The Birds of Prey: Nightwing (Batman Fanfic)

Chapter 13: The Red Hood

- Barbara POV-

I never let on how easy it would be to have someone help me, not even to Dick. How easy it would be to have someone lift me up from my car seat and into the awaiting wheelchair. Richard would help me in an instant if I let him, which I seldom did, though he was always offering to lift me or push me wherever I needed to go. I have worked hard to keep my once arguably overused muscles from becoming underused and atrophied, what this meant for me is that it is a lot of extra weight to have to haul around. Now here I am outside of my Dad's new house, where he lives with his new family, trying to lift my heavy legs that seemingly would not cooperate with me today.

Dad and Sarah had recently moved to a larger house uptown, closer to where my first apartment with Richard was. Every time I thought of Sarah I got a sour taste in my mouth. Sarah truly was a good and kind person but I could not bring myself to like her, even after five or so years of her being a part of my family. 

Sarah was also pretty, annoyingly pretty. Her hair was a sharper red than mine, I was sure she dyed it but I have never seen her with roots showing. She truly did look more like a model than a cop. For the life of me, I have never understood what this woman ever saw in the likes of my snowy-haired Father who was thirty-five years her senior.

I have avoided coming to visit for some time now as the image of them all living in this perfect house, playing family as if my very own mother had never even come into existence. The same unfair bitterness I harbored for her, I had for their children. Sweet innocent children who just wanted love and kindness that I could not seem to give them without significant pain to myself. I am very selfish, I know this about myself, it started as soon as my mother was murdered in front of me. I needed to snap out of it.

I sighed as I wheeled myself up the ramp that I was told that they had installed for me, even though I had no plan on ever visiting if it were not for the information that I had come to collect from Jim. I noticed that they had placed the doorbell a little out of my reach so I settled for knocking on the door instead.

I hoped that I was not too late, that I wasn't waking up a baby or two or disturbing their perfect suburban life. I looked down at what I was wearing, maybe I had worn too much makeup or maybe I should not have dressed so fancily. I was under the guise of having a catch up with my Dad and my family yet why did it feel so formal? Unfortunately, since my accident, we had not spoken too much, not that we spoke that often before that. I moved out as soon as I could and I know that he had never truly forgiven me for leaving so fast in preference for a life with Bruce and Jason.

No one was coming so I rapt on the door harder, a scream of a young child issued from inside, I really have done it this time. My palms started to sweat then, I nervously swiped my palms against my pants. 

"All right I'm coming!" I heard my Dad yell as his footsteps got closer to the closed-door "Whatever it is you're selling, I'm not interested....Oh Babs!" he trailed off once he opened the door to see me. 

Jim looked exactly the same as when I had last seen him, the same snow-white hair, wrinkled and lined face, wonky glasses. He was wearing a shirt that he must have worn at work today, with his sleeved rolled back, apron slung around his hips. I bit my tongue from remarking on the fact that he had never done such a thing when I lived with him.

"I wasn't expecting you, I-I-I would have been better prepared" everything was so awkward, I could feel the flush of embarrassment wash over my cheeks. I hoped that it would be excused by the cold winter air that was pelting us where we stood.

"Hi, Dad. Sorry, if this is a bad time. I know that you have a life and I don't ever want to intrude on you or Sarah or the kids ever. So please if you're busy you can tell me to come back another time" I said, awkwardly formal.