"Waaaahhhhhh" a shrill cry pierced the silence that had settled around Titan's Tower. Robin rolled over with a groan, the wailing sound registering in his mind.
"Robin, I can-"
"No, I've got it." Robin said, interrupting Starfire. She smiled up at him sweetly, rolling over in the large bed and pulling a pillow against her body. Robin knew this move well. She did it so that she could trick herself into thinking he was still there, sleeping beside her. After all that Starfire had been through - getting raped by Red X and finding out that she was pregnant with his child - Robin liked knowing that he was her safe place. In fact, he wished desperately that he could slide back into their comfortable bed and hold her in his arms. But there was someone else he had to take care of first.
"Waaaaaahhhhhh," as if on cue, another cry rang out through the Tower, and Robin shuffled his feet languidly down the hall, rubbing the sleep out of his mask-free eyes as he opened the door to Starfire's old room.
"Dude, how much longer will it be before she stops doing this?" Exclaimed an exhausted looking Beast Boy. He had already pulled the screeching baby from her crib, and handed her over to Robin without protest. Robin held the small baby close to his chest, bouncing her up and down lightly in his strong arms.
"She's a baby, Beast Boy. It's going to be a while before she stops waking up in the middle of the night. Speaking of, what are you doing awake... in my daughter's room?" Robin inquired, cocking his head to the side. Those were words he never thought would come out of his own mouth, and he felt like laughing at the irony of it all.
Robin hadn't planned this, of course. If people had the ability to write out their life stories before they had to live it, well, this chapter would not have been written. But as he stared down at the dozing baby cradled in his arms, he couldn't help but think that he wouldn't change a thing. Coraline Rachel Grayson (or Coral as Cyborg had nicknamed after hearing the mouthful of a name. He respecred that the name was a play off of Robin and Starfire's real names... but she needed something people could actually spell.) squirmed in Robin's arms, and he held her closer.
"Well, ummm, I was just... I mean, Coral hadn't woken up yet, and I was just coming in here to check on her..." Beast Boy said, trailing off as Robin smirked at him. Robin knew that Beast Boy treated Coral like his little sister, and in a way, she was. All of the Titans had welcomed Coral into their lives willingly, helping Robin and Starfire raise the baby girl from the moment she was born. Cyborg and Beast Boy had built the nursery that Robin was currently standing in, even going as far as putting brown polka dots on the light pink walls. Raven bought Coral clothes and, though she wouldn't admit it, had become quite smitten with the new edition to the Tower.
"Robin?" Beast Boy asked, studying his fellow Titans's face carefully.
"I just wish it had been different." Robin admitted, pushing a black curl away from Coral's face.
"I understand." Beast Boy replied, putting a hand on Robin's shoulder. They all wished things could have been different. Try as they might, the Titans couldn't always over-look the fact that Coral was partly Red X's child. And Starfire lived in constant fear that the masked villain would reappear some day and ruin her life again.
"Robin? Beast Boy?" Cyborg asked, walking into the nursery. Seeing the alarmed look on his friend's face, Robin hid Coral behind Beast Boy's back partially, feeling a protective instinct taking over his body. Beast Boy felt the instinct too, and he moved his body to fully shield the sleeping baby.
"Cyborg, what happened?"
"I've got bad news man... seriously bad news."