Summary: "You're an idiot Grayson."

The sudden voice startled Dick but he recognized who it was. Damian is the only one who refers to him by his last name after all. As such, when he looked towards the direction the voice came from, he wasn't surprised to see the youngest Wayne standing there with his arms crossed- Uh oh. He fucked up. But how?

Day 7 - Excessive protection / Hiding injuries / "You don't have to be Robin"

Prompt(s) Used: Hiding injuries

With a low groan, Dick slowly opened his eyes. It was quite a fight to prevent his heavy eyelids from falling shut. He soon succeeded in keeping them open though. His vison was blurry for a few moments as they adjusted. Once everything came into focus, Dick slowly glanced at his surroundings. Almost immediately he knew where he was. The oxygen mask covering his mouth, the distinct feeling of an IV in his arm and the grey walls gave it away.

He was in the med bay at the batcave.

But why? The group mission was mostly going according to plan. Bruce and Damian were in pursuit of the up and coming drug lord while him, Jason and Cass took care of the lackeys they came across at their headquarters. All the while Steph and Tim worked together to stop their outgoing drug shipments and Barbara kept them up to date with everything on the comms. So, what the hell happened to land him here?

"You're an idiot Grayson."

The sudden voice startled Dick but he recognized who it was. Damian is the only one who refers to him by his last name after all. As such, when he looked towards the direction the voice came from he wasn't surprised to see the youngest Wayne standing there with his arms crossed- Uh oh. He fucked up. But how?

"I assume you want to know what happened?" Damian asked, crossing the room to sit in the chair next to Dick's cot.

"Yes," Dick whispered, feeling a few tingles of pain in his chest to which he flinched.

"Looks like the pain killers are wearing off," Damian said, "I will make this quick before Leslie comes to change your IV."

"Collymore is trying to make a run for it," Barbara said on the comms, "You should be able to cut him off in the west hallway on the thirteenth floor. His secret passageway exits there. Use the fire escape, it's faster than fighting your way through the mess on my screen."

"Copy that Oracle," Bruce responded, motioning for Damian to follow him.

"Be careful though," Barbara said as she hacked away, "There's goons all over."

"They won't be a problem," Jason said, the sound of him reloading his guns with rubber bullets faintly heard over the comms.

"Orphan, Wing-"

"Way ahead of you," Dick interrupted as he and Cass were already engaged in taking down some of the goons.

"Spoiler, Red. How are things on your end?" Barbara asked, changing the set of cameras displayed on her computer monitors.

"We're almost done," Tim said.

"And our breach wasn't even detected," Steph chimed in rather smugly.

As soon as she said that, a few beeps sounded from the equipment they were working from. Tim cursed a series of no's under his breath and typed like his life depended on it. The breach was finally picked up on and they were getting locked out of the system.

"Did you get all the necessary files?" Bruce asked.

"Hold on," Tim replied, still hurriedly hitting keys as the beeping continued.

"Now we've got everything," Steph said just before she yelped.

"Spoiler you okay?" Dick asked.

"She's fine," Tim answered, "The equipment's fried though."

"Never mind that," Barbara said, "There's some lackeys en route to your position."

"We got it," Tim assured.

"Spoiler?" Bruce asked, a bit of concern coming out in his voice.

"Yeah, we got it," Steph replied.

Dick then clicked off the comms with a relieved sigh. He knew Steph was okay based on Tim's answer but the response from her was very much appreciated. Dick didn't get to dwell on that reassurance for long as a thug all but tackled him out of nowhere. Using their entire body weight to slam him into the wall.

"Wing! You okay?" Cass asked.

"What happened?" Damian almost yelled over the comms.

A few moments of silence passed before Dick replied, "Nothing serious, I'm fine."

"That didn't look like you were fine goldie," Jason said directly to Dick given their proximity.

Dick didn't respond. Instead, he twirled his escrima sticks in his hands and took off to take down the last of Collymore's cavalry. As he fought, it steadily got harder and harder to breathe. Especially when trying to take deep breaths. A sharp pain radiated through his chest each time he tried. Like he was being stabbed repeatedly. Dick ignored it though and pushed through the remainder of the altercation.

"Are we all clear?" Tim asked as he and Steph arrived at the rendezvous point just outside the building.

"Yes," Damian answered flatly.

Bruce then proceeded to delegate the last few tasks of the mission before they could finally call it a night. All the while, Dick could no longer ignore what was happening to him. His chest not only ached but it felt increasingly tight. His breaths came out much too short and each intake of air hurt more than the last. Dick knew his heart was racing without placing his right hand over it. He could hear it thundering away in his ears as a wave of fatigue washed over him. Subsequently making him all but fall to his knees. His other hand almost immediately grasped at his throat as if that would help him.

"Wing!" several voices shouted at once.

Damian was the first one at his side followed swiftly by Tim and later Bruce.

"What's wrong with him?" Steph asked.

"I bet it has something to do with that bastard earlier," Jason answered.

"His lips are turning blue," Tim said as he looked over Dick.

"O," Bruce spoke into the comms, "contact Leslie and-"

"Already on it," Barbara interrupted as she hurriedly pulled up the doctor's contact info.

With that, Bruce ushered Tim and Damian back slightly and took Dick into his arms. He looked down at his eldest briefly before quickly relaying a set of instructions.

"Orphan, Spoiler, Hood. Stay here and finish recon. Robin, Red come with me."

Everyone nodded, except Jason who cursed under his breath, before carrying out what Bruce told them. Tim and Damian went just ahead of Bruce to the batmobile. Once there, Tim opened the back door and scooted over to the other side as Bruce gently, but still hurriedly, set Dick down along the seats. As soon as he was inside, Tim continued to check him over and relay the information to Barbara over the comms who in turn informed Leslie of Dick's condition. Damian hopped in the passenger seat as Bruce, with a flick of his cape, went around to the driver's side.

The atmosphere in the car was tense as Bruce took off down the streets of Gotham. All driving laws and regulations be damned as he raced towards the batcave. Damian glanced at Dick through the rearview mirror and winced at the sight of him. Dick's face was scrunched up in pain. The amount made clear by his occasional whimpers. A gasp from Tim drew both Damian and Bruce's attention.

"Did anyone give Dick stitches this past week?" Tim asked as he applied a bit of pressure to the reopened wound he just found on Dick's chest.

"Not to my knowledge," Damian replied, glancing to his father for an answer.

The expression, or lack thereof, on Bruce's face was telling enough as they pulled into the batcave's entrance. Dick didn't tell them of the injury Tim was trying to stem the bleeding of. He hid it from them. But there was no time to dwell on it as the three of them practically jumped put of the batmobile. Bruce scooped Dick into his arms again and they all made a beeline for the medbay where Dr. Thompkins was hurriedly unpacking and sterilizing medical supplies with the help of Alfred.

"Leslie and Alfred took over from there," Damian continued explaining, "You had a traumatic pneumothorax which was luckily treatable with just a decompression tube and of course supplemental oxygen. That reopened stab wound in your chest made things a bit difficult but you will be fully recovered in about two weeks."

Dick blinked twice as Damian finished retelling the events that landed him here. That was a lot to put it frankly but it certainly jogged Dick's memory. He remembered everything down to the last detail now. With that remembrance came a twang of guilt amongst the gradually returning pain. He'd promised to stop hiding injuries from his family after a particularly bad run in with some Arkham escapees a month ago. Clearly, he didn't keep it.

"Anything to say for yourself?" Damian asked.

He received a slurred response from Dick. If one could even call the barely there syllables Dick managed to say that. Damian sighed and let his head fall forward a bit. His gaze focused on the floor as he thought over his next words.

"You really worry me sometimes Richard."

A few moments of silence passed. Damian spent it fiddling with his hands while actively avoiding Dick's gaze. However, he soon looked up when Dick shifted on the cot. A barely audible hiss leaving his lips as he extended a hand to Damian.

"What are you- oh." Damian interrupted himself as Dick made a grabbing motion.

Damian slipped his hand into Dick's outstretched one. The elder giving it a small squeeze once he had a suitable grip given his current state. The action served as a wordless apology as well as a form of reassurance. Damian promptly returned the squeeze and kept firmly holding Dick's hand as time went by.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Damian quickly retracted his hand upon hearing Leslie's question. He then turned his face away from the medbay entrance where the doctor stood in a pitiful attempt to hide his face that was now flushed in embarrassment. Leslie held back a chuckle as she shook her head and Dick tiredly smiled.