Here we are again with the fourth part of this alternate version of Sour Candy | T. Drake. Just one question before you plunge into reading it, what kind of ending are you expecting?

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Tim followed Pamela to the recovery room where Dora was being kept, put to a deep slumber to accelerate her healing. His heart sank to see her with so many wires connected to her frail body. 

Her eyes were shut and apparently, she was asleep but all the needles pricking into her to keep her rejuvenated through the potions Pamela had injected inside her were making him feel nauseous.

"Is she in pain?" He asked, watching through the glass panel that separated them from coming too close to the patient.

"No," she replied, "we had to make sure she would be as comfortable as possible for her to have a deep recovering sleep."

"But all those needles... The IVs injected to her and the machines..."

"Those are all necessary to keep us updated about her condition. You realize that Dora is fighting life and death here, hence she has to be under extreme monitoring. Any slight change can be risky."

He wanted to go closer to her without any glass panel in between them but he didn't as he knew it was for Dora's safety. Pamela was right, she was in a very precarious condition and any slight change could prove to be fatal.

"Ideally she will sleep off the effects of all these chemicals injected into her. Worry not, none of them are harmful," Pamela resumed, a hint of pride in her tone as she told him about her lifesaving potions, "mother nature gives life and heals too. There can be no better option for her recovery than this. While she is sleeping, all the damaged tissues and cells in her will repair and when her body heals significantly, she will gain consciousness. So far, she is stable and I am positive that we will not have anything to worry about."

Throughout that explanation, Tim was thinking just how vital a part Pamela Isley had played in the entire case. If it hadn't been for her, Dora might not make it this far even.

So when she stopped explaining, he turned to face her, finding her looking back at him in surprise. "Thank you," he spoke up, his voice no longer as stiff as it had been towards her earlier, "I'm really grateful to you that Dora and my son are alive right now. It would not have been possible without your help."

Pamela had surely not been expecting that because earlier, all she had sensed from the boy was a vibe that indicated he neither trusted her nor wanted her to do anything with them. But as he thanked her at that moment, his blue eyes full of sincerity, she was taken aback.

She overcame that shock soon, a slight smile playing upon her lips, "you're welcome. Now would you like to meet your son?"

Tim did not want to leave Dora but nodded, knowing that Dora would want him to meet their child as well rather than keep on worrying for her. Pamela took him to the other section of the room where the incubator was kept and right there was no glass panel to separate Tim as he cautiously approached the child who was sound asleep.

Pamela stood aside, watching him look at the baby in a mixture of surprise and fascination. The child had rosy skin like Dora's and as the eyes were closed he couldn't see what eye color he had. However, the tiny clump of hair on his head was cappuccino shaded, surprisingly with green tips.

He looked up at Pamela questioningly, "what happened to his hair?"

"Lovely color, isn't it?" Her smile widened, "seems like the dosage got a little too much and the babe absorbed it within. The hair color isn't the only special thing about him though."

Tim's eyes were sweeping over the monitor connected to the incubator, assessing that all the child's vitals were normal and there was nothing to worry about. But upon hearing Pamela's remark and seeing her meaningful smile, he asked, "what do you mean by that?"

"Your son is a metahuman," she replied, shocking Tim immensely, "I don't know if it was due to the potions I gave Dora or if you already have the metagene. That could be ascertained if a few tests are run on you as well but I think you need a break right now. You've already been through a lot."

Tim found that information hard to digest but perhaps it was because he was exhausted and his brain was refusing to cooperate with him. All he wanted to know before collapsing into a deep exhausted slumber himself was the assurance that Dora would be alright.

But as Pamela had mentioned the possibility of Tim having the metagene, a few missing pieces had started to click in. He had been experimented on during his time at NOWHERE and the organization was known for modifying metahumans. After his return, even though he believed the experiments done on him hadn't been successful, he had developed some abilities.

And right then as he looked down at his son who Pamela had stated to be a metahuman, the only possibility for him to be a metahuman was the inheritance of whatever gene Tim had been injected with during those experiments.

"By the way you look so deep in thought, it seems as if you've found an explanation to that yourself," Pamela remarked, but then pointed towards the child, "look, he's waking up. And don't worry, we can disconnect him from the incubator. He's going to be fine."

Tim stiffened to see the child move, his tiny hand reaching out as he stretched like someone who had had a very comfortable nap. "Does that mean I can hold him?"

"Of course."

Pamela called the doctor on duty who removed the tubes connecting the child to the incubator. The doctor handed the baby to Tim who very cautiously held his firstborn son, looking down at the tiny boy in disbelief.

Throughout those trialing seven months, never once had he let himself imagine what it would be like to hold his child in his arms because he wasn't sure that they would even reach that moment.

But as he held the boy in his arms, the feeling of warmth and love that spread in his heart was overwhelming. The baby had opened his eyes and Dora's coffee brown irises stared up at him, hand reaching out towards him again.

At that moment, Tim couldn't help but think that Dora had wanted a mini Tim with blue eyes but God had blessed them with a mini version of Dora as the baby looked exactly like her. It would be quite an unexpected surprise for Dora when she would see their child.

Pamela had a soft smile on her face to see the young father interact with the newborn. It was seldom she got to witness something so pure and genuine.

"You can take him out to meet the others," the doctor told him with a gentle smile, "or you could wait in the recovery room for Miss Beaumont to wake up."

"So I can take him with me? He will be okay?"

"Absolutely."

Tim looked down at the child who had been wrapped up in a blanket and as he gently stroked the tiny head, he saw a twinkle in those brown eyes and the tiny hand touched his cheek, patting it once.

Now all that was left was for Dora to wake up. He carefully carried the child and sat down on the couch placed in the corner for the attendant in the recovery room and the doctor told him that the people waiting outside could take turns to come in and see the child.

He hoped Dora would wake up soon and when she did, he would be there with her holding their son, just like she had wished to see first upon waking up.

***

Everything was a blur when she opened her eyes briefly. It seemed as if a haze was enveloping her and she had woken up after a long sleep.

Her whole body felt numb, probably an aftereffect of the heavy medication, and it took her some time to adjust to the white light surrounding her.

Signs of exhaustion still wore her down and there was a faint sense that she had been in a lot of pain not long before. But the absence of pain and the numb feeling made her feel slightly worried.

By then she had gotten so used to suppressing the pain inside her that not feeling it felt odd.

"Dora," a familiar voice called out her name and she blinked twice to clear her vision.

The haze had started to clear up and as things began to come into focus, she caught sight of Tim's unmistakable blue eyes, looking down at her with a relieved smile.

If she could see Tim right then, it meant that she was alive and she had made it through the most difficult time of her life. She found herself unable to speak as it seemed to require too much energy just to tilt her head towards him even.

Her fingers twitched as if beckoning him close and he understood, cautiously taking her hand in his own. Seeing him standing there was a relief but her eyes searched for their child, widening in alarm to see that he wasn't carrying the baby like she had expected him to.

"Dora, our baby's fine," Tim spoke up, realizing why she had gotten so worried, "Alex took him out to meet your Mom. I'll bring him to you soon as Alex comes in."

She breathed out in relief, for a second she had gotten terrified that she had lost her child even after all the pain and suffering she had endured.

"You were right, we made it through this," he placed a kiss on her knuckles, eyes shining in relief, "and I'm so glad both you and the baby are okay."

She nodded, feeling the numbness lessen as she was able to move her hands easily as compared to when she had just woken up. She lifted her hand to gently cup Tim's cheek, bringing his face closer to her. He realized she was trying to say something so he carefully removed the oxygen mask from her face and edged closer to listen.

Her voice was a rasp and barely audible as she spoke, "take some rest... Please..."

"Dora, come on..."

But her hand struck his cheek lightly as if telling him to listen to what she had said or else she would get angry at him. Even though she was the one who had just come out from the jaws of death, she was more worried about his health and wanted him to rest up instead.

He chuckled taking her hand in both of his, "alright, I'll take a rest." She was still looking at him firmly so he added, "I promise. Happy now?"

She closed her eyes as she felt too worn out. Tim looked up at the monitor showing her vitals as he got worried something was wrong. But seeing that everything was stable and feeling Dora give his hand a light squeeze in reassurance made him relax.

It had been a long and tiring day for all of them and Tim wasn't the only one who needed a lot of rest at the moment. The tap on the door alerted him and he turned to see Alex enter, holding the baby in his arms.

"She woke up," Tim told him and Alex looked relieved to hear that as well.

"Thank God," he breathed out in relief, coming closer to Dora who had opened her eyes again. Seeing Alex, she held her hand towards him too in a silent way of telling him that she would be alright.

"She's very tired so she's not talking or moving much. Plus, Miss Isley said she would be drained out so we have to make sure she doesn't get too exhausted," Tim explained to Al who had gently taken Dora's hand in his own and patted her head affectionately.

Dora had pointed towards the baby, her eyes shining in excitement and happiness. Alex bent down to show her the child closely and Dora looked at him as if enraptured. Of course, her eyes lingered on the green tips of the baby's hair and she turned to Tim for an explanation.

"Ah that... Looks like Miss Isley left a lasting gift," Tim decided to tell her in detail later, "it's nothing to worry about though."

"Now we want you to recover quickly so that we can take you and this kiddo home," Alex remarked, smiling at her softly, "and get better enough to speak soon because we miss your constant chatter."

Dora nodded in reply but gestured that she was going to take a rest. It didn't take her long to fall asleep again as the effects of the sedatives hadn't worn off completely.

The thing that mattered most was that she was out of any immediate life-threatening danger and was gradually recovering. The doctor had come in to check Dora's condition so Tim and Alex had to step out. 

The corridor outside was almost full as all the Waynes had shown up and even the shop's crew was there, wanting to know whether Dora was okay or not. Alex gave them the relieving news that Dora had gained consciousness and hopefully, things were going to be fine.

Steph had taken the baby from Tim as she and Luke were discussing potential baby names for the boy, Richard and Barbara also joining in on the ideas. Tim was exhausted but stood there with a smile to see that everyone was happy and unlike all his worrisome thoughts, they had managed to avoid any fatal loss.

True, they had to take extreme care of Dora for the upcoming weeks as well as it was a crucial time for her slowly recovering self but at least the life and death situation was gradually abating.

He felt a tug at his wrist and turned to see Cass who had made him sit down on a chair. Her dark eyes were looking at him with the same expression she used whenever she threatened him to hear her out.

"Cass...?"

"I take you home now," she spoke up, "you got to rest."

He seemed reluctant, "but Dora and..."

She was having none of his excuses. "Plenty people here to care."

"I can't leave..."

However, Alex interrupted him, "don't break your promise to Dora, Tim. Go home and rest, we're all here to take care of everything. Seriously if you don't take a nap right now, you would look like a zombie and the kiddo would get scared to see you as such."

"He didn't get scared to see Jay, right? What difference would a zombie-looking me make?"

"What did you just say, Replacement?" Jay's voice thundered until they had to shut him up by saying that the staff would kick him out for being too loud.

"Home now. No excuses," Cass had latched onto his arm, dragging him away as she was the only one who could get Tim to agree to rest, or else she ended up knocking him out or drugging him.

"Al, keep me updated about Dora," Tim called out before Cass could push him out the door.

"Will do. Go get some sleep, you deserve it."

***

I would have written more but I am too sleepy now so I am ending Part 4 here. What did you guys think about it? Let me know in the comments.

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