Chapter 5:

Dick's POV:

I wake to a heavy blanket of darkness. My mind stuttering to come to some kind of form of consciousness. Where am I? Why am I here? I struggle to open my eyes against what I can only assume are the signature Bat pain meds. A double dose of pretty much everything. No, cant get off track, what am I doing here? Come on, Dick, open your eyes.

I crack open my eyes to what appears to be a blinding sliver of light, but after they had adjusted, turned out to be merely a light glow coming from behind the closed curtains of my bedroom. Out of instinct, I conduct a self check of any injuries I have but soon realise the batmeds are messing with pretty much all of my senses. I just feel like a heavy pile of bones and flesh under my characteristic fluffy blankets. Something feels very off and I scan the room but I see no one in sight. There is an IV drip at the foot of my bed, next to an unplugged heart monitor I assume was in use before, but there was not a single person sitting on the end of my bed or in the empty armchair next to my dresser. I was alone.

An overwhelming sense of wrong continued blaring in my head. Where is everyone? Is there some horrible disaster that has stopped them from greeting me? I couldn't remember a time where I woke up and not a single person was watching over me.

A desperate need to remember the instances of my injuries comes over me. I rock myself up onto my side and prepare to get off the bed and march through the manor until I find my wayward family, when I spot the flash of white. Stark white bandages covering the entire length of my forearms. The week rushes back to me. The robbery, early weekend, alcohol, drugs, needles and…

I gasp upon realises what I had done to myself. My breathing becomes faster and I place my head between my legs to control my breathing. Holding my head in my hands, eyes wide, I see flashes of the week in horrible high definition. "I didn't… I wouldn't….". I gasp between breaths, my voice hoarse and broken. I see the moment I grabbed the broken needle in my mind. A memory I cant forget, yet as I see the pain and damage I caused it is as though I am seeing it as a third party. I remember the pain and the hate I had but it's as if the person in my memories wasn't me. I try to understand my actions. I put all my brain power to the one question I keep asking over and over. "Why?... Why?... Why?...".

And still no one came.

Tim's POV:

The manor had never been so quiet. It had been three days since we brought Dick to the cave and he'd been unconscious since. He would have woken up a day sooner but Lesley demanded that he be kept sedated to allow the injuries to heal enough that a jostle wouldn't rip them open again. These have been some of the most painful days of my life and yet also some of the most peaceful. There was no fighting or yelling. No arguing in the kitchen. Even the usual quiet comments have been silenced as no one was in the mood to talk.

I have spent my days redoing 3 years worth of homework. Calculations, essays, lab write ups. Anything to keep my mind busy. I haven't even let myself think about him sitting quiet and still in his room. I cant even force myself to go. I know I wont be able to look at him without completely breaking down. So many questions in my mind and for once, I dont have an inkling of any answers. I'm not even sure if I want to know them.

I haven't seen Bruce or Damian in all that time. Bruce, I can only assume, is diving into his work as Batman, refusing to eat or sleep until he pummels the fight out of every criminal in Gotham. Damian I haven't see in some time. Before he always had a very regular schedule and wouldn't be too difficult to find or avoid, but now he seems to be using all his knowledge in stealth to avoid any human interaction. The only evidence of his presence still in the manor is the disappearance of the meals that Alfred puts out on the counter for all of us. Even Alfred is quieter than usual. He conducts all his duties with robotic efficiency but does not attempt to convince any of us to eat or shower or get the rest we usually avoid. To my knowledge, no one has been able to get a hold of Jason. I sent him a text to come to the manor right away but I still haven't received any answer and I am in no mood to go out and find him. Everyone has split up to try to deal with this by themselves and we have never been more divided.

Dick's POV:

Its been almost a full day since I woke up and still the only person I have seen was Alfred. He brought in some food and changed my bandages with robotic motions and I didn't know what to say so I remained silent. After he finished and made sure I wasnt going to do something stupid and hurt myself, he left as quietly and aloof as he had entered. Its almost as if he was mad at me but I felt no anger I his gaze, just a profound tiredness and all I could think was that it was all my fault.

I rotated my time between sleeping and looking out the window and pitying myself until he came. I assume it was sometime in the early morning after he had beaten out most of his aggression already and was about to turn in for the night. It was the first time I had seen him in several weeks but I did not greet him. He stood silently in the shadows of my room for a while and then started to turn away to leave without having said anything.

Desperate for some kind of break from the never ending silence I called out, "Wait, Bruce… please…". He instantly froze and turned around to look at me. Not directly at me, I could tell, but somewhere over my right shoulder, waiting for my words.

"I … I don't know what to say, Bruce…" I answered honestly.

He remained stoically silent, not reacting to my words at all. I couldn't read his reaction at all, I had no clue what he was feeling. I have always been able to figure out at least a little of what was going through his mind but I was now locked out and looking at the Batman/ Bruce Wayne visage that he shows the world without any hope of reaching him.

I looked down as I felt the tears start to form in my eyes and desperately I begged, " Bruce please… please say something. Say anything!"

"You know the questions I would ask," he said in a low voice, just above a whisper, "Do you have the answers to them? ".

I finally let the tears fall, "No. No I don't."

Once again, so sorry for the delay. I am not giving up. Im in university and it is taking up a lot of my time. But fear not, for this is very often on my mind. Now that summer has started I will have much more time to update this. Reviews will speed my progress. Definitely speed it. Way up. Please review. Give ideas for the story ideas for other stories, tell me how your day was. Let me know you are all still out there. Live long and prosper my friends.