Chapter 5

Bruce allowed the line of his grappling hook to carry him off a lower building and onto a higher one, landing gracefully on the rooftop and glancing down at the street below. The sound of his cape snapping in the cold night wind masked the soft sound of someone landing on the rooftop after him, but not enough for him to miss it completely.

"I thought I told you I didn't need any help."

"You did." Nightwing said as Bruce turned to face him. "And I'm not here to offer you help."

The older man didn't respond, and Dick hesitated for a moment.

"You've told me before how proud you are of me, of all of us, but has anyone ever told you?"

Bruce stayed silent, slightly unsure of what was happening, so Dick pressed on.

"You're not the scared little boy in that alleyway anymore, Bruce, and I'm not the terrified boy frozen to the spot on that circus platform. Look at us. We save lives now, and we've made our own better than anyone ever thought we would."

You've made a family for yourself now. A real one, one that isn't made up of random orphans you took under your wing and taught how to live again. You've got a whole life ahead of you, one filled with love and happiness, no matter what you say. I know you're nervous about this, and you're inevitably going to be over-paranoid and protective at times, but I think, no, I know you're going to be a great father."

I guess what I'm trying to say is… I'm proud of you, Bruce. We all are."

A slightly awkward silence followed Dick's speech, during which neither one of them really knew what to say or do until a suddenly emotional, or as emotional as Batman can get, Bruce spoke up.

"Dick…"

Nightwing looked up from his boots, prepared for anything.

"Can you take over the rest of my patrol?"

"Why do- oh. Yes. Yes, of course I can."

Bruce nodded once, showing that he understood and began walking briskly across the rooftop, past Dick as he moved to the edge of the roof, preparing to jump across.

"Oh, and Dick?"

Nightwing paused and looked over his shoulder, expecting instructions to check out an old warehouse or something of that sort, but was surprised when his mentor said only two words before disappearing back into the darkness he seemed to live in.

"Thank you."

XXX

The sound of the cowl hitting the cold stone floor echoed around the cave, startling a few of the Bats that inhabited it into flight. Bruce, being accustomed to the noise by now, pulled a t-shirt over his head as he quickly made his way up the grand staircase and into the manor above. Easily navigating the maze-like building he'd lived in for his entire life, he found himself looking into the bedroom he and Diana now shared, pleased to find she was asleep.

Her being now seven months pregnant, her insomnia had seemingly gotten worse and he hadn't failed to notice, even though he'd been extremely busy between work at Wayne Enterprises, the Justice League, and Gotham for the past few months and hadn't been home much.

He quietly made his way over to the bed and slid under the covers with Diana, almost wanting to wake her up just for a chance to see the twin orbs of bright sapphire that she possessed, but knowing and deciding that she needed sleep more than he needed to see her.

Diana, however, seemed to have other ideas, as she stirred immediately after he lay down. The bed shifted again as she slowly rolled over to face him, struggling somewhat with the size of her stomach.

"Go back to sleep." Bruce mumbled, pulling her as close to him as he could.

"'m not tired…" Diana mumbled, snuggling into him anyway.

He chuckled. "Yes you are."

She sighed, leaning her head against his chest and closing her eyes. "Mhmm.."

He smiled to himself, gently rubbing the bump where his child lay. It was hard to imagine that six months had passed since that night on the Watchtower when Diana had first told him that she was going to be having his child. Now, there would be another life in the manor in just two or three more months.

Diana groaned quietly as a powerful kick suddenly came from underneath where Bruce's hand was resting on her stomach, and he chuckled again.

"I'd stop laughing if I were you, Mister Wayne." She warned.

"Super strength?" He asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised." She mumbled, turning over so her back was against his chest now.

"Flight?" He teased.

She made an amused sound. "Not yet, I hope. You can deal with that later."

The groan following her statement was obviously over-exaggerated, and Diana reached back with one hand and swatted at him.

"Oh, stop. You've been preparing for months."

That much was true. Ever since Diana had brought home the basket of her old toys from Themyscria, Bruce had been slowly collecting 'necessities' that might not ever be used.

"humph."

Diana laughed, knowing he couldn't think of a better response than that right now.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure we'll need that baby monitor at some point."

"We might!" He insisted, sounding thoroughly offended.

"Bruce," Diana sighed. "The nursery is right next to this room, and I have super hearing."

"Do you?" He teased.

She was silent for a moment. "Can you hear the deer running across the field and into the woods?"

"No…"

"Then yes, I do have super hearing." She laughed.

They fell silent for a while, just enjoying the other's company and warmth.

"I'm hungry." Diana said suddenly. "Can we eat something?"

Bruce smiled, trying not to laugh at her untimely request. "I'm not hungry, but I'll get you something as long as you promise not to puke on me again."

"Hey!" Diana said, sitting up along with him. "That was months ago, and I did warn you!"

He laughed this time, the sound echoing around the dark room as he stood up. "What do you want this time? Pickles and ice cream?" He teased.

"And pretzels." She added, lying back down.

He raised an eyebrow in her direction, but decided not to question it as he left to room in search for pretzels, pickles, and ice cream.

A/N: Guess what! Today's my birthday! :DD Happy Birthday to me!

Anyway, about the story, the next chapter is the birth and I'm planning on posting it tomorrow. I don't have a epilogue written or planned but if u guys want one after the next chapter and maybe have an idea for one tell me and I'll at least try to write one.

~Uni