These Things Happen

Things Will Get Better

Meanwhile outside Wally's room in the med bay Robin and Barry sat on the floor slumped against the wall looking utterly lost in their own thoughts. There had been a tense silence for a while now, and it was eventually broken by Barry as he looked up to the cleaning and said with a sigh, "He really looks up to you ya'know..."

Robin was snapped out of his thoughts with this comment and he stared at the sadden speedster. "Really? I thought he only looked up to you..."

"He does?" the blond man had a very surprised expression on his face as he said so.

"Yeah, a whole lot." The boy wonder cracked a smile "Can't you tell?"

"Well no... Can't you tell he looks up to you? I mean; you're the detective." Barry chuckled and nudged his side jokingly as he made the point.

"I just never though he would."

"He does, trust me" Barry smiled politely.

There was another rather long pause of awkward tense science then Robin laughed randomly, causing Barry to question his laughter with a puzzled look. "I was just thinking about the time he put the bucket of water on the door and Miss M and Artemis walked through it and got soaked! Wally had to hide from them for a week!"

Barry laughed as well "He was lucky there were no missions that week then."

"Yeah, that so wouldn't have been aster!"

Robin and The Flash reminisced for ages, laughing and thinking only of the favourite young red headed hyperactive Wally West as they did so. Eventually the conversation swung round to Wally's farther, making a white rage build up slowly in the acrobat and speedster.

"I never liked him, even when Mary was still alive! There's always been something off about Rudolph... I should have known..." Barry growled, disappointed in himself "I just don't know why someone would do that! And to Wally of all people, he's a good kid."
"I've never known much about him... But I know now that he's a class A ass, and that he's going to be locked up for good." Robin grumbled. "Barry, don't beat yourself up... Wally hid it so well. I mean, like you said, I'm the detective!" The Boy Wonder said with a sad and frustrated smile as he referenced the earlier comment, "Even I didn't see it, I must not be a very good detective; I've missed two things to do with my best friend!" Robin threw and arm in the air to exaggerate then sighed as he brought it back down quickly.

Barry put a hand on Robins shoulder "You're a good detective; you were the one who worked out exactly what Wally had done before anyone else when he pranked Superboy in to thinking that all electronics were evil robots!"

Robin looked up at the older man with a grin as he remembered the mischievous prank. Barry then continued his little speech about The Boy Wonder.

"You're also the one who tricked Batman in to thinking you were dead! That takes skill. But that prank was a little evil though."

Robin snickered "Yeah I did, I got in to so much trouble..." he still felt a little guilty about that prank.

"I think everyone knew that was going to happen." He joked "Besides, no one knew apart from Wally and his good for nothing father."

"Mmm... guess that's 'cause Wally's just Wally. He wears a mask of happiness, I'm glad it's finally breaking and we can help him." Robin mused.

*

Once Batman left the med bay and told Barry and Robin they could see Kid Flash the pair darted in to Wally's room and were at his side in seconds.

Robin was the first to speak out of the three, eager to break the awkward silence between them all "Well looks like a bit of a disaster has happened here... heavy on the dis." He saw Wally crack a smile at his best friend's way of speaking, Robin knew he'd always liked it. "How are you feeling?" Robin continued.

The redhead's smile faded and he lent back in his bed. "I've been better, but then again I've been worse too so I guess that means I'm okay." Wally said trying to sound like his usual happy-go-lucky self, but he wasn't fooling anyone. In fact, because he said he'd been worse Robin and Barry's worries about Wally only grew.

Barry questioned his nephew's last statement "What do you mean you've been worse? How much more?"

"Don't worry Uncle Barry, its nothing..." Wally said rolling his eyes, trying to brush the subject aside.

"Kiddo, it's defiantly not 'nothing'." Wally's uncle sounded a lot more stern than usual "You can always tell me anything" he paused to let the words sink in "Any problem you have I'll solve, I'll rescue you."

"And if anyone ever hurts you we'll make sure they won't even think about doing it ever again!" Robin added to Barry's short speech.

The older blond man took a hold of one of Wally's pail hands and pressed it to his forehead as he looked down with a sigh, Wally and Robin could hear the tears threatening to fall from Barry's eyes. "Wally, I'm so sorry I didn't notice... I just-" Barry's grip tightened significantly on Wally's hand, he brushed away a few stray tears that fell from his eyes as he looked up towards his nephew. "Why didn't you tell me?" Barry asked as guilt for letting Wally go through this washed over him.

The red head looked truly ashamed; he couldn't bear to look at his uncle or best friend.

He felt terrible.

So Wally shifted in bed and turned so he was looking out the window on to the ocean of stars in space, then he mumbled something illegible and quiet.

The Boy Wonder folded his arms across his chest and shook his head "Only Superboy could hear that dude." he said sarcastically as he tried to somewhat lighten the tense atmosphere. It didn't work though.

The sarcasm about Wally's mumble earned the boy wonder a flash of a smirk on Wally's bandaged face (but only a flash, the smile went as soon as it came).

He turned to face them a little. He repeated his mumble so that human ears could actually hear what he had to say. "I'm a hero; I'm supposed to be strong. People don't have to worry about me. I can handle myself" Wally clenched his fists and looked down in self anguish.

There was a short silence as Barry and Robin thought about what the red head had told them.

The wait for their reactions was killing Wally on the inside. Would they yell? Would they understand? Would they be so hurt that he hadn't told them and never speak or look at him again?

Wally heart sank, and he wanted more and more to shrink away in too the floor and not have to deal with this.

"Kid, even heroes need help. That's why you're a part of a team. So please." Barry's voice cracked a bit as emotions rose from the pit of his stomach.

"Don't ever go through something like that alone again. Tell us, please." Robin finished

Wally stared wide eyed at his best friend and uncle before tearing up "Th-thanks guys I-" the words died in his mouth and everything that had happened suddenly caught up with him and his shoulder shook as he openly sobbed.

Barry and robin got up and tightly hugged Wally, lord knows he needed the comfort right now.

Everything seemed calmer and clearer all of a sudden.

Wally was safe.

Rudolph will be serving a life sentence for his heinous crime.

Things could finally be happy, and about as normal as a super heroes life could get.

-Fin-

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