It was cold in the small apartment, always was. Dad never turned the heat up very high. The small blonde hurled under her blankets where her body heat had created a pocket of warmth. She was almost asleep when she heard a door slammed,echoing through the almost empty apartment.
This was not good. A slamming door Kent that Dada had come home without Mom. She always created through it after coming in late so she wouldn't wake the girls up. Sometimes Dad did too, but only when things went fine. Slamming doors and heavy foot falls Kent something was wrong.
Artemis and Jade just laid there in silence for a long time, but Mom never came to peek in on them as she always did.
"Jade?" Artemis asked in a soft whisper. Wondering which of them was going to find out what happened.
"I'll go," her sister said. The dark haired girl threw the blankets off and shivered as she left the bedroom for the living area.
Artemis listened to Jade softly asked what had happened. Their father shouted about how Huntress had gotten herself shot and was now probably in prison as they spoke.
"You left her by herself?" Jade asked outraged.
Her father's temper flared in return.
"Don't get your hair in knots, little girl," he snarled. "There was nothing I could do. She was either in prison or dead."
Jade snored. "Just like you to run from a fight. You are such a coward."
Artemis then heard the smack of flesh on flesh. "Don't disrespect your elders, little girl. I thought I raised you better."
The door flew open to reveal Lawrence Crock dragging his oldest daughter by the upper arm.
"Now go to sleep," he told the two as he flung Jade onto her bed. "You, Jade are doing extra training in the morning. So get some sleep."
He left, slamming the door.
Artemis sat up as the slamming door edged through her head. She looked around in a panic. The room was unfamiliar. She noticed that she had been lying in a pile of pillows and blankets. Artemis also noticed a small form next to her. Then the events of the day before came rushing back. She let out several gasping breaths, and started to cry softly.
Artemis didn't cry often. But after the day before and the nightmare, things were begining to be too much. She tried not to think of the night her mother was arrested, the next day the groaning session had gotten harder. Their dad also started smacking them if misfires got too numerous. The night after their mother's sentencing, Jade ran away, leaving Artemis feeling alone and abandoned.
When her mother had been release, she thought that the three of them could be a family again. But her father had left and never came back, leaving her once again feeling abandoned.
Dick woke up when Artemis gave a sniffled a little louder then she had meant too.
He rolled over to see her sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest and her chin resting on her knees.
"Arty?" He asked, softly. "What's wrong?"
Artemis sniffed again. "Nightmare," she said quietly.
"You want to talk about it?" He deflated a little when she shook her head. Dick was worried. He wanted to help but wasn't sure how if Artemis wouldn't talk to him. He himself had nightmares all the time. Dick would often make himself a cup of hot cocoa but he wasn't sure if Alfred would let him make a cup for both for himself and Artemis in their current state.
Then a light bulb went on. "Come on," Dick said, grabbing her hand.
"Where are we going?" She asked, as he dragged her up the stairs and down the hall.
Dick gave a small smile when he saw the door was ajar.
Both adults stirred when they heard the door creak open. "Dick? What's wrong?" Bruce asked when he saw the small boy in the doorway.
"We had nightmares," the child said hesitantly.
"We?" Selina drowsily asked. It was then that the two saw the small blonde next to Dick.
Bruce looked at Selina with a questioning look. She answer with a head tilt and raised eyebrows in a it's okay way. Bruce sighed and waved to two over.
"You're getting too old for this," Bruce told the boy as the pair settled between him and Selina.
Dick only smirk. "Technically, we are both only, like five, Bruce," he told him as he snuggled into the blankets.
The man looked at the child in surprise. He wasn't expecting such a reply. He looked at his wife only to see her giving him a you walked into that one smile as she settled back down with a protective arm around Artemis.
And that is how Alfred found them in the morning. Bruce on his side with a young Richard curled against his chest. Dick and Artemis were so close, their foreheads were almost touching with Artemis' back tucked against Selina's stomach. Both Selina and Bruce had protective arms draped over the children. Almost as if they held on tight enough, that would be all it took to hide them from the horrors of the world.
The butler, who was more of a grandfather to those curled together on the bed, gave a small, warm smile. He decided breakfast could wait. Alfred snapped a quick picture with his phone before leaving to cancel any meetings Selina and Bruce had that morning.