In the weeks that followed, Hailey wasn't as lonely as she had been in the early days when she'd first arrived at Wayne Manor until just recently. Jason spent more time with her. They went out for runs together on the weekends before Bruce woke and took Jason away so that he could go to some martial-arts class. Not only that but Jason became available for dinner as well. He explained that after-school he had tutoring. He didn't tell her where he'd go or even who tutored him but apparently, his tutoring sessions ended earlier so that he could make to dinner. He said he promised to practice his lessons more at home so he started to use her a soundboard.

Apparently, Jason was learning Cantonese and Mandarin but he didn't have anyone to practice with or so he said. So he spoke to her in either dialect and then had her repeat what he'd said before he'd tell her what he was saying in English. Hailey wasn't learning either language but she liked the way it made Jason laugh when she said something wrong. He would make her repeat things until she said it right. There were a few times that she refused to repeat what he was saying. And it only made him press her that much more to do so. But she knew—something about the gleam in his eyes—that whatever it was that he wanted her to say was probably not so nice to say to anyone. There were times that he caught on and changed the tone of his voice, keeping a serious expression, then he'd howl with laughter after hearing her say some expression that would probably make her mother turn in her grave. Though she wasn't sure if that were even possible because she didn't remember her mother. But she always punched him in the arm and yelled at him for being a jerk. Not that he cared, he was always too busy laughing.

Dick also made appearances at least once every two to three weeks. He'd have dinner with them and then watch a movie or play a board game with Hailey and Jason afterward. A few times, when the weather permitted, they actually went out to swim in the pool. Jason always snuck away during Dick's visits leaving the two of them alone once the sun was starting to set. Dick either didn't seem to notice or simply didn't comment about Jason's sudden disappearances. Hailey didn't bring them up either but she wondered if perhaps Jason just snuck away to find Bruce.

The man of the house kept himself as busy as ever. But he always made it a point to have breakfast with them during the week and sometimes he made it to dinner as well. More likely than not, it was usually when Dick stopped by for a visit. Even though the two of them hardly said a word to one another. Jason was usually their buffer when they did and was quick to change the subject if the two older males began having a glaring contest. Then one day before he left for the night, Dick said he was going out of town and Hailey didn't see him again.

She asked Bruce about Dick a month later but Bruce simply told her that he was off exploring the world. Jason scoffed saying the word worlds under his breath but didn't elaborate further, even though Hailey asked for clarification, due to the fact that Bruce was glaring daggers at Jason. After that day, it seemed like Bruce was doing that more and more often with Jason. She would hear them bickering sometimes at odd hours of the night. But she was never awake enough to be certain of what it was she heard. It could've been partly a dream and or part reality. At breakfast, they seemed fine as if they had never had words. But from what Hailey noticed they stopped being so close to one another. It was hard for her to pinpoint what was off between them exactly. They had always seemed more like friends than father and son but lately, they really were just father and son stuck in a raging storm. Or that was how Hailey pictured their relationship. And she, as always, felt like an outsider looking in.

According to Alfred, their behavior was nothing she needed to worry about. Or that was what Alfred said to her one evening during dinner that she once again was partaking of alone. It was the way of fathers and sons he'd said. Not that she would know anything about that as she was just a little girl and not even a true daughter of Bruce Wayne. Alfred didn't say that but she inferred it. Bruce was simply her foster parent after all. It was Jason who was the adopted son of the billionaire. Though it didn't seem like the press was aware of that detail. Not of that mattered though. All she knew was that if Dick didn't come back soon the tension in the house was going to implode.

Hailey would have never guessed that she would be the first to crack under the high tension in the manor. But unfortunately, it happened to her at school. The atmosphere at school had changed—not by much—since she first started school at the academy. Her teachers praised her for her good grades and work ethic. But her classmates never truly befriended her. They were friendly enough. But it was all simply to placate their parents. They were supposed to be nice to Bruce Wayne's so-called daughter. But they still whispered behind her back. Not with as much venom as in the beginning. But the jealousy of her becoming a billionaire from one night to the next and the overall hatred of her origin—that of being just shy of having been an impoverished child of blue-collar workers—was never far from their thoughts and words that carried in the hallways. And perhaps it was that same hatred and jealousy which set the entire incident into effect.

It started with Jason coming to school with a broken arm and a black eye. When her classmates asked her how it happened—because Jason wouldn't say anything—and she didn't have any answers for them, rumors began to circulate. According to the rumor mill, Bruce punched Jason and hurled him down a staircase because Hailey made up some story to accuse Jason of something or other. The specifics weren't part of the rumor since everyone had a different theory. And according to the main schemers, Jason being Jason talked shit to Bruce and forced the older man to lash out violently.

Things started out small the way things normally did. An accidental shove in the hallway. A foot being stuck out in the aisle as Hailey passed by to sit in her seat. Her gym clothes being stolen. Her homework disappearing after she'd turned it in resulting in her grades dropping and Bruce receiving a call. Once Hailey caught on to what was happening, she turned her homework directly into the teacher's hands at the start of class instead of the homework basket. She was more aware of her surroundings as she walked down the hall. She successfully avoided being pushed into a locker or into a mop bucket. On one occasion avoided being shoved into the boys' bathroom. Though her quick side-stepping to get out of harm's way usually ended with the person who attempted to shove her to fall on his or her ass. In the classroom, she walked around the entire seating area so that she came up to her seat from the back. That way no one would be able to trip her up. All her attempts seemed to be working. The attackers were successfully frustrated and Hailey was able to carry on with school—though more alert than ever before—without incident. That was until her attackers grew bolder. An entire lunch tray was spilled over her head in the lunchroom. Dirty mop water was then hurled at her while she attempted to clean up the mess all over her person in the bathroom. And that was the last straw for Hailey. It had been a group of girls that Hailey couldn't see through the sop she was covered in. And she decided at that moment to fight back. Enough was enough.

Hailey had never been trained to fight. But she was angry. The fact that she was teeming with emotions made her lash out. She grabbed and clawed at anyone within reach. The fact that her skin was slippery and wet gave her an advantage. Her attackers couldn't keep a hold on her. The wet floor made them tumble over one another. And Hailey took them all down. After finding her way to the door through her sodden hair, she used her own foot as a door stopper to prevent anyone else to come in to help the girls. She could hear the other students trying to barge their way in. She'd been lucky that she's reached the door in time. The girls who'd attacked her were crying and screaming for help. And Hailey was screaming in rage at the top of her lungs. She was so done with that stupid school and everyone in it. It wasn't until the sounds outside the bathroom door died down and the pressure against her foot had subsided that she heard a police officer asking for entry.

Hailey got out of the way.

After that, she couldn't remember what happened. One minute, she was being dragged out of the bathroom. The next, she was in the hospital listening to a doctor speak to Bruce about the incident at school. She had no idea how she'd arrived at the hospital. But she heard the words tranq dart being said through Bruce Wayne's gritted teeth. She hadn't made heads or tails of any other part of the conversation. Maybe it was the tone of voice he'd used that forced her to hear those words in particular. They had managed to cross the haze in her muggy mind.

It wasn't long before Hailey was ushered out of the hospital by Bruce. He kept a hand on her shoulder as he maneuvered her down the hallways and down to an underground garage where Alfred and Jason were waiting.

Jason was no longer wearing a cast. He hadn't been in school that day because he was having it removed. He heard everything that happened through Alfred and Bruce probably. But Hailey wouldn't look him or anyone in the eyes. She was ashamed and overwhelmed with so much hurt that she couldn't quite process it. If Jason or anyone else said anything to her, she didn't hear them. On the drive home, while she was sitting between Jason and Bruce, she couldn't take the pain any longer and she began to cry. Tears ran down her face and she began to sniffle. She wasn't sobbing openly. Just quiet enough to not cause too much commotion. But there was a thought running through her head over and over that she couldn't quite escape. And she clung to Bruce suddenly to the man's surprise. He easily lifted her onto his lap and held her while he tried to soothe her. His large hand rubbed her back and he told her everything would be okay. But Hailey knew that things would never be okay again.

"Daddy," she said and cried a little harder.

The looks of surprise from Bruce to Jason to Alfred at Hailey's use of that word would have been comical in any other situation. But they quickly morphed into one of endearment. Hailey was openly accepting them as family. Or so they thought until her next words made them all feel so useless and cold. Because what she said next was so painful because they knew that they couldn't ease that pain.

"I miss my daddy."

Bruce closed his eyes tight and breathed. Then he held Hailey a little tighter. Alfred's mouth turned down and his eyes glistened. Jason scooted closer and took hold of Hailey's hand. He held it in his slightly bigger hand and squeezed it once when he felt Hailey's fingers wrap around his own.

"I know, sweetie," Bruce said in a sad voice. "I know."

Because that was something Bruce knew well. He knew how it felt to miss his father. And his mother. His parents always offered a safe haven. Something he tried to offer his children as well. But he was failing spectacularly. He'd failed with Dick. He was failing with Jason. And now Hailey… If only his father was around to offer him the advice he needed to help him carry the burden of so many broken hearts he was responsible for. Including the one that belonged to the man currently driving them all home.