Harleen had been released from duty an hour ago, but she still hadn't left the batcave. She sat, cross-legged, wearing her Batwoman suit, starring in wonderment at the incubation tank that was maturing the four fetuses. Pamela had explained there was a high chance failure despite her tireless efforts, so in the interest of success, Pam had fertilized four of the viable eggs she'd extracted from Harley. At this stage, Pamela could tell that if they were to survive, three would be female and one male. The Y chromosome was evidently housed within Pamela's plant DNA, so Harleen guessed that the boy would look more like Pam than her. She was sort of worried it would come out with green skin. Actually, she was really worried about that. Pam had even told her it was "more than likely." Harleen didn't really care personally, she liked Pam's skin, but she knew that it had taken her a while to master the art of changing her complexion after she woke up from the coma. Harleen was sure they'd be able to give their son a decent education and everything before he figured it out, Pam was super smart and so was Bruce, for that matter. Actually, so was she! Harley had to remind herself for about the billionth time that she was a doctor. But still, kids need friends, and the green skin would be a dead giveaway that maybe one of these things is not like the others.
"Are you familiar with the saying, 'a watched pot never boils'?" Alfred asked, causing the blonde to jump to her feet in surprise.
"Alfred! I didn't—you're sneaky—I didn't hear you." Harleen stammered. "I'm sorry, I was just heading home."
"No need to apologize, Dr. Quinzel. It wasn't my intention to startle you." He came to stand beside her, looking at the incubation tank. "How are the little ones coming along?"
Harleen blushed. "Pam says I can't call them babies yet. They basically look like aliens at this point anyway. But not the hot Kryptonian kind."
Alfred squinted to try to get a better look at them in the orange fluid. "Have you named them?"
"Oh, sure." Harley nodded, smiling. "Pam did. One, Two, Three and Four."
Alfred smirked. "And who said former super villains shouldn't be parents."
Harleen sighed. "She's just looking out for me. Doesn't want me to get too attached."
But she did get too attached. When Two "expired" (as Pam put it) it felt as if a piano had been dropped on Harleen's chest. When they lost Three, she tried her best to keep tears out of her eyes, to swallow it all back, or at least in Pam's presence. She was so tired of feeling weak in front of her. First the mental Harley intrusion, then the chair…it was embarrassing. Pam had warned her this would hurt if she got too close, but she didn't listen, or didn't care, maybe. Either way, she didn't let her wife know how much this process was breaking her heart until One died.
Pamela was up in the Watchtower when the alert came in. She had been monitoring their vitals remotely. Harleen could just imagine her sighing with indifference before picking up the phone.
Dr. Quinzel was in a session when she called, so she was greeted with what was probably the most depressing voicemail she'd ever received after she was through. Pam hadn't seemed all that broken up in the message, more just exhausted. So that night, even though she was supposed to only be on call with the Bat-family, she put her Batwoman suit on anyway and patrolled the city. She knew Pam was probably wondering where she was. Knew that Fridays were supposed to be their date nights…but she couldn't stomach it at the moment.
Once again, though, Harleen was reminded that she could run, but she couldn't hide when a rooftop garden suddenly came alive and thick vines wrapped around her legs, stopping her momentum. Harleen sighed and turned around to watch Poison Ivy pull herself up onto the roof.
"Are we getting kinky?" Batwoman asked, putting her hands on her hips.
Ivy allowed the plants to drop their grip on the blonde's ankles as she approached her. "What are you doing?"
"Umm…patrolling. What does it look like I'm doing?"
The redhead crossed her arms. "It looks like you're ignoring my calls."
"I'm busy." Harley tried not to sound too defensive.
Ivy narrowed her eyes at the other woman. "Busy patrolling. On your night off."
"Yeah." Harleen confirmed, haughtily.
Ivy was silent for a moment. One of those focused silences that Harleen hated because it meant she was thinking. When they first met, back when Ivy was a patient at Arkham and Harleen was her doctor, those silences had meant Ivy was scheming. Now they usually meant she was synthesizing information. Seeking to understand a behavior or an interaction.
"Four is still viable, Harleen." Ivy said, finally breaking the silence. "His immunities appear effective, his vitals are healthy…if he survives another two weeks, he'll have made it through the incubation process and be ready to function as a human infant would."
Harleen could feel the pressure of tears gathering behind her eyes. His…he…him…they would have a baby boy. "But I'm not supposed to get my hopes up, right? Can't think of him as a baby…can't expect he'll survive…"
Ivy came closer, holding out her hands to the vigilante. Batwoman took them with some reluctance. "I think he'll make it." Ivy told her, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "I think he's going to be OK."
Harleen's bottom lip quivered. "That's what I thought about the other ones."
The redhead nodded. "I know. But this one is a fighter. He's like a weed growing through the pavement. He can't be stopped. He wants to be here, Harleen."
Batwoman hadn't noticed she'd let down her defenses and begun to cry until a tear became trapped in her cowl and Ivy did the honors of wiping it away. "I want to be his mom."
Ivy smiled kindly back at her. "I want that for you too."
"But they all died, Pam." The blonde sniffed. "They all seemed alright, and then they died. What if he doesn't make it?"
Poison Ivy ran her hands up Harley's arms and back down again, maintaining her sincere smile as she did so. "Then we'll try again. It's as simple as that."
Maybe it was just their history of manipulating each other, but Harleen had this nagging feeling that maybe they'd never have a baby. Maybe Pam wasn't even actually trying. Maybe her creations were never meant to live. But Pamela was extremely goal oriented. She'd made a promise, and once she set her mind to something, it was difficult to pull her off the scent. So Harley had to trust. This is the woman she'd married, the one who slept beside her every night, the one she'd chosen to spend the rest of her life with. If she couldn't trust her, then who could she trust?
Harleen leaned forward and kissed her. Pam was obviously surprised, they usually followed a strict 'no public displays of affection in costume' rule, but Batwoman figured it was OK to break it just this once. They were—maybe—going to be parents. If that's not a reason to kiss your wife, Harley didn't know what was.
/
"Earmuffs." Selina explained as Harleen stared questioningly at the contents of the gift. "Nobody wants to hear their parents…you two are gross."
"We're not animals, Selina. We do have the ability to—" Pam was cut off when Harleen began to laugh.
"I can't even believe they make them this small." The blonde said, pulling them out of the package to examine them.
Pam sat back cautiously, watching the situation play out. Selina had been back for three days, and so far it had been smooth sailing between she and Harleen. Pam didn't want to jinx it.
"Thanks, Selina." Harleen set it aside and picked up the next present. "This from you, Babs?"
"No." Selina answered. "That's from me too, actually."
"You didn't have to…" Harleen began before the brunette stepped in.
"Part of this…process is saying I'm sorry, and I have a lot to apologize to you about, Harleen. So…two presents is the least I could do. Seriously." From Selina's tone, Pam knew that she meant it. Harley did too- evidently- because she just nodded and began unwrapping the green paper.
Pam peered over her shoulder and watched as Harleen revealed what appeared to be photo album with a personalized cover that included a powder blue bat symbol covered with ivy vines and the title: "Isley-Quinzel".
Harleen looked over at Selina, a wide smile on her face.
"I know you like to take pictures…the albums you had were getting pretty full. I thought this could represent a new chapter. Leave some of that other bullshit behind." Selina explained.
"That was thoughtful…" Pam mumbled as she plucked the gift from Harley's hands to examine it.
Barbara pushed a package towards them. "This is from me and Dick."
Harleen grinned and tore away the wrapping. "Aww…" She said as she lifted the copy of Goodnight Moon off of the stack of children's books. "And look, Pam!" She held up The Giving Tree. "Isn't that cute?"
"Oh, sure." The redhead crossed her arms. "By all means, let's teach our son- who will be part plant- that he must sacrifice for the human race until he has given all of himself."
Harleen rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Barbara. "These are really sweet. Thanks."
"No, but Ivy, that's why we brought you the tree." Dick indicated the seedling they'd brought in when they came. "Like dogs are supposed to be man's best friend, but since the little guy's gonna have some plant in him, we thought he might prefer a tree. In the book, the kid and the tree are friends."
Pamela narrowed her eyes, quickly glancing from Dick, to the seedling and back again. "I…I understand the sentiment." She admitted. "That's…kind of you."
Dick smirked, seemingly pleased with himself as he received a thumbs-up from Barbara.
"Everything else you'll need I'm having shipped here." Bruce informed them. "A crib, a stroller…all top of the line."
Harleen picked up the last gift. "So then what's this?"
"Just putting him on the right track." Bruce smiled as Harley took the gift out of its bag.
Selina laughed immediately while Dick and Barbara looked at Pam, obviously wanting to gauge their reactions off of hers.
"You have got to be kidding me." Pam groaned in response to the onesie styled to look like the Robin suit. It didn't matter how long she'd been working with Batman; she would never get used to being known as a part of his team. Yes, carbon emissions were down by 22% worldwide since the Justice League began helping to push the environmentalist agenda, but she was still sure it would never feel quite right. And now her son was to be part of the Bat-Family as well? Was nothing sacred? But Harleen had risen from her seat and was pulling Bruce into an unrelenting hug. And Pam sighed, remembering that Bruce's true gift was the finances he'd donated to creating their baby in the first place. He felt invested in the boy's well-being.
