Mask of Glass

Ch 15

Dick shot up off of the couch, opening his eyes in the darkness of the room. He immediately jumped up and raced into the next room. He looked in room after room, frantically calling out for anyone who might have been in the manor. He searched the entire building, even the batcave. There was nobody in sight. Not even Ace was around.

"It can't be real... It was just a dream." Dick muttered out loud to himself, sinking down to the floor in one of Wayne manor's many hallways.

Dick's thoughts turned back to his dream, or rather, nightmare.

It had started out as a memory. The court was making him watch the torture and exicution of some of their victims. This time however, the faces were familiar. The court was killing his family, every last one. When Dick had looked down however, he had been the one holding the knife. He had killed them all.

Dick glanced down at his hands, horrified that they appeared to him to be stained with blood. He ran as fast as he could to the nearest sink, scrubbing and scrubbing, trying to rinse away the red he saw coating his hands.

No matter how hard Dick scrubbed, the red just wouldn't go away. It had never been there in the first place, but to Dick it was so real. Soon the phantom blood was joined by some of Dick's own blood as he scrubbed his hands raw. The stinging pain stopped Dick from continuing to scrub, so instead, he dried his hands and walked back to the family room where he sat in the corner and cried silent tears.

—

Alfred returned to Wayne manor late in the evening. He had taken Ace to the vet to get some of his shots, but had also decided to have the dog professionally groomed, so the trip had taken longer than he thought.

When Alfred walked through the doors he breathed out a sigh. Bruce had contacted him, notifying him that everything in Gotham was quiet, and they were going to head back from patrol. He was glad to have a few more moments of silence before the inevitable arguing and chattering of the boys once again filled the manor.

Ace pulled at his leash and Alfred reached down and unlatched it, watching as the furry monster bounded off into the manor.

Alfred rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen to make himself some tea.

The kettle was puffing merrily on the stove when Alfred heard the ruckus that never failed to accompany the return of the other members of the Bat clan. The corner of his mouth twitched upward as he heard Damian and Jason yelling death threats at each other. 'Just a normal day at the manor.' Alfred thought to himself as he poured his tea into a mug and began sipping it.

--

The bat boys were arguing loudly as they walked out of the study that housed the entrance to the batcave. They walked into the hall and almost tripped over Ace who was whining and pawing at the door to the family room that happened to be closed.

"Whatcha want Lassie?" Jason jokingly asked, in a horribly fake sounding Irish accent.

"Tt. He obviously wants to go into the family room Todd." Damian said. He rolled his eyes and opened the door for the dog.

"What does he want in there?" Tim asked, peering into the room where Ace was sniffing at something in the corner.

Jason flicked the lights on and was startled by the slight hiss that came from Dick who was pressed into the corner covering his eyes.

"Dick? What are you doing in here?" Jason asked.

Dick's head snapped up when he heard Jason's voice and he took a long shaking breath. "Jay? Tim? Dami?" Dick asked uncertainly. "You're alive?"

"Tt, why wouldn't we be Grayson?" Damian said, pretending to be upset by Dick's use of the nickname 'Dami'.

"I... I had a nightmare, and when I woke up everyone was gone... even Ace and Alfred." Dick muttered.

"Alfred just took Ace to the vet for his checkup Dick." Tim said, walking towards Dick with Jason and Damian at his side.

"I'm so sorry for yelling at you earlier Jason." Dick said, looking like he was about to cry, though from relief or sadness the boys couldn't tell.

"It's fine Dickie. That wasn't the first time I've been yelled at, and it definitely won't be the last." Jason chuckled and pulled his older brother to his feet. "You look tired bro, let's get you to bed."

All of the Wayne brothers walked up the stairs together, Ace trailing behind, not taking his eyes off of Dick the entire time.

Damian and Tim went into their rooms, leaving Jason and Dick out in the hall together.

"Maybe talking about things would help." Dick said, looking at Jason sheepishly.

Jason nodded and sent Dick a reassuring smile.

"Not tonight though." Dick added, smothering a yawn with his hand before telling Jason goodnight and heading to his room with Ace.

Dick climbed into bed after finally finishing with his nighttime routine. Ace curled up next to him, draping one paw over Dick's side as he usually did. A small smile appeared on Dick's face as he drifted off into sleep.