As Helena and Dinah went off to get ready Barbara printed out a picture of Doctor Nash. She knew now wasn't the best of times to do this, but she wanted to be sure this was the guy before sending the Huntress after him. She knocked on Harley's door before letting herself in.
"Come to yell at me some more?" Harley asked, anger still lacing her voice.
"No." Barbara replied. "Though I think we need to talk."
Harley snorted. "All you ever want to do is talk."
"It's the best way to get through this, Harley." Barbara replied simply.
Harley closed her eyes as she lay back against her pillows. "I don't want to get through anything. I just want the world to make sense again."
Barbara rolled closer to the bed and reached out to wipe away a tear from Harley's cheek. "I'm so sorry you're caught up in all of this." When the girl didn't reply she bit back a sigh and held up the picture. "Harley would you look at this for me?"
Harley opened her eyes and turned her head. As soon as she saw who was in the picture she bolted straight up. "That's Uncle Tony." She said as she snatched the picture. Then she looked up at Barbara and glared. "How'd you get this?"
"From his personal file at New Gotham General." The woman explained. Her mind raced with ways to explain even more stuff that barely made any sense to her to a ten year old. "He worked there a long time ago."
"Before he stopped to take care of me and Duela until Mother could come back." Harley jumped in. "I use to hear him trying to talk Mother out of stuff, like increasing my escrima training, but Mother always said it was necessary to the plan."
"What plan?" Barbara asked as if she didn't already know.
Harley looked up and was about to just spit it out but she found it a little harder to say. "To kill you."
"Thank you, Harley." Barbara gave the girl a warm smile before turning to leave.
"Are you going to send him away too?" Harley asked before Barbara could reach the door.
The redhead stopped and turned to face the girl again. She paused a moment and then went back to the bedside. "He helped Quinn steal something from me. Something very important."
"Me?" Harley asked, but wouldn't look at the other woman.
"Yes." Barbara replied honestly.
Harley looked confused. None of this made any sense. She knew how babies were made. How could this woman be her mother and not have made her? "How did they steal me? Not that I believe they did, or anything."
Barbara held back a grin at the girl's need to cover her question. "Do you know how babies are made, Harley?" The girl nodded, so Barbara began to explain what she knew. It was pretty much a child's version of what she'd told Helena.
"So you think that Uncle Tony stole your frozen baby cells so Mother could make me?" Harley looked even more confused. "Why would they do that?"
"To hurt me." Barbara answered. "When I was Batgirl I helped put the Joker in prison. Then when Quinn tried to take over the city I helped Helena and Dinah stop her and put her in prison. She hurt a lot of people who are and were important to me before we could stop her."
Harley thought about that for a while and then shook her head. "No, Mother wanted me. I was special to her." She could feel the sting of tears in her eyes but she wouldn't shed them. She did bring her knees up to her chest and hide her face in her thighs. "I miss her."
Barbara sighed as she reached out to caress the girl's hair. "I know you do, Harley."
"You're not mad because I miss her?" Harley asked more then a little surprised. She turned to look at Barbara, resting her cheek against her knees.
"I can't pretend the last ten years of your life didn't happen, Harley." She just couldn't get comfortable calling her daughter by that name. In the back of her mind she knew she'd change it at some point. She had too. She couldn't get the sight of Quinn out of her head each time she said it.
Harley stared hard at the redhead as she felt a headache building behind her eyes. "Why are you being so nice? You're supposed to be the bad people!" In an angry huff she threw herself back into her pillows before pulling the blankets up over her so she could hide.
"We're not the bad guys here, sweetheart." Barbara said carefully. "I hope someday you'll be able to see that."
The room was dark as Tony stepped inside. He couldn't believe it. Josh was telling him that there was nothing he could do to get the boss out. He'd said that the police have a solid case with all the new counts, plus there was the fact that the boss was a fugitive. To top it all off Josh also told him that the police were looking for anyone who'd helped the boss escape or kidnap the Gordon kid. "Gordon kid," he mumbled out loud. "I bet little Harley's loving that."
"We'd really prefer you didn't call her that." Dinah called out from the shadows.
Tony stopped cold, his hand slipping into the inside of his jacket for his gun.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Helena added as she came up behind him, hitting him hard in the back of the head, dropping him to his knees. Coming around she reached in and grabbed his gun, tossing it onto the bed.
Tony looked up at the woman and the blonde who joined her. "You." He hissed as he got to his feet. "How did you…"
"You used your own credit card." Dinah answered. "Can you say stupid criminal of the month?"
The man stood at his full height and tugged at his jacket to straighten it. "I'm not a criminal."
"Sure you are," Helena smiled as she pushed him causing him to stumble. "We know you worked at New Gotham General, we know you had access to the fertility clinic's recourses, meaning you had access to Barbara Gordon's account. We also know that for the last ten years you've been playing man-nanny to her child. You're going to be spending a lot of time behind bars."
"You can't prove…" Tony stammered.
Helena pushed him so hard he hit the wall. "We can and we have."
"Got a positive ID too." Dinah added. She wanted a piece of him herself, but roughing them up was Helena's job.
"Little Harley wouldn't…" Tony started but then couldn't finish.
Helena hit him in the gut. "We said not to call her that and for your information she already has."
An hour later when Helena and Dinah stepped off the elevator Helena looked up at Barbara who was sitting at Delphi. She was expecting the older woman to say something about her going overboard with Nash. "Reese picked up Nash. He said the judge handed him the warrant as soon as he handed him the evidence. There's a team combing through all of his records to see what else he might have been up too."
"Good." Barbara replied. "From what I was able to find out he had a nice little side business going selling eggs, sperm, and even embryos to the highest bidder."
Walking over to her mentor, sister, and best friend Helena sighed as she sat on the desk next to her. "Barbara, I'm…"
"Don't, Helena." Barbara cut her off and then looked up at her. "You don't have to keep apologizing to me. Quinn used you, she betrayed your trust."
"But if I hadn't have brought you up so much she wouldn't have taken an interest in Barbara Gordon and Nash wouldn't have told her about coming across your account." Helena said quickly before Barbara could stop her.
Barbara reached over and put her hand over Helena's. "Helena. Stop blaming yourself. I thought we'd gotten past this?"
"That was before we found out that my mistake has cost you even more pain." The younger dark haired woman replied.
"I'm more angry then I am in pain." Barbara sighed but then to Helena's surprise she smiled. "But there is a silver lining to all of this."
Helena blinked. "What?"
Barbara's smile brightened. "Harley."
Helena smiled as well. "She's gonna be a good kid once you get her straightened out."
"I hope you're right." Barbara replied.
"Don't worry we'll help." Helena said as Dinah joined them. "We did ok with this one."
Dinah grinned.
"I hate to disrupt the moment." Alfred said as he came into view, a bright twinkle in his eyes.
"It's alright Alfred." Barbara laughed as she looked over at him. "Is everything alright?"
Alfred nodded. "And hopefully on it's way to being much better. Doctor Tompkins is here."
Barbara nodded as she secured Delphi and then headed down the ramp towards the old Englishmen.
"Leslie Tompkins?" Helena asked.
Barbara nodded as she headed for the elevator. "She was a friend of your father's. She was there for him as a kid, kind of became the maternal figure to Alfred's paternal figure."
"So I take it she knows who he was?" Helena asked as they stepped out into the penthouse.
"I know who your mother was as well." Leslie said with a warm smile.
Helena turned to see an elderly white haired woman standing next to Alfred in the living room.
"The Bat and the Cat." Leslie chuckled. "I kept telling him he needed to marry Selina but like most men," She glanced at Alfred. "When that subject came up he suddenly had to leave."
"I think I'll make tea." Alfred told them before heading towards the kitchen.
Leslie laughed. "See." Turning to Barbara, Leslie took the young woman's hand. "It's good to see you again, Barbara."
Barbara smiled warmly. "I wish it were less of a professional call, Leslie, but it is good to see you as well."
The white haired woman nodded as she took a seat near the redhead. "So tell me about this little girl of yours?"
"Her name's Harley." Barbara began. "Well, for now it is." She added and then filled her old acquaintance in on Harley and everything they'd come to find out. Once she was finished she led Leslie to Harley's room. "She may not be willing to talk."
Leslie smiled reassuringly. "I can bet on it, but don't worry Barbara. I'll do everything I can to help your daughter."
"I know." Barbara smiled in return. "That's why I called you. I wouldn't trust anyone else." Reaching out she knocked on the door before letting herself in. "Harley, there's someone here I'd like you to meet."
Harley looked up from the comic book Dinah had gotten her. She looked the older woman over and snorted. "You the shrink she decided to bring in?"
Leslie nodded. "I am a doctor, yes, but I'm also a friend. I've known Barbara for a very long time."
"Form the looks of it you've known everyone a very long time." The girl wisecracked as she sat up.
"Harley." Barbara scolded.
Leslie laughed. "It's alright, Barbara. I've heard worse, besides, she's right."
Harley looked at the old woman with distain. There was no way she was going to let this woman force her into believing all the lies. "I could think of worse things to say."
Before Barbara could say anything Leslie smiled at the girl and asked, "Barbara, would you mind leaving us alone for a little while? I think Harley and I could get better acquainted if she felt a little more free to talk."
She was hesitant, but Barbara nodded. "Of course."
Harley watched as Barbara left the room and then looked at the old woman again. "I'm not talking to you."
"You don't have to." Leslie replied as she sat in an armchair near the window.
"Fine." Harley flopped back down on her bed and went back to reading her comic book.
For quite some time all Leslie did was sit there and watch the girl. She'd smile when Harley looked up to glare at her, but didn't say a word. She'd wait and let the girl say the first word, until then she'd just watch. The girl was tense and a couple of times she thought the girl was going to say something or even throw something, but she only huffed.
Finally after several more long minutes Harley looked up at the woman and glared. "Are you really just going to sit there?"
"Yes." Leslie replied with a warm smile.
"Why?" Harley asked as she sat up, throwing her legs over the side of the bed.
"Because." Leslie answered.
"Because why?" The ten year old shot back.
"Because I'm here for an hour." Leslie replied.
Harley rolled her eyes and groaned. "This is going to be a waste of your time and Barbara's money."
"Barbara isn't paying me." Leslie replied.
That confused the girl. "She's not?"
Leslie shook her head. "She offered, I told her not to be silly."
"Why would you do this for free?" Harley asked. "Mother use to make three hundred an hour or more."
"Because Barbara is a very close friend and I'd do anything to help her." Leslie answered as she sat forward a little.
Harley snorted. "You're not going to talk me into believing all this."
"Believe all of what?" Leslie asked.
"That my Mother didn't really want me, that I was just a tool to her, and that these people actually want me here." Harley answered. "Barbara might be my real mom, but that doesn't mean I have to accept all of this. Mother warned me that if I were ever captured they'd try to turn me against her."
If she could pace, she'd be wearing a groove in the floor. But she couldn't, so all Barbara could do was switch from staring at her lap top screen to the hallway that lead to the bedrooms. A small part of her was hoping that Leslie would come out and say it would be easy to get Harley to adjust, but the rest of her knew that wasn't going to happen. When she saw Leslie coming she secured her link to Delphi and wheeled over to meet her.
"That's quite the little girl you got there, Barbara." Leslie said with a smile. "There's a lot about her that reminds me of you when you were a head strong teenager."
"I sense a but coming." Barbara held back the need to sigh.
Leslie nodded. "She's angry, confused, and hurt. She's facing a situation she'd been prepared for, but it isn't playing out the way she'd been told it would."
That made Barbara blink. "What do you mean prepared for?"
"Apparently she'd been warned that she might be captured, but none of you are acting the way she'd been told you would." Leslie explained as the women moved to where Alfred was setting up tea. "She's been well programmed."
Again Barbara blinked. "Programmed?"
Leslie nodded. "She's been taught and trained to think one way, but her experience with you and her instincts are counter acting the programming."
"What do we do?" The younger woman asked, her soft green eyes full of concern, a little fear, and even more anger.
"We undo the programming and to do that we need to get her to trust you." Leslie explained. "But in order to do that we have to break her trust in Harley Quinn."
Helena stood in the shadows with Dinah listening carefully to everything Leslie had to say. She nodded to herself as she realized she'd more then likely need to go through with her own ideas for opening the kid up. She just hoped Barbara would understand.
