Raven's eyes travelled rapidly across the pages of the book. She was surprised to find that Slade owned so many good ones. Since when did he have books anyway? Raven just couldn't picture Slade reading. It seemed... too soft. The one she was reading in particular was not something she would ever have imagined him owning. It was a mythical story of love and pride, with magic and dragons all incorporated to make an intricate and beautiful tale. This is what Raven did; there was nothing that could take her away from everything like a book could. When she was reading, she could put all her problems aside and lose herself in something completely different and wonderful. It was so much better than reality sometimes. And this is what she did now. Blocking out the rest of the world, she buried herself within the pages of the tale. In fact, Raven was so engrossed in the book that, from her position in the bay window, she didn't notice her silent spectator.

Slade leaned against the doorjamb, his arms folded over his broad chest, as he watched her read. She looked so much more peaceful when she was reading. So different from the sarcastic, guarded person he saw when he spoke to her. The angry lines were smoothed from her brow, the hardness in her eyes softened. She looked young... and vulnerable. Is this what she tried to hide from the world? Her vulnerability? She always tried so hard to appear strong and in control. Was it all just a cover for the person he saw now?

Suddenly becoming aware of his presence, Raven's head snapped up and her eyes fastened on him. All the walls went up in a matter of seconds, and her guarded eyes became stormy. "What are you doing there, watching me?" she said angrily.

"Watching you." He said matter-of-factly. She rolled her eyes.

"What do you want?" she snapped.

"It's time for your evening stroll. I thought you might be tired of being cooped up, but it seems I've interrupted. Perhaps you would rather..."

"No," she said quickly. As much as she was enjoying the book, she would take any opportunity to get out of the room for a while. "I'll go."

"Well, come on then."

She closed the book and stood up, stretching slightly. Grabbing her dark blue cloak, she walked towards him, fastening it at her neck. At the door, she moved past him, and without waiting, continued down the corridor. Before she could take more than a few steps, however, she felt his hand close over her elbow. "Slow down." He murmured. Tossing her hair back, she sent him a glare over her shoulder. He just chuckled and led her down a large flight of stairs, still clutching her elbow. Though she tried to shrug his hand off, he clung on.

Outside, he walked her around an old cobbled courtyard. Vines crept up the sides of the walls and the beds of plants and trees were extremely overgrown. The floors of the beds were choked with weeds and the soil was sandy. It was still an oddly enchanting area, and Raven loved it. But then maybe it was the fresh air that made her love it so. Lifting her head, her eyes closed, she breathed deeply, filling her lungs with the clean air, untainted by the fumes of city life.

She must have made a sound of contentment, because she was reminded of the presence of her captor by his voice. "Better?" he said.

She opened her eyes to find him watching her. She nodded stiffly and pulled her hood up to hide her face. Why did he probe her so much when he looked at her? Like he was trying to look inside her. Damn him! As if he had any right. How was she going to survive months of this? And she had to sleep next to him! She glanced up to the dark night sky. Which she would be doing soon. Shit!

Robin tossed and turned in his soft bed. Sleep constantly evaded him. It was as if every moment he spent not searching was wasted, even though the investigation was going nowhere. The best they had found were some scuffle marks on the bank of the lake in the park. He was sure it was Raven because her soft boot prints had been there - as well as some much larger ones. Those were Slade's he was sure. But they had found nothing else to give them a lead. The prints had stopped abruptly, leading them nowhere.

Grinding his teeth, he turned over again, but his brain would not keep quiet. Soon these sleepless nights were going to impair his ability to think at all. With a heavy sigh he rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. He would never be able to sleep peacefully until he found Raven - and Slade. And he had to be sharp when he did. This was Slade's plan, to slowly erode at Robin's strength and sanity. And he would not let that happen. He could not.

As Raven and Slade made their way back up to the bedroom, Raven ascended the stairs with heavy trepidation. She didn't think that he would try anything; it was just so... personal. Sharing a bed was just not something that enemies did.

In the room, Raven stood around awkwardly, not knowing how to act. Maybe she could curl up on the window seat instead...

"Raven?" Slade said softly. She looked up at him slowly. "Here." He tossed her some pyjamas. There was a dark purple shirt and a pair of soft, black, knee-length pants. She looked at him reproachfully.

"Why have you given me these?" she asked.

"I thought it would be more comfortable." He said as though the answer were obvious. Raven raised a doubtful brow, but made no comment.

"I'll leave now, but I'll be back in a little while, and I expect you to be in bed when I get back. Don't even bother disobeying me." He added with a pointed glance at the bay window.

Once he'd left, Raven scrambled into the pyjamas and laid her clothes on the chair at the foot of the bed. Reluctantly, she slid between the covers, her book in hand. Fluffing the pillows behind her back, she propped the book on her knees and began to read. About ten minutes later, Slade entered again, still dressed in his everyday clothes. With a glance at her, he headed for the free side of the bed and sat down. Pulling off his boots, he laid back fully clothed.

Raven eyed him speculatively. "You often sleep in your clothes?" she asked mildly.

"All the time." He said with a dose of sarcasm worthy of her. Raven turned back to her book, forcing down the little smile twitching at her lips. But before she could read one line, he had reached over and switched the light off, plunging them into darkness. "Nice." She said as she closed the book with a snap. She heard him chuckle as he rolled onto his side. With a sigh of resignation, Raven put her book down and shifted down onto her side, her back to him.

After a while, his breathing deepened, and she relaxed. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all...