Chapter Text
Jason liked being the Red Hood. It gave him the power he always craved in his life, the ability to have some control over what was happening around him. As a child, Willis took that from him, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't do anything about what the woman he called 'mother' did. Then he met Bruce, and it was Batman who called the shots, all he could do was follow the orders he was given.
And then the Joker came and robbed him from any choice he could've had in his life.
But now, years later after the pit's effects wore off (which was another thing that robbed him from the power over his fate) he could finally say that he was finally okay with his ability to make decisions. He did what he deemed right, following his own set of principles, and nobody could force him to change that. And over the time, he earned enough respect and fear to have control over what the people did around him. Having the Bowery and Crime Alley in his hands and its people at his mercy was enough for him.
A psychiatrists would have a field day with him but ain't that the truth about every single person in Gotham? You needed to be a special kind of fucked up to stay in Gotham and be as protective about their hellhole as they were.
And that's why he strapped on his guns every night, put on his helmet and stood on the rooftop, watching over the streets. Because Gotham never slept and someone needed to watch out for her citizens.
His head snapped up when he heard a scream. Most gothamites wouldn't even bat an eye at it, they were used to someone always being in trouble, cries were now a part of the normal white noise of the city. But Jason was like a well-trained dog with a pavlovian response to sounds like that. Gunshots, screams, yells... It was all the same for him.
He shot off the grapple gun and flung himself off the roof without any fear or second thoughts. He landed on the next roof and ran through it before flinging himself off once again until he finally saw what was going on.
The woman ran through the streets with a bundle in her arms, the gang of man hot on her heels. They were all wielding knives and guns and honestly, the woman was very lucky neither of them shot her yet. If Jason had to guess, she probably stole what she was holding. But he jumped off the roof, ready to shield her. She had just enough of a lead that he could land right between them and her attackers. He drove his fist right into one of the men's face, sending him onto the ground.
"Get the bitch!" the man screamed and Jason drew his gun to shoot another in the thigh when he got too close to the woman for his liking. He grabbed one by the arm and threw him into the other guy, to send them back. He stepped onto the man's chest he hit and shot him in the shoulder to keep him on the ground, howling in pain.
Chills ran down his spine when there was another gunshot. That wasn't him. His head whipped around just in time to see the woman fall. The man he shot in the thigh was clutching his gun, still laying on the ground. His face was red from the pain he felt from the wound, but he had enough in him to shoot. His hands were shaking, he shouldn't have been able to actually hit the mark.
Fuck. Jason had been careless.
As the woman's body collided with the ground, there was a loud wail coming from her direction that gradually descended into cries. It was a baby. The bundle she held was a child and now she was shot.
Jason didn't think twice before he shot the man in the head before emptying the gun into the other three. There were more important things right there than to care for their lives. They probably deserved it anyway. He left them right there as he ran towards the woman. The blood was already pooling around her, tremors shaking her thin body. She was still clutching the bundle in her arms.
"Baby... My baby..." she chocked, hiccupping in pain.
"Oracle, call an ambulance immediately!" Jason didn't even try to hold back his voice. The helmet muffled and changed it enough that the woman wouldn't realise that he was actually shouting. "A civilian had been shot. Abdominal wound, the bullet exited her body judging by the amount of blood, she's bleeding out."
"Where are you?" Barbara's voice sounded calm and professional, but Jason knew she was already calling the hospital.
"The first alley in the Narrows from Crime Alley, the west side," he answered and only stood up to tear the jacket off one of the men before falling onto his knees beside the woman. He Tore the jacket in two before balling them up.
"On their way. Try to minimalize the bleeding," Barbara said and Jason wanted to glare at the nearest camera, but he didn't dare to lift his eyes from the woman's body. The baby continued wailing.
"I'm not stupid, O, I'm doing what I can," he hissed. The woman gasped as he lifted her body just enough to press the ball of fabric against the wound before using the other half of the jacket to bind it around her to stabilize the makeshift bandage in its place.
"I know, Hood, I know," Barbara tried to hit a calming tone, but it was doing nothing to help Jason's nerves that were already going haywire. Looking through her body for any other injuries Jason saw the large amount of money that was in her clothes, but he decided to ignore it. Seeing the rag the baby was bundled into, it was clear why she decided to steal, she just stole from the wrong people.
The woman whimpered as Jason gently lifted the baby from her arms. He caressed her dirty hair with a gloved hand to keep her down.
"It's okay, I just wanna make sure he's okay," he said softly.
"My baby... My..." her voice was getting quieter, her shivers weakening.
"Stay awake. He needs you. The ambulance'll be here soon, you're fine. He's good," Jason said as he undid the rag. The baby was still fussing, his face red from crying. But that was still a good sign, it showed that he didn't suffer any major injury from the fall. Jason touched his foot but he immediately kicked his hand away and hit him when he next went for his hands. That was good enough for the vigilante.
"She... She's..." the woman tried to speak up again, but she couldn't finish her sentence. Her eyes became unfocused before they slowly shut. Jason clutched the baby against his chest as he reached towards the woman's face again.
"Stay awake. The ambulance will be here. Stay with me. Tell me about her. What's her name?" he tried to strike up a conversation, but the woman didn't answer. She lost too much blood.
"Hood, the ambulance is around the corner. You need to leave now," Barbara called out.
"Fuck." Jason looked around. The men were obviously dead, he made sure of it. But the mother... He didn't feel good about leaving her. But he couldn't help anymore.
He could hear the ambulance as well as Barbara calling his name again.
"Goddammit," he swore under his breath, he clutched the baby against his chest a but tighter as he pulled out the grapple gun and shot it up. He pushed himself off the ground and climbed onto the rooftop. He looked down to see the ambulance coming to a halt right at the alley before the paramedics jumped out. They took in all the fallen, before systematically looking through the men and then stepping to the woman. Once they took the stretcher to her, Jason turned around. He wasn't needed any longer.
He looked down at the baby in his arms. He needed to find a place to stay with her. His own house was way too dangerous for a child, and the manor was too far away for him to grapple through half the city with the kid.
"Oracle, can you open Red's place? I can't disarm his traps like this," he said as he jumped over to the next roof. Tim's place was the closest to his location, he didn't need to do many dangerous stunts until then.
"Why did you take the baby?" Barbara asked, but she didn't deny his request. As Jason leapt off the roof in Crime Alley, he could see how the light in Tim's house turned on.
"I'm not leaving her there. The last thing she needs after this is Gotham's top class CPS," he answered with a growl. He grappled up onto the roof and jumped off at the back so people wouldn't connect the house with him before he entered through a hidden door Tim used as Red Robin.
"And what do you want to do with her?" Barbara asked. Jason turned on the light in Tim's nest before walking to the sliding door and waiting for Barbara to open it up for him.
"I don't know. Hopefully she can get back to her mother soon," Jason sighed and pulled off his helmet, leaving it in there as he walked into the house itself.
Tim was usually quite messy as Jason has seen million times in his Replacement's room in the manor, but the house seemed somewhat alright. It was rather minimalistic, but every furniture screamed quality and money. There were a few dirty coffee mugs in some places, and a hoodie thrown around, but it was a lot less trashy than Jason expected. Not too much garbage and he couldn't smell any rotting food and that was enough for him.
"Let's hope for the best," Barbara sighed. "Red is on his way back."
"Good." Jason sat down onto the couch and made himself comfortable before laying the baby onto his thighs. The girl had now stopped wailing but was still looking at Jason as if he was the scum of the Earth. Her brown eyes were framed with long black lashes, her button nose tiny over the small lips. Her chubby cheeks were still red from all the crying she did earlier. The hazel brown hair on her head was a bit dirty from how she ended up on the ground earlier so Jason pulled off his gloves and started running his fingers gently through the soft locks to clean out at least some dirt. For a baby she must have had a lot of hair, but Jason could still only think about it as a little tuffs that slid so softly against his skin.
He smiled at the baby as she kicked towards him.
She was temperamental, and Jason could appreciate that.
"No need to get fussy with me, princess, I ain't gonna hurt you," he reassured her and he undid the cloth she was bundled into. She had a ratty, obviously well-worn onesie on but it didn't seem torn anywhere and that was enough for Jason for now. It could keep her warm well enough as far as Gotham's standard of clothing went.
The little girl gurgled something in reply and standers bouncing herself by pushing her feet into Jason's stomach. Jason lifted an eyebrow as he let her grab onto his fingers. He bounced his thighs gently.
"Is this what you want? You're bored?" he asked but didn't necessarily want an answer. She continued voicing her opinion, but she seemed less angry.
Jason could hear the sliding door opening somewhere in the house, but he didn't look up. Tim's footsteps were quiet normally, but right now he didn't bother with paying attention to that, so his boots slammed against the floor.
"What the hell is going on?" he asked a bit more loud that he should've. The smile Jason got onto the baby's face disappeared and her face morphed into a frown again. It looked like she was about to start crying again, so Jason lifted her against his chest before she could start.
"Don't shout, you're scaring her," he reprimanded, swaying a little in his seat to calm her down.
Tim got rid of his cape and cowl down in the nest, now only standing there in his red and black leotard and his boots. His hair was bathed in sweat, sticking to his neck. He stopped beside the couch and took in Jason. His face was closed off, the only thing that showed his surprise was the single eyebrow he raised.
"Why is there a baby in my living room?" he asked, keeping his voice low.
Jason continued swaying with the little girl.
"Her mother got shot. I wasn't about to leave her in an alley in the middle of the night," he answered, keeping his hand on the back of her neck. The baby clutched his leather jacket in her little hands, hiding her face in Jason's neck.
"There is nothing wrong with that. What I'm asking is why she is in MY living room?"
"Your place was the closest," Jason replied, giving Tim a warning look. "I wasn't going to fucking grapple through Gotham to the manor with a baby in my arms."
Tim ran his hand through his hair and let out a sigh.
"I understand that, but what do you want me to do? I have nothing you need for a baby," he said softly.
"Could you just lighten up, Babybird? I'll take her to Alfie tomorrow, we only need to stay for tonight," Jason assured him, standing up from the couch. The baby squirmed in his arms, but he only tightened his hold on her a bit so she wouldn't fall. She made a whine at that and tried to wiggle more, but Jason held her securely.
Tim watched him, his expression closed off. He took in how Jason held the baby, his posture, his eyes. Jason seemed completely calm, like he wasn't rattled by how this evening turned out.
"But tomorrow you will go to Alfred. This is not safe for her," he said and gestured for Jason to follow him.
"No shit, Captain Obvious," Jason rolled his eyes, but went after Tim. The boy lead him up to the end of the corridor and opened the door before turning on the lights. It was the most basic guestroom Jason has ever seen, but he couldn't exactly complain. There was a bed, there was a lamp, that was good enough for one night.
"I don't have a crib, but if we pushed the bed against the wall and put pillows around her that should be fine, right?" Tim frowned softly, running his glowed hand through his hair.
"How would I know?" Jason gave the younger a bewildered look. "As long as she doesn't whack her head into the wall or falls off, it should be fine, no?"
"Doesn't your best friend have a kid?"
"Yeah, but Roy had a crib ready by the time he had Lian. That was the first thing he got when Cheshire told him about the pregnancy," Jason answered. He could see in Tim's eyes how done he was with Jason's shit and as mean as that sounded, Jason wanted to grin.
"One night won't kill her like that," Tim sighed and just leaned against the door. Neither of them moved for a long moment before Tim looked back at Jason. "You can go ahead and do what you want."
Jason turned towards him to show off the still fussy baby in his arms.
"I ain't gonna push that shit, I have a baby," he answered easily. The baby let out a gurgling sound and wiggled a little in his arms.
"Shit," she vocalised. Jason wasn't sure if she managed to kick him in the stomach or if it was the realisation that sunk his stomach.
"Nonononono," Tim started, closing the distance between them with a quick step. The girl looked at him with innocent eyes, almost surprised as she once again said:
"Shit."
"Goddammit," Jason said, but before he could fully say the word Tim slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Sheep. Shih-tzu. Shift. Ship..." he tried to think off more words starting with 'shi' but his tower high IQ decided to leave him in that moment. "Oh, fuck..."
"FUDGE!" Jason raised his voice just enough to drown out Tim's swearing. They glared at each other for a very long moment, but at least the baby found this entertaining. She giggles loudly, before letting out a loud fart.
"Oh god," Tim said, bringing his hand up to block his nose, but he couldn't help bit smile. The entire situation was surreal.
Jason outright laughed, he bounced that baby in his arms.
"You're a stinky little rascal, aren't ya?" then the smell finally hit him full force. "A very stinky rascal." For the first time in his life, he was grateful for the amount of shit he had seen in his life, because otherwise the smell would've immediately made him gag. But at least now he understood why she was fidgeting so much earlier.
"Okay. I'll go get whatever she needs for the night and you go and clean her up. We can worry about the bed afterwards," Tim said taking a long step back, hoping to get away from the smell.
"Fine, but I need my helmet for this," Jason said and held the baby a bit farther for himself. The smell didn't make him gag immediately, but it didn't mean it couldn't turn his stomach on the long run.
"Whatever. Bathroom is at the end of the corridor," Tim answered and was out of there immediately. He went back into the living room and into his nest, grabbing his cowl and cape there. He fit his comm back into his ear before offering Jason the helmet.
"How big of a diaper does she need?" he asked, eyeing the child like she was a threat that he needed to analyse.
Jason put on his helmet.
"How should I know? This big," he held out the girl so Tim could look at her, but Red Robin only stepped back, trying to escape the smell-range.
"And how big is that? It's not like I can open every single bag of diapers to see how big it is!" he said.
"I don't know! Just because I sometimes babysit Lian doesn't mean I know shi...p," Jason barely caught himself before swearing. The comm unit in his ear went off, and he almost jumped out of his skin. He was already on edge, he didn't need any surprises to back that.
" Guys, you aren't asking the right questions," Barbara sighed, breaking into the line they didn't even open. Neither of them called her out, knowing better than to do so. "Does she have any teeth?"
Tim stepped closer and gently pulled his chin down a little. The baby pulled her head away almost immediately.
"She has exactly one tooth," he answered, looking at the lone teeth in the middle.
Barbara hummed for a second before she spoke again.
"According to the internet then, she could be anywhere from 4 to 12 months. Most babies start teething around 6 months old, but some could start as early as 4 months or as late as 12," she read.
"Let's say she's 7 months old then, so then what?" Jason asked, getting a little irritated. This was going way too slow and he was the one with the poopy baby, not the other two.
"Then my best guess would be to get a size 2, if the charts are anything to go by. Unless she is too small or too big for her age group," she mused and Jason wanted to bang his head against the wall. Too many options and it only seemed like they were going in circles.
"Babs, don't say things like that. She is baby-shaped and sized for us, we wouldn't know what's too big or too small," he groaned and held back a swear when the baby managed to kick him in the stomach. She was getting fussier by the second, probably thanks to her full diaper.
"Then get a size 2, and then DIY it smaller if needed," she sighed.
"That's what I wanted to hear," Tim nodded his head before walking back into his nest to leave through the hidden door.
"Do you need me to send you a link about how to clean a baby and change diapers?" she asked, and Jason could hear it in her voice that she was forcing herself to stay calm. If she was frustrated, what could HE say?
"Yes, please," the boys answered in tandem before Tim added: "And a list of whatever I need to get for her for a night."
"Just get one of everything you find in the baby section."
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your girl lisa @gothambae
Everyone I shit you not Red Robin just walked into the store I work at at 01:32 AM and bought a ton of baby supplies. WTF #onlyingotham #redrobin
I simp for nightwing @nightknight
Replied to @gothambae
Daaaaaaamn u think he has a family? Like a wife and everything?
Batfamily all day everyday @batfamwatch
Replied to @gothambae @nighktnight
Or they rescued the baby. Either way, the batfam probably just had a really freaking long night