Fifteen days later, Helena was at school. Barbara had promised to give the speech. This time she wasn't sick and her mother had promised to pick up her. So she would be there on time. She had been watching her watch nervously since eight o'clock, Barbara had promised her that she would be there at nine o'clock.
"Hey, calm down," Gibson said. "She will come."
"I hope so," Helena mumbled looking out the windows of her classroom.
"Well boys and girls, now I need to ask you to go to the Auditorium," the professor said. "We have a special event there. Miss Barbara Gordon, head librarian of Gotham Library has prepared a special event for us."
"Auditorium?" Helena opened her eyes wide.
The kids picked up their bags and walked out of the classroom. Helena walked toward her professor.
"Auditorium?" she asked, "It's in the classroom, you are wrong."
"No, Helena," the proffessor said, "the auditorium, come on."
Gibson took his school bag and walked toward her. "Let's go."
"I'm afraid that Barbara will talk too long and be boring about her boring job."
"You invited her."
"I know, but in the classroom, not the auditorium." Helena said, picking up her books and putting them inside her school bag. "
"You should be proud, the professor said she is great," Gibson noted.
"I'm not sure about this."
"Hey, Helena, have you heard the stories about the people dressed as bats?"
She looked at him in silence. Was he talking about her angel?
"Yes," he said, "come on Helena, don't tell me you haven't heard about it."
"No."
He leaned over her and whispered, "People say that at night the underworld trembles. Giant bats are prowling.... Just watching us. They have giant teeth and paws; I had heard that they can cut your flesh in two with just a finger and..."
"Gibson." Helena glared at him.
"Yes?"
"Don't be stupid. Let's go."She took her school bag and put it on her back.
"But it's true." They walked outside the classroom.
"Gibson!" The child rolled her eyes, his friend watched to many television shows.
"I'm telling you the truth."
"Don't be a kid!" Helena said in a loud voice.
"Hey, you two, what's the problem?"
Both stopped and looked back.
"Mom, what's that about the auditorium?" Helena asked.
"Well, Barbara prepared something special, she owes this to you."
"What?" Helena suddenly stopped and saw the auditorium was full of kids and adults. "What's going on here?"
"Helena said Barbara is a boring person." Gibson looked up at Selina.
"I didn't say that!" Helena frowned.
"Yes, you did."
"Not true."
"Yes!"
"Hey, hey..." Selina said.
"You said you were afraid that Barbara would talk too long and be boring about her boring job." Gibson reminded her.
"Gossip!" She pushed him.
"Helena, stop!" Selina took her by her arm, "Don't do that again or I'll punish you!"
"He is a gossip!" the child shouted, facing Gibson.
"I'm not a gossip!" he shouted back.
Selina took each kid by the neck with her hands and pulled one to her right and other to her left. "Let's go to the auditorium and stop the fighting. One, two, one, two..."
Barbara was standing up next to the entrance talking with the principal and some professors. She looked at them and smiled. She walked over to them.
"Hey," she said.
"Hi, Babs." Selina kissed her cheek.
"Hi, Helena." Barbara took her shoulder. "I'm here."
"Why are so many people here?" the child asked "It's just a presentation."
"Well... I thought you deserved something better since... I couldn't be here fifteen days ago. And I talked with the mayor and he agreed to come here, too." She pointed at the mayor, who was talking with the principal. "He's a good friend of my dad."
"The mayor?" Helena opened her eyes wide.
"Wow, you have important friends, Helena." Gibson said.
"The mayor? For what?" Helena blinked.
"Hello, Helena." The Principal walked up to the group.
"Morning, Mrs. Dawson," she said.
"I must thank you."
Helena frowned.
"Miss Gordon was very nice offering to create a "Library at school" Week, opened by the mayor of the city."
"Library at school? What's that?" Gibson asked.
Barbara smiled and explained: "A special interactive workshop that we created inside the auditorium about how to recycle paper, how mend broken books and more interesting topics. You can draw there too, with assistance from the library personnel."
"We really appreciate this, Miss Gordon," the principal said. "It's the first time that they've done it outside the library."
"Me? Oh, no, it was Helena's idea. I'm glad to help."
"My idea?" Helena mumbled, stunned.
"You are very smart." The Principal looked at the child. "Well, I think that is a good idea that the Mayor and Miss Gordon will open the exposition."
"Excellent idea." Barbara smiled.
"Okay, let's go," the Principal said.
Helena pulled Barbara's sleeve. "I did what?"
"Oh, just say yes to everything." Barbara winked at her and taking her hand, she pulled her toward the auditorium door.
"It was her idea?" Gibson was surprised and asked Selina, watching Helena walk with Barbara.
"Sometimes she can surprise us, no?" Selina smiled.
"I'm sure it wasn't her idea."
"Gibson."
"Well... she.."
Selina raised her eyes and pushed him, "Come on, walk."
Helena was happy at the end of the day. The event had been successful and the principal had congratulated her because of her "idea". Well, after all, it had been her idea to invite Barbara. The workshops were fun and the redhead had received many congratulations and she couldn't avoid feeling proud of her friend.
Barbara had organized a BBQ on her terrace to celebrate and to give Selina and Leslie thanks for their help. Helena was a bit concerned because Barbara's cooking history wasn't pleasant for her, but her mother had convinced her telling her that Leslie was going to be the cook and showing her the bag where she had bought the ribs at the supermarket.
Barbara put a roaster and a table on her terrace. Barbara and Selina were talking at the table; Barbara looked at a picture that Selina always carried with her in her bag.
"Is this Helena? She's so cute!" the red head said.
"I'm not cute," Helena protested, she didn't like being called cute. She was standing up next to it, holding her plate.
Leslie, who was wearing a leather apron, gazed at the table and looked at the pic "She had the same demon face as she does now." She went to the roaster. "You are very impatient," Leslie said to the child
"I'm hungry."
"You? I can't believe it. Okay, they are ready." Leslie put some ribs on her plate.
"Do you have BBQ sauce?" the kid asked.
Leslie took a spoon and put some sauce on her ribs.
"I want more sauce," Helena said.
"Your ribs are swimming in sauce." Leslie frowned looking the ribs. "In fact, they are drowning now."
Helena looked at her plate. "No, they're dry."
"No, they aren't, eat them. Now move." She pushed her lightly. "Next!"
"Me!" Barbara raised her hand and stood up slowly, her ribs still hurt, she walked to Leslie. The kid was still standing there. "Helena, you need to let people eat, you are not the only one that's hungry."
"My ribs are dry." Helena said again.
"What ribs?" Barbara looked at her plate. "I only see sauce there."
"Okay, okay," Leslie said, giving her a bit more sauce "Now go and clear the area. I'm working."
Helena smiled and went to the table.
"Okay, Barbara, here are your ribs."
Selina smirked at her daughter, crossing her arms on the table. "You need a spoon to eat your soup."
"It's not soup, it's ribs." Helena asked with her fingers covered in sauce.
"Well, maybe you need to be a diver to find them."
"Selina, you're next!" Leslie said.
"I'm coming!" The blonde stood up immediately.
Barbara sat next to Helena. She didn't know why, but she really liked the child; she was actually much smarter than she let on.
Helena raised her face, which was covered in sauce, smiling at her. "Thanks, you were great."
"I owe it to you, Helena." Barbara said.
"But it was just a speech and you did a whole big thing!"
"Well, I showed you I'm not just a boring librarian."
"No, you aren't."
"Mmm, this looks great!" Selina said, sitting at the table.
"Tastes great," Barbara licked her lips "You are good, Leslie!"
"I'm the master of the BBQ, Barbara." Leslie smiled, pointing at them with her fork. "Keep that in mind."
"I want more sauce." Helena licked her lips.
"Helena, you need to eat the ribs not sauce," Selina said.
"I like sauce."
"I know you like sauce, but BBQ is not just sauce."
Leslie put a plate with more ribs on the table.
"I'm eating my ribs, but with sauce. They're dry," Helena explained.
"Where did your sauce go?" Leslie asked looking at Helena's plate. "The ribs survived the flow?"
Barbara smiled and gave the child more sauce.
"That's not good, Barbara, she needs to eat too." Selina sighed.
"I'm eating."
"Yes, and so is your shirt." Barbara cleaned the child's shirt with a cloth. "Now I know where the sauce went."
"How do you feel now?" Leslie sat on the table and looked at Barbara.
"Much better, thanks, I'm healing." The red head looked at her waist "It's just still a bit difficult to move."
"No 'hanging off buildings' for a month, I told you."
"I know, now I'm just following bad guys in a taxi."
"Do you follow guys in cabs?" Helena frowned to Barbara.
"Almost."
"Do you hang off buildings, Barbara?" the kid asked again.
"It's just an expression," Selina said, "to say she likes to move so much and go everywhere."
"Oh..." Helena kept silent a few seconds. "My angel hangs off buildings."
Selina and Barbara looked at each other. Leslie didn't understand what Helena was talking about.
"What angel?" Leslie said.
"I have an angel," the child said, biting into a rib.
Barbara moved her eyes, trying to tell Leslie to change the subject, but the old woman didn't understand.
"Everybody has an angel," Leslie explained.
"But I can see her." Helena chewed.
"Her?"
Selina hit the doctor with her elbow.
Leslie glared at the blonde.
"Yes," Helena said, "but I can't talk to you about her; she doesn't like it."
"I don't understand..." Leslie mumbled.
"I saw her again a few days ago," Helena explained.
"What?" Selina almost shouted.
"She was on my balcony." The kid looked at her licking her lips.
Selina glared at the redhead.
"Helena, you need more sauce," Barbara took the child's plate and stood up as fast as her injured thorax let her, "come with me."
"My ribs!" Helena protested.
"Come with me."
"You and I need to talk Gordon," Selina said.
"What angel?" Leslie asked her.
"Batgirl," the ex-criminal whispered, watching Helena follow Barbara.
"What?"
"Helena saw Batgirl by accident," Selina explained, annoyed. "She doesn't know it's Barbara and she thinks it's her guardian angel.... But she is dead now."
"Who?"
"Barbara, she appeared again as Batgirl in front of her and in my house! Don't go far, you might need heal another rib that I'm going to break."
"Maybe it was an accident."
"With Barbara, it's always an accident." Selina shook her head and stood up.
"Did you need talk to about your angel in front of your mother and Leslie?" Barbara said to Helena in low voice, putting more BBQ on her ribs at the roaster.
"I didn't say anything." Helena looked at her.
"You said you saw her." Barbara gave her plate.
"I just said I saw her."
"Helena, honey." Selina, smiling, took Barbara's arm, "I'll be back, I need to talk with Barbara inside a second."
"But," the red head muttered nervously, "We didn't finish yet..."
Selina smirked at Barbara. "Just a second Barbara:"
"Well, I..."
"Go with Leslie, Helena."
The kid turned and Selina pulled Barbara inside her house. "You are in trouble." She mumbled. "Explain to me that "new" appearance of Batgirl in "my" apartment.
Leslie smiled watching them, she looked at the child who sat at the table. "Your mother doesn't have enough with you; it seems she has adopted Babs now."
"Enough what?" the child asked.
"Headaches," Leslie said.
"I don't give her headaches."
"You are a specialist in creating them."
"Not true," Helena protested.
"Well, we could talk about the day that you ate all the Flintstones vitamins and your mother took you to the hospital." Leslie laughed.
"Not my fault. They tasted like candy."
"And the day that you fell out of the three and broke your arm?"
"Well... that was an accident."
"So..." Leslie took a rib and bit it. "Maybe we can talk about the day that you ate all that cake and you ended up at the hospital, vomiting."
"You are dangerous." Helena glared at her.
Leslie laughed, she was charming.
THE END