Chapter Text
A low guttural scream reverberated through the air, an anguished call from an omega reaching out to their pack in a moment of sheer agony. Dick's eyes shot open, wide with alarm, as he fought to free himself from the confines of his blanket. Finally succeeding in freeing himself, he sat up on the couch and surveyed his apartment in confusion. It must have been a nightmare, but there was still an unsettling throb pulsing in his chest, a clear sign that someone was desperately tugging at their bonds. The intensity of the call was overwhelming-so raw and tormented, dripping with distress- that Dick found himself unable to discern who the cry belonged to. The air hung heavy with a sense of urgency, and he felt an inexplicable connection to the pain echoing through the night.
With a weary sigh, Dick dragged his hand down his face, feeling the weight of exhaustion settle in his bones. His fingers fumbled for his phone, and he checked for any notifications. Nothing. No messages, no missed calls. Just silence that echoed louder than he would have liked.
He swiped onto the group chat, his heart sinking as he noticed the familiar pattern: every single member of his pack signing off for the night after their patrol. No one had woken up enough to start tonight's thread yet. It should have brought him a sense of reassurance, proof that everything was well and that perhaps it was all just a fleeting nightmare. But the insistent throbbing in his chest disagreed. A tangible reminder that something was amiss. The bond pulling at him wasn’t the kind shared with friends; it was something more profound, familial, even if it felt a little distant. Still, he found himself checking their statuses anyway. Nothing.
The rhythmic pitter-patter of rain drummed against the window, pulling Dick's gaze from the shadows of the room. He watched as droplets cascaded down the glass. Outside, the wind howled like a wounded beast, labouring fiercely to announce the storm's growing fury. It had escalated since the moment he'd fallen asleep. The setting sun was suffocated by an oppressive blanket of thick, dark clouds looming ominously overhead.
A knot of worry twisted in his stomach; whoever was out there could be in distress, lost and alone, reaching for him in their time of need. What purpose did he serve if he could not discern the bonds that tied him to others? Even a mere pup could identify the connections shared within its pack. But this bond felt like a wisp of smoke, fragile and elusive, fading almost to nothing when Dick closed his eyes in an attempt to grasp it. It was distant, weakened through neglect and isolation.
Suddenly, panic surged through him like lightning striking the heart of the storm. He whipped his head back around to the window, his breath quickening as realisation hit him with full force. Jason! He hadn’t checked on Jason! Everything screamed at him to run for the door, but Dick forced himself to check his phone to see if Jason had contacted anyone recently. It was unsurprising to find no sign of life from Jason. It wasn’t unheard of for a young alpha striking out on his own to lose touch with loved ones until he figured life out.
The last time their wayward pack member contacted anyone in the chats was nearly a year ago. Dick swallowed thickly, shaking his head in disbelief that it had been that long. There was no way he wouldn't have noticed Jason's unusually long period of isolation. The evidence, however, was right there in black and white. In fact, the last time Jason was even mentioned was six months ago when Kory checked in to see how Jason was holding up after Roy’s death. No one had heard from him. This was bad- really bad. The guilt-ridden worry twisted with the throbbing in his chest.
Before Dick had a chance even to consider how the hell he was going to try and find a Jason Todd who had vanished off the face of the earth, a faint sound at his living room window pulled him from his thoughts. At first, he didn’t quite register the quiet, rhythmic thudding. It sounded like attempting to knock, though the feeble nature of the blows struck him as odd. Furrowing his brow, Dick tilted his head to listen more intently. The knock came again, more insistent this time, tinged with an urgency that hinted at desperation, yet the person outside seemed too weak to muster any force behind it.
Thunder rumbled ominously in the distance, and jagged bolts of lightning illuminated the darkened room as Dick sprang from the couch, his heart racing. He hurried to draw the heavy blackout curtains, but halted abruptly, eyes wide with shock. Standing resolutely in the middle of the raging storm on his fire escape was none other than Jason. He appeared utterly deranged, clad only in a drenched t-shirt and boxer shorts, his body visibly trembling against the fierce winds. Clutched tightly in his arms was a bloodied bed sheet as if it were the only thing tethering him to reality. The raw emotion from his alpha howled in dismay, a haunting echo that felt like claws raking against the throbbing bond in Dick's chest, urging him to reach out and pull Jason to safety. He had been right! It was Jason’s bond reaching out for him, even though it was weak and frayed.
“Jason!” Fumbling with the lock, Dick threw open the window and climbed out. “Jason? What’s wrong? What’s happened?” Jason didn’t answer. A faint pained whine escaped cracked lips as he increased his grip on the bundled-up sheet. It took longer than usual to realise his brother wasn’t masking his scent, everything dampened down by the heavy downpour, but Dick’s nose twitched when it finally reached him. Ever since coming back, Jason had masked his scent, even in Arkham. It had grieved not only Dick but the entire pack that Jason refused to open up like that, to trust them with his scent. The scent that death had taken from them, and now he kept cruelly locked away.
Jason’s scent had the same leathery spice to it that he’d had as a pup on the cusp of presenting, but now it had sweetened, with floral and metallic undertones that reminded Dick of saffron. An omegan scent. Swallowing down a growl that wouldn’t help, Dick peered back at Jason, who remained staring at him with a hauntingly blank expression. Taking a cautious step closer, he picked up wisps of milk and, oddly, sweet hay that usually came with amniotic fluid.
“Jason?” Dick couldn’t come up with anything else to say. His mind skidded straight back to the pained Omegan scream in his nightmare, the fact that Jason had actually tugged on their bond, that he was here. He’d always assumed Jason was an alpha with his rage and reckless disregard for anything or anyone.
Jason continued just to stand there, trembling in the rain, making no move to approach him or to run off again. Licking his lips anxiously, Dick rubbed the back of his head and tried to figure out his next move. He needed to know why Jason was outside his apartment, where he had vanished off to. His eyes rested on Jason’s bare feet. Frowning, he noticed pink trails of blood and, with a growing sense of dread, traced the blood back up Jason’s legs in horror.
“No,” Dick mumbled under his breath, purposely flexing his fingers to prevent them from forming fists. “Jason? Jay? Jay, look at me! It’s Dick. I’m here. I’m right here. Did-did someone hurt you?”
Jason’s chin quivered, and tears pooled in his eyes, threatening to spill over. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the bundle of bloodied sheet, holding it tightly against his chest. Yet, he shook his head, a mix of determination and despair etched across his face. The fabric stirred softly, emitting a muffled mewl that pierced the heavy silence. Jason’s gaze snapped to the bundle, and he instinctively shushed it. Just then, a chilling sensation washed over him, and Dick swore time froze.
“Jason?” Dick whispered, eyes widening when Jason’s head snapped up, still bouncing the sheet gently before stumbling forward. Without a word, his brother handed over the sheet. Fingers gripped the fabric a moment longer before letting go sharply with a whine. Arms immediately moving to take the sudden weight, Dick parted the sheet, unable to believe he’d been handed an actual pup. A freshly born pup, judging by the overwhelming scent of sweet hay and blood. Their screwed-up face patchy and slightly too pale… the sheet was rain-soaked. Newborn pups were vulnerable and shouldn’t be out of the nest, never mind out in the middle of a storm!
“Jason?” Dick uttered his brother’s name slowly, as if hoping the sound would break the spell of confusion that engulfed him. “Jason!” His heart sank when Jason looked at him, eyes glistening with unshed tears, before making his way unsteadily toward the ladder. The thought of him descending to street level without the pup was like a knife twisting in Dick's gut. It was incomprehensible- unthinkable.
It didn’t require a detective’s insight to piece together that the pup was, without a doubt, Jason’s. Somewhere along the way, between the chaos of his life and the weight of unspoken truths, he had given birth and now appeared to be abandoning his own flesh and blood. Dick had always believed that Omegas were fiercely protective of their young, their instinctual drive to nurture and safeguard woven into their very essence. The statistics flashed through his mind; heinous crimes committed in the name of protection. Omegas taking drastic measures to defend what they cherished most. But Jason was leaving.
“Jason, stop!” Dick yelled, hushing the pup in his arms when they began to cry, he tucked the sheet tighter around them. He couldn’t chase Jason down over rooftops with a newborn in his arms. Jason’s legs shook violently, his hands grabbed hold of the railing before sinking to his knees when he lost his balance. Gently cradling the crying pup in the crook of one arm, Dick reached out with his other hand to wrap it around his brother's waist. Jason tried to pull away, and Dick felt a twinge of worry as he felt his brother's weak, half-hearted shoves.
“Easy there, Jay. Just take it slow. Come on, let’s get you inside,” Dick coaxed softly, tightening his grip on the infant, who squirmed slightly in his embrace. He glanced down at the pup, and despite all that he had learned and been told, Jason wasn’t going to follow his pup into the apartment. He had just tried to abandon them. Maybe mentioning them at all would be a mistake, as absurd a thought as that seemed to Dick.
“You must be freezing, Jay,” he said, his tone laced with concern. “How about we take a warm shower and get you into some dry clothes, huh?” The promise of warmth hung in the air as he hoped to draw Jason toward the comfort and safety of home.
Jason tensed, eyes darting from the street below to the open living room window before snapping back again. Nose wrinkling, he shivered and studied the ladder leading down from the fire escape as if assessing how likely it would be to climb down successfully. Waiting for Jason to make up his mind was nothing new for Dick. However, standing in the pouring rain holding a newborn that desperately needed to have never been out in this weather at all, it was hard not to push, to wait. Questioning eyes lifted to him before falling to the pup wrapped in a bedsheet. For a moment, Dick wondered if Jason had realised what he had just tried to do. Instead of displaying affection or worry, his brother had looked less petrified with a heavy dose of Fear Toxin.
Ever since moving out of Wayne Manor all those years ago, Dick had lost count of how many times he had regretted not having a balcony, with doors, or a ground-floor unit. Jason always seemed to include these details into his safe houses, saying that it was not only logical but also common sense. It was easy to clamber through a window onto a fire escape from a top-floor apartment when you weren’t injured or exhausted from patrol. Or in this instance, trying to lug Jason, who was not only reluctant but also slightly combative and no longer three apples tall, plus a pup, through the window without anyone falling to their deaths.
The pup shared their parents’ opinion on safehouse accessibility if the ear-piercing wailing were anything to go by. Snarling, Dick tightened his grip on the back of Jason's t-shirt and gave him a hefty pull.
“Jay, I swear, just this once? Could you be a help instead of a hindrance?” Dick grumbled, rolling his eyes when Jason just growled and attempted to struggle back out of the window. He was halfway through. “You still owe me a birthday present, asshole! And a Christmas present, thinking about it,” Jason stilled. Turning slowly into the apartment, he stared at Dick as if he were the one acting completely insane.
“What?”
Dick’s lip twitched at the first coherent word he’d managed to get his brother to utter and shrugged a shoulder, bouncing the pup to try and soothe them.
“You owe me a birthday and Christmas present. Come inside, and I’ll call it even.”
Jason didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t continue fighting Dick when he was hauled the rest of the way inside. He just sat there, bleeding on the carpet, his nose wrinkled in confusion. Dick almost admitted his brother had a point when he teased him about having carpet in his living space. Blood wasn’t fun to get out of the pile, but Dick liked the soft feeling beneath his feet, the familiar scents trapped within the fibres. Sometimes he enjoyed lying down on his carpet and just being for a moment. Frowning, he looked back at his brother, slumped on the floor, curiously. It seemed odd now that he knew Jason’s designation. Omegas liked soft things.
The sharp, piercing cries of the pup snapped Dick back to the present, pulling him from the fog of his disorientation. He began to realise, with an unsettling clarity, that he was neither fully processing the gravity of the situation nor equipped to handle it. Just Jason alone was a predicament, where he didn’t know where to even start, let alone with a pup too. A bullet wound was something he could assess and treat, even while grappling with his own blood loss and the thrum of a concussion. Yet, as he watched the crimson droplets trickle down Jason's bare legs, a sense of helplessness washed over him. How much blood was too much? He understood that blood loss happened after birth, but the specifics eluded him. Was stopping the bleeding a necessity, or was it more like enduring a particularly heavy period - something Jason simply had to ride out?
Jason looked utterly unrecognisable. It probably wasn’t the most tactful observation to make, especially after he had just welcomed a new life into the world, but it was impossible to ignore the stark transformation. His skin had taken on a disturbing, greyish hue, and the once-bright spark in his eyes was replaced by deep shadows that hinted at profound fatigue. Each part of him trembled as if he had just run a marathon, a physical manifestation of exhaustion that extended beyond a long labour.
Dick had witnessed the toll of pregnancy on many people, but none had looked like his brother. Jason's bottom lip bore the marks of his distress. It was not only swollen and red, but also ragged from incessant biting, highlighting deep, angry cracks that suggested a concerning dehydration. It was alarming to note how much weight he had lost; his muscles had withered to the point where his t-shirt hung loosely, almost as if it belonged to someone else entirely. This wasn’t just Jason letting things slide for a few days, but something much deeper.
“Okay. It’s going to be okay, Jay. It’s okay.” Dick mumbled, although in truth, he was a little unsure of who exactly he was trying to reassure- Jason, himself, or the pup. Gasping, Dick studied the screaming infant who was now so upset that they had gone red in the face, little fists clutched tightly in the rain-soaked, bloody sheet he also had to attend to immediately. He didn’t have diapers or clothes small enough. They were covered in blood and white waxy stuff, but Dick didn’t even know if he should be washing that off. Could he even wash a newborn in a regular bathtub? Would the sink work? Jason would probably want to be the one to do that; it was usually the omega who did that sort of thing.
Nodding slightly at his own thoughts, Dick turned around to look up the hallway wistfully. He needed to start a shower for Jason and find towels, or perhaps a blanket for the pup, until he could come up with a better solution, but he couldn’t do those things with his arms full. Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed that Jason at least seemed to have settled a little bit. His breathing was steadier, and he’d started running his fingers over the carpet with a pensive expression.
“Jay?” Dick called out, turning back to approach his brother again. Jason didn’t look up at him, but he never really did on his good days. “Jay? Here. Can you take them for a minute?” Holding the pup out towards Jason, Dick’s brow creased in confused concern when Jason physically recoiled before shaking his head, and his breathing grew erratic again. “Just for a minute, Jay, I promise. I need to go sort out the shower for you and... and find them something warm. They need to be warm, Jay.”
“No!” Jason probably would have yelled if his voice hadn’t come out as a harsh rasping thing. Wincing, he began clambering back to his feet, eyes glued to the pup in Dick’s arms like he did when expecting an attack from a perpetrator.
Jason stumbled unsteadily towards the window, his legs shaky and uncoordinated, and Dick felt a surge of emotion welling up inside him; this situation was rapidly shifting from concerning to absurd. The pup was Jason’s; there was absolutely no justification for his erratic behaviour. Dick had long lost track of how many omegas he had managed to coax out of hiding, persuaded to provide statements by highlighting the welfare of their pups. Yet here was Jason, oblivious to the urgent needs of his own child as he made yet another frantic attempt to flee.
“Jason, wait!” Dick shouted, dashing over to slam the window shut before he could clamber back through it with a heavy sigh. “Fine! Just give me a second.” Closing his eyes, Dick winced at the high-pitched cries as he tried to come up with a plan. “Right, okay. You come with me? We’ll get you in the shower, and I’ll get this little one warmed up. Come on!”
Choices were for when Jason wasn’t completely out of his mind and acting bizarrely at best. He needed to get warm, too. Wrapping an arm around his waist, Dick began a bizarre waltz as he shepherded everyone towards the bathroom, shoving down waves of anxiety with every step. Leslie. He would call Leslie. She may be in Gotham, but Jason trusted her. They both did. At least Dick would be able to get some advice on what it is he needed to do.