There were many images. Helena jerked up with a gasp; a sharp pain invaded her body and she winced. She held her side, feeling her heart beating quickly... the images were confused and painful. Her disorientation made her panic. She closed her eyes; it had all happened so fast; she couldn't focus. Suddenly, she saw a flash that blinded her. She opened her eyes abruptly, noticing she was breathing fast. Her feline pupils slowly began to focus the in dark room.

She was in Barbara's room. She looked to her right and saw the redhead sleeping deeply. She was confused; she noticed her arm was in a sling. She felt disconcerted. Why was she there? Why wasn't she in her own bed? She tried to move, but another sharp pain in her abdomen washed over her and she grunted, holding her ribs. Her fingers touched a bandage there. Now she was really worried; what had happened?

The brunette slowly tried to move to the edge of the bed. When she moved her arm, she whimpered in pain.

Barbara woke up, slightly groggy, when she heard her. "Helena...?" She was worried, the girl had been unconscious for over fifteen hours. She was in a meeting at the Library when she had received a phone call from Dr. Leslie Tomkins; she had gone to the hospital immediately to prevent blood tests on the girl. She had managed it, arguing she was going to move her to a private hospital.

The girl closed her eyes and tried to not move, not wanting to feel more pain. Barbara sat up in the bed and touched her shoulder. "Easy Helena, you are all right. Lie down. You can't stand up yet."

"I hurt all over..." the girl mumbled.

"Lie down, please.." Barbara gently put her hand on Helena's back with and helped her to move lie down on the mattress slowly.

Helena couldn't protest and let the redhead move her. Never had a simple movement like that caused her so much pain. She winced holding her abdomen.

"I'm glad you're awake, but you can't stand up," Barbara said moving the pillow under her head, trying to make her more comfortable.

"What happened?"

"A car hit you..."

"A car? How?..." Helena asked, surprised.

"I guess you jumped off a building without being careful. The owner of the car said you fell from the sky."

"I did?'"

"Yes, what were you thinking?" Barbara raised her brow and covered her with the blankets. Helena felt the softness of it over her hurt body.

"I was taking a shortcut..." the brunette said quietly.

"Shortcut?"

"I wanted to get here fast because it was going to rain."

"Do you hurt?"

"Yes... my arm is throbbing..." Helena said.

Barbara turned on the lamp and took a pill off her night table and a glass of water. "Easy... you have bruises over all your body." Barbara said softly. She helped the brunette to raise her head and swallow the pill. "You will feel better with this... you are lucky that it just hit you and didn't run over you."

Helena remembered; she was on a rooftop, she was taking a shortcut... And she had jumped down, yes.... she had just landed, when she heard the honk of a horn. Then everything turned black.

"You know, you can't jump like that." Barbara put the glass back on the night table.

"Sorry..." The brunette winced in pain, feeling tears in her eyes.

Barbara noticed it and brushed her hair gently and took her good hand. "Don't worry..."

"I feel bad." The girl looked at her with deep blue eyes.

"Hey easy, don't cry," Barbara wiped one of her tears with her finger. "I know you are scared, but don't worry. Calm down... Try to sleep now."

Helena closed her eyes, comforted by her touch.

"Are you comfortable?" the red head asked, with a slight smile. She knew she was scared.

Helena nodded.

The red turned off the lamp and laid back down on her pillow keeping an eye on the young girl until she noticed she was asleep again. After that, she closed her eyes. It had been a very intense day. She had been extremely worried that someone would discover who Helena really was. She rubbed her shoulders with her hands and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and gave in to the fatigue.

Helena woke up late the next morning. She thought it all had been a bad dream until she tried to move and her body protested. Damn. That car had really hit her. That had been a stupid accident. She looked around. Barbara was gone. Probably to work.

Using her good arm, she moved and slowly sat up, resting her back on the headboard. She noticed a note and a glass of water next to some pills on the night table: "Take this. You will feel better. B." Helena picked up the glass, swallowed the pills and rested her back again on the headboard. She looked at her arm. The idea of using a sling was not pleasant. This was going to be a boring day is she had to sit still on the bed the whole time. She knew she was in a safe place but she couldn't avoid feeling scared. She never...

"Morning." Barbara cut her thoughts opening the door, she had a tray with breakfast in her hands.

"Oh...Morning." The girl was surprised to see her "I thought you were working."

"Later... but I wanted to give you your breakfast first. I made pancakes." The red head put a small bed table over the girl's legs and the tray of food on it. "How do you feel?"

"Much better, thanks," Helena said.

"May I ask you to not take 'short cuts' again?" Barbara asked looking into her eyes.

"Sorry... I wanted to get here fast... it was going to rain."

"Better to be wet than have accidents like this one, don't you think?"

"Yes... " Helena avoided her gaze.

Barbara moved a chair and sat next to her crossing the fingers of her hands. "Well, when your mother finds out; she is going to be really angry with me and with you. We can think of something later. Now eat your breakfast."

"Maybe I'll be okay before she comes back." The young woman was nice and she was embarrassed to cause trouble for her.

"Forget it. What were you doing jumping from rooftops? Your mother has told you not to use your skills outside, it's dangerous." Barbara tried to not sound annoyed. She was just a kid. Selina had come back to New Gotham just a year ago. She had to take an emergency trip to sign some papers to sell her apartment in France and she needed to leave Helena in New Gotham.

The ex-thief had asked her to take care of her daughter. She had refused, she couldn't take care of the kid; she worked as Gotham Library's Head Librarian and at night as Batgirl, but Selina had insisted, she was in a hurry, Selina didn't trust anyone else. She had accepted because Helena was half-meta and she didn't have control of her abilities, like her cat pupils. She would scare normal people and be in trouble.

"Do you think mom will be annoyed?"

Barbara raised an eyebrow.

"I guess..." Helena mumbled.

"Well, I think we can survive her." Barbara noticed the kid was staring at her food in silence. Maybe she had done something to upset the child. "Is something wrong Helena?"

Helena raised her head and looked her with her big blue eyes. "Uh..." she raised her fork "Could you help me? I can't use the knife."

Barbara remembered she had her arm in a sling. "Oh... sorry," she said, taking the knife and the fork. "Let me help you."

She had never taken care of a child and she didn't know exactly what to do. Helena's presence made her world difficult; and now she needed to take time to take care of her: food, school, homework and to manage her own secret activities. Maybe that was the most difficult part. She needed to do it, without Helena knowing what she was doing.

Helena observed her in silence. The change of country had been a bit difficult. She felt strange in a place that wasn't her home. The culture in that country was very different from France. She just had obeyed her mother. She had taken her to Barbara's apartment when she had to make the quick trip. She had known Barbara for a year, since they had arrived from France. Barbara was at her home sometimes for lunch or dinner. She had been nice enough to her, but usually she and her mother would talk about adult things and sometimes her mother sent her to watch TV while they talked.

She felt strange with Barbara; she never had been far from her mother. She missed her; Selina never let her stay with anyone; not even at her friends' to sleep, they could only stay at her home. She didn't trust anyone and it was the first time that she had ever left her alone.

"Ready." Barbara gave her the fork.

Helena took a piece of pancake, it tasted like cardboard, but she needed to be nice and polite.

"Is it good?" Barbara asked.

"Yes...How old are you Barbara?"

"Twenty two..."

The girl looked at her suspiciously chewing her pancake.

"What?"

"You are too young..."

"Is that a problem?"

"... You are too young. My math teacher is older than you and my mom doesn't trust her." Helena cooked her head.

Barbara was offended. "I may be young, but I'm an adult and I work as a Gotham Library's Head Librarian."

"Ahhh...." Helena had her eyes locked on her. "What is that?"

"I'm the head of that marvelous place. I take care of the books, and keep them in good condition; I look for new material and make sure the place runs smoothly."

Helena thought there could not be a more boring job than to work with books. "That doesn't make up for you only being twenty two..." she pointed out.

"You ask so many questions to be just ten."

"Eleven."

"Same thing. I was a very advanced student and I finished school quickly. Now finish your breakfast, then rest a bit more. I'll be working at the living room. Here is the TV remote."

"Do you have cable?"

Barbara hesitated a moment, she didn't watch much television. "I don't think so."

"Cartoons are on cable. Do you have movies?"

"Uhhh... no... Do you like read?"

Helena frowned.

"Okay, okay," Barbara sighed. "Stay here and I'll bring you some videos from the video store. It's two blocks from here."

The girl's face shone. "Great!"

The red head walked out of the room. Luckily, Leslie Tomkins, a doctor that knew all the secrets about herself and Bruce, was their doctor, and was working at the hospital when the driver of the car took Helena there; Leslie was Helena's doctor too. She had recommended her to Selina because Tomkins was professional and was familiar with meta humans. Helena had a card on her pocket with her phone number and Barbara had called her.

Barbara leaned her back against the door frame taking a deep breath. It was going to be a long week. Selina was going to be pissed when she found out that her little girl had been hit by a car.