Author’s Notes:

For those of you following my story “Mockingbirds & Butterflies”, here’s a preview of the chapter I’m currently working on.  I’m not sure when I’ll be done with this chapter, but I wanted to let my readers know that it is in the works and not forgotten on some backburner somewhere.

So here’s the first part of the upcoming Chapter 3…

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afewnovelideas:

angel-gidget:

3) Tam dying for Tim.

It’s not supposed to be this way. He is supposed to take the bullet for her. Not the other way around. But here he is, once more, just a moment too late. One more person dear to him about be six feet under. But even though he can see both her lungs are punctured, and she’s bleeding out in his arms, the flicker of her eyes and the determined line of her mouth tells him all he needs to know.

For all his regrets…

… she has none.

((Oooh… I know ya love me. Wicked tormentor, you. ;p )

Reblogging this because I just saw this old ask involving two of my favorite bloggers here on Tumblr tonight, and it sparked an idea for a story that I really, REALLY need to write!!!

It’s amazing what a short piece like this can inspire.

*hugs both Gidge and Cr1mson*

Now to the plotting notes:

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afewnovelideas:

Came up with a new crossover concept to possibly explore later.

The idea?  A Batman/Warehouse 13 (SyFy original television series) crossover exploring an alternate explanation about why Tim Drake’s parents were hardly ever in his life…

---

Tim Drake is furious.

While he was out of town working with the Titans, someone broke into the building where all his parents’ belongs were being stored.  Mysteriously, the only thing taken was trunk containing an assortment of souvenirs they had collected on their travels around the world.  It infuriates Tim because some of his few fond memories of his parents as a child were hearing all the wild, made-up stories of all the Indiana Jones-styled adventures his mom and dad had to go through to find them.  He wants them back!

Even more mysteriously, the theft attracts the attention of two federal secret service agents, Agent Myka Bering and Agent Peter Lattimer. 

While trying to run his own investigation as Red Robin, while at the same time being forced to work with Myka and Peter, Tim inadvertently learns about Warehouse 13.  When he goes searching for answers and eventually meets Artie (Arthur Neilsen), the Warehouse’s custodian…

Artie:  Timothy Drake?  You’re Jack and Janet’s son, right?

Tim:  *confused*  You knew my parents?

Artie:  Of course I did.  They were two of the finest agents I ever had the pleasure of working with.  They were two of my dearest friends.

Turns out, the reason Jack and Janet were constantly traveling around the world wasn’t for their business.  In reality, they were Warehouse 13 agents.  The two of them had originally met when they were first assigned to the Warehouse and fell in love there.  After marrying, they both “retired”.  However after Tim was born and had gotten older, there was a sudden influx of active artifacts and they were reactivated by Mrs. Fredric herself because the Warehouse had become very short-staffed in those years.  Jack and Janet also secretly harbored a desire to bring Tim into their work and the Warehouse once he was older. 

Artie:  *sighing*  Janet always wanted you all to work together as a family here.  She was literally counting the days until she could bring you to the Warehouse.

When Janet died and Jack was paralyzed, they were on a Warehouse assignment to recover an artifact from a voodoo witchdoctor. That particular artifact was never recovered.

After losing Janet, Jack retired for good from the Warehouse.  No further contact was made between Jack and Artie.  Arthur only learned of Jack’s death through a news report years later.

The “souvenirs” that were stolen from Tim’s storage were supposedly benign artifacts that his parents never brought back for storage at the Warehouse.  They were going to use those things to eventually introduce Tim to the existence of artifacts and their work. 

While trying to process everything he’s just learned about his parents’ secret life, Mrs. Fredric approaches Tim in private.  Somehow, mysteriously, she knows about his own dual life as Red Robin, and his history working with Batman.  She believes the combination of the skills he’s developed as a crime-fighter and detective as well as his own pedigree as the son of two stellar Warehouse agents would make him an ideal candidate to become an agent himself.  Tim is firm in his refusal, at first, but Mrs. Fredric is very good at planting tempting seeds of doubt.

Tim:  I don’t have time to work for you people.  I have too many responsibilities in Gotham.

Mrs. Fredrick:  But it is what your parents wanted for you.

Tim:  …

Mrs. Fredrick:  You could use this opportunity to learn more about them.  Learn about who your mother and father really were.  *waves to the greater interior of the warehouse*  Everything they were, all the things you never knew about them, is on those shelves out there.

This is all I have in my head right now.  We’ll see if I take it anywhere later…

Stuff that’s been coming to mind as my imagination plays in the DC/WoW!verse sandbox:

• One of the first real friends Tim makes when he first arrives in Azeroth is Anduin Wrynn, the crown prince of Stormwind.  When they first meet, Anduin is twelve and Tim is seventeen.
• Anduin is the first to sense a strong potential connection with the Holy Light in Tim, despite being from another world.
• Tim spends his first year on Azeroth traveling around the planet, looking for leads into possible avenues home. 
• The first place he starts looking is the capital of the Draenei, since they came to this world via space travel.  That option is negated because the original dimensional ship, the Exodar, was too badly damaged upon their crash landing, and there is no way to create a new ship.  Through records on the Exodar kept by the Draenei and Naaru, though, he learns exactly how far away Azeroth is from Earth.  Simply put, it is insanely far.  Azeroth’s galaxy isn’t even on the map for the known interstellar sectors routinely patrolled by the Green Lantern Corps.
• The second place Tim goes to do research is to the continent of Northrend and the floating city of Dalaran.  He goes there to see if magic can be used to send him home.  Unfortunately, creating a portal to Earth would require a great amount of energy.  Without resorting to using massive amounts of demonic energy, like the Burning Legion is doing, the only other options would be to tap either the Sunwell or the Well of Eternity, and neither of those will ever be an option.
• A third option Tim wants to investigate are the ruins left behind by the Titans, the creators of this world and possibly others.  He wants to investigate the various ruins, like Ulduar, Uldum, and Uldaman, but he is not equipped to explore them on his own.  They are infested with creatures too strong to face alone.
• After attempting to scout out Ulduar on his own, Tim ends up getting drawn into the conflict between the Argent Crusaders and the Scourge in Northrend.  He fights along side the Crusaders, who bear the same banners as the people who saved his life.  It is here that he first meets Tirion Fordring.

(I couldn’t resist… Plot bunnies have hijacked a muse for their own… DC/WoW!verse)

Prompt:  Alone in Shattrath City

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afewnovelideas:

With my husband playing Warcraft a lot lately, and myself having been out of that particular game for long enough that I’m starting to be tempted back in, I’ve been crossing over the original DCU-verse with Warcraft-verse in my head.

1.  It starts off with Tim Drake reaching the end of his rope with his life and the way it’s been with really rough with his family, friends, his work as Red Robin, and his non-existent real life.  He’s extremely frustrated.

2.  Late one night, while investigating a strange new cult called the Burning Shadow that has been rising up within the world, Red Robin discovers a mysterious portal at the heart of their stronghold in Gotham City.  Before he can report to anyone about it, he’s attacked by a demon.  Red Robin is not at all prepared to hold his own against a demon and is mortally wounded.  However, before the demon can land the final killing blow, a creature of light appears from the portal and strikes down the demon.  Red Robin falls unconscious.

3.  When Tim wakes up, he’s in a strange place.  His wounds, amazingly, have been completely healed.  Eventually, he is introduced to a human wizard named Khadgar.  Khadgar tells Tim that he is in a city called Shattrath, in the remnants of a planet once called Draenor.  From the old man, Tim learns what happened back in Gotham…

4.  An evil demonic force called the Burning Legion has been seeking other worlds to invade.  From a portal located in a region within the Outlands (the remnants of Draenor), the demons had created a doorway to Tim’s world and were sending scouts ahead of them to prepare for invasion.  Forces fighting the Burning Legion, called the Sha’tar, were sent to intercept the demons and close the portal.  Tim had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time.  The glowing creature who’d saved him had been one of a race called the Na’ru.  That Na’ru was named Xi’ri.  After seeing how badly Tim had been injured, Xi’ri brought the young man to Shattrath for healing.  Unfortunately, for the sake of Tim’s world, the portal had to be destroyed almost immediately afterwards.  For the time being, there is no way to send Tim home. 

5.  Tim is shocked and dismayed to learn that he’s been stranded on an alien world.  He doesn’t know what to do.  Khadgar suggests that he might feel better living among humans on his own homeworld of Azeroth until he gets his bearings.  He sends Tim through a portal that takes him to the human city of Stormwind, with a message from Khadgar to the King requesting sanctuary for the young man.

6.  Years are spent by Tim in Azeroth.  Timeline-wise, Tim enters this world during the events of the “Wrath of the Lich King”.  For the first year, Tim drifts aimlessly.  He feels without a purpose, and while he does strive initially to seek a way back home through science or magic, once he realizes how hopeless an endeavor it is, he sinks into depression.

7.  He eventually meets Tirion Fordring, the leader of the Argent Crusade during his wandering.  Tim feels more at ease around Tirion’s commanding presence than anywhere else in Azeroth.  He has an inner strength that reminds Tim of Bruce, but exudes a sense of light and hope that the Batman never did.  Alternatively, Tirion sees echos of his own murdered son’s spirit and desire to do good for others within Tim.  When Tirion offers to take Tim under his wing and train him in the ways of the Paladin, as a way to both fight evil and heal the sick and injured, Tim accepts.

8.  Tim becomes an exceptional Paladin.  It suits him exceptionally to have the ability to both fight evil forces and heal others.  While, in the past, he had never been a religious person, practically an atheist at times, the concept of “The Holy Light” that powers many healers in Azeroth is something that he can embrace whole-heartedly, as it doesn’t rely on the worship of any deity.  He also appreciates immensely the fact that he can do good work as a Paladin, and not have to hide his identity.

9.  5-10 years (?) after being stranded in Azeroth, shortly after the events of Shattering right before Cataclysm started, the Burning Legion manages to create another portal to Earth, this time from a location in Azeroth, not the Outlands.  Due to the complexities of cleaving portals through time and space, only a few weeks have passed on Earth since Red Robin went “MIA”. 

10.  Tim’s family and friends had been frantically searching for him since he went missing when the first portal in Gotham City had been destroyed.  When the new portal is discovered, Batman and Robin go to investigate it, but happen upon a conflict between the Legion and the Argent Crusade already in progress.

11.  Batman and Robin both help the Crusaders defeat the demons, though Robin is hurt badly in the process.  Tim, the Paladin leading the party, keeps his helmet drawn down hiding his face even as he heals Damian’s injuries, much to the boy’s amazement.  Tim, though was initially thrilled at having finally found a portal leading back to Earth, was shocked and almost horrified to see that so little time had passed on his homeworld.  He’d been gone for years, and clearly it hadn’t been that long if Damian was still 10-11 yrs old.

12.  Still, when the other Crusaders try to set the charges to destroy the portal, Tim orders them not to, convincing them that they need to inform this world’s protectors of the danger of the Burning Legion, in case they (the Argent Crusade) cannot stop an invasion from happening.  So, his voice distorted by his helm, Tim advises Bruce to collect a diplomatic part to come to the portal within three days’ time, while take that same time to secure the portal for their own use.

13.  The diplomatic party from the Justice League is gathered and they are escorted through the portal to Azeroth and are eventually brought to the Argent Crusade base and Tirion Fordring.  They are led by Tim, though he keeps his helmet on.  Something about this Paladin makes Bruce and Damian suspicious, but nothing they can voice specifically.

14.  After the initial meeting with Tirion, once they are guests in his home, does Bruce and Damian finally see Tim.  Tirion recognizes Batman and Robin immediately, since Tim told him all about them when he was younger.  The older Paladin arranges a reunion with the reluctant Tim.  Bruce and Damian are both, understandably, shocked by the changes in Tim.  However, Bruce is still very much relieved to see his missing son alive and well.

15.  Once Tim is revealed to the others, it’s Tim who leads the others in a tour of Azeroth and Outlands to show his old friends and family exactly how big a threat the Burning Legion is to Earth.

—-

And that’s all I have.  This plot bunny sprang to mind, and I had to write it.  It’s not really a cohesive story.  I’m not even sure if I’ll flesh it out into something more substantial later.

I think I’ll leave this just as a separate DCU/WoW!verse that others can possibly request short story prompts from.

In my head, as a Paladin, Tim wears a set of armor that resembles the Judgement Armor set in WoW.

He’s also traded using a bo staff for a sword and shield as his primary weapons.  Tim’s strength comes from his healing, though.  After all the loss he suffered in his life, learning how to heal was something he put most of his focus into during his training.

cross-posting to keep a copy of this on my writing journal.

Last night, when I watched the season finale of White Collar, I saw the scene of Neal leaping across from the roof of one tram to the other while both were in mid-air above the water like it was practically nothing…

First thought in my mind was “Good lord!  How can you NOT be an ex-Robin in canon?!??!?!!”

Title:  Mockingbirds & Butterflies - Chapter 2

Genre:  General/Drama/Family

Rating: PG-13

Fandom: DCU

Pairing: ???

Word Count:  ~2880 words

Summary:  The Friday after being visited by his estranged father, Tim’s eldest brother Dick delivers the two people who are going to be sharing his home for the unforeseeable future.  However, Tim was not the only one kept in the dark until the last minute regarding this development.

Previous Chapter <—————> Next Chapter

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darkestelemental616:

infectedscrew:

Every once in awhile I like to remind the world that DC royally destroyed this particular character’s life. In a span of three years (from the age 13 to 17), this is a bulleted list of all that happened to Timothy Jackson Drake:

• Experienced the death of his mother, role model/idol (Jason Todd).
• Witnessed the death of his father, mentor/guardian (Bruce Wayne), best friend (Irving), best friend/team mate (Conner Kent), best friend/team mate (Bart Allen), role model/leader (Donna Troy), role model/leader (Clark Kent) and former girl friend (Stephanie Brown).
• Witnessed the return of Jason Todd, Conner Kent, Donna Troy, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Stephanie Brown and Bart Allen.
• Witnessed the nuclear destruction of a city (Bludhaven).
• Witnessed the destruction of home city (Gotham), twice.
• Attempted to fight for and protect another heroes city (Bludhaven & Central City).
• Was almost murdered by a former role model/idol (Jason Todd), twice.
• Ran a Fortune 500 company.
• Attempted to search for a mentor/guardian (Bruce Wayne).
• Successfully battled three Gotham Villains (Bane, Joker & Scarecrow).
• Protected Gotham for a full year without Batman.
• Trained under the world’s greatest female assassin for four months (Lady Shiva).

Despite all of that Tim Drake managed to remain dorky, cheerful and sarcastically optimistic. Even taking time out of his day to help Dick Grayson (after being left at the altar, getting raped and losing Bludhaven to a nuclear bomb), Bruce Wayne (searching for him after his death), Jason Todd (trying to convince the vigilante community that the man in question wasn’t that bad) and Damian Wayne (who proceeded to break his arm and put him into a coma for two weeks).

I understand that this is comic book time. But… Three years to experience all of that? And yet, for some reason, he is widely considered weak, pathetic and over-emotional?

I apologize but Timothy Jackson Drake is my favorite DC character of all time. And is, in my opinion, one of the strongest.

No wonder he gets so damn paranoid and assholish in Red Robin. That’s a hell of a lot for a guy to go through.

Don’t forget also dealing with Azrael on top of all that.

Jesus Christ.

I think this is why, in many of my fanfiction stories set in the DCU/Batman verse, I prefer to give Tim happy endings where life actually gives him something back.  Sure he may go through another level of hell before he gets there, but I can’t, in good conscience, write him through that kind of trauma/grief/damage without giving him something back that he so desperately needs.

In “To Watch the Sun Rise,” his happy ending was a steady, stable relationship with the woman he loved.

In “Confidence Lost,” his happy ending was finding his family and getting his sense of self back.

I’m not sure what I have planned for him in the stories I’m writing right now, but I suppose the only thing I can be certain of is that the more he suffers in my tale, the greater the reward he’ll have waiting for him at the end.

1. At the time of this story, Tim’s about 25-26 years old.  Seven years have passed since the events of “Innocence Lost”.
2. His current day job is as a high school math teacher, focusing on teaching college/AP math courses, like Calculus.  He’s currently in his second year of teaching.
3. Tim’s night job is as the covert commander of the reestablished Secret Six mercenary group.  He’s actually been working on this incarnation of the Secret Six for going on five years, though the group itself has only been active on missions for the past three.
4. Amusingly enough, Tim is the first and only son of Bruce Wayne who’s finished college.  He’s got a PhD in Mathematics from Cambridge University, where he also minored in robotics.
5. Tim currently lives in New York City in a lovely brownstone home in a historic neighborhood a few blocks away from Central Park.
6. He wears glasses now because he developed myopia (near-sightedness) while at university.  Initially, Tim chose to get glasses instead of contacts because he was curious if the “Clark Kent” effect would work on him as well.  When people rarely recognized him as “Timothy Wayne” with the glasses on while out in public, he was quite pleased and so the spectacles stayed.
7. Tim has disassociated himself almost completely from the Wayne name, even though he is still legally Bruce’s adopted son.  He’s never used the “Wayne” name once since going to university.  The only person at the school he works at who knows about his family is the principal.  For a few years, there was a big thing in the society gossip columns about wild rumors of how “Timothy Wayne” had a huge falling out with his adopted father.  While in university, he had a few issues with the paparazzi stalking him.  Enough time has passed, though, and his life has become mundane enough now that he never gets pestered by them, which suits him just fine.
8. Unfortunately, Tim has not had any sort of serious relationship since leaving Gotham.  The rape he suffered scarred him badly when it comes to relationships with women in general.  He doesn’t date.  He goes to great lengths to avoid casual physical contact with most women.  Aggressive women who try to come on to him in public settings ALWAYS put him on the defensive.  If ignoring them doesn’t get them to back off, he will not hesitate to verbally lash them into pieces to send them packing.  He will almost always feel bad about it afterwards, though.
9. The only people Tim remained close to and in contact with after leaving Gotham were Alfred (who he calls “Grandfather” now), Dick, Cass (Cain), Steph, and Tam.  When he made it clear that he wanted to return to civilian life, many ties he had with people in the Justice League and Titans were severed in a “burning bridges” fashion.  For reasons not yet clear, Tim and Bruce did have a bad falling out over something while he was in university and they have rarely spoken with one another over the years because of it.
10. The only people among Tim’s friends & family who know about his rape and the daughter he gave up are Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Damian, Barbara, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie, Tam, and Donna Troy.  Only they know that this was the real reason why Tim “retired”.  Others in the Justice League and Titans know something bad happened to Tim because of the League of Assassins… Something bad enough to “break” him.  However, no one was ever able to learn the details, and no one in the Bat-clan was ever going to tell them the truth.

Title:  Birds of a Feather - Part 1

Genre:  Humor

Rating: PG

Fandom: Batman/Red Robin

Pairing: Tim Drake/Tam Fox

Summary:  Tam’s been stressed like crazy for finals, so Tim tries to be nice and gets her a present to cheer her up. 

Long story short… He fails… Epically… And gets his tail feathers chewed out in the process because of it.  Naturally, he turns to Dick for help, who is some help.  Not a lot of help, mind you, but some.

At least he makes a fairly decent human shield…

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Title:  Nobody Matters - Episode 1 - “Not Prepared”

Genre:  General

Rating: PG-13

Fandom: DCU/Kingdom Hearts crossover

Pairing: ???

Word Count:  1569

Summary:  It started in Los Angeles, California.  The Teen Titans, led by Red Robin and Wonder Girl, were summoned to fight a mysterious new alien threat.  However, they were not prepared for what they faced. 

No one was…

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Title:  Innocence Lost

Genre:  Angst/Grief

Rating: PG-13

Fandom: DCU (pre-reboot Red Robin/Batman)

Pairing: none

Word Count:  1000

Summary:  In Red Robin 25, Tim Drake life and virtue were saved by Cassandra Cain.  What if his life had been saved, but nothing else instead?  What happens twelve months after the fact?

Warnings:  Possible triggers for mention of rape and surrendering a child for adoption

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Title:  The Silver Bell

Genre:  Gen/Fluff

Rating: G

Fandom: DCU/The Polar Express

Pairing: Light Tim/Kon

Summary:  A few days before Christmas, in the attic of Wayne Manor, Tim and Kon come across a strange, oddly familiar silver bell among a forgotten childhood toy chest.  On Christmas Eve itself, the bell leads to an unexpected wondrous trip on a very special train…

Author Notes:  This story was originally created for this year’s Gotham Secret Santa project.  My Secret Santa was anachronisticaddendum and their major Xmas wish was for some Tim/Kon Xmas fluff.  I’ve never written this pairing before, and the story is not so much romantic as sweet, but I really enjoyed doing a story with these two boys together in a light crossover with “The Polar Express” story, and I hope my Secret Santa enjoys it too.

My apologies for the late posting of this gift, though.  I’d originally tried to submit it to the Gotham Secret Santa blog, but wonderful Tumblr ate my submission.  So I’m posting the original story here on my writing blog and queuing up the link instead.  Hopefully this goes through this time.

Happy belated holidays!

~Christina (afewnovelideas)

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kaciart:

“Tired, Babybird?”

 
Author’s Notes

This drabble was inspired by a series of Tiny!Tim fanart pieces created by the incredibly talented kaciart.  Though the images themselves are extremely adorable slice of life scenes mostly between Tim and Dick, as I looked over the lot of the images, I got to wondering about what might’ve happened to de-age Tim in the first place.  

Hence the words written below.

Special note to Kaciart: I hope you like the story.  I absolutely adore your artwork.

Title:  « REWIND «

To everyone else in the Watchtower, the confirmation that Tim had been permanently changed was being treated like the absolute worst news in the world.  Dick frowned deeply as he listened to the words that were tossed around between their friends.
 
“…Tragic…”

“…Horrible accident…”

“…Catastrophic…”

“…Poor Tim…”

The man behind Nightwing’s mask heard the words, and for the umpteenth time since he learned of his younger brother’s unfortunate transformation he felt a knot twist in the pit of his stomach.  He pushed himself off of the wall he’d been leaning against and started walking away from the other Titans and League members gathered around Zatanna and Dr. Mid-Nite, who’d just finished giving their report on Tim’s condition.

“Dick?  Where are you going?” Wally asked, catching the black and blue vigilante moving out of the corner of his eye.

“I’m going to take Tim home.”  The tests Zatanna and Mid-Nite had conducted on his younger brother had exhausted the poor boy, so Dick had left him on a cot in the examination room so that he could get some sleep.

“But we need to figure out what we’re going to do next!” Connor said.  “There’s got to be a way to fix whatever the hell it was Klarion did to him!”

“I already told you,” Zatanna cut in, a frustrated expression on her own face.  “There’s nothing that can be done!  His biological clock has been permanently rewound.  Even if we could turn it forward again and return him to his original age, he’s already lost all his memories of the last thirteen—”

“I can’t accept that!”  Cassie interrupted, her declaration joined by several affirmations from her fellow Titans.  “There has to be a spell or some medicine—”

“Physically, there’s nothing wrong with him.  Tim should be able to age normally from—”

“He wouldn’t just give up on—”

“There is no spell to reverse this!  I’ve told you all—”

“We can’t do nothing—”

“WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP?!”

Nightwing’s voice, taking a tone too similar to that of his mentor, rose sharply above the cacophony, bringing everyone to a startled silence.  Only when all was finally quiet did he notice the sound of timid whimpering.  A quick look around was all it took for Dick to locate the source of the pitiful noise, and the sight of the tiny boy huddled in the shadow of a nearby pillar was more than enough to break his heart.  The others and their arguments were quickly set aside as he moved to where the boy was hiding.

“Timmy?”  he murmured gently as he knelt down to be closer to the four-year old boy’s level.  Dick’s chest tightened when the child flinched away from his outstretched hand, eyes squeezed tightly shut, and trembling with fear.  Only then did he remember how much the uniform as a whole scared his little brother now.  Kicking himself mentally, he removed his mask and squirreled it away in a compartment in his gauntlet.  This time, when he reached out for Timothy, the boy didn’t draw back.  “C’mon kiddo.  It’s alright.  It’s just me.”

Timidly, like a skittish fawn, a now four-year old Tim crawled on his hands and knees out of the shadows.  He paused only once, round blue eyes telegraphing his anxiety as he glanced around the room.  Then, as quickly as his legs could carry him, the boy pushed himself up and dashed for Dick, tackling him hard enough to rock the older man back slightly on his heels.  

“I wanna go home!” Tim whined into Dick’s chest as he buried his face against the blue stripe of his brother’s uniform.  “Please!  I don’t wanna be here anymore!”

Dick gathered Tim up in his arms and cradled him close.  His lips found their way to the crown of the boy’s head.  “Whatever you want, Timmy,” he whispered into the child’s hair before rising to his own feet, his little brother still nestled in his strong arms.  After giving the others one last warning look, daring any of them to try and stop him from leaving, he exited the conference room and made his way to the teleport tubes.

It had been an insanely difficult week for everyone involved.  What had originally started off as a simple mission to go after Klarion the Witch Boy and stop the havok he’d been wreaking in New Orleans became anything but when a seventeen-year old Tim, as Red Robin, got blasted with a spell that stole exactly thirteen years from his life.  Thirteen years worth of physical growth and thirteen years worth of memories were suddenly extinguished in the blink of an eye.

Interestingly enough, Tim had not been the original target of Klarion’s spell at the time when it happened.

The witch boy’s original target had been Damian, who’d been working with the Titans as Robin on the fateful day.

That first week, after they got Tim back home to Wayne Manor, had been utterly disastrous.  The worst part was trying to explain to the now confused, scared little boy that he couldn’t go home to his mom and dad, no matter how much he begged and pleaded, that they were gone forever.  They didn’t even bother to explain to the child about his connection to Bruce now.  The first time the de-aged boy unknowingly met his adopted father was when the man was in his full Batman uniform and had just returned home after a difficult night on the streets of Gotham that was reflected both on his armor and in his demeanor.

Dick knew Bruce would never admit it aloud, but the terror-stricken look Timothy had given him that night cut his adopted father straight to the quick.  In typical “Bruce” fashion, the older man dealt with it by trying to avoid the child as much as possible, in and out of uniform, much to his eldest son’s growing irritation.

Alfred helped when and where he could.  Thank God for that wonderful old man!  Damian even did what he was asked with only the barest modicum of half-hearted snark towards his former bitter rival.  Mostly likely, it was due to the fact that he knew he owed his once-elder/now-younger brother a debt he might never be able to repay.  However, when all was said and done, it was Dick who truly cared the most for Tim.

He was the one who comforted him when the nightmares woke him in the middle of the night…

He was the one who held him as he sobbed broken-heartedly, grieving for the mom and dad he would never see again…

He was the only one who could coax even the barest hint of a smile out of the boy when things seemed to finally be settling down.

“So there’s nothing they can do to fix him?” Bruce asked after Dick had put Tim to bed.  The brothers had returned to Wayne Manor barely an hour ago, and the younger one had been utterly exhausted by the trip.

“Zatanna and Dr. Mid-Nite did everything they could.  They’re convinced that Tim’s condition is permanent, though of course his friends have other ideas.”

“And what do you think?”

Dick looked towards the stairwell that led up to the bedrooms.  “I think I just want to make sure that Tim’s going to be alright, no matter how old he is right now.”  He looked up at Bruce.  “Tim really needs you right now.  You’re still his father, even if he doesn’t know it yet.”

Bruce looked down into his coffee.  “I don’t know—”

His eldest son’s eyes went wide in disbelief, the narrowed in anger.  “Don’t know?!  How can you say that?!”

“Tim is terrified of me,” Bruce said with a trace of sadness.  “Even when I’m out of uniform. And I don’t have the slightest clue about how to handle someone as young as him.”  He sighed.  “I don’t know if I’m the right person he really needs in his life right now to help get him through all of this.”

“Then who do you think is the right one?”