Chapter 6: Happy Birthday

"Jamie, wake up." Someone nudged me with their foot. My reflexes took over and I grabbed the person's leg, pulling it out from under them. They landed on the ground with a thud and I was instantly on top of them before I was fully awake. Two seconds later I was the one pinned to the floor.

"Good to know you've been putting Bruce's gym to good use." Dad said. Always one to show off.

"Oops! Sorry Dad." I apologized, taking his offered hand.

"It's okay," He laughs. "Happy Birthday Little Bird!" Dad shouted giving me a hug.

"Why are you so loud?" Anni complained from her spot on the living room floor. She had already stolen the blankets I had been using, making herself look like a colorful giant slug.

"Anni, wake up." I nudged her with my foot. She groaned. "Hey! It's my birthday! If I'm not allowed to sleep anymore, neither are you" I pulled the blankets off of her. She scowled at me.

"Fine. But only if I can get some breakfast." She rubbed her eyes.

"It would be more like lunch now." Dad stated. I looked at the clock which read eleven forty-five

"But I want breakfast." Anni mumbled, still on the floor.

"You can. I'm taking you two to the diner." Dad announced. Anni shot up at that. I laughed.

"I haven't been there since you left Jay. I would kill for one of Carlo's waffles." She said, already headed to my room to get dressed.

"Well, that's one way to get her up," I joked.

After breakfast we wandered around, eventually ending up in Chinatown. I missed being able to just wander freely. Stupid Gotham criminals. Anni bought me an elephant charm with Chinese characters on it for my charm bracelet. We stopped at a fortune teller's shop just for fun. Dad was skeptical but indulged us. Not that we believed anything the fortune teller told us.

Anni eventually had to leave us to babysit Jake while their mom went to work. Dad and I wandered for a little bit longer before heading back home. We were back for maybe five minutes when Ko walked in

"Happy Birthday Jamie! Here's your present." Ko shoved a gift into my arms.

"Thanks Ko." I unwrapped it to reveal the newest Game Station. "Wow! Your dad got another raise?" I asked inspecting the box. Of course all the writing was in Japanese.

"Yup. So he and Mom can visit for a month this year! He sent me mine last month. Anni gets hers at Christmas." She said happily. Ko's parents were electronic engineers for gaming companies in Japan. They sent her to the US to live with her grandmother when we were in middle school to learn English better and get a western education. Her father grew up in New York then moved to Japan. I have no idea why her grandmother moved to the US. Ko isn't even sure.

"That's so schway! Thank you!" I gave her a hug.

"I wish I could stay, but Sobo found out that I skipped so now I'm grounded. I have about ten minutes to get back before she notices I'm gone. Happy Birthday! See you at Thanksgiving!" She hugged me and was gone.

"She has sneaking out down to a science." Dad commented. I nodded. "So, do you want to go for a ride?" He asked holding his helmet.

"You know the answer." I smiled.

"Well then get your helmet."

Riding on a motorcycle is so thrilling. There's nothing else like it. I got my rider's license right after my driver's. I was determined to own a bike one day. I did say I was a motorcycle girl.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see." He said before we took off.

We rode for awhile. By the time he slowed down, we were well out of the city and it was almost dark. I smiled when I realized where he was taking us.

"Haven't been here in ages." I said, grabbing a blanket from one of the storage compartments on the bike.

"I know. On the beach or the grass?" he asked.

"Beach. So why here?"

"It seemed right. Did you have a good birthday?" He asked, sitting on the blanket.

"I did. Did you have a nice day off? I assume you finished a case yesterday otherwise you wouldn't be in such a good mood today." I said, looking out at the ocean. I remembered coming here as a kid, swimming, and playing here. It wasn't a very popular spot because the beach was somewhat rocky and it was farther away from the city. Which made it perfect and less crowded. Dad and I were the only ones out there.

"You'd be right Little Bird." He confirmed.

"Dad, I'm seventeen now. You can stop calling me Little Bird." I told him.

"And what should I call you? I never liked Jamie." He admits.

"Then why did you name me that?" I asked. Anything dealing with my birth or mother was an avoided topic. I hoped maybe he would indulge me for my birthday. He sighed.

"I didn't name you." He left it at that. No indulgence for me. We sat in silence and watched the sunset.

"Do you like Gotham?" He asked.

"I guess. I wish I had more freedom to wander around though." I gave him a look.

"I told you not to go out at night alone. You can be by yourself all day in Gotham. Just try to avoid getting robbed by any more drug dealers." He teased.

"Ha ha. Gotham is nice in the daylight then." I said, lying down to star gaze. He did the same.

"What would you say to living there all the time?"

"What?" I sat up again.

"I'm getting older, Jamie. I can't be a detective forever. I've been there longer than I thought I'd be." He said, still looking at the stars.

"What would you do instead?" I asked.

"Open a gym in Gotham. Then you could live with me again if you wanted. If you still want to come back here at the end of the school year, I could set something up for you here."

"Is this all hypothetical or real?" I asked. Dad had a tendency to bring an idea to me only to tell me it was actually happening. Like when he told me I was going to live with Bruce.

"Slowly becoming a reality. I plan on retiring from the force at the end of your school year."

"And if you didn't open a gym in Gotham, what would you do?"

"I haven't really thought about it." He admits. Ah my father, ever the dreamer.

"I guess that would be schway if you came to live in Gotham. Then I wouldn't have to coach myself all the time."

"I told you to find a gym. But would you really be okay with this? Visiting wouldn't be a problem if that's what you're worried about." It was apparent this was going to happen no matter what I said.

"You should do it. I don't want you to be unhappy just so I get what I want. That isn't fair to you."

"But as your, father, I want you to be happy. I want to give you everything you want. It'll make sense when you have kids." He smiled.

"What?" I didn't find any of this amusing.

"I hope your kids are as troublesome as you are."

"Thanks for that." I rolled my eyes at him. He smiled that charming smile I watched so many women fall for growing up. That usually meant he was up to something.

"Okay, what are you up to?" I asked suspiciously. He suddenly picked me up and started running towards the water.

"Slag it Dad! NO! DON'T DO IT! AHHHH!" I screamed as he threw me in. "THAT IS SO NOT THE WAY TO TREAT THE BIRTHDAY GIRL! PLUS ITS FREEZING!" I shouted at him.

"Its just a little water Little Bird. It can't be that cold. It was in the 80s today." He reasoned. I hated when he was right. I walked out of the water and he handed me a towel. I started laughing.

"What's so funny?" He asked, confused. I grinned evilly at him.

"This!" I exclaimed before hugging him. I hadn't bothered to dry off yet so I was still soaking wet.

"Well played kid." He snatched the towel from me. I gave him a a cheesy grin. "By the way, I know you've noticed that I haven't given you a present yet. It's waiting at Bruce's for you. It should've arrived yesterday."

I had noticed. Dad always like to get me impressive birthday gifts. I wasn't going to say anything because I wasn't a spoiled rich kid, even if I did live with one of the richest people in the world.

The ride back was nice and calming, not to mention a good way to dry off. When we got home I noticed I had a missed call. I dialed my voicemail only to be surprised by the message.

"Hey Jay, it's Anni. I hope you had a good rest of your birthday. I have a favor to ask you..."

Because I feel bad for not posting last week, here's another fluff chapter!

Fun Fact: Ko was originally going to be an orphan, but that seems to be the DC cliche so I gave her really distant parents which explains why she is so rebellious.