Ace appeared unconcerned with whatever Castiel had seen in him. The Shepherd rolled onto his side, halfway on top of Jason's feet, and released a full-body sigh. He clearly felt Jason was safe enough at the moment. He had no need to keep vigil when Jason had relaxed enough into the conversation to not be on alert at every unexpected sound or movement. Jason hadn't even realized that his body was slowly uncoiling from a state of heightened tension.
The waitress's arrival interrupted any questions Jason might have pursued as to why Castiel found Ace the source of so much insight. Castiel himself didn't give Jason the time to return to that particular line of thought. The angel's direct response to the event that had arguably shaped Jason into who he was today set the second Robin's mind onto a well-worn track. Jason had recounted the story numerous times over the years, but each telling had its own unique feeling, shaped by the reason behind the tale, and people who had a chance to hear it.
"Should probably set the stage for you first, if we're going to do this." Definitely not hungry now that he was going back to old nightmares, Jason broke the end off a strip of bacon and passed it down to Ace. The dog happily accepted the offering with tail thump and the bare minimum effort required to reach the food. "I found out when I was about fifteen that my mom wasn't actually my mom. Turned out that my dad had been with another woman before they got married, and that's where I'd come from. Things weren't going great with Bruce at home, so when I found out my birth mom was still out there, I got this idea in my head that maybe she wanted me." Jason laughed bitterly at the naive, foolish hope of the kid he'd been.
"I found her in Africa, working in humanitarian aid. I also found out that she was a crook, just like my dad. She was using the whole thing as a front to funnel money into her own pockets. I was going to swear off of any kind of relationship with her when I found out, but then she contacted me, saying she was sorry, that she'd made mistakes but she still loved me and wanted to be part of my life. I don't know if you have any idea what that kind of talk does to a kid who thought the only person who'd ever really loved him as a parent had died with a needle in her arm because taking care of a kid and herself at the same time had been too much. Stupid sob story that I am, I agreed to meet with her. The fucking Joker jumped me the instant I walked into that damn warehouse. Crowbar straight to the back of the neck. Just hard enough to lay me out. He didn't want me dead right away. See, he's got this hard on for sticking it to Batman. Never kills him, just wants to see him fall, but us Robins? We're fair game.
"Sheila just watched for most of it. The woman carried me around inside of her for nine months, but when the Joker trussed me up and started beating the shit out of me, she sat in a corner and let it happen. Never said a word against it. Never raised a hand."