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The kid looked like her.
She had the same eyes, deep blue with flecks of brown near the pupal..
The same small gap between her front teeth.
The same lips that where fuller on the top than the botttom.
Her hair was a shade darker, but it has the same cowlick slightly to the left of the center back of her head.
The kid had wondered off from her parents. By the time Spoiler had found her, she was trembling in an alley. She had been wedge behind a dumpster in an attempt to hide. But Spoiler still spotted her. She coaxed the little girl out and walked her home. They held hands the whole way to the apartment building where she lived. Spoiler justified it by saying she needed to make sure the girl didn't elope.
Stephanie knew that was a lie.
When she knocked on the door, she was met with the faces of a man and a woman who looked so worried that they might throw up. Before spoiler could say anything THe little gitl rushed out form behinger and flung herself into the man and the woman.
"Mom! Dad!"
They crumpled down to Embrace her, the relief at her being safe postboing the ene vitable scolding she would regeive. The mother's black hair and the father's deep brown hair contrasted starkly agist the blond of the little girl. Despite the difference, they fit. They where family. They loved each other deeply. Those where her parents and that was their daughter.
The mother glanced up, wanting to thank the purple vigalantie. But her doorstep was empty. Spoiler had fled into the night. And i she has tears in her eyes, then that was for her and the night to know.
…
Before anyone else had returned to home base, Stephanie entered the cave. SHE sat down on the swivel chair by the Bat-computer,lowered her mask and stared. She stared into the middle distance where nothing was. At some moint she got antsy, so she popped a peice of gum in her mouth, but didnt stop staring.
She didn't stop staring as a an engine rolled into the Bat-cave before being cut with a click.
She didn't stop staring as a set of boots stomped around behind her.
She didn't stop staring as The bats squeaked, momentarily disturbed.
She didn't stop staring as a second motorcycle came to a stop in the cave.
She didn't stop staring as a lighter set of feet stared to roam around the cave.
She didn't stop staring as a final, larger vehicle parked itself in the cave.
She didn't stop staring as the steps of someone too small for this life pattered around the cave.
She didn't stop staring as the near silent step s of a man too big for his presence followed the small footsteps
She did, however, stop staring as her chair as suddnly turnded so she was face to face with one Jason Todd.
His face was one of concern covered with a poorly made mask of annoyance." Behind him was a cluster of worried vigalanties also poorly hiding their concern.
"You have been sitting there, spaced out, popping your stupid fucking gum, for at least an hour now. you only chew that obnoxiously when you're thinking. What the fuck is up with that!" Jason exclamed before taking a step back, and joining his family.
While she was clearly alert again, she wasn't full present as she started to talk, "I helped a lost girl home. she was probably around eight. She must of wandered off and was hiding behind a dumpster… She looked almost exactly like me, I think she was my daughter."
It was at this point dick interjected, "I'm sorry, your what!?"
"My daughter," Steph replied. "I had her when I was sixteen. Gave her up for adoption."
"Ok… and?" Jason commented obtusely. "A sixteen year old isn't a capable parent. You did the right thing."
Tim decided that this was an appropriate time to speak and said, "While Jason has decide now is the time to throw out all tact, he does raise a good point. Why didn't you, you know, abort it?"
"Couldn't," Steph replied, too upset at the world to be mad at Tim and Jason. "When I was pregnant there was only two clinics that could give me an abortion in Gotham. All the other places either had to be shut down due to structural issues or those ainti-abortion fucks lobbied them into getting shut down. None of the clinics could get up and running in the later part of my pregnancy. It was when Gotham was a no man's land, Remember? The fact that i was able to give birth in an acual hospital is a mirical. Both the remaining clinics where owned by the same group. They decided that of a minor wanted an abortion, a parent had to sign off on it. My mom wouldn't sign and I rather give myself a hanger abortion than ask my dad.
The crescent of boys surrounding her cringed at the vivid image that popped into their minds. They quickly recovered from their shock. You don't survive years of vigantieism by having a week stomach.
A this point, Dick decided his brothers had caused enough of a stir and it was time to smooth things out. "Hey, the past is the past. I'm sure Steph did the best she could." he now twisted slightly to talk to Steph directly, "And it sounds like your baby has a good home. So cheer up! It all worked out."'
"I never held her." Steph muttered, now leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. "I pushed her out and never felt her again."
Then Bruce decided that now was the time for an ill-advised statement, "I understand that you are… going through something, but it would be best i we left this topic behind. Damian doesn't need to hear this."
At the mention of his name, Damian looked offended. He opened his mouth, prepared to defend himself and say he could handle it. But, before he could even make a noise, Bruce gave him a look that limitedly shut him up.
This finally crossed a line for Steph. Everyone was being insensitive dicks. But while the other three where being asshats, at least they where trying to care. Bruce had seemed to decide that being uncomfortable was "Oh fuck you too, man. At least you could pretend to care."Steph called over her shoulder as she marched to the stairs out of the cave. At the top of the stairs, she called down, "Oh, and using Damian as a meat shield for your discomfort is shitty, too!"
…
Steph was currently on the roof of the manor. She knew for a fact that at least one person kept a secret stash of cigarettes up here. Now it was just a matter of finding them. They had to be around here some where…
Steph found a loose brick, behind which was a plastic bag. In this plastic bag was a handful of cigarettes and a lighter, Exactly what she was looking for. She turned and sat down on the slightly grimy roof. her hand took a cig from the bag and slotted it between her lips. The other hand lit the lighter and brought it to the end of the cigarette. She cupped it to protect it from the wind as it came to life.
She let out the first puff, letting it dissipate into the early morning dark. One side of the horizon had started to lighten, but otherwise it was dark as ever. That might be why she didn't notice the other presence that had joined her on the roof.
"That bad for you. "
Steph startled back, almost hitting her head on the chimany. "Christ on a fucking cracker, Cass! You can't scare me like that."
Instead of responding Cass simply sat upwind of her. Cass turned her head right, looking over Steph at the lightening horizon. The smoke of her cigarette made the trees that underlined the sky hazy.
Once the cigarette was half burnt and the pale blue had crept further into the black territory of the night sky, Cass figureded she should probably speak.
"Men," She said with no further context.
"Ugh. Men," Steph agreed. "They think they know everything just from their little world veiw! Well, news flash! the world is more complicated that anyony one person could know. They should know that! why don't that fucking know that!"
After Steph's outburst, Cass laid her hand gently on her shoulder. Steph leaned in, Cass's hands always being warm and her skin being cold from sitting in the dark night for so long.
"Very dumb indeed." Cass said almost sagely. "but im leass dumb, at least i think so. Ill litsen if you want to talk."
Her words where broken into chunks and spaced out, like they always where when she had to use longer phrases. But her tone was still sincere. she was putting in so much effort just to communicate in a way Steph was comfortable with.
and that show of kindness, of love, is what made Steph final break. She started sobbing, tears rolling down her face. Cass reached over to hug Steph, gently tucking her head into her shoulder
"Sh- She looked just like me!" Steph screamed out, word drawn out and filled with emotion.
Steph kept crying, soaking Cass's shoulder with tears. but Cass just sat there and let her, occasionally giving her a pat to the back. It worked, Steph was calling down from her release of emotion.
Once fully back to herself, Steph sat up. Even though she no longer needed to lean on Cass for stability, she still stayed close to her. The furnace like qaulities she held mad her a perfect person to cuddle up to before the sun has risen enough to warm the earth.
"Do you think I made the right choice? To give her up at the hospital?" Steph asked, voice uncharacteristically small.
"Do you?" Cass asked, not expecting any answer in particular.
Steph shifted her gaze from the impending sunrise to her nails before speaking, "I don't- I, I wish I held her… I almost wish I aborted her. Is that bad of me to say? I know things worked out, she has a good family who loves her. But it could of gone so wrong. So many bad things could of happened her. I could of condemned her to a life of suffering! It wouldn't of been much better if i kept her. My dad is a C-list super villain and I was a teenage vigilante. I guess my mom is stable enough, but one of three people in an household being regular members of society doesn't set someone up for a good life! I mean, you see how Dick turned out with a vigilante parent! And he had normal parents for the first few years! Why cant I just know that she would of been okay? why couldn't i of given her a happy world?
Why didn't I hold her?"
Cass took a breath in, thinking about her words carefully, "You did what you thought was best. Was it the absolute right thing to do? Who knows. But it worked out. She is safe and loved. Wat if for a choice you made eight years ago are useless. what has been don has been done. maybe you'll meet again, maybe this was a fluke of fate. Either way, you know she is happy. You made a choice and it worked out."
"Thanks, Cass," Steph said. She moved her hand to her cheek, wiping away the remaints of her tears.
Cass stood up and reached a hand down twords Steph. The riding sun backlit her, the sky ginly giving way to beautiful pinks and oranges.
"Inside now?"
"Yeah, let's go inside. I wanna put on pjs and nap for the next million years."