Chapter 11 – Bedside
"Are you gonna tell me now, or can you explain it all to me later?" Bruce asked. Dick was lying in the hospital bed, bandaged up and tied to all kinds apparatus. He was completely naked. The bed sheet covered the lower half of his body and rags from his suit lay around him on the bed, bloody and stained. The bandages were stained red. His shoulder had been shot twice and his face was badly bruised.
"The suit?" He asked, with a puzzling look on his face. Though it wasn't very apparent under all the bruising. Bruce nodded.
"Okay, don't take this the wrong way...but..." He hesitated. "It's the new "Robin". We named it Nightwing."
Bruce sighed and shook his head. "We?" He asked.
"Yeh...me and..."
The curtain drew back and Barbara walked in holding a card and a bouquet of flowers. Nobody spoke. She stopped, and the curtain swung closed behind her. Both men were staring at her. "What? Are you alright Dick?" She asked him.
"I'm fine..." He looked at Bruce.
Bruce was still looking right at Barbara. "Nightwing! What in the hell is Nightwing?" He shouted at her, then diverted his eyes back to the bedded Dick.
She tried as hard as possible to hold back a giggle. "You told him then?"
"I'm afraid so." He burst into laughter, so did Barbara. Bruce only smiled, he didn't laugh.
Bruce clasped his hands and a tiny laugh managed to break through, they all laughed together for a good few seconds.
"Well at least the outfit isn't as gay as Robin's." He said, his speech interrupted by his laughter.
"You like it then?" Dick asked him with a smile on his face. He was so pleased Bruce liked it. Bruce took him in, he looked up to Bruce, they were good buddy's. "Alfred helped me with the costume, and Barbara and I came up with the name." He looked to Barbara whilst talking.
Bruce nodded again, "I like it." He replied.
An even bigger smile appeared on Dick's face.
"I suppose you heard the news about Riddler and Two-Face." Bruce said, totally changing the subject and darkening the atmosphere.
Barbara's voice was small and quiet, "Yeh, I read it this morning." Her head lowered.
Dick raised his hand to his face, rubbing it and then raising his head again.
It was a tricky subject to discuss at that point, so Bruce avoided it. Dick blamed himself, he thought it was his own fault that the villains got away. He felt he was so careless, all he wanted to do was have fun as his new alter-ego.
Bruce rose from his seat. His knees cracked as he did so, he was aging. He walked passed Barbara who was still standing by the curtain. His arm brushed hers. He grabbed the curtain and pulled it to the side, allowing him enough space to get through without making contact with it. He suddenly turned to face the two.
"I expect to see you both at Wayne Manor tonight," he remarked, looking down his nose at them, not in a rude way, but in a mature, fatherly way, "Especially you Dick." He smiled and turned to leave. The curtain fell back into place as he left it.
Barbara moved to the chair where Bruce was sitting. It was still warm, he'd obviously been there for quite a while.
She slid the chair closer to the bed where Dick lay. It squeaked on the ground and left four long black lines on the floor behind.
She sat upright and placed her hand on top of Dick's. She gazed into his eyes and he gazed back at hers.
"You think you in good enough shape to get up?" She asked him, he could she wanted him to get up just by looking at her, though he wanted to get up too. He was bored of the hospital already, and he'd only spent one night.
"Well, I'm well enough to go to Bruce's party tonight!" He mentioned with a cheeky grin on his face.
She only giggled and kissed him on the cheek. She wasn't going to leave his bedside, she would wait until he was ready to go.
Bruce had postponed last nights after-party after all that had gone on, instead a whole new party would be hosted at Bruce's home that night. All important people of Gotham were invited, as long as they brought their own bottles.