Chapter Text
“Master Jason, are you awake?”
Jason groaned as he opened his eyes. He’d already hit the snooze button on his alarm twice. “Yeah, Alfie. I’m up.”
The butler hummed outside of the closed door. “Very well, lad. I’ll have your breakfast ready by the time you make your way downstairs. I do encourage you to put some pep in your step. You wouldn’t wish to be late for your last day of school, would you?”
Right. Junior year was ending. After today, he and Tim would officially be seniors.
He still couldn’t believe they’d made it.
“Course not. I’ll be down in just a bit,” he promised. Jason felt his joints grind as he sat up in bed. Beside him, his loyal service dog, Elinor, looked up at him expectantly, eagerly awaiting her first command of the day.
At first, Jason had been vehemently against getting a service dog. The cane already made him stand out a lot more than he’d like. No matter how many times Leslie had tried to convince him of the benefits, the idea had never gotten more appealing. But when he’d had his first seizure last October and was diagnosed with post-traumatic epilepsy, Bruce had given him an ultimatum: get a service dog, or drop out of school.
And Jason certainly wasn’t going to take the latter option.
Even if he didn’t enjoy school (which he very much did), there was no way he could leave Timmy alone. The fall semester had been beyond traumatic for the kid. Between Ms. Milton’s abuse and CPS taking him from his parents, it was amazing he was functioning at all. Bruce had wanted Tim to stay at the Manor and be homeschooled for the rest of the year following fall break, but his youngest had refused. In his eyes, the more of his normal routine he could keep, the better. Plus, he’d argued, if Tim dropped out, then it would be obvious to all of his classmates who Ms. Milton’s victim was. And if that happened, Tim would never be able to go back. The two had reached a compromise when Tim had agreed to start going to therapy as long as Bruce allowed him to continue attending Gotham Academy. Jason had to give his little brother credit: the dude was a hardcore negotiator. So as much as he despised the idea of needing a service dog, he had given in to protect Tim.
He had never expected to fall in love so quickly.
The organization Leslie had recommended they go through had matched Jason with a beautiful eighteen-month old rough collie. He had immediately chosen the name Elinor (or Ellie, for short), after one of his favorite Jane Austen characters. The pair had bonded very quickly. They’d trained together every single day for almost two months, learning various commands and tasks that would be most beneficial to Jason’s specific needs. After that, Ellie had officially graduated and been allowed to move into her new home – right in time for Christmas.
Jason had to admit, having a service dog was a lot more helpful than he’d expected. In fact, he found himself feeling more independent rather than the other way around. Ellie could grab things for him, provide extra balance, and even warn him if a seizure or migraine was coming. She was also a great companion for him emotionally. If he had a nightmare, she would nudge him awake then lay her heavy body across his chest to ground him. She did the same thing if he started showing signs of a panic attack during the day.
He reached over and rubbed her head between her ears. “Morning, girl,” he greeted with a smile. “You ready for another day?”
Ellie wagged her tail in response.
Steeling himself, Jason grabbed his cane and dangled his legs over the bed. It had been almost a year since Ethiopia, yet he still needed the damn thing to walk more than a few steps.
When he pushed himself to stand, sparks of sharp, burning pain burst from his right hip and knee joints. Pain wise, he had good days and bad. Today fell somewhere along the middle: annoying, but nothing that would keep him bedridden.
Ellie opened his bathroom door for him. Bruce had converted his bedroom into an ensuite to save him the long walk down the hallway. It was a nice gesture, though a bit overkill in Jason’s humble opinion. Of course, this was the same guy who had installed an elevator in the manor so Jason could keep his bedroom on the second floor (which honestly, had meant more to Jason than he could express).
He brushed his teeth and got dressed. Thankfully, his mobility issues were mostly confined to right leg. He could do pretty much everything by himself, and Elinor was there to help with the rest.
After slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder, Jason grabbed his cane and hobbled out of his bedroom. Ellie happily trotted ahead of him and nudged the elevator’s button with her nose. Jason smiled. He could have easily pushed the button himself, but his service dog was a bit of a mother hen. At least he had plenty of experience with those.
Tim and Bruce were already sitting down at the breakfast table. Both immediately looked up at his arrival.
“Morning, Jay,” Tim greeted happily. There were no dark bags under the younger boy’s eyes, which Jason counted as a blessing. It told him that his little brother had actually gotten a decent night’s sleep for once in his life.
“Morning, Timmers,” Jason returned. He watched Ellie pull a chair out for him so he could sit down. He lowered down slowly, forcing himself not to wince when the throbbing in his leg intensified.
“How are you feeling this morning?” Bruce asked, his eyes slightly narrowed.
“Fine, B,” Jason assured. At least, he would be after Alfred brought him his meds. “Just waking up still.”
Speaking of the angel, the old butler placed a plate of waffles and bacon along with juice and a small handful of pills on the table in front of Jason.
“Thanks, Alfie,” Jason said with a grateful smile.
Alfred placed a warm hand on his shoulder. “Of course, Master Jason. Now, I believe it is also time for Miss Elinor’s breakfast. Come along, lass.”
The collie took one more look at Jason then, after determining that he would be okay for a few minutes, trotted off to the other side of the breakfast nook where her food and water bowls sat.
“She’s so protective of you,” Tim gushed. “It’s adorable.”
Jason washed down his meds with a swig of juice before responding. “Yeah, I know. Which means she really fits in around here.”
The last bit was said almost accusingly towards Bruce.
His father cocked an eyebrow. “Considering what you children have put me through in the past year, I would say I’m entitled to a little overprotectiveness.”
…That was actually fair. Not that Jason would ever admit that out loud.
“What did Dick do?” Tim challenged.
“You mean besides becoming a police officer in one of the most crime-ridden cities in the country?”
“Oof. Point taken. Maybe you should be the one going to therapy today.”
“Nice try,” Bruce drawled. “I’m working a half day today so I can pick you both up from school. I’ll drop Jason off at home on the way to your appointment.”
For the spring semester, Bruce had insisted that Tim not pile on any more classes. That meant that with his dual enrollment courses ending in December and his capstone cancelled, Tim didn’t have any classes after lunch. Which, in turn, meant that the boy got early dismissal with Jason.
It had taken a heartbreakingly long time to convince Tim that he wasn’t throwing away his future by taking a lighter semester. Especially since he had taken the SAT and ACT over Christmas break and had gotten perfect scores on both.
His parents had really messed him up.
After they finished breakfast, Alfred fastened on Elinor’s bright red “Service Dog” vest. It amazed Jason to see just how immediate the change in her demeanor was. When the vest was off, Ellie played and begged for pets just like any other dog. Sure, she still did tasks for Jason and followed him around, but she did so in a more relaxed manner. As soon as the vest snapped into place, however, she was a dog on a mission. She didn’t pay attention to anything or anyone who wasn’t Jason Todd.
“Have a good day at school, boys,” Bruce said, kissing each of his sons on the head. Tim only stiffened slightly, which was a testament to the great progress he’d made.
The school day itself passed by in a blur. Mr. Bryan threw a party in homeroom with a large banner telling them all to “Have a Lit Summer,” which Jason loved even if it was a bit corny. The teacher had even brought a pup cup for Elinor. He really hoped he got Mr. Bryan for homeroom again for senior year.
Predictably, he didn’t do much in stats or geometry. The teachers had pretty much just let them hang out and be on their phones the entire time.
And with the ring of the third period bell, junior year was over.
Jason decided to wait for Bruce outside in the courtyard. Tim would likely be a few minutes, seeing as the classroom where AP Euro was held was on a completely different floor. Elinor led the way as they walked out, ensuring he had plenty of space as they went. Thankfully, Jason wasn’t the only student at GA to have a service dog (one of the graduating seniors was blind), so his fellow students knew not to try to pet or distract her.
Elinor nudged the button for the doors to automatically open. No one else was out there, which wasn’t unusual since it was barely noon. The weather outside was surprisingly pleasant. Warm, but not too humid. The sky was bright blue with white, fluffy clouds splattered across the horizon. It’s the kind of day that Tim would use to take some awesome pictures.
Of course, it was still Gotham, so nothing nice came without a catch.
Jack and Janet fucking Drake were walking towards the building. They looked unchanged from when Jason had seen them last – cold, polished, with an aura of annoying superiority. But as far as Jason knew, no one had heard from the Drakes in weeks. The bastards had missed over half of their court-approved visits with Tim, often coming up with lame excuses last minute to try to cover their own asses. What the hell were they doing here now?
“Jason, it’s lovely to see you again,” Janet greeted through clenched teeth. She was obviously about as happy to see him as he was her.
“Can’t say the feeling’s mutual,” Jason spat. He was 99.99% sure these people weren’t supposed to be here, and he only had a few minutes to get them to leave before Tim showed up.
“Don’t disrespect my wife, young man,” Jack warned, his hands shaking with rage beside him.
Janet, on the other hand, looked unfazed. “We are here to see our son, of course.”
Nope. Not on his watch.
He sent a quick text to Tim asking him to grab a book out of his locker. Jason had already finished it, but he needed to stall Tim and buy himself a few more minutes. Surely, Bruce would be there soon to back him up.
“Nice try. Your visits are on Mondays and Thursdays. Not that you’ve shown up to much of ‘em.”
Janet’s gaze was icy. No wonder Tim was scared of the woman. “Oh, please. CPS specifically chose days that were inconvenient for us in order to make us look bad. We both have jobs. We can’t just drop everything to accommodate those people.”
Jason made a show of rolling his eyes. “It’s not to accommodate CPS, you dumbasses. It’s for Tim. Tim should be your top priority right now. Not your stupid jobs.”
“Easy for you to say,” Jack scoffed. “The only job you’ve ever had is being a whore.”
Jason’s heart stopped. Jack knew? How? Tim never would have told him. He was great at keeping secrets. So how…?
At his shocked expression, Jack smiled cruelly. “That’s right, I know all about how you sold yourself out on street corners, you pathetic, no-good slut. And now you’ve corrupted my son into thinking he can be a sexual deviant and blame it on the rest of the world. Well news flash, buddy. You are responsible for your own actions. Every dick you sucked was of your own free will, and I’m sure you were compensated fairly for it. Just because you’re embarrassed about it now doesn't mean you were the victim. The sooner you learn that lesson, the better.”
Jason couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He finally understood why Bruce and Dick had never allowed him to listen to the recording of the phone call that had caused CPS to remove Tim from the Drakes’ custody.
His own hands were shaking now. Beside him, Elinor whined in concern. “You pieces of shit never deserved Tim. How he turned out to be as kind and caring as he is with you people for parents is a damn miracle. I hope the state terminates the rest of your rights so he never has to see your dumb faces ever again. He’s way better off without you.”
Jack roared and made to step towards him, but his wife placed her hand on his chest. “Never mind him, Jack. Let’s just go find Timothy. He should be at lunch by now.”
Jason stepped between them and the door. “You can’t see Tim. You don’t have custody of him.”
“He is our son,” Janet seethed. “We will see him whenever we please. Now, kindly step aside. Or hobble, if you’d prefer.”
“You lost the right to call him your son a long time ago. Blood doesn’t mean shit – it’s the people who love and care for you that are really your family.”
He knew that better than most. For all of her flaws, Catherine was more of a mother to him than Sheila ever could have been. And Bruce and Willis weren’t even comparable.
“We do love our son,” Jack growled, “and he loves us. He knows we’ll always be his real parents, no matter how much you try to poison him against us. Timothy is a Drake. That will never change. Just like you will always be a gutter rat who’s only good for a quick back-alley fuck.”
Jason didn’t respond. The Drakes kept going in and out of focus. He felt light-headed. Where the heck was Bruce? He needed to… to…
Elinor started nudging and licking his hand.
Shit. Not now!
“Fuck,” Jason muttered under his breath. Stupid broken body. He needed to finish telling off the Drakes! But that would have to wait now. Instead, he allowed Elinor to help him lower to the ground. His hip and knee protested the movement, but Jason could barely feel them. His whole body felt tingly… like pins and needles.
The last thing he remembered was Elinor pawing at his medical alert bracelet before his eyes rolled back into his head.
Tim was almost to the courtyard when his phone went off. It was a notification from Jason’s medical alert bracelet.
His brother was having an emergency.
He sprinted the last few yards and burst through the double doors. Jason was on the ground, convulsing uncontrollably while Elinor pulled his cane and backpack out of the way. But surprisingly, that wasn’t the shocking part.
The shocking part was his fucking parents were there.
Mentally, Tim slapped himself. His parents weren’t the priority right now. Jason was.
“Timothy?”
He ignored his mother’s voice as he hurriedly dug through his bag. After pulling out his sweatshirt, he folded it and dropped to his knees above Jason’s head.
“You’re okay, Jay,” he assured as he gently pushed the sweatshirt underneath his brother’s skull in order to cushion it. “You’re doing great. Just wait it out. You’re safe now.”
According to the app, it had already been about a minute. But as long as it was under five minutes, Jason was fine.
“Timothy, are you just going to ignore us?”
Tim glanced up at his mother, incredulous. “Are you kidding? Jason’s having a seizure, right now. He is the only thing I’m concerned about at the moment.”
“He’s probably faking because he couldn’t handle being told the truth,” his father huffed. “He’s too used to Wayne’s coddling.”
Jason was foaming at the mouth. Only the whites of his eyes were visible beneath his twitching eyelids. Who in their right mind would think he was faking this?
It made Tim’s blood boil.
Ninety seconds.
“You’re okay, Jason,” he spoke softly, choosing not to respond to his dad. “You’re safe. It’s going to end soon, and then you’ll be okay.”
It wasn’t the first time he’d witnessed Jason having a seizure, but it never got any easier. Elinor, having cleared the area, came to sit beside Tim, her eyes never leaving the older boy. She clearly felt the same way.
Two minutes.
Finally, the convulsions stopped. Once Tim was certain Jason was fully out of it, he rolled his brother into the recovery position, just as Bruce had taught him. Elinor was quick to curl up into her master’s side.
“There, it’s over now,” Tim soothed, carding his fingers through the older boy’s hair. Two minutes was about Jason’s average. He’d need plenty of rest and supervision over for the next couple of hours, but he would be fine.
He was so focused on Jason that he didn’t realize his father had moved until he was being roughly yanked up to his feet. His shoulder exploded in pain, and there was an audible “pop.” Tim screamed.
“You will not ignore us!” Jack seethed. “We are your parents, and we deserve respect!”
“Jack, stop! There are cameras out here!” Janet hissed.
Tears were pouring out of his eyes. His shoulder was throbbing in a way it never had before. But that didn’t matter. Jason… he needed to check on Jason.
“Get the fuck away from him!”
The voice was familiar.
Bruce.
His father released him immediately, but the loss of contact did nothing to alleviate the pain in his shoulder.
Tim’s view of his parents was obstructed as Bruce stepped in front of him. His cobalt eyes were full of worry. “Hey, buddy, your shoulder is dislocated. Try not to look at it, okay?”
“J-Jason–”
“He’s okay. Elinor would be alerting if something was wrong. Why don’t you sit down with him for now?”
Tim nodded and let Bruce guide him to the ground. His shoulder was still pulsing with agony, but he did his best to ignore it and keep his gaze on his brother. Bruce was here now. Batman would protect them. Everything was going to be okay.
Jason’s eyes were closed. That wasn’t really a bad thing. It typically took the older boy a few minutes to wake up post seizure. His breathing was steady, though, and that was the most important thing at the moment. Tim just needed to focus on that.
Somewhere far away, he heard Bruce start talking to his parents. “I’m calling the police and CPS right now. You are both here illegally, and now Tim is injured. Not to mention you upset my son enough to trigger a seizure! You have no idea how big of a shitstorm I am about to call upon you. I suggest you get out of here while you can still walk.”
“I didn’t even grab him that hard!” Jack defended. “He was running his mouth, and now he’s being a baby about–”
“His fucking shoulder is dislocated!” Bruce growled, though he was beginning to sound more like Batman.
Finally, the school resource officer showed up. He’d probably heard Tim screaming.
“What seems to be the problem here, folks?” He asked, his tone tense and full of warning.
“Good,” Bruce huffed. “These people are trespassing. They have lost custody of their child and are attempting to see him outside of the court-approved visits. Now, they’ve dislocated his shoulder in an act of aggression because he was helping my son, who’s epileptic and just had a seizure.”
His parents were yelling now. They were saying a lot of mean things about him and Jason and Bruce. Tim didn’t like it when his parents yelled. So he did what he normally did when the world got too stressful:
He floated away.
Jason woke up slowly, letting out a groan as his brain registered the deep, aching pain thrumming throughout his entire body. Everything hurt.
“Jaylad, are you waking up, son?”
Bruce was talking to him. What was he doing in Jason’s bedroom so early in the morning?
He made himself open his eyes in order to investigate. The lights in his room were off and the curtains drawn, leaving the lamp on top of his nightstand as the only source of light. Elinor, as usual, was curled up at his feet while Tim lay passed out next to him.
Wait… Tim?
Jason pushed himself to sit up, wincing as it aggravated his already pulsating joints. Bruce was sitting in a chair at his bedside with his computer in his lap.
“How are you feeling, bud?” His father asked softly, closing his laptop and setting it on the nightstand.
“Pretty shitty,” Jason replied honestly.
Bruce nodded, as if that were to be expected. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
Jason’s stomach dropped. That was never a good question to be asked immediately upon waking. He searched his muddled brain for answers. “Um, I was at school, I think? I was heading outside to wait on you. After that… it gets fuzzy. Did I have a seizure?”
His father reached forward and squeezed his hand. “I’m afraid so, kiddo. Unfortunately, there’s more to it. When you got outside, you ran into Jack and Janet Drake. They were trying to sneak into the school to talk to Tim. I haven’t seen the security footage yet, but I imagine the conversation got pretty heated. The stress is probably what triggered you into having a seizure.”
It was already a lot to take in, but to Jason’s horror, Bruce continued. “Tim took care of you while you were seizing. I had just pulled into the parking lot when I saw Jack yank Tim up to his feet by his upper arm. His shoulder was dislocated in the process. By the time the school resource officer showed up to take control of the situation, Tim had started dissociating. It took me a good five minutes to coax him out of it.”
Now, Jason was furious. Would those people ever stop ruining Tim’s life? They had finally been making progress with him, and now those idiots had gone and done who-knows-how-much damage to the boy’s already fragile psyche.
Sensing his heightened emotions, Elinor moved from her spot at the end of the bed and curled up in her handler’s lap.
“Good girl,” Bruce praised. “Now, Jason, I know this is very upsetting, but I don’t want you getting worked up. You’re still at an increased risk for having another seizure if you get too stressed. I’m only going to continue talking about what happened if I know you’ll be safe.”
Jason took a deep breath as he stroked Elinor’s back. He was desperate to hear the rest of the story, so he needed to calm down. He focused on the weight of his dog’s body in his lap and the softness of her long fur.
“I’m good,” he said after a few moments. “Please, tell me the rest.”
His father nodded, satisfied. “Okay, bud. So the police were called, and Jack and Janet were both arrested for trespassing and harassment. Jack also caught charges for aggravated assault, child endangerment, and child abuse. It’s unlikely they’ll receive any substantial jail time given their legal resources, but I let Tiffany know, and she said it’s possible the judge will terminate their parental rights completely. That would open up the path for us to adopt Tim, if that’s something he wants.”
“What about his shoulder?” Jason checked. Now that he was looking more closely, he could see the top of a sling poking out of the blanket Tim was bundled up in.
“Leslie reduced the dislocation and put him in a sling. Thankfully there were no fractures on the x-ray, so he should be right as rain within a few weeks. We got home about half an hour ago. Tim’s just a bit groggy from the painkillers.”
Jason felt himself fully relax. Tim was going to be okay. Nothing was broken that couldn’t be fixed.
Another thought occurred to him. “Did you call his therapist and reschedule? He’s definitely gonna need it after today.”
Bruce chuckled softly. “Of course, son. Now, why don’t you try to get some more rest? When you both wake up, I think some ice cream is in order.”
Jason didn’t need to be told twice. At his command, Ellie nestled between himself and Tim. It made him feel better knowing the collie would watch over them both while they rested.
“Love you, Dad,” he mumbled into his pillow, feeling his eyes grow heavy.
“I love you too, Jaylad.”