Selina opened her eyes to find herself in a strange room and on a strange bed, with Bruce sat in a chair next to her.

"Don't try to stand", he said. "You're still weak."

"Wasn't… going to."

There was no way she could, Selina reasoned. Her body ached all over, her left leg burned, her head spun. Things that matched well with the last memory she had: Bruce carrying her out of the sewers, after a giant crocodile-man attacked her.

"Where…?"

"Gotham General", he quickly answered. "We had to bring you. Your wounds were… serious."

"More than… a few scratches."

"Yeah", he agreed. "More than that."

She rested her head on the pillow behind her, eyes closed. No matter she had just woken up: she was tired as hell. Still, she knew her husband well – his tone showed he was obviously tense, and that could mean only one thing: he had bad news to tell her. And she hated to wait for bad news.

"Helena", she said, bringing up the topic that was her greatest concern. It was unlikely that something was wrong with their daughter, but she had to make sure.

"She's fine", Bruce told her, his voice softening at the mention of their child. "She misses you, that's all."

"I want to… see her."

"I'll bring her over this afternoon."

Again opening her eyes, she turned to look at him, noticing his cheerless gaze.

"Tell me."

He pressed his lips tight together.

"C'mon, Bruce…" She insisted. "You're scaring me."

At those words, he approached the bed, seating close to her and holding her hand.

"No. I didn't mean to… scare you. I just don't want to…"

"Upset me?"

He nodded in agreement.

"I'm a big girl."

A sad smile was his response. "You are", he agreed.

Selina, however, frowned. She wasn't joking about getting scared by the fact that his husband was being more elusive than usual, something she had always, and would always hate.

"It's my leg… isn't it?" She bluntly asked. Her leg was a mess. All she could remember were those claws ripping through her uniform and then burying deep in her flesh, the pain that followed it, the blood. Her skin shredded, muscles torn… it wasn't a pleasant sight, to say the least.

"No", he answered, frustrating Selina's expectations. "Your leg will be fine. You'll have to go through physiotherapy, perhaps another surgery… but they saved it."

"Then what…?"

"The wound in your abdomen", he declared, now assuming a straightforward tone. "They did the best they could, but you were bleeding too much, and there was the risk of infection…"

"Bruce", she interrupted him with impatience. "What… what are you talking about…?"

He drew a good breath in before answering her, eyes on the window ahead as he seemed unable to look directly at her.

"They had to remove your uterus."

Her uterus. Her uterus? For a moment those words didn't register in her mind, a complete lack of meaning in what he said. She had lost it… Lost. They had to remove it…

"Oh", she thought, "I'll never be able to… to have another child."

Not that she was planning to; Helena was so young still, and one child had already changed things so much… Not to mention, their lives were already so complicated. Selina had always thought they would be that kind of family, one kid and that was it – a single, special child to spoil rotten, that was what she had assumed. But, yeah, she never thought that being a parent would be so fulfilling and wonderful and, above all, she never imagined Bruce would be such a great, caring father. Batman or no Batman, he was the kind of parent that should have a bunch of kids, a dozen of them. It was hard to admit, but his love for Helena was the purest, most honest thing she had ever seen coming from him. There were no setbacks there, no hesitation, not a hint of doubt. Bruce loved that little girl, so much that Selina often had to remind him that his job as a father sometimes involved saying a few "nos" and not getting Helena everything she wanted, when she wanted.

Selina knew another kid would do them some good. Helena would have to learn about sharing, as would they. But it would also be complicated: she didn't feel so sure about leaving her Catwoman life yet again for another couple years or so, leaving Bruce again alone with the responsibility of protecting Gotham and the world. Sure, he had help: Clark and Diana were probably the most competent and skilled heroic companions one could wish for, but it wasn't the same. When it came to Gotham's streets, the everyday job… It was up to Bruce and her. And she hated, just hated the idea of not being able to help him.

Besides, she knew how he felt. It had taken a while for him to get used again with her presence next to him while fighting crime - he was always so worried about her, so concerned about her safety, so uneasy when they faced a dangerous situation. And not without reason: Selina secretly admitted it had taken a while for her to get the hang of it again, and she feared that, with a second pregnancy, it would be even harder to go back to her previous state. Not to mention, that would be two little kids left behind, one of them a baby that needed his or her mom… leave a child behind, especially knowing that you might not be back the next morning, that was a feeling that she wasn't anxious to experience in double.

Still, there weren't many other things in the world that were better than seeing her husband overjoyed while holding their new baby, or kissing their child goodnight as he smiled in honest happiness. She too longed for that: an infant in her arms, a toddler smiling, a baby moving inside her. And when Bruce whispered in early mornings by her ear, telling her that they should try again, that they were ready, she would smile and deny, telling him it was too soon… but she would wonder. She would think that maybe in a year, maybe in six months… maybe.

But, now, for sure, that would never happen.

"I'm so sorry, Selina", Bruce was telling her, holding her hand and kissing it lightly. "I'm so sorry…"

Maybe she shouldn't be sorry, Selina pondered. Now, at least, there was no reason to wonder. No more doubts, just facts. One simple fact: she couldn't conceive anymore. She was unable to, she would never… never again…

"Selina", Bruce called, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine…", she said dismissing his concern. He shouldn't be concerned. She was fine. Fine.

"Are you sure?" He caressed her cheek, his fingers gently running over her skin. "It's a lot to process…"

She didn't answer. Yes, it was a lot to process, he was right. But it wasn't the end of the world, right? She couldn't have kids – well, she already had one. A great kid, a beautiful little girl, and it wasn't like they planned on more babies… they had toyed with the idea, imagined it as a possibility… but they were far from actually doing it. They probably never would have. Right?

Then why did she feel so bad?

Why did she feel sad?

Why did she feel tears burning in her eyes?

Why did that had to happen to her? To them…?

Why…?

Sobs came. Tears. Cry. It came, and it remained there, a flow of tears and her body shaking to the point of pain, pain in her wounded belly, the stitches and cuts making her acutely aware of where it hurt, what had been lost. Bruce next to her, his arms then around her, his kisses over her wet face, the words tumbling out of her mouth, I'm sorry, she would say, I'm so sorry, like it was her fault. Like it was her fault that she had gotten hurt, that she couldn't be a mother again, that yet another one of her dreams, her silly dreams, was now gone.