Ch 7

                                    

                                          
Jason woke up early, only to rush to the toilet and empty the contents of his stomach. He wiped his mouth and shakily made his way to the living room, where he was surprised to find Bruce bouncing Dick gently in his arms as he cried.
                          
"Let me guess... you were having problems yodeling groceries too?" Bruce asked Jason in a tired, humorless voice.
                          
"Yodeling? I just puked Bruce, I wasn't in the bathroom singing." Jason said, folding his arms. He clearly didn't get it.
                          
Bruce thought about explaining it for a second, but he was too tired to try and explain metaphors and figures of speech to an 11 year old. "You and Dickie must have caught the same thing then, he hasn't been able to keep his food down either."
                          
Dick whimpered, as if to prove how unhappy he was about all of this.
                          
"I guess we'll all be staying home today." Bruce said.
                          
"Bruce?" Jason said questioningly, taking a seat on the couch.
                          
"Hmm?" Bruce responded tiredly.
                          
"Can we watch a movie?"
                          
Bruce plopped down onto the couch. "What show did you want to watch?" He asked, grabbing the remote and flipping the large TV on.
                          
"Scooby Doo!" Jason said without hesitation.
                          
Bruce started the show, settling back onto the couch with Dick curled up on his chest. The two were soon asleep, leaving only Jason to watch the teenage sleuths track down the monsters and unmask them.
                          
It was almost ironic how similar the show was to daily life as a superhero, something Jason had only got a small taste of so far.
                          
Jason dropped off to sleep soon after Bruce and Dick, despite his best efforts.
                          
—
                          
Bruce woke up to the strong stench of puke and the sound of two crying children. 
                          
Jason was sniffling quietly as he held Dick in his arms. Dick was wailing, and his face looked both pale and slightly flushed. Both boys were covered in puke.
                          
"What happened?" Bruce asked, shooting up off of the couch and grabbing Dick from Jason's arms.
                          
"Dickie was crying, so I took him from your arms, but then he started throwing up. When I smelled it I puked too..." Jason said, tears flowing more freely down his flushed cheeks.
                          
Bruce sighed, looking at the TV screen which had a large, 'Are you still watching?', on it. The clock showed the time to be 9:27 AM. "Let's get you two cleaned up." Bruce said, leading the way up to the ensuite that was attached to his bedroom.
                          
Bruce started to fill the tub with warm water, while he bounced Dick gently on his knee. "Jason, could you grab some new clothes for yourself and Dick?" Bruce asked.
                          
Jason nodded, and went to grab a change of clothes for himself and his brother.
                          
Bruce busied himself with bathing Dick. It was definitely easier than usual, Dick didn't squirm or splash like he usually would. Instead he cuddled into Bruce's strong arms and seemed to enjoy the warm water.
                          
Jason came back a few minutes later with two sets of clothing as well as a diaper for Dick.
                          
Bruce quickly finished washing off Dick, before lifting him out of the warm water and wrapping him in a fluffy towel. "Do you need help getting in the tub Jay?" Bruce asked gently.
                          
"No." Jason replied, still slightly angry at Bruce for pushing him so hard the day before.
                          
"Alright. Just call if you need anything." Bruce said, taking Dick into his room so he could get him dressed.