Before The Truth

Ch 18

The next time Dick woke up he didn't open his eyes. His foggy brain didn't remember much of the last time he woke, but he did remember the large looming figure he assumed to be Bane.

Dick didn't want to open his eyes unless he was absolutely sure that he was safe. If he still happened to be in Bane's clutches then he didn't want to inflict unnecessary pain upon himself by letting Bane know he was conscious.

The first thing that Dick noticed when he reached out with his senses was the notable lack of burning pain in his chest area, more specifically his lungs and stomach. He was also lying down, in a rather soft bed. When he focused more Dick could hear the steady beep of a heart monitor. His first thought when he heard this was that he must be in a hospital of some sort.

All of those things made Dick think that he had somehow gotten away from Bane by himself or been rescued, though he couldn't remember what had actually happened.

Dick reasoned that he must have been rescued somehow and brought to a hospital... If this was the case he had a couple of concerns. First, he was freezing. His body had, as far as he could tell and assume, been wasting away. Leaving him with practically no insulation, and less muscle to generate heat in the first place. This didn't quite add up to him, because the number of times he had been admitted into the hospital he had always been kept at a good temperature. His second concern was that he couldn't feel his Nightwing mask on his face, in fact he seemed to only be dressed in a very loose pair of sweatpants, nothing like his previously form fitting kevlar suit he had been wearing for the weeks of his capture.

The third concern Dick had he considered to be the most pressing. This was the vague memory of the large blurry man coming towards him. This was the one thing that kept him from opening his eyes. That was until he smelt food and his stomach let out a growl that could rival Wolf's. After this Dick cracked one eye open, and was greeted with a view of the Batcave's ceiling.

Dick immediately shut his eye and tried to focus on calming his racing mind. He didn't remember how he got here, or how he had gotten away from Bane, but he knew he wasn't supposed to be in the Batcave. Bruce had told him as much the last time he was at the manor.

Dr. Leslie looked up from her medical notes she had taken earlier when she heard Dick's heart monitor speed up. She had asked Alfred to bring down a bowl of broth earlier for when Dick woke up, and she heard the boy's stomach growl loudly. Dick looked as if he were on the verge of panicking again, and from what she had gathered he may or may not remember anything of his escape from Bane, or anything from the times he woke up previously in the Batcave. 'He might even think he is still with Bane.' Leslie thought to herself before standing up and walking closer to Dick's bed.

"Richard... Dick. It's alright, you're in the Batcave, you're safe." Leslie reassured the troubled boy.

When he heard Leslie's voice Dick's breathing and heart rate calmed a bit and he opened both eyes and turned to focus on Leslie.

"How are you feeling Dick?" Leslie asked kindly.

Dick only groaned in response before lifting up his hand to remove the oxygen mask that was still on his face. "So n-not feeling the aster..." Dick whispered, teeth clenched in pain. Dick paused for a second before asking, "Why am I in the Batcave? What happened?"

Leslie's face morphed into a grim expression, so Dick didn't remember Bruce rescuing him or the first time he woke up in the cave... "Bruce brought you here." Was Leslie's simple answer. She thought it would be best to let Bruce explain the details to Dick himself.

"I... I thought he didn't want me..." Dick trailed off for a second, looking so sad and forlorn before looking up at Leslie and hastily adding, "here."