Family Ties Chapter 9 I Thought You Loved Her

Damian wasn't talking. He carefully maintained an air of offended disgruntlement that only moronic plebs would call sulking. Moronic plebs like his…brothers. He had good reason to be offended. His father, his own father, was spending the evening with that slut, insulting his mother and half his heritage inexcusably.

Yes, he'd left his mother, chosen his father's family over her League and been declared an enemy of House al Ghul. Yes, he feared that that half his heritage would hurt his new life. But that didn't mean his father should play around with that sneak-thief!

And now she was staying the night. Couldn't she tell when she was not wanted?


Dick knew Damian was sulking. It radiated off him in waves. He'd deny it, of course. Accusing the scion of the House al Ghul and the Wayne line of sulking was not a mistake you made more than once. Well, twice. Okay, three times.

It was really obvious from the way he stomped around, wordlessly helping restock the vehicles with smoke bombs and medical supplies and shooting glares at all the cave's other occupants, Bruce and Tim at the computer, Jason and Alfred starting a blood transfusion from pre-stocked banks, and Babs and Selina settling Stephanie in the infirmary. The girls would probably stay the night; Babs' dad and Stephanie's mom were used to dinner at the manor turning into a sleepover.

But Dami seemed to have a problem. Not good. And Dami was probably too proud to ask for help, even after the late-night discussion the previous day. He'd have to do something about it himself.

He skipped over and wrapped his arms around his youngest brother. "What's the matter, Little D? I hear you and Bruce did quite a number on Bane. Aren't you proud?"

"Get off, Grayson," Damian snarled. "I hardly think you would be bothered by such matters as gross paternal infidelity." His jaw clamped shut as if he'd said too much.

Dick released him, momentarily unable to formulate a response. Bruce was unfaithful? Sure, he'd been flirting with Lois at the Labor Day Charity Gala, but both Selina and Clark knew he never meant anything by it. Before he could work it out, Bruce had stood and beckoned Damian. "We need to talk."

"What?" Damian said.

"Upstairs. Now," Bruce growled, stalking up and out of the cave. Damian trailed after him.

Dick gazed after his surrogate father, then looked over at the rest of the family. Jason was sitting back on the bed, fiddling with the tube linking his arm to the transfusion bag. He was not-watching in the way that meant he was keeping a close eye in the reflection in the Batcomputer's screen. Alfred had left to move Steph into the more comfortable bay deeper within the cave. Tim had stopped fiddling with his new toy, one screen showing a universal syncing logo and another saving and closing the Huntress research (it would wait until after they'd rounded up at least some of the escapees), and gazed longingly after Bruce and Damian. Then, after a moment, he shook his head dismissively and turned back to the computer.

Even though the gesture hadn't been directed towards anyone, Tim's thoughts were easy to read. Sure, it would be nice to know what they were saying, but it's too much hassle, and let's not pressure the little demon-bird. Dami might not be a demon (except to Tim) but Dick couldn't fault his reasoning. Babs slipped over, sliding an arm round his waist and pulling him towards the showers, and, well, Bruce seemed to have it sorted. He wasn't really needed up there tonight.

As he left the main chamber, he just glimpsed Selina, face thunderstruck, sneaking up the passageway.


Bruce was slightly worn out. The break-out had taken hours to sort out, and if it hadn't been so close to dawn, they'd have started on the round up by now. As it was, he was just glad Alfred had thought to clear his morning so he didn't have any meetings to wake up to. He still wanted to call Cassandra, and tell his daughter to be careful. But first, it seemed his youngest was…jealous.

"Damian," he said, cutting across the boy's semi-coherent tirade. "Simplify, please."

Damian dropped into the study chair in front of the desk. "It's just, I…I thought you loved her."

Bruce dragged another chair round and sat across from him. "Your mother? Yes, I love her."

His eyes were sceptical. "Then how can you mess around with that Kyle woman?"

Bruce shrugged. "I love Selina too." Damian looked confused. A sigh. "Look, let's go back a few years. I had left Gotham and was travelling the world, looking for someone who could teach me all I needed to know for the mission. As you know, I found the League of Shadows. So I met your mother.

"There were other girls, sort of. There was Julie Madison, a family friend. We had some great times, but there wasn't really a spark. She's in Africa with the Peace Corps, left Gotham shortly after I did. A second cousin I was set up with once. Didn't work out…"

Damian smirked. "Kate Kane?" They'd all heard of how she'd been discharged from West Point military academy for breaching 'don't ask, don't tell', and Damian clearly liked the thought of him being rejected for once. Maybe he thought it was just desserts that he'd be jilted at least once, especially with his misguided ideas about true fidelity, and whom one should be faithful to. Bruce mildly wondered if Dick had told his brother their suspicions Kate was Batwoman, and the true nature of her relationship with GCPD cop Renee Montoya, who they were fairly sure was her night-time partner the Question…They could discuss it another time.

"Anyway," Bruce continued, feeling a decade younger just bringing up the memories, "when I first saw Talia, she blew me away. I wanted her speed, her skill, her inner and outer strength, her grace…and I wanted her to join me on the mission, come to Gotham with me and be the focus of a society wedding that would be talked about for decades."

Damian raised an eyebrow. "Tt. That's not Mother."

Bruce smiled ruefully and continued. "Well, no. But I thought she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, after a bit she noticed me too. When I realized she liked me, it was the best thing in the world. Being with her was better than being with Kate, or Julie. And so I asked her to marry me and move to Gotham. She accepted, then asked me to stay with her and help her take over the world from the shadows.

"Our entire engagement consisted of mostly arguing. Eventually I remembered something my father once said: "Love alone does not a marriage make." While I loved Talia, and still do, I couldn't live with her and build a life with her. We're just too different. We were both asking for compromises the other couldn't give. It would never have worked. So I broke it off and returned to Gotham."

"She told it differently," Damian muttered.

"I dare say she did. Neither of us came away very happy. I still love her. She was the first woman I truly loved, and nothing will change that."

"Then why Kyle?"

"Ah, Selina." Bruce felt his lips curling upwards as he thought of the beautiful woman he adored. While the memory of Talia was tinged with regret and heartache, Selina...Selina made him feel hope. "She doesn't have Talia's haughty grace, but her way of moving is uniquely elegant. She isn't as sharp-edged and sophisticated, she's soft and playful. Almost too playful, a bit unpredictable. But when I asked her to stop stealing, she compromised. That's the difference. We were able to reconcile our differences and don't ask for what the other can't give.

"I love her. Maybe more, maybe less, maybe equally to your mother. I don't love Selina less for having loved your mother; I don't love Talia less for having fallen in love with Selina. But Selina…"

"You could build a life with her." Damian looked strangely blank as he concluded.

"I think I could," Bruce agreed. "But we'll have to see." He smiled at his son. "Don't look so worried. You're non-negotiable. I'm not letting anyone get between me and my children, including you." Noting his strangely relieved half-smile, he rose and pulled the boy up. "Now bed. You've got school in the morning."

As Damian left, he picked up the phone and dialled a number in Hong Kong.


Selina just managed to hide before Damian emerged. The boy's words had worried and angered her so much; she'd been under the impression the string of women Bruce took to functions and such were completely meaningless (because he'd told her so, and Dick had told her, during Bruce's…absence, that he hardly ever looked twice at a woman in private), but the boys would know if there was a new woman in their mentor/father's life. It hadn't occurred to her that Damian would see her as the new woman. It was almost a comfort that the kid would blow up over her and not one of the omnipresent bimbos. For her, Talia wasn't an issue. Bruce had told her about his past love-life when they first started seeing each other off the rooftops. She'd replied with a list of all the foolish but harmless high society chumps she'd stolen from.

She listened as Bruce called Cassandra, and tried to imagine building a life with him. A life with half a dozen children already in the house (she'd never even thought of trying to negotiate that point). A life shared with not just the gruff, rugged hero of the streets she first saw all those years ago, and not just the mercurial and occasionally brilliant playboy billionaire CEO the public saw, but also with the strangely tender father. If they decided to risk it, they might be able to build a wonderful life together. Maybe even 'til death did they part.

AN: It feels like ages since I updated. As you may have noticed, a couple of other things happened instead. (Thanks, by the way, if you read/ reviewed/ favorited/ followed one of the others.) A lot of you have said how much you enjoy watching the familial interactions play out, and the good news is, next chapter has even more! Watch this space: more to follow.

As always, please leave feedback, and feel free to ask any questions that may arise either via review or PM. I aim to make reading my stories the best I can.

Katara Harkness