Disclaimer: Teen Titans is the Property of DC Comics

Chapter 22

Raven hated having to ask permission to do anything; it made her feel like a child. All she wanted to do was go lie in her own bed. She felt fine, well as fine as she could given her condition, but she promised to stay in bed the entire day to put her friends' minds at ease. But she wanted to spend the day in her own bed, not the med bay bed. Which meant she had to ask if she could leave this hospital styled bed and move to her own.

Beast Boy entered the med bay with a tray and a smile. "Hey, you up for some breakfast?" he asked, walking over to her slowly as to not let anything spill off of the tray.

"Depends," said Raven, sitting up stiffly. She let a few coughs escape her, but did her best to stop them. "What sort of breakfast are we talking about?"

"A really good breakfast," he chuckled. He placed the tray on Ravens lap and let her look at the spread he'd given her. Herbal tea, orange juice, french toast, bacon, and orange slices covered in coconut shavings. "So, what do you think?"

Raven looked it all over very careful. "Well, it looks very good," she said. "But I do have a few questions."

"Ask away," he said with a smile.

"Is the bacon genuine?" she asked.

"No," he said simply.

"Was the french toast made with real eggs?" she asked.

"No," he said again.

"Alright, that's all I needed to know," she said and picked up the fork. He watched as she began to eat some french toast and bacon.

"You don't mind eating a meat-free meal?" he asked.

"You put a lot of effort and care into this," said Raven. "It would be cruel of me to turn it away just before of our different beliefs in whether or not animals should be eaten. Besides, I'm really hungry."

Beast Boy couldn't help but smile at her. Cyborg had said there was no way in hell that Raven would eat fake meat products, but low and behold, she was. Either she really was very hungry or she cared enough about his feelings not to say anything. Either way, he really didn't care. The point was that she was eating.

"Hey, do you know what today is?" he asked.

"Um…" she thought with an orange slice in her mouth. "Friday?"

"Well, I'm glad you're aware of the date," he said. "I completely lost track of the week. Anyway, do you remember what we're supposed to do today?"

"No, I can't say I do," she said and took another bite of her soy bacon.

"We decided that we'd go out on a date on Friday," said Beast Boy. Raven choked on her bacon and took a moment to calm herself. "Don't you remember?"

"Uh, no," said Raven. "After all that's happened in the last few days I forgot."

"Well, we are gonna go out tonight," said Beast Boy. "So make sure you get plenty of rest today."

"Do the others know about this?" asked Raven. "I doubt they'll want me out of the tower at all after what happened last night."

"Don't worry, Crystal's coming with us so you'll feel okay," said Beast Boy.

"You're bringing your daughter on your date?" asked Raven.

"No, we're bringing our daughter on our date," said Beast Boy.

"Wow, how romantic," she said, sarcastically. "Not that, you know, I'd expect it to be romantic or anything."

"Don't worry, I've got everything planned out," he said with a smile. "It's gonna be a good time."

"This should be interesting," said Raven, sipping her tea. "What should I wear?"

"Whatever you want," said Beast Boy.

"Okay, so I know we're not going anywhere fancy," said Raven.

"Yeah, like I'd bring Crystal to some place fancy," Beast Boy laughed. "She's not nearly mature enough for something like that. Anyway, don't think about it anymore. Like I said, I've got it all planned out."

"You've certainly been using your brain a lot lately," said Raven. "It's very… odd."

"I know," he agreed. "I never knew thinking could be so… cool. Now that I am I don't think I'm gonna stop any time soon."

"God help us all," said Raven with a small smile and ate another orange slice. "Oh, I was wondering, can I spend the day in my bed?"

"I don't know," he said, not very sure that he liked the idea of her being away from the heart monitors. "I'd have to ask Cyborg or NW."

"But you're the one in charge of me," said Raven. "They trust your word more than anything so if you say that it's okay then they'll let me."

"But I'm not sure if I'm okay with it," said Beast Boy. "If I take you out tonight I wanna make sure you're in top condition."

"And I will be," said Raven. "I'd just rather rest up in my own bed. Can you imagine having to lie in a hospital bed all day when your room is only a hallway away?"

Beast Boy sighed and said, "Alright, you can go back to your own bed."

"Thank you," she said and began taking all of her sensors off of her. The machines sounded and an alarm went off. "Oops."

Beast Boy immediately ran over to the alarm shut down button and hit it. The siren silenced and everything calmed down. He then took his communicator out and dialed in Nightwing. "Nightwing?"

"Beast Boy, Raven's crashed!" he said, quite alerted.

"No, she just took her sensors off," said Beast Boy. "She's okay."

"Are you sure?" asked Nightwing.

"Yeah, she's fine," said Beast Boy. "And she's moving out of the med bay and back into her room."

"You think she's well enough?" asked Nightwing.

"She's convinced me she is," said Beast Boy.

"Alright, thanks for the update," said Nightwing and he signed off.

Beast Boy shoved his communicator back into his pocket and said, "There, it's settled. But could you at least finish eating breakfast first before leaving?"

"I am finished," she said.

"You've only had half!" said Beast Boy.

"Because my stomach can only hold half of the giant meal you made me," said Raven. "I'm completely full. And now I'm going to my own room."

"Oh, fine," he huffed and moved the tray out of her way. She slid out of the bed at last and stretched her legs out. She stood up and he was right there to help her. He placed his arm around her waist and waited for her to get her bearings. Upon feeling his touch Raven felt her whole body warm up, as if she were blushing all over. She wanted to lean into him and let him hold her close, but she knew that would just complicate things more.

Once she was in her room, Beast Boy got to work making sure everything would be set up for that night. He wanted everything to go right, for once. Not only did he want her to have a good time, and not pass out, but he wanted to ask her a few key questions they hadn't discussed yet.

The day went on and soon Crystal was home. It wasn't long before Raven found herself having to share her bed with the little girl as she began to play with her dolls again. Raven, who'd never played with dolls when she was a child, studied Crystal as she played. She found it all to be very fascinating. She watched as Crystal created her own little world right there on Raven's bed. The dolls spoke to one another; they had relationships. It was all very interesting.

"Oh no! We're gonna hafta save the world!" said Crystal in a lower voice as she held one of her dolls.

"It's okay, we can do it!" she said in a higher voice with another doll.

"No! You'll never win!" she said in a funny voice as she grabbed another doll.

"Yes we will!" she said, representing the other dolls.

Raven watched this with fascination. She saw that the story Crystal had created was about superheroes and villains. She knew she shouldn't have expected anything less; what with Crystal being the daughter of superheroes. She also saw that as the game went on Crystal was replicating events that had actually happened at one point or another in the Titans' lives. It seemed to never end. Raven couldn't believe how long the little girl could play this game for.

"Hello my girls," said Beast Boy, entering with a smile.

"Your girls?" said Raven, raising an eyebrow.

"Hi daddy!" said Crystal, dropping her dolls and jumping to her feet on the bed. "Did you find my present? Can I have it now?"

"What present?" asked Beast Boy.

"The one you said you had but you couldn't find cuz mommy-Raven hid it," said Crystal. "You promised you'd give it to me yesterday."

"Oh, uh, right," said Beast Boy, scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah, dad, where is this gift?" smirked Raven, getting a small glare from Beast Boy.

"Well, um, I kinda decided that… uh… I gave it to orphans!" he said, thinking as quickly as he could.

"Y-You gave it away?" said Crystal, shocked. "B-But… what about me?" She sat down on the bed and started to cry.

"No! No, don't cry," he said quickly, going to her. "I've got a really special night planned out for us tonight to make up for it. We're gonna have fun!"

"What kinda fun?" she asked, wiping her eyes.

"It's a surprise," he said with a smile. "But you're gonna love it."

"Is everyone going?" asked Crystal.

"Just you, me, and mommy-Raven," said Beast Boy. "Now go watch some TV so she can get ready and then we can go."

"Okay," she said. She crawled off of the bed and exited the room, her happy demeanor quickly returning.

"So, where're we going?" asked Raven once Crystal was gone.

"I already told you, it's a surprise," said Beast Boy with a smile. "Now you need to get dressed."

"How much time do I have?" asked Raven, slipping out of the bed.

"As long as you need," he said. "But let's make it less than an hour."

"I'll meet you in the common room in ten minutes," said Raven, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, if you need anything call," he said and exited.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," said Raven and she went to get some fresh clothes out of her draw.

Within ten minutes she was dressed and ready to go. She wasn't sure where they were going or what they were going to do, but she had to put her trust in Beast Boy. She wasn't sure where they were going to go that would be alright for Crystal, yet could still be called a date for them. She just hoped she would be strong enough to last the evening. She knew her health was declining and with only Crystal around who knew how long she could last.

"Alright, let's get this over with," she said, entering the common room.

"Hurray!" said Crystal. "Daddy, we can go now!"

"Awesome," he said with a smile. "We'll be back later."

"Have a good time," said Starfire.

"Don't stay out too late," said Nightwing.

"Come home if you don't feel well, Raven," said Cyborg.

"Thanks Ma and Pa," said Raven, sarcastically. "And I'll let you know if Beast Boy tries to make a move on me."

"Definitely tell me!" said Bumblebee. "I want all the details."

"Come on! Let's go!" said Crystal in excitement and impatience.

"Alright, we're out of here," said Beast Boy, escorting Crystal and Raven out of the common room.