Hailey felt confined in the manor. Not even her room brought her solace. She wandered the grounds until she didn't have the strength to continue. This practice extended day in and day out. She'd buckle down and cried sometimes leaning her back on a tree or the wall at the edge of the property when her strength waned. She always made it back to the manor in time for meals. She didn't want to worry Alfred. He was clearly hurting.

A few times her legs carried her to Jason's gravesite. She'd kneel there and just stare at his name. Sheila Haywood's grave was right beside it. Jason's mother. Hailey hadn't heard the story. She didn't know how Jason died. Or why it was his mother had been buried beside him. She was sure they told her but at the time all she heard was white noise after the words: Jason's dead. Now she was curious but couldn't bring herself to ask.

Bruce managed to go out of town once again without notifying Hailey. When Alfred told her he was in DC, he was angry. He seemed to be angry at Bruce a lot in the aftermath of Jason's death.

Bruce wasn't okay. He was angry and he didn't know what to do with his anger. To add insult to injury, he wouldn't look at Hailey. She thought he would finally talk to her after the incident at school but that break in his behavior had been short-lived. As soon as Hailey was back in the manor, he'd disappeared like usual. Work never ended for Bruce. Not even in the wake of his son's death. Or maybe, like Alfred's cooking and her attempt at going to school, Bruce was trying to stay busy. Hailey couldn't begrudge him that. But now he was gone and Hailey couldn't help but worry.

When Bruce returned to the manor from his trip, he had a broken arm and he was even angrier than he was before he went out of town. Hailey kept her distance. She didn't bother to ask and Alfred didn't bother to tell her about Bruce's whereabouts or whatabouts.

Hailey went back to school and forced herself to pay attention, to do her schoolwork, and to avoid the worried glances her teachers sent her way. She ignored the pitying looks directed at her from her classmates. She even managed to ignore Tim who tried to offer condolences. But before he completely walked away, Hailey called out to him after his demeanor registered in her mind. When he turned around, she rushed up to him and hugged him.

Tim had no idea what to do other than awkwardly lay a hand on her upper back and pat it a few times before Hailey backed away. They stood there awkwardly without knowing what to say to one another. In order to break the pause, she asked about his mom. He told her his parents were out of town but that they were both great. It seemed like his words were scripted. It dawned on her that they actually had something in common. He was often left alone. Now that Jason wasn't around, she was certain that she would be too on more occasions than not. Even Alfred made himself scarce more now than before but she knew he was somewhere in the manor. She wondered if Tim had a butler that looked after him too. But she didn't dwell too much on the thought.

The news on Batman had been getting increasingly worrisome as of late but on a lighter note, crime was down. Or so said the newscaster. Seemed like the new no holds bar approach of Batman turning in any and every goon that crossed his path was filling up the jail cells beyond capacity and were having to be moved to others in neighboring cities. Some bad guys turned tail and got out of town in an attempt to escape the Bat. Either that or they'd gone into hiding. Not even the psychos in Arkham tried to escape while Batman was on the rampage. Especially with the news that he'd left the Joker in a full-body cast.

Hailey frowned at that bit of news. Batman was a hero who protected those who couldn't protect themselves but he'd become more and more violent. Even people who hadn't broken the law were afraid of him. Then she'd heard it, the reason why the Joker had been left on the brink of death instead of receiving an apt end for the monster. Superman had stepped in and stopped the assault Batman had unleashed on the Joker. The reason behind the assault was that the Joker claimed he'd killed Robin.

Hailey's heart sunk when she heard that. Jason had been Robin. Batman was on the verge of losing it because he'd lost Robin to a madman. The very one that Batman had let live on countless occasions past. Hadn't Jason been promoting the idea of ending the lives of men who would never stop hurting others? Hailey finally understood what he meant. Because of the fact that the Joker was allowed to live, Jason was dead. Hailey cried at the injustice of it all.

On Sunday morning as Hailey came downstairs, she spotted Richard walking into the manor. With a mad dash, while his back was still to her, she rushed him. He barely turned around in time before she was pummeling his chest with her fisted hands in a weak attempt to punish him.

"Why weren't you here? Jason died! And you weren't here! Don't you care about us? He was your brother?"

Her voice cracked as she spoke. The words were weak even to her own ears. She felt so very tired. Not as angry as she thought she should feel she just felt so wretched. She ended up corralled in his arms. He was caressing her hair and back while she muffled meaningless words into his abdomen.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Dick told her in a hushed voice. Then suddenly his hands stopped moving. His body went rigid and Hailey was only able to look up at him to see the rage in his features.

"Dick," Bruce said from behind her.

Hailey gasped and craned her neck to see him. She hadn't even known Bruce was there. She hadn't seen him in days. He looked haggard. Unshaven. Bruised.

"How could you?!" Dick said and placed his hands on Hailey's shoulders to steady himself and temper his anger. "I had to learn about...Jason," his voice dropped and sounded choked, "from the news. The news, Bruce!"

"You were busy… I didn't think," Bruce sighed heavily. "It was best to wait."

"No! It wasn't best to wait! I could've dropped everything and come back! How dare you make that call for me!"

"Dick—"

"If I would've been there—!"

"Master Dick," Alfred said loudly but firmly interrupting both men who were trying to talk over each other. "Please, release the child."

"The chi—?" He looked down at what he was holding. "Oh, Hailey. My god. I'm so sorry," Dick said and hugged her again but his vice grip had loosened.

Hailey hugged him back. He hadn't known. Bruce didn't tell him. "I'm sorry. I thought you knew. That you just didn't care."

"Don't apologize," Dick told her. He caressed her hair and looked at her. "You don't have anything to apologize for." He gently nudged her in Alfred's direction and then glared at Bruce.

"Let's go into my office," Bruce said looking at Hailey then Alfred. He sighed and walked away.

Dick followed after him. He was fuming and his fists were tight at his sides. He wanted to deck Bruce for being a cold-hearted bastard.

A few minutes later, Dick was searching for Hailey. He found her in the kitchen with Alfred. She was nursing a cup of tea and was staring at nothing.

"Hailey," Dick called to her and she turned to look at him expectedly. "I'm going to pay my respects to Jason, do you want to join me?"

Hailey nodded and jumped up. She looked at Alfred but he simply shooed her away. Dick hadn't said anything to him. It didn't seem like Alfred wanted to speak with Dick either. Hailey hurried to Dick's side and he took her by the hand to lead her out the door. As they made their way, Hailey noticed that Dick's knuckles were raw.

"What happened to your hand?" Hailey said squeezing Dick's hand.

He didn't even flinch. Instead, he lifted their joined hands to inspect it as if he was noticing the damage for the first time. "I punched Bruce in the face."

Hailey looked at him worriedly. Did that mean Dick was going to stay away from the manor if he was mad at Bruce? She didn't want him to leave and not come back. She didn't want to lose another brother.

"Are you going to forgive him?" Hailey asked looking up ahead.

"Eventually," Dick said and sighed heavily.

"What about Alfred?" Hailey said and this time she did look at Dick. "Will you forgive him too?"

"Yes," Dick said looking down at her and smirked. Though the visage was halfhearted. "But not until tomorrow."

Hailey let out a sound that was part chuckle part sob. "Good." Hailey looked ahead again. "Because Alfred… he's not doing so well. He's mad at Bruce too."

"How are you doing?" Dick asked her and she merely shrugged. "Do you need to talk about it?"

"About the hurt?" Hailey said insipidly. "Not really. I know the drill."

"Yeah," Dick said and wiped his eyes. Unfortunately, he knew about loss all too well. He didn't want to talk about it either but he appreciated the company.


It had been a couple of months since Jason's death and Bruce was looking worse for wear. Hailey hardly saw him at all anymore. Alfred and Bruce would argue anytime they were in the same room together. Hailey had had enough. She knew better than to get on Bruce's bad side. He'd had an extremely short temper as of late. So she decided that instead of talking to Bruce, she'd invite him out for a run. She figured there'd be no harm in that. But Bruce usually slept in all morning on the weekends. She waited until after lunch to grab a book and sneak into Bruce's bedroom.

He was tangled in the sheets. From all Hailey noticed, he was shirtless and covered in bruises and bandages. The part of his leg that stuck out of the sheets was covered in some sort of grey legging pants. She snorted at that and sat in the armchair in the corner of the room. She snuggled in with her feet curled and began to read.

It wasn't long before Bruce began to stir. He rubbed his face and groaned as he began to sit up. It was then that he noticed Hailey sitting in the armchair engrossed in a book.

"Hailey," Bruce said roughly. She looked up at him. "Why are you in my room?"

"I was waiting for you to wake up."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to know if you'd go on a run with me."

"Not today."

"Yes, today," Hailey said stubbornly.

Bruce glared at her.

"As grateful as I am that you took me in and that you're not a horrible human being that likes to abuse minors, I have to insist that you spend some quality time with me because neglect is still abuse."

"Hailey—"

"All I'm asking for is a run. That's it. I'll be waiting for you downstairs in ten minutes. If you don't show up, I'll use the communicator Robin gave me to contact the Teen Titans and report you for neglect."

"Who gave you what?" Bruce said in a growl.

Hailey showed it to him ignoring the aggression he was exuding. Her finger sat next to a button. She had no idea what the button did and Jason hadn't exactly given her the communicator. She found it in on the bookshelf of his room. It had a bold letter T on the face and it didn't take a supergenius to know what the fuck it was. Especially when there was a handy instruction note—that she didn't read—with it that was signed: -N. She figured that meant Nightwing since the Teen Titans were on the news on occasion and there was only one hero whose alias began with the letter N.

"I'm sad too, you know. But that doesn't mean we drop everything just because we miss him. So get dressed. You have ten minutes. I'm not bluffing."

Bruce had looked away. Hailey didn't wait for a response. She got up and walked to the door. She hovered in the doorway for a moment.

"Nine minutes, forty seconds and counting," she said and then kept moving into the hall away from the bedroom.

Bruce let out a drawn-out sigh and got up.

"Hnh."

Bruce made it to the entryway right on time. He was wearing shorts and a muscle shirt. Hailey wanted to smile at how dorky he looked but she couldn't do anything other than look surprised.

"I was actually bluffing. I don't even think that thing does anything," she said pointing to the communicator that was on top of a side table near the door.

"Well, shall we go," Bruce said as he gestured to the door. Hailey nodded. "Hailey, keep that close to you. It does work."

"How do you know?" she said as she walked out the front door.

"The R&D department at Wayne Enterprises created the device."

"Huh."

"Hnh."

They silently stretched out in the front yard before they headed out on a familiar path. They ran, Bruce keeping a few steps behind, and the only sound accompanying them was the sound of their feet and their breathing. After they'd been running for about three miles, Bruce frowned. Hailey hadn't slowed down or shown signs of being tired.

"How far are we going?" Bruce asked.

"Just a couple more miles," Hailey said and looked back. Her face was glistening in sweat but her breathing wasn't labored. "We can run faster on the way back if you want. It's the same path Jason always made me take."

Hailey was looking straight ahead so she didn't see the hurt look that crossed Bruce's face at the sound of the boy's name.

"Afterwards, we'd pig out," Hailey said and chuckled. "It's not the same without him, is it?"

Bruce didn't respond.

"Sorry."

"For what?"

"Talking too much."

Before Bruce could tell her anything she picked up her pace. It was when a drop of water hit Bruce on the arm that he realized that Hailey's face hadn't been glistening with sweat. She'd been crying. Probably harder now that she'd mentioned Jason. Bruce had no idea that his death had hit her so hard. It was true that the two of them got along with each other but Hailey didn't seem like she took to Jason. He was the one who did most of the talking. It was like that with him too, Bruce realized.

Without Jason around, the manor was too quiet. Being home was almost unbearable to him. Hailey had been suffering more than he'd realized. Alfred had tried to point it out to him but he had other things on his mind at the time. Now he knew that he had to make time for her. Though he wasn't sure if he would be able to do that. Or if it would help her in any way.

The run had been a good idea. Bruce was glad that she'd asked him to join her. He picked up his pace and ran next to Hailey. She'd wiped her face and looked over at him. When he didn't turn to look at her, she smiled and ran a little faster. She wanted to be in the lead. Bruce noticed and decided that if she wanted to race, he'd give her a race. Before he realized it, Hailey was laughing and he'd even smiled. By the time they made it back to the manor, they'd both become solemn at the memory of Jason. Hailey was breathing heavily and Bruce, though breathing faster, was still not showing signs of being tired.

Hailey began to stretch and Bruce followed suit. They didn't say anything to one another. Once they'd cooled down enough, they made their way to the kitchen. Alfred had food waiting for them. It was Bruce's first meal and an early dinner for Hailey. He greeted them and made idle chit chat with Hailey who barely managed a response between gulping down water and scarfing down her food. Bruce ate quietly while reading the paper. Then suddenly, Hailey got up.

"Alfred, thank you," Hailey said gratefully.

"Are you heading out, Miss Hailey?"

"Yeah, Mrs. Suarez has a dog now. I'm going to walk it for her."

"I see. I'll bring the car around," Alfred told her.

"No, it's okay. I'll walk."

"Miss Hailey, it's a long walk from here to Gotham. Not to mention that it's hardly safe to make it there on foot," Alfred said tiredly and it sounded to Bruce as if it had been repeated on more than one occasion.

"No, it's not. I'll take you," Bruce said looking at her with a stern glare.

"But—"

"I'm taking you, that's final."

"Alright," Hailey said with a shrug. "I'm just going to shower. I'll be ready in half an hour."

"Hnh."

Once Hailey was out of earshot, Alfred turned to look at Bruce. The girl was on summer break. Alfred was worried about her because she chose to go into the city on her own on the weekends. Alfred would drive her there and back whenever she didn't manage to sneak past him on her way out. She spent the majority of her time at a community center and if she wasn't there, Alfred often found her at Mrs. Suarez's home. Hailey explained that the woman used to babysit her and had been her neighbor before the older woman moved into an apartment complex for individuals who were fifty-five plus.

"I'm happy to see you're finally taking an interest in the girl," Alfred said as he gathered the dishes. "I was beginning to think I should call a social worker to place her in a different home. Honestly, sir, she's hardly seen you at all since Master Jason's passing."

"That's enough, Alfred."

"Yes, Master Bruce, it has been enough. Now, if you'll excuse me," Alfred told him with a sniff. He rubbed his eyes as he made his way back to the kitchen.

Bruce groaned and put down the paper. He needed a shower. He was going to drive Hailey to Gotham. He needed to know who Hailey was spending her time with and why.