Author's Notes: Fallen Fast Fact: So like this is my take two on the last chapter because I got more than halfway done with this chapter. Then I hit a snag and reread what I had and thought: Naw, this sucks MONQI butt. Suddenly I faced another issue: I had no idea whatsoever of how I wanted to conclude Center. Like any good author I decided to push the fic aside. Fast forward, I began to rewatch Young Justice and read the poem I based the titles of both fics on and bam, an idea.

Two bucks no one read my explanation and two more bucks no one believes me. Kay, fine. The truth: I'm an evil no good doer who feeds off the pain and frustrations of my fic readers. But heeeeeey, Christmas! See I gave you the gift of extremely late fic.

Summary: Uuum, I don't remember what the summary is. I think it's Wally's father is back and stuff starts to fall apart? Yeah? Sounds good. Okay let's go with that. I should change the official summary to this. It sounds so much better.

Disclaimer: Maybe I do own Young Justice. Cartoon Network and I have the same attitude towards the show apparently. We both didn't update the show regularly and both canceled it...Except this would be the moment of "surprise it's back!" Oh well.

Center Cannot Hold

Part Eight

By the end of the day, Wally felt like every health insurance company's walking nightmare. Sure, the actual extent of damage he sustained didn't really make him one but, that's besides the point. A few first and even fewer second degree burns. One busted rib and two other cracked ones. Somehow he managed to bruise his kidney and some more obvious bruises. Then to top it off, several cuts caused by falling glass and other forces. Luckily when you spent your free time stopping crime and other miscreants you automatically signed up for the best coverage plan. As long as you know the right people.

Except there were all the questions. More specifically, one question in particular: are you okay? Wally could answer it multiple ways. Clearly, with all the injuries, he happened not to be in the best physical condition. So, no, he was not okay. He was actually in pain, which ibuprofen did jack all for. Then he'd get that 'look' and the question would be posed again.

Are you okay?

Or as Wally liked to mentally rephrase it: Just how psychologically messed up are you now?

Regarding everything, Wally felt relatively fine. No, he was fine, nothing relative about it. Sure he happened to be a man of science and medical science didn't fall into this field but he knew how he felt.

His Uncle only asked him once and after all the years of living with Barry, Wally knew all his Uncle's looks. The one he gave his nephew was not one of belief. Wally supposed it was better than one of sympathy and being tip toed around. Which may have played a major role in why he opted to leave without talking to his team. They might of deserved an explanation , but it happened to be up to Wally whether they got one.

It wasn't like they wouldn't find out eventually anyways. Robin would finagle a way to get the truth from Bat's computers. M'gann could easily read the minds of any League members who were in the know. If someone so much as whispered anything from the other side of the room Supey would be all over it. Not that there was so much to listen in on. The entire Justice League were poster children for secrets.

His Aunt didn't seem certain how to talk to him. Probably because she still attempting to sort out her own feelings. She grew up with his father and for better or worse, they were siblings. No matter what occurred in the past several years there existed fond memories from years before Wally was even a thought.

She looked upset but for what reason, Wally didn't know. He didn't really want to ask. Those sort of situations had a way of turning against him.

Then there was the question again: Are you okay?

Maybe this time his reply wasn't so instant. Some how the difference between a suspicion and knowing made him uncertain.

It made him ache.

Not the sort of ache he slowly started to become used to. Least not initially. Truthfully he thought it was only from his ribs but it didn't feel right. It was an uncomfortable ache right at his collarbone. Trying to rub it away did nothing. He just ached and ached.

He was fine.

He ached.

He...he didn't know.

Wally felt like something bad was going to happen, but something bad had happened. He was muffled but aware.

He was fine.

He told himself he was fine.

He ached.

He was okay.

Life goes on.

Wally knew that, he saw time pass but his Aunt and Uncle let him be. Only by the third day did he come to realize how he failed to leave his room for long. His bruises faded to a yellow green and his cuts healed over.

Part of Wally knew hiding in his room happened to be the opposite of okay. He couldn't really find it in himself to care all that much.

A knock came at his door before opening. Wally didn't look, but he knew who it was. His Aunt stopped beside his desk where he'd sat for the past hour. She set a plate before him.

"Did I ever tell you the first time I saw you?" her question caught Wally off guard. He'd expected an inquiry about his well being...(again).

"No." he replied with a short shake of his head.

"Your mother brought you by a few months after you were born, bundled up in a blanket with a yellow hat." a fond smile passed over her face, "When I finally convinced her to let me hold you, she laughed."

"Something went wrong with the delivery and she told me it was both the worst and best day of her life. She never felt so much pain in her life or fear. But at the end of it, she had you and all that pain and fear? It was worth going through just to hold you for the first time." She squeezed his shoulder, "Sometimes you have to endure pain, but at the end, something good will come of it." She made to leave the room, pausing at the door, "You're going to be okay, Wally."

You're going to be okay.

He ached.

.:...:.

Wally shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his eyes drifted to the clock every other second. The minute hand mocking him as it remained on the five minute mark. The unease made its way to the rest of his body, his right leg bobbing on the ball of his foot. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. He could just leave, that would make him feel better, if for the briefest of moments. Then he thought of his Aunt and the look of relief she gave him when he told her about the meeting. The small smile of encouragement his Uncle passed him.

He couldn't leave.

The sound of the door opening caused him to jump in his seat, "I'll admit, I was surprised you wanted to see me Wally." Dinah began sitting in the chair opposite of him.

"Yeah well, I hear you come highly recommended so I thought I'd give it a shot." Wally shrugged, picking at a piece of thread on the hem of his shirt. He glanced up to find Dinah giving him a measuring look. "What."

"You came to me Wally, I'll wait here as long as it takes for you to be ready to talk." Dinah explained, clasping her hands together. They sat in silence, Wally doing his best to look everywhere but Dinah. Finally, he sighed slouching back.

"My dad was an ass." Good as any way to start a conversation. Dinah lifted an eyebrow but otherwise remained quiet. "He made my childhood awful before I lived with my Aunt, he treated me and my mom like garbage. But sometimes," he stopped, brushing an imaginary speck of dust from his pant leg, "Sometimes I remember how things were like before, like he would smile and laugh and we were happy. But then I'm not sure if it's just something I made up to trick myself into thinking it wasn't all crap. That there were times when we were a normal family, no skeletons in the closet."

"Wally, are you okay?"

The speedster barked in laughter, simultaneously surprised and unsurprised by the question. Only when Dinah gestured to his arm was he actually surprised. At some point he began to rub the same aching spot he'd endured for the past several days. "Just an ache." he brushed it off, dropping his hand back into his lap.

Dinah hummed, "How long have you had this ache." she asked. For a moment he considered lying to her, but he knew she'd see through it.

"Since that day." he relented.

She now tapped her fingers atop the arm rest, "Wally, do you blame yourself for what happened to your father." Dinah questioned. Normally, Wally would of scoffed the idea away and denied the mere t of it. Except he didn't, he remained quiet.

Sighing, Dinah crossed her legs, resting back into her chair. "Wally you're young, far too young to endure the hardships that go along with this course you've put yourself on. But time and time again you'll come upon situations where something doesn't go the way you've hoped. Things fall apart, how you cope with these events determines how you'll be effected in the end. You'll learn how there are moments when the center cannot hold. You've come to such a point now. But, think of this as your second coming. This moment will make you stronger though you don't realize it now."

"How is this supposed to make me stronger? I'm the same person as I was back in the lab. I'm supposed to be the hero! I'm supposed to save people. How am I supposed to do that when I couldn't even save my own dad? I could barely even save myself!" Wally cut her off, a slight horrified realization washing over him as his own voice caught at the end, his eyes pricked at the corners.

"Every day, people lose someone close to them. From heroes to normal citizens. Even if at the time of loss, the only thing connecting them was a bond of blood. And the last thing we want to do is pick ourselves back up. But you do, you keep going, you push forward, you do better."

"But how do you do it? That's the part I don't get."

"You do what any of us can do, you try."

End

Final Thoughts: Fight me. I mean...it's over. Yaaaay. Most likely..most definitely not the way people imagined it would end but heeey. Don't like it? Fight me.

Fun Fallen Fast Fact (alliteration!) This was supposed to be a trilogy. The third was supposed to be titled Second Coming. Oh well.

….

No. Not doing it.

….

Until the next, this is Fallen signing off saying...Fight me.