Tim will always be Red Robin to me plus it's so confusing to write two Robins and I'm not calling him the Drake, I'd rather go through the Ric arc again

EDIT: i totally didn't notice this saying your instead of you in the title

Over dinner, they decided that only some of them should go out on patrol whilst the rest of them stayed behind with Dick. All of them could really do with punching some criminal in the face right now but they couldn't all go if they wanted to be sure to catch the fever before it got too high or if his condition got worse. None of those who say him throwing up in the bathroom would be able to forget just how pale he was. "I'll stay," Damian stated, being the first but most expected. With his near hourly visits, they doubted he'd be able to go a full patrol without sneaking off at some point to check on the older. Not that he'd admit it. 

"I have to go out," Tim said. "I've got a case to close and I have to visit Babs to go over the casework I finished for her." That and he couldn't stand to see Dick sick any longer. The weight of it all was evident on everyone's shoulders, especially with Duke suggesting it was down to their neglect. He needed to show that he had some sort of control over something and work had always allowed that.

"Cass and I have been working on this lead for months. We can't give it up now," Steph added. That was them out but for good reason. With those two alongside Tim then they already had enough to cover Gotham. Sure they'd be only just managing but it was enough.

"I'll stay," Duke offered. They looked to Jason who was pushing his food around his plate. It was incredibly unlike him, given his tendency to be the first to finish his plate. Yet today he was one of the last and had remained quiet for a long time. Also unlike him. He noticed their stares eventually and glanced up then back to his food.

"I'm staying," he huffed.

"Couldn't have pinned you for that," Tim commented offhandedly. 

"Surprisingly, I care about the dickhead upstairs," he replied hotly. 

"Here's the deal, us three will stay behind whilst you three head out. If there are any emergencies, contact us but only if you can't find anyone else. We'll contact you if there are any emergencies here," Duke announced. With nods of agreement, the deal was settled and they continued to eat in uneasy peace. The presence of their acrobat was sorely missed but they had to find some comfort in quiet. It meant that Dick was sleeping through the worst of the fever. 

Nothing could've prepared them for the scream. Seeing their fellow hero occasionally writhe with discomfort from the mind-melting fever was what they expected to be the worst part. Some of them rated seeing the wound swell and look so clearly infected as the worst part but no, it was the scream that turned out to be the worst part. They all scrambled up from their places seated at the table and raced up the stairs because the scream was so guttural that it couldn't be anything other than one that needed their presence. Damian was first to open the door and tumble inside with his siblings hot on his heels but they could all breathe a small sigh of relief to find there was no secret assailant attacking their ailing acrobat. The relief wasn't something to revel in though as that meant there was another reason as to why he'd screamed. That reason was the bane of Dick's existence. Night terrors. Most people grew out of their night terrors once they hit adulthood but they'd stuck to him like glue. He sleepwalked too although those incidents weren't nearly as often as the night terrors. Damian, since he was leading the charge and totally not because he wanted to, walked over to the older and began running his fingers through his hair. It calmed the acrobat a little but not nearly enough for anyone to feel at ease in the room.

"What's happening?" Duke asked.

"Oh you've not seen them before," Steph realised after briefly wondering why he was confused. "Dick has night terrors. The fever is probably making them more intense. Think a fever dream having sex with acid and having a nightmare baby." 

"They're not normally this loud," Tim added for context. "He usually just kinda cries and calls for people. Apparently, he was so sleep-deprived from them as a kid that he'd just drop out of nowhere. He's always had them but they got worse after y'know." Duke knew and frowned to himself. The poor guy really couldn't catch a break. "So now they get worse again whenever he's stressed or he's got a fever."

"Is there anything we can do?" he asked. He didn't know how much he could stand the pained whimpers and cut-off sobs coming from the man. 

"I'm doing all we can," Damian informed him. It didn't feel like a lot but he didn't say that aloud. 

"Can you not wake him up?"

"It's usually worse for them to wake them up. Just have to wait it out," the younger explained. He spared a sorrowful look at the acrobat, unhappy with just leaving him to his trauma-filled nightmares but knowing there wasn't much else to do. That seemed to be a running theme lately. Something bad was happening but there wasn't much that could be done about it. They just had to ride it out. First with the cut, then the sickness and now this. 

"How long does that take?"

"Depends."

"Alright, everyone who is going out for patrols go downstairs and get going. We'll stay with him and make sure he's not pulled a stitch or something," Jason announced, taking control of the situation. Although there was enough room in the bedroom to fit them all comfortably, it was more so the atmosphere of it all. All their anxieties could be felt and fed into one another when they were all standing there helpless. It was in their nature to help and be useful so standing around only worked them up more. Taking to the leadership, the siblings reluctantly left them to deal with the acrobat whilst they went out. "Once he's out of it, we'll take his temperature and take shifts. I doubt any of us will be getting much sleep tonight."

"I'll get some more ice," Duke suggested. "Maybe we can open a window for some fresh air?"

"I wouldn't call Gotham air fresh but I suppose it couldn't hurt."

Eventually, Dick awoke gasping for breath and clutching at his chest. He moved away from the hand stroking his hair before he groggily registered who it belonged to and relaxed again. "You with us Goldie?" Jason asked. The acrobat stared at him for a long time. Too long for any of them to find comfortable. He blinked hard and rubbed at his eyes. "Dick?"

"My head hurts," he croaked, not answering the question. "What're you doing in my room?"

"You're sick and we're keeping an eye on you," Duke explained. 

"Where are the others?"

"What? Are we not enough?" Jason joked only to get another long stare from the man. There was something not quite there in his gaze and it became a little unnerving to be the subject of it. "They're on patrol. We'll be taking turns probably. Until you're better."

"Oh." He flopped back down on the mattress with a groan, kicking off the covers frustratedly. It was almost childish how he whined as he shoved them to the side but they couldn't comment on it. When they fought off fevers, anything covering them was like hell and he was exhausted from restless sleep. "Keepin each other safe till I'm better?" They nodded and he made a noise they hoped was in acknowledgement of their response rather than one of discomfort. "Good siblings. I'll take care of you again when I've had a nap," he mumbled. He let out a sigh as he moved to sleep on his side then let out a shout as his infected wound suddenly took the weight of his body. "Wassit?"

"Sleep on your other side," Damian advised. He nodded slowly and cautiously tried the other side, relaxing into the bed when he didn't feel any discomfort.

"M proud of you kids. Glad you were Robins." 

"Do you need anything?" Duke asked before he could drift off.

"Apple juice." They smiled at the odd request but Duke honoured it all the same. Even if the acrobat was passed out by the time he returned.

Around one in the morning, their emergency alarms went off. Dick whined at the noise and made an attempt to get up but they coaxed him back down by assuring they had it handled. They silently debated what was best before Damian made the first move. "We should call on someone else," he stated firmly. 

"But this is us," Duke argued. "We wouldn't call in an emergency unless there really was one. Especially under the circumstances."

"But Grayson is an ongoing emergency. If you want us to go then only one of us should."

"Not happening. An emergency bad enough to call in needs all of us there," Jason argued.

"I agree. We can't risk going unprepared and leaving him alone all night until Alfred notices we're gone."

"And the more we argue, the worse the situation could become. We're all going." Damian grumbled but didn't argue much further. Even he could see some logic in the argument even if he thought his own thinking was superior. After telling Dick to stay put, the three went down to the Batcave and got changed in record time. They couldn't waste a second in emergencies. None of them wanted to attend another funeral either so they were all racing to get on the road. The trio had driven to the crime scene at top speed, getting there in a record time of twenty minutes, only to find no fight was there. Police were swarming the area and speaking with officers was Red Robin who was completely fine. Not a scratch on him. He was recounting the details with a little smile too. Red Hood got off his bike and stormed up to the teen, shoving him to get his attention. "Hey-"

"I said to call us in an emergency! Does this look like a fucking emergency?" he snarled. They'd left Dick alone to go protect one of their own and here he was right as rain. Red Robin stared at him then frantically reached for his emergency communicator to inspect it. Correction: broken emergency communicator. They'd installed a protocol to send out a signal if it was ever broken after losing Bruce. It gave them some peace of mind that they wouldn't be left high and dry if a villain ever decided to break it.

"Sorry, it must've broken in the fight," the younger replied. "I didn't mean to."

"Whatever. Check your equipment after fights next time so we don't haul ass over Gotham," Red Hood snapped. He knew it wasn't anyone's fault and it was just a mistake but they couldn't afford for there to be mistakes when Dick was in the state that he was. He needed someone there just in case even if right now he was stable. It would take another twenty minutes to get back, forty in total. Anything could happen between then.

"I told you we should've gotten someone else out here," Robin added unhelpfully.

"Shut up and get on your bike. I'm not starting with you."

"I'm just telling you that I was right so maybe in the future you actually listen."

"God, you're so fucking annoying. How the hell did Dick put up with you?" Robin's expression darkened beneath his mask as he gave the older a sharp shove.

"How does he put up with me? How does he put up with you? All you do is belittle him!"

"Oh, and you're any different? You're lucky he tolerates you. If I was the one left to look after you, you'd be shipped off back to your mum!"

"Guys stop!" Signal shouted, standing in between them and pushing them away from one another. "You two getting mad when you're stressed won't fix anything. You know not to bring his mother into an argument and you know not to push past a limit he set. He said to stop and you overstepped. Now both of you get on your bikes and go home." Surprisingly, the pair responded well to him and returned to their bikes with only a few muttered insults between them. He stared at them, slightly shocked he had such power then turned to Red Robin for some sort of explanation. All he got was a confused shrug and an awkward thumbs-up for his work. "Wish me luck with those two."

"You need a lot more than luck. Maybe a tranquillizer."

"Don't tempt me."

The trio trudged into the Batcave, thoroughly frustrated with spending so long away from their sick sibling who undoubtedly needed their presence. They swiftly changed back into civilian clothing, knowing for a fact that Alfred would somehow sense that they were wearing them upstairs if they attempted to, before climbing the stairs to the manor's ground floor. Although pissed off that they had to rush to a non-existent emergency, they were silently grateful that they didn't lose another family member. There was only so much they could take at a time.

First on the agenda was checking up on Dick which came sooner than expected when they heard his hoarse voice in the kitchen. "You gotta wait, T," Dick giggled. They immediately began rushing to the kitchen because it was already a miracle that Dick was able to stand let alone make his way down to the kitchen to do God knows what. Hopefully just getting a glass of water but knowing him he was probably deciding to test out his knife skills. When they got there, they saw that he luckily only had a butter knife in hand and was cutting the crusts off sandwiches. He glanced up when he noticed their presence and smiled before returning to the sandwiches. There was a clear sheen of sweat on his forehead and he was significantly pale. His hands were shaking and shivers went through him every so often, forcing him to either stop cutting the bread until they stopped or made the cuts wobbly. Titus was standing beside him, almost standing on his toes he was that close, and staring at him with what some could consider worry in his eyes. He looked to his owner as though to ask if he was indeed seeing that a man meant to be on bed rest was now cutting the crusts off sandwiches.

"What're you doing?" Jason asked. Had he not just been on the most anticlimatic of adrenaline rushes, he would've found this funny but currently, he was on edge waiting for something bad to happen.

"Making Dami's sandwiches. He doesn't like crusts. Give them to Titus. I know I shouldn't but who could say no to that face? Like owner like pet." He gave the dog a pat on the head with a goofy smile.

"You're making me sandwiches?" Damian inquired, ignoring the fact he'd been compared to his dog.

"Yeah. School tomorrow. It's my job to look after you." God that hurt like nothing else. Having someone willingly take responsibility for you without a second thought was one thing but doing it when they were sick too? No one was doing that for him before he got sick yet here he was doing this. Duke walked over and gently hooked his arm around the man, slowly moving him away from the table.

"Your job right now is to get some rest. You're really sick and you need to sleep."

"Oh," he said quietly as though he'd only just realised that he was indeed sick. He put the knife down and let himself be moved away from the table. "Is that why Titus was tugging on my pyjamas?"

"Yes," Damian stated at the same time as everyone else shook their heads. "He's a very perceptive dog."

"He's a dog," Jason huffed.

"He's a good dog," Dick corrected almost drunkenly. "Where'd you go?"

"Nowhere important. Let's get you to bed, okay?"

"Mkay."

Once Dick's head hit his pillow he was out like a light, seemingly using all the energy he gained from his short rest to go downstairs and then back upstairs. Titus followed them up and jumped onto the bed, sitting at the foot of it. He put his head on the man's leg and seemed to get himself comfortable for a long stay. Damian smiled at his pet proudly and rewarded him with a few pats for his good service. At least is something had happened, his beloved pet would've been there to do something however helpful that something might be. He was a dog after all it's not like he could perform first aid but he could alert Alfred. 

"I hope he didn't make himself any worse," Duke thought aloud. The others silently agreed. They needed this fever to get packing so they could have their big brother back. "We should probably settle in for the night. Any of you feel strongly about NCIS?" 

"You seriously watch that?" Jason asked incredulously.

"Helps me sleep. Aside from the intro but you get used to the scream after a while." To be fair, they'd take anything if it drowned out the laboured breathing and occasional pained whimpers from the hero stuck in bed. So they got themselves comfortable, the bolder of the trio settling on the bed whilst the remaining members took the plush armchairs. Every room had an armchair given Bruce's tendency to only show concern or care when you're completely out of it. They wondered how many times the man had sat in this room watching over this particular acrobat. Probably a lot of times because Dick was a danger magnet. Hopefully, he'd make it through this to put himself in danger another time. 

The fever broke the day after and everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief that it hadn't climbed any higher otherwise they'd have to pay the hospital a visit. He was still somewhat out of it given that it'd only broken and not gone away completely but he was more so himself. Just more giggly. Sometimes more melancholy but they didn't stick around to see those moments. It just made them feel awkward, as though it should be dealt with in private and he hadn't quite realised they were standing a moment away. Other than that, he was on the mend. 

Alfred made his favourite soup for breakfast, sitting beside the young man as he spoon-fed him the first real meal he'd had since first passing out in the gym. Everything else he'd only managed a bite of so the butler made it his personal goal to put some fat back on his bones. "Alfie?" Dick whispered. He did his best to keep his eyes open and not fall asleep even if he was desperately craving the rest. There was something slightly off about his gaze, either he wasn't looking like he was understanding the shape in front of him or he was in pain from the infection still lingering. "Is the fire on?"

"No sir, you're just quite sick," the butler replied. His voice was even despite his worry. Had Dick been more aware of what was going on then he would've picked up on the poorly veiled concern still on the man's face as he continued to spoon-feed him. "Your mind is still addled from the fever so you often forget that. You always did become forgetful when you were sick. I recall one time you swam two meters before remembering you were supposed to be on bed rest for a torn ligament and a cold." He placed the bowl on the bedside table before swiping away the sweaty bangs that clung to Dick's forehead. "You did a good job, Master Dick. Looking after your family on your own was quite the job on its own, let alone everything else on top of that. I'm ashamed to say that I allowed you to take on so much due to my own grief and it was a rather easy way for me to manage my emotions in my own time. I was supposed to look after you."

"M not nine anymore." Alfred hums because that's not true for him. Of course, he can see the wonderful person laying in bed but there'd always be some of that nine-year-old boy he met that day years ago in those blue eyes especially when Dick was sick. Something about the vulnerability made him unbelievably young no matter his actual age. "Sorry I got sick. When I'm better I'll take over."

"You've done enough." Dick shook his head, determination burning in his eyes but there was something behind that determination. It's dark and terrifying to experience but he'd seen it enough times in Bruce's own eyes to recognise it. That dark hole of never doing and never being enough.

"Haven't."

"You've done plenty, sir. More than you should as a person who is grieving themselves."

"I've mourned my dad a lot." That he had but Alfred knew the gravity of it never wore off and it was only a matter of time before he realised. He needed to slow down for him to truly comprehend what happened. The butler suspected that from the moment they heard Bruce was gone, it was the moment Dick decided to throw himself into something to keep him distracted. Granted that wasn't the only reason he was looking after his family but that was part of it. "Miss him." A small smile graced his features although it was slightly tilted and loopy. "He would've sucked at looking after me."

"He would have," Alfred replied, smiling to himself.

"It would've been nice but also not." The older nodded along. "Alfie?"

"Yes?"

"Am I doing okay? With them? With this?"

"You're doing the best."