I finally reveal Red X's alter ego in this chapter. I have no idea who he is so I just made one up for him.

Raven's Nest-part 4

Robin sits at the counter stuffed as the usual night time crowd starts to filter into the diner. He lays out money to pay the bill and money for tip as well. He is about to leave when a very pale young dark haired girl enters the diner. He watches as the waitress turns to her clearly concerned and quickly ushers her over to a booth. The girl looks enough like Raven except for the hair color and he doesn't see a gem stone on her forehead. He wonders if just maybe this could be her. He sits where he is listening to the exchange between the two.

Doris gets Rachel seated at a booth. "What's wrong honey? You look as pale as a ghost."

"Two babies."

Doris can barely make out that she mumbled something about the baby. "Did something happen? Should I call the doctor?"

"I just came from the doctor." She looks up a little more with it now.

"What did he say is the baby okay?"

"Babies."

"I can't tell what you're saying honey."

Raven just looks up at Doris-unable to speak for a few moments. "Twins..."

"Did you say twins?"

She only nods as she looks up at Doris still in shock from the news.

"Oh honey...you're scared aren't you?"

Raven just nods again.

"Don't you worry. Everything is going to be okay." She glances back at the stranger. If he is the one that Rachel left then it might not be the best thing for her to meet up with him right now. The girl has had a big shock and needs sometime to calm down. She motions Pete over who watches from the kitchen. Doris looks up when he comes over. "Call Old Harley and have him come pick up Rachel. She needs to go home and rest."

"You okay darling?"

"Twins..."

He turns to Doris. "Did she say twins?"

Doris nods. "She's in shock right now."

Pete goes back behind the counter to call over to the apartments. He shakes his head slightly as he looks up the number. Everyone had fallen in love with the sweet girl. She hadn't said why she left whatever guy she was with-but if ever she needs him its now. He picks up the phone and dials Harley's number when he finds it. "Hey there Harley...this is Pete. Doris wanted me to call you. Rachel's here...just came in after her doctor's appointment and she's pretty worked up...most gals in her situation eat for two...but in her case its three." He looks up as it starts to pour down the rain again. "Yeah doc says twins-Doris was wondering if you would come and take her home...alright...I'll let her know." Pete hangs up the phone and walks back over to Doris and Rachel. "Harley will be here in a little while." He slides into the booth across from the girls. "Don't you worry darling...everything is going to be fine. Folks around here will help you out with whatever you need." He pats her hand before he gets up and goes back to the kitchen.

"Pete's right honey. Now you just wait here for Harley."

Raven looks out the window at the falling rain. She has never longed for home as much as she does right now. It was a night very much like this one is shaping out to be when it hit her as to just exactly what Robin had said that night in the warehouse. Even though she left Red X she doubts he would let her come back.

Robin watches as tears fall from the girl's eyes. Is she Raven? Now isn't really the time to find out. He turns to the waitress after she takes a glass of water to the girl. "Looks like its getting pretty nasty out there." Thunder rumbles in the distance as if to back him up. "Is there a motel or something around here?"

"Nancy has a boarding house. Just take the first right off main street-you can't miss the big sign out front. Tell her Doris sent you." She glances over at Rachel. "What brings you out this way?"

He decides to keep his real reason for coming here to himself. "Just traveling for the summer. I like to get off the main roads and look for the little known sights."

"We don't have much around here aside from Old Harley's three legged dog. There are some places in the surrounding mountains though. You should stop in at the bookstore and talk to Seth. I've lived here all my life and I've never met anyone from the area that knows these mountains like him."

"I'll stop by thanks."

"You aren't going out on this weather are you?"

"I've been out in the rain all day. I'll be fine as long as I beat the storm." He turns looking at the girl one more time. He should be able to tell if its Raven from their bond-he tracked her to that warehouse with it-but it seems she shut that down several months ago. He can't blame her after the way he acted...he could have been more sympathizing to what was happening to her. At the time he was just pissed that he found her playing cat and mouse with the enemy out of all the people in the city. He goes back out to his motorcycle and heads off to the boarding house.

Red X hasn't left finding Raven to chance. He spent many long hours pouring over security footage from the bus station the night that Raven disappeared. She obviously didn't made it easy to spot her. He didn't know whether or not to look for the long hair that she had since he found her that night in the warehouse. She easily could have cut her hair. One thing he was sure of from the beginning was that she didn't look like former Teen Titan Raven when she boarded the bus. One very lost and scared looking girl had stuck out to him from the beginning. He researched the records from the bus station and found out the bus broke down in the small town that he drives into now. Despite the pouring rain this place very much seems to be what Beast Boy describes. He pulls the car off the side of the road as someone on a motorcycle rides down main street. If he finds Raven here he has no idea how to approach her. Just going up to her and claiming to be Red X doesn't seem like the best idea.

Harley does a double take at the fancy car on the side of the road as he heads to the diner. He thinks the Roth girl must be scared out of her mind right now. Being here in a strange place alone would scare anyone--but to be here alone and pregnant with twins...he really feels sorry for the young girl. He drives on to the diner and parks in the closest open space to the door. He grabs an umbrella and rushes inside. He finds Doris sitting there in a booth with young Rachel. He thinks she's still a baby herself and here she is about to have two babies of her own.

Doris glances up as Harley comes in. "Here's old Harley. You need to go home and get some rest. Okay honey?"

Raven nods her head. Some sleep sounds like a very good thing right now. She is very aware of everyone else in the diner staring at her as Doris helps her up. Word travels fast in this small town. It had taken all of a few hours the day after the bus left her here for word that she was pregnant to spread. She can only imagine what they must be thinking right now. She looks up as Pete comes over to her and helps Harley get her out to the truck.

Pete holds an umbrella over Rachel as she gets into the truck. As Harley rushes around to the driver side, Pete hands Rachel a sack of food he put together in the kitchen. He shushes her before she can say no. "You make sure those babies get plenty to eat."

She watches Pete close the door and rush back inside the diner. She doubts that there is a nicer place on Earth with kinder people in it. She sits quietly on the way to the apartments watching the rain streak across the window. The expensive car stopped on the side of the road catches her attention. It looks just like something she is sure that Red X would have had. She finds herself longing for him more than ever as she looks back at the car.

"Fancy car eh?"

Raven looks over at Harley. "Yeah." The rest of the ride remains quiet save for the rain and the ever increasing rumble of thunder and flashes of lightening streak across the sky. The apartments aren't that far away from downtown-easily within walking distance-but it isn't a good idea for anyone to be out right now.

"Looks like we got here just in time. If its still raining tomorrow you wait for me to run you downtown."

She looks over at Harley as he stops the truck in front of the apartments. "Why don't you come in and have some of this food. There is way too much for just me."

"I thank you, but I had just got back from supper at my daughter's house when Pete called. She sent me a bunch of left overs to last for days. Maybe another time okay?"

"Okay."

Harley gets out of the truck and comes over to Raven's side-holding the umbrella over her as she gets out makes her way into the building. He walks her all the way to her unit. "You give me a call if you need anything."

"Thank you."

He turns as Helen opens the door of her apartment.

"Oh thank goodness, I was getting so worried."

"I picked her up from the diner. If its alright why don't you sit with Rachel for awhile. I think she's still pretty shaken up."

"Twins right dearie? That's what I thought of as soon as soon as Martha did her grandmother's old test."

Raven just nods her head as she unlocks the door.

Both Helen and Harley are shocked by how little is in the apartment when the lights are turned on. The only appliances are the stove and fridge that came with the place. And the old furniture left by the last tenants. The sleeper bed is folded out from the sofa.

She turns sensing what they're thinking. "I was only going to get what I absolutely needed and save everything else to take care of the...well babies now."

Helen turns to Harley. "Can you move that furniture from my spare room in here?"

"No I can't--"

"--Nothing in that room has been used for years. Everything is just in there collecting dust and you could use it. I've made up my mind so don't try to argue with me."

"Trust me-there is no point in arguing with her. Let me go up and see if Jesse is busy."

Helen watches Harley leave. "Now have you had dinner yet dearie? I was just about to cook."

"Pete sent over some food from the diner...way too much for just me. You can stay and eat with me...and I won't take no for answer."

"You're going to fit in around here just fine dearie."

Red X gets out of the car at the diner. He grew up in a small town not unlike this one-so in a way he feels like he is coming home. He watches amused as all the guys turn an envious eye to his car. It's always been a prize of his-but he would gladly give it up just to have Raven back right now. He wishes that she would have just come to him instead of leaving. He had only been interested in the sex at first...but somewhere along the way she started to grow on him. He didn't just want her when her urges hit-he wanted her all the time. He realizes as he takes a seat at the bar that he may be the world class thief-but Raven is the one who stole his heart.

Doris checks out the new stranger-she can't remember the last time they got two strangers in town in the same day-let alone three in little more than a week. "Looks like you just beat the storm."

"Yeah...its pretty bad out there on the main highway right now."

"So what brings you out this way..."

"My name is Kevin."

I stopped here for a reason...if you get why I did it then you deserve a gold star. If you don't get it then you'll have to go back to the first story "Ruffled Feathers". So Red X and Robin are both in town now. I wonder what's going to happen when they both figure out who the other is...yeah I haven't gotten that far yet. I don't even know what is going to happen when Raven figures out who they both are yet. All I have planned out is the ending scene-which was the best part of the original story I turned into this one. Lots of stuff still has to happen before I get to it though.

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