Verisimilitude

The Aftermath

Consciousness snuck back in silently. He was too busy in his mental cries that he didn't notice the light that seeped through his eyelids and the soft fabric of the pillow beneath his head. He let out a low groan as he opened his eyes, still half in the world of dreams, until adrenaline and panic shot through him.

Barbara.

He sat up quickly, not recognizing his surroundings or remembering what had happened at first. He was covered in sweat and was panting, as if he had awoken from a horrible nightmare. It was only when pain arced down his back and his leg and his whole body ached did he remember and lie back down. His heart was still pounding and his body hurting, but now he was mentally aware and competent. He (much slower and with much more care than before) sat up so he was in a sitting position and looked around the room.

He knew that he should probably alert his Team that he was awake so they wouldn't further worry, but he didn't want to see them. The memory he had dreamed up of when he had been stabbed by one of Two-Face's goons had been so vivid he had thought it was real, and being reminded that it wasn't hurt.

He gasped in a few more ragged breaths, before his breathing went back to normal. His mouth was dry and his throat was scratchy, but he ignored the discomfort. As he mentally replayed the events in his mind. His last memory was Wally carrying him carefully before he completely succumbed to unconsciousness.

Is Garfield okay?

"He's fine dude. We found him sitting in the room clutching your cape." Wally told him.

That was before he passed out. That meant the boy had taken the bribe. He let out a relieved sigh, he hadn't condemned the boy to certain death.

He realized too late, however, that his mental distress would be felt by a certain green-skinned telepath. The wooden door soon opened, with Marie and Miss Martian in front.

"Robin!" Miss Martian cried happily, moving so she was next to him, allowing Superboy, Kid Flash, and a wary Garfield to also enter the room.

As Marie fiddled with the equipment nearby (he hadn't even noticed the low-pitched beeping sound of the heart moniter), Kid Flash asked him, "Dude! Are you alright?"

He gave a weak smile with what little emotional energy he had left, "Yeah KF. Feeling the aster."

"You're lucky," Marie spoke up, "You suffered from minor shock, which quickly wore off, surprisingly. You just managed to avoid a full blood transfusion, only needing a plasma transfusion - which is lucky because I kept my blood supply at the clinic, but I had some plasma in storage here. You needed a total thirty stitches, as well as treatment for other various cuts and bruises." She seemed to be in doctor-mode, her face a serious calm. "It was touch and go for a while there."

Not the worst I've gotten. Bad, but... An image of Garfield lying the rubble of the explosion, his body broken and lifeless sent a shiver up his spine. Could have been worse.

He nodded, knowing that he should give some sort of response, but he couldn't think of what would be typical for his old self to do in this situation. Would he be emotionless? Would he crack a joke, easing the tension? Would that come off as too immature? He didn't know.

Marie let a thankful smile come over her face, "Thank you." She said softly, gratefulness clear in her voice. He gave her a nod and a smile, signalling he knew what she was talking about.

"Thank you, for patching me up." He said kindly, hoping that wasn't too out of character, but not entirely caring. He was getting tired of putting up a facade of being someone else who had died long ago.