Chapter 10: Now and Forever I Pledge My Heart

"Torque!" Speedy called out into the hall. Torque peeked her head around the corner and grinned.

"What are you up to back there, you two? Plotting some hare-brained practical joke? Hey, we decided we're going to Alien Warehouse so that the kids can come along and we can all still have a drink with dinner….well, all except Cy…big guy decided he's gonna drive," Torque babbled as she wandered down the hall toward them. Torque's expression turned serious as she let Speedy pull her into the room.

"What's going on?" Torque asked. When Speedy told her what had happened between Robin and Aries, Speedy offered her the chair he had been sitting on.

"That's not possible!" Torque muttered in disbelief. "Aries is so sweet…I…I was planning to make her my maid of honor at our wedding…" Then her expression changed completely.

"We need you to help us tell Starfire. Robin's not sure how she'll take it," Speedy explained.

"It's not Star you should be worried about. It's Aries. You know Star's gonna go ballistic about this…" Torque replied, looking at Speedy.

"You really think she'd go after Aries?" Speedy asked.

"Oh, please. If any of the other girls on the team so much as touched you they'd be missing a whole hand. You're mine, and any other woman is going to have to answer to me. Starfire's no different. If anything, she's worse. Tamaranians are so emotional by nature …Aries better have a great hiding place. But let's not ruin this night for the kids. We'll deal with it when we get back. For now, Rob, stay clear of Aries. Just concentrate on Star and Jason, okay?" Torque said. Robin swallowed hard and nodded. He accepted a hug from Torque and another firm pat on the back from Speedy and the three rejoined the rest of the team.

Robin miraculously managed to relax at dinner. He laughed with the others when Toby and Olivia told the team about how Toby amplified Olivia's telekinesis. He chuckled under his breath as Speedy and Mammoth tried to teach Mas and Menos a few choice words in English. He smiled as he observed Raven, his best friend in the world, openly cuddling her baby and lavishing affection on her grateful husband.

The night went so well, but Robin still remembered that he had an important discussion to have with Starfire. Robin still had a grin on his face as he carried Jason down the hall and into his room. Little Jason Todd was fast asleep, and Robin realized that he was probably the spitting image of his own parents right now. He couldn't remember the number of times they must have carried him to bed, changed his clothes whilst he slept, and then tucked him into bed with a kiss. Robin accomplished all of this with Jason and then sat down on the edge of the bed. He lightly stroked Jason's hair back from his eyes and the little one awakened.

"Daddy?"

"It's me, son," Robin murmured.

"I had a bad dream," Jason replied.

"What did you dream about?" Robin asked.

"Mother said my grandpa and grandma died when they fell off a wire at the circus…Daddy, I don't want you and Mother to die, too!"

Robin succumbed to the tears he had buried with the memories of his parents' deaths and pulled his young son into his arms.

"That won't ever happen, son. Your mother and I love you, and we're not going anywhere," Robin reassured him.

"But…what if you and Mother fall?" Jason argued.

"Jason, Mother can fly. She would catch herself. As for me—check this out," Robin replied, pulling Jason out of bed as he stood and turned around. With the click of a button, Robin's cape became a hang glider and Jason giggled.

"You see now? We love you, Jason, and not even falling could stop us from being here for you forever," Robin said, letting the cape go limp and then tucking Jason back into bed. Jason squeezed Robin tight for a moment and then smiled when Robin kissed the top of his head.

"I love you, Daddy," Jason yawned. Robin stood, pulled the covers up to Jason's chin, and kissed his forehead as he nodded off again.

"I love you, too, son," Robin said softly. With this, he quietly left the room, shutting the door behind him.

When he turned, Speedy and Torque were waiting for him. They looked somber and Torque only needed to say two words to make Robin gasp for air.

"She knows."

When Robin emerged into the living area, lightning flashed, illuminating the rain-spattered windows and the silhouette of his princess bride, her arms crossed over her chest and her chin held high in pain-filled anger. Aries had told Starfire her version of the story and it didn't include Robin's innocence. Robin trembled as he spoke.

"Star? Honey?" Robin began.

"Do not 'honey' me. You have done the cheating on me!" Starfire shouted.

"You've got it all wrong, Starfire!" Robin cried, taking a step toward her. He was halted by a starbolt that nearly took out his feet.

"Do not come closer. I do not wish to speak to you!" Starfire cried. Robin wilted. This was his worst nightmare.

"You may not want to speak to him, but you'll listen to me," Torque said, taking a few bold steps forward. "Star, Aries lied to you."

"No!"

"It's true!" Speedy added. "She knew that Robin was too inebriated to know what he was doing. She took advantage of him, Star!"

"I do not believe you!" Star shouted. "Aries told me you did the 'making love' to her. You taught me that husbands and wives only do the 'making love' to each other! You lied to me!"

"No!" Robin finally yelled back. "Starfire, I love you!" Thunder shook the Tower, but Starfire wouldn't budge.

"If you did, you would have told Aries 'no'."

Robin sank to his knees and took a deep breath.

"Star, when was the last time you took off your wedding ring?" Robin asked, tears in his eyes.

"I have never removed it, Robin, but after tonight I may consider it," Starfire spat back.

"Look on the inside…please…" Robin asked. Starfire furrowed her brows and pulled the bauble from her finger, using the light of one of her starbolts to see. There was something inscribed on the inside of the band that Starfire had never seen before.

"Now and forever I pledge my heart to you alone. I love you, and I always will."

Robin forced himself to look up at the astonished look on her face. He recited the line from memory.

"Now and forever I pledge my heart to you alone. I love you, and I always will. You are my wife, Starfire and if you decide to leave me now, you take my heart with you. Without that heart I'll die…I'll die without you, Starfire, please don't leave me!" Robin begged. Torque and Speedy took a few steps back. They hadn't expected this. Starfire slowly took a few timid steps toward her husband as he collapsed to all fours on the floor, unable to hold himself up against the weight on his heart. Starfire knelt beside him and gingerly placed her arms around him and her head on his shoulders. Robin shuddered as he wept, reaching up to wind his arms around Starfire.

"I…I told her she made a mistake…I t-told her that I loved you and Jason and I-I could never betray you…Oh, God, I'd die if I lost you!" Robin murmured as he clutched Starfire close.

"You have not lost me, Robin. I believe you now. I was wrong to doubt you," Starfire replied. Robin blinked back some of his tears and shook his head.

"No—I'm the one who owes you an apology. If I had been more responsible and come straight to bed instead of lingering upstairs here it might have been prevented," Robin replied.

"The fact remains that it did happen. You came to me with the intention of telling me about it and I didn't even give you a chance to explain. I love you, my husband. Let us go to bed now. We've had a long day," Starfire said, tangling her fingers through Robin's coal-black hair. Robin, by way of an answer, pulled Starfire's face to his and kissed her with every ounce of his grateful, relieved heart.

With this, Speedy hugged Torque a little tighter, kissed her, and the two left their teammates in privacy in the otherwise empty living room. Once out in the hallway, Speedy swept Torque up into his arms and carried her.

"Practicing for our wedding, are you?" Torque giggled.

"Well, you know Rob and Star are gonna go back to their room and have the best make-up sex they've ever had. Our room's right next door. Let's show them how it's done," Speedy murmured in her ear, nibbling on the lobe as he walked. Torque was still laughing when she and Speedy's bedroom door closed behind them.

Jinx walked quietly back into the living room area of Titans Tower the next morning, trying very hard not to alert anyone to her presence. She had Reese with her and the tyke squirmed out of her arms and ran for the wide open living area, locating his blocks and carefully leaning back until he softly plopped down onto the floor. Jinx was getting a glass of water when she heard a soft grunt and the shift of weight on the couch. She looked up in surprise as Raven worked her way into a sitting position, finished fixing her uniform back together and looked over at her. Raven had been lying on the couch, nursing Caleb and Jinx hadn't even seen her.

"Where have you been all morning? Cy had a question for you about--" Raven stopped mid-sentence as she stood and carried a sleeping Caleb with her into the kitchen. "Jinx, what's wrong?"

"I had an appointment in town this morning," Jinx answered simply. She refused to meet Raven's eyes, but Raven could already see the fear seated deep inside. She knew that look—she had only been that kind of afraid once in her life: when she discovered she was having more than one baby.

"Jinx…are you…?" Raven began, not sure how to gently approach the subject.

"I might…she said I…might not be s…strong enough to…I might not have enough…room…I…"

Raven deposited her baby into the nearby cradle and then folded a trembling Jinx into her arms. Jinx began to cry, relenting and allowing Raven to hold her. Raven shepherded her to the couch and sat down, drying Jinx's tears and patiently waiting for Jinx to calm herself before asking again what was troubling her.

"Jinx, are you having twins?" Raven asked. Jinx shook her head. Raven's head gained a curious tilt. "Then…what…?" Raven accidentally allowed a soft gasp to escape her as realization dawned on her.

"If you're not having twins you're…oh Azar…three? Jinx, are you having triplets?" Raven asked softly. Jinx's eyes welled with tears again and she nodded. Raven pulled Jinx into her arms and held her as she cried again. After several seconds, Torque arrived back, bringing with her a flurry of noise. Raven recognized the voices of her children and both she and Jinx got up as Torque proceeded into the room, trying to argue with Toby and Olivia as she carried Aidan. Aidan was crying and Emily was scrupulously silent, following along behind this tumult with wide-eyed fear. Emily spotted Raven and ran ahead of the group, throwing herself into Raven's arms.

"What happened?" Raven demanded. Toby and Olivia looked like they had been through an outdoor combat practice. Both of the twins were smudged with dirt and grass stains, Toby's knees were scraped and one of them bled a bit. Olivia had sustained more damage, receiving scrapes on her arms and face and her knuckle bleeding.

"I had to go pick up the kids early because they started a fight at the daycare!" Torque yelled.

"That big kid started it!" Olivia squealed. "He called Aidan a bad word!"

"You didn't expect me to just stand there, did you? Nobody hits my sister and gets away with it!" Toby yelled.

"Don't you take that tone with me, young man!" Torque warned.

"That guy didn't fight fair!" Jason added. "He was bigger than us and he tried to hurt Olivia!"

Raven sighed. So much for teaching the kids to socialize with their peers. By the time Raven managed to calm the kids down, Torque had left the room with Aidan clutched in her arms.

After getting Aidan cleaned up, Torque allowed him to play in his room and then returned to her own. The brunette super heroine flopped down onto her bed and started to cry. She and Speedy's wedding was to be that weekend and this day had been more stress than they needed. A few minutes went by before a little voice interrupted her misery.

"Mommy?"

Torque rolled over and Aidan climbed up onto the bed with his blanket in his hand. He cuddled into Torque's embrace and Torque hugged him close.

"Mommy, what's bastard mean?"

"He called Aidan a what?" Raven cried.

"That's what I said! I told him that Aidan wasn't one of those and he said all kinds of mean things about Auntie Torque too!" Olivia cried as Raven cleaned up her hand.

"Yeah! He said Auntie should have kept her legs closed! What did he mean, Mamma?" Toby added as he finished changing clothes.

"Hold that thought. Where is your father?" Raven grumbled, leaving the twins with Emily and starting toward the gym.

Workout time was important bonding time for the Titan men. Trying to out-bench press each other was a daily ritual—one that Cyborg always won, but none the less a ritual. Typically, this time was not interrupted by any of the girls, but today, Raven boldly walked into the middle of this male bonding session with her jaw set in determination.

"Raven? What's wrong?" Robin asked, when he saw her.

"The kids are home early," Raven answered, provoking the guys to follow her. Once the turbulence died down, Raven and Beast Boy went one way with Emily and the twins and Speedy headed up to the room he shared with Torque to find her and Aidan.

After several phone calls and talks with the kids, Olivia and Toby sat quietly.

"We're sorry, Mommy and Daddy," Olivia murmured.

"We didn't mean to cause trouble," Toby added. Beast Boy and Raven cuddled their kids.

"We know you meant well. We just need you two and Jason to fight with your heads first. Your fists should be a last resort," Beast Boy said, tousling Toby's hair.

"Okay, Daddy," Toby said, leaning into Beast Boy's chest.

"But what if it's a really bad guy?" said Olivia, her wide blue eyes searching her mother's violet ones. Beast Boy looked at his wife and grinned before he kissed the top of Toby's head.

"If it's a really bad guy, Olivia, Mommy and Daddy will be right behind you to back you up," Beast Boy replied, pulling them all close.

The scene that Speedy walked into broke his heart. Aidan had crept out of Torque's grasp and was sitting beside her on the bed, stroking her hair with his little hands and murmuring, "It's okay, mommy…I sorry…don't cry, mommy…" Aidan saw Speedy and immediately crawled off the bed and went to him.

"Mommy crying," Aidan reported as Speedy picked him up.

"I see that, buddy," Speedy said softly, kissing Aidan's temple and moving to place Aidan back on the bed and to crawl up onto the bed himself, sliding down beside Torque and winding his arms around her. Torque rolled in his arms, burying her face in his chest.

"He called my baby--"

"I heard. It's okay, honey, everything's gonna be okay," Speedy replied, hugging her close.

"I've tried to tell myself that for years…nothing's ever okay…every time I think I'm ahead of the game then something else jumps up--"

"And when it does, I'll be there to help you beat it back down," Speedy replied. Torque shook her head.

"You don't get it—this isn't about you—it's about me…this is something I have to do!" Torque wept.

"You're right—it isn't about me. It's about us, now. You've always been alone, Torque. Ever since you joined the Titans you've struggled with this need to be independent. You trust your friends and you work so well with the rest of the team, but on a personal level you hide yourself. I mean, it took me a month to get you to tell me when your birthday was!" Speedy explained. Torque laughed a little at his exaggeration.

"I—it's just that…every time I invest my heart in something, whether its family, partners, or love…something always manages to ruin it. I've just learned to guard my heart. I can't seem to get over it," Torque wept. "Now people are calling me a whore in front of their children? What am I supposed to do about that?"

"You're not alone anymore, Torque," Speedy said, sweeping her hair out of her face with his hand. "You don't have to go it alone. This weekend, I make you my wife and Aidan my son. For better or worse, I'll be here for you, Torque. I love you. Trust me and the others to help you work through the trust issues. We're not going anywhere, baby. We're here now, and we will be forever."

"Forever? Is there really such a thing?" Torque sniffled. Speedy grinned as he pulled Aidan over to lie down between them and then held them close.

"You're looking at it, honey."

With this, Torque kissed Speedy passionately and snuggled back down into his arms, pulling her dark blue blanket over them. Perhaps this was finally the beginning of forever.