1…2…3…4

Roy had always thought the idea of counting sheep to fall asleep was bullshit, but now he knew it was. If he thought of another fuzzy white ass jumping over a fence he was going to hurt something. He rolled over, pulled his blanket up, and clamped his eyes shut.

Just…go to sleep…

...

A few seconds later, Roy opened his eyes and looked to his clock. It was ten o'clock, only 10 minutes since he'd last checked.

"Fuck it." Roy said aloud to the empty room, kicking the sheets off his body and over the edge of the bed. He pulled on a t-shirt and stumbled out of the bedroom. After stopping in the kitchen to grab a box of leftovers, he ended up in the living room. He grabbed a book and dropped down onto the couch. This wasn't his first sleepless night and it wasn't going to be his last. His days were tortuously long and, ever since his meeting with his old teammates, so were his nights.

For the next few minutes, the apartment was more or less silent, as Roy read and ate take-out with his fingers. Suddenly, a voice from the kitchen cut through the silence.

"Hey, Red."

With a start, Roy jumped to his feet, book and food falling to the floor, and he spun around to see Jade leaning against his counter top.

"I wish..." He started to snap, before pausing.

"You wish I wouldn't sneak up on you or you wish it wasn't so easy?" Jade's tone was light, but her eyes pierced into Roy in a way he knew wasn't a joke. But he wasn't even close to being in the mood to talk about it, so the archer chose to shrug off her words and instead walked up to her.

"Where is she?" He looked his wife up and down, as if she might be hiding their daughter somewhere on her body.

Someone is taking care of her." Jade answered.

"Who?" Roy's eyes narrowed. "I don't trust your 'work friends'."

"Relax, neither do I." Jade waved one hand. "At least with Lian. I left her with some of yours." A mental image flashed in Roy's head of Nightwing teaching his daughter handstands or Konner trying to fit her into a pair of boots and Roy didn't feel relaxed at all. Noting the look on his face, Jade laughed and hopped up on the filthy countertop. "I left her with West," Roy's mouth dropped open and he gaped, imagining Wally feeding Lian all kinds of non-baby-friendly food. Raising an eyebrow at his reaction, Jade finished her sentence. "…and my sister."

Roy remained confused at how his daughter could be in two places at once before snapping his mouth shut. Of course Wally and Artemis were living together. He tried to remember where they were. Something about a college on the west coast. Guilt crept into him; he was so out of touch with his friends he couldn't even remember where they lived. Or who they lived with. He nodded quickly but belatedly to cover up his confusion.

"Right. Of course."

Rolling her eyes, Jade sighed but moved on.

"I figured we should work on getting you back in shape before we go after Speedy."

Roy felt his heart jump but he frowned anyways.

"I'm in shape." He muttered, sounding surprisingly like a child himself.

"And a haircut wouldn't go amiss." Jade added, smirking, and Roy felt an unexpected wave of affection for the women perched in his kitchen. Despite two years of marriage followed by two of separation, she still acted as she did when they first met, as if her sole job in this world was to push his buttons and find out what made him tick. No one made him feel more whole, more himself.

Or more annoyed.

"Hey!" He crossed his arms. "I look fine."

"Red," Jade leaned forward, crossing her elbows on her knees. "You look like a hobo."

Roy threw up his hands.

"Who asked you?" He stalked out of the kitchen. "And I do not."

Great comeback, Harper said a sassy voice in his head. Jade hopped off the counter and followed him.

When he stopped in the living room, she rolled up on her toes and grasped his shoulders.

Roy's already pounding heart sped up as he felt her breath on the back of his neck. Everything about Jade said and did was painfully familiar and after so much time alone, it was driving him crazy. And she knew it. She pressed her chest up against his back and whispered in his ear.

"Yes. You do." And her presence behind him vanished. Knowing what was coming, Roy suppressed a groan and turned around. Sure enough, Jade was perched in the open window, cold air whipping her hair around her.

"Come on, Red." She jumped out and, before he had time to talk himself out of it, Roy grabbed his bow and quiver and followed.

Wally and Artemis stood in the middle of their kitchen, staring at the baby in Artemis' arms. The food on the table had gone cold and the clock on the oven blinked 10:37.

"Well..." Artemis looked up as she drew out the word. "Now what?"

Wally didn't look away from the child as he answered. "Can I hold her?"

"Great…" Artemis sighed, but Wally was already taking his scarf and coat off, dropping them unceremoniously on the kitchen floor. He held out his arms and Artemis gave him the sleeping girl. Despite her quickly-growing sense of panic, Artemis couldn't help but smile as Wally cradled the baby against his chest.

"She's so small." Wally said in a whisper as he stroked her nose with a finger. "What's her name?"

"Lian." Collapsing in a chair, Artemis brought a hand to the side of her face. "Wally, what are we going to do with a baby? I've never babysat before." Wally shook his head slowly, still stroking the child's face.

"Me neither. But hey," He looked up and smiled. "How hard can it be?"

"Hard." Artemis answered quickly. "We don't have baby formula or diapers or clothes or-or-And what if she gets sick or-" Artemis' mouth couldn't keep up with her brain, but before she could truly work herself up, Wally walked over and half-sat on the kitchen table in front of her.

"Hey. Hey, we'll figure it out."

Artemis looked up at him and Wally smiled, cautiously adjusting Lian in his arms. With a shock that cut through her panic, Artemis realized that this child could be theirs. It could be Wally's hair and her eyes instead of Roy and Jade's. "We always figure it out." Wally continued and Artemis couldn't help smiling back. She dropped her hand to her lap and sighed.

"Okay." She nodded. "Okay." Pausing a second, she decided there was at least one thing she could do. "You hungry?" She asked. Wally's eyes lit up and she snorted. "Why do I bother asking?" Getting up, she grabbed the last plate of food out of the microwave and rummaged around for a fork. She set them both down on the table and held her hands out. "I'll hold her. You eat." Wally handed the sleeping girl to Artemis and picked up the fork. He sat down and Artemis took the chair next to him. There was a minute of silence as Wally ate. Well, as silent as it could be with Wally's eating.

"Want some?" Wally still had a mouth full of food as he held a forkful of rice up to Artemis' mouth. She half smiled and opened her mouth.

"Thanks."

A big thanks to everyone who has read this story and an even bigger thanks to everyone who has reviewed it!