Chapter 2

8:42 AM February 10th 2003, Wayne Manor

The sunlight from the bedroom window shines into my eyes. Slowly I return to consciousness from my deep sleep. A warm mass is attached to my right arm. Looking over, I see Richard still clinging to my shirt with one hand, and sucking his thumb with the other. I smile at the cute sight.

Ever so gently, I detach Richard and slowly get up from the bed to use the bathroom. While washing my hands, I hear a small whimper from outside the door. Exiting the bathroom, I see Richard gloomily looking around the bedroom; his eyes red with a few tears trailing down his cheeks.

I rush over to his side, "Richard, what's wrong?"

"I..." he stutters, "I can't find peanut."

My eyebrows scrunch in confusion, "Peanut?"

"My…my elephant. My...mom and dad gave…gave him to me."

Realizing Richard is talking about the stuffed animal he brought with him, I scan the room frantically looking for the toy. Walking around the room, I still cannot find the elephant. Richard had it last night, so it has to be in the room. An idea for where it may be comes to mind; I kneel down next to the bed. Lifting up the bed skirt reveals the missing stuffed animal; it must have fallen off the bed during the night. Relief flows through me as I grab the toy and hand it to Richard.

Reunited with his precious friend, Richard begins recovering from his fright. He hugs the elephant tightly to his chest as if it will disappear again.

"Thank you" he sniffles.

I nod, not knowing how else to respond. An awkward silence fills the room; I try to break it by asking

"So your parents gave you the elephant?"

Richard nods his head "On my forth birthday. I named him peanut because that's the circus elephant Ruby's favorite food."

At the mention of food, a grumble escapes the boy's stomach. Embarrassed, Richard's face blushes. I chuckle

"Hungry?" Richard nods. "C'mon I'll take you down to the kitchen. Alfred can make us some breakfast."

The boy stands up on the bed. I get a good look at the pajamas he brought with him from the trailer. Superman themed; I make a mental note to quickly replace those. If Clark ever heard that a child in my custody is wearing his symbol, I would never hear the end of it. Richard walks to the side of the bed and jumps to the ground. He trails behind me but freezes when we reach the hallway. Frantically the boy's eyes roam the extensive hall before looking up at me with his wide puppy-dog eyes, obviously overwhelmed.

I sigh and pick the child up. At first he is surprised by my actions (as am I), but quickly wraps an arm around my neck for support; his other arm still clutching Peanut.

We make it to the kitchen where Alfred is baking some muffins. The delicious aroma floats through the air; Richard's stomach grumbles again.

"Good morning Alfred" I greet as I place Richard in a chair. There is a table and chairs set up in the kitchen. I only eat in the dining room when Selena is over or I'm hosting a business dinner.

Alfred looks up from the pan of muffins he is taking out of the oven. "Good morning Master Bruce, Master Richard. Is there anything I can make you this morning?"

"Just my coffee" I answer.

"Anything for you Master Richard?"

Richard looks like a deer in headlights when asked the question. "Ummm. Do you have any juice?"

Alfred chuckles, "We certainly do. Would you like apple or grape?"

"Apple please."

Alfred swiftly gets us the juice and coffee. Then he places a couple muffins on the table for Richard and me to eat. As he places one in front of Richard he asks, "Would you like anything else Master Richard. I could make you some pancakes or an omelet."

The boy bites his lip, still feeling uncomfortable with his new surroundings. "Do…do you know how to make French toast?"

Alfred chuckles, "I certainly do. Would you like some French toast also Master Wayne?"

I shake my head, "I'm fine with a muffin Alfred."

Richard grows a bit distressed, "I don't need the toast Mr. Alfred! You don't need to go through the trouble."

"It is no trouble at all Master Richard. I'll make you a few pieces right away" Alfred replies as he walks to the stove.

"Thank you!" Richard says to Alfred's retreating form.

The boy returns his attention to the muffin in front of him and takes a bite. His eyes grow wide as he exclaims "Mmmm. This is so good!"

I smile at the child's reaction and take a bite out of my muffin. It is good, but there is something very different that surprises me. "Chocolate Chip Alfred?"

"I thought Master Richard would enjoy the chocolate more than the bran muffins you usually request Master Wayne."

"You didn't need to do that! I'm sorry Mr. Wayne" Richard cries.

I place a hand on the concerned boy's shoulder. "It is okay Richard, I don't mind. Calm down."

"I'm sorry" Richard says still worked up. "I just don't want to be a hassle."

"You are not a hassle Richard." I look him in the eye, "Alfred and I want to help. Do you understand that?"

Relief and disbelief crosses Richard's face. "Really?"

"Yes. Why are you so nervous about asking for something?"

Richard looks down at the stuffed animal in his arms, his eyes start to tear up. I get out of my chair and crouch down next to the boy. I place my hand on his back and gently rub it, trying to comfort the upset child.

"I…I overheard the gov…government lady talking last night. She said that…that I was just going to an…annoy you soon enough and…and you would send me back…back into their custody" Richard whimpers.

Anger boils inside me at Ms. Vice. How was she put in a position of taking care of children? I will defiantly be visiting Child Services soon to give her a piece of my mind. But right now I can't think of that, I have to focus on the crying child before me.

I scoop Richard into my arms and sit back down in my chair. I rock the child and whisper, "That isn't true, she was wrong. You are not an annoyance Richard. I promise I won't send you away if you don't want to leave."

Richard grabs onto me and sobs "Thank you. You…you feel safe." I gently rock the boy for a while, comforting him the best I can. After a while he calms down enough to eat the French toast Alfred places in front of us. I'm not quite ready to let go of the boy yet, so he stays sitting on my lap while he eats. I just want Richard to know I am there, that he doesn't need to be nervous around me.

After starting his second piece of toast, Richard says, "Mr. Wayne, you don't have to call me Richard."

"Isn't that your name?" I ask smirking.

Richard laughs and says, "Yeah, but everyone at the circus called me by my nickname, Dick."

"Dick it is then. You don't have to call me Mr. Wayne either. You can call me Bruce."

Dick smiles up at me. "Okay. Bruce? Can I have the tour now?"

8:23 PM March 4th 2003, Wayne Manor

I sigh as I look at the clock on my dashboard and pull into the manors driveway. A meeting for Wayne Enterprises that was only supposed to last one to two hours, turned into a five hour ordeal. To say I am irritated would be an understatement. At least I am getting back just in time to tuck Richard into bed.

Although I don't regret taking Richard in, it is safe to say that the last month has been difficult and awkward. Alfred adjusted to having the six year old around the mansion quite easily. But for Dick and me it has been taking quite a bit of time to get used to each other. I have never dealt with children before taking the boy in, I am still learning how take care of Richard. Luckily I have Alfred to help me, or I would be completely lost. It hasn't helped either having Wayne Enterprises commanding all my time in the day, then Batman taking up my time at night. I haven't told Dick about me being Batman, and I don't plan to any time soon. Between both of my jobs I have had little time with Dick. I try to make it back for dinner and to spend the afternoon with him each night. But unfortunately this isn't the first time I have barely made it back in time for Dick's nine o'clock bedtime.

The past month has been the hardest on Dick though. The grief he feels for his parents overwhelms him quite often. I try to help Richard the best I can. Sometimes I feel like I am making a difference for the child, but most of the time I just feel useless. The truth is, Richard needs to mourn and there is nothing I can do to lighten his load. Dick knows that Alfred and I are here if he needs to talk and luckily I have been at the manor when his nightmare come during the night.

But even with all of the tough obstacles, there have been some good moments. When I do get home at a reasonable hour, I make a point to give my full attention to Richard. We usually have dinner then play a few games or if it is a bad night, talk. Dick has told me a bunch of stories of the circus's travels around the globe. One of the things he brought with him from his family's trailer was a scrapbook which he has explained every picture to me in great detail. It is sad to know that the happy times Dick spent with his family is over, but I know it is good for him to remember his parents and those memories. It brings the boy comfort talking about his deceased parents, something I understand greatly. It is in those moments that I feel the most useful.

After finishing our talk or game, Richard would retire to bed at nine. I read in a parenting book (yes I bought about ten the second day I had Richard) that it is good for children to have a set bedtime. Before Dick falls asleep though, I read him a story. At first it was just children's fairy tale books that Alfred dug up from when I was a boy. Then Dick discovered that Batman lives in Gotham, and became a huge fan (much to my delight). So every once in a while, he asks for me to find a story involving my alter-ego. But recently upon Richard's request, I have been reading him a chapter out of Alice in Wonderland every night. I was hesitant at first, but the child insisted saying his mother always read him classic books such as Pinocchio and Tom Sawyer. He seems to understand the books pretty well even if they are considered to be too challenging for one so young. From what I have observed, Richard is very intelligent for his age.

I get out of my car and speedily made my way inside. I nearly run Alfred over while making my way upstairs.

"Ah Master Bruce! Just in time, Master Richard just headed up to put on his pajamas" Alfred says as I make my way up the stairs.

When I make it to Richard's bedroom I knock on the door, not wanting to walk in on the boy changing. From the other side I hear a sad

"Come in."

Opening the door, I see Richard gloomily sitting on the bed. His hair is still wet from the bath he takes before bed each night. When he looks up, Richard's face immediately beams with joy.

"Bruce!" he exclaims as he jumps into my arms. Being an acrobat, the boy can leap amazing distances, I was still a few feet away when he jumped.

"Hey there Dicky" I smile.

"You made it! Alfred said you had to work late. I thought you wouldn't be here in time for our story" Dick chatters a million words per second.

"I know. Sorry, I didn't think that meeting would take so long." I place Richard back on the bed. "Now time for that story" I say as I grab the book sitting on the side table.

Richards face becomes solemn. "Bruce?" he asks in a whisper. "Instead of the book, can you tell me what happened to your parents?"

Shock overcomes me at the question. "What?"

The boy looks guiltily at his hands, "Never mind."

Sitting next to him on the bed I assure him "It's fine Richard. I was just surprised you asked. Why do you want to know about my parents?"

"Well" he begins still looking at his hands. "You said at the circus that you were in a similar situation as me when you were eight."

I sigh remembering the exact quote he is referring to. Tucking Richard into bed I say "I was in a similar position as you when I was younger. It wasn't exactly the same, but close enough."

"What happened?" Richard asks, his eyes wide with a sad curiosity.

"When I was eight, my parents took me to an opera." I explain while lying on the bed next to the boy; a common position for story time. "About halfway through I became restless and my parents decided to take me outside for a breather."

Flashbacks to the horrible night begin to resurface in my mind. I continue a bit slower, "We were in an alley next to the theater, when a man approached us. He pulled out a gun, and threatened to shoot us if my father didn't hand over his wallet."

"Did he?" Dick asks worried.

"Of course. He handed it over right away. But you see, the thief then asked for my mother's necklace. A necklace my father had given her for their anniversary. When my father tried to convince the thief to leave, the thief became nervous and shot both of my parents."

Dicks inhales deeply and I see his eyes start to tear up "You saw just like I did."

I solemnly nod my head as a response.

Dick looks off in the distance, thinking, before asking "Do you still miss them?"

"All the time. You don't ever stop missing those who have passed Dick. But the pain you feel right now, it does get better, you learn to live with it. I still get sad thinking about my parents, but it is easier to think of them now than it was when I was younger."

Richard just simply nods as tears make their way down his face. We sit together in a heavy silence for a while. Eventually Richard says, "Would my mom and dad be okay if I liked living here? It's just…sometimes I feel guilty."

"I understand Dick. But you have to remember, your parents loved you very much. They would be glad you are in a place where you are able to happy."

"I guess." Dick doesn't say anything for a long time; every once in a while he sniffles.

Looking over at the clock, I notice that it is way past Richards's bedtime. I don't want to break up the conversation, but I know Alfred would kill me if I let Dick stay up any later.

I give Richard a few more minutes to think before saying "Alright, time to go to sleep chum."

Dick nods, but doesn't say anything. I him a light pat on the shoulder and head to the door. Before I turn off the lights, Dick calls after me

"Bruce, Thank you for taking me in. I think my parents would be glad I'm here."

I turn around and give the boy a smile. "I'm glad you're here too Dicky."

Richard's POV

1:15 AM March 13 2003, Wayne Manor

"NOOOOO!" I scream into the darkness of my room.

Another nightmare ends by me waking from sleep. My entire body is shaking and covered with sweat, causing my hair to stick to my forehead. Tears sting my eyes as flashbacks from the nightmare cloud my mind. The image of my parent's broken bodies won't leave.

Where is Bruce? Usually when I have a nightmare, he comes in and wakes me up. My already huge room becomes bigger and lonelier than ever, even more than the first night I came. I hug Peanut closer to my body, wishing I had Bruce or Alfred to comfort me too.

Maybe Bruce just didn't hear me? Still clutching Peanut, I slowly get out of my bed and rush into the hall. Bruce's room is right next to mine; I nervously walk up to his door. It isn't the first time I've asked to sleep in Bruce's bed during the night, but for some reason it still makes me nervous.

I gently turn the doorknob and open the door. Moonlight from the window shines on an empty bed. That's strange, it has to be pretty late. Why isn't Bruce in bed yet?

Curiosity begins to overcome me. Maybe Alfred knows where Bruce is? Alfred's room is on the first floor, so it'll take a while to get there. After living in the mansion for a little over a month, I have a pretty good handle on finding my way around.

As I make my way through the long hallways, I hear a bunch of creaking from one of the living rooms. The noise creeps me out, but my curiosity takes over and I head in. As I enter, I see that there is a new corridor on a wall that didn't have one earlier today.

Before I can investigate, Alfred walks out of the secret passage. I hide behind the couch, not wanting to be seen. Bruce gave me a tour of the mansion when I first came. Then one day Alfred gave me a tour of all the secret servant tunnels Bruce doesn't know about. Neither of them showed me this hidden corridor, so I'm guessing it goes somewhere really cool. Alfred moves past the couch I'm hiding behind, and heads into a different room. Seeing my chance to explore the secret passage, I grab Peanut and dash in.

The corridor goes on for a while. Eventually it reaches an old elevator which I get in. There aren't any buttons inside, but instead a lever. I push the lever forward, but the elevator doesn't do anything. When I pull it backwards, the elevator starts descending to a lower level. The elevator is quicker than I thought it would be, and I am on the bottom floor in less than a minute.

When I step off the elevator, I enter a huge cave! It looks like an old cave rock climbers would explore, but converted into a useable space. Walking around, I come across a lot of computer screens with a bunch of keyboards. Around the room, there are some displays of armor. Next I walk across what looks like a medical table with a bunch of needles and bandages. When I approach one wall with a bunch of shelves, I notice it is filled with different knives and weapons.

This scares me. What is this place? Does Bruce know this is under his house? He must, Alfred just left. Why does he have this room?

In the middle of my thoughts, a bunch of creeks begin to come from the elevator. Panicked, I look for something to hide behind. The only place I can find is under a big computer desk. I pull the desk chair in front of the desk to hide me a bit more.

I can feel myself shaking in fear as I hug Peanut to my chest. I bite my lip so I don't cry in fear when I hear the elevator doors open. Footsteps echo around the room. I let out a whimper when they near the desk I'm hiding under. Immediately I regret the slip because the footsteps quicken their way over to my hiding spot. My heart rate quickens.

Knowing I'm caught, I let myself cry. All I can think is 'I'm dead. Whoever it is, is going to kill me.' The chair squeaks away from the desk, exposing me. I release a yelp when suddenly someone grabs my arms and pulls me out.

"Let go of me!" I scream and thrash against the person's grip.

"Master Richard, Calm down!" Alfred says as he tries to keep ahold of me. Knowing its Alfred, I settle down a bit but keep my guard up.

"Alfred, what is this place? Why are there so many weapons?" I cry.

Alfred sighs and repositions me to sit on his hip. "I was hoping Master Bruce would be here to explain this to you."

"What! What happened to Bruce!?"

"Nothing, nothing" Alfred tries to be comforting. He again sighs "Nothing I know of. He should be back in about half an hour. You can wait here with me and he will explain everything."

I'm apprehensive at first, wanting to know what is going on now. But eventually I agree and Alfred places me in a chair. Alfred pulls another chair over and sits next to me. He tries to start a conversation, but drops it when I begin asking more about where Bruce is.

Time passes and I slowly begin to fall asleep again. As nervous as I am, the exhaustion from being up late is getting to me. I am about to fall into unconsciousness when a loud noise shocks me awake.

Looking towards where the noise is coming from, I see the cave wall open up. Getting nervous, I begin to fidget. Alfred notices my distress and picks me back up. A black tank-like car drives in through the cave's opening. It stops once it is all the way into the cave and a person gets out.

The person is dressed in a head to toe black suit with armor and a cape. Ears are sticking out of a helmet that covers most of the man's face. As he gets closer, I notice how tall the man is and see a symbol resembling a bat is on his chest. The closer he gets, the more scared I get of the intimidating figure.

"Alfred! What is he doing down here?" the man's gruff voice declares. I would have probably cowered in fear from the man if I didn't recognize his voice.

"Bruce?"

The man takes off his mask to reveal the face of my guardian. "Yes Dicky. It's me."

"What…" I stutter "What is all of this? Why are you wearing that? Are you…are you Batman?"

"I am."

The new discovery is overwhelming. I can't think for about five minutes as I stare at Bruce, the room, and Alfred. While I was thinking everything over, Alfred at some point handed me to Bruce. I don't notice until I exclaim

"THAT'S SO COOL!"

Bruce seems shocked by my sudden outburst. But smiles amusedly when I ask him

"Do you fight bad guys all night? Did you catch anyone tonight? Was it the Joker? Penguin? Wait, if you're Batman that means you are part of the Justice League. Can I meet them? Is there anyone else I know who is a superhero?"

Alfred chuckles as Bruce answers "Well, do you remember when I told you about my girlfriend Selena?"

"Yeah" I nod excitedly.

"Well she is Catwoman."

"Really! But Bruce, I thought she was a bad guy."

"Well about a year ago she started to change. Now she fights crime instead of causing it."

"OK." An idea comes to my mind, "Can I become a superhero too?"

Bruce's smile immediately drops and he quickly answers "No."

"But…" I protest.

"I said no Dick" he asserts.

"Why not?"

"It is dangerous and you are too young."

"What about when I'm older? You can train me. I could be your partner!"

"Richard no!"

"Pleaseeeeee" I beg.

Alfred interrupts us by proposing "Maybe this is a conversation for later. Right now I think it is time Master Richard to go back to bed."

"I agree" Bruce says.

"Can you put me to bed?" I ask using my best cute look. The one Bruce can't help but give into.

Bruce waivers before saying "Okay." He grabs Peanut from off the floor where I dropped him during my excitement. He then carries me over to the elevator and up to my room. The entire way I ask Bruce questions about his night. Apparently not much happened. He stopped a few muggings and car thefts, but nothing big.

When we reach my room, Bruce places me on the bed. As he tucks me under the covers I ask again "Can you please train me Bruce? I really want to be a hero like you."

Bruce sighs and says "I'll think about it Dick."

Satisfied, I snuggle into the bed and cuddle Peanut to my chest. "Goodnight Bruce."

"Goodnight Dick" he smiles before leaving the room.

Bruce's POV

I make my way back down to the batcave to take off my suit, Dick's question still lingering in my mind.

"Is Master Richard back in bed?" Alfred inquires.

"Yes" I answer as I begin undressing from the suit. "Still asking if he could be my partner."

"What did you expect?" Alfred chuckles, "The boy is a lot like you. Of course he would want to be a hero."

"What do you think I should do?"

"Well there is no harm in training the boy. Whether he fights crime or not is something we can discuss in a few years."

"I guess." I sigh before adding "It would be fun to teach Dick some skills."

"He would surely enjoy it." Alfred smiles "The young boy certainly looks up to you. You should see how excited he gets when I tell him you're on your way home from work."

"It has been nice having him here" I say while taking off the last of my suit and putting it away.

Alfred and I head over to the elevator. As the doors close I look over and ask

"Alfred, what would you say about the idea of adopted Dick?"