He's pulled into that hug and he just stands there. Quiet. The thought of losing Alfred back in Gotham because he hadn't been the one to receive that envelope from the Riddler... he doesn't know what he's going to do if that happens. If Alfred doesn't pull through. There's no next of kin. There's just him... just him and Alfred, like it's been for a number of years now.

But Dick's words are a sort of comfort he didn't know he needed to hear and it's why, fighting his own pain there in his eyes, he gently lifts his arms up and presses small hands to Dick's shoulders, holding tight after a few seconds. A tilt of his head, he leans into Dick and he... doesn't realize how much he needs this right now. Just a moment to feel safe — to stop. To pretend, even for a few seconds, that everything is going to be ok.