Chapter 17

The phone rang three times before it was answered on the other end. The worst part about working with teenagers, Bruce thought, was having to come up with lies and excuses to tell their parents. He never did like lying to Gotham's honest citizens. Nonetheless, he prepared his polite, charming Bruce Wayne voice for the ear listening at the other end.

"Hello, Ms. McGinnis? Yes, this is Bruce Wayne. I apologize for calling so early, but I wanted to let you know as soon as you woke up that your son was safe over here. There was an emergency meeting at Wayne Powers that I had to attend last night and Terry wasn't feeling well afterwards so he stayed over… Yes, I didn't want to call so late so I decided to let you know early today. I apologize if I made you worry… Of course, I'll have him call you when he wakes up. If you could call his school to let them know…thank you. Okay. I'll have him call you. Good bye, Ms. McGinnis."

--

A thick curtain made of a crimson velvet covered the window and kept the guest bedroom of Wayne Manor dark, but Terry was certain when he awoke that it was probably sometime in the afternoon. Yawning, he pulled the thick covers off and set his feet on the carpeted floor.

He'd been exhausted last night but it had taken an hour to return to the cave and bandage all the injuries he'd received. Bruce didn't even wait for him to ask.

"Second floor, the third door on your right is a guest bedroom. Sleep there," the old man had gruffly commanded, leaving no room for protests. Not that Terry would have tried. As soon as he'd landed on the large bed he'd been out. Criminals, Gotham, school, family, double lives, secrets--all were forgotten for those blessed hours he could finally rest.

Now, however, was the time to deal with all that. The old man was downstairs, either sleeping or working, though Terry was betting on the latter.

Yawning again, the teen stretched and then began the walk back to the cave.

--

"I called your mother first thing this morning. She's waiting for you to call her back," Bruce said as soon as Terry had descended the stairs to the cave. His back had been turned, and he hadn't even glanced up from his work of repairing the suit, but Terry wasn't surprised. It didn't matter how quiet one tried to be, all those years of training had given the old man eyes in the back of his head.

"What time is it?" Terry asked, rubbing his eyes. All that money and you would think that Bruce would at least have that grandfather clock repaired to tell the correct time…okay, well, maybe not…

"About three-thirty in the afternoon," Bruce replied. Before Terry could protest, he quickly added, "Don't worry about school. Your mother called to let them know her sick son would be out today."

"Okay, then otherwise it was the usual excuse about a late emergency meeting?" Terry asked.

"Of course." Bruce answered, finally turning around. "The entire story was you weren't feeling well after driving me back from the meeting and stayed here. Probably just as well. You still look pale."

"I'm fine." Terry replied, tersely. Bruce simply nodded.

"In any case, good work. Four of Gotham's worst are locked up and the suit still needs repairs. I think Gotham can last one night without Batman." Bruce said turning back to the worktable. He'd been working only a moment when he saw a shape appear across the table from him.

"So, what needs to be done?" Terry asked, leaning over. Bruce looked up at him with sharp eyes. He was ready to tell the teenager what so many had tried to tell him, that he was just one man, that he couldn't be everywhere at once, that he couldn't solve all the city's problems, that it was okay sometimes to take a break now and then, to have a night off.

But he knew it would be a waste of breath.

"Just make sure to call your mother," he said with a sigh instead.

--

Author's Notes: Decided to stick these at the very end of the story. Hello all, and thank you for reading. And thank you very much for the reviews. I read every single one and they were my fuel to keep writing and finish this :) Thank you again! Also, I apologize for the chapters being late sometimes. I blame MegaCon, FreeCon, and most of all, work (because a girl has to eat:P). In response to a few responses, I debated taking this story down a darker route, but ultimately decided it detracted from the plot, and wasn't something that really fit with the style of the original TV show. And wow, just wow, to everyone who said this fanfic was episode worthy. Thank you so much! And I'm glad everyone enjoyed the "Hold on…I'm still counting" joke. Once again, thanks everyone!