Eddie quietly tiptoed into the bedroom, where Dee and his son were napping. Like clockwork, the child was just starting to wake and fuss; a sign that he was most likely hungry. Before the child could make too much noise, Eddie took him out of the room. Dee needed the sleep, and he didn’t mind letting her have it.

"There he is! Come to Auntie Pam!" cooed Poison Ivy, holding her arms wide as Eddie returned to the kitchen.

Frowning at the woman, he hushed her, reminding her that Dee was still sleeping. Ivy had arrived a short while earlier, bringing a small army of men and women to finish the garden she had started for them a few months earlier. Thankfully all the work was being done with shovels and rakes.

Ivy cooed at the baby, while Eddie warmed the bottle. The moment it was done, he took the child back, sitting across from Ivy to feed the baby. As he had done many times, he slipped his finger with the feeding tube into the baby’s mouth. Immediately, the child calmed as he ate ravenously.

"Problem with a normal bottle, Ed?"

"The nurses said this was better. The baby forms a better suction, and swallows less air."

Poison Ivy raised an eyebrow and tapped a fingernail on the table. "I’m certain you’ve double, even triple checked everything they’ve told you." She paused, sipping the hot mint tea in front of her. "So you decided to name him Edward Nigma Jr. Couldn’t have been a bit more original, could you?"

Rolling his eyes, he leaned back in the chair, snuggling the baby to his chest. Blissful, Edward Jr. kept eating, drowsing now as his belly filled with the rich, warm milk.

"Dee named him, so don’t start in with me."

She shook her head and laughed. "I never thought I would live to see the day when you, Edward Nigma, the Riddler, King of Conundrums, Prince of... She paused as he glared at her. "When you would not only be feeding and caring for a child, but be the father of that child."

He dropped his eyes from Ivy’s face, and looked down at his son. Softly, he sighed. "Things and people change."

The reminder of his old life was painful. Every day he fought the urge to slip some riddles to the police and pull a job. Dee had been infinitely patient with him, letting him indulge in his wish to wear his question mark speckled suit whenever he went to the Iceberg Lounge for a drink. In fact, she never protested to any of his whims that harkened back to his criminal life. Quite often, when they had a moment together, they would talk of items of interest, planning a heist from start to finish.

But actually going out on a job was out of the question. Dee couldn’t go with him; someone had to take care of the baby. At the same time, he cared too much about his girlfriend and the child they had created to leave her in such a position where he might not be around.

Now he had a family to take care of, a business to run. He had sworn to himself and his son that he would not turn into the type of father his had been. That was his focus now, and he was glad for the chance. Besides, he was older now, and his body let him know at all the wrong times. Perhaps if he hadn’t broken so many bones throughout the years"

"When are you going to bring him to the Iceberg? There are a few people down there who are curious to see him."

Eddie shook his head, setting the now empty bottle down. "I will never take my child there. Not with the way Jack was acting around Dee while she was pregnant. I don’t even want to think what he would do to my son. Plus, Dee would skin me alive."

"If I didn’t hate him as much as I do, I’d be more worried about what the two of you would do to Jack if he ever touched this child." She stood and pet the child’s head. "I’m going to check on the garden. When it’s ready, I’ll let you know."

He watched her leave, the tail of her coat swirling around the kitchen door. The baby sucked on the same finger that had held the feeding tube. As he listened to the rhythmic sucking, Edward considered what he would do should Dee or Eddie Jr. be threatened by the Joker. It was then he realized that he wouldn’t hesitate in killing the deranged clown. If the baby was threatened, however, he knew that he would have to get in line behind Dee for revenge, provided she left him anything.

"Your mother would kill him or anyone else for looking at you the wrong way," he murmured.

With the baby fed, burped, and changed, Eddie returned him to the bassinette next to the bed. Taking a moment to caress the child’s downy soft, red hair, he then turned to the first redhead he had loved. Smiling, he lay down behind her sleeping form, holding her as he dozed off himself.

~ ~ ~

Pam carefully led the blindfolded couple out to the garden. At the edge of the flagstone patio, she stopped them, removing the blindfold.

"Open your eyes," she said.

Both looked around in complete awe. Dee’s hand covered her mouth as she gasped at the amazing sight before her. Eddie let out a low whistle.

"It’s absolutely perfect, Pam!" cried Dee, hugging her.

"’Many a green isle needs must be
In the deep wide sea of Misery,
Or the mariner, worn and wan,
Never thus could voyage on,’" quoted Edward as his eye skimmed the garden. "It really is amazing, Pam. You’ve outdone yourself this time."

The woman beamed at the praise, holding up a finger. "You haven’t seen the best part. Watch."

Strolling over to the sprinkler controls, Ivy turned the water on. All over the garden, sprinkler heads popped up, showering the freshly planted flowers, trees, and grass with cool, sweet smelling water. Thirty seconds later, a ripple of green ran through the garden. The grass grew lusher, sprouting hundreds of perfect, white grass daisies. The trees and flower beds burst forth with brightly colored blossoms. On the fruit trees, some of the blossoms quickly fell off as the tree began to bear fruit. The trellis that formed the hidden alcoves gently creaked as wisteria and grape vines wove themselves around and up.

Exceptionally pleased with the shocked expressions, Pam turned the water off. The plants continued to grow and fill out for another minute before coming to a stop.

"I pumped an acceleration formula into the sprinkler system and the soil I had trucked in was laced with it as well. It helps everything take root properly. Especially those trees. With those tigers of yours coming out here, I don’t want them falling over."

Dee finally found her voice. "That was absolutely the most fantastic thing I’ve ever seen!" with a note of hesitation, she added, "It won’t do that every time, will it?"

"No, no. Of course not. Like I said, it was just to get them rooted in. And don’t worry. I didn’t slip in any plants you would disapprove of," she assured, patting Dee’s arm.

"'Her green mind made the world around her green.’ This is all very much appreciated, Pam," Eddie said, adding another quote. Dee gave him a side glance, wondering at his sudden poetic streak. "You’re staying for dinner, aren’t you?"

"I’m making a special vegetarian meal for you, so I hope you’ll stay," Dee quickly added. Eddie had protested when she had mentioned this, but she assured him that he would be satisfied with the menu. If he wasn’t, she would make him some meat once Ivy left.

Pam looked interested in the offer, pausing to consider as she admired her masterpiece. "Is it organic?"


Author Note: Percy Bysshe Shelley and Wallace Stevens, in turn, are responsible for Eddie's spurt of romantic poeticness.
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