"The white picket fence type of life suits you both, I must say."

Bruce's cheeks were beaming as he pulled Rachel into a tight hug, the scent of clean laundry and a coconut candle burning in another room drifted through the house into the hallway.

Harvey and Rachel had ditched the city life once they found out they were going to become parents, trading out the high rise apartments in favour of a huge garden and enough bedrooms for them to house a soccer team. Money was no object since they were both doing considerably well for themselves, especially Harvey now that Gotham's thriving society was on the rise, but the peace and quiet of the countryside was priceless to them.

"Come in, make yourself at home. Sorry about the mess," Rachel said, stepping aside for Carla to enter.

There was no mess, at least not as far as Carla's eyes could see, the home filled with nothing but pieces of the four people that lived there. Laundry was folded on the staircase and there were shoes on a rack by the door, a double stroller tucked beneath the stairs and two car seats inside a storage cupboard with the door cracked open.

"These are for the kids. There's a little something in there for you and Harvey too," Carla said, handing a large gift bag to Rachel with a small smile.

"You didn't have to do that," she shook her head but accepted the bag anyway, "Thank you. Would you like a drink?"

"Coffee, thanks."

"Sure," Rachel smiled and peeked inside the bag, her eyes widening for a brief moment at a Christian Dior gift box wrapped with ribbon amongst other expensive presents, "Harvey is through there."

They walked down a short hallway through open double doors that led into a spacious, light-filled lounge with windows looking out across a beautifully landscaped backyard. The white furnishings might've been a mistake now they had two children but the design was beautiful and homely, a cosy fireplace beneath a television mounted on the wall inside a gold frame, appearing like a piece of artwork amongst the other pictures on the walls.

Harvey jumped up when his friends walked into the room, both babies on his chest and a huge grin on his face.

"Hey, sit down, make yourself comfortable. Sorry, I've got my hands full."

Carla was in awe at just how small the infants were, both of them looking as though they could almost fit into the palms of Harvey's hands as he held them up by his shoulders, one in a pink sleep suit and the other in blue.

"How was the journey? Did you land into that storm yesterday?"

Carla scoffed, "Did we? We might as well have flown straight through it."

"Nice to be back, huh? The thunder kept these two awake most of the night, not that they'd have slept anyway," Harvey rolled his eyes with a begrudged sigh, "You wanna hold them?"

Bruce drew in a breath through gritted teeth, "You know, I'd rather not. I just think-"

"Yes," Carla interrupted, nodding once and uncrossing her legs.

Harvey ignored Bruce and turned to Carla, "She's fussy but don't worry, she's like it with everyone."

Carla opened her arms and felt the weight of a feather land in them when Harvey placed his daughter down, the tiny baby barely being the length of her forearm. She wriggled for a moment before settling comfortably into the crook of Carla's arm, turning her head to nestle against her chest. Her eyes were the brightest shade of blue, exactly like Harvey's, though her hair colour had clearly come from Rachel.

"She's beautiful," Carla breathed, not taking her eyes away from the baby as a mindless smile consumed her face.

She could feel little Charlotte breathing in her hands and hear her tiny breaths pass through her lips, eyes wide as she looked around the room and eventually right at her.

Bruce watched as Carla traced a gentle finger across Charlotte's cheek, perhaps the softest she'd ever touched anybody. The child's fist clasped around her finger for comfort and didn't let go, not that Carla minded, her arms gently rocking her back and forth to keep her calm.

It was strange to see Carla being so tender, so soft. Her eyes were glistening with happiness and her smile was everlasting, still the most genuine depiction of joy that Bruce had ever seen from her. It softened him on the inside to see, kickstarted a feeling inside of him that he hadn't felt before as he watched her cradle the baby with such care and love.

"Wow," Harvey chuckled, "Who'd have thought that it'd be my kids that would break through the ice to melt your cold, dead heart."

Carla didn't bother looking at him, brushing her thumb across Charlotte's small knuckles that still kept a tight grip on her finger, "It's a shame your daddy is such a loser, Princess."

The men laughed and Bruce's heart raced, almost feeling entranced by the sight before him. While he and Harvey had both been successful at cracking down the walls to get to know the real Carla, neither of them had ever seen that side to her before.

"You sure you don't want to hold him?" Harvey offered.

Bruce glanced once more at Carla before shrugging his shoulders in defeat, "Sure, why not? Pass him over."

"Just...don't drop him, alright?" Harvey worriedly said as he placed Lucas down into Bruce's arms.

"Drop him? I jumped off of a building to catch her," he cocked his head towards Carla, "You think I'd drop a baby?"

Carla threw him a glare but her gaze quickly changed, softening as she watched Bruce adjust his arms to pull the child up closer to his chest. He smiled down at the baby who looked identical to his sister, big blue eyes and a head full of dark hair, feeling barely anything at all in his hands but the weight of the world on his shoulders as he held something so precious for the first time.

Carla slowly started to smile, her heart swelling as she watched Lucas' tiny hand stretch out to touch Bruce's face, coaxing a gentle laugh from him. Bruce wasn't entirely sure what to do with a baby but it seemed like Carla had it all figured out, and so he too didn't flinch when a superhuman strength grip latched around his finger.

Carla was used to seeing Bruce lift weights and throw her around the bedroom, but to see him so quiet and so still was encapsulating. Carla felt besotted as she watched Bruce cradle Lucas against his chest, a flurry inside of her own soul at how pure of a moment it was, how a knot tied in her stomach as she realised that perhaps she had changed her mind.

Bruce looked up then, his cheeks flushing the palest shade of red as he met Carla's unexpected gaze. For once she wasn't a closed book or a mystery to be solved, she showed her feelings as clear as sunlight from the cloudless blue sky outside, emotion pooling in her dark eyes as she told him without saying a word that she loved him.

"They are very cute Harvey, I'll give you that." Bruce said after tearing his eyes away from Carla.

"They take after their mother," Rachel replied with a smirk as she walked into the room with two cups of coffee, placing them down on the table by the couch.

Bruce's attitude quickly changed when Lucas started to squirm, small coughs turning into loud cries that made him wince and hold the child back out towards Harvey.

"Here, take him back, he's yours."

Harvey laughed and accepted his son back into his hands, rocking him back and forth with a hand patting his back rhythmically. Bruce stood up and picked up his coffee, taking a gulp as he watched Carla continue to trace her finger back and forth down the bridge of Charlotte's nose.

"You wanna talk me through these extravagantly unnecessary gifts?" Rachel said, raising a brow at Bruce once she realised just how flustered her son's screaming had made him.

Bruce was quick to nod and followed Rachel to the back of the room where a plethora of gifts sat stacked on a large dining table, the bag he and Carla had brought sitting in the centre. He'd let Carla take the lead when it came to buying presents, not questioning her when deliveries of designer baby grows, dresses and shirts kept showing up at their house.

Rachel was in disbelief as she continued to pull out even more presents from the seemingly bottomless bag, eventually reaching two bottles of champagne and a beautiful congratulations card housing a generous gift card for an upscale department store in Gotham.

"You really didn't have to spend this much, they're just babies," she laughed and held up a Dolce and Gabanna sundress that would fit her daughter perfectly the following summer.

Bruce shrugged his shoulders, "It was Carla really, I let her deal with the whole thing."

Both of them looked across the room at Harvey and Carla standing by the window, chatting away to each other about things they couldn't quite hear while they both held unusually calm babies in their arms.

"She seems to be in her element, I didn't expect that."

"Neither did I," Bruce kissed his teeth.

Rachel looked up at him and watched the way he watched Carla. His eyes were vacant and there was a subtle smile claiming his lips, his chest rising and falling slowly as he gazed at her from across the room.

"And you said you didn't want kids," She scoffed to herself, "You'll be married with a baby before you know it. Look at you, you're head over heels."

Bruce shook his head with a forced laugh, pursed lips and narrowed eyes, "Th-that's not-"

"Oh my god," Rachel stared at him, her smile dropping and eyes widening as she assessed his face and pinpointed the shine behind his eyes and the nervousness in his hesitating lips, "You're going to ask her to marry you, aren't you?"

"Would you keep your voice down," Bruce muttered forcefully, grabbing hold of Rachel's wrist and switching places with her so his back was to the rest of the room.

He debated his actions for a moment before reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket and retrieving a small velvet box, flicking open the golden latch to reveal an 18 karat oval-cut diamond ring.

"Wasn't that your mom's?"

Bruce nodded, "Do you think I should've got her a different one?"

"No, not at all. It's beautiful, Bruce," Rachel breathed a smile and touched his hand, giving it a tight squeeze as her assurance put a sparkle back into his scared eyes, "Congratulations."

He laughed awkwardly and slipped the box back into his pocket, "Don't congratulate me too soon, she hasn't said yes yet."

They both flashed natural expressions back onto their faces when Carla started walking towards them, Charlotte still relaxing soundly against her chest. She had a natural bounce in her knees to keep the child soothed and confidently held her with one arm, the other picking up her cup of coffee on the way past the table.

For a woman that had never held a baby before and had shown no interest in becoming a mother, Rachel was almost dumbfounded at how at ease Carla seemed to be with her children. Her eyes weren't full of judgement or ridicule and her steel features didn't intimidate or put anybody on edge, she was nurturing and gentle and if the way she treated her children was anything close to the way she loved Bruce, there was no wonder why he was planning on getting down on one knee for her.

"Can you feel the sunshine? It's so nice and warm, hm?" Carla said to Charlotte quietly as she walked through a stream of golden sunshine pouring into the room.

Rachel just looked at Bruce with a smile, silently mouthing the words, "She will."

She walked away after thanking Carla for all the lovely gifts, leaving her stood with Bruce by the table.

"I've never seen you look so..."

"So what?" Carla's head snapped up quickly and she frowned at him.

"So...so...peaceful."

"Well, maybe it's because she is," Carla smiled down at the baby, "You stress me out."

"I stress you out?" Bruce just laughed and slid a hand across her back, holding her by the waist and pulling her closer to him, "How?"

Carla's patronisingly questioning gaze flickered up to him for just a second, "Do you really want me to answer that?"

He scoffed and shook his head, staying quiet for a moment while he admired her.

"You'd be a good mom," he eventually said.

Carla inhaled sharply as she looked at him again, a mixture of confusion and shock swirling in her eyes as her cheeks hollowed briefly.

"One day, not right now," he quickly followed up, "I want you all to myself for a little longer first."

She loosened her tension with a phased smile that rolled away with a bat of her dark lashes, "What was it you were saying a few weeks ago? You thought I was the one that had changed my mind?"

He grinned and brushed his thumbs across her hips, tugging her closer by the belt loops in her jeans and landing a soft kiss to her forehead, stealing a long glance down at the baby between them.

"So what if I have?" He shrugged, "Does that scare you? Let me hold her."

Carla was careful as she passed Charlotte to Bruce, watching with a bursting heart as he turned her around to nestle safely in the crook of his arm, a gentle bounce keeping her quiet as she grabbed hold of Bruce's thumb.

"No," Carla whispered, standing beside Bruce and resting her head against his shoulder, her hand sliding into the back pocket of his jeans while her other clung to his bicep, "I think I've changed my mind too."