Hey guys! This one is a little sad and hope it goes out to some people. Driving is really scary and you have to be alert at all times.
It's a very serious responsibility and I hope none of you have to go through what Robin goes through here.
Rating: T (Swearing)
Timeline: Alt. tangent, a year after Disordered; Read with a bit of slash
Standard disclaimer.
There's some statistic out there that most drivers get into an accident their first year of driving. Everyone always joked that Wally would probably run over a mailbox or something, but they never imagined him being hit by a drunk driver. Ever.
Perhaps in the most logical minds, that statistic may have come across. But Wally was a superhero. It seemed unfathomable.
It's heartbreaking to see the redhead hooked up to tubes and wiring. Or maybe what really made Aunt Iris leave the room was how Robin say the redhead's name when he walked into the room. It was a soft whisper, as if he was afraid to say it too loud. It looked artificial, to Robin.
There was no way Wally was really laying on that bed, right?
Right?
Was this some shitty, illusion dream mission?
"Oh my god, Wally… Wally…" Robin is in his civvies, and has his shades on. But that doesn't stop the tears when he sees his best friend, the one that's always got his back, the one that... He can't handle seeing someone he loves like this. He sits in the chair by the bed and suddenly the world just feels like dead weight and weightless at the same time. This world is just surreal. "Wally… C'mon… wake up…" In a sense, it feels like he's hearing his own voice, like he's out side his body.
The entire visting time is spent with Robin by Wally's bed. His brain is still trying to wrap around the fact that Wally is still not awake.
They could not get Robin to leave after visiting hours was over. When Barry tried to get Robin to leave, he started yelling at the Flash himself.
"No! I'm not leaving! I don't care! I swear, I will barricade the doors! You can call security! Do you think I care?" Robin is frantic and furious. He knows he will regret these actions later, but really, he doesn't give a second fuck about it. The only person in the world that knows him inside and out, is on the brink of death on this bed.
Robin has been close to death before. He has seen innocent people die before his eyes.
But not like this. Never like this. For a second, he wonders if this is a cruel trial, like when they had that mental exercise for failure and everyone was convinced Artemis had died. Except this is real life. This is happening right now.
At least then, both he and Wally had died together. He didn't have to think for a second that he was going to be alone without him. After that mental mission, he had been shaken. He had led Wally into death with him. Had that been… had that been part of his plan?
Even after his talk with Canary, he'd never fess up this part. He had truly been scared to leave Wally or to go in without Wally.
Wally was his rock, his tie to the rest of the human world. Maybe for Batman it was different. But Robin knew, he had realized, he was still a kid. A little part of him didn't want to grow up. Wally was what kept him sane. Robin had duties as Robin, as part of the Dynamic Duo, as a hero. He also had duties as Richard Grayson, as a student, as Bruce's ward, as an orphan. Wally was constant. And damn it all, Dick loved him with as much emotional depth a 15 year old super hero could conjure.
It wasn't until Batman had taken him from the hospital and was now in the car that Robin realized he was shaking.
Losing Wally was breaking him. He couldn't handle it. He just couldn't.
That night, he spends almost all of it in the training room. Bruce goes in when Dick faints after working too hard. He's worried. Maybe Dick has invested too much emotionally in Wally. He should've seen this coming. He knows that Dick will have more partnerships in the future and perhaps people that he will come to known more emotionally. He had to prepare Dick on how to deal with that loss.
He had overlooked it since Dick had already lost his parents. His mistake.
It was like drug use. Perhaps after the first time, it's difficult to quit, but you can do it. However, it's just as easy to relapse and even hard to pull out of.
Alfred is taking Dick Grayson to his room when Bruce stops him. He takes Dick instead and lays him down in his own bedroom. He searches all over the house for the old teddy bear that Dick used to sleep with and goes on to tuck Dick in with the bear. He is fifteen, but he looks like he's ten.
When Richard's breathing gets uneven and he mutters and flinches like he's having a nightmare, Bruce strokes the boy's hair and murmurs comforting words until Richard relaxes. Bruce doesn't sleep that night. He has had sleepless nights before. His duty as a father comes first right now.
-o-
Wally is in a coma for four days. For one of those days, Robin appears at the mountain and everyone is shocked by the noticeable change.
He looks more gaunt and has lost weight. He's more prone to spacing off or simply being quiet. He's become enclosed and seems empty. Four days is short, but for Robin, it has been a lifetime.
Everyone else is effected too though. Artemis is still in the angry stage. After sitting by the island in the kitchen she says she's going to the training room and shoot some arrows.
M'gann is still in the mourning stage. Connor is thinking now. He still can't see the team without Wally. Aqualad has accepted the circumstances. He knows that the team cannot function as it is right now. As a leader, he must get them to a level to function. He feels a deep depression and when he is by himself, he wonders if he is just logical or cruel.
Robin is just empty. In a sense, he will start to think about something and that will always lead him to a memory about Wally. Robin doesn't know what to do and it's during dinner that day that he starts crying at the table. Just tears roll down his face and he can't stop it. M'gann starts to cry and then so does Artemis. Connor looks away from the table. Even he can feel the uneven beats of their heart and their emotions of grief. Aqualad's eyes turn downcast and he then closes them and holds his hands in prayer. He doesn't know to whom, but if there is a God, he will protect Wally and make him live.
-o-
Four days and Wally comes out of the coma. He is still in critical care, but his hyper-regeneration is a plus. They take the breathing tube out that evening and in half a week, his vitals are in good to go condition as long as he doesn't exhert himself.
Robin comes in on day five after Wally wakes up. He just couldn't make himself come any sooner. He was so afraid that he'd go in and see Wally still unconscious and he couldn't go through that again. He's spent too much time reading on stats of people who die from their first car accident or have continual injuries from accidents. He's read at least twenty news articles of people who have gotten paralyzed for life from an accident. He's worked himself up so much that he's so afraid to see Wally again.
When he walks through the doors, Wally still looks like crap. But more like that he got into a bad end of a fight than being hit by a drunk driver in a truck. Wally gives him a crooked smile and Robin's crying again. Wally was part of the lucky ones that got out alive and healthy from something like this. Oh my God, Wally was going to be okay. He was still here.
"Jesus, missed me much?" Wally says, laughing. It sounds a little broken. For the next hour, Robin can't stop crying but Wally gets it.
"I-I th-though-" Robin tries to get out, but Wally shushes him and hands him some tissues. "I know, Robs. I know."
Robin takes Wally hand and holds it hard. He never wants to let go of this human being ever. Wally doesn't mind get Robin-tears all over his hand. His heart kind of goes all wobbly. Robin really is the youngest member of their team. Wally is older and has to protect him. He can't die yet.
Not ever if Robin is still here.
Wally and Robin watch some cartoons on the hostpital TV after the cryingfest and keeps talk to a minimum until visiting hours are over. But between them, there's been hours of conversation and emotional comfort. There's small nudges and when the nurse comes in to get Robin to leave, Robin is on the bed next to Wally (as if there's enough room for two people) and gets a good reprimanding from the nurse about aggravating old wounds by doing that to Wally.
It's weird to lose skin contact when the Boy Wonder gets off the bed. "See you tomorrow!" Robin says.
"Yeah, see you!" Wally says back. His right side feels cold and empty. As he's laying alone in his room, he feels sad suddenly. He wonders what the team has gone through. What Robin has gone through. His fingers trace the spot was Robin had previously been laying and he falls asleep, waiting for tomorrow.
-o-
When Robin gets home to the Manor, Alfred sees the sudden change in demeanor. "A good day, Master Richard?" He asks.
Dick's face breaks out into the biggest smile in the world, as if he's just gotten Christmas, his birthday, Halloween, and every other amazing holiday all into one.
"Wally's okay. The hospital is discharging him next week."
"That is good news, Master Richard." Alfred says with a smile. It's always a joy to see such a genuine smile in the Manor. God forbid anything ever happen to Mr. West; Master Richard would never be himself.
Robin looks at his feet and grins to himself. "Yeah, it really is." It really is.
R&R as always! And if you are a driver or will be a driver, please drive safely!
xoxo, Stamps