Zatanna
Wayne Manor

Bruce was gingerly carrying the car seat into the house, filled with the tiniest little wonder she had ever seen. When they entered the front door, they were greeted with a banner, balloons and even more stuffed animals and flowers.

"The family wanted to give us a warm welcome," Bruce said, kissing her on the cheek.

A black flash flew toward her and landed on her shoulder, screaming and nudging her head. The cat looked down at the car seat and curled up around her neck.

"This isn't going to work for me, mister," she said, grabbing him and moving him to perch on a nearby table. Thankfully, he didn't try to leap into the carrier with Thomas, instead just sitting and looking at him like he was the best thing ever to exist...even better than food, which was remarkable. We finally agree on something.

"Welcome home," Alfred said, grabbing their luggage and heading upstairs. They followed close behind, stopping at the nursery, where she grabbed Thomas out of the car seat as he fussed and sat down in the oversize chair.

"Hungry already?"

Bruce came to sit down next to her, probably wanting to steal him, but not having the proper equipment to provide sustenance. They were both worn out, having gotten a grand total of maybe eight hours of sleep over the course of their three days in the hospital. The doctor wanted to hang onto them a few days since he was three weeks early, but his weight hadn't dropped too much and he was eating like a pro, so she cut them loose.

"Maybe he'll sleep a while once he eats," Bruce said, yawning and stretching.

"I hope so. I'll probably be able to really pass out now that we'll be in our bed."

"Mind if I check in at the Watchtower once he's up again?"

"No, that's fine. You don't need to ask permission. Tell everyone thanks for the protection detail."

"I will." He yawned again and leaned his head back on the chair. "Diana wants to come cuddle him while I'm there."

She sighed and looked over at him. "We don't need a babysitter every time you aren't here."

"I know that. She really wants to come over." He didn't look at her...because he was lying. It was something they would need to address soon, but she was too tired to pull at that particular sanity thread at the moment. If he had his way, she would never have another second of alone time, but she hadn't really gotten to talk to Diana in the hospital, anyway, so it would be nice to see her again. Bruce was already snoring and Thomas didn't feel the need to fall right asleep after he finished eating, so she got up and walked him around the house. The cat was close behind her the whole time, keeping watch over his new best friend.

"If you can't find me, I'm probably in here," she said as she entered the under-construction library. "If you can't find daddy, he's in the cave. Don't go in the cave without permission." She walked to the kitchen, where she found Alfred. "If you can't find Alfred, he's probably in here making something amazing."

"Hello, Master Thomas. I might also be found in the garden during the warmer months."

"If you can't find the cat, look behind you. He's apparently going to follow you everywhere. He might also be on your shoulder when you're big enough, so check there. And duck if he flies at your face." She stopped to swaddle him tighter and he started to blink his way to sleep. Once he was deposited in the bassinet in their bedroom, she returned to grab her sleeping fiance. "Hey, come to bed or your neck will be killing you," she said, running her fingers along his growing beard.

"Mm...sorry. Didn't mean to fall asleep without you."

"It's okay. But come on, I need some too."

Bruce
Watchtower

RECOGNIZE: BRUCE WAYNE

Clark turned to him with a smile when he stepped into the monitoring room. "Welcome back, Dad." He shook his hand and studied his face. "Beard...I like it."

"I'd like to say it's a style choice, but I've just been too damn tired to shave," he said, sitting down at the monitors. "Anything interesting going on?"

"Warlords warlording in Africa. J'onn is there doing what he can to negotiate some peace. Vic is in Detroit monitoring protesting, but the violence has been kept at bay, thanks to him. Not sure where Diana is."

"Baby cuddling duty," he said, flipping though the video feeds.

"How long are you going to get away with that?"

"I imagine another day and a half before she throws a full fit." He knew he was being over-the-top and would have to let them be alone at some point, but he was going to make her complain about it before he gave in. "I just want them to be safe."

"I know. I'd be just as bad until Lois threw me out for being obnoxious. And she's not half as disaster-prone as Zatanna," he laughed.

"You two ever going to get around to it?"

"If it were up to Lois, we would have a long time ago." He looked down at his feet as he spoke. "I'm sure you know better than anyone why I'm reluctant. Hell, I don't even know if we can."

Bruce nodded and leaned back in the chair. No one in the League was ever ready for the responsibility of raising a child. Sometimes life just happens, though...and he was glad that it had, all things had considered. He wouldn't trade his little family for anything.

"Give it more thought. I think you'll find it's worth the worry," he said, standing and giving Clark his chair back. "I can't stay long, but wanted to check in. Sorry I haven't been available much lately."

"No problem. I know you've had your hands full with the baby and Elliott. Speaking of which, have you gotten anywhere?"

"Nowhere."

"He's patient, I'll give him that. Think you'll have to give him what he wants?"

"No. He's not getting anywhere near Zee again."

"How about just you...just Bruce?"

It was something he had considered. Bruce being there might be enough to get him talking, if he really wanted to. He just hated giving into the demands of a lunatic. "Maybe, but I have time on my side."

"Do you? What about the note and the burning car? Did you find any evidence?"

"Nothing conclusive. No one's tried to grab Zatanna or Alfred or even sniffed around her wards. Not that they would have gotten far with the protection we had."

"Bruce...the note wasn't addressed to you," Clark said with a furrowed brow. "It was addressed..."

"To Batman. Shit." He ran back to the monitors as Clark stood again and started pulling up trackers for the team. Sending an alert out, he had them all on a conference call within a few minutes. "Is everyone okay?" They all nodded and gave him confused looks.

"What's going on?" Kate asked.

"The note. Whoever left it wanted to take something of Batman's. Be on high alert. Barb, check on your dad and Dick for me. I know you can take care of yourselves, but you might be the targets right now."

"Got it," Tim said. "I'm on patrol tonight and I'll make sure the commissioner gets to and from work safely."

"Thanks," Barb said as she typed a message on her phone.

"Oh, I'd love for the bastard to try. Think we need double duty again?" Kate asked.

"Let's do it for now. I'll try to be back out there as soon as I can. Sorry guys, I know you'd been enjoying your free time. My attention has been too divided recently."

"Don't sweat it, boss. Take care of that kid and we'll watch each others' backs...and our own."

"Let me know if anything happens," he said, disconnecting the line. "Thanks, Clark. I've been so focused on the baby coming that I didn't think about the threat to the others."

"You'll find a balance. I'll run some patrols around. Doesn't take me long to get here from Metropolis. Maybe a couple of sonic booms here and there will be a good deterrent."

"Sounds good. I need to get back home."

Zatanna
Wayne Manor

"Hey, Di."

Diana came in and sat down with her in the den, quickly reaching her arms out to claim the cuddle bug.

"He's so beautiful, Sister," she said, smiling at him and sniffing his head. "And he has that baby smell. What is it about that smell?"

"I don't know, but if someone could bottle it into an air freshener, they'd make a killing. Could use it when he gets older and starts to smell like a boy."

Diana laughed and laid Thomas down on her lap. "Thanks for letting me come over. I know you're tired."

"You're always welcome. Even when Bruce doesn't ask you to come so he can feel safe leaving."

She looked at her and smirked. "I told him you'd be angry."

"I'm not angry. I'll let him get away with it for a little while so he can relax a bit when he's gone. It's sweet...for now."

"I really did want to come over, though. Nothing beats holding a newborn."

She had a nagging feeling that there was something else Diana wanted to say. Her magic was coming back in full force and she could sense deception again.

"What's on your mind?"

"I really hate that you can do that," she said, rolling her eyes and rubbing Thomas's belly.

"Everyone does. What is it?"

She leaned back and looked at her. "I'm not sure. Bruce was being weird and cryptic. I think he was trying to tell me something without telling me something."

"I have no idea what that means."

"He told me you might need my help...said it involved San Francisco and your little field trip to Hell."

Now I'm a little angry. He clearly wasn't going to let the Tsaritsa issue be and it was going to be worse now that the baby was born. There wasn't much keeping the birth a secret; news had leaked as soon as she checked into the hospital. The crazy lady would come calling someday and Zee was bound by a promise to answer.

"Zatanna?"

She'd been sitting and stewing for longer than she realized. "It's just something I have to take care of. I told him I could handle it, but he's determined to meddle."

"Well, fill me in and I'll see if his meddling is warranted."

Great. "I promised Tsartisa..."

"It's warranted," she said flatly. "What could you possibly have been thinking going to her?"

"I didn't! Constantine said we should recruit her, so I recruited her. I barely even knew who she was."

"What did you promise her?"

"To help."

"With?"

She shrugged and reached to take a now-fussing Thomas back. Not wanting to see the look on her friend's face, she quickly stood and headed to the nursery to grab a clean diaper. Diana was on her heels and there was likely no way she was going to let it go. "I can handle it."

"You say that as if you know what it is you're going to be handling. You made her a blind promise?"

"Yes. I wasn't in a position to negotiate terms." The room was dim, but she could see Diana's disapproving look as clear as day. "You can't help and neither can Bruce. I know where to reach you if I need anything."

"It's not that simple. Not with someone like her."

"It is that simple."

"Look down at your child and tell me that again." Her voice was as sharp as the look in her eye. Looking down at Thomas's sweet face, she knew it wasn't at all simple...not anymore. Before the pregnancy and engagement, she'd never given much thought to taking on dangerous tasks and risking her life. She would follow her gut and hope she would make it through...if she didn't, nothing much in the world would change. Now, she held a life in her hands that deserved more consideration than that. It was why she'd left the League. Bruce deserved more, too, especially after everything they had already been through. With tears rolling down her face, she looked back to Diana.

"I can't get out of it, Di. And if I don't help, things will be worse." She finished changing the diaper and sat down in the oversize chair, rocking Thomas as he settled back down.

Diana came over and sat down next to her, putting her arm over her shoulders and hugging her. "Please, let me help."

"How?"

"I'll look into what she's up to right now and we'll go from there. Read up on our history with her so you know what she's capable of."

"Bruce just got back," she said, feeling him enter the house through the tube. "Keep this quiet until we have a plan?"

"Of course," she whispered. Bruce walked into the room and immediately picked up on her tears.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, we were just talking. I'm still a little emotional."

He seemed to buy it and leaned against the wall. "Diana, stop making my wife cry."

She laughed and stood. "Your 'wife' can cry anytime she wants. She's had a big week."

He quickly took her place in the chair. "Stay as long as you'd like."

"Thanks, but I have some work to do. I appreciate you letting me spend some time with that baby, though. He's perfect."

"Agreed," he said. Diana said goodbye and left them alone. "You two doing alright?"

"Yeah," Zee said, though she still had a knot in her stomach from thinking about what the future held. "Everything okay at the tower?"

"Mm hmm."

She turned and looked at him, knowing something else was up. "What is it? What's happened?"

"You were easier to lie to when your powers were weakened," he said, shaking his head. "It's nothing you need to worry about."

"Exactly how much did you lie to me when my powers were weakened?"

"Uh...not...much?" He stammered.

"Mm hm, okay, right. We're going to be circling back to that, but first...tell me what's going on." He reached over and grabbed Thomas's foot, bouncing it up and down with a smile. She got the distinct impression he was delaying to avoid the topic, so she grabbed the bouncing leg to stop it and cocked her eyebrow. "Bruce..."

"Someone suspects I have Elliott and wants him back."

"Someone? Any idea who or why they think that?"

"My best guess right now is the getaway driver. He burned the car and left me a note."

"What did the note say?"

He started bouncing the baby foot, but wasn't smiling anymore. "Take something of mine and I take something of yours."

"And you think it means us?"

"No, actually. It was addressed to Batman. I have everyone on alert."

Nodding, she transferred Thomas over to his shoulder. "Good. And you'll tell me if I can help, right?"

His hand gently patted the baby's back and he looked in her eyes. "You're retired."

"This is your family we're talking about here, not the League or some stranger."

"It won't come to that." He leaned over and kissed her, then kissed Thomas on the head. She decided to drop the subject, for the time being. If anything happened, they could decide what to do. "Come on. I want to take you two somewhere."

He stood and grabbed her hand, leading her to the front door and down a path toward the east side of the property. It was a gorgeous day, with a light wind that ruffled the baby's messy hair while he stared around at the new sights. They were new to her, also, because she had never ventured too far outside of the area around the main house. When they topped a hill, she realized where he was leading them and got a new set of butterflies in her stomach. There was a large grove of trees ahead, at the center of which sat a stone building surrounded by flowers and shrubs. A fountain was placed near the front entrance and there were several benches lining the walkway.

"Teuquob fo sesor," she said quietly, causing the flowers to appear in her hand. Bruce gave her a small smile and led her inside. The ornate mausoleum was adorned with marble and gold, befitting the royal family of Gotham City. They stopped in front of two plaques reading "Martha Wayne and Thomas Wayne", so she laid the roses down on the bench between them. Bruce handed the baby to her and grabbed a box of matches, lighting the candles on each side of the room.

"Hey Mom, Dad. Sorry I haven't been by in a while, but as you can see, things have been a bit busy." He walked behind her and put his arms around her waist, leaning his chin on her shoulder. "I wish they were here to meet you both."

"Me, too," she whispered. "Tell me about them."

"Dad was a hard worker. He didn't need to be, since he inherited billions, but he studied to be a surgeon and worked for free. He loved it and loved helping people."

"Sounds familiar."

"He could be a bit stern at times, but he loved us. Mom was funny. Sweet. I spent most of my time with her as a kid. She loved to help people and throw fundraisers and give back." His voice was soft and low in her ear. "Mom, Dad...this is Zee and Thomas." He kissed the side of her head and sighed, still holding her tightly while she cried. She knew this couldn't be easy for him. "I love you all."

"And we love you, right?" She looked down at Thomas's face. His eyes were starting to blink closed, so she put him on her shoulder and bounced him gently. "He says 'yes'."

They stood quietly for a while, listening to the wind whistling through the trees outside. Most people would probably prefer not to hang out in a mausoleum, but this one was peaceful and she found it comforting.

"Thank you for coming here," Bruce said, lips still pressed against her head.

"Thank you for bringing us here. It's beautiful."

"You're welcome."

The Accomplice
Gotham City

Always at night.

The favorite hours of criminals and vigilantes. He yawned, watching for movement along the rooftops. Recon is boring. Necessary, but boring.

"You're overthinking things."

"Some things need to be overthought. I'm not going to wind up like our foolish ally, captive to Batman," he replied with another yawn.

"That's what you think happened to him. What if he just took off? Or died?"

"You really think we wouldn't know if he died?"

"You should have killed him yourself as soon as he started going off the deep end. For fuck's sake, just take her and get it over with. If you're right, Batman will deal the arrogant idiot back to us and we can move forward."

No, I can move forward. And you can shut the fuck up.

He wouldn't be pressured into moving until he was comfortable, and Batman was very good at making people uncomfortable.

"The sun's rising. Let's get out of here. We'll try again tomorrow."

"Fucking fantastic."

Bruce
Wayne Manor

It had been a while since they had weekly meetings with the whole team, but the current threat necessitated additional measures. After the first three weeks at home, he started going back out Thursday nights, and monitoring with the drone most other nights. Zatanna was trying to encourage him to go out more so he would worry less, but he wasn't comfortable leaving her alone yet, either. She had quickly put the kibosh on the direct League surveillance, so it was up to him to be there as much as possible. They would sit in the den and watch the monitors, where he had moved most of his equipment since the cave was too cold for the baby. He was itching to be out on the streets, but the setup was working well enough, for the time being.

"Okay, give me the rundown," he said, holding Thomas and pacing the room. Zatanna wanted to shower and meditate, so meeting time was in the den. They had discussed open cases and upcoming events before moving on to patrols.

"First, give me that," Kate said, reaching for the baby. Everyone always reached for the baby. He handed him over and sat back down at the monitors. "Thanks. Hey, little bud. You're the handsomest little boy ever, aren't you? Yes, you are." She tapped on his cheeks as he grinned at her.

"Kate..."

Barb and Tim laughed at his annoyance. This might not be the best setup for professionalism.

"Right, sorry. He's super cute. Nothing on my watch aside from the usual criminal activity. I haven't felt anyone shadowing me."

"Same here," Barb said. "I've been careful to keep my profile low and I'm monitoring dad to and from work. Dick said nothing's out of the ordinary in Blüdhaven."

"Yeah, I don't know, Bruce. I'm not sure this threat was legit. Things have been pleasantly quiet." Tim leaned back on the couch and shrugged.

"We can't assume it wasn't legit. Not as long as we have Elliott in custody."

"Alright, then you know what our options are there," Kate said. "You've gotta go and talk to him."

He'd been arguing against it since he made the demand, but he knew she was right. They were stuck, otherwise, and his captive was more patient and determined than he would have guessed.

"I think I do."

"And that means I go, too," Zatanna said, entering the room at the worst possible time. Kate walked over to her and handed off Thomas, who cooed at her and smiled; he was a smiley kid.

"No, it doesn't mean that. I go alone and see if he talks without you there."

"Oh, sure. Waste more time. Great idea," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Did you meditate at all? You're usually much less snarky after you meditate."

"Yes. That's how absurd you're being. Just let me go with you and get him to talk. You're protecting me from a creep in a cage for no reason."

"As an ex-member of the Justice League, you are no longer authorized to talk to creeps in cages."

"You're ridiculous," she laughed. "Fine. Talk to him alone if it makes you happy. Your son and I will be in the library when you're finished with the meeting."

Ridiculous, maybe, but it was worth a shot to see if he could avoid exposing her to her attempted rapist/murderer again. He worried that she was dismissing the effect it had on her too much and wanted her focused on taking care of herself and the baby.

"You two are a mess," Barb said once Zatanna left. "She seems so happy."

"So do you," Kate added.

"We are," he said. "Now, get out of here and let us bicker in peace. Keep up dual patrols and I'll let you know what I get out of our prisoner. Be safe."

They made their way out of the den, chatting among themselves about something that smelled good coming from the kitchen. He should have known Alfred wouldn't let them escape without full stomachs. Bruce turned the monitors off and walked to the library, where he found Zatanna lounging on the couch, humming and reading a book with Thomas on her shoulder. Without looking up, she moved over to make room for him, so he stretched out alongside them and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"When are you going to talk to him?" She asked, not letting the subject drop.

"Morning, probably."

"Okay, when he doesn't talk, come get me. Alfred can keep an eye on Thomas."

He huffed in her ear and kissed her temple. "He'll talk with me there."

"Mmm." She nuzzled against him and put her book down. "I miss the beard."

"Me, too. I felt so distinguished with it. Didn't feel too good when your son got a fistful, though. I'll grow it back on the honeymoon."

She pulled her head back and sighed. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Talk about something we'll never do."

He frowned and looked in her eyes. "You think I'm not taking you on a honeymoon?"

"I know you're not. You know you can't be away that long, so don't make promises you can't keep."

"Zee...I'm taking you to Italy," he said. "You were there when I bought the trip. Did you think I was just buying it for show?"

"Well, yeah."

"I wasn't. We're going."

"Really?" The look of shock on her face surprised him; she really hadn't imagined they'd go anywhere together. It wasn't going to be easy and he had to call in a lot of favors from the others to volunteer more time, but he wanted to show her that he could be Batman and her Bruce at the same time.

Brushing her hair away from her face, he nodded and smiled. "Yeah, really. Back to your homeland."

She grinned and gently pressed her lips to his. He knew she wasn't ready for sex yet, but his body was knee-jerk reacting to every move she made lately. Reaching behind her head, he pulled her closer, slipping his tongue into her mouth with a moan. She suddenly started laughing, so he pulled his head back.

"Sorry. Thomas just likes it when we kiss."

"He...knows what we're doing?" It wasn't quite what he wanted to hear at the moment.

"Not exactly, but he can feel how happy I am."

"He can feel what you're feeling?"

"Yeah. Been able to since I was six months along or so," she said, as if it were normal. "And I can feel him."

"Why am I just now learning this?"

She shrugged and moved Thomas to his chest. "It's just a thing."

"Can you feel what I'm feeling?"

"No," she said. "But I don't try to unless I think you're lying to me. Which you apparently do...don't think I've forgotten about that little revelation."

Not wanting to fess up to anything, he lowered his mouth back to hers and kissed her again as he patted Thomas on the back. "We'd better put this happy boy to bed and eat dinner."

"Okay, Gatsby," she said with a smirk.

"I don't lie that much."

She stood and stared at him a moment with an amused look on her face. "Whatever you say...Batman."

That's it...I'm hiding the rest of my books.