This was part of a 3 chapter update, make sure you read the previous two!

I can look at you and tell that you don't know. You don't know what its like to be held in his arms after making love all night. You don't know what its like to wake up with your head on his chest and to listen to his heart beat. Not only beat, but to beat foryou. You don't know what it's like to wake up and hear him say Good morning beautiful. You don't know the passion behind a kiss. You don't know what it's like to have his hands running through your hair and his lips on your neck, growling your name. You don't know what it's like to feel be wantedmore than anything life has to offer.

She was beginning to understand.

Not in a logical sense, but in more of a spiritual way. That was the thing about it that she hadn't understood at the time. It was never about how she thought it was nice, how it was relaxing, how pleasing it was to cuddle him. It was about how her soul felt afterwards. It was about the deep seated satisfaction that permeated her very existence. It was that feeling of utter calmness mixed with a bubbling happiness and a joy for life itself.

Though they had only been legitimately together for a few weeks, Raven was beginning to truly understand love. It was more than thoughts, more than feelings, more than actions. It was all of them at the same time. The drastic changes had become little ones over the course of a night because all was right when it was said and done. That was just the tip of the iceberg with love and she wasn't going to shy from it.

She had basically collapsed into her boyfriends bed last night in a state of utter exhaustion from the strain of dealing with Rose's rampaging emotions (mixed with Eddie's resurgent grief). He had been right there beside her, cuddling her in bed without question, tucking them in without hesitation. Six months ago she wouldn't have even dreamed such a thing would be happening. And yet now it was all she wanted: To see him every morning and night, to sleep beside him, just be around him even if they weren't doing stuff together. He had become her rock, her shady tree, her home. To hold her and help her in times like these and to reciprocate these things just as much.

And he just stepped into the role of supportive boyfriend like it was the most natural thing in the world. Well, perhaps it was genuinely more natural him than for her. His animalistic nature made his mind and soul process things differently than everyone else's. He had anointed her as his mate and adjusted his lifestyle to go along with hers in a very short time frame. He was completely and utterly devoted to her. Raven had made a few small changes here and there (aside from sleeping beside him) but it was rapidly becoming more and more evident that the longer their relationship went on, the more likely she would be finding a way to flow alongside his lifestyle like he did hers.

She was beginning to understand that love was a wonderful thing.

It was also absolutely terrifying.

What Rose had experienced, the emotions she had gone through after Eddie had left and the ones she went through yesterday…those were terrifying. The sheer fear, the overwhelming grief, the sickening guilt, the sadness, all of it absolutely horrified her.

Raven had been forced to suppress her emotions for so much of her life that it was second nature to her. But her blossoming feelings for Garfield had also changed her. She was learning to feel more and more. She was happy and it was such a wonderful feeling that she never wanted it to go away.

But now that little worm of fear existed in her heart.

Would she experience something similar if she and Garfield broke up? What would happen to all of that happiness? The love? The emotion? Would she end up like Rose?

These thoughts were how she wound up in her mind, staring at her new emotion. It was one she certainly didn't want in her psyche.

Fear.

This wasn't like the incident with the Wicked Scary movie. That had been Timid's fault more than anything. This was a whole new emotion in and of itself.

It was a tiny thing, hardly larger than Emelia, with a black cloak that seemed to absorb all light. She (figuratively speaking) sat with her knees pulled up and her face covered.

She didn't move. She didn't speak. She seemed to hardly exist.

But she was there still.

"Keep an eye on Fear at all times." Raven said softly to Brave. She had decided that her courage was the primary one that could properly keep her new sister-emotion under control. Timid didn't need Brave to balance her out much anymore, and certainly not to the extent that Fear needed it.

"I'll be right beside you." Knowledge chimed in. Brave nodded. Between courage and logic, fear should be controllable. They should be able to keep it from evolving into doubt (or worse, paranoia) if they work together.

"Living is complicated." Timid mumbled.

"Indeed." Raven replied to her emotion before making for the exit.

After she returned to her room, she sat on her bed and sighed. She was beginning to miss the days where her life was simpler. The days where she could go two or three days with nary a conversation with anyone, where she could read however much she wanted whenever she wanted wherever she wanted. She missed the days where she didn't have to take other people into consideration very much, where she didn't have to feel for them.

That's life though, isn't it? She thought to herself. Growing up is inevitable. Things change whether we want them to or not. If they didn't then life would stagnate and rot.

Her regret and nostalgia were a fleeting thing, lasting only seconds more before she banished them from her mind. As pleasant as those sounded, they were nothing more than dust motes on the wind compared to the fulfillment she got from her relationship with Garfield.

Before she left her room, she took the time to set some spiritual wards on herself. It wouldn't do to be overwhelmed by Rose again.

! ##!

Her trek to the common room was silent. Robin, Starfire, Emelia, and Martin were out getting groceries. The unusually irate Garfield was on patrol. She wondered why he was testy this morning. He had seemed fidgety last night when she fell asleep, but she didn't know why. Rose and Eddie were in Eddie's room still, for at some point last night they had both passed out. Raven could only guess it was from exhaustion. She couldn't blame them. Yesterday had been rough.

The television was still on when she entered, so she telekinetically hit the off button as she made her way to the kitchen. A cup of tea sounded nice.

As the water boiled, she let her mind wander.

She thought about what she had learned yesterday, about Slade's plan and how he acquired his DNA samples. They needed an incinerator. She would get Cyborg to order one and install it herself if need be. The thought of clones of her were unsettling. What was the possibility of one of them being used in some arcane ritual to resurrect Trigon? It was unlikely considering that Slade hated Trigon for betraying him, but it wasn't an impossibility either. Did these clones even have souls? Were they empty vessels waiting to be filled? She didn't know and she hated being ignorant about it.

But what she did know that she was disgusted with the fact that Slade had seen her and the other Titan girls naked. If the man was a pedophile, then there was a high possibility of him interacting with those clones.

Absolutely revolting is what it was.

Her tea kettle whistled, drawing her from her thoughts. Had she been paying more attention, she would have heard the door to the room open.

It didn't take long to make her cup of tea and when it was ready she took a deep breath of the pleasant fragrance. Tea was always so relaxing, even if one had to acquire a taste for it. This chamomile was one of her favorite and generally good for-

Open

Her head jerked up and towards the refrigerator, where the door had opened. She hadn't felt anyone enter the room, let alone heard anyone approach. She stared at the feet on the other side of the door (damn Cyborg and his insistence on getting the extra large fridge!), pale and almost sickly looking. She heard a growl of annoyance that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Then the door shut and revealed the intruder.

Pale skin, bloodshot eyes, disheveled white hair, a line of drool going down the chin.

Ghoul.

Raven dropped her tea and brought her hands up, ready to blast this undead thing back to wherever the hell it came from. If there was a ghoul in the tower then there was a necromancer there too and that was really-

"Good morning to you too." The ghoul grumbled.

Raven blinked in confusion a few times, then actually looked at the thing before her. It wasn't a ghoul.

It was Rose, wearing only a wrinkled white t shirt that was way too big for her. Eddie's shirt. She looked absolutely exhausted.

"Sorry." Raven said sheepishly as she lowered her hands. "You looked like an undead at first."

"I feel like one." The girl grumbled as she shuffled over by Raven and got a bowl from the cabinet, setting the milk down on the counter. Her emotions were borderline nonexistent, she was so zombielike.

Embarrassed, Raven used her magic to clean up her spilled tea and to repair the cup. She made another drink.

Other than the sound of Rose eating cereal (Robin's cheerios), the room was quiet. Raven didn't really know what to say to her. This was unfamiliar ground to the empath.

"What did you do to me?" Rose asked as she made a second bowl.

Raven was surprised at the sudden line of conversation. "Beg pardon?"

"You did something to me yesterday. Something that made me talk about things I didn't want to talk about." Rose said as she ate. She didn't seem angry at all.

Raven mulled it over for a moment. It *probably* wouldn't hurt to be truthful.

"I cast an enchantment on you, compulsion of truth." She said. "We needed to know everything and were afraid that we were about to have another Terra situation."

"Good call." Rose grunted. She didn't seem to be sarcastic about that either. It surprised the empath that Rose agreed with what they did.

"Are you…okay?" Raven said slowly.

"Good question." A pause. "I feel like I got ran over by a truck."

"You kinda look like you did."

Rose snorted. "Only cause you threw me under it."

Raven couldn't help but to chuckle. Rose grinned just a little too. It was good to see, oddly enough.

"So how are you? Both of you." Raven asked her

"We are…hell, I don't know." Rose sighed and put the bowl down on the counter. "We're a mess, that's what. I have never talked so much in my life. I unloaded almost everything onto Eddie. It took a while for him to come to terms with it and for me to cope with what I was feeling. By the time it was done we just…needed each other. His vacation in Hell wasn't particularly pleasant, so he's…a bit messed up from it. Basically, we have to pick up the pieces of each other up and put them back together."

"So…you're a we again?"

"Sort of. We've got to work out some kinks because of what we've both been through, obviously, but…I think we can do it." Rose smirked and looked at her. "But I'm not going to stop hitting on you until you let me tap that ass at least once."

"So I'll be listening to your bullshit the rest of my life, great." Raven sighed. "And here I thought we were friends."

Rose's smile faded. "You still think of me as your friend? Even after everything I told you yesterday?"

Raven looked back at her and thought about it.

"Yes. I do."

! #$ !

Today was gonna be a good day. The weather was clear, the traffic was low, and he had just suped up his hot rod with a brand new (stolen) engine that was sure to leave the Teen Titans in the dust. All he had to do now was wait for Robin and Starfire to leave the grocery store and snatch kids. His power nullifier would keep them from getting close and keep the kids from using whatever powers they had to stop him.

Ding Dong Daddy had been waiting a long time for his chance to shine and today was his day.

He waited down the street from the store, binoculars in hand, and watched for his chance. They'd already been in there a while, so they should be-aha! There they were! He grinned to himself and put the binoculars in the glove compartment. As he did so, however, he made a very big mistake.

He took his eyes off the Titans.

Crunch!

He slowly looked up from the glove compartment, his heart sinking at the sight of the front of his hot rod being crushed beneath the weight of a very large green gorilla.

So much for a good day. He thought.

Robin heard the scream and jerked his head in that direction. It took him a moment, but he couldn't have missed the green silverback gorilla chasing the tall fat man if he had tried. That looked suspiciously like Ding Dong Daddy that Beast Boy was chasing, but he didn't see the car anywhere.

He almost went to help, but then Beast Boy shifted into an octopus mid jump and dropped onto the villain. It was over before it even started.

Satisfied, he went back to loading the R-cycle with groceries as Starfire floated around with the kids.

The changeling, however, wasn't in a pleasant mood. He really wanted Ding Dong Daddy to fight back just a little so he could legally knock the guy out.

Well, he really just wanted to knock someone out.

He was stressed out and he knew it. He knew that he shouldn't take it out on criminals either. What he should do is finish his patrol and get back to the tower and just beat the shit out of the punching bag in the gym. He should just hit it and hit it and hit it and hit it until Slade stopped moving.

Yesterday had been one of those stupidly stressful days that he could have gone the rest of his life without. He didn't know what to think about it. The situation with Rose was one that he couldn't make a decision about. Should he be angry over the manipulation and lies or be relieved that Rose was on their side? A part of him wanted to feel both, to just roll with it like he did with all the bad shit life threw at him.

The other part of him, however, wanted to maul Slade. Not kick his ass, not beat him, not knock him out. Maul him. To just destroy this unnecessarily aggravating person who insisted on ruining everyone's lives. Bite him, scratch him, claw him, sting him, beat him, squeeze him. Something. Anything. In the wild, it was kill or be killed, eat or be eaten. He needed to hurt this aggravating alpha male that kept coming into his territory. He wasn't wanted, so he needed to stay away. But he wouldn't.

He could feel his entire body just itching to hunt Slade down and attack him. It was an unsettling yet comforting sensation. He had to consciously unshift his hands from claws and his teeth from fangs. Then back again. Slade could be around and he needed to be ready to fight.

More than anything right now he needed Raven. He needed the comfort of his mate, needed to see her, feel her, smell her, needed to know that she was safe, that their cubwas safe too. He needed to protect her and his pack. He had to do it. He had to protect his territory.

His thoughts turned back towards the violet haired empath and he forced them to stay there as he drug Ding Dong Daddy to the police station. His soft and squishy mate. So nice to cuddle, so sweet to lick, so warm to hold. She smelled good too. He wanted to be with Raven.

He did the paperwork he needed in silence, leaving directions to the crushed car while he was at it.

From there he contemplated returning to his patrol. He didn't want to. He wanted to see Raven, even if it was just for a little bit. Robin would understand. Yes, going back to his den was the best thing to do.

In the form of an eagle, he flew to the tower. He could have asked Raven to open a portal but he just didn't feel like talking. When he got to the tower he made his way as quickly to the common room as he could. That's where she usually was. He could smell her, she was intoxicating as usual. He wanted to lick her.

He was right, of course, but he didn't expect her to be seated next to Rose on the couch. The tricksy female he chased that he shouldn't have. Bah…

Raven had indeed felt her boyfriend's lingering agitation as he approached the tower. She didn't know what had happened, but she would wait until her was ready to talk. He came into the common room quiet as a door mouse and made his way straight to her. He shifted into a small tabby cat and hopped up into her lap, curling up and burying his face in her belly button. How he had known exactly where it was at beneath her uniform was beyond her.

Are you okay? She telepathically asked him as she stroked behind his ears.

No. He replied. Animal stuff.

Slade-related?

Yeah.

I'll be ready to talk when you are.

Garfield's only response was to nuzzle her belly.

Rose raised an eyebrow, to which Raven merely shrugged. Whatever instinct was bothering him would settle down in time and then she could talk to him and see what was wrong. It wasn't something she'd ever had to do before, but it was something she would probably do again in the future.

She idly pet her shapeshifted boyfriend as her mind wandered towards their future. They were serious about each other, without a doubt. It meant that she needed to be more prepared. She would have to find a way to cope with his animal instincts in his times of need like right now. All of his instincts.

Love was beautiful but complicated.

Beside her, Rose was quiet. She too was trying to figure out her new(?) situation with Eddie. How were they going to fix this? Things couldn't go back to the way they were before. She needed to get back on her feet, that much was evident.

Now that the Titans knew all the plans made around the children, she had to figure out what to do about that too. Hell, what were they going to do about it? She actually hadn't thought that this would happen, so she was a bit flat footed. Maybe defeat her father and save the day? Isn't that what heroes do?

The door to the common room opened again. Robin and Starfire entered, arms full of groceries, as Emelia and Martin ran around them playing tag. The children had been down in the basement with Fixit yesterday, so they hadn't been there for the catastrophe called Rose.

"Welcome back." Raven called out.

"Hello Raven, hello again Rose." Starfire called back. "You are feeling better, yes?"

"I guess?" Rose answered uncertainly. It was a hard thing to answer when you weren't used to people asking about your health.

"That is most delightful!" Starfire said happily. "Now you may partake in the pudding of reunions, the cake of joyous celebrations, and the slargatku of renewal!"

"The what?" Rose asked the empath.

"Run." Raven said in a tone of all seriousness.

Rose found herself afraid as Starfire flitted about the kitchen pulling out ingredients. Soon enough, however, there was a new distraction for the assassin.

Robin.

She looked at him as he took a seat opposite her, once again on the coffee table, looking back at her.

"How are you really feeling?" He asked, surprising her.

"Like a zombie that got hit by a truck." She replied. Raven had to stifle a chuckle, which made Robin raise an eyebrow. He started to ask what was so funny, but paused as he noticed the green cat in Raven's lap.

Just as he was about to ask what Beast Boy was doing back so soon, Raven held up her hand and shook her head. Robin frowned but dropped it. The changeling had seemed cranky this morning, so maybe it was better to leave him be for now.

"So." He said to no one in particular. "What is going to happen now?"

The room was quiet. The question was most obviously for Rose, but it was still valid for the others. Nobody got a chance to answer though.

"There you are! Had me worried again."

Everyone looked up to see a shirtless and weary-looking Eddie stride into the room wearing red and black plaid pajama bottoms.

"You knew I wouldn't go anywhere." Rose snorted.

"Yeah, but would it kill you to sleep in for once? We had a long night." He grumbled back as he made his way into the kitchen.

"It's four in the afternoon, you dumb bunny."

Eddie looked at the clock on the stove. "Oh."

Robin patiently waited for Kid Devil to join them, bowl of cereal in hand. Of all places to sit, he chose to sit on the floor between Rose's feet. She was in mid yawn when he did so and yet still adjusted perfectly for him to sit. He started chowing down almost instantly and Rose's hands found his hair to play with.

It looked so natural for them, Raven noted.

"So how we kickin' Slade's ass?" Eddie asked through a mouth full of Fruity Pebbles.

Everyone stared at him, even Rose.

"Where did that come from?" She asked.

"Babe, your dad has the mother of all ass-kickings headed his way and I'll be damned, again, if I miss out on it."

Rose scowled at him. "That's easier said than-"

"I'm actually in agreement with him." Robin said. "Slade needs to be brought down for the things he's done to us, the city, and you two."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "And just how do you propose we do that? He's rather elusive and always has an escape plan."

"Could we not use Rose to lure him in?" Starfire suggested.

"He wouldn't come for me if I was in danger." Rose responded instantly. "I'm expendable."

Eddie muttered something under his breath and Rose swatted his horn.

"He wouldn't come for Rose, no." Robin said slowly.

The others looked at him for a moment and it was Raven that caught on first.

"Oh no sir! You are not thinking of using the children as bait!" She snapped.

"Robin!" Starfire gasped. "How could you put our bumgorf in danger?!"

"He wants them." Robin said plainly. "That's all he wants right now is them. Not us, not revenge, just them. That's why I say that-"

Robin stopped talking, because there was a growl that filled the air. He (and everybody else) looked at the changeling to see him glaring at the caped crusader.

"Now Beast Boy-" Robin started, but was interrupted by a hiss.

"I'm not saying that we actually put then in danger, just make Slade think he's got them." Robin said in exasperation. "Then we jump him."

"Like how?" Raven asked.

"I'm still working on that." The boy wonder reluctantly admitted.

"What if…" Rose said slowly. "What if we make it seem like I've got them from you, willingly, and invite him over to 'visit' then we ambush him?"

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Would he fall for that?"

Rose shrugged. "He knows I've gotten close to you guys and that you trust me. And it was my original mission from him to get the kids. So logically, me getting my hands on them for even a little while is something he should jump at. Been a few days since I've talked to him though, so I have no idea what he's been doing."

"Are we certain that we can get them away when the fighting starts?" Starfire asked, displeased with this conversation. On her home planet children were never put in harms way, even in a desperate time like this.

"I can teleport them back here to the tower to Fixit." Raven said.

"No offense, but yer robot buddy ain't gonna stop my father for even a minute." Rose snorted. "Even for you guys he's just a convenient babysitter."

"He is our friend, like you are." Starfire snapped. That shushed her.

"Jinx is here in town and we can get her to guard the tower." Robin said, trying to ease the tension. He was fully aware of how protective Starfire was of Martin. "Cyborg should be back soon too. What kind of timeframe can you give us, Rose?"

She shrugged. "I can do it any time as long as I use the right code for it. I'm the one calling it in, so I get to choose time and place."

Robin nodded and pulled out his communicator, dialing Cyborg.

"Whaaaaaaaaaat?!" The annoyed cybernetic man groaned. "How am I supposed to finish if you guys keep-"

"When can you be back?" Robin interrupted him. "We're making a move on Slade."

Cyborg was quiet for a moment as he did calculations. "Thursday morning."

"You gonna be ready for a fight?" Robin smirked. He knew the answer.

"I was born ready."

"Good, see you then." Robin ended the call. Then he looked to Rose. "Do you want to stay here or your apartment or-"

"Are you fuckin' kidding me? If this is happening then I'm goin!" Rose snapped at him. "I got more bones to pick with him than the rest of you put together!"

"You say that, but you've never made a move before." Raven reminded her.

"I've never been able to beat him on my own. And since Eddie sucks in any hand to hand combat that isn't a street brawl-"

"Hey! I do not!"

Rose ignored him. "Robin and I working together have the best chance of beating him when it comes to skill. If the rest of you hit when his guard is down-"

"How about you let me handle the battle plan?" Robin said. "We've got a lot more experience in teamwork than you."

She thought about it. "That's fair. We just need a day or two to practice together then and we should be good."

"We hit him Thursday afternoon then. Can you set it up?"

"I need my-" Rose started to say right before her phone, fully charged, dropped into her lap via portal. "Never mind."

"I feel that I must say that I am grateful to you for aiding us, Rose." Starfire said suddenly.

Rose paused and turned enough to look at her. "Yeah?"

Starfire nodded. "Yes. Despite everything that has happened, you have been a good friend to us."

"Oh. Well…uh…thanks?" Rose made a face. She wasn't used to this honest feelings stuff at all. It was weird. Not unwelcome, just weird. "So, uh, we use a special code father made a long time ago, so if you want to know what I'm saying then gimme a pen and some paper."

It took a moment, but a two pens and three pieces of scrap paper were dug up and presented to the former assassin. Satisfied, she punched in her father's number on her phone and put it on speaker.

It rang.

And then…

"Hello Rose." Slade's foreboding voice came over the line, instantly making everyone shiver.

"Hey pops! I was wondering, were you still coming through Jump City on Thursday?" Rose said as she wrote- Mission accomplished, pickup Thursday.

"Of course. Do you want to get lunch?" To which Rose wrote time and place.

"Yeah, sounds great! I was thinking maybe Olive Garden, I know you love their breadsticks." Olive Garden- city park. Breadsticks- priority target.

"Sounds good." Danger assessment?

"They're always great when they're hot, am I right?" Hot-Very high, Titans on guard. "I'll be babysitting before you get here, so lemme know when you get in town." Babysitting- will have children, be ready for fast exit.

"Quite so." Acknowledged

Rose paused in thought before a wicked grin filled her face. "Oh, hey, I was thinking, maybe you should bring Uncle B." Uncle B- Brother Blood

"Why's that?"

"There's a tech convention in town that he might like." Tech convention- Cyborg has something built that might be useful.

"I'll ask him. Anything else you want to do?" Will need distraction for infiltration.

"We can swing by the fair, like we used to do with mom." Fair- bank robbery, used to do with mom- hire experienced locals

"That sounds fun. Do they take tickets or tokens?" Negotiate payouts before deciding

"I'll check beforehand." Preferred crew already chosen.

"How about the zoo? Is it open in the evening?" zoo- Beast Boy, evening- Raven, asking about interference

"Dunno, but I think they close at nine-ish?" busy until late

"Hmm…I don't know about staying out that late. I'm getting old, you know." Staying out late- status of Robin?

"Pft, don't give me that, I know you can still knock a home run at the ballpark." Home run-Starfire, at the ballpark-will be out with Robin

Slade chuckled. "That's fair."

"Alright, I'll let you go, I'm eating dinner with the Titans soon." They suspect nothing

"Alright, I'll see you soon."

Rose and her father hung up at the same time, leaving the assassin looking at a perplexed Robin, the kids, and Starfire, who was stirring something dark blue in a large bowl.

"Where'd BB and Rae go?" She asked. "Don't they need to know the plan?"

"Beast Boy ran off the moment Slade spoke and Raven went after him." Robin said. He wanted to know just as much as she did, but he could wait for that answer.

"Is he okay?" Rose asked as she looked around, spotting Eddie's tail on the other side of the open fridge.

"I don't know yet." Robin shrugged, then picked up the paper she wrote on. "I want you to tell me more about this code…"

! $!##

"What was that about?" Brother Blood asked from the other side of the lab.

"That was Rose. She will have the children on Thursday and will need an extraction." Slade replied as he sipped his coffee. "She said Cyborg has something hidden away in his workshop that you might want, so she's providing a distraction for you to raid it."

"Oh? What is it?"

Slade shrugged. "I don't know, but she wouldn't mention it otherwise."

"I'll take the truck and some robots." Blood said, rubbing his hands together. "I've never been in the Titans Tower before. I wonder what goodies I'll find."

"Hopefully something we can use against them."

"The irony would be delicious." Blood nodded in the direction of the door. "Shall we inform the doctor?"

Slade shook his head. "He'll get his carrot when he gives me one success."

"Good. He creeps me out. Although…it would be a shame if he had an accident afterwards."

"Indeed."

Up in the lab above them, Doctor Register turned his head slightly to the side as he worked. He had heard everything they said through the ventilation shaft. He smiled. He hadn't trusted Slade the moment he showed up at the prison.

But like both Slade and a spider, he too would wait for his moment to strike.

Meat was best when fresh, after all.

! #%!

She crept quietly into his room, noting that the light was off, as was Emelia's nightlight. Garfield didn't need either light but he rarely turned them off. He was the type to leave lights on all the time. He always had been. Whatever was bothering him might have been worse than she thought.

"Gar?" She called out as the door shut behind her. Something was odd. She couldn't feel him at all. It was like he disappeared, but he wasn't in her empathic range anywhere else either. And she had seen him go in there.

She waited in the dimly lit room. He'd never fixed his blackout curtains to work right, so there was just enough light to see with. But the room was still dead quiet.

She moved towards the bed. The bottom bunk was obviously empty, but the top bunk had a slight lump under the blanket. He must have not shifted back because it was rather small. She reached up and pulled back the blanket…

And came face to face with a green diamondback rattlesnake.

She froze as the rattle started up. He'd never done this before, not to her or anyone. What was wrong with him? Why was he so aggressive and aggravated?

It took but a thought to trigger his powers and make him normal.

He had a weird look on his face before it scrunched up and he covered it. He let out a deep sigh. Cautious but unafraid, Raven climbed up into the bed with him.

"Sorry." He mumbled as she settled in next to him. "Lost myself for a moment."

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I….I don't know exactly. My animals…me…I'm just so…angry." He said slowly. "I can't…I can't explain it. I don't know how."

Raven reached over and placed her hands on his head. "Just relax, okay?"

Garfield took a deep breath and let it slowly, relaxing himself as best as he could.

The moment her empathic powers made the deep and direct contact with his emotions, Raven knew what was wrong. Even through his immeasurably complex human-animal hybrid emotional structure did the answer shine clearly.

Garfield, as a person and an animal, felt threatened and was reacting very negatively to it.

He was afraid.

She knew what it was and why it had happened. The years of dealing with Slade's bullshit had finally caught up to the usually carefree changeling. He couldn't just laugh it off and move on anymore. He had to deal with Slade, whom he regarded as the most threatening thing to his life now. Slade was a danger to Raven, Emelia, and the other Titans. His family, his pack, his everything. The things Rose had told them yesterday had only amplified his distress concerning Slade. The problem was was that he wasn't used to feeling such things and it was messing him up on the inside. His human mind and innate animal instincts were at war with each other. The animalistic part of him had never acted so violently towards something (even with the first emergence of the Beast) so he wasn't mentally processing it as the need to defend himself and his family. He just thought he was really angry.

He wanted violence.

He wanted blood.

He wanted Slade.

As Raven withdrew from his mind and looked into his eyes, she knew that she had keep his human half in control, least he do something that he would regret. That was her duty as his other half, his mate, his lover.

But she couldn't help but to wonder about the red flecks in his eyes that disappeared when he blinked…