Wayne Manor was even more magnificent than she had thought it would be. It towered over the vast expanse of the suburbs over the property that had belonged to the Wayne family for years.

As Richard's car entered through the heavy iron gates, the gardens flanked on either side of the driveway greeted them with their lush greenery and well-tended shrubbery. Ember looked out the window in awe at the beauty around them.

It was no wonder that Bruce Wayne had the most beautiful and luxurious residence in the entirety of Gotham City.

The car stopped in front of the Manor and before she could get out, Richard had come on the other side to hold open the door for her. Ember wasn't used to that sort of treatment and felt flustered, "Officer Grayson, you didn't have to-"

"It's alright, force of habit, I think." 

She stepped out of the car, feeling somewhat awkward as she had never before expected to be invited to stay at Wayne Manor. Seeing the building up close was even more intimidating than the distant shots she had seen in the magazines earlier.

"Oh, and I won't mind if you call me Richard," he smiled as he added gently, "After all, you're my guest here."

"Right... You can call me Ember too then." 

"A pleasure," he remarked, knowing full well that she was hesitant as it would be her first time meeting all the Waynes outside of a formal setting. 

She had so far conducted Damian's interview and met Tim at the wedding. Of course, she had interacted with Damian much more often compared to the others but she wasn't aware that Robin and Damian were the same person. The only other Wayne she had interacted with was Richard himself and that too was due to the case that involved her.

So it would take some time for her to adjust with them.

On the other hand, the Waynes had made the necessary preparations for inviting an outsider to live with their family for an undetermined amount of time. 

They had to be very careful about keeping their vigilante lives a secret so there would no longer be any jokes about patrol around her. Plus none of them would use the entrance to the cave from the Manor. Last but not least, Jason had to stay away from the Manor because he was legally still dead and his presence with them could raise many unwanted questions for the former investigative journalist.

Jay had created a bit of a fuss about it earlier but eventually got persuaded by Tim who said he could still use the window on his room to enter and exit as long as he didn't crash on the way.

Despite all the precautions they were taking, Richard was well aware that Ember would find them to be very far from normal. In that case, all the wild stories about their dysfunctional family in the press might come in handy to convince her that being weird was their normal and they were certainly not covering up the fact that they were the Bat vigilantes.

He opened the door and gestured to her to step in. Ember was even more taken aback at the vastness of the place from the inside and was startled to see Alfred seemingly appear out of nowhere.

"Miss Sullivan, welcome," the man remarked and she nodded, her grip tightening on the bag that held her luggage. "I can take your luggage to your room if you allow..."

"No, it's alright. Thank you so much," she didn't mean to be rude but she also didn't feel right to burden the old man with her luggage.

"This is Alfred. And don't worry, he's twice stronger than he appears," Richard introduced him, "he's Bruce's father figure so that would make him our grandpa."

"Oh... Nice to meet you, Mister Alfred."

"Just Alfred is fine. And it's a pleasure to meet you too," Alfred nodded, leaving the bag with her as Richard nodded, conveying that he would take it to her room later.

After meeting Alfred, Richard brought her to the living room where the rest of the family members, minus Bruce and Jason, were waiting.

Ember nodded her head politely at everyone Richard introduced from then onwards. She remembered Barbara and was awed that the beautiful woman looked just as pretty as she had done on her wedding day. 

Beside Barbara was Steph, a bubbly girl who had flashed her a sweet smile as she shook her hand, and Cass, who was silent but attempted to shake her hand too. Then there was Tim who looked as if he was struggling to stay awake, judging by the almost empty cup in his hand, and Duke who nodded his head back at her and smiled when he was introduced. 

Finally, there was Damian Wayne, who as always made no effort to interact except a curt nod and a slight look of acknowledgement.

"Thank you for letting me stay over," she spoke up after Richard was done with the introductions, "I really appreciate it."

"Oh there's no need to be so formal," Steph replied with a bright look in her eyes, "we literally jumped at the opportunity of having another girl in the group to even things out with this chaotic lot. Trust me, we are going to get along great with each other."

Ember managed a small smile, feeling slightly relieved that the girls were so eager to accept her.

Her eyes flickered to Damian, who seemed unaffected by everything, but had quickly looked away the second he noticed that she was looking in his direction. His phone beeped and the way his face scrunched into a frown before the glare he shot at Tim was the only change in expression he showed in front of her.

But then he had always been like that, she thought. She had heard from the reporters at Gotham Daily that taking his interview was like sitting in front of a highly unpredictable person who could kill with his death stare alone.

However, her experience of taking his interview hadn't been like that, she remembered that he had gradually opened up about his hobbies, and his demeanor was calculated but not intimidating.

Then she also remembered the brief encounter in the city park when she had almost gotten abducted had it not been for Titus, Damian's dog.

"How's Titus?" She asked and that question got Damian's attention as he turned to look at her briefly.

"He's doing well. Would you like to see him?"

"I would love to."

But Richard intervened, "I think it would be better if Ember freshens up first and has dinner with us, right? You can take her to meet Titus later."

Damian gave her a look that meant he was waiting for her reply. Ember thought about it and nodded, not able to recall when was the last time she had dinner in peace. "Yeah, that would be great."

"Good. Damian, will you show her to her room please?" Richard thrust Ember's bag to Damian who raised an eyebrow slightly as if asking his elder brother what were his motives for giving him such a task.

He didn't reply but Tim could be heard chuckling softly in the background as he leaned closer to say something to Steph. 

Knowing that it would be better if Ember did not hear whatever ridiculous assumption Tim had to make, Damian didn't hesitate to take the bag from his elder brother. Then facing Ember, he said, "Sure. It's this way."

***