Dick

His shoulder was sopping wet, but he could not care less about that at the moment, when he had his arms full of a shaking, sobbing Artemis. His eyes darted down to take in the test, now resting on the cold, bathroom floor, once more before squeezing them shut against the flood of stricken tears that threatened to fall down his cheeks.

Pregnant.

God dammit, Wally, really? His friend was making it very difficult to uphold his promise.

Dick continued to rub his hand over her shoulder in what he hoped translated into slow, calming strokes, although what he held inside was far less calm in nature. When Artemis had called him back earlier, he suspected that being as sick as she was shook her emotional state, and that she probably was ready to finally, finally, break down, to cry her heart out and let the healing process begin. Well, she was breaking down, but he would be hard-pressed to say that she would feel better for it.

After about a half hour, when Artemis ran out of tears and her dry sobs were sporadic, Dick gather her in his arms, jostling off the poor dog who most likely did not know what was happening at all, and took her to the bedroom. Just as he realized that the bed did not look slept-in, Artemis found her voice.

"Couch, please."

Dick tightened his hold. "Alright." He deposited her on the couch and pulled the blanket over her shoulders. Brucely took up his spot on her feet, and he took his place on the floor next to her and waited, brushing his hands over her hair.

"So," she croaked after a while, her throat raw after crying for so long, "I'm pregnant." Her voice hitched a bit on the word, and she bit her lips in an effort to hold herself together. "I'm pregnant."

Dick took her hand. "Artemis," he began slowly, "you don't have to be strong about this right now."

She scowled, and he could see the turbulence in her storm-gray eyes. "Yeah, Dick, I do." She spat her words with anger and hurt. "Who else would be strong for me? Wally?" Artemis gave a broken laugh, which pierced right through the man's chest. "Wally's gone. He's dead, and he's not coming back, he's not going to walk through that door, he's never going to fix the sink or finish college or become my husband, and he's never going to see-" she choked off, a hand shooting immediately to her still-flat stomach, and Dick knew the beginning of a hyperventilation attack when he saw one, "see his kid, oh god, Dick-!" She hid her face in the blanket. He stroked his thumb over her fingers, speaking softly. It took a few minutes for her to regain her breath. "I'm so sorry," she murmured, "I'm so so sorry."

"Shh, it's okay, Arty, it'll be okay." He squeezed her hand. "It's hard. And I'm not going to lie to you, because of been where you are too many times to be fair to a person," she tightened her hold in apology, "it's only going to get harder," she sniffed, "but you are not alone. You've got your family, Artemis. And I don't just mean your mom and Jade. Our team is your family, too, it always has been. So let us help you, alright? We'll be strong for you." She met his clear blue eyes, which he was sure were as red-rimmed as her own. "It's okay to be weak, right now. You'll be strong again soon, but it's okay to be weak, too."

She nodded. "Thank you. For being such a good friend to me."

He laughed a little. "I'm just doing my job. Well, one of them." She gave a watery smile, and snuggled down into the blanket. He waited until she was settled, no hiccups in her breathing, before he breeched another delicate subject. "So, how…?"

"Did this happen? I don't know," she gave a small chuckle, "I've been thinking about it, and it must have been when I got back from the mission. It's a bit hard to keep up on your birth control regimen when you're on a submarine in the middle of the Pacific."

"Understandably." He smiled a little as she gave another short laugh at his frankness.

"Can you come with me to the doctor?" Artemis asked after a moment of hesitation. "You don't have to," she rushed to say, "I just-"

"-Don't want to be alone?" She nodded. "Of course. I'll do anything you need, Artemis."

She swallowed and nodded. "Good. Great. Do you think you could call M'gann? And maybe Zee and Babs?"

"Yeah. Do you want me to stay?" Another nod. "Okay, give me a minute." He released her hand and pulled out his phone. At this time of day, M'gann should be on shift at the Watchtower and should only be pulled off in the event of an emergency. He glanced back at Artemis on the sofa, dragging her nails distractedly through Brucely's short hair before he ducked into the kitchen. He was fairly sure this counted as an emergency, right? He pressed a speed dial and waited for the connective 'click.'

"Watchtower." Dick sighed as he heard Barbra's smooth tone over the line.

"This is Nightwing. Is Miss Martian on shift?"

"Affirmative," he could hear the smile in her voice, "would you like me to connect you?"

"Affirmative," he mocked gently. He could hear a quiet "asshole" before the transfer click and he smiled.

"Hello?"

"M'gann, is it a secure line?"

A brief pause, before, "Yeah, what's up?"

"I need you in Palo Alto, pronto."

"What's wrong with Artemis?" her concern practically seeped through his speaker. "Is she alright?"

"I can't say much about it, but she's not asterous and really needs you right now. Is Zatanna on shift?" He filled a glass of water and set it aside, searching the cabinets for any soup that would be easy on Artemis' unsettled stomach.

"No, but she's scheduled for the next one."

"Cancel it, ask her to come when she can. Also, ask Barbra to come when her shift is done, but, M'gann, Artemis needs you now." He silently cheered when he found a can of tomato soup stuffed behind some boxes of pasta.

"Alright, I'm on my way. I'll be there in ten."

"Thanks, see you then. We're at the apartment."

"Okay, bye."

He set about starting the soup, and brought the water out to Artemis. He set it on the coffee table, drawing her attention away from her thoughts.

"Thanks," she smiled. "M'gann?"

"On her way. I'm also making you something to eat."

"Great." She looked towards the television, at the episode she still had frozen. "D'you watch this show?"

"Nah, but I like most crime dramas. Go ahead and hit play."

The two settled in and waited for their third to arrive, momentarily distracted by the lives of the detectives on the screen.