The rain poured heavily from the stormy clouds above, cars occasionally honking to avoid the inevitable accident. Although he'd done his absolute best to avoid the downpour, it wasn't enough to prevent him being soaked.

Jason stood now under a dilapidated piece of wood he'd found in the alley, making a desperate attempt to light his cigarette.
During heavy storms like this, it wasn't very likely anything was going to happen during patrol. Nobody wanted to have to run from Batman and whichever sidekick in the pouring rain, but of course, you could never be too sure. So, here he stood, crouched in the raging storm fighting with a wet lighter.

He knew better than to be here. After everything was said and done with Damian, Dick asked him to keep patrol in Crime Alley, his old district. He was told, that with Bruce out of town, they needed to spread out their resources. But he couldn't stay. He'd gone through Crime Alley, and without fully paying attention he'd just kept walking. He walked and walked until he wound up in the alley he now stood in. Of course he recognized the place as soon as he looked up and though he'd never say anything, it broke his heart.
It was the first place him and Damian had gone on patrol together, their first solo. Jason shook his head as memories flooded his mind. Taking a pause from his failure of a lighter, he took the second to squeeze his eyes shut. He had no idea what had brought him here, why he'd mindlessly walked all the way out here, to a place he hadn't been in months. He came once, right after he found about about Damian's death, and hadn't come back since, he was almost too drunk to remember anyways. He just couldn't figure out, why now. After all these months, why had he wandered all the way back here.
He took all of three minutes to shake his head, and blame it on exhaustion and coincidence. It was a stupid alley, where they just so happened to be one night. They also went to the bowling alley, and lived in the same house, and knew the same people, and walked down the same street, just because he just so happened to take a walk and wound up here meant nothing.

With a final hard pull of the lighters spark wheel, a tiny flame came to life. Hurriedly, Jason brought the small flame to the tip of the cigarette and inhaled deeply, giving the tobacco life.
A large clap of thunder ripped its way through the clouds as thunder lit up Gotham's skyline. The thunder hadn't caused Jason to jump, but apparently somebody was bothered by it, he thought, as a scream chased the clap.
Some kid scared of thunder. That had been his initial thought, but as the thunder harmlessly rumbled through the clouds another scream erupted through the rainy streets. Jason took a final haul of his cigarette before tossing it in the rain, to pursue the screaming.
With the rain pounding the neglected roads, it made it hard to follow the screaming, but when he nearly ran into a fleeing couple, he figured he was headed in the right direction.
Jason continued around the corner, to an empty street where he found the source of the screaming. It looked like the being was hunched over, arms wrapped around their midsection, and from what Jason could tell they were completely naked.

"Great,", Jason sighed with a roll of his shoulders, "Another freak out from Arkham."

The naked body scrambled to move forward, but legs buckled beneath the body, retching another scream from the obviously confused person. Jason tucked his gun away, and made a cautious advance.

"Alright buddy,", Jason yelled, "Stop your hollering,"

Scrawny arms struggled to hold themselves up as another scream ripped out of the weak body.
Jason stopped.
The scream wasn't a scream of confusion, or fright, it was pain. Absolute, extreme, pain. Was this person hurt? Another scream, this time shattered as it cracked, lungs unable to grab enough air.

"Hey...", Jason held his hand out in warning, "I'm going to come closer now, alright? Just...trust me okay?", he found himself showing more caution and compassion than he normally would, but he pressed on.

Another attempt at a scream, this one weaker. As Jason approached, he found himself able to assess the trembling body.
A quick, closer, glance, allowed him to see he was in the presence of another boy, but just that, a boy, not a man. Arkham didn't have a children's ward, so why was there this naked boy screaming in the pouring rain.

"Hey kid,", he walked slowly now, "I gotta get you home, but you got to stop screaming alright?"

Jason took a final step, his foot splashing the puddle in front of him. That seemed to set the boy off. Too close too fast.
He whipped around, his jet black hair soaked from the rain. But his face...
Jason staggered backwards, tears streaming from the boys eyes, fear sketched on his face...that face...Damian's face.
No.
Jason shook his head. Impossible. It was impossible. Damian had died. Damian was dead. Yet here he was. Naked, wet, crying, screaming.
A memory flashed itself in front of Jason. For a second, he wasn't looking at Damian, he was looking at himself, his fourteen year old self shaking and trembling fresh from the...no.
There wasn't any hesitating. Jason nearly lunged at Damian, grabbing his chin. Damian thrashed and screamed, but Jason held on, turning his head to the near lamp post.
There it was...a tiny ring of gold around the ice blue that so hauntingly mimicked Bruce.
The Lazarus Pit.
Jason's stomach began to churn, Damian's pained screaming fading out as it settled. He'd been in the Lazarus Pit. Was that what Bruce had left to do? Throw Damian's body in that wretched hell? No...Bruce wouldn't do that. Not after everything Jason himself had been through.
He didn't get time to pursue the thought as another peircing scream from Damian ripped him through his thoughts.
The former Robin wretched himself away from Jason and backed up into a puddle. He was already soaked to the bone, if he were to be out in the rain he'd surely catch pneumonia, if he hadn't already.
Almost in a panic, Jason ripped off his coat and scooped Damian's body from the puddle, wrapping him and closely holding him to his chest. Damian continued to thrash and scream, but Jason held on tight as he made his way back into the shadows.
What was he going to do? Call Dick? Tell Bruce? No..he couldn't do that. He was the only one who knew how to deal with this kind of situation. Well, him and Talia but that wasn't an option. Or was she in the pit too?
No. He had to get back to his place. He had to get Damian warm. He wasn't sure what was going to happen, but the tables had turned and Damian was his priority, his to protect.