Epilogue:
A hand running through my hair woke me some time later. In my joy I had lost track of what had happened after the baby was taken away for a check up. Lifting my head from where it rested on my arms, I sat back up in my chair to see Dee smiling at me.
"Morning, Dad," she said softly, her voice raw from giving birth.
"Morning, Mom," I replied. Getting up, I moved to sit next to her and put my arms around her shoulders. Next to her bed was a bassinet containing our sleeping son. The nurse came in then and lifted the baby out, handing him over to Dee. After taking our breakfast order, she left. I watched as Dee bared one of her breasts and held our son to it. Without hesitation, he sucked her nipple into his mouth and began feeding hungrily. The boy knew a good thing when he saw it.
Lucky kid. "He's got your hair," I said, stroking the fine layer of red hair on his head.
"And he's got your chin," she replied as she kissed mine. "Nose, too."
"He has your appetite," I teased as the boy slurped away.
"Mm. Yes. I'm hungry too. I hope she comes back soon."
Tilting her face to mine, I gave her a soft kiss. "Even after all that, you're still beautiful. I love you."
We kissed a few more times before she had to stop to switch the baby over to her other breast. Sighing, she stroked his soft cheek as she leaned her head against my chest. I was more than happy to just hold her in my arms and watch my son eat. My son. I had a son!
"I didn't expect it to feel like this, Eddie. It's... It's..."
"Overwhelming, wonderful, and frightening," I finished.
She nodded. "It's hard to believe that we're parents now. Everything feels like a dream."
By the time Eddie Jr. had his fill, Dee's stomach was growling. Patiently though, she burped the child. He yawned, gave a whimper, and went to sleep. Dee was reluctant to let the boy go, even though he would still be in arm's reach.
"Ms. Lemma, would you like me to send someone in to wash your hair and give you a bath?"
"Can he do it?" she asked holding my hand as the nurse swung the loaded table over the bed. She wasn't fond of strangers seeing her naked. After this morning, I think she had had quite enough of being displayed to the world.
"If he wants." When I agreed, she apologized to Dee as she held up a couple of tubes. "I know you just had the baby attached to your breasts, but I'll need to get some milk from you to hold. We'll be using it to teach Mr. Nigma how to properly feed the baby."
Sighing, she nodded and allowed the nurse to attach the tubes to her nipples. "I feel like a cow," she said when the nurse left. Half-heartedly she poked at her food, pushing it around instead of eating.
"A pretty cow," I said hoping to make her smile at least. It didn't work and her lower lip stuck out as her chin began to tremble. Setting my plate down, I gave her a hug and a kiss. "I'm sorry. We were going to do this anyway."
"Yeah, but doing it while I'm eating makes me feel like a cow. You always see them being shuffled in to the barn and fed while they get these stupid things attached to their udders."
"Eat, Dee. You haven't had anything solid to eat in hours. I'll talk to them and tell them not to do this at a meal, ok?"
Halfway through her breakfast, the pump shut itself off. Without waiting for the nurse, Dee pulled the tubes off and pulled her gown shut. "This stuff tastes almost as bad as the food in Arkham. I love the center, but they really need to get decent cooks for the price they charge," she grumbled.
Once she finished eating, she told me she wanted to bathe and then nap. Her belly looked odd now without the baby inside of her. The loose skin felt strange under my hands as I helped her wash. She was happy afterward, saying she felt better now that she was clean. I let her dry her hair as I washed my face, wishing I had thought to throw a razor in her bag for myself. Brushing her hair out, she had me tie it back for her.
I hurried down to the nurses' station and asked them to turn away any visitors for Dee. Once that was taken care of, I went back to the room. Dee was struggling to keep her eyes open and now she scooted over when I came back, patting the spot she had just made for me.
"Come and sleep with me. I want us all together."
Feeling sleepy myself, I was more than happy to oblige her. Tucking her against myself, I stroked her arm and belly sending her off to sleep. With a sigh, I rested my hand on her slack belly, closing my eyes. I smiled as she took a hold of my hand in her sleep and pressed it between her breasts. Seeing my two most precious possessions sleeping, I felt like the wealthiest man in the world. It was then that I realized that I really wasn't going to need crime in my life again for adventure. I had a beautiful girlfriend who had just given me the best gift in the world since the day she had given me her trust. What the hell else did I need?
Ok, this was a bit of an experiment piece, but I had a helluva good time writing it. I just want to thank my friend Dien for being rude enough to show me (www .riddlersrealm .com/fanfic/ cuddle/eddiejr.jpg) this picture when she was looking for a Riddler picture. I had seen it before, but just passed it over after a giggle. Things would have been safe if she hadn't brought it up to me during one of our incoherent rambling sessions, and said, "That's you and Eddie's brat! He's got your hair!" Thanks, Dien. I love you, too! The conversation dribbled off after she showed me (www .riddlersrealm .com/fanfic/ cuddle/eddiejr2.gif) another picture with an older kid wearing what looked like Zorro's hat done up Riddler style. I insisted that Eddie and I would never let our child out in an outfit as bad as that. We'd give him a nice costume along with explosives and whatnot!
I'd also like to throw a thank you out to Flickguy. I was stuck trying to find a title for this story and when I told him, he began throwing out ideas. After a few, he hit me with "Cuddlenundrum" and, well, I obviously loved it!
One last thank you and I'll shut up. I just want to thank the few loyal readers I have out there who give me encouragement. If it weren't for you (Erin, Lane Closure, Phil, Heather, and Dean, for the most part), I wouldn't have the nerve to put anything else out, keeping these stories on my zip drive and to myself. Thank you for reading and showing interest in my piddling offerings to you!
Because she's my biggest fanart person in the world (and I absolutely worship and love her to death) I want to say a special thanks to (www .introducing-emy .com) Emy/Phobia. Love you, Emy! Don't ever stop being the wonderful and quirky you that you are!
The movie that Dee was quoting as she watched it is Pat and Mike, a fabulous Katharine Hepburn movie. And thanks to Ms. Hepburn for her attitude. If it weren't for you, Dee and I wouldn't have the will that we have now. I've always tried to be the strong person she is both in life and in her movies.
To see the banner I created for this story, go to www .riddlersrealm .com/fanfic/ cuddle /cuddlebanner.gif.
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