This chapter, in my notebook, goes from pages 29 - 36. I don't know what that translates to on the internet, but it's one of my longer chapters, and one of my favorites. So for those of you that haven't abandoned me, this is dedicated to you guys. Thank you. Also, I want to thank everyone that's been reading this. I have a little over 430 hits, and I can't believe it. Thank you guys so much.

Disclaimer: The closest thing to owning Teen Titans for me is owning a television, so that I can watch it every night. So, I don't own Teen Titans, and I don't have anything against the absolutely amazing people that created them. I do own this story, however.

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Chapter 8:

The Tale of Two Betrayals

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She was beginning to feel the effects of the morphine. She moved her free hand a little, as the other hand was still in Beast Boy's.

As she gained strength, she slowly opened her eyes.

The light was bright for a few seconds, and then she saw them.

"Welcome back, Rae." Beast Boy said, squeezing her hand. He looked unto her violet eyes for the first time in a very long time. Raven saw them start to water.

She gave him a weak smile.

"FRIEND RAVEN! We have missed you so!" Starfire exclaimed. She tried to towards her to give her one of her famous "bone crushing" hugs, but Robin grabbed onto her shoulder and shook his head.

"Alright! Now we all have our favorite little empath back!" Cyborg said, grinning.

"Good to have you back, Raven. It'll be good to have you back fighting next to us." Robin said, releasing Starfire's shoulder.

Slowly, with Beast Boy's assistance, Raven sat up.

"How long was I…" she started weakly. The other Titans looked at each other.

"Almost a month." Cyborg finally said, avoiding eye contact.

"A month?" she repeated, completely shocked.

"We almost gave up, too. We thought that there was no hope. We thought we had… lost you." Robin added, looking down at the floor.

"Everyone except for Beast Boy, that is!" Starfire said, pointing at the changeling. Beast Boy still hadn't let go of Raven's hand. His eyes widened and he blushed. He scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "Um, Starf…" he began to say, but he was cut off.

"He did not leave your side throughout the whole month! Cyborg and Robin said it was becmphhhh!" Robin quickly covered her mouth as Beast Boy stared at the two males, dumbstruck. They both let out a nervous laugh.

Raven ignored it. She was still hearing Starfire's voice echoing in her mind.

"Everyone except for Beast Boy… He did not leave your side…"

Raven's violet eyes found Beast Boy's emerald ones.

"You… didn't leave me?" she asked slowly, ever breaking eye contact.

Beast Boy's face turned red. "Heh… that's actually a really good story. Um…" Beast Boy said nervously, scratching his head. He released Raven's hand, who during the whole conversation hadn't let go of Beast Boy's gloved one.

Raven looked at him with a confused look.

Beast Boy looked over at Robin, silently begging him to let them be alone. Robin took the hint and nodded.

"Come on, guys. Let's give them a little privacy." He motioned for Starfire and Cyborg to follow. Reluctantly, they exited, leaving Raven and Beast Boy alone.

As soon as the door shut, Beast Boy turned and faced her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting back down next to her in "his chair".

"As good as I can for now, I guess." She replied, trying very hard to keep her voice monotonous. She brushed a loose strand of hair back.

"Malchior really hurt you, didn't he?"

Raven closed her eyes and remembered what the wizard had said before knocking her unconscious; or as Raven came to realize, putting her into a coma.

"…If you're good and cooperative, I may just allow you to kiss me before I get rid of you…"

She weakly nodded. "I guess he did. Again." She whispered.

"I know that you have questions for me, but first, I have one question for you," Beast Boy said, looking into her eyes. She nodded allowing him to proceed.

He took a deep breath. "Why didn't you get rid of Malchior in the first place? Why didn't you burn the book as soon as you had trapped him in the book?"

Raven hung her head. Her eyes began to be threatened with tears.

"You wouldn't understand." She replied in her monotone as she tried to stay calm.

Beast Boy sighed. "I wouldn't understand? Raven, just think about it. You're not the only one who was betrayed! You're not the only one who thought you were in love, and then it just turned out that they were using you! Or have you already forgotten Terra?" he said angrily. He stood up and walked towards the door.

"Beast Boy… I…" Raven started as she began to shake. The tears she had been holding began to come loose.

He quickly realized what he had done.

"I didn't mean to say it like that…" Beast Boy said, sitting back down next to the weeping girl. "I'm sorry. I just… Rae, you were this close to dying. I don't know what I… we would've done without you."

He reached for her hand again. (AN: Now do you understand my title?)

Raven quickly calmed herself down. She wasn't the kind of girl to break down into tears and fall into someone's arms, even if she was in a hospital bed with only morphine allowing her to move.

"I kept the book, and I regret it." She said quietly, allowing him to take her hand again. "I thought that there was no possible way for him to return. Just like Trigon the first time."

Beast Boy frowned. "Raven, are you sure you're okay?"

Raven looked him in the eyes again. "Physically, I'll be fine after recovering."

Beast Boy smiled compassionately. "You need to rest." He stated, reluctantly letting go of her hand.

Raven nodded.

"I'm glad you're okay, Rae," he said, getting up and walking towards the door. He turned to face her when he reached his destination.

"I missed you." He said almost inaudibly as he turned and left.

Almost.

Raven heard the door shut and immediately wished that he had stayed.

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I think that's the longest chapter in the story. A lot happens though. Something you might want to consider: didn't Raven always hate it when her teammates called her Rae? And she let Beast Boy call her that for basically the whole time? Hmm…

Please rate and review. I like to know that people are still reading this, because now the real story begins. Constructive criticism is always welcome, or just your thoughts on the story so far.

Thank you again for choosing my story.

Love, Liz.

(AKA, flightlessraven.)