Dick hadn't always been a sleep walker. He couldn't remember having ever done it whilst his parents were alive. He didn't know exactly when he had started getting up and wandering in the night, but it was somewhere around the time he had arrived at Wayne Manor.
Bruce had hoped it would be something his young ward would grow out of as he became more settled in his new life. Unfortunately, this never happened. He didn't walk every night, but he could generally tell when he had. He didn't have nightmares on the nights he walked, well he didn't think he did. He could never remember his dreams when he awoke, but he always woke up feeling tired and exerted.
He always did something different when he was sleep walking. Not that he remembered, but when people recounted their tales to him the next morning (as they generally did), he could never explain why he did what he did. Though he generally found it amusing.
Not everyone would agree with him.
Bruce - Dick aged 9.
Despite how exhausted he always was, Bruce was a light sleeper. He had become thankful of this since taking the young orphan into his care. He often heard the boy screaming in the night and would rise straight from his bed to comfort him.
Tonight there was no screaming, this in itself had Bruce on the very edges of consciousness. What made him cross the void into waking was the sound of soft padding feet walking passed his door. Getting up he opened his door and followed the sound of the footfalls.
To his surprise he came across the young boy, slowly walking his way down the corridor toward the stair case.
'Dick?' Bruce asked quietly. The boy didn't react.
Bruce took some large steps and managed to get in front of him, which is when he noticed the boys eyes were half closed and his pupils were unfocused. He was asleep.
Worried about his young charge falling down the stairs, Bruce hurried down the corridor and lightly tapped on Alfred's door.
'Master Bruce?'
'Sorry Alfred. It's Dick.'
'Whatever is the matter?'
Bruce pointed down the hall to where the boy was still wandering aimlessly. 'He's sleep walking. I don't know what to do.'
Alfred came out from his room wearing flannel knit pyjamas and brown wool lined slippers.
'Don't wake him. Let's try and lead him back to his room.'
Together they gently coerced the child back down the corridor and into his room, tucking him up in bed. It was surprisingly easy, the young boy being very co-operative.
They mentioned it to Dick over breakfast the next morning, but the nine year old had no memory of what they were talking about. Bruce added a stair gate to the top of the stairs that afternoon.
The Team - Robin aged 13.
The team were all sat around the TV watching the oscars. It was late, the programme continuing on into the early hours. Most were still awake and paying attention to the screen. Robin had long ago lost interest and had fallen asleep, curling to the corner of the sofa.
He had been asleep for several hours, none of the others having the heart to wake him and disturb him from his cute cocoon of pillows and blankets. It was nearing the end of the show when Robin suddenly got up.
'Heading to bed Rob?' Asked Wally. The youngest of the team didn't answer. 'Rob?'
The team looked at each other in confusion. It wasn't like Robin to rudely ignore them.
M'gann reached her mind forward to see if there was any tension in her young friends mind. She was surprised to find she could not gain entry.
'He's asleep.' She said quietly.
Suddenly Robin was much more interesting than what was on the screen.
'He's sleep walking?' Asked Artemis. They watched Robin head over to the sleeping quarters and they decided to follow him.
Robin headed to his room and entered, not closing the door behind him. The team watched as he went over to his desk and started taking the pens from the pot, one by one and lining them up in a line on the desk.
'What is he doing?' Asked M'gann.
Wally shrugged. He vaguely remembered Roy telling him once that Dick walked in his sleep and had done so when he was staying with Green Arrow one weekend. He tried to remember what he had said he done about it.
'Should we wake him up?' Connor offered.
'No.' Said Wally. They watched as Robin began moving the pens, arranging them in different formations on the desk. Wally finally remembered what Roy had said and came forward, gently placing his hands on Robins arms. Robin stilled his actions.
'Come on, let's get you into bed.' Wally said calmly. He looked over to the team and nodded his head toward the bed. Kulder came forward and drew back the covers as Wally gently but firmly led Robin away from the desk and into bed. As soon as the kids head hit the pillow, his body relaxed and settled into deep sleep.
Wally tucked him in and and the team left their friend to sleep.
'Well that was weird.' Said Artemis. They went back to watch the rest of the oscars. The next morning, Wally mentioned the night to Dick but the younger shrugged. He didn't remember any of it and he had no idea what he was doing with the pens.
'You're a mystery Boy Wonder.'
Raven and Beast Boy - Robin aged 16.
Raven sat at the kitchen island, a book in one hand and a mug of tea in the other. It was late, all the other Titans were in bed but she couldn't sleep. She could never sleep.
She glanced over as the door opened and Robin walked in. He was still in uniform but his hair was stuck up to one side, a sign he had fallen asleep as his desk again.
'Couldn't sleep either.' She said, but she frowned when he didn't answer. 'Robin?'
She took note of his movements, they were slow, automatic. His usual purposeful stride and straight posture were missing.
'You ok?'
It was then she realised he was sleep walking. He had warned her that he sometimes did, but she hadn't realised he would be so capable of navigating himself around the tower. Through their link she tried to see what was going on in his mind, but all she could gather were a few images of blue and waving patterns. She didn't understand the dream until she saw him heading towards the pool.
Suddenly she was worried, he may be able to navigate around the living area, but she worried about him falling into the water and drowning. She followed him, trying to deter him without waking him, but to no avail.
'What are you guys doing up?' Asked Beast Boy rubbing his eyes as they passed him. 'Rob?'
Raven shushed him.
'He's sleep walking. Don't wake him up.' She whispered.
'Dude that's weird!' Said Beast Boy, watching Robin for a moment. 'It's like something out of the exorcist!'
'We need to get him back to his room. I think he's heading to the pool.' Again they tried turning him, but they were too worried about waking him. Then Beast Boy had an idea. He turned himself into a large fluffy dog and stood beside Robin, letting the older boys hand rest in his fur.
Robin stopped, his hand clenching in the fur. Beast Boy nudged him, using his canine body to turn him around and then led him, like a guide dog back through the tower. When they arrived at his room, Raven opened the door and they led him back into bed. The bed was untouched, confirming Raven's theory that he had fallen asleep at his desk.
'How did you know that would work?' she asked the green morphling, who changed back into his human form once Robin was curled up in bed.
'I've only ever seen one of Robin's personal pictures. It was a dog, German Shepard. Figured feeling familiar fur would distract him.'
'Very clever.'
Slade - Robin aged 17.
Slade sat back in the chair before the computer, waiting. He had had Robin in his 'care' for nearly two weeks and every night, around three hours after the boy had gone to bed he started screaming.
The first night, Slade had rushed to the room to find his young apprentice thrashing in bed, but still very much asleep. He'd woken him and Robin had seemed defensive and embarrassed. Since that night, when the screams started Slade didn't go to him. But he would always sit and listen, waiting for the boy to either wake himself up or scream and cry himself out. He timed them, telling himself if they lasted longer than the average twenty minutes he would intervene. They generally didn't, they were like clock work and they only happened once a night. Apparently Robin was very adept at self soothing and calming himself back down.
But tonight there was no screaming. He had been sat there waiting for it, not wanting to go to bed until he knew Robin had had his outburst for the night. But it didn't come. Instead there was the sound of his door opening.
Figuring the boy was awake, Slade went to find him to order him back to bed. He found the teen wandering down the hall. He had his hand on the wall and he was tapping his fingers against the stone, all while muttering numbers under his breath. The numbers weren't in order or in any pattern as far at the mercenary could tell.
'Robin what are you doing?' He demanded. The boy ignored him, continuing to tap the wall.
Annoyed, Slade walked forward and grabbed the boy by the shoulder and spun him round. He realised his mistake when Robins face went from glazed to confused to fearful.
Robin suddenly lashed out. Slade grabbed him, holding him to his chest and brought them both to a sitting position on the floor.
'William!' He shouted. After a few moments, Wintergreen appeared.
'What on earth?' He muttered, seeing Slade sat on the floor with a screaming, struggling boy on his lap.
'He was sleep walking, I woke him up.' Slade explained, keeping a tight grip.
William understood. Waking a sleep walker can send them into a period of cognitive impairment. Right now the poor boy had no idea where he was, or most probably who Slade was. He was confused and scared and at a high risk of hurting himself and possibly Slade.
'Try and calm him down.' Said Will.
'How?'
'Talk to him! You're a father for goodness sake.'
Slade looked uncomfortable for a moment but then started rocking them, shushing the young teen as he went. It took several minutes but eventually he stopped yelling, then he stopped struggling and finally he relaxed in Slade's arms, his head resting back against his shoulder looking off into space.
'Robin?' Wintergreen came and crouched in front of them. Robin's gaze turned to him.
'You can let me go now.' Robin said quietly.
Slade held on for a moment longer, then released him. Robin got to his feet, hugging his arms around himself. If Slade had thought the boy was embarrassed after he had been caught screaming, it was nothing to how ashamed he looked now.
'I'm sorry.' He whispered.
For once, Slade's response was kind.
'You've no need to apologise. I shouldn't have woken you.' There was a pause. 'How long have you been a sleepwalker?'
Robin shrugged. "Since I was a kid.'
'When you became Robin?' Slade offered gently. The boy thought about it then nodded slowly.
'It's probably PTSD.' Slade offered. 'It's nothing to be ashamed about.' He knew a lot of men, good men who suffered from it. Even he himself had moments when he was back on the front line. 'Go back to bed.'
Robin nodded and headed back to his room. When he arrived he sank to the floor and cried. No one had ever woken him from his wandering before, it had been terrifying. He hadn't known where he was or who he was with. Everything was moving too fast and was too bright. He wanted to go home. He never wanted to be that vulnerable with Slade ever again.
The New Team - Nightwing aged 19.
The new team were having some down time after a long week of missions. Nightwing had been really pushing them this week, it was hard going but they were all happy with the results. They were hanging around the living room, discussing what Nightwing had meant by taking their training to the next level.
Tim was hanging around for his brother. The elder had got back early this morning from patrol and had decided to take a quick nap in the cave before he and Robin headed back to Gotham.
Finally, the older hero turned up, he headed for the kitchen.
'You ready to go Wing?' Asked Robin. He turned round to face the kitchen when his brother was silent. 'Wing?'
Nightwing started opening the cupboards and pulling out tea bags and mugs. He boiled the kettle and started making tea.
'Guess we're leaving after tea.' Said Robin, turning back around. The clinking continued and Robin turned around again, Nightwing had finished making his tea and had started making another and another.
'Night?' Asked Robin. He jumped the couch and headed to the kitchen. 'Nightwing?'
His brother continued his tinkering in the kitchen to the point that the rest of the young team noticed there was something wrong.
Robin leant against the counter and peered into his brothers face. He noticed his eyes were half closed, unfocused and staring straight ahead rather than looking at what his hands were doing.
'Shit.' Tim whispered.
'What's wrong?' Asked Cassie.
'Um...' Robin wasn't sure how to handle this. He knew he needed to get Dick back to bed, but he couldn't do that without looking weird. 'Nightwing's...sleepwalking.'
'What!' The team all started to gather around but Robin waved them off.
'Give him some space!'
Robin took hold of Nightwing's wrists and the older hero stopped. He pulled him to the side and started guiding him back to his room. The others took a step back to allowed them to pass. Blue Beetle accidentally brushed against a glass on the side causing it to fall to the floor with a crash.
Tim's eyes widened as Nightwing twitched, he could see his eyes moving from behind the glasses. Bruce had warned him what happened when Dick was woken from his walking, it had only happened a few times but he knew there wasn't long to act.
'Nightwing, it's ok. I'm Robin, you're in Mount Justice. Everything is ok, you've been wandering.' Tim knew he either had to gently wake him up or get him back to sleep to avoid him panicking and lashing out. He wouldn't say he was afraid of his brother, but Nightwing was very strong and when he was like this he didn't hold back.
Nobody moved.
'Cass.'
'Yeh?'
'Can you go and see if any of the League are here. Please.' Said Tim, not taking his eyes off his brother. Nightwing was caught somewhere between asleep and awake. Either way, Tim didn't think he was going to be able to handle it.
Everyone held their breath, time suspended until Superman joined them in the kitchen, he slowly made his way to Tim's side.
'How's he doing?'
'I think he's falling back to sleep.' Said Tim. Dick's eyes had stopped their movement and were beginning to close. Suddenly his knees buckled under him and Superman caught him in his arms.
Tim let out a sigh of relief. He was glad he hadn't had to deal with a scared and confused Nightwing.
Superman brought him over to the couch and lowered him down. Tim sat beside him and touched his shoulder.
'Nightwing?'
Nightwing stirred and opened his eyes behind the glasses. He looked around in confusion before looking back at his brother.
'I did it again didn't I?'
'Yeh. You were making tea.' Said Robin. 'It's ok though, no harm done.' He smiled reassuring his brother that he hadn't done anything to endanger himself or anyone else. Dick seemed to process this information.
'You ready to go home?' Tim offered. Dick nodded.
He didn't sleep in the cave again for a few months.
Damian - Dick aged 21.
Damian shifted in his sleep, turning himself over on the mattress and wrapping the sheet around himself. He was drifting back into sleep when his fine-tuned senses realised there was someone else in the room. He sat up and scanned the room. Standing by the window was a figure. Damian focused his eyes in the gloom of the night, his body ready to pounce as he tried to figure out who it was.
'Grayson?' He said upon recognising the shadow in the moonlight.
The eldest son of the bat made no move to turn round, address him or explain himself.
'Grayson, what are you doing in here?'
'The rain is shining.' Dick mumbled.
'What?' Damian demanded. 'What are you...' Then he realised.
He sat there for a moment wondering what to do. Obviously, he needed to inform father so that he could come and retrieve Grayson, but he didn't want to leave the sleeping man in the room alone. There were several sharp objects lying around Damian's bedroom, and the youngest bat was concerned about his brother's safety.
Reaching for the bedside table he pulled his phone from the dock where it was charging. Tapping the screen a few times he held it to his ear.
'Father... Yes, I'm fine... It's 4 am... Grayson is in my room... He's talking nonsense so yes, I presume he's asleep.' The line went dead and a few moments later the bedroom door opened and Bruce walked in, dressed in slacks and a loose white t-shirt, his hair dishevelled and his eyes tired. It had been a while since he had had to get up and deal with Dick since the young man rarely slept here anymore.
He approached the younger man and touched his shoulder.
'Come on Dickie. Let's get you back to bed.'
He allowed Bruce to guide him out of Damian's room and back down to his own.
Hearing the commotion, Jason popped his head around the door.
'And that is why we lock our door when he's here.' He winked at Damian and disappeared. The young son of Wayne tutted and rolled back over into sleep.
He asked Grayson the next morning what he had meant by the rain was shining. Dick had laughed and shrugged. He had no idea.
A/N Confession time. I'm a sleep walker. Have been since my early teens. These are some of the weird things people have said I've done whilst I've been 'wandering' as my parents call it. Mine isn't caused by PTSD, I thought that would suit the character. I don't know what causes mine, most likely stress! Fun fact, the scene with Slade actually happened to me. I was staying at a friends house and her brother woke me up when I was walking. I don't remember being asleep, I remember being very confused and scared and everything was hyper sensative. When I calmed down I was sat on his lap and he was holding me tight to stop me clawing at him. I didn't get invited round again haha! Also fun fact, my parents have a stair gate on the top of their stairs to stop me falling down then (although apparently, I've worked out how to open it) and my siblings have locks on their doors to stop me walking into their rooms at night (especially my sister since her room used to be mine!). Hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you're a sleep walker, what's the weirdest thing you've done in your sleep? Please review! K xx