Fix You

Safe

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here again. Yep, okay, better sniff me just to make sure I've not gone rogue in the past day. What's that? I'm wearing new perfume? Yeah, it's from Wally. Wally, the redhead guy, well, I guess you're color blind, aren't you? Or is that only an urban legend? Well, whatever, he's the guy who smells like food and cheap cologne. Yes, I gave it to him; your point? Hey, hey! Don't even think about howling or barking or whatever other obnoxious noises you make out of your drool hole. I'm not gonna rob you or steal you or kill Alfred so keep your fur on and your trap shut. Sheesh."

Artemis roughly shoved Ace to the side as she dropped down off the desk and onto the floor. She gave the desk a quick glance and carelessly attempted to wipe off the dirty boot print she'd left on the shiny wood. Screw Alfred and his mahogany, he could clean it up later. Ace had already resumed his position as Artemis made her way over to the large armchair by the side of Dick's bed. The dog watched her from his regal throne atop the foot of the large king-size bed, curled up at Dick's feet.

Alfred had told her that as soon as Bruce had brought Dick home, the dog had gone crazy. They could apparently hear him howling all the way from the Batcave where Bruce had left him for the day. Once the butler had let him out, Ace had bolted up the stairs, nearly taking out the elderly man, and rammed headfirst into the door to Dick's room. From what Artemis had gathered, he hadn't stopped howling and barking and ramming into the door until Bruce cracked it open to see what was going on and the dog had shoved past the man into the room. Alfred had told her that Bruce had told him (Alfred was still trying to figure out what was going on) that Ace had sprinted to Dick's bed and leaped onto it, only stopping when he finally reached Dick's sleeping figure and proceeded to collapse on the boy (gently, Alfred insisted), lick his face, and howl. Bruce said he was just being annoying. Alfred, however, said it was because Ace had finally found what he'd been tracking for a month and a half; what he'd been pushed and pushed to find, no matter the cost. He'd finally completed his purpose.

Since then, the dog refused to leave Dick's bedside. Artemis thought it was because he was afraid that he'd lose Dick again and Bruce would make go look for him all over again. Artemis didn't blame the dog; if she'd been made track something by the Batman for over a month straight, she sure as heck wouldn't let it out of her sight either. But despite the understanding they shared, Artemis thought the animal was annoying and gross and that it should at least be confined to the floor, if not the basement. However, it didn't seem to understand the concept of personal space and barked and growled at anyone who tried to make it move from its place at Dick's feet - or anyone who came near Dick in general. Until they'd gotten the complete smell-over, that is.

Dick had been home for a little over a week now. Wally and Barbara had been allowed to visit him two days after he'd been released from the hospital (after surgery at Leslie's clinic Dick had been transferred to Gotham General under the precept of a skiing accident, no questions asked, to keep up his public identity) and Artemis and Roy had tagged along. They'd been a week without news on Dick's condition while he'd been in the hospital, other than what was printed in the paper (not much) and the lone phone call Alfred had made to them after the kid's surgery. And then, when he'd finally been released, they'd had to wait another two days until they'd finally been allowed to visit. At that point, they'd all been pretty much ready to storm Wayne Manor and break down the door with Wally's uncle's truck until finally Bruce had called and said that Wally and Barbara could come see Dick. Artemis still wanted to storm the manor after that, but had refrained and instead marched inside with the two redheads and hadn't given Bruce a you-know-what.

Dick had only woken up twice, however. Once in the hospital and once when he'd arrived home and both time he'd been in a state of drugged-induced delusion and hallucinations that bordered on panic and hysteria. Bruce said he hadn't been conscious of his surroundings either time and hadn't responded to any outside stimulation. Wally, Artemis, Barbara, and even Roy had spent hours at Dick's bedside after school for the first couple days, but gradually they'd weaned off of the constant visits and asked Alfred to contact them if anything changed.