Okay, uhh, when I said I was liable to get another chapter in within the next week, I suppose I ultimately lied. Forgive me! Please, I hope this makes up for the blunder.

Thanks, y'all, for all your James bashing and Gar cheering!

DarkElf6 – Hey, hun, 'sup? I… have nothing to say…. How horrid! I have no people bashing comments at this time. What's wrong with me? I'm ill.

Disclaimer: (I forgot this the last couple times, oops) I guess if I gotta say it: I don't own the Teen Titans. Haha, I believe in the fact that you cannot own creativity, it is an untamed essence. We are vessels of imagination.

Chapter 6: It's Not Over…Not Yet

Two days after Christmas it all settled down, turning into a horrible nightmare instead of a real turn of events. Vesper tried to see it that way. She had sat many hours in 'her' room alone, recapping all that happened that unfortunate night. James was a jerk. Gar was a shocker. Kori was a good cook. There had been many surprises that night. She didn't like where it was all leading. A nagging feeling tugged at the back of her mind. If only she had her mirror.

Victor and Bee had come over the day after Christmas, like they said they would. In a jaunty honking of their rental car they called upon the Grayson residency, pulling the couple within like flowers to a warm sun. Vesper stayed behind, taking care of Roland. She had grown quite attached to her 'nephew' and he had returned the favor. She held him close to her – not smothering him like she had often seen other women – and cooed in his ear and played peek-a-boo. The boy was wonderful company.

The next day, however, Vesper had vacated her room, packed her bags, and loaded it all into the trunk of her car. She stood in the doorway of the house, hugging her hosts goodbye for now.

She swept Kori into a tight grip. "Thanks for taking care of me. I owe you guys so much."

Kori squeezed her back, then released her. "Oh, Vesper, I love it when you visit, even when it is for the most inconvenient of purposes. You have a long drive ahead of you, yes?"

"An hour and a half, or something like that." Vesper shrugged. "LittleBrook isn't that far away from Samson." (A/N: I still live on the east coast, please recall…) She saw Rick with Roland and gasped animatedly. "Roland!" She swept him into her arms, holding him like he was the most precious being she ever beheld. "A couple times a year isn't enough to see you three. I need to visit more."

"We'll always have our door open for you," Rick grinned, hugging her.

Kori took Roland from a reluctant Vesper. "Maybe one day you will have one of your own."

Vesper stood there momentarily, dreamily thinking over motherhood, and then shook it clearly from her head. "No, I can't. It wouldn't be right. I can't risk it. Goodbye."

She walked away. Kori and Rick frowned, surprised, but it was an understandable response. Rick looked at his wife. "I thought her emotions were stable. I thought she could express herself."

Kori sighed. "Not now. It's not over for our friend Raven. Not yet. She has one step left, I think, and then she will be well. And whole."

Vesper sat down and hooked the seatbelt buckle with vigor. She was angry. But why? She groaned. 'Damn it, why'd they have to bring motherhood up?' At least she had the courtesy to wave goodbye.

She enjoyed the time to herself on her way home, realizing that she hadn't felt this comfortable in a long while. Her mind drifted away although she subconsciously focused on the road. She though back on arrogant, naïve James, wondering how she had ever fallen in love with such an idiot. He was so selfish and inconsiderate! He'd played her for a fool and when his karma bit him in the butt he expected sympathy. It wasn't ever going to happen. He said he'd come back for her. She was going to lock her door and even her windows, even though she lived on the seventh floor of an apartment complex. James would never get her anymore. Gar would make sure of that.

Gar.

Goodness, how she had hated him when they were younger. He was much less mature back then; a child in a teen's body. She herself had been much more reserved and dark. They were complete opposites. But several unexpected events caused them to be friends. They even understood each other better. Both had limits on their emotions, particularly rage. If they were ever angry to such a wild extent, they would lose control in different ways. It had drawn a connection between them, as loathsome as that had sounded to her when she was younger.

Throught the folds of time Vesper and Gar both learned to conquer themselves. They helped each other do it. In fact, if it hadn't been for his aid, she would never have defeated Trigon in her ultimate battle. When they had retired from their world of Jump City all went separate ways: Kori and Richard to Samson, Oregon; Victor and Beatrice to California, as well as Gar; and she to another quiet town in Oregon. The goodbye and departure from Jump City had been especially hard between Vesper, who had been Raven, and Garfield, who had been Beast Boy. He, a beast, and she, a half-demon, had formed a deep friendship. To say farewell to the one who quite literally saved her life was one of the hardest things she ever had to do…

Flashback-

Beast Boy, eighteen years old and no longer a boy, gazed at his female friend as they stood side-by-side on the roof of their tower.

"I'm gonna miss you, Rae," he said softly.

She took his hand. "We'll see each other during the holidays and such. If you ever hear Robin or Starfire or even Cyborg say anything about a girl named Vesper Crow, then you know it's me."

He nodded, smiling. He couldn't look away from her tear-stained face. She had come up here when she had felt herself crying, and embarrassed, fled. He had followed. His green skin and olive hair began to fad into normal shades as she slipped the ring on his finger. "Cyborg has one, too," She continued. "So no one will know who he is. Bumble Bee has earrings to cover her wings. They look like regular people."

Beast Boy was at a loss for words. He had to think of something quickly before the silence drowned him. "I hope these new recruits are as good as they've bragged to be. I don't wanna get blown up cause they can't compare to us."

She smiled sadly. "The new recruits taking our places will do fine. I don't think we're going to see the end of the world any time soon. Besides, as long as we get to live like we've always wanted, who cares?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "We can finally be normal."

"I've been waiting for this for a long time." She looked at the setting sun and away from the handsome young man standing beside her. She wiped her tears away with her shirt sleeve. "We'd better get back inside. I want to meditate one last time before I leave."

Raven realized that Beast Boy had yet to let go of her hand. She stared at their link, then back at her friend. Before she could second guess his thoughts, he planted a kiss on her cheek. "Yeah, Rae, let's go back in."

When he let go of her hand and entered the T-shaped building, Raven stood there for a long minute, slowly putting a hand to her flushed cheek.

"I love you, Beast Boy," she whispered. "I love you, Garfield Logan."

Vesper pulled up at a stop sign just as the end of the memory replayed in her head. She was so shocked that she had said that and completely forgotten, it was like a stab to the heart. The stop sign was surrounded by a black aura and dipped over backwards. Seeing this she quickly stepped on the gas.

Had she really said that?

Well obviously she'd forgotten, otherwise it wouldn't have taken a year to meet her first boyfriend, who, like all the others, was turned down by her. Vesper pondered over that fact. She had been the one to end every one of her relationships. People said it was a sign of maturity, but she no longer knew. It sounded more like a sign of fear to her.

Finally the apartment complex came into view. The concrete building was shrouded by a forest and was a while of the main road. That was why she liked it. She lived on the top floor because she liked looking down on the world, much like she had back in the tower. And at night she could float up to the roof and she wouldn't have to pass by any neighbor's window. She could tell her patio from all the others. It was bare; no plants – although they were all dead on the other patios – and no mini animal statues. There was just a black curtain and wind chimes. She was fond of wind chimes.

In the living room / TV room / dining room she looked around. The walls were a flat white. The furniture was dark. Her room looked all black and white. There was not a spot of any in-between color. Kind of like her. When she was younger she loved the silence. No one would ever disturb her. But now she found that it was the silence itself that was disturbing her.

Determined to keep the silence from eating her alive she examined her mail. It was all just bills.

"Even on Christmas," she glowered at the white envelopes.

Then, as though fate had determined it, a certain letter fell to the floor. It immediately caught her attention. She placed the other junk on the table and picked it up from the floor. It was an invitation. She opened it up – but curiously it had looked to already have been opened and resealed – and read.

Dear Mr. James Ethridge:

LittleBrook Hospital is hosting a Pre-New Years Day celebration at the Newington Country Club December 29. –

She stopped reading. Tossing it aside, she picked up a smaller, poorly folded piece of paper tucked inside the envelope. It was in James' handwriting. Now she knew why it looked as though it had been opened before. James was resending the letter to her. Opening up his personal note to her, she glared.

My Vesper,

For the sake of my appearance and your identity, you and I are attending. I'll be seeing you in the parking lot. Come if you want to keep your name. I can bring you down in a heartbeat.

Your devoted and loving fiancé,

James

P.S. Wear something sexy, darling. I want my colleagues to be jealous of the vixen on my arm.

That twisted bastard.

"Vixen, my ass," Vesper growled. "I'd go dressed in trash bags just to tick that man off." She knew she'd have to go. There was no chance whatsoever in escaping the one who apparently held all the cards. James was the victor. Feeling defeated, she picked the invitation off the floor and laid it on the table. A split second later, the invite was open wide and her eyes perused it. When she found her loophole, she grinned. In fine print, the letter said:

We encourage you to bring guests.

"Bring guests," she mused.

One name surfaced in her head: Gar.

She gazed longingly at her phone. "It's not over, James. Not yet."

We fall out of embellished highs

Into a pool of blood and lies

And seeping within our mortal selves

Is our endearing, livid hell

To fight the storms that rage within

We wear a prideful, phony grin

But love chances our wings to fly

And soon we dance in open skies

Y'all come back now, you hear? Miss Isaac wuvs you all!

And I know this chapter was slow. It'll kick up in the next chapter, I promise!

Isaac Out.