Element of Surprise
Part 20: Epilogue
Jason watched his son sleeping with his sister. He moved their larger crib into his and Sasha's bedroom, not wanting to be apart from them any longer. The nursery's window was being re-enforced and special hidden camera were being set up. One camera faced the window while another faced the door. A third faced into the whole room. All three cameras would ensure if an intruder did try to take the kids again, their faces would be caught. Even so, the kidnapping should not have happened in the first place.
"You should go to bed," Sasha said.
'I can't help it," Jason said. "I don't ever want what happened to happen again."
"Neither do I, but we need to let our children sleep. They seem to be sleeping fine. They aren't having any nightmares."
"Thank goodness for that," Jason replied. Still, he continued to think about his son and learning that he carried the meta gene. 'I haven't told Sasha yet. I don't know how she'll take it. I'll have to tell her eventually."
Jason held the metal ball that he found in the crib. It was too large for the boy to swallow, but not so large that he could grasp it in his hands. "You're going to be a wonder, Jax." Jason placed the metal ball in the corner of the crib and placed a couple of stuffed animals around it so it wouldn't slip through the bars. Then he headed to bed himself, holding Sasha in his arms, grateful to the woman who contacted the police. 'She deserves a better life somewhere else,' he thought. 'I'll talk to Dick and Tim in the morning. Maybe we can pool our money and send her to wherever she wants to go.' Jason finally closed his eyes, and he was soon asleep, dreaming about his son and his newly discovered powers.
*
Dick couldn't sleep. He held Haley in his arms, guarding her as if she was his only lifeline. He could sense the Talon was also being watchful.
'You need to sleep,' the Talon in his mind stated.
'I know,' Dick replied. 'I can't help thinking what might have happened. She's not safe here.'
'No safer than the rest of the family.'
'You think I'm being overprotective,' Dick asked.
'I think you're being a father,' the Talon stated.
'I want to take her to the circus.'
'Why there?' the Talon questioned.
'It's my second home and my second family,' Dick replied. 'She has to meet them eventually.'
'What about Tim? You are his guardian until he turns 20 years old.'
'I know,' Dick replied.
'You regret doing that?'
'No, of course not, but I have a daughter. I also must do what is right for her.'
The Talon went silent. It was odd to think that he also had a daughter. The Court would not have allowed him to have both, and yet he did. 'The Court is wrong,' Talon said to himself. 'They will never control me, again. I will find a way to protect them both, to protect everyone I care about.' The Talon that was part of Dick Grayson, urged him to go to sleep. 'You can decide in the morning,' he stated.
Dick realized the Talon was right, he could decide later. Holding onto his daughter, Dick carried her over to the crib he kept in his room. He placed her down then went over to the bed. He flopped down, exhausted and fell asleep once more.
*
Tim held onto Caleb while Samantha held onto Caine. Neither could let the other one go. They wanted to hold them forever, but that was not an option. For now, they slept together in the same bed, snuggling close. It felt right, but not everyone came out of it unscathed. Samantha was in the throes of a nightmare, a nightmare not related to what had happened to her twins. Tim and her twins were unaware of this fact. It would carry her to the depths of her soul. She shook herself awake to see that her husband and sons were peacefully asleep. She didn't want to wake either of them, so she carefully extracted herself from his husband's embrace and placed Caine into the arms of his father. She got up and walked to the window and stared out into the grounds of the Manor.
'What am I going to do?'
*
Alfred was walking the halls with Bruce by his side.
'There's really no reason to do this, Alfred. They are safe. I can keep an eye on them in the cave."
"I must, Master Bruce," Alfred said, insisting.
'No one blames you."
"I blame myself," Alfred replied. "I should have set the alarms when everyone was out for that evening."
"You can't keep blaming yourself. We acted quickly and we were able to get the children back. We are not like other families who would be paralyzed with fear from this kind of incident."
"You are right, Master Bruce," Alfred replied.
"Besides, some of the credit must go to the children. They found someone who could assist them."
"What will happen to the young lady?"
"She will be turning states evidence. She really believed she was working for a legitimate agency. I'm going to see she gets a reward for saving the children and she can start a new life, away from Gotham, if she wants."
"That is very kind, Master Bruce."
"It was the least I can do."
Both men continued to look in on their grandchildren. For Alfred, the children were his great-grandchildren. His hope was he would live long enough to see those great=grandchildren grow up and become who they would be in the future. For now, he just wanted to relish in their presence, grateful that they were home once more.
End.
A/N: I will be taking a break from my Earth 14 Batman stories for a while. It's going to take me a while to write the next stories, but you can check out my other stores, Kung Fu and Kung Fu the Legend Continues. I will return.