Dick Grayson one shots

They call me lucky

"Freak lightning storm encompassing Gotham. Everyone please remain inside, this is for your own safety." The emergency broadcast crackled over the speakers in the Batcave as Dick placed the domino mask over his eyes.

"Turns out even the Batcave isn't safe from those stupid amber alert things," Jason muttered under his breath.

All 4 boys turned their attention to Bruce for their instruction.

They knew what was causing the freak storm, a villain Superman had been trying to take down over in Metropolis for about 12 hours. But that didn't make it any less dangerous for them to be frolicking outside in the rain...

"Are we still going to..." Dick trailed off when he saw the look on Bruce's face. Of course they were still going to go on patrol, their personal safety was a bit too low on Bruce's priority list for that.

"Crime never rests, and neither do we," Bruce stated, crossing his arms over his chest as if daring anyone to challenge him on that point.

"I still wish I'd made that into a refrigerator magnet or something. It's like his own personal slogan," Jason mumbled, not intending for anyone to hear, but drawing a chuckle from Tim who was standing nearest to him.

Bruce just huffed and rolled his eyes, pulling his cowl over his eyes and walking toward the Batmobile. "If you're that concerned with safety, we can all squish into the Batmobile," Bruce said, giving Jason a smirk. "It'll be safer."

—

Nightwing was perched on the tallest building he could find near the end of his patrol rout. He was completely soaked through from the rain and had already seen a few lightning strikes from closer than he'd like. And to top it all off there hadn't been a single person in sight the entire night.

The ruffling of a cape nearby alerted Nightwing to the presence of who he guessed to be Red Robin. Rather than acknowledging the younger boy, Dick chose to continue scanning the streets for any movement at all.

Heavier footsteps gave away Jason's presence as well.

"Nothing," Tim complained. "So much for crime never sleeps."

"Same here," Jason chimed in, pulling his helmet off and dropping it onto the ground.

Dick huffed, thinking about all the sleep he could've gotten if it hadn't been for the utterly useless patrol Bruce had insisted on. "Apparently criminals are more concerned for their lives than we are," he said, activating his com unit to call Bruce.

A grunt of acknowledgment was all that came from the other line.

"Everything's all clear here, gonna-" Dick's sentence was interrupted by a blinding flash of light, what seemed like a pillar of pure energy touching down on the rooftop.

"Get to shelter!" Jason shouted, grabbing Tim by the arm, pulling him toward the edge of the building and reaching for a grappling gun.

Both vigilantes paused when they didn't hear the footsteps of their older brother.

Tim whipped around, freezing in place when he saw Nightwing's motionless body.

"What happened?" Bruce's voice crackled over the coms. He didn't receive a response.

Jason rushed over to his brother's motionless body, his ears ringing. "Wing," he shouted as he shook his brother's shoulder vigorously. "This isn't funny..." Jason's voice cracked as he desperately sought for a pulse that was all too absent.

Tim snapped him back to reality when he started desperately performing CPR, not even flinching when he heard some of Dick's ribs crack and break when he started compressions.

Jason stared unseeingly, panic tearing at his heart. He didn't want to loose another family member.

"Rescue breaths," Tim's said, his voice filled with fear.

Jason immediately began giving rescue breaths, focusing on counting. 2 for every 30 was a much simpler thing to think about than the fact that his brother was laying there without a pulse.

When Bruce arrived with Damian, the elder gently pushed Tim out of the way and continued steady compressions on Dick's unmoving chest.

Damian stood on wobbly knees, tears pricking his eyes and his breath coming in gasps. This couldn't be true. This couldn't possibly be happening...

Suddenly Dick sucked in a breath of his own, his heart beating again.

Bruce let out a sigh of relief that was far too shaky to be normal for Batman.

Dick started turning, and Bruce helped him into his side before he expelled the contents of his stomach onto the ground. With shaking fingers he reached up and pulled his mask off, allowing tears to spill down his cheeks.

Bruce sniffled as he pulled his cowl down, gently pulling his eldest into his arms, cradling him to his chest as gently as he could.

Dick's eyelids fluttered as he relaxed, his shoulders shaking slightly as tears rolled down his cheeks.

It hurt to breathe, Dick's ribs ached and his chest burned with each inhale, but he pushed aside his pain for the moment, much preferring to be cradled in his father's arms.

Dick's eyes fell closed as he soaked up the warmth from Bruce's embrace.

"Stay awake chum," Bruce murmured as he unclipped his cape and wrapped it around his son.

—

The ride back to the manor had been uneventful, Damian had held his fingers firmly on Dick's wrist, feeling for the steady thrum of his heartbeat.

Tim had sat in the front, and Jason had taken it upon himself to shake the elder boy's shoulder every time his eyes fluttered closed, a spike of terror piercing his heart at the thought that those eyes might not open again.

Alfred was waiting for them when they got back, a medical bed already prepared. As soon as he'd attached a heart monitor to Dick's chest he told the younger he could get some rest.

Dick's chest was mottled with burns and bruises, which Alfred immediately went to work on fixing, instructing Bruce to get Dick some fluids and oxygen.

Once everything was settled, everyone took a collective deep breath and settled down in various chairs around Dick's bed. Or in Damian's case, snuggled into his oldest brother's side.

—

It didn't take long for the three younger boys to drift off, each of them holding on to their older brother in some way shape or form.

Bruce lips curled up in a melancholy smile as he stood. He hadn't fallen asleep, he felt the responsibility weighing on him to monitor his eldest, his mind still replaying the moment he'd seen Dick's cold unmoving body laying on that rooftop.

Checking to make sure his boys were all still asleep, Bruce began carding his hand through his eldest's raven curls, and he started talking. He told Dick about how scared he'd been, how the instant he'd known his son was gone a gaping wound seemed to open in his heart. And how much relief he'd felt when he'd heard that first gasp of renewed breath.

"I'm so sorry Dick... I was too careless with our lives tonight. I... I realized just how much you boys mean to me. And... and I promise I'll never let that happen to you again." Bruce stilled, squeezing his eyes shut as tears rolled down his cheeks. "I love you all so much," he said, his voice cracking.

"Love you too," Dick mumbled, his sleepy mind subconsciously replying to his father figure.

The corners of Bruce's mouth turned up into a small smile. He was such a lucky dad.