It's almost over.
They've sat through their daughter's funeral, one of the hardest things that either of them have ever done, and they've come out alive. Brokenhearted, but alive. Even if they may not wish it. For all they know, their baby is dead.
In reality, the Joker has her. And he isn't about to stop there. Haly is his, but they're not completely destroyed as he wants them to be. As he needs them to be. So with this funeral he begins an ongoing blitzkrieg on the Wayne household.
Harley still clung to Dick's hand. Everyone was stopping to say things, but they all just blurred together. All sad 'I'm sorrys'. Alfred stopped in front of them.
"You two need to eat." Harley nodded obediently, following him. She didn't want to think. Dick walked beside her, his shoulder brushing hers. Harley suddenly froze in place, pulling Dick to a stop. Her mother's familiar form strode up to her, Barry half hidden behind her as Nicky stood off to the side watching her warily.
"Mom," Harley breathed. "What are you doing here?" Shannon glanced at Bruce, something like begrudging respect in her eyes.
"He told us. Don't even get to hear it from my own daughter," she muttered. Dick stepped in front of Harley a bit; his face darkened.
"What are you doing here?" he repeated her.
"Master Dick, Miss Harley," Alfred scolded their attitudes. "You must be her mother." He offered his hand to Shannon. She shook it.
"You wouldn't know it would you?" she asked. Damian stopped behind Harley, watching Nicky. "She never visits, or asks me to visit. And I look too young to be a grandma." She pulled out a cigarette. Harley sucked in a deep breath, turning away from her slightly. Alfred watched Shannon stiffly when she offered him a smoke.
"I'm dying for one," Jason reached over Alfred's shoulder, but Shannon took the pack away, tucking it into her coat. Jason stepped back distastefully and glanced at Dick.
"What. Are. You. Doing here?!" Dick reiterated, his fists clenching. He angrily rubbed away the tears spilling over his eyes, and then looked up again.
"She was my granddaughter," she snapped. "Or would have been," she corrected. Harley bit her lip, closing her eyes.
"That…" Harley couldn't continue.
"Although maybe this is a better alternative than getting her locked up in Arkham for the rest of her life like you did with Jenny." Harley winced.
"Hey!" Jason stepped forward, and Tim was holding Stephanie back. Nicky shot Damian an apologetic look, and Barry took a step back.
"What's going on?" Bruce asked, stepping up to the group. Selina was at his side, her arm looped through his.
"Oh hello," Shannon smiled. "Nothing. It's nothing." Bruce nodded curtly. "You know, I didn't know Harley's boyfriend was a Wayne."
"Does that matter?" Bruce asked drily.
"Oh no, no." She flicked the ashes off the butt of her cigarette.
"And they're engaged now," he added. Shannon frowned.
"You got engaged?" She looked back at Harley who nodded weakly. "Little late to shotgun it before the baby don't you think?" She took a drag from her cigarette.
"You have no right to be here," Dick stepped forward, and Selina caught his shoulder. Dick inhaled slowly, trying to calm himself. He looked at Shannon. "We're done here. We're…" He looked away, taking Harley's hand as he walked past her. Shannon looked like she was going to say something but decided better of it. Barry waved while Nicky scuffed his shoe against the ground, not looking at them. Jason and Ivy walked past them too, bumping into Shannon. Her cigarettes fell into the snow.
"Oh sorry," Jason fake winced, "maybe you should get them in your pocket better next time." He smirked as he and Ivy walked away. Tim pulled Steph along; she still looked murderous. Cass walked by with her hands in her pocket.
"Clearly this was a mistake," Bruce said. Selina glanced up at him.
"She was my granddaughter," Shannon muttered.
"And she was mine too," he told her darkly. "You'll understand if we don't invite you to Christmas," he added as he and Selina passed her. "Nicky," he flinched back, glancing between Damian and his father, "you're always welcome."
Dick was nearly to the car before he stopped, staring at the ground. Jason bumped into him, and Dick kissed Harley's head before turning around and walking back to Shannon and Barry. He bit his lip, staring at her for a moment.
"Thank you. You came, at least- and don't think this changes anything, you're still incredibly awful to your daughter, but…" he had to pause for a moment to wipe his eyes. "You did come. You're right. She was your granddaughter, too." Dick took a deep breath, watching her. "I'm sorry. If you couldn't tell, I'm just emotionally unstable, and it's Christmastime, and I am so sick of being angry with everyone."
"Apology accepted," Shannon told him, putting out her cigarette beneath her boot. Dick shook his head slowly.
"Okay then." He turned around and walked away, his hands in his pockets as he scuffed through the snow, watching the flakes fall over his shining shoes. He put his arm around Harley again.
"I doubt she even knew what her name was," she said, watching her mother sadly. Dick nodded a bit.
"She probably didn't. It's depressing," he agreed quietly, helping her into the car. She slid in, buckling her seatbelt before leaning her head against the window. Dick followed.
"Is it always going to hurt like this?"
"No. I don't think so." Dick's voice was soft. "Someday… Eventually… We'll be better. Things will get better." She turned back to him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"I just miss her so much," Harley whimpered.
"So do I," he held her close, his voice cracking. Bruce got in and started the car, pulling out of the cemetery behind Alfred. His throat felt constricted as he glanced in the rearview mirror at Dick and Harley. Selina reached over and grabbed his hand, blinking back the tears as she stared out the window.
Dick held Harley close as he unbuckled and slid into the middle seat beside her. "It's okay sweetheart," he assured her, kissing her cheek. "It'll be okay."
Bruce glanced into the rearview mirror at them. Selina took his hand as he pulled the car out of the cemetery, when another vehicle slammed into the side of theirs at full speed. Dick cried out as he and Bruce's side of the car crumpled inward and the car skidded with the deafening sound of metal crunching and tires squealing. Bruce threw himself over Selina, and Dick was thrown, unbuckled, over Harley and against the door.
Alfred skidded to a stop, letting out a string of profanities, and Jason threw his door open, running towards the smoldering cars just as a man in a clown mask tumbled out of the driver's seat, laughing.
"He's not finished with this family!" he screamed, and then grinned at Jason darkly before taking off running in the other direction, blood pouring from his hairline. An unmarked van swerved towards him, and he leapt through the side door, and just like that; he was gone as fast as he'd come, and his message was sent.
"Dick," Harley gasped. She struggled to undo her seatbelt. Once she got it unbuckled, she reached across the seat. She glanced back at her leg that had gotten pinned between the door and Selina's seat before reaching back over toward Dick; he'd rolled back across the seats after the initial impact. "Dick," she whimpered. He groaned, reaching up to touch the cut on the side of his head, blood running down over his neck.
"Harley- are you okay!?" Dick sat up, his head spinning and his ears ringing. He stroked her cheek and then looked at her leg. Selina cried out, kicking her door open as she hauled Bruce out of the car, unconscious, and Alfred ran over, skidding to his knees beside Bruce. Jason had leapt into the other vehicle, hoping in vain to pull it back. Tim, Damian, and Cassandra rushed towards the door on Harley's side, and Cassandra wedged a crowbar in it as Dick pushed back on the seat, trying to unpin Harley's leg. She cried out when she got free, and then Dick kicked the opposite door open, taking her into his arms and carrying her out.
Selina had been scraped a bit by the broken glass. She held Bruce's head in her lap, stroking his cheek and quietly begging him to open his eyes as he lay there, pale and bleeding from cuts on the left side of his face. Alfred had thrown his coat over Selina's shoulders and rolled up his sleeves, and Stephanie was calling the police.
"His coat protected most of his body from the glass but we'll need to dress the wounds on his face-" Alfred pushed back his sparse hair- "His arm is broken as well. I'll set it in the car- someone will have to wait to talk to the police when they arrive."
Jason helped him lift Bruce into the back of the other car. Barbara and Gordon agreed to wait for the police as Dick helped Harley sit down in the third car, sliding into the seat beside her.
"Is your leg- did you get cut? Are you okay?" he asked, frantically checking her over.
"I'm fine," she assured him. "I don't think it broke, and it's mostly healed already. Are you okay?" She used her sleeve to wipe some of the blood off of his face.
"I'll be okay," he breathed. "Don't ruin your coat on me," he laughed weakly, and Jason got into the drivers seat. He followed Alfred down the road.
"I think it had a hole in it anyway," she said, wiggling her finger through a popped seam in the arm. She giggled, coming down off the adrenaline. Dick stared at her for a moment and then laughed again, rubbing his face. He smiled at her and kissed her cheek.
"What… the hell just happened?" he asked, wincing as he took his suit jacket off and pressed it to his face.
"The Joker sent some guy to hit you, for no reason at all," Jason told them. Harley blinked, processing this.
"Any chance he didn't make it?" she asked hopefully.
"Are we ever that lucky?" Jason retorted. Harley grit her teeth before returning her attention to Dick.
"Are you sure you're okay?" She looked into his eyes. "Concussion? Any broken bones? Did you reopen any wounds?"
"Possible concussion. Is it bad if I'm dizzy and fuzzy at the same time?" Dick squinted at her, smiling a little.
"Not if I'm still beautiful." She kissed him on the cheek.
"Both of you are beautiful," he kissed her and then kissed the air beside her head. "I'm seeing double."
"I can see that." Harley grabbed his face, steering it toward hers to kiss his. Dick kissed her slowly, leaning close to her and sighing deeply. Jason grimaced in the front seat.
"Jesus you two just came- you got hit by a murderous psychopath in a car coming out of your-" your daughter's funeral. "Come on, guys…" he shook his head, driving across the bridge out of Gotham.
"Oh go kiss your ginger," Harley muttered, blotting Dick's forehead with his jacket.
"You know I don't think I've used ginger," Jason mumbled.
"It is planty, and clever," Dick agreed.
"Clever, huh," Jason mused. "Well that explains why you didn't come up with it, doesn't it?"
"It explains why… you didn't come up with it…" Dick mumbled, wincing and touching the side of his head, his dark hair sticky with blood. "Do I need stitches?"
"No but I think you need to lay down," Harley looked at him, smiling slightly, "if you think that that's a comeback." Dick laughed a little and grinned at her, and her heart soared. It seemed like years since she'd seen him genuinely smile. Jason pulled the car into the garage.
"I could lay down," he agreed. Harley squinted at him.
"Is there a catch?"
"There's a catch," Jason agreed.
"What?" Dick looked between them. "There isn't one."
"You never just agree to lay down," Harley argued. "Especially after I was just in danger." She put a hand over his forehead. "This is worse than I thought." Jason snickered.
"I was just saying that I could lie down. Why is that a problem?" Dick asked, helping Harley out of the car. Jason got out and slammed the door. Dick walked through the garage with them. Alfred had already taken Bruce down to the Batcave for medical attention. "Actually, we should go make sure Bruce and Selina are alright."
"Actually, you really should go lay down. And wash up." Harley nudged Dick toward the stairs. "Bruce will be fine. Besides, if I can convince you to relax, maybe I can convince Damian."
"Nope. Dam is not going to calm down, and if Bruce is out, that means we're in," Dick pointed out, rubbing his eyes. "And I thought you're not supposed to lie down when you have a concussion?"
"Myth," Harley waved at Jason as he disappeared into the library. "You're actually supposed to lie down, not stand up and move around, and it's fine to sleep. So go." She pointed up the stairs. Dick shook his head.
"Not without you."
Dick pulled her into the parlor instead of up toward their room. He laid down on the couch and pulled Harley down gently to lay against his chest. There was still dry blood caked in his hair and in the cut on his head, as well as down the black collar of his shirt. He yawned. "I should probably get cleaned up. I'll just… take a quick nap and then take a shower…" he closed his eyes sleepily. Laying in the dim light, Dick didn't speak for a time, before he laughed quietly. "We… we just put our daughter to rest, and some Joker goon tried to murder us by slamming into our car, and… and we're laughing." Dick looked down. He laughed and stroked her cheek, his eyes sleepy and a bit vacant. "I told you it'd all be okay."
His smile faded, and he closed his eyes again, his hand falling to his chest as he drifted off. His face suddenly looked so serene, despite the blood splattered along his cheekbone and near his eyes. Harley rested her chin on his chest, smiling up at him. She knew she wasn't going to be able to stay asleep and didn't want to wake him with her nightmares, so instead she watched him.
She reached up and brushed his hair to the side, mindful of his wounds. Watching his gentle breathing, she trailed her thumb along his jaw.
"It'll be okay," Harley murmured, lifting his hand and kissing it. She carefully got up to get a first aid kit and some towels to clean his wounds. "It'll all be okay."