CHAPTER ONE

Wild lights danced in front of my eyes, everything blurring because my brain was too slow to capture all that I saw in front of me. I knew that I laid on a cold, metal gurney and that my arms were cuffed to them on either side of the sheet of steel.

I felt the rush of wind and my adrenaline pumping as I felt my body speeding around the building I was in. Where to? I didn't know, didn't care. My hair flew upward towards my scalp and plastered back onto my clammy, hot forehead when I stopped moving.

I heard familiar voices and felt hands touching my body, cutting away my clothes and moving me onto a sheet of paper. I recognized the familiar feel of a surgery table and my body shuddered against the cold. I moved my head around trying to find a familiar face, but my head refused to move on its own.

I gave up and let the people around me do whatever they wanted with me. I was naked and uncomfortable, I felt ashamed. I tried to curl up into a ball to show the least amount of skin as possible, but the hands held me down. The logic in my head told me to be suspicious, to run, but I'm tired. I have been for a long, long time.

/

Damian stared up at the stars above. He stood on top of the aparment's rooftop, mindlessly staring out into the city. How could he be so stupid? How dare he let his guard down for a minute! If it weren't for him, Drake would still be here! He kicked at himself in his mind and sadly looked down Crime Alley.

His eyes followed to a small spot in front of a grocery store a couple of blocks down, which was now covered in yellow tape and a few cop cars stood stoically. He watched as the cops took aside bystanders and interviewed them for the suspect.

Jason and Dick were at the hospital right now, visiting Drake, he supposed. Damian felt a slight pang of jealousy, making his heart twitch and his lip curl into a sneer. Disgusting. Feeling sorry for the nerd, he thought. Immediately, his heart twitched again and his face suddenly dropped. Imagine how disappointed Dick would be if he heard his thoughts. The eldest was already having a hard time supporting the five of them, he didn't want to further bother Dick with his venomous thoughts.

Damian glared at the moon, not letting his mind slip back to the events that had happened early today. He just couldn't. He didn't want to go back to that place. The place where he actually felt bad for his actions, made a mistake. Father, he thought, what would you tell me to do if you were still here?

"Bruce… proud… you." A dark figure climbed up onto the roof from the fire escape ladder. Damian froze, but relaxed when he recognized the footsteps the figure left behind as it walked towards him. The moon light lit her face and he was staring upon his sweet, older sister's face, smiling sadly at him.

He felt a lump in his throat. "How… how would you know? He's dead, he can't speak," Damian managed in a calm voice. Cass placed her hand on Damian's shoulder.

"Even… he… gone… still… same," Cass spoke thoroughly, "Parents… unconditional… love." Damian shook his head. He appreciated the comfort Cass attempted to give, but it didn't make him feel any better.

"He could still love me, but he's disappointed in me. I just know it. I couldn't protect the weakling today. I should- I should've done more."

This time, Cass squeezed his shoulder, "No… matter… love… proud… package deal."

"I'm sorry."

Cass hugged Damian tight. He would usually slap the person giving him the hug and run away, but he didn't mind getting hugs from Cass, especially after all she had done for him. Damian hugged her back tight and let a few tears slip out. He cursed himself for showing vulnerability, when Cass wiped his tears away.

Cass always seemed to know what he was thinking. "It's… okay… tears… strong… ".

Damian glared , but in return, Cass smiled. "Inside… too… cold." Damian nodded and led her down the fire escape.

They climbed down from the twelfth floor to the seventh floor and slipped into the only opened window there was on that floor.

The window led to Dick and Tim's room, which was only a shade neater than Jason, Cass and Damian's room. The bed was made, but clothes were strewn all over the floor. The textbooks were neatly stacked into their small bookshelves, but wrappers of candy and chips laid on the ground.

"It's like pigs live in here," Damian remarked, wrinkling his nose. Cass laughed and shook her head.

"Neater than ours," she said. They helped pick up trash from the floor to make some room in case Tim was coming back from the hospital that night (which was improbable, though it was a possibility). Then, Cass jumped on the bed and patted the space next to her, gesturing to Damian to lay next to her.

Reluctantly, Damian jumped on the bed with her. Cass immediately hugged him close to her body. Damian nearly growled but decided to reign his disgust for a couple of hours.

"Tell me… what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Can… help."

Damian thought about it. There was really no cons to reliving the event today, except that he would end up feeling guilty. Something Damian Wayne really hated feeling. But somehow, Cass's eyes implored him to talk, drawing him to tell the truth.

"This morning, Drake was so tired, he poured orange juice in my cereal. I mean, I get tired, but that's just ridiculous!" Cass's eyes gleamed in the dark, echoing a smile in her chocolate eyes.

"So I got in a fight with Drake and I was about to kick him in a place that would end his bloodline; when he just got up to leave. He said that he was going to buy some groceries and that he didn't want to deal with my problems right now. Next thing I knew was that I heard open gunfire and I looked outside the window. I see Drake lying on the street with a couple of other bodies. Why didn't I do more? Why did I have to fight Drake that day?" Damian scowled, tears threatening to pour over.

"Sleep," Cass replied, stroking his head. Damian wanted to protest, but he soon felt his eyes droop and he cried himself to sleep.