AN: I've never owned the Teen Titans, so why would I now? Quite asking!
Chapter 12
Raven was glad to be back in her little home and she let out a pleasant sigh. She had been away for three days and had become homesick. Beast Boy had brought her back, but he wasn't staying. Not yet.
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" asked Beast Boy.
"I've been fine for the past four months on my own," said Raven. "I'm sure I can go a few more."
"Yeah, but you're pregnant," said Beast Boy.
"Beast Boy, I'll be fine," she said and went over to him. "And you know that this is how it has to be. Until Terra is well, you have to stay at the tower."
"But you could stay at the tower with me," he said with a hopeful smile.
She smiled back and said, "I like it here. This place is a whole lot safer for a pregnant woman than the tower is."
"I know," he sighed. "I just can't stand being away from you again."
"It won't be that long," she said wrapping her arms around him. "Just a little while longer. Then we can finally be together." She placed his hand on her stomach. "All of us."
He smiled and kissed her. "I don't know why it took me so long to start loving you," he said pressing his head against hers.
"It's because you were always a little slow," she said with a smirk.
"I'll blame that little remark on your current condition," he said smirking back and rubbing her stomach.
"So, what you're saying is that my attitude is based on my being pregnant?" she asked smugly. "Then I guess I've been pregnant all of my life."
"Guess so," he said back and kissed her again. "I'll see you soon. I promise."
"Okay," she said and hugged him tightly, before releasing him so he could leave. "I love you. And I'll never get tired of saying it."
"I love you too, and I'll never get tired of feeling it," said Beast Boy and he left. The whole ride home he thought about every mile that was separating him from Raven. He hated being so far away from her. But she was right. It was only until Terra was well enough to protect the city again. Then he could move in with Raven and protect the next city, which was about ten minutes away.
He got home just as Terra's psychiatrist was leaving the tower. This was her first session and she was to have one twice a week to help her get over both the miscarriage and Beast Boy. She mainly stayed in bed and remained quiet. Nothing anyone did could make her feel better. She had lost everything.
"Beast Boy, you have returned," said Starfire. "Was Raven happy to be home?"
"Yeah, she was," said Beast Boy. "How did Terra's session go?"
"Okay," said Robin. "She pretty much cried the whole time and screamed about how much she hates Raven."
"I figured as much," sighed Beast Boy. "So I'm guessing she won't be okay for a while, huh?"
"Sorry, man," said Cyborg. "I know how much you wanna be with Raven."
"I just don't wanna miss anymore of this pregnancy," said Beast Boy. "I mean, I wanna be there when she has all of those mood swings, I wanna be there when she gets weird cravings. I know it might sound weird, but I want the whole pregnant girlfriend experience."
"It does not sound weird," said Starfire.
"Yes it does," said Cyborg and Robin under their breaths.
"I am sure Raven wishes you to be there was well," said Starfire. "But do not worry, Terra shall be well soon and you shall be with Raven."
But Terra's recovery wasn't quick at all. It took a month for her to stop blaming Raven for everything wrong in her life. It took another month for her to deal with her miscarriage. Beast Boy was growing quite impatient. He managed to see Raven every other weekend or so, but it wasn't the same as being with her. By the time Terra had begun to talk about her obsession with Beast Boy Raven was eight and a half months pregnant; and he knew that this topic was going to take her the longest to deal with. Now he was afraid that Raven was going to go into labor and he wouldn't be there to help her.
Raven was due in two weeks and Beast Boy had finally made it to her cottage to finish up the nursery he had been working on. They hadn't found out what the sex of the baby was, because Raven wanted it to be a surprise, so they didn't decide on a single color for the room.
"I'm just saying that pink can go either way," said Beast Boy as he put together the bassinet.
"No! No pink," said Raven as she finished up dusting the room. She just couldn't seem to keep her home clean enough, even though it was spotless. "Any other color but pink."
"Okay, fine," said Beast Boy quickly before she could go off on another "Why I Hate Pink" speech.
Raven placed her hand on her back and moaned. "I'm going to go sit down," she said and waddled out of the room.
"Alright, I'm just gonna be finishing the cradle thingy," he said with a smile. Then the entire bassinet fell apart and he was back to square one. He sighed and began again. Raven chuckled in her throat and went into her little parlor.
She sat down in her rocking chair and picked up the blanket she had been crocheting and got to work on it. She liked to crochet for it helped her to calm her mind and relax. The child within her could be restless sometimes and crocheting helped to even calm it down.
Nearly an hour later Beast Boy emerged from the nursery, looking quite proud that he had finally put the bassinet together. He actually had beads of sweat on his forehead. "Finished!"
"Well done," she said with a smirk and continued with her crocheting. She jumped a little and sighed.
"Is it kicking again?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes," she said and continued on with the blanket. Beast Boy practically jumped over to her and placed his hands all over her large stomach. He had moved so quickly Raven was startled. Of course she knew the he meant no harm and only wanted to feel his child. She smiled, took his hands, and placed them to where the baby usually could be felt. A minute passed and off it went again, making Beast Boy smile.
"That is too cool!" said Beast Boy beaming.
"It's annoying," she said with a small smile and went back to the blanket. "I can't wait until this thing is out of me."
"Thing?" laughed Beast Boy.
"You know what I meant," said Raven rolling her eyes. "I'm sick of being pregnant. I miss being able to see my toes."
Beast Boy chuckled and got down on the floor. "Well… they look good to me," he said, getting a good look at her toes. He popped up and looked over her belly. "They could use a little bit of a trim though."
Raven kicked him away and said, "Shut up." She put the blanket down and attempted to stand up. She rocked back and forth and tried to get a good lift, but just couldn't make it. She stopped and began to whine. Beast Boy got to his feet and gave her his hands. She sighed and took them. He lifted her up, which actually did take a bit of effort, and she was on her feet. She began to waddle off towards the bathroom, where she had been visiting more often than the kitchen.
Beast Boy went into the kitchen and decided to make her some tea. He knew exactly how she liked it, even though Raven claimed that he still didn't. She just loved to give him a hard time. He hummed to himself as he poured the hot tea into her favorite cup, but was startled by the sudden shout of his name.
"Beast Boy!" shouted a distressed Raven.
He quickly put the teapot down and ran to her. She was leaning against the bathroom doorframe, holding her stomach. "What? What's wrong?"
"My… my water just broke," she said and then winced and almost fell to her knees as a contraction hit.
Beast Boy stood frozen for a moment then quickly snapped into action. He went to her and propped her up. Slowly he walked her through the house and out to the car. He helped her in and then ran back into the cottage and grabbed her overnight bag that had been prepared for just this occasion. By the time he got back to her she was breathing fast and wincing with the pain. Beast Boy decided to call the Titans as he drove.
They made it to the nearest hospital and got her checked in as soon as possible. Her pain was increasing every few minutes and she was suddenly wishing she hadn't made that remark about wanting her pregnancy to be over. And poor Beast Boy was about to pass out.
An hour passed and the other Titans arrived, which let Beast Boy take a brake. He decided to take a walk and try to clear his mind. He walked along the quiet halls of the maternity ward and wondered how it could be so quiet. Once in a while he would hear a baby's cry and someone rushing down the hall, but that was all. Then he came to a large glass window that looked onto all of the newborns; all wrapped up in warm blankets and trying to adjust to the new world around them.
"They're beautiful, aren't they?" asked a sweet voice next to him. He jumped and looked to see that it was Terra. She was looking at all of the babies and holding her arms as if she was cold. She turned and looked him in the eyes. "Didn't think I would come, did you?"
"I wasn't sure what you were gonna do if you did come," said Beast Boy.
"Well, I'm not gonna steal your baby, if that's what you think," she said sadly and looked back through the window at the babes.
"May I ask why you did come?" asked Beast Boy.
Terra was quiet for a second and then sighed. "Because it'll help me to get over you."
"Well… I'm proud of you," he said almost kindly. "I know this must be very difficult for you."
"Very," she said, touching the glass and longingly looking at the newborns.
Beast Boy felt all of that hate and resentment he had felt for her finally leave and he felt sadness replace it. "Don't worry, Terra," he said nicely. "You're gonna find someone who will love you and someday you'll be the one in labor, screaming and cursing the man you love for doing this to you." She looked to him and gave him a smile. Beast Boy smiled back and then decided to go back to Raven.
Seven hours passed and finally it was time for Raven to start pushing. Everyone was relieved and happy that this was finally going to end soon. They had hung around the hospital for so long they were quite bored with the whole birthing experience, but now the time had come; the big finale.
"Okay, the next time you feel a contraction I want you to push as hard as you can, okay?" asked the doctor.
"Okay," said Raven who was already quite tired with this horrid situation. She waited a few seconds and once the contraction came she pushed as hard as she could; one of her hands in Beast Boy's and the other hand in Starfire's.
"You're doing great, Raven," said the doctor with a smile as Raven stopped to breathe. "Just do the same thing when you feel another contraction."
This went on for a good half an hour before finally with one good push the head came out. By this time Beast Boy knew his hand was permanently crushed and he was relieved that it was almost over.
"You're so close," said the doctor. "Just a few more pushes."
Raven wasn't sure if she had anything left in her, but she knew that she was near the end. It was almost over. She gritted her teeth, summed up all of the strength that was left in her, and pushed one more great push. She wanted her child now!