~ Robin's P.O.V ~
Before I had gotten too far from the meeting room, Dick had followed me into the hallway, his dark eyes narrowed with concern.
"I'm not going to stop you from going out there, but let me at least send Jared and Jason with you. Three people working together are better than just one, okay?" Dick began in a reasonable tone, "They're waiting outside the cave." I nodded with an impatient huff of annoyance then turned to walk away but he put a hand on my shoulder and turned me around to face him.
"No unnecessary risks," he stated, our gazes locking, "I know you're scared for Addison, but don't try anything reckless." He lets go of my shoulder and turns away, heading back toward the meeting room where Deanne is. I narrowed my eyes and strode out of the cave, meeting up with Jared and Jason, as instructed.
"So who's this Zedd guy? Any reason why he would kidnap Aria and Addison?" Jason is quick to demand as we headed off while I'm fast at work on my holographic computer insetted on my right glove.
In the time that it had taken me to get outside, I'd already downloaded Zedd's files and now I was steadily skimming through them.
"I still don't understand why I'm not back in the cave, protecting my girlfriend and unborn child," Jared spoke up gruffly, his hazel gaze fixed on the clouded sky overhead.
"I'm guessing it's because Zedd is your brother, and the reason why Zedd kidnapped Addison is clear. She's his ex and he's obsessed with her. She ran away from him but clearly he kept tabs on her for years... As for Aria, I'm guessing she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, like always." I stated simply, leading the way now as I began tracking Addison's last communicator transmission signal.
"What the fuck is Zedd thinking, doing something this risky? What an idiot!" Jared was seething, running his hands through his hair, "What got into him? I haven't seen him in years and this is what he's doing with his life?"
"I'm not surprised, considering you're a pretty big convict yourself," I replied blatantly with a shrug. Jason smirked, chuckling under his breath.
"My business is none of your concern, Drake," Jared snapped, hazel eyes flashing with irritation, "At least I'm not stealing women off the streets,"
"Killing people is just as bad, dumbass," Jason pointed out, his tone disinterested as he peers over my shoulder at Zedd's files.
"Can we just shut up? We'd be able to find Addison and Aria faster if nobody spoke." I finally snapped, turning to fix Jared with a sharp stare.
He returns my stare unflinchingly and nods, "Fair enough. Lead the way, Robin," he grumbles defeatedly.
***
~ De's P.O.V ~
"Do you think Aria and Addison are okay?" I asked Dick as we checked the location of both rescue teams before leaving the room. Dick runs a hand through his hair for a moment before answering.
"I don't know, but if we don't find them soon, I'm not sure what will happen..." he murmured softly as I leaned against him, slipping my right hand into his left and squeezing it reassuringly. He glances down at our hands and smiles softly, kissing my cheek gently as we approach the infirmary.
"We'll find them," I murmured reassuringly, mostly to myself as he opens the infirmary door to reveal a whimpering Bella clutching onto an exhausted looking Wolf.
"Hey, Bells," Dick greets his daughter softly, approaching the infirmary bed as Bella hides her face in Wolf's neck fur, "What's wrong, baby?" He inquires gently, reaching out a hand and gently moving her hair out of her face as she looks up at him.
"I- I had a nightmare and I was all alone in this scary room..." she whimpers shakily as Dick brings her into a reassuring hug.
"Aww, but Wolf protected you, didn't he?" He murmured softly, gently running his fingers through her long black hair. She nods, her bottom lip quivering as she looks at the snowy white wolf who's now getting up and leaving the room, grunting with exhaustion.
I give him a parting pet on the head as he departs from the room before I turn back to Dick and Bella who are talking about the nightmare she had.
"It was such a scary nightmare... it felt so real and I was so scared..." Bella was saying as Dick allows her to lay back down on the mattress once more. Dick nods understandably, his blue eyes soft and loving as he listens to his daughter.
"Nightmares can be really really scary," Dick agreed, "I used to have some really bad ones when I was your age... I still have them every now and then. But I know they're not real and that they can't hurt me. Do you want to know how I know they can't hurt me?" He asked gently. She nods, her bright blue eyes wide and curious as she gets back under the clean white sheets of the infirmary bed.
"Is it because you're a superhero? I wanna be a superhero just like you and De," she suggests, her eyes gleaming. Dick shakes his head with a light chuckle.
"I know they can't hurt me because I'm always able to wake myself up. And when I wake up from the nightmares, the things in the dream aren't in my room. Nightmares can't hurt you, Bells, because they're just figments of your imagination," he explains, stroking her face gently. Bella doesn't seem too convinced but she nods quietly, relaxing under the blankets.
"Will you sing me a lullaby?" She suddenly asked as Dick moved to get off the infirmary bed. I smiled gently as Dick blinked at her request and glanced over at me. I nod at him meaningfully, glad to see that Bella didn't seem so afraid of Dick anymore.
He coughs, looking back at Bella who's still staring at him with those pretty blue eyes of hers.
"Alright, I'll sing you a lullaby, Bells," He chuckles softly, placing a hand on one of hers, "if that will help you sleep better,"
"It will, mommy and Jared always sang me to sleep before... before we came here. It always helped me sleep better." Bella replies with a contented smile on her face as she closes her eyes.
Dick smiles gently then glances toward the window thoughtfully, as if thinking of what song to sing.
"Mommy sings lots of different songs, but I don't want a song from mommy, I want you to sing one. I've never heard you sing before." She says quietly, opening one eye to peek at him playfully, making a giggle escape my lips as I sit in the chair next to Bella's infirmary bed. He chuckles in amusement.
"Okay, okay, I'm thinking of one, just give me a minute," he cackles gently, then is silent for just a few moments more before he clears his throat one last time.
"When you wish upon a star..." He begins in a soft voice I've never heard him use before, "Makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you..." he continues, pushing Bella's hair out of her face once more, causing her to giggle softly which brings a smirk to his lips, "If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme when you wish upon a star as dreamers do... Fate is kind, she brings to those who love the sweet fulfillment of their secret longing," he looks up at me, our gazes meeting and he smiles before continuing as Bella lets out a faint hum in unison to his singing, "Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you through. When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true..." As he finishes the song, I glance at Bella to see that she fell asleep. I smile affectionately and catch Dick's eye as he kisses her forehead carefully and gets up, walking toward me. We quietly leave the infirmary as Wolf meets us in the doorway. He gives us a quiet parting -woof- as we walk past him.
"You're perfect," I suddenly found myself saying as we make our way to the meeting room once more.
"What makes you say that?" Dick chuckles gently, his dark blue eyes warm with affection as he glances at me.
"Just everything you've done lately," I shyly murmur, glancing down at my feet as I blush, "You're the perfect sibling, always looking out for your sisters, the perfect boyfriend because you're always trying to do what's best for me, the perfect leader because of how brave and capable you are, and the perfect father because you just proved it to me while you were speaking to your daughter just now... you're perfect and I don't know what I did to deserve you."
Dick turns to me and brings me into a loving embrace, careful not to hug me too tightly, "I'm far from perfect, De... And you've done nothing but been yourself which is what I love most about you," he murmurs gently into my ear before kissing my lips softly.
"Did I mention that you have the singing voice of a god?" I giggle softly as he pulls away slightly. He cackles in amusement, his dark blue gaze sparkling as he runs a hand through his messy jet black hair.
"Okay, now you're just flattering me," he chuckles, a soft blush dusting his cheeks as we entered the meeting room and approached the main computer.
"I'm not, I mean what I said," I replied meaningfully as he pulls up the locations of the rescue teams, "But I'm also just really grateful to be with you. I'm glad I'm having this child with you..." I smile lovingly at him and kiss his cheek. He smiles warmly at me, turning away from the computer and pulling me into his arms.
"I promise I'll be the best father for our baby," he swears, resting his forehead against mine as he places a gentle hand on my stomach.
"I know you will," I whispered, Eskimo kissing him and earning a soft chuckle in reply.
"Do you think it'll be a boy or a girl?" He murmurs curiously, leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to my belly before straightening up and smiling at me once more.
"I'm hoping for a girl," I giggle, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing his lips gently. He smirks deviously.
"What if it's a boy?~" he chuckles softly, kissing my lips in reply. I smirk back at him.
"Then we'll just have to deal with it~ though girls are better~" I teasingly chirp, earning a hearty laugh from Dick as he pulls me close.
"Sure they are," he laughs softly but before he can say more, his phone beeps and he pulls it out to see a pending face time call from Tim. We exchange glances before he answers.
"Tim, everything okay?" Dick asks curiously, "Did you find-"
"We found Zedd's hideout, but no sign of Wally. I think he went inside without any warning," Tim interrupted Dick, glancing over his shoulder, "We're about to do a perimeter check before entering, but we know Aria and Addison are inside and they're okay. Their stats are stable so far."
Dick nods decisively, "Right, thanks for the update." Then Tim cuts off the call and we're left to our own devices.
***
TO BE CONTINUED
