Hailey noticed at night that the quiet of the manor was different from before. When she was the only one around for breakfast the next morning, she figured something had happened. She kept waiting for word from Alfred or Bruce but the days passed without any news.

Tim had moved out. He was living in the city with his father who'd finally come out of the coma. But Jack needed to be near the rehabilitation center for his appointments. Or that was the excuse. The truth was that his business was in trouble and since he spent so long in a coma he needed money. So he sold his mansion and downgraded to an apartment. A very nice apartment but an apartment nonetheless. Tim had even changed schools. Hailey hadn't seen him or thought to call him to ask about Bruce. She didn't think he'd seen him around.

When Hailey called the office at the end of the week to inquire about Bruce's whereabouts, Lucious Fox told her that Bruce was in a hospital overseas due to a bad accident but that he'd recover soon. He asked if she was alone so Hailey lied and said she was with the sitter but that said sitter didn't know anything. Lucious only sighed and told her he'd contact her if he heard from Bruce. He mentioned something about Alfred having quit and looking into someone who could replace him. When Hailey heard that Alfred had quit, she stopped listening. She didn't remember hanging up on Lucious or dialing Tim's phone number. What snapped her back to reality was Alfred's voice on the other end.

"Master Timothy's phone. May I ask who is on the line?"

"Alfred?" Hailey croaked.

"Oh, Miss Hailey. It's good to hear your voice, dear child," Alfred said. Hailey didn't respond. "Master Timothy is indisposed at the moment. Is there a message I can pass along?"

"Indisposed?" Hailey said in disbelief. "You quit working for Bruce so that you could work for Tim?"

"No, dear," Alfred said and he sounded tired suddenly but he recovered quickly. "However, the details behind retiring my long term service for the Wayne family is not proper chit chat. In answer to your question about how I came to find myself in Master Timothy's care, I believe there is no problem in sharing with you that I was recruited into the Drake household when Master Jack was made aware that my employ from the Wayne household had come to an end."

"How convenient for you," Hailey said with a scoff and hung up the phone.

He'd abandoned her. Not even said goodbye. All the while Bruce was in the hospital. Overseas. He left her. Alone. In the great big mansion. He'd already cast her aside when Tim moved in but this...

Hailey didn't believe for one second that Alfred joined the Drake household simply by chance. It was a premeditated move. She was certain of it. For all that talk from Bruce that Alfred was family and he just swapped one household for another without a second glance. Hailey was just the adopted daughter after all. She wasn't a proper Wayne. Not in Alfred's eyes. Apparently.

Before she realized what she was doing, Hailey had gone upstairs and began to pack. She was only going to take a few necessities. But it was when she'd made it downstairs and held the doorknob in a vice grip that she stopped, dropped her backpack, and just crumbled to the ground with a pained sob.

She couldn't leave. If she did, Bruce would have nothing to come home to. She had to wait for Bruce. For her dad. Hailey wiped her face furiously and trudged back upstairs. She lay in bed and cried herself to sleep.

When she woke up the next morning, it was to a slimy wet brush across her entire face.

"Jason!" Hailey shouted automatically until a dog barked and brought her back into the present. Because Jason was dead and it couldn't have been him that woke her like that. The dog whined and hopped up on top of the bed snuffling into her hands. Hailey let out a sound that was part sob and part laugh. "Krypto, what are you doing here?"

The dog just barked again and tugged on her sleeve to get her out of bed. Krypto pushed her towards the bathroom and Hailey began to chuckle.

"Alright, alright," she said, shoving the dog's head away. "I'm going. I'm going."

She realized that Krypto must have heard her crying and come to comfort her. She chuckled again as she got in the shower. She wondered where Clark was because she was almost certain Krypto had come to her on his own. She thought about calling him but she didn't want to bother him and she didn't want to leave the mansion. She was going to wait for Bruce. Someone had to be there when he returned.

In better spirits, Hailey went downstairs and prepared her own breakfast. She was chatting with Krypto the entire time. She swore the dog could understand her and from the way he tilted his head or the look in his eyes, she could imagine his response and react accordingly. She went to school and returned on the bus. No one asked why Alfred wasn't driving her any longer. It's as if everyone already knew that Alfred worked for the Drake's now. And she had ridden the bus before. It simply became a daily occurrence; as were the weeks that followed.

Sasha Bordeaux arrived at the manor one week prior to Bruce's arrival. She'd been hired by Lucious Fox as his bodyguard. She prepared for his arrival by becoming acclimated to Hailey's schedule and the manor grounds. She didn't say one word about Hailey's lack of supervision. She simply raised an eyebrow at Krypto but didn't say a word about him. She kept an eye on Hailey as she prepared her own breakfast the first day, but the morning that followed breakfast was waiting for her when she came down downstairs.

"Thank you," Hailey said to Sasha after a quiet good morning wish that came with a curt nod in response.

Sasha looked over Hailey's shoulder as she did her homework and hummed in surprise. The next day, Hailey found new books on her desk that were surprisingly helpful. Hailey thanked Sasha for them and she received a pat on the shoulder in response. The more space Hailey gave Sasha, the closer to her the woman came. By the third night, she wished Hailey a good night. On the fourth day, she drove her to school and told her she'd be back when the bell rang. She did the same on Friday. On Saturday when Hailey was walking out the door, Sasha followed her.

"There's no school today, where are you going?" Sasha questioned with a furrowed brow.

"The community center," Hailey said and pointed towards the city. "I take classes there and help tutor the other kids in the afternoon."

"What type of classes?"

"Self-defense, and gymnastics."

"I'll drive you."

"You don't have to. I can take the bus," Hailey told her. But Sasha simply waved a hand and told her to wait for her to bring the car around.

Hailey had no idea why Sasha had followed her into the community center but the other kids had asked her of Sasha was her mom. Hailey simply shook her head and said that she worked for her dad. The other kids weren't aware that she was Bruce Wayne's adopted daughter. No one really expected a Wayne to be at a community center. Some of the older kids looked at her curiously when she first started going there, but they figured she only looked like the girl they saw in the paper one time. Bruce had done a good job of keeping her face out of the camera's view. Sasha kept her distance and told her she did well on the way back to the manor. Hailey smiled shyly and thanked her.

It wasn't until Tuesday of the following week while Hailey was in school that Bruce returned. He was in a wheelchair when Hailey saw him but she still threw her arms around him before she burst into tears.

"Alfred quit," Hailey told him as he wiped her eyes after he'd lifted her onto his lap.

"I know," Bruce said and he sounded very sad. "Lucious said you had a sitter. Did he hire someone for you before he left?"

"No," Hailey said and shook her head.

"Then who did?"

Hailey tightened her lips and looked away.

"Are you talking about the dog? Was it supposed to be the sitter?" Sasha said curiously. "Because other than the dog, she was alone when I arrived."

"What?!" Bruce barked at Sasha who flinched back at the anger in his tone. Bruce turned his gaze to Hailey when he felt her jerk in surprise. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Hailey, were you here all alone?"

"I...only for a couple of days and then Krypto came to keep me company. He left a couple of days after Sasha started to work here," Hailey said quietly not looking at Bruce.

Bruce sighed heavily and rubbed the bridge of his nose before he drew Hailey into a hug. "I'm sorry. I had no idea." Hailey didn't say anything. The only noise she made was a little sniffle. "Did Clark send him? Have you talked to him?"

Hailey shook her head and then shrugged. She'd tried to get into contact with Clark but he never answered his phone. When she called his work the paper said he was on an extended leave of absence. But Hailey didn't want to voice any of that. She was worried about Clark too.

"Has Dick stopped by?"

Hailey shook her head and Bruce tightened his hold on her. He rubbed her back and kissed her on her head. "I'm here now…"

"I know," Hailey said and looked up at him with a watery smile. "I was waiting for you. Lucious told me you were in a hospital but I knew you would get better and come right back."

Bruce didn't say anything, he simply hugged her again and then wheeled them over to the lounge. He asked her what she wanted to watch, but Hailey told him to choose. She dozed off during the movie, emotionally spent from her reunion with her dad.

"—surprisingly self-sufficient. How old did you say she was?"

"Thirteen and still too young to have been left on her own. I need to make a few calls to make certain something like this never happens again. Do you mind taking her up to bed?"

"Not at all, Mr. Wayne," Sasha said in a hushed tone.

Hailey felt her arms behind her back and under her legs before she was lifted up off her father's lap. Her eyelids were still heavy and she wasn't completely awake but she could hear Sasha shushing her and saying sweet words to her before she was overcome by sleep once more.

Hailey stirred in her sleep when she heard Bruce's voice. It was loud and booming. But she couldn't make out the words. She only heard him say Alfred in a very cold voice. And then she started to dream that Alfred had baked some cookies for Bruce but Bruce wouldn't eat them. He made more and more until Bruce told him that if he made more cookies he would never speak to him again. When Hailey woke the next morning, she was craving cookies. And under Sasha's curious eyes, she slipped into the pantry and grabbed a package of cookies. When Bruce saw her eating more cookies than what Sasha had made her for breakfast, he simply raised an eyebrow. Then he stole a couple for himself. Hailey giggled and even Sasha smiled when Bruce dunked a cookie into his coffee.

"That's kind of gross, dad," Hailey said.

"Well, it's not so great. But I've already committed to the dunk."

Sasha started to laugh under her hand quietly and Hailey shook her head.

"I'll get you some milk if you toss it," Hailey said.

Bruce shrugged. He finished the cookie then followed that with his coffee. "Waste not."

Hailey nodded sagely and stuffed another cookie into her mouth.

Bruce winked at her then went back to reading the paper. He was tired, spent most of the night arguing with Alfred, and then Dick about having left Hailey on her own while he was convalescent in a hospital. He was going to have to meet up with Lucious and set up a protocol to ensure it wouldn't happen again. And he hadn't been able to get ahold of Clark. He was beginning to worry about him and Diana. They were on a mission with J'onn and Hal off-planet but they hadn't reported back. His injury had come at the worst possible moment. Not only that but he had a Batman that he would need to replace and soon. The reports in the paper about him were alarming. He was going to have to push himself further to get better so that he could get rid of his replacement. Bruce had come to the realization that he wasn't going to be able to retire as Batman any time soon.