Work Text:
It was a routine operation. Your basic bank robbers. Ski masks and all.
Dick had been the closest when it was reported so he went in first. He had no intel to go off of, but he knew he needed to act.
“Stay safe, Nightwing.” Barbara’s voice was the last thing he heard before he pulled up to the bank. He was too late though, the robbers were getting into their cars and driving away.
“Shit. Oracle I’ve got three vehicles leaving the scene. I’m going to pursue one of them.” Dick hears the clacking of Oracle’s keyboard in response before he takes off.
Dick bobbed and weaved his way through the traffic as the van careened through the streets dangerously. They were firing bullets in an array of directions, Dick had to get them off the streets and fast.
“Batman and Robin are in pursuit of one of the other vehicles, and I am watching the third one on CCTV until Red Robin catches up with them.” Dick needs to know more about the robbers. He continued to get closer to the van. If he could just get to the car and take it out safely, he could go after the third car and make sure none of them get away.
“Oracle, get the CCTV footage from the robbery. I need to know what to expect from these guys.” Barbara searched the system for the footage. When she saw what they were carrying, her heart dropped.
“Nightwing! Stay back, they have-!” Before Barbara could finish her sentence, one of the goons leant out the window with a sticky grenade. Dick didn’t have time to hit the brakes before the grenade was stuck to the front fork.
Dick can’t really remember what happened after that. He remembered the heat he felt across his skin. The rough tarmac under him as he skidded along the road. But most of all, he remembered the white, searing pain as his left chest side hit into a lamp post. He knew he came off the bike, that much he was certain of.
“—ightwing? Can you hear me?” He knew Barbara was trying to reach him, but his lungs burned. There wasn’t enough air around for him to breath. He could hear himself wheeze as he tried to respond, but no other noise came out of his mouth.
“No, Batman, I can’t get a response. I think he was knocked off the bike.” Dick could only listen as Barbara and Bruce conversed about his whereabouts and if Barbara could see Dick on the CCTV.
“Dick, hang on. Robin and I are on the way to your location now.” Dick wanted to tell them not to bother and to go after the other robbers, he would be fine. He just needed to take a minute, but his lungs just wouldn’t take any air in. He couldn’t see anything around him. It was either completely white as he tried to breathe in or blurred beyond recognition.
He heard the sound of the Batmobile rolling up near him and a voice trying to talk to him.
“Breathe, ‘Wing.” Dick wanted to breathe. It was the one thing he wanted to do, but he just couldn’t. He tries to tell Bruce what happened, but only another wheeze escaped his chest.
“Batman,” Robin put his hand on Bruce’s shoulder whilst he was crouched down over Dick. “I believe he has a punctured lung. It looks like he skidded off the bike and into this lamp post.”
Bruce nods in agreement. Dick was curled on his side, wheezing more than breathing, with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Bruce put his hand on the back of Dick’s head.
“‘Wing, I need to pick you up and get you in the Batmobile. Robin, get the door for me.” As Bruce tried to gently pick up Dick, his son unleashed a scream that made his heart stop. He scopes him into his arms as Dick tries to curl into himself more.
“It’s okay son. I’ll get you to the Batcave.” Bruce tried his best not to jostle Dick as he walked the few steps to the car. He laid him in the backseat, where Damian was waiting in the foot well behind the front passenger seat. Dick immediately went back to being curled up into himself.
Bruce hopped into the front seat and started the engine, he was going to break every road law out there to get Dick back to the cave. He should never have let this happen. From now on, only Bruce would be allowed to use the Batcycle. If this could happen to Dick, an adult man, what would have happened to Tim or Damian. There were times like this where he wanted to call all his kids back to the cave and stop them all from crime fighting. It was just too dangerous-
“Master Bruce,” Alfred’s voice was like a Godsend, it grounded Bruce back to reality. “I have contacted Miss Thompkins. She is on her way to the cave now. I am preparing the medical wing as we speak. What am I to expect of Master Grayson?” Bruce’s eyes jumped to the mirror, where he could Damian working on his older brother.
Damian had to fight with Dick to get his costume down to his waist. For once, he was glad his older brother didn’t wear under shirts like the rest of them did. Damian took in Dick’s chest as best he could, with Dick curled in on himself. There was massive bruising on across the left side of his rib cage that was already darkening, but there was something even worse that caught Damian’s eye.
One of Dick’s ribs was protruding out at an angle. Damian couldn’t help but wince at the sight of it, how they had missed it when they first got to the scene was beyond him. Damian tried his best to be gentle, but Dick was clearly in so much pain that he couldn’t tell what was going on around him.
“I am going to sedate and give him some pain medication to access his ribs.” Bruce nodded in response. There was nothing he could do to help them right now. Damian was the smartest kid Bruce had ever known. He was constantly studying to improve himself, which included medical textbooks. Bruce had questioned the boy on it at the time, but now is glad that he has read them.
Damian administered the drugs to Dick and watched as the pain partially melted from his face. His arms dropped from around his chest enough for Damian to move them out of the way fully.
Damian checks Dick’s chest over fully, beside the obvious rib out of place, it became horrifyingly obvious that his rib had pierced his lung. Dick’s breaths were becoming more and more shallow and sounding scarily wet.
“He has a punctured lung. The air is filling his chest cavity. His lung is collapsing. ETA to the cave, Father?” Bruce cursed under his breath.
“At least five minutes.” Damian shook his head behind him. Bruce stepped on the accelerator, hard.
“I’ll need to perform a thoracentesis now if he’s going to make it.” Bruce’s chest tightened, he knew what it was to have a collapsed lung and to have it be reinflated whilst draining the air from the chest. He had hoped his kids would never have to go through it and until now, they had got away with it.
Dick wasn’t completely out of it, he could hear their voices as they spoke about him. He knew he was in a bad way, but the sharp, sting from between his ribs was a new sensation. He couldn’t help the cry that escaped his throat. The small hands that worked on him were gentle, and the voice was apologetic. He prayed for this to just end already.
And then, suddenly, he could breathe again. It was still painful, but there was air entering his lungs. The hands never left his chest as he breathed in and out. He tried to stay as calm as he could. He knew better than to panic, but it was difficult fighting the natural instinct to panic.
“Batcave’s coming up. Get him ready to move.” Dick felt as Damian’s hands moved around his chest and taped something down to him as the car calm to a surprisingly calm halt.
Alfred was already waiting for them with a gurney. Bruce was straight to the back door of the Batmobile as Damian guided Dick onto the stretcher whilst giving the run-down to Alfred about what happened.
“I will get him stabilised and prepared for Doctor Thompkin’s arrival.” Bruce could only stand there as Alfred wheeled Dick away to the medical wing. He nearly jumped as Damian’s hand slipped into his own.
“He will be alright, father. Grayson is strong.”