This chapter provides a bit of background for the AU. Please review.
Reflection
To satisfy the media's curiosity they did it every few years- it was family picture day.
He looked at his family gathered together and he never imagined he could have this. Sure, they were dysfunction, but when it came down to it they fought together (literally). When his parents died his world was devastated. As he grew he secluded himself and the mere idea of a family became nothing but an unattainable delusion. However, somehow the pieces came together.
Dick came first. When he watched the boy's parents fall to their deaths he knew he had to be there for him. As time went on he found himself taking on a role he never imaged for himself- a father. Dick was able to do something Bruce never imagined. He penetrated the darkness Bruce had voluntarily encased himself in. Dick brought him to light and with it more possibilities than Bruce ever imagined.
His emergence into the light allowed him to Diana on a date. He knew he loved her from the moment he laid eyes on her, despite never believing in such things. He loved her from afar for years. After accepting that he could be more than just Batman, he let her see behind the cowl to all that Bruce Wayne is. She accepted him with all his issues. She cleaned his wounds after patrol. She kissed him and held him tight after a nightmare. Once she was his wife he couldn't imagine anything more from his life; that was until she gave him a daughter.
Elena was born small but strong. He looked down at her with her dark hair he knew would one day be as long and lovely as her mother's and blue eyes that matched his. He knew his life had changed forever. If Dick reintroduced him to light Elena pulled back the curtain and let it blast though the window. She was the meaning of light in name and personality. She showed Bruce how much more he was capable of.
Jason was a challenge, but Bruce saw the potential. After his falling out with Dick he was eager for a challenge. While Jason seemed tough Bruce saw the hurt boy he was underneath and he couldn't help but identify. He wanted to help, and for a while it seemed he had. Jason thrived with a family, but of course it couldn't be that simple. Jason was still rebellious and he ended up dead. Bruce went back into the dark. He saw this as his greatest failure, despite what Diana, Dick or anyone else tried to say.
Lydia was born just after Jason moved to the manor. Her shy smile and blond hair (hair that he remembered from his childhood- his mother's) made him love her instantly. She was born at a happy time that turned dark. Bruce was so happy when Lydia was born, but within a few years Jason was dead and so was a part of Bruce. Bruce often secluded himself in his study or the cave, the rest of the family tended to let him have his space, but not Lydia. She would enter quietly with a book, find a corner and just sit near him for hours. As sad as he was he couldn't help but steal glances at her and smile.
When Tim came into Bruce's life he had no intention of mentoring anyone else ever again. However, Tim noticed how Batman became more erratic and knew that Batman needed a new partner- he needed a Robin. Tim used his knowledge of Bruce Wayne's identity to basically blackmail his way into the Bat Clan. It took Bruce a while to realize he needed to mentor Tim. Tim brought a spark back to the Batman that in turn brought a spark back to Bruce Wane. Eventually when Tim became an orphan he had already become part of the Wayne family, despite Bruce's intentions to never bring anyone else into the Bat lifestyle.
The last piece of the puzzle was the most unexpected. Bruce thought he had everything he needed. Dick and he had patched things up after Jason's death. Then Jason came back to life and made his return back to the family. Everything seemed to fit until Damian showed up on the door step of Wayne Manor. The sudden appearance nearly ended his marriage. Diana wasn't initially accepting of his only biological son, consider his age and how long they had been a couple. Bruce managed to prove that Damian was not conceived the average way. As a family they were still adjusting to the newest addition, he was obstinate and often rude (especially to Tim), but Bruce knew he belonged.
He looked at the members of his family, all pieces to the puzzle that was his life. The pieces didn't look to fit together at first, but as time went by they morphed into a clear picture- a family portrait.