Disclaimer: I own no part of the Teen Titans or their associated canon nor, any other already copyrighted material.

(A/N): Trying to get this one wrapped up. One more chapter after this I think.

Chapter 9

What Might Have Been

Raven touched down on the roof and waited for Starfire to land beside her. Together they entered the door and began down the steps. Robin and Sarah were just arriving downstairs. In a few minutes they would be together in the common room debriefing. It had been a bizarre night. Raven wasn't even sure exactly what had happened. She had a feeling Robin would be asking her for answers she didn't have. She needed a few more minutes to gather her thoughts and try to make some sense of things. Glancing down at the small green bird still tucked under her cloak and for the first time seeing the dozens of small drying bloodstains on her uniform, she came to a decision. At a crossroads in the corridors she stopped.

"Star?"

"Yes?"

"Do me a favor. Tell Robin I'll be there in a couple minutes. I want to drop Best Boy off at his room and change clothes." Starfire nodded, understanding.

"I'll let him know."

"Thanks." Turning silently she began the walk to the elevator while Star headed for the common room. Drifting through halls Raven passed through the quiet tower. She could just feel Beast Boys heart beating against her arm. She had no idea what had happened to him while she was in the alternate world. Had he been in his own alternate verse? What had happened to him? Did she even want to know? She pushed those thoughts out of her mind. They were questions for tomorrow. Maybe the day after.

She arrived at his door and stepped through as the steel slid away. Somewhere in the back of her mind it registered that he must have programmed the door to let her in immediately. She unconsciously smiled at his as she flicked on the lights. She smiled again at the scene of devastation that greeted her eyes. The rare time she had been in his room told her that his was absolutely normal. Common sense told her there was no way this could be called sane, much less normal. She considered trying to straiten up a little, buy she only came up with one sure fire method to do that. Fire. Instead she cleared a narrow path through the chaos and made his bed respectably. As the black energy faded from the room she floated up a few feet and set the finch on the mattress.

She didn't want to disturb his dream, but she had little choice. Rubbing his feather very lightly she spoke softly.

"Garfield…Garfield…wake up…" After a moment the bird's eye slowly opened and looked around. Realizing where he was, he transformed back into Beast Boy. "Hey."

"Hey."

"What's going on?" He was already nodding off again, his neck refusing to keep his chin up.

"I have to go back up and talk to the others. You need to change and go to sleep."

"Sure you don't want me to come with you?" He started wobble and nearly fell before she stabilized him with a hand to his chest.

"No. Change, then sleep. Got it?" He threw up a lazy salute.

"Yes ma'am." After a moment he added a drowsy, "'night," and started kicking off his shoes. Confident he would follow through she headed for the door along the narrow path she had cut. Just before passing through she dimmed the lights so he could sleep, though she doubted that would be a problem.

Heading back along the halls she stretched her tired muscles. Things were never easy living in this building, but it was the price she paid, that they all paid. Soon enough she reached her own room and began to remove her uniform. It was highly unlikely she would be able to get the blood out, but it was worth a shot. Setting the uniform aside she looked through her closet. The few clothes she had that weren't more uniforms were unsuited to a late meeting followed by bed. Moving to her dresser she found a pair of midnight blue satin pajamas she hadn't worn in a while. Slipping into the pants and the long sleeved button down top she also put on a pair of dark slippers. She had never really thought of herself as a slipper person, but there was nothing for it.

With a longing look at her bed, she turned and headed out the door. It took only a minute to reach the common room. On entering she found the other three seated around the table. None of them commented on her outfit or even gave it a second glance. They might tomorrow, but that she would have the energy to do something about it as well. Sitting down she glanced around and waited. The silence dragged on for several minutes before Robin could ask.

"So…Raven…any idea what happened?" She considered a number of answers, but what she really need was more information.

"What seemed to have happened to me was that I was transported to an alternative universe where I lived about half an hour in my double's body." Robin nodded on agreement.

"Same here. I escaped through a rift in the air." He glanced over to Starfire, who nodded in agreement, unable to find any words.

"Okay, I'm going to assume the same thing happened to Beast Boy…" She considered it for a moment. If she was more awake she was sure it would have been easier to figure out what it meant. She turned to the other person at the table. "Sarah…how long were we gone?"

"Uh…a split second. I didn't even notice you weren't there until your flew out of that rift. I had other things on my mind."

"Yeah…" Raven tried to make sense of it, but her mind was fried. Maybe in the morning. "Well…for now it looks like no harm done. I suggest we get some sleep and try to figure it out in the morning." Nods came from the other and they all stood. Bidding good night, Robin and Starfire headed off in one direction while Sarah headed toward the guest rooms. After several moments Raven headed of for her room, thinking.

Whatever had happened to Garfield but have been pretty bad. That what she was going to ask, what had happened. Her experience had been the worst possible scenario her mind could create. If the others had been the same, what had they held? Robin's would have something to do with Slade probably. Starfire's…she had no idea what could be dreamt up in that alien mind. A couple things clicked in her thought process and she realized that Garfield's must have involved her fighting him; it was the only explanation for the faint echo on her powers in him. She considered asking him, and dismissed the idea. He would tell her if he wanted to, not before.

She had taken several steps through the door before realizing it wasn't her room she had entered. Side stepping a pile of clothes she glanced around at Garfield's room in the dim light. She took half a step back to the door before changing her mind. Hovering over the mess instead of wading through it, she laded lightly, sitting on the edge of his bed. Glancing down at his form, laying flat on his back sound asleep, she found he had at least managed to get his shirt off. A small pile directly below her said his shoes, socks and pants were also down there. Another night that would have evoked a stranger emotional response, tonight she was just glad he had managed to get that far before giving in.

Lifting the edge of the covers ever so slightly, she slipped into the sheets next to him. With out thinking she rolled against this side, head on his shoulder, arm draped across his chest, one leg between his. Only a moment later his arms shifted just a little. His right moved under and around her to hold her close with a hand against the small of her back and the left came up to hold her hand to his chest. Glancing up she just noticed a peaceful smile appear on his lips before she resettled her head and drifted of to sleep as well.

He came around slowly, his mind reluctantly rising out of the depths of REM sleep and in into the shallows of consciousness. His fingers flexed slightly and found two different textures. His right found a wide smooth surface, smooth almost to the point of being slick and soft. A gentle heat radiated from under his hand. In his left he found a far more familiar texture. It was another hand that he knew was a light gray without looking. He held it gently. Somewhere in the night she had come back to him. The small smile he already wore widened just a little bit.

Instinctively he knew he should probably get up, but he still felt tired, and was otherwise disinclined to move. Keeping his eyes closed he tried to settle back into his peaceful sleep. As he did so she stirred against him. He very studiously didn't move, hoping she wouldn't either. After a moment though he felt her head rise an inch off his chest. She spoke drearily, eyes barely opened.

"Garfield…?"

"Yeah?"

"What time is it?"

"Don't know, don't care."

"Should we get up?"

"No."

"Why?" He waited a moment before replying.

"Shh…we're sleeping right now."

"Garfield…"

"Shhh…"

Some part of her knew she should get up. The rest didn't care. Closing her eyes she dropped her head back on his shoulder and let herself drift back off to sleep. Beast Boy took a little longer to drop off. He spent a few minutes thinking about how lucky he was to have this incredible woman resting her head on his chest. The only thing that dampened the mood was the knowledge that they would eventually have to wake up again. But that was for later. Later…

Three hours later Raven came around once again. This time there was no sleep left in her and she actually opened her eyes. Blinking first at the excess light she was unfamiliar to waking with and then at her surroundings, she managed to force her eyes to focus. Doing her best not to disturb the still slumbering form beneath her she lifted her head and glanced around, trying to find a clock in this unfamiliar environment. After several moments of searching she found it. It several more moments for her to figure out the reason it made no sense was it was upside down. Mentally reversing the image she came up with the correct time…and started at how late it was. The clock read a half past eleven. She couldn't remember having slept that late before with the exception of massive physical injury.

Her mind was still processing how long she ad been asleep when she felt the first movement under her hand. It was a slight deepening of Garfield's breaths that told her he was waking. Turning her head back she waited. Moments later his eyes fluttered open and he smiled at the sight of her. Before she could say anything he leaned up and placed a light, sweet kiss on her lips. He pulled back, still smiling.

"Morning beautiful." She colored faintly and smiled back.

"Morning."

"So…we actually have to get up this time?"

"Yeah…we should." He nodded in response but made no move himself. After several moments he raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"So…we going to get up?"

"Well…I sort of…can't…until you let me go."

"But I don't wanna!"

"And I don't want you to. But it's preferable to having Robin find us like this." He nodded slowly in agreement. After a few moments he reluctantly slackened his hold on her back and released the death grip on her hand. Just as reluctantly she rose away from him and turned to roll off the bed. A split second before falling she remembered how high his bed was and caught herself. Floating over the room she surveyed the mess that looked to be even more of a disaster area in the light of day. She had hung there for several moments before turning when she heard Garfield speak behind her, his voice filled with a strange sort of awe.

"Damn…" Turning, she found him staring at her with wide eyes. "You look…incredible." She blushed a little deeper this time.

"Thanks." She glanced at his exposed torso, the covers having fallen to his waist. "You don't look half bad yourself." He smiled again and popped up to the edge of his bed. "Well…I'd better get going." Floating backward she found a clear spot on the floor and descended. "Later." As she dropped a black portal appeared on the floor. He mouthed the words 'I love you' and just before she disappeared she returned the sentiment.

Beast Boy sat, staring at the spot on the floor where she had vanished for several long minutes, a smile set on his face. Eventually he dropped down from the bed and went through his usual stretching routine. Making his way through the mess along the narrow path Raven must have cut he reached the bathroom. All the sleep was gone from his body and the shower would help clear his mind. He had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

Raven entered the common room and was surprised to find only Beast Boy there cooking breakfast. As he finished she found the teapot full of boiling water she knew would be waiting and silently prepared her tea. Sitting down beside him at the table she sipped as he quickly ate. They had been sitting, lost in their own thoughts for several minutes before she finally spoke.

"So…have the others been through?"

"Not yet." They relapsed into a comfortable silence, neither really having anything to say and no reason to say it. It was several minutes more before Robin and Starfire appeared, trailed several minutes later by Sarah. After passing greetings they also made breakfast and ate. It was then that a light tension set in. Everyone knowing what had to be talked about, yet no one wishing to be the first. It was finally Beast Boy who spoke tentatively.

"So…I had trouble focusing. It was like there were two of me in my own head, and that this one was the dream." The others nodded before realizing it. Only Robin continued on to speak.

"Yeah…it was confusing. I did what made sense, but there was this strange feeling in the back of my head that this wasn't at all right." Anther round of nodding passed among the titans before Starfire spoke. Sarah watched and listened, unsure of what to say.

"It was so real…was it real?" She directed the question to the table at large, but specifically to Raven. Is response she half shook her head.

"I…I don't know. People have postulate alternate dimensions for centuries. It's possible every little decision has a dozen little possible answers and a universe splinters off for each of them, repeated million times ever moments, hundreds of millions of times during a day. It sounds impossible…but with all the things we've seen, how can any of us say what the limits of possibility are?" She took a moment to construct her thoughts before continuing. "Maybe those worlds still continue the people there carrying chunks of our memories like we are carrying chunks of theirs."

They sat in silent contemplation for several minutes anyone could speak. Again it was Beast Boy who did.

"So…what do we do now?"

"Try to come to terms with them. Those memories, if those worlds are real, must be a possible way things could have happened, the end result of choices we might have made. I know it wasn't how I lived. That's all that matters to me." Robin cocked his head to the side, thinking.

"But…you said…we were those people."

"We might have been. But only for that half an hour. We weren't ourselves really, and could hardly have made intelligent choices. And the ones that came before, and that will come after, are not ours. Whatever memories I might remember making in that timeline, are not the ones I made here." The table fell silent again…each trying to sort out their memories. After several moments of silence, Sarah spoke.

"So…do you know…what caused it?" Raven started to speak a couple times before stopping. Finally she did.

"Not for sure. I can make an educated guess…" And a prodding gesture she continued. "I think it has something to do with the way your power and Jinx's interacted. She was trying to twist reality one way to her advantage and you were pushing the other way, warping it to yours. Everyone watched as that building tore itself apart and reconstructed itself as it collapsed. The very fabric of the universe was being twisted around on pretzels. Eventually the stress just became too much…and it tore. The backlash caught the four of us."

"I…sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Of you hadn't tried, Jinx could have brought down the building and the rest of the block. I think it was worth it." Sarah smiled, somewhat relieved, She had felt the culprit for the memories the others now had. After a few moments her mind turned to something else.

"Who…who was that man…the guy with the violin?" Robin noted that Raven and Beast Boy both perked up at this. Beast Boy was first to respond.

"Jack. His name is Jack. Raven and I have run into him a couple times. He's a musician…and a sailor."

"So…what was he doing?"

"It looked like he was closing the rift, though how that could be…"

"Stranger things have happened." Robin said, his mind still mostly elsewhere. "Any way to contact him? Perhaps figure out just where he fits into all of this?"

"No. He really is a drifter. I wonder if even he knows where he's going next." Another minute of silence later it seemed there was nothing more to say.

Raven rose and excused herself. Seconds later Beast Boy did the same. He fell into step along side of her as they left the room headed for the stairs. Silently he followed her to the roof. In the warm sun of the early after noon she left her hood down and for once tried to absorb the heat cascading down on her. Crossing her legs she sat down on the edge of the roof and tried to clear her mind. It wasn't really meditation, just trying to clear her thoughts. She had no ideas what the others might have experienced on their alternate realities, but she remembered hers. Talking had been cathartic; she realized with a start that she was at peace with those memories. It hardly seemed possible for her not to mind a world where everything had quite literally gone to hell, but there it was.

She opened her eyes and looked around. Beast Boy was laying on the roof edge, flat on his back, hands interlocked over his stomach, eyes closed with a small frown on his lips. Fro several moments she just stared at him. He seemed to sense this and his eyes popped open, staring at her, squinting against the sun. He smiled.

"Hey." She returned the smile.

"Hey."

"So I was thinking about what you said."

"Oh…what about it?"

"About not really being ourselves there…not being responsible for what we did." She had a vague feeling where this was headed and wanted to stop it right now. He opened his mouth to speak again, but she silenced him with a finger on his lips. Slightly surprised he closed his mouth and waited.

"Whatever happened…it wasn't you. And it wasn't me. What you do here, now, is all that matters." He smiled weakly in response and slowly sat up, facing her.

"Well…in that case…" He lightly grasped her chin and pulled her closer. "I'm going to kiss you." He did.

Later in the afternoon Raven, Beast Boy, Starfire and Sarah were all gathered in the common room watching TV, reading or engaging in some other time passing activity when Robin burst into the room, far more flashily than usual.

"Movie night!" It took everyone a moment to understand what this usually subdued caped crusader had just said. Beast Boy blinked a few times.

"What?"

"Movie night! We need something to take our minds off things, and what works better than the latest high budget, low plot, mindless piece of drivel from Hollywood?"

"Uh…okay…"

"Good. Raven, Beast Boy…you get the movie. Star, you and Sarah get the snacks and I'll get the pizza." Before anyone could really respond he turned on his heel and dashed out the door. They each stared at the others before they simultaneously rose. Raven was the first to find words.

"Uh…Titans go?" Everyone shrugged and split into pairs. As Star and Sarah headed for the ground floor Raven and Beast Boy split and headed for their rooms. Raven met up with him on the roof, again wearing a hooded sweatshirt and jeans. Beast Boy's hat and jacket did a passable job of hiding him.

He hesitated only a moment before transforming into a condor and taking flight. She followed suit and soon they were cruising high over the city. After several minutes the course he had set became clear. Once again finding herself over low buildings and the suburbs she knew they were headed for Steve's. To confirm her suspicions, they set down just outside the video store a few minutes later. The transformed Beast Boy held the door for her to enter.

Striding in, she was again hit by the dimness of the place. A moment later he followed her in and led the way to the counter. Steve was busy pricing some used DVDs for sale as they approached. As they got right up in front of him he glanced up.

"Oh…Hey you two."

"Yo."

"Hello." Steve went back to the pricing as he continued talking.

"So, what can I do for you today?"

"We need a movie. Something interesting, strange, a little screwy and that will take our minds off the horrid week we've been having. Oh, and if it had alternate realities, all the better." Raven cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Ask for enough?" Beast Boy just shrugged in response, he could already see the gears turning in Steve's head. After several moments the proprietor's head rose slowly.

"Well…I'd say Donnie Darko, but you really have to think for that one…so…how about…got it. Butterfly Effect." Without looking he reached back to the shelves of cases and grabbed a disc. "Here you go."

Beast Boy looked it over. "Ashton Kutcher? Isn't he the guy from that show?"

"Yeah."

"But it's a comedy. This doesn't look like that."

"It's not. But he still does it well. Had a couple of customers I trust tell me he makes the movie." Beast Boy glanced back to Raven, who had been looking at the variety of Teen Titans merchandise while listening to them.

"What do you think?"

"What do we have to lose?"

"Our dignity and self respect."

"Yes…that's what I have to lose. I said we."

"Right…" He turned back. "We'll take it."

"Okay." His fingers flew over the keyboard for a moment followed by a beep. "All set. Took it off your account."

"Thanks." Beast Boy tucked the case into a pocket, waved and they headed out.

Sarah and the Titans sat around the couch, watching the screen with rapt attention. All the lights save the TV had been turned off, to better experience the movie Robin had said. A cursory examination after the first ten minutes told Raven it had nothing to do ambiance, and everything to do with being able to make out with Starfire. She and Robin were off to the left end of the couch, paying less attention to the movie than each other. Sarah war lying against the right arm rest, all of her attention on the screen. Raven and Beast Boy were seated in the middle of the couch and had also been watching the movie. There was no sign of contact between them except for his arm lying casually along the top of the couch behind her.

All around them open boxes of pizza, bags of chips, pretzels, soda cans and other snack foods sat, some empty, others forgotten for more pleasurable activities. Raven had been concentrating hard on the movie, intrigued by the cause and effect relationships within it. Over the last few minutes it had become increasingly hard to concentrate though because Beast Boy was tracing little shapes into her shoulder with his finger. She wasn't even sure he realized what he was doing, but it was starting to get to her. She carefully schooled her emotions and forced herself not to jump him right there on the couch.

Mercifully the movie ended only a few minutes later. The lights came up slowly to let their eyes adjust. Using it as an opportunity to take her mind off Beast Boy, Raven stood and used her powers to begin cleaning up. Empty containers were crushed into a small ball and deposited in the garbage. Dished floated over to the sink and half eaten food piled up on the counter, ready to be put away. Beast Boy grabbed the DVD, recased it and set it near the door so he might remember to take it back.

Raven glanced at the clock. It was only half past nine. Glancing around she knew the others had no intention of sleeping any time soon either. They had all had way too much sleep to go to bed this early. Robin looked between her and Beast Boy.

"Good call on the movie guys. I especially liked when…when…" Raven toyed with the idea of waiting him out. He hadn't been watching and he'd just saved her the trouble of calling him on it. Unfortunately, Sarah, who had just now risen from the couch, jumped in for him.

"His final solution was a little harsh…but it had to be. Makes you wonder of the same thing happened to his older siblings."

"Yeah…right, just what I was going to say." Raven nodded, openly unconvinced.

"O…kay."

"What?"

"Nothing Boy Wonder, nothing at all."

"That's what I thought."

"Uh-huh." They glanced around again. It was odd. The movie was done, but no one was tired. She wasn't sure that had ever happened before. Of course, she was relatively sure the whole tower had slept until noon either. Raven glanced around for something to do. "Well…we could…" He mind trailed off as a sound just caught the edge of her hearing. Her head cocked to the side, trying to hear more of it. Beast Boy took several steps closer and spoke, concerned.

"Raven…you okay?" A quick glance from her shut him up. She listened for several more seconds.

"Do you hear that?" He shook his head slightly. After a second he transformed into a dog and his ears perked right up. Motioning with his head, he led them out the door. As they followed the sound became audible to them as well. Beast Boy returned to his normal self and continued to lead the way. Soon they found themselves on the stairs to the roof. What they were hearing was a stringed instrument, probably a violin, playing what sounded to be a ballad of some sort. It repeated every thirty seconds or so with little breaks in between.

Silently opening the door they emerged onto the roof in a tight pack. It took several moments for their eyes to adjust though their ears told them where to look. Once they had, they could make out a form sitting on the edge of the roof, violin against his chin. With a final draw of the bow the tune died off and he looked up at the group.

"Evening." Raven and Beast Boy responded together.

"Hi Jack."

(A/N): If you feel it is warranted feel free to review. I welcome any and all opinions.