The lovely MiSs JoVaNNa has informed me that it would be best not to respond to reviewers here because of some rule. Well, I know this is important to the livelihood of the story, but I just can't not talk. I'll review to reviews, but at the bottom of the chapter entries.

AND I MUST APOLOGIZE TO EVERYONE.

It's been a tremendously long time between updates, and although there are many issues in my life right now, I'm not going to be a baby and give you a handful of excuses. The moment I posted my first chapter here, I made a commitment – a commitment with which I plan to follow through. Please forgive me.

Disclaimer: I can't own anything like a show. I'd get confused too quickly.

Ch. 14: The Voices Sing Lovely

Gar wasn't stupid. Nor was he naïve.

There were secrets everywhere. Each one of them was dangerous, imperative, important to his life, but unable to be discerned. What frightened him most as he sat in his hotel the morning of the thirty-first, was that ninety-nine percent of the covert and furtive world seemed to radiate from Vesper. That night he had found her curled up in a corner outside in the snow, he could tell something was awry. She was more closed off, less sardonic, more vulnerable than anything he'd seen in years.

She was hiding something. But what was it?

Bee had persisted yesterday at the restaurant that indeed Vesper was deeply in love with him. Though Gar had at first been unable to believe it, Bee listed several occasions where she had noticed something amiss in the land of the purple-haired sorceress. And she could pinpoint exactly what it was.

"She's lonely," Bee had said. "James didn't do nothin' for her. You could just tell. She thought she was in love, and we all believed her, but she wasn't. And now look at her."

Yes, look at her.

A mess. Afraid. Unsure and unhappy. If he loved her – which he did – he'd take it all away. Too many people had broken her heart. Wasn't it about time that he proved to her that there was someone who could make it right? And he hoped, as he plugged his cell phone charger into an outlet, that it would be him. He loathed James. He had led her in, cheated on her with another woman, and abandoned her. Sought retribution, tried to slither his way back into her life, and failed. Vesper was a smart woman, Gar knew. She wouldn't buy James' cheap tricks.

And yet…the secrets just got deeper. James and Vesper and Vesper and James. It was odd, but the Brit did seem familiar, like he'd met him before. There was something in the behaviorisms and expression that just came across as too memorable. Something was wrong.

Turning his back on the cell phone, Gar walked over to his closet and pulled out the clothes he'd wear for tonight. He was going home tomorrow. Maybe alone. Maybe…

The cell rang, jerking him from his pondering. Gar spun around and trotted up to the desk where the phone sat. Perhaps it was Vesper telling him how excited she was about tonight! But it was an unknown caller. Frowning, he picked up the cell.

"Hello, Garfield Logan." He said briskly.

"Hello, old chap, what's for tea?" James' zesty accent replied.

"James…" Gar immediately growled, his brow furrowing. "Why'd you call me?"

"Well, you see, Gar," James said. "I know I've been a real twit these last few days. I'm quite sure you hate me."

"You've got that right." Gar sneered. "The 'hate' part especially."

"Oh my, you almost sound like Raven."

Oh, yes, he remembered now. Gar sighed. James knew Vesper's real identity. To say this was a problem was an understatement. "Okay, Ethridge, you've got my attention."

"Good!" his voice did not sound imposing or malicious at all. It sounded almost friendly. "You see, Gar, I've been a twit, as I've said. Vesper and I are over now. Officially. I've got the ring and we're just a pair of colleagues again. Like you wanted, I'm sure."

Gar ran a hand over his face and slicked back his hair, but the messy strands fell in his face. "Dude, there's gotta be a point to this."

"Yes, you're right. Well, I'd like to apologize to you, if you don't mind."

"Apology accepted." Gar shook his head in irritation and went to click the button, but James' cries cut his attention. "Jeez, what?"

"Hang on, you." James said a bit less cheerfully than earlier. "Before you dismiss me, I'd like to finish what I was saying. I wanted to invite you to my favorite bar down in LittleBrook. You're in Samson; it's not that far away."

"An hour and a half," Gar said from memory. Vesper had told him how long the drive was back when he saw her at Christmas.

"Not if you drive like a champ." James said. "Come, come, a few beers and a sturdy apology should make this all better. I've been a jerk to her, Gar. I want to begin to make it right. Let me start making it up to you. I've a long way to go, but I'm willing to work at your pace."

It sounded honest. What did Gar have against him? If only he knew the truth.

"Yeah, you do have a long way to go. But…" If he said okay, who would he be helping more? Vesper? Himself? But if he could just let it go; let the endless cycle cease the migraines and nausea, maybe she'd be better again. He'd do anything for her. "It's nine-thirty now. What time do you want to meet and what's the address?"

He had until eight.

James' midmorning break began at ten thirty and ended an hour later. The hospital thought it was better that the heads of staff had a break in the later hours of the morning instead smack in the middle of the day, because the ER rush usually began around one, astonishingly.

Vesper hadn't needed to come into work today. It was New Year's Eve and Dr. Davingraw was assigned instead. Loraine huffed and puffed about it all morning, primping her newly colored hair to rid herself of the disaster from a few nights earlier, before sliding into the operating rooms and performing extensive surgery. Odd as it was, the woman was good at her job.

When the midmorning break came, Lorain bolted out the door and hopped into her Mercedes Benz. She was off to some unknown destination to meet a man other than her husband.

"Ciao!" she threw over her shoulder as she ran past.

"See you later, Loraine!" he waved, hopping into his own car and driving off to meet Gar at Mr. Right Now. With a name obviously meant for the fairer of the sexes, James himself had found it strange that he'd ventured into such a bar. But the place had the best Vodka Grasshopper he'd ever tried. And it wasn't a bad place to meet chicks.

Sitting himself in the bar in the downtown corner of LittleBrook, he waited for the man from the hotel in Samson.

James didn't like Gar at all. Not the first time he met him at Dick's house, not at the dance, and certainly not now. He didn't do this for a friendly toast. He did this only to relieve his need of revenge. Slade had given him permission. Gar had ruined his torturing of Raven when it came to that night at the party. He was going to bother and destroy her until her emotional walls were in shambles. It was part of the plot. Once he broke her down, she'd be the perfect sacrifice when he'd give her to Slade. He was going to take her to Slade on the night of the second, but Gar had come, messing up everything, and saving Raven from James. Now the Brit was going to meet Slade in private and devise something else. Slade did say he had a surprise for him…

Slade was a good man. Raven had killed Terra. He believed Slade when he told him about her death. Raven killed her! Well, technically, she turned her into a statue, but since there was still no way possible that his dear sister could come back, she was undeniably dead. It hurt him every time he thought about it.

Raven would pay. Raven and Beast Boy.

There was just one problem: James wasn't a hero or a villain. Diabolical plots weren't his cup of tea. If he got this wrong, well…amateurs didn't get everything right on the first try. All he knew was that he was meant to get to Beast Boy or Gar. He had a plan – a good plan – but its outcome was unpredictable.

'Cross your fingers.' He thought as he saw a familiar car pull up next to the bar.

Gar slammed the door with a grumbled and a sneer.

'For Raven, for Raven, for Raven,' he kept repeating to himself as he crossed the sidewalk and opened the door to Mr. Right Now. He stood there for a moment, gazing around the bar, until a familiar blonde waved him out. Holding in another grumble, he came up to the counter and sat down.

"Well, I'm surprised you came," James said lightly as he sipped his drink. "I know you hate me, and all, but I'm glad to know you decided on having some 'we' time."

Gar raised an eyebrow. "I actually didn't come here for you. I came here for her."

"Ah, yes, the illustrious Vesper," James just rolled his eyes, taking another sip. "The woman of every Oregon man's fantasy, I'm sure." And he passed up a lazy wink to the former Titan. Ignoring Gar's glare at the comment, James put down his glass. "Oh, yes, forgot! You a vodka man?"

Gar shook his head. "I'll be drinking tonight."

"Oh, come on, bloke," the Brit waved his hand, "think of this as…an appetizer!" James grinned, handing Gar the vodka list. "I hear the Russian ones are a crowd favorite."

He took it hesitantly; still not sure he was going to drink any before tonight. But it couldn't have hurt to at least look. Keeping a keen eye on Ethridge, Gar thumbed through the list. He wasn't an alcohol connoisseur, so more than half of the titles on the list were strange and clearly foreign to him.

But when he came across one he was familiar with, he hailed the bartender. "White Gold, please."

The bartender nodded, giving a quick glance to James. The doctor just winked at the young man behind the counter, and he went off to fetch Gar's drink. Gar, however, was very clued in on this wordless exchange.

"What was that?" he asked in a tight tone.

"What was what?" James asked innocently. "Oh, the wink? Well, chap, it seems to be a common misunderstanding 'round these parts that all British men are whimsy."

Gar shook his head, not because he found this amusing, but because James was turning out to be more off the scale than he had originally anticipated. This was James? This was the man who swore he'd get Vesper back at any cost, pinned her up to a door and tried to drunkenly win her back? He who stalked her and Gar at the post-Christmas country club celebration? He who vanished nearly around the same time she did; he who did not reappear after Gar found her weak and bleeding?

Said again, Gar was not stupid. And he wasn't going to let this façade slip past him.

"Whimsy?" he asked, trying to appear genuinely amused. If one could act, so could two. "So the wink was –?"

"Hey," James shrugged proudly. "One wink, one free drink. Done deal, I'd say."

And the young bartender came back, setting the glass in front of Gar. The ex-hero nodded the man off, taking a taste of his vodka.

"Good?" James asked with a bit of a glow to his eyes.

Gar put down the drink and nodded like a fool. Hint: not 'being' a fool, but 'like' a fool. "Yeah, this place makes it really good."

James nodded. "Good…"

Finally, after an hour or so of stiff conversation and a finished White Gold and three empty Vodka Grasshoppers later, Gar stood up. Sliding off his bar stool, he slid his coat over his shoulders. James just sat there waving a leg in a childish, yet conniving manner.

"Nice chatting with you," James said, making no attempt to shake his hand. "I'm hoping you and I get better along now. Maybe we'll be like brothers one day." He laughed. "I could be the best man at your wedding with my ex. Wouldn't that be funny?"

Gar laughed cautiously, articulately, still not liking James though all they'd discussed over the past hour was nonsense about work and women. "A laugh-a-minute, I'm sure." He put his hand on his stomach, though, when a slow pain grew on his chest.

James noted it. "Beverage get to you, Gar?" Gar could sense the second voice in his question, the second intention. And he knew he had messed up somehow.

"Yeah, a bit." He smiled. "It's the only thing I've had all day."

"Ah, hate it when that happens," the doctor said, making again no attempts to assist Gar. "Well, chap, you have a good evening with Vesper. Tell the girl I say hello. And make it an evening worth remembering, you beast."

Turning on his heel, Gar walked out, dazed a bit, his head swimming slightly. It wasn't bad enough he couldn't drive, but James' voice left a heinous ringing in his ears. Getting into his car, he tried to blare up the music as he drove away, but it still screamed in his ears.

Make it an evening worth remembering, you beast…

You beast…

Beast…

How much did James know? Gar wondered as he left LittleBrook. How much did Raven tell him? And what did he know about brining a Titan down?

The bartender walked over to James, who still sat there with his lollygagger expression. The black-haired young man dropped an empty vial next to the Brit's hand and James chuckled.

"Thank you, David, you did quite well." The blonde man tucked the vial into his doctor's coat, standing up.

"I-I did as you said," David replied, timid. "Now, please, sir. A deal's a deal."

"Quite right," James nodded once. Once ready to leave, keys in palm, his other hand sorted through his pockets until a bottle of pills came up. Handing the bottle to David, he patted the young bartender on the shoulder. "Looks like you and your wife will be keeping your unborn after all. Ciao."

Before David could stutter out a thank you, Ethridge had walked out the door, ready to go back to work.

The night came quickly – too quickly, Vesper thought. Letting her hair hang loose with a bit of a suave curl at the end, she let it portray her femininity as best it could without going too far. She donned a form-fitting black sweater, off the shoulder and three-quarter sleeve. Her skirt was simple lavender with a stitched pattern across the hem. It twirled around her calves and knees, but didn't cling nor billow. Skirts like this reminded her of her old cloak. To finish it off, she wore a simple pair of black heels.

Feeling delicate but not flighty, she nodded to herself in the mirror, giving herself a minor pep-talk.

"Okay, Raven," she murmured. "Tonight's the night. You're going to do what you promised you would. For the sake of my sanity…" Then she smiled softly. "And for the sake of our future…"

Momentarily gone were the worries and the thoughts of James, Slade and Terra. Gone were the moments where she sat on her couch, staring at the floor, thinking, pondering, wondering how her frustration would die. Gone was the endless meditation, the attempts to reconnect herself with her emotions, but with little effect.

Now was the time for Gar.

It was probably the first time in her life that she had felt so anxious, so excited. She had come perilously close when she was a teen with Malchior. Now she was a woman – a woman in love. And for Trigon's sake, she didn't know how a woman in love behaved. True, she'd seen Kori and Dick, Victor and Bee, but they weren't her. Honestly, most women her age that were remotely like her were still resigned, held back, alone. Not that all women of that nature were, just most of them. Still. They weren't her.

This was a time for the wise to be intelligent, she was sure. She was half-human, after all. And Gar made her feel alive. Maybe that was all that mattered. No needing to giggle at unnecessary moments, no wide-eyed boo-boo faces. Just…being herself. After all, that's what's worked for her thus far, right?

Sal had said go for it. And she was going to live up to the little familiar's challenge. For love.

It was for love that she was doing so many things: love for Gar, for the others, for humanity. Love that told her she should not speak of Slade. Love that told her that she would follow James to the rendezvous point with Slade. Love that was an element of the heart and not the mind.

It was 7:53. Gar would be here in seven minutes. Seven minutes! Vesper ran to the bathroom and flipped the light switch on. But she did not reach for the hairbrush or the powder. She merely gazed at her reflection in the mirror. She was…pretty, yes? She had nice cheeks, a smooth complexion, a permanent bit of jewelry on her forehead, and bright eyes. But was she pretty?

Vesper never thought she was. Not particularly so. Her features seemed to either be too strong or too soft; she could never have a hairstyle that seemed to match all the individual pieces of her face. Perhaps that was just her. Her fingers reached out slowly, touching the cool glass, running against where her cheek was reflected. Would a man want to touch this? Would a man love this? Would she be worthy?

A knock at the front door of the apartment jerked Vesper from her pensive moment. Shutting off the bathroom lights, she went to the door, wondering who it was that was bothering her.

Opening the door, her eyebrows raised. "Gar? Wasn't I supposed to go down to you?"

He chuckled, hands in his khakis, green sweater giving him a warm, earthy appearance. "Would you have thrown down your purse first as a warning signal?"

"Ah-ha," she replied. "If you must know, I've resolved that issue."

"Resolved?" Gar's eyebrows came together. "Who with?"

She gave him a waning crescent smile. "I think you know me well enough to answer that question yourself."

"Heh," he smiled, too. "You're right. Now, c'mon, Rae, I feel like I'm trying to coax you out of your room like in the old days."

Taking his hand, she locked the door behind her. "Except this time I'm a willing participant."

"Ah, that wounds me!" Gar chuckled, putting a hand to his heart as the elevator doors opened. "And here I thought the only reason you wouldn't be with me was because of your powers."

She shook her head, still smiling. "I'm with you now, aren't I?"

"Yup!" he grinned like a child. "And tonight's going to make up for all that lost time, I promise."

Gazing at his determined face and that familiar sparkle in his eyes, she could only grow flushed. "I'll hold you to it, then."

He hated that he was keeping this secret from her. Looking at her, seeing her content as she was in his presence, did he really have the heart to look her in the eye and tell her? 'Ah, yes, Rae, forgot to tell you: I hung out with your ex-fiancé today and ever since I saw him I've got this nauseating noise in my ears. Care to help me figure out why?'

Oh, yes, that would work wonders for the progressing relationship. He would have not yet won her heart wholly before she stormed off in a flurry of skirt and grief, again with a broken heart. She was fragile, he reminded himself, more fragile than she let on. And he wanted to protect her while giving her the freedom to save herself.

Overwhelming one's love does not lead overwhelming love in return. It leads to slamming doors and forgotten kisses.

The car ride was good-natured. They talked about how her office was full of pricks giving her the cold shoulder and how he wished they had known the truth. A few jokes were spared here and there, but since it was not to such a great extent, she let them slide, even smiling at a couple. They did not speak directly of James. The air grew dry at the sound of that man's name. And his driving had improved greatly. Well, he had always been a good driver, but Vesper was in marginally better spirits, and that put him in a better mood as well. Tonight she would not ask him to stay by her side. And that send a compulsory list of emotions through his overprotective veins: relief, pride in her, and a bit of sadness. He wanted to be there for her even when he wasn't needed. Was this clingy? He was sure it was love.

He came to an intersection and turned left into a little wooded district. In the back of a row of shops was Cale's. Several cars were already parked in front of it and music was blaring wildly.

"What makes you think we'll get in?" she asked him.

"Like Dick said, his friend owns the place." Gar parked the car.

"Oh, who's that?"

Gar smiled. "It's Roy."

"Roy?" Vesper's eyes widened. "Speedy? You're joking."

"Nope, it's the old redhead himself." Gar took her hand as they walked to the bar. "He came up here too."

"Wow," Vesper said in actual surprise. "Oregon has become the retirement home for superheroes."

Gar laughed at that. "It is, isn't it? Man, it's amazing who and what you run into these days."

Vesper shook her head, still in disbelief. "If I had known he was here, I would have come to see him."

"I hear he's engaged." Gar added, almost slyly.

They walked towards the bar, side by side, and he heard her chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"'I hear he's engaged.'" She mocked him, but in a non-officious manner. But a small smile was plastered sweetly on her lips, causing a soft glow to rise in his cheeks. Giving his own minute laugh, he swung his arm around hers.

After a long moment of thought, where they neared closer to the door, Gar cocked his head. "Hey, Rae?"

It had taken a moment for Vesper to realize he'd been speaking to her. 'Rae' was certainly not a name she'd heard in a long time. "Yes, Gar?"

"Is this a date?" he queried. "I mean, like a date-date."

She frowned and blinked several times before saying: "I…guess so. Hadn't really thought about it." But, of course, she had thought about it – thought about it in great detail, dreamt about it in vivid color, believed in every aspect of this evening. From the moment they had agreed the night of that ball that they would go together to Cale's, she believed in that chance.

Smiling, Gar just nodded. "Ok, then, if you guess so, then that's what it'll be." And he opened the door for her. She smiled warmly at him, lighting a match under his heart and watching him writhe under the romantic temptation, then proceeded into the bar.

Yet as he made his way inside, the slight ringing in his ears wailed into a high, screaming pitch, shaking him so badly that he cried out and nearly crumbled. Gar held back for a moment, feeling his bones shake around him as he lost sight of the world around him. For a moment he thought he'd faint, but his mind was now too alert to relinquish the fever.

It sounded horrid, like a blaring fire engine was standing right next to him. He couldn't even hear himself yell. What was this painful sensation?

"Gar!"

He tried to look from where the voice had come. The moment he laid his eyes on Vesper, the shrill sounds stopped.

"Gar –," she came to his side frantically, and he noticed he was kneeling. "Gar, are you alright?" She put her hands on his forehead. "You're burning up." As usual, she was fighting the urge to panic. She didn't want her powers to fray.

He just shook his head, trying to find the ability to speak. "I-I don't know what happened. It just…it came and went so fast."

"What did, Gar?" she demanded softly. "I can't help you if you don't tell me."

"Friends?"

The two of them looked up to see Kori and Dick standing in the doorway. "Garfield, is something wrong with your head?"

Dick came over to his side and helped him stand. "C'mon, let's go inside. We'll find some aspirin."

But Gar shook him off. "No, no, this is something else."

Vesper looked up at Gar. "Whatever it was, the core of the pain came from the sides of your head. That's where you were pressing your hands."

"Could it be hemorrhaging, you think?" Dick asked, looking ready to dash for an ambulance.

"I don't know." She said honestly. "The nearest hospit –"

"No," Gar said again, shaking his head, and taking Vesper's arm for strength. "I don't need a hospital. I dunno… It was freaky, but it's over. I think I'm just gonna go back home."

The other three immediately disagreed.

"We're going to need to have you checked out, Garfield," Dick commanded in his ultra-dictator voice. "If there's something wrong, the doctors need to see."

"Yes, Gar, let us take you to the hospital. For your health." Kori added.

Vesper, however, had a completely different retort. "Your hotel's too far away. I'll take you to my apartment."

At her remark, Gar stared deep into her eyes. She was dead serious. A wave of gratefulness and relief washed over him, and, while ignoring the others, he nodded at her. "Thanks, Vesper."

"No problem."

And still Dick was not satisfied. "And what if you die?"

"Then I'll spend the last few hours of my life in the company of the most beautiful woman in the world," Gar grinned. A rosy blush stained Vesper's cheeks and she looked away from him.

In a way, a sick way, she was happy he was sick. Her last few public outings had been chaos and embarrassment. There was no guarantee that this wouldn't be any different. As for Gar, she would rather spend alone time with him than share him with everyone else. Another blush came. When did she become so possessive?

"Come on, let's go," she pulled the arm that was fastened to hers. "Dick, just trust me." She looked at the raven-haired man. "I can take care of him. We don't want to ruin your night."

Kori came up and hugged Vesper. "Then good evening and a Happy New Year to you, Vesper. And Garfield!" She literally pounced him, tearing up quite immediately. "If you die, I shall never forgive myself!"

When all she got for a reply was, "Gahhhhh!" Vesper leapt in and pulled the red-haired goddess back.

"Kori, you're suffocating him!" she said severely, yet she patted her friend's shoulder. "Go inside, you two. Have fun."

Dick just nodded slowly and carefully, taking Kori's hand. "Be safe, you guys." And they went inside.

Gar, who stood in a state of shock, was 'awoken' when Vesper patted his cheek. "I'm…in so much pain…" he whimpered.

She just chuckled. "C'mon, give me the keys. I'll take you home."

And like a puppy, he followed her.

Secrets would unravel like spools of thread.

I'll be honest, I don't know how this chapter went. I'm sure I've slacked off detrimentally.

Ironsarekool – Really? Thanks so much!

DREAM OF A SHADOW – I like the new account name, girl! It rocks!

Shadow and Nightmare – Whoooo, you girls scare me sometimes, heheh!

Dragonkid1191 – 'Gives cookie' :)

Xmasbaby94 – The idea for the song? Um, my head, I suppose. I listen to a lot of Celtic music. And as for the story, I just sort of started out of thin air. Except there was paper involved… XD, just being weird.

MidnightRaven243 – I'm planning on having them confess…next chapter! Had to remember for a moment…

Velveteen Rabbit – Yup, I'm American all the way! I think you're a good writer; any one shot or story you write is superb! You really should write more (heh, I'm a hypocrite). Thanks for all the wonderful comments! It means a lot to me. And thanks, also, for the links! You ruffle my feathers.

RavenluvsBB – Welcome! I love making people laugh. :)

Xinthos – Lol, Terra was a good kid. I liked her. As for James, eh, he's misunderstood, but really must go.

Jimmy the Gothic Egg – Heh, I live right outside of DC, so that was very little slang for me. But you have a good point! Thanks!

DarkRae4Ever – Hahahaha! Thanks!

Elfie: 'hug' Thanks, darling. Words cannot describe how dear of a sister you are to me. I love you and we'll all be together to the end. I promise. I'll never let you go, girl.

Fernnu – Thank you so much. Every review makes me feel better about writing a chapter and guiltier when I don't write. I believe I sent you a pm letter thing months ago, but I'm not sure if you received it. Computers can be tricky!

Isaac out and flying…