Dick Grayson knew a fool in love when he saw one and boy, was Wally smitten.

His cheeks and the tops of his ears were always pink. He'd say it was from the cold but Dick called bull on that. He was blushing like a painted doll. He had this shit eating grin permanently plastered on and he walked like he was made of air.

It was sweet but also like watching a cartoon.

After Valentine's Day Dick rarely saw Wally in any other mood than enamored. "They're in that gross Disney stage where everything is lovely. I had to listen to Artemis describe the way Wally smells. Apparently like hazelnuts and sunshine and rainwater." Zatanna told him over the phone one night after she bullied him into helping her with Algebra II.

"I mean, what the fuck does sunshine smell like?" Dick laughed. "Wally I guess. What cologne do you think he uses?"

He could hear her eye roll on the other line.

Paula wasn't fucking around when she told Artemis that the third trimester was uncomfortable.

In fact, uncomfortable was an understatement. "With you I cried for days on end for no reason. I couldn't walk more than 20 paces with either you or Jade without my back and ankles hurting. The closer I got to the end the worse I felt. But every pregnancy is different and it might not be as bad for you." She told her back in December.

She was glad for the heads up but she wished that her mother was wrong for once.

It was March now and she groaned every time she woke up. No matter how she slept she woke up sore, her pregnancy pillow was practically useless and even cuddling Wally couldn't make her comfortable. She couldn't even get in a good night's sleep. If she wasn't tossing and turning she was getting up to use the bathroom.

God was her bladder full.

When Wally was at school or work she would do her best to nap or tidy up. To her dismay she had started nesting. She was barely mobile yet she wanted to rearrange everything. She could barely get up to go for her 1000 daily trips to the bathroom and when she wasn't peeing she was eating or attempting to sleep. The baby got more and more restless the closer it got to her scheduled birthday. Artemis' doctor assured her that this was normal and she was "turning" the right way around to be delivered.

"She's just super excited to meet me." Zatanna beamed during one of her visits. "Well you can keep her then!" Artemis told her through gritted teeth. "No thanks. I have zero material instincts and every living thing I've ever taken for except my plants have died."

Artemis kept a calendar and cried tears of joy when she got to cross off another day. The day of the baby shower came and she was actually looking forward to it. Zatanna and Megan had tried to keep a secret but Wally had told her accidentally. they weren't as discreet as they thought they were. Artemis agreed to pretend to be surprised for Megan's sake.

So, when Megan came and picked her up to take her to Zatanna's for "a girl's day in" that afternoon she schooled her features into a blank mask.

It turned out she didn't need to.

As soon as she walked in her eyes were drawn to none other than Kaldur and her sister .

The last time she saw Jade was Christmas and even that was only for a quick visit.

Her stupid hormones made her tear up and run into Jade's arms. "What are you doing here?" She asked, wiping her face clean and pretending she wasn't embarrassed. "Kid Mouth managed to track me down through Mom. Plus, it's not everyday your baby sister has a baby shower. At least, I hope so." Jade joked. Artemis frowned and pushed her arm. "Cow." "No, that'd be you. A dairy cow to be specific." Artemis rolled her eyes. "I missed you too."

May 17.

Exactly a week past the baby's due date.

"It's like she's waiting so she can be a Gemini." Zatanna was laying on the bed with Artemis to keep her company. Megan was on the other side and she shook her head. "She's just taking her time." "Well, she's certainly Wally's daughter. Of course she'd be late!" Artemis pushed herself up with a sigh.

"Gotta take a leak."

Artemis had been on bed rest since late April and it was slowly killing her.

All dramatics aside Artemis hated not being able to do much of anything. Not that she physically could anyway.

On her way to the bathroom she stopped to steady herself on the wall. A sharp pain had been radiating in her lower back all day but she was sure it was Braxton Hicks (again) so she didn't say anything. Zatanna and Megan noticed the sudden tensing and asked if she was okay.

"Just false labor, I'll be fine." "Do you need to see your doctor?" Megan asked. Artemis shook her head. "It'll go away soon." She waved her hand as if this was the most casual thing in the world and she wasn't in white hot pain.

After her bathroom break Artemis got back into her position in bed, her back pain flaring up again, this time spreading to her abdomen. "Babes, I think you need to go to the hospital." Zatanna said in alarm when she saw the way Artemis gripped the sheets. "It's fine. Unless my water breaks I'm not going any-" Artemis looked down at her lap then back up at Zatanna. "I guess we're going to the hospital after all."

"How are you so fucking calm!?" Zatanna asked as Artemis sat in the backseat in the middle of a contraction. She held onto Zatanna's hand and closed her eyes.

"It feels like I'm being run over by a train but there's no use in panicking." Megan had texted Wally to meet them at the hospital before getting in the car. She looked back to see how Artemis was doing before turning back to the road.

"I'm glad that I borrowed my uncle's minivan today. You get cushy seats with adjustable temperatures!" Megan declared with a smile. "That's a stroke of luck." Artemis laughed.