AN: This is my twenty-eighth story and I still don't own Teen Titans!

Chapter 7

Raven wiped her eyes with her sheets and tried to calm herself down, but that was going to be hard after the nightmare she had just had. And the fact that Beast Boy was on the other side of her door pestering her didn't help at all.

Suddenly Beast Boy seemed to materialize out of nowhere in front of her. He had slyly slid under her door in the form of a termite and changed back once he was inside. He saw her sitting up in her bad, clad in some rather different clothing, weeping. She gave a gasp and a slight shriek at the sight of him.

"Beast Boy, get out!" she shouted, covering herself up with her blankets.

"I will if you tell me what's wrong," he said, slowly going over to her bed.

"I told you, it's none of your business," she said angrily.

"But it is my business, Raven," he said going even closer to her. "I want you to be okay, and right now you're not. So what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Raven looked at him, still feeling very angry about his intrusion into her room, but couldn't bring herself to yell again. She hated yelling at anyone for she could always feel the hurt they felt. She hated her power to feel other people's emotions. And true, she didn't have her powers at the moment, but it was still a bad habit she was trying to break.

"I had a bad dream, that's all," she said, wiping her cheeks with her hands.

"What kind of a bad dream?" he asked. At this point he had made it to her bed and slowly sat down on the other side of her.

"It was stupid," said Raven, not looking at him anymore. "Dreams don't mean anything."

"Then why are you crying?" asked Beast Boy.

Raven bit her lip and tried to think of a way to get rid of him without her having to tell him about the dream. She really wished she had her powers so she could toss him out.

"Raven, it's okay for you to tell me," said Beast Boy. "I won't tell anyone. I promise."

Raven finally turned and looked at him. He gave her a kind, reassuring smile and waited for her to respond. He had beautiful, kind eyes that always gave her a warm feeling. She wasn't sure why that was. His determinedness of making people happy just seemed to make him glow.

"Fine, but don't you dare make fun of me," she warned.

"Scouts honor," he said and gave the scout sign.

Raven sighed and said, "I dreamt that everyone was calling me a horrible person and a horrible mother. And then there was this child, this faceless child that kept popping up in front of me, telling me how I ruined their life. And then my father showed up and told me that he was going to use my child to return to Earth. The child seemed to grow evil and then it and my father were laughing maliciously at me. All the while people were cursing at me and telling me that I should have gotten rid of the baby when I had the chance. They said that I should get an abortion and not make the mistake my mother made when she kept me. I could feel their voices stinging me and the laughter burning me. And then it was as if their hands were all over me, trying to smother me. Then I woke up."

Beast Boy stared blankly at her. His mouth had gone slightly ajar as he had taken in all that Raven had told him. "That was a horrible dream!" he said at last. "No wonder you were crying."

"It was just a dream," said Raven, trying to go back to her emotionless state. "Nothing to get upset about."

"Uh, yeah it is!" said Beast Boy. "Hell, if I had a dream like that I'd be freaked out, too. You don't have to be ashamed of crying, Raven. You really don't." He gently took her hand and held it lovingly.

She took her hand from him and wrapped her arms around her knees, which she had brought up to her chest. "What am I going to do now?" she asked more herself than him.

"What do you mean?" asked Beast Boy.

"I don't know what to do about this baby, Beast Boy," said Raven, shaking her head. "So far, everything has told me to get rid of it, whether by abortion or adoption."

"Yeah, but you would never get an abortion, right?" he asked.

"Of course I wouldn't," said Raven. "But, I really do want to give it up for adoption. I just don't feel like I'll be an adequate caregiver for a baby, especially not my own."

"Well, I think you will," said Beast Boy smiling sweetly. "Besides, you'll never know if you don't try. Don't you remember when you had to take care of Melvin and her gang all those years ago? At first you called me up multiple times asking for help, but in the end you had formed a bond with them and cared about them. Now think how easy that will be with your own baby."

Raven had forgotten about the first time she had met Melvin, Timmy Tantrum, and Teether. It was true that at first she couldn't stand them, but that was because she didn't understand children. But after a few days she had grown attached to them and cared about them very much. Could the same happen with her own child?

"I guess that's true," she said after thinking. "But what if my dream was a premonition of things to come? What if this child will become the portal for Trigon, just as I was?"

"I don't think it was a premonition," said Beast Boy.

"Why not?" asked Raven.

"Because that would mean everything in the dream would have to be true, and I already told you that you'll be a great mom," said Beast Boy. "So, you don't have to worry about it. Like you said, it was just a dream. I have bad dreams like that when I get frustrated, too."

"You do?" asked Raven, surprised.

"Yeah, of course," said Beast Boy. "It's just a way for your body to tell you to calm down and that you're focusing too much on all of the negative stuff. So, try thinking on the positive side for once."

"That would be a change of pace," said Raven, slowly letting her knees go. "But… it's so hard. I just feel like from here on out, nothing good is ever going to happen. Like my life is just going to start going downhill." She slowly leaned back and lay down once more. She had become oddly comfortable with Beast Boy being in the room with her, so she didn't give it a second that she was lying down.

Beast Boy lay down next to her, so he could keep talking to her. "Well, I won't let it," he said. "I'll make sure you're happy and that nothing bad ever happens to you again. I promise."

"How can you promise me something like that?" she asked, turning on her side to face him.

"Because I care a lot about you, Raven," he said. "And I would give anything to see you happy. I know that this whole thing is my fault, but I want to make it up to you. I hate knowing that I'm the reason you're sick every morning and having horrible nightmares. You mean more to me than… well, anything."

"I… I do?" she asked, quite stunned by his words.

"Yeah, you do," he said smiling. "So I want you to know that if you ever need anything or if you want to talk, please come to me. Because I'm gonna take care of you from now on."

Raven had heard him say this to her a dozen times already, but this time it sounded different. It actually sounded sincere. Not like he was saying it because he knew it was the right thing to say and he didn't know what else to do. To hear him say that he was going to take care of her and actually sound like he meant it suddenly made her feel a little better.

"Raven, are you okay?" he asked. "You're looking at me kinda… funny."

"No, I'm just thinking," she said softly. "You know, I never saw something like this happening."

"Well, I don't think any of us did," Beast Boy chuckled.

"No, I mean I never saw myself having a child," said Raven. "And not because I thought I wouldn't be a suitable mother. Because I never thought I'd live this long. I knew I was going to die when I was sixteen, so motherhood was basically out of the picture. I think that's why I've been so… in denial, I guess. This whole situation goes against everything I grew up knowing."

"Wow, I kinda forgot about that," said Beast Boy. "It's hard to believe a few years ago you were supposed to… well, I mean, you actually did, but… well, you kind of didn't… die. Anyway, I can't tell you how happy I am that you're alive."

"Thanks, Beast Boy," said Raven with a small smile. "It's nice to know that."

He smiled back and then remembered why he had come there in the first place. He now debated if he should tell her that he had a crush on her. She seemed to be in a good mood now, so she may take it well. But, then again, her mood could change at any moment. He also knew that there was a good chance that if he told her she wouldn't want to give the baby up anymore.

"Beast Boy, are you alright?" asked Raven. "You look conflicted all of a sudden."

"Wow, that's a cool way of saying you look stumped," he chuckled.

"Are you?" asked Raven. "Stumped on something?"

"Well, yeah," he sighed. "It's about why I came to your room in the first place."

"Oh," said Raven. "Why did you come?"

"Cuz I just figured out about an hour ago that I like you," he said, feeling his heart jump as he said it.

"You like me?" she said, a little confused. "So… up until now you haven't liked me at all? I… I thought you did. How can we be friends if you don't like me?"

"No, that's not what I mean," said Beast Boy. "I've always liked you like that. It's just that, now, I sorta like you differently. You know… I like you… like you."

Raven took this in, though she was still a little confused. Then it slowly clicked in her tired mind and she let out a small gasp of realization. "Oh," she simply said. "Um… well… okay."

"Are you alright?" he asked, seeing the wave of realization hit her and hit her hard. "Cuz, trust me, I can understand if you're not. I mean, like I said, I just figured this out."

"And you're sure you like me?" she asked. "You're not just feeling something else that you're mistaking for… liking me?"

"No, I'm sure," he said with a slight smile. He sighed and sat up. "Look, I'm gonna leave you to rest. After that bad dream you deserve a nice nap; hopefully a nightmare-less one. So, don't think about what I said right now. I'll see ya later." He gave her one last kind smile, stood up, and headed out of her room.

After hearing all of this Raven wasn't sure if she would be able to go back to sleep now. Beast Boy had a crush on her? Well, as shocking as it was, it wasn't entirely out of the blue. The guy did pay more attention to her than anyone else and was constantly trying to wrap his arms around her. But, still, this was Beast Boy! And he liked her? Raven sighed and closed her eyes, hoping she would be able to find some relief in sleep.