#cecverse

“Yes Kiran?” Dev instantly picks up on the false innocent tone Alfred is using, and he stands.

“Did you put something in my bloody tea?” Dev asks, and Alfred finally turns to face him.

“Just a bit of chamomile and melatonin, my dear Kiran. Now, off to bed with you, I will check on Master Bruce,” Alfred orders him, and Dev’s jaw drops.

“Alfie! Gorram, but you really are the bloody Batman’s da!” Dev exclaims, and Alfred cracks a pleased smile."

(Courage, Dear Heart by batnsons (greywritesstuff))

I CANNOT recommend the entire CEC series by bowditch (and associated stories) enough. They're fucking spectacular

preview:

The last minutes of the procedure passed without incident and he rolled a shoulder when he stepped back. The team ran through a series of brief checks, and then Dev told the resident, Dr. Mendel, to go ahead with the plan to close up.

“Dr. Dev, Candi needs to talk to you. It’s urgent,” Whitney said as soon as Dr. Mendel had taken over. “Dr. Fabriello is scrubbing in to supervise the rest of surgery.”

Dev’s stomach dropped to his trainers.

He cast a glance at the patient on the table, breathing and stable.

He could see Tony through the small square windows set in the OR doors.

While he shoved through the doors and past Tony, he was reasoning with himself, telling himself all the mundane hospital things this could be. He didn’t really believe any of his own reassurances. He pitched gloves in a bin without slowing.

Candi was in the hall with a mobile charting station, working while she waited. She turned when she saw him and her smile wasn’t exactly a happy one.

“What’s happened?” he asked, pulling his mask off.

Okay, so no, she didn't, but not for lack of trying. Lisa had been, she swore, super casual when asking around. She had picked her informants carefully, starting with the key hubs in the gossip wheel that every unit had. But Perlah had only leaned back against the counter and cut her a look out of the corner of her eye. "Mm, don't you bother with that, sis." And JoJo had clucked his tongue and given her arm a friendly pat.

Lisa had finally broken after two months of absolutely no progress. She wasn't helping her own case, getting shy and tongue-tied any time there was a non-work chat opening to talk with the handsome doctor, but her coworkers could be a little more forthcoming, surely, even if only to tell her to back off.

"What, is he married? Married to his work or something? What's the deal?"

That had earned her an outright snort-laugh from Connie, the unit PCL, who knew just about everything and everyone that came through her domain. "Or something," she had agreed, cheeks as pink as her hair, but wouldn't elaborate.

Hello! There's now a CECverse discord chat for all things CEC, Dev, or batfam! Come join us!

(Link expires seven days from post, DM me if you need a new one!)

Day 4: Human Shield

Kiran Devabhaktuni, Bruce Wayne, Damian Wayne

CEC-verse