Disclaimer: There is a part in the middle that refers to an episode in the TV show "Batman". It's 1x32 "The Riddler's False Notion". It was written by Dick Carr so the credit goes to him.

The next day:

"Can we train today?" Dick asked hopefully. "My head feels fine and it's been three days since the library."

"I don't know, chum," Bruce replied, sounding a little hesitant.

"Just give me a chance, Bruce! Please!"

"Okay," the man responded, against his better judgement. "But just a light sparring match. Nothing dangerous."

Nodding in excitement, the teenager stood up and stated, "Race you!"

He took off like a rocket, sprinting toward the study door and the Bat-poles hidden inside. Bruce was there a mere three seconds after his ward but Dick was already jumping onto his Bat-pole and disappearing.

Shaking his head, with a slight grin resting on his face, the millionaire strode to his Bat-pole. Four seconds later he was Batman, in the Batcave and staring at Robin in astonishment. The boy was already on the training mat, bouncing lightly on his toes with impatience racing through his light-blue eyes.

"Master Batman, might I suggest no gloves for this round."

Alfred's sentence was a statement, not a question. Batman had already decided to do just that, so he nodded in the general direction of his butler.

"Okay, Robin," the Caped Crusader declared, "we're doing light contact only. I don't know how much you remember so we're not using the sparring gloves. They're too bulky to use since it's your first time. Ready?"

They were standing six feet apart on the training mat. The teen immediately nodded his head in answer to the man's question. Batman raised his fists and Robin instinctively dropped into a defensive stance.

"Good," Batman grunted with a satisfied nod. "You attack first."

The Boy Wonder didn't hesitate. Launching himself at his partner, he swung his right hand toward the man's face. The punch was easily blocked and Batman was shocked at the sloppiness of the attack. Maybe his ward wasn't ready to fight; maybe he needed some retraining time first.

"I…" Batman began but was interrupted by a quick jab to the stomach.

He grinned. Robin had faked a sloppy opening move, causing his opponent to underestimate him. The Caped Crusader was going to have a slight bruise from that hit. The teenager was holding back, but the contact wasn't at all light.

"Defense," Batman ordered and Robin immediately backed up.

It was the man's turn to fake and the boy uncharacteristically fell for it. The left hook disappeared right before it made contact. Robin automatically leaned away from the hit and Batman swept his partner's legs out from underneath him.

The Boy Wonder hit the ground hard with an abnormal lack of athleticism. However, he unconsciously rolled backwards over his shoulders and popped up. Batman instantly noticed that the excitement in his eyes had been replaced by something akin to anger. But Robin had never become angry during training. Ever.

"We're done," the man commanded just as the boy went on the offensive again.

Batman had no choice, unless he wanted to receive a broken nose, which he didn't. He twisted to his right, trying to block the punch with his shoulder. It worked, but he was going to have a bruise there, also. The Caped Crusader then found himself in a position that many a criminal had been subjected to recently.

Robin was sitting on Batman's broad shoulders, his legs squeezing the man's throat and his fists flying around the hero's head.

"Rob…" Batman gasped. "Stop…chum."

Again the older hero had no choice, unless he wanted to pass out, which – again – he didn't. Instead of instinctively grasping at the boy's legs, he reached back and wrapped his large hands around the younger hero's biceps. He found and pushed the pressure point and Robin's arms dropped. The movement surprised the teenager and his hold on Batman's neck loosened slightly.

Batman took advantage, flipping the boy over his own head and gently tossing him away. Gently wasn't exactly the right word, though. It was difficult to be careful when he had to get the small but strong legs off his neck.

He was expecting Robin to easily execute a handspring or flip or rollout of some kind. Instead, the boy ungracefully rotated past the point of an injury-saving trick and landed on his stomach. His forehead hit the mat hard and his body went limp.

"ROBIN!" Batman shouted in dismay.

The man knelt down and carefully rolled the boy onto his back. Robin's eyes were closed and a bump was already forming on his forehead.

"Master Batman!" Alfred exclaimed, suddenly appearing on the training mat. "What did you do, sir?!"

"I was careful; he was supposed to do some kind of trick out of it, like he always does!" Batman stated guiltily, glaring up at his butler.

"Obviously you weren't careful enough, sir," Alfred almost snapped.

"Wha' happened," Robin groaned and both men looked down.

"How do you feel?" Batman asked.

"Master Batman knocked you out, young sir," Alfred replied at the same time.

This time Batman's glare was much darker, but the butler stood his ground without even flinching. The Boy Wonder slowly opened his eyes and they were full of confusion.

"No, Bookworm," Robin said softly. "Did you catch him? Sorry I didn't stop him. His henchman surprised me from behind."

The men stared at him in shock.

"What do you remember, Master Robin?" Alfred inquired when he realized that Batman wasn't going to say anything.

"Library, Bookworm and…an angel?"

"Lisa," Batman said with a small grin.

There was a pause and then Alfred cleared his throat. The Caped Crusader glanced up, noticed the look in the other man's eyes and sighed.

"What happened the last time we fought Joker, chum?"

Robin's eyes narrowed. Did Batman want him to apologize? He wasn't going to; the man deserved it. But his older partner was staring at him, his mouth in a grim line although his eyes were filled with concern.

"We fought six henchmen – well, you did – and I took Joker down. I punched out two of his teeth and may have…um…accidentally broken his arm."

The last four words were tinged with guilt but, to Robin's complete surprise, Batman grinned.

"And what about the last time we fought Riddler?"

Where this was going, the Boy Wonder had no idea. But he sighed and began explaining.

"He pushed me off the ledge of the Chessman building but you tossed down a Bat-a-rang that I caught with my teeth."

Robin lifted his hand and rubbed his jaw.

"Not my favorite rescue ever," he mumbled.

"Good, Robin!" Batman exclaimed and the Boy Wonder looked at him in disbelief.

"What's going on?" the teenager demanded, slightly concerned with the direction of the conversation.

"One more, kiddo," Batman replied, hoping that his ward's memory would be able to reach back this far.

"Tell me the name of any of the clowns in Haly's Circus."

Robin sucked in a breath of both anger and grief. Why would Batman – Bruce – his guardian unexpectedly bring up memories of Dick's former life?

"What's with the interrogation?" the teen growled, ignoring the question that opened a wound in his heart.

Batman wanted to stop, he could both see and hear the anguish, but he needed to know if Robin had any long-term memories.

With an internal sigh of regret, the Caped Crusader repeated, "Tell me the name of…"

"SHUT UP!" Robin shouted. "Why would you…how could you…what gives you the right…"

The rambling phrases trailed off when tears filled the boy's eyes. He couldn't understand why Batman would want to hurt him like this. What had he done that was so wrong that his partner had decided to tear open his heart?

Robin suddenly sat up and jumped to his feet. He sprinted toward the Bat-poles but turned around just before shooting himself up to the Manor.

"Harry," he whispered, his tone filled with sorrow, and then he was gone.

"That went well," Alfred almost snapped again, the words outlined with unexpected sarcasm. "What were you thinking, sir?!"

"I needed to know how much he remembered!" Batman countered defensively. "I couldn't ask him something simple, like what happened or the names of his parents or anything else that we've already told him! What was I supposed to do?"

"Perhaps asking him to identify his favorite animal or his favorite food or something along those lines would have been more appropriate, sir. Those are things that he knows because of his time in the circus. You could have asked, Master Batman, without directly talking about the circus!"

Shaking his head, Alfred had made a good point, Batman strode toward his Bat-pole.

"I think some alone time might be good for him, sir," the butler stated wisely.

The statement stopped the Caped Crusader and he turned around.

"Fine, I'll search for Bookworm," he grumbled and strode to the Bat-computer instead.

Dick couldn't understand it, he had no idea why Batman had deliberately hurt him. The man had never brought up the circus without some kind of gentle, lead-up statement. He had never just abruptly asked a question and the boy was stunned.

"Obviously we didn't catch Bookworm," the fourteen-year-old muttered as he sat down on his bed. "Maybe that's why – he's mad at me and that question was my punishment. But that was more than just a reprimand or physical labor. That was…cruel."

Batman had never been downright cruel. The man was sometimes harsh but had never, ever, gone this far.

The teenager sat quietly for a few moments as thoughts of the circus danced around in his mind. Visions of various performances slid through his thoughts and tears began streaming down his face. Tears that he didn't even realize were there.

"I'll make it right; I'll catch Bookworm myself."

The tone was full of determination. Batman was clearly extremely disappointed, so Robin was going to fix whatever horrible thing he had done wrong. Dick decided to wait until lunch time to go down to the Batcave. Both Bruce and Alfred would be upstairs so the teen's disappearance wouldn't be noticed for at least twenty minutes.

Three quiet knocks reached his ears. It was probably Bruce, but Dick didn't want to hear anything else from him right now. So, the boy remained quiet. The man would knock again and then leave; that's what he always did when Dick was upset.

But Bruce surprised his ward again. He opened the door and walked in without hesitation. The man didn't even stop; he strode right over to Dick's bed and sat down next to him.

Silence reigned. Dick was furious and Bruce wasn't sure how to begin. Alfred, after watching Batman berate himself for half an hour, had insisted that he go apologize. That was one of the hardest things to do. So hard, in fact, that he had only done it twice. In all the years that he and Dick – or Batman and Robin – had been together, the man had expressed regret exactly two times.

But maybe that was because his ward and partner knew when he made mistakes and agreed with Bruce's, or Batman's, punishments. Usually the boy just accepted whatever happened, although sometimes he would grumble or glare or yell for a few minutes.

"Get out," Dick suddenly commanded. His voice was low and his tone was full of anger.

Bruce didn't even flinch so the teenager growled and stood up. He strode to the window, practically threw it open and climbed out onto the roof.

"Dick," Bruce stated loudly, although he knew it was too late. The boy could move quickly, even when climbing up a roof, and was probably already out of sight.

The man sighed and made a decision. The only way Dick had to get back in to the Manor was through the window he had just left behind. So, Bruce walked to the window, climbed onto the ledge and pulled himself out. He had been right – his ward was already gone.

"Dick!" he yelled.

There was no answer and Bruce wasn't surprised. It was rather windy and his words had probably been swept away.

Dick, however, heard the yell and narrowed his eyes. Bruce was on the roof. It was windy and Bruce couldn't fly around like Batman, but he was on the roof anyway. Rolling his eyes, the teen decided to return to the window. He would never forgive himself if his guardian and partner died while attempting to climb the roof of Wayne Manor.

Turning around, he easily made his way down from the top level of the mansion. Bruce would be on the next story – all bedrooms were on the second floor – and was probably stuck. Six seconds later, Dick sat down and grasped the edge of the roof. He twisted around and lowered himself to the next level.

He had been correct: his guardian was sitting right outside the window, seemingly frozen in place. Dick rolled his eyes again and picked his way down to his room.

"Go inside, Bruce, don't be an idiot."

"After you," the man replied stubbornly.

"Yeah, right," the boy stated sarcastically. "You're closer and less stable. Go."

The last word was a demand and Bruce sighed. Dick had made two good points that he couldn't ignore. So, he grabbed the sides of the window frame that was right next to him and slid back inside.

Dick was in before Bruce could even turn around to look for him. There was a dark scowl on the young face and he marched past his guardian without saying a word.

"I…" Bruce began.

"I don't want to hear it," Dick interrupted as he stopped by his open door. "Out!" he nearly shouted.

"Just let me explain, chum."

"There's no excuse for those words, Bruce. What you asked was cruel and unnecessary and way too far for a punishment. You didn't even give me any indication that you were about to talk about the circus!"

"At least I…"

"Didn't talk about what happened to my parents?!" Dick snarled. "Yeah, that was really great of you, Bruce. I should totally be thanking you right now."

"You lost your memory!" the man shouted, annoyed with his ward's behavior. "I needed to make sure your long-term memory was intact!"

"And you couldn't do that by asking me what my favorite animal is, or what my favorite food is or something like that?!" Dick yelled back, unknowingly echoing Alfred's earlier words to Bruce.

Running a hand through his hair, the man stated, "I didn't think of that and I was wrong to just bring it up. I'm sorry that I did it with no warning but I'm not sorry that I asked it. At least I know your memories are back!"

"Because tearing a hole in my heart is totally worth it," Dick whispered angrily. "Just get out. Please."

"You couldn't remember anything, kiddo! I didn't think asking about a clown would be so hard for you to answer."

"That's right, you didn't think. I can't deal with this right now. If you're not going to leave, I will."

Dick ran out the door and sprinted down the stairs. He raced into the study, twisted the switch and flew to his Batpole. Robin was in the Batcave and climbing onto the Batcycle before Bruce even made it to the study.

Batman landed on the cushion just in time to hear the fading rumble of the Batcycle. That immediately concerned him. Robin was good at driving that vehicle but if he was in an accident or was pulled over…. He was fourteen!

The man quickly climbed into the Batmobile and roared out of the tunnel. Robin couldn't be too far ahead and the Batcycle could never outrun the Batmobile.

Eighteen minutes later:

Robin parked the Batcycle behind the library and climbed off. Grabbing a Bat-a-rang and some Bat-rope, he walked to the back entrance. He hooked the two together then threw it up. It caught on the ledge of the second floor, the location of the fiction section. The boy remembered he had been there and had seen Bookworm. And the best place to look for clues was the scene of the crime.

The Boy Wonder was suddenly standing on the thin ledge. He hadn't even realized that he had been Bat-climbing his way up the building. The window next to him was open so he slipped inside and found himself in the fiction section.

"Okay," he whispered, thinking aloud as he slowly walked to the last aisle. "I was here, pulling out my Bat-communicator."

Robin strode to the middle of the aisle, stopped and looked around.

"Bookworm appeared from…somewhere…and distracted me. His goon came up behind me and…no, I called Batman first. I told him nothing was here and then Bookworm appeared. The guy just grinned at me and then something hit my head."

The teenager reached up and rubbed the back of his head. He scanned his surroundings, searching the shelves, the walls and the floors for any visual clues. Nothing popped out at him and he sighed. Finding Bookworm was going to be difficult.

Batman didn't know it yet, but he had gone to the wrong spot. He had assumed that Robin would go where he usually did when he was really upset: somewhere high. The highest place he knew of was Wayne Enterprises and the Caped Crusader was currently on the elevator, riding up to the roof and hoping his partner was there.

But the teen wasn't. The roof was flat and only had three air conditioning units. It took Batman exactly sixty-seven seconds to discover that Robin wasn't there. Where else would the boy go?

A punishment. Robin's words resonated in Batman's mind and he realized that his partner thought the question about the circus was some sort of punishment. For what? The Caped Crusader attempted to get in the head of the Boy Wonder. Why would the teenager think he was being punished?

"We didn't catch Bookworm," he murmured. "He thinks he's in trouble; he doesn't remember that he lost his memory."

Closing his eyes, Batman growled in irritation. First the boy didn't remember anything about his life. Now, he remembered his life but didn't know that he had been completely lost two days ago.

He decided to think of a way to fix this while in the Batmobile. Robin would be at the library, Batman was sure of it, because the boy would want to catch the villain. The Caped Crusader knew his partner: the Boy Wonder thought his older partner was disappointed and neither Robin nor Dick could live with that.

So, he would go after Bookworm in order to make things right, to regain Batman's approval and prove he was still good enough to be a crime-fighter. But the man had spent two days searching for the villain, using Bat-machines, and had no information. Robin wasn't going to do any better by going to a cold crime scene.

Shaking his head in consternation, Batman climbed into the Batmobile and took off in the direction of the Gotham City Library.

Gotham City Library:

"Robin?"

The Boy Wonder turned around when the quiet sound reached his ears. There stood the head librarian, Mrs. Stout, and she was studying him curiously.

"How are you feeling?" she asked. "Did Batman help you remember everything?"

Her statement confused him. What 'everything' was Batman supposed to help him remember?

"I don't know what you mean, ma'am," he replied softly. "I'm just here to look for clues. Do you have information about what happened here with Bookworm?"

Mrs. Stout's expression went from curiosity to surprise.

"Yes, Robin, I do. Both you and Batman were here two days ago because of an anonymous tip I received regarding criminal activity. Batman was searching in the history section and you were over here in fiction. The next thing I knew, you were sitting on the floor, completely confused, and he was trying to convince you to go to the Batcave."

"I was…confused?"

"Batman said you were hit on the head but you were going to be fine. The rest of us could tell, however, that you didn't remember anything."

"Anything about what had happened?"

"Well, yes but it was more than that, Robin. You didn't remember anything at all."

"At all!"

"You refused to go anywhere with Batman – you thought he might be a criminal – and you looked so anxious. But he kept saying that the only place he could explain things was the Batcave. I was so sure that you weren't going to go with him but then Lisa stepped in. She spoke to you, but I wasn't close enough to hear what she was saying. After about a minute you got up and left with Batman. You don't remember any of that?"

"I remember getting hit in the head here and then waking up in the Batcave this morning."

Mrs. Stout gasped. "But you and Batman were here two days ago, Robin!"

"I've lost two days of my life?" the Boy Wonder murmured. "Batman never said…"

He trailed off as Bruce's words entered his mind: "You lost your memory!"

The questions about Joker and Riddler, the satisfaction on his older partner's face when he gave the correct answers, Alfred standing beside them with relief in his eyes, the circus….

"He was just checking," Robin whispered. "It wasn't malicious, he just wanted to make sure."

"Malicious, Robin?" Mrs. Stout asked quietly.

He had forgotten she was there, so the question startled him.

"It's nothing, Mrs. Stout, never mind. Thank you for your help."

The woman nodded as the teenager turned around and strode toward the open window. She watched him climb out and disappear in less than three seconds, wondering what the Boy Wonder had meant but knowing she would never find out.

Six minutes later, Mrs. Stout was at the front desk, going through some files. She looked up when she heard a quiet swishing sound. Surprise flashed across her face: Batman had just entered the library.

Then he was in front of her with a touch of concern in his eyes.

"Batman! I thought you would be with Robin!"

The concern faded and his eyes widened slightly, although she didn't see it.

"You've seen him?" the Caped Crusader inquired softly.

"Yes, he was just here. Upstairs, in the fiction section."

Batman turned toward the stairs, but she stopped him before he even began walking.

"He already left, Batman. I came down here right after he disappeared and that was several minutes ago."

"Did he say where he was going?" the hero asked as he turned back to her.

"No, but he did say that something wasn't 'malicious'. I don't know if that helps at all, but he did look very thoughtful when he said it."

"Thank you for your help, Mrs. Stout," Batman stated.

"One more thing, Batman, but I'm sure you already know this. He remembered being here looking for criminal activity and then he remembers waking up this morning. But, like I said, you probably…"

The woman trailed off. There was no reason to continue her sentence because the Caped Crusader was striding out the door.

"So, he remembers his entire life except for the last two days," Batman mused aloud as he climbed into the Batmobile.

"I guess that sounds about right," a young voice stated from behind the vehicle.

Batman immediately climbed out and strode to the back end of the Batmobile. There was Robin, sitting on the bumper with his arms folded across his chest. The Batcycle was nowhere in sight but the man wasn't really worried about that. The boy stood up as soon as he saw his partner.

"Soooooo, what have we been doing these last couple of days?"

"We should return…"

"Just the short version, Batman," Robin interrupted. "I don't need to go to the Batcave to hear the short version. Unless, of course, you're going to say something that will expose our identities. If that's the case then obviously we have to go to the Batcave because we don't want our identities to be compromised and since you said I remember my whole life then that must mean that I didn't before today and so maybe you have to talk about my earlier life so we do have to go to the Batcave because we certainly can't do that here and are you ever going to stop my rambling and just tell me what happened?!"

Batman unexpectedly laughed and Robin scowled.

"Sorry, chum, I didn't mean to laugh."

"Yes, you did," the boy growled. "What did I say that was so funny that it made Batman burst out laughing?"

"It wasn't because your statement was funny, it was a release of tension."

"Right, because that's how you always release your tension," Robin retorted as he rolled his eyes.

"Kiddo, you had no idea who you even were two days ago. You didn't remember anything at all, including your early life."

"Okay, good short version. Now, why can't I remember the last two days?"

"I don't know, Robin."

"How did I lose my memory? No, never mind, Bookworm's henchman hit me in the back of the head. That did it, right?"

Batman nodded and Robin continued, "Then how did I regain my memory? I woke up to you asking questions!"

The Caped Crusader dropped his eyes to the ground, slightly ashamed at what he had to tell his young partner.

"Well?"

"We fought…"

"WHAT?!"

"No, we were just training, lightly sparring."

"Oh," Robin said with a quiet sigh of relief.

"You got a little rough and ended up on my shoulders, choking me with your legs. I had to get you off, so I used a pressure point then tossed you over my head."

"Oh, please," Robin stated with another roll of his eyes. "Like tossing me over your head is going to knock me out."

"It did."

"WHAT?!" the Boy Wonder exclaimed again.

"I guess maybe you forgot how to tumble out of a precarious situation. Perhaps it was because you didn't remember how to do things that you had done in your earlier life."

"Maybe we should go back to the Batcave," Robin mumbled.

"We can but let me finish first. You didn't do anything acrobatic, you just hit the mat face first. Your forehead could use some Bat-ice."

"Then I woke up," Robin commented, and Batman nodded.

There was a pause and then the teenager sighed. He dropped his arms and gave his partner a Robin-sized Bat-glare.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, but I'm not sorry I yelled at you."

"That's a bit contradictory, chum," Batman stated with a slight grin.

"I shouldn't have done it, but you deserved it," Robin grumbled.

"I agree with both parts of that statement."

"Any leads on Bookworm?"

"No, and I've been using all the usual Bat-machines for the last two days."

"Well, let's go figure it out. Race you to the Batcave!"

The last sentence was more of a shout and the Boy Wonder took off, sprinting toward the back of the library.

"Or," Batman shouted back, "we could put the Batcycle on the Batmobile and…never mind."

The last two words were growled; Robin was already out of sight and, therefore, out of hearing range. Suddenly, the Batcycle flew around the corner and Batman nearly jumped into the Batmobile. There was no way he was going to let Robin beat him home.

THE END

Thanks for reading! :) Also, I know it's a rather jerky and sudden ending but I didn't have any other ideas. Maybe it will be continued later, maybe not.