I chose to break this chapter up into two. Some POV changes. Should be easy enough to follow as I placed a line break between them.

NO WARNINGS . . .

"What was that about promises kept, sir?"

Bruce shot a look at Alfred as he pulled his gloves on. His butler had been quite vocal and clear in his condemnation of what he was about to do. He had been forced to eat in his company's cafeteria for the past week; ever since he had brought up his plan to reintroduce Robin into the field. He had spent hours arguing with Leslie over the phone and twice in person after Alfred had called her for reinforcements.

"I never promised he couldn't be Robin again," Bruce argued. "I just said that I thought it was unlikely to ever happen, but you can hardly hold me to an opinion given four months ago. The boy couldn't walk then, could barely speak, and we had little hope of seeing improvement."

Bruce waved a hand in the direction of the changing room where Dick was climbing into his Robin costume for the first time since he had faced Scarecrow for the last.

"You've seen him for yourself." Bruce reminded him. "He's ready. He can handle this."

"I am tempted to tender my resignation," Alfred muttered, but his gaze went back to the changing room. "But someone needs to be here for him the next time you carry him home broken and bloodied."

"That is an unfair assessment and you know it." Bruce narrowed his eyes at the older man.

"But accurate, nonetheless." Alfred told him. "It is inevitable in night work."

Bruce adjusted his belt, and turned to yell at his absent partner. "Dick! What's taking you so long? Quit primping and get your butt out here! All the criminals will be back home and in bed before you stop staring at yourself in the mirror!"

He chuckled at the image. The boy had been doing that very thing when Bruce had walked out of the room five minutes ago. He pulled his cowl on and the smile on his face faded as if it had never been.

Robin came running out, mask in place, to stop in front of his mentor. Batman looked him over carefully.

"Is your utility belt stocked?" His voice automatically dropping low with a slight growl it took on in his Batman personae.

"Yes, sir," Robin told him.

"You remember where everything is, don't you?" Batman didn't actually believe this would be a problem. Every time they had practiced, Robin's muscle memory brought forth the correct item for each situation without hesitation.

He didn't need to see past the lenses to know that Robin was rolling his eyes, but the boy answered obediently in the affirmative. In truth, it was merely a precaution. Robin wasn't going to see any action tonight himself. This was his first outing since his head injury, and he had been instructed strictly to remain safely in the shadows; safely away from the violence that the evening was bound to bring.

Batman had chosen this night specifically. Tuesday nights were statistically the lowest in violent crimes during the week. He had double checked with Arkham Asylum that all their inmates were present and accounted for. He had spent the past hour listening into the police band to determine the level of criminal activity happening in the city. It was as safe as Gotham was ever to get. But Gotham being Gotham, there was always something happening and the risk that they would run into something dangerous was reasonably high. Still, this being Robin's debut after an absence over the past several months, Batman's priority was the boy's education and safety.

He determined that they would keep their patrols short and move to different areas of the city via the Batmobile. If trouble became too thick or something unexpected came up, Robin would be able to retreat to the relative safety of the car until Batman returned. It was the essence of the agreement he had sought with the teen before he agreed to Robin accompanying him.

"Okay, go buckle up," Batman ordered.

Robin turned to go, but stopped suddenly to run to Alfred. He flung his arms around the elder man.

"I'll be careful, Alfred. I promise," the boy swore. "I'm just going to watch, after all."

"Beware the unexpected, Master Robin. Sometimes circumstances have little respect for one's intentions," Alfred warned; hugging the youngster back.

Robin nodded solemnly, and then headed to the Batmobile at a run, as if he were afraid of Batman changing his mind at the last minute.

"Somehow, he seems younger now than he did when he first donned the mask and cape at nine." Alfred sighed and turned toward Batman. "I will, of course, be monitoring the situation from here."

If Batman agreed with Alfred's assessment, he didn't voice it.

"Thank you, Alfred," he said softly; his voice more Bruce, all of a sudden, than Batman. "I'll keep him safe," he promised. "This is just a trial run."

"Should I repeat my warning to you as well?" The butler was still angry, but it was tempered now with forbearance. This night was going to happen despite Alfred's perspective on the matter.

The Batman was back. "No one knows better than I do how quickly things can change out there."

"Do you remember the rules?"

Robin sighed. "Yes, Dad."

Batman's hand landed on the boy's shoulder. "Not in costume," he warned. "Not in the field; not even in jest."

Robin looked back at his mentor and nodded. He had been calling Bruce Dad more often around the manor. It was comforting to him and he didn't think Bruce minded all that much. But out here, he wasn't supposed to think of Batman in the same fashion. It was too dangerous, Bruce had told him. If criminals knew their true relationship, Robin would become a bigger target than he already was. They would be gunning for him in order to weaken the Batman. Right now what they were to one another was up for speculation. How much worse might it be should all doubt be abolished in the minds of criminals?

"Right. Batman," he reiterated. "Yes, sir, I remember the rules."

It was all he could do not to smile. Batman did not smile, however, but his lips may have twitched. It had been a long while since Robin had been so obedient, and it was a refreshing change of pace. Of course, he knew that the boy was nervous. After being told for the past several months that Robin was beyond his abilities, he was worried about screwing this longed-for opportunity up.

"Well, come on then. The night is flying and so are we," Batman climbed out of the car. "Remember where the car is parked. If we run into too much trouble, you are to come back here immediately and wait for me in the car.

"But what if . . ."

Ah, there he was . . . The Robin he knew. He wasn't gone, apparently, just waiting for the opportunity to step out into the moonlight.

"No 'what ifs' . . . It isn't so late that I am unwilling to take you back to the cave," Batman interrupted; putting a stop to this line of thinking before it started.

The boy sighed heavily and Batman's lips twitched again. He had sorely missed having Robin on patrol with him, but not so much that he was willing to put him at risk so soon. This was his first night out. Batman had every intention of seeing it go smoothly.

They pulled out their grapple guns at the same time; pointed and released the line. As they both hit recoil and they were drawn upward toward the rooftops, Alfred's warning about circumstances not respecting intentions ran through his head again.

He remembered this!

The feeling of freedom and the cold wind in his hair; his cape ruffling behind him as he moved through the air between skyscrapers and over city streets far below him. Laughter escaped before he could catch it and draw it back. He shot a glance at the dark figure trailing him; wondering if he heard it.

Robin hadn't missed the twitching lips earlier. He had amused him; the Batman. He was torn between pride and embarrassment. He wanted Batman to take him seriously, but how many people could say that they had made Batman smile . . . Okay, twitch, then. His memories were so few now, but he was pretty sure that there were none within them of anyone other than Robin that had made Batman's lips do that thing.

His muscles rejoiced in the stretch and pull that made up flying. He was sure that this wasn't like what Superman experienced, but part of the thrill wasn't in the flying so much as in the falling. His adrenaline spiked as he reached the pinnacle of his arc and he released his line. For a moment gravity had no claim on him and Robin rose up in the air even higher than before.

Without even thinking about it, Robin tucked himself tight and began to spin; one, two, three somersaults. At the end of it, he spread his arms and legs to slow his descent and shot off another line to the building across the street. A shadow moved above him and Robin looked up to see Batman performing a similar maneuver. He grinned as he hit recoil; drawing himself up higher than ever and using his legs to increase his speed and height than he could with the grapple alone.

If all they accomplished tonight was this; flying around the city, Batman thought it would be a night well spent. He had heard the boy's laughter earlier and watched him perform a beautiful triple somersault, but they were merely cherries on top of an already wonderful grin that Robin had been sporting since they had first taken to the skies. He allowed himself to relax his self-discipline enough to join Robin's playfulness with a couple of his own somersaults and was rewarded with a dazzling smile.

They rose in height with each successive skyscraper. He had brought them to the city's center; not so much to look for crime as to give his son a chance to fly. He had been allowing Robin to take the lead tonight, and the boy was taking them toward Wayne Enterprises. It was the tallest building in the city, and as good a place to look out over Gotham as any. The next leg of their patrol was soon enough to look for trouble.

"How are you feeling," Batman asked as he landed on the observation deck next to Robin.

I'm good," Robin answered with a small smile. When Batman stared at him, he continued. "Really. I'm not tired at all."

"Would you tell me if you were?"

Robin shrugged. "Depends on how tired I am," he admitted with surprising honesty.

"Hm," Batman grunted. "Keep in mind, there will be other nights."

"I hope so," the boy said.

Robin hopped up on the railing and sat there. Batman stood beside him and used his telescopic lenses to search the area. Truthfully, they were too high up for even the lenses to do much good. He eyed the telescopes that were stationed around the deck with a rare sense of whimsy. How much would the media give to catch a picture of The Batman gazing down at the streets of Gotham through one of the tourists' telescopes?

Robin's sigh caught his attention and he glanced at the boy.

"I missed this," the boy murmured softly; more to himself than as conversation.

"I did, too, chum. I did, too," Batman said to him, ruffling Robin's hair lightly. "Come on. Nothing's happening here and we have a few more places to check out tonight."

As they leapt off the 50 story observation deck of the WE building, Robin thought about Batman's decision to start off the night in the city's center. There was crime here, sure; it was still Gotham, after all, but Robin knew as well as Batman did the areas that were riddled with criminal activity. They might as well have gone for a stroll in the park as to come here.

Robin caught his breath as a gust of wind, made more powerful from being funneled through the tall skyscrapers, lifted him up. He held the edges of his cape and used it to help him spin. He was laughing again as he pulled his grapple out and shot it off back in the direction of the Batmobile.

Once he was swinging again, Robin glanced about for Batman. He smiled to find the Crusader almost close enough to touch. He had stayed close even through Robin's daredevil antics. He was a little surprised when no chiding or lectures followed, but evidently Batman was in a generous mood tonight.

He couldn't be certain, but Robin thought he saw the Dark Knight's lips twitching, and then he knew for sure . . . This little excursion had been for him; just a bit of fun before the night actually turned dark.

The mid-December wind was terribly cold, but inside, Robin wasn't cold at all. No; inside, he felt warm . . .

REACTIONS? Please . . .