Chapter Text
The manor was quiet.
It had been like that for the past couple of days. Once a place full of laughs, screaming, yelling, sarcasm, and smiles was replaced with a sense of gloom and silence.
The boys had just retired from the cave for the night and found themselves wandering aimlessly around the manor.
None of them could sleep after their failed attempt to find Dixie.
Dick was making himself a bowl of cereal. He had skipped dinner, much to Alfred's protest, because he thought he caught up on a lead, turned out to be nothing, but a dead end. Alfred insisted he ate something, so Dick chose cereal, it was just convenient and he wanted some comfort food. He sat at the kitchen table and ate in silence, letting his mind wander and fill up with negative thoughts.
Jason found himself staring outside the living room window. He was scrunched up on the bay seat window, arms crossed looking out into the night sky. This was his go-to spot when he was upset. Whether it be a rough day of school or a fight with Bruce he would end up being seen at this spot, with Alfred's famous hot chocolate, and a classic piece of literature. He was too distracted to read though. So he just continued to stare out the window, letting his anger and frustration radiate off of him.
Tim was sitting on the sofa, holding Damian in his hands. Damian usually doesn’t like it when Tims the one holding him. Since day one they just didn’t seem to get along. When Dick convinced forced him to hold Damian for the first time all the little demon spawn would do was pull at his hair or poke his eyes. Dick laughed it off claiming Damian was just playing with him, but Tim thought otherwise.
He still swears to this day that after the hair-pulling incident when Dick went to put Damian back down for a nap, he swears he saw the little demon smirk at him as if he knew he got away with harassing Tim. But for the past couple of days, Damian hasn’t acted vicious towards him, he doesn’t even seem to mind when he picks him up, almost enjoys it actually. He can’t help but feel bad for the kid. Damian was sensing the others' stress, and Dixie wasn’t responding to his cries anymore, it's all overwhelming for him.
Alfred had just gotten back in from walking Ace, they weren't out for long. Ace seems to have his own schedule going on. Leave Dixie's room, eat, go back to Dixie's room, go on patrol, eat, go outside, back to Dixie's room. Alfred has tried to make him more active, but Ace just seems so … depressed.
Ace was about to walk back to Dixie's room when Alfred got a phone call. Alfred saw that the caller was Bruce so he answered.
The second he placed the phone by his ear, he heard Bruces screaming from the other end.
“What?!,” that statement seemed to get all the boys' attention, they began to stare at Alfred, waiting to get more context.
The call ended and Alfred rushed to the Batcave, Ace following behind him.
“Alfred, was that Bruce, what happened?” Dick asked, getting up from the table to follow.
“Master Bruce has found Mistress Dixie, but she's in need of medical attention”, Alfred responded as he was turning the hallway to reach the grandfather clock.
“WHAT!” Dick, Tim, and Jason all shouted in unison.
Everyone was then on their way to the Batcave. Once the doors opened they rushed to the medical wing to prep a bed and gather up supplies.
“I’m afraid Master Bruce was vague on the extent of her injuries,” Alfred said solemnly, preparing himself for the worst.
Not a minute later the engine of the batmobile echoed throughout the cave. Jason and Tim, with Damien still cradled in his arms, rushed over the Batmobile. Bruce exited out of the car with his cowl off and with Dixie curled up in his arms.
“Is she okay?” Jason asked, worry evident in his voice as he rushed over to Dixie's side.
Jason was about to reach out and grab her when Bruce instinctively pulled back. Both Tim and Jason looked at Bruce with a confused look on their face. Bruce then realized his mistake.
“I don’t want to move her too much … I don’t want to mess up her back,” Bruce said calmly as he began to move towards the medical wing.
“Her back what's wrong with her …” was all he spat out before his eyes went wide.
He saw it.
Her back was layered with open slashes, cuts, bruises and was overall a bloody mess. Tim saw it too and proceeded to go pale.
“Who!” Jason asked in a cold, dangerous voice. A name that's all Jason needed. A name, then he can do the rest.
“Later!” was all Bruce responded with, seemingly ending that conversation for now.
Bruce made his way to Alfred and explained the extent of Dixie's injuries.
“We’ll need to get that back stitched up immediately,” Alfred started as he brought the medical equipment closer, “ but first we need to get her out of the suit and disinfect her back.”
Bruce looked at Dixie still asleep in his arms, he didn’t want to wake her up, but he didn’t want her waking to someone taking off her. He slightly nudged her to wake up, after a few minutes her eyes slowly opened.
“Hey sweetie, we're home, but I need you to stand, we have to take off your costume. Are you okay with that?” Bruce asked in a calm manner, hoping he didn’t freak her out.
She slowly nodded her head without making eye contact with him. Bruce dropped his hand that held her legs and carefully stabilized her.
While she worked to get her top off, Jason was getting her spare clothes that they kept in the Batcave. He gave her some sweatpants but couldn't give her the spare shirt till after patching up her back.
Dixie began settling into the medical bed, she layed on the linen scented sheets, with her bloody back exposed to the family. As she was settling in Ace, jumped onto the bed acting as her pillow, and began licking Dixie's face.
“Hey Ace, I’m okay,” Dixie said in a tired strained voice.
A small smile perked up on her face as Ace kept licking her face and curled up against her. Tim, Damian, and Jason sat next to Dixie when Alfred began to clean the cuts away. Dick showed up next to the bed with a folded-up blanket in his hand. He bent down to meet Dixie's face.
“Hey sis, long time no see.” Dick quipped giving her a comforting smile.
Dixie rolled her eyes at the sarcasm and gave a sly smile in return. Everything was going smoothly until Alfred had to start disinfecting the cuts with Isopropyl Alcohol. Every drop stuck her back making her let out a muffled scream. Tears started to form, and her brothers tried to calm her down.
Jason rubbed his hand through her hair, telling her about all the things he's going to do to the people who did this to her, asking if she wanted to help him and if she wanted the “first turn” at them when they were caught. Tim settled in the bed next to her, letting Damian cuddle up next to her, happy to be reunited with her. Dick sat beside her and held her hand during the whole operation, reassuring her everything will be okay. Bruce had wandered over to the bat computer to try to start searching for the gang members responsible for hurting his daughter.
Once Alfred finished patching her all up he made her some tea for her voice and stated she should avoid sleeping on her back for a couple of weeks. Dixie thanked Alfred and after a long comforting hug, Dixie found herself drifting back to sleep.
As she was drifting off, her grip on Dicks hand tightened.
“Could … could you stay with me … I-I … don’t wanna be alone tonight,” she asked, giving a pleading look to her twin.
Dick squeezed her hand back, and gave a quick kiss on her forehead “Of course.”
Soon all her brothers were cuddling up next to her, all being mindful of her back. Jason was to her left using his left hand as a pillow while his right was holding her hand. Tim was to her right laying on his back with Damian resting on his stomach. One of his hands was keeping Damian in place while the other was hugging Dixie's right arm, with his head leaning against her arm. Ace still acted as her pillow with his head resting against hers. Dick layed next to Tim, he had Tim resting on his left arm while his other, hugged Dixie, Tim, and Damian in a protective manner.
Soon everyone was fast asleep, but Dixie kept waking up. Every time she started to drift off her brain tricked her into believing she was back in that room … alone .
Bruce eventually called it a night and started to make his way to his room. He went by to check on everybody when he met Dixie's eyes.
“It’s okay, you're home now, you're safe”, he reassured her.
He tucked them all in, with the blanket that Dick placed over all of them. He checked on all of the boys and waited for Dixie to drift off.
Eventually, Dixie closed her eyes, and Bruce leaned down to kiss her forehead, then went over to the elevator.
Dixie gave one last look around and felt a warmth rise in her chest when all she saw was her brothers and dog cuddling up next to her. She then finally drifted off into a peaceful sleep, with a small smile on her face. She realized she had nothing to fear.
She wasn’t alone anymore, she was home.
She was safe.