A.N. I know it's a little late, but I've been busy, as always. It's almost filler before some more epic chapters, but you need this before that.
Disclaimer: I don't own Batman, the comic book or the movies, DC comics and Christopher Nolan do. But I own the hell out of Loki and Jillian.
It had been a few weeks and it was Friday again. The little girl seemed happy enough, though she still hadn't spoken a single word. The schedule she had developed was to wake up with Alfred early in the morning, eat breakfast, and then go play, though she often brought her toys out to play near Alfred. Then perhaps a mid-morning nap. She would be under Bruce's watch before he went to work to give Alfred a break. There would be more playing after lunch and perhaps a nap then if she hadn't already had one. Then wash-up before bed, sleep, and start all over again.
Both Bruce and Alfred had only caught her wandering a few times in the night, and she would simply fall asleep in their arms when they brought her back to her room. As the days passed, the wandering slowed.
It was just after five when Gordon's mind started to wander back to the little girl the Batman had entrusted to him. He had yet to get the chance to talk to the vigilante about it, or to get it out before the vigilante disappeared again. He didn't know what he was going to get as a response though, that Batman would call him out on bad judgment, or give him praise. If only he could tell him that one young life was better off now.
Gordon noted that none of the newspapers and tabloids had anything about the newest addition to the Wayne household; it was like he never made the phone call at all. Stephens interrupted him while he was flipping through the newspaper, "Still no word on the girl? You can't expect a big spectacle."
Gordon sighed, "It's been weeks and still nothing. Even the billionaire has evaded the media!"
Stephens replied, "Well, you said there was no talk of adoption then. Maybe he's just waiting for the situation to calm some? If it worries you that much, then call."
That rung in his head for a while. Stephens hadn't been a fan of the billionaire taking care of the child, but he had backed Gordon's decision anyways. Eventually he made the decision to call, and the Butler picked up on the second ring, "Hello, this is Wayne Manor, Alfred Pennyworth speaking."
"This is Commissioner Gordon."
"Ah, Commissioner, how are you?" the friendly British tone asked.
"Fine," Gordon paused "How—how is it going—"
Alfred cut him off, "Ah, you're inquiring about Jillian, she's been lovely, though I'd say a bit lonely. Master Wayne will be getting her set up at the preschool down the road from his office so she can interact with others her age."
The shadow of a smile appeared on Gordon's face, exposure to others of her age would be good for her. Alfred continued on, "Master Wayne is here, let me get him on the phone" and barely audible and not meant for him, "if I can find him."
Gordon could still hear noise as Alfred went through the manor searching. He could hear him talk to the cat and ask where they had disappeared too. Alfred grumbled a bit about knowing that they hadn't left.
Alfred was starting to get a little worried when he could not find either Bruce or little Jillian, when he happened to be passing a window and something caught his eye, a figure was slowing moving while a smaller one ran around in the autumn air. Gordon could hear the more relaxed tone in the butler's voice as he said, "They're out in the garden, would you still like me to get them, sir?"
"No, I don't think that will be necessary," Gordon replied, it sounded as if the billionaire was spending at least some time with the child. He felt slightly better now, knowing that things were going well and the child was settling down. Before he got off the phone, the Butler had said something about getting some papers.
Outside, little Jillian was bursting with energy. Bruce had remembered playing outside all the time as a kid and that it was healthy. He attributed part of his well grounding to being out in the fresh air and not stuck inside surrounded by fragile things. And so Bruce had decided that it was a nice day to bring her out in to the gardens and away from all the stuff for a while. Shortly after heading out, she began to run around, at one point she began chasing fallen leaves. Bruce sat down and just watching Jillian run around until her tried herself out and sat down in front of Bruce, staring at him contently.
They had lost track of time and Alfred met them at the door as the sun began its journey out of the sky. Alfred glanced at the two of them and questioned, "Grass stains now sir?"
"They're just jeans," Bruce replied. Alfred smiled to himself as he led them in, and was still smiling to himself as they had dinner.
Days passed and little Jillian was getting used to living at the Manor. It was Wednesday morning and Bruce was getting ready for work early, for today would be Jillian's first day at preschool, and her first time in the city since arriving at Wayne Manor. Both Bruce and Alfred had been trying to get her excited for it, telling her how much fun she'll be having, and all that she'll learn, but she was silent, though smiling, and though he understood everything they were saying.
Bruce dragged himself out of bed that morning earlier than he usually did to bring her. Jillian was already there when he got down, and she was contently eating her breakfast in a baby blue dress. Loki was lying in the doorway and Bruce almost tripped as he walked in. Soon after breakfast, Bruce got her in the car, planning to drive her himself, even though Alfred wanted to drive them both. The ride was silent, but pleasant as Jillian struggled in her seat trying to look out the window at the blurry scenery.
It wasn't very long before Bruce was walking Jillian up to the preschool and was greeted by a middle-aged woman with red hair named Carol. She was warm and welcoming, dragging over her niece to meet her. Bruce left Jillian in Carol's care, though not without reassuring Jillian that he would be back after work to pick her up.
Work itself was relatively uninteresting, a meeting where Bruce pretended not to pay attention, and Lucius unaware of Wayne Manor's newest resident, for Bruce had no idea how he would take it. It was after four when Bruce getting ready to leave when Lucius commented on how early he had come in, and Bruce dismissed it, saying, "Alfred said something about tending to responsibilities and making sure to feed them."
Lucius laughed, "Another cat?"
Bruce simply shook his head. Then Lucius gave Bruce a funny look and said, "Dog?"
Again Bruce simply shook his head to that and to the other guesses of fish, birds, hamsters, horses, and even a girlfriend. Then Lucius just stared at Bruce for a bit before asking, "Did you get another pet?"
Bruce calmly replied, "I don't think the Department of Human Services would be too happy if I considered her that," and at the terribly confused look of Mr. Fox, Bruce's tone grew more serious as he said, "I was asked to take care of a child, a silent little girl."
After Fox had questioned Wayne endlessly, saying that he wanted to see her sometime soon, Bruce left to get Jillian. Carol had reassured him that Jillian had a good time there, and that she would speak when she had something to say.
More days passed and the girl was growing more active by the day. They were happy about that, though Bruce wasn't happy about Alfred inviting the Commissioner to check in on the girl at any time or day. If the Commissioner were to actually use the invitation, he could stumble upon Bruce Wayne's greatest secret. The "playboy billionaire" persona was there to make it unbelievable that Gotham's Prince was Gotham's Dark Knight, and Bruce didn't feel comfortable having the Knight's ally so close to the truth. He'd often wondered how it would be if Gordon were to know who Batman really was, but over and over he had come to the conclusion that it was not a good idea, and a secret he should bring to his grave. But Alfred, who had convinced Bruce to create the facade in the first place, thought that having Jim Gordon as an ally of Bruce Wayne was a good idea, after all, he was already an ally of Batman's. But getting closer to Gordon increased the risks, especially after what happened with Harvey Dent.
It was one of those times where Alfred left Jillian alone in Bruce's care he went and ran errands. It was nice and quiet, and Jillian had just woken from a nap when Bruce smiled at the little girl and said, "Dinner's not going to be until later, so let's get you something to snack on."
When they got to the kitchen, Bruce began looking around, mumbling, "Now what do you want?"
He never expected an answer, and almost missed the quiet "milk" she spoke. He turned around surprised and asked, "What did you say?"
And Jillian shyly said, "I want a glass of milk."
Bruce was still quite surprised as poured her a glass of milk. He continued to talk with her while she nibbled on her snack, always responding quietly with her voice, rough from lack of use.
Alfred found them later, on the floor and brushing Loki. Bruce had been showing Jillian how to pet and brush the cat gently, and was giggling from Loki licking her hand. Alfred smiled, until Jillian said excitedly, "The kitty likes me!"
Bruce had to stifle a laugh as Alfred turned to Bruce, shocked, "When did she...?"
"Out of nowhere just a few hours ago. She's been a chatter box since."
"What did she say?"
Bruce shrugged, "She wanted a glass of milk."
A.N. I'm already working on the next chapter, should get very interesting…hehe…some of you will hate me. Thank you all for favoring my story and adding it to your alerts.