Hello fans! It's been awhile since you've heard from me. I've been updating pretty regularly for the past few weeks. I wanted to leave an author's note before I upload this chapter as sort of a fair warning because it has some intense and somewhat sensitive content in it. I really wanted to make this story more mature in some aspects. I also wanted to say that I am creating my own story line in case there's any confusion about some of the events happening in this story. I want to branch out and create something new for all of you. Adding little Easter eggs from the actual show or comics are just fun tidbits I like to throw in for you guys but other than that this story is going to be created from as much as my imagination as possible.

With that being said, I hope you all are enjoying it so far—I have so much more in store. Please be patient and thank you for all of your support! Love you guys a mil! Xoxoxo

TT

Chapter 7: Pain

Richard was getting really tired of staring at hospital walls.

"Mr. Grayson?"

Oh, great. The doctor. Richard wondered what other kind of bad news he could deliver him at two in the morning.

"Would you come with me please?" The doctor asked. His face looked anything but hopeful.

Richard stood up and turned to his friends. "You guys can go home, I know it's late. I'll keep you updated."

Wally spoke up immediately. "No way, dude. We're staying."

Everyone seemed to agree on this. Richard didn't have the energy to argue back but he was thankful. They'd all piled into an SUV and followed behind the ambulance that held Kori in it all the way to Gotham Hospital. That was about an hour ago.

The amount of bad things and news that has happened this past week was enough to last Richard the rest of the year. Seeing his wife's blood all over his best friend was not a good way to start the night/morning. Watching her being rushed to the hospital added the sprinkles on top of a shit sundae.

Richard followed the doctor through the doors, around the corner, and all the way down the hall until they reached the room in which Kori was in. Once they stepped inside the room, chills traveled throughout his body. The sight of Kori made him want to punch a hole in the wall and cry at the same time.

She laid still in her bed. She now had on a hospital gown; her red hair was dull just like he knew her green eyes would be if she opened them. She had an oxygen mask on and two IV's, one in each arm. The doctor had told him she was stable about thirty minutes ago. Now, he only wondered what the doctor could possibly tell him.

"Your wife...she's an extraterrestrial being. From a planet called Tamaran, correct?" The doctor said as he flipped through papers on his clipboard.

Richard suppressed the urge to roll his tired eyes. "Yes. That's correct. Why?" He felt like he was having deja vu via his honeymoon.

The doctor took a deep breath and set his clipboard down. "Mr. Grayson, you are one-hundred percent human. Your wife is one-hundred percent Tamaranean. You may be the first human to ever have sexual relations with, well, an alien."

Richard cringed. "Do you have to make it sound that bad?"

"Sorry, no." The doctor awkwardly scratched his bald head. "What I'm saying is that you two—a human and an extraterrestrial being—have created yet another history milestone. But that obviously came with complications."

"Okay...and?" Richard was getting impatient. The doctor seemed to be beating around the bush.

The doctor looked down and sighed. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. "Mr. Grayson, your wife's body is not compatible enough for this pregnancy. The baby—half-human, half alien—is making her body shut down little by little. Its blood is critical to her Tamaranean blood. It cannot form correctly without…"

"Without what, Doc?" Richard's heart was racing.

"Essentially killing her. Even then, the baby might not make it. However, if your wife were to carry out this pregnancy, the baby's chances of survival are higher than hers."

Richard swore he blacked out. He couldn't see anything for two seconds and his heart stopped beating. His life without Kori wouldn't be a life worth living.

"We've never dealt with anything like this before. Naturally, we don't have the correct procedure to go about this other than, well, abortion. We could try and come up with another way to save both your wife's and your child's life but that takes time and in this case, time is very, very precious. We don't know how much time we have," the doctor explained.

"I…" Richard was at a loss for words.

Abortion was something Kori was not going to do. He knew when she woke up and heard all this, she'd decide to keep going. She wouldn't care if it killed her. That alone was not sitting well with Richard.

He gripped the counter behind him to keep him from falling to his knees. "Abortion would save her life, right? That's what you said."

The doctor looked pained. "Basically, yes. It would save her physically, but emotionally it would more than likely destroy her."

Richard shook his head. "There's really no other way? How much time would you all need? I have money. I'd be willing—"

"Money cannot stop time, Mr. Grayson. Even with your wife's very complex anatomy and blood type, we're afraid she won't carry out this nine-month term. The baby is already starting to detach from the placenta. It can't take the compounded structure of being human and alien at the same time. It's like the cross between the two are fighting to overpower one another."

Everything the doctor was saying was making sense. Richard wished it wasn't, though, and he really wished this was all a dream. He couldn't think straight. He was already preparing to be a father and now...now he was going to have to plan how to be an even better husband after...well…

"Doc, she's not going to abort our child. As much as I don't want to, I'd do anything to save my wife. But she's not going to," Richard said. He sounded desperate, as if saying this will make the doctor convince Kori otherwise.

If Richard couldn't convince her, the doctor sure as hell wasn't going to.

"Well, that decision is up to your wife. It would be a fatal one, and a huge, huge risk. There's a chance the baby could make it, but even then it would most likely be premature. Your wife, on the other hand, has about a one percent chance of surviving this if she were to give birth. The odds are slim to none."

The doctor finished off by saying he was tremendously sorry and that he'd give Richard time alone for awhile. With that, he left and Richard was standing there wondering why this summer has been filled with nothing but bad news. Or at least that's how it felt.

It was crazy how much could change in a matter of seconds, minutes—hours. Less than two hours ago, he was thinking up baby names with Kori and now he was staring at her in the hospital wondering how on earth he was going to break this news to her. His heart was barely holding together.

Another hour passed by and Kori still hadn't woken up. She was stable and that's all that mattered at this point. Richard had traveled back downstairs to his friends to explain the heartbreaking news. They were just as devastated as he was.

Jade had parted from them with Karen to hide her tears. Rachel was trying to comfort Richard while pushing away her own solemn thoughts. There were lots of tears, for their hearts had been shattered into a million pieces. Kori's and the baby's lives were on the line and only one could make it out at the end. How does one devour that peacefully?

They don't.

"I'm so sorry, man," Roy said as he pulled Richard in for a hug. He still had on his grey sleep shirt that was slightly stained with Kori's blood. He was in such a hurry to make it to the hospital that he didn't change.

"I just don't know how she's going to take it," Richard said as his face paled. "I mean, I do but I don't know how to even comfort her."

Rachel put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "You just stand at her side the whole time. That's all you can really do."

After it hit four in the morning, the nurse had come down to tell Richard that Kori was awake. He'd said goodbye to his friends once again, and this time they all told him they'd see him back at the manor. Well, except for Roy, who stayed behind. The need for sleep kicked in for everyone else.

Richard wiped his sweaty palms on his sweatpants and nervously went up to Kori's room. He couldn't swallow the pill that was telling Kori to give up their child or give up her life. It was stuck in his throat.

Once he entered her room, she slowly turned to look at him. The doctor was in there and the look on both of their faces was enough to tell Richard that Kori already knew. The doctor gave a sad, apologetic look to Richard and left them to be alone.

Kori bit her bottom lip as tears spilled over. "Richard—!" She choked out as she began to cry uncontrollably.

Richard let his own tears run down his face as he immediately went over to her and hugged her. He stroked her hair and said nothing. They cried together as they tried their best to, in fact, devour the horrible news that their future as a family was cut short.

"It's going to be okay, baby," Richard said as he took a deep shaky breath. He could barely control his own tears. "It's going to be okay…"

TT

Blue eyes peered through the waiting room window at Gotham Hospital. The person observed Richard Grayson sadly hug his friends one by one, clearly telling them some sort of bad news. They noticed that a certain redhead was missing from the bunch.

The tree in which the person sat perched on was enough to help them blend in with the night. The all black suit and mask helped with that as well.

The Titans were a target. They were on the list for defeat. That was the person's mission. It was the only thing that kept replaying in the person's mind. Nothing else mattered.

So why, as the person sat far from the Titans peering in on their personal lives, watching them intently, did they feel something in their heart? Something that wasn't bad? Why did they feel remorse, sadness, and regret?

It wasn't vengeance, hatred, retribution—what it usually was. The overwhelming feeling of sorrow engulfed their heart and froze them on the spot. It was a strange yet familiar feeling. They had no idea what was happening.

The person shook their head vigorously and prepared to launch forward with all the force in the world. However, before they could actually depart with their hiding spot, it's like their body locked up.

"Come on…" they said gruffly. "Your mission is to destroy the Titans."

But their feet were practically glued to the branch. They couldn't move—their emotions were taking over.

"Dammit!" They yelled.

With that, the person turned and disappeared from sight, leaving the Titans to have the night to grieve.

TT

{The following night}

It was nearing midnight; the turnover for a new day. Richard and Kori were still in the hospital. Kori was slowly processing everything and hasn't decided anything yet. Richard hasn't left her side.

Bruce and Selina would be home today around two in the afternoon. Hopefully things would get straightened out once Bruce returned. At least, that's what Richard was praying for, among other things.

The rest of the group was sound asleep back at Wayne Manor. All was peaceful for now, which was something they weren't used to. It was a weird feeling not having Richard and Kori—essentially the partial owners of the mansion—in the actual home. However, they understood and empathized with the couple deeply.

Rachel's eyeballs rolled from side to side, though her eyes were closed. She whimpered slightly in her sleep and shook uncontrollably. A nightmare was taking place. One with blood red eyes and fangs as sharp as knives.

Knives.

Someone she cared deeply for specialized in knives.

Rachel.

She looked around in her nightmare. It was weird seeing her in her own head. Darkness surrounded her. All she had on was a thin black nightgown. She was barefoot and cold.

Rachel. Come find me.

She looked around and couldn't see anyone or anything. "Hello?" She called out. No one answered.

Soon, something bright began to shine. It was so bright, she squinted her amethyst eyes just to see. What was it she was trying to see?

"Who's there?" She shouted into the abyss. She held her hands up ready for a fight.

Open your eyes.

Rachel bit her bottom lip as her knees trembled. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. She kept telling herself that. Fear was her biggest challenge. She hated being scared.

"I want OUT!" She yelled to ideally nothing at all. She turned around and began to run.

Rachel ran fast and hard. She didn't want anyone or anything getting her. It felt as if the fear she once felt was sweating out of her body. All she had to do was keep running…

CLANK!

Whatever she just ran into, did not feel good on her head. She laid flat on her back on the pitch black ground. Her chest rose up and down in fast motion. Now, she awaited whatever it was trying to reach her.

She was scared.

Rachel's eyes flew open and she sat up with a hand on her chest. She was breathing profusely and trying to recollect herself. Her body was covered in so much sweat that her hair was sticking to her neck and forehead.

"It was just a dream…" she whispered to herself as she glanced over at the clock. "Geez, midnight?" She rubbed her eyes and realized something was missing.

Or rather someone.

Rachel searched around for Gar. He was always in bed before her and always woke up after her. Right now, he was gone and she had no idea where to. The spot in which he laid in was cold, meaning he'd been gone for awhile.

She got out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. Even though the light wasn't on, he still could've been in there. She cracked open the door only to find it empty. His shower towel was laying on the tiled floor but that wasn't anything new.

Her eyebrows furrowed. Not in the room or bathroom. Her next guess was the kitchen. Maybe he got hungry?

"This is getting annoying," Rachel muttered to herself.

She could use her powers to easily track him but after her nightmare, the chances of it working were slim. However, she had an eerie feeling about all of this. It was very out of the ordinary for Gar to just be...gone. And not tell her.

Rachel slowly descended the stairs to get to the main floor. Usually she was pretty fearless and never looked back, especially when it was nighttime. She'd always preferred the darkness. But right now—actually, lately—she was being more cautious than ever.

She walked into the kitchen and saw that the fridge was cracked open slightly. Immediately, she figured Gar was here. She could hear something dripping. It was most likely the orange juice.

"Great. I get to clean up the mess." She grabbed some paper towels and walked around the corner to see the mess. Only what she actually saw was enough to make her stop dead in her tracks. Below the fridge was a puddle of a faint red liquid.

It resembled blood.

She walked over to it and slowly opened the fridge. There was a chunk of raw meat sitting on the shelf. Part of it was obviously missing but the red juice dripped amply. By now, Rachel was thoroughly confused and a tad bit freaked out.

All of a sudden, a dark silhouette whipped past behind her. Her hair flew up and she immediately drew up a shield around her.

"Who's there?" She demanded. But when she turned around, no one was present.

A noise sounded from the den and Rachel decided to investigate. Calling Richard probably would've been ideal but he had a lot on his plate right now. This could've been something minor.

Rachel stepped into the den and readied herself for an attack. Her best guess was that it was the intruder. She was not going to let them get away this time. As much as she was an antisocial homebody, she wasn't going to let a raging psycho ruin her summer anymore.

It wasn't until she walked around one of the couches that she saw someone—or rather something—hovered over what looked like raw meat by the window. The moonlight illuminated the scene enough to know that whatever it was the creature had was, in fact, a part of the giant piece of raw meat that was in the fridge.

"What the hell?" Rachel breathed as she neared the creature. She took quiet cautious steps towards it to get a better look.

Rachel took one more step on the wooden floors and it creaked loudly. She swallowed, knowing she'd made a big mistake. The creature also stopped what it was doing and sniffed the air. Slowly, the creature's head turned and stared dead into Rachel's eyes.

Rachel's own eyes grew wide at the werewolf-like beast. It's eyes were a pale snowy white as were it's sharp-as-knives teeth. It's pointed ears were covered in rough looking fur as was the rest of its body. The beast was frightening and the red meat juice dripped from its mouth.

"Oh...my…" Rachel slowly backed away and couldn't even muster out a scream or anything. She was in a state of shock that her nightmare had become real.

Or was it that her nightmare was a vision?

But what really made Rachel's heart stop altogether was one fact and one fact only:

She knew exactly who the beast was.