Chapter 6

Danny locked the door of his apartment and turned to head to the elevator so he could head to the bookstore. He looked at his phone as he waited for it to get to ground level. As Danny walked out of the building and down the street, he stopped to get a coffee and a newspaper from the corner store. He was walking up to the store as he sipped his coffee, pulling the key out of his pocket and unlocking the door before walking in. As he came inside he set his paper down on the counter.

He prepared the store for opening by starting a pot of coffee and opening the pastry case, before sitting down at the counter to drink his coffee. While he was waited he pulled the paper over to himself, an image on the front page catching his attention. It was an image of five teens that he recognized. Four of the five were talking to each other and were the main focus of the photo; but off to the side stood a fifth teen in a dark indigo cloak, trying to hide from the camera. Danny recognized the purple hair anywhere and sighed to himself.

"Rachel, what happened last night?" He said to himself. The bell on the door dinged and he looked up to see the aforementioned girl standing there. She was fidgeting nervously, seemingly unsure of what to say. Danny shook his head and put on his biggest smile. "There you are. If you're gonna be late, let me know."

Rachel jumped slightly "You don't want to talk about anything?" she said back quietly as she stared up at him from under her hood.

"What's there to talk about? You're here, unharmed. Although you gave me quite the scare last night, vanishing on me like that." He had a slight smirk on his face, watching her head dip before she looked at him.

"I'm ready to start the day if you are." She gave him a tiny smile before moving to sit behind the counter, glad he had chosen to carry on as if nothing life-changing had taken place.

Opening day had gone rather well, They had a steady stream of people that came throughout the day. Some had been regulars at the old store and were glad that it had gotten revitalized. Others were newcomers and had promised to revisit in the future. Danny had spent the day chatting with customers and keeping refreshments stocked. Rachel had spent most of the day behind the counter, pointing people to specific sections and manning the cash register. As they were closing for the day, Danny handed Rachel a brownie wrapped in plastic.

"Here, grabbed this when I had to run home to get more tape. It's a recipe from my mom, my dad's favorite. I'm thinking of trying it in the case, what do you think?"

Rachel unwrapped it before taking a small bite. She chewed and swallowed before she nodded her head."It's delicious. Did your mom make it?" She felt a wave of sadness overwhelm him before he shook his head.

"It's just her recipe." He turned and started fiddling with some paperwork. Rachel looked at the brownie in her hand and wrapped it back up before putting it in her pocket.

"I still think it's going to be a big hit." When he didn't turn around, she sighed and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll see you tomorrow. I'll do my best to be on time." Walking toward the door and opening it, she paused. "I'm sorry. If you want to tell me, I'll listen." She waited for him to acknowledge what she said, then she left.

Danny's shoulders slouched when he heard the door shut. He pulled out the newspaper and looked at the front page again.

"How can I stop feeling the pain? And how can I help you so you don't end up like me?" He muttered to himself. He looked up as a thought hit him. "Maybe Jazz was onto something." Danny set down the paper and locked up the shop on his way out.

A couple of days went by, Danny and Rachel running the shop, and trying different pastries out. The fudge went over well enough that Danny had to find a local chef to help bake and stock the goods in the cabinet. Rachel woke up one morning at the mostly built tower that the Titans had decided to build on the island in the harbor, and headed to the kitchen to make her morning tea. As she was enjoying the tea, Robin came over with a box in his hands.

"This came in the mail for you. It's kinda heavy. Do you know what it is?" Rachel shook her head.

"Have you opened it?" Robin shook his head.

"I ran some scans, but it seems harmless. If you don't mind, I'd like to see what it is so I know it's not dangerous." Rachel sighed and nodded, setting down her tea. Opening the box with her powers to make sure it wasn't some kind of trap, they peered in the box together. Rachel noticed a letter with her name on it amongst a couple of books and some fudge, along with other pasties and tea boxes. She pulled the letter out and immediately recognized the hand writing. Robin scratched his head and looked at her.

"What is this? A care package?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out." She took the letter over to the window and levitated with her cup of tea as she started to read the letter. Robin took that as a sign to leave her be.

"Hey, Rachel, I know I see you all the time at work, but I wanted to let you know that I support your work outside the shop. Heroes are Important. I sent this box to you to let you know, you are not alone. And before you ask, this isn't a care package. It's a therapy box. It holds a bunch of items to help you relax after stressful times. I want you to know, you still have a spot at the shop, just don't stress if you can't make it sometimes. Just let me know. I'm here if you need anything. Your friend, Danny." Rachel had a small smile on her face as she went over to the box and took it to her room before a certain green changeling found the pastries.