Chapter 27 – Who's Jonathan?

Four months later

Selina was seaside with Dick and the Kents when she got the call. She almost didn't hear her ringtone over the whooshing surf, and she had to step away from one-month-old Jonathan Kent who started fussing. Hunching her shoulders to try to hear better, she could only make out two words.

Bruce.

Awake.

Sand flew everywhere as the frantic, ecstatic group collected their things, leaving a tube of sunscreen and some baby toys behind in their haste.

It didn't matter. Nothing mattered except reaching that hospital as fast as humanly possible. Too bad Superman couldn't safely carry two adults and two children while flying.

Alfred was called en route, promising to drop everything and head out. True to his word, Alfred had dropped everything – including the phone.

This was a day agonizingly long in coming. The drive to Metropolis Central Hospital felt like the blink of an eye compared to the last four months.

And the fluorescent lights that had tormented Selina all those months ago… they felt as warm as the August sunshine she'd been savoring on the beach. Those cold corridors of medicine now welcomed her as sweetly as a covered porch filled with summer's breeze. Four months and one miraculous phone call were all it took to transform this place of devastating heartache into dizzying joy.

As Alfred, Dick, Selina and the Kents converged in the lobby, countless hugs were exchanged as arms flailed everywhere. Incoherent, tearful outbursts filled the air, earning curious glances from staff and patients alike. Soon, one of those staff came over and interrupted the emotional reunion.

"Mrs. Wayne?" the nurse inferred. She was fairly new, and only vaguely recognized Selina. But as Bruce was the only patient currently deserving of such a spectacle, she'd guessed correctly. "Please, come this way."

When four adults and two children began following her, the nurse faltered. "Are all of you family?"

Alfred and the Kents glanced at each other. "Not technically ma'am, but…" Alfred began.

The nurse held up an authoritative hand. "I'm sorry, but it needs to be family only. At least for now."

Giving the non-relatives all an apologetic look, Selina took Dick's hand, drew a deep breath, and vanished behind a white pair of double doors.

The first sign that not everything was dreamily resolved came when the doctor stopped Dick and Selina just outside Bruce's room. The second sign came in the form of a single word:

Amnesia.

A few other phrases filtered into Selina's ears... partial amnesia… doesn't remember that night… just be patient… ease him back slowly…

Slowly?! She felt like screaming at the doctor. You expect me to go in there, see my husband for the first time in four months, and talk to him like we've only just met?!

Seeing Selina's vexed expression, the doctor encouraged, "There is a lot of good news here, Mrs. Wayne. He doesn't appear to have any brain damage, and he's already remembering things he couldn't just an hour ago."

"Like what?" she sounded skeptical.

"Your name, for one. When he first woke up, he didn't recognize your name or Dick's."

Selina squeezed Dick's hand to strengthen herself just as much as him.

"But he knows who I am now?" she pressed. "You're sure?"

He hesitated. "Yes… but he doesn't seem to recall marrying you. He believes you're just dating."

Dick's eyes went wide as he laughed loudly. "Oh, that's going to be interesting!"

Selina pursed her lips. "Shh! We don't want him to hear through the door."

"I'm just saying, it's gonna be pretty hard to explain –"

"I know!" she hissed. "You don't need to spell it out for me."

Giving mother and son a moment to compose themselves, and getting a nod from Selina, the doctor turned the door handle at last.

The room was much quieter than during all of Selina's previous visits. No ventilator, no shrill symphony of beeping monitors and clicking machines. Visual interference was mostly gone too. Only a fingertip oxygen sensor and a few random electrodes remained. Though Bruce's eyes were closed, his forearm shifted ever so slightly across the bed sheet, sending a shock up Selina's spine.

He really was awake.

Feeling her legs on the verge of giving out, she lowered herself into the nearest chair. Dick followed suit. Besides, neither of them knew how to navigate this. Stand awkwardly next to his bed, holding his hand politely, when what they really wanted was to collapse onto his chest sobbing?

No, the chairs were safer, more secure. In more ways than one, thought Selina.

Thankfully, the doctor mediated. "Bruce?" he gently nudged his shoulder. "It's Dr. Filger. If you're up to it, there are two people here to see you."

Bruce's eyelids lifted halfway. His eyes crossed briefly as he fought off some double vision. Two heads with shoulders gradually came into view on his left, silhouetted against the window.

"I… I can't see who…" he squinted from the glare. Dr. Filger acted quickly to lower the shade.

Both Selina and Dick knew the instant he recognized them. The softening of his eyes, the deepening of his breaths, the slight parting of lips that portended an onslaught of words. But his brain and mouth had yet to fully re-sync, so those words ended up truncated.

"S-Selina?" the syllables sounded foreign on his tongue. "And… Dick?"

Selina's throat wouldn't release her vocal chords, so she just nodded vigorously.

"Hi Dad," Dick said shakily.

Countless thoughts crowded Bruce's mind, tangled like a pot of angel hair pasta. No use trying to organize it, he decided. May as well go with whatever comes out easily.

"Were you… at the beach?" he noticed Selina was wearing a crocheted sun poncho and had a beach tote balanced on her lap.

"Um, yes," she answered. "We went with Clark and Lois. Do you remember them?"

Bruce couldn't help but smirk. "Of course."

Selina returned a small smile. "Good. They're here too, in the lobby. You can see them later if you want."

"I'll step out and give you all some privacy," Dr. Filger cut in, satisfied with Bruce's vitals. "Ten minutes, then it's the others' turn. Bruce needs his rest."

Ironic, considering how long he's already been asleep, thought Selina. But she and Bruce only said "Okay, thank you," in unison, causing them to smile at each other once again.

The door closed, and Selina stared at the man lying in bed, fearing she was hallucinating. But several minutes passed without him turning to vapor. Dick was conversing with him too, so this must be real. They couldn't both be dreaming this simultaneously.

"… how is school going?" Selina heard when she tuned back in.

"Okay, except I kind of bombed my history test last week," Dick admitted.

Bruce nodded understandingly. If there was one thing that interfered with a child's academics, it was parental stress. And Dick had certainly had his fair share of that the past four months.

"His teacher is going to let him re-take it tomorrow," Selina spoke up.

"Ah," Bruce looked at her strangely. Odd that she knows so much about my son's school progress… "Selina, I… I wish I knew what to say to you, other than I'm sorry…"

"Bruce," she sighed, "I don't ever want to hear you apologize for this again, understand?"

He said nothing, biting his tongue.

"All – and I mean all – I care about is that you're awake now, and that Dr. Filger says you'll make a full recovery after doing rehab," Selina proclaimed.

Bruce looked down at his hands. "You… you didn't start seeing anyone else while I was asleep, did you?"

Selina suppressed a loud laugh, similar to Dick's earlier. "No, definitely not!"

"Thank you." He sounded genuinely relieved. "What else did Dr. Filger say?"

Selina froze, unsure how to respond. "About what, exactly?"

"My memory."

"Oh," she relaxed somewhat. "He doesn't know how long it'll be before you remember everything from the past year. But the more often you have visitors, the quicker it should all come back."

"That's what he told me too. Just wanted to be sure he wasn't sugarcoating it for me."

Well, if his wit is any indication of how fast he'll recover, he should be back to normal in no time, Selina smiled to herself.

But then the full weight of that prospect landed on her shoulders, and her smile fell.

There was a knock on the door just then. The previous nurse poked her head in, announcing that Selina and Dick's shift was at an end. Alfred's earnest face appeared in the doorway, fraught with emotion.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Selina promised, standing up. Dick reached across Bruce's bed for a tenuous hug, and Selina restrained herself with a chaste kiss. Every cell in her body ached for more connection, both physical and mental. But the road to restoration was as long as it was unmapped.

"It went well?" Alfred whispered discreetly as she walked past.

She nodded tersely on her way out. But two steps into the hallway, she turned to ask, "Where are Clark and Lois?"

"Oh, I'm afraid they had to rush home with Jonathan," explained Alfred. "Between sand in his hair and a rather disgraceful diaper, they felt it best to bathe him and return later."

Bruce's voice hollered across the room, "Who's Jonathan?"

What can I say, I've always been entertained by coma / amnesia plot lines. But there are even more twists ahead...