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Batgirl Begins (dbspock/WendyTheRed)

Sam pretended to run a critical eye over Babs in her sports bra, then started giggling. “You’ll do great in the dress. “ she declared, then nodded when the talk turned to Batman. “I think he’s out every night, so the odds are in your favor. “

Chloe knew she was a LONG way from being able to defend herself from a determined attacker, but Sams demonstration had increased her confidence a bit and she found herself nodding. “I’m looking forward to the next lesson. “ she said, surprising herself a little.

Sam then shook her head. “It’s been a long day, and we have a big event tomorrow. I think we can call it a night. “ she declared, then began to lead them to her car. Once again, Dave got in the front next to Sam which was just as well as he still felt awkward around Babs, even though he’d relaxed a bit as the time passed and she hadn’t said anything.

Neither Chloe or Sam noticed anything though as Sam quickly drove them to Moons house. “Be right back. “ she promised, and sure enough she appeared a minute later, holding out the green dress for Babs to see.

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Barbara blushed slightly at Sam's compliment and grinned when she heard Chloe say she was looking forward to to the next lesson. She followed the others to the car and got in, a little nervous about the dress, wondering if she really would look good in it.

Barbara's jaw dropped when she saw the dress, barely containing her excitement. "Oh my God it's beautiful. I'll take really good care of it!" She took the dress from Sam and held it like it was a precious treasure. She actually ran her fingers over it and barely noticed as Sam drove them to their next destination.

She held the dress carefully, daydreaming about how she might look in the dress. She finally pulled her attention away from the dress when Sam stopped the car and looked outside wondering where they were.
 
Where they were was Captain Gordon’s house, and Babs house too it would seem. Chloe had directed Sam to the destination while Babs had been thinking about the dress.


Dave climbed out of the car so the two in the back could exit. Chloe gave him a quick hug, then did the same with Babs and Sam. “See you tomorrow.” Chloe said with a smile before she departed for her own house, realizing she’d spent more time with Babs than her Dad had, so she figured she’d give the two a chance to bond. Dave climbed back into the car and shifted around a bit uncomfortably as Sam brought up their upcoming’date’.

If Babs knocked on the door of her new home, Jim would of course answer. But if she chose to just walk in, she would discover Jim in his former office, her new room, packing up the files he had spread all over. Including one that contained a drawing of what appeared to be a humanoid cat, and a far more graphic file that showed a man covered with tally mark scars standing over a pair of clearly dead bodies.
 
Barbara climbed out after Chloe and also hugged Dave and Sam. She winked at Dave as she pulled back and then turned to go to her new front door, carefully carrying her borrowed dress. She carefully opened the door, waving at Sam and Dave as they left then smiled when she saw her dad working in the office. She looked curiously at the pictures in those files and then cleared her throat, holding up the dress so he could see it. "What do you think Dad? Sam's friend loaned it to me for the gala tomorrow. I'll get out of your hair while you do this, I just need to get on your computer so I can work on that program I wanted to show Bruce Wayne tomorrow."

She moved to the closet and carefully hung the dress inside then moved to where his computer was. Sitting down in front of it she logged into her FTP and quickly downloaded her program, making tweaks to it. She realized she'd probably need to be careful about logging into the GCPD servers as long as her dad was around but just in case she logged into the fan boards that reported on Batman sightings, smiling as she set some alerts then quickly resumed work on her program.
 
Dave hadn't been expecting a hug from Chloe, much less Babs. And right after Sam had asked him to escort her to the gala. Not at all how he'd thought the day would go when he'd agreed to meet Chloe at the mall. There was so much going on that he didn't even notice Bab's wink in his direction.

Jim hadn't been so intent on his work that he'd failed to notice Babs enter the house. One didn't survive as a cop that long by being ignorant of your surroundings. So he wasn't surprised when he heard Babs clear her throat and turned to face her. He WAS surprised by the amount of skin she was showing, and then recalled she'd been practicing karate that day. His eyes widened a bit as he saw the dress...it was sexier than he had hoped, but it wasn't like he could tell her to wear a burlap sack instead. So he forced a smile on his face. "It's lovely, just like you." He told her. "How did training go? Breaking boards with your bare hands yet?"

He nodded as she said she was going to work on her little project, then his eyes widened a bit as he saw Zsasz file in plain view, and he quickly flipped the pile over. Babs didn't need those kind of nightmares. "All right, I'll just..." Jim trailed off as Babs expertly logged onto his computer even quicker than he did. He watched her with mild interest for a few moments, but had no idea what she was doing so he went back to clearing the files up.

"This room isn't going to be ready tonight either I'm afraid." Jim admitted as he looked at ten years worth of boxes in the room. "Why don't you take my bed for the night? I have to go to work a bit later anyway, so I won't need it." Just as he suggested it, another alert popped up on Bab's computer. A Batman sighting...just a few blocks from Sam's house. 0
 
She smiled at her dad's compliment and actually blushed a little. "Thank you Dad. I mean it." She playfully rolled her eyes at his question about her training. "Training was more about defense today Dad. Miyagi-do is focused on defense in general. So we were learning how to block punches and kicks. We're al going to keep going. I also learned a technique for centering and relaxing yourself." She decided not to tell him about the manual labor as it'd be hard to explain if you weren't there to see it and she didn't want him to think Sam was taking advantage of them. Even so, she rubbed her shoulder and rolled her arm in the joint.

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Dad, are you sure? I don't want to kick you out of your bed." She smiled then looked back at the computer as the alert about Batman popped up. And by Sam's house. Interesting. She glanced quickly back at him and hurriedly logged into the GCPD servers. She activated her program and watched as it tracked Batman through the traffic cameras and set it to record. She figured she'd show Bruce Wayne the recordings but not the program itself. She then minimized those windows and pulled up the WayneTech industries webpage, browsing through it curiously.
 
Jim saw her blush and couldn't help but smile a bit. A smile that only broadened when she thanked him. He then laughed as she rolled her eyes at him. "I'm glad it worked out for you. If you ever have a parents night demonstration thing, or whatever they call it, be sure to let me know. I'd love to go." He told her. He also noticed her rub her shoulder and stepped forward, placing a hand on each of her shoulders as he began to give her a shoulder massage while she worked.

"You aren't kicking me out of bed if I'm not using it." He pointed out, not even really noticing what she was doing with the computer. As long as she wasn't watching porn, or anything that would attract the interest of cyber-crimes, he wasn't going to try and restrict her computer use.

There was a lot of information on the Waynetech page, of course. The list of associated companies seemed to encompass half of Gotham. There was a lot of information about Bruce Wayne as well, or at least there seemed to be. It mostly contained information about his parents and how Bruce wanted to carry on their legacy and plans for Gotham, but there was little about his childhood, or what he had been doing before his sudden return to Gotham a couple years ago. Even the latest stuff in his bio was mostly associated with various charities...there wasn't a lot of Bruce in the bio, to be honest.

There was also a news section, with of course several Gotham articles posted, but it seemed Clark Kent from Metropolis actually seemed to have the best sources and up to date articles. There was even a rare personal interview with a Kara Kent, a high school reporter of all things. There was also a help wanted section, and even a place to apply for an internship, but Chloe had told Babs from personal experience how hard that was to obtain.
 
She grinned at her dad. "Well, Sam has been in some kind of Gotham City karate tournament. I saw her trophies. Maybe I'll be in one and you can come watch." She closed her eyes, grateful for the shoulder massage and relaxed under his touch. "Mmm...thank you. We worked hard today and I think I might have overdone it a bit. So did Chloe and Dave though I think I might have thrown myself into it a wee bit more."

She frowned thoughtfully as she looked at the page about Bruce Wayne. She couldn't help wondering why the Kent family seemed to have such an in with the man. She went over to the Daily Planet and looked up information about Clark Kent. She looked at his photo for a moment and then pulled up Bruce's photo looking between them. They don't have anything in common. She thought though her brow furrowed. Except they're both in great shape for a TV reporter and a billionaire. You can see it in their suits. Weird.

She noticed her dad had returned to what he was doing so she brought up her program and reviewed the recording. She frowned thoughtfully when she thought about the Batmobile's location near Sam's house. She brought up the police blotter and scanned for any crimes in the area, downloading a copy of it and then logging out of the servers, saving her recording of the police cam footage and copying it and some screenshots to a USB drive she pulled out of her purse.

Later that night she showered and after a bit of a back and forth with her dad she gave up. She crawled under the sheets and fell asleep pretty quickly after her active day, though she woke up and pulled off her clothes, tossing them aside because it was too damned warm in the room. She figured her dad probably had the AC up high to save on energy bills. She'd have to find a way to compromise with him, she couldn't sweat all night. That taken care of she fell back asleep.
 
"I'll be there." Jim promised as he rubbed her shoulders. He'd missed out on too much of his daughter's life until now, he wasn't going to let it happen again. He wasn't at all surprised she'd gone all out on her training today. He'd already noticed that when she committed to something, she went all the way. Perhaps something she'd inherited from him. Speaking of which...he still had to get her room ready. Her taking his bed was just a temporary solution. So after he felt her relax a bit under his massage, he went back to work packing up his office, not really paying attention to what she did on the computer.

The only thing in the vicinity of Sam's house was a report of screaming coming from the Cobblepot manor a short distance away, but it had quickly been dismissed as a false alarm...by a police Captain two districts and several miles from the reported disturbance.

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Jim did indeed have the temperature set high when he wasn't home to save a bit of money, and he hadn't yet realized that Bab's kept different hours than he did so his old system wouldn't work anymore.

Batman, for his part, didn't miss much. He'd noticed the first time his stealth system had failed, and when it happened again, he'd been ready and quickly zeroed in on the location, which turned out to be the last place he'd expected. Jim Gordon's house. Jim had neither the technical savvy or the motive to do such a thing, so Batman figured someone had hacked into Jim's home network and was using his access to the police database without his knowledge. That was something Jim needed to know about, as soon as possible, which necessitated a rare visit to the Captain's home.

Batman saw the pile of clothes on the floor, but Jim wasn't always a tidy housekeeper, so it didn't raise Batman's suspicions enough to investigate them and discover they were female clothing. He saw the mound under the covers and made another assumption...that the person in Jim's bed was Jim. He reached out and lightly shook the figure's shoulder. "Jim." Batman said softly, or at least as softly as he could with his voice modulator.
 
The first thing Barbara noticed when she was shaken awake was that there appeared to be a breeze in the room. Her groggy brain was confused until she saw a shadow looming over her. She quickly spun and sat up, completely forgetting she had stripped down nude in the night as the sheets piled around her waist exposing her breasts topped by their pink nipples to the man in her room.

She blinked slowly up at the figure then fumbled on the nightstand for her glasses. Sliding them on her eyes widened and she realized two things pretty much simultaneously. She had slept in the nude. Batman was in the room. She quickly pulled the covers back up and said the first thing that came to mind. "Batman? Uhh...dad's at work..." She was blushing a red as deep as her hair now but her brain had been jolted awake by the surge of adrenalin and the gears were turning. "Actually...if you're here why I think, you're not here for him. You're here for me." She was taking a chance saying even that much but if Batman didn't know about the program, she could just play dumb and pretend she thought he was here because of her encounter with that gang maybe. But she suspected him showing up on the night she'd tracked the Batmobile wasn't a coincidence.
 
Batman had yet to earn the title of World's Greatest Detective, but one didn't have to be any sort of detective to realize that the red head currently occupying Jim Gordon's bed was not Jim Gordon. The bare breasts that popped out from under the covers were a totally unnecessary clue, but also impossible to avoid looking at.

Batman's first thought was that Jim had gotten a date...somehow...but the young woman in the bed was WAY to young for that to be a realistic possibility. the bare breasts problem was solved pretty quickly as she pulled the covers back up, but it was far too late considering Batman's eidetic memory and the light coming in the window.

Before Batman could come up with an alternative theory for the young woman in Jim Gordon's bed, said woman provided the clue herself. Dad. So this was Barbara Gordon? Jim knew Jim had a daughter, of course, but he had no idea she was now living in Jim's house. This was a surprise, and Batman hated surprises. But this wasn't the only one she had in store. He was here for her? This time, Batman's brain kicked in. Jim's daughter was wearing glasses...hardly definitive, but in general a mark of intelligence. But her fingers were more definitive...the tips were slightly flattened, which meant she was no stranger to a keyboard. So she was the one who was tracking the Batmobile, probably without Jim's knowledge that she was using his access to the GCPD servers.

That changed everything, and for once Batman wasn't sure what to do. Barbara had broken the law, sure, but Batman didn't want to turn her in. Jim had enough to deal with without that. Batman wasn't even sure he should tell Jim about it. So for the moment, Batman used a technique he had perfected while training in Russia with a former KGB operative. Batman just stared at Barbara without moving. In all liklihood, Barbara would continue to talk, and maybe he'd have an idea of where to go from here.
 
She saw how Batman stood watching her and she could almost see the gears in his head turning. Her own mind was racing as she put the clues together. "Alright, so you obviously know my dad. When you shook me awake you said 'Jim'. Not Captain. Not Officer. Jim. So you must be friends of a sort. That's good." She tapped her fingers on the sheets thoughtfully. "You must have backtraced my program. And you came here expecting my dad. Of course, we both know my dad isn't capable of what my program did so..."

Her brow furrowed as she thought about the possibilities. "You must have thought someone was spoofing his IP or even that someone had broken in and stolen his logins, perhaps. Regardless, coming here was the next logical step. Now, if you know my Dad, you probably know he has a daughter and have figured out I am that daughter Barbara Gordon. Now you're wondering why I broke through your stealth on the GCPD traffic cams and what I plan to do next. Well, first off, you can rest easy, I have no plans to share my program with anyone, in fact, it'll be deleted after tomorrow."

She gathered the sheets a little tighter around herself. "Tomorrow is Bruce Wayne's Gala. Me being here has put financial strain on my dad so I need a job. I hear Waynetech has paid internships and so I needed something to impress Bruce Wayne to get me past a generic stack of resumes. I'm going to try to show him a recording tomorrow of what my program did. Don't worry, I won't give him or anyone else a copy of the program. I just want him to see what I'm capable of so I have a chance of getting a job there."

She looks thoughtful as she looks him over, something about his chin in the light from the window tugging at her memory. She sits up a bit straighter. "Actually, I needed to talk to you anyway. When I first came to town I was assaulted by some Ghost Dragons. I fought back but not before they groped me and stole my clothes. My next day here I interfered in an assault on a girl. Do you know what those two events had in common? No one stepped up to help, except for me and my friends." She shook her head. "I told myself, I wouldn't stand by and not help people in need. It's why I interfered in that second assault." She looked up at him, her eyes shining. "You've taken on teenage sidekicks before. Feel up to training another one?"
 
Batman had used the technique of being silent before, but he had rarely come across a subject that wanted to incriminate themselves so badly. It was almost like Barbara wanted to be caught, or now that she was she wanted to impress him. he couldn't entirely disagree with her assessment of his relationship with her father. They weren't exactly friends, like they would never just hang out together and have a beer, but they weren't coworkers either...exactly. Batman couldn't have described their unique relationship if he tried, so he figured friend was as good a word as any.

His eyes flickered down a bit at the movement of her fingers, and he wondered if she was aware of how the blanket slipped down, baring a bit of her breast again, as she did so. As she made no move to correct it immediately, he suspected she was too caught up in trying to reason out the current situation to be fully aware of her surroundings. A trap he had fallen into a few times.

He had already been certain of her identity so he didn't need her to confirm it, and the same went with Jim's computer skills...or lack thereof. He also wasn't worried about the computer program. Her copy had already been deleted, and he had a copy of it back in the Batcave to analyze and prevent such a thing from happening again. She corrected her little nipple slip just as she surprised him for once...by talking about the gala Alfred had planned tomorrow. He hadn't realized it was coming up so quickly...the Penguin debacle had distracted him from the minutiae of Bruce Wayne's life, though he knew Jim Gordon's daughter hadn't been on the guest list.

He was, sadly, well aware of Jim Gordon's financial status, just as he was aware he could do little about it. The man would never accept a handout, and there was no way to explain why Bruce Wayne would want to help a police Captain. But it seemed Barabra was going to solve at least part of that issue for him, and he decided right then she was going to get the job whether she was qualified or not. But given the approach and capablities she demonstrated, he would have no problem justifying telling Lucius she had a job at his company.

He saw her shift in the bed, but this time the covers stayed in place...for the most part. His expression finally changed...there was a whisper of a frown on his face...when she mentioned her assault by the Ghost Dragons. And he couldn't say he was surprised when she revealed no one had stopped the assaults she described. But then she shocked him when she asked to be trained by him, and he knew very well that she had no idea what she was actually asking. Not to mention Jim would never approve. So there was only one answer.

"No."
 
Barbara was a smart and perceptive girl but Batman was frustrating her. He stood very still and due to the cowl it was difficult to read his expressions. She could see changes in his lips and chin and his eyes but it was still not as much as she'd usually have to work off of. StillI she picked up some clues. He was silent on purpose to get her to talk. And she noticed when she mentioned her plans for Bruce Wayne a subtle change came over his expression as if he'd made a decision of some kind.

Her speculation ended though when he finally spoke, only to give a one word answer to her request. She climbed out of the bed at that, gathering the sheet around her like a toga as she glared at him. "Why not? No...wait..." she held up a hand as if to keep him from talking.

She paced back and forth, her mind racing. "The obvious answer is my dad. You know he wouldn't approve. Of course that would only matter if he found out. You may also not want the responsibility. You may believe I lack resolve."

She turns to face him and stops pacing, a sad look coming over her face, one Chloe would recognize as it crossed her features at Sam's after the fashion show. "You know the cost. Not money though it is curious how you afford all your gear. No the cost to your life. The toll it takes on living a normal life, having friends, dating, things like that."

She takes a breath. "I told you I won't stand by and not help people in need if I can help it. I realized last night what that vow means. I'm not going to have a normal life. I'm not going to sit around and talk about boys. Studying will be hard, thankfully I'm very smart. " she shrugs. "I doubt I'll even go to Prom. But I will keep my vow. If you won't train me, I'll train myself, I'm already making strides in that direction. I may not have your strength or experience." She taps the side of her head. "But I have will and determination and I know what you do. To protect the people in this city you have to be willing to sacrifice and do what it takes."

She pauses and takes a breath. "It'd be easier with your help but I can do it without you."
 
Batman didn't usually have to try to keep a neutral expression, it just came naturally. But when the naked girl (he saw enough of her ass before she got the blanket fully situated to know she was nude) climbed out of bed, he had to struggle to keep his face strait. Did she think flashing him would get him to change his mind?

Batman wasn't even sure he would answer her question of why he said no, but she didn't give him a chance. Barbara was sure a talker...something she must have picked up from her mother, because Jim sure wasn't. And he had to admit she was right...all three of the reasons she'd listed were why he'd said no, but there were more besides of course. it was simply too dangerous. Barbara had been stripped by a simple gang...how would she fare against the Joker?

So it wasn't just about the resolve, though he had to question if she really meant what she said. It was easy to say you knew what the sacrifice meant, and quite another to live it. Especially if you did have living parents you cared about. Not to mention the fact Barbara was a great deal older than he had been when he'd started the mission. And she didn't have nearly his resources or the contacts he had for the training she would require.

"There are more feasible ways to help people." Batman finally spoke more than one word to her. "Ways that won't get you killed, or put your father in danger." Those were the reasons she hadn't mentioned when she tried to deduce his reasons for saying no. If she went on the streets without the proper training, the training you couldn't get without joining the type of dojo that didn't advertise in the yellow pages, she'd suffer a worse fate than having her clothes taken away. And if she did pull off stopping an operation of the Penguin, and he found out who had done it...well, Bruce Wayne had the resources to combat the Penguin in the boardroom as well as the streets. And the only person close to Bruce was safe in Wayne Manor most nights. Jim had neither of those luxuries.
 
Oddly, Barbara hadn't even noticed how she'd flashed him, she was so focused on the conversation she barely even paid enough attention to gather the sheet around herself. She saw he was listening and saw the doubt in his face. She didn't blame him, she was just a teenage girl and he knew what this was all about. He thought she didn't and she knew in some ways he was right. She'd only fought low level gangs and stuff right now and she knew she had a long journey of ahead of her.

She nodded her agreement to those objections, seeing the sense in them. "Well, obviously I'll have to have a mask like you do. My biggest worry about dying isn't really about me. It's about my dad and what it'd do to him." She looks thoughtful, pursing her lips. "I get it Batman. I know why you're doubting me. In your boots I would too. I'm just a teenage girl. You probably think this is a flight of fancy and tomorrow I'll be on social media looking to see who some celebrity is dating. Or you think I haven't thought it through and don't truly understand what I'm up against. Or I'll be stupid and rush in without knowing what I'm doing and get myself killed."

She looked up into his eyes. "You're right. I don't understand. Not really. And I know it might not end well. But I also know my dad and I have one thing in common. We believe in justice. My dad does it through the police and he's one of the good ones. But one of my new friends wouldn't go to the police after being assaulted last night because of a crooked cop and I don't think she's alone." She shook her head. "The obvious solution in your mind is for me to follow in my dad's footsteps. But let's be honest, if you thought the police could do enough, you wouldn't be standing here right now."

"I'm not crazy. I'm not going to go after the Joker or the Riddler, though I bet I could solve one of his riddles if I had to. I'll train and learn and make my costume. I'll start small. I'll stop muggers and rapists and people like that. Maybe someday you'll be perched on some building roof about to leap down through a skylight and you'll look over and see a woman in a costume, perched on another building and think to yourself 'huh, she didn't give up.' " She smiled, picturing it. "Anyway, it was nice meeting you Batman, I'll see you out there some night. Count on it." She turned and began to climb back into the bed, awkwardly holding the sheet and trying to spread it over herself without flashing him.
 
Batman's mask may have looked like it just concealed his identity, but it had more hardware in it than a spy satellite and cost more than a fleet of cars. Batman had to repress the urge to laugh when Babs implied she was going to construct one with an interns salary. Not to mention she lacked the resources of Waynetech, even if he did give her the job there she wouldn't have access to the classified materials. A mask was just one of the many hurdles Barbara was going to discover was impossible to meet.

Of course, her next statement about her friend had no amusing aspects to it. Sadly Barabra was correct...her friend was not alone. Most people didn't want to involve the police. Jim was trying to turn that around, but when the Commissioner himself was corrupt, there was only so much a beat cop, or even a police captain, could do. And of course she made another good point...even of the force had been full of honest cops, it wouldn't be enough. The cops hands were tied by the very laws they were sworn to protect. He'd tried to work within the system, but the Joker's of the world didn't play by the rules, so he couldn't either.

He had no doubt Barbara could solve one of the Riddler's little games. Her intelligence was never in doubt, it was her physical prowess he was questioning. Not that she wasn't in good shape...she'd shown him that, however inadvertently. But it took a lot more than that to take on a mugger, most of whom, frankly, would be bigger and stronger than she was. Another advantage Batman had that she didn't.

She needn't have worried about covering herself as she climbed back into bed. Batman wasn't in the habit of ogling naked teenage girls. As soon as the conversation was over and she'd turned her attention away from him, if only for a moment, Batman was gone.
 
Oddly, in spite of the visit of the Caped Crusader, Barbara was able to get right back to sleep. She awoke only a few hours later and after a quick shower and brushing of her teeth she began to cook breakfast. She wondered if her dad would be up for the gala after working late. She certainly hoped so. She bit her lip while she was cooking as it suddenly occurred to her she might get grounded in the most unique way possible. Batman tattling on her to her dad. She almost laughed at the thought but she suspected he wouldn't do it, it'd be too petty for him.

Once she had made breakfast she sat down at the kitchen table, letting out a huge yawn before she started to eat, making a mental note to get some coffee sooner rather than later. For the moment though the thought was a bit too exhausting so she simply sat there in her athletic shorts and t-shirt, nibbling on her breakfast as she made a mental checklist of things she'd need to do at the gala later.
 
Jim hadn't been lying when he said he'd have no use for the bed that night...he came in the door as Babs was eating, his clothes more than a little dishelved and reeking of alcohol. Jim seemed ignorant of the odor, however, as he crossed the living room and entered the kitchen, clearly having heard her there. "Good morning, sweetheart." He said as he bent over and kissed her on the cheek. He then moved to the counter and got a couple pieces of bread so he could place them in the toaster. "How did you sleep last night?" he asked, and if he knew her sleep had been interrupted last night, he gave no sign of it.

It was odd...intellectually he knew last night was the first night Babs had spent in her new home, and she didn't even have a bed of her own yet, but it also felt liek she'd been here for years, and he expected her to just be there in the kitchen like always.
 
She wrinkled her nose slightly at the smell of alcohol on him when he leaned over to kiss her cheek. "Good morning dad." She decided not to say anything though, figuring maybe he'd just needed some stress relief or something. If it became something regular, then she'd talk to him. "I slept pretty well. I'm looking forward to the gala today."

She really hoped his misadventures didn't interfere in that, she was counting on this gala. While he made his toast she put her plate in the sink and began to make coffee. She glanced at him. "You want some coffee or are you going to get some sleep? If you are, just tell me when you need to be up and I'll wake you." She smiled at him as the coffee maker dinged and she grabbed a mug, filling it and taking a sip. She leaned her hip on the counter, wondering what he'd say if she told him about Batman visiting. She wouldn't because that'd lead to questions she didn't want to give answers to but still, she was curious.
 
Jim may have been tired, but he was a detective, and he didn't miss his daughter wrinkling her nose at him. "What's wrong?" He inquired as he waited for his toast to finish, then nodded as she told him she slept well. He smiled as she mentioned the gala. "Glad I thought to invite you. I didn't really think you'd be interested." Jim admitted. he was only going because he had to.

He shook his head at the offer of coffee. "I need to get some sleep if I'm going to be any use tonight." he admitted, then raised his eyebrow in surprise when she offered to be his alarm clock. "1700 should be enough time." He determined. "I need to be there early to get everything set up. Did you want to come with me or do you have another ride?" he couldn't help but smile a bit as she moved around his...their...kitchen. He liked seeing her seem so at ease in her new home.
 
She sighed softly when he asked what was wrong. "You smell like alcohol dad. I wasn't going to say anything but..." She shrugged. "You did ask. Don't worry. I'm not going to lecture you or something unless it becomes a habit." She grins when he says he didn't think she'd be interested in the gala. "Yeah, you know us girls. We hate wearing fancy dresses and looking pretty and dancing with men and stuff like that. Ugh. "

She nodded her agreement about the coffee and his need to sleep. "Alright." She didn't ask what 1700 meant, apparently she knew how to translate military time for some reason. "As far as I know I don't have a ride. Sam and Dave and Chloe are going. I'll check with her to see if they're going together. If not, I'll invite her to ride with us."

After he got to sleep she spent the rest of the day keeping herself busy. She did some exercises, mostly pushups, situps and the like. She figured out how to do some pull-ups in one of the door frame. She also practiced the defensive moves Sam had taught them and ended with the Kata Daniel had showed her. Around 4pm she took a shower and changed into her new dress before drying and styling her hair and putting on some light makeup. She then walked into her dad's bedroom, wanting him to wake up and see her all dressed up. She gently shook him awake. "Wake up dad, it's 1700. Get ready."
 
"Oh." Jim sighed softly, then shook his head. "It almost sounds like a joke, but a gang of bikers walked into a bar..." Jim chuckled softly. "Well, there was a lot of broken bottles and spilled alcohol when it was done. I thought changing my shirt took care of it, but I probably need a shower too." He missed the part when she thought he'd been drinking on the job. The concept was so foreign to him he missed the connection. He frowned for a moment when she said she'd hate everything she'd be doing at the gala, then smiled as he recognized her sarcasm. "It's not too late to change your mind." he teased her, and military time was so normal to him he also didn't process the fact she didn't question it. He simply nodded when Babs offered a ride to Chloe. It wouldn't be a problem at all. he then went to take a quick shower before heading to bed, confident Babs could entertain herself until it was time to go.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jim was beginning to awaken as soon as Babs opened the door, and he was wide awake by the time she touched his shoulder. His eyes widened a bit as he took in her outfit. "Who are you, and what have you done with my daughter?" He teased her as he sat up in bed. Fortunately for them both, he did not sleep in the nude, and Babs could see the ratty T-shirt he was wearing.
 
She nodded at his explanation. She'd actually assumed he drank after work, maybe to dull himself to something he saw but she was relieved to hear this explanation regardless.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


She rolled her eyes and did a slow spin so he could see her from all angles. "You like? Anyway I figure one of us has to look nice." She winked and left his room so he could get dressed and such.

She called Chloe while she waited for him. "Hey Chloe do you need a ride from Dad and I?" She asked while sitting on the couch.
 
"Well, not much of a contest there." Jim laughed after his daughter spinned. He then began to wrestle with his tuxedo after she left to check on Chloe.

Chloe answered the phone on the first ring. "A ride would be great." She said eagerly, but frustration was in the background of her tone. "But I don't suppose you could come over for a minute and help me zip up my dress? I just remembered why I hate wearing these things."
 
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