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The Wests
It is Richie's first day of kindergarten. To say the least, he is not happy. Despite having new clothes and shoes, a Green Lantern backpack, and an assortment of Flash themed school supplies, he's not excited at all. Artemis knows this probably means she'll be facing all sorts of problems with her oldest son, but she feels smug all the same. He doesn't want to leave his mommy.
The entire West brood takes Richie to his school. He clutches Artemis's hand nervously. Wally carries CJ on his shoulders and keeps one of Cal's small hands in his own. It's a nice picture, Artemis muses. Wally catches her eyes and grins.
Richie's classroom number is 2A. His teacher is listed as Mrs. Temple. The Wests have heard she's a nice teacher, but Artemis has never been one to be satisfied with a mere reputation. She'll feel much better once she's met the woman who will be teaching and caring for her son.
She's standing outside the door to the classroom. Artemis's first thought is that she looks like someone's grandma. That does make her feel more at ease. The archer gently guides her son toward Mrs. Temple. The teacher smiles and bends down to Richie's level. "What's your name?"
"Richard John West," he says. "But mostly Mommy and Daddy call me Richie."
Mrs. Temple writes Richie's name on a nametag. She gives it to him and he sticks it on his shirt. He spots some other children playing on the brightly colored rugs in the classroom. "Can I play with them?" he asks. It's the first time he's been the slightest bit interested in starting school.
Wally grins. "You sure can, buddy. But Mommy and I want to talk to you first." The family finds a quiet corner to talk in. The Flash swings CJ down off of his shoulders so he can squat more easily. "Richie, you're a big boy now."
The oldest West boy looks impatient. "I know I am. Can I play now?" He has taken off his backpack and is looking for the Nightwing figurine Artemis allowed him to bring.
"Just a minute, Richie," Artemis puts in. "Now, we already told you this, but you really need to pay attention. We're a little different from other families. You can't tell people about me and Daddy. You can't tell them about your aunts and uncles. Do you understand?"
Richie bobs his golden head. "I won't, Mommy. I won't tell anyone. And I won't show anyone how fast I can go."
The archer can see her son understands what they're telling him. She's sure he can keep his word. Artemis smiles and draws her son in for a quick hug before releasing him. Richie calls a good-bye over his shoulder and runs over to a little boy playing with a Green Arrow figure. They start playing immediately. Artemis and Wally are completely forgotten.
"I wanna go too!" Cal protests. He's never been without Richie before. It's rare to see them apart. Artemis smiles sadly at Wally before taking the middle child's hand.
"Next year," the blonde woman tells him. "It's not your turn yet."
The remaining Wests stick around for awhile to observe Richie. He's happy as a clam and doesn't look at them once. Artemis doesn't like it. "They're growing up so fast," she murmurs.
Wally glances down at her. He has the same slightly sad expression on his face. "They are. Soon it'll be Cal starting school, then CJ. And we won't have any other kids to send off to school…"
Artemis takes a step toward her husband and gives him a hard pinch. "I know what you're trying to do," she says. "And I want you to stop it."
Wally pouts. He's been trying to talk her into having another baby for the better part of six months. He has assured her in the past that he was happy to stop at three children, but he seems to have forgotten about that. He wants one more little West. Artemis is not having it.
"This is not the place to discuss our family," the archer hisses. The speedster perks up a tiny bit.
"That means we have to talk about it later," he says cheerfully. The redhead kisses his wife's cheek and swings CJ back onto his shoulders. He takes Cal's hand again and leads the youngest West boys from Richie's classroom. Artemis pauses to say good-bye to her oldest son before following Wally's path. She wonders how she could have given him such an easy way to broach the topic again. She must be losing her touch.
0o0o0o0
It's a few weeks later when he finally opens his mouth about the subject again. He's been waiting for her to be in a good mood before springing it on her. It's a tactic he's used when trying to get his way in the past. It hasn't ever been truly effective but that's not for a lack of trying. He's convinced that it will work someday.
"Hey, beautiful," Wally greets her as she walks into their room. She's still dressed in her uniform and toting all of her gear. She's just coming back from a mission with Ollie. It went well, hence her good mood. Artemis is immediately annoyed that her husband is trying to cash in on her good spirits.
She's wary as she answers. "Hi, Wally." Artemis dumps her equipment on the floor before she starts pulling her uniform off to get ready for bed. "How were the boys?"
"They were perfect little angels." The archer gives her husband a flat look. "So maybe they weren't perfect," Wally amends. "But the house is still standing, isn't it?"
Artemis rolls her eyes. She hears Wally let out a small sigh as she heads into the bathroom to brush her teeth.
"So I wanted to talk to you about something," the redhead presses on as he follows her into the bathroom. "Again. We've talked about this before." He sounds kind of nervous but unmistakably optimistic as well. Artemis waves her hand impatiently as a signal to get on with it. "I want another baby."
The reporter spits out a mouthful of toothpaste and rinses with water. Then she pats her face dry and locks gazes with her husband in the mirror. "Sure, honey," she says in a bright tone. "We can have another baby."
The Flash's expression brightens. "Really? That was easier than I thought it would be. I thought you'd put your foot down like you did all the other times we spoke about it."
Artemis turns to her husband and reaches out to cup his face in her hand. "You didn't let me finish," Artemis says sweetly. "We can have another baby as soon as you can figure out how to carry it and give birth to it."
Wally's face falls. "That was unnecessarily cruel, Arty."
"Wally, you're a scientist. If anyone can do it, you can."
He groans. "Yes, I'm a scientist. I'm not a mad scientist." He exits the bathroom and flops down on their bed. "Why don't you want another baby? Why don't you want a little girl?"
She flips off the bathroom light and joins him on the bed. "It's not that I don't want a girl," Artemis replies. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're three for three on boys. And even if we had another kid, it'd probably be another boy. And then two years from now you'd be trying to convince me to have one more so we could finally have a girl."
The speedster looks very sad. "So you're telling me you don't even want to think about it?" he asks softly. "You haven't pictured us having a daughter someday?"
"Of course I've thought about it," Artemis says. "It just didn't work out that way." The archer presses her lips against Wally's as she snuggles into his embrace. "Can't we just be grateful for what we've got?" she asks in a whisper.
Wally lets out another deep sigh. "Yeah," he agrees finally. "We're really lucky, aren't we?" Artemis nods against his chest. The couple falls into a companionable silence before Wally pipes up again. "Can we get a dog?"
0o0o0o0
That is how Artemis West finds herself at a local animal shelter a week later. As Wally has enthused, every kid should have a dog. Neither West parent has ever owned a dog, but the Flash does not seem to remember this little detail. He has been doing research about different dog breeds in preparation. The boys are very excited at the prospect of having a pet.
The Wests request to see family friendly dogs at the shelter's front desk. They are shown to a big empty room and told that a dog will be brought to them shortly. As they wait to see a puppy, Artemis muses that Wally is just as excited as the kids are.
"This is Lightning," one of the volunteers announces as she pushes the door open. She leads a Labrador retriever puppy on a leash. "She's very friendly. So far as we know, she's good with children but we'll keep her on the leash just in case." She turns to the little boys. "Would you like to pet her?"
Richie, flanked by Cal and CJ, bravely reaches forward and pats the dog's head. The puppy wiggles and jumps joyously. The children giggle and Artemis lets a smile cross her face at the sound. Encouraged by this, the volunteer asks, "May I take her off of the leash?"
"Yes." Artemis kneels down and is rewarded with a lap full of wriggling puppy and a cold, wet nose pressed against her arm. "Aren't you cute?" she murmurs. She glances up at Wally to find him grinning down at her. "What do you think?"
The redhead joins her. "I think she's perfect. She seems very mild mannered and the kids like her. I also really like her name."
"Of course you do," Artemis mutters as she rolls her eyes. But then she smiles as the dog seeks out CJ for an extra pat. "I like her too. We'll take her."
0o0o0o0
Lightning fits in well with the family. She spends hours running around the yard with the children and it's very clear she's fond of her charges. She's a gentle playmate but there's a protective quality to her as well. Artemis is glad she agreed to a family dog. Not only is it good for the children, but Wally hasn't brought up the idea of having another baby since they brought the puppy home.
Artemis has just arrived at the GBS News station one afternoon when there's a breaking news alert. The Flash has been spotted running into a burning apartment building to rescue people trapped inside. Artemis is assigned to the story. Fortunately she's grown good at putting on a blank mask. The reporter has had stories concerning the Flash before and she's always done an excellent job of remaining detached on the outside no matter what she's feeling on the inside. It's one of the few good things her father taught her.
When she gets to the scene, the fire department has detained the fire. Artemis mentally breathes a sigh of relief. She asks all the right questions and learns that the fire didn't get the chance to spread and that all of the residents have come out safely, including a six month old baby girl who the Flash has rescued personally.
"And can you tell me where the Flash is?" Artemis asks the building manager. "I know our viewers would love to get a few words from him."
"I sure can," he replies. "The paramedics took him to the hospital."
