A/N: Hey guys! So, right now, I'm soooo sorry for taking this long to update! I keep getting reviews begging for an update and I feel so bad, but I haven't abandoned this or anything! I've been working on it, it's just taking me sooo long! I've been really busy this summer and I've been working on Fix You so I'm really sorry! I feel bad cuz a ton of people have been waiting for the update! But here is the update now! I hope you enjoy! Thank you for all the amazing reviews I've gotten and I'd list everybody, but I wanna get this up, so just know that you are thanked!


Jason was frustrated. Really frustrated. He couldn't find his other glove, his favorite hat, his Gotham Knights sweatshirt, or his toothbrush. The last one was less imperative to find, but the others were a must-have if he was even going to consider going on this ski trip. There as no way he was going unless he found his stuff and the way things were going, it didn't look good for Alfred's great "family bonding" idea.

Jason huffed as he passed Tim, hyper and bouncing off the walls, half dressed in his winter clothes with garland hanging off him. He waited for Dick to come hurling past after him, but was surprised when he didn't show. Wally had gone home to get all his stuff together and would meet them before they headed to the airport. Barbara was coming as well and was planning on meeting them at the airport.

"Bruce!" Jason shouted, not really caring where he was yelling. "I can't find my stuff!"

"Jason, I'm busy!" Bruce shouted back from somewhere in the manor.

Jason growled under his breath as he turned the corner into the main living room, eyes halfheartedly scanning for any sign of his stuff. The stupid dog probably got to it.

Jason froze as he heard a growl. His eyes snapped to the couch and found Ace laying sprawled out on the couch, his head lifted up to look at the boy and -

"My hat!" Jason cried, marching over and snatching the hat from the dog's head. "Stupid dog."

"Jay!"

"Dick?" Jason peered around the fur of the dog and found a mop of black hair and scrawny limbs. "What are you doing here... under Ace?"

"Ummm," Dick trailed off, not looking at Jason.

The older boy walked around the couch and crouched down to get a better look at the boy. He was surprised by what he saw. Dick was pale, his face drawn tight, almost to the point of grimace, and one hand was gripping Ace's fur while the other hand rested against his cheek... Wait, other hand?

"Are you okay, Dick?"

"Fine."

"Why you still got your arm on?"

The younger boy didn't answer, his face instead momentarily screwing up in pain. Jason's eyes widened a little and he knelt down on the ground next to the couch.

"What gives, kid?"

Dick's mouth drew into a tight line and his eyes squeezed shut, left hand clenching into a fist around the large dog's hair. He seemed to subconsciously lean into the metal hand that rested against his cheek, though the hand itself remained motionless. It was pretty obvious to Jason to that the metal limb was causing Dick pain and he couldn't understand why his little brother hadn't taken it off when they'd returned from the cave. That had been a couple of hours ago and Dick had already been wearing both robotic limbs near constantly the past couple days.

"Dick, seriously, take your arm off." That sounded weird...

"No..."'the protest was weak, but still there and it caused Jason to frown.

"C'mon, I'll help you." He pulled the smaller boy into a sitting position, growling when Ace refused to move. "Get lost," he muttered. The dog looked at him, lifted his lips in a warning manner, before turning his head and closing his eyes.

"Stupid dog," Jason told Dick. "Took my hat."

"I think Timmy did it."

"Brat." Jason grasped the top of Dick's hoodie and pulled it over his head, the younger boy neither making a move to help nor hinder. Once the hoodie was off, Jason got a good look at it. Grey, with dark blue screening, a stylized G in the left corner -

"You took my sweatshirt!" Jason rounded on the boy accusingly.

"It was lying around and I was cold." He said it like it was only natural.

"What about the one you were wearing at the cave?"

"It got wet."

Jason breathed out through his nose, trying not to maul his younger brother. He grit his teeth and instead yanked up the sleeve on Dick's t-shirt, revealing the intricate metal of his shoulder. He moved the arm and went to flip the quick-release switch when a small hand grasped his wrist, skinny fingers wrapping themselves tightly around the limb.

"Wha-?"

"Don't."

"Why not? I can tell it's hurting."

"I'm fine."

"Dick, you have to take it off anyway." He knew better than to argue with his little brother whether he was really 'fine' or not. "We're leaving in like, twenty minutes or something." He honestly didn't know, but twenty minutes sounded good.

Dick didn't reply, but kept his grip on Jason's wrist.

"You know you can't wear it." Jason knew it probably hurt to hear, but it was the truth.

Finally Dick sighed and let his hand drop, not looking at Jason as the boy again moved to flip the switch. Dick jerked away, though, when the older boy's hand was about to grasp the small piece of metal.

"Dick-"

"I can do it." He whispered softly, left hand reaching behind and yanking the lever, the metal arm giving a hiss and then a pop as it came free. Jason took and put it on the floor, watching as the tension previously dominating his younger brother's face melted off.

"Your leg too?" Jason asked, already rolling up the boy's pants leg.

Dick nodded, his left hand going to hold the spot on his shoulder where just a second ago there'd been an arm. "I was hoping if I just kept them on, Bruce wouldn't notice and maybe I could just... use them for skiing and stuff..."

Jason briefly glanced up before releasing the metal leg, listening as it came free. "Nah, you don't need them to ski," He retorted, dropping the metal leg down next to the arm.

"It would be easier though." Dick drew his remaining leg up and wrapped his arm around it, chin going to rest on his knee.

"You'll do fine." Jason shoved Ace over with his foot before sitting down on the couch.

"Still... No one knows me there, they'd never know..."

"You're Bruce Wayne's kid." Jason smirked ruefully. "That comes with more than a few strings attached. 'Sides, they're already hurting you now, would it really be worth it? Don't answer that." He added quickly, seeing Dick's face. "Skiing'll he fine. I'm sure Bruce's got it covered. And if you end up sucking at it you can always try snowboarding or spend the whole time riding ski lifts with Wally."

"I guess."

"Master Jason, Master Dick, we are departing soon! I would recommend retrieving your suitcases and taking them out to the car." Alfred's voiced drifted in from the other room, though he couldn't be seen from where the two brothers were sitting.

"Dick, Jason, let's to!" Bruce called, passing the doorway momentarily, arms full of stuff.

"We're coming!" Jason shouted back, getting off the couch and kicking Ace off as well. "Keep your panties on!"

Dick unfolded himself as well and scooted to the edge of the couch.

"Where's your leg?" Jason asked, snatching his sweatshirt up.

"I took it to my room. Can I have your sweatshirt back?"

"No!" Jason tucked it under his arm with his hat. "Get your own."

Dick wrinkled his nose at the older boy.

Jason smirked. "If you get on my back I'll carry you to your room, free of charge."

"No."

"Limited time offer... I'm not coming back here. You'll be stuck unless you wanna hop."

"Just bring me my leg."

"No thanks, your highness."

"Shut up."

"Hey, I'm offering you a free ride. The least you can do is act grateful."

Dick glared but huffed, standing up and waiting expectantly.

Jason smirked again and crouched down, letting Dick awkwardly hop onto his back. Jason felt Dick's arm wrap around his neck and his leg around his waist, but with only two limbs, the position was awkward at best. Normally he at least had his prosthetic leg for Jason to hold onto.

"You feel so crooked right now." Jason muttered, trying to somehow compensate so the small body wouldn't slip off his back. "Here, hold these." He handed his sweatshirt and hat to the arm encircling his chest.

"Just don't drop me." Dick warned, his arm clenching tighter around the objects and Jason's neck.

"Then don't choke me." He shot back, starting for the stairs. "Hey, did you take my other glove too?" He asked as he began ascending the flight of steps.

"No. Why would you think I would take your glove?"

"Cuz you took my hat and sweatshirt and I'm missing the left glove."

"Ace took your hat."

"Dick, where's my glove!?"

oOo

A small shutter ran through the plane and Jason let out a small groan, eyes squeezing shut as he leaned stiffly back against his seat. He hated planes. It didn't matter that it was a private jet, the most luxurious money could buy, equipped with everything and it's brother, it was still a plane, still suspended in the sky, the only thing between Jason and the thirty thousand feet down, cold, unforgiving ground, an engine and a pair of wings. He hated planes, no matter how big or small or fancy, he hated them.

He let his eyes wander over to where the rest of the plane's passengers (all ten of them) were sitting completely nonchalantly in their seats while they rode a giant freaking bomb five thousand feet off the ground over the mountains. Jason closed his eyes and groaned at the thought.

"You okay, Jay?"

Jason cracked an eye open and looked over at Dick, sitting across the aisle from him. Barbara was asleep in the seat next to him and Timmy was playing a game on his phone while Wally watched behind him. He looked pale, but not nearly as bad as Jason felt.

"Mff, I hate flying."

"Really? I kinda like it." Dick was curled up in his seat, a blanket spread over him and Barbara. "We're so high up, it's like flying."

"That's cuz it is, genius."

Dick just wrinkled his nose and buried himself further down in the sea of blanket. He'd somehow managed to get Jason's sweatshirt again, claiming he was cold, but Jason had a hard time believing that as he himself was practically sweating.

"Bruce, are we there yet?" Timmy's voice rang through the plane, getting a few angry glares from Damian and Barbara, who'd obviously been half-woken up.

"Almost, Timmy."

"Finally!"

"Tim, it hasn't even been that long!" Dick was twisted around in his seat to look at his brother.

"Shut up, Dick, it's been long enough." Jason moaned.

"Not gonna lie, I kinda agree with Jason," Wally piped up from behind Dick. "This is nothing like the bioship." He shuttered slightly, turning his head to gaze out the window, his face rather pale.

"You guys are such babies!" Timmy exclaimed. "Flying's so cool! We're up so high and we weigh like thousands of pounds but somehow we're floating and we're going so fast and so high and stuff and there's nothing between us and the ground and sometimes it gets bumpy and that's really fun and we can see the clouds and the tops of mountains and our ears pop and-"

"Shut up or I'll strangle you!"

"Jason!"

oOo

They did finally land and Jason was finally able to get off the plane and once he did he swore he'd never get back on it. He could walk home. Or hitchhike. They spent a good deal of time pulling their luggage out of the plane, doing double and triple checks to make sure they didn't forget anything, as well as layering on winter clothing, before they were on their way to the resort in a rented limo. It was flashier than Bruce had wanted to use but with the amount of people in their group, it ended up being the only choice. They arrived at the resort in a little over a half an hour and again they spent time unloading the limo before finally paying the chauffeur, and tipping him generously for having to put up with everyone, and heading for the check in.

"Why don't we just get the people that work here to take our bags. It is their job." Jason grumbled as he struggled to lug his suitcase up the front steps.

"You are all quite able-bodied to be able to handle it on your own." Alfred replied, going slightly to the left and rolling his own suitcase up the ramp.

As Dick was following Jason up the steps, his prosthetic leg caught on the edge of his suitcase and a he went tumbling forward, nearly face-planting on the pavement before Bruce caught his arm and pulled him upright again, going so far as to set him at the top of the stairs.

"Thanks." He murmured, regaining his footing.

Once they'd all managed to drag their stuff into the lobby, which was huge, made of expensive brick and logs, and had the finest everything in the rustic category, Bruce left with Alfred to check in while the rest of the group helped themselves to the lounge. Jason immediately dropped his stuff on the ground and collapsed into an overstuffed armchair next to the fire place. Damian glared down at him with a reproving stare and remained standing while the rest of the party took seats as well. Except for Timmy.

"Wow, this is so cool!"

The boy in question was currently gazing up at a giant stuffed bear head in mid-growl. The head was nearly as big as Timmy himself and Jason had no doubt the body would've had any trouble swallowing his youngest brother whole.

"Woah, what is that thing?"

Dick had risen as well and was making his way to his brother's side, his blue eyes wide in curiosity.

"It's a monster!" Wally, always the cold, hard truth.

"It's a bear." Barbara scoffed, smacking the back of the redheads head. "Or it was a bear."

"Now it's just a head." Dick supplied, like everyone couldn't already see.

"That things huge!" Wally raved, speeding over to stand underneath it. Damian shot him another of his famous reproving glares, but wandered up behind the others as well.

"Yeah, it could probably eat you in one bite." Jason smirked, rolling out of comfy chair and joining the bear gazers.

"Woah, that would be so cool..." Dick murmured.

"Thanks," Wally humphed.

"No, no, not you being eaten," Dick quickly amended. "Just seeing it actually be able to eat you in one bite."

"Yeah, 'cause that makes it so much better." Jason drawled. The bear was big and he could only imagine what it would be like to run into a live one out in the forest. Not good, that was for sure.

"Who do you think killed it?" Timmy asked, attempting to climb the brick wall to get a closer look.

"Dunno. They must've been good, though." Barbara replied in awe.

"Yeah, good or stupid." Wally added.

"Do you think he died?" Timmy continues. "The guy that killed it I mean."

"How do you know it wasn't a girl?" Barbara demanded, catching Tim's ankle and giving it a tug to bring him off the wall.

"And how do you know he was old enough to die?"

"I meant if the bear killed him! Or her or whatever!" Timmy explained, sounding exasperated.

"Like poetic justice," Dick contemplated. "Sorta."

"Maybe the were rivals all their lives," Wally said, sounding dreamy. "And in the end, they died together, safe in each others arms." He got a rather far away look on his face until Barbara cuffed him again.

"Ew." She snorted. "They weren't lovers!"

"Maybe the were!" Wally argued back, and Jason was sure he had no idea what he was really implying.

"Keep it PG, West," Jason chastised. "We have little ears here." He not-so-subtly pointed to Timmy.

"I don't have little ears!" Timmy cried, glaring at his older brother.

"No, I guess you're right." Jason sighed. "You quite obviously have very large and obtrusive ears."

"Big words for you, Jay," Dick scoffed, elbowing the older boy in the side.

"You shut up." Jason growled.

"I don't have big ears!" Timmy stamped his foot a little and balled his fists.

"Uh oh, tantrum!" Jason laughed, shoving Dick none-to-gently away from him.

But thankfully Bruce and Alfred finished checking in before a fight broke out and summoned everyone to follow them. Jason grumbled in annoyance but was glad when Alfred made a beeline for the elevator and he realized he wouldn't have to carry his suitcase up who-knows-how-many flights of stairs. And they ended up being top floor, so Jason was more than happy.

The rest of the hotel was just like the lobby - rustic, yet expensive in a way only a giant hotel/resort that looked like a log cabin could be. The walls were all logs and the floors were either wood or fancy, tribe-patterned carpeting and everywhere they looked was the head of some animal or some piece or ancient set of skis or snow shoes or ice skates or the like. The suite was no exception.

It was actually three suites all attached into one - with the option to block them off as well, if any family - or non-family - members got particularly unruly. Jason was actually planning on it, but he wasn't about to say anything. The rooms were all expansive, with a giant kitchen, living room, and practically an entrance hall in one and two bathrooms in each (for which Jason was internally grateful. Anyone who had ever had to wait for Damian or Alfred to finish their 'routine' would understand) and enough beds for everybody, if one counted the pull out couches. That was a first.

"Alright," Bruce announced, once they were standing in the entryway. "Girls are in the far suite to the left, Jason, Dick, Wally, Timmy and Ace are in the middle and the rest of us are on the end."

"So I'm stuck with these three and the dog?" Jason moaned. He had no idea how Bruce had managed to get Ace into the strictly no-pets resort, but he assumed he'd played the special-needs-dog-for-Dick card. Somehow it worked every time. It seemed if you had a less-than-complete kid, everyone would bend to your wishes one way or another.

"Yes, Jason, you are." Bruce replied, his tone daring Jason to argue.

"I think everyone should unpack and get settled and then we should have a nice supper before finding our beds early tonight." Alfred suggested. "I've booked the ski hill for the first thing tomorrow and I think we could all do with some good rest before that."

oOo

To say the ski slopes were semi-overwhelming was an understatement. Jason understood now why Alfred had pushed for an early night. For starters, the area was huge. They were at the north office and what Jason could see was massive and apparently it wasn't even an eighth of the whole park. There were people everywhere, though thanks to its extreme size, it didn't feel packed, or even crowded, but looking up and around at all the hills and lifts and shops, people dotted the terrain like ants. And they were all pretty much the same, except for the occasional group of special needs or at-risk kids (a program Bruce had apparently helped fund the last time he'd been here): rich. Young, old, spoiled or permanently rotten for life, they were all rolling in money.

Jason scowled, turning from his people watching back towards where Damian was taking care of ski rentals. Bruce had refused to come out to the slope that morning, claiming he wanted some time to relax by himself and was back at the hotel doing whatever the heck did when he relaxed. Alfred had stayed behind as well, no doubt to make sure he was actually relaxing and not trying to sneak in some work or Batman-related research.

"Yes, that's correct." Damian was speaking to the man behind the counter. They'd already put in an order for the proper amount of skis and snowboards for the entire week, but Damian seemed to be having some trouble getting him to understand exactly which ones they wanted to take out that morning. He couldn't seem to understand that they didn't want all of the reserved equipment, even though they clearly weren't all present. "And then the setup for Richard as well. Our trainer, Murray, ordered it."

"Hm hm hm," the man hummed, turning around again and scanning the shelves behind him. "Ah yes, the three-track. Or two-track I suppose in his case."

"Sure." Jason could tell Damian was getting impatient.

"Alright, here you go sir. Enjoy your time."

Damian gathered as many skis and poles he could carry and turned and marched out the door, not giving the man a response. Barbara took some more of the equipment, shot the man an apologetic glance, and then followed the oldest out the door. Jason grabbed his snowboard and Dick's equipment and left Timmy and Wally to struggle with whatever was left as he kicked open the door and let it fall shut with a bang.

"Finally." Damian sighed once they were a considerable distance away. "That man was really beginning to grate on my nerves."

"He looked pretty young." Wally commented, carelessly dropping everything he was holding, which wasn't much, on the snow-covered ground.

"That is no excuse for incompetence," Damian retorted, gently laying his own equipment on the ground.

Jason dropped his own snowboard and set about switching boots.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to hit the slopes," he grunted, yanking one boot off and replacing it with a heavier, clunkier one meant for his snowboard.

"Murray is supposed to meet us here at 9:00," Damian announced, twisting his head minutely to check the for the ski instructor.

"Yeah well, his nine is our noon," Jason muttered, lacing up the boot. He'd been to the slope twice in his days of living at Wayne manor and Kim Murray had been their guide/instructor both times. He was some sort close acquaintance of Bruce's and wouldn't know time if it him in the face five times in a row.

"I heard that, Jason Peter Todd."

Jason groaned, swatting away the hand that went to ruffle his hair. He looked up into the grinning face of the ever-cheery Kim Murray, the dark eyes squinted in glee and the model-smile flashing its infuriating blinding whiteness everywhere. Jason could practically see Barbara swooning at the tanned, sharp face, dark, wavy, shoulder-length hair and an attitude that caused every teenage girl within a five-mile radius to pass out. Not to mention his aussi/irish accent. In short, Jason couldn't stand the guy.

"Ah, I see you've learned the value of punctuality since our last visit." Damian said matter-of-factly. "I hope it was beaten into you."

"My favorite little ball of sunshine," Murray laughed, walking over to Damian.

"Tt."

"You've grown." The ski instructor continued, holding out his right hand, which Damian shook grudgingly. "Almost as tall your dad I bet. Speaking of which, where is he?"

"Relaxing." Jason snorted, yanking on his other boot and beginning to lace it up.

"Ah. You've grown too, Red."

Jason winced at the nickname. Ever since Murray had somehow found out about Jason's natural hair color he'd teased him mercilessly ever since. Not that Jason didn't have ammo of his own….

"Yeah, I'm taller than you now. Oh wait, I always was, wasn't I?" It wasn't entirely true, but details.

"You haven't changed." A gloved hand reached down and Jason grasped it, allowing the man to pull him to his feet. He found he was taller than Murray, by a few inches, and realized the man actually was pretty short. He'd always only seen him compared to Bruce, who was practically a giant (at least he was when Jason was ten) and he'd just assumed that was why he'd looked so small. But now Jason was realizing the man actually was just short. All the better.

"And you must be Barbara Gordon." Murray shook Barbara's hand and Jason could see her blushing under her hat. "I've heard all about you."

Jason was sure Barbara was gonna pass out right there, but she held it together and only smiled shyly. Very un-Barbara like, but better than most girls.

There was the sound of a throat being cleared and then: "I'm Wally West." A hand stuck out and Wally stepped forward, slightly in front of Barbara, his chest puffed out.

"Nice to meet you Wally." Murray smiled, shaking Wally's hand.

"I can't believe you guys left me back there!"

They all turned at the sound of the high voice to see Timmy struggling up the hill with a pair of poles and a helmet, his nose bright red.

"I was wandering around for hours! I could've died!"

"You must be Timothy." Murray walked over to the boy and held out his hand again. "I've heard about you too."

"Really?" Timmy took the hand and shook it enthusiastically. "I don't think I've heard of you."

"Kim Murray." Murray was smiling even broader at Timmy. "I'm gonna be your ski instructor and guide for the week."

"Ooooh, you. Yeah, I've heard of you."

"Don't believe anything either of these boys have told you." Murray instructed, laying a hand on Tim's shoulder. "They don't know what they're talking about."

Jason snorted but didn't say anything. He was getting antsy to hit the slopes, but one glance at Dick, who was standing a little ways away and looking more pale and nervous than Jason had seen him in a long time, told him he'd do well to stick around. At least until Dick got his feet about him.

Murray seemed to have followed Jason's gaze and was now moving closer to Dick. He held out his right hand again, only to catch Dick's glance at his own right side where the sleeve of his coat had been cut off and sewed shut.

"Richard Grayson, I presume." Murray smiled (big surprise) and switched hands, letting Dick shake his left hand instead.

"You can just call me Dick," Dick replied, letting his hand drop back to his side.

"Alright Dick, you can call me Murray, or Kim I suppose, but I can't promise I'll answer to that as fast."

"He's sensitive about his feminine side," Jason whispered in Dick's ear.

"I heard that."

"Just telling him the truth. Honesties the best policy."

Murray rolled his eyes before turning and moving back to the center of the group, going into what Jason liked to call his 'teacher mode'.

"So, who here's been skiing before? Besides the older brothers Wayne."

Barbara raised her hand as well Wally, which surprised Jason and apparently everyone else as well.

"You have?" Dick asked incredulously, staring disbelievingly at his best friend. "Since when?"

"I didn't tell you about it. I was like twelve. It was bad."

That pretty much answered every question.

"I took Tim snowboarding with me once." Jason put in. "He sucked."

"Hey!"

"It's no problem. I'll get you all skiing like pros within hours." Murray walked over to a nearby fence and plucked a pair of skis off them and carried them over. "So, let's get started."

Barbara picked it up fast, as she'd been once or twice with her dad, and Timmy actually turned out to be pretty talented as well, and soon Murray sent them off with Damian to practice on the bigger slopes. Wally was having trouble, as he himself had predicted he would from the beginning, and was working on allowing gravity to move him instead of his own legs. And now Murray had turned his attention to Dick, who'd been watching, and laughing, from the sidelines while the rest of the group had been learning. Murray had said he had a special setup for Dick and that he would show him once he got the others on their way.

"Okay, Dick." Murray walked over to where the boy stood, his arm wrapped around his body as he leaned against the fence in front of the ski shop. He'd said something about his prosthetic knee being stiff and had limped over to the fence. Jason had been off snowboarding a bit while the others learned, promising to return once Dick was up.

"Here's what I've rigged up for you." Murray laid a single ski down in front of the boy and held up a pole with some sort of mini ski on the end of it. "This is called an outrigger. It's like a ski pole mixed with a forearm crutch with a mini ski on the bottom."

"Weird," Jason muttered, taking a step forward to get a closer look.

"Woah, what is that?" Wally skidded over and almost crashed into the fence. Again.

"Go back to practicing." Murray ordered. "This'll help you balance," he continued, once Wally had left. "Because your left leg ends above the knee, you won't be able to ski with your prosthetic. You'll have no control. So, you'll use one ski and then this outrigger. This is called three-track, or in your case, two-track. Most people have two outriggers, hence three-track since they make three tracks in the snow, but you've just got one. It'll be a little harder, but you'll get it."

Jason had watched Dick had gotten slightly paler as Murray had explained what he'd be doing and now he was eyeing the one ski with something close to fear in his eyes, though Jason knew he was only nervous. Dick wouldn't get scared of something as little as skiing. Even if it he had to do it with only one leg.

And that was the catch. He'd have to rely on only one leg, something he rarely, if ever, did. He always had either his prosthetic or robotic leg. Now he was being told he wouldn't have either and Jason figured that if something were to scare his little brother, this might be it. Most of his death-defying stunts were with his robotic leg and arm, or at the very least his prosthetic leg. Sure he was trained to be competent without either, but not necessarily while flying down a hill at thirty miles per hour.

"Hey, Dick, it'll be fine." Jason rested a hand on his brother's shoulder and was surprised to feel it shaking the slightest bit. Poor kid.

"You're an acrobat, right?" Murray asked, crouching down slightly.

Dick only nodded and it was a testament to his fear how quiet he was being.

"Well then you'll pick this up fine. I've taught overweight men and women in their fifties to three-track who've never done an athletic thing in their lives and they pick it up in a few hours. Two days tops." Murray was already moving to get the ski set up. "Here's your boot and while you put it on I'll work on getting the outrigger sized to you."

Dick took the boot wordlessly and sat down on the edge of the deck around the ski shop under the fence and began to untie his own boots. He removed his right one and pulled on the ski boot in its place using his hand to tighten and then expertly tie the laces. Then he took a deep breath and stared at his left leg for a moment before beginning to roll up his snow pants. Then he stopped and looked up at Jason.

"Jay, will you…."

"Yeah, sure." He knelt down next to his brother and pushed up the leg of his snow pants until he reached the top of the prosthetic leg. He slipped both his hands up and pulled the leg free, setting it to the side with his own boots. Meanwhile Murray had adjusted the outrigger and held it out to Dick to take.

"Here, this should fit you. Had to go down to the lowest size, but it should work."

"Great," Dick sighed, taking the strange pole and examining it.

"I'll tell you a secret," Murray whispered, crouching down. "The shorter you are, the easier it'll be. Trust me. Why do you think I'm so fantastic?"

Dick smiled, a bit of color returning to his face. While Jason may not have liked Murray personally, he loved him for Dick's sake. He was straightforward about everything and there wasn't a hint of pity in his gaze, something Jason knew Dick hated. He didn't try to hide or ignore Dick's disability and above all, he treated Dick like a person. For Jason, this was the biggest one. Time and again he'd run across people who saw his brother and acted like he was some glass doll or poor, pathetic pet, and Jason wanted to maul their faces.

"Okay, let's get you up and at it." Murray reached down and took Dick's hand in his own pulled him to his feet – foot. Jason grasped a fist of his jacket to hold him in place while he balanced on his remaining leg.

"So, you're gonna use your outrigger for balance," Murray instructed, helping Dick position said piece of equipment. "So you can try that out now, but you'll be surprised at how easy it is to balance once you're out on the slopes." Dick grasped the pole and was able to balance perfectly. "Good, now we'll work on getting the ski on."

As Murray continued to teach Dick, the boy's fear slowly melted away and was soon replaced by his usual daredevil behavior. Because he only had one arm, Murray had decided that they'd have to start with the ski lift instead of the usual rope-pulley hill as Dick wouldn't be able to hold onto the rope with only one arm. Once he'd mastered the small hill Murray would pull him up, they'd tackled the ski lift. Getting on had been hard enough, especially since they'd decided to take Wally along, but they'd eventually reached the top. After briefing both the boys again quickly on everything they'd needed to know, Murray had sent them off down the hill (a nice, gradual one, though big nonetheless) and Jason had been happy to watch them flounder down it. Dick had already crashed multiple times and hadn't gotten hurt so he wasn't at all worried about that, and he honestly hoped Wally would wipe out spectacularly. They'd both actually done surprisingly well and Jason was relieved. The rest of the day was spent skiing and snowboarding after meeting up with the rest of the group, and by the time the day was drawing to a close, Jason had to admit it was turning out to be a not-so-terrible vacation after all. But he'd been wrong before and boy was he wrong again.


A/N: Part 2 will be coming hopefully soon! I will try to be faster this time but until then, please review! And check out my other stories!

Alex out.