Disclaimer: *looks at chapter title* wow, I know I've seen a title like this before. Where was it? oh yeah! I remember! 'Knightmare'! Another one of my fanfics! You should read it, because it's awesome and as I've said there too, I don't own any character in this. DC does.

Now that Robin's somewhat settled, and i've made a lot of people cry *insert evil laugh here*, it's time to see how this batman is dealing with this. And don't forget, even though Dick isn't a metahuman, he does have a very special talent, getting every good person attached to him. X3

Without Me

Ch. 4 – Knights and Mares

Batman reviewed the files over and over again. Investigating Kord could wait. This… child's… presence couldn't. The computer had detected an anomaly when the kid appeared, but there was no residue or any sign of entry remaining. The kid himself had no excess radiation or ions of unknown origins on his body, suit or gear. As far as he could tell, Robin was shot through a paper thin barrier between their realities and the entry way healed itself automatically.

As far as he could tell, there was no way to send the kid back.

The dark knight rubbed his eyes, thinking about the kid. He was exactly as he imagined Richard Jonathan Grayson would grow up to be. He wasn't full grown yet, but he was well on his way there. His eyes were the same stunning blue he remembered, and the brief moments he saw the kid smiling reminded him of the circus boy he only met briefly over five years ago.

It was a charity function, one of many he'd gone to over the years. Haley's Circus didn't come to Gotham often, but they were known for being some of the best, especially the Flying Graysons. During his training journey, he had heard of those acrobats who could do seemingly impossible stunts and wanted to learn everything he could from them. But Bruce always seemed to miss the Graysons and their death defying feats. This was an opportunity he long wanted.

He decided to meet the Grayson family before the show. He did his research on them before hand of course. John Grayson, his wife Mary and their son Richard were very close, traveling all across the world to prove to people humanity could fly. They were the only people in the world known to use a quadruple flip through the air, and always performed without a net. Their son was eight, and he started performing when he was six. This would be his first time though without a net.

Richard was reportedly brilliant. Every school he enrolled in placed him on honor rolls within a month. He had already skipped a grade and somehow managed to keep his performances and his schooling well balanced. There was even a rumor of him learning to fight from other performers and becoming quite adept.

Secretly Batman thought of recruiting the boy, possibly to take his place, when he was an adult. It was a fleeting thought, one he had many times with other people of unbelievable talent.

But he shoved that thought to the side when he met the family in person. Bruce Wayne accidentally walked in on the family having a group hug, laughing affectionately towards each other. Richard's sensitive blue eyes and glowing smile brought the warmth of a family's love into clear view for him. It reminded him of his own family once upon a time. In that instant Bruce swore off trying to influence the boy's personal growth. Yes he had potential, but he also had a family. It was to protect families and children like this that he fought as Batman.

And that night he failed.

Just after the boy clasped his mother's hands for the final act, all three of them on the same line, the ropes snapped and the trio fell to their deaths. It was deemed accidental and until that day Batman had no reason to question the ruling. He paid for the funeral himself, buried the three of them in his family's cemetery. He couldn't help feeling guilty for not being able to save them that night.

Now the guilt welled in him, knowing now their deaths were murder.

He looked back up to the screens before him. One had every scan results taken of Robin while he was in his stupor. Everything suggested he was a naturally born human being. The only way to be certain he was Richard Grayson from a parallel world would require exhuming the dead acrobat's body and comparing the results. The scans also suggested the kid came from such a similar universe to their own that there was no real difference between them. At least not in the chemical sense.

Another screen held every ounce of information available on the Graysons and their deaths. The rope, the one piece of physical evidence for this case, had long been thrown away. Recovering it after five years would be impossible. The Haley Circus was torn down to nothing about a year later and the owner died just last year. The only way to prove Anthony Zucco was responsible for their deaths was a written confession on his part, and that was unlikely. He had gone to ground years ago. Digging through the filth to find his current alias would take time. And he wasn't entirely certain this lead was even solid.

The third screen was up merely for his paranoia's sake. A camera was stationed in the boy's room, watching the inhabitant like a hawk. Only Batman had seen the kid break down seconds after the man of steel left the room. Only he heard the muffled sobs escaping his lips. Only he knew the kid cried himself to sleep on top of his blankets. That kid was exhausted, and everything that happened since his appearance only drove his body to the ground.

It wasn't more than ten minutes later when the Flash came into the boy's room with new clothes for him to wear. He had stopped short of talking when he saw Robin bundling in his cape, sleeping on the bed. Being the kindhearted uncle he was, Barry gently and quickly tucked the kid into the bed, pulling the blankets to the kid's chin so he wouldn't catch cold. One of the microphones in the room caught the boy mumble, "Thanks… Alfred…"

Barry's surprised expression would have been amusing if Batman didn't need to take a deep breath from hearing that. It was bad enough this kid knew who he and the other League members were, but he also knew Alfred. In the kid's subconscious, he knew Alfred and immediately attributed being taken care of to him.

If this kid was indeed a clone sent as a distraction, he was a very good one.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on the person, this only further proved the theory of the kid coming from a parallel Earth. A parallel Earth it was likely he'd never return to.

"Need a break?"

Batman turned to look at the god-like alien approaching him. He floated in again. Damn.

"What I need is a triple." Batman turned back to the monitors and tried to make sense of the sparse data he had.

"Are you sure you don't run on coffee?" Superman took a peak at the files Bruce was reading, only able to make sense of the murder case and a few other details. He was still learning how to read scans properly. "You've been here since I took the kid to bed three hours ago."

"Someone needs to keep an eye on him." Indeed he was keeping tabs on the kid, still not certain if he was friend or foe. Everyone wanted to believe he was just a lost child, a child he supposedly had claim to. Years of experience told Batman not to trust anything at face value.

"Sound like a dad already," his friend chuckled.

"Shut up Kent and get me my coffee."

"Sure, fine, whatever." Superman threw his hands into the air exasperated before walking into the kitchen to fix a large pot of coffee. His pestering though did have some effect on the dark knight. He kept the camera on the kid active, but put placed another window in front of it. He didn't need to see the kid sleeping for hours on end.

It wasn't until the pot was nearly full that Superman heard it; the faint whimper of a child. It was quickly followed with a slurred plea for help. Then a scream.

In an instant he flew out of the kitchen towards the boy's room. And he wasn't the only one who rushed there. Flash, J'onn and Diana opted to stay the might, and each had heard the kid's screaming. In an instant the door was open and they could see the source.

Robin writhed on the bed, pure panic across his nightmarish face. Somehow he was still asleep despite the terror he was experiencing. Screams, whines and pleadings escaped his mouth frequently. They heard several names over and over again. The most painful tones came with Mom, Dad, and Bruce. Alfred, Barbara, Wally and Roy were also heard, but not quite as often. When he shouted for Clark, Superman rushed to his side, trying to sooth him.

"I'm here Robin, I'm here." He held the boy's hand and tried to brush the boy's head with his hand, remembering how it helped him as a child. It wasn't working on this kid though. He only became more panicked, tears streaming through his closed eyes. He was pleading again, pleading for Two-Face to let them go, pleading for Joker to put the knives away. Pleading for his parents to open their eyes, for Bruce not to leave him.

"J'onn, can't you do something?" Flash tugged on the Martian's arm desperately. The three others had followed the man of steel in and each worried over the little boy before them.

"I am trying," J'onn stated flatly, "but his mind is too well guarded and too panicked to gain any entrance. I cannot enter his dreams to assist him in any shape or form."

"We just need to wake him then." Diana leaned over the boy's face and tried to pinch his cheeks to wake him. Besides the kid's constant struggling making any firm grasp on his face near impossible, the kid seemed to have a high tolerance for pain. Exasperated, she mumbled, "Maybe a sharp slap would—"

"Are you out of your mind?" Superman still held on to the boy's hand, desperation filling his voice. "With our strength, you're likely to break his jaw! No, there has to be a nicer way."

"I'd take out a hot meal if this were my nephew," Barry piped in, "but I don't think this kid would have much of an appetite."

"It's just a nightmare." Everyone turned sharply around to see Batman in the doorway. His annoyed glare told them enough. "Leave him alone."

"Batman," Diana started, but Flash charged right up to him, angry beyond measure.

"He's not you Bruce! He's not the stubborn heartless bat who faces everything on his own! He's not—"

"BATMAN!"

They all stopped and stared at the still writhing kid, tears streaking cross his face and screaming, pleading for those he cared for most.

"NO! Don't kill him! Don't kill Batman!" the kid continued, his breath fading. "He's all… he's all I have left…"

Everyone's breath halted at the kid's desperate plea. Finally Superman, sympathetic tears in his eyes, turned to Batman pleadingly. "Bruce, please! You're the only one who can help him here."

The Bat hesitated in the doorway, his face stony. Then, slowly and somehow unsure, he took a step forward, then another one. Before he knew it, he sat on the bed beside the boy. In his darkened mind, he tried to think of a 'what if'. What if he had raised a child? What would he do when the kid had nightmares? Nightmares so terrible, he'd scream and shout pleas for people long dead? What would his other self do?

"Robin," he started, trying to keep his voice level, "wake up."

The boy responded to his voice and the alias, but didn't wake. His body seemed to recognize his presence. He twitched less and didn't roll around as much. Batman decided to try a different, yet similar tactic. He grabbed the boy's shoulders and brought their faces closer together. Using a calmer voice, he repeated, "Richard, wake up."

Still the boy didn't wake. His eyes seemed to roll more but his pleas were whispers now, repeating over and over again, "Don't leave me. Please, please don't leave me. Don't leave me alone. Not again."

Batman gave an audible sigh, thinking back to the files. The kid needed a more familiar name. It came to him and he whispered, "Dick, wake up."

Instantly the boy's eyes flew open, wild and wet. He stared straight into Batman's shielded eyes, as if he could see through the lenses to the man's grey eyes. He shook a bit, but who didn't after so many terrorizing visions floated through his head?

"Bruce?" The boy's voice cracked as he whispered the man's real name. Batman nodded once, firm and unmovable.

Relief flooded the boy's face and he dived into the caped avenger's arms, crying once again. He held him tightly, burying his face into the man's chest. Everyone could hear the relief in the boy's voice, as if he finally found or had returned the one person he couldn't live without. The kid didn't care in the slightest who was watching, and it was clear his mind was still influenced by that dream or he'd never be hugging this Batman as closely as he was.

Batman merely sat there in shock, not knowing what to do in the slightest. He looked down to the boy clinging to him for dear life, for everything he loved. His suit would have tear stains now, but he really didn't mind that. What shook him was the kid's voice. It was clear Robin, Dick Grayson, dreamt of losing his Batman just like he lost his parents. It terrified him. Robin couldn't lose Batman. Dick couldn't lose Bruce.

And he had practically made the kid believe he had earlier that night.

All the stone cold walls around Batman's heart crumbled for a moment for this boy. For the first time since he was a child, he returned the hug in full. This kid needed a Batman at the moment. He may not be the right one, but he would have to do.

A/N: YAY FOR NIGHT TERRORS! never had one myself so i don't know how they work. =P Still, I like giving Dick nightmares don't i. I imagine after all the things he's gone through, Dick would have a lot of them. Especially after what just happened. I mean, isn't this his greatest fear? to lose everything he loves again? *shrug*

And here we also have the awakening of DaddyBats, take one. I really think Bruce is more inclined towards family than any other league member because of his personal trauma, so having his fatherly instincts taking hold around a frantic Dick would happen quite easily. It'll be a few more tries until he gets with the program though. You can't change people overnight.