Chapter Nine:
Bruce has a dilemma. Since he decided to keep the baby, now he has to tell Damian and the rest of the Justice League. Problem is, he doesn't know how to go about telling them. Especially Damian who isn't too keen on Clark in the first place and he will frown upon the fact that Bruce got pregnant from someone he's not bonded to. With the Justice League, everyone will know that Clark cheated on Lois which will just serve to embarrass Clark in the end. He should probably talk to Clark first before mentioning anything to the League.
Bruce walks deliberately slow to his son's room and when he finally gets to the closed door, he takes a moment to compose himself. He doesn't really want to do this. He doesn't want to knock on Damian's door, go in, and tell the ten-year-old that he is going to be a big brother. He doesn't want to see the disapproval in his own son's eyes or hear him talk bad about Clark the alpha getting his father the omega pregnant. He doesn't want to hear him talk about the castes at all.
He knocks anyway, knowing he'll have to eventually. Bruce receives a small, muffled affirmation to come in and so he opens the door and sees his son sitting at his desk. He's drawing but Bruce doesn't know of what and Damian never shows him his drawings. He wonders if that is because he did something wrong by Damian or if the child just hasn't warmed up enough even though it's been almost ten months since he arrived. "Damian, there's something I need to tell you."
Damian sets the color pencil he was using down and turns in his seat to face his father. "What is it Father?"
Bruce briefly wonders what Damian will think about not being the only one with Wayne blood in his veins anymore. He goes and sits on the edge of Damian's bed. "Listen, Damian-"
"Bruce!" Bruce turns and sees Tim standing in the doorway. "There you are. Someone's here to see you."
"Who?"
Tim shuffles on his feet and looks to the floor. "Lois," he mumbles.
"What is she doing here?" Damian asks.
Bruce sighs and stands back up. It's only taken her four days since he went to get the abortion before stopping by. "Damian, stay here. I'll be back to talk to you." He then follows Tim down to the living room where there is coffee and fresh cookies already set out on a tray. That means she's been here for at least fifteen minutes already. Bruce looks to Tim for an explanation as to why they didn't get him sooner but Tim only shrugs, avoiding answering. Bruce looks to Lois again. "Mrs. Kent."
Lois, who had her back towards him and looking at a picture that was sitting on top of the fireplace — one of him and Dick when Dick first came here — turns around to face him. "Bruce." Tim excuses himself, picking up one of the two coffee mugs that were sat on the silver tray. Bruce notices there's already a mug in Lois' hands. She motions to the last mug. "That one is tea for you. Peppermint I think."
Bruce doesn't move to get it, doesn't even take another step into the room. He doesn't know what is wrong with him. Normally he wouldn't shy away from confrontation like this. Normally he'd step into the room, pick up that mug, and saunter around like nothing was amiss. But right now his heart is hammering in his chest and he can't make himself move. "To what do I owe your visit?"
"Oh, no need to be so formal Bruce." Lois picks up his mug and comes closer. Bruce has to stop himself from stepping backwards and ultimately leaving the room. She hands the mug over to him and he takes it, noticing in dismay that his hand is shaking. When had he started shaking? Of course, Lois notices as well and so she backs up slowly, making sure to look non-threatening; a beta showing she is no threat to a pregnant omega. "I'm not here to start a fight or yell at you."
Bruce tries to stop shaking for fear of spilling the steaming tea but Lois' small show of submission isn't helping. "Then what are you doing here?"
Lois watches the mug in Bruce's hand shake and her lips thin. She backs up another few paces. "I just wanted to talk. You know, like two grown adults. I just want to try and understand." She looks around the room. "May we sit?" Bruce looks to the couch and then the chair. There are things in the chair though; Dick's things like clothes and a bag along with a notepad, but Bruce doesn't want to sit on the couch with Lois. Lois sees this, probably smells the spike of panic in Bruce, and finally says gently, "Or I can sit and you stand or I stand and you sit." She shrugs. "It doesn't really matter."
Bruce is thankful that Lois doesn't point out his irrational want to stay as far away from her as possible. Bruce clears his throat and forces himself to say, "No, we both can sit."
She nods slowly and her nostrils flare, smelling the air to gauge his emotions. She goes and sits down on one end of the couch and watches closely as Bruce finally tears himself away from the doorway in order to sit at the very opposite end of the couch from her. Bruce takes a nervous sip of his tea carefully, the liquid still steaming due to it still being so hot. "So," Lois starts gently. "You're keeping the baby I hear."
Bruce clears his throat. "I am."
"Why?"
"I…" he never really thought as to why he wants to keep the baby. In fact, he's still not even 100% sure he even should. "Because…"
"Is it because Clark wants you to keep the baby? Is it because he wants to keep the baby?"
"No," Bruce says because that's the truth. He's really not keeping it because that's what Clark sprung on him at the very last minute. Clark just made him think about why he is listening to other people and not doing what he personally wants. Clark made him think about the fact that he wasn't acting like himself. He made him listen and analyze what his kids have been telling him. "It's not because of him."
"I know Clark went with you to get the abortion. I'm assuming he told you then that he wants the baby?"
"He did." Bruce looks at his tea, studying it. "But I was still going to get it."
"Why didn't you?" She sips at her coffee as well, eyeing him intently.
"I just… I couldn't Lois. When I went to do it, it just felt wrong and I couldn't. I'm sorry. I'm not trying to hurt you or tear your relationship apart. Clark is my friend, you're my friend, Lois, and I don't want to do anything to hurt the two of you but I can't. I can't get an abortion." He shifts his eyes to the floor so he doesn't have to look at her. "I'm sorry."
Lois takes a deep breath. "Bruce, I know you're not trying to hurt me or Clark or ruin our relationship, but you have to understand where I'm coming from. My mate, my husband, cheated on me with you and you got pregnant." She shrugs. "You have to know that hurts."
"I do."
"And now, because Clark got you pregnant and you're keeping the baby, that means you two are going to be sharing custody with that baby. Do you know how that makes me feel?"
Bruce is just about to answer her when suddenly a new voice joins theirs. "Baby?" Bruce's head snaps up from looking at the rug to the doorway. Standing there is Damian, arms crossed and with a small scowl on his face. "The alien is having a baby?"
"Damian," Bruce starts as his panic rises. Lois looks between them, smelling the air and picking up the spike of fear in Bruce's scent.
"With you?" He's looking at Bruce, his scowl quickly turning to disgust. "You slept with an alien and allowed it to impregnate you?" He uncrosses his arms and stands up straight, angling his body away from the room. "Disgusting." He walks out then but the air of disapproval is still thick in the air.
Bruce stares numbly after his son. "Do you want to go after him?" Lois asks softly.
Bruce blinks, shaking his head slowly. "No."
"Are you sure? It's okay if you do."
He turns, looks at Lois, then looks to the floor again. "Yes."
"Okay, well, we don't have to continue this today." Bruce can smell the discomfort on her but he really doesn't want to put this off longer only for him to worry obsessively about it.
"No, let's continue," he says, setting his tea down. He no longer feels the need to force himself to drink it. In fact, he no longer feels the need to even be awake right now. He sighs. "Lois, I can't fully understand how this whole thing is making you feel. I've never had a serious relationship and so no one has ever cheated on me. Knowing that, no one has gotten someone else pregnant when dating me either. All I can do is imagine how you feel and try and make it up to you."
"You see, Bruce," Lois says, studying her hands. "The problem is, is that I don't know if I can trust Clark again. I put all my trust into him. I trusted him with my secrets, with my thoughts, with my heart, to not hurt me, everything, and he betrayed that trust. When I see you and now, when I see the baby, all I'm going to be reminded of is the fact that Clark betrayed me."
What Bruce says next hurts to admit, but he does so anyway, knowing it has to be said. "It was only instinct, Lois."
She frowns and Bruce hopes his scent of unease covers the scent of disappointment. She thins her lips and rises off the couch, stretching. "Instinct huh?" Bruce eyes her warily, waiting for her to elaborate but she doesn't. "Well, I guess it's just something I'm going to have to deal with and eventually get over, isn't it?"
"I'm sorry."
She sighs and takes a cautious step towards him but doesn't get any closer. "I'll get through it Bruce and I'll eventually learn to forgive you. Just give me time."
Bruce hesitates. "And… your relationship with Clark?"
She takes a deep breath, this time not for scenting but in order to brace herself. "I don't know. We'll see." That's where she leaves it, giving him a small reassuring smile that doesn't feel reassuring. She then sets her mug down and turns to leave. "Bye Bruce."
"Bye Lois." He waits until Alfred comes back into the room to collect the mugs before getting up, Lois having already been long gone. He slowly makes his way back upstairs and to Damian's room. The door is open, as if the boy knew Bruce was going to come and talk to him. Bruce supposes it was probably the most obvious of outcomes. "Damian?"
"If this is about the vile creature inside you, then I don't want to talk about it." Damian is sitting on his bed, arms crossed, and staring at the floor.
Bruce approaches and sits down next to his son. "Why are you calling it that?"
Damian scowls. "Because it is. It's a disgusting half breed; half alien and half human."
"You know, Damian, Kryptonian DNA is very similar to human DNA. It's not like I mated with a Martian."
"And yet," Damian begins. "You don't see humans mating with monkeys."
"That's… that's not the same thing."
"Isn't it?" Damian looks at him, defiance shining in his eyes. "Both monkeys and Kryptonians are of a different species than humans. I see no difference."
"Is that how you really feel? Is that how you feel towards Conner?" Damian tsks and scowls some more, answering Bruce's question. "And Clark? If you think that of a so called 'half breed', do you think worse of full Kryptonians?"
This time Damian rolls his eyes. "Of course, not. Full Kryptonians might be aliens but at least they aren't a mix of two species." He shrugs. "That doesn't mean they are on par with humans, though. I still consider them to be of a lesser being."
Bruce looks at his hands that are rested on his lap. "So then it's the fact that they are half Kryptonian and half human."
"Correct. There shouldn't be any species mixing."
Bruce looks at his son, feeling frustrated. "Then who is Clark supposed to mate with Damian? Kara his cousin?"
"Tt, if there isn't an abundant amount of Kryptonians to breed with then they shouldn't breed at all."
Bruce shakes his head, disappointed. "Then there wouldn't be any Kryptonians for the future."
"There won't be any anyway," Damian says, getting up off the bed. "They'll be half breeds, not Kryptonians." He walks to his desk and sits down, picking up a color pencil. "You should have gotten the abortion."
Bruce stares at the back of Damian's head, feeling his heart drop into his stomach. "Did… did Talia teach you to view the world like that Damian? Ra's maybe?" Damian eyes him, eyes narrowed and suspicious. He can tell his son won't be answering him. "Damian-"
"I don't want to hear your rationale as to why breeding with a different species is okay." He turns back around, focusing on his picture. "You won't be able to change my mind."
"So you're going to hate this baby? Even though he or she will be your half sibling?" Damian doesn't answer and Bruce sighs, getting up off the bed. "I'm keeping the baby Damian and Clark's the sire whether you like it or not. I can't change where it comes from."
"No, instead you just didn't need to sleep with an alien."
Someone clears their throat before Bruce can respond. The two of them turn towards the doorway and see Dick standing there. "Hey, Bruce. Can I talk to you?"
Bruce nods, takes one last look at Damian, and then follows Dick out, heart still in his stomach. "What is it?"
"Nothing actually. I thought I would just save you from that situation." Dick is looking at him warily. "The kid was being a little harsh back there."
Bruce bites his bottom lip. There's a heaviness pushing down on his chest and it's making it hard to breathe. "I expected it. He doesn't like Clark so it wasn't too farfetched to believe he wouldn't like the baby."
"But still," Dick places a hand on his shoulder and they stop walking, facing each other. "He didn't need to say what he did." Bruce nods, rubbing at his eyes in frustration. "Hey, I for one am really happy you're keeping the baby. I get to add another person to my ever growing list of younger siblings. Did you know that I always wanted my parents to have another child just so I could have a baby brother or sister? Mom had a hard time getting pregnant though since she was a beta." Bruce watches his eldest son talk, smile on his face large and all teeth. Affection for Dick swells in Bruce's chest and before he knows it, he's grabbing a hold of Dick's shoulders and pulling him into a tight hug. "Bruce?" Bruce rubs his cheek along Dick's, marking him and strengthening their weakened bond. It's been a long time since they've done this, since they've strengthened the parent child bond between them. A small purring sound emanates from Bruce's throat to indicate contentment and love. Finally, Dick's arms come up and wrap around Bruce. "Wow, this pregnancy is already starting to make you all mushy."
Bruce ignores that statement and holds onto Dick for a few seconds longer before finally letting go. He feels embarrassed now and avoids eye contact. "Can you do me a favor Dick?"
"Anything."
"Can you get a hold of Jason. I want to tell him about me keeping the baby but I can't go out as Batman."
"Yeah, no problem." Dick clasps him on the shoulder and turns to leave. "Oh, and Bruce. Don't let what Damian said bother you too much. The kid will come around."
A/N: I know I made Damian react more dramatically and more mean than he probably would have for him, but this is all for story purposes.
Thank you!
