The One With The New Brother

The Cave
July 7th
Central Park, New York

"It's not that hard!"

"Uh, yeah it is! "

"Come on I do it all the time!"

"Yeah but you've got the looks of a sex god and the charisma of one of those playboy billionaires. The rest of us aren't so lucky."

"Some less than others!"

"Hey!" Wally cried out indignantly. Artemis shrugged while the Dick and Conner snickered.

"They do have a point my friend. It is considerably easier for you to go up to a random stranger and procure a date for the evening." Kaldur added. Megan set down their drinks and joined them on the sofa.

"I mean all you have to do is look at the girl and they're falling into your lap!" Artemis complained. "Me, I have to spend at least ten minutes inflating a guy's ego before anything can even start to happen."

"Yeah! The last time I tried to ask a random girl out she hit me!" Wally added.

"That's because you fell on her." Conner pointed out. Wally's face blushed a light shade of red while the others snickered.

"Not to mention your pick up lines could use some work." Megan said taking a bite of a muffin.

"I'm wounded babe. Kiss it better?" He asked hopefully. Artemis groaned while Megan shook her head.

"Go bother that girl over there would you?" Conner snapped suddenly. Wally gave him a strange look but complied.

"Fine. Dick, be my wingman." The raven-haired boy nodded and they both stood up. Artemis leaned towards the others conspiratorially.

"Ten bucks says he gets rejected before he can open his mouth."

"Fifteen that he gets out one sentence before she hits him." Conner said dropping the money on the table.

"Oh don't be so cynical you two. I say Dick gets her interested, but he screws it up at the last second." Megan told them dropping a crisp five dollar bill onto the table. Kaldur shook his head and gathered the money. He never betted, but was the official judge and money keeper for all their wagers. The quartet turned and watched Wally and Dick approach the pretty blonde. Wally raised his hand in greeting before crashing into a advertisement covered post and falling to the ground by her feet.

"Um, he was so enchanted by your beauty that he ran into that poll there." Dick tried, helping his friend to his feet.

"So I'm going to need your name and number for insurance purposes." Wally added quickly sticking out his hand. The blonde looked him up and down before scoffing.

"Are you sure you weren't distracting by your friend? Because I know I was." The blonde said adding a flirtatious wink directed at Dick. Dick smiled back at her, and steered Wally back to their table.

"Have a nice day now." He told her as they arrived back at the group. Kaldur was handing the money over to Megan since she was the closest.

"You were so close too." Artemis said mockingly. Wally threw his cookie at her.

"Dick. Do me a favor." Wally groaned sinking into the couch.

"What?"

"Never let me ask you to be my wingman again."

Wayne Enterprises
July 8th
Downtown New York

"Mister Wayne your one o'clock is here." The receptionist said into the phone. Dick looked around at the outer office, taking in all of the details. He had been here more times than he could count, but he always managed to find something new to look at while he waited. Bruce was nothing if not busy and often Dick would find himself waiting on his adoptive father. Today however, Bruce was right on time and invited Dick into his inner sanctum straight away.

"Hello Bruce." Dick greeted, shaking hands with the older man. If you didn't know he was adopted, most people would swear they were biological father and son. With the same thick black hair, and piercing blue eyes, the pair were the spitting image of each other. "So what is it you wanted to talk about?" Bruce motioned for him to sit down, and he poured him a drink.

"I know you said you didn't want to take over the company and you wanted to be an actor, but is that still what you want?" Bruce asked, jumping right in as usual. When Dick graduated high school, Bruce had announced the new heir to the Wayne Enterprises fortune and company: Dick Grayson. However the eighteen year old wanted nothing to do with the technologies company, instead preferring to follow in his parents footsteps and become an actor. Initially this had caused a falling out between the two and Dick had left Gotham City behind and moved to New York to begin fresh where no one but his closest friends knew who his father was. After a while they realized this was a silly thing to feud over and they patched things up, though something had defiantly changed in their relationship.

"Yes." Dick said firmly. Acting was his passion and even if he was failing at it so far, he wasn't ever going to give it up. Bruce nodded in understanding.

"Alright. I just wanted to make sure." He was silent for a minute while he took a long sip of his drink. "I wanted you to know that I'm going to adopt another son." Dick blinked as he took in the new information.

"To replace me?" He asked. Bruce shook his head.

"I need a heir, otherwise, the company will fall into the hands of the highest stock holder when I retire, which right now is-"

"Daniel Powers." Dick finished grimly. Bruce nodded. Powers was greedy, self-interested and extremely corrupt. If the company were to fall under his leadership, it would be a very bad thing for everyone. Dick sighed.

"Why tell me this?"

"Because I would like you to be involved with him. Be the big brother you always wanted. I still want you around, even if you won't take over the company." Bruce added when Dick didn't respond. "But it's your choice. You can be as involved as you want." Dick got up to leave. At the door he turned around.

"What's his name?"

"Tim. Timothy Drake."

Artemis and Megan's Apartment
July 8th
Central Park, New York

"Why is there all this crap on the sofa?!" Conner demanded and he ran around the apartment tidying things up. Artemis looked up from cleaning her archery supplies on the couch.

"I have a tournament on the weekend. I have to be sure my bow and arrows are in working order." She told him calmly. Conner's face turned an odd shade of puce before he soundlessly counted to ten.

"Why are you doing it right now?" He asked quietly.

"Because this is my house and I'm trying to remain calm with all your scurrying and tidying." She muttered. She liked having a bit of mess in her apartment, and whenever it was spotless, it felt sterile and uncomfortable to her.

"I know your nervous for your parent's visit but it can't be that bad." Megan said from the kitchen. Her hands stirred a large pot with a wooden spoon that contained almost ready perogies making a delicious smell waft over the rest of the apartment.

"Easy for you to say. Your father doesn't hate you and my father is easy to please if you're not the son he never wanted." Conner snapped. Megan looked down quickly at the food and mumbled an apology. Artemis glared at him and started packing up her arrows. Every time Clark Kent and his wife Lois were in the city for their reporting jobs, they would come by for a dinner with Conner's friends. It was mostly Lois' attempt to get Conner and Clark to speak to each other but, Clark always seemed to be more interested with his friends then him. Still Conner worked his hardest to impress his father.

"I'm sure the state of Artemis and Megan's living quarters will not be blamed upon you." Kaldur soothed, helping him to tidy the apartment. "Why don't you go take a shower to clear your head?" Conner grunted and left.

"He doesn't like me, does he?" Megan mumbled from her pot. Kaldur and Artemis exchanged a look.

"Of course he does." Artemis told her, walking into the kitchen. "Why would you think that?"

"He hasn't been very friendly." Megan admitted.

"He is simply stressed about his father's visit. He will come around." Kaldur assured her.

"Besides, he's always a sour puss. You just need to get under all that to find he's a fluff ball." Artemis added with a wink before returning to packing away her arrows. Wally arrived a few moments later.

"Hey sweet cheeks. I thought you were supposed to return your engagement ring to Larry today." Wally asked peering in the pot. Megan smiled and smacked her forehead.

"Hello Megan! I need to leave in twenty minutes." The red head went to her room and Wally took over with the pot. Kaldur continued to straighten things up and Artemis glanced out the large window that overlooked Conner's building.

"EW! Ugly Naked Guy got a new feather boa!" Both boys scurried over to see what she was talking about. True to her word, the man who lived above Conner, who had green hair, pale yellow skin and who rarely wore anything other than a navy green speedo and a red feather boa had changed from red to purple.

"You know, I think I prefer the red." Wally mused. The others agreed.

"Hey, has anyone seen my engagement ring?" Megan asked worriedly coming out of her room.

"Yes. It is quite lovely." Kaldur smiled. Megan's eyes flickered with annoyance.

"Oh god, as if I wasn't dreading giving it back enough already!" She groaned, sliding her hands through the couch cushions. Conner walked in, hair still damp and his eyes twitched at the sight of her ruffling the blanket he had painstakingly folded.

"It's alright, we'll find it! Won't we." Artemis promised, sending a look to the boys, who were idly standing around. At her harsh tone, the three of them jumped and started to help her search.

"When did you have it on last?" Wally asked from near the window.

"I know I had it this morning when I was rolling the dough for… the… oh shitaki mushrooms." Megan said in horror as she starred at the pot. Conner looked at the pot with equal horror.

"You didn't…" He pleaded almost running over to the black pot. He peered in and starred at the perogies. He flipped each one around with the spoon.

"You know that's not how you search for a ring in perogies." Artemis chided. Conner sighed and dumped the water out in a strainer and placed the perogies on a plate.

"I can't do it." He groaned, turning away from the dish.

"Boys," Wally said looking at Artemis and Kaldur. "We're going in." While the trio opened each nugget, a knock on the door sent Megan answering it.

"Hi." Dick said when the door opened. His hands were in his pockets and his head hung low.

"That is not a happy hi." Megan observed, letting him in.

"Bruce is adopting again." He said. Everyone swung their heads to look at him. Well everyone except Wally, who had pulled a large diamond from it's cheesy prison.

"Found it!" He cried triumphantly. Artemis went up to Dick and pulled him onto the couch.

"What? Why?" She asked concernedly. Dick shook his head bitterly.

"Apparently he needs someone to take over the company."

"So where do you fit into all of this?" Megan asked.

"He says he wants me to be involved, but if I'm not comfortable with it, I don't have to be involved. It's really up to me."

"Why can't I have a father who cares like that?" Conner asked himself. Wally patted his shoulder.

"He wants me to come down to the orphanage tomorrow with him to get all the paper signed." Everyone had migrated over to the couch to show him their support. Artemis sat right next to him, holding his hand, Conner sat on the chair across from him, Megan and Kaldur kneeled in front and stood beside him and Wally hovered over his head, stuffing the ruined perogies into his mouth.

"So how do you feel about all this?" Kaldur asked.

"I don't know. Either way, I'm getting a baby brother." There was a quiet moment of silence before one of Wally's perogies fell on Dick head.

"Dude!"

The Conservatory For Aquatic Life
July 8th
Upstate New York

"And these water python will keep you company for years." Larry Gahn told the little boy, Garfield. The bell over the door dinged once, to let him know another visitor had arrived. He looked up to find Megan Morse, wearing jean overalls and red hair tied up in a loose bun at the top of her head walking toward him.

"Hey Larry." She smiled. Larry smiled back and turned to face her. "Is now a bad time?" She asked looking at Garfield.

"Oh, no, Gar's going to be here for a while!" He said waving away her concerns. Garfield looked less then pleased with this statment.

"You look great." She told him.

"I feel great." Just then his pager beeped. "Opps, I have to get this! I'll be right back." And with that, he disappeared through the rows of aquatic life. Garfield looked at her with a sympathetic smile.

"I left him." She clarified, pulling her hair free of the bun and pulled the extra fabric of her outfit tight.

"Okay…" He said with a slight disbelieving tone. After a few minutes, Larry returned.

"So. What have you been up to?" He asked.

"Oh, well I got a job."

"That's great." He said quickly.

"So what about you?" Megan asked.

"Well, actually, I have some news." She nodded expectantly. "Now this may hurt, but I went on our honeymoon."

"Alone. Oh, Larry, I'm so sorry!"

"Uh no. Not alone. Now this may sting, but I went with Wendy Harris."

"Wendy? As in my maid of honor Wendy?" Megan demanded.

"Oh snap." Garfield muttered looking between the adults.

"Listen, we you left me, I was totally crushed. I thought we were happy. But we weren't happy. With Wendy, I'm happy. She's my Angelfish." Megan looked frazzled for a second, before regaining her composure.

"Well I guess this belongs to you." She said, pulling out the ring. "Or maybe one day Wendy."

"Yeah, like she'd accept just that?" Megan's smile tightened.

"Well. I better be going then." She said. Larry nodded and waved goodbye. Just as she turned to leave, she felt a tugging at her purse.

"Excuse me, Miss!" Garfield said. Megan kneeled to his level.

"What's up?" He looked bashfully at the floor.

"I think you were right to leave him. You're far too pretty for him!" He told her. She smiled at him.

"Thank you. I think it was a good idea too!" She ruffled his hair and was on her way.

Artemis and Megan's Apartment
July 8th
Central Park, New York

"Artemis! Wally! Dick! It's great to see you again!" Clark boomed, when Conner opened the door for him. Completely ignoring his son, the reporter pulled Artemis into a hug and warmly shook hands with the boys.

"Hello Conner. How are you?" Lois asked her step-son, kissing his cheek.

"I'm fine. Thanks Lois." He said grumpily. The other reporter gave him a warm hug.

"Don't let Clark get you down baby." She whispered to him. She was always able to make him feel better about himself.

"How about you, Kaldur? How have you been?" Clark asked the dark skinned boy, sitting down on the couch.

"I have been fine thank you." He responded politely. Conner and Dick went about handing out the appetizers while the others conversed.

"You must be Megan! I'm Lois, nice to meet you." Lois said, shaking Megan's hand. Clark extended his own and shook hers after.

"You too! I've heard so much about you!"

"Conner tells me you're interested in fashion. I happen to know a guy who works for Lalph Rauren…" The two females quickly fell into a deep conversation about shoes, leaving the others to their own devices.

"The apartment looks great Artemis!" Clark complimented.

"Thanks. Conner helped me clean it up this morning!" Artemis said, pulling Conner down next to her.

"Only this morning? From all the time he spends here, you'd think he'd help out more often." Artemis felt her eye twitch, but refrained from slapping a hand to her face.

"So how's the new article coming?" Conner asked, trying to get his father talking to him.

"Fine. So Wally, I heard from your uncle that you're close to a break through with your newest attempt for a cancer cure." Conner slumped into the cushions and pouted until it was time for supper.

"So what's on the menu for tonight?" Lois asked, sitting down beside Conner and Megan.

"Lasagna. Homemade!" Dick chirped, dishing out the plates.

"Smells delicious." Clark complimented, taking a large bite of the pasta.

"Thank you!" Megan smiled.

"I thought Conner said he was cooking." Conner sent Megan a hatful glare.

"He uh- I mean um."

"Don't worry about it. Now let's eat!" Conner glared for the rest of the meal and didn't even try to say goodbye to his father. Lois however, wouldn't leave without a hug goodbye.

"Don't worry about your father. He'll come around." She whispered in his ear. He nodded and Clark left without a word.

"Conner, I'm so sorry about dinner, I…" Megan began.

"Don't talk to me." He told her before walking across the hall to the boy's apartment.

Dick and Wally's Apartment
July 8th
Central Park, New York

"I know what you're thinking." Kaldur said, walking into the room. The boy's apartment was smaller then the girl's and it was a tad blander as well. However it worked for them and so they didn't bother changing anything.

"Yeah? And what's that?" Conner asked from upside down on the couch.

"You feel bad for overreacting this afternoon and for being unpleasant this evening, but do not know how to apologize to Megan. Just say, sorry." Conner looked at Kaldur with his sad blue eyes.

"Alright."

New York Adoption Agency
July 9th
Downtown New York

"Hey, sorry I'm late!" Dick said, as he walked into the waiting room. Bruce and Alfred, their family butler, were sitting down in the chairs provided.

"What kept you?" Bruce asked monotonously.

"Wally and Artemis had a another spat I had to break apart. So we're waiting for-"

"Mister Fox. He's in just getting the papers in order." They sat in silence for a while before Dick spoke.

"So how's all this going to work?"

"Well Master Dick, after the paper are brought in, Master Bruce will have to sigh in several places and then Master Tim will be allowed to come home with us." Alfred explained.

"Thanks, Alfred." Dick said dryly. "I meant how is this going to work with us?"

"What do you mean?" Bruce asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"I mean, do you expect me to be around the kid all the time, do you expect me to be aloof, do you want me to raise the kid like my own?" Alfred raised an eyebrow of his own.

"Whatever you're comfortable with." Bruce said. Dick groaned.

"I don't know! What if I can't stand the kid? How old is he anyways?"

"He's going to be four weeks exactly by Wednesday."

"That young? You aren't planning on retiring any time soon huh?"

"I don't think you not getting along with the boy is going to be an issue, Master Dick. Think of it, as molding him in your image." Alfred smiled. There was a knock at the door, and Luscious Fox came in the room, a handful of papers in his arms.

"Alright gentlemen, if you could just sign on the dotted line and initial where necessary, you can take Timmy home with you today." Bruce took out a pen and set to work. Alfred went to make sure he was doing it properly, and Dick went over to Luscious.

"Why is Tim up for adoption?" He asked.

"I'm afraid his parents didn't want a child, but didn't want an abortion either. We've asked several other families to take him in, but nobody wanted him. If Bruce didn't agree to take him, it would have been a foster home for him." Fox explained. Dick's heart went out to the boy.

"So, then you asked Bruce to take him in?" Dick questioned. Luscious nodded. It was just like Bruce to leave out important information to make himself seem less caring and more like a cold business man.

"I know he wanted someone to carry on in his footsteps and since you had left, I hoped the two of them could fill each other's needs." Dick nodded silently, feeling incredibly better about the whole situation.

"All done." Bruce announced, handing the papers back to Luscious. The official looked over the papers and started nodding.

"It all seems to be in order. I'll be right back." He disappeared out the door he came in.

"Bruce?" Dick said, looking at his father. "I wanna help out. As much as I can." Bruce smiled, a somewhat rare sight nowadays and clapped his son on the back.

"Of course." Luscious returned, this time instead of holding paper, a bundle of cloth and a tuff of black hair was in his arms.

"Gentlemen, meet Timothy Jackson Wayne." Dick's eyes widened as the baby was handed to Bruce. The billionaire held him for a few moments before offering him to Dick. Dick took him and cradled the baby with an almost reverence.

"He's beautiful." Dick whispered, already knowing this kid was going to be the most spoiled and loved little boy in the whole world.

The Cave
July 9th
Central Park, New York

"He is so adorable!" Megan cooed, as she and Artemis fawned over the picture Dick had brought with him.

"He reminds me of you!" Artemis grinned, ruffling the actor's hair.

"Now don't say that 'Mis! Tim is far better looking!" Wally teased.

" Ha ha. Very funny. At least I'm not a ginger!" Dick rebutted.

"He is very cute." Kaldur said, taking the photograph from Megan and showing it to Conner.

"Yeah adorable. He's lucky to have such a good big brother." Conner said wistfully.

"You don't need a big brother Con! You have me for an annoying younger sister!" Artemis grinned.

"Actually it would be me who has you as an annoying cousin." Roy grumbled handing her the iced tea she had ordered.

"Aw, you love me to pieces." Artemis smirked. "But I do believe I ordered an iced tea with lemon, not ice." She complained. "Make me another." She ordered, following him back to the counter. Kaldur shook his head and went to diffuse the situation.

"Well, we'd better get going if we want to have the apartment ready for when Tim comes to visit tomorrow!" Dick announced, dragging Wally to his feet. Both boys waved and left. Conner and Megan remained, sitting in silence. Conner looked at her and stood.

"Sorry. For yesterday." He said before walking towards the door. Megan smiled one of her happy little smiles, and dug into her muffin.

Thank you so much to all the wonderful reveiws! I'm so glad you guys like it! I miss Friends too so I'm super happy to be writting this! :D and yes, Ugly Naked Guy is in fact the Creeper from Batman the Animated Series. I love that guy too much not to use him! :D Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you all as soon as I can!