Hey I was assigned a creative writing project, and well I decided to do a fan fiction. I asked my teacher if I could post it up here before I turned it in and she said it was fine. So here you are my newest edition. One Thousand Tears.

Discliamer: I own nothing.

"Mommy, Daddy! Where are you?!" I cried into the darkness of the empty circus tent. There was no noise, except for my soft crying.

I had watched them fall to their deaths, I am the reason they fell. I kept telling myself over and over again. I saw that the rope was wearing thin, maybe even cut. But I didn't shout out and warn them. It's entirely my fault if only I stopped them from going out there to do the show they never would have fallen and died.

"Mommy, Daddy don't, leave me please I need you!" I whimpered when I saw that their bodies were gone. I curled up in a ball and cried for what seemed like hours until I fell asleep in a small puddle of tears.

I woke up to someone talking to the ring-master. "Boy…parents…survive…circus…" is all I caught as the tall man spoke quietly. I know I've seen him before, but from where?

He turned to me with a smile on his face as he held his hand out for me. When I saw his face I knew exactly where I saw him. He was in the front row, last night but as he watched my parents fall, his smile turned into something of pure horror. Now it looks so kind and understanding.

I took his hand and looked at the ring-master with a questioning glance. "This is Bruce Wayne. He is going to take you home, where you will have a better life Richard my boy." He said reassuring me.

I gave a small understanding nod and the strange man picked me up. We walked to a long car. It was as long as a train car, but shrunken to car size. When we were both sitting in the back seat of the big car, it started to move on its own. I knew cars moved like a train, but didn't it need a driver?

At my questioning look, Bruce opened a window that I hadn't seen before and sure enough there was someone operating this strange vehicle. I looked around fascinated at this strange car, my worries about my dead parents gone for the time being.

When we stopped and the car turned off, I looked up at Bruce who opened the door. We were at the biggest house I have ever seen. To be honest I haven't seen many houses, because I lived in a traveling circus.

An old man greeted us at the door, he said something I couldn't quite hear, but he turned to me and smiled. "Hello my name is Alfred. I am pleased to meet someone Master Bruce has taken a fancy to. What is your name?"

I stayed silent for a while, then quietly said, "My name is Dick." They both stared at me with wide eyes, like I said a bad word or something.

"I thought your name was Richard." Alfred said.

"It is but parents used to call me Dick for short." I replied with a small nod of affirmation.

"Well then, it's nice to meet you Dick." Alfred said. "I'll show you where you will be sleeping." I followed the elderly man to a room that was huge, well bigger than what I was used to anyway. The walls were painted blue with little red birds on them.

"You like Robins?" Alfred asked pointed at the red birds, bringing me out of the daze I was in. "Can I call you little bird? Or would you prefer Dick?" He asked suddenly.

I nodded enthusiastically, "You can call me little bird if you like."

"Okay, goodnight little bird." He said walking out of my room.

That night was my first night there. I was able to fall asleep pretty fast, but I woke up in the middle of the night thrashing and crying in Bruce's arms.

"There, there it's okay no one is going to hurt you." He was saying, while he rocked me back and forth. I found this comforting. Soon I was able to stop crying.

I looked up at him with big sad blue eyes and said, "They fell, and it's entirely my fault. Why didn't I tell them?" I was ranting to myself forgetting all about the man who was comforting me.

"Tell me what happened in your dream Dick." Bruce said patting my head.

"I saw them cut the rope, but they didn't cut it that much so I didn't think it would break. Then it skipped to my patents falling." I said through shuttering breaths. "I let them fall Bruce, I didn't do anything to stop it. I don't want that to happen to anybody again."

"I know how you feel Dickie my boy, I watched my parents die when I was your age." His eyes got a little misty. "One night we went to see a play, and on our way home some guy held a gun to my mother's head asking for all our money. My mom told me to run, but instead I hid behind a dumpster. Well after my parents gave the guy all their money he shot them twice in the chest and once in the head. Only then did I take off running."

I looked in horror as he told me his story. I just couldn't believe that such a happy person could have such a sad background. "I'm sorry." I whispered hugging him.

"It's okay," He said shocked that he was being hugged. "I want to show you something, it's how I'm able to cope with my loss."

We walked to the basement and took an elevator even deeper in the ground. "This is what I call the Bat-cave. Have you ever heard of Batman?" At my nod he continued, "Well I'm Batman. You see being a hero and stopping bad guys is what chases my nightmares away."

"All this is just so…so whelming!" I said.

"Whelming?" He asked with a quizzical look on his face.

"Whelming," I stated "You know like overwhelming, or underwhelming. It's just whelming all together."

He chuckled and said, "Oh I see."

"I feel better now thanks for showing this to me." I said doing a back flip, to show how happy I was.

"You're welcome." He said as we walked back upstairs to my room. "You know I've been looking for someone to train, so that when I pass away Gotham still has a hero. Would you like to be my protégé?"

"What is a prota- what you said?" I asked confused.

"A protégé is kind of like a sidekick." He said.

"Will it get rid of my nightmares?"

"It got rid of mine so maybe." He said with a thoughtful look on his face.

"Okay, I'll do it." I said sounding like a grown-up instead of a nine year old. "But I want to be called Robin."

"You got yourself a deal then." He said ruffling my hair. "Good night my little Robin, we will start training in the morning."

"Good night Ta- uh Bruce, I'll see you in the morning." I closed my door but didn't go to bed instead I curled up by the window and stared out of it. I couldn't sleep even after Bruce had cheered me up. How could I? I didn't want to see it ever again, but if I close my eyes and fall asleep I will.

"I'm never going to sleep again." I said sounding so sure of myself like any nine year old would. I didn't know how wrong I was.

Months later I fell out of my bed screaming my head off again. "Don't do it! Don't go out there! The rope, it has been cut! Mommy! Daddy! Don't die!"

Bruce rushed into my room. "It's okay, it's okay. You're not at the circus. You're at home Dick wake up." He had me in his arms and was rocking me back in forth.

"They fell, they fell because of me!" I was still screaming half asleep, as I watched them fall to their deaths over and over again.

"Dick, Wake up you are not at the circus. Please wake up it's just a dream don't worry." Bruce was pleading with me now. My eyes still fluttered under my eyelids.

"Bruce! Don't fall! I don't want you to fall! Please…Bruce!" I screamed reaching out to try and catch him, when my hand thumped on his chest. My eyes shot open tears running down my cheeks. "Bruce! I watched you fall. It was horrible."

"It's okay Dick I didn't fall it was just a dream." Bruce said wiping my tears away and kissing my forehead.

Alfred walked in my room to see what the commotion was all about. "Little Bird what's wrong?"

"I had another nightmare, this time Bruce fell with my parents." I said still sobbing. "It was horrible."

"May I suggest something?" He asked sitting next to me, and I nodded unable to speak. "I told this to Bruce when he was your age. A dream is just a figment of your imagination with some of your memories in it. If you don't let it hurt you or anyone you love then it cannot scare you."

"As always Alfred your words are wise." Bruce said with a smile.

I nodded, and let his words roll around in my brain for a little while. "You're right Alfred, thank you very much." I said giving him a hug, he was startled for a second but then he relaxed and hugged me back.

"You are welcome Little Bird," He said patting my back. "Are you guys hungry? There are chocolate chip pancakes down stairs."

That night I went to bed and had the same dream but I didn't wake up screaming. Instead I dreamt that I saved my parents, and Bruce.

I woke up the next day happy and at peace with myself. Bruce walked in only to see me smiling out the window.

"Sleep well?" He asked. "No bad dreams?"

"I had a great night's sleep," I said. "My dream started out as a bad dream but I remembered what Alfred tell me and I dreamt that I was Robin and I saved you and my parents. I miss them a lot, but if they didn't die I never would have met you, and my life would just have been boring. Unlike how it is now, I'm fighting crime as Robin and living here with you and Alfred. I love you…Dad." I threw my arms around his neck hugging him.

He was startled for a second but then he relaxed and hugged me back. "I love you to son." He said, and I heard a smile in his voice.

The End

How did you like it? Reviews? It may or may not be a OneShot it depends on you guys, my readers. Love you all, and hope to get positive feed back from you.

~Dessi16