"Mr Garfield Logan?"
"Yeah?"
"The doctor will see you now."
"Okay, cool."
With a quiet sigh the green-skinned young man got off the couch in the hospital's waiting room and walked towards the consultation room showed by the nurse.
"Thank you, ma'am," said the young man quietly.
The nurse gave an acknowledging nod before walking away.
Looking at the door, Beast Boy took a deep breath as he turned the knob and walked in.
It had been 1 month since he began to feel the pain. 3 days since he went for a check up at STAR Labs and only yesterday that he finally got the news.
"You're sick Garfield. Very sick. It had been going on since you were bitten. The fact that you changed into this, uh; 'Beast' only aggravated the sickness further. The worst part is that you started feeling pain because the disease has reached the terminal stage. Nothing short of a miracle would guarantee a cure. I'm sorry."
Terminal.
And there was no cure.
The doctor had told him that he would seem alright for the next 3 to 4 months. After that, he would get weaker and weaker as his DNA start to deteriorate.
"What should I do now, doc?"
"My suggestion is; make everyday count. Appreciate the people whom you love more. When you…pass on, do so knowing you have done everything you can."
The doctor had sounded sincere as he said the words. Beast Boy had to hand it to the man. It was never easy to tell anyone that they were going to die soon.
Beast Boy recollected the words as he worked. Heaving a large garbage bag filled with trash, he placed it outside his room with others; 5 years of accumulated filth was no joke. Looking around his clean room, Beast Boy gave a satisfied grunt. He spent the next few minutes disposing of the garbage bags from the Tower. He was careful not to use his powers to make his job easier. The doctor had said that morphing would only serve to aggravate his condition further.
"Beast Boy has been very…subdued these past few days," said Robin one morning as the Titans minus Beast Boy sat down for breakfast.
"Yeah man, he's been locked up in his room all this time. He hasn't been like that since Terra broke his heart a second time," piped in Cyborg.
"Friends. What if friend Beast Boy has been afflicted with some malady?" offered Starfire as she put her bottle of mustard down.
"What do you think Raven?" asked Robin to the purple-haired girl who was currently reading a book.
"I don't care," said Rachel in her usual monotone. "That green Duracell bunny has been hyper and happy all his life. A few days of shutting up won't do him any harm."
"But aren't you even a little concern? This is Beast Boy we're talking about; Beast Boy does not shut up and lock himself in his room. No offense, Raven but he's behaving a little like you," said Cyborg.
"And what's wrong with behaving like me?" asked Rachel in a dangerous tone.
"N-Nothing, Raven. It's just that we all miss Beast Boy."
Rachel gave a bored sigh, "Look, if he wants to talk, he'll talk. I believe it's his right if he wants to stay in his room and mope. It's probably another of his plans to get us to pay attention to him. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go meditate."
As Rachel left the kitchen to go to her room, thoughts were racing through her mind. To be honest, she was concerned about Beast Boy and it was probably to a greater degree than the other Titans due to her empathy.
What is wrong with him? He doesn't even try to annoy me anymore. I know I can't really say it to his face but I really miss him.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the explosion of several light bulbs along the corridor, forcing Rachel to rein in her emotions as she hastened her pace towards her room.
Rachel was practically running when she finally arrived at her door. Entering her abode and slamming the door behind her, she clutched at her heart. Her thoughts concerning her green teammate was getting increasingly erratic as days go by. Rachel had a fleeting notion why; she had certain feelings for the little grass stain, feelings that she was uncertain of, feelings that she vaguely felt when she was with Malchior. Before that worm deceived her and broke her heart.
Could it be? Could it be that I'm feeling the same way about Garfield? But…he's Garfield for crying out loud! Loud, noisy, annoying Garfield!
You know, he has matured greatly over the years don't you think?
Yeah! Especially his body! Who would have thought our little Beastie Boo would become a hunk!
Rachel had to blush at that nickname. It was true; Garfield had changed the most amongst the Titans since their founding more than four years. Even though he was still an annoying prankster and his jokes were still not funny, Rachel realized that the irritating green bean had grown on her. She found that she really enjoyed the attentions he lavished on her to help her express her feelings a bit more. And that his infectious grin was something she looked forward to every single day.
More than that, he had finally learned to respect some of Rachel's need for privacy and at times, the two could even sit down together to read. Raven would read her book and Garfield, his comics or as he liked to put it; graphic novels.
It also helped that he looked good too; over the years, Garfield had ditched his Doom Patrol uniform in favour of an all-black short sleeved suit that really did compliments for his toned physique. He had also let his hair grow, giving it a scruffy look. In addition, his animal DNA caused his facial hair to grow a bit faster than a normal man causing an almost permanent stubble. This new looks suit well for Garfield in Raven's opinion.
This is just great! I'm practically swooning over him.
Hee hee, I know and so are we! Isn't it great?
Rachel gave a growl at Happy before turning her attention back to the real world. She decided that the only way to make everyone happy was to talk to her teammate and find out what is wrong with him.
Rachel was not sure why she felt the need to check her appearance at the mirror before leaving her room but she felt sure that Affection had something to do with it. As she stood outside Garfield's room, she briefly considered changing her mind.
No, I'm doing this for Garfield.
"Garfield, are you in there? It's me Raven. I need to talk to you," said the girl as she knocked on his door.
"…coming…coming…," came the changeling's muffled reply.
Rachel heard the sound of glass hitting each other before the door opened to reveal a smiling Garfield.
"Anything, Rae?" asked the young man.
"It's Raven. I'm here to ask about you, Garfield. The others and I have noticed that you spend a lot of your time in your room and we were wondering if there is anything wrong," said Rachel as fought to contain the barrage of emotions just being in his presence is affecting her.
"I'm okay Raven. Look, still alive and kicking," said the changeling as he turned into a kitten before changing back.
Although he kept a straight face, the agony he felt at doing that was not lost to Rachel's empathy. The pain was so great that the girl felt faint for a moment.
"W-What in the world was that?"
Oh shit! I forgot Raven can feel that. Smart move dumbass!
"What in the world was what?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Garfield. You should know better than to lie to me. Tell me what's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong, Raven."
"Bullshit, I felt enough pain from you when you morphed to almost knock me out. That means it's even worse for you. Now, tell me what's the matter with you."
"Damn it, Rae! Leave me alone!"
Garfield's sharp tone shocked Rachel for a moment before she retorted back, "Fine! You don't want to tell me then it's just fine. I don't care! You can just go back in your room and die!"
With a swirl of black energy surrounding her, Rachel disappeared leaving the changeling.
"If only you knew how right you are Rae," whispered Garfield as tears slipped from his eyes.
Closing the door, Garfield turned to wards his bed when a searing pain coursed through his body. With a cry, the Titan collapsed onto the ground and writhe in agony. He crawled on the floor as he tried to reach his medicine bottles but was in too much pain to move. Still trembling, Garfield took out his communicator and activated the distress beacon before fading into unconsciousness.
Rachel was sobbing on her bed. She did not mean to speak so horribly to Garfield. She must have looked like a hypocrite from all the times she brushed everyone away and staying in her room all the time. Now she knew what Garfield felt every time he wanted to help her.
I told him to go and die! How could I say that? Garfield had never said anything like that to me but I did so without hesitation. He'd never speak to me again. I'm a terrible person…
The influx of guilt washing over her brought in a new round of tears causing her to cry again when her communicator sounded. Flipping it open, Rachel's eyes widened in shock and horror; it was an emergency beacon and it was coming from Garfield. Chanting her mantra, Rachel teleported straight into his room.
She was not prepared for what she saw; Garfield was lying face down on the floor, his communicator in his hand. From his posture, it seemed that he was reaching for something. Looking around, Rachel saw the assortment of medicine bottles and syringes littering his dresser. If she was not currently having a near heart attack from seeing her beloved unconscious on the floor, she would have noticed that the room was actually clean.
"Garfield!"
Kneeling down towards her teammate, Rachel tested for a pulse; there was none.
"No! Garfield, please no. Oh god, don't die," whispered Rachel as fresh tears sprang to her eyes and cascaded down her face.
The door opened and light filled the room as the rest of the Titans barged in.
"What the…Raven, what the hell happened?" asked a thoroughly freaked out Cyborg as he began to perform CPR on his buddy.
Robin was quietly comforting a sobbing Starfire
"Raven, he's got not pulse. Teleport the three of us to the Med Bay now." said Cyborg. His face was pale as he said the words.
As the Titans raced to save their friend, Raven replayed the events that had plagued her ever since. She felt like it was her fault. Somehow she knew it was. Oh, to take it all back.
"Please don't die, Gar. I'm sorry I said those things to you. I'm sorry for being such a bitch. I take it back Gar. I take it all back. Come back, Gar. Please, come back…," whispered Raven again.
I hope you guys like it! It's a little something that's always intrigued me; Beast Boy's disease. As far as i know, the cure that his parents gave him never did completely heal him so there you go, Sakutia rears its ugly green head again:)
Furthermore i intended to make this a two-shot at most. Or do you guys want a full story like 'Change' instead? Give your opinions by next week cause I'll be writing the next one by then. Thank you for reading and please review!!!
spartan585