A.N. I spent some time explaining the cat and how he came to be. I think it makes Bruce look different in Gordon's eyes, and perhaps assures him. And Loki is there partly for comic relief later on.

Disclaimer: I don't own Batman or any of the character, with the exception of Loki and Jillian.

It was now Friday, the day that they had agreed upon for the little girl Jillian arrival and Gordon was well, nervous for the meeting to take place. On the phone, Wayne had said that he would take care of her, but he never said that he would become her father, and there was his family telling little Jillian that she was getting a new daddy that would get her whatever her heart desired. Gordon didn't agree with that, but said nothing. Maybe if she perceived him as her new father then he would become it. There had been no mention of adoption papers in their previous conversation, but maybe he was getting ahead of himself.

Gordon's wife, Barbara, wasn't too happy that he took it upon himself to ask Bruce Wayne to take the little girl in. But she had at least acknowledged the fact that they could not take care of the child, and anything was better than an orphanage. Jim Gordon felt a little better now that they found a place for her, though still weary about where. To help with Jillian with the transition, he convinced his wife to go with them.

It was almost five when they packed little Jillian up and started down the road to the newly rebuilt Wayne Manor were they would meet Wayne at five thirty. Gordon didn't really know how it was going to happen, whether they were just going to going in long enough to bring Jillian in, or if they were going to be there for a little while, so Barbara had prepared food for the kids to eat later.

Meanwhile at Wayne Manor, Bruce was watching as Alfred went running around putting the last-minute touches on the little girl's room. In fact, that whole week had been nothing but preparing and child-proofing as much as possible. Bruce had let Alfred take control over it, the buying of safely made toys and nutritious snacks. Though, he thought Alfred went overboard a little, going so far as to buy a few child-size tea sets and dish ware as well as a room full of all sorts of clothes, costumes, and toys.

Bruce had left to get out of the way and was walking out among the gardens now. They hadn't planned what the land would look like after the manor was rebuilt, and this past spring with the crime rates relatively low, Bruce had begun to work on them. He had used newly planted trees to create pathways all around and laid some stone here and there. Where the old well used to be was now a small pond and he planted a few fruit-bearing trees. Overall, it still looked beautiful even though most was newly planted and would need to grow in.

Gordon pulled up the long drive and got out, Barbara and Jillian following behind. He recognized the butler as the very one who had picked up Bruce Wayne all those years ago at the police station after his parents had been murdered. Wayne had been silent then, not a tear was shed in front of him. He only had what the media said about him to go by and that hadn't looked promising when he first thought of Wayne, but after their conversation, it looked a little better. He could at least take care of a cat, which had decided to interrupt the end of the phone call. That part of the call had been less tense and he was rewarded with a purr, though he could hear Wayne trying to stop it.

The butler had answered the door, saying, "Ah, Commissioner, I see you are early. Right this way please," and led them into a sitting room before disappearing to get them all something to drink. They had arrived early and were now just sitting and waiting for Bruce Wayne to show up. Gordon had already lost track of time waiting when Alfred came back and delivered hot coffee and cocoa with freshly baked cookies, apologizing for the delay and that it wouldn't be much long now.

Gordon's mind wandered back to that night when Batman handed the little girl to him. Gordon had seen movement in the dark apartment and gone in first. Batman had been holding the teary-eyed little girl carefully in his kevlar-covered arms when Gordon snuck in, and he put her in Gordon's arms, telling him to take care of her. Gordon looked at the entrance of the apartment when he heard the footsteps of his men investigating and when he turned back, Batman had disappeared again. And so he lied to his men, saying that he had found the child, and because he was the commissioner, nobody cared that he brought her home for the time being.

A chilly breeze swept by and he knew that summer was coming to an end. Bruce looked up at the sky and saw the faint outline of clouds slowly rolling in. Since talking with Gordon, Alfred had been bursting with excitement, but Bruce wasn't so sure. Though he didn't know much about kids, he knew that a four year-old would need more immediate attention than an older kid around eight or twelve years of age. And that wasn't including the fact that she could be in danger because of his late-night crusades. As for the persona that most of the world sees, it would come almost as big of a shock as he's return from the dead.

Though the biggest uncertainty was that he didn't know what he felt about becoming a father. For most of his life he'd been raised by Alfred after his own parents were murdered. And Bruce had never really given the idea of marriage and raising a family much thought. He had no idea how to be a father.

Bruce made his way back to the manor thinking about how his life was about to change. Upon entering the kitchen he saw a relieved Alfred.

"Master Wayne, where have you been? I've been looking all over for you."

"Outside, why?" Bruce replied calmly.

"The Commissioner and his wife have already arrived with the girl and are awaiting your company," his Butler smiled. "She seems lovely, a bit shy though. Time for her to see who she'll be living with."

Bruce entered the room with all eyes on him and it was dead silent, until he was saved by a certain grey cat who had followed him in. The look on their faces was priceless as the fluffy cat began to rub up against his legs and he tried not to laugh. He gestured to the cat and casually said, "That's Loki, the annoying cat."

Bruce watched as Loki sauntered over to where Gordon and his wife sat and sniffed them before heading over to where the little girl sat.

Gordon had watched as Jillian saw the arrivals of Bruce Wayne and a grey cat that followed in behind. The little girl was surprised as the fluffy cat sniffed at her shoes dangling over the edge of the chair. Gordon was equally as surprised as Wayne casually commented, "I don't think Loki has ever actually been around children before."

Barbara spoke up while petting Loki who had moved back over to them, "How did you end up with this cat?"

Gordon remembered how curious his wife had been when he told of Wayne having a cat and listened to his reply, "Little Loki over here used to hang around outside Wayne Enterprises."

"So he was a stray?"

"Not for very long, according to his previous records, he was a stray for only a few months. He was not the only stray animal to hang around the building, and one day we trapped him." Gordon noticed the slightest amusement on Wayne's face as he noticed his wife's shocked expression before continuing, "I'm referring to the process of tempting stray animals, usually cats, into special cages and bringing them to a veterinary clinic to be fixed and examined for any illness or disease before being released back where you found them. It's a better solution, for the animals are free live they way they've known, and it makes it harder to spread disease, parasites and such around. It also allows for more control over the amount of feral animals."

Wayne thought for a moment before continuing, "And there are some times where in the process we find out that some haven't always been on the streets or are at least trained, and they are brought to temporary homes that get them back into living with humans and are later adopted. Other times they are brought back to their old families, or at least records are found, Loki was one of them. Some of the animals that can't be brought back into a house go to farms, protecting all the animals and such."

Bruce let that sink in and casually glanced around. Alfred was hovering in the entrance to the room, while the Gordons were pondering over what he just said. And there was Loki, soaking up the attention from Mrs. Gordon. As he sat down, he observed the little girl that would be living with them from now on. She was of course small, with shoulder-length curly hair the color of chocolate. Her eyes appeared to be blue and focused intently on the long-haired cat that deemed her uninteresting.

Minutes slipped by before Alfred realized that everyone had digested the situation and were lost on how to continue. Sensing this, Alfred stepped back into the room baring more coffee and cookies, breaking his rule on no sweets right before dinner.

Jim was brought out of his thoughts when Wayne stood up and said, "My, how time flies faster than a bird at times."

It was indeed getting late for the sun was on its way out of the sky. Even though it would be the weekend, Jim was still going to go in to work for at least a few hours tomorrow. It was time for them to go and let the other get acquainted with one another.

As they were driving down the private road, it had occurred to Jim Gordon that he had not once heard a sound come out of the little girl since he had first seen her. And then there was Wayne.

Wayne was not what the Gordons had expected when they first came to Wayne Manor. There had yet to be a sign of the arrogance they found among the other elite members of society, and while he was late, they had been early and could not tell the time. Wayne's detailed description of how he had come to have a cat living with him had certainly shocked the Gordons, especially Jim, because they had never heard of anyone from the elite class do anything to help others themselves. And here was the cat they called Loki soaking up the attention from all the people in the room, even going to rub up against the butler until he was petted. Loki certainly didn't look like he came off the streets of Gotham, more like a house cat in heaven. Only time would tell how it all worked out.

Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce was left alone with the little girl while Alfred had shown the Gordons the way out and fed the cat. Jillian was silently staring at him, watching his every movement. He wondered if she understood everything that was going on. She probably wouldn't remember this week when she was older anyways.

Bruce helped the little girl down out of the chair and led her to the kitchen. He noticed the curls of the little girl's chocolate brown hair bounce ever so slightly as she was trying to keep up with Bruce's big steps. He slowed down a bit to let her catch up, and they slowly made their way to the kitchen. He later noticed her deep green eyes as he helped her into a chair at the table. Alfred was back then, smiling the whole time while he dished out dinner. When he checked to see how Bruce was doing, all he got was a raised eyebrow. He had a feeling that Bruce wasn't going to give in so easily.

Dinner had been alright, there was hardly anything you could call conversation as Alfred was the only one talking. But the dinner itself was marvelous, even though it was made to be more "kid-friendly" than usual to try and not overload the little girl. After dinner, they showed her the way to her room, but decided against confusing her by showing her the whole mansion.

Jillian's new room was a pale blue with a four poster bed with sheer curtains and covered in pale rose bedding and pillows. On the floor was a soft pale green rug. There was a fancy white bureau next to the closet filled with dresses and costumes. And in one corner of the room was a small table and chair set with pretty teacups dusted with roses. All throughout the room were other toys and stuffed animals. Here and there were pale flowers, around the all the doors, windows and bed posters. Her face lit up when they told her that it was hers, and she ran over to the stuffed animals, clinging to a brown stuffed rabbit. She seemed content to play with the rabbit and there they left her while they talked outside the room.

"I think she'll enjoy it here, how about you?" Alfred said happily, its years since there were children or other people around.

"I think you'll enjoy the company," Bruce said holding back a smile.

Hours later, Bruce was heading back to his room after his nightly patrol when he heard a distant noise. Rounding the corner, he saw little Jillian clinging to the stuffed rabbit and crying. She was a long way from her room, and Bruce was wondering how she had gotten down this way. Still crying and clutching the rabbit, she started to move towards him when she noticed he was there. Bruce knelt down besides her, asking her what was wrong, but he got no reply, though she had calmed some.

After staying like that for a bit, Jillian had ceased crying and Bruce scooped her up, carrying her back to her room. There he sat down next to Jillian who was staring at him sleepy-eyed. And he stayed there until he was sure she was asleep and not wandering the halls again. Heading back to his room, Bruce wondered just what he had gotten himself into.

A.N. Later on in the story, I'll be getting deeper into how Bruce isn't really a cat person, but he deals with it anyways. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I hope to have then next chapter up soon. Please read and review, thanks!

P.S. Thanks, alice chess, Extraho, Moonstar 11, and twilightRose9492 for reviewing. And thanks Pigking, Moonstar 11, .1194, twilightRose9492 and jessi girl18024 for adding me to your story alert. And for BlueEyesUnderTheFedora for adding it to your favorites!