Chapter 6
Robin's mind was completely numb, as he staggered from Star's room. He wasn't being rude to Dr. Benson, he just plain didn't hear her. The first coherent thought he had was, 'She was going to shoot me.', when he looked around, he found that he was in a conference room, at the end of the hall from Star's room. "I've gotta get out of here, clear my head, and think." he muttered to himself. He left the room, and the hospital, then headed down the street, walking aimlessly, following the flow of the crowds of people in the city.
"Whoa, I wonder if Starfire took a turn for the worse." Robin heard a voice say as he walked along.
"Nah." said another, "he wouldn't be out here if that was true, he'd be right there beside her."
"Yeah, you're probably right, he just needs to get away for a while." the first voice agreed.
Robin didn't acknowledge them at all, but kept on walking, his hands clasped behind his back, and his head down, as he tried to reconcile the girl he knew, and was pretty sure he loved, and the person that occupied her bed a short time ago. It wasn't until a short time later, that he realized that he had walked to a park, that he had visited, quite often, with Starfire. Not wanting to think of what to do next, he followed the path, that his feet knew by heart, that wound through a section of the park, that was Star's favorite, with it's flowers, and hedges. Realizing that he had gotten a pebble in his boot, he sat on a bench, and removed it. Putting the boot back on, he looked up, and smiled softly, as he watched two squirrels chasing each other around the trunk of a tree. In his mind he could hear Star's laughter at the small animal's antics.
He looked around, and the memory, of his first time here with Star, washed over his mind. They had originally intended to be away from the tower for about half an hour, but four hours later, Robin was still naming the varieties of flowers, and shrubs, for her. They would have stayed longer, but a trouble call came in, and they had to go. Taking a few steps, Robin moved over to a trellis, completely covered with blooming roses. He cupped one of the blossoms, and closed his eyes, as he sniffed the heavy perfume.
"Are they not glorious friend Robin."
Robin spun, but found himself looking at an empty glen. "Get a grip, Boy Wonder, you're starting to hear things." he muttered to himself.
"And talk to yourself." X said as he came out from behind a forsythia bush. "What's the matter kid, she throw you out of her room?" he asked, with a chuckle. What ever he was going to say next was cut off, as a hit from Robin's bo staff sent him flying through the air. X barely had time to get into a defensive stance, before Robin was on him again, and he found himself barely able to ward off Robin's blows, they were coming so fast and hard.
"Come on kid, lighten up, it was only a joke." X finally managed to say, after he had trapped the end of Robin's staff between a set of blades, and wrench it from his grip. 'Or it was meant to be.' he thought, as Robin came at him again, with hands and feet.
"Listen kid, beating me to a pulp isn't going to help you in the slightest." he said, after flipping Robin onto a pile of leaves and brush.
Robin stood there, panting, his hands up, muscles taut, ready to spring, but X's last statement seemed to strike home. "Aaaaarrrahhh!" he screamed, smashing his fist into a nearby tree.
"Wanna talk about it?" X asked, knowing that the offer would be refused. He was stunned when Robin relaxed, and sat back down on the bench.
"I screwed up." Robin said simply, his hands framing empty air, as if trying to hold onto his thoughts, to help him focus. He glanced over at the costumed man beside him. "She knows I wasn't the one that rescued her," he said, "I don't know if she knows it was you, but she knows it wasn't me. That, and I promised her she wouldn't be left alone, and that didn't work out.
"Kid, you've gotta lighten up some." X said, keeping his distance. "She's hurt, scared, and confused, right now, and not thinking clearly. Give her some time, and she'll come around." he went on, then gave Robin a sidelong glance, "and if not maybe she'll be available for someone else to . . . ." he began, but cut off when Robin came at him again.
The first few moments, Robin was trying to hit X, for what he was suggesting, but then he realized what X was really doing, and he eased up some. To most anyone else, the two would have looked like they were actually fighting, but to the girl in the shadows of the trees, she could tell they were only sparring.
"Yes!" Raven whispered excitedly, when she saw Robin take X down, and ended up on his knees, straddling X's chest.
"Thought you might be that good kid." X said, "Until next time." he added, then vanished.
"Yeah, next time." Robin muttered, standing up and brushing the grass from his knees.
"Robin, I'm here to take you back." Raven said, coming out from the shadows.
"What's the point, Rae? I've lost her trust, and obviously her friendship." he said bitterly. "and in case you're wondering how I know that, it's because the last thing she shouted at me was to get away from her or she'd shoot me." he added.
"I know, Cyborg translated for us." Raven said, softly, then looked over at him, "But she doesn't hate you," she went on., "do you think I'd be here, to take you back, if that was true?"
"I'm not sure, you're the person I thought would have stayed at her side, like I promised her someone would." Robin shot back angrily.
Raven looked at the ground for a moment, then looked Robin straight in the eye, "Listen Robin, I know you're upset about Star waking up alone, and I'm not going to make any apologies for stepping out of the room for a moment," she turned away from him, pulling her cloak around her tightly. "but you have no idea what is like, in a hospital, for me." she went on. She glanced over her shoulder, and saw the questioning look on Robin's face. "I'm an empath, sensitive to the feelings, and thoughts of others," she explained, "around the four of you, it's not so difficult, like tuning out a radio, or TV playing in the background, but at a hospital, there are so many different minds, some in pain, others grieving. After a while I can't maintain the mental shields, to keep them all out. That's why I left her room to get a cup of tea, to try to calm my nerves so I wouldn't be a basket case when she did wake up.
Robin looked at the ground, embarrassed. He thought of taking a step over to her, to put a hand on her shoulder, but knew she's reject the contact. He took a deep breath, and let it out in a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry Rae, I guess I'm more than a little shook up."
"Yeah, well you're not the only one." Raven said, caustically, "Cyborg shares your feelings, of letting Starfire down, seeing as he acts like a big brother to her, and Beast Boy is dealing with having to watch someone he thinks of, as being the bravest person he knows, reduced to a terrified victim. As far as I'm concerned, what I told Benny the dart is true, despite our differences Star and I are very good friends, seeing her lying there, trying to put on a brave front for all of us. . ." she trailed off then gave a small shout, as she extended her right hand toward a pine cone on the ground. The cone seemed to vanish, as her power caused it to explode.
This time Robin did cross over to his friend, he came up behind her, and put his hands on both her shoulders, as he rested his forehead on the back of her head. He felt strangely drained, as if finding out that the feelings, he thought were his alone, were actually shared, lifted a weight from his shoulders. "So she's calmed down enough to hear me out?" he asked.
Raven stepped away from Robin, and nodded her head as she turned to face him. "She gave me a message, to give to you, so that you would be sure she had forgiven you, and so you would come back with me." she smiled softly at the curiosity that wrote itself across Robin's face, "she told me to tell you 'Mathad shu vata genthalas du penefa.' whatever that means." she added, 'Whatever it means, it must mean a lot, judging from the look on his face.' she thought, seeing Robin's face light up like the sun.
Robin stood there for a moment, his jaw hanging open, on hearing the words of the message from Starfire, then he blinked his eyes a couple times, and looked at Raven. "Shesas?" he gasped, then realized that he was speaking Tamaranean, "Umm, those were her exact words?' he asked, blushing, and trying to calm down.
"Uh, yeah, it took me five times, repeating it after her, to get the pronunciation right." Raven quipped. "What does it mean by the way."
Robin looked as though he was going to answer, but a feminine scream, from deeper in the woods, cut him off. Without a glance to see if Raven was following, Robin sprinted into the woods, in the direction of the scream.
"There ain't no one around to hear ya, so scream all ya want, I like it like that." Robin heard a male voice say, just off to his left. He stepped around a tree, and saw a young woman, pinned to the ground, by a man that was holding her by the throat.
"Not today, slime." Raven said from behind Robin, and the man was suddenly enveloped in black energy, and thrown clear of his victim.
"Raven see to the woman, I'll take care of him." Robin ordered. "Don't move, just stay right there." he told the man, as Raven's energy field vanished, "Great." he muttered as the man scrambled to his feet, and started running. Whipping a bolo from his belt, Robin twirled it above his head for a moment, then let the weighted strings fly. As he ran after the man, he watched as the strings flew true, and tangled around his ankles, tripping him, so he fell face first into a pile of leaves. Quickly tying the mans hands behind his back, Robin untied his legs, and hauled him to his feet. By the time he got him back to where he left Raven with the woman, the police had showed up, along with Commissioner Barkstone.
"A little out of you league, wouldn't you say?" Victor asked Robin, as he was turning the man over to the uniformed officer.
"Just happened to be here, and heard the scream." Robin replied, "How is she?"
Victor glanced over at the woman on the ground, covered with Raven's cloak as the dark Titan knelt beside her trying to keep her calm. "Fortunately just shook up real bad." he replied, thinking how the young woman looked to be no older than his own daughter. He looked over at Robin with a very small smile. "Good thing you were here, just watch yourselves."
"Ambulance is going to be a while, Commissioner, traffic is terrible right now." a cop said walking up.
"You have any officers at Saint Mary's hospital?" Robin asked, and got a nod from Victor. "Raven, you up to teleporting two people to the hospital?" he called, and Raven nodded her head.
"Peters, call over, and let the sector car, by Saint Mary's, know that there's a attempted rape victim coming over, and will be there in less than a minute." Victor shouted to one of his officers.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos." Raven chanted, as Robin gently scooped the woman into his arms. A moment later and they were gone.
"I need a doctor here!" Robin called, as he went through the entrance of the ER, at the hospital. He was waved over to a waiting gurney, and he gently lay the woman on it. "You're in good hands here." he told her.
"Thank you." she said, reaching up, and cupping Robin's cheek in her hand, "thank you both." she added, looking past Robin, to where Raven stood.
Robin stepped back, and let the medics do their job. "That felt. . . . nice." Raven said softly, as they watched the woman wheeled into a treatment room.
Robin nodded, a small smile on his face. "Let's go see Star." Just then he felt a small tug on his cape. He turned around and found himself looking down on, what looked like, a four year old girl.
"Wobin, could you give this to Starfire for me?" she asked, holding up a small card, and a little purple teddy bear. "They tol my mommy that she's not here, but I know you'll be seeing her soon."
Robin smiled, as much at the little girl, as at Raven rolling her eyes at the situation. "Of course I'll give her your card." he said, as he knelt on one knee, so he was closer to eye level with her. "I know she'll be very pleased to get it. Now where is your mommy?" he asked, and the little girl pointed toward the waiting room. Robin stood back up, and took the girls hand, as he walked her to the waiting room. Standing in the doorway, he cleared his throat loudly, and watched, as the four people in the room looked toward the sound.
"Rachel!" an older version of the girl beside Robin exclaimed, when she saw her. She quickly got out of her chair, and trotted over to them. "Where did you find her, I didn't even know she was gone!"
"It's okay, she found me, by the way." Robin said, trying to calm the woman down, "I happened to be out by the admittance desk, and she came up to me, so I could deliver a very special card to Starfire." he explained, affectionately putting his hand on Rachel's head.
"Oh, and this too." Rachel said, holding out the bear. "I know her favorite color is purple."
Robin glanced over at Rachel's mother, and she nodded. Kneeling down again, he gently wrapped Rachel up in a hug. "That's from Starfire." he told her, "and that's from me." he added as he kissed her forehead. "Now you go sit with your mommy, and don't run off again, okay."
"I didn't know you were so good with kids." Raven chided Robin, as they watched Rachel run over to her mother, and sit in the chair next to her.
"Well maybe we'll see how well you do with them sometime." Robin said with a grin, as they headed for Starfire's room.
"What gets me, is how someone I've seen news video of crashing through walls, and rocks, without a scratch, could fall victim to a knockout dart." they heard Linda's voice say, as they neared Star's room.
"My powers are controlled by my emotions." Star's voice replied, "Unbridled joy gives me flight, and righteous fury provides me the power for my star bolts, and also surrounds me with something like an energy field."
"So seeing as you weren't in a fight, that energy field wasn't there to stop the dart." Linda reasoned.
"Yes, that is correct, and after, I was confused by what was happening, and unable to focus on much of anything." Star explained, then looked over at the door, where the end of Robin's bo staff waved up and down, with a white rag tied to it.
"I come in peace, if you'll let me." Robin said as he stood in the doorway, still waving the rag, back and forth. He saw that Cyborg, and Beast Boy were also there and seemed relieved to see him back.
"ROBIN!" Star squealed, when she saw him, and Linda stepped back, as Star floated up off the mattress. Unfortunately, that made her move her leg, with the broken femur, causing her a great deal of pain, and she settled back down onto the bed, tears springing to her eyes.
"STAR!" Robin gasped, as he quickly moved to her side, anxiously looking over at Linda "Athani Koriand'r, athani." he soothed, "I'm right here." he added in English.
After a moment, Linda announced that Star's leg was going to be fine, but moving it, for at least a week was about of the question, as it would take that long for the bone to knit back together.
"Are you sure you know what you are doing?" Starfire asked after a few moments.
"As it pertains to Earth, or Tamaranean custom?" Robin parried, slightly confused, noticing that the card, he had dropped, was on the stand beside her bed, and the medallion around her neck.
"There is a difference?"
"As far as Earth custom is concerned, I'm simply telling you, and everyone else that we know, that we are now officially dating." Robin said, smiling, and giving Star's hand a quick kiss. "Now things get a bit more interesting concerning Tamaran, especially seeing as you have also called me genthalas du penefa. I shouldn't have to explain it to you."
Robin, and the others, watched as Starfire thought things over, then her face lit up, and she gasped in surprise, when she realized what Robin meant.
"Yes, Star, you were an excellent teacher, for the last year and a half, in both your language, and the customs of your home world." Robin told her. "Koriand'r, vidi'an du Tamaran shu vata ne mathad e genthalas du penefa."
"Friends, may Robin and I have a moment alone?" Starfire asked, her face, and voice, oddly void of any emotion, decidedly not the reaction Robin had expected. Nodding their heads, Linda, and the rest of the Titans, headed for the door, and quietly left the room. "Friend Raven will you stay please?" Star asked, halting her at the door, "Are you certain this is what you want, Robin?" she asked, once the door was closed.
"Are you saying it's not what you want?" Robin asked nervously. "Star I love you, and I thought, and still think, that you love me." he said. "Is that true?"
Even before Starfire spoke, the look on her face told Robin the answer. "Yes, with all my heart, and soul." she was thoughtful for a moment, "Genthalas du penefa?" she asked looking shyly at Robin.
"E ne mathad." Robin added, then noticed something on the floor. "Cyborg get your remote hand out of here now, or I'll have Raven send it to another dimension!" They watched, as the tip of one of the fingers reversed itself, stowing the remote camera, and the mechanical hand quickly crawled out, under the door.
"Okay, would one of you please explain why I'm here." Raven said softly, "Very little of this conversation makes any sense to me."
"As a witness Rae." Robin said, "Galfore will want someone to state what we're doing, that is impartial."
"I don't know how much of a witness I'll be. All I can say is that you two keep talking to each other in Tamaranean."
"Yes friend Raven, but it's what we're saying that you will be able to relate." Starfire said.
"I wish I could translate for you." Cyborg told the others, as he re-attached his hand. "I know that, right before Star asked us to leave, Robin said 'Starfire, princess of Tamaran, you are my beloved, and' but I have no idea what the words 'genthalas' and 'penefa' mean." he told them. Just then they all looked at the door, when Star's voice was heard.
"Friends, please come in." Star called, and Linda, and the rest of the Titans came into the room. "Robin and I have something to tell you."
"I knew it, they're getting' married!" Cyborg shouted, as they entered the room.
"Ummm. . . Actually no." Robin said.
"Okay we all know that mathad means beloved, but what in the world does 'genthalas du penefa' mean?" Beast Boy asked.
"I did not cover words such as those, with Cyborg, as they have a very special meaning for me, and my people." Starfire explained. "Their meaning goes even deeper than that of mathad."
"Ne mathad, e genthalas du penefa." Robin said, looking into Star's eyes lovingly for a moment, then looked at the others in the room, "My beloved, and keeper of my heart." he finally translated. "As with all monarchies, the children of Tamaran's royals are used as bartering tools, to seal treaties, or alliances, they are married off. Like when Blackfire tried to marry Star off, to Glrdlesklechhh." he explained, "Now I'm fairly certain that Galfore won't marry Star to anyone out of spite, but he may be placed in a position where he may have to marry her off to prevent a war, or otherwise preserve Tamaran."
"But with Robin and I, both, declaring that we are the keepers of each other's hearts, holds a special meaning for my people, and in effect would block my being married off, for all but the most desperate of needs." Starfire picked up. "The term, used on this planet, is royal suitor, but carries much more importance on my planet, than it does here." He face was pensive for a moment, "I wonder how Galfore is going to react to this." she muttered under her breath.
"Well, in three weeks you'll have the opportunity to find out." Robin informed her. "He called the Tower while I was there, wondering why you didn't answer your personal terminal, in your room. I'm actually more worried about my well being, when he gets here, than what he's going to say about us."
"So Robin what were the first words you had Star teach you?" Beast Boy asked, then chuckled "Give me a kiss?"
"No, actually it was 'Gokta bu onga'" Starfire replied, drawing shocked faces from their friends.
"Why on earth would you have Star teach you how to say Stay away from me or I'll shoot as your first words?" Cyborg asked, thinking the idea was crazy.
"Sentimental reasons, actually." Robin said with a lopsided grin, making even Starfire look at him like he was crazy.
"Having someone threaten to shoot you is sentimental?" Raven asked.
"Come on guys you were all there." Robin prodded his friends, then gave up in exasperation. "When I walked up to Star, so I could try to unlock the shackles that Gordanians had put on her, they were the first words she said directly to me."