It was dark and her head felt like it was being pound by rocks. There was a clinking sound when she went to move her hands. They were handcuffed and attached to a chain. The room was pitch black making it hard to make anything out. It was dead silent with the exception of the chain jingling when she pulled on them. Carefully she shifted her body so she was sitting up. Leaning against a cold wall. The only thing she was left in was her bra and underwear.

There was light that streaked into the room followed by footsteps. A creaking noise coming from the corner up above. It looked like someone was walking down some steps. She was in a basement most likely. Zatanna tried to speak but a rag was tied around her mouth. Unable to let her so much as breathe nevermind talk. The room flickered to life as the lights turned on. John walked over slowly.

"Hello love" he said leaning down, the beige trench coat swaying as he did so.

She mumbled something. "What was that now?" he asked pulling the rag from her mouth.

All she did was spit in his face. He narrowed his eyes at her before wiping it off. "Now that is not how to treat your boyfriend!" he yelled slapping her hard across the face. She looked to the side at the wall before turning her head. Glaring hard at the man standing before her. He stood there for awhile just staring at her. It was starting to make her uncomfortable.

After all she was basically exposed and cold. This basement was freezing and she could feel it. The cold air seeping through her pale skin. "Want anything love?" he asked tilting his head to the side. Her heart dropped to her stomach. He had a gun on him still, it was holstered at his side. She tried to speak only for her words to be muffled. "What's that? You'll need to speak up" he taunted as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh well if you can't speak clearly I'll have to leave. Give your boyfriend a kiss" he said as she looked away from him.

He grabbed her face, harshly turning it to face him. Pulling the rag down as she grit her teeth together. Leaning in he kissed her. It was unpleasant to say the least. He pulled away before turning around and leaving. The basement she was locked up in smelt horrid. There was probably mold growing in here. At least if she died it would be to mold poisoning and not by him. She shivered, it was freezing cold down here. "Please help me, someone" she thought in her head.

A tear escaped from her eye and streamed down her cheek. It was an hour when she began to shake. Everything was bitter cold, her lips were beginning to turn blue and her breath was frosty. Tiredly she tried to tug on the chain's again. Maybe they would break because of how sheer cold the room was? The door opened again as John walked down. Something in his hands was steaming. "You look cold" he said as she looked at him with lidded eyes.

Holding her hands up she managed to flip him off. He growled to see the tired smile on her face. The bowl of hot soup in his hands was suddenly dumped on her. She screamed, it was mostly muffled by the rag in her mouth. Oh how it burned. Especially since it touched her cold skin. "Here I thought I was being nice" he said as she gulped. No, she couldn't cry in front of him. No matter how much she wanted to she just couldn't.

"This is how I'm going to die" she thought.

He cleaned the soup off of her after it went cold. Looking down she saw the red burns forming against her skin. It hurt so bad. He threw a blanket over her, it had holes in it but at least it was something. Another kiss was forcefully pressed to her mouth. For some reason he wanted more but she pushed him away. He growled, anger filling his body. For some reason he took it out on her. Zatanna felt every kick and every punch. It hurt like hell.

At this point she was waiting for death. At least if she did die she would be free. Her blue eyes were lidded as she stared off into nothing. In the corner of her eye she saw a white light. At first she thought she was dying. But then it began to buzz, it was a phone. A spark of hope ignited inside of her. Slowly and painfully she stretched to try and grab it. The handcuffs were digging into her wrists as she did so. Stretching her leg she just managed to kick it over to herself.

The number was unknown and she waited for it to go to voicemail. Picking up the phone she struggled to dial the number. There were footsteps again upstairs. John was coming. Turning the phone off and on silent she reached back painfully. Sticking the phone between her back anf bra on her back. He wouldn't see it there since she was facing the wall. The room illuminated again as she closed her eyes. Maybe he would go away if he saw she was asleep.

It sounded like he was looking for something. Most likely his cellphone, the one she has. Zatanna may be at a disadvantage at the moment but she wasn't stupid. "Where is it?" he was talking to himself. With her eyes closed she was beginning to drift off and it wasn't to sleep. But she refused. She wasn't one to just die before even fighting for her life. That's the only thing that kept her alive. Her sheer hope and determination ignited in her heart. There was angered footsteps which approached her. He slapped her in the face so hard that blood went flying from her mouth.

Eyes slowly opening, they were lidded. Zatanna was barely able to even breathe at this point she was in so much pain. "Where is it?!" he yelled in her face as she raised an eyebrow. "What?" she said in a raspy voice when he removed the rag. All she could taste in her mouth was metal, like pennies. "My phone!" he screamed in her face. Spit flying from his mouth and hitting her face as he screamed. "I wouldn't know since I've been unconscious" she grit through her teeth, voice shaky as her teeth chattered.

Another slap was sent to her face before he walked away. Breaking something in the process before going back upstairs. At least he took the rag out of her mouth. Reaching back she grabbed the phone. Her fingers were bitter cold and she struggled to dial the number. Holding it to her ear she leaned back against the wall. It rung a couple times before the person picked up. "Hey Dick" she whispered over to phone.

"Zatanna where are you?!" he yelled in a worried voice.

"Track-Track the phone" she managed to say.

Her body was shaking, she was so cold. The phone fell from her hands and hit the floor with a clatter. She couldn't be bothered to pick it up. His voice was yelling through the phone but he knew what to do. Blue eyes lidded she stared forward. Then she saw her father. "Dad?" she whispered in disbelief. He was dead, he died a long time ago. "Its me Zatanna" he said. She must be hallucinating. Her father gave her a sad smile. The outline of his body was glowing.

"Zatanna don't be afraid, you can come home" he said as she shook her head.

Tears began to stream down her cheeks. "No, I-I have to get out of here" she whispered.

Zatanna began to whimper as he kissed her forehead. Then she saw her mother standing behind him. A smile on her face. "Its okay baby. You can come home now" her mother said but she just shook her head. She wasn't going to give up, not now. No matter how tired and defeated she felt. Dick's voice from the phone gave her hope. He was going to find her. "I love you guy's so much" she whispered as they nodded. The two of them gave her a hug.

"Your so strong baby. Stay strong" her mother said with a smile.

"I'm proud of you Zatanna. Stay strong, after all you are a Zatara" her father said.

The two of them stood up and held hands beginning to walk away. Her lip trembled watching them go. "Mommy....Daddy. Don't go" she whimpered out. The tears becoming fast now as they rolled down her cheeks. Her vision was clouded by tears as she looked down at the phone. "Dick....I know you can hear me. Just know that-that I love you and Mar'i so much" she said, her voice shaky as she spoke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was early when he woke up, around six-thirty in the morning. Conner wouldn't lie, he missed the farm. He groggily began to walk towards the washroom. His eyes barely open as he did so. That's when he bumped into someone, or rather they bumped into him. Eyes opening he looked down to see Wendy. Her eyes were as wide as saucers as she stared at him.

She was in her pajamas as was he. They just stood there staring at each other. "Sorry" she quickly said before turning around and walking back into her room. Conner shook his head before walking into the washroom. Turning the shower on as he stepped in. His mind was reeling for answers at the moment. Why couldn't he get Wendy out of his head? The shower was quick as he got changed and headed downstairs. Wendy was waiting with Clark and Lois. They were all bundled up and ready to head outside.

"Okay so Conner and Wendy we need you to feed the cows and pigs" Clark said as the two nodded.

It was bitter cold as they stepped outside. Maybe he should've dried his hair before coming out here. The place definitely looked like a Winter Wonderland. "So you got to wake up to this everyday?" she asked looking around in amazement. It was all just so breathtaking. The wind blew, blowing some snow up with it as it danced in the wind. After a five minute walk they reached the barn. It smelt like animals.

A smile was plastered to her face as she walked over to one of the horses. It was a Clydesdale painted all black. Wendy looked back at Conner as he nodded. Immediately her eyes lit up as she reached out to touch the majestic creature. At first it protested to be touched but eventually it calmed down. "What's its name?" she asked in a calm voice. Her eyes just held such amazement in them as she continued to gently pat it. "Her name is Noir" he said now standing next to her.

"Do you want to go for a ride later?" he asked curiously.

A light shade of crimson dusting his cheeks as he spoke. She turned around to face him. A sparkle in her blue eyes as she nodded. "Yes I would love that" she said excitedly. Wendy had never ridden a horse before so this would be interesting. The two of them made sure to feed all of the animals before heading back. "Hey Gramps?" he asked poking his head into the living room. His grandfather was lying back in the reclining chair watching television.

"Yes Conner?" he asked looking over.

"Can Wendy and I go for a ride on the horse's?" he asked scratching the back of his head.

For a moment his grandfather sat there pondering before seeing his grandson's face. Flashing him a knowing look before nodding. They hurried back to the barn. Wendy found it increasingly hard to contain her excitement. "Can I ride Noir?" she asked as he nodded. It took ten minutes to saddle each horse. "How do I get on?" she asked as he shook his head with a small smile on his face.

"So you put your foot in the holster and grab that on the saddle and pull yourself up" he said as she nodded.

It was still quite difficult as he sighed and walked over. Boosting her up onto the horse as she blushed. "How do I get it to move" she asked holding onto the reins tightly. Of course she was scared if she fell off. That would probably hurt a lot. Conner helped and eventually they made it out of the barn. He gave her a few tips and tricks when riding and eventually she got the hang of it. "We can go for a ride down the road and back" he said as she nodded.

At first it was silent as the horse's walked side by side. He watched her look around at the pure white scenery. Everything including the road was coated in a layer of white snow. It looked like they were walking through something out of a movie. Their breaths were frosty as they danced through the air. "Thanks for inviting me to come with you" she said turning her head to look at him. A sincere smile graced upon her lips as she spoke.

Conner nodded blushing a light shade of red. He was actually glad that he brought her along. It had been a little depressing not having Megan around. I mean they dated for a long time, she was like his everything. Wendy helped take his mind off of her. After all it didn't take long for Megan to move on anyways. Apparently she was already dating this La'gann guy. But he was okay with it oddly. Maybe he felt a little betrayed seeing that he could be replaced so easily but other then that he was fine.

The sky above was clear and bright, the sun reflecting off of the snow making it sparkle. "Oh, the weather outside is frightful. But the fire is so delightful and since we've no place to go. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow" she hummed as he smiled. It was Christmas day after all. The dinner tonight was going to be good. The two of them hummed along to the song and eventually they got to the end of the road. "Wanna race back farm boy?" she asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"If you say so city girl" he said with a smug smirk.

Skycrystal23 ;)