A/N: Okayyyy, so this chapter is 8,000 words long…. THIS WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! Ahhh, this is a new record for me and it's not okay! This is why it took so long to update! Well, I suppose you all will be happy about it, unless you don't like long chapters, then sorry! I just didn't have a good place to stop!

Thank you to all my reviewers and followers and those of you who favorite! But remember, I remember reviews the best – they help me most! YOU have the power to change this story – don't be afraid to use it!

Also, I'm betaing for this awesome author name Leradomi! Check out her story A Light in the Dark!

XxNeonShadowsxX: heh heh heh…. Thank you for the wonderful review! You never fail to make feel that I'm doing something right, lol! And don't stop reading – just trust me ;) :)

Sairey13: Very perceptive, young one (name that quote?)! But no secrets revealed here!

Fluffsterzz: Wash off alllll the feels! Hehe…. Mental hug, sounds legit. Glad you liked the dream – I tried to channel my inner psychopath….

KaliAnn: Thank you! I'm so glad you think so! Yeah, darn Bruce, so secretive, precious….

ZeldaIsis: OH! I'm so glad someone reads my chapter names. Takes me forever to come up with them. And thank you! So much!

Chibihyu: Don't we all? Thank you!

GRUBStheBESThero: Well thank you! I quite like that word…. Transcendent…..

Grayson-lover-101: Thank you! I shall!

Nomby: (and I will try, to fix you ;) Or are they? Not everything is at seems… but you didn't hear that from me! Oh good, I've been working on my cliffhangers!

Soccernin19: Oh, do I ever! Good good, excitement is good! Keep it flowwwing!

Brightpath2: Well, I'm not really a doctor, sorry. Maybe talk to Leslie about it ;) Oh, and you're quite welcome – pain is my speciality.

YJFanYeah: How dare I? Oh dear. Welllll, I can't tell you that. Just keep reading. And thank you, you rock!

Wowza! You guys left like the best reviews ever! I loved them all so much and they were all so long and man, I guess I should have Robin wake up more often! Haha, so, all you silent readers out there, take a leaf out of these fellows books and drop a review! If you do, I will ramble nonsensically in reply! Thank you all so much again for taking the time to read! You guys are the best! But actually.

"Artemis, would you take out the garbage?"

"Yeah, sure." Artemis sighed as she dropped her backpack at the door. She bent over and hefted a small plastic, overstuffed garbage bag over her shoulder and kicked open the door. The cold Gotham air greeted her once again, moving quickly to make sure her cheeks hadn't warmed up too much since they'd last been out. The archer grumbled to herself as she made her way down the steps of the fire escape, careful of the patch of ice at the bottom. Leaping over the precarious patch of pavement she hurried around the corner and chucked the bag into a pile with the rest of the apartment's trash. A few other people were hurriedly sliding through the front door, garbage bags over their shoulders as well. It was an inexpensive apartment and that meant every renter for themselves.

Artemis avoided eye contact and quickly turned around, shuffling back to the metal steps and scurrying up them. She rarely if ever used the front door – there was always someone else in the vicinity and the fire escape was faster. At the door, Artemis yanked it open, stamping her feet before slipping inside. She toed off her school shoes, angrily kicking them into the corner (they were the ugliest things she'd ever worn). The kitchen was empty now – her mom must've gone into the bedroom or the hall – and Artemis ambled over to the fridge, jerking it open and taking out an apple.

The apartment was warm enough, though extra heat was extra money and when the landlord didn't feel like turning on the main buildings heat, things cooled down real fast. Today he'd gratefully left it on and Artemis could feel the warm draft drifting under the door leading to the hallway. The archer bypassed the couch, heading instead straight for her room. She wasn't in the mood to interact with her mom and wasn't really sure she'd be able to reign in her temper if she was asked any questions about school.

School itself wasn't that bad; she had reasonable grades and had only been sent to the principal's office once, and that was a fluke anyway. Someone had said something extremely… uncalled for about Dick and why he'd been absent so long and it had involved gypsies, men, and illicit things. Artemis had snapped and punched the girl (not even very hard) and some teacher saw and almost called the police. The whole ordeal had ended pretty shortly, the principal less upset than one would think, and she'd been sent off with a warning. The other girl had gone home because she'd gotten blood on her nice white blouse and couldn't handle the emotional trauma. Though Artemis suspected it wasn't the first time she'd been hit.

Her mom already knew about the incident and there was really nothing Artemis was hiding from her, but the archer couldn't stand to think about the dreaded institution and all the snobs that came with it. She was sick of the rumors that were spreading like wildfire through the school, about Dick and his stay at the hospital. Some people believed the story of the freak skiing accident, but others were convinced it was something far… dirtier. Artemis hated how they talked about the boy, always being sure to mention that he was from gypsy stock and had grown up in the circus so he probably grew up learning how to harangue people out of their money and out of their clothes.

It was pathetic, really. He was thirteen – fourteen – and looked completely respectable. He acted a thousand times more polite and considerate than the vast majority of the preppy students and did more to help people than the whole of their filthy rich 'philanthropist' parents combined. There was no reason for any of them to be talking smack about him in any way except that his life actually kind of sucked and as a result he'd ended up with the richest man in Gotham. Of course they were all jealous. Anything to poison his reputation as the golden child of Gotham, they would jump at.

So Artemis spent the days snarling and barking at them, always restrained by the leash of rationality, until that leash inevitably broke and all were subject to her true wrath. Her bite was a heck of a lot worse than her bark. But Dick wouldn't approve of her paralyzing half the student body, no matter what crap they talked about him, so Artemis held back for him.

Flopping on her bed, Artemis sighed, taking a bite of her apple before scowling at the squishy bruise she bit into. Even her food was out to get her. First some crazy scientist, then her dad, now her apple? Yep, her life sucked.

Speaking of her dad, though, ever since the phone call and mysterious house guest, Artemis had witnessed no further attempts to threaten her mom. However, she was at school eight hours a day and her mom only worked half days at the retail store. A lot could happen while she was gone.

Artemis didn't doubt that her mom was danger, if not immediate then impending, and she was loath to leave the women's sight for even a minute. Sure, her mom used to kick cops and heroes butts on a nightly basis, but that was then and this was now – a lot had changed. If her dad was behind this, which Artemis suspected based on the way her sister had sounded on the phone (yes, Artemis had eavesdropped, but they'd hung quickly and all she'd caught was 'dad will get what he wants') then her mom wasn't safe anywhere. Lawrence would get what he wanted one way or another.

And Artemis had no freaking clue what it was that the man was after. It could be information, but if that were true, it would make a lot more sense for her dad to just stop by, threaten his wife in person, retrieve the info, and leave. There really wasn't any point in sending a messenger and having her sister call. Truth be told, Artemis knew very little about her parent's lives before she'd come into the picture. She didn't really know what kind of high-profile crimes they'd committed, what they'd stolen, who they'd worked for or partnered with; there could be any number of things that her mom had and her dad now wanted.

"Ugh, Robin, where are your fricking detective skills when I need them?" Artemis groaned, rolling over onto her back and staring at the ceiling. Robin…. Batman had said that Dick had woken up the previous day – maybe if she hurried she could get to the manor before Bruce kicked her out.

The archer reached across her nightstand and grabbed her phone, hitting two on her speed dial and then the call button. It rang twice before Wally picked up.

"Hello?"

"I'm heading over to the Manor. Meet me there?"

"Yeah, totally. Just got out of school – I'll run to the zeta-tube and be in Gotham in five."

"Kay." And Artemis hung up. 'Wow, look at me: such a people person. Can't even go to a friend's house alone.' But Artemis knew that Wally would probably have gone anyway.

Rolling off her bed, Artemis yanked off her coat. She quickly extricated herself from the frilly Gotham Academy uniform and pulled on a pair of jeans and t-shirt instead. Wally would never let her hear the end of it if she showed up dressed like a prep. She tugged her coat back on and exited her room, pulling her hair up into a pony tail on the way. Upon entering the main room she found her mom in the kitchen chopping up something green.

"Hey, I'm going out for a while, kay?"

"Be careful," her mom said, glancing up briefly from her work.

"Yeah, 'course. You too. Don't let anyone in."

"Artemis."

Artemis didn't respond, already pulling on her boots. Yeah, she was so loath to leave her mom that she ran out after five minutes of getting home. If anything happened, it would be solely her fault.

The door fell shut behind her as she once again scuttled down the fire escape and hopped over the ice patch at the bottom. The zeta beam was, thankfully, not too far from her house. It would take her maybe ten minutes to get there. Then she and Wally could either catch a cab to manner or Wally could run them, depending on how busy the park was (he always ran through Gotham Park as it was the least inhabited part of the city and he could usually make it to the Manor through there without being seen).

The wind nipped at Artemis's exposed face and she pulled up the neck of her coat, wishing she'd brought a scarf. The cracked sidewalks were coated in a thin layer of ice and Artemis nearly face planted every other step. It was a good fifteen minutes before she reached the zeta tube and Wally was already there, dressed in a heavy brown parka and hat with a pompom on top. He was huddled in the corner by the phone booth, his hands shoved in his pocket as he vibrated on the spot.

"Took you long enough," he smiled, stepping out from the shadows. Artemis noticed that his eyes were rimmed by dark shadows.

"Late night studying?" She asked, meeting the speedster halfway.

"Something like that," he mumbled. "Jeez, it's cold here," he remarked louder, beginning to walk down the street.

"Taxi?"

"Yeah."

They arrived at the Manor twenty minutes later, the driver once again doubtful as they climbed out of the yellow car and started up towards the giant double doors.

"Probably thinks we're gonna rob it," Wally smirked, leading the way up the steps.

"Probably." Artemis glanced back at the cab. The driver was watching them suspiciously as he slowly turned around.

Alfred greeted them at the door, a small smile on his face as he helped them with their coats and gave the taxi driver a small wave. Artemis smirked, wishing she could see his face. Once they'd been disengaged from their heavy clothes, Alfred led them into the kitchen where he just so happened to making a pot of hot chocolate.

"It's very good to see you both," the butler told them with a smile, fetching two mugs from the cupboard. "I trust you're both well?"

"I was here on Thursday, Alfred," Artemis sighed, leaning her elbows on the table.

"I was mostly talking to Master Wallace," Alfred retorted, pouring steaming chocolate into a white mug.

"Yeah, I'm good," Wally answered, taking a seat at the tall stool next to the counter. "Been busy with finals and stuff, so that's why I haven't been around. My mom wouldn't let me out of the house for the past three days."

"Well, I can assure you, you didn't miss much."

"Yeah, 'cept Grandpa here trying to crack jokes." Artemis accepted the proffered mug from said grandpa and blew on the top of the liquid.

"I'll inform you, Miss Artemis, that when I was a young lad, I could make even the Queen chuckle."

"You didn't meet the Queen," Artemis scoffed, taking a sip of the chocolate and burning her tongue.

"I most certainly did."

"Woah!" Wally exclaimed, drawing both Artemis's and Alfred's attention. He was holding his own cup in both hands, a look of pure awe on his face. "A Grubs mug? Too cool!"

"Yes, I do believe you are responsible for that certain items presence in this house."

"Wow, Wally," Artemis sighed, lightly swatting the back of the red hair.

"Hey, not my fault I don't remember my own genius."

Artemis snorted and Alfred raised an eyebrow.

"Who, exactly, is Grubs?" The archer asked, leaning over and looking skeptically at the screen-printed worm on the cup.

"He's a grub," Wally replied, taking a long gulp from the mug in question.

"No way."

"But not just any grub! He's like the greatest superhero that ever lived! Saved like twenty-six people from a burning building all at once."

"He's a superhero?"

"Yeah, see the cape?"

"Oh gosh."

"What?"

"You are the single biggest nerd I've ever met."

"Hey! It's Dick's cup!"

"You gave it to him."

"'Cuz I'm just about the greatest best friend that ever lived. Hey, you never know, you might get one for your birthday."

"I'll pass."

Their 'conversation' was interrupted by a shrill screech.

"That would be Master Dick."

oOo

Waking up to a dog was one thing, but waking up to a giant monster with its teeth in your face was an entirely different situation altogether. Dick wouldn't even deny the scream that issued from his throat because when the first you see when you wake up is the face of a bear snoring by your head, you scream, no questions asked. Actually, if it actually was a bear, the best response would probably be to get the heck out of there as quickly as physically possible without waking the beast, but in Dick's defense, this was only his second time waking up coherently in the past two months.

He didn't have long to ponder what to do when the beast lifted its head and stared straight at him as his bedroom door was soon slammed open and two very concerned heroes were at his side.

"Master Richard, are you-"

"What is that thing?!"

Wally was the first to laugh. "Dude, that's your new dog."

"My new what?"

Dick could feel himself beginning to panic, his fight or flight instincts beginning to kick in as his body screamed at him to either punch the thing in the muzzle or get the heck out of the bed.

"Dick, this is Ace; Ace, this is Dick." Wally smiled as he nodded to Dick encouragingly.

"It has a name?" Dick winced at the screechiness of his voice.

"It's a dog, Dick, of course it has a name," Artemis sighed, crossing her arms.

"Master Dick, are you alright?" Alfred was approaching him now and the butler laid a tentative hand on Dick's shoulder.

"Alfred, w-why is there a dog in my bed?" Dick stuttered, leaning closer to the butler as the beast's face stretched out towards the boy.

"It's actually kind of a long story," Wally cut in, speeding over to the other side of the bed and starting to pet the creature. "See, Batman employed Ace here to track you, only he kind of failed. Once we actually found you, Acey was so ecstatic he wouldn't leave your side. Guess he finally found what he was looking for and now he's worried that you'll run away again or something. I dunno, he's a dog, has a strange mind."

Dick's mind barely processed what Wally was saying, his only thoughts on how to best escape the current situation. He had no idea how strong he was and if he'd even be able to make it to the door, but Alfred was right next to him so maybe he could climb onto the butler and get a ride. The beast was momentarily distracted with Wally's petting, giving him the perfect opportunity to make a break for it. It was now or never.

Dick counted to three before launching himself from the bed and towards Alfred. The butler was taking by surprise and only just managed to catch the boy before he toppled off the bed.

"What is wrong, Master Dick?" Alfred demanded, sounding astonished. "You're not nearly strong to get up yet. Ace isn't going to hurt you."

That's what he said. Dick felt himself beginning to tremble as the monster's attention was once again on him. The giant head slowly turned until its dark, watery eyes were locked on Dick's and it slowly started moving towards him, its mouth opening. Dick couldn't take it anymore. He was shaking hard now as he fought against Alfred to get away.

"I do say, you're shaking! What on earth is wrong?"

Artemis had moved closer now and Wally was watching with a look of concern on his face. Dick didn't care – if they weren't going to trap the beast then he would have to get away by himself. Maybe if he ducked under the covers and scooted off the other end of the bed….

"Dick, are you afraid of dogs?" Wally's eyebrows were drawn together as he watched the younger boy.

Afraid? What wasn't there to be afraid of! The things had huge teeth and claws that ripped through skin like paper and they were fierce and vicious. They practically lived off people meat, right? Dick felt his breathing picking up and he fought to keep from going into an all-out panic attack. Wally was slowly drawing Ace (they had the nerve to name it?) away from him, his face scrunched and pensive.

Finally! Dick scooted as best as he could towards Alfred, his braced leg heavy and awkward as he struggled to move the dead weight. Alfred's hand descended on his head as he peered at the boy's face.

"Master Dick, there's nothing to be afraid of. The dog is quite trained. He even does his business out of doors, thank goodness."

Oh, wow, so the thing didn't pee on the floor, big deal. It was a monster with etiquette; there were plenty of those. Dick wished they would just take it away so he could enjoy the fact that his best friends were here. He was tempted to beg Wally to drag it out, but he wasn't sure he was willing to sound that pathetic.

"Why're you afraid of dogs, Dick?" Wally moved so he was sitting on the bed between Dick and the dog.

Dick felt himself relax a little and the tremoring lessen as Wally's shoulder brushed against his own. Why was he afraid of the beast? If only they knew! It was a killer, born and bred.

"He's not gonna hurt you, Dick."

Dick violently shook his head. Yes, it definitely would.

"Hey Alf, did Dick have a violent encounter with a dog ever when he was little?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Alfred replied. "Master Bruce never mentioned such a thing."

"Dick, when you were in the circus, were there any dogs?"

In the circus? Yeah, of course, Tommy Robinson's dogs. The biggest, baddest, meanest creatures in the entire circus. They filled in for the elephant when they couldn't afford to transport the beast or they were going somewhere that wasn't elephant friendly. They did tricks, sure, but they also fought. It was one of Dick's least favorite acts of the circus. His parents had always taken him backstage to prep whenever the canines were on stage, knowing he hated the bloody battles. After their first performance, they'd found Dick curled up in the monkey house, refusing to come down out of the tree. Ever since then he'd been terrified of the dogs and then there was the night….

"Yeah," was all Dick said.

"What happened?" It was Artemis now. She'd moved until she was sitting on the foot of the bed, blocking the dog from view. But the monster was still on his bed!

Dick shook his head again, turning away from his friends and burying his face in Alfred's chest. Great, first time he sees Wally and Artemis and he acts like a little kid, afraid of a dog. He feels the bed wiggle around and his knee gives a painful spasm as it's jostled. Wally's voice is behind him, whispering something and then the bed gives another shake and there's jingling accompanied by a rather pitiful whine before the bedroom door is slammed shut.

"There," Wally announced, walking back around the bed. "Dog's gone."

Dick looks up. Wally's carefully climbing back on the bed, scooting over until he's close to Dick again.

"Hey man," he whispers, nudging Dick's shoulder. "I missed you."

Dick takes a deep breath. Dog was gone, Wally was here. He managed to smile a little, the becoming-familiar pain stretching through his face. "I missed you too."

"You gave us all, like, enough scares to last a few hundred lifetimes," Artemis smirks, lowering herself onto the bed as well, near Dick's feet.

"Sorry," Dick mutters, his mouth still slightly uplifted.

"Sorry?" Artemis squeaks. "Sorry? SORRY?! You're missing for six weeks, unconscious for another two while we sit over here, not knowing squat about anything and you said say 'sorry'?!"

"S-" Dick stops himself. "Um, however can I compensate you?"

"You want a list?" Artemis smiles, climbing up on the bed until she's on her hands and knees. And then she did something so ridiculously uncharacteristic that at first Dick thought he was still sleeping. She reached out her arms and enveloped him in a hug, practically lying on top of him as her face buried itself in his shoulder. "I hate you, you know that? While you were gone, I became friends with this freak-" she nodded her head towards Wally. "I interacted with Red Butthead, befriended a freaking cop! All this for you!"

Dick reached up and wrapped his left arm around the archer's back. "Thanks," he murmured in her ear. "If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead." It was true. He still remembered the words of the woman, whispering in his ear how they were running away, far away, to live together forever. Dick wasn't sure how much of what he'd heard down in the lab was reality, but if Wally, Artemis, and Roy hadn't found him, he didn't doubt he'd be dead.

"Yeah, well," Artemis muttered. "I'm a hero, it's my job to save people."

Dick smiled again, letting the archer pull away, only for Wally to launch himself, thankfully gently into the boy's arms.

"Don't ever do that to me again, bro."

Dick reached up and hugged Wally back. "You got a girl, though."

Wally snorted. Artemis swatted him. Dick laughed. And then cringed.

"A few small sips, Master Dick." Alfred was holding out a small glass of water as Wally sat back next to Dick again. As Dick took the cup, the butler headed for the door. "I think I will see how the dog is doing; leave you three to a little catching up."

Dick nodded, taking a few small sips of the water as the older man quietly shut the door behind himself. The cool water felt amazing as it glided down his throat.

"So what have I missed?" He finally asked, setting the cup down on the bedside table. "Besides you two totally hooking up."

"Dude!"

"Not much," Artemis sighed. "Everyone's been pretty occupied looking for you – or else trying to get Bats to take a break from looking and sleep once in a while."

"Seriously, man," Wally exclaimed. "It's like the whole hero world relies on you to keep it spinning."

"I hate to admit it, but he's right," Artemis agreed. "Never knew you had such an influence on a bunch of grown men and women in tights."

Dick smiled a little, but he didn't want to hear it. He knew the influence he had in the superhero world – the influence he had over Bruce – and it wasn't something he wanted to think about. He didn't want to think about the superhero world at all; not if he knew he'd never really be part of it again. Influence or not, once he hung up the cape, he'd be virtually forgotten. Sure they'd still care about him, but people cared about glass dolls and corks too; they didn't do anything and mostly lay forgotten on some high, dusty shelf, but people still cared. Big deal.

"So," Dick cleared his throat, hoping to change the subject. He couldn't think about any of that while his friends were here. He'd already probably lost any respect they had for him after the dog and he didn't want to slide any further down. "Bruce told me his version of what happened, but what about a firsthand account?"

And so Wally launched into a long story about how he mostly single-handedly tracked down Donovan, devised an extremely intelligent plan, and then ran in and rescued Dick right before the building collapsed, pulling him out without a millisecond to spare. Artemis cut in with actual details every five seconds, however, but Dick was only half listening. He was fighting to stay present and keep his mind focused on the people in front of him, but always he slipped back to that same haunting phrase: 'no more Robin'.

After spending however long he'd been awake the day before (or maybe it a few days previous)mulling over everything Bruce and Leslie had said and not said, as well as trying to work up the nerve to look at his damaged body parts (only to fail every time), he'd fallen asleep, nothing resolved in his mind whatsoever. Now, awake again as he was, the only thing that he could seem to focus on was his condemnation. That, and the lab.

He fought the flashbacks – he was awake, he was safe, and he didn't want Artemis and Wally to leave. But they were strong, and it took all his willpower not to disappear into his minds own twisted devices. He was home, he was safe, and Bruce would be back soon. Just a little longer.

"Dick? Dick? You okay, man?" Wally was waving a hand in front of his face and Dick blinked, his vision blurring in and out of focus as he tried to concentrate on Wally's hand.

"Fine," he sighed, giving up. Maybe Wally's hand really was a blur. "Just tired."

"You want us to let you rest?" Artemis asked, climbing off the bed.

"No, I'm f-fi-" Dick was interrupted by an unexpected yawn, his face stretching painfully.

"Yes, Miss Artemis, I think that would be a great idea." Alfred had reappeared with a small bowl in his hand. "Why don't you and Master Wallace head down to the kitchen and I will be down soon to prepare you both something to eat."

"Sure," Artemis replied, motioning to Wally. "That sounds like a great idea." She ground the word out, glaring at the speedster.

"Yeah, yep, great idea." Wally leaped off the bed, speeding around until he stood next to the archer. "Get some rest, Dick. We'll be back soon."

Dick nodded. As much as he missed his friends and wanted them to stay, his eyes were suddenly growing heavy and his mind was threatening to sweep him away any minute. Soon only Alfred remained in the room as Dick fought to stay conscious. He wasn't necessarily afraid of sleeping – his dreams were terrifying, yes, but what scared him most about closing his eyes was opening them and finding himself back in the lab.

"Master Dick, perhaps you would try a little oatmeal?" Alfred stood by the bed now, the bowl in his hand held out towards Dick enticingly.

Dick took one look at the goopy mixture and turned away, his stomach rolling and groaning at the thought, sight, and smell of food. He struggled not to puke on his blanket. "No, thanks," he groaned, letting himself slip back down onto his back.

"You have to eat something, Master Richard, you haven't eaten in weeks and Miss Thompkins says that you have to start getting your stomach used to food."

Dick just shook his head, closing his eyes and turning his head away.

Alfred sighed. "Then I'm afraid we're going to have to utilize a feeding tube. Your body needs the nutrients, Master Dick, if you want to recover."

Dick wanted to yell that he wasn't going to recover, but he didn't have the strength. He couldn't even bring himself to care about the feeding tube. He heard Alfred sigh again, but that was the last sound that permeated his subconscious as he finally slipped away into blissful ignorance. But only for a moment.

oOo

When Bruce finally stepped through his front door, quietly shutting the dark, stately wood behind him, the first thing he was aware of was that there were voices. In his house. Talking. That didn't belong. Slipping off his shoes and placing his coat on the proper hanger, Bruce silently padded through the entry way towards the kitchen and the source of the disturbance. He peered around the wall, keeping pains to keep to the shadows so as not to be seen.

"I mean, I guess he looked a little better… than when we first rescued him I mean."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean, kind of."

"He looks a great deal better, Miss Artemis, than when he was first brought here."

"Yeah." There was a sigh. "It's just… he was so… thin. And sickly. His face was pale, I could see his collarbones, his arms were so small…. And then that cut? And his arm?"

"Well, what do you expect?!"

"Wally, I'm not saying it's his fault!"

"I never said you were saying that."

"I'm just…. I dunno, he just looks so hurt. So… un-Robin."

"Yeah."

Bruce stepped into the light, making his presence known as he walked over to where Alfred stood by the stove, stirring something in a pot.

"Ah, Master Bruce, I thought I heard you come in."

Trust Alfred to hear everything.

"Yeah, I didn't want to interrupt." Bruce grabbed an apple from a bowl on the counter, nodding to Artemis and Wally as he did so. Then he turned to Alfred and raised an eyebrow.

"Miss Artemis and Master Wallace were just upstairs talking to Master Richard," Alfred said, returning Bruce's look with one of his own. "He was awake for a few minutes a little bit ago. I do believe he went back to sleep before I could get him to eat anything. Perhaps you could try? There's a pot of the solution Leslie prescribed on the burner."

Bruce took the cue that Dick would probably be awake again soon and that someone should be up there when it happened. Bruce wondered what Dick had done when he'd woken up with Wally and Artemis. Alfred also seemed worried about the boy eating. Leslie had taken him off the intravenous solution the night before when she'd come to do her check-up. She'd dropped off a feeding tube as well as instructions that Dick needed to start eating now or else they would have to insert the tube. Bruce assumed that she'd already predicted that, if Dick even agreed to eat, he would have a hard time with it. She'd also left a plethora of medications that Dick had to start taking as she wanted to start weaning him off the IV of pain meds and other drugs.

"Of course, I'll head upstairs now." Bruce moved around Alfred and took the pot of the goopy mixture the butler had concocted per Leslie's instructions and swiftly poured half into a bowl. "Artemis, Wally, good to see you." He nodded again to both of them as he made his way out of the kitchen.

"Oh, and Master Bruce? There was a slight complication involving the dog – perhaps you could look into that as well?"

Bruce grunted in affirmation and kept walking. Great, now what had the creature done?

When Bruce arrived outside Dick's room, apple core and bowl of goop in hand, he was surprised to see Ace lying on the floor, his head resting on his paws as his nose brushed against the crack under the door. The dog's eyes were big and mournful as it stared longingly through the crack.

"What are you doing out here?" Bruce asked, nudging Ace aside with his foot. Whatever the reason, Bruce figured that Dick didn't want the dog in the room. "Stay," he commanded as he inched the door open, keeping his eyes trained on the animal at his feet, which was now standing up, tail wagging, and body alert as he stared back up at Bruce. Bruce gently tugged the door until it was wide enough to slip through and then he did, gaze never straying from the dog until the door was shut again, successfully barring the animal from the room.

Bruce turned to Dick's bed, surprised to see the boy staring back at him.

"You're awake."

Dick only nodded.

"How're you feeling?"

"Crappy."

Dick's voice was still hoarse and scratchy and Bruce internally winced in sympathy. He moved to stand beside the bed and set the bowl of Doctor Mush on the bedside table and started picking through the plastic box of medication bottles. He found the one he was looking for and twisted it open, gently shaking out two of the small, white pills. Reaching behind Dick's back, he helped the boy sit up against the headboard, placing a pillow between his body and the wood.

"What hurts?" Bruce asked, now going for the glass of water next to the box.

"Mmm…." Dick coughed a little, his left hand going up to his throat. "You want me to try to locate just one source?" He tried to smile a little, but winced.

Bruce took a seat in the chair by the bed, his hand reaching up to run through his hair as he tried to return the smile. It was forced. It probably looked painfully so.

"I'm afraid Leslie wants to start weaning you off the morphine, but you can take two of these." Bruce held out the two pills and Dick lifted hand and accepted them. He swallowed them quickly and took a small sip of water before his face twisted in discomfort momentarily before smoothing out again.

"When did you get home?" Dick asked, struggling to sit up straighter.

"Just now. I saw that Artemis and Wally are here."

"Yeah, they came up earlier…. At least, I think it was earlier."

Bruce nodded. "Are you feeling any better than yesterday?"

"Mm… no…." Dick said it so quietly Bruce almost didn't catch it. The boy hung his head slightly and avoided meeting Bruce's eye.

Bruce reached up and gently rubbed one small shoulder, feeling the bumps and ridges of every bone under his fingertip. Bruce took his hand away and reached for the bowl again.

"Alfred wants you to eat this," He told Dick, placing the spoon in the bowl.

Dick barely took one look at the mess before turning away.

"Dick, you have to eat."

"No."

Bruce sighed. He knew it was early – really early – to expect the boy to eat, but he'd also heard and seen how worried Leslie was when she'd relayed the news about Dick's condition. He was severely underweight – obviously Leslie didn't want to resort to a feeding tube from the get-go, but he had little time to wait. Dick was quite literally skin and bones; his sunken cheeks and sharp shoulders were testament enough.

"Why not?" Bruce asked, letting the bowl rest in his lap. "The only other option is a feeding tube."

"I feel sick," Dick whispered. "Just thinking about food… even when I drink, my stomach…. I feel like I'm gonna puke."

Bruce nodded and replaced to bowl on the table. Maybe after being awake for a few minutes Dick would feel better.

"I hate to ask this," Bruce said in a completely different, lighter tone, trying to change the topic. "But why's the dog outside?"

"Ugh," Dick groaned, burying his face in his left hand. "Wally and Artemis must think I'm the lamest hero they've ever met."

"Why's that?" Bruce was curious now. He knew Dick wasn't allergic to dogs, so that wasn't the reason behind Ace's banishment, but now he realized it might be something bigger than he thought.

"When I woke up and saw… it laying there, staring at me… I freaked out. I totally freaked out, Bruce." Dick was still talking into his hand, his pale cheeks slightly pink.

Bruce furrowed his eyebrows. "Did he surprise you?"

"Well, yeah…." Dick trailed off. Finally he sighed. "I hate dogs, Bruce."

Bruce raised a surprised eyebrow. This was news. "You hate dogs?"

"Yes," the boy hissed, still not looking up.

"Why?"

"I – it's a long story."

"Do you want to tell me?"

"I – I don't know…."

"I can get rid of the dog," Bruce started. "But I used him to help me find you. Ever since you were brought here, he's refused to leave your side. I'm surprised you managed to get him out the door. He's become inexplicably attached to you."

"Ugh…." Dick sounded miserable as he shivered and snuggled down deeper into his blankets.

"Did you have a traumatic experience with dogs when you were in the circus?" Bruce knew little about Dick's circus days apart from what the boy had told him and he'd never once heard anything about dogs.

Dick now nodded, still looking at his lap.

Bruce rested his hand on top of Dick's own tiny one. "I hate to make you go through this now, Kiddo, but trust me, it's better out than in."

"F-fine. But it doesn't mean I wanna keep the dog."

"Fair enough."

Dick took a deep breath before starting; "Tommy Robinson; he did a dog fighting show sometimes, when the elephant wasn't around." Dick's breathing stuttered a little. "It was… gross. The dogs were barbarous…." Dick rubbed at his throat and Bruce held out the glass of water for him again.

"I hated the show," Dick continued, after taking a few sips. "They tore each other apart. Tommy thought it was funny, how I was afraid of the dogs. He'd always tease me, say he'd set them loose on me if I ever snuck out at night to see a girl or something. Said it would be a great way to keep me in line. I was like eight, so I didn't really even know what a girl was."

Bruce smiled a bit.

"The dogs' cages were always kept at the edge of camp because of all the noise they made at night. They were all different types so they made a bunch of different sounds. I never went near them if I could help it, but one day…."

Bruce watched as Dick winced, grabbing at his right arm… and hitting the metal brace and plating. He drew back quickly. Bruce closed his eyes briefly in sorrow at the movement. Dick continued talking, though.

"One day, or night, actually, my cousin and I snuck out of our trailer to go watch Pop and Riley play poker against some local legends."

Bruce remembered Riley being the circus's sharpshooter. He'd shot a bottle off of six different men's heads in six seconds the night Bruce had been at the show. Even the vigilante had been impressed, despite his loathing of guns.

"Everyone was talking about how it would be the game of the century – Pop and Riley hadn't lost in years and I guess we were somewhere near Vegas or something and the other guys were really good - and John really wanted to see it. He convinced me to come along, saying he'd sneak me some popcorn from the stand. The game was being held in Tommy's tent as it was far enough away that if things got rowdy they wouldn't disturb the other performers.

"John was sucked in right away – he really liked poker and Riley had been coaching him in it for the past few months – but I got bored pretty fast so I snuck out. I don't think John even noticed me go." Dick took another sip before putting the glass down with a grimace. "I was going to go visit the monkeys, but ended up walking the opposite direction than the one we'd come from. I ended up right next to the dogs cages and I guess I woke them up as I was going past – as soon as I realized where I was, I sprinted as fast as I could away from there."

Bruce held his breath, hoping that what he was expecting wasn't going to be the reality.

"The cages were left open. It was probably an accident, but I never forgot Tommy's threat about sneaking out. I didn't really think he'd do it though, until I heard the dogs start barking and growling and then… them pushing open the gate to their cage. I ran as fast as I could, but they were faster. If Tommy hadn't pulled them off of me…."

Dick started to shake and Bruce squeezed his hand, moving to sit on the bed beside the boy, his other hand reaching around to rub the bony back.

"I couldn't do the trapeze for four weeks. I'd never gotten stitches before and after that, I never wanted to again. John teased me that I looked like Frankenstein. One of them got a hold of my arm and left huge bite marks, but…. I guess you can't see it anymore…. I hate dogs, Bruce."

Dick sounded pitiful as he leaned against Bruce's chest, his breathing tight and shallow. Bruce closed his eyes, continuing to rub the boy's back. He'd had no idea…. No wonder Dick didn't want Ace in the room; the last dogs he'd come in contact with had tried to tear him apart.

"I'm so sorry," Bruce murmured. "I had no idea."

"'S'not your fault. I never told anyone."

Bruce drew his mouth into a thin line. "All dogs aren't like that, Dick," he finally said, not sure what he was trying to do.

"I know." Dick buried his face in Bruce's shirt. "W-whenever I see one, though, I just… all I see is the teeth and claws and blood…. J-John screamed when he found me. I remember. My m-mom screamed too, just a little."

Bruce continued to rub Dick's back until he slowly stopped shaking and his breathing returned closer to normal. They sat quiet for a while, Dick pressed against Bruce's chest and Bruce leaning on the headboard of the bed – again. He was beginning to seriously consider a padded headboard.

Then, after an indefinite amount of time, a loud whine sounded from behind the door. Dick flinched violently but then relaxed again.

"He really likes me?" Dick asked, straightening up a bit with Bruce's help. "I mean, he hasn't even met me…."

"Like I said, he refuses to leave your side."

"Hmm," Dick hummed softly, staring at his left hand for a minute. "Do you think we should let him in?"

"Only if you want to."

"Maybe… slowly?"

"Okay." Bruce slowly got off the bed, not wanting to jostle any of Dick's injuries. Once he reached the door he opened it just a crack. "Gentle," he warned Ace in a stern tone. The dog was expertly trained – that much Bruce was one hundred percent sure of – and he obeyed every command without exception. Batman wouldn't accept any less.

When the door was open to admit the beast, Ace slowly meandered in, though Bruce could tell he was struggling to hold himself back from completely bolting at Dick. Dick was eyeing the dog with hesitance and a little fear in his eyes, but seemingly putting on a good face considering everything. Ace continued to inch forward until he stood next to the bed by Dick's side. He reached up his giant nose (the dog was huge, almost as big as 'Wolf', the wolf that Bruce had heard that Superboy owned) and rested it on the side of the bed, right by Dick's hand.

Dick was shaking again, but Bruce stood back and watched. He would jump in if things got to be too much for the boy, but for now he wanted to see how Dick would do. Trembling, Dick hesitantly laid a hand on the dark muzzle. Ace stared up at him, eyes watery and longing. Dick's hand shakily started moving up the creature's head until it rested by his ears. Ace moved in a little closer and Dick flinched, but didn't take his hand away.

And then the dog was on the bed and Dick let out a small squeak and Bruce made to move in, only to see Ace nuzzling Dick's face as the boy cowered slightly, his eyes scrunched shut. Slowly, though, the boy started to unwind himself and open up a bit, his hand moving again to touch the soft fur. His blue eyes opened and he blinked a few times as Ace continued to nuzzle him.

"Are you okay?" Bruce asked, stepping closer.

"Y-yeah," Dick stuttered. He continued watch as Ace drew his head back and regarded Dick calmly. The boy hesitantly stroked his head again, running his thin fingers through the silky ears. "He's not gonna bite me?" Dick asked, almost inaudibly.

"No," Bruce smiled. "Though he might lick you to death. He's very affectionate."

And as if to prove the point, Ace ran his rough tongue over Dick's face, earning a small squeal from the boy as he drew backwards.

"Ace!" Dick wiped off his face with his arm.

Bruce smiled. He hoped Ace would be good for Dick. He only knew the boy had hell before him; once he was recovered enough to leave bed, there were months of recovery ahead with physical therapy, life-adjustment, and disability acceptance. Yes, Leslie said he would most likely no longer be considered an 'able-bodied' person. It broke something in Bruce deep inside to hear those words. Dick had always been an extremely active – even hyperactive, sometimes – boy and having that taken away from him… it would be devastating.

The boy was still mostly in shock, but Bruce knew that Dick knew this all, even if he hadn't been directly told. The man had seen the way his boy's face had fell when he'd told him there'd be no more Robin. Dick knew, even if he didn't know the details, that he was damaged. Heck, he was experiencing the damage right now. Bruce knew his vision was skewed and he had so far either refused or been unable to move his right arm. Dick was damaged, irrevocably so, and it hurt, bad.

Bruce hoped and prayed that somehow Dick would get through it. Emotionally as well as physically. He still had so much potential, even if he was physically limited. He'd barely started recovering and Bruce was terrified that he would refuse to continue. He tried to convince himself that it was far too early to judge anything about how Dick would respond to his injuries, but there was something that had died in the boy last night, when he'd been told the news. The light in his eyes had gone out.

Bruce was afraid; afraid for the boy that he'd come to think of as his own – a younger brother he'd never had or even… a son. He was afraid for Dick, but he knew he had to be strong. He had to be the constant in his boy's world as everything else spun out of control. Bruce had never been that for anyone before. He'd never been a lifeline, an anchor in times of trouble. He did his best to help victims of crime, sure, but that was Batman; Batman was different than Bruce Wayne. Batman was the rock, the anchor – for the Justice League, for those that dared commit crime in Gotham – but Bruce Wayne had never been any of those things. Bruce Wayne partied and signed large business deals and bought hotels for foreign women. He'd never been anyone's constant. But now, Dick needed that, and from Bruce Wayne, not Batman. If there was one thing Bruce had learned over the past six months was that Dick didn't need Batman to help him – he never had. No, Dick needed Bruce Wayne. And now, more than ever. Bruce just hoped he would be able to provide that.

Thanks for reading! Please review!

Alex out.