It's only lies that I'm living

It's only tears that I'm crying

It's only you that I'm losing

Guess I'm doing fine

~Beck

Chapter Two

Trying to pass off a corpse as a sleeping child wasn't as hard as Tim had expected. Rest Damian's head on his shoulder and cover the rest of the body with a blanket. He wondered how often Dick or Bruce had to carry Damian to his room after a long patrol because he fell asleep. Tim remembered when he would fall asleep at the Bat-computer and Alfred would cover him in a blanket.

Setting Damian down and making sure that the blanket covered most of his body. Tim closed the door to the outside of the plane and walked to the cockpit. He strapped himself in and began the checks to fly. If anyone questioned why the seventeen year-old was flying a private jet, nothing was said. Had anything been said, Tim would have taken off anyway. He didn't have the time to afford delays.

It was imperative that Tim get Damian into those pits as quickly as he possibly could.

He lifted the throttle and the plane began to move forward. Once he got up to speed, the tires left the ground and he was in the air. He climbed higher in the air until he got to cruising altitude. Tim set the plane to autopilot and turned to his younger brother's body.

He opened his mouth to talk to him, but shut it again. He should save the explanation for when Damian was back and hating him with every fiber in his being. But Tim's explanations would probably receive the same amount of listening from Damian after he gets him back as he would get at this moment. So he turned back to flying the plane.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Jason followed behind a pissed Bruce and a worried Dick. Alfred was behind him, and Jason was sure that he was worried but being the English gentleman that he was, didn't allow it to be shown on his face.

"But my question is why would Tim go to the Lazarus Pits with Damian? I know that he was more distraught at Damian's death than we thought he would have, but does really mean that he would risk his life to sneak into Talia's ranks to resurrect him?" Dick asked stopping behind Bruce as he sat in the chair in front of the Batcomputer.

Jason gripped the letter tightly in his hand. If he had realized what the kid was planning, then he would have stopped him, Tim didn't understand what he was doing. He'd experienced the pit first hand. That pit does things to the victim's brain. Jason himself came out half mad, and it was months before he managed to string together a thought that wasn't basic survival instincts. Jason rubbed the white streak of hair on his forehead. A constant reminder of the madness he was subjected to.

When, or if, that kid ever came back, he was sure to congratulate him on his guts, or he was going to strangle him for his stupidity. Or both.

Goddammit, Replacement. I thought you were supposed to be the fucking smart one. Didn't you realize that this is going to lead you to your death? Jason thought to himself.

"He was watching. Like he always does," Bruce said. Jason looked at him.

"Watching? What does that mean?" Jason asked. His eyes narrowed at the look that was shared between the other three members of the family. He was missing a part of the story and he felt that it was a key in figuring out why his replacement went to his doom.

Dick looked to his father figure before turning to his younger brother. He took a deep breath.

"Do you know how Tim came to be a Robin?"

Jason stayed silent. His brain was still a bit addled when he first encountered Tim, and all that could get across into his brain was that he was replaced. He never tried to understand why really.

"It was after your death, when he first came to us."

Well, no shit.

"And- don't give me that look- he had noticed that Bruce was in a bad place. He was behaving reckless and seemed to forgo all caution when it came to getting his man. It was so bad that even the papers seemed to see that something was greatly upsetting him. And Tim, wanting Bruce to remember just who Batman was supposed to be, came to me while I was at Haly's circus with images of Bruce, Batman after one of his most recent fights."

Whoa, Replacement. Who would've thought that you were a damn stalker?

"He wanted me to be Robin again, and I couldn't go back to that. So in desperation, he dressed as Robin and followed me. Two-Face was loose and Bruce and I fell into the trap. Tim saved us. It took a while for Bruce to come to terms with having a new Robin, but eventually Tim proved that it was just what Bruce needed."

Jason stayed silent after the story was finished. He'd ever given much thought to just how his replacement was initiated. He never even bothered to find out. He was all too focused on the fact that there was a new Robin and that the Joker was still alive to think about what were insignificant details at the time.

"But that doesn't tell us just why he would something as so damned stupid as going into the middle of the al Ghul stronghold to resurrect the boy that they now considered an enemy? I mean, what the hell?" Jason folded his arms.

"Tim has always wanted the best for us. That is why he came after you died. Back then, he offered to help heal the void you left. And now, he's too close to the heartbreak," Bruce explained, while tapping keys on the keyboard.

"Sir, if he's too close, his judgment may be impaired. We may be able to bring him back around to see that he doesn't need to risk his life," Alfred put in stepping out from the shadows.

"If we could get him to see that this time isn't the same, and that Bruce doesn't need such drastic measures," Dick added.

"But it's not." Bruce said deadpanned.

Jason looked to his adopted father. An eyebrow raised itself. Everyone waited for Bruce to continue.

"Tim was right. I'm behaving the same. I thought that since I had made it through your death Jason that I was capable of going through this without any effects. I was wrong. I forgot that I have you boys now. I didn't see what was right in front of me. Stupid!" Bruce's fist slammed down into the keyboard. It didn't break, but there was a large dent. "Stupid and Careless! Now, because of that, I may lose my second youngest son."

There was silence in the Cave. It even seemed as the bats that hung above them knew what had just happened and were silent as well. Jason's scowl looked at Dick and Alfred. Bruce's back was still to them.

"So, what do we do to get them back?"

"This is Control. Your craft is cleared for decent."

"Roger," Tim answered. He turned back to look at his only passenger. "Hope you're ready for this, Damian."

Slowly he brought the plane down from its cruising altitude and the plane bounced a little as the tires touched down on the asphalt. Tim slowed the plane until it was almost to a stop. He followed the directions provided by the traffic controllers. He gathered his small knapsack as soon as the jet was parked in the garage. He heard the door to the cabin open as an attendant came in.

The moment he made eye contact with the man he held a finger to his lips. The other man only smiled.

"When did he fall asleep?" He asked.

"Little guy fell asleep just as we were beginning our descent. About time anyway. He kept bothering me. Do you know how hard it is to fly a jet when your little brother demands your attention?" Tim responded picking up Damian, making sure that the blanket was still covering most of his body.

It felt strange that Damian wasn't breathing against him.

The man only chuckled. He shook his head. He had no other siblings. Nor did he know how to pilot an aircraft.

"Well, have a good night," Tim said walking past the man out into the Arabian night air. He walked towards the car he chartered. Tim placed his brother's body in the car, being mindful of the boy's head and the doorframe. He re-tucked the blanket around the boy before he got into the driver's side and drove away.

The man stopped his cleaning and watched the dark car until it was out of sight. He pulled out a cell phone from his back pocket and speed dialed a number required to be learned by heart.

"Hello? Yeah, you were right. They are bringing the kid. Get ready. But you'll never guess who the one to bring him was."

"So why can't we just go and get him?" Dick was pacing. After a quick call to Barbara explaining just what was going on, he spent the rest of the evening down in the cave simply pacing, wondering why his brother would risk his life for something that might kill him.

"Master Dick, I'm sure that it's not quite as simple as going and retrieving the young Master Tim," Alfred said wisely.

"Alfred's right Dick, Ra's had located multiple Lazarus pits around the world. Tim could be heading to any one of them," Bruce reasoned, not looking from the computer he was so rapidly typing away at.

"No he wouldn't. He would go to the heart of it all. He knows that that was where I was, er, dumped, so he knows that it works. Besides, I may have destroyed some of the other ones while I was a bit whacked," Jason added.

Dick rubbed his hands on his face. He didn't look up when his mouth opened to speak.

"Let me see if I've got everything that you've been saying. Tim dug up Damian and is planning on dunking him in the Lazarus Pit to restore Damian's life, all to make Bruce realize that he's going down a path that could lead to self-destruction, but in doing so he has to go into the heart of Talia's empire, in which there is a high probability that he's going to get himself killed because they aren't just going to let him waltz in to use their pits. Is that correct?"

"Yep."

"Brilliant. So how do we get him back?" Great. Back to square one. Again.

There was silence as everyone thought about it.

"We don't."

"But Bruce, there has to be a way to get Timmy back to us. Can't we send in Cass or someone from the league? They would gladly help us." Dick was close to pleading now, but it was his little brother on the line. He couldn't go through a third loss.

Jason snorted. "Send in the League or Cass? Are you sure you even have a brain in there Golden Boy?"

"What? Why wouldn't that be a viable option?" Dick asked stopping his pacing and stared at his younger brother.

"Think for a moment Dick. None of the others in the League know their way around that compound the way that we do, nor do they know what they would be getting themselves into. They would make more of a mess than they would do any help. And I understand they would want to help, but that could give more players in the game to map out. And think for a moment about your sister. Think of her background, of the reason's that she was born for. There would be no hesitation on her part to get Tim out of there, but at what cost?"

Dick paused, Bruce was right. What would the cost be to go in and save Tim? He ran through the scenarios in his head. None of them ended in any way that would please anyone. Most of them ended in his brother obtaining serious injury, or dead.

Dick sat on the ground and looked up at his family. Jason was leaning against the rail with his arms crossed, hands gripping tightly to the sleeves of his leather jacket. Bruce had spun around to make eye contact with his sons and father-figure. One hand rested still on the keyboard. Alfred approached and rested a hand on Dick's shoulder.

"So now we just wait?"

Jason kicked a rock across the floor. "Now we fucking wait."

The drive through the desert went along much slower than Tim remembered. But then again the last time he was coming here, he wasn't planning on dumping his brother's dead body in a pit to bring him back to life.

Not for the first time that day, Tim wondered what he was doing. And above all, he wondered why he kept thinking of the little demon was his brother. They shared no blood, and were not related in any way, save for the fact that Bruce had adopted Tim and was Damian's biological father. But there was something about the kid that Tim had grown to appreciate, even if he didn't quite trust him. The kid was passionate.

It was something that everyone in the family had.

Finally, finally, he came to the spot where he would hide his vehicle. He pulled in and shut off the vehicle. Tin walked to the other side of the vehicle and pulled out Damian. He rested him on the blanket down on the ground.

Popping open the trunk he pulled out the tarp he had stashed. He threw it over the vehicle, securing it down with rocks. Now came the tricky bit. How to get inside the compound without attracting attention.

Tim supposed he dress as a part of their assassins, but that would require the effort to match their uniforms exactly. That would take time, and time was the one thing that he didn't have.

Stealthy ninja it is then, He thought to himself.

Then comes the other park of the problem. How to get Damian inside the compound. The boy wasn't just going to walk in there all by himself. Tim would have to bring him in, but that wasn't going to be easy. Damian had grown taller in the years that Tim had known him, and was nearing Tim's height. To carry someone that was near your height wasn't the easiest thing in the world. Besides, he needed his hands free in case there was a fight.

Not that he was looking for a fight.

He would rather get in, get the job done, and get back home. But he needed to be prepared for any contingency.

He pulled out his grappling hook and cut the rope from the hook. Bruce would kill him if he knew that Tim was deliberately destroying his equipment. Tim brushed that thought aside. If he thought too much on things other than his task at hand, he may turn back.

Quickly he cut and stripped the line and made a type of sling out of it. Looking it over, he wished he had time to refine it, but it would have to do for the moment. He was only going to need it for the way in. Because on the way out Damian better be able to walk on his feet again. Or he would be dead and there wouldn't need to have to worry about coming out again.

He shook his head. He couldn't think like that.

Finally somewhat satisfied with his handiwork, he slipped Damian's arms and legs into the device. Then he slipped it onto his own shoulders. Damian's cold cheek rested on the back of his neck, chilling him through his hair. One leg of Damian's rested on either side of his hips, and was glad that Damian was dead at this moment. Because Damian would die of embarrassment, or he would slit Tim's throat.

Whichever one would be most accessible for him.

Tim adjusted the dead weight and began his hike towards the secret entrance into the compound. He parked a few miles away; it was too risky to park right at the edge of their compound. But as he started he realized that he should have thought about the desert heat and carrying a dead body before he began.

It was too late to go back now.

A/N: I apologize if anyone was out of character in this scene. I've never written from Jason's POV before, so I'm hoping that it's all right. So, like always, leave a comment. I really need to come up with a better way to say that.