A/N: It feels fitting this chapter is going up on Mother's Day. Enjoy!

Roy stared at Jade in shock, his mouth hanging open. He didn't say anything for what felt like forever. Finally, though, his brain remembered how speech worked. "You- You're-?"

"Yeah…" Jade answered, turning back toward him.

"Oh… And it's-"

"Yours? Yeah."

"Right… After what we did-"

"Last month? You bet."

"Oh. Ok." Roy blinked, then swayed on his feet a little. "I think I need to…"

"Sit?"

"Yeah…" Roy stumbled to the coffee table to sit on the edge of it. He popped his elbows on his knees so he could put his head in his hands.

Jade watched him silently for a minute. "Do you need a second?"

"…Maybe?" It didn't feel like there were words to describe what he was feeling. Emotions were running around his head like wild horses. Cold fear gripped his stomach. Anxiety and fear pulled his muscles taut. Disbelief threw his psyche into a tailspin. 'Jade's pregnant… With my child…' The sentence sent a wave of cold fear wishing through him. 'I have a child… A baby…' It didn't feel…real. There was a part of Roy's brain convinced this was all a dream. Nothing more. But all of his emotions made it real. There was no way he could be feeling so many emotions at once and this not be real. 'But if it's real, then… then Jade's pregnant with my child and I'm going to be a father.' A new wave of shock hit him and he bolted into a sitting position. "Oh, God…"

"What?"

"…I'm going to be a- a father?" That was a bad idea. a horrible idea. Such a terrible idea he couldn't even process that. "I- I can't!" He looked at Jade desperately. "I can't- Jade, I'm not the type of person who should raise a kid!"

She stared at him like he was stupid. "You've already got two."

"That's- That's different! Connor and Mia- They're teenagers! This would be a baby!" A baby he'd have to raise from birth. A whole, tiny human being with its whole life ahead of it, depending completely on Roy to set it on the right path. Roy started rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm not the right person for this…"

Jade scoffed and crossed her arms. "It isn't like I planned this."

"I know, I know It's just…" Another person to look after. Another human needing his time and attention. Someone else he might let down if he can't get it right. 'I already have so much trouble with Connor and Mia. What makes me think I would be any good with a baby?'

"Are you really that convinced this is such a terrible thing for you?" The borderline anger in Jade's voice made Roy lift his head.

"Well…yeah! I'm not the kind of person who can-"

"Oh really? You're not the right kind of person? You, who was trained by Batman?! You, who've dedicated your life solely to helping others and opened your home up to two strange teenagers that needed you?! You, the most stupidly selfless person I've ever met who infuriates me with how…altruistic you are because it's just not human?! You think you're not the right person t be raising a kid?! Newsflash, hero, I'm a fucking assassin! I kill people from living! Both of my parents are criminals and villains! I ran out on my own sister! I've shirked any responsibility I might've had to people I'm related to! Believe me, if anyone in this room should be freaking out about being unqualified it's me!"

Roy swallowed guiltily, then took a deep breath. Then another. Several deep breaths later he could think clearly. 'Jade's right. She's right.' That didn't mean he was qualified; just that she was right about her having more of a right to freak out than him. "I'm sorry. I know this must be a scary time for you too-"

"Scared? Pfft! Please, I don't get scared." Everything about her stance and body language screamed self-assurance, but Roy could see through it. He knew it was less a yell of defiance and more one of desperation.

'She's just as freaked out about this as I am.' Roy took another deep breath. "It's ok. We- We can work this out. Together."

"Work this out? It's not a god-damn math problem, Roy. We've irresponsibly created another person and now… I don't even know what now."

Roy didn't either, so he decided to shift the conversation in a different direction. "Did you find out today?"

"Yeah. It kind of hit me at breakfast this morning but…I've been out all day making sure. I didn't want to say anything unless I was 110% positive."

"So you're definitely-"

"4 to 6 weeks pregnant, yes. I'm not sure about the exact numbers, but it should be right around a month."

"Ok…" Roy laced his fingers together and stared at them. "This is a lot to take in."

"I know." Jade turned away from him. "So…what're we going to do?"

"What'd you mean?"

"I mean…how do you want to handle this? Do you want to keep the baby…give it away?"

"Give it away…you mean like…put it up for adoption?"

"Yeah, I mean… It's an option, right?"

"Well…yeah…" It was an option, but an overwhelming one. Roy's brain was still too filled with complicated emotions for him to make that kind of decision. "Look, I know you like dealing with things head-on right away…but I really can't right now. It's so much for me to process, I just…need some time. And I think you do too."

"I'm fine-"

"No, you're not." Roy stood and put a hand on her shoulder, which Jade scowled at and shoved off. "Hide it all you want but I can tell you're scared. This is a lot for you too. Why don't we…wait a day or two? Just…take some time to think before we start making any big decisions. Deal?"

Jade hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "Ok, deal. We do have like 8 months before this becomes a reality anyways."

"Good."

"What'll you tell the kids?"

'Oh, God… Connor and Mia.' The thought of telling them was terrifying. "Nothing, for now. They're so excited about their graduation, I don't want anything to spoil that."

"Fine. But in 24 hours we're having a conversation about this…situation, whether you're ready for it or not. Deal?"

"Deal." It wasn't a lot of time, but it would give him a little breathing room to figure everything out. "Maybe you should…lay down or something…?"

"I'm fine."

"Ok, well… I'll be in the Arrow Cave if you need me."

"Mhm."

Roy nodded awkwardly before he left. 'I need to go shoot for a while. Shooting at targets will make me feel better. At least clear my head a little bit.' While he deeply wished he could just take off to Arizona— just to feel the relaxing, dry heat— he still had to pick up Connor and Mia from the dance in a couple hours. Not to mention he couldn't leave Jade. Because he knew, deep in his gut, that he couldn't abandon Jade. No matter what they decided to do, he had to stay by her side. So he would go the Cave and shoot arrows, calm down, then tomorrow deal with this…situation. 'I can't tell Connor and Mia yet. Not until I know what I'm going to do.' He definitely had to tell them soon though. Neither of them was stupid, so they'd start catching on in the next couple weeks that something was up with Jade. 'Boy, this could make everything a lot more complicated than I ever anticipated it would be.' Another reason to just focus on shooting now. Deal with everything later.

So when he got to the Arrow Cave, Roy filled a quiver with as many arrows as it could hold, then grabbed a bow. He lined himself up with a target, then closed his eyes. For a few seconds, everything was still. The only sound was his slow breathing as he inhaled and exhaled. Roy opened his eyes. He didn't think; he moved. His fingers jumped between the fletchings of his arrows and his bowstrings. The twang of the bow was a steady beat as arrow after arrow buried itself in the bullseye of the target. Roy didn't stop until he'd emptied his entire quiver. Even then though, he only stopped just long enough to yank the arrows out of his the target, then shove them back into the quiver and keep shooting. As usual, it was so easy when he was shooting. There was nothing but him and the target. Everything else just…melted away.

He was so caught up in his shooting, he almost didn't notice the time. The clock caught his eye. 9:50. Roy sighed as he slowly lowered his bow. 'I should probably go home so I can pick up Connor and Mia.' There was still their ceremony tomorrow with the certificates— which he absolutely couldn't miss, Mia had been talking about non-stop for two weeks— and they needed to be well-rested for it. So he pulled the arrows out of the target, then put his equipment away. Roy shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked home. He was definitely calmer than before, more clear-headed. But it also helped that he was purposefully not thinking about what he had to tackle the next day. 'Just focus on getting Connor and Mia home, then getting through the ceremony tomorrow. One step at a time.'

With that in mind, Roy went home, then drove to the school to pick up Connor and Mia. As he'd promised them earlier that night, he was waiting outside the school at exactly 10pm. He tapped his hands against the steering wheel, while he waited. 'Just…act natural. Don't let on to anything weird happening. Just act normal.' Because this was a perfectly normal time. "Hey guys," he greeted when both teens got in the back. "Did you have a good time?"

"I taught Connor how to dance," Mia said proudly.

"I don't know if it really counts as dancing…" Connor replied quietly.

"It totally counts. Shut up."

Roy chuckled a little bit as he drove them home. "I'm glad you guys had a good time," he said. "Maybe you'll think about going to more dances when you start high school?"

"…I don't know about that," Connor answered slowly. He'd heard high school dances were a lot…closer and more personal. It didn't sound like the type of place he wanted to be.

"You guys have plenty of time to think about it."

"And a whole summer break to patrol," Mia hinted, leaning forward until her face was practically next to Roy's. "Since we both made it through the 8th grade and all…maybe you could extend our curfew?"

"I'll think about it."

"He didn't say no," Mia whispered to Connor as she sat back. He just smiled a little in response.

"Not tonight though. You two need to go straight to bed when we get home. We've got a big day tomorrow."

"You still didn't say no."

Roy rolled his eyes.

When they got home, the apartment was silent when they walked in. He poked his head into the living room to find Jade fast asleep on the couch. He smiled a little, then pulled a blanket off the back and draped it over her. From the corner of his eye, he saw Connor and Mia looking on, so he nodded his head toward their room and put a finger to his lips. They nodded in understanding, then tip-toed toward the hall. Roy smiled a little as he watched Jade sleep. 'I can't deny the affection I feel for her,' he thought as he followed Connor and Mia silently. 'But it's not… It's like how I feel about Artemis or M'gann. She's my friends and I care about her.' Was just being her friend good enough to be co-parenting a baby though? Roy honestly didn't know, and he didn't know anyone he could ask either. This seemed like it was a bit outside Dinah's wheelhouse and while his relationship with Bruce was on the mend— the man had been calling him at least once a month to talk— Roy didn't think this was something he could talk to his former mentor about. 'Looks like I'll be on my own for this one.'

He'd been doing just about everything else on his own for the last year at least. What was one more thing?

— —

The next morning, Roy was up before anyone else. He had breakfast ready for when they woke up, ready for whatever stressful situations the day would bring. And something told him this day would bring quite a bit. By the time he was putting plates of eggs and bacon (tofu bacon for Connor) on the table, everyone else was up as well. "Morning guys," he said cheerfully. "Ready for today?"

"No," Jade answered grumpily. "I've already thrown up twice."

"Maybe you should see a doctor," Connor said, more than a hint of concern in his voice.

"I'm fine, kid. Just need some food and then sleep."

Connor looked at Roy, but he shrugged in response. 'That's weird. Wasn't Roy worried about Jade yesterday? Why wouldn't he be worried about her today?' Whatever it was, Roy wasn't likely to tell him. So Connor focused on eating his breakfast.

"Ceremony's at 10," Roy said as he sat down with his own breakfast. "You guys need to be ready to go by 9:30. Got it?"

"Mhm," Mia nodded. "Do we have to wear our uniforms?"

"Yes," Connor answered. "It was in the handout they gave us on the last day of school."

"That's so boring though."

"Boring or not, if you have to wear your uniforms, then you will," Roy told her.

"Whatever."

Roy smiled at his plate as he ate. 'At least they're excited. I'm excited for them. I'm happy they get to have these normal moments. And they've both worked so hard too. Making it through school on top of training as vigilantes. Not to mention how hard Mia's had to work for this. I'm so proud of these kids.' It might've only been a certificate ceremony, but Roy was very excited about it. (As long as he focused on the ceremony and celebrating Connor and Mia's accomplishments, not his impending conversation with Jade that night.) As soon as Connor and Mia finished their breakfasts, they ran to finish getting ready. Once he was alone with Jade, Roy leaned over and set his hand on hers. She gave him a look and jerked it away. "We'll talk tonight, ok?"

"Tonight," Jade agreed quietly.

"Do you want to come-"

"If you finish that question I'll throw you out a window. I don't care if you are the father of my child."

Roy choked, then coughed up the orange juice he'd been swallowing. Vaguely, he could hear Jade laughing at him. "Not..funny…"

"It was funny."

"Not funny. And don't say stuff like that until I talk with Connor and Mia."

"They're not even in the room, in case you didn't notice."

"Yeah well…they might overhear. Just keep it to yourself, please?"

Jade sighed and rolled her eyes. "Ok. Fine."

"Thank you." Roy finished his breakfast, then put his dishes in the sink. "We'll be gone for a few hours. Will you-"

"Straight out the window, hero."

A small smile graced Roy's lips against his will. "Yeah. Ok…" He left the kitchen to check on Connor and Mia, who were in their bedroom. "You guys almost ready to go?"

"We're ready!" Mia insisted as she finished tying her shoes. "Right, Connor?"

"Uh-huh," Connor nodded from where he was sitting on the edge of his desk. "I've been ready for a while."

"Shut up."

"Let's go then," Roy said. "It's a nice day, so I thought we'd walk."

"Sounds good." Mia stood up and looked at Connor. "Come on!"

Connor smiled as he stood, then let Mia pull him from the room. "Calm down, Mia," he said. "We're just getting certificates."

"I'm sure it'll be a nice certificate," Roy said as he followed home out of the apartment. "Besides, sometimes you have to celebrate the small victories in life." Especially in their lien for work. "And it's for something…normal. You guys should never underestimate the importance of having a normal life."

'Normal is overrated,' Connor thought as he finally freed his hand from Mia's grip. 'But…the dance was fun, so maybe there could be something worthwhile in this ceremony.'

When they got to the school, chairs were set up in the courtyard, facing a microphone and a Congratulations banner. There were no signs of the dance the night before. Connor led Mia over to where they were supposed to check in while Roy found a place to sit. He looked around curiously. 'I've never been to a ceremony like this before. I didn't even get to go to Dick's high school graduation.' Or had one himself. And truthfully he'd never thought about sitting here celebrating the milestones of…his own kids. 'Not that Connor and Mia are my kids. I don't even know if I'm old enough to be their dad. Or even qualified.' Qualified or not, he was happy to be here for them on their big day.

All the teens were seated in an area in front of the parents…or parental guardians and the principal of the school stepped up to the microphone. Roy didn't really listen to what he was saying (something about how big of a milestone this was and how pleased they were to have a 100% pass rate in the 8th grade) because he was trying to find Connor and Mia in the crowd. With their backs to him, they looked like every other teenager, but based on their last names, he was able to guess where they were sitting. 'And if I'm guessing right, then Mia is looking at her shoes. Figures.' Clapping jerked Roy out of his thoughts and he blindly started clapping along. The principal started reading off the students' names one by one. After their name was read, the student went up to the front to get their certificate, then went back to their seat. Roy clapped politely after each name as he waited for Connor and Mia's names.

"…Tyler Davis…" the principal read as the boy walked up to receive his certificate. "Mia Dearden…"

Roy smiled and clapped extra loud as Mia got her certificate. She hesitated for a moment in the front and craned her neck. Catching on, Roy raised his hand just enough for her to find him. She waved, then returned to her seat. A blonde boy on the other side of the aisle shook his head. 'Must be Connor.'

"…Olivia Gadd… Elizabeth Green… Connor Hawke…"

When Connor went up, he didn't look nearly as excited as Mia had. He still smiled though as he accepted his certificate and caught Roy's eye on his way back to his seat. The teen's head ducked down as he walked.

'Well, at least he looks happy,' Roy thought. Luckily, it was a small school, so there were only 40 students from the 8th grade. The ceremony ended just after an hour and Roy quickly wove through the crowd to find his kids. He found Connor first and wrapped an arm around the boy, grinning widely. "Congrats," he said. "How does it feel to almost be in high school?"

"About the same as it did to start middle school," Connor answered honestly.

"High school is way better than middle school. That's what I hear at least. Come on, let's find-"

"Roy!" Mia yelled, gently elbowing people out of the way to get to them. She finally broke free and smiled victoriously, holding up her certificate. "Look! I'm officially an 8th-grade graduate."

"I know. I'm very proud of you. I'm proud of both of you guys. You did great."

'All we did was make it through a grade at school,' Connor thought. 'I can understand why its a big deal for Mia, but for me? My mom always said my lowest bar in life was having a high school diploma anyways…' He looked down at his certificate as a pang of grief shot through his heart. Almost instantly— and without his permission— his eyes glazed over with tears. Connor sniffed and quickly stared wiping his eyes with the short-sleeve of his school shirt.

"Connor?" Roy asked hesitantly. "Are you…ok?"

"Yeah…" Connor replied quietly, voice quivering. " 'm fine…" A whine made its way through his closed lips and he wiped at his eyes with his sleeve again.

"Con…"

A gentle hand settled on his shoulder, prompting Connor to look at Roy. He sniffed a little.

"I- I know that I didn't… know her but… Your mom would be really proud of you. I"m sure of it."

For a moment, Connor just stared at Roy, taking in the sincerity in the man's eyes, then closed his eyes and nodded. 'I still wish she could be here,' he thought, still wiping at his eyes. Which felt like a weird thought because if his mom were there, he wouldn't be here with Roy and Mia. And he kind of liked his life with them. Being a vigilante and listening to Mia complain about whatever had irritated her that day from the bunk above. As much as he missed his mother, there were parts of his new life that he enjoyed. Which really confused Connor, because part of him felt like it was wrong to be so satisfied with his life without his mother. 'But… Mom always said she wanted me to be happy… So, she'd probably want me to be happy with my new life.'

Roy hesitated for a moment, then squeezed Connor's shoulder. "They have some refreshments. Do you guys want to eat here, or grab some lunch before we head home?"

"I'm cool with whatever," Mia shrugged. "Connor?"

"Uh…" Connor wiped at his eyes for what felt like the hundredth time. "We can go if you want to…"

"How about we grab lunch at that vegetarian place you like?" Roy suggested. "Then we can head home and you guys can enjoy your first day of summer vacation."

"Sure…"

Roy smiled at the teen, even though Connor wasn't looking at him, and gave him one last shoulder squeeze. "Let's go then. A good lunch to celebrate you guys moving on to high school."

"Let's go, Connor!" Mia said excitedly, trying to cheer him up.

'Lunch and then…mentally prepare myself for my conversation with Jade,' Roy thought as he followed them out of the courtyard. 'Looking forward to it…'

— —

Once they got home, Roy spent the rest of the day in his room. Not hiding— he was a professional vigilante and superhero, he didn't hide— just…thinking. 'What am I going to say to Jade?' he thought, pacing back and forth. 'I- I don't know what to say… I have such a hard time with Connor and Mia! If I can't handle teenagers, how can I handle a baby?!' Having a baby, an actual child of his own, was never something Roy had thought about. It'd just…never occurred to him. Which left him facing a situation he'd never thought he'd be in. 'How do I- I don't know-' There was a knock on his door, making him stop suddenly. "Uh…come in."

The door opened and Jade walked in slowly. "I know we said we'd talk at night," she said as she shut the door behind her. "but I'm tired of waiting. Let's talk."

"Ok. Uh… Do you want to sit?" Roy gestured to his bed and Jade only hesitated for a second before she sat on the foot. "So… What're we going to do?"

Jade sighed. "Well… The way I see it, we have two options. We can either keep the baby or give it up for adoption."

"Right…" Roy paced a few steps before he stopped and looked at her. "What do you want to do?"

"…I don't know…"

"You don't know?"

"No! I don't!" Jade glared at him, one hand resting almost defensively on her stomach. "I- I don't…hate the idea of keeping it- the baby. I know that doesn't make any sense because I'm an assassin. I don't really have any role models for what a functional parent should be like. I couldn't even stick around to take care of my sister. But… I don't know, maybe it's a maternal instinct thing, but I feel attached to the baby."

"Ok…" Roy nodded, rubbing the back of his neck with both hands. "Ok. So…you want to keep the baby?"

"Do you?"

"I- I don't know. I- I've never thought about being a father, Jade. It's …scary."

"Gee, wouldn't know anything about that."

"You know what I mean."

"So you don't want to keep it?"

"I don't know! I- I… What if I'm no good at it?" Roy's hands dropped and he wrapped his arms around himself. "I've had to work so hard just to take care of myself sometimes, how can I take care of a baby? How can I raise another human being when I feel like I'm constantly on the edge of losing it?"

Jade studied him with a calculating look for a few seconds. "You do know that you already have two kids, right? Obviously, a baby is different than teenagers, but its the same idea."

"But I'm not Connor and Mia's-"

"You're not their parent? Really? So, putting above and beyond effort into getting them into a good school, always making sure they do their homework, punishing them when they do something wrong, trying to impose them with those ridiculous values you hold so closely… Yeah, definitely doesn't sound like a parent to me." When Roy opened his mouth to argue, she pushed on. "You already balance parenting, running your own business, and keeping the whole damn city safe. So don't try to say that you can't handle responsibility, because it's a god-damn lie, and seeing as how you're half the reason we're in this mess, I'm not in the mood for dealing with it."

"…Uh…right…" Roy sighed and rubbed his face. "Ok, let's say, theoretically, we decide to keep the baby. How… How will that even work?" He lifted his head to look at Jade. "Will you live here? Somewhere else? What about your…work? Will you go back to it after the baby is born?"

"I haven't really thought about it to be honest… I'm taking this all step-by-step. I definitely can't go back to assassin work while I'm pregnant. And I don't really know where I would go if I don't stay here."

"And what about us?"

"What about us?" Jade tried to keep her heart from speeding up.

"Do you really think we can raise a kid together? I mean, I love being your friend, but I'm still, really not ready for…anything else yet. Not even this can change that."

"I know. But honestly, I think people in a less-functional relationship than us have raised a kid together."

Roy snorted a little. "Oh, I'm sure." He sighed again. "Look, I'm not…opposed to keeping the baby. I also know this isn't really a decision we can take back, but… you're right about one thing. I am half the reason we're in this mess. So it's my responsibility to…help you and the baby. I don't know what I'm doing, but I'll do everything I can to be a…good dad."

"So…we're going to keep the baby?"

"…Yeah… Looks like it." Anxiety played with Roy's nerves, but at the same time, the excitement was bubbling in his stomach.

"Good." Jade glanced behind Roy at the door, then back at him. "Are you going to tell the kids, or do you want to wait until I start showing and pretend like nothing is happening? Because I'm fine with either."

"No, no. I should tell them tonight. Especially if we're going to be…raising the baby. I want to be honest with them."

"Figures, hero," Jade smirked at him as she stood. "I don't have to be there, do I?"

"Not if you don't want to."

"I'm taking a nap then."

"Ok." Roy chuckled a little bit and gave Jade a small smile as he followed her out of the room. He went straight to Connor and Mia's room and only hesitated for a second before knocking.

"Come in!" Mia called.

Roy walked in to find Connor meditating by the window and Mia sitting on Connor's bed, looking at a magazine. "You guys busy? I have some…news to share."

"What's up?"

Both teens gave Roy their full attention as he sat on the ground. "I… Well…" He took a deep breath, then exhaled it slowly. "Jade is pregnant. With- With my child."

"With your…" Connor whispered, eyes slowly widening.

"Oh my God…" Mia just about breathed. "You guys had sex?!"

"Uh…" Roy replied, not sure what he could say to that. "That's not the point. Jade and I are having a baby." Neither of them said anything for close to half a minute. "Sound good?"

"You say that like we have a choice in the matter," Connor muttered. "So…you're going to have a kid?"

"I will."

"Huh. Ok." Connor closed his eyes, appearing to go back to his meditation.

"Ok… Mia?"

Mia shrugged. "What I am supposed to say?" she asked. "You guys aren't in a relationship, but you're having a kid together. Weird, but do you, I guess."

"Thanks… I think?" Roy stood and smiled at them. "I'm glad you guys aren't like…freaked out by this. It's going to be…an adventure. Something heroes don't run away from. Right?"

"Sure!"

'Just an adventure,' Roy thought as he left the room. 'A scary, exciting…life-changing adventure. One that Jade seems convinced I can do. I really hope she's right.'