February 19, Year Unspecified.

Gotham General Hospital Maternity Ward.

It is certain that on face level, the waiting room of a delivery wing is a place of comfort- at least in terms of environment. This one had what lacked in most of the other waiting rooms at the time- comfortable chairs, free coffee, even a sleeping room with hot showers.

In those times, it was true that as surely as the experience of giving birth was one that united all mothers, it was the waiting room that united all fathers. It was there, in those rooms often painted in pastel blues where magazines spoke of the joys of parenthood and the radio was always set to the lowest audible volume- that naive young adults became men.

For all that was spoken and jested about the greatest triumph of a young man's life being the loss of his virginity- it was the unwritten and unspoken law that the true coming of age was when he became a father. When he could prove that he had journeyed past his youthful days and was ready to herald in the dawn of the next generation- and for him to be there to say "There, I have passed the torch onward- the human race lives to see another era".

The waiting room symbolised more than just a place for the fathers to pace nervously. It was a place of discovery. Will he be the proud pop' of a strapping young lad, set to be a chip of the ole block?- or will be be the dearest daddy of a darling princess? An angel who, in every turn makes him more in love with the idea of being the most significant man in this girl's life.

And what of the thoughts that run through a man's mind? Little is said that is remembered after the stork's arrival- after the moment the nurse announces, with a firm shake of a bewildered man's hand- that a new person is here. A tiny, vulnerable person that will rely on you for everything.

Then there are the sad times. The news that wasn't expected. For some men, and especially for the father in this prologue- there is much said that he carried forever, and only some of it ever said again. True, he carried it to his grave.

Here sat this man. A man considered one of the most affluent and influential men of Gotham City, but today- just a normal, nervous father in waiting. Exhausted for the hours of sitting, he tossed aside a magazine he had read for the tenth time.

Finally we are here- after an eternity, it is at this moment that the doors to the wing open, and he stands to his feet at the sight of his wife's obstetrician.

"Dr Wayne" He greets, with a shake of the hand "All is well. Mother and child are both fine, but...a word, if I may?"

Unable to speak, Thomas Wayne nods silently, following the Doctor into a nearby consultation room. Without words, the Doctor indicates for him to have a seat, pouring both men a cool glass of water, placing them on the desk.

"Dr Wayne...I'm not sure how to tell you this..." He says, trailing off.

"Doctor Martin, please- just, whatever's wrong. Tell me straight."

The Doctor nods and takes a sip from his glass, sighing.

"While all vital signs appear normal for the infant, we have not yet been able to identify the sex of the child."

Thomas Wayne is taken aback. He has heard of this- being a doctor- but still.

"I don't understand"

The Doctor nods- "I'm afraid the child is presenting ambiguous genitalia. We can not determine if it is a male or a female." He pauses to allow the news to sink in. " Now, the child is currently undergoing x-rays and internal examination- at no risk to it's health, I assure you-"

Thomas Wayne is understandibly bewildered. "...and then?"

"And then once we know what is going on inside, we will have a clearer picture to match. The genitalia is such that it could effectively be moulded either way- with current surgical technology."

Thomas can't focus on anything but a small ink stain on the leather upholstery of his chair. Millions of thoughts run through his mind. Thoughts of blame, and the nagging sense of dread in his stomach. It was supposed to be the happiest day of his life. How could it all be taken away from him- stolen by one sentence.

"Dr Wayne?"

He snaps to attention. "Sorry, Doctor- could you repeat that?"

"Thats alright" He says with a pained smile, "I said that should we be unable to determin the sex via x-ray and internal examination" Then he pauses. He bites his lip and Thomas can see a change in his eyes. It almost looks greedy.

"But, you must understand that in this day and age, with so many new theories and studies coming into light, we don't often get a chance to really explore them in a scientific fashion. I am aware of there are other- newer- methods of gender assimilation that you may be interested in trying."

Thomas is unsure of his thoughts on this, but he indicates for the Doctor to continue.

" Now, I am by no means an expert in the field, but I have read that the current thinking on gender is that it is far less to do with the mind, and everything to do with how you raise them."

He stops to pull out a medical journal, and opens it to a page with a title running across the top

"Nature vs. Nurture- What determins gender identification in humans"

The Doctor continued.

"While reproduction is a matter of biology, it is believed that gender is a matter of mind. If we are unable to determin your child's sexual identity, then it may be necessary for you to...simply put...choose."

The men are interuppted by the ringing of the internal telephone line. The Doctor picks it up.

"Okay, that doesn't clear it up, does it?" He says with barely veiled enthusiasm"

"I can't say I'm not disapointed. This will be an excellent opportunity...the x-rays? Well, I would like to see them anyway, but thankyou for telling me. Yes, he's right here." He says, with an eye darting towards the man sitting anxiously in the chair before him.
"Mhmm, I intend to do so right away. Ok, see you shortly."

He hangs up, looks toward Thomas Wayne and folds his hands on the desk.

"That was my colleage, Dr Freidman. He is the urologist I called in."

Thomas nods and attempts to gulp- but finds his mouth completely dry. He sips from the glass. The Doctor waits for him to put the glass down, adjusting himself in his chair. He continues.

"According to Dr Freidman, the x-rays indicate that while there is a small degree of internal organ displacement, there is nothing that can determin for us whether or not your child is male or female."

He goes quiet, allowing the information to sink in. Thomas nods slowly.

"Then...I suppose...we will have to decide what gender..."

"Whichever gender you choose, when the time comes for the child to begin puberty, their growth will be supplemented by hormone therapy, according to which gender you decide."

"I need to speak with Martha..."

"Understandible...but if I may add" His eyes catch onto Thomas's

" It is likely that the child will not be able to procreate." He pauses
"and I fear that such a condition is more devastating for a woman than a man. Though not always...but still. There is so much more that, should you decide on female, she will be missing in her life."

Thomas nods slowly, dazedly and stands, shaking the Doctor's hand.

"I'll discuss this with you soon- and if I can make one request-"

"Yes?"

"Please, under NO circumstance, is this information EVER to leave this hospital. Strictly between yourself and my family?"

"We will be placing the information in a strictly confidential medical file, for mine and Dr Freidman's eyes alone. To be opened at extreme medical necessity only."

"Good. When the time comes I will explain this to my child on my own terms. I need to...need to see my wife and child now."

So with that, Thomas Wayne left the office to go be with his wife. To tell her- that she, as the mother was not yet aware of herself, had a son.

13 years and 7 months later.

Alfred Pennyworth, Butler and Head of House at Wayne Manor, Gotham City, was- for the fourth time in the semester- the recipient of an upset phone-call from the Preparatory School. The first time she called, the speaker on the other end of the line was extremely apologetic and anxious. However with each subsequent call the tone had quickly changed from flustered to frustrated, and this time, downright threatening.

"We assure you, Mr Pennyworth, that although we have taken into consideration young Master Wayne's unfortunate background, should it occur any more we will not hesitate to have him expelled from this school! He sets a terrible example, and allowing him to continue to do so tarnishes our reputation in front of all the other schools. We are a college preparatory- not a reformery!"

She did not even wait for him to offer his assurances that it wouldn't happen again before she hung up. Not that he was going to offer any- false sincerity never went too far, he believed.

He was not shocked in the slightest to find Master Wayne in his room, sitting dejectedly upon his bed. He had only been attending the all-boys school for several months, but it was becoming increasingly clear that the confines of the formal institution were not to the formerly homeschooled boy's liking

(and the fact that he was mercilessly and brutally bullied did not serve to help matters.)

"Master Wayne" He says casually in form of a greeting. "How interesting to find you here, in your room, with still two weeks to go until the Christmas break"

"I hate it there, Alfred. It stinks and I don't like it." The boy said- boy indeed, for all that he was nearly fourteen, he still had the very high vocal timbre of a much younger lad- and the small frame to boot.

Alfred nodded, but proceeded.
"That is not the point. One can dislike a great many things that are absolutely necessary."

"Why can't I just keep doing my school work here, with the tutor?"

"Because, Master Bruce, it was your father's wish you attend the family school. Its a matter of tradition. All Wayne boys grow to men within the fine traditions and academic halls of this Prep school."

Bruce Wayne twisted his fists into the bed-clothes beneath him. He looked up at Alfred with fire and hurt in his eyes.

"They're all so much bigger than me-and its not that I have a problem with that- its just."

He paused, sighing.

"I'm the same age as them, but because I look and sound so much younger, they treat me like I AM younger- and worse- they make fun of my..." He stopped, the red blush of his embarrassment telling Alfred all he needed to know.

Alfred nodded had long been understood by the young heir that he was slightly different in the "private" department. He had always thought it would change with puberty- but that was a long time coming for the boy too.

"Alfred- I know its probably all to do with why I can't have kids, like dad said- but the other guys just don't get it! To them, anything different is something to make fun of- and" he stopped to take in a deep and shuddering breath- and the expression Alfred knew represented fear began to etch it's way across the young lad's face.

"I think the stress of it all- the differences, the bullying- I think its giving me ulcers or something"

Alfred nearly laughed- but knew to keep his composure. Bruce Wayne was a serious boy, and never said anythinng in ignorance.

"Its rare for a young person such as yourself to be consumed with ulcers. Have you spoken to the school nurse?"

"I can't, Alfred- if she knew, then someone else would hear- the infirmary is always housing some injured kid, and they'd hear...and if it got out that I had been bleeding from...from." He let out an exasperated grunt and turned away from the sight of his guardian.

"Well. You know what they'd say I'd been up to."

Alfred understood exactly what Bruce meant- for he knew many of the families that sent their sons to this school. He knew what sort of fodder for adolescent cruelty that an association of homosexuality, however unfounded or untrue, would be.

But that was the least pressing issue of the moment- for there was a far more serious concern at hand.

"Bleeding? how much? Just a little you pass every day?"

Bruce shook his head. "No. Its a lot. My stomach hurts too...like gas cramps..."

It did not take Alfred three minutes to book him an appointment with the family doctor.

It wasn't even nine am the next day when they were there already there in the office of his doctor, as young Bruce Wayne explained his symptoms.

"Well...it happens when I get really stressed...usually for a few days, because I just can't stand anything. Everything bothers me, and I feel miserable. Then I bleed...and bleed- its always seeping out. I have to stuff a towel in my pants...but after a few days it stops. Then weeks and weeks can go by,nothing- but suddenly I feel terrible, and it starts again!"

Alfred prompted him "and your chest..."

The boy nodded . "They've been really sore- and they get swollen. They won't go down..."

The Doctor nods "Swelling in the chest area is normal for boys going through puberty- however, the bleeding IS a concern, and I would like to have that examined."

Thus, Bruce is subjected to a series of tests- x-rays, blood tests and even an uncomfortable exam that required him to strip, and cough. At the end of it, they had to wait for a week until results came in. Needless to say, Bruce was glad for the excuse to remain home.

When at last the results came, Alfred was approached by the Dr.

He wanted to discuss them in private- obviously a serious matter.

In much the same way Bruce Wayne's own father had sat down opposite a Doctor nearly fourteen years prior, so now did Bruce Wayne's guardian, and the news was no better.

With half the sensitivity of the Doctor who precided over Bruce's birth, this Doctor marched straight into the issue.

"I believe that Bruce has suffered from a congenital issue. Born without a vagina..."

Alfred gasped. Spluttered. He had not expected to discuss matters of female anatomy- it had not entered his mind. It was one of those moments where he really wished to break his firm butler composure and thump someone on the head.

"...well, naturally..." He said, maintaining his composure.

"No" Said the doctor, simply.

"Not naturally. For him it is not natural at all. You see- Bruce is, for all biological and genetic indication- a female."

What is this quackery? Alfred thought crossly to himself.

"I don't understand"

"I've contacted the doctor who presided over Bruce's birth...and he claims that the child was born-intersexed. Without obvious genitalia...the x-rays did not pick up the hidden uterus- understandible, its hard to x-ray an infant without using too much radiation exposure..."

The doctor paused for questions, and none forthcoming, continued.

"As for the uterus- which functions normally, it is not entirely disconnected...it would appear that a fistula connects the uterus and the colon."

Alfred began working it out in his mind- connecting to the information he had just been presented with-noting that it did make sense.

He was also angered that Dr and Mrs Wayne had not bothered to tell him...and lastly, he made the connection between the current diagnosisand what had been thought to be ulcers.

"So...its not ulcers. Master Wayne has been...he's..."

"He has been menstruating."

They both fell silent.

"So...now what happens?" Asked the Butler.

"It can go two ways." Replied the doctor
"The first is to inform Bruce of what has happened, and allow him - or her- to continue to develop into a woman"

Alfred shook his head.

"No. He's not a girl, I believe that fully. He may not have the right equipment, Doctor, but I know that Master Wayne is not about to turn into a woman. He'd see himself as a freak- I know he prefers the girls to the boys...and I know that he likes being a boy. It's who he is. He has always been up there rough and tumble with the rest of them- when he was accepted, that is"

The Doctor nods. "Then we can allow him to continue living as a male. We can give him testoster-"

"He can't know."

"Sorry?"

"Master Wayne can't know." Alfred spoke tersely. "Believe me. I raised him. I know him. He's had enough devastation in his life. He gets bullied...he-" He lowered his voice
"He's depressed. He cries himself to sleep. Everytime I have to send him back to school, I pray that its not the last time I see him. I …I worry what he would do to himself with something else added to all his problems."

"Perhaps you could have him change schools"

"It was Mr Wayne's wish that Master Bruce attend the family school..."

"Well, Mr Pennyworth, you are listed as his full legal guardian. Until he is 18, all decisions concerning his wellbeing are yours to make."

"Then please follow my wishes and do not tell the boy"

"I can't ethically prescribe tesosterone without him knowing"

Alfred considered all that was at play here- all that was at risk, and all that he knew about the boy he had raised since an eight year old. He was desperate to prevent anything that could further disrupt his young master's life...and desperation messes with the best man's scruples.

Alfred thought desperately for a moment. Could he do something this unethical? What sort of measure could he take to do what he felt was protecting the best interests of the young lad he had grown to care for as a son?

"Perhaps...I can persuade you. Off the record? I am also in control of Master Wayne's estate until he is eighteen."

The Doctor paused, looking the man opposite him in the eye, daring him to take it back- he surely didn't intend to bribe him. Did he? Not that he would accept such an offer. Would he?

"I mean it. However much it will take to keep this information completely undocumented. Unheard. Invisible." He stopped to consider what he said... "But I can't pay you in one go. The accountant will notice"

The doctor squints...if the man is desperate enough?

"I...suppose that it IS helping a patient" He said, without adding that it would also stop the incessant nagging of a wife who was more concerned with her husband's General Practitioner salary than his happiness. Nodding his head, he begins to write out a prescription.

"Then I shall prescribe "Ulcer medication"" He said with a penetrating look.

"It shall be paid for in monthly installments. I run it at a special rate- 150% in extra handling costs." Then, smiling as he added

"Naturally, one must be willing to pay these prices in order to ensure quality...and privacy".

Alfred immediately agreed, stretching a hand out to seal the deal before it could be taken back. He also had some conditions...

"I want the hormones to be labelled as ulcer medication, and I want it to be delivered straight to the mansion, directly to myself. It is to enter the touch of no other, not even Bruce"

"Understood- I suppose I shall also need to inform him that for completely seperate reasons, he is unable to produce children-"

"He already knew that. His father told him when he was younger- obviously, he left out a number of details I assume he had intended to save, had circumstances not robbed him of the opportunity"

"Then this shall be easier. Let it be considered that this conversation never occured...and if it is EVER found out what has been covered up here today- it would mean my entire career. Possibly freedom."

The older man nodded, looking through the window of the office to the teenager sitting sadly in the room next over.

"It will never be spoken of again."

A.N

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