Author's Note:

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and gave feedback! I would never have brought Jason back if it wasn't for you guys! If you guys liked this story please follow my other ones and my tumblr. I loved writing this story and being able to dive into Jason's mind coming back from the grave. Thank you once again for reading and all of the review and follows. This is the final chapter but I have a few more Jason Todd stories on my page if you like what you have read. Anyway, enjoy!

It had happened once before in the cave. I had crashed there, after a mission with Jason. We had separate rooms but somehow I awoke in the middle of the night with the steady patter of his footsteps on the hardwood floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" I turned rather violently, surprised at the sudden movement in the room. His voice was distinctive, I recognized it even in the darkness of the room.

"Yea, it's okay." I relaxed once I saw that it was only him, not some horrible villain come to kill or maim me. "What are you doing up?"

I checked the wall clock, it was three o' clock. I untangled the sheets from my body. He just stood there, in his t-shirt and boxers, looking like a little kid. He looked scared. It must have been the nightmares, the token that comes with the job.

He said nothing, I didn't need him to. I simply gestured to the open space beside me. He looked hesitantly at me before crawling in the bed with me. I knew Bruce never showed this kind of affection, so these kinds of things would be rare for him. Any affectionate contact would be rare. His cold back touched my stomach and I held him close as he shivered. He didn't need to say a word. I knew that he was frightened. He was young, it was expected.

We fell asleep like that, me holding him. When I awoke the next morning he was gone and we never spoke about it ever again. I felt he was embarrassed, having come to his big brother because he was scared. He shouldn't have been, it was nothing to be ashamed of. He was my brother; he should have known I would have always been there.

Well I awoke in my apartment at three in much that same way. Jason and I had dozed off, sitting on the floor, gun lay astray. Sometime in the night, he had curled on the floor, shivering. I sat up, rubbing my eyes. I knew that if I wanted to get out, or warn the others, now was the time. Somehow I sat, transfixed by his sleeping form. He looked so innocent, so childlike. I couldn't leave him, not again.

I got up soundlessly and grabbed a blanket from the couch, draping it over his sleeping form. He twitched and his eyes moved behind their lids. He was having a nightmare. Somehow he was just a child again, sneaking into my room.

I sat down next to him, cradling his head in my lap. He didn't wake up, which was odd, considering the Bat-family's constant alertness. Eventually he began moving more. He began thrashing and moaning. I rested my hand on his forehead and he immediately opened his eyes.

"What are you doing?" He looked up at me, his body still rigid.

"You were having a nightmare." I looked down into his bright blue eyes. "You were thrashing."

"Oh." He made no move, only staying there, looking up into my eyes.

"Jason." I began. "I'm sorry. I should have done something. I should have gone after the Joker, and I should have talked to Bruce before he brought Tim into all of this. I'm sorry. It was wrong of me. But you know, I love you, and I never forgot you. I never forgot you."

He turned his face from mine as a tear fell. He curled his body up to mine, head still in my lap. I could feel him bury his face in my abdomen as I continued.

"Every night, I saw what happened to you. I saw how I couldn't protect you, how you died for me, taking those bullets for me. Jason, you were the perfect brother and I am sorry about all of this that is happening." I gestured to the empty room around me. "I am sorry that you died, terribly. I'm sorry that I couldn't save you. I'm sorry that Bruce replaced you. I'm sorry that you feel I forgot you. I'm sorry that I didn't avenge you. But mostly…" I looked down at him. "I'm sorry for not being the brother that I promised that I would be to you."

"Dick…I know…" He looked up at me, holding back tears. "I never meant…that…I mean…I know you never…" He gave up and put his head back down and I stroked my fingered through my hair tenderly.

"And if you need to kill me." I whispered to him. "Then go ahead, because I deserve it. But Jason, I just want you to know, no, I want you to believe that I love you and I never meant for…any of this to happen."

I smiled down at him while he hiccupped. I knew he wasn't going to kill me. Not after I'd gotten through to him. But even if he did, it would be the best way to die. Really, I would rather die by his hand than any of the other maniacs out there.

"I can't kill you." He looked up. "I thought I could. I really thought that I could. I thought I could get past all this emotion by just pushing the anger."

"I know Jason." I laid my hand on his warm cheek. "I could see it in your eyes. But I knew there was something past the anger, the hurt."

We didn't say anything after that. For a long while we laid like that, his head in my lap while I ran my fingers through his hair. I didn't know what would happen now, now that he was not going to kill me. Would he rejoin the team? Would Batman try to throw him in jail for that man he killed? Would he go his own way? I had no answers. All I knew was that I didn't want him to leave my sights. I didn't want to lose him again. He was my brother; it was my job to protect him.

"Jason…" I finally spoke. "What do we do now?"

He looked up at me hesitantly before working himself up into a sitting position next to me. He wiped his nose with the back of his sleeve and looked ahead, blue eyes blazing.

"I need to leave." In my heart I knew he was right but I couldn't help my head from shaking. I didn't want him to go so soon, not after one night. I had just got him back.

"Where?" I looked at him as he ran a shaky hand through his hair.

"Do you have any renegade friends?" He chuckled, looking at me jokingly.

"Actually…" I thought to myself. It might work. It just might.

"Really?" He laughed now, eyes set forward again. A billow of morning air swept through, sending a cold breeze through the room.

"Yea. Roy Harper." His eyes registered. "The clone. He goes by Arsenal."

After a few directions and ideas for where to find Roy, I found Jason and myself standing in the kitchen all ready to go. He had his shiny red helmet sitting by the door, hopefully a good omen.

He took a last sip of the tea I brewed and smiled at me. I smiled back. I still couldn't believe that Jason Todd, of all people, was drinking tea with me, not surprisingly, he didn't put any sugar in it unlike me. His gaze lowered and his body turned toward the door, ready to leave.

"Jason...wait." He looked back at me, pain still radiating across his face. He didn't want to leave, but he had to. "Thanks, for not killing me."

He shrugged.

"And I'm sorry." I repeated.

"I'm sorry too." He looked back up, half smile on his face. "But hey, we'll see each other soon okay Dickie bird?"

I smiled at the nickname. Of course he would call me that.

"Sure Jaybird." I leaned forward and gave him a quick hug before he grabbed the helmet and opened the door, stepping out into the hallway of the apartment building. "Go be an outlaw with Roy Harper."

He smiled and gave me a small salute before pulling the hood down over his head and walking out. I was sure I'd see him soon. He made it all the way back from the grave after all.