A/N: Thanks to everyone for the awesome comments on the last chapter. You guys rock. Last chapter should be up in two, three days tops. :)

oOo

Jason was strangely calm when he returned to the Manor. For once in his life, an encounter with the Joker hadn't left him a seething mass of rage. He supposed it was because he had finally gotten the better of the clown, beaten him at his own game.

He climbed the stairs to Dick's room, deep in thought. He still hadn't decided whether he would stay or not. He wanted to stay, wanted it very much, but he also felt he owed it to his own mentor to make things right between them. He needed to talk to Bruce before he decided.

Pushing open the bedroom door, he wasn't surprised to find Bruce there. The older man was sitting on the bed almost behind Dick with both arms around him. The boy was asleep, his head propped against Bruce's chest. The TV was playing in the corner.

Jason cocked an eyebrow as he approached the bed and caught sight of the TV screen; two men were fighting what looked like a vampire. "What are you watching?"

"I don't know. Can you turn it off, please?" asked Bruce imploringly.

Jason chuckled and did so, before sinking into the chair by the bed.

The older man kept his voice quiet. "Thanks. Its one of his favourite shows; I put it on so he would have something to do but he fell asleep." He glanced down at Dick. "I think the medication is knocking him out."

Jason kept his voice low as well. "How is he?"

"In pain." Bruce looked him straight in the eye. "I take it Joker is gone?"

"I assume so; I left before the big exit."

"You left?"

"I said what I needed to say."

Bruce didn't enquire further. Jason guessed he would discuss it later with the other League members. He didn't really care, he had more pressing concerns. "Did you tell Dick they caught him?"

"Yes."

"How'd he take it?"

Bruce looked down again at the sleeping boy. "I don't know, he didn't say much." His arms tightened around Dick. He looked back at Jason and the younger man could see a terrible anguish and regret in his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I did this to him."

"Bruce, this isn't your fault–"

"Yes it is. What was I thinking letting a child fight crime! Dick is the closest thing I have to a son; I'm supposed to protect him! But what did I do? Start training him to fight criminals when he was just nine years old! Most parents would go to the ends of the earth to keep their children away from the scum that I let Dick encounter!"

"But look at why you let him become Robin; because he needed to get justice for his family's murder. You meant well."

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions!" snapped Bruce. "Irrespective of my intentions, I trained a child to fight criminals. It was madness to do so! But I won't be making that mistake again."

Something cold churned in Jason's gut. "What do you mean?"

"Robin is finished. I will never put Dick in such a dangerous situation again."

"You can't do that, Bruce." Jason couldn't believe he was arguing in favour of Robin, but he had a feeling that Bruce was making the wrong decision here. "If you bench Robin now then Dick is going to think he's been punished for what Joker did to him. It's going to be hard enough getting over this without him thinking that you blame him for it. He's already blaming himself for not listening."

"I don't blame him! I blame myself. I should have known better than to leave him in the cave and expect him to stay put just because I told him to; he disobeyed those exact orders only a few months ago. If I'd let him come with us, this never would have happened!"

"Joker had buildings rigged to blow all over that block," Jason reminded him. "He would have set them off just to split us up as soon as he saw Robin."

Bruce shook his head. "Between us, one of us would have been aware of where Robin was; Joker would never have gotten the opportunity to take him. I know that because all I did while Dick was unconscious was play out every possible scenario in my head. And the only ones that allowed Joker to do what he did to Robin were the ones where I left him in the cave!"

"Which proves that he's safer with you," Jason pointed out. "Dick's already shown you that he'll disobey. You fire Robin and what's to stop him from setting out on his own? Bruce, you're the one who told me that the decision of whether Dick wants to be Robin or not is his to make."

Bruce was frowning. "And you're the one who kidnapped him to try and talk him out of being Robin. You didn't want him doing this, why are you suddenly in favour of Robin?"

"Actually, I'm not. I just know that you firing him from the role of Robin would have its own consequences, none of them good for Dick. And in the end, isn't that what this is all about – what's best for Dick? Bruce, he may not even want to be Robin after this!"

The older man fell silent and Jason could see him frowning while he analyzed what he had just said.

He was surprised to hear Bruce talk like this; it wasn't like him to make such rash decisions. But as he looked at the man resting his cheek gently against Dick's head while softly stroking the fingers of his right hand, he realized that Bruce wasn't thinking as Batman, he was thinking as a father. This was the first time that Dick had been seriously injured and it had shaken him to his very core.

It was several minutes before Bruce spoke again. "Maybe you're right. But that still doesn't change the fact that this never should have happened; I should never have trained him as Robin."

"Coulda, woulda, shoulda. You can't change the past, only move forward. You know that better than anyone."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "You've grown since you came here."

Jason gave him a sheepish grin. "Believe me, no one's more surprised than me."

"Have you given any thought to staying?"

"Some. I wanted to talk to you before I make a decision."

Bruce looked at him expectantly.

"If I decide to stay, does that mean I can never return to my own world?"

"No, you can return any time you wish."

"What if I wanted to return to my own world for a visit, but come back here?"

Bruce didn't seem at all surprised at the question. "It would be harder, but still possible."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

Jason was surprised. He hadn't expected his dilemma to be solved so easily. In his experience, nothing was ever easy. Maybe things were changing.

"Does this mean you're considering staying?"

He nodded. "But I want to talk to Dick first. He may not want me here after what happened with Joker; I might be just a bad reminder."

"No you're not," said a quiet voice.

They both looked at Dick in surprise. Neither of them had realised he was awake.

Bruce frowned down at him. "How long have you been awake?"

"Since you asked Jason about staying. Can he really stay? He doesn't have to go back?"

"Yes. He doesn't have a counterpoint in this reality."

Dick turned back to Jason and struggled to sit up straighter.

"Easy, Dick, don't strain your ribs," Bruce chided gently.

But Dick wasn't listening. His eyes were glued to Jason. "Please stay! I don't want you to go."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" cried Dick, his expression desperate. "Jason, please don't go!"

He glanced at Bruce. The decision is yours his expression seemed to say, but Jason could also see warmth there, as if he too were hoping he would stay.

He looked back at Dick and grinned. "Who could say no to a face like that?"

Dick's whole face broke into a delighted smile. He beamed at Jason and tried to surge forward but Bruce stopped him before he could wrench his injuries.

Jason was startled to realise the boy had wanted to hug him.

He couldn't remember the last time he had embraced anyone; he wasn't exactly the hugging type. But seeing Dick's smile falter as he was reminded of his limited mobility, Jason got to his feet and moved towards the bed. He sat down and leaned forward, awkwardly putting his arms around the boy as Bruce released him. It felt weird…until Dick leaned into him and rested his head against his shoulder. He couldn't raise his arms but Jason could feel his unbroken fingers clutching at his shirt. Unexpectedly, warmth flooded him and for the first time in his life, Jason felt like he was home.

oOo

"What's the matter, little birdie, not having fun? Never mind, I know what we can do to have fun."

Cackling laughter echoed in his ears and something crushed him into the floor. Hands tugged at his cape and Dick screamed.

"Nooooooooooooooo!"

Suddenly, he was in darkness, gasping and bolting upright as sweat trickled down the side of his face. It was a dream. Just a dream.

His heart was pounding as trembling fingers reached for the bed-side lamp. He jerked when his bedroom door flew open.

"What! What is it? Dick, are you alright?" Jason was silhouetted in the door-frame wearing nothing but sweatpants.

Dick cringed. He must have screamed out loud and woken Jason.

His shaking fingers finally found the light switch and flicked it on. Soft lighting flooded his bed-side.

"I'm fine," he muttered, as Jason approached the bed. "It was just a stupid dream."

"Didn't sound stupid, what was it about?"

"Nothing. I don't remember."

"Right." Jason looked sceptical.

"I don't. I'm fine, Jason, really. I just want to go back to sleep."

"Want me to make some hot chocolate? It won't be as good as Alfred's but it might help you sleep."

"No thanks, I'm okay."

Jason sat into the chair beside the bed.

Dick frowned at him. "What are you doing? Go back to bed."

"Nope, sorry. Staying here until you fall asleep."

"Dude, I had enough people watching me sleep at Mount Justice! It's creepy."

"Tough. Suck it up, I'm staying."

Dick scowled. It was bad enough he had screamed out and woken Jason. Now he had to feel like an even bigger baby by having someone sit with him until he fell asleep? Hell no!

"Jason, go back to bed, I'm fine."

"Really? Then why where you screaming?"

"I told you, it was just a stupid dream!"

"Must have been some dream to make you scream like that. Was it about the Joker?"

Dick didn't answer. His ribs were starting to ache again and he rubbed at them with his left hand.

Jason quietly got to his feet and propped the pillows behind Dick before sitting back down. He fixed the teenager with a serious expression. "Dick, it's been three weeks since Joker beat the crap out of you and my room is right next to yours…do you really think I haven't heard you crying out in your sleep?"

Oh God! Dick flushed crimson. Jason had heard him other nights? He must think I'm a total wuss!

"You're not a coward," said Jason, as though sensing his thoughts. "How many thirteen-year-olds do you know who've been tortured?"

"I'm not most thirteen-year-olds! I've been facing off against criminals since I was nine!"

"That doesn't make you invincible. Dick, what Joker did to you could break a grown man! It doesn't make you weak to have trouble dealing with it." His voice was quiet. "I had nightmares for a long time after Joker murdered me."

Dick stared. Jason was tough. Really tough. And he'd had bad dreams? "How did you deal with them?"

"Badly. I ignored them, tried to pretend they weren't happening. But I didn't have anyone to talk to about them. Maybe if I did, they wouldn't have been so bad."

Not for the first time, Dick felt sorry for Jason. Joker may have tortured him but at least he had plenty of people to help him get through it; Jason had had no one. "I'm sorry you were all alone."

Jason shrugged. "It was partly my own fault. I could have gone back to Bruce, let him know I was alive, but I was too angry at him." He shook his head. "Besides, I thought I could handle it…kind of like your tough guy act right now."

"Some tough guy," Dick muttered.

"You're tougher than you think, Kid."

Dick wished he could believe that. But after his brutal encounter with Joker he was seriously beginning to question his worth as Robin. How was he supposed to help Batman when he couldn't even defend himself against one man?

He tried not to think about the fear he had been feeling at the idea of putting back on the Robin uniform. Dick loved being Robin and he wasn't willing to let Joker take that from him; but he didn't know how to get past this fear and he was angry at himself for that. He was Robin, the Boy Wonder, for crying out loud! He wasn't supposed to get scared.

Jason sighed. "Dick, I get that you're scared and whether you believe it or not, it's okay to be scared. It takes time to get over something like this. And the best way to do that is to talk about what's bothering you." He leaned forward in his chair. "I know you've talked to Bruce about what happened with Joker because he told me about it – but I don't think you've told him everything."

His heart started to beat a little faster. Jason had an eerie way of knowing when someone was hiding something.

Dick hadn't been able to tell Bruce about the last horrible minutes with the Joker before Wally had arrived, when he had thought that Joker was going to… He shook his head vehemently. Nope, not going there!

Jason narrowed his eyes at the head shake. "C'mon, Kid, if you can't talk to me about this, then who can you talk to?"

Dick stared at the shadows the bed-side lamp was casting over his bed. He didn't want to talk about this, didn't even want to think about it, but the harder he tried to bury it the more it seemed to grow. It was like some form of toxic mould growing and lodging in his brain. Maybe Jason was right, maybe he did need to talk about this.

The problem was he didn't know where to begin. His own thoughts were frightening him, so how in the hell was he supposed to talk about them? He looked at Jason. The man's eyes were much softer and kinder than when he'd first arrived in this world. And Jason understood better than anyone how he was feeling.

Unconsciously, his left arm hugged itself against him; his right arm was still immobile in the splints. "Did Bruce tell you that he made a game out of everything?"

Jason scowled darkly and nodded.

"They were kids' games at first, but he twisted them. And then he said…he said he wanted to play a grown-up game."

"Did he say what?"

Dick swallowed. Hard. "Doctor's and nurses."

Jason's expression was getting darker by the second. He looked like he wanted to punch something.

"I didn't know what he meant," he whispered, going cold at the memory. "When he told me…I freaked out…hit him in the face with the manacles but…he put the knife through my shoulder…I couldn't stop him, Jason! And I tried, I really did! If Wally hadn't shown up…" He swallowed again. His hands were shaking and there was a suspicious lump in his throat.

Jason's face was black with rage, and Dick could hear him muttering a slew of obscenities under his breath. Finally, he calmed down enough to speak.

"Dick, everything about that freak clown is jacked! But he wouldn't have done that, it's not his MO, never has been. Telling you that was just another way to get inside your head and torment you."

"You're just saying that." His voice was very small and Dick hated that he actually sounded thirteen.

"No, I'm not. If I thought for one second that Joker had really intended to do that to you, I'd be jumping the next portal back to my world to put a bullet in his skull!"

Dick stared at him, wanting so badly to believe him. This was the thing about his ordeal that frightened him the most. He could cope with the torture; physical pain would fade. It was the mental images and the laughing voice that Joker's last threat had left in his head which haunted him. It didn't matter that he knew Joker was a psychopath; the intention behind his actions still freaked him out. He couldn't deal with someone wanting to do that to him.

But if the threat really was just another evil taunt of Joker's, it took away the intention behind it. In a weird way, that made it seem less frightening. It was easier to shake off an empty threat than an intention with such insidious meaning behind it.

"You're really not just saying this?"

"I promise I'm not. Joker has zero interest in…that; he gets his kicks through torture and pain and generally just pissing people off!"

Dick closed his eyes and exhaled. The thought of his last few minutes at the Joker's hands still made his skin crawl, but he also felt lighter. After talking with Jason, the weight of that memory didn't feel so suffocating or frightening. He opened his eyes. One thing still niggled at him. "Jason, do you think I'm a coward?"

"No way!" said Jason vehemently. "You're the bravest kid I know, Dick."

"How can you say that? You've only seen me in action as Robin once!"

"Yeah, but Wally's been filling me in. I thought those stories you told me that night at dinner were just tall tales, but you were serious. Hell, I hadn't even seen half that action by the time I was fifteen! Plus, you inspired a whole generation of sidekicks! Wally and the others, they're all superheroes because of what you did as Robin."

"Technically, I'm Batman's partner."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Just take the compliment, Short-ass."

Dick grinned.

The man cocked his head to one side. "Feel better?"

It was strange that just talking about the thing which had been giving him nightmares for the last three weeks should make him feel better, but it did. It was out there now, not some horrible burden gnawing away inside him. He nodded. "Thanks for listening," he said softly.

Jason smiled and patted his leg. "Anytime, Kid."

oOo

Dirk Cadwell was woken suddenly and found himself staring into a red mask. Before he could cry out, a gag was slapped across his mouth. The masked stranger pulled him from his bed and yanked him through the French doors that led out to the patio of his father's penthouse apartment. Dirk didn't remember leaving those open before he went to bed.

He whimpered. Was he being kidnapped?

The man in the red mask was silent as he dragged him across the roof. When they reached the edge, the man pinned him against the wall and pushed him forward. Dirk could barely see the traffic more than fifty stories below them.

He whimpered again.

"Hello, Dirk," the stranger whispered threateningly in his ear. "I'm Red Hood. Its time you and I had a little chat about the kids you bully."

Dirk was confused and stared back at him, wild-eyed. What?

"Don't give me that innocent look. I know all about you, Dirk." The way the man said his name had an unfriendly, dangerous edge to it. "I know you and your buddies have been bullying smaller kids at Gotham Academy; I've already paid them a visit tonight."

Dirk shook his head and made muffled sounds through the gag. Who was this guy? What the hell was going on?!

The man shoved him harder into the wall. "Don't shake your head at me, Punk! That girl in your class with the learning disabilities, Donna Jacobs? I know about her. The sophomore with the bad acne, Mark Freeman? I know about him too. And Dick Grayson, the freshman you keep picking on just because he grew up in a circus? Him as well. Do you want me to keep going?"

Dirk shook his head.

"Good. Because if I have to waste more time on you then I need to, I'll get really pissed. And, Dirk? I get violent when I'm pissed."

Dirk swallowed. His knees were shaking.

"Here's what's going to happen; you and your buddies are going to stop bullying all those kids you've been picking on. No more name calling, no more pushing kids around and knocking their books. In fact, don't even look at the kids you've been bullying, got it?"

Dirk twisted his head back and gawped at the man. This was really about bullying?! Seriously? Was this guy for real? He almost laughed.

The eyes narrowed behind the mask. "You don't think I'm serious? I'll show you serious."

Before Dirk knew what was happening, Red Hood had swooped down and bound his legs together before pitching him off the edge of the building. He plummeted downwards before his body snapped as his free fall was halted suddenly; Red Hood was holding the other end of the rope that bound his legs together. Muffled screams echoed through the gag as he hung upside down in mid-air. He scrabbled frantically at empty space.

Oh my God! Oh my god! I'm gonna die! Nooooooo! I don't wanna die! Dear God, please help me!

After what felt like an eternity, Dirk was hauled back up onto the roof. Red Hood seized the front of his t-shirt and lowered his face so that it was almost touching his. "You stay away from those kids or I will drop you head first off this building. Do you understand?"

Dirk nodded frantically.

"And that goes for your little buddies as well!"

He flung Dirk away from him and the teenager landed face first on the ground where he lay trembling and sweating. He had a horrible feeling he may have peed his pants slightly. After almost a minute of silence, Dirk looked up.

Red Hood was gone.