It's been months, and Tim's rehabilitation is slow-going at the best of times, but at least they can communicate with him now, which is more than Dick had been able to do for years. Just thinking about that hurts Dick more than he can say. He should have seen the signs-should have recognized that communicating with Tim was a possibility, but instead he was too busy self-loathing and pitying himself. Dick hates himself for how much time he wasted-for how long Tim was trapped in his own head unable to get his attention-because Dick was too preoccupied with his own problems. He wants to turn back time and make it right; make it so that The Joker never got a hold of either one of his little brothers, but Dick knows that he can't. All he can do now is be thankful that that monster is finally gone for good-thanks to Jason.

Now? Now, all he can do is try to find some way to bring Tim back to them fully. Unfortunately, nothing they've tried has been working. None of the doctors who have seen Tim have given a good prognosis, and one even told them that they should be grateful for this much. Tim spent that entire afternoon closed off and silently crying, and Dick had to hold Jason back from gutting the guy open right there. Dick doesn't know how much more of this any of them can take. They're all frustrated, angry, and exhausted, and it doesn't look as though it's going to get any better any time soon. Dick's at his wits' end, and has no idea what to try next. Tim doesn't want to see any more specialists-not that Dick can blame him for that.

Before Dick can continue wallowing, though, Jason bursts into the room and throws himself into the chair near Dick's bed. Dick doesn't get a chance to say anything before Jason throws up a hand to stop him. "Baby bird is asleep. At least I think he is. It's so hard to tell with nothing but a fucking EEG to go by."

Dick nods mutely, and then sighs. "So, where do we go from here?" They've been avoiding the topic for some time. Dick told himself it was to give Jason time to cool off after the last specialist's visit, but he was really just trying to give himself a reprieve before they faced the inevitable.

Jason shrugs as he slumps further into the chair. "I don't know. I think it might be time to consider that terrible-no good-awful idea we've been dancing around since we found out he's awake in there."

Dick's fairly certain that he knows exactly what Jason is talking about, but there's something to be said for plausible deniability. "What do you mean?"

Jason leans forward with his forearms against his legs. "You know damn well what I'm talking about. The Lazarus Pit might be our only option."

Dick shakes his head. "No, I can't believe that you of all people are even suggesting that, and you know that Tim will never go for it."

Jason sighs. "Look, I don't like it either, but what choice do we have? It's been months, and we can't find one single doctor who can tell us that it's even possible to get him back beyond what we have-not to mention, one that can help with that. Face it, we've tried it your way, and that was a bust, so it's time to try something else."

Dick just stares at him for a moment. He knew that there was a reason he was avoiding this conversation. He just wasn't aware of how much he still wasn't ready for it. "And what if Tim refuses?"

"Do you honestly think that he will? I mean, come on, Dick, would you really want to be stuck as a vegetable?"

Dick glares at that. He doesn't care that it could be considered true. Hearing his little brother referred to in such a manner still angers him. "He's not a vegetable! He's just..."

"Yeah, whatever, you know what I mean." Jason waves his hand as if to dismiss Dick's protests. "The point is, if we present a united front on this, and assure him that we'll stick with him through the residual crazy period, I'm confident that he'll go for it."

Dick shakes his head at him. It's odd hearing Jason talk as though he's fully thought this out, but then again, Dick guesses he probably has. After all, it's not as though Dick himself hasn't been thinking about this somewhere in the back of his mind. "This isn't a business proposition, you know, and besides..."

"Besides what, Dickie-bird? It's not like we have a whole hell of a lot of options here."

Dick glares at him again. It didn't take him long to remember how often Jason likes to interrupt people, but it still aggravates him. "I was just going to ask how the hell you think we're going to get Tim to a Lazarus Pit. What? Do you intend to just call up Ras and ask politely to let us borrow one of his pits for a bit?"

"It's not a problem, so don't worry about it."

Dick raises an eyebrow at that. "Not a problem? What the hell do you mean not a problem?"

Jason leans back in his chair again. "Look, I've got it covered. That's all you need to know."

Dick just stares at him for a moment disbelievingly. None of this sounds good to Dick, and he can feel the familiar apprehension that creeps up whenever Jason is involved in something. "You've got it covered? Did I miss something? Do you just happen to have a Lazarus Pit in the basement of your old apartment complex that you didn't feel like mentioning?"

Jason is looking everywhere except for Dick's eyes, which is giving Dick an even deeper sinking feeling about all of this. "Jason, what did you do?"

Jason shrugs nonchalantly. "I still have some pretty decent contacts, that's all."

Dick still doesn't believe a word of it, but he knows when a fight with Jason will yield nothing. "Right, that's all. What's really going on here, Jason?"

"Nothing. I've got a way to make baby bird better-provided that we can convince him to go along with it, of course-and you're treating me like a common criminal...again. So, why don't you just lighten up a bit, Dick?"

Dick gives him a once over before deciding that it's probably better if he doesn't know all of the details anyway. After all, the last thing he wants to do right now is alienate one of the only two people he has left, so Dick nods his agreement. "Alright, fine. Once Tim wakes up, we'll go have a chat with him and see how he feels about all of this, but I can almost guarantee you that he isn't going to go along with any plan when he doesn't know all of the details."

Jason sighs again. "Yeah, well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Dick just stares at his brother for a moment, and hopes to whatever or whoever is listening that this doesn't end with him losing the only people he has left.

The End (for now)