Beast Boy awoke the next morning and immediately began grinning as the events of the night before ran through his head. It was all a mystery to him, in a way. Why had Raven chosen him? Their relationship as friends had started badly and gone along in fits and starts with moments of closeness and caring but more fighting and bickering. Then, out of the blue, Raven had approached him. What prompted her? He simply did not understand but he really didn't care.
He didn't care what her thought process was, what was important was the conclusion she had reached. He hadn't expected any such thing. He hadn't felt for Raven, or known that he felt, anything more then the same friendship he had with Starfire or even Robin. Then, when she actually had suggested they go out, he had started thinking. He did care for her. She was very attractive. Why not see where things went?
Beast Boy liked where they seemed to have gone and liked even more where they seemed to be going and that was the most surprising thing of all. It was perhaps simply him responding to her attention but he didn't think so. He had found in the last few days that he did have some feelings for her. One of the big reasons was that she was beginning to be different with him then she was with the others. That had been most apparent when they gotten home the previous evening. Raven had been closed off with them but when it has just him and her, she began smiling.
He put both hands behind his head and lay back, staring up at the ceiling and remembering the hallway in front of Raven's door. He made himself stop thinking about deeper meanings and the future and anything else. He had gotten his first real kisses the night before and he meant to enjoy it.
-----
Raven awoke that morning at her usual early hour but she didn't get up. She lay in bed, curled on her side, and thought. She didn't realize that she had a wistful smile the entire time. Beast Boy had not just surprised her. He had stunned her. In a few short days, he had shown that he could deal with her need for emotional control. He could even be grown up about serious things while still being himself. The way he handled her late-night talk with him about her possible medical situation was, especially in retrospect, almost perfect. It had been caring and concerned and he had managed to make her feel better.
He had also expressed an appropriately restrained physical interest in her. Even when things became just a little heated in the hall, his hands had moved about a bit but he didn't try too much. That pleased her more then she cared to consider too deeply, both the interest and the restraint.
Really, things were going as well as possible. A part of her kept looking for where the problems would come from and expected that there would be a disaster of some kind and the subsequent heartbreak Robin had been so wary of.
She still wondered what he expected out of this thing between them but she realized that it was far too soon to actually bring such issues up, as demonstrated by their talk in the kitchen. If the truth be told, that had really shown that neither of them were really ready for that talk. It was just as well that he had, as he put it, diverted her.
Asking him out in the first place had been an impulse, one of the few impulsive things she had ever done. Before she picked up her never-used chess set and went down to see him she hadn't thought very much about why she was doing it. That was out of character for her but it had turned out so well she might be wise to trust her impulses more.
Raven realized ruefully that her mind was scattered and undisciplined this morning. Her thoughts were jumping randomly around but it was to be expected, she supposed. With a feeling that was almost regret, she hovered into the air and crossed her legs, preparing to meditate. She could take no chances, even with feeling too good.
-----
Cyborg had also risen early, but unlike some others, he was moving around and busy. Starfire's reprimand of the evening before had been justified, as much as he hated to admit it. He had not been taking either Raven or Beast Boy seriously and he had even approached Robin with his theories in a humorous way, thinking only of how mortified Robin would be talking to Raven about such matters. That had been callous and he was ashamed. He made two resolutions to himself. First, he would treat the incipient couple not as a source of his amusement but as a good thing happening to two people he cared about. Second, he was going to make some determinations concerning Raven's situation.
He first had gone over all the information he had on her specifically and general information on cross breeds and fertility. There were so many unknowns. Were people from Raven's home dimension genetically human to begin with? He did not know how much of her differences with humans were a result of her mortal heritage and how much a result of her demonic. The production of a child from such vastly different beings was so unlikely in the first place that he suspected that Trigon had used magic. If that was the case anything could be possible, but he could make some guesses. Given that Trigon manipulated things so that Raven could be born and be his gate, did it not follow that he would do only what was needed for that goal and the assumption would be that Raven would not live past the age of sixteen? Successful reproduction would be unneeded. Being essentially immortal, the demon had no reason to be concerned about descendants. So, the demon had probably given it no thought.
Shaking his head, Cyborg realized that such a line of reasoning was worthless. He simply didn't know enough and speculation was useless. What did he know? Not much really, when he went over it in his head. Only that she was a cross breed and that usually indicates sterility. He began to consider how to get information that was real and what he could do with his available facilities. Brief research indicated that he had been right in his guess that the only way to get the needed data was from the examination of one of Raven's eggs. Harvesting one required a pelvic, and that was the first item on the list of things that Cyborg couldn't/wouldn't be doing.
With a feeling of surprise, Cyborg realized that he wasn't even sure Raven experienced menses. If she didn't, the question here would be quickly answered. Leaving that point for the moment, he next considered what kind of tests would be needed. A plan of having her obtain the needed material elsewhere and him doing the testing had began to form in his mind but he quickly realized that neither he nor his equipment was up to the task. She was possibly so far from the ordinary that he just didn't have what was needed. A really advanced lab was needed, preferably one used to working with virtual unknowns. S.T.A.R. labs in Metropolis was the world leader in such matters, so that was who they would get. Raven deserved only the best.
He got on the phone and discussed the matter, using generalities and no names, with a staff scientist at S.T.A.R. It would be expensive. He was unsure where Robin came up with all the money he did, but some more would have to be forthcoming. Her was sure it wouldn't be a problem.
Now that he had a planned course of action, Cyborg felt a bit better. Thinking ahead, he decided that if the news was bad, he could then look into the steps to verify his guess about Beast Boy. Star, Robin and Beast Boy were up when he emerged from his room. Raven was probably meditating, but this was important. He went directly to her room and knocked.
"Come in," Raven said through the door. He opened it and stood there for a moment. She looked at him for a long moment. "Finally coming to talk to me directly?" she asked. "No Robin this time?"
"No Robin," he said. "I mishandled that from beginning to end. I was wrong and I hope you'll forgive me." She nodded in what he took to be acceptance but she did not actually offer her forgiveness. He cleared his throat. "Since I'm kind of the medical guy around here," he said uncertainly, "I wanted to ask you something." She simply looked at him and did not respond. "Is this a good time?" he finally asked.
"Is there a good time?" she replied.
"I suppose there isn't," he said. Raven heard the pain in his voice and relented a bit. She lowered herself to the floor and gestured for him to come in. He shut the door. "As you know, I was speculating about some health issues concerning you," he said. She nodded. "Raven, really, I am so sorry I went about it like I did. I swear, I feel terrible. Please..."
She held up one hand to stop him, "You should have come to me," she said coldly.
"I know."
"All right," she said. "The matter is ended. What do you want to know?"
"Do you want to determine if I was right or not?" He asked softly.
"I haven't thought much about it," she said with a ghost of a smile. "I've allowed myself to be distracted."
"That brings up something else," he said. "I have been pretty... juvenile about this thing with you and BB. I've been acting like a twelve year old and as if you two were twelve year-olds chasing each other on the playground. I apologize for that too."
"All right," she said. "Accepted." Then she ruefully added, "We really may just be like two kids chasing each other on the playground."
He shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. Either way, it's not for me to say."
"Thank you," she said. Then, after a deep breath, she went on. "Yes. I need to know."
He nodded. "I have to ask you some questions," he said. She gestured for him to go on. "Do you undergo a menstrual cycle?"
"Yes. Did you think I didn't?"
"It was possible you wouldn't. Is it typical? I mean, frequency, duration and so forth?"
She nodded. "As far as I know."
"Good," he said in a detached, clinical tone that she appreciated. "The next step is for you to go see a doctor so that we can get the needed sample."
"An OB/GYN?" she asked.
"Yes. Let me know when you're ready and I'll take care of the arrangements."
"Go ahead," she said. "No reason to wait."
-----
Robin was up at his ordinary time and unlike most of the other inhabitants of the tower, he went about his normal routine. He sleepily wandered to the kitchen, poured a cup of the strong, black coffee that was automatically prepared and began reading the paper. It was right there on the front page that he saw it. It wasn't the headline but there it was, sort of down in the right corner. He sighed and rested his head in one hand as he read:
"Titans Interrupted" it said. There was a picture that appeared to be from a cell phone camera of Raven and Beast Boy sitting together, both looking pretty happy, at a table in a small restaurant. The story went on to say that the two of them were seen together, looking "quite intimate" and that soon after they had apprehended a would-be mugger. "Unnamed sources" at the police station said that the alleged mugger had stated that he approached what he thought was a young couple "making out" on a park bench and that it had turned out to be the two heroes. It was presented in a light hearted manner, focusing mostly on the poor luck of the criminal.
He groaned and shook his head. "This is no big deal... this is no big deal..." he said over and over. After a moments thought, he got up and went to his room to use his computer. The Titans had never had any worries at all concerning public opinion and he hoped they never would but he could see how this might rebound on them. He logged onto the newspaper's site and found the article there. He paged down to look at the section where readers could leave comments. There were only a few, about 25 or so, but it was early. He refreshed the page and five more appeared. He moaned again as he read down the list. Most of them were about the criminal or that the reader thought that two of the Titans dating was cute. There was also, more disturbingly, more then a few people voicing concern about what could be going on with five people so young co-habiting and that the Titans were perhaps not the best role-models.
"Oh, damn it," he muttered.
He thought for a moment about whether this warranted any attention, finally deciding that he should at least let the two of them know and perhaps suggest that they could be more discreet. With some trepidation, he called them separately on their communicators, asking them to come to his room. Raven arrived first and he simply handed her the paper with the article circled. She began reading. Beast Boy arrived before she finished and she held it so that they could both see. "So?" she asked. "It's just a silly article. What of it?"
Finishing a moment later, Beast Boy said to Raven, "I told you this might happen."
"No you didn't." she protested, sounding ever so slightly annoyed. "You said we would be dogged by paparazzi."
"I did not," Beast Boy replied indignantly. "I said we might make the papers. In the process of mocking me you said that paparazzi thing."
"Whatever," Raven said.
"I want it clear in some record somewhere that I was right and Mrs. Sarcastic-Britches here wasn't," Beast Boy said in a teasing tone.
"Can we please stick to the matter at hand?" Robin asked testily.
Raven shot Robin a look that went past annoyance and right into angry. Beast Boy saw it and was curious. Her reaction was a little more then the situation warranted and he wondered what was wrong. "What is the matter at hand," she snapped, "other then our privacy being intruded on?" A bit childishly, Beast Boy was glad that her irritation seemed to not be directed at him.
It struck Robin strongly that Raven's use of "our" clearly referred to she and Beast Boy only and not the entire team. "I just thought you should see it," he said carefully, wondering what she was angry at him about.
"All right," she said. "We've seen it and I find that I don't care all that much."
"Now look at this," he said, turning the monitor towards them. Raven took the mouse and scrolled quickly down the list of responses to the article.
Beast Boy whistled. "Wow," he said. "Some of those are pretty... surprising."
"And rude," Raven said. "I've had about enough of people being nosy. These..." she trailed off and took a deep breath, "people don't even know any of us yet we're bad examples and, as comment #31 put it, 'living in sin'?" A light bulb suddenly exploded making them all start.
Raven was rubbing her temples and Beast Boy put a comforting hand on her arm. "Rae," he said, "It's OK." Robin noticed that she did not shy away or brush his hand off in spite of her well know aversion to casual physical contact.
"I need to go," she said tightly.
"All right," Robin said. "I didn't mean to upset you and I thought you should know."
She nodded and turned on her heel, walking briskly out the door.
"What was that?" Robin asked Beast Boy.
"I don't know," Beast Boy said as he turned and followed her. He hurried along and caught her in the hallway. "Hey," he said softly. "What is it?"
She stopped abruptly and turned. "I'm upset and I need to be alone."
"OK," he said. "That's cool. I just wanted to see if I could do anything, you know?"
"Thank you," she said, relaxing ever so slightly. "It wasn't just the thing Robin showed us. Cyborg came to see me about..."
"Oh," Beast Boy said.
"Yes," she said, her voice changing from tight and angry to soft and unsure. "It's... I need to do something. I need to go to a doctor."
"I figured you would," he said.
Raven closed her eyes and hesitated a moment. "Do you think," she asked, "when I go... would you come with me?"
"Of course."
"Thank you," she almost whispered.
"You go meditate," he said, "and when you're done, come find me if you want to talk or..."
"Or if I want to be distracted?" she interrupted. He nodded. She suddenly smirked cynically and said, "You know, if Robin was bothered by that article, wait till word gets out that I went to a gynecologist and took you with me."