After a long slumber Galatea wakes to see the familiar ceiling of her room at Wayne Manor. The sound of chirping birds outside her window tells her it is morning time.
It's strange. I don't remember coming to bed last night. The last thing I remember…
Her thoughts trail off, trying to pull on the thread of her memories.
The last thing she remembers is grabbing Dick's hand and pulling him away from death's door. Then the memories flood to her in a deluge all at once. She remembers the ritual she performed, the wound she healed, the worry she felt. All at once, her emotions wash over her again.
Dick.
She sits up and looks around, searching for him, somehow thinking she's going to find him nearby.
I have to find him. I have to know if he's okay. I-
It is only then, when she tries to rise from her place in bed, that she notices the abnormal weight on her legs. Her attention moves down to her lap and fear grips her heart. She is surprised to find him there, and the sight of him makes her heart sink.
No. Please, don't tell me. I…failed?
Her pulse rises at the thought, dread nestling in her chest. The breath catches in her throat as she looks down at him. But then she catches a glimpse of movement, the gentle rise and fall of restful breaths, and all at once she feels awash with relief.
Thank the gods.
Her voice finds its way out, hoarse but quiet as she acknowledges him there. "Dick." She reaches out and brushes a few stray hairs away from his forehead, an affectionate impulse that makes her feel connected to him. "I'm so glad you're okay."
Her touch causes his eyes to tighten and a sleepy groan to escape him, further reassuring her of his vitality. She smiles warmly at his peaceful expression.
I don't know what I would have done, if I lost you. How…how did you come to mean so much to me already?
Her thoughts are interrupted by the sound of a metal tray clanging on the floor. It resounds throughout the room, startling her and waking Dick. She turns to its source and finds Alfred standing in the doorway with a look of surprise on his face.
"Mistress Galatea, you're awake."
Dick to looks up at Alfred and then back over at Galatea from his slouched-over position on the bed. He feels surprise to see her awake, and then relief, before he realizes the compromising position he now finds himself in. The ensuing embarrassment causes him to sit up in an awkward hurry, returning to his place in the chair beside her bed. Galatea lets out a happy chuckle at his rushed response.
"I will inform Master Bruce, give you two some time to talk." Alfred chimes in before turning to leave.
Dick nervously stammers out an apology after Alfred leaves. "S-sorry. I must have passed out."
Then he looks nervously at her, afraid of her reaction, only to find her giving him one of those dazzling smiles that seem to blind him.
"There's no need for you to apologize; it was comforting to have you so close. The first thing I wanted to do was make sure you were okay, so seeing you there…it made me happy."
"O-oh. Really? You're not mad, or creeped out, or-"
"I'm just relieved to see you're okay. Seeing you so full of life again after I saw you-"
She stops. An image of his ragged face, drenched in sweat and full of pain, flashes behind her eyes. She swallows, unable to continue, and the mood shifts to something darker, more solemn. Dick stiffens up, straightening out his back, and tightens his hands into closed fists in his lap.
"I'm sorry Gal, I didn't mean to put you through that. I, well, Bruce told me what you did and I can't believe you took such a huge risk for someone you haven't even known for that long." He pauses to look back up at her with a serious, heartfelt expression. "Thank you."
"I would gladly do it again; there's no need to thank me. I owed it to you for saving me first after all."
"Is that why? I've been wracking my brain, trying to figure out why you put yourself in so much danger for me…"
"Well you started it," she says playfully, "I could sit here and tell you it was the right thing to do, that I knew you would have done the same if you were in my shoes, or that I wanted to repay the debt I owed you. But, when it comes down to it the truth is that you're my friend and I didn't want to lose you. It was selfish, really. It was worth the risk because, well, you're important to me, Dick. "
Her words echoe the ones he heard her say in his dream from that first night. "I didn't tell you this before because I was too embarrassed, but you're my only friend. That's why…that's why I don't want to lose you; I care about you." Surprised, he looks back at her with wide eyes before a warm blush creeps into his face. A quiet moment passes between them before he speaks up again.
"Gal can I ask you something?"
"Of course, anything."
"This is going to sound weird, but I think I heard you say that before. I'm having a strange sense of deja vu. Have we had this conversation already?
Now she's blushing too at the realization that he might actually remember everything that happened. She thinks back on all the embarrassing things she said in the heat of the moment. One particular statement comes to mind.
"Oh-um-well, not exactly."
"But something similar?"
"Um, why? D-do you actually remember what happened, what I said?"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out! I've been having strange dreams lately, images and feelings that feel like memories but aren't mine, mixed in with ones that are. I feel like…maybe I heard it there?"
"Memories? Like what?"
"Flashes of different only one of any kind of substance had a little girl crying in a field of strange flowers. It was so vivid I could smell the flowers in the air."
He doesn't want to confess that he suspects he'd had a look into her past, but he also wants to confirm his suspicion. He chooses to give her enough information to bite on if it proved true, but not enough that might alarm her if it wasn't.
"Strange flowers?" For some reason that strikes a chord with her. Then she remembers the strange thought that crossed her mind in her dream. "Wait…the flowers, did you think they smelled like honeysuckle and vanilla?"
"Yes, actually! How did you know?"
Galatea's lips press together in a fine line and a pink flush colors her cheeks.
"Oh no," she laments, "then that means…"
Her hands raise to cover her face and she shakes her head in embarrassment. Dick watches her strangely dramatic reaction to his question, seeking answers in it. She removes her hands and peers back at him, quietly confessing,
"Those are memories, they're my memories. That little girl was me. The field you saw is a place on Luna I used to go to gaze at the Earth, especially when I was little. Those flowers that you thought smelled like honeysuckle and vanilla are called Asterosi, and are native only to Luna. This makes a lot of sense, actually."
"Well I'm glad one of us knows what's going on. Penny for your thoughts?"
"Right, sorry. Actually, I've had strange dreams too and, hearing what you saw, I realize that we likely shared our memories with each other. I didn't think this would happen but I should have guessed it might."
"Sharing memories, are you sure? Is that even possible?"
"It is with the ritual I performed to save you. In my dream, I retreated back to Kasthsteri, that's the field of flowers, and had a strange thought about the Asterosi. A smell that is burned in my memory as the distinct scent of Asterosi smelled to me like honeysuckle and vanilla. Now that makes sense, if our memories were blending together."
"You said 'sharing memories'. Does that mean you saw some of mine as well?"
"Admittedly, I think I saw a memory of yours that you would probably rather not have shared. It was…painful, so painful I wanted to run away."
"What did you see?"
She looks at him, eyes full of sympathy, features heavy with the guilt of peering into a past that wasn't hers.
"I have this…recurring nightmare, the same memory I relive over and over again in my dreams; it started there. Except this time the ending changed; instead of ending the way it always does, the scenery changed. I was in a tent and I was…flying; it was exhilarating until…it was horrifying. I remember consoling a boy who'd just lost his parents; I-I watched them die. We both felt so very alone, but we were together, so it wasn't so bad. I-I'm sorry Dick, I didn't intend to look at something so…personal."
"Not everyone knows…what happened to my parents. It's not something I often share, for obvious reasons. I guess you know what happened now. I suppose it's only fair, seeing as I had a look into your past too."
"I'm sorry Dick, for all of this. And I'm sorry for what happened to your parents."
"No, I'm sorry, for what you've been through." he pauses for a moment. "You know, you don't have to be alone anymore, alright?"
"Oh! I, um, thanks. You either, Dick. If you ever feel alone like that, I'll keep you company. I promise."
The two of them avoid each other's gaze, trying to hide their flushed faces from one another, until eventually Dick clears his throat and speaks up again.
"You mentioned a ritual?"
"Ah, right, of course; the ritual! You have a right to know what happened.
When you got back to the Batcave, you were in bad shape. I thought I could heal you, but no matter how much I tried it wasn't enough. Even with your wounds healed we were losing you. I surmised that if it wasn't your body that needed healing, then it was your spirit. You had already come too close to death's door and you were being pulled.
The only way I knew of to save you was by giving you some of my own life energy. The only way I know of to do that requires a ritual called tethering, and what that does is, well, tether our souls to one another. Basically it opens up a conduit between the two to allow for a free exchange of energy.
Since I gave you my life energy, it seems you might be suffering a kind of lingering aftereffect from the exchange. It varies from person to person but other effects of it can include being aware of the other's presence and having a sense of what they are feeling, while even stronger tethers can communicate telepathically with one another and exchange memories or emotions. In this case, I sort of unintentionally shared my memories with you since I shared my life energy. Our experiences make up who we are, after all, so they are kind of one and the same."
Dick collapses into his chair, overcome with the weight of her implications.
"And I thought the whole dream-sharing thing was a lot."
"I know it's a lot. I'm sorry I couldn't discuss all of this with you before I went through with it. I didn't intend to take away your agency, I just didn't know what else to do."
"No, don't get me wrong, by golly do I appreciate being alive. I just wasn't expecting this kind of…commitment."
"That's an amusing choice of words, honestly. Tethering, it's usually only done by the most devoted of individuals when they choose to spend their lives together. B-but I have read about ways to limit the scope of the tether before, and even ways to cloud it so the connection is virtually unnoticeable. I'll do some more research to see what our options are so that you feel less…trapped"
"Wait, when you say 'spend their lives together', you don't mean-"
"Marriage? That would be the closest analogy."
"So then… you and I?"
"No! I have no expectations of the sort, I swear! As I said I was trying to save you, not entrap you. Oh gods, that sounds so bad. I didn't mean it that way! I mean it's not that I don't find you attractive or think you wouldn't make a great partner, I just-I-I'm going to shut up now.
"Hold on, what was that last part there?"
Galatea nervously chuckles and then clears her throat, but she can't hide the blush on her face. She wearily repeats her last words for him.
"I'm going to shut up now?"
He snickers at her clever attempt to avoid his question. "No, right before that."
"I-I'm not sure what you're referring to!"
"I'm pretty sure you were saying something about finding me attractive."
"By the gods, I should have known you wouldn't let that go."
"I should have seen this coming after you barged in on me in such a compromising state of undress."
"Oh, for Sisyphus' Sake!"
The sound of Bruce's inquiring voice interrupts the two of them,
"Am I interrupting?"
Simultaneously Galatea squeaks out a "No!" while Dick scoffs a "Yes!". Bruce has a laugh at their amusing reply to his question.
"I heard our patient had finally woken up so I came to see for myself. It's good to see you are well, Galatea."
"If only you knew! You just missed her proposing to me, Bruce. She was just going on about what a great partner I'd make."
If he was blushing before from his teasing, she is practically burning up at this jest.
"Dick! No, Bruce, I swear that's not what I said, per say. Well I mean, I guess I kind of did say that, but that's not what I meant, exactly."
"Relax, kiddo, he's just teasing you. Look at him." He gestures over to Dick, who's got a shit-eating grin spreading from ear to ear. "Give her a break, wouldn't you Dick? She just woke up."
She lets out a knowing sigh, trying to calm her racing heart as she lets out the breath.
"How long was I out for?"
"Two whole days," Bruce replies, "And Dick refused to leave your side for a moment of either of them."
"Bruce!"
Bruce lets out a hearty laugh at Dick's protesting.
"What? It's only the truth, isn't it Alfred?"
"Indeed; he even took all of his meals here. How was it you phrased it Master Dick? I think you said something to the tune of you were 'fearful she might wake up alone' while you were away."
"Not you too Alfred!"
Galatea is giggling at their playful show of affection for each other, happy to have the attention diverted away from her for a change. Dick launches the pillow from his chair at Bruce, but he easily deflects it, laughing as he does so. Dick sticks out his tongue at Bruce mockingly when his pillow toss fails. Galatea feels an overwhelming sense of happiness as she watches their exchange. Never before has she experienced such blatant displays of honest emotion around her.
Is this what a family is supposed to look like?
Eventually, Bruce turns his attention back to her.
"So, how are you feeling Galatea? Are you up for a little celebration?"
"Celebration?"
"Are you hungry? We should have something special to celebrate your getting better. Name anything you'd like and it's yours."
"In that case…can we have burgers?"
"Burgers, you sure? You can have anything."
"With fries and a milkshake? I haven't tried any of those yet…"
"Yeah, nice choice!" Dick chimes in.
