Chapter 8
A/N- Hey guys! I know some of you have been asking for more Bruce/Diana interaction so here it is! Another Prime Earth chapter! Anyways, enjoy and review!
"Come on, Princess! Just a little more!" encouraged Bruce. Five hours ago, Diana's water had broken and she was now lying on their massive bed, trying to push their baby out. Bruce hated to see his wife in such pain, but he knew there was nothing that could be done except provide emotional support through the ordeal.
"Come on honey, you can-"
"Bruce, if you tell me to push one last time I am throwing you out the window," wheezed Diana. Bruce backed away a little. She noticed it and smiled grimly.
"That doesn't mean you leave me," she said. Bruce raised his hands.
"I'm more worried about you smacking me in the face again," he said nervously, pointing to the bruise that was forming on his right cheek. They were interrupted by Alfred.
"Mistress Diana, despite him not knowing anything about babies, he is right," he said firmly. "The baby is almost out, but it requires one more push."
Bruce's face hardened as he crouched next to Diana. He took her hand in his and gave a light squeeze.
"One more time, Diana," he urged. Diana looked into his eyes and saw the love he had for her. Only she got to see this side of him. She smiled weakly.
"Alright, let's get this over with," she said tiredly. All three people readied themselves for the final push.
"3...2...1...NOW!" she screamed as she pushed. She accidentally squeezed Bruce's hand too tightly, crushing his bones. Bruce squealed in pain as he let go of her and fell back, tripping over the nightstand behind him. The bedside lamp smashed when it fell to the ground and Diana screamed louder than before.
XXX
Outside, all the members of the Batclan, including Clark and Lois, waited impatiently outside the bedroom. Everyone heard Diana and someone else scream, followed by something being knocked over and shattering. Everyone looked at each other in confusion, but then burst into laughter.
"What's the bet Diana smacked Bruce again?" wheezed Dick in between laughing. Clark had taken off his glasses to wipe tears from his eyes.
"That's probably safe to assume," he teased, having seen everything happen in the room with his x-ray vision. Dinah had buckled over, her laughing giving her stitches. Tim, on the other hand, had to excuse himself, heading towards the bathroom. Slowly everyone stopped laughing, although Barbara and Dinah still giggled quietly in the background. Suddenly Clark straightened up.
"The baby is born," he announced.
XXX
"Master Bruce, Mistress Diana, I would like to welcome your baby to the world," announced Alfred proudly. Bruce took his eyes off Diana to glance at the small bundle of cloth Alfred held. Diana also lifted her head tiredly from the pillow, her eyes glazed with fatigue. Bruce stood up and walked over to Alfred, holding his arms out. Diana watched tiredly as Alfred handed over the bundle to her husband, and noticed Bruce smiling, as in a genuine smile that even Diana could rarely coax out of him. Suddenly Diana desperately wanted to meet the source of Bruce's joy and she lifted her arms towards Bruce.
"Show...show me," she said. Bruce complied and crouched down to show Diana the new arrival. Diana took a sharp intake of breath when her eyes fell upon the child.
She was beautiful. Despite being only a minute old, her eyes were already wide open, revealing cold blue irises like her father's. A small fuzz of jet black covered the top of the baby's head, which didn't surprise Diana in the slightest seeing as both of the baby's parents possessed black hair. The baby's eyes focussed on her mother's face, taking in every detail and storing the image in her tiny mind. The baby's cheeks were flushed red, and Diana instantly fell in love with her child.
Bruce noticed Diana's smile creep upon her face and smirked.
"She looks like you," he commented.
Without taking her eyes off the baby, Diana replied. "But she has your eyes, and judging by the look of her face, your brilliant mind." Bruce's smirk grew into a smile.
"Obviously, I have the dominant genes." Diana turned to face her husband.
"And how would you know that?" she asked, curious as to his answer. He shrugged.
"I took a blood test a few weeks after we found out you were pregnant and figured she would be a little more like me. That being said, our genes are fairly equal so it was really only a guess." He looked down at the baby. "What are we gonna call her?"
Diana frowned at that.
"I'm not sure, we really haven't given much thought on it have we?" she replied.
"No, I guess we didn't," Bruce chuckled. "But she's perfect," he mumbled.
"Yeah, she is." The couple stared at each other lovingly until they were interrupted by Alfred.
"I do not wish to be the bearer of bad news, but you do have friends and family waiting to meet the new addition to the Wayne family," he said firmly but politely. Diana laughed at Bruce's scowl.
"Oh come on Bruce, we did promise them," she reminded.
Bruce's scowl deepened, before he sighed in frustration.
"Fine. But only for ten minutes," he growled. Alfred nodded before heading to the door. Bruce didn't bother listening to what Alfred said to the guests, instead sitting back on a chair and massaging his hand that Diana had crushed. He eyed everyone dangerously as they filed into the master bedroom.
Everyone gasped when their eyes fell upon the baby. Barbara squealed in delight as Dick wheeled her in, clapping excitedly. Everyone crowded around the bed to get a closer look at the baby, who was being held by her mother. Bruce stiffened visibly, though nobody paid him any attention, not caring about his compulsive overprotectiveness.
"Here Dick, you're the oldest brother, so you should get first hold," said Diana. Dick looked startled.
"M-me?" he stammered. Diana laughed.
"Of course. You are the oldest in the Bat Family." Dick blushed, then walked over to Diana, who handed him the newborn baby. Dick cradled the baby, then smiled.
"Gosh, she's a real cutie," he whispered. He started to rock the baby gently, singing so quietly only the person with super hearing could hear. Dick walked over to Barbara and crouched down on one knee before handing the bundle of joy over to his girlfriend. They both smiled at the baby happily.
Bruce and Diana's child was passed around by everyone. Damien held the baby at a distance, not used to being in an atmosphere of love and affection. In fact, he wasn't used to babies at all. Dinah and Helena continued making cooing noises to the baby whilst discussing different clothes and accessories they could buy her. When she was passed over to Tim and Jason, Tim smiled and began babbling on about things no one could understand. Jason continued showing his emotionless face until the baby smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back.
"I think we know who the baby's favourite brother is," whispered Barbara to Helena, who snickered at the remark. Finally the baby fell into Clark's massive arms. Lois, who was sitting on a chair beside Diana, smiled warmly at her husband.
"Seeing him standing there, makes me want to have another kid," she murmured to Diana. Diana raised an eyebrow.
"Already? You just got over your first child," remarked Diana quietly.
"I know. But when you want another, you'll get it," relied Lois. "Besides, I have something special I can use against him." She smiled evilly, then laughed when she saw Clark swallow uncomfortably. He had obviously been listening in to the two friend's conversation. Everyone's thoughts were interrupted by the clearing of a certain Dark Knight's throat.
"Alright, you've had your time to see our kid," began Bruce. "Now let my wife and child rest, it's been an exhausting day." He filed everyone out, even assisting in wheeling Barbara out. Dick took over when they reached the room's exit. Clark walked past, stopping to pull Bruce into a bear hug.
"Congratulations big man," he boomed happily. Bruce squirmed uncomfortably, but was unable to escape the most powerful man in the world's mighty grip. Clark finally released his best friend.
"Trust me, it's worth it," he said, seemingly reading Bruce's thoughts. He then made to leave, grabbing Lois' hand.
"Oh and another thing," Clark added, turning around. "You'll have to see a doctor for that hand."
He barely even felt the vase smash into the back of his head as he left.
XXX
Bruce woke up in a cold sweat, panting heavily. He checked to see if his wife was okay before checking the crib for Aella. They had given her that name, which meant whirlwind in ancient Greek, based on the fact that everyone seemed to have the air sucked out of them whenever they saw her for the first time. It had been nearly three weeks since her birth and since then Bruce's nightmares had become more vivid and real. He had set up multiple surveillance systems and even a remote operating defense network inside the master bedroom, and even made sure that Aella was never left unattended.
He lay back down, positive that there was no danger, and wrapped and arm around Diana before falling asleep again.
XXX
Batman and Nightwing were on a stakeout inside ACE Chemicals. Dick fidgeted with his fingers, which began to get on Batman's nerves.
"Something you want to tell me Grayson?" he growled angrily. Dick jumped in surprise and scratched his head uncomfortably.
"Yeah, sorta but...I'm not sure how to explain it," began Dick. "Barbara was offered a chance to get her legs back Booster Gold yesterday using technology from the future. I think she's gonna say yes." Bruce showed no indication of any surprise or anger.
"And what's wrong with her saying yes?" asked Bruce. The question startled Dick. Everyone knew how much Batman despised Booster Gold (then again, everyone also knew that Batman despised anyone not in his Bat Clan or who weren't founding members of the Justice League), so Dick was surprised by the fact that he seemed to be agreeing with Booster's offer for Barbara.
"Wait, you're agreeing with Barbara?" asked Dick incredulously. Bruce shrugged.
"Why not? I've studied the technology from Booster's timeline, so I have faith that it will work."
Dick blinked twice, shock etched on his features.
"Wait, the great Batman, who relies on nothing but solid evidence and facts before making conclusions, is now relying on faith? What the hell has Aella done to you man?"
"Nothing. And it isn't faith, I know that she'll get the use of her legs back."
"Wow," was all Dick could say. He cleared his throat. "I was also thinking of proposing to Barbara after the operation."
Now it was Bruce's turn to be surprised. However, he smiled ever so slightly and nodded.
"It's about time," he said. He turned and faced his adopted son. "Dick I-"
"BRUCE! We have a situation at the manor!" came the voice of Oracle AKA Barbara. Bruce immediately put his hand up to his ear, activating his comms.
"What is it Oracle?" he demanded.
"It's Wonder Woman and Aella, they've been kidnapped."
Bruce immediately dropped from the building he and Dick were standing atop of and glided down to the alleyway bellow. He was followed by Nightwing and together they hopped into the Batmobile, speeding off into the night.
XXX
Batman barged into the Wayne Manor master bedroom, batarangs at the ready, Nightwing followed behind closely, his escrima sticks drawn. They stalked around the room, checking for traps. Nightwing ran over and helped up an injured Alfred.
"What happened?' asked Nightwing. Alfred rubbed his forehead, which had begun to develop a massive lump.
"We were attacked, by the League of Assassins. They were led by Talia Al Ghul," replied Alfred. "Mistress Diana and I tried to hold them off but I was struck on the head by Talia and the Princess was taken down by some toxin." They both turned to see Bruce, who was staring blankly at the overturned and splintered cot. He fell to his knees and picked up a small toy. Tim, Damien, Black Canary and Huntress came into the room at that moment, stunned by what they saw.
"Who did this Father?" demanded Damien.
"Talia Al Ghul," answered Dick. Damien looked at his older brother in shock. His face turned to one of rage and he smashed a vase angrily.
"That witch! She must have found out about my sister and taken her in retaliation for Father not choosing her," he bellowed. Tim however, got straight to work and set up a crime scene. He analyzed several fallen objects, including the cot, upturned bookshelves and shards of fallen glass. It was at that moment that they heard someone groan in pain. The sound awoke Bruce from his state, and he searched for the source.
Underneath a broken bookshelf lay a man dressed in ninja garb. Bruce picked him up by the collar of his shirt and slammed him into the wall, grabbing him by the throat.
"Where have you taken Wonder Woman and the baby?" he bellowed furiously. However, the assassin laughed.
"You think your scare tactics can frighten me, Man of Bats? I have trained under the League of Assassins my whole life, there is nothing you can do to get me to talk," he sneered.
"Uh oh," said Huntress.
"Uh oh indeed," commented Alfred.
"I think this guy just challenged Batman," joked Black Canary.
"I reckon so as well," said Nightwing sarcastically. Everyone shook their heads in mock disappointment as Batman smirked evilly.
"You will tell me where you took Wonder Woman and the baby," sneered Batman.
The halls of Wayne Manor were then filled with the screams of the assassin.
