#okay go off though o this other suff

[empty-flat-n-lonely-bys]

I'm so behind but

[sohotthateveryonedied]

A birthday fic for @sonicboom00724601. Happy birthday! 

I includeed all the characters you asked, though somehow this became sort of Jason-centric while still focusing on Bruce. Anyways, enjoy! 

The Red Hood was having a fairly productive night, if he did say so himself. He'd busted one drug operation, shot four rapists, and took out two muggers. And he'd only had to fatally wound three people, which was quite the achievement for him. Plus he saw a cat by some dumpsters and got to pet it, which was honestly the highlight of his day. Very productive indeed. 

He sauntered down an alley, whistling as he lit a cigarette. He took off his helmet and enjoyed the somewhat fresh air of Gotham City as he took a drag, wondering how he was going to spend the rest of his night. Maybe pay a visit to see Alfred, or maybe he could swing by the library and talk to that hot librarian he met last week... 

That's when he heard a buzz on his comm, and Oracle's clear voice came in. "Hood, you there?" 

Jason pulled his helmet back on and drawled, "What's up Oracle? How can I help my favorite redhead tonight?," he asked.

But instead of the usual witty comeback Barbara often replied with, this time she was all business. "I need you to head to the warehouse on fifth avenue as soon as you can," she ordered. 

That was only a block away from where Jason was now. He had no idea how the batfamily knew he was patrolling that area tonight, as he usually kept his distance. He and the rest of the family were on good terms and helped each other out when they needed it, but Jason was a lone wolf at heart. Something about the waver in Barbara's tone made him sprint in the direction of the warehouse, flicking away his cigarette as he did so. "What's going on down there?," he asked. 

"Batman, Robin, Nightwing, and Black Bat are investigating a drug bust there, but they got cut off from the comms. I've been trying to contact them for the last ten minutes, but I'm getting nothing but static and you're closest." 

Jason raised his eyebrows. Yikes. "I'm on it, Oracle," he said. It didn't take long for him to reach the warehouse, and he could already hear the sounds of fighting and gunfire going on inside. He pulled out a couple pistols and kicked open the door, ready to take down anyone in his way. 

Upon entering the building he saw at least thirty guys, all with guns and bad attitudes. Batman and Nightwing were down, but Robin and Black Bat were still fighting, miraculously. Wasting no time, Jason right away shot two guys who were a little too close to Robin for comfort and three that were trying to get the drop on Black Bat. 

His siblings looked surprised to see him joining in on the fighting, but they definitely weren't complaining. With Red Hood and his firearms they won the fight in minutes, though that wasn't the only problem they'd been facing. 

The very moment their opponents were all down Cass ran to Bruce and Dick, kneeling down and trying to wake them up. Even Robin looked worried, which Jason was more than a little concerned to see. If the demon spawn was freaked out, then that meant something was definitely wrong. 

At this point the adrenaline had worn off and Jason could focus on the situation. He had no idea who those guys were, nor did he care. But they were probably pretty good, as they'd found a way to take down Batman and Nightwing. That was no easy feat. 

In spite of Cass' efforts, the two men were still unconscious on the ground. Now that he had time to assess everything, Jason could already see that they were more than a little beat up. Dick looked the best of the two. There was a moderate gash on his head and his arm lay a little awkwardly, but other than some minor cuts and bruises he seemed all right. Bruce, however, was a different story. 

Even with all the armor and layers on Bruce's suit, Jason could see most of his many injuries. Blood leaked from a laceration on his temple, part of his uniform was ripped to reveal a long jagged slash along his right arm, and it took Jason a while to realize that, camouflaged by the black fabric of his suit, blood covered his chest completely. Crap. 

Jason put his guns back in their holsters and called up Barbara again, but when she asked how the others were he could only answer honestly that he had no idea. 

Cass had her hands over the wound on Bruce's abdomen, trying to stop the bleeding from the wound that Jason could now see. A bullet hole lay right beside where Bruce's heart was, and from what Jason could tell it was a through and through GSW. "What the hell happened?," he asked with wide eyes. Going by the huge amount of blood, he could guess that Bruce had been shot at least ten minutes ago and had been bleeding out since. 

Damian answered while Cass remained focused on helping Bruce. "Father was shot in the chest, and Nightwing was knocked out shortly before you got here." 

"Well shit," Jason cursed. "How bad is B's wound?," he asked, already kneeling to help out Cass with controlling the bleeding. His hands replaced hers in applying pressure to the gunshot wound in an effort to slow down the bleeding. Out of the heroes still conscious, he had the most medical knowledge and therefore took the initiative. 

"Not good," Cass answered. "Near heart. Too much blood." 

Jason spat another curse and tried getting Oracle again. "Hey O, can you send the batmobile this way? We're gonna need to get B to the cave otherwise he's going to bleed out," he rushed out, gritting his teeth. 

"It's on its way." 

Still holding his hands tightly over the wound, Jason turned his head towards Dick, who was still on the ground. "How's Nightwing doing?" 

Robin had already examined Dick's condition and answered swiftly. "It's not too bad. A small head wound and a dislocated shoulder, so he should be fine."  

While the three waited for the batmobile to arrive, Cass helped Damian in applying a field dressing to Dick's head and popping his shoulder back into place. Other than that, all they could do was wait and hope Jason could keep Bruce alive for long enough.

After some tense silence, the sounds of tires screeching outside met their ears, and Jason sighed with relief. Thank God for autopilot. In minutes they had both fallen heroes in the car and were careening at top speed towards the manor. (Jason was definitely going to rub the fact that he drove the batmobile in Dick's face later.) The second they got to the batcave Alfred took Bruce to the med bay, followed by Cass. Tim, who had the night off along with Stephanie, followed them. 

Meanwhile, Jason and Damian got Dick to another cot and made sure to stitch up the gash on his head. It wasn't too bad, though he most likely had a concussion. But it was nothing compared to Bruce, who was still in really bad shape. It had already been twenty minutes, and Jason still had no idea what was going on. He, Damian, Steph, and Barbara stayed by Dick's side, anxiously awaiting info on Bruce's condition. 

Jason cracked his knuckles, finally looking to Damian, who had been glaring at the floor for the last ten minutes. "So demon spawn, what happened out there? Must have been a hell of a fight if the old man got taken down so easily." 

Damian crossed his arms stubbornly, reminding Jason of a really bitter cat. "Shut up, Todd. His well-being is none of your business," he snapped. 

Jason rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well I've got heaps of adoption papers that suggest otherwise, kid. Somebody's more irritated than usual. What, did someone take your animal crackers?," he sniggered. 

"Stop messing with him, Jay," Barbara chastised. 

Stephanie moved closer to Damian and put an arm around him. "It's okay, Dami. B's lived through way worse before, so you don't need to worry," she reassured him. 

Damian slapped away the proffered hand, gritting his teeth. "Tt. I am not worried, Brown. Don't touch me," he growled. 

Jason chuckled at Damian's angry chihuahua-like attitude. He was going to tease the kid some more, but that was when a small groan was heard from the bed beside them. Slowly Dick opened his eyes, his face twisting into a grimace. 

Barbara rolled her chair beside his bed, putting a hand on his arm. "Dick? You okay?" 

Dick winced, but he shot Barbara as good a grin as he could manage. "Hey, Babs. Besides a killer headache, I think I'm doing good. What happened?," he asked, still groggy. 

"You and Father were knocked out during the fight," Damian answered. "Pennyworth and Drake are still working on Father." 

Dick blinked, then his face paled. At once he was wide awake. "Bruce! I remember he was shot in the chest. Is he going to be okay? Man, I saw him get shot and he was covered in blood in like, seconds. Have you heard anything yet?" While Dick was still a bit out of it, the one thing he knew for sure was that he had to know if Bruce was okay. If Bruce died he would never  stop blaming himself.  

Jason sighed. "No idea. They've been working on him for like half an hour," he said. 

Dick started getting out of bed, paying no mind to the stabs of pain he felt all over his body. Jason put out a hand to stop him. "Dick, cut it out. You're going to hurt yourself more if you try getting up now." 

Dick shook off Jason's hand, still struggling to get up. "No, I need to see him. It's my fault he got hurt in the first place," he insisted. 

"Hold up," Jason interrupted. "How is this your fault?" 

Dick swallowed thickly, finally giving in and dropping back down on the bed. "That bullet was meant for me," he admitted. "I wasn't quick enough and didn't see the guy behind me, but Bruce saw it and pushed me out of the way, taking the shot himself." He looked up with frightened eyes. "So if he dies it's all my fault, and that can't happen." 

Barbara opened her mouth, probably to offer more meaningless comforting words, but at that moment Alfred came back into the room. Dick ignored Jason and Barbara's protests and quickly stood up, eager to learn about Bruce's condition. "Is he okay, Alf?"

Alfred looked tired, but his face was hopeful. "He's all right," he assured them. "Luckily the bullet went straight through his chest and didn't touch any organs, and we soon got the bleeding under control. He suffered other minor injuries including a broken wrist, some minor cuts that I repaired, and a slight concussion. It was a lot, but he is awake now and he will be okay." 

They all let out a breath they weren't aware they'd been holding, relieved that Bruce was going to be okay. 

"You may see him now if you wish," Alfred added. 

Jason smiled and clapped the butler on the shoulder. "Thanks, Alfred," he said. 

Cass and Tim were already there when they got to the room in which Bruce rested. Their father was indeed awake, and he was already sitting up in bed. Bandages covered his torso and there was gauze wrapped around his head, but other than that he looked okay. Tim sat in a chair beside his bed, while Cass was nestled comfortably against his side, latched onto his arm like a koala. 

Steph ran to him immediately and gave him a careful hug when she saw him, relieved he was okay. Dick did the same, though he too had his own ailments to worry about and couldn't give more than a tiny hug before sitting down tiredly in a chair. Now that he knew his adoptive father was okay, he was once again aware of the soreness that radiated over his body. Even Damian sat against Bruce's other side, holding on to his arm protectively. Jason kept his distance though. He wasn't exactly the touchy feely type. 

Bruce lifted his eyebrows at how childish and worried Damian was currently acting. "Huh, maybe I should get almost killed more often if you're going to be this affectionate," he mused aloud. 

Damian heard Tim snickering and glared. "Shut it, Drake." 

Tim rolled his eyes but let it go, instead focusing on Bruce. "So how are you feeling, B?" 

Bruce shrugged. "Good, considering. But how are all of you?" 

Dick shook his head and put a hand in Bruce's arm. "We're fine, Bruce. To be honest, you're the only one we really worried about. All of us." When he said that last sentence he looked suggestively at Jason, and Bruce for the first time realized that his second son was there. 

"Jason," Bruce said. "I thought you weren't planning on coming to the manor this week." 

Jason shrugged nonchalantly. "I wasn't, but then you decided to go ahead and almost die and stuff, so here I am." His lips quirked at that. "But..." He cleared his throat awkwardly, not looking his adoptive father in the eye. "I'm glad you're not dead, though, so... yeah." 

Barbara laughed. "Translation: Jay loves you, B." They all laughed at that, especially Bruce, who felt more loved now than he had in a while. 

And they spent the rest of the night like that, with all of Bruce's children and honorary children gathered around him, talking and laughing like a real family. Even though the circumstances were less than desirable, that night they were content with the opportunity to spend time together. They might be an unusual family, but it was enough for them.