Chapter Three
Alfred returned to the kitchen after the announcement, keeping his
feelings under his best butler's face. He was ecstatic, though. Master Dick
and Miss Barbara were perfect together, in his not so humble opinion. He clearly
remembered the first time he came across them in the library supposedly studying
biology...
<<Standing outside the library door, Alfred stopped with the
tray he was carrying, listening to the voices within.
"No, really, Babs... I'm just not getting it. I'm not trying to be
difficult. Why is mitochondria important?"
Alfred smothered his grin as Miss Barbara's sympathetic voice began to explain, patiently,
what mitochondria was and why it was important. He was amazed at the young woman's
ability to re-explain things to young Master Dick 5 different ways.... but it also amazed
him just how many questions Dick could ask about a topic without repeating one.
Obviously that young man knew what he was doing.
A quick peek around the doorframe told Alfred all he needed to know. With their
heads bent close together in concentration, he could see clearly why Miss Barbara
continued. The methods of flirtation hadn't changed so terribly much from the times
when Alfred himself was young. With a slight grin, quickly smothered, the butler entered
the
library with hot chocolate and cookies. "Hot chocolate. I thought you
might need an interlude to relax some, Master Dick."
Alfred's British intonation sent the two young people scooting away from each other,
flushing with embarrassment. Dick stammered out his thanks, while Barbara cleared her
throat and managed to sound almost calm. "That was very thoughtful of you,
Alfred, we could use a break."
Leaving the tray on the coffee table, Alfred allowed his affectionate gaze to take in the
blushing faces and then he left the library. Stopping just outside the doors, he
allowed himself to crack the grin that threatened as he listened. Dick's soft groan was of
mortal humiliation, and Alfred could hear Miss Barbara getting up to pour hot
chocolate. She sounded a little confused, but was attempting to keep things on a
'normal' footing. "What's the matter, squirt? I think it was sweet of
Alfred."
Taking her cue, Dick's adolescent pride reasserted itself, "Don't call me squirt,
four-eyes. And I just didn't want Alfred to actually *see* how badly I'm doing in
Biology."
Alfred just shook his head and left them to their friendly bickering, amused at the
love/hate kind of flirtation.>>
... Their flirtation had continued on and off for months. They
called each other names, but yet they worked together as a cohesive team when they were
'out and about,' as Alfred called their night work. It had been a joy to watch the
two shy young people find out that another person would indeed look past what they viewed
as terminal faults. Miss Barbara used her intelligence as a shield to keep young men
from getting close enough to see the fragile young woman beneath the strong exterior,
while Master Dick used his sense of humor as his shield. Their verbal fencing had
kept him amused for months. Alfred remembered when Dick Grayson first came to the
Manor.
Angry, hurt, confused and wanting revenge in the worst way, the young Master had been
quite a handful. The young man confided things to Alfred that he wasn't even sure
Dick remembered. Just as fearful of losing loved ones again as Master Bruce was,
young Dick had still been willing to try and get close to people...
<<Peeking into the kitchen where the butler was working on
dinner, Dick sidled through the swinging door. Hesitantly, he asked,
"Alfred? Ya busy?"
Alfred turned from the counter, a knife for chopping celery and onions in his hands.
"Not terribly so, young man. Do you need assistance?"
Dick relaxed a little and pulled a stool from the breakfast bar over to the counter,
perching himself atop it to watch while the butler resumed chopping vegetables.
"Not... well, sort of." He helped himself to a stalk of celery to munch on
while they talked. "How come Bruce is... like that?"
Alfred stopped chopping to look closely at Dick. 'Like that' could mean many
things. "Like what, young man?"
Dick shrugged and said, "Like... he has a broomstick up his butt. I
dunno." He took a healthy bite of the celery stalk and continued around the
mouthful, "He acts like he doesn't really want me here. He's always glarin' at
me and stuff."
Alfred sighed softly to himself. Dick sounded miserable, though he was trying to
hide it. He chose his words carefully as he resumed dinner preparations.
"Master Bruce is... a quiet man, Master Dick. It isn't that he doesn't want you
here, I promise you that. You remind him very much of himself at your age, I
think. And although he couldn't spare you the pain of your parents' death, that
doesn't mean he didn't want to."
Alfred's tone sounds thoughtful, "I think, perhaps, your pain brings back his
own. That could be why he always seems to be glaring. Not at you, but at the pain
that you're going through. He is not one to appreciate feeling helpless, and he
knows that's what you feel right now as well."
Dick pondered that carefully and asked with a child's logic, "If he's not mad at me,
he shouldn't look like that at me all the time. He's scary when he looks like
that."
Alfred chuckled softly, "I will endeavor to mention that he seems to be scowling
quite a lot around you, and suggest that he try not to so much, young man."
Dick grimaced, "No, you better not. He'll just get mad that I told
you." He eats more of the celery before saying softly, "My mom used to
make chicken soup the same way... lots of celery, onions and carrots."
Alfred glanced at the young boy, "I'm sure she was a very good cook, Master
Dick." Though not openly demonstrative with his affection, he tried to make him
feel secure. "Tell me a little about your parents, young man?"
Dick smiled some and began to relate small things. "My mom always smelled like
violets. She had this perfume that she always wore on show nights, it was my Dad's
favorite. Lots of nights, we ate at the cafeteria, but sometimes my mom would get in
the mood to cook something, and it was real good."
Dick paused, "She was the best, Alfred." His voice sounded choked, "I
miss them... so much, all the time."
Alfred's hand reached out to touch the curly dark hair of the youngest of his
foundlings. His voice was quiet but bracing, "I know you do, young man.
But they are always with you. Every time you remember them in this way, they are
near."
Alfred wasn't a man given to fanciful notions, but those words seemed to help Dick's
threatening tears. He smiled at the butler, wiping his eyes. "I'm gonna
make them proud of me, Alfred. So that whenever they look in on me, they'll
smile."
Alfred's smile was small but affectionate on the young boy. "I know they're
already proud of you, young man. Now... take your celery with you and go fetch
Master Bruce, all right? By the time you both get washed up, dinner will be ready on
the table."
As the young boy raced off to do as asked, Alfred made a mental note to speak to Master
Bruce regarding Dick's needs. The boy missed his parents, he needed someone with
whom to share that. Someone who could understand firsthand. Alfred wasn't
certain that Bruce would be up to such a task, but it couldn't hurt to nudge his elder
'son' to help the younger.>>
... Master Bruce had tried, but young Master Dick's emotions were so
out in the open, so easy to read, that it was uncomfortable. Young Master Dick shook
Master Bruce's self-imposed emotional exile by being so able to express his
feelings. The bond that grew between them wasn't based on Bruce sharing his feelings
in quite those ways. He just couldn't talk about the death of his parents with the
younger boy.
Though he never mentioned it to Master Bruce, young Master Dick had come to him when Miss
Barbara refused to see him anymore. It worried him that they seemed so intense
together, and he regretted that it ended so badly although it had not been an unexpected
development in Alfred's view. He was privy to the young man's tears and anguish,
more than a little surprised at just how far the boy confessed the relationship had
gone. As he thought about it, though, it made more sense. While Barbara
physically had been a little old for Dick, they had been on each other's intellectual and
emotional level. They had also been each other's source of support and
partners. Inevitably, that would take it's toll. Especially when it ended...
<<As the kitchen door swung open to admit the high school
senior to the kitchen, Alfred turned from stacking the last of the dishes in the cabinet
to see young Master Dick's strained expression. Assuming that it had likely been an
argument with Master Bruce, the butler finished what he was doing quickly.
"Milk and cookies, young man?"
The tradition had been established between Alfred and Dick when the child first came to
the mansion, and though he was much older now, it remained a part of their lives.
Perhaps because those talks over milk and cookies, or various other snacks, had forged a
deep bond of trust between the two men. Nothing that was said ever went past Alfred, and
that was important to the young Master.
A faint smile crossed Dick's face, though it was painfully obvious to Alfred what effort
that smile truly was. Although he didn't answer, Dick took a seat on one of the
stools by the breakfast bar. Taking that as his cue, Alfred moved about the kitchen
to gather the required elements for a long talk. Joining Dick at the breakfast bar
with a large plate of cookies and two glasses full of milk, the butler studied the young
man's face. What could have occured between the two this time, to put that look of
anguish in the boy's eyes?
The answer to that wouldn't be long in coming, though. Dick's voice had been
strained as he played with his milk glass and said quietly, "She won't see me
anymore. I don't understand what I did wrong."
Alfred nodded, enlightenment dawning. Compassionately, he asked, "I see.
Did she say why?" He thought perhaps it was a girl at school that young Master
Dick had begun 'dating' recently.
Dick's face twisted into a scowl, his pain hidden inside the anger. "She *said*
that it just wasn't working out. That we were too far apart in age, that we didn't
have anything in common, that I needed to find someone my own age. Where does she
get off??"
The tirade stopped as the pain took over, "How could she, after all that we've been
to each other, Alfred? What did I do wrong? I... I love her."
Alfred's gaze rested on Dick's face, "I can't explain her actions, young man. I
can only listen and be here for you."
Dick took the unique opportunity afforded him by Alfred's compassion and affection,
sobbing as he hadn't since the day he'd grieved for his parents' death in the same way...
in the same place. Genuinely surprised at the confessions that came from young Master Dick
that night, the butler learned things he wasn't certain he wanted to know. It was
Miss Barbara that the young man was so intimately attached to. Their relationship
had been much more than a years-old crush.
When Dick finally calmed some, they talked long into the afternoon. The young man
was subdued throughout the discussion, and that worried Alfred.
"I just don't get it, Alfred. How can she be so casual about something that was
so ... profound? It wasn't just sex." Dick had
blushed as he said it, but stood by the words. "It was like... the connecting
of two souls. I can't be the only one who felt it. How can she just walk away
from something so powerful, and so right?"
Sighing softly, Alfred tried to respond in the best way he could.
Surrogate fatherhood was much more difficult with Dick than it had been with Bruce, in
some ways. The young Master was so much more emotional than Master Bruce. That
was a good thing... and sometimes a bad thing.
"Perhaps, young man, what you felt was something that she couldn't understand... or
was afraid of. You are both in a very intense line of night work, and to be so close
to someone else can sometimes be a danger. I cannot answer for her, only she can tell you
why. If she chooses not to, then you may have to move on with your life. If it
was meant to be, it will work itself out in the end.">>
... It had been cold comfort to the boy though, Alfred remembered.
When young Robin had begun taking such radical chances on the nocturnal adventures
in Gotham, Alfred fretted in his silent, private way that the boy would be badly injured
in his exploits. Master Bruce hadn't asked him if he knew what was happening, and
Alfred felt that young Master Dick's privacy was more important than any details of his
relationship. It was enough that Master Bruce knew there was a problem. He was
quite observant, and Alfred believed that Master Bruce must have had some indication of
what was going on between his young charges. Young Master Dick's anger had caused
him to push constantly...
<<Four days after Dick's confession, Batman and Robin had
returned to the BatCave in foul moods. Not that it was anything new, since the
breakup. This time, however, they were arguing with one another. Batman's cold
control to Robin's fiery rage.
"If you ever pull a stunt like that again, Robin, you will no longer do this
job."
"Don't threaten me, Bruce. I might take you up on it, and then you'll have no
one to blame but yourself!"
"This discussion is far from over. You endangered not only yourself tonight,
but the police and the hostages as well. Smashing through that window was reckless
at best, suicide at worst. Are you *trying* to get yourself killed?"
Dick's response was to strip off his cape and stalk toward the small anteroom where the
uniforms were kept. When he came back out, his voice was cold. "It was a
chance that had to be taken, and you weren't going to do it. So I did. Deal
with it."
Bruce's sigh as Dick stomped up the stairs was tired. He stripped off the cowl and
cape, looking toward Alfred, who had remained silent through the whole 'discussion.'
"He put himself in front of two machine gun-toting maniacs tonight. He just
doesn't care if they blow him away, and it's making him a danger to himself, and a danger
to others. And I can't get through to him."
Alfred looked upward after Dick was gone and then back to his 'elder son.' "His heart
is breaking, Master Bruce. I'm concerned that he is trying to prove something, but
the young lady doesn't appear to be interested."
Bruce's smile was grim, "Oh, she was interested, Alfred. But she should have
known better than to get involved with someone so young. Dick hasn't even had a
chance to know what else is out there. And if it comforts him at all," he
nodded toward where Dick vanished. "She's out there doing equally stupid
things. Chasing them down separately to save them from themselves is keeping me from
catching some of the crooks... but I can't let them get themselves killed over a crush
gone sour."
Bruce turned to leave, saying regretfully, "Keep an eye on him, Alfred. I can't
get through to him.">>
... Alfred had gotten the distinct impression that Bruce knew a LOT
more than he was saying. It disturbed him to think that Master Bruce might have had
something to do with that intolerable situation. He watched as Bruce ran himself
ragged trying to keep the two younger crime-fighters from getting themselves or someone
else killed. Alfred shook his head, remembering the next weeks of craziness. Every time he
turned around, Robin had been doing SOMETHING insane. He had ached for the boy's
heart, and with long talks, eventually things had calmed. But Dick hadn't been the
same... he'd closed off his heart, burying the pain deep.
Of course, he didn't think Master Dick had been old enough for True Love, as it were...
but then again, who can truly say that love is age specific? It had certainly left a
raw wound on the young man's soul that didn't heal until just recently. Whatever
part Master Bruce might have played in that breakup, Alfred hoped that he would be all
right with it now. Young Master Dick and Miss Barbara had been through so much, both
together and apart, that they deserved some happiness.
As his hands prepared hot coffee and sandwiches for Bruce Wayne's dinner, Alfred's
thoughts turned to comparing the two young men that he considered himself to have
raised. Admittedly, with no experience at all with children, he probably had not
done a very good job with Master Bruce.
By the time Young Master Dick had come, Alfred understood what mistakes he'd made... but
each young man was so different, that helped his ability to parent them as well...
<<Ten-year-old Bruce Wayne stood at his parents' graveside
with dry eyes. Alfred's arm was around his shoulders, and the butler said quietly,
"Come, young man. We should go back to the house."
As the two walked back toward Wayne Manor, Bruce asked in a solemn voice, "Will I be
allowed to stay here, Alfred? Or will someone come and take me away?"
Alfred's voice was soothing, "Your parents, young man, asked me many years ago when
you were born if I would act as guardian for you if something should ever happen to
them. Provisions have been made, and you'll remain here at home."
Bruce simply nodded. He had come through the funeral and burial in a kind of
shock. Though he was at least speaking now, Alfred was concerned that the young boy
would never again be the carefree child who laughed with his parents.>>
... His fears had been justified. Master Bruce had been so
traumatized, so overwhelmed by his grief, that Alfred hadn't known what to do except
simply be there for the boy. Perhaps if he had found some way through the intense
isolation Bruce felt, he wouldn't be such a driven man. Perhaps, though, it still
would have happened. With Dick, the child had been used to being able to be open about his
feelings... and when he found Alfred to be a willing listener, he'd taken advantage of
that in a way that Bruce simply hadn't as a child. Even Dick was a driven
individual, though, and Alfred believed their intense need to see justice done would have
manifested in other ways even had the Batman not come into existence.
Alfred placed the sandwiches on a tray along with the carafe of coffee, shaking his
head. He was a surrogate father to Master Bruce and he loved that boy like his very
own. He had done the best he could with little experience at raising children.
His only regret was that Master Bruce could not seem to find it within himself to allow
someone close enough to help assuage the pain. Even with the bumps in the road, the
closeness of Master Dick and Miss Barbara's relationship healed many of the breaches in
young Dick's soul, and Alfred wished as he walked back toward the secret stairwell to the
BatCave that Master Bruce could have let some young woman be the same thing to his heart.
As the aging butler stepped back into the Cave, his eyes rested on the elder of his two
'sons.' Dressed in all but the cape and cowl of the Batman, Bruce Wayne was an
imposing sight. Alfred placed the tray on the console of one of the large computers
and said in his imperturbable fashion, "Dinner, Master Bruce. Do eat before you
go out there, young man. We cannot have your stomach growling when you are
attempting to be silent." Alfred's gaze seemed calm, cool and collected but
visible to those who knew him well, as Bruce did, Alfred affection was plain. The
faint smile that followed the butler's order contained the same reserved showing of
affection back as Bruce responded to the command.
*************************************************
Tim Drake, AKA the new Robin, swung exultantly across the space
between two buildings with an almost silent whoosh of air. This was the life, as far
as he was concerned. He was an important member of the team known as the Dynamic
Duo. He was a man of honor, defending the innocent from crime and injury. He
grinned beneath his mask as his feet landed atop the building just across the road from
Barbara Gordon's apartment. He knew better than to land ON her building. Barbara,
known in crime-fighting circles nowadays as Oracle, had the whole place wired.
Robin pulled a small communications unit from his belt, signalling the Barbara
apartment. Oracle's amused voice responded immediately with, "He's on his way,
Robin."
"He's already arrived."
Robin whirled about at the sound of the low, familiar voice of Nightwing. Both older
brother and mentor, the elder (ex)Robin viewed the younger with a grin. "You
should be more careful," Nightwing stated. "I could have been
anyone."
Tim scoffed, "Anyone? Not likely, with me standing here just across the road
from her place." He closed the com unit, sliding it casually back into his
belt. "So what's up, Nightwing?"
Nightwing's amusement grew. It wasn't so long ago that he'd chatted with the new Boy
Wonder about Barbara. The kid hadn't believed a word he said when he denied any
emotional attachment to her. It was no wonder. Did *everyone* see what he hid
from even himself? First the Huntress mentioned it, then Tim... well, anyway.
"What's up is that I thought you ought to be one of the first to hear my news, and I
wanted to tell you myself." Nightwing smirked, "You deserve the chance to
crow about it, since it won't happen often."
"What news?" Robin's eyes peered closely at Nightwing's face.
Good news, bad news? Obviously good, the man was grinning like a loon.
"I'm getting married."
Tim was speechless. Dick was *what*?? Getting married, but....
"But.. but..." Sputtering incoherently, the Boy Wonder just stared.
Nightwing laughed softly, watching Tim stammer. He simply waited quietly for either
a barrage of questions or for enlightenment to spread over the kid's features.
"But.. but... who...!?" At that, Tim stopped, knowledge dawning.
"Ohmygod, you're marryin' Babs! Oh my GOD!" He started
laughing. His next words were definitely made in a tone of 'I told you so,'
"And here you denied every bit of what I said."
Nightwing rolled his eyes, grinning. "What can I say, short stuff? You
saw something that I didn't want to see." He shruggednonchalantly, "It
won't happen often, so enjoy it."
Robin chuckled, "That's great! You guys have fun." His grin eased to
a smile of true happiness, "I think you're perfect for each other... don't let
anything stop you from being happy." Perhaps too serious for him, more serious
and adult an attitude than Dick had ever seen from the kid.
'Something's changed with him,' Dick thought to himself. Aloud, he simply said,
"Thanks."
Robin glanced over his shoulder, toward the sky. A bright BatSignal lit up the
sky. He turned his eyes back to Nightwing and
smiled, "That's my cue.... you gonna join?"
Nightwing paused briefly, and then nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, I will."
He pulled a communicator unit from his own belt and contacted Oracle.
A rueful smile graced his love's face as soon as she saw him, "Yeah, yeah, I know...
I saw the signal. Get going. Tell Robin I said hi, and call if you need
me."
Nightwing grinned, "I'll be back later, babe. I love you."
Shaking his head at the exchange, Robin waited until the com unit was secured safely and
launched his grappling hook. "You two are gonna be enough to make a guy get
cavities."
The laughter that floated on the night air was soft, as the two flew across town to the
source of the call.
THE END
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