Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice
Mount Justice was as it always was on a typical Saturday afternoon, the day after a late night mission. The team usually got to sleep in before Black Canary had them train for a couple hours and then they were left to themselves. Today the team decided a movie was a good idea to just chill and rest up from some recent sores. It didn't take them long to pick a movie, as the majority didn't care and just wanted something to ease their boredom.
It was all going great when Robin's phone began to ring. Pulling his phone out and checking to see who it was. He didn't recognize the number so he hung up and continued watching the movie. Probably just some telemarketer.
When his phone rang again soon after though, got Robin thinking that maybe he should at least check to see who it is.
"Hello," he called and seeing as the movie was getting kind of loud from a fight scene, he plugged his ears and got up.
"Can I please speak with a Mr. Richard Grayson?" a voice responded.
"This is he, who may I ask is calling?"
"My name is Dr. Daniels from Gotham-"
"I know who you are, you're my uncle's doctor right?" Robin said cutting him off. He was getting a little worried now. The doctor had never called before and this could either be some very good news or some very bad news.
Seeing his friend get up and leave for a phone call and knowing that Rob had not seen the movie before Wally asked if they could pause the movie.
"Hey, let's wait for Rob to get back. The call seemed urgent and this is a good spot to stop for a quick potty and snack break?"
"I have no problems with-," Kaldur said but was interrupted by Robin on the phone.
"What do you mean? You said he had years left!" Robin shouted at the phone.
"I know, but sometimes things like this unexpectedly happen. It is very hard to tell in these type of circumstances," the doctor continued.
"You're a doctor, isn't it your job to notice stuff like this?"
"I'm only a doctor, not a miracle worker," The doctor reasoned. He hated having to make these types of calls and he understood that they usually created a great deal of stress, so he tried to remain comforting to the family members.
"Sorry, I just wish that- that there could have been some way to prevent this."
"If there had been, it would have been done."
"Hey, shouldn't we not be eavesdropping?" Artemis unexpectedly whispered, when she noticed that no one had gotten up for a potty/snack break and everyone had just started listening to Robin's conversation.
"Shh," Wally said putting his finger to his lips, "Something serious is going on."
"I understand, doctor, I will be there as fast as I can. Bye," on the last word Robin's voice cracked, but he didn't seem to notice. He ended the call and put his phone in his pocket, visibly shaking as he did so. He just stood there not knowing what to do. What was he supposed to do?
"Rob," Wally called getting slowly off of the couch, "Hey, buddy, is something the matter?" When no response came from the boy, Wally came faster and only when he was about to touch him did Robin drop to his knees, his whole body quaking like vocal cords, and his fingers started plowing through his hair.
Seeing this, the rest of team approached. They had never seen Robin so visibly shaken.
"Rob, what's wrong?" Wally asked again, wrapping his arms around his best friend, only to have them shrugged off.
"I-I have to go," came a quivering, choked voice.
"Not like this you aren't," Artemis said, coming to sit next to the two boys, and laying a hand on the Youngers shoulder.
"No, I need to go now. There isn't much time," Robin said again as he tried to stand up and make it to the zeta tube.
"Not much time for what, my friend?" Kaldur asked, catching up to Robin before he made it through the zeta tubes.
"I-I can't explain," Robin said, wiping away tears that had managed to slip from his mask, and that was when the team realized that Robin was crying.
"Please, Robin, let us try to help," Megan attempted.
"I just- I just can't, okay?" Robin said exasperated. He really didn't want to be here right now, all he wanted was to- he didn't even know what. There was nothing he could do to fix what was happening. He just felt so powerless, like he was a dam with a small crack that was just waiting to burst open like a blooming flower, but instead of a good omen it was dark as a ravens feathers.
"Can you guys leave for a second?" Wally asked, maybe if he got Robin alone he wouldn't be afraid to talk about it. "I know his secret ID," Wally added since that would also help his case.
Wally could tell Artemis was about to say something about how he knew and no one else did, but with a gentle hand from Megan, she too went silently from the room. Once they were gone, Wally approached the boy wonder.
"Dude, what's wrong? You can tell me," Wally said to Robin putting both hands on his shoulders, so that they were forced to look at each other.
"It's my Uncle Rick," Robin, now Dick, started before his voice was crumbled with a sob.
"Shh, shh, it's okay," Wally said pulling his friend into a hug.
"They said- they said that his brain activity had decreased and that- that he didn't have much time left," he continued to sob.
"Did they say how much time?" Wally asked hoping that maybe it wasn't as bad as the doctors were making it out to be.
"Maybe a few days," Robin choked out.
A few days! Wally was hoping for weeks, months even, but just a couple days, it seemed unreal and this was only a maybe. He couldn't imagine what Rob must be feeling right now.
"Well, let's go right now," Wally said standing up from where they had slid to the floor again.
"You don't' have to go. You can finish the movie," Robin began, but Wally wasn't having any of it.
"No, you shouldn't do this alone," Wally finalized.
The two friends walked through the seemingly endless hallways filled with room after room of the sick and dying, each with their own story, and each with their own desire to live. They finally stopped at a room Dick knew very well, though he now wished he had visited more frequently than he had been of late.
"Do you want me to go in with you, or wait out here?" Wally asked and as a response Dick grabbed his hand, Wally responded with a tight squeeze and they both entered the quiet room, with only a soft beeping to crack the silence.
All along the walls hung pictures of Dick along with his family, and some that were also hand drawn. Going through all the pictures you could see how the childish pictures gradually turned into a steady hand and an attention to detail. It was no surprise to Wally that Dick was a good artist, but he had never seen his art in this way, where he wasn't afraid to show the inside of his soul, because this is where Dick drew his passion from.
"Hey, Uncle Rick, it's me, Dickie," Dick said, dropping Wally's hand when he dawdled by the door, immediately scooped up his Uncles hand in both of his and took up the seat, where he had left it, by his Uncles side. "The doctors say you're not doing too well, but I know you can come through. I know how strong you are," Dick whispered, though Wally couldn't help but hear. Since he knew they would be here awhile he picked up another chair and planted it next to Dick to put a hand around his shoulders. Though they didn't say anything, all Dick needed was to know that someone else was there, that he wasn't completely alone.
Seconds, turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours, but Wally didn't care. This was what a friend did, no matter what. It seemed like the world was going to be cruel today as the heart monitor suddenly strayed from its usual rhythm.
"No, Uncle Rick, you can make it, you can fight this," Dick begged, not truly understanding what he was asking. HIs cries weren't heard though as the beeps became slower and slower like molasses stretching too far. It was when the beeps stopped all together and there was only a long stream did everything fall apart.
"No, no, you can't do this! You can't take him!" Dick yelled grabbing onto his Uncles hospital gown like he would be able to ground his soul into staying in his body.
"Come one, Dick, he's gone," Wally said trying to pry the boy off of the corpse.
"No!" Dick shoved him off and only held on tighter, laying his head on Rick's chest. A raw, guttural cry was muffled.
Suddenly a worried looking man who seemed as if he had run twenty blocks to get her came into the room. Dick took no notice.
"I came as soon as I heard-" Bruce Wayne began, but seeing that he was already too late he hurried to the boy's side. He started rubbing circles on the boys back, trying to be soothing as the boy sobbed his heart out.
He was the last one.
"Come on, Dick, you need to let go now," Bruce said gently seeing a nurse in the doorway waiting to wheel the body down to the morgue. When Dick refused to let go and started screaming in Romani, Wally knew that he wasn't going to be much help here anymore.
He looked sadly at the father and son duo and hoped that his friend could come out of this, like he always had before. Then he exited and closed the door to the sound of a heart crushed open and a boy who was alone far too many times.
Wally came back to a quiet morning. It wasn't surprising seeing as it was 8 in the morning on a Sunday. He knew he wouldn't be getting much sleep today but he thought he mind as well get a couple hours' of sleep, so he ended up curling up on the couch and was instantly out.
"Wally," a female voice said as they poked him.
"Hmm," he mumbled still half asleep.
"Where did you and Robin go yesterday?" She asked and it all seemed to come back to him. He immediately sat up and couldn't help but feel so much pity for his best friend who was in so much pain.
"I don't think I am the right person to tell you guys this," Wally said, now noticing the rest of the team standing around him.
"Why not? We are his friends too. We have a right to know so that we can help him," Artemis said defiantly with her hands on her hips.
"I think the best thing we can do right now is just give him some space and wait for him to tell us," Wally said before he changed the subject, "Now how about some breakfast?"
It was a full month before Robin came back. A full MONTH. The team was beginning to think that he was never coming back, but when the computer announced that familiar identification signature the team all came racing like jack rabbits on a prairie.
"Robin, you're back!" Megan yelled immediately enveloping him in a hug once he materialized.
"Nice to see you too, Megan," Robin greeted with a small smile. He then turned to everyone else and each gave their own hugs. They all began talking about everything they had been up to, recent missions, school, and new recipes like Robin had never been gone. They all somehow ended up on the couches in the recreation room, sprawled about with popcorn strewn like confetti on the floor, couches, in Artemis's hair because that stuff was everywhere.
Once everyone had finally calmed down and were catching their breath from laughing so hard, the elephant in the room had now clearly materialized and the dreaded question needed asking along with answering.
"So…" Artemis began, pulling her hair nervously. She usually wasn't one to be nervous, but this was a serious situation and if she did it the wrong way the effects could be drastic. Robin could leave again. "We were all wondering- wondering why you were gone." Artemis finally got to the point after many delayed pauses.
Robin was quiet for several minutes.
"It's okay, you don't-" Artemis began, thinking she made a mistake and was willing to forget it for another, later time.
"No, it's okay. You guys have a right to know," Robin said before taking a deep breath. "On the day that I left I got a call from the hospital," He began. "It was about my Uncle. He has been in a coma for about five years and they said that he had taken a turn for the worse and- and only had a couple days...maybe," Robin said as he felt tears start to prick his eyes.
Megan gasped and took his hand in hers, feeling the emotions like tidal waves.
"He's gone now. He was my last, living relative and now I'm all alone," Robin said not even trying to hide the tears anymore. The death was still fresh and it would be a long time before he would fully heal.
"Robin, we had no idea," Megan said wrapping him in her arms.
"What about your parents?" Connor bluntly asked. He thought humans had a mother and a father and they were also considered "relatives."
"They passed in the same accident that caused my Uncle to go into a coma," Robin quietly said. Batman had finally given him clearance to reveal something of himself and he so desperately wanted to share it with the team. He just never realized how hard it would be to bring up such terrible memories.
"I never would have thought," Artemis said joining in the hug with Megan.
"We all have secrets only Robins are ones that should have never happened," Wally said from his position, watching on before grabbing Connor and Kaldur and joining into the group hug, which someone turned into a large tickle fest.
Things wouldn't be right for a while, but at least they were being healed.
A/N Haven't written something in a while, but I had a good song going and an idea in my head, so this is what came up if. Hope you guys like and I only did a quick look over so if you find any mistake please tell me, it would be appreciated.
ENJOY!