Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I in any way affiliated with the owners of Young Justice. Although, I at least did not take a FIVE year break. *hides beneath bed in hopes to avoid flying batarangs* ENJOY!

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Chapter 25

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Mount Justice

May 26, 11:30 EDT

The sound of beeping machines and the smell of antiseptics always gave Bruce a dark worried feeling – as though he was still the eight-year-old kid who'd watched his parents killed before his eyes, sitting in the hospital room as nurses bustled around him and checked him over before Alfred finally came to rescue him. It certainly didn't help that nearly all of his experiences with hospitals since that point had come when either he or someone he loved was injured.

Bruce knew he should be more on guard. He was standing outside of the operating room while Leslie worked. His hood was on, yes, but Bruce couldn't be sure that he would act entirely like Batman if someone from the team came up to him.

Does it even matter anymore? he thought, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Most of the team knew his identity, knew Dick's identity. But the tiny bit of paranoia that had somehow managed to stay inside his head through all the worry reminded him that most of the team was already seven people too many – Wally had proven himself with his brave and very foolish attempt at a rescue, but the rest of the team he was less sure about.

Well, Talia's kidnapping had forced Bruce's hand. For the team to be a hundred percent onboard with the search he'd needed them to know it was their friend that they were searching for. It was too late now. He would just have to make sure that the entire team understood exactly how important it was that they didn't say anything to anyone ever about his or his sons' identities.

Besides, if they did, Bruce had about a million ways to flay them alive and since Dick wouldn't want that to happen he would probably make sure his friends were very careful.

If he survived.

For the millionth time since Bruce had met the Man of Steel, he wished desperately that he had superhearing, while also feeling intensely grateful that he didn't have it. While he wanted to know how Leslie was doing, if Dick was OK, and what the heck was going on in the other room, he also didn't know what he would do if he was able to hear his son's heart stop beating.

No, he'll be fine, Bruce thought. He squeezed the object his was holding, then looked down at it, just now noticing that he was holding a torn piece of Dick's uniform, stained with the teenager's blood.

Bruce didn't drop it – he'd been Batman way too long to do something like that – but it took all of his self-control to force the image of Dick crumpled on the ground with his life bleeding out far from his mind.

"Batman."

If we'd been just a few minutes earlier, Bruce thought.

"Batman!"

Could they really have stopped Deathstroke from hurting Dick? Maybe Wally, or Flash, or Superman? Selina would have at least tried, and a batarang in the right place could have-

"DAD!"

Bruce jolted slightly, and looked to his left, cursing himself when he realized that he'd actually been startled. How out of it was he? Tim was standing next to him, his face pale. Even with his eyes covered by a mask, Bruce knew that there were tears in his youngest's eyes. Timmy was worried. Jason was probably worried too. They'd probably sent a message to Alfred, right? The butler needed to know that Dick was back, even if it wasn't for very long.

He just needed to survive.

Could he survive?

Bruce straightened and took a deep breath, pulling back from the emotions that he'd somehow allowed to overwhelm him. It was probably the lack of sleep. And stress. And the fact that his partner, his son, was lying in the other room battling life and death. There was that too.

"Come. Let's go and wait with your brother," Bruce said, but now he was Batman. Batman was worried for Robin, yes, but he had two more little birds that he needed to protect until the eldest was well enough to return to the nest.

And if he didn't return, well, Batman would never stop hunting down Deathstroke, and when he found him it would take everything he had not to kill him.

That is, if he was still human enough without his Robin to care.

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Mount Justice

May 26, 11:47 EDT

There was nothing more terrifying in all the world than wondering if your best friend was going to die. Barbara knew that Dick had been close to dying ever since he was kidnapped – was that really a month and a half ago now? – but to know that he was in the other room, his heart beating slower and slower, his breaths coming less and less clearly…

It had been a lot to take in when she arrived at the cave to discover that Dick had called in on the comms, that he and Wally were out there with Catwoman and that the League were going to pull them out, but Deathstroke could be there any second. And it had only gotten worse from there, especially when Batman had rushed past with the still form of her best friend cradled in his arms. He hadn't looked like he was breathing.

Barbara swallowed. It was really best not to think about it.

But how could she not? Everyone in the cave was deathly silent. Artemis was somewhere, probably sitting next to Wally and waiting for him to wake up. M'gann was curled up next to Connor on the couch, tears still occasionally sliding down her face. The three Atlantians stood next to each other with solemn expressions. Garfield had turned into a cat and was sitting on Donna's lap with his tail covering his face. The two newbies looked like they wanted to run.

Jason had disappeared after Timmy several minutes ago, and there was no telling when the two of them would be back, or even if they would come back here. They'd probably gone to find Bruce.

Please let him be ok, Barbara prayed. Dick could be a jerk every once in a while, and a prankster and an idiot and a total boy, but he was her closest friend, and she didn't know what she would do if she lost him.

You can't die, boy wonder, I haven't told you that I joined the team, she thought. You were going to be excited, and we'd throw some sort of party and make Bruce mad because we invited Wally and Roy, and then it would all be OK because he's so soft when it comes to you, and you and Timmy would just shine those puppy eyes up at him and he'd ruffle your hair and laugh.

Barbara cursed under her breath when she realized that she felt like crying. No. Absolutely no tears unless Dick died, and he was NOT GOING TO DIE. So there. No tears.

Suddenly a cheerful ringtone cut through the tense silence. Her own.

"Crap," Barbara said, pulling her phone out of her pocket. She was in civvies from earlier, her sunglasses perched on her face relatively securely. She stood and hurried out of the room, flipping her phone open to stop the incessant ringing. "Hey, dad."

"Barbara Gordon, where are you?" Jim Gordon's relieved voice seemed almost surreal. Someone wasn't sitting in a tense cave wondering whether or not Richard Grayson would live. Oh yeah, she'd skipped school. Right. And hadn't told her dad where she was going.

"I'm fine, I swear," she said. "I – I just wanted to check on Tim and Jason." Not totally a lie. Barbara preferred avoiding lies when she talked to her father about her secret life. "They're finally back at the manor and I know Bruce's password and Alfred promised that the next time I came we would make cookies and I just couldn't do school today. I'm sorry, I forgot to text you and let me know where I was going." Her voice was wobbling, and she leaned against the wall then slid down to a sitting position, clutching the phone close to her ear as tears started to fall.

"Babs? Sweetheart? It's alright, I'm not angry," her dad said. "Are the boys OK? Did anything happen?"

"No," Barbara said. "They're all fine. I just…" for a moment she couldn't speak, and she just cried. Her dad stayed silent on the other end of the phone. Barbara swallowed her tears. "Dad, what if Dick doesn't make it? What if – what if he never comes back? What'll I do? And Bruce and Jay and little Timmy and Alfred? I can't lose him, dad, I just can't."

Barbara realized distantly that she was slightly hysterical, but Dick was dying. How was she supposed to be anything but hysterical?

Technically she knew her dad didn't have any easy answers, especially since he didn't know that Dick had been recovered, but still, she wanted to hear him say something. Anything to make her feel like there was some hope that she could have her best friend back.

Finally her dad sighed. "I love you, Babs," he said. "I know this has been really hard for you. I can't make any promises about Dick, you know that, but remember, that boy's a fighter. We'll get him back and even if those people have done anything to him he'll fight tooth and nail to get back to Bruce and the boys. He'd fight to get back to you. It'll be OK, sweetheart. Don't give up, because I'm sure Dick hasn't."

Slowly Barbara's sobs turned into hiccups, and she stared up at the ceiling. "I love you, dad," she said. "Thanks. I'm going to stay here for a bit. Can you call the school?"

"Of course. Come home before dark, alright? Bruce can take you home, or Alfred, or you can call me, but I don't want you walking home by yourself, you hear me?"

"Yes, daddy," Barbara said. She sniffed, then added, "I love you so much."

"I love you too. See you in a few hours. Tell Bruce to call if they need anything, and remind him that I'm still searching, I don't give a – well, I don't care what they've ruled. I'll find Dick and bring him home, or someone will," her dad said.

Barbara laughed. "OK. I will. Bye, dad."

"Bye, Babs."

Barbara closed her phone and slipped it back into her pocket. It would all turn out fine. Dick would never give up so easily, right?

Right. Because they were going to fight together with the team, he'd promised her. And one thing Barbara Gordon had learned really quickly about Richard Grayson was that he always kept his promises.

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*cough cough*

Um. Hi. Haha. Yes, so I am alive, and I haven't lost the ability or the desire to write (just the time) and I've completed a year-and-a-half of school, and I'm a horrible heartless monster because I haven't updated in more than a year, but hey, I let you read the chapter before subjecting you to my mindless ramblings, so that's good, right?

I'm afraid I won't be answering reviews for the last chapter (although there are some as recent as a month ago, wow), but I will give you all my heartfelt gratitude for reading my story and I hope you forgive me. I plan to finish this story this week, and much to your advantage, my younger sister reads this story and will probably MAKE me finish this whether I want to or not (oh, I really do, I promise). Also, YOUNG JUSTICE SEASON 3 NEXT YEAR! SO EXCITED.

Please REVIEW just to tell me exactly how horrible and heartless I am and I do hope this is a slight bit LESS of a cliffhanger than the past few chapters.

Also, any suggestions on how to wrap this up well would be greatly appreciated.

~Bright