Just a quick A/N this time. Thanks to everyone who has been posting reviews….especially Midnite ;-), Kelley G. & Eternal Pal. You guys have provided me with much encouragement and brought up some great pointers/ questions. This is brief I know…but I'm already working on the next section so hopefully it'll be up within the week. Enjoy!
Reba
December 25 (still)
Castle Wyvern
Manhattan
mid-afternoon
After much pestering, pleading, begging, and then threatening, Owen finally caved to Alex's requests to see Elisa. Transforming himself into Puck, the trickster fixed the toddler with a glare. "I'm only going to give in this one time young man, but I'd think twice before you start making idle threats. Don't forget who's the teacher here. I could easily decide that the next three months should be spent practicing your literary skills and pouring over dusty old books."
Alexander had the good graces to look chagrined, and he scuffed his shoe on the flagstone. "Ok…it's just I wanna make sure she'll be alright Uncle Puck. The dream didn't show she was gonna die too!" he said as tears sprang to his eyes.
Puck gathered the boy up. "Ok, but we can't be seen, so we'll let this be a lesson on practicing our invisibility spell ok?"
"Ok," he sniffled.
"Now take my hand and repeat the spell after me….."
A minute later, student and teacher were hovering a few inches over Elisa's bed, the watchful nurse completely unaware of their presence. Alex gasped and buried his head in Puck's chest. "She's so hurt!"
"I know Alex. But the doctors feel that she will pull through, and I'm certain she will too. Look past the injuries and feel her aura."
The boy raised his hand, wiped his face with a little hand and then focused on the woman's life force. "It's weak," he said sadly after a minute.
"For her it is weak. But touch the aura of that woman over there," the Fae instructed. When the boy's eyes widened in surprise he chuckled. "Elisa's a strong willed woman. Every one in this castle has a strong aura and so you've never really known what a normal human's life force is like. So while Elisa's may be weak compared to her normal self, it is still strong enough to see her through this trial."
The boy nodded, and then he titled his head to one side as Puck sensed him focus on Elisa once more. "Uncle Puck?"
"Yes?"
"Why do I sense Goliath's life force with her?"
"What?" the trickster asked startled by the boy's question. Then he too focused on Elisa with a frown that quickly turned to a chuckle. "That takes a tremendous amount of control to discern Alex. Well done my boy," he praised.
There was silence and Puck looked over to see the boy staring at him expectantly. Oh dear. This was one area of teaching that really wasn't his responsibility.
"Well…you see…when two people love each other…they share special time together. Let's just say that you'll find out about that stuff in a few years when your older, but the result is that the male gives some of his life force to the female."
"Is that how babies are made?" he asked with all the innocence of a child.
"Um, well, yes…"
"Is Elisa gonna have a baby now?" the boy asked suddenly eager.
"Ah well no. It's not really possible for a human to carry a gargoyle child. And given the genes, her child would be mostly gargoyle."
"Would that be dangerous?" he asked in a suddenly fearful whisper.
"Well it could be if Elisa didn't have doctors carefully monitoring her while she was pregnant."
"But she has lots of doctors now so she could be safe."
"Well true, but Alex-."
"Would the baby look like Goliath?"
"Probably. I know where this is going Alex, but we cannot interfere," Puck told the boy with a sigh.
"But she's so sad right now Uncle Puck," the boy told him with fresh tears in his eyes. "Can't you feel it?"
"Yes Alex I can, and while I would like nothing more than to give Elisa this gift, we simply cannot meddle in something that could have the potential to alter the time stream so greatly."
There was suddenly another's presence and both Puck and Alex turned to greet the Queen of Avalon. "Only if it were to affect a time line that has been set. You have been away from Avalon too long Puck, for you forget there are still loopholes," Titania said with a sift chuckle as she floated over to hug her grandson.
"Can we help Elisa have a baby?" Alex asked her hopefully.
Puck crossed his arms, pouting partially, and raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Please enlighten us Queen Titania," he requested with perhaps a bit more snarkiness in his tone than he should have intended.
"Now, now, Puck. Is that anyway to talk to the one who is trying to get your sentence revoked?" she reproved lightly. "It is true Alex that we are not supposed to interfere with a mortal's life once their destiny has been set. I can see such things using my Mirror. However, Elisa's future is uncertain, and it spans more than just her own fate. It would seem all three races can now be drastically affected by the choices she makes once she recovers."
"Even you grandma?" he asked in wonder.
She chuckled and ruffled his crimson locks. "Your grandfather will never admit to it, but yes even those of us on Avalon appear to have a unclear future now. I believe it would be in the best interests of all, to bestow this one gift upon Elisa, for perhaps it will provide her with the focus she will need in her life."
"Can I help?" he asked eagerly.
"Watch and learn my child," she invited as she took his little hands in hers and held them over Elisa's abdomen.
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December 27
Wayne Manor
Mid-afternoon
"Hey sweetheart," James Gordon greeted warmly as he peeked into his daughter's room. She was nestled safely in Dick Grayson's arms, as she had been yesterday when he had come to check on her.
"Hey daddy, come on in," she called over to him, her green eyes lighting up slightly with his presence. At least he could bring her a little joy with his visits during a time like this.
"I see you have your own personal human pillow," he chuckled, his eyes meeting Dick's. Truth be told, he had not been entirely fond of the thought of them as a couple over a decade ago. Of course finding out that his daughter had fallen in love with a minor, and the adoptive son of Gotham's biggest playboy, had added a bit more gray to this hair when he finally found out about them.
Even as their relationship progressed over the years, he had still been wary of the young man. When he hadn't shown up after Barbara's shooting Jim Gordon had been convinced that he had been right all along. That was until his daughter had finally confided in him with her deepest secrets. It had been in a rare, weak moment, and he had finally provoked her enough to tell him what he had suspected for years. Of course he had never expected to hear everything that she had told him. Especially when she insisted that Dick hadn't abandoned her, because he was off planet with the Titans as his alto ego, Nightwing.
That had been a bit of a shocker. And while she had never said anything else after that, he was pretty sure he had put two and two together. He knew that Nightwing had formerly been Robin. And if Dick was Robin…..
"So tell me," he said casually as he settled himself in the plush chair sitting next to the bed. "Where HAS Bruce been keeping himself these past couple of days."
Stunned silence, and shocked looks met his statement and he allowed himself a satisfied smirk. Uh huh. He thought Babs would have given him a little more credit though- he had been the Police Commissioner after all. "Oh relax, I've had it figured out for awhile. If he wants to get cranky with someone then he can glare at me. It's been awhile since we've had a good argument."
That finally broke the ice, and the couple relaxed slightly with wry chuckles. "As long as you make it clear that neither of us spilled the beans," Dick told him only half joking. "Anyway, he's been locked away down in the cave. No one but Leslie's seen him in two days."
Time to push an old man's luck. Looking at his daughter, Jim Gordon cocked his head to one side. "Is Helena his daughter?"
There was a sharp intake of air, and then Barbara finally nodded slowly. "H-How did you know?"
Jim smiled a little and tapped his fingers next to his eyes. "Personality similarities aside? Her eyes. When she was younger, and her and I didn't always see eye to eye, I got this look from her on more than a few occasions that reminded me of a few I'd seen Batman give."
Dick laughed, and Barbara shook her head. "She was really disappointed when that look didn't work on me," his daughter admitted. "Personality similarities?"
"Don't forget I spent a lot of time with both men Babs. I may not have seen them as being one and the same but I got to know both of them over the years. Bruce had a passion for living life to the fullest. He loved to spend his money- a lot of it on charity. He enjoyed fast cars, loose women, and stirring up mischief. Batman may have been dark and brooding, but he lived life to the fullest as well. I'd never met a man more willing to sacrifice so much for this city.
"When you decided to train Helena, and help her to focus all that anger and channel into something useful, it hit me just how much she was like Him." He paused, his eyes growing distant for a moment in thought and then chuckled. "She's a chip off the old block alright….and that probably makes her hate him all the more doesn't it?" he asked sadly.
Even though he hadn't been one hundred percent sure who Helena's father was, he knew that she had hated whoever he was with a passion.
Barbara sighed as she picked at the expensive comforter, a tired look filling her face. "I honestly don't know what she's feeling right now dad. She was finally starting to come to terms with things, and then he showed up out of the blue."
Jim cocked his head to one side, listening to his daughter's tone and raised an eyebrow. "You sound like even you don't know how you feel about him coming back," he said perceptively.
His daughter did something she hadn't done in a very long time. She dropped her gaze, looked off to one side, and shrugged. It was something she only did when she was trying to avoid answering a question. Jim Gordon smiled softly at her and reached out to take her hand in his. He looked up at Dick, noticing his own troubled gaze. "What about you son? How do you feel about this?"
"I-I don't know," he admitted with a sigh. "I mean, I'm happy he's back. But….there's just so many questions. He hurt all of us by leaving like he did, and in a way I don't blame Helena one bit for hating him. All I want is to know why. Why he left - why he never came to see Barbara to make sure she was ok."
Jim nodded, then reached to tip his daughter's chin up. "There's nothing to be ashamed of sweetheart. You may try to hide behind that big brain of yours," he teased with a gentle smile. "But don't forget I know just how tender, and caring, and sensitive you are. I know you've been hiding it for so long because of Helena, but it's okay to be hurt and upset by what he did. But now that he's back, don't let this opportunity slip away to find out the answers to your questions."
He paused to make sure his words sank into her daughter's sometimes thick skull, and then sat back. "So where has that wildcat been lately? I haven't seen her either visit."
Another troubled look and tears welled in Barbara's eyes. "She's been downstairs most of the time, sitting with Dinah. Reese and Alfred have managed to coax her away for a couple of hours at a time to either eat or rest. She blames herself for not protecting Dinah…or me."
"Damn girl is as stubborn as her father," Gordon grumbled.
"Yeah, and Leslie is starting to get worried because some of her injuries should have been healed by now, but they aren't because she's not allowing her body the rest it needs," Dick added with a sigh of his own.
"Still no change in Dinah's progress then?" the older man asked sadly.
"No," was all his daughter was able to manage as the tears began to spill.
"What about Maza and her friends?"
"Hudson talked with Reese early this morning. Goliath's body was put into stasis for the time being until Elisa's healed enough for them to hold a funeral. She came through the surgery, and the doctors are pleased with her recovery. She woke up yesterday, but I guess she has a reputation, and they're keeping her heavily sedated for another day before they start letting her up."
Jim shook his head. "In all my years, I'd never seen anything like what happened the other night," the older man admitted, still in awe by the overwhelming events of two nights prior.
Dick smiled slightly, knowingly and nodded. "It's truly incredible to witness that kind of bravery in the face of such overwhelming odds. And it's even more amazing what a good plan and a little cooperation will get you."
Jim chuckled and shook his head. "The Mob though?" he asked, still questioning his daughter about the necessity of their involvement.
She managed a shaky half smile though her tears, and he reached over as he stood to place a kiss on her forehead. "That's my girl. I'm gonna go poke my nose around this place for a little while. I had several meetings to go to after I stopped by yesterday. I haven't been here since it was renovated after the earthquake."
"Alfred just brought lunch up, I'm sure he can whip something up for you if you haven't eaten yet."
"I think I might just do that," Jim said giving Barbara's uninjured shoulder a gentle squeeze as he left to explore the Manor.
An hour later……"Hey hellcat," a familiar voice greeted quietly, startling Helena out of the half doze she had been in.
"Hey," she mumbled back, her tone a little sharp at the intrusion.
Barbara's father raised an eyebrow at her. "Lack of sleep is no one's friend. You look like hell."
"Gee thanks," she said dryly. "So did Barbara get the same loving treatment?"
"Nah," he said easily as he sat in a chair across from Helena's post by Dinah's bed. "She was smart enough to be resting and healing."
"I'll heal just fine thank you. Genes remember?" she told him sarcastically.
"Huh. Just that from where I'm sitting, those genes must be slowing down a bit cause I think I actually see a scar forming on your forehead."
Helena frowned a bit, and he saw her eyes flicker slightly from blue to gold and then back. "Of course I guess your father's genes would have to kick in at some point though," he said casually.
That baited her. She was out of her chair in a flash and leaning over him, her eyes now fully feral. "Leave my father out of this," she growled at him.
It wasn't the first time she had tried to intimidate him, so he merely fixed her with a hard gaze of his own. "Kind of hard to do when he's sitting locked up in his sanctuary fifty feet away now isn't it hellcat?" he asked softly.
Surprise broke through her anger and she backed away from him with a gasp. "What?"
"Look Hel, I know you blame yourself for what happened to the kid. But there's a lot more to you sitting down here for nearly two days straight, and we both know it."
Helena eyed him warily, and he almost chuckled when she finally began to pace. She was cornered by the truth, and she knew there was no escaping it. "I'm NOT going to let him just slip away again," she spat out angrily as she glared at the heavy door that her father had locked himself behind for the past couple of days.
"He owes it to me…to us to at least explain! If he wants to crawl away like a coward again, fine. But at the very least he owes all of us an apology."
"Have you tried talking to him?"
She stopped and looked at him as if he had just grown a third head. "Why? Why do I have to be the one to go to him?" she demanded.
Jim sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. "Jesus Christ you two are so alike," he muttered.
"Shut up!" Helena yelled at him, angry once more.
Jim stood up and leveled a finger at her. "That's about all I'm going to put up with from you Helena," he told her sternly. He had dealt with all manner of people, meta or not, in his lifetime and he wasn't about to be intimidated or disrespected by his daughter's former ward.
"I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Barbara. I knew your father for a long time. I knew him as both men even if I didn't know they were the same. Everyone else upstairs has been dancing around the subject for years, and it's time someone gave it to you straight. Bruce is your father Helena and as much as you are like your mother, a great deal of you is like him as well."
His words and tone seemed to have finally silenced her, and he pressed whatever small advantage he had gained over her. "Do you know what Helena? That isn't really a bad thing. I know you may find that impossible to believe, but I knew Bruce and Batman, for far longer than anyone else here, except for Alfred. But I'm sure he's been treating you with kid gloves all these years, and so no one's ever really forced you to hear what kind of man your father really was. Well you know what? I'm gonna tell you whether you like it or not. Yes, he hurt my daughter when he left like he did, but I've seen lesser men eat their guns after suffering through what he did."
"Stop," Helena said quietly as tears began to form in her eyes.
"No Hel," he told her firmly. "Not this time," he said in a determined voice as he took a step forward closing the gap between them. "Your father was a good man. I owe him my life dozens of times over, and this city owes it's existence to the sacrifices he made for all those years. He wasn't a perfect man by any standard, but he was a good man Helena."
She looked away, a tear slowly escaping down her cheek. "I know," she whispered. Then her head snapped back up, her eyes blazing once more in hurt and anger. "But I'm not going to make him show me that Jim. If he wants me to know who he really is, then he's going to have to prove it to me."
Jim nodded, tapped a finger to his chin for a moment and then reached out to take her hand in his. She hesitated, and he gave her a reproving look before he pulled her across the room towards the large door.
"What are you doing?" she asked somewhere between anger and fear.
"Introducing you to an old friend," was all he said with a warm smile as he knocked firmly on the door.