Hello again, Sora here! My goodness; this story has been up for only two days and already I have received 10 reviews. I admit I'm quite excited about it. To my reviewers, I hope this chapter lives up to your kind words.
Well, let me do the run down one more time. This is and always will be a Rob/Rae pairing as they are my favorite. I happily welcome compliments, comments and constructive criticism. I even take flames so long as there is reason and it isn't about the pairing.
Anyway, before I chatter too long, I'd best get on with the story. Here you go!
The next morning Raven woke up feeling warm, content…and very nauseated. She could almost feel herself turning as green as Beastboy. In one very deft move, Raven flung the sheets and Robin away from herself (and, unfortunately, off the bed). She snagged her robe from its peg and then made a beeline for the bathroom connected to her room. Her morning was not starting well.
Robin's morning didn't start off any better. He had been in the midst of a very pleasant dream when he was unceremoniously tossed from the bed to land with a bone rattling thud. It took a few moments for the sleep related disorientation to wear off, and when it did, he heard Raven in the bathroom praying to the porcelain gods. He gathered from the curses in between that she was in a rather foul mood about it too.
Raven could consider herself a very tolerant person, but there were few things she hated more than throwing up. It was a disgusting and exhausting process that she usually took great pains to avoid. At the moment her only solace was that the illness didn't last long. When Raven was sure the last of the nausea had passed, she unsteadily stood up and moved toward the sink. She was about to reach for her toothbrush when a green clad hand held the item before her, toothpaste already applied.
"Here," Robin said softly as she took it from him. His voice held vast amounts of concern.
"Thanks," Raven muttered around her toothbrush.
"You feeling any better?" he asked. Raven raised an eyebrow before spitting.
"Anything is better than what I was doing." He continued to look at her. "Yes, the nausea has passed. I'm feeling okay now," she finished. While Raven was rinsing out her mouth, Robin placed a hand to her forehead.
"Do you think you're coming down with something? You don't feel warm, but you can't be too careful."
"Robin, I'm fine," she assured him quietly. "I ate some of Starfire's food yesterday, in an insane attempt at kindness, and it must have gotten the best of me." Robin looked hesitant.
"Well," he began, "okay, but, stay home today. You know, rest. You look like you could use it."
"Where are you off to?" she asked.
"Well, I've gotta go buy a couple new lamps," Robin replied, he grinned at her. "You blew three of them up last night." Raven looked sheepish followed closely by annoyed.
"I'm overdue for my meditation," she muttered before taking one last sip of water and replacing the cup to its place. "That must be why the lamps blew. Anything else get damaged?"
"The desk, but it'll be fine. It was only a few scratches," he answered. Raven leaned against the counter in thought and Robin's worry returned again. "You're sure you'll be okay?" he pressed.
"Yes, I promise, I'm fine." Exasperation was creeping into her voice. Robin took that as a sign to back off and give her some space for awhile. He smiled lightly.
"Alright, I'll leave you to your meditation. I'm going to go change and head out. Please get some rest though. I'll see you later." With that he leaned over and gave her a kiss on her temple and left for his own room.
As soon as Robin was well out of earshot, Raven sighed deeply. She really hated lying to him. She had been fighting nausea for the better part of a week or so. However, she wasn't going to tell him that or she'd never get the chance to meditate. Raven wasn't lying when she said she was overdue for it.
Quickly Raven shed her robe and donned her usual outfit. Once she was sure she was cleaned up enough, she assumed her lotus position. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"
Nevermore was much the same as it had always been. A little dark and a little rugged. The only thing that was different was the manic giggling that seemed to echo off the walls. Raven sighed and began walking to the source of the sound.
It did not take Raven very long to find the corral in which she now contained her emotions. What was going on inside the corral could only be described as a bizarre scene of chaos. Joy and Happiness, the source of the manic giggling heard earlier, were running and dancing around their area of containment. Though they were already the embodiments of Raven's happiness and energy, their activity seemed to have increased two fold.
Looking around again, Raven spotted Courage and Timid. Courage was grinning from ear to ear and swinging Timid around. Poor Timid looked like she was going to have a coronary and was continually muttering something about pain while Courage kept a running line of assurances.
Love was sitting near the center of the corral. She was glowing and holding fast to a bright orb of light. Not far away Anger was sulking in her cage and Slovenly was cackling inanely about one thing or another.
Raven glanced around curiously. There was one emotion that was strangely absent. "Hello, Raven, long time no see." Raven spun around feeling mildly startled. A yellow clad emotion was walking towards her with a pleasant smile on her face. Raven nodded her head.
"Intelligence. Yes, I suppose I was overdue for a visit."
"Indeed," Intelligence replied. "We were beginning to wonder if you were ever to return, or if we would have to content ourselves with our new addition." Raven fixed Intelligence with a quizzical look. Intelligence's smile never faltered and she indicated to the orb Love was holding. Raven studied it for a moment. It was bright with a rich mixture of reds and purples.
"Wha?" Raven asked suspiciously, "That isn't what I think it is, is it? Please tell me it isn't," Raven moaned. Intelligence chuckled.
"Let me be the first to congratulate you, Raven. Our little introvert is going to be a mother! That there is the bond you are beginning to form with your child. When the child is born, the bond will be complete." When Intelligence was finished, she watched Raven for any sort of reaction.
Raven handled the news in the most appropriate way she could think of. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she went belly up.
My! Another chapter done. I hope you enjoyed it. It's up a little earlier than I anticipated, but when my muse insists, there is no arguing with her. I hope you have enjoyed it. Many thanks to those who reviewed. I hope you'll stick with me in the coming chapters! Good-bye for now.