Bruce and Tim were in the cave, staring each other down with Stephanie and Dick watching on when Cass spoke up.

"You know who he is." They turned to her to see she was observing Bruce. "You are nervous, angry, scared, guilty, and hiding."

"Is that true?" Dick asked, turning to him.

"I have suspicions," he grunted. "I still need to follow a few leads."

"Who do you think he is?"

"Not until I know for sure."

"B!"

"Master Bruce is correct," Alfred said, walking in with a tray of drinks and mini sandwiches. "This is not the time to jump to conclusions. Though Miss Tim's information does align with our theories."

"You're in on this?" Tim asked, accepting a mug of coffee.

"Master Bruce needed a second pair of eyes to ensure there weren't external factors interfering with his judgment."

"Seriously? Who is this guy?" Dick snapped.

"Not now." Bruce gave Tim a look. "You need to stay away from him."

"Can't."

"Tim.

"I had a panic button on me when I got grabbed and I had to press it to keep my cover. If I don't contact Hood and let him see I'm fine in person, he's going to tear Gotham apart looking for me."

"It'll be a bloodbath," Stephanie agreed. "He'll definitely mow down the Víboras if he thinks they still have her, then go after anyone they might have sold her to. You guys haven't seen him with her. He's an ass, but he cares. Scarily cares. Full overprotective big brother. Like Dick, but with guns. It's the only reason I didn't go to you guys when I found out."

Something almost soft flickered over Bruce's eyes before he turned so none of them could see his face. "Fine. You will check in to keep him from retaliating, but then that's it. No more Little Red or Olivia Draper."

"But -"

"End of story."

"Fine," Tim growled and turned to leave.

"You're also not going alone."

"I'll go with her," Stephanie offered before Tim could argue. "Hood already knows we're friends so I can be right there with her without raising suspicion."

Bruce looked between them, then nodded.

They left soon after on Robin's Batcycle. They swapped to Stephanie's van in the Bowery, which gave her an opening to ask, "So you're going to tell Bruce about your parents now, right?"

"No."

"Tim, Babs has probably already started burning Olivia. That's going to include getting rid of your apartment. Where do you plan on staying? I'd offer my place, but Mom would sell us out to Bruce - even if it's just to yell at him for not taking care of you - and my dad…"

Tim snorted as he imagined the look on Arthur Brown's face when one of the guys he had watching out for the Browns gave him the news. "He'd probably break out of prison the moment he heard just to hunt me down."

"I still don't get why he hates you," she muttered. "Robin, sure, but Tim Drake?"

"I'm a stuck-up rich kid who's taking advantage of his sweet, innocent baby girl."

"I hate that you're probably right. It's a moronic idea." She gave him a teasing look. "I mean, you're a virgin and I'm a teen mom. If anyone's going to be taking advantage of the other, it's me."

"Knock it off, Steph," he groaned, poking her.

She poked him back. "Come on, serious time. Where are you going to stay? It… I know you don't want to think about it, but it's been almost a month since you emailed your dad and you still haven't heard anything from your parents. I don't think the slideshow worked."

"I know," he whispered, slipping down in his seat.

"So tell Bruce."

"I can't. If I tell him, he'll want to do something about it. I don't want my parents to get in trouble. They're not bad people."

"Tim, they were never there for you even before they kicked you out."

"That wasn't their fault."

She sighed. "Agree to disagree. Fine, but where are you going to stay then?"

"I-I don't know. I'll figure something out. I just need to think."

"Sure."

The rest of the car ride passed in silence.

Red Hood glared at the door as he paced around Olivia's apartment.

He'd been terrified when her panic button had gone off. Terrified, and guilty because he was sure whoever had gone after her had done so to get to him.

He'd realized he was partially right when he'd managed to corner the Víbora that had Red's things and got him to spill how Marisa Cortés had ordered him and the others to bring her Hood's daughter so she could be married to her son. Cortés was obviously trying to get something on him (though how she'd come to the conclusion Olivia was his kid, he couldn't guess), but her punk had been making eyes at Olivia since day one so he knew Cortés probably would have had her grabbed eventually either way, if only to make the asshole happy.

Content that he was only partially responsible for Olivia's abduction, he'd started trying to dig up information on where Cortés could be hiding. He'd barely started looking, though, when he got the news that the Bats had raided the Víboras hideout and taken Cortés and her son into custody. There hadn't been any mention of Olivia in the reports, but the Bats did reveal evidence that Cortés had been behind the human trafficking ring Olivia had clued him in on.

With two reasons to kill in mind, Hood had immediately headed over to intercept the police caravan escorting the Cortéses to lockup. He'd planned to take out Ray and wring as much information out of Cortés as he could before doing the same to her. Just before he could fire his first shot, though, he received a text from an unknown number.

Unknown: Nothing means what!? 30 min my place - Cesario

A part of him had wanted to stay and deal with the Cortéses, but the need to be sure Olivia was fine like she claimed was too strong.

Which was why he was furiously pacing around her apartment.

Fuck not being Batman, he was getting her subdermal trackers. And a taser. And he was teaching her how to pick locks and where to hide the picks on her so they won't be found. And -

The door opened and he immediately darted forward to grab Olivia. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Did they do anything to you?"

There weren't any visible injuries and her clothes didn't look overly rumbled or damaged.

"I'm fine. I told you I was fine," she huffed, rolling her eyes. She didn't stop him from patting her down to make sure there weren't any hidden injuries, though she did give him an annoyed look the whole way through. "Are you done?"

"Why didn't you contact me earlier? I was about to tear through GCPD to get answers from Cortés when you texted me."

"I told him it'd be a bloodbath."

Hood turned to see Stephanie closing the door to the apartment. "What are you doing here?"

"I was with him when he got grabbed. Since I didn't have a way to contact you, I went to the other guy."

"I managed to sneak away when the Bats' raided the Víboras base and my boss picked me up," Olivia finished. "I've been busy calming him down so I didn't get a chance to call or text you."

Hood crushed him in a hug. "Damn it, kid, you scared the hell out of me."

Olivia froze, then melted into the hug. In a quiet voice, he said, "Sorry."

He held his little brother for a moment then pulled back and nudged him toward his room. "Get packed."

"What?"

"You can't stay here. The Víbora I interrogated was under the impression you were my kid. It's sure to be all over Gotham by morning."

Olivia and Stephanie shared a look, the blonde shocked and Olivia annoyed.

"I know. Someone caught you nagging me about homework and gave the video to Cortés, getting it in her head that you're my dad. My boss wants me to go to ground. He's got somewhere for me to go."

"No."

"No?" Stephanie repeated, crossing her arms.

"Once the news gets around, everyone I've ever even so much as inconvenienced is going to be gunning for you, from Mask to the Bats. Especially Batman." Bruce had had his DNA for over two weeks now. He had to be getting to even his limits when it came to paranoia-fueled denial. If he found out his long-lost failure supposedly had a kid, he was going to stop at nothing to figure out Olivia's real identity and take him away so Jason couldn't corrupt him or whatever would be his excuse. "Your boss isn't going to be able to keep you hidden. I've got better resources and skills. You'll stay at a safe house I've set aside and I'll get you a new identity."

"You don't know anything about her boss's resources or skills," Stephanie argued.

"I know they're not good enough to keep her from Batman."

"Okay." The two turned to Olivia, who shrugged. "I'll go with you."

"What!?"

Hood nodded. "Get packed. Just the essentials and anything you really can't stand to leave behind. I can get anything else brought over later. I need to make a call. I'll be right back."

Olivia nodded and he climbed out the window, Stephanie hissing behind him, "LIV!"

When he got to the roof, he pulled out his phone and placed a call. When no one answered, he cursed and texted the number instead.

Me: How come you never have to pick up but I get a lecture when I don't

Me: Stealing your Bowery safehouse for something

Me: Don't send the ninjas after me or show up unannounced

Me: Thanks

He put his phone away and climbed back down. He quieted his steps when he heard Olivia and Stephanie whisper-arguing in the bedroom.

"- not going to be Olivia or Little Red so I'm following the rules. There's no way Hood's letting me out anytime soon and he's giving me a different identity, so no Olivia."

"You know that's not what he meant. I know you don't want to tell him about your parents, but stop trying to loophole your way out of this. He said to stay away from Hood."

So Olivia's boss finally found out she was working with him, then.

"He's overreacting. You know I'm fine."

"You got kidnapped."

"That's not Hood's fault."

At least this reaction meant he was more worried than angry. That was good.

"I-Ugh! If you try to go through with this, I will go straight to the others and tell them everything! About Hood and about your parents!"

"You can't. Look, I'll figure something else out. Just give me some time."

There was a moment of silence, which was interrupted by Hood's phone buzzing with a text. He quickly silenced it, but the damage was done.

Quieter than before, Stephanie whispered, "You've got one week. If you haven't come up with a plan that I agree with by Saturday night, you have to tell the big guy everything."

"… Alright."

"And you're not staying with Hood the whole time. We're going to Ti-visit your friends out of town after school on Friday and stay the night there."

He frowned. He didn't like the idea of Olivia leaving his protection at all, let alone for a weekend, but at least he'd probably be safe out of town. Especially if Hood could convince him to get the trackers implanted, or at the very least do frequent check-ins. He'd also need to make Stephanie see that he was the safest option for Olivia.

Or threaten her boss into backing off.

School, though, might be an issue. She didn't go to school as Olivia and everyone both thought Little Red was older than she was and weren't aware that she was genderfluid, so the kid should be okay, but it'd still be nerve-wracking. Maybe he'd convince her to stay home, at least for a little while. He didn't want her to miss school, but she'd probably be okay missing a week or two while things cooled down, and given her lack of concern for education, she probably wouldn't even fight him on it. Maybe he could see if her school had one of those At-Home programs that have been springing up recently so sick kids didn't have to worry about missing school.

"But-"

"Deal?"

Olivia sighed. "Deal."

As the two fell silent, Jason pulled out his phone.

T: You aren't the only one in need of my attention. Is this about the girl you've been trying to hide from me?

Me: What girl

T: Do you think I haven't heard about your Little Red?

Me: You've been spying on me

T: No, but I have been listening to the gossip of Gotham's underworld. Before you say it, I have no interest in the girl or in you following in your father's footsteps. Just please keep her out of the safehouse's armory. Those weapons are not for your use, let alone hers.

Me: I'm not following in anyones footsteps!

Me: And b isn't my father!

T: Make sure to clean up after yourselves as well. Now I have an important meeting.

Jason scowled at the phone but didn't bother to text her again. Instead, he shoved it into its pocket and knocked on Olivia's bedroom door. "You almost done?"

"Almost."

Stephanie opened the door and glared at him. She pushed him out of the way and called out to Olivia, "I'm heading out."

"Talk to you later."

"You better."

She stepped out of view of the bedroom, then pointed at Hood's face. Too quiet for Olivia to hear, she hissed, "I swear to God, if anything happens to him, I will beat you into unconsciousness, strip you down to your underwear, and stick you in a deathtrap that would make Uncle Eddie nervous!"

Then she stomped out of the apartment.

Hood stared after her for a moment before the name clicked. He turned to Olivia and asked, "Does she seriously call the Riddler Uncle Eddie?"

The kid looked up from the Superboy shirt he was folding with a frown, eyes going to the door to the apartment. "Only when she's really mad, like considering going full supervillain levels of mad."

"You do realize how concerning that sounds, right?"

He shrugged and went back to packing. "She wouldn't actually become a supervillain." He paused again, staring off into the distance. "Not even if I became one first, which, like, rude. Understandable, but still rude."

"… Kid, that is not as reassuring as you seem to think it is."

"It's fine. It's been taken care of."

"And what does that mean?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it. Can you hand me my Wonder Woman hoodie?"

"Yeah, fine, but we're coming back to-Wait, is this my jacket? How do you have it!? I stole it back!"

Bruce was looking over some documents in his study, trying to ignore the sounds coming from Dick's phone as his son played with it on the couch, when Cass tapped his shoulder to make herself known.

"Report," he requested and turned to face her.

"Did Hood do anything?" Dick asked, putting his phone away and sitting up.

She shook her head. "Steph was right. He was worried. And angry, but not at Tim. His feelings were protective."

Bruce stared at Cass's ear, carefully keeping his face and posture blank.

He wanted to hope this meant Jason wasn't completely lost to them.

(If Hood truly was Jason. Talia wasn't taking his calls and Ra's had been annoyingly yet unsurprisingly vague.)

He couldn't let himself hope, though. Jason had changed. Maybe Jason cared about Olivia, but there was no telling his reaction if he discovered the truth. He'd made too many threats against Robin to be trusted around either of the younger birds. (And if he wasn't Jason and it was all just a trick, then that was one more way he could hurt the kids.)

"So Tim handled it then? Is he home now?" Dick checked.

Cass frowned.

"What happened?" Bruce asked.

"Tim's parents kicked him out."

"What!?"

"Just now? Why? Where is he then?"

"No. I don't know when or why. I heard Tim and Steph talking about it. Tim has been living in Olivia's apartment so Steph was worried about where he would live since Barbara is going to get rid of the apartment."

"Why didn't he say anything?" Dick asked, glancing between her and Bruce. "Did you know about this?"

"No." How had he missed this?

Well, he supposed it wasn't hard. He didn't like how little Tim saw his parents, but he didn't feel it was his place to interfere so long as they weren't hurting Tim and the boy still had adults taking care of him. Tim was independent and Bruce tried to respect that, given how his hovering had pushed Dick away and his inability to trust had led to Jason running away.

It appeared he'd found a whole new way to fail one of his kids, though.

"Tim was worried," Cass said. "He doesn't want his parents to get in trouble."

"Of course, he didn't," Dick said, glaring off into the distance. "Where is Tim now?"

Cass hesitated.

"What?"

"Hood has a house in the Bowery near Chinatown."

Bruce's fists clenched as Dick's jaw dropped.

"You left Tim and Stephanie with Hood?"

"Stephanie left before Hood took Tim to the house," Cass corrected. "Hood did not appear to be a threat and Tim went willingly."

Bruce stood up and moved towards the grandfather clock.

Cass grabbed his arm. "No. Steph gave Tim a week. He needs to either find a place to stay or tell us. She does not believe he will find a place and neither does he. I believe we should… Tim needs to… Tim should get to…" Her face screwed up. "Words. Tim is sad/mad/worried at you. You are worried/mad/guilty about him. Talking won't work right now."

Dick nodded. "You're saying we should wait until we've all had time to calm down before talking to Tim about this, right? Because Tim's worried about his parents getting in trouble for kicking him out and we're all worked up about the Hood thing."

She nodded. "And Tim needs time to… to come to… to… TERMS! He needs to come to terms with his feelings about them not taking him back. He hoped they would, even if he knew they wouldn't, and Steph made him realize it today."

"That doesn't mean he should be left alone with Hood," Bruce growled, trying to pull his arm away.

Cass tightened her grip. "Hood is safe. He looks at Tim like Dick and Barbara look at Tim, Steph, and I. All I see is love and care and protection mixed with annoyance and jokes. He will not hurt Tim. I would not have left if I saw differently."

"And if he finds out Tim is Robin?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I will have to watch them to be sure. But Tim trusts he will not hurt Robin and I trust Tim. He might risk himself, but he would not risk Steph."

Bruce tugged his arm free, but Dick stepped between him and the clock.

"Bruce, hold on. I get it, I do. I don't like the idea of Tim being with a stranger either. Especially one like Hood. But Tim's been hanging around Hood for months and nothing happened until today. We can show Tim a little bit of trust by giving him the week to come to us." Dick met his glare evenly. "You said you know who he is behind the mask -"

"I have suspicions. I don't know for sure."

"Well, would the guy you suspect he is hurt Tim."

Bruce's eyes glanced over Dick's shoulder to a framed picture of Jason. "I would like to believe he wouldn't, but -"

"Then for once in your life, trust your instincts and your kids."

"I do trust you." He trusted Dick and he trusted Tim, but could he trust Jason? Jason, who had decapitated eight men and delivered their heads in a duffle bag?

Jason, who had stalked up to Bruce with a headful of glitter and the most adorable frown to ask if Bruce could send Dick back to the circus he came from.

"Maybe they'd let us trade him for a cute little kid! Then I could have my own little sibling! I'd be a way better big bro than that ass!"

He ran a hand over his face and turned back to his desk. "Fine, one week. But Cass, I want you to keep an eye on them. If anything seems off, you get Tim out of there. Got it?"

She smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, B."

He grunted and sat down.

Taking that as a dismissal, Dick gave him a wink and Cass kissed him on the head, then the two left.

Bruce's eyes drifted back to the picture of Jason.