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Merry Christmas…

Present Day...

Dick smiled looking at his family on Christmas morning. Raven was sitting with Jason, Selina was lounging in Bruce's lap with Helena in her arms, Terry at Bruce's feet, Damian and Tim were squabbling, Stephanie had Lian with Cass looking curiously over her shoulder at the baby, Donna, Diana and Cassie were passing out presents, Kori was stretched out beside him, and he savored having her under his arm, curled up in his side. Alfred was sitting at the head of the family sipping tea he and Raven had made this morning.

"What The Hell Am I Supposed To Do With A Puppy!?" Jason shouted after Damian had unceremoniously given Jason his gift. Dick snickered at the gift for it beat Damian's original intentions, and the German Shepard puppy was already trying to gnaw on Jason's hand.

"I am told I cannot give you a person so Kyle said to give you the pup," Damian said.

"It's a sweet gift," Kori giggled.

"Ow! Teeth!" Jason hissed. "And what person, what!?" Jason blinked at this news and Dick looked to where Raven was as Raven scratched the puppy's ears.

Kori tilted her head back and smiled at him, he grinned as his hand slid down her body and rest where their child was. It was when they got through the presents and the Amazons had gone to go get breakfast together that Dick looked over at Bruce.

"Now?" he whispered in her ear.

"Now is fine," she agreed.

"Now is fine for what?" Bruce roused then, Selina looked up from where she was sitting with the girls and babies. Jason didn't look up as he tried to get the puppy off him as the pup had decided to play tug of war with Jason's pants. Raven rouse a bit only to shut her eyes again. Alfred lifted a brow and Tim looked up from the new computer he had received. Damian frowned as he continued sketching with Titus.

"Kori is pregnant," Dick grinned.

"Really!? That's great squirt!" Selina was up first and smiling. Dick smiled as the family reacted with joy to his news as Kori grinned and talked about her pregnancy gleefully.

"What?" a soft whisper had him turning around as he looked into the wide blue-green eyes of Barbara as she sat in her chair.

"Babs!" he chased after her, a glance to Kori and he saw her sadness as she nodded, but Dick didn't dwell on it as he rounded the corner.

"Barbara Wait!" he called after her, and she rolled to a stop.

"I…" she twisted around to look at him.

"I was going to tell you," he said awkwardly. "But with everything that happened, with Shelia, and everything else with Jason, I just…"

"No, you don't owe me an explanation," she started, he caught her chair as he leapt around to kneel before her.

"Babs…"

"I'm happy for you," she cut him off with a weak smile. "I don't know, I just, I always thought, never mind," she shook her head.

"We were the end game," he supplied for her. Barbara's eyes flicked to her lap and he sighed.

Once upon a time he'd have thought he and Babs were the end game, that they were the long haul, that there was nothing that would get between them, that nothing would break them. But, there was the Joker, and just like the Joker had stolen his brother from him, the Joker had taken Barbara from him. True, she was still here, and he liked to consider Babs to be one of his best friends, but, they had died the moment the Joker paralyzed her.

"That we were the end game," she agreed softly.

"Babs, you," he started, and he sighed as he let his head drop. There was nothing he could say to her right now.

"Do you love her Richard?" she whispered.

"What?" he looked up at her then.

"Do you love her Richard?"

"I… yeah, Babs, I love her," he admitted. He had always thought he knew what love was, and it had broken his heart, then Kori, Kori had come crashing into his life, in all her fiery glory as she stood tall and proud, she had been everything he didn't wish for or want. But he was pretty sure Kori was everything he had ever needed.

"I never wanted to," he said softer when Barbara looked away from him. "I was in San Francisco, and Jason was dead, you had just shouted that you never wanted to see me again, and I thought I'd never love again. I thought you were the love of my life Barbara."

"I," she started.

"I thought what we were was indestructible, you were my best friend, you were the first girl I ever kissed, the first girl I pictured a future with, the first friend, real friend, I had after my parents died. But, I guess I wasn't everything to you," he gently said as he stared at nothing in particular. He couldn't describe what Barbara had been to him, because honestly, he had thought what they had was real love. He knew better now. "You're still my friend Babs, and I'll always be here for you, but, Kori… that's it, she's a done deal. I've never felt what I feel for her for another, and I love her. Barbara, I love her."

"Richard," Barbara touched his cheek which had his eyes snapping back onto hers. "I'm happy for you. I'm… I'm happy you found love, I'm happy you moved on, and I'm happy you're starting a family. I just, I need some time.

"You're still my best friend, but, I'm going to need some time," she whispered and leaned down.

Dick stiffened when her lips brushed his.

"Goodbye Richard, when I see you again I'll really be happy for you," she said as she shoved him aside and rolled out the door and towards her car. Dick just stood in the open door watching her go.

He shut the door when she was no longer visible, and he sighed as his head fell against the door. his ear twitched when he heard a floorboard shift and he turned to blink at the sight of who had come to him now.

"You know, you and Barbie weren't ever going to last," a deep tenor informed him.

"I would think that would be between Babs and I," Dick said stuffing his hands in his sleep pants pockets as he stared at Jason.

His younger brother snorted. "Please, with how you all butt in my life I think it's fair I state a few facts about this mess you made of your love life."

"And what about you and Rose?"

"That's not love, that's fucking, and I suspect she's going to try to kill me next time I see her," Jason shrugged. Dick's eyes landed on the stiches Jason had still from his last run in with Rose.

"And why do you think you have a right to comment on my love life?" Dick asked.

"Because you fucking suck at noticing the obvious."

"This from you," Dick snickered. Oh, he'd love to rub Jason's face in that later but the bland look his brother gave him had him quirking his brows.

"You all really think I don't know about Raven?" he asked blandly.

Dick opened his mouth and shut it. Jason just gave a huff as he dragged his hand through his hair.

"Look dickhead, I'm smart enough to know it's there, I'm also smart enough to know that it's a stupid thought to act on it, right now. I'm not as stupid as you think I am," Jason shrugged.

"Well it's easy to believe you're dense," Dick pointed out.

"Whatever, my love life isn't the mess right now, yours is, and if you're smart you'll prevent it from ending up like B's," Jason said as he came to lean on the wall.

"It's complicated Jaybird," Dick said evenly.

"It's really not as complicated as you and B make it out to be," Jason countered.

"And why do you say that?" Dick demanded sharply. His entire love life was a fucking mess! True he was getting things detangled between him and Kori, but this latest Barbara nonsense had likely bungled them back up; again. Kori was his everything, and Barbara was his past, and everything was complicated and difficult to navigate.

"Because I saw the way you looked at her six years ago, and you never looked at Barbara like that," Jason said which had Dick stiffening. "I didn't flirt with Kori because she's my type, or because you made it a part of the Red X persona, I did it because it pissed you off in a way me flirting with Babs never did."

"Jason," he started.

"You don't get it, so shut up and listen. I've seen a lot of worlds, seen a lot of lives, visited a lot of dimensions, Dick," Jason said. Dick frowned, because Jason had shared as much in his fury. "And there's few things that you always had. One, that pompous ass attitude of being superior and golden boy. Two was this fierce love for family…" Jason trailed off and didn't add what Dick knew Jason had every right to add.

'Yeah Dickhead, I know you, I know every fucking version of you, and you always have this fierce love for family, everyone in the family, everyone but me!' he had shouted when Dick had blundered into Jason's complicated emotions for family, demanding answers.

"And Three, every life you would build, it was with Kori, never Barbara. So yeah Dick, it's simple. And you're complicating it because you think what you felt was as real as what you feel for Kori," Jason said. "Like Rae said, 'let it go, it's not real anymore, accept it happened but you can't change it'."

"You know, if I knew the other me's, Jay, I'd punch them," Dick said as he looked at his little brother.

"No, you wouldn't," Jason said. "Besides, I'm pretty sure I broke two of yours' noses, and a jaw."

"Ow," Dick winced and Jason sighed.

"Stop complicating it, Dickhead," Jason said levelly.

"Then you stop complicating it for you too," Dick offered as he looked at his little brother.

"It's not complicated for me," Jason stated coldly.

Dick snorted at that. Jason was the definition of 'complicated'. Raven was too, but it appeared Jason and Raven were sorting their own thing out at their own pace.

"So what would you do in my spot right now?"

"Talk to Kori before she blasted me?" Jason offered. There was a yip and Jason groaned. "Fucking tooth menace!"

"Jay!" Terry appeared with the puppy waddling to them.

"Yeah, yeah, come on Duck," Jason snatched the kid up as he walked back to the family and Dick saw Kori's flaming hair round a corner which had him jogging after her. He made it up to their shared room, his room, and he opened the door to find her grabbing a bag.

"Richard!" she gasped.

"Kori, where do you think you're going?" he asked levelly as he shut the door behind him.

"Home, I…" she started and a sniffle escaped her. "I understand if you wish to be with Barbara, I will be happy for you, but I will have our child," she started. He caught her and pulled her down for a hard kiss, which had her gasping.

"Babs and I were saying goodbye, Kori," he said softly. "You're it for me."

"Really?" she whispered, those burning green eyes wide with uncertainty and Dick remembered the first time she came crashing into his life, how outlandish he had thought her to be, especially with that kiss.

However, nearly seven years of her being in his life, and he couldn't think of a moment she was there for him. A moment with her that didn't have him on his toes or enthralled with living again.

"Kori, you're my girl," he smiled. She made him believe in soulmates.

That's all for now folks.

Enjoy Make a Wish on a Shooting Star =)