When Dick awoke the next morning, Slade was gone. He led and stared at the empty bed for some time, thinking over the events of the previous night. The weight still did not feel any lighter on his shoulders, but in a weird way, he no longer felt like he was living a lie. He had told Slade the truth about his past. He had been raped and Batman…Bruce had not saved him. He thought back to Slade's reaction, the man had been calm and in return for Dick's honesty, he had told him the truth about his son's death. Now Dick understood why the older man wanted to help him.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself up from the bed and treaded carefully to the door. Slade was in the kitchen area, sat at the table with his head in his hands. When he heard Dick approach he looked up.

'Good morning.' He said.

'How long have you been up?' asked Dick quietly, the man was dressed but he didn't look as awake and ready to go as he usually did.

'A few hours.'

'What time is it?' Down here in the windowless base, it was hard to guess at the time.

'About 9:30. After your disrupted sleep last night, I didn't want to wake you.'

Dick nodded in thanks and sat down at the table, opposite the other man.

'How did you know what to do?' asked Dick, genuinely curious. 'No one's ever been able to bring me out of paralysis before.'

Slade's eyebrow lifted in interest. 'You've had sleep paralysis before?'

Dick nodded. 'A few times when I was in Gotham, once with the Titans before I ran away.'

'And it's always the same figure that appears?'

Dick nodded again. 'It's always him.'

'Who was he, Dick?' Slade leaned forward, resting his arms on the table.

But Dick shook his head. 'He's locked away, that's all that matters.'

It clearly wasn't, but Slade did not pry. He could tell the boy wasn't in the mood and to be honest, neither was he. Bringing up Grant had resurfaced some repressed emotions of his own. He needed some time to sort through them in his head. They sat in silence for a while, when Slade finally looked up, the boy was picking at the hem of his shirt, his eyes unfocused.

'Let's get out of here.' He said, making the younger look up in surprise.

'Where?'

'Do you climb?'

Dick gave him a confused look. Climb?

'There's a good climbing spot a few miles outside of Jump, not many people know about it, so it will be very quiet. Fancy it?'

Dick contemplated this for a moment, the last time he had gone climbing had been with Bruce. The thought made him sad for a second, but then he remembered how much he had enjoyed it.

'Sure.' He said. He could see the older man needed to get out of this base too. 'I'll go get changed.' He got up and headed back to the bedroom to grab his clothes when he started making his way to the bathroom, Slade was no longer in the kitchen.

Once locked in the bathroom, Dick looked at himself in the mirror. He had been with Slade for a little under two weeks, already the pieces were fitting back together. He'd completed five of his school assignments, he was going longer periods of time without having the itching under his skin. Despite having an episode of sleep paralysis, the night before, he didn't feel afraid to go back to sleep. Now that he knew Slade would be able to bring him out of it, it no longer felt like an impossible prison. But this scared him. It made him feel guilty. Why hadn't Bruce, his father, been able to make him feel this safe? Why did he hold so much anger towards Bruce? The attack hadn't been the older man's fault. He hadn't known it was Ivy, disguising herself as Rose to get close to him. He had been as much a victim to the whole ordeal as Dick himself. So why did he feel this anger when he thought about him? The guilt felt like hot fire in his chest.

'Dick, you ready?'

'Coming!' Dick quickly changed and brushed his teeth. When he went back out, Slade was waiting with his car keys dangling on one finger.

'Ready to go?"

'Yeh.' He tried to smile, but despite all his improvement, the action still didn't feel quite natural.

They walked out to the car and for the first time, Dick noticed that it had blacked out windows. He got in the passenger seat and looked over to the older man as he started the car.

'So where are we going?'

Slade grinned. 'I think you're going to like it.'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'Bruce it's been two weeks. We're no closer to finding him!' Superman cried. 'Why aren't you more worried?'

'I am worried, Clark. Just not about the same things.' Bruce confessed. He lent back in his seat. He hated it when Clark appeared at his home, uninvited.

'So, what are you worried about?'

'I'm worried about the fact my son tried to kill himself. I'm worried about the fact that over the last year my son has been pulling further and further away from me.' He stood up, slamming his fists down on the desk. 'I'm worried that my son blames me for the fact he was repeatedly raped in his own home. And do you know why I am worried about that? Because he would be right! I should have been stronger, I should have seen Ivy's plan and not fallen right into it.' He sighed and sagged back into his chair.

'Bruce…' Clark said kindly.

'I let him down, Clark. I wasn't there to protect him, and I wasn't there to save him.' Bruce bit his lip. 'Slade has been keeping me updated every day regarding Dick. He tries to get Dick to talk to me. I hear them talking. But Dick rarely takes the phone.'

'And you think being with Slade is doing him good?'

Bruce pulled open a drawer on his desk and pulled out a file. He threw it at his friend. The alien looked down at the file and opened it. It was full of school assignments, each with a perfect score.

'Over the last year his grades have been slipping and it's been harder and harder to get him interested in school work. More so after he joined the Titans.' Bruce shook his head. 'Slade got him to complete five assignments in just under two weeks. And Dick scored top marks.'

Clark looked over each of the papers. A+ was written in red ink on all of them, with comments on how wonderful his work was.

'You're sure it was Dick that completed them?' Clark asked suspiciously.

'I've read them all.' Bruce nodded, 'It's Dick, I'd know his style anywhere.'

Clark sighed and placed the papers on the desk.

'So, what's your plan?'

'I'm going to ask Slade to meet me. I need to look him in the eyes and ask him what he thinks he can do for Richard.'

'Eye.'

'What?'

Clark suddenly looked bashful. 'Eye. He's only got one.'

Bruce looked at the man who was his best friend (if Alfred's opinion on the matter was to be believed.) He could see that the alien was coming around to his way of thinking, if only for his sake.

'Get out, Boy Scout.'

'Alright, but you might want to fill the team in. They're starting to get very worried…both of them.'

Bruce nodded, and Clark left. When he was gone, Bruce picked up a picture from his desk. It was a photo of himself and Dick several years ago. It had been taken after Dick's first breakdown after he had fully recovered. The boy looked truly happy.

'We'll fix you, Dickie, I promise you will be happy again.'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

'Wow.' Dick looked over the edge of the cliff. 'That's a long way down.'

'Scared of heights?' Slade asked, amused. He knew the boy wasn't. He had seen Robin jump out of a plane without any hesitation.

'No,' Dick said. 'But I thought you said we were climbing. We're already at the top.'

'We're scaling down and then climbing back up.' Slade said. 'There's no other way down. Unless you want to jump.'

Dick glared, he knew Slade was joking, but it wasn't funny. He toyed with the safety harness that was attached to his waist and legs.

'That's a little loose, come here.' Slade took a step forward and Dick took a step back, closer to the edge. Instantly, Slade lifted his hands to show the boy he wasn't going to touch him.

'Sorry.' He said, 'Please come away from the edge.'

A look of despair crossed Dick's face as he took a step away from the ledge.

'It's not getting any better.' He whispered. 'I still freak out, all the time. I can't control it.'

'I don't think that's true, you're doing a lot better.'

'I don't think so.' Dick's voice was filled with self-hatred.

Suddenly Slade stepped forward and before Dick could react, the older man pushed him hard. Losing his footing, Dick stepped back, and his foot met with air. A sickly feeling hit his gut as he realised, he was falling. He was going to die.

A moment later, his body jolted to a stop. He opened his eyes and saw Slade was holding him in place by his harness. Slade raised his eyebrow and looked down at his arm. Dick followed his gaze. In the panic of falling, Dick had reached forward and grabbed the older man's arm, he was holding it in a death grip.

'Two weeks ago, you wouldn't have tried to save yourself.' Slade said calmly. Still not bringing the boy in. 'Now tell me. Do you want to die?'

Dick's mind was reeling. Did he want to die? The fact that he had stepped in front of that train suggested he did. But right now, dangling above certain death, he wasn't so sure.

Suddenly Slade loosened his grip on the belt and Dick slipped a little. He couldn't help but scream.

'No! NO! I don't want to die!' Dick's eyes were wide with fear and adrenaline, his breath coming in fast gasps.

Slade pulled the belt and dragged Dick back from the edge. Dick stumbled and fell to his knees on the ground.

'Alright?' asked Slade.

The boy took a deep shaky breath and then pushed himself back onto his feet. He approached the older man and hit his chest repeatedly. Slade let him.

'Why would you do that!?' Dick screamed, still hitting the older man but each punch was becoming weaker. Finally, Slade grabbed the boy's wrists.

'To make you realise, you are not lost. You are fighting this, and you are winning.'

Tears spilt down Dick's cheeks as he stared at him.

'What would you have done if I had said no?' Dick asked quietly.

'I would have dragged you back in and we would re-evaluate.' Slade watched as Dick took another deep breath. 'Now, knowing that you don't want to fall to your death. Will you let me tighten your harness?'

With a slow but sure nod, Dick allowed Slade to tighten the straps around his waist and around his upper thighs. Although his heart was still thundering in his chest, for once it was bearable.

A/N: Fun Fact about my own Dad (since it is fathers day). When I was a kid I was terrified of water...so he threw me in the deep end of the pool. I now love the water. I was also terrified of dogs...so he got us 2 massive German Shepards. I love them dearly. In my last few months of university, I had lost all motivation...he brought me tickets to see Little Mix but said I was only allowed them if I got a 1st in my degree. I got my 1st and went to see Little Mix. My dad is a tough love kind of person, which sometimes I hate. But I don't think I would be as strong and ambitious as I am if he wasn't there with his slightly unorthodox parenting. Happy Fathers Day Dad! Please review - Karin x