Ghosts Don't Exist

Chapter 4: Pirates and Dresses

Bruce froze in place before looking over at Pennyworth who seemed unamused, though he secretly he was. Bruce knew and he sighed. This was a show Pennyworth loved watching, though, he wasn't sure if he'd like Bruce's reaction or the child's yet. Danny stared at Bruce curiously. "Well," he started, "'adopt' means to taking someone into you family and care for them, raise them, and make sure their... okay." He said, though his voice grew thin towards the end.

Danny stared at Bruce realizing that expression, he had experienced loss. Danny knew that feeling, it left knots in his stomach and it twisted around them forming more. He felt sick, when had Danny experienced loss? He couldn't remember but the blurred memory glued itself to his mind.

"Who did you loose?" He asked quietly, he sounded scared. Bruce was well aware that loss was something this child had endured. He must be in a sense of regret having left everything he knew behind. Maybe it'd help him if Bruce bonded with him. He opened his mouth to speak, but the word got caught in his throat. Danny sat innocently waiting for a response Bruce was no longer sure he should give. He sighed again and instead said, "Not today."

Pennyworth sat idly by watch tentatively. Something told him Bruce would bond with Danny on a different level, loss was a dark subject, and these two experienced it at such young ages. Coincidentally, both were scared by forceful hands holding their eyes open. To forever have that stained on the back of their eye lids. However, this was more interesting then the first four seasons. Season five sounds good.

Bruce gave Danny two pills, pain killers obviously, but Danny didn't know that. He saw a deadly experiment sitting innocently in the hands of his protector. Danny covered his mouth, as he had before when offered pills. Bruce stated, "They are pain killers, they'll help with the pain." Danny uncovered his mouth slowly and hesitantly took them. He popped them into his mouth and forced himself to swallow them. Bruce blinked before saying, "You could have taken them with water."

After that, one conversation led to another between Bruce and Pennyworth as Danny looked through the bag at the foot of his bed.

Inside were a pair of jeans and two shirts with the Batman logo on them (my man here promoting himself). Danny wasn't too fond of them but was happy that something was gotten for him. Weirdly, the idea of him wearing a bright purple dress made him smile. He looked back at his lion, of whom was named Jasmine, and had an idea. Maybe he would get a dress and look like his lion, he could be Jasmine.

"Remember Danny, not a lot of people will support you, but your family always will."

He smiled wider and grabbed his lion hugging it. His Jasmine. He felt someone tap his shoulder and he quickly turned his head to see a concerned Bruce. "Danny, are you okay? Why are you crying?" Bruce asked gently. Crying, was he crying? Danny felt his face and it was obviously wet and sticky. He was crying, he had done so subconsciously. "What?" He muttered and wiped his face. "Does your ankle still hurt?" He was asked. He shook his head.

"You want to get out of that gown and in to more comfortable clothes?" Bruce asked and Danny didn't hesitate to nod. Bruce helped Danny out of his hospital gown and gagged at the amount of scars that were on him. He was naked so all his scars were noticeable and clearly raw. His ribcage pierced his skin and his spine stuck out, he looked like an alien. He was malnourished but he looked way better than he did yesterday. Bruce had put in a IV bag full to the brim with vitamins and now Danny's face had more of a plump look. Bruce carefully put Danny in underwear, pants, and a shirt. "Now you're a 'Cool Bat'." Bruce stated simply and ruffed Danny's hair. He giggled and grabbed Bruce's hand.

"Yes, please adopt me."

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Bruce sat in a comfy chair in his bat cave looking though Danny's profile. Turns out Danny is from Amity Park, he's ten years old, he's orphaned, and [from the doctor] has Retrograde Amnesia. Gordon says the GIW had caught him after trying to flee the city after the explosion that caused his family's and friends deaths. Though, why he tried to flee the city no one knows. He is half-ghost so he is technically dead. How that happened is also unexplained.

Bruce trailed his hand across his face and groaned. "His parents died when he was six or seven. He was younger than I was when my parents died." Bruce's mumbled to himself. "How did he get out?" He asked no one.

He looked up at the clock and sighed, 4:15 am. Danny was asleep and wearing a pair of Tim's old PJs because Danny was abnormally small. Granted, he was stuck in a unforgivable secret lab and most likely hadn't been fed. Bruce might as well get some sleep, something told him tomorrow was going to be a big a day.

Next morning, Bruce woke up to loud giggles in the
med-bay. It was suspicious, of course, but it sounded amusing to him. He walked to the med-bay as the giggles got louder, that had to be Danny.

"... and then I knocked it right out of his hands!"

That was Tim. Bruce wondered when Tim had learned about Danny but rubbed it off as him spying on him and Pennyworth when they came in here yesterday morning. He tiptoed over to the ajar doors and saw Danny watching Tim do something, pretending. Tim had a cotton ball smashed and tapped over his right eye, he had a blanket tied around his neck, a lampshade tilted back like a hat, and a cane as a sword. He was pretending to be a pirate and Danny was eating it up. He was clapping and giggling at Tims pretend battle. Bruce had not seen Danny this happy before. His laughing smiling expression made him smile.

"Then I thrusted my sword at him, 'Argh! There be only one pirate of these here seas!'" Tim said and moved his sword upwards as if to poke the invisible enemy and push him off the ship he was on. "Yeah, only one pirate, Captain Tim!" Danny said clapping.

Bruce had never heard Danny yell either. Was Tim a living safe haven for Danny? The newspaper articles said that Danny had an older sister named Jasmine and they were as close as siblings could be. Was Tim a reminder of her? He was his new older brother so he had to be. Bruce wondered if Danny remembered Jasmine yet.

"Dad! Good morning!" he was pulled from his thoughts as Tim and Danny we're looking at him. "Good morning," Danny said quietly. He was found, at least they got to finish their pirate story with live-action done by yours truly. "Morning, Tim how did you know he was here? I didn't tell anyone but Alfred." Bruce asked crossing his arms. Tim rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously before saying, "I listened in on your and Alfreds conversations and picked up a thing or two about a half-ghost kid." Tim said sheepishly. Bruce sighed and chuckled, at least Tim was putting his ninja skills to work, though not in a manner he'd praise.

"We played pirates," Danny stated in an attempt to take the heat off Tim. He was silently grateful for that. "I noticed, we can talk about this later Tim, Danny what do you want for breakfast?" he asked and pointing this thumb behind him for Tim to go to the dining room. He did. Danny didn't want him to. "Oatmeal, it's really good, and milk," he stated simply. Bruce nodded and went to the kitchen where Alfred was cooking.

Bruce had to admit, Tim might be good thing for Danny. They were both children and they were already friends. "Um, I'm not in trouble, am I? I just wanted to play with him." Tim stated. Bruce wasn't known for getting mad easily, annoyed yes but never mad. Bruce looked from Alfred to Tim and sighed. "No, just when did you go in there?" he asked and sat down at the table. "Oh, he woke up last night crying and I woke up and tried to calm him down. He looked scared and kept yelling about something called 'the Isolation room'." Tim explained as food was starting to be set out. An Isolation Ward, they had those at asylums and prisons. Though why it was in the build at GIW only left questions he knew would have hard to find answers. Yet, if they were easy to find answers than he'd be wondering how much people really know about the GIW.

"Oh, Dad, Danny asked me if it's okay if he can wear dresses." Tim said pulling Bruce from his thoughts. Had he heard that right, dresses? The pink lion, the pink coat, it must be Danny's favorite color. Had Danny had an interest to girl associated items? He didn't really mind but he had never dealt with a child with that preference and of different gender. Was he gender-fluid? Gay? Maybe transgender? Bruce wondered what it would be like having a child of any choice, but he wasn't going to ask. If Danny was scared to say anything to Bruce then that meant he wasn't ready to announce himself. Again, Bruce really didn't mind, he just didn't want to say the wrong thing. Especially, with how early Danny and him are in terms of bonding.

He sighed again as he grabbed a tray and placed a lidded cup of milk and oatmeal on it. "What style of dresses would he prefer?" Bruce asked kindly. He was right about today being a big day, filled with ruffles and silk.