Part 1 – Chapter 3

Dick ran outside the manor, his thoughts going everywhere and nowhere. He acted on instinct. His feet pounded the ground as he put as much distance between the people inside Wayne Manor and himself.

He took to the trees, trying to buy himself time. He knew it wasn't enough. Bruce would find him. The man was Batman after all.

And if Catwoman teamed up to help him search, there wouldn't be anywhere on the grounds where Dick could go.

Bruce… his father.

Selina… his mother.

No! He shook his head and tried not to think about it. He needed to focus on the first problem; getting away. There was nowhere in Gotham he could hide. His hands shook and for the first time, he realised he was still holding his phone. Clutching it like a lifeline.

There was an unread message.

[Come on, man, spill! Where did CW take you? Did she take you to the jewellery store or something?]

Wally.

Dick didn't stop running as he pressed the buttons to call his friend. It felt like the phone took forever to connect and dial. He was panting into the receiver when Wally finally picked up.

"Dick?"

"Wally, I need-" Dick shuddered as his voice cracked. Tears were blurring his vision, obscuring his view of the wall around Wayne Manor and grounds.

"Dick? ohmygosh, Dick? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where are you?"

"Wayne Manor. I need to get away. Please."

"What? Wayne Manor? Why do you need to get away?"

Dick didn't want to answer those questions right now. He still needed to scale the wall. His heart thudded in his chest and it was almost like he could feel Batman and Catwoman getting closer.

"Please! Come get me! Please, Wally!"

"Oh-okay." There was the sound of rushing air and Dick was able to breathe out a little tension. It was enough for him to get over the wall using his acrobatic skill and land just as Wally appeared. Dick dropped to the ground, head drooped as he tried to gather enough energy to move.

He was tired and spent and Wally could see the tears running down his face.

"ohmygosh, Dick?" Arms wrapped around him. "Dick, I need you to climb onto my back, okay?"

Dick looked up. His ears picked up the sound of tree branches bending. Someone was heading their way. He could hear Selina calling his name in the distance. That was enough to get him to climb onto Wally's back.

A moment later, they were standing on Barry and Iris' doorstep.

Iris took one look at him and pulled him inside without asking for an explanation. She sat him on her couch, ordered Wally to bring him a blanket while she made him a hot chocolate drink.

"Hold it in your hands, dear," she said to him as she held out the mug. "Let it warm you up."

"Okay," Dick said in a quiet voice.

She ruffled his hair and went off to get him some clean clothes from Wally's room.

Wally looked at Dick worriedly. Dick was intently focused on the liquid in the mug and there was dirt across his face and clothes as well as tear tracks along his cheeks. He wondered what could have happened to hurt his friend like this.

"Dick, you okay?" he asked.

It took Dick a few moments to absorb the question and decide how to respond. To Wally, those moments felt like ages.

Finally, Dick shook his head lethargically. No, he was not okay. Wally quickly decided that the best thing he could do was climb up next to Dick and let his friend rest against him. Wally and Iris let Dick unwind and feel safe.

However, Dick had a little freak out again when Barry Allen came back.

"Don't tell Bruce I'm here, please!" Dick had begged, hyperventilating as he couldn't cry any longer.

Barry was quick to assess the situation; and the warning glares his wife and nephew were sending his way. He was kneeling in front of Dick in a flash, hands on the boy's shoulders.

"If that's what you want," he agreed. "I won't tell Bruce you're here."

However, he would call Bruce and let him know that Dick was safe. Maybe even scold the Batman. What could have possibly happened which led to Dick sitting quiet and still on his couch while Wally tried to offer cuddles for support?

Dick woke the whole house with screams during the night. He awoke each time gasping for breath and with his heart hammering in his chest. The third time it happened, Wally convinced his aunt and uncle to let him sleep on the couch with Dick. The contact helped as Dick didn't scream the next few times. However, he clutched at Wally as if his life depended on it. By morning, Wally was covered in bruises, lacking sleep and really, really worried about his friend.

Dick slowly opened up the next day. He started by saying that 'they' lied to him. Wally wanted to make a joke about how Dick had been insisting that Bruce and Selina were going out and so it shouldn't be such a surprise, but it was hard considering how forlorn Dick looked.

Wally also knew it would take more than Batman and Catwoman making out behind his back to get Dick into the state he was in.

"Wally, I think I was adopted," Dick said partway through the morning.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Wally said before his thoughts could catch up and realise that it probably wasn't the most encouraging thing he could say. He thought Dick meant Bruce had adopted him.

"I think Mum and Dad adopted me," Dick clarified.

"What?"

Dick curled in on himself.

"Mum and Dad adopted me. They're not my real parents."

Wally looked past did to give his uncle a panicked look. He had no idea how to handle this.

"Kid, how do you know that?" Barry asked, joining them on the couch.

"I don't. But, Bruce said Selina was my birth mother and Selina said I'm Batman and Catwoman's kid." Dick whimpered. "They gave me away therefore Mum and Dad must have adopted me. Mum and Dad aren't my real parents. Bruce and Selina might be."

Wally's mouth was gaping. He looked to his uncle to see the Flash's mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"That's just silly," Iris said, drawing attention to her figure at the entrance. Dick flinched and she walked over to him. She gave Barry and Wally a look that said they really should know what to do in this situation. "You call the Graysons your 'Mum' and 'Dad'. That makes them your real parents. It doesn't matter how you came to be with them or what happened to them, they are the people who raised you and nothing can change that."

"Y-yeah, Dick," Wally said, taking a cue from his aunt. "They taught you to fly, remember? You told me that you always feel closer to them when you fly through the air like the acrobat you are."

Dick nodded.

"Look, kid. I'm going to check this with Batman," Barry said. "I won't say where you are," he added when Dick gave him a panicked look, "but I reckon you should spend some time with your friends. How about you and Wally go to Mount Justice?"

Wally nodded vigorously. Dick mirrored the movement once.

"Uh, Uncle Barry?" Wally said before his Uncle could run off. "Could you give us a warning if Batman goes to see the team?"

"Sure, kiddo."

Barry was gone in a blur and Iris stood up from where she was crouched by the couch. She insisted on making the boys sandwiches before they left and also reminded Wally to give his own parents a call.

Selina was sitting at the breakfast table, a bowl of cereal in front of her. She stared at it without really seeing it.

Bruce wasn't touching his breakfast either however, he really couldn't go without his morning coffee. He reckoned she was thinking about the same thing he was.

Dick. The boy had managed to evade them and they had spent ages searching the grounds, imaging the worst. They only stopped searching because Bruce received a call from Barry, who said Dick was safe and not to worry. Barry had also firmly said that Bruce wasn't to come as Dick had almost had a panic attack at the suggestion.

Bruce didn't know what he had expected. However, he knew for sure that this wasn't it. He hadn't expected Dick to eavesdrop on his and Selina's conversation. He hadn't expected Dick to find out about his parentage like that.

He certainly had not expected Dick to run away.

Breakfast was silent. Until the doorbell rang.

"Bruce, we need to talk," Barry said as soon as Alfred let him in.