Chapter 30
Kahn Memorial Hospital, Blüdhaven. April 3rd, 2018. 10:43 PM.
Bruce knew that a few of the people had expressed interest in being there for Dick and Barbara when Tommy was born, but he hadn't expected so many. As he looked around the maternity ward, he was able to pick out every current member of the Teen Titans, most of the original members, and the full Justice League, and several members of the Justice Society. That was just to name a few. He sipped at his coffee, and turned back to the elevator to see Clark, Lois and Diana walking toward him. He nodded with a smile; he was glad Clark was here for such a big moment in Dick's life. Clark and Dick always had a close relationship.
"Man, what a turnout!" the Kryptonian said with a grin. "Looks like someone's gonna be spoiled growing up, huh?"
Bruce chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "I was hoping it wouldn't be so crowded, but it looks like somehow everyone managed to drop in. I don't even know how this place is big enough to hold everyone."
"Guess Blüdhaven must have a lot of expectant mothers," Lois said nonchalantly as she glanced a bit down the hall and let out a laugh. "Looks like there's even enough room for ballroom practice!" The four of them turned to look, and smiled as they saw Damian and Raven giggling and fumbling about in the hallway as he tried to teach her to dance, with Jon grinning boyishly as he strummed on his guitar in the seat next to them.
"When did Jon start playing the guitar…?" Clark turned to his wife, who shrugged.
"Must have happened in Cali," Lois replied. "I didn't even know he had one!"
"Damian probably got it for him. They've been getting close." Bruce took another sip at his coffee, and Diana smiled.
"That's good," the Amazon added, watching as the half-demon tripped up again, falling into Damian's arms. "The better their personal relationships get, the better they'll work together on the field of battle."
"I agree." The four turned as Talia came up from behind Bruce. "They have much to learn from one another, and from what I've gathered, they've already learned so much in the past two years together."
"Oh, hey! You're, umm…" Clark snapped his fingers trying to remember the woman's name. "… Talia, right? Damian's mother?"
Talia nodded with a subtle smile. "I take it you're the one they call 'Superman', yes? The one from Metropolis?"
Superman's eyes went wide as he looked around the room. "I-I, uhh, what? I dunno what you're talking about…"
Bruce put a hand on Clark's shoulder. "Relax, Clark. Everyone here is in the loop. Including the doctor in there with Dick and Barbara now. Her name is Leslie Thompkins, she's an old friend of mine."
Clark rubbed the back nervously. "Okay, well… yeah, that's me."
Diana peered skeptically at Talia. "Talia… as in Talia al Ghul? Aren't you a member of…"
"I was," the young woman replied. "After the death of my father Ra's, I assumed his role as Grandmaster of the League of Assassins. But as time went on, and after one particular ordeal in Gotham a few years after Damian became Robin, I realized that my grandfather was wrong about mankind… so now the League is no more."
"Oh? Well…" Wonder Woman threw up her eyebrows in surprise. "I believe you've made the right decision. You can do more good for the world as one of us." Talia smiled back, and the five of them continued on for awhile.
Damian snickered as he took Raven's weight in his arms again, catching the poor girl as she slipped once more. He planted a peck on her cheek as she slapped playfully at his chest. Everything is the way it needs to be, he thought to himself. His cities were both enjoying a rare period of peace, his mother had come back into his life, and he had Raven in his arms, his ring on her finger. Right now, in this moment, he almost felt… normal.
"Dang it Damian, I can't figure this out!" Raven laughed, resting her head on Damian's shoulder as they wrapped each other up in an embrace. "How is it that I can ice-skate just fine, but I can't dance like a normal person?"
"Normal person? Raven, normal people don't know how to dance like this," Damian laughed as he pressed his cheek against hers with a grin. "Have you been to a wedding before? Most people's first dances are just rocking back and forth in a circle, no fancy twirls or lifts or anything!"
"Maybe we should try something a little slower," Raven sighed, leaning back to look into Damian's eyes with a smile. "Think that might help?" Damian nodded and turned to Jon, who grinned back.
"You're prob'ly right, Rae. Sixpence is a little fast for someone who's new to this whole dancin' thing, so maybe after a little practice." The hybrid boy slid his capo down a few frets on the neck of his guitar. "But I just figured out this Lauper bit that'd be perfect for you two! Nice 'n' slow so ya don't trip over your own feet, and I think the words fit y'all's relationship pretty well."
Damian stifled a laugh, smirking over Raven's shoulder at the younger boy. "Y'know Jon, it's easy to forget how much of a bumpkin you are… but then you go and talk like THAT, and it just hits you like 'oh yeah, he grew up on a farm.'" Jonathan stuck his tongue out with a wink and started to pick out a slower melody.
"Actually, I been meanin' to ask you somethin', too," Jon started, talking over his guitar. "How come you two got engaged already? I mean yeah, it's been a whole year since you got together and all, and that's awesome, but you're not that much older than me. And I mean, I'm just startin' high school…"
"Yeah, we're really young," Raven sighed as she and Damian slowly turned in time with the music. "But it's all about circumstance. Damian and I have both been through a lot more than most people our age, so we think we've grown a little more than must people do by the time they turn 16… here, spin me." The girl twirled out along her and Damian's arms, her long dark hair swirling all around as she spun, and again as she whirled back into his arms.
"Yeah… Plus, I was about to bleed to death," Damian wrapped an arm around Raven's waist from behind as he pulled her back in, swaying back and forth as they continued turning to the sounds of the guitar. "Whether I lived long enough to marry her or not, I wanted Raven to have my grandmother's ring. But since I ended up coming back, we decided to stick with our decision and get married… albeit pretty far in the future."
"Five years… I wish we didn't have to, but why not? They're not wrong, we really are still pretty young." Raven went on, turning in Damian's arms to face him, resting one hand on his chest as the other stayed rested in his free hand. "Still, gives us plenty of time to get things ready. Planning things out so long in advance is a good way to make sure everything is perfect."
"I mean, I wouldn't object if you wanted to run off in the morning and elope…" Damian joked with a wink. "But it'd have to be in the morning. Can't go anywhere tonight, tonight is all about the baby."
"Right," Raven said smirking. "Baby first, then we'll run off into the sunrise together."
"Hey, hey! Hold the phone, you two!" Jon snipped playfully, still picking along. "You can't just elope like that, you've gotta have a big legit wedding. Y'know, so I can actually be there for it!"
"That actually reminds me…" Damian glanced over to the alien in the chair. "Jon, you wanna be my Best Man?"
"Whaaaat?" Superboy beamed back at Red X excitedly. "Heck yeah, man! You bet!" The three laughed for a moment, and Raven looked contently into Damian's icy blues before stealing a kiss.
"Y'all stop it," Jon said with a grin. "Nobody should be that cute."
A few seconds later, a quiet ding came from the nearby elevator, whose doors then slid open. Out stepped Jason Todd, Roy Harper, and (to everyone's surprise) Dr. Harleen Quinzel, who held a little girl with blonde pigtails on her hip. All three of them had their hands full of gift bags (except, of course, for Harley, who only had gifts in one hand, as the other was occupied by the child), several of which were accompanied by all different kinds of balloons.
"Hey!" Jason called out to Damian as he walked briskly towards them. "We're not late, are we? Did she already have the baby?"
"Believe it or not, no!" Damian replied as he and Raven came to a halt. "She's been trying all morning, but apparently she's just not dilated enough. They took her back awhile ago to go over some things before she has her C-section."
"That kinda sucks…" Roy muttered as he walked up behind Jason. "But at least we didn't miss it. The four of us were makin' a last-minute gift-run after we picked up Harley and the kid. Y'know, clothes and diapers and stuff… plus we stopped for McDonald's."
"Gross," Damian said with a smirk. "That stuff'll clog your arteries, y'know."
"Hey, I useta live on the street. I can eat anything." Jason grinned back at his little brother.
Raven beamed sweetly as Harley passed the little one into her hands. "Oh my goodness! Hi there, sweetie!" She cooed, looking into the girl's emerald eyes. "Can you tell me your name?"
"I'm Lucy…" the child mumbled, her little fingers gripping at Raven's blue cardigan. "Lucy Kinn… Kinnuh… umm…"
"Say 'Luuucy Quinn-zell', baby!" Harley leaned in and dotted the girl's face in kisses. Lucy giggled, putting a hand on her mother's cheek.
"Luuucy Kinn-Zell!" The little one echoed as best she could.
"Well it's nice to meet you, Miss Lucy! My name's Raven!" the mage-girl replied, gently bouncing the little one up and down on her hip. "Can you tell me how old you are?"
Lucy held up three fingers on her left hand for Raven to see. "This many!"
As Raven continued talking to the little girl in her arms, Kori leaned up against the wall in the waiting room, her eyes on the floor. Despite how excited she was that the baby was about to arrive, she couldn't help but feel a little bit down lately. She wasn't sure why it was coming to her now, but she just couldn't seem to shake the pit in her stomach…
"Hey, Star…" Kori lifted her head to see Jason walk into the room, setting his numerous bags down by the door. "You, uhh… you feelin' alright?"
"Oh… hey, Jason. I'm alright, just…" Kori looked back down for a moment before raising her eyes to him again. "I've had a lot on my mind lately."
"… Is it about Dick?" Jason kept looking back at the Tamaranean, a look of concern on his face which Kori noted was… surprising, coming from him.
"I…" Kori looked to the floor again. "… yes… I know, it's awful, but… that's just how my kind are. The love of a Tamaranean is eternal."
"Yeah…" Jason took a step forward shrugging. "Honestly, I kinda get where you're coming from. It hurts seeing somebody you trust so much with someone else… I mean, that's how I felt when I found out about Tim."
Kori paused for a moment, glancing back at Todd from the corner of her eyes. "What do you mean…?"
Jason sighed. "Well, you know how it went… I used to be Robin. I got killed by Joker. Bruce took Tim in, made him Robin… I came back to find someone had taken my place." He leaned up against the wall beside Star, his hands in his pockets. "It hurt, y'know? Seeing Bruce move on like that… I thought…"
"You thought it meant he didn't love you anymore…" Kori murmured. "You felt expendable." Jason nodded.
"But that's just it…" he continued. "Even though Bruce found another Robin, that didn't mean Tim was replacing me. That connection between him and me… I didn't see it before, but it was still there. Even if I wasn't Robin anymore, he still wanted me to be part of the family… I just didn't realize it then. But in time, I started to understand."
"… I know, Dick and I will always… I just…"
"Hey, I get it. Believe me, I do… But give it a little more time. It gets better." Jason gave Kori a soft smile. "It might not ever go away completely. But it gets better."
A moment of silence passed between them before Kori turned to the Red Hood with a smile, wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you, Jason. I needed to hear that."
"You'll be alright, Kori. Promise." Jason's smile grew just a bit as he hugged her back. "You can talk to me if you need anything."
As the two of them walked back out into the main hall, everyone gathered in front of the doorway. Evidently, Dr. Thompkins had just informed Bruce that the C-section was underway, and that the baby would be arriving shortly. Jason came up to Bruce's side, and placed a firm hand on the older man's shoulder.
"So how's this s'poseta go, exactly?" Jason asked. "What should we expect when those doors open back up?"
"I wouldn't get too excited…" Bruce replied under his breath. "If anyone comes through those doors, it'll probably just be Leslie letting us know how it went."
"Still," Damian called back at his father from closer to the door, "at least we'll know what happened. I'd rather have that than not knowing until we all pile up against the Nursery window…"
Raven looked over at the boy and squeezed his hand. He looked back, seeing the faintest hints of a smile on her lips, and he couldn't help but blush… just a tad.
"You feel nervous," the girl's voice spoke softly in Damian's mind as she took she let go of his hand, running her fingertips up his arm and along his back.
"Oh, do I?" Damian raised eyebrow as he let his thoughts flow into her mind. "I'm surprised you don't. He's just as much your nephew as he is mine."
"Oh! So is this about first impressions, then?" she thought with a wink. "Relax, he's gonna love you. We all do."
Damian's eyes softened as he looked back into her eyes, and the two shared a brief kiss just as the doors began to open. They pulled back, and looked everyone waited with baited breath for Dr. Thompkins to come out and tell them how the surgery went.
Instead, they were treated to the sight of Dick Grayson, still in his scrubs and hair net, holding a little blue blanket squirming in his arms as he walked shakily down the hall.
After a collective gasp, everyone rushed forward to surround him. Damian peeked into the blanket to see the tiniest fingers resting on the face of the newborn baby, who looked up at him with electric blue eyes, still brimming with water. His father's eyes, Damian thought.
"Guys…" Dick's voice trembled as his eyes filled with joyous tears. "He's perfect."
As Dick carried his son slowly through the crowd into the Nursery, Damian turned to find his father standing beside him, one hand over his face. The young man gazed up with some strange sense of awe as he watched the tears roll down Bruce's cheeks.
Damian smiled. In this moment, he thought, everything is the way it needs to be.
March 4th, 2018. 2:43 AM.
It was late… far later than Damian had planned to stay. His father, along with everyone else, had long since left the hospital; Bruce and Carrie to go on patrol ("Crime won't care that I have a grandson," the man said), the Titans went with them to help, Talia and Alfred went back to the Manor, and everyone else went back to their own cities. Now, all that remained were himself, Dick and Barbara (both of whom were fast asleep), Raven, and Tommy. He looked down at the newborn in his arms, reaching up at him with the littlest of hands. He smiled, placing his finger into the baby's palm, and his smile grew as the tiny Grayson's fingers closed around his fingertip. He looked down into Tommy's blue, blue eyes…
"Hmm… funny. Baby blues on a baby."
Damian smiled as a pale hand come down over his shoulder, her fingertips gently pulling the little white blanket with the yellow stripes over Tommy's chest. The Titan looked back to see Raven smiling down at the child.
"Yeah… how about that?" Damian thought back. The two of them looked down at Tommy, who looked back up between them with his eyes full of wonder.
"We should give him a nickname…" the mage thought. "Just for him and us. What do you think?"
"I already know exactly what we'll call him. What everyone will call him…" Damian carefully lifted the infant up, and pressed his lips to his little face. "Robin."
"Don't you think he's a little young?" Raven teased, blushing as the newborn put his hands on Damian's face.
"Maybe… but someday." Damian lowered the baby back into the cradle his arms. "… And then one day, he'll grow up. And there'll be another Robin… our Robin."
Raven's cheeks grew warmer as the words entered her head. Damian looked back, and their lips came together more. Smoke and rain mingled together again, and the room filled with a violet haze. Tommy let out the quietest hum, watching curiously as little lights twinkled all around the amethyst-covered hospital room.
In the span of 28 days, Damian had been kidnapped, lost the love of his life, been stabbed through the heart, and died. But he also rediscovered who he was at his heart, reunited with his mother, given his grandmother's ring to his Raven, and now held a pure, perfect new life in his arms.
Everything was the way it needed to be.