If anyone had a chance to connect with Tim, it was Jason. Logically, he was the only person who would have be able to even understand what he had gone through in the first place. Jason is never one to talk about his feelings much, but after seeing how bad Tim was, I persuaded him. I figured Tim could use a friend at a time like this, and he obviously needed to talk to someone.
It's crazy that after all the time in my coma, I was still able to hang, unnoticed from a rafter in one of the guest rooms in the mansion. I was rather proud of the fact that I hadn't lost that particular skill.
It was late in the evening, after dinner. I told Jason to talk to Tim, and for some reason he listened to me. I would have liked to believe that he wanted to help his family.
"You know I know what you are going through." Tim sat on the bed, legs crossed as he fiddled with his fingers. "The Joker works his way into people's heads. I know what that feels like."
"I know you do, Todd." He sighed. "I know you do." He said softer.
"Can you tell me what happened?" He sat in a chair, opposite from the bed, hands clasped in front of him. "Did he torture you?"
He didn't say anything.
"Tim, you can tell me. I know that you are suffering. I know that it hurts. And, I know I'm probably the last person that you would want to talk to about this, but you know that I do care."
"I know." He said softly.
"Tell me."
"It wasn't like that. He didn't torture me. He didn't do anything." His tone was almost defensive.
"Two men burst into my apartment and I tried to fight them off. They were trained, like, Lady Shiva trained. They pinned me down and he just waltzed in…" He paused.
"'Hold him up boys.' He told the men. They hoisted me up to my knees and he bent down. 'You were never my queen.' He said and then got back up.
"I was confused, it wasn't his play, to be coming in like this. But of course, I had no idea that he knew who I was or anything like that.
"'You see.' The Joker continued. 'The queen is the most powerful piece in the chess board, Drake. Once she is compromised, the game is lost. You were never my queen.'
"'Who was you queen?' I spit up to him, trying not to show him that I was curious.
"'Grayson, of course. He is the one to make the sacrifice for his family.' He turned back to me, demented smile on his face. 'But I suppose you'll do.'
"'You see, I am going to launch an attack on the Wayne family. But I will cease, in exchange for a life. A life for a family. A game of sacrifice. One will die and the others will live.' He looked down to me. 'So who will die?'
"My mind finally started to grasp his plan, he wanted me to play. He wanted me to be the one who died. He wanted me to be the one to sacrifice it all.
"'Which member of the family loves the family the most? I do love this game, don't you? It seems so fitting, since you all are so self-sacrificing anyway.' He laughed.
"'I'll do it' I told him, letting him look down at me. 'I'll die for them.'
"He seemed surprised, eyes boring little holes in my skull. I didn't think that he doubted that I loved this family. But he doubted that I would give up. He thought I would find a way out, a loophole. But, be damn sure I was searching for every way I could.
"'So, just so the rules are clear.' I looked back up to him. 'You can't kill them.'
"'Clear as day sonny boy! I will show up at the Manor, shoot off a few rounds, let them arrest me and they will wallow in the grief of losing you.' He smiled and sat cross-legged in front of me as his goons held me up. 'You are willing to die for your family? How noble! Although, I was hoping to stick a few bullets in them first. But you will have to do.'
"I didn't say anything else, I didn't need to. I knew that even if I couldn't think of a way out of the situation I had gotten myself into, I would die for the people I loved most. I would die for the family that loved me.
"I didn't feel it when he shot me. I heard it, and I heard the sound of him laughing like a maniac. I felt myself falling on the floor and then I smelled blood. I smelled the metallic, tangy taste, and I knew that I was a goner. But somehow…you found me."
His head slumped forward as he finished his story. Jason's jaw fell slack, not what he was expecting from the Joker. It was as if the whole attack, the whole five years were a lie.
"Tim. You made a deal, with the Joker." Jason said, not comprehending. "To kill yourself…so that the family wouldn't get hurt?"
He nodded.
"But you saved me." He said sadly. "You shouldn't have."
"But Tim, he shot Grayson, he knew you didn't die." Jason looked back up to him.
"It didn't work. He heard Dick telling me to run. He knew I lived. I kept hearing in my head him telling me one for one." He shook. "I had to Jason, I had to do it. I knew no one would forgive me. He was my brother."
"Tim…what? What are you talking about." Tim shook his head and looked back down.
"You are a smart man. You have read up on Grayson's condition." His voice cracked.
"Sections of the brain were cut off when he died, losing the cognitive functions. He had to repair the connections to the brain stem." Jason replied, monotonous, like a robot. Whatever it was Tim was apologizing for, Jason knew what it was.
"Exactly." Tim looked back up. "Sections, not all of it. You know that doesn't happen when people get shot and die for a minute."
"Tim." He paused. "What did you do?"
"I had to."
Author's Note
The idea for the flashback is credited to CA Alcantar. And sorry if this chapter is a bit confusing, I will be explaining in the next few chapters what it all means. And I know many of you have been waiting patiently for some fluffy Jay/Dick drabble, well the next chapter will have that I swear! Please review and follow!