Chapter 1

A woman knelt on the ground, haggard and exhausted. She was huddled upon herself, barely clinging to life, but she looked up when they approached and her eyes filled with hope. Starfire rushed to the woman's side.

"You're hurt," she said without preamble, but the woman only had eyes for Robin.

"Are you… are you the Teen Titans?" she asked in a breathless whisper.

Ignoring her question he replied "Who did this to you?"

Raven took the opportunity to lift the woman's heavy cloak from behind and what she saw made her gasp. Three broken arrows were embedded in the woman's back and her entire attire stained with blood, both fresh and dried.

"Is this… is this Jump City?" the woman asked, a desperate note in her voice.

"Yes," Starfire comforted. "This is Jump City and that is our leader, Robin. Here, we need to get you to a doctor to treat your wounds. You have lost a lot of blood and…"

The woman seemed to wilt with relief and tears began to fall freely from her eyes.

"Please… please… my baby… my baby…"

Robin was on one knee in front of her immediately. "What baby? Where is the baby?"

The woman slowly uncurled her body, her arms and cloak separating to reveal a baby sling. With shaking hands she lifted the blanket-wrapped bundle from the carrier, and the infant turned to face them. The onlookers gasped.

`Oh my god…' Raven thought, as the blanket fell away from the baby's head and they got a good look.

It was a baby boy. A mass of unruly raven hair and two huge crystal blue eyes peered out at them from the baby's face.

"Please… save my baby," the woman pleaded, offering the infant.

Robin practically tripped over himself to back away, shock and disbelief written all over his face.

"What?"

Raven moved to accept the infant who was now squirming and whimpering.

"It's okay. We'll keep your baby safe, but please let us take you to a doctor…"

The woman let out a choked sob, then coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed in the road. Raven flinched and clutched the baby to her chest as she backed away.

She was gone. Her last gift to her child was to ensure his safety. Starfire wept quietly for the child's loss.

The baby screamed himself hoarse, proving that there was absolutely nothing wrong with his little lungs. Starfire rocked him and cried along with him, feeling utterly helpless to ease his pain. There was nothing anyone could do for him. His mother was dead, but she had died so that he would live. At one point during his screaming fit, Robin took him and held him, humming softy under his breath a song his own mother had used to comfort him. It worked to lower the din from full screams to gasping whimpers, but only until Robin would stop, then he would scream again, his face almost purple from the effort.

Finally the titans took the wailing baby back to the tower so that he wouldn't continue to disturb everyone within hearing distance. They took turns walking with him and rocking him before sleep began to consume them. Exhausted, Starfire resorted to cooing and singing softly, bouncing him the way she'd seen mothers do, all to no avail. Ultimately, they had no choice but to wait until the baby screamed himself unconscious- which he eventually did, after making sure they would both have hearing troubles for the next several hours.

Deciding it was now safe to move with the restlessly sleeping baby, Robin picked him up form his position on the couch. Every now and then he would whimper and squirm, and they would cringe, expecting him to awaken and start crying again.

"Star, is it ok if he spends the night with you?" He looked down hesitantly at the tameranian. Thanks to a recent growth spurt he was now a few inches taller than her.

"That would be acceptable friend Robin. I would not mind his company."

"Great. I'll just lay him down on your bed. You're gonna need some more pillows though. We'll put a pillow on his other side so that he doesn't roll off the bed and one between the two of you so you don't accidentally roll onto him and crush him." Robin stood back and admired his work. It was the best they could manage under the circumstances so it will have to do.

He gave them an approving glance and left.

Starfire carefully positioned herself next to the sleeping infant and studies his tiny features. She could feel herself becoming more attached to him.

"I will be your mother little one." She whispered, wiping the tear that slid down her cheek. "I understand what it means to lose a mother, to have no one."

`Poor little lost baby…' "I wonder what we should call him."

Those were her last thoughts before she slowly drifted to sleep.

Two days later the still nameless baby was starting to associate his new adoptive family with food and safety. His primary caregivers were Robin and Starfire, although Raven sometimes took a turn, she had developed a soft spot for the little bundle of joy.

Until they could figure out what kind of danger his mother was protecting him from, they had no choice but to take the infant in under their care.

He started responding to the sound of their voices, opening his huge eyes and looking their way. He didn't cry much after that first terrible day; mostly he would just whimper and squirm when he was hungry or needed to be changed. Although sometimes he fussed and fretted, but that usually meant he just wanted attention.

Beastboy had taken it upon himself to provide his entertainment, most times at Cyborg's expense. He pulled pranks on everyone and hid with the infant, gleefully watching them unfold.

At night, the baby assumed his place next to Starfire, tucked against her chest. If he moved, she was awake immediately and seeing to his needs- before he sought to see to them himself, as was evidenced by the number of times he'd wormed his way under her night shirt and tried to latch onto a nipple. He'd managed to do it several times, waking Starfire when he began to suck. Poor little baby was so distressed when no milk was forthcoming from a place where he had begun to expect food.

On the fifth day, what was once regarded as a usual occurrence became inconvenient almost dreaded.

"We aren't going to bring the baby, so Starfire you'll have to stay and baby-sit. Titans move out?" Robin didn't wait for a reply, just turn and left.

"Think you can handle him on your own, lil' lady." Cyborg questioned with an encouraging smile.

Starfire blushed and mumble uneasily "I shall have to do my best. I hope you will be victorious in battle friend." He nodded, satisfied at her reply.

On their way through the door Beastboy shot Raven a look. " Think they'll be ok while we're gone."

"Probably not, but I don't think we have much of a choice. Robin's orders."

"Friends! Please do not worrying. I shall keep the child safe."

Author's Note

So I finally finish the story and will probably post a chapter a day depending on the response I get. If I don't get a positive response then I'll most likely scrap the whole that means review people. Tell me what you think whether you like it hate it or just indifferent about it. Reviewers of the first chapter will get a preview of the second.