Author's Note: Last chapter before the epilogue, folks! This first section turnout a little unexpected even to me, but I'm happy with it. Apologies in advance for any o. on characters I don't read about or write often. Please review!
Alfred was busy in the kitchen, so when the bell rang, followed by Bruce's voice with a "Dick! Jason! Get the door!" from somewhere far down the hall, Talia saw the younger of the two race through the hall and the first of their guests when Jason opened the front door. The tall statuesque woman with long inky black hair stood dressed in high-heeled boots, plain civilian jeans, a white turtle-neck, and jacket.
"Hello." She smiled pleasantly at the boy, but even as she descended the grand stair case, Talia could see and hear that Jason clearly did not recognize her.
"Who are you?" he asked in the typical distrustful tone he used when meeting new people he was not certain he liked.
"I'm Diana," the woman replied, "of Themyscira. I serve with Batman on the Justice League."
"Oh, you're Wonder Woman." Realization dawned on the boy's face and he instantly relaxed.
By that time Talia was at the bottom of the stairs, and when the amazon saw her, all of her attention immediately shifted from Jason to her. Already smiling, the other woman's face practically lit from the inside. Taken slightly aback – Talia never actually expected anyone from the League to be anything more than coolly cordial – she stopped behind Jason and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Could you please help Alfred set the table?" she asked. "I will entertain our guest until the other arrives."
"Yeah, sure."
He was barely out of ear shot, when Diana stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her in a very unexpected and enthusiastic hug.
"Congratulations!" the amazon beamed. "I know how long Bruce has dreamed of this family. I am so very happy for you both."
"Ah... thank you." It was a rare occasion that Talia found herself lost for words, but now was one of them. "Please excuse my... curiosity, but should you not be more... suspect of me?"
"I trust Bruce's judgment," the other woman inclined her head slightly. "Also I would not wish him on anyone who could not handle him. From what I know about you, you are one of few who can."
"I shall take it as a compliment." Talia could not help but return the smile.
"It absolutely was." Diana searched her face. "You are glowing."
"So I have been told," she sighed. "You know?"
"Kal told me," the other woman admitted. "But do not worry. Your condition is hardly public knowledge. He only mentioned it when I shared that I, too, was invited here today. Again, my congratulations, sister. There is no doubt in my mind that you will be the mother of extraordinary children."
I already am, Talia thought in Jason's direction. Aloud she only asked, "Sister?"
"Ah." Diana looked a bit embarrassed. "I understand that is not part of the… colloquial in the Patriarch's world. Apologies if I made you feel uncomfortable."
"No, not at all." If anything she felt an odd sort of kinship with the other woman, and it quickly dawned on her why. "I, too, am from a different world."
They walked in the gardens behind the manor, and Talia was surprised to realize that she quite liked the amazon. Diana was kind, with an inner strength that possibly outweighed her already impressive physical one, and Talia got the sense that she was genuine in the same manner that Clark Kent was, but where he was instantly suspect of her, Diana was the opposite and liked her solely because of how much she meant to Bruce.
"This must feel somewhat strange to you," the amazon said sympathetically. "So much change so quickly."
"I have the family I chose, the one I was meant to have." The words were nearly identical to the ones she had spoken to Jason.
"What about friends?"
Talia thought of Dr. Weltmann. She prayed that her father would not find out how much the woman helped her, that she had kept her confidence. The doctor had risked so much for her. Talia wondered if she would ever see her again.
"I had a friend," she replied courtly. "I hope she is well."
"Well," with another smile, Diana looped her left arm through the crook of Talia's right, "you have one here now."
Talia was about to answer when a sudden gust of wind blew her long dark tresses into her face. It lasted for only a split second, and she did not have time to register what it was until next to her, Diana grinned and pulled her back towards the house.
"Kal's here," she announced.
The walk back was unhurried, and by the time the women returned, Bruce, Richard, and Clark Kent were standing in the living room. For a moment Talia thought everything was fine, that they were just waiting for them to sit down and talk. She did not think about why all of their backs were to her until Richard turned, his face ashen.
"I... I'm sorry." It came out barely above a whisper. "I thought he knew."
They parted before her like a water to reveal Jason standing just four feet away from her, but it might as well have been miles. He was staring at her with an expression Talia had never seen before. Not anger, not sadness, but something else, a kind of deep hurt, betrayal even. When his gaze shifted to her abdomen, it finally clicked.
"I thought you said your baby died." His voice was not accusatory, merely small. So small.
She did not want to do this now, not with so many people there. It was supposed to be just her and Bruce. They were supposed to have time to figure out how to tell him together, how to assure him that he mattered just as much as the child that was coming. But she had to say something.
"That is what I told my father," she admitted. "I was afraid that if he knew otherwise, he would not let me go."
That much was true, though Talia pointedly neglected to mention that she had also kept the truth from Bruce for months. It would do no good now. Jason's father stepped forward.
"I asked her not to say anything," he said, and Jason glared at him. Talia wished he had not said that. She should have been the sole target of Jason's anger. "We wanted to talk to you together, but then you were both taken."
Again, not a lie, but not the whole truth either. Until she had seen her father's indifference towards Jason, Talia had not been certain which family she would have chosen. The boy was smart enough to remember that, remember her indecision. Painted in this light, she feared he would never forgive her.
"Jay," this time it was Richard who spoke, "I'm sorry I sprang this on you like that, but this is a good thing. Life is always a good thing."
"Yeah," the boy's voice was almost entirely devoid of emotion. "Sure. Congrads, I guess."
Without another word he turned and started at a trot for the back of the manor.
"I'm sorry," the teen repeated, turning to his mentor with helplessness.
"It's not your fault, Dick." Bruce looked to her. "I'm going to talk to him. Give me... fifteen or twenty minutes, then come get us."
"He hates me." Talia could not help how heartbroken she sounded, even in front of Kent and Diana. The amazon wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed gently.
"He doesn't," Bruce assured her. "Fifteen minutes. I promise."
Though he held his surprise in check in front of the others, Bruce found the direction the boy had chosen curious. The back of the house instead of the front, which made him reasonably certain he wasn't running away. It was Jason's automatic reaction to emotional turmoil. When Dick had inadvertently revealed their secret, a part of him had expected Jason to start running then and for him to track him down back to Park Row.
But that didn't happen. Hurt though he was – that much was obvious to everyone in the room – Jason had not reacted with violence or even anger. Now he found the boy sitting on the steps to the main exit to the gardens in the back of the manor. He was quiet, his cheek propped up on the heel of one hand that rested on his knee. With the other he idly pulled at the grass. Bruce sat down next to him.
"As much as I don't mind you taking out your frustration on the lawn, Alfred might not like it," he said mildly. "You want to talk to me instead so with both don't get in trouble?"
Jason said nothing, just exhaled a very deliberate sigh. Bruce tried again.
"I'm glad you decided to stick around. I really didn't want to send Superman after you."
That one must have been the wrong thing to say on many levels because it earned him such a sharp look that Bruce was momentarily thrown off balance. He sighed.
"Jason, I'm trying. Obviously I'm doing a really bad job, but I'm trying. Just... talk to me."
The boy looked like he was considering continuing the silent treatment. He turned away from him and began to pick at the grass again, but a moment later Bruce did hear him mutter under his breath.
"I promised Talia I wouldn't."
"What?"
"I promised Talia I wouldn't run away." This time he did look at him and spoke clearly. "When her old man got us and I ran away and those thugs brought me back. She was kind of freaked, so I promised I wouldn't do it again."
"That's good." God bless Talia for getting through to him on that one. "It's good to keep your promises, and I am very happy you didn't run away. Neither of us likes worrying about you, and we'd really worry if we didn't know where you were."
They were such simple words, but then Bruce had no other kind. It was as honest as he could be on the matter. He didn't want to scare Jason, but the prospect of him running and doing something rash in a fit of anger was terrifying. And it appeared that his words had hit their mark. Jason tilted his head, expression slightly curious.
"You'd worry?"
"Of course. Did I ever make you think I wouldn't?"
"I dunno," the boy shrugged his shoulders. "You're really busy with everything. 'Specially with the baby now..."
"The baby's not going to change anything between you and me." Bruce assured him. "As for other things I'm busy with, that's why Clark and Diana are here. We're going to talk and make sure I'm a lot less busy in the future. I'll make absolutely sure I have plenty of time for you. School, training, or just hanging out. Whatever you need."
"What if..." he fiddled with a blade of grass. "What if I didn't want to be Robin?"
Bruce's mind spun. The boy had never indicated that he was having second thoughts about that. On the contrary, Jason had been pestering him about going out into the field almost incessantly since the beginning. It felt like test, a trick question, so again he decided that the best thing to do was answer honestly.
"If you ever decide you don't want to be Robin, I'll sleep a lot better knowing you won't be in harm's way. You can be whatever you want. If you want to be a regular kid and go to school and college and just study and be around kids your own age, than that's what it'll be."
"And I could still... be here?"
The man blinked. "Jason, if you think I would ever ever throw you out..."
"You let Dick leave. I don't really know what happened, but I know you had a fight and he left and you let him."
Bruce whipped his palms over his face. He had done that and worse. Not exactly the strongest platform for convincing Jason that nothing would ever happen that would cause him to reject the child. He rose from the step, then moved around to sit on his haunches so that they could be face to face.
"I made a lot of mistakes," he said. "And Dick is an incredibly forgiving person for accepting my apology. I swear to you, son. On my parents graves', I swear I won't ever abandon any of you for any reason."
Jason looked only slightly more relieved, but still not completely at ease. He seemed like he was considering saying something. Bruce put both hands on his knees and tilted his head slightly so that he could better look at him.
"Want to tell me what's on your mind?" he prompted. "I know you talked to Talia, and I'm glad, but you can talk to me too. If you're mad or upset... anything at all."
Another long stretch of silence, then Jason sighed. "Dick's back, and you're gonna have a real kid soon..."
"Jason, you're real!"
He didn't know how to say it any better. That single word drove home how deeply scared the boy was. More than the shock of going from only child to middle child practically overnight, more than the fear of not getting to be Robin with Dick's return, was the terrible feeling that with the coming of a biological child his place in the household would be rendered completely invalid. It hurt, knowing he had not done enough to make the boy feel secure.
"Alright," Bruce took a deep breath. "You want to know how you're special, what sets you apart from Dick and the baby?" Jason said nothing, but he was looking at him now so Bruce knew he had his attention. "You were the first – ever – to call me 'Dad'. That means more to me than you can imagine."
"It just... kind of came out." Jason looked embarrassed. "Was it okay?"
"Yeah," Bruce smiled and cupped the side of his face affectionately with one large palm. "It was. If you want to make a habit out of it, I'm more than okay with that."
He wrapped both arms around the boy, hugging him fiercely. Jason burred his face in his chest, and they remained that way for a few comfortable heartbeats. The child had never really invited hugs or any physical affection before in all the months he'd been with him. His mistake, Bruce realized with a pang, was thinking he had to ask. Jason pulled back slightly but not entirely out of the circle of his arms.
"I'm not mad," he mumbled. "I don't want Talia to think I'm mad at her."
Jason's back was to the door, so he couldn't see, but Bruce raised his eyes to the woman standing in the door way. He grinned as if to silently say, "Faith, huh?" and she shook her head with mock exasperation. Her eyes were misty, but she was smiling.
Later, after a dinner that had included Dick and Jason talking all things Robin – Bruce never really believed Jason didn't want the job – and Talia and Diana had apparently become fast friends – a fact that he knew he should find mildly frightening – they retired back to the living room. Bruce let everyone get settled before clearing his throat. When he had everyone's attention, he began.
"There have been a lot of changes for me lately," he said looking at his family. "A lot of very positive changes."
"So positive he doesn't know what to do," Dick quipped and was rewarded with a chorus of low chuckles. Bruce held up a hand.
"I asked you here today," he shifted his gaze to Clark and Diana, "because you're my teammates and my friends, and you have both my trust and respect. That being said, I hope you trust me when I say I know what I'm doing." He took a deep breath. "I'm stepping down as active member of the Justice League. Effective immediately."
His teammates' eyes went wide and Jason snapped his head up to stare at him as well. Talia and Dick had been privy to his decision, but others in the room were in a state of shock. He also didn't miss Clark's frown or his eyes darting towards Talia, obviously suspicious. For the people who haven't been with him in the recent weeks, he could understand how this might seem.
"Bruce," the Kryptonian spoke slowly, "I think you're going to have to give us a little more than that."
"I know. You have to understand that I... cannot give up Batman, give up Gotham," he admitted, looking at Talia now with a slightly guilty look, but she simply nodded reassuringly. "But I have a family now, a partner to train, and children to raise. Besides, I don't intend to leave the League without help."
"That'd be my cue." Dick cleared his throat, and all eyes turned to him.
"Dick knows all my methods and has access to to all of my resources," Bruce went on. "We've talked and agreed that should you need help, you can call on him the same way you would me. If it's something he thinks he can't handle, he'll come to me, but I trust that he should be fine for most things."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," the teen said, then looked at the other two League members. "This is all if you'll have me, of course."
Diana's smile told him that she was already sold on the idea. She leaned in to talk to Dick quietly, assuring him that they were happy to have him, that no one deserved it more. Jason tapped Talia on the shoulder to ask a question Bruce didn't quite catch, but one she nodded the answer to. Overall Jason looked pleased at the development, probably because it meant there was truly little chance of Dick asking to be Robin again. Clark was the last person who didn't look convinced.
"You're sure?" he said.
"Absolutely." He met the man's eyes. "You were lucky enough to grow up with amazing parents, Clark. All I want is a little more time to be there for my family. It's not perfect. It's probably less than they deserve, but for now, it's the most I can do."
The man of steel was silent for a moment, then he smiled broadly.
"They're lucky to have you, my friend." He looked out onto the gathered group of people. "All of them."
"I think," Bruce mused as he met Talia's gaze, "it's the other way around."