It's All Relative

Chapter 3: Dick and Barbara

By Teala373

"You and Dick just got into an argument and he quit as Robin?" Terry knew he was getting a heavily edited version, but he still felt like Bruce was holding back something crucial. "Just like that?"

"We… patched things up in our own silent way. He had grown and our relationship wasn't the same anymore. Batman and Robin weren't the same anymore. Evolving from Robin to Nightwing was an important step for him." Bruce was regretting his decision to be so open. He had only meant to talk about Dick.

Terry wasn't defiant, like Dick, nor was he obedient like Tim. He was like Barbara, who never backed down. "Why do I sense there was more to that argument?"

Bruce sighed. "There was more… There was much more…" He should have known. To talk about Dick was to talk about Dick and Barbara.

"You saw the other suits in the case." Bruce gestured towards the suit specifically designed for a female. "Her name was Barbara Gordon. She was the police commissioner's daughter. She was a little more level headed than Dick – not as quick to let her emotions run away with her."

"Were her parents murdered, too?" Terry began to think that was the official pre-requisite for wearing a bat suit.

Bruce shook his head. "No. She just wanted to protect her father. At least, that's how it started."

He began his tale on the origin of Batgirl.

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"Dick, I'm so glad you're here. There's something I really need to tell y…"

"Babs, I'm sorry. I just stopped over to tell you I can't make our date tonight. There's an emergency…"

"I hope Bruce is paying you enough to take care of all these emergencies at the office for him."

"Uh, yeah… sure. Well, gotta run."

"Wait! Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Fine. Never better. Bye!"

"…"

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"I tried to warn Dick," Bruce stopped typing, but still didn't turn to face Terry, "I told him I knew Batgirl's identity, but he would have to discover it for himself. I tried to warn him about getting too close to Barbara with so many secrets between them. He wouldn't listen to me. He just thought I was being overprotective… I thought I was doing the right thing by not interfering. I didn't think it was my place. … I was so wrong."

"So you were never good with social situations? I thought that was only a recent thing." Terry regretted the words as soon they came out. Bruce turned and shot him a menacing look.

"It's not always easy to know what the right thing is to do with your children. I had already regretted exposing Dick to vigilantism. I thought the training would make him stronger, take away his pain. It was easier when he was younger. I could protect him, teach him. But then, he began to come into his own. I began to rely on him as a partner and I began to see I was leading him down my path – a path of loneliness and exile. I wanted something better for Dick. Barbara was that something better, but I pulled her down my path as well."

"Why?" Terry asked, "Why did you bring her in if you were already regretting your actions with Dick?"

Bruce sighed. "She wouldn't stop her Batgirl appearances. Jim Gordon was my friend and Barbara was the object of my son's affection. If something happened to her, I would never have forgiven myself. She never backed down to my threats when I tried to discourage her. If I didn't take her in and train her correctly, she would have… died long before she actually did…"

A long silence held in the air. "Is that the other reason Dick quit being Robin?"

"No… Barbara was part of the reason, but it wasn't her death… I had a hard time adjusting to Dick coming into his own and not being a boy anymore. I-I kept treating him like a child. I expected him to follow my orders, but he was having ideas of his own and we were getting along less and less. I didn't know how to fix it…"

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"Dick, there's something I have to tell you… Dick? Dick, are you alright?"

"What? Oh… sorry, Babs. I-I just can't seem to concentrate. What were you saying?"

"I'm really worried about you. You've haven't been yourself. Is it school? Work?"

"No! It's Bruce!"

"Bruce? What do you mean?"

"He's so… so demanding… controlling… he doesn't understand! It has to end! It can't always go on like this!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing… nothing… I shouldn't have said anything. I-I have to go!"

"Dick! Wait!"

"I'm sorry Babs… I have to go…"

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"It then became more than Dick not listening to me. He wasn't listening to Barbara. She tried to keep everything together, but he kept straining their relationship. Just when it would get to a breaking point, he would put a band-aid over it."

Terry frowned. He didn't like this story. It reminded him too much of his own relationship with Dana. "What do you mean?" he asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

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"Dick, I'm really worried about you! You can't go on like this… we can't go on like this."

"I know, Babs, I know. That's why I booked us reservations up on the coast."

"What?"

"I've got the whole weekend planned: dinner, dancing, the beach. It'll be great! Best of all, I'm not bringing my pager or my cell phone – no interruptions, no emergencies, no Bruce, no nothing. Just you and me."

"It sounds wonderful, but…"

"But, what? What's the matter?"

"Dick, there's something very important I really need to talk to you about. Every time I get the courage to bring it up to you, something happens…"

"I know Babs and I feel horrible about it. Let's go to the coast, relax, spend some time together and leave Gotham behind. When we get back, I promise we can talk. Right now, let's just forget… everything."

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"Barbara was kidnapped by Mr, Freeze," Bruce continued. "When we went to rescue her… well, she didn't need much of rescuing. I thought for sure Dick was going to start piecing things together… He was so distracted, so unfocused and I didn't know how to help him. I just kept making it worse." It was hard for Bruce to make such a painful admission, but he could no longer justify them, and he was determined not to make the same mistakes with Terry. That meant having to admit his prior sins.

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"Barbara? This is a surprise. I didn't expect to see you up and about so soon after your unfortunate incident."

"I just have to keep moving on, it's over now… I understand you funded and coordinated the medical treatment for Nora Freise. I wish I could have helped her, but unfortunately, the only way for me to really do that was to let Mr. Freeze rip my organs out of my body while I was still alive. I was lucky Batman and Robin were there. I was able to escape my cell, but I wouldn't have been able to get off the oil rig on my own… but that's not what I came here to talk to you about, Bruce."

"Oh? I assumed you were looking for Dick."

"No. I need to talk to you… about Dick."

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes. These emergencies and all this tension between you two… it's got to stop. Dick is driving himself mad. I can't even talk to him about it because every time I do, some new emergency pops up and he takes off. What is it with you two?"

"Barbara, I think you should follow me. This way."

"W-Where do these stairs lead?"

"To the cave."

"Cave? What cave…you… you're Batman?"

"Yes, and Dick is Robin. This has been what all his emergencies and anger and frustration have been about. We don't always see eye to eye on our… business."

"I'm guessing you're telling me all this because you know I'm Batgirl."

"Yes, that and because you're right. Something is wrong with Dick. We just got into another argument and he took off. I-I can't get through to him the same way anymore. I need you to…"

"What's that?"

"The alarm."

"Go. I'll try to get a hold of Dick so he can meet you."

"No time. This looks serious. We'll discuss this later."

"Wait! If you're willing to accept me as a partner, I want to help."

"Suit up."

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"I had only been secretly supplying Batgirl and giving her trainings outside the cave at that point. For the most part, we worked separately. Once in a while, our paths would cross. But, it was too risky to take on the Joker alone. I needed a partner. I couldn't always be Batman alone…" It was hard for Bruce to admit that, but it was the truth. "If I had known then what I know now... I would have done it all differently."

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"Are you out of your mind? You could have been killed!"

"I wanted to help! The Joker was…"

"No, you think it was your idea! But it's not! It never is! It's always HIM, controlling and manipulating…"

"It was always my choice to be Batgirl. Batman tried several times to discourage me, but I was always defiant. This is what I have been trying to tell you…"

"Trying? How long has this been going on? Two years? Two years and you couldn't once spit it out?"

"I don't believe this! I tried over and over again, but you would never listen! You were always… well, you were always running off to be Robin – something you never even bothered to TRY to tell me!"

"Yeah, but you told Batman."

"I didn't. He knew."

"What! That-That's it! I've had it with all of you! You two deserve each other. Go ahead and keep cleansing the city, but do it without me! I quit!"

"ROBIN! Robin, wait!"

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"Maybe I had been selfish. Maybe I hadn't helped Dick and Barbara for any other reasoning than my own, because I needed partners."

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"Barbara, are you alright?"

"Yes, Bruce. I guess I'm just a little…"

"… rattled from your run-in with Nightwing?"

"… will it always be like this? So… hard?"

"I don't know, Barbara. I honestly don't know."