Jason has a little brother. The world doesn't know it yet, because the news about Jack Drake being the Joker is being kept under wraps so far, meaning that nobody can know yet that Junior is with them or even really exists. That's not much of a problem at the moment. Jason doesn't care much about what the world thinks. It'll become a bigger problem when Junior is ready to rejoin the world in general, ready to go to school or go out in public or do things like that, because then they'll have to figure out how to present Junior to the world. But for now, that nobody outside of the Manor knows yet that Jason has a little brother is not the problem.

The problem is that Junior doesn't seem to know it yet either.

Ever since Superman and Wonder Woman captured the Joker, Junior has pretty much gone backward. Jason knows healing from anything, physical or mental, can be a whole "one step forward, two steps back" kind of thing. But still. Junior acts scared of them all again, and while he is improving, slowly getting better again, it's hard to see him hurting. It makes Jason want to make him laugh, to give him every good thing possible, to protect him from every harmful thing ever.

(Begrudgingly, Jason kind of understands Dick a little better now, if this is what being an older brother to a younger brother is like.)

It's hard to protect Junior from harmful things, though, when the most harmful thing seems to be Junior's own mind.

Even so, Jason does his best. He spends as much time as he can with Junior, trying to get Junior's attention off of the situation with Jack Drake, trying to get Junior's attention onto fun and funny things.

That's hard too. Part of it is Junior's history. There are many things to which Junior doesn't react well: needles, fast movements, pills, being too close or too far away from someone at different times, sometimes completely random things, and sometimes any kind of laughter, just to name a few. But part of it is also Jason's history.

Jason has gotten pretty used to living with Bruce. He's gotten kind of used to attending a private school with well-to-do students, to getting expensive gifts and trips, even to going to fancy galas. And though the private school students can make him mad, and the gifts and trips can make him nervous, and the galas can make him uncomfortable, he's accepted them. He's talked with Bruce about them, and they've come up with ways to handle this way of life for Jason.

But Jason doesn't know how to handle it for Junior, and a big part of that is that Junior can't leave the Manor right now.

It makes sense. It makes Jason furious for Junior's sake, but it makes sense. After all, the kid is very visibly a tiny version of Joker, from his green hair to his scarred cheeks to his trained laugh. To go out in public would be to almost certainly risk Junior's physical and emotional safety. Jason doesn't like it, but he gets it.

But even if he gets it, it still makes it hard. Jason can't bring Junior to the nearest library to search for books Junior might like. Jason can't bring Junior to the milkshake shop to get him a treat when he's upset. Jason can't even bring Junior on a walk around the edges of Wayne Manor's grounds for a long talk on a long stroll, because paparazzi have been known to sometimes sneak pictures through or over the various fences and gates of the grounds, and a paparazzi pic would probably be the worst possible way for Junior's existence as Junior to be revealed to the world.

Worst of all, Jason can't bring Junior on patrol, and Jason can't bring Junior to school.

Not that Jason is going on patrol or going to school again. Not yet.

Jason's been doing his own form of healing from the Joker. He's in pretty good shape now, just regaining the last of his strength and his speed and stuff like that. He's even back in training as Robin! And that was not an easy thing to accomplish. He had to beg and plead and argue his way back into the Cave. Bruce had been convinced that Jason should never go on patrol again, but after Jason talked to Dick and Alfred about how much being Robin means, and after Dick and Alfred talked to Bruce in turn, Bruce had been re-convinced to let Jason train and eventually patrol again.

And Jason's excited about patrolling again. He is. He's just…

He hasn't put on a suit again.

Specifically, he hasn't put on the Robin suit again.

Something about the red, yellow, and green sends phantom pains spiking through Jason. Something about the feel of the fabrics sends laughter ringing in Jason's ears. Something about the very existence of the Robin suit makes Jason look around for a counting-down clock and a terrified Junior.

So. Yeah. It's not easy. And it's not something he wants to think too much about. After all, he wants to go back on patrol!

He also wants to go to school, and that's coming up more quickly. His re-admission date is set and is on its way. And normally, he'd be thrilled to be getting back into learning. He's missed his teachers, his classes, his backpack, even his classmates, at least somewhat. But when he goes back…

He'll be going back to eight hours a day at school, and that's without counting drive time. That makes up a lot of the day!

Which means for a lot of the day, instead of missing school, Jason will be missing his little brother.

So Jason does his best to prepare Junior for the change. Jason worries about it constantly now, as the day of his re-admission rushes closer. Jason checks on Junior all the time, and Jason gives Junior all the resources he can think of, and Jason hopes Junior will be okay.

That's the best he can do for now: just hope.

Jason just hopes for the best for Junior.