I Do Not Own DC or It's Characters

Interacting with Family Members…

Jason held his daughter in his arms as he watched an empty casket get lowered into the ground on a day with a light spring shower.

Yeah, Jason Todd-Wayne, he was in a cemetery willingly, and not just any fucking cemetery; the very one he'd clawed out of. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and held his daughter as close and as gently as he possibly could.

Raven had died, she'd died admirably, fighting her father away from their daughter, now he was here with Lilith and Raven was lost, forever. Dr. Fate and Constantine both said they didn't know what dimension Raven had vanished into but she was gone with her father for eternity. Pressing his lips to Lilith's brow he just tried not to shatter and break down with his family there with him and a priest saying nice words about his wife.

Yeah, Raven would laugh, really laugh about having a Catholic priest giving a demon, giving her, her last rites and farewell. But Jason was Catholic, not a good one, but he knew he was Catholic, and he wanted Raven watched over by someone other than her father. She deserved more than that. Of all the righteous and superior angels in this world, Jason had leard of angels falling to darkness, however Raven, a demon, had risen to the light and shined. And Good Fucking God Did He Miss Her!

"Hey, little wing," Dick murmured, his hand clasping his shoulder. "Let's get Lilith out of this rain."

Jason said nothing as he nodded, his daughter gurgled as she looked at him with wide blue eyes, there were tints of green and purple coming into them now.

"Thanks Dick," Jason whispered hoarsely.

"Yeah, you and Rae were here for me and Mar'i when we lost Kori," Dick said tightly.

"Two too fucking brave and self-righteous women we picked," Jason said sourly.

"I think it's a mother thing, mothers do anything for their babies if they're good mothers, and Rae and Kori both were good mothers," Dick replied. A tiny five year old appeared and grabbed Dick's hand as they walked back up to the Manor, he was the last one up. Lilith started fussing, her face scrunching up as she squirmed.

"Master Jason, Master Dick, Miss Mar'i," Alfred greeted.

"Hey Al," Jason greeted tiredly. "I'm going to go feed Lilith."

"Allow me, Master Jason, you look as if you could use a shower," Alfred said as he reached over. Reluctantly Jason surrendered his daughter, a tiny new born only a two weeks old, to Alfred's care.

"Thanks Al," Jason managed as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Of course Master Jason, you must care for yourself to care for Miss Lilith," Alfred said as he walked off. Jason just stared at the ground.

"Jay…" Dick started when Mar'i wrapped her arms around his legs.

"Love you, Jaybird," the girl announced.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I'm… I'm gonna go, shower," he said uncertainly as he patted Mar'i's head and walked up the stairs to his room.

Jason made his way to his room, pulling off the stuffy coat, yanking at his tie, and unbuttoning his shirt. He was going through the motions, operating on auto pilot, he knew it, but he couldn't think. All he could think about Raven, holding their daughter after thirty-seven hours of labor with a smile. That day… the best and worst day of his life, was the one he couldn't forget. He made it to the shower before the sob tore through him and he found himself sitting on the tiled floor as icy water poured over him. How long he sat there he didn't know.

"Jason?" a familiar voice called out, but he couldn't answer as he pressed his brow to his knees and sobbed, water pouring over him as he tried pull himself together for Lilith.

"Jay," the water was shut off and a robe dropped on him. "You're freezing," the voice announced. Jason didn't feel it, he couldn't feel anything, it felt like Raven had robbed him of his emotions, he just felt numb.

"Come on Jason, let's get you up," he looked up between his wet bangs at his father then.

"Why her, Bruce?" he whispered. "Why of all the fucking people on this planet did it have to be her?"

"Jason," Bruce sighed.

"I understand why her, but why then? Why couldn't she stay?" Jason whispered. "Of all the fucking people in my life to go, why her?"

"I don't have answers Jay, but you're no good for Lilith if you freeze to death in this shower, come on, time to get up," Bruce said and Jason found himself being dragged up. His body pulsed with ache in protest but even that felt distant. Bruce handed him sweats and a tattered Wonder Woman t-shirt Raven had bought him years ago as a joke for Christmas before they were dating. Once he was dressed he shoved his hands in his pockets and stood there staring at his bare feet in his room of the Manor, a room he hadn't really been in since he was fifteen. Now he was twenty-eight, and he felt bad about those wasted years.

"I know nothing I say, or Dick says, or anyone really, will make this easier or heal it, Jason, but you haven't lost Raven completely, you have a beautiful daughter with her, and Lilith needs you," Bruce said.

Jason nodded numbly.

"Artemis and Bizarro will be here soon," Bruce said.

"Where's Lilith?" Jason asked suddenly, he was feeling antsy not seeing his daughter now that he was calm enough not to break.

"In the kitchen, Tim and Stephanie were watching her," Bruce answered.

"I'm…" Jason started.

"Come on," Bruce said as he walked with him.

"Thanks dad," Jason murmured as they left the room.

"Of course Jason, I know we've never had the best relationship, but you're my son," Bruce said firmly and Jason nodded numbly. He honestly didn't have anything to say to Bruce's statement, he didn't have anything left in him. And what little he had left was going to go to Lilith right now, because there was no way in Hell he was letting his daughter down. He'd be a good father for her if it was the last thing he did.

The only problem was he had no fucking clue how to be a father.

"How do you be a father?" Jason asked suddenly as he stopped outside of the kitchen.

"What?"

"I… I don't know how to be a dad, I can't let Lilith down, I have no fucking clue what I'm doing, what if I fuck this all up?" Jason dragged his hands through his wet tangled hair as he cringed and leaned on the wall. Willis had been a shitty father, and Bruce… Bruce was his dad, and even then Jason knew they'd both fucked this up often.

"Jay… relax," Bruce grabbed his arms. "You're not alone, and you're doing fine so far, you just… you have to be there. That's all Lilith needs, you to be there for her. And you're going to be a great dad, and learn from my mistakes, and Willis', and Dick's, you're not alone, we're all here for you and Lilith."

"I'm going to fuck this all up," Jason predicted.

"No, but you're going to mess up, just… just keep trying," Bruce said.

Jason nodded as he reluctantly walked into the kitchen now. Raven was the calm one, the entire time from conception to birth, Raven had been calm about motherhood and parenthood and endured all his freak outs. Now Raven wasn't here.

"Man she's so tiny," Duke smiled at her. Cass wacked him, and Stephanie gently bounced Lilith.

"Well what do you expect? She's like a week and a half old!" Stephanie snapped.

"Two weeks," Jason corrected tiredly.

"Lilith quiet baby," Cass stated.

"She looks like Raven, especially around the eyes," Tim smiled a bit and Jason gently took his squirming daughter from Stephanie who smiled at Lilith.

"She knows her papa," Stephanie whispered.

"She's got your white streak, Todd," Damian snapped.

"Lazarus Pit too," Jason snapped back. Raven had sensed it, and she'd sensed Lilith's great power, stating that their daughter had her powers. A terrifying prospect for him because beyond empathy, magic and telekinetic Jason wasn't entirely sure what other powers Raven had possessed. He'd never asked, and it never seemed relevant since Raven tried not to use much beyond her telekinesis. He was seeing the mistake in that thinking now.

"She seems to like it when you read to her," Luke said.

"Yeah," Jason agreed as he sat on the counter and let Lilith hold his finger as she stared at him with big innocent eyes.

"You know, you'll be fine, Mar'i started blasting me with starbolts when she was three months old, Lilith looks like she'll be an easy baby," Dick muttered looking at Lilith.

"She's got all her mother's powers according to Raven," Jason warned.

"Never mind, you're doomed," Dick countered, Jason punched Dick lightly in the shoulder but didn't disagree.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was a blur, Jason found himself sitting in his bed reading Fahrenheit 451 to Lilith when there was a light rapping on the door, he looked up from the book to see Artemis there, Bizarro a step behind her.

"We came as soon as we heard," Artemis said as she walked in. "I am sorry for your loss, the little bird was most formidable though."

"I…"

"Red Him have baby," Bizarro smiled as he lumbered over and stared at Lilith who stared back at Bizzaro with wide eyes.

Jason felt himself about to cry when Artemis was at the bed looking at Lilith too.

"She's a warrior," Artemis declared.

"Um… you want to hold her?" Jason asked uncertainly.

"Me?"

"Here," Jason gently shoved Lilith at Artemis who uncertainly held the baby who squirmed until she was comfortable. "Lilith, this is Arty and Bizarro, they're family."

"She's very light," Artemis murmured.

"Yeah, she's a small baby." Jason admitted. Five pound three ounces, that was the day of her birth. She was also a tiny baby, after… everything with Raven, Jason managed to get Lilith to Dr. Tompkins who said Lilith was too small, and might die because she was so small. Jason had flipped out, after seeing Raven impaled as she dragged her father through a portal, and then hearing Lilith might die. But Lilith hadn't died, she'd stubbornly hung on and lived.

"She's like a little bird," Artemis smiled.

"Arty, Bizarro, this is Lilith Catherine Todd-Wayne," Jason said with a bit of pride. It was the name Raven had picked for if they had a daughter. He hadn't asked for his mom's name to be there, Raven had said she wanted the middle name to be Catherine though.

"Is she to be an Outlaw too?" Arty asked.

"Baby Red," Bizarro cooed as he reached for her.

"Gentle, Bizarro," Jason tensed but the giant bobbed his head as he touched Lilith's cheek and his daughter gurgled. Jason trusted Bizarro with his life, however, the clone wasn't always the gentlest in his strength, but, it appeared the giant was nothing but gentle for Lilith.

"Well, the Red Hood has a littler bird to care for," Arty smiled as she handed Lilith back to him. "You should bring her to the Amazons, we will make a feared warrior of the little bird."

"We… we might need to go there," Jason sighed. "Raven said Lilith had her powers…"

"I see, I will speak to Queen Hippolyta about this when the time comes, of course I will speak to her about allowing you to accompany her," Artemis said.

"Thanks Arty," he nodded.

"We are a band of outlaws, are we not, we must look out for one another," Arty decided. Jason just nodded, too tired to correct her.

"Sleep Red Him," Bizarro ordered.

"Yeah," Jason muttered.

"I will watch her," Artemis said. "No one will harm her."

"Thanks," Jason hesitated as he kissed Lilith's brow before he again surrendered his daughter to the Amazon who marched over to the chair in the corner before sitting down carefully, setting her axe near her and Jason stretched out on the bed, he'd been putting Lilith in the dresser drawer in the center of his bed when he had to sleep, but he felt comfortable enough to leave Lilith in the care of Artemis.

"If she…"

"She will be fine, and should she need you I will wake you, rest now," Artemis ordered.

"Red baby pretty," Bizarro said with a yawn as he sat on the window.

"Thanks," Jason muttered again as he gave into exhaustion.

Turned out he had the Bats and the Outlaws here (though the Outlaws had been disbanded for years). It was good to know he had family for Lilith.

That's all for now folks.

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