Hailey woke with a start. She sat up and felt something wet, cold, and slimy slide down her neck into her top. She ran shaky fingers over the area and came away with green slime. She gritted her teeth and after taking a deep breath, shouted, "Jason Peter Todd, I'm going to kill you!"

"Oh, dear," said Alfred as he poured Bruce a cup of coffee. They were downstairs in the kitchen. Bruce was seated at the breakfast table while reading his newspaper. Alfred standing beside him with a coffee pot refilling his master's cup. "Sounds like the children are up and about."

They heard the sound of feet trampling through the house. Jason's laugh was echoing in the hallways.

Bruce simply took a sip of his coffee. But behind the rim of the coffee cup, he smiled. He may have been an only child but he would happily take the raucous sounds of children over the silence the manor greeted him with every day after his parents died. He would rather Hailey and Jason get along better but this was just fine as well. It had been three months since Hailey's arrival and it had seemed like an easy transition until Jason decided he needed to break his new sister into the family the only way he knew how. Bruce hadn't reprimanded him. He was actually proud of the boy. He'd helped Hailey break out of her shell at least with him. She still had her guard up against Alfred and himself but he figured she just needed more time to get used to being around different adults.

"I know where you sleep, Jason!" Hailey said from the bottom of the staircase. She was breathing hard and made her way back to her room all the while stomping her feet.

Jason had run out the front door. He found another way into the kitchen. Through the window.

"She's getting faster," Jason said with a wide grin. "But she's got a long way to go before she catches me."

"I'd prefer you let Miss Hailey be," Alfred said giving Jason a mild frown. "She's bound to think the worst of us."

"Nah," Jason said with a small shake of his head. "She's too quiet. And she needs to learn how to have fun."

"When she does finally manage to break your neck, you'll get no pity from me, young man."

"Harsh, Al. It's all in good fun. So don't worry so much," Jason told him still smiling and rocking on his feet.

Bruce put down the newspaper he'd been reading. Jason looked over at him having caught the movement. Bruce simply stared at the boy.

"What?" Jason said and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What did you do to her?" Bruce said wanting to sound stern but he was actually curious. He knew that whatever Jason had done was more than likely harmless. Bruce thought the same thing Jason did; she was too quiet. Polite. Agreeable. And that didn't seem like a good thing.

Jason grinned. But he refrained from saying anything.

When Hailey walked into the kitchen, she sat down in the chair adjacent to Bruce like she always did. Quiet as ever. Not wanting to bring attention to herself.

"Good morning," she said looking at Bruce who nodded at her and then brought his paper back up to continue reading.

"Good morning, Miss Hailey," Alfred said and Hailey smiled in his direction. "I assumed you worked up an appetite with your morning run."

Alfred walked over to the refrigerator. Jason snickered as he went to the cupboard to grab some cereal.

"Sorry," she said putting her head down feeling ashamed.

Bruce looked at her a little worried.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Bruce told her.

She snapped her head up looking in his direction. She looked confused. She had thought he was mad at her since he ignored her when she entered the room.

"Okay," she said softly and then looked at the bowl Alfred placed before her. It was a mixture of a lot of things. Fruit and nuts. There was milk in it. And oats, maybe? "What is this?"

"Muesli," Alfred said easily. "It's a popular breakfast staple in Germany and Sweden."

"I should get going," Bruce said taking the last sip of his coffee.

"Have a good day at work," Hailey said shyly. Bruce smiled in her direction.

"Yeah, old man, go get 'em!" Jason said with a smirk.

"I was planning to," Bruce said easily and walked away.

Alfred walked out of the kitchen following Bruce. She could hear them talking softly in the hallway.

Hailey picked up the spoon and swirled the contents around. It was risky but she took a small amount onto her spoon and took her first bite. She scrunched up her nose. It was a little sweet and overwhelming with the many different flavors and textures contending with one another. But it wasn't so bad. Chewy and crunchy. But her lips began to tingle. She rubbed her lips with the tips of her fingers.

"Is it gross?" Jason asked as he plopped into the seat in front of her with a bowl of sugary cereal.

"No."

"It looks gross," Jason said and took a big spoonful of his own food.

"You look gross," Hailey said as she tentatively took another spoonful into her mouth.

Jason smirked at her but his mouth was currently full so he didn't respond. Then he noticed her touching her lips again.

"It's okay to say you don't like it," Jason said after he swallowed his mouthful and stood up. He walked around the table and made a reach for her bowl. But Hailey pulled it out of his reach. "Just give it here. I want to taste it."

Hailey sighed and handed him the bowl. Jason took a small bite. Then a big one. Spoonful after spoonful. He didn't stop until he finished it. Hailey simply looked on not knowing what to do.

"Hey, this was actually good."

"Yeah, I know."

"Oh," Jason said giving her an apologetic look. He only ate the entire bowl so that she wouldn't have to but he didn't really like it so much. It was too late to go back now. "It didn't seem like you liked it. You kept rubbing your lips."

"They feel weird," she said touched them again.

"Hey," Jason said in a low voice bending down to peer at her closer. It looked like her lips were swelling. He reached up to touch them. They felt hot. "Maybe you should say something."

"No," Hailey said in a harsh whisper and shook her head. "Promise you won't say anything."

"Okay," Jason said skeptically. He had an idea of why she was acting that way. She was scared that they'd get mad at her and make her go away and into the system. He'd had more time to build some rapport with Bruce and Alfred. Enough to trust them but not enough to completely be sure that they wouldn't do the same to him as well. Her worries were becoming his own. "But they won't get mad. Maybe—"

"You promised," she whispered a little louder, desperation clear in her voice.

"I won't tell," he said softly looking down and then began to stand up straight only to jump when he heard Alfred clearing his throat. "Oh, hey, Al!"

"Young man, what were you doing?" Alfred said taking in Hailey's frightened expression. Jason looked a little nervous himself.

"Huh?!" Jason said and then looked back at Hailey who was now glaring at him for getting them caught in conspiring against the adults. "Nothing!"

"Miss Hailey?" Alfred asked her curiously.

"Uh," she said and swallowed. She looked at Jason then back at her bowl. "He just wanted to taste it."

"Taste what?" Alfred said with a frown in Jason's direction.

Jason had the feeling he knew what it was that Alfred was thinking. And that was so not what had just happened! She was just a kid! And he was fifteen! Gross!

"The mushi dish you gave her!" Jason said nervously and his voice squeaked. He cleared his throat and tried to relax. It was not helping his case to be nervous about nothing. He'd just been worried that Alfred had overheard their conversation but it seemed like they were in the clear. "It was good, Al. You have any more?"

"It's called muesli," Alfred said looking pointedly at the empty bowl. "And I'm sorry to inform you that I only made two servings since you adamantly expressed your dislike for oats last night."

"Right," Jason said with a nod and ran around the table to sit down so that he could finish his cereal.

"I could always make more for tomorrow," Alfred said.

"Uh," Jason said his mouth half full of cereal. He forced himself to finish the mouthful. He looked over at Hailey who was now looking a bit alarmed. Her lips looked a little more swollen too. "No way! It wasn't that good! How about pancakes?"

Hailey sighed.

"Pancakes. Very well," Alfred said and removed the empty dishes from the table. Hailey made to help but he waved her away. "You need to get to school. The bus will arrive in ten minutes. Unless you need me to give you a ride. Turns out I have more time than I believed previously."

"No, no," Hailey said standing up quickly. "I'm good with riding the bus."

"Jason, you need to run along as well," Alfred said sternly.

"I'm already ready," Jason said and slurped the milk out his bowl. "Do you mind making me some toast while I go get my backpack?"

Alfred sighed and made his way to the counter.

They both hurried to get their things and made it back to the door in time for Alfred to give Jason some toast with butter and jam.

"Thanks, Al!"

"Have a good day, you two," Alfred said as he slowly closed the door behind them.

Jason grinned and waved. When they'd made it a few steps away from the door, Jason took Hailey by the arm and whispered in her ear.

"It's for you. Sorry that I ate your food."

"Thanks," she said quietly but she was smiling widely at him.

She practically shoved one entire slice into her mouth. She was hungry. Jason chuckled and called her a chipmunk making Hailey swat at him but missed since he hopped out of her reach. Then they both ran down the driveway, Hailey chasing Jason to the bus stop. Almost choking on her toast.

Alfred frowned as he watched from the window but then just shook his head. He would never understand the youth of these days. One minute they were trying to kill each other, the next they were covering for one another. Alfred smiled. At least they were getting along just fine.

Though the moment the two returned from school, Alfred was worried that Hailey really would kill Jason in his sleep one of these days.

"Jason, you're such a jerk!" Hailey exclaimed as soon as she stepped into the house.

Jason had run into the house laughing.

When Alfred peeked around the corner, Hailey was holding two backpacks while trying to juggle a diorama on her forearms.

"Let me help you with that, dear child," Alfred said taking the diorama off her hands.

"Thank you," she said gratefully and removed Jason's backpack that had been slung around her shoulders on top of her own. It was heavy and she barely had the strength to carry it with both hands as she hugged it to her body.

"My word," Alfred said as he looked at the construct. "Did you make this all on your own?"

"Yeah, it was for art class."

"It's quite detailed," Alfred said taking it all in. There was a boy sitting up in a tree overlooking a lake. The background was layered and given depth. Even though all the paper that was used was white, to Alfred, it looked quite realistic. The girl had talent.

"It's just cutouts that are strategically layered," Hailey said shyly. She fidgetted her feet while looking down. "I have to go get my homework started."

"Do you mind if I hold on to this?" Alfred said looking at her. "I'd like to show Master Bruce when he gets home."

"Uh, sure," Hailey said with a short nod. She had planned to place it on her nightstand but she could always make another one. She didn't think Bruce would even see it or care to. It would probably end up in the trash before the end of the night. Bruce hardly made it home for dinner. And even Jason sometimes skipped out on dinner. Or at least, refrained from eating dinner with her at the time Alfred deemed was appropriate.

"Dinner's at six," Alfred reminded her.

"I could help—"

"Nonsense," Alfred said and turned to walk away. "Your school work is more important."

"Alright," Hailey said softly. She didn't understand why she couldn't do any chores. All that did was give her more free time to do absolutely nothing.

Hailey slowly made her way up the stairs since she was carrying extra weight. What the hell did Jason keep in his backpack? Three hundred books? She decided that she would just drop it off at his door. He'd slung it over her shoulders before they walked into the house right after he told her he'd race her upstairs. He didn't speak to her at all on the bus ride home and acted like he didn't even know her at school. But once they were near the house, he acted like an immature five-year-old.

She knocked on Jason's door and waited for a response. When none came, she left the backpack at the door. She walked over to her room with slow steps and a heavy sigh. She didn't even have that much homework. Well, not enough to keep her busy until dinner. She looked around her room and settled at her desk. She decided to get her homework done first and then maybe go out into the garden. Her room was already clean and there was nothing for her to organize. The house had such a huge yard that she could get lost in her thoughts while she walked around. Maybe she could think about a new idea to write about. She had a few journals of stories she'd written. Though she was fairly certain that anyone who actually read them would ever like them. She sighed once more and got to work on her math assignment.

Dinner was just as she imagined it would be, lonely. Both Bruce and Jason were out of the house. Or in another part of it. The manor was big enough that it probably had rooms she had no knowledge of or access to. Alfred made up lame excuses for them both. But from what was said about Bruce in the news gossip, she could hazard a guess about his whereabouts. However, there was no telling where Jason went.

Even though Jason annoyed her—most of the time—he was fun to be around. He was always so cheerful and happy. She'd seen another side to him at times. He could be very angry and quiet but when he noticed she was around, he did a complete turn-around in his demeanor. She wasn't sure if it was to hide his feelings or if it was simply due to wanting her to feel comfortable. She often wondered if he was like that just to be nice or if Alfred or Bruce had put him up to it. Well, maybe not Bruce. He was a kind man but he didn't go out of his way to spend any time with her. But she could tell that Bruce and Jason were as thick as thieves.

When Hailey finished eating, she cleaned up after herself. She knew that Alfred was not around since he hadn't checked on her once since he served her dinner. She was walking towards the stairs when the front door opened. Hailey turned to see who it was out of curiosity and then screamed since a person she didn't know had just walked into the manor without permission. The intruder was scowling something fierce. What if he was there to kill someone like the guy who'd killed her dad?

When the guy heard her scream, he turned to look at her in alarm.

"Who are you?" he asked slowly but stayed where he was with his hand still on the door.

"You're the one breaking into someone else's place!" Hailey said pointing a finger at him. "The real question is, who are you? And what do you want?"

"Someone else's—?" he looked around the house to make certain that he was in the right place and then back at Hailey. "Very funny. Who are you, kid?"

"I asked you first."

"Technically, I did."

He crossed his arms over his chest and stared her down. The expression on his face, his mannerisms, and just his overall appearance finally clicked in her head.

"You're Bruce's son," Hailey said and snapped her fingers. "Richard." She smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you. Jason told me about you but he said you probably wouldn't be coming around—"

"Okay, so now that you know who I am," Dick said cutting off her tirade and gestured to her. Suddenly her face fell.

"He didn't tell you about me," she said in a small voice.

"Who? Jason?"

"Or Alfred," she said and looked away. "Shit, not even Bruce, huh?"

"I'm sorry," Dick said and walked up to her. He kneeled before her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "It's probably my fault. I don't do a good job of keeping in touch." She looked at him and nodded. But the corners of her lips were still turned down. "So, do I get a name or should I guess?"

"My name is Hailey Thomas," she said and Dick's eyes widened.

"Hailey!" Dick said and hugged her suddenly. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry. I should've known it was you. I didn't know you were already here!"

"Huh?"

"How are you, kid? Look at you!" He pushed her back a step to get a better look at her. "How old are you?"

"I'm eleven," Hailey told him but then she shook her head. "How do you know about me? I thought that they hadn't…"

Dick's excitement died down. He frowned a little but then he smiled, a small upturn of his lips, hoping she hadn't noticed the slip.

"Of course, Bruce told me about you! It slipped my mind is all. Plus, I thought you'd be younger," he said in a hurry. Sounding a little nervous but still happy.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Dick said and placed a hand on his knee the other on the floor to give Hailey back her space. "Absolutely."

Hailey scratched her arm nervously.

"So you know about my dad?" she said and looked down then away.

Dick's eyes widened. No, he had absolutely no idea about her dad. And Bruce hadn't told him that Hailey was even at the manor. It'd been some time since he saw her last. Or the her he'd met previously. This particular Hailey didn't even recognize him. But Dick had been present when Zatanna erased her memory while her soul was in a different body. He just hadn't expected it to affect her next life. But according to Zatanna, she'd erased her memories from her soul, not her mind since the mind she had currently been using belonged to a different person. The other thing about her reincarnation was that it didn't happen in a linear form. So there was never any telling when she'd show up next or in who.

As Dick was looking at Hailey he realized that she didn't bear any resemblance to the Hailey he'd known before. This Hailey had ash brown hair and her eyes were a light shade of violet. She did resemble Jason, though. They most definitely had the same nose. She could even pass as his sister and not third cousins twice removed or whatever way it was that they were related. Dick tweaked her nose and she squeaked.

"Don't look so down, kid," Dick told her with a small smile."I'm sorry about your dad. But, how are you liking it here? Are they treating you well?"

"Yeah, definitely," she said nervously and nodded.

Dick smiled and stood up.

"Alfred, I'm home!" he called out and looked around. "Where is everyone?"

Hailey shrugged.

"No one's here?" he said with a frown. "You're all alone?"

"Uh," Hailey said nervously. "Alfred told me Bruce had work stuff and Jason…" she trailed off.

"But where's Alfred?"

"Maybe he's taking a nap?" Hailey suggested. "He did look a little tired before dinner."

"Alright," Dick told her. "I'm just going to look for him."

"Sure," Hailey said and began to make her way up the stairs.

She looked back for a moment and saw Dick walking past the stairs. It made her pause. There wasn't anything back there but Bruce's study and Alfred wouldn't be there if he was napping. She shrugged to herself and hurried up the stairs. At least she wasn't alone in the house anymore. That made her feel a thousand times better.