"A conversation goes sometimes into personal things and that's nicer. You look to each other and you have a different picture; you get into a relationship." - Maximilian Schell

Chapter 4

Their hands broke and fell to their sides. Raven eyed him warily, but Richard just smiled charmingly[1]. He motioned to the seat across from her.

"Mind if I sit down?" he questioned, humored by her expression. She gestured to the chair and he smiled again, graciously. He pulled the chair out and it made a slight screech across the floor. Richard sat down as Raven placed her book on the table, mentally logging in her head what page she ended on. She continued to look at him with caution. His smile only grew as he began a conversation. "Sherry tells me you're the new doc in town." he said, his eyes flicking to where Sherry stood at the counter. Happy the conversation didn't start with a cheesy pickup line or anything overly personal, Raven felt it was fine to take part in the exchange…for now. She let out an amused sigh.

"She assured me she was one of the few who knew, but if she tells every person who walks in here, the whole town will know by the end of the day," Raven said. Richard laughed good-naturedly at her response.

"Want me to speed up the process? I know the guy who runs the newspaper and I can get a story on you done and passed through the town by five tonight," he joked. Raven smiled. Not a big smile, but a small upturn at the corners of her mouth. The action drew Richard's attention to her lips. In his initial observation, he had missed how full and dark they were. They seemed to be naturally redder than the typical pinkish hue of most. He shook his head slightly, willing the thoughts away[2]. This was not the time. "So, Doctor, where are you from?"

"Blüdhaven[3]," she answered simply, knowing that the state was not necessary. Everyone knew where Blüdhaven was as it made the national news about weekly due to it's crime-ridden streets.

"What a coincidence," Richard chuckled, "I'm from Gotham myself." Raven's expression became sympathetic.

"I'm sorry," she said, sounding sincere, but laughter was swirling in her eyes.

"Hey! I do not appreciate your mockery!" Richard accused, his smile still ever growing. "It's not like Blüdhaven is much better anyway," he shot back.

"No, but we only make the national news weekly. You all seem to be on every time I turn on my television," she stated bluntly. "So, Mr. Grayson, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" she asked, the caution coming back full force[4]. She found she was enjoying their conversation too much and, frankly, that was not okay with her. She did not have conversations with random strangers, let alone conversations she enjoyed.

"Call me Richard," he stated, his smile still plastered on his face as he shrugged. "Sherry mentioned something about you so I wanted to be one of the first to introduce myself and offer you a tour of the city." Raven raised an eyebrow. "Jump may not be as dangerous as Gotham or Blüdhaven, but it still isn't the safest place in the world. I'm on the police force so I can help you steer clear of the more hazardous areas in town," he explained. He could see her visibly tense and immediately knew what she was thinking. "I'm not like the cops where you're from, trust me. They're the reason I left Gotham to pursue criminal justice somewhere completely different," he assured her, knowing that every cop in Gotham and Blüdhaven was crooked in some way. Cops were the last people you called if something went wrong in those cities[5]. "I'm not technically a cop anyway. I'm a detective in the homicide department." Raven made a 'hnn' noise in the back of her throat.

"A homicide detective? No offense intended to you, but I surely hope we do not see much of each other through work," Raven said, crossing her arms over her chest. Richard's smile suddenly turned smug, though she could see the light-heartedness in his ice-blue eyes.

"So you wouldn't mind seeing much of me, as long as it's not through work? Well, I'm glad you enjoy my companionship," he said. Raven's face remained neutral, but she was betrayed by light blush that dusted her cheeks.

"Companionship?" she asked, incredulously. "I only met you a mere five minutes ago. I hardly count that as enough time to form any type of relationship, let alone a relationship as profound as companionship." Richard laughed again.

"Alright, were not companions. More along the lines of acquaintances then," he tried again. She gave a nod of approval. As she nodded, Richard's work buzzer began vibrating, beeping, and flashing a tiny red light.

"You know," Raven started saying to no one in particular, "it isn't exactly comforting seeing a homicide detective's pager go off." Richard grabbed the pager, getting it to stop, and stood up from his chair.

"Welcome, again, to Jump City," he said, all the teasing gone from his voice. "I do hope we'll see a lot of each other…hopefully not through work, but if you become a regular here at the café, which I can guarantee since Bill and Sherry have the best teas and coffees in the city, we will be seeing one another quite often," he smirked. "Maybe we can work on getting that whole acquaintance thing to companionship."

Raven was quiet for a moment before she responded, her voice low and controlled. "Yes, maybe we can," she stated simply. Richard turned to leave, but stopped as she called his name. "You still owe me a tour of the city."

He twisted to face her. "When are you free?" he asked and Raven could tell he was trying to disguise something in his voice. What that was, however, she didn't know.

"Anytime before one any day of the week" came the short answer. Richard smiled.

"How does Wednesday sound? We can meet here at the café, if you like," he suggested. Raven smiled and he could tell this was the first real smile he had seen on her, as it nearly took his breath away.

"That sounds fine," Raven agreed. Richard gave her one more charming smile before turning to leave.

xxxxx

As Richard was leaving he saw Sherry staring him down. He returned her stare and she motioned her hand as if asking, 'So?'

Richard flashed her a brilliant smile and slightly shrugged his shoulders. He opened the door of the café and ventured to his car.

'Well,' he thought, 'that was certainly different.' He pressed the button to unlock his car and slipped in to the driver's seat. 'What have I gotten myself into?' He thought about his conversation with Raven. She was intelligent, witty, reserved, wise, and very beautiful. 'I am completely taken by this woman after a ten minute conversation. I've gone soft,' he concluded[6].

His cell phone rang, bringing him out of his thoughts and back to the real world. He suddenly remembered that he had a job and was about to be deported. He flipped open the cell phone.

"Grayson here."

xxxxx

Raven watched Richard leave the café and slumped back into her chair. 'What have I gotten myself into?' she thought. 'And since when did I agree to let total strangers give me tours. He could be a mass murderer, posing as detective to make me less suspicious, planning my brutal death…okay, probably not, but nevertheless, this isn't me.'

She looked up at the clock on the wall. 7:00. She still had six hours before work started. 'What can I do for six hours? I could finish unpacking, I suppose.'

Raven stood up from her seat and walked over to Sherry. She wanted to thank her again and tell her how wonderful the tea was. Sherry saw her approaching and smiled kindly.

"Raven, dear, how was your tea?" she asked.

"It was very good. The best I've had," Raven said truthfully, knowing that this café will be her haven thanks to its owners, atmosphere, and tea.

Sherry smiled. "Well thank you," she said, humbly. She looked as though she wanted to say something, but quickly decided against it. "Have a good day, dear, and please come back soon. And have a wonderful first day of work," Sherry settled on. Raven thanked Sherry again and assured her that she would be back tomorrow. As Raven started to leave, she called to Sherry in a quiet voice.

"Richard is giving me a tour of the city Wednesday," and with that she was gone. Sherry could hardly contain herself as she went back to work[7].

xxxxx

Richard and Roy simultaneously sat down on the bench in the locker room. They were the last two people in the JCPD building as they, as the official homicide detectives, got stuck with all the paperwork. The case, in the end, wasn't as complicated as originally thought. When Richard and Roy first received notification of the murders, they thought it was connected to the drug ring going on in the poorer areas of Jump City and were dreading dealing with all the guys in the narcotics department. However, after much investigation and stakeouts, they discovered the murders were simply the doing of an overly jealous boyfriend who was not happy that the three men had been hitting on his girl at the bar. So after a minor gun hold up, the case was closed and Richard and Roy were finally free to go home.

Roy was unbuttoning his work shirt when he noticed how distant Richard looked. He was just going through the motions, hardly paying any attention to what he was doing.

"Rich, you okay?" Roy asked. Richard physically jolted out of his dazed state and tried his most reassuring smile. Roy saw right through it, however, and narrowed his eyes, demanding the truth. Richard sighed.

"I'm fine, Roy. Just tired. The whole case today, no sleep last night, the Slade assignment, this girl I met this morning, and Alfred wanting me to visit Gotham has me all stressed out," he admitted, purposefully skipping over the fact that he faced deportation. Despite this long list, Roy only heard one thing.

"Wait- did you say a girl you met this morning[8]?" Roy leered and Richard nearly smacked himself on the forehead.

"Yeah, at the café," Richard affirmed, suddenly changing much faster than he previously was. Roy smirked.

"Uh-huh. So what happened?" Roy pressed. Richard glared at the redhead. When it came to his personal relationships, Roy was worse than any woman with the gossip.

"I walked in and Sherry told me there was a new doctor in town. Told me to go over there, introduce myself, offer a tour of the town, stuff like that ya' know," Richard explained.

"So she's the new doctor in town…who's she replacing?" Roy questioned, mentally going through the doctors he new at the Jump City Hospital.

"Dr. Kane," Richard answered, hoping that the subject would drop. When it came to Roy Harper though, that was unlikely.

"What's the new doc's name? And is she smoking hot? 'Cause I don't think she would be on your mind through an entire case if she wasn't," Roy grinned.

"Her name is Raven Roth. She's smart and sharper than a serpent's tooth. Definitely a force to be reckoned with," Richard answered, skirting around the second question as he packed up his bag.

"And you'll love the challenge[9]," Roy said as Richard stood up to leave. "Did she agree to let you give her a tour?"

Yep," Richard started as he began walking toward the exit. As he reached the threshold to the men's locker room he stopped and stood there for a moment. "She was gorgeous," he said and then he was gone.

It was at that moment Roy, Richard's longtime best friend, knew that Richard was already in love and didn't even realize it. Roy snorted. As thick as he was, he probably never would either[10].

xxxxx

It was nine o'clock that evening and Raven let out a sigh of relief. She was sitting in her office after her first day of work and it couldn't have gone better. The emergency room wasn't too busy, but it was busy enough to where she did have to work. Between the entire staff on duty, they had people in and out of the hospital in a great amount of time, each patient fixed or on their way to being fixed of whatever their problem happened to be. The worst one was a victim of a car crash. Raven handled that personally. By the time she was done patching up the poor boy, he only needed a couple weeks of rest before he'd be back on his feet. Raven had prided herself at the impressed look in Dr. Jones' eyes.

As Raven began putting papers in her briefcase she heard a knock on her office door. She looked up to meet the emerald eyes of Kori Anders.

"Hi, Kori," Raven greeted, signifying that the girl could come into her office. Kori walked in and stood in front of Raven's desk.

"Hello, Raven, I was merely wondering how your first day went?" Kori asked kindly.

"It went very well, thank you, Kori," Raven answered, secretly in awe of how nice this one human being could be. Kori smiled, one that reached ear to ear, and clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Oh, I am most pleased!" she shrieked before her expression became shy. "Raven? I was also wondering…" Kori trailed off.

"Yes?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow for the girl to continue.

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to have the party of slumber at my apartment?" Kori questioned timidly. The awkwardness of Kori saying the 'party of slumber' made Raven do a mental note to ask Kori where exactly she was from[11].

At the mention of a slumber party, Raven shuddered and began thinking of ways to gently break it to the girl. But at the hopeful shine in Kori's eyes and the slight pout the girl's lips had taken, Raven found herself unable to say no. After all, Kori had been nothing but completely welcoming and kind since she arrived. She let out a defeated sigh.

"Sure, Kori, I'd love to," she lied. Kori squealed and ran behind the desk to pull Raven in a bear hug. "This will be so much fun! We can give each other makeovers, watch movies, eat ice cream, braid each other's hair, have pillow fights…" Kori continued on and on. In the meantime, Raven was suffocating as Kori had quite the grip on her.

"Kori," Raven choked out. "Oxygen." Kori looked down a the girl who was suddenly turning blue and let go immediately. Raven started heaving heavily, trying to get her breath back as Kori rubbed the back of her own head sheepishly.

"I am terribly sorry, Raven. I sometimes forget how to control my strength," Kori said and Raven made another mental note to get Kori's workout schedule.

"It is fine, Kori," Raven assured the girl. "When would you like to have this…slumber party," Raven gagged.

"How is Wednesday?" Kori offered, wanting to do the hanging out with Raven as soon as possible. Raven began to agree, anything to get out of this room, but suddenly remember something.

"I'm sorry, Kori, I can't Wednesday. I'm supposed to get a tour of the town," Raven recalled.

"That is fine. How is Friday instead? That way we do not have to worry about work the next day," Kori suggested again.

"That sounds perfect," Raven said, standing up to leave.

"Who is giving you a tour of our beloved town?" Kori asked, wanting to know every person Raven had met since she arrived. 'Maybe it is one of my own friends! Then all of us could do the hanging out together!'

"A detective. I believe he said his name was Richard," Raven said. Kori cocked her head.

"Richard Grayson?" she questioned. Raven nodded.

"Do you know him?" Raven asked again. The more information she had before letting herself be alone with him the better.

"Yes, we dated," Kori said with a smile. Raven felt her stomach drop.

"Oh, Kori, I'm sorry. I didn't know," Raven started, feeling guilty. Kori slightly cocked her head again, a look of confusion on her innocent face.

"Why are you apologizing?" she asked. Suddenly it dawned on her and Kori laughed. "Oh, you believe it would bring up bitter feelings. No, I am not upset! Richard and I ended our very brief relationship unanimously. There are no hard feelings between us. We still talk regularly," Kori swore. Raven breathed another sigh of relief and began her journey to the door[12].

"Goodnight, Kori. And thank you for your kindness," Raven said softly.

"Goodnight, Raven," Kori spoke. "You are most welcome." With that Raven exited the door. But not before hearing Kori call after her in an excited squeal. "You and Richard would be most adorable together[13]!"

Raven walked faster.

xxxxx

AN: Hello, everyone! I'm sorry this chapter is a little late! Raven refused to speak throughout the entire thing. Every time I would write something it seemed as though Richard was the only one talking and Raven was out of character. Anyway, now that they met, things should get a little easier to write from here! So look forward to chapter five soon!

I'm going to begin replying to reviews individually instead of in my author's note.

But I do want to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, author alerted, etc., me and this story. It really means the world to me!

If anyone sees any grammar mistakes (misspelled words, incorrect verb tense, etc) please tell me!

[1]- Despite his cartoon counterpart's one-woman behavior, Richard Grayson is a serial flirt. He knows how to flirt, he knows he is good looking, and takes full advantage of this.

[2]- I believe in lust at first sight. And I can see Richard lusting much faster than Raven would.

[3]- Blüdhaven is a town in New York that rivals Gotham with it's crime.

[4]- Raven is very paranoid, especially with people she doesn't know. Caution would be a very prominent trait with her.

[5]- Gotham and Blüdhaven both have corrupt police forces. There are exceptions, like Commissioner Gordon in Gotham, but in general you don't trust cops there.

[6]- Richard seems like the type to fall quickly and end it quickly. So he is much more aware of his attraction to Raven. It scares him, however, that this attraction is to her personality and mind, not just her body.

[7]- Raven, though she has no powers here, is good at reading people. She would be able to see that Sherry wanted to ask her about Richard but changed her mind for Raven's sake.

[8]- Roy is more of a womanizer than Richard. Richard has been so caught up with work he really had avoided relationships, even one night stands, for about three years to focus on the Slade case. Roy would definitely notice.

[9]- Richard's a detective, adrenaline junky, and former acrobat. He loves challenges.

[10]- Roy is in fact the first person to realize how serious this situation is long before it even occurs. Part of that is because he is Richard's longtime best friend and the other is simply because the same thing happened to him. That will be explained later.

[11]- Kori will be a foreigner. Any suggestions as to where she should be from?

[12]- Kori and Richard's relationship will be explained in greater depth later but they did end it mutually and there are absolutely no hard feelings. They both just want the other to be happy.

[13]- Kori would automatically place Richard and Raven next to each other in her head, realize the similarities and how "cute" they were together. It's just a Kori thing.

Thank you everyone again! Any suggestions, feedback, etc, is greatly appreciated!