Archive of Our Own ^beta

All is quiet, until it's not. Swords clang and guns fire, as the Batman and his teammates attack the League compound. 

Talia jumps from her bed, grabbing a nearby sword then pushing back the curtain of her balcony window, calling down towards the fray. "Cease this! I want to parlay with the Batman!" Her soldiers stop but some look quizzically at her. 

Bruce raises a gloved hand, making his fighters stop as well, though the former circus boy steps forward, whispering something to Bruce, a concerned look on his face. Bruce ignores him.

He takes a step towards her, looking up at her on the balcony. The wind is softly blowing her hair, her nightdress brushing against her ankles. "What do you want, Talia?"

"I could ask you the same thing. You're the one breaking into my father's compound."

"I've heard rumours."

"Rumours?" She raises a brow. "You have to be more specific than that, Beloved."

His jaw slackens slightly at the endearment, making her grin. He still cares for her, even after abandoning her years ago to keep his crusade in Gotham. "They say you've taken a member of the Justice League as your own. We want the traitor." Based on his behaviour, he doesn't know about Jason. He must think he has a turn cloak in his midst.

"You know you shouldn't listen to rumours," Talia chides with a sly grin.

"I want the traitor, Talia."

The rest of the League looks weary at the exchange, but none act, knowing this is outside their control.

"There is no traitor," she waits a beat. "Per se."

"Talia." He grinds his teeth in frustration.

"Beloved," she responds, downplaying everything that's happening.

"Give them to us, and we'll go. Our fight isn't with you, not now. It's with the Light."

"You have more pressing matters, Beloved."

That's a lie. Jason is as important to Bruce as any traitor, if not more.

"I disagree." 

He takes another step forward, while Talia reaches for the curtain beside her. She pulls it back with a snap, revealing a sleeping Damian in his crib. "Your son is of the upmost importance."

Bruce freezes as his mouth drops open in shock. Dick, Tim, and the Cain girl's eyes go wide behind their masks, while the rest of the League are extremely worried and bewildered. Apparently, their past relationship never reached their ears.

"What? How?" He sputters, at least as much as Batman can.

"I'm sure you know how. I believe you understand anatomy, and the sexual act. Now, do you wish to speak in private, Beloved?"

Bruce nods almost drunkenly, then walks up the stairs leading to her balcony. She closes the curtain behind them, a cry of protest rising from the new Robin. Bruce looks at her blankly, not speaking a word, eyes shifting between her and their son. Damian seems to notice the attention, making a cooing noise, alerting his mother that he's awake. Talia plucks him from his crib, cradling him in her arms.

She brushes his thick hair from his face, giving Bruce a better look at him. "His name is Damian Ibn al Xu'ffasch, Son of the Bat. He is six months old."

Bruce hesitantly reaches a gloved hand towards their son, then gently touches his soft baby cheek. Damian looks up at him with his bright green eyes, unfazed by the stranger in the bat costume. "May I hold him?" He asks so softly she almost doesn't hear him.

"Yes." She passes Damian into his father's arms, while the infant remains calm, babbling happily while grasping for Bruce's cape.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He keeps Damian pressed to his chest, but his eyes are fixed on her.

"Based on the way things were left after our last meeting, I didn't think you'd want to hear from me."

Leaving someone alone in the Quraci desert after passionate love making, tends to give the impression that you're not interested in another interaction.

"Talia, you'd know I'd want to know about this. Even if things weren't the best between us."

She blinks at him, not visually reacting to any of his words. "What will you do now?"

He comes closer, their babe still in his arms. "I want Damian in Gotham. I've known him for only moments, but I don't want to be parted from him."

"I won't let you take him from me," Talia cuts in, her voice firm, her stance solid.

"I wasn't suggesting that."

She cocks an eyebrow at him. She's doesn't believe him, not completely.

"I don't want him raised in the League, brought up as a weapon, not a child."

There it is.

"Because you don't want me to have him, not because you want him. This is all spite," she retorts dryly.

"Damn it Talia," he growls low, eliciting his first reaction from Damian. Their son lets out a small whine, a pout on his lips, telling his parents that he isn't happy with the change in conversational tone. "It's not about you. It's about your father, about the way your League operates. I want you in his life, I wouldn't try to take him from him. You're his mother." Bruce lets out a frustrated sigh, then adjusts the way he holds his son. Damian's furrowed brow goes away as he releases a spit bubble. "Move to Gotham, or at least nearby. We can make a shared custody agreement."

Talia watches him for a moment, reading him. He could've ran with Damian by now, called the Justice League down on her head, but he hasn't. He's remained as calm as he can in this situation, tried to hear her out. "Fine, I'll move to Gotham under a pseudonym. Call your men off, I'll bring the traitor to you."

Bruce blinks in surprise at how easily she agreed, but she wants the best for her son, and that ultimately is Gotham, not the League of Shadows. "When?"

"In an hour, I'll need to act before word reaches my father."

Bruce briskly nods. "I'll keep Damian with me while you do, he can meet his siblings."

Talia's lip curls, but she says nothing, trying to keep the peace. She's not going to run with Damian. If she had wanted to keep him away, Bruce never would've met him. And the others aren't his siblings.

Her chin juts up as she stalks out of the room. "Rabia, get all of Ibn al Xu'ffasch's things packed, and Saba, prepare the basic necessities for me." Her two maids nod and scuttle away.

She hears Bruce's heavy footsteps leave the room as she heads down the hall, taking their son to his plane. She has a flash of panic when he steps out of the room, fearing he'll bolt and steal her son, but he doesn't. He is only stepping outside to be with Nightwing, Robin, and Orphan, while he waits for her. 

Jason sits in the corner of his small stone room, dressed in his battle attire. "Why didn't you come when we were attacked?" Talia asks cooly.

His eyes shift to her, but he says nothing. He can only speak in short spurts, but he understands everything now.

A bald man she recognizes steps forward from the hall. "Your father commanded that he stay in his room if the Batman came."

She nods. "Come Red, we have business."

"Lady Talia-" 

She dismisses the servant wth a wave of her hand, then leaves the room, Jason trailing behind her, his mask still affixed to his face.

She meets her maids in the entryway, her things in their hands. They walk into the courtyard, spotting Bruce on the ramp of the plane, Damian in his arms. Dick is looking down at the baby with a goofy grin, trying to make him laugh.

Jason continues to follow her as she rejoins them, her fingers reaching forward to brush Damian's cheek. "We are ready, Beloved. Are you?"

"Who's this?" Bruce nods towards Jason, ann untrusting look on his face.

"Your..." she hesitates, "traitor." Robin springs into action but Jason easily dodges, rendering him defeated as he stumbles past. "Stop! You can deal with him later."

"Who is he, Talia?" Bruce holds Damian closer to his chest, resting in a protective stance.

"Remove the mask Red," she commands. Jason wordlessly listens, revealing his face.

"Jason," Bruce breathes out, grief, anguish, and regret seeping from his very form. Dick chokes on a startled sob, Tim at a loss. Cain's girl watches them all, processing the various emotions bouncing off everyone present.

Jason stares at him blankly, though his eyes shift to Dick for a moment. "Gray... son," he speaks choppily, then falls silent again. Dick looks ready to collapse.

"His memory is returning, but very slowly. He remembers few things. The name Grayson is the first thing he's remembered about his life after Crime Alley," Talia speaks calmly, her own emotions tucked away. This isn't about her.

"What? How?" Bruce barely manages to catch his breath. For the first time tonight, she fears he may drop Damian.

"I came to Gotham several years ago, looking for you. You were nowhere to be found, the Joker in a coma. What I found in your stead was Jason, though I wasn't aware it was him at first. I had only met him once or twice, and he looked nowhere near the same teenage boy."

Her eyes stay trained on Damian, unable to take the pain in Bruce's eyes. "I brought him back with me. He was in an awful shape, barely responsive, but I thought there was hope. He had survived on the streets for an undetermined amount of time, and I believed with the proper care, he could be of use to the League."

Talia can't help but reach for Damian as Bruce's arms begin to shake. He responds by holding Damian tighter, much to the baby's annoyance. He pouts as he stares back at his mother. "It wasn't until he was looked over by a physician, that I learned that he had died, how he died. Then it all clicked, he was Jason. After that I was even more determined to help him, to return him to you when he was better. So, without Father's knowledge, I put him in a Pit." 

She lets out a shaky breath as Bruce turns even whiter, all the colour draining from his face, leaving him as pale as a ghost. Dick and Tim look no better. "He came out screaming." Emotions clog her voice, the memory haunting her. She's become attached to Jason since he's been in her care, she views him as another son. "My father wasn't happy when he learned what happened, but he allowed Jason to stay. Jason's physical state improved greatly, he began to train again. He is a great warrior, but as I said earlier, his memory and speech is only now returning."

"Why didn't you tell me last year? When we ran into each other in the desert." The Batman voice is gone, in its place is a broken man. A man destroyed by the various deaths that cloud, and define, his life.

"It's not an easy thing to bring up in a conversation, and I wanted to return him to you as he was before. I thought it would pain you too much to see him as he was."

Damian decides at this moment to squawk for his mother like a baby bird, making Bruce reluctantly return him to Talia as she kisses his head. Jason looks down at his brother, brushing a finger against the baby's fine dark hair. Damian coos in contentment, then snuggles against Talia's chest, ready to sleep again.

Bruce finally breaks at the sight of Jason being gentle with his baby brother, falling into his chair, his face in his hand. She's sure if he moved it, she would see the same tears on his cheeks that litter Grayson's.

"I'll fly us back," Cain's girl speaks, knowing no one else is in the state to.

Talia nods as she climbs into a seat with Damian, his things on the floor beside her. Jason stays on guard as they take off, but she pats the seat beside her. "You may rest Red. Come, sit." He silently follows the order, curling up in the chair like a cat, despite his large size.

The plane ride back to Gotham is eerily and stifling silent, apart from a few noises from Damian mid dream. When they arrive, they file out of the plane and into the cave. The other League members pull Bruce aside, speaking in hushed tones. Eventually, when they're content with whatever he's said, they hop into a zeta tube and vanish, a robotic voice reading out their names as they disappear.

Alfred descends into the cave a few moments later, having heard the noise. For the first time since she's know him, he drops his silver plate at the sight of Jason. The contents scatter, the noise ringing throughout the Cave.

"Master Jason." Alfred puts a hand over his heart, while all members of the Batman team run to his aide, helping him take a seat.

"He's alive, Alf. He's alive," Dick mutters as he starts to cry again.

"How?" Alfred stares at the former dead Robin, hoping he'll look back. He doesn't, his eyes trained on the bats in the distance.

"I still don't completely understand it, but it's mostly thanks to Talia."

Alfred’s head jerks, his gaze landing on her and Damian. "And who is the baby?" He pointedly looks at Bruce. Her Beloved has enough sense to appear uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Uh- he's mine. His name is Damian." Bruce looks sheepish, like a teen boy having to tell his parents he knocked up his girlfriend. It's an odd contrast to his earlier grief and shock.

"Will he be staying with us?" Alfred asks as he returns to his feet, pulling himself back together.

"Yes," Talia speaks for him, knowing Bruce is forcing himself to talk at the moment. "As will I." Bruce's eyes jerk back to her, surprised. She had only said she'd be staying in Gotham, not with him. 

She changed her mind.

Alfred nods. "Very well, I will have rooms prepared for you all."

He trails out of the Cave, Talia following with Jason holding her things, Damian asleep against her breast. She overhears distant conversation as the clock starts to swing shut behind them.

"She's staying here?" Dick asks, flabbergast.

"It would appear so," Bruce responds. He's monotone, but there's a hint of almost... amusement, at her sudden announcement.

"Oh!" Dick suddenly exclaims. "I have to tell Babs about Jason!" 

"I think she probably already knows from the comms, Dick." Tim speaking is the last thing she hears as the clock door shuts tight.

"Come, Miss Talia, Master Jason." Alfred leads them to the east wing, near Bruce's room. He assigns her a bedroom beside Jason's old room, then unlocks the door on the other side. "I am unsure which room he would like." Alfred looks hesitantly at his risen from the dead surrogate grandson.

"Jason, you may pick a room," Talia tells him kindly.

Jason nods as he hesitantly steps forward, then sticks his head into his old room, keen eyes taking it in as he shuffles one foot inside, then another. Soon he is standing beside his old bed, running a hand over the undisturbed comforter, the well-used flat pillows. His fingers trail over the headboard, then the lamp on the end table. He wordlessly turns down the blanket, then slips under the sheets.

"It seems he has reclaimed his room," Alfred chokes up as he quietly closes the door, allowing Jason privacy. "Then the other room will be Master Damian's."

Talia nods. "It would appear so, but he will sleep with me tonight, I wasn't able to bring a crib." 

"I can put what you brought into the room tonight." He takes the items that Jason set down. "I can unpack and provide a crib for you tomorrow."

"Thank you Pennyworth. It is all much appreciated." She smiles softly at him.

"It is simply my job, Miss Talia." Alfred tiredly smiles back, then bends down, picking up the folded playpen. "I assume Master Damian will sleep in this tonight."

"Yes, he will."

Alfred wordlessly sets it in her assigned room by the bed, which she places a still sleeping Damian in it. Alfred smiles down at Damian with his butt in the air, before stepping away. "Goodnight, Miss Talia."

"Goodnight, Alfred."

Alfred leaves the bedroom door open a crack, which she slips out of a moment later. She places an ear to Jason's door, hearing no noise apart from quiet sleepy breathing. No nightmares, not yet, and hopefully not for awhile. He deserves a rest from it.

She then slides into the room that's soon to be Damian's nursery, opening a baby bag. She grabs out his favourite plushie animals and blankets, then tiptoes back into her room, not wanting to wake either of her sons.

Talia drops an elephant blanket over Damian's tiny shoulders, then sets various plushies around him, knowing how he loves to play with them in the morning. She places her ear to the wall again, listening for the last time tonight. All is still silent and calm, she's content for now. She climbs under her fresh sheets, resting her head against the feather pillow.

As she drifts to sleep, she catches the sound of heavy footsteps moving towards Bruce's room, Bruce no less. 

He stops three times. First, in front of Damian's room, but doesn't stay long when he sees his son is not inside. He moves onto her room, then listens for a minute. It's the longest minute of her life. If he realizes she's awake, he'll disappear down the hall, act like this never happened.

His last stop is in front of Jason's room. Bruce stays there longer than he did with her, but she understands. It's not everyday your dead son turns out to be miraculously alive. Talia is sure he almost believes this to all be a dream, or that with one wrong move, it will all disappear.

Eventually, his footfalls carry down the hall, and she lets out a gentle sigh. He's so tormented, always has been, even long before everything with Jason. He's a man who’s suffered every single day, since his parents were murdered before his young eyes.

Talia can't help but hope, even a little bit, that with them now here, maybe it'll help him, ease his pain. Even for a moment. It might be a childish and naive, but a lovesick girl can dream.