#listen I've said it before but Kay deserves to hang out with the detectives they're all cool and I think it's fun

[aquilamage]

I have been wanting to do a baby Kay + the aa detectives (aka the rfta crew, basically) fic for so long, but I keep jumping around between things and it’s just. But anyway I realized I do like what I have so even though it’s a wip I’m still sharing because hopefully someone else finds it interesting. (and maybe it’ll motivate me to work on it more)

The first time they see the kid, none of them particularly think much of it.

“What are you staring at, Jake?”

He turns in time to see Angel lean against the end of his desk. With a casual gesture, he indicates a door on the far side of the room. “Thought I saw Detective Badd walk by with a kid. That’s mighty strange, don’t you think?”

Her gaze is now focused in that direction. “Are you sure about that?”

“I saw her too.” Detective Goodman wheels his desk chair back to join the group. “Well, I passed them in a hallway earlier. Little girl, about this tall, chin length black hair, big puffy coat?”

”Yup.”

There’s a moment of silence as the three of them consider this information. “Do you think she’s a witness, then?” Angel leans over to talk in a more hushed tone. Smart, considering that there’s quite a few other people in the room.

Bruce sighs. “That seems the most likely, although for her sake I hope not.”

“Yeah, she was a real lil’un. Can’t be more than a few years old.” Even with the milder cases he’s worked, that’s not something he would want a kid to have to get mixed up in. Jake sinks back in his chair.

Angel’s still watching the door. “I’m surprised they gave the case to Detective Badd, though.” Her sharp analytical gaze is a tiny bit softer than usual, although maybe it’s just the angle she’s at from them. “I mean, he’s a decent guy, but he’s not exactly the type you’d think of as ‘good with kids’.”

A slight pause before Goodman says, softly, “Well, you never know.” It’s pretty clear the other two had been silently agreeing with her. They had only ever seen Badd as quiet, serious, and generally not very emotive, and couldn’t really picture him acting otherwise, so…

Not that it’s in any part in their hands anyway. They drift back to their own work after a few more minutes, and after not having another sighting, eventually put the incident out of their minds.

---

Until a couple weeks later, when Angel furtively pulls them into the breakroom.

“What was that for?” Jake fixes his bandana from being yanked by it.

She just shushes him, making a ‘get down’ gesture before moving to the window facing the larger office.

Goodman shrugs. They copy her, trying to keep an angle so they won’t be seen.

And there’s Detective Badd, with the same kid.

“Well…” Jake drawls, “I think we can rule out her being part of a case then, huh?”

The other two nod silently, still watching. Because now, of course, the question is: how is this girl connected to Badd?

He’s talking to one of the other detectives, with her standing at his side. Watching them very intently, head tilted way back, she nods emphatically with that expression you only get with small children trying very hard to be serious. (its cute) After a while though, her attention wavers.

She’s just about to scurry off behind someone when Badd puts a hand on her. He says something, very briefly, then goes right back to the conversation.

She seems to consider something. Then, carefully, she grabs the edge of his coat in one tiny hand, trailing it behind her as she walks a couple feet to the side. And within the little circle of space that affords her, she starts investigating everything.

As the silence in the breakroom has stretched on, it’s also become loaded as the three of them slowly came to the same tentative conclusion. But it’s another few moments before Jake swears softly. “You don’t think that’s his kid, do ya?”

The other two laugh, almost nervously.

“If someone just told me about this I’d tell them to come back with a more reasonable lie,” Angel says, tapping her fingers on the sill. No one has to say anything to agree with that. Badd’s been her longer than any of them. They’ve never heard even secondhand of anything that might so much as suggest him being in a relationship, much less a family. It’s…a weird thought; trying to fit the image of the detective they know into any concept of that is…it doesn’t really work.

And yet. She sighs. “But given the information we have right now, it’s also the most reasonable conclusion.”

---

So thus commences operation Find Out What’s Up With Badd’s Kid(???). They were all detectives; they just have to investigate some more.

It’s readily agreed to be done quietly, though. If Badd has never been open about his personal life before, it doesn’t seem like directly prying will be fruitful, besides perhaps in upsetting him. Even if he is nicer than one would initially assume, that doesn’t stop Badd from being pretty intimidating. (And, in a contradictory but weirdly strong feeling none of them quite know how to voice, they can’t help but feel like this whole thing was something Badd had mentioned and they’d all somehow managed to miss, given how casual he seems about bringing her around). So, they observe at a distance.

---

Angel is at the courthouse, sorting through some files during a recess when she spots the pair. Badd walks through the hall, the girl following behind. But where he’s able to cut a path through the small foot traffic through sheer size and demeanor, her shorter steps put her at a few feet of distance, forcing her to move around people.

Not that she minds. She ducks back and forth with a grin, the extra little twirls and hops making it clear she’s turned it into a game. It’s impossible to tell at this distance, but it seems like she might be singing.

Badd notices her lagging, and after waiting for her to catch up, resumes at a slower pace.

It’s easy for her to just keep in line with him now. As she does, she sticks her hands in the pockets of her overalls, walking with a little bit of a crouch. It’s a very good impression of Detective Badd (even if the expression is a little over the top serious), and it takes Angel all of her professional composure not to smile and laugh at the sight.

---

Jake heads home just a little late one evening. On his way out, his path crosses with Badd as two hallways converge.

The kid is curled up in his arms, asleep and clutching the front of his shirt.

Maybe if he wasn’t quite so tired and taken by surprise, he could’ve come up with something to say without specifically commenting on her presence, an invitation to talk without making it a demand. But instead he walks with them in silence. There’s an awkwardness on his side as he debates with himself, wanting to watch Badd but nervous about being noticed at that, given how physically close they are.

He holds the door out to the parking lot for them. And before his brain really has time to consider it, he says “you two get home safe.”

For a fraction of a second, it seems like Badd’s giving him a look. Then, he simply nods. “You too,” he replies, a little stiff, before leaving.

---

Shortly after the incident in the breakroom, Bruce starts taking notice of Detective Badd’s desk. Because it’s then that he starts seeing the drawings. Usually tucked in with other papers (although there’s the occasional one stuck to the file cabinet), they’re a colorful collection. He never gets close enough to have a really good look at them, but they’re obviously a child’s drawings. (It’s entirely possible they’d been there earlier as well, and he was only now noticing them because he’s looking for them – it does make him wonder what else he might have missed, though.)

And another thing: every so often Bruce notices that the pictures have changed. It’s a little thing, but along with everything else a clear suggestion that he’s spending a lot of time around this kid.

---

But despite all the little glimpses they’ve been getting, several months pass without getting anything closer to a definitive answer. It’s frustrating, but they don’t know what else to do at this point besides wait and hope for something that will give them answers.

---

Late one Tuesday morning, Jake walks into the office after finishing an assignment. On his way in, Goodman waves him over.

“Marshall!” he says, fidgeting with the edge of his sleeve. “I’m really glad to see you. Do you have time to talk?”

“Yeah. Actually, that reminds me. Payne was sayin something about an investigation report he needs from you by tomorrow.” That had not been the ideal morning experience, listening to the prosecutor’s screechy tones about something that wasn’t even under his control. It certainly makes Bruce’s calm, plain voice all the more soothing to listen to.

Even if right now it’s a little off from usual. “Oh! Oh right, yes, of course.” He looks around before leaning in. “But first, there’s something slightly more pressing.” Then, as if he’s remembering something, a glance over Jake’s shoulder. “Where’s Detective Starr?”

“Out. You remember that warehouse of stolen goods? She’s out there investigating today.” Scratching his chin, he studies his coworker. “Somethin bothering you? You seem mighty jumpy.”

He deflates a little at the news. Then, he ducks his head again. “Nothing wrong, it’s simply unexpected, and I was hoping we could all-“

As he’s listening Jake feels a creeping sensation at the back of his neck. He frowns, trying to figure out the source. His gaze sweeps down toward Bruce’s desk. And then further down.

Staring at him from over the top of the desk, big wide eyes and little hands grasping the edge of the table surface, is the girl.

“What in tarnation…” he breathes out slowly. Turning, “Bruce, what on earth are you doing with Badd’s kid?”