Family in Counting (BatBrats AU)

3: Talk to Us Cassie.

Trickle, trickle, tap.

Trickle, trickle, tap.

I threw myself out of bed and thudded down the hall. The noise echoed loudly through the dark and quiet manor. Whenever I was angry I would lead with my heels (Dad did it too) and huff so the boys would hear it. I slammed the bathroom door open--- the one between Dick and Jason's room--- and marched up to the faucet that was just barely on. Dick did that sometimes when he couldn't sleep, he would let the faucet go softly all night. It just annoyed me. I smacked the handle and the trickle, trickle, tapping stopped. Suddenly the door that lead to Dick's bedroom was thrown open.

"Let it be Jason!" he roared. His face was red and jaw was set, but when he saw me standing confused in front of the sink, he shook his head and mumbled an apology. "I thought you were Jay. Just turn the facet back on. I need to go back to sleep."

I shook my head 'no' and held my hand over the handle.

"Cassie, I can't do this with you right now. Please just turn the facet back on, I need to go back to sleep."

Again I shook my head 'no'. Dick marched forward. He did the thing with his heels too. Probably not because of Dad but maybe his dad. Maybe Dad. He reached for the handle but I swatted him away. His face turned red again and he bent over and threw me onto his shoulder. I opened my mouth to scream at him but stopped myself. Instead I pounded on my brother's back and tried to pry his arms from my waist.

"Stop!" he roared, throwing me back into my bedroom. "Stop! I need to go to sleep, Cassandra!!"

I pulled myself off the floor and raised my finger at him, meaning to look threatening. He disarmed me with a shaky hand holding his eyes. His lips wavered, whitening and wrinkling.

"I need to go to sleep," he muttered. His shoulder pressed into the door frame, a sob wracking his body and making him dance. I stood with my hands stiff by my sides. "I just ... I need to go to sleep. To ... to sleep. And the only way I can think of going is hearing his voice again. Hearing him tell me that it was just a nightmare ... t-to sleep."

My fingers twitched loose from my own grip and I reached for Dick's hand. When our nerve endings sensed each other he jumped back.

"Go to bed Cassie," he instructed, turning down the hall. I darted to my doorway and watched him vanish into his room. The noise had woken everyone else in the house, Damien included. Jason zombied his way down the hall, grabbing my shirt sleeve as he passed and taking me to the end of the hall where our little brother was crying. He stopped me outside the door, giving a half-assed order through the groggy film he was trying to keep.

"Stay." Then he pushed into Damien's room, sweeping him out of his toddler bed and marching back out. He moaned out another order. "Come."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me back to his bedroom. Before I could fight back, we were laying Damien in between the dip of the large pillows on Jason's bed. He pulled back to look at him.

"We're going to have to tell him again when he gets older," he sighed, tightening his grip on my hand. I jerked away from his touch only to have my fingers forced through his again. "Cassie, this isn't the time to shut us out. You don't have to talk to us--I mean that you really don't--but you do have to stay with us. Dick needs our help. He's sinking faster than the rest of us."

I nodded and let my fingers relax into his hand. I rested my head into his shoulder before closing my eyes. He turns his cheek in an awkward motion to plant a sideways kiss on my hair.

Once he pulled away, I was climbing into his bed, over Damien and rolling into my left side to face him. Jason was more graceful in his landing, letting himself go limp as he hit the pillow so he looked more relaxed. My hand reattached to his over Damien's stomach. The little boy let out a big breath and shimmied his hands up so they were touching the headboard. I leaned my head in so my left cheek was resting against him and my knees were digging into my chest.

"Thank you," I whispered. I'm positive he didn't hear me, but I felt his sigh as he fell asleep.