Title: Welcome Home
Fandom: Batman/Wayne Family Adventures/DC Comics
Author: Apache Firecat
Characters: Dick/Barbara, Alfred
Rating: G/K
Summary: Dick and Barbara come home just in time.
Word Count: 910
Written For: Fan FlashWorks 482. Yield
Date Written: 17 June 2025
Warnings: Slight AU, Future Fic
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.







It felt good to descend the long, winding, and dark staircase they had both traversed so many times since their adolescence, hand in hand. So much had changed over the years, yet so much had also stayed the same. They were each coming into their own, leading their family, and team, now not only through the streets and dangers of Gotham City but also Dick's old haunt, Bludhaven. With so many of them, they'd agreed they should be able to care for both cities, and so far, together, they were succeeding in not only doing that but far more than they'd dared to dream for years.

It was Dick who glanced down at the reflection of their golden rings side by side for his new wife was far more concerned about what awaited them at the terminal. It wasn't entirely impossible for the oldest member of their family to lose his composure, but it was a rare scene indeed -- and a rarer scene too when his withered but kind face looked appalled and a couple of shades whiter than even the Joker's makeup. "Oh dear," Barbara murmured. Dick followed her gaze, and they both broke out into a run.

"YIELD! YIELD!" Alfred thundered into the headset, unaware that he was no longer alone.

"Al, everything okay?" Dick asked while Barbara dropped immediately into the chair next to Alfred and turned back to the Batcomputer.

"I should say, thank God you two are back, and just in the nick of time!"

"What's wrong?" Barbara asked. Fingers poised above the keyboard, she paused only to examine the screens. She had been afraid to leave her position as Oracle even for a night, but Dick, Alfred, Bruce, and even Selina had all convinced her that everything would be okay in her stead, that they could handle guiding their people through the cities.

Everything looked normal, though, she realized, heart pounding, as she surveyed the screens. Pamela and Harley were facing off against Two Face. Batman was battling the Joker, but Catwoman had his back. Spoiler and Red Robin were double teaming some of the Joker's henchmen in another part of the city. Red Hood and Azrael seemed to have Bludhaven pretty well under control between the two of them.

"BY QUEEN AND COUNTRY, BOY, YIELD!"

Barbara spotted the Batplane just as Dick reached over and gently removed the headset from Alfred's already-white head. He had not seen the old man look so terrified since -- since -- He grinned just as Barbara realized what had happened and hid her chuckle behind her hand.

Alfred fell back in his chair as immense relief washed over him and the Batplane pulled up just in time to avoid colliding with two other planes.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it, Al?" Dick asked with a grin as he turned the intercom on and Damien's voice came across the Batcomputer's speakers, his logic as seemingly sound as ever.

"They should have yielded. I am in pursuit -- "

Barbara reached out and comfortingly patted Alfred's arm as he sweated profusely. "I know who not to ask to take the next kid on their driving test -- " she started, but her husband scoffed.

"Oh, he can handle that! If he can handle me and Bruce -- "

Alfred's voice sounded weak, but the twitch of his mustache belied his own amusement. "It was young Master Bruce who first turned my hair white! I can handle guiding you children on the streets, but please, someone else take this boy and the skies! I'd like to keep what few hairs I have left!"

Dick was unable to hold back a chuckle but quickly silenced himself, saying instead, "I've got it" and moving forward to secure the headset on his own head and take over command.

Barbara patted Alfred's knee. He was getting older, and it was time for him to take care of him, just as they were all trying to help take care of their determined eldest Bat, who refused to relinquish his hold on Gotham's streets and their growing team. "Why don't I make you a nice pot of tea?"

"That would be nice," he said, still visibly shaking, "but I believe first a trip to the lavatory is in order." His mustache twitched again, and she could swear it seemed thinner than it had before they'd left on their honeymoon. "That was full when this journey began." He motioned to the discarded thermos by his foot.

Barbara smiled and gave him a quick hug. She had enjoyed her alone time with Dick, but it was good to be home, even under such brow-raising conditions. "I'll have a nice, fresh pot of Earl Grey ready for you by the time you come out, along with some toffee pudding."

Alfred's eyes lit up, and she beamed at the sight. It was nice to be able to care for him, after all this time of allowing him to take care of them all with a father's love and gentle guidance. She watched him walk away, slowly finding stability again in his shaking legs, before raising and quickly kissing her husband's cheek. She was almost back up into the mansion when she heard him call after her, "Welcome home, babe!"

"Welcome home, darling," she returned, "and to the rest of our lives!" They'd have their hands full of course -- they always had, since long before either of them had been actual adults, but their family made it all worth it.




The End