When she was a few months old (and Star was a little less paranoid) Dick and Star brought Mar'i to Wayne Manor for a visit. They had called ahead and of course Alfred had set himself to prepare the nicest guest room, purchase a myriad of gifts, and baby-proof the entire mansion. They were hardly through the door before he insisted on taking Mar'i from Dick's arms so the parents could rest. Nevermind that they were not the least jet-lagged or out of sorts, but they let him have his excuses and left him to coo over her while they went to greet Bruce.
Despite the whirlwind of Alfred's preparations, Bruce had stayed content to keep to his work in the cave. He had been aware enough to come upstairs when he heard the bell though. He wasn't quick enough to meet them at the door, but they ran into each other on the stairs.
"Bruce." That was enough of a greeting for Dick. His voice was warm, as was his smile. It had been a while since the cave had seen that type of warmth. Despite his "grumpiness" he had missed it.
"Dick. Koria'nder." It was good to see them. Then he was surrounded by a mass of red hair as he was crushed by golden arms.
"Bruce, it is lovely to see you! I hope you have been well. Dick was telling me about-" She might have gone on like that if her husband hadn't stepped in and laughingly pulled her back.
"Star, Honey, Bruce isn't really a hugger." She smiled and apologized and they made their way upstairs to the foyer. Right. He sometimes forgot how touchy she could be, her social norms always a bit out of sync. His protégé had married an alien. Bruce had no problems with this. She was a lovely person from what he could tell, and complimented Dick nicely. It was still strange though. And now to have a half alien child. But he was happy for Dick. He had made a life for himself. And apparently a strange little family.
They chatted amicably for a while before Alfred returned with the sleeping child. She certainly looked human. But then, so did Clark and look at what he could do. Who knew if this infant would inherit her mother's powers. How would Dick go about raising a child like that? He would have his hands full.
"Do you want to hold her, Sir?" Alfred came over to hand him the bundle. He gently shook his hands in the negative, though.
"That's alright. She's comfortable where she is." The conversation went on.
Later that night, as he was on his way to the gym at the back of the house, Bruce saw Koria'nder walking the floor as she breastfed. He quickly diverted his glance away from her open shirt, but before he did, he caught a glimpse of the child's bright alien green eyes watching him. So she didn't look quite as human as he had thought.
Several times over the next few days, he was offered the baby to hold, but declined. While the rest ooh'ed and ahh'ed over her (Alfred was delighted by her every move), Bruce continued to work. Crime wouldn't stop just because there was a baby in the house. He did make time for a meal with everyone at least once a day. It was nice. It was almost like old times, with Dick's constant banter and Alfred keeping everyone fed and on task. At moments, if he was caught up in nostalgia, the sight of red hair in his periphery almost made him think it was Barbara at the other end of the table. Then he'd notice it wasn't. And the whole thing would feel a bit strange again.
On the fourth night of their stay, Bruce was toiling away at the computer trying to find a connection between an underground crime ring and a local business when he heard the baby crying. He let it be for a moment before remembering that her parents were out. Dick had finally convinced Koria'nder that Mar'i would be fine for one night and that a romantic evening would be good for them. He thought Alfred would take care of it, but the wailing grew louder by the moment and for a split second he thought she might set off the cave's security system. So he went to investigate. It seemed she'd been left in her downstairs crib (there was the stationary one in the guest room upstairs and a portable one that had been moved around the first floor) in the room right outside the cave entryway. There was no sign of Alfred. That was a bit worrying.
As he approached, he peered in and found her squirming and waving her arms about frantically. Her mother insisted that there were different types of crying that meant different things. She always seemed to know exactly what each sound meant. To Bruce, it all just seemed like noise. It didn't smell like she needed to be changed. She might have been hungry, but Alfred had been sticking to Koria'nder's timely schedule and routine. He didn't think she had missed a feeding, and he really hoped it wouldn't be on him. He hadn't been there when Dick had explained how to prepare the formula. The crying was growing louder, so he instinctively went to pick her up.
She was so tiny. That shouldn't have been surprising. She was a baby. He had held babies before. She was also very warm. That was new. Her eyes opened to watch him as he rocked her gently in his arms and he hesitated with his hand hovering over her, about to check her for a fever. Those eyes were so bright. Unnaturally bright. But she frowned up at him and started fussing again as more tears streamed down her chubby little cheeks. She suddenly seemed so fragile in his arms, this vulnerable little thing, looking to him for help. What if she really was sick? What if she was hurt? Could a human doctor even help her? He felt her forehead. She did feel much too warm to him. He brushed her silky little tufts of black hair out of her face and wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumb. Maybe he should take her downstairs and run a diagnostic on her. But what if that wasn't healthy for her? He didn't know what her alien physiology could handle, let alone that she was an infant. Her immune system wasn't fully developed. No, he would have to take her to a doctor. Someone from Watchtower. But who was best equipped to handle this particular case? J'onn?
Wrapped up in his thoughts for a few minutes, he barely noticed that she had quieted down in his arms. In fact she had stopped crying almost as soon as he started walking the floor. He had rested his free hand on her stomach as he was thinking. Now she had taken hold of it and was playing with his fingers in apparent fascination. When she brought one to her mouth, it caught his attention enough to look down again. Their eyes caught. She watched him watch her as she continued gumming at his knuckle. Then there was a voice from the other side of the room.
"You see Darling, Grandpa does like you." Dick walked into the room wearing what looked like a smug smile.
"She has a fever. We should take her to Watchtower. Or call J'onn down." The smile grew bigger.
"She just runs hot. Like her mother. It's fine." He passed them and went to sit on the couch, apparently in no rush to reclaim his daughter. So Bruce just continued to rock her. And she continued to drool all over his hand. She seemed fine. He watched her and let out a sigh of relief. "She was just lonely. That's her 'I want attention' cry. She's been doing it a lot the last couple of days. She was afraid her grandpa didn't want to spend time with her."
Grandpa. That sounded so weird. On paper Dick was his son. He had legally adopted him years ago. And this was Dick's child. He hadn't really thought of her as anything else. Dick's new wife. Dick's alien child. Dick's family. He was happy for him. It was only now as he watched those bright little green eyes watch him back that he really thought about it and it occurred to him. This is my family too. This is Mar'i Grayson. This is my granddaughter.
When the group left about a week later, Bruce demanded that they bring Mar'i to visit again soon.
