(Danny's POV)

It had been a few hours and after checking on me the Titans had left me alone. Somehow, I had managed to calm myself down considerably. At least I was no longer shaking. I looked down at my gray clothes again. I missed my hoodie, I wonder what they did with it. My thoughts began to wander.

Did the Titans really only want to help me? Why would they do that? 'Because it's what we do.' They save the city all the time. They've even saved the world once or twice. But taking in a homeless kid is something completely different than all that.

A soft knock startled me out of my thoughts. I stiffened instantly and a green head poked in.

"Are you hungry?"

Beastboy then strolled in and before I could react, unceremoniously plopped a tray in my lap. I looked down then up at Beastboy.

"It's chicken noodle soup," he said cheerfully, "eat up!"

Golden liquid with fat chunks of chicken, carrots, and long flat noodles bobbed around it's steaming surface. It smelled delicious, but my stomach tightened, I was way too nervous to eat. Especially since I had an audience.

"Come on, eat up! Raven made it special! just for you!" Beastboy announced with a goofy grin on his face. Trembling slightly I picked up the spoon and took a small sip. Beastboy's grin widened. "Personally I'm a vegetarian but Raven insisted that you needed soup over my tofu surprise. You're lucky though, Starfire wanted to give you mustard covered, blueberry and anchovy waffles." He continued to blab on with a big grin on his face. He dragged a stool over to my bed, hopped on, and pulled his feet up so that he sat cross legged. All while still talking. He eagerly leaned into his words, and occasionally used hand gestures and bizarre facial expressions. What a funny guy.

"So what kind of things do you like?" He looked at me expectantly.

Blindsided by the sudden question, I broke my gaze away from him and stared at my now cold soup. Stalling for time, I took another sip of soup. Because of my anxiety it was tasteless.

There was an empty silence. Which I found uncomfortable, but Beastboy just continued to look at me with hopeful eyes. It was just a simple question but it sent me whirling. I set the spoon into the bowl and stared at my lap. What did I like? What did I use to like? I didn't want to answer the question, or talk at all really. Would he be angry if I didn't answer? What would he do? I could just make up an answer. Would I be able to string the words together correctly? Wait, I didn't like lying. Would lying be better than not having an answer at all? My anxiety skyrocketed. So instead of saying anything I just shrugged.

I snuck a glance at Beastboy. He still had a goofy grin plastered on his face. "Well I like video games- all kinds, tofu, pizza, mopeds, music, and movies. Robin and Cyborg also play video games, but the girls don't. There's a pizza place in town that serves the best pizza! We go there all the time! Every now and then we have a movie night, though sometimes Raven just reads instead of watching."

I relaxed, apparently if I wasn't going to talk this guy would do all the talking. Which was okay with me. I took an occasional sip of soup while Beastboy chattered on and on.

Abruptly, I noticed my soup was gone, and so did Beastboy. He leaned over and picked up the tray.

"Well I should probably let you rest. Do you need anything?

Automatically, I shook my head and avoided his eyes.

"Alright just let me know if you need anything!" With that Beastboy disappeared behind the doors.

What a strange guy.

(Beastboy's POV)

I entered the kitchen where the other Titans were and placed the tray on the counter.

"So how'd it go?" Cyborg asked, leaning against the counter with a soda in hand.

"Better than I thought it would. He was still really scared though."

"Please Beastboy, what did friend Danny say?" Star rushed up and asked, with her hands clasped and eyes hopeful.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Poor guy, I wonder what happened to him," Cyborg said sadly. "How does anyone get that skinny and have so many scars? It's amazing the dude is still alive."

"That's something I want to ask him about," Robin's voice was laced with concern and worry was written on his face.

'You should hold off on that," Raven advised. "He is terrified of everything and I don't think questions will help. He's not relaxed or comfortable at all. I don't think he has been in a long time."

"What Raven said," I interjected, " When I asked him one question he tensed up and shut down. I thought he was just going to sit there playing statue all night."

"Then what should we do?" Star asked worriedly.

"We'll do whatever we can to help him." Robin said seriously. "I'm just not sure exactly what that is."

(Beastboy's POV)

I jolted out of bed and fell from the top of my bunk and onto the floor with a solid thud. My heart was racing and adrenaline rushed through my veins.

"AHHH!"

Again, the heart wrenching scream pierced through the darkness. Danny! Panicked with worry, I leapt to my feet, raced through my door, and tore through the hallway. As I ran Raven joined me and flew beside me.

"What's happening?!" I shouted as we sped through the tower.

"No idea!"

We reached the infirmary and crashed through the doorway. Raven quickly turned on the lights to reveal that Danny's bed was empty. I rushed over to it and followed the trail of twisted sheets to the other side. There, on the floor, lay Danny with one foot tangled in the sheets. He was shouting and madly thrashing around.

"No! No please! Stop! ARGHH!"

I rushed to his side, "Danny wake up!" I placed my hand on his shoulder, only for him to jerk away and scream out louder.

"STOP! LEAVE ME ALONE!" He began thrashing around even more violently than before, banging his leg against the bed. Man, that could not be good for his wounds. Raven came beside me and forcefully put her hands on Danny, her magic rushing over him. It only lasted a few seconds before unconscious Danny managed to brake loose. He was covered in sweat, he was even more pale than before, and his breathing was rapid and uneven.

"We need to wake him up before he hurts himself!" Raven said, panic leaking into her voice.

The rest of the Titans then rushed into the room.

"What's going on!?" Robin demanded, already armed with with his staff.

"It's Danny! He's freaking out and won't wake up!" I was honestly frightened. Danny's screams scared me in a way that nothing else ever had.

(Raven's POV)

"He's going to hurt himself!" I told them, "We need to stop him."

The fear and pain was so raw. It was like a torn up, bloody, open wound. Only mental, not physical. When I had touched him with my magic I had seen a piece of his dream. However, the only thing I had seen was just a color, white. It didn't make any sense to me. Danny let out another heart wrenching scream and tears ran down his face as he thrashed.

Starfire floated above him, while Cyborg and Robin came up on either side of Danny. They each took an arm and held him down. Danny let out another scream, and then another. You could hear the damage it was doing to his vocal cords. I put my hands on him and let the magic spill over him, but it wasn't effective. I couldn't get through to him! This time there was something in the way, a wall blocking me off from him. Danny kept screaming and Cyborg and Robin were struggling to hold him down. Touching him just seemed to make it worse. I tried again, this time using the magic more forcefully. Only to hit the same mental block. He let out another scream.

"NO MORE! PLEASE STOP!"

I had no idea what to do, it wasn't working and only seemed to agitate him further, so I stopped the flow of magic and remove my hands. Becoming a bit panicked, I moved back away from Danny and looked at the other Titans. They too, seemed at a lost on what to do. Suddenly Beastboy shot forward and did something I would have never expected him to do.

He slapped Danny hard across his face. It surprised me, it looked as if Beastboy was shocked by his action too. Yet it had the desired effect. Danny's eyes snapped open and he stopped his screaming and struggling and went limp in Cyborg and Robin's grip. They gently let go of him and he kicked himself up and away from us, so that his back slammed against the wall. He was shaking heavily and couldn't seem to get his breathing under control. The mental wall that was there seemed to slip a bit and I could once again sense his emotions. He was confused, disoriented, and very scared. After a moment, he looked up at us with wide eyes.

"W-w-what?" he rasped out in a whisper.

There was a long, heavy pause before Starfire floated slowly and carefully forward, respectfully keeping her distance. "You were screaming in your sleep," she explained softly, the tears in her eyes threatening to spill over.

(Danny's POV)

I don't remember what the dream was about. If I thought hard enough I could probably recall it. I only remember being jolted awake, in pain, not being able to breathe, on the floor, with the Titans staring at me with shock written on their faces.

Not knowing what to say, I simply nodded at them. I tried to get my breathing back under control, but it was hard to do through the pain. Robin stepped forward and offered me his hand. I couldn't help it, I leaned away shaking my head quickly. An action which caused me to see faint stars. As a compromise Raven created a black sphere from beneath me, which carefully lifted me off the ground and back into the bed. They stood there watching me with concern as my breathing evened out.

I glanced away and hung my head. They shouldn't have to deal with this. A broken, blood excuse that was me. It wasn't fair. I was just a burden and they don't deserve to be troubled by me.

"Are you alright?" Starfire asked me gently as she replaced my pillow on my bed.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled.

"It's no big deal," Beastboy reassured me. He quietly grabbed the blankets off the floor, and with Starfire's help, began untangling them.

There were stabbing pains everywhere and I was having a hard time focusing on anything. My vision just wouldn't cooperate. There seemed to be a pressure that was trying to crush my chest. Overall it felt as though I had gone through a meat grinder. It hurt to the point where I wasn't sure that I would be able to stay conscious.

Raven came up beside me. She lifted her hands slowly, showing me her open palms. "I need to make sure you're okay. Alright?"

Disoriented, I stared at her a moment before realizing that she was asking my permission. I nodded slightly and tried hard to hold still, but I couldn't help the flinch when Raven put her hands on me. Her magic tingled as it flowed over me and eased a bit of the pain. Everyone's attention was on me and there was a heavy silence. Frowning, Raven very carefully pulled up my shirt to examine the bandages around my chest. An action caused me to start trembling even harder.

"I need to change your bandages," she said looking me in the eye. "It will only take a moment. Alright?"

I nodded and closed my eyes as she went about changing my bandages and cleaning my chest. I didn't want to see my bleeding chest again. After she was done I open my eyes. Raven bent and picked up the IV and began preparing a new one. I watched as she pulled out a needle and set it down. As she did, it was as though I was watching her in slow motion, and images from my nightmare awoke in my mind and flashed before my eyes.

Needles, surgical masks, white lights, and stained gloves. Raven turned to me with the needle in her hand. Panicking, I shook my head and brought me knees to my chest.

"No! P-please don't! I-I-I, not- can't!" I began trembling and started coughing horribly. I couldn't seem to breathe, but I couldn't stop coughing either. My throated hurt terribly.

"Hey, it's okay," Robin said softly. He moved to the counter, took a nearby cup and filled it with water from a pitcher and came to stand next to me. "Drink this."

With shaky hands I took the cup and drank it in one go. I hadn't realized how thirsty I was and the cool liquid felt good on my aching throat.

"Better?" Robin asked.

I nodded and tried again. "I-I-I p-p-please," I paused and took a deep breath, "no n-needles." Embarrassed, I shook my head and examined my toes. I must be a real pain.

Raven paused in what she was doing, " Alright no needles." She then took my cup, refilled it and handed me a couple of pills. "Take these though."

Hesitantly, I took them from her and did as she asked. "I'm sorry," I whispered again.

"It's okay," Raven told me softly. "Do you need anything?"

I shook my head, keeping my gaze lowered.

"Are you going to be alright?" Robin asked. I could practically feel his eyes examining me.

I nodded, although I didn't think that I would ever really be alright ever again. Glancing up, I saw that they were all just standing there watching me awkwardly with sad expressions. Ashamed that I was the one who put those looks there, I hung my head. How long were they going to stand there?

As if reading my thoughts, Raven announced stiffly, "Well, I think we should let Danny rest."

"Are you certain you will be alright?" Starfire asked.

I hesitated before nodding again. I'd be alright as I could be, considering. Slowly the Titans filtered out of the room, and with one last look Beastboy let the door close behind him. I buried my head into my knees, wrapping my arms around them, and took a shuddering breath. Images flooded my head. My arms strapped to a table, a bloodstained knife, and white, gloved hands. I couldn't help the sob that escaped from my chest. It wasn't just a nightmare. It was my life.

I took several deep shuddering breaths. No. It had been my life. Never again would it ever be my life. Never again would I be strapped down and experimented on… Or at least I hoped not.

A bit calmer now, I realized that I was still thirsty. I took my cup off the bedside table and very carefully and unsteadily, got to my feet. I swayed a bit, but with a lot of panting and a bit of sweat, I somehow managed to get to the other side of the room where the pitcher was. I found that it was made of glass and rather heavy. I struggled to pick it up.

The door opened and startled me. I lost my grip on the pitcher and it shattered, creating a sharp, wet, glittery mess on the floor. Guiltily, and trembling again, I turned to the door, where Beastboy stood, cringing.

"I-I-I'm s-sorry." I was honestly frightened of what his reaction be. If I had done something like that back then, they would've- Well, it wouldn't have been pleasant. "I-I-I d-didn't m-mean to."

"It's okay," Beastboy said quickly, "It's my fault, I should have knocked. Here, I'll clean up, you get back into bed."

I carefully stepped around the pieces of glass and crawled onto the bed. I tried to do it carefully, but each action sent shooting pain through my body. I watched as Beastboy cleaned up my mess. How pathetic. Danny Phantom, Savior of the Ghost Zone, Hero of Amity Park, unable to pour himself a glass of water. Beastboy swept the wet glass up and then left the room with it. A moment later there was a knock at the door. I looked up and Beastboy poked his head in, he gave me a goofy smile before walking in and handing me a cup of water. I accepted it and took a sip.

"DUDE!"

I jumped and splashed a bit of the water on myself. I looked up at him shakily.

"You're bleeding! Hold on! I'll fix you right up!"

Confused, I looked down at myself, and Beastboy began frantically rifling through drawers. At first I didn't see anything. Then, after looking over myself again, I noticed a thin, almost nonexistent, scratch on my foot. And the blood he was freaking over was barely a drop. Just a red line that ran from my big toe up my foot about half an inch. Beastboy leapt up onto my bed, causing it to shake, with a roll of bandages and medical tape in his hands.

"Okay! Umm… hold still." I flinched as he grabbed my foot and began carefully wrapping thick, fluffy bandages around it. "Oh wait!" he cried smacking his forehead with his palm." You have to clean it first!" He then gently and slowly pulled the bandages off my foot, only to shoot off the bed a moment later.

He rushed across the room, tripping over himself in his haste, and then slammed open a cupboard and began pulling things out and dropping them to the floor or putting them on the counter. "Just a second! I know they're around here somewhere!" As he said this a box from the top shelf tipped, and spilled bandages over his head and the box fell to the floor with a hollow thunk. White strips were now hanging over his face, but he ignored this as he wrestled open a container.

"Got it!" He announced, happily holding up a small square. He then jumped back onto my bed, shaking it again, and tore open the square to reveal a small disinfectant wipe. He then paused and looked up at me. "This might sting a bit," he told me with a very serious look on his face.

He then carefully dabbed the wipe onto my scratch, and then dabbed it again, and then again. Before starting the process of wrapping the bandage around my foot all over again. He was leaned over and was staring intently as he bandaged my foot, forehead creased.

"Okay there! Finished!" He stood back to admire his handiwork with a ridiculous grin. He then sobered as he turned to me. Looking hopeful he asked me with wide eyes, "Do you feel better?"

"Uh...s-sure," I replied confused, but kind of amused.

"Awesome!" He cheered then flopped onto the neighboring bed. "Man! Doctoring people is hard! I think I'll just rest here. Goodnight Danny!" He then turned his back to me and seemed to immediately fall asleep. Puzzled, I stared at his sleeping form. Then it hit me.

It had all been an act! He had been trying to cheer me up and make me forget about my nightmare. And it had worked! I was much more relaxed and no longer shaking. I glanced around the room, it had suffered a bit on my behalf. The floor and counters had bandages and medical supplies spilled acrossed it. I felt myself smile. It was a small smile, just a slight curling of the corners of my lips, but a smile nonetheless. Something I hadn't done in a long time. I let out a short raspy laugh. something else I hadn't done in a while.

"Goodnight Beastboy."

I then grabbed a blanket, curled up on the bed, and slowly drifted to sleep.

Author's comments:

I kept writing and adding things! Which at 1am, may not always produce the best results, but here it is! Thank you to everyone who favorited, followed, and commented! I love your comments keep them coming!

Special thanks to Gentle-Valera-Fox for helping me brainstorm! Thank you so much!

I still don't know what I'm going to do for the next few chapters so if you have any suggestions or ideas I would love to hear them! Even if I don't use them they spark some great ideas.