It was late, around eight o'clock now when he got a call. He was on his way home from the precinct. Music blasting and a smile on his face. There was nothing more satisfying then taking down criminals. His phone was ringing, turning down the music he put the call on Bluetooth. "Hello" he said in a cheerful voice. On the other end he could hear erraric breathing and sniffles. "This is Officer Grayson right, Mar'i's fath'a?" a feminine voice asked.

He reached over and turned the radio off. The car now flooded with silence. "Yeah, who is this?" he asked pulling the car over to the side of the rode. He put it in park before shifting in his seat uncomfortable. "I'm the woman who saved yer girlfriend, Zatanna. Mar'i an Melody are supposed ta be home but they aren't. They left a note saying thay they were going to the park" she said, by now it was pitch black and the streetlights were turning on.

"You let them go to the park?" he yelled.

"I didn't! I went to work, a lady has to work to sustain herself and her daught'a y'know!" she hollered back.

"Okay where do you live?" he asked setting the car to drive.

Early he was told that Mar'i was staying over at a friend's house. Automatically he thought she was going to Damian's. The young girl didn't have many friend's so the thought was automatic. Dick had met the woman who saved Zatanna once. She was kind and a little bit crazy. In fact her and her daughter stayed at their place for a day or two.

However with his job he was barely at the house. He had only spoken to the woman once or twice before now. She gave him the address and he raced over. Making a quick call to Zatanna and Kori to let them know the situation. "We're on our way now, what park is it?" Zatanna asked through the phone. Apparently she was still over at Kori's place. "Angelwing Park" he answered, his hands were beginning to get clammy.

This was his daughter and she could be potentially kidnapped at the moment. Gotham was dangerous as it was but even more so at night. The phone line went dead soon after. Just as he pulled into the park. "Mar'i where are you" he whispered to himself as he grabbed a flashlight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today she had no classes, lucky for her. At the moment she was working on two different projects. The stress levels were high. "Babe I'm home!" her boyfriend shouted from the front door. He was greeted with silence as he strided into the main room. The blonde sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table. Different sets of binders, papers, and pencils strewn about across the top of the table.

A fast food bag hung loosely in his hand. He was kind enough to drop by the nearest café on his way home to pick up food. "I brought food" he said setting her bag down on the table beside her. A sigh escaped her lips as she tore her eyes away from the laptop in front of her face. Standing up she grabbed the bag and shuffled past him to the kitchen. He took notice to her attire, his sweatshirt and sweatpants. "Couldn't find anything to wear?" he asked amused.

"Beautiful I know" she mumbled glancing over at him.

His tongue darted across his lips as he smirked.

"Babe you'll never not be pretty. You could be wearing a plastic bag and I'd still want you" he said with a flirtatious wink.

Rolling her eyes she turned around and opened the cupboard. Grabbing two plates from the top shelf. He took a seat on the couch, his shoulders slumped. Her feet dragged across the floor before she took a seat next to him. The television turned on as she leaned into him. His arm wrapping around her while the other took the food out of the fast food bags. "I'm so done with school" she said with a long defeated sigh.

"Aren't we all" he replied while throwing a chip into his mouth.

The two sat there in a comforting silence. Eating their fast food and enjoying each other's company. Brucely pranced into the room after smelling the food. The dog sitting on the floor in front of the couch. "We should get a house" Artemis said out of the blue. Wally nearly choked on his food at hearing that. Turning his head he gave her a worried look. "You aren't sick right?" he asked pressing the back of his hand to her forehead.

By the feel of it she didn't have a fever. She shook her head pulling his hand away from her face. "I'm just thinking for future sake" she said as he raised an eyebrow.

"Are you okay Artemis?" he asked as she nodded cuddling back up to him.

Instead of saying anything else he settled back down. Looking at the television while eating. Every now and again he would glance at her. The young woman didn't look to be very hungry. "Babe you're worrying me" he said now shifting in his seat to sit up straight. Reaching over he placed the plate of food on the side table. He turned his body to face her to see that she was now fast asleep. "What am I going to do with you?" he whispered to himself before standing up.

He scooped her up in his arms and walked to their bedroom. With one swift motion he pulled the blankets back. Then placing her gently on the bed before tucking her in. "Goodnight Artemis" he mumbled against the top of her head as he gave her a fleeting kiss. Just before he left he turned the light out. As he walked back into the room he then sat down on the floor in front of the coffee table. Looking at the work she was doing. "Science, I cam do science" he said before pulling her laptop over to him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The search went on for hours. They didn't know that this forest in the city could be so large. "Mar'i! Melody!" the blonde woman called, hands cupped around her mouth. There was only the four of them searching. No one else was called not even the police. They paired off, she was with this red headed woman. The young woman definitely looked like model material. "So yer her moth'a right, like the real deal?" Harley asked as the woman looked down at her and nodded.

The forest was dark and hard to navigate around. They were using the flashlights on their cellphones to see.

It was foggy, the weather wasn't the greatest at the moment. The temperature kept rising and dropping. There would probably be a storm within the next couple of days. "You are Melody's mother I take it?" Kori asked as the blonde nodded.

"Yep, Harleen Quinzel at your service but you can just call me Harley everyone does" Harley said as she nodded.

In the distance they could hear Zatanna and Dick yelling both of the little girls names. They must've been terrified. The further into the forest they got the denser and darker. It was another fifteen minutes until Kori's cellphone rang. The two woman screamed and jumped to hear the noise. The ringing echoed through the entire forest. It sent chills through their body. "Hello? Yes, we'll be right there" Kori said rather quickly before hanging up.

Dick and Zatanna had found the two little girls. They were to rendezvous back at the park. If they didn't have their flashlights then they might have gotten lost on the way back. Upon exiting they saw the four standing there. Harley ran over and picked up her little girl. Holding her close and smoothing down her long blonde hair. "Its alright baby mama's gotcha" she said hearing the girl cry.

The two of them looked like they had seen a ghost. After all they were just children. Their parents were just glad that they weren't dead. "We're going to take Mar'i home, do you need a ride?" Zatanna asked as Harley looked over at her. Flashing her a small but thankful smile as she shook her head. "We'll be fine just get home" she said as Zatanna nodded.

Once they left Harley carried her daughter out of the park. They walked down the street and waited by the bus stop. "Are we going home now?" Melody asked in a small frail voice.

"Yes baby we'll be home soon" she said taking a seat on the bench.

It was dark, the only light coming from the streetlight hanging over them. Melody laid across the bench, her head resting in her mother's lap. A couple cars past by, the bus didn't show up for half an hour. When it did pull up Harley picked her daughter up and stepped in. They didn't arrive to their apartment building for another hour after that. If she had taken the drive that Zatanna offered they would've been home hours ago.

The apartment was small and far from luxurious. It was all she could afford, even with the two jobs she worked. Walking into the one bedroom she sat down on the side of the bed. Unwinding the girl's arms that were tightly wrapped around her neck. Gently she laid her down and tucked her in, four layers of blankets covering her. The heating in the building wasn't exactly the greatest. A tired sigh escaped her lips as she climbed into the bed next to her.

A chill ran through her body as she climbed underneath the blankets. Turning on her side the bed let out an ungodly screech. The red numbers on the clock read two am. She had work in a few hour's. Her eyes closed as she snuggled underneath the blankets. Thing's could only go up from here right?

Skycrystal23 ;)