Bruce: 37

Dick: 19

Lilly: 16

Wally: 20

A Robin Leaves The Nest

"I'm telling you Lil, I think that's the car Bruce took to work this morning. I think he's home from work early." Wally said as we walked across the garage where he'd just parked his own car.

"Wally it's time for the quarterly reports at the company." I explained. "Usually when it's time to go over those reports, Bruce barely makes it home in time for patrol. There's no way he's home early." I insisted as we entered the house through the door that connected it to the garage.

"You're not listening to me! That's the problem with you, once your mind is made up, you won't listen to anyone!" Someone was shouting and it sounded like it was coming from Bruce's study.

"Is that Dick?" Wally whispered. "Dick never yells." Because Wally was talking I missed what the other person's response to Dick was, but I knew there was only one person who could be arguing with Dick in Bruce's study. Bruce.

"Wally, just ah.."

"I should probably just go home right?" Wally suggested backing up towards the garage.

"It's probably a good idea." I nodded. "I'm sorry, I'll call you once I know what's going on."

"Yeah alright. Call me or Barry if there's anything we can do." He gently brushed his lips against my cheek before walking out of the house.

"What Lilly does is not the point Bruce! She's sixteen! I'll be twenty in a few months." Dick was shouting again. Bracing myself for what would most certainly be an unpleasant experience, I walked quietly down the hall that led to Bruce's study. I was surprised when I neared the study and found Alfred standing with his ear practically pressed against the closed wooden door. It wasn't really like Alfred to listen in on our conversations.

"Alfred!" I whispered as quietly. The Butler looked up, momentarily panicked, before spotting me at the end of the hall.

"Miss Wayne!" He whispered back, walking towards me. "I thought you were out with Mr. West this afternoon?"

"I was supposed to be yeah, but I forgot a notebook I needed and we came back to get it. We saw Bruce's car in the garage and heard Dick shouting, so Wally just went home. What's going on Al? And who's Dick yelling at? Is it Bruce?" I questioned in a hushed tone.

"I'm afraid so." He replied equally as quiet. Neither of us wanted to alert Dick and Bruce about our presence in the hall just yet. "I'm not quite sure how to proceed with things to be honest, so I've been listening in." The British man admitted, looking slightly embarrassed.

"I'm sure that's for the best anyway. Someone needs to be here to stop them from killing each other." I cast my eyes in the direction of the study door. "Tell you what Alfred, let me take this one. Bruce and Dick never fight, so I'm sure this'll all blow over quickly."

"Perhaps Miss, perhaps." Alfred sent a fleeting glance in the direction of the study before sighing. "I'll be in the kitchen. Please fetch me if I can be of any assistance." He straightened up and set off for the kitchen. Once Alfred was out of sight, I knocked on the door. I must have knocked too quietly because neither Dick nor Bruce acknowledged it. I knocked a second time, more like pounded on the door, before swinging it open. The two men stared at me as I slipped into the study and shut the door behind me.

"What are you doing home?" Bruce snarled almost immediately. He was seated at his desk, his hands folded before him, propped up on his elbows. A very serious expression formed in the middle of a frown and close knit eyebrows.

"She lives here." Dick snapped at him. He was standing in front of Bruce's desk. His left arm, which had been shot the night before, sat awkwardly in a sling. Dick's right arm was gently sitting under his injured arm, the closest he could manage to crossing his arms."Which you'd never know because you're too busy butting into my life."

"She was suppose to be over at Barry's house." Bruce replied, his tone not any less hostile than before.

"Here we go with the control thing again! Bruce Wayne has to have control over everything!" Dick exclaimed throwing his non-injured arm up in the air.

"As long as you live under my roof..." Bruce began to say as he rose from his feet.

"Well, maybe I won't live under your roof anymore." Dick's tone of voice changed. He was no longer shouting. Instead he sounded sincerely bitter.

"You don't mean that." Bruce said, calling Dick's bluff; his words laced with venom, almost daring Dick to leave.

"Oh yeah?" Dick's eyebrows shot up. "Watch me." Dick walked right past me and out the door.

"Dick, where are you going?" I asked chasing him out into the hall.

"Anywhere but here." Dick told me as he started climbing the main staircase.

"Why are you leaving? What happened?" I asked as I followed him up the stairs.

"He benched me because of what happened last night." Dick explained as he slammed the door to his bedroom open. "Said I needed to hang up my cape for awhile. No more crime fighting until I can handle myself."

"But it wasn't even your fault that you got shot." I said. "If anything it was mine, I distracted you."

"Trying tell that to the big black bat." Dick growled as he pulled an old duffle bag out of the bottom of the closet. It was grey and stained, a peeling Haly's Circus logo marked each side of the bag. "Whatever it's not just about that. I'm tired of him always treating me like a little kid. I need to get out of here." Struggling with only one fully functional arm, Dick managed to stuff his duffel bag full of clothes and other essential items. I noticed absent-mindedly that he'd only packed items that were gifts from Wally, Barbara, Alfred or I. Nothing that came directly from Bruce.

"Dick, you can't leave! This is just a fight, it'll blow over! Please stay!" I begged as I followed him back out into the hall. It was like an out of body experience as I followed my older brother down the hall repeating the same things over and over. "Dick please stay! We need you here! I need you here! It's just a fight...You can't leave." Warm tears were running down my face as I pursued him down the staircase, but I didn't feel them. All I could focus on was the back of his head, chasing after him, trying to think of something to say that would make him stay, all the while repeating the same things. "Dick if we just talk about it...It will blow over! We need you here!"

"The only person Bruce Wayne needs is himself!" Dick said as his feet landed as the base of the stairs.

"What about me Dick? What about me? You remember the night we met?" I breathed, I was clutching onto the railing for support. I hadn't even realized I was shouting until we reached the Entrance Hall and my voice echoed off the marble walls and floor. I tried to lower my voice to a normal tone, but the sound that came out was shaky and scratchy. "You said you always wanted a sister. How can you just leave me? Me and Alfred? Ok so you're mad at Bruce. But Alfred and I didn't do anything. Stay. Stay for us."

"I'm sorry Lil." Dick said quietly. "I really am sorry. But as long as I stay here, it will always be Bruce's way. It will always be Bruce telling me what to do. And I...I can't live that way anymore. So I want you to do something for me. Well two things." Dick unzipped his duffle bag and pulled out something I hadn't even seen him stuff in there.

Between my grown brother's hands he held out to me an old stuffed circus elephant. Her name was Eleanor and she was one of the few things that Dick still possessed from his circus days. When Dick and I were very young, if I was having nightmares or something horrible had happened, Dick would sneak into my room and bring Eleanor. Eleanor is a magic Elephant. He would tell me. She can tell when you're scared or sad and she'll protect you from all the bad things in the world. It had been a very long time since Dick or I had needed Eleanor the magical elephant to dry our tears and I hadn't realized he'd kept her for so long.

"I couldn't leave her here. Alfred doesn't know how to care for magic elephants." He joked, his voice now shaky and scratchy too. "But maybe I could leave her with you, until I come back?" Dick took a step closer, practically forcing the elephant into my hands. "I'll come back Lil, I promise. I just need time. Time to think. Time to be alone. Time to evaluate my life. Will you take care of Eleanor for me? And will you say good-bye to Al for me, please?" I didn't say anything. I purposely avoided making eye contact with my brother. I knew what I would find if I did, two pools of deep blue begging me to do what he asked. I just stared down at the stuffed elephant that had somehow just become a metaphor for our relationship. I didn't reached out for it, because taking that elephant from Dick's hands would mean accepting that he was going to leave. Accepting that there was nothing I could do to make him stay. On the other hand, Dick genuinely couldn't leave Eleanor behind. She'd been a gift from his mother. A gift that was too precious for Dick to ever lose. He might not have cared about any of the other stuff that was still up in his room, but he cared so much for that stuffed elephant. By agreeing to take it from him, I would be agreeing to protect it from Bruce's clutches too because none of us knew what he'd do with Dick's things when he actually left. Agreeing to take that elephant from Dick, was making a promise with him that he had better come back. With shaky hands and sweaty palms I reached out and gently accepted the bittersweet gift.

"Does she still live on a diet of hugs and chocolate chip cookies?" I asked choking back a fresh wave of tears as I remembered another one of our silly games we'd played as kids.

"You betcha." Dick whispered, sounding nothing like the ten year old version of himself that first said that phrase to me, as tears streaked his face. He quickly wiped them away when we heard footsteps approaching.

"If you must go, Please take this." Alfred stood in the doorway of the Dining Room. He held a large basket, most likely filled with food, out at arm's length. The man's face was unreadable and he wouldn't move from his spot in the doorway.

"Oh Al." Dick exclaimed as he swept the butler into a bone crushing hug. "Take care of her Al. Take care of both of them, they'll need you now more than ever."

"I shall do my best Master Dick." Alfred promised as they broke apart.

"It's just Dick now Alfred." The acrobat said as he held the food basket in his hands.

"With all due respect sir, it will always be Master Dick to me. Please, excuse me." Alfred the retreated back to the kitchen.

"Alright, Lil I have to go now. I promise I'll be back." Dick's voice changed again. This time he sounded braver, more convinced. "Don't tell Bruce, but I'll call you as soon as I've found a place to stay alright?"

"Okay. " I nodded as he started walking towards the garage door. "Dick!" I called, chasing after him. "I know I don't say this enough and I don't know when the next time I'll get to will be so...I love you Dicky." I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed tightly.

"I love you too Lilly." He whispered back, returning my hug with his one functional arm. We finally separated, and Dick began to walk off again.

"Are you sure you want to do this Dick?" I felt a strong hand on my shoulder and realized that it belonged to Bruce.

"Are you going to keep trying to run my life?" Dick asked, suddenly offensive again.

"That's my job Dick." Bruce answered calmly.

"Yeah, well, you're not my dad. Not my real one anyway." Dick said plainly. "Your job ended two years ago when I turned eighteen."

"If that's how you feel, Richard," Bruce said dryly. "Then I would like to remind you that while you pay your own cell phone bill, all of the cars in that garage belong to my family."

"No problem." Dick understood Bruce's hidden meaning. "I'll take the Harley." Dick said referring to his vintage Harley Davidson motorcycle. It had been a gift from Uncle Clark, something he'd found when clearing out one of the barns at the Kent farm house. "You can't say it's yours because it was a gift from Clark for my birthday." With those last words, Dick strolled out of the house.