Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Cat’s In The Cradle
Selina’s jaw dropped.
She was good at hiding her emotions, rarely surprised, even more rarely shaken, but… she hadn’t been expecting this.
Two wide eyes stared at her, unblinking. One icy blue. The other a striking green, the same shade as her own.
The woman beside her coughed lightly into her hand.
“So, Ms. Kyle, as I was saying, almost two years ago, after you visited us and had your blood drawn, there was a bit of a mix-up. Your DNA was used instead of Jack Drake’s. This is Janet Drake’s, and your daughter.”
Selina’s jaw snapped shut. She blinked, once, twice, then looked back at the child in the man’s arms.
She was small and pale, not taking after Selina’s tan complexion. Pitch-black hair, chubby cheeks, and those captivating, mismatched eyes, bright with curiosity.
“The Drakes died two days ago, and you are now the only living relative of—” the woman glanced down at the paper in her hand, “—Trixie Minerva Drake.”
The man cleared his throat.
“If you cannot—or do not wish to—care for her, you may release her to the state. All you’ll need to do is sign the paperwork.”
No.
The thought hit fast and sharp enough to be painful.
She couldn’t put a child into the system. She knew exactly what that meant, and Selina refused to let another kid grow up like that. She’d fight Killer Croc herself before allowing it.
Her gaze dropped back to the child. Eyes too innocent to understand any of it.
Then she looked up, something firm settling into place.
“Where do I sign to keep my daughter?”
She had no idea what she was doing.
Now she had a child.
Her child. Trixie.
And… she had absolutely no idea what to do with her.
At least the lawyers had left her things.
Trixie—her daughter—sat on the living room rug, quietly playing with an old wooden puzzle Selina had stolen not long ago.
Selina sat on the couch, watching her… and maybe petting a cat a little too aggressively.
Her eyes flicked back to the documents.
Trixie would be two in three months.
What did one-year-olds even need?
Milk? Solid food? Cat food?
Do you feed small children cat food…?
And, gods, was she going to have to deal with diapers?
Lost in her silent panic, she didn’t notice the small figure crawling toward her until tiny hands tugged at her jeans.
Selina looked down.
Trixie held up the puzzle.
Selina took it carefully, almost as if it might crumble if she moved too fast, and studied it for a moment before pausing.
Solved.
Perfectly solved.
A soft laugh slipped out before she could stop it.
“You’re a smart one, aren’t you, kitten?”
Trixie looked up at her, those big, two-toned eyes practically glowing with life.
Selina let out a slow breath.
She could do this.
She would figure it out.
And she would give her daughter a life better than anything she’d had ever had.