This was an idea I had the moment I read issue #72 of Catwoman (good one, by the way). A brief look inside Bruce's mind, and how he feels about his part in this chapter of Selina's life. I originally wanted to write a longer story, but I think this one works out as a decent one-shot, and decided to go with it.
On a side note, I know that Selina's last night with Helena wasn't in Wayne Manor, or so it's how it seems when you read the story. However, for the purpose of this story, I imagined things differently. Oh, well.
Finally, all characters in this one-shot belong to DC – I didn't invent a single one of them, though I wish I had.
Good reading!
AliaAtreidesBr
He would never deny her something like that, but, deep inside, he thought it was unfair that he had to carry this burden.
The promise he did to Selina - find an adoptive family to her daughter, and never, never tell anyone about it, not even her - was something he took very seriously. He would never go back in his word, and when he finally found the right place, making all the necessary arrangements, well, that was when he realized how much he regretted the decision he made.
Selina needed that, and so did Helena. It was the right thing to do, yes, the best thing to protect the baby and keep her safe. Unfortunately, to be the Catwoman's daughter just wasn't working out... No, he had no doubt Selina was taking the right step, and facing a hard, though wise decision.
But he was deeply troubled by the role he was playing in all that.
There was no one else in the world that could do it, or at least no one else he would trust to do it, but this fact didn't make the situation less painful. Really painful.
That morning, the fatidic morning, he went to the guest room where Selina and Helena had stayed that night, hoping to find them sleeping peacefully, and wishing Selina would tell him she had, after thinking about it again, decided to not go through it after all. Instead, he entered the room to find both of them, mother and child, already dressed and ready to go. "Time to go?", Selina had asked, her voice sounding grave and tired, no sign of that playful, sultry tone he was so used to. "Yes", he answered her, his own voice seeming strange to his ears, unusually muffled and hesitant. She gave no sign of noticing that, merely turning to lift Helena from the bed and hold the little girl in her arms. The baby giggled; moma, she said, a joyful call, full of trust and love.
"Oh, Bruce...!" Selina went pale, her face livid and suddenly taken by sorrow. Tears flood her green eyes, and her call for him was strangled and anxious, weak, and he feared she would just faint.
He quickly approached her, and put his arms around both Selina and her daughter. "It's alright", he said. She hid her face on his chest, suffocating an agonizing cry while grasping his shirt with a hand. "Please...", she whispered, her heavy, irregular breathing warm against the skin of his thorax, "please, Bruce, I have to do this... please, don't let me give up...!"
He slipped his fingers through her dark locks, lightly stroking the soft skin on the back of her neck, a gentle caress that would always help calm her down - another thing among the many he had learned about her during all those years. "I'll be with you all the way", he reassured, knowing it to be the sad and inescapable truth.