AN: I'm adding another option to last chapter's poll. Altogether, we now have:

1. A tragic ending with no room for a sequel.

2. A depressing ending with room for a sequel that will be based on season two.

3. A happyish ending with room for a sequel that will based on season two.

4. A happyish ending with room for a sequel that won't be based on season two.

5. A depressing ending with room for a sequel that won't be based on season two.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but all votes from last chapter have been wiped clean. If you already voted, I would love it if you did it again, just so I can see how my stats are with the new option included.

Anyways, enjoy some Daddy Bats fluff...

xXx (At the Manor) xXx

Bruce finished gelling his hair back, and gave himself a once over using his bathroom mirror. He had a crisp new suit on, and that along with his hairstyle seemed to scream 'rich man.' On the bright side, nothing about him could raise suspicion about him secretly being a vigilante, especially not if he used his 'Brucie' personality.

Everything was in order.

He glanced down at his watch and noticed that he still had time for breakfast. That meant that he could spend more time with Dick, which was something he always appreciated. That boy always managed to cheer him up without trying. With a small smile, the man exited the bathroom and headed downstairs to the dining room. Set out on the table were two plates filled with scrambled eggs and bacon. Hm, Alfred knew that he would be eating breakfast before he did. How did he always manage to do that?

"Ah, there you are Master Bruce," Alfred greeted as he walked in from the kitchen, carrying a mug. "Here is your coffee."

"Thank you Alfred." He looked at the seat across from his, which was unusually empty. Dick was always the first to get up, so where could he have possibly been? "You wouldn't happen to know where Dick is, would you?"

"I cannot say I do. However, I can go upstairs and see what is keeping him if you'd like."

"Please."

Alfred nodded and left the room, leaving Bruce alone to his thoughts.

Zatara told him that he would be bringing his daughter to the Mountain later that day, and Bruce had been hesitant about introducing his son to yet another stranger. The boy had been stressed out enough what with starting school, going on nightly patrols, and worrying about Deathstroke's ominous threat. Bruce did everything he could to make Dick feel safe, and even went out of his way to get him a therapist to see if it would have a positive effect. No matter what they tried, nothing seemed to be working. Dick of course had his moments where he seemed to be happy, but those were scarce compared to his unhappy ones.

And his behavior worsened as a result.

Bruce couldn't understand why Dick acted like he did. He was an extremely talented boy, but always doubted his abilities, and had to be reassured several times that he wasn't a complete failure. On top of that, he also had a problem with attention, especially when it came to his guardian. Bruce understood that his time in Cadmus made him desperate for attention, but it was starting to become unhealthy. The boy's mood would quickly go sour if his mentor did anything that didn't involve him. He also had a growing worry that Bruce was going to get rid of him for some reason, something that Bruce didn't understand at all. Had he not done everything he could to make Dick feel welcome there? Apparently not, or it wouldn't be a problem.

Alfred reappeared in the dining room doorway, looking worried. "Master Bruce, it seems as though Master Dick is not feeling well."

Bruce stood immediately. "What do you mean, not feeling well?" His mind automatically jumped to the thought of another panic attack. Why in the world would Alfred leave him alone in his room if he was panicking?!

"He was still sound asleep when I found him, and he remained that way though I knocked on his door several times. I gently shook him to wake him and when he finally woke, he curled up and claimed that he had a nasty headache."

Well, that was better than a panic attack. Bruce relaxed slightly."Does he have a fever?" He asked, assessing the situation as best he could with the limited information he was provided with. He had no idea what he would do if Dick had anything besides a cold. Would he have to take him to the hospital? Were there shots that he needed? What if it was something deadly?

"His forehead seemed to be a little warm now that you mention, but I'm sure that it is only a cold. Shall I call Dr. Leslie Thompkins and ask for her to come over?"

Bruce slowly shook his head. "No. Let's just keep an eye on him for now, and we'll call Leslie if his condition worsens." Oh, Dick was in for the coddling of a lifetime.

Eyebrows rose in the air. "We, sir?"

He blinked. "Well I can't go to work if Dick is sick," he explained, confusion showing on his face. Why would he leave the house knowing that his son wasn't feeling well? He could need him for something!

Alfred smiled knowingly. "Right you are, Master Bruce. Do you wish for me to call the office and explain to them that you can't make it?"

"That would be great."

"What shall I say is your reason for not being there?"

Bruce shrugged absent mindedly. "My ex girlfriend had the flu and didn't tell me. That's something anyone will believe."

"Of course." He looked up at the ceiling. "Perhaps Master Dick would appreciate it if his breakfast was brought to him upstairs?"

This time, it was Bruce who rose his eyebrows, watching as the butler moved to grab a tray from the kitchen. When he returned, Bruce gave him an odd look. "Breakfast in bed Alfred? Are you sure it's Dick who's feeling unwell?"

"Maybe we're all a bit under the weather this morning. Master Dick has a headache, I'm allowing meals to be eaten outside of the dining room," his eyes twinkled, "and you're staying home from work and missing an important meeting. Something of which you haven't done in years."

Bruce's face heated up, and he cleared his throat before replying, "They won't miss me in the office." He took the tray from him and picked up the plates as well. "Besides, he's more important than some boring business meeting."

He left after that, though he heard Alfred murmur, "Spoken like a true father."

Needless to say, his face remained bright red.

xXx

Dick squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out all light without having to get up to shut the blinds. God, his head hurt. It felt like their was a bomb detonating somewhere inside of his skull, and any movement he made the explosion worsen. He wanted to stay in bed and curl up until he no longer felt miserable but at the same time, he desperately wanted to get out of bed and do something. His restlessness and misery fought against each other in his mind, only to make his headache hurt even more. Ugh, being sick was the worst.

A knock came at the door, and he groaned in response. He forced his eyes opened and watched as Bruce walked in, carrying a tray with two plates of food on it. "Hey chum." He greeted, moving to sit at the edge of his bed and placing the tray on the nightstand. The man reached over and placed a hand on his forehead, a frown appearing on his face as he withdrew. "Alfred wasn't kidding when he said you weren't feeling well."

"My head hurts," he muttered in response.

"I heard about that too. Did you take anything yet?"

He tried to nod but ended up wincing as the movement only added onto his pain. "Alfred gave me some aspirin before he left but it hasn't kicked in yet."

Bruce nodded. "Do you think you can sit up and eat something?"

Dick wrinkled his nose at the mentioning of food, but then saw the strain on Bruce's face and gave him another half nod. The man absolutely hated his lack of appetite, for some reason, and he promised himself today he would eat more. Bruce smiled at his response and helped him sit up, even changing the position of the pillows to insure that his charge was as comfortable as possible. Dick felt his face heat up in response to this; he wasn't used to that kind of treatment at all.

The moment he was sitting up straight, a tray was gently placed on his lap, and he caught sight of breakfast. Scrambled eggs and bacon... he couldn't find anything to complain about. There were two plate on his tray, and he realized that Bruce was going to eat with him. "Here," he muttered as he slowly scooted over to give him more room. "Now we can both be lazy."

Bruce chuckled and mimicked his position on the mattress, and Dick pushed the tray until they both had half of it resting on their laps. "Well, dig in. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that Alfred gave us."

Dick scooped up a forkful of eggs and shoved them in his mouth. "Oh, so this was his idea? Funny, I thought you snuck it up here or something."

"Even I don't even take such big risks, chum. Alfred would burn me alive if we had breakfast in bed without his permission."

"My lord, is that really what you think of me?" Alfred commented from the doorway. Dick turned to look at him, wincing when he did. Damn headache... "I'm not as evil as Master Bruce seems to believe, I assure you."

Bruce scoffed. "When was the last time you let me have breakfast in bed?"

"I don't recall you ever displaying any behavior that deserved such a treat, sir."

Dick snorted, while Bruce looked abashed. "Hmph." The man grabbed a piece of bacon from his plate and took a big bite out of it, glaring at Alfred all the while. This childish behavior made Dick burst into a fit of giggles, and Alfred's lips even came up just a little.

"If we're done discussing my dislike of having meals outside of the dining room, I thought I would bring you two some biscuits." In one hand was another plate, this one filled with biscuits, and in the other was a jar of strawberry jam. "They are fresh out of the oven, and as I recall they are some of Master Dick's favorite breakfast items."

The boy paused, blinking at him slowly. He actually remembered that? Honestly, Dick didn't think he'd care enough to remember something as simple as his favorite foods. He tilted his head slightly, minding the headache, and looked at Alfred, actually looked at him. In the small amount of time he has been there, he couldn't recall a single instance where the butler was anything but kind towards him. Huh. He never actually let himself appreciate how nice the man was to him; it was almost as though anything outside of his hero life was casted to the back of his mind. He felt slightly guilty about it, and mentally swore that he would try to get to know Alfred more. After all, he was almost like his grandfather. It would be strange if they didn't interact with each other.

"Thank you Alfred," Bruce said gratefully, taking both items from him and setting them on the nightstand.

"Yeah, thanks Alfie," Dick said, giving him the biggest smile he could manage.

"Of course. I do hope you feel better soon, Master Dick. You wouldn't want to miss the failsafe mission you have been so excited about."

"Don't even worry about that. I'll drag myself all the way to the Zeta Tubes if I have to. There's no way I'm missing out on that!"

Alfred nodded, gave Bruce a strange look, then briskly turned around and left the room, gently closing the door behind him.

Bruce took care of getting them both a biscuit, split them in half, and then used a butter knife to spread jelly on the inside. Dick watched him, totally hypnotized by the action. His blue eyes watched the knife move, and he suddenly had the urge to take it from him. He had no clue what he would do with it, but he had a burning desire to lean over and yank it out of his guardian's hands. He was able to stop himself from acting on that impulse by forcing himself to look away. It wasn't like the knife was sharp enough, anyways.

"Here." Bruce handed him both halves of a biscuit before putting the jam away. Dick took the two pieces and pushed them back together in a strawberry biscuit sandwich. Bruce gave him an odd glance as he watched him take a happy bite out of his food. "Most people I know eat the halves separately."

"Most people you know are rich and snobby. Being neither of the above, I think I can eat my biscuits as a sandwich."

Bruce paused right before he took a bite out of his own food. "I eat my biscuits in halves. Are you calling me a snob?"

Dick snickered. "Yes, because any man who dresses up like a bat at night, and is willing to have breakfast in bed with their annoying child is obviously a snob."

A snort. "Obviously." He nudged him with his elbow. "But if I'm not a snob, that means you're not annoying."

"If you say so." Dick said with a small grin. "Hey, do you think Barbara can come over today? If I can't go to the Mountain, it'd be cool if I could at least talk to my civilian friend."

"I'll call Gordon." Bruce smirked to himself. "But I doubt she'll say no, in any case."

Dick questioned that look, but decided to ignore it. Adults were weird sometimes. But then again, so was being hypnotized by someone putting jam on a biscuit.

They returned to their food in silence, content with simply being at each other's sides.

xXx

AN: Sorry, this is just a filler chapter I made in place of 'Humanity,' because... Chalant won't be the pairing of this story. If you don't like it, I'm sorry but this is my final decision. I'm sure everyone has an idea what pairing I chose, but it won't be official until the sequel comes out. I don't want a relationship ruining what I have in store for this story.

But anyways, please take this time to prepare yourself for the next chapter.