He was patient. Bruce was good at being patient, just as he had learned to be good at teaching. This was not his function in Tim's household, or Lynn's life. She had plenty of people around her to help her navigate her abilities and manage her challenges. With their help, she was growing, and he was confident that she would continue doing so.
One way or another, however, she was his. And as with any of his young, he teased at their limits, sought out their strengths, pushed for hidden depths. It wasn't just her who was learning. Finding her, learning how to connect with her past all the noise she struggled to process, was what mattered most. He struggled too. Not the way she did, but he understood the hardship of people and relationships. He knew what it was like to live in the mind with greater comfort than in the outside world. It was not the same, but it created in him an immense sense of love and fellowship.
It hurt how much he loved her.
He tried to sign with her whenever possible as an alternative means of finding that connection, establishing a means of communication that might be more cerebral than attempting the verbal. Helping her speak was important, but nearly everyone else in her life would take up that battle first. If he could reach her this way, it was a start. She was too tired though, and Bruce saw what Tim meant about the depths of her frustration.
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Hm," he commented, mostly to himself before holding up his tablet. "That?" he asked her. She wanted to say something, but clearly didn't have the language necessary to express herself. His heart clenched. Sliding her own tablet to the side as she dropped it to the floor, and handed his own over to her. "I can get another if she does," he said quietly, not looking in Tim's direction. It was important not to reward that kind of behavior, but Bruce was more focused on understanding what she needed at the moment than anything else.
Leaning in, Bruce pressed the button at the bottom of the phone to close the app he'd used to tell her he was happy to see her. Then he pressed the icon for the app on the screen to open it again, demonstrating how it worked. "Lynn," he said gently, wishing she'd look at him, hoping she understood him. "Maybe too much noise." Whatever she was after, he didn't want her to be overwhelmed by the vast quantities of information now at her fingers.