The rest of the drive back was quiet, and although Jason kept his gaze directed out the car window, he could feel Roy's eyes occasionally glancing over in his direction. He really didn't know what to think, his mind on a continuous cycle of 'shit shit shit shit'. What on earth had he been thinking? He had a car that contained two kids that he knew weren't tough enough to survive on the streets and a cat that now seemed to have chosen Evelyn as an appropriate place to rest.

Jason had been half tempted to try and move Wilson but didn't think angering it was a good idea considering who knew what diseases it was carrying and whether the kids would get injured on accident.

And what the hell was he supposed to do tomorrow? The kids were not going back out the street. He wasn't even sure how he'd gotten them to agree to come with him. Far too trusting for their own good, which worked in Jason's favor but certainly not in theirs if they had planned to survive on their own.

"One thing at a time, Jaybird. One thing at a time." Roy said quietly, as he finally pulled the car over, once again reading his best friend's mind.

Wilson had jumped out of the car as soon as Jason opened the backseat door, but stayed close, observing how both men calmly woke the kids, who were still pliant in the way that came from being too sleepy to care.

He carried Evelyn as carefully as he could into the house, Roy following behind with Edgar who was adamant he not be carried but caving in a few steps later as he seemed unable to walk in a straight line. Roy had scooped him up, Jason directing them up the stairs to the small study he kept filled with books and a large ottoman that overlooked the tree-lined street below. It was heavily tinted, although not noticeable considering it was evening now, but it was nice during the day, being able to read and look outside without the risk of being seen by passersby.

It was his own memories of waking up in a strange bed and expecting the worst from Bruce when he had first arrived at the manor that made him think the study would be neutral ground. The kids didn't know who this 'Jay' was, and having them wake in a panic in someone else's bedroom (even if it was a guest room) would not have been ideal.

Evelyn didn't wake up once after being placed on the ottoman, Edgar next to her although he mumbled a bit before feeling a soft blanket being wrapped around them and settling down almost immediately. He wasn't sure how long he stood there and simply watched them, but eventually made himself move.

Jason left the light on and the door open just in case they woke up disoriented and had taken the opportunity to fold the moth eaten blanket that had covered Evelyn and place it over to the side, clearly visible to them. Roy had already gone back to the car to bring in the kids' belongings while Bud had come into the room quietly, sniffing at the kids and wagging her tail. Wilson was no where to be found, although Jason now worried briefly if it was running amok through the house. He supposed they'd find out soon enough.

With one last look at the kids, he nudged Bud to follow him back down the stairs, meeting Roy as he was coming up with the last of the items from the trunk of the car.

"Any clean clothes in there?" Jason asked, hoping Roy had spotted some. His friend shook his head, and Jason wasn't about to go snooping through Edgar's backpack. The kids were in definite need of a shower, but that would keep until the morning, once they had slept their fill.

"She definitely needs to have her arm and leg checked out. I couldn't see much but it looks like it may have broken and hadn't been set right." Roy kept his voice low. He had paid close attention as Jason was carrying her and while he wasn't a medical doctor, he had seen his fair share of injuries.

"Yeah, that might be it. I don't know about the leg to be honest. It's the arm I'm worried about. I can't get a look at it but it's definitely hurting her."

Roy nodded, opening his mouth but closing it just a quickly, choosing to stay quiet. He'd let Jason deal with this tonight the way he needed to.

Jason wasn't sure when exactly he had fallen asleep, but he did know he'd had the presence of mind to change his clothes and put his Red Hood gear away while Roy had graciously stayed in his Arsenal get-up so that the kids didn't accidentally wake to two random strangers.

So when he opened his eyes and found Evelyn standing over him on the sofa, he blinked slowly in surprise at the girl's smile. He didn't think anyone had ever been that pleased to see him in his life. She was in Arsenal's arms, the man clearly having taken the lead and letting Jason sleep for way too long. Come to think of it, Jason was realizing that the past several days had been filled with the most uninterrupted sleep he'd had in years. He highly suspected Bud had something to do with that.

Jason smiled back at Evelyn, waving a bit at her. She was still in her old sweatshirt and wrapped in the throw that had been on the end of the ottoman upstairs. In the light of day she looked even paler than before. He needed to figure out what was going on with her and fix it.

"Hi. I'm-"

"Hi Red." Evelyn's voice calm and serene just like when he had first met her. She was resting her head against Roy's chest, as he held her close. Jason blinked in confusion as Roy coughed slightly to clearly cover a laugh. He could either deny that he was Red or admit to it. Neither choice held the best of consequences. There was also the fact that her keen sense of observation wasn't exactly something he wanted to discourage.

"My name is Jay." It wasn't a denial, but it wasn't confirmation either. It would do for now.

Evelyn smiled a bit more, and Jason watched as Roy carefully deposited her on the couch adjacent. Bud was now doing what she did best and investigating the new person. Evelyn looked even more delighted with Bud than she did with Wilson. Which reminded him...

"Where's Wilson?" Jason finally stood up, watching Roy point to the yard, Wilson dutifully sitting there staring at them. Staring was better than glaring, he supposed.

The sound of a stampede coming down the stairs revealed Edgar, wide-eyed and clearly scared for a moment before seeing Evelyn, Arsenal, Jason...and Bud.

"Woah...cool dog!" Edgar rushed over, letting Bud sniff him before he began petting her in earnest and earning doggy kisses as a reward.

Jason watched the whole thing with a blank expression on his face. This...this was not how he had pictured the morning going. He had expected mistrust and hesitation and frankly...an escape attempt or two. It's why he had stayed downstairs in the first place.

"You're Jay, right?" Edgar asked, not even glancing in Jason's direction, his full attention on Bud.

Jason nodded back dumbly, attempting to mentally scramble and adjust his plans.

"You're so lucky. She's so big!"

Jason looked over at Roy, who shrugged but shot Jason a huge grin. A shouted question of "who wants breakfast?" by Roy, had Jason listing all the breakfast options he had in the house. Cereal seemed to be the choice made by both, and after Jason had turned on the TV, found some cartoons, and placed bowls of cereal in front of the siblings, he grabbed Roy's arm and all but dragged him back to the kitchen.

Roy would have laughed if Jason hadn't looked damn near scared to death.

"This is not how I thought things would go..." Jason hissed out, sounding close to panicking. Roy wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about.

"I thought it was going well. I checked in on them earlier and both of them had grabbed a book from the shelf and were reading..."

"That's just it! I never would have just stayed in that room and read. I never-"

"They're not you, Jason." Roy stated simply. "You seem to think that they'd act exactly like you would have. They're not you. Their story is different than yours. It's why you had us bring them back here. They-"

"They wouldn't survive, Roy." Jason finished with mournful resignation. "They wouldn't...they're not going to make out there." 'I barely did myself', Jason thought.

Roy looked over at the living room, the kids still eating their cereal, not seeming to care that the adults were out of sight. He knew Jason at that age would never have allowed adults to leave his sight for a second.

"Well, they trust the Red Hood. And me." He added the last bit with a proud smug, earning him a smack on the shoulder.

A few more minutes of a pep talk from Roy and Jason was straightening his shoulders and making plans.

"Go feed Wilson." Jason pointed to the cupboard where the tuna was kept. Roy looked like he was about to protest but he had said that he and the cat were best buds now so...

Jason (still expecting the other shoe to drop because things were going far too smoothly), had managed to convince the kids that they could take showers. In fact, it wasn't even a matter of convincing and more a matter of getting towels for them as Edgar all but ran for the bathroom, expressing his love for hot water. Jason had only had time to yell out that he'd leave a towel in front of the door along with a sweatshirt (it would be huge but it's all he could do until he put their clothes in the wash) before Edgar had practically slammed the door in his face, the sound of the shower turning on almost immediately.

"Okay then..." Jason huffed with mild disbelief.

Towel and sweatshirt placed outside the door, Jason now focused on Evelyn. He wasn't actually certain if she was capable of standing for any period of time and he certainly didn't think it appropriate to bathe her since it wasn't exactly a medical emergency.

"Edgar is taking a shower upstairs. Did you want to wash up after him?" Jason asked her, her eyes now completely focused on him instead of the cartoons that were continuing to play in the background.

Evelyn nodded with another one of her smiles, Bud resting her head on her lap with her eyes closed.

"Okay, Wilson has been fed, and I'm still alive. All in all I'd say it's a success." Roy shot them both two thumbs up before he went back to the dining room table.

"He's an idiot" Jason shook his head fondly, causing Evelyn to chuckle.

"He's nice."

"Yeah well, he's a nice idiot."

Evelyn smiled, and as corny as it fucking sounded in his head, Jason's heart kept goddamn melting. He needed to focus.

When Edgar appeared looking clean and refreshed (albeit a little too red from the hot water), Jason saw that his sweatshirt was pretty much a dress on the boy. Not that Edgar seemed to mind, appearing very happy to hear that his clothes were being washed.

Something on Jason's face must have given Edgar a clear indication as to what the current struggle was as the boy told him that when he and Evelyn had a chance to shower, they usually kept her sweatshirt on. Jason said nothing in response to that, trying his best to hide his hand that was now clenched into a fist. A light pressure on his arm found Evelyn looking at him in concern, and Jason immediately relaxed his hand.

The solution was a simple one in the end. Jason gave Evelyn a t-shirt to change into that could get wet in the bathroom, and Edgar would stay on guard while Jason remained a few steps away. He'd grabbed a step stool and placed it in the shower, helping Evelyn remove her leg brace and getting a better look at her leg in the process. It definitely looked like a bad break that had healed wrong. Maybe the parents had been abusive (since Edgar had said she'd had a problem with her leg for a while).

"I fell. There was no money for a doctor." Evelyn's voice echoing slightly in the bathroom as she had seen where Jason was looking. She didn't appear to be affected by it, explaining it to him as if he needed comforting rather than the other way around. It threw Jason for a loop. She seemed to have that effect on him.

"And the arm?" Jason risked asking, seeing that it looked bruised from where it peeked out of the shirt sleeve.

Evelyn pulled her injured arm closer to herself and closed her eyes.

"I'd left her alone and some guys came. It's just the arm..." Edgar added, looking almost as angry as Jason felt. Evelyn's eyes were immediately back on him though, and she had already proven that she was highly skilled at picking up on his emotions which forced Jason to remain calm.

"Okay..." Jason used the softest voice his could muster without sounding patronizing. "Let's focus on the shower first."

Five minutes later and Jason was soaking wet, having to jump in the shower as he had heard her hiss loudly in pain. The T-shirt he had given her now was soaking wet as well, but it went almost down to her ankles and made Jason grateful he had thought to offer it.

Edgar hovered nearby, watching closely which Jason understood. This was his sister and someone they didn't know was helping them bathe. There was really only so much trust that could be extended and if Jason chose to compare it to his own childhood, he'd never let Bruce or even Alfred near him in such a situation as a kid recently come to live at Wayne Manor.

Jason helped her as quickly and as gently as possible, while Edgar ran to fetch Roy. This was the first time he'd ever washed a little girl's hair before. The first time for a lot of things it seemed.

Roy helped Evelyn out of the shower and got her situated while Jason took a shower if his own, peeling the clothes off that plastered to him while helping the little girl.

Rather than washing himself though, he ended up spending fifteen minutes with his head leaning against the mosaic wall, just trying to breathe and not break down, and wondering if he'd bitten off more than he could chew. He was in no way qualified to deal with this sort of thing.