Chapter 15: Aries' Journal

After her rescue from Calypso, Aries slept off and on for nearly a week. Speedy feared for a while that she might not recover from the captivity she had been subjected to, but when he and Torque awoke to breakfast smells in the kitchen, they began to wonder. Bumblebee couldn't cook to save her life, and Aqualad was too preoccupied with Terra to even try. When the two approached the kitchen, they heard giggling noises and the sound of food being prepared. They looked into the room and Aries was there, teaching Aidan how to make waffles. Speedy stood back and bowed his head, lifting a hand to cover his eyes for a moment. Torque looked up and spied tears in her husband's eyes.

"What's wrong, honey?" she whispered.

"I've never been so happy—everyone I love the most is right here in this room," Speedy replied. Torque turned Speedy's chin to meet her face and kissed him before she urged him into the kitchen with her. By the time the other Titans awoke, there was a stack of fluffy, golden waffles and plenty of syrup to go around. As the group began to fill their plates and sit down, Terra and Aqualad joined them.

"I told you, I'm fine!" Terra said comfortingly.

"But…you said…" Aqualad stammered. For a man who never lacked something to say, Aqualad was speechless. This made the team wary. What was going on?

"It's not like I'm terminally ill," Terra continued. The team released the breath it had been collectively holding.

"I'm pregnant."

Mas dropped his plate and Menos caught it, both just as slack-jawed as the rest of the team.

"Boy…it got awfully quiet in here all of a sudden…" Terra said, blush spreading over her fair complexion. Then came the flood of questions.

"Are you okay?"

"How long have you known?"

"When are you due?"

"Congrats!"

"Felicitaciones!"

"I hope this team is ready to handle the two of us, Terra," Torque added, putting her hand on the blonde's shoulder. The team fell silent again. It was Speedy's turn to drop a plate. Mammoth caught it despite the bandaging that still encircled his torso. Terra and Torque looked at each other for a few seconds and then suddenly squealed, throwing their arms around each other. The team was in an uproar again.

"They're both pregnant?"

"Mierda santa!"

"Watch it! There are kids in this Tower!" cried Speedy, swinging Torque in a circle.

"Call the other team! We've gotta tell them the great news!" cried Aqualad.

"I hate to remind you, fish lips, but they're still in bed. It's hours earlier there!" Speedy replied.

"Wake 'em up, twinkle toes. This is cause for celebration!" Aqualad shot back.

February 15,

Dear Diary, I'll be going to visit Titans West to help out because Starfire and Jinx are so near to their due dates. It's so hard to believe I've been a Titan for three months! I'll write again as soon as I can! Love, Ariadne

"I'm here!" Aries chimed, lifted the sunglasses off the bridge of her nose and setting them on her head. She stepped inside the door of the West Tower and looked around. She stopped to examine several pictures of the families hanging on the walls and suddenly felt something hard pressed into the small of her back.

"Freeze," said a voice. Aries did as she was told, setting her luggage down on the floor. "Good. Now turn around slowly and lie down on the floor, face down." said another voice. Aries smirked.

"Two against one is a little unfair, isn't it?" Aries asked.

"Follow directions!" the first voice ordered. Aries slowly turned but unexpectedly lashed out, grabbing the weapon out of the second attacker's hands and pulling him under her arm. Now she had the upper hand.

"No. You follow directions. If you so much as twitch the redhead gets it," Aries replied, holding the muzzle of the large, reservoir-fed squirt gun against Jason's chest. "Give up. I've got you and you know it."

Olivia dropped her own weapon dejectedly and pulled a walkie-talkie out of her pocket.

"Stand down. Mission is a failure. Target not acquired," she grumbled.

"Your first mistake was asking me to turn around," Aries told her. She hugged Jason and then released him.

"Your second mistake," she said, waiting until all three kids—Toby had been crouched behind a chair—were watching. "…was not securing your weapons after a mission." With this, Aries used the squirt gun on them, laughing as they screeched and retaliated.

Upstairs, Jinx rested on the bed she shared with Cyborg. Lightly, she ran her hand over her belly, quietly nervous about her baby's impending birth.

"What's wrong?" Cyborg asked, coming into the room.

"I'm just nervous is all. When Reese was born it nearly killed me," Jinx murmured.

"I know you're scared but I know a certain someone who told me that everything was going to be all right now," Cyborg smiled. Jinx returned his grin.

"You're right. It's going to be just fine," Jinx replied. Cyborg bent slowly over and ran his hand through her hair, gently stroking her face with his thumb before he kissed her.

"I love you, Mrs. Stone," Cyborg whispered, pulling a blanket up over Jinx as she fell asleep. She smiled, and Cyborg was content. He exited the room, only to be impeded by a squealing, giggling, and getting very heavy Reese attaching himself to Cyborg's leg. Right behind him, Emily and Jason struggled to keep up with him.

"I thought you were telepathic!" Jason grumbled to his companion.

"That's just with animals, you dork!" she retorted.

"Don't call me a dork!" Jason cried, a starbolt developing in his hand. "Dr. Doolittle!"

"Don't call me that!" Emily screeched. "The kids at school call me that!"

"Dr. Doolittle! Dr. Doolittle!" Jason teased, taking off down the hall. Emily took off running after him. Cyborg shook his head and looked down at his son, who continued to laugh and rock against him. Cyborg picked Reese up and held him. Every inch of his still infant son reminded him of himself at that age.

"I suppose it's gonna be up to you and me to pry them two apart if it starts to get ugly," Cyborg said to Reese as he walked down the hall. Reese simply let out a thrilled baby shriek and laughed. For the next several seconds, Cyborg could still hear Jason and Emily shouting as they ran down the hall and then abruptly it stopped.

"MOTHER!"

Jason's voice was still echoing in the hall as Cyborg began to run to catch up to them.

"Mother! Get up! What's wrong?" Jason cried, taking hold of his mother's hand and panicking.

"I was walking back toward the bedroom to lie down," Starfire replied. "I was so overcome by pain that I could no longer stand." Tears began to fall from her eyes as Robin heard the commotion and came running.

"Starfire!"

"Take her to the med bay, I'll get the others," Cyborg said, handing baby Reese off to Emily. Cyborg located Raven and soon, a similar scene as had taken place before was forming around the med bay. Several times in the past, the boys had suffered outside in the hall while the girls took care of things inside the med bay.

Jason paced nervously as Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy sat or stood in the hall with the kids.

"You're gonna wear a hole in the floor, Jason," Beast Boy teased.

"Dad, is Mother going to be okay?" Jason asked, worry making his bright green eyes seem duller.

"Of course she is, son," Robin said, pulling Jason into his arms and hugging him. "This is a natural thing. Having a baby hurts."

"Did it hurt Mother like this when I was born?" Jason gasped. The guys laughed.

"I think it's time we had a long talk with the three oldest kids," Beast Boy surmised. "The twins asked us the whole 'where do babies come from' bit a few nights ago. We managed to hold them off for now, but we really ought to give them an answer."

Raven emerged from the med bay, sweat trickling from her temples, but a smile on her face and a bundle in her arms.

"Congratulations, Robin," she said. "Come over here." Robin did as he was told, guiding Jason along with him. At Raven's prompting, Robin opened his arms and she nestled the bundle into his embrace.

"Ten fingers, ten toes, and nine stomachs…Robin, meet your daughter," Raven teased. "Star named her Rosemary Luand'r." Robin was entranced.

"That's the name we decided on for her. My god…" Robin murmured. "She looks like me…" The other Titans closed in as Raven tiptoed back into the med bay to check on Starfire. Sure enough, baby Rosemary had her father's dark hair and vivid blue eyes. The guys took turns holding tiny Rosemary and then she was passed to her big brother for the first time.

"She's so small, Dad!" Jason said with a smile. "Was she really all curled up inside Mother all this time?" Robin nodded with a laugh of his own. "Why don't you come with me and we'll take her back to Mother. We should go in and see how she's doing," Robin suggested. Jason stood up slowly and meandered after his father, carrying his baby sister as if she were a trove of precious jewels.

"Hey, beautiful," Robin murmured, kissing Starfire when they approached the bed. "I'm so proud of you."

"We have our daughter, Robin," Starfire replied, opening her eyes weakly. Jason rose into the air and sat down on the edge of the bed, gingerly handing the baby back to Starfire.

"What do you think of your new sister, Jason?" Starfire asked her son.

"I think she's perfect, Mother," Jason replied.

As the others left the room to give them privacy, Aries shed a tear.

"What's wrong, Aries?" Jinx asked, having made her way to the med bay when she heard that Starfire had give birth.

"I've never seen a baby being born before," Aries replied. "It was beautiful, and Star was such a trooper. Now I know why they say that birth is such a miracle."

Dear Diary,

Little Rosie is now several months old and Star has returned to active duty. I enjoyed my stay with Titans West, but Steel City will always be my home. I can't wait for Torque and Terra to have their babies. Aqualad swears they are having a boy, but Terra told him not to hold his breath. With so many new superheroes in the rising generation, the next few years are bound to be interesting! Until later!

Ariadne Cheyenne Harper

THE END