Bluejay: The Protégé of Black Canary

Pancakes, Jealousy, and Crackers

I stared up at the ceiling, the shapes and figures I had found in the ceiling plaster familiar to me. My eyes felt swollen, probably from all of the crying I did last night. Dinah left a glass of water by my nightstand, and I downed the entire thing. It soothed my tight throat, but did nothing to help with the stabbing pain in my chest. I kept playing my conversation with Dr. Linh over and over again, but no new information revealed itself.

It had been a whole 24 hours since my father's disappearance. Well, kidnapping was more accurate. Dinah and I had spent the whole day questioning doctors, going through security camera recordings, and even searching Warehouse 51 in Gotham City. Coma patients didn't just disappear, but as far as they were concerned, they hadn't noticed anyone slip him away.

But with all the chaos going around- every child under the age of 18 had vanishing without explanation- perhaps no one noticed a simple doctor discharge my father. Dinah reported the issue to Batman, but it still didn't make me feel any better. Batman was the world's greatest detective, but even the Intergang had managed to stay under his radar for months, and they could probably do it again.

I rolled over in bed, trying to drown out the self-loathing that seemed to swallow me whole at times. I checked my phone to see three missed call notifications, all from Dick. I tried to be grateful he was trying to check in on me, but he wasn't the one who I wanted a call from. It was Robin that I wanted to call me. After all, he was the only one of my friends who knew about the situation with my dad. I wanted to hear his voice and I wanted him to reassure me, but he didn't.

Covering my face with the blanket, I tried to take deep, calming breaths. I to convince myself that it wasn't my fault that I didn't get there in time. It wasn't my fault that I couldn't stop Linh from taking him. But no words seemed enough to console me of my father's loss. He's still alive. I kept reminding myself. You'll get him back... but at what cost?

I heard a soft knock at my door, and then Dinah inched it open. Her blonde hair was tied back, and she was dressed in pj's. She must have asked Oliver to cover patrols to be with me all night. She gave me a sad smile and leaned against the door frame. Any evidence of bitterness we might have had with each other was long gone after last night's events. The fights we had with one another weeks before seeme non-existent and very far away, and I was grateful for it.

"Good morning, Snickers. I made pancakes." Dinah said.

I knew Dinah felt awful. Despite my warning, she hadn't made it to the Labs in time to stop Linh from sweeping my dad away. After all, she swore to protect my dad the day we met, and now he was in the clutches of an evil doctor. Immediately, Dinah sent out the cops to try and arrest Linh, and even informed the League, but it was no use. Linh was working with the Intergang, and it was likely they boom-tubed somewhere far, far away. We had no leads yet. Nothing that could help us locate him.

"Are they protein ones?" I muttered.

"I'm not a monster." She insisted, and playfully rolled her eyes before heading back to the kitchen.

As much as I wanted to sulk and lay in bed for the remainder for the day, I needed to get up. Crying wouldn't get me anywhere. Rubbing my swollen eyes, I hauled myself out of bed and followed Dinah to the counter. The hard wood floor felt cold beneath my feet as I padded over to the counter where she had laid out an impressive breakfast spread. Fruit, pancakes, and different kinds of syrups lay out on the table.

I lowered myself onto one of the stools, the wood gently creaking underneath my weight. Dinah had already apologized enough, but I think this was her way of showing she cared about me. Depositing a few dishes into the sink, Dinah exhaled as she sank inter her seat next to me. I observed the stack of pancakes waiting on one of the plates, a curl of hot steam rising from them. I had no appetite, but forced myself to eat anyways. The pancakes tasted like cardboard.