Come What May

by DC Luder

Sixth story in the Series of Three. Not long after having their world turned upside down, the Family must face the combined threat of an old foe and friend. Chapter 13: When push comes to shove...

8. Come What May: VIII

Title: Come What May

Author: DC Luder

Rating: T

Summary: The Family is torn between trusting Taila… and one another.

Infringements: All recognizable characters belong to DC Comics, not DC Luder.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. Losing my job of four years, moving, starting life anew and all sorts of other drama stole my author time and initiative… All better now!

^V^

At quarter after five, I had started my morning by taking Ace out of my brother's room.

The plan was that in the event of being caught, I had the alibi that I was taking him outside for a walk. With Ace at my heels, I had gone downstairs and into the study, setting my sights on my father's computer. Thanks to tutelage from both Barbara and Tim, I had been able to see that the security for the Manor wasn't on set phasers to kill mode. In fact, the system of the property's perimeter was elevated more so than that of the actual house. The ground floor windows and entrances were all locked and secured, but that was no different from any other night.

The only elevated security flag was on the second floor, the secure room that Talia had been anchored in.

Even though the lock-down threats, such as tranquilizer darts or tear gas ejected from the walls, would not pose a threat, the standard security measures still made my plan a task to execute. My key adversaries had been the ultrasonic motion sensors and the electronic locks. It took nearly twenty minutes of doing battle with the computer, but finally I had managed to unlock the French doors leading out onto the terrace. Having spent months finding my way out of and back into the Manor at night, toying with the security system had practically become a past time.

I had yet to master biometric based security measures, something Mom had promised to teach me over the winter.

Knowing I had limited time before Alfred started his day, I had set the terrace doors to re-lock within twenty-five minutes. There was no turning off the motion sensors that were stationed every two feet from the floor to ceiling in front of the door. Thankfully, my mother had taught me how to bypass that particular device. Ace still with me, I had stopped at the ground floor linen closet to retrieve a bed sheet. In the field, I would have used my cape to absorb the sound waves, but since I had been in the comfort of my own home, I had been able to use Egyptian cotton.

Telling Ace to down and stay, I had proceeded to hold two corners of the sheet above my head, letting it drape down in front of me. I had slowly walked forward, the ultrasonic waves hitting the soft material instead of detecting my presence. Once through, I had opened the door, stepped through and closed it in one fluid movement. Through the glass of the door, I had raised a hand, signaling Ace to stay put.

Unfortunately, the gimmick had no way of working on a dog.

With dawn still a ways off, I had relied on the small, high powered LED flashlight I had on my key ring. It fit in my palm but it was just as powerful as a handheld search light. Wasting no time, I had started to jog in the cold morning air, quickly heading towards the gentle slope to the right of the house. Twenty-five minutes was cutting it close, but the time constraint had been necessary to make it back before Alfred came downstairs.

He had planted the seed of curiosity in me, one I had needed to sate.

For generations, Waynes had been buried on the grounds save for two that were in Arlington National Cemetery. On numerous occasions, my father had taken myself and Nathan up to lay fresh flowers on the graves of his parents. The first few times I had gone up, I had been scared but growing older, I had found myself becoming intrigued. I had looked upon the graves of my ancestors dating back centuries, amazed when my father had been able to explain who each and every single one had been.

The only marker that had stood out amongst all of the Waynes had belonged to Jason Todd.

After telling me the truth about our Family years earlier, Dad had waited to explain the circumstances surrounding Jason's death. I had seen the grave, the glass display case in the Cave and the logs relating to the incident leading to his demise. When Dad had finally come clean on the subject, I had immediately understood why it had been so difficult to say the words aloud. The night I had escaped the Manor to try my hand at premature crime fighting, my safe return had still brought tears to my father's eyes.

He had told me that night that he had lost one child to the Joker and that he couldn't survive losing another.

Reaching the open gates of the cemetery, I had held my breath while casting the light over the stones, finding backhoe looming quietly in the northwest corner. Approaching, I had slowly exhaled, preparing myself for something worse than fictional drooling zombies. Approaching the edge, I had paused before aiming the light down into the dark hole. The coffin was closed, and I had twelve minutes to get back inside the house before the doors locked again.

Running back to the Manor with six minutes left, my eyes were welling with tears.

I had made it to the terrace with a minute and forty seconds to spare. Once I had entered undetected, I shed my shoes and wrapped them in the sheet before dropping both down the laundry chute. Going to the kitchen would have possibly allowed me to further develop my alibi for the morning by running into Alfred, but my red eyes and cheeks would have been a giveaway. Instead, I had retreated upstairs, returning Ace to his master before sneaking back into my room. I had crawled into bed, turning on my bedside lamp and staring at it directly.

Anything to white out the sight burned into my mind.

The remainder of the morning had been spent in my room. Staying in seclusion, I had alternated between meek attempts at distracting myself with homework, TV and even trying to trim Taffy's nails. No matter what, it had been impossible to focus on anything aside from the fact that the peace our Family had finally been granted was about to be revoked. As a last resort, I had prepared myself for the day with a shower and a fresh change of clothes.

On some level, I had been hoping to fool myself into thinking that morning had been a bad dream instead of just a flat out bad idea.

A bad idea that had only been trumped by arguing with my father the night before.

I knew he had been stressed over what was happening, compounded by the fact that I had disobeyed my mother and left Alfred's watch. Instead of keeping my mouth shut and accepting the facts he had shared were the only ones I needed to concern myself with, I had demanded the truth. The last time we had fought had been about his not telling my mother and I about the transmission. All that had resulted from that feud had been an asthma attack for myself and a seizure for my father.

Not that it had stopped me from snapping at him again, or him yelling back at me.

…He won't listen. He never does…

The truth had been that the he was always listening, it was just a matter of whether or not what I said mattered.

Between my eavesdropping, Alfred's momentary lapse in maintaining his guard and finding the empty coffin that morning, I had put the pieces together. Talia had said something that had forced my father to dig up the grave of Jason Todd. Knowing her father's ability to raise the dead, I had spent the morning wondering if the ghost that had haunted my father for nearly two decades was back from the dead. It had fit the transmission she had sent, about her father's new ally being someone from his past, an abomination that had caused strife before and after death.

But the sheer thought of it actually being a reality had left my throat tight and sent shivers down my spine…

"Mattie?" I had heard my mother's voice before a soft rapping on my door.

I had just stepped out of the bathroom, readjusting the towel on my head while responding, "Come in."

She had opened the door only enough to peer inside, "Good you're up…."

"Yeah," I had faked a yawn before finishing, "Figured I might as well drag myself out of bed."

Mom had nodded, but said nothing.

Taking the initiative, I had asked, "Where's Dad?"

The soft look on my mother's face had instantly soured before a weak attempt at recovery, "He… he went downstairs."

"To talk to Talia?"

The sound of my voice saying the mystery woman's name made my mother's mouth twitch, "Yes." After a pause, she had added, "Well, I'm going to head downstairs… don't stay locked up here all morning, okay?"

Despite wanting nothing more than to do exactly that, I had waited ten minutes before slowly stepping into the corridor and walking towards the master bedroom. Surprisingly enough, Dad had been inside, sitting alone on the bed while staring down at his bandaged hand. Sitting beside him, I listened as he briefly lectured me, but he had first explained his actions before asking for forgiveness. Not only that, he had revoked his decision to cancel my night with Terry, even without me pleading and begging and pouting. His change in heart had made me wonder if he was also willing to share more about what had happened the night before.

Seeing the tired look on his face, I had been unable to vocalize my thoughts, let alone inform him that I had a good grasp of what was going on, that he didn't have to go through the motions of trying to shield me. Instead, all I had managed was a jumbled inquiry asking if he had learned anything from Talia. As expected, he hadn't divulged anything, not even commenting on the fact that Mom had blatantly told me what he had been up to that morning.

I had asked if he was helping her because he liked her and he had reminded me that heroes protected everyone, whether they liked them or not.

Judging by the scowl my mother had worn since Talia's arrival, I had reasoned that the helping would rely heavily on my father.

Before leaving, I had kissed his cheek, thanking him for letting me go to Terry's that evening. Retreating to my room, I had shut the door and crossed to my bathroom in order to blow dry my hair. Even that simple of a task had been difficult, my mind not able to focus. Once ready for a day of nothing, I had taken a seat on my bed, crossed my legs and leaned forward to rest my elbows on my knees. I could have meditated like Cass had taught me or even distracted myself by trying again for homework or another movie, but instead I had simply sat there, letting my mind wander to dark places.

So much for a vacation…

By the time midday arrived, I forced myself to head downstairs to socialize and help prepare lunch for everyone. I was relieved to find that Cass and Tim as well as Dick were still present, joining my mother and brother for lunch. Somehow, we all fit into the nook, focusing on eating and enjoying each other's company. Looking at us, you would have never guessed that anything was amiss, that we were just a happy and relatively normal Family.

Except after lunch, four members of the Family went into the massive cavern beneath the Manor while the others headed for the den to relax the afternoon away…

My father was at his neglected post in the computer bay, not even acknowledging our presence as we crossed the main floor of the Cave. Tim and Dick flocked to him while Cass and I changed in the costume vault, both remaining silent in hopes of hearing their echoing voices. Emerging in leggings and a lyrca top, I started to head towards them but Cass ushered me towards the training mats without saying a word.

Warming up, I still trained my eyes and ears up above, straying only once when Tim approached, "Handle working your own routine today?"

I shrugged, having just completed sequenced body stretches to limber my joints and wake sleepy muscles. After rolling my head, I asked, "Can you handle not bossing me around?"

He smirked, "I think I'll manage."

Both he and Cass went their separate ways, opting to push their own limits on the equipment, letting me follow my own initiative. I watched them as well, studying Cass as she effortlessly worked her way through routines on the rings, parallel and uneven bars. Where Dick's work on gymnastic equipment was fluid and technically perfect, Cass preferred to move at faster speeds, testing her ability to adapt to the degree of difficulty.

Tim also put himself through the paces with a rapid succession of pull-ups, dead lifts, pushups, box jumps, Kettlebell work and book ended with more pull-ups. He called it the Spartan workout as the total repetitions for all of the exercises was three hundred. I remembered once having my father compliment him on it for the efficient and compact drill that developed muscle and endurance.

Tim had confessed once that the real reason he called it the Spartan workout because it was the same one used for the movie "300".

To me, though, never to Dad.

I also worked with the weights and the gymnastic equipment, but I found myself focusing more on the hands-on drills. Punch bag work, katas with and without weaponry and working on my aim with Batarangs and bolos on the poor, unsuspecting targets and padded dummies. After mock fighting for nearly an hour, Cass approached me, "Ready?"

"For a break," I sighed, reaching to the hand towel I had on the floor nearby, "And a shower."

Cass smirked, "So I see. Well, you can go up if you want, we were about to call it quits anyway."

With my face and neck wiped, I looked up at her, "We're not sparring?"

Her smile grew, "It's nearly five."

"What?" I replied in disbelief that it had actually been four hours.

I spotted Tim approaching, gently probing the pink mark on his right bicep. A bullet had clipped him a couple of weeks earlier and although the wound had closed, I noted that he had still inspected it regularly. When he paused to stand before us, Tim nodded, "Yeah, I probably could use a break, too… shower, walk Robbie… sneak into the kitchen."

Looking up to the computer bay, Cass noted, "Dick went upstairs, there's probably nothing left."

"True… maybe Chef Mattie can fix that."

I shook my head, "No, I've got to get ready."

"For what?" Tim asked.

"A date," I smirked up at him.

His brow rose, "I wish I was going on a date…" Tim then looked to Cass, "We should go on a date. Right now."

She rolled her eyes at him before looking to me, "Have fun."

"You, too."

I had started my morning in an empty grave, been unable to ease my father's suffering, and had accomplished nothing that afternoon save for needing a second shower.

In fact, the only worthy success for the day had been convincing everyone that I was fine, oblivious to the secret going on's of our Family.

I just hoped that when I saw Terry, I didn't burst into tears.

^V^

Watching intently from the other side of the study, I waited for Miss Mattie to secure the grandfather clock entrance before speaking.

Dressed as she was most afternoons in leggings and Lycra top, her cream colored skin was branded with a strong flush, her dark hair in a damp, chaotic bun. Given that she had opted to act reclusive for the morning, it was apparent that she had been able to exert her pent up energy and then some. Considering that her mentors were not with her, I wondered what state of disarray they were in, pushing their physical limits, working out their own frustrations…

She crouched to retie one of her blue and white sneakers and I waited until she had risen before announcing my presence, "I see that Master Tim has put you through your paces, my dear."

She turned quickly, smiling to see not only myself, but her elder brother as he joined us in the room. Miss Mattie gestured to her disheveled form, "Did this to myself."

"Lesson number one," Master Dick stepped forward, "Always blame physical torture on someone else, makes you seem less crazy."

"Is that so?" she cocked her head while approaching.

"You want to seem a little crazy, not a lot," he clarified while pausing to stand beside her, "It's a fine line sort of a thing… Oh and lesson two…we do have showers downstairs, you know?"

"I know…" a grin spread over Miss Mattie's lips before she lurched at him, "I just wanted to give you a hug!"

After chasing him two strides, she wrapped her arms around his middle, pressing her sweaty form against his. While Master Dick tried to defend himself, he cried out theatrically, "Must… escape… stinky… teenager…"

Given that the last twenty-four hours had been filled with dread and worry, it was uplifting to see their momentary lapse into the roles of carefree brother and sister. When she finally released him, Miss Mattie looked over to see that I was still standing safely out of the tomfoolery range, "Is Mom upstairs?"

Offering a curt shake of my head, I then explained, "Your mother is with Master Nathan on the back lawn, tiring both he and his canine companion."

Before I could inquire as to whether or not she intended on dining with the Family or with her beau that evening, she jogged out of the room, opting to thank me verbally in place of an aromatic embrace.

While righting his shirt, Master Dick noted, "Where is she off to? Seems early for her to be calling it quits in the Cave…"

Finally approaching the clock, I answered, "Miss Mattie has a social engagement to attend to."

"A date? Thought Bruce said she was grounded?"

As I unlocked the entrance, I replied, "It seems as if he has had a change of heart."

"Change of heart? With Talia under his roof? When was the last time we scanned him for nanobots?" Master Dick sighed as the clock moved on its hidden hinges, pausing before passing through the entrance. "Still, I guess it's better than her sitting home, hacking into the surveillance footage we have on the secure room…"

Without another word, he about faced and disappeared into the darkness, his footfalls barely sounding on the stone steps. Before following him, I glanced over at the oil portrait above the fireplace, studying content faces immortalized on the canvas. With Master Dick's footsteps fading away, I shook my head and sighed, "Your grandchildren are something to behold…"

Unlike Miss Mattie, I had endured an entire day of productivity rather than pushing it off to the late afternoon. Tending to the Manor and its bountiful guests had made up for the majority of my schedule, my ambitiousness having been forced given that I had hardly slept an hour the night before. Whether it was my mind racing with thoughts of what was to be done with our unannounced guest or the insatiable worry of how Master Bruce was fairing following his poor spell, I had been unable to find peace. Leslie had managed to remain still beside me, although she had been just as awake as I.

At midnight, when she had risen to check on Master Bruce, I had offered to join her but she had declined. "I'm just going to peek through the door," she had explained while donning her housecoat, "No need for reinforcements."

When I had tried to rebut, she had shushed me and promised to return in five minutes. Needless to say, it had been a very long four minutes and fifty seconds, sitting on the bed, my tired and aching hands keeping busy by adjusting the duvet. When the door had opened, I had leapt to my feet, startling Leslie.

"Alfred…"

"How was he?"

"Fine," she had explained while taking her place in the bed, "And awake. He did indicate that he wanted to berate me for sedating him so heavily… but in the morning."

It would have been blatantly rude to push the matter at the hour, and it had taken all of my etiquette reserves to keep from doing so. Following her lead, I had also returned to bed, fruitlessly adjusting the blankets and pillows to provide comfort whilst knowing it would make no difference. I very well could have been laying on cold concrete instead of a therapeutic foam mattress, sleep still escaping me.

When Leslie's breaths had grown repetitive and slow, I had sighed quietly. Given Master Bruce's poor spell Thanksgiving, in addition to the seizure and subsequent fall shortly after, it was no wonder that he was out of sorts. Had a completely rested and well version of himself been surprised by Ms. Talia's presence in the Cave, surely she would have been sent to the Watchtower to be interrogated and imprisoned for the time being.

Keeping her under the same roof as his Family seemed out of character, even following the line of keeping one's friends close and enemies even closer.

And the dreaded business with Master Jason's absent remains should have resulted in my eldest charge suffering from an inconsolable rage, not a panic attack…

A fitful sleep, or perhaps more fitting a fitful state of unconsciousness, had found me shortly before dawn. Rising, I had left Leslie's slumbering form in order to trade in rumpled bedclothes for a pair of pressed slacks, a button down shirt and a light, green sweater. Donning my well-worn Oxfords, I had proceeded back towards the bedroom to find Leslie already sitting on the bed, wearing fresh blue scrubs and diligently tying her pristine white sneakers.

Before I could dissuade her from going to work for the day, she had shaken her head, "There are plenty of you here to watch over things… there aren't at the Clinic."

We had spent the ride into the city replaying the previous night, discussing Bruce's well being, the manner in which he had poorly broken the news to his children and his snapping at Miss Mattie. When a silence had finally settled between us, she had broken it by saying, "Nothing gold can stay…"

"I beg your pardon?"

Leslie had focused intently on her hands as they rested in her lap, "I was just beginning to accept that things were… okay. That this Family was okay. That Bruce was..." When I had no response, she had finished, "I just don't understand."

"I feel it is the opposite, Leslie, you understand all too well."

"No, you understand this far better than I do… you always have."

Although I had desired to set my hand on hers, the tension her face and form had deterred me. Instead, I had simply offered, "I suppose I do…" After a brief pause, I had added, "And, I suppose that is why I know, for certain, that Master Bruce is doing what is best for the Family. Even if we disagree."

Leslie had kept her eyes averted while admitting, "When he stepped down, it was only in the physical sense… Seven years and he's still out there… mentally, psychologically… even emotionally. And every time I think he's actually started to leave it all behind, something like this happens, dragging him back… hurting him… nearly killing him." She had finally turned her head, her pale eyes filled with pain, "It's never going to end."

"Leslie," I had reached out, taking her hand into mine, "He will never be able to shed his former role… but we mustn't forget the roles he has gained… as a father, a husband… a grandfather even. Things we always wanted for him, things we once thought would never be… and yet despite himself, his quest, his burdens… he has achieved them."

Something dark happened to her eyes before she had replied, "But how long will he be able to enjoy them?"

"Leslie-."

She had cut me off, pulling her hand from mine. She had not uttered another word until I had pulled into the parking lot behind the Free Clinic, "I have never wanted anything for myself, Alfred… only for him. And seeing him like that… and for it to not even phase him… I have to wonder what he wants."

As she had opened the door and stepped out, I had offered, "He wants for others as well… just as he learned from you."

The ride home had been in solitude, but it had not been in silence, my mind echoing Leslie's worries. Returning to the manor, I had arranged for breakfast for the few that had risen and promptly went about tending to the house itself. Keeping as busy as possible, the first I had encountered more than two members of the Family at once had been as I had prepared lunch. Even then, I had returned to my duties once the others had departed from the kitchen nook, each animated following their midday meal and sharing a brief amount of time together as a Family.

No, not the entire Family…

Master Dick had joined his younger siblings for the meal, as had Ms. Selina and Ms. Cassandra. When Master Tim had risen from his well deserved nap, he had also taken a seat at the nook's table. Ms. Barbara was still in the city, watching over her child, although there was no doubt she would trek to the Manor that evening. Leaving Master Bruce alone in the Cave and his guest, securely locked in her room.

With the kitchen in order, save for a serving tray, I had retreated to the laundry room. There, I had promptly rotated the wash and folded the clean rugs and towels for the master bathroom. Pulling them from the dryer, I had been surprised to see they were bright white despite the bloody state I had found them in the night before. Bright and clean, as if nothing had happened.

Upon setting them in a small basket, I had proceeded to collect fresh linens for the Manor's unexpected guest. I had tended to the various other rooms throughout the day, leaving hers for last, knowing full well it would need to be catered to with supervision. Before seeking out backup, I had loaded the full basket in the elevator. My first guess had been to search the Cave for the various members of the Family, but I had been pleased to hear voices in the informal den, entering the room to find Master Dick on the telephone.

I had waited courteously for him to pocket the cellular device before clearing my throat. He had turned while declaring, "Little Eggman is down for his nap… Babs will head out after he wakes up."

"Very good, sir," I had replied, adjusting the small basket in my hands. I had then proposed, "Might one inquire as to whether you have a spare moment?"

"For you, I have oodles of spare moments… what's up?" After informing him of my remaining task for the day, he had nodded, "Ah… Yeah no problem."

He had followed me in silence back to the kitchen, carefully taking the tray in both hands. From there, we had ascended in the elevator to the second floor. I had heard him humming softly, resembling one of the program themes his son was fond of. Although it had been natural for Master Dick to remain at the Manor to stand guard, I knew as difficult as it would be, he would have to return to the city, to his wife and child.

Understandable, given his innate and unflappable drive to protect his mentor was just as present in the role in his own home.

Thankfully, Master Dick had seen to delivering breakfast to Ms. Talia that morning, allowing me to avoid facing her. We had briefly encountered one another while Master Tim had showed her to the secure quarters, but that had been before Master Bruce had…

Whatever words had passed between her and Master Bruce the night before had pushed him over a precipice, a feat I had been more than willing to return in favor. Literally, if not figuratively.

Balancing the tray on one palm, Master Dick had de-activated the locking mechanism and then knocked sharply. There had been a soft reply from within and he had not hesitated in opening the door, allowing me to pass through before closing it behind us. The clothes I had left on the dresser the previous night had been put to use, fitting her fairly well. Certainly, they weren't the tailored garments she had spent years wearing, but they would have to suffice.

Ms. Talia had greeted me as if we had been old friends, a warm smile on her lips, a look of admiration in her eyes, "Alfred, it is so very good to see you."

Maintaining my polite demeanor, I had replied, "And you, madam."

"All right, no more chit chatting," Master Dick had intervened, "Fresh sheets and towels. Food. Anything else?"

As he had set the tray on her bedside table and picked up the one that had barely been touched, Ms. Talia had inquired, "Is Bruce coming back? I feel our conversation this morning did not end well."

"You think?" Master Dick had quipped.

Remaining silent, I proceeded to change the bed sheets. Ms. Talia's gaze fell over me momentarily before she had replied, "Your sarcasm does not befit your charm, Richard."

"My apologies. I'll try to be more grateful that you've dumped your problems on us."

"I beg your pardon," she had nearly gasped.

"Seems to me, every time you talk to Bruce, it just makes matters worse-."

She had been quick to interrupt him, "Just as it seems that every time I speak with you, you act more juvenile."

Before he could have formed a response, I had found my voice, "That is enough."

They both had looked to me, neither able to disguise their shock.

Rather than continue the argument, Master Dick had stalked to the bed, silently aiding me in changing the bedding. Whether it was to make our visit as brief as possible or to avoid the look Ms. Talia had been giving him, I had been uncertain.

Leaving her room, I had made my way to the third floor via the elevator while he had set his sights on the stairwell at the end of the corridor. I had not seen him for the remainder of the afternoon, adding more troubling thoughts to those already swimming my tired brain. Surely he had known that losing his temper before her was a sign of weakness, one none of us could afford so early into our latest sorrow. Very rarely had I raised my voice to him, and only when it had been absolutely necessary.

But had it been? Had I wronged him?

When our paths crossed again heading to the study, I had tried to apologize, but Master Dick had interrupted me, "Al, you were right… I should have held my tongue… there was nothing to gain by fighting with her. I'm sorry."

If he hadn't been remorseful at that moment, he surely had been seconds later in a tight embrace from his sweat-covered sister.

^V^

I had yet to shower following my abbreviated workout in the training bay, the sweat on my skin long since evaporated, leaving behind only its aroma. When Mattie had left to get ready for her date with Terry, Cass wisely opted to wash and change. When I had started towards the vault, I had spotted Dick descending the stairs, prompting me to change course.

"Is Barbara here yet?" I had asked as he jumped over the last two steps.

"Nope, Egg-man is napping."

When I turned around to head towards the computer bay, I noticed Cass just stepping into the vault. A custom of late had her restocking belts and supplies in the cycles and the Mobile before patrols. I had always preferred to do it for personal and customary reasons, but in the last two weeks, she had taken the responsibility unto herself. Just as she had taken on patrols by herself without question while we had stood guard at the Manor…

As much as I wanted to recline back into the computer console's chair, I opted to sit upright, my eyes darting from one display to the next. While I had been working out my pent up frustrations, Bruce had done the same only with the keyboard. When I had been doing battle with kettlebells, Dick had joined Bruce briefly, no doubt checking in on our mentor as much as he was trying force help on him. When I had momentarily paused my one-man brawl with the sand bag, I had noticed that Dick had departed, leaving Bruce as he wanted to be: alone.

From the look of the monitor, he had managed to get quite a bit accomplished. Using the touch pad beside the keyboard, I brushed aside the muted early evening news screen, the JLA weekly report I hadn't even looked at and the logs Barbara had entered the night before in my absence. That left a video feed of Talia's room, the interactive map of Ra's al Ghul's global bases of operation along with my weak attempt at documenting the last twenty-four hours in written form. I had no problem with Bruce reading through my rough draft efforts, but I was mildly worried my sheer dread may have come across a bit too much.

A task considering my thoughts kept getting interrupted with images of Bruce's unconscious body on the bloodied bathroom floor…

Dick's voice sounded from behind my right shoulder, "He seemed pretty ambitious earlier…"

"I am still trying to make sense of it all at this point."

Dick's reflection on the monitor shrugged, "Waste of time. You know that. Same story, different villain."

I scratched at a healing scab on my right forearm, my eyes never leaving the screen depicting Talia sitting by the bay window of her room. The look on her face was torn between solemn and woeful. From the story she had been spinning, she should have had at least had a bit of worry cresting her smooth brow.

"After all of these months… for her to just show up like this…" Dick sighed as he turned away from Talia's placid image, crossing his arms over his chest before adding, "I don't like it."

"Me either," I responded, frowning at the droplet of blood I had brought forth from my arm. Wiping my fingers on my shirtfront, I continued, "None of us do."

"I've seen her do this to him one too many times. Some sob story, denouncing her father and his sinister plans, begging for help… and then once she has him wrapped around her finger, she commences the back-stabbing."

Before Ra's had gone into hiding, I had my fair share of dealings with him. His League of Assassins had infiltrated the Cave when I had still been training to become Robin and even after I had helped fight them off, Bruce had voluntarily gone as their captive. Not long after, the plague had been released in Gotham, resulting in a wild global goose chase to hunt down Ra's and seek revenge. From there, we had danced once more, Ra's using Bruce's protocols to cripple the entire Justice League, protocols that his sweet daughter had stolen from Bruce.

Not long before she had sold LexCorp to the Wayne Foundation.

I felt like sighing out of sheer frustration at our predicament, but grunted softly instead.

A new window opened up, revealing Barbara's tired face. Her auburn hair was tied back in a chaotic bun, glasses balancing on her brow and Cheerio was stuck to the front of her black sweater. She offered a weak smile and then, "He is out like a light… figured I could at least play catch up with you guys."

As her eyes seemingly scanned the Cave's computer bay, Dick turned around, "Not much to catch up on…"

"On your end, maybe… Where's Bruce?"

"Upstairs… figured it wasn't worth Alfred's wrath to deter Bruce voluntarily taking a break."

She nodded, "Agreed… Well, anyway, I'm sending you what I've been working on all day. With what satellite access I could muster, I've checked off a few bases that have zero activity, mostly those in western Asia, Australia and southern Africa. Even with the remaining known bases that we have on file, there's no knowing what new facilities he has been able to put up over the last fifteen years."

"I bet there is someone who does know," I spoke softly.

"Has she been questioned further?" Barbara asked.

I shook my head but Dick replied, "I spoke to her briefly this morning, so did Bruce. No intel on bases or locations. Just… about Jason."

Barbara gave herself a fraction of a pause before getting back to business, "Well the base she mentioned in the Congo isn't showing any signs of habitation… the satellite images show the trails to it are overgrown and impassable, no electromagnetic charges, no radar or transmissions… No doubt she picked it as her decoy in order to keep her father's men busy."

The maps she had been working on suddenly appeared on the display before us, zooming out as she stated, "Nearest air field is forty-five miles away and the terrain is not vehicle friendly… best way is to go up the Sankuru River… Even with prime men hunting down Talia, it's going to take them a while."

"Far be it from the Demon's Head to have an easily accessibly lair," Dick mused.

She detailed a number of other suspicious locales that had been the most ideal bases of operation, regrettably reporting that each seemed to be non-operational. Having not yet questioned Talia at length, we were just chipping away at the tip of the ice burg. Save for the brief time I had shut the cameras off for Bruce to speak with her and the few hours I had fitfully slept, I had spent most of the last twenty-four hours watching her every move.

She had been sticking to her story so far, mainly emotional, vague confessions as opposed to cold, hard fact.

But when push evolved to shove…

Speaking with Dick after lunch earlier in the day, he had replayed his brief, unpleasant encounter with her that Alfred had refereed. He had tried to formulate an excuse for losing his cool with her but had eventually shrugged in defeat. At that, he had explained, "I know she has no clue how bad off Bruce was last night… Hell, I don't even know…"

Nodding, I had been standing quietly beside him, leaning against the wrought iron railing of the back terrace. Even though I had just been refreshed by the preceding forty minutes spent lunching with him, Cass, Selina and the kids, the bad vibes from the night before started to creep back up. Alfred's panicky eyes, the bloodied bathroom floor, Bruce's limp body… Selina's voice shaking as she thanked me.

I certainly had a clue as to how bad off Bruce had been.

Dick had continued, "Still… the fact that she had seemed so concerned for him… it just made me angry."

Again, I had remained silent.

Barbara's voice over the speakers brought my attention back into focus, "Where's Bruce?"

Dick answered her, "He came upstairs a little while ago… hopefully to rest."

Her head nodded on the big display, "Well, no doubt Alfred won't let the great minds gather before dinner. I'll tinker some more on my end, then head up your way after Ethan wakes up."

I nodded while rising to my feet, "Thank you, Barbara."

"Don't thank me yet… you'll jinx me," she replied before closing the Oracom link.

Turning to Dick, I said, "Well, I'm going to shower… change… then I'll meet you upstairs."

He tugged at his right ear lobe briefly before responding, "Sure thing."

Finally heading towards the vault, Cassandra emerged in clean, grey cotton pants that cut off just below her calves. She had continued her casual theme with a fitted black three-quarter sleeve tee shirt with a wide cut neck that dipped just below her collar bones. With her hair still damp and cheeks slightly pink, Cass smirked, "Took you long enough. Showered, changed, restocked belts and boots."

"I'll be five minutes. You can head upstairs if you want."

"Five minutes… I'll wait."

It had ended up being closer to ten minutes by the time I emerged from what Mattie called the Bat-Locker room, showered, shaved and sporting clean dark jeans and a navy blue Henley shirt. She had waited for me, standing at the computer workstation, eyes skimming the monitor glowing before her. As I approached, she didn't look away but still asked, "Ready?"

I waited until I paused beside her, leaning in to kiss her cheek before responding, "I am now."

We found Dick in the entertainment den, doing his best to outwit Nathan on Mario Kart for the Wii. Ace, who had been laying at the young boy's feet, glanced our way before letting his tail thump against the thick rug. Momentarily distracted by our arrival, Nathan accidentally drove his Luigi avatar into a wall, giving Dick's Waluigi the room to advance. Just as Dick had nearly declared victory, he sped over a banana peel and went careening over a cliff.

Jumping to his feet, Nathan laughed and cried out, "I win, I win!"

As we took a seat on the sofa adjacent to the feuding brothers, Dick set his steering wheel controller down and sighed, "Fine… but if we were playing Zelda, it would be a whole different story."

"Mattie has that upstairs… I can go get it," Nathan grinned, proudly showcasing his missing incisor.

Before Dick could urge him on any further, Alfred announced his presence while entering the room, "Perhaps another time, Master Nathan. Dinner is ready."

Given that his sous chef had taken the evening off, Alfred had opted for a simple three course spread. Steaming French Onion soup hit the right spot before baked lemon-pepper chicken filled me up, along with savory sides of steamed cauliflower and broccoli and a zesty spinach salad. Just as with lunch, the mood was light and cheerful even in Mattie's absence. Selina joined us midway through the meal, taking her seat beside Nathan just before Alfred appeared with her amuse bouche.

And just like earlier that day, Bruce was no where to be found.

As she carefully tasted her French Onion soup, Selina asked, "Barbara on her way up? I didn't see her car out back."

Dick shook his head, "She texted a little while ago, was just leaving… But she is going to pick Leslie up so it might be a while."

"You are more than welcome to stay tonight," Selina offered, "No need to drive back if it gets late."

"Yeah, maybe," Dick replied, "I asked her to bring up an overnight bag for me. Not sure what her plan is for the wee one."

Nathan, who had been trying to hide his cauliflower in his potato for the last five minutes, looked up, "Another sleepover?"

"Sort of," his mother started to explain.

Before she could continue or before he could ask why the entire Family was staying at the house that night, Nathan's attention turned to the doorway. He grinned before jumping out of his chair and racing across the room, shouting, "Daddy!"

"Hey, tiger," he greeted after taking the brunt of his son's tackling hug.

While he untangled himself, Bruce told Nathan to go back to his seat. As he approached the table himself, Bruce gave us curt nods of acknowledgment, of which we promptly responded with equally brief smirks of acceptance. Selina was offered an apologetic look as took his seat on her right side, a look she opted to reject while diverting her attention to Nathan, telling him to eat his cauliflower. The light mood of the meal lost its natural feel, suddenly feeling forced.

Then again, the solemn look Bruce was battling reminded us all that everything was far from all right.

^V^

Dessert was a warm, flaky panini that was filled with warm fudge, crunchy nuts and slivers of bananas. In usual form, I had devoured mine as politely as possible, although for once it was not out of hunger. While the rest of the Family was able to sit and enjoy the treat at their leisure, I had a self assigned task to tend to, one I had already carried out twice that day.

When Tim and I had come up to the Manor for dinner, I had told him, "You get to play waiter tomorrow."

Excusing myself from the table, I left the dining room and made my way to the kitchen, ignoring the gazes from Wayne Senior and Junior. As always, Alfred had already tended to cleaning not only the dishes used in preparing dinner, but the plates and silverware that it had been served on. I spotted him just as he finished rinsing the sink, deftly turning the faucet off with his elbow while drying his hands on a navy blue towel.

"I can take something up to her if you have it ready," I offered.

Alfred glanced up and nodded slightly, "Very good, sir."

Given that she had barely touched her breakfast and lunch, Alfred had opted to give her smaller portions of the chicken, salad and steamed vegetables. He had even gone as far as not even bothering to giver her a cup of soup. Instead of a sliver of dessert, he had filled a carafe with ice water for Talia, an attempt to at least keep her hydrated.

As I lifted the tray from the marble counter, I offered, "I'll go up...", leaving by myself unsaid.

Without asking for clarification, he only replied, "As you wish, sir."

Alone, I walked out of the kitchen keeping the tray in both hands until reaching the elevator. Even with my mind working in circles, the music of the plate clinking with the silverware and the hum of the car descending, I still heard Bruce approaching. I turned just in time to catch his offer, "I'll take it up."

Balancing the tray in one hand before turning around to face him, "It's okay, been in charge of room service all day. Might as well finish up my shift."

As he slowly walked towards me, I noticed how intent he was on hiding the stiffness in his left leg. The look in his eyes had hardened since I had left him at the dining room table. I quickly attributed it to the fact that he was no longer in the audience of his son and wife and that Alfred was well out of scolding range. When Bruce finally paused to stand beside me, the elevator car arrived with a deafening ding.

I let him enter first, knowing there was no way I could dissuade him from joining me. Rather than making the ride up in silence, I asked, "Mattie coming home tonight?"

He cleared his throat before answering, "Selina is going to pick her up around eight."

Shifting the tray in my hands slightly, I offered, "Babs should be coming through with Leslie and Ethan, she could swing by if you want."

The elevator car braked softly before the gilded doors opened. Instead of answering, Bruce stepped off onto the plush carpeting of the second floor corridor. Before exiting, I muttered to myself, "Or not."

In three long strides, I was parallel with Bruce and as subtly as possible, I shortened my stride to match my speed with his. There once had been a time when I had to practically jog to keep up with him, and thinking so caused something to twinge with pain in my gut. Reaching the door, I watched as he disengaged the locks and opened the door without knocking.

Alfred would have verbally or at the very least physically scorned him for being so rude, even to an unwanted guest, but I simply followed him in silence. Much like earlier, Talia was sitting quietly by herself, although she had changed it up by selecting the overstuffed chair a few feet from her bed. With the room empty of any means of entertainment, she must have been occupying herself with introspection or scheme-hatching.

Closing the door behind us, I looked up as she offered a warm smile, one completely devoid of surprise. I responded with a curt nod while Bruce opted to go the stoic route. I thought it was odd that no one had said a word by the time I set the fresh tray down on her nightstand. Picking up the partially eaten one from lunch, it was down right frightening how tense and silent the room had become.

And I was standing between the two of them…

Bruce's voice finally cut through the silence, although it only seemed to add more tension, "We're meeting in the Cave tonight… afterwards, we'll discuss how things will be carried on from here on out."

"Is it too bold to inquire if I can attend this meeting in person?" Talia asked, rising from the chair. She was still in the dark slacks and fitted blouse from earlier, her tan, toned arms crossing over her chest as if she were feeling vulnerable.

"What do you think?" he replied in tone that suggested a Bat-Growl was brewing.

Before he could lose his temper with her, just as I had earlier in the day, I cleared my throat and said, "Eat up… I don't want to have to bring another half-full plate back downstairs… it will break Alfred's heart."

Talia recognized my intent instantly and smiled softly, "Very well… far be it for me to disappoint someone who has been so kind to me." Her eyes fell on Bruce one last time but he had already turned to leave.

The ride back down was as painful as the ride up had been moments earlier. When the car stopped on the ground floor, I stepped off with the lunch tray but was surprised when Bruce stayed put. I nearly asked if he was coming before realizing he was going straight down to the Cave.

"I'll be down once Barbara gets here," I informed him.

Without meeting my gaze, he said, "Fine," before shutting the door.

After a quick trip to the kitchen to load the tray's contents into the dishwasher, I navigated back to the dining room. As expected, I found that everyone had cleared out and the table had been cleaned up. From there, I stepped back into the corridor and listened intently to the silence, smirking when Nathan's laughter broke it. He was still laughing by the time I reached the entertainment den, causing me to smirk as I peered in from the doorway.

The reason for the boy's delight was that Tim was hanging him upside down from his ankles, swinging him like a pendulum. Cass stood beside Tim, helping him swing the boy back and forth by gently pushing him away whenever he neared. I then spotted Barbara on the far leather couch, Ethan bouncing up and down on her lap. Lastly, Ace sat at Barbara's feet, his eyes never leaving his master as he moved back and forth. Finding the room vacant of Alfred and Leslie, it was no wonder the shenanigans were being allowed.

Before I could enter and join in on the fun, I heard Selina and Alfred striding down the corridor. After I smiled at them, she asked, "What is going on in there?"

"Swing the Six Year Old," I replied as they came to stand beside me, "Tim is really good at it."

Alfred shook his head silently at the chaos but Selina opted to voice her opinion, "So I see… I wonder how good he is at playing Put the Riled Up Six Year Old to Bed?"

Smirking, I stepped aside so that she could enter the den, of which caused Tim to promptly spin Nathan upright and plop him down on the sofa. The boy rolled off and landed on the floor, his laughter only growing despite his predicament. Having been blamed for winding up my easily excitable little brother countless times, it was nice to see the worried look in Tim's eyes.

"Hey, Al… Selina."

Nathan was still laying on the floor, doing his best to shield his face from the lapping tongue of his German Shepherd. Given the volume and velocity that his laughter had reached, it would be some time before he settled down for bed time.

"Master Timothy, I would expect this sort of behavior from Master Dick, but never from yourself, sir."

Barbara smirked as she shook her head, "Told you so, Tim."

"Yeah, yeah…" Tim bent at the waist and hefted Nathan on to his feet, "Guess play time is over."

"Can't I stay up?" Nathan sat up and looked to his mother with pleading blue eyes. When Selina shook her head, he raced over to her, wrapping his slender arms around her waist, "Please, please, please…"

With a grin I had seen for far too many different reasons, Selina asked her son, "What did I say about whining?"

The boy took a moment to ponder before replying, "Only do it to Dad."

"That's right," she tussled his hair before adding, "Let's go. You can come with me to get Mattie but after that, it's bath time then bed time."

He sighed as he let her go, not entirely pleased with his partial victory. A thought lit up his face a second before he asked, "Can Ace come?"

Knowing that denying him a second time in as many minutes would lead to another bout of whining, Selina nodded and said, "Go find his leash."

As he trotted out of the room, Tim stepped forward, "Sorry about that."

Selina shrugged as she scanned the room with her green eyes, "Don't worry about it, he needed someone to tire him out… And apparently his father isn't present to do so."

Having been the last to see him, I spoke up, "He just headed down to the Cave. And I think he's waiting for us… and probably in a not so patient manner."

At the mere mention of our mentor and our awaiting meeting, it was tragic to see how everyone's faces changed. Alfred, who had also noticed the turn, stepped forward and took Ethan from Barbara, smiling when our son latched right a hold of his glasses. As Barbara double checked to make sure the diaper bag she had brought was prepared for the worst, I followed Tim and Cass into the hall, not surprised when Selina joined us.

What was surprising, her words as she departed, "I doubt he even wants me down there or that he will even wait for me to get Mattie and Nathan in to bed… so take diligent notes for me, Boy Wonders."

"Will do," Tim nodded as she turned and headed towards the front of the house.

I waited until we arrived at the grandfather clock before saying, "Me-ow."

"Yeah… I picked that up during dinner," Tim responded as he set the hands and waited for the locks to disengage.

Cass tried to be optimistic with, "Been a long day… long week."

"I know," I said after she began to descend the steps, opting to stay a few behind with Tim, "But something tells me he's sleeping on the couch for the foreseeable future."

We made our way to the main floor in silence, although I was uncertain if it was a way of preventing Bruce from overhearing us or simply that our thoughts were too burdening to vocalize. I veered to the left as Tim and Cass remained on course to the computer bay. While waiting for Barbara by the elevator, I looked up to see Bruce in his chair, not even acknowledging the approach of his protégés.

Not a moment later, the door receded, allowing Barbara to join me on the cold stone floor. She looked tired, exhausted even, but that didn't stop me from leaning over to kiss her softly on the lips. Patting the stubble just breeching my cheek, she replied with, "Missed you, too."

"How's Ethan?" I asked, standing upright beside her doing my best to make no movement towards the others.

"Good, he had a bath already and he ate…but I'm sure Alfred will be able to get some dessert into him…" she paused before adding, "I don't plan on staying long tonight."

"So I guess I don't need to ask if you were spending the night."

She shook her head then asked, "Are you?"

My eyes left her face long enough to find Tim and Cass just reaching Bruce, "I can live with sitting patrols out again… Tim can't."

Looking back to her, it seemed as if she had something else to say but instead she put her hands to the wheels and headed towards the computer bay. I remained in stride with her, opting to follow her up the short ramp to the elevated tier. As we leveled out, Tim nodded at me before asking, "You mind staying another night?"

Smirking, I replied, "No problem… Ethan has another incisor coming through, no doubt I will get more sleep here than at home."

"Thanks, hubby," Barbara groaned as she moved to sit at the workstation's counter, not a yard from Bruce.

"Any time, wifey…" I cleared my throat before adding, "So, what's the game plan?"

Bruce kept his gaze on the monitor, "Here's what we know…" He brought up a digital map of Europe and northern Africa, four former bases of the Demon's Head marked with red circles, "These are confirmed locations that Ra's has used in the past, and these," four more white circles emerged, "Are bases that were never verified but suspected. Any one of them, logically speaking, could have been the location that the original transmission originated from. When we can get more details from Talia, we will obviously be able to narrow it down."

Barbara then spoke up, "The men tracking her will take until the end of the week to find that the base in Molomba is empty… whether they fight going up river and over a few waterfalls or if they try to hack their way through the dirt roads and jungle."

"That is if they follow her false track to begin with," Tim pointed out.

"A possibility," Bruce replied, "But if they had managed to discover her ruse and track her to the States, they would know to come looking for her where she already has ties… If they knew she had crossed the Atlantic instead of trekking into the jungle, they would have found her by now."

Before I could bite my tongue, I said, "So that wouldn't fall under the category of things we know, then."

Tim's arms crossed over his chest before he set his lower back against the counter's edge, "Technically, we don't know anything. She's been so vague… changing topics left and right… trying to get a rise out of all of us… talking about Jason… her father's mysterious plans."

The look on Bruce's face said he was anything but impressed with his protégées remarks. As he fought the urge to let his lips twitch in anger, Bruce responded with, "When it comes to Ra's, nothing is for certain."

I wanted to correct him in saying that Talia should have been grouped in with her father but figured it would only give Bruce more reason to grimace and growl. Where I kept my mouth shut, I was surprised when Barbara spoke up again, "Anyway, keeping her will eventually act as a lure for the League of Assassins, especially if they have been able to track her for months, they have the means and the initiative to find her."

"Sitting ducks," Cass said softly.

Tim sighed and shook his head, "Ra's has to be using a small, elite team. Chosen few for the chosen task."

"So the best and brightest of the League of Assassins… that doesn't make them any less of a threat if they find her here," Barbara added.

I waited for Bruce to chime in, but Tim didn't, "Which is why I recommend moving her to the Watchtower. She can remain under guard, under surveillance, and it's a hell of a lot more difficult to sneak into outer space than it is into Gotham's city limits. I've already conferred with J'onn about taking-."

"No."

We all looked to Bruce as he rose to his feet, doing his best to make it seem effortless. In the last week had had suffered two grand mal seizures, a fall down the Cave steps and panic attack resulting from finding Jason's coffin devoid of his remains. The look of determination in his eyes, however rang false as he barely put any weight on his left leg and gripped the back of the chair for balance.

As if we needed the clarification, Bruce added, "This isn't any of their concern."

He had said that about the Joker escaping from Arkham.

About his stepping down from the mantle. The Quake. The Plague. Bane.

The matching furrowed brows on Barbara, Cass and Tim said they were thinking the same thing.

Once again, I remained silent and once more, Tim didn't. "I don't trust her. None of us do. Keeping her under lock and key in the Manor… it's only asking for trouble."

"Tim's right, Bruce," Barbara spoke up with the corner of Bruce's mouth twitched downwards, "We can't watch her every second, we can't keep everyone under lockdown in case they come for her. Not again."

He practically growled in response, "The Justice League has gone up against Ra's before, and have failed. She came here for our help, not to be pawned off on someone else."

"We don't know that."

We all looked to Tim, once again saying the words aloud that we had been hesitant to.

With four sets of eyes on him, Tim stood up right and uncrossed his arms, pointing towards the steps leading up to the manor, "We don't know she came for our help. If there's anything I've learned, is that every word that comes out her and her father's mouths can't be trusted. Yes, it appears that she is in trouble and she has no where to turn to, and that may very well be so… but she has been in trouble before with Ra's and has never come running to us for help. Not without it leading to a trap."

Lowering his arm, he finished, "So why now?"

^V^

Son and dog in tow, the ride into town was fairly uneventful. With his belly full, Nathan didn't even think about asking to stop for a milkshake at his favorite restaurant as we passed it. In fact, save for his petting Ace and jingling the tags on the dog's collar, it was a quiet ride. Pulling into Terry's driveway, Nathan asked, "Are you going to get her?"

"Yep," I replied, putting the car into park.

"Can I come?"

"Nope," I replied while unbuckling myself and turning around to look at him, "You wanted to bring Ace, you need to stay in the car with him."

"No fair… what if Terry wants to see Ace? It's been like forever since he's seen him."

Knowing full well that it was Nathan who wanted to see Terry, I shook my head, "I am sure he will come over for dinner at some point this week…"

He huffed in defeat, slouching against the dog seated beside him.

As I reached for my car door handle, I was surprised to see my daughter already quickly jogging down the brick steps and walkway. Most of the time, I had to practically corral her in order to get her to leave a friend's house, especially Terry's. Thankfully, she had been more than prepared to return home, no doubt curious as to what had gone on in her brief absence.

I spotted the paper bag in her right hand, assuming that her beau had found her a gift while he had been in Arizona for Thanksgiving break. Once she climbed into the passenger seat and buckled in, Mattie looked over at me and smiled, "Hey."

"All set?"

She nodded then looked to the house in front of us, namely to the waving figure in the picture window on the ground floor. Mattie waved back and I offered a quick horn honk before backing out of the driveway. As part of the normal childhood Bruce had wanted for his daughter, it very much included letting her be with her friends, letting her have dinner at her boyfriend's house and even sleeping in on Saturdays.

That middle one was still something he was getting used to, even after they hit the six month marker.

With Nathan and Ace starting up an in-depth conversation in the backseat, Mattie had wisely decided to sit up front with me on the ride home. We opted not to join in on the discussion of why Ace didn't howl at the moon, taking a different topic as our own.

"So how was his trip?" I asked as we came to a red light in downtown Bristol.

Mattie nodded and replied, "Good actually… he has a lot of pictures that he is going to put on Facebook… his grandma looks really young."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with being a young looking grandma," I smirked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Mattie opened up the paper gift bag that she had stepped out of Terry's house with. I had asked about it when she climbed into the car, but at the time, she had only described it as a gift. Given our light had yet to turn, she unearthed a realistic ceramic horse, marked with war paint.

"Very nice," I commented as she carefully wrapped it back up before returning it.

"Terry found it at this market he and his Dad went to… they actually watched the guy paint it."

"Very nice and very cool," I replied as the light finally turned green.

She nodded again, her smirk expanding into a smile, "And he has a pretty bad sunburn, just like I said he would."

"Well, should be a tan soon enough," I joked with her.

My daughter laughed, "No way… it's pretty bad, even with the super sun screen his dad made him use… his face is like a tomato."

"Poor Terry," I said while taking the left turn on the county highway that would lead us home. "Have enough for dinner? I know Alfred went a little overboard so there is still something left over if you want."

Mattie answered as she skimmed the channels of the satellite radio, "That's okay, Terry's sister made lasagna… and we had chocolate meringue pie for dessert, it was really good. She told me how she made it… I think I want to try it tomorrow night… for dinner."

"Sounds like a plan to me…"

We were silent for the remainder of the drive, even Nathan joining in on the quiet. As I made the final turn up our drive, Mattie instinctively reached for the inlaid button on the center console. As we approached the gates, they slowly retreated backwards, waiting to swing back after we passed through. It was an obvious security measure for a residence as vast as Wayne Manor, although our entrance was also outfitted with gates that looked like wrought iron but were in fact titanium.

And the facial recognition cameras, rubber bullet cannons and knockout gas vents didn't hurt either.

When Bruce and I had started taking our relationship seriously, seemingly a lifetime ago, I had perused the Manor to test the security systems. Where I had found it amusing, Bruce had found it anything but. Even with my level of skill, it was still a challenge to sneak onto the property let alone make my into the actual house. That wasn't to say it was impossible.

As I had found ways to overcome the countermeasures, Bruce had responded by increasing the security levels via the computer in the Cave. Each level I had defeated, he had upped the ante. On one particular evening, we had missed the opening of the renovated impressionist wing at the Met because I had been in a crawlspace, shimmying inch by inch to victory. Thankfully at that point, it had evolved into entertainment that we both had been able to enjoy.

That night in particular, I had ended up emerging in the laundry room vent, covered in dust and cobwebs but still with a smile on my face. I had found Bruce moments later in the den. Rather than shove my accomplishments in his face, I had opted to sit beside him and rest my feet in his lap. He had rewarded my efforts with a foot rub while I had commented that the home of Batman was as secure as the Pentagon.

"That's not entirely true," he had replied while gently easing away the tension in my left arch, "When the security system is on maximum, no one gets in, not friend or foe. And even on their best day, I've been in and out of any given military base more times than I want to admit."

"And what level was that, just now?"

"Fifteen…" he paused before leaning closer to me kissing just below my ear before adding, "Out of thirty."

Three weeks later, he had been in a coma, I thought he had been dead and Mattie had yet to make her existence known.

Pulling behind the garage, Mattie spotted our visitors' vehicles and looked to me, "Everyone came for dinner?"

"Well, almost… Barbara, Ethan and Leslie were a little late…"

As I pulled into the garage, Nathan chimed in, "So was Dad."

Pulling to a stop, I added, "Yes… Dad's nap ran a little long. But you saved him his plate from Dick, didn't you, kiddo?"

"Yep," he agreed while unbuckling and grabbing Ace's leash. It was an unnecessary act seeing how the dog had two years of training and would follow Nathan the end of the world before straying on his own.

I glanced at the dashboard display as it faded off, just to see the time hitting quarter of eight. "Nate, take him for a good walk, it's almost bedtime."

"Okay!" I heard his faded reply as he and the dog disappeared around the corner of the garage.

While waiting for their triumphant return, I grabbed my purse and stepped out of the car, watching Mattie latch on to her gift bag before doing the same. In the better lighting of the garage, I spotted her smudged lip gloss and her straightened hair slightly mused. Finding her in such a state would have made Bruce forget entirely about the last few days. It also would have resulted in the disappearance of a nearly fourteen year old boy named Terrance Miller.

Seeing how I was the one to find her in such a state, I only told her to go upstairs and change and that I would be up with Nate shortly. Although she nodded, Mattie replied with a question, "Is everyone here… about her?"

There was no point in lying to her, "Yes."

"How long is she staying?" Mattie pressed on.

A question I had no real response to save for, "I don't know… but not for long." I could tell from the look on her face that she had another inquiry brewing, but I cut her off by suggesting, "Better get a head start… you don't want Nate to pick out a movie for tonight, do you?"

"Another movie night?" she smirked.

"As long as you don't mind having us over. Or us bringing popcorn."

Mattie nodded, "Okay… at least Ace picks up the pieces that Nate drops on the couch."

Not two minutes after she left for the service entrance, Nathan and Ace reappeared, the former hitting the switch, yelping theatrically as he dove out of the path of the slowly descending garage door. Before stepping into the house, I watched my son remove Ace's leash, and then his own outerwear and shoes. Once inside, I hung up his jacket, then mine and watched as they trotted off and out of sight.

"Upstairs and get pajamas picked out, young man!" I called after him fruitlessly.

As I followed his echoing footsteps, I was surprised to see Alfred standing at the base of the main stairwell. I made no attempt to hide it and asked, "I thought you would be downstairs…"

"I have actually just come up, madam… Master Bruce instructed me to aide you in tending to the children."

"Getting you out of his hair."

"Not in so many words," he shook his head slightly.

"That would be Bruce…"

He informed me that Leslie had Ethan resting in their quarters and that Talia was still under lockdown. I had wanted to ask if she had been invited to their meeting of the minds, but thankfully he had diffused that worry instinctively.

In return, I said, "Well, I will handle the young children… which allows you to return to the older children… who need just as much supervision."

Alfred allowed himself a tiny smirk before replying, "Very well, Ms. Selina."

Once he was heading towards the study, I removed my Valentino pumps and proceeded to ascend the stairs. Reaching the third floor, I found Nathan and Ace playing fetch with a tennis ball in the corridor. Upon seeing me, my son threw the ball one last time before darting into his bedroom, the dog neglecting the toy in order to follow his master. Heading further down the hall, I spotted Mattie sitting on her bed, chatting on her cell phone while intently looking at her laptop's monitor.

Even with her attention already in high demand, Mattie still looked up at me and smiled, "How about the live action Jungle Book? With the guy from the Horse Whisperer."

"Sam Neill… and an excellent choice."

A record bath for Nate gave Mattie just enough time to run downstairs to make a bowl of popcorn for us to share and to grab an armful of cream soda bottles. For the second night in a row, I had to act oblivious to the happenings under my roof while spending time with my children. As much as I loved the adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's great story, Nathan trying to catch popcorn in his mouth with his eyes closed and having Mattie pointing out the different tiger actors that portrayed Sher Kahn, it still felt forced. That in itself made me feel guilty. They needed me more than the rest of the Family at the moment… but I had an innate curiosity that needed tending to as well.

The film's credits began rolling just before ten-thirty. I asked Mattie to take Ace out one last time while I carried her slumbering brother to his room. With his chin on my shoulder, he had mumbled something about Bagheera and I smiled before kissing his cheek. While tucking him in as gently as possible, I heard the dog's soft footfalls before seeing him trot in from the hallway. Under my gaze, he obediently reclined on his dog bed but I knew the second I left, he would take up his rightful place beside Nathan.

I kissed my son's brow before bending over and rubbing the German Shepherd's broad head. He let his ears drop to the side as he looked up at me, Ace's black eyes showing a miniature reflection of the night light near the bed. After giving him a scratch under the chin, he licked his lips and I whispered, "Good boy."

Passing by Mattie's room, I peered in and told her not to stay up too late. She nodded, grabbing Taffy's paw as the cat sat in her lap, waving it while talking for the feline, "Good night!"

Closing her bedroom door, I had the option to head down to the Cave to see how things were progressing. It had been looming over my thoughts throughout the entire movie and yet when the opportunity had presented itself, I found myself wanting to evade it. After I stood in the hallway for five minutes, equidistant from the master bedroom and the stairs, my answer presented itself.

The elevator door opened at the far end of the corridor, revealing Bruce's tired form. Walking towards him, and our joint destination, I offered him a slight smirk but he barely even looked up at me. He finally acknowledged me with a brief, solemn look, and that was only because I had reached for the knob on our bedroom door first.

"How did it go?" I asked, walking in after him.

"Not as expected," he replied, wasting no time in heading to the bathroom. I watched through the open doorway as he retrieved his evening meds and forced them down with a small glass of water. He then proceeded to let the sink run while he fetched a small wash cloth from the cabinet below.

When he didn't elaborate on his own, I approached him, leaning against the door frame as I inquired, "What happened?"

Bruce began slowly peeling back the soiled bandages from his hand, hesitating before putting the towel in the water. After he shut it off, he hesitated, grimaced, then pressed the cloth to his sore, aggravated fingers. He winced audibly and then replied, "Talia will go to the Watchtower after she has been thoroughly questioned."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?" I asked. He didn't reply verbally, but I could tell from the look on his face that it had not been his idea. Stepping into the bathroom, I pulled back the drawer that held the first aid supplies, retrieving clean gauze, antibiotic cream and medical tape. Setting the items on the counter, he still had not been able to form a response.

When he turned around to lean his lower back against the counter, I chose to stand in front of him. Unable to avoid my gaze, Bruce finally said, "It's not good. It's not bad… It just is."

I found myself saying, "Bruce… this is our home… this isn't a prison, or a witness protection refuge… You can't pretend that it is."

"I know," he replied in a soft voice, but his eyes were still ice. He finally looked back down at his hand removing the towel to reveal bright red fingers. I asked if it hurt and he shook his head, "No… it's fine."

Forty-eight hours earlier, he had been unconscious following a seizure and a fall down the Cave stairs.

Twenty four hours earlier, he had been ripping open the very same fingers in a state of panic.

Nothing was fine.

^V^

There had been no need to discuss the pros and cons of sending Talia to the Watchtower.

There was no purpose in the juvenile act of putting it to a vote.

Their minds had already been made up.

Tim had shown no hesitation in bringing up his doubts and concerns, all of which surrounded Talia's motives for coming to us for help after so many years. The little she had divulged in her day in our custody had been heavy on summation and low on fact. Granted, she very well could have been waiting for the opportune moment to escape the wrath of her father and Jason, but she had yet to truly explain the details of such.

The others had been quick to agree with his stance, stating worry for the Family as a whole given that she would eventually lure the attention of the League and possibly her father and fiancé. And rather than go through the ordeal we had already endured that year, it was best to get her as far away as possible. Alfred had brought up the fact that it was already having an impact on the children, something he wished to last for as short of a time as possible.

At that, Tim and Dick then agreed to have her out within forty-eight hours, once they were satisfied she had answered all of their questions truthfully and in full, using chemical substances if needed.

I had remained silent as they planned out the next two days, including the scheduling of eight hour shifts to monitor her. Tim had at least offered me to cover surveillance for evening shifts so that they could return to normal patrol work. I had agreed, but remained silent. In fact, the only time I had uttered anything was to excuse myself from the meeting I had called. The meeting that I had no control over.

Barbara had followed me to the elevator, also saying that she was going to head out to get Ethan home to bed. When we had become out of hearing range, she touched my hand, "Bruce, he's doing the right thing."

My response had been a quiet grunt.

The gentle fingers that were on my hand suddenly grasped them. When I looked down, her face did not match the angry grip. In fact, her soft eyes and slight pout had suggested she was sad. "Bruce… are you okay with this?"

"Does it matter?"

"It does. Whatever you're thinking, you need to say it."

I had no intention to be monotonous, but it came out as such, "Her going to the Watchtower is for the best. He's right."

"That's not what you're thinking." When I had remained silent, Barbara had continued, "I've known you for most of my life, Bruce… don't think for a second that you can fool me. Tim and Dick may be too distracted right now to see it, but I'm not."

Removing my hand from hers, I pressed the button for the elevator car to come down. As I waited, I gave her a half-hearted apology, followed by, "It's time he started making decisions… on his own… without looking to me. Even if it's a decision I don't agree with."

"Now tell him that," she had replied, pointing up to the others on the computer bay tier.

Thankfully, the car had arrived and as the doors retreated, I stepped in without a word.

I wasn't surprised when she had chosen not to join me.

Riding up to the third floor, I had done my best not to replay the brief meeting in the Cave, focusing more on the throbbing in my back, hand and leg instead. Save for my momentary appearance at dinner and catching Mattie at nine that morning, I had practically gone the entire day without seeing my children. While Selina and the others tried to fill the void in my wake, I had been immersed in the world of Ra's al Ghul. Voluntarily.

Alfred had been right, Talia had interrupted the lives of my children… taking me away from them.

As expected, when I had reached the third floor, Mattie and Nathan were already in bed, leaving Selina awaiting my arrival. I had barely looked up at her as she approached me, even after I had followed her into the master bedroom. I had done my best to offer weak responses to her questions, focusing more on getting pills down my throat and my hand tended to.

And then there were no more distractions to fall back on… save for Selina's green eyes.

There was no doubt she was reliving the previous night given that we were practically in the exact same places we had been standing in. Rather than my mental gyroscope going haywire, it looked as if hers was on the verge of doing the same. We had barely talked about what had happened and, deep down, I wanted it to stay that way. There was no point in discussing at any depth what had transpired as it had no bearing or impact on the matter.

A momentary lapse in self control, that was all that had happened.

One that had no promise of recurrence in the near future.

"Does it hurt?" I heard Selina ask.

"No," I shook my head as I dropped my eyes from hers, "It's fine."

She then offered, "I'll run a bath, if you want. Bet your back is killing you after today."

She was right. Sitting in the Cave the entire day, stressed and hunched and immobile, had caused the muscles of my back to grow tight and painful. Denying her was senseless as it did nothing to appease her, nor my body. When I looked back up at her worried face, I nodded, "Okay."

That brought a smile to her lips, however brief. She leaned forward to kiss my cheek and then turned around to adjust the tub faucet to her long since memorized calibrations. When she faced me, Selina said, "Mattie had a good time… Terry bought her this really nice ceramic horse… had it custom painted for her."

… I don't want her meeting my children…

"That's nice," I replied on instinct.

She proceeded to test the water collecting in the tub before reaching for the liquid soap residing on an in-wall shelf, "Figured we could have him over later this week for dinner… once things settle back down."

...The way she looks at you… that's the way I look at you…

"And fair warning, we watched The Jungle Book tonight after dinner… Nate should be portraying Mowgli for the remainder of the week."

About facing, I went about putting on fresh ointment and bandages and using additional tape to keep the sutured wound waterproof. Selina said something about what her plans for the Preserve were on Monday, but I only nodded in acknowledgment, eyes and focus still on my wounded fingers.

...I was weak. Jason had just died, Tim had yet to come forward… I had no one…

"Figured it will be nice for her to help out since they are her favorite leopards…" I heard her over the water.

"Right," I said, barely above a whisper.

...Bruce, stop it, your hands…

I didn't want to discuss what had happened the night before, didn't even want to think about it.

Unfortunate, considering that was all my mind seemed to be able to focus on.

Closing my eyes tightly, I waited until my temples grew hot before opening them. Looking into the mirror, I noticed that my pained reflection was not alone. Selina stood just to my right, her held tilted in a way that let a wave of dark hair to slip out from behind her ear. Once upon a time, she would have asked if I was okay.

After hearing the same response for nearly two decades, either she assumed what my answer was or she just didn't have it in her to ask.

Too many lies to too many people for too many years.

"Last night, I-."

She interrupted me, "Don't make yourself go through it again, Bruce." Selina stepped forward to wrap her arms around my torso, pressing herself into my aching back. Her warm presence should have been comforting, but I was at a loss as to why it hadn't been.

"No... not that…" I replied, shaking my head clear of the image of Jason's empty grave. "About Talia."

"What happened… happened, Bruce," she reached up on her tip toes to kiss the side of my neck before whispering into my ear, "We both had lives before… That doesn't change anything."

I told myself to shut up.

I didn't listen.

"Yes it does."

Selina did.

Still facing the mirror, I continued, "I told you last night that she loved me… that she had made me feel human…"

"I already know all of this, Bruce… you've told me, how her father tested you by kidnapping Dick… that he wanted you to sire his heir... I know."

I interrupted her with a quiet, "No… not all of it."

Something happened to her eyes, and justifiably so. Her reflection studied mine intently as I divulged information that was only kept in thoroughly encrypted files in the crays, to the point that even Oracle couldn't access or decipher them. Facts that I hadn't even shared with Alfred following my return to Gotham from my three months spent working alongside Ra's al Ghul. Three months sharing a bed with Talia… my bride.

When a tear slipped over her cheek, I turned to face Selina, "It was the only way that I could gain access to the information Ra's had on Qayin… he had practically raised the man when he had been a boy… he knew so much more than VICAP files would yield… It wasn't a marriage in a traditional sense… it was never meant to be permanent, and it wasn't…. when Qayin died, it was over."

There was a long, silent moment before Selina forced words through tense lips, "Last night, you said she loved you… did you love her?"

"I told you… she was there when I felt I was all alone… that everything was gone."

"Answer the question, Bruce," she lowered her brow, fighting back tears with an angry glare.

I had promised never to hide anything from her when I was struggling through the process of retiring from the cowl. I had renewed the vow shortly after Jim Gordon had died. And yet I kept doing it, trying to protect her by lying to her. It had only brought her pain, suffering and heart ache. My failure to uphold my promise was manifesting before my very eyes.

"I thought I was… but I didn't know how to… not then."

Her voice was painfully forced when she asked, "And now?"

"Of course not," I reached out to touch her cheek but she took a step back.

When she turned around to shut the water off, Selina replied, "All the more reason for her to leave." As she stood upright, I attempted to touch her arm but flinched before saying, "Don't."

The previous night, she was holding me in her arms, telling me that she loved me.

Telling her the truth had me exiled from my own bedroom.

And I hadn't even dared to chance divulging all of it...

Leaving her alone as she wished, I returned to the elevator and back down to the Cave. Dick was seated in the computer bay's chair, the Oracom link up and waiting for his wife to sign on. As I approached, I spotted the additional windows on the display being the surveillance footage of Talia's room, a breaking news report from Bludhaven along with the patrol logs from the night before. Patrols he had not been able to attend.

Carefully climbing up to the tier, Dick answered my unasked question, "Sniper in the Haven… Trey is the CO on scene… guy is perched on top of police headquarters… started popping off shots at cops leaving for the night, put three in the hospital already," he paused before adding, "Two in the morgue."

I took to standing beside the chair, eyes glued to the replay footage from earlier in the evening of police barricades, yellow tape flapping and ambulances rushing off screen. Unlike the shootout Dick had been involved with during his time with the BPD, the press had only managed to grab meaningless shots of officers talking and inanimate objects. Not bleeding cops begging for help, getaway vehicles riddled with bullets and one suspect becoming the victim of lethal force.

A lifetime ago.

We watched in silence as a news reporter tried to force a young male police officer to give her information while he corralled people behind the barricade. He repeated the facts and "No comment" like a broken record. Young, but he wasn't intimidated easily.

That was until he flinched when an assault rifle shot fired from up high, followed by a mass collection of screams from below.

Dick shook his head, "Guy's good. He has the door to the roof sealed shut, the fire escape rigged to blow… apparently he was there all day preparing under the guise of a repairman. Front desk was never the best at checking to make sure maintenance was actually scheduled. They tried to go in with the chopper overhead but he nearly took out their back rotor in three shots."

The closed access police scanner came to life, officers demanding to know who was hit, the air unit announcing they were going to come back with a new copter and asking to drop tear gas on the roof and lastly, a familiar voice that had once been Dick's partner.

"Negative, Air Control 2," Trey barked back, "I want to get the medics and wounded out of here before we do anything!"

More exchanges followed, including Air Control 2 reporting an unidentified aircraft passing by them as they were taking to the air, labeling it as a possible getaway air vehicle.

"You should go… they obviously need help."

Looking up at me, Dick replied, "They're going to get it…"

The blank Oracom screen suddenly filled with a grimacing face, partly obscured by a black cowl, "I need an update, Barbara's not online yet."

"Just fired another shot, no report on who was hit… BPD chopper is coming back to try again-."

Tim interrupted him, "Never mind. Plane's going on auto pilot, I'm dropping down in twenty seconds."

"Good luck," Dick offered before the connection was cut.

I waited alongside Dick in silence until reports started coming over both the news and the scanners that a man had taken a free fall from the roof, stopping just short of the pavement. As SWAT tentatively approached the swaying figure, they found him to be stripped of his body armor and bound head to toe in cable. In addition, he was begging for forgiveness.

At that point Barbara had come online, quickly getting caught up with what she had missed on the long drive back into the city. Tim also appeared on the screen, no worse for the wear and ready to get back to trade the jet for the Mobile. He announced the name of the sniper as Henry Rowlston, a dishonorably discharged Army Ranger that was denied entry into the BPD for failing his psychology examination. Barbara instantly went to work retrieving every scrap of information she could find.

It was only in that brief pause that Tim realized I was standing beside Dick, the grimace on the lower half of his face replaced with a look of surprise. While Barbara started listing off facts of the suspect, I found myself staring up at the computer's camera, returning Tim's gaze. With the cowl, it was difficult to see if it was regret, confusion or worry that was the basis of his facial expression.

Rather than stay for Tim's return to learn the truth behind it, I decided to retreat upstairs.

I had wanted to discuss and hopefully dissuade the plan they had put in place with Talia but decided it was not my role to do so. Instead, I stopped at the second floor and walked down to her room to make sure the locks were in place. I could have stepped into the next room to study her on the monitors, but chose not to.

Arriving once more on the third floor, I bypassed the closed door of the master bedroom. Stopping first at Mattie's room, I peered in to find her asleep, not surprised to find her laptop open on the bed to her left and Taffy sleeping to her right. I carefully stepped in, set the computer on her night stand and left after turning off the overhead lights.

Moving to Nathan's room, I opened the door and actually woke one of the beings in the bed. Ace lifted his head and stared at me briefly before jumping down and greeting me with a wagging tail. I patted his head, not surprised when he followed me step for step back to Nathan's side. I reclined slowly beside my son under the dog's watchful eye, turning over the pillow Ace had been using moments early. Content that his guard duty was relieved for the night, the dark dog reclined onto his bed and disappeared from my line of sight.

When I set my head down, Nathan stirred slightly, moving under his blankets before opening sleepy eyes, "Daddy?"

"Shh, tiger."

"Watched Jungle Book…" he whispered, "Mowgli… and King Louie."

I leaned forward and kissed his brow, "Mom told me."

He lost a battle to a drawn out yawn before moving in closer to me. Over the covers, I hugged him with my right arm, smirking when he asked me to rub his back.

"Just till I go to sleep," he added, eyes already closing.

I did. And long after.

^V^