This is how the rest of the month went; Conner would be sitting outside M'gann and Garfield's building in his car, waiting to taxi them wherever they asked. Garfield, apparently over his shock, loved telling his friends that a cop is his personal chauffeur, and constantly chattered the whole drive.
M'gann and Conner spoke little other than looking at the other through the corner of their eye and looking away if they thought the other was returning it. Neither would admit to whatever it is they have being anything other than a kind offer of help. M'gann didn't really bother to look for a new car and gave up after a few weeks, and took to offering Conner dinner, which he was all to happy to take, leaving promptly after.
Garfield's graduation came and went. He spent his days running wild around Star City with his friends and falling into his own bed once or twice a week in-between staying over at Tim's or Bart's, after scarfing down his dinner and telling M'gann all about their latest adventures.
Tonight was another ladies night in. Artemis made sure they would all show up, promising them she had something important to share. Which is why M'gann was in a grocery store, buying out the ice cream section. Conner was standing quietly beside her holding on to the shopping cart. "Artemis... she's the friend of yours that Kaldur left the wedding with, right?"
M'gann looked at him in surprise. She just vaguely mentioned to herself that this store didn't have the ice cream brand Artemis normally liked. Conner notes her surprise and shrugs, remarking simply "I'm a cop. Not to mention Kaldur's been acting pretty weird lately."
M'gann just takes it all in with a straight face. This was the first ladies night in Artemis would be attending since last month. Better to say nothing in case she's right about Artemis' news than to say something and be wrong.
Flash forward to around midnight.
The girls are gathered around M'gann's living room, like they did years earlier, sitting around in their pajamas, playing with each other's hair, painting their nails, wolfing down ice cream while watching the leads in an old soap opera plot their next move, or gossip about the latest shenanigans pulled by the celebrities in People magazine.
This was the time when nothing had changed. They were still friends, without jobs, or children to worry about. The only people they were in danger of letting down were themselves.
Artemis hadn't spoken about her "news" yet, despite badgering from Barbara and Rocket every few minutes, though M'gann had a pretty good guess, given that Artemis was on her third carton of chocolate Häagen-Dazs. M'gann caught her eye every now and then and Artemis would give her a little nod.
It was only when Alison Stewart had dressed up as Cane Ashby and was waiting for Amber Moore to walk down the aisle, which was how long it took Zatanna to give Artemis a fancy fishtail braid that she stood and turned off the T.V. to protest.
"Shut up. How many times have you seen this?"
"Not the point." Barbara spat out around a mouthful of coffee-flavored Häagen-Dazs.
"Close your mouth Gordon. If I don't tell you now I may never tell you." That got their attention. Artemis wasn't afraid to tell them anything, ever. It was a both very loved and very hated trait about her.
She took a deep breath first. One hand went to the bangs in her face, pushing them back while the other rested on her stomach. "Um... I'm pregnant."
Everyone except M'gann got quiet then, looking at Artemis like they were waiting for her to yell "Psyche!" or something. When a minute of silence passed, Artemis went to her purse, pulling out the sonogram she'd had taken at the doctor's office last month.
It was Rocket who spoke first. "What?!" After that they all talked at once, asking who the father was, what her plans were, everything that came to their shocked minds. M'gann was the only one who hung back, knowing fully that Artemis wouldn't talk until she knew she would be heard and understood. Eventually the others did to, and they ceased.
"The father is Jackson Hyde. I... met him, at my sister's wedding last month. He and I are meeting up tomorrow. This is the first time he's called me since I told him I'm pregnant last week."
Again, it was Rocket who spoke, having faced similar issues with the father of her son. "We're here you know. Always."
Artemis gave a small smile. "I know." Now M'gann took the chance to speak, standing up. "Group hug!" Artemis looked at her for a moment before remarking "What the Hell.", grabbing Bette and Zatanna and pulling them in with her.
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