silent_bat (silent_bat) wrote,
@ 2010-11-11 18:36:00

Another night of patrolling Gotham City was done, and Cassandra returned to the Bat Cave to find that Bruce was sitting in front of the large monitor of his computer. He had been so focused lately, and Cassandra could see how tense he was after that meeting with the Justice League.

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thedarkknight
2010-11-11 10:34 pm UTC (link)

Bruce goes over the information from the Brother I satellite again, tracking the movements of all the known meta-humans in his databases for the day. Diana was back home in New York after that business with the Scarecrow and Clark was, of course, all over the place.

Tim had already arrived and headed home for the day, wanting to get back in before his dad woke up. Alfred left for Bludhaven to see Dick, which Bruce had mixed feelings about.

When Cassandra arrives, he turns and regards her, checking to make sure that she is, in fact, all right, and then waiting for her to report any findings she has.

He nods, and waits.

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	silent_bat 2010-11-11 10:43 pm UTC (link)
	Cassandra smiles softly and takes off her mask to show Bruce that she was alright. That was enough for her to show how she was doing. Then she pointed at Bruce. She wanted to know how he was doing. She looked a little worried. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	thedarkknight 2010-11-11 10:50 pm UTC (link)
	"I'm find, Cassandra. Is something wrong?" he asks, noting the concern on her face. Did she see something this evening that bothered her? He couldn't be sure, but he'd do his best to reassure her if he could. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	silent_bat 2010-11-11 11:05 pm UTC (link)
	"I...too...late," she said. She was still having trouble speaking, and that was the best she could do. But it got her point across. She had been too late to save somebody that had been gunned down. There was a weight on her shoulders that just got heavier Of course, she was also still worried about Bruce, but he said he was fine. She believed him. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

thedarkknight
2010-11-11 11:21 pm UTC (link)

Bruce understood what she meant and frowned inwardly. He often forgot that the others, Dick, Tim, Cassie and even Jason didn't deal with things the way he did.

He taught them to do their utmost to prevent an innocent life from being taken, but there were times when even planning couldn't account for getting there just a second too late.

He remembered dealing with this moment with each of the boys, and now it came for Batgirl. Bruce stood and walked toward Cassandra, then made sure that she looked him in the eye before speaking again.

"It wasn't your fault, Cassandra. These things happen in our line of work." Bruce says with a sigh.

"We can mourn the life that was lost, but we can't let that stop us from saving the next one, and the one after that as well as making the ones responsible for taking those accountable for their actions." Batman tells her.

"You've done good work since you've been here. I know you'll do the best you can going forward. It's all right to feel sadness, but /use/ it to keep you going forward each time you're out there." he finishes.

He's terrible at offering comfort, and wishes for a moment that Alfred were here to tell her this. Alfred had a way of making this kind of talk seem less like preaching and more like a conversation.

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silent_bat
2010-11-11 11:34 pm UTC (link)

Cassandra looked at Bruce straight in the eyes as he spoke and found comfort in his words. It still didn't change the deepest feeling of guilt she carried from that moment, but it made a difference to her. She had a hard time searching for the words to express how she was feeling, so she stepped forward to hug him.

It was undoubtedly going to be awkward for Bruce, but it felt right to her. She would never do such a thing for anybody else.

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thedarkknight
2010-11-11 11:43 pm UTC (link)

Bruce could only remember hugging each of the boys during their times of great loss and tribulation. With Dick, it had been one evening, during his childhood, when he'd woken up screaming at the memory of watching his parents fall from the trapeze.

He'd only hugged Jason after he'd carried his limp, bleeding form from the wreckage of that building, after the bomb blast. He was dead by the time Bruce found him.

He honestly couldn't remember /ever/ hugging Tim or sharing more with him than a quick handshake when they'd first started. He hadn't hugged Alfred since he was a boy.

When Cassie hugs him, it is awkward for him, but Bruce returns the hug as best he can, the way he'd never been able to do for Dick or Jason. He allows her to hold on to him as long as she needs it, unable to come up with anything to say.

So he says nothing at all.

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	silent_bat 2010-11-11 11:50 pm UTC (link)
	There is not much to say, and Cassandra chooses the option to stay silent for the moment. When she released herself from the embrace, she took a step back and wore that same, comforted smile on her face. She didn't need much time to establish the next thing she wanted to say to him. "Thank you." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	thedarkknight 2010-11-12 12:24 am UTC (link)
	"You're welcome." he says in return. "Tomorrow night, I want you to patrol with me. We're going after the mob and I need you at your best. Now, get some rest and we'll go over everything tomorrow." Bruce says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	silent_bat 2010-11-12 12:32 am UTC (link)
	She nodded understandingly in response, sort of as a 'yes sir'. She paused for a moment, smiled at Bruce, and then made her exit from the Batcave. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

thedarkknight
2010-11-12 12:39 am UTC (link)

Bruce watches Cassandra go, considering all of the mistakes he's made with his other partners. Someday, he will fix what is broken and show them that he does value each of them.

For now, however, Batman has to be ready to handle anything, especially with the Justice League back in commission.

He returns to his seat at the computer to finish cataloging today's information.

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	Out On Patrol silent_bat 2010-11-30 01:34 am UTC (link)
	It was that time. Cassandra stalked the streets of Gotham city from the rooftops. She hadn't spotted anything yet, but she was ready for anything. (Reply to this)

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