Barbara read the newspaper. These past few months, crime level had reached new heights. She was working very hard with Batman. Now that she had his trust, it had cost her a lot. She had to show him that she wasn't a naive young woman.

Batman often called her to assist him with special cases, granting her complete access to the Batcave and all of its technology. She knew the Bat-computer inside-out, and even surpassed both Batman and Robin in cyberspace expertise. It make her feel proud, he wasn't exactly an easy person to work with. Like her, he was very demanding and a perfectionist. It was maybe for that reason they worked so well together.

She put the newspaper down and took a sip of coffe. Sometimes, she just couldn't figure out why the criminals loved hurt other people. Her work would be so much easier if they'd just keep their eyes on money or jewels; but many of them hurt people, innocents.

Barbara leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. She rubbed her forehead with the tip of her fingers. She had seen many kids dying, women, old people… It always broke her heart and some days she woke up thinking she'd quit, but, if she did quit, many people would lose an opportunity to be alive, because she had saved many lives, many innocents.

It was hard to think of leaving those innocents to die alone just because she was tired of fighting. She couldn't do it.

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Selina opened the fridge door. She took out a bottle of milk and put it over the kitchen table. She stretched and yawned, it was shaping up to a pleasant Sunday morning. Back at the fridge, she rummaged for a box of cookies, which took out and put on the table as well, kicking the fridge door shut with her foot.

She sat at the table and poured the milk in a glass. She was planning to stay at home all morning and maybe take Helena for a walk later that afternoon; right now the kid was quiet, watching TV in her room. She sipped the milk and opened the box.

She coughed and spat the liquid all over the table, "What the hell…?" she wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"Damn!" All of the cookies had bites taken out of them. More than thirty cookies with little teeth marks. She covered her eyes with her hand. Patience.

"Helena!" she shouted and standing up, she walked toward the corridor "Helena! Come here." She crossed her arms, waiting.

After a few seconds she heard little steps walking by the room and her little girl appearing.

A sleepy four year old Helena appeared in the doorframe in her pajamas, hugging her Winnie the Pooh stuffed bear. "Is breakfast ready?" she asked, yawning.

"Helena, what is this?" Selina glared at her and showed her the box.

"Cookies?" the little girl answered in a soft voice, rubbing at her eyes at looking up at her mother.

"All the cookies have bites out of them. Why?"

Helena peered inside the box, "I tasted them."

"But why you didn't finish any of them? And why did you take one bite out of every single cookie?"

"Because I was tasting them and I didn't like any of them." She walked into the kitchen and climbed up on a chair to sit down.

Selina rolled her eyes. Great. Helena had tasted every cookie and then had put them back with bite marks because she didn't like any of them. That was great. "You can't do that."

"They all tasted bad." The little girl defended herself.

"They're all the same cookie, Helena. They all taste the same." Selina threw her arms up in frustration.

"I'm hungry, mommy." Helena ignored her comment.

"Helena, you can't bite all the food and then put back in the fridge or the pantry when it's half-eaten. It's disgusting. Either eat it or throw it out."

"But yesterday I bit a piece of cake and you told me I couldn't eat it."

"Yes, because it was the third piece that you took." Selina reached for the cereal box and a bowl.

"I like cake."

"Yes, but it's not good to eat so much sugar." She filled the bowl with the cereal and milk. "It's bad for your teeth."

"Why?" Helena took the spoon and started scooping out her crunchy cereal.

"Because sugar is not good for your teeth." Selina repeated, sitting back in her chair and opening the newspaper. It seemed as if she should resign herself to breakfasting with milk and "bite" cookies.

Helena munched thoughtfully then raised her head "So why do you buy it?"

"Because I like it."

"But you said it isn't good and bad for your teeth."

Selina leaned across the table and wiped the milk around Helena's lips with a napkin. "Don't talk with your mouth full."

"Why do you buy it?"

"What?" Selina raised her eyebrow.

"Why you buy a cake if it's got sugar and it's bad for my teeth?" she took another spoonful of sugar and milk.

"It's bad if you eat too much of it. Don't talk while you're chewing."

"But I wasn't eating sugar, I was eating cake." Helena put the spoon inside her mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Selina repeated and once again cleaned her daughter's mouth with the napkin.

Helena munched and swallowed the cereal, "So how am I going to answer you if you are asking me?"

The blonde shook her head, "Forget it honey. Eat your cereal."

"Why?" she asked with sweet voice.

"Why what, Hel?" Selina sighed.

"Why I must forget it?"

"Forget what?"

"Forget that you are asking me not to eat cake but that you buy it anyway. Why do you buy cake if isn't good? And why, if it isn't good, does it taste so good?"

"I have an idea," Helena really was the Queen of Questions. Selina stood up, it was best to change the topic. "What say we prepare French toast?"

"Yes!" Helena grinned.

"Okay. Give me the eggs, please."

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Years later...

It was a sunny day, a normal Tuesday afternoon in New Gotham City. Selina rummaged in her bag for her key ring as they walked off the elevator. Finally getting hold of it, she inserted the key in the lock.

The big wooden door opened. Curious little blue eyes peeked inside, enchanted. The place was incredible. Floor-to-ceiling windows filled the entrance with sparkling sunlight. To her right, a chimney enhanced an elegant living room of cool marble floors. On her left, warm wooden counters and floors beckoned into a comfortable kitchen. She recognized several of the paintings on the walls.

Helena let her backpack drop to the floor and walked in, awed at what she saw. The apartment in Paris had been big – this one was HUGE! "Wow!"

Selina smiled, pleased Helena liked the place. "Pick up your bag Hel."

Gripping 'Jacques', the little brunette ran inside, looking around, without listening to her mother. Jacques was a black stuffed cat that she had gotten from her mother as a Christmas present a year ago.

Fondly, Selina knelt to pick up her child's backpack. She could see the little form running through the new apartment. Helena wasn't exactly tall; she had bright blue eyes, her black hair was tied back in a pony tail; and she was incredibly smart. She pulled in the big suitcase she'd been carrying while behind her a man dragged a cart filled with more packages and suitcases in the aparment.

"Don't run, Helena." Selina put the backpack on the couch and removed her gloves, then looked at the mover. "Please, Come with me. This all needs to go in the empty room."

"Sure, ma'am"

Selina was pleased, she had directed the decoration of her new home from Paris. She had asked a good friend of hers to obtain the kind of furniture she wanted and she had sent him the frames, sculptures, paintings and pictures that were now were decorating the place. She had brought the elegant penthouse a few years ago. The same friend that had helped her to decorate it He had called to let her know about it.

And the place was worth every penny she had paid for it. She unlocked the door of an empty room and asked the guy to put the things inside.

"This is huge!" the kid shouted, turning up next to her, "where's my room?"

Selina smiled and rubbed her head, "Why must you yell?"

"I want see my room!"

Selina picked out a key and opened a door in front of that room. "This one. I hope you keep it clean."

Helena almost pushed the door and opened her eyes very wide. All her toys were inside the place. when her mother had started to pack a month ago, she had been sad to see her room filled with boxes and almost empty of her usual things. But it had been worth it, she decided, looking at her new room.

"Mom, this is great!" Helena yelled running inside. Selina smiled, she was pleased to see her girl so happy. "But where's my bed?"

"Oh, I want you to come with me to buy it."

"You're going to buy me a new bed?" Helena looked at her, stunned.

"It's your bedroom honey, you can choose anything you want."

"And one for Jacques too?"

"Your room is Jacques' room."

"But he's a male."

Helena was always trying to be smarter. Selina smiled.

"Okay, so I don't have bed, it means I can sleep with you tonight?"

Selina leaned back against the doorframe. "You can, he can't." She pointed at the stuffed cat.

"Why not?"

"You said it, he's a male, it's not proper for a male to sleep with women."

"Mom! It's Jacques!"

The blonde turned and walked to her room, she still needed unpack a lot of things. "He's a male."

Helena shook her head, she always lost with her mother. She looked at her stuffed cat. "Come on, we've got to convince her."