Growing forever closer

Part 7

Dick's POV

To put it mildly, Jason and I, didn't get on very well at first. He seemed to harbour this resentment towards me, which I didn't blame him for. I might even have gone as far to say I deserved it. He took to calling me 'Dickhead', which I did my best to ignore, mostly unsuccessfully. I had tried apologising to him, but any attempt I made he ignored completely.

He behaved in the same way towards Bruce, but for different reasons. He felt that he should have killed the Joker after the Joker killed him, and resented the fact that Bruce hadn't avenged his death.

Jason and I eventually bonded about 2 months after his unprecedented arrival at the manor. It was on one of his rare visits. I had been in the mood for a bit of a laugh and had chosen poor Tim as my target, mainly because he was the only member of the household who wouldn't glare at me, scold me, or attempt to assassinate me.

The prank worked perfectly, and I stood in the hallway as Tim emerged from his room, soaking wet and coated in pillow feathers. He glared at me, as I was doubled over laughing, struggling to breathe. Just then, Jason entered the hallway, took one look at Tim, the chicken replica, and burst out laughing, a few tears beginning to stream down his face. "Whose" he asked, between laughs, "brilliant idea, was it to turn the replacement, into a chicken?!"
"It was Dick's idea of fun," Tim growled, glaring at me, which only resulted in both Jason and I falling to the floor, unable to stand up any longer. Tim gave a frustrated growl, before stomping back into his room and slamming the door, presumably to clean himself of feathers and change.

Once Jason and I had eventually stopped laughing and got to our feet, Jason, much to my surprise, walked over to me and patted me on the back.
"Respect, Dickhead," he grinned, "respect."

Ever since then, he and I had got on very well, putting our skills together to pull fantastic pranks on the Manor's residents.

He often also babysat Gabriel, giving Babs and I the occasional chance to go on patrol together. Most of the time, we would return to our apartment to find Jason, in his pajamas, asleep in our bed, with Gabriel's small shape curled up in the blankets besides him.

It took both Babs and I to move Jason's sleeping form to the guest bedroom. I swear, he would remain asleep if there was an explosion in his bedroom.

After we had moved Jason, Babs and I, not wanting to awake Gabriel, quietly climbed into bed, with him snuggled up between us.

…::-::...

Months passed, and Gabriel grew before my eyes. He was advanced for his age of two, already knowing all his bonds up to 25 and his tables up to 10. He was a fast learner, with a large vocabulary, even if he did have a slight lisp.

For his second birthday, as a surprise, Babs and I took him to Mt Justice to meet the team. Technically, he had already met them, but he had only been 4 months old at the time, and didn't remember any of it.

He had barely slept the night before due to his excitement and, therefore, neither had Babs nor I.

We had used the Batcave's zeta beam as opposed to the Bludhaven one we normally used closer to our apartment, mainly because it was safer and more familiar to Gabriel.

When we arrived, Gabriel was busy explaining to us that it was Daddy's turn to hold his hand that day, as it had been Mommy's turn the day before. I smiled down at the small figure, nodding my head and giving his hand a small squeeze as he continued his adorable explanation.

M'gaan, having heard the beams announce our arrival, came to greet us, along with a few more members who were present at the time. It, strangely enough, turned out to be all of the same people who had been there when we brought Gabriel the first time.
"Oh my word!" M'gaan squealed, rushing towards us, "I can't believe how much he's grown!"

Gabriel stared up at her silently in awe. The last time she had seen him had been at our wedding, and Gabriel didn't remember seeing her before. He had only heard the stories we'd told him about the team's missions.

M'gaan bent down so that she was level with him.
"Hello, Gabriel, "she said, smiling at him, "your Mommy and Daddy told me that it's your birthday today. Is that right?"
Gabriel nodded shyly.
"That's great!" M'gaan replied brightly, "How old are you today?"
He held up two fingers.
"Two?" M'gaan exclaimed, "Wow, that's a big number!"
Gabriel smiled at her, all shyness melting away, "Mommy says I know a lot more things than most boys my age. She says I'm very smart."
"Well, Mr smartypants," M'gaan replied, standing up and holding out her hand, "if you'd like to come with me, there's a birthday cake waiting for you in the kitchen."
Gabriel beamed at her. He looked up at me for confirmation.
"Go on," I urged.
He smiled and let go of my hand, swapping it for M'gaan's, and she led him and the others away to the kitchen.

Babs and I hung back for a moment.
"You know," Babs said, mysteriously, "It's not only Gabriel who's getting presents today."
"Oh, really?" I asked, glancing down at the bright green eyes visible beneath her cowl, "Who might the other person be?"
She smirked, "My husband, of course."
I rose my eyebrows in mock surprise, "And what might this present be?"
She smiled before standing on her tiptoes, lacing her arms around my neck and whispering into my ear.
"I'm pregnant," she said.

935 words

Okay, so, I need your opinion on this! Should I end the story here, or should I add an epilogue? Please give me your opinion in the comments! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for your continuous support!