FicWad

Bruce sat in his private jet dialing his home number on his cell phone. He knew that everything was probably all right but he had to check. The phone rang three times, he was just about to contact the pilot and tell him to head back for Gotham when the phone was answered.

"Wayne Manor."

He smiled as he immediately recognized the teen's voice. He was pleased to see that Tim remembered their chat about how properly answer the phone. "Hey Tim. It's Bruce."

Tim twirled the cord between his fingers and waited. "Checking up on me?"

Bruce smiled as he noted the impatient and annoyed tone in Tim's voice. Despite everything that had happened, Tim was still in a hurry to prove that he could handle himself. What Tim didn't know was that Bruce already trusted him. He had complete faith in his ability to handle Gotham City; he would never had left him alone if he didn't. Tim had been trained by both himself and Dick and he had the street kid smarts that Dick didn't. The kid was ready.

"I'm not checking up on you. I just wanted to know if Dick called." Bruce thought that this was a very clever excuse. However, Tim wasn't falling for it.

"Uh-huh. Let me check." Tim began flipping through the book that they kept all the messages in. "Nope. No one's called for you." Tim used the tone that he reserved for adults bothering the hell out of him. "Anything else?"

Bruce smiled. He was glad that Tim was resilient; he had bounced back from his ordeal quite quickly. "If you go anywhere, be careful."

Tim rolled his eyes back. Whether adopted or biological all parents were a pain in the ass.

It was Bruce's attitude that made Tim's stubborn streak shine through. Bruce had been over-protective from the minute Dick had brought him home. It was driving him crazy. He saw this as his one way to get Bruce to relax if he could prove that he could handle the city in his absence then he'd realize that he was capable of caring for himself and didn't need a babysitter.