A/N: A very special thank you to the wonderful Black Friar and Sidekick Heroisms for the excellent beta!

There had been a sudden, blinding flash of light, searing his skin, his eyes, his lungs. And there had been sound, so much of it, and so loud that it had been deafening. He wondered if his ears were bleeding because they felt hot and they were ringing. His head felt like it would split open any minute. He hurt. And he was tired. So tired.

"-Robin, wake up!"

…Robin? Why was Alfred calling him Robin? Alfred always called him 'Master Dick', or at the very least 'Master Robin'. Unless—

"Rob!"

Oh. Yeah, that wasn't Alfred. Or Bruce. The voice was familiar and his mind groped for a name but it found nothing, and that kind of bothered him. The voice sounded urgent. He should really find out what's going on, just- as soon as he'd had a little more sleep. He was so tired.

"Rob, please!"

There was a note of desperation now and it bugged Robin enough to make the effort of prying his eyes open. When he finally managed it, he was rewarded by a white light glaring directly into his eyes, and he slammed them shut and turned his head away, the green stars dancing behind his eyelids mocking him for his trouble. He groaned.

"Crap! Sorry! Sorry!" the disembodied voice said. "Shoulda moved the beam out of your face."

Wally, Robin's mind supplied. It was Wally.

At the risk of being blinded again, he pulled his eyes open once more – slowly, cautiously – and discovered that this time, it was dark. Wherever he was. A single ray of light, which was presumably what had hit him square in the face a minute ago, was coming from somewhere to his right and he turned his head back towards the source.

The source was Wally.

Wait. That made no sense. Speedsters couldn't generate light any more than non-metas could. Robin blinked and tried to focus. Wally seemed to be lying on his stomach, several feet away, peering at him through a hole roughly the size of a bowling ball. He couldn't make out what, but something was clearly blocking Wally's path, preventing his friend from reaching him.

"Rob, you okay? Say something," Wally said.

The light was creeping up his face again but this time it never reached his eyes.

Oh. A flashlight, Robin realized suddenly. Wally was holding a flashlight. Right. They'd been in a tunnel, he remembered now, chasing…bad guys? They'd been using flashlights to navigate through the tunnel. And then- then there'd been…an explosion! But- wait- the team! Were they…

It took him a few seconds to find his voice. "K-KF," he began. Jeez, he sounded like he'd just swallowed a bag of nails. He coughed and cleared his throat. "KF, where- where's the team?"

"I don't know," Wally replied. "The mind link's down and I'm only getting static on the comm. Dude, are you okay? Can you move?"

"Uh…" Could he move? He had no idea. All he knew was that his head was pounding, like his brain was trying to hammer its way out of his skull, and that he was lying on his back on uneven ground, sharp bits digging into his back. His ribs throbbed when he shifted a little and his left wrist felt like someone had smashed it with a rock. He was pretty sure his wrist computer was toast.

Then he moved his right leg – and the world tilted, sparks exploding before his eyes, his stomach rolling and –

…

There was yelling. Lots of yelling. And- scraping?

"—OBIN! C'mon, Rob, use your words! Talk to me! Are you okay? SAY SOMETHING!"

"K-KF?" Robin started. Why was Wally yelling at him? "What- what happened?"

"Jesus, Rob! Don't scare me like that! You just cried out suddenly and then you passed out! You gave me a freaking heart attack!"

He'd passed out? No wonder Wally was flipping out. "Sorry," Robin said. "I- I think there's something wrong with my leg."

"What, is it broken?"

Robin slowly pushed himself up on his elbows, ignoring the stabbing in his ribs and the exhaustion that pulled at him, and looked down at his leg. The light from Wally's flashlight didn't reach far enough, but the residual glow glinted off a metal rod about half an inch thick and maybe a foot high, protruding from his thigh at a slight angle.

His stomach lurched.

"KF, it's- my leg- it's- impaled on something."

There was a brief pause. "It's WHAT?! Oh my god! Where? How bad is it? Are you bleeding? I'm coming to you!"

Wally coming to him? That seemed like a bad idea. Then they'd both be stuck here. Wherever 'here' was. "KF, you- you should get help."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"There's no way out on my end."

"Oh."

Robin took a moment to take in his surroundings. Wally's bobbing flashlight didn't provide enough light to show much detail, but he was just able to make out the ceiling, which was hanging considerably lower than he remembered it being before the explosion. To his left was a half-collapsed brick wall and there were bent and broken pipes and chunks of debris strewn about everywhere. It dawned on him that he was incredibly lucky he hadn't gotten squashed.

When he looked to his right, he realized large pieces of rubble and half a concrete slab were separating him from Wally.

"Hang on, I'm almost there," Wally said, and Robin realized that the scraping sound he'd been hearing in the background was Wally, trying to make the hole he'd been peering through big enough for him to fit through.

God, his leg was on fire. He tried to push himself up far enough so he could inspect the wound, but both his ribs and his head protested, and his arms were starting to tremble from the strain of supporting his weight. He eased himself back down; he'd have to let Wally take a closer look at it.

He closed his eyes, trying to get the hammering in his head to subside a little—

"OH MY GOD! DUDE!"

—and started awake, squinting up at Wally. Whoa. How did he-? Oh. Yeah. Super speed. Why was his head so fuzzy?

"Dude, there's a freaking iron pipe sticking out of your leg!"

Robin rolled his eyes. "I hadn't noticed."

Wally was staring at his leg, his eyes so wide Robin wondered if his eyeballs were going to fall out. "Rob, what…how do we- what do I do?"

Robin struggled back onto his elbows, biting back a groan. "How does it look?"

"What do you mean, 'how does it look'?!" Wally exclaimed. "It looks bad! Like, really, really bad!"

Robin scowled at him, trying to contain his own panic because, what if the nerves in his leg had been completely severed? What if he would never be able to walk again? "Jeez, KF, your bedside manner sucks."

Wally blinked, tearing his eyes away from Robin's leg to meet his gaze. "Right," he said with a guilty wince. "Sorry."

"Is it bleeding?"

Wally swallowed visibly and his jaw tightened. He took a firmer hold of the flashlight and bent over Robin's leg, examining it closely. "It is a little, but it's actually not too bad," Wally replied, sounding slightly relieved. "The pipe's stuck in the outer part of your thigh."

"Hopefully that means it missed anything majorly important," Robin said. "And as long as that pipe's stuck in there, it shouldn't bleed much anyway." Robin's arms were starting to tremble again so he lay back down, closing his eyes. So long as he didn't move, the pain was bearable.

"Okay, but- how the hell are we gonna get you out of here when that thing's pinning you down?" Wally asked.

Robin didn't open his eyes. "Let's just worry about finding a way out of here first, okay?" Without raising his head to look, he reached for his utility belt and withdrew a gauze pad and some bandages from one of the pouches and held them out for Wally to take. "See if you can wrap it."

Wally set about applying the bandages and Robin gritted his teeth against the pain. He wished that he'd thought to add a small bottle of betadine to his utility belt. The wound was bound to get infected with that iron thing in his leg, not to mention the bits of uniform that were now embedded in his flesh. He just hoped help would arrive before things got really ba-

"OW! Wally!" he exclaimed when the pain in his leg flared up suddenly. His eyes flew open and he glared at his friend.

"Sorry! Sorry! I'm just not good at this stuff, okay?" Wally said, hands raised, sounding both apologetic and frustrated.

"No kidding," Robin muttered and gritted his teeth once more.

Wally finished a few minutes later and Robin breathed a trembling sigh of relief. Pain was exhausting.

"You okay?" Wally asked.

"Dumbest. Question. Ever."

"You know what I mean."

Robin shrugged. "It hurts, but it could be worse. Head's pounding though."

Wally frowned. "Concussion?" he asked, raising his flashlight towards Robin's face.

Robin sent him a warning glare before the light could reach his eyes. "You are not shining that thing in my face again. I'm pretty sure it is a concussion. Feels like one anyway."

Wally nodded grimly, and then turned to pass his flashlight over the decimated walls and ceiling and piles of dirt and debris surrounding them. "I'm gonna scope out the place and see if I can find us a way out. Maybe I can speed-dig us out or something."

"Okay," Robin replied as he closed his eyes again, suddenly tired down to his bones. A warm hand on his shoulder made him drag his eyelids open.

"Hey," Wally said, "don't fall asleep, okay?"

"I won't."

Wally regarded him skeptically. "Right. I'll check in with you every few minutes to make sure you're awake."

Robin waved him off. "Fine."

He closed his eyes again, listening to the sounds Wally made while he poked around. Despite his words, he could feel himself slipping towards sleep. He tried to fight it, knowing that going to sleep with a concussion wasn't the best idea, but he was just so tired!

True to his word, Wally shook him awake several times, but his eyes slid shut again almost as soon as Wally turned his back.

The pain seemed to be leeching all his strength and he could feel himself starting to drift again, when his ears picked up a heavy rumble, followed by a startled cry. He jerked back to full awareness and turned his head towards where he'd seen Wally working to dig them out. Wally wasn't there.

"KF?" he said, his voice sounding loud and shaky in the quiet. Robin propped himself up on his elbows, gritting his teeth as he did so, and looked around. The flashlight lay on the ground a few feet away, but Wally was gone. Had he found a way out? No, Wally wouldn't have left without telling him. If Wally wasn't there, something was wrong.

Robin glanced around once more and froze when his eyes fell on a mountain of earth that had taken up the space where he'd last seen Wally. That hadn't been there before. Robin's breath caught in his throat. Oh god. Had that stuff collapsed on top of Wally? That meant—

His heart throbbing, he pushed himself to a sitting position, wasting precious seconds fighting off the dizziness and nausea that threatened to overwhelm him. If Wally was under there, he didn't have much time!

Robin tried to get to his feet and cried out when his entire body reminded him, loudly, of the iron rod that had skewered his leg and was pinning him to the ground. The pain set his body on fire and he choked on another cry.

Trying hard to breathe through the pain, he wrestled with his own frustration. He wasn't going to be able to move with his leg still stuck on that damn thing! Wally was running out of air! He had to do something!

Taking a deep breath, he propped himself up on his hands and braced his good leg under him. He clenched his teeth and without giving himself time to think about it, he pushed himself up so he could lift his injured leg, and tore it free from the pipe. The scream that ripped from his throat made his ears hurt. It felt like knives were repeatedly being plunged into his leg and his entire body seemed to echo the excruciating pain. His world flared white and he collapsed to the ground as black spots threatened to blot out his vision.

Don't pass out! Don't pass out! Don't pass out!

As soon as his vision started to come back into focus, he was moving. Gasping, and with trembling arms, he pushed himself up on his hands and one knee and half-crawled, half-dragged himself over to where he suspected Wally had been buried, and began to claw at the dirt and debris. His fear and desperation gave him strength and the adrenaline surging through his body helped keep the pain at bay.

He dug and dug and dug, his arms burning and fingers cramping, until finally he encountered something leathery and warm. A gloved hand! Robin latched onto it and threw himself backward, pulling with all his might.

It wasn't enough. The body buried beneath all that stuff didn't budge.

Frantic, Robin released Wally's hand and plunged his own hands back into the dirt, removing more and more of the earth and debris, shoving armfuls of it aside. "Hang on, KF, I'm coming!"

When he'd uncovered Wally's arm up until the shoulder, he grabbed hold of his friend's wrist with both hands and pulled. This time there was some give and he could see Wally's neck. Encouraged, he pulled harder, throwing all his weight back and pushing off with his good leg.

Finally, finally he managed to pull most of Wally's body free. His friend immediately began to cough and splutter and Robin felt weak with relief.

"You okay?" he asked, helping Wally sit up.

"Yeah," Wally rasped, still gulping in air. "Thanks, I thought I was toast!"

Robin smiled and sat back, watching Wally brush the dirt from his hair and feeling a little light-headed with relief. Then Wally's face started to go blurry and Robin's smile faltered when he realized blinking did nothing to bring his friend back into focus.

"Seriously, how did you…" Wally was saying, but he sounded far away and Robin was having trouble making out the rest of it. He frowned, trying to concentrate, but his vision kept going out of focus and his head was spinning.

Hands gripped his arms and Wally's face was close to his, but Robin couldn't make out his features. The world tilted and he felt something hard and cold against his back and he wondered if he was lying down. Darkness closed in. Had Wally turned off the flashlight? Or did he just have his eyes closed? He had just enough time to feel a vague sense of panic before the darkness took over completely.

oOo

Excruciating pain dragged Robin back from the blackness. He opened his eyes to find Wally with his hands on his thigh, leaning forward and putting all his weight on it.

Jesus, it hurt!

"S-stop…please, stop," Robin was pleading before he realized what he was doing. Tears were gathering at the corners of his eyes – it hurt so freaking much!

Wally jerked his head around to look at him, but he didn't let up. "I'm sorry, dude, but I've got to slow the bleeding."

Bleeding? He was bleeding? What-? Oh. Right. There was a gaping hole in his leg. He fought off the immediate wave of panic that threatened to crash down on him.

Wally was right, they needed to tie his leg off with something or he'd bleed to death. He fumbled with the pouches of his utility belt for something that might be useful and withdrew a spare line he always carried with him in case the line in his grapple gun snapped. It wasn't as good as a sturdy leather belt, but it was something.

Wally snatched it from his hand and used his super-speed to tie the line around Robin's thigh, just above the wound. When Wally pulled the line tight, Robin bit back a scream, almost gagging on the pain.

When the pain finally receded to a slightly more manageable level and he was able to focus again, he realized Wally was talking to him while reapplying bandages.

"-that, you idiot, you could've bled out in seconds! What were you thinking?"

Robin frowned. "KF," he said, and was surprised at how weak he sounded, "are you scolding me for saving your butt?"

"Yes."

Robin closed his eyes, exhaustion pulling at him once more. "Okay." Whatever. He wasn't going to lose his best friend, no matter what it cost him.

He heard Wally's sharp intake of breath and Robin raised his head slightly to look at him. Wally was staring back at him, but it wasn't until he noticed Wally's shocked expression that he realized he might have said that last part out loud.

Under normal circumstances he would've flushed with embarrassment, but he really only felt tired and cold and his leg was burning like crazy. He lay back and closed his eyes again as he waited for Wally to finish up. His mind wandered to the rest of the team. Kaldur and Superboy were probably all right, but M'gann- she was vulnerable to fire and if she'd been close to the explosion… And Artemis. Artemis was tough, but she was also human, like him. He tried to recall where he'd last seen her before the blast, but his mind blanked on that. Or had they split up?

A warm hand on his shoulder made him start and he opened his eyes to see Wally's face hovering over him. "Dude?" Wally said. "Can you sit up for a minute?"

Robin groaned. "Why?"

"You're shivering. Your cape'll keep you warm. Well, warmer."

"Oh." Robin took a deep breath, but the second he tightened his abs, pain flared, engulfing his entire body, and he gasped.

"Easy," Wally said, grabbing his good hand and pulling him up enough for Wally to be able to throw an arm around his shoulders to support him.

By the time Robin was sitting up, he was trembling and sweating and fighting down nausea.

Wally didn't let go of him as he unclasped Robin's cape from around his neck and pulled it clear. Then he slowly helped Robin lie back down again.

The cape provided a marginal amount of warmth, but didn't do much to stop the shivering.

Wally crouched beside him. "I'm gonna go see if there's any other way we can get out, okay?" he said. "Don't go anywhere."

Robin glared at him. "Don't get yourself buried again."

Wally smirked. "Be right back."

This time Robin didn't have time to drift off before Wally returned. "How're you doing, Rob? Still with me?"

"Yeah," Robin rasped, and tried to clear his throat. He was thirsty. "F-find anything?"

Wally sighed and sat down beside him, leaning his back against the wall and looking dejected. "No."

They were silent for a while, because what was there to say to that? Robin wanted to be optimistic, but he had no idea whether the rest of the team had survived, or if anyone knew where they were. He didn't even know how much time had passed.

His body was being wracked by shivers and he gritted his teeth because the constant movement made his ribs ache.

"W-Wally?" he said when he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Yeah?"

"I-I'm r-really c-cold."

Warm fingers touched his cheek.

"Dude! You're not just cold, you're freezing!" Wally exclaimed. "Why didn't you say something?!"

Without waiting for a reply, Wally very carefully maneuvered him so that his head was pillowed on Wally's stretched out legs and carefully laid his arm across Robin's chest in an effort to share some of his body heat. Even though being moved hurt like hell, the warmth Wally provided helped.

"T-thanks."

"Anytime," Wally replied. "Hey, Rob?"

"Hm?"

"Remember our first ever mission together?"

Robin concentrated; it bothered him that his mind was having trouble retrieving his memories of that mission. "The-the one where you c-clocked me in the head?"

"Dude! I thought we were never going to bring that part up ever again," Wally said. "But, yeah, that one."

"Uh-huh."

"I was just thinking about how far we've come, you know?"

Robin blinked. "Uh…aren't w-we stuck in a collapsed tunnel right now?"

"Okay, yeah, not what I meant." Wally sighed. "I just- never mind."

Robin frowned, but before he could say anything Wally sat up straight.

"You hear that?"

Robin listened. There was a faint scraping sound.

"Hey, help!" Wally called out, startling Robin. "We're here!"

"Shh, Wally, what if it's the bad guys?"

"Why would the bad guys be digging us out?" Wally demanded. "All they'd need to do is leave us here and we'd be dead."

"What if they want to torture us for information?"

"Oh. Crap." Wally chewed on his lip. "Well, we're just gonna have to take that risk. We're as good as dead anyway."

"Jeez, Mr. Negative, w-way to stay traught."

"It's kinda hard to stay traught when your best friend's bleeding out right in front of you and there's noth-"

"Not helping," Robin ground out.

Wally snapped his mouth shut. "Sorry." He called out a few more times, but they didn't hear the scraping sound again. Wally sank back against the wall and they lapsed into silence.

Robin felt his last spark of hope die. He could feel himself slipping, slowly succumbing to the blood loss; he felt cold and feverish at the same time, his throat was so parched that swallowing was torture, it was getting increasingly difficult to stay awake and-

…

"Dude, you with me?"

Robin started. "Huh?"

Wally was looking down at him. The light from the flashlight made him look pale, his freckles standing out on his skin, and his eyebrows were bunched together. He wasn't smiling. Why not? Wally should always be smiling, he had a nice smile. And he was funny. But now he was staring down at Robin with a strange look in his eyes.

"You look sad," Robin commented.

"I'm not sad. I'm worried."

"Why are you worried?"

"I'm worried about you, doofus."

"Oh."

Wait- if Wally was worried, should he be worried? …What kind of question was that? Of course he should be! If Wally was worried it meant something not good was happening. Get with the program, Grayson! Focus!

He cast his mind back, trying to recall where they were and what had happened but most of what he remembered wasn't helpful to the situation. He was hurt, he knew that much, and that Wally had climbed from – somewhere? – to help him. And- oh yeah, a tunnel had collapsed on their heads and they were trapped.

A nudge startled him into opening his eyes. When had he closed them?

"Dude, stay with me, okay?"

"C-cant," Robin said, his voice so weak he could barely even hear himself.

"Yes, you can, Rob." Warm fingers touched his forehead. "God, you're burning up."

Robin knew he should be worried about that, but he couldn't bring himself to care. There wasn't a part of his body that didn't hurt and he just wanted to be in a place where the pain was gone already.

"Tired," he murmured.

"I know, Rob, I know, but you've gotta hang on, okay?"

Robin wanted to tell him it was okay, that he just needed some rest, but his tongue was suddenly stuck to the roof of his mouth and his throat hurt too much to talk anyway. He closed his eyes.

"No, no, no, no, Rob, you're not doing this! You're staying with me, okay? Robin! Please, I…"

Robin never heard the rest.

A/N: In case you're wondering about the mission Wally's referring to (the one where he clocked Robin in the head), you can read about it in my fic Entrust :)