The Last Talon

Chapter Twenty Five

It was one of those rare mornings where the whole family was sat together having breakfast. Jason, Bruce and Damian were sat at the kitchen table, Annie was sipping tea whilst leant against the counter and Tim was filling up his third mug of coffee from the coffee machine. When Dick came through the door, Jason raised his hands above his head.

'He has arisen!'

It had been three days since Batman and Nightwing had fought Derek Powers and Dick had been in bed sleeping since. Despite this, he looked too tired to deal with Jason's jokes. He was wearing pjs and an oversized hoodie. His hair was sticking out at an odd angle and there were shadows under his eyes.

'You look like you need this more than I do.' Said Tim, handing him a mug of coffee.

'Don't get him hooked on that stuff.' Said Annie.

Tim chuckled, 'Who do you think got me hooked in the first place.'

Annie rolled her eyes. 'Don't tell me you were a workaholic too.' The times since she had started living here that she had had to force Tim to stop working or found him asleep at his desk.

'No, I was an insomniac.' Said Dick, his voice husky. 'I had constant night terrors.'

'At least that's something you overcame.' Said Jason, he knew for a fact Dick had been sleeping since he came back to live in the manor.

'Funnily enough night terrors don't bother you as much when your waking life is more of a nightmare.' Dick sipped the coffee and relaxed into a chair.

'Well you're back on your feet, so I'm hoping your electrum is building again. Do you feel stronger?' asked Damian.

'It's getting better.' Said Dick, clicking his neck. 'Slowly.'

'You'd probably heal faster in hibernation.' Damian commented, shrugging when Dick glared at him.

'Do you feel up to coming out with me today?' asked Bruce.

'Where are we going?' asked Dick, looking at Bruce with tired eyes.

'It's a surprise.' He said. 'A good one.' He added when Dick looked suspicious.

'I'll go get ready.' He said, swallowing the rest of the coffee before standing up and slowly making his way to the door.

'We should all get going.' Said Tim, 'Annie, will you be alright on your own today?'

'She won't be on her own, I'm working from home today.' Said Jason.

Tim shrugged and he, Bruce and Damian stood and left.

'You've been working from home a lot recently.' Said Annie.

'I'm trying to centre my business around Gotham. It will be more stable for Dick if I don't have to travel as much.' Jason had given himself a few months to get his life back on track, letting the business run itself more or less. But now that he was picking up more caseloads again, he wanted to stay at home as much as possible.

'Besides,' he continued, 'Means I can keep an eye on you.'

'I'm fine Jason.' It was true, she had recovered almost completely after the shooting.

She began tidying up the things from the table, taking them to the sink. Jason helped her, and as he placed the plates on the counter, he accidently cornered her between his arms and the counter. She turned and bumped into him awkwardly.

'Sorry,' she whispered but he didn't move. They hadn't spent all that much time together before Dick had arrived. But since he had been under their care, they had often found themselves in each other's company and the more confident Dick became with the world, the more time they spent alone. Jason could honestly say he didn't know where he would be without this woman.