What happens when the Bat goes away. The family will play. Bruce leaves Gotham for a mission leaving the city to all of its other protectors. Can they defend the city and get over many of their differences?
I do not own the rights to any characters...
Alfred- You missed quite a lot Master Bruce, but I'm sure everyone can catch you up to speed at dinner.
Bruce- Everyone? Alfred who's here?
Alfred- Dinner will be ready concurrently with the movie, twenty minutes I believe.
Bruce- I shouldn't be surprised with you any more, Alfred. *chuckles*
Alfred- Oh Master Bruce, I assure you, the surprises will never stop with me.
-Living Room-
Damien- That ending was horrible!
A popcorn bowl goes flying through the air and lands right in front of the TV.
Tim- How can you leave so many plot holes open like that?
Steph- What? I thought it was good.
Dick- Yeah, it's not that bad.
Duke- Dick, when was the last time you saw a good movie to compare this to.
As they continue to chat amongst each other about the quality of the film, Alfred walks in and rings a little dinner bell.
Alfred- Dinner is prepared in the dining hall, I hoped you all didn't fill up on popcorn.
Steph- Oh, yeah Cass, I hope you didn't have too much popcorn.
In Cass' lap sits three popcorn bowls stacked on top of each other..
Cass- Popcorn… No regret... Stay strong.
Everyone lets out a few laughs and they all start to make their way to the dining hall but Jason stays seated. When everyone left the room, Bruce enters and stands in the opposite doorway they all exited.
Jason- I knew you were waiting outside.
Bruce- You're as perceptive as ever.
Jason- I'm assuming you aren't thrilled that Alfred brought me in to babysit your city.
Bruce fully enters the room and goes and sits in a chair across the room from Jason.
Bruce- At first, I was skeptical when I realized you were here, but then I saw everyone getting along and you looked at home here for the first time since you were a kid.
Jason- Yeah well, when you stop and take a look, we aren't all that different. We're all just broken pieces that you found a way to put together.
Bruce- I went and found the reports for what happened while I was gone.
Jason tenses up realizing what's coming but is pleasantly surprised.
Bruce- That officer wasn't your fault.
Jason for the first time since Bruce walked in, he looked up at him.
Bruce- You can't blame yourself for that, there were a number of other factors.
Jason- Bruce, I killed that guy, I know I do that all the time, but he was innocent, just a cop doing his job. I looked into his record when I got a chance, he was a rookie, fresh outta the academy, top of his class, could have gone far, he had a loving mother and a wife and newborn son at home, and I killed him.
Tears began to well up in Jason's eyes as he began thinking about the photos he found of the man's family.
Jason- I went too far, for once, it would have been better if in that moment, I didn't have a gun in my hand.
A few seconds pass and nothing gets said, the tears are now streaming down his face now and he's once again looking away from Bruce, eyes glued to the floor.
Bruce stands from his chair and slowly walks across the room and kneels down in front of where Jason sits on the couch, he then grabs his head and leads him off the couch and into a hug. For the first time since Jason was Robin, for th first time since Jason had come back to life, Bruce had given him a hug.
Bruce- Don't doubt yourself Jason, it doesn't suit you.
Jason lets out a slight chuckle and after a few more seconds finally hugs him back.
Bruce- Jason, I know that it seems like we've cut you off and that you aren't a part of this family, but no matter what, you will always be my son.
And that was all the words Jason needed to hear and he let go and let all his tears flow and he hugged Bruce even tighter.
Bruce- I missed you Jason.
Jason- I missed you too… Dad.
-Batcave After Dinner-
Bruce- So you guys met the Court of Owls.
Dick- I can't believe you already knew about them. How many more secret organizations have you not told us about?
Bruce doesn't answer.
Jason- That's exactly what I was afraid of.
Bruce- Their organization is big, and I would have trouble taking it down myself, but since the family is all here...
Tim- Yes! Family bonding time!
Bruce- That's one way to put it.
They all get their gear on and ready and are about to head onto the streets when Alfred enters the Batcave with a camera.
Alfred- Now just a moment, I am not going to let the only time the entire family is here go without getting a proper photo. Now everyone gather around and find a pose that they like. It's about time we have an updated family photo.
Everyone gets together and finds a pose that they think will look good and waits for Alfred to snap that picture.
Before Alfred lifts the camera he looks around at his family, whole and together. Words that a few weeks ago could never describe this dysfunctional group, but now it summed them up perfectly.
Alfred- I'm so proud of you all.
Alfred, then lifts up his camera and snaps a picture of his family.
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A/N- And that's the end. No giant finale fight just wholesome family time. I spent a lot of time as I was going through the story thinking about the perfect ending and I feel this is it. It perfectly sums up the Bat family, no matter how broken and dysfunctional they are, they are a family, and no matter what, there is always more stories to tell. The Court of Owls is still out there but that's okay, because the family is on it, we may not know exactly how it ends but that's okay, because that's not what matters, what matters is the family has excepted each other and the relationship between Bruce and Jason is on it's way to being mended, and that's exactly how this story ends.
If you enjoyed this story and have read the full thing, I thank you very much for sticking with me on this journey, this is the first complete story I am putting up on here and that I am sharing with the world so no matter what feedback this gets, it was my pleasure to share this with you.
I am planning on doing more stories as well. I think it will most likely be one shots for other fandoms, but I'm sure I'll do another story that's about this long if not longer. I had so much fun writing this even if I fell off the face of the earth for a month.
