Disclaimer: not mine

An Interesting Family Tree was meant to be the next update but the meeting of Danny and Damian is fighting me.

Chapter 8

He'd been shot point blank in the face…he hadn't seen that coming. He lay still, knowing his was in the Normandy's medical bay and that he was still healing. Thanks to the Geth, he didn't even have a moment of ignorant bliss over his injuries, he knew exactly how he'd ended up in medical and who had put him there. Tali… the Geth were doing a very good job at expressing distress. One of the Creators had harmed their Emissary. Seeing the damage report…if not for his metallic bones and mostly synthetic brain then his skull would have been shattered, his brain severely damaged. Go being a cyborg! He had to see the positives to his new life or he'd go crazy. He'd gotten close to that before, after Kon and Bart…his Dad…Bruce…

Images from his own memory played before his eyes, all of them alive, healthy and happy. The Geth trying to cheer him up and he let them, smiling slightly.

"Tim?" Dr Chakwas called his name softly.

Time to wake up then. He opened his eyes, feeling the slight tug of newly healed skin as he did. "Doctor," he croaked, mouth and throat dry. The beds' position was changed, leaving him reclining, a straw pressed to his lips, and he nodded at her, sipping slowly at the water. "She really shot me," he murmured.

"You remember what happened?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Perfect memory," he tapped the temple he hadn't been shot in. and even if he didn't, the Geth would.

"Without how…altered you are, you would be dead."

"Hmm, but then she wouldn't have shot me," he pointed out. He lifted a hand to touch the area but she stopped him, picking up a light and he tipped his head to give her the best view as she examined the wound site.

"Any pain?"

"No, just a slight tugging sensation from the new skin and muscle." If he tried to hide it, he was sure the Geth would inform her. They were very concerned about his ongoing health and his habit of downplaying injuries. "The mission?"

"The Commander took Garrus and Wrex to finish it," she answered. "He wants to speak with you, the Geth gave us the footage of what happened but he wants your personal input."

Tim nodded. He was used to debriefs since reports and even footage never showed everything. "Tali?"

"In the brig. She shot a teammate, neither of you are Alliance but you are a basically a diplomat which makes things awkward."

"Only if I'm recognised as one and I really doubt the Council will do that."

The door opened and Commander Shepard stepped inside.

,

John watched Tali as she sat on the bunk. It was harder to read someone through armour but as a soldier he was more used to full armour than many. Her posture screamed distress but for what reason? Regret over shooting Tim…or that she hadn't killed him? He had hoped the two were getting on better after they'd worked on the elevator together but it seemed he was wrong. And then he got the alert, Tim was awake.

He headed for the medical bay and was relieved to see the teen sitting up, reclined, his eyes bright and alert. Anyone else would be dead or at least severely brain damaged. "Good to see you awake," he offered.

"Thanks. Dr Chakwas said you need my side of things."

"Only if you're up to it," he assured him.

"I'm alright," Tim answered, and John glanced at the Doc who nodded.

It was amazing, anyone else who survived such a shot would be unconscious at least for days, probably comatose or something. And yet Tim was sitting up and talking, fully healed, within a few hours. That kind of tech…but what had Tim lost in the Geth 'saving' him? had he realised the potential affects it had on him? Metal bones wouldn't grow, he was seventeen when he arrived, had they added to his height to account for that or was he forever stuck with the body of a teenager? Would he still age? Could he have children one day? His brain was partially synthetic, was he able to mature mentally and emotionally? The Geth had saved his life but what consequences would Tim face in time?

He pushed those thoughts aside, pulling a chair up beside the medical bed. "Only if you're sure."

Tim nodded, taking a deep breath. "We were working on the old probe to get to the data. Tali slipped, nearly punctured her suit on a sharp edge since shields were down to let us work easier. She was a bit freaked out, understandably and…I might have made things worse," he admitted. "I mentioned the fact that the Geth are working to find a way to help the Quarians live outside their suits. She lost it. There was a noise then nothing. I know she's not comfortable around me because of my connection to the Geth, without knowing how deep the connection is. That'll come out now since I survived that shot."

John nodded. He had kept the depth of Tim's connection to the Geth classified. Only Alenko, Ashley, Dr Chakwas, the Captain, and him knew about it all. The others knew Tim was connected and assumed it was an implant like for his biotics, that he'd been enhanced, but they didn't know everything. Well, Joker knew more because they'd talked but he did he know it all? If he did, he'd kept quiet. But simple enhancement wouldn't have been enough to save him from that shot. It was always bound to come out eventually, he'd just hoped to have Tim more firmly seen as an ally first. Maybe it was crazy…but he trusted Tim. He didn't want to see him ostracised or worse by the crew or others.

,

Tali paced the cell. She'd messed up and she knew it. If he died…what would they do with her? Even if he lived, which was very unlikely, they would do something. The thought of the Geth…they would never trust those soulless machines! How could the crew trust him? Was it because he was so young? Who knew what the Geth had done to him…had she killed an innocent boy who'd been brainwashed? She had just lost control and that shouldn't have happened. Her Father would be so disappointed in her.

Her place on the Normandy could have helped advance their cause with at least the humans, if not the other races. And now she had jeopardised it all by acting rashly. She should have done more to investigate the boy, find a way to free him from the Geth's influence. She had really messed up and she would have to face the consequences.

The door opened and she straightened to face Commander Shepard only to stare in shock. How?

,

Jason stared at Dick, relieved to see some of his colour had returned. Leslie had said he was stable, that was good. That was the closest call any of them had had in ages…since Damian had been shoved off a roof over a year ago. The kid had caught himself on a fire escape but had broken his collar bone and wrenched all the muscles in his shoulder. This…this was so much worse than that.

Dick would be out for months unless he headed to the Watchtower for more help. Leslie was an excellent doctor and she had Wayne Foundation backing but she still only had Earth based tech. The Justice League doctors had a lot more access to alien tech and magic. Nightwing was known to have been wounded, they couldn't keep the assholes quiet about that once they were taken in and someone had talked already. Which meant Dick Grayson vanishing from sight at the same time was dangerous.

He was surprised when Dick stirred slightly, he was pretty heavily sedated after all. "It's okay Dick," he murmured. His brother stilled at the sound of his voice. That…things had been better between them since Tim…but knowing his voice was enough to assure Dick that he was safe…it was a lot.

,

Tim stared at Tali, able to read the shock in her body language but also…guilt? Well, it seemed she felt bad about potentially killing him, that was nice…depending on why she felt guilty about it.

"How…"

"Very good armour," he offered, and she shook her head.

"I saw…" she swallowed. "You should be dead."

"I should have died years ago. The Geth healed me, made sure I can heal from almost anything. Including a shotgun blast to the head. And the armour did absorb a lot of it, even with my shields down. The question is, why did you shoot me in the first place?"

,

How could the Geth have done that…it was one thing to heal him on planet…they would have all of the Quarians hospitals and the technology from there but how could they heal him now? What had they done to him?! He'd said that he was human but also Geth, she had assumed implants but this suggested more…was he really human anymore? But she'd seen him bleed.

"I'm not your enemy Tali, the Geth want peace with the Quarians. Helping free you of your suits, letting you live safely without worrying about the slightest cold…that's a first step to getting your people home to Rannoch."

"Why?"

"They were made to serve you and while they are more than the VI's your people intended; they still want to serve. But in more of a partnership than originally planned when you created them. They've been alone for longer than either of us has been alive, if they had wanted the Quarians dead or to conquer other worlds, they would have done it by now. With how quickly they can reproduce, create new platforms and ships…only the Krogan horde of old would have been a match. Instead, they stayed inside the Perseus Veil, only attacking those who entered out of fear."

"How do you know that you actually believe them? That they aren't making you believe them?

"I know my own mind, Tali; I've had very extensive mental training since I was young. Long before the Geth saved me." He shrugged slightly. "I also have full access to the Geth, they don't do subterfuge like organic races do. If they'd done that to me, there'd be records in their databases."

He seemed so sure. But she had spent her whole life being told the Geth were the enemy, that they had tried to wipe her people out. They couldn't be wrong…could they?

,

"You sure?" John frowned at Tim who nodded.

"She's not a danger to any of the crew, Commander. And she won't shoot me again. I've given her a lot to think about. And she really is thinking about it."

"Alright, I'll release her, in the morning. She can do some thinking over her actions in there for the night."

Tim sighed but nodded.

"Get some food then get some sleep. You've had a pretty bad day."

That made the teen laugh. "Not the worst I've had by far."

"That's not at all concerning." He watched Tim walk away. He'd told him some things of his Earth but that comment kind of worried him. Maybe Tim was safer in their dimension, Heretics and Reapers included.

He decided to take his own advice, though he had reports to write first. He would include the incident but play down Tim's injuries, no one needed to know his shields hadn't been up or that it had been a direct hit.

,

Bruce was relieved when Dick's eyes finally opened, his eldest son looking disorientated but then their eyes met and Dick relaxed. "Hey chum," he murmured.

"H'ppn'd?" he slurred, and Bruce held a cup of ice chips up for him to suck on.

"You were shot, Jason got to you and called for the Batmobile. Dr Leslie and Alfred performed surgery but we brought you to the Watchtower yesterday for further treatment."

"Hmmm. Jay 'kay?"

"He's fine, just worried about you, we all are." Bruce carefully adjusted Dick's blanket. "Hows' the pain?"

The loopy smile he received in answer was proof they had him on the good stuff. Thanks to the medical staff on the Watchtower, Dick's recovery would be much quicker.

"Get some sleep," he murmured, watching as Dick fell asleep again thanks to the drugs.

He had to head back to Gotham now that Dick was recovering well. It was bad enough that Nightwing was out of commission, Batman and Robin would need to be seen. If Tim…he could have stepped in as Nightwing if needed since Red Robin tended to not be as visible. Cass could pass as RR but not Nightwing, the suit far too skintight for a female to pass as him without compressing their chest too tightly.

Tim…his son would be nineteen now if he hadn't…Bruce took a deep breath. It was hard, they hadn't even had a body to bury. Just an empty grave and the memorials to Red Robin. Surprisingly, a small one had popped up in the city, in the area he had patrolled the most. It had been made by a group of teenagers but no one ever touched it, likely because Red Hood had been spotted lingering at times. He was so missed, in both his civilian and vigilante personas. A Tim Wayne scholarship had been created for photography students and another for business.

There was an empty chair at the dining table now, no one ever sat in the chair Tim had favoured. There had very nearly been another one. Maybe, wherever he was, Tim was looking out for his family.

,

"Hungry?"

Joker glanced back to see Tim in the entry to the cockpit, two meal trays in hand. "Grab a seat!" he grinned at the teen, seeing the flash of relief. He didn't blame him for avoiding the mess hall. "Thanks for this."

"No problem."

"The stares will stop eventually," Joker offered after a while of eating quietly.

"Will they?" Tim murmured. "Being more Geth than human is a bit for most to accept. It was one thing when they thought it was just some implants…"

"You're part of this crew Tim. You've been a big help; you've even been upgrading people's armour out of your own funds. The Commander and command staff trust you; the rest will get over it eventually."

"Thanks Jeff."

"Now, what do you say to learning how to fly without using those nifty upgrades?" he suggested with a teasing smirk.

"Is that allowed?"

"You going to tell on us?" he shot back, and Tim laughed.

"Sure, why not," Tim agreed.

,

Tali sat alone, ignoring the stares. She had been let out and the Commander had made sure that she knew it was because of the Emissary, that he had pushed for no further punishment. She owed him. She would do better, she would watch, learn, listen and judge him off that, not the history she had been taught.

And maybe she would regain the trust her actions had lost.

,

Kaidan heard laughter in the cockpit and moved to look, seeing Tim leaning over Joker's seat, the two chatting. It was good to see the kid more relaxed, he'd been tensed since the last mission. It was very understandable given what had happened. He still couldn't believe she'd shot him and all for telling her the Geth were working to find a way out of the suits for the Quarians.

Both of them were being given cold shoulders from the crew, Tim for just how much the Geth had altered him and Tali for shooting a kid. Yes, she was young, but she was older than Tim. Sure, she wasn't used to being amongst aliens but that was no excuse for her reaction. If Tim had been a normal human…he would be dead. Which was why the reactions to her were actually worse. After all, Tim had proven his worth on Eden Prime in helping the team despite their distrust. And rumours of his confrontations with Udina had spread, no one liked the Ambassador. So Tim standing up to him and even getting him locked out of the rapid transport had cheered the crew up when Anderson was relieved of command.

Were they…huh, well, he wouldn't be telling anyone. Tim could probably take control of the ship in a second so Joker teaching him to fly in the normal method was no issue with Kaidan, and he figured the Commander would agree.

,

Tim had dragged a crate over to sit on as he worked on a project. The shuttle bay was quiet, the ground team mostly off duty and asleep but he couldn't sleep tonight. The Geth had offered to help but he had decided to do something instead, some ideas he'd had years ago but lacked the tech to see if they could work. The last few days had been tense but this evening had been better, some of the engineers had called him to join them for dinner and they'd had a lively discussion on different ships and engines. It had been nice but….

He missed them, he missed his family, his friends…he team… he was so grateful to the Geth for saving him but even with all their knowledge and what they could access…there was nothing on dimensional travel. Which meant it was up to those back home to find him but they likely thought he was dead. But the Geth had taken scans of the energy surge when he appeared and it wasn't solely magic, if he could replicate it, he might at least be able to send a signal, something that would let them know he was alive. But even if they did find him…could he go home? The Geth could remain in his head but most of Earth's systems wouldn't be able to handle them and any programs that went with him would be permanently cut off. And there'd be no one on Earth who could help him if he needed medical help.

He just…he just wanted to see them all even if only one last time.

TBC….