"Just feels so empty without Thomas.", Alfred finished as she nodded. "Yeah.", Martha then closed her eyes and rubbed one of her temples. "Anyways, after taking care of Bruce for a bit, she brought him back before I slowly came back into control. One second I blackout, next I'm like watching a movie, unable to move, then the next I'm suddenly walking again as if I was instantly woken up."
Alfred nodded, exhaling deeply, looking at her, "And now? How do you feel about Mama? I assume that it's Bruce's doing to give her a name.", with a little chuckle.
"Yeah... he gave her that name... but...", Martha bit her lip as Alfred chuckled. "Let me guess, you thought of something else?".
"Well, how do you feel calling her that? Would feel a bit weird coming out of your mouth. Besides, that one phrase keeps ringing in my head, when you described her as a hulking creature...", Martha replied.
Alfred raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out what she meant before replying, "You want to call her She-Hulk?", and Martha felt her green half's faint rumbling voice in her head, "Mama special name with Bruce-pup. Is She-Hulk me personal name?".
Martha had a small smile on her face, "That kinda fits, she's a hulking creature, that's true... but she is also a woman in many ways... sounds like a match to me. But Bruce can still call her Mama... at least for the time being.".
"Bruce-pup... will get older... name not right when he alpha.", that voice in the back of her head said as Martha gave a mental nod. "So, you don't plan on trying to get rid of her then?", Alfred said as Martha gave another nod.
"Yeah... after these past few nights, maybe I was a bit quick to judge her after that first change; but... I need to figure out how to better handle this... God only knows the true hell that might come if say, She-Hulk comes out at the worst possible time. After all, the police are still on the lookout for her."
"Not good for public confidence or people's worries about an uncontrollable monster roaming the streets... even if she isn't a mindless brute.", Alfred said.
Martha replied, "Indeed...And I believe She-Hulk and I agree that it's the highest priority to protect Bruce and our new baby.", with a firm growl in agreement in the back of her head.
Alfred replied, "Perhaps it's best to help her in situations, like perhaps traveling the world to help She-Hulk be more well-rounded...with the holiday breaks and the summers, with Bruce liking some time to get away from Gotham...especially with things to remind him and you of Thomas...", with a heavy sigh.
Martha blinked thoughtfully, "That's a reasonable idea, Alfred, but for now, with tomorrow being the reading of Thomas' will, we need to stay here for a while at least to not make people too suspicious of a wealthy widow and child's activities...".
"Of course.", Alfred glanced back towards the direction of the front gate. "Certainly know that you'll have quite the spotlight on you know what... parasites, the lot of them, those paparazzi.", Martha sighed as she nodded.
"Probably thinking they'd get the scoop of the century thinking that I had Thomas offed or something or seeing me quickly moving on.", Martha shook her head. "Nothing that can truly be done; just have to keep up appearances and don't give them anything. They'll eventually get bored and move on.".
"True. Now then, shall I make you some dinner while you get into some more proper clothes?", Alfred suggested. Martha nodded, "Yes, thank you, Alfred, and please don't disturb Bruce...He had a tough day...Please excuse him if he wishes to slip into the kitchens without questions later on in the middle of the night...", very grateful for She-Hulk to treat their son like a pup.
Alfred nodded, "Of course. And I do hope one of those days, She-Hulk would know that I'm one of her pack.", and Martha felt a rumbling purr in the back of her head, "Alfred-Elder is pack, family. Alfred-Elder care for Bruce-pup and Martha-mate.".
"Yeah... you are...", Martha gave a small smile. "She's surprisingly a quick learner, which actually gives me some confidence about her. But like you suggested, it might be wise for me to try to... find ways to help embrace this side of me, so to speak. Obviously, I don't know where to begin, not like it's something you can ask someone.".
"True. I can try my best to find something along those lines to help in a way. Could take time though.", Alfred advised. "Whatever you find, Alfred, I know it'll help. In the meantime, we still have to deal with the whole aftermath of Thomas' death and all. What time are we supposed to be for the will reading?", Martha asked.
"About 9 in the morning with Thomas' lawyer. And I must warn, I was eavesdropping and chatting with a few of the servants and help of some of the funeral attendees; odds are likely a few representatives of the board will also be present.", Alfred answered, and Martha gave a low growl by hearing that.
Martha replied, "I see. I hope Thomas had suspicions at least...", with a narrowed set of her eyes, and Alfred nodded, "You and me, ma'am. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll get ready on your dinner.", with a smile before leaving her, heading down the hallway and stairs to the kitchen, while Martha went for her bedroom.
She decided to take a shower as she was also in the caves too with Bruce, and after she finished, she stepped out to her usual spot before the mirror, tears filled her eyes as she caressed her belly, "Soon, you will be more visible...", with a small smile, wishing that Thomas was there too with her, to hold her, to try to convince her again that it'd be a daughter.
She closed her eyes, hearing a soft rumble, "Mate-Martha?", and she opened her eyes, seeing the appearance of She-Hulk in the mirror, looking shockingly worried instead of angry, and Martha's smile grew, being grateful to She-Hulk, "I'm...I'm okay, She-Hulk...Thank you...I never would've found Bruce without you...I wasn't even aware of the caves.".
"Me neither...", She-Hulk said. "Me like name... Mama from Bruce-pup, but She-Hulk from you.". Martha chuckled. "Well, honestly, I think it was better for us to quickly give you more of an actual name to use; didn't feel right to call you Mama or for Alfred to do that too. And one day Bruce will grow up too... he's already stopped calling me Mommy as much as he used to...".
Martha then sniffled, with tears in her eyes, "He's already growing up so fast and now with Thomas... God, what I wouldn't give to allow him just a few more years to be a little kid... to not have to go through all this...".
She-Hulk whispered, "Me not know if I have soul too like Mate-Martha. Me trade soul for Thomas-mate if me could. So Mate-Martha and Bruce-pup and new pup be happy...", with a deep rumbling sigh as she went to caress her belly in copying Martha too.
Martha almost wanted to cry some more hearing that. Thinking that, it would almost feel like trading a part of her away just like that which after the past few days, would've hurt her emotionally, "Please, don't say that... I think you do have a soul... after all, you're a part of me, and I guess I could say the same for you...".
She-Hulk looks surprised, and looked at her with tears in her eyes, "Me not monster?", and Martha shook her head, "No, not to me or Bruce, and Alfred, even if he might want to meet you properly one of those days. You are a supernatural human being, She-Hulk, not a monster...But you have to know that there are people who would judge you without knowing you first...".
"Police... think me bad?", She-Hulk asked as Martha nodded. "Yes, folks like the police, I'm afraid we have put ourselves in a bit of danger by what we did. I doubt they'd truly be upset about what we did in terms of self-defense. That man did shoot us, right? But... the city might be scared of you and that's not good for us.", Martha told her.
She-Hulk snorted, "Me like den home way better. Me like being here...You promise we not going to city all time?", and Martha replies, "That'd be best, yes, I promise that we will not go to the city all the time except on emergency like picking up Bruce from school or working to set Thomas's company straight. I presume by den home, you mean Wayne Manor and the grounds here, including the caves?".
She-Hulk nodded at Martha's translation of den home, before she growled lowly, "Me not like Bruce-pup idea at school. Me remember memory of story Bruce-pup said about bully hurting him and calling Martha-mate and Thomas-mate bad things. Can Bruce-pup stay here, have school here?".
Martha thought about it for a moment, "Maybe, I'll have to think on that. For now, it might be better for Bruce to not go to his school; especially with the death and all. Still, I can't put his education at risk; I want him to succeed once he's an adult. Trust me, I know quite a few 'rich kids' who can barely function if they had no money.".
She-Hulk nodded, "Bruce-pup smarter than stupid rich kids. Ask him soon after...Thomas last wishes on paper, on reading of will?", and Martha replied, "Yeah, you're right... He doesn't deserve to be treated like a clueless kid when he is wise beyond his years at times, he deserves to have a choice for his future. And yes, it's like a proclamation of Thomas's last wishes, to take care of us, to show his love beyond heaven in a way, and the will cannot be forged or changed because Thomas had a special way to prove that his will is the real article for once and all.".
Martha then took a deep breath, "Though I don't know exactly what it entails, Thomas told me he discussed and worked it all out privately with his lawyer. He promised me that we'd be fine in the event of his death, and I trusted him with my life that what he said was true. But the folks he worked with; hell, this city in of itself at times... you never can be too sure.".
She-Hulk nodded before replying, "Me believe Alfred-Elder. Folks Thomas-mate work with, feel like rival wolves or snakes in weeds at funeral.", and Martha snorted, "That sounds accurate there. But that was only some of them, not all of them...I only can hope that Thomas had a secret ally as sometimes there is usually a good one or two out of a difficult group.".
"Me hope too, Martha-mate.", She-Hulk gave her a reassuring smile before a faint knock with Alfred's voice was heard, "Mistress Wayne, I brought dinner! Are you decent, ma'am?".
Martha smiled at She-Hulk, "We will talk later, She-Hulk, maybe in a bit after things simmer down in a few days after the will reading and all, maybe you would have a decent meeting with Alfred, okay?".
She-Hulk smiled widely, nodding, "Me would like that! Me like Alfred-Elder, meet him when he ready.", and Martha nodded, "Great.", with a smile before calling out at another knock, "Give me a minute, Alfred, I'm not decent yet!".
Martha then went to grab a long, comfortably snug robe that was adjusted, while slipping into her night dress and undergarments, and then left the bathroom to make herself comfortable at the small table, calling out, "Okay, come in, Alfred, all decent!".
A moment later, Alfred rolled into a cart of quite a few trays with some drinks, and Martha widened her eyes, "Alfred, that's quite a meal! It looks like it's more than three people to feed! You know I can be fine as one person.".
"Perhaps, but considering how today was, with the change to She-Hulk, and the discovery of your pregnancy, it could be best to increase your appetite...especially with the concerningly curious theory I have realized in the kitchen.", Alfred explained.
Martha raised an eyebrow, "Oh?", appreciating his kind consideration for her, hearing She-Hulk's curious growl in the back of her head, and Alfred replied, "What if the baby has a special metabolism as they grow up in you, or more, especially after being conceived together by not just you, and Master Thomas, but also She-Hulk?".
"Oh...", Martha blinked as it did hit her. Considering everything, yes, that could be a strong possibility. She knew she was going to have to see Thompkins sometime soon as well, obviously revealing her condition but she was sure that Thompkins would keep silent about things.
Martha indeed saw Leslie today at the funeral, but with all the people around, she could not be herself around one of her best friends, with them watching, only having apologized to her, and barely managing to have a comforting hug with Leslie in the makeshift women's bathroom in one of the manor's bathrooms when they were alone, saying a few things in subtle ways while asking Leslie for an appointment sometime next week while the staff would be out on chores or elsewhere in the manor, and Alfred to keep an eye on the staff.
Leslie accepted, figuring that the appointment was actually one of their 'girl' talks, but now with the recent occurrences today, it will be both an appointment and a girl talk that Martha knows now.
She-Hulk asked in confusion and much concern in the back of Martha's head, "Is special metabolism bad? Is new pup alright?! If new pup is hungry and we hungry, we no put new pup in danger, eat, please, as much as you can, Martha-mate, Alfred-Elder's right!".
"Ma'am?", Alfred brought Martha back to the moment. "Oh, yes... thank you, Alfred. I'll try to eat as much as I can; don't be upset if I leave quite a bit...", she said as he nodded.
"I understand. Don't worry, I've long since taken no offense to anyone not enjoying my cooking.", Alfred smiled as she gave a chuckling snort, "True, true...".
Alfred smiled, and then replied with a soft sigh, "And oh, I quietly checked in on Master Bruce. He's still sleeping. You certainly were right. It was a difficult, long day for him. Do you wish of me to do anything else, ma'am?".
"Not much, Alfred, just please turn on the security alarms on, and tell the security guard to take his leave for the night...Thank goodness that the entrances to the caves were in the back of the manor otherwise he'd have noticed something, but it's a miracle that the entrances were a half mile off, so on the other end, he wouldn't noticed anyway...", Martha said.
"Oh, yes, indeed...Perhaps I better distort She-Hulk's tracks out of the way somehow...maybe with the snowblower or something, couldn't take me more than an hour at least to fix before the staff return in the morning to resume work.", Alfred advised.
Martha nodded, "Good, but dress warmly, even if it's March, the chill is still very much around at night, even with the sun warm...It was a surprise that She-Hulk didn't bother much with the weather, though I faintly remember she was in awe of the sun and the snow, never seeing it outside me before.".
"And the only other time was deep in the city at night... more away from nature in ways...", Alfred added as she nodded. "Right. Anyway, thank you again, Alfred.", Martha smiled.
"I live to serve, ma'am; enjoy the rest of your evening. I'll be around if you need anything.", Alfred smiled warmly, proud of his job and if he's to be a friend, an advisor, a part of this family and pack, he'd rather be here than anywhere else.
Martha nodded, and Alfred made his leave, and so Martha went to eat, and to her surprise, even though that she ate earlier with manageable meals not to worry the staff or the people watching her and Bruce during the food part of the reception consolations, she literally was able to eat all of the food, at steady pace for an hour.
She then went to make herself comfortable on a chaise, reading a book for another hour after taking a brief stroll down the hallway to check in on her slumbering son, and then checking the time, she went to take a leak and brush her teeth before settling into bed, and like every other recent night, she almost expected Thomas to join her, but after today's emotional events, realizing at last that he's truly gone, she let go, extreme grief at her breaking point, causing She-Hulk to mix into her, like roaring cries of grief as she felt the same like Martha, barely relieved that the staff was gone, thanks to Alfred otherwise there'd be a freaking out or something at the strange sound.
It was perhaps another hour and half before Martha slowly became tired and feeling strangely better, but still feeling sad and heartbroken as she isn't one to move on quickly like those accusing paparazzi, taking deep breaths from her grief, and heard a timid knock, "Mom? Do...do you want to be alone?".