A/N - I know it's been awhile, friends... had a bad writing block in spring, real life drama over the summer, and then could barely get my rusty writing wheels going again, but at last, here we are!
Steph hadn't wanted to let Bruce drive her home - she way would've preferred Tim, despite his kind of judgy attitude - because she knew - she knew - Bruce was gonna come up and give Lex the shovel talk when they got to her apartment.
He hadn't said so, but Steph was Batgirl, ok? She had this detective stuff down. But her face was still soggy and her spirit had felt like wet crumpled newspaper so when Bruce had calmly announced that he would be her chauffeur, Steph couldn't dredge up the energy to argue.
She was sitting in the front seat of his blessedly beat-up pickup truck (because someone understood what cars not to drive in the city!), staring glumly out the window at Gotham after dark, with a hand almost unconsciously cradling her belly. Beside her, Bruce cleared his throat.
"It's entirely possible that your relationship will run its natural course before your baby is due, and you won't need to make any hard choices," he said soothingly. Steph had to bite back a hysterical giggle, because only Bruce would think cheerfully predicting her supposedly imminent breakup would bring her comfort. He was trying so hard to help, though, and it made her heart ache with love for her bonus dad.
"You're gonna be my baby's Pop-Pop either way, though, right?" she double checked, turning her head to face him. His quick little intake of breath betrayed absolute, wondrous delight. "Been so stressed out over me, you didn't even think about how this was your first grandbaby, huh?" Steph teased him.
"I think we've both been stressed," he smiled at her, but she saw even in the dim glow of the oncoming headlights how brightly his eyes were shining. "But yes, of course," he said firmly. "We're not abandoning you, Steph, even if you choose Lex," he sighed. "But we'll have to limit our interactions to purely civilian matters."
"Well, babies are pretty all consuming," Steph murmured. "So I hear," she added wistfully, thinking of her first little one and the empty ache in her arms. "I'm pretty sure Pop-Pop and Uncle Tim will be plenty occupied during future social visits without any Bat talk," she said softly.
"If that's what you decide you really want," Bruce said in a voice that was begging her to decide otherwise, against her baby daddy - her brilliant, evil, but oh so caring super-villain of a lover who was filling Steph up with more care and devotion than she ever thought she'd be lucky enough to receive from anyone.
Wasn't that what she wanted? Everything she'd ever wanted? But - she hadn't planned on having to give up all things Bat when she'd made that hazy, lust-and-romance-and-hormone filled determination. Dammit, Steph thought to herself with frustrated tears. Of course, Johnny Cash's Hurt ringtone chose that instant to burst out of her cellphone.
"Oh, God," Steph said with horror.
"What?" B asked with immediate concern.
"It's my mom," Steph gulped. Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck. "Hi, Mom!" she answered brightly, sounding as falsely untroubled as possible. "How are you?"
"Stephanie Brown," her mother gritted out.
"Yeah? Are you ok?" Steph asked oh so innocently as her stomach flipped in nervous knots.
"I just got off a double shift," her mother said tersely.
"Oh, you must be exhausted," Steph sympathetically hummed.
"Do not change the subject!" her mom snapped.
"What subject?" Steph asked, despite already knowing, all too damn well, where this was going. Dammitdammitdammit.
"Why in GOD's NAME," her mom began with righteous fervor, "did I see a photo of you and Lex Luthor," she hissed, "in the Daily Planet society pages, with some very unsavory analysis, no less, of a fucking Harry Winston necklace?!" Oh, God.
"I'm not gold digging," Steph said quickly.
"No shit," her mom replied shortly. "You would've locked Tim down if you were. Explain yourself, young lady," she thundered. Bruce glanced over at her. She didn't have her phone on speaker, but her mom was so loud that she had no doubt he'd heard her.
"Um, well, I met Lex at that Metropolis gala I went to with Bruce and Tim last month -"
"Stephanie Brown, I swear to God, if you say you're -"
"- I'm pregnant." "- pregnant." They said at the same time. Her mom's sharp inhale whistled through the phone.
"Stephanie," she whispered. "Fucking hell. Have you learned nothing?" her mom half moaned.
"I was on the pill and we used a condom," Steph protested. "It shouldn't have happened!"
"It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't slept with Lex fucking Luthor in the first place!" her mom yelled. Beside her, Bruce had definitely heard that, because he couldn't quite stop his little half grunt of agreement. Steph glared at him and got big Bat puppy dog eyes of apology. She rolled hers back at him, mouthing Catwoman. "Or if you'd listened to me and gotten an IUD instead!" her mom was continuing to rant. "You missed a day of your pill, didn't you?" she scolded.
"Um, probably," Steph mumbled.
"For fuck's sake," her mom grumbled in frustration. "I'm only a nurse, Stephanie Elizabeth Brown." Full name. Never good. "God forbid I actually have some medical insight that could keep you from ruining your life."
"I haven't ruined my life!" Steph cried out in sharp indignation.
"Oh, really?" her mom said snidely. "You're not going to be able to graduate on time, are you," she said as a statement, already knowing the answer. "And explain to me how you're going to find the energy to go back to school and finish up with a baby on your hip - because I can assume you're not having an abortion -"
"Hell, no," Steph growled.
"- and I suppose it's too much to ask that you do the sane thing and put this baby up for adoption -"
"Lex would take it if I didn't want it, first of all," Steph snapped back. "Fathers have rights, you know, and he's super excited about our baby, mom." Her voice turned pleading. "And I am too, now that I've had a chance to get used to the idea. Ok?" Steph begged her mom to understand. "Plus, Lex really cares about me and I like him a lot. A lot a lot," she blushed to Bruce's masked sigh
"I know it's not the timing I planned on for having kids, but … I'm happy," Steph finished more quietly. "Could you try to be, too? Please?" Her mom sighed, loud and exasperated.
"Happy that you're having a billionaire's baby? Happy you're dropping out of school?"
"Taking a leave of absence," Steph tried to interject.
"Happy the billionaire is more than twice your age?" her mom continued right on as if she hadn't spoken. "Happy he has enough money and lawyers to make your life a living hell and legally steal your child away from you forever if he decides on a whim he suddenly doesn't like you anymore?"
"He wouldn't," Steph protested.
"Oh, honey," her mom said with deep, condescending pity, sounding old and exhausted. "You are such a baby yourself," she muttered. "God help us." Well, that was supremely unfair. "I suppose he's moving you to Metropolis," her mom sighed, "since he's apparently in a doting mood."
"No," Steph replied with deep satisfaction. "He's moving to Gotham." Bruce stiffened in the seat next to her and gave her a piercingly uncomfortable look. Oh, had she forgotten to mention that little detail? Um… oops?
"What?" her mom choked on a laugh. "Lex? No," she scoffed. "Mr. Metropolis himself coming to Gotham?" she laughed with scorn.
"He is," Steph insisted. "For me. He's going to buy a penthouse here and commute."
"I'll believe it when I see it," her mom said cynically.
"You will," Steph sulked, not liking at all how Bruce was silently grinding his jaw.
"I'm not holding my breath," her mom said flatly. "Have you been to the doctor yet?" she asked, switching into nurse mode.
"Yeah."
"Got your prenatals?"
"Tomorrow." Her mom grunted in a not unBatman-like manner.
"Keep in touch with Tim," she wearily ordered. "You may need his money eventually."
"Wow. What a cheery thought. Thank you for the words of encouragement, Mother," Steph said sarcastically. Her mom sighed.
"This is not the life I wanted for you," she said with a raw honesty that scraped Steph's barbed wires bare. "I was so relieved you made it into college after everything you went through in your teens."
"Like dad's criminal friends kidnapping me? And you being too stoned to notice?" Steph said sharply, fighting her guilt.
"And you getting pregnant? Yes. All of that," her mom surprisingly acknowledged, despite the snarky add-on. "You made it out of all our messes and were on track to support yourself with a good career, Stephanie," her mom said wistfully. "And now here we are."
"It's gonna be ok, mom," Steph tried to convince both herself and her mom and Bruce, too.
"I wanted you to be better than ok," her mom answered somewhat bitterly and with a startlingly protective tenderness. Steph supposed that was as close to an apology as she would ever get. God damn her throat for getting so tight.
"Maybe it will be," she murmured, although she didn't really see how, with the choice she had to make guaranteeing that she would lose something precious to her either way. Behind the wheel, Bruce's sympathetic eyes acknowledged her false hope, but after she got off the phone, he reached over and squeezed her hand.
"Maybe it will be," he softly echoed. Just this once, she loved him for lying.
A/N - Does this fic keep exploding in length? A-yup. Loads more to come, who knows when tho sorry XD
