Mary nodded lightly with a warm, small smile, knowing that he's right, that they have to be in the present, to look forward to the future of raising their children, belonging with many amazing people.
Soon, Mary fell asleep, as John smiled, keeping an eye of love and awe on his two girls, helping Stephanie out by taking her from Mary's breast after she finished, burping her warmly, and cradling her against his chest as she fell asleep as well.
Dinner for the adults came a bit later as life with a newborn started in the manor, the kids happily popping in every day to adore Stephanie, occasionally helping out with clothes pulling from the closets and dressers for the infant and even learning how to rock and burp her. Dick was the most dedicated as he was practically devoted to her, sometimes checking on her in the bassinet to tuck a stray blanket or such, and Damien was not far behind him, determined to keep on his deal with Bruce and Selina.
The only other ones who knew was Poppy and Waylon, and they were amused yet proud of Damien, and sympathetic with Bruce and Selina.
Much to Selina's frustration, her deal of an extra month had exceeded over into the second month of Stephanie's life, "I don't know what to do, Poppy. The kids are coming in and out of the manor every day, and yes, pleasure time was nice and quick, but I never could get into the mood even at night after patrol when Dick and Damien goes out of bed to check on Stephanie, even if Mary and John reassures them that they got Stephanie, because they can hear us down the hall!".
Poppy winced a bit, "Yeah, that can dampen things...And let me guess, Bruce told you that with helicopters and all, Batman and Catwoman can't do it either on an adventurous rooftop or such in the city?".
"Got it on the nose there, Poppy.", Selina snorts as she sits down heavily on a couch in one of the parlors in the manor, as she and Poppy occasionally finds an opportunity to have a girl talk.
Poppy frowns, trying to think, "What about your penthouse?", and Selina replies, "Safehouse for Batwoman in case if she's unable to make it to her dorm hall. My name is dark lined from her but trusts Batman's word on it as the place stores backups of her suits and all. Can you imagine the face on her looking in if she sees Batman and Catwoman making out in the bedroom next to her bedroom?".
"You know Barbara Gordon is trustworthy...It's a wonder that she has patience, but sooner or later, she needs to know that she can be trusted to know our identities and all, as she seems to know that we know her secret already as it has been 10 years plus.", Poppy replied.
"Are you suggesting this because she's your friend?", Selina asked. "If that's the reason alone...", with a raised eyebrow.
"What else is she going to do with that info?", Poppy countered. "She can't exactly rat us out without exposing herself, even to her own father. Besides, it's insane to think about that she's been doing this for practically a decade and she's still completely in the dark for the most part. Honestly, I should've told her years ago...", she sighed.
Selina looked at her, "I...I guess you have a point...it's just that...you guys have been wary because of that League thing, and then the almost-kidnapping thing with the twins' egg, and then with me and Rex, even if I know that he'd been dead for 10 years straight now, thanks to me and Bruce and the fire...Nobody had come to threaten any of us since then, and we are doing so good...And for the Zuccos, that was threatening the Graysons, not us, but we beat them down, and last thing I heard is that Tony got shrived in jail because some of the people in there are parents even if they are bad, and to threaten a family, and to nearly attempt murder on a child if he went with them, it passed the line, and so, Tony is dead, and his idiot brothers are idiots, unable to do anything without their brother as leader because they are dumb, and no, it wasn't any of our fault, they put it on themselves, Poppy.", knowing that Poppy was raised differently than her before she got saved by the family.
"I guess the issue is that this family keeps growing more and more, and I guess we all have the fear of stories getting mixed up and all of this unraveling so fast. Talia... she really left her mark and made us realize just how easy it is to hit us at our vitals so efficiently.", Bruce sighed.
Both Selina and Poppy looked over at him in surprise as they haven't heard him come in, as it's usually a girl talk in this particular parlor room, but with a look between them, they allowed Bruce in.
Poppy replied, "You know that Mom has been writing down everything in the secret book. But yeah, Talia really did...She was even more terrifying than Ra, honestly...".
Selina replied, "Still, she's dead, and for 10 years plus too...Have you been there from the start?", raising an eyebrow at Bruce, asking him if he heard. "Mostly.", Bruce admitted. "Couldn't help but eavesdrop. Bad habit one picks up in crimefighting.".
"Ain't that the truth...", Poppy muttered under her breath. "But still... even if it's been years, those scars will never heal... especially when it came at the cost of... Mama...", Bruce closed his eyes.
Poppy sighed as her heart panged too, taking in a deep breath, closing her eyes too for a moment before opening them to see Selina guiding Bruce to sit down before he could knock his leg into the table or something, kissing him on the cheek.
They were silent, honoring Kel/their mama for a moment in solace before Bruce then spoke as he opened his eyes, "All the same, Barbara as Batwoman has been doing well for herself, but yes, she certainly would be an ally...After all, she has been working in Law and Humanitarian Rights at her college right now. If things get out about us sooner or later, we could certainly use her as a lawyer, even if Mom's secret book would help us straighten the stories well.".
Selina replied, "Well, that's another reason besides using the penthouse, and she deserves a warning as sure, it isn't very often that Batman and Catwoman uses the penthouse as the same safehouse too, like her.", with a nod.
Poppy said, "You could use the penthouse as a neutral place to talk with her, to start with small steps...I mean, she sure knows all of our alter egos, partnering up and all occasionally, but perhaps not to overwhelm her, perhaps just start with you guys as you two are technically the humans in costumes like her compared to me and Mom, as well, can you imagine a She-Hulk or two in the penthouse safehouse?".
"Kinda.", Selina chuckled. "I mean, she is your friend still...", Selina reminded, "Maybe a more familiar face would be better to break the ice, you know?".
Poppy exhaled, seeing her sister-in-law's point, and frowned, "She would be suspicious of me if I showed up in the penthouse as human, like I knew where she went between the dorm hall and the college, yet perhaps she would technically be less on her guard as that I am harmless...that is, until she wants proof when I tell her that I am the Sensational/Spectacular She-Hulk, and change in front of her, of course.".
"I mean, it's up to you if you wish to do that.", Bruce said. "Like you said before, it is somewhat of a travesty that we've kept her in the dark for so long. She has proved herself that she's capable and reliable to trust.".
Selina replied, "And face it, Poppy, it has been 10 years plus...That's a lot of friendship you have with her...True, it would be weird if the friendship needed to heal itself after revealing yourself and all, but at least you know that she knows then.", with a nod.
Poppy took a deep breath as her brother and sister-in-law was right, and she can take care of herself, and then nodded, "You're right...Both of you...Alright, Wally's staying back for tonight while Mom is on patrol with you guys, according to schedule. Let's go tell the others as it would be a long night.", with a sigh.
"It's going to be alright, Poppy. You still got this family behind you, you hear?", Bruce replied, and Poppy gave him a small smile, "I always do, Bruce.", and so, the trio left the parlor to gather the adults in the know, with a promise to tell John and Mary soon while they look after the kids who's playing outside with Ace the family dog for some fresh air, seizing the opportunity as it wasn't a hot day for once, while feeding and showing little Stephanie the delights of being outside.
Indeed, after some surprise and thought, the rest of the family supported Poppy in her decision, and after informing John and Mary later, after dinner, and after some warming up, the scheduled team set out for patrol after hugging and kissing the kids good night, and tucking them in bed, and it was a couple of hours of usual patrol for Poppy before she was informed by comm that Batwoman is coming out near the area of the penthouse, and so, she went to the penthouse, shifting back to human, feeding the stray city cats as it was one stipulation for the penthouse as a safehouse, as Selina couldn't forgive herself for halting the feeding of the stray cats as it's a sanctuary for them when they need warmth and safety for a while.
It was another hour of patrol for Batwoman before she decided to take a bathroom break and a snack, rounding back to the penthouse, deciding to take patrol for one more hour or two afterwards before heading back to her dorm hall.
After a few moments of getting back and taking a few deep breaths, Batwoman turned on the lights before seeing Poppy on one of the sofas, feeding one of the cats. "Hey.", Poppy said, almost nonchalant-like. "Just to tell you right now, I didn't break in, I got the spare key from the same person that leases this place to you.", she explained as Batwoman kept still.
It was lucky that after marrying Bruce, the penthouse went through a renovation of sorts, with the windows tinted, where nobody could look inside, but can still see outside just fine like before, just like Wayne Manor, with secret cameras on the outside in case for burglars or squatters.
And of course, the bathroom and the two bedrooms got updated better than Selina had formerly, along with main rooms like the fridge and couches, and with an automatic feline latch door, after scanning the cats with a robot scanner, for if they had trackers, they were kept out, but if not, able to come in.
There was a brief silence for a few more moments as Poppy mentally wondered if she should just rip the band-aid off of the situation or still dance around the bush a bit. "So... you going to kick your feet up and relax or are you planning on staying in this standoff all night?".
Batwoman exhaled, "I...Batman said that this is a safehouse, a penthouse in his name and another name that was blacklisted which I figured was his alter ego's name...Was that name yours?".
"Nope, it was actually his wife's former home before she married him. And yes, before you accuse me, I know Batman personally longer than you think when he and the Incredible She-Hulk saved me and Bonnie and the others in the Mad Hatter thing.", Poppy replied.
Batwoman was obviously giving a look underneath her mask as Poppy decided it was probably better to just get things out of the way, "Okay, I wanted to ease into this sort of thing, but obviously, you look more like you're about to rush out of here so how about taking the mask off, Barbara, because we have a lot to talk about...".
Batwoman gasped softly before sighing deeply as she took the mask and cowl off, revealing herself as a full-grown, beautiful woman and college student, one Barbara Gordon, looking at Poppy with a raised eyebrow. "Batman is your brother, and I assume the one blacklisted is either his name or his wife's name, which is Selina, I assume.".
Poppy nodded, "Yep, and it's Selina's name blacklisted as she used to live here in and out on patrol as Catwoman, and still is.", and Barbara replied, "Knew there was something bigger than all that flirting...Wait...please don't tell me that my own bed used to be Selina's!", red and green in the face at the same time, trying to forget the image of Batman and Catwoman making out and such.
"Nope. The other bedroom is hers, and ah, no, they haven't, even if it was tempting over the years, but they were still wary of you, because of the kids and some other things in the past...I'm sorry, Barbara, that it has been this long, but you have no idea how special our family are...", Poppy sighed.
Barbara took a deep breath as she went to sit down, "I'm quickly putting that together...". She sat down and started to take off some of her costume like her boots and belt. "So, am I to rightly guess then that the She-Hulks are also part of your family?", she asked as Poppy nodded.
"Yep. You're looking at the Sensational one...", Poppy chuckled as she stood up for a moment and took a deep breath before slowly changing into her gamma powered alter ego.
Barbara widened her eyes in shock and awe as she hadn't imagined one of her best friends literally as one of the She-Hulks, specifically the Sensational She-Hulk...She should have known since some of the Sensational She-Hulk's moves was eerily similar to Poppy's acrobatic moves not too long ago.
"Then the Incredible She-Hulk...that's your mother?", Barbara whispered, quickly figuring it out, and Poppy smiled proudly, "Yep...at least she has been for the past 10 years...", as her smile turned to a frown, "That is, before she had to take the reins...".
"What do you mean? The Incredible She-Hulk had been around of 25 years total, not 10...", Barbara asked in confusion yet concern, watching her best friend shift back to human, her eyes taking on a shine of sadness.
Poppy sighed, "It's... a bit complicated; but in a way, my mother has been the original She-Hulk since even before I was born. Think of it sort of as split personality in a way... her body would change and be taken over by another personality that Bruce and I grew up knowing as Mama.".
"And you... your body aging quickly that one time... has to do with your powers, right?", Barbara quickly asked as Poppy nodded. "The time that happened was also when we lost her...", she sniffled as the emotions were slowly coming back.
Barbara exhaled, "Wait, how could it be sort of a split personality yet your Mom is fine?", and Poppy exhaled, "It's not possession, I promise, not the bad kind...And Mom is fine, but when we lost Mama, she gave her life, her powers, and her soul to save Mom because the time we were kidnapped, it wasn't ransom kidnappers, but something worse...They had spies who knew somehow of Mama...Her name was Kel...She had this power to appear from Mom, like a solid spirit, like a astral form...She had feelings, emotions, and much more...She honestly was a full born adult with emotions of a toddler of sorts when she was born from Mom, and she learned to be grown-up and good thanks to the family...The mugger that shot Dad into his coma, and nearly attempted to assault and shoot Mom, he was and still is the only one Mama killed out of self-defense...I know you heard the story from your father.", with a nod.
"Yeah, he was the first one to find your family that night...", Barbara said. "It was also her first night of life... in a way. That night was when Kel first appeared, but Mom believed that she had been there a little time before that night... just the mugging and... getting shot, is what brought Kel out.", Poppy said.
Barbara blinked, "So, your mom reacted more than she showed herself to Dad...Because it was so much for her?", and Poppy nodded, "Yeah...And that's not the worst of it...Mama wasn't just a friend, an aunt, a mother, she was Mom and Dad's lover, and then eventually, wife, and the priest was technically blind to the true appearance of Mama, which was lucky.", not going to reveal another possession or that her mama was already dead, as a spirit marrying Dad and Mom as Barbara was already trying to be open-minded of Kel's truth, and in any view, it was true that Dorji had blinded the priest to see what happened in his way.