A/N: Here's the next chapter! Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. It's also the final one, so enjoy!

Chapter Nineteen - A Beginning

Finally, after what seemed an interminable amount of time, the doors opened again. They were all on their feet in seconds. The doctor's face was tired, but she nodded. She nodded. Relief overwhelmed him. She was okay. Diana was okay.

"The bleeding has stopped. We did consider an emergency hysterectomy, but in the end it wasn't necessary."

"Can I–?"

"Yes, just you and another visitor. She's not regained consciousness just yet."

"But she will?"

Doctor Jarvis nodded. "She will, soon. There are a few–"

Bruce was inside before she'd finished her sentence, his daughter still held securely in his arms. The doctor stared after him, somewhat amused, and then shook her head.

Dick walked toward Clark. "You should go in. Take the baby and go see his mother."

Clark seemed surprised. "You sure?"

"I'm sure," he said. "Diana's your best friend, and you're one of the godfathers." He smiled. "Go see her."

The baby boy was transferred tenderly from one godfather to the other, and then Clark moved inside. His heart twisted at the sight. Though there had been spare sets of scrubs laid on the floor to act as absorption, it could not disguise the fact that there was blood everywhere. Lord, she must have been so close to– to–

No. Don't think that. He focused instead on the steady, if slow, beat of her heart. It was at a complete contrast to the way Bruce's heart was pounding. Still, she looked so pale... whiter than the sheet that she lay on. Clark moved closer to the bed, not needing super-hearing to pick up on what Bruce was whispering to the baby in his arms. It sounded as though he were reassuring himself as much as her – after all, the little girl would never know just how close she'd come to losing her mother without ever knowing her.

He'd lifted the baby up slightly, his mouth against her smooth forehead, pressing gentle kisses with each murmured word. "Your mom's going to be okay... she's alright, she'll be fine..."

Clark felt a little like he was eavesdropping. J'onn, moving a little way from Diana, smiled at him. Is she going to be alright? Clark asked.

J'onn's nod was encouraging. She'll be fine. We didn't have to perform an emergency hysterectomy, as feared we might. She'll be drowsy when she wakes, but I imagine she'll be happy to see her children.

Clark smiled and nodded, glancing at the baby is his arms. He'd never been so nervous in his life – he was so afraid of accidentally harming the little boy that he felt he was barely holding onto him at all. He felt J'onn's sympathetic amusement. How will you cope with your own children?

Clark privately felt he was more scared of Bruce than he was of himself, but chortled inwardly. I expect I'll just spend several decades in an air of constant fear.

I suppose– J'onn cut off, looking toward the bed, where Diana was stirring. All three men gathered around the bed, waiting anxiously for her to open her eyes.

---

Hypnos, I'm exhausted...

Still, there was a reason for her to wake up, a good reason – two of them in fact. Squinting against the bright light, Diana cracked her eyes open. She was greeted by Bruce's face, looking more relieved than she'd ever seen him. His smile was so blinding she had no choice but to echo it. Make that three.

"Hey," she said, her voice slightly hoarse from screaming.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Weak," she answered. "It's not a feeling I like." She turned to smile at Clark and J'onn, her eyes automatically finding her son's face before turning back to Bruce and her daughter. "How are they?"

"Hungry, I think," he said.

She smiled, and lifted her weary arms out for her little girl. She seemed distressed at being woken by the movement, and opened her mouth to cry. Diana didn't care. Her own daughter. "My own little star..." she whispered.

She shrugged her left shoulder out of the gown, letting it fall down her chest. In her peripheral vision, she saw Clark turn away, but she had never been all that modest about her body. After all, breasts were for this purpose, weren't they? Besides, it didn't matter what anyone else thought, because watching the little girl feed was wonderful. She was her daughter now, irrevocably. There was no more ancient way a mother could bond with her child.

After a few moments, the baby, warm and now fed, drifted off to sleep against her mother's breast. Diana fought the urge to weep in joy as she stroked the downy golden curls from her forehead. "Blonde," she murmured softly.

"My mother was blonde," Bruce said quietly.

"So is mine," she smiled. "That ought to please her."

A sudden thought struck her – Diana was more than overjoyed to have a son as well as a daughter, but Hippolyta might be less so. Diana had had time in Man's World to know that males were just as wonderful and valuable as females, but on Themyscira there were no men to prove that to the queen. She glanced at the baby still in Clark's arms, biting her bottom lip slightly. What would her mother's reaction be to having a grandson as well as a granddaughter?

Bruce's hand caught hers. "Princess, if she has even half the wisdom of her daughter, then she'll love him."

Diana smiled warmly at him, and then lifted their daughter into his arms. The baby in Clark's began wailing, as if in knowledge that it was his turn. "At least, once he's been fed."

She held her arms out to Clark. If anything, the smile on her face got brighter when she looked into the face of her son.

Bruce looked on with a smile. He knew she'd never admit it, but it looked as though Diana had a favourite already. Well, that was okay. His baby girl shifted in his arms. So did he.

---

Clark soon left, only to be replaced by Shayera, John, then a highly enthusiastic new 'Uncle Wally', all coming to say hello to the Wonder Bats. Wally's nickname for them had stuck – as so far it was the only name the twins had.

Once Zatanna had been in to tell Diana her kids were beautiful and to joke to Bruce that they looked more like Superman than him – something he did not find that amusing – Diana sighed. "We really should name them."

"Is it odd that... I'm not sure I want to?" he asked from the chair by her bedside. The babies were in cribs now, one on either side. It didn't stop their parents from occasionally stroking limbs or gently touching faces. After so long it was difficult to believe that they were really here.

She looked at him quizzically, one eyebrow raised. "What do you mean?"

"I mean... if we give them names, Diana, it's... the first step to moulding them."

He looked up from his quiet contemplation of his daughter's face at the princess's giggle. "Bruce... you are the last person I thought I would say this to, but... you are being ridiculous."

He blinked. "I am?"

"Yes!" she chuckled. "You don't want to name them? Bruce, what are you suggesting we do – wait until they're old enough to tell us what they'd like to be called?"

"You may have a point," he admitted.

"Besides, just by having children we've made the most selfish decision in the world," she said. "They didn't ask to be born."

That was also true, but now that they were here, there was no way in hell he'd want it otherwise. "Alright, so if we're not going to keep calling them 'little sun and little star', what are we going to call them?"

"I think, for the boy... Nicholas," she said. "Nicholas Alexander."

"Nice and Greek," he commented dryly.

She shrugged. "Nothing wrong with reflecting my heritage in our son," she answered. "It is his too."

He nodded. "Nicholas Alexander. I like it."

She beamed. "Good." Leaning forward slightly, she ran a finger along the curve of her son's cheek. "Nicholas."

"Or Nick. Or Nicky," Bruce added with a grimace.

She grinned. "I cannot imagine any son of ours allowing anyone to call him 'Nicky', can you?"

He smirked. "No, I guess not." His gaze returned to their daughter. "And her?"

Diana began to answer, but was interrupted half-way through her reply by a huge yawn. He wasn't surprised. Since she'd woken, her healing had obviously kicked in; there was colour back in her cheeks and she'd been quite lively for the last few hours – Bruce had a sneaking suspicion that adrenalin and the joy of being a new mother had a lot to do with that.

He smiled warmly at her. "Get some rest, Diana. They're not going anywhere, and neither am I."

She shook her head. "I'll sleep when they both have names." She paused, looking slightly sheepish. "But I don't suppose you could get me an iced mocha, could you?"

He grinned. "I think I can manage that."

She returned the smile, and settled back on her pillows with a small sigh, closing her eyes. A few seconds later, the doors hissed open again. "Back already?" she asked without opening her eyes.

"Hardly."

With a gasp, Diana's eyes flew open. "Mother!"

Hippolyta stood in the doorway, a warm smile on her face. "Hello, my little sun and stars."

"W-When did you get here? How did you get here?"

"Hermes visited me," her mother said simply, moving closer. "The messenger of the gods informed me that you had given birth. He was on his way here, in order to bestow the gifts of the gods on your child, and he graciously volunteered to bring me with him."

Diana looked automatically at her daughter. "I've not seen Hermes, Mother."

Hippolyta only smiled. "The gods are only visible to us when they wish to be, daughter."

Diana watched her mother lean over each crib in turn, brushing her fingers lightly over the sleeping babies' cheeks. "They are beautiful, Diana," she murmured. "Have you given them their names yet?"

Diana drew closer and looked down at her slumbering children. "Yes and no," she answered. She gestured first to her son. "Nicholas Alexander," she said, then grimaced, "but we have not yet chosen a name for the girl. I intend to give her the middle name of Persephone, though."

Hippolyta nodded and smiled faintly. "Excellent choices," she commended. "Persephone will be pleased, to say the least." Nicholas gurgled a bit in his sleep and Hippolyta reached down, rubbing his back soothingly. "There, there, little sun," she whispered.

Diana could see the tenderness in her mother's eyes, so similar to what she herself remembered receiving as a child. Still, there had been something nagging at her. "Mother?"

Hippolyta looked up at her. "Yes, dear?"

"You..." Diana hesitated for a moment, but then resolutely continued. "You are not disappointed, are you?" She nodded toward Nicholas. "A boy is hardly traditional..."

Much to Diana's surprise, Hippolyta laughed. "Diana, where in Tartarus did you get such an idea? Not traditional..." When Diana continued to stare at her blankly, Hippolyta elaborated, "Remember Andromache and Penelope, my child. Both of them bore fine sons after leaving Themyscira, each worthy of the respect of their mothers' people." She smiled down at the babies. "I have no doubt my grandson will be just as worthy as they were. And my granddaughter as well."

Diana blinked back tears. "Thank you."

Hippolyta leaned over and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "I cannot stay long. In fact I am in need of transportation back to Themyscira."

"Speak to J'onn," Diana advised. "I'm sure he'll be able to transport you back."

Hippolyta nodded. "He is your gentle friend from the planet of war, is he not?"

Diana nodded. "Somewhat of a paradox, but yes."

The queen nodded then paused. "Diana, when you say we have not yet chosen a name for your daughter, you mean...?"

"She means me."

Diana couldn't help but feel a little tiny bit of satisfaction that the Batman could even sneak up on the queen of the Amazons. Hippolyta jumped, her hand going automatically to the hilt of her sword. Bruce did not seem concerned, and only handed Diana her drink, checked on the twins and then faced Hippolyta, looking very unashamed of himself.

Slowly, the queen released her sword. "I might have known."

He raised an eyebrow.

"That my daughter would share my weakness for strong, dark men," she continued.

He wasn't sure if being compared to a god was an insult or not. Of course, considering who the god in question was...

Diana sat forward abruptly. "Mother! How dare you–"

Hippolyta shook her head. "I am not, Diana. Merely making an observation."

Years ago, during the Thanagarian invasion, Bruce had once told GL than women were the most mysterious creatures in the universe. It was an opinion he found himself repeating when Hippolyta – the woman who had guarded her kingdom for millennia against all men – walked toward him and kissed him gently on the forehead. She then said, "Take care of them, Bruce Wayne. I leave my daughter and grandchildren in your charge. I've no doubt you will be worthy of them."

Without further ado, the queen of the Amazons gave one last glowing glance to her daughter and grandchildren, then left the room, Bruce and Diana staring after her. "Is she going to do that a lot?" he finally asked. "Pop in and out of our lives?"

Diana nodded. "It would not surprise me. I imagine she will want to keep you on your toes," she added with a small smirk.

Next to him, their daughter stirred and woke up, fretting slightly. Bruce picked her up and shushed her gently.

He felt Diana's gentle hand on his elbow. "Name her."

"What?"

She smiled. "Give her a name. She's your daughter, Bruce. You have the right to choose her name."

He blinked back another lot of tears. "Thank you."

She nodded. "What's it to be then?"

He didn't need to think about it. "Sarah. My mother's middle name."

"What does it mean?"

He looked at his children, then back at Diana. "'Princess,'" he said simply.

A slow, trembling smile spread over her face, and the two of them looked at each other for a long moment, knowing how the other felt. She nodded. "Sarah."

His watch beeped, reminding him that it was midnight EST. He looked at Diana, knowing what she'd ask if she could. He also knew that it was the one thing she would never ask him to do. "I'll talk to Dick," he assured her. "He can take patrolling Gotham tonight."

Her face relaxed. "Thank you."

He nodded, but still hesitated slightly. "Are you sure you want me to stay?"

She nodded. "I'm sure. I… I want you to be here."

It wasn't a guarantee. It wasn't marriage, or an affirmation of love. But it was what birth was meant to be, he supposed.

It was a beginning.

---

A/N: The epilogue will be up soon, but review this one please!