A/N: I'm skipping to Christmas Eve 'cause y'know plot purposes :p

The snow fell gracefully as she ran around the condo. It was Christmas Eve after all and she wanted everything to be perfect. Wally was of no help and she didn't want him in the kitchen. "Arty let me help" he whined as she rolled her eyes walking past him. Setting the china plates down on the table. Turning around he stood right behind her. Arm snaking around her waist pulling her close. "Mmm...no" she said with a wink as he groaned letting her go. Following her into the kitchen he leaned against the counter. He had finished everything she had tasked him to do an hour ago. "Don't forget to check on the turkey to season it" he said as she sighed.

"Thanks for the reminder" she said as the doorbell rang.

"I got it" he said kissing her cheek before leaving the kitchen.

Opening the door he saw Roy, Jade, and Lian. "Hey Ja-" he began to say as she pushed past him. Roy just shook his head signalling for him to not ask. "Uncle Wally" Lian said happily as he picked her up. The little girl giggled making Wally smile. Walking back into the kitchen Roy followed. Jade and Artemis were chatting with each other. "Okay boy's go away" they said shooing them from the kitchen. Artemis stood there as Jade began to help prepare the food.

"How's the family thing working out for you?" she asked, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"Don't even get me started Artemis" Jade said with a roll of her dark eyes.

Artemis snickered at her comment. Sometimes Jade was just so dramatic. "Hey Arty where's the remote?!" Wally yelled from the living room. "Right where you left it on the side table!" she yelled back finally finishing the potatos. Everything was done so now she just needed to wait for the turkey. "Let's go before they get into more trouble than they've probably already got in" Jade said as they left the kitchen. The whole condo was beautifully decorated. A large lit up Christmas tree in the corner. Dozens of wrapped presents underneath it waiting to be opened.

The two red heads were sitting on the couch with Lian in between them. Wally flipped through the channels trying to find something to watch. His eyes lit up seeing Artemis walk in. "You okay Wally?" she asked twirling a strand of blond hair around her finger. "Y-yeah. I just really like to stare at beautiful things" he said with a wink as she blushed. Jade glared at Roy with her hands on her hips. "What?" he asked leaning back into the couch.

"Would it kill you to be a little romantic for once?" she asked as Artemis stifled a laugh.

"Um. I love you?" Roy said nervously laughing.

Jade rolled her eyes walking over to sit next to him. Artemis curled up on Wally's lap as he wrapped his arms around her. "I think I'm going to like this Christmas" he mumbled nuzzling his face in the crook of her neck. A light crimson dusted her olive cheeks. "Oh really, why?" she asked curiously. The television playing in the background as Roy and Jade bickered. "Well for one I get to spend it with you" he said as she blushed a brighter red. There was a beeping noise from the kitchen as she shot up to her feet. "Be right back, Jade come on!" she yelled yanking her sister to her feet. Running into the kitchen she took the turkey out and sighed from relief.

At least it wasn't burnt. "Okay can you get everyone in their seats?" she asked as Jade gave her a small nod. Grabbing the knife she began to carve the turkey. "Sit your asses down at the table!" Jade yelled causing her to jump out of surprise. Somehow this reminded her of when she was little. Christmas was always a huge holiday in their house before everything that happened. It was like a wave of nostalgia hitting her. Someone touched her as she jumped from her thoughts. "Arty? Babe, are you okay?" Wally asked as she blinked a couple times before nodding. "Yeah just lost in thought" she said before sighing.

Everyone was finally sitting at the table with food on their plates. First it started quiet until Jade began speaking. "This reminds me of Christmas with Mom when we were little, remember?" she asked as Artemis nodded. Talking about their mother felt weird. She was always in her mind but Artemis never really talked about her aloud. It just hurt too much to speak about her so she didn't. "What was Christmas like at your house West?" Jade questioned, eyes narrowed at the red head. The two of them still didn't quite get along but at least she wasn't trying to kill him anymore.

"Nothing much just normal. Christmas tree, lights, you name it. The one thing that stood out the most was when Aunt Iris would come over with homemade cookies. Those were the best" he said with a bright smile on his face.

"Roy?" Artemis then asked.

"Ollie would usually throw those giant parties or we would attend Bruce Wayne's Christmas Gala" Roy said shrugging.

Lian was poking her food before looking at Artemis for guidance. The blond smiled and cut the child's food into small bite sized pieces. "So we get to open presents after what about that?" she asked as Lian clapped her hands giggling. A soft smile made its way onto Jade's face to see this. Even Wally had a dazed look on his face. Day dreaming was something he did frequently. Especially if he was imagining himself with Artemis in the future. It seemed so close yet so far away.

"This is actually really good Arty" he said, words being muffled from the food in his mouth.

"Thanks, glad I didn't burn it" she said with a cheeky smile.

The food was finished; everyone going back for seconds in the process. Now they were sitting on the floor in front of the beautifully decorated tree. It took Wally and Artemis a long time to make it look perfect. "How did you manage to get the star up there?" Roy asked scratching his head in confusion. "Don't ask" Wally and Artemis said simultaneously. "Now who's ready for presents?" Jade asked, a cheeky smile on her face as she held one of them. They all nodded acting like little children. What kind of gifts would await her this year?

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It was still early as he chased Mar'i around the place. Bruce was throwing a Christmas Gala like usual and they were invited. Of course, that meant getting Mar'i dressed. "Mar'i please sit down" he said as she giggled and shook her head. "No I want Mommy to help me get ready!" she yelled with her arms crossed. Dick sighed putting his hands up in defeat as he walked out of the room. "Zee!" he yelled as she popped her head out from the washroom. "Yes Dick?" she asked, hair still wet from the shower she just took. "Um can you help me get Mar'i ready?" he asked nervously as she smiled.

She hadn't exactly asked him about that mysterious note yet. Everything was so chaotic and she was also quite nervous. "Can I actually talk to you after?" she asked walking out of the washroom. A fluffy blue towel wrapped around her body. "Y-yeah" he stuttered out before quickly walking away. She rolled her eyes walking into her's and Mar'i's room. The little girl was sitting on the floor playing with a Barbie doll. "Who wants to get ready?" she asked as Mar'i smiled standing up and running over to hug her. She had been more of herself lately. Maybe it was because of the Holiday's but Zatanna was just happy that she was happy.

"We can't the surprise isn't ready yet" she said as Zatanna raised an eyebrow.

"Dick?!" Zatanna yelled.

It took a moment before he came running into the room. "What's she talking about?" she asked as he smacked himself in the face. "Give me like two minutes" he said as she nodded watching him race out of the room. Mar'i giggled as Zatanna rolled her eyes. Turning around she lifted the girl up and sat her down on top of the dresser. Grabbing a brush she then began to brush the girls wavy dark hair. "Tonight you get to play Princess" Zatanna said as Mar'i smiled.

"Only if you are the Queen" a voice said as she turned around.

Dick had two dresses in his hands and a huge smile on his face. "See Mommy I wanted to surprise you!" she said as Zee covered her mouth in shock. She blinked tears away, this was such a surprise. "Well she did say that she wanted to be like her mother so I thought why not?" Dick said placing the dresses on her bed. Zatanna ran over and gave him a hug. "You have no idea how much this means to me Dick" she whispered as he hugged her back. "Okay girls I will leave you two to get ready" he said as Zatanna gave him a thankful smile. It didn't take more than thirty minutes to get ready.

Dick was pacing around the living room when he heard footsteps. Stopping he looked over and saw Zatanna and Mar'i.

His heart sped up a bit to see Zatanna. She looked stunning in that dress. "Look Daddy I look just like Mommy!" Mar'i exclaimed jumping up and down. "How do I look?" Zatanna asked doing a little spin. He blinked a couple times again as he blushed. "You look pretty girl-I mean pretty good!" he stuttered out quickly correcting himself.

"Oh who am I kidding you look absolutely stunning Zee" he said as she blushed a bright red.

A grin as wide as the Cheshire cat's was glued to Mar'i's face. His phone buzzed as he looked down to see the text. "Well its look's like our ride is here" he said holding out his arm to her. Zatanna smiled and accepted the kind gesture. Alfred was waiting outside the building in a limo for them. "Hello Master Dick; I must say Miss Zatanna and young Miss Mar'i you looking quite beautiful tonight" he said as Mar'i grinned from ear to ear. "Hey so about before when I asked to speak to you?" she asked as he nodded.

"Yeah, what's it about?" he asked curiously.

"I was in class and I got this love note from someone, what do I do? They didn't sign there name only the letter D" she asked.

"Hmm. I'm pretty sure he'll reveal himself soon" he said as she blushed and nodded.

The Manor had tones of fancy car's and limos outside. It looked like the Gala had already started. Alfred got out and opened the door for them. He held his arm out once again as she took it. "Will you be my Queen tonight Miss Zatara?" he asked as she blushed a bright red. On the inside he was bubbling with nervousness. It seemed as if hundreds of butterflies were bouncing off of the walls of his stomach.

"Only if your my King on this beautiful Christmas night Mr. Grayson" she said with a wink.

The Manor was filled with hundreds of people when they walked in. Christmas music playing in the background as they scanned the crowd. "Hey Dick!" Tim yelled as he ran over. He had on a tuxedo, then again nearly all of the males had tuxedos on. "Zatanna, Mar'i" he said now standing in front of them. A couple of girls' eyes were lingering on Tim and Dick. Zatanna couldn't help but feel jealous. "Mommy can I go and find Damian?" Mar'i asked tugging on her hand. She bit her lip looking beside her at Dick.

"Hey Dick we're just going to go and find Damian. Mar'i wants to hang out with him" she said as he nodded with a small smile.

As they walked off she couldn't help but feel as if someone was watching her. Not in a good way either as it gave her the chills. Unbeknownst to her there was a man following behind her, and he didn't look friendly.

Skycrystal23 ;)