How Soon Is Now? [Jim]

[k]

[/b] Babs whispered to herself, looking across the room at the clock on the wall. She so badly wanted this talk to be over before it had even began. She just didn't want Jim to feel like she didn't love him anymore, or that she wasn't grateful for everything she'd been given over the past few years. That wasn't the case at all, and Babs hoped she knew the man well enough to know he wouldn't jump to that conclusion. Of course, she'd never placed him in this situation before, so she wasn't sure how he would end up reacting to the news. Babs looked at the keys on the coffee table in front of her, and briefly shut her eyes to gather her strength. Her elbow was propped on her knee, her hand over her mouth as she thought carefully about how to word everything. It didn't matter, Babs thought, when she was talking to her uncle - her father - words just tumbled out so naturally.[/ul]

[james]

He noticed that Barbara's car was already there when he arrived. He turned his pipe over as he exited his car and slipped the object into his pocket as he stepped onto the porch and reached to the open the door.

To say that he was concerned would have been an understatement. Having been texted only that Babs needed "To talk" had put him on edge. Those words in his experience had never meant well, but he knew Babs. If something had been truly wrong, she'd have wanted to talk sooner, immediately. She knew she could always turn to him, no matter what. Yet, he was still worried, as any father would be. He stepped into the hall and walked to the living room.

"Babs--oh there you are." He offered her a fatherly smile.

He wanted her to be comfortable. He didn't want her to be as nervous as he felt, but he slowly walked to her side and sat down. He turned his head to her.

"So here I am, what's on your mind. Everything going alright at school? Friends? Dick? You're alright?" He was worried, but he was wanting to listen to her. He finished his talking and just watched her, waiting.

[k]

[/b] she smiled, and then turned her attention back to the keys. The smile had disappeared from her face and she was away in her own thoughts again. She'd run through this so many times, and yet now it was happening it felt a lot different to the visual in her own head. Babs was usually quite the confident girl, with a strong viewpoint and she was often outspoken with her thoughts. She loved Jim though, he was the closest thing to a father she'd eve known, even more so than her real father, and she wanted nothing more than to make him proud of her for what she'd done.

"No, it's not that," Babs said. "I mean, it is about Dick... sort of," Babs explained. It was like ripping a band-aid off a wound, Babs thought. You had to do it fast, or it hurt more as you slowly peeled it away. She bit her lip, a sign she was genuinely nervous, and sat up on the couch a little bit. There was a sad sort of smile playing across her face as she looked at the keys on the coffee table, trying not to meet her father's gaze right now. "I'm... moving out," she said after a while. "I'm graduating University and I think it's a good idea for me to have my own space now," Babs explained, wanting him to realize that none of it was down to the fact she didn't care or wasn't grateful for having lived in the house for so long.[/ul]

[james]

Gordon took the information in stride. He wasn't angry, no, he'd seen the evidence that Barbara was a bright, talented girl. She had a level head on her shoulders and he had faith that he had taught her well and that, though, she was human she was also a Gordon. She could handle whatever obstacle life threw at her and do it gracefully. Yet he couldn't deny the pang in his heart at her words. This was his daughter; it seemed like yesterday he had welcomed the girl into his family and most importantly into his heart. It was like someone had pulled a curtain before him.

He looked at Babara, really looked at her and realized that she had grown into a woman, a beautiful, pride woman. She was leaving the nest, his little baby bird was ready to fly. Of course he had his concerns, especially when she'd started off that it did in fact have to do with the Grayson boy.

"You are graduating," he nodded, "and I know I can't expect you to be here forever. You're certain about this, though?" He smiled affectionately and looked down at his hands and nodded. "Of course you are. I can see that determination in your eyes. You think you're ready to take that step? I'm assuming you'll be living with Dick?"

He was allowed to be very concerned about that. She was still young and that was a big step, but his voice showed no drastic sternness. It was just colored with fatherly concern.

[k]

[/b] Babs assured him when he said he could see it in her eyes. Babs was excited about the prospect of living with Dick, having her indepedence and - most of all - not having to lie to anyone about where she was. Dick could patrol with her when their schedules matched up and Nightwing and Batgirl would make just the kind of fantastic partnership that Robin and Batgirl had been. It would be different, and Babs didn't imagine it would be easy at times either, but she was willing to give it a shot. She had to give it a shot, because this was a step forward. She wasn't about to be left behind when everyone and everything around her was moving so rapidly.

"Yeah, Dick offered to let me move in. I had a few apartment viewings and they were fairly... well, uninhabitable. Dick wasn't going to let me live somewhere so horrendous, so he offered..." Babs explained, with a smile. Her boyfriend's concern about her wellbeing and how overworked she would be trying to make the place look reasonable had caused him to suggest that she moved in. Babs was thrilled at the offer, even though she'd liked the idea of having her very own apartment, it had been a fairly unrealistic idea. Dick's idea was a lot better indeed, his large penthouse apartment was big enough for the both of them and then some. "I'm going to pick up some stuff and move it over after work next week, move a few things in slowly," Babs explained. [/ul]

[james]

Gordon smiled at her, feeling a little like his world was falling, but he knew for her it was opening up. New doors were being swung wide open and who was he to stop her? He reached across to squeeze one of her hands.

"Babs, I want you to be happy and I trust you immensely. You've proven that you can make great decisions time and again and I just want you to know that. I want you to just be careful, Babara. But I don't want to squelch your dreams." He nodded to her, still smiling sadly. "Just do this old man a favor and be careful alright? I have a bad heart," he joked.

He wanted what was best for her and of course, he was weary of Dick, the man was rich, but Bruce, though aloof was also responsible and he was sure the man was worth it; Barbara wasn't his little girl anymore and it was hard to accept, but he would. She could make her decisions and he would support her whether she succeeded or failed.

"Do you need any help moving? I may be old, but I'm not on clutches or bed-ridden yet." He asked, both with humor and seriously.

[k]

[/b] Babs smiled. She knew Jim wasn't quite as young and resilient as he used to be, but Babs was a level-headed girl and would pose little trouble. She knew very well how to take care of herself, in a multitude of ways. Her martial art training and gymnastics meant she was strong physically. However, above everything else, Babs was a mentally strong and forceful woman. She had the resilient nature of Jim, something else she learnt and inherited from him. Babs could very well take care of herself, and she knew her dad would have no doubts about this fact what so ever.

"Help would be great," Babs said with a smile. It would be nice to have her dad with her when she was leaving, because it was emotionally hard for both of them. She couldn't even fathom the strength it took for him to sit there and let her walk away and start living her own life. However, he'd never tried to surpress her in anything that she'd done and Babs couldn't imagine he'd start doing that now. She took a second to glance at the clock and then back over at the man beside her. "You dont have to go back to work, do you?" Babs asked, wondering if she'd called him away from something important for this.
[/ul]

[james]

Jim's eyes went to the clock as well, but merely out of habit, not because he was concerned. He shook his head, "No, I don't need to back at work for a while more. What about you? You need to be somewhere, I don't want to hold you up either." He smiled at her.

It was like a flash before his eyes. One moment he saw her as the small, young, scared girl who had been brought to him after her parents' death, a double tragedy because they had been his family too, but his pain had been so secondary to that of Babs. He had watched her grow up before his eyes. He felt a prickle of both pride and loss in his chest, even though, he knew she'd never be that far away.

She would always be his little Babs, it didn't matter how old she got or where she lived. She would always be his little girl, the daughter he had never expected, but the one he cherished with all his heart.