A/N: Okay so I forgot to tell you, this is the start of the third part! Well, technically it wasn't supposed to be but ...I looked over the chicken scratch I call my pitiful excuse for a storyboard and that's what it said! Lol, so get ready for new identities, developing feelings, and hard discoveries. It's called 'birthing' for a reason. ;) And uh oh, that means only one part left ...and it'll come faster than you think.

Note: Lots of RaeRobness in this chapter so if you're not into that ...too bad! Lol get comfy!

Part Three: The Birthing

-x-

(Eyes are the window to the soul.)

"Stand here," Rachel whispered as she pushed Richard away from her bedroom door and to the wall. "So two shadows don't appear under the door."

"Rachel, what are y-!"

Suddenly a bright light blinded Richard from above and after his blue eyes painfully adjusted to the contrast, he looked down at Rachel. This was the first time he'd ever seen her face under electric lightning since she was always placed in her room before sundown. Her skin under the nightgown was still naturally pale, but healthy, from eating more. Her short, black hair had grown past her shoulders since November, and her purple eyes lit up with a positive energy under the single, new light bulb. His heart thumped.

"No more living in the dark," she whispered with a smirk.

Then, she flicked it off, plunging them back into the safety of darkness.

x

There was something disappointing that Richard didn't yet admit to himself. He was growing to like Rachel, the more they spent time together. When they weren't talking about their mission or Jump City, she could be witty and have intelligent conversations where she teased and challenged him. But Rachel was still a mystery to him and Richard often wondered how she saw him in her wonderland. He never asked, just hoping that she would tell him when she was ready.

"My birthday's next week," Richard said to Rachel pointedly with a small smirk as they sat in the gardens days later. "The 23rd."

Rachel was smoothing out her hospital dress and looking up at the dirty glass panels. "Should I be buying you a present?" she teased.

Richard smiled. "No, I want you to come with me."

"W ...Where?"

In the next half-hour when their time to 'meet' was up, as Richard returned Rachel to her nurse, he turned to his own supervising monitor (who only came to check him once a week) within earshot.

"Would you two mind if I take Rachel to ...to town?" he asked both firmly and timidly. Both nurses turned to Richard with raised eyebrows, no longer regarding him with disgust after the weeks of pleasantry he possessed, but with mild curiosity.

"Are you serious?" one of them asked. Richard rubbed his neck.

"I-I know it sounds suspicious, and I don't expect you guys to say y-"

"We didn't say anything. And I wasn't thinking it was suspicious. Well, maybe a little," Richard's nurse crossed his arms and gave the seventeen-year old a long, analysing look. Richard squirmed under the gaze. But Rachel's nurse played good cop.

"Miss Rachel," she asked taking the teen's hand gently. Since she started talking with Richard, the nurses found that Rachel wasn't as jumpy and more open to being touched but they still walked like they were on eggshells around her. "Does what Richard say frighten you in any way?" she asked forwardly.

Rachel shook her head. "I think he will take care of me," she said reassuringly and smirked mentally. "Richard is a good patient. ...He is nice."

There was a pause from the nurses. They eyed both teenagers for a long time, trying to decipher their motives with subtle techniques that the psychiatrists had taught them. But surprisingly nothing flared both of the workers' radar. Richard's supervisor uncrossed his arms. "I'll," he sighed. "...send out a request to Dr. Slade, then."

Richard didn't show any emotion, didn't know which one to put out first. "Really? You'd let us go? A-Alone?"

Rachel's nurse raised one hand. "Thirty minutes. That's all you'll get from here to town and back. And someone will be there to pick up two up at the drop off. Every staff member will know, even the ones off duty and in town."

Richard's supervisor nodded his head to agree. "So don't even try to sneak off, escape, or commit a cri-"

"No, no! I just thought Rach-" But they interrupted him, obviously not completely trusting him.

"You were both there the day former patient Kory was brought down because of Crane. I saw you, I remember." Both teens frowned but nodded. Nothing else needed to be said.

"Don't think you're special or anything," he continued, "We've had others go into town before you. Some were good, some were bad. And I'm still trying to figure out which of those you two are. But I'll tell ya, if you come back without any problems ...it might just improve your records."

And when Rachel left with her nurse and Richard's supervisor, Richard pumped his fist in the air.

Dr. Slade didn't even second-think his decision. With a signed confirmation sheet, he sent an approval back to Richard's supervisor and Rachel's nurse and told the two teens.

March 24th

The two of them left for Arkham, transported by three staff workers in a car to the city square and after giving the two a final warning, they all went their separate ways.

The clouds for once, were gone from Gotham and to Richard's delight he heard from a passing stranger that a travelling circus was in town.

"Eight years..." Rachel mumbled to herself as she picked at invisible lice on her yellow dress. She wore a brown coat over it and had her hair combed neatly to one side. She rocked back and forth awkwardly in her black boots. "Eight years ...and I only get 21 minutes outside Arkham."

Richard caught the last part and hesitantly reached for her hand in the crowded area. He wore a black coat that fitted him perfectly, over some black slacks, shoes, and a simple red, button shirt. To anyone watching them on the streets, they looked like a couple and not mental patients of the infamous Arkham Hospital.

"Rachel, come on," he gave her an assuring smile and pulled her to head for the market, "let's not waste it!" But then he paused and looked her up and down. A blush came to his cheeks.

"You look ...really good," he said softly. The staff had provided them with clothes for the trip and made sure to give them significantly bright colors so they could be pinpointed in the crowd. Rachel hated yellow and thought it clashed with her brown coat. But to Richard, since he had never seen her in anything other than the oversized hospital gown, thought she looked more feminine.

Rachel thanked him, but would sooner drown her face in a pot of soup before she confessed similar good-looking thoughts about him to him.

As they walked through the strip and passed the open vendors with hungry eyes and grumbling stomachs, Richard tried to keep up her spirits.

"When I was little, my parents told me I used to do somersaults around the house because I wanted to be an acrobat," he said smiling fondly while Rachel paid a vendor for their lunch. The nurses gave them little money, but enough for the small trip.

"You did?" she asked with wide eyes. "Do you still want to?"

He shrugged. "I'm too old now. ...But that probably would've been a great life."

"Does you bringing this up have anything to do with the circus that's come to Gotham today?" she asked. Richard nodded, not hiding his excitement. He reached into his pocket.

"Look um, Rachel, I know you want to go all around the district to see things you really want. Besides ...I doubt we'd be able to watch even just a couple mi-"

"No, let's go."

Richard looked down to her with soft eyes. His eyebrows creased. "No, Rachel," he tried to reason rationally with her. "That's not fair to you. You haven't seen Gotham since you were a kid and I don't want to drag you to something you'd rather n-"

"Will you stop talking?" she said in that voice that always surprised him. He really helped her to be more expressive over the months. He felt himself grow warm. "Besides, I've never been to a circus. You ...have enough for two tickets?"

And when Richard counted, he smiled and pulled her with him to the big tent.

"We've got enough for two, come on! And by the way ...I turned eighteen yesterday."

She blushed despite herself. "Happy birthday, Richard."

Oblivious to their excitement, five nurses dressed in civiies followed them in curiously.

x

The shock and amazement was overwhelming for Rachel. She never saw so much colour, gasped so much, or laugh twice in one place. At one point when the aerialists flipped down into the ring, she smiled at Richard in the dim lighting, imagining him as one of him. She blushed. After thirteen minutes, they snuck out to head back to the square for their pick up. Rachel had a small smile that wouldn't leave her face and Richard couldn't forget it.

"That was great," he breathed happily. He looked over at Rachel as she began to put on her coat. He noted with dry lips that the yellow dress hugged her figure quite fittingly. All this time, he saw Rachel as a girl who was like his sister but then turned into a best friend he had a mild crush on. That thought went out the window as he continued staring at her figure. She was a teenager, like him, and would soon be a woman. He felt his crush on her transform.

Rachel nodded. "You said you won't be an acrobat because you're too old," remembered curiously. "So, what do you want to do now?" Richard coughed and smiled calmly, and pushed the thought of kissing her out of his head.

"I want to join the police department and be a detective." She returned him a half smile.

"Ironic. But ...I can see you as one."

Richard smirked. "In the real world or in the Jump one?"

And Rachel, feeling brave, reached to grab his hand and held it tenderly as they walked. "Both."

Something blossomed. Underlying confessions drifted between them.

They ended up sitting awkwardly apart from each other in the car ride back, but with smiles on their faces.

x

Rachel's confession of having made Richard in her imaginary world, made the real him want to desperately know more. So the following night when he was in her room, he couldn't respect her privacy anymore.

"What do you look like in the Jump City?" he asked to initiate the topic. Under the moonlight of the curtainless window, her eyes sparkled before she closed them in thought. She never turned on the light again when he was in the room.

"Gray skin ...like, the shadows on the moon. Same colour eyes ...purple hair," she smiled as she continued. She smiled at Richard more since they were at the circus. "Short, purple hair ...I never really liked it long ...and a gem, in the middle of my forehead."

Richard eyed her interestedly. "Why?" She responded by touching the mystery bruise that haunted her for years. She had guessed just as much as he had.

"Someone gave us all these marks as a reminder of our pain the day we lost everything. ...Instead, the Raven in me will ...draw power and energy from where its placed ...to fight back."

Richard let his mind wander. As he stared at Rachel's face, he imagined a beautiful red gem sitting in place where the bruise was. He swelled with pride. "You sound more powerful every day you tell me new things," he whispered.

Rachel gave him a knowing look. "You want to know how I see you?"

Richard's face grew hot, but he nodded.

(What leads to the heart?)

A/N: Long enough for ya? ;) Twas a long chapter due to the overwhelming amount of RaeRob moments. I hope you didn't think I'd just jump straight to kissing! ;D I'm not that kind of writer lol. Now, now... until my next chapter. When? We'll see ...tomorrow night? Crossing fingers! Lol. ;D Because then YES! The long awaited appearance of R-! Shhh! You know. ;)

Thanks for reading! Stay gold. Now for the mailbox:

SladeRavenFan: Don't you love Xmas? :) I was drinking hot chocolate and listening to the radio as I did this. Hope you got your friends good gifts! ;) And early happy holidays for Friday!

No Line on the Horizon: Wow thanks so much for all your warm reviews, ...NLH! ;D Lol, that is easier to type, maybe I should change mine to HHC, hmmm. But I digress, I'm glad you liked how I played Starfire in all this – she's my gal and I wouldn't want anything bad to- ...well, at least until Slade got to her. Hint hint! ;) Lol thanks but to be honest, I'm much of an updater. If you looked at my past work, I'd labelled 'worst author ever on FF because she leaves her readers on cliffs and never comes back!':D I'm so terrible at driving continuous fire into my stories and I burn out fast BUT! I think this story is special because I'm so into it right now that I don't want to stop before I leave ...and I think writing it all out in my tiny notebook really helped. :) HAPPY ENDING? PERHAPS! LMAO. Mum's the word ;D But I'm glad you liked the blooming relationship between Rae and Rob. And lol, oh yeah, I should mention, the nurses are all gossipers in Arkham ...but they do have to report anything to the doctors either way! Thanks again!

TheDreamChaser: Oh yeah! :D Nuff said. Lol.