Disclaimer: Teen Titans is the Property of DC Comics

Chapter 4

Once Raven had told them the whole story, the true story, they left her alone to rest while they told the girls about the situation. Needless to say, Starfire began crying immediately.

"Is… Is she really dying?" asked Starfire, sniffling.

"I doubt Raven would lie about something like this," said Beast Boy.

"And everything she's said seems to be checking out," said Nightwing. "I've called the hospital and they've confirmed that they've been experimenting to keep her alive."

"I just don't understand why her body's dying," said Bumblebee. "I mean, I can understand that she wasn't supposed to live this long, but she seemed perfectly healthy for a while there. And she certainly doesn't look like she wants to die."

"We asked her as many questions as we could to try and figure it out, too," said Cyborg. "The best way she could explain it was that though her soul had a lot to live for, her body felt that she didn't. Nothing's giving her body a good reason to continue livin."

"Poor Raven," said Starfire, about to cry again.

"Alright, let's not cry anymore," said Nightwing. "This was why Raven left in the first place; so we wouldn't get upset about her situation. If she finds out how upset we are she'll do something drastic to get out of here."

"Well, I'm sorry, but it's pretty damn hard not to get upset," said Bumblebee.

"Look, the good news out of all of this is that Raven's home," said Beast Boy.

"BB's right," said Cyborg. "She's here and we're not gonna let her leave again."

"Not that she could without her powers, anyway," said Bumblebee.

Raven sat in her bed in the med bay, looking out the window. She felt terribly ill and this was because she hadn't taken her morning pills. They were back at her apartment. If she didn't get them into her system soon she wasn't sure what her body would do. She prayed she wouldn't go insane again and try to speed up her death.

She heard the med bay doors open and turned to see who had come in to bother her this time. She knew it was only a matter of time before Starfire came in to blubber all over her. She was surprised to see Crystal standing there with a book in her hands.

"Can I help you?" asked Raven.

"Um, I just wanted to see how you were," said Crystal, walking over to her. "I heard you're sick."

"Sort of," said Raven. "Surprised to see me in your home?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "But I'm happy! Now you can read to me, cuz you didn't get to do story time yesterday. You're the best reader!"

"You want me to read to you?" asked Raven. "Now?"

"Yes, please Ms. Rachel," said Crystal, nodding.

Raven smiled and said, "Alright, come on up. And you don't have to call me Ms. Rachel anymore. You can call me Raven."

"Oh, is that your name?" asked Crystal, getting on the chair and then crawling onto the bed.

"Yes, that's my real name," said Raven, helping her into her lap. This was how she always read to Crystal when it was just the two of them. They had spent nearly three to four days a week together for the past two years. Crystal saw Raven more often than her own mother. "Do you want to help me read?"

"Yeah," she said excitedly.

"Okay," Raven chuckled and opened the large book Crystal had brought in with her. "Once…"

"Up-on a ti-me," read Crystal slowly.

"Once upon a time," repeated Raven so she could hear the words correctly. "There…"

Beast Boy looked up and down the halls for Crystal. She was usually playing in her room at this time, but he found her missing. He knew she was in the tower, but still he was nervous. He blamed his damn animal DNA for his overprotective behavior.

After looking just about everywhere and thinking about calling the other Titans for help, he decided to look in on Raven and see if she'd seen Crystal. At least she knew who Crystal was and could say yes or no.

The med bay doors opened and he was met with a surprising site. Crystal was sitting in Ravens lap with a book, and the two were reading! They looked to the door upon hearing it open and saw him. Crystal smiled and waved to him.

"Hi, daddy!" she said.

"Uh, hi," said Beast Boy, walking over to them. "What's going on?"

"Raven's reading with me," said Crystal with a smile. "Just like we do at the library."

"Oh," he said reaching them. "How're you feeling, Raven?"

"Fine," she said simply. She might have been in the tower but that didn't mean she had to tell them how sick she really felt. She wasn't going to let them worry about her. But, at this very moment, she did actually feel pretty good. "You've got a real scholar here, Beast Boy," she said, smiling down at Crystal.

The little girl smiled proudly. "Yeah, I can read!" she said.

"You can?" he said.

"Yeah, you wanna see?" she asked.

"Sure," he said with a smile.

Crystal was bouncing up and down she was so excited. She looked down in the book and found the sentence they'd left off on. "B-But the sm-all bed was just ri-g-h-t. What's that word?"

"Right," said Raven.

"Oh," said Crystal. "But the small bed was just r-right. See?! I can read, daddy!"

"You sure can," he said, proudly. "Where'd you learn to read so well?"

"Raven," said Crystal.

"She's been reading for a few months," said Raven. "She caught on very quickly."

"You taught her how to read?" asked Beast Boy, surprised.

"She wanted to learn and in school she's still a year away from really reading," said Raven. "Now she'll be ahead of the class, not that she probably wasn't already."

Crystal was beaming and Beast Boy could see that. She looked like she was glowing with all of this positive attention Raven was giving her. And Raven looked quite happy with Crystal in her lap with a book. He never thought of Raven as someone who liked children, not after the near disaster with Melvin, Timmy Tantrum, and Teether. But she looked quite content at the moment.

"Uh, Crystal, I need to talk to Raven," said Beast Boy, lifting Crystal off of Ravens lap. "Why don't you go watch TV for a little while?"

"Aw," said Crystal, disappointed. "I wanna read more."

"We can read later, if you want," said Raven with a soft smile.

Crystal smiled back and said, "Okay!" And with that she went running off.

"Don't run!" he called after her.

"Alright, what do you want?" said Raven, her mood changing immediately.

"Well, for one, I'd like it if you'd relax and not act so pissy around me," said Beast Boy. "How come you could be all sweet with Crystal and all mean with me?"

"Crystal isn't keeping me here against my will," said Raven, trying to get comfortable. She sat back and rested against her pillow. She was beginning to feel achy all over once more.

"We're keeping you here for your own good," said Beast Boy, noticing that she didn't look well anymore. "You okay?"

"I told you, I'm fine," she said, closing her eyes. "I haven't taken my morning pills and my body's reacting to that."

"Do you want me to go get them?" he asked. "If you tell me where you live and where they are I'll bring them back here."

"That's okay," she said. "I don't really like the idea of you or anyone else going through my apartment."

"But you're gonna suffer if you don't take your meds," said Beast Boy.

"I'll be fine," she said firmly. A headache suddenly infected her as well and she was beginning to feel quite miserable.

"What if you're not?" said Beast Boy. "You said you and Crystal would read again later. What if you're sick and can't do it? She's gonna be disappointed."

"Then why don't you read with her?" snapped Raven. "You're her father."

Beast Boy frowned and was about to say something to her, but held back. His animal instincts were kicking in and he could feel that she was in distress. She was in pain and doing her best to hide it. That was why she was being so short with him. He sighed and decided it'd be best if he left.

"Alright, I'm not gonna fight with you," he said calmly. "Just call out if you need anything and one of us should hear you." And with that he turned and exited the med bay.

Raven was relieved and once he was gone let out a painful moan. She really felt sick and longed to take her medication. But there was no way that was going to happen. She wasn't allowed to leave, she wasn't going to let anyone know how much pain she was in, and she wasn't going to let anyone go into her apartment.

Beast Boy went to the common room where most of the others were already. The only one missing was Nightwing who was busy in the evidence room working on a case. Starfire was lying on the floor on a blanket with the twins, playing with them. They both had her red hair and their father's blue eyes. Bumblebee was sitting on the couch with Cyborg watching TV, very closely. The three kids were at the kitchen table half coloring and half watching the television as well. He went right for the telephone and dialed the hospital.

"Hi, this is Beast Boy of the Teen Titans," he said. "I'd like to speak to Dr. Hill… okay, thanks…" While he waited he noticed that suddenly the whole room was watching him. God, they were nosey. "Yeah, hi this is Beast Boy… yeah, Raven's staying with us… well, I was wondering if you could send her prescriptions here, since she's with us now… no, she hasn't… yeah, she's not doing too well… I'd really appreciate it… And how long will that take?.. Yeah, the sooner the better… Actually, why don't you get it ready and I'll come pick it up… Yup, that sounds good… okay, I'll see you in a few minutes… thanks again, sir." And with that he hung up.

"What was that about?" asked Cyborg.

"I'm gonna go get Ravens meds so she doesn't die on us," said Beast Boy plainly. "She's not doing so well but it'd be a cold day in Hell when she'd admit it."

"Daddy, is Raven gonna be okay?" asked Crystal.

Beast Boy wasn't sure how to answer that question. "Well… she's gonna feel better soon," he said. "Just make sure you leave her alone and don't ask to read with her until I say so, okay?"

"Okay," she said and got back to drawing.

"I'll be back soon," he said, grabbing his coat. "Be good."

"I will," she called after him like she always did whenever he told her to be good.

Raven lay curled up in her bed, trying to rest. Her entire body ached and she had a killer headache. 'Dear Azar,' she thought. 'If I don't take my medication I'm going to die within the week. What am I going to do? Damn them for keeping me here. Damn them for caring. Damn them!'

She drifted in and out of sleep for what seemed hours until Beast Boy arrived to pester her again. "God, what do you want this time?" she moaned, not even bothering to hide how in pain she was.

"I brought you your meds," he said kindly. "Come on, take them so you can feel better."

"How the hell did you get them?" she snapped.

"I called your doctor and had him give me a new prescription of all your medications," said Beast Boy. "Don't worry, I didn't break into your apartment or anything. I still don't even know where it is. Now sit up and take them."

Raven groaned, but did as he told her. She slowly sat up, he even helped her, and took the pills he offered her and the glass of water. She downed them quickly and then lay back down.

"How long do they usually take to kick in?" he asked softly.

"Usually only a half hour," she said. "Thanks."

"For what?" he asked.

"For what do you think?" said Raven. "For getting my prescriptions for me."

"Oh, no problem," said Beast Boy. "Just glad you'll be feeling better soon. Um, I'll leave you alone to rest again. Don't forget, call out if you need anything."

"Got it," said Raven, shooing him away as she got comfortable in bed again.