Raven woke up the next morning feeling like she had hardly slept at all. Yawning, she looked down at herself and saw Slade's arm slung over her waist once again. Sighing, she looked over her shoulder at him. He lay sprawled out on his stomach, his arm carelessly draped over her. Turning her body slowly so not to wake him, she moved onto her back so that she could look at him.

It must be awfully uncomfortable to sleep with that mask on, she thought. Not for the first time, she felt a strong pull of curiosity for what was under it. She would love to see his face – she wanted to know if it spoke of the person he was. Would it be a harsh, mean face? Or a kind, caring face? If only he would take it off; just once before she had to leave. Maybe she would ask him... it was unlikely that he would oblige, but it was worth a try.

Carefully, she started to slide out from under his arm. When she was free, she pulled on the soft, dark purple dressing gown he had provided for her and walked softly over to the window. Leaning her back against the wall of the window seat, she curled her legs under her and looked out over the trees. Beyond them, she could she the sun rising out from behind the hills in the distance. It was a beautiful scene; the landscape was bathed in soft golden light and the sky was a beautiful array of colours – pale blue, purple, pink, orange and golden yellow.

Raven sighed a sigh of mixed emotions. She felt calm and peaceful at that moment, but also a bit sad; today she would have to shatter this peace they were both feeling. She wished she didn't have to make the decision. If only Slade would just volunteer to take her back home and decide for her. But there really was no decision – she had to get back to the titans. She couldn't stay here any longer.

"Good morning." Slade said from the bed. Raven turned to look at him; he was sitting up, head cocked to one side, watching her. "Morning." She said and hitched a smile onto her face.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Why so sad?" he asked.

Raven shrugged. "I was just thinking." She answered vaguely. "So, what are we doing today?" she said brightly. She had decided that today was going to be their best day. She would turn to more serious matters that evening; for now, they were going to enjoy themselves.

Slade shrugged. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know, something fun." Raven said, smiling. "You know this place better than I do; what is there to do?"

Slade thought for a moment. "You've only seen a fraction of the grounds. I could give you a tour?"

"Good idea! I would love to see the gardens."

"Can you ride a horse?" he asked.

"Um... I've never tried, but I'm a fast learner." She said tentatively.

"Great. I'll go and get you some riding clothes and we'll go."

An hour or so later, after a quick breakfast, Raven stood in the stables - dressed in tan jodhpurs, kidskin riding boots and a white shirt. She felt strange; it had been a long time since she'd worn clothes other than her teen titans gear. Slade appeared, dressed similarly to her, leading a medium sized chestnut horse. "She's for you." He said, handing her the reins. "Just wait a moment while I get mine." He disappeared again and Raven was left standing beside the mare. "Hello." She said softly and hesitantly stroked her nose. It was silky soft beneath her hand. The mare seemed to enjoy it, closing her eyes and snorting softly. Raven was taken aback at how beautiful the horse was. All her hesitation melted away and she now felt excited to ride her. She seemed to be of gentle nature, and Raven was no longer afraid of being bucked off.

Slade returned, leading a large, black stallion. Funnily enough, it suited him. But as they came closer, Raven was shocked at how big the horse was. Suddenly, she felt very small standing next to the huge, beautiful beast. She looked at Slade, who was watching her, and said "Holy crap." Slade chuckled.

Once he had helped her up onto her mount, Slade effortlessly swung up into the saddle. "Okay, we'll take it slow. Just stay next to me." Following his instructions, Raven tapped her heels against the horse's flanks and she began to walk. "Hold the reins like this," Slade said, showing her. "And try to relax. She's a good horse, she won't hurt you."

They walked along a bit, Slade pointing out landmarks and giving her riding instructions every now and then. After a while, when Slade had finished talking, Raven asked "Hey, would you rather be called Slade or Garret?" It was something she'd been wondering ever since he'd told her his full name.

"I... I don't really know. No one's called me by my first name for so long; everyone calls me Slade."

"Well then, I'll call you Garret."

"Okay."

After a while, he turned to her again. "Are you tired of walking? Want to try and trot?"

"Okay, Garret." She said, testing the name out.

Before they started, he explained how to trot, as it was quite different from walking. Once he was sure she understood, they started off. Raven felt unsure and was jostled about a bit at first, but she soon found a rhythm. She looked over to Garret, and smiled radiantly. "I'm doing it!" she said triumphantly.

"Yes, you are!" he laughed.

"Let's go faster!" she said. She felt like a kid again.

"Okay. Hold on with your legs and concentrate on what you're doing. Now squeeze her with your heels."

She did, and they pranced forward. Raven felt unbalanced at first, but righted herself and tightened her legs around the horse. She laughed as the wind whipped her hair back; she raised her face to feel it better.

Soon, they reached a lake; it looked extremely inviting to the horses it seemed, as they headed straight for it and splashed into the cold water. Raven shrieked as water was showered over her and laughed as the same happened to Garret. "What are you laughing at?" he shouted playfully, and reached down into the water and splashed her some more. She shrieked again and did the same to him. It continued until they were both completely soaked. Raven was clutching her side from laughter when they were finally finished splashing each other.

They spent the rest of the day riding all over the grounds, racing each other (he always won being the more experienced rider) and laughing and joking the whole time. They only stopped for a brief lunch before continuing the ride. As the afternoon wore on, they headed back to the stable. Windblown and dishevelled, Raven climbed down from her mount, legs extremely stiff. She pulled her fingers through her hair and they caught on many knots. But despite her discomfort, she had never felt more relaxed. She had just had the most fun she'd had in – well, the most fun she'd ever had. It was a heady feeling; not for the first time, she wondered if this was how she would be without her powers to control.

Once he'd put the horses away, Garret took her hand and led her back up to the house. As they ascended the stairs, Raven's heart sank. Time to get back to reality. When they were back in the bedroom, he went over to a chest of drawers and pulled out a hairbrush. "Here you go." He said and gave it to her.

"Thanks." She sat down on the window seat and brushed her tangled hair absentmindedly. Garret sat beside her; he had noticed her change of mood as they'd entered the room. When she'd finished with her hair, she set the brush aside and looked at him sadly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Garret, I... need to ask you something."

He watched her face intently. "Okay." He said hesitantly.

"First, I just want to thank you. For everything, especially today. I had the most wonderful time, and that's why I'm so dreading asking you this question."

Garret had a good idea what she was going to ask.

"Garret, I need you to take me home now. Would you, please?" she said softly.

He let out his breath in a rush. Turning his head away from her, he closed his eyes under the mask. He wasn't ready...

"I was also hoping... I know that once I leave, we will never have time together like we do now. We will be enemies again. So I was wondering... would you take your mask off? I would like to see your face before I leave. I want to know your face. Your real face." She looked up at him, pleadingly. "You must know that I'll never use the knowledge against you."

He still was not looking at her. They were both silent while he thought hard about her request. He wanted to show her his face, but... could he?

Finally, he raised his head and looked at her. Then he slowly reached behind his head and began to undo the bonds, never breaking eye contact...