Disclaimer: Teen Titans is the Property of DC Comics

Chapter 14

Raven couldn't believe how quickly everything was happening. As soon as she'd agreed to marry Beast Boy everyone in the tower knew and was celebrating. Starfire and Bumblebee immediately began showering Raven with wedding magazines and making plans with or without Ravens consent. Beast Boy was immediately cornered by Cyborg and Nightwing and given another serious talking to. By the time it was time for bed the newly engaged couple hadn't spent two minutes together.

She was barely able to make it to her room she was so tired. She was achy all over and coughing up a storm. She dragged herself into her room and got ready for bed. As she undressed she began to think. Was she making the right decision in marrying Beast Boy? Sure, he was a nice guy, but it wasn't going to be like a real marriage; not the kind she'd always dreamed of. She was sure their relationship wouldn't change all that much. They would just be legally bound to one another.

But the thought of having someone there to keep her comfortable did make her happy. And he had said that he was getting a crush on her. She was quite sure no one had ever had a crush on her before, so that made things interesting as well. And the fact that he could like her in that way at all suddenly made him very attractive to her. Anyone who could fall in love with her she'd certainly fall in love with back.

Wait a moment, love? He said he had a crush on her; he wasn't in love with her. But… a crush could lead to love, if she lived long enough. What would that be like? To fall in love and be loved in return? What a wondrous feeling that would be.

She began to cough and so she took a seat in her chair. Nothing ever came of the coughs; they were just dry and very painful. Of course, she knew why she was coughing and she knew that the others didn't. And she wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. They didn't need to know how bad her condition really was.

A knock came from her door and she did her best to silence the coughs. "Yes?" she responded.

"Uh, it's me," said Beast Boy. "And Crystal."

"Come in," she said.

The door slid open and Crystal burst inside, running right over to Raven. "Hi!" she said excitedly. "You're gonna be my mommy now, right?"

Raven looked to Beast Boy who was walking over to her. "You told her?" she asked.

"Well, yeah," said Beast Boy. "I thought she had a right to know."

"I'm so happy!" said Crystal, throwing her arms around Raven.

"That's good," said Raven, relieved. She wasn't sure how Crystal would take the news, but it looked like she was very supportive. "But, you know that you're not going to have to call me mom or anything, right?"

"Why not?" asked Crystal. "I… I thought you were gonna be my mommy? Why can't I call you mommy?"

"Oh, well, I guess if you want to…" said Raven.

"Yeah, I do!" said Crystal with a big smile and she hugged her even tighter. "You're my mommy-Raven."

Raven was quite speechless for a moment, but then smiled and held Crystal even closer to her. Her aches seemed to fade away and the coughs she'd been denying in her throat had disappeared. She felt as if she could actually feel Crystal's love for her. It seemed like forever since she could sense such a thing.

Beast Boy watched this and smiled. "Alright, time for bed everyone," he said. "Say goodnight."

"Goodnight, mommy-Raven," said Crystal with a giggle and she gave Raven a kiss. And with that she went skipping off to get ready for bed.

Hearing Crystal say that made Raven feel very happy and she couldn't help the smile that shown proudly on her lips. She was also slightly blushing; she really wasn't used to someone calling her 'mommy' before. It was a very new experience.

"Hey, I'm gonna be right back, so don't go to sleep yet," said Beast Boy and he ran after Crystal.

Raven smiled and settled into her chair feeling quite content. Now she was quite sure she was making the right decision. Because it wasn't just about her; this was about Beast Boy and Crystal as well. This marriage would give three of them something they'd always wanted. Though, she still wasn't exactly sure what Beast Boy was truly getting out of this. But, this was his idea, so he must have had some reasoning behind hit for himself.

A few minutes later he was back and Raven was feeling tired once more and was quite ready for bed. He went over to her and knelt down next to her chair so they could talk. He noticed how tired she looked, but he also saw how content she was.

"So… you really sure about this?" he asked. "Because you can still back out if you want to."

She smiled and shook her head. "No, I'm not going to back out," she said. "I was a little… unsure at first, but now I'm happy about it."

He smiled and said, "Wow, you have no idea how glad I am to hear that. I've barely even gotten to talk to you since I proposed, so I wasn't sure how you were feeling about it."

"Well, rest assured that I'm not going to call off this proposal," said Raven. "We're going to get married." As soon as the words left her mouth she realized that it was true. She, Raven, and he, Beast Boy, were going to get married. She suddenly felt very dizzy and a bit overwhelmed.

"I know, weird, huh?" said Beast Boy, just about reading Ravens mind. "Never thought this was gonna happen; you and me getting hitched. But, I think this is a good thing. No, I know this is a good thing. I'm gonna make you so happy, Rae."

Raven smiled and said, "I know you are, Beast Boy. Now, would you mind helping me?"

"Sure, what do you need?" he said.

"I need some help getting out of this chair so I can go to bed," she said.

"Oh, is that all," he said, relieved. He stood up and took her hands, gently yanking her out of the chair. Even his gentle pull made her go flying into him. He caught her before she could fall back into the chair and made sure she was steady.

"Good Azar you've gotten strong," said Raven.

"Uh, heh, sorry about that," he said, a bit embarrassed. "You all set?"

"Yes," she said. "Thanks for the help." She went to her bed and proceeded to get in. Beast Boy quickly went and turned down her bed so she could get in easily. She thought this was a bit unnecessary, but she was too tired to shoo him away.

"Hey, I was thinking," said Beast Boy as he helped her get into bed. "You wanna go out on Friday?"

"Why?" asked Raven, who started to cough again.

"Cuz I think as an engaged couple we should get to at least go out on one date," said Beast Boy. "What do you think?"

Raven settled in, letting her self absorb into her soft, cushioned bed and thought for a moment. "Alright," she said. "That sounds like a good, logical idea."

Beast Boy smiled and said, "Well, as long as it's logical." Raven smiled back and closed her eyes. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. And remember, you can't die on me cuz we have a date now."

Raven chuckled a little and said, "Alright, I promise."

"Good," said Beast Boy. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Beast Boy," said Raven and she curled onto her side.

He watched her get comfortable for a moment and then made his way out of her room. He definitely couldn't deny that he had a crush on her now. He wasn't sure if it was time, her condition, or that he'd never seen it before, but Raven seemed so much softer now; so sweet, kind, but above all else still real. There was nothing fake about Raven, and there never had been.

He closed her door and headed down to his room, but was intercepted by Nightwing and Cyborg, again. He was getting quite sick of these two cornering him. They'd spent the last few hours telling him what it meant to be a husband and if he did anything wrong they'd personally kill him. The two were very protective of Raven and always had been.

"Alright, dudes, what is it this time?" he huffed.

"Beast Boy, we just found out something," said Nightwing.

"What?" asked Beast Boy.

"Come on, we'll talk in your room," said Cyborg.

The three men went the rest of the way down the hall until they reached his room. Beast Boy felt rather nervous and wasn't sure what this was about. As serious as they were before, they were dead serious now. Nightwing made sure no one was in the hallway and then closed the door.

"Okay, so what's this about?" asked Beast Boy.

"Well, we told Raven doctor that she'd started coughing," said Cyborg. "And he told us that it was because… well…" It was clear Cyborg was having a hard time getting it out and looked to Nightwing for help.

"It's a sign of heart failure, Beast Boy," said Nightwing.

And just like, the wind was knocked right out of him. He stumbled back and sat down on his bed. "Oh God," he said, putting his face into his hands. His two friends sighed and took a seat on either side of him. "Is he sure? I mean, what if she's just got a cold?"

"Then her doctor would have said that," said Cyborg. "The fact is that her whole body is failing, B."

"Does she know?" asked Beast Boy.

"We haven't told her," said Nightwing. "But I think she knows."

"Then why wouldn't she tell us?" asked Beast Boy.

"She's still trying to protect us," said Cyborg. "She knows that if we knew about this we'd be even more careful with her and not treat her like she wants to be treated."

"God, this sucks," said Beast Boy, running his fingers through his hair. "I guess she's really declining fast, huh?"

"Yes, but we know of a way to keep her pretty stable," said Nightwing.

"What? Really?" said Beast Boy. "What is it?"

"Well, we've discovered that whenever Raven's around the kids she's perfectly fine," said Cyborg. "We think that, for some unknown reason, they're keeping her alive."

"The kids are keeping her alive?" said Beast Boy.

"We're about 99 sure," said Nightwing. "So, from now on, we have to make sure one of the kids is with her at all times."

"Do you think that Raven knows this too?" asked Beast Boy.

"I don't think so," said Cyborg. "If she knew she'd probably keep kids around her all the time."

"So, shouldn't we tell her?" asked Beast Boy.

"We're not sure," said Nightwing. "We'd tell her but we're not sure how she'd react. She'd either think this was finally a solution to her problem or she'd feel guilty about having to be constantly in the company of the kids. It's up to you."

Beast Boy sighed and began to think. Just when he began to think that things may get better, they just seemed to be getting worse. But knowing that there was a way of prolonging Ravens life did give him a surge of hope and determination.

"I'm gonna tell her," said Beast Boy. "She has a right to know."

"Alright, man," said Cyborg, patting Beast Boy on the back. And with that he and Nightwing stood up and headed out.

"We're going to continue our research to find out exactly why Ravens body is reacting so positively to children," said Nightwing. "In the meantime, you just focus on keeping her comfortable and happy."

"That's all I wanna do anyway," said Beast Boy. And with that the two men left. Beast Boy sighed and lay down for a second from his sitting position. He closed his eyes and massaged his face with his hands. He felt tired yet restless now. This day had had so many highs and lows he felt as if he'd just gotten off of some rollercoaster from Hell.

He did his best to clear his mind so he could go to sleep, but something wouldn't leave him be. He couldn't believe that Raven was still holding things from them, from him. She was suffering from heart failure and she still refused to tell him. That didn't sit well with him, not at all. And so, he pulled himself up and left his room to see Raven once more.