Chapter Text
Tim had been Robin for just over a month when he came home and said he’d been hit in the face with a brick by a girl from the Bowery who was calling herself Spoiler.
“I’m pretty sure she’s Cluemaster’s daughter. Her name is Stephanie Brown,” he said, hissing as Hal dabbed antiseptic into the cut on his forehead.
“Awww, Timmy. Do you have a crush?” Jason asked. The 16-year-old (who had adopted the alias “Jayhawk” after leaving Robin behind) was still working back up to full patrols and had returned early with Tim so that Robin could be checked for a concussion.
“No,” Tim denied, though he blushed. “But I think we should keep an eye on her. She’s only a few months older than I am, and while more capable than the average 14-year-old girl, she’s still completely untrained.”
“She caught you off guard,” Hal pointed out as he stuck a Wonder Woman band-aid over Tim’s cut.
“Beginner’s luck,” Tim scoffed. Jason gave them a flat look, and Hal barely restrained a flinch. He was still getting used to the large scar across Jason’s left eye and the milky-white iris left in its wake. But if Jason could act normal, then so could he.
“I’m sure,” Hal agreed. Tim groaned.
“Listen, Timbers,” Jason began. “We’ll all keep an eye on her, so long as you promise not to get jealous of us all watching your girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Tim hissed.
“Of course not, Tim,” Hal agreed, grinning teasingly at his youngest son. “You’d have to have the guts to ask her out first.”
(-0-)(-0-)(-0-)
It was another month before Hal heard anything more about Stephanie Brown save for occasional mentions by Tim. When he did, it was because the League had been called into Gotham for an alien invasion, and Hal almost got stabbed with a kitchen knife when he scooped up a plum-colored civilian.
“Whoa, hey!” he exclaimed, scrambling to dodge the knife without dropping the stabby fruit in his grasp.
“Put me down, you big, green asshole!” She shouted back.
“Ok, ok!” He said, and immediately lowered her onto a nearby roof, well away from the action. “The hell was that for?” He asked. Then he turned around and finally got a good look at her.
The first thing she noticed was that she was blonde. The second was that the clothes she was wearing were distinctly vigilante-flavored. The third was that the scowl on her face was all rough-and-tough Gotham kid.
So this was Spoiler.
“That was for you being a middle-aged man who grabs little girls off the street,” Spoiler shouted, pointing her knife at him accusingly, tip uncomfortably close to his face. He took a step back, hands raised and palms open in the universal sign of surrender.
“Ok, put that thing down,” he reprimanded. “And I’m sorry for grabbing you without warning, but if I hadn’t, you would have died.” Spoiler huffed.
“I can take care o’ myself, Grasshole,” she claimed.
“First of all,” Hal responded. “No, you can’t. Second of all, grasshole? What?”
“Yeah, s‘cause you’re a green asshole. Ergo, grasshole. And yes, I can so take care of myself.”
“Big words for such a small child,” Hal said. “And if you could take care of yourself, you wouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place.”
“Like you care,” Spoiler accused.
“Of course I care,” Hal said. “I care about each and every person in my sector.”
“Oh yeah, then tell Batman to take down Cluemaster!” Spoiler snapped. “He’s hurtin’ people, but because he’s not as big of a deal as Joker or Riddler or Scarecrow, nobody seems to care!”
“Spoiler-” Hal tried, but she cut him off.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret. You don’t have to be that motherfuckin’ Darkseid bitch to hurt somebody!” When she finished, she was breathing heavily, her face flushed with fury.
“I know,” Hal said placatingly. “Believe me. God, but I know. But here’s the thing: Batman’s only one guy. He doesn’t know everything, he can’t be everywhere at once, and he can’t see the future.”
“Well, tell him to try. Tell him to go to a prophet or something.” A prophet. That got Hal thinking.
A block away, a loud crash rang out. A moment later, Wonder Woman was shouting at him through the comms.
“Listen, I have to handle this alien invasion, but afterwards, meet me at Gotham Clock Tower. I have an idea.”
(-0-)(-0-)(-0-)
So, not that Hal wanted to brag, but he was totally the reason Stephanie Brown became the second Batgirl.
No, seriously, Hal did not want to brag. He was not proud of encouraging Steph. At all.
But as much as Hal would have loved to send her home, he knew she had the same spirit as every child and teen hero. No one could stop Steph once she realized she could take down her father.
Hal couldn’t help but feel protective of her. She reminded him so much of the young men he’d come to consider his sons. If something happened to them, he would tear down the entire goddamn universe. He was beginning to think he might do the same for one Stephanie Brown.
“So you have a parent crush on Steph,” Jason accused one night after he caught Hal staring forlornly at Steph’s back as she left the Batcave for the evening. She’d only stopped by briefly to drop off evidence, and Hal couldn’t help but miss her bright smile and loud voice already.
“A what?” Hal asked distractedly, leaning to the side to watch Steph’s blonde head disappear.
“A parent crush,” Jason said loudly and directly into Hal’s ear. It was a testament to how distracted Hal was that he hadn’t noticed Jason coming closer. He frowned.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” he said, finally turning to look Jason in the eyes. (This time, he didn’t flinch at all. It was a struggle to see your son so visibly hurt, but Hal was pushing through it. [It would be a struggle to see Steph that way too.])
“I mean, that you want to adopt her, just like you wanted to adopt Tim, and like Bruce wanted to adopt Dick and me,” Jason explained like it was obvious. Which it wasn’t.
“Sorry?” Hal asked, mind spinning. Sure he liked Steph, but he liked her in the way any mentor likes their mentee. It’s not like teacher want to adopt their favorite students all the time! He said as much to Jason.
“You’re right,” Jason agreed. “But parent crushing is a disease that affects only those with a very specific combination of self-sacrifriciality and parent issues.”
“Jason, what the hell are you talking about right now?” Hal demanded. Then he sighed. “Look, maybe you’re right. Maybe I love Steph like I might love a daughter. That doesn’t mean I’m going to pine after her actually being my daughter or something. She has a mom who actually loves and cares about her, thank you very much!”
“Whatever you say, Hal,” Jason agreed, though in that tone that meant he didn’t actually agree at all, but didn’t want Hal to yell anymore.
“Yeah,” Hal confirmed. Jason rolled his eyes.
“I’m going to go call Dick,” he said, stalking off. “He’ll agree with me.” Hal manfully did not respond to that.
(-0-)(-0-)(-0-)
Another 3 months later, about seven months after Hal had first heard word of Stephanie Brown, she called him crying.
“Hal,” she sobbed helplessly. “My mom got fired from the hospital because she’s been skimming drugs off the top, and now they called CPS on us.”
“Shit,” Hal swore with feeling, already arranging things in his head. This explained why Steph had called him and not Babs. Babs was not yet approved as a foster parent. Bruce and Hal both were.
“And she’s never going to pass the test, Hal. Because she is an addict, but we were ok; it was fine.”
“Stephie…” Hal mumbled, but Steph barreled through it.
“And to make matters worse – oh, so much worse, Hal, you have no idea.” She paused for a long moment, crying, then spent another long moment stumbling over her words before she finally choked out what she wanted to say. Hal waited patiently the whole time, heart breaking for this young woman he’d come to care so much about.
“I- I’m pregnant,” she admitted, then broke down into heaving sobs again. Hal sucked in a sharp breath. That explained why she had called him and not Bruce. Because as much as Hal loved the girl (and he did think of her as a daughter, even if he only realized it as his heart dropped into his feet at her words), she was much closer with Bruce than she was with him. The kids and Bruce had a Thing.
Bruce understood the kids on a level Hal couldn’t even comprehend, especially Dick and Steph. The two had almost nothing in common with Hal, and while Steph specifically didn’t have much more in common with Bruce (why she spent most time with Barbara), they did have that Thing.
However, if Steph had called Bruce and told him she was pregnant, Bruce would have either shut down or gone full Batman. And Hal knew Steph well enough to know that wasn’t what she needed.
“I’m so sorry, Stephie. I’m so, so sorry,” Hal repeated as Steph cried.
“I don’t know what to do, Hal. I have no idea what to do,” Steph choked out.
“We’ll do everything we can, ok? Bruce and I. We’ll figure this out together. All three of us. And Barbara, if you want. You’re not alone. You have us, ok? You have us and Alfred, Dick, Jason, and Tim too. We all love you, Stephie. So much.”
“Yeah?” Steph asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Hal agreed. “Listen, I’ll tell Bruce to start the paperwork, and then I’ll fly over to pick you up. Pack everything you want for tonight, but don’t worry about the rest; we can always come back for it.”
“Just like that?” Steph wondered, sounding genuinely confused. Hal froze, doubt beginning to creep in.
Was it possible that immediately taking Steph in was too much?
“Yeah, of course,” Hal declared, confident despite his worry.
“Oh my God, holy shit, thank you,” Steph rushed out. “Thank you so much. And I love you too, for the record. You’re-” She paused and then continued with the brazen confidence that was Hal’s favorite thing about the blonde. “You’re like a dad to me. You and Bruce both.” Hal’s heart melted.
“You’re like a daughter to both of us as well, Steph,” Hal said quietly.
“Oh, that’s a relief,” Steph chuckled. Then she sniffled a little bit. “Thank you,” she repeated.
“Anything for my little girl,” Hal responded. Steph let out a noise that was half sob, half laugh. They sat in silence for a moment.
“Ok, Halio,” she said after a while, voice ringing with false bravado and shaking with fear. “I’m all packed.”
“Ok,” Hal said. “I’ll talk to Bruce, and then I’ll come right there. See you in about 20 minutes?”
“Yeah,” Steph agreed, voice weak again, and Hal knew it was really hitting her for the first time that she was going to have to leave her mom.
“Great. I love you, Stephie.”
“Love you too, Hal.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”