Dick was fine during days two through four of his recovery. Day five was when things started to go south. Throughout the first four days of his recovery, his pain level had steadily been increasing, and on day five he woke Bruce up crying.
"Bruce... it feels like I'm swallowing hot glass..." Dick said, pulling his knees to his chest. Bruce nodded- it was still an hour and a half until his next dose of lorotab, so he gave him tylenol. It wasn't enough, though, and he slept fitfully for the next hour and a half until Bruce woke him up again and dosed him with painkiller.
The morning provided no respite- both Dick and Bruce were tired from having to wake up every three hours for the past four days in order to give or take medication, and the pain now seemed to be Dick's constant companion. It made him more irritable, and he was refusing to eat and drink because of it, which both frustrated and worried Bruce.
"Dick, you NEED to drink something." He said, running a hand through his hair nervously. He knew Dick was in pain. The scabs in the boy's throat were starting to come off, which was the most painful part...
"No. I... I can't. It hurts too bad." Dick whispered. Bruce sighed, wishing there was something he could do for the boy...
"It's going to be alright, Dick." Bruce promised. Dick crawled into his lap, clinging to him and crying, and Bruce rocked back and forth slowly, trying his best to soothe the boy. It was awful watching his son be in pain and knowing there was nothing he could do about it. Finally, the boy fell into a fitful sleep, and Bruce went downstairs to grab some coffee- coffee was the only thing keeping him awake, now.
"Can I see him, Tati?" Scarlet's soft voice startled him, and he looked down to see his six year old imploring him with those crystal blue eyes.
"No, Scarlet. He's tired, he needs rest, you can see him when he's feeling better." Bruce promised. Every day since Dick had had his tonsils out, Scarlet had asked to see him, but Bruce didn't want his bubbly little girl to excite Dick, who was in so much pain and exhausted and, overall, just needed rest. Not to mention Scarlet might carry germs with her, and in Dick's weakened condition he didn't want to risk anything...
He knew it hurt the siblings to be apart, but he truly believed he was doing it for the greater good.
Scarlet padded up to her room and sighed. Dick had always gotten better from his colds before, with BROKEN tonsils. If she could find him some new ones, she was totally convinced he'd be fine. She hadn't stopped her quest to find them, either, and was considering calling Dr. Leslie and asking if she had any spare tonsils lying around for her brother. But she'd decided to wait just a little longer. After all, maybe she could find some.
That evening, Bruce called Alfred up to give Dick his medicine while he held the boy- his medication must have been truly agonizing for him to swallow, since he was fighting like a demon...
"Bruce- please, no! It hurts too much to swallow!" Dick said, squirming in Bruce's arms.
"It'll help with the pain, Dick." Bruce said, holding the boy firmly. He knew Dick was just exhausted and in pain,but he also knew the boy NEEDED to take his medication. "Just take it for me, Dick, and then you can sleep, I promise..." Bruce said.
"I would highly recommend you do so, Master Richard, and perhaps I can spray some numbing gel on your throat..." Alfred suggested.
"Why not do it BEFORE I take the meds?" Dick croaked.
"As you wish, Master Richard." and Alfred was off to find the numbing spray.
Dick whimpered in Bruce's arms, and Bruce held the ten year old close to him.
"It'll feel better soon, Dickey, I promise."
They were having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, and Alfred had left the raw meatballs on the kitchen counter when he went up to help Bruce. Scarlet entered the room then and saw dozens of little pink balls of raw meat...
"Tonsils!" she said, gaping. It was literally a miracle. She'd gone on google images, and these looked exactly like the tonsils that she'd seen there. She grabbed two of them, feeling how squishy they were and staring. These were DEFINITELY tonsils.
She was so excited. She couldn't WAIT to see the look on Dick's face.
"Dickey! Dickey, you won't believe it!" she yelled, running upstairs.
Alfred had been getting ready to give Dick some numbing gel when they heard the thundering of little feet running upstairs.
"Dickey! Dickey, you won't believe it!" Scarlet yelled. A moment later, she barreled into the room, holding two pinkish balls...
"I found you new tonsils!" she said, looking ecstatic. "Your old ones were broken, so I went and spent ALL week looking for new ones to fix you and I FOUND them!" she said proudly, holding out the two meatballs.
Dick stared for a moment, shocked, before starting to giggle...
Bruce laughed, as well. He'd spent his week being stressed and tired, having to wake up and dose Dick with painkillers every three hours, as well as watching his son in pain, but in the one moment, where his incredibly adorable six ear old stood in front of him and had made Dick laugh for the first time all week, it was like suddenly a ray of sunshine was peeking through the clouds. Alfred chuckled, too, and Scarlet looked around, confused...
Finally, the laughter died down. "I believe those are the meatballs was preparing for dinner, Master Scarlet." Alfred said.
Scarlet shook her head. "No- they're tonsils. Look it up on google images. Dickey NEEDS these- right, Bruce?"
"Actually, Scarlet, you don't need tonsils. Dick's were making him sick, that's why he had to have them removed." Bruce said, smiling at his little girl. Suddenly being a father was worth it again.
"Why did no one tell me this?" Scarlet asked, looking shocked. Bruce laughed again at the expression on the girl's face.
"We all assumed you knew, I guess." Dick said hoarsely, but he was smiling.
"Would this, perchance, be the reason you fell through the ceiling a few days ago?" Bruce asked, and Scarlet blushed.
"Yeah... I was kinda hoping someone left tonsils in the attic." Scarlet said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. Bruce had to smile, as did Dick. It was the first time Bruce had seen the boy smile in days, and it made something within him flutter with joy.
"Now I suggest you wash your hands after touching raw meat, Master Scarlet..." Alfred said, and Dick grinned as Scarlet sighed, heading into the bathroom off his room.
Bruce realized he might've made a mistake in keeping Scarlet from Dick- after all, the two were nearly inseparable, and they seemed to make each other laugh more often than not.
"Maybe we'll all have dinner up here tonight." Bruce suggested, and Dick nodded, looking eager. Bruce administered his medication, but it didn't matter. Dick had already forgotten his pain with his sister around... Maybe it wasn't just tiredness and scabbing contributing to his pain, but loneliness...
As he watched them both interact and laugh, he realized something- everything was going to be okay.