OKAY i know this isn't the part two but I'm working on fifty different things soo i'll be posting two fairly short stories to make up for it, gucci? 

Edited 15/02/2024: format change and small additions

"Hi Mama," Dick greeted, grinning at the woman beside his bedside. She smiled back tearfully and took a seat next to him. She reached out for his hand, taking it in hers and rubbing circles on the back of it with her thumb as she had done when he was a child. He remembered that even through the worst sicknesses of his life, as long as his mum did that, he would know he'd be okay. He missed it terribly.

"Hi Dick, how's my little robin feeling?" she asked. He sighed. 

"Not so good." He'd been shot multiple times after taking the wrong route home. How funny it would be if he died as a civilian, not as Nightwing. At least as Nightwing, he was practically asking for death. He taunted it every time he set out in that suit and ran around fighting people either ten times his size or stronger than he could ever be. It was a miracle he survived his youth.

He couldn't remember if someone eventually came to his aid or not. By the white sheets covering his body, he decided against the latter. Someone must've helped him and gotten him to some sort of hospital. However, the sight of his mother suggested they didn't help in time or the white sheets weren't meant for living patients. 

"You'll keep soldiering on though, right?" she questioned. 

"I'll try." She nodded to herself and began to run a hand through his hair, weaving her fingers into his curly black locks. 

"You know, I never said just how beautiful your eyes were," she said, staring into them intently. 

"Got them from Tati and you. Is he coming?"

"Not until we know you're joining us which better not be any time soon," she told him sternly. She didn't say how his father found it torturous to see his son so close but knew that he'd either have to face the reality of his son dying or once again leave him to a life without his parents. An empty chuckle left Dick's lips. 

"How is it that I only get to see you when something awful has happened?"

"The universe is cruel like that."

They sat in silence, enjoying the moments they spent together. A single tear slipped down Mary's face. Dick quickly moved to wipe it away, unhappy at the sight. 

"Don't cry, Mama." She swallowed thickly and tried to compose herself yet the thought of her baby going so early crept in. Too early. He had too much life to live and far too many people to live it with.

"I'm sorry, baby. I don't mean to upset you." He smiled and assured her it was alright. She couldn't take it. It felt like a part of her was dying with him. Her poor baby never making it to his wedding. Never seeing his brothers grow up around him. Never seeing them branch out and seeing their lives. He'd built such a beautiful family. She'd hate to see it ripped apart like their own. 

"I'll be okay. I always am." She sobbed quietly. She left before ever entering his little world. There was no way she could regain that time. She thought back to when Dick was first handed to her after months of carrying him around. Looking into his eyes, she saw her life. Her love. She couldn't wait to watch him grow the moment she brought him into the world but in another way, she never wanted him to. She wanted to both keep her tiny baby tiny forever and watch him become a man she could be proud of. 

Night after night she'd imagine the various situations they'd find themselves in. Dick struck her as mischievous from the moment they locked eyes when he was born. She imagined him creating his own little tricks, becoming a ringmaster or taking their place as the headliner and she even thought about him leaving the circus although she always thought he'd do so much older than he was. 

God, he was so handsome, she would've loved to gush about it to other circus folk. She wanted the world to know she had created something so perfect whilst in a relationship so many had told her would never produce anything worthwhile. He was so precious and a wonderful combination of everything she loved about her husband and everything he loved about her. 

"Richard please."

Mary snapped out of her solemn trance and looked up. She could just make out the figure of a small raven-haired boy. Damian, she remembered. The youngest. Such an angry yet gentle soul. He admired Dick like no other. He needed her child more than anything. More than herself which she hated to admit. Who could need a child more than their mother? The child of her child could. They danced around it but Damian was Dick's son more than Dick was ever Bruce's son.

"Damian's calling you," she commented. Dick hummed and let out a small whimper. She turned back to him and frowned. "Look who's crying now," she said, cupping his face. "What's started those waterworks?"

"I miss you guys. Why can't I come with you?" he cried. 

Mary shushed him softly. It was breaking her up inside. She wanted to be so selfish and take him with her. They could make up for the lost time. She'd have her son back and they'd be able to be the family they wanted to be so long ago. Yet she couldn't. Damian was only one of many who depended on Dick. People needed him for advice, training, leadership, friendship, brotherhood and so much more. Some even needed to tease and taunt him just to get through their days. Dick himself depended on them just as much. They were his outlet in life. He had so much emotion that he needed such a large family to spread it around. Mary gripped his hand and began giving him all the strength she had. He needed it if he was going to survive. She wasn't going to let him die, not now.

"C'mon Goldie, enough kidding around." Jason was getting agitated, she could tell. He was put off by his own worry to add any weight to the taunt of Goldie. 

"Because you have a family here. You've got to fight for them." He seemed unconvinced. She carried on giving him strength but he wouldn't make it if he didn't want to go back.

"You've gotta wake up at some point. Can that point be now?" Tim. Poor Tim. He was so scared. They'd only just returned to being close again. He didn't want to lose that. 

"When you were born, I looked at you and instantly wanted you to grow up just to see who you'd be. But I've learned to wait for that. To wait for you to come into your own and embrace who you were but you've still got more growing to do so you've got to stay here." He nodded, wiping at the newly formed water on his cheeks. "We can both wait to see each other."

"I love you Mama and Tati too. I really wish we got to spend more time together." Mary found it hard to control the lump in her throat. She swallowed and carried on giving him strength. He was beginning to go, leaving her. 

"Me too. I love you more than anything." She got up and kissed her son on his forehead. God, she missed him so much. She wanted her boy back but that couldn't happen. Not for now at least. She could wait a little longer if it meant they could spend forever together again.

"Please, son. I can't lose anyone else. I can't do this again." She winced when she heard Bruce calling out. Such a broken soul. He couldn't take much more. 

"Now, you better get going. You've been out for too long and they'll be worried."

"Will I get to see you again?"

"Of course but you'll only be visiting I should hope." Dick smiled softly and closed his eyes. His breath began to slow down as he slipped into slumber. She sighed, watching as the figures in the hospital room became more dominant. Her body began to disappear, back to the realm where she belonged. She spent her last moments staring at Dick sleeping. He seemed so peaceful. "I love you, Richard. Never forget that."

Dick opened his eyes and instantly felt blinded by the bright light. He winced, groaning at the shock it gave him. The groan made everyone in the room jump and rush to his bedside. 

"Grayson?" Damian asked quietly. His head perked up from the bed where he'd been resting it. He instantly composed himself at the sight of his brother stirring. 

"The one and only," he responded, smirking to himself. 

"Way to scare the living shit out of us," Jason commented. He got a small glare from Bruce but it was nothing they'd be scared of. It was little more than a warning shot. Dick tried to sit up, finding laying down uncomfortable seeing as he wanted to see his family. He let out a yelp and grabbed his side. 

"Sit back and I'll do it," Tim told him, pressing a button to lift him into a sitting position. 

"Thanks, Timmy." The younger beamed at him. He was relieved that his brother was still there. "How long have I been out?"

"Since the shooting or since the surgery?"

"I only remember the shooting. Vaguely."

"A week or thereabouts. The doctors thought you were going to wake up earlier, you had us worried," Tim explained. Dick laughed to himself. 

"I must've been tired. I bet you guys enjoyed the peace and quiet." The best part of the group was chuckling at the comment. At least his sense of humour was still intact. He shifted uncomfortably, feeling around where the pain stemmed from. Bandages covered his abdomen. "What's the damage?"

"Two-shot wounds to your abdomen. Luckily it didn't hit anything too major. The surgery was to take out one of the bullets but when they went in, they found that it had fragmented and part of it was embedded in your rib. They worried that some debris had travelled before they got in there," Bruce explained. He looked paler than a sheet of paper, Dick noted, and the bags under his eyes were darkened. In fact, all of his family members were sporting a sleep-deprived look. He didn't doubt that he also had a nice pair of under-eye bags too. 

"Guess I'm out of work for a while."

"Pennyworth made your room for you. You'll be staying with us whilst you recover," Damian informed him. 

"Thanks for the choice. Maybe I wanted to recover in my dirty probably diseased apartment." Bruce cringed at the thought of how messy it would be. Dick only cleaned it when he had someone over. Granted it made surprise visits more embarrassing than they should be. 

"Unless you have a death wish, you won't be going back there till your wound heals fully," Bruce warned.

Some silence followed as they took in how lucky they were. 

"It was close this time. You're lucky Flash was coming back through Bludhaven," Bruce recounted. He remembered a frantic speedster yelling at him down the phone to come to the hospital. His ward had been a victim of some punk with a gun. He feared Dick would see the same fate as his parents had. 

"Can't do much about being shot as Dick Grayson," the younger replied.

"That's why we were scared," Tim muttered.

"Well, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I've had orders from the higher-ups," he responded. Damian let out an aggravated sigh. 

"The thing you keep seeing is not your mother but a figment of your dying mind," he reasoned, earning a punch and glares from his older brothers. He couldn't help it. 

"Either way, an order is an order. Now can I get some lunch, I'm starving!"

"Sometimes I do question your mind."

"Sometimes I question my sexuality but you don't hear me blabbing about it," he teased.