AnimeWolfGirl9: Glad to know! :) Hope you enjoy this one as well! It was really fun writing Alfred.

The Butler

Jason winced and pulled away a bit from the alcohol covered cloth before holding still once again at the butler's gentle suggestion. Dick was standing over in the corner of the room, looking slightly worried.

"If you want to go check on the Replacement now you can." He called over to the man, squirming a bit under his older brother's gaze.

I don't need you staring at me to add to the guilt…

"I think I'll wait here until you're all cleaned up. Tim's already been looked at."

A few minutes of awkward silence filled the room, with Alfred leaving momentarily to grab some more supplies. Jason shifted a bit in the seat, knowing better than to get up and leave for fear of facing Alfred's disappointment. That was the worst…

"Well I think that went rather well…" Jason stated before trailing off when Dick's eyes narrowed a bit. His older brother leaned against the wall and sighed.

"You tried to shoot him in the head." Jason tried for a smile although he knew that Dick could tell that it was faked.

"But I didn't." His brother only sighed again before glancing to where the Replacement's room was located across from his.

"Only because I took out the bullets beforehand…" Dick trailed off before glancing towards the door again when it slid open to reveal that Alfred was back, looking less than pleased at their conversation.

"Master Richard, I suggest that you go talk with Master Timothy while you wait. It shouldn't take much longer to patch up Master Jason's wounds." Jason sighed, leaning back a bit into the chair, knowing that this was Alfred's way of telling them both that he wanted to talk to him.

Just what I need…

What the man wanted to do most was slip out the door and never come back. Jason found himself arguing in his head which was easier: when they thought he was dead or now that everyone knew he was alive…

Either way, it doesn't matter now which was the easier option…

Jason watched as Dick glanced between the two of them, giving them each silent looks, before quietly slipping out the door. The black-haired man tried not to wince as the door closed, his gaze automatically being drawn to the only other person in the room.

Alfred…

Jason expected criticism as a start to the talk, but instead got silence, with the elderly man coming back over to finish treating up his wounds. He tried not to fidget as the man began stitching up the wound on his arm. Jason couldn't exactly remember the specifics of when and how he had gotten the cut during the fight; he merely tried not to wince when the needle went in. Despite being raised on various wound treatments being a main factor of life when you fought crime, the one thing he couldn't quite get over was needles.

It's because of her… A picture flashed quickly in his mind, a woman lying on the floor passed out, various needles surrounding her with empty vials of liquid discarded in the corner, and the image was gone a moment later.

"Does it hurt, Master Jason?" The question caused him to snap out of his thoughts, glancing at the butler as the man held one end of the needle attached to thread slightly away from his pale arm. Jason could see that only one stitch was through, causing him to grit his teeth a bit.

About ten more or so to go…

"No." He stated, glancing away when the butler moved to continue, carefully inserting the needle through the raw skin. The kind look that the loyal butler gave the younger man caused him to continue. "I was just thinking of something."

"Oh? Could it perhaps be the time that Master Richard had to hold you down on the table after you got injured?" The question caused him to scowl, the thought bringing back the unpleasant memory.

"Of course not! For the record, it was Golden Boy's fault for failing to inform me about the procedure!" He spat out the excuse that he had always used when he was younger, most of the time blaming the older boy for his own childish actions. His face heated up a moment later when the elderly man let out a laugh at his actions.

"I suppose it was." Humor could be seen in the elderly man's gaze as he readjusted Jason's arm, the appendage having moved as an automatic response to his rant about his older 'brother'. "Although, it could be stated that it was your own fault for failing to understand when they were explaining it, couldn't it?"

The question was posed innocently enough but it still made Jason sigh, the older man glancing towards the door, a glass window showing what was happening across the room in the hall. Dick and the Replacement- he refused to think the kid's name- seemed to be talking, with the older man explaining something, gesturing back towards where Alfred and Jason currently were.

"Why do I get the sudden feeling that we're not just talking about the memory?" He muttered as he watched them, glancing away a moment later when bile rose in his throat at their actions.

It reminded him too much of how Dick and him had talked after missions, discussing tactics or things that had happened, whether it be on the phone or in person.

If only things were that simple… A hand on his shoulder jolted the black-haired man out of his thoughts, causing him to glance over at the owner of said appendage. The elderly man gave him a gentle smile before moving over to put away the first-aid kit.

"Time has an interesting way in changing things…" He glanced back at Jason before once more towards his simple task. "I trust that now that you're here that you will be staying the night?"

Jason opened his mouth to naturally refuse the offer, knowing that the more time he spent here would just complicate things, before he paused, finding himself shutting it once the butler gave him a long look. If it was anyone else in his previously adopted 'family', Jason knew that he could just refuse; and yet… it seemed like when it came to the faithful butler, he was more willing to do what the old man asked. He found himself nodding once slowly, which caused the older man to give him a content smile.

"Good. Now I trust that you know where your old room is? If not I'd be more than happy to show you."

So I was looking over my fanfiction account and realized that it's been well over a year since I last updated this fanfiction. I'm really sorry! I didn't mean for it to take this long! Hopefully the chapter was worth the wait though despite it being shorter! Please let me know what you thought!

Chapter Question: What do you think actuallycaused Tim and Jason to get into a fight? (I didn't put the actual reason in, despite how tempted I was to, because I was curious to see what you all thought).

-AnimeWolfGirl16