Bruce stared down at the baby his mother had just come home with. He had been feeling his little sister move inside of his mother's stomach for so long he was happy she was finally here.

"I thought she was supposed to look more like a baby."

"What do you mean, Bruce?" his mother asked him with a slight smile.

"She looks like a bird," both Martha and Thomas laughed while Bruce just stared down at the tiny little person in his mother's arms.

"Would you like to hold her?" His mother patted the space beside her on the couch and he sat holding out his arms as his mother placed the baby in them. "You have to make sure you hold her head up" his mother said moving his arm so his sister's head was resting on it. His other arm was wrapped around her front, keeping her protected against him. He stared down at her pink squished looking face and smiled. She stared up at him with her bright blue eyes and her toothless pink gums showing. She raised her tiny hand up and her little fingers brushed against his face as she made gurgling noises. She would be the best little sister ever, he just knew it. He looked at his mother, "Can I call her Evan?"

"Oh Tom isn't that just precious, our little Evan."

The Wayne's were sitting four people away from the end of the row as they watched the opera. Bruce and his father were dressed in their nicest suits, and his mother was in her black dress wearing the pearls his grandmother had given her. When his parents told him they were going to the opera he had whined at first saying it would be boring. But when his parents said he had to go he begged them to bring Evan too. Alfred would play opera music sometimes while he cleaned and Evan would sit quietly listening in awe. To prove that she wouldn't fuss he asked Alfred to turn on some of the music and sure enough Evan, who had been cooing at her toys, settled down and stared around with wide eyes. The song lasted for eight minutes, and his parents agreed she could come when she sat quietly the whole time.

Evan was sitting chewing on her pink teething ring in their mother's lap enraptured by what was happening on the stage. Martha's gaze would only leave the stage when she wiped some of the drool dripping from her daughter's mouth. Evan was wearing a small white dress and little black shoes. Bruce sat in between his parents and he started shrinking down in his seat when the man on stage came out dressed as a bat. He still remembered falling in the well and hearing all of the noises that had scared him. What had really scared him was seeing all the beady eyes staring at him, and how fast they moved as they flew away. He had thought one of them was going to snatch him for sure, but they didn't. "Can we go, please" he begged his father.

Thomas tapped his wife who had one hand over their daughter's middle keeping Evan in her lap. "Lets go." They quietly slipped their way out of the theater, saying their apologies when necessary, and into the night.

"What's wrong Bruce?" his mother asked as she shifted Evan to her right hip so she could pull on the left sleeve of her coat, and then moved Evan to her left so she could finish putting on her coat.

"No, it was me. I just needed some fresh air. A little bit of opera goes a long way, right Bruce?" Thomas winked at his son before hearing the sound of a bottle rolling on the ground. He led his family away from the theater hoping to get them out of the shady neighborhood.

Bruce walked beside his mother and he looked at his sister who was sucking on the teething ring, laying her head on their mother's chest sleepily. He saw the man in dirty clothes with a mustache walking towards them. "Wallets, jewelry. Come on fast," the man said holding a gun to his father.

"That's fine take it easy" Thomas said calmly hoping to keep both his family and the man from getting too upset. He pulled out his wallet and handed it to the man but it slipped from the man's shaking hands and fell to the ground. "It's fine," he said in what he hoped was a soothing voice. The man reached down and picked it up, "now just take it and go."

"I said jewelry" the man said moving towards Martha. Thomas moved in front of her and felt heat flood through his chest as he fell to the ground. Bruce stood unable to move as he heard the gunshot and the sound of his mother screaming. She was leaning over her husband holding a crying Evan tightly to her chest. The man grabbed his mother's pearls and his gun went off as the necklace broke. The alley was eerily silent as the shot echoed through the alley. The man ran away from them and Bruce stared at his parents lying on the ground.

"Bruce" he heard his father's soft voice and felt his large hand hold his smaller one. "It's okay, don't be afraid. Take care of your sister." He watched as his father's eyes closed and his head lolled to the side, knowing he was dead. He felt his warm tears slip down his cheeks and he heard his sister crying. His mother was laying on her back with her eyes closed, her arms still wrapped around her daughter. Bruce bent low and picked his screaming sister up and saw her pretty white dress was spattered with blood. He remembered his mother's words and he made sure Evan's head was supported as she laid it on his shoulder. Her tears turned into hiccups as they stood in the dark alley beside the bodies of their parents.

He stood holding his now sleeping sister as he listened to the sound of police sirens drawing near. The flashing blue and red lights illuminated the alley, and the faces of the people from the theater who were standing separate from the sad scene in front of them. A balding man knelt in front of Bruce and asked him if he was alright. He couldn't make any words come out of his mouth, so he just nodded his head.

"Do you want me to take your sister? I have a nephew a little older than her, I'm good with kids."

"No, I have to take care of her. My mom told me how to hold her," when he said mom he looked over at her body and when the police officer looked back at him he stood and led him to the police car. Bruce had refused letting anyone take Evan, to the point where he yelled at the officer, so they allowed him to ride in the back of the vehicle holding her as he was driven to the police station.

Evan had woken from the bright lights in the station as she sat in Bruce's lap playing with her teething ring. Bruce had his hand on her chest like his mother had in the theater, trying to hold his sister the way she had. The same officer asked if there was anyone they could call and he told them to call his house cause Alfred would be there. He sat waiting to be taken home remembering the sound of his mother's screams and the shock of the silence when she stopped. He remembered his father's last words and held Evan tighter. He didn't realize he was shaking until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Jim Gordon stared down at the young boy holding his baby sister. The poor kid was shaking, he couldn't help but feel bad for him. "I'm so sorry for what happened," the kid looked down without meeting his eyes. Jim shrugged off his jacket and placed it around the boy's shoulder and watched as he drew the baby closer to the warmth of the fabric. "She's a beautiful little girl." Her white dress was red stained, and her dark hair was as fine as silk. She had big blue eyes and a smile full of pink gums and two barely grown in teeth. "You've got a big responsibility in taking care of her. She's gonna need you kid."

"My name's Bruce" he said quietly looking at his sister.

"It's nice to meet you Bruce, my name's Jim Gordon." He held his hand out for Bruce to shake but the kid shook his head motioning to his sister. "Right, you're good with her. A lot better then I would be, I don't have kids."

"Do you want kids?" Jim had been trying to distract the boy from his memories and smiled to himself when he saw Bruce wasn't shaking anymore. Jim looked at the little girl and she smiled at him touching his face causing him to chuckle.

"I would love to have kids. Maybe when I do you could tell me how to take care of them." He smiled as Bruce nodded his head.

"Her name's Evangeline, but I call her Evan. I came up with that." He watched as Bruce shrunk back into a saddened state and placed his hand on the kid's shoulder.

"This isn't the end of the world even if it does feel like it. This may be one of the darkest days you ever have to face, but she needs you to make sure she never feels like this. You're gonna take care of her, teach her right from wrong. You're gonna let her know that no matter how hard life turns out you'll always be there to love her. And in return, you're always going to have someone who loves you back, just the way you are."

"Even when I'm sad and scared," Jim nodded.

"Even when you're sad and scared." Jim kept his hand on Bruce's shoulder and let little Evangeline play with his fingers. She found his wedding wing and held his ring finger as she started sucking on it.

"Gordon, you gotta stick your nose into everything!" A man said walking up to them. Bruce looked up at the man holding his sister tighter, and looked at Mr. Gordon who hadn't said a word. "Get outta my sight." Gordon squeezed Bruce's shoulder and wiped the drool from Evangeline's chin on his pants grabbing his jacket before stalking away.

"My name's Captain Loeb, kid, and I got some good news for you. We got him." Bruce had been looking at Gordon's retreating back but turned to the man in front of him.

"Got who?"

"Who do you think? Joe Chill. The skel who iced your folks." Bruce didn't know what the man was saying. He understood what the man was saying but he couldn't grasp it. He sat holding his sister listening to the man talk loudly feeling something bubbling inside of him. He would never see his parents again, Evan would never know what her mother and father were like. She wouldn't remember the songs her mother used to sing, or the funny faces her father made. Their parents would never go to any of their recitals or events, they would never grow up in a house where they were loved.

The feeling swelled inside of him until he could barely restrain it. He wanted to get up and start screaming, he wanted to slam his fists over and over again against the mustached man's face. He wanted him dead, he wanted to kill him. Alfred arrived at the station and filled out the paperwork to take them both home. He put a pillow on the bed to Evan's left, like his mother had explained, and he laid down beside her on the right. He fell asleep listening to her even breathing, swearing to her that he would kill the man who'd taken their parents from them.

Two days later the funeral for his parents was held as they were buried behind the greenhouse at Wayne Manor in an unused plot. Alfred was holding a squirming Evangeline, wriggling as if she knew what was happening was supposed to be unpleasant. Bruce stood beside his parent's butler and oldest, most trusted friend. The man who now had legal guardianship of Bruce and Evangeline. Bruce was wearing another suit, but Evan was wearing a black dress and soft black slip on shoes. As the coffins were being lowered into the ground Bruce could hear the sniffles of the mourners as well as feel their eyes prying at him. They expected to see his tears, he expected to cry. He wanted to cry, because it was appropriate for the occasion, but no tears would come.

As he thought of his parents bodies in the wooden boxes he felt that thing inside of him flare up at the thought of tears; they were not allowed. He was not allowed to cry, he had to be strong. As the people began leaving they gave him their condolences but he didn't care, not really. Evan was squirming in Alfred arms and Bruce seemed to be the only person who realized she was reaching for him. Bruce lifted his arms up and Alfred placed her in them. Alfred remarked on how well the young Master Wayne was with his little sister. As well as how good she was with him. She stilled completely, resting her head on his shoulder and sucking her small thumb. Basking in the warmth and the safety of her brother's arms. Perhaps even then she knew she needed him. Alfred looked away from the siblings to thank more people for their sympathies and when he looked back they were gone. The last person Alfred saw was a man with black framed glasses and a mustache. "Jim Gordon, it's a pleasure to meet you. I saw Bruce and Evan at the station."

"Alfred Pennyworth, thank you for coming."

"How is he?" If Alfred had doubts about the detective's intentions, they were cast aside at the concerned tone in voice.

"He's sad, and angry. Very angry. He blames himself."

"Kids often do." They stood in silence cast against the dreary gray of the sky. Even the weather could feel the loss. "How's our little princess?" Alfred smiled at the name the Gotham Times had coined for the youngest Wayne. He didn't know who had taken the picture, but she was in her white blood speckled dress looking very stoic.

"Would you like to come in, say hello?" Jim nodded thankful before following the aging man towards the large manor. "I'm not sure where Bruce wandered off to. He might have put her down for a nap, it's about that time." Jim smiled knowing the young boy had taken his words to heart. He would a good brother, he could already see that. He knew that Evangeline was a very lucky little girl to have him. They had gone through the front door and into the main hall when the clouds opened and began weeping. They rounded the corner and Jim saw what appeared to be a living room. And sitting on the couch was Bruce holding Evan. She was laid on his arm with her head resting in the crook of his elbow as he held the bottle for her to drink. Her eyes were closed and her long dark lashes framed her smooth pale skin. Her tiny hand was holding part of Bruce's shirt as she continued to suckle. Jim put his hand on Alfred's elbow drawing the man's attention. When he turned Jim could see the sheen of tears in the older man's eyes. He nodded to him before running in the rain to his car. Jim sat in his car listening to the rain pounding on the roof thinking of the tragedy that had befallen the Wayne children. The only way either of them would survive it was having each other. He just hoped that having her would be enough for Bruce.