Batman & Robin And Me .:rewritten:.

XXXII. Epilogue

IT WASN'T WORKING. FRUSTRATED, I set down the device and tossed it over my shoulder, where it landed amongst the others that had been slowly accumulating. It was a testimony to my work, but not an indication of failure. After all, Thomas Edison had to try over three hundred times to make a lightbulb.

And, admittedly I was aiming for something a little bigger.

Alfred set a turkey sandwich down by my side, appearing from behind me. I stopped to give him a grateful smile before turning back to my blueprints.

"You really should come to bed, Master Dick." He scolded me gently, a repeat of the conversion we'd had a hundred time before. I shook my head, reaching over to pat his arm.

"I'll go soon."

He sighed. "Rome wasn't built in a day, Master Dick. Give it time."

I looked up, trying to control the sudden wave of sorrow. "I know," I said, unhappily, "but it's been so long. And I promised."

The haunting memory of caramel hair and big, soft hazel eyes appeared in my mind. Was she even still alive? Had she found someone else? Maybe her time moved differently from ours, and she was already dead.

Bruce appeared from the shadows, nodding. "It's been a long time. And nobody's doubting your devotion to...this project. But it'll still be here tomorrow."

He reached over and hoisted me up before I could object. "Now, off to bed, before I carry you there myself."

"I'm not five." I told him, grinning. "You're almost a decade off."

He ruffled my hair. "I know, kiddo. But you're still a little boy to me."

I climbed down the steel ladder from my highest perch in the Batcave, leaving my work behind until tomorrow.

I'd try again tomorrow.

And the day after.

And the day after that.