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Act normal.

Act polite.

Jason managed a smile as the therapist - doctor, Bruce said she was an actual doctor - let him in her office. She looked friendly enough, not as old as Jason thought she was going to be. Dark hair, an easy smile, despite the sterner set of her brow. She fit her office, Jason noted.

Warm colors, modern, but not skimped on comfort.

Functional. To the point.

No other exit.

No way out.

Jason shook her hand, fairly certain that his quick glance around could be taken for mere interest. “Good morning, doc,” he replied, hiding the fact that his stomach was in knots. “Nice to meet you too, hope all is well.”

“I’m very well, thank you.” Polite. Well spoken. All in all, a good first impression.

Spotting the curious look around the room, Leslie gestured to the soft, comfortable looking armchair towards the back of the room, facing the door. “Would you like to take a seat?”

Most people were nervous for a first session. Outwardly, the boy didn’t seem all that fussed but Leslie busied herself anyway, opening a drawer on the side so he could make the decision whether to sit or not without her directly watching. “I’ve always got a mixture of drinks and snacks in here, is there anything you’d like?”

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And that made Jason look back to her. Because he had pushed away all that had reminded him of her at first; it was too painful, too raw. Too much of a liability.

He was barely getting used to being able to feel safe again. Let alone remember.

“She was… Before she got sick, she always read to me,” Jason started, a little hesitantly. “Encouraged me to read as much as I could too, and do well in school. Said I might actually make something of myself instead of getting stuck in the Alley. She tried to care, and be nice, but she…” She ended up caring more about the drugs than me.

Jason’s jaw tensed, before continuing. “When Willis died in prison, and she got sicker, that just – it was just us, you know? I had to look after her. Be the man. But she… guess she was too sick.”

That amount of grief. His father - Willis, rather, and then his mother. In the face of it, it was surprising that the boy before her seemed so well put together. 

She fought against a pang of  her own sorrow for what he had been through. But this wasn’t the time or place for her own emotions. When she had first began working with the Wayne family, one of the few reservations she had, had been around how it might be more difficult to maintain the professional boundaries that were needed for the job. Being in the know, almost a family friend... It had the potential to compromise her role as their therapist. She was careful not to allow it to happen.

And again, education seemed to be a common theme for Jason. It was clearly on his mind. Something that was important to him perhaps. Leslie made a mental note to come back to it, but while they were on the subject, she wanted to try and get a clearer picture of exactly what Jason had had to deal with.

A soft, slightly sad smile crossing her face, Leslie tried to match Jason’s careful tone as she inquired further. “Can I ask, what illness did she have?”

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Trust Grace to put her mark right on the money. Even though she didn’t quite get just how close to the truth she was getting. “She’s too smart for her own good,” he muttered under his breath, but pride laced his tone.

But the faint smile fell, as Leslie continued.

He could see it.

Grace worrying over him, working herself up over him, and what he’d done. Trying to find an explanation. “I – I’ll put her in too much danger if I tell her. That is… if she even wants anything to do with me for lying to her.” Jason shook his head. “I never should have let it get this far between us, I was an idiot.”

“She’s planning on working as a doctor, in Crime Alley, Jason.” Leslie pointed out. “I’ve had this talk with her, when she started - and again after the bombing. She’s not exactly playing it safe as it is.” While a doctor wasn’t the most dangerous profession someone could go for, in a city like Gotham it certainly came with it’s own set of risks. Leslie had the personal experience to attest to it.

“Grace isn’t shying away from the Red Hood either. Even after everything she knows about him - you.” Talking about Jason as if he were two different people was going to give her a headache, but when it came to Grace, the distinction was there. For now, at least. “These are all choices she's making. And after what happened to her the other week, Gotham can be plenty dangerous all on its own. If you hadn’t have given her that alarm...” Her voice trailed slightly, not wanting to think of what might have happened to her if not for Jason.

“She likes you. And judging by how she is around you when the mask is on, she likes more than just whatever civilian front you’ve put up for appearances sake. Don’t even try telling me it’s not the same for you, or you’d never have let it go on for this long. Even the others have noticed." Leslie wasn’t sure if she should mention the curious questions she had received from the others, Bruce especially who was all too keen to know what his son was up to, but it slipped out all the same.

Realising she had long since ventured into lecture territory, Leslie shrugged, pulling back. “I just think she deserves the option of deciding for herself. A real, informed decision. I think your secret would be safe at this point. She only speaks to me about it because she already knows I know The Red Hood.  And who knows? You might be pleasantly surprised at how things turn out.”

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No wrong answers.

Right.

Jason fought down the urge to scoff, and he briefly hid his face by taking a sip from his water bottle. But the subject of becoming Robin? Yeah, that was something Jason could latch on to. If she reported this back to Bruce, he’d see that he was willing. And ready.

“Of course, I’m excited. Robin’s awesome!” he replied, eyes gleaming. “Batman and Robin save lives. They defeat the bad guys, and actually do something to make the city better. Why wouldn’t I be excited?”

Leslie let out a huff of a laugh at the enthusiastic tone as Jason spoke. The way his eyes lit up, he was talking about joining his heroes, as if there couldn’t be a better thing in the world than that. The kind of excitement a boy his age should have, but about this?

It was a very romanticised view of what would be a dangerous job if he were to actually be Robin. 

“Oh, I don’t know.” She shrugged casually, choosing to take his rhetorical question literally. “You’ve seen Bruce after defeating some of those bad guys, right? He gets hurt sometimes. Some people might find that a little frightening. I certainly would if it were me, though I can understand the idea behind it; One of the reasons I became a doctor was to do my part for the city - in a different way, of course.”

She wondered if Jason had considered the danger he might be putting himself in as she continued, letting her hesitancy show a little. “I know you’ve been training hard, but these are adults, with weapons and - well, plenty of them won’t go down without a fight.”

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Jason’s jaw tensed a little, and he bit down his initial reaction by taking another sip of his water. Because telling this doctor that he knew all about the hurt adults could do, would definitely be a strike against him being cleared.

So he shrugged, lowering the bottle. “Doubt they’ll let me go off to university or something to become a doctor like you, ma'am. No offense. But I’m not afraid. And neither will I back out of a fight too,” Jason declared. “I’m tough. I know how to fight and how to look after myself.”

I’m not scared to get hurt. Not now, not when I can fight back this time.

Watching Jason take another drink, Leslie resisted the urge to take up her notebook. 

“It’ll take a lot more than that to offend me Jason, don’t worry. You do seem very brave.”

She had decided to leave it alone for this first session, in her effort to make a calmer and more trusting atmosphere, but there was plenty she wanted to make note of, things to circle back to at a later date. She would have to write them down after he left. 

Why couldn’t he go to university?

Face carefully neutral, Leslie dug a little deeper into Jason’s answer, choosing her course carefully. “Is that something you’ve had to do a lot of? Looking after yourself, I mean.”

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And if Jason had felt any better, he would have pushed her away. But now, Jason could only be grateful for the support. Her steady hands and gait, led him back to his bedroom, and a trickle of shame curled up in his gut at her seeing the mess he had holed himself up in.

He curled up on his bed, burying his face in the sweat soaked pillow.

He looked a pitiful sight. It made Leslie’s chest ache with a need for action. To do something to make it better. She doubted however, that she could do all that much.

Resisting the urge to push his bangs off his face, Leslie resolved herself to try, knowing despite his closed eyes, he could hear her perfectly. “Okay, so here’s the thing. You need fluids, and if I’ve got anything to do with it, you’re getting them. Dehydration on top of everything else is going to make it worse. So you’ve got a choice. Either you take some small sips of something, or I’ve got an IV with me.” She wasn’t prepared to let him refuse that one outright.

Glancing around his bedroom, Leslie had some other ideas of what she could do to make it a little easier. But that was best left unsaid and should wait until he was asleep. 

Thinking on, she continued, already imagining his protests. “I’ve also brought painkillers with me. The top shelf stuff. I know you hate them, but if it might take the edge off...”