Awesomest of Them All

Really Really

"Morning Mom."

"Good morning Dick," you say hugging your oldest son as he sits on the couch next to you. You had been having a hard time since Jason died a couple months previously.

Bruce had thrown himself into being Batman to cope with his grief of not being able to save Jason. This hadn't helped you cope, since you relied on having your husband there when you needed him, just like you were there when he needed you. This had lead to Dick moving back in, worried about you not taking care of yourself.

"How'r you doing?" He asks for what feels like the millionth time.

You purse your lips and avoid the question, "How are you doing?"

"Mom."

You sigh, "I'm alright Dick, how are you?" You ask yet again, knowing that he isn't doing great after having lost his brother, despite the fact that he was trying to take care of both you and Bruce.

"I'm good mom," he says and gives you a kiss on the cheek, hugging you tightly.

"That's good, I need you to take care of yourself."

"I need you to do that too mom," he retorts.

You laugh, your weird sense of humor remained despite the grief, "no, I'm the mom I get to tell you what to do, you don't get to tell me what to do."

This joke relaxes him a bit, and lets him know you're doing alright today. "Fine, I'll drop it." He pauses before asking, "did dad talk with you last night?"

"No, why?" You ask.

"Uh, you should talk to him," Dick says.

You sigh and slump into the couch for a moment before looking at your now adult son, "I'll go find him and talk to him... it's about time I did that anyways. I'm getting tired of him ignoring me... you wouldn't happen to know where he is would you?" You ask as you kiss his head and stand up.

"He's in the cave, you can find your way there right?" He teases back.

You shake your head and laugh, "yeah I can find my way down there... thanks Dick," you say after a pause, glad he had motivated you to go talk with Bruce.

"S-so y-y-you're s-saying-g th-tha-t a thir-thir-thirteen," you can't continue because you're laughing the hardest you have in months.

"Yes a thirteen year old figured out that I'm Batman and all my secrets," Bruce says, trying to sound broody, but loving hearing your laughter again. You keep laughing and lean against your husband, and he wraps his arms around your waist.

After a few minutes you the two of you hugging each other in silence you mumble into his chest, "I've missed you."

"I missed you too," he says into your hair.

"So, who is the kid?"

"You know the Drakes?" Bruce asks, "yeah I know the Drakes I've had to try and hold a conversation with them many times..."

"Well, it is their son, Timothy. He's the one who figured it out. Came up to me last night on patrol and asked me where I learned to fight," Bruce laughs gently.

You laugh again, more gently this time, "I'm assuming he's keeping your secret?"

"Yeah, he said something about wanting to help me. He also said he hadn't told anyone else."

You grow quiet when he mentions the fact that Tim wants to help him, "I didn't give him an answer, but I feel he's stubborn and it would be better if I kept an eye on him than let him run off on his own."

You sigh gently, "I suppose you're right."

Your tone causes Bruce to pause yet again, he had been so caught up in everything going on that he had missed exactly how much you were hurting. He squeezes you against him before quietly saying, "my love, I'm sorry I haven't been there. Would you ever forgive me?"

You lean back to look at him better, "Bruce, of course I forgive you. We have to work through this for ourselves. How we do that is up to us."

"Yes, but I should have been there," he kisses your head.

"Bruce. Stop. I cannot handle you blaming yourself for everything that happened. We both know how impulsive Jason could be. He had a chance to save his birth mother, someone who had rejected him his entire life when he only ever wanted to be wanted. We tried to give that to him but that doesn't change the fact that woman hurt him to the point he felt he needed to redeem himself for her."

You take a breath, tears in your eyes but needing to finish your thought, "we cannot change what happened. We can only move forward and take his memory with us."

"I know, my dear, but I should have been there for you when you needed me. I've been so focused on everything else that I wasn't there for you, yet you've always been here for me," he leans down to kiss you.

You kiss back before speaking again, "you needed to grieve too. You can't keep living in the past and regretting things you should have done. You're here for me now and I need you to be here right now and that's what matters."

Bruce accepts your forgiveness and lets the subject of his many regrets drop. You were right. Regretting the past wouldn't lead to change, only moving forward would do that. He kisses you again, before offering to carry you upstairs so the two of you could spend some time together.

It's a few days later when you hear a voice behind you. You had been working on being around Bruce more, as it helped with your grief so you were sitting in the cave. You'd been working on your book again for the first time in a while.

"So this is the BatCave?!"

"Yes," you hear Bruce say in his broody™ voice. You turn around in the chair you had been curled up in in front of the computer, and raise an eyebrow at the boy who had come with him.

Then the boy notices you, "Hello, Mrs.Wayne."

"Hi," you say waving awkwardly and looking between the boy and your husband, a small smile coming to your lips.

"Tim?" You say walking up to stand next to the boy, your arm linked with Bruce's.

"Hi Mrs.Wayne," Tim says, trying to sound okay despite the fact that all of you had just attended his parent's funeral.

"How are you doing?" You ask the boy, unlinking your arm from Bruce's and putting your hand on Tim's shoulder.

"Good."

"Yeah?" You ask then continue, "Bruce and I wanted to ask you something."

"What is it?" Tim asks looking up at you.

"It's probably lonely in that big house of yours, if it would interest you you're welcome to move in with us."

"Really?" He asks as he wipes a tear from his cheek.

"Really really," you respond.