Ch 20

Garfield's fever had broke in the early morning, but Raven still wanted him to rest. He complied as she kissed him briefly on the cheek muttering a spell that put him into a deeper sleep. She needed to speak with Linda alone and hoped Gar would understand.

Landing at Linda's home, she could see the woman waiting for her at the front door with a smile. She always had trouble reading her as a child but now she felt confident enough to do so. She sensed nothing but good intentions.

"I'm an open book my child," said Linda. "You make ask me anything you wish, but I thought we might go inside and talk."

"Um sure," said Raven as she followed her inside her house.

"Henry, Henry! Look who's here," said Linda as and older man appeared with tired blue eyes and a smile.

"It's nice to see you again Dr. Stein," said Raven.

"Well look how you've grown!" said Henry. "You're a woman now."

"Time will do that I guess," said Raven as she suddenly felt uneasy around the man and didn't know why.

"Raven has come here to understand how I recreated Azarath."

"Well I'll let you two women talk. I have to go to the office today," said Henry as he walked out the door.

Raven followed Linda to the living room where they sat down. Raven noticed a teapot and two teacups before them.

"You're always prepared, aren't you?" asked Raven.

"I never thought I'd see you again to be honest, and this is a special occasion."

"How do you figure that?"

"You've come home."

"I don't plan to stay. I just want answers."

"It's too bad your boyfriend couldn't come. I'm glad his fever broke, time travel can be hard on the body. Anyway you should stay for a while. I know Azarath holds a lot of bad memories for you, but you can start anew Raven."

"I don't want—Why did you bring Azarath onto this planet?"

"Azarath was my home. When I heard your father destroyed it, I was devastated. My best memories were on Azarath. I met my husband and fell in love on Azarath. I made a life for myself here."

"I understand, but this isn't right. Using magic to bring to life a dead planet is—

"Not natural. I've tried to make my home in other places, but there was a hole in my heart that only Azarath could fill. Haven't you ever felt that way about something?"

She thought about Garfield and blushed and hoped Linda couldn't see. "I found a place called earth when I escaped my past. I met four friends in Jump City, and we became a team of heroes called the Titans. We fought crime and spent our lives together for years, but we grew up and moved from each other. If Jump City was destroyed, I wouldn't use magic to recreate what was because it isn't anymore. I take the memories with me, so I find there is no hole in my heart. At the end of the day Jump City is a place."

"We will have to agree to disagree Raven," said Linda. "You haven't touched your tea."

"I'm not in the mood."

"I understand, so let's talk about something else."

"Like what?"

"Garfield. You seem happy, more expressive. You are not the same person you were before you left Azarath."

"My friends and Garfield raised me, made me see there was more to me then being a half-demon."

"His love for you is deep. Have you reached into his mind to see how much?"

"I don't like to use my powers that way unless it's necessary."

"Didn't you just use your power to put him into a deep sleep?"

"That's different. He needed more rest. Just because his fever broke doesn't mean he didn't need more time to heal."

"Agreed. I would like to meet him."

"Why?"

"I want to meet the man that's made you so happy, and I know how motherly that sounds but I feel like that towards you. Your mother was too afraid to—

"Don't remind me."

"I'm sorry your relationship couldn't be healed."

"There's nothing anyone could have done, and I wouldn't change it. I wouldn't bring her back."

"You wouldn't want a second chance?"

"No. When I was little, I was curious about my power. I looked into my mother's mind and found out some things I wish I didn't now. I found out how she almost killed herself when she was pregnant with me, I found that even after I was born, she couldn't look at me without seeing him. She didn't want to touch me. She wanted nothing to do with me but tried to act like she did. I—I cant—!" said Raven as she felt herself about to lose control of her emotions as she rushed out of Linda's home.

Green eyes opened on a bed in his hotel room to see he was alone. Sitting up, he had a feeling something wasn't right. "Raven!" he yelled as he rushed out of bed, transformed into a Raven, and flew out the window towards what he could only describe as a big black dome of chaotic energy. He didn't see her, but he knew she was in the eye of it, losing control of her emotions.

Getting as close as he could, he transformed back into his human form to realize the sweatpants he had been wearing was ruined but he did his best to tie what left he had of his pants to cover his lower body. He could feel how scared the animals inside him where of this energy, but he ignored their fears and called out to her. "RAVEN!" he screamed and suddenly the black shaped dome started to dissipate, leaving an exhausted empath was left.

Feeling a warmth envelope her, she opened her eyes to see two very deep green worried eyes of her boyfriend. She could see relief in them to as he smiled at her, holding her a little bit closer. "G—Garfield I—

"It's ok Rae, no one was hurt," he said and suddenly realized something and frowned. "Well accept for you. What happened?"

"I—I visited Linda. It was a mistake. She brought this pseudo world back because she missed Azarath. It was her home," she sighed, "and then the subject of my mother came up."

"I know that's a sore subject for you Rae. I'm sorry."

"I lost control. I—I haven't lost that much control since I was little."

"Really?"

"It was after I left Azarath to escape my father. I was alone. I had no one," she said as she felt Gar's grip on her tighten.

"Well you're not alone anymore," he smiled. "You haven't been alone for a long time."

Raven smiled back at him. "I wonder why that is," she said as she watched him clear a few strands of hair from her face.

"It could be the charmingly persistence of a hot green heartthrob," he smiled.

Raven laughed, and laughed, and laughed, making Garfield smile at the sound before she started to cry. He held her close, providing comfort. When she calmed down, she looked at him. "I love you," she said as they closed the gap between their lips. Raven sighed when they pulled away. She could feel her eyes closing again.

"Let's get you back to the hotel," Gar said as he lifted the empath in his arms and carried her away from the destruction.

Opening her eyes again, she observed him carrying her in nothing but what was covering his bathing suit parts. She blushed and looked at his face that was concentrating on the road. "What happened to your clothes?"

"Oh," he blushed. "Well I woke up and you were gone. I had a bad feeling, so I came after you. I didn't really think about what I was wearing at the time."

"Well it's a good look on you," she said as she bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. She felt his kiss on her cheek before she closed her eyes again.