Title: Baby Bat
Author: TheatrChy
Rating: K
Disclaimer: Batman, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Selina Kyle and Alfred Pennyworth all belong to DC Comics, etc. What I have done with them is mine, as is the new addition to the family.
Note: I realized I had a bit of a continuity glitch in this itty bitty one shot so I wanted to correct it. And share it anew!
Baby Bat
Alfred was tending to the dishes when he heard what sounded like a scream of agony from the parlour. Before he could leave the kitchen to check on the lady of the house, she was in the kitchen doorway.
There Selina Kyle-Wayne stood, nine months pregnant and ready to burst. "Alfred, it's time," she panted.
"Of course, Madam," Alfred calmly replied as he moved over to the telephone.
Still swift and graceful even in her state, Selina slammed the receiver back down, and insisted to Alfred, "Now!"
Out on the streets of Gotham, the Dark Knight and his assistant, Robin, were pummeling some of Joker's men into the ground. The psychotic clown laughed with glee as he was about to make his escape. Robin did two backflips and a somersault in the air, landing on top of the clown. "Where do you think you're going, Joker?" the ten-year-old Boy Wonder quipped.
"Robin," the Batman said sternly. "The police are arriving. We have to go. Now."
The young boy sighed, "What no more beating up bad guys tonight? It's only 9 o'clock."
"Now, Robin," was the response.
"Alright, alright, no need to get cranky."
In the car there was a silence. Then the Batman spoke, "We're going to the hospital."
"Oh," Robin said quietly. He knew he should be happy. This meant that Selina was having her baby. Bruce had taken Dick in two years ago when his parents died. When he married Selina, Dick knew something like this could happen; when people got married they generally had children.
Children of their own, Dick thought. Once Selina was pregnant, his fears were realised. Once Bruce has a kid of his own, he's going to forget all about me, the boy had told himself.
The rest of the drive to the hospital was silent. Bruce disguised the car, and he and Dick changed into their civvies. They entered the hospital.
As soon as Bruce found out which room Selina was in, he was gone, leaving Dick by himself in the waiting room. The boy perched on a chair, thinking to himself, Maybe I should run away. It's not like they'd notice or care.
After a minute or two, the Wayne's butler, Alfred came out of the delivery area into the waiting room. He looked a bit miffed, a sign that Bruce had done or said something to irritate the older gentleman. Dick knew this look well, and it usually made him giggle, but not tonight.
Alfred approached the solemn boy. "Master Dick," he began, "I've been instructed to see you to bed at the manor. We are not needed here right now, and young men such as yourself need their rest."
"Yeah, okay," the boy replied. He and Alfred made their way out to the car and back home to the manor.
In the delivery room, Bruce was irritated at all the nurses and doctors in the room. Even in labor, Selina tried to assure him that they knew what they were doing and that she'd appreciate it if he'd stop scaring them to death. He'd even made one intern wet his pants. Finally, sometime around dawn, a baby's cry was heard.
"Congratulations," said the doctor, "It's a girl."
Bruce gazed down in awe at the slimy bundle the doctor held out for him. Bruce, held the baby girl awkwardly, a surge of protectiveness coming over him; he had always been protective of Selina but this was stronger, more powerful. The baby cried and squirmed in his hands. Unsure of himself, he handed her to his wife who cradled the infant, cooing to her.
Bruce suddenly had a feeling that things would never be the same again. He had a child now, they had a child now, together. His mission took on a whole new meaning in that instant. It wasn't just about his own parents' death. It wasn't just about fighting for justice. It was about this family, protecting them, making Gotham and the world safe for his daughter to live in, making the world safe so that she would never have to take up the mantle as he had.
Alfred had been up all night. After seeing Master Dick to bed, the older gentleman had himself tried to get some sleep after he finished cleaning up around the living quarters. His excitement for Bruce and Selina was insurmountable. While he was still not entirely fond of his master's crusade against crime, he could not help but beam with pride for Bruce's other accomplishments. Turning Wayne Enterprises around, his taking Master Dick in when no one would have him, marrying Miss Kyle and now this, now a baby. Alfred would never presume that he had taken Thomas Wayne's place as Bruce's father, but having raised Bruce since the boy was seven, Alfred's pride was very much a paternal pride, and he could not help but regard this new baby as his grandchild.
Through the course of the night Alfred had baked four dozen cookies, cleaned up the dishes from that, and cleansed the manor of its cat fur...after which more cat fur was shed of course. Now he sat in the kitchen with a cup of tea, watching the sun rise when the phone rings. Alfred allows it to ring twice before picking it up.
"Wayne Manor," he says calmly into the phone.
"Alfred," it was Bruce's voice. "It's a girl."
Alfred smiled at the joy and exasperation in his young master's voice, however keeping the formality in his own voice. "Congratulations, sir. I suspect you and Ms. Kyle-Wayne will be able to take visitors at some point today."
"Yes, please," Bruce answered. "We want you and Dick to be here."
"Of course, Master Bruce," Alfred said. "I will wake the lad and we shall be there within two hours."
"Two hours?" Bruce almost seemed to whine.
Quirking an eyebrow the butler explained, "Certainly you do not think that boy is leaving this house without a proper breakfast, do you sir?"
"Oh," was Bruce's reply. "I guess not."
Alfred continued, "We will be there in two hours, Master Bruce."
After he hung up the phone, Alfred went about the task of preparing breakfast for Master Dick. As he was setting the table, Alfred decided to wake the boy. He went upstairs and knocked on the boy's door. No answer. Again he knocked.
After a moment he called, "Master Dick?" No answer. "Master Dick, breakfast is served."
When there was still no answer, Alfred opened the door. He saw that while the boy's bed was turned down, Alfred had done that the night before, the bed had not been slept in and Dick was nowhere to be found. Worried, Alfred called again, "Master Dick?"
He noticed that the window was wide open and a note lay on the pillow of the bed. Alfred picked it up and read it. It read, Sorry to be a bother. Dick.
Ever worried, the butler moved to close the window, then thought again, leaving it open should the boy decide to come back in. He then put breakfast away and hurried out the door.
Bruce watched his wife and his daughter calmly. They were both asleep, Selina in her bed, their daughter in the roll-away cart bed provided by the hospital. Examining his daughter he noticed that she had a full head of black hair, like his and Selina's.
She's so tiny, he thought.
He looked over at Selina. Even after the ordeal she had just been through, Bruce thought she was beautiful and amazing. As Batman he would never face anything like what Selina had in giving birth to their daughter. Not that he had not respected her before, but Bruce's respect for his wife grew tenfold. Turning his attention back to his daughter when he sensed that she was actually moving, he saw her open her eyes for the first time. They were blue, like his. And Bruce actually...smiled. It was a genuine smile, not like his playboy billionaire smile, but a real, true smile. The baby gave him the battiest look a newborn can muster, as if she already knew that these smiles were rare for her father.
"Master Bruce," he heard Alfred say quietly, so as not to disturb Selina. Bruce looked up at the elder man who'd been his rock all his life.
"Alfred," Bruce beamed. Alfred smiled, but Bruce could tell something was wrong. Alfred didn't have flowers or anything. Not that Bruce cared, but it was very unlike the man to forget about pointless, polite expressions of sentimentality on occasions such as these.
"Alfred, what is it?" Bruce asked.
The butler handed him the note he'd found on Dick's pillow, saying, "It appears the young master has run away."
A million thoughts raced through Bruce's head at once. Dick could be hurt, or worse, dead. Why had he run away? At a time like this no less. Didn't he know that Bruce and Selina wanted him there with them, to celebrate? He went into Bat-mode, slipping the note into the pocket of his scrubs shirt.
"Tell Selina when she wakes up," he ordered.
"Yes sir," the butler complied. With that Bruce was gone.
Dick watched the waves coming into Gotham Bay. He sat alone on a pier post, wondering where he would go from here, how he even got here. Two years ago he'd been living happily with the circus. Until his parents were killed. Until he'd been wrenched away from the only family he'd known. He thought he'd found something special in Bruce, but then Bruce got married. And now he had a baby, he didn't need Dick anymore. Dick didn't know why he was so upset now, he'd known this would be coming ever Selina finally said yes to Bruce's proposals. But it still hurt. The rejection.
Dick let the tears stream down his face. He didn't hear the car pull up behind him. He didn't hear the footsteps approaching. It wasn't until he felt a strong hand on his shoulder that his Robin instincts kicked in and he flipped and twisted out of harm's way. That's when he saw Bruce. In green scrubs. Again, a sight that would normally cause Dick to giggle. But he could see that Bruce was angry. He quickly wiped his tears away, hoping Bruce wouldn't notice.
"What's the matter with you?" Bruce asked sternly. "You're ten years old, you could have- Explain yourself." Dick just shrugged. "Now," Bruce demanded.
Now it was Dick's turn to be angry. "What do you care! I'm just some circus rat you took pity on, but you don't need me anymore now."
Bruce was shocked. What was the boy talking about? He knew of course, but he hadn't realized all this time that Dick was afraid he was being replaced. "Of course we need you," Bruce said softly.
Dick wrapped his arms around his knees again. "You have Selina and...whatever the baby's name is," Dick quipped.
Bruce sat next to the boy and put his arm around him. "But we'd be missing so much if we didn't have Dick Grayson, too," Bruce assured him.
"Yeah, right," Dick snorted.
"Dick," Bruce said sternly, "just because Selina and I have a baby now doesn't mean you're any less a part of our family. You're a very important part of our family." Now Bruce was uncomfortable, nervous even. "That is, if you want to be a part of our family."
Dick looked up at his mentor, he saw that Bruce did want him, even needed him in his family. Surprising the man, Dick gave him a great big hug. Taken aback, Bruce returned the gesture, saying, "Come on, let's get back to the hospital. Everyone there is dying to see you."
When Bruce and Dick walked into the hospital room, Alfred and Selina's looks of worry turned into relief and smiles. Dick walked nervously up to Selina, handing her a small bouquet of flowers. "Thank you, Dick," she purred, kissing the boy on the forehead. Alfred handed the baby girl to Selina who spoke to Dick. "Dick," she purred, "I'd like you to meet your little sister. Martha Katherine Wayne."
Dick smiled at the baby and actually, half jokingly held his hand out to her for a hand shake. "Pleased to meet you." Martha grabbed his finger tight. "Wow!" the boy mused. "She's almost as strong as you are Bruce!" Selina and Alfred laughed. Bruce quirked an eyebrow.
Selina said to Dick, "She looks like you." Indicating Bruce and Dick, "She looks like both of you." Dick beamed a proud smile up at Bruce. Selina winked at Bruce behind Dick's back. Bruce was glad to have Selina. He didn't know what he'd do with these kids without her.