A/N: So, this is the day the world supposedly ends. Excuse me if I'm carrying on with my life as usual, eh? XD

Thanks to Dextra2 and leathman for reviewing last chapter.

Like Father, Like Son

Alfred Pennyworth watches the young, dark-haired boy peering curiously at the finely wrapped presents under the tree, and he is reminded of how another boy, much younger than this one, had once done the same.

Young Jason Todd was a streetwise orphan aged just ten years old when Alfred caught him in the act of trying to steal the Batmobile's tires. Jason passed his eleventh birthday in Wayne Manor, as Alfred hopes he will pass many more. The sagacious butler knows that part of the reason Bruce took in the stubborn orphan is because Jason reminds him of Dick – but Alfred thinks the newest addition to the Batclan is more like Bruce than Bruce realizes.

Jason met Bruce as Batman first, so when Bruce decided to adopt him and bring him to Wayne Manor, it was impossible for the boy not to realize who Batman was. And after seeing Dick's old Robin suit in its glass case in the Batcave, he had eagerly asked whether he could become Robin. Bruce had taken a while to warm to the idea, but three months of constant badgering on Jason's part finally wore him down. Jason began training under Batman in mid-October, and went on his first patrol with the Dark Knight in November. The new Robin is quickly showing signs of being every bit as skilled as his predecessor – much like Bruce had been a fast learner of the numerous disciplines he had been trained in. Jason is not yet allowed out alone, but it is clear that he is fast becoming a valuable addition to the Batclan.

Alfred is Bruce Wayne's butler, but he is also so much more than that. Alfred is Batman's confidante, friend, and Bruce Wayne's second father. He sees Bruce as his own son, and Dick, Barbara, and now Jason as his grandchildren. He has been with Bruce since the very beginning, and he watches everything. It's been a journey that has not always been smooth, or pleasant, and there were times when he believed it simply wasn't worth it – but through it all, his faith in Bruce has never wavered.

Alfred is the only person in the world who has seen every side of Bruce Wayne – from the earnest, curious little boy who delighted in Christmas every year to the angry, bitter teenager who refused to put up a tree, to the broody, determined young man who spent years training himself to the peak of physical perfection, and finally, to the experienced, intelligent detective hero he is now. Most unfortunately, the innocence and trust of Bruce's earliest incarnation disappeared the moment the eight-year-old boy watched his parents being murdered, never to return. Alfred is glad, though, that at least some of the real Bruce Wayne – not the playboy image he crafts or the lethally ruthless figure he cultivates as Batman, but the kind and caring soul that is buried somewhere under the layers of identity – is beginning to show through the protective wall he has erected around himself.

Dick had the misfortune to be the first Bruce ever let in. At that point in his life, Bruce was barely beginning to mellow out from the hard shell he was, with the result that he was much harsher on Dick than he is on Jason. Barbara joined their little family not long after, but she didn't live with Bruce, and she, having Commissioner Gordon as her father, was able to understand to a certain extent why Bruce acted the way he did. Dick never had the benefit of that insight, and he grew resentful of his mentor's distant manner. Alfred knows Bruce cared then, and still does – but the best they can hope for is for Dick to accept what Bruce did and move on. Hopefully, in the time to come, the two ex-partners will eventually grow to be friends.

With Jason, however, Bruce has learned something of parenting. The way he'd handled the youngster that night in July – with a firm but gentle lecture – fills Alfred with pride. The boy he raised has become a man; the son is becoming the father.

And Bruce is like his father, in many ways. Alfred can see Thomas Wayne's shrewd business sense in the way Bruce pretends to be the silly playboy CEO when he deals with WayneTech's competitors, yet still manages to bring WayneTech out on top; his generosity in the research Bruce does to find the most deserving charities to donate to; his intelligence in Bruce's brilliant detective mind. And Bruce has held on to all the things Alfred taught him about being a good man, which is all the old butler has ever wished for.

Now Bruce is a father himself. Maybe not biologically, but as Alfred knows, that's the least of what makes one a father. Lord knows he and Bruce don't have a hint of shared blood between them – but that doesn't make the slightest bit of difference. Bruce has been Dick's father since the latter was nine years old (even if Dick is feeling too angry to admit it right now) and in time, he will become Jason's father as well. Jason will benefit from Bruce's tutelage, just as Dick and Barbara did – perhaps even more so, because Bruce has become a better teacher. And Alfred will make sure that the boy receives the emotional support he needs even if Bruce is still unable to provide that, just as he did for Dick. In this way, Bruce becomes more than just the Batman, and Alfred becomes more than just a butler.

Bruce has learned to relax enough that he stayed for Christmas Eve dinner with Alfred and Jason before he took to the streets for his nightly patrol. But even this patrol is different, seeing how it involves a bottle of bourbon for Harvey Dent, whom Bruce hopes will resurface tonight. Alfred hopes so too – he remembers the days when Batman, Dent, and Commissioner Gordon made an unstoppable team. Bruce thinks he doesn't know what he intends to do tonight, but Alfred has been watching, as he has been for years. He knows. Oh, yes, there are so many things Alfred knows. One of them is something even Bruce has never figured out: how Alfred always knows when he returns and is always ready for him, no matter what time it is.

Alfred allows himself a small smile as he glances at the grandfather clock that hides the entrance to the Batcave. When the heavy pendulum is unhooked, the hidden door slides open. Bruce believes that is the only secret the clock holds, but Thomas Wayne discovered the cavern under his mansion not long before his death. Thinking it could be useful as a place for storing important documents and objects, he created several mechanisms for it before he died – all of which Alfred was privy to. Therefore, Alfred is aware that whenever a weight crosses a pressure point in the cave floor (as the Batmobile does whenever Batman comes home), the clock chimes once, in a decidedly different tone from its usual peals. Alfred is a light sleeper, and when Bruce started Batman activities the butler insisted on moving his room to the one across the hall, so he always hears and awakes at the chime that signals Bruce's arrival, and comes to the Batcave with a tray of food and a first-aid kit seven minutes later without fail, like (pardon the pun) clockwork.

He will be waiting tonight, as usual. When the clock chimes, Alfred will be up and dressed to attend to whatever Bruce needs. Bruce will be expecting him, as always, and the tray and kit will be resting on the table in his room, ready for pickup. Alfred, like Bruce, is always prepared.

Like father, like son.

A/N: Alfred is awesome. Enough said.

So, like I mentioned above, the world is supposed to end today - but I don't believe that for a second, so...

TOMORROW: With a title like Ocean Depths, you should be able to guess who's showing up tomorrow - but you will not be expecting the storyline not-so-hidden in the chapter.