Disclaimer: Not mine.

Continuity Note: Knightfall (enroute to the Cave after Bane dropped Batman in Robinson Square)

Thanks to Debbie for the Beta!

Not Resigned

It's never been this bad before. He knows this even before he cuts away the remains of the costume and finishes connecting his patient—his son—to various monitors and IV lines. Some injuries are visible to the naked eye—like the protruding broken ribs, the leg bent at an angle nature never intended, the bruises and gashes and lacerations that cover the man from head to toe.

From behind him, he can hear Robin do his best to stifle a gasp. It was folly to bring him along tonight. After witnessing Bane in action, the last thing he should have done was call on the lad for assistance. But Jean-Paul was needed to drive the ambulance, and there was nobody else whom Master Bruce would allow to see him in his current state.

"Alfred…" Robin's voice is hoarse. "I don't think… is he… breathing?"

"Be calm, Sir," he responds, as much to himself as to the young man behind him. Almost of their own accord, his fingers make the necessary adjustments to the respiratory equipment. It seems an eternity before he sees his patient's chest rise, fall, and rise again. He sighs his relief. Death still looms uncomfortably close, but for the moment, it remains at bay. For the moment, The Batman still lives.