All of the characters and story lines and everything else I can think of are the property of DC comics and the WB network. The only bits that're mine are the words and the voice.
This story is a continuation of BEGINNINGS: The Awakening, which was previously known as Beginnings. It began to get long, and it seemed wiser to group it into subsections. I was not able to link them up, so you will just have to hunt around and find it if you haven't already read it…sorry! I tried! If you click on my name, though, it should give you all two of my stories.
That said, enjoy the story!
Chapter 1: The Secret
"Barbara?"
Barbara looked up sharply at his tone of voice. Something had shaken Dick badly. His face was white, his eyes remote. Concerned, she motioned for him to join her at the kitchen table. "What is it, Dick? What's wrong?"
He shook his head, as if in disbelief. His lips parted, but he seemed unable to make them form the words. He shook his head again.
Now, she was alarmed. What could possibly have happened? A sudden chill went through her: Oh, God…Is it Bruce? Is he…
Reaching over to stroke Dick's arm, she forced her voice to remain calm and quiet. "Dick? It's all right, love. Just tell me what's the matter."
His remote, grey eyes met her concerned gaze. Distantly, he said, "Bruce has a kid."
"A kid?"
"A daughter."
She blinked. "Are you sure?" He nodded.
Silence fell between them as each struggled to process this amazing information. Barbara's head fairly whirled with questions, but she could see that Dick was in no space to be bombarded with them. She needed to go gently with this. Wheeling over to the stove, she put the kettle on and busied herself making tea, allowing him the time he needed to pull his scattered thoughts together. They sat and sipped in silence.
Finally, she could see the some of the tension leave his body. He no longer gripped the tea mug with such intensity. Slowly, she watched him return from the distant place he had retreated to. When he met her eyes, she could sense his presence once again. She broke the silence.
"Does Alfred know?"
His eyebrow quirked. "He does, now."
She poured more tea for each of them. "Why don't you start at the beginning and tell me what happened."
He ran his fingers through his hair, "It's going to be a long story. Why don't we go into the living room."
When both had made themselves comfortable, he fidgeted a moment, then said:
"Okay, first of all, I need to come clean with you. Ever since Bruce left, I've been doing double duty on patrol. I've been doing my usual patrols weeknights after work in Bludhaven. Then, weekends, I've been coming up here to see you, and since I was crashing at the Wayne manor anyway, I've been using the Batcave and covering the New Gotham circuit best I could. Alfred's been helping me—monitoring the system and that."
Barbara's eyes sharpened. "No wonder you've been looking so wiped out! Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well, at first, you were...you know."
She flushed, and nodded.
"And, afterward, well, you've been trying so hard to let go of Batgirl and move on…I didn't want to make it harder by flaunting it right in front of you."
She sighed, "That was really considerate of you, but I need you to understand that when you try to protect me by leaving me out of the loop, it makes it worse, not better."
He nodded, "Yeah, I get that now, but by the time I figured it out, enough time had gone by that I was afraid you'd be angry I hadn't told you in the first place, so I've sort of been avoiding bringing it up." He gave her a sheepish glance. "It was stupid of me. I'm sorry."
"You're forgiven. What about Bruce's daughter?"
"I don't even know where to start this story."
"The beginning would be an awfully good place."
"Very funny. Raise your right hand and repeat after me: I, Barbara Gordon, do solemnly promise…"
She grinned, "I, Barbara Gordon, do solemnly promise…"
"Not to interrupt Dick until he finishes telling the story."
She sighed in mock exasperation, "Not to interrupt Dick until he finishes telling the story. Hurry up and get on with it. The suspense is killing me."
He cleared his throat and began:
