Family Ties : A Batfamily Story

Chapter 33

Hey so my plan for this chapter kinda fell apart as I was working on it so please excuse how fucked up and choppy it is :) Like always Enjoy and Savor!!!

POV Robyn

Waking up in Jason's apartment is a lot different than at the manor. Usually, it's Alfred that wakes me up with a cup of tea and some waffles. Here, however, I jump awake to the sound of glass breaking. Getting out of the sleeping bag Jason gave me, seeing as there is no furniture in the apartment yet, I wait by my closed door for another noise. I know one of the guys probably just dropped a glass, but old habits die hard as I start to panic a little. Loud noise always meant trouble for me back when I was with Connie.

"Damn it," I hear a voice say down the hall, "Jay, we need to pick up new plates!"

Taking a sigh of relief, I open the door and head into the living room.

"Careful," Roy warns me as I step into the room, "There is glass everywhere!"

"Where do you keep the broom?" I ask walking around the mass of broken plates on the floor.

"I think Jay hind it somewhere behind the fridge." He answers trying to pick up a piece of glass but dropping it as it cuts his fingertips. "Shit,"

"What did you do to my plates?" Jason exclaims with annoyance as he enters the living room.

Roy glares up at his friend defensively, "I dropped them,"

Reaching the fridge, I see a sliver of a wooden broom handle between it and the wall. Sticking my right arm out to grab it, it quickly locks as shooting pain stabs my shoulder.

"Fuck!" I curse a little too loudly staggering back.

Both of the guy's attention immediately shifts to me as Jason rushes towards me.

"Sis?" He catches me from walking back onto the broken glass as I clutch my hurt shoulder.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," I reassure him through gritted teeth. "My shoulder just locked up, that's all."

Roy glances at me with curious eyes, "Do you have an injury of some kind?"

I pause for a second, tell the truth or brush him off? "I broke it when I was a kid. It never healed right."

"Hmm," He looks at me for such a long time I thought he might have just spaced out. "I think I might be able to help that."

This last week here has been better than I could have hoped for. After the broken glass incident, Roy has been working on something for my arm. He said he wouldn't promise anything, but the fact that my arm might get even a bit better than it is now is enough to make me smile. Jay and I have been doing some furniture shopping with his new gang money, something that is weird to say. It feels kind of nostalgic to be using dirty money again, after all that was Connie's only source of income. But I'm not against it. I mean the gangs Jay took it from were gonna use it to hurt innocent people, we are using it to buy new plates.

"What do you think?" Jay brings me away from my thoughts as he shoves a paint swatch in my face. "Winter blackberry or rose purple?"

I flash him a questioning look. "For what?" 

"For your room," He says putting the swatches down, "I'm assuming you want them to be painted."

"Well if I get to choose," I let a small smile slip onto my lips while searching through the colors. "How about this, twilight mist?"

"Well I guess it's not too ugly," He teases before I elbow his side.

I wish I had always had a Jason in my life, cause god it's so much easier having him around. The manor was so big and lonely, even with the company of three brothers. In the apartment though, I never feel lonely. Jason and I just click together unlike any other person. It's strange and sounds a little crazy, but I love it because I have never felt safer than I feel when he's around. That's why I want to ask him to train me. If Roy's miracle invention works and Jason agrees to help me I could do it, I could be a vigilante. I learned my lesson from Damian, though. I'm not going to ask Jason up front. For now, I'll just ask for a self-defense class. He will understand that. I'm a young girl in Crime Alley, it's do or die out here and Jason can't be my build guard everywhere I go. He has to say yes.

"Hey, Jay," I speak up as we drive home in the van filled to the brim with new things for the apartment.

"Yeah," He replies almost absentmindedly.

I try not to show my fear in asking him, "You know how to fight, right?"

He chuckles a bit, "That or I'm really lucky,"

"D-do you think you can teach me self-defense?"

He looks at me for a second. I see in his eyes a hint of sadness. "Sure, sis,"

POV Tim

It's been a thirteen days since Robyn left and Dick is getting restless. Every night he is out as Nightwing until the sun comes up and at the BPD till sunset. The only sleep he gets is when he passes out at the dinner table, face down in cereal. I haven't seen him this bad since Jason came back, so let's just say I'm really worried. Damian calls every night to inform us of the situation, but it's always the same. She's gone and no one can find her. And though I'm doing a lot better than Dick, I'm still freaking out. How can I not blame myself right now? All I did was bark and yell at her! I was an asshole while she was just looking for a brother. If I could do it over again I would never have shouted at her in the kitchen at 2 AM or doubted her when she told me about Jason's good side. I would have at least tried to be her brother. If we find her, I'm going to try and be there for her. Tonight though, I guess Dick has had enough. He told me to pack up my stuff and wait for him in the car. We are going back to Gotham.

As we spend down the familiar highway, I watch my brother glare out the window shield. I know what is going through his head right now. He should have never gone back to Blüdhaven, he should have stayed to be with Robyn and me. See if Gotham were any other city, it would only be a matter of time before we would find Robyn, but it's not. With the number of gangs and murders in the streets, she is most likely dead. She may be a street kid, but she's not that much of a fighter. I can only hope she's okay.

"You know, it's not your fault," I mumble to him as we reach Gotham City.

"I just-" He pauses to try and keep from crying, "I don't want to be too late."