A/N: oh, hitting the double digits, what an auspicious occasion! Anyway, some of you have been wondering about Alfred's reaction to Bruce's shenanigans; well wait no longer my friends! Read on!

Only Human

Chapter 10

"Master Bruce? Master Bruce!" Alfred's worried cries broke through the comforting blackness that had enveloped him. With an effort Bruce managed to open the top of the bat-mobile and drag himself upright. He dug deep into his last reserves in an attempt to reassure the older man.

"I'm here, Alfred," he said as the butler approached.

"Mister Clark Kent called several days ago, sir. He said that there had been an accident, and that you would not be returning so soon."

"Clark over reacts." He bit out automatically, then softened, "I'll be fine, Alfred. It's just good to be back."

"Indeed, Sir. But I'm afraid that I must insist that you take the next few nights off." Silently the butler braced himself for the inevitable stony protests from the dark knight. When none came that he began to be truly worried. "Humph, very good," he said to cover up his startlement at the telling lack of reaction. "Well, come along, we might as well have some tea. And I give you a check up. Not that I don't trust all of the technology on that floating station of yours." Bruce managed a strained smirk in spite of himself. Alfred had no problems with the League, in fact he encouraged the Batman to assist the other heroes in their exploits, but he had been… skeptical when Bruce proposed the idea of an orbiting watchtower.

As the two headed towards the cave's med lab Alfred casually placed a steadying hand on the Batman's arm. When, once again, the Bat was silent, the butler's worry intensified dramatically. His mounting concern was not quickly alleviated, for by the time they reached the specified portion of the underground system, Alfred was supporting much of the larger man's weight.

"Right sir, just sit here," said the butler as he carefully removed the cape, cowl, and top portion of the Batman's uniform. "Master Bruce…" he whispered in shock as he surveyed the extent of the damage. "What were you doing out of bed?" Bruce stared blankly at the Butler as if, now that his task had been fulfilled, he was having difficulty processing the question. Exhaustion and confusion wound around his unmasked face as he attempted to frame an answer.

"Gotham…Clark… they didn't want me to…get away… had to … home…" was all the Butler managed to understand, but that was more than enough for him. Gently he helped his employer and surrogate son to lie back on the lab's main examination table. He would just repair any damage the wayward billionaire had done to himself in this 'escape attempt' then get some food for when he awoke. Sometimes Alfred wished that Bruce would just see the need to sit down rest and realize that he was only human. Not that the long suffering butler had any hope of that actually coming to pass. He could dream though.

1…1

For the first time in a long time Bruce awoke feeling safe and refreshed. Not free of pain, that would be far too much to hope for, but even that had lessened drastically. The damp air and faint far off flutter of wings reassured him that he was in the cave, just as the soft, familiar rumble of indrawn breath told him that Alfred was beside him. Carefully he cracked open his eyes and gazed complacently at the rocky ceiling. For the moment he was content to just be… safe. As safe as he could be. A slight shifting to his right caused Bruce to turn his head and look at the older man as he emerged from the dark recesses of sleep. Not that sleeping could have been all that comfortable sitting in the rather severe chair that he had been dragged up beside the bed. Bruce would bet his cowl that he had been there all night.

"Oh, Master Bruce!" the older man exclaimed upon seeing open blue eyes in front of him, "Forgive me for dozing, Sir. I'm afraid I am not as young as I used to be."

"It's fine, Alfred."

"Yes, well I'm quite relieved," he said straightening his slightly less than immaculate clothing. "You, however, were not fine." He continued, his tone growing a distinctly reproving edge.

"Alfred, I-"

"Sir, you will kindly allow me to finish!" exclaimed the normally unshakeable British gentleman. "Mr. Kent informed me several days ago that there had been… an accident and that you would stay at that floating contraption of yours until you were stable. Sir, when you came down here, you were considerably less than stable. Just what did you think you were doing?"

"I- Alfred, I- how… I don't." he stopped, brow furrowed at his own uncharacteristic confusion. He remembered he had called everyone to the site where he believed-where he knew-the next bomb would be. He had found it, but had not been able to disarm it. He had failed. But there had been enough time to get out, he was sure there had been. Apparently he had been wrong about that too.

His next few memories were sporadic and clouded with pain. This was totally out of character for him; he could not understand it… Clark had been there at… the Tower's infirmary, Bruce grimaced at the memories the room conjured. He hated that place. To him, it symbolized failure. Public failure. The Batman was not supposed to fail. Shaking himself free of his unwanted feelings he concentrated on the last few days.

He had talked to Clark, they had argued. Clark had left, then Bruce had left, abet much more stealthily. They… hadn't wanted him to leave… but he'd had to. The further along he had gone, the dimmer his memory became, too much energy expended fighting back the dizziness and nausea to keep his usually pinpoint memory going. There had been a brief feeling of annoyance that came only when dealing with the Flash… then a blank. Somehow he found himself in the hanger with the feeling that someone was watching him. He vaguely remembered speaking to someone. Then he was in Gotham. The Billionaire stared at Alfred, slight bewilderment breaking through his stoic features.

"I just had to get back Alfred. I knew…" he trailed off before finishing in an almost silent whisper, "I knew that you would take care of me."

Alfred did not quite catch what the master had said, but he had known Bruce long enough and well enough to guess. His demeanor softened, his s- his charge had been injured and needed rest and caring. He could always berate the younger man later if need be.

A/N: Aw, how can one not love Alfred? He's so awesome. And Bruce- he better watch himself or he'll get positively mushy! (by Bat-standards anyway ;) Please leave a note if you liked(or disliked) the chapter!

Special thanks to Valandil, Saibachick, RedSoxGirl5, thevigilante15, and Batzi for reviewing last chapter. (also a general apology to those who reviewed the last few chapters; I know it's taken a while but I have sent out replies (to those who left addresses) sorry it took so long!)