I'm sorry! I had to do another serious chapter, and if I didn't write this now, I would've forgotten about it!

The bathroom was supposed to be girls' territory. It was supposed to be the secluded fortress they'd lock themselves in every morning that could only be penetrated by threat of nuclear annihilation…and only reluctantly then. So, needless to say, it was a little odd for Rose to find Tim shut up in the bathroom on Saturday morning that weekend.

She pounded on the door with her tightly-clenched left fist, calling through the wood, "You better not hog that much longer, Red! I'm in the mood for a Boy Wonder kebab today!"

Surprisingly enough, Tim's voice emanated from behind the door with a degree of actual…fear in it. "I-I'm almost done," he stammered, sounding shaken.

That caught her off guard. Never had she ever heard Tim Drake talk like he was afraid. And there was something else there, too, like guilt that he'd been caught doing something. She noticed that the door was slightly ajar and, to satisfy her curiosity, began to push it open, only to have it collide with a solid, five-foot-nine-and-a-half-inch body on the other side trying to hold it closed. She heard something clatter to the floor inside the bathroom and peered through the crack in the door to see something she'd never thought she'd see. A needle and syringe lay on the tile, only small droplets of liquid still inside, suggesting it'd just recently been emptied. The sharp metal point of the needle was stained red, and a ball of toilet paper rested not far from it, dotted with spots of blood.

Shit, Rose thought, pressing herself against the door. Her heart softened just a little. She'd known he was going through a bit of a rough time, but it couldn't really be that bad…could it? "Tim," she said, as gently as she could manage, "if you're struggling with, like, some kind of weird addiction or whatever, you don't have to hide it from the Titans. We can help you get over it."

Rose stumbled and about fell into the bathroom when Tim jerked the door open. He stood before her, all messy hair and a tired expression, like usual, but something seemed off. He was a little paler than normal, and if she wasn't mistaken, there was a little dried blood on the skin around his eyes. "I'm not on drugs," he all but snapped. "I'm just…" He trailed off, and then his boldness faded. He bent down to retrieve the needle and balled-up toilet paper from the floor.

"You're just what?"

He was running the needle under hot water now, cleaning it with all the precision of an experienced medical doctor. "Nothing, Rose." He slipped the now-clean utensil back into his med pack, threw the toilet paper ball away, and went to leave…

But Rose's arm was stretched across the doorway, blocking his exit. "Well, that 'nothing' sure looks like a hell of a problem, if it needs a damn needle to fix it."

Her tone was venomous, accusatory, and Tim could hear the unspoken words within the heated statement. He sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I relapsed, okay?" he hissed. "And for the record, it's really not your hell of a problem to deal with." With that, he pushed past her and stalked away, heading off to his bedroom. She stood there, motionless, for a moment, letting the shock wash over her only to be swiftly replaced by anger. Fuming, she stormed after him, forcing her way into his room when he tried to shut the door on her.

"What do you mean, you relapsed?" she demanded. "You used to be addicted or something?"

Tim collapsed onto his bed, looking exhausted. "Just leave me alone, okay?" he moaned. "I feel terrible."

"I bet you do." Rose sat on the edge of the bed, not far from Tim's hips. She had a strange urge to reach out and put a hand on his leg, but she resisted it. "I still don't know what the hell you're talking about."

Tim breathed out another sigh and closed his eyes. He was so still for the next few minutes that Rose almost thought he'd fallen asleep until he opened his mouth and spoke again. "Did you ever hear about the Clench?"

Rose blinked at him. "No."

Tim propped himself up on elbows that trembled slightly, as if they couldn't hold his weight. "About four or five years ago, the Ebola Gulf A virus—nicknamed the Clench—was released in Gotham City. It's a highly deadly disease, kills the infected in less than forty-eight hours. Five hundred thousand people were killed because of it, and I was…I was almost one of them."

"You caught the Clench?"

Tim nodded. "Yeah, but I obviously got the cure. I was in the last stages when they got it to me." He went quiet for a moment. "Sometimes, I still have nightmares about it. What it felt like, I mean. I still remember that pain." He slowly pushed himself upright, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Bruce warned me that I'd have a risk of relapse, since I got the cure so late. He said the virus was still in my system, somewhat. So, I kept a needle full of the cure in my med pack, just in case it ever happened."

"And it happened this morning."

"I woke up and found blood on my pillow. When I felt my face…" He shook his head. "It was just like I remember it. Blood coming out of my eyes and all that, it was scary."

Rose grimaced. "I didn't need to know that bit, thank you."

"Sorry. Anyway, that was what I was doing in the bathroom when you came up. I had to dose myself fast or risk getting worse than I already was." They sat in silence for a moment or two, neither really sure what to say. Tim was mostly just worried about how Rose was going to take it.

"That's it?" she said, snapping him out of his daze. She sounded like someone who'd just gone to a really great movie that had a horrible ending. "That's why you had to lock yourself up in the bathroom for two hours this morning? You just got sick?"

"Rose, it's deadly if untreated."

"So what, I needed to straighten my hair!" She growled, huffed out a breath, and stomped out of the room and down the stairs, hollering the whole way, "Hey, guys, Tim's sick and hogging the bathrooms!"

Tim let his head sink into his hands. So much for talking about it making him feel better.