Author's Note: Sorry this took so long. It was originally meant to be two chapters, but it's really divided into three short parts so there was no good place to split it. Instead, you get one really long chapter. This chapter begins the transition into the Trigon plot line. There are hints here, but it's also meant to show some Rob/Rae bonding and Robin recovering. I also threw in a scene with Raven and Batman because I really wish they'd met. I'm not sure what they'd think of each other. This chapter is dedicated to my local library and to the friend who fell asleep while I was talking to her. It wasn't meaningful in any way, shape, or form, but it was sweet and I decided to use it.

Reviews: TheBlindRaven: For chapter 9, thank you. (Blushes.) I try. Also, great job on picking out the line I got my chapter title from. Thank you for reviewing! For chapter 8, I'm glad you liked the Wally part. I wasn't going to include him, but Rachel needed him. I don't know specifically what confused you, so here's a recap with everything important and/or confusing.

Part 1: Before the chapter starts, Rachel and Kori dry Richard off and put him to bed. In the process, they discover that he has really a lot of scars and Kori is horrified. When the chapter starts, Rachel is comparing herself to Kori and feeling guilty about her unemotional practicality. She doesn't know what's causing Richard's behavior, so she takes blood for a drug test. She considers her options and decides to have Wally take it to S.T.A.R. Labs. She calls him and he agrees.

Part 2: Richard has a nightmare about his parents dying and . . . something else, and wakes up screaming in his native language, Romani. Kori comes to ask Rachel for help. Rachel is going to use Richard's real name, so she makes Kori wait outside. Richard has a fever and is kind of out of it, but he tells Rachel about his parents' deaths. Then, he separates different parts of his life into the names Dick, Richard, and Xander. All are metaphorically dead and Richard's feeling lost. Rachel comforts him.

Part 3: Richard can't handle being alone, so Kori comes back in and Rachel finds a book to read to them. She reads until they both fall asleep and then falls asleep herself. Hope this helps!

Mazberrypie, thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying it and thank you for reviewing!

Disclaimer: I'm holding out hope that I'll get the Teen Titans for Christmas, but it may be a miracle even beyond Santa. Right now, I don't own the Titans.

Disclaimer for the disclaimer: The disclaimer in no way reflects the author's views on religion or Santa. And now I'm writing about myself in the third person. That's just wonderful.

While There's Light Left

"We'll be ready."

Rachel heard her grim resolve echoing mockingly in her mind. She wished she could say that she was making progress, but she was still as far away from discovering what had happened to Richard as she had been the night he showed up at her house. There simply was not time to right the wrongs of the past or plan for the future. Time was passing in awkward bursts, racing days of frantic schoolwork, followed by still, quiet moments that were somehow scattered across her life, separated from the rest of the madness that was high school. Reality maintained its relentless pace and left Rachel wishing for time to catch her breath.

She hoped, at least, that by the time she needed to know, Richard would trust her enough to tell her. She wasn't certain that he would. He seemed lighter now that they called him by his own name and less like his smile was painted on the face of his mask, but she remembered what he'd said: "Now, Richard's dead."

Rachel wondered if drugged, ill, and beaten, Richard's words had been more honest than anything he said in the harsh, artificial light of the classrooms.

"Who killed you?" Rachel muttered to herself, as she spent the first hours of Winter Break researching Richard.

Outside her window, the bare trees reached for the weak winter sunlight, in stark contrast to the still white sky that frosted over the horizon. The occasional snowflake drifted over the wreaths and lights, like fleeting hope or a fragile wish.

Rachel's own part in this timeline was nearing its inevitable close, but inevitable meant irrelevant. If Richard felt he was a walking corpse, she could at least help her friend bring his murderer to justice. They still had December.

December was among Rachel's favorite times of the year. There was something beautiful about dying light. She only wished that the promised return to warmth applied to her.

Then, to Rachel's mild surprise, the phone rang.

"Hello?" Her voice was noncommittal and uninterested, but with the faint hint of a question.

"Hey, Rae," Richard replied brightly. "Are you busy?"

For a paranoid moment, Rachel wondered if Richard knew what she was doing. She looked around surreptitiously and closed her laptop before reassuring herself that she was being ridiculous.

"I answered the phone," Rachel said, as if that was an answer.

"Yes, I noticed that," Richard laughed. "Bruce has a meeting, Alfred's sick, and I'm bored, so would you please go to the library with me? I was also thinking of going to get coffee at some point, if you'd rather do that."

Richard would simply ask Rachel if she wanted to hang out, but he was fairly certain she'd say no. If he wanted to spend time with her, he first had to convince her that he was desperate, then that he really wanted to see her.

The plan seemed to be working.

"Okay," she agreed, "but are you sure you want to –"

"Rachel," Richard interrupted. "You know better than to ask questions you already know the answer to when you gain nothing by it. Think about why you shouldn't ask that question."

"You called me," Rachel practically growled. Richard could feel her glare over the phone. "If you didn't want to go to the library with me, you wouldn't have asked."

"Exactly. Now that we've established that you'd like to go with me and I do in fact want to spend time with you, can I pick you up in ten minutes?"

Rachel found herself smiling.

"Sounds perfect. See you in a bit."

"See you soon, Rae."

Rachel dashed to the living room to grab her favorite blue-purple coat and leave a note for her mother, December already forgotten.

Richard was quieter than usual on the drive to the library, but he often was when he was alone with Rachel. In part, the silence was because they communicated well without words, but there was also an uncomfortable intimacy that was renewed every time Richard let his façade slip and told Rachel more than he'd intended.

Rachel studied Richard through the veil of her eyelashes to determine whether their lack of speech was companionable or awkward. It seemed to be the former. Richard was smiling slightly and Let it Snow was playing on the radio. Rachel let herself relax and enjoy the ride and company.

Both teens had intended to find and probably discuss books, but the mysteries failed to spark their interest, so they meandered through the shelves and ended up in the library's teen center.

Rachel and Richard were irresistibly drawn towards the puzzle table. Someone had managed to connect a few pieces, but the majority of the puzzle was left uncompleted.

"Shall we?" Richard asked. "500 pieces shouldn't take us too long. Besides, it's a picture of holiday cupcakes and desserts are sort of our thing."

"That is the obvious bond that defines our friendship," Rachel said, voice oozing sarcasm, as she put a piece into place.

Richard had to work to stop a wide grin from spreading across his face. He'd just learned that Rachel was even more of a puzzle addict than he was and she'd admitted to being friends with him. It was one thing to hear a heartfelt declaration of friendship when he really needed it, but an entirely different and rather surprising thing to hear her drop the word in casual conversation.

"C'mon, Rae," Richard pretended to whine. Then he let himself smile at her. "It'll be fun."

She didn't reply, but she did sit down and focus her attention on the puzzle.

With a look of triumph, Richard joined her.

They completed the puzzle as they chatted aimlessly, following the twisting paths of thought instead of the obvious flow of conversation, as was only possible with friends.

Rachel's train of thought kept taking her to an unwanted destination. It was her nature to speak her thoughts, not her feelings, so she lapsed into silence. She hoped that Richard was as accustomed to the silence as she was and wouldn't notice, but she wasn't surprised when he did.

"What's wrong, Rachel?" he asked. "Even for you, you're quiet."

She paused to arrange her thoughts and he let her, content to wait.

"I'm sorry," she said finally. "I discovered your identity, I researched your life, and I had no right to."

Richard hated Xander, at that moment and at so many others. Xander was a mistake and Richard regretted the trust he had lost. In that moment, he regretted Rachel's guilt as much as he regretted betraying Kori's trust. They were both innocents he had harmed with his deception. He had thought the line between right and wrong was so clear once, but he hadn't even noticed when he crossed it.

"Rachel, I'm glad you know the truth," he reassured her. "I shouldn't have lied to any of you, to you. I'd be lying if I claimed to be upset that you weren't angry with me, even if it's only because you already knew I was lying."

"I was angry when I found out, but by the time everyone else knew, I'd come to terms with it. That's how I knew everyone would be able to trust you again. It doesn't make what I did right."

Richard stood and pulled Rachel to her feet, so that his hand was on her shoulder and he was looking into her eyes.

"Whether or not you had the right to know my identity," Richard told her, "I'm glad you discovered it. You were there and you knew the truth when I needed someone to tell me that they understood, so thank you. When I didn't need anyone to know, you kept it a secret, even from me. You did the right thing. Xander was my mistake, Rae, not yours. Please forgive me and don't blame yourself."

Xander's brief existence had hurt them both, but they would recover. Richard held out his hand to give Rachel a puzzle piece.

"There are only two pieces left. We can both put one in on the count of three?" he suggested.

"Together." Rachel accepted the piece.

"3. . .2 . . . 1 . . ."

The two friends smiled at each other and left the completed puzzle behind, venturing farther into downtown in search of coffee.

Rachel saw the looks the other pedestrians were giving them as they walked along the festive streets. It was the same look the world always gives couples, from two toddlers holding hands to two ninety year olds on a park bench. Everyone's face softens as they walk by.

Rachel wondered if Richard noticed. She didn't think it was likely, because if he had, he probably would have released her hand instead of leading her along the crowded street.

He didn't let go until he had found a café and pulled her inside.

Rachel shivered as the heat washed over her. She wondered why she always felt colder when the cold was washed away.

"I can take your order when ever your ready," the women behind the counter said.

"Ladies first." Richard grinned at Rachel as he used her to buy more time to study the menu on the wall. Rachel raised an eyebrow at him before she ordered.

"Medium Earl Grey, decaf, room for milk and sugar," Rachel said.

"And for you, sir?" the woman asked.

"I'd like a large espresso."

Rachel didn't really care what he ordered, so she felt no particular judgment as to his choice. If it had been his normal order, she wouldn't even have noticed. It wasn't his normal order, though. He normally drank decaf coffee or hot chocolate. Caffeinated coffee was reserved for days when he had been awake most of the night at one of Bruce's parties or doing homework. Rachel studied Richard's face and found shadows under his eyes. They were dark enough to suggest that he had slept very little, but also made her wonder if he was trying not to sleep.

Rachel stored the information in her vast mental file of facts and suppositions she would only bring up if the situation demanded it and she said nothing. She would watch and she would leave him be unless he needed her.

Richard, oblivious to Rachel's thoughts for once, found a quiet table near the window.

"I know we're not in Europe," he told her, "but I hope this is close to what you imagined."

That brought Rachel out of her reverie. First he'd brought up desserts. Now, it was her old daydream from the first day of English. She'd thought she'd been the only one paying attention. Apparently, she hadn't been.

"Europe wasn't the important part of that fantasy," she said. It was the distance, the company, the escape, but instead she said, "It was the tea and this is fairly good."

Richard laughed, but Rachel was sure he heard what she hadn't said. He usually did.

Rachel smirked back at Richard, a genuine smile hidden beneath. Outside the window, it had begun to snow.

Rachel surprised herself by agreeing to hang out at Wayne Manor before returning home. She'd been there before with their other friends, but never alone and she'd already socialized more than she was accustomed to.

Rachel wondered why she agreed. She might be keeping her promise to herself to be there whenever Richard needed her. His hands were shaking from a combination of sleep deprivation and caffeine, so Rachel assumed he'd crash soon. If he was trying not to sleep, it might help to have her there. It was also possible that Rachel went with him because she wanted to. Though Rachel was frequently as antisocial and cold as she was believed to be, she'd enjoyed her day.

The two teens sat on opposite couches, Richard stretched out across the entire couch, Rachel occupying one corner of the loveseat, in one of the many vast rooms in Wayne Manor. There were bookshelves in the room, and a televisions, and video games, but they just sat, talked, and meddled with random objects in the room. Bruce had a strange collection of objects on his shelves.

This was how Rachel discovered the not particularly surprising fact that Richard could juggle and Richard discovered the downright shocking fact that Rachel could as well. It was a useless connection between them, but they both enjoyed learning it.

After a while though, they returned to their seats and chatted, lapsing into silence in between voicing miscellaneous thoughts.

"I found it," Rachel said, interrupting a long pause. "The line from Hamlet you were looking for is 'I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a –'"

Richard hadn't shown any sign of listening and Rachel felt a sense of emptiness from where her friend lay.

"Dick?" she asked.

He made no response. Rachel walked over to the couch and found Richard sleeping peacefully, his breathing slow and calm.

Rachel smiled slightly to herself as she returned to the loveseat. Another girl might have been offended that her friend fell asleep in the middle of their conversation, but Rachel was glad Richard was able to relax around her. She felt trusted. It wasn't a feeling she was used to, being the quiet, smart, and cold Roth girl, but it was pleasant. She wanted him to trust her.

She felt a moment of regret, knowing the New Year was drawing near, but pushed the feeling aside. At that moment, having Richard trust her was enough. Rachel settled down to read Hamlet with something close to contentment.

Rachel seemed half asleep herself, lost somewhere between the loveseat and Denmark, when she heard footsteps on the stairs. She wanted to freeze and stare at the door, but forced herself to keep turning pages.

"Ah, Miss Roth," Bruce said, entering the room. "I didn't realize you were here. Where's – "

He glanced around the room until his gaze landed on Richard. His face softened as it only did when he regarded his ward. Rachel thought his look held a touch of relief.

"He almost looks like he'll be alright," Rachel sighed.

Bruce gave her a sharp look. He never knew what Rachel knew and, though he did like that about her, he also found it disconcerting.

"What did he tell you?"

"As always, absolutely nothing," Rachel replied. "He seemed to want confirmation of our friendship and he's probably been having nightmares recently, bad enough to convince him he'd be better off not sleeping, but I don't know anything definite."

Bruce sat down on a chair near his sleeping ward.

"As always, other than what you wish he or I would just tell you, that's pretty much it," Bruce admitted. "Do you want me to drive you home?"

Rachel half-wondered why Bruce bothered being kind to her. Obviously, it was mainly because Richard liked her, but she suspected it was partially because he viewed her as an equal. Rachel wondered what the paparazzi or Bruce's entourage of fawning sycophants would make of that. Then again, they'd probably assume he pitied her, just as they'd always assumed Richard was a charity case. Fools.

"I can ask Bee to give me a ride if you don't want to leave him," Rachel offered, her eyes on her sleeping friend.

"When did he fall asleep?" Bruce asked, an apparent non sequitur.

Remembering the complex silent communication she had witnessed between Bruce and Richard, Rachel trusted that there would be a point eventually.

"Approximately fifteen minutes ago," she replied.

Bruce checked his watch.

"He should be fine for at least another forty minutes," he said, standing up. "

Rachel wondered if it was sweet or tragic that Bruce knew exactly how long Richard could sleep before he woke up or nightmares haunted his rest. She wondered how many nights Richard had woken up screaming and how often Bruce had been there. The answer belonged only to Bruce and Richard, but Rachel wished that others knew it. Richard was never simply a charity case.

"Thank you, then," was the only thought Rachel gave voice to.

The local high school's antisocial bookworm and the city's white knight walked out of Wayne Manor and into the cold evening air, united by silence and the boy sleeping on the couch upstairs. Snow fell softly around them, glowing pure and white as the sun began to set.

A/N: I sound a little needy asking for reviews all of the time, don't I? Well, feel free to review and complain about it. :)