Author's note: Hello, Loverlies! I hope y'all are enjoying this story as much as I am. So this chapter is actually more focused on the relationship between Wally and Dick. After my newest Fic, I think people want some answers. I will try to answer them and also move the story forward. Also it's probably going to be pretty short.

The August rain pours down as Wally walks into a Gotham Bar, already slightly buzzed. It's more on the prospect of being out of the house than alcohol. Matty and Jania were in bed. Artemis is having a nice night alone. He moves to a booth near the back where a man with pitch black hair drains the glass infront of him.

"Hey, Dick," Wally slides across from him," I got your call. Is everything ok?"

"Uh, I don't know. There's been a lot happening the last month," Dick signals the bartender for another round," You are no longer the only father in the group."

"Kor'i had the baby?!" Wally exclaims. Dick nods," Congratulations, man."

"Thanks."

"So…. it's a girl right?" Wally asks. Nodding, Dick pulls up a photo on his phone. A tiny baby glares at the camera with her pure green eyes. Her chubby cheek is pressed against Kor'i shoulder, black curls mixing with red. Wally smiles. The little girl looks like she's ready to punch someone and there is no better way to sum up his best friend," She's beautiful."

"Yeah, she is. Her name is Mar'i Sophie." Dick shakes his head.

"What does Mar'i mean?"

"It's Tameranian for Star. It also reminds me of- well," Dick lets his sentence trail off, unsure.

"It reminds you of your mom. Her name was Mary, right?" Dick nods. Wally takes a sip of the beer in front of him, which he knows won't have any impact on him. Fucking metabolism," Is everything ok? I remember M'gann mentioned you freaking out about something a while back."

Dick takes a long drink," When Mar'i was born, Kor'i's heart stopped. She's ok now, but for a while I thought that she was dead. Turns out that when a Tameranian and a Human have a kid, the pregnancy lasts three months. Mar'i was fully developed, but Kor'i's body isn't designed to carry a kid for that long."

"It put a lot of strain on her heart?" Wally guesses.

"Yeah." Dick meets Wally's eyes for the first time," How do you handle being a dad when your first kid almost kills your wife?"

"I don't know if I'm qualified to answer that, but I know you're freaking out."

"Gee what gave you that idea?" Dick's voice drips with sarcasm.

"Bro, you are allowed to be freaked out. I know that goes against all the training that Bruce gave you, but you're a first time dad. You remember how I was on Artemis's graduation? She gasped and I jumped to conclusions. Matty being born was pretty stressful. Mostly because nine months is not long enough for a man to come to terms with being a dad. I can't imagine doing that in three months. But seeing your kid usually makes it worth it."

"I know. The first time I held Mar'i, I kept thinking 'holy shit, this little girl is mine. She's my baby'" Dick sighs," And that's the problem."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was younger, I had the same nightmare every night. It was more watching the same awful memory over and over. I kept watching my parents fall from the trapeze. Over and over and over. As I got older, after I joined the team, the nightmares started to get better. I haven't had the nightmare in months, since before Kor'i got pregnant. Then a couple of days ago, I had it again. It hit me pretty hard this time."

"Because of Mar'i?"

"Because of Kor'i and Mar'i. I know that Mar'i is going to grow up safe and happy. But I look down at her and I'm terrified that maybe she was hiding something. What if she was lying? What if we died and it's been so long that it doesn't hurt anymore? What If we die and she's all alone? I-I never wanted to be a dad as a kid because I couldn't put my kids through the pain of losing their parents. Even when I was older, I thought maybe I could convince myself that no kids was the best plan. After all I was still a hero, so what was the point? Then you...you died and I took a leave of absence. I thought maybe it would be ok. I didn't know Tameranians and Humans could have kids. Then your kids came back to save you, dragging my kid with them." Wally smiles a bit," I saw her and I was fucking terrified. I saw how she held herself and how she worked through a plan. I had some horrible thought that she was a clone or whatever. I had to come to terms with it."

"If it makes you feel better, I understand what it's like seeing your future kids."

"When you look at Matty or Jani, do you remember that day?"

"Sometimes. There would be times when I would hold them and think 'you're going to save people one day. You're going to be a hero.' It's pretty hard to hold that image though when strained peas are dripping down their chins. Especially with Jania being a premie. When she was in the hospital, I held her hand and told her about how great she was going to be. All this nice stuff that I told Matty when we got him back."

"I saw her lift a fucking brickwall over her head. Saved me and your wife. Just this morning, I found her sleeping on the ceiling with a giant ass smile on her face. Yesterday she was laughing at bubbles. Somehow this little baby girl is suppose to become an unstoppable force."

"If it makes you feel better, Jania was able to take out the entire league half crazy. Today, I spent ten minutes washing bananas off her. Our daughters aren't going to be who we saw them as years ago. That, my friend, is where their mothers come in. They're going to grow up watching all these incredibly strong and powerful women be who they are. Chances are we," Wally waves his hands between him and Dick," will be there to help with the skinned knees and broken hearts."

"Is that what you want?"

"Are you kidding?" Wally's face breaks into a wide grin," Ever since, well, ever since Matty was born, that's all I've wanted to do. I want to be a good dad to my kids. Matty and Jani deserve to grow up happy. They also need to grow up safe. If being a good father to my son and daughter means that I have to be a hero then so be it. As long as I get to go home to Artemis and them, I'm happy."

"I wish I could think like that. But I'm so terrified that I'm going to die, or worse, what if something happens to Mar'i? She told me that Joker carved her name into her arm when she was a kid. What if something worse happens to-"

"Bro, take a drink." Wally gestures to his glass. Dick drains his drink as Wally signals for another round," I know that you're freaking out. Luckily I have advice."

"The advice you've given me in the past is kind of how I ended up here."

"This one you'll like. Go home, find Mar'i, find the dumbest most colorful kiddie movie you can, and watch it with her. She won't understand what's happening, she'll most likely fall asleep, but nothing is going to calm you down more than just a couple of hours with your baby girl."

"Are you speaking from experience?"

"I might have fallen asleep with the kids once or twice or thirteen times. They're tiring one on one, both of them are impossible. It does make me feel better about my day and about life in general, especially when I'm...when I get bad." There's an uncomfortable silence," Sorry."

"Don't be. You deserve to have people in your lfe that make you happy." More silence.

"If there's something you want to say, Dick, then tell me."

"I just, I'm your best friend, Wally. We've been friends for almost 13 years. And you never told me about… about what you were doing to yourself. The-" He shakes his head. Wally sets his glass down.

"Dick, I didn't tell anyone. I was angry at the world and at myself. I needed someone to hurt and when I could find a villain that generally helped. But it wasn't your fault."

"Why didn't I see the signs though?"

Wally shrugs," I'm good a hiding my feelings. There's nothing you could have done. You were already doing enough by just being my best friend. I just- I don't know, man."

They sit in silence for a few minutes. Wally looks down at his wrist. One thick scar cuts across it. His healing factor hadn't made the scar fade at all. Almost like his body was punishing him. Dick sighs," I know what it's like for you to feel lost, Wally."

"I know. And I'm sorry. You have my word that I'll be more open about things."

"It only took thirteen years." Dick smiles just enough to let Wally know it's ok to laugh," So how are your kids?"

"Good. Jania is eating pretty well and is rolling over. She's breathing a lot better. Sleeping through the night, mostly. Matty is running Arty and I ragged. He's always talking, only half in English. Still loves Jania. We still have to explain to him what playing gently with his sister means." Wally pulls out his wallet to show Dick a family portrait they took a few weeks ago. They're all sitting on the floor. Artemis holds Jania, the baby in a rose colored dress. Artemis smiles down at her daughter, green blouse making her grey eyes pop. Wally is positioned behind her, his shirt matching Jania's dress, grinning at his son. Matty stands on his tiptoes, overalls over a green shirt. He points at Jania and stares up at his father, wanting an answer to an unheard question.

"Never thought I'd see you with a family portrait." Dick hands the photo back to Wally.

"Never thought I'd have a family to take a family portrait with," Wally shrugs.

"You and Arty want any more?"

"No." Wally answers quickly," We've got our hands full as it is. Besides, I like two kids. No one is ever left out."

"Wait til they start dating." Dick tells him.

"Oh, yeah. Matty will be really excited to meet Mar'i," Wally teases.

"Shut the hell up," Dick throws a napkin at Wally. They spend a while talking about sports and lives. Wally explains an experiment he's running involving the introduction of gamma radiation in a new enviornment until Dick's eyes glaze over. They talk about a few movies that they've seen, Dick asking if he's seen the one with the ninja girlfriend who's father wanted her to kill her ninja boyfriend. By the end of the night, they leave on better terms.

A zeta trip and a quick run later, Wally walks into his apartment. He flops onto the couch, surveying the room. The living room has been over taken with toys. Matty's trucks and blocks are mixed with soft stuffed animals caked with drool. A toy chest sits empty in the corner. Wally laughs to himself, remembering the days when papers and books were strewn across the room.

"How'd it go?" Artemis walks into the room, sliding next to Wally. He pulls her close, kissing her forehead.

"Pretty good. Kor'i had the baby."

"And how's Bird boy handling it?"

"Better now that we talked. He needed some fatherly advice," Artemis snorts at this.

"And what advice did you give him? Never try to eat a sandwich on a sleeping baby?"

"That was one time. And it didn't work because Matty stole the sandwich." They both laugh, trying not to wake up the sleeping children down the hall," Really, what did you tell him?"

Wally shrugs," I told him that it's ok to freak out and it's ok to doubt yourself, but he does need to keep in mind that a little girl is now depending on him."

"Did he mention what his freak out was about?"

"Apparently when Mar'i was born, Kor'i had some complications," Artemis looks up at her husband in concern," She's fine now, but he thought that he'd lost her."

"I can't imagine how that must feel." Wally looks down at his wife, pushing wet hair from her face.

"Well, we turned out ok. He'll be fine." They hear a door open and soft foot steps. Matty comes into the living room, holding his blanket, rubbing his eyes in frustration.

"Matty?" Artemis moves off the couch, picking up the little boy," What are you doing up?"

"Ba deam."

"A bad dream," Artemis repeats. She rocks him on her hip and rubs his back," It's ok. Mommy's here.

"Seep in Mommy's bed?" Matty asks, looking at his mother with bleary eyes.

"Yes you can sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed." A piercing cry fills the apartment.

"That would be Jani." Wally rises from the couch,"I'm guessing family bed tonight?"

"Looks like it." Artemis carries Matty into their bedroom. Jania sits up in her crib, crying. Wally reaches down.

"Hey, sweetheart," He rocks the crying eight month old," I know, you want to be alseep and you aren't."

He takes a second to heat up a bottle for her. The crying stops as soon as the milk hits her lips. Wally smiles down at his daughter, with her golden hair and sleepy green eyes. She already has freckles like him. After burping and changing her, Wally carries her to the master bedroom. Artemis looks up, smiling to herself. Wally murmurs something into their daughter's hair, his lips brushing her temple with every word. Jania grunts and flaps her arms against his back. Matty cuddles up next to her, shifting as Wally slides into bed.

Just before turning out the lights, Wally checks his phone. He grins and shows he screen to Artemis. Dick sent a picture of him and a tiny baby. The little girl has his black hair and pure green eyes. Beauty and the Beast is playing in the background. She laughs because attached to the photo were three words. You were right.

Author's note: Yeah so this was really fun to write. I hope to write a fic or two with Nightwing and his family. They're such good drama. The next chapter is gonna be pure fluff, but let's be real, that's all this fic is. Spitfire fluff with their cute babies.