A/N: Mild swearing in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

"I Love You Forevermore"

—Unexpected Encounters—

TWO

Ugh! Stop it! She mentally scolded herself as she walked over to one of the many candles in her room. She lit it and held the picture in her hand. I'm sorry, Robin. She said in her mind as the picture loomed over to the flame. But I love you nevermore. She watched as their smiling faces became distorted from the fire as it burned. The picture smoked and smelled like ashes from a grave. Maybe that's what they were, because then she stopped being Raven and fully became Rachel Roth.

—

It had been seven years. Seven years! Yes, it had been seven years to the day since he allowed Raven to leave his life. And everyday for the past seven years he had walked by the same picture and — even though he wasn't exactly religious — had said a prayer to whoever was listening that one day she would return to hi— them. Sure, the Titans had disbanded almost seven years ago, as well, but that didn't mean they didn't keep in touch. Well, maybe saying they 'kept in touch' wouldn't be a complete truth. They usually stayed away from each other except for September 18th every year. The day she went away. . .

Every year on this day they would come together at the Tower and gather in her room. In there they would say a few things to commemorate her. This usually led to tears from more than one of them. Starfire, or Kori Anders as she was now called, would always be first. Then, even though he was a decent actor, it would be Beast Boy or Changeling. Cyborg, once and again known as Victor Stone, would be next, with his human eye letting out all the sorrow he kept inside from the previous year.

But Nightwing or Richard "Dick" Grayson or whatever name you would call him never did. Robin had cried all his tears the day she had left and in-between every September 18th. He had vowed to never cry on that day no matter what so he would never defile her memory with tears. He wanted to show her he loved her in a different way; by showing her that he was still as strong and as much in love as he was on July 18th, 2005.

That was also another reason he became Nightwing; Robin would have cried and poured his heart out. Nightwing wouldn't. Nightwing was a pillar of strength. And here he was in the alley behind their favorite pizza parlor; waiting for the others to appear since he was only an hour and a half early.

—

Rachel Roth walked home from work at the hospital in Jump City. She didn't like taking her car because of the price of fuel or riding the bus nowadays. Instead, she liked to walk the few miles and get to know the city she had once sworn to protect. Her crime fighting days were over, now, and she was quite alright with that. She didn't need or even want to; it didn't matter that she had almost completely mastered her emotions and, through them, her powers.

In fact, she was just about to leave it all behind, powers included. She had burned the picture the day previous and was feeling like a brand new person. Today she was Rachel Roth, RN, twenty-four years old, and single. Maybe it was time for someone in her life. But who? Maybe she could hit a club tonight or something. Grab some drinks. . . Hit the dance floor. . . Have a good time. She nodded her head, she was going to do that after she went home to change.

The sun started to set over the bay when she passed the old pizza parlor they would all hang out at after a mission. She traced her fingers along the wall as she felt someone's eyes on her. She looked behind her and her eyes widened. "What do you want?" She asked, shakily.

—

Nightwing was growing tired of waiting. Only fifteen minutes more. . . He kept telling himself though it didn't have much affect. He peeked around the corner, stealthily hid in the shadows, watching the random people of Jump walk by.

Some were old, some young, some alone, some in their cliques. There were punks, preps, Goths, outcasts, also some pretty, and some not so fortunate. Just everyday people. One girl with long black hair and a curvy figure caught his eye and he watched her walk by as she hummed a tune he didn't know. She walked right passed him but stopped a few feet down the sidewalk and slid her fingers down the side of the parlor. It was like it meant something great to her, or maybe it did once upon a time ago. Nightwing didn't have much time to ponder over it because of what happened next.

The woman turned around and saw a scruffy boy of about nineteen not only looking at her, but pointing a gun at her! "What do you want?" The woman asked shakily as she turned around completely and pressed her back to the wall. Nightwing had to do something! But what was his plan of action?

—

Rachel stared at the gun the boy was holding. "Gimme all yer money. . . No, the whole damn purse!" He started to laugh and grinned so evilly, shivers ran down her spine. She had faced evil, psychotic villains, but his voice was different than theirs had been. It was like he was begging her to disobey, just so he could shoot her. Just so he could see the blood.

Rachel wasn't one to surrender easily, but she couldn't afford getting shot and healing herself in public. So, she did what any normal person would do. She screamed. This attracted attention, too much attention. "Shut up, you damn whore!" He hissed and as he went to pull the trigger someone yelled "Get down!" and pulled her to the ground. The sound of a gun echoed on the buildings, followed by murmurings and a few screams of scared citizens.

Rachel opened her eyes as she hit the ground. A loud "oomph" was heard and she felt a body pressed to her back. Oh, crap! The guy who had just saved her had gotten shot, instead! It took a lot of effort to roll the heavy, limp body off of her. But when she did. . . She saw a masked man with ebony-colored hair, a conditioned physique, and a belt around his waist that looked exactly like Robin's, only black. She gasped. It couldn't be, could it? What was he doing here of all places?! She knew this was Nightwing and that he protected Blüdhaven, not Jump.

All her ponderings faded when his brow furrowed in extreme pain and he coughed up blood. "Oh, crap." She said. By this time, a group of citizens had gathered around to marvel at the great Nightwing at his weakest. "I'm a nurse, I can handle this. . ." Rachel said trying to convince herself more than others. "Does anyone have any handkerchiefs at all? I need something to cover the wound as I apply pressure." It took a moment for most to snap out of the initial shock of a legendary hero being down before several individuals came forth with their hankies. One by one she folded them twice into a smaller square before applying onto his wound.

After about folding ten or so, she sat up and leaned onto his broad chest, forcing as much pressure as she could. She began to panic when the handkerchiefs began to soak up completely with his blood. Should she use her powers? In public?

With determination on her face she tried a different approach to the problem. It's only fair I save his life. She thought. He only saved me and the entire universe from Trigon. A life for a life. She took the handkerchiefs off and with her bare hands dug into his flesh for the bullet. Before she was focusing on stopping the bleeding, but now she had to get rid of the source.

As soon as she plunged into chest wound he screamed bloody murder. She didn't blame him, either, so she placed her hand on his face and drained away some of his pain into herself. She grit her teeth as the pain came rolling on and she kept searching for the bullet, blindly.

After a minute or so of trying, she finally found it. She dug it out with her hands and heard behind her some whispers where before it had only been relative silence. "Stay back! She knows what she's doing; she's an RN."

"I will not stay back! Nightwing needs help." She heard a voice of a boy? No, he would be older, maybe a few years younger than her. The voice reminded her of Beast Boy, but it was deeper. However, she let go of all other thoughts as she refocused on Nightwing.

"And what will you do? Do you have a degree in medicine?" The old lady whispered harshly back. This quieted the male. Rachel put the bullet aside on one of the bloody handkerchiefs, and took some of the others and leaned full force on him before she whispered "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. . .". She was forcing the blood to clot with her dark energy. And after a few moments it worked.

"What did she just say?" Asked a booming voice. A booming voice she knew rather well. Or rather Raven did. Cyborg was right behind her and was coming closer by the sound of his footsteps. "What's your name, girl?" He asked slow and cautious.

"What's it to you?" Rachel replied rather harshly and refused to turn around to look at him.

"You saved my friend's life, and I just wanted to thank the person who did it properly." Cyborg relied smooth as silk.

"Fine. My name is Rachel Roth. Happy now?" She said and he uttered a "Thank you" before she told him, "I save people every day, you don't need to thank me. I do it all the time." And then she walked off, not even sparing a backwards glance at Nightwing. She knew Cyborg would take care of him and help him heal completely.

Rachel turned the corner at the pizza parlor and walked the length of the block before a tear ran down her cheek. Then another. And another. Before she knew it she was sitting against one of the old buildings that were so abundant in this area of Jump only a few blocks away from the wounded Nightwing. She couldn't hold back anymore; she started sobbing her heart out. "I'm sorry. . . Robin."

A fly that had been following her ever since she had left the shooting scene would have gasped if that were possible for a fly. Instead, he materialized into a lanky, tall but lean, green man with pointy ears. He stood a few feet away from her, leaning against the wall and trying to figure out his plan for action. This was Raven; he knew it was. How else would Nightwing be alive and doing so well, now? Or what about her knowing he once was known as Robin? This was Raven. He just didn't know how to approach her without scaring her off. . . again.

She was quieting down, now but stayed in her crouched position against the wall. Changeling took this opportunity to walk out into the middle of the sidewalk so his shadow would be projected to her feet.

Rachel looked up to see who had been there all that time and her eyes widened in fear when she saw him. "Wha— what are you doing here? What do you want with me?!" She cried and screamed all at once and a dog barked in the background.

"Raven. . ." He said with his hand partially stretched out, trying to reach her but pulling back all in the same moment.

"That's not my name. I'm Rachel Roth, RN, single and loving it." She told him in a bitter voice before looking at the cement sidewalk next to her huddled body.

He sighed. "Raven, we want you to come back." Beast Boy or Changeling said cautiously with a tinge of sadness. His face was sympathetic and concerned at the same time. He didn't know how he could reach her after what he knew he had put her through.

"I told you, that's not my name." She relied while still looking down.

Changeling walked forward and sat next to her, but not too close; knowing she liked her distance. "You'll always be Raven to us. Always be our Raven." He said with intense mixed emotions and this time she hesitantly looked at him.

—

"Kori," Cyborg hastily said to the alien girl formerly known as Starfire, "hand me my medical bag from the T-Car." Cyborg only hoped she would understand the urgency in his voice. Nightwing had been in a lot of pain ever since the strange girl, Rachel Roth, had left. This only added to the list of suspicions. Like, how did she get his blood to clot only after fifteen, twenty seconds with only a few handkerchiefs? Why wouldn't she look at him? Why was he in so much pain now and not when she was with him? And the list went on and on.

"Yes, Friend Cyborg." Kori saluted and flew above the crowd to the T-Car and grabbed the bag from the trunk. Once the bag was in Cyborg's hands, he took out a sedative to make him sleep through the pain. It wasn't incredibly strong and would only last a half hour at the most. But it would have to do until he could get better medical devices at the Tower. After he had injected the serum into Nightwing's neck, Cyborg told Kori to fly to Titans Tower to inform the caretakers that they would need the Tower to themselves a little early. "Will Friend Nightwing have the good health once more?" She asked before she left.

"Don't worry, Kori. He's a tough guy; always has been. One lousy bullet won't take him down. None of us would allow it." He gave her the biggest smile he could under the circumstances and she was on her way. "You better make it, man. For all our sakes."

—

Rachel laughed. "I guess we can't call him a 'Walking Traffic Light', anymore, now can we?" Changeling laughed along with her. It was true. He was a dark bird, now. Rachel had a hazy look on her face, "He'll always be Boy Blunder, though." So many emotions were on her face; happiness from all the times she had teased him with the nickname, regret from leaving the Titans (namely her ex-team leader), disheartenment because she would most likely never call him that again or even see him again, but mostly sadness. It was strange to Changeling to see her like that; wearing her emotions on her sleeve. But, seven years can change people drastically, he reminded himself. He still couldn't believe it had been seven years. He knew he had lost her, maybe completely, during that period of seven years, although it was nice to talk to her one-on-one for a while.

"So whatever happened to the Tower? Is it abandoned or shut down?" She asked him, obviously now relaxed around him and finally ready to talk about the things she thought she had left behind completely.

"Nah, we couldn't bear to see it lose all it's splendor and glory. So, between the four of us we hired a full-time caretaker for it and some maids that make sure that the only thing we would lose would be dust and dirt. They come and clean a different section each day of the week. They're really nice, too. We were all there for the interviews and had to deal with so many snobs, ya know? They all wanted to practically own the place. But it wasn't their home; it's ours. All five of ours." He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Won't you come home?"

"But it's all my fault. . ." She said removing her gaze from his face to the ground in-between her sneakers. She couldn't bear to look at him because of all the shame she felt. The shame for going to Robin right before midnight on July 18th, 2005, for the breakup of the close family they had, for the disbanding of the Titans, for the fragile relationship the former Titans all had (she couldn't get much out of Changeling, but assumed that they practically wanted nothing to do with each other), and especially for Nightwing's possible fatal bullet wound. Everything was her fault.

Changeling sighed once more. "Raven, Raven, Raven." He sounded disappointed in her. "You would think you took lessons from Robin!" She partially smiled when Changeling referred to him by his old name. "Nothing is your fault, believe me. Not in the least. It was the three of our faults. We should have realized long before you even announced the two of you were going out. The way you would be moon gazing on the roof every night together alone, how you were the only two up in the mornings — just so you could be together alone, how you would stay behind together alone whenever we would go to the arcade or to a movie that you both 'weren't interested in', and even though you weren't alone, you would always sit next to each other at the pizza parlor. I mean, how many more clues did we need?" He stopped for a brief moment as he put his thoughts together. "I think we were so hung up on our own emotions that we didn't want to believe or even see the obvious signs! Starfire always liked Robin, you know that. . ." Changeling trailed off as he, too, looked to the ground.

"You mean 'loved'." Rachel stated more than asked.

"No. I think it was more of an obsession she had than love. Think about it; he was the first person to welcome her to Earth; he probably was her first kiss; he was the first person who helped her learn the many customs and ways of Earth; he never grew frustrated with her even though she was 180º in the opposite direction; and she thought the kindness he showed to her meant that he, too, 'loved' her like she thought she 'loved' him." He finally concluded. Even though it sounded logical, Rachel wasn't sure that was what she needed or even wanted to hear.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked warily, wanting to know the answer and dreading it altogether.

"He's been waiting for you for seven years, Raven. Don't you think you should ease his pain?" Raven knew he made sense, but she didn't feel right jumping back in his life after seven years and still claim to love him even though she had hurt him beyond compare.

"But how? I mean, I promised you all in the notes I left that I would never do anything more to hurt my friends." She told him with a strained voice as her eyes started to water.

"Raven, you hurt us by leaving." She hung her head as a few silent tears did slide down her cheeks. He's right. . . I did hurt them. I'm such an idiot! "But that one you can remedy." Her head shot up to look at his earnest face. It seemed that Beast Boy had finally grown up. It was initially a scary thought, but she definitely liked a good, reliable friend better than a pestering, little brother.

He eventually stood up and held his hand out to her, offering to pull her up. She smiled and gladly accepted the help, knowing what he meant by it. Let us help you to get on your feet again, Rae.

—

Cyborg had finally reached Titans Tower fifteen minutes later with an unconscious Nightwing in the backseat of the T-Car. He carried his limp body bridal style into the Tower and went into the elevator to the medical wing. Once there, he very gently placed Nightwing onto one of the cots, making sure he didn't start bleeding, again.

Cyborg cut open Nightwing's costume over his chest to examine his wound better. What he found astonished him. It was just a scab! And it was smaller than the bullet wound had been. Almost as if he had healed himself in a very short amount of time. . . or maybe someone else had. Someone like that girl; Rachel Roth. It couldn't be her. It just couldn't!

Could it?

Cyborg decided to leave the issue alone and dragged a chair over to Nightwing's bedside. For now he would watch over him until he woke up. It wouldn't be too much longer. Maybe ten minutes. Maybe a little more.

"Friend Cyborg?" Kori Anders walked into the medical wing wearing the costume she had as a Titan. Apparently she had gotten changed for Raven's Commemoration. "Yeah, Kori?" He asked her. "Where did Friend Changeling go?" She sounded worried and as much as he wanted to tell her he was in such-and-such place and would be back shortly, he couldn't.

"I dunno, Kori. He's probably just running some silly errand. He'll be back, soon. Don't worry. Why don't you go by the door and wait for him." He suggested after a moment of thought and Kori nodded at his idea.

Friend Cyborg says not to worry, and Friend Changeling will do the arriving at home soon. Kori said in her mind as she levitated by the door. I hope he has the rightness.

—

Changeling and Rachel had walked a long way after he had helped her up. He never told her where they were going. He didn't have to. I'm finally going home. . . She thought as she walked a step behind him. She felt like a huge boulder had been lifted off her chest, but she also felt sorrow. 'What if's were plaguing her mind. What if she had never left? What if the Titans had never disbanded? What if she had come back? What if Robin and she had kept their relationship a secret? What if— Shut up, mind! She screamed mentally. None of those ever happened and I may be able to stop time, but I can't change the past no matter how hard I try!

Changeling stopped when he saw her fall back a bit. She ran into him because she wasn't paying attention to the outside world. "What's wrong?" He asked her in concern.

"Will they welcome me with open arms? I mean, I'm the reason the Titans disbanded and are barely on speaking terms!" She clenched her teeth together and closed her eyes as she slowly shook her head.

"Raven. Look at me." She opened her eyes hesitantly. "If there is any emotion they are feeling right now, it is grateful. You just saved our friend's life."

"It's also my fault he was shot in the first place." Rachel said and walked past him. Changeling followed her as she took a turn in the opposite direction of the Tower, obviously leading to a different destination.

"Raven! Come back! I know when you left it hurt you to hurt all of us and leave the only family you ever had behind. I know what it feels like. Raven, the four of you are the only family I have left. Same with Cyborg; he lost his mother in that accident and who knows how many more precious people to him because of it, Star lives on an entirely different planet so she is regarded with fear everywhere she goes since she looks different and knows so little about the ways here, and you know Nightwing was orphaned at eight when he watched his parents die, don't you?" Raven bobbed her head just enough for Changeling to distinguish it and kept walking, gradually slowing down in pace. "If you know that, then why are you doing it again?" She stopped in her tracks. Why am I being so difficult? All they want is to see their friend again, and I am about to let the opportunity slip right through my fingers.

"Changeling?" She asked and turned around to face him. He wasn't so surprised that she had a tear slipping down her cheek.

"Yeah, Raven?" He asked patiently. He was ready to answer any question she might throw at him. He desperately wanted to have a family again. And Raven was a big part of that family.

"Why are the four of you here in Jump if you don't live here?" It was a valid question. Why would four former teammates that hardly kept in contact with each other be in the same city on the same day if none of them lived there?

"We're here to commemorate you." He told her. "When you left, we vowed to never forget our great teammate and even better friend. So every September 18th we come to Titans Tower. We care about you, Raven. Each and every one of us." Raven could tell he wasn't lying using her empathy and was deeply touched by the way her friends had chosen to remember her. Was she the only facet keeping the former team together?

"Okay, then." She wiped away the few tears on her face with her sleeve and exhaled in peace. "No more delays. Let's go home." She smiled and walked towards Changeling before continuing to Titans Tower.

—

Kori Anders had been levitating in a meditative position for twenty minutes waiting for any sign of Changeling. Nightwing was most likely up, now, though most likely not in the best of mood. For that reason, mainly, she decided not to go and check up on him. She was pondering over what had caused the sweet, fun-loving Robin to become the dark Nightwing. Was it because of Friend Ra—

DING DONG!

Kori perked up at the sound of the doorbell. She floated over to the door and, as she opened it, she not only found Changeling, but also a woman. She had long hair that seemed darker than ebony; it was almost as long as Kori's. She also had rich, tan skin, a curvy figure, stood at about 5'7'', and sad, blue eyes.

"Friend Changeling, it is most disrespectful to Friend Raven's Day of Commemoration to bring a guest that has not been the invited." Kori scolded Changeling in front of Rachel, making her feel unwelcome at her former home. It was just as she had feared.

"You don't understand, Kori. She's the nurse who saved Nightwing." Changeling said and Rachel wondered why he didn't announce her as Raven.

"I'm here to check up on him and make sure he is healing properly." She told Kori while winking at her companion for the past half hour or so.

"Oh! Forgive me for having the rudeness, Friend. . .?" Kori immediately apologized to her.

"Call me Rachel." The black-haired beauty told her best friend, followed by Kori squealing. "Friend Rachel. . . That has the tone of pleasantness to it." She smiled and hovered in the air, making Rachel feel shorter than before. "What is your favorite color? Do you have any pets? How old are you? Where do you live? Do you work at a hospitable? When did you—"

"Starfire!" Changeling cut her short by not so kindly yelling her former alias.

"Yes, Friend Changeling?" She asked sweetly as if he had never yelled at her.

"We should get her to the medical wing quickly. She needs to check on Nightwing. You can ask her all the questions you want later. But right now, getting her to Nightwing is our top priority." He explained to her and she enthusiastically nodded her head several times.

After walking to the elevator and going up several floors, they arrived at the medical wing. "Here is Friend Nightwing." Kori paused. "Be careful, he may not be so nice when he wakes up." At that, she walked down the hall towards the elevator to get to the bedroom she used as a Titan.

"Why is he asleep?" Rachel asked a shrugging Changeling.

"I dunno. Mayb—" CRASH!! Changeling flinched at the frightful noise, but Raven was used to doctors throwing medical appliances during temper tantrums that she only turned her head towards the door without even blinking. She clearly was not startled. This amazed and partially freaked out Changeling. What even scared him more was that she walked though the medical wing doors.

Nightwing was sitting up on a cot and Cyborg was standing near the medicinal products and paraphernalia. They were in a heated argument about Cyborg giving Nightwing a sedative. All fighting stopped, though, when the doors closed behind her, not exactly as quietly as she had hoped.

They both turned to look at her. "Who are you?!" Yelled Cyborg who was already losing his temper with Nightwing. "Who let you in? This is a private residence, and you're trespassing!"

Cyborg started walking over to Rachel but was stopped when a firm hand was placed on his shoulder, not allowing him to go forward. Cyborg looked at him half quizzical, half angered. "You're the girl from today. . ." Nightwing said as the woman before him nodded.

"Are you alright?" She asked him.

"Yes, thanks to you." He replied and she wondered how much he really knew.

Not knowing what else to say or to even say anything at all because of the awkward silence, Raven excused herself in the only way she could think of. "Good. I guess I'll be going, then." Rachel turned around but could and would not go any further because of the two muscular arms that wrapped around her waist.

"No. You're not going anywhere." Rachel's eyes widened as he said, "Not again."

—Fin—

A/N: Well, there is the second chapter. What do you think? I didn't have to take much out of this one. I mostly added to the paragraphs and kept the dialogue the same. Oh, and don't worry anti-BB/Rae people. NOTHING will happen between them. I merely added their conversation to show how much he had grown up and besides, Rachel needed someone to give her a little push. Just FYI, I'd say Changeling is about twenty-one in this story. Don't forget to review!

Signed,

Her Sappiness