Awake and Alive Pt2

Jason peeled around the corner on his bike, hearing the gunshots clear and louder now. He glanced down at his phone; he was close. He looked around and spotted Kaden clutching his wound and sitting in an alley, back against the wall. He stopped the bike and jumped off of it, racing to his son's side, ignoring the gunshots ringing out around him.

"Kaden!": Jason shouted, skidding to a stop beside him.

"Dad!" Kaden called out. He reached out for his father and Jason hugged him tight, kissing his hair and face. Kaden didn't protest, but he gasped as pain lanced up his side.

"No ambulance?" he asked in a highly annoyed tone. Tears rolled down Kaden;s face as a result of the pain. He could only shake his head.

"Shit," Jason cursed, looking around frantically. He turned back to Kaden and cupped the boy's face.

"Listen to me-"

"Dad, there's so much blood. And I...I don't-"

"No!" Jason interrupted in a vehement tone "you do not talk like that! You cry, you scream, whatever you need to do, but don't you dare give up, do you hear me?!" Jason demanded. Kaden bit his lip but gave a nod as another tear trailed down his face.

"You're a Todd. You're a bad ass, just like your old man, got it?" Jason said with a teasing edge in his tone. Kaden smiled, chuckling a bit despite the circumstances which brought a brief smile to Jason's own face.

"Now listen to me, we can't wait here-"

"But the amb-"

"No, listen. We can't wait. I'm going to move you, get you somewhere you can get help. Trust me, okay baby bird?" Jason said softly, framing his son's face with his hands. Kaden's own came to rest on his wrists and he gave a nod. Jason nodded once more, placing Kaden's arm around his shoulders while carefully lifting him up, bridal style.

"Aaah! Dad! It-it hurts! Nnggh," Kaden cried out as pain lanced up his side.

"Sssh, ssh, I know, I know. I'm sorry baby bird," Jason said in a soft, soothing tone as he walked briskly to his motorcycle and gingerly placed Kaden into the sidecar. He hopped onto the motorcycle, glancing down at his son who seemed to be fighting to stay conscious.

"Look at me! Kaden, look at me!" Jason shouted. Kaden looked up at his father with a weary expression.

"Stay with me, you hear me? Talk to me, sing me that song you sung in eighth grade, yeah?" Jason demanded. Kaden gave a nod and began to sing the song as Jason peeled away from the curb and tore down the street as fast as his bike could go.

"I did my best, it wasn't much

I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch

I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you

And even though it all went wrong

I'll stand before the lord of song

With nothing on my tongue but hallelujah"

Kaden sung softly, weakly, yet somehow, Jason could hear it over the roar of the engine, and frankly, it was beautifully sung, despite it all. The kid inherited his grandmother's singing voice. It reminded him of the days when his mother was sober and would sing to him. He vaguely remembered those days, because they were so far and few between, but he'd never forget the voice.

But then it stopped and the next time he glanced down, Kaden was out cold.

"Kaden! Kaden!" Jason shouted. No response. He slammed on the breaks as he came back to the apartment. Why one would ask? Very simple, because there was one place he knew Kaden could be helped. He wasn't an official member of the Justice League, but they owed him a few favors for the jobs he'd done for them. So for once, fuck the rules.

He jumped off the bike and carefully picked his son up, out of the side car. He didn't have his mask or any of his gear, but at that moment, none of it mattered. Secret identities be damned, nothing was more important than Kaden. He'd deal with the fallout later. It was a tight fit, but he managed to get both himself and Kaden into the phone booth.

"Red Hood, authorized. Unknown, Access Denied," came the computer's voice. Jason growled as he dug for his phone and plugged in an override code Dick had slipped to him a few years ago.

"Fuck you and let me in," he growled.

Recognize, Red Hood, 23, Authorized, Guest, A06

Jason had only just past through the zeta tube when he raced into the Watchtower, screaming for help.

"Hey! Someone help, now! I'm calling in a damn favor!" He shouted angrily, knowing he'd get a lecture for bringing a civilian to the watchtower, and not giving two fucks. Wally heard him first and came racing over, Superman behind him.

"Shit, is that-"

"Yes! Get him to a damn doctor, now!" Jason hissed. Wally just gave a nod and carefully took the boy from him, racing off down the hallway. Jason turned his attention on Superman, who, frankly, aged quite gracefully; a few age lines and some grays, but otherwise, he looked pretty good.

"What happened to Kaden?" Superman asked in a sincere tone. Jason sighed and ran his hands through his hair, not even having realize, what with the heart attack he had been in the process of having, that his shirt was covered in blood.

"A gang war broke out in Gotham and Kaden got caught in the crossfire," Jason said angrily, pacing back and forth nervously. Superman looked a little surprised by that.

"A gang war?"

"Yeah, I fucked up, go ahead and lecture me, I don't fucking care," Jason snapped, more out of fear at his son's condition than actual anger. But Superman didn't lecture him. He merely placed a hand on his shoulder and gave a nod. Jason sighed deeply, partially hating that the bastard could be so damn understanding, because frankly, he wanted to hit someone. Not that it'd do any good (especially on Superman), but whatever.

"Dick doesn't know yet," Jason suddenly said, eyes widening in realization and fear.

"I'll tell him," Superman offered. Jason turned bakc and quirked his eyebrow at the suggestion.

"How're you going to do that? I mean, y'know-"

"I'll figure it out," he said, flashing a smile as he headed for the zeta tube. Jason sighed deeply and threw himself into a nearby chair, scrubbing his face with his hands. All he could do now, was hope and pray...

Minutes passed like hours and hours felt like days as Jason sat in the main hall, like a statue, unmoving, thoughts simply racing, focused entirely on his son, whose life hung by a thread. It had only been fifteen minutes when Dick came through the zeta tube in his his Nightwing gear.

"Jaybird, shit, I came as soon as I heard," Dick said, moving to Jason's side. He didn't even look up, just sat statuesque as ever. Dick sat beside him and bit his lip; he wanted to hug him, yet on the other hand, he didn't know if the contact would be...wanted...right now.

"Dick," Jason muttered softly, finally sitting up to look at the man. Dick felt his heart clench when he saw Jason's face swollen and red from crying; he hugged the man as tight as he dared. Jason had always been such a bad ass, he rarely ever cried, but seeing one's own kid dying before your very eyes? Shit...even right now, Dick was fighting like hell not to cry, to be strong for Jason, because it looked as if the poor man was about to break and he didn't blame him on bit.

"It was my fault," Jason said softly, leaning against Dick's shoulder.

"That call the other night, it was one of the gang lords. I told them to handle it themselves. And look what I did; I nearly killed our son," Jason said softly. Dick grabbed the man by the shoulders and shook him lightly.

"Jason, this is not your fault! Do you understand me?! You didn't pull the trigger, you didn't hurt Kaden. You would never hurt him!" Dick growled, trying to talk some sense into him. Jason dried his eyes and shook his head.

"I could have stopped it. I could've-"

"Could've, should've, would've, it doesn't matter! Dammit Jaybird, just...this is not your fault," Dick said again, hugging the man to his chest. There they sat in silence just comforting each other. It was all they could do now, Kaden's life depended on the doctors now.

"Why the watchtower?" Dick finally asked in an effort to break the silence. Jason snorted softly, knowing Dick's intentions full well, but he appreciated the effort; the silence was suffocating.

"I knew if anyone could save him, it would be the Watchtower," Jason replied with a little shrug. He glanced up at Dick and went on "when your kid is dying in front of you, you do anything you have to to save them, y'know? My secret identity wasn't important. Saving Kaden was. S'why I came directly here. He'll figure it all out, but I'd rather he feel hurt and betrayed, than being dead. We can deal with it when the need arises." Dick sighed and gave a nod, kissing the man's jaw before tugging him against his side again.

"Fuck, I've turned into a pussy over the last sixteen years, haven't I?" Jason joked softly. Dick couldn't help but to laugh.

"Nah, you're a bad ass, Jay. Always were. I mean, you ran into the middle of a gang war, picked Kaden up and brought him all the way to the Watchtower without a second thought to any of the consequences," Dick answered, looking down at him with a smile.

"You may be a giant teddy bear on the inside, but what you did was still amazing." Jason snorted.

"Tch, please, I've gone soft, and we both know it." Dick chuckled again and buried his nose in the other's hair.

"Okay, maybe a little."

"For the record, I blame you. Ass."

A good three hours passed before Wally came out to give them some news. He rubbed the back of his head as he approached the two of them and looked rather nervous.

"I thought I should come give you guys the news," Wally said evenly. Dick and Jason jumped to their feet, waiting for what he had to say. Wally's expression said that things were not good.

"He's alive, but...well, we won't know anything until he wakes up," Wally said with an exasperated sigh. Dick and Jason sunk back down into their seats and Wally joined them.

"Fuck," Jason muttered, scrubbing his face with his hands. It was another hour long wait before a doctor finally came out with some more news. Dick, Jason and Wally practically shout up out of their seats.

"He's in recovery now. He's stable but he lost a lot of blood. Another minute or so and it would have been too late," the doctor said evenly. Dick and Jason exchanged glances, but there appeared to be more "you can go in an see him if you want, but we had to put him into a medically induced coma." Dick and Jason didn't wait beyond the words 'you can go see him' before they made their way down the hallway, locating Kaden in one of the rooms.

"Kade" Jason whispered, pushing through the door to stand beside his son's bed. Kaden looked pale as a ghost, an oxygen mask covering his face, dressed in a white medical gown with a heart monitor and IV drop hooked to him. Jason sighed deeply and fell into the chair beside the bed, grabbing his son's hand and giving it a squeeze.

"Baby bird...you just remember what I said; You're a bad ass like your old man." Wally and Dick chuckled a bit in amusement, both of them patting him on the back as they began to settle in and do more of what they'd already been doing; waiting.