Barbara was half asleep, she felt a light weight on the mattress next to her. She opened her eyes and saw Helena moving the blankets to cover herselfand Jaçques with them. She had put some comics on the night table.
"Aren't you grounded?" the redhead asked.
"Yes, so are you," the kid said, moving Jaçques next to her.
"I'm not grounded."
"Yes, you are." Helena rested her head on the pillow and opened a comic to read. "Mom told you not to leave here, like me. She is angry because you went out last night and the car hit you."
"Bad idea." Barbara sighed.
"Bad week." Helena pointed out. "Including this time, she has grounded me three times this week. Not good."
"And what are you doing here?"
"It's boring to be grounded alone, want to read a comic?"
Barbara smiled. "All right."
The girl put the comic books between them.
Barbara took one and examined it. "I heard that you tried to trick Alfred."
"No, he tricked me. He made me believe that he didn't know how play and I lost all my money." Helena turned the page of her comic book.
"But you tried to trick him first."
"We were playing."
"And you were cheating." Barbara glared at her.
Helena put the comic down and looked at her. "I was playing."
"I know how you play, that is cheating."
"He won anyway, so what's the problem?"
"You shouldn't cheat at games," Barbara said. "Let me give you some advice, never try to be smarter than Alfred. He always wins, he's smart."
"And a cheater, he plays like a pro." Helena frowned. "Who is Alfred? Why do you know him too?"
"He is the butler of a common friend."
"He is fun to be a butler, I thought butlers were boring."
"He isn't." The young woman raised the magazine and opened it to read. She at looked it a few minutes. "How can you read these things? They're full of violence."
"The news is worse and mom watches it every night."
"Point for you, but don't you have something better than Spawn?" Barbara took another comic and opened it. She didn't have many choices and she needed to rest at least two or three more days there.
Helena sat on the bed and looked at her magazines. "I have Donald Duck."
"Give me that one, it's much better than this."
Selina was checking her accounting at the living room table. She was not in a very good mood. Helena was out of school for running inside the school and she needed to talk with the principal the next day; Barbara was resting after a terrible beating and after acting like a stubborn kid. And, at night trying to prevent her kid from discovering what had really happened and who she was.
Dammit.
She put her elbows over the table and covered her face with her hands. What a day!
"Mom?"
Selina jumped in her place. Helena was standing up at the table watching her in her pajamas. Sometimes, she hated that she was so silent.
"You should be in your room, you are grounded." Selina put her pencil on the table.
"Barbara wants to talk with you."
Selina raised a brow. "How do you know that? I told to stay in your room. "
"Well... Barbara is grounded too..." Helena explained, "I was bored, so I thought we could be grounded together."
"You should be in your room, not in Barbara's room."
"You said no television and no cookies and no poptarts, but you didn't said not to be grounded with her. We are neighbors."
"Helena..." Selina wanted to smile, but she couldn't. She rubbed her temples, thinking she needed to show her determination.
"Her room is in front of mine, it's the same," the little brunette explained, looking her bare feet.
"No, it's not the same." Selina raised her head. "When you are grounded you have to be by yourself, where are your slippers?"
"In my room."
"Okay, go to your room now, I'll talk with Barbara." Selina stood up and walked toward the bedroom.
"Are you going to be mad all night?" Helena followed her with her eyes.
"Am I wrong to be mad with you?" Selina stopped and looked at her.
"No, but..." Helena said in a low voice, lowering her head.
Silence enveloped the room.
Selina waited a few seconds before leaning over her. "No, but?"
Helena raised her eyes and wrapped her arms around her neck. "I don't like it when you are mad at me, Mom."
Selina couldn't resist the offer of love and Helena's slightly teary eyes; she kneeled and hugged her; she had melted her heart again. "I hate being mad with you," she whispered in her ear, "but sometimes you don't listen, Helena."
"I'm sorry mom. I had to pee really bad."
This time Selina couldn't avoid laughing. "Helena, take your time and walk when you have to pee. Don't run inside the school, the principal has told you so many times." Selina moved back and fixed her eyes on Helena's, brushing the hair off her face with her fingers. "Promise me you won't do that again. I hate go to school to hear the principal give me a speech."
"I love you mom." Helena said her again, giving her a kiss on her cheek.
"I love you too, honey. Now go to your room, I need to talk with Barbara alone."
"Okay. Can I have dinner?"
"No, not yet, let me talk with Barbara first."
"I'm hungry."
Selina glared at the kid and she understood. She went to her room in silence.
Barbara turned the page of another comic, trying to distract herself, with her back against the headboard. It was awful to just be there lying on a bed, but, otherwise, she couldn't move too much, she was so sore. She heard knocks at the door. That must be Selina.
"Come in," she said.
"You called?" The blonde opened the door.
"I need to talk to you." She put the magazine to the side.
Selina sat at the bottom of the bed and looked at her. "About?"
Barbara took a deep breath. It was hard to talk when she wanted to apologize. Damn. She wished that it was easier. "I don't know how to start..." she said.
"Maybe by apologizing?" Selina raised a brow. Barbara was more proud than she had imagined. Typical of a youth.
"All right, I did a stupid thing." The red head felt cornered. "I wasn't thinking straight. I'm sorry, all right? I'm angry, I'm angry with myself because I know I did something wrong."
Selina looked at her in silence. Barbara didn't like that look, she moved uncomfortably and waited for a reaction from the old woman. But she remained still.
"Well? Say something?"
"Helena told me you wanted to talk with me. I'm listening:"
"You are not helpful," Barbara said frustrated.
"Why? I'm listening to you."
Barbara closed her eyes. "Selina, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, really. You are right. Being a crime fighter doesn't mean exposing your life in a stupid way if you can avoid it. You need to think with your head, try to think as they are doing, so you will always be a step in front of them. I'm sorry because you don't have any obligation to me. We are nothing and I'm just causing you trouble."
"Barbara, it's not an obligation," Selina interrupted, "you are my friend, I'm worried about you. That's all, I hate seeing you this way, knowing you could have avoided it, if only you would stop to think and calm down a second. Did you think about your father? How do you think he would feel knowing you...?" The blonde shook her head. "He is an old man, Barbara, you are his life, and you..." The blonde stood up. "God! You're only twenty two! You still have your whole life in front of you! If you want to die being a crime fighter, do it, but do it when you don't have any other choice. Don't throw your life away for nothing."
Barbara remained silent and lowered her head.
Selina sighed and brushed Barbara's hair from her face. "I would to hate know that something happened to you. You are nice, Helena likes you... and Helena is difficult... that's a point for you."
"Why do you...? " Barbara tried to find the correct word.
"Feel worried about you?" The blonde smiled and fixed her eyes on the window crossing her arms. "After I made my choice to quit, nobody believed in me." She looked at the redhead. "Only you, I could talk with you without needing to give an explanation about what I had been and why. You accepted me that way. It's not easy, people often view me with distrust; your father for example."
"I'm sorry about him.."
"No, no, I don't want you to apologize for him. I understand, I understand him and many other people. I'm like them. Look at me, I always walk with my eyes open, I know my past always will live in me. I don't trust anyone, and I turn more suspicious if it's about Helena. She is just a child, she can't defend herself; she is still too small to understand many things about my life. I'm afraid that one day, an old enemy could come back looking for revenge and try to hurt her." Selina sighed and sat again on the bed. "You know about what criminals I'm talking, you know they are not common thieves. For that reason, I never leave her alone or with anybody... only you."
Barbara frowned. "Are you telling me that you are worried about me because you would lose the only tutor and baby sitter of your child?"
"Yes."
"You're cute, cute as she is when she asked me go to the school to give a speech."
"We have our charms." Selina smiled and Barbara too.
"Thanks, Selina." The redhead took her hand and squeezed it.
"Thank you."
"Does this mean that I'm not grounded now and we can have dinner?" Barbara joked.
"You are, like Helena, but..." Selina bit her lip. "I can be flexible tonight and cook some delicious pasta."
"That would be good," Barbara said.
"Yes." The blonde stood up and opened the door. "Let me call Helena, she has been hungry for a long time and she is waiting for her dinner." Selina noticed the black stuffed cat next to Barbara. "What's Jaçques doing here?"
"You know... Helena."
Selina smiled and walked outside the room, closing the door. Barbara was a great hero, but also a great woman. She just needed to stop being so impulsive. She knocked on her daughter's door and opened it. Helena was sprawled on the floor looking at nothing.
"And now?" Selina put her hands on her waist.
"I'm dying of boredom," the child mumbled.
Selina raised her eyes. "Okay, before you die, do you want dinner?"
"Yes!" She raised her head immediately.
"Okay, come help me to make the pasta. We are going to have a nice dinner in Barbara's bedroom."
"Aren't we grounded?" Helena looked at her with her big blue eyes.
"Yes, but even disobedient children as you need to eat, no?" Selina smirked.
"Yes."
"Let's go."