Everyday Hero

Say Something

It had been nearly three months since Dick had woken up, and in that time physical therapy has been progressing well.

That is, his legs are starting to regain strength.

It's just... he still can't move them.

Everyone says it will take time...

But none are voicing another very possible outcome.

That he'll never walk again.

But that's not the only thing on his mind.

Dick's eyes were glued to the TV on the wall, listening intently to each word spoken and reading the captions and subtitles.

It wasn't anything important, but he was repeating each word in his mind.

Trying to voice it out loud.

He knew how to talk, obviously, as he was still able to speak his native language.

And he still understood English. He just... couldn't get any of it out.

He's been doing this for days, only vaguely explaining to Bruce what he's trying to do.

Other than that, he hasn't spoken again.

The doctors and nurses themselves are stumped. And that's never a good thing.

They knew how to help with his legs, with physical therapy of course.

But his voice... it was still strong. His vocal chords are just fine.

His brain was just blocking out English. At least in how to say it.

James suspects that was caused from his head injury, the only problem is no one knows how to help it.

The hope is, is that it's just temporary.

Dick's eyes briefly glance over towards the door as Bruce and Tim walked in, eyes focusing back on the TV, briefly acknowledging their presence with a nod.

His eyes narrowed in concentration, fists clenching at his sides.

His head was starting to hurt again. But he couldn't stop now.

"Do you need anything Dick?"

Or maybe he could.

Dick sighed, honestly a little irritated, before facing Bruce.

His mouth opened briefly before closing again, his face settling into a scowl, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

Yes, there were many things he needed at the moment. Kinda like not being stuck in this stupid hospital bed, being useless and worthless to his family, and also not losing his mind to boredom would be fantastic!

Ahem...

The past few weeks he's gotten... a little snappy towards others.

He doesn't like it, but he also can't help it.

His frustration is growing and he has absolutely no outlet.

He just wanted to be free again. He wanted to be able to fly once more.

He turned away from his family. Eyes screwing shut.

Even if he's able to walk again, how could he possibly be able to do any of the acrobatic feats that were once a part of him?

His eyes opened once again. He has a better chance of being able to speak English again.

Speaking of which...

Hoarse, gurgling sounds came from his throat, as with every time he's attempted vocalization aside from his native language or sounds of discomfort.

"Do you need a nurse?"

Dick's head swiveled back to Bruce, eyes glaring at him.

"Dick, you need to tell us what you need."

I'm working on that!

No, no use getting worked up.

He needed to calm down and breathe through it.

He could do this. He's learned how to speak English before!

Granted, he technically still knows it but... ah whatever.

Thinking about it just causes his head to spin.

That's right... he's done it before.

And how did he do it then?

He started out slow and steady. Simple words.

And before he spoke, his mother always encouraged him to mouth the words first.

What's one of the first words he learned?

Dick looked up to the clock on the wall, watching the time tick by.

Time... Mom always said time was one of the most important ones to know. To be able to ask what time to be somewhere... like a performance.

He furrowed his brows before opening his mouth, his lips trying to form the word but no vocalization yet.

He just focused on the clock and what form his mouth was taking.

He heard Bruce and Tim talking to each other, seemingly unaware of what he was trying to do.

Fine. He needed to block them out anyway.

His eyes stayed locked on the clock, counting off three minutes in his head as his lips practiced forming the word.

Finally, after the fourth moment he tried a small, rough whisper.

"T-t... ime..."

Dick's eyes narrowed at the clock, he could do this.

He's done it before, it wasn't so hard. Okay well, that's a lie.

It was. But it's not like he's relearning it entirely.

He was just trying to... remember.

Somewhere in his brain is his ability to speak this language, it's just been locked up by the trauma.

He had to find a way to unlock it.

His lips twitched before he tried again, attempting to raise his volume just a bit to form nothing more than a hoarse croak.

"... ti--"

He choked slightly, coughing to clear his throat.

Bruce's head turned towards him, eyebrows raised while Tim hadn't noticed just yet, eyes glued to his phone, an irritated look on his face as he seemed to be texting someone.

"... time..."

Bruce's eyebrows shot up, eyes widening.

Tim however, oblivious, glanced at his watch.

"It's 5:24 right now Di--"

Tim dropped his phone, his head shooting up and stared at Dick.

"Dick, did you just..."

Dick himself was looking back at them, the tension gone from his face for the first time in weeks.

Instead, a large grin had spread across his face.

He swallowed before taking in a large gulp of air.

"H-hello..."