Author's Note:

Happy 2017 to everyone!

My daughter came down with a cold recently and was feverish for a couple of days, but thankfully she got well in time for Christmas and New Year. But it did give me this idea, and as usual with me, once it took hold, the only way to have it stop pestering me was to write it up and post it. Luckily, with the holiday season I have a lot of free time, especially considering the foul weather outside. So bear with me with yet another one-shot. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. Astounding, isn't it? :-)

The Pampered Patient

Raven placed her hand on Beast Boy's forehead and frowned.

"You're still feverish, Gar. Let me take your temperature." She placed the thermometer into his mouth, her eyes and her voice clearly indicating that there was going to be no further discussion on that topic. "Now be a good patient and wait until the reading's finished."

They were in Raven's room. She insisted – quite adamantly – on moving him there the moment she detected that he was running a fever. Cyborg's mild suggestion that Garfield should be in the infirmary instead was met with a stare that would give the half-robot nightmares for at least a week.

Beast Boy tried to mumble something around the instrument that was stuck under his tongue, but then he caught sight of Raven's raised eyebrow and thought better of it, rolling his eyes. The thermometer beeped softly. Raven removed it and looked at it, her frown relaxing a little.

"Flat one hundred" she said with a slight note of relief in her voice. "It's going down."

"See? I told ya! I'm fine! Can I go to the Ops room and watch a movie now?"

She gave her green boyfriend a cold look. "No, Gar. No Gamestation and no TV for you until you're over it."

"Awww, c'mon, Rae! That's so boring!"

The look she was giving him became a dangerous glare.

"The last thing you need is to make it worse now that you're on the way of getting better!" she said, brushing away his protest with a wave of her hand. "You will remain in bed until I'm satisfied that you're well!"

He pouted. "Not fair, mamma! You never get sick!"

Her face cleared and she gave him a tiny smile. "Of course I don't, Gar. How many viruses do you know that can affect a demon? My blood is probably one of the most sterile substances on Earth. No bacterium or virus can live in it."

Garfield folded his arms across his chest, adding to his pout. Raven had to make an enormous effort not to have her smile widen at the sight.

Azar, but he looks absolutely adorable when he's like that!

She ran her fingers through his hair, trying to make him feel better. "You need to be patient. We'll find something for you to do."

"Humph!" he snorted, looking away, unaware that her heart was simply melting at the sight.

"I could bring you some of your comics from your room…" Raven ventured.

"I've read them all. At least three times" he grumbled.

"Hmmm. What about your tablet?"

He grunted. "Nah, all the games I have there I've played to death. And the new ones don't look too interesting."

"Maybe some music?"

"Not in the mood."

She sighed, rose from the bed and went to her closet, opening it. She unclasped and removed her cloak, placed it carefully inside on a hanger and walked back to the bed. Her hand reached behind her and unzipped her leotard. She squirmed out of it and doubled it over a valet stand. Beast Boy watched the entire procedure, his eyes getting wider every second.

"Um… Rae… What are you doing?"

She smirked at him and slid between the sheets, embracing and kissing him.

"Finding something for you to do."

Maybe being sick is not that bad after all, was the last rational thought he had for quite a while.

His fever was still almost touching a hundred degrees, but at the moment he was far away from feeling any discomfort. Unsurprising, considering that the most beautiful girl in the world was sleeping peacefully in his embrace, her head pillowed on his shoulder and her arm thrown across his chest.

Hmmm. Now that's what I call caring for a patient. Now, if I play this smart…

He grinned, reaching his decision. But he didn't take into consideration two little details.

First, his usually extremely acute sense of smell was completely useless, due to the fact that his nose was completely clogged. Second, and as a result of the previous, his hearing was also impaired because the inflammation and clogging made it impossible to equalize the pressure in his inner ear. These two details made him unable to sense the fact that Raven was actually awake and fully conscious of the feelings pervading him as he made the aforementioned decision. Her lips curled into a small, secret smile and she made a show of snuggling up sleepily closer to him.

The moment he was certain she was awake, he kissed the top of her head and whispered.

"Rae?"

"Mmmhmmm?" came her drowsy murmur.

"Look, I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm a bit hungry…"

She lifted her head and kissed him gently.

"It's not a bother, Gar. How could it be? I'll get something for you right away. How does a nice pizza sound?"

Garfield fought off the grin that wanted to spread across his face. Oh, this definitely looks promising. I seem to have made the right decision.

"Thanks, love. Make it a –"

"Tofu-cheese veggie extravaganza," Raven finished for him. "I know what my green lover likes!" she purred and kissed him again, then got up and dressed herself.

"I'll order you one right away. You prefer soda or juice? Remember, it can't be cold!"

A small frown flitted for a moment over his face. Yeah, I guess it can't all be perfect. Oh well.

"Juice then, love."

She nodded, smiling at him, then left the room.

Garfield relaxed into the pillows and placed his hands behind his head, finally allowing the huge grin to split his face in half.

Dude! I was so right! This is shaping up to be the best sickness ever!

"Was it good, my love?"

"Mmmm. Perfect. Thank you so much, Rae!"

She regaled him with another smile as she picked up the tray to take it out. "It's the least I can do for you. Is there anything else you need?"

"I wouldn't mind another glass of orange juice, if it's not too much trouble."

"None at all. I'll bring it right away!" she said and floated out, returning soon with a full jug of juice.

"I guess I could try rereading some of my comics…" he tried, testing how far he could push his newly discovered power.

"Give me a minute!" Raven said happily and was off to fetch them. By the time she returned, he was already waiting with another wish.

"Would you mind massaging me a bit? My back's a bit sore from being in bed so long."

"Oh, Gar, I'm sorry!" Raven almost cried. "I should've thought of that myself! Turn around and I'll give you the best massage you've ever had!"

I have died and gone to Heaven, Garfield thought as he turned in bed to allow her access to his back.

Next morning Raven went to the Ops room later than usual. By this time the rest of her friends were already up, sharing a breakfast.

"The best of the mornings to you, friend Raven!" Starfire welcomed her as she levitated in. "How is friend Beast Boy doing the progressing?"

Raven nodded her greetings to all before replying to Starfire. "He's better, Star, but he still needs a couple of days more before he's out of it completely."

She floated over to Cyborg, who was preparing breakfast for all of them.

"Do you have the non-dairy pancakes ready, Vic?"

"Of course. Just finished them. Nice, fresh and still hot!" he replied with a smile, then lifted his eyebrow. "Aren't you pampering him a bit too much?"

A small crease appeared across Raven's brow. "He's my boyfriend. I'm… concerned for his well-being."

Starfire giggled. "You feel more than the concern, friend Raven. But you are in the right! It is only the natural for you to wish to express your deepest feelings towards friend Beast Boy. You do have much of the love for him, yes?"

Raven's pale cheeks colored deeply. She mumbled something and pulled her hood up. Cyborg watched her with an indulgent smile.

"There's more to it than that, Star!" he said as his smile turned into a grin. "Isn't that so, little sis?"

Raven's small frown deepened. "What do you mean?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, 'cause I'm not a demonologist, but it's in the nature of demons to be extremely possessive, isn't it?"

Raven looked down, not responding.

"Why is that of the importance, friend Cyborg?"

"Think, Star," Cyborg said, still looking at Raven with a grin on his face. "While Beastie is recovering from his illness in her room, she has him all to herself. She doesn't have to share him with us, or with anyone else. Am I right, Rae?"

The fierce blush spreading over Raven's cheeks could be seen even under the hood. "Your imagination is really running wild today, Victor!" she said angrily. "Give me those pancakes, and the strawberry jam, and the rest!"

"Here ya go, little sis." Cyborg handed her a large tray loaded with food, chuckling, while Starfire giggled softly into her hand. Raven enveloped the tray in her black mist and levitated it in front of her, turning to leave the Ops room.

"There's a third reason" came suddenly from a smirking Robin. He got up from the couch where he was sitting, watching and listening what was going on. He sauntered over to Raven and looked at her, cocking his head a bit while doing it.

Raven's blush positively glowed from the darkness under her hood. Cyborg's eyebrow went way up. Starfire clasped her hands. "Oh, dear Dick, you must tell us what this third of the reasons is!"

"It takes a good detective to recognize it" Robin said, still looking at Raven, who kept staring uneasily at the floor of the Ops room, her face a blazing shade of tomato.

Robin waited a couple of seconds to see if Raven would confess. His smirk widened as her silence continued. "You see, there's really no reason why our resident changeling should be sick!"

"Whatcha sayin', Dick?" Cyborg asked, puzzled. "I mean, he does have a fever, and he…" his voice trailed softer as realization started dawning on him. "That little green grass stain!" he exploded.

"Yep. The only thing he needs to do is to morph into an animal that's not susceptible to whatever virus is attacking him!" Robin continued, pleased with his deduction. "He could turn into, say, a lizard for a couple of hours and it would cleanse any sickness or infection from him!"

Robin's smirk widened further until it became a grin. "When you take that into account, it's obvious that Garfield is running a tab, even if he doesn't know it yet." He chuckled, studying Raven with amusement. "And Rae will be collecting it whenever she thinks the moment is right. With interest."

Cyborg's eye went back and forth between Raven and Robin to finally end up staring, open very wide, at Raven.

"Whoa. That's cruel, little sis."

Raven's hand went to her mouth and a small giggle could be heard coming from her. The smirks and grins on her friends' faces dropped like bricks, to be replaced with slack-jawed amazement.

She pulled her hood down. The blush was gone; a small, saintly smile graced her pale features. She looked at her friends, making sure they were paying attention to her.

"Richard is, of course, right. However…" she swept her gaze over them again. "If somehow it turns out that Gar is made aware of it, I will be very upset. I hope I am making myself quite clear."

For some reason the beatific smile on her face made the implied threat so much more impressive. Her three friends nodded mechanically, apprehensive shivers coursing through them.

"Good. Now I must hurry before the pancakes get cold."

Her power moving the tray with Garfield's breakfast in front of her, she left the Ops room, leaving silence behind her.