Damian sent a message to Jon then pocketed his phone as he came into Bruce's study. "Father."

"Hello, Damian. How was work?" his father asked, looking up from his laptop.

"It would have been better if Jonathan would stop allowing himself to be distracted by the dogs," Damian answered, sitting down in a chair in front of the desk.

"Isn't it his job to care for the dogs?"

"Not when we're supposed to be going over the finances."

Bruce nodded and turned back to his laptop.

"Do you know if Alfred has already begun preparing for dinner?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"If he hasn't then I think Richard and I are going to head back to Somerset early."

He looked up again with a frown.

Before he could respond, though, Damian continued, "I know you wanted us to stay here until at least after the funeral, but the furor has died down some and with Richard returning to patrol, it would be easier for us both to be able to head back to the Perch instead of the Cave once the night is over. I think seeing his friends around the neighborhood will also help get his mind off… everything."

Bruce didn't react for a moment, then he closed his laptop and clasped his hands on top of it. His gaze met Damian's as he said, "I don't think Dick should return to patrol."

Damian frowned. "You want to extend his punishment? He's already been on the bench for a month. I think that's a fair amount of time."

"I don't mean he should stay on the bench. I meant Robin should be taken off the roster altogether."

Damian was immediately on his feet, leaning over the desk. "I know he shouldn't have gone after Joker -"

"It's not just that. Dick… He never should have been brought into this life. He's not like us and he was too young."

"I was younger than him when I started as Batkid," Damian snapped.

"You were raised by assassins. He had a normal life before you involved him. He deserves a normal life," Bruce said, voice growing tight. "I know you wanted to help him, but this isn't the way."

Damian opened his mouth, then closed it. He took a deep breath as he sat back down with closed eyes, visualizing katas until his temper waned. Once he was calm, he opened them again. "This is what Richard needs."

"No, it isn't."

"How is he any different than the rest of us?"

"You were raised by assassins," Bruce repeated. "As was Cass. Duke was in a gang. Tim raised himself in that damn empty mansion and spent years trailing after us through Gotham's streets with nothing but a camera. And Jason lived on those streets. Dick might not have had a typical childhood, but he had a happy one. He grew up with an entirely different mentality than us. You saw how he looked when he went after Joker."

Damian had. He'd forced his father to show him the footage from both Batman's cowl and Robin's mask. The pride he'd felt at seeing the clown laid low by gashes and electrical burns from his apprentice's feathers and escrima sticks respectively was dulled by the rage that simmered off the boy, and beneath that the utter devastation that fed it.

It reminded him far too much of the boy he'd rescued from Gotham Juvenile Detention. The boy who Damian had thought had been tempered away with Zucco's arrest and Robin's training.

He wasn't sure if he had been, but Jason's death had broken him anew or if Dick had simply never healed in the first place.

And he didn't know which was worse.

"He doesn't belong in this life, Damian."

"I understand," he said, knowing what his father wasn't saying.

This life will ruin him.

He leaned back in the chair, running his hand down his face. "I do, but Robin helped him last time."

Didn't it?

"Damian," his father said, meeting his eyes. "I thought the same for all of you, but I was wrong. I-I lost Jason. I lost you. Stephanie nearly lost her life and Bette all at once. We might have gotten lucky with you and the girls, but Jason's gone and there's no getting him back. I should have put my foot down with Barbara all those years ago and I will have to live with the consequences of that decision my entire life. Don't make the same mistake with Dick."

"Father, what happened to us wasn't your fault."

"I should have done more to protect you, and I shouldn't have let you out." Damian opened his mouth to argue, but Bruce held up his hand. "I've made my decision. No more Batkid. Not again. I know it isn't my call what you do with Dick, but I want you to really consider if this is what is best for him."

Damian stared down at his lap, only looking up when he made his decision. "We can't just exclude him. He'll think it's a punishment or a rejection."

"He'll understand in time."

Damian took a deep breath and let it out. "He won't, which is why I'm going to stop being Flamebird for the time."

Bruce frowned and leaned forward. "You…"

"I'll need some time to organize my open cases. There are some I know I can quickly close or trust Jonathan to handle on his own, but I'll need to speak with Cassandra, Duke, or Timothy to cover the rest. After that… Richard is my responsibility. He needs to be my main focus. If the vigilante life is not what's best for him, then I will put it aside."

"Are you sure about this? I know how important Flamebird is to you."

Damian nodded and stood. "I cannot expect Richard to put aside the suit while not doing so myself. It won't be forever, likely for either of us, but I can take some time away to focus on Richard. It might do us both some good." His lips twitched up as he added, "Perhaps we'll even spend time at a certain monastery in the Himalayas. It certainly did us two some good, maybe Richard could benefit from the monks' teachings as well."

Bruce studied him for a moment, then came around the desk and set his hands on Damian's shoulders. "I… I know I wasn't as supportive of your decision to take him in as I should have been, -"

"You tried to take him from me when you got back," Damian snorted.

"- but I was wrong. I'm proud of how you're handling this. If this is what you want to do, then I'll support you."

He relaxed. "Thank you, Father."

The two stayed where they were a few moments, then Damian pulled away.

"I should go speak to Richard."

He left with a nod from his father. He started towards the bedrooms, then changed his mind and headed for the kitchen. This sounded like a good excuse for some of Alfred's cookies.

Some behind the scenes: I was having a hard time writing about Dick overhearing Bruce and Damian's conversation so after a few days of block I decided to try writing it from Damian's perspective instead before going back to edit it into Dick's perspective. It was a lot easier after that. I actually hadn't planned to post Damian's POV, but considering I got quite a few comments bad-mouthing the Bats on Family Weekend and knew I'd get some on this too, I figured it was only fair to give a peek at their side of the story.

Little Easter Egg: The monastery Damian mentioned at the end is the one he attends in between the Batman vs. Robin and Batman: Bad Blood movies. He also attended it in this universe, but at a different point in his life and for different reasons.

Bette is not Bette Kane, though her name is a reference to her.