Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rachel had several rules in life, set carefully in place to make sure she survived said life. The top ones went as followed:

Don't draw unnecessary attention to yourself.

Protect the head.

Survive for 1731 more days. (And counting)

Things hadn't always been so bleak. At one point she'd been carefree, happy, innocent. Back in Haley's Circus when her parents had still been alive. When she could fly through the air without wings. When bruises and hurt were made better with hugs and sweets. Her lips twitched upwards at the memories. Things had been good. Then they'd stopped in Gotham, and Tony Zucco had made her family's performance their final. What happened after felt like nightmares and dissociation combined. Had it really been five or so years since they'd been murdered in front of her? Time was funny like that.

Rule number one was probably the most important, and one she followed religiously. It kept her safe, unharmed. Rachel reminded herself of all of this as she was shoved against a locker by Gotham Academy's resident bully, Henry Calihan, who also happened to be her brother via adoption. Not that he would ever admit to the relation, he'd made that entirely clear on her first day, and exactly what he'd do to her if she let it slip. Ouch. Rachel winced as he roughly pushed her against the locker again just as a teacher rounded the corner and started yelling at them. Dropping his hands from Rachel's black Gotham High hoodie, he turned with a large grin towards the teacher and was so quick to assure them that everything was fine, that he was just messing around. Rachel kept her eyes to the ground. Too many people were around them, though they were quickly dispersing with the arrival of an authority figure. The teacher was apparently still concerned, "Are you alright?" Rachel looked up finally with a blank expression before shrugging with a nod. The teacher frowned, glancing between her, Henry, and Timothy, who had been the start of her current problem, before sighing. "Well off to class, I don't want to hear about anything else with you three, or it'll be detention for a week and a conference with your guardians." Henry shot her a dirty look before turning and rejoining his friend group and fellow football players to prowl the hallways on the way to their next class with shoves and laughter.

Rachel let her gaze wonder over to fucking Timothy Drake Wayne. Because it wasn't enough the kid was the heir to one massive fortune, no. He had to be both a Wayne and a Drake. Must be nice. He was staring right back at her with an unsure smile and small wave. Rachel made no movement. What the hell had she been thinking? She'd turned the corner and come upon Henry about to slug the guy and she'd just- just reacted.

Her backpack swinging at full speed into Henry's side hadn't been enough to knock him off of his feet, but it had been enough for him to drop his hold on Timothy who had been holding up a binder in hopes of protecting his face from Henry's raised fist.

The effect had been immediate, and the regret that pooled in Rachel's belly was eager to ask her why she had just lost all common sense. In seconds Henry's attention was completely on her, along with a firm knee to her gut that had her bent over with a wheeze. As he'd dragged her up and leaned close to her ear, she could actually hear the smile in his words. "I'm going to make you regret that." Rachel already did.

Reaching down for her backpack which had been kicked and stomped on and brushing it off, Rachel gave Timothy another blank glance before turning to walk away. "Wha- wait!" The gangly boy was rushing after her making her internally groan just as he caught up with a large grin on his face. "That was incredible!" He gushed, Rachel glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "I'm Tim by the way, are you new or-"

Rachel grimaced as she cut him off. "I know who you are." Who didn't know the Wayne's? The entire pack of them were smart, skilled, attractive, and filthy rich. Anyone who was anyone in the school either wanted to be them, with them, or some other form of jealousy fueled hate. Rachel hadn't decided where she stood besides the fact that anything to do with any one of the rich and powerful students at Gotham Academy meant trouble, which she was really trying to avoid.

Timothy had an embarrassed flush to his face and let out a small laugh. "Ah- right. Well. Seriously, you saved my hide back there, I really owe you one. Are you on lunch hour? Maybe I could buy you lunch at least, or wait, that's stupid um..."

Rachel's judgmental eyebrow rose higher. "You don't have to thank me. Seriously." She groaned softly, shaking her head as she suddenly stopped to give him a firm glare. She did not need a nerdy, rich, overly eager boy following her around thinking they were friends. More people meant more attention to herself. Which again, she really was trying to avoid, not to mention the fact he was a Wayne, and could probably ruin her life in so many ways if he wanted to. Great.

Tim was giving her a beaming smile at her answer, as if she'd told him that he'd won free ice cream for a year or something. "Alright, alright, can I at least know the name of my valiant hero?" He was teasing her, of all things. Rachel was going to suffer later because of him and he was joking around.

Rachel let out a pained sigh in defeat and stuck out her hand. "Rachel." She flatly offered to which Timothy, or apparent as he went by, Tim eagerly shook. Rachel took back her hand and gave an awkward nod before turning to keep walking.

And yet Tim turned and followed along as well. "You never answered me. Are you new? I'm heading to calculus after this in east hall, where are you off to?" He chattered away.

Rachel's frown was growing the more Tim spoke. She ducked her head with an embarrassed shake. "No. Um- not new." She'd been here for what? Three-ish years? Again, time was... blurry. "And we're in the same calculus class." She cleared her throat as Tim blinked at her in surprise.

He seemed to be studying her now, trying to place her face which was weird and embarrassing and she did not need a Wayne to know her, which would then lead into cruel jokes and haughty laughter and pity. No thanks. "No way! You're maybe a freshman. There's no way you're older than my younger brother, and he's still in his first year of high school!" Tim snorted, shaking his head with a soft laugh.

Rachel gave him an unimpressed look. "I skipped a few grades." She muttered, thankful that they had arrived at the classroom and this entire event of entertaining a Wayne could end. He'd find someone much more his wealth or social status or even just his friend group again and forget about her, which was how the natural order of things were meant to be.

Except apparently no one had told Tim this, as he slid into the seat next to her with an amazed expression. "Wait seriously? Oh geeze! What, are you a kid genius or something?" He eagerly asked, making Rachel's face heat up again.

What did he want? Why was he still talking to her? She glanced at a few students trickling in, and shrank back into her seat as a few girls walked in and glared at the two of them, or more exactly at Rachel for taking up a Wayne's time and space. "No. I'm just.. I'm good at studying." She mumbled softly, choosing to focus instead on her book and finding the right chapter.

Tim shook his head in almost a fond manner and did the same as the teacher started rollcall. "We'll have to study together sometime!" He whispered, Rachel giving him another strange look before slowly nodding in disbelief. Sure. Right.

By the end of class Rachel packed up her things quicker than normal and was out the door to her locker, pretending she didn't hear Tim's calls to wait up.

Packing up her bag for the day, Rachel let out a sigh of relief. Tim seemed... nice. Weirdly enough. But a large alarm in her head was reminding her. Nice doesn't mean anything. Nice is when someone wants something from you. Nice comes at a cost. No one is nice just because. She shut her locker and sighed, turning to start trudging home.

Being freshly 13, Rachel had decided that the age of 13, really sucked. At 15 she could have gotten at least her learner's permit. Not that the Calihan's would probably let her drive any of their cars, but the idea of freedom was so tempting, it was nice to imagine. Henry had some fancy sportscar that he liked to rev the engine in the school's parking lot to try and show off for his friends and any girls. Rachel's older sister by adoption Erica had a big blue truck with fuzzy dice on the mirror. She sometimes let Rachel ride along but usually would hold it over her head until she'd deemed Rachel had paid her back.

The Calihan's used to be nice, well... they still were, sometimes. Rachel described it to herself as nice with a comma. Henry would let her have the last bagel for breakfast, but then would make her do all of his homework that night saying she owed him. Rachel felt like she owed a lot of people, all the time.

Her adoptive parents had been very nice in the beginning. Or maybe she'd just been so happy to be out of Gotham's juvenile detention center that anything seemed better than that. Mrs. Tina Calihan was smart, and pretty, and apparently a very successful lawyer that insisted she call her mom, and that Rachel would take their last name and be part of a real family. Rachel wondered if she still counted as the last flying Grayson if the Gayson name was taken away from her. Her name apparently had been the minimum price of her freedom. Tina loved spoiling her daughter's. She liked buying them clothes, taking them to spas and stylists and out to brunches with her friends where all the ladies would coo and giggle at how well behaved and sweet and darling she was. But Rachel also learned she was bad at being a daughter. When she chipped her nail polish because she'd been trying to climb a tree, or dirtied whatever outfit Tina had put her in for the day, or did something her adoptive mother didn't like, Tina would narrow her eyes and press her lips together in a thin line and take a large breath in and out. She would tell Rachel that she would fix her and help her and make her right again. But she had to be good and that she was such a bad, ungrateful child. Rachel wondered if Tina ever grew out of playing with dolls.

Mr. Garrett Calihan had a sparkling smile and perfect hair and could talk to almost anyone and by the end of the conversation they'd be looking at him like he had hung the stars in the sky. That was probably why he was on the city council and everyone agreed he would make a great mayor or governor. He'd bought her a pink hula hoop and enjoyed sitting on a chair on their deck and having Rachel show him as many "circus moves" as she could. He also made sure that she knew all the important rules, like that children should be seen and not heard. Nothing was scarier than waking from a night terror to getting attacked for being too loud at night. But that wasn't really his fault, he needed to sleep to be able to go to work, and Rachel was such a bad child she needed to be punished for keeping him up.

Because a child costed them food, money, space, time, energy and so much more that Rachel could never begin to repay and the most she could do was be good for them. Be quiet, get good grades, do what she was told. She tried so hard, and yet never seemed to quite reach their expectations. She was just a broken child that they were so nice and willing to forgive. Really, she shouldn't and didn't complain.

Trudging up to the house, Rachel let out a groan as she caught her breath. A red and a blue car sat in the long driveway. Her siblings had obviously beaten her home, now the only hope was that Henry was distracted by a new game or video to remember he'd been pissed at her.

Stepping inside and carefully latching the door, Rachel tried not to breathe and waited, listening to the sounds of the quiet house for danger before letting out a breath of relief. Turning and taking off her shoes, Rachel headed to her first stop, her room to change. She avoided all the creaky stairs, before slowly moving down the hallway at high alert. She passed Erika's room, whose door was firmly shut. Getting low to the ground, Rachel crept forward, barely peeking into Henry's room. He was leaning back in his fancy gaming chair and was playing some sort of shooting game with headphones on, there was a lot of blood. Creeping forward she made it past his room and into her room with a thankful sigh of relief.

Gently closing the door, Rachel threw her bag down before quickly changing into some casual wear. When Tina was home she would tisk disapprovingly at the leggings and sweatshirts, but for now while she was working late nights on some big case, Rachel was free to dress as she pleased.

Step one was complete. Now she had to make it to step two, which would leave her largely exposed to attacks from behind. Going in reverse order, Rachel crept back out of her room and made her way down to the kitchen where the breakfast dishes and more lay waiting. The Calihan's liked a clean home. Ungrateful children were messy. They were spoiled. When Mr. and Mrs. Calihan returned from their jobs; they wanted everything in its place. Rachel didn't mind it so much, except for the fact she often felt like they saw her as a thing out of place, which would then turn her stomach into knots with worry that they might send her back to juvie once they figured out how broken and messy she really was.

Rolling up her sleeves carefully, Rachel got to work. Wash, rinse, dry, repeat. The repetitive motion was calming and let her think and decompress from whatever Gotham Academy had thrown at her that day. Today's thoughts were annoyingly centered around one Tim Wayne. He'd only been nice to her because he owed her for stopping Henry. And he knew that too because he had tried to pay her back. Rachel wondered if he still felt indebted to her. What lengths would he go to make them even? Or maybe he'd forget all about it and she'd become a ghost in the halls again. Picking up a cup and letting the soapy water pour out, Rachel scrunched her face up as she worked through the problem she now had. Timothy. Drake. Wayne. The problem really was, that despite him owing her a favor, he had all the power still. It was up to him if he was even going to try and make it up to her. It made Rachel snort softly. She wished she had that power too.

Unfortunately, the quiet house, her repetitive cleaning, and thinking about Timothy Drake Wayne, had relaxed Rachel into a false sense of security. A large hand grabbed a fistful of her hair from behind and shoved forward, forcing her face into the dirty dish water before pulling her back up and backwards onto the floor. Sputtering and coughing as water dripped down her face and onto the floor, Rachel blinked up at Henry who had a sneer on his face. "Trying to make me look bad today? For a fucking Wayne? You are really sad and pathetic." He scoffed, swinging his foot and giving a good kick to Rachel's stomach, making her for the second time that day curl in on herself with a wheeze. "You really just don't get it. Once a circus freak, always a circus freak, you don't-" He swung his foot back again to continue his assault. "Get. It." Rachel squeezed her eyes tighter and tried curling more in on herself. It was always quicker to just shut up and take whatever punishment was being given to her. Arguments or backtalk would only prove how horrible a child she really was, and make the punishment more severe. Spare the rod, spoil the child as Mr. Calihan liked to remind her.

Lifting his foot back again, Henry moved to aim towards her face when a loud gasp on the stairs made him freeze and look up with a scowl. Their sister Erica frowned angrily at them as she stomped her way down the stairs. "You better not hurt her face. If she has a bruise mom will make me go to her Saturday brunch instead and I've got plans to go to the beach with Kyle Newman then." She huffed, moving past them to put more dirty dishes into the sink. "And if you do I'm telling dad and mom about what exactly made you so late last Sunday after your so called last minute football practice, mmmkay?" She gave them a shining grin before it turned more into a sneer at Rachel. "You owe me for this Rachel!" She called out in a sing-song voice. "I can't always be there for you to hide behind." She snorted as she headed back up to her room, and Henry rolled his eyes before shoving Rachel to the side for good measure and stomping up to his own room.

Rachel slowly uncurled herself from the tight ball she'd formed to try and protect herself. With the way Henry kicked, Rachel was really starting to feel bad for footballs. There would definitely be bruises, but Rachel was actually glad Erica hadn't let him hurt her face. Tina and Garrett hated when that happened. They would scream at her and ask if she hated them, ask why she was so horrible to try and make others think they weren't good parents. Rachel would be punished, she'd be locked away in her room for hours, in too much pain to move or sleep. She really did owe Erika for that.

Pushing herself up with a soft groan, Rachel ignored the way her sides and stomach ached at movement and finished the dishes. Turning around, Rachel carefully put her shoes on, a pair of beat up converse that Erica had grown out of, and slipped back outside. Finally, a small grin grew on her face as she set off through the back alley, over the fence, and into the public park that had thick woods that met their property line. Taking a deer path, Rachel hummed softly to herself, carefully climbing over barbed wire fences and moving past broken glass bottles and stamped out firepits. At the bottom of the hill, the trees ended abruptly and opened up to a dead end street of broken down looking homes. There were three of them in the cul-de-sac, one collapsed in on itself, one marked condemned years before Rachel was even born, and the last looking like it should be doing the same as the former two.

Knocking on the door in a silly rhythm, Rachel waited patiently before it swung open to a scruffy old man with a cigarette in his mouth that grinned and showed missing teeth. "Well hey there starlet! Was wondering when you'd show your hide around here again!" He nodded his head towards the inside and let her in, closing the door behind them. "Guessing tiny-minded Tina doesn't know you're down here, huh?" He snorted as she plopped down on one of his chairs and shook her head.

Tina Calihan hadn't always been a successful lawyer. And she certainly hadn't always been rich. She grew up as Tina Thurston in the same two bedroom cabin that Rachel was currently sitting in, and had spent everyday trying to forget it, and her aging father, ever existed. Wiggling his fingers, the old man grinned at Rachel and picked up a glass of brandy, quickly taking a sip. "I got a surprise for you Starlet. It's gotta stay here so your mother doesn't see, but I think you're going to like it." He gleefully informed her.

Rachel beamed back just as easily. "Awe Pops, you didn't have to do that, I don't need anything, promise!" She quickly assured the old man. Pops was a drunk, gambler, a slight hoarder of junk, and also her adoptive grandfather. He was Rachel's favorite, he was crass and loud, he didn't care if she was too wiggly or dirty or hungry, in fact he encouraged it. He really reminded Rachel of some of the performers from Haley's Circus, all rough and growly on the outside, and soft and kind on the inside.

Pops reached over and ruffled her hair, making her duck her head and laugh. "Well I need some help with it more so, but if you can fix it you can use it." He promised, an eager expression as he gestured for her to come over towards a cluttered table next to the wilting sofa. Pulling off a stained sheet, Pops presented a banged up computer tower, cracked monitor, and a keyboard missing several of its keys. Absolute junk. Rachel was delighted.

Bounding up to it, she crouched down to the side of the tower that was missing its outer shell and hummed softly. "Woof Pops, where'd you find this thing? In the woods?" She chuckled, shooting him a grin.

He huffed softly with a teasing grin. "What? I thought you liked tinkering! Too much of a challenge for you?" He grinned wolfishly.

Rachel rolled her eyes with another laugh. "No! It's just going to take some time! It's basically a skeleton, the parts that are here are pretty badly damaged." She hummed, "I'll make a list of the parts we need so that we get it working. Maybe we could go to the junkyard and find them there!" She eagerly added, shooting Pops a hopeful smile.

Pops, currently, had two jobs. The first was working as security at a junkyard. The second was as a janitor at Wayne Enterprises, both of which he'd kept for a surprisingly long time, five months. Normally, he'd end up fired, or quit after he lost his temper or didn't show up thanks to a heavy hangover. His current job at the dump was Rachel's favorite because sometimes he would let her tag along and scavenge for neat stuff. Pops gave a grumble before nodding. "Not sure if you'll find what you need there, computer stuff can be really delicate you know." He shook his head.

Rachel looked again at the tower and hummed. "I could probably make some parts too maybe. Do you still have that soldering iron?" She asked, grinning as Pops nodded and turned to grab it. Pulling out a notebook and finding an empty page, Rachel started jotting down parts they would need. She'd have to do some research to make sure they had everything they needed, but the school had computers in the library that she could use to look things up on... and if she was lucky maybe they had a broken one she could take parts from.

Pops in the meantime leaned back on the counter and watched her mumble to herself as she jotted down ideas. Rachel was the only grandkid that acknowledged his existence and didn't act like he was some family shame, he liked her. His daughter had fought for a better life for herself, and he could respect that, but treating him like he was some dirty stranger when he popped by was uncalled for. He was a working man and had never asked help from nobody, and was proud of it. After an hour of Rachel gently pulling the thing apart, Pops looked up as a truck pulled up on his road. He frowned before ruffling Rachel's hair and telling her to stay put before going outside to meet them.

Rachel glanced out the window, slowly creeping up to the blinds and peeking out curiously. Pops seemed stressed, over explaining something to the three men who had climbed out of the still running truck. One man with a pinched face and too wide grin kept poking Pops in the chest. Rachel frowned at that. They didn't seem nice, but if only she could hear... The pinched faced man shoved Pops back before stomping back to his car. "Last Chance old man!" He screamed as Pops nodded fervently.

Rushing back towards the computer, Rachel put on her best innocent face and acted like she hadn't moved. Pops came stomping back inside, swearing under his breath and wiping his now sweaty brow with his shirt. He grabbed the remainder of his bourbon and drank in one go before grabbing the bottle and pouring the remainder into his glass. When it didn't even pour half a glass he turned with a screaming string of swears and threw the bottle across the room, smashing it to bits and making Rachel duck, immediately rolling to tuck herself behind the small table and out of the way. Pops stared at the destruction before swearing again and turning his gaze onto Rachel who looked like a spooked rabbit ready to flee. "Don't suppose yous got fifteen thousand dollars tucked away, do you Starlet?" He asked, a desperate grin that didn't reach his eyes on his face as he leaned heavily on the counter.

Rachel frowned and slowly shook her head, unfolding her limbs from the small, defensive ball she'd immediately tucked herself into. "I don't have um... a job. Or allowance." She offered softly, clearly debating if she should ask for more information. "Do... you owe those guys fifteen thousand dollars?" She slowly approached Pops like he might strike to attack. A deep pit of worry hung like a forty pound weight in her stomach. She opened her mouth before closing it and shutting her eyes. It was like a bad dream on repeat as deja vu hit her. Zucco had demanded money, and when denied... "Are they going to kill you if you can't pay them?" She practically whispered, head lowered as if afraid to even announce her fears.

Pops swallowed and let out a sharp bark of laughter. "If they don't make me suffer for it first." He muttered, running a hand through his thinning white hair. He watched Rachel wrap her arms around herself, nails digging into her skin before sighing. "Fuck kid, I'm in some deep shit. It'll be alright though, I might just have to disappear for a bit, at least until the heat dies down..." He grumbled.

Rachel's head shot up and a horrified look crossed her face. Leave? For how long? Could he take her with him? The thought of being stuck with no escape with the Calihan's made her heart race. Pop's place was a safety net, a place that was just theirs that she could escape to when home got too bad. Without him though... "You can't leave! I don't want you to! Please don't leave! How long do you have to repay them! Maybe I could get a job too and help out!" She hurriedly offered.

Pops was already shaking his head, a look of disapproval crossing her face. "What did I tell you about trapping people? You can't rely on anyone Starlet, even me! You lean on others and you'll wake up with your face in the mud and a knife in your back!" He spat before letting out a scoff. "No stinking job is going to give me fifteen thousand, and not in only a month! What I need is a god damn miracle, and that don't happen in Gotham." He sneered.

Rachel pressed her lips together to avoid any more scoldings but watched in despair and Pops started pulling out boxes and throwing them haphazardly as he started packing. "Who's the richest person in Gotham? Maybe- maybe you could ask them for help or a loan or something!" She suggested, rocking slightly on her feet.

Pops let out another scoff. "Bruce Fucking Wayne is only rich because his mommy and daddy stepped on all us hardworking little guys to get there, then got their brains blown out and there ain't no way he's sharing a cent with the likes of me." Pops harrumped, putting a mug and two bent forks in a box.

Wayne? Rachel's mind jumped back to Tim, he owed her. Did he owe her $15,000 though? Maybe... maybe she could save him from Henry again and then he'd owe her double... "I know the Wayne's!" She suddenly shouted, earning a glare from Pops. "Tim is really nice and he- he owes me! A lot! I bet they're so rich that fifteen thousand is nothing to them! I can see if he'd repay me and then I could give it to you!" Rachel spoke quickly, hoping to get her plan out before Pops smacked her for being an idiot.

His packing slowed. "One of the Wayne brats, owes you? How come?" He asked, with serious doubt in his voice.

Pops stared at her hard for several moments before sighing. "I gots four weeks. You got two and a half to get that money, if not I'm hitting the road Starlet, I like my head attached to my body." He groaned, opening up his fridge to pull out a bottle of beer and sagging into the couch with a grunt. "Now how far is your list for this computer? Give me a copy and I can look for parts too." He gestured, making her once again beam excitedly at him and start chattering about the parts they would need.

Pops stared at her hard for several moments before sighing. "I gots four weeks. You got two and a half to get that money, if not I'm hitting the road Starlet, I like my head attached to my body." He groaned, opening up his fridge to pull out a bottle of beer and sagging into the couch with a grunt. "Now how far is your list for this computer? Give me a copy and I can look for parts too." He gestured, making her once again beam excitedly at him and start chattering about the parts they would need.

Hours later, Rachel hopped the fence and crept through the dark, re-entering the house and hoping everyone was asleep. Silence met her as she closed the front door, and Rachel let out a sigh of relief. All was well. Creeping to the kitchen, Rachel eyed the cupboards and fridge that were fitted with locks. Pops didn't have any food, and she'd completely missed dinner... Glancing at the trash can, Rachel slowly opened it and looked inside. The leftovers from the night had been dumped, along with what looked like whatever had been picked up by the vacuum. It was inedible. Letting the can softly close, Rachel scuttled to where Erica and Henry's backpacks hung on hooks. She didn't have a hook herself, her stuff was always to be kept in her room. Opening up their bags, Rachel pulled out Henry's lunchbox with a slow breath in. Opening it, she was met with a sandwich with a spot of mold, a brown banana, and a baggie of crackers that had clearly been smashed to bits. Henry usually forgot to remove his lunches for weeks, so the fact that there was anything edible there was a miracle at all.

Rachel successfully made it back to her room without incident and let out a breath of relief as she sat on her bed. The room wasn't very large, her twin bed was pressed against the back wall, and the shelf in the corner had been lowered to become a makeshift desk with a chair next to it. A small closet was bursting with different outfits, thanks to Tina wanting to style Rachel exactly as she saw fit. Rachel's favorite part of her room was the large window that overlooked the alleyway and woods. It felt weirdly comforting to her, watching the moon rise every night over the trees.

Carefully tearing off the section with mold, Rachel started on the sandwich, and pondered Tim Drake Wayne. For the first time in a long time, she would have to redo her rules. Two weeks wasn't a long time, but if she made herself super useful, he'd totally pay her back for everything! Making a face as she moved on to chewing on the extremely slimey banana, Rachel made a mental list for herself.

1) Find out Tim's schedule and be around him a lot.

2) Protect Tim from bullies (Maybe she could make Henry extra mad about him or something and then step in the way?)

3) When Tim really feels like he's indebted, ask for fifteen thousand dollars.

Sure, there were lots of what ifs and other possibilities, but it was her only plan, and he was a Wayne and a Drake. Fifteen grand was probably nothing to him. Dumping the crumbs of the crackers into her mouth, Rachel sighed and settled into bed, ready to begin her plan of befriending a Wayne.

Chapter Text

At the beep of her digital clock, Rachel groaned and hit it several times to turn it off. She had stayed way too late at Pop's and in turn had gone to bed way too late and now was paying for it. Sitting up, Rachel pushed her curls out of her face, and stretched with a sigh. Shaking her head and standing up, Rachel did a few full body stretches before quietly opening her door and creeping into the bathroom. The Calihan's home had 3 bathrooms. One was attached to Mr. And Mrs. Calihan's room which was very off limits to Rachel, one was attached to Erica's room which was also very off limits unless under strict supervision from Erica herself. That left the one in the hallway that she shared with Henry. She was sure to set her alarm extra early to give her time to be out of the bathroom by the time Henry woke up. She found crossing paths as little as possible with her family got her the fewest injuries and mistakes. She had also quickly learned that showers were to be taken at night after everyone else had gone to bed. The first time she'd taken one in the morning, apparently so had the other family members. When Henry finally got up there wasn't any hot water left. She'd been so selfish and bad, she'd had to stay home from school because of the bruises on her face and body. At least she was a quick learner. She hadn't made those mistakes since.

After getting ready, Rachel threw on her backpack and padded downstairs where Erica, Tina, and Garrett were sitting and eating breakfast. It was always a coin flip, would she walk by like a ghost? Or would she be pulled before the council for judgements? Today no one called her name so she quietly reached for one of the cereal boxes on the table. "There's only enough for one more bowl and Henry prefers that brand." Tina's eyes had locked onto Rachel with a calculating stare. Rachel let go of the box like it had caught on fire. Tina's lips twitched upwards. Had she done well? Had she upset her? Rachel slowly reached for the orange juice. "That's so sugary. I don't know why I still buy juice." Tina sighed as if disappointed. Rachel moved it farther away from herself. This was so tiring, a game of yes's and no's that had forever changing rules. Rachel slowly reached for an apple, bringing it close to her chest like a treasure when Mrs. Calihan didn't speak.

Turning to leave, Rachel took two steps before Tina cleared her throat. Rachel froze again and looked back, unsure if she had made another mistake. Tina was looking at her with a raised eyebrow so clearly she'd forgotten something. Rachel swallowed and glanced around trying to figure it out. Was the room too hot? Or was that just her? She squeezed her eyes shut. "Um.. did I forget something..?" She mumbled, Erica snorted without looking up from her phone. Tina pursed her lips again and made that tisk-ing noise she made when disappointed. Shrinking into herself, Rachel held protectively onto her apple while staring a hole into the floor.

Tina's black heels appeared in her vision. Rachel flinched hard as the woman's hand came to rest on her head. "So stupid." Tina hummed. "Makes me wonder why we pay for that school in the first place." She hummed, running her fingers roughly through Rachel's curls.

Rachel felt ill. "I'm sorry." She murmured, "What did I forget?" The hand stopped its pettings and gripped tightly at the roots of Rachel's hair, making her softly cry out.

"Is that how you speak to your mother? Who took you in when no one wanted you?" Rachel was desperately trying to shake her head no. "You stupid, useless child. You must love torturing your mother. Do you hate me? It must just fill you with glee to see me suffering." She snarled, shaking Rachel's head angrily as she yanked at her hair.

"No! No I'm sorry mother, I-" She hesitated a moment and felt Tina's grip tighten. "I'm so stupid and useless! I owe you everything, please I'm sorry. Please mother." Rachel had started crying, which made her incredibly angry and embarrassed. She tried so, so hard not to cry in front of the Calihan's. It was embarrassing and weak and it was her own fault she was so stupid. She didn't need to cry about it as well. Tina's hand suddenly released its grip, making Rachel's knees buckle and take in a shaking breath as she looked up at her adoptive mother from her crumpled spot on the kitchen tile.

Tina had a sly grin on her face as she reached down and fixed Rachel's hair. "It's alright darling, Mother's here. I know you can't help it." She let out a sigh as if pained. "You really must show gratitude for all that we do for you, you know." She took a finger and lifted Rachel's face up by her chin. "What do we say..?" She asked in a condescending tone.

Rachel's blue eyes met her green ones, and swallowed. "I'm sorry Mother. I'm broken, stupid, and a waste of space. Thank you, I love you mother." Rachel quickly recited the words she'd been told since as long as she'd lived with the Calihan's.

That seemed to have satisfied the woman who turned and opened one of the cabinets and pulled out a small paper cup and a pill box. Putting one pill into the cup, she handed it to her and waited expectantly. "These vitamins help with your unfortunate complexion. I really should take you to a tanning salon or something. You'd look more... exotic. Well more than you already do, but in a pretty way, not a... carnie way." She said the word carnie like it was a shameful, dirty word, before sighing as she watched Rachel tip her head back and swallow. Suddenly smiling again, Tina cooed at Rachel, pulling her onto her feet and into a hug. Rachel melted into the touch immediately and hugged her back. "There's my good girl. Now off to school you go." She let go and waved her off, sitting back down at the table for her coffee and toast. Garrett and Erica hadn't even looked up from their phone and newspaper.

Quickly turning and rushing out the door before she did something else stupid, Rachel hurried down the sidewalk towards school. She was always the first to leave out of the three children, mostly because of the car thing. Still, Gotham Academy wasn't far and they lived in one of the more classier suburbs, even if it was only because they were separated from some of the rougher areas by a public park, so Rachel didn't mind. Besides, it gave her time to think.

Timothy Drake Wayne. She somehow had to get $15,000 from him. People were weird about money. Despite how rich some of the kids were, Rachel would overhear them demanding that their friends pay them back the $5 they owed. What if Timothy demanded she pay him back?! Rachel was already indebted for life to the Calihan's. How was she supposed to pay them both back?! Ugh... Maybe she could lie and say it was her birthday, and she just needed fifteen grand more to get herself the perfect present. But they'd barely talked so that would have to be a last minute plan if nothing else worked. Maybe he kept all his money in a giant swimming pool like in cartoons, and all she had to do was go over to his house and scoop the money out. But... There were a lot of Wayne's at the school, and then she might run into Bruce Wayne who would probably send her back to Juvie just for being so stupid in his presence, so the Wayne household was very much a no go.

Rachel kept mulling over these thoughts and others as she finally made it into the school building and to her locker, covering a large yawn that escaped her. No matter what her plan was, the biggest first step was becoming close to Tim, so instead of heading to her first class and waiting in silence as the teacher prepared for the day, Rachel found herself at Tim's locker, nervously staring up at the older boy. The resulting yelp that had come from his mouth was rather funny, as was the look of surprise on his face. Before he could ask her anything, Rachel stuck out her hand. "Hi. Um- Hi Tim. I'm Rachel." She had a firm look of determination on her face that made Tim's eyebrow raise.

He slowly took her hand and shook it. "Hi? I know, we met yesterday?" He was smiling but looked completely puzzled.

Rachel nodded with a sigh. "Um. Yes! But I was hoping we could start fresh. I'm sorry I didn't wait for you after class, I'm not used to um-" friends? People being nice and not wanting something? "Were you making fun of me? When you asked to study?" She asked softly, a bit worried for the answer.

Tim looked surprised before giving her a kind smile and shaking his head. "Oh, uh, you're good! And no! I saw your grade, I'd totally be down for studying sometime." He nodded enthusiastically. "What time is your homeroom? We could maybe meet up at the library to study for the upcoming unit test?" He offered with a shrug.

Rachel tried to keep her grin from growing too wide. She'd expected him to blow her off, or hit her, or scoff, not... Ask her to study?! Tim chuckled and she ducked her head.

"Fourth period?" She questioned softly, an eager expression on her face. Careful Grayson, this could be a cruel joke... Look at Rachel everyone! She really thought she was good enough to study with Timothy Drake Wayne! Oh god...

Tim nodded and lifted up his fist, making Rachel twitch backwards with a wince before realizing what he was doing and bumping her own fist against his. "Yeah man! Whoever gets there first can claim a table and whatever." He nodded before gesturing behind him. "Well… Sweet! I got to go to German class, but I'll see you then!" He gave a little wave and walked off, only glancing back once and chuckling at Rachel's beaming grin as she pumped her fist in the air. The kid seemed sweet, and genuinely smart. Tim could hang out with someone's kid sister for a period and get some studying done, two goods in a row.

Rachel had never felt like class dragged until that day. She always struggled to stay away in the mornings anyway, but today felt incredibly slow. Fourth period seemed to take years to get to, so when the bell finally rang, Rachel was the first out the door. She made it to the library in record time and carefully set out her calculus book and supplies. Students slowly started trickling into the library and Rachel watched the door seriously, resting her head on her arms as she studied each person that walked through the door. Tim might have needed to stop by his locker, there was no need to panic at his absence yet. Rachel stretched with a yawn before humming and letting her eyes close.

The feeling of a person standing over her made Rachel jerk awake, startling up at Tim who looked just as spooked. "Sorry, uh- I didn't know if I should wake you or not." Tim chuckled sheepishly.

Rachel rubbed tiredly at her face and shook her head. "Sorry, no um- I'm always tired in the mornings, staying up too late and all that." She shrugged before tilting her head at him. "You actually came." She gave him a small grin as he sat opposite of her at the table.

"Well no duh, I said I would, didn't I? Besides, I'd like to actually pass this class." Tim chuckled, pulling out his book.

A pleased grin appeared on Rachel's face as she ducked her head to hide it. "I'm glad." She hummed before pulling out her notebook. They spent the rest of their free period going over equations, testing each other, and working on homework. By the time the bell rang they had grins on their faces and there was a familiar air between them. Tim held out his fist again, and Rachel was proud that she didn't even flinch that time as she returned his fist bump.

Tim paused in the hallway, stepping towards his locker. "You have lunch next too?" He questioned before adding, "I usually just eat with my siblings, but you're welcome to join us." He invited with a shrug.

Rachel opened her mouth to accept before quickly closing it. Tim was one thing, but all the Wayne siblings? That was... a lot of unknown... Rachel shook her head. "That's okay, I um- I promised I'd sit with my other friends." She gestured vaguely hoping Tim wouldn't be hurt or ask about these friends she apparently had.

He instead smiled with another shrug. "No worries, I'll see you around! Or actually-" He pulled out a cellphone with a sleek black case, it looked brand new. "Punch in your number and we can figure out another study time." Rachel felt like her palms were suddenly much too sweaty to hold his very expensive phone. Carefully wiping her palms on the skirt of her uniform, Rachel took Tim's phone and carefully put in her information.

First Name: Rachel

Last Name:

Rachel hesitated, finger hovering over the "C" on the keyboard. A small burst of joy rushed through her at the thought of the small defiance of her last name. She'd be in so much trouble if the Calihan's found out. Tim might think she was trying to trick him and never speak to her again...

Last Name: Grayson

She entered her number shakily after and handed the phone back to him. As he glanced over it, Tim grinned. "Oh cool, Grayson, like the acrobats! I saw them when I was younger!" He nodded approvingly before waving and walking towards the cafeteria, unaware of the horror on Rachel's face as her stomach dropped and a chill crept up her spine.

Like the acrobats. He knew. He knew, he knew, he knew. Why had she not put her last name as Calihan? What if he said something to Henry or Erica? What if they found out and told him? Tim might think she was in some sick joke with Henry! Rachel dragged herself back to the library as her stomach twisted into knots from worry. Tim would hate her, and she'd never get the money and Pop's would leave or- She quickly shut that line of thinking down. No. She could handle this. She had to handle this. Whatever weird moment of defiance that was, it had to never happen again. If anyone said anything, she'd play her part. The idiot. She'd just put that into his phone out of habit. Yeah... And Tim had said like the acrobats, clearly, he hadn't made any sort of connection. It really was a stupid decision on her end, and Rachel hoped that for once she could ignore it, and it would go away.

The library was one of Rachel's favorite places in the school. It was giant thanks to several rich parent's funding, and as long as she was quiet, the librarian left her alone and she didn't feel as hungry when she didn't have to watch all the students around her eat. Her stomach growled. Well, usually not as hungry. The library had a single computer that faced the back wall and was relatively private compared to the ones facing the librarian's desk. Rachel took this chance to do some research. Getting into the school's website via advisor access was incredibly simple. When she'd been at juvie, an older teen had taken pity on her and taught her how to do some basic hacking and programming during their downtime, as long as Rachel acted as lookout for her, of course. From there the internet had too many videos on hacking for Rachel to stop. It had turned into a hobby at this point, seeing what she could get into, what she could unlock or find. In less than a minute she had Tim's class schedule, his contact information, his guardian's contact information, and school academic record. She hesitated a moment before opening his grades. Blinking, Rachel frowned. He had an A in Calculus. He wasn't failing in the slightest! Why the hell had he wanted to study then?! Rachel closed out of the tab and sighed, fingers tapping a nervous beat on her arms. He must clearly want something, and Rachel needed to find out what it was, and fast. If she could get it and lord it over him, perhaps getting the money wouldn't be as hard as she originally thought.

Logging out of the computer, Rachel glanced at the Librarian. She was at her desk talking to the hall monitor who was standing at the door. Perfect. Heading deeper into the library, Rachel pushed past a few shelves before stopping at a door. Checking she was alone, Rachel grabbed a bobby pin out of her hair and a small screwdriver from her backpack. It only took three minutes to pick the lock, another skill she'd picked up in juvie after teaching someone how to do a backflip. If you didn't have physical things to trade, skills were also viable.

Quietly opening the door, Rachel shuffled inside before closing the door behind her and flicking on the light. It was a storage closet, and Rachel moved past art supplies, book bindings and headed for a dusty cart with three monitors and 2 old computer towers and got to work. Despite being out of date or completely broken, the two computers actually had decent parts. Of course transportation would be an issue... For starters, Rachel took two fans, and a large battery with some cables. It was a start. Hearing the bell ring, Rachel carefully set the parts into her bag and slipped out the door, headed to her next class.

As it turned out, Tim and Rachel had three classes together if you also counted the free period for homeroom. Calculus, personal finance, and Homeroom. Rachel had been very careful to keep to herself and interact with her classmates as little as possible. It was almost amazing how invisible a person could be if others found them boring, quiet, and still. Thus, when Rachel noticed they had the same personal finance class, she had found Tim and slipped into the seat beside him with a grin. Tim had looked surprised but smiled back as the class started.

Tim was still a puzzle to her. He was nice, smart, friendly, very well off, and his excuse of needing a study partner didn't really make sense when looking at his grades. Did he think she had money like the other kids? Clearly, he thought she had something and was playing the long con to get it, unfortunately for him though, Rachel was determined to get hers first. As the last bell rang, Rachel packed up her things and glanced over at Tim who was doing the same. In just one day she had made a lot of progress, but she wasn't fully sure how she would even approach the subject of the money. A very small part of her wondered if she just told Tim what was happening if he would help her out. But that thought was quickly silenced by the much louder one reminding her that no one did anything just to be nice. There was always a price tag involved. Tim shouldered his bag and seemed to hesitate for a moment before giving her a smile. "See you tomorrow for another study session?" He asked softly.

Rachel quickly nodded. "I'll save our table!" She agreed before holding up her fist, grinning wider as he gently bumped his own against hers. Success! Sure, she only had nine more days to get the money, but she felt surprisingly optimistic about it. The sky was overcast as she started her walk home, but it hadn't started raining yet. If she was lucky, she could finish her chores before Henry and Erica remembered she existed. The problem however was that if they made any messes after she had cleaned and left, she'd still get into trouble for it. With the parts she wanted to start to install into the computer at Pop's, it was a risk she might just have to take.

After changing and cleaning up the house without incident, Rachel made her way to Pop's home where she happily presented the new parts to him. "Well shit! Look at you, you sly fox!" He praised, grinning wide enough to show off his missing teeth. "Always knew you were crafty! Us black sheep gots to stick together, you know, we make a great team! Did you tell that Wayne brat to fork over the cash yet?" He eagerly asked, eyes searching her face.

Rachel's smile immediately dropped and she stared at her shoes with a nervous hum. "Well, um... not yet but I got his number and we're meeting tomorrow and so um- he's actually really nice! We studied together and have a few classes together and I think if we become better friends, he'll definitely help us out." She quickly summarized with a nod.

Pop's smile quickly faded the more she spoke until he was staring at her with narrowed eyes and a sneer. "And here I thought you were a clever girl." He spat towards her, making her wince and draw more into herself. "If you think for one second that the Wayne's or any of those stuck up sons of bitches at that fancy school of yours will help you, you're stupider than a rock." He let out a cruel chuckle. "I ain't telling you this to be mean Starlet, yous just got to wake up and see the world! The only reason that Wayne kid might act all nice and friendly toward you is because he wants something. You said you protected him from a bully; he's just probably making sure you don't turn on him too. But the second he don't need you? You'll find yourself with a knife in your back and your face full of mud." He snarled, jabbing a finger roughly into Rachel's chest.

Rachel jerkily nodded and swallowed. She'd been stupid again. People weren't nice to be nice. Everything always had a price tag. What? Had she thought Tim and her might have even eventually become friends? That quiet, hopeful voice was whispering that maybe Tim was just nice, and maybe he did like her and wanted to be friends, was hurriedly stamped out. That was the whispering of a stupid, foolish child.

"Don't speak such nonsense to me again." Pops snorted and turned away from her, digging in his fridge for a beer and carrying it over to the sagging and stained couch to collapse on, staring lethargically at the cracked television that showed some late-night talk show.

Rachel swallowed, letting out a slow breath as she tried to get her heart to stop hammering in her chest. Making fists to stop the shaking in her hands, Rachel looked up at him through her eyelashes. He was sluggishly sipping his beer while watching the show with a scowl. She'd messed up. Taking another breath in and out, Rachel carefully approached the couch. "I'm sorry Pops, I'll be smarter than that. Me and you, we're two black sheep, in it together! I'm sorry... I'll get that money, I swear! I just- I'm... playing the long con! He won't give me anything if he doesn't trust me!" She tried to reason hopefully.

Pops gave her a side glance before snorting softly. "Honey sure might catch more flies than vinegar, but even a bear can get tempted by sweets." He sneered.

Rachel wilted slightly. She'd been so stupid and now Pops was going to hate her too. "I'll get the money Pops, I swear, I swear I will." She promised hoarsely. She'd been foolish and greedy. His love and kindness were drying up just like everyone else's. "I know I'm stupid and ugly and a waste of space! I'll do better! I'm sorry!" Rachel's hands had slowly reached up and gripped her hair, pulling at the strands as she tried not to cry.

Pops glanced at her before huffing and rolling his eyes. "Alright!" He snapped. "Enough of that sniffling, weak shit!" He leveled her with a steady glare as she scrambled to stand straight and scrub her face hurriedly at an attempt to remove any evidence of tears. Turning back towards the TV, Pops let out another groan. "World don't owe you a cent, kid. And you can either cry and die from it or refuse to stand down." He threw back his head and finished his beer. "Go grab me another." He jerked his head towards the fridge as he dropped the empty bottle onto the carpet.

Rachel scrambled to do as he asked and quickly brought him another bottle. He popped it open and took a large sip before groaning and half closing his eyes. "We're the black sheep of this family Starlet, yous can't let them keep you down." He nodded towards the broken computer tower. "Go work on your computer and leave me alone." He grumbled. Rachel didn't have to be told twice.

A few hours later, Rachel set down her screwdriver and gave a yawn. She'd done pretty much everything she could do for the few parts she had. Glancing over at Pop's, Rachel stood and grabbed a blanket from one of the chairs and gently laid it over his lap and chest. The man was snoring softly; a half-drunk beer still clutched in his hand and a few empty bottles on the ground around him. Slipping out of the house, Rachel made her way home by the moonlight. Now she had two numbers. Only 9 and 1338 more days, and her failure in one might mean a failure in the other. Her bed had never felt more inviting as she'd curled up to sleep. 9 more days. 1338 more days. She could do this. She had to do this.

Chapter Text

7 and 1336 days. Rachel had spent the last two days at school spending time with Timothy, and stealing all the usable computer parts from the damaged library computers. Pops had found two more computer towers at the dump which she'd been able to get more parts from. Outside of school and her projects, she and Tim had started texting. Rachel's phone was one she'd fixed after Henry had thrown it down the stairs and smashed it on his birthday when the Calihan's hadn't gotten him the newest released version. That night, Rachel had carefully taken it out of the trash and hid it away in her room. It had taken months to get the thing to turn on, and the glass screen was still badly damaged, but it was usable, and it was hers! That small taste of freedom kept her surviving on the thrill for months! Tim's texting was sporadic, sometimes he would reply right away, other times they'd be talking at two in the morning. Tim seemed to keep odd hours and Rachel liked to imagine him doing insane rich people things. Oh he was up at 3am on a school night? The Wayne's had decided to go deep sea diving, looking for buried treasure. On a vague overnight trip? Skiing down a volcano or climbing the Eiffel Tower. She'd grin when he texted her back, or even better, texted her first! Honestly she was making some real headway! Not that she could explain that to Pops after the last time he'd exploded at her for befriending Timothy, so she had made excuses for why she had not gotten the money yet. There was a real fear that maybe, no matter what, she wouldn't get the money. That thought was unacceptable, which is why Rachel had been spending so much time on her backup plan which included fixing the computer.

Rachel zoned back in as the final bell rang, their teacher reminding them of some homework that was due on Monday when they got back. The weekend… While most students couldn't wait, Rachel counted down the minutes till Monday when she could head back to school. Home was a mix of trying to avoid attention, while also being quick to respond so as not to piss her family off. It was an exhausting song and dance that Rachel could not seem to master, no matter how hard she worked on the steps. Tim's voice broke her out of her musing, he'd already finished packing up and was waiting for her. When did that start to be normal for them? "You got any fun plans this weekend Rachel?" He handed her one of her pencils.

She carefully took it before closing her backpack and shouldered it with a snort at the thought. "Nah, well… maybe work on some projects." She shrugged. Her computer now had a deadline. The hardest part was finding usable parts when so many of them were fragile. Was she above stealing? It depended on the day and place. A big chain store that she could slip some food from and they wouldn't know the difference? Sure. A tiny mom and pop shop where they already were struggling to make ends meet? Rachel wouldn't dare. But the bigger electronic stores had major security, sensors and cameras and all that. Henry and Erica had computers in their rooms, but she was already blamed for any misfortune or mess, if she was ever actually caught? Or even if she wasn't they would most likely find a way to blame her anyway.

Tim raised an eyebrow at her with a grin, which she ignored with a chuckle. He gently nudged her side. "Awe come on, what's with the too cool, mysterious act! Like… math homework kind of projects or more like arts and crafts?" He pushed curiously.

Rachel gave him an unimpressed look. "Arts and crafts?" Erica had art supplies in her room, she'd let Rachel have some when she was cleaning her room out. "No it's not arts and crafts." She opened her locker with another laugh at the thought. Art was usually messy anyway, and messiness was a quick way to get in trouble. "Do I look like the starving artist type?" Hungry artist, but not starving.

Tim shook his head as they moved towards his locker. "Okay, okay! No need to sound so insulted." He lightly scoffed with a grin. "Wait no, let me guess… You… are going to head to Metropolis to get Superman to sign something for you." His grin widened as Rachel sputtered before lightly punching his arm. Tim had noticed her doodling the Man of Steel's symbol and the two had quickly fallen into hero discussion. They had talked about their favorite heroes, who could beat who in a fight, who the people behind the masks might be. Superman was Rachel's favorite, and had been since she'd learned about him. Tim was a very strong Wonder Woman fan. By the end of their free period, the pair were grinning at each other, and it hit Rachel that that conversation was probably the longest she'd had in years. The boy loved to tease her about being a Gotham traitor for loving Superman over Batman, but had laughed when she pointed out that he was just as guilty.

Sticking out her tongue, Rachel made a face at Tim. "I am not taking a bus all the way to Metropolis! It's too sunny!" She laughed before following him towards the front door. "Alright, you win. I'm building a computer! Finding the right parts has been a hassle though." She groaned.

Tim seemed to light up at the thought. "Wait really?! That's so cool! I didn't know you were into tech like that! Are you a gamer?" He curiously asked.

Rachel was hit with a jolt of anxiety. She didn't know the first thing about most games. And what if someone reported the missing parts in the library computers, and Tim put it together? She'd be in trouble with the school, the Calihan's, and Tim would never speak to her again, dooming Pops as well. Why had she told him that? It somehow seemed so easy to talk to Tim, that she'd just let it slip out of fond familiarity. Clearing her throat and looking away awkwardly, Rachel shrugged. "I've played a few games, but haven't had an actual system to use or anything." She quickly excused, wincing at her own awkwardness.

Tim didn't seem to mind however and waited patiently for her to continue, kindly electing not to mention the flush that appeared in her face. "Oh sweet! When you finish, we should play sometime!" He held out his fist and Rachel quickly returned the gesture.

As they reached the sidewalk, Tim stopped where he would wait for pickup, and Rachel paused with him, giving a nod. "I'd like that, a lot." She agreed easily. Plan A was getting the money through Tim, Plan B was getting the money in a less direct way by hacking something of Tim's, and slowly a Plan C was appearing. Plan C was a quiet little hope that Rachel could somehow get the money and stay friends with Tim. It felt foolish, and was loudly being internally mocked by herself, but a very tiny, stubborn flame just kept whispering what if's.

A voice appearing behind Rachel made her jump about a foot in the air. When had she gotten so careless about her surroundings?! "Gross, are you trying to pick up Freshman now Drake? Sheesh, always knew it'd come to this." Whirling around, Rachel stood face to face with Jason Todd Wayne, and turned very red in the face.

Tim let out a scoff, rolling his eyes at the other boy. "We're just friends Jason, buzz off." He grumbled, despite the way his neck turned red, making Jason point at him and start laughing. Rachel backed away, hoping to scoot around the entire situation before bumping into someone else. Whirling around again, Rachel was now staring at two girls who were smiling at her. She felt like throwing up.

"Awe! I for one am glad Timmy's making friends!" Stephanie Brown Wayne squealed, grinning down at Rachel, who was staring at them like a deer in the headlights.

Cassandra Cain Wayne matched her gaze and Rachel quickly found hers falling to her feet. She was surrounded by the Wayne children, this was not how her plan was supposed to go. "We're friends." She repeated quietly, unsure if she was heard over Jason and Tim now loud bickering. She needed to escape. This was too many people and it would be way too easy to make a mistake with this many variables and ruin her entire plan.

Stephanie's hand suddenly filled her vision as the senior stuck her hand out to shake. Rachel quickly reached out to return the gesture, praying that her hand wasn't too sweaty and… Stephanie was saying something and they were now all looking at her and Rachel swallowed and realized she hadn't let go of Stephanie's hand and dropped it like it was on fire. "Sorry… um what?"

The Wayne's exchanged glances and Rachel wondered if she had failed the test before it had even started. "I just asked what your name was?" Stephanie smiled kindly, tilting her head to the side.

"Rachel. Um. Rachel C-Grayson." She'd almost said Calihan. But Tim knew her as a Grayson. She'd almost blown her own cover. This was way too much, but Stephanie was chattering away excitedly again.

"Well it's super nice to meet you! Any friend of Tim's is a friend of ours!" She beamed excitedly, ignoring Jason's muffled cough that sounded like a loud, 'Doubtful!' "I'm Stephanie, This is Cass, Jason, and you already know Tim! Are you a freshman? How do you know Timmy boy here?" Rachel felt like squinting at the other girl, she was so bright and full of energy.

Nodding, Rachel glanced between the Wayne children. "I um- We study.." She mentally shook herself. Get ahold of yourself Grayson! Sure, every one of them could probably ruin her life, but did she have to be so pathetic about it? Play the part soldier!

Tim seemed to take pity on her, gently pulling her away from the others. "She's in a few of my classes and we study together and stuff. Rachel's a math wiz, seriously!" He had thrown an arm around her shoulder and was… bragging? Rachel wanted nothing more than to melt into the ground in embarrassment.

Shaking her head, Rachel quickly ducked out of Tim's hold and shook her head. "I'm just… good at studying." She mumbled as she backpedaled. "I'll um! I'll see you on Monday!" The minute she was out of reach, Rachel had stumbled away and practically rushed down the street, only slowing down when she was a few blocks away to check she was alone before letting out a breath of relief. This is why she had avoided lunch with them. Tim always ate with his siblings and Rachel didn't have enough information on them to know what was safe or not. She'd gotten too relaxed, too soft and almost messed everything up. Hopefully Tim's siblings wouldn't try and convince him that he was too good to be talking with some washed up circus trash. Rachel dragged the rest of the way home, antagonizing over the interaction.

Tim watched with a surprised expression as Rachel tripped over herself to sprint away from them. Giving a huff, he gave his three adoptive siblings a glare. "Seriously? The kid is like, painfully shy and you scared her off. Thanks." He crossed his arms with a frown, glancing to where Rachel had disappeared.

Jason rolled his eyes, looking none too sympathetic. "She was weird." He snorted, but he often thought most of the other students were weird, mean, stuck-up, the list went on, so Tim elected to ignore it. "What the hell are you doing hanging with a kid like that anyway?" He gave Tim a judgmental look which Tim rolled his eyes at with a sneer.

"She's actually really smart, a great conversationalist, and cracks funny jokes, all unlike some people." He mocked with a smug look.

Cass put a hand out before the two started fighting again. "She was afraid, and angry." After being raised as a living weapon, Cass could read people's body language like it was spelled out in bold.

The three other siblings stared at her as she shrugged. "Angry? I mean… definitely seemed upset. Oh man! You don't think she thought we were making fun of her, do you?" Stephanie seemed genuinely horrified at the thought, Cass just shrugged again.

Tim groaned, pulling out his phone. "I'll text her. I told you guys! Rachel is probably the shyest person I've met! I don't think she has any friends, I saw her heading back to the library during lunch after she said she was eating with some friends. Honestly I offered to hang out with her during our free period, and didn't expect to actually get along with her. I just figured she was someone's kid sister. Well, that and she hit Henry Calihan with her backpack last week for me." He mumbled the last part, but his sibling's eyes locked in on him, disbelieving and mocking grins on their faces.

"You're telling me not only did you have to get saved by a girl, but by a shrimpy, little girl?" Jason looked delighted at that fact, pointing gleefully at Tim.

Tim frowned. "Tim Drake Wayne can't fight." he hissed quietly.

At the same time, Stephanie was giving Jason a side eye. "You have something to say about girl heroes, Jason?" She asked, clearly challenging him.

Jason opened his mouth to retort before glancing at Cass who raised an eyebrow at him in challenge and closed his mouth again. "No. But she's still short. And young. She looked younger than me!" He huffed out.

Tim sighed in defeat as Alfred pulled up in their car. "She is, I think Rachel said she was like.. 13? Apparently she skipped a few grades. I meant what I said, she's really smart!"

Jason buckled his seat and let out a laugh, "Or maybe you're just dumb!" He gleefully retorted.

"And who exactly are we comparing Master Timothy's intellect to?" Alfred Pennyworth, the family's butler and sudo-grandfather asked, raising an eyebrow in the rearview mirror.

Stephanie didn't miss a beat. "Timmy's made a new friend!" She beamed at the younger boy who rolled his eyes and sunk down in his seat.

Cass smiled at him gently. "You make her calm, and happy." She added thoughtfully before she couldn't help but join in on teasing her younger brother. "Maybe she likes you." The declaration immediately made the car explode in laughs and teasing remarks towards Tim who was slowly turning beet red.

"I hate all of you." He grumbled, rolling his eyes as he turned to look out the window.

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Rachel was making a huge mess. She really was just the worst. Someone was screaming at her, she tried to focus on their voice. She was so good at messing up, why hadn't the Calihan's sent her packing yet? She would deserve it. A shoe struck her hip making her curl tighter on the floor. The movement had caused the flour on the floor to shift, and Rachel imagined it was snow, and she was making snow angels. She squeezed her eyes closed as a handful of the flour was shoved roughly at her and rubbed angrily into her face. The dry dust stuck in clumps to her cheeks where tear tracks had left a damp trail. She let out a whimper and scrambled as a hand gripped her by the hair and pulled her forward, sending her sprawling in an attempt to follow so her hair wasn't yanked. What had she done? The flour fell off of her like snowflakes. She liked the snow as long as it wasn't too cold out and it hurt her fingers. She watched the dust resettle before her face was roughly grabbed and forced to look at Tina Calihan's snarling face. Oh yeah, she'd made a mess.

Tina wasn't usually home until later in the evenings, but apparently she'd done her job at court well and the jury had come to a decision quickly. So when Rachel had come rushing in to change and take care of the dishes, she hadn't expected Tina to be standing in front of the stairs, and run directly into her. The bowl of dry ingredients for some scones had gone flying. Flour was all over the floor, walls, counters, and it was all Rachel's fault. Not only had she made a mess, wasted Tina's time, and been late coming home, but she had also wasted food. Tina made it very clear that food was a privilege not a right, and that every crumb that the Calihan's gave to Rachel, was out of the goodness of their hearts. Rachel owed them everything.

Rachel's eyes focused on Tina again as the woman slapped her, hard. The ring on her hand gave Rachel's cheek a clean slice to it. "You think everything just comes to you on a silver platter? You are such a brat! Everything we do for you just isn't enough! You take, and take, and take. Yet you're never satisfied! At least not until everyone else suffers like you." She snarled, eyes watching a small trail of blood drip down Rachel's cheek and hit the floor. "Well? Are you just going to stand there with a stupid look on your face or are you going to say something!" Mrs. Calihan finally let go of Rachel's face, wiping her hand on her apron like she'd just touched something disgusting.

Rachel took in a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry mother. I'm so stupid. I owe you everything, I don't deserve it. I'm sorry. I'll be good, I promise I'll try harder, please don't send me back!" Rachel's head hung low as she recited the words that had been hammered into her head. "I don't deserve anything. I'm a leech. I'm sorry Mom." The words rang out brokenly in the kitchen as silence filled the air.

Tina finally snorted. "At least you know it. Clean this up, you're coming with me to brunch with the ladies tomorrow and I need to remake these scones. Ugh. Honestly, I swear I must be getting sainthood with what you put me through." She snarled. Rachel nodded, quickly moving to the hall closet to get a broom and dustpan. She kept her eyes to the ground as she quickly and quietly swept up as much of the mess as the dustpan could hold before bringing it towards the garbage. "Stop." Tina's voice froze Rachel in her tracks. "You really aren't learning your lesson with all this pitiful crying and begging. How many times have I had to teach you this lesson? Too many. Here." She pulled out a large plastic bowl and set it on the floor. "Put the flour in there." She stated, eyes alight with something Rachel didn't trust in the slightest, but was too afraid to disobey. Slowly and methodically, Rachel cleaned the mess, deflating as Henry passed by to knock the pan out of her hands, and quietly crying out when Derrick Calihan returned home to find her scrubbing the floor and stepped on her fingers without care. The Calihan's had eaten dinner, talking about school and work, ignoring Rachel's hunched figure and shaking hands as she cleaned around them. When she'd finally scraped the last speck of flour, sugar, and spices from the kitchen, and presented the bucket to Tina, the woman glanced around before pulling out a spoon and sticking it in the bucket. "Since you love to waste food so much, you can just eat this until it's gone. And don't think you can throw any of it out, I will know." She harrumphed, leading Rachel over to the now empty table and pushing her roughly into one of the chairs, nodding towards the spoon. "Eat up." She commanded.

Rachel was so thirsty. She'd run home after school, and then had been cleaning for hours, and now was presented with a dinner of a mix of dry ingredients, dirt and grime tracked in from Henry's cleats, some hair, and what might have been a dead cricket at some point. Rachel's stomach angrily turned, warning her not to even think about it. Rachel's brain however was in charge, and much more afraid of whatever punishment Tina might do next if she didn't. The first bite was almost sticky as the flour hit her tongue. She tried not to cough and forced herself to swallow before fighting not to throw it back up as it stuck in her throat. Her eyes traveled up to Tina, who was watching her with a half grin on her face. Rachel took another bite and tried to think about what she still needed for her computer, letting the action become rhythmic. Take a bite, eat the flour and try not to choke, repeat. After about thirteen spoonfuls, Rachel tried not to look so relieved as Tina snatched the spoon away. "Go to your room, that's enough." Rachel was upstairs with the door closed in seconds.

Rachel's stomach was angry and cramped at the weird combination of ingredients she had forced into it. Trying to distract herself, she curled onto her bed and took out her phone. Tim had texted her apologizing for his siblings. Rachel couldn't help the little smile that lit up her face. She and Tim texted for a few hours before Tim stopped responding, and Rachel again imagined him getting up to some adventure. He had told her that he had seen the flying Grayson's years ago. Her heart did a funny ache at the thought. Had they met? How long ago? It was funny that their paths had crossed once more despite everything, and Tim still didn't realize they were one in the same. Rachel imagined herself teaching Tim some acrobatic stunts on one of his rich person adventures with a smile on her face. She missed the feeling of flying. Rachel quietly listened to the sounds of the Calihan's heading to bed and waited another fifteen minutes before rolling out of bed and sneaking out to Pop's house.

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The familiar walk was comforting, especially when Rachel lost the battle with her stomach halfway through the park and threw up her stomach's contents. The full moon's light was like a nightlight to let her know it would be alright. Wiping at her mouth with a grimace, Rachel started back down her trail before freezing. She could hear voices and immediately got low, staying tucked against the trees as she drew nearer to the voices. A fire was crackling in the clearing and two men were leaning drunkenly on each other as they warmed their hands on the fire. Rachel watched curiously before flinching as she realized a third one was sitting on the opposite side and was staring directly at her. Oh, today was not her day.

The man was badly balding and had a leather jacket that clearly had seen better days, but unlike his companions, his eyes were sharp and he grinned at her. "There's a little rabbit there in the bushes, are you hungry little bunny? We have more than enough to share!" He called out in a sing-song manner, making the other two lurch towards where she was. Rachel drew back, baring her teeth. She'd been sloppy today. It was a reminder. She let her guard down and kept getting punished for it. Her mind sometimes just liked to wander off on its own unfortunately. "Awe come on little bunny, we ain't gunna hurt you!" He cooed. Rachel hurriedly backed up and moved further down her trail. She didn't need more trouble tonight, and sticking around there felt like asking for it. By the time she had reached Pop's house, Rachel practically rushed inside, much to the older man's unimpressed look.

Pops had a whisky bottle in one hand and returned to the spot on the couch he'd been sitting, eyes following Rachel as she headed to her spot in front of the computer tower. She prepared herself for what was coming, eyes locked on the computer. "Did you get the money yet?" Pops asked, his voice clearly stating his annoyance and doubts. Rachel's stomach turned. Pops was getting tired of her excuses.

She refused to take her eyes off of the computer as she worked. "He's submitting the authorization forms tonight." A lie, to bide her time. She just needed a little more time and she could get the money. She had a week left, the lies and sneaking would pay off.

Pops took another swig of his whiskey and snorted. "Sure he is Starlet. I'm sure he's definitely being so helpful." He rolled his eyes. "I don't want to know what you promised for it." He scoffed in disgust.

Rachel gave him a sharp look. "I protect him from Henry."

Pop's eyes darkened and Rachel realized her mistake. "Not- not that Henry! A different one, someone else!" She quickly added in a panic.

Pop scowled at her before snorting. "Good, because you don't say nothing bad about my family, got it?" Rachel nodded quickly, throat tightening. The Calihan's were Pop's family, and Rachel was the Calihan's disappointment and shame. They were not family.

Pops relaxed again and took another swig of his whiskey. "Good." He huffed. Rachel swallowed as she stared at the computer, fixing a wire as her mind tuned out the world. She still needed a CPU, the chip was fragile and any that she had found so far was unusable. The rest of the parts were unstable, outdated, barely holding on, and Rachel could only pray it all worked. Besides getting one of those, she just needed to find the right adaptor to plug the tower in. She was painfully close. Pops had eagerly shown her his plan to get internet, a very, very long cable that snaked out of the window and trailed around to a large electrical company box. He had hardwired the thing to steal the internet from a fiber optic cable. Rachel was impressed. If they could get this computer up and running, it brought the odds up for being able to get the money. They might be able to actually do this.

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Several hours later, she slowly walked back up her path through the park, letting her hand trail the leaves of brush as she let herself be lost in thought. The CPU was fragile and easily destroyed. She'd have to either get the part from an already working computer, or get it independently. Any working school computer always seemed to have an adult near it, or its absence would get noticed far too quickly for Rachel to feel safe in taking it without getting caught. They had been lucky enough to find any working parts from tossed towers at the junk yard; a CPU would be near impossible to find. Which basically brought the problem full circle back to where she began, that she would have to outright steal the thing. Stealing it in broad daylight would need so much more time, planning, and skills than Rachel had. But at night… there would still be security cameras, silent alarms, the possibility of guards, not to mention any possible heroes that would happily send her back to juvie with a smile. Another baddie off the streets. She sighed with a groan, scowling at the thought. She would deserve it too and wouldn't be able to blame them for it, but then Pop's might get hurt or worse and she couldn't and wouldn't let that happen.

Rachel startled as someone stepped onto the path in front of her, their figure previously concealed in the shadows of the trees. She mentally kicked herself for not paying better attention. She'd let her guard down, and they obviously had seen her as the figure blocked her path. Hands outstretched towards her while she stayed frozen in place. "Hey little bunny, I was hoping you'd come back this way, it's not safe to be wandering alone at night, why don't you come with me and I can bring you somewhere nice and safe." Despite his calm and coaxing words, Rachel could practically hear the sinister grin in his voice. She was frozen, eyes wide as she watched the man creep closer, hand outstretched to grab her. Internally, a voice that sounded weirdly like her mother screamed at her to move. She moved. Instead of rushing away, Rachel charged forward, leaping into the air and flipping over the man who had not expected it. Using his head as a springboard, Rachel pushed him forward and down and rushed ahead, crashing through leaves and ignoring the branches that tugged at her clothes and angrily scraped her arms. She could still hear him behind her, and when she chanced the second to glance, he was much closer than she had thought he would be. Ducking her head, Rachel pushed herself, chest already rising and falling heavily, and again easily flipped over the fence, tumbling into the back alley by somersaulting to break the fall. Struggling up, Rachel fought to catch her breath, and watched in horror as the man pulled himself up and over, standing between her way out of the alley. He was breathing hard, and had an angry grin on his face. "Well that was a nasty trick bunny, you sure know how to leap." He snarled, pulling something out of his pocket with a click. The light from the moon glinted off of the blade. Well this just went from bad to worse, letting out a steadying breath, Rachel relaxed her posture and shifted her feet slowly into a fighting stance. She couldn't let him follow her back to the house, and she really needed to handle this quietly because if any one of the Calihan's woke up and opened their curtains to see what was going on, they might just help the man finish the job.

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Four Years Ago
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Rachel shuffled along in her orange jumpsuit, quiet, tired, and very afraid. She'd been in Gotham's Juvenile Detention Center for a little over a year, and slowly every movement was turning into one of survival. She worked so hard to learn the rules. Don't be loud, don't talk back, don't cry, do what you are told, don't draw attention to yourself, the list went on. The once bright and bubbly acrobat was a long distant memory. After her parents had been murdered, Rachel had told the police. A witness, they had called her, a victim. She'd talked with different police, they'd made a sketch. They asked her again and again and again to tell them what happened. She had been so tired and sad, but she had trusted them. The police helped little boys and girls when they were in trouble! Heroes rush in and save the day! All fairytales have happily ever after's! All those facts were quickly learned to be nothing more than lies told to make children feel better. No hero had rushed to save her parents. The police had brought her to prison, claiming it to be the safest place for her while they looked for the killer. Happy ever after's were myths. Being eight years old just meant most saw her as easy pickings, someone new to transfer the negative attention to, she'd been running in survival mode ever since.

However, despite everything, there were still some good moments, good people. During a free period, Rachel had curiously peeked into the gym, it was basically weights and other such exercise equipment, much to her disappointment. She'd once foolishly asked if they had any high ropes, or rings she could use, the guard had called her a spoiled brat. She'd shuffled inside out of pure boredom, hugging the wall to stay out of the way. There were only so many times you could watch reruns of the same few movies and there was no way the others would let her play basketball with them because of her size. There was a hang bar, and if no one was using it, maybe she could do a few tricks, at least until the guards saw and punished her for it. Unfortunately the bar was in use, and several older teens seemed to be standing around it, Rachel tried not to feel disappointed. As she turned to go, one of the older teenagers blocked her path. The older girl was stocky, short but toned, and stared down at her like she knew every bad thing Rachel had ever done. "Shit, you trying to get some muscle in here kid? Your fat lip and bruises clearly show you've done a shit job of it so far." She let out a low chuckle, tilting her head to the side. Rachel immediately crouched in on herself, eyes falling to stare at the ground. She shook her head. There was a beat of silence before the older girl curiously asked, "You ever even throw a punch before, kid?" Rachel shook her head again, wincing in preparation to the mocking and injuries she would no doubt receive for being an idiot. The girl instead laughed again and waved her hand in a motion for Rachel to follow after, which she did with a nervous frown. The girl shot her a wink. "Well today is a new day for you, a fight with someone who just takes it isn't a fight at all, it's a beating! And that's not the slightest bit entertaining. Now let's start with your stance. First of all, you look like a mouse." The girl's name was Alex, and Rachel was so quick to learn that she wasn't afraid of anyone. She was patient, and had a soft spot for the underdog. She and Rachel became something like friends, something like siblings. They'd eat, train, and spend time together, as long as Alex wasn't hanging with her crew of course. Because of Alex's kindness and protection, Rachel became more confident, she started using her acrobatics in their training. They weren't actually allowed to spar, and if she did anything too different the guards would get mad, but at the minimum Rachel felt confident enough that she wasn't just taking every hit towards her.
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BACK IN MODERN DAY GOTHAM
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The man seemed delighted as he looked at her like trapped prey. He licked his lips before chuckling, hungry for the spill of blood. "Awe, poor little bunny feeling rather trapped? Come here, there's nothing to be afraid of!" As he backed her towards the tall fence, Rachel narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth with a snarl. Her life felt like it hadn't changed since her parents had died. New faces, new locations. Five years later and what did she have? A family who found joy in making her suffer? A drunk grandfather who asked her to steal to fix his mistakes? It was all so… pointless. She was a rat in a maze and had left one corner only to reach the other, but it was still the same. Fucking. Maze. Her life used to actually mean something. She tried to remember. Yet everything just left her scrambling and powerless. And now there was this sick joke. Was she just supposed to lie down like a good dog and let him bleed her dry? Was her life supposed to end so… pointlessly?

Something in her awoke, something that had been quiet for a very, long time. She was angry, so righteously angry. At Tony Zucco for killing her family. At the cops and government workers for throwing her away to rot. At the Calihan's for treating her like a mistake. At Superman and all the stupid heroes in the Justice League for never saving her like they were supposed to. And now there was this twisted man, who treated her like prey. Who looked at a kid who clearly needed help and instead, wanted to cause harm. It wasn't fair. It wasn't, fucking fair. Rachel rushed forward and grabbed his outstretched arm when he tried to swing at her. Pushing her momentum down, Rachel pulled him down with her but somersaulted forward, leaving him on his back. She turned and with a sneer, stomped on his wrist, making him yowl in pain, and drop the knife. Unfortunately, he wasn't out yet and reached over with his other hand to grapple at her sweatshirt, yanking her backwards towards the ground before letting go and getting back up again. Rachel rolled away, jumping to stand as she blinked away the stars that appeared when her head had hit the cement. They shuffled, playing a game of chicken before the man rushed her. Rachel pushed off the ground, but she'd already surprised him once, and he just managed to grab her ankle and pull her back towards Earth, knocking her into the garbage cans and sending them clattering. Rachel was running on pure adrenaline and pushed herself up, moving to the right before dodging to the left and flipping behind him. She kicked the back of his knees and sent him back to the ground. He let out a guttural scream and turned. Rachel slammed her foot into his side as he howled. She would not die here. She refused to let her death mean nothing. She would be forgotten, Pops would be dead, and she would mean nothing to anyone, and Rachel outright refused. The man had a wild look in his eyes as he crawled backwards, and as Rachel approached, he swung his arm out, knife once again in hand. Rachel jumped. A sickening snap was heard as her feet connected with his arm, and the man was screaming.

The alleyway suddenly lit up. All of the adrenalin and raw emotions that had fueled the fight drained out of her as she turned to see the Calihan's curtains start to move. The man was still screaming, and her heart was beating loudly in her chest. Now she really was going back to juvie, and she'd deserve it this time. Springing forward, Rachel jumped over the back fence and rolled towards the house, hitting the looming shadows just in time for the curtains to open in Mr. and Mrs. Calihan's room. Slipping around the house, Rachel quickly slid inside and thanked everything that everyone still seemed to be in their rooms, probably trying to see what the hell all the noise was. Just as she went to close the door to her room, she saw all three of the Calihan's doors open. She hesitated a moment before locking eyes with Mr. Calihan who scowled at her. "For fucks sake, everyone go to bed! I'm calling the police!" He yelled, and Rachel felt her stomach tie in knots. She had ruined everything. She was going to juvie again. And for what? Because she couldn't handle being hit or mocked? She quickly stomped out the flame of anger as she sat on her bed, feeling numb. She was an idiot, 1336 meant nothing now. With her luck she would get twenty years for attacking the man, and she had no one to blame but herself.

Chapter Text

Rachel was going to Juvie, she was sure of it. The man would tell the cops about her and she'd be dragged away. She had sat and stared at her door, waiting for it to open and for the police to drag her away, but as time stretched on, and the red and blue lights from the squad cars turned off and left, Rachel couldn't understand what had happened. She sat anxiously, mind turning the event over and over again until she had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion. Unfortunately, only two hours later, she bolted upright in a panic as her door burst open, her adoptive mother Tina moving into the room and going through the clothes in her closet. “Get up! We're going to be late! I swear you act like such a spoiled brat, sleeping in whenever you want, life isn't always going to be this kind Rachel.” Tina lectured as Rachel stumbled out of bed. 

Ouch. Her head was still hurting from the nasty hit on the concrete as well as several other aches and pains from the previous day. “Where are we going?” She tiredly asked, flinching back as Tina gave her a look. 

Mrs. Calihan scoffed, pulling a dress out of Rachel's closet and holding it up towards her before shaking her head and pulling out another. “I'm bringing you to the ladies brunch this morning so I expect nothing but the best behavior, big smiles!” She decided on a puffy blue dress and pushed it onto Rachel before reaching up to pinch her cheek, frowning at the sight of a healed over scratch on Rachel's face where her ring had cut the night before. Rachel let her eyes stay focused on the ground, stiffening at the woman's touch. Tsk-ing in disapproval, Tina let go of her face and turned towards the door. “We'll have to use some make-up, I am not missing this week's brunch!” The woman seemed oddly giddy about it, making Rachel feel off balance. 

The bi-weekly ladies brunch was a gathering of upper class women who claimed to be friends yet seemed all too giddy at each other’s downfall. They spent every Brunch claiming to be so full while eating nothing, trying to one up each other, and searching each other for weaknesses to exploit. Diane thought the feeling of eating with hungry hyenas might feel and sound the same. Tina Calihan had been more than eager to show off her newly adopted daughter in the beginning, and Rachel had still been hopeful enough to be excited for it. That eagerness hadn't lasted one meal. No one had explained to Rachel that you weren't supposed to eat, and by doing so brought snide comments and looks. Her accent and mispronouncement of words were quickly picked apart. Her parents, the circus, herself were all topics ripe for the attack, and the ladies were more than happy to shred her to pieces. When they'd finally gotten into the car and Rachel had let her tears finally fall, Tina had called her dramatic and ungrateful. 

Changing quickly into the tight dress that crinkled when she moved, Diane stared at herself in the mirror. The dark circles under her eyes, the red scratch on her cheek, the tired expression on her face, all of it contracted with the cheery blue of the dress Tina had picked for her. Rachel hooked a finger on one side of her mouth and tugged it into a one sided smile. She quickly let it drop. She stepped away from the mirror and headed to the bathroom before Tina could start yelling for her, or before the mirror pointed out how much she didn't look like she belonged anymore. Diane tried not to hold eye contact with herself as Tina muttered about her hair and pulled angrily at her curls. Rachel let her mind instead wonder to the man she’d fought and hurt. She wasn’t sure she felt bad about hurting him, which was a startling thought in itself, but to be fair he had wanted her dead, so wasn’t that really just self defense? But why hadn’t anyone said anything to her yet? Shouldn’t the police be questioning her or the Calihan’s holding it over her head? Maybe that was it, they were just waiting for the right time to confront her with all of her crimes. The man last night, stealing Henry's old food, all her terrible thoughts and feelings for her wonderful family. They knew she was a terrible, ungrateful child. 

Standing at attention in front of the bathroom mirror, Rachel grit her teeth as Tina roughly pulled at her curls, muttering and moaning about how messy her hair was. Rachel stared at herself in the mirror. At least, it was probably herself. The girl in the mirror stared blankly back. The mirror girl looked tired, her eyes seemed to be blank, a stupid look on her face. Rachel wondered if that girl could get away, if she knew about the countdown. She wished she could tell the mirror girl it was going to be okay, but the mirror girl didn't seem the type to believe her. Diane was snapped out of her thoughts as Tina hit her head with the hairbrush. “Ugh! Honestly! We'll have to straighten it.” She groaned, as if the woman didn't try to straighten and fly every rebellious curl out of Rachel's hair on a bi-weekly basis. Rachel wondered if her family would like her more if she was blonde like Erica. 

Once her hair was straightened and then pinned up, Rachel dutifully followed Tina downstairs, shifting uncomfortably in the restricting clothing. Only Garrett Calihan was sitting calmly at the kitchen table, sipping his coffee as he read the newspaper. His eyes glanced over to his wife and adopted daughter. “Another Ladies’ brunch I take it?” He snorted in a condescending manner as Rachel slipped into a chair, folding her hands in her lap and staring a hole into the table. 

Tina barked a laugh. “Of course! Honestly, I thought we were struggling to stay relevant but after last night? Well! Are you going to go to the press about it?” She asked almost excitedly, and Rachel squeezed her hands together harder. They were going to tell everyone what a horrible child she was? Humiliation crept up her spine and squeezed the air in her lungs. It made sense. They had to make sure no one would fall victim to her again, thinking they were adopting a nice daughter and instead getting an ungrateful brat. 

Garrett hummed softly as he sipped his coffee, mulling the question over as Tina busied about the kitchen. “Depends on what the police find I suppose. I'm not stupid enough to run my mouth and have it be because of something I voted on that I want kept quiet.” He grumbled. 

Tina snorted softly, setting a paper cup with one of Diane's vitamins in front of her with a glass of water, which she quickly took without complaint. “You've always been a man of action.” Her bitter tone did not make it sound like a compliment, and Garrett gripped his newspaper tighter as Diane tried to shrink more into her chair. 

Garrett had a look of barely concealed disgust on his face as he calmly took another sip of his coffee. “Well someone in this family had to be.” He snorted, refusing to look at Tina as she whirled around to stare daggers at him. Diane tried not to breathe to avoid being detected.  

Tina pursed her lips before turning back around with her nose in the air. “Fine. Glad to see the safety of your family means nothing to you. I'd love to see the papers run something about that.” She sniffed, angrily clattering dishes as she moved about the kitchen. Diane snuck a glance up at Garrett. The paper was gripped so tightly in his fists she was surprised it hadn't ripped yet.

He shifted, moving the paper down and Diane quickly moved her gaze back to the table. Children should be seen and not heard. Well… their children could, but not her. Letting out a sigh, Garrett shook his head. “We could go to the house in Robbinsville for a bit if that would make you feel better, I've kept the cleaning staff on site so it should still be ready for us to go there on such short notice.” He sounded slightly annoyed by the thought, but Tina was already beaming at him. 

“Yes! Ugh, this house is so cramped! And my poor garden! Those gardeners better have kept it in shape, the help always slacks whenever possible, you know how they are.” Tina whined, huffing dramatically. Diane's heart fell. She hated the other house. It had its pros of course. Her room was bigger, she was less likely to run into Henry or Erika, or remind any of her family she existed. But was it worth the cons? The house was so far from school that she had to catch a ride with Erica or Henry, which meant she owed them, and they were always eager to remind her of that. There were other reasons as well, it was very far from Pop's home, and Garrett's work shed was there with all his tools and guns that scared her more than she liked to admit. 

Rachel swallowed and slowly let out a breath to shake those thoughts away. She'd manage. She always had. 1335 days. That's all she had to focus on. Just 1335 more days and then she could escape. Rachel flinched as Henry came stomping down the stairs, a pleased grin on his face as Tina placed a plate of pancakes in front of it. Rachel must have stared a bit too long at them because Henry sneered at her and gave her leg a solid kick under the table. She focused her eyes back on the ground. There were pack rules in the household, and she was bottom of the rung, the Calihan's made sure she remembered that fact. Diane's stomach gave an angry grumble and she hoped no one had heard it as she watched Tina place more pancakes in front of Garrett. They were too nice for her. A selfish part of her hoped that maybe they'd let her have one from leftover batter. The thoughts of what had happened last night reminded her she didn't deserve that and the hunger pains quickly turned into nauseous anxiety. Tuning the Calihan's out, Rachel tried to focus on her plan for her computer. Maybe she'd be able to get the money for pops before they returned back to the large manor? No… there was no way she would figure this out in time, which meant she'd get back to the house later at night. Oh well, she was used to not getting a lot of sleep. 

A rough hand grabbed her face and jerked her head up. Diane's eyes snapped open and blinked away the blurriness of sleep. When had her eyes closed? Stupid and lazy falling asleep around the Calihan's! Garrett sneered in her face. “I'm sorry, are we boring you?” He snarled, and Rachel quickly tried to shake her head.

Garrett's other hand reached back to hit her when Tina stepped forward and stopped him. “We're going out. She needs to look presentable.” Diane loved her mother, Tina took such good care of her. She protected her. “Not the face or arms.” Tina hissed. “Not with all the attention we'll be under.” Mother was always so smart. Diane squeezed her eyes shut as Garrett's foot met her side, curling into herself as she gasped in pain. Then it was over and Garrett was back in his spot at the table as Tina was scowling and trying to smooth her dress back out. Diane's eyes wandered to Henry. The older boy had his nose buried in his phone, oblivious as he shoveled pancakes into his mouth. Or… as Garrett moved to grab his coffee again, Henry stiffened ever so slightly. Ah. Just because Garrett didn't currently take out his anger on his two biological children, did not mean he never had. Rachel felt a bit sympathetic towards Henry. Henry caught her eye and sneered, and her sympathy quickly dried up. The rules were clear. It was every Calihan for themselves. 

Tina screeched about Diane's dress before huffing and stomping towards the front door, dragging Diane after her by the wrist and out to the car. Ah so no breakfast then. She'd have to be careful about the food at the luncheon and not eat too quickly or too much. She could just zone out and try to figure out how to solve this computer problem. 

The drive was uneventful, Diane had gotten good at nodding and agreeing when it felt appropriate to, and Tina ranted and scoffed at her as she drove. The test came from the event itself. Diane wondered if this is what it felt like to be a cow at auction. Every brunch the other women would gasp and scoff, touching her hair and dress, commenting on her appearance and asking questions about her grades and how she liked living with the Calihan’s and how much she owed them. The rich ladies loved to remind her that she would never be one of them. With the way all their sharp features pulled at their faces, Diane was just fine with that fact. The topics of conversation ranged from fashion to scandals to fundraisers and vacations. Normally once they were sat, Diane enjoyed staring at her plate of food and seeing how much she could eat without getting called out on it. If she ate too much she’d anger Tina. If she ate too little she might get called spoiled and picky, still angering Tina. Everything was always a song and dance. 

Just as the gaggle of women went to sit, a slight commotion that was out of the ordinary pulled Diane from her mind. The first was the arrival of a new woman who introduced herself as Selena Kyle, and apparently was Bruce Wayne’s girlfriend. Diane glanced up at Tina, whose smile had gone strained. This Selena was clearly annoying her but she was doing her best to not show it. Diane shuffled into her chair with practiced repetition, her dress crinkling uncomfortably. Chin up, arms relaxed, a calm smile on her face, eyes lowered. How many brunches had she made it through? It was easier now. When she was younger, she wasn’t used to sitting for so long, didn’t know the right answers, got upset too easily and showed ugly things like hunger. Diane’s stomach growled as Tina set a plate of fruit, half of a cream cheese bagel, and a single hardboiled egg in front of her. Diane mentally cursed her options. All were easily shown if she ate them, and Tina would consider her spiteful, embarrassing her in front of her friends.

Diane was used to zoning out during the brunches while fighting sleep that seemed to try and lull her back every morning. Looking up with a shake of her head to wake herself, Diane was startled to meet Selina’s gaze, she almost dropped her fork. The woman was beautiful, with dark skin, short hair, and full lips. Diane realized she had been staring and jerked her head down to stare at her plate, swallowing. Selina was Bruce Wayne’s girlfriend, did she know Tim? Would she tell Tim that she had seen Diane? Rachel felt her face grow hot. Tim didn’t even know she was a Calihan, would he hate her? Taking a deep breath, Diane calmed her panicking. There was no way for Selina to connect her to Tim. It was also probably egotistical for her to think Tim talked about her. She could already hear Tina and Garrett scoffing and scolding her for it. 

Tina sipped at her mimosa, eyes staring daggers at Selina even as her smile widened. “Selina, it is absolutely lovely that you were able to join us! I'm not sure if we’ve ever met, normally Brucie doesn’t keep a girl around long enough for us to invite them here.” She let out a laugh as she digged at Bruce Wayne. Diane took the moment to eat some of the fruit while Tina was distracted. “I’m Tina Calihan, of Johnson & Miller Law, you might know my husband Garrett Calihan. He’s one of the City Council. We’re normally Brucie’s neighbors a few doors down but we’ve been staying in a small little rental so the kids can be closer to school and Garrett to his work while some renovations get done. Honestly it’s so drab, we’re moving back next week. Your name seems familiar, is there somewhere I would know you from?" Tina dominated the conversation, making sure to verbally try and put Selina in her place. 

Selina finished putting cream cheese on her bagel before taking a bite and slowly chewing, looking calmly back at Tina with a relaxed stare. She let the silence drag on awkwardly as she sipped at her drink. “Oh yes, I think I vaguely know of you, can you still call yourself neighbors with Bruce if there’s that many miles between you?” She hummed with a shrug, ignoring Tina’s expression looking like she had just eaten a lemon. “Nothing as fancy as a lawyer or city councilman, but I’m sure you know how tabloids love to talk about rumors.” Selina waved her hand casually in dismissal. 

Diane felt like she was caught in-between a ping pong match played by a bear and lion. The name did ring a bell in her mind, but was it just from Selina being around Bruce Wayne? Diane slowly lifted a hand towards her bagel half but froze as Tina turned towards her. “This is my adopted daughter, Rachel.” Tina reached over with a frown to tuck a stray hair back, Diane stiffening at the motion, internally cringing at the sudden attention of both women. 

Selina seemed to examine Diane for something before her expression slightly softened. “It’s a pleasure to meet you little mouse, how old are you?” It was one of those questions that adults asked that Diane was happy to answer, there was a script for these questions. Cautiously meeting Selina’s eyes, Diane sat up straighter. “I’m thirteen ma’am.” Hands folded in her lap, polite but not groveling. If Tina deemed she showed the wrong person too much respect, she’d pay for that as well later. The rules that made up the daily song and dance of her life were exhausting. 

Tina quickly jumped in before she could have the chance to embarrass herself. “We’re just so proud of Rachel. She actually skipped a few grades, she’s just so book smart! We’re hoping she picks up life and street smarts but the doctors think her trauma might have stunted her emotionally.” Tina patted her head like a dog as Diane swallowed the insults like bitter tasting medicines. 

Selina tilted her head and Diane bit her tongue as she felt her face flush in a mix of anger and embarrassment. She didn’t feel stupid, but the Calihan's loved to tell her she was, so maybe she really was and everyone was just being awkwardly nice to her about it. 1335 more days and she could go be an idiot alone in peace without making everyone uncomfortable with her presence. Selina gave her a smile of pity. “What’s your favorite class Rachel?” Diane felt like she might start sweating from the sudden quiz, what was the right answer? 

Her mouth was too dry. “I like Math. Numbers make sense, English has too many rules that contradict each other.” Selina nodded with a chuckle and Diane’s shoulders relaxed. The other women at the table chatted casually with the occasional clink of dishes. 

Tina was starting to feel more like a vulture that hovered over their polite conversation, ready for Diane to make a wrong move. “Oh yes, you should have heard her when she first came to live with us. She might have worked at a meat market the way she kept butchering the English language.” Tina laughed and Rachel ducked her head lower as her cheeks burned brighter. English wasn’t her first language, but the Calihan’s made sure it was the only one she spoke when they were around.

Selina hummed again, eyes darting over to stare at Tina with what looked like barely concealed annoyance. “Is English your first language?” Her tone was curious instead of judgmental and Diane glanced at Tina before slowly shaking her head. 

Hesitating for a moment, Diane opened her mouth before glancing at Tina again who was staring at her with a raised eyebrow. “I speak um…” Her fear of Tina was fighting with a small flame of rebellion. “English was my sixth language. Romani was my first, then Spanish, Italian, French, my mandarin isn’t the best… I checked out a book on sign language but I had to return it before I got too far in it.” There was also Carnie, but between the circus and Juvie, Diane was sure mentioning either would get her in trouble, more than bragging about languages. 

Selina smiled, looking pleased at her answers. Diane let out a breath of relief, she’d passed whatever test the woman had been giving her. Tina however, had clearly not forgiven her for speaking out. “Like I said, very Booksmart. Why, Rachel. You should have told me you wanted a sign language book, we would have just bought it for you.” Tina waved her hand in the air before tutting as if disappointed in herself. “The poor dear is always so afraid of offending, ever since we saved her. My Garrett found her, I’m sure you probably saw the newspapers.” Diane let her eyes slowly close as she tensed, preparing for the blows that Tina was heading for, and mentally begging her not to say it. “She used to be forced to work in some half rate circus, incredibly unsafe, her parents didn’t even tie the ropes correctly so they died by their own stupidity.” Tina scoffed and Diane clenched her teeth, the fork in her hand bending as she pressed down on the metal. Even if Tina couldn’t physically punish her while in public, she knew how to stab the blade just right with her words to make Diane wish she would hit her instead. 

Diane felt like a coward, she let Tina sling insults at her parents, at Haly’s Circus and her life and family there. Her throat tightened at the thought of them, of that night, head held low as she stared at her plate that she no longer felt hungry enough to eat. Tina patted her head again with what could be mistaken as a motherly smile. “It really is rewarding to save someone’s potential, ah, I’m sure you know it well enough with all the children Brucie seems to take in every week or so.” Tina grinned. 

Selina was staring at Diane like she was trying to put a very sad puzzle together, and somehow that hurt in itself. Taking a deep breath in and out, Diane pushed her feelings down, mentally repeating, 1335, 1335, 1335- Diane gave a lopsided grin. “I owe everything to the Calihan's!” She pushed her smile to be wider and Selina’s took on a startled expression before a pained smile of her own greeted her. 

“I’m sure you feel that way.” Selina hummed before looking away, and taking a sip of her drink. Diane wondered if she had any self respect left, and was sure that whatever good impression she’d given Selina, that last comment killed it. Turning her gaze back towards Tina, Selina raised an eyebrow. “You mentioned moving back near Bruce, is that because of what the news stations have been saying? Was the man really after your husband?” That news startled Diane out of her forced expression of happiness. 

Tina however, lit up like a Christmas tree, leaning forward with a shark grin before shaking her head. “It’s horrible! I can’t say too much, but…” She glanced around to make sure she had as many people listening to her as possible, “We’re moving back to our manor to have better security! There was a hit on my husband! But luckily,” She glanced around again as if to indicate what she was about to say was a huge secret. “My husband is on good terms with The Batman himself, so he took care of him before he even got close to the house!” 

The reaction was instantaneous, the group of women chattered incredulously. A claim like that…. Diane wondered if Tina had finally lost it. Selina seemed to be struggling to not choke on her drink, wait… was she…? The woman was covering a hand over her mouth and was struggling not to laugh. Diane felt oddly like doing the same and had to duck her head to hide her silly little grin from view. Batman? Imagine if The Batman had shown up! She would have been completely screwed! He probably would have personally escorted her to juvie! She bit down on her lip to stop her smile. It was just such a ridiculous thought! But that also meant that she wasn’t a suspect? Diane suddenly felt twenty pounds lighter. The mysterious Batman could take all the glory he wanted to if it meant that Diane didn’t have to suffer for it. She was more than happy for that. 

Diane took another deep breath and relaxed her expression, sitting up straighter next to Tina. Selina seemed genuinely amused at the thought. “How nice of The Batman, I didn’t realize our city counsel had such good relations with him, but why on Earth would someone target your husband? Some voter gone mad?” She questioned, sharp eyes focused on Tina’s. 

Tina didn’t seem to appreciate having her story questioned, and huffed scornfully. “Not every councilman knows The Batman, I said  only my Garrett does. He’s going to be in the running for Mayor, you know.” This was also news to Diane who couldn’t decide if that would make her home life better or worse. Possibly worse depending on how the elections went. “It’s still an active investigation, but apparently he was so upset over my husband’s vote to send aid money to the schools in the Narrows and East Side. Some people just hate to see the most unfortunate get any sort of helping hand.” Tina put a hand to her heart as the women around her cooed and shook their heads. She had them eating out of the palm of her hand. Diane felt like laughing again. If Garrett was so upset about children needing aid why didn’t he start by leaving his own alone? The entire thing sounded so fictitious to her, she mentally decided to check in to exactly who the man whose arm she broke was. The smell of his breath and disturbing pet names still fresh in her mind, a shiver ran down her spine at the thought of it. 

Selina seemed satisfied enough at the answer, and shook her head. “I’m sure that must have been quite a fright.” She muttered softly, glancing over at Diane again with an expression that Diane couldn’t quite read. 

Tina was nodding again and seemed more relaxed now that she was once again the center of attention at their ladies’ brunch. “Oh yes, I still can barely look at the place! Honestly it’s been so traumatic for my family!” Diane sat back and tuned Tina’s dramatics out. The rest of the brunch went by normally, and Diane even gave Selina a small smile and waved goodbye when Tina dragged her out of the restaurant by the wrist. For once she was actually happy she’d gone for the news alone that she was in the clear. Plus the attention had put Tina in a great mood and she was beaming happily on the drive home, which meant Diane was less likely to set her off. 

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The rest of Diane’s Saturday was spent at home, and with most of the house empty, She hid away in her room and started making plans for that night while packing for the Manor. Her computer’s CPU was the last part she needed, and after mulling over all her choices, she’d finally figured out the best place to get one, Wayne Enterprises. Big offices like that were sure to have a bunch of computers and laptops just sitting around, and Bruce Wayne could probably afford to replace several computers, not just the parts. She just had to get Pops on her side, and they’d be able to pull it off. After two hours of being left on read, Pops finally sent a thumbs up emoji. They were doing this. 

By Midnight, Diane had made her way through the forest, avoiding the police tape that marked off her fight with the creep, and arrived at Pop’s home, a sheepish grin on her face at his raised eyebrow. “And you think the biggest corporation in Gotham will be less guarded and easier to get into than some box stores? Did you hit your head recently Starlet?” Pops snorted, tightening his belt on his uniform as Diane balanced on the couch watching him. 

Diane put her hands up. “Technically it’s not, but we’re not trying to get some giant guarded secrets, we just need a laptop, or computer. Any random secretary desk would probably have them! Just slip into a room when you’re cleaning and grab it and take it with you at the end of your shift.” Diane tried to reason, giving a small grin. 

Pops let out a sharp laugh. “Right. And you don’t think them security is always watching the janitors on their cameras? That the second I get near anything expensive they wouldn’t have me fired? I ain’t losing one of my jobs because you couldn’t handle getting some computer chip.” He snorted. “They’d probably throw me in jail for it, no way Starlet. I am not getting locked up for your dumbass.” He scoffed. 

Diane frowned and tapped her fingers in a beat on her leg. “Well… What if you didn’t take it? What if I did?” Seeing Pops pause, Diane hurriedly continued. “You could bring me with and I can get in a side door or something, and then I get the computer part and wait for you to get off. If I get caught you could always claim not to know me! This really is the easiest way I can think of to get this part!” Diane pushed. 

Pops gave her a calculating stare. “And this part will let you get the money from the Wayne kid?” 

Diane quickly nodded. “It’s the last part I need. Once we get the computer up and running, he won’t have a choice, and then you don’t have to skip town or get hurt.” It would be worth it. All of this would be worth it. She would save Pops and maybe Timmy would never figure it out and they could stay friends. It would work, it had to. They only had six days until the money was due and Pops skipped town, died or disappeared. Diane wouldn’t think about either possibility. 

Pops seemed to contemplate the idea while he finished his glass of whiskey before slowly nodding. “Fine. But you get caught, don't come crying to me, alright?” He grumbled, clipping his name badge to his uniform. “Come on Starlet, get in the truck.” Diane was quick to launch herself off of the couch and hurry after him, climbing into the rusted pickup that smelled like cigarette smoke and sounded like it was on its last mile before total breakdown. Pops had fixed it up more times than she could remember, having spent many nights holding a flashlight for him while he worked on it. 

Diane felt like there was a nervous buzz in her system. A working computer, any would do, and they were less likely to set off any sort of alarm for the cops or have some heroes come crashing in to save the day. She let her leg nervously bounce and glanced over at Pops, whose hand was gripping the steering wheel as he stared ahead. Diane turned and watched the lights of the city move in the distance as they slowly grew closer. She had her tools and screwdriver, and a small bag hanging off of her shoulder to put the CPU in. This plan would work. It was all she could tell herself over and over again as Pops parked his car in the employee lot and stepped out without a word. She was a flying Grayson, someone with the heart of a performer, and it was showtime. 

Pulling her hoodie over her head, Diane went the opposite direction of Pops and moved around the building towards the back. All she had to do was wait for the right moment. The dumpsters behind the building were a great cover from the light above the door, and Diane scanned the area for cameras. A small, red light blinked steadily above the door. Diane took a steadying breath in and out before pulling herself on top of the lid of one of the bins and creeping along the wall. She had to time this. One… two… Diane counted the slow, sweeping movements of the camera before launching herself forward, doing a forward vault off of the lid and landing under the camera. Diane shook her head with a small grin before quickly getting to work. With a few clicks and jerks from her screwdriver, Diane slipped inside. 

The actual idea of breaking into Wayne Enterprises, and then being inside doing it were two very, very different things. Diane swallowed before wiping her hands on her pants. No time for stage fright, she had a computer to find. Her moment from room to room was slow, double checking for security and moving inward. It helped that the workers had long since gone home for the night and all that was left seemed to be the relaxed security guard and custodial worker. The hallway passed several conference rooms, but there were only hook ups for presentations and nothing that would hold the part that she needed. 

Slowing down as she entered what appeared to be a large room of cubicles, Diane let out an excited breath, creeping into the first one and beaming at the still computer tower that almost seemed to be waiting for her. Could it really be this easy? Getting to work, Diane tucked herself under the desk and took the tower apart piece by piece. The thing was state of art, and if she thought she could get away with taking it, she would have. Unfortunately beggars couldn’t be choosers and were already pressing her luck. After removing one of the fans, Diane grinned as the computer’s CPU sat ripe for the taking. Two minutes later and it was sitting in her palm and she stared at it like it was the hero she needed, and in a way it was. Carefully wrapping it and setting it into her bag, Diane methodically put the computer back together. She didn’t need someone getting suspicious from the mess and alerting the guards or having them check the cameras a little more closely.

She’d gotten in, now was the easiest part, getting the hell out of there. Just as Diane screwed on the last screw, the distinct jingle of keys caught her attention, and she shoved herself deeper against the back of the desk, praying the shadows were enough to stave off any attention. The keys quietly told of the guard moving around the room before a door clicked open and closed and quiet returned. Diane let herself breath again before slowly crawling out. The plan was simple enough, leave the same way she came in and meet Pops back at his truck at the end of his shift. 

Slinking back down the hallway, Diane turned the corner and spotted a guard frowning in concern at the door she’d broken into as he fiddled with the lock. Well. Shit. Back-peddling, Diane turned to head back into the building only to see the handle on the door to the rest of the building start to turn. She was trapped between them. Moving on instinct, Diane threw open the door to her left and quickly closed it behind her. Backing away from the door, Diane listened to the sound of footsteps grow closer, and the sound of muffled voices of two men talking. She’d brute forced her way in and because of that she’d trapped herself like an idiot. The room she’d jumped into was a large conference room with only one door, and fake windows that did not actually open. There was only a large table with chairs set along its edges. Moving further into the room, Diane pushed herself under the table just in time as the door creaked open. She once again held her breath as light from the hallway spilled into the room before it closed. This was getting way too close for comfort, and Diane nervously patted the bag holding the CPU gently as if to assure herself it was still there. Climbing out from under the table, Diane stood and turned towards the door before letting out a gasp and stumbling backwards. A young man stood with his own startled expression. He wore a nice suitcoat, his dark hair pushed back. His blue eyes seemed to be looking for answers to more than a few questions. Diane was caught and for the second time that day was sure she was on her way to Juvie.

Swallowing and taking a few steps back, Diane glanced around like a cornered animal. The silence between them stretched on for a beat before a loud growl broke it, Diane’s stomach deciding now was the perfect time to let her know how it felt about how little she’d eaten that day. Embarrassing and yet the noise seemed to make the man relax slightly. “Hey, uh- woah there kid, how’d you even get in here? Was the door your handiwork?” He gave a nod towards the hallway. “Listen, you’re not in trouble.” Diane looked at him like he was an idiot, or maybe he thought she was. There was no way that she’d just got caught breaking into Wayne Enterprises and the first thing she’s told is that she wasn’t in trouble for it. The man let out a small laugh and shook his head with an easygoing grin. “Sorry, I’m not trying to trick you, promise. I’m Terry. Guessing you needed a place to lay low for the evening? I got into my own trouble as a kid, I get it.” 

Diane was trying not to stare at Terry like he’d grown a second head. “I-” She could hear her heartbeat in her ears. “I’m sorry. Please just let me leave.” Her voice came out scratchy and she swallowed, trying to decide if she could catch him by surprise and get past him. 

Terry’s face softened and he kept his hands up, trying to sooth the situation. “Hey, it’s alright. It’s supposed to start getting colder out now so I get it, I think the cafe upstairs still has some food for the overnight staff, can I at least get you something to eat?” He seemed genuinely trying to help which completely baffled Diane. Pops would be on shift for at least a few more hours… Diane slowly nodded, suspicion clear on her face. “What’s your name?” Terry tried, nodding his head towards the door and holding it open for her with a smile. 

Diane stiffened, creeping towards the door with a frown. She was fully expecting several armed guards to jump her, but instead an empty hallway met her. She looked up at Terry with puzzled suspicion, her frown deepening. Terry chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “You’re not one for words huh kid? That’s alright, I’ve been told I speak enough for several people.” He chuckled before pointing back down the hallway. “The stairs are right down there, and then up a floor and to the left.” He directed as he led the way. “At least tell me this,” He grinned down at Diane who narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you a hot coco fan? They make some pretty great coco, not as great as Alfred’s, but still pretty good.” He chuckled.

Diane didn’t know who Alfred was, but the thought of hot coco hit her with the memory of her mama putting whipped cream on her tatí’s nose while cuddling during cold nights in their trailer. Diane let out a slow breath, swallowing the sudden burning in her throat of grief and shame. Her parents would hate her doing this. She didn’t deserve hot coco. Diane bit hard on her lip and shrugged, staring down at her feet as she put one foot in front of the other. Terry paused but was kind enough not to mention Diane’s embarrassing display of emotions. She had been so bad at hiding her emotions and expressions lately, she really needed to work on that. 

Pushing open the door at the top of the stairs, Terry held out a hand. “Not as many choices at this time but they still have some good stuff. If they didn’t I’d give Bruce an earful anyway.” He chuckled before stopping as he glanced at Diane’s face. “Woah! Hey! It’s alright, what’s wrong?” She had completely stopped in her tracks and hunched in on herself with a slight look of horror. 

Diane squeezed her eyes shut and tried to take a few breaths in and out. She was an idiot and was going to pay for it. On the other side of the cafe was a bathroom, a janitor cart sat outside it, with Pops staring at her with a look of barely contained disgust. “I don’t have any money.” Diane finally choked out, squeezing her hands into fists. Pops was pissed at her. Would it even matter if she got the CPU? Here she was following this man at the hope of food like some stray dog. It was pitiful and shameful to her family.

Terry had gotten on one knee, gently kneeling next to her with a look of concern. “It’s alright, the food’s on me, promise. You can get whatever you want.” He tried gently coaxing her. 

Diane blanched. There was a beat of silence before she whipped her head up to stare at him with anger. “I can’t owe anyone else. I can’t. So just forget it!” Before seeming to realize herself and shrinking back. 

Several emotions crossed Terry’s face before he took a deep breath himself and hummed in thought. Glancing around, Terry pointed at the counter holding a bunch of napkins, silverware, and trays. “Could you do me a favor then? I’m just so tired after working all day. Can you grab me a tray and everything?” He softly asked her. Diane blinked, her stance softening before glancing up at Terry, then the bathroom. Both the cart and Pops were gone. Slowly as if expecting a surprise attack, Diane carefully collected the requested tray and items before bringing it back to Terry who beamed at her as he took it. “Oh man! I owe you! How about I pay you back with some food, would that work?” He asked gently. 

Diane’s jaw dropped. He’d… What? He owed her? Just for getting him a tray? A startled giggle escaped her throat and she slapped a hand over her growing smile as more followed. “Yes.” She agreed, outright grinning as she followed after with a laugh. It wasn’t pity, he owed her! Despite the entire situation feeling incredibly ridiculous, her brain couldn’t help but follow the logic. The deal was terrible for his end, but he had made it in the first place so it really was his loss. Terry seemed to relax as well, smiling as he pointed at different food and Diane would nod or shake her head. By the end, the tray looked like a mad culinary creation with juice, spaghetti, chocolate cake, a bowl of cereal, carrot sticks, and two large mugs of hot chocolate. 

Setting down the tray, Terry sat opposite of Diane and gestured for her to dig in while he sipped at his drink. Diane wasted no time digging it, causing Terry to chuckle. “Easy kid, you need to slow down or you’re going to get sick.” He gently tried and despite Diane wanting to tell him to shove off, she did as he told. Taking out his phone, Terry started texting someone before setting it down with a gentle hum, clearly trying to figure out the best thing to say. “Listen kid… I know a family friend that runs a clinic and orphanage. She could at the very least give you a bed for the night, help you get off the street, make sure you’re safe, healthy, and fed.” He gestured awkwardly before rubbing the back of his neck. 

Diane tilted her head and stared at Terry before raising an eyebrow. Off the street? 

Oh.

He thought she was some street kid. Diane glanced down at her clothes. She had put on one of Erica’s old hoodies that had probably been some boyfriend’s, and her leggings had a pretty big rip in the knee from when she’d gotten it caught on a branch in the woods heading to Pop’s, but did she really look that bad?

Diane swallowed a large gulp of coco before shaking her head. “I have a home.” She wasn’t sure if it was better or worse to play the homeless card. If Terry got too concerned then he might try to involve the cops. Diane bit down on a carrot and shrugged. “We just argue a lot and sometimes they need to cool off. I'm bad so they need me to not be around for a bit.” Diane tried to explain, hoping Terry would understand. 

Terry’s expression turned sad again and Diane’s smile turned into a grimace, he pitied her. She wanted that less than the cops involved. Setting down her fork, Diane wiped her mouth with her sweatshirt sleeve before standing up, Terry quickly following suit. “Mr. Terry, I want to leave now.” Diane stressed, looking up at him with a frown before glancing back at the stairs, already planning her quick exit. Adults were slow, she could be down the stairs before he blinked. 

Terry sighed before nodding and reaching for his wallet. Pulling out a business card, he held it out to her. “Listen, my cell number is on here. If you ever change your mind, or want another meal or something you just call me okay? No tricks, Gotham has enough going on, let alone for a kid.” He hummed before smiling gently again as Diane took his card. Diane stiffly nodded, Terry was a weird guy, but seemed genuinely kind. She hoped he got better at deals, the wrong people would definitely take advantage of him. 

Following him back down the stairs, Diane hesitated as he stopped in front of the door she’d broken into. She glanced up at him, studying his kind smile and worried expression before launching forward and wrapping her arms around him for just a moment before pushing off and rushing away into the chill of the night air. Yeah. She liked Terry. He didn’t deserve to be taken advantage of by someone as terrible as her. Diane glanced back to see him still standing in the doorway, and gave him a small wave goodbye. He waved back before she slipped around the corner and disappeared. 

Pops had been more than a little pissed to say the least. Diane had fallen asleep in the passenger seat of Pop’s truck and woke up startled as he slammed the door shut. He’d snarled, ranted, and scoffed the entire drive home, lecturing her about being careless, lazy, and stupid. He’d only calmed down once Diane had shown him the CPU. It was about four AM by the time they had pulled back into Pop’s dirt driveway, and Diane was dead on her feet but determined. Heading directly to the computer tower, she got to work. By six AM, Diane was staring at the working home page on her working computer. They’d done it. 

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The next day, Diane had gotten permission to go to the park and instead spent the day at Pop’s writing line after line of code. She’d gotten back just in time for dinner and been sent promptly to bed which she did without complaint, getting a few hours before heading back to Pop’s once everyone was asleep to continue working. The following day at school, Diane had still been fighting to stay awake in her classes. She hadn’t gotten much sleep over the past few days and it was catching up with her. By the time Tim found her in the library for their study hall, Diane was heavily sleeping with her head in her arms on the table. The only reason she finally woke up was because he had gently shaken her away as lunch period started. Flinching back, Diane blinked in confusion as she looked around before relaxing as she realized where she was and who she was with. Giving her a kind smile, Tim chuckled as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “Another bad night of sleep?” He curiously asked.

Diane snorted softly and nodded as she packed up her belongings. “You don’t know the half of it Timbo.” She shouldered her bag before walking with him towards their lockers. “Sleep and I aren’t friends.” She huffed as Tim gently patted her shoulder with a sympathetic grin. 

“Are you going to eat lunch with me finally or still too cool to be seen with me?” Tim asked, giving her a raised eyebrow as they put their book away. 

Diane ducked her head with a sheepish grin. If it was just Tim eating by himself it would be different, but all the Wayne kids together always felt so… intense. “I might consider it… if you do me a favor?” She asked, trying to not show any of the nerves she had felt. 

Tim tilted his head to the side. “What kind of favor?” He didn’t look angry at the very least, so that was a good sign. 

“I need someone to look over my paper. Can I bring it this week for you to look over?” She held her breath as Timmy chuckled and shook his head. Her heart sunk in her chest. 

“That’s it? Sure, no problem.” He agreed with a shrug. Diane blinked before beaming at him. He agreed. This could work, she only had four more days and Pops had already started packing. She’d painstakingly worked on the program and used one of her more recent papers as a trojan horse. Diane wasn’t sure her nervous system could take much more. 

Her minor success was short lived as Tim slung his arm around her and guided her into the lunch room. Tit for tat, she had to pay her penance. Diane awkwardly sat down next to Tim as he opened his lunchbox. His adoptive brother, Jason, stared at them with an unamused look while Diane tried to stare a hole through the table and Tim ignored the tension. “Hey, Alfred made me two sandwiches by accident, you want one?” Tim offered her, causing Diane to look up at him with a startled expression before hesitantly nodding and taking it, cheeks coloring slightly in embarrassment. That embarrassment quickly disappeared however as she bit into the sandwich. What fancy artisan chef had made this? Diane had to physically stop herself from shoving the rest of it in her mouth. “So are you two like dating now? Is this going to be a thing?” Jason finally asked, looking a tad disgusted by the thought as Diane choked on her sandwich.

Tim scoffed, glaring daggers at the younger boy. “No Jason. For the last time we’re just friends. Something you might want to look into.” He sneered at his adoptive brother who rolled his eyes in response. 

Two more trays joined the table as Stephanie and Cass joined them, Stephanie smacking the backs of both boy’s heads before beaming at Diane. “Hey! You finally joined us! We were starting to think you were avoiding us for real!” Stephanie seemed just as bubbly as before and Diane quickly shook her head.

“No! No… Just homework.” She stared down at her sandwich as her cheeks turned red. She could feel all of their eyes on her and she took a deep breath in and out to try and relax, letting a practiced mask slip over her face. “Thanks for letting me um, join.” She glanced up at Cass who gave her a patient smile which seemed to help. 

Stephanie was already waving a hand in dismissal. “Hey! Any friend of Tim’s is a friend of ours!” She cheered.

“Sure.” Jason deadpanned, sounding like he thought the opposite. 

“Jason, be nice to Tim’s friend.” Cass warned, and the younger boy grumbled but didn’t say anything, instead taking another bite of an apple he’d brought. 

Diane swallowed the last of her bite, grateful for the excuse to stare at the table again and slightly mourning the loss of her sandwich. The Wayne table was loud in a way she wasn’t used to, the siblings arguing and talking over each other, the way they would constantly make inside jokes or reference to things vaguely that she didn’t quite understand. It wasn’t bad, just… a lot.

Tim nudged her knee under the table. “You good?” he murmured, quiet enough that the others wouldn’t catch it under Stephanie and Jason’s current argument about classic literature of all things.

She nodded once. “Yeah, uh, Sorry Timmy, I’m just tired.” More like just terrified. Just juggling too many lies and hoping none of them slipped through the cracks while she actively worked on a way to rob the entire family that was being nice to her. She instead gave a nervous smile, trying to ease Tim’s worries.

Cass leaned in slightly, her voice soft. “You look… heavy.” She tapped her own chest as she said the word, searching for something more specific. “Lack of sleep can weigh.”

That startled a small laugh out of Diane. “Yeah. Guess it does.” God she felt like the worst person ever. Diane really hoped she would not be seeing Tim’s extra sandwich so soon.

Stephanie perked up, jabbing her fork in the air. “Hey! You know Christmas break is just around the corner! We could do a sleepover! Cass and I could do your hair, and we can binge Christmas movies! Maybe if we’re feeling generous enough, we’ll even invite the boys.” She stuck her tongue out at Jason and Tim who both looked insulted. 

“Right,” Jason cut in immediately. “She already said she’s not sleeping. Why would you invite her to a thing with the word ‘sleep’ in it?” He deadpanned, and Rachel couldn’t agree more, although his logic was rather funny. 

Stephanie threw a crumpled napkin at him.

Tim sighed. “Wow. Just going to try and steal my friend. Nice, really nice. Diane, please ignore them. They’re feral.”

“Rude,” Jason muttered.

Diane, without meaning to, found her shoulders loosening, tension slowly seeping out. Just a little. It was easier to relax when they weren’t all staring at her like she was a new species. Another small laugh escaped her. “I’ve never been to a sleepover.” She quietly confessed, to which Stephanie gave an offending gasp.

“Then we need to do one.” Cass decided. “Alfred can make cookies.” Diane tilted her head. Huh. Terry had mentioned Alfred too, it must be a common grandfather name. Diane gave a small smile of appreciation. Not that she would ever actually be invited, but it was nice to pretend for a bit. 

Glancing at Time, Diane found that he was already watching her. She was startled to see a lack of judgement or annoyance that she was so used to people looking at her with. Instead, he was watching her in a soft, careful way, as if he was afraid she would disappear in a puff of smoke if he wasn’t careful, like he could see the edges fraying before she did.

“Bring the paper whenever,” he reminded her. “Or email it to me if you want. I can read it tonight.” 

Diane’s heart dropped like she was on a roller coaster. She really wanted to tell him to forget it, that she was selfish and he was such a good friend, and she didn’t deserve him. That tonight was too soon, or that she wasn’t ready. Except she didn’t, and she hated herself a little bit more because of it. “I’ll bring it,” she said quickly, forcing a calm smile on her face. “In a couple days.”

Tim didn’t push. He just nodded with a shrug, accepting the answer like he always did.

Jason, finally stopping his argument with Stephanie, caught the end of the conversation and raised an eyebrow. “What’s this paper even about? Something boring?”

“Jason,” Cass hissed, eyes narrowing in warning.

Diane swallowed. “It’s, uh… computer science stuff.”

Jason shrugged. “Still boring.”

Stephanie leaned across the table, ignoring him. “Ooh, maybe you can explain some of it to me! I’m taking that intro coding class next semester and everyone says it’s hell.” She groaned.

Why were the Waynes so nice? Stephanie’s words hit like a punch, unexpected. Explain it? To someone? To one of the people she was going to rob? When she was using her own assignment as a front for something she couldn’t tell anyone?

Her fingers tightened around the empty baggy that now only held the crumbs of her sandwich.

“Maybe,” she said, voice steady only through years of practice.

Tim shot her a glance before looking away but left Diane wondering if he could see the sweat trickling down her neck, but if he did, he didn’t say anything. Lunch carried on. The Waynes continued to be lively. Talking, bickering, and swapping or stealing food. Cass quietly slid one of her dumplings onto Diane’s crumpled baggy without a word, simply winking at her.

And for just a heartbeat, Diane wished she could stop time. Stay right here at this table where the worst thing she had to worry about was whether Jason would make another comment or Stephanie would try to braid her hair. Where she could pretend to be just a normal, good kid at lunch with friends. Where despite their arguments that Diane was slowly realizing were more good humored teasing, the Waynes seemed to genuinely like each other. But like any dream, it was just fantasy for her that ended with the ring of a bell. She was returned to reality, where the countdown was still ticking. She had four days, Pop already packing. Whatever life the Waynes had, wasn’t something she could join in on. She would always just be the jealous outsider looking in, and like a huge wave crashing into her, she could feel how jealous she really was.

Tim gently bumped her shoulder, startling her from her darkening thoughts. “Hey. You’re drifting, you worried about Mr. Bauer’s test next period?” He asked, and Diane gave him a reassuring smile as she wondered how much a person could actually hate themselves. 

“No, um… Sorry.” She shook her head before grounding herself with a slow breath out. “Just-”

“It’s okay. Just tired, I know.” Tim cut in, his expression softened. “Just… You know if there’s anything else you can talk to me, right?” This would all be so much easier if Tim was more like Henry.

Diane’s breath hitched, she nodded, but didn’t answer, sliding into her seat for their next period.