Bruce
Wayne Manor

She's in my arms.

He woke a little before 4:30 to find Zatanna facing away from him, curled up and sleeping. Reaching to the nightstand, he pulled out a small box before moving back to her and brushing strands of hair from her face. She didn't stir, so he moved his hand down to her stomach, again feeling the smooth, rounded surface.

Our son.

Wrapped up for so many weeks in his own head, he hadn't fully processed the fact that he would be a father soon. Feeling the evidence now, his heart swelled. As selfish as he felt for asking her to stay in a city that wasn't safe, he suddenly couldn't bear the thought of her...them...leaving again. He kissed the back of her neck and she sighed, so he set the box on her pillow and waited for her to wake. His hands were shaking and he felt a little light headed, unsure of how she would react.

Only one way to find out.

It was another 15 minutes before she started to come around. She stretched her neck slightly and then pulled her head back. His heart rate picked up.

"Put that away," she said quietly.

"Open it."

"Bruce, you can't just buy me a ring and..."

"I didn't," he cut her off, keeping his voice gentle at her ear. "It was my mother's." He reached forward and popped the box open. "I took it to the jeweler to have it sized and cleaned the day after Christmas. Added some side stones. I was going to ask you on my birthday, but..."

She sniffled and picked up the box. "It's beautiful."

"It's yours."

Setting the box back down, she shook her head and took a ragged breath. He quickly jumped out of the bed and pulled her to standing. Kneeling down, he grabbed the ring from the box and looked up at her. Tears were running down her face, the t-shirt was wrinkled, and her hair was a mess. It wasn't how he had planned for things to go when he took the ring to the jeweler, but she always had a way of messing with his plans.

"I love you. I can't be the man you deserve...hell, half the time I'm not even human...but I will spend every day of the rest of my life making sure you and our son are happy and safe. I don't know who I am anymore without you here, and I don't want to find out. Marry me, Zatanna."

She stood and stared at him with a look of...confusion? Apprehension? He wasn't quite sure.

It wasn't a question. Make it a question.

"Will you marry me?" Still silence and staring. "I know I'm an idiot sometimes and I was stupid for walking away and I'll probably still do stupid stuff like that, but I love you and..."

"Yeah," she said quietly.

"Yeah. To which part? I said a lot of stuff there."

"All of it."

"I'm an idiot and you'll marry me?"

She nodded and put her hand under his chin. "Yes."

Zatanna
Wayne Manor

It came out as a demand more than a question, but she didn't care. She would have said yes if he had yelled it at her during a sparring session right after landing a clean right hook to her jaw. After weeks of preparing to go things alone, her resolve had been shattered the moment she saw his face and felt his touch on her stomach. Marriage wasn't a great idea. Nothing about their relationship had ever been a great idea. His carefully-created playboy persona would be permanently blown once he settled down with a wife and kid.

I'll be his wife.

"Yes."

Before she could say anything else, he stood and kissed her, lifting her onto her toes and holding her so tightly she almost couldn't breathe. When she finally pulled her head away to gasp for air, he turned and sat down on the bed, lifting her onto his lap and kissing her neck as she panted. He worked his way back up to her lips and kissed her as he laid back and rolled them onto the bed until he was on top of her, mouth crushing hers. She lifted her hand to run through his hair, but he suddenly broke the kiss and cursed, looking anxiously around the bed and searching through the covers.

"What? What's wrong?" She asked as he panicked.

"I really am an idiot," he said breathlessly before sighing with relief when he found the ring in the bed. Rolling his eyes, he shifted his weight to the side and grabbed her hand. She smiled as he gently pressed his lips to hers and slipped the ring onto her finger. "Yes?"

"Yes."

He moved her hand to his mouth and kissed her finger, closing his eyes and lowering his head to her chest.

Hands rubbing his back, she took a deep breath and whispered. "Ekaw pu, Annataz." He turned slightly and looked up at her. "Just checking," she said, pressing his head back down and continuing to rub his back and shoulders. It was a few minutes before there was a soft knock at the door. Bruce pulled the blanket up to cover her bare legs.

"Come in, Alfred."

"Good morning, sir, miss," he said, setting the dinner tray down and acting perfectly normal...as if she'd been there every morning in the last three months. He walked over and picked up a pile of dirty clothes off of the chair. "You know, I always did think that was the most beautiful ring."

He doesn't miss a beat.

"Thanks, Alfred. Can you get someone to cover my patrol tonight?" Bruce asked, head still pressed over her heart.

"You don't have to do that," she said, but he shook his head and kissed her finger again.

"Of course, sir. Let me know if you need anything else," Alfred said, turning toward the door.

"Oh, and you might start seeing a cat around here. Try not to kill him," Bruce added, earning an annoyed muttering sound as the door closed.

"Why the hell would I bring that stupid cat here?"

"You can't leave him in San Francisco."

"I wasn't planning to," she said. "I'll have him at Shadowcrest."

Bruce turned his head and scowled. "You're moving in here."

Again, not a question.

"I can't move back here and not be at my house. It'll flip out."

"Zee...it's a house."

"You know better than that. Besides, your library isn't big enough."

"I'll add on another one."

Looking up at the ceiling, she sighed and thought a moment. "Okay. Compromise, then. I'll have all my practices there when I get back to work and stay there when you're on patrol. Otherwise I'll be here."

"No. Here when I'm on patrol."

"You're not compromising right."

"Not trying to," he said with an arrogant grin. "I want you here."

"Shadowcrest patrol nights and I come here in the morning when you get in. That's my final offer."

He narrowed his eyes and stared her down, but she just raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"Fine," he finally said. "For now. We both know you won't get up that early."

Stubborn.

"I won't get a vote in that when the baby gets here."

He shifted his weight again and pulled her shirt up to expose her stomach and kiss gently across her skin.

"I want to meet him," he whispered.

"You already did," she reminded him. He paused and looked up at her a moment before nodding and resuming his soft kisses. "What was he like?"

"Little. Happy. He had your eyes. My nose. My perfectly chiseled jaw," he ended dramatically.

She grinned and ran her thumb along his perfectly chiseled jaw. "Whose mouth?"

"Hopefully mine."

Narrowing her eyes, she squeezed his chin. "Oh, really? And why is that?"

"Yours cusses too much," he said with a lopsided smile.

"Oh, fuck off," she said, laughing. He leaned up and kissed her cussing mouth, smiling and pushing her shirt the rest of the way off. "I'll try to do better."

"Have you thought of a name?"

"Who am I to argue with what works? Thomas Giovanni," she said, looking in his eyes before finally adding: "Zatara."

He growled and glared at her. "Wayne."

She laughed again and let her head fall back onto the pillow. "Okay, fine. Utterly mundane, but fine."

"You're difficult," he mumbled, kissing his way across her chest and shoulders.

"I know. I love you," she said, pulling his mouth back to hers. His kiss was passionate and he quickly removed the rest of their clothes and entered her. Her cry was muffled by his mouth and his lips continued to move against hers as he thrust. After several minutes, his pace slowed and he pulled his head back to look in her eyes. Silently watching her, he smiled and stroked his thumbs over her cheeks and along her jawline. And then she saw it. For the first time since she'd met him, he was there: 100% in the moment with her. No Batman. No planning his next step. No worrying about Gotham or the League. He was simply there and it was the most intimate thing she had ever experienced. Her insecurities and doubts faded as he made love to her. "I love you," she whispered again. He suddenly stopped moving and brushed her hair from her forehead.

"Promise me something." The sudden stop was disorienting, but she waited for him to continue. "You won't leave again if I...blank out about something. Punch me if you want. Scream at me. Tie me up with a damn spell, but please don't leave. I'll try not to let it happen again, but if it does...stay."

Guilt stabbed at her heart as he spoke and she raised her hand to caress his face. "My head wasn't right, Bruce. I thought...I'm sorry I left."

"No," he said, kissing her again. "Don't apologize. I understand why you left. My head wasn't right either, and I never should have walked out. I won't walk out again. But if I forget who I am...who we are...remind me." His eyes were intense as he spoke. "And Zatanna...I'm not with anyone else. No one since you."

"Okay," she whispered. Combined with the look in his eyes, it was all she needed to hear. It was what she needed to hear weeks ago, but better late than never.

"You'll stay?"

Grinning, she moved her hand in front of his face and fiddled with the ring on her finger. "Said yes, didn't I?"

"You did," he laughed. His fingers laced with hers and he started to move his hips again. Slowly...in no hurry to be anywhere but with her. She wanted to freeze the moment in time and live in it forever. "Welcome home, Zee."

The Killer
Gotham City

He needed more time with the next. The last had been so close to perfect, but he rushed. He didn't get to savor it. It would require more planning and as much precision as possible, but he needed more time. When your appetite becomes more refined, you can't just go back to sloppy seconds. Finding a target wasn't the problem; it was the beauty of hunting in a city as big as Gotham. They still wouldn't be the real thing, but he could find another surrogate. It was too soon for the real thing.

- She's walking with her family. Her husband is rich...protective.

Rich women think they have it made.

- They're talking and holding hands. He's carrying one child, she's carrying the other.

Twins...how sweet.

He'd have to determine how often she was alone and where, but he wanted her. The hunt would be challenging and the pursuit would be invigorating. She was the one. He had his next target.

Bruce
Wayne Manor

"I don't have to go in today," he said as he washed Zee's hair. "We could spend the day in bed...again."

She smiled and glanced back at him. The day before had been endless talk about their future together and making up for the time they had missed. It wouldn't be hard to talk him into doing it again. "Sounds good to me, but Alfred will be on your case. How long has it been since you even went to the office?"

"Since uh...since you came by there," he said, backing her into the shower spray before she could talk. Spitting water at him, she shoved his chest and finished rinsing her hair.

"I bet you've been getting an earful about that," she said as she turned off the shower and stepped out. "And well deserved."

"Yeah, it's been interesting around here, to say the least," he mumbled. He didn't really want to tell her about everything that he did and did not do while she was away.

"Go in. I'll just be here retrieving stuff from San Francisco, anyway. It's going to take forever with my powers weakened. Do you have a big room I can use for baby stuff? There's...kind of a lot of it."

He smiled and pulled her into a hug. "Go overboard?"

"Not at all. He's worth every goddamn penny. I mean gosh darn. This no cussing thing is going to be the worst."

"You're going to be terrible at it," he said, kissing her pouting lips.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," she said, pushing him away and putting on her robe. "Get dressed and go to work."

"Just ask Alfred to open up one of the rooms for you. Whichever you want." He pulled out a business suit for the first time in weeks and started to dress. "The League will be surprised to see you back tonight."

Zatanna turned and looked at him with a furrowed brow. "I'm not going."

Thinking about the issue, he looked down. "Yeah, I guess pregnancy isn't really the right time."

"I'm not going back at all, Bruce." She moved past him and into the bedroom before he could stop her.

"What are you talking about?"

With a sigh, she started getting dressed before finally speaking again. "We can't both be in the League now."

"If you're worried about them being upset..."

"It's not that, though I'm guessing it didn't go over well. Haven't heard from any of them." The statement surprised and hurt him. He assumed they had tried to contact her once she resigned, but she really had been left on her own.

"I'm sorry. It was probably just awkward for them. Seriously, they will welcome you back."

"I told you, it's not that." She was dressed now and walked over to take his hand, pulling him to sit beside her on the bed. "Once our son is here, I have to put him first. I won't leave him without a parent. We both know what that's like and I won't do it to my child."

"You love being in the League," he said quietly, not willing to accept that she wouldn't return and feeling guilty that he was too devoted to his life as Batman to make the same sacrifice.

"I do. And I miss it terribly. I never imagined I'd leave it, but I never imagined I'd be having a child with you." Her voice was cracking as she spoke and tears were flowing down her face. "If a call comes in, we can't both go running toward danger."

His heart sank. She wasn't just saying this out of emotion. "Maybe we can figure something out. Make sure we never go together."

Her hand went to his cheek and he turned to look in her eyes. "No. The League needs you and you need it. And let's admit it...I've never really fit the League mold."

He stood and frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Rolling her eyes, she flopped back to lie on the bed. "You know full well I'm not the superhero type. You didn't even trust me until well after we started seeing each other and you still don't trust magic."

"That's not true," he tried to say convincingly. It earned him a scoff as she stood up again.

"Bullshit...pardon my language." She pecked him on the lips and headed toward the door. "Go to work. We can talk more about it later, but my mind is made up. I'm retired."

Left alone in the room, he tried to process the last 24 hours. They were engaged. They were going to have a son named Thomas Giovanni Wayne. And Zatanna was never returning to the League. It was a reasonable decision – a decision a mother would make. A decision a father should make, but one he knew he never could. The guilt he felt made him sick to his stomach. He sat staring at the floor for several minutes before he felt Zatanna's soft hand under his chin, lifting his head as she knelt down in front of him.

"I love you and I want to be with you. You, Bruce Wayne. Every part of you, no matter what." She pressed her forehead to his. "You are the man I deserve because you're the best one I know. This is the life I want and you're the one I want to share it with. We'll never be normal or perfect, but we'll give this child the best life we can."

He nodded and pulled her against him. "I'll do everything I can to make you both happy."

"Already got me covered," she said, kissing his cheek. "Now go to work. I'll be here when you get back."

Zatanna
Wayne Manor

"The old nursery was downstairs, but I'm guessing you want something a little closer to the bedroom," Alfred said as he led her down the hallway.

"Ideally. Going to be a lot of back and forth," she said with a smile. They came to the end of the hall and he unlocked the door to a large, bright room. "Oh, wow. This is perfect."

"It was Master Bruce's room as a child. Lots of natural light, plenty of space and storage."

"Seems pretty fitting, then. I'll set up a monitoring system and bring my stuff over."

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"Not at the moment, but I'm sure I'll need some assistance along the way...for the next 18 years or so."

He laughed and headed toward the door. "If I managed to see Master Bruce to adulthood, no challenge is too great."

She looked around the room and started planning the layout. First things first.

"Elohssa ot em." The cat showed up in full throat, jumping in her arms and looking nervously around the room. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it here. Just don't piss Alfred off or he'll cook cat stew for dinner."

Piece by piece, she started to move her supplies to the room, and hour after hour, the room started to come together. The crib fit perfectly and the decorations made the space warm and welcoming. Asshole looked around in disapproval, but once she put an oversize cat bed in the corner next to his food and water dishes, he agreed to stay without too much complaint. She knew he would be content wherever the baby was. Mid afternoon, she took a break to just look at the engagement ring. It was perfect: not too big, but elaborate with brilliant diamonds and a delicate, split band.

By early evening, she was putting some finishing touches on the decorations when she felt Bruce watching her from the doorway.

"You just gonna stare at my ass all night?" She asked when he'd been silently standing for several minutes.

"Turn around and I'll stare at more than that." When she turned, he was leaning against the doorway with his top two buttons undone, tie loose, and five o'clock shadow growing in. He was the textbook definition of tall, dark, and handsome.

"Why do you have to do that?" She asked, leaning against the opposite wall.

"What?"

"Be impossibly sexy," she grinned. "Especially when I don't have time to do anything about it."

"Meeting's not for an hour," he said, walking to her and pressing her against the wall. His lips found their way to her ear and he ran his hands over her body as she sighed.

"Like the room?"

"Mm hmm," he murmured as he kissed her neck. "This everything?"

"Not even half. I'll drive to Shadowcrest tomorrow and move more of it there." His lips and hands suddenly went still and she felt his body turn rigid. "What?" She asked, pushing his shoulders back. The look on his face frightened her.

"You're not going anywhere alone," he said darkly with narrowed eyes.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's not safe. You're not safe." He had her trapped against the wall and was towering over her, in full Batman mode as he spoke. Keeping her touch soft, she put her hand on his cheek and brushed her lips against his.

"I'll be careful, my love. You can't just lock me away."

His teeth were clinched. "No. Stay here until I make it safe."

Safe Gotham...oxymoron.

"I didn't come back here so you could make me your prisoner, Batman," she said firmly. He blinked several times and moved back slightly as his eyes softened.

"I'm not trying to keep you prisoner, Zee," he said quietly, morphing back into Bruce just as quickly as he had morphed into Batman.

Sheesh. Whiplash.

Keeping her frustration at bay, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm perfectly capable of staying safe. It's not like I'll be walking around Gotham alone at night. I'm going home and then I'll come back here."

He was shaking, hands in tight fists at his side. "This killer...you don't understand."

"I do," she said. "I saw the headlines and the pictures of the girls. It's a coincidence, Bruce. No one's out to get me."

"Doesn't matter," he said, teeth still clinched. After a long pause, he finally put his arms around her waist. "Okay. Compromise, then. Alfred drives you there, helps, and drives you back. Please."

"Oh, I'm sure Alfred is just dying to spend his day at Shadowcrest," she said. "I'll ask him to drive me and then he can come back home and pick me up when I'm ready. No need to keep him prisoner, either. My wards will keep me safe while I'm there." After a long stare down, Bruce finally nodded and started to relax. "It's probably for the best. My driving is shit now. I mean crap! Ugh."

He pulled her closer. "I'm sorry. I know I'm being protective, but..."

"It's okay. I promise to be careful. And I'm proud of you...compromising and all."

Finally smiling, he kissed her and ran a hand through her hair. "Sure you don't want to come tonight?"

"Yes. I'll help Alfred with dinner. Feeling pretty domestic here lately." They walked hand-in-hand downstairs as they talked. He led her to the library and pointed for her to sit down on the couch.

"First things first...gonna knock this wall down and double the size. Bring any and every book you want."

Laughing, she shook her head. "You don't need to do that. I have a whole house with a library that goes on and on for as far as I want it to."

"Don't care. Making this one bigger."

"You're not using pronouns anymore. Stop being weird."

"No. Second...how are we going to announce this?" He asked, face very serious as he stood with his arms crossed.

"Announce the expansion of your library?" Is this a rich person thing?

"The engagement and marriage and baby. Need to plan a wedding and deal with the press."

"I don't want a wedding, I just want a marriage," she said. "I don't plan on walking down an aisle pregnant, anyway. Call the nearest minister and we'll be married by tomorrow."

"Wedding. Not optional. Can wait until after you give birth, but the people will expect a wedding."

"Oh, screw the people, Bruce!" She stood and threw her arms back around his neck. "We're not beholden to the press or anyone else. I love you. I just want to be your wife and wake up every morning in your arms."

"I'm afraid he's right, Miss," Alfred said, walking by the entrance, as if they had planned it. "I'll be happy to do as much of the planning as you'd like, but a wedding will be quite expected."

"Great. I'm outnumbered. Where's the stupid cat? He'd hate a wedding."

"Not if there's food," Bruce said, pushing her to sit back on the couch. "Settled. Wedding after the baby."

"What's settled? We didn't settle anything. Is my voice not working?"

"Voice is fine. Ignoring it. Alfred will make the guest list and plan the food, you'll pick out your dress."

"You're insane. You know that?"

"You're one to talk," he said, pacing around the room and plotting.

"That's not nice," she pouted. Finally, his watch went off and he stopped to pull her to her feet.

"I have to patrol tonight, but I'll stop back by after the meeting."

"So you can dictate more wedding conditions to me?"

"Yes," he said before kissing her so passionately that she was pulling at his shirt and panting. "Don't miss me too much." He walked away with a cocky grin, leaving her flustered and disoriented.

"You're making this no cussing thing really difficult!"