Robin lay on his bed staring at the grooves in the metal ceiling above. His hurt everywhere. Here in this room he found peace. For the first time since this adventure began he was able to be alone with his thoughts, dark as they were. There, where no one could see him, he allowed himself to grieve. The lectures were coming. Right now the League had their hands full with trying to fit as many prisoners on board as possible. Robin came to in the hospital bay, swore he was fine, and quickly offered up his cot to one of the dozens that needed it more.

His room was beside Batman's, and therefore the door was locked. Ninety-five percent if the technology aboard the Watchtower came from Wayne Enterprises, including the locks on the doors. Robin had already overwritten the controls so that no one could hack through. Not that that would stop them if they were that determined to find him. There were too many teleporters, shape-shifters, and speedsters that could vibrate through solid objects to be truly spared.

Wally, he knew, had gone with Flash to the cafeteria. Unlike Batman, Flash was too relieved to see his protégée alive to be angry at him. A makeshift generator had been constructed for Cyborg. Robin didn't know where they had left him, but it would be some time before Cyborg was back on his feet. Beast Boy and Raven had gotten lost among the other rescued sidekicks and superpowered teens. Robin felt only a slight twinge of guilt that he had abandoned them. Beast Boy he knew would be too starry-eyed by the League members to notice, and Raven probably wanted nothing more than to find a quiet room to herself where she could meditate. As for Starfire...

Robin seized two fistfuls of his hair until he felt his scalp tingle with pain. He sat hunched over with his knees drawn up to his chest like a child. A soft keening sound slipped from beneath his clenched teeth as that failure crashed over him. Her death would haunt him forever, he knew it deep in his bones. He hadn't been able to save her. Just like his parents, he'd seen it unfolding and been unable to do anything to stop it from happening. He choked on his own self-loathing. How many more times would he fail the ones that were counting on him? How many more would he loose?

There was a knock on his door. He sucked in a swift hiss of breath and wiped at his mask-less face.

"Go away," he said gruffly. He hoped the thick steel muffled the sound of tears in his voice.

"Robin, you are needed in the medical bay," said Wonder Woman sternly. She was angry with him too. God, couldn't they just leave him alone? No one needed him. They were on a ship stuffed with superheroes, what did anyone need him for? He sniffled and reached blindly for his mask. The adhesive had come loose thanks to his tears. Carefully, he pressed it back against his skin and glared at the door. He could practically feel her standing on the other side with her hip cocked and her fists clenched. A moment later she tried the door. Robin smirked with grim satisfaction at the sound of her curse when the override to the lock was refused.

SMASH. Her fist smashed through the thick slab of steel. Though he had been expecting it, Robin still felt a small leap of astonishment at her strength. She pried open the door with her hands until she could see him watching her.

"You call yourself a leader? You sent your team into a battle they could not hope to win, and now that you have been saved from your own folly you hide with your tail between your legs. She will not be calmed, says you will never speak to her again and will ban her from the Titans for what has happened. Are you truly so callous? After what that girl has survived?" Robin blinked. She couldn't possibly be talking about Raven. Yes, the whole red eyes thing needed to be discussed when they were home again, but the idea of her being distraught was hard to imagine. He didn't move. Wonder Woman's dark brows lowered over her crystal blue eyes.

"I will tear this door from its hinges," she vowed. "The girl is refusing medical care that she desperately needs. I fear you are the only one who can talk sense into her. Now get up or I will drag you there myself."

"Who?" he whispered, hardly daring to hope. It wasn't Raven. Raven had escaped practically unscathed. Raven wpulled never cause a scene. That sounded more like...

"Princess Koriand'r. The one you call Starfire." Wonder Woman spoke as if she thought he was stupid. She probably did.

Robin didn't know what to expect when he entered the medical bay. The long walk had taken longer than expected due to the stiffness in his limbs, but the realization that Starfire was actually alive made him all but forget about the discomfort.

he walked in and almost immediately walked out, but Wonder Woman cuffed the back of his head impatiently. Starfire was on the opposite side of the room, backed into a corner by Superman, Hawk Girl and Black Canary. She was completely naked. Robin stared. He was torn between disbelief that she was alive, dismay at the sight of the many cuts, bruises, and burns that covered her flesh, and discomfort at seeing her so vulnerable.

He must have made a noise because Starfire's head snapped up, and she froze. Her mouth formed his name, but no sound came out. Superman looked around at him in relief.

"Leave her alone," said Robin more forcefully than he meant. Superman nodded and quickly glided toward the door. Hawk Girl and Black Canary hesitated, no doubt questioning whether to allow him to be allowed in.

"Robin, please. I have told them that I do not belong here. Tell them they must not-"

"Starfire, put on a dressing gown," said Robin, snatching one off a nearby peg and tossing it to her with his face averted. Out of his peripheral vision he made sure she put it on before he faced her again.

"Can we get a minute?" His eyes never left Starfire. She looked terrified. Of him. Black Canary and Hawk Girl didn't look pleased, but they left. Wonder Woman scowled in warning before she closed the door behind her.

"Robin, I understood what it would mean when I...that is...I realize that I am no longer worthy to call myself a Titan. I have broken the oath I swore to never-" Robin silenced her by crossing the room and folding her in his arms. She hunched over so that her nose was pressed into his shoulder, burrowing into a small bruise that had developed there. He hugged her tighter.

"I thought we lost you, Star."

She gasped, and made to pull away but he clutched her tighter.

"We're your family now, and you will always have a place with us."

Starfire broke down, hanging onto him for support. Robin rocked her slowly back and forth, squeezing his eyes against the moisture that threatened to remove his mask once more. Eventually, he maneuvered her to the cot, tucking her beneath the single hospital blanket as though she were a child. She gave him a watery smile that broke his heart.

"You are not angry?"

"Starfire," he breathed. "How could you think that? What they did... No one should ever have had to go through that. Star, I don't know what I should do. Are you alright? I mean, you're not, but is there anything...?" He blushed as his babbling got the better of him. What did you say to someone who had endured the every form of trauma imaginable? She wasn't alright. She would never be alright. He ran his hands through his hair.

"I will endure. In time I will put it behind me as I have done before."

"We'll help you. You know we can-"

A knock at the door interrupted him. He knew before he turned his head who was standing there. His body went ice cold as Batman's shadow fell across him.

"Conference room. Now." Batman departed just as abruptly as he arrived, but the mere sight of him sent adrenaline coursing through Robin again. It wasn't until Starfire sighed that he realized he was gritting his teeth.

"You look ready to do battle," she said softly.

"I'll be back," he said darkly.