At Wayne Enterprises, its CEO Bruce Wayne sat at his desk, franticly working. Not because he was very busy with things to do, but because he was trying to keep himself busy. The extra reports he had asked for on his desk were merely there to use as a distraction from the troubles going on back at his manor. Unfortunately for him, they weren't doing their job very well.
'You should be back at the cave, with Tim' half of him, the more affectionate, fatherly part, debated. 'He deserves to have you be there, especially after what he's clearly been through.'
But of course, his other half, the ever-so-logical "Batman," thought differently. 'He has Dick to take care of him, not to mention Alfred. Plus, he's not awake, and from the way it seemed, he won't be for some time. There's no reason to rush back if nothing's changed.'
Giving an exasperated sigh, Bruce shoved the papers away, leaning back in his chair. For over an hour, these mini battles in his mind had been going on, stopping him from concentrating on his work. Several times, he hadn't been paying attention and messed up some of the numbers from the reports, having to start all over from the beginning. 'I just can't do this. Maybe… maybe I should call. Just to see how things are going…' he thought miserably.
'No. If something had happened, they would have called. Keep working.'
"Bruce?"
Startled out of his thoughts, Bruce looked up to find Lucius Fox, his companies CFO, standing just inside his doorway. How had he been so unfocused he didn't even notice Lucius come into his office? Bruce wondered as he stood up.
"Lucius. Ah- sorry. Come in. I've just been, uh, a little distracted." Bruce gestured for the man to sit down in one of the comfy chairs in front of his desk, not sitting down until the man had. "So what brings you to my office?" He sat back, giving the man a kind smile.
"Well, believe it or not, you are" Lucius joked. "Jessica had called to tell me you had arrived, almost an hour later than usual. Not that I have a problem with you coming in a bit later, I just can't rememberthe last time you came in after 8."
Bruce gave a small laugh, trying to look anywhere but at Lucius. He knew that if Lucius asked why he was late and he told him, the man would probably tell him to go home, to look after his son. It wasn't that he didn't want to help, he just… wasn't sure of what he could do.
"Bruce? Bruce, what's wrong?" Lucius asked, once again breaking Bruce out of his thoughts. 'Damn it' he thought. 'I must've been making a face…'
"Oh, right. Well, uh, my alarm didn't go off. I forgot to set it last night" he said, shrugging nonchalantly. It wasn't necessarily a lie because he really didn't set his alarm the previous night- he had never gone to sleep. But the look on Lucius' face gave away that he knew Bruce was lying.
"Your alarm clock, Bruce?"
Leaning back in his chair and covering his face with his hands, Bruce sighed. "I know, you're right. It wasn't my alarm. It's just… Well, Tim's sick, and… I don't know if I should be there, Lucius. I mean, Alfred and Dick are there to take care of him, so he doesn't really need me." Even after letting everything that was on his mind out, he still didn't feel better.
"How sick is he Bruce? When did he get sick?" Lucius asked.
"Well, after he came home with Dick last night after…it, he didn't seem so good." He knew Lucius knew about his and his sons' late-night hobby, but he never mentioned it in the office. "I thought he was just tired. But two hours later, Alfred, Dick and I ran into his room to find him throwing up and yelling for something to stop, only for him to pass out. I haven't seen him for several weeks, though, so how long, I don't know…"
"Bruce, you're telling me you have a son at home who's passed out, and you're not there to take care of him?"
"I know, Lucius, but it's like I said before, Dick and Alfred are already there taking care of him. He doesn't need me to be there." Bruce retorted, already getting the sense he was on the losing side.
"You have a sick son, Bruce. Not to mention one that isn't even capable of taking care of himself right now. Go home, Bruce. Your son needs you more than WE does right now." Lucius said, standing up while smiling knowingly at Bruce. The man, however, wasn't paying attention.
'Damn it. I knew he'd say that if I told him… But he made it sound as if I could actually help Tim right now… what could I do that Dick or Alfred couldn't? Why do I have to be there? I don't need Dick's ignoring me either…' Bruce thought. The more he thought about it though, the more he realized he was just trying to stay away from the cave because he didn't want to deal with the guilt.
He already had enough guilt from forgetting that Tim had told him he was going away, he didn't need more from Dick or Alfred. Bruce still hadn't forgotten how Alfred had made Tim's favorite breakfast, raspberry pancakes. "I do apologize, Master Bruce. It seems I've forgotten that you do not like raspberry pancakes."
'Am I such a horrible person that I'd rather run away from guilt-trip looks- which I definitely deserve- than be with my sick son?' he wondered.
"Bruce!"
"Yes, Lucius?"
"You're phone's been ringing for about 10 seconds, and I was wondering if you were going to answer it?" Lucius laughed quietly, slightly amused at the younger man's distressed state.
'Jesus, I can't even notice my phone ringing. Well, I wonder who's- Dick?' he thought, confused when seeing the caller I.D. appear on his phone's screen.
"Dick? What- wait, what? He's… wait, he's what? Dick- " And as soon as it began, the call ended, leaving Bruce shocked and surprised.
Looking up, he quickly realized what he'd just been told, jumping out of his chair to run to his closet and pull out his coat. He felt his pockets, thinking he must have left his keys in his desk.
Scrambling through his desks' drawers, he was becoming frustrated because he couldn't find his keys anywhere. 'God dammit, I don't need this right now!'
'For God's sake, Bruce!"
About to give the older man a glare, he stopped when he saw that Lucius was holding out to him his phone and his keys.
"They were right beside your phone, Bruce" Lucius chuckled.
Taking a deep breath, Bruce met Lucius' eyes. "Tim's awake."
"Well, go then." Lucius smiled, dropping the keys in Bruce's hand. Walking out behind his desk, Bruce put a hand on Lucius' arm, quickly mouthing "Thank you" before running out of the office.
Running past Jessica towards the elevator doors, he gave a quick "I'm going home" before getting into the elevator. As he stepped in and turned around, Bruce saw Jessica quietly giggling before seeing Lucius wave from his office door.
"Tell Alfred and the kids we say "Hello", would you Bruce?" the man said before the elevator doors shut, starting its descent.
A/N Just a quick little thing- I'm glad to hear many of you enjoy this story, and I appreciate the reviews and such! Keep being awesome! :)
