The door to the evidence room swished open, revealing a muscular silhouette, which entered the room with an air of authority. The collection of paraphernalia had grown over the years. The top items each had their own pedestals: Slade's mask, Malah's beret, Mumbo's top hat, Punk Rocket's guitar and one of Control Freak's clickers stood out. Lesser trophies were displayed in several showcases along the walls.

Nightwing walked to the rear of the dimly lit room, into an office in the back. The office contained a specialized console, which had several USB ports. He sat down and activated the console, which had four large flat panel displays. Once it was up and running he looked towards the evidence room's door, which remained shut.

He extracted the flash drive from his utility belt and inserted it into the USB port. An icon for the drive appeared on the screen and the console performed a security check to make sure there were no viruses or other hazards in the drive. After several seconds a green checkmark appeared.

Nightwing clicked on the icon, which showed its contents, a file labeled " ". He clicked on the file and a video playback window opened. It showed an empty, ramshackle room with an unmade bed in it. There was a video timestamp in the upper left corner of the video, which if accurate indicated that it was recorded about ten years ago. The date looked familiar to Grayson, who opened a diary he kept in the console, where he documented every Titans mission.

He quickly rifled though the digital log in the diary, until he reached the day marked in the video. There were no missions that day, but the next day was the fateful day when Raven almost ended Dr. Light. Nightwing leaned back in his chair, tapping his index finger on his chin. He didn't like where this was going.

He hit "play" and while the room was empty he could hear Jared's voice off screen. "Come on babe, let's have some real fun."

Richard tensed up when he saw Jared appear on camera, with a young girl in tow. At first he couldn't see her face but she turned. Whoever she was, Grayson had never seen her before. The girl was stripped down to her underwear.

Who are you? What do you have to do with Raven?

The girl turned her back to the camera and undid her bra, tossing it aside. Jared grinned.

"Has anyone ever told you have an awesome rack?"

"This is the first time." She answered in Raven's voice.

Nightwing's eyes widened and he hit the "stop" button. He looked back at the screen and it hit him: that was Raven's figure. It was rarely visible as she always wore her cape, but there was no mistaking it, that was a disguised Raven, at least when she was still fifteen years old.

"Rage, what did you make Raven do?" He muttered to himself. He was about to hit the play button again, but stopped himself. It was obvious what was going to happen, plus as the saying went 'that which is seen, cannot be unseen'.

"He was blackmailing you. Raven, you could have come to me, I would have helped you and Gar would never have to know."

Nightwing heaved an unhappy sigh. "But now I know."

Suddenly, the evidence room door opened. Grayson yanked the flash drive from the console and stuffed it into his belt.

"Richard?" Starfire called out.

He closed the playback window.

"I'm back here."

"Are you coming to bed, husband? I am waiting and desire the physical intimacy tonight."

"I just finished up."He said as he stood up. Star couldn't see into the office, which had an incinerator chute. He tossed the flash drive into the chute, and it clanged on its way down into the furnace. He pressed the "start" button to ensure its prompt and immediate destruction.

As he reached the door, Kori took his hand.

"Richard, I wish to discuss bumgorphs."

He squeezed her hand. "I know, I've been dodging the issue; but I have been thinking about it."

"Yes?"

"And … I'm ready, we can stop using protection." He said as he exhaled. There was no going back on this.

"Glorious!"

"We can even start … tonight. I don't know how long it will take, Kori. Dr. Midnight said that we can conceive but that we might need to be patient and might even need some help."

"I do not believe that we will encounter any obstacles." She replied.

He smiled at her. "You seem very confident."

She began to giggle.

"OK, what's so funny?"

She pulled herself together and tried to put on a serious face.

"We have had, what you humans would call, an oops."

Nightwing stopped dead in his tracks.

"An oops?"

"Yes, that is what I said. I did use the slang correctly, yes?"

"Star, are you saying that you're pregnant?"

She quickly nodded her head as she grinned. Nightwing looked floored.

"Richard, are you not happy?"

He quickly recovered, scooped her up bridal style and kissed her.

"This is, as you would say, Glorious!" He beamed.

She looked insanely happy and began to kiss him.

"Take me to our room, for I wish for us to celebrate."

Dick smiled at her. "I love you."

"As do I." She replied.

-(-)-

Meanwhile, in the Logan's bedroom …

Sound of a sonic toothbrush escaped from the bathroom. Raven was already under the covers, wearing her usual extra long T-Shirt. She found an updated prison bulletin on Gar's desk, which mentioned that Jared Sedgwich died from a stabbing. As Gar came out he saw she was reading the report.

"He didn't last a day in the prison. I heard there might be an investigation. Some people are wondering why Jared wasn't kept isolated." He said casually as he got into the bed.

Raven saw that this was an abbreviated report, and omitted the fact that she met with Jared an hour before his untimely death and that he signed a full confession after meeting her. He reached out and rubbed her back.

"Hey, you OK? You've been out of sorts all day. Is something wrong?"

Without looking at him she nodded silently.

"Anything you want to share?"

She bit her lower lip before answering.

"Sedgwick asked to see me."

"I heard about that. Why did he want to see you?"

"You knew?"

"Yeah, Chrome Dome told me. Anyway, this is weird, what did he want?"

She sighed. "He asked me to break him out of prison."

He laughed. "Like that would ever happen. Some of these guys are nuts. Cy thinks he was killed because he's a sexual predator."

"I know. Nightwing told me when I got back from Steve's office."

"You went to see him? I thought you were seeing him tomorrow."

"I still am."

"What, two days in row? Now I know something is wrong."

She nodded again. "Something is wrong … I promise to tell you tomorrow."

"Does it have to wait? Rave, you can tell me anything, I promise I won't get angry."

She turned to look at him. "I will tell you tomorrow. I wish I could tell you right now but I can't, and I'm sorry, sorrier than I have ever been, but I just can't tonight." She looked as if she was about to cry. He took her hand.

"OK, I'll wait. Is there anything I can do for you now?"

She pressed her face into his chest. "Just hold me until I fall asleep."

He ran his fingers through her now shoulder length hair. He then cupped her face and lifted it to face him.

"Anything for you."

-(-)-

The next morning ….

Raven sat down in Steve's office and picked up the customary mug of tea. She blew on it before taking a sip.

"How are you?" He asked.

"Everything's changed. Sedgwick was killed yesterday in a riot at the prison."

"That was him? I heard about the riot in the news and that there was a death. What happened?"

She shrugged. "There was a riot and during the commotion someone stabbed him with a plastic dagger."

"So, your problem is over?"

She put the mug down. She looked up at him with an unhappy face. "Well, the short term problem is."

He didn't say anything, which she understood was a request to continue.

"Gar knows I went to see Sedgwick at the prison. It's on his official record. Gar asked me why he asked me to come see him. I told him part of the truth, that Sedgwick wanted me help him escape."

Raven paused, looking like she was about to cry.

"Gar knows that there's more to it. He asked me to tell him last night. I told him I would tell him tomorrow … and tomorrow is today."

"So, what are you thinking?"

She paused before replying. "That I have to tell him the truth, and once I do, it will be over between us."

Steve leaned forward on his chair. "Are you certain about that?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm not. But I'm afraid, Steve, I've never been so afraid in all my life, not even when I brought my father into this world. The prophecy was that the Gem, which is me, was supposed to die that day; I was supposed to die to become the portal. And I was scared then, but at least death would have been a release from the pain and shame of having betrayed my friends and the whole world. And for reasons I still can't comprehend they not only forgave me, they were happy I survived."

She sniffled. "And now, now I feel as if I betrayed him."

"Raven, we've been over this. First of all, it was Rage who did that, not you. Secondly, you were not in any kind of romantic relationship with Garfield at the time. One could argue that what happened was a sin, but that is between you and God. Gar, really has no say in that matter."

"I should have told him about this, a long time ago."

"Maybe, but you still can. You can also not tell him, as you originally decided."

She shook her head. "No, no more deception. Had Gar known the truth, Jared could never have blackmailed me."

"But isn't the problem resolved?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. That video is probably still out there somewhere. Who says someone else won't try to blackmail me with it?"

"I understand."

"I can't live like this, the constant fear of being exposed. I understand that in order to be free I have to tell Gar, but I'm so afraid of how he'll react. Steve, I know that no one else will put up with my crap, everything that makes me a mess. If I lose Gar, then it's over. All I'll be after that is the scary monster Nightwing lets out of the Tower when needed,"

Steve furrowed his brow. "How well does Gar understand who Rage is?"

"He knows that she's my dark side."

"How does she feel about him?"

"Well, at first she hated him, because she hates everybody. But lately, especially since the wedding, she … feels different."

"OK, I have an idea. Let's say that Gar reacts poorly. Perhaps if he could confront Rage, who is the one responsible for the incident …"

"That is risky. But … maybe it could work?" She replied.

Steve opened his appointment book. "My 4 o'clock is open. How about both of you come and we all go into Nevermore together? You would of course tell him the truth first."

She looked at him. "I'm still scared; but I'm fed up with being scared." She laughed. "Is this what people call putting on my big girl pants?"

Steve chuckled. "Well, that term isn't used in the profession, but; yes, you could call it that. Are you OK?"

"I'm still terrified."

"You once told me that Gar didn't abandon you when Rage took over. That he stayed and helped you get her back under control."

She nodded. "He did, and so did Cyborg."

"I'm certain he won't abandon you. Will he be hurt or angry? Maybe. But I don't think he will abandon you."

Raven chuckled. "The first time he ever chewed me out was in Nevermore. My emoticlones freaked him out and he thought I was creating them to mess with him. I guess he can yell at me again in there. It's kind of fitting."

The clock chimed. "See you at four?"

She swallowed hard. "We'll be here, one way or another."

-(-)-

Gar was running the vacuum cleaner in their room when Raven returned from her appointment, and shut it off as she phased up from the floor.

"Hey."

"Hi … I know I promised to tell you today, and I will. Steve set aside all the time we need after 4."

"You mean, like couple's counseling?"

"He didn't use that term, but I suppose it applies."

"Whoa, this sounds big … Rave, are you having second thoughts about us? Do you want … a divorce?"

She startled at his words. "What? No, no, never!" She said as she took his hand, leading him to the loveseat in their room.

He looked visibly relieved. "Phew, c'mon Rave, don't scare me about that."

"I'm sorry … and I'll get to the point. Gar, this won't be easy for me, but I want to talk with you about Jared Sedgwick."

"Ugh, the child molester who wanted you to bust him out of prison. So, what about him?"

Raven fell silent. He saw her lower lip quiver.

"Gar, he was blackmailing me."

"What? How? Rave, this makes no sense, the dude was a two bit hood who raped minors …"

He paused, his eyes widening in horror. "Oh Raven, please, don't tell me …"

She gently covered his lips with her fingers.

"Gar, you remember the day you and Victor came into my mind, when I had lost control of Rage."

"Of course, I'll never forget that day. Rage really messed you up."

"Well, the night before that day she also flared up, and bad. I disguised myself, left the Tower and went to a nightclub, where Sedgwick picked me up and took me to his place and …"

She couldn't continue and began to weep.

"Oh Rave … how could Rage do that to you? You were only fifteen."

"You aren't angry with me?" She asked between sobs.

"Not with you. But I am with that red cloaked, four eyed bitch."

"Gar, she's part of me, you know that."

He leaned back on the couch. "Yeah, I do. And I told you to tell me what's wrong and you did. I have no excuse for being angry."

"But you are. You're hurt, and it's not unreasonable to feel that way."

"No, it is unreasonable. I'm hurt because he had you first, and since you didn't really consent, he raped you. And now he's dead and I can't even confront him or punch him in the face for what he did to you."

Her figure slumped. "I think the inmates at the prison already did that." She said in near whisper.

"You're right. Damn it, how many other girls did that jerk hurt?"

"I don't think we'll ever know." She said as she wiped away her tears.

"And … how was he blackmailing you … did he have proof?"

"He gave me a flash drive with a recording. I watched it, then I destroyed it."

"He recorded it? What a perv!"

"He wanted me to give him half a million dollars or he would send you a copy of the video."

"I don't believe this. He was a stupid petty thief. The worst he ever did before the bank robbery was to steal a car … damn, I am pissed at Rage! She's responsible for this."

"We should go see Steve at four."

He nodded. "You're right, we should."

He got up then pulled her to her feet, after which he hugged her.

"I'm angry, but not with you. I love you; you're the best thing that ever happened to me. I'd be crazy to let you go."

She buried her face in his chest as she wrapped her arms around him. He felt his shirt become moist.

-(-)-

At four o'clock …

Steve stood with Raven's mug of tea ready when the hemisphere rose from the floor with its other worldly hum. He handed the tea to Raven and shook Gar's hand.

"Welcome, Garfield. Can I get you anything?"

"Sure, whatever Rave is having." Steve already had a second mug of tea ready and handed it to the Changeling. He took a sip. Steve had seen many pictures of Gar over the years but had never seen him in person before. He looked unbelievably green. Steve made eye contact with Raven.

"Gar knows everything." She announced.

Steve nodded his understanding. "Please, have a seat."

After they sat down, Steve cleared his throat.

"So, how are the two of you feeling? Raven, how about you go first?"

A small smile appeared on her face. "Actually, better than I thought I would be. Not having the weight of that secret crushing me is liberating. But, not all is perfect."

She looked at her husband and her eyes moistened. "I hurt Gar, I know, we weren't a couple yet, so I didn't cheat on him. But I did something that was completely out of character for me and it has to have shattered the image he had of me, and that has to hurt … Gar … hurting you is never on my to do list. Never."

He caressed her cheek. "I know."

"How are you feeling, Garfield?" Steve asked.

He wrapped an arm around Raven's shoulder and pulled her close. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"I was shaken up. I know that Rage is a pain in the ass, but Rave has kept her under control since the incident with Dr. Light." He sighed. "But I had no idea of how powerful Rage actually was … I know she kicked butt, I never would have dreamed she could force Rave into a hook up with a stranger."

"So you are disturbed?"

"More like angry at Rage. I know it makes no sense, but I want to go into Nevermore and yell at her."

"Actually, that makes a lot of sense. We should all go there now."

"You know about Nevermore?"

"I've been there. And I've met Rage."

Gar shook his head. "Dude, you're braver than you look."

Steve chuckled. "Actually, I almost soiled myself when I first met her." He looked at Raven. "Are you ready?"

Raven pulled the mirror out of her cloak. "I'm ready."

-(-)-

The three materialized in front of the castle where Rage was kept. Gar had never seen it before and turned to his wife.

"You keep her locked up in there?"

"I used to. I learned that doing that was actually hurting me."

"Are you saying she can come out whenever she wants?"

"She can, Steve helped me learn that after I banished my father that she lost a lot of her power."

"But she's Rage."

"Not anymore, now she's just Anger."

He gave her a skeptical look. "You mean she's no worse than whatever anger lives in me?"

"No, she is worse. Gar, some things will never change about me. I'm quick to judge, I can be stuck up and think I'm smarter than everyone else …"

"But you are smater than everyone else."

"Shh, I'm not done. I hold grudges and I'm slow to forgive. Steve has helped me be become a better person … what I'm saying is that Anger isn't Rage anymore."

"I still want to yell at her for what she did to you."

The castle's drawbridge lowered and it made a loud thud as it touched down. Rage, or Anger if Raven was correct, stood at the castle's gate, wearing her red cloak and sporting four crimson blood colored eyes. Gar crossed his arms and glared at her.

Anger slowly walked across the drawbridge and stopped in front of Gar. Her face was expressionless. He looked at her and frowned.

"What the hell is wrong with you!? Raven was only fifteen and you made her have sex with a creep!"

She didn't react.

"Do you have any idea of how much you hurt her? Or of what kind of risk you put her at? She could have caught a disease! He could have knocked her up!"

Still no reaction.

"Did you think this would be funny? Let me guess, since you can't feel love, you figured a rando would do?"

She looked up at Gar but remained silent.

"Answer me! You hurt Raven … and you hurt me too."

She looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? Since when do you do sorry?"

She looked back up at him. "Since father was banished to another dimension … I'm sorry I hurt you Gar. Hurting you is never on my to do list."

Gar gaped at her, startled by her words.

"What did you just say? That hurting me is not on your to do list?"

Anger looked at Raven, who nodded at her. Anger approached Gar and wrapped her arms around him.

"I love you." She said in her still otherworldly timber as she buried her face in his chest.

Garfield looked completely surprised. He wrapped his arms around her and she felt familiar. She even smelled like Raven. Her embrace tightened.

"I'm sorry I hurt you. Please don't leave me. I need you, Gar."

He looked at Raven and mouthed "what do I do now?"

"Kiss her." Raven mouthed back.

Gar gently placed his fingers under her chin and raised her face. She still had four eyes, though her teeth looked normal. He closed his eyes and their lips touched. Anger kissed him back and melted into his embrace. Her kiss was actually quite good, and it was prolonged. When he finally pulled back and opened his eyes, he saw the two indigo colored orbs he so loved.

"I forgive you." He whispered to her. "I love you."

He closed his eyes and when he reopened them they were back in Steve's office.

Dr. Dunn had a big smile on his face. "That went even better than I hoped."

"So … what do we do now?" Gar asked.

The ubiquitous clock chimed.

"I'd say you go home and carry on with your life together."

-(-)-

Back at the Tower, dinner time …

Cyborg hummed happily as he began to set the table. It was spaghetti night, and his patented 3 meat sauce, alongside a meatless marinara sauce, appeared at the table. He was about to call his friends to dinner when the Chromatically Challenged Couple™ entered the common room. He immediately noticed they were both smiling and holding hands.

"OK, you lovebirds, you haven't looked this happy since the wedding, especially you, Raven. I was starting to get worried about you, little lady."

Gar squeezed her hand. "Let's just say that we've been through some discoveries."

"Hmmm ... sounds mysterious."

"Nothing of the sort, Steve just helped us make some breakthroughs." Raven replied.

"OK then, I won't ask any more questions. All I'll say is that if you're happy, then I'm happy. Now sit down, the grub is fresh off the stove."

At that moment Nightwing and Starfire entered the room. The princess appeared to be glowing, even more than normal for her orange self.

"Oh friends! I have glorious news! Husband Richard and I will be welcoming a bumgorf to our Titans family."

"You mean you're adopting another one of Killer Moth's larvae?" Gar snickered.

"Oh friend Garfield, you are doing the joking. I am going to have a baby!"

Nightwing watched Raven closely. Her body language was relaxed and she looked thrilled to hear the news. Gar looked different too. It was suddenly obvious to him that Raven came clean to her husband and it had gone well. Of course, they would never know that he knew, and that was perfectly fine with him. He loved them both and wanted them to be happy together, and it appeared they would be. He suspected that Dr. Dunn had played a role in this, and that was fine. Raven and Gar were chatting happily with Star, when the Changeling excused himself and approached Dick.

"Dude! Congrats!" He said as they shared a hug.

"Thanks, Gar."

Raven came over and more hugs were shared. Cyborg joined in with the congratulations. As they sat down to eat, Nightwing remembered the flash drive he destroyed. He didn't know to what extent Raven revealed her secrets to Gar, but he would make sure that they would never see another copy of that wretched video. Their lives had been so hard up to this point, it was time for them to be happy, and he would make sure they would be.

-(-)-

Later that evening …

The sonic toothbrush hummed away, doing its job of keeping Gar's teeth clean and pearly white. When he was done he came out of the bathroom, wearing only his boxers. Raven was already lying in the bed, on her side with his back to him, reading a book. He walked up to the bed. If she noticed his approach, she gave no indication of it. He was able to smell her, and not just her perfume, but also her pheromones, which were in overdrive. A greedy smile made its appearance on his face and he dropped his boxers.

"Are you in mood?"

"I'm always in the mood." She replied with an otherworldly timber in her voice. She turned around and grinned, with four crimson red eyes looking back at him. He froze in his tracks.

"Is something wrong?" She asked as she tossed her book aside. She pushed the covers aside, revealing that she too was in her birthday suit. He stared at her figure. Something was … different.

"Is it me … or are the girls … bigger tonight?"

"Why do don't you come here and check them out ypurself?"

He slipped into their bed and they kissed.

"You know what, Rave?" He said between smooches. "I think I could get used to this."

-(-)-

A few months later …

After a prolonged absence, Cinderblock had made a reappearance, trying to rob a bank in the dead of the night. Stopping him proved to be a long and hard slog, which didn't end until well past until 3AM. Finally, back home, Raven and her husband were snuggled together like two spoons in a drawer, and snored blissfully. The continued like this until the bed shook, waking Gar up. As soon as the cobwebs cleared, he noticed he was alone in the bed and he sat up.

"Rave?"

She didn't answer, unless one counts a loud wretching sound from the bathroom as a response. He leaped out of the bed and ran to their bathroom, where he found her on her knees, her head poised over the commode's bowl. Just as he entered she vomited into the bowl.

"What's wrong?" He shrieked.

She shook her head. "I don't know … I never …" she stopped and began to dry heave. He stared in dismay. This was indeed unheard of. Raven had a cast iron stomach, probably courtesy of her father. Gar then bolted for the door.

"I'll be right back." He shouted.

Clad in this boxers and a T-short he darted into the hallway, and ran as an Olympic sprinter, and after going around a few corners her reached the infirmary. He ran in and headed to one of the supply cabinets, which he began to ransack, tossing unwanted items in the floor, until he found what he wanted. He ran back to their room just as quickly. He found her standing in the bathroom.

"I brought you something.'

"The dry heaves stopped, I don't need any medicine, at least I don't think so."

"Not medicine." He said as he handed her the box, which had "Pregnancy test" Printed on it. She stared at the box for a moment before opening it. She removed the instructions and read them.

"I'm supposed to pee on it."

He nodded.

"Gar, I know we share everything, but it might be easier for me to do this alone."

"Uh .. yeah, sure." He said as he stepped out, closing the door behind him. He then paced around the room.

I'm gonna be a dad. Or maybe Rave ate something bad yesterday. But we ate the same thing, so why am I not puking? Plus she never throws up. Dude, I gotta know!

He continued pacing until he heard the toilet flush. The moment of truth was at hand. After a couple of minutes she came out of the bathroom. She was smiling, but also had tears in her eyes.

He noticed he was holding his breath and exhaled.

"So … are we?"

She wrapped her arms around him.

"We are."

-(-)-

Fifteen years later …

Raven, was busy setting the table for dinner. Though she had just turned 40, she didn't look the part. She was still the tiny woman she had always been but she no longer wore her leotard and cape. She was carrying a six month old child on her hip as she used her powers to set the plates on the table. That was when the doorbell rang.

"Arella! The pizza's arrived, and don't forget to tip the driver."

A fourteen year old girl, with gray skin and green hair ran past her mother. "I got it."

"Marie, go tell your father, Mark and Dylan to stop playing gamestation and come to the table."

The thirteen year old, who could have been her mother's twin, ran up the stairs. "OK"

"Cynthia! Get Dick, Vic and Kori"

"Already on it!" The twelve year old shouted as she escorted the three toddlers to their high chairs at the table and using her powers she sat them down.

"Coraline! Sam! Ellie! I need paper napkins, the sodas and plastic cups!"

The 9, 8 and 7 year olds knew the drill and were already on their tasks. Soon everyone was seated and Arella came to the table with a stack of pizza boxes. Gar was the last to arrive, with little Jason's baby food, which he handed to Raven. Raven quickly counted the number of children at the table. Of course, the twins were missing.

"Steven, Freddie, get your butts to the table, NOW!" Raven shouted.

The two five year olds, who in addition to being identical twins were also identical to their father, ran down the stairs and took their places at the table. "Yay, it's pizza night!" The kids happily chanted.

Over 14 pairs of hands started grabbing pizza. Gar made sure that a plate was set before Raven before serving himself. Raven meanwhile was feeding pureed peas to Thomas, their youngest. He was gray with violet hair, just like his mother. Gar looked over with great pride at the infant Raven was feeding.

"Fourteen kids. I have to hand it to you, you make it look so easy. And your figure, it's sill awesome."

"You think this is easy?" She smirked. "And thanks for the compliment."

He took a bite of his veggie pizza. "I know the neighbors think we're weird. Gary, from across the street, asked me if we've ever heard of rubbers."

"That was rude of him."

"He's just jealous, they don't have any kids. Anyway, I told him that I think we're done."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I think we're good."

"Well …" She began.

"What? You want more?"

"Since you brought that up … I'm pregnant."

THE END.

-(-)-

And that is it!

There is a rumor running around that fanfiction dot net might be ending. I don't put much stock in that rumor, but just in case it's true I have created an email account where you can contact me, if you so desire: theforcefanfiction at outlook dot com