I said I wasn't going to update till next weekend, but I changed my mind. Chapter 4 takes place a year after chapter 3.

Disclaimer: Yeah, I still don't own anything.

"Okay Mari, now blow out the candles and make a wish." Richard Grayson said to his daughter as he held the video camera in front of the cake so he could get a good shot. It was his daughter's first birthday and Kory insisted on throwing a huge party, despite the fact that there was no way that Mari was going to be able to remember any of this. They had made a lot of friends in the neighborhood since joining the neighborhood watch. (Kory had forced him to join.) and since the majority of the neighbors had kids they were able to find plenty of guests for Mari's party.

While the guests sang happy birthday, Kory held their daughter and helped her blow out the one candle on the cake. Everyone applauded and Richard put down the video camera so he could hand out cake to all the guests. He grabbed the last 2 pieces of cake and went to find his friend, Roy Harper. Roy had been looking for a place to live since his daughter, Lian, had been born. Cheshire, a villain, was her biological mother but after having Lian had left Roy and made him responsible for raising their daughter by himself. Richard had told him what a great neighborhood this one was and Roy had immediately moved in to a house down the street from his own. Roy was dating again, and his girlfriend, Kate, loved Lian as if she was her own daughter. Kate and Kory had become good friends so everything had worked out.

"Roy!" Richard shouted as he spotted his red headed friend. Roy turned around from where he had been talking to Kate, and smiled at his friend. Richard handed Roy and Kate the last two pieces of the cake. They thanked him and they talked about nothing for awhile. Eventually, Kate went to change Lian's daughter. Roy watched her go and then turned back to Richard. "Sometimes, I wonder who she loves more. Me or Lian. Makes me kind of jealous." Roy joked. Richard smirked. "Probably Lian." Suddenly his expression became serious. "I'm thinking of taking Mari to meet her brother." Richard said.

Roy frowned. "Have you been to the cemetery since the funeral?" Roy asked.

Richard shook his head. "It makes me feel like a bad father. Like I abandoned him or something. I don't even know if his gravestone is in good condition or anything." Richard admitted while looking down at the floor. Roy placed a hand on his shoulder. "That doesn't make you a bad father."

They didn't really have much to say after that and before Richard knew it the party was over and he was filming Kory as she started to clean up the balloons and streamers. She smiled at him. "That was so much fun! I can not wait until next year! Oh, I can not wait that long. Maybe Kate will let me help her plan Lian's birthday!" She exclaimed happily.

"Kory?" She stopped sweeping confetti and streamers off the floor and turned towards him to show he had her full attention. He turned off the camera and set it down on the kitchen table. "I want to take Mari to see Robert." She looked at him and stayed silent for a moment. She didn't really know what to say. She knew Richard hadn't been to the cemetery where his son was buried since the funeral.

"Okay." She said as she smiled at him.

"You want to come?" He asked. She nodded. He figured she hadn't asked to come since she didn't want to impose. But he really wanted her to be there. He wasn't sure if he would be able to get through it without her support.

Flashback

"Daddy!" Robert shouted as he ran into his father's arms. Richard picked Robert up and carried him to his room.

"What are you still doing up? It is really past you bed time." Richard explained to his two year old as he glanced at the clock on the dresser.

"I was waiting for you!" Robert said as he bounced around excitedly. "We are going to the circus tomorrow! Remember?" Robert asked.

Richard ruffled Robert's hair affectionately. "Of course I remember kiddo. But if you don't go to sleep soon you'll be too tired tomorrow to go." Richard said as he finished tucking Robert in and stood up from the bed.

"Is mommy coming?" Robert asked as he rubbed his tiny fists against his eyes tiredly.

"Mommy is busy working on her book." Richard explained. Robert sighed sadly and rolled towards the wall. The clock exploded. "Good night." Richard said as he turned out the light and closed the door behind him.

Raven was finally almost done with her book after working on it for over 3 years. Apparently, she was having trouble with the ending and it was making her become cranky. Well, crankier than usual. When he had told her about taking Robert to the circus she had said that she was too busy to go. He couldn't wait until she finished this book so he could have his wife back. She had become different lately. She often snapped at Robert for playing too loudly when she was trying to write. He knew that she loved Robert. No one could not love their own son. It was hard for her to express her emotion. And she had had less time for meditation lately since she was always working on her book. He looked into the living room and saw the blue light that was coming off of the computer screen and casting its' glow on Raven's face as she sat there typing.

"Raven." He said.

"What?" She said crossly without even turning around to look at him.

"Are you sure you don't want to come to the circus with us? It could be a family day or something." He suggested. It was important to him to be able to share his past with his wife and child.

"I can't. I really need to focus on the book. The ending just isn't coming to me." Raven said as she continued to stare blankly at the screen.

This kind of reminded him of times when they were younger and he had been obsessed with Slade. Starfire would come to his room and ask him to take a break. He would say he was too busy and slam the door in her face. He didn't realize what it felt like to be on the receiving end of the rejection. He turned and left the room without saying anything else.

End Flashback

Richard undid the straps on Mari's baby seat and picked her up. He used his free hand to grab his wife's hand and intertwined their fingers before walking towards the cemetery gates. He sighed. He hated cemeteries. Kory was carrying two bouquets of flowers. One for Robert and one for his parents. He had had Robert buried here specifically for the reason that he could be close to his grandparents.

He went to his parents' grave first. He thought this would be easier than Robert's. Not because he didn't love his parents, but because it had happened so long ago he had accepted it. Kory placed the bouquet near the gravestone as he let go of her hand and brushed some dust off the gravestone. They stood for awhile in silence except for Mari's baby coos. "I love you guys." Richard whispered before turning around and heading towards where he knew his son was buried. Kory followed him wordlessly.

When he got to Robert's grave he felt tears in his eyes and was glad that he had thought this would happen so he had sunglasses on. He hesitated for a moment before setting Mari down on the grass near the gravestone. "Mari, this is your brother, Robert. Robert….." His voice cracked and he cleared it. "This is your little sister Mari." Richard introduced.

Mari reached out a small orange tinted hand and placed it on the gravestone. He looked at his daughter. She didn't really look like him. If it wasn't for her black hair she could have been Kory's younger, identical twin. Robert had looked like him. Except for large purple eyes and gray tinted skin. He felt Kory wrap her arms around him. He looked at her and placed his arm around her shoulders. He took the bouquet from her hand and placed it on Robert's grave.

After they had been standing there for ten minutes it started to drizzle. Kory immediately scooped up Mari, fearful that she would catch a cold. Kory was a very over protective mother. "Richard, I'm going to put Mari in the car." Kory said. He nodded and after giving her the keys she left.

"Hey buddy. I'm…sorry that I haven't been here in a while. It's….not that I forgot about you or anything. It's just been hard. Sometimes I can't believe you're really gone. And I hope you don't think that I'm trying to replace you or your mother with Kory or Mari. I know how jealous kids get when their parents have another baby. I love you and Mari the same." He said. Suddenly there was thunder heard overhead and the rain started coming down harder. He sighed. "I'm gonna go. I promise I won't wait until a few years from now to visit you again. I love you Robert." He then got up and walked towards his car.

Flashback

"We are here today to honor the life of Robert Bruce Grayson. He may not have lived a long life, but he managed to touch lots of people's life in his short time on Earth" The minister began at the beginning of the funeral. Richard tried to tune him out. He hated funerals. He felt like he had been to way too many for someone in his early twenties.

He looked around. The funeral was small. Robert didn't have many friends, living in the country and all and being too young to go to school. Bruce was there, he was basically Robert's grandfather. Beastboy and Cyborg were there. They had brought Bee with them. Her and Cyborg had been dating for awhile now. Bee was pregnant and they were getting married. He couldn't help but to resent them.
Speedy was there. He was Richard's best friend. He looked at Richard sympathetically. He looked away. He hated pity. There were some other people he didn't know. Must have been Raven's friends or something. He felt Alfred place a hand on his shoulder and it comforted him. He felt he was probably closer to Alfred than he was to Bruce.

As he watched the minister continue to babble endlessly about someone he didn't even know, he began to get annoyed. None of these people could possibly know how he felt. No one had known Robert like he had. His eyes wandered to the large portrait of Robert that sat next to the coffin. It was a family portrait of Robert, Raven and him taken by a professional photographer. It had been hanging over the mantle in their home and was taken only 2 months before Robert died. His eyes teared up as he looked at Robert's smiling face.

He quickly looked down at the ground, only to find himself looking at the hole in the ground where his son would spend the rest of eternity. He looked back up at the minister and tried to pay attention to what he was saying. "Does anyone want to say something?" The minister asked while looking directly at him. He avoided his gaze and looked at the coffin that was about to be lowered into the ground once it was closed. He didn't want to say anything. He knew he wouldn't be able to get through it without breaking down in front of everyone.

Everyone walked by the casket to see Robert one last time. Richard went last with Bruce and Alfred by his side. He looked at his son. He didn't look dead. There were no bruises or gun shot wounds. He wondered exactly how Raven had killed him. "Bye buddy." He said sadly before shutting the casket. He immediately felt the tears running down his cheeks and wiped them away furiously.

As the small casket was lowered into the ground he couldn't help but wish Raven was here. He wished he could hold her right now. He immediately chastised himself for wishing she was here. This was her fault. She did this. He hated her. But even as he thought these things he knew it wasn't true. She lost control of her emotions. She couldn't control her powers. He couldn't stop loving her just because he wanted to. Because he felt that if he didn't hate her he was betraying his son. He loved his son. But he loved Raven too. No matter what she had done. That didn't mean he would ever forgive though. This was unforgivable

The casket was completely lowered now and the undertakers began to throw dirt on top of the coffin. He watched without emotion. He felt empty. He didn't know how life could possibly go on now.

To Be Continued

Next chapter, we visit Raven in the mental institution. Reviews make me write faster! My goal is 18 reviews, so get to reviewing!