A/N: Okeydokey, it's time to install some more or less normal life in the tower. Not much action in this chapter. Don't worry: it won't last long. This chapter was written in loving memory of Daphne, my pet bird, who unfortunately died last Thursday. Am really sad about it.

LaughingRanna: Thanks! I caught onto that pairing after reading a story called Aftereffects by Insanity 101. Truly a must-read if you like RaeRob and the whole Slade affair, it's in my favorite stories list, go read it!

Jurodan: System must have been on the fritz. Nice to know someone's following it…hehehe. I try my best to avoid them. Thank you :)

Insanity 101: Slade's influence is enough to leave a lasting affect on anyone. Unfortunately, the suit's not to blame. I think you'll agree being stuck in that prison was horrible enough. About the dream…you'll find out soon enough. Aw c'mon, don't go all fluffy on me! (hehehe). Fugghedaboutit. One order for more torture, coming up!

Ok, here goes:

The entire room was dark; it was always dark. And yet somehow, Raven could always tell when morning had come and night had fled the scene. The Azarathian could feel the feeble light of the room fighting to penetrate her firmly shut eyelids, but she resisted the urge to open them. Five more minutes, she thought weakly. Just give me…

Raven frowned, eyes still resolutely shut. There was something she was forgetting, something important...

With a gasp, she forced her eyes open and looked around her.

Her room was still a mess, but it was clear someone had attempted to tidy things up. Her chest was upright again, though still open, and piles of books were stacked against the wall, as though whoever had put them there didn't have a clue about their original location. Some piles of glass were huddled together near the vanity. As she looked upon it, she winced, taking in the cracked mirror and recalling the sharp pain in her right hand. Thank God she had left her enchanted mirror locked up in a drawer for safekeeping.

Raven rubbed her head sleepily. So much for being certain she wouldn't sleep…although exactly when she had dropped off amid the haunting images of the evil Titans floating around in her mind was impossible for her to recall.

She suddenly looked up, and turned her head instinctively to the left. Oh God…how could I forget…?

To her left sat the Boy Wonder, head drooping over the back of the chair in which he sat, arms hanging limply at his sides, fingertips nearly grazing the floor. His mouth was slightly open, and Raven observed, with no small amount of amusement and slight disgust, a small trickle of drool trailing from the corner of his mouth to the outline of his jaw.

Raven sat there for a while, just staring at him. It was certainly odd to catch a glimpse of her fearless leader without that furrow in his brow, to see the hard lines usually present on his young face smoothed by the ignorance of sleep that "knits up the raveled sleeve of care", as Shakespeare so accurately put it.

Care that you stupidly caused, spat that annoying voice in the back of her head.

Raven flinched inwardly. She looked at Robin again. Robin almost never slept; he must have been exhausted last night, and yet he stayed with her. Raven felt a pang of guilt as she remembered last night's events. She had simply overreacted, that was all. It was so unlike her, she thought, cringing. And Robin was so worried…

Raven mentally slapped herself, her cheeks scarlet. Was that a twinge of pleasure she felt just now? How could she be happy that Robin had been upset?

"Because it proves he cares," she said to herself. She roughly pushed that thought away. No, nothing was worth hearing that concern and sadness in his voice, nothing was worth that pained expression on his face.

A different emotion invaded her now. She blushed with embarrassment as she remembered how helpless she had sounded.

"Will you please stay with me? I really don't want to be alone right now…" Ughh, what the hell was that? Raven scowled darkly. She had sounded like some kind of two-year old, afraid of the monsters under her bed, nothing like the team's pit of darkness. Definitely not something she wanted others to see.

The Azarathian grit her teeth and clenched the bed sheets until her knuckles turned white. She ignored the stab of pain in her bandaged hand. No, she would not be a victim, not again…

Decisively, she swung her legs out of bed, stood up, and strode over to her closet. Ignoring the ones on the floor, she pulled out a fresh, unwrinkled cloak and clasped it around her shoulders. She hesitated for one minute as she turned to Robin's sleeping form, but, with renewed intention, she laid a hand on his shoulder and gently shook it. The sooner he left, the better.

Robin muttered sleepily, the ever-present furrow returning to his brow as he slowly regained consciousness. He lifted his head slightly, and Raven's face swam into view. For about five seconds, they both stared at each other, Robin with a groggy expression on his face and Raven with an eyebrow lifted inquisitively.

Then the reality of the situation hit Robin like a sledgehammer. He snapped up to his feet, conspicuously rubbing the drool from his cheek off his face with his wrist and straightening his mask.

He looked over at Raven and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that…must have dozed off…" He put a hand on her shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

Raven both loathed and cherished the feeling of his hand on her shoulder. She quickly shoved certain feelings away. If she was to persuade Robin that nothing was amiss, now was the time.

"I'm fine," she uttered, her expression quintessentially blank.

Now it was Robin's turn to lift a curious eyebrow. "Are you sure?" He removed his hand from her shoulder and scratched his head. "Because last night was…"

"Last night was nothing. I just got a little carried away, it happens sometimes." She strived to sound as casual as she could muster.

Robin looked around the still disastrous room, surprised.

"But your dream," he said, gesturing confusedly with his hands. "I could tell it scared the hell out of you. You wouldn't let me come near you."

"We all have nightmares. You said it yourself, it was understandable I had one after I lost control of my powers." Raven awkwardly strived to sound casual, cursing herself silently for doing such a poor job.

"Thanks for helping with my room a bit, though." Raven attempted to use as annoyed a tone as possible without being too insulting. He shouldn't even really be here, afterall.

Robin still looked uncertain. "Uh, you're welcome. Do-do you want to tell me what it was about? The dream, I mean."

Raven stared at him, arms crossed, poker face intact. "I don't remember."

Robin looked intently at Raven. Slowly, he lowered his arms. His face betrayed no emotion. For what seemed like forever, the Boy Wonder gazed silently at Raven. The pit of darkness squirmed slightly under his gaze; she felt like she was being X-rayed. What the heck was going on behind that impassive black and white mask?

Finally, when Raven felt she couldn't take it any longer, Robin said, "Okay. Whatever you say, Raven. We can keep talking about this Terra issue later. Don't forget to sweep up that broken glass." He turned his back and left the room before she could say a word.

Raven stood stock-still in the middle of her chamber. She uncrossed her arms. She was shocked at how easily Robin had left. She didn't know whether she felt like sighing with relief or crying with regret. Did this mean he wanted to respect her wishes of being alone, or did it mean he didn't give a damn, that he was just fulfilling his duty as leader?

In the end she decided to do neither. Raven set to work, gathering up abandoned cloaks strewn over the floor. She suppressed the scream of frustration struggling to escape her. She didn't need his help; she could handle this on her own.

Robin heard the door hiss shut behind him. He bowed his head; whatever he had expected to happen before he had knocked last night, he never imagined he would be faced with this.

Raven was lying; she was hiding something, that much was certain. Whatever it was, it was obviously causing her a grand amount of suffering.

"Why?" Robin muttered angrily, sullenly, staring at the ground. "Why do you always have to shoulder every burden alone, Raven? Why?"

"I'm fine…last night was nothing."

"No dice, Raven," muttered the Boy Wonder under his breath, as he made his way, cape fluttering, down the hall to his room. "I'm not going away without a fight. You're getting my help, whether you like it or not."

Terra slowly opened her eyes. Sunlight fell across her face as the morning peeked in through her curtains. Try as she might to prevent it, a new day had come.

She shut her eyes, hoping against hope that she was wrong, that she wasn't there and had never existed. But she quickly opened them again. A tortured existence was better than a slumber of descents into darkness.

She sat up in bed, and rubbed her sleep-clouded eyes. Terra felt the rare sensation of skin against her eye lids and realized that she wasn't wearing her gloves. She reached over to the bed stand for them and slipped them on automatically, wearing them out of habit.

As the sleep slowly drained from her mind, Terra gazed at her room once more. This time she actually took in her surroundings.

The Titans had painted her room with a rocky background and a purple-black hued sky, alight with stars. It reminded her of all her nights outside, sleeping under the stars. She had seen it everyday for months, but for some reason, she couldn't take her eyes of it now.

They must have cared a lot about me, Terra realized, if they went through all that trouble to make me feel comfortable here in the Tower.

She shook her head as a sigh of guilt and regret racked through her. There had been enough guilt last night. Today, she should just focus on acting as normally as possible. She at least owed them that much.

Terra hopped out of bed and went straight to the bathroom for a wash. As soon as she was done, wringing out her hair, she headed to her closet. She pulled out her uniform. I must have looked so cocky, she thought, showing up here with my own uniform made. Especially to Raven. She shivered as she imagined her next encounter with the Azarathian. What would she say? Terra didn't want to contemplate such a dangerous situation just yet.

As she pulled on the soft, clean uniform, Terra grimaced. Despite the hot shower she just took, she felt dirty wearing it; it was like putting on a gala dress after running a 20 mile race. She didn't deserve it.

Terra sighed as she slipped on her boots and clasped her utility belt. After staring at it for a while, she decided she wanted to get rid of it; it looked too much like Slade's. He designed it, after all…

With that last unpleasant thought ringing in her head, she pressed the button that opened the door, mentally trying to impress only one thought in her skull: act normal.

A/N: Once again, I didn't want it to end here, but you might get bored with so much info, so I'll save a bit for later. Sorry for the lack of action. Don't forget to review, reviews are one of the few things that keep my head screwed on straight! (hehehe). Tootles,

Jambey