A Basket Full of Bats

My Eggie

Things weren't looking good for Tiny Richard either. Richard was having heart problems. He was so tiny he could be held in one hand. His little hands were no bigger than a finger tip. The tubes coming in and out of him were terrifying. All this time they'd joked and laughed about Catwoman's little baby acrobat that liked to do flips and karate in his mom's tummy and now he looked like a doll with a heaving chest.

Bruce was being run to the ground moving from one medical emergency to another. He was still working on getting permission for Alfred to visit Richard too. The hospital had a very strict parents and siblings only policy in the NICU.

It was obvious that without Terry's help Gotham would be Batman-less for a while. The plan was for Terry to put Dark Knight on the sidelines and for him to fill in as Batman.

Cassandra said not a word to anyone on all that had happened. She shuttled back and forth to the hospital quietly and was like a little ghost tiptoeing around everyone. She wasn't the type to rage or cry. She tiptoed silently to the neonatal ICU and knocked on the window. When Bruce came to see what she needed, she handed him a tiny soft brown knitted hat. She had a pair of knitting needles held in her other hand.

Bruce's face softened and he touched Cassie's hair. "Thank you. Would you like to see your brother?"

Cassie nodded. Bruce showed her proper hand washing and helped her with the hospital mask.

She smiled when Richard was wearing her doll sized knitted hat.

Bruce took a picture of Cassie gently petting her baby brother.

After extensive talks with doctors and nurses Bruce went to visit Selena who was due to be released soon.

"You've got the baby what do you want now?" she demanded. Catwoman was understandably feeling emotional and wretched.

"Breast milk."

"Pardon?"

"It significantly improves the chances that he'll be healthy."

Selena huffed uncomfortably.

"I'll pay. It's a huge time commitment and it'll help me sleep at night to know your won't want for anything essential right now. A 6 month contract. Pump milk every three hours, eat healthy, earn a hundred grand. I'll supply any necessary equipment and arrange for pickup daily."

"Kittens want milk," answered Selina resignedly nodding her agreement but refusing to look Bruce in the face. It was her baby. She didn't need money for something like this. It was insulting but Selina knew she wasn't in a good way right now. The money would help her take the time to find her feet again.

When Bruce returned to the NICU he found one of the nurses talking to Jason who had broken rules and sneaked in without dad. Vigilante training and high tech security locks weren't always a good mix. Bruce hurried in to get Jason out of trouble.

"Bruce, the nurse explained it!" declared Jason excitedly. "Richard is like a baby bird who hatched too soon so the doctors gave him his very own man made eggie to keep him warm and keep germs away and the tubes are giving him everything he needs like food and stuff and when he's big and strong enough, he can hatch properly. He's not ready for cuddles yet but he will be when he hatches."

"Alright buddy, well the nurses are going to take care of him for a while and everyone's going home to get some sleep," Bruce replied tiredly. Bruce had been at the hospital for four nearly five days straight now snatching an hour of sleep here or there. Alfred and Damian had been shuttling people back and forth from home. Bruce was pretty sure Jason was the only other child at the hospital right now. Did Cassie go home? He sent Alfred a quick text to check. Yep Cassie was home.

"It's also why he's still kind of ugly! Have you ever seen a bird that just came out of it's egg? We hatched chickens in class! They weren't cute at first then they got all fluffy! Babies are still ugly until they hatch!" Jason explained earnestly.

"Okay buddy," answered Bruce on autopilot. If Jason was getting hyper he should have been asleep a few hours ago.

"It's why he doesn't have much hair too. When he gets more hair he'll be almost ready to hatch. Like feathers growing in!"

"Just please don't feed the baby worms," yawned Bruce. Had the other kids been going to school, Bruce wondered.

"That's ridiculous. Bruce why are you so ridiculous? Bye Baby Bird! Why are you so tired? I'm not tired. The nurse gave me this necklace. See beads go on it. One bead every time Birdie gets a little closer to being ready to hatch. It's called a milestone necklace. This first bead was for being born! This second bead was for surviving the first 24 hours. I'm going to get the paints from my modeling set and paint his name on it."

"That's nice Jason," Bruce couldn't remember what vehicle he'd brought or had he come in the Batmobile then everyone changed in the back seat? This seemed like a detail he should be able to remember. What day was it again? When had he last slept? There had been paperwork and so many people crying. Lots and lots of meetings with doctors and nurses.

Bruce looked down at his wrist. The first hospital bracelet let everyone know the baby Richard John Wayne, in the NICU was his. The second bracelet had Helena Wayne's name on it. Bruce traced out her name. Focus on where you have the power to effect change, he thought. That had been a Buddhist teaching he thought, although he couldn't remember if it was a general Buddhist philosophy or a life belief of the particular monk he'd been dealing with at the time. Bruce cut the bracelet off with his pocket knife and tucked it in his pocket.