Daughters of the Bat

Memories

"Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart."
― Haruki Murakami,

"Are you sure, Bruce?" Selina gasped. "Does anyone else know about the crash?"

"I started a worm program running all over the country as soon as the computer notified me of the crash, Selina," Bruce said thoughtfully, "no alerts anywhere, no one else picked it up."

Selina breathed a sigh of relief as she made her way to the medical bay Bruce had set up for the girl. Her own girls had taken up spots on both sides, watching as the little blonde girl laid there absorbing sunlight. Still, in her uniform, most people found her intimidating, sometimes they were more scared of her than they were of the Bat. Her girls, her kittens as she called them, found the uniform fascinating. In fact, Lena had recommended visual acuity changes to her mask that allowed her to see even in zero light conditions. Alex had helped Bruce with the latest updates to her bike, including installing the new turbo booster and throttle controls. The two were so different and yet so alike at the same time.

She swept back the new girl's blonde hair from her forehead and watched her sleep, remembering the day they had picked up a certain little dark-haired baby from a hospital in Ireland.

*****************************************

Bruce had been pacing the hallway for two hours and it was driving her crazy. "Bruce, please sit down. Please."

"What is taking so long?" He growled.

"Sorry, Mr. Wayne, but this isn't something that your mysterious alter ego can make go faster through sheer force of will." She stood and padded across the floor, "it could be a long night, but we have waited for nine-months, surely a few more hours won't kill us."

"I'm going through the scenarios in my head, trying to figure out what happens if Lionel finds out," Bruce said, looking into his wife's green eyes.

"Bruce, she has the best identity money can buy, and you have already purchased that home here for her mother," Selina softly reprimanded him. "We will be fine."

Bruce hung his head, "You're right, I'm overthinking again." Then he took a deep breath and relaxed, "Have I told you lately how much I love you, Mrs. Wayne." The smile on his face took Selina's breath away. "I'm going to head down and get some coffee."

Twenty minutes later, Bruce came back to an empty waiting room. However, his hearing picked up the sound of a baby crying, and he approached the door, only to have the nurse come through holding a baby wrapped in a pink blanket. "Mr. Wayne, I would like to present Martha Alena Wayne."

Smiling widely, Bruce took the bundle into his large muscular arms and pulled the blanket down to expose the face of their baby girl. Then the nurse led him to the recovery room for the child's birth mother.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Selina asked again for what seemed the thousandth time.

"I'm sure, Mrs. Wayne." She answered, smiling weakly. "I'm too young to raise her by myself, and you two can give her the world."

"If you ever want to meet her, we will make it happen." Selina smiled.

"If it's quite okay, I would rather not, you may tell her she is adopted, but please, don't ever share my name with her." The young woman smiled. "You are her mother now, Mrs. Wayne, and that's how it should be."

"Do you want to hold her?" Bruce asked softly.

The woman smiled, "No, sir, I would rather not. It's not that I don't love her, I truly do, but she was not born of love, something you and your wife seem to have quite a bit to share."