Disclaimer: Characters belong to DC comics. I am not for profit.


Bridgit loved creating her own inventions. It was her hobby, collecting junk from the garbage and turning it into something useful and practical. Growing up on the street, she had had very little to herself, so her possessions would always be the most valuable thing for her, after her friends, but many times, her inventions had saved her life, from the cold or from the thugs that wanted to take advantage of three girls.

Things had calmed down a bit since the Ivy incident, Gordon hadn't kicked them out, but they'd all made an effort to behave, knowing that any mistake could land them back on the streets. Gordon couldn't take what no adoptive parent or foster home had ever put up with. And Gordon was being respectful to them, which made Bridgit suspicious and uneasy, no one had ever treated her like this, she just hoped that if Gordon wanted some sort of payment, it was something they could give. Although Gordon had assured her a thousand times that she didn't need anything, but Bridgit knew that this euphoria couldn't last forever, because now Gordon had more expenses and more responsibilities with them, even if it wasn't a real foster home, she felt like one. A good one, at least, from that house, Bridgit didn't want to leave. She had no reason to be suspicious, but her experience had shown her that she couldn't trust anyone but herself.

As a token of gratitude to Gordon, Bridgit had set out to repair an old space heater. Gordon's apartment had many gadgets, most of them useless, but they belonged to Peter Gordon, Jim's father, and Jim didn't want to throw them away to keep his father in his memory. Sentiments, but Gordon was sentimental and Bridgit respected him. In the streets, the respect and cronyism that existed between Peter Gordon and Don Falcone was commented on, that was one of the reasons why nobody dared to hit Gordon's house. It was also one of the reasons Bridgit was suspicious of Gordon, because he was just another mob-connected cop.

Bridgit looked at Ivy, who was watching a documentary about plants, Jonathan was reading a book on criminal psychology from the Peter Gordon collection, Selina was rummaging through Peter Gordon's old things, with Jim's permission, though she didn't need it. If there was something Gordon wanted to keep secret, he would have to get it out of this house, because Selina would end up finding it. And from the look on Selina's face, she had found something she wasn't going to like. Gordon would have to explain.

"Doesn't something smell of burning?" Ivy asked, lowering the volume of the television.

Yes. Bridgit had been distracted by looking at the others and she had inadvertently set the heater on fire. She had forgotten to unplug it, an oversight that often happened to her when she worked with appliances that could catch fire. She had discovered long ago that fire attracted her, but she tried to keep Gordon from finding out, she knew the risks a person like her could bring to the safety of his home. She would never have defined herself as an arsonist, but deep down, she knew that she was one of them and that Gordon could arrest her for it and commit her to Arkham. Selina was the first to react and put out the fire.

- Damn junk.-Selina said hitting the heater.

One of the nuts hit the photo of Peter and Jim Gordon posing happily together after a baseball game. The photo fell to the ground and the glass shattered into a thousand pieces. That caught everyone's attention. Bridgit closed her eyes as Ivy and Jonathan started yelling at Selina, berating her for her behavior.

"What's going on here?" Gordon asked.

He had come home from work and looked tired. He had bags under his eyes, he still wasn't fully recovered from Ivy's stab but he seemed to hide the pain better. He was carrying a bag of groceries, which he would probably cook for dinner. Bridgit began to cry. This had been her fault, she had only wanted to help, but now the photo had been torn up and Selina was pissed off at her addiction to her fire. It was a burden for her friends, she had to leave that house as soon as possible, or it would cause more problems. Ivy and Selina tried to hug her, but she broke away from both of her, Gordon was quicker to hug her and, just as he did with Ivy, he hugged her. Bridgit stood still for a moment, not knowing what to do. She didn't usually get a lot of hugs, just from Ivy and Selina.

- Calm down, Bridgit.-said Gordon.-It's just a photo.

- It's not just a photo and you know it.-Selina said getting between Bridgit and Gordon. In her hand was a piece of paper that she kept shaking. Bridgit couldn't see what she was. "We are leaving this house immediately."

"But what are you saying, Selina?" asked Ivy confused.

"Where are you going?" Gordon asked quietly. "Where will you sleep?"

"So now we owe you, right?" Selina was really furious and from everyone's faces, no one understood her behavior. "We are going!"

But neither moved. Bridgit and Ivy looked at each other, they would both follow Selina wherever she went, but they wanted to understand what was going on. Bridgit kept crying, now in pain, because the broken glass was digging into the palm of her hand.

"You're hurting." Gordon said, gently moving Selina away and lifting Bridgit, who had started to work on the floor so as not to occupy the main table.

Bridgit closed her eyes and cringed when she saw Gordon's hand go up, an instant reaction she had acquired in her foster care. But Gordon didn't hurt her, as she had thought, that man wouldn't intentionally hurt her, but the reactions, learned through fear, were hard to shake. Gordon gently carried her to the kitchen sink, where he removed the small crystals that had embedded it and, using a little soap, disinfected her wound before provisionally dressing it with kitchen rags.

"Can someone explain to me why Selina is acting this way?" Gordon asked.

They couldn't answer him, they didn't know.

"Let's go!" Selina demanded again, but no one moved. Selina glared at them. "Okay! I'll go alone! I thought we were friends! It's good to know who to trust."

Selina dropped the crumpled paper directly on the table, then she slammed out the door. Everyone leaned over to look at the paper, and Bridgit looked at Gordon in disbelief. It was Jim Gordon's birth certificate.

Father: Peter Gordon.

Mother: Sofia Falcone.

Godfather: Carmine Falcone.

Now everything fell into place.