You know the drill: apologies for random mystery coding, unecessary paragraph breaks, and missing spaces.

Was not feeling this chapter. It's lacking depth and feels I just wrote it to get it done. I had a dream that someone wrote a comment saying this chapter was completely pointless.

Maybe it is, but who cares?

Dick reached out, flipping the light switch to illuminate the immaculate space of Tim's bathroom. For being a young teenager, Tim kept his room tidy and organized; a trait dick found commendable in the young lad.
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"Okay, Tim. Can you get your footing?" Dick asked as he released the youth's legs and let them dangle centimeters above the tile floor, waiting for his brother to gain balance on his own.

The jacket Bruce had wrapped around his child was barely covering now as Tim stood by himself, arms crossing over his chest.

Dick took the jacket and hung it on the hook secured to the back of the door.

"I may as well get a shower as well, right Babybird?" Dick rhetorically asked as he peeled his Nightwing costume off, feeling the cool air bite at his clammy skin. He watched Tim stand still with his arms folded across himself in a failed attempt to hide
his body and stay warm. His eyes never raising from the floor.

"You ready?" Dick asked as he placed a hand on Tim's bare shoulder.

Tim nodded while slowly creeping towards the shower stall.

It was a large shower that would easily cater to the boys' needs without causing them to bump into each other during cleaning.

It wasn't uncommon for the birds to shower together in the facility located down in the cave after hours of patrolling, so neither thought this was out of the ordinary.

Tim walked in first and moved to the back of the stall, out of reach of the shower stream. Dick stepped in second and turned the knob to get the water going. He was hit with the bitter cold bite of the water and understood why Tim chose to hide in the
back. Smart kid.

Dick waited for the water temperature to become warm and then dipped his head under the stream. Wiping water from his eyes, he reached out and waved a hand, beckoning for his brother to come closer to him.

Tim tiptoed close and began to submerge himself under the beads of water. He quickly recoiled from the sting on his skin when the needle like feel of the water scattered across his broken flesh.

"Here," Dick said after noticing the harsh look on Tim's face. He moved under the shower head to block the stream with his back. He turned Tim to face the back of the shower and pulled him against his chest. He tilted the teen's head back and brushed
the water cascading down his chest onto his brother's hair.

Dick reached for the shampoo bottle and squirted a dollop in his palm. He swiped half onto his hair and then massaged the rest onto his brother's.

Once Tim's head was covered in small bubbles, Dick massaged the shampoo into his own hair. After quickly rinsing, he readjusted the temperature and placed his hands on his brother's shoulders.

"You ready?" Dick asked.

Tim continued his stare down but moved back until he was pressed against Dick's chest. Again, Dick tilted Tim's head back and rinsed the bubbles from his hair. He looked at the length and thought Tim could use a hair trim since his bangs were becoming
long.

As Dick ran his hands through Tim's long hair, making sure to get out all the excess shampoo, he watched Tim's sullen face relax. His eyes were closed but he could see the tension flee every time he placed his hands on Tim's body.

Dick reached for the washcloth and splashed it with body wash. He did a quick once over on himself knowing the washcloth would be stained after cleaning the grime from Tim.

The older male rinsed the cloth and added fresh soap to it. He began carefully washing the dried blood on Tim's face, being gentle enough not to break open any of the small cuts. His brother's eyes seemed lifeless; a cause of concern for Dick. He was
always a lively, energetic child, so to see him in this sullen state worried Dick.

Dick glided the cloth down Tim's neck and uncovered an odd bruise above the boy's clavicle. Upon further prodding dick realized the long bruise was actually a burn mark.

"What happened to you?" Dick asked, quietly voicing the pain he felt for his brother with the bemused question.

Tim looked up with his wide blue eyes. "Please, don't make me say it," he pleaded with a mask of fear glaze over his face.

"Oh Tim," Dick exclaimed as he reached out to hug the teenager.

Tim reciprocated by wrapping his arms tightly around Dick's waist and burying his face in his shoulder.

"I just want to forget," Tim quietly squeaked with a shaky voice.

"I know buddy. I know." Dick rubbed Tim's back with the washcloth. He slowly pulled back so he could finish washing Tim's body clean. He was a little surprised not to find any tears filling Tim's baby blue eyes, after hearing the quake in his voice.
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Dick washed the teen's backside carefully so as not to aggravate the traumatized skin. He could sense Tim's discomfort when he noticed the boy's tight, white knuckled grip on the shelf holding the shower supplies.

Both brothers rinsed the soap residue from their bodies and then Dick turned the shower off.

Dick stepped out of the shower, letting the steam escape and wrapped a towel around his waist. He grab the second towel and held it open for Tim to use.

As Tim slowly crept forward out of the shower stall, Dick placed the towel on Tim's head and aggressively rubbed it over his hair. He draped it over Tim's head before long and let it dangle around the boy's body, nearly covering his entire small
frame with the puffy terrycloth.

Dick grabbed a hairbrush and reached out for Tim.

"Come on," he coaxed as he took Tim's hand into his. He flipped off the light and walked out of the bathroom with Tim trailing behind.

The two brothers found Jason in the bedroom waiting on Tim's bed with a change of clothes for both of them by his side.

Jasons eyes fell to his younger brother and he forced a bashful smile towards him.

"Hey Babybird," Jason cooed. He stretched out a hand and Tim immediately padded across the floor towards him. He always felt protected when Jason was around, even though he was the only one that ever tried to kill him in the past.

As Dick handed Jason the hairbrush, Jason pulled Tim down so he was sitting on the edge of the bed in between his spread legs, facing away from him. He did a quick tussle of the towel over his damp locks and then released the towel so it laid bunched
at Tim's waist. It was then with all the blood washed away, Jason could see every inch of discolored skin on Tim's body.

Jason raked the brush through Tim's hair while dick grabbed the change of clothes Jason brought for him and proceeded to change.

"Thanks," Dick said as he tied the drawstring to his lounge pants.

"You're welcome," Jason replied while still focusing on brushing Tim's hair.

Jason continued speaking after a moment of silence, "Bruce wanted to see you in the cave before you went to bed, Dickybird."

Dick nodded in confirmation. "What are you gonna do tonight?" He asked, curious if Jason planned to mindlessly roam Gotham as the Red Hood in search of Tim's attacker.

Jason wrapped his arms around his little brother, letting his chin find rest in the crook of Tim's neck.

"I'm gonna stay here for the night with my Babybird."

Tim reached a hand up and held onto Jason's forearm, finding peace and safety in his brother's arms. He closed his eyes wishing he could have this protective feeling forever.

"Okay," Dick said in acknowledgment. "I'll talk to Bruce and be back up." Dick trusted Tim was, literally, in good hands with Jason and knew he would take care of him in his absence.

Dick swiped a hand through Tim's freshly brushed hair, giving a playful tussle before exiting the bedroom.

Jason released his arms, gave a loving pat to Tim's chest, and reached for the clothes he had laid out. He grabbed the boxers first while Tim stood up and turned to face him.

Placing his hands on Jason's shoulders Tim lifted one foot at a time to help get himself dressed. But after the boxers were on, Tim didn't want any more fabric touching his sore body. He moved past Jason and began crawling onto the oversized bed.
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"You don't want anything else," Jason asked while aiding Tim up to the pillows.

"No. I just want to sleep," Tim replied drowsily.

Jason pulled the comforter down and waited for Tim to get his spindly limbs under before pulling it over the teen's body.

"Are you sleeping in here with me?" Tim asked, lightly holding onto Jason's wrist.

"Do you want me to?" Jason inquired.

Tim nodded with half lidded eyes.

"Okay," Jason confirmed. He removed his leather jacket exposing his red shirt underneath and kicked his shoes off. He tossed everything in the corner in a heap.

"Move over," jason playfully said as he gave his brother a friendly shove, careful not to hurt Tim's bruised body.

He crawled under the covers and laid on his folded hands that he rested behind his head, exhaling a long sigh of exhaustion.

He stared at the ceiling knowing sleep would elude him due to the dancing thoughts in his wandering mind.

He thought of the faceless predator.

He thought of him doing things to Tim.

He thought of him laughing smugly.

He thought of murdering him.

He thought of the pain Tim had to endure alone.

Then Jason felt Tim's wet hair on his arm, snapping his mind back to the reality of the present. The teen had rolled over to rest his head on his brother's arm; to feel his warmth.

All of the anger fled Jason's mind for the moment. He rolled towards the small boy, enveloping him in his arms. The teen was swallowed up in Jason's warm embrace.

Sleep quickly came to them both as they clung to each other tightly for reassurance of the others' presence.

Dick later returned to the dark room, finding both his brothers calmly sleeping. He leaned his weary frame on the wooden door and decided not to enter. He didn't want to wake either of them after the troublesome night the family had endured.
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He found peace watching the two rest easy when he felt a hand gently rub his back.

Dick twirled to see Alfred standing behind him. The old man's eyes held pain dick wasn't sure he could understand. As a military medic, Alfred knew far more of the extent of Tim's injuries than anyone.

"Alfred," Dick choked. He reached out for a hug from his faithful butler.

Alfred tightly held his son. He had to be strong for the members in the household but he felt like falling apart himself. The baby of the family had been through a traumatic event no one in the family had ever experienced.

It would be a matter of days before Leslie would call with information from the physical exam. Unfortunately, it would take a lot longer for the emotional damage to heal within the young boy.