FORGIVE ME FOR THE LONG WAIT….HELL, EVEN I WAS LIKE 'I HAVEN'T WRITTEN DONE A SENTENCE IN A WEEK'. BUT WORK IS WORK. AND SCHOOL IS SCHOOL. AND WHEN YOU DECIDE TO TAKE AN ENGLISH CLASS EVEN THOUGH YOU DON'T NEED TO TAKE ANYMORE ENGLISH CLASS, YOU REALIZED, OH, ENGLISH REQUIRES A LOT OF READING AND WRITING. AND THE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF TITANIC IS COMING UP, SO I KNOW MY MIND WILL BE SOMEWHERE ELSE IN APRIL. SORRY, THAT'S MY OBESSIVE AUTISTIC TRAIT COMING OUT, I TENDED TO OBSESSED ABOUT THE TITANIC WHEN I WAS YOUNGER AND ALWAYS FOUND IT A FASCINATING SUBJECT TO TAKE ON WHENEVER I HAD THE CHANCE TO READ ABOUT OR TALK ABOUT. BUT SINCE IT IS 'THE' HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY, ONE OF THOSE ONCE IN A LIFE TIME THINGS, IT KIND OF GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT MY MIND IS ALL OVER IT.

YES, I WILL BE SEEING THE MOVIE, EVEN IF IT IS IN 3-D, MAINLY BECAUSE I NEVER SAW IT IN THEATERS WHEN IT CAME OUT WHEN I WAS 6 BECAUSE I WAS 6. I WAS 6, I TOLD PEOPLE I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE PEOPLE DIE, BECAUSE IT'S A DIASTER MOVIE TOO ON TOP OF A ROMANCE MOVIE, AND I'M 6. I ALSO DIDN'T CARE ABOUT LEO, BECAUSE I WAS A 6 YEAR OLD AUTISTIC CHILD, I WASN'T ATTRACTED TO ANYBODY BY THEIR LOOKS, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE SHOULD LOOK LIKE, BECAUSE I GO BY PERSONALITY OR HUMOR RATHER THEN PHYSICAL ATTRACTION. I STILL DON'T SEE LEO AS THIS HANDSOME FELLOW, BUT WHATEVER, OTHER WOMEN LOVE IT. NO, I LOVE TITANIC BECAUSE OF THE MYTHOS AND THE STORY AROUND IT.

IT'S THE STORY OF LIFE, I BELIEVE. THERE'S A COMMUNITY WITH A CLASS DIVISION, AND IN THAT CLASS DIVISION THERE IS MORE DIVISION AMONG RACE OR HOW A PERSON CAME INTO FORTUNE. THEY LIVE WELL UNTIL TRAGDEY STRIKES AND IT SHOWS PEOPLE'S TRUE CHARACTER WHEN THEY HAVE TO MAKE LIFE AND DEATH DECISIONS. THEIR SENSE OF BRAVERY FOR THOSE MEN THAT STAYED BEHIND, KNOWING THEIR WIVES MIGHT BE WIDOWS, FOR THE WOMEN WHO STAYED BEHIND WITH THEIR MEN BECAUSE THEY RATHER DIE WITH THEM THEN LIVE ALONE. THEIR SENSE OF SELFISHNESS, NOT GOING BACK TO POSSIBLY RESCUE OTHERS BECAUSE THEY CLAIM, 'WELL, WE POSSIBLY CAN'T FIT ANYMORE PEOPLE', EVEN THOUGH THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN SOME SENSE OF WANTING TO AT LEAST TRY TO HELP OTHERS.

THEIR SENSE OF MOURNING, AS SOME WOMEN AND CHILDREN WENT HYSTERICAL IN THE LIFE BOATS WHEN THEY SAY THAT THE SHIP ACTUALLY DID SINK, DESPITE WHAT THEY WERE TOLD WAS ONLY A PRECAUSION, AND HAD A FEELING THAT THEIR HUSBANDS OR FATHERS HAD GONE DOWN WITH THE SHIP. AND THE SENSE OF HONOR, AS THOSE WHO KNEW IN ADVANCE THAT THERE EITHER WASN'T ENOUGH LIFE BOATS OR WERE GOING DOWN WITH THE SHIP BECAUSE THEY WERE REQUIRED TO HELP OTHERS BEFORE THEY HELPED THEMSELVES, SUCH AS THE CAPTAIN, A LOT OF THE CREW MEMBERS, AND THE BAND, THAT PLAYED UNTIL THE WATER HIT THEIR FEET.

AFTER THE TRAGDEY, NOBODY CARES ABOUT THE LITTLE THINGS LIKE MONEY OR CLASS DIVISION ANYMORE. NO, ALL THEY WANT TO DO IS GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE AND SURVIVED.

YOU CAN ARGUE THAT THE MOVIE IS OVERRATED OR THE ROMANCE IS A LITTLE FORCED, BUT TO ME, SINCE THERE WASN'T ANY RECORDINGS OF THE SHIP GOING DOWN OR PICTURES, WE COULD ONLY GO BY HOW IT LOOKED GOING DOWN FROM THE MOVIE. IT'S TRYING TO DOCUMENT HISTORY, AND TO ME THAT IS MORE WORTHY THEN SOME BLUE VERSION OF THE RETELLING OF DANCES WITH WOLVES SET IN A WHATEVER WORLD. YEAH, I SAID IT, I DIDN'T CARE FOR AVATAR.

It had been a few months since Garfield had threatened Lydia to spank her, and it had just been weeks after the big wedding had ended. Lydia was lying in her purple bed, looking up at the ceiling, as she couldn't sleep. She touched the outline of her gem on her forehead, as the smooth design comforted her. Her mother was going to give birth soon to her new sibling, but something felt wrong about it. If it came time when her sister or brother would ask her who was Mama's father, Lydia wouldn't have an answer, and that didn't feel right. She had to change that or she wouldn't be the greatest sibling in the history of the world. Oh, boy, was she aiming for that title.

But for the moment all she could do was meditate.

The next day, Lydia waited until she it was her naptime before she put her plan into action. She waited for about twenty minutes, making sure Starfire was quite busy with Bruce in the living room. She then put pillows on her bed and quietly opened her door. She checked the hallway to make sure it was clear and then proceeded to make her way to her parents' room, which was just one flight of stairs below her. The rest of the Titans were out, including her mother, which was quite surprising, since before Raven was insistent upon staying home. But now, she was out there along with everyone else.

Lydia didn't understand what her mother was doing as she was once told that Raven would stay home before the baby came, but now…..something changed that plan.

Whatever kind of logic her mother was following, Lydia was just grateful that her mother would be out for that day at least, so Lydia could snoop around in their room. Something intrigued about the mystery man known as her second grandpa. Oh, how she was warned not to discussed the issue anymore, as it would upset Mama, but surely if Lydia just found out and didn't tell her parents, she could solve the mystery and not get in trouble. Simple as that.

Who was this mystery man? What did he possibly do to be considered a disgusting person by both her mother and father. Her mother, she could understand. Raven, was well, Raven. She liked and heavily disliked things to an extreme, but didn't show it often. Her father however, baffled Lydia. He was such a people person, so why did he hate this particular person so much? Garfield had told Lydia before that he had forgiven many criminals before, only because they tended to turned to a life of crime in desperation due to the lack of jobs available in the city or just a run of bad luck. Even though he had to stop these criminals and exclaim that it was stupid to become a robber, he didn't blame those that did lead that life.

Now villains were another problem altogether, they were just greedy. So, was this mystery man possibly a villain that didn't have any sympathy from Daddy?

She crept down the stairs, as the elevator would create noise, which she had unfortunately discovered one time. Then it hit her, both her parents were out there in the battlefield.

Both.

And just by picturing the idea of Daddy getting smacked around or getting tortured by the criminals, or Mama falling many stories up in the air, only to come crashing down into the hard, concrete surface, leaving her breathless on the pavement was too much. And then she started imaging her Uncles and Aunt explaining to her that she no longer had a Daddy or Mama….

"Ahh!" She cried out as her black energy destroyed a light bulb and caused the glass to fall from the ceiling, cutting her arm up.

"There, does that hurt?" Starfire asked as she placed another band-aid on Lydia's arms. They were sitting quietly in the living room, with Lydia feeling defeated in her mission. Star knew something was going on, as it was unusual for Lydia to hurt herself with her powers when she was alone, but she didn't say anything.

Lydia looked up to her. "Don't tell Mama."

"Why not?" She asked, surprised.

"I wasn't supposed—I-I just can't talk about it."

"Are you afraid she will be disappointed that you hurt yourself?" She asked, grabbing her small, pale hand. Lydia appreciated the small comfort.

"It's not that….I just can't….I'm not allowed to talk about it."

"Talk about what?" Starfire asked, lifting one of her eyebrows.

"I was doing something that…" She admitted.

"What were you doing?" Starfire asked, gently tightening her hand.

"Mama told me not to ask about it and Daddy told me never to talk about it."

"What is 'it'? What is going on, little one? I do not understand you." Lydia looked up into her eyes, and decided it was safe enough for her to talk. "Please, tell me what is going on. Your parents will not get mad."

"Okay," Lydia started. "Okay, well, Daddy's parents are dead, so…"

The battle outside the coffee shop continued on as Raven tried as calmly as possible to read her book. She was far away from the battleground to not be worried or even concern about her safety and comfort, but she could still hear the fight. She was wearing a blue long sleeve maternal shirt, with black sweats, complete with her cloak, as she still wanted to hide from the world with her hood. She was in a small, remote, nicely lit coffee house, which had a number of classics playing in the background, even though there were some outspoken Starbucks hipsters who wanted to listen to contemporary music or jazz. The owners were classical buffs and refused to abide by the request from the Starbucks crowd as there was a Starbucks two blocks away.

But whatever, it was quiet, and it was pretty empty anyway. Normally, she just would have gone to the park, but even she wanted a change of scenery every now and then.

Although she was recommended by doctors and her teammates out there that she should stay home and start nesting, she didn't want to be away from Garfield. So, she would go where he went, and damn to those reporters who told her otherwise.

She couldn't explain it; she just didn't want to be too far away from Garfield at the current moment. Maybe it was her coping with her father in her dreams, maybe it was the pregnancy, or maybe it was just combination of both. Whatever it was, she was getting out of the Tower and following Garfield to his job, just so she could feed off of his positive energy. Or maybe so he could be the first person she sees when she starts to feel that sinking sensation of loneliness, which only doubled with the pregnancy.

Nobody else minded her presence near their battles, but Robin would sometimes try to give her hints on staying home instead by claiming that Lydia must be lonely back home, or gee, what is Lydia doing? She knew what he was doing, she didn't like it, but knew it was something she would have to deal with, for now at least.

"Did you want any-anything else, Miss.—I mean Mrs. Logan?" Asked the female barista with strawberry blond hair at the counter, as she was a bit nervous to have the pregnant Titan sitting there alone. She was just reading, and the barista felt sorry for her.

"No, I'm fine." Raven said, without lifting her head up, as she preferred not to gaze at her yellow locks. This always kept happening whenever she went somewhere. As soon as any random person would come in contact with her, they would ask, 'are you alright?', 'do you need anything else', 'can I do anything for you', and the occasional 'can I feel it'?

She did not fully realize how influential or powerful her presence was on the big city. She heard stories of other pregnant women who would follow her diet plan—only because she was a celebrity and the only Titan to ever become pregnant on her team. Everyone had their own 'thing', on the team, as Cyborg once elaborately said. Every team member was remembered for one thing or another and there were always odd groups in the city who would followed their trend. Whether it was Cyborg's knowledge of technology, Garfield's vegan lifestyle, or Robin and Starfire's romance to be overanalyzed in other's mind as the greatest romance story ever told since Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

So, apparently besides always wanting to be the 'quiet' one on the team, she was now 'the pregnant one'. That was her 'thing'. That became an interesting turn of events, since the pregnant women in the city started to take a more holistic approach to their condition, just as Raven had done, having an increase request for midwives as more women wanted home deliveries.

"So," Said the barista, trying hard to make small talk as she had nothing else to do. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Don't you read the papers?" Raven said, still giving her full attention to her book.

"I don't trust them. One day it's a boy, the next day it's a girl, and the day after that it's twins." She said, not noticing Raven's annoyance.

"We don't know yet. So—"

"You don't know yet?" She interrupted, her voice becoming ecstatic. "I mean, you're almost due and the entire city's watching and…."

Oh, why did she leave the Tower again? Now, she had the voice of the barista in her ear. Even if she tried to asked the girl to stop talking so she could enjoy her book, the barista girl would then get upset, and just create some negative energy around Raven. Staying home would have been easier to have peace and quiet….but there was this driving force that wanted her to be close to Garfield as much as possible.

Did everyone in the city forget that she did not like conversations? That she wasn't a very social Titan? And yet, anyone who was close enough to her that wasn't immediately struck down by her powers would just begin to ask her a hundred and one questions about her pregnancy. She started to regret her decision to leave the Tower, but then she felt that familiar sting of energy that made her forget about her annoyance with the barista.

She looked up and spotted her green companion walking over to the door and waving at her for her attention, smiling. Her eyes lit up and she gave him a small smile, as she stood up, interrupting the barista's speech. She covered herself in her cloak before walking away, leaving a small tip on her table. Now, that'll get her to shut up.

"So, how was your day?" He asked as she walked out, holding his hand so she wouldn't lose her balance.

"Apparently, I am supposed to know the gender by now, so other's can live in peace." She said sarcastically, as they walked down the street, heading to the ocean. They were not too far into the city, so most of the buildings were small with professional graffiti art on the side.

"Just only a month or two, you'll give them a front page story, and then the press will be over this and focus on something else." He said. "This is just a distraction from their own problems. Pretty soon, there will be a new restaurant opening or some new TV show will start and everybody will be talking about that."

They walked down to the park with grass as far as the eye can see, with a variety of wetland plants, such as purple Japanese Irises, yellow daisies, and a small dock at the end of the other side. There were a few spots where families could set up a picnic or have a nice place to read with a few wooden red benches around the area. This is usually where she would have waited, but she felt like staying inside today.

"I am tired of going into the city, because I hate the attention," Raven said, uncovering her cloak, so she could rest her hand on her stomach. She looked into his eyes. "But I want to be near you." She said biting her lip, as she was trying to hide her desperation in her voice.

"It's okay." He said, seeing her shift her eyes down as she said so. He put a hand on her chin and gently lifted it up, making her looked into his eyes. They stood there for a while just staring at each other before he took a hold of her hand for support. "It's okay."

He then let go and made room for himself so he could transform into a fifty foot pterodactyl, with him lowering his wing down so Raven could climb up onto his back. She held onto his thick skin as he lifted up into the air.

When they returned to the Tower, they were greeted with a team meeting in the living room, with both Lydia and Starfire sitting in the center of the room, waiting for the two Titans. Starfire was sitting on the couch, holding Lydia's hand, which was covered in band aids. Lydia couldn't look up to meet her parents, as she was somewhat ashamed of her confession to Starfire. Garfield ran over to where Lydia was, and gently stroked her hair, wondering what happened, as Raven slowly walked over to them, already knowing what this 'team meeting' was about.

"We have a situation." Robin said, folding his arms, as he stood by Starfire. "Lydia hurt herself today from missing Raven too much."

"It was not just Raven though, Robin. She was missing both of them." Starfire said, interrupting his train of thought. He put his hand up to stop her; he wasn't in the mood to argue with details.

"The point is that she hurt herself, and if it is because of the fact that both of her parents were out, and couldn't be here to comfort her, then we have a problem." He said, looking over to Garfield. "The thing is, Beast Boy, I don't want Raven out there anymore. I'm sorry, but Raven's vacation starts today."

Garfield was shocked and angered by this news, just like when he heard Raven was kicked off the team when she was pregnant the first time. Raven was quiet and still, as she was expecting the news. However, the familiar wound still hurt her, nonetheless. Here she was, healing, not only emotionally, but psychology, from her past by being with Garfield as much as possible, but that had to end.

She saw Garfield jump up and started arguing with Robin, with Starfire yelling back at Garfield, defending her husband's position as the leader. Then Cyborg started telling Starfire to lay off his green friend, seeing both sides of the situation. Raven only focused her attention on Lydia, who was trying to fade back into the couch and pretend she was invisible throughout the whole ordeal. She couldn't see Lydia's face, but her posture showed her as a defeated person, tired of fighting and tired of asking questions.

Raven took Lydia's hand and guided her away from the room, going into the hallway.

Lydia still kept her head down, not even welcoming her mother home. It was like she was lifeless, as she was just drifting from day to day. What was going on? Raven closed the door so they could be alone, as she sensed something was wrong. It was more than just the adults arguing. Even more then her little injury. Something was troubling Lydia.

"Lydia?" Raven asked quietly as she kneeled down to her. Raven tried to get Lydia to look into her eyes, but she knew it was a losing battle. However, she still persisted and tried to lift her chin up. "Lydia, you need to talk to me." But Lydia wouldn't budge or make any indication that she would talk.

Raven could still hear everyone arguing in the other room, needlessly fighting over her. She was after all a big girl; she could figure something out for the next few months. Although, the only thing she wanted right now was Garfield's warm green skin to comfort her at the moment. It wasn't Lust. No, she didn't want sex, she just wanted him, and him only.

Was there anything more animalistic or needy other then Lust? Love, maybe. Passion, probably. Although, Timid was the most likely candidate. But she wasn't sad, she was just desperate to be close to Garfield at all times? Maybe it was Love after all, and it was just that emotion was just craving attention at the moment than any other emotion because of the pregnancy.

But for the moment, she had to snap out of her own world and focus on her pale-skin, green eyes daughter. If only Lydia looked more like her father. Her Demonic genes could easily dominate Garfield's blond hair, Caucasian genes. All in all, Lydia was actually lucky to be able to inherit Garfield's green eyes. However, Raven feared that the new baby would look just like her too, keeping the Demonic look in the family, but there were always cases of babies having a mutant gene and ended up looking like their great-great grandmother instead of their parents. That's how red heads still existed. Maybe Garfield had some European blood in him that could have skip Lydia's genes, but could stick to this new baby's genes?

That was a big maybe.

"Lydia?" Raven asked desperately, holding onto her hands, as she was trying to get her to look up. "What's going on, Lydia? How did you hurt yourself? Talk to me, please."

Finally, for the love of Azarath, Lydia slowly looked up into Raven's eyes. "Mama?" She asked in the most hushed voice. "Am-am I a monster?"

Raven eyes widen and the hair on the back of her hands stood up. She didn't move or say anything. She couldn't believe what she heard and yet she had heard it. Out loud. The voices she heard from the Monks were ringing in her ear.

"She's a monster, I tell you." One of them would say.

"Now, why do you always complain about Arella's child?" Another would reply. "She is only a child and she already knows her limitations on her emotions. We all made a vow to help out the little Raven child those many years ago, you cannot back out now. She is not a monster."

Those types of speeches were sometimes said in front of Raven, without any remorse from the person raising the issue. Even though Azarath was a utopia outside of Earth, there were still times someone had to remind her who she was and where she had come from. And now, the thing she had been dreading, had been praying not to come, had come.

"Mama? Did you hear me?" Lydia asked, wondering why Raven wasn't responding yet. The pauses made her start to suspect that maybe it was true.

Raven blinked a few times, before she breathed heavily. "What makes you think you're—you're a monster?" She shivered as she said the word.

"Aunt Starry told me about…." She said, pausing before she looked away. "About grandpa."

"Wh—What? Starfire told you…" Raven tried to ask, but her voice trailed off as she began to realize that Lydia found out about her grandfather. "No, no, no, no…" She repeated to herself, letting go of Lydia's hand and lowering her head.

"Mama?" Lydia cautiously asked, as she was afraid she had gotten her answer. "Is-is it true? Was grandpa a de—a demon? A monster? Is….is that why I can't show my feelings? Mama?"

"No, no, no, no." Was all Raven could say, but Lydia knew she was talking to herself and not answering her question. This was not how she wanted Lydia to find out, not now at least. Not now. She's too young to understand what Trigon was or at least too young to have that kind of knowledge.

Raven felt that she herself was too young to learn about Trigon when she was four-years old, but her mother wasn't afraid to tell her then, just young enough to install fear into her heart, but yet, she couldn't feel that fear now, could she? And when she did have these fears about her father, she was made to feel guilty about it whenever she caused destruction to her beloved Azarath. So, Raven didn't want to be like her mother, but she didn't foresee any of her teammates informing their niece about Raven's father to Lydia.

Lydia's innocence was lost forever, as far as Raven knew. Seeing her parents being beaten up in a fight was nothing compared to learning about her 'grandpa', her reason why she couldn't be a normal child in the world. She thought she could get her own way, that Lydia really wouldn't know about Trigon until she was at least a teenager or at least until after the baby was born, but Raven had lost that battle.

"Mama?" She asked, hoping that she wasn't in trouble. "I know I wasn't supposed to ask…but Aunt Starry said it was okay if she told."

What could she tell Lydia? Fuck your Aunt Starfire, she went against my word? No, it wasn't Starfire's fault really, although it was so easy to hate her for that; she didn't know about the Logan's policy about Trigon and when Lydia was supposed to know about him. For all Starfire knew was that this was the first time Lydia ever had an interest in Trigon. But surely, Star should have at least talked to them before she decided to tell Lydia everything.

"Aunt Starry doesn't understand what she did," Raven said, as she was slowly coming out of her trance. She looked up at Lydia, trying to find the words other then blasphemies towards Starfire. "I didn't want you to know about him….he isn't a father and he sure isn't your grandpa. Don't call him 'grandpa'."

"What do I call him then?" She asked. Raven was shocked and almost speechless for Lydia's lack of sympathy towards her very emotional, not to mention pregnant, mother. Surely, Lydia knew what she did was wrong? Although, she was taught not to express extreme emotions.

"N—Nothing. You weren't supposed to know about him." She said in a stern voice. She stood up and looked over to the living room door. The argument had settled down a bit and she thought that it was safe enough for her to walk in again.

She kneeled back down to Lydia and took a hold of her arm. She released her black energy on Lydia's bruises. She would lecture her later on her behavior, but for now, Raven had to settle at least one problem. They both walked into the room.

"Guys, come on, work with me here." Garfield pleaded to the team, as Raven walked into the room, with Lydia hiding behind her, as she thought she could stay on Mama's good side if she were to be the obedient little daughter.

Starfire and Robin were both on one side of the couch, while Cyborg was on the other side, and Garfield was standing in the middle, pleading his case to them. Cyborg had managed to changed sides when Robin raised the question what would happen to Raven if she were to go into labor in the city while they were off fighting? Would she be taken to a hospital at that point? She hated hospitals, but she wouldn't have a choice if she can't fly back home and nobody is willing to risk a pregnant woman giving birth on their boat.

But Garfield argued that he could easily get a hold of her and fly her back home. However, Starfire asked if that would affect his ability to be on the team if he is constantly thinking about Raven giving birth when he is fighting? Garfield agreed that it would be hard to not think about her, but Raven was having a hard time as well, as she was coping with a dream she had…oh, what he meant to say was that she was just coping in general and couldn't be without him for some time. Yeah, that's what it was.

"I don't know what to do, Beast Boy." Robin said, with his arms folded as he was about to give his final word on the matter. "Other than to have Raven stay home."

"But…" He said, looking behind him to see Raven and Lydia standing there quietly in the distance. "But…what about this? What if I just stay home too? Huh? Then I won't keep the team down with my own worries and Raven could be near me for these coming months."

"Stay home? Beast Boy, it would only be Cyborg and I out there if you do that. We need at least three people." Robin said.

"Who says?" He challenged Robin. "You guys can take care of those criminals. Besides, you knew I was going to have a leave of absence anyway when the baby was born, well, now, I decided to do it a few months early."

"Robin." Starfire spoke up to Robin, patting his hand and smiling. "If it becomes really chaotic, I can always lend a hand."

"Oh, but Starfire, what about Bruce—" He said.

"I'll be leaving him with Beast Boy and Raven. Do not be silly Robin, let him stay home. They are expecting a baby after all." She said. This seemed to keep him quiet, as he blushed and nodded his head.

"Okay." He said to her before turning his attention to Garfield. "You can stay home."

Garfield let out a 'yes', pushing his fist down in glory, before he ran over to Raven. His cheerfil mood change when he saw her gloomy face.

"What's going on?" He asked. "Cheer up, I get to stay home."

"It's not that, although I am grateful about the news." She said, grabbing his hand and gripping it tight. "No, we have another problem."

"Okay, so let me get this straight," Garfield lectured Lydia, while she sat on their bed as he was pacing the room. Raven was sitting next to Lydia, but she kept her distance as she allowed Garfield his time to parent. "You were going to snoop in our room?"

"Yeah." Lydia admitted, looking down.

"But then you hurt yourself? And when Starfire was comforting you, she just decided to tell you?" He asked, glaring at her.

"Yeah." She said in a defeated tone.

"You didn't ask her?" He asked.

"No….well, I told Aunt Starry about what happened and she decided to tell me about grandpa….I mean him." Garfield folded his arms.

"Did Starfire know that you were not supposed to know about him?" He asked. Lydia didn't say anything. "Well?"

"No. She didn't know." She admitted. He was beyond mad at that point. She had gone against his word, against his warning, and after he just adverted one crisis, with Raven and the baby, he now had a new crisis to face. "So, how bad was he? Is that why Grandma Arella lives far away?"

"Lydia, not now." Raven said. "We'll discuss it later."

"But that's what you guys keep saying and I want to know—"

"Lydia, you are not in a position to be complaining right now." Garfield interrupted her. "Mama will talk about it when Mama is ready to talk about it. He is not exactly the easiest person to talk about with us, we don't like him and we didn't want you to know about him until you were older for a good reason."

"But Daddy—"

"—Lydia, please let your father finish." Raven interrupted her, glaring down with her violet eyes to Lydia's green ones.

He breathed in and out, trying one of his calming exercises that Raven had told him to take after his heart attack. He was beginning to feel the stress. "Come here." He said, standing in the middle of the room.

Lydia stood up and walked over to him. Raven knew what was going to happened, she didn't like it, but she wasn't in a position to do anything. She had given him a child, and she promised him long time ago that she was going allow him to discipline her in whatever means he felt was right. They both didn't have the best upbringing in the world, so they could only go by what they thought was right for each situation they faced together with Lydia.

"I'm going to spank you, you understand?" He asked Lydia as he kneeled down to her level.

She nodded. He stood up, breathed in and out, and then grabbed her arm before he started slapping her bottom. He heard her cry out in pain, although he wasn't hitting her that hard, the emotional shock was harming to her more than the physical pain. After a few more strikes he practiced on her, he couldn't take it anymore. There were tears developing in his eyes. He stopped and let go of her arm, turning around to hide his face from her.

"Okay, that's enough, (Sniffing) go to your room and meditate. Mama will tuck you in later." He said in a struggling voice.

She said 'okay' and walked out of the room. Raven walked over to Garfield and hugged him tightly. He began to sob softly in her arms as she sway him back and forth, rubbing his back.

"It's okay." She whispered.

"I didn't want to do it." He said, wiping his nose and tears on her cloak. "I never-never was spanked or discipline in a physi-physical manner, and I thought I would never-never do it to her…but I didn't know (Sniffing) I didn't know what else to do."

"I know." She said, drawing him closer into her arms, not caring about her attire for the moment.

"I just don't under-understand those parents who aren't-aren't afraid to beat up their kids needlessly. Doesn't it break-break their hearts when they-they do it? (Sniffing)"

"I'm sure it does." She said, although she knew it wasn't true for all parents who spanked or even whipped their kids. Garfield was just a different person then they were and she wasn't going to judge other parents who didn't share Garfield's sentiment. Lydia was Lydia, and senselessly beating up a quarter born Demon was not only stupid, but would only end in disaster. Like the ending of Carrie. "You'll be home now. That will give us some time to heal and talk to Lydia."

"I-I hope." He said.

A few days later, when the tension between father and daughter had settled down, Garfield and Raven had a long lecture with Lydia in their room about the importance of trust and patience, and when it was over, they pulled out all the books on Trigon.

"His name is Trigon." Garfield started, showing Lydia a picture of him in his true Demonic form. It was a black and white drawing of him, so the picture wasn't as intense to Lydia as it was for Raven to see. She sat on the edge of the bed, trying not to look too long at each picture. "When he was born, he killed everyone near him."

"Why?" Lydia asked, wondering how a baby could have such power. She sat in the middle of the bed, while Garfield was handing her book after book about him.

"He's just evil. He is greedy, selfish, mean, arrogant, and just a nasty person to be around. He only ever thinks about himself and power. He was born a Demon, and he decided to take advantage of his powers and follow the path of other Demons." He said, trying to narrate the not-so-nice story nicely. "When he met Grandma Arella, he pretended to be someone else. Someone nice."

"But he wasn't." Lydia said, as she saw another drawing of Trigon, this one was a little more detailed though.

"No, he wasn't." He concurred, showing a black and white drawing of Arella in Raven's Azarath History Book. "By the time she found out about the real him, she was pregnant with your Mama, who was carrying the Demon genes."

"Genes?" Lydia asked.

"Yes, genes are….they are the thing inside of you that makes you, you. Like blood or….your dark violet hair." He said, as he untied her ponytail to allow her hair to run wild. He gently stroked her hair with the back of his hand, as he flipped the pages. "So then Grandma Arella ran away from him."

He skipped the pages that talked about Arella's rape, her attempted suicide, or even the implication that Raven was going to bring destruction to Azarath. It was disheartening to know that Raven was feared or even hated for a bit just because of who her father was and what the prophecy was supposed to bring. Raven had told him before that those that hated her were among the minority and she was always defended by others because she was just another victim of Trigon's wrath. However, he still didn't like the paragraph containing the 'controversy to keep the Demon child' in print.

Raven decided to meditate at this point, since she could start to feel the negative energy creeping out of Lydia and Garfield as they had to read about Mama's past. She closed her eyes and tried to tune out Garfield's voice as she started chanting under her breath. Garfield looked over to see Raven in that familiar position. He flipped to another page, showing a picture of Trigon's eyes.

"During that time, your Mama could feel Trigon's powers trying to overtake her. Grandma Arella was a little stricter with her then she is with you." He said, flipping to the page with a picture of Azarath's majestic city scrapers and the serene Temples. "Mama didn't have friends of her own age; she just had the Monks, who taught her how to control her powers and how to be at peace with herself."

"So, there weren't any kids in Aza...Az-rith?" She asked, looking up at him.

"No. Well, I'm sure there were children…but Mama lived in the Temples, not in city with the other children. And it's pronounced 'Az-a-rath'." He said, noting that she had a hard time saying that word. "You hear it a million times by Mama, how do you not know how to pronounce it by now?" He teased, turning another page.

"It's hard sometimes because Aunt Starry tries to teach me her words." She defended.

"I'm just teasing." He said, kissing her head, as he really wanted to get past the spanking he gave her a while ago. "So, as I was saying…"

Garfield proceeded to tell Lydia everything she needed to know about Trigon, at least enough for her age. It was not the most pleasant conversation for Raven to overhear, but she didn't want to leave the room, as she wanted to support Garfield as he went on to explain her heritage for her. She was still somewhat mad at Starfire, but decided not to confront her yet about the betrayal she displayed, as she was trying to think positive thought these last few weeks she had with the pregnancy.

But some things were easier said then done.

I'M GOING TO BED NOW. GOODNIGHT.