Baby Hood

Chapter 5

The older four Waynes are gathered on the couches in the main sitting area, having been there since Bruce got back from the Watchtower a little before midnight. Damian was sitting next to him, sipping his tea as he watched the three older men talk.

"So, he remembers his life up until he was five, but has no memory of before he was struck by Klarion's magic?" Bruce sighed, watching Dick and Tim shake their heads. "And you have found a way to reverse it?"

"Yes, it will take both Fate and Klarion together but it has been said to work before. If not, the texts say the spell will wear off in six months to a year." Dick rolled his eyes at Bruce's grunt of disappointment. "Look, we are already in this situation so we might as well make the most of it while we search."

Bruce went to say something but was stopped by the sound of small bare feet on the hard wood floor. His sons smiled when they saw Jason's messy hair walk into the room slowly, hands rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. When his hands were away from his eyes, the group could see they were red rimmed and his cheeks had streaks.

"Timmy?" Jason climbed his brother's legs, nuzzling his neck. "I'm glad you are okay, I was worried."

"I'm here Jay, why were you worried?" Tim automatically started running his fingers through Jason's hair.

"I had a bad dream and this time you were in it. I-I checked your room but you weren't there." The child hiccupped, holding tighter to Tim. "I got scared that they did get you and no one was in their rooms so I-" His rapidly increasing heart rate was not unnoticed by Tim.

"Hey, hey shh, we are all safe. We just came down here for a little snack. Do you want to sleep in my room tonight, Jay? Would that help?" Jason nodded against his neck, clinging as Tim stood up. "Alright, lets go to bed. I think Alfred can make those pancakes you like so much. And Dick, Damian, and I all have the day off to get dad settled after his trip."

Jason's was out like a light and his little snores could be heard as the duo walked further away. Damian looked up to his father and brother, finishing the last sip of his tea. "Well, I think we should follow their lead and go off to bed, because if you go to bed after Drake then you know you have issues."

Jason woke up curled tightly against Tim, stifling a yawn so his brother could sleep. Tim's chest rumbled with a laugh. "I'm awake, Jay, but thank you for being nice. Come on, lets go get some breakfast."

Jason allowed Tim to lead him down the hall, only stopping by his room to grab some papers. "For dad, he gets back today!" The boy squealed, taking Tim's hand once more down the stairs. He didn't notice his brother's slightly faster heart rate or slowing footsteps the closer they got to the dining room, he was too preoccupied by his drawings. "Do you think dad will like them, Timmy?"

"Of course he will, they are magnificent." Tim opened the door, sighing in relief when he saw it was just Damian and Dick at the table so far. He sat next to Dick, watching Jason climb across from him and next to Damian. "So, what's breakfast today?"

"Well, I heard young Master Jason had a rough night last night, plus your father is home today. I figured we could have an assortment of pancakes for the occasion." Alfred announced, wheeling in a cart with steaming pancakes.

"Wow, Alfie, you're the best!" Jason cried, mouth watering at all the food in front of him. "Dickie, can you please pass me one of everything?"

"One of everything? You sure you can handle that?" Damian grinned, pouring them both some orange juice.

"Dickie and Timmy say I am a growing boy, of course I can handle it." Jason stuck his tongue out, taking a sip of his orange juice as Dick placed a few pancakes and apple slices on his plate. "Thank you Dickie."

"Anything for you, little one."

The brother's ate in silence for a bit, the only sound coming from the clinking of their utensils and glasses. They only paused when the front door opened and a voice rang out. "Alfred! It is so good to see you after so long!" The oldest Wayne boys felt their stomachs tighten, anxiety eating away at them. They heard the footsteps approaching, glancing at Jason to see if he noticed. Of course, he was much too immersed in building a snowman out of pancakes to look up when Bruce walked into the room.

"Ha! I told you pancake man could work." He poked Damian, unaware of Bruce until the dining room door shut with a slight bang. Jason flinched, looking up to see what made the noise. His face broke into a huge grin when he saw it was Bruce. Grabbing the papers next to his plate, he flew out of his chair towards Bruce with a shout. "Daddy! You're back!" Jason flung himself into Bruce's stiff arms, shoving the papers in his face and talking a mile a minute. "I drew these pictures for you. Well, Dami helped but I did most of it. Oh! I met the Justice League! Ms. Wonder Woman is beautiful and Superman is so good at hide and seek, he always finds me! Dickie and Timmy and Dami's friends are super cool, they let me have ice cream but don't tell Alfie, he may get mad."

Bruce eased his posture a bit, hugging Jason tight to his chest. "I missed you, Jaylad. Can I see the pictures you drew?" Jason beamed at this, pulling Bruce to the table while talking his ear off, crawling onto his father's lap while his brothers watched. Bruce shot them a smile, relieving the tension in the room. Dick, Damian, and Tim exchanged a look, breathing out a collective sigh as they looked at father and son chat about the drawing of the Justice League that Damian helped Jason draw, smiles making their ways onto their faces. "Who is your favorite hero, Jay?"

Jason squished his tongue out, deep in thought while Bruce sent his other three sons a wink. That is, until Jason answered his question. "Ms. Wonder Woman! She is so cool, dad! You would love her."

"I'm sure I would." Bruce mumbled, ignoring the smug looks his boys gave him. "What about Batman?"

Jason frowned, looking at the table. "I don't think Mr. Batman likes me. He seemed angry when I went to space with Dickie and Timmy and Dami. Also, Dickie kept glaring at him while we were there, so I don't think Dickie likes him." Dick snorted back a laugh, ignoring Bruce's glare. Jason squinted at him, tilting his head to the side in confusion. "What is so funny, Dickie?"

"Nothing, little man. Pancake went down the wrong pipe, that's all." Dick swallowed with a smile, taking a bite of his breakfast as if to prove a point. Jason nodded, turning back to Bruce with admiration in his eyes.

"Who do you like, dad?"

"I think Batman is pretty cool."

"Of course you do." Tim muttered, yelping when Bruce kicked him under the table. Jason looked at him with concern but Tim brushed him off, flipping Bruce off when the five year old wasn't looking. "Ass." He mouthed at his dad, sticking his tongue out childishly.

Damian cleared his throat, steering the conversation away from super heroics. "So, now that father is home, what are we going to do today?"

The youngest squealed, practically flying out of his chair with excitement. "Let's go swimming! Please, daddy, can we go swimming?"

Bruce would deny it to his grave, but whenever Jason called him 'dad' or 'daddy' he melted inside. "Of course we can, Jason. After breakfast, we will go get changed and then we can go take a swim, alright?"

Jason nodded vigorously, stuffing a huge bite of pancake in his mouth and talking around it. "Can Superman come play? Or Ms. Wonder Woman? Please?"

Bruce sighed, turning to his oldest son. "I don't know, we'll have to ask Dick since he knows them. Dick? Can they come play?"

Dick grinned mischievously, nodding his head. "I'll call them now." Jason squealed again, running around the table to hug Dick and thank him profusely. "Go get changed little one, we will clean this mess up." He grinned, running out of the room with a holler.

"So, thoughts?" Tim raised a brow at Bruce, who was staring after Jason with an unreadable expression. It was a long time before he answered and it took the man clearing his throat and shaking his head quite a few times before he finally spoke.

"I think we can work with this."