I thought it was about time Cass hit puberty. And for the boys to learn to truly fear her. *evil laugh*

Dick - 17 Jason -14 Cass - 12

Being Female

Things had finally quieted down in the Wayne household. Everything seemed very normal for them, if occasionally meeting heroes and discussing combat strategy and weaponry was normal. They were talking and laughing in the kitchen one Saturday, when Cass suddenly jerked forward, arms wrapped around her middle. Alfred and her older brothers spotted it immediately, startled at the subtle signs of pain on her face. "Cass? You okay?"

"Fine," she stated in a tone they knew was anything but fine. Grimacing, she turned and walked out of the kitchen. "Excuse me."

They all watched her for a moment before exchanging looks. "Stomach ache?"

"Maybe. Never can tell with her." Jason looked over to Alfred expectantly. He hadn't suggested anything, but he could read all of them like books. He was probably the only one that could figure out what was wrong with any of them. "Any ideas?"

"A few," the butler admitted, chewing over his words. He went back to finishing the dishes, already making plans. "I'll check on her in an hour. Best you two leave her alone."

"But..." Dick looked back to where she left, more than a little worried. Cass never complained about anything. He was certain if they weren't watching her, she'd forget to eat. "What if she has an ulcer or something? Appendicitis... what if it's something bad?"

"I assure you," Alfred started, catching the young man's eye, "if it were life threatening, Miss Cassandra would tell us."

"Ya sure? Cuz she sure didn't tell us about the flu." Back when Dick was missing, Jason caught Cass throwing up in her bathroom after school. She managed to hide the fact she was sick from them all throughout school, and if he hadn't just passed by her room on his way to snag some cookies, no one would have known. She didn't want to be the center of attention when something 'more important' was going on.

"The flu isn't life threatening Master Jason," the man reminded them. "And you have hidden your illnesses a time or two as I recall. She just had the misguided notion that her health was not as important as..." Both of them glanced over to Dick, who caught the look and looked away sheepishly. Not like it was his fault he was kidnapped by a psychopath for four months. Alfred gave a small cough before continuing. "As it is now, she has learned better."

"But Alfred-"

"I will check on her in an hour Master Richard," he repeated. "Now, if you are truly that concerned for your sister, fetch the teapot and warm it up. She will enjoy a good cup later."

The boys exchanged glances for a moment before shrugging and doing as they were told. No point to argue with him, even if they were concerned about their sister. She never displayed pain before. Why did she now?

Twenty minutes later they found no more reason to be in the kitchen and started towards their rooms to find something to do. Still a little worried, Jason knocked on Cass' door, wondering if that was where she went after cringing. "Cass? You in there?"

He heard a low murmur through the door but nothing definite. Frowning, he jiggled the door handle. Locked. "Cass?" Another murmur. Now he knew something was up. "Cass, are you alright?"

"Get lost Jason!"

He could barely hear it through the door, but it still made him jerk back in surprise. Cass... snapped at him? She actually shouted at people? In the six years he's known her, she almost never raised her voice, let alone in anger. "Cass..."

"Is she alright in there?" Dick walked up next to him, a deck of cards in his hand. Likely he was going to get as many people as possible to play with him but hadn't started asking anyone yet. Guessing he was going to ask them first.

Still surprised, the other teen shrugged. "Not sure. You want to check?"

"Kay." Taking out a little wire they always had with them, he quickly picked the lock and opened the door. "Hey Cass! You al-!" Without any warning, Mighty Mouse was sent flying at his face. All he could do is dodge. "What the-"

"GET OUT!" Cass glared up at them from a huddled position on the floor, one arm still gripping her abdomen when the other was released to throw things at them. The toy was the first to go.

"Cass! What's wrong?!" Panic started to grip him as he remembered all the times this girl threw him in their sparing sessions. If she was mad, he didn't think he'd win. Girls could be very scary.

"Nothing you could possibly understand!" The seething look she was giving him was frightfully familiar, but not from her face.

"What? Why?!"

"You're boys!"

Suddenly everything clicked in his head, forcing him to pull back and put on a stupid smile. "Oh. My mistake. Sorry."

As fast as he could, Dick locked the door and shut it just the way she wanted it. Grinning stupidly, he grabbed Jason's arm and started leading him away from the room. "Come on. Let's leave Cass alone. Alfred can definitely help her more, if she wants it."

"Wha? What happened? What's going on?!" Completely confused, Jason just gaped at him. Wasn't he supposed to be checking on Cass?

"Cass is being female," he offered as explanation. When that wasn't enough, he sighed. "PMS."

"Oh." Now it was clicking in his head. She never had this before, but she was twelve. Girls and boys were definitely different now right?

"We can't understand. It's a girl thing. The best thing we can do is run away and hope it doesn't last very long. Care to play gin?" Giving the best smile he could under the circumstances, Dick held up the cards once again and headed back towards the playroom. Until Cass learned how to handle cramps better or they became less intense, they were in for a rough few years. Best to just get out of her way.

A/N: When I was about her age, and for a few years after, I had bad cramps every other month. Rarely have them as an adult but it varies from girl to girl. whenever I wanted to get by brothers away from me, or when other girls wanted to know what was bothering me, just had to say I was being female and that was the end of it. For boys who want an idea what it feels like, it's either like a knife to the gut for a long time, or someone scraping out our insides with a dull spoon. varies from girl to girl. ;] The effects on girls emotionally are often either "I love boys" to "all boys should DIE!" so boys be warned.

I loved how usually calm and quiet Cass gets loud and angry here. Not sure how Tim or Dami would take her snapping like that at them, but it'd be interesting. Oh, Dick probably has experience with PMSing girls with Babs. Jus saying. Enjoy! I'll get back to the storyline later.