"Is this really necessary Leslie?"

Dick was watching his doctor set up monitors and an IV station near his bed with a perplexed look.

"Well, considering you refuse to get admitted into the hospital-- yes, it is."

After Leslie had plugged everything in, she attached an IV filled with pain medication.

"This should give you some pain relief as well."

"I'm not--"

Leslie's head sharply turned toward him.

"You shouldn't lie to your doctor, Richard."

Her eyes studied him for a moment before her face softened.

"You can't hide anything from me either, unlike what you're doing to your friend."

Dick's eyes narrowed and he shifted his gaze to the floor.

"How long are you going to keep the truth from him?"

Dick remained silent causing Leslie to sigh in exasperation before she walked over to his side and helped him stand up from the chair and walk toward his bed.

"Dick, he's going to find out your condition is worse than you're letting on sooner or later. And he deserves to hear it from you first."

Still nothing, and Leslie shook her head in resignation before easing him onto the bed and applying the IV as gently as possible.

"Dick, you need to tell me how you're feeling right now."

"... I'm tired."

"Then you should rest, just try to relax."

He sunk farther into the pillows, sighing in relief as his head settled against the soft material.

He turned his head to watch as Leslie attached what looked to be some kind of watch to his wrist.

"This keeps track of your vitals, sending signals to both mine and Bruce's phone if anything changes. You must keep it on."

Dick merely nodded, his eyes blinking blearily.

He let out a huge yawn before his head turned at the sound of the door opening.

Bruce walked into the room, a tense look on his face before his eyes landed on Dick.

"How are you feeling Dick?"

"I'm fine, Bruce."

"Dick."

Leslie's eyes narrowed at Dick.

"I... it kinda hurts."

Leslie nodded at him.

"And that's why you have your medicine. Dick, you really should be honest, at least with us."

Dick rolled his eyes before turning his head to the side, closing his eyes. His breathing soon slowed slightly, indicating he's fallen asleep.

"Leslie, a word."

She looked at her patient once more before following Bruce out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Bruce looked around him quickly, making sure Tim wasn't around to hear before turning back to his family's physician.

"Leslie, I've talked to the hospital again today. They still haven't been able to find a donor, and neither have any of the surrounding hospitals."

Leslie nodded her head and sighed sadly.

"And I haven't had any luck with my colleagues... Bruce, he's running out of time."

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, his brain trying to sort out his thoughts.

"What do we do?"

Leslie hesitated for a moment before straightening up.

"Honestly Bruce, the best we can do for him right now is to keep him as calm and as comfortable as possible..."

She broke off for a moment, gauging his reaction.

"It may be best to consider... hospice care. Just... think about it. In case we run out of time."

Bruce's lips tensed into a straight line, his hands tightening into fists.

But he did nod in agreement.

That was... the most logical thing to consider after all.

"I have his medical wristband synced to my phone, as well as yours. Still, if you need me back over here, for any reason at all, just give me a call. I'll be staying in my hotel room most of the time."

Bruce nodded before walking down the stairs with her, seeing her out.

He watched her go before rubbing a hand over his face, pulling his phone out.

Everything was still okay. The only thing his stats showed was Dick was still asleep.

Good. He's always running out of energy quickly.

He slowly put his phone back before walking back into the house and up the stairs into his office.

He's fine, he's fine. I'll be alerted if anything changes, it's okay.

He sat down heavily in his desk chair, pulling up all of Dick's medical files, trying to find something the doctors have missed.

There has to be someone that's compatible with Dick.

Anyone...

A few hours passed and Bruce was about ready to slam his head onto his desk.

He had hacked into the hospital's medical records, more specifically, the readily available donors, and there was nothing they missed.

No one was compatible.

He leaned back into the chair with a sigh.

This was ridiculous, Dick's saved so many lives...

And yet there's no one out there that can save him.

Not even Tim, Barbara, or even himself.

They've already been tested for compatability. With no luck.

His phone beeped and he picked it up with speed even Barry would be jealous of.

Hmm... nothing serious. He's just starting to wake up.

As he set his phone down the doorbell chimed throughout the house.

An eyebrow shot up in annoyance.

Three guesses on who that could be...

Tim's already home and Barbara is at the Watch Tower. Besides, she has own her key.

He got up and walked out of his office,  resisting the urge to slam his door.

He walked to the edge of the banister and saw Wally walking behind Alfred as he let him in.

Fine, it's fine.

He's not upsetting Dick, if anything he seems to enjoy his company.

For the first time in two years...

Bruce slowly walked down the stairs, gaining eye contact with Alfred.

He paused for a moment before nodding to his oldest friend.

He can deal with him being here as long as it doesn't bother Dick, besides he's got more work to take care of.

Down in the Batcave that is, it's time for Tim's training session.
_______________________________________

Dick's eyes slowly blinked open, his fingers flexed as he waited for his vision to focus.

Okay, no pain. That's nice.

Once his eyes finally focused they trailed down his arm to where the IV is.

He blanched once his eyes settled on the nasty bruise the needle caused.

I guess it doesn't matter how gentle she is anymore, I'm going to look like the Joker beat me no matter what.

Worry started to build up in his gut, he's bruising a lot easier now and that's saying something.

Well, it's still not as bad as it could be.

"Not yet..." he murmured to himself.

He slowly shifted his position to where he was sitting up, propped against the pillows.

"Hngh..."

Okay, that kinda hurt.

He let out a breath through his nose before jumping slightly when he heard a knock at the door.

"Y-yeah?"

The door opened slowly, showing Wally's head poking in.

"Hey Dick!"

He opened the door all the way to reveal a few games under his arm.

"Hey Dick, remember these?"

A smile started to form on his face. Yeah, he did.

He and Wally used to play these games all the time.

"Heck yeah, put them in!"

Wally smiled back before turning towards Dick's TV, setting up the game system.

Dick's smile faltered as a shock of pain went through his head but he forced down the wince that came with it to keep the smile on his face.

He doesn't need to know. Not... not yet.