A/N: Right, AQ pointed out to me (some time ago), that I'd said that Tim had already been kidnapped by the Joker, which I did, she's right. BUT I used it only in an attempt to find a comparison to how pissed Bruce was at Diana's disappearance in the future. So from now on, assume he hasn't been kidnapped and everything is still hunky-dory, ok? ...well, as hunky-dory as anything ever gets for Batman ;)

Chapter Fifteen - Telling Clark

To say that Alfred was delighted to find that Diana had stayed the night in the manor was an understatement. Certainly he didn't show it when he came to wake her the following morning, but she swore she heard him whistling as he went downstairs again. She smiled and sat up, looking in wonder at the huge array of breakfast food he'd made for her.

It ranged from sausages, eggs and bacon to a bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese as well as fresh fruit and yoghurt. Diana picked the middle road, and went for toast with some home-made strawberry jam with a cup of earl grey.

The omniscient Englishmen had also found time to launder and press her clothes, and they were waiting for her in a neat pile on the chair in her room. Smiling, she dressed quickly and went downstairs, heading into the kitchen carrying her breakfast tray.

"Good morning, Your Highness," Alfred greeted as she entered. "Allow me to take that," he said, motioning to the tray.

Diana smiled. "I may be pregnant, Alfred, but I'm still capable of carrying a tray downstairs."

"If you'll forgive me, miss, you will not do so while I am in this house."

She relented, letting him take the tray, and sat down at the kitchen island. "Breakfast was delicious, thank you."

He nodded. "You're more than welcome, my dear."

"What time is it, Alfred?" she asked suddenly. From the light outside, it was well into mid-morning, and she certainly felt well-rested. She'd gotten up at least half a dozen times to use the bathroom, but other than that, her sleep had been deep and undisturbed.

"Just after eleven am, miss. Master Bruce is currently at Wayne Enterprises, though I expect him back within an hour or so." He looked up at her, eyes twinkling. "I know he's looking forward to accompanying you for your scan this afternoon."

Diana nodded. "I'm glad. I'm ashamed to admit the way I treated him yesterday was appalling."

"I'm sure the treatment you afforded him was far more lenient than I was inclined to," he told her, mouth tightening again.

"Alfred, please don't be mad at him. The important thing is I'm here, and Bruce and I..." She trailed off, having no idea how to finish that sentence.

"Have time," Alfred completed softly.

She nodded with a grateful smile. "Have time," she agreed.

They chatted quietly for a while, about nothing in particular, until Diana spotted a vase on the window sill that hadn't been there before she left, she was sure of it. It looked out of keeping with the rest of the kitchen too - it was well-crafted, certainly, but modern. She asked Alfred about it.

"Ah. Master Timothy's work. He's showing great promise as a sculptor - a rather recent hobby."

Diana moved over and picked it up carefully. "It's beautiful."

"Indeed it is. Would you consider coming back here after your scan? I know he'd be delighted to see you."

She put the vase down. "I'd like to see him too, but...well, I'm assuming he doesn't know about my pregnancy?" She'd arrived rather late last night, after Tim had gone to bed, since he wasn't patrolling with Bruce that evening.

"No, not yet."

She nodded. "Nor does the rest of the League, apart from Green Lantern. Well, they know I'm pregnant, but have no idea Bruce is the father."

"I see. I take it that includes Master Kent?" She grimaced, trying to imagine the look on Clark's face when he found out. Not a conversation she was looking forward to having.

"Yes," she admitted. "I'm not sure about Bruce, but I think that Dick, Tim and Clark need to know first. And since we're going to the Watchtower this afternoon, I guess Clark's first."

The kitchen door opened, and a slightly tired looking Bruce came in. They didn't smile at each other, still a little too unsure for that, but Diana couldn't help notice and feel a warm glow at the fact that he did smile at her bump. "How was the shareholders meeting, sir?" Alfred asked.

"I didn't have to pretend to be bored," Bruce said dryly.

"Ah, I see. Would you like some lunch?"

Bruce nodded, and Alfred busied himself with making some food. Diana followed Bruce out of the kitchen, finding him in the library. "How did you sleep?" he asked.

"Well, thank you." A pause. "You?"

"Same."

Diana sighed impatiently. "How long do you think we can keep walking on eggshells around each other?"

An unreadable stare. "I don't know what-"

"Don't, Bruce. Please don't."

He looked impassive for a moment longer, then relented. "Alright. I assume the fact that you need more time hasn't changed from yesterday?"

She shook her head. "No. Are you willing to wait?"

He smirked slightly. "I think I can manage three or so years, Princess."

She didn't miss the reference, and smirked in return. Any other situation it would have hurt, him making light of the years she'd waited for him, but she appreciated that he was trying humour. He needed some practice at it, but it wasn't bad for a first go. She nodded. "Alright."

Alfred knocked on the door, carrying some sandwiches. Despite the fact that she'd eaten not all that long ago, the smell of steak and fried onions coming from the sandwich he placed in front of her proved too tempting to resist. She grinned at him and dug in before she'd had time to say, 'thank you'.

Bruce looked at her in slight amusement at the ravenous way she was eating, but followed suit. By the time they'd finished their lunch, it was almost two, and they headed down to the Cave for Bruce to change into the Batsuit before they transported up to the Watchtower.

Once they were beneath the manor, Diana sat in the chair in front of the computers and tried not to think about the fact that behind her, Bruce was getting undressed. Damn hormones. And damn him too, come to that. She didn't even have anything except imagination to go on, despite the fact that she'd seen and...felt everything. Over the course of her pregnancy, she'd prayed many times to Mnemosyne, asking the goddess to restore her memories of that night, but it seemed that she was not meant to know what had happened.

Truthfully, she was glad it had happened anyway, and really the anger had gone now; she'd certainly never expected or wanted to become pregnant at this point in her life, but now that she was, she already loved her unborn children unconditionally - and she knew Bruce would too.

Behind her, the door to the locker room opened, and she swivelled in the chair to see Batman coming toward her, cowl firmly in place. He nodded at her, then put a hand to his com-link. "Batman to Watchtower. Transport Wonder Woman and I up."

"Roger that, Batman," Mr Terrific's voice said, before there was a wave of brightness and the two of them were standing in the transporter room.

The sight of Batman walking next to a very pregnant Wonder Woman did cause some stares, but mostly because of the fact that seeing Diana's bump was still a novelty. Batman was a founding member of the League; it only made sense that one of the founders would be with Diana when she was in a vulnerable state. Still, Bruce was a little relieved that the Infirmary was empty apart from J'onn when they got there. He locked the doors, enabled the privacy functions and deactivated the security cameras before removing his cowl, not wanting to see this through lenses.

The Martian smiled at them both, then spoke to the princess. "How are you feeling, Diana?"

"Fine," she nodded. "How do we do this?"

"Lie on the bed," he instructed. He handed her a sheet to cover her bottom half, then lifted her chiton up to reveal her bump. "This gel will be a little cold," he warned, lifting a tube.

"I don't feel the cold, but thanks for the warning," she smiled.

J'onn nodded and squirted some of the clear liquid onto her stomach, then switched the ultrasound machine on, spreading the gel around. Almost immediately a loud pulsing sound filled the room, and an image flickered up on the screen. The Watchtower had ultrasound machines mainly to help gauge if injured leaguers had internal bleeding or organ damage - this was the first obstetric ultrasound that had been performed here. Like everything aboard, the technology was state-of-the-art, and the image that came up was very distinct. Golden and plastic-looking in appearance, but very definitely a baby's head. With a perfectly-formed face. And tiny little hands.

"The pulsing noises are the heartbeats," J'onn told them. "Both steady and normal speed for this stage in foetal development."

He moved the scanner over to the other side of her abdomen, and a leg appeared onscreen. The scanner moved all over her stomach until J'onn had satisfied himself that all the parts that were supposed to be there were, and no extra parts that weren't supposed to be there weren't.

"Have you made any observations about your pregnancy that are unusual?" J'onn asked.

Diana nodded, and looked at Bruce. "I don't think that the children will inherit my powers. At least not both of them."

Bruce frowned. "What makes you think that?"

"Over the last several months using my powers has become difficult; flying, especially, is almost impossible. I'm not sure what else would cause it," she said.

He nodded thoughtfully. Honestly he couldn't help but feel a little relieved - the idea of having two superpowered children zooming around the manor was a little daunting. No doubt Alfred would be charmed at the idea...until his carefully landscaped garden was ripped up from its roots. And it made sense; Diana's powers weren't genetic, they were god-given - literally. Without the interference of Hera and the other goddesses, their children would be mortal, just like their father.

Struck by a sudden thought, he glanced at Diana. It was the main reason he'd distanced himself from her in the past, to spare her his death. As her friend it might be bearable, but he of all people knew what losing someone you loved could do.

But losing a child, let alone two? What was that going to do to her? Watching her family wither and age while she stayed still - he could imagine few things worse.

"And you've felt no other weakness?" he asked her. "Even when you're not using your powers?"

She shook her head. "No. Apart from that everything's been fine."

J'onn ran the scanner over her bump again. "Both the babies are healthy," he said. "Good strong heartbeats, and well-formed limbs. I'm not an expert, as I said, for more details you may wish to consult an OBGYN, but I can assure you that you're going to have two healthy children."

It wasn't until Diana's fingers squeezed his gently that Bruce even realised they were holding hands. "Would you like to know the sexes?"

They exchanged a glance and knew that they were of the same opinion. "No."

"Alright," J'onn smiled. "Then that's it." He handed Diana a tissue to wipe off the gel and switched off the ultrasound.

"You never did tell me what names you liked," she added to Bruce after a few moments. "Not that I really gave you a chance," she admitted ruefully.

"I haven't really given much thought to it," he replied. "But I will."

"I've been thinking...where do you stand on Greek names?"

He smirked. "Well as long as you don't call our daughter 'Aphrodite' I think I can cope."

"Does that go for all goddess names?" she asked. "Because I like 'Persephone'."

He considered. As far as Greek deities went, that one wasn't too bad. He nodded. "I can see that possibly working."

She smiled and stood up, and they walked out of the infirmary together in silence. Clark was coming toward them. "Hey, Diana," he smiled. "Where did you disappear to last night?"

Diana and Bruce exchanged a glance, then Batman motioned with his head toward the empty conference room. Superman followed with a frown on his face, quickly turning to comprehension. Unsettling comprehension. Once the doors were locked, Batman disabled the security cameras and turned to Clark.

Clark looked like he knew exactly what he was going to say. "Oh please don't tell me...you-"

Diana nodded. "I spent the night at the manor, yes."

"O...k...But nothing happened. Right?" he asked Bruce sharply.

"Of course not," he snapped. Then his shoulders slumped. "But..."

"But?" He stopped, then looked at Diana again, the investigative reporter coming forward. "Diana, why were you in the med-bay?"

"A scan," she said gently. "J'onn gave me an ultrasound."

"And...why was Bruce with you?"

They exchanged another look, but it was enough for Clark. "Oh God," he groaned. "You- you and him-"

"Yes," they said together.

"When?!" he demanded. "Well, obviously nine months ago, but- Diana I thought you said there was no father!"

"Well...it's complicated, Clark," she said. "At the time...that's what I believed."

Superman's incredulous gaze swung to Bruce. "What the hell did you do?!"

"Doesn't matter." The sentence came not from Bruce, but from Diana. Her expression was calm, neutral. "Clark, it doesn't matter. Yes, Bruce is the father, and yes he's standing by...us."

Clark's head swivelled between the two of them before he finally got a sentence out. Or part of a sentence anyway. "You- He- Ridiculous!"

She narrowed her eyes. "What's ridiculous about it?"

"Well are you together now? Where are you going to live? Is the baby going to-"

"Babies," Batman interrupted. "Twins."

If Clark's mouth had gotten any wider, bats would have been roosting in there. Finally, Diana got slightly worried about his silence. "Kal?"

Superman stumbled over to his chair and collapsed into it, pushing his face into his palms. "So...you're having twins. Bruce is the father...anything else you think I should know? Are you together?"

"No," Diana calmly.

"And you're ok with that?" he asked her sceptically.

"That's personal, Kal." She didn't say it with the unemotional harshness of Batman, but she kept her voice even, and there was no way to tell what she as thinking, even for Bruce. He'd been in her shoes less than a day and he hated it.

The height that Clark's eyebrows had been stationed seemed to indicate that he wasn't convinced. "Well are you still going to stick with the Diana-Prince thing? Are you going to tell the...children...who their parents really are? For that matter, how are you suddenly going to explain that Bruce Wayne is suddenly a father? Or-"

"Those are things we haven't discussed yet," she told him. "But they're things that will be discussed between Bruce and I."

Clark finally nodded. "Alright. When are you going to tell the others?"

"When we've talked about it," she nodded.

It seemed that Clark had run out of things to say, since returned her nod and stood up, hesitating for a moment. "Thanks for telling me."

Diana smiled. "Anytime."

Once Superman had gone, Batman turned to her. "Much as I hate to admit it, he's right. There are things we need to discuss."

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A/N: Review please!