Gotham City, Gotham General Hospital
Wednesday: March Twentieth, 1996; 12:30 AM
"Come on, Dear. Push! Push!" Leslie told the young twenty-eight year-old mother, who tried to catch her breath while trying to push the small weight out of her, as she kept her focus to what was causing her so much pain and why the young woman came to the hospital in the first place.
The mother, moaning and groaning in pain, did as the doctor told her to do and pushed as hard as she could for a good ten seconds until she was told to stop, which gave her the time to take deep breaths and try to push again once she was ready and has captured her breath.
"You're doing great, sweetie; I can see the head."
"I can feel the head, Leslie!" She didn't mean to scream at the moment but the pain was so unbearable at the moment, it was clear to Leslie and the other doctors that all she wanted at the moment is to have the baby out of her body before it ends up killing her from the inside out, literally or expressionally.
"I know, Dear, I know." Leslie gently soothed the young woman, knowing that the more stressed out or uncomfortable the young mother is, the more difficult it is to talk her into getting the small child out of her, who will soon be both Alfred and her seventh grandchild. "Just bear with me, and you'll soon have your seventh child within yours and Bruce's arms. Alright?"
Tears rolled down the young mother's cheeks the longer she had to try and endure the pain, but she nodded her head, wanting nothing more than to have her baby out of her and within the safety of her gentle hold.
"Okay, get ready to push."
As Leslie prepares herself to get the baby out, Bruce continued with what he's been doing the whole time she has been brought to the hospital: Being beside his wife through the whole birth, allowing her to grip onto his right-hand with her own right to relieve some of the pain and awaiting for the arrival of his seventh child to be born.
Despite already having six children be born and having to raise them for nearly thirteen years, this birth is going to be the most difficult and scariest moment for Bruce to go through with; unlike his other children, who were either on time or a few days late from their actual due date, his seventh child has decided to be born a full month early from its actual due date.
Bruce know it wasn't his wife's fault for the sudden event to happen; she did absolutely nothing that would cause her to suddenly go into early labor: No overexerting herself, drug overdose or usage, starving or overeating, she hasn't even gone out to patrol ever since she gone through her first morning sickness. Nothing that results of her harming her or even killing their child.
Heck, she hasn't even touched a single glass of alcohol in all her years of life as Ra's Al Ghul's child and, though she hardly drank wine and only drinks it for celebration or if it's her's and Bruce's Wedding Anniversary, she hadn't touch a single glass of wine in over two years. Bruce should know; he's been practically by her side whenever she showed any signs of being pregnant, injured, exhaustion or even a simple illness that could be cured with a day or two of bed rest and fluids.
And tonight was supposed to be another night of passing to draw closer to the baby's actual due date, until an unexpected surprise came out of nowhere in the Manor.
Flashback: Wayne Manor; March nineteenth, 9:45 PM
"Goodnight, Daddy, I love you." Four year-old Timothy Drake Wayne said to his father, who had tucked the child into bed with his 'Fantastic Four' blanket after reading him "Goodnight Moon" to help him get to sleep, yawning when he felt sleep starting to pull him to the Land of Dreams, just as it already done to six year-old Jason Todd Wayne.
"Goodnight, Timmy, I love you, too." Bruce replied back to his sixth child, before giving him a goodnight kiss on the forehead and gently brushing his fingers through the small charcoal-hair of his four year-old son.
Knowing that Tim is on his way to sleep, did Bruce silently made his way towards Jason, who had his 'Incredible Hulk' blanket to help keep him warm from the cold night of the last day of Winter. Doing the same gesture he did with the four year-old Wayne, Bruce ran his finger through the familiar black-hair that was like his own and laid a kiss on top of Jason's forehead.
"Goodnight, Jay. I love you."
"Night, Dad. Love you, too." The six year-old whispered back, which means that he was still awake, with his eyes closed, but is also heading towards sleep.
After being sure that Tim's nightlight is on and that both boys will be alright through the rest of the night, Bruce quietly made his way towards the door.
"Daddy, wait!" Tim called out, though it was also in a whispered voice so he didn't disturb any of his older siblings sleeping from across the hall and next door to his and Jason's bedroom, stopping Bruce from closing the door all the way and leaving the two boys alone. Since the head of his bed was up against the left-side of the wall, he shifted himself to lay on his right-side and face his father out in the hallway.
"What is it, Tim?" The twenty-nine year-old father asked the boy, wanting to know what caused the four year-old to prevent him from heading towards the Master Bedroom to check up on his wife before the two would join in sleep together.
"Is Mommy and Baby alright?" Despite being only four years old and like Bruce's other children, Tim isn't as selfish and is more concern for his family than most most children would be when they near their preteen years to start acting mature for their age. Nevertheless, Tim is still a child and as such, he doesn't clearly understand about the process of the pregnancy his mother is going through, especially on how his new little brother or sister is inside her tummy and why he has to wait about eight or nine months to pass before he and his older siblings can meet the newest addition to the Wayne Family.
Jason, whose bed was up against the right side of the wall in the room but still has enough space to be able to see the door, leaned up so that his Forest-Green eyes and Tim's Chocolate-Brown eyes can stare at their father to hear the news of their mother, hoping that it wouldn't be vomiting or whatever weird craving she had like last time.
Boy, they thought they could never eat macaroni and cheese or hotdogs the same way again, not after having to watch their mother put vanilla ice-cream with ketchup and bacon bits on top on the macaroni or when she put 'Four Cheese' spaghetti sauce flavor with rainbow-sprinkles and chocolate syrup on the hotdog. Which is why it was best for Bruce and his wife's younger children to not be around when she's having her weird craving moments that could make them sick to their stomachs.
Bruce smiled gently at his two sons' gaze, knowing on how worried they are of their mother's condition and already wanting their new baby brother or sister to already be born, so that his wife could get better and they can finally play with their new sibling. He couldn't blame them for being worried, anxious and excited for their mother and unborn sibling; he also wants to have his new child to be born, so that his wife would no longer have to suffer the process of the pregnancy and so that he could give him or her the same love and attention he gave to his other six children that helped them be who they are to this day. To always be there to protect him or her from the darkness, the dangers of Gotham City and villains everywhere on Earth.
But right now, he, Alfred and the kids are gonna have to wait at least another month or two until the baby could start giving them false alarms and soon the actual kick that would signal it's ready to come out.
Even though Bruce and his wife could've gone to see what the gender of the baby's going to be a month or two ago, they decided to have the baby's gender be a surprise for them and wait once it's born, even though they had a hunch that it was going to be another boy. I mean, when you already have four boys and two girls, what were the possible chances of their seventh baby being a girl, when your eldest daughter was second to be born and your youngest daughter being fourth, with two little brothers after her? Well, it may seem and should be a fifty percent chance on being a boy or a girl but with Bruce's genes, it seems to have made it into twenty percent chance of it being a girl and an eighty percent chance of being a boy instead.
"Mommy's doing fine, Timmy." Bruce reassured both boys, though used Tim's name for bringing up the question.
"And the baby?" Jason asked this time, wanting to be in on the conversation, too.
"The baby's doing fine, Jay. Just tiring your mom out, which should help her get more sleep and energy than she did a few months ago."
"Especially when it seems she couldn't stop throwing up." Jason muttered, knowing on how much the thought of their mom vomiting both bothers and disturbs Tim very much, which also bothered him and the rest of their family very much when they had to hear her constantly puking her guts out over and over again until her cravings finally came and the vomiting has ceased a lot, which was a big relief to them all.
"Alright, boys, time to sleep. I'll see you in the mor-"
"Daddy?" Bruce let out a groan when Tim once again stopped him from closing the door and heading back to his and his wife's bedroom, wanting to have a few moments of his time with his wife and unborn child before he goes to sleep for another day of work at Wayne Tower and a night of patrolling with his four eldest children.
"Timmy, it's time to sleep. What is it that you possibly want this time?" His voice wasn't in an angry tone, just in both a tiring and a moaning tone that was almost near to annoyance of his four year-old keeping him from getting some sleep.
"Well... I-uh..." The four year-old blushed as he turned his gaze to his blanket, fiddling with the covers that now lay on his lap. "I wanna... I wan.. -el bay- ick..."
The rest of the words were muffled underneath his lips, which even Bruce couldn't understand what the small child need or want.
"You need to speak up, Timmy; couldn't catch the last part."
Wanting to get it over with and what he wants before he allows himself to sleep, Tim spoke the words.
"I wanna feel the baby kick, again... One more time, please?"
Ahh, Bruce should've known he was going to ask for that; around the time his wife's belly began to show a small bump, already the children came over to their mom to feel the baby kick or to simply feel that sudden warmth that seems to warm them much more than the fireplace had every cold Winter nights.
Tim, who'll soon be a big brother and still confused on how his baby sibling is in his mommy's tummy, had been constantly been at her side the moment he first laid his small hands on the small bump. At first, it was a cute sight to see Tim wanting to cuddle up to his mom and feeling for any signs of his unborn sibling. However, when he kept the routine going on for two months, thus adding to sleep with his parents in their room every night or wanting to sit on his mother's lap to eat his meal with her, both parents were finally able to talk Tim into quitting the habit on constantly being with his mother. Even if he had promised to sleep in his room again and eat in his own chair, that didn't seem to stop him from going over to her when she seems to settle and cuddle up to be close to his unborn sibling.
Bruce let out a sigh from his son's request, knowing that if he allowed Tim to come and see his mother, he would eventually end up sleeping with them, again.
"Tim, it's late. I just tucked you in and your mother could be sleeping already. Can't you wait until morning?"
As if the question wasn't good enough to convince him to change his mind, the four year-old shook his head.
"I just want to feel the baby kick," he pressed on. "I promise to go back to bed after I feel just one kick, Daddy... Please?"
Another habit that Tim took up while he would sleep with his mommy and daddy, is wanting to feel the baby move or kick before he goes off to sleep. Even on nights when he would be sleeping in his bedroom, the two couples would end up finding their four year-old son in bed with them, resting his small head on his mommy's stomach as if he were still listening to his unborn sibling, even while he was sleeping.
Bruce simply folded his arms and gave him a look that says 'You're hiding something from me and I want to know what it is'.
Jason also gave his little brother a look, one that people would think it's a pout of jealousy of not having attention but is actually a pout on annoyance of his brother starting the habit again.
"Tim, why do you want to feel the baby kick at this hour, especially after I just finished tucking you in and when you've just stopped your habit on sleeping with us every night? And don't say it's because you just want to feel the baby kick; that's not going to work unless you give us a better explanation to why you want to feel the baby kick before you do go to sleep."
Once Bruce gives an order, rather as Batman to crooks he captures to demand what their evil plots are to bring harm to Gotham City or as himself when one of his children did something bad at school or misbehave when with their surrogate hero-family, surrogate-grandparents or even with himself and his wife, he always has his way on getting his answers. Getting an answer from Tim is quite easy for the young father to get: Either the child tells his father what he wants to know, or he gets no TV time on days he goes to Preschool and no training time (The usual push-ups, sit-ups, running a lap or two and other exercises children his age can do) for a whole week.
"I had a scary dreams... Started a few months ago... About Mommy and Baby," his tiny voice finally answered.
"A scary dream?" Bruce repeated, completely stunned to the answer of his question; if the boy has just experienced a nightmare, then those few months ago has been Tim's very first bad dream to have in his young life. Jason also stared a bit shocked by his brother's answer, but immediately recovered from the shock and quickly realized why the four year-old had constantly glued himself to their mother and unborn sibling for so long.
"It was very scary, Daddy." Tim stated, as he turned to his left and pulled out his stuffed-dragon from underneath his sheath and hugging it to his small-chest. "We were at hospital, waiting for Baby, until Joker and Harley came."
Jason immediately came out from the warmth covers of his bed and made his way to his brother, with Bruce already back on the four year-old's bed, pulling said child into his arms. Whenever a member of the Bat-Family has a nightmare that's involved with any of their sworn enemies they've fought and defeated, it means big trouble.
"We were normal people, can't fight them as heroes, and forced to be hostages." Jason gently pat his brother's back, while Bruce continues to hold Tim in the folds of his embrace. Tears suddenly formed within the toddler's Chocolate-Brown eyes and trailed down his cheeks. "They went into room that Mommy's was in, and then Mommy started screaming!" Now, the boy was sobbing, shaking within his father's hold and tightening his grip on his stuff toy. "She kept on screaming and we can't help her, because Joker's bad men keeping us away from her! You kept telling Joker to stay away from Mommy, telling him to do what he wants with you and to spare both Mommy and Baby! He didn't listen, only let out his scary laugh... Then Mommy stopped screaming!"
That time, Tim buried his small face into his father's chest, releasing endless cries of wailing that makes both Jason and Bruce wonder if the four year-old were to have Black Canary's Powers, he would've possibly blast the young father through the wall and send him to the next five rooms down the hallway.
"What happened next, Tim?" Bruce asked, continuing on stroking the child's small back to offer him as much comfort that he can give to the four year-old.
"Joker and Harley came out of room, covered in red-stains and wearing doctor clothes that doctors wear, holding scary smiles on their faces, and then bad men let us go the moment they left hospital... Mommy didn't make sound and you ran into her room..." Jason could feel tears forming in his eyes when his brother told them that their mom didn't make a sound after leaving her hospital room, knowing very well on what they did to her in the child's dream. "You then started crying from inside room, then Alfred went in to see what was wrong... He then came back out, holding a small figure in his hands, covered with a towel..."
It was obviously too much to continue on hearing the nightmare of the four year-old, judging on how the small child's tears streamed down his light-tan skin and Jason looks ready to break down at any time, so Bruce pulled both of his boys into his chest and gently rock them in his hold. Not only does it always calm his children whenever distressed or having to go through a dreadful dream, but it also brought some comfort to the twenty-nine year-old father, especially during nights where he would have terrible nightmares of his loved ones being killed right before his eyes.
The sniffling continued and the tears made the wet-spot on his left-shoulder grew bigger. While Timothy cries out the negative emotions he held in for a few months into his father's shoulder, Jason simply stayed quiet and cuddled within Bruce's hold, putting his right-arm around his little brother to offer the four year-old his own comfort to try and decrease the pent-up emotion being held within the toddler's heart.
"Hush... It's alright, Timmy." Bruce whispered to the weeping child, stroking the small back with his left-arm and keeping his right-arm to hold his six year-old against his beating heart. "It's okay, son. It was only a dream. Your mother and the baby are still here, the Joker and Harley didn't get them and they never will." Having the comforting moment with both his father and older-brother has downed his wailing, but the tears still streamed down his face and his crying left him with hiccups.
"B-B-But, what i-if you aren't a-a-around to protect M-Mommy and something b-b-bad happens to her?"
"That'll never happen, Timmy, because I won't let that happen."
"And neither will I." Jason added, pulling the four year-old against him and having both toddler and toy-dragon in his own hold. "Nor will Alfred, Leslie, or our brothers and sisters. Heck, not even our aunts and uncles from the Justice League won't let anything happen to her or our little brother or sister."
The hiccups kept on going, but seemed to have slowed down and the small child was finally starting to calm down. He finally lifted his head from his brother's chest looked up at the both of them, the tears finally slowing to the point where they were finally going to stop.
"You promise?"
Bruce, happy to see his four year-old had stopped crying and his calming down from his little distress, bent his head down and placed a gentle kiss on the child's forehead.
"We promise, Little Robin." He assured the small child, running his fingers through the child's hair and slowly rocking his two sons in his hold. None of the three spoke another word during the rocking moment; they didn't want to ruin their little bonding session with any more doubts or questions that could bring more fear to their minds.
In just five minutes, Tim was fast asleep and with another two minutes, Jason joined him in the Land of Dreams. Seeing his two boys are finally at peace in their dreams, did Bruce gently and quietly tucked the both of them in Tim's bed, since Jason has a death grip on his little brother and Bruce didn't have the hearts to split them up, gave each another goodnight kiss on their foreheads and silently made his way out of their room.
Exhaustion washes over the young father and felt ready to collapse at any moment, but he still has the energy to quietly tread down the hallway of his family's bedroom and reach both his and his wife's bedroom at the end of the hallway on the right.
It was a good thing that Gotham is safe and quiet tonight; having to only get two or three hours every few days from keeping a whole city safe, especially when that city is one of the biggest cities in the world, can really take a lot out of a man trying to make a difference, even if he were to have help from his three eldest children and Justice League Members if the situation is serious. The children still wonder why their dad won't allow meta-humans into their cities to help out on crime stopping, when he would allow them to come over at Wayne Manor as civilians and/or when the battle is involved with an actual meta-villain that is in need of the League's assistance.
Bruce quietly turned the door handle and went in the room, where he met the most wonderful sight of his beloved wife sleeping peacefully in their bed, slightly curled in a ball and her left-arm resting between her head and pillow... With her right-arm on top the covers and curled protectively over the small bump of her stomach, which shows the noticeable sign of their seventh child. Just the sight of his wonderful wife carrying his child made the restless nights of patrol and stressful days of work from Wayne Tower all worth it, which is all going to pay off once the newest addition of the Bat-Family and Wayne Family is brought into the world.
After closing the door, did Bruce made his way towards the bed and joined his wife in bed. He wrapped his arms around his pregnant wife, being completely gentle with her midsection when both his hands rested on her small bump of her stomach and hand resting over her stomach, and slowly pulled her form close to his, burying his face into her long-black/dark-brown hair and enjoying the quiet night with his sleeping wife before he gets the chance to sleep.
"Hmm... Beloved...?" The tired voice of the young twenty-eight year-old mother broke the calming silence and brought Bruce back from his attention of sleep.
"Sorry, honey. Did I woke you up?" He whispered to the young mother, pulling his face from her hair and watching her turning to her right-side to face him with tired jade-green eyes.
"You didn't," she replied back. She then removed her left-hand from her pillow and placed it over his own left-hand. "But our little one did." As if to prove her point, Bruce felt a small kick through his wife's nightshirt of her womb and blanket, signifying of their unborn child is awake. The mother giggled softly from the feeling of the second kick her baby just gave to her and her husband. "Our little one must've missed you and kicked the moment you placed your hands on my womb."
Bruce chuckled at her remarks, while feeling another kick being given off by his unborn child.
"Must be; it's kicking up a storm at the moment." He then leaned his head forward and gave his wife a heartfelt kiss on the lips, his hands remaining over his wife's womb to feel his baby still giving out little kicks as if wanting both parents to pay attention to it.
Many doctors state that even in the mother's womb, babies are known to being able to hear their parents talking and are even said to know the difference feeling of touch between both parents or the touch from others whenever they place their hands on the womb of the baby's mother. So, doctors informed that by making gentle contacts to their baby through the womb, it would let the baby know that their parents will always be there for them and it also helps bond with the baby before they're even born.
When the two couple pulled away from their kiss and after pulling the blanket back, Bruce leaned down to gently place his ear on his wife's night-shirt, wanting to hear the kicks his baby kept on giving off.
"I hear you, my little one." He whispered to the small bump of his wife's womb, as he slowly lifts the shirt up to see the small bump for himself instead of just talking to his unborn child through the fabric.
Doctors also suggest that by talking to the baby while in the womb, they'll be able to tell who their parents are soon after they're born. It may seem silly to some parents, especially to first time parents, but it truly does help them raise their child more and it'll all be easier for them if they plan on having any more children after their first.
Another kick greeted the young father, making Bruce feel pride and joy seep through his heart on how happy and blessed to be having another child in his family. He bent down and placed a loving kiss on his wife's womb, gently stroking the soft skin that's been shielding his unborn child from the cold and darkest part of the Earth. It seems that the baby was happy to finally get attention from its father, because it seems to had kicked a bit harder that caused both husband and wife to jump from feeling its strong kick. Bruce let out a heartfelt laugh, continuing his gentle stroking to help soothe his child and wife to sleep.
"Hey now, Baby. It's way past your bedtime and you're keeping your mother up from getting her rest with your kicking." He whispered gently to the unborn infant. "Take it easy and save some of those kicks for tomorrow, okay?"
It took a small coaxing up to get the unborn infant to settle, which took the young father at least three minutes of gentle stroking and another two minutes of calm loving words to finally have the kicks to go down to nothing. Satisfied of his work being paid off, did he gave the small bump another loving kiss before pulling the nightshirt back down and settling himself back to laying with his beloved wife.
"Thank you, Beloved. I was worried that our little one was going to keep us up all night from kicking." She told her husband, as she scoot in closer to be beside the twenty-nine year-old and rested her head on his chest to use as her new headrest. Bruce wrapped his left-arm around his wife's shoulders to keep her in place on his chest, all the while staring lovingly down at her and her now blanket-covered womb. The twenty-eight year-old then lifted her head up when she didn't felt him settling down for some goodnight sleep and stared lovingly back at him. "Are you excited?"
"Of course I am. Who wouldn't be?" Bruce replied back, staring up at the ceiling and smiling from the imagination on what the future will hold for his family on having to spend it with his seventh child. "In just another month, we'll be having a new addition to the family and a new chapter to add into our lives... I just wish that it'll come sooner."
"Yes, another chapter to create once our little one is brought unto our life." She then had her right-hand go underneath the covers, placing it gently over her womb. "What would you like the baby to be this time? A boy, or a girl?"
"I don't really care what it's going to be; as long as it's happy, healthy and is being raised by us, I'll be happy with it being either a girl or a boy. Besides, we decided to have the baby be a surprise to all of us, two months ago. Why'd you ask? You want to have another girl?"
The female simply giggled and buried her face into her husband's chest through his shirt.
"No, not really. I just wanted to see if you actually have your heart set out on what you want the baby to be. I'm glad to know you, also, prefer to have either a boy or a girl, rather than wanting one of them but then to have your hope destroyed if the baby is not the gender you wanted it to be." She brought her left-hand to her face to cover her mouth when she let out a yawn, then she lifted her head up to see the alarm clock on the small end table at the right-side of the bed. "Oh my, look how late it is." She told her husband, when she saw that the clock reads 10:03 PM on its monitor, which then changed to 10:04 PM when a minute has already passed.
"Yeah..." Bruce replied back, when he also saw what the alarm clock states the time is. "We both need to get some sleep already; you're going to need all your strength to get around the house, and for another day of Timmy's cuddling time."
His wife smiled at the thought of their four year-old son coming over to her the moment they come down the stairs and then listening to his unborn sibling kicking the moment it feels a pair of hands feeling out for it.
"I know... But don't forget you need your energy as well for tomorrow; the Justice League are having an important meeting and they need you to also give the Watchtower its daily check-up for any bugs or viruses. Having a dark and gloomy Batman over is one thing, but a very cranky and sleepless Batman is not what the League needs at the moment."
Bruce groaned in annoyance from the thought on last time he went over to the Watchtower when he didn't get any sleep for the last four days; he snapped at everyone who's been disturbing him while looking over the computer's data base, freaked both Flash and Green Arrow after bringing up on how well they slept, and even pulled out a small piece of Kryptonite at Superman until he nearly went unconscious and kicked the Kryptonian's Watchtower Room door down when Clark questioned about Bruce's choice on who he married and if they can truly trust her. That's when the Justice League learned to never make the Dark Knight angry when he's tired, or judge over who he chose to spend the rest of his life with, especially one who already knew who they were before accepting the Dark Knight's proposal. It took them awhile to get used to his wife, but they were able to see that they were in no danger of her knowing their secret identities and eventually made her part of the Justice League family and Justice League Member when they knew she would never betray them.
"You're right on that part, dear." Bruce said and with that said, they both got comfortable in their bed and gave each other a finally goodnight kiss on the lips.
"Sweet dreams, Beloved. I love you, and so does our littlest bird." The wife whispered tiredly to her husband, and was soon snoozing peacefully back into her dreams.
"Goodnight to you, too, and to our littlest bird, dear... I love you, too, Talia."
He eventually drifted off to sleep, a smile plastered on his face on having to be sleeping with the love of his wife and unborn child held in his arms.
It may seem shocking and actually startling that a hero is married to a villain, especially when one is the daughter of a villain who wants to kill off more than half of the Earth's population in order to bring her forest and trees to cover most of the planet.
Bruce didn't knew about their plot when he came over to train with the League of Assassins, during his time still training all around the world when he was sixteen years old, at Sarajevo. During that time, he met Talia Al Ghul when she was fifteen years old and to say it was love at first sight for the both of them is an understatement, since they were always paired up to be partners during training session and would hang out together at night. In just three weeks, Talia announced her love for him and Bruce returned her affection with his own, which eventually lead them to their first kiss... Which soon lead them to their first night in bed together as lover.
Talia's father, Ra's Al Ghul, figured out what was going on and couldn't seem to be any happier to hear that his youngest child has finally found a man she loves. He immediately welcomed Bruce into the Al Ghul Family and even talked about arranging their wedding, which made both young teens blush that Ra's was already planning on their wedding when they just confessed their loves to each other and are still teenagers instead of adults.
When it seems that things were finally going to be perfect for the young sixteen year-old, it eventually went downhill when Bruce accidentally stumbled upon the Lazarus Pit after finding a secret passage behind the bookshelf in Ra's Al Ghul's Study Room. He was eventually caught and under the mercy of the League of Assassins. After telling the sixteen year-old what his plan to do in order to save the world, Ra's Al Ghul has offered him to join forces with him in a new world order. However, as a true hero would do, Bruce refused the offer and was soon fighting against the people he's been trained under by the League of Assassins. His first fight ever lead him to victory after having the Sarajevo Manor to blow up, when he caught a grenade from an Assassin and tossed it into the Lazarus Pit.
Before he left the destroyed Manor of Sarajevo and head for the nearest town for the airport to take him back to Gotham City, did Talia ran to him and asked to go with him. She told him on how she, too, didn't want to go with her father's plan that would result to millions of lives being killed off, but she didn't had a choice if she wanted to or not and if she were to not go along with her father's plan and double cross him, she feared that he would permanently get rid of her if he comes to believe that she were to try and stop him. Bruce, at first, had a little trouble believing her, since she's a daughter to a dangerous villain, and thought she could be going undercover for her father to eliminate Bruce Wayne and finally go on with their plan. However, when Talia told him that she has never loved any other man until he came around and that she would never betray the one man who she gave herself completely to on their first night together, along with seeing the love she has for him in her jade-green eyes and the tears forming in fear of him rejecting her love for him because of her father's actions, did Bruce finally believed her and took her with him to spend every single moment of their lives together.
And so, to this very day and many more days to come, Bruce and Talia became the Protectors of Gotham City and Saviors of Earth, with Bruce Wayne as Batman and Talia Al Ghul-Wayne as Karasu. By the time their first child, Terrance 'Terry' McGinnis Wayne was six years old and asked to join their Superhero Jobs, did Bruce and Talia decided that if they were to have more children and if they wanted to become heroes as well, they're to first go through some intensive training and are to do good in schools, along with never telling other people, except other heroes who joined the Justice League, their secret identities when in costumes or their lives that they do at night as the Bat-Family.
Terry didn't go out on patrol until he was ten years old, which was over two years ago, Cassandra Cain Wayne started when she was eleven, approximately a year and three months ago, and Damian Al Ghul Wayne went out on patrol at the early age at eight, which had been almost five months ago. Stephanie Brown Wayne is still in training, just turning eight years old and needs to learn a couple more moves, but is told she can probably start patrolling when she's at least nine, Jason has another few more years until Bruce and Talia decides when he's ready, and Tim has just started training and has a long way to go before he's anywhere near ready to go out on patrol.
Even though that his life has been full of tragic events when his parents were killed and had to go through the hurt of betrayal, Bruce wouldn't had it any other way to be with the people he grew up with and the family he has created with his one true love. With the comforting thought of his life continuing on with his family and friends, along with a newcomer to be born somewhere in April, did the multibillionaire finally went into the soothing darkness of sleep.
A Few Hours Later; 12:09 AM
"Beloved?" The sound of Talia's worried voice and the feeling of his body being shook that stopped him from sleeping the night away, did Bruce slowly opened his tired eyes and stared up at the worried eyes of his beloved wife.
"Talia, what's wrong?" He asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes to see better at his wife, who sat up in bed and looks to be holding her womb, which brought up an alarm that something isn't right.
"Beloved, I'm bleeding."
That wasn't a good thing to hear; during the pregnancy process, the females don't have their time of month until after their pregnancy is over. Bleeding, especially lightly bleeding, as if it is her time of month, leads to something going wrong with the baby.
Bruce also noticed that she's grunting in pain, almost like somebody just gave her a good kick in the stom-... Fear started to rose in his chest, that caused him to rise from his resting spot and to sit along side with his wife, placing his right-hand over Talia's own right-hand on her womb.
"Are you having contractions?" He asked, trying to get his wife to take deep breaths to calm down if she's actually having a contraction at this very moment. It was a good thing that he's been reading medical books, including pregnancy process, ever since Talia first gotten herself pregnant at the age of sixteen. 'Please just be a false alarm, and not a sign of preterm labor; it's too soon!'
"I'm afraid so," she answered back.
"How long has this been going on?" 'Please say you started feeling it.' To answer his question, she grunted when she felt another jolt of pain coursing through her entire being.
"Nearly an hour ago, it's been going on every ten minutes... Ah...!" Another jolt came through and that's when Bruce immediately hopped out of bed and got on the phone to call the one person that has delivered his six children and the one person who he wants to do the same with his seventh child. After two short beeps, that person answered the phone.
"Hello, this is Dr. Leslie, of the Leslie Thompkins Medical Clinic. How may I help you this evening?"
"Leslie, it's Bruce." Bruce tried to stay calm, but the thought of something terribly bad happening to his baby made it almost impossible to keep his cool.
"Bruce? What's the matter? Is one of the children badly injured from patrol?"
"No Leslie, I'm afraid it's something more serious. Talia's having early contraction for almost an hour and has already bled on the bed... I think she's going into preterm labor." He heard the female on the other side of the line give out a fearful gasp at Bruce's suspicion on what's happening to his wife. "We need you to head for the General Hospital, warn the doctors of our arrival and be prepare for the birth."
"I will, Bruce. In the mean time, you need to get Talia to the hospital, and be careful; rushing her or any cause of stress will only make her contraction worse and can cause her to try and give birth before you reach the hospital. Have her take deep breaths to help calm down and lessen the pain that she's feeling at the moment, and be sure to not get her heart rate to increase if you drive too fast."
"Okay, we'll meet you at the hospital. See you then, Leslie." He quickly hung up the phone, went towards the duffel bag next to their dresser that they packed up half a month ago to be ahead of time, and made his way to help Talia get out of bed. "How are you holding up, Talia?"
"I'll be fine, for now. Just get us to the hospital, Beloved." With the duffel bag strapped over his left-shoulder and helping his wife towards the door with the other, the two made their way down the stairs and to the garage door, where they took one of their Nineties Mercury Grand Marquis as their transportation. After getting his wife in and putting the duffel bag in the backseat, Bruce got to the driver's seat and were soon driving down the long driveway to Gotham City.
In just five minutes, they were finally in the city and driving along side with the other citizens of Gotham. Bruce wasn't going too fast, knowing that it would most likely cause discomfort for his wife, but he was driving with just enough speed that satisfied Bruce's driving time on getting to the General Hospital and allows Talia to still be able to listen to her Sound CD that's been giving her comfort while concentrating on taking deep breaths. During the drive towards the hospital, Bruce brought out his cell phone that he kept in the car, which he and his wife suggested which car to take to the hospital a few weeks ago, and dialed the number for his butler and father-figure, Alfred Pennyworth. It took four rings for Bruce to finally hear the sound of the family butler's voice.
"Good Evening. Wayne Manor, Alfred Pennyworth speaking?"
The billionaire can hear the tiredness in the retired British Government's voice, but as a Bat-Family member, he can last a few days without any sleep and isn't going to let down Bruce when he needs in, which is at this very moment.
"Alfred, it's Bruce."
"Master Bruce? I thought you weren't going out on patrol tonight; I could've sworn that crime is calm at this time of day."
"I'm not out on patrol, Alfred." He then took a deep breath and after taking in a quick glance at his wife, who seems to continue on taking in relaxing breaths and stroking her small bump as if calming their unborn infant to wait until they get to the hospital, did he turn his attention back to driving and talking to the butler on the phone at the same time. "Talia's having contraction and just bled at the house... She's going into preterm labor."
"Oh my... How is the Mistress doing?"
"So far, she's staying as calm as she can. I think it's working, for the time being. We're almost to the General Hospital, at approximately ten minutes. Can you get the kids ready and wait for us in the Waiting Room?"
"Of course, Master Bruce. For now, you focus on getting Mistress Talia to the hospital and bringing in the arrival of our newest additional family-member."
Bruce smiled at Alfred's request.
"I will Alfred, we'll see you and the kids at the hospital."
"Very well, Master Bruce. See you, then." The line cut off when the butler hung up and after turning his cellphone off and putting it back in its place, Bruce continued his focus to the hospital.
"Oh...!" Followed by Talia's cries of pain, the sound of water gushing out made Bruce panic a bit more inside. He wasn't worried about the car getting stained or ruined. Far from it; he was worried for his wife: her water just broke, meaning that the baby is coming sooner than the couple were hoping for. "Beloved... The baby..."
"I know, dear, but I need you to hold on just a little bit longer; we're almost at the hospital." Bruce gently urged his wife, seeing the sign of the General Hospital only a few more blocks away. "Just keep breathing and stay comfortable, okay?"
"I-I'll try, Beloved." It wasn't an actual 'yes' answer, but it was better than a 'no' answer, which gave Bruce the strength to keep his cool for his life and still get them to the hospital. In just one minute and twenty-seven seconds later, they were finally at the General Hospital's Drive-through Emergency Service, where Leslie and a few doctors have been awaiting for their arrival.
After helping Leslie get Talia on the hospital's bed stretcher, getting the Mercury Grand Marquis to a parking space closest to the hospital and putting on the hospital's scrubs, Bruce is finally in the Delivery Room with his wife and awaiting for the arrival of his seventh child.
End of Flashback...
It should be a special day for Bruce's child to be born on the first day of a season, but he still fear of what kind of health problems his child will have for being a preemie; while the baby develops inside the mother's womb, the lungs are the last organs to develop. Meaning that when a baby is born prematurely, their lungs aren't fully developed, which may lead to both short and long-term 'health problems'.
Nevertheless, Bruce will do whatever it takes to have his seventh child live a happy, healthy life. Even if that child may not become a crime fighter like its brothers and sisters, both he and Talia will still love and care for their child.
"Okay, Talia, we need you to give us a big push and then we'll finally have your baby." Leslie told the exhausted mother, while keeping her full attention on the small head of the baby.
"Leslie... It hurts...! It's too much...!" She wasn't sounding as if giving up; it was just the pain is too much that it's basically draining all her energy on having to push out the baby from how much the tightening within her is hurting her.
"Talia, I know how much this must hurt you and that you're getting exhausted, but you have to keep fighting and push, for our sake and the sake of your baby. Okay?" Leslie told the young mother, which she does for all the mothers she had helped give birth to their babies.
"Talia, dear, I know you can do this." Bruce encouraged his wife, keeping his grip on her hand, that's been cutting off the blood circulation from his hand, to let her know he's still there for her. "You're a strong woman, one of the toughest that I've ever known in my life, besides Leslie." Leslie smirked at his words, but stayed quiet for the young father to give out more encouraging words to his anxious and tired wife. "I may not know what you're going through, being a male and all, but believe me when I tell you that seeing you in pain and sounding as if you're giving up on bringing our child into the world, that hurts me deeply and I don't want to feel this pain any more than you do from giving birth. So, I ask of you, my beloved wife and wonderful mother of my children, to keep on fighting and push for our seventh child to be with us."
Talia, still gasping for air and pain still held in her jade-green eyes, took in her husband's word to heart and, seeing that he wasn't going to give on her and Leslie ready to help deliver their child, did she found her newborn strength inside of her and nodded her head.
"I'll do it," she said. Leslie smiled at her daughter-figure's words and and readied herself to get the baby.
"Get ready to push," she told the young mother. "In three... Two... One... Push!" At the command of the doctor, Talia took in a deep breath and gave the biggest push she can give to have the baby out of her. During the pushing, she can feel the baby's head finally sliding out, which was slow and painful and was almost close to stopping, but she wasn't going to make her baby suffer because she chickened out to almost having it out of her. "You're almost there, Talia. Keep pushing. You're baby's almost out."
Talia kept on pushing, her husband letting her grip the life out of his hand, her mother-figure gently helping her get the baby out, her father-figure and children waiting for them in the Waiting Room, it actually brought her comfort in her distressed time of need.
With them all in her thought and everyone comforting her, Talia put in her last amount of energy into her pushing before she had to stop when her body could no longer push... And, when she and Bruce heard the sound of a baby's cry of life.
A Week Later: March Twenty-Seventh; 3:58 AM
It's another calm and silent night, not a single sound that can possibly ruin the calming silence... Well, all except for one sound.
"Waaaaah! Waaaaah!"
Bruce, who's been sleeping soundly in his bed with Talia, snapped his eyes open from the sudden sound that awakened him from his sleep and hearing that the crying wasn't going to stop on its on, did he push himself to get out of bed. His wife, who also heard the loud crying, was about to get out of bed as well, when her husband pushed her gently back down onto the mattress.
"Go back to sleep, dear. I got this." He told his wife, who seems to be fighting to stay awake and help her husband out but is losing the battle to sleep, before pulling the covers back over the young mother and making his way towards the crib at the other side of the room.
The crib in the room, which the wood was used from an actual Redwood Tree, has been in the Wayne's family for nearly three generations and, wanting to carry on the family tradition, Bruce and Talia had used this very crib for all their older children when they were infants and having to use this very crib again made the two couple very happy to see it protecting another of their babies when they sleep.
"Waaaah! Waaah! Waaaaaah!" The crying went on, sounding as if demanding for somebody to calm its distress and make it go silence. Bruce smiled down at the small figure making the sound within the crib, before bending over and gently lifting the small life into his arms.
"Hey now, what's with the crying?" He softly asked the tiny infant, who kept on with the crying for its need to be taken cared of before it can go back to sleep. "Shh, shh. There's no need to cry, Baby Bird. Daddy's here. Daddy's got you." Bruce made his way towards the rocking chair that sat besides the crib and, after positioning the small figure to lay against his bare chest and keeping the black-blanket around its small body, did the father gently swayed back in forth in the chair.
The moment he began to rock the little baby in the chair, did the crying immediately stopped and had eventually been replaced with little cooing sounds. The billionaire smiled down at his baby when he saw his comforting had soothed the baby's distressed and then he bent down to kiss the baby's forehead, while gently nuzzling into the small raven-black hair that covers the baby's head that also carried his own unique scent that somehow seems to calm Bruce whenever he's stressed out or is simply having an off day.
"That's my big boy." He whispered to the baby, using his right-hand to cup the back of the baby's head and stroking the feather-like hair, while keeping his left on the baby's blanket-covered back to keep the small infant as physically close to his heart as possible. "That's my little Dickie-Bird." At first, the nickname that the children gave to the baby seemed a bit silly to Bruce, but it immediately stuck on and seemed to actually fit the small baby in his arms... The small baby, who's been dubbed by the nickname, is Bruce and Talia's fifth son and has been given the name Richard Grayson Wayne, though Bruce and the Bat-Sibling prefer to call him by Dick, a nickname given to those who're named as Richard.
The choice of name for their baby was more on what the two parents saw on the inside, rather than the outside part of the characteristics. Though he's very smaller and, unfortunately, weaker than his older siblings when they were babies from being a whole month early from his due date, Bruce and Talia saw that Dick has the strength and heart of a lion, a fighter who fought his way to live and see the world for himself... Thus, in a way, naming him after King Richard the Lionheart. His middle name was given to him by his father, who actually calmed the baby crying for the first time at the hospital when he told the baby the story of the Court of Owl, like his own father did for him, though they were more known to as the Gray Sons of Gotham.
'Such big names for one so small and fragile,' the young father thought to himself. As he thought about those two words about his baby boy, Bruce realized on how big his hands are from the way they cover most of Dick's little body hidden underneath the blanket. Heck, the baby's own head fits within the palm of Bruce's hand that holds him gently to keep him laying over the heart of his overprotective father. That realization scared the Dark Knight, knowing very well that he, alone, can easily crush the baby if not handled gently like Leslie told him, Talia and Alfred to do when taking care of the small boy.
From what the doctor had told the parents and Alfred, after examining and cleaning both the small babe and exhausted mother, it turned out the cause of Richard's preterm birth was by Talia not eating as much as she was supposed to during her time being pregnant with the baby. Leslie knew Talia didn't eat much because she wanted to starve herself, but because she gotten sick three times in the last sixth months that forced her to not eat as much as she was supposed to, which caused her to go into early labor and for the baby to weigh in four pounds and seven ounces...
However, what seems to be a curse that had befallen on the mother, was actually a blessing in disguised; when Talia was pushing as hard as she could for the last time, Leslie discovered that the umbilical cord was almost wrapped around the baby's neck and would've possibly been strangled the baby to death during the birth, maybe even if he were to stay any longer inside the womb, if he wasn't so small and if Talia hadn't went into early labor. So, what seems to be a terrible event from a simple mistake that could've probably been fixed a few weeks ago, is actually an action that saved a baby's life.
Leslie also gave them some tips on how they could take care of Richard, since Bruce and Talia had never taken care of a premie before. For starters, Talia was told that she should breastfeed Richard until he's between four to six months to start him on baby food; the milk she'll produce is more rich in proteins and has slightly different fats than later breast milk, which it's specially designed to help a premature infant through those first difficult weeks.
Another thing they should do, which actually helps the babies' health and helps parents bond more with them, is doing the Kangaroo Care. It's a method where the infant is held skin-to-skin with its mother, father or substitute caregiver. According to Leslie about the research of the Kangaroo Care, through the practice of the Kangaroo Care, the infants make many strides: Their heart rates become stable while being comforted by their parents, parents will see improvements in their nutrition as the preemies steadily gain weight, and may assist in maintaining an infant's body warmth.
It may seem like a silly tactic that something so simple as a skin-to-skin hug can actually increase preemies health condition, but it shows to really work that it's gotten preemie parents to do this with their young ones... Which even gotten Bruce to do at this very moment with his baby, and, honestly, he loves it. Not only does this help Dick's condition a lot, but it also allows the both of them to form a bigger bond than most parents would with children born healthier than preemies.
Sensing the happiness within the beating of his father's heart, the baby lifted his tiny right-hand from underneath the black-blanket and wrapped his small-fingers around Bruce's right-pinkie, which wasn't resting on the boy's head from how small it is. Feeling the curling of small fingers around his own little finger, Bruce glanced down at the small hand grabbing his pinkie and smiled lovingly to the sight that physically shows how strong their father-son bond truly is. He then placed another loving kiss on the boy's forehead, the rocking movement still going at its comforting pace.
"I love you, my Littlest Bird." He whispered to the small baby, closing his eyes and savoring the moment he has with his baby.
"Beloved?"
The sound of his wife's voice broke the loving moment between a father and his baby boy, which seemed to had upset the baby a bit when the rocking movement had stilled. Bruce lifted his head away from his son's and turned to stare at his wife standing to his right-side and in front of the crib.
"Sorry, dear. Did I kept you up?" He asked, hoping that he hadn't kept his wife up from recovering over the birthing she had done last week.
"No, Love. I just woke up." She then leaned in forward and gave her husband a kiss on the lips, then pulled away to give her baby a kiss on the forehead to physically tell him how much she loves him. Though he seemed upset that the rocking isn't back on yet, Dick let out a couple of cooing sounds that lightened the young mother's heart. Talia then turned her attention to the alarm clock on the end table, which shows to be nearly four in the morning, knowing that it was time for her to have her own bonding time with her baby. "Beloved, it's time for me to feed him."
'Now? It feels too soon.' Bruce thought to himself, not liking the news that his wife just gave to him. It wasn't that he's jealous of Talia, which isn't even close to jealousy at all. No, he simply didn't want to hand over his Baby Bird just yet, or any other time at all; not only is he overprotective over Dick, but he's also very possessive over his child, like Tim being possessive on wanting to cuddle with his mommy when she was pregnant with Richard.
Apparently, whenever somebody wants to take the baby out of his arms and hold the small infant, either as strangers or friends, Bruce would try to get a few extra seconds on having the baby in his arms and close to his heart before he has to surrender his pride and joy in the arms of another. If it were strangers that are holding the infant, the young father would feel panic building inside of him in fear that the strangers will run off with his child and will never see the Baby Bird, ever again. If it's were friends, including friends of the family, who're holding Dick, Bruce would try to pretend it doesn't bother him and would try to plot master plans to have his baby back in his grasp. As for the rest of the family... Let's just say from the way the Dark Knight would behave over his own family handling the baby of the group, it would make Jason and Tim look and act more mature than their own father, who acts like a pouty kid who didn't want to share his toy with the other kids.
"Beloved..." Talia spoke again, sounding like a scolding parent when a child did something bad, while folding her arms in front of her chest and tapping her foot against the floor. "You need to give him to me; you don't have the necessary equipment to feed him and, unless you have the power to increase the speed of time to make him six months old to get him on baby food, I suggest you surrender our baby to me so that I may feed him."
'I don't wanna let him go, not yet.' Bruce complained in his mind, gently hugging the baby towards his heart and feeling the small-hand tightening its grip around his pinkie-finger. 'But I have to... And I will, for the sake of my baby's health.' "Fine," he grunted out.
Talia smiled in satisfaction when her husband finally complied to her demands, though the tone sounded reluctant to release the baby than willingly, and soon had her precious baby in her arms.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Beloved." She made her way back towards the bed, sat on her side of the bed with her back towards her husband, then the sound of suckling and a baby's moaning in hunger was heard within the room. A few minutes later, Talia turned to stare at her husband, who remained sitting in the rocking chair and waiting patiently to have the baby be placed back in his arms, and smiled at him. "He's drinking more than he usually does. Must be from that little hug fest you had with him." she commented.
Bruce smiled back at his wife from the news she given to him.
"That's good to hear," he replied back. After three minutes, the sound of suckling eventually stopped and was soon replaced by the sound of Talia's gentle humming while gently rubbing the infant's back, which caused a small burp, a sort of squeak-like burp, to come out from the baby in the mother's arms. "Are you done feeding him?"
For his answer, his wife groan in annoyance from the way he just asked her right when she got Dick to burp.
"Yes, Beloved, I'm done feeding him... You want me to give him back to you, don't you?"
"You know me all too well," he told his wife.
Talia shook her head, wondering why she even bothered on asking a question that she already knew what the answer was going to be.
"Sometimes, I wonder if I really do know everything about you, either as Bruce Wayne or Batman." Nevertheless, she brought their Baby Bird to his father and gently laid him in the awaiting arms of her husband. 'Oh well, I should be glad that I got my own mother-son bonding time with Richard and that Bruce didn't hover over me while I was feeding our baby, like he did the last twelve times three days ago.'
And besides, she actually gets to see her husband's gentle side... Well, more like gentler side from the way he carefully handled their week-old baby in his arms, almost as if the baby was made of glass and would break if the father were to accidentally let out his massive strength he used to protect both Gotham City and Mother Earth.
*Knock, knock, knock*
The two parents then heard their bedroom door being gently knocked by somebody from the other side of the door, which made them wonder who could be up at this time of hour.
"Come in," the twenty-eight year-old told the person from the other side of their bedroom door. When the door opened, it wasn't just one person that came into the bedroom, but rather seven people: The six being Bruce and Talia's children, and the seventh person being Alfred. 'Why are they all up at this time of hour?'
"Forgive us for intruding, Father, Mother." Their ten year-old son, Damian, apologized to his parents, as they all came into the bedroom.
"It's quiet alright, Damian, but would you mind telling us why you're all up at this time of hour?"
"We heard Dickie-Bird crying, so we came in here to check up on him." Their twelve year-old son, Terry, answered to their mother.
"I tried to assure them that you would handle the problem, Master Bruce and Mistress Talia, but they were very persistent to check up on the Young Master." Alfred added in, though he also looked a bit concerned like the rest of the Bat-Sibling when he, had also, heard the baby crying. Apparently, it didn't seem like Bruce and Talia were the only ones worried for Dick's well-being.
After letting both parents to spend a moment alone with their baby to come decide what to name him in their Hospital Bedroom, Leslie went to see the Wayne Family at the Waiting Room and told the small group about their baby sibling's condition. Even Tim and Jason understood the situation their baby brother was in from early labor, which was a bit of a surprise for the small family since the two boys are four and six years old that started school sooner than most children their age would be and are already a grade ahead in school. Leslie also advised them to help their parents and Alfred out by keeping a close eye on their little sibling and be sure nothing too serious happens to him until his health is in stronger condition.
Even if part of the reason they're up is to fulfill Leslie's words, a bigger part of the reason is because they wanted to see their baby brother, that the children would even risk being grounded if that's what it takes to be with Dick.
"Also, I'm afraid there's another reason why I came here, Master Bruce." Alfred spoke, which holds the sound of regret for the young father. "Commissioner Gordan called, from the Batcave." Disappointment spread all over Bruce's face, knowing what Alfred means when he gets a call down from the Batcave. "The Joker broke out of Arkham and is causing a raucous at this very moment. Commissioner Gordan needs Batman and his young partners to take care of the problem."
'Now?! Why couldn't the Joker be doing this during the day, when I'm at work, or in a few years when Dick is strong enough to run around with his siblings?'
Bruce knows that he can't just ignore the Commissioner's call for help when the city is in danger, no matter what the reason for why he couldn't, or even didn't, want to leave home for. However, he didn't want to leave his Baby Bird alone at the manor, even if the baby won't be entirely by himself.
Talia's still recuperating from the birth and won't be out as Karasu for at least another week, so she'll be with the baby for the remainder of the night if he were to go hungry again. Alfred will be stuck in the manor and Batcave, doing the usual routine whenever Bruce goes out on patrol, so he'll be able to assist Talia if she were to need any help from him. Tim, Jason and Stephanie, all still too young to be out on patrol but too wide awake to go back to sleep, will be taking the opportunity to spend time with their baby brother.
The rest of the children, Terry, Cassandra and Damian, will be assisting Batman on Patrol to stop Joker as Black Bat, Batgirl and Corvo. With their help, there could be a chance they'll be able to get the Joker sooner and be able to get back home before he has to go to work and before the kids needs to get ready for school.
'Let's hope this doesn't take too long,' the twenty-nine year-old thought to himself. Staring down at the baby laying comfortably on his beating chest, Bruce wished that he could have the choice to stay at home, but his stubbornness on not having any Meta-Humans to come help out in Gotham lead to regret on ever making up that stupid rule in the first place, even if he had a reason that goes against having supers into his city.
"Dad." Eleven year-old Cassandra interrupted his moment of thoughts, glaring down at him like Talia did, with the folding arms over her chest and stomping her foot on the ground. "We need to leave. It's best if you wrap up your bonding moment with Birdy and let's go get the Joker, already."
'Being given orders, when it should be the other way around... She's definitely our daughter.' Bruce thought to himself, as he let out a sigh of defeat. "Alright, alright. You three go on ahead and get ready for patrol, I'll meet you at the cave after saying goodbye to Dick."
"You better, Dad, or we'll have Alfred drag you to the Batcave by the ear." Terry warned, right before he, Damian and Cassandra left the bedroom... After they each gave their baby brother a kiss on the forehead and a little tousle through the feather-like hair.
"You know that they're right, Master Bruce." Alfred warned the young-father, who had held the baby close to his heart for a good fifteen seconds. "Even if I'm happy to see you taking Leslie's words on taking care of the Youngest Master, I'm afraid the city needs you much more than Master Richard does at the moment."
"I know, Alfred. I know." Knowing he needs to wrap up his little hug fest with his baby, Bruce bent his head down and gave Dick a final kiss on the forehead, which made the baby coo from the fact he felt his father's love into that kiss. "I'm sorry, Dickie-Bird, but I have to go now." He whispered to the infant, hoping that the baby won't be too upset on having to leave the comfort of his father all too soon. "In the mean time, your Mommy, Grandpa and older siblings will be here to keep you company, while your big siblings and I take care of the problem in the city. We'll be back as soon as we can, I promise."
"Here, Dad." It was eight year-old Stephanie, who spoke to the hesitant Dark Knight. "I'll take him." For an eight year-old, she looks to be ten and is exactly the same height as Damian, which almost makes them look like twins. "C'mon, Dad, hand him over."
It felt too soon to give up the baby, but the father knows that the sooner he leaves and takes down the Joker, the sooner he can continue his father-son bonding time with his Little Bird. Besides, he knows how much his three younger children and Alfred want to have their bonding time with the baby of the family, especially Tim.
It seemed like the very first time the four year-old finally got to meet his baby sibling that's been inside of his Mommy's tummy, it was immediately love at first sight for the child. Whenever he and Jason return home from school and while their father is still at work, Tim would quickly make his way to his parents room and would spend his time either talking to the baby through the crib on how his day in school went or would be reading a book to the baby while having the small infant resting in the four year-old's lap. It was pretty clear to see that big brotherhood definitely suits the small child, just as his siblings before him when they took the role of big brotherhood or big sisterhood.
And so, keeping in mind that it won't take long to have the baby back in his arms, Bruce gently handed the baby to his youngest daughter and, giving a quick peck on the lips to Talia and two quick hugs to his younger sons, he made his way out of his bedroom and made a mad dash to the study, where he set the Time Password on the clock of the old grandfather clock by moving the big hand and little hand to have it read 10:47, which was the exact time their murder took place. Just the thought of setting the time of his parents' death made the twenty-nine year-old stare up at the large picture frame hanging over the fireplace at the right-side of the Study.
'If only you were here, Mom, Dad... You would probably be cuddling and spoiling over Dick, just the way I was doing earlier today.' He thought to himself, feeling tears wanting to form within his eyes and to trail down from the painful feeling on not having his parents to be with him.
Just as the painful feeling grew, it instantly vanished from the happy memories from events that came after the death of his parents. It may seem a bit twisted and cruel, but even Bruce knows that by his parents' death, not only was Batman created to help protect Citizens of Gotham and Earth, but he was also able to find his soulmate and has been blessed with seven beautiful children that'll do great things for their future and the future of the Earth.
Wiping away the tears within his eyes, Bruce smiled up at the picture of his parents, remembering that they were never truly gone and are forever living within his heart and the hearts of his children.
"Thank you," he whispered to the picture. "The pain from losing you still hurts me, but it doesn't really hurt that much anymore, but your death had brought me many great things into my life: I gained a loving wife, supportive and caring caregivers that are like my second pair of parents and wonderful, gifted children to stand by my side for many battles to come... Now, with my Littlest Bird finally part of our family legacy, do I truly know you're still with me, because I feel that deep down, you helped him pull through and made it possible for him to be with us at this very moment."
The elevator came up before the billionaire, after the moved itself to the left to show a doorway-hole in the wall. Knowing that he needs to leave, he gave the picture of his parents one last smile before stepping into the elevator and going straight down to the Batcave hidden underneath the house.
'I love you, Mom and Dad. And I promise you both, that until I draw my very last breath of life, I shall protect my friends and family from being taken away from me... And if I ever find the man that took you both away from me, I won't go after him in vengeance or to kill, but to bring him into justice for his crime and so nobody else won't have to be killed by his blood-covered hands.'
The doors of the elevator opened after six and a half seconds going down, revealing the many gadgets the Bat-Family had used to bring down enemies and souvenirs that they've kept as trophies that shows their many successes from past missions. At the Batcomputer, there stood the three partners and protégés of Batman and Karasu: Black Bat, who sat in the chair, searching for the Joker's exact location to find him. Batgirl, leaning against the wall to the right-side of Black Bat, and Corvo, staring up at the screen with his arms crossed over his chest and standing at the left-side of his big brother.
Heading for the Changing Room and in just seven seconds, Bruce Wayne came out as Gotham City's Protector, Batman. He made his way to his children, where Corvo turned his head to stare up at his father dressed as the Dark Knight.
"It's about time you showed up, Father." He greeted, before turning back to stare up at the map that Black Bat pulled up from the computer's data base.
"Any leads to the Joker's whereabouts?" The Dark Knight asked his eldest son, who had finally ceased his search throughout the map.
"I believe so," the twelve year-old answered. "Remember that old Amusement Park that shutdown seven years ago? Well, from the hint the Joker gave to the police on how to find him, though none of them are able to figure out his little game, it all leads to the abandoned Amusement Park."
"If that's the case, let's go head there and get this over with." As always, the impatient ten year-old made his way to his to the Batmobile and waited as patiently as he could for his older siblings and father in the back of the black-car. "Well, are we going or not?" Batgirl shook her head from the way her little brother stormed his way to the Batmobile, though she put up a smile on knowing why he wanted to get the mission over with, like the rest of their own reasons to get the mission over with.
"We better get a move on, or else Prince of Impatientness blows a fuse and takes off with the Batmobile without us in it."
"I heard that, Cain!" The twelve year-old smirked, as she made her way towards the Batmobile to sit next to her bossy ten year-old brother.
"See what I mean? Impatient." Black Bat chuckled at the evidence of his sister before him and his father, as he turned the computer off and made his way to sit that the passenger seat.
"Well, we all know where he gets it from... Or better yet, where all of us gets are impatience and stubbornness from."
"No doubt that Dickie-Bird's going to get his impatience and stubbornness from Dad, too." Batgirl added.
"Alright, you three. Let's keep our focus on capturing the Joker, then you may talk about how Dick's going to be when he gets big. Understand?"
"Yes, sir." The three preteens said to their father, and with a quick start of the engine, they four took off out of the Batcave and immediately on the road towards Gotham City.
There was no doubt in the Dark Knight's mind that they're going to let the Joker get away from escaping Arkham, as long as they keep their head in the game and their focus on the task at hand. However, there was one thought that the Dark Knight allowed to go through his mind: He wasn't going to do this just for the Citizens of Gotham, but for his family: His wife, his sons and daughters, his father-figure butler and mother-figure family doctor... But most of all, he's doing this for his Littlest Bird.
THE END
Yep, my thoughts on what if Talia decided to be with Bruce instead of going along with her father's plan on bringing more of the Earth's environment in exchange for more than one-fourth of the Earth's population being killed off, and the possibility of the reverse age Bat-Siblings being their biological children. Also, no, I didn't do this for the Dick Grayson contest; I did this because it came to my head a few months ago.
Yeah, I made up the weird cravings on what Talia ate while pregnant with Dick. Not really sure if pregnant females would eat something like that, but hey, I heard they eat weird food when they're pregnant, so I came up with some... And I know, Tim doesn't sound like a four year-old should, but hey, he's Bruce actual son in this story, thus having him and his siblings geniuses. Also... I'm not very good at the romance, baby sounds, premie health or birthing, so I did the best I could with it.
I was originally going to post this up on my birthday, which was the first Thursday of March, but I was too busy spending time with my family and decided to have it on Dick's Birthday, March 20th, the First Day of Spring!
If you like me to make a sequel and/or a bunch of one-shots to continue this, let me know and I'll do what I can! I hope you enjoy this! ^^