Chapter 1: Stand in the Rain

Where have all the good men gone?

The sirens outside wailed in the fading light as a young brunette woman lay on her bed with a phone pressed to her ear. She rolled her eyes and mouthed words under breath with a mocking expression before she fell back against her pile of fluffy pillows. Greer Wayne was talking with her mother about plans for the night. You'd think that after twenty-one years of living that her mother would stop treating her like a child. But not Martha Wayne. Never.

Greer lived in an apartment downtown close to Gotham University, but her mother called every single day…sometimes two or more times a day. She said it was because she loved her, but Greer couldn't help but wonder if it was that her mother didn't fully trust her. And given her public persona, she could understand that...at least to a certain extent. But the apron strings had to be cut eventually, right?

With a groan, Greer stood up and took a few steps before she tripped and fell flat on her face on a plush, white rug. Clumsiness, something she definitely hadn't outgrown as they said she would. Then again, Greer never really seemed to follow the path laid-out for her. She liked to push things a bit...but mostly just because she could. Greer forced herself into a sitting position as her mother asked if she was okay. She said she was fine, but she was glad that her mother wasn't there to see her annoyed eye roll. Another thing she hadn't yet outgrown.

Glancing at the furnishings in her room, it was obvious that she came from money; but that was her mother's doing. When Greer had insisted that she wanted an apartment closer to school, her mother insisted on making her comfortable and finding her an apartment in a"safe" part of town. Greer didn't complain about what her mother had done for it, honestly, she dreaded the thought of living like a poor college kid. But she did have to be more careful about whom she invited over to her apartment. Her first few weeks of college, she had lost more belongings to admirers than she had ever lost on her own. Even pairs of underwear had gone missing and that was just weird.

"Greer, are you listening to me? Greer?" Martha Wayne's voice drew Greer out of her reverie.

"Hm? What were you saying, Mom?" Greer responded.

Her mother sighed. "Greer, you promised a week ago that you'd come. Bruce has been looking forward to it."

"Mother, I can't make it tonight. There's this thing called college and I have a killer paper due tomorrow," Greer responded. "If I'm remembering correctly, a week ago you were telling me to try harder in school."

"Greer," her mother groaned disappointedly. Greer hated that sound from her mother. It wasn't like she purposely tried to disappoint her parents. It just happened out that way-that she was their biggest disappointment. Such was her lot in life.

But she had to respond somehow. "Mother." Not the most mature response, she'd admit that. Although, stubbornly she thought that if her mother was going to treat her like a child, she might as well act like one. Again, not very mature, but it was what it was.

Martha Wayne sighed again. Yet another signal of disappointment Greer was more than used to. "From what the tabloids say, it sounds like you're out every night, Greer Elizabeth. You should have had more than enough time to get it done. Besides, your father and I are the ones paying for you to go to school, your apartment…"

Greer rubbed her face. "It's not what it looks like, Mom, I swear."

"No, of course it isn't." Her mother clearly wasn't buying what she was selling. But she should. While Greer did have a public persona, it certainly wasn't who she really was or whom she liked to be. Although, most of her so-called friends didn't know that. No one did. No one understood what it was like to be her. Begging for attention, yet wanting to be alone. Honestly, her life seemed like a walking contradiction.

But of course, Greer would never divulge that much to her mother. Instead, she forced her usual biting sarcasm. "Mom, I don't go out every night. Only every other night." Real mature, Greer couldn't help but think after the words left her mouth. Old habits die hard apparently.

Her mother gave an exasperated sigh, yet another way to express her disappointment in her daughter and then responded in the same sarcasm as her daughter, "Well, that certainly makes everything better."

"I was joking, Mom. Seriously, sometimes, I think I might be becoming a hermit." Her mother didn't sound impressed. So, Greer tried to veer the conversation back to the topic at hand. "I don't get what the big deal is if I don't go. We just had dinner a couple of days ago. It's not like I never see you guys."

"It's Bruce, sweetie."

Greer's brow furrowed. "What about him?"

"He's having some trouble at school and he won't talk to your father or I about it. When we ask if he wants to talk, he says he'll only talk to you. He admires you so much."

Way to lay the guilt trip on. Greer groaned. "I don't know what help I could possibly be."

"Greer."

"Does it have to be tonight? Because I can't possibly go to a movie tonight. Not unless you could convince Daddy to ask my professor for an extension on this paper." There was an awkward pause. Greer rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'm joking again. I don't need Daddy to fight all my battles for me…only some of them."

It took a moment for her mother to respond. "How about ice cream then afterward then?" Martha Wayne asked hopefully.

"What?" Hadn't she just told her mother she'd be busy writing a paper? A paper that really did exist. She wasn't making it up. It was worth like 25% of her final grade-a biggie.

But her mother rarely took no for an answer, not when a compromise could be made. "How about we'll meet you for ice cream at the place around the corner from you after the musical. This way you can still see Bruce and hopefully find out what's going on."

"Mom, I still have a paper to write."

In her stern motherly voice, Martha said, "I'm sure you could use a little study break and I've never known you to say no to ice cream."

Greer thought about it for a moment. She did like ice cream and she could definitely use a study break at some time. It also might help to bribe herself to get more of the paper done. Seeing more pros than cons, she agreed. "Fine. Call me when you get there and I'll swing by for a little bit."

"Good. We'll see you then." Her mother's tone was light, clearly pleased with the new events.

"Yes, you will."

"I love you, sweetie."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah—I'll see you later."

Greer hung up the phone and shook her head accompanied by another eye roll. She knew that her mother was just trying to be there for both of her children, but sometimes she was a bit excessive. She didn't know any other person in college whose mother was as overprotective as Martha Wayne. Greer loved her mother, but sometimes she wished that her mother cared just a little less. Some freedom would be nice.

Knowing that her roommate was out for the evening, Greer walked to the kitchen and put the tea kettle on the stove. It was going to be a long night trying to plunk out this paper and she needed something caffeinated to keep her awake. If only she liked coffee she would drink that, but the taste was always much too bitter for her liking. Tea on the other hand she liked. Greer waited until the tea kettle whistled before she poured hot water into her mug to make some tea. Then it was study time. She would have roughly two hours to get something accomplished with this paper.

Time seemed to move by slowly, but she seemed to be making decent progress on her paper. The bribe of ice cream was working. Greer checked her word count. She had made surpassed the minimum word count. All she had to do was finish it up with a conclusion paragraph which she could probably do in her sleep. Had she seriously just cranked out a paper that fast?

Greer glanced at the clock on the wall. Her brow furrowed, it was well past the time the musical should have ended. Mother should have called her by now, she was always very prompt about things...to a fault. Greer took a sip of tea before she slammed her book shut and quickly dressed in something a little more acceptable for the public eye. Especially in case the paparazzi managed to find her.

Wrapping her scarf around her neck just in case it was cool, Greer left the house and ran down to the little ice cream parlor around the corner. She walked inside to find the place almost empty aside from an elderly couple sharing a sundae. Greer walked up to the counter and asked the server if he had seen Thomas and Martha Wayne come in. That was probably the only good thing about having famous parents, everyone knew who they were, meaning they were fairly easy to track. Not that she usually used that benefit to find them...but rather stay away from them.

The server, who was dressed in a red and white striped uniform, told her that he hadn't seen them, which caused Greer to furrow her brow in confusion. Maybe Bruce had grown tired or something while watching the play. So, Greer walked back to her apartment hoping that maybe she had missed their phone call telling her as much. She had just unlocked her door when the phone started to ring. Not even bothering to pull her keys from the lock, Greer ran across the room to answer the phone.

Quickly, she picked the phone up and pressed it to her ear. "My god, did you guys get lost or something? There's no possible way the movie lasted that long. Unless there was a revolt because they were out of popcorn," Greer said.

"I-uhm—excuse me, is this Greer Wayne I am speaking with?" a rather gruff voice sounded on the other end.

Greer's eyes widened in surprise. So, not who she had been expecting. "Oh my god, I thought you were my mother. Sorry."

"No ma'am, I'm not." Greer rolled her eyes. She had gotten that much from the manly sounding voice on the other end of the line. Thankfully, he continued before she could say something sarcastic. "Are you Greer Wayne?"

"Yes, yes, I am. Who may I ask is this?"

The man's breath hitched, he was clearly hesitating. "This is Detective James Gordon, ma'am. I'm with the GCPD and I'm with your brother Bruce."

Greer's eyes widened. Her mother had told her things with Bruce weren't good, but she hadn't realized they were that bad. Bad enough that the GCPD would be calling her. Guilt began to bubble up in her stomach. Perhaps she shouldn't have skipped the movie. Family was supposed to come first. She should have just said to hell with the paper and went to the movie. But she couldn't do anything to change that now. Greer sighed, "What did he do? Is he in trouble?"

"No, ma'am. He's not in trouble with the law. I just need you to come down and get him."

Greer's brow furrowed in confusion. It didn't make sense. Why did she have to go down there? She expressed just as much to this Detective Gordon. "Why? Where are my parents?"

The man hesitated again. "This isn't the kind of thing I'd like to say over the phone."

Her patience was wearing thin. What the hell was going on? "Just tell me." Her tone was rather irritable.

Greer heard the man exhale a breath before he said, "Ma'am, your parents have been murdered…"

That was all she heard before the telephone went crashing to the ground. Greer Wayne stood there frozen in place. Her parents. Dead. If there ever were life changing words—those were them and Greer Wayne's once seemingly perfectly manicured life had just been derailed. And there was no one there to save her from the nightmare that was now her life.

Slowly, as she tried to manage to breathe, Greer backed herself up against the door and slid down it to the floor. She tried to process the words the man on the phone had just spoken. They couldn't be true, could they? She could hear the detective still trying to talk to her on the phone, but her head wasn't in the present. It was too busy trying to wrap her head around the situation.

Dead.

They couldn't possibly be dead.

They were supposed to have ice cream. Her mother had promised her ice cream, but that was a promise she would never be able to keep. Now, the very thought of ice cream made her eyes begin to water and soon the tears were freely flowing down her face.

Oh god, what was she going to do?

What was going to happen to Bruce?

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Not yet.

Her parents were supposed to live to see her graduate college. They were supposed to live to see her get married...have kids; but if everything this detective said was true, then none of this was going to happen. Her hopes and dreams had just been killed right along with her parents. Her father would never walk her down the aisle to the man she loved. Her mother would never spoil her grandkids rotten.

Through the panic attack, Greer tried to breathe. She had to pull it together. She had to pull it together for Bruce. Bruce. He needed her. He needed her now more than ever. She needed to be there for him. And to be honest, Greer needed him.

Greer closed her eyes and focused her on breathing. She needed to calm herself down before she stood up. When she felt somewhat calm, she pulled herself to her feet, clutching onto the window sill. She managed a quick glance out the window to see that it had started raining. It was as if the weather had decided to match her current emotional state.

Detective Gordon's voice came from the phone which was still on the floor. She had almost forgotten about him. Greer wiped the tears from her cheeks before she picked up the phone once more and pulled it up to her ear before sniffling as she continued to talk, "I-uh-sorry, 'bout that. It's just a lot to take in."

"It's understandable ma'am. Your brother…"

"Where is he? I'll take a cab if need be. I need to get to him. I need to be there for him."

"Yes, ma'am." The man then rattled off the cross streets near the alley where he and Bruce were currently located.

But Greer cut him off before he could finish speaking. "I'll be there in ten minutes."

A few minutes later, she had called a company for a cab to meet her outside her door. They said they'd call her when they were there. Until then, she just had to wait. Waiting. She hated waiting. Especially at times like this. So she did the only thing she could do: cry. But that lasted only a few minutes until she realized that she wasn't ready to go back out again.

Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, which she just couldn't seem to stop. She wanted to just turn it off, but she couldn't. With tears stinging her eyes and blurring her vision, Greer walked over to her closet and pulled out a black trench coat. She pulled it over her clothes and tied it tightly around her waist. She then ran her fingers through her hair once more before she tried to put on a brave face and walked toward the door. Although, she wouldn't be able to rid herself of her ugly crying face.

After the cab driver called her to let her know he was waiting, Greer walked out of her building toward the cab in the dark as the rain fell. She had completely forgotten to grab an umbrella, so the rain pelted her face as she ran to the cab. She knew her mother hated the fact that she trusted her life to random strangers in cabs, but that has been one thing Greer had put her foot down about. She had wanted to be somewhat normal, but now thinking back on the argument, it seemed so trivial. Everything did. But thinking of her mother made her want to cry and right now she had to be strong. So, she pushed aside any thoughts of her mother as she slid into the backseat of the cab and told the driver where she wanted to go.

The cab had to drop her off a few blocks away from the crime scene. Already a large crowd was beginning to gather outside the police tape. Greer wished she had remembered to bring a pair of sunglasses to hide her tear-filled eyes and an umbrella to shield herself from prying eyes. But she kept her eyes down as she maneuvered her way through the crowd, trying not to draw attention to herself. The last thing she wanted to do right now was make a scene.

When she approached the police tape, Greer tried to sneak underneath it, but one of the officers came up to her and put his hand out to stop her. "Ma'am, this is a crime scene…" the officer started.

"My brother…" Greer started, as she tried to continue to force her way inside the barricade.

But the man remained firm. "Ma'am, back on the other side of the tape."

Greer's stubborn side reared its ugly head. She flung her head up and looked at the man with an icy glare, enough to cause even the mightiest to tremble. "Do you know who I am?" She hated playing that card, but she needed to get to her brother.

The man cocked his head and folded his arms across his chest. "I know you're the girl trespassing on a crime scene and I will take you downtown if I have to."

Her gaze hardened. This man was being ridiculous. "Seriously? You turn a blind eye to the actual crime in this city but you'll arrest an innocent girl for trying to get to her brother in a time of need." Gotham's crime rate was notorious and yet the police did hardly anything about it. But this man had the audacity to threaten her? He had the audacity to threaten Greer Wayne?

Greer tried to push past the man in his blue uniform, but he grabbed her by the wrist. This pissed her off. She tried to pull away from him, but he just grasped her wrist tighter as he reached for his handcuffs with his free hand. What the hell was going on? All she wanted to do was get to her brother, but this idiot...Greer could already see the people in the crowd already beginning to notice the scuffle and some of them were taking pictures of the scene. Great. Just what she needed. Her face plastered all over the tabloids for a misunderstanding. Thankfully, another man came running to her rescue.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there cowboy, don't you know this is Greer Wayne," the new man said. This man looked older, slightly disheveled, and definitely more experienced. The first cop stopped fighting Greer, but he at the older man in confusion. The older man rolled his eyes and continued, "You know, daughter of the deceased and heiress of Wayne Enterprises? I'd let her go unless you want a mountain of litigation up your ass, but that's just me."

Finally understanding the rookie cop quickly released Greer's wrist. She was glad to have it back, but it hurt like hell. She absently started to rub her wrist with her other hand while the rookie begged her not to press charges. The older detective ignored the younger man and held his hand out toward Greer. "Detective Harvey Bullock, ma'am."

"I just want to see my brother." Greer didn't extend her hand, instead, she just held her wrist. Detective Bullock dropped his hand and awkwardly shoved it in his coat pocket, likely taking some offense that Greer Wayne had refused him. "My brother, please?"

"He's with my partner…"

But Greer cut him off. "Take me to him...please." She was sure to add the please, not wanting to sound too demanding.

Detective Bullock nodded his head before he motioned for her to step under the police tape. "Follow me."

Greer stepped under the police tape Bullock held up for her before she folded her arms across her chest as she followed behind him. She gasped when her eyes spotted two white sheets on the pavement. She knew enough to know that those were her parents lying beneath those sheets. Lying dead.

She stopped in her tracks as her heart began to beat faster and faster. Greer clutched her jacket above where her heart was beating wildly. She thought that she might faint. But Detective Bullock noticed she had stopped following him. So, he stopped and turned around to look at her. He furrowed his brow with a sympathetic glance before he took a few steps back and placed his hand gently on Greer's back to guide her.

"This way, sweetheart," Bullock said.

"Don't call me sweetheart," Greer hissed through gritted teeth before she shrugged the detective's hand off.

Bullock glanced at Greer with a furrowed brow, but after years on the job, he knew grief made people act irrationally. So, he decided to read nothing into Greer's actions. He just nodded his head before he motioned with his hand in the direction she should go to find her brother. She muttered her thanks to him and he nodded his head once more.

After walking a few yards, Greer's eyes caught sight of her little brother though the rain in the darkened alley. Bruce was sitting on a fire escape, wrapped in a blanket seated beside another detective. Greer's heart broke as she looked at her brother. Somehow he looked younger than he had the last time she had seen him. Her heart went out to him because his heart was just as shattered as hers. Greer choked back a sob before she started to run, sloshing through the puddles. She shouted her brother's name though the alley, "Bruce! Bruce!"

Bruce must have heard his sister's voice because his head flung up to see her running toward him. Ignoring whatever the detective was saying to him, Bruce started running toward Greer, the rain pelting his face. Right now all he wanted was his sister, especially if he couldn't have his parents. Greer always made him feel better when he was little. He hoped that she would have the right words for him now.

Greer stopped and opened her arms to her brother, which he ran into. Bruce buried his face in his sister's coat as she wrapped her arms around him, holding tightly onto him. Bruce held onto his sister just as tightly. Tears streamed down both the Wayne siblings cheeks as they held each other tightly. Greer bent down and gently kissed the top of her brother's head. She attempted to whisper words of comfort to him, telling him that everything was going to be okay, despite not believing the words herself. He needed to hear them.

While Greer might have been the big sister, Bruce, at twelve-years-old, was close to being nearly as tall as her. Another inch or two inches and he would have surpassed her five-foot-five stature, making her the shortest member of the Wayne family. Especially now that her parents were...Greer couldn't bring herself to think that final word. Not yet.

Greer sniffled and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her coat. She then took a step away from her brother. Bruce's brow furrowed as his sister placed her small hands on her brother's cheeks. Greer took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Bruce? Bruce?"

"Greer, I-I-" Bruce stammered before he tore his gaze away from his sister and toward the ground. He refused to meet her gaze as he adjusted the grey blanket around his shoulders. Greer tipped Bruce's chin up to see his face in the light. His bottom lip began to tremble. So, Greer pulled her brother close again, resting her chin on the top of his head.

The rain continued to gently fall on the two of them as they stood there clinging to each other. Tears with a mixture of rain streamed down both the Wayne siblings' cheeks. It hurt so bad. She couldn't remember the last time she felt such pain-a pain that felt like it would never subside. A pain that would likely be with her for the rest of her life.

As she held Bruce, Greer watched the man he had been sitting with walk toward them. The expression on his face looked stern. Greer wasn't sure if his expression was a mask or his actual feelings on the matter. She watched as he stopped a few feet away from them. Greer made pained eye contact with the man through her blurry vision as she held tightly onto her brother.

"You must be Greer Wayne," the detective said in a solemn tone. Greer nodded her head as the man shoved his hands into his pockets before he continued. "We spoke on the phone. I'm Detective James…"

"Gordon," Greer finished for him, resting her cheek on the top of her brother's head. "I remember."

The back door of one of the buildings opened, flooding light on Detective Gordon. Greer couldn't help but notice how blue his eyes looked, but the door quickly shut again and it was practically dark once more. But Greer continued to watch the man in front of her. He seemed different than the other two GCDP men she had interacted with earlier. He carried himself differently and she already got the feeling that he gave a damn more than the others.

"Sorry we had to meet like this," Detective Gordon said. Greer nodded her head in response. He took a step closer toward them, talking a little lower. "I was hoping to have a few more minutes with your brother if you don't mind. I want to make sure that I have all the information I can get so that I can get to the bottom of this. You can stay with your brother if you'd like."

Greer nodded and sighed before she whispered in Bruce's ear. "Are you up for that?"

Bruce hesitated but then he nodded his head.

"Would you like me to stay with you?"

Again he nodded his head. She knew this was hard for him.

Greer rubbed her brother's back before she looked at Detective Gordon. She opened her mouth to speak, but words seemed to escape her. Instead, she nodded her head. Thankfully, Detective Gordon seemed to understand what the nod meant. He gestured toward the fire escape. Again, Greer nodded her head in understanding.

Greer kissed Bruce's forehead once more before she snaked her fingers through his. Gently, she turned him and they walked hand-in-hand back over to the fire escape. With tears in his eyes, Bruce practically clung to his sister, which continued to break her heart. She was all he had left. What kind of cruel person would do that? Why would someone do that? It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to either of them.

Not wanting to burst into tears again, Greer looked away from Bruce and toward Detective Gordon, who walked beside her. He gave her a forced smile, which oddly she appreciated because it distracted her. She thought the smile looked nice on him. Not that she had interacted with many GCPD cops, but they rarely wore smiles-not even forced ones. And his smile kept her from drowning in her grief. It reminded her to be strong. For Bruce.

Holding onto his hand, Greer helped Bruce sit down before she sat down a stair behind him. She hugged her brother from behind-holding her little brother tightly, reminding him that she was there for him. Reminding herself that she needed to be there for him. She couldn't allow her grief to consumer her. Not now.

Greer rested her chin on top of his head as she felt his hands reach to cling to her arms. His grip was so tight that Greer wondered if he was ever going to let her go again. Detective Gordon sat down beside her brother before he looked back at Greer. His glance seemed to ask if it was okay for him to proceed. Greer gave him a nod of affirmation.

"Bruce, what can you tell me about what happened?" Detective Gordon asked.

Bruce didn't say anything. So, Detective Gordon repeated his question. Greer nudged Bruce to say something, but he wasn't having any of it. Then, surprising her, Bruce turned toward his sister. He rested his face against her knee, clung to her leg, and began to shake uncontrollably.

Greer sighed and rubbed Bruce's back. "I'm sorry about this," Greer apologized to Detective Gordon.

"I wouldn't be doing this unless it was absolutely necessary."

Greer nodded her head and sighed. "Bruce, c'mon. You gotta talk to him. I can't do it for you. I-I-"

"You weren't here! You were supposed to be here!" Bruce cried, his head flinging up. His expression looked almost angry, which surprised her. "You promised me that you'd be here. You lied!"

Tears filled Greer's eyes as she fumbled to make any words come from her mouth. The only words that came were:

I know.

I know.

I know.

Detective Gordon watched the tense scene between the siblings with his jaw tense, as if it pained him to see them like that. He then leaned toward Bruce and quietly said, "When I was about your age, a drunk driver hit our car. Killed my dad."

Greer's heart panged hearing Detective Gordon's admission. It genuinely felt like he cared and that he understood what was going on-that he wanted to help them. Detective Gordon looked at Greer once more, offering her a slight reassuring nod before turning his attention back to Bruce. Rather solemnly, he said, "I was right next to him. I know how you feel."

Bruce sniffled before rubbing his nose on Greer's leg before he turned to face Detective Gordon. Bruce's bottom lip still trembled as his attention rested on him. Greer quickly kissed her brother's temple.

"And I promise you that however dark and scary the world might be right now, there will be light. There will be light, Bruce," Detective Gordon said.

Bruce looked back at Greer, who nodded her head, before he spoke, "We just got out of the movies." Bruce sniffled and wiped his nose with the blanket as Detective Gordon nodded his head to show to Bruce that he was listening. "We were walking through the alley to catch an uptown cab so we could meet Greer for ice cream when a tall man came out of the shadows." Greer closed her eyes as her brother continued to recount what he had seen.

With each detail he spilled, her heart hurt a little more. She should have been there.

"He-he was tall..."

Pang.

"...with a black mask..."

Pang.

"...and he had a hat and gloves..."

Pang. Pang.

"...and shiny shoes."

Pang.

A sob escaped Greer's lips which she attempted to stifle by pressing her face against her brother's hair as he finished. "He took my dad's wallet and my mom's necklace. And then he shot them for no reason at all. I should have done something! But I was too scared!"

Bruce then turned back toward his sister and Greer held him tighter. "You should have been here!"

"I know-I'm sorry..." Greer started to apologize when Detective Gordon interrupted her.

"It's a good thing she wasn't, Bruce," Detective Gordon said glancing at Greer before looking at Bruce. "She could have been killed too and then you'd have no one, Bruce. But look, your sister is here now and that's what matters. She's here for you and she's hurting just like you are. There is nothing either of you could have done to stop what happened."

Detective Gordon then held eye contact with Greer "I mean it. Don't beat yourself up about not being here. I know what I say probably isn't going to stop you from doing so, but it helps no one to focus on what ifs. The past is in the past, but there is something you both can do now."

"What's that?" Greer rubbed at her nose with the back of her hand as she intently watched the man seated beside her brother.

"You can be strong," Detective Gordon said looking straight at her before repeating himself while looking at Bruce. "Be strong. I promise you both that I will find the man who did this."

It was at this point that Greer broke down and the tears she had been holding back to be brave for Bruce suddenly escaped like a levee breaking. Bruce turned and hugged his sister tightly and she hugged him back.

"You'll get through this, I promise," Detective Gordon reassured the Wayne siblings.

The Wayne siblings as they held onto each other and Detective Gordon wished that there were more he could do for them. But finding the man responsible for this wasn't exactly going to be easy. Although, Jim Gordon would do it-even if it was the last thing he did.

Suddenly, a black car pulled up on the other side of the yellow tape. Greer's eyes looked up to see Alfred waltz out of the car and toward them with a purpose in his stride. The cops lifted the yellow tape for him. Normally, Greer would have wanted to scoff at a gesture she had been refused but Alfred had been offered, but instead, she shook Bruce and angled him toward Alfred. Bruce immediately released the blanket he had wrapped around himself before he took off in a sprint toward Alfred. Detective Gordon offered Greer a hand to stand, which she accepted before she slowly sauntered toward Alfred who had Bruce embraced in a hug.

As Greer drew closer toward Alfred and Bruce, she crossed her arms over her chest as if trying to keep everything together. But when Alfred looked at her with an arm open and said her name, Greer ran toward the man who had been like a second father to her, like a small child running toward their father.

Alfred held both Wayne children tightly as Detective Gordon walked closer to them. The two men introduced themselves to each other. Remembering that she was a grown adult, Greer backed away from Alfred, trying to compose herself. She was twenty-one years old. She shouldn't be all over the place emotionally like this. Rolling her shoulders back, she raised her chin and set her gaze at Detective Gordon who was making the promise to Alfred that he had made to Greer and Bruce: that he was going to catch the person responsible.

"New boy, are you?" Alfred responded.

"You could say that," Gordon offered.

"Well, good luck, mate." Alfred nodded his head before he turned Bruce and wrapped an arm around the young boy's shoulder. He left his other arm open for Greer to crawl under. She did and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder too.

"Come along, you two. Don't look down. Heads up. Eyes front. Don't let them see you crying." They had walked no more than a few yards when Greer shrugged Alfred's arm from her shoulder and told him that she'd be right back.

Greer turned and walked back toward Detective Gordon who stood there watching her walk away. She slowly approached him trying to figure out what to say. Stopping a few feet away from him, her eyes locked with his before she finally managed to speak, "Did you mean it?"

"Mean what? That I'm going to do everything in my power to find the man that did this. Yeah-I meant it," Detective Gordon offered.

"Not that. The part about losing your dad."

"That? Yeah. Worst couple of years of my life after that."

"That's reassuring." Greer's tone was sarcastic. That made Detective Gordon smile.

"It might not seem like it now, but you'll get through it. You're strong, I can tell." Greer opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Instead, she just nodded her head like she had done many times that night. She turned to walk away, but Detective Gordon offered some parting words. "Good luck, ma'am."

Greer stopped and shook her head before she turned to face him again. "Ma'am is something you call someone over forty."

Detective Gordon appeared slightly amused before he tried again. "Good luck, kid."

"I'm not a child, either." By this point, Greer had a slight smile on her face with her arms folded across her chest as she took a step closer to Detective Gordon. He swallowed hard looking at the young woman in front of him before he gave her a slight smile.

"Good luck...Greer Wayne."

Greer just nodded her head before she turned and walked away. She took a few steps before she looked over her shoulder to see Detective Gordon watching her walk away. Nodding her head again, she started walking once more. Luck-that was probably just what she needed. But Greer Wayne didn't believe in luck. No, she was holding out for a hero.

Greer's faceclaim: Leighton Meester

Edited: 5/19/2018-This story is going through a rewrite process. Storylines not likely to change much, but hopefully the writing will be a bit better.