A/N: Please, don't forget to review, it does mean a lot. Hope that this chapter clears up a few things.

Monday the 31st of October, 2:28pm

"Pardon me?" Kaldur said, his head jerking up to meet Mrs. Jeffries eyes.

"Cailan…she's our niece. We weren't named as the guardians in her parents will—"

"Wait, could you back up? Explain from the beginning, please," Artemis said, leaning forward.

"When Cailan was eight or so her parents were killed." Mr. Jeffries growled.

The young heroes shared a look between each other.

"May I ask…how?" Kaldur nearly whispered.

"My brother, Seth and his young wife, Siobhan Leal, died in a car crash when Cailan was eight. She…she was in the crash with them."

"I do suppose that's why she's so…troubled." Mrs. Jeffries continued on for her husband. "The child-psychiatrist said it was post-traumatic stress."

"What was post-traumatic stress?" Dick asked, his attention at its highest point.

"Why, Cailan's troubles. For the three or so years she was with us…she was—"

"She was nothing but a heap of goddamned trouble. She wouldn't behave in school, she wouldn't obey at home—you couldn't try and punish the child, ground her and the little imp would do it again or, something worse. I finally took to locking her in so she wouldn't get up to trouble at night. Know what the little brat did? I'll be damned if she didn't find out how to get out of just about every sort of lock I used to keep her in. So, I began locking her out. She wanted to sneak out at night, fine! But she'd stay out all night if that's how it was going to be. And guess what she did. Damn kid figured out how to get back in!" Mr. Jeffries began pacing as he held his daughter, his face growing red.

"She'd fight with the other foster kids we had through the house. You see, her parents didn't have a will. The government took their money, sold off their house…Cailan was going to be placed in the system. So…her name was placed in the system but…well, we fixed things so that she was living with us. At first we were going to adopt her right away but…but she was such a problem child." The woman said, beginning to wring her hands. "she started fighting with the other kids, getting into the pantries at all hours. We thought…thought maybe giving her charge of her cousin Natalia would help."

"It most certainly didn't! It didn't change anything, except that she acted out more than ever. It got so bad we had to start punishing her!"

"…If Cailan was eight or nine…her cousin would only have been, what, two or three? Studies and schooling for a toddler? Is it not a little much to expect a child to take charge of her?" Kaldur asked, his brow furrowed.

"The child needed to grow up." Mr. Jeffries said, thinking back to when he'd send the little girl to bed without dinner for her outbursts and un-ladylike mouth.

"It is a great responsibility placed upon a child, especially in light of her parent's deaths."

"We did the best we could." Mrs. Jeffries affirmed, her voice suddenly taking on a harsher role. "We took care of her, gave her a home and a chance outside of the system. She was such an ungrateful little mongrel that one night about six years ago she takes our money and our daughter and runs off. She took our baby, just like that!"

"Look I don't know why we're even talking to you. Do you know where she is or not?" Mr. Jeffries demanded, setting his child back in his wife's lap and taking an ominous step towards the three kids.

"No, I am afraid not. The Cailan we know, both her parents are alive. We are sorry to have bothered you this afternoon. We'll be going now." Kaldur said, nodding his head politely and making his way to the door before Artemis or Dick could argue, or open their mouths.

….

"What was that about?" Dick asked, closing in on Kaldur's elbow.

"Yeah, wanna clue us in?" Artemis asked, speaking from the side of her mouth as she put her hands in her jacket pocket.

"We do not know our Cailan is their Cailan," he said stiffly, giving a side glance to the house where he sensed they were being watched by Mr. and Mrs. Jeffries.

"…you're joking right? It's her picture in the papers Kaldur, not to mention the dead woman had her last name!" Artemis said, stopping short.

The leader sighed. "…"

"Dude, I haven't been able to find anything out about Cailan either. It'd make sense if she ran away and made up her school info." Dick said, pausing and glancing between Artemis who was still standing there and Kaldur who was beginning to walk away.

"What purpose would she have for kidnapping her cousin, only to return her six years later?" Kaldur said, not stopping to address them but more a musing to himself.

"She's a messed up kid! Seeing her parents screwed with her brain." Artemis supplied, scoffing and hurrying to catch up with the other two.

"No, think back Artemis. Did she behave like that during her time at Gothem Academy? Dick? Unless I am mistaken, until this year, she had never even gotten a scolding."

"That much is true; her school records are clean until, actually, about the time she started seeing Jake…" Dick said, his head tilting back to look at the sky in remembrance.

"That doesn't get her off the hook; it's the same girl Kaldur!" Artemis protested.

"…perhaps you are right. However, I do not believe we were getting the whole story from Mr. and Mrs. Jeffries."

"Well, the only way to get it would be to talk with Cailan herself." Artemis said, sending a look to Kaldur.

"Yes, it seems so."

…

3:13pm

"Okay, well?" Wally demanded, rushing outside the sea-side layer.

"We did not learn much." Kaldur admitted. "Wally do you know where Cailan liked to hang out? Or, perhaps where she was staying?"

"…other than where we'd meet to go over her science work…no."