MUZBNUTS
03-06-2003, 12:10 PM
Well, this is it! The moment we've all been waiting for! Enjoy!
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Time ticked by...the seconds into minutes...the minutes into hours...all of which seemed an eternity to Barbara as she watched and waited. Helena's temperature had stabilized in the past hour, but it was still in the dangerous range. Dinah sat in the corner of the room, eating one of the sandwiches Alfred had thoughtfully brought to the infirmary. Barbara just drank coffee.
Bruce had been in and out of the room, checking on the progress of Helena's condition with barely a word to anyone. He would stand over Helena, checking her vitals with business-like precision, then pause and look at her thoughtfully. On one such occasion, he had looked almost sad, shaking his head slowly from side to side. Having just checked Helena's vitals, Barbara knew that his actions had nothing to with Helena's condition, but with some conflict within Bruce himself. She had no idea what was going through his mind, but Barbara hoped that Bruce would come to grips with it soon. His silence was killing her.
Dinah watched Bruce from the corner of the room and frowned. After Barbara?s breakdown earlier, it seemed impossible to her that Bruce Wayne could act so cold and clinical around Helena. After all, he was Helena's father - her very own flesh and blood. Barbara didn't give birth to Helena, but she displayed more caring and more emotion toward the girl than her own father. True, Bruce Wayne had never known he had a daughter until after Selina's death, while Barbara had known Helena for years. Barbara and Helena had become attached over those years. Bruce Wayne barely knew the girl. Given those facts, Dinah supposed she shouldn't be judgmental.
Besides, if he didn't care, why show up to help her? she thought.
Dinah wished she could get a glimpse of what was going on in his mind, but after the accidental transference of emotion from Barbara, she knew she wouldn't be up to the task. Dinah turned her attention to her mentor, seated in her wheelchair, guarding Helena as a lioness would guard her cub. Barbara looked so tired, but she refused to relinquish her position beside Helena's bed. After Barbara's emotional outpouring earlier, Dinah tried to convince her to get some rest - to let her take over some of the duties regarding Helena, but Barbara had flatly refused. She wasn't going to leave her bedside until she was certain that Helena was going to be fine.
"Barbara," Bruce Wayne's voice shook Dinah out of her thoughts. "I need to speak with you," he turned toward Dinah, "alone."
Barbara looked into Bruce's eyes. What she saw there bothered her. She had the feeling she was not going to like what he had to say.
"Dinah..."
"Right," Dinah said, more than slightly annoyed at being shooed out of the room like some child while the adults talked about important things. She rose from her chair, deliberately taking her time as she crossed the room and made her exit.
------------
"What the HELL do you mean you're leaving?!"
Fire burned in Barbara's eyes. Gone was the pale, haggard look. What had replaced it was one of pure unadulterated anger.
"Barbara, try to understand. I can't stay," Bruce said, flatly.
"You can't stay?! How can you leave, Bruce?! Helena is your daughter! She needs you!"
"Her temperature is stabilized. Her condition hasn?t deteriorated any further," he reasoned.
Barbara couldn't believe what she was hearing. Who was this man? she thought. What had happened to the man who she had idolized all these years - her mentor?
"Her condition hasn't improved any either! She isn't out of the woods yet!" she shouted.
"I've stayed as long as I could, Barbara. Now I have to go. There?s nothing more to say, except goodbye," Bruce said, in that flat, placating tone that angered Barbara all the more. He turned to walk toward the door.
Suddenly, all of the fury, all of the rage, boiling inside Barbara erupted.
"YOU BASTARD!"
Bruce stopped then, but he didn't turn to face Barbara. She was shocked at her outburst, but even more shocked at what Bruce was doing. Fury unleashed, Barbara was a force to be reckoned with. She wouldn't stop until she let him know exactly how she felt. Gone was the reverence she once felt for this man, replaced by anger and disappointment.
"You're going to leave again! Leave Gotham! Leave your daughter! You have no idea how much she has needed you to be here - still needs you! You're clueless! You can't keep running from it all! You can't hide from what happened to Selina! To me! When are you going to face that fact? What has happened to you?! What have you become?! Who the HELL are you?! 'Cause you sure as HELL aren?t the man I used to know?! Go! Leave! Run out on her again! Helena deserves better!"
Bruce Wayne never turned around. He simply said, "You're right," and walked out the door.
Barbara sank back in her chair as Dinah rushed into the room. She couldn't believe that she had said all of those things to Bruce. She supposed the anger had been building inside her since he'd left.
Nonetheless, the tirade had left her emotionally and physically drained.
"Are you okay?"
The concern on the young girl?s features was touching, but Barbara found that she couldn?t look into Dinah's eyes as nodded in assent. After all of the times she?d spoken so highly of her mentor, for him to act this way...she was embarrassed. Dinah seemed to know what Barbara was thinking and didn?t push the issue. They both returned to their respective positions in the infirmary in silence.
-----------
Dinah checked Helena's forehead and found that her fever had abated a bit. She turned to Barbara, who had nodded off in her wheelchair.
She's so exhausted, she thought. She needs to rest.
Determined not to take no for an answer, Dinah kneeled beside Barbara and gently nudged her awake. Barbara's eyes opened wide and she was instantly alert.
"What? What's wrong?" she asked, worried.
"Nothing, Barbara," Dinah said in a soothing tone. "I just wanted to tell you that Helena's fever has gone down. She's breathing a bit easier, too."
Barbara moved to check Helena's vitals herself. As she did, a wave of dizziness gripped her and she came close to toppling out of the wheelchair. Dinah moved quickly to steady her.
"Barbara, listen to me. You have to get some rest. I'll stay with Helena."
"No. I have to be here. What if something happens and her condition deteriorates again?"
Dinah moved in front of the chair, positioning herself between Barbara and Helena. "Then, I'll send Alfred to wake you." Before Barbara could open her mouth to protest, Dinah continued, "If something does happen, you're not going to be any good to her like this. You have to get some sleep. It'll be okay. I promise, you'll know the moment her condition changes."
Barbara couldn't deny the fact that she was weary to the bone. The girl was right, she wouldn't be any help to Helena in her present state. She backed the wheelchair away form the bed, admonishing, "The minute something changes?"
"I promise," Dinah said with sincerity.
Hating to leave, but knowing it was for the best, Barbara headed out of the infirmary.
--------
Oh my God, Barbara, come quick!
Helena!
She silently urged the wheelchair to move faster as she responded to Dinah's cry. The chair's wheels moved as if traveling through quicksand. When she had finally made it inside the infirmary, the sight made Barbara's stomach lurch. Helena was convulsing, Dinah desperately trying to hold onto her flailing limbs. Just as Barbara crossed the expanse of the room to the bed, the convulsing stopped. To her horror, so did Helena?s breathing. She reached out to feel the pulse in Helena's neck, and as she stared into the girl's opened, vacant eyes, she found there was none.
NOOOO!!
------Continued in next post of this thread.
-------
Time ticked by...the seconds into minutes...the minutes into hours...all of which seemed an eternity to Barbara as she watched and waited. Helena's temperature had stabilized in the past hour, but it was still in the dangerous range. Dinah sat in the corner of the room, eating one of the sandwiches Alfred had thoughtfully brought to the infirmary. Barbara just drank coffee.
Bruce had been in and out of the room, checking on the progress of Helena's condition with barely a word to anyone. He would stand over Helena, checking her vitals with business-like precision, then pause and look at her thoughtfully. On one such occasion, he had looked almost sad, shaking his head slowly from side to side. Having just checked Helena's vitals, Barbara knew that his actions had nothing to with Helena's condition, but with some conflict within Bruce himself. She had no idea what was going through his mind, but Barbara hoped that Bruce would come to grips with it soon. His silence was killing her.
Dinah watched Bruce from the corner of the room and frowned. After Barbara?s breakdown earlier, it seemed impossible to her that Bruce Wayne could act so cold and clinical around Helena. After all, he was Helena's father - her very own flesh and blood. Barbara didn't give birth to Helena, but she displayed more caring and more emotion toward the girl than her own father. True, Bruce Wayne had never known he had a daughter until after Selina's death, while Barbara had known Helena for years. Barbara and Helena had become attached over those years. Bruce Wayne barely knew the girl. Given those facts, Dinah supposed she shouldn't be judgmental.
Besides, if he didn't care, why show up to help her? she thought.
Dinah wished she could get a glimpse of what was going on in his mind, but after the accidental transference of emotion from Barbara, she knew she wouldn't be up to the task. Dinah turned her attention to her mentor, seated in her wheelchair, guarding Helena as a lioness would guard her cub. Barbara looked so tired, but she refused to relinquish her position beside Helena's bed. After Barbara's emotional outpouring earlier, Dinah tried to convince her to get some rest - to let her take over some of the duties regarding Helena, but Barbara had flatly refused. She wasn't going to leave her bedside until she was certain that Helena was going to be fine.
"Barbara," Bruce Wayne's voice shook Dinah out of her thoughts. "I need to speak with you," he turned toward Dinah, "alone."
Barbara looked into Bruce's eyes. What she saw there bothered her. She had the feeling she was not going to like what he had to say.
"Dinah..."
"Right," Dinah said, more than slightly annoyed at being shooed out of the room like some child while the adults talked about important things. She rose from her chair, deliberately taking her time as she crossed the room and made her exit.
------------
"What the HELL do you mean you're leaving?!"
Fire burned in Barbara's eyes. Gone was the pale, haggard look. What had replaced it was one of pure unadulterated anger.
"Barbara, try to understand. I can't stay," Bruce said, flatly.
"You can't stay?! How can you leave, Bruce?! Helena is your daughter! She needs you!"
"Her temperature is stabilized. Her condition hasn?t deteriorated any further," he reasoned.
Barbara couldn't believe what she was hearing. Who was this man? she thought. What had happened to the man who she had idolized all these years - her mentor?
"Her condition hasn't improved any either! She isn't out of the woods yet!" she shouted.
"I've stayed as long as I could, Barbara. Now I have to go. There?s nothing more to say, except goodbye," Bruce said, in that flat, placating tone that angered Barbara all the more. He turned to walk toward the door.
Suddenly, all of the fury, all of the rage, boiling inside Barbara erupted.
"YOU BASTARD!"
Bruce stopped then, but he didn't turn to face Barbara. She was shocked at her outburst, but even more shocked at what Bruce was doing. Fury unleashed, Barbara was a force to be reckoned with. She wouldn't stop until she let him know exactly how she felt. Gone was the reverence she once felt for this man, replaced by anger and disappointment.
"You're going to leave again! Leave Gotham! Leave your daughter! You have no idea how much she has needed you to be here - still needs you! You're clueless! You can't keep running from it all! You can't hide from what happened to Selina! To me! When are you going to face that fact? What has happened to you?! What have you become?! Who the HELL are you?! 'Cause you sure as HELL aren?t the man I used to know?! Go! Leave! Run out on her again! Helena deserves better!"
Bruce Wayne never turned around. He simply said, "You're right," and walked out the door.
Barbara sank back in her chair as Dinah rushed into the room. She couldn't believe that she had said all of those things to Bruce. She supposed the anger had been building inside her since he'd left.
Nonetheless, the tirade had left her emotionally and physically drained.
"Are you okay?"
The concern on the young girl?s features was touching, but Barbara found that she couldn?t look into Dinah's eyes as nodded in assent. After all of the times she?d spoken so highly of her mentor, for him to act this way...she was embarrassed. Dinah seemed to know what Barbara was thinking and didn?t push the issue. They both returned to their respective positions in the infirmary in silence.
-----------
Dinah checked Helena's forehead and found that her fever had abated a bit. She turned to Barbara, who had nodded off in her wheelchair.
She's so exhausted, she thought. She needs to rest.
Determined not to take no for an answer, Dinah kneeled beside Barbara and gently nudged her awake. Barbara's eyes opened wide and she was instantly alert.
"What? What's wrong?" she asked, worried.
"Nothing, Barbara," Dinah said in a soothing tone. "I just wanted to tell you that Helena's fever has gone down. She's breathing a bit easier, too."
Barbara moved to check Helena's vitals herself. As she did, a wave of dizziness gripped her and she came close to toppling out of the wheelchair. Dinah moved quickly to steady her.
"Barbara, listen to me. You have to get some rest. I'll stay with Helena."
"No. I have to be here. What if something happens and her condition deteriorates again?"
Dinah moved in front of the chair, positioning herself between Barbara and Helena. "Then, I'll send Alfred to wake you." Before Barbara could open her mouth to protest, Dinah continued, "If something does happen, you're not going to be any good to her like this. You have to get some sleep. It'll be okay. I promise, you'll know the moment her condition changes."
Barbara couldn't deny the fact that she was weary to the bone. The girl was right, she wouldn't be any help to Helena in her present state. She backed the wheelchair away form the bed, admonishing, "The minute something changes?"
"I promise," Dinah said with sincerity.
Hating to leave, but knowing it was for the best, Barbara headed out of the infirmary.
--------
Oh my God, Barbara, come quick!
Helena!
She silently urged the wheelchair to move faster as she responded to Dinah's cry. The chair's wheels moved as if traveling through quicksand. When she had finally made it inside the infirmary, the sight made Barbara's stomach lurch. Helena was convulsing, Dinah desperately trying to hold onto her flailing limbs. Just as Barbara crossed the expanse of the room to the bed, the convulsing stopped. To her horror, so did Helena?s breathing. She reached out to feel the pulse in Helena's neck, and as she stared into the girl's opened, vacant eyes, she found there was none.
NOOOO!!
------Continued in next post of this thread.