Soo, this is chapter 26! We have come to the end of the fourth movie and following my own writings from now.
At the very least, Damian realized his feelings for Daphne. Anyways, there is more to come so stay tuned! ^^/ - (July 22, 2016)

Chapter 26:

Daphne woke up to find herself in bed. She looked around and suddenly caught a soft snoring to her left. When she turned, she was surprised to see Jaime, sleeping. She smiled weakly at him. She sat up, flinching when a stab hit her head. As if knowing that she had woken up, Jaime stirred and sat up. He rubbed his eyes.

"Good, you're finally awake," he started.

"How long was I asleep?" she asked.

"Today makes 4 days. You had a fever and it was getting higher by day," he explained.

"I guess you're right. My head still stings," Daphne muttered weakly.

"Kori said that if you still have a fever, you should keep resting. We take turns to look after you..." he said.

"Master Damian too?" she asked.

Jaime nodded slowly after a brief pause. She knew that he was lying. She didn't want him to worry, so she nodded at his reply. She knew that Damian would never do such a thing for her sake. It is not like him at all if he did. Jaime told her that he would bring her lunch. She thanked him with another fake smile. The boy patted her head once before leaving her. Daphne looked sadly at her lap. Her tears abruptly started trickling down her cheeks.

Why?

After half an hour, Garfield barged into the room with Jaime behind him. Daphne wiped her tears and looked up to them. Garfield noticed her swollen eyes. He turned to Jaime who was busy placing the tray on her table. Garfield helped her to the table.

"I'll leave you with Gar. He was delighted to hear that you've awakened," Jaime excused himself.

"Where's Master Damian?" she asked Garfield.

"He went on a patrol with Raven. Apparently, there were heists going about when we were busy saving the world from Trigon, so they're investigating it," he explained.

"I see..." Daphne muttered.

"A package arrived for you this morning, from Delphinium Aldrin," Garfield changed the topic.

The girl looked confusedly at him. He smiled before rushing out of the room to get it for her. Daphne started to eat her soup. She read the prescriptions of her medicines as she did. Someone must have gotten it for her because her name was written on it. Maybe they even called a doctor or something? She shook her head to get it out of her mind. She was thankful that they cared for her as much. She wasn't even supposed to join Teen Titans but she just did in order to watch over Damian. Garfield came back with a box in his hands. He placed it on the table. He handed her a card attached to the box.

"Finish your food first," he insisted.

"I can at least read this..." she replied, smiling.

"Umm...can I ask?" Garfield spoke. "Is today, your birthday?"

"It's supposed to be tomorrow. Sis sent me a present? It's good to hear from her," Daphne muttered a reply, reading the card.

"Happy birthday, little sister! Hope you and Damian have a blast – your loving sister, Delphinium."

She chuckled to herself as she read the card. Garfield gazed at the girl. He faintly blushed seeing how happy she was. He started to ask about her sister. She told him some of their stories of growing up together. Once she was done with lunch, he excused himself. He took the tray with him. He thanked her for sharing her stories with him.

"I've got to do something," he whispered, full of determination.

Evening came and Damian and Raven were back. The girl decided to go see how Daphne was doing. Starfire went with her. Garfield and Jaime were left with Damian. There was a long silence in the air. Jaime coughed, earning the two's attention.

"So how'd it go?" he asked Damian.

"We have no lead whatsoever. All we know is that most of the heist happened between midnight to 6 in the morning," Damian explained, sighing.

"That is bad..." Jaime muttered.

"Damian," Garfield spoke.

Jaime and Damian turned to him. His expression was all serious. The two were confused. They glanced up at each other before turning back to him. Garfield pierced his stern looks at Damian.

"I challenge you to a duel," he said.

"What? Dude, you gotta be kidding me," Jaime interrupted.

"Tomorrow's Daphne's birthday," Garfield started.

"How did you know that?" Damian asked.

"She told me. Her sister sent her a gift. I want to take her out tomorrow," the boy explained.

"She'll never say yes if I told her not to," Damian stated.

Garfield shot a glare. Damian blinked before turning his gaze away from the boy. He went to his room after that. Garfield fumed.

"Dude that is wrong," Jaime said to him.

"She deserves better..." Garfield muttered.

Starfire and Raven came in. Jaime and Garfield stopped their discussion. Starfire dialled a number on the phone.

"How is she?" Jaime asked.

"She was staring at her sister's gift," Starfire replied.

"She's still a little warm. One more long rest and she'll be back on her feet," Raven replied, looking around, "Where's Damian?"

"In his room I guess..." Jaime muttered.

Raven nodded. She went to Damian's room. The boy was busy scheming something on his laptop. Raven stood at his door. She waited for him to turn around. He was surprised to see her.

"How long have you been standing there?" he asked.

"Daphne wished to see you," she said.

"Wait," he called before she could leave.

Raven turned her gaze to him. He looked somewhat troubled in her opinion. She crossed her arms, waiting for him to say something.

"You've…" he paused, looking at the floor, "You've seen my past, present, and future that one time."

"It was an empath," she corrected him. "But, go on."

"I need your opinion on something," he started.

Raven raised her brows, surprised to hear that. She kept her mouth shut as Damian started to tell her what was bothering him and the reasons why he was avoiding Daphne. The girl flashed out a smile when he was done.

"So, what do you think I should do?" he asked her.

Smiling even broader, she said, "If that is how you really feel, tell her."

She walked away after that. Damian sighed. He went back to his laptop. Garfield suddenly appeared at his door. He was smiling. Damian rolled his eyes. He turned to look at the boy.

"What?" he asked.

"Still up for the duel?" Garfield asked.

"No," Damian replied coldly. "I have work to do."

"She deserves better," the boy insisted.

"I know her better than you do," the black-haired replied.

As Garfield was about to reply, they heard footsteps. They turned to see Daphne. She was leaning on the wall as support. Garfield rushed up to help her out of concerns. Damian continued his work, ignoring them.

"I wanted to see you, Master Damian..." she muttered, turning to the busy boy.

"Your fever's back. You have to rest!" Garfield interrupted.

She shook her head, staring at the young master who had his back turned to them. "Can I go home?" she asked.

"What?" Damian exclaimed. "No."

"B-But…" before she could finish, she fell to her knees.

"See? You're in no shape to be walking!" the green-skinned boy said.

Daphne smiled weakly. Damian took a glimpse of the girl before continuing to search the net. Garfield tried to hide his anger. He helped her up and sent her back to her room.

"I told you I want this company!" a man in a suit shouted at Delphinium.

"Miss Delphinium, your phone…" Arnold interrupted.

Delphinium turned her head to her assistant and shook her head slowly. She turned back to the man in front of her. He had barged in that day with two bodyguards to attack her. Delphinium didn't like it at all, but she had anticipated something like this would happen. She made eye contact with Arnold. He nodded and exited the room with her phone in his hand.

"I told you I've already promised the company to someone else. Why do you want it anyway?" she asked.

"Wait? You sold the company?" the man asked angrily. "I should just kill you this instant!"

The bodyguards took out their guns. Delphinium growled. She took out her very own stun gun, swiftly throwing it at the two before they could shoot. She glared at the man in front of her.

"Get out!" she glowered.

"I'll be back," he replied and retreated for the time being.

Delphinium fell to her knees. She bit her lips to kill the tears that were threatening to come out. She stood up immediately when Arnold came back with her phone. He told her that Tiara and Mana had sent her a text. She took her phone from him.

"Thank you for today," she said to Arnold.

"If you'll excuse me…" Arnold bowed before exiting the office.

Delphinium sat in her chair and swivelled around. Her phone rang again but she didn't bother to pick it up.

"I have to see him and explain everything," she sighed.

Daphne stared at her sister's name in her phone. She had been trying to call her more than ten times already. She wondered why Delphinium didn't pick up that day. Was she that busy? She shook her head and tried to get some sleep. Raven had sent her dinner and she had taken her medicines. She was told to rest. Meanwhile, everyone else was busy minding their own business. Since Daphne had awakened, they didn't have to watch over her as much. Garfield was still pestering Damian to a duel. Jaime kept on telling him that it was a bad idea. Damian wasn't even finished with his dinner yet. What Daphne had requested got him thinking. Raven noticed his quietness.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"She asked me if she could go home," Damian muttered.

"What? Why?" Garfield asked, disbelieved.

Damian shrugged. Starfire and Jaime heard it too. The room fell into another dead silence. Raven excused herself. She intended to head to her room but stopped in front of Daphne's door. She could faintly hear Daphne sobbing and muttering Damian's name. She sighed.

I wish he knew how much you care for him.

Daphne sat up in bed, wiping her tears. She couldn't sleep and the effect of her medicines was wearing off. She rubbed her eyes, searching for her kukris. They were neatly hung on the wall. She bit her lower lip. A knock on her door was heard before it swiped open.

"Daphne!" Starfire called before she could reach for her kukris.

Daphne turned to look at the floor. She clenched her hands together. Starfire stormed up to her. She held her shoulders and stared into her eyes. Daphne's eyes were tearing up. She didn't want Starfire to see her like that.

"Why are you…?" she asked.

"I…" Daphne muttered.

Starfire pulled her into a hug. She rubbed her back lovingly, reassuring her that everything was okay. Daphne started to cry again. They didn't notice that the boys were watching by the door. Garfield turned to Damian.

"You don't deserve her!" he said.

"Dude, now's not the time," Jaime muttered.

"You're not the one to decide my life," Damian said coldly before walking away.

Daphne cried her eyes out. They were swollen once her cries subsided. Starfire tucked her into her bed. Garfield and Jaime gazed at the girl. They were concerned about her health. They decided to call Nightwing and Starfire agreed. As they were calling him, Damian was in his room. He was thinking hard about Daphne and the kiss. He was actually glad that she didn't remember it but he was somewhat sad too. She was the first girl he had ever kissed on the lips. She was the first girl he knew, the first girl to have ever caught his attention.

"Damn it…" he muttered angrily.

The next day, Dick came in his Nightwing uniform. All of the members, excluding Daphne, waited for him at the entrance. He looked very worried. It was typical of him to feel that way.

"How is she?" he asked.

"What is that?" Damian pointed at the box he was holding.

Smiling, he replied, "Today's her birthday. I thought we could at least celebrate."

"I didn't know that…" Starfire muttered.

In a few minutes, they were all gathered inside Daphne's room. Starfire gently shook her to wake her up. She was surprised to see Dick with a cake.

"Thank you…" Daphne faintly smiled.

They ate the cake and did a little catching up with each other. The others listened to their stories as well. Damian was obviously not enjoying this. He kept on staring at his cake. Raven approached him.

"You know, when I caught a glimpse of your future…" she started, sighing, "I saw Daphne."

Damian snapped his head to her, shocked. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Raven nodded. "Yes."

Damian stared at the girl. She was wearing a happy smile because her 'big brother' was with her. She really enjoyed his company. The boy looked away, starting to eat his cake. Raven shrugged, going back to the others.

"How is Delphinium?" Daphne suddenly asked.

"She's as weird as always. She sends her regards. I asked her to come with me but she refused," he explained.

"Oh…" Daphne sighed.

The Teen Titans stood in front of their monitor. Justice League was about to contact them about the aftermath of Trigon's destruction.

"I've sifted through all the data and found no signs of the corruptors 10 days since our encounter with Trigon," Bruce explained. "In other words, great work, Titans."

Damian turned to Raven. The two of them smiled at each other. Daphne bit her lower lip when she saw Damian's expression.

"Your determination and teamwork saved the world, and us," Wonder Woman said, smiling, "You should be very proud of them, Kori."

"As are we," Bruce continued.

Daphne smiled and glanced up at Damian. She was glad everything worked out. Cyborg appeared from the door via his boom tube. In his hands were boxes of pizzas. The Justice League let them carry on with their agenda. They ran up to Cyborg. Daphne sat down on the sofa. She took off her mask. Jaime handed her a slice of pizza. She took it, eating it up.

"Raven and Damian have become closer by day," Jaime muttered.

"I'm happy for them…" Daphne said, munching on her pizza.

"Have you packed everything up?" the boy whispered to her.

Daphne nodded. "Master Dick will be picking me up tomorrow night," she whispered.

Jaime nodded. He was the only one who knew that Daphne was going back. She didn't want Damian to know about it, so she didn't tell anyone else. Garfield came up to them. The girl excused herself to go to her room. Damian caught a glimpse of her sad face.

"Don't you think you should talk to her?" Raven asked.

"No, I don't want to concern myself about her for now," Damian replied, huffing angrily.

"Don't regret it if you lose her," the hooded girl muttered.

Meanwhile, Daphne was busying herself. She double checked her belongings. She turned to look at the gift her sister had given her. It was a pair of rings. She didn't understand the meaning behind them but she knew that Delphinium wanted her to give one to Damian. She sighed to herself. She lied down on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Meanwhile, Garfield was still pressuring Damian for a duel. He had already started a video game to challenge Damian. The boy ignored him like always. Jaime shook his head at the two. He didn't like the idea of Daphne as the prize. Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg were happily chatting at the kitchen side of the room. They weren't even paying attention to the boys.

"Why do you even want to keep her? It's not like you like her or anything, right?" Garfield suddenly asked.

All eyes turned to him and Damian. Garfield was wearing his usual smug while Damian was having a hard time hiding his confusion.

"Come on, Damian. Do you like Daphne? It's just a simple question…" he pressured him again.

"Dude, you should stop," Jaime interrupted.

"Yes. It's not nice to ask such question," Raven agreed with Jaime.

"Oh? Are you jealous, Raven?" Garfield snickered.

"Why would I be?" the hooded girl asked.

Damian shut his eyes, ignoring their tongue fight. He was hoping that Daphne would show up to stop this nonsensical situation. He wanted her by his side. He stood up and walked away. Garfield stared as he exited the living room. He huffed angrily at Damian's reaction.

I love her.

Delphinium busied herself in her office that night. She had some things to settle before her meeting with Bruce Wayne the next day. As she was busy sorting out the papers, she caught a glimpse of a shadow passing by behind her. She thought it was Batman so she ignored it. However, she was being extra careful. The papers to be given to Bruce and her sister was done. She placed them inside a box and hid it in an invisible vault. She texted Tiara and Mana to inform them. When she turned to the glass window, she saw the man, pointing a gun towards her.

"You think I'd just quit like that?" he smirked, shooting her.

Delphinium rolled away on time. She shot a glare at the man. His two bodyguards appeared, attempting to capture her. She kicked their jaws. Then, she ran away to hide. She was about to call Tiara but the man shot her phone away. She stomped on it so that he would not know about Daphne.

"You can't run away forever," the man said.

"Really, Rick? This is how you're going to obtain my company?" she asked.

"You're just a sixteen-year-old girl! What do you know about running a company?" he chuckled, mocking her.

"I know enough to not sell illegal drugs!" she shouted, throwing a smoke bomb at the bodyguards.

Rick laughed. He could guess what she was going to do. He had prepared everything to kill her that night and rob her building. Delphinium was determined to escape. She found the exit to her office. She made a sudden stop when she heard beeping sounds around her.

"What?" she muttered, shocked.

"You think I'd let you escape that easily?" Rick chuckled again.

A window broke and she could see a helicopter. Rick jumped into it with his two bodyguards. He was holding a remote. Delphinium widened her eyes. She started running down the stairs.

"How did he implant the bombs without me knowing?!" she shouted angrily.

She kept on running as he activated each of the bombs he had planted on the walls of her office. She prayed that the documents she had kept hidden would be saved. Delphinium almost reached the exit when out of nowhere, a shot came. It hit her right leg.

"Damn!" she flinched at the pain.

Rick laughed before activating his last bomb which was right beside Delphinium. She forced a weak smile, embracing her doom instead of trying to flee.

I'm sorry, Daphne. I trust you…

Tiara, Mana, Bruce, and Dick looked around in the debris of the Aldrin building that morning. Bruce uses Batman's name to refuse any investigation from the police. They were searching for the box Delphinium had left for them.

"Someone who's able to kill Delphinium must be really smart," Dick remarked, turning to Tiara.

"Yeah. She's been running away for quite some time already…" Tiara sighed.

"When we arrived here, we found her burnt body," Mana explained.

"He bombed the building but he will try to claim this area. He really is smarter than Miss Delphinium," Tiara sighed.

"We have to put him behind bars before he finds out about Daphne," Dick suggested.

"Indeed, you are right," a voice was heard.

Dick turned around to see a woman, about his age, wearing a teal blouse and a black A-line skirt. She flashed a smile at the surprised faces. She nodded to them once.

"Who…are you?" Dick asked, blinking in disbelief.

Tiara and Mana turned to look at each other. They nodded as a signal. They went up to the woman and stood by her side. The woman turned to look at them simultaneously. Then, she turned back to Dick and Bruce.

"Well, I guess I should explain who I am," she sighed.