Also Featuring: Other random facts about Traught family life, some Crock mother-daughter bonding, Roy and Artemis as cranky siblings-in-law, Zatanna and M'gann + baby showers, half-naked Dick running around in public, and preggers!Artemis

Dedicated to: Rosie (chibipooh), who was patient enough to listen to me babble out this sotory on skype, and Beth (superblys), Ben Grayson's other mama. We came up with the orginal concept of him together, and he's our precious Traught headcanon baby.

Playing Stork

Chip: pft Beth (superblys) and I concocted Traught babies the other day, and one of them was named Benjamin Grayson, because we thought Ben Grayson had an ultra fab sound to it

Chip: and there was going to be a middle girl child and a youngest boy who we hadn't decided on names for

Chip: (speaking of, need to talk to her about the details for them)

Chip: to give you an idea, Ben Grayson was supposed to have more prominent vietamese features (as in he looks like his mom but has black hair and dark blue eyes)

Chip: something a little like this

Chip:

Rosie: OMG A CHILD

Chip: but with features that are a tad bit softer

Chip: you know like typical biracial/multiracial children

Chip: who have kind of muted but distinct features

Chip: like everything is kind of evened out

Chip: which is why kids of multiracial families are some of the most
beautiful things to grace this planet earth ngl

(a week or two goes by…)

Chip: maybe I'll write some YJ stuff this weekend too (:

Rosie: maybe is a baby just waiting to say yes

Chip: a baby?

Chip: a baby

Chip: do you mean a baby idea

Chip: or literal Traught spawn

Rosie: i would literally marry you (via the internet) if you wrote a fic with traught and their baby

Rosie: i am a sucker for OC children even for characters who would never want to be parents

Chip: babies are adorable and amazing 33

Chip: especially when you make them

Chip: and don't have to be pregnant with them but just create them one day

Chip: and get to see them coo and ca ca in a little fictional world you created

Chip: it's a good feeling

Chip: like becoming a mother without having to get pregnant and fat haha

Rosie: you feel me

Rosie: what would a traught kid be like though
how would that child grow up

Chip: Sit down and let me tell you

Rosie: STORY TIME -sits down and waits eagerly-

Chip: I personally believe if Artemis and Dick got around to getting married and starting a family

Chip: they'd take it really seriously

Chip: because Dick's family was offed and Artemis' is a mess

Rosie: I feel like I've unexpectedly opened a box full of baby headcanons

Chip: so they'd want the best for their potential brood

Chip: Artemis and Dick would probably date for about 2-3 or more years, get married, stay married for about 5 years, and then start talking about kids

Chip: Dick would want kids pretty badly, but he lets Artemis bring up the conversation and patiently waits until she's ready to talk about it

Chip: because she has been really uncertain about this whole having kids thing

Chip: she's an independent woman, and Dick understands that, so he doesn't push her in any direction (he figures HE'S not the one who is going to get a huge baby balloon in his lower abdomen and get his organs rearranged, so he wisely lets Arty call the shots)

Chip: Artemis' mom really tried to be good, but her dad was a shit father. Artemis' childhood wasn't anything fond to look back on, so she's scared

Chip: she's a little terrified that she'll be horrible at this parenting thing

Chip: at the time, Artemis has a successful career, Dick is an officer, and the couple still does vigilante work together on the side because hey, that's what they do. they've accepted that as a part of who they both are and a part of their lives

Chip: a baby will kind of throw a wrench in that set-up

Chip: something's gotta give

Chip: one weekend Artemis travels to see Wally and his bride Linda with their adorable little brood, or Raquel and her family if you'd prefer that, and playing with their kids and talking with two happy parents/a happy mother like Raquel gets Artemis thinking

Chip: when she returns home, she sits Dick down when they're getting ready for bed

Rosie: oh no that's adorable

Chip: all serious like

Chip: and he knows exactly what she's going to say, because he's Dick and she's Artemis and that's kind of their thing, but he lets her say it anyways without interruption

Rosie: (also bless you for accepting Linda as official YJ canon not enough people in the YJ fandom know about her)

Chip: Artemis: "Have you ever thought about kids?"

Chip: Dick: *rolls over on his side towards her, resting himself on his elbow, and smiles a crooked grin* "I thought you'd never ask."

Chip: so they get to…*cough*…work

Rosie: that's the best part yay

Chip: Artemis eases up on her exercise regime, because you need to be healthy without yourself to the absolute limit/being low on body fat to get pregnant

Rosie: something tells me you've been thinking about this for a long, long time

Chip: and after a month or two and an 5th anniversary trip to Hong Kong (to see Cassandra Cain hahahaha), her test turns up positive

Chip: (actually I haven't thought about this much before you made me think of it today, I just learned all the pregnancy stuff from my mom)

Chip: (and Traught stories come naturally to me)

Chip: (stop me if I start getting OOC)

Rosie: (I'll do my best though you probably know their characters in YJ better than I do. I know comic Dick better than I do YJ Dick )

Chip: Artemis is a really twitchy pregnant woman

Chip: as in she kind of "nests" (not in a literal fashion where she makes a nest) but she sometimes she gets into a frenzy of energy and movement, doing random things around the house like cleaning things and re-organizing the DVD collection or making 6 sets of arrows in one day (which is 6 dozen arrows) or trying to cook things that are beyond her skill level

Chip: and Dick sometimes has to be like SIT DOWN AND REST LET ME SPOIL YOU

Chip: NO DO NOT RAKE ALL THE LEAVES IN THE FRONT LAWN

Chip: (like my mom…haha I came sooner than planned because she literally raked 6 bags of leaves the week before I was supposed to be due, and that night she started having contractions)

Rosie: (omg that reminds me of a drabble i wrote of Damian complaining about a pregnant Stephanie refusing to stop going on patrol. good times, good times)

Rosie: (were you born in the leaf pile? )

Chip: (NO SILLY)

Chip: (I was a November baby but my mom did not break her water in our front lawn hahaha)

Chip: she has horrible morning sickness at first, but besides that, her ankles don't swell too much, and she doesn't have breasts that are sensitive/hurt a whole lot like some pregnant women, and not too many weird cravings

Chip: though she does demand Thai food/Indian/Vietnamese/Chinese take-out at weird times of night every once in a while

Chip: Artemis is sensible enough that she doesn't do vigilante work while she's pregnant (and she makes this decision herself because she doesn't want to risk a miscarriage…even though not being able to be able to go on patrol with Dick for nine months makes her antsy and irritable)

Chip: when she starts getting horrible cabin fever ("DICK I'M GOING CRAZY THERE IS NOTHING TO DOOOO")

Chip: Dick sets her up with some equipment and she becomes a lower-tech Oracle type of figure to him

Chip: lots of snarking over the radio, and Dick brings home takeout when he comes back from patrol sometimes

Chip: Whenever Artemis has questions about baby things, she calls Dinah because Dinah knows all things, and she's the mama of all the arrow babies

Chip: and then Paula

Chip: then Jade

Chip: then M'gann

Chip: in that order

Chip: although she sometimes switches things around according to her mood, and for a few weeks Paula comes over to keep Artemis company and help around the house (right before and after the baby comes), which Artemis really appreciates (homemade Vietnamese food yesss)

Chip: Artemis gets really cranky two weeks before her delivery (and no I don't know if pregnant women do that usually, this is just something that came into my head)

Rosie: aaaaw mommy/daughter bonding time

Chip: Jade comes to visit for a weekend as well during all of this, leaving Roy to babysit Lian (who is now like… 8 at least I'm guessing? And they may have another baby girl or baby boy)

Chip: when Artemis is four months along, Zatanna and M'gann throw the best baby shower ever

Rosie: can the baby shower involve way too much alcohol (for everyone but arty of course) and several questionable exotic dancers?

Rosie: i just love the idea that zatanna throws the literal Best Parties Ever

Chip: That's the AFTER baby shower

Chip: or maybe there are two

Chip: yes that's it

Chip: M'gann's is sweet and adorable and involves lots of cupcakes and pink-and-blue fun (they don't know if it is a boy or a girl yet, because Dick and Artemis want the gender of the baby to be a surprise)

Chip: everyone is invited to M'gann's, but Zatanna's party is girls only

Chip: Zatanna's party involves a zeta-tube trip to a club she's rented out in NY

Rosie: Artemis just wants a low-key baby shower
and you think she would have learned after what happened at her bachelorette party (they're still banned from the local library thanks to that)
but she forgot herself and put Zatanna in charge once more

Chip: exotic dancers

Chip: etc.

Chip: Artemis is like WHAT THE HELL I CAN'T EVEN DRINK

Chip: SO I'M JUST GOING TO SIT HERE AND LAUGH MY ASS OFF AT ALL OF YOU SLOSHING AROUND

Chip: WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH BABIES, HUH

Chip: Yes Artemis just didn't want anything

Rosie: they're just using her as an excuse to get drunk

Chip: but M'gann and Zatanna are pushy and wouldn't say no

Rosie: they bring like a crib along for good measure

Chip: (hahahaha YES)

Chip: and the alternative was JADE throwing a party

Chip: and that would not have ended well

Chip: and Zatanna says something like

Chip: "the baby will hear the music and have a good time too!"

Rosie: omg zee is my queen

Chip: and Artemis is like "listening to Ke$ha = my unborn child having a good time? are you trying to make my child some kind of crazy person"

Chip: and even though Artemis griped to her husband about the situation before going, Dick is like nooo go have fun sweetie

Chip: while bro-fisting Zatanna for the awesome idea and making sure Cassie, his minion, goes along and takes incriminating pictures of everyone… aka "evidence"

Chip: Cassie, Dick, and Artemis later laugh over said pictures and make an album of them

Chip: okay anyways

Chip: when the baby's approximate due date approaches, there are two false alarms

Chip: Dick and Artemis are such new parents that they mistakenly go to the hospital twice thinking it might be "time for the baby" until the actual point when Artemis breaks her water and starts having contractions and there is no doubt that "FUCK IT'S TIME"

Chip: the first time they have a false alarm, Artemis is like "I think I'm having some of those symptoms that baby book we mentioned said I should have when…"

Chip: and before she can finish her sentence, Dick runs them to the hospital even though it's 2am

Chip: the second time Artemis is in the car with her brother-in-law Roy (because it's not as easy for her to drive when she's heavily pregnant) and she freaks out and makes him go to the hospital with her because she's 70% sure it's time

Chip: "ROY DRIVE FASTER GDI"

Chip: "SHUT UP CROCK I JUST RAN A RED LIGHT"

Chip: and when it's a false alarm he's especially cranky with her

Chip: not like Roy isn't cranky ALL of the time but still

Rosie: what good siblings i'm going to hug them aaawww

Chip: the actual time it happens, Artemis is at home with her mom

Chip: Artemis complains about cramps or something and thinks it's nothing because hell, she's had 2 false alarms already, let's not have a 3rd, but Paula sees the signs and is like ARTEMIS GET TO THE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW YOU MUST IT IS IMPORTANT in her strongest Vietnamese accent, accompanied by a lot of cursing in Vietnamese, because Paula can't drive (she's wheel-chair bound) and Artemis can't drive when she's in labor, and Roy and Jade aren't in town

Chip: Dick is currently on patrol

Chip: he gets the call from Artemis

Chip: he drops everything

Chip: he doesn't even leave time to get clothes other than his uniform, he just strips down when he arrives at their apartment parking garage, jumps in his car, and tells Artemis to bring the bags they've prepared for the hospital stay and a set of clothes for him to the front of their apartment

Chip: Artemis would have gotten a lot of amusement from the fact that Dick picks her up IN HIS UNDERWEAR

Chip: but she's too busy on the verge of having a child, and yelling at Dick to hurry up and get her mom in the car gdi

Rosie: I love how we've been doing this for almost an hour and she still hasn't had the child pffft
better than waiting 9 months though

Chip: Paula insists that Dick "put some pants on immediately" so he shrugs on the sweat pants Artemis brought and then floors the gas pedal

Chip: (sorry I'm taking a long time to tell this aren't I! D: I'm making this up as I go, and I'm a details orientated person as you can probably tell, so it's a lot of info to type up)

Rosie: (naaw it's cool! I like that you put so much detail into it there's more to love)

Chip: they get there in time, Dick is impressively composed for a first-time father, but he's secretly freaking out on the inside

Chip: also the nurses/patients/doctors/rando people at the hospital are like _

Chip: and D8

Chip: and 8D

Chip: because before he can get to the bathroom and change, he's running through the hospital shirtless

Chip: mm mm mm

Rosie: that's a wonderful image

Chip: the female (and homosexual) nurses and doctors (and some patients) are all like "okay hospitals suck but at least we get a free show"

Rosie: shirtless dick grayson brings joy and light wherever he goes
and also many uncomfortable boners

Chip: yes indeed he does

Chip: oh yeah and he doesn't have shoes because shoes are built into the suit

Chip: and to me Dick comes across as a guy that wouldn't think too much about being barefoot in public when the occasion calls for it

Chip: Artemis makes sure to make really painfully ugly noises at people who stare too long

Chip: because nothing is scarier than an angry woman in labor

Chip: and "yes, I'm perfectly secure that my husband loves me and his ass is mine, but SERIOUSLY, HE'S A FATHER WITH A PREGNANT WIFE HAVE SOME DIGNITY"

Chip: but anyways

Chip: she gets to the delivery room

Chip: Dick is allowed to come in and be a part of things without doing anything really except hold Artemis' hand and help her bear the pain and be there for her

Chip: she cusses like no tomorrow

Chip: and after some pain meds and some excruciating labor, the baby comes

Chip: it's a gorgeous baby boy (:

Rosie: YAYA CHILDREN BABIES as much as i love details about preganancies (and i really do) the baby is always the best part :'D what name have they picked out?

Chip: Benjamin

Rosie: can his middle name be vietnamese

Chip: his middle name is Peter after his uncle Jason's middle name

Chip: or yes his middle name could possibly be Vietnamese

Chip: although I don't think Lian is Vietnamese technically… so Artemis doesn't have a Vietnamese middle name

Chip: he'll probably have an alternative name in Vietnamese and an English name

Chip: like a lot of Chinese kids that I know do

Rosie: in my country, everyone gets an english name and a name in our traditional language. it's a great way to honor your culture

Chip: mm hm

Rosie: but benjamin is an adorable name i love it

Chip: I think that's the best way to go

Chip: and Benjamin Grayson has such a nice ring to it

Chip: Ben Grayson

Rosie: Benjamin Grayson has a nice ring to it

Chip: yes

Chip: hahaha jinx

Rosie: darn do i have to buy you a soda?

Chip: naw just keep listening to my story

Chip: he doesn't have a lot of hair when he's born

Chip: but Ben grows up to be a handsome boy with Vietnamese features/his mama's general features and face shape and black hair

Chip: and stunning blue eyes

Chip: coming from his daddy's side of the family

Chip: and also his mom's dad

Rosie: literally everyone in the wayne family has blue eyes even the people who shouldn't *cough DAMIAN cough* (i know dick isn't biologically a wayne but still)

Chip: Ben has a naturally mischievous look to him

Chip: oops should I change his eye color then?

Rosie: nooooo i like blue eyes! i just find comic book genetics to be really funny
Irey Westhas red hair even though there is literally no way that is possible since Linda's hair is fully dominant over Wally's

Chip: (they have two other kids besides Ben who I haven't thought up names for, a middle child who is a girl with black? hair and blue? eyes, gorgeous creature, and their youngest who is a boy with blonde hair and brown/dark gray eyes)

Chip: yeah haha

Chip: DC writers/artists: What are dominant genes?

Chip: What are genetics?

Rosie: They keep their geneticists in the same place as they keep their female writers

Chip: and Stephanie Brown and all those other characters who have passed from existence

Chip: in a wormhole somewhere outside of their view of reality

Rosie: Steph lives on in my ehart (and my aus)

Chip: yes she does in mine as well

Chip: oh and random tid-bit

Chip: after Artemis recovers from her pregnancy

Chip: Dick and Artemis make like mama and papa penguins

Chip: as in Papa Dick stays home to take care of the baby, and Artemis gets to do vigilante work solo for a bit

Chip: to get all the pent-up adrenaline out of her system

Chip: after he grows up a little, Ben is an adorable charmer and a natural-born trouble maker

Chip: smart in an Artemis way of smart (not purely intellectual or "let me show you how it's done" or "I'm in charge/the boss and I'm going to lead all of you okay" kind of way)

Chip: but the "I'm going to find the one escape route you didn't think of/see on your high tech maps" way

Chip: all of their children are gorgeous

Chip: but anyways

Chip: I need to go to bed now

Chip: sleeeepy

Chip: anything else you'd like to know about Traught family?

Rosie: uuuhhhhh

Rosie: pets

Rosie: what animals do they have running around their house

Chip: omg haven't thought about that one yet!

Chip: but they probably should have a dog

Chip: a black lab

Chip: would be appropriate

Chip: for their kind of family

Chip: Ben has a thing for reptiles for a while, but his younger sister hates them

Rosie: i feel like dick would want a really exotic pet like a chinchilla and artemis wouldn't really understand why but would be okay with it
and the kids adore it

Chip: haha YES

Chip: BRILLIANT

Chip: it's like every time they go on a trip with Daddy, they come home with some new random pet

Chip: and sometimes Artemis has to exercise her veto-pet power because NO WE CANNOT HAVE ANOTHER SNAKE IT WILL EAT BEN'S RAT SNAKE

Chip: NO THAT DOG IS OBVIOUSLY DISEASED WE NEED TO TAKE IT TO THE SPCA AND MAKE SURE IT GETS A HOME

Chip: NO DICK

Chip: NO THAT IS NOT LEGAL TO SELL IN THE U.S. HOW DID YOU FIND THAT DICK

Rosie: "BUT LOOK AT HER EYES SHE LOVES ME"

Chip: maybe not in all caps

Chip: but she would lay down the law

Chip: "EVERYTHING LOVES YOU RICHARD JOHN GRAYSON"

Chip: "WE CANNOT ADOPT THE WORLD"

Rosie: all the kids know artemis gets final say on everything
dad is pretty scary when he means business but 95% of the time he's a pushover

Chip: and so much fun

Chip: because circus kid hello

Chip: if elephants qualify as pets

Chip: everything qualifies as a pet

Rosie: the universe loves dick grayson
and dick grayson loves it back

Chip: true that

Chip: he's like the definition of loveable

Rosie: also the kids will pull the whole "moooooooooom can we rent a limo and go to disneyworld? " "of course not" "but dad already said yes!" because they know mom is less likely to say no if dick's said yes and he will say yes to the first pair of puppy eyes he sees and they're very sneaky children

Chip: or if he knows it's not a good idea, he changes their minds and thinks of something else for them to do

Chip: but makes them think that it's THEIR idea in the process

Chip: parenting = a healthy dose of well-intentioned manipulation haha

Chip: Artemis isn't that tactful, so mostly she'll just say "no" or "yes" or "if you do this first, I'll think about it"

Chip: they'd balance each other well with parenting styles I think

Chip: Dick would learn how to be less of a pushover (not in a bad way, he's still the fun dad)

Chip: and Artemis would learn to relax more and to be more flexible

Chip: because her parents were both very authoritative in their parenting styles and she hasn't known any differently

Rosie: would any of the kids be interested in the superhero life? woudl dick and arty want them to get involved?

Chip: They wouldn't push them to do anything, but I imagine they would be open about "Mom and Daddy have these things called 'secret identities' and we kind of save the world every once in a while" when the kids are at an appropriate age to know about superheroes and such

Chip: they're also very protective of their kids

Chip: because they don't want people targeting Nightwing/Artemis through their children

Chip: so no, I don't think the kids initially get into superheroing

Chip: and one or maybe even two of them will probably find ways to serve the world as something other than a vigilante

Chip: but that adrenalin and fire they get from their parents runs in their blood, so they grow to be charismatic, strong people who make changes and make an impact in whatever they do

Chip: Dick and Arty just want their kids to do whatever makes them happy

Rosie: (omg chip you needed to go to bed and i distracted you. go to sleep, fool)

Chip: there is some unspoken/spoken pressure coming from the vigilante members of the family to be a superhero (because superheroing is kind of the "family business…" well, besides Lawrence), but the Grayson kids figure things out for themselves and all is well

Chip: anyway yeah

Chip: bed

Chip: I hope you enjoyed my story time

Rosie: I did!

Chip: I had fun telling it (:

A.N. Sorry all of y'all! I know I haven't updated in an eon, and this is a bit of an unconventional way to tell a story. However, I hope you enjoy it anyways, and hopefully y'all's encouraging reviews will provide the right incentive for me to get back to work updating more regularly and continuing some of the stories I haven't yet finished.