Life Unexpected
Chapter 15
Diana's House
Diana was happy. Happier than she had been in years! She had her daughter back in her life. Bruce and she were together again. And her mother, something was different about her. She had never seen her mother be so delightful before. Not a single criticism from the woman. Instead, she was endearing and polite and straight up delightful. Hippolyta even spent time with Elissa. They spoke, getting to know one another after being apart for so long. Hippolyta learned about Elissa's past and sympathized with the young girl. She consoled her granddaughter for her hardships.
And then, like a switch Hippolyta went right back to being her old self. Perhaps, it was because she got too comfortable in Diana's home.
It wasn't anything huge, really. It was a small little nitpick on Diana's cooking skills.
And Diana snapped at the woman, weary of being repressed by never truly telling her mother how much she hurt.
Defending herself, Hippolyta countered.
Adding into account of her mother's avoidance of the raven-haired woman's inquiries into her hospital visit irritated the woman.
Clearly, Diana recalled how engrossed her mother was in her career when Diana was growing up. How she was never good enough for her mother. Every achievement Diana reached, Hippolyta would scoff at, demanding more.
The two argued noisily, anger in both their voices. It evolved from lack of cooking skills to the real gooey center of why their relationship was so unsteady.
"Nothing is ever good enough for you!" Diana snapped at the blonde woman.
The Greek senator scowled as her daughter unloaded on her.
"I get the top grades in my schools and you tell me it could be better," she exasperatedly said. "When I came to America, I wanted to make something of myself. Something that would make me happy and achieved. The opposite of you!" she pointed at her harshly.
Blue eyes narrowing in condescension, "Yes, being the sidekick of some asinine talk show," she shook her head.
"It's a job I love and one I'm good at!" the younger woman defended. "And one that doesn't consume every minute of my time," she harshly retorted.
"At least I stayed and tried my best, Diana," an enraged Hippolyta fired back. "More than you ever did for Elissa," the woman accused. She had aimed low in their argument.
Diana froze in surprise. Hippolyta, too, realized she went too far.
Suddenly, Diana got geared up for another round. "Why do you think that is? Because I couldn't face you. You and your perpetual disappointment with my every achievement," she shouted at her mother, tears brimming her eyes. "You never change. Never. You can't help but criticize my parenting style. For God's sake, the maid was a more constant presence in my life then you were," she accused.
Diana left her mother stunned, thinking back the older woman seemed unable to recall a precise time when Diana was growing up. It was then she realized that she failed her daughter. She could have made a better effort to be there for her daughter.
"You're right."
Diana was flabbergasted by her mother's admission.
"I… could have done better."
Diana had a sense of guilt for arguing with her mother. Seeing the strong woman, she had always known her mother to be, so defeated, so weak, it made the radio jockey disgusted by her repressed anger toward her mother for so long.
They took a breath and a break from the dispute.
They sat on opposite ends of Diana's couch. Both looking at opposite ends of the room. "Why haven't I heard from you since the dinner?" She broke the suffocating silence that grated both of them.
"Bruce told me to stay away," Hippolyta answered in a monotoned voice, having spent too much emotion arguing.
A fine eyebrow rose, Oh, she thought to herself. She would most definitely be having a very long conversation with the billionaire.
Reading her mind, her mother continued, "I intended on using Elissa to get some support for my presidential candidacy," she confessed, her voice trembling.
Diana was horrified by what she had heard.
Feeling guilty, the woman continued, "Bruce found out and told me to stay away."
"Mother…" Diana's face winced in pain as she heard her mother's plans. How could her mother do such a thing?
"And I respected his wish."
Turning to her hurt daughter, Hippolyta apologetic pleaded with her daughter, "Don't be like me, Diana. You are doing a fine job with Elissa. You can't keep beating yourself up over missing out on Elissa's life, who doesn't hold it against you as much as you believe she does." She reached over placing a hand on the younger woman's arm. "Diana, she's back. Take the second chance and love every minute of it."
The older woman sent a pleading look toward her only daughter, praying that she listened to her. Praying that she fixed things with her family before…
Diana took the woman's advice to heart, although she still felt hurt by her mother's previous confession.
The raven-haired woman swallowed the painful lump in her throat, "Why were you at the hospital?" she asked again just over a whisper.
The blonde woman gave a heavy sigh. She knew she could not put this off any further. She was told it was important to lean on family. Nervously, she swallowed. Her throat suddenly struck by dryness. "A few months ago, I discovered a lump on my breast," she revealed.
Diana's head whipped to her mother so fast she almost got whiplash.
"I… have breast cancer," the older woman stated, her strong façade cracking.
"Oh, Mother," the raven-haired woman raced to console her. Enveloping her mother in her arms as she comforted her. She felt her mother shake in fear as her reality crashed down on her head.
"I was meeting an oncologist that was said to be the best in the world. That's why I was there. For a consult. I never intended on telling you. You have enough on your plate. I'm scheduled for surgery."
"When?" the younger woman paled.
"In a couple of days," the blonde replied, leaning into her daughter's embrace. "The doctor is optimistic."
"I'll be there," Diana insisted. "I'll be there when you go in," she promised. "And I'll be there when you get out."
Hippolyta's breath caught in her throat, she started to weep, something she never did in front of her daughter. "Thank you," she smiled through tears.
Breaking down, "I'm scared, Diana. I'm really scared," she sobbed. Diana only held her tighter, consoling her was the only think she could do for her mother. The raven-haired woman was absolutely powerless to assist her mother except in this manner.
"I know," she said softly. "It's going to be alright," she consoled.
When Elissa came around the two older women decided to tell the young girl what was happening. Immediately, she was stunned to hear what was happening to her grandmother. She offered what condolences she could and comforted her with a hug, one that the grandmother cherished as she returned the embrace.
The teen swore she would be there for the surgery for moral support, something that Hippolyta was grateful for.
Gotham General Hospital
The day of Hippolyta's surgery arrived. The doctors were beginning to prep her for surgery, stopping to give the patient a few minutes with her family before she went under the knife.
Diana's insides were a mess. It took everything she had just to stop herself from crying.
Elissa reached over and held the blonde woman's hand. "Good luck," she wished her. She got a smile out of the older woman as reassurance spilled into her. All from her granddaughter's well wishes.
"Thank you," she returned. She tried smiling attempting to dissolve the grim look on the teen's face. It worked slightly as the girl's lip twitched upward only to fall back down as her grandmother was going to be operated on.
Bruce was there as well, considering Diana told him what was happening. He offered to come for moral support for Diana and Elissa. He approached the blonde, "Hippolyta, if there is anything that I can do for you don't hesitate to ask," he offered her. While the two never got along, he would be remiss to let that get in the way of her health. Especially, Diana's mother.
If she was important to Diana, then she was important to Bruce. That was all that mattered.
The bedridden woman gave him a look of resolve, "Just take care of them," she requested, her eyes gesturing to her daughter and granddaughter, who were speaking to doctor.
He nodded.
She smiled softly toward him, taking his hand, and giving it a tight squeeze.
He promised as he wished her luck.
Bruce parted from the woman and went over to Elissa. Whispering something to her, the two left the mother and daughter alone.
"You're going to be fine," Diana tried to convince herself more than her mother. Diana had never been so terrified than this moment.
"I'm glad you're here," Hippolyta said softly. She had intended to do this alone but now she knew she would never had survived it without her family.
"Me too," Diana's eyes welled up with tears as she held her mother as tightly as she could. The older woman's heart soared and swore she would be better if she survived this obstacle.
The doctors began to roll the woman into the OR as Diana stared on worriedly.
She jolted when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning she saw Bruce was responsible.
"It is going to take a while," he told her. The three sat in the waiting room that held a few other families awaiting word.
Elissa sat a couple seats away, taking a magazine, while Bruce and Diana sat next to one another.
Such a morbid feeling hung over the three, but they ceased addressing it. It was all in the hands of the surgeons now.
"You should go," the woman spoke. "Like you said, it's going to take a while."
The billionaire shook his head, "I'm where I'm supposed to be."
She smiled at him, grateful for staying with her. Things were good between them. She only regretted putting the man in this predicament.
She laid her head on his shoulder as her eyes dampen with tears as she prayed for the surgery's success.
It took almost five hours before Hippolyta got out of surgery. During that time Elissa had dozed off, while Diana went to get some coffee and air, while Bruce stayed with Elissa.
The Greek woman felt nauseous with all the waiting, fear and doubt wormed there way inside her. She did not know what she would do if she lost her mother. Not when they were trying to fix their relationship.
The anxiety made her lean against a wall outside the hospital, the feeling of nausea overwhelming. She gagged, only to let out nothing.
A passing by nurse had asked her if she was alright. Diana merely nodded and politely asked to be left alone.
She panted as hot tears fell. Silently, sobbing to herself.
When she returned to the waiting room, she had calmed down and took a seat next to Bruce, whom offered a hand. A silent gesture to comfort her.
She accepted the hand gladly, lacing her fingers with his as they waited for news.
Elissa had awakened from her nap and inquired on any news.
Diana replied in the negative. Her somber tone made it clear Elissa should stop asking and be patient a little while longer.
After five hours, the surgeon came out of the operating room. Immediately, everyone jumped to their feet as Diana went to meet the surgeon.
The surgeon removed her mask, Diana immediately feared the worst as the doctor paused before speaking.
The woman smiled, "The surgery was a success." Diana let out the breath she had been holding as relief washed over her.
Elissa hugged her mother, as she was also relieved.
"She's in recovery right now and will be out for quite a while from the anesthesia. But we got all the cancerous tissue," the medical professional disclosed. "She will have some scars, but she should recover. She will be able to go home in few days."
"Thank you, Doctor," Diana gratefully replied. "Can I see her?"
"As I said, she's still sleeping off the anesthesia. You can see her, but only one person right now," the doctor advised.
The Greek woman turned back to the two, receiving nods for her to go.
"Thanks," she said to them and followed the doctor to her mother's hospital room.
When she entered the room, she saw her mother sleeping in bed, clad in a hospital gown, deathly pale. Tentatively, she slowly approached her mother. All sorts of wires plugged into the woman. Diana could see gauze peaking out of the gown.
Swallowing, she sat in the chair next to the bed. Carefully, she murmured, "Mother?" Silently, she hoped her mother would wake and reassure her that everything was fine. That she was fine. Suddenly, she felt like she was six years old again. A little girl that needed her mother. She held the woman's hand until she was told that visiting hours were over.
As much as she wanted to protest, she listened to the medical professionals and reluctantly left.
Meanwhile, Bruce and Elissa were talking. Bruce spoke to her insuring that the teen understood everything that was going on.
Surprisingly, the teen stunned her father. "Was it like this with your parents?" Immediately, she wished to retract those words.
He froze, the memory of so long ago still fresh in his mind's eye. He had tried for years to forget but he just couldn't. Not after the vow.
"No," he answered slowly. His tone guarded. "It happened so fast and so slow at the same time. And then… I was alone."
Instantly, she felt guilty for asking. She understood that his parent's deaths were deeply traumatic, and it was completely incomparable to Hippolyta's cancer diagnosis.
"Sorry," her eyes fell to the floor, shame washing over her.
"Here comes Diana," he noted impassively.
Said woman approached the raven-haired duo, her face grim and reluctant. "We should go," she suggested.
No one argued with her. They followed her and drove back to her place. As Elissa went inside, the sun had started to set.
Bruce wanted to be better the second time around and offered to stay but Diana assured him they would be fine. She would go to the hospital to visit her mother the next day.
Bruce kissed her on the cheek before departing. His act of affection helped her mildly. However, extraordinarily little could comfort the woman until she saw with her own eyes that her mother was healing and feeling better.
GCPD Headquarters
The signal illuminated the night sky as it called the city's guardian to action. Batman and Robin arrived to join Commissioner Gordon.
The graying man removed his pipe from his mouth.
"You called?" Batman began with Robin silently observing.
"I did. Got one of your specialties," the older man handed the vigilante a manila folder.
Wordlessly, Batman opened the folder and examined its contents. He saw pictures from a bank heist two days ago. Gangsters wearing stereotypical trench coats and fedoras using tommy guns. Two guard's dead and half a dozen hostages injured.
The most surprising of the crime was the ringleader was an older gentleman with a puppet, dressed like a gangster from the forties.
"So, it's one of those cases," the man stated bluntly. Those cases being one of the odd ones. The crazy ones that usually when captured get sent to Arkham instead of prison.
"Uh huh," the older man nodded. "Figured you want to deal with it. Perp's identified as Arnold Wesker. He used to be work on some puppets show a few years back until it got cancelled. Apparently, he went from entertaining children to robbing banks," Gordon made a faint joke.
Batman stared at the file for moments, finally answering, "I'll look into it," he stated. He handed the file back to the man and leapt off the roof with Robin not far behind.
From afar, Batman was unaware of spies listening in on his conversation with Gotham's top cop.
Bane and his ilk listened in on the conversation, thanks to a directional microphone.
"Careless," Bane realized. "How simple it is to eavesdrop on their discussions." The former prisoner processed what else he learned about Gotham's Dark Knight. The fact he had an associate inside the police department surprised the bulky man.
From what he had heard of the vigilante, working with the police seemed uncharacteristic of the night monster.
He needed more information to get a sense of Gotham's guardian. And when he learned everything he needed to know. He would break the Bat. The fact he needed the aid of a child to be custodian of the criminals of Gotham seemed pitiful.
Diana's House
It was days later after Hippolyta's surgery that she was discharged from the hospital. The woman needed to take it easy for a while. And flying back home was denied for a few more days. Diana had been adamant that her mother stay with her until she was well enough to travel.
The blonde tried to refuse but her daughter would not be denied. As Elissa had possession of the guest room. Diana gave her mother her bedroom, with the raven-haired woman sleep on the couch. Bruce had offered his place, but the woman rejected the offer, as she didn't want to intrude.
Diana hovered, much to the older woman's irritation. Hippolyta understood wanting to assist her as her chest ached from surgery. But the woman wanted to be left alone for a while. Honestly, her daughter treated her like an invalid.
She loved Diana and was delighted that they were getting better, but she needed some space. Originally, the Greek Senator wanted to recuperate at her hotel, but her daughter was a stubborn woman, something she inherited from her, and wearily obliged.
She felt guilty for commandeering the bedroom, but Diana was insistent.
The upside of the situation was her granddaughter spoke with her every day. When she got home from school, Elissa would ask how she was doing and if she could do anything for her. She always spoke with excitement in her voice. When it came to something mundane or boring such as school, she lost that enthusiasm.
Truthfully, Hippolyta was grateful for her predicament. She was too proud to go to Diana and flat out disclose her condition to Diana. She needed the extreme incentive of her diagnosis to jump start her into action. And now, she was glad that she told her. Because she made up with her daughter and were getting on better terms. And most of all, she got to spend time with her granddaughter.
She instantly regretted her self-serving intentions when she first met the girl. Now she wanted to spend every waking minute with her granddaughter after her cancer scare.
"Uh, Diana's gonna be late getting home. Her producers needed to speak with her. She said dinner's in the refrigerator," Elissa informed the woman.
"I see," the older woman nodded. "How was school?"
"Alright, I guess," the teen shrugged. "Finals are coming up," she mentioned.
"And are you ready for them?" the older woman prodded.
She witnessed the girl pale, "Uh, sure. I guess."
Blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. However, she held her tongue. She would let Diana worry about it. "So, tell me about this Natalie, Diana was telling me about," the spoke with interest.
Elissa instantly beamed. She was always excited to talk about Natalie. To the teen, Natalie was the most incredible person she knew.
Girl started chatting a mile a minute as soon as she answered her grandmother.
Gotham Café
Bruce and Diana met up for lunch the next day. Their relationship was strong, and they were gradually getting stronger every day.
"How's your mother doing?" he broached over lunch.
"Better. Thank you," she sounded relieved. "Elissa's been keeping her company when I'm at work. And she knows to call me if something's wrong," she elaborated.
"Good to hear," the man responded, taking a sip of his water.
"How are you doing?"
"I'm… I'm doing better," Diana stuttered. In truth, she was a nervous wreck. It took her mother waking up from anesthesia for her to settle down. In protest, her sore back ached as sleeping on her couch for the last few days did not agree with her. And here she thought the couch was comfy. How wrong she was.
Noticing her minor grimace, he probed. "You okay?"
"Yeah. It's just my back. I have been sleeping on the couch while my mother recuperates. It doesn't agree with me," she winced. She rubbed her aching back in emphasis.
Hoping to alleviate her troubles, the billionaire suggested, "Diana, if things are difficult, I'm willing to help you in anyway I can. There is plenty of room at the manor for your mother to recover in. Or if it's too expensive for you I could hire a caretaker for her."
The raven-haired woman would have been insulted by the offer, for the man to think she was incapable of taking care of her mother. Instead, she found his thoughtfulness kind.
"No thank you," she refused curtly. The man immediately conceded any further offers.
They ate in silence for a few minutes before Diana disclosed something that she had been dreading to say to anyone else. "I… I can't have kids."
It was sudden Bruce paused to process. "What do you mean?" he inquired carefully; his brow slightly furrowed.
"I went to the doctor after we…" she gestured to the two of them, "slept together. It turns out I developed a condition after I had Elissa. I can't conceive children," her lip quivered.
The man was sympathetic to his girlfriend's predicament. She deserved to have more children that she was there for from birth. To do it better this time.
Honestly, the man had not even considered having any other children. In fact, were it not for Elissa's surprise existence, he would never have any children at all. He was far too consumed in his work to do anything else.
Until Elissa showed up.
The man was digging himself out of his grave, chaining the bat up and tossing it into the hole. While the man lived, the bat snarled in the dark, demanding freedom only to be ignored and restrained again.
And the man stood, alive after so many years thought dead.
And the man desired the little things others took for granted.
Softly, he spoke, "We could always adopt?" he suggested.
"'We?'" an alarmed Diana uttered.
"We've done it before," he shrugged, hinting towards Elissa.
The fact that he wanted to have kids with her dumbfounded. The fact he silently wanted a future with her made her all warm inside.
"I love you," the man proclaimed. "Ever since high school. I still love you and that has not changed since. No matter how hard I tried," he confessed. His voice vulnerable. He was not use to being open like this. It was... uncomfortable. But Diana was one of the few that he could be vulnerable around.
Diana was speechless. They had only been dating for a little while. She never expected the guy, who broke her heart in high school to profess his love to her.
"I-I don't know what to say," she confessed. The man did not take her response as an insult.
"I wanted you to know how I feel," he expressed, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
And she was happy that he told her he loved her. Truly. She had told him she still felt something for him. Something that she would always feel for him. And now they were trying once more to see if they could work. And so far, everything was good.
"We said, slow didn't we?" she reminded him, leaning forward.
"I recall something was said," he coyly played along.
A knowing look soon formed on her face. Her red lips tugged upward as she had that seductive aura around her.
The man blinked.
Bruce Wayne's Penthouse
Both were breathless as they had raced to the billionaire's penthouse. Once inside they tore the others clothes off.
And after almost two hours, they laid bare beneath silk sheets, breathless from rigorous exercise.
"So," Diana started awkwardly. "I guess taking it slow isn't in the cards?" She asked holding the sheet to her chest, hair tussled.
"Nope," the man answered just as awkward.
This was going to take some getting use to.
NEXT: Dueling Personalities!
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