Tim stared at the adoption papers in his hand. Bruce's clipped signature already graced the pages. Tim couldn't place the feelings inside him. His parents had only been dead a few months. They were hardly cold in their graves, and Bruce was already offering him a replacement family. Were these just the documents he had made for Dick with the name changed? Had Bruce developed an adoption compulsion? Was he just supposed to ignore the death of his parents?

Just yesterday, he had to excuse himself from breakfast because Alfred had put tomatoes in his scrambled eggs. Mom had hated tomatoes; she always made her scrambled eggs with red bell peppers. It was such a stupid thing for tears to be brought to his eyes over, but in that moment, the grief had overtaken him. He'd never see his mom or dad again. His mom would never brush the hair outr of his eyes in the early morning to wake him up for an unplanned adventure. He'd never hear his dad with that raspy voice from the cigar smoke complain that his hair had gotten too long for a proper Drake.

Why would Bruce offer this? It was too soon. It was no secret that there was no love lost between Bruce and Janet and Jack Drake. Granted, Bruce never said anything insulting about his parents in Tim's presence, but Tim knew that Bruce couldn't stand them. Bruce didn't understand that Tim didn't need constant supervision. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself at 8 years old, and his parents had done important work. Was Bruce just trying to say he was the better parent? Right. Decent parents didn't kick their sons out of the house. Bruce was good but hardly perfect.

An olive hand tapped the top of the paper. Tim pulled his eyes from the blurred text he didn't realize he had stopped reading to stare into the inquisitive eyes of Cass. Her head tilted slightly; she asked her question with eyes that didn't blink.

"I'm fine, Cass."

She pulled at the papers in his hands. "What is it?"

"They're adoption papers from Bruce."

Cassandra pulled her head back. "You upset why?"

"Why are you upset?" Tim gently corrected.

There was a slight crinkle in her brow. "Why are you upset?" She repeated diligently, but underneath her desire to get the grammar right was a frustration with his delay tactic.

Tim didn't know how to explain his emotions to himself, let alone Cassandra. Cass wouldn't understand. Her father was an abusive asshole. Bruce should be offering to adopt her, not him. An unexpected ping hit his heart. He didn't deserve to be adopted as a Wayne. He was just the replacement for Jason, and Jason was back. Bruce must have done this out of pity.

He didn't need to be pitied. He was Robin. He had been taking care of himself since he was eight years old. He didn't need Bruce or anyone trying to swoop in and save him. His tossed the papers to the side and stood up.

"Because Bruce can't just pretend my parents never existed!" His hands tightened into fists at his side and he stormed out of the 3rd floor study and stomped down the stairs towards his room. Somehow Cassandra beat him there,; she stood in the middle of the room in a stance that would have looked calm if one didn't notice how she danced on the balls of her feet. She was prepared for a fight.

All at once the anger drained out of him. "I'm not mad at you, Cass."

Surprised by the pain in his shoulder, he rolled the joint once and then twice before leaning against the wall and sliding to the floor.

"I don't know what I am." Tim rested his head on his knees, staring at the dirty laces of his shoes.

A gentle hand rested on his knee. Tim didn't bother picking his head up. Cass could read more in his body than his words anyway.

"Safe," she whispered across the darkness.

He threw his head back against the wall. "I know that, Cass." Rolling his head along the wall with his eyes closed, he spoke quietly, "I don't know."

Weight shifted by his uninjured shoulder. He opened one eye to peek at Cassandra nestling close to him.

Tim huffed. "Taking cues from Dick, now?"

Scrunching her nose up, she replied, "Confusing."

"Yeah, Dick confuses a lot of us. He acted so happy for so long. We all missed it."

She made a noise Tim couldn't quite identify and said, "But right about this."

Resting his head on hers, he agreed. "Don't tell him that though."

"Never."

~0~

Batman typed furiously as different windows popped onto the computer. Robin knew better than to interrupt while he was in this mood. That was okay though. There was plenty to observe and learn during these moments, and occasionally if he focused well enough, he'd catch something his mentor missed and be able to offer a crucial detail that solved a case. More often than not, though, it simply provided the chance to learn how Batman's mind worked.

Currently, it was more Bruce than Batman at work. The logs of the BPD for the last two weeks were on full display as Bruce skimmed and filed each report. Bruce's protective instinct made him know and categorize every minor repeat offender in Bludhaven as well as those most likely to cause trouble in the future. If Dick knew about Bruce's catalogs, there would be a fight. Tim was not foolish enough to step into the middle of that.

A grunt shifted Robin's focus from the computer monitor to Batman. The Dark Knight's posture had tightened a minuscule amount. Batman enlarged one window above the others. Robin studied the police report that Batman had focused on. There didn't seem to be anything of note on the simple Bludhaven Police Report Log. Robin reread the report focusing on key information such as the date, time, and people involved trying to find the correlation that stood out to Batman.

There was nothing particularly striking about the information from last Saturday's police log. Wait. Last Saturday. Dick said he had worked last Saturday, but Officer Grayson wasn't listed as an on duty.

"Dick said," Tim began only to be cut off by Batman's grunt. Of course, Bruce had already noticed.

Steepping closer to his mentor, Tim asked, "What are you going to do?"

Batman steepled his fingers under his chin but didn't respond. Why did Dick lie about his injury? It wasn't severe enough to warrant a lecture or even much of an admonishment. He must have been doing something extremely idiotic to hide it.

"You don't think he's going out as Nightwing again?" Surely, Dick wouldn't be dumb enough to attempt that without backup. Not after everything.

Eyes still staring at the police report, Batman replied, "There have been no reported sightings of Nightwing."

That didn't mean Nightwing wasn't patrolling the streets. It could mean that Nightwing was avoiding the press. When Tim expressed this such an opinion aloud, Bruce turned and looked at him with approval.

"Right. But crime rates have risen slightly since Nightwing took his mandatory leave."

"Then it's unlikely that he's patrolling."

Batman grunted.

"How do you think he scraped his arm then?" It had to be something embarrassing for Wing to try to cover it up.

Batman didn't respond, which could mean he didn't know or didn't plan on sharing his suspicions. Robin had grown use to Batman's silences. He could wait until the man decided to share or ordered Robin to act.

"Robin, have you done your physical therapy exercises today?" Batman asked.

Unexpecting the topic shift, Tim shook his head even though Bruce wasn't looking at him. "No."

"Do them now."

Tim sighed. "You know if you confront Dick, there will be a fight."

Batman responded by closing the windows regarding the BPD and pulling up the map of kryptonite or kryptonite laced weapon sightings that had appeared after Superman's ill-fated trade with President Katz. It wasn't exactly surprising that the alien rock had been stolen from the military compound almost as soon as it arrived. Batman was determined to recover all of it before Clark or Conner suffered a fatal accident.

Reaching up overhead in his least favorite of the physical therapy exercises, Tim closed his eyes and distracted himself from the pain. There would also be a fight if Dick learned what Bruce was hiding from him. Harley Quinn knew who had the kryptonite. She also knew the distribution list of clients. No matter what Batman threatened she wouldn't budge an inch.

"What'cha gonna do Batsy? Throw me in jail?!" She cackled. "I told you what I want. One off-the-record conversation with DingWing for all the information I've got."

Batman refused to budge on her request. Robin had tried to persuade him that it would hardly be dangerous for Nightwing to have a conversation with Harley in a guarded prison cell, but Batman shot the idea down. Nightwing would not return to active duty until he was ready. Robin knew better than to continue to argue with an overprotective Batman, so he let the matter drop – even though, every lead went cold.

The closest they had gotten was the van that had transported the kryptonite, but that had been ditched. They couldn't find a trace or a lead of where the kryptonite went from there. It was frustrating, especially when they had an avenue open to them that the Dark Knight refused to take.

Frustrated with the lack of progress in his thoughts, Tim decided to focus intently on his exercises. He probably needed to just stop thinking for a little while.

~0~

Surprised didn't begin to cover the emotion Tim felt when Bruce Wayne appeared at his bedroom door. He could count on one hand the amount of times Bruce had intruded on his personal space in Wayne Manor.

"Can I help you?" Tim asked.

The question must have been the wrong one because something flickered across Bruce's face that Tim couldn't place. Whatever it was, it hadn't been good.

"No, I don't need your help Tim," Bruce said.

"Okay. Then why are you here?" Tim immediately winced. "I didn't mean it like that!"

Bruce closed his eyes for a half-second. "Your question is valid," he admitted.

"Okay."

There was a pregnant pause in the room where neither man said anything. Tim wondered if Bruce would answer or if he had changed his mind and was looking for a way to leave.

When Bruce finally did speak, it surprised Tim more than Bruce's random appearance at his door. "Would you like to watch the Gotham Knights play this Thursday? I can get us a private box."

"I usually have plans with Dick on Thursdays."

"Ah, okay. Another time then."

"But I'm sure Dick would like to come too!" Tim exclaimed, quickly warming up to the idea. "Actually, we could make it a whole family affair. Cass and Jason could come to!"

"I doubt Jason would want to come and Cassandra cannot be seen outside of the manor until David Cain has been brought to justice. Unfortunately, I have a very public presence."

Tim frowned. He knew that was right, but it still sucked for Cass. "Any leads on that?"

"That is a conversation for downstairs," Bruce admonished.

"Well, I still think we should invite Dick and Jason," Tim declared.

Bruce stared at him for a five count and finally said, "Iif that is what you want."

Confused, Tim nodded.

"I'll make the calls."

"Bruce, no one calls anymore. Text them."

Grunting, Bruce pulled out his phone and did just that.

In the end, Jason refused to come although Tim wasn't sure if that was because he wanted to avoid Bruce or wasn't interested in basketball. To be fair, Tim wasn't interested in basketball either, but Bruce had extended the invitation, and Tim had just been too shocked that the man voluntarily offered to spend time with him that he had just responded.

Dick had immediately loved the idea. Then again, Dick could get excited about a root canal if he wanted to, or at least pretend to be. Tim had such a difficult time reading Dick ever since it was revealed how long he had been lying to everyone. Still, the trio had had fun at the game. For the first time, Tim felt slightly normal. Maybe he should let Bruce adopt him.

Of course, as soon as that thought had crossed his mind, Tim was overwhelmed with guilt and couldn't enjoy the rest of the game. Bruce and Dick both noticed. Dick tried to pull him out of it by being Dick while Bruce just watched in quiet thought. Tim had no idea what that man was thinking. But maybe., jJust maybe,. Bruce liked Timothy Drake more than he had thought.

~0~

"Watchtower to Batman, do you copy?" Superman's voice came through the overhead speakers.

Robin quickly pressed the button for video transmissions. "This is Robin."

Superman worried his brow. "Robin, is Batman around?"

"He's patrolling Gotham with Black Bat. What's wrong?"

"Batgirl is in medical at the Watchtower. There's a concerning development regarding the villain she apprehended. He needs to come in."

Robin knew whatever the development was, it was bad if Superman was hesitant to share over the secure Batline. He agreed to pass the message along and quickly switched back to the comms Batman and Black Bat were using for the evening.

"Batman, there's a situation in the Watchtower that needs your attention."

An annoyed grunt sounded over the coms. "What is it?"

"Batgirl is in medical. Superman said there was a problem regarding the villain she apprehended. He wouldn't provide further details."

There was a brief pause. "I'll be back in ten." The coms clicked off.

Six minutes later the Batmobile squealed into the Batcave. Cassandra hopped out of the car without waiting for it to stop, using the car's momentum to summersault in front of Tim.

"What happened?" She demanded.

"I don't know."

Cass stared at him for a minute. He passed whatever test because she turned to where Bruce had started entering the codes for the Zeta to the Watchtower. Batman didn't say a word as the three of them entered the tube. Upon arrival, Cass tugged on Tim's sleeve.

"Where infirmary?" She asked.

"Robin take Black Bat to the infirmary. Meet me in the detention block with a status report," Batman ordered before marching off.

Tim led Cass to the infirmary where they found Barbara laying on a hospital bed with an oxygen canula underneath her nostrils. Her skin was pale, and a quick glance at the monitor levels showed her oxygen levels as dangerously low.

The redhead smiled. "It looks worse than it is. Just got stuck too long in a smoke-filled room."

Cassandra frowned as she studied her friend. Tim grabbed the medical chart and flipped through it quickly. Barbara wasn't underplaying her injuries. Outside of a few bumps and bruises, she should be fine with monitoring and a course of oxygen.

Setting the chart back down, Tim smiled. "Glad that's true."

Barbara rolled her eyes. "Thanks for believing me."

"Just being thorough."

"Go report to Batman. He needs to not be worried about me when he deals with Dr. Barnes," Barbara told him.

Robin nodded once and then headed out the door towards the detention level. He found Superman monitoring an interrogation room where Batman was interrogating a woman handcuffed to the table.

"Dr. Amanda Barnes, creator of smash, drug runner, and criminal mastermind. More importantly, she knows Batman's and his proteges' identities," Superman reported without turning around or removing his gaze from the screen.

Robin's heart skipped. "How?"

Superman shrugged. "She claims she figured it out through deductive reasoning."

"What does she want?"

"We're not sure. Mainly she's been flouting her intelligence in Batman's face."

Slightly reassured by that comment, Robin approached the observation glass. Criminals, who felt the need to tell everyone about how intelligent they were, tended to make stupid mistakes. Arrogance was a dangerous character flaw.

"Face it, Bruce. You have nothing I want besides the guarantee of freedom. There's nothing else you can offer me that will ensure my silence," Dr. Barnes told the Dark Knight.

Batman stared at her in silence.

"He has yet to acknowledge that her theory is correct," Superman explained. "He refuses to speak to her when she calls him Bruce."

Robin frowned. "That hardly disproves anything."

Superman nodded; both of them returned to the observation window.

Dr. Barnes smiled smugly at Batman while the most feared man in Gotham stared back without blinking. Robin had no doubt who would crack first. Batman was an immovable wall when he wanted to be. Robin could wait just as long. After all, Tim was good at waiting.

Author's Note: Hey friends, I know it's been a while. Hopefully, we will get back to our regular bimonthly updates now that the holidays are over! I'm doing much better since my last update. I'm finally on the correct dose of medication and things are doing well. :) Thank you for everyone who asked. I appreciate all of you! I have some of the best and most thoughtful readers. :)

I'm curious to hear everyone's thoughts on this chapter.

Next up will probably be Wally or Jason.