Title: The Waiting One

Chapter: I am the waiting one it seems.

Richard

A pair of black eyes washed over the crowd. A small smirk lit up his 23 year old face. "I haven't always had it this good." He started off and set his non-alcohol drink on the stand in front of him. "I had once been traveling with a circus with my parents." His closest friends knew this. His smiled grew bigger when he heard a few gasps. "It was a fun life for when I was a small child, but when I hit about 10, they had died. I was alone and couldn't do a whole act on my own at the age of 10. Not to mention I wasn't even supposed to be there without my parents. They had a no pest policy and didn't hire anyone under the age of 18. The leader kicked me to the curb, even though I was related to him by blood. I was sent to an orphanage shortly after I ended up on the streets. I was 12 when we had been invited to go to Wayne manor for one of his charity events. I know now that it was just all for looks. Don't get me wrong though." He picked up his clear glass and winked at his father and took a sip. "He isn't a heartless bastard like the papers make him out to be."

He took a step back and walked around to the front of the stand and took the microphone in his other hand and put the drink down. "We all got into the same hall that you are standing in now… and lost our shit." He started to wave his arms in big circles. "Look at this. Look at that. Look at how big the windows are. I wonder if I shout if there will be an echo!" His audience laughed loudly. The few that had been there were shaking their head in disgust. There are many things that had happened that won't be mentioned….

"Well, needless to say, we were hell. Animals practically. I think the caretaker committed suicide in the bathroom. Ha ha ha just kidding Ms. James." He held the microphone close to his mouth and whispered. "We all knew she wanted to…." He took another drink. "Now for those of you who wonder what happened next…. It wasn't pretty." He sighed and hung his head a little.

"Just get on with it Richard." Bruce Wayne said with a smirk.

"Alright." He smirked and looked at his friends. "It took one clear of his throat to get us all to shut up and freeze."

"This is how you treat my kindness… I invite you into my home and you treat her like this?" Richard did in the best voice he could imitate his father with. He smiled and looked at his father. "I looked into his eyes and said. ' This isn't a home Mr. Wayne. It hasn't been your home for a long time.' And he bent down and said, 'Your right son. It hasn't been, but that doesn't make it any less important to me. Now, you and your friends are going to apologize to this house and make sure all the tables are put back where they need to be. All the forks, plates, knifes, cups, and whatever else was on the tables are put back, any broken things are to be swept up and put in the bin. Only then, shall you eat. If it isn't done by the time that everyone leaves, you will just have to come back tomorrow.' And then he shrugged and walked away. I was sure that we would have gotten beaten or something. He wasn't even mad. It was the best day of my life." He finished in a soft voice. Everyone else knew the rest of the story.

Rachel

I haven't always been this bad off. I had a father and a mother once. My mother had passed away giving birth to me so it didn't really count to know her. I had lost my father about a month ago to cancer. His name was Richard. Richard Roth. Once he found out about the cancer, we ran.

We knew that once he passed, my aunt Lux was going to take me away to where ever she lived. She had always been awful to my mother since they were little. It got worse with she married Father. We lasted five years in the woods without medicine for him. It was a slow cancer, so we thought. We came into the city every 6 months to make sure that he hadn't gotten any worse. It was when he got really sick that we knew something was wrong. We didn't understand, we had been to the hospital earlier that week and he was fine. Turns out the doctor overlooked something on his charts and it ended up killing him within a few months. There was no going back after he got sick. They had tried everything, but he was just too sick to be helped.

There were other options for where I could live. My friend's father was going to take me in. The judge didn't think that it was a good idea. She said that with my father's sickness his mind had been getting sick as well. I knew it wasn't true. She didn't know my aunt Lux. She knew nothing about her. Since I had been living in the woods the judge thought it would be a good idea to get as much human contact as I could get. Therefore I was forced to move to Gotham City. Unknown to my aunt, this is where all my friends live. Living in the woods was only part of my father's journey with me. We had lived in many different states as well.

Now, they are the only thing that is keeping me living. The judge had ruled that it was best if my mother's sister took me in and of course my aunt was sobbing at the joy, until we got into the tinted windowed car that was to take me to Gotham.

3rd person

Rachel was grabbed by the front of her shirt and brought close to her aunt the moment the door shut. "Now you listen here you fucking bitch. Here is how its going to go down. You are going to go to school. I will be the place you live at, but don't be expecting to live with me all that often. You are going to stop by every Saturday afternoon and I will let you know when the social worker will be stopping by next. I'll be nice enough to let you shower, but don't take any of my food. While you are there you are going to tell me your grades. You better be getting a 4.0 or I will kill you." Lux pushed her away and her head hit the window.

Rachel rubbed her head and put her seatbelt on. 'Not like I can't live by myself.' She laughed to herself. 'I can easily get a job and other things if she gives me her address. She thinks I will be crawling back to her I bet. Dad…. I love you.' She closed her eyes and prepared herself for the 3 hour drive to Gotham.

Richard

"Richard. Your lost again." a voice from behind me sounds. I look up to see Bruce staring at me. I looked away from him concerned eyes and stance. He was holding a cup of hot chocolate. It was Alfred own recipe, the only hot chocolate that I would ever drink. He was still wearing his favorite suit with his black and blue swirl tie, meaning that he had come here right after work. He slowly walked over to me and handed me the black cup with my symbol on it. I frowned and looked down to see the steaming whipping cream.

"I cant help it." I whispered and looked up at him when I felt his hand reach up to touch my shoulder before it actually did. He smiled sadly and pulled out something from inside the lining of his jacket.

"I thought that you might like this. I found it in one of the old scrapbooks that you had sent me when you were still with the Titans. You did great at the party son. Let me know if you leave okay..." He said and walked away back out the door, which shut behind him, leaving me in the dim lighting of my room in the mansion of Bruce Wayne. It was a picture of Raven. I had taken it the first time that she had ever drank hot chocolate. I was the only one that had ever seen a real smile out of her until the picture was taken. It was shortly after our bond was made when she entered my mind to stop Slade who turned out to be a hallucination, unrealized by me until it was almost to late. She had entered my room to see that I was alright. I had just gotten a package from Bruce and Alfred for my birthday that was the next day. She had watched me open it and smile. She had already known everything, seeing it in my mind the day before; the only reason that I let her stay. Alfred had made the hot chocolate and Bruce the container to keep it warm and safe. I had let her take the first couple of sips, quickly gotten my camera and had taken the shot. She was happy in the picture. One of the only times I had seen her truly happy, smiling even. A real Raven smile. I had only ever seen it one other time. When we had defeated Trigon.

The picture slipped from my fingers and fell to the ground. "Where are you Raven..." I said brokenheartedly as small tears fell from my eyes.

Bruce frowned as he moved away from the closed door of his adopted sons room as he heard him start to break down, fighting his own tears as he realized how much his son was hurting.