Sorry this is late!
'The shoulder you cry on.'
A week later he entered the secret floor of his apartment where he kept all his Red Hood related things after his first patrol since the night he had saved Alison just over a month ago. He'd taken her to Leslie's clinic earlier that day for a check up and she had been awarded a 90% clean bill of health – she was still a little underweight but much less than before. Her arm was still in a cast, but Leslie said that it was healing well so it would be able to come off in about 2 weeks time.
Jason had sat Alison down an hour or two afterwards to discuss him going out on patrol again. She had seemed fine with being on her own for a few hours and Jason had assured her that of she needed anything she could go to their neighbour, John Diggle, he was basically the only one of Jason neighbours that he actually trusted. Jason wasn't exactly comfortable with leaving her on her own, but his neighbourhood had been getting restless again and he needed to assure all the lowlife that he was still around. He left her with strict instructions to not leave the apartment unless it was burning down, and not to open the door for anyone except John when he dropped by to check in on her.
As soon as he had changed into casual clothes Jason peeked into her room and found her fast asleep. The sight of her sleeping form allowed his stomach, which had been clenched uncomfortably ever since he left earlier that evening, to loosen.
He had just stepped out of the shower and pulled on the sweatpants he liked to sleep in when he heard her scream. He grabbed his gun and ran for her room. Something about the way she had just screamed had been different from when she had nightmares. This time it sounded more real, more terrified.
He burst into her room, fully expecting to have to shoot someone. Instead, all he found was his little girl sitting up in bed with her knees pulled up to her chest and sobbing into her arms. He tucked his gun into the back of his waistband and said her name.
When she looked up it seemed as if she had only just registered that he was there and practically flew into his arms. He held her tightly as she clung to him as if he might disappear, whispering to her in what he hoped was a comforting tone until finally, after what felt like an age, she started to calm down.
When she was finally able to speak again she told him that she had had a nightmare, apparently the worst one she had ever had. She dreamt that he had died while on patrol. The admission shocked Jason, her worst nightmare was that he died on patrol? The realisation twisted his heart painfully.
He tried comforting her by assuring her that he was right there. She countered with the "What if one day you're not?" question. Jason didn't know how else to answer that question other than to assure her that from now on he would be careful. He really would be, he didn't have anything important to come back home to before, but now he did. She wasn't totally satisfied though. She had apparently noticed some of his scars, she knew that he wasn't indestructible.
He sighed and carried her to the Red Hood section of his apartment, there he showed her his spare communicator and taught her how to contact either Nightwing, Batman or Oracle, so that if one day he didn't come home or came back too injured to help himself she would be able to get help and promised her that she would never be alone ever again. He figured that he should probably tell at least Dick about her sometime soon.
These instructions seemed to calm her down and she seemed to start falling asleep in his arms.
"Jason," her soft voice reached his ears as he was about to turn into her room.
"Yeah, baby girl?"
"Can I sleep with you again tonight? Like last week? Please. I don't want to be alone tonight."
Jason smiled softly, "Of course."
