~.: "Heaven Forbid" :.~
~.: The Fray :.~
~.: De's POV :.~
"We're never gonna find them... What if we never see them again? Jason... oh god..." Octavia is on the verge of hysterics and I quickly hush her, hugging her in reassurance.
"Don't say things like that, Octavia..." I whimpered, "They're gonna be okay, they can handle themselves..." Couldn't they? I shuddered at the thought of wherever Nightwing could be now.
I still couldn't believe it, the fact that now Nightwing, Tim, Jared, Wally, and Jason were all missing. The harsh reality of it all came crushing down on me, snuggled amongst Aria cuddling Amelia, Addison, Octavia, Acacia holding the twins, and Bella. I just, couldn't process everything. The more I thought about it all, and the more I worried for Dick's safety and whether he would come back was too much to handle. The storm wasn't making things any better either, worsening my anxiety by quite a bit.
As the thunder crashed outside, Bella clutches tighter to my waist, shaking violently in fear. Acacia watched as I reassuringly cuddled her to the best of my ability, despite the searing pain in my stomach. Please be okay out there, I worriedly thought while taking out my communicator and eyeing it with unrestrained concern. Aria leans on me, as though sensing my vulnerability and I'm grateful for her presence. She always was able to sense how upset I was no matter what the issue was. As I run my hands through Bella's long raven hair, I can't help but let out a strangled wail of despair, my barriers finally breaking as my anxiety takes full rein of my composure.
"I can't do this-" I'm suddenly weeping into my hands, covering my tear-streamed face and causing Bella to start to cry in response, "I'm so scared..." I confessed in a soft whimper as Addy and Aria attempted to calm me down with reassuring back rubs. But it wasn't doing any good. I stood up from the bed, fleeing the bedroom despite the loud thunder. I didn't get far down the hallway when another sob racks my body, causing me to collapse to the floor against one of the walls in the hallway.
I curled up in a vulnerable fetal position, my hands balling into fists as I fought against a spasm going through my abdomen. Thoughts of Dick never coming back were clogging my mind, not allowing me to focus on my breathing and soon an agonized cry finds its way out of my chest as I bury my head in the ground, my tears drenching the carpet.
"H-hey- it's going to be okay...don't worry,"
A hand is on my back, strong and firm in my shattering glass state and I shakily raise my head despite the spasms to see Isaac in the dark hallway, his expression was unreadable as he took one of my hands in his and attempted to lift me up off the floor. I gritted my teeth against the agony in my belly, bracing myself against him with his loaned strength as I forced myself to awkwardly stand. The stress and anxiety of everything is putting my pregnancy in danger, I realized grimly as I just barely managed to allow Isaac to lead me down the hall to the infirmary in the dark.
I can hardly process anything beyond the blinding agony of the spasms going through my stomach as Aria, Bella, Addy, and Octavia come rushing into the infirmary, Acacia lingering at the entrance as Isaac assists in trying to get me comfortably positioned on an empty infirmary bed. Wolf is milling around the room, his white fur is raised in apprehension at all the activity and I sympathized with him briefly before Isaac made a move to leave the room. Instantly, my hand flashes out and I grip his arm in an attempt to make him not leave. He flashes me a bewildered gaze.
"I have to get help, I can't stay in this room-!" He yelps in confusion, his hazel eyes are gleaming in anxiety as he tries to pry himself out of my grasp but my tear-streamed face is enough to make him reluctantly surrender. I just couldn't handle being alone without at least one strong person in the room.
"I'll go get help, you guys stay here..." Acacia suddenly offered, ushering her twins into the room before leaving quickly. I don't have the time to call out a thank you to her before the contractions hit and I end up letting out an agonized wail, my hands clutching the blankets as Aria strokes my face calmingly to the best of her ability. Her eyes were rounded in concern, despite her ruined makeup due to her crying over Blake trying to get in contact with her once again, and I felt a rush of emotion toward her as I blearily glance at her face through my pain.
"You're gonna be okay," she's saying but I can barely hear her or even make out the words she uttered as another blindingly agonized contraction travels through my body. Isaac stood awkwardly beside the infirmary bed, running a flustered hand through his dirty blonde hair as he tries to prevent himself from pacing. Bella glances at him curiously, reaching out to pat him awkwardly.
"I thought I was the baby...but everyone's crying more than I ever have before," she attempts to lighten the mood, without really knowing it and I manage an amused smile before my hand flashes out and grips one of Isaac's. He yowls in pain as I squeeze it to cope with my pre-birth spasms.
"This isn't good," Addyson murmurs at the foot of the infirmary bed, "Aren't you not even due for another good several months?" I don't answer as I whimper in agony, clutching at Isaac's hand despite his own agonized grunts.
"The stress must've triggered this,"
I hadn't realized Superman had made his way into the infirmary, amongst all the agonized wailing in the room. He has a concerned look on his face and from his expression I can just tell that things aren't going right. Another bone crushing contraction courses through my abdomen and I sob in pain, throwing my head back against the mattress.
"She needs to go to the ER at the hospital," Isaac huffs, biting down on his left fist that I wasn't holding onto, "She needs actual doctors to help her out,"
Superman nods in reply, carefully picking me up and attempting to leave the infirmary as Bella wailed in protest, "If I hurry, she might live through this..." he merely explains to the others as I struggle not to cry out in response to Bella.
"Mommy! Please don't take mommy away-" Bella's voice is strained with pain and our gazes meet briefly before I'm flown out of the hideout. As I'm flown to the nearest emergency hospital, I can no longer sense what's going on around me, the agony of my contractions too much for me to handle while Superman manages to get some nurses at the front desk to rush me into a backroom on a gurney.
The lights are blinding and I clench my eyes shut, gritting my teeth while straining as they warily move me to an infirmary bed that will accommodate me much better. Dizziness is clogging my ability to comprehend everything they're saying as they hurriedly get supplies out and I turn my head towards the glass window in the room, giving me a good look at the hallway of the hospital outside of the room. My head lolls to the side as I wail in agony.
Please, don't let me die, I manage to think while fighting against a sudden need to push, Don't let me die...
****
~.: Nightwing's POV :.~
I don't know how much time has passed but at some point, I wake up in a darkened room with restraints on my wrists and around my ankles. Everything comes rushing back to me as I groan in slight pain, lurching forward on the floor. I should've been more prepared- why hadn't I seen that ambush coming?
"Don't beat yourself up, pretty boy," A feminine voice cuts through my thoughts like a razor blade and I raise my head to meet the eyes of a girl clad in a black and gold suit, a silver metallic pendant pinned to her breast as she smirks at me, "Deathstroke will put you through so much worse than you could ever imagine," she chirps, reaching out to take my chin in one of her gloved hands. I jerk away from her, my eyes narrowed in suspicion as I attempt to gather any remembrance of this 'Deathstroke' she just mentioned. Before I can manage to get any idea of who the person must be, I catch a glance of the other people in the room. Tim, Wally, Jared, Jason... They're all here? How long have they been in this room?
"Don't think you should be talking to the bird boy," a chuckle catches my attention and I turn back to the girl to see that Red X has joined her side, leering mockingly at me as I scowled at him, "Besides, the kid is supposed to be helping us interrogate him while Deathstroke deals with Terra." As if summoned by name, the little girl from earlier appears at the doorway of the room we're standing in and my gaze flashes toward her. I don't understand how you have those abilities... and I don't know how you have access to those memories that you threw at me during the ambush. Several thoughts are going through my aching head as I keep my eyes on the strange raven haired child. Who are you?
~.: TBC :.~
