A Light in the Dark

A/N: As always a shout-out to the best beta out there Alex Skywalker! She honestly really is great. Well I told you Jason wouldn't be gone for long so he is back…sort….he's just not back with the family. Quick note for later in the chapter lidocaine is the medication used to numb an area that is receiving stitches. I went back and forth on what to include and not to include in the chapter basically the ending, where do I end it or what to I just save for the next chapter. I do love keeping you guys on pins and needles on a cliff with my cliffhangers! So without further babbling I bring you….. (Please give me reviews!)

Chapter 11

Jason had kept himself busy; besides tracking down human traffickers, he also kept himself busy trying to forget what he had left behind, and what he had done.

It was just before midnight and Jason had cut his patrol short as he was done beating up those who he needed beating up and thus delivering them to the police station (surprisingly not killing one of them) and was also slightly injured himself (well, he told himself he was only slightly injured). But, it wasn't something a couple of his favorite chilidogs couldn't cure.

Jason sat straight up in a high bar stool next to his kitchen bar counter. His back hurt too much to lean back into the hard stool backing. His favorite food was about to touch his lips when a very soft knock at his door crept to his ears. The knock was so soft and unsure that he at first thought he was overhearing a knock at his neighbors door. But, it came again and he rose stiffly, going to the door, un-holstering one of his guns and looking through the peephole. What he saw confirmed it. Though his head was bowed, Jason saw the familiar backpack and knew it was Tim. He remembered he'd brought Tim here when he grabbed a change of clothes, explaining the younger boy's knowledge of the place. So the only question remained, why was he here?

It had only been four days since Jason had left and he would be lying to say he wasn't surprised to see the younger boy on his doorstep, especially after what he had done. The soft, unsure knock came again, pulling Jason from his thoughts. He watched as Tim turned to walk away and Jason saw that parts of his clothes were ripped. Jason opened the door, the gun still in his hand, but the arm hung at his side, the gun pointed downwards. Tim froze, his back to Jason, as he heard the door open.

'Tim?" Jason asked, confused. Tim slowly turned to Jason and Jason saw a small bruise and cut by Tim's hairline opposite the side he had previously hit him on. This wasn't Jason's doing. There was also more dirt on Tim than one would expect from a kid that lived in a mansion.

"Hey Jason," Tim said shakily. Concerned what was going on and figuring he at least owed Tim, Jason opened the door wider and signaled for Tim to come inside. As Tim shuffled through the door slowly he eyed the gun in Jason's hand. Well, this wasn't the best part of the neighborhood and Jason eyed Tim with both suspicion and confusion.

"You look like you need to sit down so…..sit," Jason said signaling to the couch. "You also, once again, look like you need to eat." Jason brought a second chilidog out of the bag on the counter and tossed it to Tim who caught it effortlessly. He then took two sodas out of the fridge and grabbed his own chilidog and joined Tim on the couch, sitting next to him and handing him one of the sodas.

"You ok?" asked Jason, pointing to the small, fresh cut on the side of his face.

"Compared to the other guy? Yes. This little thing here was just the guy letting his presence be known."

"Well, between that and the backpack you've obviously ran away for a reason, which I will be hearing about later, but no one tried…anything? I mean….you're….good and all?"

"No one did anything, don't worry. I only had enough money for three nights in a hotel so I had to spend last night on the streets and some guy tried to rob me is all."

"You should have come here first."

"I wanted to be alone to think, plus I wasn't even sure you'd see me. I thought I was the reason you left."

"You weren't, so you can just stop that line of thought…..wait. Dick doesn't know where you are?"

"No. They didn't even know I was leaving and I never told them where you live after you took me here so don't worry-"

"But, I mean ….wait…..when did you leave the mansion?"

"The day after you left."

"Cell phone?"

"Oh please, you know I had to toss it; Dick can track me with that thing."

"And Dick doesn't know you're at least safe? Oh shit! He's probably having baby bats!" Jason stood, yanking his cell phone out. Tim shot to his feet, grabbing at Jason's cell phone.

"NO! Jason please don't! He doesn't care, he doesn't even listen to me! He doesn't want me there, just please don't!"

Jason switched the cell phone to his opposite hand and held it up away from Tim's reach, putting his other hand out against Tim's chest keeping him at bay. Jason was shocked at what would make Tim say those things about Dick.

"Tim! Tim! Calm down, I'm just letting him know you're safe, that's it. That's all. Shhh…..don't worry. You can stay here until it's all good, just…..calm down. Now look, I don't know what's happened between you two, but Dick's been through a lot too and he can't be wondering if you are alive or dead out there on the streets." Jason lowered his hand and helped Tim , who was shaking, sit on the couch.

Tim sat down defeated and put his face in his hands. Jason saw Tim trembling and knew that he was scared. Something bad had happened indeed, but he couldn't keep the news that Tim was safe away from Dick. He dialed Dick's number and waited for him to pick up.

"Dick?"

"Jason! Thank God, I need your help!" Dick sounded exhausted, frightened, and exasperated all at once.

"He's here Dick. He just got here no more than two minutes ago but he's with me and he's safe, ok?"

"Thank God, can you please bring him back-"

"No, I don't think he wants to go back and I'm not sure why yet."

Dick let a long sigh out, "Well, can you tell me where you are at and I'll talk to him; he's tossed his cell and I can't talk to him-"

"Dick, look, I don't know what happened but he's here with me and he's…..scared….but he's safe and here and …..that's how it's gonna stay for right now, ok? Goodbye." Jason hung up on Dick's protests coming through the speaker of the phone.

Tim slid his hands down his face having finished his outburst at hearing that Jason wanted him to stay here with him.

"Just…..I think you should stay here until you work things out or whatever; it's safer than the streets after all, ok? Agreed?" Jason asked and Tim simply nodded, dumbfounded. "Good, now eat that chilidog before I do," Jason said sitting down next to Tim. "Then I'm going to take a look at that cut."

"It's fine, don't worry about it."

"I'm sorry, are you going to argue with me in my own place?" Jason sarcastically asked.

"Sorry, forgot who I was talking to," Tim kidded back.

"Damn straight."

"SHIT!" Dick exclaimed after Jason hung up on him and threw his phone onto the computer desk in the bat-cave. Dick then sank into the giant computer chair. He was greatly relieved that Tim was ok after days of searching for him. They'd tried tracking him via his cell but Tim was smart and ditched his cell, giving it to a homeless man actually. Dick knew Tim didn't have access to much money; with 'Bruce' still being alive the older man still had access to all that money, not Tim. Though Dick had access to the money too; Bruce had made sure of that in case anything ever happened to him. Plus, with Lucius Fox knowing…well…everything….He also took care of the boys financially. Dick didn't know where Tim would have gone without money as he wasn't with the Titans, hadn't even contacted them and, as far as Dick knew, he didn't know where Jason was or lived.

He feared Tim might have gone off halfcocked somewhere and gotten into trouble after the second day. By the fourth day Dick feared Tim might have done something stupid and hurt himself. Dick was starting to have nightmares and thoughts that Tim was either dead or not coming home on purpose. Both notions broke Dick's heart beyond repair. So to hear that Tim was both alive and safe, let alone currently with someone he knew and relatively trusted, brought great joy and relief to his aching heart and mind. But with joy and relief came frustration that Tim didn't want to come home or even talk to him and that Jason wouldn't let him talk to Tim.

"I trust that Master Timothy is safe?" Alfred inquired from behind Dick.

"Yes, he is at Jason's place. Jason said he just got there minutes ago but he obviously knows something is wrong as he said Tim doesn't want to come home or even talk to me and he isn't going to make him."

"At least he is found and safe."

"If you can call being with Todd safe." Damian chimed in from doing his pull-ups on a high bar.

"Damian! You know what, go run the gauntlet again! Dick shouted and the younger boy groaned and mumbled something walking away.

"What was that?"

"Yes sir! Mr. Batman sir!" Damian said with a mock salute.

Dick leaned forward and put his head in his hands. Alfred stepped forward and put a supportive hand on Dick's shoulder.

"Never fear Master Richard, he will return to us, he just needs time. Perhaps talking with Master Jason might help."

"What have I done, Alfred? I drove him away. What am I doing? I can't do this. I can't be Batman."

"Master Richard, if you think being Batman means you have all the answers I am afraid you are mistaken. There have been many nights Master Bruce has sat in that very chair and asked me the same questions you are now. They were usually asked when one of his Robins was in peril. It appears to me, sir, that you are right on track." Alfred squeezed Dick's shoulder and smiled. Dick tried to return the smile and patted Alfred's hand and sat back in the chair.

Tim hissed as an alcohol laden Q-tip pressed against the cut by his hairline on the right side of his head.

"Oh, don't be such a baby, you aren't going to need stitches." Jason finished his ministrations by putting a butterfly band-aid over the cut. "OK, that should do it, you need to go get clean and then we'll talk."

"What about you? I noticed you're moving a little stiff."

Jason hesitated in his cleaning of the first aid supplies.

"You've got a whole in the back of your beloved jacket." Tim threaded his finger through the hole and felt a warm, sticky substance. He pulled his finger back to no surprise revealing blood. "Jason, you're bleeding!" Tim shouted.

"I got another hole in the jacket, son of a bitch," Jason said ignoring Tim's cries about him bleeding.

"Jason, take off your jacket," Tm ordered, already attempting to yank it off of the older man.

"It's no biggie kid, I'm more pissed about the jacket."

"I can't see the whole thing, Jason, this is deep, I can't see how deep so take off your shirt."

Jason did as Tim asked, knowing how sore and stiff he felt. He heard Tim gasp behind him. Tim stood and went into the kitchen grabbing a few towels.

"That's bad Jason, it needs stitches, not to mention it looks like a jackhammer got to your back with all the bruises. What did you do anyways?" Tim held a towel with one hand to Jason's wound while the other hand rummaged around in the first aid kit picking out the supplies needed for stitches.

"Oh ya know, same ole, same ole. Ya know what you're doing there?"

"Of course; you know he made us learn first aid and how to patch ourselves up. Too many trips to the hospital and people start asking questions. You're gonna have to lay face down in order for me to get at this. Oh and lidocaine? You got any? It's gonna hurt like a bitch otherwise."

Jason chuckled at Tim's unusual cursing. "Uuhhhh, locked medicine cabinet under the bathroom sink, key is taped under the drawer." Tim raced to the bathroom, grabbed the key and unlocked the cabinet. He easily found the lidocaine and a syringe. Also inside the cabinet Tim noticed were some painkillers and various antidotes: ones for Joker venom, Scarecrow toxins and poisons, as well as some from Poison Ivy. Also in the cabinet, Tim wasn't shocked to see stocked ammo and clips. Not wanting to let Jason get suspicious he locked the cabinet back up and replaced the key. When Tim came back in the room Jason was already laid out, face down on the couch. Tim could tell Jason was trying to not nod off as his night's activities were clearly taking a toll on him. Tim sat on the edge of the couch preparing the syringe of lidocaine.

"You know the first injection of this is going to hurt, so please…..don't hit me." Tim said, ridding the syringe of any air bubbles.

"I'll do my best, no guarantees," Jason kidded. Tim plunged the needle into the wound and Jason hissed as he buried his face in the crossed arms that his head rested on.

"Sorry, sorry. Now I get to show you my sewing skills." Tim picked up the materials for the stitches and got started. "You're lucky this isn't worse, they could have very well gotten your lung if they put more pressure behind this. I grabbed you some ibuprofen for pain; do you want something stronger?"

"Nah, don't like how it makes my head feel funky. I need to be alert."

Tim groaned in his head. He kind of hoped Jason would opt for something stronger and pass out before he would have to tell him what happened. "Fair enough, but I imagine you have some antibiotics somewhere around here and you will need to take them."

"Yes mom. I don't suppose your magnificent sewing skills can fix my jacket? I hate it when that happens."

Tim chuckled playing along. "Sorry son, you and your friends are just going to have to play nice."

Jason returned the chuckle and turned his head to try to look at Tim. "Speaking of playing nice, what happened between you and Dick? Ow! Jesus!" Jason exclaimed at a particularly hard tug of the thread. He wondered if Tim did that on purpose for asking.

"Sorry, it's a long story."

"We seem to have time."

"I'm almost done. Dick doesn't want me anymore. He doesn't listen to me, he dismisses me and just uses the excuse of my recent losses as that I don't know anything. He also seems to think talking to a therapist solves everything."

"Yah, Dick does that; it's easier for him because it's what's right in front of his face. It's also his strange way of showing he cares."

"Please don't side with him. That's that last stitch, I'm done," Tim said clipping the thread and scooting back to allow Jason to sit up.

"I'm not siding with him, hell hasn't frozen over yet. I'm just…..trying to explain to you how Dick thinks, sometimes, and how sometimes he just doesn't think," Jason said as he sat up grabbing his shirt and pulling it on. As he did this Tim stared at Jason's chest noticing something: a thin scar that ran down the center of his chest. It was barely noticeable as it was older, healed, and thin. The scar was merely lightened colored skin in a line that one would only notice it if they were in the close physical proximity that Tim was to Jason. Tim realized that he was staring and put his gaze back on the table, only to find his eyes sliding to the left back at Jason who was now staring back at Tim.

"Tim? What's up?"

"Did you…..have heart surgery?"

"What?"

"It's funny it's just that sometimes I think I know you and can trust you but that there are times that I realize I don't know you."

"I'm not following."

"The scar," Tim pointed to Jason's chest.

"Oh…..that." Jason let out a long sigh and sat back into the couch cushions. Tim did the same hoping he hadn't asked a wrong question, but they both settled in ready to talk. "I had a crushed sternum. The Joker beat it pretty badly with the crowbar, then the force of the explosion did the rest of the job. After my…..resurrection I was brought to a hospital where they apparently treated my wounds. The crushed sternum was just one of a few surgeries I had had. Internal bleeding, skull fractures, bleeding in the brain, but the dip in the lazurus pit took care of a lot of the surgical scars or at least made them a bit less noticeable. I don't remember it all, I only have fragments of memories from that…..so…..uh…yeah."

"Oh," Tim said suddenly uncomfortable that he inadvertently brought up a sore subject for Jason.

"So what's that all about? Knowing me and trusting me yet not knowing me, blah, blah, blah." Tim held in a chuckle as the 'blah, blah, blah' was Jason code for 'family, mushy, feely, shit'

"I thought I knew Dick and could trust him with information, with listening to me, taking me seriously, but he just…..didn't. And now he doesn't want me anymore."

"I kind of doubt that, Tim, you didn't hear how he freaked out when he was on the phone. Why do you think he doesn't want you? What information are you talking about?"

Tim just shook his head, suddenly unsure if he wanted to tell Jason or not; he didn't want the same thing that happened with Dick to happen with Jason.

"I don't know where to start." Tim blinked rapidly, willing himself not to cry.

"Try the beginning," Jason said scooting a little closer to Tim and putting a hand on his shoulder in support seeing that Tim was struggling and trying not to cry.

"Bruce….is alive." Tim didn't take his eyes off of the floor, not wanting to see Jason's reaction.

"That's the beginning?" Jason asked shocked.

Tim couldn't tell if Jason's reaction was more shock or disbelief. Either way Tim was scared. He stood suddenly, running his hands through his hair and started pacing, preparing himself for Jason to tell him the same thing that Dick did.

"Go ahead, I'm crazy, I don't know what I'm talking about, I just want to hold on to someone, go ahead. You know this was a mistake." Tim reached for his backpack. Jason then stood, grabbing Tim's wrist to stop him.

"Tim, wait, calm down, you are getting ahead of yourself here."

Tim tried turning the other direction but Jason grabbed Tim from around the shoulders and turned him to face him. His hands then went to the sides of the boy's face making sure Tim didn't turn away.

"Calm down, you're not going anywhere. Just breathe. Sit down and just tell me what you know."

Jason's hands went back to Tim's shoulders where he led him back to the couch and sat him down, keeping one hand on a shoulder both in support and making sure he didn't try to take off again.

"You believe me? That…Bruce is…..alive? You'll listen to me?"

Jason wondered what Dick did precisely to have Tim lose this much faith in Dick…..in himself.

"Tim, I would be kind of a hypocrite if I didn't at least listen, I mean, hell, look at what happened to me."

Jason had a point, one Tim didn't even think about. Jason knew this was possible. Tim nodded, ready to begin.