Okay, I've read a few reviews saying I've made Dick not that concerned about Jason (or too cold and logical) during the DITF arc and less emotional than he is, so I wanted to clarify what he was doing during all of this. Not exactly part of that arc so it doesn't have the title add on, but I'm putting it in the timeline in between two parts. You don't have to read this to get the story, just background. and sheesh people... just because I don't have him hugging everyone every five minutes doesn't mean he's not emotional; he's freakin' 15, a guy, and has to be more mature for his many younger siblings so they don't look up to a bad example. half the tough guy act is exactly that, an act. He's quite the performer. Enough ranting. Read.

Dick-15 Jason-12

Frustrating

He watched silently as Bruce comforted the panicking lad, not sure what to do. He really had no idea what to do, and it scared him. Jason was somewhere between screaming and gasping for breath as he squirmed in his father's arms. Slowly he was calming down, but not fast enough for his audience.

And all Dick did was try to give him a hug.

Stepping back and away, he tried to not make any noise as the large man cradled his traumatized son. The… event… was only a month ago. Maybe a little less than? Jason was finally allowed to come home to finish his physical healing and help him on his way to a full recovery a week ago, and they were so glad to see him. But he wasn't really seeing them. The beaten pre-teen's face was so still, so vacant of life, it was hard to believe he was the same guy who'd help them prank the world in the most interesting ways.

Bruce and Alfred said there would have to be some difficulties, but they never really explained what. Leslie had reminded him of when he was beaten by Two-Face and how for a bit he was unresponsive to things, a very short bit. She said shocked states vary from person to person and they all displayed it in different ways. Some people responded differently to one person over another. That's what she said at the hospital when they brought him home. She said to take it easy on him and give him time.

Now he started to understand what she was talking about. Never had Jason reacted like that to him, no matter what he did. Hit him, yeah. Yell, scream and curse, sure. But to shrink back and go into a full blown panic attack… the sight of it scared him. All he tried to do was give him a hug, to hold onto him and assure him he wasn't alone. And he as 100% rejected, as if he were the one attacking him with a crowbar.

"Master Richard." Alfred's soothing voice jerked him out of his gaze. A kind understanding look was in his eyes. He inclined his head over to the others coming into the room curiously. They heard the scream. "If you would assist me."

"Right…" Shaking himself out of his own shock and horror, Dick whipped a smile on his face and started cutting off the younger three from seeing what had happened. "Come on guys. Let's give them some space."

"But what—" Tim tried to ask, only for him to be cut off.

"A breathing exercise to help him recover, that's all." 'Oh man… Did I just lie to Timmy about this?' He pushed away his guilt and internal turmoil from earlier in favor of making sure the others weren't scarred from this whole problem further than they were already. It was hard on everybody, especially since there was little or nothing they could do to help. "Hey, how about you two pick out a movie? They're gonna be busy for a while."

"I guess…" The eight year old gave him a concerned yet confused look as he accepted it. Cass though, she gave him a doubtful look. She knew something was up, something he didn't want to talk about, but she was going to let it slide. For the moment. The slight plea in her older brother's eyes and the firm stare from their butler's as he closed the doors behind him were enough to keep her silent for the moment.

Dick picked Damian up and propped him on his hip as they started towards the movie room. "Great. We'll join you in a few with popcorn. That sound good Dami?"

"Pop… con?" The toddler cocked his head curiously at the word. Strange since they had it before.

"Yeah, you remember popcorn right? It's yellow and fluffy and buttery and salty all at the same time! Yummy!" Damian didn't quite connect it all together, but hearing 'yummy' was enough to make him happy. The babe knew 'yummy' was a good word. It was easier to smile when the little guy was smiling at him too. "Great! Alfred? May we help with the popcorn and drinks?"

"Of course," the butler said with a cordial nod. Quickly the three of them made their way to the kitchen (thankfully not far) to completely set the distraction in motion. As soon as Damian was in his high chair with some fake cookery to keep him busy, Dick's happy façade vaporized to near panic.

"Okay, what just happened in there?!" Frustrated and worried beyond anything, he turned on the old man. "I try to give Jason a hug and he royally flips on me! What the heck! Why did he—"

"Calm down!" Alfred's sharp retort didn't get the teen to calm, just shut up for a moment. "Master Jason's going through a hard time and—"

"That's not how you react to a hard time!" He waved a hand over to the doorway. "Hard times are dealt with coherent words and throwing punches!"

"Not when you're in a state of shock."

"It's been a month! How long is he going to let what happened to him scare him?!"

"As long as he feels is necessary. Post traumatic stress varies from person to person. As I recall, you had a hard time recovering after Two-Face—"

"I was in a coma for two days and in shock for three." He glared lightly at the old man, remembering that time without another word needed. "I never acted like that!"

"Like I said, it varies. And Jason is not you." Alfred gave him a stern glare in response, taking out the popping corn mixture as they talked. "He is not likely to recover the same way you did. We have to be patient."

"Patient?" Dick looked up at him desperately. "It's been a month! I want my brother back! I want everything to go back to the way it was before all this started! Before Joker! Jason's alive! That's more than can be said about others. Why isn't he—"

"That's enough Richard!" The man's snap at him stopped his ranting in an instant. The teen breathed in and out rapidly, distressed among other things. Nothing had been right since that afternoon when they received a call saying Jason was at Gotham General with Superman. Bruce was dark and moody, either at the hospital with Jason or in the cave trying to find a lead on Joker's whereabouts after that thing at the UN. When he was with them, he really wasn't with them. Damian crying at night was about all else the man heard lately. Tim was acting like he was walking on eggshells after he snapped at him after an all-nighter for asking him a repetitive question. Cass was quieter, hardly talked and disappearing from them for the gym where everything was simpler. It felt like everything was falling apart and Dick could hardly keep sight of where everything was supposed to be. He thought when Jason left the hospital things would start to get back to normal, but it wasn't. With that panic attack, it felt worse.

And yet Alfred was looking at him right then as if he had done something wrong. Why was he looking at him like that? He didn't want that. He wanted his family back to normal! Was that so hard to ask? Tears threatened to leave his eyes, stinging them greatly as he visually begged the man to do something.

Slowly the butler's features softened. "Master Richard, please understand. Master Jason and you are two entirely different people. The scenarios are different. He was beaten before his mother, a woman he barely knew, just before she was killed in that explosion. We still don't know everything that happened there, but we have seen the effects. Master Jason just needs more time and understanding. You'll see."

"But…" Dick looked up at him, crestfallen and desperate. "What can I do? I can't just sit by and watch. Nothing's been right since… There's gotta be something I can do to help! I can't stand seeing this happen. They're just… Everyone's falling apart and…"

He ran his hands through his hair, wiping away as many tears from his eyes as possible without acknowledging he was crying. He couldn't take it. The way everything was going, pretending everything was going to be okay for others, being rejected like that, being shoved away by Bruce when the man stormed in at the sound of screams… it was becoming too much for him to handle. He wanted to do something, anything, just to ease the load and take the pain away, but… "I don't know what to do."

Alfred watched him for a good moment in silence before coming up to him. He placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning a bit so their eyes could meet as he gave him a slight smile. "You have a good heart Master Richard. And you've done many good things because of it. But there are some things you cannot do, at least not in this case. Master Jason must come out of this on his own. Right now he needs Master Bruce most, but given time I do believe he will open up to you once again. Just be patient until then. If you are merely there for him, part of him will know and it will be appreciated.

"In the meantime…" He straightened, thinking over the teenager's words. He was right about a few things. "I believe the only action you can take is stepping up with the care of your siblings. Master Bruce has his hands full with Master Jason and given time he will mellow in his intensity. Being a support for him and easing his load is all we can do for now. Keeping a close eye on what he does wouldn't hurt him either. When bothered to this extent, he has a tendency to make poor choices."

"Maybe it's best he's not in the office then," Dick tried to joke, but knew it was true. Wayne Enterprises could suffer horribly if the man wasn't paying attention to details.

"Hm," Alfred agreed. "Mr. Fox is taking on quite a bit in his absence. But even he is human. You may be called upon to handle part of Master Bruce's tasks, beyond that of caretaker and protector. There is much you can do to help in the background, to make the load easier when Master Jason returns to himself. And he will return to us.

"In the meantime," the butler waved the kernels in front of his face, "we have a promise to keep. At least three others who depend upon us are waiting for a proper distraction from all the turmoil here. Including that one who is about to climb out of his chair."

Dick jerked around, just in time to see Damian half way out of his seat and ready to climb to the ground (the kid was a climber!). Quickly he went to his baby brother, catching him before his grip faltered and held him close. The kid giggled a little as he clutched onto him, thinking it was a game. The teen breathed out a relieved sigh that at least this one wasn't being affected by everything going on around him. Didn't even flinch at the shouting on his part. Must be good to be two.

"Dami…" A slight chuckle behind him made him look back to his near grandfather, and finally he saw the same look in his eye as in his own. Alfred must have been feeling the same things he was. Frustrated and worried for everyone around him, and yet unable to do much of anything. He just hid it better. Abashed, Dick gave him a slight smile. "Thanks Alfred."

All three of the youngest were well occupied and ready to fall asleep in their chairs when Dick had to visit the bathroom. Not really ready to return to watching a modern day rewriting of an old fairy tale, he wandered the halls and found himself in Bruce's study. The clock entrance to the cave was partly open. He could hear some voices on the other side, and not all of them pleasant. Was that Uncle Clark?

Softly he stood next to the opening and listened best he could. Something about 'artificial kryptonite', 'Luthor', 'maze', 'Lois nearly died'? It was hard to distinguish what the alien was saying from this distance. Bruce tried to rationalize something with him, he could tell from the tone of his voice, but couldn't make out any distinct words. They went back and forth for a while, voices rising and falling within seconds of each other, but nothing too bad.

All he could really gather from their shouting match was something bad had happened and Superman felt Bruce had made a bad call that nearly cost his crush's life. Bruce didn't really deny it directly but he didn't apologize either. It was pretty much over when Dick leaned further in and overheard the man of steel shouting at him to get his act together before someone actually dies.

Silence soon followed, telling the teen to get the heck out of there before Bruce found out he was eavesdropping. Thoughts buzzed through his head as he pieced things together. The man was slipping. He wasn't just forgetting the rest of his family right then, he was putting the League in more danger than normal, making bad calls. Maybe this was a onetime thing but somehow he doubted it. Bruce wasn't thinking straight because of Jason's condition, because of what happened to him. He needed to straighten himself out somehow, and soon. But how?

Pained he remembered his conversation with Alfred and realized he really couldn't do anything to get Bruce to sort himself out. He couldn't fix people, no matter how much he wanted to. They had to fix themselves.

'Maybe Selina could get him to unwind… Why am I even considering her?' Dick shook his head as he tried to figure out a game plan for the future. Jason needed Bruce and he was willing and able to help him. The rest of them and the League needed him too, but he was slipping and either forgetting them or making bad calls. It was a good thing Lucius Fox was on their side or the company would be in trouble.

And what could he do? Make sure Bruce didn't fall. It was up to him to help the man from the shadows, protect and care for his other siblings, remotely direct the League when he could. And in general, just be there to help support Jason and Bruce when they wanted him. It wouldn't be easy, but it would be worth it.

A/N: See? Dick wasn't being cold, he just didn't know what to do. and with Jason rejecting him with a panic attack (did mention it in the arc, but that was in reference to tickling) he couldn't be all huggy with him. Sometimes the only way to show you care is to serve. That's how I grew up, not with hugs, but with helping each other out.

So we have Dick deciding to step up and do everything he could to help from the shadows. Occasionally making sure the League's getting good intel and being sent to the right places at the right times is something small to tell the truth. Mostly he makes sure the others don't feel neglected. it probably would have gone easier for him if Selina had made an appearance and slapped some sense into Bruce's head but she ran. Such was life. Am working on a short earlier in their lives where Dick and Jason have a hug-war that should be amusing, but this one took precedence for some reason in my head. =/ who knows. Hope I've cleared a few things up!