Unbreakable (A Dick Grayson story)

CH 24: Reconciliation

Everything felt hazy, as if his head was wrapped in layers of fluffy cotton, the sounds around him muffled and distorted, his body feeling oddly light and yet heavy at the same time.

Something was missing, and, after a moment of thought, Dick realized that it was pain. He should be in pain. In fact, that was the only thing that he was completely certain of. But the pain was not there.

Slowly, he blinked his eyes open, wincing as the bright light almost immediately made them water. He closed his eyes again. It was so bright.

Why was it so bright?

He could hear someone moving around and then the lights dimmed.

With a sigh of relief, Dick blinked his eyes open once more, reaching up to rub at them, only to note that his hand was bandaged, the material so vibrantly white that it took him aback for a moment. Something was not right about this situation.

It just... it just did not fit.

As his senses became more alert, Dick registered the fact that there was a man in the room, standing by the door and what he could only presume was a light switch.

He knew that man.

"B-Bruce?" His voice cracked, hacking coughs proceeding the question as pain flared in his throat. "Ow..."

Water.

He needed water.

Fortunately for Dick, Bruce seemed to know exactly what he needed, stepping to his bedside picking up a cup of water, sliding a hand under Dick's head in support as he helped him drink. "Shh... just drink this. You've got some damage to your vocal cords... it's probably going to be hard to talk for a while."

Dick gulped the water down as quickly as Bruce would let him, ignoring the way that it made his stomach cramp uncomfortably. It felt so good, the cool liquid soothing the ache in his throat.

As Bruce pulled the cup back, Dick gave him a weary smile. "Thanks..."

Bruce returned the smile, running a gentle hand through Dick's hair, the touch surprisingly comforting. "Of course."

Silence filled the room, but Dick found that it was not uncomfortable. No, if anything, the silence was comforting. He was still trying to piece together his memories, trying to make sense of the vague memories of pain in conjunction with his obvious injuries and his presence in what was clearly some kind of hospital room.

The memories were filtering in slowly, from the fight with Slade to the hours of prolonged torture. Not that the torture was unexpected. He had known that the torture was incoming as soon as he believed Bruce was telling him the truth.

"Jason... is Jason okay?" He asked, remembering all too vividly how Slade's blade had plunged into the other male's chest; how he had lay bleeding out onto the floor.

"Jason is fine. I followed your destress signals and got there in time. He's recovering at the manor."

"Good... that's... that's good." Dick let out a breath that he was not even aware of holding in, body relaxing back onto the bed. He would have hated for Jason to be seriously injured because of him.

At least the distress signal had worked.

However, now the issue of Jason was out of the way, Dick's mind went straight to the next most urgent thought. "Did... did I dream the building collapsing, or did... or did that really happen?"

Bruce frowned, looking away with a soft sigh. "I'm sorry, Dick... I sent Wally back in to try and get him out, but it was too late at that point. Slade is dead."