Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.

Beast Boy channel surfed listlessly, unable to find a show that could hold his attention. The golden rays of the late afternoon sun filled the common room with their warm caress. It had been a quiet day as the Mayor gave them a temporary reprieve from their duties when he called Robin and Cyborg in for an impromptu meeting.

Beast Boy for one welcomed the break, however short it was. The workload had been grueling, even though they now worked in pairs on missions. Robin had wisely chosen to pair him up with Starfire, knowing that being paired up alone with his shapely girlfriend would have been excessively distracting.

And Starfire was shapely. Now that they were fully nineteen years of age the two female Titans were no longer girls. This fact had not been lost on Beast Boy either as he wrapped an arm around Raven.

Raven was sitting next to him on the crescent shaped couch. The two had shared a simple lunch together, after which they made themselves comfortable in front of the giant television. She had sat quietly, reading a book as she usually did. While she had made remarkable progress with her recovery she would still tire easily, especially after a meal.

Starfire entered the common room and smiled, as she saw Raven's head resting on the changeling's shoulder. She silently glided over to get a better look at the chromatically challenged couple. Raven had fallen asleep with her book on her lap. Beast Boy looked up at Starfire and handed the TV remote control to the princess.

"500 channels and there's nothing on." He whispered to her.

Starfire took the clicker from him and turned off the TV.

"I see that Raven still requires the afternoon nap." She commented.

Beast Boy nodded.

"I should take her back to her room, but I'd probably just wake her up." He said as he gently caressed her somnolent face with the back side of his hand. "She's stopped taking vicoden, so she doesn't sleep as deeply when she naps."

Starfire sat down next to the green boy.

"So have you asked her yet?" She inquired.

He shook his head.

"No, not yet. I don't know Star, what if she says 'no'?"

The Tamaranian smiled.

"She will not do that."

"It … it just seems so soon, like I'm jumping the gun. What if she doesn't want to be my girlfriend?"

"It is not a race friend. But do not worry; no one is closer to her than you. I am convinced that she has recovered so quickly because of your attentiveness and care."

Beast Boy sighed.

"It feels like a dream Star. I love her and but I haven't told her yet."

"She knows, Beast Boy, she knows. And I am happy that what started as a nightmare for all of us is now a dream."

Beast Boy turned back towards Raven's face. She looked so peaceful, even dainty, as she continued to sleep. Quite a contrast from that terrible day, a day that was etched into his memory, permanently marked as if by a branding iron, and just as painful. The flashbacks kept coming back, not just for Raven, but for him as well.

The day had started out like all the others since the crisis arrived: it began early. Beast Boy's first mission of the day had been an armored car robbery in the downtown area. Robin responded to a gang shootout in a residential neighborhood, Cyborg to a convenience store robbery and Starfire to an incident at the shopping mall. Raven's mission was also in the downtown area, a jewelry store was being burglarized.

As usual the Titans were operating under a sleep deficit and none of them were functioning to the fullness of their abilities. Still, duty called and as Cyborg would say every morning "Hey, they're just a bunch of punks, how hard can it be?"

In a way he had been right once again that morning. Beast Boy's mission had been completed without incident. The robbers were a group of inexperienced but over armed teens who did not hesitate to use their military grade weaponry. It troubled the Titans, but especially Robin, that they could not find out how the street gangs were acquiring their deadly arsenal. It was painfully obvious that these kids were merely pawns in a game and were being supplied by someone who stood to gain if the city was destabilized. But worst of all, whoever their benefactor was, he covered his tracks perfectly, leaving no traces to follow.

Beast Boy was in the zone that morning and was easily able to avoid being the young punks' attempts to neutralize him. He quickly shifted between animal forms, favoring the hummingbird to get close to an opponent before switching to another form to quickly subdue him. After subduing four robbers the remaining thugs realized it was a lost cause and they fled the scene, leaving behind their heavy weapons so as not to be slowed down by the burden of carrying them.

He had the subdued miscreants tied up before the police backup arrived. The changeling watched full of self satisfaction as the police booked the robbers. He then reached for his communicator to see what was scheduled next on his mission roster. Much to his surprise there was nothing in his queue. It was nearly lunchtime and he decided to give Raven a hand, not that she really needed one. He was thinking of inviting her to lunch afterwards since they were already downtown. He'd even let her pick where to eat.

As he moved to place his communicator back in his utility belt he heard the communicator emit a tone he had only ever heard before in training: the distress signal. Beast Boy's heart froze as he pulled the communicator back out. The distress signal meant only one thing: a Titan was down, seriously injured.

The communicators were setup to monitor their owner's vital signs and if one ever detected any form of severe distress it would warn the rest of the team. The first time it had even been used was when the car bomb had nearly killed him a few weeks before. It was fortunate that the distress signal was automatic as the explosion had rendered him unconscious almost instantly. The only memory he had of the incident was the loud sound of the blast and the shock wave that followed which reverberated through his body. His next memory was waking up in the infirmary with Raven hunched over him, sweating profusely as she worked through his injuries with her healing blue light. It was only many days later that he learned that she had spent two straight days healing his many internal injuries. That incident had been a turning point in their friendship when she had surprised him with the genuine concern she had shown him.

Beast Boy flipped his communicator open and checked the source of the SOS. He felt his windpipe tighten when he saw that it was Raven who needed help.

"Raven! This is Beast Boy! Can you read me Raven?" He called out to her repeatedly over the communicator. There was no answer. The communicator showed that she was a mere 5 blocks away. Without even thinking the changeling morphed into a cheetah and took off. Stretching the muscles in his now graceful feline figure he sprinted and was soon running at 70 miles per hour. The downtown blocks were long and the green cheetah was beginning to feel winded but did not relent and continued to race as fast as he could. His muscles roared in protest but he ignored their complaints as he sped through the downtown district, dodging vehicles and pedestrians as he hurled through the urban canyon of high rises and skyscrapers. As he approached the coordinates the only thing he could see was what appeared to be a teenager in an alley who was wearing a Honduras soccer jersey. The youth was performing a victory dance, pumping one of his hands in the air in a gesture of triumph while he held a compact machine gun in his other hand. The cheetah changed his direction and charged at the boy. As he got closer he saw that Raven was sprawled on the ground at the gang banger's feet. The changeling felt a wave of pure and unadulterated rage course through his body at the sight of Raven's supine form. The punk would pay for what he had done to Raven.

The young hoodlum saw the green feline charging at him and grinned as he aimed his weapon at Beast Boy and began to fire. The changeling had anticipated this action and had already begun to morph into a triceratops. The bullets impacted against his massive dinosaur skull, ricocheting in all directions. While the injuries they caused were not serious they were still painful, but Beast Boy ignored them as he continued to charge at the murderous gunman, aiming his three sharp horns at him.

The young gangster saw that Beast Boy was prepared for him and quickly intuited what his intention was: to impale him. So he made a quick decision: he fled. Dropping his machine gun he ran away as fast as he could. As he rounded the corner he saw that what he had hoped for: Beast Boy slid to a stop next to Raven and morphed back into his human form. He continued running and never looked back

The sight that greeted the changeling was gut wrenching. Raven was lying on the ground, crumpled like a rag doll. The abdominal section of her leotard was soaked in her blood, which was dripping onto the ground and was beginning to form a small pool under her.

The trauma training that Robin had drilled into them over the years kicked in. The changeling instinctively reached for Raven's neck. There was still a faint pulse.

Thank you God, thank you.

Beast Boy knew that she wouldn't last long in her condition as she had lost copious amounts of blood and was in shock. There was a hospital 3 blocks away and he knew that there was no time to waste. Morphing into a pterosaur he gently picked up the gray girl with his talons and flew off to the emergency room, flapping his huge wings as he slowly lifted off from the ground. He could feel the reptilian heart pounding in his chest as precious time slipped away. He quickened his pace, flapping his featherless wings harder and harder. Within a couple of minutes he saw the entrance to the Emergency Room.

As luck would have it there was gurney outside which was being returned to an awaiting ambulance. The green pterosaur swooped down towards it. The paramedics saw the flying dinosaur approach and retreated back into the relative safety of the hospital entrance, not realizing that it was the green Titan. Beast Boy flapped his wings vigorously as he slowed down and hovered over the gurney. He deftly deposited Raven's unconscious figure onto the wheeled bed after which he alighted next to her, morphing back into his human form.

Seeing that there was no one nearby to assist, he wheeled the gurney through the emergency room's entrance.

"Help! Please help us! Raven's been shot!" He screamed in despair. Two doctors and a triage nurse appeared out of nowhere.

"What happened?" The senior physician asked as they began to examine her.

"We're taking her into the OR #2" The other doctor shouted as the ER suddenly came to life as the staff began to run around in a whirlwind of activity that appeared to be random but was actually well coordinated.

"A gang banger shot her with a machine gun." The changeling replied. "You guys can save her, right?"

The two physicians continued to examine Raven's wounds as she was carted into operating room #2.

"We'll do everything we can Beast Boy. Nurse! Get him into some scrubs!" The younger doctor responded.

Beast Boy watched mesmerized as the trauma team moved Raven from the gurney to the operating table while nurses were busy getting IV catheters into her arm, putting an oxygen mask and an SpO2 sensor on her while two other nurses began to cut away her blood soaked leotard with scissors. He felt a tap on his shoulder and yet another nurse helped him slip on some sanitized scrubs over his Doom Patrol costume. As soon as he was done he turned back to Raven who had been stripped naked. He stared in horror at her torso. Most of the bullet wounds were in her gut but he saw at least 3 in her chest. Another doctor came charging in with a portable x-ray machine and they took a few quick shots, which within a few seconds appeared on an LCD display. The two surgeons examined the images.

"She has two bullets in her right lung, and it's collapsed. Another bullet's in her liver, the rest are in her abdomen. What are her vitals?"

"65 over 30, pulse is 60 beats per minute." A nurse answered.

"Not good. We need t get started immediately. Is the ECG ready?"

"It's in place doctor." Another nurse answered as the familiar symphony of cardiac beeps began to fill the room.

Beast Boy watched silently as Raven was prepared for surgery. She was quickly covered in heated blankets and IVs were connected to her catheters. As soon as she was intubated the surgery began. The doctors tackled her damaged lung first and within a few minutes they had extirpated the first bullet. The second bullet had penetrated deeper and it was taking them longer.

"Doctor, her blood pressure is falling and her heart rate…"

The nurse was interrupted by the alarm on the ECG, which meant one and only one thing: Raven had flat lined.

"She's in cardiac arrest! 10 ml of adrenalin!" The chief surgeon commanded the nurse who had anticipated this moment and who was ready with the syringe. The doctor injected the hormone into Raven's chest.

Beast Boy felt his heart leap into his throat. This couldn't be happening, it couldn't. Raven had cheated death before. She had survived turning into the portal. No one had ever been able to hurt her before, not like this.

The changeling dropped his head as bitter tears began to flow from his eyes. It wasn't fair; Raven had always been so selfless, so devoted to protecting the city without giving a second thought to her own safety. Was this how fate was going to repay her, to die a pointless death in an operating room?

"I think we got something doctor, a pulse. It's faint, but it's getting stronger."

Beast Boy let out a sigh of relief while the surgeons continued their work.

The green Titan snapped back into reality and saw that Raven was still leaning against him, snoring softly, a sound he was grateful to hear. Her unique aroma of lavender and jasmine wafted into his nostrils and he slowly savored the sweet smell, a scent that had almost perished with her in that emergency room just a few weeks before.

What had truly irritated the changeling were the incessant queries from the Mayor's office as to when Raven would return to active duty. As Beast Boy fantasized about what he would do to the Mayor if he pestered the Titans about Raven's status just one more time the sliding doors opened and he was able to detect his second most favorite aroma in the whole world: pizza!

As he turned around he saw Robin drop several boxes of pizza on the dinette table in the kitchen while Starfire flitted over to the cabinet where they kept the paper plates, napkins and disposable cups. Cyborg fetched a few two liter bottles of soda pop. He noticed that both Robin and Cyborg were both sporting a hang dog expression on their faces as they sat down without having even greeting anyone. He turned back to the gray sleeping beauty next to him and gently roused her.

"Raven, it's dinner time, wake up."

The sorceress opened her eyes and she looked irritated.

"Don't tell me I feel asleep again." She complained as she wiped her mouth with the backside of her hand. "I drooled on myself." She moaned with a hint of disgust.

Beast Boy helped her get on her feet.

"Just because you're out of the wheelchair doesn't mean you're done healing." He gently chided her.

"Yes Dr. Beast Boy." She replied with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Still she hooked her arm around his as he led her to the table. As he pulled a chair for her she noticed Robin's grim expression. She followed up by scanning him with her empathic perception and sensed the mix of turmoil and despair seething within him.

"Robin, what's the matter?" She asked.

"Yes Robin, what troubles you my boyfriend?"

Robin shook his head.

"It's nothing that concerns you guys. The Mayor dropped a tough nut to crack on my lap. It's my problem, so forget about it. Now let's eat before the pizza gets cold." He answered in a monotone drone.

The others had known the Boy Wonder long enough to see that he was covering something up, but they let it slide for the moment. There would be time to grill him later after dinner.

The brooding figure sat on the large throne like chair, fingers drumming on the large armrest. The room was large and dark with an oppressive atmosphere in the air. The only sound was that of gears turning, relentlessly, never stopping. The finger drumming stopped when a door was opened. A large man, wearing Salvadoran gang colors entered the room, followed by two other men who were dragging a terrified teenager by under his arms. He was wearing a Honduras soccer jersey.

"We found Humberto." The first man broke the silence.

"Where was he?" The room's master asked.

"We found him in Calexico. He was going to cross the border into Mexicali."

The figure rose out of the chair.

"Well done Javier." The figure said as it approached the boy.

"You failed me Humberto."

"Please forgive me boss, I tried, I really tried."

"No, you didn't." The menacing figure rebuked him. "My men told me what happened, they saw everything. Instead of finishing her off and leaving immediately like I told you to do, you did a stupid victory dance. You lingered long enough for the changeling to arrive. And then you had the gall to shoot him too, violating my direct orders."

"I'm sorry boss, he caught me by surprise."

"And he got a good look at you. It's a good thing we found you first or you would have told the Titans everything. Our entire operation would have been compromised."

"Please jefa, you know I wouldn't do that!" He pleaded.

"That's a risk I can't afford to take. Javier, you know what to do." The master ordered in a voice that was cold and devoid of emotion.

The large man nodded and pulled out a pistol was tucked into the waist of his pants. He gestured at the other two men who proceeded to drag the terrified boy out of the room. Humberto began to scream.

"Noooo! Please don't kill me! I'm sorry!"

The men ignored him and closed the door behind them. His pleas for mercy continued until a single gunshot was heard. After a long moment Javier came back into the room.

"What shall we do with the body?"

"Dump it downtown. Let it be a warning to anyone refuses to obey my orders to the letter."

"Si jefa. I'll do it right away."

Javier left the room leaving the brooding figure alone.

That imbecile, I told him not to harm Beast Boy.

Terra returned to her throne and began to drum her fingers once again.

The Titans finished their meal in relative silence. There was a certain tension in the air, hanging over the team. Throughout the meal Raven continued to sense Robin's dread while Beast Boy was able to detect it with his animal senses. Starfire knew her boyfriend all too well to not notice that something was very wrong. As Beast Boy collected the now empty pizza boxes and the paper plates Raven broke the silence.

"What's going on Robin, and don't say it's nothing? I've never sensed this kind of unease from you."

"Raven is correct. What is troubling you my beloved? I am not an empath like Raven, but even I can tell that something is very wrong."

"Yeah dude, what's wrong? You know you can trust us."

Robin sighed as he rubbed his eyes.

"We've been fired."

"WHAT!" Raven shrieked.

"What are you talking about dude?"

"Fired? What does that mean? I do not see any combustion in the Tower. This is one of your Earthly slangs, correct?"

Raven replied in her monotone.

"It means we have been dismissed Starfire. We are no longer the city's guardians."

The princess looked troubled and confused.

"But why? Have we done something wrong?" She asked.

Robin heaved an even bigger sigh.

"We spend too much money."

"We what?" Beast Boy asked in astonishment.

"The city is bankrupt guys; they can't afford to bankroll the team anymore. We're on our own."

"And what exactly does that mean?" Raven asked.

"It means we have three months to move out of the Tower and we won't get a single penny from the city anymore." Cyborg interjected.

"I hope you guys have some money saved. The city has closed all our accounts and credit cards. All we've got left is the money in the petty cash box." Robin added.

Beast Boy sat back down next to Raven, looking thoroughly dejected. He dropped his head on the table.

"No way, they can't fire us, they can't."

Raven placed a comforting hand on the changeling's shoulder.

"I've saved most of my stipend allowance over the years. I almost have $100,000." She replied.

"I have $30,000." Beast Boy added.

"I'll see if Batman can send us a cash advance. I'd rather not tap into anyone's personal savings if it can be avoided." Robin said in a hollow voice. "Of course all missions are cancelled."

The Boy Wonder looked up at his shell shocked team.

"Go rest, we'll talk more about this tomorrow."

Robin stood up and slowly walked away. Starfire had never seen him look so crushed, so dejected. She hovered over to him and hooked her arm into his. He turned and wrapped his arms around her.

"Come with me Robin, I do not wish to be alone tonight."

The Boy Wonder nodded in agreement and the couple exited the room in silence.

Cyborg stood up next.

"I'm going out."

"Where?" Beast Boy asked.

"I don't know … somewhere." He responded as he too left the room.

Beast Boy threw his head back and groaned.

"This blows, what are we gonna do?"

Raven took his hand and squeezed it.

"Robin's right. Let's not think about this until tomorrow."

He nodded at her.

"So what do you wanna do?"

"Let's watch a movie."

Beast Boy's ears perked up.

"I'll make popcorn! What do you wanna watch?"

Raven walked over to the case where they kept their vast collection of discs.

"How about this one? It's called 'Spirited Away'."

Beast Boy tossed the popcorn packet into the microwave and pressed the 'Popcorn' button.

"That's an awesome movie; I think you'll actually like it."

Raven gave him a small smile.

"Meet me in my room, we'll watch it there. And wear something comfy."

"You mean like pajamas?"

"Pajamas would be nice." She said as she walked out of the room.

Beast Boy felt the hairs stand on the back of his neck. She had asked him to come to her room, in pajamas! He couldn't believe his luck.

He was snapped out of his revelry when the microwave oven beeped, indicating that the popcorn was ready. He quickly poured the bag's contents into a large bowl. He then opened the fridge and grabbed a six pack of cola and dashed out of the kitchen.

Raven had already changed into her pajamas, loaded the disc into the player, pulled extra pillows out of her closet and was now sitting on her bed when there was a knock on her door. Using her dark energy she opened it. Beast Boy peered nervously into her abode. He was wearing a fresh pair of pajamas and was carrying a tray with the snacks and refreshments. He smiled at Raven and she responded by patting the spot next to her, inviting him to join her on the bed. He put the tray down on the night stand and hopped onto the bed.

"Comfy?" She asked as she grabbed the disc player's remote control.

Beast Boy summoned every ounce of courage he had. He had no idea what was going to happen next but he also knew that this was not the time to be timid.

"Uh sure … uh Rae, before you start the movie I want to ask you something."

Raven stared into his eyes. She could see the remnants of the scars on his face from the gunshots he had taken in triceratops form.

"Relax Beast Boy, I can tell you're about to jump out of your skin. What's the matter?"

The changeling took several deep breaths, calming himself before replying.

"Rae would you like to be my girlfriend?" He asked at a near supersonic speed.

"Whoa, say that again." She replied, wishing to be sure she had understood what he had said.

Beast Boy took another deep breath.

"Sorry. Ok, here goes. Will you be my girlfriend Raven?"He asked again, carefully enunciating each word.

Raven remained motionless for a moment. She then leaned forward and kissed him chastely on the lips. After that she picked up the clicker and started the movie. Beast Boy stared at her in disbelief as he leaned back against the pillows. Raven made herself comfortable, snuggling up with him.

Dude!