A/N: Early release since this is kind of Part II of the last chapter, and I had extra time to work on it. As always, apologize for any typos.

Ages: Cameron is 22, Artemis is 20.

...In The Shadow of A Joke

Winter, Team Year 5

The smell of a good homecooked meal wafted underneath the door and into Cameron's nostrils, tempting his stomach. It threatened to release a growl in protest of the lack of food, but that did little to motivate him to actually knock on the door. Instead he stood there awkwardly, as if starting at the door long enough would transport him back to a time when he skipped the door in lieu of climbing up the fire escape into Artemis's window.

Gone was the reassuring confidence he'd expressed to Artemis on the phone not thirty minutes ago. Now he was wondering how exactly he was supposed to reintroduce himself to her mom. Her mom who was huntress. His whom he'd met and didn't say anything to.

Hi, remember that one time I saved you from a mugging and then didn't mention I actually knew your whole family while you were in prison? Yeah, hi.

At least from the outside, the place looked just the same as the last time he was here and all the times he was here in the years before. The same faded marks littered the door, some slightly more prominent than he remembered them being. The same peephole that looked yellow from the door's exterior, even though he knew it had no such tint when you looked through it from the inside.

He took a calming breath - it didn't calm his nerves much - and then lifted his knuckles to the door, knocking lightly. Immediately, he could hear the sounds of a person moving closer to the door. A few seconds later it swung open, and he was looking down at the small yet imposing figure of Paula Crock.

"Hi," he said sheepishly, because what exactly am I supposed to say?

She gave him a smile that he thought was warmer than he had any business receiving. "Come in," she said, moving further inwards. "Artemis said you would be stopping by."

"Uh, right then," he said, feeling dumb for not assuming as much. He followed her in and closed the door behind him, locking the deadbolts without even needing too look back, and then hanging his cardigan on the coat rack near the door. At five below freezing, it was still too warm for him to even consider wearing something remotely close to a winter jacket. The cardigan itself was unnecessary, but less people stared at him with it than when he went out in a sleeveless shirt, so he tended to keep it on. "I guess I should probably introduce myself properly this time," he offered lamely.

"Oh? But you've introduced yourself before," she said, wheeling herself over to the kitchen table.

"Yeah but I mean, I didn't exactly realize who you were until we were already back here," he said, pointing around the apartment.

"And why should you have?" she asked, and then gestured for him to follow her to the table. The source of the tantalizing smell sat atop the table: Some sort of noodles, already served for two.

"Sit. Eat," Paula ordered. "Artemis won't be home for a while."

"Oh, I don't want to impose," he started but was cut off by a sharp look from the older woman.

"We've had this conversation before young man, so save us the time. Sit," she ordered.

Cameron wanted to protest, but the rumbling noise his stomach made betrayed him, and with another sharp look he found himself slinking into a seat at the dinner table like a scolded child. His hesitancy was quickly melted away by how good the food he was eating was. He'd had some home-cooked meals at the Harper residence but this was another level.

"What is this?" he asked, trying to avoid speaking with his mouth full and mostly failing. "It looks kind of familiar."

"These are Cao Lâu noodles. It has to soak in lye water to be made properly. Almost impossible to make it right here." A glint of mischief shone in her eyes. "Almost."

"I think Artemis tried once. I'm not going to lie, it didn't taste nearly as good."

"Hmph. My daughter has many talents. Cooking is not one of them, though that's my fault, really."

"Could be genetic. Her dad isn't the best cook either," Cameron said.

Paula smiled, but it seemed a little sadder than before. "No, he really isn't."

Silence settled in after that, interrupted only by the clink of silverware and the sound of food - most Cameron's food - being consumed. It stretched across the air, and while the matriarch seemed unbothered, Cameron felt like it was suffocating. Every second tugged at his skin uncomfortably.

"So uh, nice to meet you again?" he said, if only for the sake of speaking.

"Yes, well it is a small world. Though I suspected our paths would cross again. After all, you were the only friend Artemis ever mentioned in her letters. Hard not to remember the boy who was 'paler than the moon.'"

Cameron blinked, taking in the last few words. "No way she actually said wrote that down in a letter. "

"Oh but she did," Paula said with a laugh. "Her descriptions only got better with time. I remember when she was 14, she sent one letter with a rant about how your growth spurt was a 'grave mistake of the gods' and that she'd 'never seen puberty hit someone so hard'. I almost got put in solitary for laughing too hard. To be honest, it was the first thing I thought of when we finally met."

"Heh, well I did have quite the glow up back then-wait, you recognized me back then?" he asked incredulously.

She raised her eyebrow. "I'm a mother. It's my job to know my daughter's friends."

"Fair enough," Cameron said with a shrug. This was Huntress after all. "So, how have you been since we last met?"

"Better since my daughter came back from the dead."

He winced. Shots fired. "Yeah, I didn't...I didn't know about that."

"And yet I hear you were important in the success of that mission. Artemis tells me you saw right through her cover."

Did she? Cameron thought. He figured she would have kept as many details of the operation from her mother, especially the part where her cover was blown on the most random tangents.

"To her credit, she didn't mess up. I just...I guess I knew her better than either of us thought," he admitted.

"I hope you remind her of that. You know, with all that time you spend in my daughter's room."

Cameron started choking on his noodles. "Wha-, I don't-" he sputtered in between some coughs.

"Jade tells me you've been a frequent visitor," Paula continued, voice even despite the twinkle of amusement in her eyes.

He cleared his throat, fighting the pink creeping up his neck. "I'm just keeping good company, that's all. Making up for lost time."

"Oh? Making up? For lost time?" Paula repeated, and it sounded so much more scandalous when she said it.

"I didn't meant it like that. I'm just, we're just, you know, keeping in touch," he said, once again cursing his pale complexion. He was sure if he looked at his reflection in the spoon his face would be as pink as a stick of bubblegum.

"And yet, in all my visits, I never see you," she said, a hint of accusation. "Almost as if you're avoiding me."

"Well uh, it's not just you. I kind of avoid everyone who comes to visit."

"Mhmm."

"I really don't want to have to explain what I'm doing there to be a bunch of superheroes," he explained.

"Or a nosy mom?"

"That's not what I meant!" he protested.

"So tell me Cameron, since you spend all that time with Artemis," Paula continued, ignoring his protests, "How is my daughter doing?"

He paused, briefly recovering from the whiplash in topical change. "Artemis? She's doing great. You know how she is. Stronger than steel."

Paula leveled a thoroughly unimpressed look at him. "I know that my daughter is strong. Of course she is. But that is not what I asked. I asked how is she doing young man. I don't appreciate platitudes."

Cameron squirmed in his chair a little bit under the gaze, buying himself some time to answer by taking a few more bites of his food. Which was still delicious.

"I don't think...I don't think she's doing as well as she wants people to think. And tonight isn't going to help," he started cautiously. "But she is a lot better than she was this summer. And being with Jade, I can tell that it's really helping. She's honestly doing a lot better than I think I would if I was in her shoes."

Paula stared at him for a bit, letting his words sink in before snorting in what Cameron hoped was approval. "Well then, enough of this depressing talk. Tell me Cameron, what keeps my daughter's close friend busy these days?"

Oh boy.

"Uhm, I just got an apartment?"

...

Artemis walked into her mom's place a few hours past midnight, too late to really be considered nighttime, but still too early to be in the morning. Mentally drained, she didn't spot Cameron sprawled out on her old living room couch until she was about to launch herself onto it. Instead she had to jerk herself backwards to counteract her forward momentum, which would have caused her to trip onto her backside if Cameron hadn't shot his arm out to stabilize her at the last second.

He gave her an amused look, but his droopy eyelids gave away his fatigue.

"You're still here," she said blankly, staring at him. "I thought you left after you texted me."

"Nope," he answered, popping the 'p lazily as he let go of her arm.

"You didn't have to wait for me."

"I kind of did. You're mom said she was going to sleep and that she'd appreciate it if I waited up for you."

"Yeah right. She's probably wide awake right now," Artemis commented.

"How's Batgirl?" Cameron asked.

Artemis inhaled, and then motioned for Cameron to clear some space on the couch for her. He sat up to oblige and she sat down next to him.

"Barbara. Her name is Barbara," she said. "I'm sure you've put two and two together. Girl shot by The Joker for no rhyme or reason. Story's been on the news all day. Batgirl is the Commissioner's daughter."

Cameron nodded in agreement. He'd made that connection and drawn some other education guesses about the other Bat's identities while he lay on the couch waiting for Artemis. Not that he was going to repeat them to anyone.

"The doctors said she might never walk again," she said, sounding numb. As if he wasn't the first person she'd relayed this information to.

"I'm so sorry to hear that."

"The sickest part is, she wasn't even supposed to home today. She wasn't supposed to be there when that deranged bastard showed up at her door. She was supposed to be on vacation with some of our teammates, but she cancelled last second. Wanted to have dinner with her dad and spend some quality time because she kept flaking on him because of all the time she's been spending helping out The Team train in all the new kids." She closed her eyes and clenched her fists on jeans. "Helping pickup the slack that I left behind."

"You can't do that Artemis," Cameron said forcefully. "You can't start blaming yourself."

"I know that!" she snapped. "He put a bullet through her spine. He put her in the ICU. He-" she cut herself off, clearly trying to reel back her emotions. Last thing I need to do is wake mom up she thought.

"If not today," she started again, voice even, "Then it could have happened the next time he broke out. Or the time after. But that doesn't change the fact that the Team is overworked. That they need help. After everything that's happened with The Light, and The Reach, with all these new kids coming on board, they're stretched thin."

"Those are the Justice League's problems. Not yours," he asserted.

"I wish, but I can't accept that. I walked away to recover and I know that's what I needed to do. But my friends? They never got a chance to rest. They lost Wally too, and I feel so greedy, sitting around, doing nothing while everyone has to move on."

"I'm sure none of them feel that way." And if they did, they're not your friends.

"I know, but I feel that way, and I can't keep sitting around doing nothing. Not after tonight. So yeah," she said grimly. "I guess this means I'm headed back. Maybe not the field, outside of some patrols here or there. But spending my time on the weekends to help out with training the new kids? Coordinating missions from the new HQ? I can do that."

Cameron mulled over his next few words. He knew what he wanted to stay. You should stay away. This isn't your fight. Keep living your own life. He knew what Artemis needed him to say.

"Ok. If you're sure that this is what you want, then do it. I'll support whatever choice you make."

"Sure? I'm not sure about anything. And my mom, shit, she's going to hate this."

"She just wants you to be safe," he offered, because if he'd learned anything from his two encounters with Paula, she cared deeply about her children. And she was likely the source of Jade's verbal repertoire.

"Safe. Hah," she let out a hoarse laugh. "Batgirl, Barbara. Barbara was making dinner at home for her and her dad. They live in a security-access apartment building. In the nice part of town. She wasn't even in uniform, and look at how safe she was. What a sick joke. Safe. None of us are really safe." She turned to look at him, brows furrowed in frustration. "And then you! You keep saying you're almost out of the life. Almost. Almost. Almost doesn't mean a lot. What the hell is even going on with you?"

His lips turned upwards into a thin smile, which he hoped would look placating. "I told you I'm handling it. It's all under control."

Her brows furrowed deeper. "Do you trust me Cam?" she asked, voice quieter again, as if she suspected the answer but didn't like what it was. "Because I know I've done things,-"

"Of course I trust you," Cameron answered quickly. "You don't even have to ask that question."

"They don't lie to me!" she shot back just as quickly. "And stop telling me half truths."

He gave another thin smile, this one more to restrain his own frustrations rather than placate her. Because what he really wanted to do was grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she understood: It's not that simple! You already left this life! Don't get caught up in my problems!

He settled for a timid: "It's...complicated."

"'Complicated'," Artemis repeated, mouthing the word like it was something poisonous. "I hate that word."

Cameron sighed. "You shouldn't be worrying about me Artemis. I'm a big boy, and right now you should focus on processing what just happened to your friend."

"I am processing it! Because this?" she said, gesturing around vaguely. "This sick feeling of helplessness? Watching someone I care about stuck in a hospital bed, fighting for their life and not being able to do anything? I hate it. I've always hated it, since the first time I saw my mom handcuffed to that stupid hospital bed. The entire time I was stuck in that hospital tonight, waiting to just talk to Barbara for just a few minutes, I was thinking: Whose next? Who am I going to be doing this next for? Is it going to be a hospital visit, or a funeral? And you know what Cam? Your name was the first one that kept popping up first."

His sucked in his breath, feeling the weight of that emotional body blow.

"My God Cam," she continued. "I don't want to show up one day and I have to wait outside an emergency room for you, or see you hooked up to a million machines, because you were too stubborn to ask for help!"

"That's not what this is about," he pushed back.

"Then what? What is it? If you trust me, and this isn't about your stupid ego,-"

"I'm trying to protect you Artemis," Cameron said exasperatedly.

"You want to protect me?" she asked bitterly. "Then don't make me visit you in a morgue. Don't make me sit next to you in a medical cot, guessing whether or not you're going to be alive."

"I wouldn't," he started, trying to string together a confident sounding rebuttal. "I wouldn't do that to you."

Liar his mind accused. Don't make promises you can't keep.

"You can't promise that. We both know you can't promise that," she said, looking away from him.

The defeat, the pure exhaustion lacing her voice weighed on his soul, and he cursed whatever part of him always seemed to crumble when it came time to resist Artemis. "Fine. You want to know what's going on? Sure then, we can talk about it. But right now, you need to get some rest. I'll tell you everything in a few days, after you've had time to process what happened to your friend."

She looked like she wanted to argue with him. Demand answers to all her questions now. Eventually, she relented. "Fine, but I'm keeping you to that."

He got up, straightening his shirt and then moving over to the door to reach for his cardigan.

"You're leaving?" she asked.

"Yeah well, I don't want to just crash on your couch. Kinda feels rude."

"My mom wouldn't care," she said, and Cameron paused. "You don't have to sleep on the couch. Jade's bed is still in my room."

A pregnant pause hung in the air before he said, "Ok. Sure."

So that's how he ended up back in Artemis's childhood room, within four walls he hadn't seen in five years, staring right at the same Alice in Wonderland poster, and fighting an absurd amount of Deja Vu.

At some point, Artemis spoke up, cutting through the sense of sleep that was creeping over his consciousness. "I'm not falling asleep," she grumbled.

Cameron snorted. "The process generally requires you to close your eyes for an extended period of time."

She didn't answer at first, before saying "I really don't want to do that right now."

I know the feeling, he thought. There were too many nights where sleep deprivation was better than the demons that lay behind his own eyelids. He suspected Artemis had more of those nights than him the last few months, but he'd never asked. "Yeah, I understand."

"You remember back when we were kids, and we'd be waiting up for our dads right in this room, wondering why they were still gone a day after the job was supposed to be over? And we'd both be scared out of our minds but didn't want to admit it?" she asked.

"You mean when we just wasted time talking about random shit until we tricked ourselves into passing out?" he responded, the memories seared into his brain.

"Yeah," she answered wistfully.

"Well, if you really want to hear some pointless drivel, I guess I can talk about my life." He paused briefly, and when she didn't respond with some witty comeback, he realized again just how tired she must have been. "I got an apartment."

"Really?" she asked, interested piqued.

"Yeah," he answered. "Just moved in today. Nice spot not too far from Gotham U. Was going to surprise you with it but uh, Gotham happened. You should come over."

"Of course I'm coming over."

"Yeah, I figure it's good for us to hang out somewhere other than your room all the time."

"Really? Why? Jade doesn't care."

"Uh," Cameron started, not really wanting to explain getting embarrassed by her mother earlier, "I just think it'll be nice not having to worry about waking up Lian."

"Good point," Artemis conceded."

"But before you come over, let me properly inform you of the true struggle yours truly had to go through just to get that apartment. I mean, my goodness, I've done bank robberies that were less complicated."

Artemis snorted, recognizing the change in tone as a sign that he was about to start one of Cameron-esque rants. At some point, in between his critique on the very notion of application fees and detailing his worst apartment tour experience, she succumbed to the strong pull of sleep.

Cameron took in the sight, noticing how peaceful she seemed to be in contrast to the mess of troubled emotions she'd been battling all night. Here, now, with the sliver of moonlight trickling in through the blinds, she looked like the least bothered version of herself.

Beautiful was the word that came to his mind, and it stirred something in his chest that he refused to look into.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered, before closing his eyes and letting himself fall asleep to the sound of her quiet, rhythmic breathing.

Between the two, there were no nightmares that night.

A/N: Barbara is already firmly established as Oracle by Season 3, so I figure The Killing Joke's events couldn't have happened that long after Season 2 ended. Anywho, thanks again to everyone whose read, reviewed, favorited, and/or followed!