Another Pre-dami! Someone at work told me about what her kid did, so I did this. And it's about time Alfred took center stage here.

Dick - 13 Timmy - 5

Alfred's Helper

One of the first rules every cook learns is to clean up after yourself. Always. There is no exception. All dishes must be washed and dried within an hour of the meal being completed, preferably within fifteen minutes. With the invention of the Dish Washer, most people have become lazy and neglected this one rule.

Alfred Pennyworth is anything but lazy.

So it was no surprise to the inhabitants of Wayne manor that the aging butler would be at the sink after dinner. Or lunch. Or breakfast. Or when he was finishing up his weekly baking. There were only a few places he was surely be at any given time of the day. Either he was dusting some corner of the house, doing laundry (sometimes he sent out a suit for dry cleaning but he did at least two loads a day), or in the kitchen. If he were not in any of those locations, he was usually with a member of the family.

Once in a while one or more of the Wayne children would accompany him in the daily chores. Dusting was typically a punishment, along with weeding, repairs, or organizing some part of the house, so they dodged him then. But smaller things that were strictly Alfred's, like dishes, cooking, or even laundry, were tasks different children would accompany him.

And no one was more interested in helping Alfred than one little boy.

He had just finished baking the weekly's allotment of chocolate chip cookies and was letting them cool when small feet started sneaking in to swipe their favorite treats. It was a game of theirs. If they could manage to sneak in and grab a cookie without Alfred seeing them, they could have it. But most times the man would spot them, make a noise, and they'd run away before they could be punished. He spotted Young Master Jason trying to sneak in twice before he gave up, and Master Richard miraculously manage to grab one without his knowing. Miss Cassandra not only slipped past him, she took three, giving one to her less fortunate brothers, both older and younger. Young Master Timothy though didn't bother trying to sneak around. He went straight to the man in charge.

"Alfred?" The little boy looked up to him with his stormy blue eyes, tugging on his pants to get his attention. "Can I have a cookie?"

The butler raised an eyebrow at the lad, secretly pleased. Manners were being taught at a young age certainly made certain this one didn't have any social troubles in the future. He was still working his magic on Masters Richard and Jason (neither were very agreeable). "Indeed you may Master Timothy, but only one."

"YAY!" Quickly the boy darted back to the counter and grabbed a fresh cookie for himself. "Thank you Alfred!"

"You're welcome." Alfred proceeded to scrub away at the dishes he used to make this batch, and the lunch dishes as well. He neglected to take care of them due to being behind on his baking. Flash had been by the other day and cleaned out the pantry while waiting for some information from Master Bruce regarding Poison Ivy. The lady scientist had started to run rampant and he needed to know what he was up against if he was going to take her down this time. A true test of the speedster's metal if he could resist her charms. After the visit he had to do an impromptu shopping trip to restock some staples.

A minute later the young master was back, looking up at the man working away at a pan. "Is something the matter Master Timothy?"

"What cha doin'?"

Internally the butler cringed. He needed to enforce his enunciation lessons along with manners with the older boys. They were teaching their speech patterns to their smallest member. "I am cleaning the dishes I used to make the cookies and today's lunch."

"Oohhhh..." Timmy watched him for a while before speaking again. "Can I help?"

This made the man smile. The lad's 'I do it' attitude was one thing he wished to encourage at every turn. Doing chores at a young age taught responsibility and started a work ethic. He'd need that in the future. "Indeed you can. Please bring a chair over from the table to help you reach the sink."

"Okay!" Running at a speedster's pace, the child darted over to the small kitchen table that saw more people than the one in the dining room, and started dragging a chair over to the butler's side. When it reached him, Alfred turned it to a stable position against the counter tops and encouraged the lad to get on top. Took a little doing (Timmy wasn't much of a climber) but soon he was able to reach into the soapy water without any problems. He looked at the dishes before him for a moment, then to Alfred, blinking owlishly at him. "What do I do?"

Smiling, the butler pushed aside some bubbles so he could see the dishes inside. "Well first we grab something in the soapy water that has been soaking for a while. I want you to take care of the spoons, plastic plates and cups, spatula, rubber scraper, and egg beaters. The rest are mine."

"Okay!" The boy reached into the water and took out a large spoon. "Now what?"

"Now, you take this wash cloth and wipe off any food or grime still on it." He passed over the wet cloth, watching him as he wiped the spoon clean. "Very good. Now, we put the spoon into the rinsing water on this side," he pointed to the clear water in the next sink over, "and after submerging it, place the spoon in the utensil spot on the drainer here."

"Ooohhh... Okay!" Quickly Timmy put the spoon into the clean water and then put it into the drainer, just like Alfred told him to. He smiled at the old man. "I did it!"

"Yes you did. Now," Alfred gave him a proud smile, "let's work on the rest of these shall we?"

"Okay!"

Soon the two of them were working merrily on the items soaking in the sink waiting to be cleaned. They only slowed down when a new item was given to the young master that he hadn't cleaned before. He especially loved cleaning the cups he was given, taking the soap up too along with the water then blowing the suds off the top. Alfred had to remind him there were other dishes that needed cleaning in order to continue onward. For a minute or so the lad even dipped the spatula in the soapy water then the clean water, back and forth, back and forth. A shake of the man's head and a giggle from the lad ended that game, but he still enjoyed working alongside the old man.

About twenty minutes later they heard a camera going off, making both of them look to the side in surprise. Master Richard had gotten a hold of one and taken a shot of them working together. He grinned at them, earning an eye roll from the butler. "Hey, I'm pretty sure Bruce will want to know how good of a helper Timmy is."

"I'm helping Alfred!" The kid was so pleased with himself. And their surrogate grandfather was too.

"Yes, something every child should be eager to do," Alfred encouraged. "For helpers are rewarded quite handsomely. Master Timothy, what shall we have for dinner tonight?"

"Pi-"

"Veggie-table Cask-ka-roll!" The younger brother's shout cut off the elder's, making the man smirk. One thing he enjoyed most about their youngest addition was how much he liked vegetables. He would grow up strong and healthy indeed.

"What?"

Alfred nodded, satisfied. "Very well then. Vegetable Casserole it is."

"WHAT?!" Needless to say, Master Richard was not that fond of the dish. It only made the old man smile a little more.

"I do believe there is an eggplant just ripe enough for it in the pantry too."

"YAY! EGGPLANT!" The five year old excitedly bounced on his chair.

"Why do we have to have that?!" The young teen's pouting only made the old man chuckle fondly. "It's not near as tasty as pizza!"

"Because Master Timothy was kind enough to ask for cookies and offer his help rather than repeatedly swipe them while my back was turned."

'CAUGHT' wrote itself across Master Richard's face. He and the others thought they could get away with taking about a dozen cookies off the cooling racks while the two of them had worked through the dishes. They were nearly all done too. This proved them wrong. Properly chastened, the teen looked down and thought things through before taking a towel off a nearby rack.

"If I help with drying them, can I pick dessert?"

"We'll see."

A/N: Okay, before anyone points it out, the eggplant bit was unintentional. It's just a typical thing in vegetable dishes, that's all. As for why Timmy likes veggies and Dick doesn't, I remember reading something where Dick and Tim were getting sandwiches from Alfred and Dick was dissing the cucumber sandwiches. Tim said he liked them. My nieces and nephews (different family groups, trust me) also seem to like veggies over pizza. They're all under 10. So... *shrug* Some veggie casseroles are pretty good. it all depends on the cook.

Now the dishes story my coworker told me involved a one year old and a spatula, going back and forth like that. I thought it was cute. I love the 'I Do it' attitude some kids have. Please encourage it.

Now, if you've got a kiddy fic you want me to do (because I'm not ready to progress on the timeline farther than 'Sacrifice' at the moment) tell me. Got one or two others I'm thinking about doing but haven't gotten to yet. Til then, TTFN!