When a Bird's Wings break

Chapter 3

"Dick... Dick... Dick, open your eyes." I heard Bruce's familiar voice in the back of my mind. I fluttered my eyes open and groaned at the sudden brightness of the sun. "Hey," Bruce said again. "You okay?"

"I think I am now." I stretched my arms above my head and felt the cool air against my bare arms. "Was I out for long?" I asked.

"Only since yesterday, and the team got here this morning. We told them that this happened in of the attacks."

I groaned again. I didn't like the idea of Dick Grayson needing protection... That's when I saw Wally standing impatiently on the balcony. "Wally!"

He turned and smiled at me. "Hey man!" He pointed a finger at me, and walked out of the room. I heard the door click shut. Bruce must have told him to wait outside when I woke up.

"Your lucky it was a three day weekend let me tell you that. You have school tomorrow though, if you're up for it."

"Yeah." I replied as I moved my legs out from under the sheets. My waist was wrapped in bandages. Oh no, they found them...

"Oh, yeah." Bruce said smartly. "You might want to put on a shirt, don't want anyone to see the cuts that you gave yourself!" He rose his voice at the last part and I flinched when he did. He must have noticed, because he took in a shaky breath. "Dick, why do you cut yourself?"

There is no right answer for this. I crossed my arms. "I told you, because no one cares about me I'm not worth it. I might as well treat myself like I don't care." It was a shitty thing to say, I know, but I can't really help it anymore. I truly felt that way. The way that the team had been lately, and the way that Bruce and Alfred had been acting. The worst might have been Black Canary. Ever since that session with her, she has been acting different around me.

"We all care about you Dick." Bruce said to me in that voice, the voice he uses just with me. "Me, Alfred, Wally, the whole team! And most of the Justice League too." He smiled "We all care about you."

I smiled at that, even though it felt selfish. I rubbed my eyes but let my tears flood my face as I gave Bruce a small hug.

"I'm sorry, Bruce." I whispered.

"It's okay, Dick." He whispered back. I let go, and he gave me a smile. "I know I'm not very good at this father thing, but I love you like my son. I don't want you to have to be sorry for anything. Now, let's go down and see the team."

Word Count: 455