The Last Talon

Chapter Twenty One

'I'll take that as a yes.' Jason chuckled, following Dick out of the door.

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Annie was sore. Thanks to the amount of morphine coursing through her system she wasn't in pain, but she was still sore. The doctors had told her she had a guardian angel. Somehow the bullet hadn't caused too much internal damage, and due to how she had been placed after being shot, she hadn't suffered a fatal amount of blood loss. She'd almost cried upon hearing this because it had been Dick who had come to her rescue.

Apparently, all three men had been apprehended by Batman and Gordon had arrested them. They would be charged for her attempted murder and the murder of Karly. Poor, poor Karly.

She was led, pondering the loss of her friend. She would need to contact Karly's family once she was out of the hospital.

A knock on the door brought her from her thoughts and she smiled as Jason popped his head around the door.

'Evening Sleeping Beauty.' He grinned, 'You feeling up to having a couple of visitors?'

'Always.' She said, and Jason came fully into the room, followed slowly by a nervous looking Dick. Once he saw her, Dick looked like he either wanted to cry or scream. He looked broken.

'Hey hey hey. What's all this?' she said, hating how weak her voice still sounded.

'I'm sorry.' Said Dick, 'I should have gotten there sooner, or reacted faster.'

Annie opened her arms and told him to come to her. He gingerly came over to the bed and ever so gently sat beside her, resting his head on her shoulder and avoiding her wound. Annie wrapped her arms around him.

'You are not to blame for this.' She said, 'You saved me. You stopped them from finishing the job.' She kissed the top of his head, Bruce had told her that the three men all suffered from several injuries, but they would all live long lives, in prison. 'I am so proud of you.' She whispered.

'I finished all the badges.' Dick mumbled.

'What?' said Annie.

'I finished all the name badges.'

Annie chuckled, looking up at Jason who was smiling down at them. Dick may be 18, but thanks to the electrum he still had the slim build of a 16-year-old. But this meant he could easily fit onto the bed and rest comfortably in the nook of Annie's arms. It was uncanny how much they looked like mother and son at that moment.

Dick stayed wrapped in Annie's arms for the entire time they were there. Annie didn't seem to want to let him go and Dick didn't mind, it felt nice to be held like this. When it was time to go, Annie gripped him tighter, kissing the top of his head again.

'I love you.' She said into his hair.

'I love you too.' Said Dick, getting up off the bed.

They left Annie to sleep and Dick slowly followed Jason through the halls of the hospital. While he walked, he thought. He had so many people in his life who were trying so hard to help him. People who had seen what he had become and loved him anyway. If he held onto the person he used to be, he would need to turn his back on them. There would be no way he could stay at the manor and live with them if he stayed as Richard Grayson. He didn't want to give up his family, he didn't want to give up hope that he could live a normal life. He didn't know what had happened to him after Annie had been shot, but for some reason, he now felt more in control of his Talon abilities. His electrum had always felt so unstable, but suddenly it seemed his body was more balanced. He was under no illusion that he was still dangerous, maybe more so now. But he no longer felt like he was going to lose control if he let go of his emotions. This in itself gave him hope.