Nia shook her head as she studied the files in front of her. These x-rays just simply weren't making any sense, at least when coupled with the animal's symptoms. According to the owner, the bird wasn't eating and hadn't been using one of its wings.

"Not dragging it either," Nia muttered, repeating what the owner had told her. "Just not using it." She rolled her eyes and turned when Kailey spoke up behind her.

"So, you're not sleeping still," The brunette said as she walked into the back office to lean against the vet's desk.

Shaking her head, Nia gestured at the files before her. "Well, how can I when Jackie the macaw has been in three times this week and I still have no clue what's wrong with her."

Kailey patted her shoulder sympathetically. "It's okay," she said. "You'll figure it out. Besides," she shifted her stance and leaned closer to Nia. "I doubt that's why you aren't sleeping."

Nia rolled her eyes again. "I've just had trouble sleeping last night. I got too hot, then couldn't sleep 'cause I was all sweaty."

"Ooh," Kailey leaned back. "I hate it when that happens!"

"Tell me about it," she replied as she turned back to her work. Thank God she accepted that reason easy enough, Nia thought. Nightmares were just too personal most days.

Finally Kailey sighed and handed Nia another file. "Well when you're done with Annie, and Jackie the macaw, you have three new patients in room six, Dobermans in need of vaccinations."

"Oh, gre-" She paused.

"Dr. White, everything okay?"

Shaking her head, Nia stood quickly. "No, Kailey," She replied. "I need you to prep the OR," she added as she began to rush down the hallway.

"OR? Why would-"

"Just do it!"

Nia made it to the lobby just as to men in suits came through the door, struggling to hang on to the doe in their arms.

Adding her hands to the mix, she guided them to the back room.

"Lift her up," She near shouted, as the technicians hurried around her to begin anesthesia. Just by looking at her, Nia could see a fractured knee and severe abrasions. Her ribs were covered by a layer of blood, and her breathing was labored. Worst of all, the doe was clearly pregnant.

Feeling eyes on her, she looked up and saw the two men watching her and the doe. A flash of recognition went through her.

"Well, Mr. Wayne, it seems to be you've ruined another suit."

Bruce Wayne had long since stripped off his jacket, and was seated next to his butler, both waiting on word of the deer. The lobby at first appeared wide and open, but he realized it couldn't be any more than a 14x10 room. The side tables had "Pet Weekly", and "Cat Lover Monthly" magazines strewn across it, and the walls that weren't wide windows had pictures of various wildlife. Eagles with broken wings, raccoons with casts, and what could only be a baby squirrel. The chairs had cushions and were quite comfortable, a surprising splurge on comfort. The blood on his shirt was still damp, though the edges had dried somewhat, and sitting made it stick to his chest.

He turned to Alfred. "I thought you'd been hunting before?"

"Master Wayne, that was an out of season doe for which I had no reason to kill." He sighed. "Poor girl was just trying to cross the road."

"Always a very dangerous task," A quiet voice intruded from one of the multiple open doorways.

"Dr. White." Alfred and Wayne stood as she walked into the room.

Wayne took in the bloody bundle of rags, bloody clothes, and resigned expression on her face, "I take it things didn't go so well."

Smiling sadly she shook her head and approached them, "Mom died on the table. Deer don't take to well to waking up in foreign places. She had a heart attack."

"Mom?" Alfred asked, "You mean-"

"That this little guy has a survival ability stronger than mom?" Nia asked pulling back the top layer of cloth on the bundle in her arms revealing a tiny fawn, "I sure hope so."

"My God," Alfred whispered, and Nia nodded.

"Yeah, he's beautiful."

"For a prematurely born animal, sure he's a bit," Wayne shrugged, "fuzzy."

Her eyes flickered up to him, and her annoyance wasn't very strong, but still apparent.

Trying to appease her he leaned toward the sleeping newborn, and said, "Well he is certainly worth more than a suit, in any case." And amusement replaced the annoyance, combined with a softness around her eyes that he hadn't expected.

"What will you do with him now?"

Nia looked up at the older gentleman. He was honestly curious. "I'll call a few people, see who can take him, take care of him. He'll probably end up being a because he's premature so he's bound to have a few heath problems," She shifted the bundle, "Honestly the biggest problem will be finding someone. All the rehabilitators I know are in another state."

Wayne straightened. "I'll make some calls."

"You know the local people who take in wildlife?" She asked, incredulous. She could only imagine how he'd-

"No, but my company is the largest in the city. We probably have someone on payroll." He shrugged again.

Okay. So maybe there wasn't a cool story and warm heart beneath the tailored shirts.

Sighing, she covered the tiny animal up, "Well, if you could send someone my way that would be great. Meanwhile, I need to put him on heat." She turned away from the two men just as Kaylee came out to join them.

"Kaylee, I'm going to take care of this little guy, I need you to check out these gentlemen." Nia took a step then paused. Slyly, she looked at the brunette and added, "No dirt."

"Okay, so why didn't you want me to charge them?" Kaylee asked as she entered the kitchen where Nia was feeding the fawn. "Do you not realize who Bruce Wayne is? I swear the man must have more money than God."

"Don't say that," Her tone was light, but her words weren't, "God owns the world. Last I heard Bruce Wayne owned Gotham." And she winked at the younger woman, "Clearly not the world."

Kaylee sniggered, and then leaned against one of the many counters, "So what happened in there?"

"Excuse me?"

Sighing, the brunette turned to the sink and began filling a glass with water. She took a sip, then continued, "You knew that deer was coming in, just like you knew about the hawk last week," she said as she turned around, "and the dog before that."

"And you want to know how?" Amazingly she never altered in feeding the miniature animal in her arms. "That can only be answered by how strong your faith is."

Kaylee scoffed. "What so God gave you a gift?"

Nia shrugged, stood up and set the feeding bottle in the sink. "Wash this," she told Kaylee and left the little kitchen.

Startled Kaylee moved toward the sink, then paused. "Hey wait a second!" she called. "You didn't answer my question. Aw, come on!"

"No dirt. What do you think that meant, Alfred?" Wayne asked as they left the clinic, bloody jackets in hand.

"I gather it had something to do with the fact we weren't charged." Alfred frowned. "Odd really."

Wayne snorted. Odd it definitely was, considering he was the richest man in Gotham. More than once he'd been overcharged for something. Yet she'd instructed, 'No dirt,' whatever that meant.

"Well Alfred, I'm going to have to cancel my three o'clock so that I can change into something not out of a horror film." Wayne shrugged, then asked, "Who is it with, again?"

"Mr. Fox, sir, and he said he had something important to talk about," Alfred said. "Something to do with a mutual friend, perhaps?" The older man turned to the younger, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Besides, the ladies do seem to have this vampire fad currently. I'm sure they'd find you dashing if we added glitter." He almost missed the horrified look as Mr. Wayne got into the car. Almost.

The woman on the phone rolled her eyes. "No I don't know any rehabbers in town, I'm a human doctor remember?" She listened carefully before giggling. "Oh I wish, honey. I really would love to take him off your hands, but I'm pulling twenty hours a shift at the ER." She rolled her eyes, emerald in the lighting. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, stay out of my business, Mom."

Wena Verde was in a relatively small apartment, furnished only with bare necessities and was currently trying to solve the complex puzzle of opening her microwave dinner. Even after following the directions she still couldn't get the, now mangled, box open. Taking out a knife, she decided to stab it to death. As she lifted the knife she paused, "No I'm not. You're just imagining things." She set the knife down. "No I do not have a knife in my hand." She held up a finger as if the person on the phone could see her. "For the record, it's my dinner." Lifting up the no longer rectangular shaped item she whined, "It not cooperating."

Nia laughed and shifted the phone to rest more comfortably beneath her chin. "You're starting to sound like Zi," she said, knowing exactly what reaction she'd get.

When she heard a shocked gasp, Nia wasn't disappointed. "I am not!"

"You are," Nia argued, before changing the subject. "So why'd you decide to move to Gotham?"

Wena sighed. "To be honest, I don't know."

"How can you not know?"

"I had a dream of moving one night," the brunette answered. "The next morning a real estate agent called when I was a work, saying she got my message about looking into properties in Gotham."

"So you decided to call her back?"

"No," Wena scoffed. "Woman kept calling me for three weeks straight. I finally gave in when a residency position opened up here, and they were in desperate need of help after the Gotham General incident."

Shaking her head, Nia sat up in her office chair. "I still can't believe you were here the whole time and I didn't know."

Smirking, Wena responded, "Hey, God moves in mysterious ways." Quietly she picked the knife back up.

With an equal smirk, though she didn't know it, Nia decided to asked, "Did you know Lucius is in town?"

Wena's arm jerked in shock and effectively sliced a hole through the cardboard of the box on her counter. Unfortunately, the edge of the knife also hit the kitchen wall and sliced through the wall paper. Ignoring it, Wena looked up it surprise, "No I didn't know that. Talk about mysterious. I wonder who else is in town?"

"You and me both, girl," Nia said emphatically, "Especially since you weren't the only one to have a dream. Although mine was a nightmare, really."

Firmly setting the knife down, Wena turned her back to the counter to lean against it. "What now?" was all she asked.

"Not sure."

Wena nodded, "Any ideas?"

Nia shrugged, "Something bad?" Picking up a pen on her desk, she hesitated with the next part, "I contacted Lucius about it."

Shaking her head to clear it, Wena asked, "Why? Was he in it?"

"Sorta, along with a friend of his."

"Oh?"

"He's the cool, dangerous kind of friend to have."

"Oh, crap." Wena put a hand to her head. "I really don't want to, but I have to ask. Is this friend rumored to 'live in the night'?"

"Among other things. Figured he might do with a heads up, considering the low crime rate last month and the sudden spike these last two weeks. Plus I heard there was a new DA. Didn't catch a name though."

"Oh crap," Wena said again. "I hate this," she added.

"Yeah, I know. Keep your eyes open."