#...welp

AKA "Dick Grayson adopts recently de-aged Danny Nightingale. Danny may not be entirely human but Dick (and the Batfam) adore him regardless." Prompt idea! With a gracious serving of soft grandpa Bruce :)

Part 1

Dick expected... a lot... when introducing Danny to his family. Everything from disapproving grunts, lectures on how he's unfit to be a parent, overwhelming conversations about plans for the future, maybe berating him on how he's gone about the legal process for adopting Danny. What he didn't expect was the way Bruce absolutely melts at the sight of his first grandson.

Danny's wormed his way between Dick's shoulder and neck, tucked his arms and legs in, and effectively turned himself into a little crab. (Pinchers included, from the way his little fists are twisting Dick's shirt and unintentionally catching a bit of skin. Dick hides his grimaces. It's better than the week Danny bit any bare skin Dick showed; he had to wear long-sleeve shirts and sweats during one of the hottest summer months in Gotham until he could bribe train Danny out of it.)

"Hello," Bruce says. His voice is so soft, so gentle, that it momentarily shocks Dick into silence. He's heard Batman speak like this to victims and children in the past, has even heard it himself as Robin when he'd taken a particularly brutal beatdown by goons. But never has Bruce spoken so... kindly. The angry-unhealed-traumatized part of Dick wants to grab Bruce by the shoulders and shake him, screaming, quit being so nice and show them how crazy you are.

But Danny, his baby, peeks out from Dick's shoulder and grunts out grumpy little, "Hi."

Predictably, Dick melts, too. What can he say? Danny has that affect on people. Dick can't help but laugh and bounce Danny a bit, jostling him out of his little crab shell. "Danny, do you know who this is? This is Grandpa. Do you wanna talk to Grandpa?" Dick asks. (For a moment, he catches the winded expression on Bruce's face - like he's had an unexpected gut-punch, enough to disrupt the usually stoic, calm expression on his aged face. And for that moment, Dick sees Bruce not as a mentor, not as Batman, but the man who raised him meeting their first grandchild. God, Bruce absolutely sucks sometimes, but Dick loves him so much.)

Dick's throat is a little too choked up, eyes and nose stinging a bit, to say anything more.

"...Hi." Danny grunts again. Bruce's eyes crinkle as his lips twitch into a soft, slight smile.

"Hello, Danny. I've heard a lot about you, but it's a pleasure to meet you. Do you like cheese pizza?"

Predictably, Danny perks up at the mention of cheese pizza. He nods his head and yanks at Dick's shirt as if to Ratatouille him to the kitchen; Dick quietly reminds him to use his words. It takes a few moments of Bruce gently prompting his kid, but Danny eventually becomes comfortable enough to chatter like a lunatic about his favorite cheeses (all of them) and what they taste like (cheesy).

Surprisingly, dinner is just the three of them and Alfred.

"You didn't tell them you invited us over for dinner, did you?" Dick guesses. He's half-way out of his chair and trying to coax Danny out of eating four child-sized squares of pizza at once. Bruce spent majority of the time so far watching Dick and Danny interact with something... almost melancholy in his expression.

"I hadn't wanted to overwhelm you both. Damian is spending the night at Jon's house and Cass is with Stephanie tonight, so the manor is rather quiet. I've been... it's been awhile since a child has been in the manor, it's a welcome experience." Bruce says, quickly adding on, "You and Danny are always welcome here, chum. It's your home, too."

"Thanks, B." Dick swallows down the emotions threatening to resurface and refocuses on Danny, hastily saving his water cup from tumbling over. The rest of the dinner goes by relatively easily - Danny taking up much of the quiet by regaling Bruce with all his stuffed animals' names, fun facts about space, and talking about his favorite places. (Dick definitely does not get teary-eyed when Danny says his dinky little apartment in Bludhaven is his "best favorite".)

By the time dinner and dessert is over, Danny is half-slung over Dick's shoulder, succumbing to his well-earned sugar crash. Bruce escorts them to the front door before clasping a firm yet gentle hand on Dick's other shoulder (not occupied by a drooling toddler).

"I know I haven't been... I've made mistakes in the past." Bruce pauses and his jaw flexes slightly as if holding himself back from saying more. (Dick deliberately doesn't think about how this is probably as close to an apology Bruce will ever give. Deliberately doesn't think about the fact that he willingly clings to it with two hands, all too eager to forgive. He loves it. He hates it.) Bruce's hand tightens momentarily before he continues, "You're good with him. I'm glad he has you, chum. If you ever need me, need to come home, I'll be here."

The drive back to Bludhaven is quiet with only the sound of Danny snoring in the backseat, wrapped up in his star-filled blanket. Home. Dick's gathering Danny up in his arms, unlocks his apartment, and gets Danny situated in bed (after about 35 minutes of Danny turning into dead weight in protest of brushing his teeth). Danny's in pj's and knocked out faster than Killer Croc tranq'ed with ketamine. Dick turns off his little rocket ship lamp from Target and turns on the starry nightlight, looking over the spare bedroom changed into a kid's room.

Annabelle and Slappy had both been very eager for the arrival of their triplets, constantly attending classes and appointments. Today there was an ultrasound appointment. Slappy, like usual, attended these visits always by his wife's side, holding her hand through the entire process. They sat themselves in the room where the technician prepared the set up. The woman placed a cool layer of ultrasound gel on Annes stomach moving the wand allowing visuals of the Stine triplets to show up on the monitor along with their quickly paced heart beats. The couple's eyes never left the black and gray screen, both silently observing their babies seeing how much they had grown in the last few months. Their fingers interlocking the longer they stared at the screen. 

“I can’t wait to meet them”

….

The night had been crisp, the only light in the home had been coming from the Stines kitchen. Slappy had been washing the used dishes from dinner without a complaint, surprisingly, allowing Anne to rest comfortably. If he was honest he would’ve done them regardless to put a smile on her face despite the annoyance he faced whenever his clothes ended up soaked. As the months passed and her pregnancy progressed, daily chores and tasks had become difficult for her to manage on her own. Even going up and down the stairs had managed to knock the wind out of her. Which if he was being honest worried him a tad bit. Now he was simply thankful that the morning sickness phase had passed and granted his wife the luxury of a good night's rest and a sick free day. The only struggle he faced were her mood swings. One minor inconvenience could lead to a war or a tsunami of tears and hormonal apologies. It was rather odd seeing her so emotional, even before they were married Annabelle had always had a firm grip on her emotions but now anything could result in waterworks. 

Finally after all the dishes were clean he scurried upstairs, quietly entering his and his darling belles room. Removing his soaked shirt, and submerging himself under the covers, nuzzling beside Anne. The soft warmth of her smooth ivory skin against his cool caramel tone. Softly resting his hand gently on her curved rounded stomach. The suffocating anxiety of fatherhood had finally subsided within him, now feeling prepared for the inevitable. The three innocent forms of life ready to meet him any day now, the only thing lingering within him was a joyous excitement that was ready to burst any moment. As if a reflex he reached over with his free hand searching for hers. Upon finding it he intertwined his fingers with hers, giving her hand a nice squeeze. Something he had done early on in their dating and Newlywed stage always giving her three squeezes.  His three squeezes his silent way of saying I love you. 

He silently gasped, feeling light kicks that thumper against his palm. Anne gently chuckled, placing her free hand on top of his, lightly squeezing back. Samuel pulled closer resting his head on the crook of her neck, feeling the warmth of her skin against his. His body slowly falls into the realm of sleep, with the tension in his muscles beginning to dissipate. However, hearing the sound of a groan from his wife, his body instantly shot up, turning to his wife. His eyes wide and his hands clutching the blanket. 

“Anne!? Are you okay?” he spoke his voice beginning to rile up. 

“Is it the—“ he questioned only to be cut off by a caring hand being set on his shoulder.

“I’m fine Sam. It was just a kick” she smiled gently, giving his shoulder a squeeze. 

The softness of her reassuring touch relaxed him and put the soon to be father at ease allowing him to drift off to sleep. 

…

The next morning Sam had awoken to an empty space beside him and the smell of a sweet aroma. Once of fresh maple syrup and pancakes, his favorite. Quickly he threw on a shirt and ventured downstairs hugging his wife from behind, letting his hands fall resting them on his wife’s large protruding stomach. Annabelle leaded further into her husband's grasp resting her head on the crook of his neck, feeling her hands tired from holding the two plates with their breakfast pancakes. Slappy gently took the plates from her, setting them on the counter, and returned to holding his wife close. His eyes widened when feeling small little thumps on his hands, he smiled as these were the strongest kicks he felt, however his smiles faded hearing his wife’s faint groans of discomfort. 

“Anne…are you okay?” he asked with worry starting to grow in his voice.

His love nodded, kissing his neck.

“I’m fine Sam....” she chuckled a bit to herself, "...these kicks were just stronger than others'’ she gave him another kiss and maneuvered out of his grasp. Before she could grab the plates, her husband had taken them and set them on the table. Then quickly came over and wrapped an arm around his wife and walked with her to the table. Once seated they both dug into their breakfast, Slappy soaking his pancakes with sweet maple syrup and Anne soaking her meal with syrup and pieces of pickles. Ever since the start of her pregnancy Anne had the craving to put pickles on everything. Samuel didn’t bother to question it as this was one of the less odd cravings his wife had. After the two had finished, Slap, not wanting to put Anne through any stress and work happily did the dishes, struggling to thoroughly wash the syrup off each dish.

…

Slap had been in the dining room since his former office had been changed into the triplets nursery aimlessly typing until he noticed the time. 

6:30 PM

Once he saw the time he left the area and noticed Anne had vanished. Curious to know where he went he quickly scouted the house, finding her attempting to head up the stairs. He rushed to her side holding her side, grabbing her free hand giving it a squeeze. 

Darling I’m fine”, she gave a weak smile giving a faint groan. 

“I’m just giving you some support Hun, ain't nothing wrong with that” he responded with a smile. He lightly clutched her side and helped her to their room.

He helped guide his wife into bed, tossing the covers aside and turned on the TV putting on a movie. Anne shuffled her way into bed and pulled the covers over her. 

“Want me to make some popcorn?” 

Anne tucked her hair behind her ears and gave a nod.

.Oh and sweetheart don’t forget the—“..

“I know I won’t forget the pickles” he grinned, heading downstairs with a slit bounce in his step. 

Sam tossed the popcorn bag in the microwave and grabbed the pickles from the fridge. Once he heard the loud high pitch chimes of the microwave he turned over and opened the appliance, removed the hot bag and set it in a large bowl. Before heading upstairs also grabbed himself a grape soda for good measure. 

For the movie Slap made sure not to buy anything that involved romance, animals, or sad topics as his wife’s hormonal mood swings would kick in, and he would be the one to calm her down. So he went with the best option, the horror genre. As the night progressed Sam noticed Anne slowly starting to drift off into slumber. Quietly he shut off the TV and kissed his wife on the head and pulled the covers over her. 

“Good night Anne”

…

The night stood calm and tranquil, only a cool breeze blowing through the air. Anne had been in deep slumber, until a small pain had caused some slight discomfort. She had awakened and dealt with the mild pain and drifted off to sleep, until the pain returned this time more intense and prominent, and then again drifted off to sleep. 

However this time the pain sent a jolt through her body causing agonizing pain in her abdomen. Her jaw was tightening as her body tensed. She reached over to her husband, grabbing his shoulder shaking his, trying to suppress a wail. 

“S—Samuel…....”

Slap still groggy, still half asleep, “Hm? What is it?” He asked, rubbing his face.

Annabelle, unable to suppress her cries any longer, screamed, as the pain grew stronger and stronger with each passing moment. Her agonizing scream snapped her husband wide awake. 

“T—The b—babies are coming” she huffed, struggling to hold in another outburst.

Hearing this sent her husband into a frenzy. He fell right out of his bed with a loud THUMP and scurried to his feet.  

“N—NOW?!” He screamed and panicked running around the room searching for the hospital bag. He quickly grabbed his cell phone and dialed his brother's number.

“Slap….it is 2 in the morning ... .this better be good…or I swear to god—” Chuck answered clearly agitated by being awoken by the call.

“Hey Chuck…um how ya doing…I gotta cancel our plans for tomorrow” he struggled to keep his composure.

“Why? I scored us tickets for the game” he questioned, still half asleep. 

"SAMUEL SILAS STINE”

“Um Anne’s I labor okay gotta go…bye” he sped through before quickly hanging up.

Chucky rubbed his face, still half dead, barely processing what Slap had just said, “uh huh that’s nice…Wait…WHAT”. Chuck could only sit. His eyes wide still trying to process what he just heard. The redhead looked over at his wife who was still dead asleep, even snoring a bit with her face against the pillow. 

“Holy shit!”

…

Slap did his best to tend to his aching wife. While trying to rush to her side he tripped across an extension cord nearly slamming into the nightstand. Anne had been trying to keep her composure as she felt her contractions grow closer and closer together. 

“It’s okay, it’s okay just breathe. Just breathe. It’ll be over before ya know it. Whatever you do don’t pass out”

Anne groaned looking over at her husband. “T—Thanks S—Sam.”

Slap looked over at his wife raising his brows. 

“Oh Anne, I was talking to myself. BUT YEAH YEAH. You do that too hun!”

Anne froze for a moment looking at her goofball. Sometimes she wondered if the earth went through his head. If she hadn’t been in excruciating pain she might have chuckled. Her thought had been broken by another sharp contraction piercing through her swollen abdomen. Her hand tightly gripping at the bed covers as she let out another wail. Sam, still trying to adjust to the situation, nearly slipped again before properly collecting himself and running over to his wife. He cradled her to his chest, lifting her up and off the bed mustering up all the coordination he had and carefully rushed down the stairs. Anne’s nails sink deeper and deeper into Slap's shoulder, making him bite his lower lip to distract himself from the tiny blades of fire stabbing into him. He rushed his wife out the door and into the car, doing his best to delicately set her in the passenger seat.

“SHIT THE HOSPITAL BAG '' he yelled, rushing himself through the house and grabbing the bag and other basic necessities. Sam could feel his heart being pulsing rapidly through his veins with the intense growing stronger as he heard his wife’s ear splitting screams from their home. The man practically threw himself out the front door, sliding over the front of his car and hopping into the driver's seat. He shot a glance at his wife, who had been bracing herself against the car, her face damp and clenched. Slappy drove off, his eyes fixated on the road occasionally glancing over at Annabelle whose condition only seemed to worsen. With each passing moment a new wave of pain struck her abdomen, the poor woman couldn’t help but scream in agony. Once finally arriving at the hospital, Slap struggled to escape the grip of his seatbelt, till his wife snapped at him, kicking his mind into high gear. Quickly he rushed over unbuckling her and doing his best to guide her to the hospital. 

“Took you both long enough”

“CHUCK?!” Sam yelled, staring at his best friend who’d been casually munching on some vending machine cookies. 

“I wanted to meet the culprits who made you cancel our game,” he joked, cracking a smirk. Only for his smug expression to be broken by a deathly glare from Annabelle. 

“CAN WE GET A WHEELCHAIR OUT HERE PLEASE”

Thankfully a swarm of nurses flooded the area helping Annabelle to the delivery room, leaving Slappy behind.

“HEY WAIT!” Before he could catch up with Anne he was stopped by a nurse who handed him a clipboard.

“You’re going to need to fill this out Mr. Stine” she informed.

“Are you serious, I’m kinda in the middle of something!”

Chucky stood snatching the clipboard, clicking a pen. “Go dumbass, I’ll fill it out” he spoke, giving his friend a small whack on the head. 

“Thanks man, I owe you” he responded quickly, rushing to catch up with his wife. 

“Damn right you do,” Chucky smirked, pulling out his glasses from his pocket. The redhead set them on his nose reading the fine print. 

“These are some bullshit questions…”

…

Slappy practically sprinting sped down the hallway screaming for his wife. Only stopping when he heard her earsplitting wails. He whipped his body around, he could hear Anne in the distant room, however a large stretcher had blocked his path. Purely reacting on impulse, he flung himself over the stretching failing to realize there was a large staircase. He flipped around like a rag doll down each step as he rolled to the ground. He flung himself upward, practically sprinting down the hall. Thankfully he reached the delivery room, setting himself at Anne’s side. 

…

“Finally you guys made it. Christ”

“Apologies for our late arrival, we ran into a minor inconvenience” Jig responded, his face still and expressionless. 

“Yeah sorry! Have the babies come yet?” Billy questioned peeking from behind Jig.

“Nope. Not yet”

…

Slappy mistakenly allowed Annabelle to squeeze his hand, he regretted it more and more as each contraction intensified. Each of his fingers being crushed in her powerful grasp.

“D—Doing great…A—ANNnne” he did his best to reassure his wife while his hand was being mangled. 

Anne had been doing her best to remain calm, but the pain had become too much for her. Her strength gradually fading with each push. 

“Hey hey Anne…you’re doing great just a little longer”

…

Three out of the four boys had been relaxing in the lobby with Chucky finally finished with Slappy’s paperwork. 

“So how much longer do you think it’s gonna take?” Billy questioned looking over at his older brothers.

“I don’t know…could take hours, minutes, all depends Billy” the redhead responded looking around the area particularly eyeing the mass of pointy objects. 

“I can’t believe Slaps gonna be a dad…of three!”

“Yeah…shits crazy….Time fucking flies”

…

Anne’s screams suddenly subsided, and a cool relaxation washed overhead, leading her head backward on the hospital pillow exhausted. Slappy about to console her paused at the sound of a loud cry breaking the air. The couple paused, listening to the loud cries. Before they could get a good look at their newborn, another wave of anguish struck a blaze, causing the new mother to wail in pain once more. Her grip on her husband's hand tightening again. 

…

“Oh gosh I don’t think I can wait anymore”

Chucky gave a slight nod checking his watch, slightly squinting trying to get his eyes to focus.

“It’s 3:21 in the morning Charles” Jig spoke, peering up from his book. 

“Thanks Jig…Not like I have a damn watch to tell me” he retorted with sarcasm lacing his words.

“Well it appeared you were having difficulty reading the watch…From what I saw, your eyes were not serving you properly.”

Chucky gave an eye roll, getting up from his seat and heading over to the vending machine grabbing himself another packet of cookies.

…

Anne rested her head backward once more letting out a deep sigh of relief. Slap provided some words of comfort, but was hushed by another newborn cry. Slappy did his best to get a good look but his hand once again was being flattened by his wife. 

“COme ON AnNe” he huffed trying his best to regulate his voice, “y—you’re NEarly there. You’re doing amAZING” he yelped, feeling his fingers about to snap from their joints. 

His face practically soaked in sweat, squeezed her husband's hand harder, and gave one final push with a loud cry that could shatter glass. She felt every pain in her body drop once again feeling a cool sensation wash over her resting her head on her pillow. Slappy once again tended to his exhausted wife kissing her on the cheek, beaming with affection. 

“You did it Anne. I’m so proud of you” he whispered nuzzling her side. 

Before Annabelle could give a response, the new parents were greeted with three nurses carrying their wrapped-up bundles of joy. The nurses gently handed the couple their newborns, setting them in their tender grasps. Slappy’s eyes widened once his little one was set in his arms. He could feel his heart swell looking at the sweet little face of his baby. Slappy’s eyes could no longer prevent the tears that oh so desperately wanted to pour out. They streamed endlessly down his cheeks refusing to stop. 

“H—Hi sweet thing…” he sniffled, his voice shaking with each word he uttered. The man let out a faint gasp when his child’s eyes gently popped open. 

Anne smiled at the tender moment leaning over peering lovingly.

“She has your eyes”

Slappy continued to sniffle, nodding his way through the waterfalls that poured from his eyes. 

“S—She does,” he said in his voice, nothing more than a whisper. Slappy wiped his eyes, smiling wide, looking at his other babies in Anne’s grasp. He studied their features, all sharing delicate features, tan skin, small little tuffs of red auburn hair and a small mole on their puffed rosy cheeks. Each baby having varying hues of eye shades, that seemed to give off a slight glow.  

Slappy rested beside his wife cradling his daughter to his chest allowing his parental instincts to take control. The man continued to sniffle through joyous tears marveling at the wonderful little lives he helped create. 

“Oh Anne, look at what we brought into this world” he continued his sniffles growing evermore prominent.

Anne smiled, placing a tender kiss on her husband's cheek. “I know they're precious aren’t they?”

“Very”

…

“Jesus fucking Christ I don’t think I can take it anymore” Chucky complained, his already thinner patience near to snapping.

“Are you three with the Stines?”

“YES” 

“Follow me please”

The brothers quickly followed after the nurse, all their hearts beating with anticipation and excitement. The nurse had guided them to the room where Slappy and Anne were, giving each of them a warm smile, before opening the door. Quietly the nurse opened the door, inviting the 3 men in. 

The three entered marveling at the three little babies that rested in their brothers' arms. Chucky couldn’t help but smile at his best friend, “Congratulations you two”

Billy was silently jumping for joy eager to know the names of the babies.

“So, what are their names?”

“Yeah, what are their names?”

“Yes, what are they?”

Slappy and Anne smiled at each other, as they cradled their babies closely.

“Well I picked their first names”

“And I picked their middle names”

Slappy lifted one of the two newborns that rested in his arms. “This is James Nathaniel Stine. But I’ve been calling him Jamie.”

Anne smiled raising the infant that rested him her arms, “This is Willam Beket Stine”

Slappy raised the final triplet, beaming with pride, “And this named after her uncle and my best friend, Charlotte Josephine Stine or CJ for short”

Chucky could feel his jaw drop as soon as he heard the baby’s name. 

“C—Charlotte…” Chucky spoke, his voice shaking. 

“R—Really…a-are you serious…”

Slappy gave a slight nod, tears still in his eyes. 

“Slap…I—I’m honored…” a single tear ran down his cheek.

“I saw that tough guy” Slap joked teasing at his normally hotheaded brother.

“I’m just tired and my eyes are dry from being up for so long” the hot headed redhead responded wiping away his tears. 

“Sure”

“All three of them are very beautiful congratulations to you both”

“Yeah they’re so precious!” the youngest of the brothers chimed in. 

Slappy wiped his tears away cradling his son and daughter. “Thank you, you guys ”

Anne gave a tired smile nodding her head in appreciation. 

…

After doctors and nurses checked the health of the babies and Anne, they gave the family the green light to go home. Slappy and Anne set their triplets in their car seats carefully buckling the sweet things in. Slappy this time driving softly and carefully with his babies resting peacefully in the back. Finally, the family arrived home with the new parents going into the Slappy’s former office now nursery, setting the babies in their cribs. 

“Welcome home you three”

I had ch3 part 1 in my files for a while, I had started a few months ago but school started to get hectic and other projects got in the way. I won't lie and not say that I wasn't very motivated to continue it even though I really wanted to.

I felt a little guilty for leaving it hanging for so long, but I shouldn't be; I have a life outside of drawing. The amount of comments and a few asks I've gotten (and have seen) asking if FF was coming back was a lot, and it made me happy to see that people really loved it, but it also kinda flipped that guilt switch in my brain. I get over it pretty quickly and just continue on with my day, and that's how it's been all during the hiatus lol

Trust, I'm not gonna force myself to keep going, especially if it's only making me miserable. I have plans for it, I still have a lot of the script mostly done (it's not 100% completed, but it's a hefty amount of plot). I have friends who are willing to spit ball ideas and motivate me. It's just all about sitting down and doing it.

All I'll say is, I'm gonna try to get as much of FF out during my break before the spring semester comes around. I don't know when the next update will be. It all depends on how busy I am with other drawing projects or motivation. Thank you, guys, for being patient with me.