insert witty comment telling the fact that I don't own Teen Titans here ! And, with that, on with the show!

BARCODE

Chapter 8: Recovery

Raven awoke in darkness. Not able to figure out where she was, she moved a bit and pain shot up her back. She stifled a yelp, and looked down at herself. Her cloak and leotard were in shreds, and there was a green tiger curled around her in a circle. Its fur was slightly stained with blood… her blood, she realized with a shiver. She thought hard, trying to remember what had happened.

Garfield's eyes popped open, and his tiger-head came up to look at her silently. "Have you been watching over me all night?" Raven asked softly. "The others are probably worried about me." She saw him looking past her, and she turned her head. Robin and Cyborg were both leaned against a tree asleep, the remains of a campfire between them. "Well… that answers that." She moaned softly at the stiffness in her spine.

Suddenly, something warm and wet lapped up her back and Raven yelped. She turned painfully to find the tiger's tongue retreating into his mouth. Her back was exposed. And it hurt, and… lick. She groaned aloud, falling forward even though she was sitting Indian style. A large, powerful paw rested in her lap as she got the sensation again. A blush went up her cheeks, and she leaned back against him so he wouldn't do that anymore. His warm, green fur slowly receded and Raven's head was rested in Garfield's lap. A look of genuine concern was one his face, and one of his hands cupped her cheek… "Ray…. Ven?" he said softly, whimpering. Every plant within fifty feet of her shuddered because of her powers, but it didn't distract Garfield in the slightest. Cradling her torso gently, he nuzzled her neck.

She couldn't let him… ahhh…… Raven's mind was scrambled with emotion, and her head lolled back, exposing her neck to him. Her body ached and wouldn't obey her much. She felt his teeth just beyond his lips. He nibbled gently, sensually, on her neck and she moaned aloud. He didn't bite or try to give hickies, but applied gentle pressure with his lips. The therapeutic style of romantics made her instinctively fold her legs with a red-faced embarrassment. She was growing warm in a particularly private place, she realized. Raven stifled a second loud moan as best she could, and it came out as a soft, "Ohh…" But…her hand came up of its own accord, rushing through his green hair. Why did she want him at her neck so badly? Why did it feel so good to let him – ?

Raven, with a final sigh of contentment and defeat… fell asleep again with her head in his lap.

Garfield saw this and stopped, looking at her happily. She smelled nice, even after all that. His animal instincts wanted her as a mate, but… his human side knew better. She was hurt, asleep, and helpless. Reaching behind himself for a fern, he pulled several enormous leaves off the plant. Putting them along her body like a makeshift blanket, he leaned against a tree. The moss growing on it and the clover under him kept him comfortable, and his eyes slid shut after a few minutes.

THE NEXT MORNING…

Cyborg was the first to awaken, only to find Robin sound asleep. He looked, without moving, at Raven and her… thing. Whatever he was. "Weird, man…" he said, looking at them. The green boy and the injured goth were curled together like lovers, her head in his lap. He was cradling her torso, but something was different. He had a book with him. Using his mechanical eye he zoomed in. The sentence on the page he'd left it open to had 'See Jane Run.' on it. But, to his surprise, 'Jane' was marked out and 'Raven' was put in its place! He'd taught himself how to write her name in berry juice! The girl, Jane, was rubbed out with dark colors, like a two-year old's finger painting. Her shape was redefined with more black juice, and looked like she was wearing a cloak! Cyborg blinked several times. He'd left, come back, and brought that with him? Why?

Robin took a deep breath of waking, sitting up straight. His groan and the popping sound his back made woke the remaining two teens. The green boy helped Raven sit up, but she was just fine and stood. "Sleeping that long healed me almost all the way." She said, mono-toned. He clothes were still in shreds, and she feebly retreated into what was left of her cloak to stay decent.

"Raven, are you–?" Robin started. But, she was engulfed in her black magic, and vanished from sight. Robin's T-communicator beeped, and he answered it.

"Can we go now?" she said from the T-car. Robin stared for a long time, then nodded. She would sleep the rest of the way home, and be fine by then.

The green boy, Garfield, watched both remaining teens turn to go and grinned. Robin stopped at the edge of their little clearing and looked at him. "Just because you saved her doesn't mean I'll stop chasing you." He said evenly, pointing at him. Cyborg said nothing, but waved once when Robin's back was turned. Garfield waved back, smiling innocently.

"Dude…" B–407 said goodbye in his own way, watching them go. Suddenly, a question came to mind. Where did they go whenever they left? Did they live somewhere in the forest? Garfield, becoming a bird he'd seen in 'The Absolute Idiot's Guide to Camping,' followed the two silently. He didn't see a little tracker marked with a 'T' fall off of him as he transformed. It lay on the ground, blinking red.

"I've got him now, see?" Robin turned the read-out of his T-communicator for Cyborg to see when they'd reached the T-car. A little dot was blinking on what was clearly a rough map of the forest. "As long as he doesn't go back into the hills, I'll be able to track him."

"Interference is gonna cost ya, man." Cyborg said, shaking his head. "There's too much rough terrain to track him." He and Robin got in the car, and shut their doors quietly. A certain gothic teen had already fallen asleep in the back seat. Her hair hung over her eyes, her hood still back. "Besides, why do you wanna catch him, Robin?" Cyborg whispered.

Raven's eye slitted open.

"We've seen how powerful he is." Robin said. "If he decides to leave the forest someday and cause mayhem, who's fault is it going to be? Ours. We could've taken him out at the lab, but he escaped the blast." The boy wonder rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Raven frowned.

"Rae seems to trust him, and she doesn't trust us, it doesn't look like." Cyborg said, pushing the ignition. The T-car started, then took off.

"Raven's… complicated." Robin admitted, still whispering and unaware that Raven was awake. "But… I don't know if her judgment would be compromised if we suddenly had to fight him."

"Let's just get home, man." Cyborg said. Robin nodded, and Raven shut her eyes again. "This is gettin' too weird for me…" they were on the paved road at last, and drove towards home.

Not one of them saw a hummingbird fly in the back passenger side window, then hide under one of the seats. Cyborg was busy driving, Robin was deep in thought, and Raven's eyes were closed. So, the little green flit of color drew no attention from the Titans.

At Titans Tower…

18:00 (That's 6PM, people…)

Raven stood in the shower, watching the drips of pink come off of her pale skin. She moaned aloud, falling to her hands and knees. She'd mostly healed in her sleep, but the deeper wounds remained on her back. The hot water pounded on her body, making it go numb with blessed heat. Her wet, purple hair hung down like a veil, keeping the rest of the world out.

After simply pitching her clothes in the trash, Raven gently scrubbed the dried blood off. Whatever Garfield's tiger tongue hadn't gotten earlier. She flushed at the thought and quickly steadied herself when she saw her shampoo bottle pitch itself over and into the tub with her. Scrubbing a little more gently because of her cuts, she let out a sigh as she stood again. She squeezed her eyes shut, crossing her arms over herself and tilted her head back into the spray of the show.

Raven knew she wasn't much in the ways of feminine looks, but the way Garfield looked at her… sniffed her in greeting… she couldn't help but feel – Her shampoo bottle exploded, pitching the stuff everywhere! She winced, trying to calm the roses that had bloomed on her cheeks. "It's pointless to feel this way." She told herself. But she knew her voice sounded unsure. She turned the spray of the shower off when she'd gotten all the shampoo off. She commenced in wringing out her hair with two fingers and letting herself drip for a moment. She looked down at herself, wondering. What was it that made her so interesting to him? Was it just her smell, or was it something more? She reached and pulled the shower curtain aside.

A dry towel was held out for her. "Ray… ven?" said the towel-giver, smiling. Raven took it with a soft thank you, patting her face dr – She froze, her eyes bulging. She looked up to find none other than Garfield! Raven screamed angrily, hiding behind the towel, pitching herself back into the shower and closing the curtain! Garfield screamed back, throwing himself comically back into the hall!

Straight into Robin.

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OO Ohhhh boy. Now what'll happen? What will Robin say? Where's Cyborg? And most importantly, where the heck did Garfield get that towel? Find out in the next chapter, and please keep reading and reviewing! Thank you so much! --