Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

            It took the Titans almost three weeks to find Dick. Despite the fact that they knew who took him, drug dealers who stole directly from pharmacies and hospitals, they covered their tracks well. Even with the trackers that Bruce had put in Dick, they somehow couldn’t find him. At first, they wondered if it was because they had found the trackers and disabled them, or jammed them in some way, but it seemed more probable that wherever they took Dick was in a place that blocked the signal, like underground.

            So they searched the sewers and subway lines until Gar got lucky. He shifted into a dog and was able to catch Dick’s scent. It was faint, but it was enough to lead them to an abandoned subway line where the drug dealers had made their home. Taking them down was child’s play. They weren’t skilled fighters and they were completely surprised by the heroes. As soon as the Titans took care of them, they searched for their missing teammate.

            Donna, now going by the name of Troia instead of Wonder Girl, found a door that most likely led to an old office. Opening it, she found the man that they had been searching for. Her best friend. Practically her younger brother.

            “He’s over here!” Donna shouted at the others, then ran to Dick’s side. He was still in his Nightwing uniform and mask which was good. His hands were tied together in front of him with zip-ties and was lying on his side. That didn’t really surprise her, but what did, what worried her was that he didn’t react at all. He was unconscious.

            Gently patting his cheek as the others came into the room and joined her, she said, “Dick, wake up. Come on. Wake up.”

            He didn’t wake. Donna tapped him a little harder though she didn’t want to. His face was filled with bruises that seemed to have faded but she didn’t want to hurt him more. Beside her, Hank untied Dick’s wrists while Kory started shaking his arm, whispering, “Wake up Dick.”

            Dick groaned and weakly opened his eyes. Though it was clear he was trying, he didn’t seem to be able to focus on them. Donna gently ran her hand through his hair, looking for a bump or cut. Any kind of sign that he had sustained a head injury or something. He could have a concussion. To her surprise, she didn’t find anything. He did however have an old bruise above his left eye. But it didn’t seem that bad.

            “Dick, are you okay?” Rachel asked, trying to get closer. Dick’s eyes drifted over to her, but then he closed them.

            “Oh no you don’t.” Kory told him as she started shaking his arm again. “You need to stay awake.”

            The detective let out another groan and his eyes fluttered but didn’t really open. Hank frowned at that. There was something familiar about the way Dick was acting. Something that Hank didn’t like. Something that gave him a cold and sick feeling in his stomach.

            He gently pushed Rachel and Dawn out of the way to get closer to their injured leader, ignoring their protests. Now close enough, he put his hand under Dick’s chin and tilted his head up. With his neck exposed, Hank got a clear view of the several marks that littered Dick’s skin. Needle marks. He was drugged. And he had been drugged far more than once. That must’ve been why he hadn’t been able to escape.

            Moving his hand to Dick’s shoulder, he jostled it with more force than the girls were doing. Again, Dick let out a noise of protest, but this time he was actually able to open his eyes. Seeing that, Hank demanded, “What did they give you?”

            Dick didn’t answer. He simply stared at the blonde in mild confusion. It made Hank wonder when was the last time his kidnappers drugged him.

            “Bird brain, I need you to concentrate for a minute, okay.” Hank said, now putting both of his hands under Dick’s jaw so he could make sure he was looking at him. When he saw the hero now known as Nightwing try to focus on him, he asked, “Do you know what they gave you?”

            “Table.” Dick mumbled with a hoarse voice, his eyelids fluttering again. He wasn’t going to stay conscious for much longer.

            “Table?” Hank questioned, completely confused by the younger man’s answer.

            “Over here.” Gar spoke up. Hank looked over his shoulder to see the green-haired teenager back in his human form, wearing the specially made suit that stayed on whenever he changed shape, standing off to the side in front of a table that was pressed against the wall. Hank immediately got to his feet and walked over to him.

            The second he reached the younger hero, he saw what Dick had meant. The table was cluttered with vials, some empty and some not, and a syringe. There were multiple needle marks on Dick but only one syringe. That was dangerous. It could easily lead to infection. Hank then grabbed one of the vials that still had liquid in it and almost growled at what he saw. Dilaudid, an opioid that was around 10 times stronger than morphine. It was extremely addictive and the drug dealers had giving it to Dick multiple times.

            “Hawk?” Hank heard Dawn call out. Slipping the vial in a pocket in his belt, he turned back to the others and said, “We need to get back to the Tower.”

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            Two hours later, Hank stood in the doorway to the Tower’s infirmary. Rachel was sitting in a chair on Dick’s left, leaning down so her head and arms rested on the bed, fast asleep. Kory, who was also asleep, sat in a chair on Dick’s right, her head tilted to the side in an angle that Hank knew she’d be regretting later. Rose/Jericho had stayed in the room for a total of 20 minutes before Rose got bored and went off to do something, telling the others to get them if anything happened. Gar had gone to the bathroom but was most likely going to retake his place in the empty chair near Rachel. Conner was asleep in his room and Dawn and Donna were in the kitchen.

            “Hey.” Dawn said as she came down the hall to stand beside Hank, holding two mugs, followed by Donna with her own mug. Handing one to him, Dawn asked, “Still asleep?”

            “Yup.” Hank replied, taking a sip of the hot drink that turned out to be a type of tea which was probably smart. No one had slept that much since Dick had been kidnapped. Now that he was safe, the last thing they needed was coffee.

            “Are you okay?” Dawn wondered, seeing the worried expression on his face.

            “I’m fine.” Hank answered, turning his gaze back to Dick’s sleeping figure.

            Seeing what he was looking at, Donna said, “He’s going to be okay. Rachel healed him.”

            “Of physical injuries.” Hank pointed out, causing a concerned expression to come upon the women’s faces.

            “What do you mean?” Donna inquired, a new worry coming over her.

            Hank reached into his pocket and pulled out the vial he had grabbed and handed it to Dawn since she was closest to him. “Found this when we rescued him. This is what those sh*t-heads were drugging him.

            Dawn read the label and felt her worry increases. Beside her, Donna did the same. When they brought Dick back to the Tower and started looking him over for injuries, they had seen the needle marks along with the old bruises and scrapes. Some of the needle wounds were infected but when Rachel healed his injuries, it looked like she healed the infections too. They decided to keep an eye on them though, just to be safe. However, they didn’t what drug dealers had given him. She had hoped that it was just a sedative, something not addictive, but they were wrong.

            “Is there any chance he didn’t get addicted?” Dawn asked, looking back up at Hank.

            “With how many injection sites there were, I doubt it.” Hank informed her. It didn’t matter that Dick didn’t choose to be drugged. His body had gotten used to it and would now crave it, whether Dick liked it or not.

            “So, what do we do?” Dawn knew from helping Hank with his own struggles of breaking his addiction to drugs that it wasn’t easy, or fun.

            “Well, we can’t do anything until Dick wakes up. Then we ask what he wants to do.”

            “What about the others?” Donna asked. “Shouldn’t we tell them?”

            Hank’s brows furrowed as he thought it over, then said, “Maybe Kory, but not the kids, not yet. They’re just kids. After Dick wakes up, we’ll ask if he wants them to know.”

Chapter Text

            Dick awoke feeling like he had been run over by a semi-truck. His entire body ached and his head felt fuzzy even though his brain throbbed in his skull. Despite that, he forced himself to open his eyes and see what was going on.

            He was a little confused but glad to see that he wasn’t in that room where the drug dealers were keeping him prisoner. The sight of the Tower infirmary filled him with a sense of relief, but he didn’t really like that he couldn’t remember getting here. He must’ve been or unconscious or drugged, which was the more likely theory as that was what his captors had been doing to keep him from trying to escape. They did it so much he had completely lost any track of the time he was able to get which was annoying and unsettling.

            “Dick?”

            Turning his head, the police detective found Donna, sitting in a chair on his right, Dawn sitting at the foot of his bed and Hank standing near the door. Kory, Rachel, Rose/Jericho, Conner and Rose however were nowhere to be seen. Staring up at the three, he asked, “How long was I gone?”

            “Almost three weeks.” Donna answered, not that surprised at how alert Dick was. He had enough practice over the years.

            Dick frowned at that and said, “Longer than I thought. How bad is the damage?”

            “Not too bad. Rachel healed you.” Dawn replied, confusing Dick a little. He understood why he would be in the infirmary even though Rachel had healed his injuries. He had no doubt that he was dehydrated and malnourished, but there was a look on Dawn’s face and something in her voice. Something that said something bad had happened.

            “But?” Dick prompted when his ex-girlfriend didn’t continue.

            “But, we found a bunch of needle marks.” The platinum blonde revealed.

            It took a minute for Dick to realize what she was getting at. After his captors realized he wasn’t going to talk, they started drugging him. They didn’t say why they did that instead of killing him since he wasn’t giving them any information, but he assumed he was their leverage of something. Dick wasn’t sure how many times they drugged him but it was a lot. He would wake up, stick him with the needle, then let him use the bathroom and eat before the drug would take effect. He only had about 15 minutes before that happened.

            “Yeah. Were you guys able to figure out what it was they used?” Dick hadn’t been able to find out what the dealers were pumping into his body but based on his symptoms, he figured it was some kind of opioid.

            “Dilaudid.” Hank answered with an angry tone. Dick stared at him silently for a few seconds, then cursed loudly.

            “Yeah. And with how many times they used it, your body’s now most likely addicted to it.” Dawn added, her mouth twisting into a wince.

            Dick probably shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was. People exposed to powerful narcotics over a period of time would most likely get addicted as their body would’ve gotten used to it. However, this was the first time something like this had ever happened to him. Despite al the times he was kidnapped, both as Robin and as Dick Grayson, he was never held prisoner for long, nor was he constantly drugged. Especially not with something as strong as dilaudid. And whenever he was injured, Bruce, Alfred and Leslie made sure that he wasn’t taking anything too strong for too long. They had also taught him how to be careful so he wouldn’t get addicted. It never crossed his mind that his kidnappers would make him become addicted themselves.

            Letting his head sink into his pillow, Dick’s eyes landed on the TV bag hanging above him. Gesturing to it, he asked, “That keeping the symptoms at bay?”

            “Yeah.” Donna confirmed before Dawn chimed back in. “Now that you’re awake though, we can switch you to come oral medication that will help wean your body off gradually. You’ll be back in action in no time.”

            “No. No drugs. I’ll be fine without it.” Dick told them, moving to rip the IV out of his arm. Before he could though, Donna rushed forward and slammed his limb down on the mattress.

            “Dick, I get that you are probably sick of drugs but stopping cold turkey isn’t easy. Nor is it any fun.” She said, her voice managing to sound sympathetic and stern at the same time.

            “Plus, there is a chance it could be dangerous.” Hank chimed in.

            “I’ll be fine.” Dick insisted, trying to pull his hand away from Donna’s. However, her grip was too strong, so he glared at her and added, “Besides, it’s faster to just stop completely.”

            “Yeah but withdrawal comes with a whole lot of crappy symptoms.” Hank countered. He had seen people go through withdrawal and had gone through it himself. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to deal with, for the person going through it or for being one of the people seeing it.

            Dawn, having also seen it, made the one argument that she knew would at least get Dick to second guess his decision. “And it can also mess with a person’s attitude. Do you really want to go through all that with the kids around? Even if we locked you in your room, they’d still be able to hear and would probably try to sneak in to see you. Do you really want to do that to them?”

            That made the original Robin pause. He hadn’t really thought about what that might be like for Rachel, Gar, Conner and Rose/Jericho and he thought it was a little low for Dawn to use them against him like that. Pretty effective though. However, before he could come up with a response or idea how to go about the whole thing, the door opened as said kids, along with Kory, walked in.

            “Dick! You’re awake!” Gar shouted as he rushed over to the bed. Rachel had, however, beaten him, Rose/Jericho and Conner to Dick’s side and flung herself into his arms.

            “I’m awake.” Dick confirmed with a chuckle as he hugged Rachel back as tightly as he could. Looking over them all, he asked, “Are you guys okay?”

            “We’re fine idiot. You were the one kidnapped, not us.” Rose answered, crossing her arms over her chest. If it wasn’t for the amusement in her eye, Dick might’ve thought she was actually mad at him and he was starting to get really good at figuring out what she was really feeling. He was also learning when it was Rose or Jericho speaking, though usually when it was Jericho, Rose would tell them and her hands would sign the words as he spoke with her voice.

            “It’s good to see you up.” Kory said with a smile. Dick smiled back but before he could respond, Rachel pulled away from him to let Gar take a turn in giving him a hug as she asked, “Are you okay?”

            “I’m fine. You healed me, remember?” Dick reminded her with a grin as he hugged Gar back.

            When the green-haired teenager moved away, Dick saw a worried look replacing the relieved one from before as he asked, “Then why are you still in the infirmary?”

            “Yeah. You don’t have any injuries.” Conner chimed in, having used his x-ray vision to check if there was anything they might’ve missed. He then moved closer to Dick’s side, torn between hugging him like Rachel and Gar did, and not wanting to risk hurting him if he was somehow still injured, especially given his superstrength. So he settled for holding his hand instead of a few seconds before letting go.

            “Well, there’s something else that had kind of happened.” Dick said, not at all surprised by Conner’s actions. During the last few months, Conner had shown he was very quick to copy what other people around him and seemed to enjoy physical affection, after he realized that his new found team/family wasn’t going to hurt him like the man from the memories in his head did.

            “What happened?” Jericho asked with Rose’s voice, fingers signing the words as he spoke.

            “Does it have to do whatever those dealers were drugging you with?” Gar inquired. He had started to put the pieces together a while ago. He was the one who had found the drugs when they rescued Dick after all and he had learned a lot about opiates, painkillers and other medical information during his time with Chief. It wasn’t that hard to figure out.

            Dick glanced over at the other adults in the room for a moment, then back at the teenagers. “What do you guys know about addiction and drug withdrawal?”

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            Later that evening, Dick found himself in the apartment just below the penthouse. He didn’t really enjoy explaining to the kids that his body had gotten addicted to dilaudid despite not wanting to take the drug but they were all understanding. What they didn’t like was that Dick wanted to deal with it by going through withdrawal instead of a slow but safer way. Especially when Donna told them what withdrawal was going to be like in an attempt to get Dick to change his mind. Even though he was outnumbered, Dick refused to budge on his decision so, they came to an agreement.

            The first thing decided was that Dick wouldn’t stay in the penthouse while he recovered. He didn’t want anyone to be with him while he went through the withdrawal, specifically Rachel, Gar, Rose/Jericho and Conner. The compromise was that he’d stay in an empty apartment on the floor right below them in case he needed help, and that Hank was stay with him. Hank had actually volunteered himself and Dick was too stunned to say no. The next compromise was that they would update the other Titans twice a day. Once in the morning, and once in the evening. Dick thought that was a bit much but if he was in their shoes, he’d probably demand the same thing.

            “Okay, I got all the stuff put away.” Hank said as he walked out of one of the two bedrooms and into the small living room where Dick was lying on the couch. “I was thinking of ordering pizza for supper. What kind do you want?”

            “Please don’t mention food.” Dick requested, pressing himself further into the couch. He hadn’t eaten much since he had woken up in the infirmary but his stomach was definitely not agreeing with his choice of food, which had just been a bowl of tomato soup.

            “Symptoms coming on already?” Hank questioned with a quiet, slightly concerned tone as he came to sit on the coffee table in front of Dick.

            “No, my stomach just isn’t used to much food right now. The drug dealers didn’t give me much during the last few weeks.” Dick explained as he closed his eyes. It wasn’t even six yet but he was already tired enough to sleep until morning.

            “It would be natural for you to start feeling the withdrawal effects by now Dick. With how often they probably drugged you, your body is going to be wanting more by now.” Hank informed him.

            “I’m fine. Symptoms shouldn’t be starting this soon anyways.” Dick replied, trying not to sound defensive since he knew that Hank was just trying to help.

            “Then why are you sweating?”

            In Dick’s defense, he hadn’t realized he was. When his brain registered Hank’s question though, he slowly lifted his hand to his forehead and found the older vigilante was right. He was starting to sweat and now that he thought about it, he was starting to feel really warm. Hot flash. A side effect of drug withdrawal.

            Hank gave him a sympathetic look before he patted Dick’s knee and said, “I’m going to order some pizza for me and get you some soda crackers. Despite whatever your stomach is telling you, you have to eat something.”

            As much as Dick did not want to eat anything, he didn’t protest as Hank stood up and walked over to the kitchen. Instead, he glanced over at the clock. Drug withdrawals could last days, even weeks and he hadn’t even gone a full day yet. But no, he wasn’t changing his mind. It was suck but he could do this. He could do this.

Chapter Text

            Hank didn’t sleep well that night. Not long after eating the pizza and forcing Dick to eat some crackers, Dick threw up. And continued to do so five more times throughout the night, even though his stomach was completely empty when they reached round three. Besides the water that Hank kept insisting he drink that is. After that, Dick finally fell asleep but the older vigilante kept waking up to check on him, concerned that he’d choke on his own vomit and die in his sleep or something.

            Pushing himself up, Hank started to get up and ready for the day when his phone started ringing. Grabbing it and pressing the accept button, he put it to his ear and said, “Hello?”

            “Well you sound exhausted. Everything going okay?” Dawn asked with a concerned tone.

            “About as okay as can be expected. Dick spent a good chunk of the night hugging the toilet and emptying his stomach. I’m going to check on him now and try not to burn some scrambled eggs.” Hank answered as he stood up off the bed and started making his was towards Dick’s bedroom.

            “Poor guy. Is there anything we can do to help?” She wondered.

            Stopping outside Dick’s door, Hank said, “Depending on how it goes, we might need some breakfast delivered but other than that, no.”

            “Okay.”

            “How’s everything going over there?” Hank then questioned, knowing that Dick would want to know, also truly curious himself.

            “Everything’s fine. Nothing really happened on patrol. Mostly we’ve just been trying to convince the kids everything’s fine.” Dawn told him.

            “Well, if Dick’s feeling up to it, I’ll have him call you guys.” Hank replied.

            “Sounds good. I’ll talk to you soon.”  

            “Talk to you soon.” Hank said, then hung up the phone. Raising a hand, he gently knocked on the door and waited. When he heard a quiet groan from the other side, he headed inside.

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            “Were you just talking to Dick?” Dawn heard Rachel ask from behind her as she hung up the phone. Turning around, she saw not only Rachel entering the kitchen, but Gar, Conner and Rose/Jericho. Donna and Kory were already in the room with her working on breakfast.

            “No, I was talking to Hank. He said that Dick was still asleep but he also said that if Dick’s feeling up to it, he’ll call us.” Dawn informed them, walking over to the fridge to get out the juice and milk.

            “How’s Dick doing now?” Gar wondered as he started to get out the plates and cutlery.

            “Since he was still asleep, I don’t know. However, he didn’t exactly have a good night last night, which is to be expected.” Dawn replied.

            Leaning against the counter, Rachel said, “I don’t understand why Dick couldn’t just stay and recover here. We’d all be able to help him that way.”

            “Guys,” Dawn started, walking over to the kids, “we’ve already explained this. People going through withdrawal can get a variety of symptoms, and not all of them are physical. Along with getting sick, they can get extremely moody, irritable and sometimes, violent. Dick doesn’t want us around to see that.”

            “I’m still surprised that Hank was the one who volunteered to with him.” Kory chimed in.

            When Dick wouldn’t budge on his method of dealing with his unexpected drug addiction, they had start debating on who should stay with him. To everyone’s surprise, Hank practically insisted that it should be him. He said that with his height and strength, he could easily take care of Dick and deal with him if he got violent. Plus, he was the only other adult male of the team and that it would be more comfortable for Dick than one of the girls, depending on what symptoms he got. And even though Dick was beyond shock at Hank’s insistence, he agreed.

            “I am too, but maybe this will be good for them.” Dawn suggested.

            “Being forced to spend time together?” Gar questioned.

            “Yeah. They can finally work out their issues without anyone around or being able to run away.” The platinum blonde said.

            “Of they could kill each other.” Rose scoffed.

            Smirking, Donna replied, “That’s another reason we are making them stay in contact. Proof of life.”

            That got a chuckle out of everyone, even though there was a tiny bit of truth in it. Though they had worked together in the past and were working together now, there was still a bunch of tension between the two of them. It was better than before but that wasn’t saying much. Hank and Dick never hung out on their own. Nobody was sure if they’ve ever had a private conversation. Guess now they would be.

            “Don’t worry.” Donna assured the teenagers after the laughing stopped. “They’ll be fine.”

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            Dick felt beyond awful, almost like death walking. His entire body ached to the point he didn’t want to move and his head felt as heavy as a sack of bricks. And yet, he dragged himself out of bed and to the kitchen table. With his head in his hand, he watched Hank finish the scrambled eggs and put them on two plates. He then put one of them directly in front of Dick, who did his best not to throw up when the smell it him.

            “You okay man?” Hank asked as he sat down in his chair, seeing Dick’s face turning green.

            “Not sure if I can stomach anything.” Dick quietly confessed, averting his gaze from the food.

            “Would you rather have crackers and ginger ale or something?” The blonde wondered.

            “I’d rather eat nothing to be honest.” The brunette answered.

            “I get that, believe me, but you need to eat something Dick. And if you get sick again, it’s better to have something in your stomach.” Hank pointed out. With an annoyed sigh, Dick picked up his fork and slowly started to eat.

            Honestly, it was kind of sweet how hard Hank was trying. Considering their past, Dick didn’t really expect that. He didn’t know what to expect at all if he was being honest. He was still trying to understand why Hank wanted to be the one to stay with him. It did make some sense as he was the only other male adult of the team, and was physically bigger and stronger so he’d easily be able to help him, yet Dick thought he’d be more comfortable if it was Donna who stayed with him. They had known each other since they were kids and had been through so much together. They also got along very well. He couldn’t say the same for him and Hank.

            After eating about half of the food on his plate, Dick pushed it away. Though Hank actually did a good job of cooking, he couldn’t bring himself to finish it. His nausea was getting worse and he knew that if he took another bite, he’d puke. From the seat beside him, he could feel Hank staring at him. Not wanting to upset the older man when he was trying so hard, Dick mumbled, “I’m sorry. I just can’t eat anymore.”

            “It’s okay. As long as you ate something. Why don’t you go lie down?” Hank suggested. He had been hoping that Dick would be able to eat more but he wasn’t surprised. The young man’s face was darker shade of green not than it was before.

            Dick nodded in response and slowly stood up. His entire body was shaking like a tree in a hurricane. It was only by willpower alone that he didn’t fall to the ground. Willpower could only get one so far though. And in Dick’s case, it got him to the couch and no further. He collapsed onto the cushion but the shaking didn’t stop. He knew that the shaking was a common symptom of withdrawal but was it normal to last this long?

            Listening to the sounds of Hank cleaning up, Dick closed his eyes. He was hoping he might be able to just sleep through most of the symptoms, yet he knew he wouldn’t be that lucky. Still, he did his best to relax and get some much-needed rest. Not even 24 hours have passed yet and he was so sick of this. He could get through it though. He could do it.

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            Hank couldn’t blame Dick for barely moving. He truly looked beyond uncomfortable and was probably in pain, however he was getting worried. Despite how serious and intense he could be when focused on something, he wasn’t still. Technically, Dick was still mobbing, kind of. If involuntarily shaking counted as moving. But Hank only saw Dick get off the couch on and that was to use the bathroom. He also hadn’t really eaten anything and it was now almost six in the evening.

            “How are you feeling?” Hank asked, sitting in the armchair beside the couch.

            “How do you think?” Dick grumbled, glaring at the TV instead of Hank.

            The older vigilante took a deep, frustrated breath of air. During the last few hours, Dick’s attitude had declined, majorly. Hank tried not to take any of it seriously. Being irritable was very normal for people going through withdrawal and Hank was doing his best to be understanding of that but it was getting difficult. If there was one thing that everyone knew about Hank Hall was that he did not have a lot of patience. And Dick was honestly starting to push it with his comments whenever Hank asked how he was doing or if he was hungry.

            “Okay. What do you want for supper?” Hank then inquired, hoping that after hardly eating anything all day, he’d have an appetite. He was wrong.

            “Weren’t hungry last time you asked and I’m not hungry now.” Dick answered, tone just as annoyed as before.

            “I know Dick but you got to eat. Since breakfast you’ve had maybe three crackers and that’s it.” Hank reminded him.

            “So?”

            “So that’s not healthy.” Hank very nearly yelled. “I know that you aren’t feeling well but starving yourself isn’t going to help.”

            “And throwing up whatever I eat is?” Dick shot back, now glaring at him instead of the TV screen.

            “Well you wouldn’t be feeling like this or throwing up if you took the easier and safe route.” Hank then pointed out.

            “If you guys were better detectives, then you would’ve been able to find me before I was drugged constantly to the point of getting addicted.” Dick argued, pushing himself up so he was sitting instead of lying down.

            “And if you hadn’t gotten yourself kidnapped in the first place, then we wouldn’t be in this mess.” This time, Hank full on yelled, causing Dick to do the same.

            “I didn’t ask you to come stay with me! You wanted to!”

            “And I’m definitely regretting it.” Hank responded, his voice a little quieter than before.

            “Then why don’t you just leave?” The younger man suggested. “Just go back and hang out with the others and leave me alone!”

            With surprising speed for someone who was clearly not feeling good, Dick got to his feet and stormed off to his room, slamming the door behind him. Hank however let out an extremely frustrated grunt and collapsed back on the chair. Though he wanted to head back up to the others and send someone else to deal with Dick, he wasn’t going to do that. And the only other thought in his head was, could’ve handled that better.

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            What Dick didn’t know, was that it was Hank’s fault that he got captured that night. Hank had come to help the more experienced vigilante when he spotted him surrounded by the drug dealers. When he got there though, he saw a civilian on the ground, badly injured in the crossfire. Instead of going to help his teammate like he planned, he stayed to help the injured person, and watched helplessly as Dick was taken. He had tried to call for help from the others, but they didn’t get there in time. Though Hank knew he did the right thing, that Dick himself would’ve wanted him to help the innocent bystander, guilt still plagued him.

            That was a major reason why he wanted to be the one who stayed with Dick as he dealt with all of this. He wanted to make it up to him in some way and since he had gone through this as well. Now though, Hank was thinking he should have come up with something else to do instead of this. Due to past issues with Dawn and the whole situation with Jericho, there was still tension and they were the ones who butted heads the most. Except for the kids given the fact they were teenagers growing up in close quarters. It hadn’t been as bad lately however so Hank thought that maybe they could get through this just fine. He was wrong.

            Hank waited a few hours before he decided to check on Dick. Even though one might say their fight was stupid, it wasn’t pretty and they both needed sometime to calm down. Now, past ten at night. Hank walked to the door and knocked. No answer. So he slowly opened the door and froze.

            Dick was on the bed, blankets and sheets messed up around him, shaking so badly it looked worse than before. It was almost like he was having a seizure. Not thinking twice, Hank ran over and jumped on the bed. He instantly grabbed the man’s arms in an attempt to keep him from hurting himself. It looked like he had already scratched up his arms a bit. Holding on tightly, Hank said, “It’s okay Dick. I got you.”

            “Hurts.” Dick mumbled through clenched teeth. Hank was both surprised and unsurprised to hear that. He wasn’t surprised because it was so obvious that Dick was in pain from the look on his face, the groans that escaped his mouth and the way he moved. He was surprised though that Dick would actually admit it.

            “I know man. I’m sorry, but you’re going to be okay. Get through this and everything will go much smoother.” Hank did his comfort his teammate as he shifted to find a more comfortable position for both of them which was a little given how much Dick was moving and how much he was sweating. He could barely hold on to him.

            Finally, Hank got Dick lying on his legs, back against his chest while Hank sat upright leaning against the headboard. With his arms around Dick’s smaller frame as he continued shaking, Hank whispered, “I got you Dick. I got you.”

Chapter Text

            Dick woke up due to the sound of something ringing. It didn’t sound like it was near him, but each ring felt like nails being slammed into his ears all the way to his brain and he wanted it to stop. However, he didn’t even try to move. His entire body felt like a building fell on him and the only movement he was making was breathing. Then, he heard someone groaning and he opened his eyes.

            He was lying right by the edge of the bed in his room. Looking over the edge, he was surprised to find Hank laying on the ground beside the bed. It took a few seconds then for the memories of what to come back. Fighting with Hank before storming off to his room. Trying to fall asleep only to feel more pain than he could really remember being in as his muscles cramped and spasmed completely out of his control. It was so bad he couldn’t even cry out. He didn’t know how long it lasted until Hank showed up. His presence definitely helped. After that, he didn’t really remember much. He must’ve fallen asleep.

            The ringing, that had stopped for a few seconds, suddenly started again. It was someone’s cell phone. Hank groaned, turned his head to the side and grumbled, “Who’s calling this early?”

            “Probably Dawn or Donna, wanting an update.” Dick mumbled back.

            “I’ll call them back later.” Hank responded, rolling onto his side. Just then, the ringing stop. For a very brief moment, the two men relaxed at the silence only for the moment to end when the phone started ringing for the third time. Whoever was calling was clearly very persistent.

            Knowing that they weren’t going to stop, Hank groaned and got to his feet. Heading out od the bedroom, he quickly spotted his cell phone on the coffee table, vibrating to the point he thought it would fall off. With another groan he grabbed it, hit ‘accept’ and said, “Hello?”

            “Where the h*ll have you been?” Donna shouted into his ear, loud enough that Hank pulled the phone away from his ear in an attempt to save his hearing. “You were supposed to call in the morning and it’s one in the afternoon. And you didn’t answer any of our previous calls. We were getting ready to storm in.”

            Hank looked at the clock and winced. “Sorry, I just woke up. Last night was kind of rough.”

            “What do you mean ‘rough’?” Donna asked, her voice quieter and now filled with concern.

            “Dick went through the worst of the withdrawal last night. At least, I’m hoping it was the worst and that it’s over. Took him a while to get through it and fall asleep.” Hank explained, remembering just how long it took for Dick to finally relax enough to pass out even though the pain never truly left his face.

            “Is he okay?”

            Glancing back at the bedroom, only barely able to see the younger man through the doorway, Hank said, “He will be. He just needs some rest.”

            “Sounds like you could use some too.” Donna noted with a hint of sarcasm.

            “I’ll be fine. Talk to you guys later.” Hank then hung up before Donna could say anything else. Slipping the phone into his pants’ pocket, the older vigilante made his way back to Dick’s room.

            From what he could see, Dick was still wide awake. If it wasn’t for the obvious tension in his body, the lines of pain on his face and uneven breaths, Hank might’ve thought he was asleep. Guilt settled heavily in his stomach at the sight, knowing that it was his actions that put his teammate there. Pushing the guilt aside for now, he walked into the room and quietly asked, “How are you feeling?”

            “Like someone’s slammed a hammer on every inch of my body and is still going at it.” Dick mumbled honestly. “Who was on the phone?”

            “Donna. We missed the morning check in. It’s already one in the afternoon.” Hank informed him, hovering in the doorway.

            “Surprised they didn’t burst threw the door if it’s already past noon.” The brunette commented with a light chuckle.

            Hank let out a small laugh and said, “No kidding. She did say though that if we didn’t answer this last time that they would come check on us.”

            Dick hummed but didn’t say anything else. He wasn’t sure if there was anything to say right now. Talking didn’t hurt much but everything else still did. Not as badly as last night thankfully, yet it was still enough that he didn’t want to move. With the way all of his muscles were cramping and aching, he knew that moving would make it way worse.

            “I know you’re probably sick of me saying this, but you got to eat Dick.” Hank broke the silence, his words making Dick frown, even though he knew the blonde was right. “You barely ate anything yesterday and it’s already past lunch.”

            Dick thought silently for a moment, then asked, “Any chance you could make something that I could eat without moving? Cause I don’t think I can move.”

            “Um, I’ll see what I can do.” Hank replied with an unsure tone of voice before he headed back to the kitchen.

            Hank didn’t need to go through the cabinets and drawers of the small kitchen area to know that it was basically empty. It was an empty apartment to begin with and they didn’t bring that many supplies with them either. And they most definitely didn’t have anything that Dick could eat without moving. Was that even possible? He supposed he could hand feed him or something but that was awkward and he doubted Dick would like that. Dick was most likely joking about that anyways.

            Before he could figure out exactly what to do now, there was a knock on the door. Hank frowned and shot a worried look over at Dick’s room. No one should be knocking on this door. Besides the team and Bruce, no one knew they were here and the neighbours weren’t the kind to pry. Cautiously, Hank made his way over to the door and looked through the peepholes. When he saw who it was, he sighed and opened the door.

            “What are you guys doing here?” The three women looked up at him, unimpressed.

            “And hello to you too.” Donna said as she strode past him and into the apartment. Kory followed right behind her while Dawn reminded standing in front of her ex-boyfriend.

            “Donna told us that you both had a bad night so we thought we’d come and help out for a few hours.” Dawn explained. Though Hank was slightly annoyed he stepped to the side to let her in.

            As he closed the door and locked it, Hank asked, “Who’s watching Rachel, Gar, Rose/Jericho and Conner?”

            “They’re teenagers, not toddlers. They’ll be fine for a few hours.” Dawn answered.

            “Besides, we hooked up the security cameras to our phones so we can keep an eye on them in case they decide to do something.” Donna added with a smirk.

            “Where’s Dick?” Kory then asked, looking around the apartment.

            Pointing to the bedroom door with his thumb, Hank said, “He’s in there.”

            Donna and Kory immediately went inside, leaving Hank and Dawn alone. As soon as they were gone, Dawn turned to him and asked, “How’s he doing?”

            “Better than last night, but doesn’t want to move. Actually asked if I could make some food that he could eat without moving.” Hank filled her in, the two both breaking out into soft laughter when he finished.

            “Well, we could get some soup and put a straw in it and he could just slurp it up.” Dawn responded with a wide smile.

            “That’s not a bad idea, if only we had soup here.”

            The former ballerina examined the kitchen for a minute, her expression sombering a little then suggested, “Why don’t you let me deal with the food and got take a shower? After you and Dick eat, you should get some sleep. You look exhausted.”

            Instinct told Hank to argue, but the thought of a shower and a nap sounded pretty good. So he nodded and headed to the bathroom.

2018TITANS2018

            “Dick? You awake?” Dick frowned then opened his eyes at the familiar sound of Donna’s voice. To his surprise, not only was Donna there, but Kory was as well.

            “What are you guys doing here?” Dick mumbled.

            “Hank said you had a rough night so we came to check on you and hang out for a few hours.” Donna explained as she crouched down in front of him.

            Kory, coming to stand near Dick’s feet, then asked, “How are you feeling?”

            “Like I was stomped on by a herd of elephants.” Dick answered, causing the two women to wince sympathetically.

            “Anything we can do to help? I could get you some Tylenol or something.” Donna said, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder.

            “No, I’ll be fine. Thanks though.” Kory had to bite back a frustrated groan when he said that. He always had to do things the difficult way. Still though, she asked, “Are you sure?”

            “Yeah. Where are the kids?” Dick wondered, glancing around to see if the whole team was here. While he had been missing everyone over the last few days, especially since he barely saw them after he was rescued, he still didn’t want them to see him like this. He would have preferred to go through all of this alone, even if it wasn’t that safe or practical.

            “Back at the penthouse.” Donna responded. When she saw worry starting to creep upon his face, she pulled out her phone and said, “Don’t worry. We’re still keeping an eye on them.”

            Dick relaxed when he saw Rachel, Gar, Rose/Jericho and Conner through the security cameras. As great as the kids are, they sometimes acted without thinking which led to them getting into trouble. Plus, he will admit he could be a bit protective. He liked knowing they were safe and sound, even though they were old enough to take care of themselves for a few hours.

            “I appreciate you guys wanting to check in, but you don’t have to. You should head back.” Dick told them.

            “Nope. Not gonna happen. We’re sticking around, whether you and Hank like it or not.” Kory said with a wide and slightly evil smirk.

            “We also want to make sure you and Hank aren’t about to kill each other.” Donna chimed back in.

            Knowing that he wasn’t going win this, the women on his team could be extremely stubborn when they wanted to be, Dick gave a reluctant sigh and nodded. It was actually a bit annoying how hardheaded they could be sometimes. Like now from instance. However, he could deal with their hovering for a bit. It might actually be nice as long as they didn’t make him move. Plus considering the fight he had with Hank yesterday, it might be nice to have a buffer for a few hours. Hopefully though, he would be able to keep from snapping at them like he was unable to at Hank.

2018TITANS2018

            Dawn, Donna and Kory stayed until supper. Or rather, they stayed until they ordered supper for Hank and Dick, who were both sleeping at that point. They then somewhat woke them up to say goodbye and headed back to the teenagers. Thankfully, they didn’t have to make supper for themselves as Gar made it with Conner’s help. And the clone didn’t accidentally start a fire or anything like he did the last time he tried to help. He thought using his laser eyes would cook food faster than the oven.

            Rachel spotted them first and immediately jumped from her stool at the kitchen island as she asked, “How are they?”

            “Well they haven’t killed each other, so better than we were expecting.” Donna joked with a half smirk before heading into the kitchen.

            “How was everything here?” Kory wondered, wrapping an arm and pulling her close while Dawn followed after Donna.

            “It was fine.” Gar answered from his spot in front of the stove. “We can take care of ourselves for a few hours.”

            “Good.” Kory responded, giving him a smile. Rachel however, still looked extremely worried.

            “Is Dick okay?”

            The redhead gave her a sympathetic look and said, “He’s definitely not feeling great, but he’s going to be fine.”

            With that, Kory squeezed her tightly for a second, then let go and joined the rest of the group. After a moment of hesitation, Rachel did the same though her thoughts remained on Dick. Hoping that Kory was right. That he would be okay.

Chapter Text

            After managing to eat more than half of the food that the girls had ordered, Dick laid down on the couch watching TV like the night before. Hank was sitting in the cushioned chair beside him. They were both silent as a football game played on the screen. Dick wasn’t a really big fan of the sport but he knew Hank was, and a fan of one of the teams playing. So Dick left it on and just tried to stay awake.

            “How are you feeling?” Hank quietly inquired when the commercials came on.

            “Okay, I think.” Dick answered. He was getting sick of Hank constantly asking but understood it. And it was nice to see that the man cared. He wasn’t always good showing that. Still better at it than Bruce though. Looking over at the blonde, Dick asked, “What about you? You look as exhausted as I feel.”

            “I’m alright. A little tired but not as much as I was earlier.” Hank replied, a little surprised by the question.

            “Maybe we should go to bed early tonight.” The more experienced hero suggested.

            A thoughtful expression covered Hank’s face and he nodded. “Yeah, maybe we should.”

            The two men fell silent again after that. As the commercials ended and the game came back on, their eyes turned back to the screen. The game soon finished, Hank cursing under his breath when his team lost, and an old, 50’s sit-com started playing. Though neither of them were really a fan of comedies, they didn’t bother changing the channel. They were both somewhat dozing already. The TV was nothing more than background noise at this point.

            “I um, wanted to say sorry. For snapping at you last night.” Dick apologized, glancing over at Hank.

            “Don’t sweat it. It’s not a big deal. You should’ve seen me when I stopped. I was way worse.” Hank replied, wondering if Dick even knew about his own issues with substance abuse. Given the fact that Dick didn’t look that shocked or bothered, he assumed he did though.

            “Still sorry. You were just trying to help.” Dick said with a soft and remorseful tone.

            “And I should’ve been more patient. I also shouldn’t have blamed you for what happened. This whole thing isn’t your fault.” Hank responded, silently grateful that Dick didn’t try to change the subject to Hank’s own issues.

            “It wasn’t your fault either.” Dick softly argued.

            To his surprise, Hank shook his head. “Yes it is.”

            Dick immediately sat up straight so he could look at the other man. His muscles protested the movement, still aching and begging for the drugs that he had been forcibly given, but Dick ignored them to focus on Hank. He however, was staring at the ground with a face filled with guilt. When Hank didn’t offer an explanation, Dick asked, “What are you talking about? How was it your fault?”

            “I saw you fighting those drug dealers, saw that you were outnumbered and came to help. But then I saw a woman on the ground. She had gotten caught in the crossfire had been shot. So I went to help her instead of you. I tried to call the others over to help but we were too late and you were captured.” Hank quietly confessed.

            Dick was stunned. His memory from that night was a little foggy due to the blow to the head he had gotten during the fight. That was how those criminals were able to capture him. He didn’t remember a civilian getting hit but it was very possible he just didn’t see them. He was focusing on fending off the criminals at the time. Dick also didn’t remember Hank coming to help either, or hearing him calling for help. That didn’t make any of this his fault though.

            “You did the right thing Hank.” Dick insisted. “The safety of civilians should always be put first. That’s why we’re out there almost every night. Not just to catch criminals and put them in jail. It’s to protect and save and help people who need it. The civilian was the first priority.”

            “I know that, but it still led to you being kidnapped and addicted to drugs.” Hank told him.

            “That’s the risk we take. Every single time we suit up, we accept the risk that we could be captured, hurt or killed. We all know that. I’ve known that since the first night I suited up as Robin when I was 12. We always try our best to make sure no one, including ourselves, get hurt or killed, but we don’t always succeed. It sucks but the only people truly at fault are the criminals. None of this was your fault.”

            Hank looked up at Dick. The young man looked back at him with nothing but sincerity in his eyes that matched his voice. To his slight embarrassment, he felt his own eyes well with tears. He had a feeling that Dick wouldn’t actually blame him for what happened, Dick wasn’t that kind of person. That didn’t mean Hank wasn’t a little worried how the former would react though. And hearing that he didn’t blame him helped ease the guilt.

            “And before I forget, thanks for staying with me. I know you’d probably rather be doing almost anything other than being here.” Dick added, ignoring the tears in Hank’s eyes, knowing the blonde wouldn’t want him to bring it up.

            “Don’t mention it. It’s the least I could. Besides, it hasn’t been that horrible.” Hank responded, giving the leader a small grin.

            Dick chuckled a little and said, “Maybe not yet. We’ll probably be sick of each other by the time this is over.”

            “Probably. As long as we don’t kill each other by the and though, I’d consider it a success.” Hank said, causing them both to laugh. Yes, it wasn’t easy and they were still probably going to butt heads but they’d be fine.

2018TITANS2018

            Two weeks later…

            Rachel groaned as she pulled herself out of bed. She hadn’t been sleeping well at all the last few weeks and needed coffee. She doubted anyone else was up yet, which meant she was probably going to have to wait before calling Dick. He had been doing a lot better during the last week, answering their calls and texts himself. Apparently it wasn’t going to be much longer until he came home with Hank. Rachel, and all the others, couldn’t wait. They had been without their leader for almost five weeks now and they missed him.

            Entering the kitchen, the teenager froze in shock. It wasn’t empty like she expected. Sitting at the island with a bowl of cereal and mug of coffee, was none other than Dick Grayson himself. And on the other side of the island was Hank, getting his own cup of coffee to go with his plate of toast.

            “Dick!” Rachel shouted as she ran right into the man’s arms and hugged him tightly. Eyes filling with tears of joy and relief, she then mumbled, “I missed you so much.”

            “I missed you too.” Dick responded as he hugged her back. The sound of thundering footsteps coming towards them, he looked over her shoulder and saw the other members of his team, his family, running down the hall and into the kitchen. Summoned by Rachel’s loud voice no doubt.

            “Hey guys.” Dick said with a smile.

            “You’re back!” Gar basically screamed in excitement as he ran over to the former Robin. Rachel barely had time to get out of the way before the green-haired teenager slammed into Dick, just as desperate for a hug as she was.

            While Dick embraced Gar, Donna walked over to them and said, “You guys didn’t say anything about coming home today.”

            “We wanted to surprise you.” Dick explained as Gar pulled away to let Rose/Jericho have turn. When they were done, Conner stepped forward.

            As the clone hugged the Titans’ leader, he whispered, “We missed you.”

            “I missed you all too.” The brunette replied.

            “What about me?” Hank suddenly questioned. “Did no one miss me?”

            “Nope.” Rose answered. If it wasn’t for her half smirk and the teasing look in her eye, they all would’ve thought she was being serious.

            “Gee, thanks.” Hank responded with a fake pout.

            Dawn, after giving Dick a hug of her own, walked over to the tallest member of the team and hugged him as well. “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course we missed you too.”

            “So, how did it go? How are you feeling?” Kory inquired, coming to stand beside Dick. She didn’t hug him but she did place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

            “I’m feeling a lot better. And Hank and I didn’t punch each other or get food poisoning, so I would consider it a success.” Dick told them.

            “Good. We were a bit worried.” Donna chimed in, coming over to embrace her little brother. “It’s good to have you back.”

            As he returned the embrace, he looked over at the others and smiled. “It’s good to be back.”