Hey guys, im really sorry, but I won't be able to update until this friday-saturday! (it's currently Sunday for me) I planned to update today, but I was out all day and didn't get the chance. I have most of it done though, so I'll post about half of it and replace the chapter with the whole thing when its ready. Sorry again! Keep in mind that I haven't checked over it and it is unedited, so sorry in advance if there are any spelling and/or grammar mistakes!

If Tim was going to be honest, he enjoyed going out on patrol with Nightwing even more than he did with Batman. It didn't happen often, since Nightwing wasn't a sidekick, he was a full-blown hero, and therefore had responsibilities, but every once in a while Batman would tell Tim to join Nightwing during patrol for a certain sector of Gotham, leaving the two boys alone. Most nights that Tim went out on patrol with Dick, he spent joking around, enjoying quality time with the guy he considered his older brother.

Tonight, however, Tim couldn't enjoy all that time he had to spend, because he was dead on his feet. He'd pulled two all-nighters, following a lead on a villain who had recently escaped prison, the Riddler. It had been tiring, but it paid off, since they planned to capture Riddler the following night. At least, that had been the plan.

Robin and Nightwing had been patrolling their sector, surprisingly silent, due to Tim's lack of energy, when they'd heard a loud Boom! From a few blocks away. Tim shared a look with Dick, and took off sprinting toward the source of the sound. Tim just followed the sound of panicked screams. Once they got there, Tim wasn't all that surprised to find a burning building, the flames rising higher each second. It was Starlabs, a nine-story building dedicated to science. He turned to Nightwing, who gave him a small nod, and together they entered the building, from which they could hear screams coming from. He heard Nightwing ask a man in a science coat what happened.

"I...I think a machine on the seventh floor malfunctioned."The man told him. "It was a prototype for a new type of energy source of some sort. Lots of power. It caused a small explosion, but it was close to a lot of other prototypes, causing a domino-effect. "

Nightwing nodded his thanks and told the man to get away from the building. Together, Robin and Nightwing searched the building, looking for anyone who had been trapped in the debris. Robin struggled to keep up with Nightwing, still exhausted from the lack of sleep. He stumbled as he sprinted up the next flight of stairs, and braced himself for the fall, but Nightwing grabbed his arm and steadied him. Tim took a deep breath before continuing. When they reached the top, Tim asked, "The machine- do you think it was sabotaged?"

Nightwing shook his head. "I don't think so. Sometimes things like this just happen."

They kept searching the building, finding four men and six women who needed help getting out. Each time, Robin would escort them out of the building while Nightwing kept searching for more. Once they'd finally reached the ninth floor, they stopped to take a breath.

"Be careful," Nightwing warned, "Most of this stuff is probably explosive."

Tim was about to retort that he knew that already when a small sound caused him to freeze. It was the sound of a young girl, crying and whimpering in the next room.

Tim and Dick sprinted through the hall and entered the room from which the sound was coming. There they found a girl, sitting there and sobbing loud, heartbreaking cries. She couldn't have been younger than twelve, just two years younger than Tim. He glanced to the lump next to her, and felt his knees lock up when he realised those were her parents lifeless bodies. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, and sprinted across the room to the girl, scooping her up into his arms and jumping out of the window, onto the fire escape. Nightwing followed him out, and once they got down all the way to the bottom, Nightwing knelt down next to the girl, raising a hand to stop the police who were coming to get her. He leaned forward and whispered something in her ear. After a moment, he leaned back, and gave the girl a questioning glance. The girl nodded, and gave Dick a big hug, who made a muffled sound of surprise in response. The girl released him, and walked over to join the police, a hard look determination set on her face. She wiped her tears away one last time, and Tim wondered what Dick could have possibly said to her to cause such a change. One of the police officers, a young one who Tim hadn't seen before, walked over to them.

"We've got the rest of this handled," The cop told them, "But thank you so much for your help."

Dick gave him a nod, before sharing a glance with Tim. They started to run away from the building, planning to finish the patrol. There was silence between them as they patrolled, though Tim believed that may have been partly his fault. He could barely think straight, he was so tired. He groaned inwardly as he realized that he had school in the morning, and he had to capture the Riddler the following night. He probably wasn't going to get a full night of sleep for another couple of nights. He glanced at Dick, wondering if he was as tired as Tim was, and froze. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of silver, so small that if he hadn't glanced up he wouldn't have noticed it. He nudged Nightwing, who narrowed his eyes in the direction Tim's head was tilted.