Chapter 12:

Jason and Cas had their cookies. Then Damian knocked on the door and ignored Jason only turning to Cas to recruit her on his mission of sneaking a turkey into the house. Cas had looked at Jason, he had nodded and she was off to corral a turkey.

It was at this point that Jason decided he wanted to read. Except there was nothing to read… Ok that wasn't true, but he'd already read everything in his room 7 times over when he was a kid, which probably contributed to Cas calling him a nerd. What an achievement, being called a nerd by a 14 year old.

Clearly his lack of books meant he had to go to the library. But that ran the risk of running into Bruce. But Jason really needed a book so he went off on his merry way to the library.

Jason snuck through the halls and then down the stairs. He passed the kitchen where Alfred was, he was sure Alfred probably saw him but didn't say anything. He continued down the hall until he finally reached the library.

A wave of nostalgia hit him. He'd spent hours here reading, crammed into the nook by the window where he'd be totally embursed in a book. He walked past the shelves scanning them all. It was quite literally a walk down memory lane.

Back before he'd realized it was ok to go to Bruce when he'd had nightmares, Jason would go to the library, take a book and sit in one of the aisles between the shelves. Jason remembered one night Bruce had entered the library and found him sitting there reading The Boxcar Children, it was a comfort book for him. Bruce had sat down next to Jason and put his arm around him while Jason read. He hadn't said anything, just sat there.

As Jason wandered he noticed how disorganized the books were. Little him would have been pissed to find that there was no system of organization. He'd have snuck down here at night just to organize everything. Entering an aisle Jason picked the first book off the shelf. Lord of the Flies, what a fucked up book. He remembered he had to read it for school. It made his insides churn. Thinking about it now still made him sick.

Jason sat down in the aisle, back to the wall, staring at the book. He didn't want to read it. He didn't want to think about how now he was like the characters in the book. The loss of innocence. He wasn't the same guy that he was back then when he was robin.

"You hated that book when you were younger." Jason didn't even have to look up to know who it was.

"I still hate it now." Jason responded, still staring at the book. His knuckles beginning to turn white as he gripped the book.

"Can I sit?"

"Sure."

And there they were Jason and Bruce sitting across from each other. They were silent for some time.

"I'm sorry Jason. I reacted badly before." Bruce said. Jason finally looked up to meet him in the eyes. He looked like he was telling the truth. Jason immediately looked away.

"You shouldn't be. You treated me like the criminal I am." Jason snapped back.

"Jason you're my son." No he wasn't. No he wasn't. No he wasn't.

"No." Bruce looked wounded. "I'm not the same kid you took in. I've murdered people." Jason snapped back.

"It doesn't matter. Everyone changes. You're still Jason." Jason seethed.

"No I'm not." He growled, but Bruce held steady.

"Then who are you?" He questioned.

"I-" He couldn't say Jason. "I'm me."

"And what's your name." Bruce asked again.

"... Jason…" He got quieter, whether it was because he was calming down, or seething, he didn't know.

"So you're still Jason then." Bruce responded quietly.

"But I'm not the same Jason as before." Jason argued back, getting louder. His grip on the book was getting tighter, it was becoming his lifeline. He wanted to throw it and scream, but he didn't.

Bruce was quiet for a while. "You're grown up now." Bruce paused, "Obviously you're different now. Maybe you're not the exact same Jason. You've suffered more than you had before. That changes a person." Jason looked down, "but you're still Jason."

You're still Jason.

"The person you knew is dead." Literally.

"Well, I still want to get to know the new you." Jason scoffed, "I reacted badly Jason, I know that's not an excuse, but I'm… sorry." Did Batman just say he's sorry. What. The. Fuck. Maybe he wasn't the only one who'd changed.

And that's how he found himself, sitting on the floor of the library with Batman, no, Bruce, talking about life… and death… and how much he hated the damned book. He'd actually ended up throwing the book across the room to which Bruce laughed. He'd laughed. Maybe Jason hadn't changed too much if he could still get the Batman to laugh, or maybe the bat had just gotten soft.

Jason had been telling Bruce about how he'd actually started texting Dick a month ago when they suddenly heard a scream. The two looked at each other and immediately sprinted out of the library. In the living room of Wayne Manor stood Tim Drake and Dick Grayson standing on the couch while Cassandra Noble and Damian Wayne stood with a turkey in between them.

"What is going on here?" Bruce questioned.

The two kids seemed to only then realize that Bruce and Jason were there. Cas gave Jason a worried look when she realized they had been coming from the same place, but Jason just shook his head to which Cas shrugged. Cassandra Cain stood with Stephanie Brown just out of the doorway from the kitchen.

"What the fuck?" Stephanie asked.

"Language Miss Stephanie." Alfed immediately replied, although he too was looking at the turkey with disbelief.

"Can we keep it?" Both Cas and Damian at the same time. Cas gave Jason puppy dog eyes and pout while Damian just stared at Bruce innocently.

"We've talked about this Damian." Damian sighed. Then the two's attention turned to Jason.

"I'm only thinking about getting you a dog, there's no way in hell you're getting a turkey." Jason responded. Damian looked disappointed, but Cas didn't let up.

Then the impossible happened. Bruce said, "Fine." Jason stared at him in shock. Had Bruce just saved Jason from the imminent death of puppy dog eyes.

The two looked at each other and then immediately began introducing "Jerry" to everyone. Who even names a turkey Jerry?

Things got better. Jason finally began to mend his relationship with Bruce. There still was a lot of screaming between the two although some of it was them screaming at Cas and Damian to stop breaking wild animals into the manor. Bruce even visited Jason and Cas' apartment. Somehow that one visit turned into a monthly movie night with the whole family cramming into Jason and Cas' apartment.

Things were good… Then one day they were all in the cave. And Cas found the memorial.

Cas was looking up at the robin suit that was encased by glass then down at the word that read "A good soldier." And Cas frowned. "I'm sorry, but WHAT THE FUCK!"

All attention turned to her. Jason got a bad feeling in his stomach. Yes things had been going well, but the memorial still made him antsy. He wasn't fucking dead after all.

Cas tilted her head and then snapped her fingers. "I KNOW HOW TO FIX THIS!" Then she pointed at Bruce. "You come here."

Cas walked to the area of the batcave where they often made their weapons and she grabbed a buck of red paint and shoved it into Bruce's hands. "Let's get to work."

After ten minutes of Cas and Batman hunched over the plaque Cas stood up straight and proudly took a step back. Batman followed shortly after with a small smile gracing his lips. Everyone went to go see what they had done.

The word soldier had a red x over it, and written right above a new word was written.

Bruce put his hand on Jason's shoulder.

"A Good Son."

(AN: while searching for what the turkey is named in canon I found that apparently there is a city called batman in Turkey…)

I'm thinking about doing a series of one shots with Cas and Jason, but if I do it won't happen for a while.

I'm honestly so proud of myself for actually finishing a story for once in my life so I hope y'all enjoyed and review.