Ch 24

"Are you sure you two want to go without us?" asked Vic, sitting at the table with his wife.

"You and Karen have to get work Vic," said Gar. "We'll be fine. We can handle ourselves."

"I know, but it just doesn't seem right. After everything—

"I just want to get this over with," said Gar.

"You two be careful and call if you need us," said Karen.

Raven came down from her meditative position, standing beside Gar. "We will," she said.

Garfield and Raven appeared in a hotel lobby to come face to face with an evil smirking Nicholas Galtry. Gar was tempted to smack the look off his face when he felt Raven's touch, bringing him back to calmness.

"I can see you have my money," said Galtry as he eyes the briefcase in Gar's hand.

"A deal is a deal. If I find out you went back on it, there won't be anywhere to hide," said Gar.

"It's too bad Garfield. You would have made a great villain. Instead you choose to be the hero and hide all that potential inside you."

"I'm not having this conversation with you. We're done, and I never want to see your face again."

"Such hostility, relax you'll never see me again."

"Relax, Relax!" he yelled and then remembered where he was as Raven reminded him with her hand on his shoulder.

"You better listen to your girlfriend. You wouldn't want to hurt any of these people now would Garfield?"

"Enough," said Raven. "Let's go Gar," she said as she took his hand, leading him away from the man who had caused him pain.

Walking away from the hotel, they took the long way back to Vic and Karen's home. The silence was making Raven uncomfortable, but she didn't want to say anything until he calmed down and cleared his head. She was surprised when she felt his arm around her as they walked the streets of Detroit.

"Thanks for talking me off the ledge Rae. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't with me."

"You've always been there for me Gar," she smiled. "I'm just returning the favor," she said as she felt his lips on her forehead.

"You're the greatest Rae."

Raven smiled. "I've been smiling a lot more since I've been with you, so you're pretty great yourself Garfield."

The rest of the day the couple had decided to explore the city. It took a little convincing from Garfield, but Raven felt it would be good for Gar to relax so she agreed. It had turned out to be a good idea after all as they enjoyed coffee and tea at a cafe with a bookstore. Raven had found a couple of books that interested her and bought them. Gar had also been lucky in finding an arcade.

"Admit it," Gar smirked, "you had fun today."

Raven rolled her eyes and smiled. "Well I wasn't the only one."

"Yeah, but I always have fun when I'm with you," he smiled.

"Somehow I find that hard to believe."

"Why? I wouldn't lie to you Rae. Your wit and sarcasm make me smile. There's never a dull moment when we're together."

"Well you're the epitome of fun Gar. It's always an adventure with you."

"Truer words were never spoken. So you want to head back to Vic's place?"

"Yes, I think I've had as much fun as I can stand today."

When Vic and Karen came home, takeout was waiting for them for dinner. The couples sat together, and Gar talked about what happened with Galtry.

"At least you're rid of him now, right?" asked Karen.

"Yeah," said Gar.

"I'm sorry it had to go down like that man," said Vic.

"It's just money," said Gar. "It wasn't that important in the end," he said as he felt Raven hold his hand. He smiled and looked at her.

"So, what's next for the happy couple?" smiled Karen.

"You know if you two don't have any plans, you can go visit Dick and Kory. Their wedding is coming up. I'm sure they could use the help," said Vic.

Gar smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me, how about it Rae?"

"I guess it would be nice to seem them," said Raven.

"We have some things we need to wrap up here and then we'll be coming up to join you," said Vic.

It was late when the couple got to bed. Gar was semi-awake when he felt Raven's arms around his waist, holding him against her chest like he was her teddy bear. Gar wanted to laugh but refrained as her body against his felt good. He didn't want to do anything to ruin the moment. When he suddenly felt her lips kissing his bare back, a pleasant shiver went up his spine.

'She's got to be doing this on purpose to mess with me,' he thought but when he felt her lips move away, he heard her say she loved him in a tired voice. 'Nope she's asleep all right.'