Deaths AU

Part 3

d**k's POV 

Damian left to return to the Manor a little while later. Once he and Titus had gone, Babs and I decided to go for a walk. It was quite chilly that day, so we both had jackets on. We walked in Gotham Park, her arm linked through mine, catching up on what had happened in each other's lives over the last six months. It was quite an enjoyable morning. 

When we returned to my apartment, I unlocked the front door, Babs following behind me, and hung my jacket on the hook by the door. I then went through into the sitting room to find three people already seated there. 

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked them, curiously. 

"We came to see you," Artemis told me. 

"I'm perfectly fine," I replied, "Damian actually came this morning." 

"The demon brat?!" Wally asked

"He actually complimented d**k," Babs said, coming in and standing besides me. 

She seemed really bowled over by this fact, as she wouldn't stop talking about it the entire time we had been walking. 

"What?!" Wally cried, "What did he say?" 

Babs told him. 

"Wow, d**k," Wally said, grinning at me, "It seems you've really come up in the world." 

Two weeks later 

I had finally gotten a job, as a lieutenant for GCPD. Luckily, when I had 'died', no one had declared me as dead. I had just been reported missing. 

I arrived home from work one evening to find that someone was waiting for me inside my apartment. At first I thought it might have been Babs. She came to visit me most days, as her apartment was just a few blocks away, but I soon found that it wasn't. It was Bruce. 

"d**k," he began, "I'm sorry." 

"No," I replied, " I'm sorry for not telling you." 

"You did what you believed was best. I should have understood that. I shouldn't have stayed away for so long." 

"It's alright," I told him, "truly. I understand that you all just need some time to clear your heads." 

Bruce gave me one of his rare smiles. 

"Are we good then?" 

"Definitely," I replied, giving him a hug, which he returned. 

"Will you come back to the team then?" he asked, " it's been completely chaotic since you left." 

"I don't know," I replied, "they're still pretty angry at me." 

"Alright then," he said, turning to leave, "you can come back when you're ready." 

I thought about it for a minute. I hadn't gone out on patrol or done anything since I'd returned, and I was beginning to get itchy feet. 

"Bruce," I said, stopping him just before he left, "I'll be there tomorrow."