Chapter 11
After Barbara left the hospital, Helena quietly sneaked back into Dinah's room. She moved over to the chair by the bed, trying not to wake her. She tried to find a comfortable position to get some sleep. She ended up with her legs and shoulders draped across the armrests. Not exactly comfortable, but it would work. Helena drifted off to sleep.
:In other news, the ex-criminal known as the Joker escaped from his maximum security prison and is said to be headed towards New Gotham. All citizens are to be advised that the fugitive is armed and dangerous. Any sightings should be reported to local authorities.:
Helena awoke to the t.v. abruptly snapping off. She looked at Dinah who had the remote in her hand. Dinah smiled, "That doesn't even look comfortable."
Helena slowly sat up and winced as the muscles in her back tightened. "I wouldn't recommend it." She stood up, stretched, and sat down at the foot of the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, starved actually. The nurse went to get me something to eat."
Dinah looked at the blank television. "I-I saw the news report a minute ago; I know that the Joker is back." Helena turned to stare out the window. "Is that what you and Barbara were arguing about earlier?"
Helena turned back to Dinah. She'd thought the kid had been asleep when they'd had their conversation in the hall. "We weren't arguing. I was frustrated and angry, but we weren't arguing."
Dinah nodded and took a deep breath, "That was him last night, wasn't it? He was the one that shot me."
Helena shook her head. "We don't know that for sure. At the most, it could have been one of his henchmen.not him." Helena failed to include the note Reese had found. Dinah didn't need to be worried about the Joker's apparent return.
Dinah eyed Helena suspiciously. She knew she wasn't telling her everything. Luckily, Helena was saved from further questioning, as the door opened and in walked a very plump nurse carrying a tray with two bowels. She put the tray on a table and turned towards the two girls.
"You must be Helena," she said smiling. "Dinah said she was hungry, so I thought I'd get something for the both of you." She turned back to the tray, picked up a bowl and turned back to Helena. "She said yours had to be sugary. I hope Lucky Charms is okay."
"Yeah," Helena said, taking the bowl, "thanks."
The Nurse set the other bowl on a tray and placed the tray in front of Dinah. "I'll leave you two to eat," she said as she walked towards the door, "if you need anything just let me know."
Once the nurse was gone, Helena leaned over to look in Dinah's bowl. "Ewww." she said wrinkling her nose, "Cheerios? How can you eat that? It has no sugar, no marshmallows, nothing."
"That's why it's good for you," Dinah said, trying not to laugh. The spoon in front of her lifted off the table and started spinning in midair.
"You know, if that nurse walks in you're going to have a lot of explaining to do."
Dinah grabbed the spoon out of the air and started eating her cereal. Suddenly, she was hit in the head by a flying marshmallow. "Hey, stop it."
Helena grinned and threw another marshmallow.
"Helena! That's it!" Dinah picked up a Cheerio from her bowl and threw it at Helena. Laughing, they both dug into their bowls for more ammo.
* * *
Barbara stiffened a yawn as she made her way to Dinah's room. Her day had been filled more with researching than sleeping and she was starting to fill the effects. She was about to Dinah's room when Dr. Peterson caught up with her.
"Ms. Gordon," he said out of breath, "may I have a word with you."
"Yes, of course," Barbara said, worry starting to show in her eyes, "is something wrong?"
"No, everything's fine. In fact, Dinah is recovering a lot faster than I ever expected. She should be able to go home in a few days. I wanted to talk to you about something else. Since Dinah isn't your child, I felt obligated to contact Child and Family Services."
"You what?" Barbara was starting to get irritated.
"Don't be angry with him, Barbara. He was just doing his job," a voice from behind Barbara spoke. Barbara turned to face the speaker.
"Melinda? What are you doing here?" Barbara asked. Melinda Jenkins was in her late fifties, but with her silver hair and lined face she looked much older. Melinda was a social worker with Child and Family Services. She had been a long time friend of Bruce's and had handled all the paperwork when he took in a young Dick Grayson. When Barbara had taken in Helena after Selina's death, she had turned to Melinda for help, and when Dinah walked into their lives, Barbara had once again turned to Melinda.
"I was meaning to come see you when Dr. Peterson here called me. He wasn't turning you in; it's just policy to inform us when something like this happens. I just thought I'd come down here, since I needed to talk to you. Can we take a walk?"
"Sure," Barbara said, still skeptical. She followed Melinda in silence down the hall. When they reached the end of the hall, Barbara stopped. "What is this about, Melinda?"
Melinda sighed. "I got a call the other day from a lawyer in Missouri. He claimed to represent the Redmonds."
"The Redmonds?" Barbara asked, suddenly very worried. "What did they want?"
"Well, their lawyer accused me of stealing Dinah away from his clients and illegally placing her with you."
"But, that's ridiculous," Barbara stated, clearly confused, "we did everything legally."
"I told him that, but he claims that the Redmonds were in the process of adopting Dinah when she ran away. That's preposterous, though, because I double-checked everything before we transferred guardianship. There was never anything about them trying to adopt her."
Barbara was suddenly very worried. Everything seemed to be crashing down around her. First Dinah was shot, then she found out the Joker was back and now this. It was more than she could take. "What do we do?"
"We won't do anything, Barbara. I will handle this. This won't go anywhere, we're clearly in the right."
Barbara looked up. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't realized they'd made it back to Dinah's room. Barbara glanced through the window. Helena was ducking behind a chair as Dinah was throwing handfuls of cereal at her. Both were laughing hysterically. Barbara smiled. Dinah had come a long way since that day she stumbled into their lives. It scared her to think that those people might take her away from them.
"Why would the Redmonds try something like this?" Barbara asked turning back to Melinda, "And why now? From the way Dinah's talked, they hated her."
"People like the Redmonds don't want Dinah because they care about her, Barbara. They see her as an object, a possession. It must irritate them to no end that Dinah escaped. Don't worry Barbara, they won't take her away from you. I won't let them."
Barbara smiled, "Thank you Melinda. Should I tell them what's going on?"
"No, I wouldn't worry them, especially with Dinah's condition. This will all blow over and they'll never have to know." Melinda looked into the room. "You've raised two fine young women, Barbara. They're strong; they'll get through this."
Barbara sighed. "I just hope they're strong enough," she muttered under her breath.
After Barbara left the hospital, Helena quietly sneaked back into Dinah's room. She moved over to the chair by the bed, trying not to wake her. She tried to find a comfortable position to get some sleep. She ended up with her legs and shoulders draped across the armrests. Not exactly comfortable, but it would work. Helena drifted off to sleep.
:In other news, the ex-criminal known as the Joker escaped from his maximum security prison and is said to be headed towards New Gotham. All citizens are to be advised that the fugitive is armed and dangerous. Any sightings should be reported to local authorities.:
Helena awoke to the t.v. abruptly snapping off. She looked at Dinah who had the remote in her hand. Dinah smiled, "That doesn't even look comfortable."
Helena slowly sat up and winced as the muscles in her back tightened. "I wouldn't recommend it." She stood up, stretched, and sat down at the foot of the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, starved actually. The nurse went to get me something to eat."
Dinah looked at the blank television. "I-I saw the news report a minute ago; I know that the Joker is back." Helena turned to stare out the window. "Is that what you and Barbara were arguing about earlier?"
Helena turned back to Dinah. She'd thought the kid had been asleep when they'd had their conversation in the hall. "We weren't arguing. I was frustrated and angry, but we weren't arguing."
Dinah nodded and took a deep breath, "That was him last night, wasn't it? He was the one that shot me."
Helena shook her head. "We don't know that for sure. At the most, it could have been one of his henchmen.not him." Helena failed to include the note Reese had found. Dinah didn't need to be worried about the Joker's apparent return.
Dinah eyed Helena suspiciously. She knew she wasn't telling her everything. Luckily, Helena was saved from further questioning, as the door opened and in walked a very plump nurse carrying a tray with two bowels. She put the tray on a table and turned towards the two girls.
"You must be Helena," she said smiling. "Dinah said she was hungry, so I thought I'd get something for the both of you." She turned back to the tray, picked up a bowl and turned back to Helena. "She said yours had to be sugary. I hope Lucky Charms is okay."
"Yeah," Helena said, taking the bowl, "thanks."
The Nurse set the other bowl on a tray and placed the tray in front of Dinah. "I'll leave you two to eat," she said as she walked towards the door, "if you need anything just let me know."
Once the nurse was gone, Helena leaned over to look in Dinah's bowl. "Ewww." she said wrinkling her nose, "Cheerios? How can you eat that? It has no sugar, no marshmallows, nothing."
"That's why it's good for you," Dinah said, trying not to laugh. The spoon in front of her lifted off the table and started spinning in midair.
"You know, if that nurse walks in you're going to have a lot of explaining to do."
Dinah grabbed the spoon out of the air and started eating her cereal. Suddenly, she was hit in the head by a flying marshmallow. "Hey, stop it."
Helena grinned and threw another marshmallow.
"Helena! That's it!" Dinah picked up a Cheerio from her bowl and threw it at Helena. Laughing, they both dug into their bowls for more ammo.
* * *
Barbara stiffened a yawn as she made her way to Dinah's room. Her day had been filled more with researching than sleeping and she was starting to fill the effects. She was about to Dinah's room when Dr. Peterson caught up with her.
"Ms. Gordon," he said out of breath, "may I have a word with you."
"Yes, of course," Barbara said, worry starting to show in her eyes, "is something wrong?"
"No, everything's fine. In fact, Dinah is recovering a lot faster than I ever expected. She should be able to go home in a few days. I wanted to talk to you about something else. Since Dinah isn't your child, I felt obligated to contact Child and Family Services."
"You what?" Barbara was starting to get irritated.
"Don't be angry with him, Barbara. He was just doing his job," a voice from behind Barbara spoke. Barbara turned to face the speaker.
"Melinda? What are you doing here?" Barbara asked. Melinda Jenkins was in her late fifties, but with her silver hair and lined face she looked much older. Melinda was a social worker with Child and Family Services. She had been a long time friend of Bruce's and had handled all the paperwork when he took in a young Dick Grayson. When Barbara had taken in Helena after Selina's death, she had turned to Melinda for help, and when Dinah walked into their lives, Barbara had once again turned to Melinda.
"I was meaning to come see you when Dr. Peterson here called me. He wasn't turning you in; it's just policy to inform us when something like this happens. I just thought I'd come down here, since I needed to talk to you. Can we take a walk?"
"Sure," Barbara said, still skeptical. She followed Melinda in silence down the hall. When they reached the end of the hall, Barbara stopped. "What is this about, Melinda?"
Melinda sighed. "I got a call the other day from a lawyer in Missouri. He claimed to represent the Redmonds."
"The Redmonds?" Barbara asked, suddenly very worried. "What did they want?"
"Well, their lawyer accused me of stealing Dinah away from his clients and illegally placing her with you."
"But, that's ridiculous," Barbara stated, clearly confused, "we did everything legally."
"I told him that, but he claims that the Redmonds were in the process of adopting Dinah when she ran away. That's preposterous, though, because I double-checked everything before we transferred guardianship. There was never anything about them trying to adopt her."
Barbara was suddenly very worried. Everything seemed to be crashing down around her. First Dinah was shot, then she found out the Joker was back and now this. It was more than she could take. "What do we do?"
"We won't do anything, Barbara. I will handle this. This won't go anywhere, we're clearly in the right."
Barbara looked up. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't realized they'd made it back to Dinah's room. Barbara glanced through the window. Helena was ducking behind a chair as Dinah was throwing handfuls of cereal at her. Both were laughing hysterically. Barbara smiled. Dinah had come a long way since that day she stumbled into their lives. It scared her to think that those people might take her away from them.
"Why would the Redmonds try something like this?" Barbara asked turning back to Melinda, "And why now? From the way Dinah's talked, they hated her."
"People like the Redmonds don't want Dinah because they care about her, Barbara. They see her as an object, a possession. It must irritate them to no end that Dinah escaped. Don't worry Barbara, they won't take her away from you. I won't let them."
Barbara smiled, "Thank you Melinda. Should I tell them what's going on?"
"No, I wouldn't worry them, especially with Dinah's condition. This will all blow over and they'll never have to know." Melinda looked into the room. "You've raised two fine young women, Barbara. They're strong; they'll get through this."
Barbara sighed. "I just hope they're strong enough," she muttered under her breath.