Birds of a Feather

pt. 5

"You coming, Tim?" Steph called out, already halfway up the stairs.

"Yeah, just gimme a sec," he replied, walking over to Babs.

"Here," he placed a few floppy disks on the desk.

She raised an eyebrow, "What's this?"

"Steph found these in a drawer back at the warehouse, Two-Face seemed overly protective of them. Could be something important."

She nodded, "Alright, I'll check them out in the morning. Bruce insisted we all get some sleep tonight."

She rolled her wheelchair towards the stairs. Tim walked beside her, as they chatted about whatever two computer nerds would chat about.

Duke and Cass walked behind them, ready to turn in for the night, too.

"You up for a sparring session tomorrow? I heard a new MMA centre opened up downtown," Duke asked Cass.

"Sure, sounds fun," she smiled, "I'm totally gonna beat you."

Duke's laughter echoed through the cave as they made their way up to the manor, leaving Bruce, Jason and Dick alone in the cave.

"Any changes?" Bruce walked over to Jason, who was once again back at Dick's bedside.

Jason had moved the armchair Damian had sat in to Dick's bedside. The wooden chair he had sat on earlier wasn't the most comfortable.

"No, not really," he sighed.

"You should get some sleep, Jason."

His eyes snapped to Bruce's, "Are you kidding me? No. I need to be here when Dick wakes up."

Bruce raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?"

Jason didn't know how to answer that. Because he cared about his brother? Because he felt guilty for leaving?

"It doesn't matter, I'm staying here," he persisted.

"Fine," Bruce relented, "I have a meeting in the morning with Lucius and the board. Don't hesitate to wake me or Alfred up if anything happens."

He turned to leave, and just as he reached the foot of the stairs, he called out, "Goodnight, Jason."

"Night, Bruce."

~

Dick slowly opened his eyes, letting himself feel his surroundings. The soft bed, the smell of antiseptics. He realised he was somewhere with medical care... a hospital maybe?

He stared at the dark and damp ceilings, he recognised the distinguishable smell. Yep, this was the Batcave alright.

Was last night a dream?

The pain from injured torso suddenly surged through his body.

Nope, definitely not.

He turned his head, looking around once more. His gaze fell upon Jason, who was asleep in a slouched position on the armchair next to the bed.

"Little Wing?" he mumbled.

What is he doing here? He asked himself, trying to remember more clearly on what had happened last night.

Dick found himself unable to remember anything after breaking into Jason's apartment. What happened?

He tore the IV needle out of his arm, wincing slightly as he did. He sat up on the bed, groaning at the pressure on his side. He swung his legs to the side of the bed, his toes barely touching the cold floor.