Epilogue

Last chapter...

When the baby is born, there is complete silence for a moment. The baby takes a moment to greedily gulp in its first breath, and Harley stares in shock at the little human she has created. Ivy holds the little bundle proudly while she quickly wipes it off with a damp towel then wraps it in a soft blanket.

She places the bundle in Harley's arms with a smile. "I could yell at the soldiers to make you a cake with some pink M&Ms if ya want."

Just like that, little Lucy Quinzel has entered the world, and our lives are changed forever.

Five years later...

I awake to a little girl jumping on my bed, shouting unintelligibly, except for the word 'snow'. That one, I can clearly hear. My eyes had opened a moment ago, but now I sit up and give the beauty that is my daughter a stern look.

"Lucy. What've I told ya about jumping on the bed? More specifically, my bed?"

Lucy Quinzel gives me a purely angelic look, like, "I'm not doin' anything wrong, Mama!" She does, however, stop jumping up and down. She settles down beside me, leaning against me, and I wrap my arms around her tiny shoulders. I look down, finding that Bruce has somehow managed to stay asleep during the racket. I kinda envy him, but I'm also content to just talk with my daughter.

She was sayin' something about snow, right? I look out the window, and am almost blinded by the light that reflects off of the white blanket on the ground below. It's too bright to look at, so I don't even try. I glance down at Lucy with a smile.

"It snowed, huh?" She nods happily, humming to herself while playing with her dad's hair. I see the hint of a smile appear on his face, and I know he's awake. Lucy doesn't seem to notice.

"Well," I say, capturing her attention. She looks up at me. "Why don't we go outside later, then?"

A bright smile splits her face, and again she nods. I get out of bed, heading directly for the bathroom. I shut the door, and only a moment later, I hear sudden "BOO!" and a small shriek of joy. Lucy continues to laugh outside in the bedroom, and I smile. I can hear Bruce laughing too.

It was such a relief to me (though not actually a surprise) that Bruce was so willing to take in and treat Lucy like his own. We wouldn't have to go anywhere, or try to make it on our own in a world that probably wanted to kill me because of the Joker's death. My Lucy would be able to grow up in a safe, intelligent, and sane environment. That relief I felt nearly knocked me off my feet the first time it hit me, and sometimes it still does, when I think about the alternate lives Lucy and I could have if the Joker had lived.

She'll never have to think about that, if I have my way. And I fucking will, thank you. Lucy will never know who her biological father is. I have no doubt that when she's older, the news of who exactly her mother is will reach her. I may even tell her myself, but I think I'll cross that bridge when we get to it. But she can believe, for as long as possible, that Bruce Wayne is her father. For all intents and purposes, he is anyway.

My ears perk up at the next shriek of joyful laughter, and I dry my hands off, opening the door to find my beautiful daughter upside down in Bruce's arms while he spins slowly. He's laughing too, tickling Lucy's belly to trigger more giggles, her face turning a light shade of pink.

They see me, and Lucy calls out for me. Bruce grins widely, and not for the first time, I notice the laugh lines that have etched into his previously smooth face. I think he's so much happier than he's ever been before, and I know it's because of us. The feeling is amazing. This feeling that I have a family now is just... wow.

Bruce pulls Lucy up onto his shoulders, and there's mischief in his eyes. "Shall we get Mommy next?" he asks her, and she nods happily, wrapping her little arms around his head and neck. Bruce rushes me, picking me up in a manner similar to how he'd picked up Lucy (I'm not upside down though, haha) and spinning us all around. I let out a small, undignified shriek (let's be honest here, though, I left my dignity behind a long while ago. Lucy holds tightly to her dad, laughing along with her parents.

Before I can even really process what's going on inside me, I feel a huge swell- no, tsunami, of emotion. It hits me like a tidal wave. This happiness, this peace, this tranquility and domestic life that I never thought I'd have. It hits me not for the first time in five years, and it's all I can do to breathe properly.

I'm so glad I've gotten here, even if I can't remember it all, even if a lot of it was beyond painful and some of it's still blocked from my memory. I'm so glad I survived all of that so that I could get here.

And as I watch my beautiful daughter and my love fawn over the snow outside together, I know. It was all worth it.

Every last moment.

A/N: We're done now. What? Like, what? Omg, I actually finished this. After over a year of struggling to get updates out, I finally finished the last chapter.

I think... I think this is the first multi-chapter story that I've completed. And, this is definitely the most popular story I've ever written.

Thank you all for reading, and sticking with me though ridiculous update times! Special thanks to everyone who's ever reviewed, because it meant so much to me that people do actually like my stuff!

Peace!