Chapter 9

Upstairs, Dick sat on the couch of the living room with his legs up. Piper was standing and leaning against the back. She and Dick were holding hands. Alfred was kneeling by Dick's leg, cleaning the cut. Every now and then, sharp pains would shoot up his leg, and he would squeeze Piper's hand. Bruce and Tim came up to him.

"Where's Jason?" Bruce asked.

"He went to his room sir," Alfred said. "To finish his homework."

"Are you ok Dick?" Tim asked.

Dick gritted his teeth. "More or less. It's not too deep, but it hurts."

Piper smacked Dick in the back of his head. "Come on. You're Dick Grayson. It shouldn't hurt that bad."

"Just because I'm Robin doesn't mean I don't still feel pain."

"You broke your arm last year and you didn't even flinch. What about this injury makes you cringe?"

"There is something I noticed about this cut, Miss Piper, that might be making it hurt more than usual," Alfred said. "There's a burn as well."

"A heated knife?" Tim asked.

"I guess so," Alfred said. "Does this mean Master Dick will not be in school tomorrow Master Bruce?"

"He'll be a little late, but he will be in school." Bruce turned to Piper. "Speaking of which, you have homework to do. We'll start Tim on training tomorrow."

"See you at dinner Pip," Dick said.

"Have fun. Come on Tim, we'll get you settled in." Piper and Tim climbed upstairs. Piper stopped as she walked past Jason's room. She opened the door and popped her head in the room. Jason sat at his desk flipping through his textbook.

"Hang on a sec Tim," Piper said. She walked into Jason's room. "You ok Jay?"

"Dick messed up again," he said without looking up at her.

Piper sighed. "Mistakes happen Jason. Nobody's perfect, especially you and me. One day Jason, when you become Robin, you'll understand that making mistakes is part of the gig. We make mistakes so we can learn from them, even if they leave us with scars."

"Bruce could've gotten hurt because of him."

Piper put her arm around Jason's shoulder. "Jay, Bruce can take care of himself. You don't have to worry about him. And don't focus your life on blaming Dick. You know he only disobeys Bruce's orders when someone threatens us."

"I know Pip, but I wish that you two would stop always protecting me. I'm old enough to protect myself. I mean, I still love you and Dick. You're the best siblings any kid could have. But I wish I had more freedom to make my own decisions."

Piper rubbed his hair. "You always have the freedom. I'll talk to Dick, but don't think that's going to stop us from protecting you. You're our little brother. It's what we do. And you know we'd do anything to make sure you stay safe."

Jason closed his textbook and looked up at her. Light shined in his sea green eyes. "Anything?"

She smiled. "Anything. I promise. I won't ever let anything happen to you." She kissed the top of his head. "Now get back to work. Your little brother is outside waiting for me."

He grinned. "My little brother," he said to himself. "I like the sound of that."

Piper went back out of Jason's room and to the spare room. Tim followed her.

"Everything ok?" he asked.

"Yeah, he was just having a hard time with something."

"And you helped him?"

She smiled at him. "Of course. It's what big sisters do. Or what they should do."

"So, where are we going?"

"Well, during our tour of the house, Alfred took the liberty of preparing your room." She opened the door and let Tim walk in. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."

Tim suddenly turned around and charged at Piper. He wrapped his arms around her. "You're going to be the best sister ever."

Piper laughed. "I hope so."