Chapter Nine: Tough but Fair

Lindsey decided eventually that she needed extra preparation time before she could face Bruce. As if on autopilot, she found herself pulled alongside Kelsey's house. She wasn't surprised when Kelsey's father answered the door. He was a night shift doctor and was usually up at inhuman hours.

"Hey Mr. Halifax," she greeted. He smiled warmly, though his eyes revealed some confusion, "Lindsey, something wrong? I mean, you're always welcome here but I wouldn't expect you to visit so late on a school night."

"Nothing's…" she trailed off, finding herself unable to lie to the man, "I just…I don't know. Is Kelsey home?"

Mr. Halifax nodded, "In her room. She'll probably still be up not doing her history paper."

"Thanks," Lindsey replied, already making her way up the stairs. Kelsey's house wasn't huge or extravagant, but it was of a more upper middle class build with telltale signs of numerous family inhabitants. One could barely navigate up or down the stairs without stepping on clothes or toys or shoes.

Lindsey tiptoed across the upstairs hallway, careful not to wake any of Kelsey's younger siblings, and entered her friend's room. As her father had previously stated, Kelsey was lying on her bed with her laptop on the floor.

Kelsey barely turned her head in Lindsey's direction to acknowledge the latter's presence. "What are you doing here?" she asked coldly. Lindsey winced, "I needed somewhere to go."

"So you came here?"

Lindsey emitted a frustrated sigh and sat down on the side of the bed, "Look, if you're mad because I chose Corey for the spot…"

"It's not that," Kelsey cut her off with a drawl, sitting up so she could look Lindsey in the eyes, "Anyone would pick Corey. He's an amazing writer. There's just no way I'm safe around you now."

Lindsey could only let out a single sardonic laugh before she demanded, "You believe that? You of all people- I thought I could at least turn to you."

Kelsey squeezed her eyes shut, pressing the heels of her palms to her eyes as she forced out, "Lindsey, put yourself in my place for a second. You and eight other people survive an attack by the Joker, some of them are dead now, I get news from freaking Monica DuPriest that you're in the hospital, then I hear that you and the rest of your little survivor group are too dangerous to come back to school. How do you want me to react?"

Lindsey stood up from the bed and began pacing. "Ok," she started calmly, "You're right. You have no idea what's going on. I've got a huge target on my back and even if I were a cat I should be dead by now. People around me are getting hurt at least mentally. Yes, Kelsey, I understand where you're coming from." She ceased her pacing at the door. Before she left, she locked eyes with Kelsey.

"You must be so scared," Lindsey spat out before shutting the door behind her and jogging down the stairs. Once she got back to her car, she allowed herself a few minutes to calm down before starting her beloved Bug.

The familiar chiming muffled by her bottomless pit of a purse alerted her of a text message. Lindsey turned off the ignition, figuring one of her guardians be it Bruce or her mother was trying to contact her. She fished her phone out of her bag and opened the message.

When life gives you lemons take life by the testes and squeeze until it gives you the oranges you asked for. Be aggressive. Don't make me do the cheer for you after that lovely chat with your BFF. From a friend.

Lindsey shuddered and tossed her phone in the general vicinity of the passenger's seat, not caring at the moment if the device were to break through and shatter the window. She hit the ignition and sped off wanting nothing more than to get back home.

Upon her return to the penthouse, Lindsey felt a heavy object attach at her waist. She looked down to see Abby's big brown eyes blinking up at her with concern. "You look scared," she said, "What's wrong? Where were you?"

Lindsey attempted a crooked smile and gently pushed her younger sister away. "Where's Bruce?" she asked, "Or Alfred?"

Abby pointed down the hallway where the older of the men was strolling down. When he saw Lindsey, his pace quickened and he began examining her, "Miss Lindsey. Master Wayne set out for you…"

He was cut off as Lindsey threw her arms around his neck, pulling him down to meet her five-foot stature so she could sob into his shoulder. Alfred stood stunned, never knowing Lindsey to be an affectionate person, before sitting her down on one of the couches.

Lindsey rested her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands, slightly embarrassed as having begun to unload in front of Abby and Alfred, the latter of whom had left for the telephone to notify Bruce of her return.

Abby hopped up on the couch next to her sister, who was taking deep breaths and hard swallows to choke back any more tears.

"I know how to cheer you up," the younger girl exclaimed, "I learned a joke in school today."

Lindsey chuckled and sat up, "Alright."

"What did the old light bulb say to the new light bulb?" Abby started. Lindsey smiled and shrugged. "You're too young to go out!" Abby concluded excitedly.

"Give me a minute," Lindsey grumbled. Abby just giggled, "You'll get it later."

Both girls jumped at the sound of a slammed door. Soon enough, Bruce strode into the room and pulled Lindsey up into a tight embrace. Lindsey awkwardly pat his shoulder, realizing how Alfred must've felt earlier.

Bruce pushed her away and held her at arms' length, kneeling down so his eyes were level with hers, "Where the hell were you? The gas station a few miles down exploded and killed people! Do you have any idea how scared we were?"

"Yeah," she answered quietly, "I was there."

"What?"

Lindsey tried to form coherent words, but none would exit her mouth. She shrugged helplessly and tried not to burst into tears at the thought of John and the fire- or the text about the two.

Bruce stared at her for a few tense seconds before briefly turning his head toward Alfred, "Take Abby to her room." The older man nodded and Abby willingly went along with him, remembering the few knock down drag outs she witnessed in the past between her mother and her sister.

Bruce waited until the two were out of earshot before turning on Lindsey, "You should know by now how stupid it is to go out in the evening. Look at what happened!"

Lindsey's brows knit together and she stared at him incredulously, "Are you saying it's my fault?"

"Think about it," Bruce demanded, his voice gradually raising, "If you had just stayed put and stayed where I could keep an eyes on you like I said I would, you at least wouldn't have been involved in this. They're saying it was the Joker, Lindsey! Do you not understand what I'm trying to convey here? Damn it, if I were Joan I wouldn't have left you after that first round."

Lindsey emitted a scream of frustration before matching his tone, "God, I'm sick of it here! I'm sick of this penthouse, the dumbass reporters, the clown idiots, the Joker, of Gotham, of you!"

Bruce shouted to her back as she marched in the direction of her room, "Well what do you want me to do about that? Huh? What do you want?"

Lindsey twirled on her heel at her door to face him, "Why don't you just cart me off to Smallville or Asia for a few years until this all bowls over? You're pretty good at running away when things don't go your way, aren't you?"

"You don't know a thing about that," he said in a dark, almost frightening voice, "You don't have anything to compare."

"Were you running away from someone who was trying to kill you? Someone who promised to kill you only after he picked off your friends?"

By then, Bruce had stalked over to stand only a few feet in front of her as opposed to across the hallway. "Maybe you'd be better accommodated with Gordon," he said, "Since I'm apparently not up to your standards. What do want me to do? Get you a child leash? Keep you here under lock and key? I'm trying to help you, Lindsey, keep you safe but you're not even letting me in."

"Bruce, who are you kidding?" she demanded in response, "You don't want to help me. You just want to pay my mom back for all the shit she's done for you in the past by letting her kids stay here. As long as I don't die on your watch you couldn't care less."

To her shock Bruce slammed his fist into the wall above her head before abruptly storming off in the direction of his room. Lindsey stared doe eyed at the dented, slightly cracked spot on the wall. Just a little bit lower and the spot would not have been the wall. Had that been his original intention?

Lindsey took a deep, shaky breath before stepping into her room. She took slow steps toward her bed and collapsed into the mess of pillows and sheets, finally letting out the tears she'd been holding back for a long time.