Wow. Sorry this took sooo incredibly long to update. I've been thinking about the sequel more and more, which is bad for now at least. It'll be good when I get there though…but besides that all I can say for myself is distractions.

Disclaimer: Do I really even need to put this here any more?

Sorry for being so short last time guys, but I didn't want to ruin the moment by adding more crap.

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A Time Again

Chapter Seven: Domino

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Raven rolled over slowly in her light dose, unconsciously searching for a more comfortable position. It was morning, which she knew, but didn't want to get up. The warmth and comfort of the bed made up her mind nicely and she sighed happily, slipping deeper into sleep.

A weight was added to the bed and someone slipped their arms around her. Startled, Raven opened her eyes and didn't recognize the wall staring back at her.

Well now this wasn't her room.

Then a small light clicked on in her head. Ah.

Last night. Cards. Bomb. Slade. And afterwards. Raven felt herself smiling slightly. Afterwards was good.

She rolled over and stared into Richard's smirking face.

"Morning." He whispered, pulling her into a deep kiss. Raven nearly melted in his arms.

Now, she wasn't usually so…caught up by one thing, but did he smell divine. His still slightly damp hair tickled her face as his kiss went to her neck, and it was all Raven could do to not go any further.

"What time is it?" she murmured, pulling away slightly.

"Nine." He responded, smirking. Raven leaned back on her elbows, dumbfounded.

"Seriously?" Richard nodded, that childish smile still splayed on his lips. Raven sighed dismally. "I'm sorry, but I've got to get to work. Who knows what hell has been let loose." His smile grew, and he kissed her again.

"I'm sure everything's fine. But I've got to go as well." He got off of the bed and went back into the bathroom. Raven got up also and quickly dressed.

"What do you think we should do about Shannon?" Richard called from the bathroom. "She's bound to ask questions."

God, Raven hadn't even thought of Shannon. Then she remembered the way she had left last night, and new there would be a lot of uncomfortable questions.

"Um, how about we just lie for now." Raven responded, walking into the bathroom. "I hate doing it, but I think the excitement might kill her. She's been trying to set me up for years."

Richard pulled her into his arms and stared into her amethyst orbs. "Fine by me." He said softly. He bent down to kiss her and Raven, smirking playfully, phased through the floor.

X

When Raven finally made it into work, it was going on ten, and that was rush hour for the store.

She again blessed David for having opened up for her, and she could tell her employees were silently raising questions about her later arrivals. They noticed that this week was different, special almost, and that whatever it was, it had made Raven late. And Raven had never been late or absent. Excluding that one night when Shannon and Gary had taken her to the opening of a bar and she had had one too many shots and didn't get up until three the next day; and even then, had a hangover that felt like it was killing her. Since then, she had made doubly sure to watch how much she drank.

Still, the workers smirked to themselves, or just raised an eyebrow and moved on. Raven ignored the questioning stares, of course, and went about her usual business.

"Wow she's cheerful." David muttered to Justine as he helped her unpack some books.

Justine looked over at Raven, who was humming to herself while loading more books onto the shelves.

"She probably got laid." She responded, smirking. David grinned back.

"About time." They both chuckled to themselves.

X

Around 11:30, Shannon stopped by on her lunch, keen on getting some answers to her pressing questions.

She found Raven in the back room looking for a brand of coffee beans and cleared her throat loudly.

Raven looked up. "Oh, hey." Shannon leaned against the door frame, a mischievous look on her face.

"You sure left in a hurry last night."

Raven stopped. And thus the questions come…She never figured Shannon would want to know so soon. But of course, Shannon just wouldn't be Shannon without her insatiable curiosity.

Raven continued her searching, her back towards Shannon. "Yeah, I remembered something I had to tell someone." She responded slowly.

"So why did you want to know where Richard lived then?" Shannon pried deeper. Raven groaned to herself and straightened.

"Yeah, I had to tell Richard something."

"Right…Well, you just keep your little secret for now." Shannon commented, giving Raven a smirky look she didn't like.

Raven sighed, "It's the truth." Well, part of it. But no amount of reassurance would ever convince Shannon of otherwise. Her friend was just too damn smart when it came to discerning the truth. That and Raven's lying skills were complete crap.

Shannon snorted quietly and bid Raven goodbye, that little smirk still present on her lips.

X

Raven left work (with David in charge) and went to get groceries earlier than normal. Surprisingly, she felt exhausted and just wanted to go home and sleep until the next millennium. It seemed that with all that had happened so far this week had deprived her of sleep more than any night in Titan's Tower had ever done.

She bought the basic ingredients for simple meals and a few snacks for in between. Everything was easy to cook, or didn't require cooking, but merely heating up. Bags in hand, Raven began to walk back to her apartment, which was only two blocks away.

Once back home, Raven dropped her keys in the dish on a table next to the door and walked into the kitchen.

Someone watched her from the shadows, their gaze never leaving Raven's moving figure. At the opportune moment, a thickly gloved hand shot out and clasped itself over Raven's mouth. She struggled, but her actions were futile; her captor's grip was a strong as iron, and there was no way she could escape through strength, but possibly strategy would work.

Raven fainted, or pretended to and her captor loosened their grip on her. She opened her eyes and saw a white cloth still pressed against her mouth. It was undoubtedly covered in some knock-out gas and if she wanted to stay conscious long, she'd have to act quickly. Raven dropped to the floor from their hands and aimed a vicious, unexpected kick at their knees. He fell to the ground with a grunt and Raven scrambled away into the next room.

She had seen him, his face and had come for her for some reason. Heart pounding, she thought up a plan. She needed to get to the door and get outside where he wouldn't dare come after her. Raven steadied her breathing and listened; nothing. That was what worried her. She'd have to do this the old-fashioned way, since her mind was too out of focus to attempt to phase through walls.

It was now or never.

Raven ran silently to the kitchen and pressed herself in the corner. She could see the door. She tiptoed along the wall and sped up for the door when he appeared. Raven inhaled sharply as he pressed the white cloth against her mouth and pushed her up against the wall.

"Hello Raven, long time no see." Slade said, the smile on his face evident in his voice. Raven's head reeled and her heart pounded. Now she didn't care if she phased into Mr. Nelson's cluttered apartment below, just as long as it got her away from Slade. Trying to not breathe, she cleared her mind as best as she could and melted through the wall behind her and into the living room.

Woozy from the knock-out gas, Raven stumbled for the door but Slade caught her by the wrist. Desperately, Raven wrenched her arm away with all her strength and tripped. She fell directly on her coffee table, hitting her head and then slumping on the ground unconscious, a large welt on her head trickling small amounts of blood. Slade walked over and gathered her up in his arms.

Not quite what he expected, but the outcome would work.

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Well, I hope that was enough of a cliffy for you. Now..what could Slade want with Raven? Hmm...have fun.

Now, as for the next chapter, I'm going to try to post it up before my spring break, which I get to leave on April 7th. I'm going to Europe, so I will be without access to a computer for a week or so. Well, until the 17th at least. I will try to write, but, well…it all depends. So sorry if the next comes really late, but I'll try to not let that happen. k?