Disclaimer: I did it, guys! I finally own Teen Titans! ...Okay, yeah, no I don't. I'm gonna go eat my feelings now.

Chapter 3

Rachel Roth was confused, to say the least.

She had just opened her eyes to an obnoxiously bright room, which she quickly remedied by using her powers to close the blinds. It was easy to deduct that she was in a hospital. What she wasn't sure of, however, was how she had ended up there in the first place. Her powers still seemed to work, so that was positive news, at least.

She attempted to sit up, white spots still dancing in her vision, but winced at the soreness the movement brought her. Not sharp pain, but certainly not what she was expecting. She drew in a hiss as she leaned back onto the pillow, reaching under the blanket to trace the bumpy stitches on her abdomen, then drew it back out to try and rub the spots out of her eyes. When it was mostly successful, she scanned the room: a small bedside table to her left, topped with untouched packaged food and courtesy flowers from the hospital, a flat-screen t.v. with probably 10 channels in front of her, and to her right was the sleeping form of a girl with long, bright orange hair and- wait, what?! The sorceress choked on her own quick gasp, startling said girl awake.

There were no words. They simply stared at each other for what felt like minutes, hours, days, both unsure of where to even begin. Rachel finally opened her mouth to try to force something, anything out, but suddenly found herself trapped beneath her old friend, taken into a bone-crushing hug before she even had a chance to sputter. She wanted to hug her back. It felt like she should be hugging her back. This girl had once been her best friend for years, but it had been so long. She hadn't even had any friends since the Titans ended. So she sat there awkwardly in the alien's arms, not wanting to push her off but equally unwilling to return the embrace. She heard her friend sniffle.

"Star-" The girl immediately released her and stood back up on the side of the bed, quickly swiping at her eyes.

"Apologies, friend Raven. I am just quite relieved to know that you are doing the okay," she said with a soft smile, which Raven returned gracefully. Neither of them found it relevant to mention their alter egos.

"Thank you, Starfire," the name felt foreign on her tongue, but it rolled out of her mouth naturally. "I... have a lot to catch up on."

And just like that, Starfire took a soft seat on the bed, placed her hand gently over Raven's, and explained everything.

She explained how Beast Boy worked at this hospital and had tried to contact them about her, but they heard about it through word of mouth first; how Adonis had been attacking Beast Boy when they'd arrived, but escaped, leaving Beast Boy to become a patient himself; how she'd been in surgery through all of it, and how they'd heard her injuries were serious; how Beast Boy had come to believe that Adonis was the one who had attacked her; and finally, how they were all safe and sound and the only reason the boys weren't here was so that they could ensure Beast Boy didn't try to escape his room before he was discharged. It turned out that the changeling had sustained a minor head wound when Adonis jumped on him, causing him to smash his skull into the tile. A quick bandage job and few aspirins later, the man claimed he was good as new- but the doctors, of course, had to do their jobs in making sure he was actually so before releasing him. Especially since he was one of their own.

Raven nodded her head throughout the whole thing, closing her eyes and laying her head back in a vain attempt to remember anything. Nothing resurfaced. She huffed, figuring meditation would probably help at a later point. Starfire had done a great job at explaining everything in great detail, but the sorceress was soon to find there was one thing she had left out.

"Ahem?" A petite nurse gave a light courtesy knock and poked her head into the room before stepping in completely. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but could I have a moment to speak with Ms. Roth alone?"

Starfire gently squeezed her hand, which Raven just noticed she had been holding the entire time, and smiled before crossing the room and exiting. She could still see her shadow through the blinds on the hallway window. Raven mutely gave her attention to the nurse, who was now standing at her bedside and staring at her with an annoyingly consistent soft smile.

"We wanted to let you know that the rape kit came back negative."

Something shattered loudly outside the room, accompanied by a couple of startled screams. Starfire was inside the doorway again within seconds, a surprised expression gracing her features.

"Excuse me?" Raven choked out. What in Azar's name was she talking about?

"I- huh? I-I'm sorry, did you not-?" The nurse read the look of shock on the girl's face, confusedly glancing back and forth between the patient and her companion at the door. "Oh, oh god, I'm so sorry, your friend said she would explain everything a-and we all thought another nurse had already- oh gosh, I'm so so sorry. But, um, it's good news, right? I... I'll give you a moment. I'm so sorry." The nurse shuffled hurriedly out of the room, quickly replaced at her side by a concerned-looking Starfire.

"Friend Raven-"

"Whatis she talking about?"

Starfire sighed. "Friend Raven... I do not know everything, but I believe that the condition they found you in... it seems they assumed the worst," she fibbed.

Raven's confusion flared into momentary anger, and the table next to her was suddenly engulfed in black energy. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, taking a calming breath through her nostrils. The energy dissipated.

"And exactly what condition was I found in?"

Starfire bit her lip and looked at her short platform shoes, clearly deciding whether or not she should tell the sorceress what she had heard. After some relentless pestering from her fiance, the hospital staff had finally told the group exactly what they knew about Raven. Where and how she was found, the status of her injuries, and everything in between.

"Starfire." She looked back up, finding herself under the stern gaze of a very confused old friend. She appeared angry, but underneath that she could tell that she was hurt and confused, possibly even scared. With another sigh, she began her second explanation of the hour.

"From what I understand, you were found in the alley c-covered in blood and... and your clothing was torn in such a way that it appeared to have been an attempted-" the girl was cut off by a sharp gasp from Raven as her memory came flooding back. She kept a pained expression for a few moments, hunching forward and clutching the sheets, before her body finally seemed to relax and she resorted to drawing her legs up Indian-style and burying her face in her hands. Starfire quickly noticed that she was trembling slightly, and took a seat on the bedspread once more. She reached out to touch the empath lightly on the shoulder, but withdrew it again. Raven drew in a few shaky breaths, calming herself down before dropping her hands to her lap. Keeping her eyes closed, she finally spoke.

"It was Adonis... but it wasn't Adonis. It was his... his form, his body, his soul, but he's under someone else's influence." Raven shakily reached for the small plastic water cup on her nightstand, taking a sip before looking at her friend with watery eyes. "He had been following me. I tried to cut through an alley to lose him, but he just appeared out of nowhere. I wasn't taking him seriously until I saw his eyes. They were pitch black, Star. At first it seemed like he was trying to take me, but then he just... lost it. It seemed like his motives changed halfway through. He started attacking me, he dug his nails into me- but they weren't just nails, they were long and sharp, like... like claws. And he did try to... you know." She cleared her throat, quickly shaking her head and attempting a casual shrug. "The last thing I remember is teleporting away from him as soon as I got the chance. I lost consciousness after that."

Starfire was on the verge of tears before she pounced on her again. This time, Raven hugged her back. She was okay. She was okay. Nothing had happened. It was negative.

"Ahem."

Starfire jumped off of her and turned to see her fiance, as well as the other two men of the group, standing in the doorway. She flashed another smile before running over and wrangling everyone's hands into her own, dragging them closer to the bed. Robin was the first to speak, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck as he did so.

"Uh, hey, Raven... er, Rachel was it? Good to see you're up," he finally sputtered out.

The empath gave him a curt nod. "Raven's fine," she responded with a tiny smile. You could practically see the tension melt from his body as he dropped his hand and returned the expression.

There were another few beats of awkward silence before Cyborg did his best to obliterate any and all tension in the room- he glanced around at the silent group and shrugged before finally bellowing, "Well, THERE'S OUR GIRL! Man, am I glad to see you alive. You look exactly the same! I mean, you got those bangs and your hair's a bit longer, but you're still good ol' Raven! Man, where have you been?!" The room seemed to hold it's breath after the half-robot asked the question they'd all been dying to. Beast Boy gently pushed in front of him, staring at her wordlessly with inquisitive eyes. His head was wrapped horizontally with white bandages, but his eyes screamed more of pain than any other part of his body.

Raven stiffened at the immense amount of emotion radiating from everybody. There was of course excitement and anxiety over seeing their old friend in such a state- or maybe, seeing her at all. But underneath everything was hurt. She knew why. She had abandoned them, all of them. She had broken her promise to keep in touch and ran for the hills as soon as she got the chance. She needed to tell them that it was easier that way, that it was for their own good. Starfire took a seat in the chair next to her and patted her hand.

"Friend Raven, I believe it is your turn to do the explaining."

The empath stifled another sigh, tucking her hands together in an attempt to still their trembling, and prepared herself for whatever was to come. No point in hiding the truth anymore.

"I felt it was safest to leave you all out of it. I really did," Stares. Cold, hard, confused stares. If she kept looking at them, she was sure to crumble under their gazes. Fidgeting with a loose thread on her thin hospital blanket, Raven stared blankly at her hands and forced herself to continue with another short exhale. "Before everything happened... towards the end, when we were still a team... I felt my father in my mind. He was speaking to me, causing nightmares, you know, the works. I even had to stop meditating unless it was absolutely necessary, because it allowed him easier access. I lost control, guys... The council's decision was just convenient timing, I was already figuring out how to leave. I'm sorry. I stayed in Azarath, alone, for two years. Eventually he just... disappeared. I think he might be gone for good. I've been back on Earth for a year now, and everything's been surprisingly normal. I'd hardly used my powers at all in the past year until this incident."

More stares. That was all she got as she concluded her explanation and willed herself to look up into her friends' faces. She stared at them nervously, shifting her eyes back and forth as her pulse quickened. Why weren't they reacting? Why did she care? Of course she cared. But did they? It had been so long...

Then, Beast Boy smiled. Not a full-grown grin, but a soft smirk. An intentionally reassuring quirk of his lip. And just like that, everything was okay. She gave the smallest hint of a smile in return, and before she knew it, she was surrounded with pure curiosity and concern. Not judgment. Not hatred. No longer pain. There were questions flying around of where she lived, if she had anybody else, how she was doing, if she worked; but all she continued to focus on was the silent conversation she was having with the room's green inhabitant. They stared at one another for a few moments, unmoving, until his small smile slowly grew into a grin and he began firing questions her way as well. Those few moments were enough for her to know that all was well for the time being. She was forgiven. She had her friends back.

...I'm not going to make promises anymore. Like, ever. I pull a Raven every time and I just break them into, like, a billion pieces.

So, hopefully I'll update this tomorrow. But it could also be three weeks from now, because I'm the worst person ever. Good luck putting up with me and my awful writing!

Do you pity me enough to review? Please? Reviews are MOTIVATING, people. I'm not gonna beg or anything b- PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAASSSSSSEEEEEEEE

(also sorry this is super short again I tried)