Chapter 6

Tim stifled a groan of relief as they finally pulled into the Batcave. Finally, this day was about to end. He was too tired for conversation and he had caught himself shifting around to try and take pressure off his injured shoulder. He hoped Bruce hadn't noticed. The injury wasn't a big deal. People had been killed today, and it seemed ridiculous to complain about a bruise.

He was out of the Batmobile as soon as it stopped moving. He really wanted to clean up and go to sleep. Heading towards the showers, he slammed right into Dick's chest. He started to squeak out an apology, but his big brother was crushing him in a hug way too tight for him to breath.

"Oh, thank God. I heard "Joker" and I immediately assumed the worst. I had no idea how we were going to get you out of that. Lucky for us, you got yourself out." Tim looked up to catch Dick's proud grin out of the corner of his eye.

"Be careful, he took a hit to the right shoulder earlier." Bruce rumbled from behind Tim, who shot a glare at him.

Dick immediately released Tim but kept one hand lightly on his left shoulder, eyeing him critically. "Sorry about that, Tim. I'm just so glad you're alive. Come on, let's get you to Alfred."

"It's okay, no need for Alfred to fuss over me. It's just been a… a day." Tim wasn't grumpy, really, he appreciated Dick's affectionate nature, but bed was calling. "All I want to do now is sleep."

"And so you shall, master Timothy, but I assure you that you will be much more comfortable after I check your injuries." Alfred said smoothly, seeming to appear out of thin air like usual.

Tim opened his mouth to begin an unwise argument with Alfred, but shut it as soon as he got a good look at him. It was rare to see such naked worry on Alfred's face. Tim tried to imagine all that Alfred had gone through tonight, stuck listening to com chatter and police reports but not able to do anything but relay messages. If letting Alfred use his medical skills would make him feel more useful, Tim supposed he was willing to delay his sleep and allow some fussing.

He sat down on the med bay cot and stripped off his cape, handing it to Bruce. The top part of his costume came next, his stiff and sore muscles making his movements noticeably slower.

"Ouch." Tim heard Dick say from behind him. "That looks nasty. What did they hit you with?"

"A bullet." Tim said nonchalantly. This was their life, after all. Dick's hand again went to his left shoulder, gripping it tightly.

Tim looked around him. His family was unusually freaked out by all this tonight. Now that he had time to think about it, he might be freaking out a little bit himself. Of course there was being face to face with the Joker, but even before that the bullet had hit right at the angle between his shoulder and neck. Another inch and it would have hit the small patch of uncovered skin on his neck and killed him. Tim let out a breath slowly to stop a sudden shiver.

Alfred hummed from beside his medical equipment. "I am not seeing any breaks, I suspect it is just deep tissue bruising. Some Motrin and an ice pack should suffice. Any other injuries?"

"No." Tim shook his head, thankful he didn't have to stretch the truth this time. "Honestly, that was it. The gas the Joker used to knock me out wore off pretty quickly, no side effects besides a slight headache. I managed to slow the car way down before it hit the divider, didn't even give myself whiplash." Tim held Alfred's gaze steadily for a moment or two, then the butler nodded, satisfied.

"All right, I believe I can send you off to bed now. Well done, young sir."

"Yeah, you were awesome tonight, Tim" Dick chimed in, smiling. Tim gave him a weary, skeptical look and his expression softened. "I know it hurts not to be able save everyone, but outwitting the Joker and stopping him in the middle of a spree is nothing short of, as I just said, awesome."

"I meant what I told you earlier, Tim." Bruce said quietly. "I am proud of how you handled yourself."

This overflow of positive attention was beginning to make Tim very self-conscious. He gave a shy smile and a quiet "thanks", then started heading to the shower. What he saw tonight would no doubt haunt him for a long time, but at least his family had given him some moments worth remembering.

The End

Thanks for reading. Sorry again for how long it took to finish.