Dick sat in the living room playing his newest game that Bruce got for him, when Bruce walked in. "Have you been on that all day?" Bruce asked.

Alfred heard the front door close and walked in to great the newcomer when he heard Bruce's question. "Since you left, Master Bruce."

Bruce shook his head. "Well if you didn't want me playin' it, you shouldn't have got it for me," Dick said happily. He then saved the game and turned it off. "So how was the meeting?"

"Long and tiring," Bruce said as he walked around the couch and sat down. "But we got a lot accomplished. If we stay on schedule, we should have the new project done in a few months."

"What is the new project?" Dick asked curiously.

Bruce smiled. "Sorry, Dick, I can't tell you that."

Dick scrunched is face up in disappointment. "Why not?"

"Just don't worry about it. Oh, Dick, I met one of my old friends for lunch today and they were wondering if you would want to make a few bucks? You remember Mr. Walts right?" Bruce said trying to change the subject.

Dick's eyes went wide. "A job?"

"Yeah, I think you're old enough for this kind of job, but only if you want to do it."

"What kind of job is it?"

"Well, he has a five year old daughter, and both parents are gonna be busy for a few days with preparations for moving. In fact, I think he said it may be a week or two."

"Babysitting?" Dick asked not to happy with the idea.

"Yes, but if you don't want to then you don't have to. Although they did say they would pay you fifty dollars a day."

Bruce chuckled when he saw Dick's eyes go wide again. "Fifty bucks!"

"Yeah," Bruce confirmed.

"We are talking about one of Master Bruce's friends, Master Dick, and most of his friends are rich," Alfred said.

"I almost told him that you're not really into babysitting, but then I remembered that game you wanted. I told you that if you wanted it that you would have to get it yourself. Just because I'm rich doesn't mean you'll get everything you want through me," Bruce said.

"I know," Dick said then looked down in thought. "So if I babysit this kid for two weeks..."

"Monday through Friday," Bruce interrupted. "They did say they were going to spend family time on Saturdays and Sundays."

"Ok. So if I babysit five days for two weeks, then that's..." he stopped to calculate the total. "That's five hundred bucks!"

Bruce smiled. "Yep, and you could get that game and some of those figures to go with it."

"I wouldn't only be able to get one, I could get all three. Yeah!" Dick exclaimed as he fist pumped the air.

"Bruce laughed. "So I take it you'll take the job?"

"Yeah, how hard can babysitting a five year old be?" Dick said happily.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Dick started babysitting the next Monday. He went over right after school and was now standing in front of the big wooden door. He was expecting the house to be a big mansion like Bruce's, but it turned out to be just a big two story house.

He knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. When the door opened a women about thirty-five appeared. "Yes?"

"Hi, my name is Richard Grayson. I'm Bruce Wayne's son," Dick replied.

"Ah, yes, my husband said you would be coming. My name is Sherrel. Come in, come in," she replied happily and stepped aside so Dick could enter. Once she closed the door, she guided him to the kitchen. "Lilly's having a snack right now, so she won't be hungry until around six or seven."

Dick nodded and they walked into the kitchen. A little blond haired girl was sitting at the table eating some apple slices and grapes.

"We probably won't be back until around nine, nine-thirty so you'll be expected to feed her, make sure she gets her bath, and get her to bed. She needs to be in bed by nine, and for her bath, all you need to do is just fill up the tub, move the soup and shampoo down for her to reach, and get a washcloth and towel."

Dick sighed. "So I don't have to be in there to get her the bath."

Sherrel laughed when she turned around and saw Dick's red face. "No, she's pretty good at taking care of that. Although you may have to knock on the door and tell her to hurry up; she tends to spend longer than needed in there."

"Ok, I think I can handle that. What about food?"

"There are frozen pizzas in the freezer as well as meat, cheese, bread, and chips. Snacks are in this cabinet," she said as she opened one, then moved to the one next to it, "and plates and cups are here." She then moved to one of the drawers near the sink. "Here is the silverware, and there is milk and soda in the fridge and of course there's water from the sink."

Dick nodded. "What about a way to get a hold of you if I have a question or if something comes up?"

"You have a cellphone?" Sherrel asked.

"Yeah," Dick replied then pulled it out of his pocket.

Sherrel took the phone and started punching in numbers. "I'll save both mine and my husband's cell numbers in your phone just in case."

"Thank you."

Once she was finished, she handed the phone back to Dick then went over to Lilly. "Lilly, this is Richard Grayson. He's gonna be your babysitter for a few days."

Lilly looked up at him and smiled. "Hello."

"Hi," Dick said and reached out his hand to shake hers. Lilly just giggled and took his hand. "You can call me Dick if you want."

"Ok," Lilly replied as she let go of his hand and continued eating her snack.

"Jered won't be home for a few more minutes, so I'll show you around the house."

"Ok," he said as he followed her.

They started in the living room, showing him what movies she could watch and how to work the TV. After that she showed him to the bathroom and where everything was in there, then finally to Lilly's room, which was on the second floor, and where her PJ's were.

"That should be everything you need to know," Sherrel said as they went back down stairs in time to meet Jered as he walked in the door.

When Jered laid his eyes on Dick, he smiled. "Ah, good you're here. Did my wife show you everything?"

"Yes, Sir," Dick replied.

"Good. You'll be fine then." He then turned to Sherrel. "I'm gonna head upstairs, change, and then we'll head out."

"Ok," she replied then turned back to Dick. "Do you want me to get you a snack before we leave?"

Dick shook his head. "No, I'll just wait until I eat supper with Lilly."

"Ok." They then went back into the kitchen.

It was fifteen minutes before Jered came back down and the two headed to the door. "Now, Lilly," Sherrel began, "you be good for Dick, ok?"

"Yes, Mama," Lilly replied then gave her mom a hug.

"Thanks again, Dick, for doing this," Jered said.

"No problem," Dick replied with a smile.

Once both of them left Dick turned to Lilly. "So, what do you want to do?"

Lilly smiled and grabbed Dick's hand. "Come on," she said as she began dragging him toward the living room then to the stairs.

They went all the way to Lilly's room and over to the chest. She then let go of Dick's hand, opened the chest, and pulled out a dress. "Here."

"What, you want help putting it on?" Dick asked slightly confused.

"No, this is your dress," she said as Dick took the dress from her.

"What? No, I don't wear dresses, Lilly. I'm a guy."

After a few minutes, Dick was sitting at the small table in Lilly's room wearing the dress and a tiara. "Would you like some more tea Princess Tootles?"

"Sure," Dick said not to happy. Lilly glared at him and stomped her foot. "I... uh..." Dick cleared his throat. "I mean yes," he said in a girly voice. 'Why did I ever agree to this.'

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

The next day, Dick sat in the cafeteria looking distraught. "Hey, Dick," Barbra said cheerfully as she sat down across from him.

"Hey, Babs," Dick replied not to happy.

"Everything ok?" she wondered.

"I don't know."

Barbra remained quiet for him to explain, but he never did. "Ok? You gonna tell me what's buggin' ya?"

Dick gave a big sigh. "Well, I started babysitting this five year old for one of Bruce's friends and well..."

"It didn't go like you hoped?" she finished for him.

"No."

"Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Girl."

Barbra looked down and tried to think of what a little five year old girl would do to make Dick feel this way. "Ok, I give. What did she do to you?"

Dick's face got a little red and he leaned in closer to her. She leaned in closer too. "She dressed me up in a dress and called me Princess Tootles," Dick whispered.

Barbra sat back stunned for a moment then busted up laughing. Other kids that were in the cafeteria all looked over at them and Dick's face got even reader. "Babs," he said begged quietly.

"I'm sorry," she said still laughing, "I just wish I could've seen you in a dress and acting like a girl."

"Not so loud," Dick said as he looked around to make sure no one heard her. He sighed in relief when he realized no one heard her. "Look, you've babysat before. How do I get her to play something else?"

Barbra smiled. "Dick, you're the older one. Just try to come up with another game. You're new to this and I think she realizes that, so she's testing you. If you continue to let her dress you up like that, she'll do it to you all the time."

"What would you suggest?" he asked desperately.

"Well, there's hide and seek, tag, coloring, movies, the park..."

"You think they'll let me take her to the park?" Dick interrupted.

"I don't see why not, although you might want to ask them first."

Dick smiled. "Thanks, Babs," he said then got up and started to walk away.

"Hey, where you goin'?" she asked confused.

Dick stopped and turned to look at her. "I've got some homework from my first half of classes and I don't really feel like doing it while babysitting. I'll talk to you later," he said then turned back around and continued walking.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

The next few days went by a lot better for Dick. He convinced her to not dress him up like a princess, but if she did want to play dress up that he would be her prince. Lilly actually seemed to like that a lot better anyway. They also played tag, hide and seek, and even went to the park. Now Dick was glad that it was nine and Lilly was in bed.

Dick sat on the couch and took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Man, five year olds sure do have a lot of energy."

Dick opened his eyes and turned on the TV to find something to watch. As soon as he found something to watch, his cell went off. "Hello?"

"Hey, Dick, how's it going tonight?" Bruce asked.

"Fine. I'm a little wore out though."

Bruce chuckled. "That's what happens when you watch a young kid."

"Was I that bad?" Dick asked curious.

"Thankfully, no. You were still shy from just moving in with a total stranger. Although I learned pretty fast not to let you have too much sugar."

Dick smiled. "Oh, Mr. Walts told me that they wouldn't be back until ten tonight, so I'll be getting home later than usual."

"Alright, thanks for letting me know."

Dick heard a slight scratching noise, but brushed it off as a noise on the TV. "Hey, tomorrow's Saturday and I don't have to babysit. Do you have a meeting?"

"No, the only way I would is if we have an emergency."

The scratching noise was still there even after he turned it down. He narrowed his eyes and turned off the TV. The scratching was still there.

"Was there something you wanted to do?" Dick remained quiet. "Dick?"

Dick got up off the couch and walked out of the living room and into the hall where the front door is.

"Dick, is everything alright?" Bruce asked getting concerned.

"Quiet for a sec," Dick said quietly. He then lowered his phone away from his ear.

The scratching got louder the closer he got to the door. When he put his ear up to the door and listened, he heard slight curses coming from the other side. "Ah, forget it," the voice said louder.

Dick's eyes got wider and he tried to jump back, but the man behind the door kicked the door open faster than Dick could move. "Crap," Dick said then flew back toward the wall across from the door.

"Dick? Dick?!" Bruce yelled as the phone flew out of Dick's hand and slid across the floor. Dick smacked into the wall and he had blood trickling down his face from where the door bashed into him and a headache forming because of the wall.

The intruder stood stunned when he saw the boy sitting against the wall. "What the... Who the heck are you?"

Dick shook his head to clear his vision and stood up, nearly falling a couple times. "I'm Dick, and you're not welcome here," he said then ran toward the intruder.

The intruder managed to dodge the punch Dick threw at him and managed to elbow Dick in the back causing the boy to fall to the ground in pain. "I thought this house was empty."

Dick turned over and used both feet and bashed them into the intruders knees causing the intruder to stumble back and fall in pain. "Aghh! You little brat!" the man said then stood up.

'Dang it. My kick wasn't strong enough.'

The intruder laughed when he saw the anger in Dick's eyes. "What, you surprised I got up after that? You missed my knees kid. All you did was hit my lower calves, which still hurt by the way."

Dick rolled away from the intruders incoming stomp and jumped dizzily to his feet. 'Dang it, I'm dizzy from those blows to the head.'

"Dick?" a small voice called out.

Dick turned to Lilly who was standing in the doorway of the living room. "Lilly, run!"

Lilly's eyes went wide and tears began to well up. "Dick?" she asked fearfully.

"Well, well, well. I guess this won't be a total lose now," the intruder said as he walked toward Lilly.

"Lilly, Run!" Dick yelled louder then pushed the dizziness aside and ran at the intruder.

Lilly screamed at the top of her lungs when the intruder got closer, which cause him to cover his ears and back up, and Dick ran past him, grabbed Lilly, and ran into the living room.

The intruder was not happy at all. "Get back here you little brats!" he yelled as he chased after them.

Lilly was crying and Dick was stumbling over his feet but he managed to make out the back door. 'Dang it, I can't keep this up much longer.'

Dick heard a loud noise and something brush past his face, causing a cut to appear. "What the..." Dick glanced back and saw that the man now had a gun pointed right at them. "Oh this is turning out to be great," he said sarcastically.

"Dick, I'm scared," Lilly said.

Dick looked down at Lilly then back up to notice the giant fence. He was running way too fast to stop in time, so he jumped and did a flip and landed. He then fell back against the fence.'Ok, doing flips when I'm already dizzy, not a good idea.'

The intruder walked up to them, gun still pointed at them, then stopped a few feet from them. "Hand over the girl and I might let you live boy."

Lilly hid her face in Dick's neck and let out a whine. Dick looked down at her then looked up and glared at the man. "Never!"

The man narrowed his eyes. "Then I'll just kill you and take the girl."

Lilly's arms got tighter around Dick's neck and Dick in turn did the same around her. "Don't worry, Lilly," he whispered to her, "I promise, I won't let anything happen to you." He then focused on the man in front of them and put Lilly on the ground and pushed her behind him.

The intruder laughed. "You really think that's gonna save her?" He then started walking toward them again.

'Ok, just a little closer,' he thought as he stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled something out and clutched it in his fist.

Lilly grabbed a hold of Dick's pant leg and clutched it tight. "Dick?" Lilly asked as she looked up at him afraid, but when she saw how determined and calm Dick was, she relaxed a little.'Dick's not afraid of this bad man.'

Once the man got within one foot of them, Dick threw the thing he had in his hand at the man's face, grabbed Lilly again, jumped up and did a flip over the man's now ducked head, and when he hit the ground again, began running for the front of the house.

As he rounded the corner to the front of the house, Dick heard sirens and saw red and blue lights coming toward them. 'Bruce must have called the cops when I didn't answer, but why didn't he just come as Batman?'

The police cars slid to a stop in front of the house and Dick ran toward Gordon who was just getting out of his car. "Commissioner, there's a burglar right behind us!" Sure enough, the intruder came around the corner as soon as he said it.

"Freeze!" Gordon said as he and the other police raised their guns and pointed them at the man. Dick got behind Gordon's car and sat down on the ground with Lilly in his lap and still holding on to him tightly.

The other cops quickly captured and handcuffed the intruder and were escorting him to one of the squad cars.

"Dick!" Bruce yelled as he jumped out of his car and ran toward him.

Dick looked up groggily, but only saw a blur of dark colors coming toward him.

"Lilly!" Sherrel yelled as she and Jered also ran toward them.

"B-Bruce," Dick managed to get out before the dizziness and blackness took over completely and he fell to the ground unconscious.

"Dick? Dick?!" Lilly yelled shaking him. "Wake up. Wake up!"

Sherrel pulled Lilly off of Dick as Bruce and Gordon got down beside Dick. "I need an ambulance at my location immediately," Gordon called over his radio.

Lilly was screaming and fighting to get away from her mother and back over to Dick. "No, I want Dick! Let me go! I want Dick! DICK!"

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Dick woke up in a hospital room. He blinked a few times to clear his vision then looked around. Bruce was standing in the doorway of the room talking to what looked like Jered. He then looked on the other side of the bed and saw Lilly sitting on her mom's lap but laying on the bed sleeping.

"Oh, Dick, thank goodness," Sherrel said.

Bruce and Jered both looked over at Dick then Jered left the room to go find the doctor and Bruce walked over to the bed. "Dick, how are you feeling?"

"Like an elephant sat on my head," Dick joked.

Bruce and Sherrel smiled. "The doctor said you had a slight concussion that got even worse when you moved around like you did," Bruce explained.

"Lilly said that you did flips and ran fast while protecting her," Sherrel said. "Dick, words can't even explain how grateful I am to you for keeping my little girl safe."

Dick gave a weak smile. "No problem."

Jered and the doctor walked into the room. The doctor did a few things to check Dick out then smiled. "Well, everything looks ok. That cut on your forehead wasn't as bad as it could've been, but I'm gonna need you to stay the night because of that slight concussion you got."

"Thank you," Bruce said. The doctor nodded then headed for the door.

"You got any aspirin for this headache?" Dick asked.

The doctor turned back toward him. "I'll have a nurse bring something in for you." He then continued out the door.

"Lilly, sweetie, Dick's awake," Sherrel told her daughter.

Lilly stirred and sat up and stared at Dick. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Dick assured her.

Lilly smiled. "Thank you for keeping your promise."

Dick just smiled. "Well that's what a prince does, right? He keeps his promises to his princess."

Sherrel, Jered, and Bruce all smiled at the exchange of words.

A nurse walked in with a small cup with a couple of pills in it and a glass of water and brought them over to Dick. "Thanks," Dick said as he took the two cups. He then popped the pills in his mouth and drank down the water.

"If you need anything else, just let us know," the nurse said as she took the two empty cups and left the room.

"We will. Thank you," Bruce replied.

"Well, it's almost midnight," Jered said. "We should get going so we can get Lilly to bed."

Sherrel stood up with Lilly in her hands. "NO!" Lilly screamed.

"Lilly, don't scream. We're in a hospital," Sherrel said sternly.

"No, I want to stay with Dick," Lilly said as she squirmed in her mother's grip.

"No, you have to go home and sleep," Sherrel tried to tell her.

"No, I want to stay!"

"Lilly, Dick needs his rest too," Bruce said. "He'll sleep a lot better if there wasn't anyone else in the room."

A tear fell from her eye. "But you get to stay."

"I'm gonna head home too," Bruce said standing up. He then turned to Dick. "I'll be back in the morning."

Dick nodded. "Ok, night, Bruce."

Bruce leaned down and kissed Dick's forehead. "Good night, Dick."

Sherrel began walking away from Dick's bed, Lilly still in her arms. "No," Lilly said.

"Lilly..."

"Hug," Lilly said as she held out her hands toward Dick.

Sherrel blinked then looked toward Bruce. She then carried Lilly over to Dick and Lilly gave Dick a hug. "Night, Lilly," Dick said.

"Night, Prince," Lilly replied back.

Everyone smiled and Lilly finally let her mother carry her out of the room.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

At noon the next day, Bruce brought Dick back to the manor. "Now the doctor said that you need to take it easy for the next few days," Bruce said as he and Dick walked into the living room.

"I know. I'll probably try to beat that game you got me."

"Sir, there is a call for you," Alfred said as he walked into the room. "And it is very nice to have you back safe and sound, Master Dick."

"Thanks, Al," Dick said with a smile as he turned on his game.

Bruce went to the phone. "Bruce speaking."

"Bruce, it's Jered. How's Dick doing?"

"Good. We just got him home. The doctor said he has to rest for a few days, but he should be fine."

"That's good to hear. I'm sorry to bother you about this, but do you think Dick can still watch Lilly Monday? She's been asking for him since she got up this morning."

"Well, I think it should be ok just as long as they don't do anything extreme, but the real deciding factor will be how Dick is feeling."

"I understand. Just let me know. I'll let Lilly know that if might, but if he does then they can't do anything too rough."

"I just hope she understands that."

"Oh she will. She's usually very good about that sort of thing. Well I'll talk to you later then. Tell Dick we said hi."

"I will. Goodbye."

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Monday afternoon, Dick sat in the cafeteria across from Barbra. "So you feeling any better?" Barbra asked.

"Yeah, my heads still a little sore, but that's to be expected when you get a cut and blow to the head like I did."

Barbra smiled. "Yeah. So you babysitting Lilly tonight?" she asked then took a bite of her food.

"Yeah, Mr. Walts already told me that he would talk to Lilly about doing anything rough, so..."

"Rough?" Barbra asked clearly confused.

"Yeah, like running around or jumping, things like that," Dick replied then took a bite of his sandwich.

"Oh, ok. So what are you two gonna do?"

"We'll probably just watch movies or color or something."

"And how much are these guys paying you?" she asked then took a drink.

"Fifty a night." Barbra sprayed her drink all over the table, Dick, and his food. "Thanks, Babs," he said as he wiped his face off with his napkin then started to wipe the rest of the mess up. "So much for eating."

"Sorry," Barbra said as she help him clean up the mess. "Do you really get fifty dollars every time you babysit her?"

"Yeah, they're Bruce's friends so they're rich, although they don't act like they are."

"What do you mean?" she said as she put the soaked napkins on her tray and they both got up to through their stuff away.

"They've just got two story house and they don't have big flashy things in their house. They almost seem like a middle class family not a rich one."

"I see. So you've already babysat for five days, so that's two hundred fifty, and you're babysitting how much longer?"

"'Til Friday. They're moving Saturday."

"Oh, ok. So you're going to have five hundred by the time you're done," she said matter-of-factly.

"Yep, and I'm gonna buy those Skylanders games."

"Really? Cool," she said. "I'll so come over and play with you."

"Alright," Dick said with a smile. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Babs."

"See ya, and have fun with Lilly tonight," she said as he walked off in the opposite direction.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

Dick walked into the Walts' house behind Jered and into the living room. "Dick!" Lilly exclaimed as she ran up to him.

Jered stepped in front of Dick not looking too happy. "Now what did I tell you, Lilly. Dick has to take it easy so you can jump on him."

Lilly looked down at her feet like she was about to cry.

"It's ok Mr. Walts," Dick said as he walked around him. He then knelt down in front of Lilly.

Lilly smiled and carefully put her arms around Dick's neck and gave him a big hug. "I'm glad you're ok."

Dick pulled away from her then both he and Lilly walked over to the couch and sat down. "Me too. So I figured we'd watch movies or color tonight. Is that ok with you?"

Lilly just nodded and curled up to Dick. Dick just smiled and put his arm around her.

"Well, it looks like you've got everything under control, so I'll just get Sherrel and we'll head out. We should only be out 'til nine tonight."

"Ok, have fun," Dick said as he watched the show that was playing on the TV.

Later that night, after Lilly had her bath, Dick let Lilly watch a movie until it was time for bed. She had fallen asleep halfway through it, so Dick decided to take her on up to bed. When he turned off the light in her room, closed the door, and came back downstairs and sat on the couch, he found a show playing on the TV and settled in to it.

"Dick, can I sleep with you?" Lilly asked.

Dick turned to look at her. "I thought you were already asleep?"

Lilly just walked over to him and sat down next to him and curled up next to him. "I want to sleep with you. Please?"

Dick looked down at her. 'She was already asleep, so why did she wake up just to come down here?' "Alright, but you have to sleep. If you don't you have to go back up to your room, ok?"

Lilly nodded then laid her head on Dick's lap. Dick pulled the blanket that was on the back of the couch over top of her. 'Oh well. It's only eight-thirty anyway. They said she could stay up 'til nine, so if she's not asleep it's no big deal.'

At five after nine, Jered and Sherrel walked in the door and saw Dick watching TV. "Was she good for you tonight?" Jered asked as he walked into the living room, then he saw Lilly sleeping on the couch. "Why didn't you just put her in her room?"

"I did, but she just came back down and asked to sleep in here with me. Maybe she's still shaken up about the other night," Dick replied.

"She didn't do this Saturday or last night," Sherrel said.

"Who knows," Jered said as he picked Lilly up.

Dick got up from the couch and headed to the door with Sherrel. "Thank you again, Dick, and see you tomorrow."

"Night," Dick replied then walked out the door.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

The next few nights were pretty much the same, Lilly would stick close to Dick and each time he put her in her room for the night, she would get up and ask to sleep with him on the couch. Now they were at the park and Dick was pushing Lilly on the swing.

"Hey, Dick," Barbra called out.

"Hey, Babs," Dick called back as he stopped pushing Lilly and walked over to her.

Lilly realized that he left her, jumped off the swing, and ran over to him and grabbed his hand. Dick and Barbra just looked at her, but she just stood there quiet. "She's been like this since the break-in Friday," Dick said.

"I'm sure it's just that she's scared from the break-in. She's probably doing it with her parents too," Barbra said as all three of them walked over to the nearby bench and sat down.

"No, she only does it around me. Her parents say that she's fine when it's anyone else."

Barbra looked at Lilly and in response Lilly just got closer to Dick. Barbra smiled. "I think someone's got a crush on you, Dick."

"Huh," he asked confused. He looked down at Lilly then back at Barbra. "You think?"

"Well it makes sense. She only acts like this round you, always wants to be near you, and I bet she's even called for you when you're not around, right?" Barbra said.

"Yeah, her dad told Bruce that she was asking for me Saturday after she woke up, and Sunday we got a call from her personally.

"Really?" Barbra asked with a smile.

"Yeah. Evidentially her parents didn't know about the call and they kept apologizing for it." Dick thought about it for a moment. "Now that you mention it, it does sound like that's the case." Dick snapped his fingers. "Oh, and the other day we were doing something and she asked me if I would marry her."

Barbra laughed. "You said yes, didn't you."

Dick rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, but I thought she was just playing, you know, like when we played tea party and I was the handsome prince."

Barbra got up and knelt down in front of Lilly who was trying to hide her face. "Lilly, do you like Dick?"

Lilly nodded. "He said he'd marry me."

Barbra smiled at her. "Sweetie, you and Dick aren't old enough to get married yet. He'll always be your friend, but..."

"No, Dick mine!" Lilly blurted out as she tightened her grip on his arm and buried her face in his arm starting to cry.

"I see. Well there's a little problem with your plan," Barbra said. Lilly looked up at her but didn't let go of Dick's arm. "You and your parents are leaving Gotham tomorrow and Dick can't go with you."

"No, I stay with Dick," she said.

"You have to go with your parents," Barbra tried to tell her.

"No, I stay with Dick!" she yelled louder.

"Babs, I don't think that's working."

Barbra stood up. "Well, it looks like you and her parents are on your own then. It's starting to get dark. You should probably get her home."

"Yeah," he replied standing up along with Lilly who was still attached to his arm. "It's almost suppertime anyway. Talk to you later."

"Bye, Dick. Bye, Lilly," she said as she waved.

YJYJYJYJYJYJYJ

"Hey, Dick, we're home," Sherrel said.

"She sleeping in here with you again?" Jered asked, but got his answer when they walked up to the couch.

"Yeah. I tried to get her to sleep her room, but she just came back down here."

Jered picked up his daughter, but this time she woke up. "Hey, Sweetie," Sherrel said when she saw her daughter look around.

"No," Lilly said then squirmed until she was put down. She then crawled on Dick's lap and clung to him.

"Dick has to go home, Lilly," Jered said as he tried to pick her up again.

"No!" she yelled and slapped her father's hands away.

Sherrel and Jered looked at each other then down at Dick. "Me and my friend Barbra think she has a crush on me, although I can't figure out why, but we think that might be why she's been acting like this. When we told her that she would be leaving tomorrow and that I wouldn't be going with her, she said she was gonna stay here with me."

Sherrel walked around the couch and sat down. "Sweetie," she said as she pushed some hair out of Lilly's face, "we're going to move to a bigger town. You'll make lots of new friends there."

"No, I stay with Dick," Lilly said.

"Maybe Bruce will let Dick come and visit sometime," Jered said.

"No, I stay with Dick!" Lilly yelled.

"I'll come by tomorrow before you leave," Dick said.

"Promise?" Lilly asked hopefully.

"Promise, and you know a prince always keeps his promises to his princess," Dick said with a smile.

Lilly smiled and laid her head on his chest. Dick stood up. "I'll take her to her room for you."

"You don't have to do that," Jered said.

"It's fine," he said then disappeared up the stairs.

"What are we gonna do, Jered? She's gonna be crushed when she has to leave and he stays here," Sherrel asked.

"I'm not sure. The only thing we can do is just get her in the car, let her cry, and hope she'll get over it," Jered said.

"I don't know, that doesn't sound like a good idea. I've heard about kids that don't get something they love very much and they are distant for a while."

"Yeah, but what else is there to do?"

They both sat on the couch thinking about it for a while until Dick came back down. Dick saw the look of deep thought on both their faces. "You guys ok?"

"Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you come back down," Sherrel said.

"I just did. What's wrong?"

"We were just thinking how to make it easier for Lilly to leave tomorrow," Jered said.

"I think you're right about her liking you, Dick," Sherrel said. "I'm surprised I didn't pick up on it earlier."

"Hey, I didn't either, so don't feel too bad," Dick said.

"Yeah, but most guys don't," Sherrel said with a smile.

"True," Dick replied agreeing. "But don't worry. I think I have an idea that will make it easier for her to leave tomorrow," Dick said with a smile.

YJYJYJYJYJYJ

The next day, Jered and Sherrel finished packing and loading the rest of their stuff into the moving truck and their own car and were ready to head out. "Alright, Lilly, let's get in the car," Jered said.

"No, Dick's not here," Lilly said.

Just as Jered was going to argue with her and force her into the car, Bruce and Dick pulled up behind the moving truck. "Hey guys," Bruce called out when he stepped out of the car.

"Dick!" Lilly exclaimed as she ran up to Dick.

Dick smiled and spun her around. "Hey, Princess." He sat her back down and then Bruce, Dick, and Lilly all walked over to the car where Jered and Sherrel were standing.

"You ready to leave?" Bruce asked Jered and Sherrel.

"Yeah, but we'll miss all our friends here in Gotham," Sherrel said.

"Me stay with Dick," Lilly said as he clung to Dick's leg.

"Lilly, don't start that again," Jered said.

"It's ok. I told you I have a plan," Dick said.

"You never did tell us what that plan was," Sherrel said.

"I'll show you," Dick said then he unattached Lilly from his leg. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back," he told Lilly then ran off to Bruce's car.

When he came back he had a bird doll, a box, and princess and prince doll. "Dick, you didn't have to do that," Sherrel said as she looked at all the things he had.

"Don't worry about it," Dick told her then turned to Lilly. "Now, Lilly, you have to go with your parents, ok?"

"No, I stay with you," she replied beginning to cry.

"But I brought you going away gifts," he said sounding hurt.

"Going away gifts?"

"Yeah, they're gifts that someone gives someone when they're going away."

"If I don't take them, can I stay?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way. You see, I had to go away from someone I really loved too."

"You did?" Lilly asked. Jered and Sherrel just looked at Bruce sadly.

"Yeah. You see, when I was a little older than you, my parents went away. I wanted to go with them, but where they were going, they didn't want me to go."

"Where did they go?"

"They went up there," he said as he pointed to the sky.

"Did they give you a present?" Lilly asked.

"Yeah, only what they gave me wasn't something I could hold like these presents, but what they left me I cherish more than anything in the whole world, and I always know that they love me and are always with me."

"What did they give you?"

"Love. My parents loved me and that love stays with me always. The other thing they gave me was knowledge."

"Knowledge?"

"Yeah. You remember all those flips and stuff I did the night that man came into your house?" She nodded. "Well I learned most of those moves from them. They were acrobats in a circus and they trained me to be one too."

"Oh."

"Yeah, but what I have for you is something different. The first thing is these two dolls."

"It's a princess and a prince," she said happily.

"Yes, so that your princess will always have her prince. The second one is this."

Lilly took the box and Dick helped her open it. "Princess dress!"

"Well you are a princess, right," Dick said smiling. "Now this last one is sort of so you won't forget me."

"It's a birdie."

"Yes, it is a birdie. It's called a robin."

"Robin?" she asked him curiously.

"Yes, robin's are my favorite birds, and my mom use to think of me as a robin when she saw me flying through the air in the circus."

Lilly took the bird and hugged it then threw her arms around Dick. "I'll miss you."

Dick wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. "I'll miss you too, but now you'll always have a few things to remember me by," he said. Dick pulled away from her and smiled at her. "And I'll always remember you because of the pictures you drew me."

Lilly smiled then turned and ran to her mother. "Mommy look at the presets Dick got me."

"I see them. They're all beautiful." Dick stood back up and Sherrel just smiled at him. "Thank you, Dick, for everything."

Lilly smiled at Dick then turned and walked up to Bruce. Bruce knelt down so that he was eye level with her. "You let Dick come see me?"

Bruce smiled at her. "Of course I will."

Lilly smiled and gave Bruce a big hug. "Thank you." She then let go of him and ran back to her parents.

"Well, we're off," Jered said. Sherrel put Lilly in the car and made sure her dolls were right there with her.

"Drive carefully, Jered," Bruce said.

"I will," he replied as he shook Bruce's hand. He then got in the driver's seat and they headed off.

"So did you use some of the money they gave you to buy those gifts?" Bruce asked Dick as they walked back to the car.

"Yeah, actually they gave me fifty extra bucks for keeping Lilly safe during that break-in. I told them they didn't need to but they did it anyway."

"I see. So do you want to stop by the store so you can pick up your skylanders?"

"Yeah," Dick said happily.

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Well, what'd you think? I thought this was a cute story. What about you? Just leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Thanks for reading :D