AU story:Bruce Wayne is a bitter man, hating the world for the death of parents and the life he didn't choose. Can his old friend Lucius Fox change his heart?

A Bat Christmas Carol

With Great Respect For Charles Dickens

By

Part 5: Another Presence

Bruce tried to sleep again, but it was no use. His mind kept returning to the two little boys and their parents. Both ropes had broken, a clear indication of sabotage, but there was nothing he could have done or so he thought. It was tragic and yet he wondered who would do that? His own parents came to mind when they were shot. He could have said something, had done something, but he had not attended that night. He didn't do what he should have done all those years ago. Even so, it felt too late in his eyes. His parent's killer had been caught, killed, and that had been the end of it.

His thoughts were interrupted when the clock struck the quarter hour, then the half, and then the three quarter and finally the hour, striking two chimes.

Two o'clock, but on what day? It didn't matter. It felt like he had slept an eternity or none at all at the same time.

"Wayne? Are you there?"

A booming voice cried out from the other room.

"Who . . . " Bruce approached his door with caution and slowly opened it. He peered out to a room filled with light, and a larger-than-life figure stood in the middle of a feast of abundance. The figure grinned.

"Come closer, I won't bite . . . much," the Spirit joked when he spotted the man in the doorway.

Bruce approached, still cautious and not knowing what to expect.

"There you are," The Spirit stated. "My you could be so much taller if you removed that chip off your shoulders."

"There is no chip," Bruce groused.

"From what I can see, there is a very large chip," the Spirit waved an arm and produced a cup. He then produced a pitcher and poured a liquid into it. "Here, you look parched, drink."

"I don't drink," Bruce replied.

"Drink, it will do you good."

"What is it?"

"Taste it, then I will tell you," the Spirit grinned. "Don't worry, it's not poisoned. If I wanted to poison you, I would have asked one of my many brothers who isn't associated with this time of year. He prefers tricks and treats."

"How many brothers do you have?"

"What year is this?"

"2020," Bruce answered dubiously.

"Then I have 2019 brothers."

"Such a large family to take care of. Your bills must be astronomical."

"You have quite a wit, yourself," the Spirit replied. "Now drink."

Bruce took a sip. Then he took another. He could feel something happening within him, a courage he did not have before, and something else, a need that he could not describe. He thought it had been stamped out of him long ago, yet somehow a spark remained. "What is this?"

"It is many things to many people. For some, the milk of human kindness. For others, liquid courage. For you, a bit of both. Drink up."

Bruce took a larger dose of the drink, letting it course through him. "Spirit, I am ready to go with you. Show me what I need to know so I may change."

"Change takes time, but I will show you things that you have missed out on, and perhaps you may learn something you have not learned before. Touch my robe."

Bruce did as the spirit told him, and they were transported to a different part of the city, one familiar and alien at the same time. He had not been to this area of Gotham for many years. It was foreign and familiar at the same time.

"What is this place?"

"Don't you recognize it?"

Bruce's wasn't sure, and yet there was something familiar about the place. When they turned the corner, Bruce's face paled. 'This is where it happened,' he thought. "What are we doing here?"

"We are here to visit someone," said the Spirit of Christmas present.

"Who could we be visiting here?"

The spirit led Bruce to a narrow old house between two buildings. It had seen better days long ago. "This is the home of your clerk."

"I did not know he lived in such conditions."

"With what you pay him, it is all he can afford." The spirit moved forward, and Bruce followed though he was concerned they might be seen.

"We are invisible to the eye," the Spirit replied. "Now look and see."

Bruce's eyes went wide. He did not know his clerk had a family.

"Haley, be careful that the potatoes do not burn," Solona stated.

"Yes, Mommy,' Haley stated.

"Gaven, you can help me with the stuffing."

"Okay."

"I wonder what's keeping your Dad and Timoti."

Just as Solona stated, the question, Dick Grayson walked in carrying his little brother on his shoulders. They were singing a Christmas Carol in Romani.

"There you two are," Solona stated. "We were beginning to wonder if you two ran off and joined the circus."

The circus? He's the boy who's parents fell? And the baby is his brother? Bruce remembered the scene that the Spirit of Christmas Past had shown him. 'I had no idea. And I had hired the boy when he was a teen. Why didn't he say anything?'

"Not me, Lona, that life is behind me," Dick replied. "Here, Timoti, I'll sit you right down by the stove to get warm."

"Thanks, Dick," Tim replied as Dick set him down. He handed Tim his crutch.

"The potatoes are done, Mom."

"Hey Uncle Tim, do you want to help with making Christmas Cookies?" Haley asked. "I can't wait to open our presents after dinner."

"It was your Dad's idea to make Christmas last as long as possible. And yes, I'll help with making cookies," Tim replied. He got up from his seat and grabbed his crutch and followed. He started coughing and he had to pause before helping to get the ingredients for making cookies.

"We need to have dinner first, the cookies can wait. The goose is almost ready. Why don't you set the table and let your Uncle rest."

"Spirit, I did not know Grayson had a brother who is ill," Bruce stated. "What is the matter with him."

"Complications from a broken leg that wasn't mended properly."

"Do they have medicine?"

"They cannot afford it, let alone see to the repairing of his leg."

Bruce continued to keep his eyes on the crippled teen as well as on the face of his clerk. Now, he could see clearly the sadness in his clerk's eyes. And yet, he had a family that seemed to love him with all of their hearts, and he with his. What followed next would pain Bruce's heart greatly.

Continues with Part 6