When he wakes up, it is to blinding white, and he is not alone.
He feels the hand in his hair before he sees it and a voice is suddenly there, softly calling his name. His eyes adjust to the blinding whiteness, and he sees them. Two girls either side of him, one with long blonde hair and a warm face, and the other, smaller and slighter and much more hesitant, with black hair.
The girl with the blonde hair looks at him with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Long time no see, Damian. Remember us?"
Damian pulls himself up into a sitting position and pauses, looks at the two girls with their odd familiarity, and shakes his head. "No, I do not." And slightly more hesitantly, he adds, "Should I?"
The girl with the black hair looks at him, and says quietly and deliberately, "Yes. But it will come to you, in time."
Damian shifts, looks at the giant empty space around them. His mind feels foggy as he struggles to think how he managed to come to this place, but his thoughts come up blank. "Where am I?" he asks, but the two girls stay silent, so he tries again.
"I. I don't understand." He means for the words to come out harsher than they do, but he just feels so tired, and he wants his father, wants Grayson. "I don't understand." He repeats, steadying his voice. "I was fighting, and then... and then nothing. And now I'm here." He stares down at his lap, biting the inside of his cheek hard. The blonde girl leans close, resumes stroking his hair.
He stays silent for a moment, and then: "Am I dead?"
The resultant silence is answer enough, and Damian can feel his breath catch in his throat. The blonde girl falters, and when she hugs him, her cheeks are damp. "I'm so sorry, little D." On his other side, the girl with the dark hair nods solemnly, and presses her hand into his.
"I hope I did him proud." The words are out before he can stop them, and the blonde girl stills, and suddenly her voice is fierce and firm. "You did great, D. You did amazing. Don't you ever think otherwise."
The girl with the black hair squeezes his hand, touches her other to his cheek, and says: "it will be okay. Promise. You are safe here, with friends. With family." And Damian thinks of his father, his mother, of Grayson and of Pennyworth, thinks of Colin, and his pets, and he even thinks of Todd and Drake, and then he nods. He lets the girls pull him close, and together they sit, and they wait.