"Happy birthday dear Harley—happy birthday to you!"
Harley grinned as the singing devolved into cheers and claps.
"Make a wish, Ma!" Jolene urged excitedly.
Make a wish, Harley sighed, Ok…umm…life? Please stop being a bitch to Pam. And—uh—it would be sweet if the kids would stay healthy…and me too, I guess. So—cheers? And with that thought, she blew out all 50 meticulously lighted candles, giving a little bow to everyone as the clapping resumed.
"Happy birthday," Pam whispered, kissing her cheek before making the first cut of the cake.
"Alright, kids first," Selina dictated. "You can eat it in the living room, but if you spill on my couch I'm gonna kick your ass."
"Damian," Pam offered him the first piece.
"I'm not a kid," the boy huffed.
Pam raised an eyebrow. "Can you drive?"
"Well—no."
"Purchase alcohol?"
"No."
"Cigarettes?"
"No."
"Can you legally get married without your parent's consent? Can you get into an R rated movie?"
Damian snatched the slice of cake away from her rather than answer, sulking into the living room with his shoulders slumped.
Harley chuckled at Pam's self-satisfied expression.
"I want a big piece," Jo instructed.
"How big?" Pam asked
"As big as my head." Was the girl's response.
"I've got a better idea," Harley took the knife from her wife. "You ever seen Beetlejuice, Jo?"
The girl frowned, "Yeah? You showed it to us, 'member?"
"I do remember…" Harley nodded, cutting Jo a normal sized slice.
"Hey! That's way smaller than my head." Jo complained.
"Right," Harley acknowledged. "But if you were Pinhead, it would be perfect." She handed it to the girl and gently pushed her into the direction of the living room.
Anthony just smiled, silently taking his piece from the table and following his sister. "Happy birthday, Ma." He told her as he left.
Now was the time. They were alone. Just Pam, Bruce, Selina, Barbara and Dick. Harley cleared her throat, "OK, so—listen—,"
"Cake first, then announcements." Dick pleaded, holding his hands out in hopes a slice would find its way to him.
"Fine," Harley conceded, having Pam pass him one. "Anyone else?"
Everyone raised a hand, Selina the most hesitantly, but her intentions were still clear.
With a sigh, Harley served the rest of them, and then herself. "How about now? You ready to listen."
Dick responded by smiling, his mouth full of cake. Barbara offered a thumbs up while Bruce and Selina simply sat down at the table expectantly, watching Harley as they ate.
"Great," the blonde exhaled, taking their attention as a good sign. "So, look, guys…I'm—,"
"An asshole?" Selina guessed.
"Pregnant?" was Dick's.
"Not hungry?" Barbara raised an eyebrow at Harley's untouched slice of cake.
"Let her speak," Bruce intoned.
"Pregnant was the worst guess," Pam let everyone know, sitting down at the table as well.
"Pam! Don't encourage them." Harley scolded, taking another deep breath and putting her hands on her hips. "I'm retiring. I'm really fucking old and I'm retiring."
"Huh…" Selina sat back in her chair. "Funny. My next guess was going to be 'really fucking old'."
"You're older than me," Harley reminded her, and not exactly kindly.
The brunette's immediate response was to flip Harley off, but Bruce wrestled her hand down. "In what capacity are you retiring, Harley?" He asked.
The blonde was grateful for an actual question. "I'm turning in my cowl." She told him. "I'm just—look, I was absolutely blessed to be able to be a part of this family…but, it's just—it's just time. I have total faith in Barbara, total faith in Dick…I'll help with recruiting moving forward, if you'd like. Or whatever else you want to use me for, really. Except for sex. Sorry, guys. Pam and I have been exclusive for like 4 months now. Going strong, Babe!"
"Harley, Jesus…" Pam pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Alright, alright. Sorry, sorry," Harley apologized, getting back on track. "I just can't be Batwoman anymore. I think it's time for Barbara to take up the mantle. Even with all the performance enhancing bullshit Pam pumps into me, I'm slower, I'm weaker, I bruise easier, it takes longer for me to recover…It's time for me to be done."
Bruce was nodding slowly, Dick starring at his hands in his lap, and Barbara's cheek's reddening as she looked from Harley to Bruce.
"I understand," Bruce said, finally. "I'm…sad," he admitted, rather awkwardly. "But I understand."
"I'm sure Barbara's transition will be seamless," Pam assured him. "She's been ready for this for quite some time."
Harley nodded in agreement.
Dick moved his hand to where Barbara's was placed atop the table and held it, a smile growing on his face. Barbara was blushing, and that made Harley smile as well. Here was a person, 36 years old at this point, finally able to graduate from a 'girl' to a 'woman'. She had been 11 years old when Pam first met her, and from that moment, for whatever reason, she was seared into Pam's memory. Something about the girl had just stuck, and thank God it did, as Barbara was one of the most wonderful human beings Harley had ever had the pleasure of knowing in her 50 years on this planet. Passing the torch to her felt safe, and Harley was grateful for the opportunity.
"To Barbara" Harley raised her piece of cake in a toast. "For your hard work, for your dedication, I believe in you, Babs. Always have. The new matriarch of the Bat-Family."
The rest of the table all raised their plates. "And to Harleen," Dick piggybacked. "As someone who has worked for Bruce just a little longer than you, let me just say that 25 years in this world feels like no joke. I find the ones in costumes with medical degrees tend to be on the other side of the fence…so…thanks for being here."
Harley quickly glanced at Pam, who was choosing to ignore that, evidently. With a smile, she thanked Dick for his words and sat down with a plop at the head of the table next to Pam. The redhead rubbed reassuring circles on her back as she took her first bite of cake. Selina had procured it from some upscale bakery…the kind of shop Harley would normally roll her eyes at the mention of, but holy shit this was good cake.
It was 9:30 on a school night before Pam had the kids in the car. Selina had already left, as she'd forgotten to get Harley a birthday present and felt the need to remedy that immediately. Dick and Barbara were both assigned to patrol that night—and for Barbara it would be her first time in the field without another woman as her senior. Harley's Batwoman suit would be retired to the cave and a new one would have to be made before the torch could truly be passed, but tonight was still meaningful, even without the proper uniform.
Harley had been sent back inside in search of Jolene's coat when Bruce stopped her.
"Harleen…" He said, leaning against the counter in the kitchen, forcing her to divert her attention away from the task at hand.
"Bruce," the blonde sighed. Not impatiently, just…in acknowledgment.
Silently, he crossed the room, and in one motion pulled her into a firm hug. Harley didn't get hugged by men all that often these days, being that she was married to a woman and her son was 12 and not quite sure if hugging his Mom was cool anymore.
In the 25 years she'd known Bruce, Harley couldn't recall ever being hugged by him…not even in the hospital after the Joker incident. But this was not unwelcome in any sense. She liked Bruce. No, actually, she loved him. Like a brother or sometimes even a father. He'd seen something in her that day they met at Arkham. He said it was something about her compassion for her patients. She remembered the night he'd offered her the position—offered her a chance to be a hero, truly, not just for the villains of the city, but for the people as well. She remembered the pride that she felt that night. How good it was to be desired. A lot had changed since then. She'd changed, as had he, maybe…although she doubted it. There was something about Bruce that was just unwavering. But Selina's journey to sobriety—that had changed him. Harley had seen it, how he'd taken in and understood Selina's suffering. It bonded them, it allowed them to somehow mean more to each other.
"Thank you," Bruce was saying, his voice muffled into her hair. She wasn't really aware of just how tightly he was holding her before.
"No, Bruce." Harley said. "Thank you."
His expression was somber when they separated. Not sad, exactly, but certainly earnest.
"You'll need another Batgirl before you can have Jo," Harley smiled, although it was a bit forced. "Let me help you find her."
"I think I already have," Bruce told her. "But she'll need a psych eval before I put her in the suit."
Harley nodded, a much more genuine expression overtaking her features now. "Put me in, Coach."
/
Pam sent the kids to bed as soon as they got home, knowing both had homework to do. They went without much protest as Harley had made it clear their cooperation was one of her birthday wishes.
Harley herself seemed to be in some sort of daze. A glazed-over, wistful smile had been painted onto her face the entire ride home. Pam supposed 50 years old would be an important mile stone for a (full) human. A half a century of life was not insignificant. Besides that, Harley had been working with Bruce for a long time. Half her life, as a matter of fact. The job had fulfilled Harley, kept her grounded, kept her feeling…relevant. Pam realized it would be a significant change for her, but just as Harley had helped Pam through all of her changes, she was determined to return the favor.
A vine reached out from the potted plant in the corner and helped Harley out of her jacket, hanging it up on the hook. At the same time, a vine from the kitchen window box put the teakettle on the stove and readied the ingredients for hot chocolate.
"Did you enjoy your party?" Pam asked, attempting to mask the hope in her voice.
Harley blinked, clearing her eyes as she gave Pam her full attention. "Yeah, yeah I did." Harley slipped her arms around Pam's waist. "Did you take your pigment shot today?"
"Nope," Pam said, proudly. "What do you think?" She held up her hand for Harley to examine. The tone was even, although its pale coloring made her look a bit too much like a doll for Pam's liking. There was no difference in tone between she and Harley's complexions now.
"Impressive. Most impressive." Harley smiled back, after affecting what Pam could now identify as Harley's Darth Vader impression.
"One marshmallow or two?" Pam asked.
"The more the merrier, of course," Harley laughed, clapping excitedly when a vine delivered her a mug of hot cocoa stuffed to the brim with marshmallows. "So is this my present?" she asked after taking her first sip.
"No," Pam grinned, taking Harley's free hand and leading her into her office. She could tell Harley was about to make some smartass remake beginning with 'awe, you shouldn't have' in reference to her desktop computer or the printer, so Pam proactively silenced her by placing a gently finger on her lips.
Turning away from the other woman, the redhead opened the closet behind her, revealing Harley's Batwoman outfit in a glass case, displayed the same way the others were in the Batcave.
Harley looked surprised, and then confused. With her brow furrowed she asked, "I don't get it. Pam, is that my suit?"
"Well…not exactly." Pam admitted. "It's actually just an incredibly expensive replica.
The blonde turned to her. "Why?"
"For brooding, of course," Pam told her like it was obvious. "In case you ever need to dramatically stand in front of some representation of your former self and question what you stand for. All heroes do it. I see it every day at The Watchtower."
"Pam, that's—oh my God," Harley laughed. "Pam, this is amazing! But how did you—I mean—this thing looks pretty much perfect. Where did you even find it?"
"The internet," was Pam's answer. "Overall, it's a truly frightening place, but after I got through all the fetish sites, I was able to find some rather dedicated fans of yours, and…anyway, I paid for it. That's what's important here."
With a wide smile on her face, Harley turned back to face the costume, putting her hands on her hips as she did. They stood there, both silently examining it behind the glass for a moment before Harley spoke. "I looked pretty good in that thing, huh?"
"You did," Pam agreed.
"It's a shame we never got to—well you never got to…appreciate that." Harley lamented.
Pam nodded slowly. "Yes, a shame…certainly."
"No touching in costume, no kissing in costume…certainly no fucking in costume," Harley recounted their rules aloud, rocking back on her heels.
"Mm," Pam nodded once more, letting another silence descend between them. "So, do you want to—?"
"Oh, God yes," Harley quickly pulled the case open.
