Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. DC Comics, Warner Bros., and Cartoon Network are the wonderful people that gave us them.

Author's Note: I am sorry about the prolonged wait for this chapter. I am hoping that what with my now jobless status I'll be able to post more chapters more often. Thanks again for reading and please review.

Dilemmas

Chapter 5

- Actions Speak Louder -

"Luanne I thought I already told you that Ryan will be perfectly fine…" Kori heard her father's voice as she walked into the house. Already somehow knowing, without having to go up the stairs she knew that she would be set up to watch Ryan for the night. Letting out a sigh, Kori silently made her way up the long staircase. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't able to make it to her room because of course her father spotted her.

"Kori, get over here. I need to speak to you." Closing her eyes for a brief moment, Kori turned around slowly so that she was facing her father. "I have given Komali permission to go out tonight, so you are going to have to watch Ryan while your mother and I go out."

"Sure thing dad, umm, when are you two leaving?" Kori asked.

"In about an hour or so, now your sister should be back around 10 or so. Your mother and I won't be back until late. We'll yell for you when we leave, go ahead and go to your room." Somehow, her father figured out what she was thinking about and with a brief nod of his daughter's head she bounded off down the hall before he turned to his wife.

"Myles," Luanne spoke softly to her husband, "do you think it's really okay to leave Ryan with her? She seems to have, I don't know, drifted away don't you think?"

"She'll be fine. Both Kori and Komali have to learn how to grow up and the only way to do that is to give them more responsibilities. That's the way I grew up and look at me, I'm perfectly fine." Myles shrugged his shoulders and smiled down to his wife and kissed her soft lips.

"Alright," Luanne replied. "I suppose I should get ready then." Smiling back to him, she left him in the nursery to get ready for that evening.

Kori Anders, found herself once again sitting atop of her pink comforter. "Geez dad, yeah I'll watch Ryan for you, is there anything else that you want me to do?" Kori repeated sarcastically, her fingers knotting the comforter into her fist.

SLAM!! Rachel's eyes bolted open as she heard the front door open and close with a thud. Turning her head in the direction of her door Rachel listened intently to the masculine voice that resonated throughout the hall. "He's drunk." She muttered to the empty room. She could hear him stumbling against the wall, running into the side of the hall table that was close to her room. And in that time, Rachel didn't hear the rattling of the doorknob to her room. But as light started to fill her dark room her hands fisted tight around the garnet as she knew that her father was entering. Her eyes closed instinctively and her body curled in a ball on the bed, as still as if she were sleeping.

"WAKE UP! Get up you worthless piece of shit!" He screamed at her and habitually without even thinking, Rachel sat up on her bed and looked up to his blood-shot red eyes. After witnessing the past events of her father beating her mother, she was almost certain that the table was about to turn on her.

"Please… don't." Rachel's voice came out in a soft whisper. She didn't even dare try to get out of her father's grasp. She could feel his fingers tighten around her small wrists cutting off circulation. Her hand turning an ugly yellow color, before purple splotches appeared. Letting her train of thought drift to her hands, she didn't even realize it when he dropped on of his hands and with a loud SLAP! Her head lolled to the left, her cheek stinging from the sudden impact. A small whimper escaped her throat, but she did not move. Her eyes remained closed, hoping, no wishing that this was all a nightmare. If she could focus her mind on something else, anything else, Rachel felt her body go numb after the second strike of his fist to her abdomen, and her consciousness soon left her, making her fall into sleep.

Blinking his eyes, all Garfield Logan could see was the bright overhead light that shone down on the medical bed. The smell of disinfectant and bleach overcame him and he gagged silently trying to get any kind of fresh air that he could. With a slight turn of his head, strands of his pale blonde hair fell into his face covering his right eye. He didn't see much, and he knew that his neck couldn't stop hurting. With his left eye uncovered he looked down to himself to see that he was put in one of those god awful medical robes thingy.

"Is he going to be okay Aunt Kath?" Garfield rose himself slightly off of the bed and turned his head towards the door when his best friend and her aunt came walking through the door.

"Well, it seems you are doing better." The older blonde female smiled lightly down to the teen on the bed. "Once we heard we came as fast as we could. Bette didn't want to leave your side for the longest time." Garfield watched as Kath wrapped an arm around Bette's shoulders. When looking at his best friend, he noticed her eyes were red and splotchy. Before he even could speak, he felt his body being pushed down to the bed, and Bette's arms around his neck.

"Ar-Are you sure? Do you feel any pain?" Garfield couldn't stop a smile from crossing over his face, his voice hoarse let out a second of laughter before he coughed. And he watched his friend rush over to the small table where a pitcher and a glass was and just as quickly as before she was back at his side helping him drink some water.

Clearing his throat was hard, but Gar managed the best he could and looked up to Bette with his hand lightly relaxing on her cheek. "You cried for me?" A smile was still on his boyish face.

"You… When I didn't hear from you, I got worried. And when Aunt Kath saw what happened on the news, she and I rushed over here." Bette looked down at her friend's face before her gaze fell to the purple bruises that were prominent on the skin of his neck. Tentatively her fingers touched the discolored skin. "I… I'm just glad that you're alive." Garfield watched as a tear fell from her blue eyes, and with a meek smile he let his thumb wipe away the stray tear.

"I am too, Bet." He voiced softly. "I am too," and before he knew it, Bette leaned down to him and gave him a peck on the cheek, before crying into his shoulder.