Chapter Twenty-One
I wasn't sure when I'd fallen asleep, but I definitely knew when I woke up next. "Jason, where is my boyfriend, and why are you in his bed next to me?" I asked him, without even opening my eyes.
"How the fricketty-frack did you know it was me?" came his indignant squawk.
"You weigh like fifty pounds more than Dick, so you make the bed dip more than he does, and you guys wear different cologne," I replied, rolling away from him.
"Huh, maybe we'll make a detective out of you yet," he laughed. "And to answer your question, he's on the phone with Babs, and I didn't want you to be lonely."
Even through his lascivious tone, I could hear the truth in his words, and it warmed my heart. "Thanks, Jay, but I think I'm good," I told him, stretching a bit.
"You really are precious," Jason cooed. "You're just like a tiny kitten."
"I do have claws," I threatened, but we both knew it was entirely empty. "Did you guys find anything else last night?"
He sighed. "No. Those guys are practically ghosts. They're not in any database, ever, which generally suggests pro hitmen. So you really pissed somebody off," he said, trying to get me to smile.
It worked, a little, but Dick came back before I could retort. "Viv, you're awake!" He crossed the room in little more than a blink, crawling across his brother to reach me, and kneeing Jason in the stomach while he was at it. "Morning, babe," he had time to say, and press a quick kiss to my lips, before Jason threw him off. An impromptu wrestling match broke out. There was no clear victor; it just ended when Dick's head collided with the bed frame, Jason's eyebrow started bleeding, and I said I was lonely. I soon found myself being cuddled on either side by a Wayne boy, and it was surprisingly not weird, even with Jason.
After a few minutes of quiet cuddling, Dick sighed. "I just got off the phone with Babs, and she's got some bad news, Viv."
A frozen ball formed in my stomach. "Okay, hit me with it."
He frowned and cuddled me closer. "All three of your attackers are dead."
And the ball sank further. "Wha- How?"
"Wasn't there security at the hospital?" Jay was quick to ask.
Dick sighed again. "Yeah, which makes it weirder. The cop outside swears the only people who went in that room with Patchy were nurses."
"So, someone snuck in as a nurse," I finished for him.
"Most likely," he nodded.
"And the guys in jail?" Jay prompted.
"It looks like they both hanged themselves, but the commissioner doubts it, since the security cams were tampered with right around the time of death."
The dread from the day before came back with a vengeance, settling into my stomach with alarming familiarity. "So, whoever is behind this is covering their tracks really well."
"But they messed with the wrong family," Jason said, squeezing me closer to him. "We haven't been looking for them for long, so we'll get them."
He said it with the same solemnity that Bruce had the night before, his words just ringing with sincerity, but I'd never tell him that. He usually got along with Bruce, but he definitely wouldn't like being told he was like him. So, instead, I simply nodded. "I trust you guys. You'll get 'em. And now I need to get ready for work."
That brought a stunned silence from both boys, and neither of them moved, even though I pushed to try to get out of the bed. "Selina doesn't expect you to go in today, Viv," Dick finally told me, after I nudged him for the fourth time.
I wasn't getting out that way, so I started to wiggle out of the top of the blankets. It was a bit difficult, since both of them were on top of the covers, but I got some progress made. "I expect me to go in. I'm not letting them scare me into not living my life. That's not going to happen."
Jason laughed and finally rolled off the bed. "And that's why I love you, Gen. Stay feisty."
Dick tried to convince me to stay home, at least for the day, but he finally stopped when I asked him if he would have taken the day off, had he been the one attacked. Instead, he ruefully got us each some (amazing!) coffee to go from Alfred while I got ready. It was a bit awkward, with the splint and everything, but I made it.
I couldn't bend my fingers enough to be able to drive, so Dick drove us both in. "Are you sure you'll be okay?" he asked me in the elevator to Sel's office. For the seventh time that morning.
"I'll be fine. Alfred picked me up some of the good drugs, so I don't even feel anything," I assured. "And Sel will watch me like a hawk, no doubt, so I'll be perfectly fine."
He was a little worried, but I managed to convince him to actually leave. After a very long goodbye kiss. He still texted me throughout the day, and then Sel was just as mother hen-ish in person, but it was kinda nice, even if I did tease them both for it. It just showed that they cared.
Over the next week, my favorite detectives worked hard to uncover just who had killed all three of my attackers. Bruce barely slept, even more than his normal, and Tim drank enough coffee to pay off Columbia's national debt. Jason had it the easiest of everyone, since he didn't have a public face to keep up, but that just meant he was investigating twenty-four-seven in the seedier parts of Gotham. Steph skipped her classes so she could be out on patrol every night. Cass was gone from the manor for four days straight, then she came home and slept for nearly a day, before going out again. And Dick and Sel were worse than everyone else. Dick stopped going in to work, instead spending hours during the day following every possible lead on Shaitan Enterprises, and then every night was spent scouring Gotham's darker side. And Sel was combing through every database Barbara could access to try to find my attackers. She even let her work slide, but I picked up whatever slack I could. It wasn't like I had any skills that could be utilized to find whoever was behind my attack, but I could do my best to take care of those I loved.
And I found little ways to do that. Steph got yelled at, enough to shock her into going back to class, armed with enough of Tim's coffee to keep her awake until she could come back and sleep, at night, like a normal person. And Tim's coffee was swapped with decaf after the third day, and he was too wired to notice the difference until he was falling asleep on top of his laptop. I left him there, but took the computer away and covered him with a blanket. There was no way I could move him, after all. I made sure Jay had plenty of food in his apartment, courtesy of Alfred, and I sent him cat videos throughout the day to make him smile. Cass also got the cat videos, and a hug and a huge thanks for all she was doing. As well as a steady supply of marshmallows. I had no idea what to do for Bruce, until Alfred reminded me that taking care of those he loved was the best thing I could do for him.
Dick and Sel required a bit more planning, and I needed assistance for Sel. But I was able to make it work, for both of them.
I had officially moved in with Dick over that week, so I simply waited for him to come home with the Indian food he promised me for dinner. When he walked into the apartment, my heart ached at how exhausted he looked, even with the way he lit up seeing me. But there was no disguising the dark circles under his eyes, or the slump in his shoulders. And it ate at me, because he was doing this because of me. I knew it wasn't my fault that I was the one targeted, but Dick wouldn't have been pushing himself quite like this if I hadn't been their objective.
"Hey beautiful," he said, dropping the food at the table so he could wrap me in his arms. I clung to him, pressing into him at every possible point of contact. "Mmmm, you feel good," he mumbled into my hair.
We eventually got around to eating, and the food was only mildly room temperature at that point. The meal stretched out longer than normal, with help from both of us. It seemed like Dick couldn't get enough of touching me at every possible moment, just little things like pressing his leg into mine, or tangling his fingers with mine, or playing with my hair. And it was heaven. I hadn't realized just how much I'd missed it the last few days, until I had it again.
But eventually all the food was gone, and Dick reluctantly cleaned up the take out containers. "I should probably get suited up," he said, sounding exactly as excited as he would be for say… a colonoscopy.
"No, you really shouldn't," I told him. I took his hands in mine, squeezing as he looked at me in surprise. "Bruce has already told me you're not going out tonight so you can get some sleep."
"You went behind my back to talk to Bruce?" Dick pulled his hands from mine, still taking care to not hurt me, but I could see he was upset.
"Because we're both worried about you. I get it, you're doing this to try to protect me, but you're going to kill yourself in the process," I said, feeling my heart break, for him, for me, for the whole situation. "I love you, babe, and it's killing me to see you working yourself to death like this. You're exhausted, and I don't think you've slept eight hours total since this started. You can't keep going like this."
He stared at me for a long moment. And then he sighed, and all the fight went out of him. "I'm just worried about you," he said, moving to wrap his arms around me again. "I want to find whoever's responsible and make sure they can't ever get to you again," he added, into my neck where he'd buried his face.
I dug my fingers into his hair, just like I knew he loved. Massaging his scalp, I told him, "I know you do. And you'll find them. I just don't want you to kill yourself in the process."
Dick kissed my neck, chuckling as I shivered. "Alright, if I'm not allowed to patrol, just what did you have in mind for the night's activities?"
I hummed, pretending to think. "Well, I was planning on showering, and since I can't wash my hair one handed, I just might need help."
His answering grin made me weak in the knees. "I would love to help you with that."
AN: I know it's been forever, and I'm so sorry! I've been pretty blocked lately for most of my stories that I've posted, and I apologize profusely! But we're getting to the end, though I'd say we still have around ten chapters to go. I can see the end, though, and how to get there, so hopefully it won't take me months to write the next chapter. Thanks for sticking with me through all this, and a big thanks to ZileRacer and JamesTKent for your reviews, and Lord Grise, your PMs have meant so much to me! Thanks for the encouragement! Stay safe, everyone, and I hope this helps just a little bit for you get through the craziness that is Corona. Love you all!
