Wally was mad. No, he was more than mad. He was fuming, seething even. He'd managed to get Dick back home and into bed -with much convincing that he would still be here upon him waking- and sat down to process everything. 'Did Dick really have that little faith in him? To think that he would leave him alone after what just happened.'

Wally was sat quietly at Dick's kitchen table, staring blankly at the wall across from him. Every once in a while his face would be illuminated by the glow of his phone lighting up. Messages from the Team he assumed, but never checked. He didn't want to talk to them now. They weren't ready to hear what he had to say.

Should he call Bruce? Or did he already know and do nothing? It was too early for him to be asleep and too late for him to be off patrol. Should he leave a message? Even after tonight's break down Wally didn't know how bad Dick had really gotten. He could only hope it wasn't what he thought. Even if all the signs were there, judging him with their blank stares.

Empty spots on the walls where pictures once hung, a bare kitchen, and his unnaturally clean apartment. Wally let out a defeated sigh and rubbed his hands across his face. He should really call Bruce.

Resting one cheek in his palm, he reached down and dialed the familiar number. The phone went straight to voicemail. Wally sighed again and waited for the beep.

"Hey, Bruce? It- it's Wally." He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, "It's Dick. He's bad, like, real bad. I don't know if he's- I'm gonna try to find out in the morning. If you can, try to get here as soon as possible. I don- I don't know what else to do…" Wally was cut off as the limit was reached. He hoped Bruce got his message soon.

The soft sounds of dishes clinking together woke him from his rather peaceful slumber. Dick peaked open his eyes slowly, allowing them time to adjust to the light. 'Who's in my kitchen?' was the first thing he thought when he sat up and swung his feet over the edge of the bed. Fuzzy black dots invaded his vision as he stood up, forcing him to sit once more, or risk falling on his face.

While he waited for his vision to clear, Dick tried to focus on last night. Was it a dream, or did it really happen? If it was real, it would explain the strange noises currently coming from his kitchen. 'But what if it wasn't?' A little voice rang in the back of his head. 'What if it wasn't?'

Deciding the only way to figure it out would be to check, Dick got up and made his way towards the door, resting his shaking hand on the knob. He stared at his hand for a few minutes, hesitating. What if it really was Wally? What would he do? What would he say? He couldn't face him like this, unprepared as he was. It would only cause a repeat of last night, and he didn't want that to happen again. Reassuring himself that he'd open it soon, Dick backed away and went into his bathroom, grabbing a pair of clothes on the way.

He'd be lying if he said he recognized the face in the mirror. Big black bags rested underneath dull, tired eyes. Skin, pale and thin from lack of sunlight and proper nourishment. Bruises, a dull purple and green, littered his jaw and cheek. All and all, he looked dead, and honestly, Dick felt dead. 'And maybe that can still be arranged,' the little voiced cooed. 'No,' Dick thought, 'Not yet.'

'Maybe later'

Ignoring the mirror, Dick quickly brushed his teeth and threw on sweatpants and long sleeved shirt. If it really was Wally out there, he didn't want him to see anything. Dick had, after all, promised him that he'd never cut himself. 'And look where that promise went,' The little voice added, 'right out the window.' Dick brushed the voice away and walked back to his bedroom door, placing his hand on the knob once again. He sucked in a deep breath, it was time.

Dick turned the knob slowly, and peaked through the small crack, glancing into his living room. It was empty. Dick released a breath he didn't know he was holding and opened the door all the way. He crept cautiously through the room, avoiding the squeaky floorboards and loose paper. The room wasn't dirty by any means, but it wouldn't be considered spotless either. Although, it was cleaner than how he usually kept it.

The kitchen was connected to the living room by a small, simple doorway. The smell of freshly brewed coffee flowed freely into the room as Dick paused by the couch, listening. The quiet murmur of voices told Dick that someone else was in his kitchen as well. As to who it was, he couldn't guess. Who would Wally call? Actually, who could he call? As of right now, everyone Dick knew hated him.

With this new discovery, instead of walking through the door as he'd originally planned, Dick slid along the wall and peaked inside the entryway.

Bruce. It was Bruce. There he was, casually sitting at his kitchen table, having a cup of coffee with Wally. 'Wally told on you' the little voice hissed, 'He brought him here.' Dick whipped his head back and rested it on the wall as he attempted to calm himself. Wally he could deal with, but Bruce? Bruce would see right through his act and then he'd be forced to talk. Dick didn't want to look into the eyes of the man that raised him and see nothing but disappointment. 'Then leave. They don't know you're awake yet. Just leave and everything will be fine.' The little voice promised. And Dick was going to do just that. At least he was until his foot stepped on a squeaky board. Frozen in place, Dick held his breath and hoped they hadn't heard. But the now silent voices and the hesitant "Dick" coming from the kitchen proved otherwise.

He remained frozen until the soft scratching of a chair and feet taping on tile approached. Dick turned just in time to see Wally leaning in the doorway, face calm with a soft smile on his lips.

"You hungry?"

Dick swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, watching Wally's smile brighten.

"Come on then, I saved you a plate."

"Are you positive that the Team didn't tell him?"

Bruce had gotten here around 7:30 this morning, which was a lot earlier than Wally had originally thought he would arrive. That wasn't what surprised him though, no, it was his disheveled hair and the wrinkled clothes of the suit he wasn't wearing. It looked like the great and powerful Bruce Wayne had jumped out of bed and run a marathon on his way here. Wally wasn't one to judge, however, because he knew that he was a sight to see as well.

"Yeah, I'm positive. He wouldn't have freaked out like that last night if he'd already known." Wally confirmed and sipped some of his coffee. The warm liquid was already doing wonders for him, and by the looks of it, it was helping Bruce out too.

"Hmm" Was the only reply Bruce gave him. Nothing in his face gave away to how he actually felt, but Wally was just going to assume he was pretty pissed.

Hours passed while they conversed about trivial things, both aware of the topic they kept avoiding. During a pause in their conversation, Wally grabbed his mug, planning to refill it, when he heard the floorboards creak. Wally's head turned towards the doorway for a moment as he paused in his chair. He glanced towards Bruce to make sure he wasn't imaging the sound. The man simply looked back at him for a moment before jerking his head towards the door. Wally figured Bruce was telling him to do something so he called out hesitantly, "Dick?" He looked to Bruce again, who was now mouthing for him to go get Dick.

Wally stood quickly, chair scratching on tile, and walked into the doorway, leaning up against the wall. Dick had just finished turning around and was looking at Wally with a haunted expression.

"You hungry?" Wally tried asking, with a smile on his face. He watched as Dick frowned for a second before he nodded slightly. 'Thank God' he thought, 'he looks way too skinny.'

"Come on then, I saved you a plate." He could feel Bruce's eyes burning into his back as he turned to sit back down. God that man was creepy. Ignoring Bruce for now, he listened as Dick padded softly behind him.

"Why don't you take a seat and I'll get you some coffee and eggs." Wally spoke softly, already grabbing the coffee pot. He'd run to the store earlier this morning after discovering Dick had no food.

"...Okay" Was the soft reply and he turned around to see Dick seated, fiddling with the edge of his sleeve.

"Dick" Bruce stated, but Wally didn't turn around, focused on getting Dick's food.

"Bruce" Dick replied, and that was it. Wally turned around and gently placed the food in front of him. God, were they awkward.

"Here ya go! Fresh off the pan!" Wally joked, trying to lighten the mood, and set down the coffee.

Dick looked up to him for a moment and mumbled out a "thanks."

"You're welcome!" Wally replied, ignoring the awkward air of the table and sat down.

Wally watched as Dick poked around at his food, eating a few pieces here and there, while he thought of what to do next. How does somebody breech this kind of topic? What was he supposed to say? 'Hey, I think you're depressed and hurting yourself. Show me your arms, I'm here to help!' No way! Dick would -and probably Bruce- punch him into next week if he said something like that. Don't mess with the Daddybats.

"Dick, how have things been with the Team lately?" Bruce finally asked, breaking Wally from his pondering state. He looked up to find Bruce intently staring at Dick, who had frozen at the question.

"Oh, they've be-, they've been fine. Nothing interesting has happened lately." Dick stammered out, continuing to mess with the food on his plate, never looking at either of them.

"Hmm" Was the only reply Bruce gave once again. He was not helping with this conversation at all. How does someone reply to 'hmm?' You can't keep a conversation flowing with 'hmm's.'

"Yeah, I was just with them yesterday actually. I had to update the computer's for them." Dick spoke, this time with more confidence in his voice. Wally even saw him glance up at Bruce for a moment, so… progress?

"Really? I didn't know you were there yesterday! You should've told me, we could've hung out." Wally interjected, hoping to bait him into telling the truth. 'Just tell us so we can help you Dick, please.' Wally thought somberly.

"Ye-yeah? Sorry, I wasn't feeling to well yesterday so I wanted to get home and sleep it off before patrol. I guess it didn't work out to well though, huh." Dick chuckled as he rattled off. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Wally or Bruce.

Bruce stood from his chair suddenly, the wooden legs screeching across the tile, "Dick, I want you to come and stay at the manor for a while." He all but ordered. Dick, shocked by the outburst merely babbled, "W-what?"

Bruce only stared at him with a hardened gaze that Dick didn't see, since he was too focused on his plate of food. "You're coming back to the manor with me today. Wally can come and stay to if you wish."

"But Tim sai- Never mind. Okay I'll come" Dick uttered confidently, trying to hide the earlier stutter. If Bruce heard it, he didn't say anything about it. Which was probably for the best right now. This was a delicate situation that needed to be handled with care. Something Bruce wasn't to good at.

"Yeah! Of course I'll come with you, that is if you want me to. Dick? Do you want me to come?" Wally suggested softly, he didn't want to pressure Dick into anything.

Wally watched Dick's face as he glared into the table, hopefully thinking. It was pale and littered with old bruises, and his eyes had dark bags underneath them. He really did look terrible.

"Yeah, you can come." Dick muttered as he stood from the table and wandered off, to pack his items Wally assumed.

Bruce waited until Dick was gone before turning to Wally and speaking up, "I'll bring him back to the manor and get him situated. Do you think you can head to the Mountain and find out what's causing this?" He asked Wally seriously. Here was the Bruce he knew, glaring holes into Wally's head.

"Yeah, of course. I was planning to go there anyway. I have a few words I'd like to say to everyone." Wally replied, balling his fists with anger clearly present in his voice.

"Good. Come to the manor when you're done. I think we're going to need all the help we can get tonight." Bruce voiced before he to, walked out of the kitchen, leaving Wally alone with his thoughts. 'I hope the Team is ready, because this isn't going to end well,' he thought bitterly.

Hey everyone! I'm back! I'm sorry I was gone for so long. My laptop died on me and I had to wait until Christmas to get my new one. I hope you can forgive me!

What did you think of this chapter? Please leave a comment and let me know! I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Well, til next time,

Rachel

(My other stories will be updated within the next few days as well, if you're waiting for those chapter as well.)