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Five Children Bruce Wayne Never Had

Ava

oOo

A heart-stopping scream pierces the night and Bruce is out of bed before the voice fades. Within seconds he is down the hall, his wife two steps behind him. Throwing open a door they find a young dark-haired girl adrift in a sea of rumpled Wonder Woman bed sheets. Her tearstained face is half-hidden behind the body of a giant stuffed canary, its plush yellow body worn and stained from enduring six years of the girl's friendship.

Bruce rushes to the bed, pulling the adorable little moppet into his arms. With comforting platitudes and whispered promises, he chases the last remnants of the nightmare away. He carefully places Mary the Canary in the sleeping girl's arms, then tucks her in and joins his wife across the room.

Wrapping his arms around Dinah and pulling her close, Bruce pretends not to notice her watery eyes as she studies the massive hole in the wall. He can hear the tearful pride in her voice when she laughs.

"Do you see the size of this thing? It's at least two feet wider than the last time she had a nightmare. I couldn't scream like that when I was six!"

"That's wonderful, dear," Bruce replies, unable to hide his own proud smile.

oOo

Author's Note: Bruce Wayne and Dinah Lance/Black Canary.