Chapter 5

"Excuse me, friends." Starfire said, as loudly as she could, "I do not wish to be the wet blanket, but why am I here, and why does it hurt to move?"

Even Beast Boy could see the concern in Robin's face, as he took Star's hand again, and smoothed her hair with the other. "What's the last thing you remember Star?"

Starfire's brow creased, as she concentrated on what all she could remember. "I was walking up the street, from the mall of shopping. It had stopped raining, and I decided to go to the tea shop that Raven uses." she related, "I wanted to surprise her, by getting her some tea, and to replace her favorite mug, which she had shattered, when Beast Boy and Cyborg were arguing, about breakfast, and made her angry the other day.

She slid her hand from Robins, and touched the back of her neck. "I felt a stinging pain, and found something stuck in my neck. My vision blurred, and I took out my communicator to call Robin.

Robin watched the play of emotions wash over Star's face as she struggled to remember, half wishing she would lose that battle, but his hopes were dashed, as he saw her eyes widen in fear, and pain, as the memory flooded back.

Star grabbed Robin's upper arm, and he almost winced at the strength of her grip, but it was the look of absolute terror on her face, that cut right to his soul.

"Three of them!" she gasped, "I'm tied to a pole in an alley, and they're. . . .!" she managed to get out before a sob was torn from her throat.

"It's okay Star, we know what happened," Robin soothed, "you told me right before went up for surgery."

Star's hand slid up to Robin's shoulder, and he didn't resist when she pulled him to her, nor did he hesitate to return the embrace. He felt her hand, clench into a fist against his right shoulder, as she pressed her face into his left. "I couldn't stop them! They just kept hitting me, and I couldn't stop them!" she sobbed, then simply clung to Robin as she cried.

Beast Boy was awestruck. He had lived with, and fought beside, Starfire for almost three years. He believed that she was the bravest person he knew, as he had never seen her scared, despite all the creatures that had battled. Now, she was terrified at what those three. . . He hated to use the term people for what they were. . had done to her, and he felt ashamed to witness it.

Cyborg saw the same gut wrenching fear on Star's face, as Beast Boy did, but as she cried her heart out on Robin's shoulder, he was glad that Robin couldn't see her face. Fear wasn't the only thing written there. Cyborg also saw the shame that was plaguing the young Tamaranean. The shame of a princess, of a warrior culture, that had suffered a crushing defeat in battle, without even the slightest attempt at defense, or counter attack. He clenched his fists, in anger, over how Star hadn't been only hurt physically, but emotionally as well. He looked over at her, and Robin again, and noticed that the shaking that Robin was doing, wasn't just from Star's sobs, but his own as well. 'Yeah, he knows.' he thought sadly. Suddenly he noticed that Robin was softly saying something to Star, to try to comfort her, and he was surprised to find that it was in Tamaranean.

"What is it?" Raven whispered to him, seeing the startled look on his face. She relaxed slightly when Cy broke into a huge smile.

"What he's calling her." he whispers back to Raven.

Raven listens intently, "Athani ne mathad?" she repeated, "What language is. . . Tamaranean?"

Cyborg nodded his head. "I don't know how long he's been studying, or how much he's learned though." he said, and chuckled softly.

"Okay, so what's he calling her?"

"Athani means relax, or be calm." Cyborg told her. "ne is my, and mathad is. . . " he paused for dramatic effect. "beloved."

Raven looked at the couple, and smiled softly, wondering when Starfire would catch on to what Robin was saying.

After a few minutes, Star's sobs slowed, then stopped, and Robin lay her back down, as she had exhausted herself, and had fallen asleep. He sat there a moment, his left hand drying Star's face, his right gripping the bedrail to steady himself emotionally.

Raven chuckled to herself, as she watched him take a deep, shuddering, breath, hold it for a moment, then let it out. 'Our fearless leader.' she thought, 'the only thing he really fears, is letting us see his feelings.'

"Well, she got some of that out of her system." Dr. Benson said, breaking the silence of the room

"Some!" Beast Boy asked, and Linda nodded, "you mean she's gonna do that again?"

"Probably not the same thing," Linda explained, "she's been through a very traumatic experience, and from what I just saw, one she's never had to face before." she added, getting a nod from Robin, "Until she's able to come to grips with what happened, she's going to be on an emotional roller coaster. Just remember when she's angry, she's not really angry with you, and trust me she is going to lash out, most likely at you Robin."

"Why at Robin so much?" Beast Boy asked.

Linda stepped over to stand beside Robin, her chin cupped by her right hand, as she thought about her reply. "My answer to that , earlier, would have been simply because he's your leader, and she'll believe that he should have done something to prevent this, but after seeing them together for the last few hours, the feeling that she somehow let him down will some into play as well." she said, "Well, she's going to sleep, for quite a while," she went on, "the rush of emotions, she just released, can be tiring to say the least."

"You can say that again doc." Robin said as he yawned.

"Come on Rob, I'll drive you back to the tower so you can get that sleep you promised us you'd get, once you knew Star was going to get better." Cyborg said with a chuckle, "Raven can ride along, and levitate your R-cycle along."

"Beast Boy, you stay here, in case Star wakes up." Robin said, "I don't want her to wake up here alone."

Later

Robin walked down the hall from the entrance of the hospital, towards Starfire's room, whistling softly as he went.

"You're later than I thought." Raven said, as she fell in beside him, "and looking much better."

"Thanks." Robin said, giving Raven a quick smile. "How is she, and how did the last eight hours, or so, go for her?" he asked, then had to stop to turn back to Raven, as she had stopped at his question. "What's wrong?" he demanded softly.

Raven knew that she hadn't kept her face blank from Robin's reaction, so she answered in her usual blunt, direct way. "Twenty minutes ago she had a nightmare, and woke up screaming. . . .and she was alone. I had just stepped out, to get a cup of tea, from the nurses station, when it happened." She winced, when she saw Robin's jaw clench, and she could feel the waves of anger, replace the happiness he had been feeling.

"How long did it take her to calm down?"

"Just a few minutes, they didn't have to sedate her or anything." she replied, and could feel most of his anger bleed away.

Robin nodded, and proceeded down the hall to Star's room. "Hey Star, how are. . . you . . . doing?" he said as he entered the room, but trailed off when he saw the expression on her face, it wasn't angry, but it was certainly not welcoming either.

"Robin, I would like for you to say something for me." Star said, her voice cool.

"Certainly, anything."

"Tell me I need to go to the hospital."

"What?"

"Say 'You need to get to a hospital.'" she insisted.

"You need to get to a hospital." Robin said, knowing where this conversation was going, and not liking it, at all.

"It wasn't you." Star said softly, looking down. Then she looked back up at Robin, her face a mixture of hurt, and anger. "Go." was all she said.

"Star, I can explain." Robin began, and took a step toward her.

"Starfire, no." Raven gasped as she felt the sudden shift in her friends emotions.

"Leshavash." Star hissed at him.

"I'm not a liar." Robin replied, in English, then took another step toward her.

Gokta!" Star shouted at Robin as he took another step toward her. Her eyes now glowing green with her anger.

"I'm not going to stay away from you Star, please let me explain." he pleaded, and took another step.

"Gokta bu onga!" Starfire yelled as loud as she could, her right hand now raised, and glowing with star bolt energy.

Raven didn't know what Starfire was shouting, but the intent on her face, and what she was getting empathically, shocked her, and she could see it shocked Robin as well, as he reacted as if slapped in the face. He staggered back a step, dropping a small box, and an envelope, as he did so.

Not knowing if Starfire might actually fire the bolt at Robin, she quickly put up a shield wall between them. She watched, as Robin stared at Starfire, his eyes wide in surprise, and his jaw hanging open. He stood like that for a moment, then his shoulders slumped slightly, and he turned and left.

"Robin what did she say?" Dr. Benson asked, as she followed him down the hall. Not getting an answer, she tried again. "Robin what does 'Gokta boo onga' mean, and why did she yell it at you?"

"What did you say Doctor?" Cyborg asked as he walked up.

Linda stopped, and watched Robin continue down the hall. "Starfire is really upset with Robin about something, and she shouted something at him, that I didn't understand, but took him so much by surprise, that it was like she physically hit him."

"What was it she said?" Cy asked, his face worried.

"Let's see, first she said, Leshavash."

"She called him a liar?" Cy asked in astonishment, "then what?"

"Robin asked her to let him explain, then she said 'Gokta'.

"That means get away, or stay back. What else"

"Then she shouted 'Gokta boo onga' at him, and. . . ." Linda trailed off as Cyborg quickly trotted over to the door to Star's room. "What does that mean?" she demanded when she caught up to him.

"It means 'Get away from me or I'll shoot.'" Cyborg replied, then sighed when he saw that Raven was still in the room, and he could hear them talking about what just occurred.

"He told me that I wouldn't be alone, and he wasn't the one who rescued me." Starfire was saying, angrily when Cyborg entered the room.

"And that's why you threatened to shoot him?" he asked in disbelief, "The only time any of us has threatened to harm any of the others, was when Robin was being controlled by Slade. Do you hate him that much?"

Raven was, finally, able to figure out what it was that Starfire had yelled at Robin. From Robin's comment when she had yelled 'Gokta' at him she could tell it meant 'Stay back', and with what Cyborg just said 'boo onga' must mean 'or I'll shoot'. "She doesn't hate him, Cy, she's just angry and upset." she said.

"I do not need you, to tell me what I'm feeling, and kindly stay out of my head please." Star told Raven, crossly.

"She doesn't need to be an empath, to tell what you're feeling right now, Starfire," Linda cut in, raising her voice slightly, "just a little background history on you." she paused, to see if Starfire was listening, before continuing, "Do you honestly believe, that anyone, who knows you, is going to believe that you would suddenly hate one of the first, if not the first person to show you kindness and friendship, when you first came to this planet?" she demanded, drawing questioning looks from the three titans. "I had just completed my internship, at Mercy Hospital, when you escaped from whatever race of beings it was that wanted you back. Not long after that, the five of you started fighting the so called super criminals.

"You seem to know a lot about us." Raven said, and Linda could hear the disapproval in her voice.

"Occupational necessity," Linda replied, in her defense, "you, and Starfire, are my patients, and in order to give you the best possible care, I have to know about you." she explained, "Like how you weren't exactly welcomed with open arms, Starfire, people distrusted you, some were even openly afraid of you."

"Without cause." Cyborg said, angrily.

"No friend, not completely without reason," Star said softly, Linda hated the sadness that had claimed her patients expression, but she had reason for it, "Remember, my first day on this planet, I did considerable damage, to much property, and I brought the Gordanians with me."

"But things changed, didn't they?" Linda asked, "This was part of the reason," she added, pulling a folded up, yellowed piece pf paper from her pocket, "It's a letter to the editor of the Jump City Daily News." she told them, as she handed the now unfolded paper to Starfire, "of special note is the by line."

"Robin." Star said softly, as she quickly read the text. She gasped when she got to the last paragraph.

"What is it Star?" Cyborg asked, curiosity written all over his face.

"I have come to know Starfire over the last two months," she read aloud, "when fighting, she is a fierce warrior, and a vital member of our team, but away from battle, she is one of the gentlest, kindest, most compassionate people I know, and I consider myself deeply honored that she considers me a friend, and that I can count on her, as one of mine."

Starfire was silent, her face thoughtful, as she folded up the paper. She went to hand it back, and was surprised, when Linda shook her head, and motioned for her to keep it. "Robin found me on the roof of the tower one day, and asked me what was wrong." she related, "I told him that nothing was wrong, but his expression told me that I did not convince him, so I told the truth, that I felt that I was not a good person to have on the team, that I scared people. He was quiet for a moment, then put his hand on my shoulder, and asked me to give him some more time, to see what he could do. I agreed, not thinking that there was anything, that just he could do that would make a difference, but this. . . " she trailed off, holding up the paper.

"After only two months, he felt that strongly about you." Linda said softly, "do you really believe that he would, purposely, lie to you, to hurt you?"

"Especially seeing as he considers you his mathad." Raven added.

Starfire's eyes opened wide, and she gasped in astonishment. "Where did you hear that word, and why do you use it in relation to Robin and I?"

"Yesterday, from Robin himself." Raven replied, smiling softly, at the confusion washing over her friends face.

"He was using it while you were crying Star," Cy picked up, "while he was comforting you, he kept whispering 'Athani ne mathad'

"Okay just what does that mean?" Linda asked, wondering how she missed that Robin was saying anything to Starfire, while he was comforting her.

"Athani, means 'be calm'," Cy said, "and ne means 'my' and mathad means. . '

"It is a word used between a male and a female that denotes a deep, undying, affection." Star interrupted, "the nearest word in your language is beloved." she explained, her face a study in confusion, "but we are not even doing the going out." she said softly, in a thoroughly confused tone of voice.

"But he does feel that way abut you." the nurse, that had just entered the room said. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I saw his face, when he visited you in the ER treatment room." she explained, "Seeing you like that, really shook him up, and when you told him what happened to you, I've never seen anyone so angry, but he knew that you needed to relax, so he put a lid on his anger, and talked softly to you, until you fell asleep, then he kissed you on the forehead."

Cyborg chuckled as Starfire's face got more and more confused. "It's easy to figure out girl, he's in love with you."

"But why has he not told me?"

"Maybe he was going to." Linda said, as she straightened up from picking up the small box, and envelope, that Robin had dropped. "Oh my!" she gasped, when she opened the box, and saw what it contained.

"What is it?" Star asked, as Linda handed the box to Raven, so she, and Cyborg, could look inside.

"A gift from Robin, so what do you care." Raven deadpanned, and almost lost her composure, when she saw the look on Starfire's face.

"Because it was meant for me so I have a right to know." Starfire said, firmly.

Raven looked at Cyborg, and after a moment Cy smiled and nodded his head. "It's called a Mitzpah medallion." Raven said, taking the pendant, and chain from the box and holding it up.

"It's part of a Mitzpah coin." Linda picked up, taking one out from her own blouse. "They go together, like this, to complete the coin, and the benediction." she went on, putting the half, Robin meant for Starfire, together with the one she wore.

"Benediction?"

"May the Lord watch between me and thee, while we are absent, one from the other." Raven recited from memory. "See how they have interlocking hearts on the coin, and the words go together." she went on, holding the two halves together so Starfire could see.

"Is the one Robin has so different from this one?" Starfire asked. The half that had been in the box, looked to be cast from gold, and the heart looked like silver, while Linda's was cast from pewter.

"No Robin's should look just like yours, only being the other half from yours." Raven said, taking the two halves, and giving Linda back hers. "Starfire, he had this specially made." the Goth said, admiringly, as she looked more closely at the pendant. "Instead of 'May the Lord' it says 'May the Goddess', it's also engraved on the back. It says 'from Robin, he mathad.'"

"And this is, at least, a get well card." Linda said, handing Starfire the envelope. "Having handled so many of those, working here, I'd say there's most likely a letter in there as well." She watched the young Tamaranean struggle to open the envelope, one handed, then took it back, opened it for her, and handed her the card. "One of the more romantic one's, if I recognize it right." she said softly, seeing the front of the card was covered with red roses. The glimpse she got of the inside, told her that Robin had added some hand written words to the inside, and Starfire's blush confirmed it.

"So just how much about me do you know?" Raven asked, as she came over to stand next to Linda, as Starfire unfolded the letter that was in the card.

"We'll discuss that later, in my office with more privacy." she answered, then jumped when Starfire shouted.

"De X'Hal no! What have I done!" Star cried, after reading the letter. "Friend Raven, where is Robin?"

"He's in the park, not far from here." Raven replied, she had been mentally keeping track of Robin since he left the room.

"Just what do you think you're doing, young lady!" Linda demanded, when Starfire tried to sit up enough, to swing her legs around, and get out of the bed.

"Apparently nothing." Star panted, as she lay back down, wincing slightly in pain.

"Exactly right." Linda said, going over, and checking to make sure her patient didn't pull a stitch. "You're doing as much as you will be, for the next two weeks, at least." she added.

"I'll go see if I can get him back here." Raven told her friend, seeing the distress on her face.

"When you see him tell him 'Mathad shu vata genthalas du penefa.', and I'm sure he will come back with you." Star said.

Raven repeated the saying until Starfire nodded her approval at her pronunciation, then she pulled her hood up and vanished.