Chapter Three: Prayers

Robin had never been religious. He had always thought religion was a crutch for people who were too weak to make it on their own. But now he was praying with everything he had for Raven to be okay.

He had been raised Jewish, but he had long ago abandoned the faith. Nevertheless, he sang an old Hebrew prayer under his breath.

"A-shir-ra la-do-nai ki go-oh ga-ah. Mi-cha-mo-cha ba-elim adonai? Mi-ka-mo-cha ne-dar ba-ko-desh? Na-chi-ta v'-chas-d'-cha am zu ga-al-ta. A-shi-ra. A-shi-ra. A-shi-ra…"

"That is pretty." Robin looked up. It was Starfire. "What is it?" Robin buried his head in his hands.

"It's Hebrew." His voice was muffled. Starfire gave him quizzical look.

"What is Hebrew? Is it some type of spell?" Robin stood up and leaned over Raven. He had to make sure she was still alive.

Her shallow yet warm breath tickled his ear, and he felt a shiver creep up his spine. Against his better judgement, he kept his face close to Raven for longer than was truly necessary.

"Kind of. It's called a prayer, Starfire. You use it when you need help." He stared down at Raven, tears blurring his eyes. He quickly blinked them back. The last thing that he wanted was to have Starfire see him cry.

"What does it mean?" Starfire asked. Robin closed his eyes and tried to remember. His mother's voice came flooding back and he recited the words she had taught him.

"I will sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously. Who is like You, Oh Lord, among the celestial? Who is like you, majestic in holiness? In Your love, You lead the people You redeemed. I will sing. I will sing. I will sing."

Starfire placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure your Lord will help her, Robin." He sighed and answered in a weary voice.

"I hope so."

A soft voice penetrated Raven's mind. It was beautiful, a light tenor. The voice was singing in a language Raven understood. Hebrew. She had learned it long ago, along with Latin, Greek, and Egyptian.

She opened one eye. It was Robin. He was praying for her, a prayer she recognized. She had learned the same one long ago.

She quickly shut her eyes as Starfire walked in.

"That is pretty. What is it?"

Raven felt fondness tug on her heart. She had always liked the Tamaranean girl's naitivity, though she would never show it.

"It's Hebrew."

"What is Hebrew? Is it some type of spell?"

'Spells are for people like me, too weak to make it without magic. Robin doesn't need them.' Raven thought bitterly.

She felt Robin's warmth near her. She longed to reach out and stroke his cheek, but that would give everything away and ruin the moment. So she lay still, breathing as shallowly as she could.

"Kind of. It's called a prayer, Starfire. You use it when you need help."

'And I need a lot of help." Raven thought.

"What does it mean?"

Raven heard Robin give the translation. It was much prettier in Hebrew. But then again, Raven was a bit baised.

Raven once again opened an eye, only to see Starfire place a hand on Robin's shoulder. She inwardly shuddered. This wasn't fair. She was sick, her body was giving up on her, and now she had to witness this.

'God must seriously hate me." She thought as she breathed deeply and shut her eyes again.

"I'm sure your Lord will help her, Robin." Even though Starfire didn't worship the same god as Robin, at least she was trying. Raven felt guilt well up inside of her.

"I hope so."

Raven heard the door shut. The soft sound of someone trying to hide the fact that they were crying filled her ears. It was pitiful, much like the sound of a lost child.

'It must be Star.' She thought. But when she sat up, she saw Robin, his shoulders shaking. He was facing away from her. 'It's too painful for him to even look at me.' Raven thought, choking back her own tears.

She struggled to get up, still weak from the spell and lack of food.

She floated over to Robin to avoid startling him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she whispered into his ear.

"I'm okay."

"Knock knock?" Beast Boy asked, grinning.

"Who's there?" the other boy replied. He ran a hand through his hair. It was getting longer as of late. He needed a haircut.

"Boo." The boy mentally groaned. He had heard this one so many times it wasn't even funny anymore…not that it really was in the first place.

"Boo who?" He replied. He had an edge to his voice that no one but Beast Boy could pick up. Thankfully this time, the changeling was too caught up in his own joke.

"Aww, don't cry." Beast Boy started laughing hysterically. "You get it? Boo hoo…crying." His smile faded as he saw the other boy's glare. "Heh, crying…you get it…yeah. Shutting up now."

He lowered his eyes to the mess on his floor.

'I should really get around to cleaning this.' He thought.

He felt the other boy's hand on his cheek.

"Sorry, hun." He said, "I've just been kind of tired lately. All this fighting really zaps me, ya know?" He asked.

Beast Boy nodded. His eyes shone with sympathy as he laid his head on the other's boy's strong shoulder.

He had always been a source of comfort and strength for Beast Boy. He could always turn to him whenever something became too cruel to stand, whenever he needed a shoulder to cry on, whenever he was bursting with the excitement of having a new joke.

"I wish you could be here more often." He whispered. The other boy ran a hand through Beast Boy's green hair.

"I know, love. I know."

Author's Note: The Hebrew is from The Prince of Egypt, my new favorite movie. Post your thoughts on who BB's secret lover is. And while you're at it, check out my other fics, Midnight Rendezvous, and my upcoming one: Burning Up. –'Lil Sarah