The tall, blonde woman sighed, she raised her hand and rubbed her temple. It had been a rough day. She closed her eyes a few seconds and took a deep breath. Now, again, how was she going to handle Helena's 'instinct' to steal? The girl was a natural thief; she couldn't avoid being proud of her kitten; she did it in front of people and no one noticed it. Even she barely caught her fast movement.

She shook her head, what the hell was she thinking? She couldn't applaud bad behaviour, she needed to find a way to correct it.

"Helena!" she called her.

She hadn't done it in the store, some people knew her past and it would be a shame for the little girl if someone began to call her a 'thief' for her past. Okay, maybe she needed start with an easy conversation about good and bad.

Shit.

She hit her head. She felt like Batgirl thinking like that. She never imagined she'd have to talk to someone about why people shouldn't steal things….

She stood up in the door frame, "Helena! I'm calling you! Come here!"

"It wasn't me!" the little girl shouted from her room.

"Helena..." Selina called her with that tone of voice that was meant as a warning for her kid.

"It wasn't me, Mom!" The brunette walked out of her room and went toward the kitchen where her mother was. She was dressed in her pajamas and red socks.

Selina rested her side on the door frame and crossed her arms, "I called you for dinner."

"Oh..." Helena blushed, realizing her mistake.

"Now, what wasn't you?"

The kid ran, crossing the door under her mother's arm and sat at the kitchen table. Selina rolled her eyes and turned, she found Helena taking her spoon and looking at her.

"I want soup."

"What wasn't you, Helena?"

Helena sighed "The one that broke the lamp."

A brow raised, "What lamp?"

"It was not me, Mom!"

Selina pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. Great, just what she needed. She took a deep breath and fixed her eyes on little ones. "I asked, what lamp?"

"...Living room?" Helena played with the spoon in her hands.

"The Chinese one?"

The brunette nodded. Selina tried to remain calm, it wasn't fair for her to discharge her bad mood on her daughter, she sat at the table and opened the soup dish, "And..." she asked carefully, "who was it?"

"Jaçques..."

The blonde stopped her hand with the big spoon on the mid air, "Jaçques? Your black stuffed cat?"

"I already punished him, don't be angry mom." Helena explained, "He can't watch TV and is inside the closet."

The blonde took a deep breath and poured soup in her child's bowl, then her own.

Breathe.

Deep.

She needed to stay, not shout, not be angry.

"And..." she asked after a few seconds "How exactly did Jaçques break my expensive Chinese lamp that I bought in Germany five years ago?"

"We were playing and he jumped hard and hit it."

Selina emphasized her question, "Jaçques jumped?"

"Yes, he is a cat..." Helena put a spoonful of soup in her mouth.

"And you didn't encourage him or 'pushed' him to do it?"

"No, Mom."

If she didn't know Jaçques was a stuffed cat, surely she would believe in the innocence that Helena was portraying at that moment. She rubbed her face with her hands, "Helena... I'm trying to be patient, but I'm not stupid. You knew that lamp was an expensive one; and you knew I loved that lamp... "

"I told Jaçques; he says he's very sorry..."

"He told you that after you put him inside the closet?"

"After."

Selina did a long silence fixing her eyes on her bowl. Well, that was enough. She took a piece of bread. "You are grounded."

Helena raised her head, surprised, "Grounded? Why?"

"You broke my lamp."

"It was Jaçques."

"Stop saying that." The blonde pointed at her with the piece of bread.

"It's bad manners to point at people," Helena said.

Selina opened her mouth to say something, but Helena interrupted, "You always say it to me."

"Helena..."

"It was Jaçques, Mom, he is punished."

"Punished my ass, you broke it."

"Mom!"

"What?"

"Don't say bad words!"

"I've told you many times not to play in the living room."

"Mom!"

Selina glared at her, the little girl broke her patience, "Don't argue or you will join Jaçques inside the closet. You deserve it, I'm not happy with you, first you kicked your friend, later you got a C minus, and now you confessed that you broke my lamp."

"I didn't confess..."

"You are grounded. End of conversation."

Helena lowered her head. Selina put a spoonful of soup in her mouth. The long talk about the candy robbery could wait.

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Well, it had been a bad day, first her mom was angry with her because of the lamp. She had grounded her all week without TV. Now she had to walk home carrying her heavy school bag because her mother hadn't picked her up. It was almost ten blocks and it was late and she was hungry.

She arrived at the building and the doorman greeted her; he told her that her mother had just arrived and was upstairs. Grumbling, Helena walked toward the elevator.

She opened the door of her home and yelled her mother's name, throwing her school bag on the floor. She heard noises in her room and walked toward there. Selina was pulling some boxes from the closet.

"Mom," she walked inside the room, "you didn't pick me up from school."

The blonde saw her, she looked at her from head to foot and turned again toward the closet. "No? uhm…"

"Uhm…?"

"I'm busy."

"I'm hungry mom." Helena cocked her head.

"Eat whatever you want from the fridge."

Helena frowned, "And you?"

"I'm not hungry now, Helena," Selina went toward the door and pushed her outside, "do what ever you want." The blonde closed the door in her face. Helena remained still a few minutes.

"Are you angry?" she finally asked, but her mother didn't respond.

"I'm going to eat all the ice cream on the fridge!."

She didn't get a response. Annoyed, Helena walked toward the kitchen. She was going to eat all the ice cream in the fridge, yes; she was going to show her!

A few hours later, Helena was watching TV in the living room. She saw her mother taking her coat, preparing to leave; she had a black bag in her hand.

"Where are you going?" the little girl asked, eating a peanut butter sandwich.

"Work," Selina answered coldly.

"Want dinner?" She lifted her sandwich.

"No. When you finish, turn off the TV and go to sleep."

"Are you going to come back late?"

Selina didn't answer. She walked outside the apartment and closed the door. Helena felt her heart break; she sighed and, putting the peanut sandwich on the table, she turned off the television and went to sleep.

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Barbara sat on her couch drinking a cup of hot tea. She was watching the news. The main news was politics. She took the remote control and changed the channel. More news, news, old movies, news, a bad TV show. Why was there never anything good on when she stayed home?

She put her tea cup to the side and changed the channel again. Maybe it was best to go to bed early, it was a quiet night and quiet nights were rare. She yawned and walked toward the window; Selina came to her mind. She hadn't seen her in weeks, it was still hard to accept the idea of her "retirement".

Catwoman was one of the most famous criminals in the world, and a very hard one to trap. And she had to admit, one of the most 'honest' thieves she had ever known: she respected human life; and, occasionally, she had helped Batman against some criminals.

Helena's face came to her mind and she couldn't avoid smiling, that girl was a real headache. She took care of her for a few days when Selina had traveled to France months ago.

She was pretty smart, and very spoiled. Selina was overprotective; fearful that some of her old enemies would appear; like had happened on that occasion. She couldn't blame her, maybe she would feel the same; and probably she would do the same.

She turned off the TV, the programs were bad. Maybe it was best was to go to sleep early.

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The little brunette stirred, she yawned and stretched. She sat up on her bed and rubbed her eyes. The house was quiet. She looked at the watch on the table: 9:30 am. Uh, oh, her mom hadn't woken her up in time to go to school.

She took her stuffed cat and walked outside the room calling Selina without response. She walked in her room, but it was empty; the bed was still made. She looked inside the bathroom and later walked toward the kitchen.

She wasn't at home.

Why she hadn't woken her? She never let her stay at home on a school day. She dialed her mobile, but it was off.

She went to her room and changed into her school clothes, maybe she would be here to pick her up at any moment.

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Being a crime fighter had advantages: fresh air, freedom, exercise, adrenaline running through the veins, an incredible night view of the city. But it had disadvantages, as well. No pay, no insurance, high risk... she landed on the ground and looked at the next building: The New Gotham Museum.

She had heard the alarms, luckily she was nearby. She landed on the roof top and saw the skylight open with rope tied to a corner of it. Cautiously, she hid near it and waited patiently. If the alarms were on, the thief would be out in a few moments.

She was right.

A dark figure moved outside the skylight.

She moved outside her hideout to face the dark figure.

"Hi, good evening, am I interrupting something?"

The thief turned; surprised, Batgirl recognized the burglar. In her surprise, she didn't raise a hand to stop the hard blow with a stick that hit the side of her head; the force of the blow knocked her out; her legs doubled and she dropped with a thud to the ground, unconscious.

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