"And honey, there's no hurry,
I know it's overdue there's a key to the door,
To the room where I'm staying,
You can sleep on the floor,
Half way through the night can we talk and see?
'Cause there's no way that I'll sleep when you're near me"
- Maybe You Can Owe Me, Architecture In Helsinki
* * * * *
Time crawled by on hands and knees as Beast Boy paced back and forth in the hospital's lobby. His emerald eyes were constantly drawn towards the clock that sat on the bare beige walls, like a moth to a flame.
It had been over two hours and he still heard nothing from the doctor, nor was he allowed to see Raven. The young man was growing tired of his surroundings. He hated hospitals, they were all the same: sterile, bright lights, and the strong scent of rubbing alcohol and fake Jell-O.
"Why don't you sit down?" Beast Boy turned to see a squat nurse with very curly brown hair and an expression of agitation painted on her face.
"No." He stated as calmly as he could. The nurse retreated back to her station and sat watching the young man as he moved across the gray linoleum floor.
When staring at the clock was too much for him to bear, Beast Boy's eyes would drift to the wing where Raven had been taken. "Where is the doctor?"
"Doctor Logan, asking where she is every ten minutes isn't going to make her come out and cure your wife any sooner." The nurse informed him patronizingly. She clearly was not a people person.
"Listen lady!" His patience were wearing thin and up until now he had been biting his tongue. "I have been waiting for two hours. My wife is sick! Do you understand that you work in a hospital? A place where people are usually upset!"
"What are you implying?" The nurse asked, her nose scrunched and her face beet red. The nurse rose to her feet and came over to where Beast Boy was standing.
"I'm implying that, I don't know, with your attitude maybe you shouldn't have gotten a job around people!"
"Doctor Logan?" Beast Boy's head shot over towards the doors to see a young woman with light brown skin and auburn coils in a white coat. The doctor glanced up from her silver clipboard to see the young man at his wits end with the nurse.
Beast Boy straightened himself up and left the lobby, following the doctor down the long white hallway.
"I'm Doctor Morgan, your wife is suffering from rat-bite fever, it's rare but becoming more and more prevalent nowadays. Symptoms are high fever, fatigue, muscle pain, and dizziness. We have put her on antibiotics she will be fine but she will be out of commission for quite some time. She's lucky you were there, otherwise this could have been fatal."
Beast Boy gasped at her last words, but Doctor Morgan smiled. "She will be fine now, rest and antibiotics should do the trick."
The doctor led the young man into a private room where he saw Raven lying on her back hooked up to an IV. Her black hair was plastered to her face and her skin looked as thin and ashen as paper.
Yet to Beast Boy, the young woman never looked more beautiful, she was alive. "Rae! Oh my God!"
"I'll give you two time alone." Doctor Morgan smiled as she closed the large wooden door. Beast Boy ran over to her bed, but refrained from hugging her when he saw that she was still in pain.
"I am so sorry!" The young man apologized.
Raven shook her head feebly. "No don't be, I think we're even now. Thanks." She whispered lifting her head to look into his eyes.
"The Doctor says that you won't be able to do much for the next week or so." Beast Boy informed her.
"I'll be fine. I'm going home tomorrow. I'll be at work on Monday." She stated in a tone that sounded final.
But the young man persisted. "No, you aren't going to work. You're going to stay at the apartment in bed."
"What? I won't be able to stay in bed for two weeks. Absolutely not." Raven snapped.
"C'mon Rae! I'm not going to fight you on this! For once, I know I'm 100 percent right. You are not going to work!" Beast Boy crossed his arms over his chest and when Raven sighed in defeat, he stared down at her victoriously.
"But who's going to take care of me, if I'm apparently too sick to do so myself."
The young man thought about this for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "Well, I guess I will." He shrugged slowly.
"You have work remember?" Raven prompted.
"Dude, I'll take my vacation time! Anything to not go back there!" Raven thought over this for a moment. They did not know anyone else and she would need someone to help her get around, her entire body was numb, she was completely immobile.
With a small sigh the young woman nodded. "Fine." She conceded, closing her violet eyes.
Beast Boy grinned proudly. "See, I knew you'd see it my way." He placed his hand on hers, his tan skin contrasting greatly against her milky complexion. Raven's eyes shot open and they met her husband's.
The young man felt his face burn and removed his hand immediately. "Y-you can...trust me! I-I'll take the best care of you." Beast Boy stuttered nervously.
"I sure hope so."
* * * * *
"Okay, only a few more flights..." Beast Boy supported Raven, keeping her bandaged arm around his neck and his around her waist. She was moving slow and at this rate they would not be in their apartment until sunset. "Hold on, this isn't working," the formerly green Titan continued.
"Well what do you suggest we do Gar?" Raven asked exhausted, wincing in pain. "There's no elevator."
Beast Boy sighed and, without any warning, the the young man scooped his wife up in his arms and proceeded to carry her up the remaining stairs. "There, now we're getting somewhere!" He grinned as he walked with ease.
Raven rolled her eyes but was secretly thankful for Beast Boy carrying her, she was in too much pain and if she continued to walk her legs would have given out. She did not like being helped, it made her feel obligated to the person that was assisting her, but the fact that Beast Boy was not making a huge deal over helping her made it more bearable.
Lost in thought, Raven did not notice that they had made it to their apartment and were just standing in front of the door.
"Well..." Raven trailed off.
"Well what?" Beast Boy asked.
"We have to go inside." The young woman stated plainly.
Beast Boy thought for a moment. "Um, I can't get to the keys if I'm holding you. They're in my pocket."
"Which pocket?" Questioned Raven, hoping it was the one on his hoodie, when she saw his face redden she knew exactly where the keys lay.
They're in my pants pocket." He muttered refusing to meet her gaze. "Could...uh, could you get them? I mean, I can't put you down...and if I tried to get them out, I'd drop you..."
"Fine." Raven's arm snaked down awkwardly between her body and his, finding the pocket where the keys were.
She felt Beast Boy tense up as her slender fingers found their way into his picket to retrieve the keys, but she tried to ignore it as best she could. The young man brought her closer to the door so she could unlock the door.
"There." Raven said as she opened the door to their apartment. Beast Boy crossed the threshold with his wife in his arms and paused. A small smile fell upon his lips.
"What?" The young woman stared up into his emerald eyes confused.
"Now, it's like we're officially married." He joked laughing. Raven rolled her eyes but rather than sighing out of annoyance, she joined him in his amusement. Beast Boy suddenly stopped laughing and stared down at the girl in his arms full of shock.
"Dude! You laughed! I can't believe it! Man, I don't have any proof!"
"Shut-up."
"You should laugh more often."
"Why?"
"I don't know." Beast Boy shrugged. "It's really nice." Raven felt her face grow very hot. The young man noticed this and changed the subject quickly. "I'm gonna put you on the couch."
"Why?"
"Well, then if you want you can watch TV. Besides, you'll be close by." He stated as he carefully placed her on the couch.
"Close by?"
"Yeah, in case you need something...I'll be keeping my eye on you." The young man grinned at the helpless girl as he pulled out the extra blankets and pillow from the closet. "Lift your head."
Raven complied with his request and he put the fluffy pillow behind her and covered body with the blanket, before calling his attention, "Wait."
"What?"
"I need to get my pajamas." She pulled back the blankets and was about to get up from the couch when she felt pain shoot through her entire body. Raven groaned as she fell back onto the couch.
"Don't get up! Please, I'll get them."
"No! I can do it." She insisted. The young woman hated feeling weak and tried again to move but this time the pain was much stronger.
"Rae, you need to stay put! You'll hurt yourself." Before she could respond Beast Boy was down the hall and rummaging through the dresser drawers. It did not occur to him until halfway through his mission that he was going through Raven's underwear.
Immediately he took his hands out of the drawer and looked up into the mirror. "Dude, calm down!" He told himself as he shook his head. Growing flustered with trying to find her something suitable to wear he shut the drawer and moved down to the next one.
There he found a pair of gray sweat pants and a green tank top. Thinking this would be suitable Beast Boy vacated the room quickly. "Right where I left you." The young man grinned.
"Obviously." Raven said sarcastically looking up at the clothes her husband held in his hands.
"Here." He placed the pajamas down on her lap. The young woman stared down at them and then up at Beast Boy. "Oh right, um...I'll leave. Hey, I'll go pick up your medicine. Will you be alright?"
She nodded, Raven neglected to tell him that she could not dress herself and that she needed a nurse to help her at the hospital. Once she saw him shut the front door, she began her first attempt at changing into her pajamas.
Pain burned through her bandaged arm as she tried to raise it above her head. She stifled a scream and proceeded through the aching to take off her shirt and pull on her tank top. "That wasn't too difficult." Raven commented as she slowly peeled back the blankets.
Carefully she adjusted herself so that her feet were touching the ground. The young woman took off her shoes and tried to pull off her pants. Tears begin to form in her eyes; the excruciating fire Raven felt in her legs and arms was unbearable.
But she knew she needed to be changed before Beast Boy got back. Gritting her teeth Raven quickly took off her pants and grabbed her pajama bottoms, rushing to get them on. Once the drawstring was tied, the young woman fell back onto the couch and let her tears fall.
Every muscle in her body was sore. She had been knocked around many times in her life and had managed to stand afterwards but now, without her powers, her tolerance for pain seemed to have disappeared.
* * * * *
"Hey." Beast Boy's voice woke Raven from her unplanned nap. "I didn't want to wake you but it's time for you to take your meds."
"That's fine." Raven opened her eyes to see her husband leaning on the armrest by her head. There were two pills and a glass of water on the coffee table.
"One is the antibiotic, and the other's a pain pill." He informed her. Beast Boy took the pills and water off the table and gave them to Raven. The young man noticed the redness of her eyes, and this time he was not going to let it go. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, why?"
"No you're not." Beast Boy refused to let her sadness go.
Raven turned away from her husband, she hated feeling weak and she was tired of crying. "Can you just drop it?"
"I don't want to. I know how you feel Rae; I'm going through it too. But we need to stick together in order to make this work. Not talking to each other won't help us."
Raven sighed, she knew he had a point but she had never been one that could open up to people.
"Come on, Raven. Maybe you'll feel better." An awkward silence rested between the pair as the young woman took her pills.
"I'm so sick of this." Raven laughed weakly. "And it's only been a week. I don't know if I'll be able to put up with much more of this."
Beast Boy sat down on the edge of the coffee table and stared into his wife's eyes. He saw frustration and anger. The young man liked seeing her emotional, but he did not like seeing her upset.
All he wanted was to see her happy, to hear her laugh again. "It'll all work out. I promise."
"How do you know that?"
"I'll make sure of it. But Rae we need to be a team. Don't bottle everything up anymore it isn't good for you." For the second time, Beast Boy put his hand on hers. This time, however, he did not move it away.
Slowly, he stroked her wrist with his thumb and gazed into her big violet eyes. Normally, Raven would have been annoyed by this gesture, but him being there for her was really comforting.
"Just come to me when you have a problem, I'm your friend." When he saw his wife nod, the young man knew it was time for him to change the subject. "Let's watch TV!" Beast Boy smiled and removed his hand from hers to grab the remote. "Man, I hate Sundays! It's all golf and infomercials!"
"I should call the school to tell them I won't be in for a while."
"Already did it."
"What?" Raven's eyes widened in amazement, Beast Boy was acting far more responsible then she thought he ever could be.
"Yup, and I called my work. I'm officially off for two weeks, just as long as you are. So now you can rest."
"Are you serious? I thought you would only take off a few days. What are we going to do for money?"
"Two words: paid vacation! They actually pay me to not go to work!" Beast Boy got up from his seat on the coffee table and walked over to the kitchen. "Want some soup?" He asked holding up a can of tomato soup.
"You don't have to make me lunch."
The young man shook his head. "Remember what I said, this is teamwork Rae and besides I want to make you lunch."
"My name is Rae-ven and why are you being so nice? It's annoying." She stated the young woman was growing uncomfortable with his kindness. Not that Beast Boy was mean to her; he was too concerned and Raven felt almost undeserving of this sort of attention.
"We're married. I'm supposed to be nice to my wife."
"Half of all marriages end in divorce." Raven informed him as he poured the thick tomato soup into a saucepan and added water.
"We can't afford for ours to, remember? So I'm going to be nice to you whether you like it or not! Besides, your sick and I'm sort of obligated to."
"Fine." Raven knew it was no use fighting him when he put his mind to something, so she stopped arguing and watched the golfers on the television. Surprisingly, unlike her husband, she found the golf quite relaxing to watch.
It beat the loud video games that were constantly being played at the Tower. Raven snapped out of her golf-induced trance when Beast Boy put a bowl of soup down in front of her. "Thanks."
The pair ate in silence and watched the golf tournament; neither one paying attention to the television, both realizing how lonely the silence would be if they were without each other in this mess.
* * * * *
Night came quickly. Beast Boy made Raven remain on the couch, much to her chagrin but being that she could not get anywhere without his help she was forced to obey. Their day was filled with strained conversation and television watching.
Raven had very little to say and she was embarrassed over her inability to do anything without his help, refusing to ask for help. Even though she knew he was fine with helping her, she was not.
So for the day, as oppose to asking for a books to read, she allowed herself to be enveloped in the soft glow of television. Beast Boy watched Raven for most of the afternoon from afar. He knew that prying would only drive her away and that was something he could not afford to let happen.
He sat by the computer doing research of his own. When not focusing his attention on his wife, the young man's emerald eyes were fixated on the monitor reading over the words that scrawled across the screen.
Nothing he read made sense, he had no prior knowledge of anything that concerned voodoo and the sorceress's name was nowhere to be found. But this did not stop his efforts, he knew for Raven's sake he had to try. He had to prove to her that he was serious. "Hey Raven?"
"What?" Beast Boy heard her tired voice croak.
"Are you getting tired?" A silence filled the room; the only thing to be heard was the anchorwoman's voice drone on during the 10 o'clock news. "I mean, it's late...you should be resting."
"I have been all day." Raven snapped, but her temper was not a deterrent for her husband. Rather his lips turned upwards into a smile, his patience was immense.
"Let's just go to bed." Beast Boy turned off the computer and got up from the chair. He left for the bedroom leaving the young woman alone in her thoughts. Her body still ached but she forced herself to ignore the pain so she could get some sleep.
Just as she was drifting off light pooled from the hallway into the living room and was quickly shut off. In front of her stood Beast Boy with the comforter in one hand and a pillow in the other, he wore his boxers and an undershirt.
"What are you doing?" Raven asked.
"Sleeping out here." He responded.
"Well, there is not enough room on this couch." Raven stated plainly.
"I'm not sleeping there, I'll take the floor." His voice faltered slightly.
If she saw Beast Boy blush, she did not let on. "Why?"
"Because, in case you need something." He proceeded to move the coffee table closer toward the television so he could lie on the carpet. Beast Boy covered himself with the comforter and stared up towards the ceiling.
His night would be a restless one. "Rae, are you still awake?"
Raven's eyelids fluttered open. "I am now."
"Oh."
"What?"
"I was just wondering." The young man took a deep breath. "What if we never get out of this? I mean what will we do?"
Raven sighed; she did not want to tell him about the rings it would only make him worry. "I don't know." Her voice was filled with honesty; she truly did not know what they would do.
Another long silence went by, she could tell that her husband was in deep thought and was bound to ask another question. "Hey."
"Yes?" Raven replied.
"Am I, am I a good husband?" Beast Boy asked quickly almost embarrassed. He was curious.
This question caught Raven off guard, but she had an answer for him. "Yes, you are a good husband Beast Boy."
The young man could not help but grin. He knew that Raven meant what she said and coming from her this was a huge compliment. "Rae?"
"Yes, Beast Boy?" She mumbled, her voice heavy with irritation. He seemed to know just when she was falling asleep.
"I know you're tired, but I just wanted to tell you...you're a good wife." He whispered. Beast Boy turned to face the coffee table and closed his eyes. "I'll let you sleep now. Night."
Raven's lips turned upwards into a small smile and she closed her eyes as well. "Goodnight."
* * * * *
Raven slowly woke, early morning setting in. Her body remained stiff, in pain as she attempted stretch. The room was silent, save for Beast Boy's soft breathing. She allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness then turned carefully and stared down at her husband's sleeping form.
He had managed to kick the blankets off of himself in the night and was now shivering on the cold floor. Raven felt a pang of guilt seeing him shaking on the freezing wooden floors. But he insisted that he slept near her. So Raven, ignoring the excruciating pain, reached down and slowly dragged the comforter over her husband.
With her face growing pink, the young woman tore her eyes away from Beast Boy and searched the room. Something did not seem quite right. Raven's breath caught in her throat and her heartbeat quickened, feeling a pair of eyes watching her.
"Who's there?" She questioned the darkness, her voice barely above a whisper. The young woman heard the scratching of the computer chair and the clicking of boots.
Suddenly, a tall feminine form came into view and sat delicately on the armrest of the couch, she stared directly into Raven's eyes almost daring her to make a move. "Oh child, what is it that you have gotten yourself into now?"