.7

Jason can't explain it. When he wakes up that morning, there was this feeling building in his gut. He couldn't shake it. No matter what he did to try to ignore it, he just had this feeling. A feeling he wasn't particularly fond of. It made him want to check in with Carlisle.

Their relationship had been moving forward in the last couple months. It was no longer confined to those moments before dawn, no longer bond by the walls of her apartment. He liked her. More than he probably should, more than he want to admit. Jason had given her a power and he doesn't know if she realized it.

The feeling doesn't get any better, not during his morning workout, not after a video conference with Roy and Kori. If anything it just gets worse. Something was wrong. But he didn't know what it was or why he felt like that. He was beginning to worry. To go along with his unease, to make the matter worse, Carlisle hadn't texted him all day. She usually texted him throughout the day, little things here and there.

Her texts always seemed to brighten his day. But she wasn't texting him, he hadn't heard from her in almost two days. He'd been tracking down a lead and it had taken him out of town. Now he was back and she wasn't talking to him.

God, he sounded like a hopeless idiot.

Regardless, he felt the need to go check on her.

There are certain days where the past can't help but to creep back in. Certain thoughts and memories you can't run from forever. Everyone has those days. Even those who radiate in sunlight, even those who never seem upset or down, the kindest soul somethings is more broken than you can possibly imagine.

Carlisle is no different than anyone else, where there is light there darkness. She isn't any less susceptible to bad days and bad memories. Everyone has those days.

The sunlight streams in through her bedroom lighting up the dark room. Her alarm clock is blaring, it has been on and off for almost an hour. Carlisle was awake, she hadn't slept, but she couldn't be bothered with it. She couldn't make herself get up, she rolls over burring her head in the pillow.

"Well this looks comfortable." He states sardonically, throwing himself down onto the bed next to her. Carlisle can't muster the energy to make him leave.

If it wasn't for Jason, she probably would have spent the entire day in the darkness of her room. Wrapped around the covers, buried in the sand. She doesn't even question what he's doing in her apartment. They had very little boundaries and Jason had a key. Hell in all honestly there weren't a lot of days that he wasn't at her apartment. At this point he practically lived here.

They had exceeded those early morning moments long ago.

She rolls over to face him. Carlisle got the feeling that even if she ignored him he wouldn't go away. He reached forward, touching a gentle hand to her face and casually brushing a strand of hair out of the way. "You know it almost noon?"

"I'm off today." He hums at that.

"Your apartment was completely dark when I came in. Have you been in the bed this whole time?" She nods slowly, he shakes his head.

"I don't feel up to the day." After saying this she becomes quiet. Content to just lay there, staring into his eyes.

Jason doesn't know what to think of that statement. Sure he knew everyone had off days, but for Carlisle to not even want to get out of bed. Not silence her phone that had been ringing when he walked in. It must have been bad. Surely there was something he could do to fix it.

He sits up, pulling the covers off of her as he does. She glares at him. "It's time to get up Car, I have something I want to show you." Carlisle pulls herself up without any grace and great reluctance.

She has no desire to get up, no desire to do anything at the moment. But she also knew better than trying to argue with Jason when he'd made up his mind. Regardless she want make his sudden idea to cheer her up and whatever it was that he was trying to accomplish easy on him. Carlisle trudged about her room at snail's pace. Jason leaned back into the pillows resting his head on the headboard.

"You know I've seen little old ladies move faster than you are right now." He tells her as she reaching for a clean shirt. Jason might have been making her get out of bed but she wasn't about to put much effort in dressing. She flips him off.

All he does in return is laugh. The sound makes her feel a little better. Laughter was a good cure all.

They end up in a park, once Carlisle had stopped acting like a decrepit old woman and got dressed. She hadn't brush her hair but Jason was just glad that he'd managed to get her out of the apartment. Her arm was looped around his like he was her only line of support and if she didn't hold on then she'd float away. He realized that when she had off days, she had OFF days, it had been a conclusion he'd come to early on.

Carlisle can't figure out what exactly Jason is trying to accomplish by this. There were a lot of things she hadn't told him about her life. Just like there were a lot of things he hadn't told her. Sure he'd opened up to her over the months gone by and told her about his childhood and about being Robin. But there were just some things she knew he wasn't telling her.

Everyone was entitled to their secrets.

They don't talk while walking through the small park. Until they come upon a fountain. Carlisle takes a seat on its edge dipping a hand down into the water. "My parents had a fountain like this in front of their house." She says while staring down into its shallow depths. Jason watches her for a moment before taking a seat next to her. He doesn't speak, as he gets the feeling she's not quite done yet.

"I'm the youngest of seven children, and one of two girls. My sister and I use to run around the fountain during the summer when the care takers weren't paying attention. They always tried to stop us afraid we'd fall in, ruin our clothes." She pulls her hand away, let her finger tips barely touch the top of the water.

Jason gets the sense that there is something more to this story. Carlisle's gaze is far away, wherever she is it isn't here with him. Wherever that place is that memory she can't escape it's absolutely so good. She leans against him pulling away from the fountains waters altogether.

"I'm the only one of my siblings that's still alive. I got to watch them all die." Her voice is small, quiet. A strain to hear but he does. He wraps an arm around her shoulders pulling her in closer. Maybe going out wasn't his best choice.

What does one say to that? How do you offer someone comfort for that? While he may not like all of his 'siblings' at times he doesn't particularly want to see them dead. Jason is at a loss for words. He doesn't know what to say.

"Today is my oldest brother's birthday, he would have been thirty-two. He died the year before I moved to Gotham when I was home from my deployment. We were at an event my parents were throwing in Nor'leans, a charity auction. I'm sure you can probably figure out what happened. Seeing as it happens often enough in Gotham." Jason squeezed her shoulder. Yeah he could. He'd help stop enough of them during his days as Robin.

"He pushed me under a table and I got to watch him bleed to death. We were the last two, it was just us left. Some things just don't leave you, they stay and they haunt you for the rest of your life." He leans down, his nose lips and chin brushing against the top of her head.

"Don't go to stay. Come back to me Car." Jason whispers, begging even. He knows what that's like. Knows the place she's coming from. Some memories, some things you can't run from forever.

XOXOX

I'm going to end this here. This has a part two that happens like five minutes after this but I want it to be its own chapter so I'm going to be posting at least two chapters right now. Please let me know what you think of both.

Thank you so much for reading!

Sincerely, La'Rae