Chapter Eleven: Pregnant
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or Batman.
Terra reclined in the comfortable seat she had been provided with via the government in first class on the airplane. Champagne, really good chocolate cake, filet minion, creamy potato soup, broccoli drizzled with cheese sauce . . . life was good. She sighed, and looked out the window dreamily.
"Hey, how about we go back there sweet thing?" It took Terra a moment to realize that the slimy asshole was talking to her. Her eyes narrowed as she whipped around to face him.
"I have a boyfriend," she said, looking him straight in the eye.
"He'll never have to know . . ." Terra punched him hard across the face. She hated jerks.
"Let's make a deal. You crawl back into the hole you spawned from and I won't beat you up," Terra growled. He whimpered and nodded, and she let him go. Sitting back down, she smiled. Sometimes being a Titan came in very, very handy.
As Barbara entered the Wayne mansion, and the first thing she did was head to the kitchen to get some food. She smiled at Alfred as she entered.
"How ya doing?" she asked, picking up a banana from the fruit bowl.
"Very well. And you, Miss Barbara?" he inquired politely. She shrugged.
"It'll be interesting to see how this works out," she said, reclining against the counter. "But first things first. Where's Raven at?" she asked.
"Miss Raven is still sleeping," Alfred said. "She's in room twenty-one," Barbara nodded and dashed up the marble staircase. Upon arrival, she threw open the door and flipped on all the lights.
Raven bolted up in surprise. She blinked, and it took her a moment to remember who the strange young woman in her bedroom was. She looked the clock, and groaned.
"It's nine. It's far too early to be awake," Raven complained. She pulled her covers back over her head. Barbara sighed. Okay, so it might be a bit more difficult that originally anticipated. . .
Ya think?
"Come on!" Barbara said, yanking the sheets off of Raven. Raven stared up at her, speechless. Barbara looked at Raven determinedly, and Raven had the feeling she'd soon have no choice but to get up. "How tall are you?" she asked suddenly, startling Raven.
"5'4," she responded to the odd question.
"Weight?"
"Eighty-five pounds," And dropping, Raven added the last part to herself silently. Barbara looked worried.
"Okay, get dressed. Then you'll have breakfast, and then we're going to a doctor. I'm making the appointment for ten-thirty," she said. Raven nodded dumbly, and watched Barbara leave the room. She felt like she had been standing in the path of a truck, caught in the head lights and only now that they were off of her could she ask
"What just happened?"
When Raven came downstairs, she was immediately pushed into the kitchen. There awaited a huge feast with every breakfast and brunch food imaginable.
"I didn't know what you liked, so I just said to make everything. Eat up," Barbara encouraged Raven. Raven sat down and stared, dumbfounded.
"I can't eat all this! I can't eat any of this!" Raven declared, her violet eyes wide with disbelief.
"You can't not eat it either," Barbara said sternly. Raven was taken aback. She wasn't accustomed to people ordering her to eat when she wasn't hungry, or to get up when she was still tired. Being away from Jump City had spoiled her. Now, this was new again, and a little frightening. It took her a moment to gather her thoughts about it.
"I'm not hungry. Besides, anything I eat I'll probably end up throwing up five minutes later anyway, so there's no point," Raven said. She pushed her plate away from her. Alfred and Barbara exchanged looks. This was going to harder than they thought.
"Just a little, you can't afford to lose much more weight. . ." Barbara said, her voice trailing off at the death glare Raven was giving her. The mage sighed. She didn't have the energy to battle about this.
"I'll have just a plain bagel. No butter, no cream cheese, nothing. And a cup of herbal tea. Any flavor will do," she said. Barbara grinned in triumph. First battle of the day won!
"To go?" Alfred asked, gesturing towards the clock. Barbara nodded. Alfred put the tea in a topped coffee cup and simply handed the bagel to Raven, who accepted it half-heartedly.
"Let's go," Barbara urged her, pulling Raven along by her arm. Raven did her best to keep up.
They took a booked taxi to Dr. Livingston's office, and waited patiently for the doctor to get to Raven. While they sat in the waiting room, Raven became increasingly uncomfortable. Women were staring and pointing at her and whispering. She sort of wanted to hide behind Barbara. Instead, she shut her eyes.
If I can't see you, then you can't see me!
Perhaps it was childish, but she was desperate. Raven did not like doctors, doctors' offices, or waiting rooms. She did not like gossipy rumors, and she hated being dragged somewhere against her will. But at the point, it didn't matter. Her life was not her own anymore. She simply existed, with other people controlling what happened to her.
She was exhausted. Raven wanted to go home and go back to bed, but she had a feeling it wouldn't be allowed. This Barbara girl seemed determined to change Raven's behavior in everyway possible, even if Raven herself wasn't having any of it.
"Miss Raven?" the nurse questioned, poking her head into the room. Barbara shuffled the smaller girl out of the waiting room and into the doctor's room. Raven shuddered. The nurse did all the normal things, like taking her blood pressure, checking her breathing, etc. Raven silently endured it all, glaring at Barbara the entire time. At last, Dr. Livingston herself entered the room.
"Sorry about that! It's just so chaotic down here!" she said good naturedly. She turned to Raven and smiled. "You must be Raven,"
"I must be," Raven said, rolling her eyes. Way too perky for her tastes.
"So, what brings you here today? What can I do for you?" she asked, ignoring Raven's comments. The smaller girl sighed.
"I'm losing weight rapidly, but I can't bring myself to eat because every time I just end up throwing up. And no, I'm not bulimic, but I don't think it's the stomach flu either," Raven said. The doctor looked thoughtful.
"Was your period on time this month?" she asked. Raven blushed and stared at her feet, blushing.
"Ah, no," she answered, embarrassed. The doctor made a note on the clipboard she was holding. Raven looked up a second, and was grateful for the sudden interest Barbara had taken in the wall.
"Have you been sexually active?" she asked with a completely straight face. Raven felt her entire body heat up. Why her? Her and her. . . stupidity! Dear Azar, how did she do these things to herself?
"Yeah. . ." she mumbled, looking away. The doctor made another note on her clipboard.
"How long as this been going on for did you say?" she asked distantly. Raven shrugged.
"Few weeks?" she guessed.
"Well, I can't be sure, but I'd say there's a good chance you're pregnant," the doctor concluded.
The room was silent.
Raven felt as though someone had plunged her into a bucket of ice water. It wasn't that she hadn't considered this as a possibility, but it being real. . .the idea that something inside her was alive. . .
She ran over to the sink and emptied her systems of Barbara's good intentions.
Alfred could not help but be amused by the girl standing outside the mansion. She had spent the last half an hour looking for the doorbell. At last the blonde collapsed, and sat on the stoop, probably waiting for someone to come home. He took pity on her and opened the door.
"How may I help you miss?" he asked politely. She stared at him with her big blue eyes.
"Oh! Right! I am here to see Raven," she stated. Alfred nodded.
"And what is your business with her?" Alfred asked, looking her over. Well, she didn't LOOK dangerous…
"My name is Terra Markov, and I'm from Jump City, California. I'm here to talk to Raven," Terra said. "I'm a Titan."
"Ah, um, she's out at the moment, but should be back shortly. Would you like something to eat while you wait? Something to drink?" he inquired. Terra's eyes lit up.
"Thank you so much! That would be so awesome!" she shouted. She picked up her bags and came inside, appropriately oohing and ahing at the opulent house. Alfred served her the remains of Barbara and Raven's breakfasts, and watched in shock as the skinny girl at ravenously.
Terra's head shot up as she heard Barbara and Raven enter. She took a deep breath, and finished eating quietly.
Raven collapsed on the couch, rather than bother to walk up to her bedroom. It would take too much energy, and quite frankly she was exhausted both physically and emotionally. They were running a pregnancy test to be sure, but all the signs were there.
She was pregnant.
Raven could hardly believe it. Something was living inside her. She pressed her hands to her stomach. Oh, Azar! How had she gotten herself into this mess? She'd also gotten a long speech there about her health. The doctor had said that if she lost anymore weight, they would feel no guilt about physically forcing her into the psych ward.
"Hey," Terra said, facing Raven. Raven noticeably paled. Barbara watched the blonde girl. Who was she anyway? "How've you been?"
"Not so good. . ." Raven said, shrugging her bony shoulders. Terra watched her with worry. She was so thin . . . .
"Anything exciting happening in Gotham?" Terra asked, trying to continue the conversation. Raven sighed.
"Why are you here, Terra? What do you want?" Raven asked, tired. She didn't want to deal with this. . . .
"We miss you guys," Terra said, looking at her with concern. "Why don't you come back to Jump City?" Raven said.
"I can't, Terra. Not now! I, I, Oh god!" Raven burst into tears, scaring Terra. She wasn't used to this emotional side of Raven. She winced as a coaster blew up.
"What's wrong?" Terra asked, sitting down and putting her hand on Raven's shoulder. Barbara and Alfred exchanged looks, but didn't do anything.
"I'm pregnant," Raven just spit it out. Terra gasped.
"Oh, um, wow," Terra said, looking for the words. Raven laughed bitterly.
"Yeah," Raven said, sniffing. Terra hugged her. Raven froze. "This qualifies as a hug . .." she growled.
"Get over it," Terra said. "Hey, let's watch bad TV tonight and hang out, like old times," she said, smiling.
"Alright," Raven said, rolling her eyes. "Hey Barbara, you can take the night off," Raven said. Barbara raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. Maybe this was going to end up being an easy job after all.
The club was smoky and dark, and stank of alcohol. Barbara waited patiently. Robin had said he would be here; therefore, he would show up sooner or later. She sipped her beer, letting the cool liquid slide pleasantly down her throat. She scanned the room. Ah! That he was!
"Robin!" she shouted, putting a hand up to hail him over. He smiled when he saw her and walked over.
"Hey, how are you?" he asked. She shrugged.
"Not bad. How bout yourself?" she asked, gesturing towards a waiter to bring a beer for Robin.
"Been better. My girlfriend kicked me out of the house," he admitted. Barbara raised her eyebrows.
"And you didn't try to get back in?" she questioned, conveniently leaving out that she was looking after Raven. Better to get his side of story first, and then let him throw out all the things she should pass along.
"Eh, I was mean to her. Left her alone all day, didn't give her anything to do, took her away from her friends, told her to go to hell; that was the straw that broke the camel's back. She threw me out and I've been too guilty to do anything about it since," he gratefully accepted the drink the waiter brought him. Around the club, people stared. Barbara's father's involvement with Batman, and Dick Grayson being the adopted son of Bruce Wayne made them semi-famous in Gotham. The two didn't notice. They were old friends from when Jim had been looking for a home for Dick.
"Well, Bruce is paying an ungodly amount of money to look after her because she's miserable by herself. Any word I should pass along?" she said, deciding now was a good time to be The Nice Friend. He sighed, and stared into his drink.
"Tell her I miss her. And I love her. And I want to see her again," Robin said, thinking about the wonderful woman he had just lost. He missed her; he wanted her back in his arms.
Barbara nodded. She emptied her bottle, and listened to the blaring music for a minute. Oh, it was that song by Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock. . . "Picture", that was it! Hmm, how appropriate.
Terra and Raven sat in front of the TV, watching Law & Order reruns. Raven poked the Chinese food they had ordered in. Well, at least she wasn't throwing up. That was good, right?
"Why do we watch these shows? Don't we get enough heartache from our job?" Raven asked, listening to the detectives discuss the victim's private sex life. God, people were insane!
"Eh, well, it's good to keep us aware of what's going on in world. You know, they have to those 'ripped from the headlines' episodes. We're keeping up with our careers is all," Terra said. Raven laughed quietly. She ran her fingers over her stomach.
"How are the others? How's Starfire?" Raven asked quietly, hardly trusting herself to speak.
"They're good. Beast Boy's exactly the same, Cyborg's good, but Starfire as changed a lot. She's tougher, more mature," Terra noted. "But she's not angry. She's not upset at you or Robin. She's let go. She's forgiven everything," Terra added, the latter part more quietly.
"I'd like to see them . . ."
"I can have them on the T-jet and flying over in a matter of minutes," Terra said, biting before Raven could change her mind. Raven looked a bit nervous.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "They probably don't want to have anything to do with me. . ."
"That's a lie!" Terra shouted. "They miss you guys too. We can't be mad at each other forever, it's just not right. It might be time for reconciliation." Raven looked thoughtful.
"Well, if they don't absolutely hate me. . ."
Terra was online before Raven could even finish her sentence.
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