A/N I am so, so sorry for the wait. Life has actually been going pretty smoothly, so I've been able to get a lot of writing done. However, I have not been able to make it to the library lately, and that is really the only way I can get things published, because the computer I have now does not allow me to post things. :/

XxX

Bruce clenched his fists, digging his nails into the flesh of his palms. "They're okay," he repeated.

They're okay. They're okay.

The words played like a mantra through his head.

He'd received the call not half an hour ago. The boys were safe, having been found in a condemned building in the Narrows.

"They are, thank God," Alfred replied, truly grateful, pulling up to the address the police had given them.

Bruce was out before the car had even fully stopped, ignoring Alfred's words of warning as he broke into a jog, heading towards the police cars.

He had to see.

He had to see for himself that they were alright.

"Dick? Jason?"

He caught sight of the boys, standing amongst several officers, and immediately his jog became an all out sprint.

One of the officers spotted him. "Mister Wayne…" His words went unheeded as Bruce brushed past him.

"Jason?" he called out. The boy turned, followed quickly by his brother, eyes lighting up at the sight of their guardian and father figure.

It happened so quickly.

One moment they were standing there and then Jason was in his arms, clinging to him, and Dick was hanging back, before joining in on the hug, and they were laughing and crying all at once.

They're okay. They're okay.

And then he was grasping Jason's face, noticing the bruise there, and he felt the emergence of the Batman. "They hit you." He didn't ask. He didn't need to. The pieces were all there for him to put together.

Jason pulled away, hand reaching up to feel the mark, and he made a face. "Yeah," he confirmed awkwardly. His fingers grazed his face, before he dropped his hand down to his side with a shrug.

Bruce turned his eyes to the older boy. "And…?"

"I'm fine," Dick interrupted quickly. "They didn't hurt me." And as far as Bruce could see, that was the truth.

"Master Richard!" Alfred's voice called out to them, and they turned to see the old man hurrying towards them.

Bruce had yet to relinquish Jason, not quite ready to let go. "Alfred!" Dick's face lit up as he embraced the old man.

"It's good to see you safe and well, young sir," Alfred replied.

"Yeah, well it feels good to be alive and well," Dick joked. He pulled away, holding the butler at arm's length and Bruce was sure for a fact that he was not imagining the emotion on the boy's face. "It's good to see you, Alfred," he said.

Alfred smiled, the skin around his eyes suspiciously moist, before turning to Jason. His face darkened when he noticed the mark. "Barbarians," he muttered, shaking his head and shooting an angry glare in the direction of the police cars. "No worries though," he said, turning back and patting him on the shoulder. "We'll have you both feeling back like yourselves once you're back home at the Manor."

Dick nodded, swallowing slightly as his gaze flickered to Jason. "Can we go home now?" he asked, speaking for both of them. "I… I'd like that."

Bruce squeezed Jason's shoulder lightly. "Of course," he answered. "Just as soon as a few other matters are taken care of."

XxX

Jason had expected protests, an argument, but, in the end, it only took a few words from Alfred and the promise to deliver their statements the next day for them to be allowed to leave.

And Jason was relieved.

He wanted to go home.

His cheek stung and he could already feel his ribs throbbing where the man had kicked him. He winced, and resisted the urge to curl in on himself.

It wasn't that bad. He could handle himself.

Dick was staring out the window as the city blurred past, lost in his own thoughts.

"Well…" Bruce said, as they pulled up outside the Manor gates, "…we're here."

Alfred stopped the car, giving the gates time enough to open for them after the security code was punched in, before they moved on.

Jason sat up straighter. He leaned forward, fidgeting with his hands, even as his stomach fluttered uncomfortably.

Bruce seemed to notice because a few seconds later, his hand was on his upper back. "We're here, Jay. It's okay now. You're both okay now." He looked at Dick as he said this and the older boy forced a smile.

Bruce wrinkled his brow, studying him. "Dick…"

"I'm fine," Dick said, too quickly. Bruce raised his eyebrows, but the boy's jaw was set and Dick could almost rival Jason in stubbornness when he put his mind to it. He wasn't going to get anything more from him quite yet. "You should worry about Jason," he told him, and Bruce could see the muscles in his throat working.

"I'm fine too!" Jason snapped, crossing his arms and glaring sullenly off to the side.

Bruce suppressed a long sigh.

Obviously, they were both understandably shaken up by events of the past … had it really been six hours?

Bruce forced himself to breathe deeply, calming himself at least somewhat.

If he was going to get Dick and Jason to open up to him, then he needed to be in full control of his own emotions.

Alfred put the car in park. "Perhaps," he said, "a good meal is what everyone needs to get their wits in order."

Jason perked up at that. "Chili dogs?"
There was a decidedly offended intake of breath from the front seat. "I should think not!" Then, a pause as the grandfatherly old man studied the boy through the mirror. "Then again, maybe tonight it would be perfectly acceptable to make an exception. Just this once."

Jason beamed and Bruce's lips turned upwards in the beginning of a smile. "That sounds great, Alfred."

XxX

"Ace!" Jason cried, as the big dog rushed out to greet him once the Manor doors had been opened. Ace licked his face, whining with pleasure, and Jason wrapped his arms around the dog's neck.

"It might do you some good to know," Alfred commented, watching the reunion between the two, "that the dog has been pining for you two ever since your… disappearance."

"That's Ace for you," Dick said. He smiled briefly at Jason before following Alfred through the door.

Jason rose to his feet to follow them, when a sharp pain in his chest had him gasping suddenly and he reached up, clutching at his chest.

"Jay?" Bruce turned and then was instantly at his side. "What's bothering you? Did something else happen?"

"He… kicked me," Jason whispered, squeezing his eyes shut as if he hadn't wanted to divulge that information. "In the chest. Hard."

"Who?" Bruce asked, even though he was damn well sure who "he" was, an ice cold fury running through his veins. He immediately wished he'd had a chance to meet those men face to face.

Jason refused to meet Bruce's eyes, instead studying the mat that lay across the front steps of Wayne Manor. "The man… the one who went after me…" he answered, and his voice was so low that Bruce had trouble catching his words. "It hurts."

"But it's not impairing your breathing at all," Bruce observed, placing a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder to steady him. "Your ribs aren't broken. Likely just bruised. Let's get you inside."

Ace at his heels, Bruce silently guided him inside and to the couch, having him sit down.

"Bruce?" Dick looked from Bruce to Jason and back to Bruce, wanting to know what was wrong… aside from the obvious.

Bruce sighed. "One of them kicked Jason in the chest. Hard enough to bruise it would seem."

Dick's jaw clenched and unclenched briefly. "Jay…"

"It's not that bad!" Jason protested, out from between clenched teeth.

"Regardless," Bruce soothed. "I'm still going to have to take a look and possibly get you bandaged up. Dick," he said, without taking his eyes off of Jason, "run down to the cave and grab some of the medical supplies we keep there."

After only a moment of hesitating, Dick was gone, and Bruce returned his full attention to Jason.

"Jason," he said slowly, "I need to see your ribs… You're going to need to lift up your shirt." He winced as he said the last part, not exactly sure how Jason would handle that particular request. "Please, Jay," he added, before the boy could put voice to any protest.

Jason slowly uncoiled, allowing Bruce to grip the hem of his T-shirt, and Bruce gingerly lifted it up, revealing the boy's torso.

The skin over his ribcage was bruised, but he could honestly say that, while painful looking, it wasn't that bad.

Bandages might not be a bad precaution though… just in case.

"It… doesn't look that bad…" he told Jason, lowering his shirt back down. "They're not broken, but it's likely that they're bruised…" As gentle as he was trying to be with the boy, he couldn't control the wave of fury that washed over him. Someone had dared to go after his children, take them from him. Someone had dared to physically assault his son.

He took a moment to breathe deep, calming himself.

The man had been arrested.

He was going to jail.

There was absolutely nothing he could do.

Except maybe pull every string he could to see to it that that man didn't get off easy.

"Bruce?"

Dick entered the room, medical supplies in hand. Bruce and Jason looked up simultaneously, and Bruce realized that he'd given almost no attention to the older boy so far.

There was a tightness in his chest, one he couldn't completely ignore. "Dick," he asked, "how are you feeling? Really?"

"Um…" Dick rubbed the back of his neck and seemed to be seriously considering his answer. "I…" He winced, evidently deciding to go with the truth. "It was my fault."

Bruce blinked once. "What?"

"This whole thing… I should have been paying more attention, watching out for Jason… This is Gotham for crying out loud! I should have seen it coming." He shook his head, disgust evident upon his face.

"You… think it was your fault?" Jason repeated, staring at him incredulously and Dick's frown was answer enough.

"Dick," Bruce said, returning Dick's frown with one of his own. "What happened… that wasn't your fault. There are limits to what you can do and what you can prevent… even in costume."

"I… I know. I know." Dick bit his lip. "Just… there should have been something. We can't give away our identities, sure, but… what's to stop Bruce Wayne's wards from taking a couple of self—defense classes? It would make sense. We'd be able to put up a fight without raising suspicions."

Bruce considered for a moment, before smiling at his eldest. "It would. I think that's something we can look into."

"You mean we can actually kick their butts?" Jason grinned. "That's awesome!"

Bruce put his arm around Jason. "Don't get too enthusiastic… Basic self-defense doesn't mean you can go full-out 'Robin' on them."

Jason stuck out his tongue. "You're no fun."