So I'm just going to attach a trigger warning here that I never, ever in a million years thought that I would: trigger!surgery

It's not gory or anything (Wally doesn't even really bleed). I couldn't bring myself to write something that made me that squeamish - though I guess YMMV.

I don't make this up, people - I just report. Ah heh.

Light slash warning still applies! :)

I also made art of what I think Dick and Wally look like in the future! http :/tinyurl . com / 429wn8c


As Nightwing ninjaed his way back into the main room, Robin, all business, tucked a blanket under the speedster laying on one of the large wooden lodge tables.

"Shirt off."

Wally was glad no one could see him flush in the dim light of the room as he carefully, painfully wiggled out of the upper half of his costume. The fact that he still buzzed didn't help the pain or the disrobing.

Aqualad frowned. "Surgery, Robin? Are you qualified for this sort of thing?"

"Wally won't get infected. I wouldn't even try this with anyone else," he replied. He snapped on a pair of latex gloves.

"But …" Artemis crossed her arms. "Surgery?"

"I prefer 'extreme field medicine'."

Robin dug through his belt for a syringe and a small vial of morphine. Sucking the entire contents of the bottle into the syringe, he sighed. "This will probably buy us about five minutes."

"Aren't I supposed to get a dinner and a movie before this sort of thing?" Wally cocked an eyebrow, glancing at the candles and the drugs.

"You're sick," Robin said flatly, tapping the syringe to remove any bubbles.

"Clearly." He wheezed out a laugh, "calling Dr. Bird Brain."

"Save it for after you're drugged up," said Artemis.

"- Kid Feeble," she added.

"Now that's just personal," whined Wally as he lay back down. He vibrated a little as Artemis shoved the blanket back under the speedster's wounded ribs.

I don't remember you being such an inappropriate flirt, mused Nightwing, finishing his last cookie. Well, not at ME, anyway. Guess I should have paid closer attention.

"Hold this," Robin said to the green-clad girl. She took the syringe, and Wally gulped.

"Superboy," Robin said, "Would you hold him down?"

Superboy walked to the other side of the table and placed a hand on Wally's shoulder and his opposing hip. He knitted his brows.

"I'm sorry," he said, for both the injuries and the current situation.

"It's uh … cool," replied Wally, as he shivered erratically. "It happens."

"Ok, borrowing these," Robin said as he pulled the red goggles off Wally's head. "... babe," he mocked.

Wally pouted and grumbled, "... you started it."

"What? Wow, you are delirious." Robin snickered as he snapped them on over his mask and flipped on night vision.

Wally made a face.

Even though infection was unlikely, just to be safe, Robin sterilized the knife with the lighter and washed his hands in salt water and alcohol. After swabbing some more over Wally's broken rib, he injected the painkiller and waited a bit.

"... you ok?"

Wally nodded. "Yeesh," he drawled.

"Try to stay still."

Robin and Nightwing both took a deep breath and held it at the same time. THIS Nightwing definitely remembered.

The knife hovered over Wally's side for what felt like an eternity before Robin made a small incision over the injury. Wally squirmed and vibrated and yowled. Robin grimaced as he slipped one slim finger under Wally's split rib and lifted gently until it was flush with the other side. Wally's blood clotted almost instantly, and he only bled a little when his body whirred ...

But the rib slipped away.

"Dammit," muttered Robin. Superboy pressed a little harder, but it didn't stop the vibrating. Robin shook his head. Nobody wanted more broken bones.

"M'gann," Robin called, a note of panic invading his tone, "come here! Can you calm him down? At this rate we may have to re-break his rib so it connects properly."

"I can try," she said nervously. Miss Martian flew over and gently placed her fingers over Wally's temples, projecting 'calm' into his thoughts. Wally sucked in a sharp breath at the touch.

Nightwing's eyes widened. THIS didn't happen before. He sunk down, leaning against the corner of a vertical support. Crap. What did I do wrong?

Wally gradually stilled, breathing evenly. His eyes drifted shut.

"Thank you, beautif ..." he murmured a little drunkenly as he passed out.

Robin breathed a sigh of relief as he shifted the rib a little higher. He could already feel the bone knitting with its other half. In fact, Robin's finger was in danger of getting stuck as the incision closed around it. He waited about five or six minutes, checked to make sure the joining was smooth, and yanked his finger out. Wally was already halfway healed.

Nightwing shook his head in amazement at this for the second time in his life. He ran his finger over his heart - over the scar left from the arrow's scratch earlier that day. It would never go away.

Miss Martian frowned, her fingers still on Wally's temples.

Superboy glanced over. "What is it, M'gann?"

"I didn't mean read his mind, but ... " she asked. "Robin ... you were with us the whole time before we found Wally by the tree, right?"

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Why?"

"Wally thinks that ... he was stuck in the avalanche, and you pulled him out."

Everyone looked at her, confused.

"A dream, possibly?" Aqualad supplied. "... concussion from the explosion?"

"... possibly," echoed M'gann.

Nighwing held his breath. That is bad. Should I get out of here? His instincts told him he shouldn't. I'll just play dead.

No reading the good guys' minds, ok, M'gann? Especially not this one. He pursed his lips. Geeze, Superboy and M'gann are a power couple. I don't even want to think about what their kids will be like. Glad they're on my side. Well, usually.

Aqualad placed a hand on her shoulder. "We can ask him about it in the morning. We should all rest now."

"Yeah," M'gann agreed.

Nightwing sighed quietly in relief and peeked out from behind his post. Everyone was gathering blankets and cushions, laying them by the crackling fire. Superman and M'gann cuddled up on the far side of the open fireplace in the middle of the room, while Aqualad and Artemis each took a side, as close to the flames as they could get.

Robin shook Wally gently, who reluctantly returned to the land of the conscious. He dragged the out-of-it boy over to the hearth, where he clumsily slipped back into his costume. Wally propped his chin on his hand and shut his eyes. That didn't mean he shut up, though.

"I get the best cushions, right? Surgery and all …" he complained.

Robin rolled his eyes and yanked the cushions off the biggest couch. Wally stumbled over, eyes still half-closed, and face-planted into them. Robin grabbed a blanket.

"Well? What do you say?"

He mumbled something incoherent into the cushions.

"I just fixed your rib!"

"I want a juice box and a jello."

"What?"

"What kind of hospital is this? Where's the jello?"

"Augh." He tossed the blanket on top of Wally's head.

Robin came back with an apple juice and a jello. "Here."

Wally looked up at him mirthfully. "Thank you, Dr. Bird Brain," he sang.

The corner of Robin's mouth twitched, and he tried to suppress a smile. "Fine."

He took off his cape, draped it over himself like a blanket, flopped down on the floor next to Wally, and quickly fell asleep.

Nightwing lay down on his stomach on the beam farthest from the group, legs and arms dangling lazily over either side. He dozed lightly, lulled to sleep by the soft, even breathing of his friends' slumber, but he couldn't stay asleep for long. Every time he moved the beam dug into something different and woke him up.

Several hours later, the fire died down, and most of the candles had flickered out. Nightwing opened his eyes part-way again as he heard Wally groan below him. The silver moonlight fell over the boy's face, bleaching the color of his skin and making his freckles stand out. Wally blearily sat up on the tan couch cushions he'd claimed and reached behind the decorative firewood for the little green juice box and red jello.

Sipping sleepily on the apple juice, Wally noticed that Robin had rolled a few feet away from the fire, off by himself on the edge of the group. He lay on his side, legs curled almost up to his chest. His uniform was torn open, and he clutched his cape in front of him, wrapped into a tiny ball in his skinny arms.

He was shivering.

Wally frowned as he shifted off the cushions. He quietly crawled over to his freezing-cold best friend, where he tried to pry the cape out of the boy's kung-fu grip to cover him with it properly. Unconscious Robin was having none of it. Wally hesitated.

Eventually, he lay down beside him, tucking one folded arm under Robin's head and looping the other around his waist. Wally warily watched Robin for signs of waking and/or hitting him, but Robin just relaxed in the glow of Wally's speedster heat and breathed tranquilly. Wally smiled a little, his eyes drooping as he drifted to sleep beside the black-and-red boy.

Nightwing's throat constricted. He remembered that Wally had woken up on the floor instead of the cushions in the morning, but he didn't know … he rolled over onto his back and stared at the ceiling.

His chest hurt in a way that it hadn't in a long time.

Idiot. ...s.

All of us.