Codes for this chapter:
(Y/N) = Your name
(L/N) = Your last name
(M/N) = Your mother's name
(N/N) = Your nickname
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(Y/N) P.O.V
Although I wasn't a member of the bat family, I was a really close friend. Close enough to know their secret identities, anyways. That was how I ended up at Wayne Manor hanging out with Dick and Tim on the evening it happened.
We were all sitting in Tim's room talking about the latest stuff that was going on with the team when my phone started ringing. Seeing that my phone didn't recognize the number, I decided to answer the call. Holding up a finger to the guys to say I would be back in a second, I accepted the call and left the room, closing the door most of the way behind me.
"Hello?" I said into the phone.
"Hello," replied the voice on the other end. "Is this miss (L/N)?"
"Yes," I told them, wondering what a call this formal could be about. "Who is this?"
"This is the Gotham City Hospital," answered the voice.
Crap, I thought. This can't be good.
"We are calling," they continued. "To inform you of a recent tragedy involving your mother, (M/N) (L/N)."
No, I thought. No, this can't be happening.
"Your mother was driving home from work when she was involved in a collision with a drunk driver..."
No, no, no.
"And despite our best efforts..."
Please no.
"We regret to inform you that your mother passed away shortly after her arrival."
I felt myself go entirely numb, and I somehow managed to speak.
"I understand."
"We are very sorry for your loss."
That was the last thing they said before the line went silent, and I heard a thump as my phone fell to the floor. My vision blurred and very soon, I followed my phone, falling to my knees. I felt tears stream down my face, and in some corner of my mind, I heard Tim's door opening.
"(Y/N)?" I vaguely recognized Dick's voice. "What happened? We thought we heard-"
His sentence was cut off as he saw me on my knees, tears flowing freely down my cheeks.
"(N/N)?" I heard footsteps as he approached and knelt in front of me. I couldn't even bring myself to look up from the blurry image of the carpet in front of me.
He immediately pulled me into a hug, and I buried my face against his shoulder. He didn't say anything for a long while, simply holding me as I sobbed. At some point, Tim emerged from his room and joined Dick in hugging me.
Eventually, my tears dried out and the brothers slowly released me. Dick placed a hand on my shoulder and, looking up at the boys, I couldn't help but feel a bit like I was part of the family after all. I took a deep breath and looked down to steady myself before the question was inevitably asked. It was Tim who ended up asking.
"(Y/N)," his voice was gentle and concerned. "What's wrong?"
"The call," I managed to tell them, my voice shaky. "It was th- the hospital. There was an accident. My mom-" I felt the tears come back, but still managed to look up at Tim as I finished. "She's dead."
The brothers shared a glance before both leaning over to capture me in a gentle hug. My head rested on Tim's shoulder and Dick held me steady as my body shook with sobs and gasps for breath.
"Shh (N/N)," Dick murmured. "I know it hurts, but it will get better. I promise."
My sobs faded enough for me to speak, although I kept my head on Tim's shoulder as I did so.
"You don't understand," I said quietly, knowing that they'd both hear me anyways. "With my mom gone and my sister at university, I'll have to go live with my dad."
"Why don't you want to live with your dad?" Tim asked, worry evident in his voice.
When I didn't answer for a few moments, he seemed to worry even more. "(Y/N)?" he asked. "Has your dad ever hurt you?"
I was faster to answer this time, having managed to stop my sobs completely. "No, it's nothing like that. My dad just only cares about himself. He doesn't even care enough to acknowledge my existence most of the time. My mom's house was the only place where anyone cared about me, and now that's gone."
"You're wrong (N/N)," Dick told me gently. "You still have people who care about you. You have us. You can stay here if you want. We'll figure it out."
I untangled myself from the hug to look up at him. "Really?" I asked, my hope seeping into mt tone.
Dick gave me a soft smile. "Of course," he assured me. "After all, if your dad doesn't acknowledge you, he won't mind if you stay with us."
A smile crept onto my tear-stained face at his words and I felt myself lean my head back onto Tim's shoulder, my eyelids growing heavy as the events of the day took their toll on me. "Thank you," I told them. "You have no idea how much this means to me."
Tim wrapped an arm around me and gently leaned his head on top of mine. "You know we'll always be her for you (Y/N)," he said. "Now you should get some rest. You've had a rough day."
I nodded against his shoulder, my eyes falling closed on their own, and soon I was slipping into a peaceful sleep.
---Dick P.O.V----------------
I smiled faintly as (Y/N) fell asleep against Tim's shoulder, glad that we had managed to calm her down. I slowly rose to my feet and Tim did the same, shifting (Y/N) so that she lay curled up in his arms.
I gestured towards Tim's open door, not wanting to wake (Y/N), and he nodded in agreement. He carried (Y/N) through the open door and gently lay her on his bed, covering her in a blanket. We then left the room and quietly closed the door.
"Poor (N/N)," Tim whispered, a small frown on his face.
"Yeah," I replied. "At least we were kids when it happened to us."
We both paused for a moment, remembering, before I broke the silence with a sigh.
"We should go talk to Bruce," I whispered to Tim, hoping that my voice didn't betray my anxiety. "We did just promise (Y/N) that she could stay in his house."
Tim nodded and we started walking towards the entrance to the Batcave. As with most evenings, Bruce had retreated down there nearly the moment he got home. He wasn't always the best father, but we could manage by ourselves.
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't realize that we had reached the Cave until I heard Tim's voice, which instantly snapped me back to reality.
"Bruce?" Tim called, his voice echoing off the walls. "Are you still down here?"
Our adoptive father stepped out of the shadows, his cowl off his head to expose his face.
"I thought you were with (Y/N)," he said. "Did something happen?"
Tim turned to me out of habit, so I responded to Bruce. "You could say that," I told him, recounting the story of what happened.
When I was finished, he simply nodded. "You did the right thing," he told us.
I placed a hand on the back of my neck as was my nervous habit. "You're not mad at us for saying she can stay here?"
He gave me one of his rare smiles. "Of course not. I'll make the arrangements in the morning. It's about time we had a girl around."
I smiled, thinking of officially having (Y/N) as a sister. It may have been for tragic reasons, but I was excited to have her as part of the family.
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A/N:
So, I'm back! Kind of, at least. I still have stuff I'm working through, but I want to get back to my writing, so I'm going to try and update at least twice a month. Feel free to spam me if I fail to do so.
Most chapters in the next while will probably be shorter than this. The only reason that this one is a bit longer is because it was something I wrote awhile ago but never uploaded.
I'm also working on some of the requests I got before my break, so those should hopefully be released soon. Sorry for making you guys wait so long. Anyways, long author's note over. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Thanks for reading,
Heather
