CHAPTER FOUR

Beast Boy grinned at Raven's surprise. "Yeah. I wasn't always green ya know. It's just a side affect."

"A side affect of what?" Raven asked.

"My parents were biologists that took me to Africa with them. We lived in Upper Lamumba where they were researching genetic codes. I got really, really sick with a rare disease that only animals could survive. My dad was so desperate to save me, that he treated with an untested machine which he originally developed to isolate the common genetic bond shared between humans and animals. I got better, but as a side affect my skin turned green."

"When did they find out you could turn into animals?" Raven asked.

"It was a few years later. My mom and I went for a walk, and she was threatened by a Black Mamba snake. I was so scared and so desperate to save her that it awakened my powers and I turned in a mongoose."

"What happened then?" Raven asked. "Where are they? Are they still in Africa?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Beast Boy muttered, looking away.

"I was just wondering. You never talk about them." Raven said softly.

"That's because their dead." Beast Boy said bluntly, putting the picture on his night stand and laying back down, turning his back on Raven.

"What? Oh, Garfield, I'm sorry." Raven told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. She felt him stiffen and didn't understand why.

"How did you know my name?" He asked in a low voice.

"Your mother told me." Raven told him truthfully, mentally kicking herself.

"What?" Garfield rolled over and looked at her through wide eyes. "My mother's dead Raven."

"I know, but she's still with you." Raven said, reaching out and touching Garfield's chest with one finger, right over his heart.

"How do you know that?" Garfield was still staring at her. Raven sighed and wished she was anywhere but here.

"I did some meditation with you last night while you were passed out, to try and help you and. . ."

"And while you were in my head, you met my mother." Garfield finished.

"Yeah." Raven admitted. "I think she liked me. She also said that you, um, that you. . ."

"What?" Garfield asked, rasing an eyebrow. Raven blushed under her hood, then punched Garfield's shoulder.

"Stop that."

"Stop what?" Garfield protested, his eyebrow shooting even higher and a grin starting to crawl across his face.

"Stop laughing at me." Raven ordered.

"I'm not laughing at you." Garfield said, his grin getting even bigger.

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Knock it off."

"I'm not laughing at. . . you." Garfield lost the battle with himself and started laughing hysterically, doubling up on the bed and grabbing his sides.

Raven floated up off the bed and hovered with her back to him.

"I'm . . . sorry." Garfield gasped out. "But I've never seen you so flustered."

"Garfield!"

"Sorry. . ."

"GARFIELD!" One of his pillows started to glow black and float.

"I'm stopping. See, I stopped." Garfield sat up and grabbed his pillow out of the air and put it behind his back. "I'm sorry, I've stopped." He patted the mattress next to him. "Come on, sit back down. Oh, and call me Gar." He grinned at her back. Raven sighed, then floated over and sat at Gar's feet.

"Now come on." He coaxed. "What did my mother tell you?"

"She told me that you think very highly of me."

Gar looked at her in confusion. "Well, that's true enough. Why would that surprise you Raven?"

"I didn't. . . didn't think you liked me." Raven said in a very small voice, wishing she could disappear farther into her hood.

"I do like you Raven, I told you that that one time me and Cyborg went into your mind and helped you fight your dad, remember." Gar wiggled, trying to get comfortable, but with Raven sitting at the foot of his bed, there was really no way for him to stretch out. Not really noticing what she was doing, Raven picked up Gar's feet and let him rest them in her lap so he could stretch out. They sat in comfortable silence for a long moment, then Raven reached up and pushed her hood down. Gar smiled to himself, but it disappeared when Raven turned her head to look at him.

"How did you parents die?" Raven asked quietly. Gar sighed and put his hand behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

"It was a few years after I first transformed. My parents took me out on a boating trip. I was being a complete brat, whining about how I didn't want to go, and how this was lame and stupid and I wanted to stay in the village with my friends. My dad was so busy arguing with me, he didn't notice the sandbank until. . ." He swallowed hard and closed his eyes. "Until it was too late. When we hit the sandbank, I was standing near my mother. She and I were thrown up into the air. I was able to transform into a bird to save myself, but I couldn't get to my mother in time. Her and my dad both died, my mom from the fall, my dad in the explosion after the crash." He opened his eyes and Raven saw the tears filling them. "It was my fault Raven. If I hadn't be arguing or whining, my dad would have been paying attention."

Raven reached up and brushed away Gar's tears. "It wasn't your fault, you were just a little kid. And I know your mother doesn't blame you, I've seen her. She's the only thing that kept your mind from shattering when you lost to the beast." She paused. "Gar, was your mother some sort of spiritualist?"

"Yeah. My father used to tease her that she was the only spiritual biologist in Africa. She really believed in the importance of keeping your soul in shape as well as your body and mind. Why?"

"Just wondering. The way she was able to help you signifies that she had some spiritual knowledge." Raven noticed that her hand was still resting on Gar's cheek and she yanked her hand back, fighting a blush. Gar also blushed, but then his brow furrowed.

"Why don't I remember my mother helping me?"

"It was to protect your mind. She only came to you when you were in so much pain or so frightened that you had literally retreated into your mind, trying to get away. When I saw her, she sang to you and healed your wounds, then you fell asleep."

"Oh." Gar and Raven were silent once again. Then Raven thought of something.

"What happened after your parents died? You were still young. How did you survive?"

"I was taken in by King Tawava, a friend of my parents and the chief of the tribe we had been living with. I really liked him. He was one of the kindest men I've ever met. He loved me and treated me like a son, and his real son, the prince, was one of my best friends. We were like brothers." He paused, smiling at the memory.

"But how did you get to America?" Raven questioned.

"The tribe's witch doctor, Mobu, hated me and my parents. He hated us so much that her arranged for two American mercenaries to kill me. In exchange, Mobu would reveal the whereabouts of a temple containing a treasure. The temple collapsed and killed Mobu, but the two American's kidnaped me and took me to America, where they forced me to commit crimes for them. Eventually they killed each other, and the courts appointed my parents lawyer, Nicholas Galtry, to be my guardian. But he wasn't much of one. When I had been missing, right after my parents died, Galtry started embezzling funds out of my inheritance. When I was found, he wanted to kill me. But I managed to get away from him and joined the Titans."

Gar lay in silence once he finished, then looked at Raven. "Hey, Ra?"

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry."

"Forget it. What?"

"Do you. . . do you remember the song my mom sang to me?" Gar looked down and started playing with the hem of his blanket. "There was one song she used to sing to me every night, but it's been so long that I don't really remember it anymore."

Raven nodded, and opened her mouth to tell Garfield that she did know the song, when both her and Gar's communicators started beeping.

"Titan alert!" Gar yelled, trying to sit up.

"Stop right there." Raven ordered. "You are staying here. We can handle it. Your not going anywhere until you finish resting. Now lay down." She glared at him, and he reluctantly lay back down.

"Will you come see me when you get back?" He asked in a little boy voice. Raven allowed a small smile to cross her face.

"Yes, I promise. Now get some sleep." She left the room, turning out the light as she went.