Disclaimer – I own nothing.

To Cats and violin – Thanks for your review! Glad you are liking this story and I hope you like this chapter as well!

To vi – Thanks for your reviews! Glad you love the story! There will be some Gar and Dick father/son relationship along with Bruce and Dick father/son relationship and Kory and Dick relationship in this chapter. Hope you like it!

To Guest – That's a very interesting theory. I personally don't think Rachel would tell Dick to stay away, she might be a bit mad or uneasy around him but I could also see her telling him that in the heat of the moment and he takes her seriously. I do agree though that they will defeat Trigon in the first two episodes of season 2 since season 1 was supposed to have either 13 or 12 episodes. As for Dick getting his Nightwing suit, I will be exploring that a little in this story. Hope you like this chapter!

AN – So, this ended up being a three-shot, instead of a one or two-shot. Hope you guys don't mind. On the plus side, the next chapter is almost done so it should be up soon. Here is chapter 3 and part 2 of this one-shot. Hope you all like it.

Side Note – Is anyone else getting a little worried that they only casted Bruce to be in the flashbacks? Cause while I would love to see Bruce with young Dick, I do want Bruce to come in and interact with adult Dick and the rest of the team. I'm really hoping they do both. Plus, can you just imagine Gar freaking out over meeting Batman?

Enjoy!

The room was larger than he expected, but he quickly saw why it needed to be. There were several machines surrounding the bed and all were in some way attached to the figure lying on the bed. Bruce almost didn't recognize Dick with all the tubs and wires hooked up to him, but despite all that, he knew his son when he saw him. He felt sick at the sight, but forced himself to walk over to the right side of the bed. Once he came to a stop, he examined the young man.

The blankets and hospital gown covered most of his body. All that was really visible were his arms, neck and head. His arms though had several IVs attached and there was a tube going down into his mouth held in place by a strap going around his head. While Bruce was no doctor, he knew enough to know that Dick was not in good shape. The breathing tube alone meant that the young man couldn't even breath on his own. There was only one other time that Bruce had seen his ward this badly injured and it still gave him the occasional nightmare. Once he learned that Dick had become a police officer before working his way up to detective, the thought of his son dying on the job without help from him, without help from Batman kept him awake some nights. He knew it was only a matter of time before this happened.

Bruce lifted a hand and pushed Dick's brown bangs away off his forehead and away from his face. It had been two years since he had seen Dick, and even longer since he had actually comforted the former Robin in any way. Even before he left, the two had been becoming more and more distant as Dick started fighting against his rules. Then after the incident with the Joker and Tony Zucco, their partnership officially ended and Dick left Gotham. Left him.

A part of Bruce wanted to start yelling at Dick, even though he was unconscious and wouldn't hear him. He knew that Bruce disapproved of his desire to become a police officer. It was dangerous enough being a vigilante, he just had to go and choose one of the most dangerous jobs and make it his career. He was sure that the younger man did it just to spite him. The billionaire kept his mouth shut though. Yelling at his injured, unconscious, wayward son wasn't going to make things any better. Yelling at Dick when he was awake also didn't work. He would just yell back.

The other part him wanted to hold his son tightly in his arms and tell him that he was here, promise him that everything was going to be okay, but dealing with anything that had to do with emotions and feelings was never his strong suit. So he remained quiet and stared at Dick's face. He looked older, more mature, and tired. He hated seeing the person who used to be so happy, so easily excited, so clever and mischievous, so full of light look like this. It wasn't right.

After another minute or so of staring at his son, Bruce leaned forward, pressed a kiss to Dick's forehead, then stood up and walked away. As much as he wanted to stay with Dick, he knew that there were others waiting for news about the former Robin and they deserved to know what was going on and would also want to see him. With one last look at the unconscious figure in the hospital bed, he left the ICU room and started making his way back to the waiting area.

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The atmosphere in the waiting room had changed after Bruce Wayne arrived, only to leave seconds later to get answers. Mostly everyone had gone back to sitting in their seats again. Except for Hank, who had chosen to lean against the wall instead. Before Bruce had come, the room was calm but filled with worry and fear. Now though, it was filled with a tense and anxious energy. Gar had started bouncing his knee, Donna was fiddling with her fingers, and every now and then, Hank would pace to the other end of the room. Rachel herself suddenly felt extremely impatient that she started playing with a loose thread on her jacket sleeve.

"He's back." Gar announced when he saw Bruce walking back toward the waiting room. Again, everyone stood up when the man entered the room and came over to them.

"I spoke with Dick's doctor, a Dr. Miller. He was able to tell me Dick's condition." Bruce started before Gar interrupted, "So how is he?"

Bruce glanced over at the green-haired teenager before he responded, "He's in pretty critical condition. He had been shot three times. One of the bullets had shattered and did a lot of damage. He's in the ICU until he starts to recover."

"So he'll be okay?" Rachel questioned, needing to hear those words. Bruce however, took a deep breath and said, "It's too soon to tell. It's pretty serious."

For a long moment, the group absorbed the news in silence, fear gripping all of them with thought that the person who brought them all together might not survive. Rachel broke the silence though when she turned her gaze back to Bruce and asked, "Can we see him?"

"Since he's in the ICU, only family members are allowed, but I talked to the doctor and he said as long as either myself, or his wards are in the room, others can come in. No more than two at a time though." Bruce told them, then gestured with his head for the others to follow him as he walked down the hallway and the group immediately walked behind him, practically on his heels.

Following Bruce down the hallways to Dick's room, there was another change in the air. The anxiety was still there, but now the nervousness was taking over. Bruce didn't tell them what they should expect when they entered the room nor did he really tell them how badly Dick was injured. He told them that Dick had been shot three time and a bullet had shattered, but he didn't say anything else. He didn't tell them what damage the bullets had done, nor did he really tell them Dick's chances of survival.

After a few minutes, they turned another corner and started walking towards the only door around. Rachel, quickly realizing that it was the door to Dick's room, suddenly surged ahead of the group and walked inside without waiting for the others to catch up. Kory immediately went after her along with Gar, but before he could enter the room, a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Gar turned his head to find that it was Bruce Wayne who had stopped him from going to see Dick.

Seeing his confused expression, Bruce quickly reminded him, "Only two at a time in an ICU room. Hospital rules."

Gar turned his gaze back to the door, upset that he was going to have to wait longer to see the person that had become a mentor, friend, and father figure to him. He looked down at the ground and slumped against the wall as Bruce let go of his arm.

"Don't worry Gar, we'll go in as soon as Kory and Rachel are done." Dawn comforted, putting a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. Gar nodded, but remained quiet as he waited his turn to visit the former Robin.

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Once she had entered the room, Rachel came to an abrupt halt at the sight of Dick on the bed, hooked up to the several machines surrounding him. A loud gasp forced her to take her eyes off her guardian and on the person who had apparently followed her into the hospital room. Kory. She didn't even hear her come in. Noting the terrified look on Kory's face, Rachel reached out and grabbed her hand. Though she didn't look at her or say anything, she did squeeze Rachel's hand in response and together, they walked over to the bed.

Rachel let go of Kory's hand once they reached the foot of the mattress so she could go to the right side of the bed while Kory went to the left. It was so wrong to the alien, the sight of Dick Grayson lying in a hospital, needing all the IVs in his arms and a tube down his mouth. He looked so small, so young, so weak. So, so, human. Even though Dick was one of the few humans in their little 'family', he always seemed so strong. At times, it didn't seem like he actually was human. Now, it was painfully obvious. He wasn't invincible. He could actually die.

Kory felt a sudden urge to cry, but she forced it back. If she started crying, she'd scare Rachel. So instead, she grabbed Dick's limp hand and brushed his hair back. Kory then leaned down to kiss his forehead and whispered, "It's going to be okay Dick. You're doing to be okay."

When Kory raised her head, she saw that the expression of fear and worry was gone from Rachel's face, replaced by pure concentration. Then, she noticed how Rachel was gripping Dick's arm in both of her hands and realized what she was doing.

"Rachel, no. We told you that you can't." Kory whispered in an angry tone.

Rachel raised her head, looked around the room before she said quietly, "I'm only doing a little. Just enough to make sure he's going to be okay, not enough to make anyone suspicious."

When Kory continued to give her a disapproving stare, she leaned over Dick's unconscious form and added, "I'm not going to let him die Kory."

The alien stare softened a little when she heard that. She turned her gaze down to Dick's face, then nodded and told her to be careful. While Donna, Dawn, and Hank had told her not to, for reasons that Kory agreed with, but seeing Dick like this more than changed her mind. As long as Rachel was subtle about it. If she wasn't, if she got caught, Dick was going to be quite angry, at everyone who let her do this. Kory ignored that thought though, hoping, believing, praying that Dick would be okay and that Rachel knew what she was doing.

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After about ten minutes, Gar and Dawn were finally able to go see Dick. Rachel and Kory had come out looking worried and a little drained, especially Rachel, so Gar had a feeling whatever he was going to find behind the door wasn't good. However, he had been around medical equipment and people lying on beds and tables almost dying several times before. He was Chief's assistant after all. He would have been no good to the doctor if he was skittish around blood, IVs and tubes. Seeing them surround Dick though was another story.

With as much experience he had, Gar had never actually seen his friends in a hospital bed, possibly on death's door. Rachel, she wasn't dying when she agreed to let Chief try to take away her powers. The only people he had seen in a situation somewhat like this were his parents. And they had died. He couldn't lose his new family, he couldn't lose his new father figure.

Slowly, he approached the bed with Dawn right behind him. Once he reached him, he started talking.

"Hey Dick. It's Gar. And Dawn. She's here too." Gar told him in a rushed and nervous tone. He didn't understand why this was so hard. He had talked to Chief's patients when they were unconscious before, even though he didn't know them. He didn't want them to feel like they were alone. But this was difficult and he didn't really understand why. Dawn didn't say anything about Gar's obvious awkwardness. She just gave him a smile, took a step closer to the bed, then turned her gaze to Dick.

"Hey. I'm pretty sure we told you to be careful when you went to work this morning. Of course I'm not really surprised you didn't listen to us. Don't worry about the kids. Donna, Kory, Hank and I will take good care of them. You know that. So you just get better and get your butt back home. Alright?" Dawn told him with a tone that was somehow a perfect mix of light-heartedness and seriousness.

After she said that, she looked back over at Gar and the smile left her face. She didn't say anything. The blonde just gave him and nodded and walked to the other end of the room. Gar looked over his shoulder as saw that Dawn was just standing in the corner. It took another minute for him to realize that she was giving him time and space with Dick without leaving the room.

Gar turned his attention back to Dick and stared. He wasn't sure exactly what to do or say. Anything he could think of saying sounded stupid. After what felt like hours, Gar hesitantly reached his hand out to grip Dick's carefully, like it was made of glass or something. He then raised his head to look at the detective's face, instinctively hoping for a response of some kind though he knew it wasn't likely. Still, the teenager felt a pang of disappointment nonetheless at the lack of response.

"You've got to get better Dick. You've got to." Gar whispered, still staring at Dick's face. When there was still no response, he lowered his head, let go of the man's hand, and walked towards Dawn.

She gave him a sad smile, but said nothing as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders and gently led him out of the room.

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Bruce went again next, but this time with Donna. Besides Hank, she was the only one who hadn't seen Dick and Hank said that she should go first. While they went in to see their friend, the rest of the group decided to go down to the cafeteria to get some food. They had been so worried and had been waiting for news that they completely missed supper.

Once they entered the room, Bruce stayed by the door while Donna went straight to the bed. Since he had already seen his son and Donna hadn't, he wanted to give them space. If he could, he would've stayed out in the hall, but this was the only way the doctor would allow his friends to see him. So he stayed as far out of the way as possible.

Donna glanced over at Bruce when she approached the bed. When she saw that he was staying by the door, she smiled slightly then turned her gaze back to Dick.

"Hey Boy Wonder, looks like you got yourself in trouble again. Not that surprising to be honest. Actually, I'm surprised it took so long to happen. You always were a trouble magnet. But just like all the other times, you'll pull through this too. I know you will." Donna said, giving the unconscious man. She then stood up straight and just stared at him, as if waiting for him to wake up even though she knew he wouldn't regain consciousness for while.

"He misses you, you know. He never talks about it or says anything about you, even when Gar asks him about Batman, but I can tell. I can see it." Donna told Bruce, keeping her eyes on Dick.

"I miss him too." Bruce quietly admitted, looking down at the ground.

Normally, he would've kept his mouth shut. It was already difficult enough to let his emotions show and be open with the people he loved. It was one of the many things that caused tension and fights between him and Dick. He had built up walls and kept them up ever since his parents died in that alley. He rarely ever lowered them. Now though, the sight of his son in the hospital bed, the fear that he might die and without knowing how sorry Bruce was for all of their fights, how sorry he was for not properly being there for him and how much he hurt him. And to possibly lose him at Christmas, the season that's so happy and hopeful for most people, Dick's favourite holiday, the holiday that Bruce and Dick's fights reached the boiling point, it left his defenses weak.

"Wait, do those kids know," Bruce started as he raised his head, suddenly realizing what Donna had said.

"No." Donna interrupted, "No, they don't know your secret. It probably wouldn't be too hard for them to figure it out since they know who Dick is, along with Jason, but no. None of us have said anything."

"Why do they even know about Dick and Jason?" Bruce questioned, slipping into his Batman voice.

"There were some people after Rachel. Dick did what he had to in order to protect her. As for Jason, I have no idea. I wasn't there when they met him." Donna answered, still not looking at him.

Bruce frowned at that. He didn't know much about the two teenagers that Dick had taken in. There was no record of Garfield Logan after his parents had died of a strange disease and everything he found on Rachel was normal up until her mother was murdered. Then she ended up in Detroit where she was taken into custody after throwing a brick at a police car. That was when she met Dick only for them to disappear off the grid. After a while, they both reappeared with Dick as not only her legal guardian, but Garfield's as well.

And Kory, there was only slightly more on her than Gar, but that was only because she had apparently killed a man at a gas station and attacked some police officers. He wasn't exactly sure how, but somehow, Dick 'found' evidence that it was a gas leak that had caused the fire at the gas station which killed that person that Kory was accused of killing. With the other cops though, that just somehow disappeared. He had no idea how, but it did. Dick was always a good detective, that didn't surprise him nor upset him. What did upset him was that he had trusted these strangers that were dangerous with his secret identity.

Ever since he had decided to let Dick become his partner, become Robin, he insisted that he kept his identity a secret from everyone. Only people that he trusted knew who they were. Besides Donna, the only people that knew their identity were Clark Kent, Diana Prince, Oliver Queen, Roy Harper, Barry Allen, and Wally West. And Bruce didn't even want Roy and Wally to know who they were, but Dick had decided to tell them himself without Bruce's knowledge or permission. He insisted that they were trustworthy, but after that, he made it clear that he wasn't to tell anyone else. Of course he then decided to tell Hank and Dawn which led into another fight between the billionaire and his son.

Jason was no exception to that rule. He wasn't all that surprised that Dick had decided to tell other people that he was Robin now that he wasn't living with him or working with Batman. But Jason should know better. He knew that Jason had left to go see Dick about two months ago when the members of Haly's Circus were being targeted and killed. His new Robin hardly talked about what all happened nor did he mention meeting Dick's new friends. And he definitely didn't say anything about telling others about his identity. He was going to have to have a talk with Jason when he got home.

Before he could actually respond to what Donna had told him, a loud beep from his phone alerted him of a new text message. Bruce quickly pulled the device from his pocket to see who had texted him and what they wanted. He wasn't all that surprised to find that it was from Jason, but the message's content made him want to kick himself.

'You might want to call Alfred to give him an update. He's already dropped two dishes on the floor.'

When Bruce had gotten the call from Donna about Dick, he had quickly told Alfred and Jason what had happened, then ran to the Batplane and took off without another word. He didn't even wait to see how they had reacted to the news. And he hadn't given them any update whatsoever. He should've remembered to call them to let them know what was going on, especially Alfred. Jason hardly knew Dick, but Alfred had helped Bruce raise him. He actually had a better relationship with the former acrobat than the billionaire did. And the fact that he had actually dropped some dishes was a testament to how worried he was.

"I've got to go call Alfred, let him know what's going on." Bruce informed her, knowing that if he left the room, Donna would have to as well.

"Okay." The former Wonder Girl replied, finally turning away from the bed to walk towards him,.

As she reached his side, Bruce said, "I will have to be heading back to Gotham as well."

Donna looked a little surprised, then responded, "I thought you would be staying longer than an hour."

"I would like to, but there was a breakout in Gotham." Donna nodded in understanding at that, but Bruce continued, "Plus, I doubt Dick will want to see me when he does wake up."

"Maybe, maybe not." Donna told him. Bruce stared at her, but didn't say anything. Instead, he moved to walk towards the door, then stopped.

"Could you keep me posted? About Dick I mean?" Bruce wondered, keeping his back to her. To everyone else, his voice would've sound calm, cool, and collected, but Donna could hear the worry and nervousness in his tone.

"Yeah, of course." Donna quickly agreed, knowing that despite all of his faults, Bruce did love and care for Dick like a father does for his son.

"Thank you." With that, Bruce exited the room with Donna right behind him.