Rated T- cause I'm paranoid
Minor cursing if any
Triggers: Cancer, Chemotherapy
I do not own Young Justice or any of the DC characters, yada, yada, yada
** oh and I received a lot of requests not to kill off Robin, lol. No worries my friends I would never kill off one of the cherished characters (grins evilly) whether or not that will happen depends on if I totally run out of ideas but you never know for sure (although right now it's a last ditch effort and at the wayyyyy end of my list)
Chapter 4- Of Hospitals and Publicity
'Yikes' was the first thing that entered his mind when he reached the recommended hospital to receive his treatment. 'It's enormous! Leave it to Bruce to find one of the most resourceful and gigantic hospitals in the world!'
Dick couldn't deny he was nervous and a bit on the jumpy side as Bruce and him walked inside towards the chemotherapy section of the hospital.
Seeing this, Bruce quickly squeezed Richard's shoulder for reassurance, resulting in Dick smiling weakly at him. He was shaking all over his breath caught in his throat, knees weak, and hands clammy. 'Oh gosh, I really don't want to do this.' Richard thought as they turned the last corner leading to the treatment lounge.
The waiting room was inviting and not as sterile feeling as the rest of the hospital. 'This is sort of..nice' Richard thought as he skeptically surveyed the room.
"Oh! Hello Mr. Wayne! This must be Richard! It's an honor to meet you both!" A small woman chirped happily with an unfitting smile plastered to her face. "Follow me please!" If Richard was more composed he wouldn't have jumped but despite himself he felt himself cringe almost every time she talked.
Both Bruce and Dick followed her through the treatment center to be led to a private room in the back.
"This will be your room for your treatments." She smiled happily before continuing on with her rant "and I will be your nurse for today, my name is Peggy!"
'Peggy,' Richard thought 'hmm, fits her' as he scowled.
Peggy, obviously seeing Richards discomfort reassured him "I know it's tough to be here sweetie but you will find that Gotham's treatment center is one of the best and most comfortable in the state!" She added in an annoying voice.
"Now you can put your stuff down over there and then you can follow me to go get your 'port' in" The nurse finished by gathering various items out of a cabinet.
Dick had brought everything the doctor and nurses recommended to pass the time during his treatment. Anything from books and homework to his laptop and PSP, anything to get his mind off of the upcoming weeks in his life.
Richard finished putting his stuff down and Bruce decided to wait in the private room, considering the port wouldn't take too long to put in.
Dick was led to another larger room, where various medical supplies were strewn about.
"You can lie down over there." Peggy sang as she gestured to the inclined bed on the opposite side of the room.
Richard laid down and realized how nervous he really was. 'this is it, come on Grayson pull it together' he reprimanded himself.
"Okay let's see what we have," Peggy said as she strolled over to the bed Richard was laying in, placing various items on the tray held by the bed. "hmmm," she hummed as she examined Richard's chest, looking for a place to put the port.
"What exactly are you going to do anyway?" Richard asked innocently "And what exactly is a port?" he added.
"Oh deary me! I almost forgot to explain the whole process, sometimes I just get so drawn into my work!" Peggy practically giggled out.
Richard wanted to roll his eyes but thought it wouldn't be wise to piss off the nurse who handles your medication.
"Well a port is simply a catheter that is inserted into your chest and connected to a vein to make it easier to administer the medication to you" Peggy explained "Instead, of course, pricking you in your arms about a dozen times a week!" she finished triumphantly.
"Umm..ouch?" Richard resorted when Peggy looked to him for a response.
"Oh well, yes it might hurt a bit but it will only take a few moments!" Peggy chirped again.
After choosing an area on Dick's upper chest, just below his collarbone Peggy announced that she was going to start. "Okay then Dick, I'm going to need you to stay very still for me honey."
Dick tried to breathe evenly but his lungs were thinking otherwise "Okay one," she started building the unbearable suspense, "Two" Peggy hovered with the sharp needle above his chest 'breathe!' Dick had to remind himself "Three!" Peggy cheered as she struck Dick's skin with the icy needle and slowly slid in the device under his skin.
"Ow!" Richard tries to muffle his pain but instead screwed his eyes shut and waited for it to go away while inhaling sharp breaths.
"Almost.." Peggy paused slipping the device in further "got it!" smiling happily she pulled away from Richard's chest revealing a small bump placed under his skin. "Okay all done with that!" She finished as she removed her gloves and help Richard off the bed 'Holy crap that hurt!' Dick grimaced as he took Peggy's offered hand and hopped off the bed.
"Okay now we can go back to your room and we can start your treatment!" Peggy announced while sauntering out the doorway and down the hall with Richard closely in tow.
Richard wanted to rub the sore spot but Peggy quickly admonished him for his efforts, "You don't want to move it, so try not to touch it while it heals."
As Richard entered the room he saw Bruce waiting patiently in a chair seated by the bed.
"Okay, now we can start you on the good stuff Richard, make yourself comfortable!" She said while rearranging IV bags and syringes.
Dick hopped up on the bed and rearranged the pillows so that he was inclined enough to see the whole process.
"Okay first things first, some Benadryl" she stated simply while snapping the IV into Dick's new port. 'Wow, a drug I'm actually familiar with.' Richard thought as Peggy continued to drone "It's to make sure you don't have an allergic reaction to Taxol or Carboplatin, which comes after. Oh! You may feel a little sleepy but don't fight it, take a nap if you need to!" She finished as she snapped the last of the tubes into place.
"Okay here we go!" She chirped setting the drip of Taxol and Benadryl to the right setting, before gathering the leftover supplies to leave the room. "Don't hesitate to call if you need anything!" She called before closing the door behind her.
There was a long silence before Bruce decided to say something "She seemed..err..nice?" He began, receiving a soft chuckle from his ward.
"Yeah and very talkative!" Richard shot back at his foster father with a small amused smile.
It only took about a minute or two for Dick to feel the effects of the drugs and after about ten minutes he considered himself to be in la-la-land, fading in and out of consciousness rapidly, only catching glimpses of Bruce's worried face.
Dick hadn't expected it to be like this, it actually wasn't bad, but he knew the adverse effects would come later on. The weight and hair loss, the drowsiness, the nausea, it all had to come soon or later but Dick didn't think about that now, now he settled into his pillows and slept peacefully, only waking up a few times to see the nurse inserting more drugs to be drained into his system.
BREAKLINE. BREAKLINE. BREAKLINE. BREAKLINE. BREAKLINE. BREAKLINE. BREAKLINE. BREAKLINE.
"Richard? Dick? Can you hear me?" Someone called while shaking him slightly.
"Huh? Wha-?" Dick opened his eyes sleepily to see Bruce staring down at him.
"Oh hey, what's up?" Richard asked "What time is it?" He asked again confused.
"It's nearly three o' clock, you've been asleep for hours" Bruce stated obviously concerned.
"Oh, wait? what? You mean I've been sleeping for six hours!?" Richard asked stunned.
"Yes, you have been asleep this whole time." Bruce answered
Richard was confused to say the least 'had the drugs really knocked me out the whole time?' he thought nervously trying to piece together his lost time. Then Peggy walked in, her smile brightening as she saw Richard awake. "Oh good you're awake!" she checked her watch "and just in time too! You're all done for this week!" she chirped as she disconnected all the wires and tubes from Dick's chest.
Bruce went over to his ward to help him up, and soon it was evident why. Dick could barely sit up without feeling like the whole world was spinning rapidly. Richard eventually found himself in Bruce's arms trying to stand up on his legs. They felt like Jello but soon he felt his wobbly legs take form underneath him and found himself being escorted through the hospital by Bruce.
As soon as they exited out the front doors white flashes invaded Dick's vision. Temporarily blinded, Dick stumbled into Bruce who held the disoriented boy upright while guiding him through the dense crowd of reporters. All Dick could make sense of were a few questions being shouted towards him and Bruce.
"Richard, when were you diagnosed?" one reporter just about screamed at him.
"How far along is his treatment!" Another shouted from across the way.
"Are you scared? Did your parents have evidence of cancer before they died?"Another yelped further in the crowd. For Bruce, this was the last straw he whisked the disoriented boy into his arms and ran through the rest of the crowd before barricading himself and Richard in the car, driving away manically.
A/N:
*phew* gosh I hate writing dialogue but...
AHAAAA! How's that for a longer chapter! ;D I thought since you guys have been so patient with me and my random updates, I would treat you to this long ass chapter!
I hope you guys enjoyed it and no worries there shall be more!
***OH AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! I love your comments and it often motivates me to keep writing so please tell me what you think so far and where you want to see the story go! It would absolutely make my day! ^_^