When You're Given a Little Robin

Chapter 13: Sick Day

The Next Day

"*cough**cough*!" Dick heaved furiously.

At the moment poor little Dick was lying in his bed with the flu, contracted from his running away in the cold of February and the germs from the dirty vents in the warehouse. He'd gotten it that morning and Dick was miserable, but it had gotten him out of being grounded so it wasn't so bad. Originally Bruce planned to ground him for a week but after seeing the misery of his son and sure he learned his lesson, he figured the poor boy had suffered enough.

"Come on baby say ah, you need to keep up your strength." Bruce said spoon feeding his son some warm chicken noodle soup as he laid sick in bed.

"I'm notta baby daddy." Dick whined hating his infantilization.

"I know baby but your not quite strong enough to feed yourself right now, so daddy's gonna help you out a bit. Now say ahh." Bruce explained, understanding his son's slightly grumpy nature at that point.

Knowing he couldn't fight it Dick obeyed and opened his little mouth for his daddy. From there Dick managed to get a few bites in before he just couldn't eat anymore.

"Good boy, now do you need anything baby?" Bruce said putting aside the cup of soup.

"I'm so thirsty daddy, can I has water please?" Dick asked weakly, his body racked with pain.

"Of course, I'll be right back." Bruce said as he got up and left the room.

As Dick waited, despite his cranky mood he couldn't help but appreciate his daddy's kindness. He'd been so naughty but here he was taking care of him so selflessly and lovingly, he was a very lucky boy. It was then Bruce came back with a glass of water, only it was in a sippy cup.

"Daddy no I can use a big boy glass, no sippy cup." Dick whined now feeling more like a baby.

"I know baby it's just so you can drink your water in your bed without spilling it. It's only temporary and as soon as you get better it's back to big boy glasses." Bruce explained as he sat down and gave his son a sippy cup of water.

Dick accepted it and knew his daddy only did what was best for him so he ceased his complaining and started to drink.

"Take small sips, little bird, you don't want to make yourself more sick." Bruce warned like any concerned parent would.

For a few minutes Dick just drank all the water he could until he felt like he'd had enough. He then had a bit of a coughing fit which Bruce did his best to comfort him through. Once that was over Dick felt sleepy and closed his eyes to rest his aching sick body. For a moment Bruce just watched his son pained by the sight of how hard it was for his son to breathe as he watched his little chest shudder and heave with every breath. But he realized that his watching was only going to worry him more so Bruce gently kissed his son's very warm head and left the room as silently as he could.

"How is the young master faring?" Alfred asked having water close to the door in the case of a need of assistance.

"His fever is still raging but he drank some fluids and ate a few bites of soup so not all is bad." Bruce explained.

"That's a relief, but how is he doing emotionally? Have you talked to him about what happened between you two?" Alfred asked knowing this was a tough but important subject.

"No not yet, I just don't think he's well enough to talk about it yet. Maybe when he gets better we can sit down and talk about it, I wouldn't want to make his condition worse." Bruce said trying to speed past the topic of the past few days.

"Now Master Bruce this is not something you can simply brush under the rug. Do not forget that Master Dick is still just a little boy and he doesn't fully understand everything that goes on or why things happened. You two must discuss what has happened, or it could seriously damage your relationship." Alfred warned.