Have a little Hope

The weather was positively perfect today there wasn't a single cloud in the sky and as the weatherman reported it was supposed to stay like this all week. The first day of spring had finally arrived.

Haley's international traveling circus had arrived in Gotham a few days ago and they would be having their opening night the next day. As part of a charity function they would have be having a guest of honor as well Gotham's very own white knight Bruce Wayne so the circus performers felt honored and promised to give their best performance

Haley's circus was supposed to be the best circus in the world with the most talented performers in the world and it didn't hurt that they had the greatest family of acrobats straight out of Romania – The Flying Graysons

The Flying Grayson's consisted of two families the first was of Rick Grayson his wife Karla and their son Charlie along with Rick's brother John Grayson, his wife Mary and their son Richard. These famous acrobats were the only ones in the world who were capable of performing a quadruple summersault on the trapeze without the safety of a net

Mary looked over to her son at the dinner table "Dick make sure to eat everything on your plate"

"Sorry I'm just so excited for the performance I can hardly think about eating" dick was shaking with excitement in his seat

"I know how you feel bud" Charlie had hardly eaten as well

"I don't think we're going to get them to eat anymore" Karla looked to the rest of the family

"Alright, alright boys go ahead and get dressed" john told them and in a flash both boys jumped out of their seats and ran to the back of the trailer

The adults chuckled at their actions as Mary and Karla started to pick up the dirty dishes and turned to their husbands "We should clean up so that we can get ready too the show is going to be starting soon"

After a while all six of the Grayson's were in costume and began heading to the trapeze while everyone else waited backstage. "Good luck dick" Miranda smiled

Miranda was one of dick's closest friends at the circus she and her family had a wild animal act and it was amazing at what they could teach the animals to do for them

"Thanks good luck to you too" dick smiled

They then heard Haley's voice over the microphone "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Haley's International Traveling Circus! Before we begin let's give a round of applause to our guest of honor the white knight of Gotham Bruce Wayne!"

Dick watched as the spotlight shined on the man in the bleachers he looked very professional being dressed in a suit to a circus must mean that he was a very important person.

"Now the first act of the night will be our most famous act –The Flying Graysons! This amazing family as always will be performing their death defying act without the safety of a net!"

As the family was walking out a man bumped into dick, he recognized him right away as the man that was arguing with the day before "Mom! Dad! That that the guy that…"

"Dick quite" rick warned

"But the man he's.."

"Are you going to be like this all night?" Karla asked

Mary put her hands on his shoulders and began to push him forward "Come on tell us after the show" The graysons got into their positions at the top of the trapeze

"Introducing the fearless Flying Graysons!"

In the stands Bruce Wayne recognized the family right away from the day before when he had come as batman to stop a small group of thugs from harming the circus and as he watched them perform he was truly impressed

He watched as the youngest grayson jumped of the platforms and joined in on the performance but soon he returned to the platform while the rest began preparing for the finale

"Don't worry squirt you'll get your chance sooner or later" Charlie smiled down at him before he jumped back in to be caught by rick

Dick sat down on the platform watching happily as his family performed the finale he loved watching them having the best seat in the house from his spot that is until he heard a strange noise coming from above and glanced up to see what it was coming from

…He gasped in horror

The bolts holding the trapeze wires in place were gone and they were starting to become loose, and his family was still on the trapeze!

The Grayson's heard the strange noise as well and looked to see that dick was looking up at the wires when they glanced up as well they gasped at the sight. The wires finally slipped of the bolts

Dick watched as his family fell to their deaths hearing the snaps of their bones as they made contact with the ground and the puddles of blood beneath them. His cerulean began to water and tears began falling from his eyes while he crouched in his seated position on the platform

Everyone in the audience had a different reaction to what they had just witnessed most of them gasped, screamed, or cried. The only person Bruce was focused on was the little boy curled up in a ball at the top of the platform; he couldn't help but think of when his parents had died, he knew how the little boy felt

A couple hours later, The police had escorted the audience out as soon as they arrived at the scene, one of the circus workers had gone up to the platform to retrieve dick who was still in shock and as soon as he came down he was whisked away by police

The police had put each member of the grayson's in body bags and had sent them to the morgue of the nearest hospital. Dick just sat on the bleachers still crying and curled himself up again

Bruce had stayed out of the way of the police and medics, he continued to watch dick as he thought about the night in crime ally so many years ago where he had lost his parents as well

Commissioner Gordon had soon arrived when they had finally gotten dick to calm down and talk

"Hello Richard" he greeted but dick kept quiet as the tears continued to stream down his face "Alright then, I know that you aren't it the right state to talk but I need to know if you saw anything unusual before the show tonight?"

Dick sniffed and nodded "There was a man here, I recognized him from yesterday he had been arguing with about something I tried to tell my parent but-" tears began streaming out of his eyes again

"It's going to be okay, son. You've really helped me out

Bruce managed to hear that bit of information and narrowed his eyes 'this was no accident' he knew exactly who the boy was talking about and had silently sworn to bring him to justice. He watched as Gordon got up and left the boy alone.

Gordon went to his detective's side "I want a APB on this man the boy was talking about as soon as possible"

"What about the boy?" Bruce came up to them and asked

"Mr. Wayne?! What are you doing here?"

"I was in the audience, couldn't leave after this" he turned to look at dick "Does he have anyone?"

"No" Commissioner Gordon sighed "The flying Grayson's were the only family he had and none of the circus workers have offered any place for him to stay so were going to have to call CPS to come and take him"

Bruce knew something wasn't right first why would the people he grew up with not want to take care of him especially if he had just lost his family; he had noticed that most of the adults in the circus seemed a bit suspicious. He also knew how child protective services could be and didn't know what to think of the boy being placed in the system.

"We'll be taking him down to the police station for now until we get him a social worker but first he needs to get his stuff together and get changed" a detective told them

"Would you mind if I escorted the boy to help him get packed I know how he feels about this situation since I lost my family too" bruce asked

"Sure that would be fine " Gordon nodded

Bruce made his way over to the small boy who didn't notice him until he was right in front of him "Hello Richard, I'm Bruce Wayne I'm sorry about your loss"

"Thanks " he mumbled

"I offered to come and help you pack to go with the police station for now so why don't we go to your trailer so you can get changed"

"I'm not dumb I know that I'm an orphan now and I'll have to leave the circus" Dick got up from his seat and lead Bruce back to his trailer

"I need to go speak with so why don't you get started and I'll be back"

Dick nodded and stepped inside the trailer then shut the door behind him

Bruce wanted to speak with Haley about the specific situation on why Tony Zucco had been arguing with him the day before but when he was about to knock he heard haley speaking to someone over the phone

"Yes I know that but can't you at least wait until he's a little older he's only 6 years old right now and I doubt he could learn anything in the state he's in right now"

Bruce lifted an eyebrow and decided to listen in on the conversation

"John and Mary asked to at least wait until he was a teenager so that he could better understand what was going on" he now knew Haley was talking about dick "Their deaths shouldn't signify that he should be taken right away!"

'What is going on?' bruce thought

"Richard is going to be taken into the custody of the officials in Gotham so how do you plan on getting to him now?...I want to know that he'll be ok at least!...How soon are you coming for him?...can't you at least tell me that!...Alright fine goodbye!"

Bruce now knew that someone was coming for Richard but what he didn't know was if that was a good or bad thing. He had a gut feeling that it was a bad thing from the tone of haley's voice and decided that this would be much more important that some random thug. He headed back to the trailer to see that dick had changed into a pair of jeans and a red t-shirt with a suitcase in his hand

"I'm all set" he said quietly

"Ok but I wanted to ask you something" dick looked up to him with a questionable look "Is there any friend or family that you have that would be willing to take you in?"

Dick shook his head "No my only living family died tonight and the only friend we had were here in the circus but I guess they think I'll be better off if I leave the circus"

"All right then, now I want you to know that you're not alone when I was about your age I lost my family as well" dick gave him a surprised look "I was a little older then you but I was able to heal and move on so you should try too"

Dick nodded "Thanks "

"Ok we should head back the police are probably wondering where we are"

"What's going to happen after I go with them?"

"You'll have to go through a mass faculty when you are assigned a social worker but they'll try to find you some place to stay after a while"

"Did that happen to you?"

"No….I had a different situation because of my family's status"

"Oh" he looked down

"But you're a good kid so I know people will want to take you in"

"How would you know that you just met me?"

"Just an inference from what I've seen, we should start heading back now"

"Right" he nodded

They headed back to the center ring where commissioner Gordon and detective bullock were waiting "Are you all set?"

"Yes I have everything packed in here" dick motioned to his suitcase

"Ok then we'll be on our way then" Gordon took one of the boy's hands and turned to Bruce "Thanks for your help "

"It was no problem" Bruce smiled

Dick turned to him "Well goodbye and thanks again" he smiled

"You're welcome"

oOo

Alfred came to pick up Bruce in the limo just as always but didn't expect the scene he saw when he arrived. The numerous police cars parked out front, some ambulances, and a few detectives talking to some of the circus workers

When Bruce got into the back of the car and he began driving he turned to him "What happened here tonight master Bruce?"

Bruce looked out the window "There was a murder tonight, five people died"

"Oh?!" Alfred's eyes widened "Were you involved somehow or…"

"The family that died left behind a 6 year old boy who is now in the police custody, I was able to help him out since I know how he feels"

"I see"

"The trapeze they were performing on was tampered with and that's what caused the death of the acrobats"

"This was during the show I take it?"

"Yes, the boy Richard was right there when it happened he saw the entire thing"

Alfred pulled into the parking lot of the manor "Why don't we continue this inside master Bruce"

"Fine sure" Bruce got out of the limo and walked into the manor straight to the first floor living room

"I will prepare us some coffee" Alfred moved to the kitchen to do so

"Yeah that would be great Alfred" Bruce sat down on a recliner and stared into the fire inside the chimney thinking about the event of the night, he was so lost in thought that he didn't realize how much time had passed when Alfred came back in with a tray of coffee

"There you are sir, now would you explain what exactly happened tonight?"

"Well" he thought for a moment trying to gather the basic information together "Basically the circus owner was threatened yesterday by a mobster by the name of tony zucco and because he didn't get what he wanted he sabotaged the trapeze wires causing the death of the acrobats"

"Will batman be investigating this tony zucco then?"

"I do plan on it but something more suspicious is going on with that circus that worries me"

"What do you mean sir?"

"While Richard went to pack his things I overheard the circus owner Haley on the phone and he was talking about Richard being taken soon by someone soon"

"Shouldn't that be a good thing he will have a new home sooner than we thought"

"I don't think so Alfred from the tone of haley's voice I don't think the ones he were talking to are normal people"

"What do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going to investigate what is going on with that circus and hopefully bring zucco to justice as well"

"And the boy sir?"

"What about him?"

"If those people who are coming for him get to him first he may be in danger so don't you think we should do something about that?"

"What are you suggesting Alfred?"

"I am saying that the boy should come and stay here where you can protect him"

"What?!"

"Well he does need a home and from what I've heard you have become quite attached to the boy since he reminds you of yourself"

"I'm not the fatherly type Alfred and with my secret life as batman I wouldn't have time for him anyway and it would be better if a man and woman adopted him that a way he could have a father and mother figure"

"What about you and Miss Kyle sir? You are currently seeing her right?"

"Selina isn't exactly the motherly type either"

"If you continue this master Bruce whoever is coming for the boy will most likely succeed and we might not ever see the boy again"

"The person over the phone didn't say how soon they were coming so we might have time to do something. Even if I did want to take him in he doesn't even have a social worker yet so I would have to wait for that then have to go through the adoption process that could take a while and Selina and I aren't even married for another thing"

"There is no such thing as the perfect family master Bruce and selina has begun to change her ways as catwoman so maybe soon you can reveal yourself as batman to her and form a family with the boy"

Bruce thought for a moment and felt it was a good idea for the boy to have a home and be protected "How do we go about this then?"

Alfred smiled "You would first have to talk with his social worker, then they would have to inspect the manor and then finalize the adoption which shouldn't take too long"

"Alright then we can get started tomorrow morning"

oOo

Dick spent the night in a cell at the police station, it had been at least 24 hours since his family died and had entered into the Child Protective service system

He had fallen asleep from pure exhaustion and Commissioner Gordon took him to the nearest cell so that he could sleep on a bed. He had a nightmare which caused him to wake up and gasp; he felt sore from sleeping on such a small cot and stretched his muscles. Dick went to the door of the cell and pushed it open then looked down the hallway and headed toward Gordon's office

"Ah I see you're awake" He turned around to see Gordon was heading back to his office "I was actually coming to get you"

"Why?"

"Your new social worker is here for you and she will be taking you to a temporary holding place until we find you a suitable family"

"Oh ok then" he nodded and gorgon led him back to his office where he met a middle aged woman in a suit and had a mean looking face

" this is Richard Grayson" Gordon introduced him

"It's nice to meet you miss" Dick offered his hand for a hand shake but she ignored it and turned to Gordon making him frown

"Thank you Commissioner I'll be taking Richard into my custody so you won't have to bother with him anymore"

"It was really no trouble" Gordon smiled then revealed Richards suitcase "Here are his things"

"The boy can carry his own things"

"Oh alright then" Gordon handed the suitcase to Richard who thanked him and took the suitcase

"We'll be going then" took dick by his wrist and yanked him out the door ignoring his protests then placed him in the car and drove

"Um when will I be able to say bye to everyone at the circus"

"You can say your goodbye's at the funeral"

"Oh when will that be?"

"How should I know I'll let you know as soon as I find out now stay quiet" she yelled making him flinch and keep quiet

After a few minutes of driving they came to a stop outside of Gotham's Juvenile Detention Center, dick blinked in surprise 'Why are we outside a jail?'

"Hurry up!" the woman yelled making him quickly do as he was told and got out of the car with his suitcase

"Yes Ma'am!"

"Oh you can drop the act now you can't fool me" Dick lifted an eyebrow at her "I know how you gypsy's really are a bunch of liars and thieves so stop with the gentleman act already!"

"Why are we here?" Dick asked

"We are here because this is where I've chosen to place you, I believe a person of your kind shouldn't be placed with well behaved children so you can manipulate them so I'm placing you with people you can relate to, now come on!" She grabbed his wrist again and yanked him to the entrance of the center

The front office was exactly as he pictured it would be very professional looking and had some policemen by the doors, waiting area, and a front desk with a woman behind it,

"This must be Richard" the lady looked at him over the desk she seemed a little friendlier than his social worker

"Hello" he greeted

"It's nice to meet you Richard I am I am the head office official here. Why don't you have a seat while I sort some things out with your social worker then I'll get back to you"

"Alright" he nodded

"Now then I have to say this is very unusual for a child to be placed here with no criminal record"

"This is an option for children in our system we just never needed to send a child here" Ms. Russuel explained

"I know about that but I still don't like it" frowned "Do you have the proper paperwork for this?"

"That will be faxed over as soon as I am back at my office"

"A child this young has never been placed in this center even for criminal offences isn't there a way to swap an older child already in the system and place Richard where they were?"

"That would require a lot of paperwork that I simply don't have the time for, besides this one should be fine here with the way his kind is he could learn a thing or two from the discipline at least it's an improvement from where he used to live"

"It's not nice to talk bad about other people"

"And straighten out that attitude" frowned

"Well….." looked over some of the paperwork she had with her "It doesn't seem like I have much of a choice here do I but I will be sending requests to have him moved to a better environment, he certainly doesn't belong in a place like this" She put her approval signature on the papers and handed them back to the social worker

"I'll be on my way then" turned and left

looked down at Richard "Now I know this is very scary for you especially with everything that's happened yesterday but I'm also a therapist so if you need to talk then you can come to me and ask alright"

"Yes ma'am" he nodded

"There are a couple of things you need to know first this is Gotham's Juvenile Detention center but you probably already knew that right" he smiled and nodded "It isn't normal to have a child with no criminal record be sent here but I'll be placing you in a room with a child with the least criminal record possible alright"

"Tomorrow morning there will be an alarm at 6:00am to wake everyone up for breakfast, after that you will be taken to a room to be tested.."

"Tested?" he asked

"Different sort of tests but basically academic test to see what level of schooling you're at so that you can start attending classes" he nodded in response "you will have to change into these clothes as well" she handed him a white shirt and tan cargo pants" this is what you have to wear if you don't wear the regular orange uniform"

"At least that's a little better"

"Now why don't we get you settled alright?"

"Ok"

To be continued

This is the second fanfiction I've written but for this one I decided not to write it in a notebook and just go straight to publishing each chapter when it comes to mind although publishing chapter could take longer but I hope you like it