Prepare. It was supposed to be Damian centred however that's proven not to be and resulted in Dick's point of view because Damian's a little thing that bites and I don't know how to write it and not result to stream of consciousness, which... Well, firstly, I am no James Joyce and Secondly, I do not want to be. (I cannot even entertain the though of that.) Or even possess the skill to do it in English. So. Yep.

Also. Bruce is really trying to be a good dad. Really is. He was okay-ish with Dick when it was only three of them (don't forget Alfred. Alfred always counts!). But then came Jason, and he discovered sibling rivalry he never knew could be as vicious as his kids made it to be because Bruce was an only child. (Turns out the TV shows and overpriced parenting books are really not joking.) He was completely out of his depth on how to handle the tantrums. Then in relatively short time he had Tim and then Cass. He is desperate and sometimes forgets kids, even those that will soon enter puberty, if not already experiencing it, needs to know Why. This happens roughly 10 months after Tim came to live with them. Dick is twelve years old. Whatever crush he has on Babs or on anyone (uh, yeah that will come) is not explored and will not be explored in detail in this story. So yeah... Enjoy?

Talk about a cultural shock when Dick first came to the Wayne manor. From a travelling circus trailer, to a juvie and then straight to the rich man's ancient house. Sometimes, Dick used to walk around the house for hours, just exploring, without seeing anyone (but knowing very well he was being monitored and Bruce and Alfred knew about his whereabouts and should it come to it, they'd know where to find him immediately). Nowadays, such a task was more challenging. More like hide and seek rather than just aimless wandering.

And Dick quickly discovered that when it comes to hide and seek, no one, and he means absolutely no one, can best Cass. After that particular disaster which involved (freaked out) Bruce donning on his costume and driving (in panic) to Gotham to pick Dick's very competitive sister from some criminal's warehouse, the Batman took his wide eyed kids down to the cave, sat them down on a training mat while he stood gloomily above them, and unceremoniously banned hide and seek from their play repertoire. After which he tiredly left them sitting there, claiming a raging headache. Which was quickly followed by a shout of "You're all grounded!" after Jason, not as quietly as he thought it would be, curse the echo in the cave, whispered, "Does that mean Cass won?" Yes, Dick thought, Cass definitely won, because Bruce, bless him, is an adult. He doesn't know how to have fun like a kid. They'd find Cassie, no problem, if he let them use the computer in the cave. Dick was sure of it.

But that did not change the fact that even though the noise and the population level rose since Dick was taken in, the feeling of loneliness never truly disappeared completely.

When it was just Jason, it felt weird at first. Jason didn't know how to deal with relationships and Dick had no idea how to act like a brother or why he needed to be a brother in the first place (was he not good enough?) - because that's what they were introduced to each other as. New siblings. If that wasn't a terrifying prospect... and Jason will always be a bit of a killjoy. He can be great though. When he tries really hard. It is then of no surprise that they did not get on very well at the beginning, but reached a truce soon enough. (To be fair though, Alfred played a very important role in those peace negotiations.)

Not long after the Brother Wars ended, few months at most, Timmy came into their lives and further complicated things. Timmy was a baby when he came in. Still is a baby to be honest (- a toddler, Alfred always gently reinforced. And even that was debatable at the time, what with him being a genius, successfully trailing after Batman and his sidekick for months without them knowing and theoretically outgrowing the term 'toddler stage' few months before coming to live at the manor.). He was crying a lot, which Dick couldn't possibly fault him for. Jason, while it seemed he sympathised with Tim's reasons to cry, did not have patience for it and often just walked out without saying a word. Which hurt Tim even more and when it was at its worst, he slept in Dick's room instead of his own, which made them close, but not enough. Because Jason was not there to share it. And then they discovered books and it seemed okay for a while with only the two of them.

But that sometimes left Dick feeling lonely instead.

Cass showed up truly out of nowhere. Jason often liked to joke that she just materialised out of thin air to join Bruce's cause. It doesn't sound that far fetched to be honest. One day Bruce just came home from his patrol that Dick was not allowed on, something about assassins, perfect bodyguards and someone's awful love life, and he had a little girl mutely following him so close that Dick thought she'd step on the cape and slip. (It never happened.) Her name was Cassandra. And she was mute. With very little social skills. Bruce claimed that, theoretically, it is not too late for her, age wise, to learn how to learn language, speak and form sentences. But Dick did not doubt that she will have a hard time with it for the rest of her life. Now their little family had a daughter and sister. Tim soon claimed the spot of her closest confidant, but Dick was thrilled to discover that she enjoyed spending her time in silence with Dick in the gym the most. That did lessen the feeling of loneliness tremendously.

But still. Cassie, aside from training, and that one time accident with hide and seek, was really not one for games Dick and others usually enjoyed partaking in. When she was not in the mood for gym, she spent her free hours with Jason and Tim, reading books and learning, or in her room meditating. Well, that's not complete truth. She seemed to enjoy playing with water guns well enough. But even that fun Bruce banned after Jason, accidentally!, emptied a whole bucket of water on one of Wayne Enterprises lawyers. He was passing by the garden with Bruce, most probably discussing something very important regarding the company. Needless to say, their water guns, and buckets, got confiscated as well. But that did force Bruce to commission for a pool, because Alfred claimed they all can't be cooped in the house all day, especially in this heat, and water would only cool them down and as a bonus wear them down.

Whatever that means.

But the pool was not done yet, it would take another week and a half at least, and everyone was inside the house, just relaxing. Dick already hated this weekend. Friday was good enough, summer holidays were already in session and he did not need to pretend to be arrogant snob, he supposed, but then Bruce forbid him from patrol. Okay, maybe he should not have snooped in the JL files. But who can blame him? It's not like Bruce would even tell him there was another young superhero on the scene! No, he would not tell him at all. It was unfair. Just the week before, he forbid him from talking with Babs, without telling him why, and completely cut him off from his only friend in Gotham. (Dick read Babs' messages in silence, eyes burning. She was disappointed that he wouldn't talk to her and if the wording was anything to go by, she was very sad as well. Dick hated to think the older - and very pretty - girl is sad because of something Dick inadvertently caused.) The young hero from Central City is even Dick's age and is a speedster. They could be friends regardless of the distance, it's not like Dick can't use JL's system to get around and speedster is not really limited to only one area. But no, he can't even have a pet, why should he have friends? Bruce, as it seems, is against Dick having a life. To be honest, Dick was starting to get very tired of feeling alone in this house (in this world). Regardless of noise levels, it felt more lonely than ever before.

And today it was not even noisy! This Saturday, Alfred was having a slow day. Jason, Timmy and Cass were reading quietly in the library and when Dick tried to linger, to at least be around people, Jason gave the impression he was not exactly welcome and Dick sneaked out so they wouldn't see his expression. And he was still mad at Bruce so he wouldn't attempt to talk to him now. Not that Bruce would, he was drowning in civilian work.

And so here he was, in the garden, kicking a ball angrily (making sure it does not hit Alfred's flowers, because Alfred is not at fault here) and feeling sorry for himself. He kind of spaced out for an hour or so, the heat and repeating motion of kicking, running for, and kicking again dulling his senses.

So he was very surprised when a woman tapped on his shoulder. He will forever deny his startled squeak. She was very pretty, with tanned skin, upturned eyes shining brilliant green, and slightly curly dark hair. Although her expression that said absolutely nothing kind of brought that effect down. She was leaning down a bit to be on his level, effectively hiding some kind of baggage behind her legs. "You must be Richard," she said, with an accent Dick did not recognise, and he recognised a lot of those. "Who are you, what are you doing here?" She looked vaguely familiar. That could mean several things. She could be one of Bruce's girlfriends, in which case he should call Alfred immediately as they weren't expecting anyone coming in today and Bruce currently had a girlfriend with dark red hair and clear blue eyes with absolutely no intelligence behind them. So that would make this woman a crazy ex girlfriend. Not the first time they sneaked on Dick but the first time one of them sneaked onto the property lands. She also could be a reporter. Would explain the bag behind her. Double the reason why Alfred and Bruce should be notified immediately. Or she could be a villain Batman and Robin put into jail once, but then Dick would definitely recognise her as he can remember people he interacted with. AND as far as he knew, secret identities of Batman and Robin were not threatened at all. Still a good reason to call Alfred and Bruce.

"I don't want to be rude, but you shouldn't be here," he said, more resolutely. She already knew who he is. And still didn't answer his questions. She smiled, seemed extremely forced, more like an act instead of a genuine smile. He learned to recognise those with Cass. "Yes, I know. Beloved would not like me to be here, but he is expecting Damian to arrive today and no one could be spared to take him here." Dick grimaced. Definitely crazy ex. "Damian?" he asked. For some reason, he did not feel like running to the house and informing the inhabitants. It's not like they want him in the house anyway. The lady looked kind of dangerous, but so far made no move to hurt him. He decided to play with fire.

"Yes, Damian." As she breathed out the name, her features softened and she reached behind her. It turned out be a sleeping baby in a carrier car seat. They were really small, swaddled in a black blanket, same colour as the carrier car seat. They were also very cute. And that is very courageous thing to say as the baby boy looked a lot like Bruce even at this age. Although, the shade of his hair more resembled that of the weird lady. But yes. Definitely Bruce's kid. Dick had a brief moment of panic. Does that means he has another sibling? (Another person that will not like him?)

"Who are you lady?" he asked again, not really expecting an answer as she passed him the car seat. He took hold of the car seat, clutching it tightly, afraid he'd drop it. It had baby Damian in it. Dick looked helplessly at the smooth and relaxed pudgy face of the baby - Damian Wayne! Jesus. How did this happen again? "My name is Talia al Ghul." Dick panicked even more, his death grip on the car seat intensifying. "You mean, like...?" he asked, suddenly afraid of this strange lady who brought his baby brother here. She nodded sagely. "Yes. But do not worry, Richard. As I said, my beloved knows Damian is going to arrive today. My father does not know I am here." Yeah, why didn't Bruce mention this then? Dick scowled. Another one of his secrets.

Despite her surname, which made him more wary, but also more conscious of the fragile cargo in his hands, he supposed she can't be that bad, bringing Damian here. "Oh, okay. But still, how do I know this is not some sort of trap?" She raised her eyebrow. Dick vaguely, in the back of his mind, entertained the merits of learning how to do that. "I suppose you can't trust me now. But feel free to take apart the car seat, look through this bag." She reached behind her, some sort of baby bag, and offered it to him. "It contains items essential for his well being." He helplessly shrugged and she put it back down on the ground.

"Well, it seems as if this is good bye for now. It is time for me to go." And true enough she actually looked very sad. She spared one last look at Damian's relaxed face and turned on her heels. "Until we meet again, Damian. Richard." And that was that. She was gone.

She was gone! ... Jesus Christ, she was gone and Bruce can really pick them!

And Dick just stood there, holding his baby brother in his small car seat, his baby bag on the ground by his feet and going by the twitches on Damian's face, it looked like Damian was waking up.

Oh god. "What am I supposed to do?"

Despite his better judgement (immediately inform an adult, no matter how mad you are at him) Dick dragged the heavy baby bag up to the shed while Damian was slowly waking up, blinking owlishly at him. Completely silent, no babbling or anything. If that did not confirm his parentage... Dick looked up to the manor, hoping no one can see him, and opened the shed door, unhooking the latch with his foot. Damian blinked more furiously, suddenly completely aware and kicked out with his feet as well. Dick sent him a brilliant smile. "Cool, right? I'll teach you as well when you're a bit bigger." Damian drew in a shuddering breath, looking excited and kicking out with his feet. No babbling.

Dick smiled and hid in the shed. He was definitely not bringing anything inside the house that could be bugged or is dangerous. He doubted Damian counted. So far he only moved his limbs around aimlessly and drooled onto his blanket. He must be hot under that thing, Dick thought and took it off. Predictably, Damian sported a completely black baby bodysuit. No socks or shoes. Thankfully Damian did not seem to mind that he is exposed, craning his head to see what is in the shed instead of being too concerned. Not like there was much to look at aside from some shiny metal, but that seemed to hold his attention for a minute.

Dick did not waste much time and teared into the baby bag. Better do it now. In case Damian wants attention he will be able to give it to him. Some clean diapers, empty bottles, some kind of ring filled with some kind of liquid. What is that for? Clothes in black and white, but no shoes or socks again. Wipes, shower gel and shampoo,... When the items seemed to be acceptable and not compromised with something, Dick started to tear apart the bag to see if it is bugged. It wasn't but Damian seemed to enjoy the ripping sound. Dick grinned at him.

He then looked at the car seat. Maybe that is bugged. Or something. But that means getting Damian out of that thing. Dick bit his lip. How to do it? Does Damian know how to walk yet? He can definitely kick, Dick thought absentmindedly as he sat down in front of the car seat and Damian kicked his forearm. His eyes strayed towards the blanket. Maybe...

I must look ridiculous, Dick thought and Damian must have agreed because he blew a raspberry and then started gnawing on the collar of his shirt. Somehow, Dick managed to make an improvised baby sling out of the blanket Talia al Crazy left behind. At least Damian enjoyed tugging on his shirt and hair and was not inclined to get away from his big brother. Working with Damian hanging on his chest turned out to be quite difficult as he couldn't lean forward too much. The improvised sling did not have support for Damian's head and every time Dick was leaning forward and almost on all four, Damian gave up on trying to be upright and just... hanged there limply, drooling with his mouth wide open. It must have been truly fascinating seeing the world upside down or something. That or he tried to discover why he's not drooling down his chin but up his nose. Gross. Only good news from that was that Damian is a very curious baby. And strong. Dick smiled again. He had very good grip as properly demonstrated each time he had enough. When it stopped being fun, he just reached out and tugged on handful of Dick's hair. That was the signal to stand up.

Car seat was okay.

What now? He thought and looked at Damian, who was valiantly trying to discover if he can fit his entire fist in his mouth. He might be hungry, Dick grinned. "So, that must mean you really are ours now." Otherwise this whole thing wouldn't make sense. But if this whole encounter was genuine, it means introducing him to Bruce and others. And to be perfectly honest, Dick didn't feel like sharing Damian at the moment. So far, the family was enjoying quiet Saturday. Dick was the only one that had awful time so far. And Bruce most probably thinks Damian is going to be here in the evening, probably waiting for everyone to eat before sharing the news. So Dick does, theoretically, have time to play with Damian instead. "What do you think little D? Shall we sneak in? Blink twice for yes." Damian gave up on eating his hand, frowned at him, completely confused, and blew a spit bubble instead. And then again. It still counts. Sneaking it is then.

Theoretically, it should be very easy, Dick thought as he tried to swaddle Damian in his blanket again. Alfred is probably in his room or in the sitting room having tea so it would be best to avoid both. Damian, feeling especially uncooperative, freed his hand and yanked on collar of Dick's polo shirt. Gently disengaging Damian's small fingers and finally managing to have him comfortably in his hands, Dick recalled that Bruce is in his office, thankfully nowhere near his planned route to his room. Library could pose a trouble though. He can't avoid that unless he wants to be discovered by Alfred. But he closed the doors on his way out. Should be fine. And Damian was a very quiet baby so far. Hopefully he'll keep being silent until they make it to his room. With that thought, Damian freed his hand again and smacked his sticky palm against Dick's cheek. Right, so quarter of Damian free is fine, they can make it like this as well.

Dick, halfway to his room, could cry with relief, the house was almost deadly still, it was a miracle and something higher playing into his hands, he was sure. Damian, now with both hands free, Dick gave up on that, and blanket hanging off his body, was resting on Dick's shoulder, smacking his lips as if this whole ordeal was beneath his dignity. So small and already knows what is what, Dick thought, unreasonably happy, and smoothed Damian's silky hair. Damian eyed him for a second and then he latched on the collar of his shirt. He was picky. He stuffed the still dry bit in.

So cute!

Oh no. Dick stopped dead in his tracks, seeing the doors to the library slightly ajar. Oh god, they could be anywhere! It should be worrying he thinks of his siblings like something that escaped their containment. But in this case, he really - really - did not want to share Damian's attention. And his little brothers and sister are the best. Why would Damian bother with him when he meets them? He wouldn't blame him, but it would sting regardless. Ok, so, how to do this? Dick tiptoed to the doors, securing his hold on Damian as he did. Damian shuffled a bit, digging his heel into Dick's ribs. Dick absentmindedly patted him on his back to calm him down and peeked into the library, careful not to reveal his newest baby brother. Tim and Cass were huddled together on a sofa chair and Jason was - looking straight at him.

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What are you doing, Dick?" he asked and put a bookmark on his page. Timmy and Cass looked at him as well. "You look guilty," Tim said and inched closer to the edge of the seat, ready to explore and find out. Usually, it would be really cute as Tim's current height did not allow him to reach ground with his short legs, but now it was the last thing Richard Grayson needed. "Oh not again, Dick," Jason groaned. "What are you sneaking in this time? You know Bruce will only call the animal control again!" Jason can be a total killjoy. Timmy pouted. "I want a pet as well. Maybe this time...?" Cass shuffled him back to his original position on the sofa chair. Jason rolled his eyes. "Yeah, when pigs will fly. I wouldn't hope too much, even with all the freak happenings around the world."

He turned to the book again, but called out, "I really hope it does not have fleas." Dick spared a glance towards Damian and bumped him on the nose. Damian went cross eyed and Dick smiled. "Nope, definitely does not have." Jason sighed, like he had the weight of the world sat on his shoulders. "Sure, whatever. Close the doors, Dick." That went kind of well, Dick thought as he closed the doors with his hip and ran, very carefully, more like a hurried step than a run, really, towards his room.

When the doors closed behind him, finally, Damian, as if he knew they arrived to the right place, demanded to be put down. Not a sound, but he made his intentions clear as he started struggling to get away, kicking furiously and waving his closed fists around. Dick sat down on the rug, knowing it was clean from yesterday, and turned Damian around so he was sitting in his lap. Damian immediately calmed down and looked around. When nothing caught his fancy, he turned his attention back to the arm that Dick was keeping around him to make sure he wouldn't fall over. He smacked at it few times with his pretty awesome strength and Dick offered him his open palm. Damian smacked it twice, three, four times before losing interest and leaned forward, escaping. He smacked his lips and ended up on his tummy, just looking around. Then he rose to all four, rocking back and forth, before settling on his tummy again. And then, to Dick's astonishment, he started to roll around. Probably a preferred method of transportation, going by the ease with which Damian evaded things in Dick's room.

"Hey, that's great! Better than walking!" Dick sat down on his bed and watched Damian move around. Sometimes Damian stopped and just looked at what he found, he even found keys locking the contents of Dick's cupboard, which were immediately snatched from him. Dick, scared the baby would choke on them, settled on the ground again and just held them out to Damian. Talking and talking and talking. Damian seemed to hang on to the sound of his voice, the words were probably a bit too much for him, and seemed to greatly enjoy the attention. There were times when he tried to stuff the keys into his mouth but the jingle seemed at times satisfying enough. And when not, he seemed content enough to drool or gnaw on Dick's wrists.

Then of course. Alfred and Bruce rudely barged in and ruined the fun.

Dick, of course, tried to hide his less than honourable intentions by joyous exclamations of Damian's arrival, but if anything, it freaked out Bruce even more. "Richard," he shouted angrily, "what were you thinking? Who is this?" Damian started to sob a bit, definitely hurt feelings, and climbed up in Dick's lap and squeezed him around the neck. Bruce watched it in absolute astonishment while Alfred just sighed, a bit angry, but also resigned. Dick rolled his eyes dramatically. "Damian, duh." What a stupid question. "Talia was here a few hours ago." Bruce looked speechless. "Talia? Talia al Ghul? I don't know anything about this! Why didn't you tell me!"

Was Bruce being obtuse on purpose? Damian continued to wail, first real sound Dick heard from him, and Dick desperately tried to sooth him by patting him on his back. Because he was running low on oxygen now. "Yeah, she gave him to me, saying she was here earlier than anticipated and did not want to bother you. I mean, why would she drop my brother off and just give him to me like that if you didn't know he was coming today?"

PS. Yes, if it is a very simple door latch, you can definitely do it with your feet if you are skilled enough.