Hello all! Sora here again! I know many of you thought I had officially vanished off the face of the planet, but such isn't the case. Personal issues in my life prompted me to take a sabbatical until they were resolved. The good news is, these problems are now taken care of and I can once again resume my day to day life…and this story of course. For those of you looking for the next installment of "Love and Family", it is on its way. I thank you deeply for your patience with me.

Before we start, I should probably cover the basics, afterall, it's been quite a long time. This is still a Raven/Robin fic and I certainly don't own the Teen Titans, or we would all be watching my plot on television. Anyway, enough of my prattling, on with the story. Here we go!


"Daddy! Look!" Victor Stone paused his work long enough to turn and look at his four-year-old son, James. James's eyes were bright and excited and clutched in his chubby hand was a now slightly wrinkled photograph.

"What do you have, kiddo?" he asked.

"Heroes!" James replied exuberantly. "Look at all of them!" He handed the photo up to Victor who examined it. It was a photo of the Teen Titans. The original team was dead center. Flanking them were Titans East and the rest were honorary Titans met during times of crises. He could clearly see himself grinning with one hand ruffling Raven's hair and the other holding Beastboy, as a green monkey, upside-down. Bee was there too, smiling with her hand on his shoulder. They had been so happy. It had been a long time since he had smiled like that. "Daddy?" James's voice broke through Victor's thoughts.

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Can I keep it? Pretty pretty please?"

"Well," Victor drawled playfully, "I don't know…"

"Aw, come on Daddy! Please with cherries?"

"I guess since you asked so nicely, okay, go ahead."

"Yes!" James shrieked and hugged Victor tightly. "Thank you!"

"Okay okay! You're welcome. Now, why don't you let me get this last car finished up and go help your mom set the table for dinner."

"'Kay! I can do that real good! Bye!" James took off like a shot and left Victor alone to his thoughts. He let out a long and drawn out sigh. He hated being reminded of what was now lost to him. All it brought was a period of dark and brooding moods.

"Well damn the lot of them anyway," he growled out.

"Just as sharp spoken as ever," a low voice rang softly through the garage. Startled, Victor spun around and was about to bring down his wrench on the intruders head when obsidian waves held his hand fast. "Maybe you could refrain from killing me?"

Victor stared slack mouthed at the powers which bound him. "No way," he croaked. "It really is you, the camera didn't lie. Raven…" Delicate hands removed the indigo motorcycle helmet and Raven looked up at him. She was thinner, a little taller and very much alive.

"The camera?" Raven began curiously before she understood. "Oh, yes, your camera. I saw it at Star's wedding. It really was a wonderful ceremony."

"But they said you died, that there was an explosion. It just doesn't compute. How can you die one day and turn up on another planet years later?"

"You're probably slowly figuring it out now, but my death was a sham."

"How could you? How could you hurt all of us like that? How could you lie?" Victor's voice was slowly becoming harder and louder."

"Victor, I was scared, hurt and alone. There was nothing left for me as Raven, so I cut my ties and started new."

"Do you have any idea how much you hurt us?" he demanded hotly. Raven stared him dead in the eye.

"After everything that happened? Forgive me if I got the impression that no one cared."

"Raven, we said some horrible things, but they were all forgivable. Nothing scared us more than when you up and vanished. Nothing hurt us more than when we heard you had died. We slowly disbanded after that." Victor said was silent for a moment as he watched Raven sink against a wall. He sighed.

"But, you're back."

"Yes," Raven replied. She looked at him again. "I'm sorry." Her statement apologized for a thousand things at once. Victor studied her face for sincerity. He finally cracked a small smile.

"So, a pretty-in-pink bridesmaid, huh Dark Girl?" Apology accepted.

"Oh shut-up." And the world turned again.

Several hours later, Raven had met up with Karen and James, relayed her story and received news from them. Victor spent an hour ogling her bike and fussing over it. James, still in awe of meeting another hero aside from his parents from his picture, challenged Raven to several games of "Go Fish". To his delight, she lost spectacularly and told some small stories of her days as a Titan. Finally, Karen sent James into the game room to play a few video games before his bath. The three adults stayed in the living room. Raven could feel the tension in the air shift and she knew she was in for another round of interrogation. It was Karen, the former Bumblebee, who began the session.

"Raven, we really are glad that you're okay," she began softly, "but we're also wondering why you're here of all places."

Raven looked down and stared into her mug of tea that Victor had given her earlier. "Things aren't going so great," she said softly.

"This would explain your appearance then?"

"Yes, it's why I'm here."

"No," Victor corrected, "I mean your physical appearance. You're overly pale."

"I get that from everyone," Raven tried evasively.

"Moving on," Victor continued, "we're not here to discuss looks. What's going on?"

"He's back, Slade is back. He's in Gotham City." She sighed and relayed everything in the tale.

"I'm here for help," she said, finishing.

There was absolute silence.

"So…you came here, out of the blue, to ask me to put my family and myself into danger," Victor asked tersely.

"If you insist on putting it like that, yes. I'm also asking you to help save countless other families from a madman. He's more dangerous than ever," Raven replied coolly. Victor stood up and walked over to her. His former tenseness gone, and he looked genuinely sorry.

"I'm sorry, Rae, I can't do it. I've got to much here to go back to the old crime-fighting days. I can't leave my family and I can't leave my business." Raven nodded, unable to look at him.

"It is best if I go, then," she said flatly.

"Wait," Victor said. "I just found out you're alive today, and it's been so long…couldn't you at least stay for tonight?"

"I really shouldn't. I've got a long drive ahead of me if I'm to meet up with the others by the end of the month."

"One night won't hurt you," Karen chimed in.

"Please Miss Raven?" A sweet voice chimed in. They all looked to the doorway where James stood looking at Raven with absolute hero worship.

Raven's soft spot for children, discovered after a nightmare baby-sitting job during her Titan years, had never faded. She couldn't say no to the wide brown eyes of Victor's son. "I suppose," she said hesitantly, "I could stay just one night."

"Yay!" James cried in delight. "Momma, can Raven give me my bath tonight? Pretty please?"

"That would be up to Raven, sweetie," Karen answered.

"Would you, Miss Raven?"

"Er, I guess."

"Alright! Come on! I'll show you all of my bath toys. I have two hundred army men!" James grabbed Raven's wrist and began dragging her off to the bathroom. Raven cast one helpless look over her shoulder to the chuckling parents.

Once they were out of earshot, Karen turned to her husband. "Are you sure that's your decision, love? After all, this is Slade we're talking about here."

"Raven is a tough woman, I'm sure she'll be fine. I just can't put you or James in danger. I would never be able to live with myself." Victor's tone of voice clearly said that he was quite finished with the conversation. Karen nodded in understanding, but she was still worried. Raven didn't seem to be telling them everything.

A half hour later, James was tucked snug into his bed and sound asleep. Karen checked on him briefly before going toward the guestroom. Without really thinking about it, she opened the door before knocking. "Raven, I just wanted to lend you some of my pajama…oh my god," she trailed off in a whisper. Raven spun around rapidly and covered herself again with the towel. But Karen had already seen the scars. She came further into the room.

"Turn around," she commanded. Raven looked ready to protest when Karen physically forced her to turn. Three slashes dominated the whole of Raven's back. They formed a crude "S". There were other, smaller, marks as well. "So there was more to the story. Raven, you never said you had personally encountered him."

"That's because I didn't want to tell anyone about it," Raven snapped.

"How the hell did this happen?" Karen demanded as her finger traced one of the scars.

"Look, I told you I was a police officer and Slade became the new commissioner. Well, he recognized me, purple hair and eyes, I guess they're not exactly commonplace." Raven's eyes strayed to a spot on the wall as she dredged up the memories.

"He's still after the same thing, Karen and he still wants Robin as his apprentice. I was just the bait. When no other Titan surfaced, he became so angry and I was the scapegoat. It was just before he let me go that he left his last mark in me."

"Couldn't you have just healed them?" Karen asked. Raven physically winced and Karen was almost frightened to see tears pooling in the dark woman's eyes.

"He…he took that away from me. The bastard took away part of my being." Raven blew out a long breath. "He probably knows what I'm doing too, but I can't find any other choice. The next victim for bait could be Star, or you or Cy…I can't let anyone go through what I went through." Karen could find nothing to say.

"I'm not angry with Victor, I can't be. I understand his reasoning all too well." Suddenly Raven shook her head, as though to clear her mind. What little emotion had been there left again. "I'm tired now, Karen. I'm going to get some rest and leave early tomorrow. Thank you again for your hospitality."

"Raven..." Karen said softly, trying to coax the conversation back some. The hard look in Raven's eyes told her that no such thing would occurr. Karen sighed. "You're welcome," she lightly. "Sleep well." Karen was careful to secure the door behind her.

Once Karen shut the door behind her, she all but raced toward her own room where Victor was just beginning to fall asleep. She crawled up next to him and hoped he wouldn't be too upset.

"Victor," she whispered. Victor grunted that he was paying attention. "Victor, I know you said that you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you let James or myself die…but what about Raven. Could you live with yourself if she were killed and you could have helped prevent it?"

This strange and rather morbid question brought Victor to an upright position. He looked at her closely. "What brings this train of thought on?" Karen took a deep breath.

"Raven is going to kill me for this, but you need to know. She left something out of her story. She didn't tell me everything that happened, but Slade took her for bait. There's and "S" carved into her back as a reminder." Victor blanched.

"That fucking bastard," he swore loudly. Karen flinched and put her hand to his mouth.

"Shhh, we don't want to wake Raven or James."

"She never said a word," he hissed loudly.

"I think he did other things she wants to keep to herself," Karen continued bluntly. It was the only way to put it out in the open.

"You think he…"

"It is a possibility, my dear." There was another long silence while Victor digested this new information. Then Karen spoke up again.

"I think, no, I know we need to help her. She was a friend and a Titan once…and could you really handle it if she died again?"

Those last words decided it. James would stay with a friend of Karen's and they would all set out a first light.


Well, that's the end of chapter 10. I apologize for the lack of humor, but it was time to move the plot along. Chapter 11 will be far more enjoyable. It will, after all, feature Beastboy. Thank you again for your patience, it is greatly appreciated. I will see you all soon with an update in Love and Family. Until next time! Sora out.