"In bottom line, Logan is very sick."
"Can I see her?"
"Of course. Just follow nurse Ratchet there."
Rachel hadn't realised she had held Beast Boy's hand before she let it go to follow the nurse. Soon she was gone and Beast Boy turned to the doctor again.
"How is she, really?"
"As I said, she's sick, but she is a fighter."
"Yeah she has that from her mom."
"You're the father?"
"No."
"I know this might be unpleasant, but does she know who"
"Yes she knows who the father is."
The doctor looked a bit scared, but Beast Boy didn't care.
"He's in Africa."
"That was a new one."
"What do you mean?"
The doctor just looked down on the chart. Understanding a bit too late he had crossed the line.
"I asked you, what do you mean?"
"Well…"
"Now?"
"It's just, when a teenage mother doesn't know who the father is she usually make something up. But I have never heard of one in Africa."
Beast Boy didn't understand what had happened before he was holding the doctor up against the wall. He heard running before Cyborg and Robin tried to pry him of the doctor.
"BB you have to let go."
"Think of Logan. Killing her doctor doesn't help her."
He dropped the doctor and just looked at him. Cyborg grabbed him and pulled him out of the hospital.
"Damn B, what happened?"
"That quack dared to say that Rachel doesn't know who the father is, and has just been lying when she said he was in Africa."
He passed back and forth, clearly upset.
"She isn't Raven."
"What? I know that."
"She isn't Raven."
"I know."
He was screaming.
"I know Rach isn't Raven. Raven's gone. She left me. I know."
He stopped, and just looked down. Cyborg placed a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder.
"You know Rae. She had a very good reason to do what she did."
"Probably, but I would like to know what."
He started to breath normally. Robin and Starfire came up behind them.
"Adonis is going berserk down town. I need all of you."
"I don't want Rachel to be alone."
"Cassie is with her."
Beast Boy nodded, knowing him worrying for Rachel and Logan couldn't stop him from doing his duty to the city.
"Adonis picked a bad day to mess around."
Then he morphed to a hawk and flew off, the rest of the team following him.
--
"How is she?"
Rachel couldn't pry her eyes away from the thing in the bed, almost more tubes and machine than baby.
"She doesn't grip my finger anymore."
She was crying, but didn't care. Cassie, wearing the same green hospital clothing as Rachel, sat down next to her and placed a friendly arm around her.
"Where are the others?"
"Something down town. They had to leave."
Silence. With the exception of the machine now breathing for the child and the wind blowing outside.
"Maybe you should try contact Alex."
"Alex? Why?"
"He's her father."
"And what do you want me to say? Hi Alex, remember me, the girlfriend you left behind to study animals in Africa. I forgot, we have a child together, and she is dying."
She angrily dried her eyes with her free hand.
"Wow."
"What?"
Her voice was harder than anything Cassie had ever heard before.
"Nothing, it's just, for as long as I have known you, you have never said a mean word about him. On the contrary you have defended him and his choice with all that you've got. It's just weird to hear you lash out at him."
"She's dying. Our daughter is dying, and because he found African animals more important than me I have to go through this alone."
Cassie cried, and laid both arms around Rachel. Without letting go of her daughter's hand she placed one arm around Cassie and cried against her shoulder.
"I begged him not to go, but he had to. One year. Just think about all the things I can learn in one year. He is a liar and a jerk for putting me through this alone."
"I agree Rach. He is a jerk and when he does come home we can throw things at him to punish him."
She made a sound between a laugh and a cry.
"But you know you aren't alone. You have me, Starfire, Cyborg, Robin, Beast Boy."
Cassie started to pet Rachel's hair, and soon the crying was calmed down to a gentile sob.
"Why did he leave me? Why wasn't I enough?"
"Because he is a stupid jerk, who don't know a good thing when it bites him on the nose."
New sounds between laugh and cry.
"Oh Cassie, what would I do without you?"
"Sit alone with your new titan friends all day long I guess."
They were both laughing now. Rachel moved her face so she was facing Logan, but still resting on Cassie's shoulder.
"I'm so scared."
"I know, but it will be okay Rach. She'll be okay."
--
The room was dark, and only the occasional car light passing by gave any light inside the room. But Beast Boy didn't need more than that. He quickly walked around the bed and sat down next to a sleeping Rachel. He looked at Logan. Her eyes started to twitch before she slowly opened her eyes. Beast Boy was mesmerised by the young girl's firm stare. He didn't know if they looked at one another for a few minutes of hours, but he couldn't look away before the girl closed her eyes again.
"Rach wake up. Logan looked at me."
With some trouble Rachel opened her eyes, before his message seemed to get through. She quickly looked at her daughter, just to be disappointed.
"She's sleeping Beast Boy."
"She was awake. She looked straight at me. I swear."
Rachel yawned before pushing the call button.
"I believe you."
Then a young nurse with black hair came in, bringing her all the yellow light of a ceiling pear.
"She woke up, get doctor Roberts."
"I'll call him right away."
Then the nurse left.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not letting her wake up alone."
Rachel smiled at him, and Beast Boy felt his heart stop beating for a moment.
"And thank you."
"What for?"
"For believing me."
"Of course. You're my friend Beast Boy."
She took his hand, and he felt chills go through his entire body.
--
"Sakutia."
"What?"
"She suffers from sakutia."
Rachel couldn't understand. She had barley heard of the disease.
"And you are one hundred present sure."
Rachel looked at Beast Boy and thought he was strangely pale.
"Yes."
Beast Boy swore, before sitting down. The three other titans shared a look. Cassie seemed just as clueless as Rachel.
"Have you been to the zoo or has Logan been in contact with any African animals?"
"Not to my knowledge."
Rachel felt all the blood rush from her face.
"What is sakitea?"
"Sakutia is a deadly, very rear, not contagious, disease."
"And you say Logan has this sakatia?"
"Sakutia. Yes. But the odd thing is that isn't what's making her sick."
"It's not?"
"No it's the antibodies, which she also has."
Rachel was confused, as was, by the looks of it, everyone else.
"So she has this disease, but it's not the disease that is making her sick, but the cure."
"Yes. You know how your body gets sick sometime when you get a vaccine. It's sort of the same principals."
"But will she get well."
The doctor looked down, before shaking unknowingly on his head.
"I don't know. This is the most peculiar incident I have ever seen. A person has both the illness and the cure in her system, naturally. I think she is her own safe bet. So we are going to keep her here, keep her warm, feed, watch her vitals and just wait."
Rachel nodded, before looking at her daughter again. Beast Boy took an unwillingly step back, towards the door. Rachel looks up. Her eyes blank.
"You are scared of her?"
"No."
"Then why are you sneaking out the door?"
Beast Boy looked unhappy at the three others titans, to the girl in the bed to Rachel.
"I… I have sakutia."
"What?"
"I have sakutia, and the antibodies to go with them. They are kind of the reason I have the power to morph."
"You made Logan sick?"
Rachel rose. Her eyes glowed with rage, and Beast Boy started to shake. Half of fear, half of guilt.
"Answer me Beast Boy, did you make Logan sick?"
"I don't know."
"Get out."
Her voice was ringing, making the room shake.
"Get out Beast Boy before I throw you out."
He didn't answer, just skulked out. The rest of the team following quietly. The doctor left too, without a word. Rachel sat down, her body shaking with fury and sorrow, before turning to her child.
"Rach?"
"Just go away."
"But Rach."
Cassie tried to touch her, but Rachel just brushed her of.
"I need some time alone Cassie."
"Okay, if that is what you need."
Rachel ignored how thick Cassie's voice was, before she rose and left the room. First when the door slammed shut behind her broke Rachel down and cried over Logan's sleeping body.
--
"Robin I need a word with you in the sick bay."
"But…"
"Now."
Robin sighed, kissed his sleeping girlfriend on the forehead before leaving his bedroom and walking down the hall to the med bad.
"What?"
"Look at this."
Robin walked over and looked at the screen Cyborg was looking at. DNA. He sighed.
"I thought we agreed not to test Logan or Rachel."
"You agreed, but come on you have to agree that Logan getting the same disease as Beast Boy is a heck of a coincidence."
"So is she?"
Cyborg shook his head.
"Rachel isn't Raven."
"I knew it."
"But I did find out something odd."
He moved something around and suddenly something flashed green as two identical DNA streams were pulled one on top of the other.
"Guess who is the father of Rachel's child."
"I give up."
"Beast Boy."