Roy reflects on having Dinah for a mother.

Chapter 17: Always There

Roy's POV

My real mother died when I was… like two? To be honest, I really don't remember. I remember nothing about her. Aside from giving birth to me, I have no connection whatsoever to her. I've had three different fathers in my life. Yet, I've only had one mother.

I was nine when I met Ollie's girlfriend, Dinah. Okay. I admit it. I had a slight crush on her at first. She was nice to me… She's really good with kids, while Ollie's an idiot when it comes to children… Never mind. He's an idiot when it comes to everything.

Dinah's also the only woman that scares the shit outa me. I've seen her take down thugs without lifting a finger… Imagine what she could do if she was really pissed. Without her, I would have starved. Heaven help us if Ollie was the only adult in the house.

Dinah's always been there. She was always the one that'd take me to football practice or talk the principle out of expelling me. Hell, she even taught me how to drive. She was always the loving and affectionate one… Yet, she was also the one who brought you down a notch if you were in trouble. I swear she's terrifying when she gets angry.

And then I turned eighteen… I had just left the Titans. I had wanted to join the Justice League. Yet, Ollie decided I wasn't good enough… And something really bad happened. We had a death in the family. I blamed myself for what had happened… I needed something to take away the pain. Heroin. I turned to drugs.

Yeah. I was a damned druggie for a while. And then Ollie caught me… He hit me. He hurt me right in front of Dinah, Artemis, and Mia. Dinah was the one that pulled him off me… She left him for about three months. She took care of me. She was the one that dealt with the relapses, the rehabilitation, and the suicide attempts for me. She took care of me, Artemis, and Mia while Ollie was too busy drowning himself in alcohol.

Those three months were Hell and the pain never goes away, but it does get better. I was finally clean at least. And then Ollie finally decided he missed us. So, she beat the shit out of him and managed to put a stop to his alcoholic issues. But, I wanted nothing to do with the man… I left.

I went out on my own for a while. I went to work for this organization and some shit happened and next thing I know, I'm twenty-six years old and I'm having sex with Cheshire. And the bitch leaves me in freaking Quraci to rot! Oh, and freaking Superman decided not to tell my parents that I was going to be executed in their freaking prison!

It was cool though. Red Hood and my ex-girlfriend, Starfire, broke me out and brought me back to the states. Long story short, the three of us teamed up and decided to check out the world. Before we left, I had to say bye to Dinah, Artemis, and Mia… Of course, Ollie chose that moment to reconcile our relationship. I wouldn't have even listened to him if it weren't Dinah yelling at me to "Sit my ass down and hear him out!" Ollie and I have always had issues, but we're doing fine now.

And nine months later after the Quraci incident, I became a dad. So Jade just ditches Lian with me and takes off again. Okay, I had no freaking clue how to take care of a baby. Of course I hauled ass to get back home. That's where Dinah came in. Dinah's amazing with Lian. They're really close. Ollie was there too, but he's still a dumbass.

To be honest, if it weren't for Dinah, I'd be dead from overdosing… And Ollie and I would have probably killed each other too. But, my mother's always been there for me. I love Dinah… She's the best damn mother anyone could ask for. I'd never admit it to anyone, but I do love my mother. She's always been there for me.