Happy Endings

Raven carried a sleeping Bo to his bed and laid him down gently. As carefully as she could without trying to wake him, she covered him up with his Batman blanket and leaned down to kiss his forehead. Her eyes trailed down to his arm, she covered her mouth, kneeling down to get a better look. Finger marks bruised his right arm, as if someone had grabbed him roughly. The Titan shook her head and blinked back tears. She rolled the toddler over and raised his shirt, fingering the silvery pink marks that used to be 'S's. The ones Slade had inflicted on him his first year. She covered him back up and sat beside him, stroking his cheek. He snored slightly, drool coming out of his mouth. Raven sighed heavily, placing her face in her hands and massaged her forehead with her fingertips. After a while, she glanced up at the clock on the wall, and continued to do this every few minutes until the Titans returned home.

Robin was carrying an unconscious Starfire, and the rest of them were in terrible shape. Raven flew over and caught Beastboy just as he stumbled forward, almost blacking out.

"We can't keep doing this," Raven whispered, helping her boyfriend to the sofa. "Slade will end up killing one of us, Bo, or all of us."

She assisted Robin in retrieving the medical kit and together they tended to everyone's wounds, Robin's included. Starfire came to shortly, and held her head painfully. She looked around and asked, "Please, where is Bo?"

"He's asleep," Raven replied flatly. "I got him to bed a few hours ago."

"He is undamaged?" Starfire seemed to relax, hearing that he was safe in bed. She peered into the hallway that led into the little boy's room.

"He's fine," Robin assured her, wincing slightly as Raven dabbed some ointment on an abrasion. He then furrowed his brows curiously and asked, "Hey, Raven? Something wrong?"

Raven shook her head, not returning his gaze. She put the medical items away and stood up, tucking some hair behind her ears. "I just need to think about some things for a while."

---

Beastboy found Raven out by the rocks. It's where all of the Titans ventured to be alone and think. Beastboy knew better than anyone because he had started the fad. Careful not to irritate his sling, he sat down next to her and sighed. "What's on your mind?"

Raven drew up her knees and rested her head on them. "I was just thinking of the time we took Bo trick or treating. He wore his Batman costume, remember?" She smiled slightly. "I didn't want him to eat all of that candy, so I paid him a nickel for every piece after he counted twenty pieces. "

"Joke's on you, Rae," Beastboy snorted. "Bo and I used that money to buy even better candy." His smile faded when he noticed Raven did not laugh with him. He adjusted his sling and said, "It's going to be okay, Raven. We'll get out of here, start a new life somewhere-"

"No," Raven sighed heavily. "It's not going to be okay. We can't just pretend Slade will disappear out of our lives because he won't." Her voice clotted. "And I can't let Bo be part of something like that."

Beastboy furrowed his brows slightly. "What are you trying to say?"

Raven leaned back on her palms and stared up at the sky. "I'm saying we have to give Bo a fair chance at life." She looked at her boyfriend. "We have to put him up for adoption."

--

Surprisingly, the rest of the Titans didn't protest when Raven told them her idea. Starfire got teary-eyed, Robin nodded solemnly, holding a freshly washed little shirt, and Cyborg shook his head. Raven wiped her eyes after she told them, and Robin sighed. "I hate to lose a fight to Slade like this, but Raven's right, we have to do what's best for Bo."

"I will miss him a great deal," Starfire sniffled. "My poor Bumgorf."

"He's still young," Cyborg chimed in hopefully. "There will be plenty of people willing to open their hearts to him. After all, that is one special kid."

Raven walked down the hall to Bo's room and her bottom lip quivered as she stared at his sleeping form. She walked over to his bed and knelt down beside him, touching his cheek. Beastboy appeared beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. Raven buried her face in his side and began to cry.

"I don't want to do this," she sobbed as quietly as she could. "I love him so much."

"I do too," Beastboy knelt down and hugged her with his good arm. "We all do."

---

"Uh oh!" Bo exclaimed as his sippy cup rolled off the table and onto the floor the following morning at breakfast. He frowned when nobody said anything and crawled under the table to retrieve it himself. "Look, Waven!" He popped back out and climbed back into his booster seat. "I got my cup!"

"I see," Raven said absent-mindedly, circling the rim of her mug with her finger.

"Are we gonna go to the park today?" Bo looked around the table. "I like the park. I like the slide." He took a bite of his toast. "I like the swings too."

"Actually, Bo," Robin got out of his chair and walked around the table to cut up the toddler's eggs. "We are going somewhere today."

"To the museum?" Bo's eyes lit up and he covered his mouth politely as he chewed.

"Not the museum," Robin replied. He cleaned the toddler up after he ate and set him on the floor. "Go potty and go get your shoes."

The two-year old nodded and toddled down the hall, eager to hurry up and find out where the group was going. When he was out of the kitched, the Titans exchanged uncertain glances and Raven finally said, "I'll take him."

"Raven," Beastboy spoke quietly. "Are you sure?"

"Yah, Rae," Cyborg nodded. "I could do it if you want."

"No," Raven shook her head and held up her hands. "I know it's not going to be easy, but I'd feel better if I did it."

---

"Look, Waven!" Bo laughed as they rode in the car. Little Bo was in the backseat strapped in his car seat. He held up his magnadoodle board to show a scribble he'd drawn. "It's a moo cow!"

Raven nodded, eyeing him in the rear-view mirror, and asked, "What does a cow say? Do you remember?"

"Baa Baa black sheep!" Bo giggled. "No! He says 'Moooooo'."

"Very good," Raven chuckled, clutching the steering wheel.

They arrived at the police station and Raven helped Bo out of his car seat. The toddler held out his arms and she picked him up with one arm. With her other, she used her powers to pull his overnight bag over to her from the far side of the backseat. Bo stuck his thumb in his mouth and stared at the station. Raven kissed him and shut the car door with her feet.

They sat in a waiting room and Bo quietly sucked his thumb on Raven's lap. The Titan offered him a container of cheerios, and he took them without a word, shaking the plastic container and then setting it down beside them. After a few minutes, a woman in a pink business blazer and black skirt walked into the room. She was middle-aged, with bright red hair and dark red lipstick. She smiled brightly at the pair and knelt down. "Well, hello there!" She bubbled in a strong voice. "You must be Bo!"

The toddler said nothing and Raven swallowed hard. "This is our Bojangles," she said, her voice cracking slightly.

"I'm Miss Pinkerton," the woman shook Raven's hand as the girl stood up. "Now, I want you to know that after I spoke with Robin last night, several calls around the country poured in." She touched the toddler's nose with her index finger, still grinning ear to ear. "After a lot of careful selection, we finally decided on a young couple who's been on the list for two or three years."

Bo's grip on Raven tightened as the girl knelt down to pick up his bag. Miss Pinkerton continued, "I know it would just be foster care for now, but I wouldn't be surprised if the actual adoption process went through fairly quickly". She motioned for them to follow her and led them to another room. Raven's heart caught in her throat. A young man and woman sat at a table. They looked up and smiled warmly at the trio.

"Bo," Miss Pinkerton spoke softly to the child. "These lovely people are Sara and Leland Oaks. Can you say hi?"

Bo did not say anything. He simply stared solemnly at the strangers, his grip on Raven tighter than ever. The Titan sighed and pointed at the pair. "Look how nice they look," she told Bo. "And look, Mr. Oaks has a present for you."

Mr. Oaks smiled sheepishly as he fingered a nicely wrapped parcel. It was Bob the Builder wrapping paper. The two-year old, however, did not seem to find this any more inviting than Miss Pinkerton or the Oaks themselves. He buried his face in Raven's shirt and wrapped his legs around her. Miss Pinkerton tried to pry him off, and the toddler began to whine.

"Won't you just say hello?" Raven asked quietly, feeling her throat clot. "Please, Bo?"

"I wanna go home," Bo whimpered. "Take me home, Waven."

Raven looked at the couple, and then Miss Pinkerton. "Could I have just a minute?" She asked, trying not to sound snappy.

"Of course!" Miss Pinkerton winked at the couple and they all stepped outside.

Raven used her powers to close and lock the door. She sat down on the floor and said, "Hey, You, look at me." When Bo looked at her, Raven took his thumb out of his mouth and sighed. "Things are going to be a little different from now on, okay?"

"When are we going home?" Bo sounded desperate. "I'm ready to go home, Waven."

"Bo," Raven struggled to keep her voice from cracking. "Baby, you're not going home with me." She tried to swallow, but found it difficult. "You're going to go home with Mr. And Mrs. Oaks."

Bo began to cry and shook his head. "NO!" He wailed. "I'm going home with you!"

"Bo," Raven wiped her own eyes. "It's too dangerous for you at home. Remember that man who took you yesterday? He wore a black mask, don't you remember?"

"I'm going home with you!" Bo began to stomp his feet and threw himself against her. "I wanna go home with you!" He wiped his tear-stained and snotty face on her, and Raven didn't mind a bit. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him over and over.

"I love you so much," she finally let herself cry. "We all do. Cyborg, Robin, Starfire, and Beastboy too."

At that moment, Miss Pinkerton knocked on the door and Raven used her powers to unlock it. The couple followed the social worker in shyly and Miss Pinkerton, just as cheerful as anything, glanced at the clock. "Miss Raven, I believe your teammates are looking for you." She winked at the Titan, and Raven felt like punching her. She knew the woman did this everyday, and probably was far too professional to feel anything about it, but here she was, winking and smiling as Bo and Raven sobbed.

"Sweetie-" Raven tried to pull Bo away from her as she stood up. "Bo, Bojangles." She finally managed to do so, and Bo screamed bloody murder as he held up his arms, practically clawing up at her. He stomped his feet, and wailed loudly.

"Do you like racecars?" Miss Pinkerton asked him. "We have a book about racecars in my office."

"MOMMY!" Bo wailed up at Raven. "MOMMY! MOMMY!"

Raven sobbed and she finally fell to her knees and hugged him once more. "I love you." She kissed him once more and then stood back up. Miss Pinkerton ushered her out the door, and as it closed, Raven heard Bo scream louder than ever.

---

"Hey." Beastboy walked up to Raven, who sat outside of the police station on the cement curb, still sniffling. He sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her, kissing her cheek.

"I hate Slade so much," Raven sniffed. "Oh, God, how I hate that man."

"He's easy to hate," Beastboy agreed. He then elbowed his girlfriend playfully. "Bo's gonna be fine. I saw the couple." He sighed and added, "I'm not helping, am I?"

"No, no," Raven told him. "You're right, he's going to be alright." She wiped her eyes. "It's me. I don't know what I'm going to do without him?" She leaned her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. "Beastboy, I love him so much."

"I do too," Beastboy wiped a sliding tear away with his thumb and kissed her gently.

---

To Be Continued…