Sorry if this Chapter is kinda boring, the next one will be more action-y. Scouts honor *SPOCK*.

The couple woke up to sly smirks on their teammates faces. They had fallen asleep next to each other, Robin cuddled up to Star, his head tucked into the crook of her neck. He was dreading the teasing already.

"Well it's about freaking time!" Cyborg laughed.

"Yeah dude, took you long enough."

They were congratulating them? He was expecting, 'Aw look at Star being a momma bird for her little Robin,' and crap like that.

He took a fuming breath, "why you-" he couldn't finish because he was attacked by horrendous cough. He choked and brought his hand up to his mouth. Something was coming up, but it was painful. Starfire held a napkin out to him while he hacked over and over. Finally, his shoulders heaved and he tasted iron. After his fit, he looked at the blood soaked napkin and sighed. Raven took it from him and made it disintegrate. Star wiped his mouth clean.

"Looks like your body is starting to flush that stuff out."

He opened his mouth to reply, but another cough interrupted him. They got him a plastic bag this time, and was a good thing too, there was more blood this time. Starfire rubbed his back as he coughed it up.

"Okay, we get it. Don't talk."

"Star will answer for you." Cyborg smirked. "Won't ya Star?"

"If it prevents Robin from choking, I will be happy to oblige."

They smiled in triumph. "So what happened last night?" Beast Boy wagged his eyebrows.

She looked sidelong at Robin who was blushing. "Well, Slade appeared to Robin while I was getting dinner down the stairs. When I came back, he was gone, the window was open, and his grappling hook was wrapped around the middle bar of the window frame. So I flew out and looked for him. He had not gotten very far, but he looked determined to go somewhere. So I followed silently, making sure he didn't see me, but making sure he did not hurt himself."

"How was he getting around?" Raven questioned.

"He was using one of his bows as support." She continued. "He stopped a mugger in an alley way, and the victim thanked him and wanted to return the favor. Robin got in the man's car and they drove off together."

The team was listening intently now, Raven standing opposite of Star, Cyborg sitting in the chair Starfire had been occupying, and Beast Boy sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed.
"I followed him out to the cemetery, where he finally got out. The other man drove away. I followed overhead for awhile, until I lost him in the trees and fog. I landed and walked toward him, but he panicked and tried running away. Then he tripped and skidded across the cement. I worried that he hurt himself so I ran toward him. He screamed at me, and seemed to think that I was Slade. After he calmed down, I made my presence known and brought him back."

"Then what happened?" Cyborg's smirk grew.

"We talked."

"About what?" Beast Boy countered.

"What happened."

"Only that?"

"And some other things..."

"Like?"

"Robin doesn't want to tell you."

"You admitted how you felt about each other." Raven finished.

"What?! No we-" Robin tried to finish but the coughing took over.

"What he means to say is..." She put her hand on his shoulder, telling him it would be okay. "He told me about his time with Slade."

The team stopped their teasing and looked at them gravely. Everything made sense now, and they didn't think twice seeing Robin in Star's arms. They almost felt bad for teasing him. Almost.

Robin cleared his throat of the red liquid. Finally he spoke, his voice rough. "Well it's only a matter of time before BB and Raven get together." He smirked.

Cyborg fell out of his chair in laughter. Raven was thankful for her hood and pulled it over her blushing face. Beast Boy just sat wide eyed at the end of the bed, mouth wide open, hands in the air like it would help him fathom what had just happened. Starfire giggled joyously.
A nurse came in, not much later, to check on Robin. The team explained that he had been hacking up blood all morning.

"Is it hard for you to breathe?"

He nodded.

"I'm going to talk to your doctor quickly, and see what kind of treatment he wants you on." Then she left.

"I hate this..." he croaked before he coughed.

"We're well aware of how you feel about hospitals. We can't heal you any faster." Raven lectured.

"Why not? You've got healing powers."

"Most of your injuries need to heal naturally, it won't matter if I heal the others."

"Rassafrass..." he mumbled.

The doctor came in with a clipboard and a smile. "So you've had a bloody morning so far?"

Robin nodded.

"Well, I managed to rope a spot in surgery at 2:00. Are you up to it?"

"How long...is the...surgery?"

"About four hours"

"That long?"

"We have to re-break your rips and set it. Not to mention sewing up your spleen and pumping out the spare blood in your abdomen...which also means you with need a blood transfusion."

"I will volunteer to give Robin blood!" Starfire spoke up.

The doctor blink and then smiled. "Not to be rude...but aren't you...um...a little too foreign?"

"Tameranian blood is versatile. It is much like your O+ type, the universal blood type. I can donate to any species in our universe."

The doctor looked impressed. "I don't doubt you know what you're talking about, but I want to run a test just to make sure that there isn't any kind of possible complications."

"My blood will be different then his, but as soon as it mixes, it will adapted to match."

"Alright, we can test that." Then he addressed Robin. "I know your just getting your strength back, but this sure will drain you."

"It's okay...it's not like I can do anything...but sleep and eat anyway."

The doctor smiled. "I know you don't, but are you sure you don't want any pain killers?"

"Will it effect...my mental state?"

The doctor looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Will my...hallucinations go...away or get...worse?"

"Neither, it will just make your pain subside. It will also calm your nerves."

Robin looked down to his still unsteady hands. "It'll go away?"

"That's why they're shaking. Your eye is also twitching and you've got a headache."
This guy was definitely a doctor.

"I'll...think about it."

"Alright, until then, just relax. Play a game or something." Then he left.

"And I know just the game!" Beast Boy chirped as he turned into a robin and flew out the momentarily open window.

"Now he...is just...mocking me." Robin said bitterly.

"What game do you supposed Beast Boy is getting?"

"I don't know...knowing him, he'll probably bring the game station with him."

"That's probably not...a good idea for me...you know how I get...with video games."

Not a moment later, Beast Boy flew back in the window with a deck of cards in his tiny talons. He dropped the deck on the table and chirped. It was the weather game.

"Wow Beast Boy, you actually had a good idea!" Cyborg laughed.

He morphed back into a human. "I have them once in a while, just so you know." He said sternly.

Robin smirked. "Alright, let's play...a few rounds...I have about...two hours...before they come to...prep me."

And so they played a couple rounds. The first two they let Robin win on purpose, but when he figured out that they did, he ordered them to play to win. He didn't win a game after that, and it was perfectly alright with him.

Soon enough, the doctor and a couple of nurses came into the room. The Titans left, all except for Starfire. She decided to go to the room above and observe. They gave him a heavy amount of anesthesia to put him out. In Robin's mind, he was seeing something else.

He was running. He wasn't sure why, but he was doing it anyways. He was running a lot lately. There were footsteps. They'd been following much lately. Almost monotonous. No matter which way he went, everywhere he turned. They were always there. Taunting him, haunting him. There was no escape, only pain to come. He hated this nightmare world, he wanted to wake up.
Wake up.

Robin opened his eyes to horror. A blinding white light and a dark room. He wanted to scream but there was something on his face. He lifted his hand to remove it, but became aware of the stabbing pain in this side. Reluctantly, he looked to the spot and found metal utensils protruding, covered in blood.

"Oh crap, he's awake, we need more anesthesia! Stat!"

Robin looked to the face of the voice, only to see Slade, of course. "What are you doing to me?"

"Kid, relax, we'll put you out in a minute."

"I don't want to be put out! I want to know what you're doing to me!"

"Don't worry," the voice to his left spoke. "It'll all be over soon."
Robin turned slowly, gulping deeply. The visage of this new person sent shivers through his spine, throbs in his shoulder and involuntary tears to his eyes. "This...this is y-your sick joke?!"

"There's no joke here..." A meaty smile cracked across his sickeningly white face. "Now, why don't you give us a smile?"

"JOKER!" he screamed.

The surgeons were baffled. The doctor had warned them about the patient's dire mental state, but they didn't think he would wake up. However, now that he was awake and screaming, they didn't know what to do. If he moved too much with those knives in his side, he might break something important.

They had some interns already in the room holding his shoulders back and his feet to the table. As scared as he was, he wasn't very strong. Soon enough, a nurse came with a refill. The doctor removed the old mask with difficulty, since Robin was furiously shaking his head.
The nurse raised the new one and brought it closer to his face.

"No...don't put me under! DON'T PUT ME UNDER!" He cried.

The nurse had no choice, but the desperation in Robin's voice, the fear, it made him feel horrible. He rubbed his head softly. "Sorry kid, it's for your own good."

The operation was successful, despite Robin's panic attack, and he was back in his room. The doctors had fitted him with an oxygen mask after the surgery to help him breathe, since he would be weak. He was exhausted, but didn't dare sleep. Especially since he knew who was there to greet him. Starfire was allowed to see him and readily embraced him.

"Your surgery was successful and for that I am glad, but I saw you wake up half way through and you were screaming and it scared me so! Are you alright?" She sat cross-legged, hovering a few inches above his legs.

He just stared at her, too weak to speak. She stared back, waiting. The small smile on her face disappearing as she read him. His aqua eyes were dark and full of despair. Tears were forming and his lip quivered ever so slightly.

"Robin, what is wrong?" she asked tenderly, caressing his face.

"I saw him..." he whispered his voice muffled from the mask.

"Slade?" It was more of a statement then a question .

"No...the Joker..." then he fell silent again.

"Who is the joker?"

He only stared, begging with his eyes, hoping that she would know. If he wasn't going to answer, she wouldn't press it. Instead, she kissed his forehead reassuringly and said, "He is not here now. You can relax." She turned the television on to Spongebob, being a safe channel for him to watch. And then forced him to lean back against the pillows. He seemed to calm down a bit and she left to make an important call.

Back in Gotham, Bruce Wayne got a call on his private line in his office at Wayne enterprises.

"Mr. Wayne, you have a call from Jump City Hospital."

"Please put them through."

"Mr. Bat- er...Mr. Bruce!"

"Ah Starfire, hello, and what do I owe this pleasant call?"

"Excuse me?"

"...what's up?"

"Gas prices?"

He laughed. "I meant, 'what do you need?'"

"Oh, I have a question. Who is the joker?"

He suddenly sounded much more serious. "Why do you ask?"

"Robin said he saw him with Slade."

"Oh...he was a villain we faced a few times, much like you have with Slade. The last time Robin faced him, he was shot in the shoulder, and batgirl was shot in the spine. The Joker is a psychopath and his only goal was to play horrible jokes that were only funny to him."

"So he is still out there?"

"No...he's in Arkham asylum now. And should be there for awhile. Did he say anything?"

"No...he was very quiet and only said he saw him. Nothing else. He did not say anything else but that. He is acting very strange."

"I'm counting on you to take care of him for me, okay?"

"Yes sir."

"He's lucky to have such a devoted friend."

"Thank you."

"He loves you, you know that?"

"I do not doubt he cares deeply about me, as I do for him, but I would like to hear it from his own mouth."

"Alright, just don't get discouraged. He's stubborn and doesn't like to talk about feelings."

She giggled. "That is very true. Thank you for help Mr. Bruce."

"Please Starfire, call me dad."

After her phone call, Starfire returned to Robin's room, he was staring blankly at the screen. She knew what had to be done. She took her place next to him and put an arm around his shoulders.

"Robin, I called your father, and he said not to worry about the Joker. He is in Arkham asylum and will not be getting out anytime soon. You are safe."

He let out a deep breath and leaned into her, but said nothing. He didn't need to, he was shaking all over. She placed a hand on his cheek and smiled at him.

"Please close your eyes to sleep. I will stay here to protect you."

"You can't protect me...no one can...I know that now. The Joker...Slade...whoever these monsters are, I can't escape them...they will come...and no matter what I do...they won't go away. Figment or not...they're real to me."

"You are tired?"

"Exhausted...but I can't fall asleep."

"Shall I sing to you the Tameranian song of peace?"

He smiled despite himself, "I wouldn't mind, but the rest of the patients might."

"Then I will sing it very softly, like how my mother would sing to me."

"Alright." he closed his eyes and anticipated the war cry, but none came. Instead, he heard Starfire's childlike voice carrying a soft tune.

"Augun mien og augun thien, ou thae foogru steina. Mitt varthitt og thitt var mitt. Thuo veist hvadth aev meina." He had no idea what she was saying, but he didn't care. It felt like the meaning of the song was so pure, so special, it couldn't be described in words. The melody seemed to creep into his mind and dispel the doubt the plagued him. For a moment, he really felt peace. It was tangible, his best friend was here comforting him, he was not lost yet, he still could be free.

"Lang't er seedthan sae eig hann, sannlega freedth'r var hann."

He opened his eyes to look at her and strangely, there was a silhouette behind her. Doctor? Nurse? No…He continued to listen to her strange ballad, but the shadow…what about it was bothering him? It slowly came into the light and right up behind Starfire, who was completely oblivious.

Damn it!

Slade's fingers danced across the side of Starfire's face, her hair pushed out of the way. She closed her eyes as she sang on.

"Allt sem priidtha mae einn mann. Mest af liydth'm bar hann."

With her eyes closed, she couldn't see the pure trepidation bleeding from his eyes. He was begging her to turn around, to deck Slade. To run, anything, just to make it stop.

"Th'g eig trega manna mest, mædda af taera floudth'i. Oh, ad'th vid'th hefd'thum aldrei shest, elsku vinurinn goud'thi." She finished and looked at him, expecting him to be asleep. But she was surprised when he was wide-eyed and staring past her. "He's behind me, isn't he?" She asked, acting like she was afraid.

He nodded at her.

At that, she turned and threw a punch. Slade scooted back. "Did I get him?"

"No…he moved back…"

"I cannot see him, you'll have to tell me where he is. I'll try to get him this time!"

"3 feet…directly in front."

She threw a punch.

"He ducked."

She kicked.

"He jumped."

"He is quite fast, but cannot attack me!" She threw rapid punches to the point where she believed Robin saw Slade. Apparently, none of them connected.

"He's gone…out the window…"

"X'HAL! The nerve! I am sorry I could not catch him…you must think me a failure…"

He beckoned her to come to him. "No…Slade is hard…to fight…even when…you can see him…You did great…thank you…"

She sat next to him on the bed. "I welcome you."

"Starfire…?"

"Yes?"

"I…love you." Even though it was muffled from the mask, it did not sound any less sincere.

She smiled broadly at him and kissed his forehead, tenderly. "And I have the love for you. No matter how much Slade or The Joker tell you otherwise. You are my best friend Robin, and I have loved you for a very long time."

"How…long?"

"Ever since you called me your friend."

"I respected you…when you threw the car…with your foot…I liked you…when you kissed me…and I loved you…when you decided you…would rather die than…live in a world…where we had to fight…each other."

"I am so glad we do not have to."

He smiled at her, his split lips healing, but then looked at her seriously. "I am not…trying to get rid…of you…but I want you to…go home and get some…sleep to-night…Slade...will not return…until tomorrow."

"Are you sure?"

"He said so…as he left."

"Alright…Until then, you have all of my attention."

And he was glad for it.

This Fic's had alot of singing in it hasn't it?

Starfire's song is real, it's called 'Visur Vatsenda Rosu' or 'Rose by Waters Edge' by Bjork. I wrote it out phonetically and Tamaranian-ish.

AND I LOVE REVIEWS.