It had to have been another month, this being quite an accurate guess thanks to the new calendar Robin had bought meant specifically to count down due dates, since that incident with the red SUV. No more dreams, either, and the flights were still effective. Raven never pressed the issue but she knew he was stressed about something, and recommended trying green tea. That didn't really work for him as much as it did her. He stuck to coffee and regularly practiced waking up before noon.

Really the only thing that had changed since he started feeling so odd every once in a while was that he despised the thought of meat more than usual. Most people thought that he was a vegetarian because he could become any animal they put on a burger. The reality was that he didn't care about the burger itself…he cared about the flesh on it. He'd had enough of that in his mouth to last him two lifetimes. Maybe three. Probably four. Or five. Eternity might cut it better. But, point being, he didn't want that in his mouth ever again. Especially Cyborg's roast beef. All the blood on it raw nearly made him hurl…he had to look away. Thankfully nobody questioned this behavior, probably seeing it as normal for him even though he tried to make it subtle.

Things didn't have to be this way though… He didn't have to hate meat twice as much. He didn't have to be concerned with hurting, or daresay killing, Raven and whoever was inside her. He didn't have to be so worried over a feeling that something weird might be out there. The car was in fact an occurrence that wasn't seen on a day-to-day basis, but after much deliberation the best solution they could come up with was to wait for another oddity. Cyborg had tried using technology to track whatever did that but the trail was lost after only a few minutes…almost as if it just vanished. He could still smell the same scent even after Cyborg's failure. The reason he himself discontinued the search was because the more whiffs he got, the more it seemed like a hunter. And in his head the bear had followed him out of the wilderness…most likely another female, since traces of a male weren't found anywhere. The only question now was where the bear went. The hunter had gotten away, otherwise there would be a body. But the likelihood of him escaping back into the wilderness, even though that was where the scent led, and having lured the bear back too, was slim. The hunter was probably at a hospital…or something.

This theory, however, didn't come without flaw. All of their ideas had flaws…this one was simply the one that made the most sense. But it bothered him when Robin pointed out one thing he'd missed. There was no gun during hunting season. The fact that it was hunting season made the scent of deer and fowl blood in the air understandable, and it never made him feel uneasy, like there was some sort of danger about. But this guy had on musk with intention of attracting bears yet there was no gun to be found anywhere? There were no footprints in the car that indicated typical hunting gear had been there. Not even dirt or mud. That was the part that didn't make sense.

They'd decided against alerting the city so they wouldn't incite a panic. Assuming that bear was still in the city, it could panic too.

He could go out himself. Search. Track. Find. Something was holding him back though. All the things that didn't make sense might suddenly make sense if he found out what actually happened… And…there was a possibility that one of his thoughts could start to fall into place with that. If it did then everyone, himself included, would be screwed...

He stopped himself from thinking any more about it. He didn't need that extra stress right now. Maybe he just needed extra coffee instead, and more flying time.

For now he had to content himself with simply being in the company of Raven and their unborn baby. Her pregnancy still seemed so unreal to him, as though he was living in a dream and was scared he might wake up any second. It shouldn't have happened but it did, and with a woman who was equally willing to keep and raise it. He knew she wasn't entirely ready for a baby, and neither was he, but he was making an enormous effort to change that—he had to be ready, and so did she. It was hard to tell with her though, since she was already so quiet and introverted as it was, but aside from her moodiness, she seemed slightly more thoughtful than usual. Hopefully that meant she was also trying to prepare herself.

He sat beside her as she held one cup of tea in one hand used her finger to mindlessly draw random shapes on her stomach with the other.

"Feeling anything yet?" he asked.

She shook her head.

He bit his lip. "Do you know when you'll start feeling something?"

"Beast Boy, we're both fine," she said curtly.

She had this habit of acting like she was hardly interested in him when other people were in the same room. She wouldn't get very romantic with him even if he was simply trying to put his arm around her. It was unknown why—the secret had already been revealed. He pegged it on the awkwardness everyone was still getting used to. It had been a pretty big deal to the others and things just didn't feel right yet. It was like they still needed time to adjust to this wild idea that two people were actually in a relationship. It shouldn't be taking this long in his eyes, since Raven was visibly pregnant now.

She still tried to hide her stomach most of the time, too, despite her cloak being unable to conceal it anymore. It was frustrating to him because he couldn't understand why she would possibly want to hide something so special. Everyone already knew!

"Stop doing that," he mumbled as he spread her cloak.

She glared at him. "I'm not doing anything."

"You're, like, trying to hide your pregnancy or something, it's weird."

He saw Cyborg 'subtly' look over his shoulder from the TV, where Raven had been drinking herbal tea. But she'd been silently bothering him for a good while and he'd never said a word…until now.

"I can't 'hide' the obvious." She pulled her cloak back over her abdomen.

"Then why are you trying?"

"I'm not."

"You just did!"

"Or you're just too stressed out about something you won't bother telling me about."

"I'm just not getting much sleep anymore, and don't turn this around."

"I'm not turning anything around."

He growled. "Why are you so ornery all the time?!"

"Why are you so stressful all the time?!"

"Why a—" A black hand shot out and squeezed him, the rest of his sentence becoming a long wheeze.

Her eyes glowed red and she ground her teeth. "You're the one going off to who-knows-where doing who-knows-what and you're getting nit picky with me?!" She stood up and loomed over him. "About something that shouldn't even matter?!"

By now Robin and Starfire had heard the commotion and were peeking around a wall. Cyborg had yet to take his eyes off them.

The hand squeezed even tighter when he tried to speak again, and tell her to calm down followed by some kind of explanation for his secrecy. She wasn't stupid. She knew he was doing more than just calming down with those flights. The de-stressing, the distractions, the deep thinking…she of all people had to understand. But…there was no way for her to understand why. There was no way to explain this feeling and "being watched" couldn't even scratch the surface of it. He was, by nature, very curious…but the thing that might be there, the thing he felt drawn towards…he didn't want to find out what it was.

One more squeeze to keep his mouth shut, and his heart skipped a beat. He wanted to morph, to get away. Despite the violence it was just Raven…yet he felt an undeniable urge to use his powers. The thought of becoming violent himself didn't bother him as much as it should.

"Let me go right now," he croaked.

Her grip loosened and he slid out right in time for an alarm to sound. It seemed to settle her down enough to allow him a moment to regain his senses.

"Cinderblock," Robin said.

Beast Boy gulped in air and was the first to head out—downtown, since it was the only place Cinderblock ever seemed to strike. Raven already knew to stay away from these fights since there was much more at stake if she were ever to join one. Just a single hit could be all it took to kill the baby and she had a harder time catching her breath after moving around so much. Easy target. Nobody was willing to endanger her in this condition. Cyborg had even upped the security systems within the tower. Robin had made a few new rules. Starfire had dramatically softened her hugs. Everybody was pitching in to support her. One of Robin's rules was that everyone had to read at least one pregnancy book. Go figure Starfire would choose one based more on a graphic fetal development and birthing process…

He took another deep breath and, for a moment, appreciated oxygen just a little bit more.

"Woman is ruthless…" he muttered. "Try to talk to her about one little thing and my lungs crumple up…"

Cyborg pulled up next to him on the street.

"Why don't you get in and I'll drive?"

He sighed and, considering his midsection really did hurt from taking all that damage, slid into the T-car.

"Are y'all always like that?" he asked as he hit the gas pedal.

Beast Boy crossed his arms and gritted his teeth.

"Ever since she got pregnant she's been so difficult! AND EVERYTHING IS MY FAULT!"

He heard Cyborg snort. "Well, you always were the one making her mad."

"That was an act. Plus, I wanted to tell you guys sooner."

"So why didn't you?"

He inhaled. "Raven was scared of other people knowing. You know what she's like. She never tells people what's bothering her, or even if something's bothering her. She always avoids problems and when she can't she'll just run away no matter how obvious it is."

"Can't argue with that."

He frowned. "She cares a lot about what you guys think… When she told me she was pregnant I was excited. I wanted to tell everyone immediately but she wouldn't let me. Said she didn't want the attention."

"At least it's good you're excited. A lot of guys would just run off."

He sighed and leaned his head back. "I guess so."

The drive continued silently but somewhere along the way Raven's desperate pleading began filling his head. The pleas were murmured and sounded like language but was unrecognizable, kind of like how the characters talked in the Sims games. It was disturbing. He had no idea what she was so upset about, or even why he was having these thoughts.

Raven wasn't very likely speaking to him from the tower—usually one person was always there to keep her company, which she hated the very idea of. Called it "babysitting", and made a few remarks about how she was technically the babysitter. Then she got upset and started rambling on about things that eventually became irrelevant to the matter. Several light bulbs went out, the tower's mainframe crashed, an innocent chair was dismembered, the microwave screen cracked twice, three long rips appeared on the sofa, a window fell off the tower, the sink faucet popped off and water started leaking everywhere, the table was torn in half, bye-bye TV, and everyone panicked when the stove caught fire. It was a dark day for Titans' Tower but after somehow managing to calm her down enough to listen to reason, she understood that it might be in her best interest if someone else stayed with her in case something happened that she couldn't handle herself. Since a "babysitter" had been his idea, he was unanimously blamed for all the destruction. And, in Raven's own words, since "he was the one who got her pregnant in the first place" it was his fault she: was moody, looked fat, constantly tired, not as mobile, more frequent bathroom trips, no more missions, inability to meditate, had to sleep on her side, etc. etc. etc. Literally everything he had no control over was his fault and obviously she played no part in getting pregnant. He got in trouble over the stupidest, smallest things and sometimes for no reason at all.

He was just waiting for the day these hormonal mood swings would calm down. The only thing truly helping him maintain sanity now was counting his blessings. He liked to daydream about what having his own family would be like. What it would be like to have a little boy. A little girl. What would they name him/her? What would the baby look like, what would be its personality? Would it be outgoing like him or shy like Raven? Would it have powers? Would it think his powers were cool?

Robin's calendar also helped. Every time he marked down another day—a proud assignment reserved only for Raven and him—it signified one less day to go before he would finally have everything he always wished for.

"Rita! Rita!" he shouted as he vigorously patted the cushion in the best chair to watch TV from.

His wait was painfully long as she casually made her way into the chair to sit down down and relax. She called it a "mission" when she went out. Or sometimes it was also "groceries", after which she brought home bags containing food and other household supplies like napkins or soap. He always wanted to help carry it in so she wouldn't have to but the woman refused to let him carry the heavy or breakable things. It was a little frustrating but he took whatever he could get because at least it was something.

She always liked to relax from her outings, and what better way to do just that than with a new episode of a fat orange cat?

She helped him into her lap and he snuggled against her. She was literally the only one who would ever let him do this. She always said the others just weren't the cuddling type. As much as he wanted to trust her it appeared to him as though they had something very personal against him. But he'd already come to terms with that, and Rita was all he needed.

-TO BE CONTINUED-

A/N

*long exhale*Okay, so updates will probably come a little slower. College has kept me very busy and exam time approaches. STUDYSTUDYSTUDY. I hope you guys understand, and wish me luck! :D