Promises
Summary: Love is powerful but it's not always romantic. Sometimes the women in Dick's life have to look out for him. Slight AU with Donna Troy in the team. Chalant
Author's Note: So this is my first story here. Young Justice has always been my favorite but I always kind of wished that Donna Troy would have been in the original team and after watching Titans and seeing how awesome she was with Dick I kinda thought up this little story so this is kind of an AU where Donna joined a little after Zatanna and Rocket. Takes place in between Season 2 and 3.
THE WATCHTOWER
December 15th 21:20 EDT
Barbara's phone vibrates for what feels like the hundredth time that night. She's just about to respond to the text when her screen lights up.
Phone Call: Zatanna Zatara
She lets out a short sigh but still can't help the small smile that spreads on her face.
"Zee I already told you, I have monitor duty tonight."
"Oh come on Barb." The magician replies quickly, "I know for a fact that all of the Team's active missions are strictly recon."
"Yes but…"
"And," She interrupts, "That none of them are due for check-in until tomorrow night."
Barbara sighs into her phone. "Zee…"
"Come on Barbara, we haven't had a real girl's night since M'gann's birthday back in September."
She cringes a little at the memory of the Martian's party. It was one of those rare nights where the stars aligned and nobody had any missions. Which of course meant that their entire group had kinda gone all out and Dick, Connor, and Kaldur had to carry them all back to M'gann's. Her thoughts are interrupted when she hears some light shuffling over the phone.
"Barbara!"
The redhead lets out another sigh. "Hi Donna." Trying to argue with the Amazon usually proved to be pointless.
"You're coming out with us tonight. Now before you try to argue with me, you've been managing the Team for what, over a year now right? You need a night off."
Barbara lightly bites her bottom lip. She really should be used to this kind of thing by now. But honestly? She didn't know a single person who could really say no to Donna.
"Gahh ok ok fine! Where are you guys?"
She hears the two let out a triumphant squeal and can't help but chuckle at the thought of two of the most powerful women on the planet behaving like schoolgirls.
"We're in Gotham," Zatanna replies "just a few blocks away from Artemis' apartment. Now get your cute butt down here."
"Alright," she says, laughing into the receiver, "Just give me some time to change."
...
GOTHAM CITY
December 15th 21:47 EDT
It's taking her even longer than expected to find an appropriate outfit. How could she have half a dozen Batsuits cleaned and ready for use but couldn't find a single dress she liked? Maybe she really does need to get out more often.
She's about to go through her closet one more time when she feels her phone ring again. She reaches into the back pocket of her utility belt because yeah she hadn't even gotten as far as taking her uniform off yet and pulls out her phone.
Phone Call: Artemis Crock
"Artemis I'm…"
"Barbara!"
She knows immediately that something's wrong.
"Barbara it's Donna she's… she's"
"Artemis calm down okay? Tell what happened. Slowly" She's already pulling her cowl back on and is halfway across her living room to get her cape where its draped over the back of her couch.
"I don't know. I heard explosions and when I came outside I found her on the ground. Barbara she's out cold"
Now she was getting worried. Donna was one of the strongest fighters across the Team and the League. It wasn't just anyone who could take her down.
"Is she alright?"
"She's still breathing but beyond that she's unresponsive."
"And what about Zatanna?"
"What do you mean?"
"Zatanna." She repeats. "She was with Donna when she called me twenty minutes ago."
There's a deafening silence on the other end and Barbara can feel her heart stop.
"She's not here Barb I don't..." the blonde trails off abruptly and lets out a quiet gasp.
"What is it? Artemis! What's wrong?"
"It's-it's Zatanna's phone. Barbara it's covered in blood."
She slams the front door and takes off running.
...
It doesn't take long to get to Artemis' apartment building. But every second seems to drag on for hours as her mind starts to race.
She turns the corner and sees Artemis helping Donna to her feet.
Thank God. At least this way they might at least have some sort of lead to follow instead of blindly searching the city for any trace of the magician.
The Amazon stumbles a bit so she rushes to her other side, supporting Donna's arm with her shoulder.
"Easy girl. We've got you"
Her head is still hanging with her long black hair draped over her face when she turns to look at Barbara. Her voice is barely louder than a whisper and trembling with fear but the word is unmistakable.
Joker
She can feel Artemis tense up beside her as her blood turns to ice.
...
GOTHAM CITY
December 15th 23:30 EDT
Just under two hours.
That's how long she's been missing.
They're gathered on the rooftop of the tallest building in the area. Impulse, Beetle, and Static came from what was supposed to be their night off and Dinah and Ollie had Zeta'd over from Star City as soon as they had heard the news. Everyone else was already on assignment somewhere else.
It should have been enough. Including Artemis, Donna, and herself there were eight of them in total.
It should have been more than enough. But still, they hadn't been able to find anything.
They debate over what their next course of action should be. Both she and Dinah have the authority to call in an Alpha level League Alert which would pull members from lower priority missions. But they both know that at this point, they either need Doctor Fate, a Kryptonian, or a Martian, all of whom were currently off world.
Impulse and Static are bouncing ideas off each other for new search patterns and Beetle tries recalibrating his suit's sensors but nobody has anything concrete. She sends the three of them off to search the city again and Dinah and Ollie split off to scatter some audio probes but Artemis and Donna stay behind.
The three of them share a pained look before Artemis breaks the silence with a deep sigh and voices what all of them have been desperately trying to avoid.
"It's time to tell him."
...
WAYNE MANOR
December 15th 23:48 EDT
When Donna sets them down on the front steps of the mansion Barbara suddenly finds herself wishing that they had taken some time to discuss their plan. The three had flown in silence save for a brief call to Black Canary to hand over command of the search party.
The truth is that none of them want to face what's about to happen.
Artemis reaches over and gently presses on the doorbell and the air grows heavier with every passing second.
It's really just the last thing Dick needs right now. First Jason and then Wally and now the love of his life was being held captive by their worst enemy.
It seems almost cruelly ironic that it's the three of them who are here to deliver the news.
It was only a few weeks ago that Dick had revealed to them that he was still in love with Zatanna.
It happened one night after they had finished patrolling and Donna had tagged along like she had back when they were just starting out as Wonder Girl and Robin. And they had all ended up collapsed in a big heap of blankets and pillows around the fireplace.
It really shouldn't have come as a surprise that they were able to tell that something was on his mind. The three of them probably knew Dick Grayson better than anyone else in the world. And he always was one of those guys that felt more comfortable talking to girls about things like this. Especially because he and Barbara had always shared a special connection and Donna was his oldest friend. And as for Artemis, the two had bonded quickly as the only members of the
original Team without superpowers. Not to mention the fact that they had dated each other's best friends which meant that they always had to be there for the other for advice or support.
When they finally weasel it out of him there's a moment of collective silence before Artemis lets out a girlish squeal and Donna pulls him into a headlock. The sight is so ridiculous that Barbara can barely contain her laughter long enough to make a joke about going ring shopping.
It's such a simple happy memory. One of the few times in her life, in all of their lives where the weight of the world didn't rest on their shoulders. A short, precious instance where they were all granted the luxury of being normal.
It all seems like a lifetime ago.
...
Being back in Wayne Manor always brought back a comforting feeling for Artemis. She had spent countless nights here with Zatanna when she had first lost her father to Doctor Fate. Bruce had insisted that the magician move in after making a promise to Zatanna's father. And Artemis had stayed here herself for several weeks after Wally had died.
It's like a second home for her.
Which makes it that much harder to be here to deliver such horrible news.
Alfred offers to get Dick for them but they decline and head up towards his room.
The door is wide open and he looks up from where he's sitting on his four poster bed.
The way his face lights up when he sees them nearly brings her to tears.
She can't bring herself to look into his eyes.
"Guys? What are you all doing here?"
Nobody answers. Nobody even knows what to say.
"Guys?"
It's Donna who's the first to break the silence.
"Dick I…" her voice is shaking hard and Artemis can see that she's also trying to hold back tears until she breaks and crumples to the ground.
He's by Donna's side in an instant, pulling her tightly into his arms.
"I'm so sorry Dick." She sobs into his chest. "It's all my fault. I should've done something. I-I'm supposed to…"
"Donna hey it's going to be okay," he interrupts, "just slow down."
But Donna's already past words at this point.
"Dick." Artemis begins. It's barely louder than a whisper and she's fighting hard to keep her voice steady. "It's Zatanna."
He freezes instantly at mention of the magicians name. His bright blue eyes normally so full of warmth are now cold as ice.
"What happened? Is she okay?" Panic is starting to creep it's way into his voice.
"She's been captured." Barbara answers, "by…by the Joker."
He's out the door in a second and Barbara shoots her a worried look before chasing after him.
"Dick wait! We already have a team out looking for her. Once we hear something we can head out."
Artemis can hear them start to argue as they get further away. She knows from experience that getting in the middle of one of their arguments would prove disastrous. Probably best to give them some time to work it out.
Not that it helps with her own anxiety over her best friends safety. She tries to reason that there isn't much else that they can do with Impulse and Blue Beetle already covering the city.
But it's hard to make yourself sit and wait when someone you care about is in danger.
She lets out a deep sigh and runs a hand through her hair before making her way over to Donna.
The Amazon's still kneeling on the floor, face hidden behind her hands. When she wraps an arm around her shoulders she can feel just how hard she's trembling.
It hurts to see her like this. Donna had always been fiercely passionate about protecting her loved ones. Like it was her responsibility to take extra hits so the others wouldn't have to. Batman had scolded her about needlessly putting herself in harm's way but Artemis knew that Connor and Cassie both felt the same.
"Did you see the look on his face?" Donna whispers.
Artemis only responds by pulling Donna into her chest.
"You know he used to have nightmares?"
She nods. During her time at the manor she'd experienced first hand the kind of terrors that haunted Dick at night.
"Diana and I used to stay the night here a lot when I was first starting out. I would wake up in the middle of the night to hear him screaming. And everytime I went to him he would have that same terrified look."
She feels Donna curl up tighter against her body.
"I promised myself that I would protect him. That I would never let him feel that kind of fear again. And now…"
"Donna none of this is your fault. You did everything you could."
The Amazon doesn't respond.
"So," Artemis says trying to change the subject. "How did Dick get the nightmares to stop?"
Suddenly she feels Donna tense slightly and looks just in time to see the brunette turn away from her with the slightest hint of a blush on her cheeks.
"Donna?" She asks, curiosity now getting the better of her.
"Well the first couple times I would just stay with him until he fell back to sleep."
"And?" she prodded deeper. She could see her friend getting more uncomfortable by the second.
"Well... " Donna continued, "After a while it became pretty clear that the nightmares would come back the second I left and I kind of got tired of waking up every couple of hours."
"So…"
"So I just started sleeping with him."
"Wait what?" She pulls back abruptly. That definitely wasn't the answer she was expecting. "You two…"
"What? No!" Donna's eyes are stretched wide in realization. "Gods that came out so wrong."
"Wow Donna." Artemis responds with a chuckle. "I had no idea you had bagged him so early."
"No! We were just… I mean we never…"
It was rare to see Donna so flustered and she planned to enjoy every moment of it.
"Although I guess it does make sense with the way you guys are with each other. You do make a damn gorgeous couple." She adds the last bit with a playful smirk.
"Gods Artemis not you too." Donna groans, burying her face in embarrassment.
"I mean don't get me wrong. Zee's my best friend but I've always wondered…"
"Do I really need to tell you that there's nothing going on between us?"
Artemis can't help but roll her eyes. Dick's reputation with women meant that people tended to make assumptions about all of his female friends. Donna and Barbara had been dealing with it for years now and people had even questioned her about it after she had moved into the Manor. And ok, it probably didn't help that she had stayed there far longer than she really needed to. Or that Dick had taken her to all of Bruce's black tie events.
"Honestly I don't know where everyone gets these ideas." Donna says, "Anyone with half a brain can see how crazy he gets whenever something happens to…"
She trails off. Both of them suddenly brought back to reality.
"Come on." Artemis says, pushing herself to her feet. "We better go see what's keeping them."
...
GOTHAM CITY
January 16th 01:15 EDT
Artemis usually loved snow.
Especially in Gotham where the city's vile nature could be hidden beneath a clean white blanket.
But she could really do without the blistering wind. Her suit's thermal regulators did a great job of maintaining her core temperature but they didn't do much for her face or ears.
She hears Dick call for an update over the radio followed by a string of responses. None of them have anything.
Dick lets out a frustrated huff. "Alright let's take another look at…"
"Wait!" She recognizes Jaime cutting in. The urgency in his voice immediately has her attention. "I think I have something on my sensors. Some kind of mystic resonance but it's really weak."
"Follow it. All points converge on Beetle's location."
She knows it's a hasty knee jerk reaction. Such an uncertain lead would usually mean taking the time to verify while the rest of the team maintained their search pattern.
But they're getting desperate.
...
Pulling up her holo-terminal Barbara can see that she and Green Arrow are the closest to Blue Beetle.
"This is Batgirl," she says into the com link, "I'm five minutes out."
She pulls out her grapple gun and launches herself into the air on the fastest setting.
"This is GA, ETA eight minutes."
She hears others calling off their positions but she doesn't pay them much attention. A small part of her brain that sounds remarkably like Batman is telling her that any relevant tactical information needs to be internalized but she doesn't listen to it.
Like Donna she too had made a promise to herself to protect Dick. In the weeks following Wally's death Dick had fallen into a deep depression. She would occasionally catch him at the tail end of a panic attack or getting extra violent with a mugger but he never listened when she or Donna brought it up. Even Bruce hadn't known what to do.
It was Zatanna who was finally able to bring him back from the abyss. During those awful weeks the magician had spent every hour she had taking care of Dick and Artemis. She had even been the one who suggested that Artemis move into the Manor so that the two could take care of each other when she couldn't.
And even though Zatanna would continue to spend as much time as she could with them, having the other around turned out to be just what the two of them needed.
Barbara would be forever grateful to whatever divine entity it was that put the beautiful magician on this Earth. Without her she had no idea how far Dick would have fallen.
And now she was in the hands of that madman.
She couldn't let anything happen to her. She couldn't bear to see her best friend fall back into that horrible darkness.
She would save her.
No matter what it cost.
...
She finds Blue Beetle on the roof of an abandoned warehouse. He notices her approach and signals for her to stay quiet before gesturing to the window in front of him.
She quietly makes her way over to him and peers through the glass.
What she sees makes her heart drop into her stomach.
In the middle of the dimly lit warehouse above a makeshift stage of several shipping containers is Zatanna. She's tied to a pole with duct tape over her mouth and even at a distance Barbara can see cuts on her body and burn marks on her skin.
She hastily presses the button in her earpiece. "This is Batgirl, I'm with Blue. We've found Zatanna. We're going in for her."
"Negative Batgirl," Dick replies. "Wait for backup."
She's about to argue when she stops dead at the sight of a man approaching the platform.
Even without the purple suit she knows who it is.
She'd know that laugh anywhere.
She watches in horror as the Joker presses a taser to Zatanna's throat eliciting a muffled scream from the magician before the pain knocks her unconscious.
Jaime jumps into action even before she does, shattering the window with his sonic cannon. She's quick to react and dives straight through, shooting her grappling hook into the rafters.
It's a move she's done a thousand times. A simple swinging kick that connects straight to side of Joker's head.
The impact causes her to stumble a little on the landing but she recovers with a quick roll. She registers Blue Beetle landing next to her as she rushes over to Zatanna.
The sight of her friend has her fighting back tears.
There are severe burns all over her throat and deep purple bruises covering her arms and legs. Her face has a couple bruises as well but worst of all are the deep cuts on her arms and stomach some of which had apparently been cauterized.
She carefully cuts through the ropes and the magician collapses into her arms.
That's when she hears the cackling.
Her head whips over to where the Joker is still lying unconscious on the ground and her fear is confirmed.
There's only one other being in the world that cackles like that and his presence alone is enough to send a chill down her spine.
Klarion
Barbara mentally curses her own stupidity. She should have seen something like this coming. She should have known that there was no way the Joker would be able to take down both Donna and Zatanna.
But it's too late for any of that now.
She sees Blue Beetle morph a plasma cannon onto his arm as the Lord of Chaos gloats about how easily they were lured into his trap.
"Blue," she says as quietly as she can, "We have to get her out of here."
Jaime gives a quick nod in response. "I'll hit him as hard as I can. When I do run for the exit."
"Do it."
She hears Jaime fire off his plasma cannon as she jumps off the shipping container with Zatanna slumped over shoulder and fires her grapple gun into the ceiling.
She can tell immediately that the line is pulling too slowly. The added weight of an extra person wouldn't slow it enough to make a difference with common criminals. But with someone as powerful as Klarion the reduced speed makes them an easy target.
Her last hope is dashed when she sees Blue Beetle slammed into the wall next to her by a bolt of crimson lightning.
Then she's hit with with a sudden excruciating pain that she knows is from another of Klarion's lightning blasts. The shock causes her to lose her grip on the grapple and she sees the small black gun fly effortlessly towards the ceiling.
It takes another second for the pain to subside enough for her to realize that they're falling from about 50 feet in the air.
She does her best to expand her cape and glide but it really isn't possible with only one free hand. She watches as the ground rapidly approaches and just before they make contact she twists her body wrapping herself around Zatanna to take the brunt of the fall.
They hit the ground hard. Hard enough for Barbara to lose her grip and launch Zatanna another couple feet.
When she tries to stand she's hit with a sharp pain in her ribs and some pretty severe stabbing in her right shoulder.
She grits her teeth and forces herself onto her feet before shakily pressing a finger to her earpiece.
"Blue…Blue Beetle's down. Not doing...too hot myself." She stumbles and has to brace herself against a nearby crate. "Need. Extraction. Klarion."
She hears Nightwing start to give some orders when she feels a sudden gust of wind.
She blinks and finds herself leaning on Inpulse's shoulder.
He's careful to not do anything to aggravate her injuries and they slowly make their way over to where Zatanna is crumpled on the ground. She hears the sound of glass shattering before an arrow strikes the floor right in front of her.
She recognizes it as a grapple arrow. One with a handle and retractable cable that she knows is currently being anchored on the roof by Green Arrow.
"We're almost there," Dick says while Bart ties Zatanna to the handle. "Impulse keep Klarion busy while Batgirl and Zatanna take their exit."
Impulse gives her a concerned look. She knows he's considering whether he has to tie her to the cable as well.
"I'll be fine." She says with as much strength as she can muster. "Go."
Impulse gives a quick nod in response before disappearing. She nearly collapses the second he's gone and inwardly she's glad that he takes orders so well.
She grabs on to the handle with her good hand and tries in vain to brace herself for the harsh jolt that's bound to follow. But it's even more intense than she expects and her shoulder feels like it's about to be torn in two.
It's a miracle she's able to hold on.
They're more than halfway to the top when the line is rocked hard by a shockwave. It draws her attention to a section of the ceiling directly above them and Barbara's heart stops when she realizes that one of Klarion's lightning blasts had melted several of the building's support beams.
She can hear the sickening groan of metal and she watches in horror as the ceiling begins to cave in.
There's a deafening snap that she knows means that the last of the supporting beams have broken.
All it would take to avoid the falling debris would be a slight redirection which would be easy if she still had her own grapple gun.
She fights back the growing panic and her mind races for something, anything that would get the two of them out of this.
Her heart drops. She has nothing.
Someone, no, multiple people are screaming at her over the radio but she isn't listening.
She looks up and watches as the falling debris gets closer and she feels…calm. Maybe this is what everyone talks about when they have a near death experience. There's a part of her mind that's telling her to take what time she has left to remember the people that she loves the most.
Without even trying faces start to flash across her mind.
She sees her Dad then Bruce, and Tim. Jason. Artemis. M'gann. Donna. And then...she sees Dick.
It's right then that she suddenly remembers her promise and her mind is made up before she even realizes it.
Gritting her teeth she starts using her entire body to swing the line. It hurts like hell. Like every bone in her body is being crushed by a wrecking ball. She finds herself wishing that she hadn't wasted those precious few seconds reminiscing about her family.
She knows that the debris is about to hit them.
She swings one more time before curling her legs up and pressing her feet against Zatanna's back.
If she doesn't time it right all she'll be doing is flinging both of them to certain death.
She can feel the blood pumping through her as they reach the apex of their swing.
And she kicks off as hard as she can.
There's a horrible crunch in one of her knees but she knows the second she releases that she got good power into it.
Smaller pieces of debris are falling around her but she doesn't pay it any mind. Her attention is focused on Zatanna's limp body swinging in a slow arc towards the opposite wall.
She lets a small smile grow on her face as she sees the magician clear the falling debris and she knows that she's kept her promise.
The last thing she hears is someone screaming her name.
...
THE WATCHTOWER
January 16th 05:37 EDT
Donna Troy had failed twice tonight.
She had been too slow to react when Zatanna had been taken and could only listen helplessly as Barbara was buried under a building.
And now they were both just inches from death.
She watches through the window of the operating room as J'onn and the League medical team worked desperately to save her friends.
Zatanna had terrible burns and bruises all over her body when they had found her but the doctors had also discovered additional damage to her internal organs.
Barbara was just as bad. She had broken and even shattered bones in several areas and had lost a massive amount of blood in the time it had taken for them to dig her out.
They still weren't sure if either of them would pull through.
Guilt. Anger. Shame. Fear.
She can't even put a name to exactly what she's feeling.
"Donna?" She hadn't even noticed anyone approaching until there's a hand resting gently on her shoulder. She turns slightly and meets M'gann's concerned face with Artemis behind her wearing a similar expression.
She follows their gaze down to her hand and discovers that she's crushed the frame of the window without even noticing.
"Sorry," she says while slowly unclenching her first. "I was just…"
She trails off. Both of them know what's going through her head.
"How's Dick?" She asks quietly. Dick hadn't left the operating room once in the hours since they had rescued Zatanna. Several people had tried to get him to take a break but he had ignored all of them. Even Bruce couldn't even get him to leave for some coffee.
"You know you could go in there and talk to him," M'gann says gently.
"He doesn't want to see me." She mumbles, hanging her head in shame.
"What are you talking about? You're like family to him. And right now he needs you more than ever."
"You must be confused." She answers, turning away from the Martian. It comes out with more venom than she had meant but she can't really help it at this point. "His family is in there fighting for their lives. I'm just the one who put them there."
She takes off without giving either of them a chance to stop her.
...
There's this little room on the upper levels of the Watchtower that she always goes to when she needs to be alone. All it has is a little couch but the main reason she hides in here is the floor to ceiling window overlooking the Earth. She had discovered it years ago when the Team had first been granted access to the Watchtower and it became her own little safe haven.
It's peaceful and reminds her of old times.
She isn't surprised when the door opens. Most of the original team knew that she liked to hide in here. But she is surprised that it's Batman's reflection that she sees in the window.
"What do you want Batman?" She spits it out without even turning to look at him.
He lets lets out this deep sigh that makes her immediately regret snapping at him. But before she can say anything he's sitting down next to her on the couch.
"Not Batman." He says. His voice is considerably softer. It's a tone that she's only ever heard him use around the Manor. "Just Bruce."
With that he brings his hand up and peels back his cowl and Donna's eyes widen a bit in surprise. Bruce had a policy to always keep his mask on in the Watchtower. Something about staying committed to the mission.
"I know I'm not the first to tell you that none of this is your fault."
She doesn't say anything. Only pulls her knees a little closer to her chest. They sit in silence for a while. It was something she always appreciated about Bruce. He always waited until you were ready to talk.
"I made a promise." She says finally. "That I would protect him. To never again let him feel the pain of losing a loved one." Her voice is starting to shake and she feels tears building up in her eyes. "But when the moment came I couldn't do anything."
She lets out the last word with a wail that releases all the frustration that she had been holding in all night and the tears start flowing freely.
Bruce only responds by scooting closer to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in so she's crying into his shoulder.
Her tears are harsh and full of anger. Furious at herself for letting down the people she cared about most in the world.
Again, he doesn't say much. Just holds her tighter and occasionally whispers reassuring words into her ear.
They stay like that for a long time and neither of them move even after she finally calms down.
"He loves both of them you know." She says quietly. "Not in the same way of course. But he does."
"I know," he replies with a sigh.
"He's never going to forgive me." She whispers. It's an admission that she had been refusing to acknowledge all night and now that it's out she feels a horrible emptiness in her heart.
"You're wrong Donna." The bluntness of his reply catches her off guard. "He does love them both. But what you're forgetting is that he loves you just as much."
She doesn't say anything. She doesn't even think she could get any words out at this point.
"It's like you said. He doesn't love them the same way. And the love he has for you isn't quite the same either."
All she can manage in response is a quizzical look.
"I watched you two grow up together. And over the years it's become clear that there is no limit to how far you two will go for the other. He loves you Donna and I know you love him too. It may not be romantic like with Zatanna but it's just as powerful."
She feels her cheeks flush pink and is suddenly thankful that her face is buried in Bruce's shoulder.
"When did you become such an expert on love?" She mumbles.
"I learned more from you and Diana than you think."
He says it casually and with a slight shrug but Donna doesn't miss the hidden meaning. Her eyes widen as she throws her arms around Bruce's neck and she wonders to herself just how many times she's going to cry today. But then she thinks that this time it's probably ok.
These tears are different.
...
THE WATCHTOWER
January 16th 09:15 EDT
Artemis' short nap is rudely interrupted by a hand pressed to her shoulder incessantly shaking her awake. She cringes a little at the bright light that hits when she opens her eyes and comes face to face with M'gann.
All the memories of the previous night suddenly comes flooding back and she jolts out of her seat on the couch.
"What happened? Are they okay?"
"Nothing happened," M'gann answers reassuringly, "the medical team just finished up and they're stabilized. It's going to be tough but they're both expected to make a full recovery. I was just going to tell you to go sleep in your bed."
She lets out the breath that she had been holding all night and finally lets herself relax.
"Can we go in and see them?"
"Well Uncle J'onn said we could but…" she trails off with a small grin on her face and points to the window looking in to the medical room.
Artemis feels a smile grow on her face as well. On the ground in between Barbara and Zatanna's beds is Donna sitting against the wall fast asleep with Dick's head resting on her shoulder.
"Looks like she finally stopped blaming herself."
"Well Donna's always been hard on herself. But it seems Bruce was able to talk some sense into her."
The two share another smile. Bruce had always been very protective of Donna. He was probably the closest thing to a father that an Amazon could have.
"Well," Artemis says, "I'm glad he got through to her."
"Me t-" M'gann cuts off suddenly and snaps her head back over towards the window.
Artemis follows her gaze and sees Zatanna thrashing violently in her bed, eyes wide in terror. M'gann must have sensed it with her telepathy.
She bolts after M'gann into the medical room and they quickly make their way to Zatanna's side.
"Zatanna it's ok you're safe"M'gann whispers urgently.
The magician only reacts by clutching her head and letting out a strangled shrieking sound.
"She can't talk"Artemis realizes in horror. "Why can't she talk?"
"There was so much damage to her vocal chords the doctors said it would take a few days before she can talk again"M'gann replies. Her eyes flash green for a few seconds before she breaks off holding her head in pain.
"What happened?" she asks worriedly.
"She shut me out," M'gann answers. "She's in shock, she doesn't recognize anything around her."
Artemis pushes past the Martian and runs over to the other side of the bed and kneels in front of Dick and Donna.
"Dick. Dick wake up." She's getting desperate and her voice is growing louder with every passing second. "Dick!" She shouts again and gives him a hard slap in the face.
He and Donna both jerk awake and look at her with eyes wide in surprise. Donna's just about to open her mouth to ask what she's doing when they're interrupted by another shriek and Dick jumps to his feet immediately.
"Zee, Zee look at me." He says, gently taking her face in his hands. "Zee it's me Dick, you're safe."
Zatanna locks eyes with him and Artemis can see a small flicker of recognition on her face before she collapses into Dick's chest letting out strangled sobs into his shoulder. He instantly wraps his arms protectively around her and gently strokes her hair.
Artemis can't help but think about how perfect they are together.
...
They sit like that for a while until Zatanna calms down and they end up all piled onto the bed and she's curled up peacefully in Dick's lap. Her eyes are closed and she's breathing normally again and she wonders to herself how Dick always seems to be able to make everything better just by being around.
"When is Barbara going to wake up?" She hears Artemis whisper. Apparently they think she's asleep. She's just about to roll over to let them know that she's awake when Dick's voice cuts in.
"They're keeping her sedated," He answers quietly. "Her injuries are…" he trails off and Zatanna can feel him tensing in anger. "She shouldn't have gone in on her own like that. She could've died. She…"
"She did it for you." Donna interrupts.
"What?"
"Oh come on Dick," Artemis says' "You know how much Barbara cares about you and after you told us that you were still in love with Zatanna she…"
That gets her attention and she immediately jumps back up to a sitting position.
Zatanna's bright blue eyes are stretched wide open and stares right at Artemis for a second before she snaps her head back to look at Dick who in turn buries his face in is hands out of sheer embarrassment.
She frantically snaps her head back to Artemis and then to Donna and M'gann who are both failing hard to hide their smiles.
The magician looks at her friends helplessly before turning back to M'gann and anxiously tugs on her arm, letting out a pitiful whimpering sound.
The Martian laughs a little, finally understanding what she wants before her eyes glow green and Zatanna feels the familiar sensation of the psychic link.
You…you...you can't just say things like…
Artemis, Donna, and M'gann immediately burst out laughing and Zatanna gives them a distraught look before turning back to look at Dick.
You… you still... love me?
He finally brings his head out of his hands and she suddenly loses her train of thought at the sight of his crystal blue eyes. He quickly looks away with the slightest hint of a blush and she can't help but find it adorable how shy he's being for no reason.
You...how long?
Dick lets out a sigh, apparently giving up on trying to recover the situation.
"Well…" he says out loud, "honestly…I've loved you since we first met...and I don't think I ever stopped."
Her heart is racing at this point and there are tears welling up in her eyes. She has so much she wants to tell him that she can't decide what to say. And even if she did know, it doesn't feel right doing it over psychic link.
So, in a sudden moment of clarity, she decides to say nothing and leans forward to press her lips desperately onto his.
The girls are squealing in delight all around them when they finally break off the kiss and she leans back to rest in his arms.
"Just can't let me die in peace can you?"
They all look up in surprise and realize that the voice came from Barbara on the other bed. Her voice is weak and her bright red hair is a mess but she still somehow manages to have a smile on her face.
Donna lets out a small chuckle before moving over to Barbara's bed. "Maybe you're just too hard to kill."
"Oh come on Donna," the redhead replies, flashing a mischievous smirk towards Zatanna, "You know there's no way I was going to miss Dick and Zatanna's wedding."
She feels her cheeks heating up and lets out another embarrassing whimper in protest. It's really going to take her a while to get used to not being able to talk. She feels Dick tense up against her as well and can't think to do anything other than to once again bury herself in his arms.
She hears Dick voice an incoherent protest and the girls all burst out laughing but she doesn't pay it any mind. She's busy failing desperately trying to stop herself from thinking about how she would totally say yes to him at this point.
She tells herself that it's way too early to think about this kind of thing and that she hasn't even had the chance to say that she loves him back yet. Or that maybe it's wrong to be feeling so happy after such a horrible night.
But then she looks around and sees her friends, no, her family, sitting around her as she's wrapped in the arms of the love of her life and can't help but feel that despite all the horrible things they've endured, this moment is just perfect.
Author's Note: Hope you liked it. Please let me know what you think I have some more story ideas and definitely would like to hear feedback. Also if anybody would be wiling to be help me with beta reading that would be amazing.