AN: Thank you to Comics Girl and fireinu for their comments – they are appreciated. I am posting the rest now in two sections. Enjoy.

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Wayne Manor, Gotham
The following Saturday
6:43 p.m.

Arriving at the manor much later than he had intended, Dick cursed. He had hoped to make a better impression than this, but he had gotten tied up in traffic. There were only two other cars in the drive and Dick recognized one of them as Barbara's unmarked police cruiser. He began to wonder if he really was as late as he thought as he let himself into the manor. He was corrected quickly enough as the door opened, and he heard the sheer volume coming from the dining room. He knew that amount of sound couldn't be generated by less than a dozen people, but they all quieted quickly enough as a large black barking missile launched itself from the dining room to hurtle towards Dick's midsection.

'Seems that Bruce has gone retro for at least one of his alarms lately' Dick thought in surprise as a still strong voice called, "Ace! Heel!" Amazingly enough, the large dog managed to curb its attack in mid-lunge, it then turned and trotted tamely back into the dining room. Dick followed it, case in hand, still feeling a bit stunned to find that one – Bruce had a dog, and two – Bruce really was hosting a dinner party type thing without Alfred to hide behind. When he reached the door of the dining room seconds later, he received a third shock – Bruce was sitting in the middle of the informal setting and smiling.

Ace's unexpected charge and his subsequent entrance had silenced the conversation, and now the silence around the table began to feel strained as he stood in the doorway, not knowing what to do. A tall, dark haired young man stood up and walked up to Dick, he gave the older man a small smile of welcome and then ushered him to the empty seat near Bruce taking his case as he seated him. 'This must be Terry,' Dick thought as he watched the young man then proceed to set another place before going and taking his own seat again.

"Listen up everybody," Terry announced, drawing all attention to him, "our new guest is Dick Grayson, Bruce's son. And in order around the table is – Sam, Barb, Tim, Mandy, my Mom – er, Mary, Rick, Matt, Jan, Max, my fiancée Dana, and I am Terry." He threw Dick another smile; this one was a bit more devilish though, as he turned back to the table and said something that Dick didn't quite catch because as soon as Terry started to speak, the table erupted. It was obviously a favorite, if loud, subject for debate with this crowd.

It also had the added bonus of distracting everyone's attention away from Dick's arrival, allowing him some time to adjust to this noisy bunch he had found himself in. Somehow Dick thought that had been Terry's intention and was thankful to the younger man. Dick soon noticed that Bruce wasn't participating in the discussion either and looked over at him to find that the old man was looking his way already. It felt almost like they were the only two people there, the loud conversation going on around them acting very effectively like some kind of low-grade privacy bubble. Low-grade only because Dick was very aware of Barbara, Tim and Terry glancing his and Bruce's way every so often.

Bruce leaned towards him a bit and said softly, "Welcome home Dick. I've missed you, and – I'm sorry." Simply that, no justifications, no shifting blame – just 'Welcome home Dick. I've missed you, and I'm sorry.' Then he sat back again and Dick could see the sheen of unshed tears in his eyes.

Dick could feel the moisture gathering in his own eyes, if this openness from Bruce was even partly because of Terry – he had a lot to thank the kid for, he had somehow made Bruce act human. Inclining his own body towards Bruce Dick said, "Bruce – Dad, I'm sorry too and very glad to be home." He reached over and gently squeezed the gnarled fingers of the hand Bruce had resting on the tabletop affectionately.

Bruce smiled. Then he bowed his head in the old sign from the streets that used to mean 'shall we enter the fray?' indicating the increasingly heated 'discussion' around them. Dick grinned his old Robin style acceptance of 'let's!' and both of them jumped headlong into the raging debate.

'Dinner had never been so much fun,' Dick thought with a grin all to himself.

--- --- ---

Wayne Manor, Gotham
Saturday evening
7:33 p.m.

The kids, Mary, and Mandy all went to the games room that Bruce had put in after his first time playing host for the family after dinner, and the rest of the adults moved their discussion into the study. Dick was enthralled as he watched how everyone in the room interacted. For such a diverse group in ages and interests it was a surprisingly seamless group, with no jarring notes in evidence.

Dana and Terry were cuddled together in one of the huge wingback chairs, not really paying attention to what was going on in the room at large unless one of them was addressed directly. Sam and Barbara were a bit more sedate in their cuddling than the younger couple, but essentially the same on one side of the room's one couch. Except they were paying attention to the majority of the conversation going on around them and adding to it frequently.

Tim had taken the far end of the couch, and was quietly enjoying the debate flowing around him, injecting every so often to direct the flow. Max, Terry's best friend, was perched on the edge of the desk Bruce sat behind and along with Bruce, Barbara and Sam was carrying the discussion. He had learned since he arrived that she was the one that Barbara had referred to as the friend that helped Terry to run Wayne Enterprises, and he could see why he had asked her for her help. She was incredibly intelligent and her energy levels were off the charts. He got tired just watching her.

Too soon, Barbara and Sam got up to leave. They couldn't stay as late as they normally did due to some kind of backlog of cases that Sam had pending. Terry moved Dana off his lap and got up to escort them to the door. When he came back he didn't sit down again and Dana was leaning up against the door to the hall. Dick wondered at their strange positioning until Terry easily said, "So who is going to be playing oracle for me tonight – 'the old bat', 'the old bird' or 'the nosey pest'?"

Dick choked on his coffee. He did not just hear what he thought he heard. Terry didn't – but looking around the room Dick saw that he had. Well, that was one question he had now answered. He guessed that Dana was playing lookout at the door because the rest of the people still in the house were not 'bat' savvy. He couldn't believe how free and easy everyone in the room seemed to be with the topic either – especially Bruce who had never been this open about anything before, particularly his alter-ego. He also couldn't believe the nicknames that Terry had used, calling Bruce 'the old bat', oh my.

His audible attempt to drink his coffee with the wrong pipe must have drawn Terry's attention, because the young man turned to Dick and asked, "Or do you want to give it a go?"

"You would trust me?" Dick was surprised.

Terry frowned at him; "Sure, why wouldn't I? Bruce trained you, just like he trained the rest of us lunkheads. You were the first Robin and then you were Nightwing right?" Dick nodded and Terry continued with a grin, "So where's the problem?"

Dick glanced around the room; he wanted to see how everyone was reacting to Terry's invitation and following speech. To his amazement, most were smiling – a couple like Max and Tim, were even trying to stifle laughter. Good naturedly he shrugged, "Okay, I get it – there's no problem, but I have a better idea. Instead of me going it alone right away, how about I sit in with someone else tonight and watch. Get the lay of the land so to speak."

Terry grinned as Bruce said dryly, "That sounds eminently more sensible than anything the rest of you lot tends to come out with so I think that I will be oracle tonight and Dick can sit with me."

Tim glanced at the double use clock and saw the time. "Well, it's a good thing that we got out of the way now then, its nine – time to head out for us regular folks." He got pelted with many loose throw cushions from the room at large for his regular folks comment. Dick saw with amazement that Bruce had thrown one of the cushions that hit Tim – this new lighter side of the old man was going to take some getting used to that was for sure.

Laughing, Terry said in Bruce and Dick's direction, "I'll go out at ten. I have to take my mom and brother home as well as Dana and Max." 'Well that explained the lack of cars out front,' Dick thought as Tim offered to take Mary and Matt home. Terry smilingly declined, saying that he would just toss the lot of them into the limo and take them home in style.

Max just quipped as she left the room, "Putting up with you Ter all these years, don't you think we deserve some perks?" The others still in the room laughed as Terry threw a pillow at her but missed when she ducked adroitly out door before it could connect.

General chaos ensued for about five minutes as the manor emptied out and then the silence in the house seemed almost deafening in comparison. Bruce stood up walked to the clock, "Come on Dick, let's go down to the cave – it's too quiet here after everyone leaves." Dick got up and followed his father down the well-known steps to the very different cave at the bottom.

"Been doing some redecorating I see." He said looking around curiously. His eyes lingered for a time on his old Nightwing costume displayed prominently between the newest incarnation of the Batman suit and Barbara's old Batgirl suit. Dick mused, 'even with all the changes that had been made since he had been gone, the cave still felt oddly homey to him.' It was a strange feeling, but good.

He says as much to Bruce and is shocked when Bruce chuckled aloud. "I felt much the same way when I played oracle to Terry for the first time – well the first time willingly." The older man owned.

"Barb mentioned to me that Terry actually stole the suit the first time that he wore it." Dick said. "What she didn't know was what made you change your mind to let him keep wearing it and offer him the job?"

Bruce smiled. He had been waiting for Dick to come and challenge him on Terry's being Batman for a long time, but this companionable sharing was even better. "I made a sort of 'highlights reel' from a combination of sources – here is the first night that I met Terry..."

Bruce put on a recording that was obviously lifted from police traffic cameras due to its grainy composition and poor colour, but the subject matter was still straightforward enough. It was clearly a much younger Terry taking care of four Jokerz outside of a juice bar in short order.

"Good moves." Dick said. Bruce grunted in assent.

Then the recording followed over several cameras as the young Terry had to flee on a 'borrowed' bike when more of the clowns started to swarm. The younger version of Terry did some very skillful driving with the bike, including one very brave or foolhardy stunt before he was lost from the camera's sight on the manor's road. There were a few flickers and then the picture quality sharpened and Dick knew that he was watching footage from Bruce's security system. He saw as Terry wiped out at the Manor's front gates and the Jokerz swarm gathered for the kill. Then he watched as Bruce made himself known to the gathering. The following fight was – as Barbara had told him – impressive.

"Nice moves, from both of you." Dick said, purposefully understating. Bruce just shot him a look. Dick grinned – he still had it. Nobody could annoy Bruce faster than he could.

He turned his attention back to the screen and watched some brief clips strung together into a form of montage – Terry helping the ailing Bruce to the house and getting him his medication – Terry trying to leave and being stopped by a vicious looking Ace – Terry in the study making a phone call, then seeing a trapped bat in the clock and going over to help it, finding the cave in the process.

"Man, it was like fate." Dick said and Bruce agreed while he cued up the second 'reel'. At first Dick didn't know what it was that he was being shown, but this version had sound and so he clued in fairly quickly. It was Terry's first time in the Batsuit and for a kid with no training or explanations on how to use it; he certainly figured it out fast. He even managed to become proficient enough in his short time using it to develop a real sense of style. That 'Just in time for fall,' crack was priceless, Dick himself couldn't have come up with anything better. The two men watched as highlighted parts from the night played out, making comments to each other quietly here and there, but really just relishing the time spent together in understanding.

When the screen went dark after the hovercraft sunk, Dick turned to his father and simply said, "I understand," and they shared a smile. "But now, you realize, that I want to know everything!" Dick said and Bruce laughed.

"We've certainly got a lot of catching up to do Dick, and I don't think that we are going to have near enough time in this one night." He said dryly.

Dick just grinned and said cheekily, "But we could get a good head start at least-" Bruce was saved from having to answer as Terry burst in, obviously out of breath. Bruce didn't even bat an eye at the younger man's precipitous entrance, but Dick was startled. He had been so engrossed in watching Terry's inception as Batman that he had totally lost track of time.

He received a second shock when from bedside him he heard Bruce snarl in the old way, "You're late McGinnis!" Dick's head shot around to see Bruce's face and contrary to the voice, the old man's face was smiling. He finally clued in that it was some sort of inside joke when Terry snippily replied as he ducked back into the changing area,

"Oh, give it up already old man, I made it didn't I?"

Bruce leaned back and indicated the time to Dick – 10:40pm – "Welcome to 'Terry-time' Dick, you see when Terry says he's going to be anywhere at a set time, don't count on him to be there until at least half an hour later." His smile invited Dick to share in the joke, "I swear for the first two years that Terry wore the 'suit' I bellowed those exact words to him every time that he entered the cave." Dick obligingly laughed; he knew how Terry's continually being late like that must have driven Bruce right around the bend at first. It was good to see that it didn't bother him so much anymore. Dick guessed that it might have been one of the first things to contribute to this new, more relaxed and easier to get along with Bruce.

"So, back to what we were talking about before we were so rudely interrupted..." Dick started to say as Terry emerged from the changing area clad in the Batsuit but carrying the cowl. Dick wanted to roll his eyes; McGinnis had some sense of timing! He watched as the newest incarnation of Gotham's legendary Batman jogged over to the Batmobile and hopped in with a smooth, effortless looking, athletic leap.

"Any particular hot spots I should be watching tonight?" Terry asked popping his head up one last time before he took off.

Bruce just shook his head, "No, just standard patrols is all for now. I'll let you know if something comes up."

Terry nodded and dropped back into the sleek black craft vanishing from their sight. The hatch closed and after a smooth hovering 180-degree turn, rocketed out of the cave.

"Cool." Dick breathed. "Wish we had toys like that when we were doing this." He muttered. Bruce just raised an eyebrow at him and Dick blushed. "What? You know the saying – 'Boys and their toys' and I'm no exception. Don't even try to say you aren't either – I know better."

Now Bruce laughed. That sounded like the Dick of old before things started to go sour. "You should have heard Terry when I let him drive it for the first time," Bruce said. "I believe the words he used were – 'This is un-bear-ably cool!' and 'Whoohooo!'"

"Sounds about right." Dick agreed with a smirk.

Bruce made a face at him, and then started to elaborate, "It was his first real case as Batman. We ran into this corporate saboteur named Inque – the result of a mutagenic experiment – and she really freaked Terry out. After his first real run in with her he came storming back into the cave yelling at me. Wanted to know what the hell I had sent him into and that I should've warned him." Dick boggled at Terry's audacity.

"Let me get this straight, this seventeen year old kid that was working for you as Batman, yelled at you when he had just barely started?" Dick wanted clarification.

"Yep, he didn't stop there either." Dick made a rolling motion with his hand as if to say, 'Well? Keep going.' Bruce continued, "He told me that I might be used to dealing with freaks and monsters, but that he was still new at it. He wanted to know what everything was in the cave. I said something like 'Way before your time,' and then told him that he had to start thinking on his feet."

Oooh, zing! Terry might have had the guts to yell at Bruce, but the old man put him in his place.

"It was after that that I gave him the new Batmobile for the first time – seeing as he'd got his butt kicked so bad before that."

"Hey! I heard that – " Terry's disembodied voice interjected. Bruce ignored him.

"To make a long story short, Inque ended up targeting us instead of Foxtecha – her original target – and managed to get into the cave. We trounced her using Freeze's old cold gun and after she was 'Inque-icles' all over the floor, Terry turned to me and said, 'That's it - you're showing me everything!'"

"Hey listen – " Terry's voice broke in over the com-link again, "if the two of you are going to natter like a couple of old hens all night, at least do me the courtesy of muting your end of the com wouldja – my ears are burning here."

"What's the matter McGinnis – we embarrassing you?" Bruce rallied back.

"Nah," came the flip answer. "Not really, mainly you're distracting me. I don't know whether I should listen to the two of you or look for criminals." Both men in the cave laughed. "So – what's it to be guys? The crooks, or my ego?" Terry cheekily asked.

"The crooks you peacock." Bruce said with a smile as he muted the caves end of the com-link.

"Has he always been like that?" Dick asked his father, still trying to get over the easy rapport Terry seemed to have with Bruce of all people.

"He used to be worse," came the amused reply from the older man.

"You're kidding me!" Dick's incredulous statement seemed to serve as a prod.

Bruce said, "The second time that I met Terry was when he came to me for help. Barbara told you some of this I think?" Dick nodded but motioned for Bruce to continue. It was always better to hear a story firsthand after all.

"Well, he wanted me to look at a disk of his father's. He said that he thought that there was something rotten in my company. I wasn't going to let him in, but then he said something to change my mind. He said that he should have known that I wouldn't care, that I was no Batman – just a whacked out old fraud."

Dick winced, 'ooh damn.' "That was harsh," was all he said though. Inwardly he was more than a little impressed. Terry had certainly spoken his mind – no matter who he'd been speaking to, even as a teenager. A lot of people wouldn't have been able to talk to Bruce Wayne that way, let alone Batman. Terry had known he was talking to both; in fact he had been counting on it. It had taken Dick a long time how to learn how to do that and in some ways he was still learning.

Dick's brooding was interrupted when a light started to flash on the lower corner of the Cray's screen. Bruce leaned forward and flipped the com-link on again, "Terry, there's a break in at Vid-City Electronics."

"Late night shoppers again?" Terry asked lightly, and then said simply, "I'm on it."

Dick wanted to keep to the lighter tone, so he prompted, "So Bruce, Barb was telling me about the time that you and Terry first met amidst all those Jokerz, she said that after they had turned tail and run that you said his face could have been called reverent."

Bruce sat back with a slight smile, forgetting to mute their end of the com-link again. "Reverent works, but so does stunned, amazed, awed – "

Terry broke in, "Flabbergasted, disbelieving, incredulous – " he sassed.

"Stupefied." Bruce added to the end of Terry's list and Dick laughed. A rude raspberry sound came from the com-link letting them know what Terry thought of Bruce's addition, which only had the effect of making them laugh harder. Dick was beginning to wonder why he had stayed away for so long as Bruce again muted their end.

--- --- ---

The rest of the night passed fairly quietly for Terry as it seemed to be a slow night for Batman, but then around three in the morning, just as Terry was making his last sweep of the city, another alarm was tripped. This time for Gotham's First National Bank, Bruce leaned in and began to call up the surveillance cameras wanting to warn Terry what he was going up against.

"Terry, it's Jokerz. I can't see much more than that though, they've disabled a lot of the interior cameras."

"Wonderful," Terry's voice was sarcastic. "I hate fighting indoors – the cops already on their way?" he asked.

"Yes, they've been notified but it's the middle of shift change so it could be a while. Keep your vid-link open Terry –" All of a sudden half the screen was taken up with a bird's eye view of the bank, except it was tinted red. Terry had turned the vid-link on.

"Okay old man, I know the drill – stop fretting. It's time for me to get in on the action." With that said his arms reached up and pulled the quick release levers and then Terry was flying. When he landed in the bank the Jokerz didn't seem to see him and Terry was able to take stock. Dick and Bruce were able to as well.

"Damn Bruce, there's got to be almost forty of those clowns – he's gonna get slaughtered!" Dick burst out.

Bruce just smiled slightly and said, "Not likely, just watch. Terry can handle that lot without much challenge. I think that you'll enjoy the demonstration."

Dick's eyebrows rose to meet his hairline, but he obediently turned back to look at the screen. He watched as Terry turned off the suit's camouflage and called out, drawing all attention in the bank to himself.

There were cries of "It's the Batfreak!" and "Get 'im!" Followed by a rush of Jokerz that were brandishing their weapons. Terry simply fired off some well-aimed batarangs from his wrist launchers, disarming them in seconds. Then he simply ignited his boot rockets and swept the rushing gang members off their feet and into the back wall where they laid still after impact.

A quick headcount and Terry muttered over the link, "Twelve down – twenty eight or so to go." He spun in the air and landed on his feet near a group of about five. That is when the real show began, Terry didn't look so much like he was fighting as much as he was doing some sort of combination between dancing and high-energy tumbling – except that it's effectiveness was being proven by the Jokerz falling like ninepins. It was a style very similar to the one that Dick himself had employed when he was still flying the rooftops actually, and he could now understand Bruce's cryptic comment about enjoying the demonstration. It was certainly intriguing to watch, even from a critical viewpoint. Dick had rarely seen footage of himself in action, but he had a feeling that even in his prime he wouldn't have compared. He'd have come close though.

Terry had gotten all of the Jokerz down and secured for the most part in under five minutes, now all he had left were two of the more wily and skilled gang members to deal with. They had been playing possum from the time Terry had swept house. They had ambushed Batman after he had taken out all the others, gotten in a few good hits before he had been able to shake them off. Now Terry was keeping his distance and analyzing their movements. Part of the reason they were giving Terry so much trouble, Dick noted, was because they were actually working with each other. Not something these types were known for doing.

Terry was already moving by the time Dick saw the weakness in the pattern; he darted in and with a single kick knocked one into the other. Bolo fired and they were taken care of, making the two old men back in the cave relax. Terry moved through the room securing all the fallen clowns so that none could escape when they woke. Then just as the faint sound of the sirens could be heard approaching in the distance he fired his jet boots and streaked up to the hovering Batmobile.

When he was secured and moving, he tapped the com-link. "Bruce, I'm coming in – get the suture kit out would ya? One of those last two pricks that jumped me had a toe knife that I missed." His voice was steady and he didn't sound shocky at all so neither man was overly worried.

Bruce opened a line briefly to say, "Sure Terry, we'll see you soon." Then he closed it again as he started to get up from his chair.

Dick pressed him back gently. "Same place?" he asked with a half smile. He already knew the answer. Bruce was nothing if not compulsive and obsessive about some things.

Bruce nodded in the affirmative. He knew that Dick only had asked as a polite gesture, he only ever added to the cave – never changed anything that had already been there. Dick knew what he was doing and Terry would be better off having younger hands than his doing the work.

Dick's voice floated across the cave from the medical area, "Hey – how could Terry take down so many so fast Bruce? I mean, that was just unreal and he's smaller than both of us were at our peaks."

Bruce raised his voice a bit so that he would be sure that he would be heard, "It's the new Batsuit Dick. It magnifies the wearer's strength by approximately tenfold with a few other perks built in."

"Nice. I could've really used something like that when I was cleaning up Bludhaven." Came the covetous reply.

Bruce smirked. "Don't discount Terry's athletic skills, Dick. He's just as accomplished in acrobatics, gymnastics and several forms of the martial arts as you and I were. As you saw in those 'highlight reels', he already had a great deal of proficiency in all of those before he put on the suit for the first time. He even had a basic skill set as an aerialist too and since he's become Batman, he's trained himself even further in everything except the aerials to the point that you saw there with the Jokerz. The suit just gives him that much more of an edge nowadays."

"Yeah, I guess so – he's pretty good isn't he?" Dick's tone was a bit sour.

Bruce chuckled quietly so that it wouldn't carry in the echoing confines of the cave, he could hear the unconscious jealousy building in his son's voice. "Oh, he has other talents too. He can make anything on two wheels dance and his driving of the Batmobile could at times be considered masterful he's so in tune with the car –"

Dick burst out exasperated, "Jeez, between you and Barb - does he have any weaknesses or faults?"

Bruce was surprised by the mention of Barbara but played out the joke anyway. He rolled his eyes and said, "Lord Dick, we don't really want to be down here for the rest of the year do we? You already know about 'Terry-time' and his mouth's tendency to open and speak without a great deal of thought backing it up -" Finally, Bruce could see when the realization occurred and Dick caught on that Bruce had been teasing him.

Laughing and shaking his head ruefully, Dick said, "Bruce you had me going there – who knew I could still get so stupidly jealous?"

Saved from having to answer such a dangerous rhetorical question by the incoming Batmobile, Bruce just shook his head. Some things never changed.

--- --- ---

Wayne Manor, Gotham
One Month and day later
2:47 p.m.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon in the early days of summer and normally at least part of the group gathered in the library of the old mansion would have been taking advantage of the weather to hang out at the nearest beach. In fact, that is where the majority of their families were already, but they had some business to take care of before they could join them.

The 'Bat'-family had been gathered because Bruce was changing his Last Will and Testament and he wanted them all to know what he was doing. Clearing his throat to get everyone's attention, Bruce began to speak. "I know that you all know why we are here so I will try to keep this quick and relatively painless. I'm leaving Wayne Technologies to Terry –"

Terry interrupted, "Bruce, no! Dick is your son and the one that is supposed to inherit your company. He won't make a mess of running it like I would."

Ignoring the interruption like it hadn't been spoken, Bruce kept talking, "– with a controlling interest of 41, and Max with a minor interest of 15."

Max gasped at being included as Tim said placidly, "Makes sense, the two of them have been running the company now for the last two years between them without realizing it." Two pairs of shocked eyes met his sly smile. "What? You guys never even noticed when Bruce stopped making any decisions – you just divided up the company according to your individual strengths and were off and running. I think that profits went up last year too, if I remember correctly."

"I'm a cop and a social worker, not a businessman. There is no way that I would be able to do anything with WayneTech and be in the least bit successful. You and Max are more than welcome to it Terry." Dick was quick to reassure the man who he now felt was like his youngest brother. His Romany heritage goaded him to say in a grand style, "I hereby renounce and abdicate any and all claim I might have had on Wayne Technologies..." then his voice dropped back to normal. "Not like I really had a say in the matter anyway. The only thing that I would ask, is now that Bruce and I have reconciled that I be allowed to move back here to Wayne Manor after I retire, to stay for good."

"I think that is more than acceptable." Terry said softly with a smile as he watched the contentment spread over his mentor's face. Terry and Dick were both finally accepting what Bruce wanted to give them.

Clearing his throat loudly, Bruce dragged them all back to topic. "Well, anyway. I have left the Manor and --- all --- its contents jointly to Terry and Dick with a codicil that it passes in entirety to Terry if Dick dies first. Two-thirds of the Wayne fortune will be staying with the Manor, and the other third will be divided as follows – " and he began to ramble off percentages to be awarded to each family unit in the extended 'Bat'-family.

There is a stunned silence for all of three seconds afterwards and then the room erupts into a clamor as all present begin to speak at once. Bruce rolled his eyes, and wondered idly if they could get through one day without some kind of argument ever, before knocking his cane loudly on the floor. He thundered in the old voice with narrow eyes, "Enough! I have made up my mind and I'm not going to change it so you had all best figure out how to deal with it."

No-one argued.

--- --- ---

To be concluded...