a feeling Ivy always wanted children because she was definitely the mothering type by the way she cared for Harley Quinn as well as her own plants.
Barbara wasn't stupid, in fact, she was quite the opposite. She knew she was young enough to be Rosie's older sister rather than her mother. It was actually comforting to know Ivy was there to help her, give advice, and sometimes Ivy was the one who made big decisions because Barbara wasn't sure what to do with a teenager. Before Rosie came into her life, Barbara would have never thought she'd be co-parenting with Poison Ivy, someone she had physically fought many times when she had been Batgirl.
As per usual when Rosie came through the door, Jess followed her inside which meant she was probably staying the night again. This didn't bother Barbara at all and it was nice to have Jess there. Barbara knew what it was like to be an only child and it could get lonely at times. She assumed by having Jess there, it was like Rosie had a sister and a contemporary so she didn't feel so alone. Barbara had reported Jess' parents back in the day for neglect and she would continue to report her grandparents for neglect as well. Unfortunately, child services didn't want anything to do with a child older than ten."How was your visit?" Barbara asked. Now that Rosie was older, she got around the city more on her own. Gotham was dangerous, but Barbara knew Rosie could take care of herself. Her plant abilities were pretty awesome.
"It was good," Rosie said and plopped down on the couch beside her. Jess did the same and stretched out, putting her legs across Rosie's who sat on the couch upright. "I took Pammie outside."
"And I watched The Little Mermaid with Harvey and Harley," Jess stated proudly. "Harvey complained a lot, but he totally liked it."
"I'm sure," Barbara chuckled.
"No, he really did," Jess sat up and crossed her legs.
"He lives for Disney," Rosie said sarcastically with an amused look on her face when she turned towards Barbara and she literally looked just like Ivy.
"He likes it because I like it," Jess smiled. "When's dinner?"
"I wasn't planning on cooking," Barbara replied truthfully. "I figured free choice tonight."
"Is that any way to treat your guest?" Jess asked in mock shock, a hand over her heart. Rosie giggled which made Jess lose her straight face and she smirked.
"If you were a guest I'd cook," Barbara joked.
"Fair enough," Jess stood up. "I practically live here." She skipped out of the room and over to the kitchen. The sad part was, this was true: Jess even had her own side of the closet in Rosie's room. She'd even spend the night when school was the next day and she'd leave early in the morning. Unlike Rosie, Jess wasn't homeschooled. Rosie hadn't really worked with Barbara in a while because Jess was spending more and more time at their home. It was easy enough for Barbara and Dick to claim they worked night shifts frequently, but questions would have risen if Rosie wasn't home most nights. Therefore, Rosie wouldn't take on her persona as Dodonna. At first, Barbara thought Rosie was a bit disappointed, but the brunette later confessed she preferred not to work for Batman anymore. Barbara didn't push her to continue to do something she didn't want to do. Being a teen, Rosie probably preferred to spend time with Jess and have fun rather than do serious work. Part of Barbara was glad she wasn't putting herself in danger while the other part thought it was a shame Rosie wasn't using her talents because she was good at what she did.
Barbara had a feeling Damian was the reason behind Roselyn not working for Batman. She hated that the boy was able to get away with bullying Rosie to the point she wanted nothing to do with Damian and didn't want to help him out behind the scenes anymore. Barbara asked Bruce if Rosie could help him out while Barbara took care of Damian. However, Bruce felt Rosie wasn't nearly as strong as Barbara was with computers and he needed her quickness, so that was the end of that conversation. The former Batgirl had a feeling that if Tim was still Robin, Rosie would have no problem going to the clock tower. "I guess I'll have to eat cereal," Jess sighed loudly from the kitchen, shaking Barbara from her thoughts.
"You're such a drama queen!" Rosie shouted. "Hold on, I'm coming to save the day because you suck," the brunette stood from the couch gracefully.
"Good because I'm starving!" Jess shouted back and shut the refridgerator.
"I'll make her mac and cheese. You want any?" Rosie asked.
"No, I'm fine. You girls enjoy," Barbara smiled.
"Jess, start boiling water. I'll be there in a minute!" Rosie said.
"Okay! But only because I love you," Jess responded.
"What's up?" Barbara knew Rosie needed to talk to her. She wasn't sure why and she didn't expect what she heard next.
"I think Pammie is only obsessed with me and she doesn't actually love me," Rosie blurted out.
"Whoa, hold on. Pam loves you," Barbara replied quickly. "What gave you this idea?" Rosie remained silent. "Or should I say who? Rosie, you can't listen to Damian. You know he likes to get under your skin."
"It makes sense. She gets obsessed with stuff all the time. What makes me different from her plants?"
"You're her daughter," Barbara replied. "You mean the world to her."
"I think to her, I'm just another plant."
"Roselyn, you know Pamela loves you. She will literally do anything for you."
"But remember when she wouldn't and she was obsessed with going after Woodrue? Either her obsession with him is stronger than her obsession with me, or it's stronger than her love for me."
"Rosie…" Barbara was unsure how to respond. She had no idea what to say because during that time, Ivy's obsession with Woodrue did seem to overpower her love for Rosie. "You have to remember Pamela is in an asylum for a reason."
"Sometimes I wish she was more like you," Rosie said and sat back down on the couch to hug her. Barbara returned the hug and she hoped Rosie would never grow out of this. "You're just really reliable and you don't freak out if I accidentally say the wrong thing."
"Aww, sweetie, I know it's hard. But she's trying to get better so that must mean something."
"Yeah," Rosie shrugged, but still held onto Barbara. Before either of them could say anything, Jess shouted from the kitchen that the water was boiling. "That's my que," Rosie said and Barbara had to let out a laugh. "Thanks, though, for being here and everything. Sometimes those visits at Arkham are tough for me. It's nice to come home and know everything is stable."
"You don't need to thank me," she smiled. "Now go in there before Jess manages to burn the house down with water. With her, anything is possible."
"Got it!" Rosie pecked her on the cheek before running off to make dinner for her friend. Barbara knew Rosie had doubts about Ivy's love for her a while back, however, those doubts must have recently resurfaced. Despite everything Ivy had done in the past, Barbara knew Rosie held a special place in Ivy's heart and the woman truly loved her. Ivy did have an obsession with plants, but Barbara had a feeling her love for both Rosie and Harley was real. She also accepted Barbara and tolerated Dick; she allowed the both of them to parent Rosie outside of Arkham. Furthermore, Pamela really proved herself by remaining in Arkham and taking her therapy seriously with Dr. Leland.
Barbara wondered if Rosie had any negative thoughts about her parenting. Did Rosie believe Barbara loved her? Did she have any doubts? Barbara did recall that Rosie viewed Barbara as the stable and reliable parent for as long as she could remember.
A couple of years ago, Barbara went to tuck Rosie into bed even though the brunette claimed she didn't want to be tucked in anymore because she was thirteen. However, this was around the time after she ran away because Joker threatened her. She was going to go along with Harley, but luckily the blonde took Rosie to Ivy's and she stayed with Ivy who had broken out of Arkham. Although she broke out of Arkham around that time, she hadn't done anything and remained invisible since she refrained from committing any crimes. In fact, Barbara learned from Ivy directly that she hadn't been planning anything. Rosie went about two years without any contact from Pamela due to child services and the state not allowing Rosie to see her mother. Ivy admitted that during that time, Roselyn was constantly on her mind and all she wanted was to see Rosie again- that confession was emotional and Barbara was even more assured that she was doing the right thing by fighting for Rosie to have the ability to go visit Ivy at least once a week.
So, when Barbara went to tuck in the teen because she was terrified of losing her again, Rosie made a confession: "Before you adopted me, every single day of my life was unpredictable. I never knew when or where I would be. Since you adopted me, I've been wishing that Pammie would break out of Arkham and run away with me." Barbara recalled Rosie taking a shaky breath before she continued, her green eyes unable to look at Barbara's blue ones. She kept her gaze on the comforter and her hands grasped it tightly. "But I remembered something when I stayed with her. I don't know why I forgot, but there was always that fear Batman would come and take me away or we'd have to get up and leave because someone found her hideout. That life would have been extremely unpredictable and I'm terrified to live like that again." Rosie's eyes had tears in them when she finally looked up at Barbara. "Thank you for giving me a life that's, well, predictable. No matter how bad things got at school, I always knew I had a place to go to and someone who was always on my side. I was stressed, but I knew where I was sleeping every night. I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you for giving me this life because I don't know how long I would have lasted without you."
In the present, Barbara smiled at the memory because she was able to make a difference in a girl's life. Sure, she made quite the difference in many people's lives as Batgirl and later Oracle, but she never felt she really made a difference as Barbara until she agreed to adopt the scared eleven year old girl and saved her a life of being moved around from home to home, city to city, and state to state. She'd never understand why all of Rosie's past foster parents wanted nothing to do with her. Barbara hated when people didn't like Rosie just because she was created in a lab and genetically altered before she was even born. The judgement she faced for being a human and plant hybrid was rather appalling. Therefore, Barbara always took it upon herself to make sure Rosie never saw those hateful letters from random people in Gotham. The last thing Barbara wanted was Rosie to feel inadequate and alone because she was neither of those.
Barbara left her spot in the living room and made her way into the kitchen where she did the dishes for the girls. "I'm going to take a shower," Jess announced. She had school in the morning and hated waking up any earlier than she needed to.
"Okay. I'll meet you in my room later," Rosie promised. Jess nodded and skipped out of the room. "Thanks for doing the dishes," Rosie said. "You didn't have to do it." Being in her electronic wheelchair with the height adjustment, Barbara was around the same height as Rosie so she could reach the counters comfortably.
"You're welcome," Barbara smiled.
"When's Dick coming home?"
"He's going straight to the night shift tonight," the redhead informed her. This meant Dick worked all afternoon on the police force and was going out as Nightwing without a break. Rosie had no idea how he managed to do it without passing out from exhaustion.
"I feel like I haven't seen him lately," Roselyn noticed. Barbara heard the shower start.
"I know, sweetie. He's helping Bruce look for the Joker," she explained. "Once he's back in Arkham, everything will go back to normal."
"I know you'll be mad if I ask this, but why don't they just kill him?" Rosie bluntly asked.
"Because it is not up to Bruce, Dick, or anyone to end a life. You know that," Barbara stated.
"I don't know anymore," Rosie murmured before she quickly walked off. Barbara took in a deep breath and wondered where Rosie's thoughts came from. It wasn't like her to quickly suggest death. Perhaps she just missed Dick lately and said something she didn't mean because, well, she was still a kid even if she didn't really look like one anymore. Barbara knew about brain development and knew adolescents would say things they didn't mean. But perhaps asking Pamela Isley for advice couldn't hurt.
Glad to see some interest in this story! I don't expect it to be popular because, after all, this is story number 4. It's amazing to me how many people stick around and read this! Thank you!