Disclaimer: Teen Titans is the Property of DC Comics

Chapter 8

Raven sat in her room reading in a comfy chair they'd placed in front of her large window. She found that randomly during the day she'd feel tired and it was nice to just read by the window. She'd been home for about a week and she was still alive. She had her ups and downs and everyone was there for her. They'd even appointed her the designated babysitter for when a mission occurred. This made her feel like she was part of the team again and she got to have time with the children, which she really enjoyed.

She heard someone knock on her door and said, "Come in."

The door slid open and Crystal ran in with Beast Boy behind her. "Hi Raven!" she said running over to Ravens chair.

"Hello," said Raven with a kind smile. "How was school?"

"Okay," Crystal shrugged. She was still in her school uniform, since the Titans had decided on sending all the children to a private school.

"Hey Rae," said Beast Boy, who hadn't run over.

"Hi," she said. "What's going on?"

"Um, do you wanna go to the park with us?" asked Crystal. "We're gonna go play on the playground."

"You don't have to," said Beast Boy. "I mean, if you're not feeling up to it it's okay."

"Please?" Crystal pleaded, not really listening to her father.

Raven smiled and said, "Well, I do feel like I'm getting my second wind. And it would be nice to get some fresh air."

"Yes!" said Crystal. "I'm gonna go get my play clothes on!" And with that she ran right out of there.

"Don't run!" Beast Boy called after her then turned back to Raven. "Rae, are you sure? I mean, don't think that you have to go just cuz Crystal wants you to. Besides, what if you get tired out there and feel like you're going to faint? Maybe you should stay here."

"Beast Boy, you were once the only person on the team to constantly try to get me out of my room and do things I wasn't comfortable doing," she said standing up. "Right now, I need that Beast Boy, not the overprotective father Beast Boy. Just support me and stop treating me like I'm on my deathbed. I might be, but for Christ's sake, of all things for you to be in denial about, please be in denial about this."

He was quite taken back by her words. "Rae I… I just don't want you to do too much," he said. "I want you around as long as possible."

"Well I'd rather go while actually doing something then to just waste away in bed," she said, crossing her arms. "Now go help your daughter get changed so we can get out of here while I still feel up to it."

He sighed and did as she said. He knew he wasn't really acting like the old Beast Boy she remembered, but he was surprised that she wanted that Beast Boy instead of the current one. Had he really changed that much? True, having Crystal helped him to grow up, but he thought he was still carefree and fun.

The drive to the park was pretty quiet, other than Crystal's constant talking. Raven couldn't believe how much like Beast Boy this little girl was. Her imagination was always at work and her attention span only lasted about eight seconds.

They made it to the park and Crystal immediately ran for the playground with Beast Boy calling and running after her. Raven found this quite amusing and took a seat on a bench. She could just picture his parents once saying, 'I hope you have a kid just like you someday!' It took a few minutes for him to give her the rules and then come and take a seat next to Raven.

"Wow, you're actually letting her play without you holding her hand?" said Raven.

"Hey, I'm not that protective," said Beast Boy.

"Oh yes you are," she said with a slight laugh. "And here I thought out of the five of us Starfire would be the one who was too overbearing and cautious with her children."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh at me all you want," said Beast Boy. "You'll see what it's like when you…" He stopped and realized what he was saying. Ravens smile faded away and she looked away sadly. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she said softly. "It's nice that… for a moment you forgot."

"Yeah… I guess," said Beast Boy.

It grew quiet between the two of them. They watched Crystal play and make friends with other children that were there. She easily made friends and even though at first the other children were hesitant of playing with her, since she had green skin after all, they quickly forgot when they saw how much fun she was.

"Hey, does Crystal have any powers?" asked Raven curiously.

"Dunno," Beast Boy shrugged. "I think she's still too young to figure them out if she has them. But I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, my powers came from my animal DNA and she's obviously made up of half of my DNA. So she should be able to change into animals. I just hope she doesn't figure that out soon. I can barely handle her as she is."

"Yeah, but just think," said Raven with a smile as she watched the little girl play. "You two could change into squirrels and play in the trees together. Or you could both be fish and take a swim in the ocean. You could have a lot of fun."

Beast Boy smiled and said, "I never thought of that."

"Daddy! Look at me!" Crystal called to him as she hung upside down from the monkey bars."

"Ah! Be careful!" he yelled at her, jumping off of the bench. "Are you okay? Can you get down by yourself?"

"Oh, dear Azar," Raven, shaking her head. "Sit down! She's fine." She grabbed him and pulled him back down onto the bench. Sure enough, a minute later Crystal got down all by her self and ran off to the swings. "See? I told you."

Beast Boy relaxed a little and turned to Raven. She was smiling softly and watching the children play. He couldn't help but notice how good she looked. Not weak or tired at all. Right now she looked… beautiful. She was glowing and he could feel how at peace she felt.

"Daddy! Come give me a push!" Crystal called from the swings.

"Alright," he called back and stood up. "Hey, why don't you come?"

"Why?" asked Raven. "You want me to help push her?"

"No, you look like you could use a swing," he said with a smile and grabbed her hands, pulling her up.

"Beast Boy, I don't think I've ever been on a swing in my life," she said as he dragged her over to them, where Crystal was impatiently waiting.

"Well now's the perfect time!" he laughed. "Think about it, what if you grow weak and die tomorrow? You'll have never done something as simple as swing on a swing. Now come on!"

Raven couldn't believe how casually he'd mention her dying. It was… relieving. For just that moment he sounded like the old Beast Boy again. She sighed and let him take her the rest of the way without a complaint.

Upon reaching the swings, he began to push Crystal to her liking and Raven took a seat on one of the swings. She just sat there for a while, watching Beast Boy push his daughter higher and higher until she squealed with joy. It made her feel good inside to see Crystal so happy. She'd lost her mother only three months before. As she grew older she'd wonder why her mother died and begin to ask questions. Raven knew that Beast Boy's life wasn't going to get easier as Crystal grew up and she only hoped the best for him.

She was so caught up in thinking about all this she failed to see Beast Boy go behind her and give her a gentle push. She nearly fell off she was so startled and grabbed onto the chains of the swings tightly.

"Come on, you're not scared of swinging, are you?" he laughed and continued to gently push her.

"No," she said. "You just startled me, that's all."

"That's no excuse for not pumping your legs," he said. "Start putting them in and out."

"Like this?" she asked, doing her best to swing her legs back and forth.

"No, you're out of sync," he said. "Look at how Crystal does it."

Raven looked over at Crystal and watched her. As she swung backwards she tucked her legs in and as she swung forward she put them straight out. She could feel the difference immediately.

"There you go!" said Beast Boy.

Raven felt rather proud, although a bit embarrassed, and continued to swing on her own without any help from Beast Boy. He saw that both the swingers were fine and walked around to watch them from the front. Crystal was going really high and Raven was slowly but surely catching up to her.

"Daddy, catch me!" said Crystal and before her father could tell her to stop she leapt from the swing and flew through the air. Beast Boy quickly got under her and caught her before she could touch the ground. He put her down and swore his nerves were going to be shot by the time this girl turned ten. "Alright, now you!"

"Who, me?" said Raven.

"Yeah," said Crystal, nodding. "Jump!"

"No, Raven!" said Beast Boy. "Just stick to swinging."

"Why?" asked Raven. "You don't think I can do it?"

"This is your first time swinging," said Beast Boy. "Just concentrate on pumping your legs correctly. You're not ready to jump yet, and, besides, you shouldn't!"

"Do it, Raven!" cheered Crystal, ignoring her father.

"Don't even think about it," said Beast Boy in a fatherly tone. "You could get hurt."

Raven frowned and continued to swing, pumping her legs harder and harder. She went higher and higher and then began moving about in the swing. She moved her arms in front of the chains, just as she'd watched Crystal do, and as she reached the highest point of the swinging motion propelled her self forward and out of the seat.

Beast Boy watched as Raven left the swing completely and fell through the air. He quickly moved to where she was and as she came down caught her. She crashed into him and he nearly lost his balance. But he held her tight and planted his feet so he wouldn't. He was glad she'd wrapped her arms around him as well for the extra hold so she wouldn't fall.

Crystal cheered and jumped up and down. For a moment the two held each other tightly. Finally their hold loosened and they pulled away from each other slightly. He could feel her body trembling with adrenaline and she was out of breath. His eyes met hers and for some odd reason they would not move away from her. An awkward moment passed until he put her down and took a step back.

"Uh, good job," he said, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck and smiling.

"Thanks," she said, looking away bashfully. "You did a good job catching me."

"Well I wasn't about to just let you fall to the ground," said Beast Boy.

"Yeah, that probably wasn't one of my better ideas," said Raven. "But, hey, I survived. And it's something else I can check off of my list of things I've never gotten to do before. Swing on a swing and jump off of a swing in motion."

Beast Boy smiled and said, "Well you did a good job." He looked to where Crystal was and found that she was gone. He quickly looked around in a panic. "Crystal?" he called out.

"She's over at the slide," said Raven, rolling her eyes.

He looked and, sure enough, she was climbing up the ladder to the slide. He let out a sigh of relief and said, "You wanna come watch her slide or do you wanna go sit down?"

"I'll come," said Raven. "I don't know why, but I still feel pretty good. I'll probably crash and burn tonight, but at the moment I don't really care." And with that she went off towards the slide.

Beast Boy watched her walk towards the slide and smiled. It made him feel good that she was feeling well. If she felt well that meant her body wasn't dying at that very moment. It meant she really wasn't as bad as he thought she was. And even if she was, she wasn't in pain. For that alone he was thankful.