Rated high T for mentions of infanticide, and childbirth.
"Being a mother is not about what you gave up to have a child, but what you gained from having him" ~ Unknown
The music was pounding, as tasteless and cultural wasted as Neanderthals bangin' rocks ta-gether. In one of many dimly lit houses that graced Gotham's infamous Narrows, the party was by this time in full swing; with the beer flowing, unsupervised teenagers laughing, and underage girls in tiny tops, who were smooching their older boyfriends on the beat up couches, confidence in their sleazy, adolescence beauty -and without a thought in their heads as to what this could mean, or do, to their already non-existence future. This was evident in the fact that every so often, a couple would fumble their way upstairs, giggling as they closed a door behind them.
In the corners of the main room were the first time dealers, so nervous and unsure that ya think it was their first-time gettin' some, who carefully sold their wares ta equally careful buyers. These boys and girls contrasted drastically with the coolness of the full grown "teenagers" who had very cordially infiltrated the party, sent by their bosses to make sure the newbies were actually worken' instead of usein' their...loan.
If they were, good, the Boss could always use fresh meat. If not...well, then they might have a word with 'em. With a crowbar. But one trait united them all. Fear. Fear that flickered in their eyes, and wetted their palms and brows.
The small bags that contained powdered Molly and sweet Aunt Hazel were only briefly seen as they exchanged sweaty hands, before they were hasity shoved into pockets -outa sight. A guy could neva be to careful these days -Not with the Bat creaking down harda on 'em, night after night.
Every so often, a gaze would flicker to the window, as if waiting to see the Dark Knight himself there, with his eyes that condemned worse than any Judge, or parent, or cop.
In the mess of all this activity, no one really paid any attention as another girl was hustled inside by her hulk of a boyfriend, except to raise an dismiss eyebrow at how her hair was tied in a sloppy ponytail rather than straighten, her face -sullen, thin, and desperate- was coated with sweat instead of makeup, and instead of a tiny top, she wore a Gotham Knight's sweatshirt that just about swallowed her -it was two sizes two large.
But what might've made people stare was the fact that under sloppy yellow bangs, her eyes were burning. And they were beautiful eyes -teal eyes, blue one moment, green the next. They alone could make the girl pretty.
They had landed her into her current state, and were the reason her breathing was labored.
"Com'on Cat," Willis tried to coax her, in a tone that was failing miserably to be supportive. And even in her current state of distress, Catherine Todd couldn't stop herself from snorting at it...though she almost regretted it she saw Willis' meaty hand twitch. Almost. Suddenly fired up and angry, she glared at him, like a horse that refused to be rained in, burning eyes spiting hellfire at him, until the twenty-some year old (she wasn't entirely sure how old he was) looked away first. Her lips twitched before straightening. That's right, she thought with bitter victory. Coward. Then she winced as more pain hit her. Gooodd...
The bulky redhead saw it, and he sighed as ran his hand over his breaded mouth. "Look Cat, we just stay a little bit, and then we'll go home, I promise-"
"Well, well..." drawled a voice from their right. Turning to look Catherine saw two of the grown dealers had left the corner, and were coming over to them, their amused smirks contradicting the coldness in their eyes. Catherine sucked in her breath sharply...and clenched her fists in the pockets of her sweatshirt. God she hated 'em. She hated the sight of 'em. She hated how people like them had ruined her life. She once had such a chance...such a good change of getting out of the Narrows. Of getting free. She'd had the best grades in her class -though admittedly, that could be partly due to the fact that half of the class never showed up.
But nooo...these bastards had ta convinced her to try their poison...which quickly escalated in her turning her arms into pincushions. Now her grades were tanked, her old man kicked her outa the house for stealing his money to get her fix...and she was sucked here, like a dog on a leash.
And wasn't it fucking ironic that one of the men she so hated that held the endda that leash?
If she hadn't been going into fucking labor, she might've laughed...it didn't have to be this way...
More pain. Chrisssst-!
"Strong Will, as I live and breath," one of the dealer greeting her boyfriend, clasping his hand. "What hole you crawl outa?"
"Hers," Will laughed, gesturing to Catherine. She started counting to ten in her head, gritting her teeth as they all laughed. Really? she fumed. Now?!
"Thisa new one," the second guy observed. Catherine couldn't take it anymore. "She young-"
"Coagulations," she snapped, the anger overcoming caution. "Ya passed ya eyesight test! Wanta sticker?"
Now they looked at her, Willis turnin' so red so fast, he looked like the turd he was, newly popped from the rear of the nearest mutt.
"...She also got a mouth, Will."
No shit Sherlock, she thought bitingly. Out loud, Will said quickly. "Ya gotta excuse her Joe...Cat ain't thinkin' right at the moment-"
Normally she'd be offended...but in truth, she couldn't really dismiss that point. But that didn't matter. She had bigger problems.
"She's normally got it together -she keeps her mouth shut around the cops-"
"I got ta go ta the bathroom," Catherine announced, voice trembling. "Where is it?"
Joe's black, soulless eyes looked her over, shaper than she thought they be...it wasn't long before he put the clues together. Giving her a knowing look now, Cat thought she saw a glimmer of respect in his eyes for still being able to stand. Then he shrugged. "Sure kid," he said, sounding amused (bastard). "it's in the kitchen."
Without another word, she walked away from them, leading the two of them into the kitchen. Willis steered Cat around pedestrians (least he was good for something), and eyeing her suspiciously until they came to a small corner bathroom. The he brightened, opened the door for her, turned on flickering light, and gestured Catherine inside. Joe followed, still looking amused.
I'll be out front Cat," Willis muttered to her, almost bashful. "Come find me when ya done."
Typical. But then again, even if he had the brains to know was up, why should he care? He wouldn't want it...she knew that for certain. He wouldn't want it.
Joe leaned against the door frame.
"When it's out, put it in the toilet...or the garbage and closed the bag," the dealer insurrected her, like this was perfectly normal. And maybe it was -people in this part of the city didn't have the money required to kill their kids before birth. So the deed was often done right after it. A very hush, hush affair that was blown open by the Daily Planet muckrakers - humiliating Gotham before the civilized world.
"If ya don't want ta kill it, just leave in the toilet after ya done. I takes care of it. Always a markets for parts. Boss will be happy. Oh and here-" he handed her an open bottle of beer. "Your gonna need this."
With that he left, leaving her alone-
Or rather, not alone.
Growling at the world, Catherine slammed the door and locked it...before her eyes clouded.
Oh God...
Breathing jaggedly, the seventeen year old quickly stripped of her sweatshirt as if it burned her, and stared blankly down at her still reasonably flat stomach. Shit, she'd heard that some women just didn't show, but this was fucking ridiculous..Gooooddd!
Crying now, openly crying, Catherine's hands flailed blindly for something to hold -she wound up grasping the edge of the filthy sink, and the towel rack. Screaming through her snot and her teeth, the noise being drowned by the pounding of the "music", Cat did what common sense dictated her to do, and tossed aside her lower clothing. Out of fucking instinct, she bunched her sweat pants up beneath her, to make a landing zone for the...the...it.
The fear was rising in her now like iron in her mouth, as her hair began ta stick ta her neck. Christ. Jesus - Christ.
How the hell did I get here?
Well in truth, she knew the answer to that...and it wasn't cause she tripped and fell into bed. Catherine sucked in her breath, and closed her burning eyes.
No, it was because Peter Todd had come home -her big brother, and best friend.
It had been their bond that brought 'em together through the years of living in Gotham's shit, and kept them going as kids in school, Pete two years higher than her. They'd just been delighted to know that they had a sibling. (Kids' who had good parents would never understand how important a brother could be, Cat would reflected, when looking back.) So they paled around town, way too fearless for their own good, bonded by a shared smart mouth, and a love of mythology.
People groan to see them coming down the street, a whirlwind in their own right. They'd spent hours at the library, pouring over the Iliad and the Odyssey...and then acting out their own Todyssey in the littered covered park, as they called it. They would pretend to be heroes...but only Pete got to live for real -if only for a brief time.
Pete never gave up, never turned into a pincushion. He fought, studied, got out of the Narrows...and into the army ta boot. It made sense, Pete had always been a fighter -keeping scum away from their mother and herself...Specking of which, their mother was a first class bitch...but Pete always took up for her.
She'd been so proud...later, when he'd come back from boot camp, just before he shipped out for the first time, they had sat on the steps, namin' the constellations, just like they used too. Four mouths after that visit home, Pete got blown to bits. So had her world. That was when she really lost it (not that their hadn't been much to lose). Course, by then she'd been with Willis when she heard...and Will wasn't the type to be understanding about this shit.
More pain hit, and she hissed. Well, if this didn't do her in first that is...shiiiittt-
A strangled noise escaped her, and she threw-up a little in her mouth. She turned her head a spat it out to the side of the toilet, before dropping to her knees, her legs no longer able to hold her. Christ, I'm gonna die, she thought, her hands trembling. I'm gonna die...
Where the hell had she put that beer? Finding it, she took a gulp, excepting the bitterness with a well practice ease.
The pain was reaching what had to be it peak now...casue if there was more, she was gonna fucking pass out...and her body shuddered as her muscles naturally began ta push.
It was like shittin' a pumpkin.
"GAHHH!" she screamed. "Come on, get out, get out!"
But the little shit seemed to want to take it's time, and boy, was Cat soon glad that the music was so loud. Well that, or people just didn't care if their was a girl screaming bloody murder in the bathroom. Not in the Narrows. Not this close to Crime Ally.
Screwing her courage, Catherine strained her body again...and felt her burden leave her in a sudden rush of blood. Gasping, Cat fell forward, and rested her head against the cool sink. Oh thank God-
And that was where the new screaming started -well crying. Little and high pitch. Young.
Catherine stilled. Christ.
As soon as she felt she was able too, when the pain between her thighs dulled a bit, Cat slowly shifted over to the to look at what had left her body.
It was...small. That was her first impression. Small...with a headful of black hair...Pete's hair. The sight dumbfounded her. Holy...shit.
Even with blood still covering it's head, it...he...was beautiful. That was the only word she could use. Beautiful. Even when squalling like he was.
For a moment she just gaped at him, and the cord that connected him to her. Somehow...Catherine had never really computed that she'd been carrying a human...only a problem. Almost against her will, she reach out her hand, and experimentally poked the newborn in the side as he lay in her discarded clothes.
He immediately whined in indignant protest, kicking his heels. Catherine felt her mouth twitch. Yep, this was a Todd alright.
Carefully, she slipped her hands beneath his tiny form and lifted him up. And to her amazement he quieted. Hell Pete...your an Uncle, I made you an Uncle.
Then she stilled again. Holy shit...and I'm a mother.
She was this kid's mother. She had fucking given birth in the bathroom. D-did it make her insane if she said that there was an unreasonably amount of pride building inside her as she considered that fact? Maybe a little...maybe a lot considering that she couldn't stop smiling all of a sudden, like she gotten a faceful of joker gas.
That smile didn't last long when she remembered why she'd come here in the first place for, with every intention of leaving her mess behind, and never looking back...it wasn't unusual in the Narrows. Most girls had done it at least once -like Joe said, there was always a market. No one would judge her. No one.
Except for the kid.
Except for herself.
Except for Pete, if he could see her from wherever the hell he was.
The baby yawned suddenly, and turned his face towards her, pressing his mouth against her cotton clad chest...for a moment Cat just stared blankly, before the light in her head went off. Oh, right.
"Guess you hungry huh?" she muttered. "Okay baby...I'll see what I can do for ya."
Arranging herself so that her back rested against the wall, Cat eased halfway out of her only remainin' clothing, and lifted the baby to her. The kid knew what to do.
While the kid feed, Cat leaned her head back against the sink, thinking...what the hell did she do now?
Going to Willis was outa the question...he'd make her give their son up, to the CPS...which might as well be renamed the Child Purchasing Services, due to some shady dealing the Bat had busted them for. Her kid was to small, to dependent...he wouldn't last long with those hyenas. Might end up in Saudi Arabia or some shit.
No...she'd...she'd go to Lori -Pete's high school sweetheart. Lori had a steady job, an apartment...she'd helped her. There was no way she wouldn't, not when her kid look so much like Pete.
With that idea in her head, Cat fumbled for her cell in the pocket's of her pants...and quickly hit her contact list...
It didn't take long for Lor to pick up.
"Hello?"
"Lori...it's Cat."
There was some mild cursing after that. Cat smiled grimly. You could take a girl outa the Narrows, but ya couldn't Narrows outa the girl.
"Catherine?! What the hell -I heard your old man kicked you out-"
"He did," Cat said bluntly, not waiting to linger.
"I was...I was lookin' for ya-"
"Thanks...Lor I gotta problem."
"...what kinda problem?" The older girl asked carefully. "Bat problems?"
"No. It's small, has ten fingers and toes, and came outa me."
Lori was cursing again.
"Lor...if Willis finds out-"
"Hold it, you've been goin' with loser Willis?"
"If he finds out, he'll give the kid away ...hell he might even sell it, or kill it. I need help...Lor, he looks like Pete -got his hair."
The phone was quiet for a moment.
"Where do ya want me ta pick ya up?"
Cat closed her eyes. Oh thank God.
"Pick me up a block from Crime Ally."
"Cat! It's not not safe for a girl to wait near there alone-"
"I know Lor...but I got no choice."
Sneaking outa the house was surprisingly easy, since the bathroom was right near the back door. Couse moving hurt like a bitch, and it 'ad taken her about fifteen minutes ta get her clothes back on...and another two ta wrap the kid in a couple of hand towels. Plus the braindead minute it had taken to think of a way to cut the cord. (She'd wound up smashing, and then using the beer bottle.)
The night was quiet, and surprisingly warm...a front coming in from the south. The stars were bright above her head, even as Cat kept to the shadows. It didn't take long get ta crime ally -wasn't far from the house.
As she sat down in a graceless heap by some garbage cans -she did her best to become invisible. Normally she might've been more relaxed. She knew a few trick to getting out tight spots -box the ears, pinch the back of the knees...but now...if someone wanted to mug her, she just wouldn't have the strength to fight back.
That was why she out the baby at her side...close enough so he'd have her warmth, by out of sight. Come on Lori...
Swallowing hard, Catherine look up at the sky again...the lightening was poor in the Narrows, so the constellations could still be seen here, in a way they couldn't in the rest of the city. One of the few things she loved about living here.
"I guess you need a name kid...since ya not in the toilet," Catherine muttered. "How about..."
Perseus? Alexander? Ares? No, none of those. She wanted it to be a Greek name...a strong name. Something form mythology without soundin' stupid.
She tried to think...it had been a while since she thought of her childhood love for myths. What had been her favorite?
She and Pete...use to spent hours watch those old lame movies...Clash of the Titans, Jason and the Argonauts...Jason.
Jason...that would work, Catherine thought. Jason and the Golden fleece had been Pete's favorite as a kid. "He's like us," Pete said. "All the other heroes had rich gods for parents...but Jason is like us. He's on his own."
"But a god took him in and help him."
"Still he's mortal, dumbass, the only fully human hero out there -keeping up with the best of them."
It just seemed ta...fit somehow.
"Jason...Jason Todd," she tried it out, rolling it off her tongue. She pushed some of her stringy hair off her face. Then she smiled at the little guy.
"Ya like the sounda that kiddo?" she whispered, while reaching down to rub his head. "Ya wanta be Jason Todd? Pretty badass soundin' if ya ask me-"
"CAT!"
She closed her mouth, so abruptly that it hurt when her teeth clanked together. Willis. Oh shit.
She quickly pushed Jason deeper into the shadows. And then followed suite herself, hugging bone thin knees to her chest.
"CAAAT! WHERE THE HELL ARE YA!"
Catherine closed her eyes as the voice got closer, her breathing steady even as her heartbeat rocketed. Will sounded drunk...or high. Not a good combo. Please just let him walk passed us...please just let him walk passed us...
But Catherine Todd had never been lucky a day in her life...why would the night if her son's birth be any different. A meaty hand suddenly grabbed her by the hair, hard, ripping her away from the shadows and her kid. Willis ignored how she screamed in protest, trying to kick his ankles.
"What'cha doing out here?" he demanded, shaking her. "I told ya to come find me -what made ya think ya could leave without -"
"Ah screw ya," Cat hissed, unable to help herself. "I'll go where I want."
"As long your my girl-"
"Who saids I want ta be your girl anymore?" Cat retorted, "I could do much better just standing here."
Will looked like he about to curse her out...or slug her. But then something far worse happen. His face furrowed. "What the hell is that?"
Catherine stared at him blankly for a second...then the soft whining hit her ears to, coming from the garbage can. Her face drained of blood.
Will stared to move them towards it. "What are you hiding there-"
He never finished that sentence. Cat lashed out blindly, her fist making solid contact with his nose. Will roared and then proceeded to throttle her. As she clawed at his hands and gasped for air, Cat just hope that Lori would find Jason when she got here-
But a wall of darkness suddenly fell from the rooftop above them, slamming Will away from her. Catherine doubled over before falling to her knees, rubbing her throat. Then she started crawling to get Jason, whose whinning had gotten louder.
"Hey, hey look," she cooed as she picked him up again (shit, she never even knew she'd could coo). "It's okay. Mom's okay. I got ya." Looking up to see what the hell had happen...Cat's heart ended up in her throat. Holy...Shit.
Currently wailing on Will (not that she minded that part) was the mothereffing Batman himself. For a moment Cat just watch, unable to anything else, save hold Jason tighter -and at any other time, she might've been concern by how her kid started to calm down to the sound of punches being thrown. Shit, she'd heard all the stories...but those myths had nothin' on the reality.
When the beat down was done, and the Bat had slapped wrist restraints onto Will...he turned then to look at her, those white eyes endless, and burning. Just like hers. Maybe that was how she found the courage to speak to him, even while cross legged on the ground.
"Uh...it's okay, I'm okay. We both are," she added, knowing the Bat had seen the baby. "Thanks I guess."
Batman stared at her for a moment before coming to her side, his cape billowing behind him. Cat tried not to flinch.
"How long ago did you give birth-" he asked her crisply at he got down to her level. And dispute everything, Cat snorted in amusement (and learned that the Bat was man enough to be startled). Not much of a bedside manner huh?
"''Bout an hour ago," she answered. "That obvious huh?"
"Your holding a newborn." His tone was flat.
"Good point," she admitted. Add that to the fact that her pants were blood stained, it didn't take a genius to know what was what.
"You need medical attention -you and your child."
"His name is Jason," she muttered, just wanting to say it outloud. "And yeah, ya right. Look my sista-in-law is coming ta get me, I called her-"
Just then a car honked, and looking up, Cat saw that Lori was pulling up a few feet away. Her face was bloodless.
"And there she is now."
The Bat helped her up, and his gripe was surprisingly gentle.
"Go to Leslie Thompkins' clinic," the Bat told her firmly. "You'll get the care you need there."
"Okay," she muttered, not wanting to argue for once. "Thanks a-"
But when she turned to look Batman was already gone, vanished into thin air. Like a Phantom. Jerkass.
Leslie Thompkins' clinic hada be the cleanest in Gotham, the staff quick and effective. Thompkins herself, an older woman, managed to be that polite, matronly figure who didn't flinch when Cat came through the door, leaning on Lori, with her son in her arm. She'd been no nonsense, looking over both mother and son for any STDs, especially HIV.
Her eyes had narrowed when she saw the needle marks on Cat's arms.
She insisted they stay the night, to make sure Cat didn't have any infections...so the girl made arrangements with Lori so the older female could pick her up tomorrow, and take her friend to her apartment.
"We'll only be there a little while," Cat promised. "Just till I figure things out...we won't leech off ya."
"You stay with me as long as ya want Cat."
After that, Cat was alone again...only not alone. Jason was sleeping right besides her in a incubator...something about his temperature being to low...whatever. So long as he was alright. She turned her head to look at him. God...he was so perfect. If she hadn't been there, Cat wouldn't have believe he came from her waste of a body.
"Hey baby," she told him softly. "I guess it's gonna be okay for now..."
She swallowed hard, and glared downward, at her sheet covered lap. "Well kid, here's the hustle...ya landed just about the worse woman in Gotham for a mother but that's my fault, not yours, kay baby?"
"...L-look...I can't promise ya much Jason," she forced herself to say.
She had to be honest, even if the kid was to little to understand. "...I can't promise that you'll have an easy life, and I can't promise I won't have ta give out some blowjobs so you can have baby formula, and I can't promise you get to go to school. I can't promise that you won't have some cuts and bruises by the time you're grown...and I can't even promise that ya get that old...or that I'll be there see it if you do."
Cat furiously wiped her eyes. "I wish I could but I can't, and I'm sorry baby. I'm so sorry. And it's not for a lack of love kid, believe me...I love ya so much, I'd give you the moon if I could."
But she couldn't. And that's how the world worked sometimes.
"But I can promise ya this...for as long as your here on this earth, I'm gonna love ya. As long as your mine I'm gonna love ya. And if you ever get tired a me, I'm gonna love ya. And if I get run over by a bus on the street tomorrow, I'm gonna love ya from Heaven...or possibly Hell. Whatever suites the Big Guy. I love ya for the rest of my life."
Catherine reached out her hand, and placed on the glass, over where Jason's hand was curled near his head.
"And don't ya forget it."
Reviews make me happy, so tell me what ya thought.
How was that? This story was based off some headcannons I have -that Jason's mom is as smartass as he is, and just a fiery. That one member of Jason's family was a soldier, and that he was named after the Jason in mythology.