Will You Be My Daddy? ~Joker Fanfiction~

Thirty-Eight

Maddie looked shellshocked as Alfred pulled their car into the driveway. She gazed up at the lovely new house, wondering how something could be so beautiful. Seeing as she'd been living in mansions for so long, it was curious to her that a small house could be just as gorgeous as an intricate mansion. It made her wonder why rich people would spend all that money when they could get something like this for less with the same effect.

Bruce opened his door and stepped out as Alfred did the same, and the old butler opened Madeline's door for her. With the same look of awe, Maddie took the proffered hand and hopped down out of the car.

"Is this really where I'm going to live?" She asked Bruce as they walked in the front door.

"It's where we're going to live sweetheart," Tommy corrected as he and Andy entered the room.

Maddie gasped and spun around, squealing as she ran up to the men and squeezed their legs tight. The couple squatted down to her level and turned the squeeze into a warm group hug, making their observers feel like the three were already a little family. Madeline will be just fine here, Bruce thought.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay," Maddie breathed, relieved that she hadn't lost everyone. She was almost worried that they would reject her like her daddy did and disappear, that maybe they were annoyed with her hanging around all the time too, that somehow she just wasn't meant to have any family after all. After all, she'd had multiple supposed family members drop her, so why not them too?

"Of course we are, honey. We couldn't leave you all by yourself," Andy cooed, brushing stray hairs back from her face.

"Daddy did," she muttered back.

"What was that?" Tommy asked.

"Nothing," Maddie replied, glancing back at Bruce and Alfred. She didn't want to start any more drama right now. They'd seen her cry once or twice already, and that was enough.

Andy and Tommy cleared their throats and stood as they too remembered that Bruce and his butler were still present. Tommy was quick to smile and speak up.

"Shall we give you gentlemen—" Maddie cleared her throat, "and lady the grand tour?"

"Yes, please," Maddie replied.

Andy chuckled before taking her hand and guiding everyone around their cozy abode. Madeline seemed more and more amazed with each room they saw. Tensions amongst the adults ran higher and higher as everyone climbed the stairs and drew closer to Madeline's altered bedroom. None of them were quite sure how Maddie would react to seeing her old room reincarnated.

Tommy paused and hesitated at her closed door, but with a reassuring nod from Bruce, the door swung open. Bruce wanted to see her reaction before he made a decision on what to do about it.

Andy and Tommy were blocking her view of the room, and with a quick exchange of looks, the pair stepped inside and allowed Maddie to get sucked back into the past.

Almost immediately, Madeline faltered in her step and had to catch herself on the door frame. So many memories came flying to the forefront of her mind in an instant, zipping across her vision like a high-speed movie. And as she relived each and every moment in this room, she also felt the same feelings she'd felt back then slam into her like a thousand tsunamis—each one was different from the rest and threw her off balance. Sometimes, the feelings lapped at her like gentle ripples of a pond, lulling her into a false sense of security and warmth only for her to be nearly toppled by the next emotion that came along.

The men could read the story flashing across her eyes. Feelings and looks flicked across her face and eyes so quickly that it was near impossible to register one before the next was already there. Andy and Tommy knew about some of the things she had to be thinking about, but there was no way they could know about the wake-up struggles, the late night hysteria, the conversations held through the closed door, the book, or what felt to Madeline like a million other significant insignificant things.