This is one of several little experiments I will be working with. I thought it'd be interesting to toy with Dick's amnesia in Rebirth (for those of you who don't know, he got shot, lost his memory, is going by Ric, and isn't really Nightwing as of right now in the comics, which I think could change back whenever they decided to (hopefully soon)). And basically, I thought I'd have one member of the Batfamily represent/express one of the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance).
The news of Dick getting shot spread like wildfire, hitting nets in his vigilante and social life in one shockwave. Friends swarmed the Wayne estate to see if he was okay. With the prognosis, Alfred had to keep them out of the room, to avoid overwhelm the acrobat. It puzzled them, causing them to wonder what was so bad about several of them being in the room at once. That left Bruce in charge of deliver the bad news.
If Dick's injury wasn't concerning enough, the memory loss only made it worse. No one expected to be a head injury resulting in amnesia, thinking it was a chest or leg wound. Bruce explained the situation as delicately as possible. Dick's memory was faulty, being given memories in chunks. Bruce promised to reintroduce everyone in spurts.
Everyone was able to rationalize the situation, understanding the need for a slow process. They were all hopeful that Dick's memory would come back. However, there was one person who couldn't fully grasp the situation. Barbara. She was one of the first people to learn about Dick's situation and one of the few that got to see him.
Barbara was floored when she saw him. She couldn't believe the condition he was in. She couldn't fathom that he lost his memory. It was made worse when it seemed that he didn't remember the extent of their relationship. His lack of memory towards his adopted family was saved by Bruce and Alfred, but there was nothing that tied his memories to his and Barbara's relationship. Both platonically and romantically.
After a week, she stopped coming by all together, wanting to sort everything out. Her mind and emotions needed time. At least that's what she told herself. Deep down though, she knew she had to get some distance.
Bruce would be the one to seek her out. With Cass and Stephanie busy with other thing as they sorted their thoughts on the situation, Dick with no memory, and Dinah in Star City, he knew he was the best person to talk to her. He would find her while on patrol, sitting on the edge of the Gotham Public Library's roof. She didn't vocally greet him, but she allowed him to join her.
"How are you taking it?" Batman asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Batgirl replied.
She could feel Batman's glare burning in her. He clearly wasn't buying it, and she knew he wouldn't if she tried again. Lying to him of all people was an obvious mistake. Batgirl let out a deflated sigh.
"He didn't lose his memory." Batgirl denied. "He couldn't have. He's taken worse hit to that thick skull of his."
"I know it's hard to accept, but that's the truth." Batman reminded, knowing that it was a hard pill to swallow.
Batgirl anxiously shook her head, causing strains of hair to negatively dance. She refused to accept Batman's explanation. It sounded so wrong. So unreal. Like it wasn't even conceivable.
"It can't be true." Batgirl refused. "I don't believe it."
She stood up, turning to Batman. She was wide eyed and skeptical and her frame was nervously shaking ever so slightly. Her mind was playing with multiple scenarios to try and explain the situation. Each one as convoluted as the next.
"He's just acting." Batgirl tried to rationalize. "Pretending like he doesn't remember so that I'll say that I care. That I love him."
"Barbara." Batman sighed. "You two are too good of friends for him to even think about doing that. You know he would never try to spite you like that."
"Do I?" Batgirl scoffed. "You and I both know he's always been such a jokester. Maybe that's all this is. A joke."
Batman approached the redhead, noting her escalating distress. As his hand rested on her shoulder, it all started to settle in. Tears began to streak down her face as she finally came to a realization.
"It's not fair." Batgirl cried, hugging Batman. "He didn't deserve this."
Batgirl's shaking only got worse as she sobbed. Batman knew this was difficult for her. One of her closest friends was lost. He wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to comfort her. It did stop her shaking, but it didn't stop the tears.
"I know." Batman whispered, patting her head. "It's not fair and you're right. He didn't deserve this. But that doesn't mean we can just act like this isn't real."
"But what if he never remembers? What if he doesn't want to remember?"
Those were reasonable questions. This amnesia was unpredictable and there was no foreseeing what could happen. And Batman would be lying if he said he didn't think that those were possible options.
"Then we'll just have to deal with that." Batman stated. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't stop hoping."
Batgirl tried to hold back a cry, but it let itself out. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe that Dick's memory would come back, but she wasn't sure if he would. She lost someone special to her. Romantically involved or not, it still hurt knowing that this happened to someone so close. It just wasn't fair. Not for her, and especially not for him.
A few days later, Barbara began coming back to the manor. She would talk with Dick, getting a feel for where he was at. And while he wasn't exactly the same, wishing to distance himself from Nightwing, there were parts of him that she could feel were still there. He still seemed to care for his family, even if he couldn't grasp the same relationship with them, and he seemed to harbor some fondness for Barbara. Maybe not romantically, but still a sense of caring.
Now the reason I had Barbara go with denial instead of depression is for two reasons. One, given all of their time together (romantically and platonically), I feel that she couldn't think of losing all of that history. Two, when I do get to depression, I want it to nbe a mix of depression on Dick's part and the character involved.
This fic won't have a set schedule. Mostly because I will be focusing on my main projects and will be a little more flexible with these "experimental" pieces. I plan on doing something looking into Roy Harper's familial connection with Vandal Savage (yes, they're related) in the Arrowverse and flat out DC. I may also go back and rework with old fic. As well as whatever Cass topic wins in my poll (it's currently tied).