Chapter Seven
Jamie didn't understand. Dr. Fate told him to mindful of his what he said. His sister had told him to let her do the talking. His mother just held him closely for a long while before whispering for him to be careful.
Why did he have to watch what he said? It wasn't like home where people would chase after him when he mentioned his parents. Why would it matter if people knew who Daddy was?
Jamie flopped down on a rock on the outside face of the mountain. Somehow he managed to get out to his favorite spot outside. There he could watch the sunset and think. The path wasn't there like it was back home, but he decided to start it. He reached into his ear and pulled out a small plastic device.
Why wasn't this problem as easy to fix as it was his hearing?
Jamie remembered the day he'd gotten his hearing. It started like a normal day, except for the fact that his older sister was in his face all morning. She hadn't left in the morning like she usually did, so she did what she always did best, annoy him. He could tell she wasn't trying to, she could see it in her eyes, but it didn't bother him any less.
They had gone to the doctor's about two weeks previous. There must have been some bad news, because Momma's face had drained of color. Immediately she had gotten on her cellular device and called someone. Her mouth moved, but there were no words. Daddy arrived less than ten minutes later, a concerned look on his face.
They went back to the hospital after that appointment. Jamie didn't want to be there. The doctors made him change out of his clothes into a dress. His sister snickered. Daddy had picked him up and placed him in a bed on wheels. And the doctors wheeled him away.
He was scared. He didn't know what was happening. Why were these people taking him away from his parents?
They inserted something into his arm. He fought against them. NO! Why didn't they understand? He became drowsy and his eyes closed.
When he had woken up there was a strange noise. He'd never heard it before. There was also a strange rumbling. His eyes opened and he saw Daddy in the corner sleeping.
"He'll need to take speech therapy. We're not sure how the whole process worked. This has only attempted once previous, and the result, it wasn't promising."
A voice. He was hearing a voice. It scared him. Too much noise, too much chaos. He screamed and clutched his hands over his ears.
Daddy was awake instantly and was over to his son's side. He gathered his son in his arms.
"Shh, shh, it's okay Jamie," he'd whispered.
Tears had run down his face. Momma wheeled in followed by his sister. Momma quickly parked next to the boy. She brushed hair out of his face. She looked at Daddy before taking him into her arms. Gently she took his hands from his ears. Tears ran down her cheeks. She gripped one hand and placed it to her throat.
"Jamie, its Momma."
He felt the vibrations in her throat.
She began to sing gently. He felt the familiar vibrations in her throat. He realized that she'd been singing this to him for as long as he could remember. By the time she finished, he was smiling.
That was when he was three. Now he was eight.
He stared at the plastic in his hand. People didn't know he wore it. People didn't understand what it meant to be in a mute world for three years. They thought he was dumb when they would find out. He wasn't dumb; he was just slower in some areas than others. But he could read people like a book.
Jamie stared out into the sunset. He wished that things would go back to normal. Whatever normal was now. He slipped the plastic back into his ear. He didn't understand how it worked, but when it was in his ear, he heard. When it wasn't, he couldn't.
He stood and began to walk back towards the cave inside. Maybe he could talk with his sister and maybe she would give a straight answer.
A mosquito nipped him in the back of his neck. He went to slap it, but he couldn't remember moving his arm. He couldn't remember.
Barbara ran out of the cave quickly through the zeta-tubes. She rushed out of the telephone booth and continued to run. Tears ran down her cheeks, but she didn't care. She ran right into one of the more shady parts of town. Immediately her presence brought about the attention of some unwanted types.
They began to follow her as she continued to flee.
When she finally stopped, she was surrounded.
"Just let me go. I don't want to have to deal with you bozos right now," she said wiping her tears.
"Deal with us? Little girl, I don't think you know who you are dealing with," one said.
Do YOU know who you're dealing with? Batgirl fuelled by hormones really isn't someone you want to be encountering at the moment. Because I really need to beat something up, Barbara thought angrily.
She didn't wait for them to make the first move. She kicked the nearest guy to her in the groin and he collapsed to the ground. She brought her fists to her face and glared at the men. Three not including the one clutching his groin in pain. She smiled evilly. Perfect.
Barbara leapt at the leader and punched him in the pudgy stomach. Followed by an uppercut to the jaw. Blood droplets flew from his mouth and he landed on the ground, staring unbelievingly at the red-head.
Barbara withdrew a Taser and pepper spray out of her purse. She pointed both at the offending persons.
"I would suggest letting me leave now. I've already demonstrated I'm not afraid of playing rough. So if you don't want to be hurt, don't move."
One of the thugs twitched.
"Blondie that means you," Barbara growled. "I currently have a Taser pointed at your family jewels. If you would like them to stay the way they are, don't move."
Blondie stopped moving instantly.
Men. Typical.
Barbara backed her way out of the alley maintaining eye contact with each one of the thugs. Only when she was certain that they wouldn't follow did she put the pepper spray away and turn around. The Taser remained firmly in her grip even as she walked down the hall to her father's apartment.
She knocked.
Her father opened the door and grinned widely. "Barb! You're early! I just put the noodles on."
"Hey Dad, sorry about the time. I wasn't watching the clock."
"Usually you're late. Did something happen Barb?" Gordon shut the door behind her.
"No." Quietly she attempted to slip the Taser into her purse.
Her father caught her arm before she'd completed her task. He looked at her with concern and pulled the Taser out of her hand with his free hand. He stared at it, seeing that the charge was primed.
"Did someone attack you?"
"No."
Commissioner Gordon seriously doubted that. She smelt of rotting fruit and sewage. That smell was dominant in the South side district. A rundown, crime-laden district. Barbara knew better than to go there. Something had happened.
"Barbara, tell me. What happened?"
There was a defeated look in her eyes and she flopped on the couch. She took her jacket off and laid it beside her. But her mouth never opened.
"Barbara, if there was something bothering you, would you tell me?" He asked sitting next to her.
She only looked into his eyes. There was a worry there, a hurt. A hurt he'd seen before. When he'd first seen it he was unsure what to do, how to handle it. But now he was older. He understood better. That was the look she only had when something concerned Dick. She had the look when he'd gotten his first girlfriend. When he had moved from Gotham to Blüdhaven. He knew more about her than she realized. He knew she loved Dick, even if she didn't.
"Oh, honey," he said and gathered her into his arms. He felt as fresh tears fell onto his clean shirt.
They sat there holding each other for a few minutes. Carefully, the commissioner pulled away and wiped her tears away.
"Well, I think those noodles are burnt. How about we just get take out?" He chuckled.
Barbara smiled. She always knew where she got her poor cooking skill from, but this just reinforced her belief it was genetic.
"Sure Dad. Takeout would be fine."
Barbara returned to her apartment ready to sleep for hours. The day was a long one and she needed sleep. But there would be no sleep, she knew that. Her mind would go over the facts over and over until some answer came to her brain. She flipped the light on.
And there sitting on her sofa was the source of her troubles.
She grit her teeth, getting ready for the onslaught that was about to begin.
Ellie was lying on the ground sweating with a high fever. Tim was panicking. He didn't know what to do. How do you help a girl from the future whose existence may not matter in a few moments? She flickered before his eyes once again.
"What can I do?" He asked kneeling next to her.
She bit her lip and gave the tiniest head shake. She was in pain. Having the very life you live drain out of you was torturous. It was more painful than she thought that it would be. Ellie thought that if her parents chose the wrong thing, her existence would blink out in a second, and she wouldn't even notice. After two hours of the pain, she realized something.
Someone was indecisive.
Ellie might possibly exist yet. That little bit of hope almost destroyed her. She wished that her parents would make up their minds so she could either live on, or vanish. She looked at Tim.
"Before I go," she winced in pain, "there are a few things I would like you to know-"
A/N: I wanted to give a little background into the kids. Plus it will be important latter on. ;)
As always review, and I was thinking of writing the story of how the time stream was supposed to be, but let me know what you guys think about it.