Disclaimer: No!

Chapter thirty. Enjoy. This is a short-ish chapter, and I apologize. Chapter thirty-one will be longer. If it isn't, you can let the gourd weasels eat my flesh.

I now have TT sandals with Robin and Cy on them. They're the coolest shoes I've ever had! I'm such a nerd.

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"No!" came a desperate whisper from somewhere beyond his range of vision. Beast Boy shook it off. "no! Please!" came the voice again. And this time it clicked. It was Raven. Beast Boy's eyes snapped open and he looked around. Raven was lying close beside him, sweating and shaking, obviously having a nightmare. Beast Boy placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently.

"Raven?" he asked quietly.

The half-demon shot straight up in bed with a small gasp, looking around wildly, ready to fight. When she realized where she was, she calmed down.

"Beast Boy?" she asked quietly, as though the question would confirm his identity.

"Yeah, of course," he answered. "You were having a nightmare?"

Raven nodded faintly, giving a slight shiver. "I dreamt that you…that you died," she said softly, raising hollow, terrified eyes to meet his. Instinctively, Beast Boy wrapped his arms around her. It felt slightly strange and backwards that this time, she had been the one having a nightmare and Beast Boy was the one being comforting. He hugged her tightly for a few minutes, until she pulled away very suddenly.

"Thank you, Beast Boy. I think I'll be OK now," she said with a smile that was not entirely normal. Beast Boy nodded, though wondering silently what was wrong. He decided not to prod into the issue, though. Raven had been through quite enough today.

Beast Boy glanced at the clock. It was nearly six PM. "Whoa. We've been asleep for a while. Do you feel better?" he asked.

"Mhm," Raven said quietly, standing up and slipping her cloak into place. "I need to get some tea," she added in a rather distant, emotionless voice. Beast Boy was startled. He knew that voice. That was the voice she had always used with him before. She had turned to face the door.

"R-Raven?" he asked softly.

"Yes?" he heard her answer.

"Do you love me?" he asked, for some reason slightly nervous.

Raven turned around, looking confused. "Of course I do, Beast Boy," she said, walking back over to him and kissing him. The distant tone was mostly gone from her voice. "Why? Do you think I don't?" there was a kind of fear in her eyes that he couldn't place.

"No. I just…well, you're acting kind of weird. I know that's no reason for me to think that, but…I don't know."

"I love you more than you could ever imagine. Don't ever question that," Raven said.

Beast Boy nodded. "OK. Sorry. I'm being paranoid, aren't I?" he asked.

"Just a little bit," Raven said with a soft laugh.

"Now, let's go get you that tea," Beast Boy said. Raven nodded and the two of them headed out of the room and in the direction of the kitchen.

"Beast Boy! Raven!" was the first thing they heard when they walked into the room. "I am trusting that things have been sorted out?" Starfire's anxious voice came almost immediately. She, Robin, and Cyborg were sitting at the table eating something that had obviously been made by Starfire. It seemed to be a strange kind of pudding. One glance at Raven told Beast Boy that he wasn't the only one whose stomach curdled at the mere thought of eating whatever it was.

"Uh, yeah I guess so," Beast Boy said. Raven nodded. There was a strangely distant look in her eyes once more. Beast Boy was confused, but he said nothing.

"Uh, Raven, are you OK?" Robin asked. Raven blinked several times.

"What? Oh. Yes," she said, sounding slightly detached. Robin gave Beast Boy a look that said quite plainly, 'what's going on with her?'. Beast Boy answered with a slight shrug. Raven walked past the others to the counter, where she began to go through the ceremonial procedure of making her tea. The others watched her with a sort of worry mingled with curiosity. They could all sense that something was wrong, no matter what Raven said. They looked silently to Beast Boy for answers and for once he had nothing to say.

"So…uh…Raven…feeling any better?" Cyborg asked as the four of them watched her sit the teapot on the stove. "You gave us all a scare this morning."

"Yes," Raven said in a way that was not at all convincing. "I'm fine, Cyborg. Thank you."

"Are you sure?" Beast Boy asked softly, moving over to where she was standing as she turned to face them and touching her arm.

"Yes," Raven said. Beast Boy was not assured. Raven was speaking in the same manner as a child does after spilling a jar of finger paint on white carpet and being interrogated about the crime.

"Rave, do you really mean that or are you just trying to shut me up?" he asked.

Raven bristled slightly. "I said I was fine!" she fairly yelled in his face her eyes flashing crimson for a split second. Beast Boy stepped back, gawking at her, and her eyes widened to match his and she seemed to return to normal almost instantly.

"Shit," she said. "Beast Boy, I am so sorry."

"It's…it's OK," Beast Boy said, even though it wasn't, even though he was still slightly shaken. He looked at her for a moment, and then turned and walked out of the kitchen.

"Beast Boy-" Raven said after him, shame coming from every slope in her words. Beast Boy didn't turn around. He wasn't sure why. He just kept walking, stony and unhearing. When he reached the door of his bedroom, he went inside and threw himself down onto the bed, balling up his fist and taking several deep breaths, the air rushing in and out slowly until he was calm once more.

It was only a few minutes before there came a soft knock on his door. Beast Boy walked slowly over and pushed the button allowing it to slide open. Raven was standing in the hall with her eyes cast to the floor. She looked extremely uncomfortable, and didn't move or speak for a moment. She seemed to be waiting for him to end the uncomfortable silence. When he refused, she slowly lifted her eyes to meet his. She just looked for a moment. Deep in in the amethyst irises, Beast Boy saw Raven. He saw her shaking. He saw her regret and her sorrow and her fear. The eyes quivered, but it wasn't really just her eyes. Though her body was still, the feelings were deep in her soul and seemed to be struggling to get out.

Raven moved forward very carefully and wrapped her arms around him, her whole body shaking now in the rhythm of her remorse. "I'm so, so sorry," she said very softly. "I didn't…I don't…I don't know what's wrong with me lately. I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

Beast Boy slowly melted at this and hugged her back. "I know," he said quietly. He forgave her. She knew. He didn't need to say it. The feeling passed from him to her. He felt it. And then he became aware of how strong and eerie this connection was but refused to do anything to break it. Raven was crying very softly now, and he was surprised. He lifted her gently and carried her over to his bed, lying down and adjusting his arms around her so they would both be comfortable.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered again, but Beast Boy got the strange feeling that she wasn't talking about the events of earlier. That maybe she was talking about something different. He wasn't sure what. There was fear in her words. Fear of what she might do? Was she apologizing for the fact that her rage might hurt him in the future?

As they lay there, Beast Boy wondered if Raven was really OK, or if she was slowly falling apart.

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Next chapter soon. Sorry for the shortness.