A/N: I re-read Robin (1993) #45 recently because there's been a tumblr post going around with the scene where Jack yells at Tim for "disrespecting" him, then rips his TV out of the wall, with a lot of meta about how it's emotionally abusive. I agree completely, and I've been thinking about writing a story based on that issue (and that whole arc where Tim gets in trouble for something he didn't do) for a long time.

But there's a panel earlier in the comic that's just as troubling. Jack grounds Tim and send him to his room without even talking to him about what happened, and Mrs. Mac makes a comment about how he's lucky that Jack doesn't take a belt to him for what he did. (Which again, he didn't do.) So, well... What if Jack had taken her advice?

I'm moving this up to modern times so Tim has a smartphone. Kind of dumb for Jack to take away his TV and not his phone, but he also left his computer in the original comic. So Jack's just not the smartest guy when it comes to modern technology.

Tim lay on his stomach in his bed, trying to absorb what had just happened. His father had just come into his room and beaten him with a belt. Yeah, the word was beaten, not spanked, though that was what Jack had called it. It had hurt so much that he felt like he was being cut in half, and he was in so much pain now that he could barely move.

He had cried himself out already, his tears soaking the pillow below his head, and now he just lay there, feeling numb. His face was damp, but his mouth and chest felt dried out. He was thirsty, but he couldn't imagine getting up to get a glass of water. Just rocking his hips from side to side sent bolts of pain shooting across his backside and down his legs.

Tim had been terrified when Jack loomed over him and screamed at him earlier, accusing him of disrespecting him. There had been a feeling like being at the top of a rollercoaster, except less safe. Like anything might happen. He'd half-expected Jack to hit him then, slap him across the face or push him to the floor. He'd been relieved when Jack had just ripped his TV out of the wall and stormed out, telling him that he had lost television privileges for the duration of his grounding. Tim had put more effort into contacting his allies about the hostage situation he'd been watching on TV, trying to alert someone to the fact that things weren't what they seemed there.

But that wasn't the end of it. Jack must have sat downstairs for a while, brooding on how Tim had "dissed" him, how he was getting too wild and out of control. After half an hour he came back, holding a wide, heavy strap in his hand. He told Tim that Mrs. Mac was right. Tim needed a dose of the belt to keep him in line.

Jack had never spanked him before. Or beaten him. Maybe he didn't know what he was doing. Maybe he'd hit Tim too hard without realizing it. Maybe he hadn't meant to hurt him this bad.

Then, again, maybe he did mean it. He'd hit Tim over his jeans a few times, then made him take them down, then his underwear, too. He must have seen what he was doing. He must have seen how dark red and welted Tim's skin was by the end of it. When he was done, he stood there panting heavily for a few moments, the strap hanging down by his side. Tim bit his pillow and tried not scream, his entire body shaking like electricity was going through him.

Jack didn't apologize. He didn't even pat Tim on the back and tell him it was over. "That'll teach you," he said, grim satisfaction in his voice. "No more disrespect, Tim. This is how I'll serve you from now on if you keep up that bad attitude. You hear me?"

Tim nodded into the pillow.

"Out loud, son."

Tim turned his head and looked at him through watery eyes. "Yes, sir." He couldn't make his voice louder than a whisper.

Jack nodded firmly. "Good." Then he left the room. Tim gave in and cried. He cried for a long time.

He was done crying now. He'd managed to pull up a sheet to cover himself, but he didn't know what he was going to do when he had to pee. He felt drained and lost.

So pathetic. He was Robin. He was a superhero. People looked up to him. He fought criminals and kept Gotham safe almost every night. He didn't cry when he got punched and knocked around. Even during the harshest martial arts training that left him aching all night long, he hadn't shed a single tear. But a belting from his dad left him weeping like a baby into his pillow until he had no tears left.

Tim looked over his shoulder down his body. He swore he could see his bottom glowing through the thin white sheet. Then again, this wasn't just a belting, was it? It wasn't just a spanking. It had been...too harsh. Too severe.

It was abusive, wasn't it? Tim knew what abuse was. It had been part of his training with Batman to be aware of the signs so he could help. That part of his training had made him feel so bad for the children who went through that stuff. He was always on a sharp lookout for kids who were being mistreated by their caregivers, because he wanted to stop it. He wanted to save them.

It wasn't right. No child should be afraid of their parents. No child should be touched in a wrong way by a teacher or babysitter or anything like that. It was evil, some of the most evil stuff that he and Batman fought together.

Tim knew the law. Mild spankings were still legal, but anything that left marks was considered abusive nowadays. And his dad had definitely left marks. A lot of them.

Somehow Tim couldn't make it fit in his head, though. The idea that his dad had abused him. That he had been abused. That wasn't how this was supposed to work. It didn't seem true. If it wasn't for the deep, throbbing pain settling into his butt and legs, he could have believed that the whole incident with the belt had been nothing more than a bad dream.

Jack was gone a lot, yeah, and he was bad at spending time with Tim even when he was home. He made plans with Tim and then canceled them, sometimes, and even when they did do things together it was always what Jack wanted to, nothing that Tim was particularly interested in. It felt like Jack liked the idea of being a father, but he didn't really know what it meant to be one in real life.

He took Tim fishing even though neither of them were good at it, then got upset when they didn't catch any fish. He tried to play catch with Tim in the backyard, then called it off when Tim was already good at it and didn't need his coaching (thank you batarang practice; maybe Tim should have pretended to be bad at it). He took him to a baseball game and spent most of the time there on his phone talking to one of his archaeological contacts about an exciting new dig, regret in his voice that he was in Gotham instead of there. Then he dropped out the next time they were going to go to a game and took Dana out for the weekend instead.

After Jack came out of his coma, he said a lot of things about spending more time with Tim, being a better father, getting to know him. And he did try. At first. After he was able to walk again, and he started dating Dana, and he wrote that book and went on his book tour to talk about it... With all that going on, spending time with Tim kind of fell by the wayside again. But it was fine; it wasn't like Tim had expected anything different.

Just a few days ago, he'd been longing for his dad to come back. The thing with Ariana was such a mess, and Tim had just wanted to talk to someone about it, someone he could ask for advice. This had nothing to do with Robin, and he couldn't bother Bruce and Alfred with Tim Drake stuff. He didn't really have any other adults or mentors he could imagine talking to about this.

But Jack had said he wanted to be there for Tim. Tim wanted to take him at his word. He'd even thought about sending Jack an email or texting his phone, but he knew he was busy and didn't want to interrupt. Plus, it wouldn't be the same if they weren't talking face to face.

And now Jack had come back, but things hadn't gone as he'd hoped at all. Tim had blown his chance by paying too much attention to the TV when Jack came to his room intending to talk. He had been disrespectful. Maybe Jack had overreacted, but Tim was still in the wrong there.

And he did often complain internally about how Jack only wanted to spend time with him when he had things going on with Robin. Sometimes he'd even sort of wished that things would go back to the way they used to be, with Jack always gone and Tim able to do pretty much whatever he'd wanted. He felt bad about it, but he couldn't stop himself from feeling that way.

So it was Tim's fault, then. If he'd been a better son, if he'd paid more attention, this wouldn't have happened. If he wasn't Robin and hadn't gotten caught up in that hostage crisis on TV, he would have listened to his dad and would have been able to talk to him about Ariana. And maybe Jack would have understood and rescinded the grounding and given him advice on how to deal with it. Things could have gone so much better if Tim wasn't Robin. If he was better at being Jack's kid instead of Batman's partner.

But Tim loved being Robin. It was his favorite thing. And Batman needed him. Maybe not as much now as he had at the beginning, but at least a little bit. He didn't want to have to choose between being Robin and being Jack Drake's son. He wanted to be both.

Plus, if he wasn't Robin he couldn't see Stephanie again. Or hang out with his friends with Young Justice. Or go running over the rooftops with Dick. Or help Alfred make cookies for a charity bake sale. Or...

It turned out that Tim had a few tears left, after all.

He didn't know what to do. He should probably call the police. His father had abused him; that was just a fact. As much as Tim tried to deflect and blame himself and call it an overreaction, Jack had still beaten him with a belt until Tim was in too much pain to move. That wasn't right, no matter the circumstances.

But if he called the police, he was going to be taken away, at least temporarily. He would end up in a foster home, probably, and he wouldn't be able to be Robin anymore. There would be a messy lawsuit and all sorts of things, and in the end he would probably end up back with his dad anyway. It was only one incident, and Jack could afford good lawyers. And Gotham was not exactly a paragon of non-corruption.

Jack would win, but he would be upset about the scandal, and by the end of it he would probably resent Tim even more. He might not hit him with the belt again, but he would spend more time away and avoid interacting with Tim as much possible. Or he would just send Tim away to a boarding school in another state, like he kept threatening to do. So Tim would lose Robin without gaining anything for his troubles, and he wouldn't be able to help Batman anymore.

But if he did nothing, this was going to continue. Jack had already said that he was going to keep using the belt to punish Tim for bad attitude and disrespect. As much as Tim could tell himself that he would try to be good and be a better son from now on, he knew it wasn't going to last. He was going to be late getting home from something with Robin, or get caught sneaking out, or just talk back without thinking about it. He did that a lot. Tim didn't get want to be beaten again. It hurt so much.

Plus, what if it got worse? Tim shuddered. He wasn't sure how it could get worse, but somehow he knew it could.

Jack might start hitting him randomly, or shove him into the wall. He would be smart enough not to do it where the bruises would show, but it would still hurt. He might even hurt him badly enough that Tim wouldn't be able to go out as Robin. He certainly wasn't going to be doing anything for a few days now, even if he wasn't grounded.

Or what if Jack hurt him, and Tim went out anyway, and then the injury made him mess up somehow? What if he got one of his friends hurt? What if he failed Batman because of this?

Tim's stomach felt cold. No. No, he couldn't allow it.

Maybe he should talk to Jack? Tell him that he couldn't keep hitting Tim like this, or he would go to the police? Would that work? He was willing to accept punishments for his misdeeds and disrespect, even spankings if they didn't leave marks. He could accept a certain amount of pain and humiliation to keep Jack happy. But he couldn't let it affect his work as Robin.

But the thought of talking to his dad about this made him feel even more cold. He didn't want to talk about it. He just wanted it to stop.

Maybe this was something he could ask for advice about. It had to do with Robin, after all. But there was no way he could tell Dick or Alfred or his friends. They would make him go to the police right away. Heck, Dick was a cop himself. He would be horrified and hug Tim tight and tell him his dad would never hurt him again. He might even cry. Tim didn't want to make Dick cry.

Part of him wanted it, though. Part of him wanted to get on a bus right now and go to Dick's apartment down in Bludhaven and just fall into his arms as soon as he opened the door. He could let Dick make the decisions, let Dick take care of everything. It would be so nice not to have to think about this anymore.

But no. He had to be responsible. He had to make the right choice.

Tim stretched his arm for the phone on his nightstand, gasping when the pull in his muscles reached down to his glutes. The pain had settled down to a hearty throb, but of course even that slight movement riled it up again. He pulled the phone to his face and breathed through the pain until it subsided. Then he opened his contacts and scrolled through them, trying to decide.

Of course Bruce was right near the top, under "B." Tim stopped and stared at that single letter, his eyes so dry they ached. He hadn't been able to get hold of Bruce earlier tonight, but of course he didn't take his phone on patrol. He was probably still out there right now, fighting the good fight, protecting the innocent and bringing criminals to justice.

Bruce was reasonable, and he valued Tim for his work as Robin. He wasn't as emotional as Dick or as sentimental as Alfred. He would understand Tim's dilemma and be able to advise him how to deal with this. Maybe he could help him figure out how to talk to Jack about toning it down, or maybe he would even come up with some other solution. Something that didn't involve calling the police and or stopping Tim from being Robin.

Because Tim really, really didn't want to give up Robin. He had to take a deep, shuddering breath just at the thought of it. When he really stopped, really let himself think about it, he had to admit that he liked being Robin more than he liked being Tim Drake.

This was related to Robin, but it wasn't life or death. Tim didn't need to get hold of Bruce right away. He scrolled back up to Alfred's contact and selected his personal cell to send a text. No need to call the cave right now. It wasn't that important. Nowhere near as important as a hostage crisis with a criminal about to get away, for instance.

Alf, could you ask Bruce to come talk to me after he's done with patrol? It's not urgent or anything. But if I could see him tonight, I'd really appreciate it.

Of course, Master Tim. I'll be sure to let him know. Are you all right? Is there a reason you're choosing to text instead of call?

It was so he wouldn't break down and start sobbing over the phone at the sound of the kindly gentleman's voice. Tim couldn't say that, though.

It's fine, I just don't feel like talking. I'm grounded, but I'm sure Bruce can get up the tree outside my window. He won't even need a grapnel. You'll tell him?

Certainly. Are you sure you're all right?

I'm fine. I'm really tired, so I'm gonna turn in now, but Bruce can wake me up when he gets here.

Very well, Master Tim. Sleep well.

Tim put the phone face down next to his pillow and moved his head, trying to find a spot that wasn't wet with tears. And he tried to sleep.

It was a long time coming.

A/N: Yes, there will be a part two in Bruce's POV. Spoilers: He's not as unemotional and logical as Tim expects.