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As soon as Jason woke up he wished that he hadn't. His entire body hurt. He could hear a rapid beeping to his left but he could be bothered to figure out his source. It felt like there was boulders resting on his entire body, crushing him. He couldn't move, only laying there in agonizing pain.
He could hear a new sound joining the beeping. A voice maybe? He couldn't place it, nor what they were saying. He didn't care if they were friend or foe, as long as they made the pain stop. He couldn't take it.
The space around his mouth hurt a bit more then the rest of his face, as something hard pushed into it. Jason wanted nothing more then to get rid of it but he couldn't feel his arms. Well, he could feel them, they hurt just like the rest of his body but he couldn't move them. Something jostled his right arm, sending a new wave of pain up it, and he let out a whine. The pain started to lessen considerably and he felt his conscience start to fade with it.
Before he let himself go he heard the voice again.
"It will be okay, Jay. It will be okay." And then there was nothing once more.
When Jason woke again, he was in less pain. It was still there, of course, but it was a bit more bearable. He forced his eyes open, immediately closing them as a bright light stung his retinas, making his headache worse as it pounded in tempo with his pulse. There was a quiet curse and the light dimmed. He reopened his eyes, blinking a few times to try and clear the blurriness with no luck. He could make out white walls surrounding him and an oxygen mask covering the lower half of his face. He let his head flop to the side, ignoring the pain it brought as he tried to find the source of the voice he had heard earlier. Jason's blurry eyes met sharp blue ones.
Bruce sat in a chair next to his bed, dark shadows under his eyes standing out against his pale skin. He looked like shit. His hair was greasy and unkempt, making him look less Bruce like than Jason had ever seen him. His clothes were rumpled and wrinkled and they hung off his frame loosely, as though he had lost a lot of weight.
He smiled down sadly at Jason, bringing up a hand to run through Jason's hair. Jason braced, waiting for pain to follow the touch but he relaxed finding no more to come.
"You with me, Jason?" Jason nodded and immediately regretted it.
"Wha' happene'? Jason slurred, throat burning as he forced his vocal cords to work.
"You- you don't remember?" Bruce said, almost hopefully and Jason wish he could say he didn't. That he remembered walking into the warehouse then nothing else. But that would be a lie. A lie Jason could not bring himself to make.
Jason squeezed his eyes shut as the memories rushed back, feeling the phantom pains of the crowbar hitting his skin, hearing the sound of the clowns crazed laughter ring in his head, vibrating through his bones.
"Jay?" Bruce asked worriedly, "Are you-?" Jason cut him off with a sob and Bruce went to wrap his arms around his son. The moment Bruce touched him white hot pain flashed through him, making him let out a scream that he tried to hold back. Bruce immediately jumped back, horror paved into his face. The pain that the touch had caused did not fade and Jason was left writing in the bed, trying to hold still as every new movement only made it worse.
"B'uce," Jason sobbed, tears burning as they fell down his cheeks and dripped onto his pillow.
"Hold on Jay, I called for a nurse. They'll make it better, I promise."
"Dad," Jason continued to sob, "Dad please just make it stop, please!"
Bruce looked down at his son, his own eyes glassy with un shed tears. All he could feel was guilt for being the reason his son was in so much pain. Guilt for not being able to make it better, to take away the pain he wished his child would never have to feel. But Bruce couldn't take away his pain. He was unable to do anything except watch. He tried to clam Jason down, talking to him in the gentlest voice he could manage, trying to keep his voice from breaking.
Jason didn't react to any of his words as he sobbed and begged for relief. For mercy from the anguish he was in. "Dad please! Please just make it stop!"
"Im sorry, Jason. Im so sorry." Bruce bowed his head, unable to look at his sons face.
"Kill me please." Jason sobbed, making Bruce flinch, tears finally falling from his eyes. "Just make it stop, let me die, please."
Jason continued to beg for death, every word making Bruce's heart break more and more. In what must have been minuets but what felt like eternity, a nurse arrived, injecting Jason with a sedative and pain killer. When Bruce looked back up, his son's face was slack with unconscious, cheeks still wet with tears.
Bruce collapsed back into his chair, shaking as he took one of Jason's bandaged hands in his own. He brought the hand to his face, resting his forehead against it. When he had taken Jason in, he'd swore to protect him. To protect him from all the harsh world had to offer. He had failed. He failed his son.