Disclaimer – I own nothing.
To vi – Thanks for your review! Yeah, I think it's obvious to everyone that there's a lot of tension between Dick and Hank and that they should be concerned about leaving them alone for any period of time. I'm so glad you liked this chapter and I hope you enjoy this one as well!
AN – Hey everyone! So I'm not finished the last chapter of this story yet, but I'm really hoping to have it done by either Tuesday or Wednesday. It will definitely be done before season 3 starts to air. Anyone else freaking out over how soon its coming? I can't wait! Hope you guys like this chapter!
Enjoy!
Dick woke up due to the sound of something ringing. It didn't sound like it was near him, but each ring felt like nails being slammed into his ears all the way to his brain and he wanted it to stop. However, he didn't even try to move. His entire body felt like a building fell on him and the only movement he was making was breathing. Then, he heard someone groaning and he opened his eyes.
He was lying right by the edge of the bed in his room. Looking over the edge, he was surprised to find Hank laying on the ground beside the bed. It took a few seconds then for the memories of what to come back. Fighting with Hank before storming off to his room. Trying to fall asleep only to feel more pain than he could really remember being in as his muscles cramped and spasmed completely out of his control. It was so bad he couldn't even cry out. He didn't know how long it lasted until Hank showed up. His presence definitely helped. After that, he didn't really remember much. He must've fallen asleep.
The ringing, that had stopped for a few seconds, suddenly started again. It was someone's cell phone. Hank groaned, turned his head to the side and grumbled, "Who's calling this early?"
"Probably Dawn or Donna, wanting an update." Dick mumbled back.
"I'll call them back later." Hank responded, rolling onto his side. Just then, the ringing stopped. For a very brief moment, the two men relaxed at the silence only for the moment to end when the phone started ringing for the third time. Whoever was calling was clearly very persistent.
Knowing that they weren't going to stop, Hank groaned again and got to his feet. Heading out of the bedroom, he quickly spotted his cell phone on the coffee table, vibrating to the point he thought it would fall off. With another groan he grabbed it, hit 'accept' and said, "Hello?"
"Where the h*ll have you been?" Donna shouted into his ear, loud enough that Hank pulled the phone away from his ear in an attempt to save his hearing. "You were supposed to call in the morning and it's one in the afternoon. And you didn't answer any of our previous calls. We were getting ready to storm in."
Hank looked at the clock and winced. "Sorry, I just woke up. Last night was kind of rough."
"What do you mean 'rough'?" Donna asked, her voice quieter and now filled with concern.
"Dick went through the worst of the withdrawal last night. At least, I'm hoping it was the worst and that it's over. Took him a while to get through it and fall asleep." Hank explained, remembering just how long it took for Dick to finally relax enough to pass out even though the pain never truly left his face.
"Is he okay?"
Glancing back at the bedroom, only barely able to see the younger man through the doorway, Hank said, "He will be. He just needs some rest."
"Sounds like you could use some too." Donna noted with a hint of sarcasm.
"I'll be fine. Talk to you guys later." Hank then hung up before Donna could say anything else. Slipping the phone into his pants' pocket, the older vigilante made his way back to Dick's room.
From what he could see, Dick was still wide awake. If it wasn't for the obvious tension in his body, the lines of pain on his face and uneven breaths, Hank might've thought he was asleep. Guilt settled heavily in his stomach at the sight, knowing that it was his actions that put his teammate there. Pushing the guilt aside for now, he walked into the room and quietly asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Like someone's slammed a hammer on every inch of my body and is still going at it." Dick mumbled honestly. "Who was on the phone?"
"Donna. We missed the morning check in. It's already one in the afternoon." Hank informed him, hovering in the doorway.
"Surprised they didn't burst through the door if it's already past noon." The brunette commented with a light chuckle.
Hank let out a small laugh and said, "No kidding. She did say though that if we didn't answer this last time that they would come check on us."
Dick hummed but didn't say anything else. He wasn't sure if there was anything to say right now. Talking didn't hurt much but everything else still did. Not as badly as last night thankfully, yet it was still enough that he didn't want to move. With the way all of his muscles were cramping and aching, he knew that moving would make it way worse.
"I know you're probably sick of me saying this, but you got to eat Dick." Hank broke the silence, his words making Dick frown, even though he knew the blonde was right. "You barely ate anything yesterday and it's already past lunch."
Dick thought silently for a moment, then asked, "Any chance you could make something that I could eat without moving? Cause I don't think I can move."
"Um, I'll see what I can do." Hank replied with an unsure tone of voice before he headed back to the kitchen.
Hank didn't need to go through the cabinets and drawers of the small kitchen area to know that it was basically empty. It was an empty apartment to begin with and they didn't bring that many supplies with them either. And they most definitely didn't have anything that Dick could eat without moving. Was that even possible? He supposed he could hand feed him or something but that was awkward and he doubted Dick would like that. Dick was most likely joking about that anyways.
Before he could figure out exactly what to do now, there was a knock on the door. Hank frowned and shot a worried look over at Dick's room. No one should be knocking on this door. Besides the team and Bruce, no one knew they were here and the neighbours weren't the kind to pry. Cautiously, Hank made his way over to the door and looked through the peepholes. When he saw who it was, he sighed and opened the door.
"What are you guys doing here?" The three women looked up at him, unimpressed.
"And hello to you too." Donna said as she strode past him and into the apartment. Kory followed right behind her while Dawn reminded standing in front of her ex-boyfriend.
"Donna told us that you both had a bad night so we thought we'd come and help out for a few hours." Dawn explained. Though Hank was slightly annoyed he stepped to the side to let her in.
As he closed the door and locked it, Hank asked, "Who's watching Rachel, Gar, Rose, Jericho and Conner?"
"They're teenagers, not toddlers. They'll be fine for a few hours." Dawn answered.
"Besides, we hooked up the security cameras to our phones so we can keep an eye on them in case they decide to do something stupid." Donna added with a smirk.
"Where's Dick?" Kory then asked, looking around the apartment.
Pointing to the bedroom door with his thumb, Hank said, "He's in there."
Donna and Kory immediately went inside, leaving Hank and Dawn alone. As soon as they were gone, Dawn turned to him and asked, "How's he doing?"
"Better than last night, but doesn't want to move. Actually asked if I could make some food that he could eat without moving." Hank filled her in, the two both breaking out into soft laughter when he finished.
"Well, we could get some soup and put a straw in it and he could just slurp it up." Dawn responded with a wide smile.
"That's not a bad idea, if only we had soup here."
The former ballerina examined the kitchen for a minute, her expression sombering a little then suggested, "Why don't you let me deal with the food and go take a shower? After you and Dick eat, you should get some sleep. You look exhausted."
Instinct told Hank to argue, but the thought of a shower and a nap sounded pretty good. So he nodded and headed to the bathroom.
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"Dick? You awake?" Dick frowned then opened his eyes at the familiar sound of Donna's voice. To his surprise, not only was Donna there, but Kory was as well.
"What are you guys doing here?" Dick mumbled.
"Hank said you had a rough night so we came to check on you and hang out for a few hours." Donna explained as she crouched down in front of him.
Kory, coming to stand near Dick's feet, then asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Like I was stomped on by a herd of elephants." Dick answered, causing the two women to wince sympathetically.
"Anything we can do to help? I could get you some Tylenol or something." Donna said, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"No, I'll be fine. Thanks though." Kory had to bite back a frustrated groan when he said that. He always had to do things the difficult way. Still though, she asked, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Where are the kids?" Dick wondered, glancing around to see if the whole team was here. While he had been missing everyone over the last few days, especially since he barely saw them after he was rescued, he still didn't want them to see him like this. He would have preferred to go through all of this alone, even if it wasn't that safe or practical.
"Back at the penthouse." Donna responded. When she saw worry starting to creep upon his face, she pulled out her phone and said, "Don't worry. We're still keeping an eye on them."
Dick relaxed when he saw Rachel, Gar, Rose/Jericho and Conner through the security cameras. As great as the kids are, they sometimes acted without thinking which led to them getting into trouble. Plus, he will admit he could be a bit protective. He liked knowing they were safe and sound, even though they were old enough to take care of themselves for a few hours.
"I appreciate you guys wanting to check in, but you don't have to. You should head back." Dick told them.
"Nope. Not gonna happen. We're sticking around, whether you and Hank like it or not." Kory said with a wide and slightly evil smirk.
"We also want to make sure you and Hank aren't about to kill each other." Donna chimed back in.
Knowing that he wasn't going win this, the women on his team could be extremely stubborn when they wanted to be, Dick gave a reluctant sigh and nodded. It was actually a bit annoying how hardheaded they could be sometimes. Like now for instance. However, he could deal with their hovering for a bit. It might actually be nice as long as they didn't make him move. Plus considering the fight he had with Hank yesterday, it might also be nice to have a buffer for a few hours. Hopefully though, he would be able to keep from snapping at them like he was unable to at Hank.
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Dawn, Donna and Kory stayed until supper. Or rather, they stayed until they ordered supper for Hank and Dick, who were both sleeping at that point. They then somewhat woke them up to say goodbye and headed back to the teenagers. Thankfully, they didn't have to make supper for themselves as Gar made it with Conner's help. And the clone didn't accidentally start a fire or anything like he did the last time he tried to help. He had thought using his laser eyes would cook food faster than the oven. It didn't end well.
Rachel spotted them first and immediately jumped from her stool at the kitchen island as she asked, "How are they?"
"Well they haven't killed each other, so better than we were expecting." Donna joked with a half smirk before heading into the kitchen.
"How was everything here?" Kory wondered, wrapping an arm and pulling her close while Dawn followed after Donna.
"It was fine." Gar answered from his spot in front of the stove. "We can take care of ourselves for a few hours."
"Good." Kory responded, giving him a smile. Rachel however, still looked extremely worried.
"Is Dick okay?"
The redhead gave her a sympathetic look and said, "He's definitely not feeling great, but he's going to be fine."
With that, Kory squeezed her tightly for a second, then let go and joined the rest of the group. After a moment of hesitation, Rachel did the same though her thoughts remained on Dick. Hoping that Kory was right. That he would be okay.
