Disclaimer: Teen Titans is the Property of DC Comics

Chapter 15

Raven finally felt the soothing grasp of sleep take her and she was about to fall into its embrace when she heard a knock on her door. She was jolted right out of her soon to be dreams and was awake once more, for the moment. She sighed and said, "Who is it?"

"It's Beast Boy," he said. "I have to talk to you."

"Beast Boy, I'm trying to sleep," said Raven. "Can't it wait until morning?"

"No," he said, sliding her door open. "It can't." He closed her door and walked across the dark room to her bed. He took a seat on it, but didn't face her.

She moaned and pulled her aching body up into a sitting position as well. "Well, what is it then?" she asked and then began to cough.

He waited for her to finish coughing then began. "Raven… why didn't you tell me you have heart failure?" he asked.

Raven was quite taken back by this and was quiet for a moment. She couldn't believe he knew. "How did you find out?" she asked.

"Does it matter?" asked Beast Boy. "The fact is that you knew and you didn't tell me. I just wanna know why."

Raven sighed and leaned against her headboard. "Beast Boy… I knew that if I told you you'd get upset," she said.

"Well, yeah, I'm pretty damn upset," said Beast Boy. "But I'm more upset that you didn't tell me. I mean, didn't we go over this? You have no reason to keep things from me or anyone else anymore. I just feel… hurt is all."

"I know I should have told you," said Raven. "It's just… I felt like if I didn't tell you then, in some small way, I could be in denial about it. I didn't know it'd upset you so much. I'm sorry."

Beast Boy sighed and finally turned towards her. "Rae, I can understand that you don't wanna come to terms with what's going on," he said. "But it's only gonna make things that much harder in the end."

Raven was quiet for a moment then said, "I know." She slid down into her bed and turned on her side; she felt so very tired and just sitting up was hard. As soon as she was down she began to choke and cough again.

Beast Boy couldn't stand the sound of Raven coughing. It felt so dry and painful. He lay down next to her and rubbed her back as she coughed, hoping to calm her down a little. He really felt helpless. Finally the coughs died down and she was able to breath once more. She looked exhausted and weak and that scared him. And then he remembered that she didn't have to feel this way. There was a solution.

"You okay?" he asked softly.

She shrugged and said, "As well as I can be, I guess."

"Well… would you like to feel better?" asked Beast Boy.

"That's a stupid question," she said in a snap. "Of course I would."

"Then I think it's time I told you that Nightwing and Cyborg discovered something," he said.

"What?" she asked and half yawned.

"Well, they figured out that when you're around children your condition kinda… disappears," said Beast Boy.

Ravens brow furrowed in confusion and she said, "What?"

"For some reason, when you're around kids you're not sick anymore," said Beast Boy. "They're keeping you alive."

Raven took this in and went into deep thought. For many minutes she was quiet. While she thought, Beast Boy studied her. He was glad that his arm was still wrapped around her, his hand resting on her back. She must have felt comforted by it because she hadn't asked him to move it away. Eventually she sighed and came out of her thoughts.

"Well, that does make sense," said Raven. "I mean, it's true, I've never felt ill or weak at all when I'm around or taking care of children. But what does this mean? Do I have to constantly have a child near me to keep me alive? Just thinking about it makes me feel like some sort of leech."

"Come on, don't think of it that way," said Beast Boy. "All of the kids love you and I'm sure if they understood the situation they would do anything to keep you alive."

Raven sighed and said, "So, what am I supposed to do? How am I going to keep kids around me all of the time?"

"We can figure something out," said Beast Boy. "I mean, Crystal said she wants her room painted pink, so tomorrow we can move her bed in here and start repainting it. That way you can feel comfortable at night and not in pain. We'll make sure that one of the kids is always near you. We can make this work."

"But I feel like I'm taking the kids away from their parents," said Raven. "Eventually the others are going to tell me to stay away from them."

"And if they do you'll always have Crystal," said Beast Boy. "You're gonna be her mom now so you shouldn't feel guilty at all about being with her."

"But won't you get sick of me being with her all of the time?" asked Raven.

"Nope," he said simply. "As long as she keeps you alive, I couldn't care less."

"Why do you care so much about me?" asked Raven. "I really can't understand why you want me to live so badly."

"And I can't understand how you could ask me a question like that," said Beast Boy. "Rae, your life has as much meaning as anyone else's and, well, after being away from you for six years I'm not about to lose you again. I don't know if you've figured it out yet, but I care about you."

She gave him a small smile and then began coughing once more. Beast Boy sighed and began rubbing and patting her back again. Once she'd finished he brought her close and held her in his arms. She was so tired and weak she melted into his embrace.

Raven wasn't sure she'd ever been held like this before and it felt… nice. She liked the feel of Beast Boy holding her. It was gentle yet strong, making her feel safe. She felt sleep taking her once more and she cuddled close to him, unaware of what she was doing.

"Beast Boy?" she said.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I'm glad you're going to be my husband," she said softly and then drifted off to sleep.

Beast Boy smiled and said, "I'm glad you're gonna be my wife, Rae." He then reached over and kissed her forehead. He settled in and felt his own exhaustion slip in. Since Raven was so comfortable, he decided he might as well keep her in his arms and sleep there for the night. They were engaged, after all.

That led him into thinking about their future. No, it wouldn't last very long, but if she had children around her she could last a long while. Would they share a bed? He decided he'd leave that up to her. Would they kiss? It would probably be expected at the wedding, but they could always just kiss on the cheek. But he kinda wanted to kiss her. Again, it was up to her. This was all about making her happy. And he was quite sure he'd do anything to make her happy.

He held her a little closer and soaked in the feeling. It'd been a long time since he'd shared his bed with anyone, other than Crystal during a storm, and he'd forgotten how nice it was. Raven was fast asleep by now, but she began to cough nonetheless. He rubbed her back and was surprised she hadn't woken herself up. After a few fits they calmed down and disappeared. He sighed and gently placed his hand over her heart. He felt its soft beating and realized that it was failing. Slowly, her heart and the rest of her body were dying.

Hours passed and soon night faded into morning as the sun was reborn once again. The residence of the tower slowly awoke and soon everyone was bustling about like they did every other day. And, among the residence, little Crystal was awake and looking everywhere for her father.

"Daddy?" she called as she walked down the hall. She had only just woken up and was still in her pajamas. Usually her father woke her up in the morning for school, but she'd woken up on her own this morning and her father was nowhere to be found. She decided to go to the common room where he might be. And if not, one of the other adults must have known.

She walked in and saw Cyborg cooking breakfast and everyone else sitting around the table, ready to eat. "Has anyone seen my daddy?" she asked. Everyone turned their attention to her and then looked at each other quizzically.

"I haven't," said Nightwing.

"Nor I," said Starfire.

"Is he still in bed?" asked Cyborg.

"Wouldn't surprise me," said Bumblebee.

"But he doesn't sleep late when Crystal has school," said Nightwing.

"Did you check his room, sweetie?" asked Bumblebee.

"Uh huh," Crystal nodded. "I've checked everywhere!"

"Maybe he has gone out," suggested Starfire.

"If he were going out this early he would've said something," said Cyborg. "I'll go look for him. Crystal, sit down and have some breakfast."

Crystal sighed and said, "Fine."

Raven felt strangely warm and comfortable. Her morning aches and pains were nonexistent and she actually felt quite content. She wasn't sure why this was and slowly opened her eyes as sleep left her. Her vision gradually focused and she discovered that Beast Boy's face was only inches away from her own, his arms still wrapped around her. She felt her heart race for a moment, but it quickly calmed back down. She saw that he was still fast asleep and looked quite comfortable. And she couldn't deny the fact that she felt the same. She smiled softly and closed her eyes, cuddling closer to him. Unconsciously, Beast Boy tightened his hold on her and nuzzled his face against her head.

Cyborg made his way through the tower, looking in all the usual places Beast Boy would normally be found. Oddly, he couldn't find him anywhere. For once, Crystal had been right and not just blowing things out of proportion. He finally decided to check in on Raven. For all he knew Beast Boy was in there bugging her about their wedding.

He made it to Ravens room and slowly slid the door open. He looked inside and was shocked to see two bodies lying in her bed. He quietly, or as quietly as he could, went in and discovered both Raven and Beast Boy fast asleep in a lovers embrace. As shocking as this was, he was actually quite relieved to see the two so close. They both looked quite content, which was something both had rarely been lately. He smiled and quietly exited the room, deciding to let them be in peace. He went back to the common room, where Crystal was impatiently waiting.

"Did you find him?" she asked.

"Yeah, don't worry, he's fine," he said. "I'll help you get ready this morning, okay?"

"Uh, I guess," Crystal shrugged. "Where is he?"

"Around," said Cyborg, simply. He knew if Crystal found out that her father and soon to be stepmother were lying fast asleep she'd run in there and disturb them. "Now eat up."

Crystal gave him a look then sighed and continued eating her breakfast. She hated it when the adults didn't tell her things, but she also knew that they wouldn't lie to her. Her father must have been around, but she sure didn't know where.

"Cyborg, where is he?" asked Nightwing, once he was sure Crystal wasn't listening.

"He and Rae are fast asleep," said Cyborg with a smile. "Together."

"Together?!" said Bumblebee. "Already?"

"They're just sleeping," Cyborg laughed. "Actually, they look quite cute all cuddled together. Y'all should get a look before they wake up."

"Please, how does Raven look?" asked Starfire, who had been informed that Raven was now suffering from heart failure.

"She looks fine," said Cyborg. "Actually, the two of them looked quite peaceful."

"Well, that's good," said Nightwing.

Beast Boy awoke to the smell of lilac and vanilla. He inhaled deeply and smiled; he knew that unique scent. It was Ravens. He then realized how strong it was and that only meant one thing; Raven was very close to him. He opened his eyes and, sure enough, Raven was practically pressed up against him. His face was nuzzled in between her head and the pillow. He pulled back a bit and looked at her, wanting to make sure she was alive. He saw her readjust herself as he moved away and this confirmed that she was still with him. He smiled and got comfortable once again. He inhaled her sweet scent deeply and sighed happily.

"I could get used to this," he said softly to himself.

"Me too," said Ravens soft voice.

Surprised that she was awake, he jumped slightly. "Oh, uh, I didn't know you were awake," he said, slightly embarrassed. "How do you feel?"

"Fine," she said with a soft smile. "You know, I kind of like this whole being engaged thing."