When Hailey came to, Bruce was sitting in an armchair beside her bed. He was reading something on a tablet with so much concentration that she didn't think he'd noticed she was awake. Hailey just stared at him without moving from her awkward position. She was laying on her side, her arm pressed between her body and the bed. It was starting to feel like a million ants decided to have a stampede in her arm. She moaned and moved so that she wasn't on her arm anymore. After a minute, the tingling sensation started to go away replacing the feeling with pain.
"How are you feeling?" Bruce asked looking at her now.
Hailey peeked over at him and grimaced. "I don't want to go back to school."
Bruce's eyes shot up at that. He hadn't really expected her to say anything and especially not say about school.
"That can be arranged," he said with a slight nod. "We can have you finish your school year at home. After that, we can talk about whether you want to go back or continue to be homeschooled."
"What if–what if I go back to my old school?"
"You want to go back to your old school?" Bruce said with a slight frown. Hailey sat up and nodded. Her hands fisted in the blankets. This was the first time she asked him for anything. Bruce sighed feeling like a cold-hearted bastard. Because he couldn't give her what she wanted. It wasn't safe. Not yet. Bruce was certain that the man who killed Hailey's father was also supposed to kill her too. And he wasn't going to let another one of Hailey's lives end prematurely. "I'm sorry, Hailey. But that's not a good idea."
Hailey squeezed her eyes shut and breathed out slowly. "Okay," she said quietly. She didn't ask why. Even though she really wanted to know. Bruce was her guardian so he had the last say. That was how it always was. It was that or get sent away. And if she was sent away would she end up with someone like her stepmom? She was better off with Bruce. "School at home sounds… okay."
"Hailey, if you need to talk about anything…"
"Um, like what?" Hailey said looking at him uncertainly. She pressed her lips together. And she felt butterflies in her stomach. Was she supposed to say something?
"Regarding what happened at school."
"No, I don't want to talk about it," Hailey said and lay down. She covered herself with her blanket to hide away her nervousness.
Bruce smiled softly at her action. It was so childish that he couldn't help being happy that she was actually acting her age. He moved to sit on the bed.
"You don't have to talk about it," Bruce told her. He made to peek under the covers. He lifted a corner slowly until he got a look at one of her eyes. Hailey peered at him for a beat then laughed softly. She lowered the blanket so that only her eyes were visible. Bruce took that to mean that he could continue. "If you're ever having a hard time with anything, you can talk to me or Dr. Thompkins if you feel more comfortable with her."
Hailey nodded. Though she already knew that she probably wouldn't talk to Dr. Thompkins. The woman was a little scary. And Bruce hadn't really been approachable before. It wasn't that he hadn't spoken to her at all since she moved into the manor; it just didn't happen enough that she felt comfortable opening up to him. The only reason she lived in his home was that he was her foster parent. And she didn't feel for him what she felt for her late father who she missed terribly. But she already felt like she cared about her new makeshift family. Three generations of men and none of them were blood-related. Or four with Richard. But if she was going to talk to Bruce about anything anytime, she had to start sometime. And he wasn't angry at her about the school thing. He hadn't even lectured her. So right that moment seemed good enough for her to start a conversation about something that worried her. Besides, Jason had told her over and over that she could ask for anything and that she should open up more. It was time that she took his advice.
"Bruce?"
"Hmm?"
"How come Richard hasn't come back to visit?" Hailey asked carefully. She knew there was some bad blood between the two men. But she didn't understand it. Especially when she noticed the way they looked at one another when they thought the other wasn't watching. They really cared about each other. "Is it because of Batman?"
"What?" Bruce asked with raised eyebrows. He had no idea how Hailey had come to that conclusion. Had she overheard them talking about the mission? He didn't think that was it.
"It's because of Batman that you took us in, right? We all lost our parents. And in my case, for whatever reason, he decided you needed to take care of me. Are you tired of having me here? Did you get tired of having Dick around?"
"No," Bruce said quickly. He reached out for Hailey and drew her onto his lap. "It's true that you needed protection. But I'm happy to have you here. For as long as you want to be." He wasn't looking at Hailey but she craned her neck to look up at him. "Dick... he's already a grown man. He moved out on his own and makes his own decisions. I don't always agree with a lot of them. But that doesn't mean that I don't care about him or that I don't want him around. Currently, he's traveling with his friends and his girlfriend. He'll come back around when he returns from his travels." Bruce looked at her and smiled. He moved a lock of her hair behind her ear. "You know, you'll probably want to do the same when you get older."
"Travel?" Hailey said and Bruce grunted. "Is it fun to travel?"
"It can be. Depending on where you're going and what you're doing."
"Do you like to travel?"
"Yes."
Then Hailey's stomach growled. Bruce smiled at her and stood up balancing her on his hip as if she were a toddler. He was tall enough to make her feel tiny. But she didn't complain. Or feel weird about it. She still felt a little weak from not having eaten for a few days.
"Let's see if Alfred can whip us up an early dinner."
Hailey tightened her hold on Bruce's middle with her legs as they made it down the stairs.
"Can I have something besides broth?"
"Not a big fan?"
"I had a lot of broth already. It was good but I want a hamburger."
"That's a little ambitious," Bruce said with a hint of amusement. "But we'll find out if that's doable."
"Alright. But if it is, I want French fries too."
Bruce chuckled at that and Hailey beamed. She'd never made Bruce laugh before and it made her feel very happy that this man who was her sort-of dad was starting to like her too. Because she read somewhere that when people laugh at something you say, it wasn't because they considered your words to be funny because there really was no way to decide that certain words are funnier than others. Rather it had more to do with an emphatic response. In other words, their laughter means they like you. Like automatically returning a smile. If someone decides they don't like you, they don't reciprocate a smile or laugh even when you're trying to be funny.
"Hailey," Jason whispered as he slowly made his way into her room in the early hours of the morning.
"Wha-?" Hailey said rubbing the sleep from her eyes and propping herself up off the bed on one elbow.
"I found Mrs. Saurez," Jason said with a little smile as he sat on her bed cross-legged.
"How is she?"
"She's fine," he told her. "She asked about you. I hadn't even talked to her yet, she just asked because she remembered that Batman and I were there that night. She seemed a little worried about something." Jason shrugged not knowing what to do with that information. "And she gave me her phone number so that you can call her whenever you want."
Jason offered up a small piece of paper to Hailey. She took it and unfolded it to see Mrs. Saurez's handwriting. She smiled widely as she stared at the paper.
"Thank you," Hailey said emphatically and wrapped her arms around Jason. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."
Jason chuckled a little and placing his hand on her face, pushed her away.
"That was way too many thank you's," Jason said making Hailey giggle. "Get some more sleep, okay? The sun's not even up yet you crazy girl. What are you doing up so early?" Jason tsked as if he hadn't been the one to wake her. He got up off her bed and made his way to the door.
Hailey was laughing and got comfortable again while she held the paper tightly in her little hand.
As soon as Hailey woke up later that morning, she ran down to the main living area to use the phone. Mrs. Saurez answered the phone as was very happy to hear from Hailey. They chatted for a bit but unfortunately, they had to hang up too soon. Mrs. Saurez had a doctor's appointment she couldn't miss but told Hailey to call anytime or to stop by whenever she was in the city. The manor was in Bristol but it wasn't that far of a drive into the city. The only problem was that Hailey was too young to drive and no matter how nice Bruce had been about everything recently, it didn't mean he would want to take her to see her old neighbor. Not when he wasn't too keen on letting her go back to her old school. She would need to figure out a different way to get out to her old neighborhood on her own.
"Miss Hailey," Alfred said in surprise when he saw her downstairs.
"Good morning, Alfred."
"A good morning indeed," Alfred told her with a warm smile. "I see you're feeling much better than in past days."
Hailey nodded but didn't say anything.
"Don't dally about, come to the kitchen and get some breakfast," Alfred said and made his way back to the kitchen with Hailey following.
Alfred had only come out to investigate the living area because he'd heard someone talking. He had assumed everyone was still sleeping. He wondered, however, who she was talking to but didn't dare ask. He didn't think she would feel happy about being caught sneaking a phone call. Alfred hoped it had been a friend from school. It still hurt him to think about what the girl had been through. Children could be cruel, but to think that Hailey had been a victim of bullying without her opening up to them made his heart ache. Alfred wasn't sure how to help the young lady. She seemed to open up to Jason the most out of everybody in the household but even he'd had no idea of the happenings at school.
Bruce had to be firm with him about not confronting any of her classmates. Jason kept his word but that didn't mean he was happy about what happened to his sister. And he was boycotting school, much to Bruce's displeasure. Now that Hailey was up and about again, he didn't have any excuse to stay home. And after much prodding, Bruce forced Jason to go back to school that morning. Alfred drove him with Hailey keeping Jason company in the back seat. On the drive back home, Hailey looked absolutely miserable and there was nothing Alfred could do to remedy the situation.
"Master Bruce informed me that you'll be finishing the school year at home," Alfred said as casually as he could.
"Maybe I should just go back," Hailey said looking down at her lap.
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Alfred asked curiously.
"Yeah, I think so," Hailey said looking back at the school. "They don't scare me."
Alfred smiled at her through the rearview mirror. He felt a surge of pride at her words and determination.
"Perhaps we should inform Master Bruce about the change of plans," Alfred offered as he made his way back to the manor.
"That and I need to change into my uniform," Hailey said facing Alfred as she plucked at the pajamas she was still wearing.
"Very right you are."
Alfred went straight to the phone to call Bruce when they arrived at the manor. Hailey rushed upstairs to change. As soon as Bruce was on the line, Alfred let him know about Hailey's decision. Bruce sounded surprised but happy at the turn of events. He promptly hung up on his butler before anything else was said. Alfred frowned at the receiver and placed it back in place.
"What did he say?" Hailey said already dressed in her uniform.
"Well," Alfred began and Hailey automatically frowned expecting the worst. Alfred didn't get a chance to say more because the phone rang. "You've reached Wayne Manor."
It was Bruce on the line. He'd called the school to inform them about Hailey's return. Then he said he'd drop by to take Hailey to school himself. That consisted of Hailey waiting a good twenty minutes until he arrived. He walked her into the school and into the office to speak to the principal. And at the mention of Hailey speaking to the school therapist, she wanted to stand up and walk out of the office. But Bruce lay a hand on her shoulder when it was first suggested.
"She isn't going to forced to talk about anything she doesn't want to talk about, will she?" Bruce asked the principal.
"No, no no," the principal assured Bruce. "We just want to ensure she feels safe and that she knows she has someone to turn to in confidence should another situation arise. Not that we're expecting something else to come up."
The man looked nervous as all heck. And that made Hailey nervous in turn.
"How often would she need to speak to the school therapist?" Bruce asked with a small frown.
"For now, once a week," the principal informed him. "We'd really appreciate it if Hailey would talk to her now before she heads to class. Would that be okay with you, Hailey?"
"C-can Bruce come with me?" Hailey said. She wasn't sure why she was nervous about talking to someone. But she couldn't help think that it was some sort of trap.
"Of course, sweetheart," the principal said.
Hailey frowned. She wanted to tell him not to call her that. But she tightened her lips instead.
"Mr. Wayne, would you mind?" the principal said and Bruce shook his head.
Bruce squeezed Hailey's shoulder. She turned to look at him and he offered a tentative smile. If she didn't know any better, she would have assumed he was just as nervous as she was about the entire therapist situation.
In the end, it turned out that neither of them had anything to worry about. The initial talk was just to inform Hailey of the therapist's name and to set up a time and day to meet up. The woman reiterated what the principal told them that Hailey had a safe place to talk if she ever needed to open up about anything. Then she handed Hailey a journal and told her to write in it whatever she could think of that she would like to talk about in their first meeting. After that, Hailey was sent to class. In the hallway outside of the office, Bruce gave her a hug and kiss on the top of her head. Hailey stepped back and smiled at Bruce.
"I'm going to be okay, I promise," Hailey told him and giggled when he looked surprised to hear that from her. "You were nervous. Like a real dad."
Bruce smiled. "You're right. I can't help it. I feel like a real dad," he said to reassure her. He knew he could never dare to replace Jasper in Hailey's heart. But he was glad she could think of him in the capacity of a father and not just an authority figure. He tilted his head to the side when she giggled again. He knew right then that she would be okay on her own. "I have a meeting this afternoon but Alfred will be here to pick you up after school."
"I know," Hailey said and turned around to make her way to her classroom. She lifted her hand and waved. Without turning around she said, "Bye, dad."
"See you soon, Hailey, my girl."
