Ah, yes, hello my dear readers! *cue fancy cape flip* Yes, I am alive, thank you for your concern. *well aware no concern was expressed* I apologize for my long absence! Hopefully this chapter is long enough to temporarily quench your insatiable appetites. I'm still disappointed in my ability to completely botch Batman's character. Hopefully you're willing to overlook that in favor of my slightly morbid humor. Hardy har, I'm so funny. Please enjoy. *whispers quietly* Also, I have a tumblr now- savidare. Go and bug me there, if you see fit.

He'd thought it was over. Over and done with. Thought he'd finally found peace. But no- he should have known better.

Danny backed away, his back hitting the wall far too soon. His heart was pounding so hard it hurt, and he pressed back as far as he could go, desperate to get away from the madman in front of him. A shrill laugh echoed through the hallway, and his heart sank as he saw him, a sickly thin figure silhouetted by the flashing red alarm. He knew who it was.

"Leaving so soon?" Z's voice sent shivers down his spine. He sent a weak glare at the figure, which was met with a scornful laugh. "Still trying to be intimidating, hmm? You need a lesson, don't you?"

There is an instinct every human has, known as the flight, fight, or freeze instinct. Up until that moment, Danny had been in the 'freeze' stage. But now, his legs moved my their own volition, attempting to carry him away. He almost made it, but Z was faster than he looked. A hand closed around his arm, yanking him off balance and causing him to crash to the floor. It was a moment of weakness that cost him dearly.

Z was on him now, one foot placed firmly on his chest. His face twisted in a sickening grin, his straight white teeth standing out like a wolfs. His voice took on a slightly melodic tone as he said, "Do you know what comes next, little ghost? I think you do."

Despite his fear, Danny managed a confused, "What?"

Z smirked. "You've had this dream before." As Z spoke, his form shifted and changed, lengthening and thinning out. Fangs slid from his gums, and his hands became curved claws, slicing through his shirt and into his skin. Z's voice was a roar as he rumbled, "And you're never waking up!" The no longer human head struck with the speed of a viper, the two main fangs slamming directly into his eyes.

-Line break-

Danny sat up, gasping for air. He flailed in darkness, struggling to find something to anchor himself in reality. Abruptly, his hand cracked against the wall. Danny gasped and held his hand, the pain cutting through the fog of panic he'd been in. As it faded to a dull ache, Danny took deep calming breaths. Well, their intent was to calm, but it really only made him feel like he was drowning himself in air. This was one of the worst parts of being blind. If you had your sight after a nightmare, you could at least look around and make sure you were in reality again. And his nightmares weren't very consistent. Sometimes, they were as clear as his old sight, which made him want to cry when he woke. That was almost worse than when they were black, like his current view of politics.

He heard the door open, and he turned toward it. Recognizing the footstep pattern, he said,"Hi Bird brain." He forced a cheeriness into his voice, wincing at how fake it sounded. He snapped his fingers once, getting an idea of how close Dick was.

"How do you do that?" Came the mock annoyed reply. Apparently, Dick had decided to roll with his act. M He was grateful. "I know you can't see me."

Danny rolled his eyes, managing a grin. "I've been living here for almost a month. Give me some credit, feather head."

There was a small laugh. Despite this, Danny frowned. Usually, Dick was more animated than this, or at least more snarky. He cocked his head, trying to use his blank eyes to his advantage. "Are you okay?"

A silence. Then he said,"I... had a nightmare." Dick had, somehow, managed to get next to the bed.

Danny frowned more deeply. "And you came to me for comfort?" He squirmed. Dick didn't strike him as the kind of person to do that. If he had gone to anyone, it would have been Bruce, and even that was with a bit of hesitation. "I'm not sure how to..." He let the sentence hang, hoping the other boy would provide an explanation.

"No, I-I just wanted to check on you."

"Oh." Danny sobered a little. He knew his tendency to have night terrors had cost everyone in the household sleep, and he felt a stab of guilt. "Was...was I screaming?"

"Oh, no. Why would you be screaming?"

"...Nightmare."

"Oh." There was a moment of silence. Then, in a tone that had become familiar to Danny, Robin said, "I bet mine was worse."

Danny felt a ghost of a smile touch his face. This has become almost a routine for them, comparing nightmares and deciding who had a harder time. Somehow, arguing about who's life was worse made both their lives seem better. "Yeah right." Danny snorted. "Do you have a possessive stalker with knives?"

"No, but I have to watch someone I care about be killed by a possessive stalker with knives. I'd say that's pretty horrific."

Danny had an uncomfortable feeling he knew who had been killed, but he didn't comment on that. It was one of the unspoken rules they had come up with for this game. "Horrific, sure. But not nearly as traumatizing."

"True enough." Danny waited for Dick to say more, but he seemed less talkative than usual. Danny didn't really mind. He didn't feel like talking about his dream. Then again, he never felt like talking about his dreams. Bruce and Dick were the only ones he ever shared with. He lay back on the bed, sighing loudly. A moment later, he felt Dick flop beside him.

The two were silent for several minutes, with only the faint creak's of the house to break the silence. Finally, very quietly, Robin said, "It was about you." When Danny sent an inquiring look in his direction, he added, "My dream."

"Oh." Danny looked away. "I died?"

"Yeah. I had to watch, and I couldn't do anything."

Danny laughed shortly, his voice catching a bit as he tried to shrug it off. In truth, he was equal parts touched and disturbed. "Well, that's nothing new, right? If I got a nickel for every time you dreamed that-"

"You'd have exactly twenty five cents." Robin said, rather dryly. Danny frowned. "Only twenty five? I thought it was at least fifty. You holding out on me?" He laughed, but it was strained. Eventually, he fell silent.

After a moment of awkward silence, Dick said, "I don't think I'm going to sleep for awhile. Want to go grab some cookies or something?"

Danny laughed again, a bit more genuinely. "Sure." He stood up, reaching out and touching the desk corner to keep from accidentally running into it. He started walking, hearing Dick come up beside him. The two walked down the hallway without incident, which Danny considered a victory worth celebrating. The plush carpet of the Wayne mansion had a tendency to rumple, creating perfect tripping opportunities for him. As he had the thought, his surrogate brother let out a cry, and went the way of the Roman Empire. Danny turned, wincing at the giant thud that echoed through the hall. "That sounded painful." He commented, putting out a hand in the general direction of the fall.

Dicks hand gripped his, and Danny leaned back, helping pull him to his feet. As usual, the strength in the small hand was a bit surprising. "Ugh, I hate this carpet." Dick said, in a tone that couldn't be managed without scowling. "We should get hardwood."

"That'd make Alfred happy." Danny said with a smirk. "Less trouble to clean, right? Besides, do you really want a bunch of flooring people rooting around your house?" After a moments silence, he added, "I can't hear you shrug, bird brain."

"Oh! Right. I forgot."

"Forgot?" Danny raised a skeptical eyebrow. "How do you forget someone is blind?"

"Same way you forget they're dead, I guess..."

That shut up they're banter. They continued to the kitchen without another word, Danny seating himself by the counter and Dick rooting through the fridge. "Milk?" He asked flatly, seeming to struggle with steadiness. Danny nodded absently, his thoughts wandering.

A glass was slid into his hand, and the two drank in silence. Danny wondered if when he was older, he'd do this with beer. He decided probably not. The idea of alcohol had never appealed to him, and his parents would never have approved. He accidentally bit his tongue a little at that thought.

"I'm sorry." Dick finally said. "I'm being really negative."

Danny shrugged. "Don't worry about it." He smiled sadly, swiveling his cup so the milk swirled around. "We've all been having a rough time."

"I shouldn't be." Dick continued. He didn't seem to have heard. "You're probably having a much harder time than me."

Danny jerked his head up. "Ha!" He said, taking the opportunity for lightheartedness in stride and jabbing a finger in Dicks direction. "You admit it! My challenges trump yours!" Danny stood, opening his arms as if addressing a large audience. "You heard it here first folks- Danny Fenton has out-survived Dick Grayson!"

"I did not say that!" Dick snorted, but Danny could tell he was trying not to laugh.

"Denial, folks! It's gettin serious now!" Danny struggled through keep a straight face, but gave up, dissolving into laughter as Dick started cracking up. He sat down as he laughed, thankful he hadn't been holding his milk during that speech. After he had sufficiently calmed, he managed to say, "But seriously, don't worry about it. Braille isn't as hard as people make it seem."

The past few months, Danny hadn't been idle. Although he still had time to himself, his other time was filled with studying. He had to learn a brand new language, as well as catch up on everything he's missed in his year trapped with the GIW. It was a lot of work, but Danny found himself enjoying it, especially when Dick decided to implement his own teaching methods. It was actually nice to work without having ghosts constantly interrupting you. He guessed they'd decided to take a break from earth after what had happened. It's what he would have done in their position.

"Yeah, about that." Danny perked up, looking at Dick curiously. "You said you want to attend public school."

"Well, yeah." Danny said. "Just cause I'm blind doesn't mean I can't try to have a normal life."

"Right. Well, me and Bruce have been thinking-"

"Sounds dangerous."

Dick ignored him and continued. "We were thinking of getting you a seeing eye dog."

Danny almost dropped his glass. As it was, he still managed to splash a good deal onto his front. "A dog!? Dude, have you seen how animals react to me!?" It wasn't that Danny was super opposed to the idea. He loved animals, and had often begged for a puppy when he was younger. It was just that animals didn't usually like people that reeked of death.

There was a brief scuffle, the a tearing as Dick retrieved some paper towels. "Well, you've told us, yeah." He handed Danny the paper towels. "But you also said your powers have become much less powerful."

"I- yeah." Danny spluttered. He made a face as he tried to mop up the milk he'd spilled on himself. "They poked and prodded me for a year. My powers paid the price. They're barely even-" He looked up in Dicks direction. "Are you saying my dead part won't bother them anymore?"

Despite the fact that his environment was now stable, his powers weren't increasing. Quite the opposite, in fact. They had faded drastically, and Danny sometimes wondered if they would disappear completely. It made him less optimistic about having an 'alternate sight', as Batman had predicted. It was part of the reason he wanted to go to a public school instead of the private school Dick attended. It made him feel more like things could return to normal. Well, his version of normal.

"That's the idea, yeah." Dicks hand moved his to the side, guiding it to where the milk was worst. "In the event that you don't gain some alternate sight form, we want to be prepared."

"...I don't know." Danny frowned. He set the towels down, nervously scratching the back of his neck. Some habits never changed, apparently. "What if we don't find one that fits? And it's gonna take awhile to learn a dogs habits." There was, of course, another reason for Danny's hesitation. This idea had occurred to him before. But he already felt like he was mooching off of the Wayne's by living with them, and he knew seeing eye dogs were extremely expensive. It felt- wrong somehow to ask for something that big.

"I think we will." Dick was somehow next to him. He felt a pat on his back. "And training won't be so hard. It'll make the media happy, at any rate."

Danny rolled his eyes. The news, as was excepted, had taken an intense interest once word got out that Bruce Wayne was adopting another son. It had been utter chaos for the first few weeks, but Bruce was skilled at dodging the press. Good thing too. With Danny's luck, they would probably have decided he was a terrorist or something. "I thought you said you were being negative."

Danny could practically hear him smirk. "So, yes?"

Danny sighed, rubbing his forehead. It seemed his fate had already been decided. Typical of his surrogate brother. "Okay. Let's see if we can find a dog that can stand me."

-Line break-

"I think we may have the dog for you."

Danny jerked awake, almost falling as his elbow slipped off the armrest of his chair. "Wha-what?" He said blearily, his heart racing. After they had arrived at the center where he might get a seeing eye dog, he'd been asked a lot of questions. In the form of a lot of paperwork. Since braille wasn't his first language yet, it was pretty difficult to get through it, especially when he'd insisted on doing it all himself. When he finally got done, he was about to drop dead from all the brain numbing legal mumbo jumbo. He'd managed to nod when the woman said she'd be back with news. Then Dick had led him to a chair, and he'd sat, trying not to drool. By the thin layer of crusted gunk on his hand and cheek, he knew he had failed.

"She said she might have found a dog for you." Bruce said helpfully. Danny turned toward him slightly, a yawn forcing its way out before he could stop it. Attempting to be somewhat coherent, he manger to say, "Oh, well, great."

"Follow me please." The woman said, sounding a little amused. Danny got up, panicking slightly when he didn't hear her footsteps. Then she left the carpet of the waiting area, and he followed her clicking high heels with ease. At least, they sounded like high heels. He started to follow, but someone grabbed his arm and pulled him the other way. Dicks voice quietly informed him, "She's wearing sneakers, Danny."

"Oh." Danny blushed a bit, allowing Dick to lead him down the hall. "Um, how long was I out?"

"Not long." Bruce said passively. "Only about fifteen minutes. I almost wish you'd slept longer. You need the rest."

Danny snorted. "So does Dick. We should have both gone to sleep, given the workers an adorable overload, or something."

There was a snort. "Yeah right. We're just brothers. If anything, we'd look dignified and stoic sleeping next to each other in those less than comfortable office chairs." There was a strange coughing noise from the woman leading them. As Danny tried to think of a proper response to that, Dick stopped walking. Danny stopped as well, unsure what to do.

"Alright." The woman spoke again, in a tone obviously meant to make him feel better. "She's one of our youngest, so she might get a little excited. Just be yourself, and we'll see if your a match."

Danny scuffed his foot on the floor. Dick gave him an encouraging pat on the arm, and he smiled gratefully. It was only a dog. It wasn't something he couldn't handle. Despite these thoughts, he still felt a small seed of apprehension in his gut. He shook off these thoughts as he heard the padding of paws on the floor. He got down on one knee, since the dog would probably approach him, and put out his hand.

Within a second, there was a cold nose sniffling around his hand. Apparently, he smelled nice, because now there was a tongue licking his hand. He laughed. "Well, hi there." His breath was abruptly knocked out of him as dog paws pinned him to the floor. Now the nose was sniffing his face. Surprisingly, he didn't mind, even when the dog started licking his face. He laughed again, then spluttered and spat as the dog unintentionally licked him inside the mouth.

"Jem!" The woman's voice came in a commanding tone, followed by several finger snaps. "Jem, down."

There was a somewhat huffy whine, but the pressure on his chest left. He say up, grinning like an idiot. "Wow, you weren't kidding." He shuffled forward on his knees, feeling around until the body of the dog was in his reach. He felt the dog, scratching them behind the ears. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

-Line break-

Bruce observed the interactions of Danny and the dog with growing approval. It was a female German Shepard, large for her age. Just from how she acted when first meeting, Bruce could tell that the animal made strong bonds, which was exactly what Danny needed. Since the boy had come to their home, he had gone into a sort of limbo state where he seemed to want to unwind, but still didn't feel safe. It was like he was trying to ice skate on eggshells. A dog, in addition to helping him with his mobility, might help him relax a little.

He gave Danny a few more minutes to discuss the dog, then sent the trainer a questioning look. She smiled and said to everyone, "It seems we found a match. Do you need a schedule for training?"

Bruce nodded his head. "We'll pick it up on the way out." He looked at Danny, who was looking at them curiously while petting the dog. "Are you alright with that, Danny?"

Danny shrugged, looking slightly surprised Bruce had asked. "Uh, sure." He turned his attention back onto the dog, obviously unsure of what else to say. Bruce didn't push him, simply turned back toward the woman and said, "Are the media here yet?"

The woman bit her lip slightly. "Well, yes. They seem to have... set up shop at the front entrance." She looked embarrassed. "Sorry about that-"

"No need to apologize." Bruce interjected, giving her a small smile. "I should have expected that." He sent Dick and Danny a little smirk, then asked, "Is there a different exit we could use?"

And there we have it, one chapter, hopefully to your liking. I'll try to give you more soon, although I find my family actually plans a lot in the summer. Surprising, eh? Anyway- *gets down on knees*- please please please PLEEEAAAASSSEE drop a review on your way out. It would mean so much to the poor writer who is now alone in a desolate bomb shelter because her probably imaginary friend left for good. *nervous sweating* Ahem. Yes, please leave a review.