How did you like the transponder snails? They crack me up! Anyway, here is some hurt/comfort batbrothers for you. Enjoy!
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Chapter 10- Wakey Wakey, Eggs and MEAT!
After the phone call home, Damien didn't really have a course of action in mind, so he wasn't surprised to find himself in front of the infirmary. He cracked the door open to peek in.
Jason Todd knelt beside the cot holding the unconscious Nightwing. The younger man cradled his brother's hand in his own with utmost care, his head bowed over the hands with his black hair falling to hide his expression. Chopper was fast asleep in the corner, a blanket laid over the little reindeer, probably by Todd.
"You better be okay, Golden Boy," Todd murmured softly. "I did not come all this way for you to give up the ghost, you hear me? The demon spawn needs you to, you idiot." He sniffed lightly and it sounded too wet to be derisive. "The brat was really worried about you, you know. He hasn't even challenged anyone to a duel since we got here." He laughed weakly. "Not sure how that would go with this group, to be honest. They'd probably love it. You should see these people, Dickie-bird. They all belong in Arkham, but damn if I don't like them. Don't know why either. Luffy's an idiot and he's so fucking cheerful that I want to hit him. I bet you'll like him, fu..freaking blue bird of happiness that you are."
Damien pushed the door open the rest of the way. Todd jumped a little, and one hand went to his hip, but when he saw who it was, he used the free hand to wipe his eyes before turning back to Dick. Damien went to sit cross-legged next to Jason. He put a hand on Greyson's leg, feeling his brother's warmth through the blanket.
Jason continued his running commentary, "Personally, I prefer Jimbe. He's a giant blue fishman. He wears a kimono and top knot and has a wicked sense of humor sometimes. Zoro is pretty neat too. He's a swordsman who uses three swords, I kid you not. He holds the third in his mouth. I know that sounds stupid, but if you saw him fight, you'd understand. The man is a monster. I'm glad he's on our side." Todd trailed off, either running out of things to talk about or overcome with emotion, Damien wasn't sure.
"Chopper is my favorite," Damien spoke up softly, his voice gaining strength as he continued. "He's your doctor but he's also a reindeer. He's so small, so you'd think he'd need protection, but he's pretty tough." Damien laughed softly and reached up to wipe his eyes that he hadn't realized were filling up. Dust had gotten in them, or the antiseptic was irritating them, maybe. "He can transform into all kinds of shapes that he can use to fight. He's really smart too, so you're in good hands." He snorted. "I have little patience for the rest of the crew, however. The captain is deranged and the rest are much too carefree."
"You'll like these fools," Jason said, leaning over too bump his shoulder against Damien's. Damien glared at him but somehow resisted retaliation. "So you better wake up soon and meet them." They shared a quiet smile at that, and then turned away, embarrassed to show such weakness to anyone, let alone each other.
On the cot, Dick started to stir. He groaned and his eyes fluttered. His hands twitched at his sides.
Damien leapt to his feet. "Chopper, wake up!" he ordered, bodily picking up the little doctor to bring him to the patient's side when the creature didn't wake up fast enough.
Chopper blinked sleepily for a few seconds before bursting into a whirl of efficiency as he checked everything connected to Dick.
Nightwing opened his eyes to Chopper's concerned face as the doctor checked the bandages on his head. "Still hallucinating, then," he croaked, sounding resigned.
Jason stood up to get a glass of water and a straw. He handed it to Damien who held the straw for Dick to drink.
"Nope," Jason said, retreating across the small room to lean against a wall and cross his arms over his chest. "You're as aware as you can be. Things are just that crazy here."
"Jason?" Dick said, turning his head to look at his brother. "You came for me?"
Jason scoffed. "Of course I did, Dickie-bird. Couldn't leave the demon spawn to do it all by himself."
Damien scowled at Jason but was distracted when Dick tried to sit up. Every movement was excruciating for the oldest brother and now that he was not in danger, it was harder to ignore all the damage to his body. Still, Dick wasn't going to just lie around like a log after his brothers rescued him. He owed them that much and he didn't want them to see him like this.
Chopper stepped forward, tutting in disapproval. "Stop trying to get up," he ordered. He pushed Damien out of the way and laid a hoof on Dick's bandaged chest, stopping him from sitting the rest of the way up. He pulled out a pen light. "Let me check your eyes. I'm worried about a concussion."
Dick stared at the diminutive doctor, still not certain that he was not dreaming, but he didn't fight the doctor's exam. "Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm Doctor Tony Tony Chopper," the creature introduced himself. "How's your stomach? Do you feel up to eating something? I would prefer to take you off the IV as soon as possible." Dick nodded, smiling kindly at the little guy. Chopper looked over at Jason. "Jason, can you ask Sanji to whip something up? He'll know what will be easy on Nightwing's stomach."
Dick glanced at Damien, finally noticing that neither brother wore their masks. "Jason?" he mouthed behind Chopper's back.
Damien shrugged. "Doesn't matter here," he answered dismissively, like he wasn't breaking one of Batman's most important rules. "And one of the crew is named Robin."
Dick shook his head gently, trying to remember everything that happened. The last few days, well, weeks, were sort of a blur. "Wait, last thing I remember, I was arrested by that marine captain. We were at sea. How did you find me?"
"We secured the assistance of the Straw Hat Pirates," Damien said, like it was no big deal.
"So we're on a pirate ship?" Dick asked. He struggled to sit up again, not comfortable with the idea of being helpless on a ship crewed by criminals.
"That is correct," Damien answered flatly. "Stop trying to get up. You'll hurt yourself."
Dick gave up the fight to sit up more, letting his little brother get him settled back on the pillows. "You're okay with this?"
"They're not so bad, most of them," Damien admitted, though he was scowling pretty hard. "The captain is a buffoon, and the others would fit right in at Arkham, but they appear to be decent enough people."
"Besides, how else were we supposed to get you back from a corrupt marine captain?" Jason asked from the door. He was holding a tray with bowl of broth that smelled lovely. "That bastard was going to execute you; it wasn't like we could appeal in court." He set tray carefully in Dick's lap and returned to leaning in the corner. "We can't all be golden boys, you know." He shrugged, like nothing mattered which usually meant there was more he wasn't saying. "Anyway, eat that then get some rest. We'll explain everything later."
All three sets of eyes stared at him until Dick made the effort to eat. He had trouble holding the spoon with his fingers in splints and his wrists immobilized, so Damien stepped forward to help him drink straight from the bowl. Dick felt a little guilty when he thought that it was the best broth he had ever had, better than Alfred's. He could almost feel his strength returning.
"We'll call Father when you're more awake," Damien spoke up once Dick had taken several sips.
Dick's eyes felt heavier every moment, but they snapped open at that. "You can call home?" he asked urgently.
Damien tutted until Dick accepted another drink of broth, so Jason answered. "We hooked up a communicator to the local communication network and got a call through. B and the replacement are working on getting us home."
Dick frowned, trying to figure out what was wrong with that statement, but he couldn't get through the fog of exhaustion and pain to figure it out. He started to ask when he yawned. This brought the little reindeer doctor back to life.
"That's enough excitement for now," Chopper decreed. He whisked away the tray and helped Nightwing lay back down. "You need your rest. There will be plenty of time to talk later."
Jason snickered but he quickly turned serious when Chopper glared at him. "I'll just let the others know that Dickie-bird woke up for a minute, okay, Dr. Chopper?" he said, inching toward the door with his hands held up defensively.
Chopper narrowed his eyes at the retreating hero, but his cheeks turned red at being addressed as doctor. "Fine," he agreed before turning back to the other two. Greyson was already asleep, but Damien glared from his spot next to the cot.
"Don't even think of ordering me out!" the boy hissed fiercely.
Chopper shook his head. "No, I was just thinking that we might need a guard in here," the wise doctor offered. He considered the thick door separating them from the rest of the crew. The usual sounds of mayhem resonated through the quiet office. "Luffy thinks that anything can be cured with enough meat, so we should stay vigilant. Sometimes he sneaks in to offer his own treatment when I'm not looking. He almost choked Ussop trying to feed him meat last time."
Damien nodded thoughtfully. "Fine," he decided. He pulled his sword out and laid it in his lap. "Just let him try." Chopper shivered at the ice in the ten year old's tone and really hoped that his captain didn't try anything this time.