Disclaimer – You recognise it, I don't own it.

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"That boy is hurting, Clark." Lois murmured as they flew back.

"I know. I saw the signs… They weren't gentle on him."

"That he can handle… It's the emotional hurt that's tolling on him. He's just a kid… And he's shouldering an adult's burden… No, several adults' burdens. He's a CEO. A Hero. A Mentor."

"A Mentor?" Clark interrupted.

"Yes. He's the leader of the Titans. Even if it isn't official. He has got so much going on… I'm surprised he hasn't burnt out. Then you add in the death of his friend."

"Who?" Clark felt his gut sink; he hadn't heard of a death in the community.

"No-one you'd know. A civilian. But one Tim was close to… He's hurt and there's only Conner and Bart there for him."

"He has Ma and Pa."

"Who put other people before him. He doesn't trust them with his secrets. And if he doesn't trust them, they can't help him heal."

"What about Bruce?"

"And where is he?"

"In Gotham."

"Exactly. Tim takes that as validation that he doesn't matter."

"Then I'll tell Bruce to go."

"Then Tim will take that as guilt and fulfilling your expectations… I don't actually see a route for Bruce to win here. Not while Tim is with your parents."

"He loves him. I know that."

"I believe it too. The problem is that Tim does not. And he has a great deal of evidence for his side. Along with logic that isn't faulty, just… Misconstrued… I don't know if Bruce can fix this."

"He can do a lot of things that seem impossible at first."

"Tim's locked his heart away. He loves all. Trusts few. And does wrong to as few as possible. He won't trust them again easily. Trust takes years to build. And it only takes seconds to destroy it… And this wasn't a matter of seconds."

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Blood dripped from the Red Hood's knuckles.

Not his own. He had just landed a beauty of a blow to a small group of drug smugglers.

It was a way of getting his anger out.

And Jason was furious! Tim had been in Smallville for nearly a week, and not a single Bat had tried to contact him yet.

B hadn't allowed it. Was instead waiting on a report from Superman.

"Hey, Little Wing."

"Shut the fuck up!"

"Look, I know you're worried. I am too. But he's tough. He's going to be fine."

"Who you trying to fucking convince? Me or you? Because, yeah. He's tough. He's going to recover. But he's not going to be fine. He's not gonna be part of this family. Not if we keep leaving him on the outskirts like this. He should be here. With us!"

"And we can't drag him. He'll just pull further away. If we try to hold onto him, he'll slip through our fingers."

"And by not holding on he's leaving us anyway!"

"We need a plan."

"We need to fucking act!"

"Come back. Let's end patrol here tonight. Supes should be giving his report soon. Then we can figure out what we need to do."

"Fine." Jason snapped.

He would listen, then he would make his own plan. He had no intention of losing Tim. Even if everyone else did.

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Jason found Damian settled on the floor outside of Bruce's study. A sketchpad ostentatiously placed in his lap and Titus pressed up against his side. However, it was notable that the page open was blank, and the pencil in Damian's hand wasn't touching the paper.

"Father has expressed his desire to converse with Kent on his own." Damian's words were clipped.

"Guess he's going to be fucking disappointed then." Jason reached out for the doorknob.

"It is locked." Damian stated, "Kent will arrive within the next three minutes."

Guess that explained why Damian was sitting outside the room. Defeated Jason turned away from the door. There was more than one way into the room. The door was virtually impenetrable in the time left.

On the other hand, there was that exceptionally large chimney. Which although the office wasn't accessible through it from the roof… Jason had found an entrance into the flue shaft many, many years ago…

(Jason didn't want to think about how many, because that brought up too many memories with holes in them. Things he couldn't quite fully remember. Things that the Pit had never let him regain. Going near them brought the Pit close to the surface and then he only needed to get a little angry… and he was gone.)

Jason wedged himself inside the flue, close enough to hear, but not too close to be heard… At least not unless Clark decided to… Cheat. Which he generally didn't in someone else's home. An invasion of privacy, Clark called it.

Eyes completely closed, so as to increase his focus on his hearing; Jason waited.

"Clark."

"Bruce." Clark returned the greeting, "Tim's securely with my parents."

"His health?"

"What do you already know?"

"Don't mess me about, Clark."

"Broken leg, messed up back, insomnia, PTSD, chronic pain… Do you want me to go on?"

"Anything he told you?"

"He doesn't trust me. Doesn't trust my parents. I'm not entirely convinced he trusts Conner. He's certainly not telling Conner everything. Though I'm not sure if that's distrust or trying to protect him. Conner doesn't trust me either now. I failed him. And now he doesn't trust me."

"You didn't look for Tim."

"I didn't look for Tim. And now I'm paying the price. What little I got, is that Tim's healing physically. Mentally it's going to take a lot longer. And Tim doesn't trust any adults at the moment. Quite honestly I'm not sure he can. Lois managed to get more out of him than I did. Although that was probably because he knew that I'd been sent. And that Lois was just an invited guest… She doesn't think he can trust you again. You broke his trust and now he's working the principle of once bitten, twice shy."

"Fool me once, shame on me."

"Fool me twice, shame on you. Exactly. Bruce, you're going to need to do something drastic and soon. I don't know how I'm going to get Conner's trust back. I don't know how to help you with Tim. Ma and Pa are now trying to stay out of it. Don't rely on getting information from them… I was tempted to just bug Tim's room, after I saw him… He's running thin. I don't know how much he's got left to give. But it can't be much. You raised him tough. You raised him strong. But even the strongest has to give."

"You didn't bug his room?"

"Conner would have checked it. And I think Tim would have too. He's being polite. A guest in someone else's home. But he's not thinking of himself as anything other than a guest and an unwanted burden. He won't open up to anyone there. I don't think he knows how to anymore. He's close to burning out. And I don't know how to help him… Or even if I can."

"Just give me any information you can."

"I don't see how you can win here, Bruce."

"This isn't about winning!" Bruce snapped, "I am not beating anyone. This is not some competition! This is about looking after my son!"

Jason managed to restrain a flinch. That was pure fury in Bruce's voice. Anger that Clark was deeming it to be a game.

"I have screwed up over and over again, Clark. But I love my sons… I love my children… All of them. From Dick to Damian. Covering Babs and Steph and Cass as well. My marvellous daughters. It's just… I screw up with the boys far more than the girls. Dick, I failed to realize his nature to fly free and held him too tightly. Jason, I failed to recognise his anger and failed to help him through it. I practically gave him to the Joker. He died because of me! Damian, God I don't know where I'm going to screw up with him. Though you can count on me doing so. It's not like I've got a good track record. So far I've only managed minor screw ups. Dick's protected me from the worst of them; God knows how bad it would be if I didn't have him around… And Tim? I tried not to let him into my heart. He was another man's son. And I don't care what his relationship with his father was like… I would give almost anything for just one more second with my father. So how could I steal another man's son, when he was still alive? But Jack never realized what he had. And I couldn't stop myself from loving Tim. He was so different from Dick… And from Jason… But just the same. He had the same fire, the same determination, the same heart! He became my son… Maybe he always had been. Maybe they all always had been my children, just waiting for me to find them."

"How did you screw up with Tim?"

"I didn't realize that Tim was the different. I stifled Dick and Jason. Causing one to hate me. And the other to walk to his death." Bruce's voice caught on the last word.

"That wasn't your fault."

"You weren't there. You don't know. And yes, it was. Something I will never forgive myself for. I swore that I wouldn't do that again. So, I gave Tim plenty of space. Gave him room to spread his wings and fly on his own… Long before I let the others do so. Not because I trusted them less, but because I knew that if I didn't… I would be preventing him from growing into the man he would be. The way I interfered with Dick and Jason… They all deserve to be the people they have the potential to be. And I couldn't mess with that. But because I tried my hardest to supress my instincts to hold him close, I pushed him away… And now he thinks I never wanted him. He thinks I don't love him. When it is a knife to my soul that I can't be there for him right now! That I can't bandage his wounds. That I can't take away his pain. That I have to keep my distance, because if I try to pull him close right now… He'll believe it is guilt talking. Rather than the love I have for him. I need every detail so that I can do this right! I screwed up by reacting rather than planning. I will not make that mistake again.

"I can't."

There was grief, and guilt, and pain, and sorrow, and love in that tone. A thousand emotions.

But only one intention.

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Please Review.

I write stories because I can't draw. I have all these images in my head that I cannot reproduce. So I try and describe them with words. If anyone else would like to try to translate what I have written into what they think I saw in my head, they have my permission. I only ask that I be notified of it, so that I may look and go "OOoooh!".

Many thanks to my reviewers:

Loftcat27 – I've always felt that that was the dynamic between the two of them. Kon seeing Tim as physically weaker and therefore someone he needed to protect. But then getting caught *completely* out of left-field when Tim proves that he doesn't need protecting.

BatWingteenavenger – Yeah, Clark got suckered and then told off. He's not having a good time.

Rehabilitated Sith – Yeah, Tim is in pain. And not just physical. He's hurting a great deal. Glad you enjoyed it though.

Anonymous – You're probably right. My grammar has never been very good. I was just working on the principle that I'm always being corrected that way. But it could be based on the context so who knows? Certainly not me.

Guest – Thanks. Sorry, my Spanish isn't very good.