Synopsis: Someone has stolen all the money from the Wayne Foundation Youth Charity Fund. Batman and Red Hood go after the man who did it. While doing research on the thief, Tim is hit by a mysterious beam from an odd weapon sitting on a shelf and is de-aged. Oh boy, what are they going to do with a four-year-old Tim?

Part 6: Waking Up Small

Nightwing came home, happy that he could do some good for some one. It didn't take him long, about ten minutes. He came into the cave and called for Tim.

'That's unusual," Nightwing thought. 'When he stays in the cave he greets me, but the computer is up and he's not here. Maybe he's in the bathroom, taking a break, or maybe he's with Sammie and his children. He was helping Batman on a case.'

Dick was going to change back into his civilian clothes when he noticed that the door to the storage room was open. He didn't hear any movement in there, but the light was still on. Nigtwing walked over to the storage room and was about to shut the door when he saw Tim's clothes.

'Is Samantha in there with him?' Dick thought. 'I'd hate to disturb them but why are only Tim's clothes on the floor?'

Nightwing got closer and then the pile of clothes moved. He wasn't sure what was going on, until he heard the sound of huffing and puffing as something was struggling to remove the shirt. He stood there watching and his eyes went wide behind his mask as what was inside the clothes finally removed the shirt that had been covering it. There was a small body, a boy about four years of age. Nightwing looked at Tim's clothes and the boy nestled inside them and a revelation hit him.

'Is...is that Tim?'

Before Nightwing moved any closer, he noticed that a certain gun that Batman told him never to play with had fallen onto the floor. Nightwing picked it up and put it back on the shelf then went back to the child.

"Oh my." Nightwing bent down, placed his gloved hand on the small boy's face, and pushed the boy's hair out of the way. "Timmy?"

"Ugh," Tim said. "Something hit me . . . Feel strange . . . Um . . Nightwing . . . Why are you looking at me that way? And why is your face so big?"

'Oh, my goodness!' A big grin formed on Nightwing's face. 'He sounds like a four-year-old. That's so adorable!' Nightwing scooped him up, along with the clothes. "Timmy, its you!"

"What . . . " Tim looked around but felt suddenly crushed against Nightwing's chest. That was when he realized something was really wrong. He looked down and it felt like the floor was far away. "Hey! What . . . What happened to me?"

"You're tiny! You're like a four-year-old. That's what that ray gun was for!" Nightwing carried him out of the storage room. "You're so adorable."

"Oh, give me a break, I'm not four, I'm 17."

Nightwing held Tim close. He always wanted to see Tim as a four-year-old. He missed out seeing Tim growing up. Dick remembered the first time they met was when Tim was two and a half, at the circus, but he had forgotten about that first meeting and met Tim again when Tim was a teenager. 'He's so adorable. This is becoming too much for me. I have to show him to everyone else. They have to see this.'

Nightwing raced up the steps to the Manor, carrying a tiny Tim in his arms, despite Tim's protesting to the contrary.

"Nightwing , . . Put me down . . . You know what Alfred will say . . . No uniforms in the Manor."

Nightwing suddenly stopped in the middle of the steps and then headed back down. "Right! Give me a second to change." Nightwing sat Tim in the chair in front of the computer. "Stay right there. Don't move." Nightwing went over to the changing area and started stripping off his uniform as quickly as possible. He didn't want to miss a moment of this.

"Don't move . . . Wait . . . Where are my pants?" Tim looked to see that he was wrapped in the shirt that was now too big for him. In fact, he had nothing else on underneath. Tim blushed at that fact. "Oh boy."

Dick came running back out and snatched up Tim. 'Oh my god he really is my baby brother right now,' Dick thought. "We have to show Samantha!"

"No . . . I'm not seeing her like this," Tim said, crossing his arms.

"Hey, don't be like that," Dick said, as he picked Tim up and carried him up the steps. 'That little pout fits his slightly chubby face perfectly.'

"We should be figuring out how to change me back . . . Not showing me off."

"Oh, we can later," Dick cajoled. "Just hush and let me show you off. You're too cute for people not to see. Besides, we wouldn't be able to hide this for very long." Dick walked through the Manor not seeing anyone just yet. He figured Samantha would be in the nursery, so he went up to the second floor. He pushed the nursery door open a little. Samantha and Sasha were there with the babies. Dick peeked his head in. "Hey lovely ladies, is there room for one more?"

Samantha smiled. 'Dick is such a charmer,' she thought. 'What do you mean? Haley is here. You can't mean there's one more little Grayson you did't mention."

"In a way . . ." Dick started to explain when his little brother interrupted him.

"No . . . Put me down."

"Nope!" Dick pushed the door open all the way and the ladies' eyes widened.

"Dick, who's child is that?" Samantha questioned. "You can't just bring . . . a random . . ." Samantha looked at the four-year-old in Dick's arms. 'He looks like my boys . . . He's . . .' Sammie's eyes widened as she sensed the child's aura.

"Dick, is he the child of one of your friends?" Sasha asked.

"Child! I'm 17!" Tim cried out, sounding cranky.

Dick smiled at Samantha and knew with the look on her face, she had pieced it together. "Here Sammie, want to hold him? He's a bit cranky." Dick walked Tim over to his wife and placed Tim in her hands. "Maybe you can calm him down."

"Dick . . . This is embarrassing . . . I . . I'm not a . . . a child . . ."

Samantha took Tim from Dick and held him on her lap facing her. "Tim?"

Tim looked up at his wife with wide eyes, tears rimming." . . . I . . . I don't know . . . What happened . . . I got hit with . . . This beam . . . I woke up . . . Like this." He covered his face with his hands, but they didn't quite cover his face completely.

/Daddy?/ Caine questioned through their mind link, but for some reason he could only reach his aura.

/Daddy!? . . . That's daddy?/ Caleb wasn't so sure. He didn't want to go near the strange kid who had his mother's attention. Instead, he tried to ignore them.

Caine crawled over toward the rocking chair and sat by his mother's legs.

/Yes, Caine and Caleb, it's Daddy,' Samantha told their children and then focused on her husband who was in tears. "Please don't cry." Samantha held Tim to her. She did not like it when he cried, even when he was in his original state. 'I definitely don't like it now. I don't like it seeing him sad. He's had too much of that, lately.' Samantha rubbed her hsband's small back. "It's okay, we'll figure out a way to switch you back."

Tim nodded. "Okay . . . Um . . . What if this takes a while . . . I don't have anything to wear." Tim looked over toward Dick. ". . . I'm sorry I got upset . . . I don't know what's wrong with me."

Samantha continued rubbing Tim's back. 'This is what our boys will look like when they get a bit older.'

"It's okay, Timmy," Dick said, kneeling down to be face to face with his brother.

"What . . . If you can't change me back?" Tim questioned as fat tears ran down his face. Tim reached for his brother.

Dick pulled Tim into his arms. "I know there is someone out there that can change you back. I don't know much about that ray gun. Only Dad does. We have to wait for him to come back with Jason."

Tim cried against Dick's shirt wetting the front of it. "I . . . Don't want to . . . Go through . . . My childhood, again . . . I . . . Was alone . . . For a lot of it . . . Just me and the housekeeper . . . And the nightmares of your parents falling."

"This time you are here with us," Dick consoled his little brother. "You don't have to worry about being alone. You have everyone here," Dick said as he rubbed Tim's back. "None of us will leave you. You won't have to go through that pain, again."

"Hey . . You're right . . . I don't . . . This is really weird."

SamanthaI wanted to hold Tim, again. She was upset that Dick was hogging him. I understand that his brother but he's my husband too.

"Um . . . Dick . . . I still need something to wear," Tim pointed out.

"I'm pretty sure Alfred has something. He always does. It's like he knows the minute something happens."

Alfred at that moment came into the nursery carrying stacks of clothing and diapers for the children. "You were saying?" His eyes went wide when he saw Dick Grayson was holding an unknown four-year-old child. "Oh my."

Continues with Part 7: Addressinng Tim's New Situation