Hi, Everyone!

Well, I was gonna brag about one of the voice actors on the show following me on Twitter, but, I thought better of it (I do follow the five primary folks, though). However, the first reviewer that guesses will have a chapter dedicated to them. You have a 1 in 5 chance of guessing correctly.

OK, I know that this story is kind of jumping around a little bit, but, there is a method to my madness here. Mallah is out of the story at this point, but, with Raven's emotional/mental issues, thanks to the late Malchior, the story's going to focus for a chapter or two on how the kids and the Titans come together to help her through the remainder of her recovery. You'll notice I dropped the "Teen" aspect, though.

Also, I know I'm seriously OOC, especially with Raven. This is post-Trigon so, I'm letting the empath learn to feel more.

But, wait till the next story…You think Raven's had a hard time? Terra will face her nightmares with the team's help. Robin best look out because hell hath no fury like a ticked off geomancer. After that, who knows what will happen to the seven Titans. Maybe Cyborg finds someone special? (Probably not Bumble Bee, though…I haven't decided that one, yet.)

Those that leave signed reviews, I'll make time to respond to via PM. Those that are anonymous…or don't accept PMs, will get short replies here.

Thanks to those who have either reviewed or did a favorite story/author alert. But, please don't expect daily updates, especially when the writer's block hits…

Without further ado…

Chapter 4
[Next day]

After Edward woke up, he discovered that the two boys were playing quietly. He herded them to the bathroom and discovered that Robin had dropped off some diapers and training pants for Teether. Edward smiled at that as he also found that Teether needed a change in pants.

UGH! he thought to himself.

He changed the diaper and after wrapping up the smelly mess, he disposed of it.

[Good Morning, Rae,] he said through the link.

[Morning, dear!] she replied, [Happy said "Morning" as well.]

[Morning, Happy!] Edward replied.

He heard a giggle via the link as a reply.

[How did you sleep?] Raven asked.

[Very well, actually,] he replied, [You?]

[No nightmares!] she reported, [And, Melvin slept through the night. She's a doll.]

Edward smiled to himself, [That she is, Rae. What do you folks want for breakfast?]

There was a slight delay before Raven said, [Blueberry waffles sounds delightful. Melvin likes the idea as well.]

[Excellent!] Edward said, [That will work with the other Titans as well. Maybe I'll make Starfire some Zorka berry waffles.]

[She'll love that,] Raven said quietly. But, Edward knew that Raven was pretty pleased. She had a good night's sleep and well, she didn't realize that she was recovering faster.

[Wonder what giant stuffed teddy bears eat?] he wondered.

After a delay, Raven said, [If we can get Bobby safely to the forest outside Jump City, Melvin says he'll fend for himself. He doesn't like it, but, he'll do it.]

[No problem,] Edward said, [I'll teleport him over after breakfast.]

"Hungry," Timmy said.

[Kiddies are hungry,] Edward said, [See you in a little bit.]

"Come on, kids," he said aloud, "I'm hungry as well. I'm going to make blueberry waffles for breakfast."

Timmy actually smiled heating that one.

Edward picked up Teether and asked Timmy, "Want to hold my hand or carried?"

Timmy held his hand up and Edward grabbed it. Timmy was slowly learning, Edward figured. That made him happy.

He went into the common area and saw Beast Boy cooking his breakfast: tofu eggs and bacon, of course.

"Morning, BB!" Edward said, "Thanks for helping Starfire with the temperamental one here."

"No problem, dude!" he said cheerfully, "He loved it."

"I have blueberry waffles planned for breakfast, so, save some room," Edward said.

"Non-dairy, right?" he said.

"Of course, BB," Edward said with a smile. It had become an inside joke since Edward would typically fix a vegan meal for him when the others were eating meat based meals. Beast Boy had gotten used to seeing the team eating meat products. And, unlike Cyborg, Edward wouldn't try to sneak meat drippings into his food.

Beast Boy smiled at that thought as Starfire floated in.

"Morning, Star!" Edward said, "Question: Would you like blueberry waffles or zorkaberry waffles?"

"Zorkaberry!" she said before racing to her room to get some.

"Thought so," Edward said to Beast Boy.

"Can they even be cooked?" Beast Boy asked.

"Shouldn't be a problem," Edward said.

Starfire returned a few moments later with some of her favorite berries. Edward popped one into his mouth and said, "Not too bad tasting, actually. Almost like a cross between strawberry and cherry."

"You like them?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yep," Edward replied, "You haven't tried one yet?"

"Nope," Beast Boy said, "We've had 'problems' with Tamaranian food before."

"Do I want to know?" Edward said.

"Does the term 'praying to ralph' ring a bell?" Beast Boy asked.

"Ohhh!" Edward said, getting the picture. In his mind's eye, he saw the human Titans all green faced trying not to hurl.

[Dear, I can see that you know,] Raven said.

[Ooops! Sorry, love,] he replied and wiped that particular mental image.

[Thanks!] she said, giggling.

Cyborg was next in and asked, "Yo, Dawg! What's for breakfast? I'm starved! And it better not be tofu!"

"Blueberry waffles for us, Zorkaberry for Starfire, BB already made his tofu eggs and bacon. I know you want meat, so, we have bacon, sausage and/or ham."

"All right, Edward!" Cyborg said with a grin. He went to the fridge and dug out the ham steak he bought a few days before and tossed it to Edward.

"Eggs as well?" Edward asked.

"Certainly!" Cyborg, getting out a dozen.

Raven and Melvin were next in, followed by Robin, then, Terra walked in. She was looking tired, so, Edward made a mental note to see how she was doing.

"Gang's all here," Robin said, "After breakfast, we need to have a quick team meeting. Shouldn't take long, Titans."

Edward started cooking the various items. He separated the waffle mix into two bowls and stirred in the blueberries into one bowl and Starfire's zorkaberries in the other. He asked Raven to help, though. He was still working with her on basic cooking skills, and, this was her first time making waffles.

He wasn't worried about the children as they were preoccupied with Sesame Street (much to the grown-ups chagrin).

"Hand me the waffle iron, please," Edward said aloud. Raven handed him the waffle iron and he plugged it in. After a moment, he added non-stick spray and said, "This will help keep the waffles from sticking to the iron."

He grabbed the zorkaberry mix and using a medium ladle, scooped up some of the mix and poured it on the iron. He closed the lid and said, "This model tells you when the waffles are done, so, while we wait, let's get the skillets ready. One for the meat and one for the eggs. If we were doing bacon, we would use the bacon fat with the eggs. Today, Cyborg wanted the ham and there's plenty to go around."

They heated the skillets and Edward put the first ham steak in to heat up as the butter melted in the other pan. With the way the team trained, the calories would be burned off later in the day.

"Cyborg likes his eggs fried, so, this is the easiest way," he explained to the empath. He cracked two eggs into the pan and added salt and a dash of pepper.

By then, the waffles were done, and Edward showed Raven how ro carefully remove them and put them on a plate.

"Butter, Starfire?" Edward called out.

She nodded, "Mmm Mmm!"

Edward put some butter on the first layer of waffles and put another ladle on to cook. He knew Starfire would be hungry…then again the entire team was hungry.

"Take some of the melted butter and spoon it onto the eggs to partially cook the top," Edward instructed. Cyborg loved runny eggs, so, that's what he was teaching Raven. It was all very simple stuff.

"How do I know then they are done?" she asked.

"When the top of the egg is white," he said, "When they are done, take the spatula and carefully slide it underneath the egg and put that on Cy's plate. The ham should be flipped as well."

The cooking lesson continued and 20 minutes later, the team was sitting down to eat. Edward had put some items into a warmed oven.

The Titans dug into their meal, Edward helping Teether with his food while Raven supervised Timmy. Melvin was old enough to not need much supervision, though.

Starfire took one bite of her waffles and was overjoyed at the treat. She gave Edward a quick and, for her, gentle hug.

"You earned it, Starfire," Edward said, "for helping with the children."

The blueberry waffles went over very well with the other Titans, even Beast Boy who managed to grab some. Cyborg was impressed with the eggs as Edward allowed Raven to finish cooking those and the toast.

Edward looked at the chore sheet and announced, "Today's Cyborg's turn at the sink."

Cyborg said, "No problem…after this wonderful breakfast, it's worth the dishpan hands."

Edward, however, had done the pans while he was cooking, so, that made it easier for Cyborg.

15 minutes after the meal was done, Cyborg was finishing the dishes and sat down on the couch.

"Well, Titans," Robin said, "There are a few things to go over and they shouldn't take long.

"First off, are the kids. As I told Raven and Edward, if we get called out on a mission while the kids are here, they will be staying back."

Edward said, "May I interject?"

"Of course," Robin said.

"I think it would be a good idea for me to stay back and allow Raven to go. She raised an excellent point yesterday. We're a team and I have to remember that in missions. I'm used to handling fights solo, and she said that I'm doing too much in fights, not letting the team work as well as possible," Edward said, "For that, I apologize."

Robin said, "Apology accepted. You can stay back then. We'll contact you if we need backup, though." The others nodded.

"They'll be going back tomorrow, I think," Raven said, "I want to talk it over with Edward first, though."

Robin continued, "I got a message from Paris last night. They've got Mallah secured in a large cell. He's more docile than they thought he would be. From what they relayed, Edward called him a 'popsicle gorilla'."

The team laughed at that one. Edward explained, "I just reminded him that if he didn't behave, he'd be put back on ice." That got a laugh out of Beast Boy and even Starfire.

Robin chuckled, "I figured as much. Hopefully, Mallah will cooperate with the authorities and give up some information.

"We have a training session for after lunch. Hopefully the kids will be napping then. If not, Raven and/or Edward will be excused."

"If Cyborg doesn't mind, I can work out with his equipment," Edward said.

"That's the heavier stuff," Cyborg said, "It's several tons, remember?"

"I'm aware of that, Cy," Edward said, "That's perfect for me as well. I need the extra work."

"Only if you let me spot you," Cyborg said. Edward nodded in response.

"Ok, that's settled," Robin said, "In the next few days, we will be going over the records and making sure that things are updated. Batman is wanting to synchronize our database with the Justice League anyway, so, this will be a good time to make sure that everything updated. All files will be done. The Titan main members, honorary members, allies, and villains will be updated. I will handle one file personally. But, I will need to see Terra and Edward privately before then."

[Robin might want to tell Terra about Slade,] Edward said via the link, [Is she capable of handling the news? She looked bad this morning.]

[She still doesn't look all that well,] Raven said, [Should I talk to her?]

Edward pondered that one for a moment, [We've both been in her mind. She might respond to you. I'd stay on stand-by, just in case…or better yet, eavesdrop via the link.]

[Fine,] she said.

Edward said aloud, "No problem, Robin. You game, Terra?"

"Sure," she said.

[Something's wrong,] Raven said, [She's having problems with something. I can't put my finger on it.]

[Don't pry,] Edward advised, [She responds best to Beast Boy. We'll see if he figures out that she's upset.]

Robin dismissed the team a moment later. Edward, Raven and the kids went outside for a while.

Bobby made himself visible.

"You hungry, big guy?" Edward called up to him. Bobby nodded.

"All right," he said, "I'll teleport you to the forest. You'll have to stay invisible, though. We can't have the residents upset."

Edward shapeshifted to his larger dragon form. Bobby turned invisible and climbed on. Edward lifted into the air and teleported to the forest.

"I'll be back later on today," Edward said, "Please stay near here or let Melvin know where you will be so I can find you."

Bobby turned visible long enough to give Edward a smile.

After Bobby ambled into the forest, Edward went back to the Tower.

"He's going to get something to eat," Edward said.

"That's good," Raven said.

The kids were enjoying themselves immensely and, well, they had started to win Edward over. But, he knew, deep down, that the team was still years away from being able to have any kids there full time. Then, again, the way the three couples were going, there might be kids at the tower within that time frame. Edward didn't think there'd be a 1/3rd dragon, quarter human, quarter demon running around. But, he had no doubt that at some point Robin and Starfire would have kids, same with Terra and Beast Boy.

He didn't need the link to see that Raven was coming out of her self-imposed shell. He was enjoying seeing Raven as she was meant to be (well, after getting rid of Trigon, of course). She was slowly learning to let herself feel different emotions and the first was love for someone. Edward knew that the kids had beaten him to that area.

He had read Raven's report on that mission and was surprised to see that while the mission was a rough one, he could see when she warmed up to the kids and got involved when Mallah decided to try to kidnap them the first time.

Before Edward knew it, several hours had gone by. He snuck over to the water and reached down to see how the temperature was. It was still relatively cool, but, he had an idea.

[Hey, Rae?] he asked.

[What, Ed?] she replied.

[Water here isn't too cool. Want to take the kids to the beach later?] He inquired.

[I don't know if they can swim,] was her reply, [I'm sure that they will be here quite a bit over the years. We'll need to teach them before I feel safe letting them in the ocean.]

[Rats,] he replied, [Oh well, just a thought anyway.]

She sent a giggle through the link, [It's Ok, dear. I like the idea, but, we have to be safe, that's all.]

[I know,] he replied. He mused how the kids were really affecting Raven and he smiled despite himself. She was protective of them…as if they were her kids for real. He wondered how she'd be when they took the kids back home.

He heard a splash followed by a scream through the link, [EDWARD!]

He was already at a full run when he saw Raven drop her cloak and dive into the ocean. Without hesitation, Edward dove in and swam towards the spot where Raven dove in. Taking a deep breath, he went underwater and saw a trail of bubbles and headed for it.

He reached where Raven was struggling with something.

[Get to the surface, I'll handle this,] he said.

[It's got Melvin!] she cried.

[GO! You don't have enough air to handle this, I can breathe underwater if necessary,] he told her.

She headed for the surface and felt a sudden displacement of the water as Edward went Dragon.

At the edge of the water, the other Titans had gathered.

"Edward's fighting some creature that has Melvin!" Raven said. Beast Boy dove in to help without waiting for an order.

Edward had added gills to his Dragon form as a precaution as he realized he was fighting off a whale. He saw another whale approaching and realized Beast Boy had arrived to help.

Both Edward and Beast Boy rammed the other whale, forcing it to release Melvin. As that happened, there was a HUGE displacement as the ocean floor itself lifted. Terra had invoked her powers to force the ground to rise. The whale, Beast Boy, Edward and Melvin (in Edward's paw) were being lifted to the surface.

Terra played it smart, though and as the group surfaced, she stopped before the whale could be hurt by its own weight.

Edward turned around and leapt to the shore. He lowered Melvin to the ground and a panicked Raven reached her first and picked her up.

"Set her on the ground, Rae," Edward said.

She did and Edward returned to human form. He reached down and felt for a pulse.

"BLAST!" he growled and started doing chest compressions. Robin moved Raven out of the way and started doing rescue breaths for Melvin.

Beast Boy had also returned and pulled Raven into a hug.

"Let the whale go," Edward said to Terra. Terra nodded and focused. There was a slow grinding sound from underwater and the whale was allowed to go on its way.

"Come on, Melvin," Edward said, "Breathe!"

"Her lungs are flooded," Cyborg said sadly.

Edward moved to straddle the dying girl.

Robin saw the change and moved away, "Do it!"

Edward placed his hands just under her chest and pushed in and up as hard as he dared. A spout of water erupted from Melvin's nose and mouth.

Robin hurried and gave her some breaths as Edward resumed the chest compressions.

A faint beeping noise was heard. It was Cyborg's built-in scanner indicating that Melvin's heart has restarted.

Robin jerked away, spitting out salt water as Melvin started breathing again.

By then, Raven had collapsed, taking Beast Boy with her. Beast Boy was holding the empath and whispering words into her ear, trying to calm her.

[Raven, hon,] Edward said, [It's going to be all right. She's breathing.]

Raven looked as Melvin's skin started turning pink again. Raven let out a gasp and raced to Melvin.

All she did was hold Melvin and sob. Edward put an arm around Raven and focused a calming vibe into Raven.

"Get a gurney," Robin said to Cyborg and Beast Boy. They rushed into the Tower and a few minutes later, they were back with a gurney.

Melvin was still out cold as Raven carefully picked her up and put her on the bed.

Starfire, for her part, was fighting back her own tears as she held onto Timmy and Teether.

Everyone went into the Tower and straight to the infirmary. Raven moved Melvin to the diagnostic bed.

"75% Oxygen, 10 liters/minute," Edward ordered, "I'll need blood gases as well. Possibly blood thinners."

Cyborg placed an oxygen mask on her face and set the dials. He set up an IV with D5W-TKO as a precaution, but, didn't insert it yet.

"Not needed," Edward said.

Raven had stopped crying and an angry look replaced it. Her hands glowed blue and she moved close to Melvin.

"What?" Edward said.

"She can heal," Robin said. Edward nodded. He was going to do the same thing with his healing touch.

The glow faded from her hands and she said, totally monotone, "I've done all I can."

Edward looked up at the display and saw that the damage to her lungs was about 60% healed.

"I got it from here," Edward said, "I also can heal, along with a few other tricks."

Edward focused his healing ability into his hands, causing them to also glow blue. His eyes started glowing as well.

He placed his hands on either side of her chest and the glowing actually increased in intensity for several long moments before fading away. A look at the scanners showed that her lungs were healed. Edward couldn't do much about the whacky blood levels, though.

"She's going to be all right in a few hours," Cyborg said with a relieved smile.

"Keep her here overnight?" Edward suggested.

"Agreed," Cyborg said, "I don't like the look of the blood gas and her blood has thickened. I'll start her on blood thinners."

"Yeah, the salt water did that number to her," Edward explained to the others, "My healing abilities fixed her lungs and any possible heart damage, but, that didn't help her blood chemistry. That will fix itself overnight."

Raven went over to Edward and accepted his embrace. She wept quietly.

"She's going to be all right, dearest Raven," Edward said gently.

"I turned for just a second," she said, "Next thing I knew, the whale had grabbed Melvin and was gone."

"Hush, love. It's OK," Edward said.

"Sister Raven," Starfire said, coming over and pulling the empath into a very gentle hug, "Friend Edward's right, Melvin's going to be OK."

Raven was a wreck! She just wept into her honor sister's uniform until she cried herself to sleep.

"Let me have her," Cyborg said, "There's the spare bed here."

Cyborg, acting more like a big brother, took the exhausted empath from Starfire and laid her down. He got a blanket for Raven and covered her up, then got one for Melvin.

Edward monitored Raven through the link and even in her dreams, she was plagued by what had just happened. What bothered him the most was her view on how he treated her.

His heart was hurt "seeing" how she was hurting inside.

He took a deep breath and flooded the link with calming thoughts and emotions.

[Why did you yell?] Timid asked through the link.

[I'm sorry about that, Timid. I didn't mean to scare you. I was afraid that Rae would stay too long and I'd have to rescue her and Melvin,] he said calmly, and trying to reassure one of Raven's more fragile emotions.

[You care about her?] Timid asked.

[Of course, I do. Why wouldn't I?] Edward replied.

[She's done things that tend to chase people away,] Timid said.

[I know,] Edward said, [I don't care about Rae's past. I care about her present and her future more. You know how I fought for her, right?]

Timid sighed, [Thank you, for everything.]

Edward poured more calming emotions through the link and he sensed Raven falling into a deeper sleep as a result. He felt it was more of a healing sleep.

He gently put a hand on her cheek and she snuggled closer as a result.

Robin saw that and said, "You can lay next to her, if you want. She trusts you not to do anything bad, so, I do as well."

He smiled and gently got in bed. He pulled the empath closer and she responded favorably, snuggling close to him.

"Let's go, guys," Robin said gently, "Raven and Melvin will be OK. They're in the best hands possible."

Edward was glad for the privacy, though. It gave him a chance to project more calming thoughts to her, to reassure her that Melvin was going to be all right.

Raven spasmed in her sleep, as if she was fighting something.

"It's OK, sweetheart," he whispered into her ear, "Relax. I'm here. Melvin's safe."

She whimpered in her sleep, "No…can't let her drown."

"She's safe, Rae. She's in the Tower," Edward whispered, "She didn't drown."

"Please, you have to save her," she whimpered, "PLEASE!"

Edward's senses went into overdrive as the link went nuts. She was in the throes of another nasty nightmare.

"Raven! It's OK. Come on, dear, you have to wake up," Edward urged, "It's a nightmare, but, take control of it, like you did before."

She thrashed wildly and Edward had to hold her down as gently as he could.

She calmed a moment later as Edward started rubbing her back. Her breathing settled down as the link itself quieted. The worst of the dream was over.

In fact, Raven woke up a few moments later and rolled over to see her boyfriend there.

"Hi, sleepyhead," he said.

Raven sat up with a scowl, "What are you doing here?"

"Easy, Rae," Edward said, "You looked like you needed me in your sleep. You accepted my touch then."

"You didn't…" Raven said.

"Never while you sleep, dearest," he said, "Robin would throw me in jail if I did. He saw that you trusted me while you sleep and said he'd trust me to be a gentleman."

She relaxed then, "Sorry."

Edward smiled, "Don't be. This is the woman I love, remember? You didn't know."

"Actually, Timid's telling me that you talked to her," Raven said.

"She was scared. I had to be more forceful with you than I like," Edward said, "You could have drowned had I not been that way. I'm sorry if that offended you."

"I'm not offended, honey," she said, "But, I have to calm Timid down and a few other emotions. I need to meditate."

"Let me check on Melvin first, OK?" Edward asked. Raven nodded.

Edward got up and checked Melvin's vital signs. They were a shade off normal, but, the blood thinner was doing its job. She looked like she was about to wake up.

Edward smiled over to Raven, "She's going to be fine. In fact, I think she'll wake up shortly…

[Commons]

While Edward was tending to Raven, the others were waiting patiently for word. They knew it would be a while, though.

"That was scary," Beast Boy said, "We almost lost Melvin there."

Robin sighed, "And Raven. She would have drowned trying to save Melvin. We've seen how Edward is when he's protecting her. I don't want to see him if he ever fails in that mission. We couldn't stop him if his draconic temper erupts. We saw that with Malchior…that intense flashing of his scales in every color. That has to be a warning sign."

"It is," Beast Boy said, "He's part reptile and some reptiles alter their colors to intimidate enemies."

"Yet, despite that rage we saw, he allowed Terra here to finish the job," Robin said.

"I know why," Terra said, "If it wasn't for Edward and Raven…I'd be dead. He was acknowledging the life debt I owed him. He told me afterwards that he considered the debt paid."

"Please," Starfire said, "What is a debt of life?" She was holding the two other kids, who were napping peacefully.

Cyborg said, "That's a debt owed when one saves your life, Star. In some cultures, that's an important thing. I think Edward, at one point, was immersed in a culture that valued such a debt. He doesn't seem to be one who expects to collect on a life debt, though. I guess that he wanted Terra to know that as well."

"That was among other things," Robin said, "I think he realized that the team was there, watching his back. He spends so much time watching our backs that he has to make an effort to let us do what we do best. I'm glad I asked Raven to talk to him about it."

"He's certainly protective of the entire team," Terra said, "I wish he had been here when I first joined the team. I think he would have protected me from Slade."

Beast Boy said, "Terra, you could have come to us with those problems. We cared about you then as well as today. I fell for you at first sight."

She sighed, "I should have seen that, Garfield. I've regretted that since then." It was serious since Beast Boy was uncomfortable with his given name.

He pulled the geomancer into a hug and said, "Don't beat yourself up. I forgave you a long time ago. I had to because I had faith that you'd be back. If I held a grudge, how could I take you back?"

He kissed Terra to back up his point. She kissed him back, of course.

"Glorious," Starfire cheered quietly.

"Agreed, Star," Robin said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Good job, BB," Robin continued after that, "I know Edward was happy for the assist."

"Raven's my friend as well as Edward," Beast Boy said, "Of course I had their back."

"Same goes for you, Terra," Robin said.

"I knew that time was running out for them, I had to do something," she said.

"Thanks for not harming that whale," Beast Boy said.

"There was no reason to," Terra replied, "It probably was confused."

Robin sighed and reached for the remote to the TV and turned it on. While he really wanted to go over the crime reports, his heart wouldn't be in it while the empath was in distress. He was more worried about Raven's potential reaction and waiting for the inevitable tremor through the Tower if Edward ended up blasted through a window.

Luckily for the Boy Wonder, by then, Raven had woken up and realized that Edward was being a gentleman. There'd be no explosion today.

[Infirmary]

Melvin was starting to stir and that got both Edward and Raven over to her side.

"Uhhh!" Melvin moaned, "What happened?"

"A whale grabbed you," Raven said in a monotone.

"A whale?" she asked, "How am I still alive?"

"Because you're with the Titans," Edward said, "Rae and I jumped in to save you."

Melvin looked at both of them and her memory started to come back.

"I remember Raven swimming after me, then, you," she said, "Then nothing at all!"

She looked freaked out.

Raven gathered her in a hug, "It's OK, Melvin. You're safe."

The tears started for Melvin then. Raven just held her and murmured into her ear softly. Edward smiled softly, letting Raven know that she was doing the right thing. Melvin didn't have a mom, so, had latched onto Raven as a new mom.

Melvin calmed down after a few minutes and looked at Edward. He held out his arms and Melvin leapt into them.

"Easy, little lady," Edward said, chuckling.

"Thank you," Melvin said.

"You're most welcome, Melvin," Edward said, "It was a pleasure to help you."

"We all helped," Beast Boy said as the rest of the team walked in.

Terra went over and gave Melvin a hug, then, everyone else did.

"We couldn't let you be hurt," Terra said. The young geomancer wasn't letting it show, but, she had been badly frightened. But, a certain empath knew. It was hard to hide those feelings from Raven.

[Terra's been through a shock,] she said to Edward. He looked at Raven, then, Terra.

[I can't probe her mind,] Edward said, [We'll talk to her later on, when she's had time to bounce back some.]

Raven said, [Good idea.]

Edward put a hand on Terra's shoulder, which was gratefully grasped by her.

"How do you feel?" he asked, referring to Melvin.

"A little shaken," Terra replied, thinking that Edward was asking her.

"Want to talk about it?" Edward asked her.

"With Beast Boy, please," Terra replied.

"Fair enough," Edward said.

He gave a gentle squeeze and removed his hand.

"What about you, Melvin?" Edward asked, "Feeling better?"

"I'm OK," she said, "But, didn't I drown?"

Edward said, "We're not going to lie to you, child. You did drown. Beast Boy, Terra and I got you out of the water. Rae could have drowned as well, but, she tried to help.

"Robin and I helped to get you breathing again and brought you in here.

"That's when Raven really helped you. You know that dark energy she has?"

Melvin nodded.

"Well, Raven can help to heal people she cares about," Edward said, "She's really good at it."

[Don't tell her about my assistance. She needs to know that you were helping,] he advised Raven.

[You sure?] she asked, shocked a little bit.

[Positive, dear. You can have the credit,] he said.

He had to hope that the other Titans would realize what Edward was doing and not ruin it.

Melvin, though, absorbed the info as best she could. She surprised Raven with a quick hug and kiss.

Cyborg said, "Can I get you to lay down for a minute? I'd like to check you out real quick."

Melvin complied and sure enough, the diagnostic scanners showed that she was well enough to leave the infirmary.

Edward was relieved at seeing the little one healthy.

He and Raven walked with the other Titans to the common area to relax a little bit He didn't want to go through that sort of scare again. In the space of an hour, he had to rescue Melvin, then, Raven. He hated being gruff with his girlfriend, but, the empath might have drowned trying to rescue Melvin.

In her panic, she even forgot to use her powers…or maybe they didn't work underwater? Either way, she was powerless to protect Melvin. That left Edward and then the others to help.

But, Edward knew, deep down, that Raven needed the self-confidence boost he handed to her. He knew that she felt inadequate there. He knew that later that night, when dinner was done, they'd head outside for a while.

The excitement over, though, it was time to relax before the training session for the rest of the team…