Disclaimer: I do not own Batman or any of its characters.

Gone

Jack Drake for the first time in years felt truly lonely as he sat there in his large house. There was no Janet to talk to and no Tim either. His son had been running around with Bruce Wayne and his rag tag group of orphans ever since he had slipped into a coma.

And for the first time Jack felt jealous, truly jealous with how close Bruce was with his own child. Far closer than he had ever been with Tim.

He had used Tim's safety as an excuse when he found out what the billionaire did at night. That he was the infamous Batman and that Tim, quiet and mild mannered Tim, his Tim was the kid in the Robin guise who fought right beside him.

It blew him away, it made him upset, but he was ashamed because he wasn't upset for the reason he should be.

No, the reason Jack was so upset was because he was jealous. Pure and simple.

He felt foolish for being this way, because all that got him was a son who was even more distant. The man couldn't blame the boy either. Jack had acted like a child rather than an adult, rather than a father, and he had forbid Tim from going out at night.

It worked for a while. Tim was a good kid even if he broke the rules sometimes and snuck over to Bruce's house. But could Jack ever really blame him for breaking the rules? Rules that had never existed until Jack had finally became aware of Tim. When he had finally started to worry that he might be left all alone should something happen to his boy.

In his internal struggle he barely heard the rapping of knuckles against the hardwood of the front door.

Standing up he made his way to the door and opened it only to find nothing but a package laying on the door step.

He quirked an eyebrow before bending down and retrieving it.

Walking back into the house he sat it on the table and retrieved a knife to open it. There was what appeared to be a DVD inside that had the words "Play Me" scrawled on the top in familiar hand writing. He did as instructed and his heart leapt into his throat when his son appeared on the screen.

"Hey dad," the somewhat blurry boy said, adjusting the camera until his image was crystal clear. Once satisfied the boy sat back against the chair he was in. "I guess if you're getting this DVD then it either means I'm MIA or worse."

Jack's heart shuttered to a near stop at those words.

"Hm, and let me guess, when you answered the door the package was the only thing there, right?" the boy grinned and shook his head. "Typical Bruce, but don't be too mad at him dad…"

How could Jack not?

"He's hurting too," he boy said looking guilty. "But it was my choice to join him in the streets, to fight crime, and-" He paused, running a hand through his dark hair. "I just wanted to do some good. Just wanted to feel needed, I guess."

It seemed like it was hard for the boy to articulate what he wanted to say. Still, his admission hurt.

A kid shouldn't feel like they were needed. They should feel wanted, and he wondered faintly if his boy had ever felt that way even with Bruce and his family. He thought about it, about one instance when he had seen his son with Bruce's oldest boy.

Jack had been too ashamed to approach his son at the time, but he had seen the grin on his face as he goofed off with the young man who looked just as happy to be in Tim's presence as Tim was to be in his.

At least Tim looked wanted when he was around Richard. The two had a strong bond from what he could see. Like they were brothers. Yeah, they might not always get along, but when it really counted he was sure that they were there for each other.

That at the very least put his fears to rest on that end, but still. Still, his boy was…

The Tim on the video finally started to talk again, breaking Jack out of his inner musings to stare up at his fidgeting child.

"Dick thought this would be a good idea," Tim said, rubbing his hands together in a nervous habit that he had gotten from Janet. A pang went through the man's heart. Now they were both gone… "Though he looked like he was about to break down into tears when he said it, but I digress…I just wanted to say good bye I guess? Or tell you that I wish we could have gotten to know each other better? I…I would have liked that you know? I used to think you were so cool when I was younger, Jack Drake the famous archaeologist, I wanted to be just like you…"

His mind seemed to screech to a halt at that admission. A watery smile then and he shook his head. His boy should have never wanted to be like him. Maybe back then, back when he had been an archaeologist instead of an entrepreneur. Life had been better back when he had just stuck with what he knew. When the idea of starting a family had excited him. Oh the things he wanted to teach his child back then! They would grow to love his profession and he would take them everywhere, to all the dig sites and show them all the things their old man had discovered.

What happened to that dream? Why hadn't he done anything he had promised his future child when Tim had arrived?

If only he could reverse time. If only he had that power, but he smiled bitterly to himself.

You never know what you have until it's gone…

He should have known who he had and he should have fought harder to be there for him. Instead he let his selfish desires get in the way. He let his own wants and dreams get in the way instead of ever asking Tim what he wanted. He took trips with Janet to far off lands and left Tim behind as if he was never a factor in their lives to begin with. It hurt, but what hurt worse is that he needed all of this to be pointed out to him in order to even see it!

There was a sigh from Tim on the video.

"Look, dad, I don't…I don't want you to be mad or to feel guilty," Tim said looking Jack straight in the eyes, startling him. It was frightening how much the video felt as if it wasn't previously recorded, but a live feed in that moment. "I just wanted you to know how I felt, and I know it's not much…honestly I spent hours thinking of what to say only to settle on this. But I still love you and I'm sorry that we didn't get to know each other better…Well, I guess this is good bye."

He watched as his boy reached up and his image disappeared into inky darkness as the recording was halted.

It felt like Jack had been struck by lightning in its abrupt end. He stood up and grabbed the remote to play it again, but his hands were shaking too much. The man just sat down and stared, his thoughts running rampant, the video had been so short, so very short, but what else did Jack expect? Some long winded video explaining the boy's every thought and feeling?

No, Jack did not deserve something like that. Not when he barely knew his boy, not when his boy barely knew him. Ha, but what was there to know about Jack Drake? Who would want to know a single thing about him if they had been in the same shoes as Tim? Nobody, that's who.

The man stood, and walked out of his front door. Jack just walked. Mind somewhere far away from his body, and before he realized what he was doing he was at the front door of Wayne Manor.

He knocked, and instead of Alfred answering the door it was Bruce himself surprisingly enough. Jack looked up at his old friend, a friend he hadn't bothered to talk to in years, and moved his deadened feet when Bruce moved out of the way to invite him in.

Jack about fell, but Bruce caught him by the arm, keeping him from face planting right on the hardwood floor. He wondered faintly how often his longtime friend had done this for Tim. How many times he caught an emotionally distressed and physically exhausted Tim…

A sob worked its way out at the thought.

Bruce lead him to a nearby seat and he sank into it gladly.

They sat in silence for a long while before Jack could actually work up the courage to speak. Worked up the courage to even ask.

"Can you…" he started, voice soft and broken. "Can you tell me about him?"

The look on Bruce's face was grim, stoic, but there was a glint in his eyes that looked fond. Eventually he nodded his head.

"Of course."

End

Author's Note: Hm, trying to figure out characters. This time through Jack's point of view and his thoughts should Tim ever be killed while fighting crime. Also I wanted to keep Tim's fate a little ambiguous when it comes to exactly how he died hence no body. Though the idea is that he wasn't in Gotham at the time. Maybe with the Titans or something like that. Hopefully nothing looks weird or wonky. Well, read and review if you wish!