The Last Talon

Chapter Twenty-Eight

'Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes.' Bruce couldn't help but smile as he sank down into the cushion chair that had been placed by Dick's hospital bed.

Dick was sat crossed legged on the bed, he had been listening to music until the older man had walked in. Now that his hearing was less sensitive, he found it bearable to listen to it with headphones, and since he hadn't been allowed to do much else over the last week, it was a way of passing the time during his dialysis.

Wally had placed him on schedule for treatment. Hours and hours of blood cleaning, trying to clear his blood of electrum. But no matter how long or how often they kept him on the machine, there was always a plateau. A limit to how clean his blood would get. It was evident that dialysis alone was not going to cure him, but it gave him a few hours of relief, both from sickness and from being a Talon. And it was working, although slightly tired Dick looked a lot better. If you didn't know him, it would be difficult to know he was sick at all. Jason had the boy under lockdown, controlling everything from what he ate to what he did during the time he wasn't on dialysis. He wasn't taking any chances on Dick accidentally activating his electrum and sending his body into shut down. But anyone could see the once very active teenager was bored out of his skull.

Dick grinned when Bruce handed him a Spearo; the cookie bar that had been his first meal after waking up from the ice had fast become his favourite treat.

'Don't tell Jason...or Annie for that matter.' Bruce chuckled. Dick's eyes sparkled as he accepted the secret between them. His eyes had become a pretty good indicator of how he was feeling. After a session of treatment, his eyes were a collage of gold and green flecks. The more electrum that returned to his blood, the more yellow his eyes became. Right now, they were awash with the two colours, showing it hadn't been long since the tubes were removed.

As Dick sat there nibbling on the chocolate, Bruce noticed the mountain of books on his bedside table.

'You've been busy.' He commented. 'Have you read all of those?'

Dick nodded. 'There isn't much else I'm allowed to do.' He chewed his next bite. 'Raven comes by every few days to bring me more.'

'Oh?' Bruce wasn't aware that the empath was spending time around the mountain, she usually stayed in Jump with the Titans.

'I think Tim asked her to come.' Dick said, clearly noticing the others confused expression. 'If there is anyone who knows how to control fear and panic attacks, it's Rae.'

'Did she help?'

'Well I've managed to go a whole week of dialysis treatment and blood tests without punching Wally in the face again...' he trailed off, folding the wrapper between his fingers.

'You need to get out of this room.' Said Bruce.

'Good luck getting around your son.' Said Dick.

'I've been handling that boy since he was 10 years old, I'll manage.' He stood up and walked out of the room, heading in the direction of the lab where Jason had been spending the majority of his time. He returned about ten minutes later and gave the boy a thumbs up.

'You're kidding me.' Dick threw his legs off the bed and scrambled to standing.

'He doesn't want you leaving the mountain, but he agrees it will be good for you to walk around.' Said Bruce, he wrapped an arm around Dick's shoulders as they walked towards the living area of the Mountain. For the moment, Dick was doing alright so he instead shifted his concern to Jason. His son had been spending every waking moment either at Dick's side or in the lab working on a way to cure the virus. He could understand, he would be a hypocrite if he didn't, but he was still worried that Jason was pushing himself too hard. They didn't need two family members sick.