Chapter 34

Jump City. May 4th, 2018. 11:44 AM.

Damian scanned the shelves of books lining the wall of the little shop, overcome with embarrassment. He was always so good about keeping an eye on the gas in both his bikes, so having to pull over because his motorcycle literally wouldn't go any farther was a total shock to him, and it was accompanied by many bewildered looks and annoying questions from bystanders outside the bookstore where he'd come to a stop, because "why is that kid riding a Yamaha, he can't possibly be old enough to drive". Wanting to avoid any more awkward questioning, Damian decided run into the bookstore, because somehow he forgot to charge his phone last night, and when he went to ping a Lyft, his phone was dead. Of course he had his charger on him (preparedness is a prerequisite for victory, after all… although he'd be better prepared if he'd just remembered to charge his phone), but it would still take a while for the cellular device to build up enough juice to get him home. So he went inside, asked if he could plug in, and the man behind the counter was nice enough to let him charge up, as well as use the store's landline call for someone to bring him a gas can.

While he waited, Damian figured that the least he could do to repay the man for his service was take a look around the store, see if anything caught his eye, which it certainly did: Todd had been nagging at him to pick up a copy of Wuthering Heights for sometime ("It's a classic! How have you not read it yet?" his brother carried on), and Raven mentioned that she had enjoyed it. Damian figured it couldn't be any worse than the last book someone had recommended to him… Make no mistake, Machine Man was perfectly fine as a book. It just wasn't as spectacular as Damian had been led to believe. It relied greatly on ironic turns and played heavily towards the action sci-fi crowd, which Damian found to be an odd mixture that could have worked out better than Drake had convinced him it would. Either way, Damian decided to pick up Wuthering Heights, as well as a new copy of Tolkien's Unfinished Tales for Raven. (She had apparently loaned her copy to Tara, who then let Garfield take a look at it… Raven got it back yesterday in shreds. She was pretty upset about it.) By then, Damian's phone had enough power for him to call Jon, who was there a few seconds later with a can of gas for the bike. Say what you will about ol' Jonno, he was dependable. So once a Damian filled up on gas, he took off without another word to anyone on the street, determined to get home as soon as he could.

And why did Damian not pay attention to his fuel tank? Because he was distracted. Everything was practically upside-down in his life at the moment; despite his claims that he would publicly bring Damian to his knees, Riddler had yet to make any further appearances to anyone, and certainly wasn't leaving any clues to his whereabouts. Damian didn't know if he had been immensely over-prepared for his one-on-one with the green-suited puzzler, or if Riddler intended on dragging out this waiting game long enough to wear him thin, but he was upset about it either way. And somehow, Riddler was on the back-burner of Damian's mind, as he was much more concerned about Raven… she was still shaken up over what he'd done. Damian kicked himself for being so inconsiderate of how she was feeling, because he hadn't seen her so quiet since before Pier 64 two years ago. She refused to acknowledge it, insisted that everything was fine, but her sentences had become quick, one-word snippets of speech, and it seemed as though she held onto him tighter now than she'd ever done before, wouldn't let go for much longer. Everywhere in the Tower he went, she would be close by, like she didn't want to let him out of her sight for a second.

Damian would have loved this if not for the fact that it came as a result of her hurting… it had taken every bit of misdirection, distraction, and disappearance he could think of to keep her from following him right out into town. Why he insisted on going alone, he still didn't know… but he had an inkling. It was that craving for intimacy that he'd been experiencing, the need to be more affectionate with one another. He and Raven had discussed it, sure, and they agreed they wanted to get closer. But something kept eating at him, gnawing at him from the pit of his stomach. He wanted more, and this time he didn't like it. He was afraid to find out how much more would be enough. He was an addict, hooked on her like a drug he'd barely tasted. She was his heroin. He didn't know what he could do, because for every thought he came up with for how to fight back against his body's unruly impulses, ten more thoughts manifested that made him turn beet red, filled him with shame, and that he couldn't for the life of him shake off. That look in her eyes that made him wonder if she wanted him as badly as he wanted her, that curve in her lips that made him want to drown himself in her kiss, the warmth of her silky-smooth skin that swallowed him up every time she drew near…

Damian found himself so consumed by his thoughts, he failed to notice the drunk man plowing through the red light to his left until his bike–and the world–had already disappeared from underneath him.

Titans Tower, Jump City. May 4th, 2018. 11:44 AM.

"He ran out of gas."

Raven kept her eyes shut as she focused on Damian from the roof of the Tower. She could feel the breeze running through her long black hair, she could hear the sound of her breath as the air moved in and out of her lungs. She could even feel Jon's eyes lock onto her, bewildered by her statement. But her attention stayed on her Damian.

"What? Who ran outta…" Superboy ask about to ask, but his voice trailed of as he realized what she was referring to. "… Raven, are you seriously watchin' Damian right now?"

"You should go get a can ready for him, he's gonna ask you to bring him enough to get him home."

"Raven, look at me." Jon's brow furrowed as the pale girl turned her head slightly, half-opening one eye. "I get it, alright? What happened was scary, and Damian coulda got hurt real bad if we all hadn'ta been there. But that don't mean ya gotta keep him under lock'n'key like this.–"

"No, Jon. You don't get it." Raven's shadow began to waver as she opened both eyes to look back the boy. "You could have caught him yourself, no problem. You're a Superman, nothing is too big or moves too fast for you to catch. But I couldn't have saved him by myself. I put everything I had into grabbing him, and he still would have died. I understand you're only trying to help… but he already died in my arms once. I'm not gonna lose him again."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment. Jon let out a sigh as he stood up to fly away. "… Y'know, I can hear your heartbeat from anywhere in the world. Once you found him, I could hear his again too… and I heard it stop." His feet slowly drifted off the roof as he moved out into the open air. "… you weren't the only one who lost him that day."

Raven's eyes were already closed again by the time Jon took off towards the nearest gas station.

She hadn't thought about that, but it made sense… like she said, he was a Kryptonian. Of course he could hear their heartbeats. Of course he liked to check on them every so often… she did that all the time. So of course he was probably listening for her everyday when she left for Gotham, just to see if she'd found their friend yet. Damian wasn't just her best friend… Damian was Jon's friend too. They both loved him.

"Jon, I'm sorry…" she reached out to try to speak to Jon through their minds… she'd never done so before, but she figured it was worth a shot. "I just… he's all I have. Everything in my heart, it's for him…"

Silence.

Again, it was worth a shot.

She turned her mind back to Damian. Apparently he'd picked something out at the bookstore, but she couldn't tell what. He had already put the purchase out of his mind and was just then texting Jon for gas. He walked out the door, and there was Jon, already waiting for him. Many things could be said about Jonathan Kent… but he was a good friend.

Damian seemed troubled, so Raven decided to peek into his mind as he filled the gas tank… she smiled as she saw herself looking back at him in his mind. She blushed as she realized why he seemed so at odds with himself: he wanted to be more. More intimate, more… physical. He was ashamed… no, not just ashamed, afraid. The thought of being so close, so interwoven into someone else… he was terrified. He'd never been in a relationship like that with someone before. Neither had she, now that her mind was on the subject… did she want the same thing? Well… yes. Yes she did. I mean, look at him now. The wind running through his hair, those pale blue eyes looking coldly down the road in front of him, the hands covered in callouses that still felt gentle and welcoming on her skin…

She almost didn't notice the white station wagon racing towards him from his left. But she did. And she nearly shattered when it barreled into him, sending him spinning through the air, crashing into the back windshield of a blue van parked several feet away.

She let out a scream as she threw herself off the edge of the roof, flying towards the city as fast as Azar's magic would carry her.

…

When "Rachel" finally reached the hospital, Jon was already there, hugging his knees anxiously in the corner of the waiting room. As she ran to him, he jumped up to do the same and the two latched onto one another, each one clutching at the other's back for dear life.

"Oh my God… Jon, oh my God…" Raven could barely manage the words before she broke down, falling into the alien's arms as he sobbed.

"I know Rachel, I know," Jon fought as hard as he could to hold himself together. "The doctors are doing everything they can, I swear. It'll be alright… it'll…" he let out a cough, and sucked in a shaky breath as he struggled harder to keep the tears at bay. "Listen, he's alive… he's alive, okay? His heart is still going. He's breathing, his blood is still pumping."

"I saw it, Jon…" the witch's words were broken, and she pulled Superboy in tighter. "I watched him get hit… I… Jon, it was so bad. It happened so fast. It was so fast."

"Rachel, don't talk like that. He's gonna be okay," Jon was insistent, pulling away and looking into Raven's eyes. "I promise you, Damian is gonna be fine."

"Rachel! Jonathan!" The Titans turned to see Bruce and Cassandra Wayne marching towards them.

"Daddy!" Raven cried as she jumped into Bruce's arms. "Oh God, I saw it happen! I saw him!" Bruce wrapped his arm around the half-demon, the other arm bringing Cassie in and holding them both as tight as he could.

"It's gonna be alright, sweetheart… listen to me, that's our boy in there," the Batman whispered into Raven's ear comfortingly. "That's our Damian. You know he's a fighter, you know how strong he is. He's gonna be fine." As he held the two girls close to him, he realized what she'd just done: she didn't cry out "Bruce" or "Mr. Wayne" or even "Batman" (thank God she didn't say Batman). She called him Daddy. And as much as it warmed his heart to know she felt welcome in his family, he knew what that meant… they were in a public place, surrounded by slack-jawed ordinary people... and frankly, he was Bruce Wayne. Word was bound to get around. He could already picture the headlines… "Daddy's Girl: Bruce Wayne's Second Daughter?"

"Rachel…" Raven looked up over Bruce's shoulder to see Talia al Ghul standing behind them. She rushed forward, cupping Raven's face and looking right into her with her piercing jade eyes. "Rachel, I'm so sorry. We came as soon as we heard…"

As Raven reached up and put a pale hand over Talia's dark fingers, a grey-haired doctor stepped out into the waiting room. "Excuse me, we're looking for the family of Mr. Damian Wayne…?"

Bruce turned to look the man in the eye. "I'm Bruce Wayne. I'm Damian's father… we're his family." The billionaire began gesturing to everyone in their group. "This is his mother, Talia Head, his sister Cassandra, and his fiancée, Rachel Roth. And over there is Jonathan White, Damian's Best Man."

Cassie stepped forward. "How is he?"

The doctor put a hand on Cass' shoulder and smiled. "It's a miracle, but he's gonna be fine. We'd like to keep him here for a few days just to be on the safe side, but he's sustained very little injury. We had to pull some glass out of his back, and he'll have to come back in a few months for the stitches to come out, but he's practically undamaged otherwise. No broken bones, no damage to any organs… all he has are some shallow glass wounds and a mild concussion."

"Oh God!" Bruce fell to his knees, hugging Raven close to him as he began to tear up. "Thank God! Oh God, my boy… our boy's okay. He's okay." Talia threw her arms around both of them as Jon ran up and did the same, all of them crying and laughing at the good news.

"Can we see him?" Cass asked, her face expressing her relief.

"Of course. He's just woken up, and asked for Ms. Roth by name." The doctor beckoned them forward. "If you'll all just come with me…"

The group rushed down the hall and into a small room at the end of the corridor. There lying in a bed by the window was Damian, all dressed down in a hospital down, his eyes half-open and glazed over, with a little smile on his face.

"Hey…" the Son of Batman said slowly, still clearly dazed from the sedatives. "Dad? Cassie…? Mama? What are you guys doin' here?"

"Damian…!" Raven ran to the bedside and grabbed her Damian's face, pressing their lips together as tears streamed down her face. Damian's eyes drifted shut as he brought his hand to her face, one lighting on her cheek as the other ran through her hair. After a brief moment, Raven broke away to look into the boy's tired eyes.

Damian licked his lips and grinned back at her. "Rae…" he mumbled, "… have I ever told you you smell like strawberries…?"

Raven bit her lip as she felt her laughter coming up, holding in her reaction as best she could… unlike Jonathan, who had to walk back out into the hallway because he was laughing so hard. "Baby, you were in an accident," she said, fighting back her giggle. "Do you remember?"

"Yeah… yeah, I got hit by a car." Damian scratched his head as he thought back. "Like… I got hit by a car… into another car, right?"

Raven grinned as she nodded. "That's right, Damian," she stuttered. "But the doctors say you're okay. You're gonna have to stay in bed for awhile, but you're gonna be okay."

"Oh, good!" Damian exclaimed, his face beaming. "That's really good! Can I… can I come home?"

"Not yet, baby…" the mage-girl cooed as she stroked Damian's hair. "We need to wait a few days, okay? But I'm gonna be right here. I'll be right here until we get to bring you home."

"M'kay…" Damian smiled back at the girl. "Raven, I'm so glad you're here…"

"Me too, Dame… me too." Raven touched her nose to his gently, prompting a tired giggle from the boy. She turned to walk off so someone else could see him, and…

"Ooh… still cute."

Raven's face turned completely red as she realized what the drug-addled Titan was referring to. Damian lazily snickered as the poor girl walked past Talia, whose jaw had long since dropped at her son's practically non-existent inhibitions.

"Damian!" Talia yelled, biting back a cackle. "That was incredibly inappropriate!"

"Hey, Mama!" Damian shouted, arms outstretched. "I love you, Mama!" Talia just shook her head and wrapped her arms around her son.

"Damian, I think we ought to have Raven heal you now…" Bruce whispers from across the room. "I heard about Riddler being here in California, and it would be best for everyone if we got you back in the field soon."

The half-conscious Damian shook his head. "We rely too heavily on Rae-Rae's healie-doo…" (Raven visibly cringed at the mention of the nickname) "I think I should juss do thissun analog. Old-school healies, y'know." At this point, even Bruce had to hold back a chuckle.

"Well, that still leaves the issue of Riddler to deal with. I have to get back to Gotham, but I think I know someone who can help…" the Batman smirked as he pulled out his phone, holding it up to his ear. "… Hey, it's me. Your semester just let out, right? Because I'm calling in a solid you owe me."