Tears dripped down her cheeks as she avoided meeting Dinah's eyes. Therapy wasn't want she wanted; she wanted a hug. A tight hug that lasted until the pain in her chest faded away.

"Cassie-"

"I could have said no." The words tumbled past her lips and she shook her head. "Gar gave us the option. He left it up to us. If Jaime hadn't volunteered to be bait then he would have done it. If- If Jaime hadn't volunteered to be bait, I- I don't think I would have."

"So you volunteered to sacrifice yourself because Blue Beetle did?"

Lifting her arm, she scrubbed at her eyes furiously. "I- yes." The defeat in her chest pulled her further down in her chair. "He joked, before Batgirl died, that he found it weird. I was the one who recruited him onto the team, and it looked like we were probably going to be leaving together. I think- I took it more to heart than I should have. So when he volunteered to be the distraction, I wasn't going to let him go out on his own."

Dinah reached out, placing a hand on her knee. "Friendships in this line of work are important, our bonds are what help us fight harder for our goal. Are you upset over this because you regret following after Blue Beetle? Do you feel that your sense of responsibility when it comes for him dictates your decision making?"

"I- no." She shook her head. "I don't regret it. I went out the way I chose to. Gar gave us the option to stay back, try and survive. I chose to fight and I chose who I was dying alongside. And it wasn't a sense of responsibility that dictated my choice. It was- It was me taking something Blue said to heart. It was a joke-"

"A joke that clearly affected you greatly in the heat of the moment."

"I didn't want him dying alone."

She couldn't contain the sobs that burst out of her as tears poured down her cheeks.

Therapy wasn't something he was entirely used to. Having Dinah talk away to him about how she understands how traumatised he must be, and that training for failure is never easy. That sometimes emotional damage can have someone change their mind on whether or not they still want to be a hero.

"I don't really have a choice." He cut in over her. "I turn into a weapon either at my request, or when Khaji Da decides I've to suit up. The whole hero thing means I get to do it on my terms- more or less." He gave a small shrug. "And I won't quit because I'm supposed to be traumatised."

"Supposed to be?"

Rubbing a hand hand against the back of his neck, he looked down at the floor. "I feel ill, yeah. I felt ill through most of it. But-" Guilt ate away at his chest. "The last time I went up against evil aliens, I almost lost; but that was on their terms. This time, yeah I did lose. But it was on my terms. I died fighting to protect humanity. Last time, if I lost I would have lost while destroying humanity. I've had nightmares about the future Bart came from; that future is more terrifying than fake-dying over a cause that was worth sacrificing myself for."

"You feel more traumatised by what happened with the Reach? Jaime, that is perfectly okay."

"It's not a case of what was more traumatising. It's the guilt. Everyone is torn up over the fact they died. And- yeah, watching everyone die was heart wrenching. Seeing Cassie die right before I went is something that will haunt me until the day I actually die. But I- I was-" Letting out a sigh, he rubbed a hand over his face. "I thought that if I gave my life protecting the world, that maybe it would make up for the fact I nearly destroyed it."

"It's twisted." His hands were between his knees, eyes trained on his lap. "Everyone's dying around me and I was glad I had survived so long."

"Virgil." Dinah's voice was soft as she reached out to rest a hand on his knee. "It's okay. It's not twisted. You're so young and fresh. The newest addition to this team; to this lifestyle. You haven't had your abilities for long, and to be thrown into a train for failure situation like that is going to create conflicting emotions for anyone."

"But I shouldn't feel that way. I shouldn't have felt glad that I made it to the end. Outliving people who you trust and who are supposed to trust you shouldn't make you feel happy."

"You say that the others are supposed to trust you. Do you think that they don't?"

Shifting uncomfortably in the chair, he looked up to meet her eyes. "They shouldn't. Who would want to trust someone who's happy they outlived you in a crisis? It's an awful way to think. I was just so glad I was still alive, still fighting. I could have bailed out at any time; I'm newer and still adjusting to the fact this gig means giving up my life. But I didn't. I wanted to prove myself and now-"

"Virgil you lasted as long as Beast Boy, Robin and Kid Flash. Just because you are newer doesn't mean you're not capable. You have more than proven yourself since joining this team, you shouldn't base your worth on how new you are to the 'hero-community'."

"Garfield-"

Scrubbing at his eyes, he struggled to look up at Dinah. "They're never going to talk to me again. And if they do, they aren't going to treat me in the same way." Holding back a sob, he shook his head. "The last think I thought of was how proud Steve would have been of me. I- I don't want that. I don't want him being proud because I sacrificed everything and everyone. I'm not him."

His shoulders shook and sagged as his head dropped down. "I'm not."

"Garfield, I don't think they are going to stop talking to you. And maybe they will see you in a different light, you're a lot stronger than they all realised and-"

"It was supposed to be Ti-Robin." Running a hand through his hair, he pulled slightly. "Robin. Robin." His eyes widened in horror and his head snapped up to meet Dinah's eyes. "I used his real name. I stopped calling him Robin- Oh God, Batman is going to kill me. Batman is going to kill me." Panic began flooding through his veins. "Oh God. Robin's gonna kill me too. I'm going to actually die. I just- I didn't understand what the point of secret identities were when we were going to die. And he had already revealed Batgirl and Nightwing's secret I.D's beforehand-"

"Garfield, calm down. I'm sure Batman will understand. You all believed that you were going to die, it's only right that you wanted to feel more connected to your friends, rather than have the barrier of the job between you. It would not be the first time a member of the league has used a first name rather than a code name in the heat of battle."

"But I didn't slip up. I used his name because it wasn't fair that Nightwing and Batgirl's names had been used, but everyone was going to die calling Robin Robin. It isn't the costume making the sacrifice. It's the person, that person deserves to be known. At least by their friends."

"I couldn't step up." He refused to meet Dinah's eyes. "I lost everyone, and everyone around me was morphing into something unrecognisable, and I couldn't step up. I let Gar do it and I openly supported him being in charge." Rubbing his hands on his legs, he held in a shuddering breath. "Other than Nightwing and Batgirl, he's the first friend I made on this team. I'm being trained by Batman, it should have been me making those hard decisions. Not Gar – I know he's had training for this sort of thing, but it's not him. It was destroying him, and it's my fault I could step up."

"So, you're worried about how this is going to affect your friendship with him."

"Of Course-" He paused, realising the words had burst out a little too loudly. "I know we're nothing alike, but he's one of my best friends. It was like watch Di-Nightwing during the whole Reach Invasion- except thrown into the space of less than twenty four hours. What Nightwing had to do during the invasion slowly destroyed him – I can imagine that Gar's going to be worse. A- and what am I supposed to say? Sorry Gar, I know I'm the one who's been expected to step up in these kind of situations but I couldn't because I'm not Nightwing or Batman and I when you stepped up I was too relieved to try and wrestle control from you; but at the same time watching you destroy yourself was worse than dying and I feel guilty for not being more?"

"Well, it's not perfect, but any kind of communication is a start. It sounds like you know what you want to say, it's just the saying it part that's hard. You have all been through a very traumatic experience, any kind of communication with one another at this point is important to the healing process."

"Should dying not have affected me more than watching what becomes of my friends in these kind of situations?"

Dinah shook her head. "No, Robin. If dying was the worst part, then it would mean that your friends don't mean all that much to you. Caring more about them than dying is a good and important thing."

"Bart, I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

His fingers were drumming along the side of his leg; trying to focus on something other than the end of the world. "I don't need therapy."

Dinah gave a sigh. "Bart-"

Forcing a grin onto his face, he tilted his head to the side. "Uh, I survived an apocalypse before and didn't need therapy for that. Why do I need it now?"

"You have been offered therapy before Bart. It helps with coming to terms with the trauma you have been through. Your whole life have been filled with loss and trauma, talking about it will help."

"Denial has gotten me this far."

The look on her face made him want to reel backwards.

"Look-" He held his hands up in surrender. "The fact I haven't ceased to exist yet is a miracle in itself. I knew what I was signing up for when I came back here, and dying isn't something I have a problem with. Every time I wake up, I wonder if today will be the day I finally cease." Running a hand through his hair. "Sometimes, I think that maybe it's the way time travel works – that where I come from still exists and I'm now travelling through an altered timeline; one where that hell never happens. But that's a theory; I could still disappear at any time. I have to live with that. I can add sacrificing myself for what turned out to be no reason to the list of things I can pretend don't bother me."

"But it does." She leaned forward, hands folded on her lap. "Bart, none of us can be sure of how time works. But, I can say that Barry and I have discussed your being here. We both believe that you still being here so long after you changed the past means that you aren't going to be going anywhere, anytime soon. As for what has just happened, whether you hide from it or not you have already implied that it does and will bother you."

"We died and it never would have made a difference. We died for a cause that was only getting worse. How is it heroic to die for no reason? We would have been more useful helping get people to safety. The Batcave survived the Reach apocalypse, we could have taken civilians there. Is it not more heroic to save lives than give yours up on the off chance you defeat the enemy?"