A/N

Hey guys, here's chapter 5 :D

Sorry, I've been suffering writer's block. thanks to Xaphrin and Nano1012 for their help.

thank you all for all the beautiful reviews, faves and follows.

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own the Teen Titans.

Raven woke up startled. It wasn't because she was unaccompanied, or because of the sudden thunder that ruined the tranquillity of the crack of dawn. Something was up. Something was wrong. Her chest tightened as an image of Nightwing flashed before her eyes. Quickly she sprung out of the bed and looked around the room; then she ran towards the living room, checking the area, sometimes when he was back late from a mission he crashed on her couch. Empty. She looked at the clock, 6:16 am.

Calm down Raven. Breathe. Focus. Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos...

She chanted, trying to reach him through their bond. Nothing.

The empath darted back towards her room and quickly changed into a pair of white shorts and a blue shirt and decided to teleport to Richard's apartment. She was suddenly engulfed in darkness and subsequently she was standing on her boyfriend's flat. The lights were out and there was no sign of movement.

"Richard?" She called out as she inspected each room. Again: Nothing.

She growled as her chest tightened painfully again. "Where are you Richard?" She whispered to herself.

That was when she felt it: A small tap on their bond. It was weak but still enough for her to trace it. Raven sat on her lotus position and began her chant. Her soul self traveled into the night, looking for him, just as she had done all those years ago. She saw through his eyes. She saw an abandoned warehouse; she felt the smell of salty water and rust, the faint roar of waves. She opened her eyes and gasped for air as her soul self returned to her. She dried off the beads of sweat that were rolling down her forehead as she tried to steady her breathing. She closed her eyes and pictured the warehouse, the salt, the rust.

Within seconds she was standing at the entrance of an abandoned warehouse next to the neglected docks of Blüdhaven, rain pouring down on her. Inside the old building the illumination was dim. Raven scanned the storehouse, her eyes wide open, trying to catch any glimpse of activity. As she walked silently inside, (her powers were too weak for her to levitate) she heard a soft groan, almost inaudible. For a second she froze, before her a dark shape moved slightly. She felt his warm presence invading her, and once again, the pain on her chest began. She sprinted frantically as she realized the figure on the floor was his limp body.

"Nightwing!" She screamed feverishly as she saw blood pooling around him. "Oh Azar!"

She kneeled beside him and slowly rested his head on her lap. His uniform was ripped on the left side of his chest, where a deep cut followed. She put both of her hands on top of the wound and began to chant, waiting for her healing powers to kick in. 1… 2… 3… Nothing happened. Her energy had been consumed in her desperate attempt to find him with her soul self.

"Oh Azar, goddess, help me, please help me." She prayed as she closed her eyes.

She pressed her hands to the gash to apply pressure on it, in order to stop the blood from flowing. She closed her eyes and focused eagerly on the wound. A few streaks of bluish and white light erupted from the palms of her trembling hands. She let out a sigh of relief as the injury gradually began to heal, slower than usual, but at least the bleeding had slowed down. Her focus was broken as she felt him stir beneath her touch.

"Shh… Stay still, please." She whispered into his ear.

"Hey beautiful." Was all he managed to say, his voice feeble.

She shushed him and kissed his forehead quietly. She kept on healing him until her powers faded at last. Drained, she managed to drag him towards an old broken sofa that was a few meters away. Raven helped him stand up from the floor and sit on the couch, laying him down so that he could rest.

"What the hell happened?" she asked in a whisper, scared that her voice would break.

"I wish I knew Rae. I was attacked from behind, on the docks, masked guy. I was expecting a drug shipment, that's what the report said anyway." He replied, avoiding her eyes.

"No other clue? Nothing?" she inquired, sitting beside him.

"I'm not sure, I thought I saw some kind of mark on his uniform, but he knocked me out with an explosive device… I suppose he dragged me in here so no one would find me."

"Wait for me here, don't move."

And with that she headed out, back to the docks, searching for any traces that could provide some information. She walked around for a while, under the drizzle, when suddenly, a glistening piece of metal caught her eye. She picked it up carefully; it was probably a scrap of the explosive gadget. She looked at it and she instantly let it fall out of her grasp. A shiver run down her spine as she realized what the "S" engraved on the metal meant.

"No… not Slade"

A few hours later they were back at her apartment. They had to wait for a couple of hours until Raven had regained enough strength to teleport them back to safety. The empath hadn't found the courage to tell Richard about Slade's symbol in the explosive device. She was willing to tell him, although she wanted to wait until he had fully recovered. The cut was deep, and although her powers had helped, it wasn't enough.

Currently she was cooking something for them to eat, as it was already 5 in the afternoon an neither had ate since last night. Richard was resting in her room, he couldn't move much because the wound could easily reopen. Raven entered the room with a tray with two bowls of noodles. She sat next to him on the bed and as soon as she did, she remembered she had forgotten to bring in some water, so she left to fetch some. Richard eyed the bowls that were out of his reach, he was starving. He tried to reach them without moving, but failed. He leaned a bit on his side and was about to reach his bowl when a sudden jolt of pain stopped him. Raven returned just in time to see the wound reopen, blood oozing out if it once more.

"Seriously Richard? I'll have to bandage it now, and I have no bandages left."

"Sorry, I was starving Rae," he apologized, "Why don't you ask your neighbour, maybe he has some bandages?"

"Fine. But don't move this time. Here, hold this cloth to the wound," she said exasperated, "and here's your food. Now, don't burn the house down while I'm out, ok?"

Knock knock knock

John opened the door, Raven was baffled, his hair was tousled and his face was bruised, his glasses were nowhere to be seen. She had never seen him like this.

"Hey Rach, what's up?" he addressed her, trying to smile.

"John, what happened to you?" she requested.

"Oh nothing serious, bar fight," he brushed it off.

"Seriously, a bar fight John?" she snorted, "You? In a bar fight? In a bar?"

"Yeah, I've been hanging out in bars lately, now that you're too busy with your mysterious boyfriend."

"Speaking of which… do you happen to have any bandages?" She asked, remembering her boyfriend's state, "Richard cut his finger with a knife and his kind of… bleeding?"

"Um… yes. Just wait for me here, I'll fetch them."

He left and shut the door on her face. Raven stared perplexed at the door. He usually invited her to his apartment. He usually avoided bars; he usually wasn't beaten up. Scratch that, she had never seen him beaten up, not even a scratch. John wasn't mysterious, he was one of the most open and honest people she knew. What the hell was wrong with him?

DUN DUN DUNNNN. That's it guys! loved it? hated it? want more? LEAVE A REVIEW! it really helps, plus, I'll update sooner if you do ;)