Zatanna decided to tell Artemis about it. They were friends after all, and she could hardly imagine Artemis being judgemental. She found a way to have some time together in her room and told her everything. Artemis listened quietly, nodding from time to time.
"So", Artemis said when her friend was done speaking, "you're pregnant and you don't know what to do, that's it?"
"Yes!" Zatanna said. "I mean, there are so many possibilities!"
"I can only see three. You have an abortion, you get it adopted or you keep it."
Zatanna thought about for some time. Then she gaped:
"Listen, I don't know… I, most of the time, I know what I want but… Well, you see, my dad… If he ever…
"This is your life", Artemis said. "Not your dad's."
"I know. It's just that he has always been a little bit… uptight, you see? When he had to explain me how babies are made, he just put a book into my hands and he was blushing so much! That's how I learnt about sex ed: by reading a book!"
"And school?" Artemis asked.
"A catholic school. One hour for explaining reproduction, one hour for listing all STDs, ten hours for preachy stuff and "never before the wedding". How horrible!"
Zatanna burst into nervous laughter. Artemis laughed too and added:
"If you wanna know, my dad was not better. My mom was serving time when I had my first period. I thought I had an internal bleeding and I went to the hospital alone. He laughed like mad when he learnt about it and he made fun of me for a week!"
"What a jerk!" Zatanna said.
"Yeah. But what about you? Do you wanna keep it?"
Zatanna thought about for a while, and then shook her head.
"No. I don't see myself as a teenage mom. To be honest, I'm not even sure that I want kids later. A baby needs attention. I can't imagine myself going to school, bottle-feeding, helping the team saving the world and then going to the pediatrician, and so on. I'm already snowed under now so I can't imagine what it would be with a baby.
"Then do you wanna have it adopted?"
Zatanna tried to close her eyes and tried to imagine how a whole teenage pregnancy would feel. There would be nausea, vomiting, anemia, cramps, pain, mood swings, pregnancy mask, fatigue, weight gain and other things that she couldn't even imagine. People would stare at her in the street and mothers would tell her daughters: "look, that's what will happen to you if you act like a slut before getting married." And after those nine months, she may feel attached and have a hard time giving the baby to strangers. And what about her dad? Could she stand in front of Doctor Fate with a rounded belly and say: "Dad, I'll have this baby adopted at birth because I feel too young for raising it. I know you love children so much and you'll never be able to hug your own grand-child, just because I had a condom accident. I know you're crying and you're so ashamed of me!"?
"No", Zatanna said. "Adopted or not, it's still too painful."
"Then you may consider an abortion."
"Yeah. No. I mean, I don't know. I read on the internet that I may screw up my womb if I do that!"
"Then maybe the best would be to talk with a doctor", Artemis said. "And what about the father? Does he know?"
Zatanna stifled a giggle when hearing this. The word 'father' was so unlike Dick! She couldn't imagine him caring for a child, but it was his sperm, after all. She had to talk to him.
"Not yet, she said, hugging her friend. Thank you. Thank you for being so nice and listening to me."
One hour later, Zatanna found Dick in a coffee shop. He seemed equal to himself, that is in a good mood and slightly sarcastic. She had imagined a dozen different ways to tell him the news but she lacked the heart when she saw him and she sat down without a word.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"I'm pregnant."
For a brief moment, the boy's face fell. Then he tried to hide his embarrassment, smiled awkwardly and ask:
"Oh. With who?"
Zatanna burst into laughter. She had expected Dick to do anything but joking about it! Actually, it was not really funny but laughing felt good.
"Well!" she said. "During the last few months, I had sex with Santa Claus, the Wizard of Oz, Rodulph Valentino, the girl who cuts my hair and you. That makes many potential fathers."
"OK!" he laughed. "But are you sure to be…"
"The test is positive."
"Oh. That's my fault."
Dick was feeling bad. He had been using the cheapest condoms he could find during every single intercourse with her. Now his friend was pregnant and he didn't know what to do.
"No", she said. "It was consensual, do you remember? I wanted to do it. And now…"
"Will you keep it?"
Zatanna was silent for a moment. None of the solutions she had considered seemed really good. She evaded the question:
"What do you think?"
"It's up to you. Your body, not mine. Whatever you'll do, I'll support you."
"Well, do you imagine being a dad at sixteen?"
Dick shook his head. He would have to give up his hobbies, his free time or even his superhero activities. He couldn't even imagine how it would be. Maybe Bruce would agree to pay a pension to his "grandchild"'s mother, who knew? He would probably lecture him, even though someone who had relationships with Catwoman and Talia Al Ghul cannot pretend to be an expert in relationships. But how to know how he would react?
"Have you thought about the other solution?" he asked.
"I'll go to a clinic with Artemis to get information this afternoon."
"Would you like me to go with you?"
"Yeah", she said. "I really feel at a loss…"
"Well, we'll put you back at a gain!"
Zatanna burst into nervous laughter…
To be continued…
