Author's Note: Well... I can't really think of a way to intro this chapter, so I'm just going to jump in. Just stick with it for a bit, everything will be explained.

"No, Dick. I'm not doing it. It's not safe."

Bruce stood in front of his adopted son and former sidekick, Dick Grayson, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. Dick had come to visit Bruce as soon as Zatanna had given him the news about Diana's ultrasound, and decided to pitch his Robin idea while he was in the neighborhood.

"Come on, Bruce, I just want you to meet him. It'll only take a second!"

"No. No more Robin. Especially not after what happened to Jason."

"You don't have to make a decision right now... But it would probably be in your best interest to meet with him..." Dick leaned in closer. "He knows your secret identity, after all..."

Bruce's eyes widened. "You told him?" He hissed.

"Actually... No. And that's the impressive part. He figured it out. On his own."

Bruce's eyes widened even further. "But how?"

"A long time ago, he saw me performing at the circus... And then, years later, he saw us as Batman and Robin. And he recognized the way that I moved. After years. That should be enough to impress anybody- Even you."

"Bring him in."

"That's what I though. Dick went outside to bring in Bruce's unwelcome visitor. He returned in the company of a young boy of about fifteen. He had a very wiry stature, and messy jet-black hair (A/N: No, it's not fucking Harry Potter.) The boy nervously stuck out his hand. "H-hello..." He stuttered nervously. "I'm T-Tim. Tim Drake."

Bruce ignored his extended hand and carefully examined the boy. He seemed timid, which wasn't what Batman needed in a sidekick. Then again, he could hardly blame the boy for being nervous; he was meeting with the infamous Batman, after all.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Bruce broke the silence. "So... You want to be the new Robin, do you?"

Tim nodded vigorously. "Yes, sir!"

Bruce heard gentle footsteps behind him. He turned to see Diana approaching. She stepped forward to give Dick a hug. "It's good to see you again, Dick... Is this the kid?"

"Yep. That's him alright. Diana, this is Tim Drake."

She bent down to pat him on the head. "He seems like a nice boy."

"It's good to meet you too!" Tim piped up, his confidence seeming to have been lifted by Diana's kindness.

Bruce approached the boy, who snapped to attention under Bruce's cold glare. He fixed his gaze on the boy for a moment before speaking. "Follow me."

He turned and began to quickly walk away. Dick, Diana, and Tim followed shortly behind him. He led them to his study, and stopped in front of his grandfather clock. He abruptly turned to face Tim. "What you are about to see is never to be spoken of outside of these walls. If you tell anybody about what you've seen today... Then you will be lucky if you are allowed to live to regret it. Do I make myself clear?"

Diana and Dick both rolled their eyes at him, but Tim was terrified. "Y-yes sir..." He said, nodding weakly. Something about the way Bruce spoke made him want to apologize, even though he hadn't done anything. Just for a second, he wondered if he'd made a mistake approaching Dick, but he quickly refocused himself on his goal.

Without another word, Bruce opened the hidden door to the Batcave and began his descent down the staircase. Tim nervously followed him. He had to keep himself focused on the idea of being Robin, or he was sure that his will would falter. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the bottom. Bruce turned to face his aspiring protege once again. "I must once again impress upon you the seriousness of the world that you wish to enter... You will face death on a nightly basis, and you will be lucky to escape with only extreme physical pain. Do you think you're ready?"

Tim slowly nodded. Bruce turned away from him. "So be it, then..." Out of nowhere, he whirled around and shoved his knee upwards, directly into Tim's stomach. He took a second to appreciate the look of surprise on the boy's face as he flew upwards before delivering a solid punch to the jaw.

Tim landed oh his side with a dull thud on the hard cave floor. "BRUCE!" Diana screamed in surprise. She moved to interfere, but Dick grabbed her arm to stop her. "Let him finish. The kid has to know what he's up against. And it's better that he learns from Batman than from the Joker." Diana stood down.

Bruce approached Tim, kicking him onto his back. The boy groaned a little bit. Bruce placed his foot on Tim's chest, and applied a light pressure. "This is only a taste of what you'll encounter every night. And there's no backing out. No going back. Are you sure that's what you want?"

Tim coughed and gasped for breath. Bruce increased the pressure on his chest. "ANSWER ME."

Tim coughed again, but sucked in a breath with all of his might. With all of his willpower nearly exhausted, he shouted his answer.

"YES!"

Bruce stepped off of Tim, leaving the boy to catch his breath. He approached Dick, while Diana went to make sure that Tim was alright.

"He has spirit. I'll give him that much."

"Indeed. So... What do you think?"

Bruce evaded the question. "What about his parents?"

"He doesn't have any. I've been fostering him for the past couple of months. I thought that you might be interested, though."

"How are his physical abilities?"

"Promising. I think that with a bit of training he could be a regular acrobat. He's in good shape over all. So... What do you say?"

"I'll think about it."

"Great, I'll drop by tomorrow so he can start to get used to the place!"

"I only said that I'd think about it."

"Bruce, you can deny it all you want, but I know that you need a partner. And You know that Tim is a perfect fit. I'll be back tomorrow." He grabbed Bruce's hand to shake it.

"Yo, Tim! We've gotta go, bud!" He looked over at Tim, who was trying to push away Diana as she licked her thumb to clean some dirt off of his face. It seemed that the pregnancy had driven her maternal instincts into overdrive. Tim jumped to attention, showing incredible spunk considering the beating he'd just received. The two of them left the cave, leaving Bruce and Diana alone.

"I still think that he seems like a very nice boy." Diana said.

"He's young. Far too young."

"But he's precocious. And besides... I think that we could both use a bit of practice with young children anyway." She said, gently rubbing her stomach.

Bruce looked up at the ceiling of the cave. He could see the eyes of the bats that dwelled there glaring at him, annoyed at having been awakened. He sighed as he processed the day's events, losing himself in thought. 'How do I always get myself wrapped up in these situations?'

Author's Note: I figured that I'd up the theatricality on Bruce's part again, just for the chapter. It may seem a bit over the top, but that's what I was going for. I think this chapter turned out alright; it got some major plot details out of the way; I was counting on this taking several chapters. The next piece of the plot could take some twisting to get in place, but I have all day to work on it tomorrow. So expect that then.