The Long and Winding Road

Chapter Four

DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own them, and I don't think my stocking is big enough to hold them. ;-)

This could be it. I almost felt like I was going to be sick. But I answered it anyway, since I happened to be the only one in the house. Except for Bruce, that is, but he'd never answer the phone. Not now.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Does a Mr. Bruce Wayne live here?"

"Yes. Who's calling?"

"This is Dr. Beauregard."

My throat was suddenly very, very dry.

"Well?" was all I could say. Even to my own ears, my voice sounded funny.

There was laughter on the other end. "Don't be so nervous! Everything is going to be fine."

"…Does that mean what I hope it means?"

"Yes. We've found a doctor who can—and will—perform the operation. He's in Europe, though, but I'm sure money won't be a problem for you…"

"Just tell me where he is so I can tackle him to the ground and thank him a million times over!" I exclaimed, not quite jokingly. That was one of those few moments in my life when I was completely thrilled to pieces, no strings attached. I think the term is 'Cloud Nine'.

More laughter from the good doctor.

"You certainly are an enthusiastic kid, aren't you? Alrighty then, here's everything you need to know…"

I grabbed a notepad and pencil and scribbled everything down. It was just barely legible because my hand was shaking so badly, so I'd have to rewrite it before Alfred came home and gave me a lecture on how important good penmanship was or something.

"Good-bye, Doc. And thanks again!"

I hung up. Then, unable to control myself, I let out a whoop and did a couple of back handsprings across the living room floor. Bruce was going to see again! Just wait till he found out!

So I ran into the study, yelling for Bruce the whole way. I knew he probably wouldn't answer me until I was within three feet of him, but that was just my way of getting rid of the excess energy.

As I entered the study, I tripped over something I hadn't seen—like my own foot, maybe—and found myself lying on the floor.

"Dick, what are you doing, trying to get yourself killed?"

I ignored him and got up off the newly-vacuumed carpet.

"They're gonna do it! They're gonna do it!" I yelled.

"Do what?"

"You know what!"

I was so excited I barely knew myself what it was they were going to do. But Bruce knew so much more than I did—he could figure it out.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before I saw understanding in his expression.

Most people who found out they were going to see again probably would have started cheering and laughing and maybe even hugging the closest thing to them, which would have been me since I was practically on top of him.

But not Bruce. No, never Bruce. He was way too… in-control?… to allow himself to do those things. Lucky for us, I'm enthusiastic and emotional enough for twenty people. Or so says Alfred.

"Dr. Beauregard just called," I prattled on happily. "He says that there's a doctor in Austria who specializes in these kinds of operations. Of course, it involves a few weeks of recuperation afterwards, which means we'll be stuck in Europe for about six weeks, but—"

"Hey, slow down a minute, Boy Wonder!" Bruce interrupted. "What do you mean 'we'?"

My smile faltered slightly. Of course, Bruce didn't even notice.

"I'm going with you, naturally."

"Hate to disappoint you, but…"

"Oh. I get it."

Well, I definitely wasn't going to be stuck at home waiting for Bruce to get back. I'd done that before for much less significant matters, and I hated it. Imagine what it would be like waiting for something as important as this! So I decided to take my guardian on a little… guilt-trip. Or at least, I'd try.

Sitting down next to him on the couch, I made myself sound as forlorn as possible when I proclaimed, "You don't want me to go with you."

Bruce sighed. I knew that sigh. Ha, ha, it was working!

"It's not that I don't want to take you, Dick, but—"

"Then why can't I go?" I insisted.

"Do you know what could happen to Gotham if both of us were gone for six weeks?"

"Well, during the summer, you have that alarm system in your room at the house in Florida to let us know if something's wrong, and for those months it didn't even go off once! See? It's not that bad around here."

"And how do you suggest we get an alarm system into the hotel room?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out, so I closed it again. He had a point… but this war wasn't over yet! This guilt-trip wasn't even close to being done!

"So you're going alone then," I grumped.

"No. Alfred is going with me."

I did a double-take.

"You mean I'm going to be here all alone? I doubt if the guys at Children's Welfare are going to like that! Which is yet another good reason why I should be going with you!"

"For your information, Alfred is just going to be staying with me until the operation ends to make sure everything goes alright. Then he'll be back. Which means that you'll be at school the entire time we're both away."

I gave him a really nasty look, despite the fact that he couldn't see me doing it. That was probably a good thing, actually.

"You planned all of this, didn't you?"

"Always be prepared, Dick."

"Without telling me."

No answer.

"What is this, a conspiracy?"

Judging by the slightly exasperated expression on Bruce's face, I figured I had probably pushed it a little too far. But I was too annoyed to really be worried about it. Once again, Bruce had started planning my life without warning me about it first.

When Bruce didn't answer me for the second time in a row, I got up and marched out of the room, still feeling highly offended. How come I never knew what was going on until it had already happened? Argh!

I moped around in my room for a while. Then, when the clock struck four, I suddenly remembered that doctor's appointment I had been advised to make. So I asked Alfred to drive me into the city, wait for about an hour, and then take me home. He did it, even though he was rather miffed when I refused tell him where I was going. But I couldn't tell him. I wouldn't tell him until I was sure…

Me: Can anybody guess where this is going? Bwahaha...

Dick: Hey, c'mon! It's the holiday season--be nice to me, would you?

Me: Not yet, pal. I'll be nice to you later. MUCH later.

Dick (grumpy): Figures.

Me: Aw, just do the replies. Please?

Dick: (sigh) The things I put up with...

Reviewer Replies

Firi-It's okay. I think I'm getting used to it now. (little sigh) Anyway, thanks for reviewing, and I like father/son stories, too! But I think you could have guessed that...

60's-bat-fan-Okay, we admit it: this isn't exactly really soon. But yeah, Bruce can be a little... intolerable... sometimes. But most of the time, he isn't too bad. ;-)

kokomocalifornia-I don't think I've seen such an enthusiastic fan before, at least not for TAP's stuff. Perfect? Wow! Thank you!

Naeko-Don't worry. She has no intention of killing anybody in this story, especially not me. I hope. (ah-hem) Anyway, she says thank you and hopes that you enjoy this chapter just as much!