Disclaimer: Not mine

Happy New Year's everyone!

Chapter 2

Babs carefully checked the corner where Dick had appeared, spotting the small figure sitting beside him at the table and the files spread before them. So, this was the kid Dick had asked her to look into with no luck. She had her comm in, the same as Dick, so she'd heard the whispered name.

The Ghost was something of a myth, a good Samaritan who would call the emergency services and keep people alive till they arrived. Finding out they were actually a child… she would never have thought that. She'd been keeping an eye on the reports, wanting to get in contact with them if they were real, to offer support but knowing they were a kid changed things.

Though, a kid who had been messed up with the Joker working to help people was a surprise, she would have thought they'd stay well away from the streets. What was Harley thinking letting them out at night like that?

She hated not having all the information on the situation, and from the drawn in breath Dick had taken…what was in those files?

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Dick stared at the photos of Batman relentlessly beating people. His eyes then moved to the reports, police and hospital, feeling sick as he read about the injuries. He'd known B wasn't handling things well but this…he hadn't realised it was this bad. The photos…they were of the fights and from weird angles. Had the kid taken them himself? The thought of someone so young and small getting so close to that kind of violence made him feel horrible, even if he was likely used to such violence.

And this level of violence, what the hell was Bruce doing? Was he trying to end up wanted by the police like in the early days before he began working with the Commissioner? Why had Ghost brought this to him? It wasn't like he could stop Bruce, the man wouldn't listen to him, all they ever did anymore was fight. He knew some of their fights had scared Jay, despite Dick trying to keep them away from where the kid could hear.

"Okay," he murmured, "so Batman's doing a lot worse than I thought. Why bring this to me kiddo?"

"You're Nightwing, the first Robin. Batman needs Robin," Ghost stared, and Dick blinked at him, he hadn't expected that. It was the most firmly the kid had spoken, he really believed that.

"You…you took these photos, didn't you?" he asked, and Ghost nodded, arms wrapped around himself.

It was dumb, risky, but the kid just looked so…down and lonely. Dick reached out, gently pulling him from his chair and into his lip. He was so light! He wrapped his arms around the kid, hugging firmly but not too tight. He felt the kid go rigid and was ready to let go, but then they just…melted. He heard a soft sniffle and then hands slipped out of sleeves to grip at his jacket, the skin was pale but not the unnatural shade of Harley or the Joker. He moved a hand to the back of the kids' hood, supporting his head as the kid shook apart. He'd been comfortable with Harley touching him…but who else did he have?

"It's okay Ghost, you're safe, I've got you," he whispered over and over.

Ghost shifted and his hood caught on Dick's hand, pulling it back enough and the kid froze, terrified. Dick looked down into blue eyes, taking in messy black hair and pale skin. There was something familiar about him, more than the passing similarities to himself, Bruce, even Jason…B really had a type when it came to adoption. And…there was a faint shift in colour, makeup, the kid was wearing makeup, and Dick could make a pretty good guess why. His eyes were wide with fear and Dick hated that he was the reason for it. He'd never give away someone's identity, especially a kid's.

"Easy Ghost, I'm sorry," he murmured, gently tugging his hood back into place. He rocked them, petting a shaking back, and the kid was probably too old for such actions, but he remembered Bruce doing the same for him a few times when patrol or a mission went really wrong, even when he was a teen, and it had helped.

He spotted Babs, her eyes narrowed in concern, and flicked a hand signal at her, getting a nod. He stood, carefully shifting Ghosts' weight, and then headed into her officer, making sure no one saw them. A minute later she passed the kids' bag in with the files back inside it and then he locked the door, locking the room down. It'd take a bomb or seven to get inside now, something Babs had set up to ensure there was a safe room in the library in case of rogue attack. It also meant she could work as Oracle if needed from the library.

He flipped the switch to start the kettle and then set Ghost down on the couch before going back to set out two mugs as well as the packet cocoa (Alfred would not approve). Soon he was pressing a mug into Ghost's hand and sitting beside him with his own. The kid seemed to be just staring at the mug, not drinking.

"It's safe kiddo, it's cocoa, not the good stuff but it'll help you feel a bit better."

Finally, the kid nodded slightly and took a sip.

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Stupid, so stupid! He'd seen his face, he had to recognise him, right? Then again, at galas he was always in his parents shadow, being kept close but also ignored. And black hair blue eyed kids weren't uncommon in Gotham. He sipped the cocoa, it was hot, warming him from the inside. He was always cold, ever since… he shivered, huddling more into his hoodie, shifting closer to Nightwing and the man let him.

The warmth and quiet had him slowly leaning more heavily against him, eyelids drooping. Eventually, the mug slipped from his hands without him noticing or Dick catching it. Arms wrapped around him again and he snuggled in.

"Best…hugs…Dick…"

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Dick wasn't surprised when he felt Ghost slowly begin to slump against him, catching the kids mug before it hit the floor and shattered. He wrapped his arms around Ghost even as the kid snuggled into him and he wondered just what kind of life the kid had. He was suspecting he didn't live with Harley, so who were his guardians and how badly were they failing him?

"Best…hugs…" the kid slurred, more asleep than awake, and he smiled but then… "Dick…"

He froze, that…that wasn't possible. He couldn't know who he was…could he? Did that mean Harley…the Joker?!

"Dick?" Babs breaths over the comm.

"I…I don't know," he whispered. "He looks vaguely familiar but…black hair and blue eyes, there's loads of reasons I'd see a kid with those as familiar." Jason…but Jason was gone, even his own family had shared that colouring for the most part but he was the last. It was common in the Wayne line and several other old Gotham families. The kid was good at disguising his accent too but… "That last almost sounded like a Bristol accent, with him mostly asleep…"

"It's likely his real accent," she finished, and he could hear her working on her computer. "Given gender and assumed age range…sending you six possibilities."

"No."

"Dick?"

"He was terrified when I saw his face, Babs. I won't do anything till I can talk to him, work out how he knows and who else does."

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Babs sighed but left Dick to it, even as she investigated the six boys within the suspected age range for Ghost now that they'd met him. And one…that was interesting. Timothy Drake had skipped two years at school, had been attending Galas for years…and lived 'next door' to Wayne Manor. Not only that, but two years ago he vanished, oh, there were school records but they were hacked. The hacker was good, covering up for his missed months of school, and it seemed it was a pre-set program, that had initiated after the boy missed a week. A forged electronic not was added to his record saying he'd been sick and then he was marked as present in the system. She dove deeper into Timothy Drake and what she found…even if the kid wasn't the one currently sleeping on Dick, she'd be doing something. No thirteen-year-old should be left alone for months on end…and it had been happening for years!

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Tim didn't want to wake up, he felt warm, protected…but slowly his eyes opened and he stiffened as he failed to recognise where he was. Had…had he sleepwalked…had he relapsed?

"Hey Ghost," a soft voice called, and he relaxed. It was Nightwing, they were at the library. "Feel better?"

He nodded and reluctantly sat up, rubbing at his eyes. He was so embarrassed; he'd cried all over Nightwing then fallen asleep on him! He nearly jumped when a water bottle was pressed into his hand, but he opened it and drank.

I need to ask you something Ghost, you aren't in any trouble, alright?" Nightwing asked, and Tim looked at him, before nodding. "Why did you call me Dick?"

Tim froze, he…he hadn't…had he? What would he do? Would…would he get the Justice League to erase his memories? Would he…

"Breathe Ghost," a gentle voice murmured and he stared into eyes of Nightwing's mask. "You're safe, I won't hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you. Is someone threatening you? How did you know that name?"

Tim stared up at him, hesitating. Then he slowly reached up and pushed his hood back to reveal his face. Could he tell he was wearing makeup? Would he realise why? Dick…didn't seem angry that Tim knew who he was and he found himself reaching to his pocket where the copy of the photo rested. He'd brought it as a just in case. He hesitated but then pulled it out and held it out to Dick.

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Babs frowned when she realised that Dick had turned his comm off, not impressed. Sure, she'd done a quick check on the bag for weapons but still…

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Dick watched the kid reach for something in his pocket, hesitating, but then the kid held it out to him. It was a photo so Dick took it, staring in shock at the image. It…it was his family…him and his parents…two strangers and a tiny kid on Dick's lap. The kid had black hair and blue eyes, though his skin was darker but those eyes…he looked up at Ghost.

"This…this is you," he whispered, and Ghost nodded. "Did you…did you see?" he felt sick at that idea. Sure, he'd always known there'd been kids in the audience that night, but he'd never met any of them, it had been academic knowledge, not something that felt real. And once again, Ghost nodded. He was glad he'd turned his comm off when the kid started waking, this…this was private.

"You promised to do the quadruple for me…" he whispered.

Dick swallowed and moved to sit beside him again, gently wrapping his arms around him. "I, uh, I don't remember a lot from that day," he admitted softly. "Trauma."

Ghost nodded, slowly shifting against him.

"I'm sorry you saw that kiddo." He wished no one had had to see his parents fall.

"Robin did a quadruple, only one person alive can do that."

Dick closed his eyes, what were the odds? "How old were you when you worked that out?" he asked.

"Nine," Ghost answered.

"You're very smart, aren't you?" Dick murmured.

"Skipped two grades," he mumbled.

"Is it just my id?" Dick asked, and Ghost shook his head.

"Batman, Batgirl and Oracle, the…the second Robin," his voice shook on that, "Superman, some of the Teen Titans, Aquaman, Flash…"

Okay then…they had a child genius on their hands. "Ghost, does anyone else know?"

He shook his head. "I'd never tell! I swear…I never told him…Pa…Jo…I…I didn't…I wouldn't."

"Hey, shh, it's okay." Dick carefully tightened his grip, rocking him again. He grabbed the wipe from his belt and reached up for his mask, using it to loosen the spirit gum. He pulled the mask off and put it in his jacket pocket, no point wearing it when Ghost knew who he was. Plus, the kid had been brave enough to remove his own hood.

Ghost looked up at him and blinked at seeing his bare face, eyes going wide.

"Well, you know who I am, so not much point to it," he grinned, reaching out to ruffle his hair gently.

"Tim," Ghost murmured. "I, uh, I live next door."

"Next door…to Wayne Manor?" he asked, and the kid, Tim, nodded.

Next door in Bristol meant a few miles so who…he stared at the kid and then he realised. "Tim Drake?" he asked gently, getting a nervous nod.

The kid sat up straight, squaring his shoulders, but Dick was adapt enough at reading body language to know he was scared still. "I've never told anyone, not even…him or mama. He didn't grab me when I was photographing batman, he grabbed me at the bus stop, no one even noticed."

Or they noticed and said nothing, not wanting the Joker to take them next. It was Gotham after all.

"Gotham needs Batman and Batman needs Robin. He needs you."

Dick shook his head. The kids' math was simple but… "We don't work together any more Tim. Too much history," he murmured. "Jay…he died as Robin, it's too dangerous, there should never be another Robin. No more kids brought into this."

"I was randomly grabbed from a bus stop!" Tim snapped at him, surprising him. "Without…without something like Robin to cling onto to, to having to hide your ids…it hurt so much…he wanted JJ." Tim shuddered.

"JJ?" he frowned and then grimaced. "Is that…what he called you?" he asked gently, he didn't want to bring up the trauma but if Tim was talking about it…

"JJ…Joker Jnr. He…made me wear these clothes…dyed my hair…" fingers went to his mouth and Dick knew if he touched the skin, there'd be scars. "He kept injecting stuff and it burned but nothing hurt as much as…"

"It's okay Tim, you're not there little Casper."

Tim looked up at him, eyes refocusing, and then he snorted slightly. "Did you really…Casper?"

"Well, they call you Ghost," he grinned, happy when Tim's lips twitched in a smile.

He surprised Dick by standing up, pacing a little, but there was nothing manic or anything, so he wasn't worried. Knowing even some of what the Joker had done to him…how strong was he to have come as far as he had? The Drakes had attended galas since then and he remembered the small shadow trailing them. They must have been so terrified, but at least they could afford the best help available. Though he did wonder if Tim might agree to a few sessions with Dinah since she would understand more than any civilian therapist could.

Tim stopped pacing, facing him, and then he shocked Dick by pulling off first his hoodie and then the shirt underneath, revealing pale skin and a far too skinny body for someone his age. To have been at the circus that night and remember it, he had to be at least, what? Twelve? He was also short for his age and…should not be standing shirtless in a room with an adult!

"Tim?!"

Tim began to wrap his arms around himself again but forced himself to stop, turning to give Dick his back. Dick fought back the urge to gag as he realised what he was seeing… he'd wanted the Joker dead for his little brother, that made sense, so why did he feel the same rage for a kid he didn't really know? He stood, picking up Tim's shirt, and gently helped him back into it and then his hoodie.

"You're so strong Casper," he murmured, keeping a hand on his shoulder, even as Tim shook his head. Dick moved, crouching to look up into his eyes. "You are. Everything he did to you…and you've come back from it, maybe not the same as you were before, but you are Tim Drake."

He could see the denial in the kids' eyes but he was sure of it. He wasn't who Joker had tried to make him into, if he was then he wouldn't have approached Dick for help, he'd be revelling in the chaos and pain of Bruce going off the rails. And Dick knew that Bruce could not find out, not now. Before Joker killed Jason, Bruce would have done anything and everything to help Tim but now? He didn't know what Bruce would do, not if he was being so brutal with such low-level crimes. He might even try and get Tim thrown in Arkham.

"You're stronger than you think kiddo, I can see that and I've just met you."

Tim shook his head. "I…I shot him, I should have shot better then Jason…"

He hugged Tim again. "What happened isn't your fault Tim. And Jason would never want a kid to become a killer, even if it would have spared him." Jason would have loved Tim, would have found it hilarious that it was Dick's fault the kid had learnt their id's. Jay had been so good with the alley kids and all their various trauma; he knew he would have taken Tim under his wing.

And then it hit him. "That night at the cemetery, that was you, wasn't it?"

Tim nodded, not pulling away from the hug, and Dick wondered about that. The Drakes always had travels to talk about and yet…Tim was in Gotham. He gently ran his fingers through Tim's hair and the kid went limp. He was starting to think things about the Drake household that he was really worried about. Maybe it was only since Joker, having their son return but so different had to have been hard for them to deal with.

"Wish you'd stuck around," Dick told him. "Jason would have…would have loved the flowers," he promised him. And he would have, a home-made bouquet from someone who cared would mean so much more to Jay then a million store bought ones from people mostly there due to him being the newest 'Wayne stray'. "He'd have loved to have met you."

"He did," Tim murmured.

"Oh?"

"Robin saved me once when I fell off a roof, he saw my clinging on to the ledge and hauled me back up, told me off and tried to give me money to get home safe," Tim smiled slightly at the memory, and Dick chuckled, yeah, that was his Little Wing. "And once at a gala, Jason shared his plate of sweets with me. Don't think he knew who I was and I…I couldn't…but he was nice."

"It was after you got free?" Dick asked gently, and Tim nodded. "You must have had good doctors and therapists."

Tim flinched slightly at that, nibbling at his bottom lip. "Just Mama and…you won't tell?"

"I won't," he promised.

"Dinah Lance, she doesn't know who I am, but she knows what happened to me. She just calls me T, that's all she has of my name."

Dick was happy that Tim's therapy already involved Dinah, she was the best in the business when it came to the vigilante life…and really, Tim was already one of them. He had a name and everything. "Does she know about your work as Ghost?"

Tim shook his head.

"You can tell her, she'll understand. Especially since you'll have back up now."

"What?" Tim blinked at him, and Dick grinned.

"You're operating in Oracle's backyard; you think you won't be leaving here without at least a comm?"

"But…"

"You're a vigilante Tim, you might not fight criminals but you help people. If you're determined to keep going though, you should look at learning to fight, just in case so you can stay safe."

The idea of the kid out there with no means of protecting himself made Dick want to wrap him up in bubble wrap forever. He didn't want Tim out there at all, but could he really stop him? His parents obviously hadn't…or hadn't noticed he was sneaking out? Drake Manor was large; it was possible their bedrooms were separate enough for him to be able to get in and out quietly…though surely someone used to check on him during the night?

"Do your parents know about Ghost?"

Tim shook his head, shifting away from him to move around restlessly. "They don't even like Batman or Robin. They'd be so mad if they knew, they'd send me back to boarding school!"

"Not a fan?" Dick grinned, and Tim shuddered, shaking his head. "Okay. You're not going to quit, are you?" he asked, and Tim shook his head. "Then we need to start training you. You leave Batman to me and the Justice League, okay?" he asked, and Tim stared at him before hesitantly nodding.

"So, would you like to meet Babs?"

"She won't hate me? He…he hurt her."

"And she won't blame you either," Dick promised. "She wouldn't want you to have that weight on you for the rest of your life."

"Okay," Tim nodded, straightening again.

Dick smiled and ruffled his hair before re-activating his comm. "Hey Babs, come meet Ghost."

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It was a relief when the comm activated again, it had been hard to focus while waiting.

"Hey Babs, come meet Ghost."

For Dick to use her name, it meant Ghost must have admitted to knowing her identity as well. She wheeled herself to her office and it unsealed, letting her role inside. She saw Dick sitting on the couch in there with Ghost standing nervously nearby. The office re-sealed and she glanced between them.

"Hello Ghost," she decided to speak first, holding her hand out to the boy.

He slowly took her hand and they shook. "Hi Ms Gordon, I…" he glanced at Dick and took a deep breath. "I'm Tim Drake."

She'd been right then. But she didn't say it, just smiling at him. "Nice to meet you Tim."

"Right, we've got a lot to organise. First, Ghost needs a comm linked to the two of us. Then we need to get him sturdier gear and some defence lessons."

She stared at Dick, going to argue, but he shook his head slightly, eyes serious, so she didn't argue. "Alright, let's get you hooked up with a comm."

Tim nodded and followed her to the desk. He left his files with them, saying they were copies, and then Dick sent him home since it was a school night, ruffling his hair. Tim smiled and yanked his hood up, vanishing into the shelves.

"What the hell Dick?" she hissed.

"Not here." He helped her close up and they headed to the clocktower.

He collapsed on her couch after changing out of his suit.

"Dick?"

"He…the things he's been through…" he closed his eyes. "I can't stop him from being Ghost, Babs, but I can give him the best chance of surviving possible. He's not out fighting crime, he's helping people, the victims. I told him to leave Batman to me and the League."

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Tim lay in bed, staring up at his ceiling. Had…had he really done that? He'd told Nightwing who he was! What if…what if he changed his mind and decided to throw him into Arkham? No…if that happened then mama would break him out, she'd promised that from the start.

He'd promised to deal with Batman and Nightwing didn't break his promises.

TBC…

So, despite therapy, Tim still has some ongoing issues especially when interacting with others and his self-confidence. Which is why I'm not sure this Tim would ever be Robin, what do you think? Should he just remain as Ghost and work more with Oracle and Nightwing rather than Batman? Figured Casper would be an amusing nickname for someone called Ghost.