Good Day | Dick Grayson

21. Not a Good Night

One of those few night when everything just didn't go right seemed to happen to everybody in unison.

Rachel didn't feel good when she went to school today. I got yelled at first thing in the morning at work by a newly admitted senior. Soon, I had to pick up Rachel from school because she developed a fever. We went to the doctor right away. We met Dick in Gotham General since he admitted his friend who got shot on duty.

The three of us went home. Rachel, that poor girl, cried a lot, apparently, when she got sick. So, I stayed with her the whole time while I let Dick rest since he would be going on patrol tonight.

Upon making dinner, I accidentally burned my forearm with the pot I used. For an 'urgent' matter Dick left early for patrol. He didn't have dinner and looked kind of pissed. Rachel threw her dinner back out almost as soon as she swallowed it.

I didn't know if I was more upset that the girl couldn't eat or because she felt so ill that she cried all the time. Rachel never cried before. I would gladly take her place if it meant she would at least be able to eat well and sleep comfortably.

It took a while for Rachel to at least had her stomach filled with a little bit of food and a little more time for her to finally fall asleep.

At around two in the morning, I got woken up by Dick arriving back. I was sleeping next to Rachel and stealthily walked out of her room. I found Dick standing in front of the door, just staring at it, probably waiting for me. He had only taken off his mask and looking very messy, both physically and very likely mentally. He had blood on his suit, bruises on his face, and even a cut on his lip.

When Rachel's room door shut completely behind me, Dick pulled me to his arms before slowly falling to his knees, burying his face on my stomach. His whole body shook. I tried to wrap my arms around him as much as I could.

I didn't ask questions. I just let Dick did whatever he wanted since--he might not admit it, but--he hated it if I asked about patrols.

After Dick calmed down a little, he lifted his head up to face me. I moved my hand to his cheek and caressed his cheekbone with my thumb.

"Let's get you cleaned up," I said.

Dick said nothing as I helped him clean himself up. I wasn't surprised anymore when I saw how badly injured he got. Most of them were bruises, but, it still made me feel uneasy sometimes knowing that he might be internally injured as well.

I tended on the would on Dick's face first. Eventually, I got to the ones on his arm and back.

After finishing, I put down the utensils and wrapped my arms around Dick's waist from behind, resting my chin on his good shoulder, leaving a kiss there beforehand. Dick's hands covered mine on his stomach.

"Have you eaten anything?" I asked.

"Y-yeah," Dick answered.

That didn't sound good enough for me.

"I can reheat the soup," I said.

"You should sleep. You have work tomorrow," Dick replied.

"I think I'm not going to work tomorrow. Rachel's still not well," I reasoned.

Dick turned his neck to see me.

"I can call in sick," Dick said.

I shook my head lightly. Dick sighed.

"You talk to someone, right?" I made sure.

"What do you mean? I talk to a lot of people. I'm talking with you now," Dick said.