#blackcanary

"Dick, you had one job..."

"I'm sorry that I burnt the toast."

"It was your third try."

"Did you guys know that any intense scents can make mom hurl?"

"How did you even know that?"

"Unlike you dim wits, I actually researched on how to give nutritional value to expecting mothers."

"She's pregnant, not a house plant."

Multiple voices (obviously coming from your sons) made you stir in your sleep, making you lift your head from your pillow.

"You know, whispering doesn't really work around a person who was trying to sleep." You chuckled, still feeling your slumber hang onto you as you rub your eyes.

The boys collect their senses and straightened their backs.

"Happy Birthday!" They all shouted, offering you a breakfast platter and small gifts.

You gasp in delight, smiling wide.

"Oh, you guys! What a great way to start the day." You said as all the boys sat on the bed with you, situating your breakfast.

"We wanted to do something special for you. I know things haven't been in our favor these past months, but you truly make our lives better." Dick said with a sympathetic look.

It was true, all of you were dealing with so much.

On top of mourning for Bruce, no one realized that Mother's day passed. Not even you noticed till Alfred made you a bouquet of flowers from the garden. The boys felt so bad for not doing anything but you reassured them it wasn't a big deal.

But for them, it was.

You were an expecting mother, bringing their youngest sibling into the world. With Bruce gone, they made you their top priority. They all know how it feels to lose a parent so the boys promised each other to raise their sibling with unconditional love.

Now, you were entering the second trimester of your pregnancy and boy was your unborn baby growing.

As all of your sons watched you like hawks, they noticed that you were growing your baby bump. It was probably the pregnancy brain that you haven't realized your body was changing, but you loved your ever-growing belly.

You take a bite of your delicious breakfast, also reading the cute birthday card all the boys signed.

"We were thinking how we could celebrate, so we decided that all of us could take a night off of patroling and make dinner." Tim chirped.

"You and Alfred are not allowed to lift a finger tonight." Damian also added.

You laugh again, seeing how much your boys loved you.

"Ok... but if the kitchen is on fire again, we are ordering take-out." you suggested, reliving the time your boys wanted to make a cake for your birthday last year.

"Scout's honor." Dick promised, crossing his heart.

You beam at your boys, hugging all of them in one shot.

"I love you all." you said out loud.

"We love you more." Jason replied as all of you let go as Dick took your arms to help you stand.

"C'mon, we planned a whole day for you. We called up Dinah and she's going to take you shopping for clothes, she also wanted to treat you to a greasy burger or whatnot, both of you are going to that fancy spa you had your eye on, and you'll be back to have a full feast waiting when you get back home." Dick said as he clapped his hands.

You stand with your hand on your heart, touched that they really wanted to make you feel appreciated on your special day.

"Thank you boys, for everything." you whispered, tearing up. They all hug you once again before leaving to give you time to get ready.

How did you get so lucky to have such a loving family?

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The boys' stayed true to their word.

You had a fantastic day with Dinah as you two began shopping for clothes as she also picked out neutral onesies for the baby. She was even giving you advice from her pregnancy and was talking about her sweet boy.

"Don't get me wrong. I don't miss indigestion or heartburn, but I kinda miss being pregnant. Just the whole curiosity of who you'll bring in the world is quite an adventure." she said as you were sitting next to each other in the spa.

You smile fondly as you admired how motherhood really suited your good friend.

"I hope they're a calm baby when they arrive," you said, rubbing your belly softly.

Dinah smiles brightly at you while she sipped cucumber-flavored water. "I was so lucky Connor was a happy baby. He never fusses or screams... or I rather hear happy screams like the time Ollie lifts him in the air and-"

She stops in midsentence, realizing your saddened state.

"I am so sorry. I didn't mean-" You shake your hand, trying to ease her worry.

"No, no, no. I'm fine... really." you replied, trying to give her a reassuring look.

She reaches out for your hand and grabs it.

"I know you get this question a lot, but how have you really been?" she asks you as she squeezes your hand in support.

"I used to have sleepless nights. I'd have nightmares about the day I lost Bruce and I feel that I can't breathe. It's been tough to realize that this baby won't have their father in their life. But I have my family to remind them of who Bruce was and how they loved them."

Dinah smiles at you, admiring your strength in your time of hurting.

"You say used to, how did you overcome the nightmares?" she asks sincerely.

You ponder for a moment before replying back.

"I've been going back to my roots."

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After a full day of relaxation and joy, Dinah drops you back home. Alfred approaches the car and helps you to collect your things.

"I hope you had a wondrous day, Mrs. Lance-Queen." Alfred says as Dinah waves at you both from her car, pulling out of the driveway.

"So, how many plates have the boys destroyed this time?" you joke as you and Alfred walk in the manor.

He chuckles as you both walk up the stairs to your room. "Surprisingly, four China plates," he replies.

You laugh back as you settled your things by the floor and you both walk-in tow to the dining room to eat.

The boys start to place all of the food on the table and see you walk in with their favorite grandfather figure.

"Hey, Ma! Just in time for dinner!" Jason hollered as you sat down in your seat, mesmerized by all your favorite foods that were prepared.

"I made sure the menu tonight was pregnancy-friendly." Tim said, kissing your cheek as he took the seat next to you.

You thank the boys again before you all dove into the food that was prepared.

During your meal, jokes or embarrassing stories were shared around. Damian, surprisingly, clinks his drink of water to catch everyone's attention.

"We decided we wanted to do something different this year for your birthday, Mother. Instead of presents, we wanted to share our favorite memory of you."

You gasp from their gesture as you see Damian get up to prepare his speech.

"I remembered the first time you picked me up from school."

Bruce was stuck at work all day. There was an emergency at one of their international branches, so Bruce has been attending calls nonstop.

You call him during his break as his mind eased, knowing your voice always calmed him down. "Hey, how has work been?" you knew what his answer was, but he always admired how you would still ask something so sweet.

“Work has been biting my ass for the past few hours. I just realized that I’m probably going to be late to pick up Damian from school.” Bruce said as his tone was tired.

Damian just moved into the manor just a few weeks ago. It became quite a shock of his existence, but the young boy was a piece of Bruce, and you warmed up to him the moment he set foot into your life.

“Why don’t I pick him up? I already left work.” You said happily. Bruce's eyebrows knit of from your attempt, remembering that the past several days, Damian hasn't been the kindest towards you.

Although the young boy has been transitioning to his new surroundings, Damian shouldn't act cruelly to you. Bruce made that perfectly clear when the young assassin would deny you of your compassion. “Are you sure? I can have Alfred pick him up.” He replies, trying to make the situation easier for you.

“I insist, I think it’s finally time for me and Dami to spend some time together. Why don’t you contact Alfred that I won't be coming back till later this evening? Love you.” You said.

"and I love you." Bruce said before hanging up. You then start your car and head over to the school to see Damian impatiently waiting outside of the steps of the building.

You pull down your window and give him a smile.

"Hi, Bruce has been stuck in meetings the past several hours. I wanted to pick you up." You said brightly.

Damian rolls his eyes and opens the car door to sit in the back seat. "Typical." he murmurs under his breath.

You don't react to his remark as you start to drive out into the city. You then look back and see Damian looking longingly at a park, specifically one dedicated to dogs.

"Have you ever had a pet before?" You ask out loud, taking Damian off guard.

"No... mother said animals are a waste of time." he says out loud, but you hear a sort of resentment. But for some reason, it was not directed to you.

"Pets do have a purpose, Damian. They bring emotional support to veterans or those with mental health issues. I even have employers who are blind and they bring their service dogs to work."

Damian turns his head towards you. "Really?" He asks in a curious manner.

You could finally see the spark in the kid that you have been trying to desperately find. "Yeah! In fact, they invited me to hang out with them and their dogs in the park today. Unless you have homework to finish."

He leans forward with determination. "I finished all of my work at school." He said, quite rushed.

You stare at the boy in your mirror, seeing a youthful cheer you missed for a while now.

"Ok, let's go!" You said, making a U-turn to spend the entire day at the park with your newest son.

"I played with all of the dogs that day, even attempted to bribe a boy my age to exchange his dog for money." You chuckled as you remembered that day, finding it hilarious how Dami desperately wanted a dog.

Damian continues on. "I gave you a very hard time when all you wanted was to get to know me better. You never failed to make me your son, even if I wasn't your flesh and blood. Thank you, for accepting me." He goes up to you and hugs you the best he could with your bump in the way.

Dick takes his opportunity to stand and catches everyone's attention.

"Guess it's my turn..." he says sheepishly.

As Dick sat on your left, you hold his hand in affirmation.

He looks down at you, reminiscing into his younger years of around the time he first met you.

"Bruce invited you over to the manor for the first time."

"Hello, Mr. Pennyworth. It's nice to see you again." you said as he greeted you by the door.

"My dear, I have told you to call me Alfred." He says, taking off your jacket and placing it by the entrance.

You hear someone running down the stairs, revealing a mischievous boy that eyes were as joyous as the sun.

"Hi! Bruce has been expecting you all week. C'mon, I'll take you to the dining room." Dick said, yanking by the arm as you match his speed.

Once you enter the room, you are mesmerized by how the room was decorated with the dark interior designs and you see Bruce setting down silverware.

"Dick, she's capable of walking by herself," Bruce said as he sees you a bit tired from Dick taking you halfway across the manor.

"Yeah, but it's her first time here! I want to show her around ever since you've been-" Bruce gives Dick a stern look, using his gaze to tell him not to embarrass him in front of you.

You laugh out loud and you go up to Bruce, placing a palm on his chest. "I'm excited to be here too." you said as you kiss his cheek, making Bruce blush.

You enjoy your meal together, not realizing how energetic Dick truly was now that he was in the comfort of his home. Usually, when you're around the Wayne boys, you were always in the public eye, not having any intimacy or an ounce of privacy.

After a light dessert, Dick pleads with Bruce to show you around and your boyfriend gives you permission for his son to take you. Dick takes your hand again and takes it within every room around the house.

"-and this is the banquet hall, but I never really cared for them." Dick says as you passed the big room. You stop in your tracks and let go of Dick's hand, admiring the instrument that was on display.

“Is that what I think it is?” you questioned as you walked closer to the dark piano. “You have a good eye, This is Bechstein D 282 Concert Grand. I bought it for some events held here for entertainment.” Bruce said as he walked in with his son on his side.

Dick snickered after his adoptive father’s comment. “Yeah, but none of us know how to play.” Bruce gave Dick a side-eye, but you were too interested in looking at the instrument. “Do you play?” Bruce asked innocently. You smile to yourself as one of your fingers was trying not to touch the keys.

“I do, I used to play for some concerts in my university years…” you thought as it made you smile. “You should play.” Bruce suggested. You shot your eyes to him as you melted in his gaze. “No, I shouldn’t…” he caught you off guard as he grabbed your hand softly and held it with such care. “Please… I insist,” he murmured.

You stare at his eyes for a minute, too dazed at his soft blue eyes. You sit down and determine which song to play. After you make up your mind, you look up to him and Dick. “This was the first song I ever played on a piano…” your hands start moving with grace as you also began to sing.

🎼For you, there'll be no more crying For you, the sun will be shining And I feel that when I'm with you It's alright, I know it's right

To you, I'll give the world To you, I'll never be cold 'Cause I feel that when I'm with you It's alright, I know it's right

And the songbirds are singing, Like they know the score And I love you, I love you, I love you Like never before

And I wish you all the love in the world But most of all, I wish it from myself

And the songbirds keep singing Like they know the score And I love you, I love you, I love you Like never before, like never before, Like never before🎼

After singing, you look up to Bruce who was stunned by your voice. "Wow, I never knew you could-" a loud sniffle takes both of you by surprise as your eyes dart to the young Grayson boy, who was crying.

He realizes the two of you are staring at him and he forces himself not to cry. "Sorry, my uh... My mom used to sing me that to sleep when I was younger."

You waste no time as you kneel down in front of Dick, wiping away his tears. "Oh, sweetie..." you said as Dick launched his arms around you, hugging you.

You're a bit shocked but you sink into the hug, almost hugging him tighter as you're afraid to let go.

Bruce places a hand on your shoulder, showing his gratefulness for your presence for not only him, but this young boy who was still grieving the loss of his parents.

"I didn't how much I missed my folks until you really came into my life; you helped me remember them. I realized that I wasn't replacing the mother who birthed and raised me, but I was gaining a mom who would love me with all of her heart."

You tear up a bit as you look up to your eldest son, seeing how much he's grown for the past ten years. He sits down and you see Jason in front of you, who seems a bit skittish.

"Kinda stole the whole 'late family' thing from me, Grayson." Jason said as he gets up and faces down on the table.

"Remember that movie where it talked about people having core memories when they grow up? I don't think I had that until... until I came back home again."

Jason softly whispers as he thinks back to when he raised terror as Red Hood.

She walks downstairs as the whole mansion is empty, hoping to see Alfred tend to the boys downstairs from the latest fight.

She has not known why Bruce put her in the corner when she heard about the latest vigilante, Red Hood. It was as if that person was wanting to catch Batman's attention, so he called up Dick to help, alongside the new edition to your family, Tim Drake.

She heard murmurs as she walked down slowly, but stopped in her tracks when she heard a voice hiss.

“Alfred, I'm not a kid anymore, I can do it on my own.” Alfred still tended the wound to the boy “and what a fascinating job you did for your past wounds.” Alfred remarks. ‘There’s only one person Alfred talks to like that…’ she thought.

Her steps quicken and everyone looks up to the staircase and suddenly stops on the last step, looking at her son. Bruce gets up and walks towards her, blocking her view.

She couldn't hear what he just said but heard something like “not ready” and “he’s still unstable” but she pushed past him, knowing that Bruce can’t hold her back anymore.

She was only five steps to him, but it felt like they were miles away. Alfred stepped aside as Jason stood up from the table hesitantly. She took in his presence, he grew almost 2 feet and saw past scars on his face that were now faded away. His hair became curlier and longer.

He opens his mouth, unsure of what to say.

“I- I know what you’re thinking. ‘Why didn’t I come back?’ The truth is... I don’t know. I was so angry that I took it out on everything in my way and it got worse. and I know that I hurt you the most when the last words I said to you were ‘I had to look for my real mom,’ and I regret that day so much. I’m asking if you could forgive me for-” he was cut off as you launched your way into his arms. Both of you started crying as you both fell to the floor, finally reunited.

You looked at him, drying his face with your long sleeves and holding his face in your hands. “You’re here… and that’s more than enough.”

You fix his hair as it starts to hide his face. “Ma…” he started to choke up after saying those words for the first time in years. “I did a lot of damage, ma.” he said as he buried his face in your chest. You soothe him as you rub the back of his neck. “I know baby, I know.” you kiss him on the top of his head until he calms down a bit.

"You forgave me, right on the spot." Jason said, almost crying.

"It took a long time for me to forgive Bruce, took a long time to forgive myself. I owe you so much for not only your kindness but the strength that comes with it. I made you go through so much because I was dealing with my pain and wish I could take that away from you when I died."

The whole room is silent as the only sound comes from Jason's sobs.

You slowly raise yourself out of your seat as you hug Jason close to you, with his head falling into your shoulder.

Dick feels a ping of jealously from your relationship with his younger brother.

Upon the early stages of your relationship with his father, Bruce sent Dick away to the Titans as more villains started to rise around the world. Dick was surprised that he became so disposable when Bruce adopted another kid on the streets, younger than the age Dick was adopted.

So to say, Jason was the first kid that you raised with Bruce as you moved into the Manor.

But he didn't stay mad for long. You always expressed to each of your sons that you loved them equally. In your eyes, no one was replaced.

You look around and see all of your sons' faces. You finally land on Tim who became so quiet in his seat.

"Sorry, man. Didn't mean to eat up your time." Jason sniffed as he sat down, your hand placed on his shoulder as you look brightly at Tim.

He awkwardly gets up from his chair. Unlike his brothers, it was hard for him to reach out with his feelings. He was more rational than affectionate. But you knew he was as caring as the rest.

He stutters at first, unable to say what he really wanted to say.

"Mom, there's something you need to know about Dad."

Jason stirs in his chair, shooting a warning glance as the rest of you are confused.

Right when he was about to open his mouth, you hear the house phone rang from the kitchen.

Alfred, who has been sitting quietly at the table, rises from his seat. "I shall answer it. Carry on without me." he says.

You walk over to Tim, placing your hands on his shoulders.

"Is everything alright, honey?" you ask him.

Tim makes a side glance at Jason who features looked like a marble statue. Tim takes a deep breath and looks at you.

"I was going to say, for my favorite memory, was the first week when I patrolled Gotham as Robin and I kept messing up. I got injured around my shoulder and you helped me get better. You didn't scold me or discourage me to stop, you were just there for me when I didn't know I needed it most. Then when I was able to go out with Bruce on patrol again, he asked me how would it feel if... you and Bruce tied the knot."

You were a bit stunned, it was the first time you ever heard of Bruce thinking of marrying you at that time.

"Oh, baby. I love you so much... all of you." you said as your last son concluded his speech.

Everything was fine and merry until Alfred came into the dining room, pale as a ghost.

The boys get up to ask what's wrong but Alfred only makes eye contact with you.

"I believe it would be best to turn on the News." Alfred said as the truth inside of him shook him to his very core.

You all rushed to the screen room, as Tim switched the TV to put on the broadcast.

"Breaking News, the FBI has retrieved the stolen artifact from Gotham's Museum from several months ago. It was to reveal that this artifact held special abilities far beyond imagination, but its magic has been extracted. Not only the necklace has been returned, but the FBI releases a key witness that has been assisting their investigation. They have faked their death in order to maintain an undercover identity to help retrieve the item. I am getting word at this moment, the person is... Gotham's billionaire, Bruce Wayne!"

The whole room is silent as they just heard what has happened.

Your boys look behind and see you still, with tears threatening to spill onto your face.

Tim switches off the TV and everyone felt a chill in their spine when they heard a knock on the door.

Alfred gives you a look, almost a permission to dare look at who was wanting to enter.

You nod your head and he walks over to the entranceway.

The boys follow Alfred in tow just in case they had to defend the house from nosey paparazzi or feds.