Note: I do not own any of the characters included.

Gosh! It's nearly been three weeks since I last updated this, hasn't it? I'm SO sorry. When I was writing this chapter, my writers block just decided to get cranked up to the extreme, so I spend WAY too much time with just the word "Talia" written on the page. Anyway, because of this writer's block, all I could get out of myself is a not-very-good next chapter, in which I completely sped through the flashback. I guess I just included that thing because earlier I got a review asking what had happened to get us here. I just kind of came up with a little idea of something that could've happened, and outlined it with little snapshots through it, so it was pretty rushed. (Also, I know Ra's forgiving Talia isn't that likely, but it wouldn't have worked if he hadn't forgiven her.) Sorry about that. Anyway, I hope you can still kind of enjoy reading it?

A FEW WEEKS LATER

Talia sat down, rubbing her belly calmly. Her heart melted inside as she touched it, thinking of the precious thing that was inside. She could have sworn she heard the squeak of an infant from inside there, and though it couldn't have been real, it made her smile anyways. A quiet kind of joy had taken over her, thinking about all the wonders of this news she had recently discovered. For that moment, everything seemed perfect.

"I love you, my baby…" She whispered to it, smiling softly. She couldn't have been happier, there, with her unborn child closer than anyone already born could ever get. She began to feel herself drifting off into daydreams, imagining how cute the baby would be, and what she'd name them. There was nothing in the world that could stop her from loving this baby.

She could hardly believe it. She was pregnant, and especially after being away from Damian, her first child so much, it felt good knowing that, although it wasn't born yet, there was another child inside her. With her, day and night, that she'd one day get to start nurturing and holding, loving more than anything in the world. She didn't know how that baby would be amazing, or whether or not they'd be a natural soldier, but it didn't matter. They'd be amazing somehow, she was sure, even if it wasn't obvious at first glance. They'd be amazing, even if they had trouble doing the most basic things. They'd be amazing because they'd be them.

But this quickly reminded her of someone else who was less open to who the child was, or what they were good at. One that would take every chance he got to criticize the child if they did not fit his tastes. One that would make the child never hardly get a chance to relax, as he'd always have some new expectations they had to get up to. One that wouldn't do much more than harm them.

"Father…" She reminded herself. She feared if the baby was around him, that they would never truly get a full childhood. Damian, also, she feared, didn't have a very good time when he was around his grandfather. He'd always had the hardest of standards thrown on him, as that's exactly what would happen when someone is supposed to be her father's heir. They're supposed to be the most impressive person in the universe when they're only a few years old.

There were so many things she regretted when it came to taking care of Damian, and raising him with the league of assassins was one of the biggest. The league was not at all a good place for children, as there's murder and danger almost everywhere, and nobody really likes kids. Everyone views them as these people that need to be better, and that lack maturity. Nobody ever thought they were cute or sweet, and their innocence was frowned upon. Besides, while he was with the league, he never got to even meet his father. Now that he had gone off with his father, he seemed so much happier. His father was good with kids, and gave him some more love in his life that he definitely needed. Not only that, but he was so much more free to be who he wanted, and actually have fun.

Talia wanted all that for this baby, and so much more. She wrapped her arm around her belly protectively. Her father may have had control over Damian, but she would not allow him to have control over this baby.

"When you're born, I swear, I'll leave him for you." She promised, "So we can all live happily together… You, your brother, your father, and me." The idea sparked a hopeful smile on her mouth. "Together."

She layed back, enjoying the sweet silence she got to share with her baby. She felt as though there was someone sitting next to her, keeping her company. Someone that could actually communicate. Of course, she didn't need to communicate with the person she was sharing this silence with. Just knowing they were there, and that they existed, was enough.

"Oh," She interrupted the quiet setting, "Let's not forget all your other siblings your father adopted. You'd have them, too."

The only thing that stopped this daydream from being the best thing in the whole world was how angry her father would be. He'd surely be tracking their family down, wanting to kill them. She shuddered at the idea. As much as she wanted to just stay away from Ra's, and not have to hurt him nor help him, they'd have no choice but to bring him down. For this sweet little baby's safety.

This entire crazy thing was the reason she'd never actually went through with it before. But now, she understood that she had to do what was best for this baby… and the rest of their family. For now, she figured she should just try to enjoy being with her father. Just spend time with him, and be grateful he wasn't trying to kill her. Grateful that they'd even made it through last time she did something traitorous.

She remembered that she had told Ra's that she was taking Damian to Paris, as according to her, there was someone that she suspected had learned too much information about the league of assassins, and if they didn't do something, they might even spill some secrets to the authorities. Talia had insisted that Damian had to come, too, because it would be very educational for Damian to learn about what to do if he suspected someone knew too much.

But truthfully, she was just fed up with the way Ra's treated Damian. She didn't even know what the extent of his punishment that he gave Damian went to, and lately, she had seen evidence that suggested whatever they were was terrible. For some reason, Talia had just kind of hoped that Ra's understood that it was not his place to choose how to punish Damian, and that she could handle that stuff herself. Of course, Damian was a very obedient child, at least in her eyes, so she could mostly get away with just small lectures here and there.

But no, Ra's constantly acted like he could punish the poor child however he saw fit, all because Damian was technically a member of his league, and Ra's never went easy with these things. So for her sweet little baby's safety, she had gone to Gotham, instead.

Damian didn't even know that they weren't going to Paris. "Why does it say 'welcome to Gotham' right there, Mother?" He asked, pointing to a large sign that was held up by thick poles, "This is Paris… right?"

"I'll explain it to you a little later." Talia put a hand on Damian's shoulder and leaned down to whisper into his ear, "We're not in Paris, we're in Gotham. I was afraid your grandfather wouldn't approve, so I'm afraid I may have lied to him.. Just a little. But as I said before, I'll tell you the rest later."

That night, she took Damian by the hand, pulling him outside where the moon was glowing bright. There was a dark figure that contrasted that dark moon, though. The silhouette of a bat jumped from rooftop to rooftop, scouring the city streets. Talia led Damian in the direction of the figure, bringing him onto a roof, as well, and following the vigilante on his path until he finally noticed them and approached them.

"Who are… Talia?" Batman got close enough to make out her face. He tried to hide the smile showing up on his face, "What are you doing here? It's great to... wait a second. I was kind of hoping that this would be a quiet night, but Ra's Al Ghul is one of my most powerful enemies, and now he's here?"

"No… I just wanted you to meet this little boy," Talia explained, "His name is Dami-"

"I can introduce myself, Mother. Besides, I'm not a little boy. My name is Damian Al Ghul, and I am the grandson and heir to the great Ra's Al Ghul that you spoke of." Damian interrupted her, stepping in between her and Batman. "But did you say that he is your enemy? How dare you! You will pay!" The ten-year-old ran towards Batman, a fist out in front him.

Talia quickly ran out in front of Damian, "Stop! Damian, you can't just go around trying to kill everyone that doesn't worship your grandfather. There are plenty of good people in the world that don't like him. Not everyone gets along with him, that's all." She tried to reason with him.

Damian settled down for a moment, crossing his arms, "Fine, then. I'll give him a chance, for you. But why are we even here, anyway? Who is he?" Damian pointed to Batman , looking at Talia impatiently.

"He's your father. I thought it was about time you met him." Talia informed her son. A look of surprise came onto both Damian and Batman's faces. They looked at each other curiously, taking in this person who they were apparently related to.

"He's my…. Does this mean you've had a romance with this traitor, Mother?" Damian asked accusingly. He stomped back and forth on the roof, crossing his arms angrily, "I can't believe all this. Did you really date a traitor?!"

Batman stepped forward, "Look, um, Damian…. I don't know much about this whole thing, but I do know you're right about one thing. Your mother and I are in love, but I'm not a traitor. I've always been against the league of assassins." He began to explain what he knew to the child.

Talia began to introduce the two a bit more, and the two began to bond a bit more. She tried to sort out any confusion between the two of them, and soon she felt that it was okay for her to leave then.

She hugged Damian close, cherishing that hug, and then kissed him on the top of his head. She slowly made her way back into the night, without him. She kept peeking back, waving to Damian as she left.

Damian, of course, was very unprepared for this move. He was in no way happy about it, as he'd just met his father, and wanted to just stay with his grandfather. Talia was sure they'd start getting along and truly being a family at some point.. It would just take time.

Ra's was also caught unaware. When Talia returned, he expected to see his grandson with her. But instead, she had seemed to be alone. He had noticed that she seemed very nervous as she approached him, as if she wanted to just avoid him altogether. She had been biting her lip, looking down, and constantly glancing the opposite way, like she was looking for a quick escape.

"Where's my grandson?" Ra's confronted her, "Something bad didn't happen, did it?"

"He's…" The idea of lying that Damian had really been in some sort of terrible accident had come to her head, but she had also quickly realized that she'd already ruined her chance at that. If that had actually happened, she'd be in tears right now, and yet she was standing there, completely calm. She figured she should just tell him the truth and hope for the best. He'd figure at some point, anyway. "He's kind of… with his father."

"With his… What?!" Ra's stared at her, shocked. "How?! Why was the detective in Paris?"

"I… He…" Talia stuttered. They continued to talk, Ra's obviously angry beyond belief at Talia, but in the end, she had just barely managed to get him to agree to just let Damian be with his grandfather, because supposedly they "had already been with each other two long for Damian to want to return".

Talia remembered this all with pure amazement of how she'd somehow managed that and was still with the league of assassins. Perhaps it was because she was one of his most skilled assassins. Perhaps it was because he really did care about her, and didn't want to hurt her, regardless of the traitor she'd proven herself to be. Perhaps it was because he was just… too tired to kick her out or something.

It didn't matter. Not now. Because now she would be betraying him fully, just plainly choosing to leave him. All those other times she had come back. All those other times she at least wanted him to forgive, to let her back in. But this time, she'd be gone. Gone, and a traitor to the fullest extent. She'd be an enemy, and he had made it obvious that he killed his enemies.

Now, I just want to assure you that I'll try to make a better chapter next time, and bring it to you sooner. My writing block will hopefully calm down soon!