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Bruce woke quietly, no dramatic gasp of breath or frantic sitting up.
The slow, methodic beeping of machinery around him was the first thing he noticed. He didn’t bother opening his eyes, a warm feeling of safety surrounding him. He gave no indication he was awake, not even quite sure himself whether he was still dreaming or not. Why would he bother opening his eyes if it wasn’t real?
He didn’t quite know why, but it felt like something was missing. Faintly, Bruce thought he should have been in pain. Why didn’t he feel any pain?
As he laid there, still in between asleep and awake and pondering his pain (or lack thereof), he heard the faint sound of laughter.
It's not very loud or enthusiastic, but the simple sound of joy is enough for Bruce to grasp onto. He isn't sure if he wants to wake up but it seems like he doesn't really have a choice.
He blearily opened his eyes, wincing in anticipation for bright lights that never came. Instead, he was greeted by the warm, yet dim lighting from a lamp across the room. It seemed like he wasn't in the medbay like he thought he'd be. A quick glance at his surroundings told him he was in his own bedroom, wearing his own pyjamas. Either he must not be injured enough to wake up in his room or Bruce had a long road of recovery in the future.
He shifted slightly, absentmindedly noting how sluggish his movements seemed to be. Judging by the lack of pain as well as lack of coordination, he thought it was safe to assume that he was currently on a lot of drugs.
The laughter started up again, sounding more clear the more awake he felt. Instinctively, he looked around trying to find the source, only to stop, stunned at the sight that greeted him.
Across the room, Bruce could faintly make out the sight of Cass, Tim, and Stephanie squished together in one of the loveseats near his fireplace. He could barely see where Cass ended and Tim started and he only knew Stephanie was there because neither of his other children had blonde hair. They were so tightly packed together, Bruce wasn’t sure how the couch managed to stay together. All three were fast asleep, breaths indistinguishable.
He shifted to try and better see the rest of the room, only to get a headrush so intense he had to close his eyes for a brief moment. When he managed to reopen them, he was greeted with the sight of Barbara and Dick slumped together, awake and giggling at Dick’s smartphone.
Everyone looked so domestic that Bruce felt a wave of affection flow from the top of his head down to the tips of his toes. Perhaps it was the drugs talking, however he would never deny that waking up to such a sight was always welcome.
He must have made a noise or shifted noticeably, because Barbara perked up, head whipping around to glance at him. AT the sight of his smile that was likely more of a grimace than anything else, she quickly dropped her hands to her wheels and made her way over to him. If he was less drugged, Bruce might’ve raised a questioning eyebrow at Dick, who didn’t move from his spot on Bruce’s favorite chair, but that was neither here nor there.
“Hey,” Barbara greeted, voice soft like she didn’t want to break the calm peace that filled the air. “How are you feeling?”
It took a few moments for Bruce to get his throat to work properly, gratefully sipping at the water Barbara held out for him. It took him a few more moments to remember she asked him a question.
“Drugged,” was the only thing that came to mind and Barbara chuckled, face scrunching up in amusement.
“I’ll bet. You’re on the good stuff, B.”
“Do I want to know how bad it is?” he asked, tilting his head a little closer to her.
“I’ll let Alfred tell you, if that’s okay?” Normally, he would’ve insisted on finding out now, but her expression was dropping, bright green eyes glittering with unshed tears.
“Are you okay?” Bruce asked softly, unsubtly wrestling his arms out from under the blanket wrapped around him.
“I– You had me so worried, Bruce,” she whispered, gently helping him free his arms. When she tried to move her hands back, he caught her wrist and pulled her forward in an embrace. Quickly sensing how this was going to go, Barbara used her free hand to shift herself onto the edge of his mattress so he could stay lying down.
“I’m so sorry, Joan. I love you so much,” he murmured into her hair as she carefully clung to him, both curling into each other.
It had been a long time since Bruce had actually hugged Barbara, so long he couldn’t remember the last time they had actually full-on embraced. He didn’t mention how his shoulder grew damp, nor how her breath stuttered, and she didn’t comment on how his fingers shook as he gripped her shirt.
The sound of quiet footsteps made Bruce open his eyes again, but the sight of his eldest calmed him immediately.
“She was so worried about you,” Dick said quietly, coming to sit on Bruce’s other side, but not joining the embrace.
“ She is right here,” Barbara muttered back, pressed closer to Bruce for a few more seconds before pulling away. Her hand remained on his arm, as though she sensed his need for something grounding.
“Where is…?” Bruce began, trailing off as he mentally counted off all his children.
“Damian is still with the Kents. He’s been informed about what happened but we may have downplayed all the events so we didn’t stress out Clark,” Dick replied, eyes crinkling in the fond way it always did when he talked about Damian.
“And Jason?”
“Dick tried contacting him but apparently he met an alternate dimension version of himself and is now acting as a witness to alternate-Jason and alternate-Roy Harper’s wedding. It was very elaborate and blackmail was involved, but he said he’d come to the manor as soon as he was back on Earth,” Barbara reported. Bruce felt his eyes glaze over a tiny bit as she finished and he shook his head lightly to clear the fog.
“Can you– nevermind. Don’t repeat that. I’ll ask him about that when he returns.”
“Good choice because that’s the only information we have. He hadn’t replied since.”
“Of course,” Bruce sighed, eyelids growing heavier each time he blinked.
“Go back to sleep,” Barbara said kindly. “We’ll be here when you wake up.”