Danny's Daycare Part 2
[Master List]
The first few days that the daycare was technically ‘open’ he didn’t have a single kid. This was to be expected, Danny was an unknown for the most part, people didn’t trust him, even the people he’d met who mentioned considering it were right to be wary. But they would grow to trust him. He’d been volunteering at soup kitchens, leaving fliers in mailboxes and doorsteps, and spent a great deal of time in public spaces so that people would know who he was, and hoped Lady Gotham would maybe sway her people to trust him a bit.
On the Thursday after opening, things changed.
He was sat at his desk doing an ungodly amount of paperwork (being a king was not in fact, a sweet deal), when he heard the door open.
A young Latina woman carrying a bundle in her arms walked in warily.
“Hi.” Danny smiled brightly, reigning in his excitement so as not to scare the woman off.
She looked around for a moment, stopping quite a ways away from his desk. “Is this the daycare?”
He nodded. “It is. Pretty new so I don’t have any kiddos yet, but I can be patient.” He was, in fact, a liar.
“I don’t have a lot.”
He shook his head. “Oh, you misunderstand,” He knew nobody liked being a charity case, especially not Gothamites, so he went with the lie he and Jazz had come up with when he first started. “this daycare is sponsored by a very wealthy anonymous donor, it’s completely free.”
She eyes him skeptically. “I wouldn’t come here if I wasn’t desperate.” Ouch. But fair. “I got called in for a shift but my husbands at work and their abuela’s out of town.” She hesitated, looking between her kid and Danny.
“Well, that’s what I’m here for. I can show you around if you have time?” He offered, hoping his openness would comfort her. She nodded firmly and he moved towards the double doors to their right. “Okay, so this is the main room, we’ve got toys, books, and coloring materials, brand new donations.” She took it in slowly. “We’ve got bathrooms right over there, a cafeteria through those doors, and a room for naps on the other side of the entryway, I’m planning on installing a playground after the worst of winter is over, and this,” he handed her his card. “is my information. Feel free to look me up, run a background check, whatever you need to do to feel comfortable leaving your kid with me.”
Skepticism was obvious on her face. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do this? What do you gain?”
He shrugged. “I like to be helpful. I’m paid reasonably. It’s my job. Take your pick.”
Another question seemed to be forming when her phone went off. “Shit.” Gently setting her child down -it looked like a boy- she checked it. “I have to go. Emilio,” She crouched in front of the boy. “Mama has to go to work, papa will be here to pick you up in a few hours, behave.”
He gave another smile, hoping it made him look innocent and trustworthy.
“My husband will be by to pick him up by three, Emilio is four, fully potty-trained, and likes reading. He ate an early lunch before we came here so don’t feed him.” Her tone was serious, and he nodded resolutely. “I….” She looked torn.
Offering a gentler smile, he crouched down. “Hey Emilio, my name’s Danny, I heard you like reading?” The little boy nodded, his black curls falling in his wide eyes. “Lucky for you, I have a whole shelf of brand-new books, you wanna give them a look?” The little boys’ eyes widened, and he nodded.
As Emilio looked over the shelves of books, Danny reassured the mother. “I’ll look after him, don’t worry, he will be safe with me.”
That was the beginning of Danny’s Daycare. He wouldn’t pretend everything went smoothly after that. It was another two weeks before Emilio’s mother (Ana) brought him back and another week before anyone else dropped their kids off. Jazz helped him create the necessary paperwork to have filled out by parents about their kids and he was able to get important information about each of them which he promptly memorized.
The daycare had been open for two months (to the day) and Danny had three regular kids. Emilio, who was four, loved reading, and wasn’t shy, Clara, who was a little blonde spitfire, five years old, and had claimed the trainsets as ‘hers’, and Booker, Danny had fondly nicknamed him ‘Boo’.
Booker was two and a half, and the first of Danny’s kids who was not fully potty-trained upon meeting him. No big deal, he could change diapers, it wasn’t fun per se, but it was a part of the job he’d signed up for when he advertised his daycare being for kids six months to six years. Booker liked anything shiny, Danny had specifically bought shiny toys the night after first meeting the kid and was rewarded with oud and happy shrieks at the new toys.
March passed in a blur.
Life was good.
~~~
It was after a long day at the beginning of April that Danny found himself walking home from work and attempting to ignore the nearby gunshots he was hearing. He wasn’t a vigilante. That wasn’t his problem. He’d come to Gotham to open a daycare, not fly around, and stop crime. This was Red Hood’s territory; he’d deal with it.
But when the gunshots stopped Danny started to feel unsettled. After a solid minute of trying to shake the feeling that something was wrong, something he needed to fix, he gave up and moved towards where the commotion had been coming from.
The alley was seemingly empty but as Danny peered closer (thank Ancients for his ability to see in the dark almost as well as in the light) he noticed a foot sticking out from being a dumpster. Carefully making his way towards the body, he made sure not to make a noise. He didn’t want to alert any lingering goons to his presence.
“You’re a sneaky one, aint’chya?”
Danny made eye contact with the man on the ground but not before noting the heavy flow of blood seeping through his shirt or the gun in the hand that wasn’t trying to keep the blood inside his body. “It comes in handy.”
“I bet.” He grunted.
Putting his hands up, palms out, Danny moved closer slowly. “Can I help you?”
The man eyed him warily. “Depends.”
“On what?”
“Who you workin’ for?”
Danny didn’t know what the wrong answer was, so he was just honest. “Nobody. I work for myself.”
“Eveybody’s workin’ for someone, kid. Who ya workin’ for?”
Okay so that didn’t work. If he pushed the idea that he worked for himself the man was more likely to think he was a spy or goon for some other mob boss. Who would be safest? Who could he say he worked for that this man might not try to shoot him?
“Technically?” He tried to sound casual. “I work for Red Hood. But I don’t really do the whole… guns and fighting thing. I volunteer at soup kitchens and stuff.”
With only a moment’s hesitation, the man lowered the gun and grunted. “Hood’s one a the good’uns.”
Danny pressed forward quickly, disposing of the man’s shirt and assessing the wound. The bullet had gone straight through, and it seemed like it missed any vital organs -lucky- but he’d lost a lot of blood. “I’ve got to get you to Dr. Thompkins clinic. Let me help you up.” The man grunted as Danny pulled him to his feet and supported the entirety of his weight. “Come on.” Danny heaved, pretending the man’s weight was actually difficult for him.
It wasn’t.
When Danny had first arrived in Gotham he’d done as much research as he could. Some things he didn’t think were particularly important (who cares which model Brucie Wayne brought to his newest gala?) but others he found to be very valuable. Like a free clinic that didn’t send people to hospitals or call the cops, where everything was kept confidential. It sounded too good to be true, but he’d looked into it and found that Dr. Thompkins was legit as was her practice.
(He had a sneaking suspicion she was heavily funded by Bruce Wayne)
“Is there someone I should call to pick you up?” Danny asked, feigning a struggle with the man’s weight.
He grunted. “I’ll make it home alright, kid.”
Danny waited a moment before asking the question he’d been thinking since he’d first heard the gunshots. “What happened? You a goon?”
The man continued to struggle forward. He huffed. “Yeah, kid, Imma goon. Needed money, found m’self in the middle’a somethin’ bad. This’s just a warnin’.” Danny hummed, helping the man up the stairs at the front of the clinic. “I can manage from ‘ere kid.”
“Danny.” He offered a tight smile. “My name is Danny, I run a daycare in the Bowery. When you’re all healed up, come find me. I’d like to offer you a job that doesn’t involve guns or drugs.”
The man looked at him incredulously before turning back to the door. “See you around, kid.”
“See you later, sir.”
The man barked a laugh. “Bianchi. Victor Bianchi. And yes, you will.”
~~~
The snow had finally melted, and Danny was finally able to get the playground he wanted installed behind the daycare. He’d taken ideas from his friends on what would be the most fun and diverse. After that was taken care of he’d need to build a fence as well, but that wouldn’t take long at all. Unfortunately, with the snow gone Gotham was now rainy about eighty percent of the time. Danny hadn’t been ready for that.
It was on such a day that Danny found himself walking home, soaked to the bone, catching his death (ha) of chill, when he met his new best friend. He’d almost made it back to the apartment (which had been under construction for the last few months, repairing each apartments living conditions) when he found a soggy carboard box housing what used to be a white cat but was now closer to brown with mud and grime.
The cat was meowing in a pitiful way, so Danny thought maybe it was asking for help. Upon closer inspection he found three smaller cats nestled into her belly, water soaking through the box and dripping onto their tiny bodies. Without much thought, Danny scooped the box up and rushed it to his apartment. Once inside he transferred them to another box (thank Ancients he hadn’t thrown them all out after moving) with a warm blanket.
He didn’t bother changing his clothes as he was about to go out once again- he knew there was an emergency vet open until eleven on weeknights just a few blocks away so he had plenty of time, but he had no idea how long the cats had been sitting in a puddle and couldn’t wait. Swiping an umbrella (when had he gotten an umbrella?) he rushed back out making sure to keep the box dry the entire way.
He paid very little attention to his surroundings on the way, someone could easily be following him or trying to get his attention and he wouldn’t know it. He had been accused of having tunnel vision in the past. He wasn’t sure why. Pushing through the doors he hastened to the front counter.
“Hi, how can we help you?” The vet tech asked politely, still typing on her computer, not bothering to look up at Danny.
Danny evened his breathing (why was it so fast? He didn’t need to breath what the fu-) “I found this cat and her kittens in a wet box and wanted to make sure they were okay. They were really cold and shivering when I found them so I switched them to a dry box with a blanket and brought them as quickly as I could.”
She nodded. “Okay, we should be able to take a look while you fill out this paperwork if that’s okay?” He nodded, handing the box to another tech who quickly took them to a different room. “We’ll just need some information from you, I’m sure you don’t know a lot about the cats since you just found them. Are you planning on keeping them or do we need to find a shelter to take them?”
As a kid Danny had always wanted a pet. Of course, he’d wanted a dog and his parents Maddie and Jack had said no because a dog would disrupt their workspace, but he’d been willing to settle for a cat if it meant he could have a companion. He’d done all of the research required on owning a dog. He’d been shot down. So he did the research for cats and been told no once again. He’d done the research for rabbits and ferrets and snakes and lizards and fish but every time- ‘no Danny, we don’t need a pet’.
Eventually he’d gotten Cujo who was close to what he’d always wanted. He was a little busy for a normal pet at that point so he’d kind of Given up on it. He’d never considered getting a pet once he’d moved out on his own- he’d lived in the Infinite Realms, and he had Cujo there so it hadn’t occurred to him.
He didn’t have time for cats! He was already busy with the daycare every weekday and visiting the realms on Saturdays and seeing Jazz on Sunday mornings and doing a group call on Sunday evenings- “Yes. I’ll keep them.”
Well. Okay then.
Someone needed to teach him to shut up.
She nodded again, typing some things before printing the paperwork. “Okay, I’ll need your name and some contact information. You can go into that room and fill it out while the vet looks them over.” She nodded towards the room he’d seen the cats taken into.
Throwing a ‘thank you’ over his shoulder, he pushed his way into the exam room. The mama cat and her kittens were laying on the blanket Danny had brought on the exam table. Mama was licking her kittens clean while the vet tech typed some information on the computer.
“Ah, hello. I’m Margot.”
“Danny.”
She smiled, glancing at the screen before turning back. “Okay so mama is in good health and two of the kittens are as well. The orange one seems to be sick, I’m thinking pneumonia, but we won’t know without further tests. It’s treatable and I’m not too worried, he seems strong otherwise. I’d guess they’re three, maybe four weeks old. The orange one is a boy, the calico is a girl, and the white one is also a girl. Any questions?”
“Uh… do you need to keep them over night, or can we get these tests done in the next couple of hours?”
“It won’t take that long, maybe an hour or so to get the tests done and send you on your way. I heard you found them; do you have the things necessary to take care of cats?” He shook his head. “Hm, that’s fine, we have a volunteer here who will help you get everything you need from the in-building store while we finish the tests, I’ll go get him.” She opened the door and disappeared.
Danny let mama cat sniff his hand. Once he’d met her approval, he gently touched each kittens’ heads, offering little scratches of comfort before offering mama the same treatment. “You guys are gonna come live with me, okay?” He let Mama go back to cleaning her babies while he filled out the paperwork- phone number, home address, name, etc.
“Tyler informed me you are ill-prepared for the responsibility of owning cats.”
Danny jumped, unsure how this kid had managed to sneak up on him. He was Danny’s height, with black hair, dark skin, green eyes, and a serious look on his face. Dumbstruck (because seriously how did a teenager sneak up on the king of the infinite realms?), Danny nodded.
“Who’s Tyler?” Danny asked, dumbly.
Raising an eyebrow, the boy huffed. “The tech you just spoke with. Margot Tyler?”
“You call her by her last name?”
“I call everyone by their last name.” He rolled his eyes. The boy glanced at the cats and softened marginally. “My name is Damian; I’ll help you find everything you will need while Dr. Kelly runs some tests. Follow me.”
Being given no choice but to follow, Danny allowed the serious boy to lead him past the check-in desk and towards what appeared to be a store. “All of the items here are provided by… a donor. They are free to those who need them. You will need a litter box, litter, a scoop, food and water bowls, food, a brush, a scratching post, and toys. You will also be provided the necessary tools to take care of the sick kitten.”
Damian was very informative, and Danny couldn’t help the small smile. “Okay, sounds good. I walked here though, should I get everything now and run it home before coming back for the cats, or take the cats home and leave them while I come back for the supplies?”
He thought for a moment before deciding. “I would take it all home now so that the space is ready for the cats once you bring them home.” Damian began handing Danny everything he’d need. Most of it fit into the litter box and he didn’t think it would be much of a problem to carry it all home until Danny pulled the container of litter and bag of cat food down.
“Might take me a couple of trips.” Danny muttered to himself, calculating exactly how difficult it would be to carry some of this with the cats but ultimately deciding against it. He could do it if he weren’t worried about looking slightly suspicious. But nobody would be able to carry all of this without struggling- not without powers.
Damian looked between Danny and the supplies before sighing. “If you require assistance I suppose I could carry the food and litter.” Shaking his head, Danny made to argue, but Damian had other ideas. The boy hoisted the bags over his shoulder without much effort and raised an eyebrow. “Lead the way.”
That was how Danny found himself letting a teenager into his apartment and showing him the best ways to set everything up. “Cats prefer their water to be separate from their food. I grabbed a fountain for you because they also prefer the water to be moving. You can use a regular bowl until the kittens are grown up. They also prefer if their litterbox is in an area with low foot traffic.”
Listening to Damian talk about the cats was quite informative and he could feel the kid relaxing as Danny did what he suggested every step of the way without question. Once the apartment was set up they began their short trek back to the clinic.
“I really appreciate all of your help, Damian.” Danny started. “I’ve never had a pet before, but I’ll do lots of research about everything you suggested.” He didn’t know how he’d find the time, but he meant every word.
The boy gave a firm nod. “Research is important. The vet will tell you what you need to know, and there are plenty of resources at the clinic.” He paused. “I suppose, if you have any questions and cannot get to the clinic… you may call me.” He held his hand out expectantly; Danny scrambled to pass his phone to the kid feeling like this opportunity would be taken away just as quickly if he hesitated.
A moment later he was waiting for the vet in the exam room with Damian’s number in his phone and a lot of information in his head. He could do this. He’d taken care of Cujo, right? It would be fine!
(He ignored the nagging reminder that Cujo was already dead so there wasn’t much Danny could do to mess it up).
~~~
“Heya kid.” A familiar voice rose from the doorway.
Looking up from his work, Danny found the familiar figure of one Victor Bianchi looming in his doorway with a friendly grin on his face and a friendly kid on his hip. “Mr. Bianchi, you should be resting.” He gave a pointed look.
The man waved his hand dismissively. “I’ve been restin’ for days! Had to get outta the house. The wife’s fussin’ too much.” He shifted the little girl in his arms. “This ‘ere’s Allegra.”
Danny moved away from his desk and towards the little girl. “Hello there Allegra, my name’s Danny. How are you doing today?”
She stared at his outstretched hand, headed tilted to the side contemplatively. “You have an owie.” She pointed at the scarring on his hand curiously. Mr. Bianchi pulled her hand away and gave him an apologetic look.
“She’s real curious.”
He’d been fully prepared for people to point out his scars for the rest of his life, a kid’s genuine curiosity wasn’t going to upset him. “No worries Mr. Bianchi. They’re old owies, Allegra, they don’t hurt anymore.” Except when he remembers the feeling of his fingers being severed from his body, forced to grow back until they’d do it again and he could still remember the pain “What can I do for both of you today?”
“Trains!” Allegra shouted, wiggling out of her father’s grip and rushing into the playroom which was still vacant for the time being.
“Well I guess that settles it. The wife’s worried I won’t recover as quickly if I gotta look after ‘er all day so… I guess I’d like to drop her off?” He sounded like he wasn’t sure how any of it worked.
With a small smile, Danny gestured to his desk. “I’ve got a bit of paperwork for you to fill out and then we’ll be set.” Rifling through the mountains of paper on one of his many desks (seriously why did he have so many? He had one in the Infinite Realms, one at the front of the daycare, one in a private office at the daycare, and one in his apartment- who needed that many desks? Kings, apparently) “Have you given any more thought to what I suggested?”
Mr. Bianchi shifted his weight a couple of times. “I, uh- yeah, I don’t know what kinda work you’d need a guy like me for though?”
“Have you ever built a fence, Mr. Bianchi?”
Mr. Bianchi had in fact, built a fence before. He’d mentioned something about creepy ass neighbors with cameras pointed into his yard before telling Danny to show him where he wanted the fence. Ember watched Allegra while the two went to the back and figured out what would work.
“Is my daddy gonna work for you now, mister?” Allegra asked as he settled down beside her to play with the trains together.
He thought for a minute before nodding. “Yes, I think so. I’d like him too. He seems like a good worker.”
She nodded vigorously. “He is! He’s the goodest worker! He doesn’t complain or nothing’! Even when he’s hurt he don’t say nothing bad about his boss!”
Danny figured, when you have to work any job you can get to support your family, you probably learn to ignore your complaints and just… push through it. Aside from the Red Hood, it didn’t seem any of the other crime lords took care of their people- another reason to thank the vigilante. True, Danny wasn’t a real Gothamite, but every day he felt a deeper connection to the city and her people. He’d become protective of them, especially those in the Bowery and Crime Alley.
He’d protect them all, in any way he could.
“You want the red train or the blue train?”
~~~
Four nights later Danny got a call that reminded him- he couldn’t even protect himself, how was he supposed to protect everyone else?
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