A/N: Thank you all for being so patient. I hope this was worth the wait. I forgot to mention that the original inspiration of this story was from a small passage from the fanfic; Streat Cats and Dark Knights by 0MoonPrincess0. One of the best fanfictions I have ever read. If you check my profile, you'll see a list of Bat X Cat Gotham fanfics and this one is high on the list. If you haven't read it, then what the heck are you waiting for? Read it and give feedback! The author would really appreciate it.

Another inspiration for this came from a 1995 movie, but I won't reveal what until after the right chapter. And trust me it's a good movie.

Thank you all for your support and your feedback is most appreciated. Especially Ms. Rivers. És um leitor fantástico e escritor, mesmo com as diferenças linguísticas. Deus te abençoe.

And huge thanks to Saulo Snow and CharlotteKat who always give great reviews. I truly treasure them.

Chapter 4

"Goodbye, Selina."

Selina had never stopped replaying that moment in her head. When her Mom left her, she felt broken. Felt like nothing would ever be okay. But that woman Martha has been very kind to her and promised to take care of her. And the boy Bruce has been comforting. That night when she woke up from that nightmare, Bruce climbed into bed with her, and suddenly, she had never felt safer. She didn't know the boy all too well, but it felt like she had known him her whole life.

Those men, Thomas and Alfred, have been kind too. They sort of reminded her of Uncle Teddy. And they were nothing like the boyfriends Mom brought home.

After thinking that, she suddenly felt almost relieved. Her life with her mother had been filled with strange men beating them both. Every day she had been living in fear of being hit or hurt in the way those men treated her mother.

So, in a way, Selina felt freed.

When she woke up the next morning, she was slightly bewildered at her new surroundings before memories started coming back. The sadness of her mother still came crashing back. Those demolishing feelings vanished as she noticed Bruce lying next to her and suddenly, she felt content. She wanted to stay there. Stay next to Bruce. She wanted to wrap her arms around him to pull him closer.

She smiled warmly.

The door to the bedroom opened which caused her to instinctively sit up. Alfred came in with a tray with food. Bruce chose that time to wake up.

"Good morning, Master Bruce, Ms. Selina," the man said warmly while placing the tray between them.

Then after the tastiest breakfast, she had ever had, Selina went to explore her new home. The house was nothing like anything she had ever seen. She climbed two levels and trekked through the maze of hallways and rooms until she got lost. She started to cry until Alfred suddenly appeared again.

"Well hello there, Ms. Selina. Are you lost?" he asked. She nodded. "Come with me. I'll take you to Mr. and Mrs. Wayne."

She took his hand and he led her through the halls until they arrived at the study with the rest of the family.

"Hey, Selina. You want to go play outside?" Bruce asked.

Selina did not hesitate. "Sure!" Then off they went.

Martha grinned as she watched the children run off to the garden with Alfred supervising them. "She seems to be adjusting well here," she said from the window.

"Yes, she does," Thomas agreed. He was piling through some paperwork for Wayne Enterprises.

"I think we should go out," Martha announced spontaneously.

Thomas snapped his head up. "Pardon?" he asked.

"You, me, Bruce, and Selina should go out today as a family. It's Saturday morning. Why not?"

Selina stood in the middle of the garden in complete awe. She had not seen so much grass before. The trees and flowers were so pretty.

Her attention was switched to Bruce pulling a little red wagon. He was collecting rocks and placing them in the wagon.

"What're you doing?" Selina asked.

Bruce paused his task to face her. "I'm collecting rocks so I can build a secret hiding place for my wagon that only I know," he proclaimed enthusiastically.

"Whoa, cool. Can I help?" she asked.

"No!"

"But you said I can play," she cried back.

Their argument went on until Alfred took the liberty to butt in. "Oi! Instead of bickering on it all living day, you let her help, Master B."

"But that's not fair," the boy complained. "Only I can know where the hiding place is."

"Then how about you two play something else, eh?"

And so, Bruce and Selina decided to play hide and seek. Bruce counted to ten while Selina went to hide. She was scrambling about went he reached ten until she climbed up a tree. She watched as Bruce ran around searching and calling for her. A satisfied chortle escaped from her as he ran in the opposite direction from her perch.

From that height up, Selina felt a sensation of power. Like she was away from all bad things. Nothing could hurt her. She was free to do whatever she wanted.

"Bruce! Selina!"

She looked down. Through the leafy branches, she saw Mr. Wayne walking out of the Manor calling to them.

"Bruce! Selina!"

Without a second thought, Selina jumped from her perched and landed in front of a startled Thomas.

"Whoa!" He clenched his chest. Once he regained his breath, he chuckled through a dazzling smile. "Dear Lord. Be careful jumping around like that. I didn't know you were up there. You were so quiet like a cat." A pleasantly surprised expression spread on his face. "Say. I should call you Cat. Because that's what you are. You are a sneaky little kitty."

She giggled.

It was after that when Martha, then Bruce and Alfred, joined them.

"I win," she said to Bruce.

"No, you didn't. I didn't stop to find you," he cried back.

"The game ended, so I won," she argued.

"No, it didn't end. So you still didn't—"

"Children!" Martha hollered and they ceased their bickering. She then composed herself. With a smile, she asked, "Bruce, Selina, would you two like to go to the zoo today?"

They were bouncing around and shouting and couldn't wait any longer to go.

Gotham City Zoo was a place Selina had never been to. She had asked her mother if they could go, but every time she said, "Someday, Kitten. Once we have enough money to go."

It was better than she expected. Thomas and Martha bought her and Bruce ice creams, which they enjoyed thoroughly. The first thing they went to see was the monkey house. It was stinky inside, Selina thought. However, she loved seeing the monkeys climbing and swinging around. She wanted to join them. To be able to move around like them. The gorillas were a bit menacing to her. They were so big and their arms were as thick as trees. They went to see the giraffes, then bears, and wolves. A lot of them were sleeping so they were boring.

What made her the most excited were the big cats. She nearly vaulted over the fence and into the moat to see the lions.

"Easy there, Cat," Thomas said while keeping her steady.

"You don't want to go falling in there," said Martha.

The four of them walked around. From leaving the lions, they saw tigers and leopards. There was a window for them to walk up to see the leopards. One was pacing around with a smaller one jumping at it.

"Look, the baby leopard is playing with its mama," Martha said affectionately.

Bruce and Selina ran up pressing against the glass. The mama leopard was walking alongside the window and around her little area. The cub was pouncing at her at any chance she got.

"Isn't that precious?" Thomas asked.

"Why isn't she playing with her baby?" Bruce asked.

"She's probably too busy to play with her," Selina said woefully. Just then, the mama growled at her baby and it back away. "She probably just came back from visiting one of her boyfriends."

The Waynes stared at her. Her face lost all the joy that was shining from it and darkened to the previous night. Thomas and Martha traded glances, understanding the girl's melancholy.

"Come along, sweetheart. There's a dolphin show you will love," Martha said while ushering her and rubbing her back.

Bruce looked up at his dad. "Was Selina talking about her mom?" he asked.

Thomas stroked his mustache, pondering. With a sigh he said, "Yes, she was. But listen, son," he knelt to Bruce's level and held his shoulders. Staring him deep in the eyes, he spoke, "Some people are not as fortunate as we are. Some people are forced to do some things—desperate things—just to make it through to the next day. Selina's mom had to do things she was not proud of. And those things had to make her leave. She left Selina in our care because those things made it impossible for her to take care of her.

"And remember, Bruce, you are a gentleman. Gentlemen take care of the people in their lives. Protect them, help them out, and make them feel safe and happy—"

"I want Selina to be safe and happy," Bruce said.

His father smiled. "That's right, chum. Selina is part of our family now. And a gentleman especially looks out for his family. Now calm along. The girls are waiting for us. A gentleman also does not keep the ladies waiting. That one is very important to bear in mind."

The two of them went to join the girls to wait in line for the dolphin show.

A/N: One day at a time for a change like this.

That thing with Bruce's wagon was inspired by a story Alfred said on the show. I can't remember what episode or what season, though. And I can't find a video of it. But I still remember it because it had a hidden Batman message. So for obvious reasons, I had to include it.