There is nothing so interesting as waking in the middle of the night to find your girlfriend bawling on the kitchen floor with a pint of ice cream and three tigers. When I asked her what was wrong, she proceeded to tell me that the ice cream was not only too cold, but wasn't the marshmallow and caramel swirl she wanted. By the time I returned from the store with what she wanted, she was asleep with her limbs wrapped around my pillow. It was official: her hormones were going crazy.

About three months into her pregnancy, one of my fences tipped me off to a private collection, which contained quite a few items his customers were interested in. Knowing I could sell the items off, I had quickly made up the riddles and gathered my men. They had since moved out of the main hideout not wanting to get in the way of Dee and her pregnancy. I think it was the wisest move Benny and Trigger had ever made. Still, they came by to help her out twice a week when she needed to clean the tiger room.

"I've got to go meet the guys, Kitten. I'll try to come back tonight. Keep your comm-unit near you, ok?" I said one night.

"Meet the guys? Why? What's going on?" she asked putting her book down. When she saw that I was dressed in my Riddler suit, she frowned. "Eddie, you're not going out now, are you?"

"Just tonight, Kitten. It's a big score and we'll need the money."

"But... You're just going to leave me tonight? What if something happens to you? What if tonight is the night he goes crazy and kills you? What if you get into a car chase and crash and die? You're going to leave me!" she said chin trembling.

Taking her into my arms, I held her close. "Kitten, I've done this plenty of times. We've done this plenty of times. It's a quick job with a good pay off. I made certain of that. Low risk."

"I want to go. I can change and be ready in a few minutes," she said, pulling back and taking a step away.

"No. Not this time," I said, grabbing her hand. "You have the kid to think about now. I'm not going to risk you losing the baby because we get into a fight with Batman and he roughs you up."

"So it's fine if you go and the kid loses its father. I see," she hissed, angry now. Half shifting, she turned and swiped at me with claws extended. We struggled briefly before she managed to graze my cheek with her claws. I let her go. Jogging down the hall a short way, she turned and looked at me, fur bristled in anger. "Go, Eddie! Go let Batman beat you up! I don't care because you don't care!" With that last outburst, she ran into the tiger room and was silent.

"It's just the hormones. It's just the hormones," I told myself getting into my car. I am in so much trouble.

The job went like clockwork up until we were leaving and Batman caught up with us. He knocked Benny and Trigger down as he came after me. I had instructed Benny to take off with the items should this happen, knowing that they were important. Once the Bat set his sight on me, I saw Benny get up and take off.

"Why are you still out here, Nigma? You have responsibilities now," he growled even as he punched me in the stomach.

He knew about Dee. Of course he knew. He was like some sort of information sponge, sucking up bits of data and trivia about people and things like they were food. I just described myself, didn't I? Ok, so we shared something in common. But he still didn't give me a chance to answer before smashing his fist into my face. I could feel the blood trickling out of my nose and over my lip.

"Takes money to raise a family, Batman," I finally gasped, sneering at him.

Trigger came in then, bringing a trashcan down on the Dark Knight's head. He followed it up with a solid kick to the stomach and a knee to the face. As Batman reeled back from the attack, Trigger gave me a hand up and we took off running. Near the corner a car screeched to a halt and Benny waved us to hurry. We dove into the vehicle as he peeled away. Looking through the back window, I breathed a sigh of relief when I noticed Batman was not in sight. I had a feeling he was letting me escape this time.

"Go to the nearest hideout," I instructed pinching my handkerchief to my nose. I waited until we were there before disappearing into my room and switching on the comm-unit. "Q-doll? You there?"

"Eddie!" came her worried voice and face. "You're hurt!"

"I'll be fine. We got what we wanted and we got away. We're at the old Puzzle Palace and..."

"Are you coming home?" she interrupted.

"Not tonight, Kitten. But I promise I'll be back in the morning."

"I need you tonight, Tiger. Come home?" she pleaded, pouting.

I sighed. I hated when she did that. "I have some business to see to right now. If I can get it done quickly, I'll come home. But I can't promise anything."

She nodded and frowned. "I love you," she said softly.

"I love you, too. Go to bed. I'll be home as soon as I can," I said.

Another nod and she let the screen go black. Putting on a clean shirt, I looked around at the room. She had just made the decision for me. I was going to retire completely, clean out all of my hideouts, and find another way to make money. I headed into the bathroom and washed my face, taking care of the wounds I had gotten including the scratches from her.

I made it back to the main hideout around three in the morning. Dee was sound asleep when I got in. Getting myself cleaned up, I got into bed as quietly as I could. Scooting next to her, I watched her sleep for a few minutes before lifting the lower edge of her shirt and baring her belly to the moonlight. Her skin pebbled slightly in the air-conditioned room. It was almost imperceptible, but as I ran my hand over her warm skin, I could tell her belly was starting to swell.

"Mm. Tiger, you made it," she said sleepily. Dee touched my face, a look of sadness in her eyes as she lightly touched my nose. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. He's punched me in the face plenty of times," I replied, stroking her belly softly.

"I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean what I said about you not caring. You do care, I know you do." She smiled now as she ran her fingers through my hair. "After all, you came home."

"You asked nicely." I kissed her eyes closed and pulled the covers back up. "Go back to sleep now. I'm not going anywhere anymore."

She took my hand and put it on her hip. Her finger tickled as she ran it down my chest, kissing me. "I asked you to come home because I missed you." Now she looked at me coyly through her lashes, her finger circling over my heart. "And I said I needed you."

"I'm tired and sore, Kitten," I sighed stilling her hand.

Pushing me back onto the pillows, she rested her chest against mine. "I never said you had to do anything but enjoy."
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