Author's Note: Thanks a ton for all the continual support! ^-^ Love you guys so much! ^.^

Just wanted to say that the cover has been updated – yes, that's my own art. If you want to see a full size version, I'll be updating my DA with it. Plus, I drew an emo Dick. XD I have no idea why.

On with the story!

Chapter Sixteen

A Special Gift

September 26th, 2008. Friday, 8:22 am.

Dick wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the bathroom, shutting the light off behind him. He felt abnormally weakened and tired. The shower did nothing to invigorate him like it usually did. He pulled open his dresser drawer and selected easy clothing for the day. Since Slade had said he was only studying today, there was no need for training clothes.

He slipped into a pair of tan slacks and a green t-shirt when there was a knock at his door.

"Come in," called Dick; unable to exert his voice very much. He wasn't sure what was going on with himself. The door opened and Wintergreen came inside again. He was wearing that same concerned look on his face when he had appeared before Dick went into the shower.

"Are you all right, child?" asked Wintergreen, eyeing him carefully.

"I'm fine," answered Dick quietly; glad for the old man's calm nature right now. He wasn't sure if he could handle anything more. Wintergreen furrowed his eyebrows as his eyes narrowed. He slowly approached Dick and raised a hand to his forehead. Dick didn't have the energy to back away. The hand was cool and Dick found himself leaning forward slightly into the touch.

It felt nice.

"You're warm, child. I think you're getting sick," said Wintergreen, sounding worried. After a moment of observing, he nodded firmly and said, "That's it. Back to bed with you. I'll not have a sick child in this house. Not while I'm still breathing."

"But—"

"That's right. Get yours into bed right now," said Wintergreen, giving Dick a stern look. He pointed to the bed again. "Bed for you. Now. I'll talk to Slade."

Dick didn't question it any more – he couldn't; took far too much energy. So, he only nodded to the old man. Satisfied that he'd obey, Wintergreen left the room. Dick walked to the bed and collapsed into it; uncaring that he was fully clothed. He slid under the covers and sighed softly. His hair was still damp slightly, but it didn't affect him too much.

Especially since he was asleep in moments.

ooOOOOOoo

September 26th, 2008. Friday, 8:35 am.

"Where's Dick?" asked Slade as he came into the kitchen. "We've waited on breakfast long enough."

I swear, if that boy is disobeying me again, so help me…

"I sent him back to bed. So, we'll be having breakfast without him," said Wintergreen, filling Slade's plate with a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.

"What?!" snapped Slade. "Will, how dare you override my authority! How am I suppose to deal with him if he can run to you?"

"The child was about to fall over," retorted Wintergreen with a hard, stern glare at him; completely unaffected by Slade's harsh tone. "He needed more rest. I think part of his depression is because he's not feeling well. Why didn't you notice earlier that he wasn't feeling well?"

Slade's retort died in his throat as he considered Wintergreen's words. The old man had a point. Why hadn't he noticed if there was something wrong with the boy? Slade sighed as the answer came to him quickly – far too quickly.

Slade had been too clouded with his anger to notice. It was always like that, though. He had only thought the boy was gloomy because he chose to be so. He had been too ready to condemn the boy that Slade hadn't noticed his physical needs.

"I didn't notice," was all Slade allowed himself to say; sitting down at the table without looking at the old man. Wintergreen nodded lightly, sitting down as well with his own plate of food.

"Well, I'm not too happy about the child missing breakfast, but there was no fighting it. He's probably asleep already," said Wintergreen.

"What… am I going to do when he wakes?" murmured Slade, mostly to himself; setting his elbow onto the table to rest his face into his hand. After a moment, he looked up. "If he's ill, then I suppose I'll allow him to have the day off."

"That would good," said Wintergreen with an approving nod. "That way he can recover faster. And he would like that. Why not do something extra nice for the child? It doesn't have to be much, but maybe something he'd appreciate. You know, something simple," Wintergreen added with an imploring glance.

Slade remained silent as he ate his breakfast; thinking seriously on Wintergreen's words. Something nice for the boy? Something he'd like?

Hmmm…

ooOOOOOoo

September 26th, 2008. Friday, 1:07 pm.

Dick opened his eyes, feeling a bit refreshed from his rest. He slowly sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. The deep depression he had felt earlier had faded considerably and he felt strengthened. Maybe Wintergreen had been right. Maybe he had just been a bit ill.

Dick pushed the covers off and set his legs over the edge of the bed. He felt a little chilled as his bare feet hit the fuzzy, textured carpet of the flooring. He stood up and went to his dresser for a pair of socks. His arms felt chilled as well, so after he had slipped his socks on, he went to the closet.

Dick opened it, about to get a light jacket, before he stopped; looking up.

There was a cardboard box that wasn't there before on the top shelf with the name 'Robin's things' written in black marker. The writing itself was elegant cursive handwriting, yet readable. Dick found himself lifting his arms and sliding his hands along the sides of the box; testing the weight slightly.

It was decently weighted – not too heavy, not too light.

Dick lifted the box and held it to his chest. His arms wrapped around it easily. It was medium in size and folded closed. Dick walked to his bed and sat down, sliding backwards to lean his back against the wall. The box hadn't been there this morning, meaning it was just put into his closet while he was asleep. But who would put it there and why?

Dick unfolded the flaps and was instantly shocked by the contents. Inside were a number of his personal effects that he kept close in his old room in Titans Tower. There was his black iPod Touch on the top. With trembling hands, he picked it up. He couldn't believe it was real. He was just waiting for it to disappear from his fingers, only to wake up from the blissful dream.

He had missed music so much. It was one of the things that he loved. He loved all kinds of music and in multiple languages; seeing as he was fluent in quite a few. Not having any music for the past two weeks had been very hard on him. Plus, he had tons of photos of his friends on it. He turned it on; sliding his fingers across the screen to enter his passcode.

Had Slade really gotten this for him?

He quickly dug in the box, hoping to see if his headphones were inside. They were; large black recording style headphones. He also found a second pair of white earbuds. He slipped the black ones over his ears, the headphones completely encasing his ears. He plugged it into his iPod.

The soft, pop melody of one of his favorite Japanese artists played through and Dick choked back a half sobbing laugh. It was amazing how one could come to appreciate something so simple. He had taken something as simple as listening to a song for granted. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall; enjoying the peaceful moment.

And for just a brief moment, he could forget exactly where he was.

After the song finished, he let his playlist continue as he went back to investigating the box. Inside he found his old DS Lite game system and the collection of games he had with it. He couldn't believe it. Video games. He had missed those so much, although he really missed playing them with his friends and not by himself. But this was still a treasure.

Next, he found a smaller hard box with an opened lock on it. This box he knew all too well. Inside were simple childhood things he had collected over the years. They were stupid, silly things; but to a child they were treasures. The box itself had belonged to his mother once. It had been her jewelry box.

The final item in the box was something he never, ever let anyone see and he was briefly mortified that Slade had seen it. But he still reverently lifted it out of the box, holding it carefully in his hands. It was an old, very old stuffed Easter lamb with light blue matted fur. His mother had given it to him when he turned five years old. It was a fairly feminine stuff animal for a boy, Dick had to admit; but at five years old, he hadn't cared. It was one of the few gifts he still had left from his mother.

That was all that mattered.

He briefly pulled it to his chest, breathing in the musty fabric smell of its fur as he buried his face into it, before putting it back into the box. He placed his treasure box next to it and left out his DS, games, and iPod – along with their respective chargers. He folded the flaps of the box and pulled the headphones off; slipping off the bed to stand. He walked back to the closet and set the box back at the top shelf.

He turned back to his bed; staring at the leftover treasures.

Someone had gotten the items out of Titans Tower. Dick deduced that Slade probably had the very first night he took him away. Why go back, after all? Then, someone had to have brought the items into his room while he had been sleeping. He doubted Wintergreen did. The old man was decently nice, but Dick doubted that he had access to them if Slade had gotten them.

Which meant, Slade had brought the box into his room while he had been sleeping.

But why?

Why would Slade let him have something so special now? Especially after he had made the man angry this morning. It shocked Dick that the man had even gotten the items in the first place. And then now giving them to him…? What was the man's motive? Had it been because Dick had been so down about his unmasking? Was the man trying to be… nice?

Dick walked to the edge of his bed; bending down and grabbing his iPod. He clutched it in his hand as if he were still unsure it was real. He unplugged the large black headphones from it and grabbed the earbuds instead. He plugged those in and stuck the buds into his ears, smiling slightly.

He felt a strong need to say thank you. It hadn't been much, but Dick really appreciated it. If Slade really had gone out of his way to collect some of the most important items in his life and then return them, the man – at least – deserved a simple thank you. Basically being his kidnapper, there had been no reason to get those things for Dick. It wasn't that hard to show gratitude and Dick wouldn't begrudge the man a simple phrase.

He left his room and hurried down the hall towards the kitchen, finding Wintergreen resting in a chair and drinking from a mug. He was turning a page in his newspaper when he looked up, seeing Dick enter.

"Afternoon, child. How was your rest? How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling much better; thank you, sir," said Dick; making an effort to be polite. He hesitated for a minute, but continued, "Um, where's Slade?"

"Oh, let's see…" started Wintergreen, setting down his mug onto the table. A moment of thinking later, he said, "Probably in his room right now. Why, do you need something?"

"No, I just wanted to tell him something," said Dick, tightening his grip on the iPod in his hand. "Would he be mad if I bothered him?"

"No, just knock and announce yourself. He'll come out for you, I'm sure," said Wintergreen with a warm smile on his lips. After a moment, he added, "Oh, and once you're done with him, wait in your room and I'll bring you a tray with your lunch. You need to keep up your strength."

"Okay. Thanks," said Dick, letting a smile lift his own mouth. He gave the old man a nod. He turned away and went down the hallway, turning to the left towards Slade's room. Once he reached the door, he popped the earbuds out of his ears. He took a deep breath before knocking lightly.

"Um, sir? Can I talk to you?" called Dick to the door. He waited as he stared at the wood; fidgeting slightly with his shirt as he waited. He heard movement inside and then the door slowly cracked open. Dick stepped back, giving the man space for him to come out. Dick wasn't expecting to be invited into the man's room. Slade stepped out of the room; shutting the door behind himself. Dick looked up into his masked face; suddenly feeling uncertain how to say what he wanted to say now.

"You're up. Are you feeling better?" asked Slade in a soft undertone.

"Ye–yes, sir," stammered Dick. "Um…"

"You said you wanted to talk to me?" suggested Slade, his tone lilting lightly in a questioning manner.

"Yes… um… I just wanted to say… that… uh…" Dick trailed off, unable to formulate his words properly. Why did he have to suddenly be so nervous? He took a deep breath and tried again.

"Um… thanks, sir," said Dick, rather lamely. Slade's visible eye lifted as his eyebrow rose.

"For what?"

Dick pursed his lips nervously and lifted the iPod in his hand.

"You brought the box, didn't you?"

"I did."

"Did you get them now? Or when you brought me here?" asked Dick; carefully trying not to sound accusing, but innocently questioning.

"When I first brought you here, I had gathered some of your things," said Slade with a simple nod.

"Oh, I see," said Dick, looking down; feeling the nervousness rise back up in his stomach. "Well, I just wanted to tell you thank you. I appreciate the items."

Slade's eye widened slightly in surprise, but it quickly slipped back to its neutral state.

"Well," started Slade slowly, sounding a bit awkward, "you are welcome." Then, the awkwardness disappeared quickly again as Slade slid back into his impassive nature. He fixed a scrutinizing eye on Dick. "Will mentioned that you were a bit warm this morning."

Slade's hand reached towards Dick's head. Dick flinched slightly, but the cool hand only rested on his forehead for a moment. Dick was surprised that he had flinched from the incoming hand. He hadn't done that with Wintergreen, so why was he doing it with Slade? Dick couldn't understand it.

Was he really afraid that Slade would always hit him?

But the man showed kindness at times. Like with his belongings and right now; the strong hand on his forehead checking for illness. Slade definitely was capable of softness. Why did he always have to be so harsh with him? Dick would probably respond better to the man more if he wasn't so cruel.

Probably a good thing he wasn't, then.

"You still seem a bit warm," said Slade, removing his hand after another moment. "I want you to take it easy today. You may have the day off. If you take it easy today, then you should be better tomorrow."

Dick nodded obediently. "Yes, sir."

"All right, off with you, then," said Slade with a bob of his head to the side; his eye showing evidence that he was smirking. Dick nodded again and walked to his room; a soft smile tugging at his lips. He shoved the earbuds into his ears and blasted one of his favorite rocks songs.

He went into his room and flopped onto his bed; enjoying the calm and relaxation. He didn't have to do anything today! He grabbed his DS and quickly put a racing game inside. Switching the device on, his smile broadened. So, all he had to do was take it easy, huh?

Well, that was easy.

ooOOOOOoo

Next Time: Chapter Seventeen: On the Edge – Two weeks have passed without major incident. However, while learning explosives from Slade, Dick does something extremely stupid.

Author's Notes: Arc begins tomorrow. ^^

Thanks for reading! Next update will be on Tuesday! See ya next time! Reviews = love and ideas! ^.^