They ran through the tunnel as fast as they could. The only light was that of the flashlight Dick had remembered to grab before entering the dark tunnel. The four boys had no idea where the tunnel was leading them or how Bruce even knew about it, but they didn't pay it any mind at the moment, seeing as they were running for their lives. Jason was in the lead with the flashlight in one hand and Damian's wrist in the other. Tim was in the middle, and Dick was at the rear making sure no one was following them.

They had only been running for a few minutes when Damian tripped over something and fell, his hand flying out of his brother's and landing hard in the dirt, jarring his head and making hurt even more. He looked at what he had tripped over and scooted backwards a few paces, horrified at the sight before him. It was a skull; with grotesque rotten flesh still hanging loosely from it. But that wasn't what unnerved him. The skull seemed to be looking straight at him, and yet the skull had no eyes in its sockets. It looked as if they had been gouged out by the claws of a huge beast, with deep scratches marring the skin near the sockets. In all his years as an assassin with the League, Damian had never seen anything so utterly. . . terrifying.

He felt arms stretch around his chest and he looked up at the owner of the arms, almost scared of what he might see. It was only Jason though, and Damian relaxed a little.

"Are you okay, Damian? Can you walk?" His older brother asked. Damian nodded; of course he could walk, what was he, an infant? Damian got up unsteadily, then tried to take a step forward and almost fell again because of the pain he felt in his head at that single step. Before he could hit the ground, Jason caught him. "Whoa there, baby bird. You are definitely not okay. I'm carrying you the rest of the way, whether you like it or not."

Damian put a hand to his wound and only nodded, too tired to complain at the moment. He knew he wasn't in good shape at the moment, still recovering from being poisoned a day ago and a serious head wound not even an hour ago. He knew he should be lying in a bed, not running for his life in a dark, musty, underground tunnel going who knows where. But he had no choice in the matter. It was run or die. So he let himself be picked up gently by his older brother and watched through fluttering eyelids as Jason handed Tim the flashlight, telling him to lead. Damian heard one of his brothers, Dick he thought, say one last thing before he fell unconscious.

"It's gonna be okay, Damian. We'll protect you no matter what."

Then Damian heard no more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soon afterwards, the tunnel led them to a wooden door with a thick metal handle on it. Tim tried it first since he was closest and found that it was locked.

Before Tim could say anything, there was a cry of "Back away!" And the sound of someone charging the door. It was Dick. He rammed the door with his shoulder and the door burst open with a loud crash!

Before anyone could say anything at the accomplishment, they heard footsteps and shouting not far behind them. Dick quickly ushered his brothers in and shut the door behind him, finding a deadbolt and locking it. He looked at their new surroundings. The building they were in looked to be some kind of warehouse, filled with lots of big boxes and crates perfect for hiding in. Before he could observe any more, the three boys heard pounding on the locked wooden door.

He turned to his brothers and quickly whispered them instructions.

"Split up and hide where ever you can. Don't come out of hiding until you're absolutely sure they're gone. We'll meet up after and figure out what to do from there. Do you understand?" There was more banging as they nodded. "Good. Now go."

They split apart, Tim going up a ladder to the rafters, Dick hiding in a large crate full of pink Styrofoam peanuts, and Jason heading towards another door with Damian.

Once inside this door, Jason looked around and was surprised to see what looked like a nursery for small children. He didn't have time to think on it, though, as he heard the tunnel door start to give way to its attackers. Jason's trained eyes looked for a hiding spot and soon found a series of cracks in the wall that looked like the outline of a small door. He immediately went over to it and pried it open with his free hand. He entered the space and had just shut the door when he heard the door to the nursery slam open.

Jason stayed absolutely still, clutching his small brother's body to his chest. He heard footsteps pass through the room, coming closer and closer to their hiding spot with every step. They stopped right in front of it, and Jason held his breath in anticipation, waiting for the moment they would be discovered and killed.

Then the footsteps left, back into the warehouse, and Jason nearly sighed in relief, releasing his tight grip on Damian a little. Jason waited a bit longer to make sure they were gone before coming out of his hiding spot. But as he reached for the door, he felt a breeze on his face. Jason stilled, wondering if he had only imagined it. But then he felt it again, and looked away from the door into the darkness behind him. He saw a pinprick of white and wondered what it was. Then he was hit with an idea. What if he was in another tunnel? Jason started to walk down to explore, but then remembered Damian and stopped. He wondered what he should do, if he should take him with or leave him here. He considered that there might be enemies at the end of this tunnel, if that's what it was. He looked at Damian despite the darkness. He made his decision and set Damian on the floor gently, knowing he would be safe here for now. Then he went towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He went all the way to the end of the tunnel and found another door, this one made of gray metal, like steel. He opened the door a crack and peeked to see what was on the other side. What he saw was amazing. He couldn't wait to tell his brothers! It was the perfect way to lose their pursuers! He really wanted to explore, but it had to wait because he had to get back to Damian and find the others. Once back at the nursery, he took stock of the room. It looked like any nursery you would see in a house or a daycare, with toys for small children scattered all over on the floor. Jason didn't see why anyone would want their child playing in such a dangerous place, even if it was closed off from the warehouse. Any toddler with common sense would know how to open a door and simply walk out. Jason shook his head and laid Damian down gently on the carpeted floor. Damian didn't stir.

Jason moved the hair from his brother's face so he could inspect his injury more closely. Despite the blood covering and his limited medical knowledge, Jason could see that the wound was a large gash, about the size of a quarter. He noticed that it was swollen and red, with some yellowish pus mixed in with the blood. He frowned, and was about to move closer to see better, when the door opened. Jason looked up, startled, and pulled Damian closer to him, shielding him with his body. He feared that they had been found by the enemy, and were about to be killed.

To Jason's surprise, it wasn't the man from before. It was Dick and Tim. They padded inside the room and shut the door softly behind them. Jason let out a sigh of relief, relaxing his taut muscles. "How did you know I was in here?"

"I saw you go in from the rafters," Tim said, looking at Damian in Jason's arms. "How's the little demon?"

Jason looked down at his youngest brother. The boy was pale and unconscious in his arms, his face covered in a light layer of sweat. Jason creased his brows worriedly and laid the younger boy gently on the carpet again, then looked back up at his oldest brother. "Dick, I think Damian's wound is infected."

Dick was immediately at his brothers' side, looking at the smaller boy's wound. He grimaced at what he saw and felt his forehead. Damian shifted at the touch, the first movement they had seen him make since the tunnel. Dick frowned and removed his hand, then looked at Jason. "He definitely has an infection, and I think he's running a fever, too, because of it. He need to get him help, now, before it gets any worse."

Before he could say anything else, they heard footsteps and shouts in the warehouse. Dick looked at Jason, a question in his eyes. Jason nodded and gestured for them to follow him. He walked to the tunnel entrance and opened it. He ushered his brothers in, then entered himself and shut the opening behind him. He looked at his brothers, who looked back at him. Dick was holding Damian, and Tim had the flashlight. Jason gestured for them to follow him towards the door at the end of the tunnel. They were almost there when Tim said something. "I feel like a runaway slave on the Underground Railroad."

"Shut up, Drake." Damian muttered in his sleep. Everyone looked at him oddly. Damian was huddled against Dick's chest, still seemingly asleep.

"Damian?" Dick asked. "Are you awake?" The boy didn't respond, just cuddled closer to Dick's chest. Dick looked at the others, confused at the small boy's words. He wondered how he had known Tim said something when he had been asleep this whole time? It didn't make sense. Then it donned on him: what if Damian's fever was getting worse? "Jason, take Damian for a second. I need to check something."

Jason did as told and Dick felt Damian's forehead again. Yup, his fever had definitely gotten worse. He needed to get medical help now, before it was too late. "We need to get going, now."

They started moving again. Jason showed them the door and led them out. They were surprised; the scene was not what they were expecting.

They were on a busy street filled with traffic and pedestrians swarmed the sidewalk. The noise was startling after having been in the quiet for so long. The door behind them blended in perfectly with the wall; unless you knew it was there, you wouldn't be able to see it. Dick turned to Tim. "We are still in Orlando, right? We didn't somehow end up in New York?"

"Of course we're still in Orlando. It's not like we traveled through a magical, time-warping, underground maze. Geez."

His older brothers stared at him, somewhat concerned about his mental health. Tim noticed their stares and looked away, blushing from head to toe with embarrassment. "It's from a book I read once." He muttered.

Jason shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder if you're demented."

Dick kicked him softly in the shin. "Jason, be nice. We have to get moving. Damian's sick, remember?"

"And we're probably being followed, too, so let's get somewhere safe." Jason added.

"I think I remember Bruce talking about a safe house he had in Orlando one time." Dick said, thinking hard. "I think it was on the north side, in a quiet neighborhood where no one would think to look. Let's try to find that and we'll figure things out from there."

The others nodded and followed Dick as he headed down the street, going north in the hopes of finding Bruce's safehouse.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They walked for over an hour trying to locate it. They finally find it in a small suburb on the edge of the city. It was a small white one-story house with light gray trim and a brown wooden door.

The boys walked in like they owned the place, which, in a strange way, they did.

Dick laid Damian on a couch and went searching for a thermometer to check the boy's temperature. Dick felt certain that it had only gotten worse the longer it went untreated.

He finally found one in the kitchen and rushed back to his sleeping brother, sticking it into his mouth under the tongue. He waited until it beeped and pulled it out hastily. Damian had a fever of 106.5°F. That wasn't good. Damian needed professional medical help that he and his brothers couldn't give. But they had to stay low for awhile to stay safe, and in the meantime, Dick could try to make his brother feel better. He decided to start by cleaning the wound. Tim and Jason watched as he went to the kitchen and searched the drawers for a clean rag. He found one and tested the sink to see if it would work. Gladly, it did, and Dick waited until the water was warm before getting the rag wet. He wrung it out gently, turning off the faucet, and went back to the boy still sleeping on the couch peacefully. Dick moved Damian's hair from the wound and found that it was damp with sweat. Dick frowned, worry creasing his brow. He sighed sadly and gently wiped the blood away from his face with the white rag.

Damian stirred in his sleep, turning his head to the side and opening his eyes a little. The first thing he saw was Dick, leaning over him with a worried look on his face. "Grayson? What's going on? Where's father? Where am I? What-"

"Whoa, there baby bird." Jason said, waving his hands back and forth in front of him. "Calm down. I don't suppose you remember what happened, do you?" Damian shook his head no. "Didn't think so, with a head injury like that. Well, we're at one of Bruce's safe houses. The house we were staying in was invaded and we escaped through the tunnel in the basement. We ended up in a warehouse and then another tunnel, which led us to the busy streets of downtown Orlando. Then we came here, and that should bring you up to speed for now."

"But where's Father?" Damian persisted. Dick shared a look between him and his brothers, then looked at the youngest sadly.

"Damian, we don't know where he is right now. Bruce held them off so we could escape through the tunnel like Jason said."

"But he couldn't come with us," Damian said stoically. Dick shook his head sadly.

"No, he couldn't." Damian felt like there was something else that Dick wasn't telling him.

"Is there anything else I need to know, Grayson?" He said, looking directly at his oldest brother pointedly. He saw Dick hesitate slightly before shaking his head.

"Nope. That's it, right guys?" The others frowned but nodded, wondering at the strange antics of their brother.

Damian raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything else, much to Dick's relief. He only lay back down on the couch and falling asleep once more. Dick sighed and covered him with the blanket, then turned to his other brothers, his eyes looking at the ground as he led them into the small kitchen, knowing they wanted answers. "Bruce couldn't follow us because he was injured-"

"What?!" Jason yelled at him. "Dick, why didn't you say anything? We should've stayed behind-"

Dick shushed him quickly, looking at Damian in the living room. The boy stirred gently, rubbing his eyes a little, still fast asleep, unaware of the conversation taking place at the moment. Dick turned back to Jason. "Jason, I would've stayed behind if I could've, but by the time I noticed it, the door was already closing and it was too late to turn back. Don't give me that look, Jason Peter Todd! I want to go back just as much as you do, but the last thing Bruce told me was to care of all of you. And I wasn't about to break that promise because he was injured. I knew what he would say, and so do you, Jason."

Jason looked ashamed after his speech, and apologized to him. "I'm sorry, Dick. I understand now."

Dick nodded, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's quite alright, I understand where you're coming from."

"But why didn't you tell Damian all this?" Tim asked his eldest brother. "He's going to be pissed when he finds out, you know."

Dick nodded, looking worried. "I didn't want him to worry any more than he already has to. I mean, with him getting poisoned, then the head injury, then the chase through the tunnels, then the infection and now the fever, I just thought he really didn't need anything else on his plate right now. If he learned about this, I'm not sure what he would do. But I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be sleeping at all right now, because he'd be too hellbent on getting revenge to care for himself properly. And he's in no condition to be doing that at the moment."

The three boys looked at their youngest brother concerned. He was still sleeping on the couch peacefully, ignorant of his surroundings. "We should put him in an actual bed," Tim said thoughtfully. He walked over to Damian and picked him up. The younger boy latched onto him, his grip like a vise on Tim's shirt, the boy's head resting on his shoulder.

Tim walked towards the back of the house where the bedrooms were. The two older boys followed silently behind. Dick and Jason watched as Tim gently moved to lay Damian down but almost fell over instead, not expecting the iron-hard grip the boy had. Tim looked at his brothers, not knowing what to do. Dick gestured for him to lay down in the bed with him and sleep because Damian was obviously not going to let go anytime soon. Tim grudgingly agreed with him and laid down. He found it surprisingly comfy, and fell asleep almost instantly, not realizing how tired he had been.

Dick and Jason smirked and glanced at each other. Jason took out his phone and took a picture after Dick tucked the two youngest birds in. Then they went to sleep in the other bedrooms, not realizing that their moment of peace was about to end.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All right, another chapter done! Woohoo! I'm sorry it took so long for me to update, a lot's been going on in my life right now, and I haven't really felt like updating. So I was rereading my story again today, and I realized I haven't done the disclaimer! So here it is:

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING BUT THE PLOT (SO FAR). THE BATFAMILY BELONGS TO DC AND FLORIDA BELONGS TO THE U. S. OF A. THANK YOU SO KINDLY FOR LISTENING! (Well, reading, but you know what I mean.) SEE YOU NEXT TIME, MY PEEPS!

BYE :)