Meet the Bat Family

5: Wounded

The next few days they worked hard on the plan. The Bat family found the Jokers lair, which was giving off large amounts of energy they'd never seen before. Batman and Red Robin had been monitoring the place. The night came and Amelia stayed at the Manor while the heroes went to take down the organization. Amelia and Alfred were in coms and had visuals that Red Robin had put in place a few nights before.

While Red Robin fought, he also took parts of the machine to use in his projects and to make a device so Amelia can go home. Batman was battling with the Joker, succeeding in knocking him unconscious, while Nightwing round up the stragglers. Right before they left, Amelia saw Red Hood staring at two tall blue tube off to the side room Double R grabbed parts from. One had wires and open straps inside, as if waiting for someone to grab and trap. It had an imprint of a human inside. His gaze was froze on it as his partners left the building.

Jason looked away when hearing a running sound. He saw one of the thugs trying to get away. With no hesitation, he started running. He ran, ready for blood, for the terrorizer.

"No you don't!" He yelled and hit him with a pipe laying around. The guy turned around and shot him while holding his bleeding skull. Red Hood stumbled but not enough that he couldn't aim his own gun. When they came back, the building was in flames, Joker was in Arkham, and Jason was the most injured. Amelia tended to him right away after Alfred took out the bullets. He had been training her beforehand how to stitch up wounds.

There was tears forming in her eyes as she worked. There had been a bullet in his arm and lower leg with a few not too deep cuts from knifes and broken glass, but bad enough for stitching. He had bruises on his arms that had to be washed and iced. The worst was the cracked rib he'd have to medicate.

"Never handled an actual body before I take it?" He teased, using humor to try to forget the pain in his chest

"Why do you have to act like you're the toughest when you're Red Hood?" Amelia said softly. "You could have just let that guy go."

"I'm sorry, but it's my personal job as Red Hood to get ride of all the scum." he told her. "You know why."

"But that doesn't mean you have to be reckless," Amelia argued, her voice a bit louder. "It was like you were just asking for trouble, even when you were hurt bad enough as it was," Amelia paused, "You scared me." A tear finally fell, rolling down her cheek slowly.

Jason thought about what she said and saw the tear. He let out a sigh. "I'm sorry Ames. I didn't mean to scare you, I just..." He told her quietly. "I just didn't like how they tried to hurt you. How they scared you to say his name the moment you came here. That they took you from your real family and dumped you here."

Amelia looked down at his face. She saw a small glint in his eye. He was really worried about her. He had fought for her this time, not to feed his own gain or anger. She smiled at him. "It's ok. I'm safe, aren't I?" He nodded. "Plus being here isn't all that bad. I'm glad I got to experience good ol' Gotham without having to just read about it." Jason smiled at that comment. 

"I don't know what that feeling was. I was so angry at them. I felt heat in my eye the moment I saw that chamber, then pain in my chest. A different pain than a broken bone." Jason confessed. Then it was silent, both of them thinking. Before Jason flinched slightly as a cold cloth touched a more sensitive cut. She paused before she took her hand and carefully messaged his head.

"Does that make it feel better?" The adult asked. Jason nodded, relaxing a bit into the familiar. Amelia dabbed at the other cuts, keeping her hand where it was unless she needed both. Then stitched up the deep ones.

"I'm not expert on emotions or feelings like my sister," Amelia started. "But that feeling? I think it was a combination of two. You were worried about me, so that made you angry at them. But I'm guessing it didn't feel the same as the anger when you're brothers or family are hurt?" She asked, to which he shook his head.

"I get just angry. The pain isn't there unless they are in critical condition." He said looking at her.

"There was another emotion hidden then. You just have to figure out what it is." Amelia stated. Jason let his head rest on the table looking up, silently thinking about what she had said. Amelia just carried on and dabbed a wet washcloth on his neck where a small cut was.

When Amelia was tending to a cut near Jason's shoulder, he said something she never expected to hear from him.

"Thank you."

"You are very welcome." She finished sewing the last cut and put the tools away. Amelia turned around to see Jason already sitting up on the table, an arm slightly across his abdomen. As she walked over, Jason started speaking again.

"You know... I don't really know what love feels like." He started. "Sure, my brothers love me, mostly Dick. Alfred and Bruce do too. The people we save love us and I always loved my mother but..." Jason drifted off.

"But no one has ever loved you." Amelia finished his sentence. Jason nodded at the emphasis on the word.

"I never had someone like that after I was resurrected. I've never felt that feeling anymore."

Jason looked at the ground. After minutes of thinking, he said, "Though maybe I'll try, but with the right person." He looked at her, with a small, caring smile.

Alfred smiled too, from ear to ear, for he had noticed the bond way before they knew. With that, he walked into the room, as if he saw nothing, and examined her work.

"Well done Miss Amelia. The stitches could have been neater, but you cleaned the cuts pretty good. You did a very good job." He said, startling the two of them. They turned around to see him walk up beside her.

"Thank you, Alfred." She said as he started to walk out the door.

"Oh, and well done to you too Master Jason." Alfred turned to say as he was in the doorway. "You caught a very good one." He said, leaving both Amelia and Jason frozen and thinking, 'Of course he saw. Alfred sees everything...'