Bruce was by no means an amazing father; he'd made questionable decisions but at the end of the day he was father to four amazing young men. Each with their own personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. Perhaps that was why when walking through a park in Paris he couldn't just keep walking when he heard the small sniffles of a child. He cautiously approached the young lady. She sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, head bowed, shoulders hunched. She looked, in all honesty, pitiful. He could hear her shaking breaths as she tried to shove down the emotions, he'd heard the same small sniffles come from the bedrooms of his sons when they thought no one else in the manor was awake. It was a sound that broke his heart a thousand times over and never got any easier to hear.

"Excuse me, I don't mean to intrude, are you alright?" He stood a few feet away from her not imposing on her space. She looked startled and quickly hopped up from the bench wiping at her tear stained face.

"Oh yes! I'm very sorry if I've disturbed your evening Monsieur." She gave a blinding smile one that didn't match with the few tears that still trickled from her eyes. A beautiful façade that would have been enough to fool anyone else. Bruce only had to look at her eyes to see the hurt that still lingered even if she smiled so widely.

"Its no bother, in fact I was only out for a walk to clear my head." Bruce gave her a small smile; it wasn't normally an expressing seen on his face, but he hoped the small gesture would provide her a bit of comfort.

"Ah well, it is a lovely night for a walk, soon it'll be cold for a stroll, winter is coming fast this year." She looked up at sky and gave a small smile. It was obvious that a smile was meant to be upon her face. It suited her much better than tears.

"If I may, would you be opposed to some company for a bit?" He still stood a comfortable distance but gestured to the bench she'd just jumped off in her haste to hide her tears.

She gave a sad smile this time, and politely nodded before taking her seat again, "If you don't mind me asking, where are you from? Your accent is familiar, but I can't seem to place it."

"Gotham City, New Jersey in America." He politely stepped forward and joined her on the bench making sure to keep his distance, so she didn't feel caged in. "If you don't mind me asking a question of my own," A small nod from her kept him speaking, "what happened? A young lady like yourself should hardly be out this late on her own." Bruce was cautious, even if he was a long way from Gotham crime existed everywhere in the world.

"It's not much of a story really, I got into an argument with my parents and just needed to get away for a moment." With a small frown she shook her head, no doubt trying to shake off any more unpleasant thoughts. "I know this area better than the back of my hand. I grew up here and I'm more than capable of taking care of myself."

"Ah yes I suppose as parents sometimes our kids do need a break from us."

She giggled, "Yes I suppose we do. You have children?"

"Yes, four boys, a rowdy bunch, my youngest is about your age, and my oldest already has a family of his own. There are several girls who are just as good as my daughters by this point."

"Your home must be lively, I'm an only child, Maman and papa wanted to focus on their dreams." Although she'd listened with a small smile as he talked about his own kids, the frown was quickly back on her face.

"Can I ask you something, as a parent I mean." Bruce nodded, "Do you trust your sons?"

"I do. Sometimes I worry but at the end of the day I have to believe they've been around enough good influences to do good in the world."

"Maman and Papa don't trust me anymore." She gave him a small smile and drew her legs back up to her chest leaning back looking towards the sky, "there's a girl in my class who keeps telling lies. She's made my life miserable for two years and she's got the school wrapped around her little finger. Of course, she targets me, and the school calls my parents, and they're fed up. I don't blame them. Two years of my word against hers and they're tired of hoping that one day it'll all go away."

Bruce gave a scowl, liars were always the worst of the bunch, he had seen many a man who'd lie just to achieve something. "Then your parents should have done more to help you, if this girl is as bad as you say then someone has already caught her in a lie and done nothing. All liars slip up in the end. Have you considered changing schools?"

"Some people have already noticed that she's lying but they do nothing. They don't want to believe that lying can hurt anyone. I'm the only person she targets regularly, since no one else will stand up they all just fall into line and get wrapped up in her tales." With a sigh she nods, "I have, but my parents as profitable as their business is, don't make the money to send me to the only private institution in the area. I know its only a year more but I'm not sure I can handle it anymore. Paris used to bring me such joy as my home but now its tainted by the knowledge that I'm on my own here."

Bruce had to keep himself from getting angry, he wasn't the best parent, but his sons knew they were never alone. The family fought for one another and although things were strained and uncertain at times, they all relied on each other to help when needed. This girl, he hadn't even asked her name yet, was alone. She felt abandoned in her home and he saw the hunch in her shoulders that spoke of a weight greater than the average teenagers. He seen that weight almost crush his sons' shoulders when they felt alone, but thankfully he'd always found a way to help them share the burden even if it wasn't with him.

"What about an exchange program? If you truly would want to leave Paris, it's a good first step. The institute my son goes to has a wonderful track record and they often see students from other countries."

"Another country? I hadn't considered it. I haven't even considered leaving Paris in the last few years. There's to many responsibilities here for me to take care of."

Bruce continued to frown; he didn't know what else there was to say. He wasn't her father. As much as he wanted to whisk her away and give her something solid to cling too, she was no orphan that needed adopting.

"Thank you. I feel much better. I appreciate you listening. It was nice to have an adult believe me again," This time her smile was reflected in her eyes, and he could see that her future would be bright. Even with so much negativity she managed to smile so brilliantly.

He gave a hum in acknowledgement; his mind was miles away trying and failing to see a solution to a problem that wasn't his.

"Well then I hope you have a wonderful night Monsieur." She was quickly up and off the bench giving him a smile and wave before disappearing out of the park with no more than a trace. Alfred was going to have his head for letting a young women disappear on her own at night, but she was simply gone and if he didn't know any better he'd have thought she was a hallucination with how quickly she disappeared. He stood and glared at the ground, he'd never asked her name and in the darkness barely managed to make out any discernible features, maybe he could have Tim pull any security footage of local businesses to find her again. He couldn't stand idly by while a child suffered. He strode out of the park and back in the direction of his hotel still unable to shake the sight of her broke soul that lingered behind tear filled eyes. She needed help, and perhaps she wouldn't appreciate his meddling, but he could hardly leave the situation alone, especially when she reminded him of his own sons.

Alright so some how Ive reappeared from beyond the grave to write this. I fell into the rabbit hole of Maribat fics and decided id write something even though i know absolutely nothing about the DCU or Batman in general. I've tried to do some research but honestly I'm mostly winging it so don't hope for anything related to accuracy when it come to being in character.

This is basically a huge set up for something else I'm planning to write. The companion fic (if I ever get around to writing it) will be called Righteous Side of Hell.

Also I'm not really sure who started this trend or anything but in case it needs to be stated obviously this isn't a new idea through I've tried to stray away from the recurring themes Ive seen in the fics Ive read so apologies if it seems too out of character.