Chpt.4

Jason refused to let go of Ruari as she wept. He didn't care how long the girl would stay in his arms. Ruari was always there for him and he would always be there for her.

Jason focused on slowly rubbing her back while he kissed her on the head. The room was silent except for her sobs and her occasional whisper of Sam's name.

Bruce, Dick, Tim, Damian, and Alfred stayed silent and still, watching the girl cry as Jason held her.

"Hey, could someone grab her some tissues?" Jason questioned, still holding onto Ruari tightly.

Bruce nodded and walked out of the room, quickly returning with a box of tissues.

"Thanks." Jason nodded as he grabbed several tissues and started to dab at Ruari's tears.

Slowly, Ruari's tears started to decrease and then they stopped all together. She looked up at Jason and sighed.

"That was stupid. I'm so-"

"Don't apologize. You have every right to cry." Jason stated firmly, then gave her a strong hug. The young woman was silent, relaxing into her old friends arms.

"Ruari, what do you need our help with?" Dick questioned slowly. He wanted to give Ruari a hug himself, but Jason looked like he would murder whoever attempted to take her from his arms.

Ruari slowly looked up, her eyes red from the tears she shed. Coughing slightly, she cleared her throat and looked up at Dick, however she had yet to move from Jason's arms.

"I need a place to lay low for a while and figure out what to do. This mob is after me." she informed slowly. "I wasn't prepared for them. I hate bothering you guys but… I really have nowhere to go."

"You could stay here." Bruce offered, but Jason frowned, his grip on Ruari tightening.

"Or she could stay with me. I'd hate to inconvenience you." He stated more harsh than he meant it to sound.

"Sounds to me like Todd doesn't want to give up his little play mate." Damian snickered and Jason shot the boy a glare.

"Jason's got a point. I don't want to inconvenience you and I also don't want to endanger your lives." Ruari stated, but didn't seem up to saying much else. All energy in her eyes seemed to be replaced with a look of exhaustion.

"Technically, here is one of the safest places in Gotham." Tim piped up.

"Nobody asked you, replacement." Jason hissed however, Bruce cleaned his throat.

"Jason, she'll be safer here with us." Bruce stated, then looked over at Ruari. "Please Ruari, stay the night. We can discuss more later, but I can promise you that you are safe here."

Ruari slowly nodded.

"Alright."

"If she's staying, then so am I." Jason stated, his grip on his friend unwavering.

"Jason…" Bruce seemed to be about to argue but Dick interrupted him.

"Bruce, you can't separate those two." Dick and Bruce looked over at Jason and Ruari to see that not only was Jason's grip on the woman was tight but Ruari's face was buried into Jason's shoulder and her fingers were balled up tightly on his shirt. "Please. Just… let them spend the night here and I'll fill you in on some things."

Bruce slowly nodded.

"Alright."

"I'll prepare a room, sir." Alfred nodded and went to do so. All the while, Ruari was hardly aware of what was going on.

All she could do was bury her face into the familiar scent of Jason and hold on. At that moment in time, he was her rock. She felt that if she were to let him go, he'd float away, just like Sam did.

Ruari felt the comforting press of lips on the top of her head and sighed a bit. Sam never kissed the top of her head. Sam kissed her nose, and cheeks, and lips, and almost everything else but the top of her head was entirely Jason. It was a small subtle thing that gave her some ease. However, she still didn't want to let him go. She didn't feel like losing anyone else.

~*~*~*~*~Later~*~*~*~*~

"I didn't figure that Jason would be so close to someone else like he was with Ruari." Bruce sighed after Dick explained his first encounter with Ruari and how Ruari and Jason knew each other.

"Ruari's the only soft spot Jason has that I know of when it comes to people. From what I've heard, Ruari's helped him just as much as he's helped her." Dick stated and Damian rolled his eyes.

"Tt, she doesn't seem like she would be good for much. I figured Todd would appreciate a stronger woman, not a sniveling coward." Damian sneered, but Dick shook his head.

"Damian, she's typically not like this. She always seems comfortable with wherever she was and she also loved to be witty. She is a strong woman who has seen a lot in her life. Her mobster parents were killed, her grandmother was murdered, and now her fiancé was killed. Her family is dying all around and I don't think her sorrow about it makes her weak. If anything, it makes her human." Dick explained.

"I hate to take the conversation off of our guest, but does anyone have any guesses to what mob is looking for her?" Tim questioned and Bruce hummed.

"I will research more in the cave and see what I can find about this mob." Bruce stated as he walked towards the grandfather clock that led to the cave. He paused in his footsteps and turned to Dick.

"Does she know about the secret?"

"She knows who Jason and I are, but that's it." Dick informed. Bruce gave a curt nod, but said nothing else as he retreated to the shadows of the cave.

As the family spoke, Jason and Ruari were in the guest room that Alfred set up.

Having comforted Ruari before, Jason knew what to do. He tucked the woman in under the covers, then laid next to her on the bed, hugging her to his chest and humming softly.

"Jay, I lost her." Ruari whispered.

"Shhh I know, Ruari. I know." Jason hushed as Ruari started to shake.

"She wanted kids, Jay. She wanted a family. I wanted a family. Do you know how much I would have loved a family? I was starting a new life with her." A small hiccup left her throat as tears streaked her face. "We were… we were looking at adoption agencies. I-I never thought much about being a p-parent since you know that I'm infertile, but I would be called Mama." She shook her head. "Why? Why can't I have a family? It hurts so much, Jay." Ruari babbled and Jason kissed her head while rocking her a bit in his arms.

"I know it hurts, Ruari. I know." Jason sighed.

"Will it go away? I-I just want it to go away."

"It won't. But it gets better." Jason kissed her head then ran his fingers through her hair. "You should rest, Ruari. Just relax and go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Jay?" Ruari sniffed, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"Yeah, Ruari?" Jason inquired, wiping a tear from the woman's cheek.

"Thank you for this. I don't know what I would've done. I'm so out of it." Ruari rambled and Jason hugged her tighter and kissed her head again.

"Hey, what are friends for? You'd do the same for me." he gave her a comforting smile and Ruari started to drift to sleep.