Hey, guys! Thank you so much for reviewing and following this story. I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. This is one of those stories that I just write when I feel like it, and as I've just started college, I haven't had much time or energy to write. It's been so long since I updated that I switched from present to past tense without realizing. Oh well.

This chapter (and early bits of the fic in general) has Spitfire. Wally and Artemis were obviously very long-term, and I'm not going to have them break up two chapters in! That said, I promise not to drag you through twenty chapters of Spitfire for one chapter of Traught.

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One minute, Artemis was lying half-asleep in one of Mount Justice's infirmary beds. The next, her boyfriend was hovering over her.

"Hey, babe," Wally said, leaning down to kiss her forehead, so lightly she barely felt it. "How are you feeling?" He was still in full costume, the cowl pulled off to show the sweaty red hair pasted to his forehead, his freckles in stark relief against his pale skin under the fluorescent lights.

"Fine," Artemis whispered, sitting up and leaning against the headboard. "Apparently, I just need to keep weight off of it for a day or two. Not quite as bad off as Boy Wonder over there." Artemis had spun on her heel to aim an arrow at a bad guy, and it hadn't gone quite as planned. It was hardly the dumbest way she'd been injured, but it still rankled that she'd been that careless. Robin, on the other hand, was much worse off—the Boy Wonder had gone in close with a robot.

Wally glanced over at the bed next to hers were Robin was sleeping. A giant bruise was already visible on his arm, neck, and the side of his face from where he had been thrown into a wall. Wally made a face. "Poor guy. What's his deal?" he asked, matching his volume to hers.

"Broken ribs and a hell of a lot of bruises. On the bright side, no concussion," Artemis said.

Wally nodded. The three of them and Zatanna were the ones who got the most concussions, and head injuries were the worst. "Good," he said, and flopped down next to her on the bed. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into him. "So how long until you're back in the field, then?"

"About a week, I think," Artemis said, shrugging as if the forced downtime didn't bother her. She'd rather be out catching bad guys with a bow in her hands, not holed up letting her friends take the risks. But there wasn't anything she could do about it, so.

Wally frowned. At first Artemis thought it was concern for her, or sympathy—but no. "Just a week?"

"Yes," Artemis said, scowling. "I guess it's not so bad. I've had worse." She knew what Wally was thinking, and decided to just get the topic out of the way. "You wish it was longer, don't you?" She straightened up so she was no longer leaning on him; Artemis couldn't snuggle when she felt an argument coming on.

Hunching his shoulders and looking down at the bedspread, Wally said, "Well, yeah. Maybe I do. Maybe I wish you were safe."

Here we go again. It had been nearly a year since Wally had brought the topic up for the first time—them leaving the team, going on to live normal lives. Nearly a year since he had almost died on a mission and decided that maybe being a superhero wasn't how he wanted to spend the rest of his life. "We're never going to be safe," Artemis snapped. "Even if I was out of the field, if we both were, there would still be supervillains running around trying to kill everyone or take over the world—and we'd be leaving our friends there by themselves." Having this argument was like running around in circles. Always the same debate, always the same responses.

"Well, it's their choice to stay in the field," Wally snapped back. Artemis could have almost mouthed the words along with him. "It doesn't mean it has to be ours."

"No. It doesn't. But right now, it's mine," Artemis said, crossing her arms.

On the bed next to her, Robin shifted and let out a small cry of pain in his sleep. Wally stopped whatever retort he was about to deliver (probably a guilt trip, she thought) to look at his sleeping best friend. His face softened slightly. "Maybe we should drop it," he whispered. "I don't want to wake him up."

Artemis nodded guiltily. Arguing with Wally had a way of making her yell without realizing it. "Like we aren't going to fight about this ten more times this week," she said drily, lowering her voice. "Plenty of time to hash it out later."

Wally gave her a wry grin. "Looking forward to it." He kissed her again, on the mouth this time, and Artemis let it go on for a few seconds before pulling back.

"Go shower and change back into civvies, babe. And eat something," she said firmly, then nudged him a bit so he moved closer to the edge of the bed. "I know you've gotta be starving after everything tonight, and I need to get my beauty sleep."

"I'm not—" Wally began, then broke off as his stomach gave a loud rumble. "Well, maybe I am," he admitted with a sheepish, charming grin. "Get your rest, then. I'll see you later." Unhooking his arm from around her, he lurched to his feet; she would never get used to how abrupt his movements were, Artemis decided.

"Mmhmm," Artemis said, leaning back into her pillows. It probably said something that the Mount Justice infirmary bed was more comfortable than her own at home. "Love you."

"Love you too," he said, grinning, and took off, shutting the door behind him.

Artemis relaxed, letting her eyes close and feeling her brain drift towards sleep. The throbbing in her ankle was distant, nothing compared to the injuries she'd had to deal with in the past. Then a voice interrupted her, dragging her back into alertness.

"So that's what you guys have been fighting about, huh?" Robin asked, his voice weak and his breath hitching every few words.

"Yeah," Artemis admitted softly. "For about a year now. He didn't want anyone to know he was bringing it up."

"I won't mention it to anyone," Robin said. He sighed, and Artemis could see the sadness and regret and exhaustion on his face. Sometimes it was hard to think of Robin as older than he thirteen-year-old he was when they met, and sometimes he looked so much older than his fifteen years. Now was one of the latter times. "I guess…I didn't expect it to come from Wally. He was the one who wanted it more than anyone. Why would he…"

"He's scared," Artemis said. "He doesn't want to die doing this, or see one of us die—he's tired of fighting all the time."

"Huh," Robin said. "Then why is he still on the team?" There wasn't any bitterness or accusation in his voice. When Artemis had asked Wally the same thing, she'd been hurt and angry; Robin's tone was sad, almost wistful.

"I don't think he's ready to give it up just yet," Artemis said. Trying to find the right words, she hesitated, and finally said, "He talks like he is after missions where someone gets hurt. But then we'll all go out as a team and kick ass and he changes his mind, starts talking like he never wants to leave." Her conscience pricked—she should let Wally speak for himself. "Maybe you should talk to him."

"Oh, I will." He chuckled humorlessly, then gasped as his ribs were jolted.

"We should stop talking," Artemis said, wincing guiltily. She knew how much it hurt just to breathe with broken ribs, and here she was making him talk.

"No, no," he said. "I wanna know this. He wants you to quit with him, right?"

Nodding, Artemis said, "Yeah. Get an apartment together, get a dog, go to college, the works." She scowled, thought about just leaving it there. But if Robin already knew about Wally, he should know about her, too. "I won't lie. I've thought about it. And some days, I wish I could. But this life…I grew up with this sort of thing. Wrong side of the tracks, maybe, but I'm used to it. So unless something big changes, I'm going to talk Wally into staying."

Robin nodded slowly. "Okay."

"Yeah." Artemis let the silence stretch past awkward and into, If he doesn't say anything, I'm probably just gonna fall asleep. There was a soft noise from the bed beside her, and Artemis looked over; Robin had beat her to the whole sleeping thing, apparently.

"Well, if that's how it's gonna be," she murmured, smiling fondly at the sleeping boy.

She should feel bad that now someone else knows, but it's like the whole thing with her family. If Artemis has learned anything from her time with the team, it's that secrets just weigh her down. And, just like with her family, Robin was the first to find out.

Maybe between the two of them, they could get Wally to drop this.

Artemis closed her eyes and let herself fall asleep.