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Chapter 1

Cass stopped to look at her bare back in the mirror. The burn scars from the Joker's joy buzzer weeks ago were fading to match the other ones Cain had given her. She pulled on her shirt and continued walking into her kitchen of her apartment. It had been a while since she came home, but she knew Alfred had stopped by to tidy up the place before she settled back in.

She leaned against the counter with her eyes closed and a deep breath trapped in her chest. Her mind was too clouded to feel anything right now, but she felt like she had swallowed concrete. Jason wasn't there when she woke up at the Manor. She had been asleep for three days, and it frustrated her that she had wasted time like that.

Bruce had taken away the Batgirl uniform from her. She didn't have Jason, and she didn't have the cowl, so she felt like she had nothing. There was a knock at her door, so she glanced at it and started heading in that direction.

When she opened the door she smiled a bit, then turned back to go sit in the living room. "Hey, not happy to see me?" Dick was in his civilian clothes with a smile on his face. He awkwardly stood in the doorway then followed her. "Bruce – asked me to check up on you." Cass nodded her head, reaching for the remote and turning on the TV to pretend to be more interested on what was on it, but he knew better. He studied her as he sat himself down turning a chair backwards to face her. He rested his crossed arms on the back of it.

"I'm fine." She tossed the remote off to the side and grabbed a couch pillow, pressing it to her chest and avoided looking Dick in the eye.

"You haven't seen him, have you?" He asked, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, and his body stiffened. "And there's the Asian death glare…" Dick chuckled as he shifted his body uncomfortably on the chair. "Look, we all knew this would happen, Cass." She turned up the volume, acting as if it was too loud she couldn't hear him. "I'm saying this as your older brother, Cass. Jason is -"

"Angry," she finished, "with me."

He sighed, tapping his heel against the floor as he tried to find the right words. "That's how he is. And it's better if he's gone, Cass. Believe me."

"Better for you. Better for Bruce. Not better for me." She shut off the TV and turned her body to face him, her eyes felt hot and her vision was blurry.

"Cass…" Dick stood up immediately, feeling the threat of her crying. When it came to things like this, he was always afraid of saying the wrong things, and he never knew what to do to make it better. Not to mention, it was Cass. She slammed the pillow into him, pushing him away weakly. "He'll come back. Don't worry." He put his hand awkwardly on her shoulder.

"Joker captured us. I did nothing." Her lips pressed together, when she lowered her head. "Useless. I was useless." Dick watched droplets fall onto the back of her hands on her lap. Seeing her cry was making him panic.

"Hey," He sat down in front of her and pressed her head into his chest, "It's what the Joker does. He catches you off guard, and messes with your head. We've all been tested by him - especially Bruce. It's not your fault." Dick pattered her back softly and he could tell she was rubbing her eyes.

"But Jason won't come back." She continued wiping away her tears, and he didn't know what to tell her. All he could do was think in circles and try to comfort his little sister.

…

"Well, well, what brings you back to Gotham?" Dick pressed his arm across his chest staring past the red metal, searching for his eyes.

"Cassandra," when he answered, Jason's body twitched. He closed his eyes behind the hood and clamped his mouth shut. Dick slammed him against the wall.

"So what?" Jason grunted trying to pry Dick's hand away, but the grip was too strong for him to break.

"Don't play dumb!" Again, Dick slammed him against the wall, anger protruding from his mask. Jason could feel his stomach tighten.

"There's nothing between us anymore." He slammed his elbow into Dick's jaw, and jumped off to the side taking a stance. Dick staggered holding his chin then dropped his hands to his sides.

"Really? Is that why you left – like a coward?" Dick tightened his fists, remembering the drops of saltwater crash onto the back of Cass's hands.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Jason retorted with his knees bending him lower to the ground. He watched Dick's Nightwing symbol rush up to him with a kick aiming for his stomach. He blocked and punched for his face. Dick dodged, gritting his teeth.

"I don't? You didn't – see – her – cry!" One of Dick's hook punches landed square in Jason's kidneys.

Jason gasped, and recoiled with a sweeping kick at Dick's feet, but he spun through the air before it made contact. "It – it doesn't matter – I -" Before he could finish, his vision went dark for a second with his head pounding, but when he blinked, he realized his helmet had been knocked off and Dick was on top of him with a fist reared back, and his other hand grasping tightly on his collar.

"Just shut up!" Dick knocked his fist against his face, and Jason felt his cheek collide with his own teeth. "She blames herself for all of it. We told her it wasn't. But -" Jason's eyes widened looking up at Dick's expression. "She won't listen unless you tell her." Dick's hands let go, and he stood up.

Jason propped himself up on his elbow and wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "I can't do it." He stared down at the asphalt and sighed. "She almost died; I – I let her down."

"You're letting her down now." Dick looked down at him with pity and anger still filling his chest as he caught his breath. Jason's eyes rose to meet his, only to find his back turned towards him as he walked away.

"Grayson," Dick turned to see Jason getting up on his feet, "I want to see the Joker first."