I hope you guys like this update. I promise there is a surprise for you guys this coming week and I hope it makes you all happy! In case I forget to say this later Happy Thanksgiving and good luck to those people going out black Friday shopping!
Upon hearing the ding of the bell, Tim looks up to see his remaining siblings enter this hole in the wall ice cream shop. What were the chances; knowing his family they were high.
"Jaybird! Cassie!" Of course, Dick would call them by these ridiculous nicknames with immense love in his voice.
Upon hearing this, the two new comers looked over; one had a blank expression, while the former had an arrogant, most likely taunting expression. Both walked over to the small group.
"What are you two doing?"
"What does it look like Dickie?"
"You should have told us you were coming here; we could have come together." Dick loved to spend time with his younger siblings.
Before Jason could say anymore, he noticed the small child sitting next to his replacement.
"Who's the kid? Your sex life finally catch up to you Dickie?" Jason smirked.
"Steph." Cass had been staring at the small child with golden hair and giant blue orbs. Of course, Steph had been so preoccupied by her ice cream that she hadn't noticed until her name was called.
"Do I know you?"
"Yes." Okay. Steph couldn't help but think this pretty lady was a little weird when she talked.
"It's complicated, something happened to Steph last night." Tim quickly explained
"Obviously, baby bird."
"We are going to get her some clothes; you want to come? Maybe some fresh eyes can help us figure out what is wrong." Dick asked as he stood. Damian sliding out of the booth right after him, having ignored his family up until this point.
Neither answered but followed the four out the door. As Steph walked to the car she noticed the girl was standing close to her. It felt like she was watching Steph very closely. Soon they were at the car and now that Jason was there, he wanted shot gun, which was being held by Damian.
"You must be more idiotic than I first thought if you believed I would allow you to ride in front, Todd." As he climbed into the front. before an undoubtable fight could break out, Dick jumped in.
"Come on Jay, it's not that far" As he stared the car and Jason grumbled before climbing into the middle row next to Tim while Cass and Steph sat in the third row of their escalade.
As Dick, had said, it only took 10 minutes to arrive at one of the biggest, and fanciest malls Steph had ever seen. Looking out the window she couldn't help be stare in amazement at the building that had to be at least 5 stories tall and go on for half a mile.
Of course, her train of thought was broken as they found a parking spot in the packed mall and the others started to get out.
As she slid out, Tim grabbed a hold of her hand. Steph looked up in confusion.
"I know you're a tough girl, but just to be safe." Offering a smile that even though he was trying to give her a choice, it was clear that she was not going to get out of his grip. Even so, Steph was not all that uncomfortable with this man she met less than two days ago. She just nodded her head and they followed the rest of their group.
To say the outside was impressive does nothing compared to the inside; filled with endless stores her family couldn't afford even after months of saving. Still holding onto Tim, Steph decided to scope out every store they passed before coming a large, very lavish department store (think of Macy's).
"Okay Alfred said we need to pick out some appropriate clothing; nothing ridiculous." Tim stated as the group walked over to the kid's section. Clothes from brands kids in her neighborhood would not even dream about.
"That means you Dick." Jason smirked
"Me?! I have great taste in clothes!"
"Yea and so does a blind person." Jason rolled his eyes.
After having spent more time than necessary arguing over what good fashion was, it was decided that everyone would pick out an outfit and whichever outfit looked the best, would be the style they go with.
As Steph tried on the clothing, the rest of the bat family decided to convene and try to understand what exactly happened to their teammate.
"None of our normal test came up with anything, so it is clearly not something physical like Poison Ivy or Scarecrow's toxin." Tim elaborated as he sat next to Cass on a fancy sofa. On either side were two single person cushion chairs where Jason and Dick sat, with Damian leaning on Dick's chair.
"Was anyone with blondie at all last night?"
"No. We all went on our own except for Bruce and Damian." Dick clarified.
"I don't see what the problem is. It's Brown's fault for letting this happen. If she was better at her job than this wouldn't be a problem. Why do we have to fix it?" Damian grumbled
"Family." Was all Cass offered as a response.
"She's right little D. Steph may not have been adopted by Bruce, but she is still a part of this family. Hopefully Bruce is able to figure out more while we are gone."
As Dick explained this to their youngest sibling, Steph stepped out of the dressing room in the first outfit. It was a little on the tomboyish side with a jean shorts, white vans, a white tank top that in black writing said "One girl army", a real black leather jacket, and a dark purple beanie.
"Wow, that looks good on you Steph." Dick encouraged
"Really?" Steph walked over to the full-length mirror and examined herself. Not that she wanted to admit it but she liked this outfit.
"Cute." The quiet girl said as she appeared beside Steph. How did she move so quietly? This family is so weird.
"They're right Steph, it suits you really well." Tim restated offering her a smile. For some reason, he just smiled the most around Stephanie and he smiled even more that he was the one to pick out the perfect outfit.
"So do you like it?" Dick asked with a genuine smile.
"Yeah. But I can't afford it?" Steph's excitement shattered as she realized that she shouldn't have even stepped into this store.
"Well it's a good thing you're not paying for." Tim stated
"What? Are you guys going to steal it for me?" Steph sarcastically asked as she turned to face the group.
This caused the entire group to start laughing. While Cass just offered a loving smile and Damian tt'd.
"In case you haven't realized kid, but Bruce is loaded." Jason laughed out as he tried to catch his breath.
"He's right Steph, you can have whatever you want."
"And Daddy Warbucks will pay for it all." Jason added
"But why?"
"What do you mean why?" Dick was confused.
"Why does he want to help me? Offer me all this stuff? I haven't even known him for two days and he want to feed me, cloth me, and give me a place to sleep. I don't understand why he cares so much.?" No adult in her life has ever cared this much about her. She would disappear for days and when she came back no one had noticed she was gone. Or her father would kick her out just for the fun of it.
This statement seemed to lessen the mood of the group. Everyone knew that during her very short time as Robin, Stephanie and Bruce never moved past the level of acquaintance; something that hurt her more than anything.
"If it is to make him feel better about himself, then he can keep his charity." Steph crossed her arms.
"Tt. Don't be ridiculous Brown. Father does not do anything without a reason."
" Dami's right. Bruce doesn't give out pity to anyone. Every act he does is because he truly cares. He is just not the best at showing it." Dick elaborated with a reassuring smile.
Though Steph was still doubtful, she chose to let the topic drop. After trying on all the other outfits picked out for her it was the decided that Tim and Cass's style (while both were tomboyish. Cass added a little more comfort into the mix) worked for her the best. So, they picked out 5 more outfits for now. They also decided to get her some more kid friendly activities to do at the manor; as they were not sure how long this would last. Steph was given an iPod, tablet, roller blades, and a soccer ball.
As each of them carried a few bags and having been at the mall for several hours decided it was time to go home. They were walking towards the door, when they passed a food court like no other. It had easily two dozen restaurants, cafes, ice cream, and so on. Steph stopped in her tracks in wonder.
Having been walking beside his smaller best friend, Tim easily noticed the desire in her eyes and couldn't help but chuckle a little.
"Would you like something?"
"No. I'm fine." She responded right before her stomach betrayed her. Steph was sure her face changed 3 colors.
"Well I could use some food." After convincing the rest of their group that a late lunch was a good idea. The grabbed some food from a fancy café in the mall.
As Steph was eating she saw some other kids go towards this giant trampoline like attraction where you could jump and flip. Of course, being a kid this instantly attracted her.
"Hey, what's that?" Pointing over to the area filled with laughing children.
The others stopped eating or talking to see what Steph was pointing at. Dick of course was the one to be just as excited about it as a little kid.
"That looks like a good time. Want to try?" He asked her
"Yeah!" Steph eyes lit up. Dick laughed agreed to take her over as the other continued eating or talking.
Soon she was at the front of the line and was being strapped into a harness by a teenage girl and Steph was given permission to start her 15-minute session. Steph started going slow before jumping, flipping, and laughing. It was so much fun and something she would want to do all the time.
Of course, she doesn't notice Dick taking pictures of her. There are so few of Steph around the manor. But before she knows it her turn is up and she walks over to Dick with her hair crazily flying in different directions.
"Well if your hair is a sign, I take it you had fun?" Dick chuckled as he ruffled her hair as Steph just offered a satisfied grin.
Luckily by the time Steph finished her activity the rest of their group was ready to leave.
As they pulled up to the manor the sun was beginning to set on the horizon and as Tim crawled out of the middle row, where he sat next to Jason, he turned around to see Cass getting out of the car with a sleeping Steph resting her head on the older girl's shoulder.
Tim offered a smile as he moved to help his brothers grab the bags from the trunk and the group headed inside.
"Master Jason. Miss Cass. What a pleasant surprise." Alfred truly loved seeing his more independent family members as they didn't come by often.
"Hey Alfie." Jason was always happy to see the loyal family butler and it always improved his mood. while Cass offered a silent, loving smile.
"I see the young Miss has worn herself out." Steph had not even flinched from being moved around and was still sleeping soundly. As she had her head-on Cass's shoulder and her arms around her neck.
"Yea there was one of those indoor trampolines at the mall and she had a great time with that." Tim elaborated.
"Well it is good to see that she enjoyed herself. Hopefully you picked out appropriate clothing?" Alfred quirked a brow.
"Yea. We made sure to not let Dickie choose anything." Jason joked as he walked towards the steps to put the bags away.
"Hey, stop making fun of my fashion choice. I have good taste right Dami?" As Dick followed Jason.
"Tt. Don't be childish Grayson. Where is father Pennyworth?" Damian had ignored his family for most of the day, including the hurt look he was now getting from Dick, and was glad to finally be home so he could go on patrol.
"Master Bruce is downstairs. He has spent all day trying to find the cause for the young Miss's predicament. Alfred explained. Damian nodded before following his brother's upstairs to the rooms. At this point both Tim and Cass had decided to go to their respective rooms before getting ready for tonight.
Upon entering Steph's new room, Cass proceeded to pull the covers back and carefully lay her down. Cass stared down at her child sized best friend. Contemplating how to act in such a situation. This small Steph was very different from the one she knew. This child was always on guard or mistrusting of someone and even though the child might joke, her body never seemed to relax. I was becoming more clear that there is very little they know about Steph's childhood. But that only made Cass want to protect the sleeping child even more.
Cass leaned down to plant a soft kiss to her forehead before quietly leaving the room, heading down to join her brothers and father. Whoever did this her best friend was not going to escape her or her family. That she promised.