Dick Grayson was in pain.

Dick had been in pain many, many times before. But this wasn't the "oh, a bad guy got in a lucky shot" kind of pain. No, no, no. This was the kind of pain that made it hard to do anything because this pain was caused by his own body. The traitor.

Dick was currently sitting on the couch in the rec room with his head in his hands. His dark sunglasses were laying on the couch beside him, all thoughts of secret identities having disappeared as the pain gradually got worse. Dick moaned wishing that he was anything but himself at the moment.

Wally West, Dick's best friend and resident speedster, zipped into the kitchen to grab something small to eat (maybe a club sandwich?) but skidded to a halt when he saw Dick sitting on couch.

'Dick?' Wally walked over to the couch and sat down next to his friend. Dick slowly looked up at Wally, tears dimming his normally bright blue eyes. Wally wrapped an arm around the younger boy's shoulders.

'It hurts.' Dick murmured.

'What does?'

'My jaw.' Dick swallowed and winced, squeezing his eyes shut.

'What do you mean your jaw hurts?' Wally questioned.

'I think… I think it might be… my wisdom teeth." Dick winced again as he twisted his neck and the muscles of his jaw moved.

'Oh, Dick,' Wally spoke gently and began rubbing small circles on Dick's back. 'You should probably head to the dentist. Have you told Bruce yet?' Dick shook his head indicating that he hadn't yet told his father the news. Wally sighed wondering if he should contact Bruce himself.

Dick shoved his sunglasses back onto his face as they heard footsteps approaching. Artemis and M'gann walked into the room chatting adamantly but immediately stopped when they saw the two boys on the couch.

'Robin? What's wrong?' Artemis and M'gann joined the boys on the couch.

'His wisdom teeth are coming through and he hasn't told Batman yet.' Wally summarised for the girls.

'Aww, Robin.' M'gann reached out and rubbed Dick's arm gently.

'Do you want us to tell Batman?' Artemis asked Dick knowing that he would shoot down the idea.

'Yes,' Dick mumbled.

'Really?' Wally asked surprised. Dick nodded and so Wally very gently extricated himself from Dick and left him with the girls to make the call to Batman.

Wally stood in front of the communicator waiting for Batman to respond to his hails. When he finally did Wally was surprised to note that Batman was only wearing his cowl and an ordinary white collared shirt.

'Kid Flash. I'm a little busy at the moment.' Batman said in his gravelly voice.

'It's about Robin.' Wally explained. 'His wisdom teeth are coming through and he's in a lot of pain.'

'I'm coming.' Batman replied and the link went dead. Wally waited by the zeta tube for Batman's imminent arrival. When he did arrive Wally was glad to see that Batman had at least put on the rest of his suit.

'He's in the rec room with Artemis and M'gann.' Wally raced along behind Batman, careful not to overtake him. Robin was still curled up on the couch with the girls on either side of him. Batman crouched down and gently touched Robin's forearm. Robin's head shot up at the light touch and winced as yet again the muscles in his jaw moved and stretched.

'Come along, Robin. I'm taking you home,' Batman spoke as he gently helped Robin to his feet and began leading him out. 'Thank you, Kid Flash, Artemis, Miss Martian. Until further notice, Robin will not be going on any missions.'

'Understood, Batman.' Wally quipped and waved at Robin as the Dynamic Duo left.

'Will Robin be okay?' M'gann asked.

'Course he will. Batman'll make sure of that.' Wally responded, praying he was right.

Batman and Robin walked through the zeta tube and emerged in the Batcave, Alfred standing at the ready.

'Master Richard, are you all right?' Alfred, formal as ever, asked.

'No.' Dick answered simply not in the mood to elaborate any further.

'His wisdom teeth are coming through, Alfred.' Bruce removed his cowl and led Dick into a chair. Alfred grabbed a pen light and moved next to his young charge.

'Head back and mouth open as far as you can, Master Richard. Oh, and please do swallow first.' Dick rolled his eyes but did as he was told. Alfred shined the light into Dick's mouth and after a minute moved back. 'Wisdom teeth indeed, sir. All four of them.'

'Four?' Dick cried, immediately regretting it as the pain flared again.

'I'm afraid so. A trip to the dentist is in order.'

'Make the appointment, Alfred.'

'Soon, Alfie.' Dick added pleadingly.

'Yes, sir.' Alfred replaced the pen light and made his way upstairs, leaving Bruce and Dick to change into their civilian attire.

'How long?' Bruce asked.

'Two days,' Dick sighed. 'I know I should've said something sooner but I didn't think it was all four of the stupid things.' Dick fell silent as he put his uniform away. 'Will they cut them out?'

'Maybe,' Bruce admitted. Dick's shoulders slumped so Bruce turned him around and pulled him into a tight hug. 'It'll be alright, Dick, you'll see.' Dick nodded against Bruce's chest not entirely believing his mentor. 'Come on, we'll head upstairs and see what Alfred's managed.'

The Dynamic Duo went up into Wayne Manor just as Alfred got off the phone. 'You have an appointment with Doctor Chang in forty-five minutes. Luckily for you they had a cancellation. Shall I fetch the car, sir?'

'Yes. Thank you, Alfred.' Bruce placed a hand on Dick's shoulder. 'It will be okay, Dick. I promise.' The young boy looked up at Bruce with such sheer hope and trust, it made Bruce pray he was right.

Forty-six minutes later, Dick was sitting in the dentist's chair, his mouth wide open with various metal instruments in his mouth. Bruce sat in the corner of the surgery, his eyes fixed on his son's. Dick winced as the one of the instruments brushed against his inflamed gums. Doctor Chang removed the instruments, handed them to his assistant and pressed a button to raise the chair. Dick allowed himself a moment to actually look at the dentist properly for the first time. Doctor Chang was a middle-aged Chinese man with slicked back jet black and kind, dark eyes. Chang sat down on his little stool and broke the bad news.

'I'm afraid that all four of the teeth will need to be removed.' Despite the Doctor's gentle voice and direct nature, Dick suddenly decided that he didn't like this man after all and crossed his arms over his chest. Bruce, recognising the move, cleared his throat.

'What exactly will that entail, Doctor?'

'A hospital visit for a start,' Chang had also picked up on Dick's mood and now directed his explanation at Bruce. 'The gums will be cut away from the teeth and sewn back up once the teeth are gone. It's a simple procedure and one that is conducted successfully on a regular basis.' Chang directed this last titbit of information back at Dick who scowled at the poor man.

'No.' Dick affirmed.

'Dick,' Bruce lent forward in his chair and caught his son's eye. 'If Doctor Chang says this has to be done, then it will be done. Regardless.'

'There has to be any easier way though. Can't you do it now?' Dick looked back at Chang who shook his head.

'Fraid not, young man. You need to be under a general anaesthetic for it and I don't have the tools needed.'

'What if I just let them grow? And then you can pull them when they're out some more.'

'It doesn't work like that, Dick. There is no space in your mouth to accommodate another four teeth. If they aren't removed and we just let them grow, the rest of your teeth, jaw and mouth will suffer for it. Your smile would be ruined. Plus, it'll hurt more.' Chang gave Dick a smile that usually calmed his younger patients down. Needless to say, it didn't work.

'There has to be another way.' This time Dick looked at Bruce when he said this. There were several members of the League who would easily be able to remove some pesky wisdom teeth with minimal pain and no hospital trip.

'Got to go with the doc on this one, Dick.' Bruce admonished lightly.

'We'll set up the appointment then.' Dick thought Chang sounded far too happy about this prospect and would have quite liked to knock some of his teeth out.

'I'm begging you to let Manhunter or Green Lantern or even Flash do it. But please, just don't make me go to the hospital.' Dick sat in the backseat of the Mercedes Benz staring up at Bruce with his best puppy dog eyes. He'd even managed to pull off some tears.

'No, Dick.' Bruce responded. The puppy dog eyes were killing him but there was no way he was backing down on this one.

'Why not?'

'Because now that we've been to see Doctor Chang don't you think it will be a little strange if we cancel the appointment and you then turn up without the wisdom teeth.'

'Ugh, whatever.' Dick crossed his arms and stared out the window as Gotham City blurred past him.

'Dick, I don't understand what the problem is. You've had procedures before.'

'No, Alfred's stitched me up a few times and set bones. I've never had an operation before. What if something goes wrong?'

'Nothing will go wrong. They do this kind of thing all the time.' Bruce spoke as gently as possible. Now that he understood what the real issue was he was determined to fix things as much as he could.

'Did you have your wisdom teeth cut out?'

'No, I had two of them pulled though.' Dick looked at Bruce sceptically.

'Is that true, Alfie?'

'Indeed it is, sir. I seem to recall that Master Bruce cried on both occasions and near fainted on the second. Due to the needles, sir.' Alfred answered from the front seat. Dick turned to Bruce, grinning from ear to ear.

'I did not cry, Alfred. And I hadn't eaten anything before the second one for a day and a half.' Bruce replied much too quickly.

'Was it hysterical crying, Alfred?'

'I believe it was, young sir.' Bruce and Dick could both hear the grin in the older man's voice.

'Shut up, Alfred.'

A week later, Dick very slowly and very cautiously opened his eyes. Despite the dream he'd had the night before where he had died on the operating table after bleeding to death due to a sharper than normal scalpel and a nervous intern, it seemed as though he might have survived the surgery after all. Although his sight was still a little blurry, Dick could just make out Bruce sitting in a lounge chair by the open window with the bright, warm afternoon sunlight streaming through. Dick very slowly sat up, keeping his mouth clamped tightly shut for fear of ripping the stitches. Suddenly Bruce stirred awake and, noticing that Dick was sitting up, moved his chair closer to the bed.

'Dick,' Bruce sounded incredibly relieved about Dick's wakeful state and very gently held Dick's hand. 'How do you feel?' Dick pulled a face at him indicating that he really didn't want to talk just yet. 'Pain?' Dick nodded feebly. Bruce squeezed Dick's hand lightly. 'The surgery went just fine, Dick. No nervous interns.' Bruce grinned at Dick, who managed a slight smile in response.

'Master Dick,' Alfred announced as he walked into the room with Doctor Chang. 'So glad to finally see you awake.' Alfred smiled at Dick and stood behind Bruce.

'Dick, how does it feel?' Doctor Chang asked, moving next to Dick's bed. Dick shrugged and held his hand up twisting it from side to side indicating that it was neither good nor bad.

'I don't think he feels like talking just yet. He's in some pain.' Bruce interrupted for Dick.

'That's completely normal. Shall I go over what to expect in the next few days, or will you?'

'No, no, by all means. I think Dick would like to hear it from you.' Bruce replied.

'Very well. Alright, Dick, the pain is normal and will probably last the rest of today and maybe tomorrow. I've given your father pain tablets for you to take every five hours or when needed. I used dissolvable stitches in your mouth so we won't have to worry about that. They usually last at least seven days but if they haven't gone in two weeks they will need to be removed. I want you to keep ice packs on your cheeks for the next 24 hours to help with the swelling and the pain, okay? Bruce and Alfred both know about the kinds of things you should and shouldn't eat. I think that's everything. Any questions?' Dick shook his head no. 'Okay. Now before you go I need to have a little look and make sure everything's okay. Just open your mouth as far as you can without tilting your head back.'

Dick did as he was told and after a minute Doctor Chang declared that so long as he felt okay he was fine to go home. Dick eagerly nodded, desperate to get out of the hospital, and within two hours he was at home, relaxed and being doted upon by Alfred.

Two weeks later, the team of young heroes were relaxing at Mount Justice after a particularly brutal mission. Although none of them had been seriously injured all of them were completely and utterly exhausted. Conner and Wally were both falling asleep on the couch in the rec room, M'gann was somehow okay enough to be baking behind them in the kitchen, Artemis was stretched out on the floor of the rec room, and Kaldur was in the corner attempting to meditate before going to bed.

'Did you hear that?' Artemis suddenly asked, waking up Wally and Conner, and causing Kaldur to give up on meditating entirely.

'Hear what?' Wally groaned.

'That.' All of them heard it this time. The telltale laugh that was Robin.

'Robin!' Wally exclaimed and took off to look for his friend. None of them had heard a peep out of the little bird in three weeks and they had taken to asking their various mentors and den mothers where he was and if he was okay. They hadn't gotten any answers.

'Can't find him.' Wally said running back into the room. 'But the log shows that he's here. Somewhere.'

'Split up.' Kaldur ordered. Each of them took off in different directions to track Robin down, trying to ignore what they now figured to be a recording of the boy's laughter echoing through the PA system.

Almost an hour later, Wally finally found Dick hidden away in the air vents. 'Dude! How d'you feel?'

'All better and ready to kick your butt.'

Author's note: This is set sometime during season 1 before Zatanna and Rocket join the team. And I decided to ignore the fact that Dick is a little young for wisdom teeth to be coming up cause I wanted some DaddyBats and didn't want to bump up the ages.