GSOG Chapter 27

After a lot of pleading and deal making with Bruce, Dick was given permission to stay at Wally's house, they'd be going to Mount Justice in the morning anyway, might as well go together! Come the 15th, they spend the whole day together and with their team. There's no mission, but they enjoy each other's company regardless, Team building is important! Come that evening, Dick asks Bruce once more if he can stay at Wally's, since it's Saturday night, he'll come home Sunday! Bruce allows it again, knowing they're trying to heal what was damaged and strengthen their bond.

Come morning time on Sunday, or more precisely almost nine in the morning, Dick and Wally head downstairs for breakfast, seeing a bunch of waffles have been made, with some fried chicken to go with it.

"Chicken and waffles!" Wally shouts excitedly. Dick's eyes light up.

"Dig in, boys!" Mary West offers, smiling widely.

"Thank you, Mrs. West!" Dick says, being polite.

"You can call me Mary, you know." Mary reminds.

"Oh, right, uh, thanks, um… M-Mary." He says softly, blushing from mild embarrassment due to his stutter.

"Anytime, sweetie." She says, still just as happy. Wally's already gotten a big plate of waffles and chicken, having made a chicken and waffles sandwich. Dick takes just one waffle and two pieces of chicken, pouring some syrup on it and takes it to the table. Rudy has the tv on, watching the news. While they eat, a familiar name catches Dick's ear and he looks at the TV, seeing a familiar photo of a woman with red hair and blue eyes.

"-passed away this morning in Qurac." The reporter starts. "Her vehicle was found upturned in a pond by her son Garfield, age eight. He is now under the care of his Godmother and Marie's former Co-star Rita Farr." Both Dick and Wally look at each other, wide eyed, mouths gapping. They both climb out of their chairs and run upstairs to get their things before running out the door. Mary and Rudy look at each other puzzled. Both boys run to the closest Zeta-teleporter and go to the Cave. There, they find what Dick expected… M'gann is on the floor of the Mission room, sobbing. Conner is at her side, hugging and comforting her.

"We just saw the news!" Dick shouts.

"She's really…?" Wally trails off. All they get in response is M'gann's sobs. Artemis and Zatanna look over at the boys questioningly, concerned. Dick steps over, kneeling down beside M'gann and places a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Megan…" Dick says softly.

"So… How does Megan knows this Marie?" Artemis asks softly.

"Remember how me, Rob, Megan and Conner went to Qurac to figure out what was going on there?" Wally asks, stepping closer.

"Yea? And Queen Bee tried to blackmail M'gann." Artemis recalls. Wally nods, then sighs.

"Well…" He starts, then trails off, sighing again. "We met Marie Logan and her son Garfield, we helped save them after the Bialyans caused a stampede, we decided to stay and help. Come to find out that the human form Megan takes is from a show she watched back on Mars, called Hello Megan." He explains. "Marie Logan played Megan, who M'gann idolized and it helped her through childhood. We know other Martians weren't kind to her…" He gestures to M'gann, who is now hugging Dick, he's hugging her back. "And after saving Garfield's life, Marie called Megan family. She may as well have lost her mother today…"

"Oh…" Artemis mumbles. "Oh no…"

"What's going to happen with Garfield…?" Zatanna asks.

"The news said something about him staying with his Godmother, but it might be good to reach out." Wally mentions. "Who knows what that kid's going through…" He glances at Dick, then back to Artemis and Zatanna. "We should at least let him know we're here for him." Zatanna nods and goes to the computer, trying to see if she can find a way to contact Rita. This would be easier for Robin to do…

"It's hard to believe she would just drive off a cliff for no reason…" Artemis mentions. Dick separates from Megan once she's calmed down more, but Conner continues to hold her. He looks at Artemis, gestures to step away from Megan, so as to not upset her more. She, Dick and Wally step away.

"I don't believe for a second that she did it of her own volition." Dick whispers. "She wasn't a risk taker either, so she wouldn't have driven the car if it had bad breaks."

"What do you think happened?" Artemis asks.

"I think Queen Bee happened…" Dick states. "She has a vendetta against M'gann in particular, knows Marie was important to her and M'gann turned against her."

"It'll be kind of hard to prove she was responsible…" Wally points out.

"I know… Unfortunately, M'gann and Garfield might never get justice…" Dick mentions. He looks at M'gann for a moment, sorrow in his eyes for her, and for the boy who now lost everything he knew… Wally takes his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I agree though, we reach out to Garfield, make sure he's doing ok."

"Dick…" Artemis starts. "You said you lost your family… Can… Will you tell us how…?"

"It's… a long story… And I'm not the main character of the day, M'gann and Garfield should be the primary focus." Dick says. He steps over to Zatanna, placing a hand on her shoulder. She steps aside and lets him type. Artemis looks at Wally, the normally obnoxious, high energy teen is somber and melancholy… He shifts his gaze from Dick to M'gann, back to Dick.

"You know, right?" Artemis asks. "You knew who he was before all of us…"

"I do know, but it's not my place. And I'd advise you don't push the issue. He'll talk when he's ready. And like he said, today isn't about him." Wally says, his tone is firm, serious. The archer didn't expect him to have a serious bone in his body, except when he was mad or disappointed. He steps over to Dick, placing an arm around him, kissing the side of his head while he works.

"Ok. Looks like Rita had flown to Qurac shortly after receiving a call from Garfield about the incident. It didn't take long for her to arrive as she flew a private jet. Doesn't look like they've taken off for America yet." Dick says, taking on his more Robin role as he explains. "They're probably working on all the arrangements… It… takes time for courts to allow a child into an unrelated person's care… But at least she's his godmother, which should help things." He shuts off the computer. "We should go to Qurac. Miss Martian, do you think you can fly?" She shakes her head. "That's ok, Artemis or I can fly the Bioship." Dick looks over at Artemis.

"Yea, I can do that." Artemis says.

"We should get dressed, a bunch of random American civilians arriving out of nowhere wouldn't look right."

"Allow me." Zatanna says. "Egnahc sehtolc otni ruo smrofinu." She casts. Robin looks at his hands, seeing his gloves, feels the familiar sensation of his mask on his face.

"Rob, be careful, ok? You're not wearing your cast anymore." Kid Flash mentions.

"Oh, whoops…" Zatanna mumbles, realizing she made a mistake.

"Not a big deal." Robin says. He flexes his right hand, wincing a bit as it's still in pain, but he doesn't plan on doing any fighting. Even Artemis is now in her uniform. Superboy helps Miss Martian to her feet and helps guide her to the hanger that has the Bioship. Artemis takes the controls while the others take a seat.

"Oh, how'd your date go last night?" Artemis asks, trying to lighten the mood. Robin turns to her, smiling widely.

"It was fantastic! We saw Tangled, and then ate really greasy delicious burgers and then took a walk in the park. We also split a giant cookie with large scoops of ice cream." Robin explains, the broadness of his smile was enough to make Artemis's cheeks hurt, and she wasn't even smiling that much. Kid blushes somewhat, but then speaks up.

"I can tie a cherry stem in a knot faster than he can." He boasts, smiling playfully. Robin's smile drops and he pouts again, crossing his arms like a petulant child. Artemis laughs.

"You two are dorks!" She teases.

"He's a bigger dork…" Robin mumbles.

"He's a little salty cuz I'm better at something than him." Kid says, smirking, he moves forward a bit. "But you fail to realize you get to enjoy me more…" He whispers in his ear, then kisses just below his jaw, both of which cause the younger teen to blush. Robin immediately covers his lower face to hide his rosy cheeks. It makes the Speedster giggle and turn back around. Robin also turns, looking out the window.

It feels like several hours go by before they arrive at the Sanctuary, at the house. Artemis lands the Bioship. M'gann and Conner leave first, going to the door. The others hang back, letting them be greeted. A woman answers the door, long black hair, she sees M'gann, eyes grow wide.

"Who are you…?" She questions. "What are you doing here?" Garfield comes to the door as well, curious. He sees Megan and starts crying, going to her immediately. She too starts crying again, hugging him back.

"I'm so sorry, Garfield…" M'gann says softly. He sniffles, sobbing continuously, not saying a word. "It's all my fault…" Garfield looks up at her.

"No! No it's not!" He shouts, hiccupping. "Please, sissy, don't blame yourself…" Another sob escapes his throat. M'gann kneels down, hugging him easier. Rita looks at the others, she recognizes Kid Flash and Robin, then looks back down at Garfield.

"I take it… You all knew Marie…?" She asks.

"Kind of…" Robin says.

"It's a long story…" Kid Flash also answers. Rita nods, she steps back, allowing them inside the house.

"Come inside…" She offers. M'gann lets Garfield go so they can go inside, the others follow and Rita shuts the door. "I apologize for the mess, we've been… trying to sort things out." She says, straightening up Garfield's hair.

"Do you need help with anything?" Robin asks.

"More boxes?" Rita asks.

"On it… KF?" Robin asks. Kid Flash nods and the two go back outside, going back to the Bioship. Robin takes the controls as he's more experienced with it than Kid. They take off in the air.

"Are you holding up ok? I know this hits close to home…" Kid asks.

"I'm fine… I have to be…" Robin says. "I just hope Gar will be ok… To be so young… Losing everything…?" He trails off. "That can really mess up a kid… I mean, look what it did to Batman…"

"The difference between Batman and Garfield, Batman only really had Alfred to help him through it all. And while Alfred is amazing, Garfield will have so many others to take care of him." Wally starts to explain. "It may never be the same as when he had his mom, I don't know what I'd do if I lost my mom, or my dad for that matter, but I know I'd have all the support in the world, because of my Team, because of you. We'll do everything we can for that kid. We're heroes, and we're his friends, it's what we do." Robin smiles softly, kind of wishing he had Wally when he was in his darkest days, but he's glad to have him now.

They get to a shop that sells the boxes they need, Robin buys a lot, as well as packing tape, packing paper, cellophane wrap, and bubble wrap, plus a couple pairs of scissors and markers. As they head back, Robin hears a familiar voice in his comm.

"Robin, where are you?" Batman asks.

"Uh, Qurac…" Robin answers. Wally looks over curiously, seeing Robin's hand by his ear.

"Why?" Batman questions.

"We're here to help Miss Martian, she lost someone important, we're trying to be there for her." Robin explains.

"Next time, you clear it with me." The Bat's firm tone makes Robin wince a bit. "I had no idea where you were! In light of recent events, I would like to be informed when you take an impromptu road trip, even if it's with members of the Team."

"Yes, sir…" Robin says softly.

"We are clear on that, yes?" Batman asks, or more or less is demanding an answer.

"Crystal clear, Batman. I'm so-" Robin tries to apologize.

"No apologies, just don't do it again." Batman warns. Robin sighs.

"Yes, sir." Robin states. The comm makes a click as it disconnects. Robin closes his eyes, sighing through his nose.

"Daddy Bats at it again?" Wally asks. Robin opens his eyes, looking at his soulmate.

"Yea… I get why he's so protective, well… More than usual… But… It can be a little… too whelming…" Robin explains.

"He'll calm down after a while, right?" Wally asks.

"If things could stop happening to me." Robin comments. "But even then, probably not." They arrive back at the house and bring the boxes in, as well as the other supplies.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting all this." Rita comments as they bring in everything.

"Best to be prepared." Robin states. "Where is all this going?"

"I paid for a storage unit back in America, it's going to stay there until Garfield's old enough to live on his own. He can decide what to keep then." Rita explains. Robin nods, having just been curious really.

"Do you need help packing?" Zatanna asks. "I know magic, I can help pack faster. M'gann can use telepathy."

"If you want to help, sure, but please be careful, there are rather fragile things." Rita explains.

"We'll be careful." Robin assures.

The Team helps in packing up everything, carrying boxes and furniture out. There's a moving truck that's arrived and it will take everything to a cargo plane. The Team packs it up, M'gann uses her telepathy to move the heavier stuff. Her face is blank as she works. Garfield is sitting on the front deck, looking out to the partially cloudy sky, the sun is setting. Robin comes up beside him, sitting down.

"I'm sorry for what happened…" Robin says softly. "I know sorry doesn't fix it… And… you're probably angry, and sad, and feeling all sorts of emotion all at once…" Garfield nods a bit, curling in, shoulders shaking. Robin places a hand on his shoulder. "I lost my parents too. I won't go into detail, but I know what it's like to have everything and then nothing in a matter of seconds… If you need anything, we're here. You're not alone, Garfield. I promise." Garfield looks up at him, tears in his eyes. He hugs him, allowing the tears fall. Robin hugs him back, holding him tight, letting him cry it all out. "We failed him… We couldn't keep him and his mother safe… Now he has to pay the price…"

"How is he…?" Kid asks, walking over, sitting beside them. By then, Garfield exhausted himself with his sobs and fell asleep in Robin's arms.

"Traumatized… Broken… Distraught…" Robin lists off, he sighs again. "We failed him, KF… We couldn't keep him safe from this…"

"Dude, you better not be blaming yourself." Wally warns. "No matter what happened, if we didn't save them when we did, they would have been trampled. Queen Bee is the one who retaliated against Miss Martian. She's the one to blame. There may be nothing we can do about it now, all we can do is help keep him moving forward. But he's going to be ok, maybe never the same, but ok. We'll make sure of that." Robin nods a bit, agreeing. Kid leans over, planting a kiss on his cheek. "You're adorable with kids by the way."

"Heh, thanks…" Robin mumbles. Wally rests his arms on one of the beams of the fence.

"So… It's… Probably way too early to talk about this, but… Do you… ever want kids?" Wally asks. Robin shrugs a bit.

"Maybe. I don't really think about it. I just turned fourteen not that long ago. I have a lot of time to figure that out. But… if um… if you wanted kids… We'd probably have to adopt or something, but that shouldn't be an issue, right?"

"Of course not. And yea, I think I wanna have kids, but not for a good long while. I only just turned sixteen." Wally comments. Artemis comes up to them.

"The truck is all packed. Are we ready to go?" She asks. Robin and Kid look up at her, Robin looks back down at Garfield, not wanting to disturb him, but it is getting really late. They should get back before Batman blows a gasket. Robin nods and gently shakes the little one until his eyes open. He looks up.

"We need to get going, you probably should too." Robin says. Garfield nods and Robin helps him to his feet. Robin pulls a small watch out of his pocket. "Here, this is one of my old watches, I already reprogrammed it, it'll allow you to contact us at any time, so if you need anything, don't hesitate to reach out, ok?" He holds the watch out to him. Garfield looks at it in his hands, then looks up at Robin, hugging him again.

"Thanks…" Garfield says softly. Robin hugs him back, rubbing his back a little. They eventually separate, Robin helps him get the watch around his wrist. It is a little loose, but not a lot. They all get going, heading up to the bioship, Garfield leaving with Rita. This time, Miss Martian is piloting the Bioship, having gotten a grip of herself again.

"I'm glad we came." M'gann says. "I just… Hope Garfield will be ok…"

"He will be." Robin says. "Despite being small, kids can be very strong, stronger than adults at times. Stronger than they're usually given credit for." He mentions, smiling a little.

Several hours go by before they're back at the Cave. Batman is there, waiting. Robin's shoulders shrink up a bit, concerned that Batman's still mad.

"Robin." Batman starts. "Home. Now." Robin nods. Kid grabs his hand, pulling him in for a kiss before letting him go. Robin smiles at him then turns, following Batman out of the Cave, through the Zeta Tube and to the Batcave. Immediately, Batman embraces him. "You scared me… Noon came and you were nowhere to be seen…"

"I'm sorry… I forgot to tell you. It was kind of an impromptu visit… We wanted to make sure Garfield was ok." Robin explains. Batman sighs, stepping back, letting him go.

"Next time, you tell me. Even if it's not asking permission, at least letting me know where you're going." Batman says. Robin nods a bit. They go to undress and redress in civilian-wear, but then Robin remembers, Zatanna used magic to change them into their uniforms. He has to head back to The Cave to get his clothes back. He enters the Cave again, looking around for Zatanna. He heads into the main living area, M'gann is currently working on food, Conner is helping her. Artemis, Zatanna, and Wally are talking on the couches.

"-that's why I'm worried." He hears Artemis say. Why is Artemis worried…?

"I trust he knows what he's doing, but… I don't like it either. I haven't met Slade yet, but, he doesn't seem good." Wally agrees. "Dick can handle himself well, obviously. He kicks ass! But… that won't make this fear go away…" Robin steps up quietly, his footsteps completely non-existent. "I love him so much and the thought of anyone hurting him, it makes my blood boil. He's everything to me…"

"I love you too." Robin says. Wally yelps in surprise and turns so quickly, falling off the couch, it causes Artemis, Robin and Zatanna to laugh.

"Dude!" Wally shouts.

"What're you doing back here?" Artemis asks.

"I kind of need my clothes back…" Robin says.

"Oh, whoops… Sorry." Zatanna apologizes. She stands up, lifting her hands. "Nruter rieht sehtolc!" She casts. They're surrounded by the magical energy and they're back in the outfits they were wearing. Dick grabs the necklace that's around his neck, smiling, glad to have it back. He looks up at her.

"Thanks, Zee." Dick says softly.

"That necklace, is that Lapis Lazuli?" Zatanna asks.

"Yep! And Wally has the other half, which is Tiger's Eye." Dick says excitedly. Wally gets up, showing his half of the necklace.

"That's a very good combination!" Zatanna says. "Some believe these stones have power and those two meld well together, Lapis is self-expression, wisdom, truth. Tiger's Eye is courage, willpower, and grounding. Together it's believe they help promote communication, self-confidence, help with achieving goals." Dick and Wally look over at each other, and smile.

"That's a nice thought, but they are just rocks." Wally says, smirking a bit. Artemis's eyes narrow at him. Dick bites his lip a bit, trying not to laugh at Artemis's expense.

"But you know magic exists! You acknowledge it!" She argues.

"Did I ever say that I did?" Wally states.

"Ladies, you're both beautiful. Cut it out." Dick states, repeating what Artemis once said word for word.

"I'm drop dead gorgeous, thank you!" Wally states.

"I thought Dick was the pretty one." Artemis teases. Wally blushes madly, looking at Dick, seeing him with the flowers clipped to his ear. Dick rubs the back of his head, blushing a bit himself when Wally looks at him.

"He is very pretty." Zatanna states. Wally is next to Dick in seconds, wrapping his arms around him protectively. Dick blushes even more.

"Get a room you two." Artemis states.

"Shall we get a room?" Wally asks, smiling a bit playfully. Dick relaxes, the blush settling and he looks at Wally.

"Sadly, I don't have the time, Batman will be here any minute to get me. So…" He trails off, leaning in and kissing him. Wally wraps his arm around his waist to pull him closer to his body. Then they separate. "That'll have to do… I'll… I'll see ya when I see ya, love." He pulls away.

"See you soon, babe." Wally farewells, watching longingly as Dick walks away. He smiles softly, feeling that same dreamy feeling he always does when he gets to kiss the fellow hero.