Epilogue

There was a certain something about Christmas that just did not fade with age, Robin thought, bounding down the stairs and into the kitchen. Looking around, it was clear no one else was up yet – though this early on Christmas Day that wasn't all that surprising.

Deciding a spot of Christmas cheer was in order, Robin crossed to the kitchen cupboards and pulled out the ingredients necessary for hot chocolate; including, of course, the essential marshmallows.

Once the silver pot of hot chocolate was done, Robin was just pouring the beverage into mugs when the doors opened, and the mistress of Wayne Manor entered.

"Merry Christmas!"

She smiled wanly. "Merry Christmas."

"Sleep well?"

She grimaced. "Not really." A hand was placed on her abdomen. "Baby's active at night."

"Wonder where she gets that from," Robin said dryly.

The dark-haired woman laughed. It disappeared when a cup of hot chocolate was put in front of her. "Where's my coffee?"

"You can't start Christmas Day with coffee," the teenager said cheerfully. "Besides, didn't the doctors ban you from having any of that stuff?"

"Trust me – I need caffeine today," she groaned.

Robin grinned. "Just a little longer and you'll be able to have it again."

The doors opened again, and her dark-haired, blue-eyed husband came in. He smiled at Tim, then crossed to his wife, kissing her lovingly. "Good morning."

She smiled. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

He accepted a cup of hot chocolate and then settled on a seat next to his wife. "You didn't sleep well last night," he said. It wasn't a question.

"I slept fine," she soothed.

"You were still awake when I got back from patrol, Princess."

Diana grimaced slightly. "Alright, so I didn't sleep well the whole night. There were a lot of kidney shots."

Bruce sighed and ran his hand over the swell of their child. "Why're you doing this to your mom, huh?" he murmured.

Diana and Tim glanced at each other once before having to look away again. Much as she secretly loved hearing him talk to the baby, Diana had to admit it was funny.

Tim sipped on his hot chocolate. "So what time's Dick getting here?"

"Around noon, I think Barbara said," Diana replied.

Tim nodded, and then poured out another cup. Alfred had been given the morning off, with strict instructions to have a lie-in. "I'm going to go give this to Alfred," he said to his surrogate – well, parents now. He paused at the door. Seeing Bruce talk to the baby made him remember something. "Hey, did you guys think of a name yet?"

Diana was due in about a month – or slightly less – and so far their unborn daughter had the middle names of Martha and Penelope, but no first name.

Bruce and Diana shared a faint, conspiring smile, and then looked back at Tim.

"Bella."