Barbara almost dropped her teacup. "Your… daughter?"

"Oh yes." Selina was amused seeing her old enemy's face. "Helena, I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Barbara Gordon."

Helena smiled at Barbara and cocked her head. "Hi, nice to meet you."

Barbara coughed. The girl wasn't blonde, but… she had Selina's fine features. And she cocked her head the same way that Selina did it.

"Are you okay?" Selina asked, amused.

"Yes… yes…" Barbara covered her mouth with a napkin and extended her hand to the girl. "Hi Helena, nice to meet you."

"Hi…" Helena stepped forward to shake her hand and stepped back again. She turned to her mother and asked her in low voice, "Is she meta?"

"No, she is not meta," Selina smiled gently and answered in a low voice too, "and I've told you so many times not to ask that in front of anyone."

Helena quickly tried to avoid the scolding and turned around to face her mother with a paper in her hands. "Hey Mom… guess what? You remember that big math test I had?... Well I passed. I got a B minus on it."

"Really, Helena? That's wonderful. I knew you could do it." Selina kneeled next her to kid, noticing the still shocked look on Barbara's face. The look was priceless, but Selina knew she had some explaining to do. "Helena, why don't you go put your math test on my desk so I can look over it later. Then get changed and come eat. We have a wonderful cake that Barbara brought over for dessert."

Helena turned around to face Barbara. "What kind?"

Barbara, still stunned, took a moment to answer the child. "What kind of…?... Umm...oh yes, the cake... It's chocolate."

"Really?" Blue eyes shone. "That's my favorite kind! Don't start without me."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Selina smiled lovingly at her.

Helena hurried out of the room, leaving the two 'friends' alone again.

Once Helena was out of earshot, Selina patted Barbara on the back. "Breathe, Barbara, breathe."

"Uh… well… I…"

She pointed to where Helena had been standing. "That's the reason why Catwoman no longer exists, Barbara."

"You have a daughter?"

"Yes, I do. Barbara, would you like me to get you a drink? Possibly something stronger than tea?"

Barbara considered the offer for a second, but declined. "No, no...thank you. It's just that..."'

"You'll love her. She's smart as a whip, strong and fast too. You should have seen me trying to catch up to her when she was a baby. I thought crawling was bad, but when she started walking, I thought I was going to lose it. Anytime I looked away, she was gone. And she loves to climb on things and jump off. Last week she jumped off the monkey bars at school on a dare without a scratch on her. The little boy who did it as well broke his arm. But not my Helena."

"Almost like a cat?"

"In a way, yes. Well, they do always land on their feet. And, if I'm not mistaken, you always landed nicely as well."

"I can't believe it…" the redhead was stunned. "You're a mother."

"I was Catwoman. But it's all over, Barbara. Once I had Helena I knew I couldn't keep up that life. It was fun, mind you, and at times I do miss it, but that's not a life I want her to know. It's too dangerous and what would have happen to her if I ever ended up in jail? She's my whole life now. And I have to say, through the good times and the bad, I wouldn't change a thing."

"I can tell. It's nice to see you happy."

"Now, do you understand why you shouldn't be afraid me?"

"I'm not afraid of you!" the redhead said defensively.

Selina laughed. "You are so brave, Barbara! I was speaking figuratively!" She stood up at the bar and took two glasses, pouring some wine.

Barbara was embarrassed. She was acting stupidly. Selina was trying to be friendly and she… "I'm sorry, Selina."

"Don't worry, Gordon." The blonde gave Barbara a cup of wine and sipped the other one, resting her back on the couch and moved her feet up on it. "If I was in your place, I'd react the same way."

Barbara debated for a second, but had to ask. "And Bruce? So who's the..."

Selina interrupted her. "Barbara, there are some things a woman does not share. Besides, her father isn't in the picture. He was never a part of her life when she was younger and he won't be now. I was the one who raised her single handedly. I was there when she was sick, when she lost her first tooth, took her first step, and said her first word, which I can proudly state was 'Mama'. When she's older she can decide for herself if she wants to get to know her father, but not now."

"I understand… Does she know about Catwoman?"

"No. But she will know one day. I'll tell her all of it when she's older… sixteen maybe eighteen. I just hope when I tell her everything she'll understand. Right now, I want her to enjoy her childhood. Like she should. "

Barbara smiled. "So, she is meta too."

"Half meta…" Selina grinned. "She is still discovering her powers. She has a hard time trying to deal with it; dealing with "our" abilities is not easy."

"What can she do?" The red head placed the cup of wine, without tasting it, on the table.

"She is pretty fast, she can jump incredibly high; last week we went to the stores, there was an accident, an explosion, she was scared and jumped almost fifteen feet to a cornice."

"Fifteen feet? Wow!"

"Yes, I tried to get her to do it again, but she can't. I need to help her learn to control her abilities and her strength. A friend of hers told me she beat up a guy pretty badly."

"Kids usually fight at school."

"Not a sixteen year old guy, captain of the school football team."

Green eyes opened wide.

Barbara looked up as Helena walked back into the room. "You didn't start without me, did you?"

Selina smiled at her daughter and stood up. "Never. Let me check the food. Stay here, and be nice with Barbara, okay?"

"Okay."

Selina disappeared into the kitchen, Barbara didn't know why she felt nervous, the girl watched her curiously. She took the cup of wine and finished it in just one swallow.

Little blue eyes opened wide.

Barbara coughed a bit, and shook her head, that was good, she needed it.

"So your dad is the Police Commissioner?"

"Yes…"

"Oh… Did you meet mom in Paris?"

"No, when she lived here years ago…"

"You worked together?" Helena moved back and forth standing in her place in front of the red head.

"Well, we worked, but…" Barbara paused, "in different companies… Do you know we were competitors."

"Ah… And what do you do?"

"I'm a librarian."

"That's boring!" Helena made a face.

"Oh, no, a master's degree in library science (MLS) is necessary for librarian positions in most public, academic, and special libraries and in some school libraries. The Federal Government requires an MLS or the equivalent in education and experience. Many colleges and universities offer MLS programs, but employers often prefer graduates of the approximately fifty six schools accredited by the American Library Association. Most MLS programs require a bachelor's degree; any liberal arts major is appropriate."

Helena blinked. What the hell was she talking about?

"Most MLS programs take one year to complete; some take two. A typical graduate program includes courses in the foundations of library and information science, including the history of books and printing, intellectual freedom and censorship, and the role of libraries and information in society. Other basic courses cover the selection and processing of materials, the organization of information, reference tools and strategies, and user services. Do you get it?"

Helena nodded without understanding a word, her mom had told to her be polite.

"Good." Barbara smiled. "Courses are adapted to educate librarians to use new resources brought about by advancing technology, such as online reference systems, Internet search methods, and automated circulation systems. Some programs offer interdisciplinary degrees combining technical courses in information science with traditional training in library science."

Selina appeared at that moment. "Oh, I see you are good friends. What were you talking about?"

"About how I never want to be a librarian," Helena said, "too complicated."

Selina rubbed her head, "Dinner is ready, come on, Barbara."

The three sat down to eat at the table. Barbara enjoyed the evening, Selina was a very chatty, and funny. Helena was charming, she made tactless comments and Selina had to scold her often, but in a lovely way. Selina blushed more than three times; it was interesting to see Selina as a mother, a woman; she couldn't avoid keeping her eyes off them. Selina was dangerous; she had fought against criminals, thieves, Batman. She had never hesitated. And now, she was a normal woman, elegant, intelligent; interacting with patience and an incredible love in her eyes for that little girl.

Selina put five meatballs on Helena's plate.

"I don't like this," the girl mumbled.

"Don't start."

"Well, I don't like it."

Selina glared at her. Helena felt the weight of her look and took her knife and fork. She hated meatballs.

The phone rang, catching Selina's attention.

"I'm sorry, I'll check who it is. Be right back." The blonde cleaned her mouth with the napkin and went to the living room.