A/N: This chapter refers to an event y'all haven't read about yet. To summarize; Battle for the Cowl did happen in this universe, but obvious QUITE differently than in canon (and only a few weeks before these events). However, Tim was still stabbed with a bat-a-rang. This is the stabbing referred to and the reason he's not already suited up to help our poor captured boys out.

Also, I just wanted to point out that the skeleton description of the Plot of A Death in the Family is intentional. The comic is amazing and I obviously recommend everyone read it, but I don't want to rehash the plot here. So, the high points are touched upon, but other things are definitely the focus. PM me if there is anything confusing! As always, please let me know if anything pops out as terrible grammar/spelling/whatever, I finish (do a quick edit) and post so I might have missed something. J

Warnings: Canonical death of a minor, torture and its aftermath, violence on par with canon

Pairings: very lightly implied Babs/Dick

Chapter 28: The Ones We Lose, Part 4

THEN

Tell me about them? Dick asked. He and Jason were settled into the cargo bay of the Batplane on their way to the coordinates for Lady Shiva that the WatchTower provided. Dick produced a large bag of food from the street vendor right outside the lobby of Jason's hotel.

"Should we give some to Bruce?" Jason asked tentatively. He and Bruce might have come to an understanding, but he still felt like he was walking on thin ice. A grounding was in his future as soon as they returned home, of that much he was sure.

Nah, I only got enough for two and there is no way I'm giving up good shashlik, Dick grinned, Let him suffer.

Jason looked away to hide his own smile. He took a huge bite of his shashlik, chewed, and then swigged some soda. Dick reached out and kicked his shin.

"Fine!" Jason laughed, "Obviously you know about Shiva, probably more than I do." Dick shrugged.

Tell me what you know. Why do you think she's a possibility?

Jason picked at a small pieceof meat, shredding it to pieces before dropping them back into the pita with the rest.

"Her name was in my dad's book. I couldn't read the adoption papers but only four women in the book had stars by their names; Sheila, Shiva, Sharmin, and a woman named Catharine Todd."

Todd? Dick sat a little straighter at that.

Jason nodded. "Yeah, she met my dad when they were both in Narcotics Anonymous. Dad was married to Mom, Sheila- hell."

Sheila Haywood still raised you, Dick encouraged, It's not wrong to call her your mom, even if she doesn't end up being your bio-mom. Which is highly unlikely. You look just like her.

Jason nodded, "I know. I just- I feel like I don't know anything anymore." He pulled his feet up on the crate he was seated on, "Why would my mom hide all this from me? When did my dad date anyone seriously enough that they were thing about adopting me? Hell, when did my dad have custody of me after he and mom broke up?"

Dick shrugged, unable to come up with a satisfactory answer. They ate the rest of their shashlik in silence.


NOW

"That's their fourth missed check in," Tim muttered from his position at one of Barbara's spare computers. He clicked into yet another search program and input his parameters. Across the room Barbara sighed.

"I know," she sighed, rubbing one hand across her forehead. Stephanie entered the room with three large cups of coffee. She handed one to each of them before taking a long drag from her own.

"Okay, that's truly terrible," Stephanie complained. "What is this stuff? Motor oil?"

"I like my coffee strong," Barbara shot back. She took a swing of the hot liquid without allowing her attention to stray from the screens before her where two surveillance feeds looped continuously. On the left side of the screen the video showed the Red Hood landing in an alleyway to help a huddled girl. As soon as he landed the girl sprang to her feet and jabbed a long needle into the gap between the collar of his tunic and his hood. He groped desperately for a weapon but it was not two second before his legs began to shake and he collapsed to his knees. The tape skipped a second after that and when the static cleared Red Hood was on the ground and three henchmen dressed as clowns were attempting to remove his hood. The second half of the screen displayed a similar situation. It began with a group of men menacing a young woman. Batman swooped into view and proceeded to lay the men out with little difficulty. He had only just begun to turn to help the girl to her feet when she produced a baseball bat from behind a trash can. He went down without a fight.

While Barbara was terrified for both boys, the limp way Batman had collapsed and the sharp contact of the bat with the back of his cowl meant the majority of her fear was reserved for Dick. It was ridiculous for someone so fearsome to be felled by something so mundane, but she knew that he had not been at his best since Bruce's death and Tim's stabbing.

"Anything yet?" Stephanie asked. She was very carefully not looking at the videos Barbara couldn't tear her eyes away from.

"No," Barbara sighed, "All their trackers are offline. There's nothing in these videos to ID where Harley might have taken them. They were both unconscious so we have no verbal cues and I can't trace their comms unless one of them gets turned back on."

Tim sat upright with a light groan. He clasped a hand to his ribcage but waved off Stephanie when she approached, "What if I could turn on their comms from here?" The thought hadn't occurred to him before, he blamed the fuzzy headedness that always seemed to plague him when he had to take any sort of painkillers.

Barbara spun her wheelchair around to face him, "If you can manage that, I can definitely get you coordinates."

Tim nodded, "Give me fifteen minutes."

"Steph, suit up and make sure Batgirl and Crow are ready to go when we get you the address," Barbara ordered. Batgirl and Crow were currently sweeping the scenes of the abductions hoping to find clues Harley and the henchmen might have left behind. So far they had had no luck. "I'll call Alfred and have him prepare the medbay."


THEN

It wasn't Shiva. She had been quite insistent about that. She had no idea why Peter Todd might have placed a star next to her name when they had only shared a few nights together. Jason was disappointed, but not as much as he had been when Sharmin Rosen. Shiva was not the sort of woman he would have wanted to raise him, no matter her skills or connections. He shuddered to think what he might be like had she had a hand in shaping him. By the harsh look on Dick's face the same thoughts were running through his mind.

Bruce seemed pleased as well and they set off for their final destination, an aid camp in Ethiopia.

Catharine Todd was working in a war torn region to bring medical supplies and other aid to the innocent civilians caught in the crossfire. Jason couldn't help but think that that was the sort of job he would be proud for his adoptive mother to have.

They landed near the camp and changed into civilian clothes. He tucked his costume into the satchel Dick handed him. Better to have it than not in such a dangerous region. While Jason was sure that an aid worker would not reveal their identities he also understood the need for secrecy, especially for Dick who would likely be arrested for murder if anyone ever found out he was Nightwing. Once properly attired for the crushing heat Jason ventured from the plane.

"I'm going to talk with the workers," Bruce told them, "Call me if anything seems strange." He wasn't expecting trouble, but with the way it had seemed to follow Jason's quest thus far it was probably best not to discount the possibility. "Dick, are you going with me or Jason?"

Dick glanced at Jason who was trying very hard not to beg and grinned, Jason I think.

Bruce nodded. "Rendezvous at oh-nine-hundred," he ordered. Then, with a softer expression, "I hope you find what you're looking for Jason."

Jason's throat was suddenly too tight to respond so he turned and made his way to the tent that seemed to be the hub of the most traffic. Dick followed closely behind, glaring at anyone who dared to look at Jason for too long.

"Can I help you?" A tall dark-skinned man asked them as soon as the tent flap closed behind them. When Jason didn't respond for a few seconds Dick shoved him forward lightly.

"I –um, I'm looking for Catharine Todd," he whispered, suddenly terrified. Why was he doing all this? He loved his family in Gotham. He didn't want anything else. But, at the same time, he had to know. He knew his mother loved him, but the emotion from his father's side had always been more absent. Had Peter once loved him? Wanted him?

"Who are you?" The man asked. He peered at Jason and then at Dick with a calculating eye. Jason looked away, but Dick met the gaze with one just as strong.

"My name's Jason Todd," Jason finally managed.

The man's face lightened. "Little Jason?" he asked, "Why didn't you say so? She's back here."

Dick and Jason exchanged looks at that. It seemed they had found the woman whose name was supposed to be on his adoption papers.

"Someone to see you, Cat," the man said when they reached the back of the tent.

Jason stopped and stared. Catharine Todd looked like she had lived a hard life; despite her relatively young age she sported deep lines around her eyes and mouth. Her dark hair was streaked liberally with grey and she winced a little as she stood. But, the lines around her eyes framed clear blue irises and long lashes and her stance was strong. Jason thought she was lovely.

"Catharine, meet Jason Todd," the man nodded to them both before withdrawing from the space.

Catharine's hand had gone to her mouth at the announcement, "Is it really you?" She asked. "Oh, Jason, you're father talked so much about you."

Jason stared.

"Why?" He finally managed to ask.

Catharine smiled gently at him, "Oh Jason," she whispered, "You're dad loved you. For all that he wasn't a very good man, for all his faults, he loved you more than anything." She moved around her desk and clasped one hand to his shoulder, "We were only married for a few months before we divorced, but he wanted to make sure that if something ever happened to your mom and if he couldn't do it, you had someone to look out for you. I would have been proud to be your mother, even if it was only on paper."

Dick, seeing that Jason was finally getting the closure he needed, slipped from the room. He would give them some privacy and come back in ten minutes to see if Jason needed him.

"Why didn't you sign the papers?" Jason asked, his voice hoarse with the emotions he had been suppressing for too long. He despised his father, it was strange to think of the man doing anything good for him.

She drew in a deep breath and let it out through her nose. "By the time they were ready your father and I were fighting. I was still attending AA, but he had stopped and was drinking again. I realized, as much as a loved him, that he didn't love me the same way and I left. I'm so sorry."

Jason shrugged. It figured that his dad had found a way to ruin yet another marriage.

"Did my mom know?"

Catharine nodded quickly, "Yes. She thought it was a good idea. Obviously if anything happened to her your father would get custody and she liked the idea of someone else being responsible, too." She gestured to the flap of the canvas wall Dick had exited through, "Unless that's just a friend, I'm guessing something happened?"

Jason nodded, "That's my brother. Bruce Wayne adopted me after my mom died." Catharine dropped the glass pitcher she had just lifted to pour two glasses of water from. She laughed, slightly nervously, Jason noted.

"Clumsy me," she said in a strangled sort of way, "I'll be right back."

While Catharine went to find drink for them Jason amused himself by skimming the papers on her desk. Mostly they were financial statements from the various companies that appeared to donate supplies to the cause. Jason had always like numbers, not as much as Timmy, but well enough to find the idea of adding up the various columns on the pages amusing. It was only after adding the first fifteen pages that he realized the numbers weren't adding up. Someone was embezzling money from the aid foundation.

Concerned now, he shifted through the papers with more purpose. The system was relatively simply and he had no problem finding the papers where the money went missing. Now, he only needed to look at who had signed for those shipments-

Before he could finish reading the columns, Catharine swept back into the room carrying a large pitcher dripping condensation. She poured two glassed and handed one to Jason. Over-heated and suddenly nervous about telling Catharine about his discovery, Jason gulped down half the glass.

The sudden feeling that he had royally fucked up swept over Jason. Catharine hadn't drunk any of her water. She was staring at him in the same way he was used to seeing thugs holding guns, that half threatening, half confident gaze that they all had. There was something else behind her eyes, something he had never seen before in a criminal, but he couldn't recognize it through his own sudden fear. He realized he had just found the embezzler.

"I'm so sorry, Jason," she whispered, "You're not going back to your brother."

Jason shoved her away from himself and darted around the desk. He needed to escape, needed to warn Dick that not all was right in the camp. But, the drugs in the water were too powerful and he barely made it ten steps before collapsing. He felt someone rummaging through the bag at his side. Heard a sharp gasp and felt calloused fingers place his mask onto his face. He tried to reach up, to protest, but his arms felt like lead.

Voices could be heard, far away but coming closer. Someone slipped his shirt off.

The last thing he saw was a man with a chalk white face and a blood red grin, smiling down at him.


NOW

Once Tim and Barbara triangulated Batman and the Red Hood's positions things moved rather quickly. Crow, Spoiler, and Batgirl piled into the Batmobile and tore through the city to the abandoned warehouse near the docks where the Joker had apparently set up shop. The entire time Cassandra was picturing the ride across the desert she knew Dick had taken in a similar situation. She desperately hoped this ride did not have the same outcome.

When they arrived at the warehouse, Batgirl took charge. She order Crow to scout around the upper floors while she and Spoiler took the lower. The Joker tended to gravitate towards the large rooms in these sorts of buildings. The upper floors would likely be clear of all but a few henchmen. It was a relatively safe area of Damian to search on his own.

As soon as they entered their section Spoiler and Batgirl began encountering the Joker and Harley's lackeys. They engaged immediately, hoping to draw the clowns away from wherever Dick and Jason were being kept.

"I found Batman and Red Hood!" Crow's voice burst through the comms, pitched high with fear. "They are both injured and-" he paused long enough for Batgirl to start to worry before continuing, "There is also a bomb. I am unsure of how to disarm it."

"Shit!" Spoiler cried as she slammed two henchmen's heads together and leapt for Harley Quinn who was loading her bazooka.

"Crow," Tim's voice broke radio silence from the Clocktower, "I'm turning on your lens camera. Okay, that's not so bad. We've got three minutes so first you'll need to cut the second wire from the end of the timer."

Batgirl tuned out the instructions that flowed from their Clocktower bound compatriots and focused instead on fighting her way across the room to where the Joker was screeching orders at his rapidly decreasing number of lackeys. She felled the two largest who were supposedly guarding their employer with ease before allowing herself to slip into the shadows and sneaking behind the Joker. Waiting until he was distracted by Harley's bazooka going off in her struggle with Spoiler, she stepped up close behind him and wrapped one arm around his neck.

True to form, the Joker would not be taken down easily. His emaciated form was surprisingly strong and he struggled mightily in her hold. His gloved hands scrabbled along her armor attempting to find purchase. Whenever he got the slightest grip he dug in and she knew she would be sporting bruising all along her arms and sides for weeks. In the end, however, the decreased oxygen began to show in his movements and his struggles slowed.

"At least I killed the fake Bat," he giggled softly, "That'll show you imposters!"

Batgirl smirked beneath her mask. He could not see the expression, but she knew he would be able to hear it, "They escaped fifteen minutes ago," she hissed into his ear. It wasn't true, but he didn't know that.

"Impossible!" But he had no more air to protest. The Joker slipped into unconsciousness. Batgirl quickly zip-tied his hands and feet together and backed away. She would need to bath for far longer than normal to remove the taint she felt all over from touching the foul man.

"I've got the bomb disabled!" Crow reported, "Batman and Red Hood are injured. I'm calling the Batmobile to our side of the building."

"Good," Cass nodded her agreement with his plans. She wrapped her left arm around the windpipe of the closest henchman. "We'll meet you back at the cave."

"GCPD en route," Oracle reported, "Four minutes out." Despite the closed comms she was using her voice disguiser and they all suddenly realize how very affected the technical genius was by the events of the last six hours.

Across the warehouse Spoiler smiled at Batgirl, though she knew the actual gesture wasn't visible through her mask, Cassandra always seemed to be able to tell. "Go to the cave," she encouraged, "I'll deal with the cops and these idiots and then head to Oracle."

Batgirl hesitated. She was reluctant to leave Spoiler alone with Joker and Harley, even if they were unconscious and the police were set to arrive in less than three minutes. But, she remembered the fear in Crow's voice when he reported on Batman and Red Hood's condition. She needed to get to the cave as soon as she could possibly manage.

"Are you sure?"

Spoiler cocked her hip out, "Of course, B.G. I think I can handle two unconscious psychos. Besides," she added when she saw how concerned Batgirl was, "the police are less than five minutes out and I'll stay in constant contact with Oracle."

Batgirl threw her arms around the younger girl in a tight hug before pulling out her grapnel. "Come to the Cave as soon as you can," she ordered, "Agent A can check on that cut."

Spoiler saluted sloppily. "Aye captain!" she chirped.


THEN

The warehouse was so close! Dick pressed the accelerator forward, faster, faster, he just needed to be a little faster. He crested a low hill. There! The warehouse was no more than a thousand meters away from him. He was going to make it. Bruce was less than five minutes behind him. They would break down the door. Bruce could comfort Jason. As for Dick, well, Dick was going to kill the Joker.

A savage smile appeared on his face at the thought. No one hurt his little brother with impunity.

His motorcycle suddenly sputtered and slowed. The engine had overheated.

"Argh!" He screamed. "Kittening heart of frog ball." With less than two hundred meters left Dick leapt from the smoking bike and raced for the door he could see on the side of the warehouse.

He was going to make it. Jason would be-

An almighty explosion tore through the warehouse. Fire filled Dick's vision. He flew through the air caught up in the shockwave, and landed with a painful slide across the rough ground.

He had been too late.

Dick shoved the thought that he had failed away, deep into the darker section of his mind. Jason was ok, he had to be. He struggled to his feet, pushing aside the rubble that had been thrown onto him and calling for his little brother.

"Robin!" he shouted. The sharp increase in his headache from the effort of saying Jason's proper name was barely even noticeable past his fear. "Robin!"

No one answered his call.

Dick began shifting though the rubble, hoping against hope that his knowledge of the damage such an explosion would have caused to a human body was flawed.

He found Catharine Todd first. Her eyes were open and her chest was still. He felt nothing but cold vindication for the woman's death. Jason might be willing to forgive her, he was a pretty understanding kid when it came to family, but Dick would not. She betrayed Jason to the Joker. He might not have been her biological son, but the two had obviously bonded over their shared connection to Peter Todd. In Dick's mind that sort of meant you didn't hand that person over to be ki- He cut that thought off viciously.

He left her body where it lay without touching her. He didn't trust himself not to ensure that she was actually dead.

He had just begun to give up hope of finding Jason without proper equipment when the bright green of the boy's leggings caught his attention.

"Bar!" Screw secret identities. No one else was here and no one paid enough attention to him to remember what he called the members of their family anyway.

He leapt over a beam. Even through the clouds of dust he could see that Jason was covered in dust and debris.

"Bar, I run often keen to fetch you," Dick babbled as he cleared away the detritus of the explosion. It took him nearly a full minute to realize Jason wasn't moving.

"Bar?" His voice shook.

Frantically Dick pressed two fingers into Jason's neck, ignoring the blood that coated his gloved hand. No. No no nonononono. Dick's breath came in ragged gasps. This could not be happening. He reached forward and yanked Jason from beneath the rubble and into his arms. Nothing. No breath. No heartbeat. Only the obvious evidence of a beating and an explosion.

Dick collapsed back onto his rear. He pulled Jason into his lap and wrapped his arms around the boy's chest, burying his head in the crook of his neck and shoulder. Dry sobs yanked themselves from his chest.

It was over. Everything, everything he had wanted to protect and loved….. The future was a blank expanse stretching before him. Empty.

He was still in that position ten minutes later when Bruce found them.

Not Jason. That was the only thought in Bruce's mind when he finally found his sons. He couldn't have been too late. But, the evidence to the contrary was right in front of him. Rubble, settling dust, and the silent sobs of his eldest as he held the body of his little brother all told the story plain enough. He just couldn't bring himself to believe it was true.

"Nightwing?" he whispered. But, Nightwing was too far gone to respond. He clutched Jason's body tighter against his chest.

"Jason," he whispered as he collapsed to his knees in front of the pair. Nightwing did not look up. Bruce reached out and touched three fingers to Jason's still cheek. The boy's eyes were closed, his face calm and peaceful. The cheek Bruce's fingers rested against was unmarred, but the press of his touch forced Jason's face to turn. The other cheek had obviously been broken, a dark bruise already covered the area. Bruce felt his heart stutter in his chest when he noticed the tear tracks through the dirt that covered Jason.

His son had been crying. Crying and probably hoping that Bruce would be there in time to save him, never giving up that hope even as the Joker beat him and the bombs went off.

Without thinking about it Bruce reached forward and pulled Jason from Dick's arms. The boy was so limp, so empty. Freed of his burden Dick wrapped his arms around his knees, curling into the smallest ball possible for a man his size.

Bruce remembered the first night Jason joined them on patrol. The lad had been so eager, so idealistic. It brought a lightness to Dick and Bruce's lives that had been absent before. For the first time Bruce witnessed Nightwing behaving like the boy he was; Robin could bring out the best in both of them. Patrols were downright fun at times. Stakeouts which had previously been a tedious chore suddenly became a time for teaching. Jason lapped up their tales and lessons with the wide-eyed eagerness of one who only wanted to make them proud and Bruce was. Oh, god. He was so proud of Robin and Jason and everything that the brightly colored hero meant to Gotham and the rest of the hero community.

How would he tell Tim and Cassandra? Or, his hands clenched around the body at the thought, Alfred? Clark would be so upset, even though he and Bruce hadn't gotten on for years Clark had always loved Jason like a nephew and made sure to be there for all the important moments in the boy's life.

But, worse than anyone else, Bruce knew without a doubt that Jason's death (it was a knife in the gut to even think the word) would destroy all the progress Dick had made since leaving the Court. Bruce thought he should do something, move or call someone, do anything except sit there holding the rapidly cooling body of one of his children. But, he couldn't. If he moved, if he called for help, then it would all be real and he would have to deal with the reality of a world without Jason in it.

When he finally managed to look up again the sun was beginning to crest the horizon sending delicate streaks of pink and orange into the sky. It was too pretty for the dark feeling in his chest. He wanted rain. He wanted a monsoon and earthquakes, he wanted the weather to reflect the agony he felt. Hell, at this point a meteor strike wouldn't be an exaggeration for the desolation in his chest.

A sharp little noise jerked his attention back to Dick, who hadn't moved since Bruce took Jason from his arms.

Instead of staring at Jason's body has he had been since Bruce arrived, his eyes were closed. For the first time Bruce noticed the wheeze to Dick's breathing and the sweat across his brow despite the mild temperatures of a desert dawn.

"Nightwing?"

Dick rose to his feet. He wasn't acting like he had heard Bruce at all. In silence he leaned down and pressed a kiss to Jason's forehead. Then, he turned and walked away.

He wouldn't return to Gotham for a week. In that time Bruce would take care to make up a story about Jason's death overseas and transport the boy back to Gotham for burial. He broke the news to the others and trusted that Batgirl and Alfred would tell the rest of the community as it was required.

Each night Tim and Cass received an email from Dick with a single word so they wouldn't worry.

It didn't work. They needed their older brothers to tell them that everything would be okay. But, one of them was dead and the other was struggling to deal with what had happened, to retain what was left of his fractured soul. He had failed at the only job he had ever given himself, the only job that had ever mattered.

Nothing was ever going to be okay again.


NOW

Cassandra took one look at the group before her and grabbed Tim and Damian. She shoved them towards Jason with a warning glare. Tim shivered. Dick and Cass could say more with a single look than most could with full sentences.

"Take care of him," she jerked her head in Jason's direction, "I've got Dick."

Then, she transferred Dick's arm to her shoulders and took his weight from Tim. "We will be on the roof."

Tim wanted to just nod and leave her to it, but blood was still seeping from the wound on Dick's temple and the fear was curling around his throat. She followed his gaze to Dick and then smiled.

"We will not be long," she assured, "But, he needs this."

Tim trusted Cass with everything he had so he nodded and turned his attention to Jason and Damian.

"Come on," he said to Damian, "Let's get him cleaned up."

They hauled Jason across the rest of the cave to the Med Bay. Alfred appeared at the doorway as they approached.

"Oh dear," he muttered, his normally implacable mask cracked to reveal his concern, "Master Dick?"

"He's with Cass," Tim grunted. Jason was far heavier than he looked, and as he was easily the tallest and broadest of them all that was saying something.

They maneuvered Jason onto the nearest bed. He stirred a little as they lay him down.

"Ba-mann?" he muttered into Tim's shoulder.

"He'll be back soon," Tim reassured. The words tasted foul in his mouth. Bruce wouldn't be back soon and they all knew Dick wasn't going to be Batman for much longer, couldn't be Batman for much longer. He had stopped eating full meals nearly a week ago and his normally lithe figure was looking positively gaunt. If he didn't give it up on his own, Tim was planning on hiding all the Batman costumes and staging a small rebellion.

But Jason was too out of it to know any of that. He simply nodded and allowed himself to be manhandled onto his side so Alfred could begin cutting off his uniform top.

Alfred rested one hand on Jason's ribcage as he slid the industrial grade scissors under the edge of the Kevlar. He had only just made the first snip when Jason's eyes shot open. He stared at them without seeing and shoved himself backwards. The scissors clattered to the floor.

"No!" He cried, his eyes wide with fear. He stared at his surroundings, shivers wracking his frames, as awareness slowly filled his eyes.

"Sorry," he whispered to the room at large.

"No need for apologies, my dear boy," the elderly butler assured him. Jason nodded. He pulled away from Tim and Alfred's grips and eased himself off the bed.

"Jason, I must insist-"

"No, Al." Jason stood and moved towards the door.

"Jason, you need help," Tim protested. He and Damian moved from their positions next to the bed to follow Jason. Tim reached out and lightly touched Jason's arm. The elder flinched violently.

Jason wouldn't meet his gaze. Tim really wished he would look at him, or at least towards him. It would make it so much easier to know his mental state, to know what to say and how to act.

"Jay?" Tim whispered. Damian stood so close behind him Tim could feel the heat from his body. The younger boy was trembling.

Jason wrapped one bloody arm around his chest. He still wouldn't look at them.

"Great rescue, kids," he muttered finally, "Really. Thanks." He turned fully away.

"I'll, uh, I'll be back later," Jason continued, "I need some," he shook his head, as if to clear it before continuing, "I need some time."

He limped away without looking back.

Tim collapsed into a chair with his head in his hands.


Cass and Dick settled themselves on the roof in silence. Dick was shivering and Cass knew they couldn't stay out for long. She just wanted the height and the dawn to erase the terrible, lost look in his eyes before they went back down into the cave and he needed to be strong for the others again. Damian had obviously been terrified and seeing Dick like this for longer than he already had would not help that situation.

A soft breeze had come up as the sun rose. It twisted the fog that lay over the bay into pillowy mounds, tearing off little tendrils which were burned up in the increasing warmth. The light coral of the rising sun cast an almost surreal glow over everything. Dick had turned his face to the sun, his eyes were closed and she could see the golden undertones of his ancestry in his skin. She could also see the beginnings of dark bruises and smell blood, though she did not know if it was his own, Jason's, or their enemy's.

"Okay?" She asked.

His left eye opened a slit.

Nope, he signed. Something had changed, she realized, something huge. I need to talk with everyone.

"They're in the Med Bay." His head jerked up at that.

What?

Cass stared, how did he not know? Dick always knew when one of them was in distress. Surely he was aware that Jason was not dealing well with encountering the Joker? That Jason had been injured badly?

Instead of voicing all that she simply said, "Come," and helped him to his feet.

Though they moved as quickly as Dick was able, Jason had vanished by the time Dick and Cass made their way back downstairs

"I tried to stop him," Tim was shaking, "He just, he woke up and freaked out. We didn't want to do anything to make it worse." Damian nodded. The boy's eyes were wide and his normally dark skin was far too pale. He stood as close to Tim as his pride would allow him.

Cass prepared herself to take charge, Tim and Damian were obviously upset by whatever had happened while they were gone. Dick swayed suddenly.

"Alfred?" Cass nodded her head to Dick. The butler left Damian's side and they worked to settle Dick on the bed Jason had occupied. He blinked blearily at them.

"Bar?" He squinted suddenly and reached up to grip at his hair. His left hand pointing and twisting at his head in the sign for 'pain'. Alfred shot a sharp look at Cass and she nodded. She grabbed Tim's hand and the hood of Damian's cape.

"Come," she said as she drug them from the room. Alfred moved forward to begin patching Dick up.

"May I remove your costume?" After Jason's reaction Alfred wished to ensure that a repeat did not happen.

Yes, Dick signed. His cape and cowl had already been removed before he and Cass climbed to the roof, but the rest of the costume still needed to be taken care of. Before Alfred got to work he administered a mild injection of pain-killers, enough to dull the edge but not cause drowsiness.

As gently as he was able Alfred worked to remove the Batman costume. Each section he cut free revealed more bruises and blood. Most of the blood appeared to be from small cuts and scrapes, but just above his left hip bone an obvious stab would still oozed blood. Alfred pressed his lips together in disapproval and anger at those who would hurt his boy in this way.

"Are there any other injuries I should be aware of?" he asked once the entire costume had been removed.

Dick shook his head and shivered. The butler smiled softly at the boy. He pressed a pressure bandage to the stab wound and pulled out the materials to start an IV.

Dick watched him dully for a few moments before he seemed to register what Alfred was planning to do. He slid stiffly from the table.

No, no, he signed, "I screw to trace Bar."

"Richard," Alfred started to lecture, but Dick wasn't having it.

He shook his head and grabbed up a blanket. Wrapping himself tightly he stumbled from the infirmary and towards the locker room. The only stop he made after changing clothes was to grab Lola's leash and service dog harness from the landing closet.


Dick found Jason on the top of the tallest building in Gotham. The sun had just reached its apex and the heat radiating off the glass buildings made him feel slightly faint.

"Bar?" Dick whispered. Lola padded across the roof and settled next to Jason.

He didn't look away from the sky-scape below his feet. "I had sorta hoped it might help," he said gesturing to the vast expanse before him, "You always get as high up as you can when shit gets bad. I thought it might-" He shook his head. "Sorry I flipped out."

Dick sat down next to him. Their feet dangled off the edge of the hundred story building, their hair buffeted by the constant breeze. Lola had her mouth open in a happy doggy smile. Jason tangled his unbroken fingers in her fur.

When I was with the Court I didn't have anything or anyone. Jason shifted to watch him easier. Dick never talked about his time with the Talons, not if he could help it.

The other Talons are all asleep and my Great Uncle was only around every so often. I spent any time when I wasn't on missions training. Sometimes the Court would send someone to watch me, to test me. But, mostly I was alone. In the training room was a – I'm not sure what to call it, a nest? A net of rafters and ropes. Since there were no other Talons, no one but me could climb it. When things got bad, when I couldn't remember my name or what being human felt like, I'd climb up there and be safe.

"Why isn't it working for me?" Jason whispered, "All I can hear is the explosion and his…. His laugh."

That's the point, Dick answered, Height is safe to me. It was where I could maybe remember that I had parents once and where no one could tell me to kill someone else. Jay, that's not you.

"What if I don't know who I am anymore?" Jason whispered. "Ever since Bruce died, I've felt so…." He trailed off again.

That's why you've got me. You keep me sane and I'll help you find you again.

They watched the people of the city pass by below them, oblivious to the turmoil their protectors felt high above.

"You're not going to be Batman anymore are you?" Jason finally asked.

I can't, Dick replied, I'm not good enough. I'm going to slip, I know it. Nightwing can be weak, but Batman can't.

Jason nodded. He had known this was coming.

"Okay," he whispered, "I think I can do it."

I know you can, Dick smiled. I'll be with you every step of the way and you're going to be amazing, so much better than me.

Jason wasn't sure he agreed with that. But, he knew that Dick was right in at least one regard; his older brother wouldn't let him fail.

They sat on the edge of the building until Jason's phone buzzed.

"Text from Cass," he informed Dick, "She wants to know if you've bled out yet? What?"

Dick chuckled, I might have left before Alfred was able to break out the sutures.

Jason groaned, "Come on, you idiot." He stood and reached down to pull Dick to his feet, "Let's get back before Alfred sends the cavalry." Dick grinned at him and for the briefest of moments Jason could forget everything; he could forget Bruce was gone and the Joker wasn't, could forget their injuries and how the sound of laughter still echoed in his head. For a brief moment everything was okay.

Just before they exited the roof Jason paused. Mindful of both their injuries he wrapped Dick in a tight hug.

"Thanks, Dick."

Dick nodded. Always, little wing, always. He was looking pale again.

To cover the sudden emotions rising in his throat Jason slipped an arm around Dick's shoulders, "The shot's wearing off, yeah?"

Dick hmm'd his agreement.

Alfred's waiting downstairs with the car. His signs were more sluggish than they had been only a few second earlier. The kids sent him after me. Lola whimpered and nudged at the door from the roof.

"Then let's get you down there and to Leslie," Jason said, "I could use some of the good stuff myself."

With his arm around Dick and his gaze focused ahead, Jason missed the sappy smile that curled Dick's lips upward.


A/N: Whew! Finally done with this arc. Sorry it took so much longer than I told y'all it would. A few parts of it really were like pulling teeth for me. But, it's done (and it clocked in at 14000+ words!). So, I'm taking requests for the next chapter. While y'all send those I'm going to finish up the 2nd and final part of Civitatula. That'll be up in 3 days and the next chapter for this will be up in 6 (unless inspiration strikes otherwise), so get those requests in soon if there's something you want to see!

Translations:

"Kittening heart of frog ball!" - "Fucking piece of shit bike!"

"Bar, I run often keen to fetch you" - "Jason, I'm so happy to see you"

"I screw to trace Bar." - "I need to find Jason."