Chapter 29
They sat in front of the Christmas tree as the lights twinkled in his eyes. Artemis looked so happy to have some of her family here. There was one thing that he didn't tell her however. The door bell rang as she looked over at him. Wally shrugged before standing up. "I'll get it. Don't open presents without me" he said before walking to the door. A smile formed against his lips as he opened the door. "Babe who is it?!" Artemis yelled from the living room. Dinah and Oliver stood at the door holding presents.
Wally held his finger to his lips as they nodded quietly stepping in. He closed the door before answering her. "No one Arty, it was probably one of those kid's from the room down the hall!" he yelled back as Oliver and Dinah took their boots off. Wally took their coats and hung them up as they then followed him into the living room. All of their backs were to him as he smirked. "Hey Arty I think I have some mail for you" he said as she rolled her eyes and stood up. When she turned around her eyes went wide. "I thought you said the two of you couldn't make it?!" she yelled running over.
Artemis engulfed Oliver in a hug as he smiled patting her back. Dinah had a bright smile on her face receiving her hug as well. "Well we couldn't but Wally called and with the things he said well we couldn't just not show up" Oliver said as Artemis smiled at Wally.
"Yep he even cut the meeting short and left right away" Dinah said as Artemis' smile grew.
"Oh I love you so so much!" she yelled pressing her lips onto his.
Wally's green eyes widened before he cupped her cheeks kissing her back. Just seeing her happy was good enough for him. "So how about presents?" Jade offered as the two parted. Both of them were blushing a bright red as they all stared at them. Oliver and Dinah placed the new presents they brought in front of the tree. "So I think little Lian should go first" Artemis gushed seeing the little girl sitting in Jade's lap. He sat there staring at the beautiful blond that he called his girlfriend.
If Wally could write everything that he loved about her down he wouldn't because he couldn't. There just wouldn't be enough paper to write down everything. "Santa!" Lian said as Jade nodded glancing at Artemis and Wally. Jade helped Lian tear the wrapping paper from the present. In the meantime Roy walked over and sat behind her. Pulling Jade to his chest as she looked back at him. That only caught Wally's moment for a brief moment. They all watched the little girl's face light up with glee to see the present.
"Its a arrow an a bow!" she said with a joyful giggle.
Of course, the toy was kid sized and proof. Instead the arrow heads were replaced with suctions cups for safety. Oliver then scooted a gift over to the little girl. It was wrapped in bright green wrapping paper with a gold bow. "Look its from Grandma and Grandpa" Jade said with a smirk. They could all see the cringe apparent on Oliver's face to hear such a name. Lian ripped through this one as well to see a teddy bear. It was soft and white as the snow, gold embroidered designs covering its body, finished by a red bow tied around its neck.
The little girl hugged it close to her chest giving it kisses. Roy and Jade's gift was a necklace that said her name. The other presents went around quickly as there wasn't that many. Then it came the time where Wally went to give Artemis her present. "Here you go, Merry Christmas babe" he said kissing her cheek as she blushed a light shade of pink. It was a long thin black box that was underneath the gold wrapping paper. When she opened it she saw the silver necklace that had her name written in cursive. A diamond heart next to her name at the end. "Wally I love it" she said pressing her face into his chest.
He chuckled wrapping his arms around her and rubbing her back. "Here let me put it on" he said as she nodded handing him the silver necklace. Carefully she moved her long blond hair to the side as he put it on, doing up the clasp on the back. "I can out present you West" Jade said with a smirk plastered to her face. She handed Artemis a long wrapped up cylinder. It took her a moment for her to realize what it was as she unwrapped it. That's when she covered her mouth as tears welled in her eyes. "Jade how did you get this?" she asked still slightly shocked and emotional.
It was her Alice in Wonderland poster. The last time she saw it was when she fleed from her house all those years ago. "Before the demolished the house I snuck in and grabbed some momentous" she said as Artemis crawled over and hugged her. This was definitely one of the best gifts she's been given in her entire life; that and along with Wally's.
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The two were outside in the middle of Gotham. Their frosty breaths dancing through the cold air. They were staring up at the giant Christmas tree that had been put up a week ago. Roquette and Kaldur did this as a tradition as soon as they moved here. Even when they were dating back in Happy Harbor they went to visit the cities tree. But it wasn't the same as Gotham's. This tree was huge, sparkly, colourful, and it twinkled. The tops of their heads and shoulder's had specks of snow on them.
He intertwined their fingers as she rested her head against his shoulder. It was moments like these that she loved. The pure silence was filled with so much emotion. For they didn't have to say anything; everything spoke for itself. There were a couple people admiring the tree as well or taking photos of it. On the top of the large tree was a giant shimmering star. That was Roquette's favourite thing on the tree. Kaldur's was all of the decorative ornaments. Some of them were almost as old as the City itself.
A sigh escaped her lips as he looked down, lightly kissing the top of her head. "What is it my love?" he asked breaking the silence. She tore her eyes away from the tree to look at him. His pale green eyes twinkled from the lights on the tree. "Nothing Kal, just absorbing the Christmas spirit" she said with a small smile. Before they continued their walk he quickly kissed her. The blood rushed to her cheeks making them flush a light red. Sometimes he really knew how to sweep her off of her feet.
They walked hand in hand down the salt covered sidewalk. Large dirty snow banks to one side of them and decorated store windows to the other. Another thing that they did was look at all of the intricately decorated store windows. She stopped at one of them and turned to face it. The display was of a tiny village. "Its so amazing how they do this" she said as he nodded in agreement. A gust of wind blew tossing some of the snow back into the air. The chills ran down their spines when this happened. Sirens in the distance caught their attention. The two of them turned around to watch plenty of police cars speed by.
All of them had their red and blue lights flashing. It reflected in their eyes as they watched. They shrugged it off as nothing, after all it was Gotham City. Crime didn't take a break; even if it was Christmas. Their walk was cut short when the temperature kept dropping. Walking into their house was like walking into an oven. She welcomed the heat as her skin began to burn from its touch. Both of their noses were bright red along with the tips of their ears. "I'll go and prepare some hot cocoa" Kaldur said as she smiled and nodded. While he did that she walked into the living room.
Their small Christmas tree was up in the corner. A couple presents placed underneath as the multicoloured lights were wrapped around it. A small angel was placed on top but it lacked ornaments. Roquette sunk into the couch turning the televison on. Grabbing her laptop and turning it on as the screen flickered to life. Even if it was Christmas break she still had school work. Her professor had given them a small project to do over the break. It was on how many deaths and illnesses there were over the Christmas holidays compared to any other day.
She had been procrastinating a bit but she still had half done already. Kaldur walked back in with two mugs of hot cocoa. She shut her laptop and put it to the side as she took the mug from his hand. Scooting over she then snuggled into his side. A movie was on the television. The theme of it was of course based on the current holiday. "Merry Christmas Roquette" he said pressing a kiss to her forehead.
She took a sip of the hot cocoa. A couple mini marshmallows floating around in it. "You too Kal. I love you" she said pressing a chocolatey kiss to his lips. Then they settled back down now under a blanket. Hot cocoa in hand as they tuned into the movie displayed on the television screen.
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He held her tightly as she tried to fight his grip. Everything was going slow as she watched the scene play out in front of her. Mar'i jumped towards her to try and fight back. She must get her heroism for Dick. The gun was removed from the side of her head as John pushed it forwards. He fired it as her ears began to ring. Something happened as Mar'i and Damian both went tumbling down the staircase in front of them. Tears escaped from her eyes as she reached out. "Let me go!" she yelled as John dragged her further away.
Her ears were still ringing as she struggled against his grip. Zatanna didn't want to go back with him. The more she struggled the angrier he got with her. Everything then began to become louder as her hearing came back. There was screaming before there was the clicking of another gun. John swung her around as they faced Dick. He was standing in front of the large doors that lead outside. Hands shaking as he aimed the gun at them. "Let her go" he said in a shaky voice as John laughed.
"Grayson, Grayson, Grayson. It's a pity that you don't know when something isn't yours" John said as Dick growled.
"She was never yours in the first place. Hell, she wasn't even mine. So let her go" he said as she gulped.
There was coughing in the background followed by another scream. "Mar'i! Mar'i!" she yelled as tears streamed down her already wet cheeks. Zatanna struggled even further before biting John in the finger. He hissed letting her go as she tried to run towards Dick. A fist full of her dark locks were grabbed as she was yanked backwards. "I wouldn't do that again sweetheart" he whispered into her ear as she whined in protest. The grip on her hair was tightened as she yelped.
The cold barrel of the gun was then placed back to the side of her head. She locked eyes with Dick as he frowned. "Its okay" she whispered as he shook his head at her. Zatanna stumbled over her own feet as she was pulled towards the door. John dropped something on the ground. Immediately dark smoke emmited from whatever it was followed by small green fireworks. Dick stared at the display in shock. "What Grayson, never seen magic before?" John said before pulling her outside. The cold air nipped at her skin.
Her heart was beating through her ears as he pushed her stomach first into the backseat of a car. Before she could fight back he put her arms behind her back. A ziptie now bounding her wrists together. He closed the door and ran around to the front before getting in and flooring it. They sped down the driveway as she screamed seeing the closed gate ahead of them. Bracing for impact the car went through the gates busting them open. The car took a harsh turn as she smashed into the side door. John's driving was quite reckless when he took another sharp turn.
That's when she hit her head on the door. Within seconds everything went black as she was knocked unconscious. The last memories she had leaving her mind.
Skycrystal23 ;)
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