A/N: Thanks to everyone who commented on the last chapter. You guys rock! Only one more chapter after this. :)
oOo
It was a very silent bio-ship that arrived in Gotham City. The silence was mostly due to Dick's continuing unconsciousness – he was horribly white-faced and still in Bruce's arms – but Wally had a feeling that it was also due in part to the team struggling to come to terms with the discovery that Bruce Wayne was Batman. It wasn't helping that Bruce was showing an uncharacteristically human side to him as he cradled Dick tightly to him.
Wally was still trying to get his own head around that. He kept sneaking glances back at where Bruce was sitting; not speaking to anyone while his arms kept a tight hold on Dick and one cheek rested gently against Dick's dark hair. Wally frowned at that; human Bruce Wayne was freaking him out! He felt like the man had been body-snatched or something. He would admit the silence was pretty characteristic though.
Still in camouflage mode, the bio-ship descended slowly and hovered near the entrance to Gotham General's A & E. It wasn't yet eleven thirty and the entrance area was quiet.
"Miss Martian, use your telekinesis to lower us to the ground," Bruce commanded, getting to his feet with Dick still in his arms. "Then return to Mount Justice – Flash and Superman will meet you there shortly."
After the team and Bruce had boarded the bio-ship, Superman had flown off to join Flash in apprehending the kidnappers. Wally guessed they were meeting the team to give them the 'talk' about why it was so important to keep Batman and Robin's identities secret. But Wally had already had that talk, not to mention that he had already proven he could keep that secret. He had no intention of returning to Mount Justice.
He got to his feet as well just as Bruce fixed him with a look. "That includes you, Kid Flash," he ordered in a tone that brokered no argument.
"What! Why?!"
"You're still in uniform. Too many questions would be asked."
"You just arrived here in the bio-ship!" Wally argued furiously. "How is that any different?!"
"The bio-ship is in camouflage mode and I don't plan on anyone seeing us exiting."
"Then how are you going to explain getting here?"
The team exchanged glances and Wally knew they were shocked that he was actually arguing with Bruce – the man was Batman for crying out loud! Truthfully, even Wally was a little surprised at himself; a voice in his head demanding to know if he had some sort of death wish.
Bruce frowned. "Superman is going to bring the van that the kidnappers left behind. That is what I will tell the authorities I used. This is not up for negotiation and I do not appreciate being questioned."
There it was; Batman voice. But instead of forcing Wally to cower, it only made him angrier. "And I don't appreciate being kept in the dark! He's my best friend and I had to find out about his kidnapping on the freaking news! Not to mention that I've been keeping this in all weekend after you sent us to Gotham! It's not fair and I am not going back to Mount Justice to be kept out of the loop again!"
Wally glowered at Bruce, his anger making him less scared of the man than he usually was.
"You're right."
A collective gasp went around the ship and Wally's mouth opened slightly. Did Bruce Wayne just tell him he was right?
"I should have thought to inform you," Bruce admitted. "That was an oversight on my part and I'm sorry. But in my defence, I wasn't exactly thinking clearly."
Wally was pretty sure the world was ending. Bruce Wayne – freaking Batman – had just apologised to him and admitted weakness. The stunned faces of his team mates told him they were thinking the same thing.
"I know this weekend has been hard for you, Wally," Bruce continued, "and I know you're worried about Dick, but right now, he needs medical assistance and standing here arguing is not helping. If you won't listen to me then will you please do this for him?"
Wally scowled and silently flopped back into his chair with his arms crossed. He considered it a low blow that Bruce was using Dick to make him stay.
"I will contact you all later with an update. Miss Martian, if you would."
Wally didn't look as the Martian used her powers to gently lower them both to the ground. This wasn't fair! After all the horrible fear and worry and waiting of the last few days, he was now being forced to do it again. He knew it was irrational but right now he really hated Bruce Wayne.
He could feel the bio-ship move off but didn't look up. There was a long silence before anyone spoke. When someone did, Wally wasn't surprised that it was Artemis.
"So, Bruce Wayne is Batman. Anybody see that coming, 'cause I sure didn't!"
"I didn't know who he was before this weekend," Miss Martian admitted.
"Seriously?!" Artemis' eyes bugged. "He's like, one of the richest men in the world!"
Superboy snorted. "What's that got to do with anything?"
Wally guessed the clone hadn't known all that much about Bruce either – which made sense once you remembered that he'd been living in a test tube up until a couple of months ago.
"I dunno," Artemis replied. "Geez, isn't anybody else weirded out about this? Aqualad?"
"Not really," he responded. "It made sense when I thought about it; Bruce Wayne is wealthy enough to afford all the equipment that Batman has."
Wally's head snapped around to look at him. Kaldur had processed that awfully fast.
"Yeah, but…Bruce Wayne?" Artemis was shaking her head. "He's Gotham's biggest playboy!"
"Not anymore," Wally interjected absently. "Not since Dick came on the scene."
That much was true. Once Bruce had taken Dick in, the number of society ladies in his life had dropped dramatically. Dick had told Wally that Bruce had deliberately cultivated the playboy image so that no one would connect him to Batman, but after he had become Dick's guardian, he had an excuse for not being so active on the dating scene. Wally scowled. "Stupid Bruce," he muttered, still mad that he hadn't been allowed to go with Dick.
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Wally, you do know he was right when he refused to let you go with them?"
"How was he right?!" he demanded furiously.
For once, she didn't just snap back at him. "Wally, questions would be asked if Kid Flash was hovering around Gotham General wanting to know how Dick Grayson is. It wouldn't take a genius to make the connection that he's Robin. And if this is what happens to him when people don't know he's Robin, then I'd hate to think what would happen if it got out that he is."
Wally stared at her. Less than an hour after finding out Robin's real identity, Artemis had already pieced together why secrecy was particularly important for Batman and Robin…something he'd never once considered over the course of two years. His arms tightened across his chest and he sulked. That Artemis had beat him to the punch on that score didn't make him feel any better.
"Wally, at least you can talk to us now," Miss Martian offered tentatively. "You don't have to pretend anymore."
He gave a weak smile in response; scowling at Miss Martian was a no-no in his book.
"How long have you known Robin's real identity?" Artemis wanted to know. She looked curious.
Wally felt his ears burn. "About two years."
"That long?" Kaldur put in.
Wally glanced at him, suddenly feeling awkward. Robin had known him almost as long as Wally and he had never revealed his real name to him. "Uh…yeah…it's…um…it's a long story."
"Do not worry my friend. I have suspected for quite some time now that you knew Robin's real name."
"You don't mind?" Wally was surprised.
Kaldur shook his head. "I have always known that you and Robin share a particularly close bond."
"Uh, right." Studying Kaldur's expression, something occurred to Wally. "Exactly whose idea was it to get involved today anyway?"
Kaldur's lips curved in a small smile. "Mine."
Wally sighed. So that's why he's being so chilled about all of this. "You knew Dick was Robin, didn't you?"
"I began to suspect there may be a connection after you disobeyed me in Gotham on Saturday. But it was when you wouldn't join us for pizza on Saturday night that I started to wonder if maybe Dick was Robin."
Wally groaned. He really had been so obvious. "Did I tip the rest of you off too?"
Superboy shrugged. "Didn't really think about it; you always act weird."
"Gee, thanks," said Wally sarcastically before looking at Miss Martian. "What about you, Babe?"
"I knew you were distressed about his kidnapping but I didn't know why."
They all turned to Artemis.
"I didn't think he was Robin," she admitted. "I thought maybe he was a friend of Robin's and that was how you knew him."
Wally raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you think he was Robin?"
Artemis rolled her eyes. "A skinny little mathlete?! Come on. Not exactly the first thing that springs to mind when you think of the Boy Wonder."
"Wait!" Wally narrowed his eyes at her. "How do you know he's a mathlete? That's the second time you've done that! You knew he went to Gotham Academy and that he's a freshman!"
Her eyes widened before she scowled and crossed her arms. "It was on the news, Genius. No big mystery there."
Wally frowned, not exactly believing her, but not caring enough to quiz her either. He was getting tired of this conversation. What he really wanted was to go back to Gotham and see Dick...talking about his friend wasn't the same as seeing him.
oOo
Bruce was seated in a hospital waiting room with his head in his hands; it had been almost two hours since he had pushed through the A & E doors and he still had no word on Dick's condition. Nor had he seen Dick since he was taken to x-ray over an hour ago and despite his incessant hovering and badgering the nurses, no one would give him any answers.
It was making him frantic. Aside from the nerve wracking worry, Bruce wasn't used to people telling him to wait. But if someone didn't tell him something soon then he was going to start yelling at people, appearances be dammed.
"Bruce?"
He looked up to see Leslie Thompkins standing there. "Leslie, what are you doing here? I thought you only worked Wednesday and Thursday in the hospital?"
"I'm covering for another doctor. I heard about Dick–"
Bruce sprang to his feet. "Do you know how he is? Can you find out? No one will tell me anything!"
She held up a hand. "The nurses couldn't tell you what they didn't know. We had to wait until Dick's blood work came back before we knew what was going on."
"You were treating him?"
"Yes. One of the attendings knew I was on and she knows I'm Dick's physician so she had me paged. And I deliberately kept you out of the examination room because I knew you'd only get in the way," she added as he opened his mouth in outrage.
"How is he? Is he awake? Can I see him?"
"Soon." Her face was serious. "We need to discuss a few things first."
His heart plummeted. "Oh God, is something wrong?"
"Bruce, I will explain everything if you stop asking questions and just listen."
He shut up at once.
She pushed her glasses up her nose. "After you told the attending ER that you believed Dick had been drugged, I put a rush on his blood work. You were right, he was. They gave him several extremely heavy doses of two powerful sedatives; temazepam and flunitrazepam. He was also given a massive dose of methamphetamines just a short while ago."
"Methamphetamines! Why the hell would they give him those?!"
"I'm guessing to try and counter the effects of the sedatives; the last dose wasn't long before. Did they need him conscious for the ransom swap?"
He clenched a fist and gave a curt nod.
"That explains it then." She shook her head angrily. "He's lucky they didn't kill him. Mixing stimulants and depressants in high doses has the potential to cause acute heart failure because both drugs send different messages to the cardiovascular system. In Dick's case, it caused a dangerous arrhythmia that led to a minor myocardial infarction–"
"A heart attack?! Jesus, Leslie!" Bruce thought he might have one too at this information.
"Minor," she reminded him gently. "He's going to be okay. He's currently on oxygen and we've given him nitro-glycerine. Dick's young and very physically fit with a strong heart; it's probably what saved him." She leaned over and grasped his hand. "Bruce, because of it, we're going to have to wait before performing surgery on his fingers and leg."
"What does his heart have to do with that?" Bruce asked, his own heart racing frantically.
"Dick almost OD'ed," she explained gently, "and I would rather most of the drugs were out of his system before we sedate him again. Besides, between the blood loss and the drugs, he's extremely dehydrated which would make any surgery risky."
"How long until you can perform surgery?"
"Tomorrow if he responds well to treatment."
"Is it safe to wait?" Bruce swallowed. "They broke his fingers Saturday morning – it's been more than forty-eight hours…"
She squeezed his hand gently. "We're going to have to rebreak the fingers anyway to set them correctly. Three of them were almost completely shattered and the healing will be slow and possibly difficult. He's going to have to come in for x-rays every week to make sure the bones are still straight and aligned, and it's very likely that he'll need several re-settings over the next few weeks."
"Is there any danger of the fingers not healing correctly?"
"Some, but it's minimal. Best case scenario, the fingers would be crooked but still functional. Worst case would be a complete loss of use. But I don't see either being an option if he follows our instructions – which I have no doubt you and Alfred will make him do."
Bruce nodded. "What about his leg?"
"The leg looks a lot worse than it actually is. The wound is deep but there was relatively little tissue damage. Once we've cleaned it out and repaired any damage, it should heal fine. Dick will just need to keep his weight off it for a week or two."
Bruce put a hand to his head. All of this was done to his son…for money. It made him sick. "Can I see him?" he asked quietly.
"I'll take you to him," she said, crooking a finger for Bruce to follow her. He quickly complied.
"I had him moved to a quiet room on one of the upper floors after his x-rays," she explained as they walked.
"Already?" Bruce was surprised.
She grimaced. "It would appear that someone in the ER notified the media of your arrival. The vultures started arriving an hour ago."
Bruce curled a lip in distaste. The media attention was one element of being Bruce Wayne that he hated with every fiber of his being.
"Don't worry," she said, stopping at the elevator and hitting a button. "I had hospital security station someone outside his room."
"Thank you, Leslie."
"It's the least I can do," she replied, hitting nine just as the doors slid closed. "I can only imagine the ordeal he's been through."
Bruce gritted his teeth and gave a curt nod. He didn't have to imagine it; he had heard the worst of it in agonizing live-action.
The elevator shuddered and started to move. "Has he woken up yet?" he asked anxiously. Dick's continued unconsciousness after being pulled from the grave had un-nerved him.
She nodded. "He woke up shortly after his x-rays. Bruce, you should know that he's a little…emotional. It's a side effect of the drugs, and I'm guessing being buried alive didn't help, and for now it's very important that he stays calm. His heart is still racing from the methamphetamines and it would be better if he doesn't get upset until we flush the drugs from his system, so you need to be very calm and very gentle when you enter that room, do you understand?"
"Leslie, I just got him back! I'm hardly going to start yelling at him!"
"I know that," she said patiently. "But I also know you, Bruce. Dick will only have to mention what they did to him and you'll exhibit that cold anger that you do so well and start contemplating ways to hurt them without breaking the law. But that isn't what Dick needs right now; he needs a father, not Batman."
He swallowed, nodding as the doors opened.
Stepping out, they walked briskly down the corridor to where Bruce could see a security guard standing outside a room. Unconsciously, he increased his pace. He was longing to see Dick.
"Henry, this is Mr. Wayne," said Dr. Thompkins, reaching the man. "He's Dick's father."
The security guard nodded at Bruce but the man didn't notice as he anxiously pushed open the door and entered the room. His eyes went immediately to the bed where Dick was sitting propped against several pillows, an oxygen mask on his face. Bruce barely saw the nurse talking to him in soothing tones; he had eyes only for his son.
Dick's eyes were huge when he turned towards him. "Bruce!"
"Dick," he managed in a choked whisper, crossing the room in a few steps and pulling him into a tight hug.
Oh thank you, God! Thank you, thank you, thank you! he prayed fervently, holding on for dear life to the boy, lips ghosting the top of his head.
Even though he had held a breathing Dick in his arms for the entire journey into Gotham; the still, unconscious figure had scared him. Bruce had been terrified that the lack of oxygen had done permanent damage and that his vibrant, alive son would become nothing more than a shell. It was only now, seeing Dick conscious, sitting up, speaking, could Bruce reassure himself that he would be alright.
He could feel Dick shaking in his arms and tightened his grip. "It's alright, Dickie," he said softly. "Its okay, you're safe now." He ran his fingers soothingly through the dark hair, a strange mixture of sorrow and relief coursing through him; sorrow for Dick's fear and pain, and relief as the sobs reminded him of just how alive his son really was.
The nurse whose presence he had barely registered was gone, leaving them alone. Bruce was glad; he wanted to talk to Dick without anyone listening.
"Sorry," said Dick in a shaking voice, pulling away and rubbing at his eyes with the back of his right hand. "I– I don't know why I did that." There was frustration and embarrassment in his voice. He gave a weak laugh. "Stupid, huh?"
He was playing the tough guy, trying to be what he thought Bruce wanted him to be.
The billionaire swallowed. Dick had to be the only thirteen-year-old on the planet who would apologize for allowing the trauma of being buried alive to show – and it was his fault that he felt he had to; Bruce rarely showed emotion or weakness, while Batman never did. Now was the time to correct the mistaken assumptions that Dick had about Bruce's feelings and expectations.
"It's not stupid," Bruce told him, sitting on the bed beside him and putting one arm around his shoulders before drawing him closer. There was a chair beside the bed that he could have sat on to have this conversation, but having come so close to losing him, he wasn't ready to let go of his son just yet. "Dick, you've just been through a terrible ordeal, not to mention the mountain of drugs pumping through your system! Frankly, I'm surprised you're not more upset."
"You're just saying that," Dick mumbled, tugging at the oxygen mask.
"Stop that," said Bruce gently, guiding his hand away again. "And I'm not just saying it. Most men I know would be reduced to gibbering wrecks by what you've just been through, not to talk of a thirteen year-old-boy. So despite what you might think, it's normal to be frightened by something like this…I know I was."
Dick stared at him. "You were scared?"
"Probably more than I've ever been," he admitted quietly. "Losing you is the most terrifying thing I can imagine and I came too close this weekend – because for all my toys and connections, I was helpless to do anything about it. Dick, I would have given up everything in a heartbeat to have you home safe."
Dick frowned at him. "Was the world invaded by aliens this weekend? Have you been body-snatched or something?"
Bruce chuckled. "No aliens, Buddy, just me. Sometimes it takes almost losing something before you realize just how precious it really is. And I am not going to forget that lesson again." He looked down at the boy leaning against him. "You mean everything to me, Dick, you're my son and things are going to be very different from now on. You and I are going to make time for regular father son stuff, not just…extracurricular activities."
"Really?" Dick looked both stunned and hopeful.
"I promise, Dickie." He leaned down and kissed the top of Dick's head. Such a small gesture, but something he had never done until today. Bruce shuddered when he thought of how little he had hugged Dick in the past, relying instead on warm smiles and gentle pats on the shoulder to convey his affection. His arm tightened around his son. He would never hesitate to show Dick how much he mattered in the future.
Dick grimaced. "Bruce, I am too old for 'Dickie' now."
Bruce smiled fondly. "You'll never be too old for 'Dickie' in my eyes."
"Just so long as you don't use it in front of my friends," Dick grumbled, blushing slightly.
Bruce just smiled.
oOo
Wally arrived on the ninth floor of the hospital, wondering how long it would be before hospital security realized that there was a teenager wandering the hospital and peering into rooms while he searched for his best friend.
The lady on the front desk had been absolutely no help when Wally had asked what room Dick was in. In a snooty voice, she had informed him that that information was 'confidential' and that 'Mr. Grayson' would not be having any visitors, before asking him to leave. Wally had been sorely tempted to give her a not-so-nice gesture with his finger (even if she was kind of hot), but had restrained himself and walked away. He suspected that the mass of reporters and news cameras outside the hospital had something to do with her caution, but really – Wally glanced down at his jeans, sneakers and shirt – did he look like a news reporter?!
Instead, he left the hospital and then re-entered through one of the other doors before starting to search all the private rooms – because there was no way in hell Bruce would leave Dick in a public ward – from the ground floor up.
But he was getting a little frustrated now because he wasn't able to use his speed and he'd been searching for over an hour with no sign of Dick. Plus he was almost certain that he'd passed some of those Doctors by the nurses' station on another floor. Wally shoved his hands in his pockets as he passed and tried to look like he knew where he was going.
It was then he spotted a hospital security guard at the other end of the corridor. For a second, he panicked and almost ran, thinking he'd been caught out. But then he realized the man wasn't even looking at him; he was standing outside a room idly watching people walk past.
Wally frowned. What would a hospital security guard be doing just standing outside a room? Heart beating a little faster, he hurried towards the man.
The guard's head turned towards Wally as he drew near. "I'm here to see Dick," he informed him, trying to look as though he was supposed to be here.
The man raised an eyebrow. "Nice try but Mr. Wayne didn't say anything about a visitor."
"No, really," said Wally earnestly.
The guard snorted. "Do I look like I was born yesterday? Son, I have strict instructions about who I let into this room and nobody said anything about some teenager."
"I'm not just some teenager!" Wally retorted loudly. "Dick's my best friend!"
The guard put a hand on his shoulder and tried to manoeuvre him the other way. "Pull the other one."
Wally shot out from under the hand. "I'm not lying, I swear! Just ask Bruce."
"Mr. Wayne specifically said not to disturb them. Now go home before I call security and have you escorted off the premises."
Wally opened his mouth to argue just as the door opened. The figure of Bruce Wayne frowned down at him.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne," said the guard at once. "This kid is refusing to leave. I'll call security and have him removed."
"Its fine, Henry, thank you," said Bruce, still frowning at Wally as he stood aside to let the teenager in.
"Told you," Wally shot at the guard as he entered.
The door clicked shut and Bruce folded his arms as he glared at Wally. "I told you to go back to Mount Justice."
"I did. Changed clothes and came back," Wally retorted, then wilted slightly under the infamous Batglare.
"Bruce? What's goin' on?" a sleepy voice interrupted.
Wally peered around the massive form of Bruce just in time to see Dick sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes.
"Dude!" he cried happily, zipping over to the bed and throwing his arms around the younger boy.
"Ooof! Wally?"
"You're alive! You're awake!" Wally babbled happily, clinging tightly.
"Walls, not that it's not great to see you, but – ow," Dick's muffled voice spoke into his shoulder.
"Oh, sorry," said Wally sheepishly, letting go of the enthusiastic hold and studying his friend. Aside from his injuries and a too pale face, Dick looked relatively…okay. He was even looking at Wally with one eyebrow raised and an amused smile. "I just…you scared me. Never do that again!"
"Sorry, can't promise that. Halloween is only a few weeks away!" Dick grinned, but there was a slight flash of something in his blue eyes. Knowing his best friend as well as he did, Wally realized that Dick was still a little freaked.
He resisted the urge to hug him again. Dick wasn't Bruce – who may as well have a three foot wide fence surrounding him with a flashing neon sign saying 'don't touch' mounted on it – but he still wasn't quite as touchy-feely as Wally.
Behind him, Bruce cleared his throat and both boys looked at him. "I was waiting for Alfred to arrive so I could go and make a few calls to let everyone know that you're okay," he told Dick, while looking pointedly at Wally. "But since Wally is here, I can do that now. It will give you two a chance to talk."
Dick nodded.
"If you need anything, buzz the nurse," Bruce told him, placing one hand on Dick's head and ruffling his hair gently, while the other squeezed Dick's good hand tightly. "Alfred will be here shortly and I won't be too long, okay?"
Dick nodded again before Bruce kissed the top of his head and headed for the door. "Wally, stay here until I get back," he ordered as he left the room.
Wally, who had been gawping shamelessly at Bruce's actions, snapped his mouth shut. "He's still doing that?! Dude, did he get hit in the head?"
Dick laughed at Wally's expression. "What are you talking about?"
"Hello?! Bruce suddenly acting like a human being? I thought it was because you weren't waking up but–"
"Wait!" Dick interrupted, confused. "Wally, what are you talking about?"
"You know…you were all unconscious and stuff after we got you out of the box. And you didn't move the whole way into Gotham–"
"You were there?!"
"Well, yeah, the whole team were." He looked at Dick's shocked expression. "You didn't know?"
Dick shook his head.
Wally was bewildered. "Didn't Bruce tell you what happened?"
"He didn't get the chance. We were kind of talking about other stuff and I fell asleep. You were here when I woke up."
Wally blew air through his teeth. "Man, have I got a lot to tell you. For one thing," he lowered his voice, "the team know you're Robin."
Dick was stunned. "How?"
"It was an accident. When we got you out of the coffin, you're hair was messy, like when you're Robin, and there was tape all around your eyes, so you looked like Robin and well..." Wally shrugged "...they kind of figured it out."
Dick's eyes were wide as he stared at Wally and the speedster began to feel a little worried. "Dude, are you okay with this?"
"I...does Bruce know?"
"Yeah. Um...they sorta know that he's Batman as well." Dick remained silent and Wally rushed to reassure him. "I think he's cool with it – he came with us in the bio-ship to Gotham."
"What– what about the team? Are they…okay with it?"
"Well, yeah, why wouldn't they be?"
Dick fiddled with his blankets. "B–because…sometimes people look at me like I'm a spoilt brat…just because of who Bruce is."
"You're not a spoilt brat!" cried Wally at once, before adding in a quieter voice, "And your friends all know that."
Dick gave him a small smile. "So they're really okay?"
"Honestly? Miss M and Supey didn't even know who Bruce was before this weekend! Artemis was more freaked about Bruce being Batman, and Kaldur had figured it out anyway."
"How did Kaldur figure it out?!"
Wally blushed. "Um…guilty?"
"What?! Wally!"
"I couldn't help it! Your kidnapping freaked me out! And then our mission in Gotham was connected – which Bats totally knew it was – and I sort of went a little nuts. So that made Kal suspicious and then when I wouldn't go for pizza with them–"
Dick's jaw dropped. "You didn't want to go for pizza?!"
"Didn't feel right without you there." Wally shuffled awkwardly.
The younger boy tilted his head. "Were you really that worried?"
"Dude, you're my best friend! Of course I was worried."
Dick used his good hand to reach out and grasp the older teenager's. "Thanks for getting me out, Walls," he said softly.
Wally squeezed his hand and beamed. "Anytime, bro, that's what friends are for."
