Roy is 15, Connor is 9, Artemis is 5, and Mia is 2.

Chapter 15: A Christmas Carol

Roy's POV

"Roy." Dinah called as she pushed my bedroom door open, not even bothering to knock first.

She held up an ugly red sweater. It had Rudolph on it with a light up nose.

"I am not wearing either of those."

"But, Roy. They're for our Christmas card… Ollie, Connor, and Artemis are wearing the green ones. Me, Mia, and you can wear the red ones."

"Dinah! No! I am not wearing that stupid shirt!"

"Oh yes you are. You can either wear the red sweater or you can stay here." She ordered, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm fifteen! Teenagers don't wear matching sweaters with their family or take Christmas cards or sit on Santa's lap!"

"Roy, we're wearing matching sweaters for the card. That means all of us, even you. And if you want to be a part of this family-"

"Who said I wanted to be a part of this family?" I growled.

"Roy!"

"Well it's true! Half the time I wish I had another family! Sometimes I wish you people would just disappear!"

"Be careful what you wish for. When you're ready to apologize, I'll be downstairs." She calmly replied before leaving my room and shutting the door behind her.

"Yeah right." I muttered before lying back down on the bed and closing my eyes.

********Break********

"Roy." A voice whispered as I cracked my eyes open to see Dinah's mother standing beside me and glowing... Glowing!

I scrambled away from the glowing figure and ended up falling right off the bed.

"Grandma!" I yelled.

"Oh dear, did I scare you?" she asked, peering down at me.

"Yes!"

"Sorry, sweetheart. I usually haunt Oliver's dreams… But, you needed special attention."

"Special attention? But, you're dead! You died earlier this year!"

"What's your point?"

"You're a ghost!"

"I still don't see your point, sweetheart."

"What are you doing here?"

"I am the Ghost of Christmas… Something another… Oh what was it? Oh yes! I am the Ghost of Christmas Past/Present/Future."

"Are you freaking serious?"

"Watch your language, young man!"

"My bad." I muttered, pulling myself off of the floor.

"Anyway, I have come to help change your nasty attitude about your family… We are going to take a look at what life without your family would be like. First, we shall take a look into the past, then your present and then your future… Any questions?"

"Um-"

"Good I didn't think so… Let's go." She replied, grabbing me by my arm.

I screamed as I was shoved through a portal. I landed flat on my butt as we came to a stop outside of Miss Rhine's Foster Home for Boys.

"What are we doing here?" I asked in surprise as she pointed to a man, holding the hand of a little redheaded boy… Wait, that's me.

"Grandma, who is that?" I asked.

"Your new Father." She stiffly replied as the scene changed and we were standing outside of a small house.

I followed her over to a window and peered inside to see a younger me stirring some soup or something on the stove. I could see dirt and a few bruises on the kid's face. The man that had apparently adopted me earlier suddenly entered and started screaming at the kid.

The kid simply just stood there and looked at the man in fear before the man pinned the kid to the dirty kitchen floor. The man suddenly began pouring the scalding liquid onto the boy's stomach. Seeing the welts and blister rise on the kid's skin made me want to vomit.

"Why doesn't someone help him?" I whisper, turning away from the window.

"You know, Roy, this would have been your life if it weren't for Oliver taking you in instead."

"Then why didn't I just run away? Why'd I let that bastard hurt me like that?" I asked, pointing to the window.

"You'll eventually runaway."

"But, what about Dinah, Connor, Artemis, and Mia? What about them if Ollie hadn't have taken me in?"

"I'll show you." She replied extending her hand.

I took her hand and she transported us onto a rooftop in Star City. I flinched as Black Canary flew right through me, followed by Green Arrow.

"Can't they see me?"

"No."

I watched as they went after some criminal without even coming up with a plan… It's like they're being reckless.

"Why are they being so reckless?" I asked.

"They have no one to come home to. It's only themselves… Besides, everyone already knows their identities. They have nothing to live for or to hide. They're not married either." She replied before the scene changed again.

We were standing in a temple as Connor appeared before me meditating. What the heck is he doing?

"He's going to be there his entire life." Grandma sadly stated.

"But, what about Ollie? Connor's his son!"

"His father will deny that the child is his, because he never had you. Oliver will not want to claim the boy as his own, because he doesn't know what it is like to have a child. He couldn't handle the pressure of being a father before you came along." She replied before the scene changed again.

Artemis was sobbing in a corner of the orphanage where Dinah and Ollie had adopted her from. I could only watch as she went from four years old to seventeen in a matter of seconds. Then she had to leave… She barely made it down the street before she was grabbed and pulled into an alleyway by a couple of men.

"Hey! Let her go!" I screamed, only to be held back by Grandma.

"They can't hear you, Roy. You couldn't help her even if you wanted to… Besides, take a look at the man that grabbed her." She sadly replied.

Oh my God… I took one good look at the men and immediately recognized one of them

"That's me." I choked out. "But, I wouldn't… I… cou-"

"The world can be a cruel place, Roy. A very cruel place indeed."

"What are they going to do to her?"

"They'll kill her when they're finished."

"What about Mia?" I whispered.

"Unfortunately, her life won't turn out much better… Look over there."

I turned to see a blonde that couldn't have been more than fourteen or fifteen in stripper heels and a flashy dress that barely covered her ass, standing on a street corner. I could see needle marks decorating her arm as she smoked a cigarette.

"She's a hooker?" I asked in shock.

"For now. She has about a few more months to live without proper treatment for her condition."

I watched as a man came up to her and offered her a twenty, which she happily accepted. He took her to his car and laid her down.

"I can't watch this!" I yelled, shutting my eyes.

"Roy, open your eyes, sweetheart."

I shook my head as she placed her hands on my shoulders.

"Roy, look." She lightly ordered as I opened my eyes to see Mia gone and us back in an alley.

I could see a redhead leaning against the wall of a building with glazed over eyes. Cigarette smoke lingered in the air. I could see needle marks on his arms. He coughed several times before he lit another cigarette with shaking hands. Discarded beer bottles were by his feet.

"Is that supposed to be my future?"

"Yes… Which isn't too far from your actual future." She muttered.

He held his cigarette in his mouth while a shaky hand searched through a pocket and produced a syringe. The contents were injected into his arm as he began coughing again. Something must have gone wrong, because the man was suddenly clutching at his heart as he struggled to breathe. He fell face first onto the ground… Heart attack.

"I wanna go home. I don't wanna see anymore. Please Grandma, take me home." I pleaded.

"You don't want to see your funeral? You and the gravedigger will be the only ones attending."

"Please… I don't want my life to be like this. I want my mommy and daddy and brother and sisters. I want my life to be like it already is. I just wanna go home." I begged, hugging her as I felt her hand sliding over my shoulders.

When I pulled away from her, I was back in my bedroom in my bed.

"Roy, you have a good life. You have a family and friends that care about you. Appreciate what you have been given." She said before she leaned over and kissed my forehead. "I love you… and don't take this the wrong way, but I don't want to see you again for a very long time."

"Okay… I get it. And I love you too."

********Break********

Dinah's POV

"I don't think Roy's coming down." I sadly stated as Oliver merely shrugged.

"Come now, Pretty Bird. He's a teenager. They think they're always right and they're always full of angst and loud and rude and-"

"But, it's a tradition! We have to take the photo! And then we have to see Santa! And then our Christmas party is tomorrow!" I yelled as I hugged Roy's holiday sweater to my chest.

"I want my sweet baby back, Ollie! I don't want him as a teenager!"

"I think we can get Zatanna to turn him into a kid again… Or maybe a villain will come along and-"

"Oliver!"

"What?"

"Never mind… Let's get Connor and the girls. I suppose we can Photoshop Roy into the picture." I sighed as I heard footsteps pounding down the staircase.

Who is running in my house!

"Mom! Dad!" we suddenly heard Roy scream before he burst into the living room.

I was quickly pulled into a hug by the redhead before he snatched the sweater out of my hands and forced it over his head.

"Roy?" I asked before he hugged me again.

"I love you, Mommy! I'm so sorry! I don't hate you! I love you! You're the best mom ever!" he cried as Oliver and I swapped glances.

"Dinah, he's been possessed." Ollie hissed before Roy hugged him too.

"I love you too, Daddy."

"What do you want?" Ollie asked as Connor, Artemis, and Mia suddenly walked into the room.

"Connor! I love you too, little bro!" Roy yelled before squeezed the life out of him.

Connor stared at Roy with a confused expression as Roy hugged his sisters and told them that he loved them as well.

Mia was suddenly shoved into my hands as Roy shoved Artemis into Ollie's hands. Roy grabbed Connor's hand and started dragging him out of the room before he looked over at us and yelled, "Hurry up! We have to take our Christmas card photo and see Santa!"

"Right… Just as soon as we take Roy to a doctor… or an exorcist." Ollie whispered.

********Break********

We finished laying fresh flowers on my mother's grave. We said our goodbyes and headed for the car. Oliver took Mia onto his hip and took Artemis' hand as Connor followed beside them. I turned to find Roy still staring at the headstone.

"Roy, it's time to go."

He nodded as I walked back over to him and slid an arm around his shoulders.

"Are you okay, baby?"

"I'm okay… Mom, you know I love you, right?"

"Of course. I love you too, Roy."

Thanks for all the awesome reviews, follows, and favorites!

To OllielovesDinah: Thank you for your reviews. I wish you had an account so I could just respond to your replies instantly instead of taking forever to write another chapter. But, concerning your last review for the previous chapter, not all guys are like that. And I'm happy you've raised our children to be respectful. And I agree that you should always be able to tell your parents anything. My relationship with mine is very open and I will raise my children (Should I ever have any) the way they raised me.