Another sweet, little excerpt from "Gallows Humor" and also from the 7th chapter. Same deal . . . Worried and clingy after the trauma of the evening, Dick wants Bruce close.
SPOILER ALERT! You should read the story first. The giveaway is subtle.
Gallows Humor - "Locked Out"
No Warnings: Rating "K+" (for the excerpt; "T" for the story itself)
Dick snorted at his retreating back. Like that was going to happen . . .
He ached, but he wasn't about to let Bruce out of his sight, and certainly not if he were going to face down a potential threat. Despite his stiffness, Dick ran after him; his soreness easing as his muscles warmed under the light exercise and fresh rush of adrenaline.
He wouldn't engage unless he had to. He knew in his present state that he could be more of a distraction to Bruce than a help. But if there really was a danger, Dick wasn't about to let Bruce face it alone. He couldn't be in any better shape than Dick, himself, was in. Worse, maybe. He realized now that Alfred had been treating Bruce's injuries when he had woken. Dick had interrupted that, and Bruce had put off further ministrations to calm him and take him up to bed.
As he bounded down the stairs and rounded the corner toward Bruce's study, Dick considered who the intruder could be. How likely someone was spelunking on private property in the middle of the night and just happened onto the Batcave. Right! The odds weren't good. So, it was someone who had followed Batman and Robin back to the cave for nefarious purposes or else someone who knew the location of the Batcave and knew how to get past the security.
A friend? There weren't many who had ever been here . . . Superman, and Wonder Woman once. Kid Flash had invited himself last night. Would he have come back to check on him?
God! They would be in so much trouble if Bruce discovered Wally in the Batcave!
Bruce had already gone through the clock by the time Dick arrived at his study. The boy went over and turned the hands to the proper time that released the locks that hid the door to the secret passage. Nothing happened! He reset the time, and tried again. Ten forty-seven . . . Bruce had given him the code years ago. The time of his parents' death. That would never change.
He tried the emergency manual release, but discovered that it didn't work either.
Bruce had anticipated Dick following him and locked him out! Or perhaps he expected trouble and wanted to prevent an enemy from entering the house? Either way, Dick was stuck up here while Bruce was down in the Batcave facing a potential unknown threat alone. He pounded the wall impotently with his fist.
