Chapter Text
Rain fell over Gotham city in long silver streaks, turning the streets into mirrors of neon light and shadow. The city was quieter than usual, though quiet in Gotham never meant peaceful. Police sirens echoed somewhere far away, swallowed by the storm clouds rolling above the skyline High above the streets, a beam of light cut through the dark clouds. The Bat-Signal.
On most nights, that signal meant Batman would appear somewhere in the city within minutes. But tonight, Batman wasn’t there. Instead, Bruce Wayne stood in the dimly lit room of a private hospital suite. The quiet inside the room felt strangely different from the chaos of Gotham outside. Soft lights glowed overhead. A heart monitor beeped steadily from the other room and the faint scent of antiseptic hung in the air.
Bruce stood in the waiting room near the window, looking out at the rain sliding down the glass. For someone known throughout the world as a playboy and confident, Bruce Wayne looked unusually uncertain.
He had faced impossible situations before, criminal masterminds, alien invasions, enemies stronger than anything human should survive, hell, even Gods, but none of those things had prepared him for what was about to happen.
Bruce was sitting in a chair in the waiting room, eagerly waiting for his child, a sense of nervousness in his body as he bounced his leg. He ran his fingers through his hair as he let out a breath.
A nurse then approached him gently, her voice soft and soothing to not alarm him. “Mr. Wayne?”
Bruce immediately turned. In the nurse's arms was a small bundle wrapped carefully in a soft white blanket with pink adorned flowers. “She’s ready to see you.”
Bruce hesitated for only a second before stepping forward. The nurse placed the tiny bundle into his arms.
You.
You were impossibly small. You had lightly tanned skin like Damian with deep green eyes. Your cheeks were a soft pink, your tiny nose scrunched slightly as you breathed in slow sleepy breaths. The blanket was wrapped around you so carefully that only your face and one tiny hand peeked out.
You then shifted slightly in his arms, a bit more of the blanket revealing a large scar on her chest near her lungs with somewhat fresh stitches and a bandage. He pulled the blanket back up.
You shifted your body again and Bruce instinctively adjusted his hold, supporting your head the way the nurse had shown him. Your fingers curled slowly around the blanket. Then they went and brushed against the sleeve of his jacket. Without hesitation, your tiny hand closed around it with a gurgle.
Bruce froze. The nurse smiled warmly at Bruce. “She’s a strong one. Most babies would still need a ventilator, but not this one. 7 hours without one.”
Bruce looked down at you, studying your face with the same focus he usually reserved for complicated case files or crime scenes. Except this wasn’t a mystery to solve.
This was his daughter.
You then stirred slightly in your blanket, making a small squeaking noise before yawning widely—an adorably dramatic baby yawn that made your tiny nose wrinkle.
Bruce blinked. Then something almost impossible happened. For a moment, the man known as Batman smiled.
Hours later, the long gates of Wayne Manor slowly opened as Bruce drove through with the baby in the back, sitting in a car seat.
The manor stood at the top of a winding road, its tall windows glowing softly in the rainy darkness. The house had stood there for generations. Large, quiet, and dignified, watching over Gotham like a silent guardian.
Inside the Manor, Alfred waited in the grand entrance hall, quietly dusting off the portraits that hung on the walls.
Alfred had served the Wayne family long enough to recognize when something unusual was about to happen. Bruce had canceled patrol and had ordered a surprising number of infant supplies.
And he had sounded… different.
When the front doors finally opened, Alfred noticed the bundle immediately. Bruce stepped inside, rainwater still clinging faintly to his coat. In his arms, the blanket shifted slightly, hands poking out and trying to grip his face. Alfred walked forward.“Welcome home, Master Bruce.”
Bruce nodded in acknowledgement. “Alfred.”
The butler’s eyes moved to the small face peeking out from the blanket. You blinked sleepily up at him. Alfred blinked once in return. “…Ah.”
Bruce gently adjusted the blanket so Alfred could see you more clearly. “This is my daughter, Y/n.”
For the briefest moment, barely long enough for anyone else to notice, Alfred Pennyworth looked genuinely surprised. Then, the expression vanished beneath his usual calm composure. “Well,” he said thoughtfully, “that explains the nursery I had prepared earlier this evening.”
Bruce raised an eyebrow. “You already knew?”
Alfred gave a small polite smile.
“Sir, you canceled patrol and ordered three different brands of baby bottles.” He leaned closer, his voice softening slightly. “It was an educated guess.”
You made a quiet little sound and stretched one tiny hand out of the blanket. Alfred offered a finger. Your hand grabbed it instantly, holding it close to your face. He paused, looking down at your tiny grip, then he chuckled quietly.
“Good evening, Miss Wayne,” he said gently, running his knuckle along your cheek. “Welcome to the family.”
The peace inside Wayne Manor lasted exactly forty-three minutes. That was how long it took for the rest of the family to come home. Bruce was in the living room, holding you close as he softly murmured soft praises to you as he gently ran his fingers along your chest scars. He couldn't help but think how close you were to dying if you didn't get the lung surgery.
But then, the front doors burst open as Jason walked in first, still halfway through a conversation.“I’m telling you, that guy had backup,” Jason said.
Behind him, Dick laughed.“You say that every time someone beats you in a fight.”
“Because it’s usually true.” Jason stepped into the living room and stopped.
Dick walked directly into him. “What—”Dick looked up. Bruce sat calmly in the armchair beside the fireplace, holding a baby.
Dick blinked once. Then again. “…Bruce?”
“Yes?”
“Why are you holding a baby?”
Jason leaned sideways to get a better look. “…are you playing a prank on us?”
“Nope.”
Jason stared. “Whose baby?”
Bruce answered as if it was obvious. “Mine..?”
Silence filled the room. Then Tim walked in while reading something on his tablet. “You guys finished the patrol rep—” He looked up. “…There’s a baby.”
“Yes,” Bruce said again. Tim slowly lowered his tablet to his side, not becoming nervous. “A baby? No one told me about this. WHY DID NO ONE TELL BE BEFOREHAND?!?!"
Footsteps echoed in the hallway behind them. Damian entered the room then saw you. "What is that?”
Jason answered immediately. “Your sister.”
Damian’s eyebrows lowered. “I did not request a sister.”
You blinked slowly at him. Then your tiny face scrunched and you sneezed directly at Damian.. Damian jumped away.“…It attacked me!”
Dick burst out laughing.