The next morning all the Titans save Beastboy (who was in the shower) met at the breakfast table. Raven, Robin and Starfire had all spent much of the night wracking their brains for a way to help their green friend overcome his trauma. Luckily (if you could call it luck) each of the Titans had been through their share and more of traumatic experiences. Robin had dealt with horror and death every night in Gotham, Starfire had endured uncountable torments at the hands of the Psions, and Raven had been the gateway to Hell. This gave them certain insights when it came to such problems.

Finally, the changeling walked into the kitchen, still wet from his long shower. Raven was the first to see him enter, and went over to him for a good morning hug. When she pulled away, she wrinkled her nose at the strong scents of shampoo and soap. "Garfield, how long were you in the shower, exactly?"

"Um…I dunno… forty minutes, an hour?"

"Okay…why?"

The green boy just shrugged "Lost track of time, I guess. Why? You prefer the scent of Eau de Garcon Bete?"

Raven raised an eyebrow "Since when do you know French? Never mind, you'll tell me when you take me to dinner tonight."

"I asked you to dinner tonight?"

"Let's say that you did. You wanted to take me to that new restaurant on Jordan Avenue- the Galaxy Room. You were extremely romantic and I had no choice but to give in" Raven said, completely deadpan.

"Hmmm.." a slow smile spread across Beastboy's face "Can we say you were powerless against my manly charms?"

"That depends. Can we say I slapped you silly?"

"Ouch, Rae. That hurt."

"AHEM!" Robin said "Now that that is settled, why don't we have breakfast? And to avoid the epic Meat versus Tofu debate, we're having cereal, toast and juice. Anyargumentnogood." He said the last part quickly, before either Beast Boy or Cyborg could object. Soon, the sounds of chewing were the only ones in the room.

When breakfast had been eaten, and the Team got to the serious business of the day: helping Beastboy. Starfire was the first to speak, and her voice and posture clearly showed her sadness.

"Friend Beastboy, I could not think of anything that might help a human to do the coping with trauma. Among my people, a bloody vengeance and a Feast of Vindication are the traditional responses to what was done to you. Boyfriend Robin has informed me that vengeance is not possible and without it, the feast would be without meaning. I am truly, truly most sorry, my friend." Starfire looked as though she were going to cry, and indeed fainly luminescent tears leaked from her eyes. The glowing tears ran slowly down her orange cheek as the alien princess despaired at her inability to help a friend. For Starfire, this was sheer torment- to see a cherished friend in pain and yet be unable to help them.

"It's okay Starfire" the changeling said quietly as he drew the much taller alien into a gentle hug "I know you tried your best, and that matters a lot."

Robin waited a moment before clearing his throat in the universal Get-Off-My-Girlfriend tone. Once the changeling had disengaged from Starfire, the Boy Wonder began speaking. "I've also been thinking, Beastboy"

"Be patient with him, it's a new experience" Cyborg said, as he buttered another slice of toast. The metal man had already given Beastboy his advice- to keep a journal- and resolved to simply be there for his friend.

"Shut up. Anyway, the BatTeam has a protocol for aiding people who've experience the sort of thing you have. On the plus side, we've had a lot of experience, but on the downside I've never met anyone who's been through what you have. So I don't know how well it will work"

"Well" the green boy said lackadaisically "It can't very well make things worse, can it? "

"There is that." Robin said with a smile. It was good to have Beastboy back as team clow- Team Jo- the humor expert of the team. "Basically, it's a long period of slow acclimatization- you're gardually exposed to your fears until, eventually, they lose their power over you. We'll start with your fear of isolation- leaving you alone for a little while, then for a little longer, then a little longer yet. Eventually, it won't bother you to be alone at all. "

"Um…Okay." Beastboy wasn't exactly thrilled with this course of treatment, but knew that if Robin was recommending it he was fairly certain it would work. "Rae? Any thoughts?"

"Yes. I would like to confront your emotions directly. Then we can determine how much damage has been done, and how best to go about correcting it" The empath droned, sipping at her tea. She made a face and reached for the sugar bowl.

"Confront them directly? You don't mean like… inside my head?" Beastboy was more than a little nervous about this prospect. He remembered what it had been like in Raven's head, years ago.

"Exactly" Raven stirred a spoonful of sugar into her tea and sipped again. Apparently satisfied with the taste, she continued "Of course it will take some preparation before we can actually enter your mindscape. I have a spare Azarathian Mind Mirror, but we have to attune it to you. Therefore, every afternoon you will join me for an hour of meditation until we have attuned the mirror to your mind. Do not expect it to be as perilous as my"

"So you see Beastboy" Robin said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder "Everything will work out!"

At that moment the Alarm went off. Racing to the new Comms Setup, Robin began tapping the controls until he found the source of the disturbance. "It's Cinderblock- apparently he's on the rampage in Downtown"

"I see he hasn't made any fashion changes since the Joker left town" Raven noted wryly. Sure enough the concrete colossus still wore the orange jumpsuit and hat that the Joker had given him. It made the whole scene at once horrifying and humorous.

"Boyfriend Robin? What are we to do with friend Beastboy? He cannot go into battle with us, but I am uncomfortable leaving him alone" Starfire said, a note of worry in her voice.

Robin was torn. He couldn't take Beastboy into a combat situation, that was obvious; the changeling would be a danger to himself and others. But he couldn't leave him in the Tower alone because that would be mental and emotional torture. Nor could he spare a team mate to stay behind with him- the Titans were already one team member short and Cinderblock was tough. Finally, he made the only decision possible under the circumstances. "Beastboy, you're coming with us BUT you are not going to be near the fighting. You are to stay as far away as possible- in fact, I want you to stay with the civilians and keep them calm. TITANS GO!"

A/N

I have no idea if Starfire's tears glow or not, but I like the image.