Dick didn't know what to do. It was a constant companion, the feeling of being adrift with nowhere to go. As Robin, as Nightwing, he was oftentimes hanging on a trapeze bar without seeing the next one. And he didn't mind it much. But as Batman, that feeling was non-negotiable. Batman was the World's Greatest Detective, Gotham's main protector, the Justice League's hidden mastermind; Batman can't afford to be lost.
But Dick can't help it.
The high-pitched wails echoed throughout the makeshift nursery, and no amount of coddling could make it stop. Dick had asked Leslie if she could check on Dusty but their long-time doctor doesn't specialize in treating children. She recommended a friend of hers and Alfred offered to fetch the pediatrician.
That left three people designated to watch over the baby: Babs, who was busy trying to find the Pierce brothers; Damian, who had closeted himself in his room when the baby's crying hadn't abated after ten minutes; and Dick, who had Dusty in one arm and frantically rocked him or made funny faces or cooed at him all to no avail.
The new father was rapidly becoming deaf from Dusty's cries. And even though he kept up a reassuring voice, he inwardly bemoaned the fact that everyone else left him to soothe his son - and he had ran out of ideas on how to do so.
"Grayson!" Damian's voice somehow ran right over the baby's wailing. "Have you not silenced your spawn yet?"
"It's not as easy as you'd think!" Dick protested, still rocking Dusty. "I've tried everything! Nothing's working!"
If his younger brother made his customary clicking noise, Dick didn't hear it. But he did notice when his son suddenly disappeared from his arms.
"Dus...ty...?"
Damian was now holding up the baby...and blowing raspberries on Dusty's stomach.
The baby's wailing quickly changed into delighted shrieks.
Dick stared at the image of his youngest brother playing with his son for a moment. And then like a relaxing massage, the eldest Wayne brother felt his worry fade away. His lips quirked up; Dusty's laugh was highly contagious.
Then the moment was broken by the doorbell.
"I'll get that," Dick told his brother, already running for the front door, "you keep Dusty occupied."
He only half-heard Damian's 'T-t' as he raced to answer the bell. When he got there, the sight of a detective's badge being flashed through the peephole threw him for a loop.
"Mr. Wayne?" The familiar voice called through the door. "It's Detective Radley. I'm here with Detective Sanders about Ms. Freemont's case. May we come in?"
"Hold on," Dick called back, and cautiously unlocked the highly secured door. He made sure to step back after opening the door, keeping a little distance between himself and the visitors - a precaution that was a tough lesson Bruce instilled in all his Robins. Even though he was supposed to trust the cops in his civilian persona, Dick just couldn't chance it. He had a baby in the penthouse now, his baby, and there was absolutely no way he'd let Dusty come to harm.
But as soon as he opened the door, the two officers derailed his precautions.
The blond known as Det. Sanders barged past Dick and went straight to the windows, drawing the curtains closed as Det. Radley explained apologetically, "Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Grayson, but we have an update on Ms. Freemont's case-"
"Is there anyone else here with you?" Det. Sanders cut in. He had just finished closing the curtains in the penthouse hallway.
"Just my younger brother and the baby." Dick answered, pretending to be puzzled though his mind churned with possible reasons why two of Gotham's finest would drop by out of the blue, cover the windows, and demand to know if there were other people in the area. At that moment, he could think of two reasons, one of which is so absurd that he decided the other must be plausible - and it was a thought that quickly set his mind into a panic.
"They know, don't they...?" He asked Radley, his heart beginning to pound.
When the detective nodded, it was all he could do not to run into his son's room and startling both Damian and Dusty. He was not going to cause unnecessary panic in his own home.
"We have two officers on stakeout outside the building," Radley continued, heedless of Dick's internal panic. "They will be on rotating shifts watching for the Pierce brothers twenty four hours, but we'll have to move you and the rest of your family to a safehouse-"
"What safehouse?" Damian's voice startled the two cops. But Dick had already known his delay in returning to Dusty had made his brother suspicious so he wasn't surprised when the youngest Wayne decided to see what was the matter.
"Detectives Radley and Sanders wanted to put us in a safehouse." Dick explained, noting that Damian was still carrying Dusty. His son must have really grown on the little prince.
"Ridiculous." Damian said as indifferent as though he was talking about the weather. "The penthouse is one of the most secure facilities on this planet. I highly doubt a civilian police safehouse is any safer than this."
Both detectives stared at Damian.
"How old is this kid...?" Det. Sanders muttered to his fellow cop.
"He's ten." Dick answered with a slight smirk. "Though, he likes to think he's sixteen."
"I'm right here, and I can hear you well enough, Grayson." Came the irritated rejoinder.
"Still, Damian's right," Dick continued, ignoring his brother's remark. "The building and the penthouse was built with the best security Bru- my adoptive father could buy." Even though he'd been adopted years past, Dick just couldn't seem to call him 'father'. Bruce had always been 'Bruce' to him.
"Your living here makes you an obvious target for the Pierce brothers, Mr. Grayson." Det. Radley offered. "We have to assume that Barry Pierce will be coming after your son."
As if on cue, Dusty suddenly squealed and reached for Dick who quickly scooped him up from Damian's arms. The baby squealed again and started making bubbles, his tiny arms flailing on Dick's shoulders.
"That him?" Det. Radley looked bemused at the image of father and son together.
"Of course it is. Do you see other infants in this house?" Damian snapped.
The slight smile on the cop's face disappeared, replaced by a frown.
"Damian." Dick said in his almost-Batman voice. It was a signal that he was brooking no arguments. His youngest brother crossed his arms and kept silent. Dick turned an apologetic grin to the cops. "Sorry about that. Dami's...he's not having the best couple of days lately."
"For what, figuring out how to be an uncle at ten?" Sanders snorted, drawing a scathing gaze from said 'uncle' and a warning look from Radley. "Never mind. We still have to put you under protective custody, Mr. Wayne-"
"It's Grayson," both Dick and Radley corrected, the cop nodding to the former acrobat.
"I'm sorry," Dick continued. "But we'd rather not move to a safehouse if it can be helped..."
"This isn't a negotiation-" Sanders argued but Radley put a hand on the other cop's shoulder.
"We can leave a couple of guys to watch the place round the clock." Radley offered. Sanders glared at him but he ignored it. "And we'll send one or two plainclothes to stay with you-"
"No." Damian said with finality.
The boy's answer brought the detective up short. " 'No?'"
"No safehouses, and no bodyguards." Damian repeated. "I will agree to the officers on stakeout but only if they remain outside the building."
The little prince's condescending tone was the last straw for Sanders. He immediately stepped forward to bring his face close to the boy's even though Damian didn't look the least bit intimidated, "Look here, you. You're ten years old. You're a minor. You don't get to make the decisions here, no matter what you think you are. So why don't you go back to your matchbox cars and leave this discussion to the adults?"
"Sanders!" Radley barked. "We're not here to incense potential victims."
Sanders snorted, straightening to face the other cop. "The kid's not a potential victim. He's an add-on! You told me yourself the only targets are the baby and maybe the baby's dad. That makes only two people we have to protect."
"I'm going to have to agree with my brother on this one." Dick stated, moving to stand between said brother and the angry detective. "Plainclothes outside is fine, but no officers inside."
Sanders looked at him with something that resembled disgust. "I can't believe you. You can't seriously be listening to a little boy, can you?"
He gave the cop his mildest Bat-glare - which was still a glare by any other means. "I can, when the boy's being more reasonable than anyone else at the moment."
" 'Reasonable?'" The cop sputtered. "How can not wanting protection-"
"Sanders, that's enough." Radley's voice was quiet. Maybe not deadly quiet but his voice held the tone of authority Dick often used when he commanded his friends and fellow capes to do as he wanted - as he needed doing. It was the same tone Bruce resorted to whenever he wanted to be heard over the protests and mutterings of his execs. To hear a commonplace cop use it, well, it sent a pang right to Dick's heart where he kept his fondest memories of his adoptive father.
It was both nostalgic and painful; that everywhere he looked, all three of his parents were there. He missed Bruce.
Radley faced Dick, his hands halfway up in a 'calm down' gesture. "I'm sorry for my partner's assertion, Mr. Grayson. We've uh...had a similar case before and it's been bugging him ever since."
Dick lowered his arms. He understood how that was, what it felt like when you'd failed to save someone even if you'd gone one hundred and ten percent. It rankled back when he was nine and just starting out as Robin, and it rankled until now as Batman. "I take it things didn't go so well?"
The detective winced. "It was...very bad."
"They refused police protection too," Sanders cut in. "And it got them killed."
"Sanders, I told you-" Radley was exasperated but Dick interrupted him.
"No, it's alright. I know how it is. I was a cop too."
Both detectives raised an eyebrow.
"Look, I know this must be frustrating for you," Dick sighed and started to scratch the back of his neck when he realized he still held Dusty. He dropped his hand halfway through the gesture. "But I really insist. We'll agree to the watchers outside, but no more."
Sanders once again looked like he would protest, but a silencing hand from the other detective put an end to it.
"Alright Mister Grayson. No officers inside." Radley agreed, albeit reluctantly.
The eldest Wayne gave the two other men an easy grin. "Thank you, Detective."
Damian was still sullen as Dick led the two cops to the door. When they had left, the first thing he did was take Dusty from him.
"You sent Drake to follow after the case." The newest Robin stated haughtily. "If he's any good, he would have more information than those two imbeciles from the precinct. The fact that they had more progress than we did offends me."
"Hey hey, don't belittle Tim's detective skills." Dick objected. "He's just as good, if not more so, than I am."
Damian clicked his tongue again. "No, you are Batman. The World's Greatest Detective. A former Robin being better than Batman is absurd." He huffed condescendingly and turned to head back to Dusty's room. "You need to call Drake and ask him why he withheld information from you."
The eldest brother blinked at the younger's retreating back. His mind churned with the implications of what Damian said, of what Tim didn't do. But all that came out of his mouth was, "But...I'm a former Robin too..."