Chapter 58

"It still feels wrong..." Terry got up and sat on the bedside.

"Don't think too much about it." Barbara replied.

"I feel like I'm a danger to everyone close to me."

"Do you think living as a cop is all roses and no thorns?"

"Huh?"

"We risk our lives every day. Showing our faces. Being vulnerable to the public. We make enemies with dangerous people almost every day. If anyone has a grudge on us, it would be easy to find information about us and use those important to us to get to us. So, we just have to do our best to protect the people that are close to us."

"You don't think I know that?"

"You're not getting my point." Barbara sighed and stared at the ceiling before looking at Terry again. "Do your best to protect everyone you love from your enemies, whether it be as Terrence McGinnis or Batman. It's the life we chose to live in."

"..."

"It's just the way it is, but you could also think of what happened this way, you could say it was because of your connection to Dana that we were able to find the hideout and it was because of her that we got to infiltrate the skating rink. Everything even from the moment that she first got abducted eventually led us to the Jokerz and ultimately their defeat...She's our lucky star, Terry."

Terry was hesitating on forming a relationship with Dana because of what happened to her before. Batman's enemies are much more dangerous than Terry McGinnis'.

"...Lucky star, huh." Terry chuckled before standing up and put on his pants.

Barbara stared at Terry who was putting on clothes.

Terry glanced at her and continued putting on his shirt. "What is it?"

"Nothing...it just really feels like the last time."

"..." Terry put on a melancholic expression. "I'm sorry..."

"No, I'm okay." Barbara faintly smiled as she stretched her arms. "Nnngh! I got my most use out of you..."

"Wow..." Terry chuckled at Barbara's joke. "Well, I hope I did well." He said before going out of the door and go to his own room.

Barbara stared at the door for a moment before turning to the window. She chuckled to herself as she reminisced all her moments with Terry. "The nights are going to get colder again..."

They both agreed on their last night together as casual lovers because Terry was planning to ask Dana out the next time they meet.

Barbara got up and put on her clothes too. It was still early morning and Alfred was still asleep.

She decided to take a stroll before going to work.

Barbara walked aimlessly around the property and noticed that the direction she was walking to was the graveyard area in the Wayne estate. She decided on a whim to make a quick visit to Jason's and Bruce's graves since she's on the way there anyway.

As she got closer, she noticed a figure of a person in the distance.

She narrowed her eyes and identified the person as a woman based on her figure and her long black hair.

She didn't know if Alfred had any visitors, but a person paying respects to a grave could not have been anything else but a visitor.

Barbara stopped to at least three feet away from the woman and let her pay her respect for the dead. The woman was standing in front of Bruce Wayne's grave. Barbara fought the urge to roll her eyes as she assumed the woman was someone that was infatuated with Bruce Wayne from before he died. It wasn't uncommon for someone with that kind of reputation.

"It's unfortunate..." The woman started speaking

Barbara was taken aback. She doesn't know if the woman was just talking to herself or to her. She couldn't have been talking to Barbara because Barbara tried her best to hide her presence and not disturb her.

"He could have accomplished so much more. Do you know why he would choose this as his fate?" The woman turned her head ever so slightly to signify that she was talking to Barbara. That means that she did feel her presence.

Barbara widened her eyes at the feat of discovering her presence and at her question. "E-Excuse me?"

"I said..." The woman turned around and revealed herself. "Would you know why he would choose to die for people that don't even deserve to be saved?"

Barbara smiled. She recognized the woman standing in front of her. "Talia...of course you wouldn't understand why Bruce would do that. You crave nothing but power."

"Is it that bad to crave power? With power, you can protect everyone you love...even from death itself." She glanced at the grave next to Bruce Wayne's. It was Jason Todd.

"I had a hunch that you were the one that brought Jason back to life. There's only a number of people that secured lazarus pits around the world. Were you the one that brought back the Joker too?"

"Yes...at Jason's request."

"Did you bring Jason back to erase Gotham? Were you the one that gave him the plan to blow up Gotham?"

"Now, why would I do that? Why would erasing Gotham from the map be significant to me?"

"So, it was all Jason's?"

"Ever since he got his memory back, that was all he was talking about."

"Then, why did you bring him back?"

"I wanted a successor."

"And you just let your successor die off?"

"I didn't need him anymore. Bruce has already given me another one."

"Another one...?" Barbara narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Talia just smiled mischievously and suddenly started levitating.

Barbara took a step back and dropped her jaw.

Talia then, flew away.

"How-" Barbara was dumbstruck, but she can't space out now, so, she slapped her face with both hands and started thinking about what Talia said. "Could she mean Terry? She wants Terry to takeover the league of assassins?"

----

"So, what really happened to you? Why didn't you show your face even once after Doug's burial?"

"I was...I was afraid that something like that might happen to you..." Terry took a deep breath. "I haven't told you yet that the times you were abducted was because of me."

"No, the second time just happened to be a coincidence."

"Terminal, Carter, raided the party because of me and my friend. They were trying to get to us."

"...why were they after you?"

"I was part of a gang, but don't worry! By that time, I already left and that just happened because it was just recent." Terry nervously explained.

"Hmmm..." Dana made a melancholic smile. "I wish Doug made the same decision to leave that kind of life like you did."

"He was just...lost. But you know what I heard?" Terry made a faint smile. "I heard that at he used his last moment to buy time for Batman."

Terry's statement seemed to have lifted up Dana's mood. "Really? Where did you hear that?"

"From the police."

"Oh, right. Your mom works there."

"Yeah. If you don't mind..." Terry cleared his throat. "Would you like to come with us for Dinner some time."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well, It's my mom's birthday and I promised her to bring a date..." Terry glanced at Dana. "It's okay if you don't want to...It might be too much-"

"Sure, Terry."

"Wha-Really?"

"But you owe me another dinner, with just the two of us next time." Dana said in a bashful manner.

Terry's face was flushed red.

----

Barbara decided to walk for a while after work before going home. She was still thinking about what Talia said.

"She must be talking about Terry. Unless Bruce has a child somewhere that we don't know about...Goddammit." She muttered to herself as she walked.

"Why am I stressing about this anyway?" Barbara sighed.

After a while her eyes were drawn to the restaurant on the other side of the road where she was walking.

She saw a family having dinner. A family she was familiar with. The McGinnis family along with someone she has only seen on pictures.

"Must be nice..." Barbara chuckled as she continued to walk. "Maybe I do want a family of my own..." She reevaluated herself.

As she continued to walk, she felt a presence and immediately looked for it.

She looked up and saw a figure on top of a building.

Barbara decided to see who it was because of what Talia said earlier. There's a possibility that one of her men is scoping Terry. She climbed the building through the emergency exit in the alley.

When she got up there and got a closer look, she immediately recognized who it was and slowly walked over to the person who was facing the direction of where the McGinnis family is having dinner.

There's no mistaking who it was by the color of her hair. Silver white hair and tanned skin. It was Rose Wilson.

"If you had arrived a month earlier, then you would still have a chance." Barbara said.

"You think so?" Rose chuckled without looking back. "It's okay...as long as he's happy."

"Have you finally forgiven him?"

"What's there to forgive? I was the one at fault. I should have never left."

"Yeah...I think you could have worked it out if you had just stayed."

"I guess there's no point being here anymore..." Rose finally faced Barbara and walked past her towards the exit.

"Wait..." Barbara stopped her. "Would you like to have a drink?"

Rose turned her head towards her. "Sure...why not...It's been nine months since I had a drink."

Barbara furrowed her brows. "Nine months?" Then it hit her like a train. "Wait...you!-" She gasped then covered her mouth.

Rose put her finger on her lips. "Please don't tell Terry. It would ruin everything for him."

"Is that really okay?"

"Yeah...I'll raise the baby on my own."

"Did the titans know?"

"Yes. I asked them to keep it a secret."

"God..." Barbara put her palm to her face. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"My mind was still clouded and I felt guilty about leaving. I just took it as my punishment..."

"Punishment? You stupid girl!" Barbara massaged her temples.

"I know..it was stupid." Rose said with a regretful face.

All of a sudden, Barbara widened her eyes. "Is it possible that somebody other than the Titans and me know about this?"

"No. I don't think so? Why all of a sudden?"

"Okay good. That's good. Maybe this is for the best." Barbara took deep breaths.

"Why? What about it?"

"There's a saying..." Barbara put her hand on Rose's shoulder. "That every Wayne will do great things. Whether bad or good, it will be great. Earlier, I met Talia Al Ghul. Either she's looking for a successor or she already found one...her father, once recruited Bruce to be the successor and even used Talia to make him fall in love. I think she wants to recruit Terry this time. I know Terry will refuse, but a child from the same bloodline..."

Rose widened her eyes. A child would be easier to manipulate if they raise it themselves.

"Do you now know what I'm trying to say?"

"Yes...I just have to hide my child's connection to the real father just like we planned earlier."

"Exactly. But now, you have to be more careful about it."

"One question, why couldn't she just have impregnated herself with Bruce Wayne's seed?"

Barbara widened her eyes. She also doesn't know why she hadn't thought of that possibility.

"You're right! Why haven't I thought of that earlier?"

Rose laughed. "I'm sorry..." She said while wiping her eyes.

"No matter what it is, protect your child."

"You don't even have to say it to me." Rose gladly replied.