That wasn't too long of a wait, was it? I hope not. This chapter is brought to you in part by my two kitties, Maisy and Talulah, who "helped" me type this. Any spelling errors are totally their fault.
I believe this is the longest chapter so far—so yay! I would have had this up yesterday, but I had to go to an editor meeting (I'm design editor for my high school newspaper) so I didn't get a chance to type. Instead, I got the chance for all of my editor friends to laugh at me for not being able to drive, even though I'm a junior, and older than almost all of the other juniors because of the stupid age-cut off date.
Okay, rant aside, I should probably get on with my author's note. Once again, a less gory (and less actiony) chapter again, but I like this one more than the last one. We're almost halfway done—so I have to hurry up and finish writing the last little part of the story—chapter 11 is being evil and refusing to come out right no matter how many times I rewrite it. Oh well, I'll get it eventually.
I can't think of anything else to say right now, so here are the review responses.
lovex3spell – Wow, your reviews always make me feel so good about myself—thanks for all the support and encouragement. And as for his dreams about Terra—well, you'll have to wait until the chapter after this one to find out what they're like. I'm glad my updates make you so happy—reviews do the same thing for me. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
They-Call-Me-Orange – The Terra thing won't come up again until next chapter, so until then I'm going to have to leave you hanging with that. And I think this update is a little quicker than the last one, but I could be wrong. This is a long chapter, though, so hopefully that helps your distraughtness some. Thanks for the review!
Hotaru – Now that's an idea, and I can't see why that wouldn't work. But, as that would totally blow my plot out the water, for the story's sake, pretend that it wouldn't work. Nice job thinking of that, though—the idea never even crossed my mind. Thanks for the review.
Koriat – The picture (or link) you tried to show me didn't show up on my computer, but that's okay—I just looked him up on google. That is a pretty nifty looking arm. You'll just have to see if I had anything like that in mind. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you like this chapter, too.
Chibi Scooby – The arm thing creeps me out, and I'm the one writing it. Thanks for the review and uhm…yay for buttered milk? I hope you like this chapter.
There we go, that wasn't too hard, and my cats didn't really screw anything up—yet anyway. So, without further adieu, here's chapter five.
Silver Wing
Chapter Five: Waiting
A few minutes after sunrise, metallic footsteps sounded in the Titans' living room. The figure was headed towards the sofa, where Robin was sprawled out, asleep. A hand was placed on Robin's shoulder, gently shaking him awake.
"Hey," Cyborg whispered. "Sorry to wake you."
"Don't worry about it," Robin said, snapping awake and sitting up quickly. "How is he?"
"It's hard to tell," Cyborg told him truthfully. "Raven stopped the bleeding, but he's really sick—a high fever, a bad cough, chills. But he's alive."
As they spoke, Starfire, who had been sleeping on the opposite end of the couch, opened her eyes. When she saw Cyborg she shot up, completely awake.
"Friend Cyborg!" she shouted, hovering a few feet in the air. "Tell me, is friend Beast Boy well again?"
"Not yet, Star." Cyborg's voice was patient. "He's still got a long way to go."
"May we pay him with a visit?" Starfire asked hopefully. Cyborg shook his head firmly.
"Not right now. Maybe after his fever's gone down, but for now he's too sick for visitors," Cyborg explained. Starfire's face fell.
"We'd get in the way, Star," Robin told her. She nodded sadly.
"You are correct," she said, landing back on the ground. "I will retire to my room now."
"You should get some more rest, too," Cyborg told Robin as Starfire headed to the elevator. "We don't need the whole team exhausted. I'm gonna recharge, then try to talk Raven into getting some sleep."
Cyborg was right—Robin stifled a yawn; he did need sleep. If they got called, somebody had to go out and protect the city.
"How's Raven doing?" Robin asked as he stood up.
"She's pretty much running the show in there," Cyborg told him. "I've never seen her so determined like this—she's the reason BB's still alive. He wouldn't have made it another hour without her there. But…well, she won't really say it, but she's blaming herself for what happened to him."
Robin sighed. "I know how she feels."
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The med bay was silent, except for the beeping of machines and Beast Boy's harsh breathing. Raven had placed a cool cloth on his head to try and bring down his fever, but it stubbornly remained at 125, even after a few hours.
The relative silence made it easier for Raven to think. Cyborg had told her—no, ordered her not to blame herself for what happened, but she couldn't help it. She'd let Slade get the better of her, and now Beast Boy was suffering for it.
But still, a part of Raven suspected that last night had been part of a bigger plan. Maybe Slade had a reason to come after Beast Boy specifically, but if he did, Raven didn't understand it. Punishment seemed the most likely, but for what?
And what a price to pay. Raven looked sadly at what remained of Beast Boy's arm. By slowing the bleeding, she had allowed it stop, almost on its own, and that had probably saved his life. Still, there was little else she could do for him, besides try and prevent infection.
Raven finally allowed herself to admit a truth that she hadn't wanted to realize—Beast Boy, if he survived, wouldn't fight alongside them anymore. She had little knowledge of how his powers worked, but she suspected that such an injury would affect his abilities. If that was the case, Raven knew Beast Boy could still be part of the team, just in an entirely different way. And if she was having trouble accepting this, then she had no idea how Beast Boy would take it.
"He's gonna make it," Cyborg said from the doorway, startling Raven out of her thoughts.
"You think so?" she asked, trying to keep her emotions in check.
"I know it," the half-robot replied resolutely. "How's his fever?"
"It's still at 125," Raven reported.
"Look, Rae, there's not much left to do now except wait," Cyborg said. "Why don't you go get some sleep? I can take over here while you rest."
"I'm fine," Raven lied quickly.
"Raven, get some sleep," Cyborg repeated, more firmly this time. "You've been up for twenty-four hours—and last night wasn't exactly relaxing."
Raven frowned, but Cyborg was right. She was exhausted, and she could be any help if she was too tired to use her powers if things went downhill.
"Fine," Raven relented, "but only for a few hours. And call me if anything changes."
"I will, Raven," Cyborg promised. "Get some rest."
Raven headed to the elevator and went upstairs. She stopped at the kitchen to make herself a cup of herbal tea, and was surprised to find Robin awake and waiting for her.
"Have you slept?" she asked, setting the water to boil.
"A few hours," Robin told her. "Cyborg said Beast Boy's sick—will he be okay?"
"Cyborg thinks that once his fever breaks, he'll start to get better," Raven said, "but it'll take a long time." She was swaying a little from sheer exhaustion, and Robin gently took her arm to steady her. He led her to a chair and sat her down.
"You rest, Raven," he said, concern in his voice. "I can manage your tea."
"Robin, it's fine," Raven protested. She started to stand, but Robin placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"If you're too tired to make tea, how can you expect to help Beast Boy when he needs you?" Robin pointed out. Raven sighed—everyone was bringing that up. Robin refused to argue further, and within a few minutes the tea was done, and he handed it to her. "Do you want anything to eat?" he asked next, and Raven shook her head. Robin decided to not push his luck any further.
They both sat in thoughtful silence, Raven in her chair, and Robin leaning against the countertop.
"It's not your fault, Robin," Raven said finally. Robin looked away. Raven stood up and placed her cup in the sink.
"Thanks," he managed to say as Raven turned to leave. She gave him a weak smile.
"No problem."
"But Raven-" She stopped and looked back at him. "It's not your fault, either."
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The next few days were torture at the Titan's Tower. Raven and Cyborg spent almost all of their time with Beast Boy in the med bay; Raven refusing to sleep more than a few hours a night. Starfire sulked around moodily, and Robin stayed locked in his room, presumably reviewing all of his files on Slade.
On the third day since the attack, things began to look up. Sometime late at night, Beast Boy's fever finally broke, and fell almost as quickly as it had risen. By the fourth morning, it was entirely gone, although he was still unconscious and very, very weak. Nonetheless, Raven really felt that her friend was finally on the road to recovery.
It was early afternoon on day four, and Raven and Cyborg were debating over letting the other two Titans visit Beast Boy.
"They're worried, Rae," Cyborg stated. "It's one thing to hear he's doing better, and another to see it."
"But that's it," Raven argued. "He doesn't look better. Seeing him like this will only make things worse for them."
"Raven, they have to get used to it," Cyborg said gently. "They have to understand that this is the way things are now, and that-"
"He won't be fighting with us anymore," Raven finished sadly. It was the first time anyone had spoken that thought out loud, and it almost seemed like the words chilled the room.
"They have to understand that, Rae," Cyborg said, "and so do we, even if we don't want to."
"And what about him?" Raven asked, trying very hard not to get angry. "What do we say? 'Sorry, since you don't have an arm you're no help to us.' I can't do that to him, Cyborg. I can't take it way from him."
"You didn't," Cyborg said softly. "Slade did."
Raven was silent for a long time. "They can come," she said finally, "as long as Starfire promises not to sing any Tamaranian songs of healing."
Cyborg let out a little chuckle. "I'll find them," he said, heading out the door.
Ten minutes later a very nervous Robin and Starfire stepped cautiously into the med bay. Robin's gaze went straight to Raven—he had seen very little of her over the past few days, and she seemed even more pale than usual, and a worried expression was etched on her face. She gave Robin a small nod of acknowledgement.
Starfire seemed almost afraid to approach the bed. She had not seen Beast Boy since the night of the attack, and was apprehensive about what she would find now.
"It's okay, Star," Cyborg said reassuringly. "He's just asleep."
Standing beside the bed now, Starfire took in the pale and gaunt appearance of her friend. He looked almost more grey than green, so that the clean white bandages around his torso and arm stood out even more.
"He does not look well," Starfire said finally, with sadness in her voice. Robin stepped up next to her and looked at what remained of Beast Boy's right arm.
"He is getting better, though," Robin said after a moment. "Right?" He looked to Raven, who nodded. She did not bother to point out that his body wasn't the only part of him that needed healing. There was no way to tell how damaged his spirit was, until he woke.
TBC
A little moment between Robin and Raven with the tea thing, but this is not a romance. Not this story, anyway. And look at that, I made Beast Boy a little better now, even if he still isn't awake, and his arm is still gone. I do have some compassion in me. What I don't have is anything else to say, except please review!
Child of a Pineapple