Chapter Seven: His Return

Rated T: for use of alcohol and language.

Disclaimer: Don't own the Teen Titans.

Previously on PMA: Rachel met Malcolm, a college student, at the local library and the two began dating. This caused Richard to second guess his decision about confessing to Rachel. Instead he asked her to join him to a vacation trip but she refuses since she would be spending time with Malcolm. Everything went downhill the moment he joked about her spending too much time with him and so the two got into a fight and refused to speak to each other. Later Kori has been waiting for Richard at his house in hopes of finding comfort after her break up with Xavier so he offers the trip to her which she later accepts. Meanwhile Rachel and Malcolm hit an awkward and rushed moment that ends up causing a second fight for Rachel. The first couple of days while in Hawaii Richard and Kori spend time with each other in hopes of making the other feel better about their situation, but around Christmas Eve, things got hot and heavy between them.

Azar - Rachel's grandmother, Arella's mother.

December 20 - December 27

Rachel woke up the next morning with a serious headache. Last night was not exactly what she had hoped for, it all went down hill the moment Malcolm crossed the line with her. She was no nun but that isn't the only reason one should protect their virtue. She could tell that it was exactly where he was headed but she wasn't ready yet. And he happened to be more than eager to take that from her. She was mostly disappointed with her self for having such a stupid fight with him, in the end she was left alone at with Jenn at Mason's party. She was pissed off enough to drink her weight in alcohol. Well, that was a bit of exaggeration but it would explain her migraine.

She exhaled in frustration, hoping out of bed and headed straight to the dresser for her phone. No messages and no missing calls. Great. Maybe she should call him and apologize to him. Oh why did he always make it feel like it was her fault? She didn't need him mad at her too.

Right then her phone vibrated in her hand. She scowled when Jenn's name blinked on the screen. "Hey." She answered in a not so nice voice.

"Ooh grouchy. How'd you sleep? You looked pretty shitfaced last night." Why did Jenn have to scream in her ear?

Right then she caught her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was a complete mess, her make up was no better. "Still do." She stepped closer towards her reflection, noting her paler than normal skin. She did a quick 180 to avoid looking at her self.

"Anyways I called to ask if you wanted to go shopping with me. I really don't wanna leave my Christmas shopping till last minute."

She placed her phone between her should as she began fiddling through her closet for a fresh set of clothes. "You're pushing it already. Oh whatever, I need to go anyways."

"Alright, pick you up in an hour then."

"Kay, bye."

After a quick shower and finishing getting dressed, she headed for the kitchen and made her father some breakfast, as she usually would on his day off.

Ever since her parents began to argue, or at least when she caught them, they both seemed to become more distant with each other. She casually asked her father about her whereabouts to throw him off, because as far as they knew their issues were still private. He merely answered with some excuse of her not feeling well then went back to reading his paper.

Only a blind man would miss the hurt and anguish that crossed his face. Before she was about to speak again she heard the door bell, Jenn saved her.

For several hours the girls hoped from store to store, taking their time looking for the perfect gift for their friends. Rachel even stopped by a toy store, telling Jenn to meet up with her later at the Hot Topic store, while she shopped for her favorite kids. Melvin, Timmy and even the little Teether would love to have Rachel visit them before the Christmas. Last time she saw those three was at the end of summer. She had to get back to school and could no longer watch over them in the mornings.

After paying for the toys, she intended to go straight to meet up with Jenn but the jewelry store across from her sparked an idea inside her. She quickly walked into the store, and no more than ten minutes later she rushing out with a small bag. When she entered Hot Topic, she didn't see her friend so she walked around while looking through stores items (rolling her eyes at all the sparkley vampire and shirtless werewolves accessories). Again she looked at the entrance hoping to find Jenn, but nothing yet.

To kill time, Rachel checked off her gift list mentally to make sure she had everything in order. For her father she'd gotten him the missing part to his telescope. As weird as it sounded, her favorite past time with her father were the momments where they would both watch the stars, and occasionally shooting stars. The tradition began for as young as she could remember though, but as she grew older (and as every fourteen year old knew, it was so uncool to hang out with your parents) their time spent together had become less and less frequent because frankly neither of them had time. The last time she remember doing that was over a year ago on his birthday, and so because she got a bit too excited about seeing a special meteor she accidentally knocked over the telescope. His telescope that he once shared with his father. Lucky for her the antique shop had what she was looking for.

As for her mother's gift, Rachel had been working on it for most of the year now. She had scavenged through their collection of family photos and made a scrapbook for her. Granted it was the same gift she gave ever since she was five years old, but it held new memories of the year. That one was completely wrapped with a white bow, tucked away safely in her closet.

She already bought Richards gift a long time ago and had been waiting for the perfect time to give it to him. Her safest bet was on the last day of school, knowing in advance that he would have his yearly trip and so for the first time since they've been best friends, they wouldn't see each other on Christmas day. Obviously she hadn't been able to give it to him all thanks to his jealousy. She ended up eating his personalized M&M's out of anger and his sliver chained bracelet, along with the engraved dogtags were still safely in her locker. It had taken her some time to find the right gift for a guy who could literally have whatever he wanted with a snap of his fingers, so she felt proud of her gift. It would be even better if that said friend had appreciated her better lately.

Jenn was happy enough with the concert tickets for her favorite metal band, Jinxed (her obsession with the only female lead singer was apparent through her pink highlights in her hair). Front row tickets were a plus.

As for Malcolm-

"Rae!" Jenn appeared at the only entrance to the store, quickly making her way towards her friend. "I'm all done. I'm getting hungry, lets get a quick bite before we go."

With a nod, Rachel followed her to the food court. Moments later they were munching on curly fries. It was more like Jenn attacking the fries while Rachel continued to nibble on her first fry with an empty look on her face. Jenn stopped and slammed her hand down on the table, startling Rachel. All morning Rachel seemed to have her mind on something else and now had Jenn frustrated down to the last straw.

"What's got you so distracted?" She exclaimed.

"What do you mean?" Rachel tried to play innocent as she faced away from her friend. She really hope Jenn hadn't noticed the strange way her father was acting this morning.

"Don't play innocent! Does it have anything to do with Malcolm?"

Rachel cringed at the mention of his name.

"What happened?"

"Nothing i just... He hasn't call at all today." She wasn't exactly lying to her. Last time she check her phone, he still hadn't tried to get a hold of her. At first she was worried but now she was just plain mad.

Jenn narrowed her eyes, no way she could be fooled that easily. "Listen I know we just met this year but that doesn't mean I don't know you like I know the back of my hand, and right now I got a rotten feeling about this guy. What happened?"

Rachel looked like she was caught with her tail between her legs. "What gave me away?"

"So... spill it!"

Rachel groaned, "Can we not do this now..." She said, pleading with her eye. Should've known it wouldn't work on Jenn. "Fine but can we go to your place instead?"

Jenn would agree to anything if it meant Rachel would tell her what her problem is. They grabbed their shopping bags, leaving their tray of food behind.

The house was peaceful and quiet up until two teen aged girls burst through the doors. The only lit room was the kitchen, that light alone was enough to illuminate the six foot pine tree posted right next to the fire place. The tree was half decorated with lights that were twirled around its full body, there were a few ornaments hung on the branches. Most of then still in a box or scattered on the floor. It must've been Rachel's father who had brought in the tree and started to decorate it but he seemed to abruptly stopped not too long ago. On the table sat a mug of steaming coffee and an open pack of cigarettes. Shit, he's at it again.

They dropped their bags at the foot of the stairs. "Dad?" She called but there was no answer as she pulled off her scarf.

Rachel was tempted to go look for her father but she didn't want to confront him in front of Jenn.

Instead she pulled her friend up to her room. Once the girls settled in and began to wrap their gifts, Rachel began telling Jenn about her problem with her boyfriend. It was a little embarrassing for her to confess to Jenn about her intimate problems but it was definitively easier than trying to talk to Richard about it (Rachel could only handle so much teasing) not that she would even consider talking to him anytime soon.

Right as she was about to wrap up her story, Jenn slammed down the pair of scissors she was holding, jabbing a hole into the carpet flooring. "Fucking asshole! What the hell is his problem?"

Rachel was taken by surprise, she hadn't expected this kind of reaction out of her. Telling her about this was not exactly the best idea when she had a potential weapon in her hand. But instead of putting her self in danger by trying to take it from her, she let her ramble on.

"Does he seriously have no respect for you? I mean, c'mon! He's gotta know your still a virgin!"

Rachel glared. "Gee, could you say that a little louder, I don't think the whole neighborhood heard you right. Besides... he still doesn't know that."

"What? Your kidding." Jinx said, a little calmer now.

Rachel shook her head, piling up the last of her wrapped gifts. "It hasn't really come up and it didn't think we'd get this serious this fast."

"What do you mean by 'it hasn't really come up'? Right there was your perfect chance! Geez, your so dense sometimes. If you wanna fix this you gotta call the boy and let him know whats up. Things will get ugly if you don't." She warned.

"But im not ready to have that talk." She retorted with an angry blush.

"Its not so bad you know." Jenn smirked. "At least after the first time."

"Easy for you to say."

"Oh no! Lets not make this about me! Besides I've only been with just one guy." Jenn laughed nervously, unable to stop her self from speaking. "But apparently I was bad for his image. That asshole. Still wish I hadn't since he so crudely dumped me for whats her face." She slapped her hand over her mouth. Damn, why did she always get carried away whenever she spoke of him?

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, who?"

"Victor Stone. Richard's friend with him, isn't he?"

Rachel nodded, suddenly glad for the change in topic. "When did this happen?"

"We got together towards the end of 8th grade but during freshman year, he was making a name for himself in the football team and soon his new so called 'friends' (she air-quoted) didn't approve."

That made sence, it was around freshman year that she saw him talking to Richard and even flirted with some of the cheerleaders. He was especially fond of the Queen Bee of the cheer squad because ever since they met the two were always on and off. Rachel herself grew to love Vic as a big brother and considered herself quite close to him, so hearing about him dating Jenn was new to her. She had to admit, they would make a good couple but that was all in the past.

Not too long before the sun set, Rachel had said good bye to her friend. She went to meet up with her dad in the kitchen and watched as he cooked dinner for them. Without a word she join in and gave him a helping hand. She would pass the seasonings and all the while tasting the food, as he began to prepare the salad. Then he began to plate their food on the dinning table. When she noted the lack of a third plate, he said told her that her mother was with some friends and wouldn't be back for another few days. After she put the dishes in the washer, he kissed her head and bid her a good night. It was a strange thing for him to do but Rachel didn't dwell too much on it, perhaps things were looking up for her parents.

For the next couple of days she stayed home finishing decorating the tree. Sometimes her father would join but it was mostly her that had manage to get it done by early Christmas Eve. As a final touch, she added the red and green peppermint candy canes, keeping one for herself. Many of her friends had texted her a simple merry x-mas eve with their good wishes, she was even surprised to find that even Malcolm sent her one. Well at least he was talking to her again. She texted back the same and eventually lead into a normal conversation. Neither bringing up their incident.

She was a bit hurt that there was none from Richard. He was probably too busy partying with Bruce to give her the time of his day.

When her father finally arrived home, he began to make their Christmas dinner. This time she stayed out of the way, instead she went up to her room and brought down the gifts for her parents and tucked them under the tree along with the others. She grabbed her book and settle by the fireplace. With every ten minutes she would glance at the clock above the chimney, anxiously waiting for her mother to arrive. Around seven dinner was close to being ready and finally the door bell rang. Her mother was home.

Or so she thought. Rachel didn't expect for her grandmother Azar to show up. There were tears welled up in her eyes as she pulled Rachel into a hug.

Trigon knew nothing good would come from that dammed woman. She was never one to loose control of her emotions, let alone be caught crying. So to him it was no surprise to hear of her bad news.

"Arella is in the hospital..."

His knees had buckled under his weight, barely managed to hold himself up right against the wall.

"...critical condition..."

He remember the first thing he had done was shake his head in denial while trying to make sense of her words. His vision had blurred, barely making out the form of his daughter in Azar's arms as they guided her to the couch. His little girl sat down, in complete shock and daze. No words, no cry, not a single change in her expression on her blank face, and it killed him inside.

The dinner that was layed out was now completely forgotten.

"... drunk... cars collided..."

Even as Azar continued to talk through her tears, it soon became too hard for both Trigon and Rachel to handle, they were having difficulty grasping her words.

Somehow he found himself sitting next to his daughter and took both females in his arms. The shock was starting to ware off.

'Oh lord, Arella.' He silently plead her name. The woman he cared, and still cares for all these years was fighting for her life. He stood abruptly, his body still shaking. He needed to see her, now!

"What hospital?"

The words dripping with rage as he snatched his jacket off the coat rack when he got his answer. Azar didn't stop him, she merely watched as he drove off. Instead she focused her attention back the child in her arms.

Azar breathe in, calming her self. She would no longer be seen weak, especially by her precious granddaughter who is in need of strong support.

The phone ran once, twice, a third time again before she got impatient and pressed the end button. She dialed again, whispering quietly for his answer. Not even as she pleaded with urgency did Malcolm pick up his phone.

The cell phone light was the only thing that illuminated her room. She pressed her body against the door, locking it. She could no longer hold herself up right and collapsed to the floor. The hot tears wouldn't stop. There was no more strength left in her to hold it all in.

Out of desperation Rachel dialed Richard's number. Around this time she hoped that he at least was still up. It was foolish to expect that he would answer, after all he the right to be mad at her.

She never meant to neglect him and because of her ignorance she was paying the price.

Beep!

"Richard," She said, swallowing more than just her pride. "Please... I need you right now. I am so sorry..." Her words barely choked out of her, unfortunately that was all she could say. For several seconds longer she let her message run silently as she struggled with her words but she gave up and shut her phone.

Not too long afterwards she tried Malcolm again but no answer. This time she left him a message. She needed someone to comfort her, and right now Malcolm was all she had. Eventually she found her way to her bed, crawling under the covers. For the rest of the night she cried. She cried for her mother. She cried because she felt weak. She never felt so alone before.

She also cried because of Richard and his carelessness.

A couple days passed since Arella's accident and hospitalization yet her condition hadn't shown any improvement. Trigon still sat by her side ever since that night, he would not waste a precious second away from her. The most he would leave would be no more than an hour and that was to go home and shower but that was it. He even brought his meals up to her room and ate in silence. At night's he would dwell in his anger and shame, making it hard for him to sleep. During the days if he was lucky he would catch some sleep while Rachel and Azar visited but most of the time he talk to her when they were alone.

The seconds that ticked away felt like hours to him, and each blip from the monitor was torturing him. Was this his punishment? He had lied to Rachel about her mother's whereabouts but that was only because he was sure that she would return. He didn't have the heart to tell his little girl that Arella left them both. Had Arella still have been mad at him? Was that why she had wasted her self into such a low state? First the fights and constant arguing, eventually that drove her away from him and now this. There was no hiding it from Rachel now.

Trigon clenched his fist, turning his knuckles completely pale. Right now he was at his lowest point and so caught up in his anguish that he failed to noticed his daughter walk into the room.

Rachel removed her should bag and placed it on the floor. "Dad?" She walked up to him cautiously.

When he finally looked up he was surprised, then quickly ducked away from her.

"Here," She help up a brown bag and left them in his hands. He dug out plastic containers filled with food. "Gran-gran made this for you."

"She takes good care of you. Both of us." He commented.

Rachel nodded then face her mother. It pained her to see her like this once again. "How is she?"

She didn't need to hear the answer, knowing it was still the same. Her pale skin hadn't returned to its normal complexity except for the visible bruises on her arms and face were now moderate and almost completely vanished. She heard her father answer and wasn't surprised to hear he said, 'still the same.'

She exhaled then knelled by her mother's side. She took one of her hands in between both and silently began speaking to her. When she was done telling her about her day, she walked to get her bag and fished out a photo album. "I know its late, but I want you to see this when you wake up." She wiped her eyes before any tears would escape. "Please wake up soon. Mom... I miss you."

Trigon's heart shattered.

Back home, Rachel was trying hard to focus on her book. A few more chapters and she would be finished. But she worried instead. Earlier she believe her parents were getting back on track but this was worse than thinking that you're one step forward only to find out you're now two steps back.

That wasn't the only thing on her mind. Neither Richard nor Malcolm called her back, or even sent her a text to check up on her. Had she truly lost Richard's friendship?

Before she got the chance to think about it the door bell echoed inside the house. She looked at the clock, her grandmother wouldn't be back for a couple more hours so who could it be around this time?

After she opened the door, she gasped.

"Malcolm!" Instinctively she jumped into his arms, holding on to him for her dear life.

"Rachel, it's good to see you." He replied, pulling her body against his own.

They stayed silently in each others arms, not even the roar on an engine could interrupt their moment.

A/N: New: Just did some spell check. If you find something off let me know :)

Its 5 AM right now, yeah i ended up pulling an alnighter so that i can give you a good 9 pages worth of update. It's a bit on the dark side but don't worry it will lighten up soon. I have good plans with Jenn's character :)

Thanks for the reviews! I broke a personal record, 13 for a single chapter, wow im really flattered guys! Now i feel really terrible for getting this out so late but im not about to give you gives some lame excuse, just hope i still have some faithful readers out there. Hope you all enjoyed, made it longer than usual because you guys deserve more from me.

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