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[cat_13145]

Stealing a Prompt from a meme
sara_left a comment at shiny_glor_chanmeme (Give me a character/pairing from any of my fandoms plus a family event(birthday/wedding/funeral/barbecue/Christmas/Father's Day/Mother's Day/Graduation/etc., etc.) and I will give you either five ways that event was awesome or five ways it was Terrible.) asking for Jason Todd, Mother's day. This idea took root in my brain and refused to let go. So here are three Jason Todd and Mother's day stories. I'm not sure if they entirely fit the post, but I hope you enjoy them.


Catherine Todd
1. The papers finally come through at 10 am on 10th of May. Willis is out somewhere, so she’s alone in the apartment when the postman drops them off. Slowly she reads the long legal speech, before she wanders into the tiny box room.
There’s no crib in the room, though Willis is always promising he’ll get one, just a drawer line with old clothes. The apartment is hot and stuffy, cos there’s no air-conditioning, and Jason is fretting, as he has been all week.
None of that matters though, as she picks him up and holds him to her chest. Because for the first time since that woman dumped him on their doorstep, without even a name, she knows that Jason Peter Todd is hers legally. And no one can take him away from her.

2. Their apartment is ten foot wide, 12 foot long. It consists of four rooms, if you count the tiny bathroom. It’s never looked so clean.
Since yesterday, when she screamed at Willis to get out and never come back, she’s cleaned, cooked and paced like her life depended on it. Perhaps it does, as she’s never felt the cravings so strong since before Jason was born.
What was Willis thinking? That she’d be happy about him allying himself with those freaks?
Harvey Dent was bad news when he was district attorney, and as Two-Face he was even worse. Yes, he was offering a greater cut than the other gangs, but there was more attention from the Bat.
“Mommy.” She looks down to see Jason standing in front of her, holding something.
A card. Of course, she’d forgotten the date.
“To the best mommy in the werld.” It says.
Without thinking, she picks him up and holds him against her chest, relieved that at least someone still loves her.

3. She’s no idea where she is, or what time it is. All she knows is how she feels. Floaty and happy, like all her cares have been washed away.
She can hear people yelling in the distance, but she ignores them. Then someone’s grabbing her arm, trying to take her away from here, and she’s yelling.
“Come on Mom.” Jason. Jason is here? “It’s time to go home.”
“My beautiful baby,” she mutters, feeling Jason stiffen as her hands run over his face.
“Whatever Mom, it’s time to go.” She drapes an arm around him, and lets him guide her out of the abandoned warehouse and along the dimly lit streets to their apartment.
There’s a dinner on the table, and something in the jug she inherited from her mother. Flowers, almost dead now.
She glances at the calendar.
“Baby, I’m so sorry.”
He shrugs, one eye rapidly turning black. “It doesn’t matter mom.”
Though they both know it does.

4. It had been so long since there was a female presence in the manor that Alfred had completely forgotten the significance of May 10th. He only remembered it when he was trying to figure out why Master Jason was in such a foul mood.
Initially he had put it down to Miss Selina’s presence, lord only knew he disliked the woman, but a quick glance at the calendar suggests another motive.
After a quick discussion with Lesley, he and Jason go for a walk in his old neighbour hood, eventually ending up at Our Lady by the Sea, where Catherine Todd is buried.
Jason doesn’t say anything about it, but his mood does slightly improve and Alfred is used to taking his victories where he can find them.

5. Barbara blinked and stared at her monitor.
What was Jason doing in a graveyard in downtown Gotham at 1am?
She debated calling Dick and Damian to investigate, then she realised Jason was talking to one of the graves.
“Sorry I haven’t been here for a while.” His voice was soft. “I was angry at you. For dieing, for not protecting me, for lying to me.” He laughed slightly. “Though you might have had your reasons for the last one, that woman was a real bitch.” He shook his head. “Guess craziness and costumes are in the blood.”
“I used to wonder if you’d have like Bruce, but I know you wouldn’t. You always hated the bat.” He sighed. “Not sure I don’t agree with you currently.” She could see him in the dim light chewing at his lip. “A part of me wishes that you could have seen me in the costume, but then I look at Tim, or at Babs and I’m glad you weren’t around, so that no one could hurt you to get to me.” There were tears on her cheeks, and she wasn’t even sure why. “A lot of bad stuffs happened, some of it worse than others.” He looked down at it. “I didn’t handle it well, but a friend’s told me someone who might be able to help, and I’m going to see them.” He looked at the stone as though it held the answers. “I’m not sure if it’ll help but I won’t know until I try right?” He smiled. “I just came to say goodbye, Mom.”
There was a brief flicker and he was gone.
Drying her tears, Oracle began editing the tapes. This was private. She felt bad enough witnessing it.
For all that, she tucked a copy of it away. So that she’d never forget the boy stubbing out a cigarette with pixie boots was still in there.

 

Shelia Haywood (Jason's Biological Mother)
1. She doesn’t cry when she puts Jason in the basket and leaves him on the doorstep. She knows Willis is desperate for a child, and so is Catherine. She’s not any kind of mother. Some people just aren’t wired that way, and it’s better to leave Jason with one who is. And if on the boat, two hours later her cheeks are wet. Well it might just be the sea spray.

2. She sees a lot of babies in the course of her work. Most half starved and too week to do anything, even cry. She watches the despair in the eyes of the mothers, and if she’s a little harsh with them, it’s not from guilt. She’s no time for babies and doesn’t see why because she’s a woman she should have. The volunteers who tell her, she’ll understand when she’s had one of her own especially irritate her. She’d had one and it made absolutely no difference to her. No difference at all.

3. There’s nothing of her in Jason. She knows that from the moment she sees him. If it weren’t for the papers, she’d call him a liar, and deny everything. So his eyes are blue, a colour so dark it’s almost navy, that is fairly unusual, so what? Lots of people have blue eyes. But what really proves it to her is when he tries to save her in spite of everything. That forgiving attitude, that’s Catherine, he never got it from her.

4. It annoys her that the man who came with Jason, Bruce Wayne, Batman, tells the officials that they were a mother and son. She was not Jason’s mother, she never had been. A mother would die to protect her son, not the other way around. She hadn’t been Jason’s mother ever. All she’d been was the woman who gave birth to him. She wants to explain this to Bruce, but she doesn’t think he’d understand.
 
5. She can’t say she’s surprised that no one ever visits her grave. If it had been her, she wouldn’t have visited either. But suddenly, and without explanation, one night there’s a woman standing in front of it. An old one in a doctor’s coat. She looks a little like Leslie Thompson who was ran a free clinic when she left Gotham, but at least a hundred years older. She’s babbling about never being able to forgive her for what she did, but understanding her reasons better now, and a lot of stuff about birds, bats, and masks that doesn’t make any sense, but when she leaves, there’s a white Carnation on the grave..

 

 

And Because Alfred is Awesome!

 

1. 1. Alfred tries not to make a habit of criticising his employers. If Dr. Wayne chooses to work every night until after 9 o’clock, well after Master Bruce’s bedtime, well it is no skin off Alfred’s nose.

   However, when it comes to 20^th June, and Master Bruce has been sitting on the stairs since 5 o’clock, clutching the card Alfred helped him to make, and dinner is getting cold Alfred’s temper snaps.

   Dr. Wayne emerges from surgery to a message that if he is not home, for at least twenty minutes, in the next hour, his dinner will be in the dog and he will be looking for a new butler tomorrow!

   To Master Bruce’s delight (and Alfred’s relief) Dr. Wayne is home at eight thirty. The gravy has to be reheated, but no one appears to care.

   And Master Bruce’s card takes Pride of Place on Dr. Wayne’s desk.

    

   2. Master Richard’s received the day before father’s day, as well as the day it’s self, as a free day, and Alfred freely expected him to spend it visiting his parent’s graves.

   However, to his surprise, Master Richard spends the entire day closeted in his room, with paper, pens and two entire tubs of glitter.

   After Master Bruce has departed for the evening, Alfred is shown the finished result, and it is fair to say it takes his breath away.

   He agrees that he is sure Master Bruce will appreciate the effort, before shooing the boy to bed. He then contacts Master Bruce and informs him of the lad’s plans. Master Bruce is flattered and says he will return early.

   It is nearly 6 o’clock, and Alfred has been yelling into the comm. For a good hour, when Bruce finally returns.

   He just manages to shove Bruce into bed at the moment that Dick pushes open the door.

   Master Bruce is delighted by the card, though Alfred does find he is required to account for the glitter on the sheets to his “date” that evening.

    

   3. Alfred is woken up by swearing. Grabbing his stoutest umbrella, he made his way down to the kitchen, ready to tackle which ever miscreant had invaded his domain…and found Jason clutching a scalded hand, and using language that would make a navy blush at the kettle.

   Baffled by this, Alfred simply placed Jason’s hand under the cold tap (which prompts more swearing, but slightly more refined), and removes the kettle from the stove.

   Conversations after this revealed that the lad had been trying to make breakfast in bed for Bruce.

   “I used to do it for Mom.” Jason admits, kicking the kitchen table, “After Dad cleared off.”

   Alfred is so touched at this, that he decides not to mention that getting Bruce to eat any form of food (let alone breakfast) is an exercise in frustration, and Bruce does not drink tea, only coffee in the morning.

   Instead, he helps Jason to prepare the food, and stands in the doorway, glaring at Bruce until he eats each and every morsel.

   Later, when Master Jason returns from school, rather than vanishing to the Cave to complete his homework (and Alfred has never understood why he enjoys spending so much time in that hole), he sits in the kitchen with Alfred, and they share a cup of tea and talk. It is extremely civilised.

   Of course, as soon as the sound of Master Bruce’s car in the driveway is heard, Jason vanishes, but Alfred doesn’t mind.

   He rather likes having some secrets from Bruce. And Like his tea with Master Clark, he hoped this was an event to be repeated.

    

   4. Alfred had made some….interesting acquaints in his previous life, and it did not take him long to find one who would be able to repair the wrist watch.

   The man not only completed the repairs in record time, but also added a luminous dial, which according to his eleven year old grandson was very “cool”

   Alfred had no doubt that it was, but Master Bruce disagreed when he first produced it, after its repair. Alfred starred down his protests, reminded Master Bruce it had been a gift from Tim, and fastened, very tightly on his left wrist.

   The first two weeks are a battle, but by the end of the third, Master Bruce has evidently grown to like the watch, and actually protests when Alfred tries to substitute another one.

   Alfred smiles, and exchanges a conspiratorial wink with Master Tim.

    

   5. The first father’s day after Bruce’s disappearance, Alfred is seriously considering taking some of those vacation days Master Richards insists he is entitled to.

   He hears Tahiti is very nice this time of year. So is England, anywhere that isn’t Gotham.

   But, with one thing and another, by the time the date rolls around, he has almost completely forgotten about it.

   Until he was returning to his room, just before Masters Dick and Damian leave for patrol, and saw a small flash of red and green vanishing around the corner.

   Damian!

   Muttering to himself, he opened the door, fully braced for what ever was behind it…and stopped dead in his tracks.

   On the bed lay a card, one of the ones that could be brought in a thousand shops in Gotham. “To a wonderful Grandfather.” It said on the cover. The signature inside was Damian’s.

   Barely over that shock, he realised that there were other envelopes lying on the bed. A letter from Master Tim, and one from Master Jason, a card with Miss Barbara’s writing on the top line and Miss Cassandra’s underneath and a gold pocket watch from Master Richard’s.

   Looking at these, Alfred Pennyworth couldn’t honestly be happier with his family.