Joey's lungs burned as he ran as fast as his legs would carry him, back towards the place he had left Dick. He had been halfway home when he had heard the thundering sound coming from the other direction. His gut told him it was bad and that his boyfriend was involved. But it didn't prepare him for the site he arrived at. The building was gone, replaced by a mountain of rubble. There were people sat in the back of ambulances, fire fighters already surveying the scene and police keeping everyone else back. Joey ran to the ambulances first, trying to find Dick.

'I'm looking for Officer Grayson. This tall, dark hair, blue eyes?' The paramedics all shook their heads but one of the civilians, a woman with a press badge around her neck and a shock blanket around her shoulders, looked up in recognition.

'There was an officer like that in the building.' She said, but she shook her head fiercely. `He shouted for us to get out, but the rubble blocked the door before any of them could escape.'

Joey looked back at the mountain in horror. Dick was still in there? He made his way towards the mess, but an officer pushed him back.

'My partner is in there!' He shouted, 'let me help!'

'I can't let you do that Sir, let us do our job.' The officer said sternly.

'Then at least tell me you have it under control.' Joey pleaded. The officer hesitated but seemed to recognise the desperation in Joey's expression.

'We haven't found anyone yet, which means we haven't found any bodies either.' He added the second bit in an attempt to lessen the man's worry. 'Right now, we are just going in blind, we have no idea where they were in the room when the building came down.'

'Can't you try and contact them?'

'None of our radios can get within range, thanks to all this mess.'

Joey thought for a moment, his hands clenching. Then he remembered something Bruce had done for him while he had been staying at Wayne Manor. He'd upgraded his phone. He'd said that its range was extended thanks to some tech from his company. Joey ripped his phone out from his pocket. If Bruce was kind enough to give his tech to one of his son's boyfriends, surely, he also put it into their phones too.

'So, if you can work out where they were before all this came down, you'll be able to get them out fast, right?'

'In theory, but there is no way a mobile signal can penetrate all that!'

'Let's hope you're wrong and being the son of a billionaire actually pays off.' Said Joey, selecting his first speed dial and raising it too his ear.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

The sound of Justin Timberlake's 'Sexy back' pierced through the darkness, causing each of them to jump.

'What in the hell?' asked Hale. 'Where is that coming from?'

'I think it's coming from Grayson,' said Monroe, crawling forward slowly and digging through the boy's pockets. He pulled out a phone which had an image of Dick and the blonde guy on the screen and the contact name "Joey" calling.

'How is he getting signal down here?' Hale gasped.

'It doesn't matter, at least it does,' said Decker, taking the phone from his subordinate and answering it.

'Dick!? Are you okay?'

'This is Commissioner Decker, with whom am I speaking?'

'Joey, Sir, Joey Wilson. Are you all alright? Where's Dick?'

Decker looked down at the young man, whose injured head was currently resting on his lap. 'We're all alive, thanks to Grayson. But he took a hit to the head, he needs medical attention.'

'Where abouts were you when the building came down. We're trying to locate you so we can start digging.'

'Grayson got us all under the reception desk. It seems to be holding steady, but there is no way out.' He gripped the phone as he remembered the panic as the building had come down. 'I'm not sure we would be alive without him.' He said quietly.

'How is he?'

'He's alive, he's lost a lot of blood and hasn't regained consciousness yet. But he's breathing alright, considering the amount of dust down here.' There was a commotion on the other end, and he heard Joey getting the attention of some of the officers. They seemed to finally let him through and suddenly his deputy was on the phone.

'Sir, we have the blueprints of the premises. Now that we know where you are, we'll get you out as soon as we can.'

'Try to hurry, Sergeant. And have paramedics at the ready.' He was glad when his deputy hung up the phone, as he wasn't sure he would have been able to bring himself to do it. He tucked the phone into his pocket, intending to keep it safe to return to his young officer once he was stable. They sat silent in the darkness, waiting to hear any sign that the outside world was drawing closer.

'What's taking them so long?' Hale groaned.

'I imagine all of this rock is unstable, they have to take it slow to avoid it collapsing even further.' Said Decker. 'You doing alright mayor?'

'I'm alright.' He didn't sound sure, but he was talking so he was doing better than his PA. 'You're boy, what's his name?'

'Grayson, Sir. Richard Grayson.'

'Bruce Wayne's kid?' the mayor said with recognition. He had spoken to Bruce Wayne a few times over the years; exchanging pleasantries at parties and such. He wasn't aware that one of the man's sons worked for his city. 'When this is all over, he's getting a medal. I've never seen someone react that quickly in a crisis. You've trained him well, Decker.'

The Commissioner thanked the man, he didn't mention that he had never really trained Dick. The young man had started his training a fully formed package. He wasn't sure where Dick had learnt half of the things he knew. And Decker, always had a feeling the boy was holding back a lot of the time. But he knew the job had given Dick purpose, not skills. He wasn't complaining. He knew the boy had had a hard year, what with his own mental health and his boyfriend's physical health. And yet, the young officer still had the highest results of any officer in the precinct. He was an unstoppable force, which secretly Decker suspected was put to good use outside of his daily hours as a cop. But that was none of his business.

A quiet groan came from the man on the ground. Decker got his own phone from his pocket, not wanting to waste the battery on Dick's as it appeared to be the only one with signal. The artificial light once again filled the small space, allowing him to see that his young officer's eyes were starting to flicker.

'Grayson are you with us?' he said, gently shaking the man's shoulder. The young man's eyes started to close again.

'No, come on Dick stay with us,' said Hale, shaking the man's leg a little harder than Decker had done. 'We haven't given you a hard time about your ringtone yet, so you have to stay awake.'

'R..tone?' Dick mumbled.

'Yeh, didn't think you were a JT fan. Sexy back, really?' Hale glanced up at Decker, who nodded at him to try and keep Dick talking. Dick seemed to be taking in the information, after a moment a glance of a smile appeared.

'Joey changed it,' his speech was slurred but at least he was making sense. 'Never remember to change it back.'

'You and Joey then? Kept that quiet didn't you.' Hale continued, relief sweeping through him that the young rookie didn't appear to be brain dead from the injury.

'Not…really,' Dick sighed painfully. He closed his eyes for a moment but opened then slightly again before anyone could shake him. 'Everyone else knew.'

'Told you, you were being dense,' Monroe chuckled.

'Sorry about my neck, Commish,' Dick was blinking a lot, desperately trying to stay awake, but it was hard.

'I think you're going to have bigger bruises to worry about tomorrow Grayson.' Decker said curtly. He shifted his weight slightly as Dick closed his eyes again. 'Stay with us Grayson. Your father will have my head if we lose you on the job, not to mention Jim Gordon.'

'Bruce is going to kill me,' Dick mumbled, more to himself than as a response.

'I doubt that you saved us all kid.'

'Didn't clock my surroundings enough.' A frown had appeared on his face, and Decker realised his young rookie was genuinely concerned about his so-called mistake.

'Will an accommodation from the city mayor appease him?' the mayors voice chimed in from the back. 'We can sort that, can't we Jenny?' His PA nodded but still did not speak.

'Hear that? He won't be able to be mad if you've been called a hero by the city mayor.' Hale said, but he sat up on his knees when the younger man did not respond. 'Grayson?' He shook his shoulder, saying his name more firmly, but Dick was silent.

'He's out,' said Decker, a frown of his own forming. 'Where the hell are they!?' As if conjured by the words, a shuffling came from their side and the next thing they knew, light broke through the darkness.

'Everyone alright?' came a voice from above.

'Get paramedics down here now!' Decker demanded.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Joey stood around helplessly as the rubble was slowly removed. Finally, a shout came from the pile that they had found them. Medics were called and Joey gripped his nails into his palms as they ran past him. He was counting backwards from 1000 by the time they were making their way back out, the medics in the lead carrying an occupied stretcher. A man, who Joey recognised as Dick's boss, was next to them.

'He regained consciousness for a while, seemed to be talking sense, but lost consciousness again just before the guys broke through.' Decker said, following them all the way to the ambulance, despite another medic trying to see to him. Eventually he waved him off. 'I'm fine, nothing some fresh air can't fix. That young man saved my life, you make sure he survives!' Decker noticed as Joey ran over to them.

'Dick!' Joey said, trying to get to him but the medic whom the commissioner had waved off, stopped him.

'Sorry sir, if you're not family I'm going to ask that you step back.'

'I…' Joey froze, he wasn't family. The man on the stretcher was the most precious thing in the world to him, but he wasn't family.

'It's his husband, let him pass,' said Decker, pushing Joey forward. He looked at him with wide eyes, but Decker just winked. Joey expected the medics to interrogate, him, to feel out the lie, but the next thing he knew he was sat in the back of the ambulance, Dick's hand in his own. The young man was covered in blood and dust, an oxygen mask had been placed over his face and the medic was methodically checking his vitals. Eventually she sat down.

'How long have you been married?' she asked, it wasn't the interrogation Joey was expecting, she was merely trying to distract him.

'It's our one-year anniversary today,' Joey said. It wasn't really a lie, more of a half-truth. The paramedic said something in response, but Joey was too focused on Dick's face to hear her. This morning had been so perfect; why did things always go wrong the moment he was starting to feel content and happy. But what could he really expect when both Dick's daily and nightly life were both so high-risk? Unconsciously he gripped the man's hand tighter. When he got through this (because he had to get through it), Joey realised he had to have a serious talk to the guy about his lifestyle choices. This was the fourth time Dick had been injured in the time he had known him…true, two of those injuries were Jericho's fault, but still. Joey wasn't sure he could take this anxiety much longer, when it came to wondering every day and every night whether he was going to make it home. He hated ever telling Dick what to do, but something had to change.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When Bruce burst through the double doors of the hospital ward, he immediately saw Joey pacing in the waiting area.

'How is he?' he asked, guiding Joey to take a seat beside him.

'He hit his head pretty bad,' said Joey, biting his thumb. 'They were taking him for a CT. But God, Bruce there was so much blood.' He looked down at his hands where there were still specks of browning red on his skin.

'He'll be alright, Joey. He's been through a lot worse than this.'

'Is it selfish of me?' Joey muttered.

'Selfish?'

'I keep thinking…' He collected himself. 'The thought keeps popping into my head…' He looked up a Bruce, his eyes shining with emotion. 'I am nothing without him.'

'It's not selfish.' Bruce said gently. 'But you are not nothing. With or without Dick.' His eyes drifted away from the younger, as a doctor in blue scrubs walked towards them. Joey notices and turns to look. As soon as he recognised the doctor who had taken Dick, he was out of the chair and in front of him.

'He's stable,' the doctor said immediately. 'He's fractured his skull, but by some miracle there was no bleeding on his brain. There is however a bit of swelling, which is why he was struggling to stay conscious. But with time, I am confident that the swelling will go down and he shouldn't have suffered too many deficits, if any.'

'Thank you so much.' The relief was visible in Joey's shoulders.

'You can go and see your husband now. Although it may be a few hours before he wakes up.' He patted Joey on the shoulder and walked away. The weight on his shoulder was replaced by Bruce's hand.

'Husband?' He asked, amused.

'Don't ask, long story.' A pink blush crept over Joey's cheeks as the two men walked towards the nurse's desk to ask which room Dick was in. Thanks to Bruce's insurance, which in turn covered Dick's, he was in his own room, which gave them plenty of privacy. They sat in comfortable silence for hours, eventually taking it in turns to throw bits of rolled up paper into the trash can on the other side of the room. Nurses came and went, taking Dick's vitals. They never seemed overly concerned, but still the young man did not wake. His head was bandaged, there were IV's pumping him with fluids and pain killers and an oxygen tube under his nose. Joey had seen his boyfriend injured before, but somehow, waiting for him to wake up was the worst.

After nearly five hours, Jason popped his head around the door.

'Jesus, what a fucking mess Grayson,' he said, hands deep in his pockets.

'Language Jason,' said Bruce half-heartedly.

'Did I look that bad when I died?'

'Wait, what?' Joey looked between the two men. 'You died?'

'Oh, yeh. Forgot you're new. Basically…' Jason was cut off by a new voice entering the conversation.

'You didn't even look this good, when Ra's brought you back to life.'

'Huh,' Jason grinned. 'Welcome back to the world of the living dick head.' His grin spread wider when Dick weakly lifted his hand to flip him off.

'Glad to see you're feeling better,' Joey laughed, but his smile faltered when Dick looked over at him blankly.

'Who are you?' he said.