Hello everyone! This is the last chapter of this hunt! I hope you've enjoyed it!

Wally was getting sick of Zatanna's hand on his shoulder. He hated that she knew he wanted to run off. Although; he wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it.

"You're sure that they're in there?" Zatanna asked, once again looking over Dick's shoulder to glance at the map, the bright green dot situated in the middle of the building before them.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Dick frowned, leading them to a thick metal door in the building's outer wall, "They're right in here,"

"I'm going," Wally declared. He reached his hand for the handle but Zatanna slapped it away.

"Get out your knives, and let me go first. I'll use my powers to throw some and they won't miss," She explained, prompting the redhead to grab a couple of silver daggers out of his coat, "Then you can run in and twist them. Make sure to twist them clockwise or it won't kill them,"

"And make sure you aim for the hearts," Dick reminded her.

"Can we go?" Wally pressed, his hand gripping the door's handle once more. Zatanna closed her eyes for a moment, focusing, before opening them again and nodding.

Wally ripped the door open and allowed Zatanna to rush in first, darting in behind her and Dick behind himself.

The room was large, nearly the whole building, but it was filled with rusted assembly machines. It took Wally only a few seconds to assess what was in front of him. Maybe thirty feet away there were two chairs facing away from them, each holding one captive. In one was Bruce, his large form slumped and ragged. And the other...

"BATS REH NI EHT TRAEH," Zatanna shouted, throwing one of her silver knives toward the closest vetala.

Wally was momentarily relieved that she had thrown it before he'd got his feet going; he had entirely forgotten about the plan and would have certainly gotten hit if he'd taken off a second sooner. The redhead thought that he'd set a new record running to the alley, but he was sure that he'd just set a new one.

In the second chair, the second captive sat surrounded by the two vetalas, their fangs sunk deep into her neck. Her long blonde hair hung off of the back of the chair, matted blood in some of the strands. Wally had never run so fast, but yet he felt as if he was running in slow motion towards the two creatures, his boots thudding loudly on the concrete, pushing each step harder than the last. Zatanna's knife had landed with a wet thunk into the back of one of the vetalas, the blonde haired creature stumbling to the side slightly in shock and pain. Wally reached for the knife in her back the millisecond he was in reach, plunging it in farther before twisting it with a wicked flick of his wrist.

Wally didn't even pause as the shrieks of the crumbling vetala echoed off the walls and filled the building. He resituated his grip on the silver dagger in his hand and launched himself toward the other vetala. She had screamed when the other had fallen and was facing him with unheeded terror stretching across her features, her arms held up in a shaken defense. But Artemis's blood was still dripping from her wet lips and Wally didn't hesitate to drive the dagger straight through her sternum, impaling her heart. The force of the blow knocked them down and Wally twisted the blade clockwise as the vetala was still scrambling to cry out in pain. The creature shriveled, cracking into dust that spread across the dirty concrete floor like dry sand.

It had only been maybe five seconds from when Zatanna threw the first knife, and Wally's rage could have propelled him on to fight more should he have to. But he was drawn back to cold reality when a sound hit his ears.

"Wally," A rough voice called out to him. He quickly scrambled to the source, dropping on one knee to match Artemis's height. The redhead cupped each side of her face with his hands as he looked her over, scowling at the bright red painted over her neck, the skin a mess of bitemarks and congealing blood. Her wrists were red and raw around the rope tying her to the chair, and her skin was unnaturally pale, "Wally," She whispered, her head and eyelids drooping slowly.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm here, Babe," He answered, brushing flecks of dried blood away from her face with his thumbs, his bright green eyes darting between her own, "Stay awake, come on," He snapped lightly, patting her cheek as her eyes began closing.

"Bruce," Artemis slurred a bit, her eyebrows knitting together in worry. Wally nodded, keeping her eyes focused on his face.

"He's fine," Wally assured her, looking over to Dick and Zatanna who were cutting a mostly unconscious Bruce out of his binds.

"Slna" The man mumbled, grasping lightly at Dick's shirtsleeves as they helped him up, "Selina," He tried again, frowning at Dick.

"Not now," Dick told him, patting his back with a smirk, "Next week,"

"Who's Selina?" Zatanna questioned, assisting Dick as he got Bruce situated in his grip.

"Just a kitsune we're visiting next week," He answered dismissively, "No big deal,"

"Selina..."

"Quiet, you big lug," Dick snickered, hobbling off with Bruce in a fireman's carry.

"Wally?" Artemis said quietly, her head lolling to the side when Wally released the grip on it to loosen the rope on her hands.

"Still here, Babe," Wally answered, bringing a hand up to push some hair out of her face before returning to his task. Zatanna came over with a knife and began sawing at the rope, whispering backwards words under her breath to loosen the knots.

"God, Artemis. Your neck," Zatanna hissed as she kneeled down next to Wally.

"Dick's fault," Artemis informed them, her head now hanging down against her chest.

"I know, I punched him," Wally told her, releasing one of her hands and placing it carefully in her lap before moving onto the other.

"I hurt, Wally," The blonde pouted, "I'm dizzy,"

Zatanna finished with Artemis's legs and Wally nodded for the woman to go help Dick.

"Wally?" Artemis tried again, a bit of distress leaking into her voice. The redhead had finished with the last of the ropes and put his hands back on the sides of her face, reassuring her.

"I'm still here, Babe," He said, smiling sadly when the woman sighed in relief, "I'm gonna take you to the car now. Then I'll patch you up, okay?"

Artemis nodded weakly, flinching from the wounds on her neck, and Wally carefully maneuvered himself to pick her up with the least amount of movement, cradling the crook of her knees in one arm and supporting her back with the other. Her head landed against his neck and Wally finally felt a bit calmer after feeling her light breaths ghost across his neck.

Holding her in his arms, feeling her heartbeat and breath, Wally could finally rest his nerves, no longer worrying that he was losing her. And by the even breaths and light grip of her fists in his shirt, he supposed she wasn't worried either.

The next time Artemis awoke she wasn't nearly as uncomfortable. She blinked her eyes a few times to gather focus and was firstly aware that she was laying on one of the beds in Bruce and Dick's room. She was secondly aware that a pair of concerned green eyes were drilling into her.

"Good morning," Wally said, scooping his arms around her back to help her sit up slowly. Artemis settled into the new position and nodded to the redhead, bringing a hand up to feel her neck. Wally snatched her hand up in the process, "Ah, ah, ah. I've bandaged you. You aren't screwing it up," He smirked, slow to release her hand.

Artemis opened up her mouth to thank him, but her eyes caught view of someone else in the room and abruptly she was yelling.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT. YOU DIDN'T EVEN THINK TO FUCKING TELL ME?! I WOULD HAVE DONE IT YOU FUCKWAD," Artemis shouted, pointing her finger viciously in Dick's direction. Dick looked a bit taken aback at first, surprised by the outburst since he hadn't been aware she'd woken up. But as the insults continued he just sighed and walked over to the blonde, looking occasionally to Wally for assistance. The redhead sat contently next to his partner, smirking pleasantly as Artemis yelled herself hoarse. "YOU NEARLY GOT ME FUCKING KILLED. NEXT TIME YOU WANT OUR HELP YOU BETTER DISH OUT ALL THE DETAILS BECAUSE YOUR LITTLE ASSHAT PLANS SUCK,"

"Artemis you're awake!" Zatanna squealed, having just entered the motel room with Bruce behind her. The blonde accepted a sudden hug and Dick meandered away from her view, hoping that he could avoid another lecture.

"Hey, Zee," Artemis smiled, "Good to see you're okay, Bruce," She directed to the man behind her.

Bruce kept a straight face, "Thank you, Artemis," He said. To anyone else it might have seen as the polite response to Artemis's well-wishing, however Artemis understood that he was thanking her for taking the brunt of the vetalas feeding, successfully saving both of their lives. The blonde nodded.

"We're actually planning to head out now, but we were waiting to make sure you didn't need any more blood transfusions," Zatanna told her.

Wally got up and began saying his goodbyes, shaking hands and giving hugs. Artemis slid to the edge of the bed, unsure whether she was up for walking just yet. Dick walked over and the blonde sent him a questioning look, giving him a chance to redeem himself.

"Yeah, I know. I was an idiot. I shouldn't have done it without your knowledge," He ran a hand through his hair, "I just...I knew that we only had one shot," Dick told her weakly. Artemis smirked, understanding that he had realized in hindsight what a stupid idea it was.

"In the future, just make sure you let everyone in on the plan. Otherwise it can cause confusion when things get tight," She crossed her arms.

Dick nodded before holding out his hand for a shake, "Friends?" Artemis looked at it for a moment, making her friend worry, before taking it.

"Friends," She declared.

Bruce, Dick, and Zatanna had finally left and Wally and Artemis were heading down the motel sidewalk to reach their own room. Despite his protests, Artemis wasn't oblivious to the large amount of yawning that Wally was doing. Zatanna had let it slip that he hadn't really slept at all while she had been unconscious from the blood loss. And the blonde wasn't entirely caught up on all her needed sleep either, so she had decided that they were going to sleep the afternoon away.

Both, however, were unprepared for what laid in wait for them in their motel room.

"You've gotta be shitting me," Artemis huffed, dropping her bags by the door. '

"Oh," Wally declared, "Well,"

Artemis glared at the room, mostly because it had done her a great disservice. For in this motel room, there was only one bed.

It was a decently large bed.

But that wasn't the point.

"I'll take the floor, then," Wally shrugged, dropping his bags next to the desk and heading to the closet to find the extra bedding.

"You will not," Artemis retorted with a frown. The redhead stopped where he was and turned back to face his partner.

"Well you aren't sleeping on the floor, you're still recovering," He pointed out.

"Well you haven't slept in over a day." She scowled, "We're sharing it," Artemis said, crossing her arms, daring him to contradict her.

That seemed to stop him in his tracks. Wally rubbed at the back of his head, "You're, uh. You're okay with that?"

"I can handle it," Artemis shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal, but Wally noticed that she wouldn't meet his eyes, "I'm going to shower," She declared, grabbing her backpack and strutting to the bathroom.

The door closed and Wally stood in the middle of the room for a moment, confusion and nervousness tossing his thoughts around. He did manage to gather himself together in time to get dressed into something more comfortable before Artemis finished, and was sliding under the covers when she exited the bathroom.

Artemis climbed into the other side of the bed quietly, and Wally hoped that she couldn't hear his wildly beating heart as she settled in.

She wasn't quite sure why she felt comfortable enough to face Wally as they laid together, but as her muscles relaxed into the old mattress, she was reminded of the fact that she trusted him completely.

"Hey, Artemis," Wally spoke up softly, catching her sharp grey eyes as they both lay on their sides, facing each other.

"Hm?" She answered, tucking the white sheets under her chin.

"I think I know why he did it," The redhead spoke quietly, as though he couldn't bear the words traveling any farther than the distance across the bed.

"Dick?" Artemis confirmed, furrowing her eyebrows a bit in confusion. Wally nodded and she continued, "Why?"

"Because of Bruce," Wally stated simply, his hand reaching out to draw aimless patterns in the sheets between them, "Because Dick cares for us, and he trusted our abilities. But most of all, because he cares for Bruce more than he cares for our friendship,"

Artemis frowned, processing Wally's theory slowly, "So; would that, be a bad thing then? Caring for him more than our friendship?" She asked.

The redhead was silent for a moment before responding, "I don't know,"

The blonde didn't say anything else, silently unfolding her arm to join him in drawing shapes in the mattress, their fingers bumping against each other every so often.

"I would do it," Wally whispered, his eyes trained on the sheets, "If you had been the first one to disappear," He explained, his bright green eyes meeting her for a glance, "I would risk my friendship with Dick, or Zatanna if I thought it would save you,"

He had spoken so quietly Artemis had to strain to hear him, but as the meaning translated in her mind her throat constricted. Because she knew what he was saying. She smiled softly, her fingers brushing across the distance between their hands and holding his.

"Me too," Artemis breathed, smiling a little wider when Wally grasped her hand back.

Over the next few minutes Wally's bright eyes drifted closed and his breaths grew even, his grip on her hand growing slack as he fell deep into sleep. Artemis stayed awake, watching him silently and musing on the strange turn of luck her life had taken. When she had lost her family, had turned to the life of a hunter, she had expected to live her entire life keeping the world an arm's length away. It was the only safe way to live, after all.

But Wally. She'd taken on Wally as a partner, as company for a life that was rather lonely. Artemis had planned to keep him an arm's length away as well. After all, having a close relationship and being a hunter was a combination that Artemis had never seen work out. But this stupid man had slowly, bit by bit, tiptoed past her guardrails. She'd forgotten what it was like to be so close with someone. To have a best friend.

And that is just what Wally had become. In the course of over nearly half a year. A partner, a best friend, a confidant. After all the precautions she'd taken, here she was, laying across from a man that she couldn't possibly imagine going on without. A man that she could picture being more than just a best friend, than a partner. Artemis bit her lip as she studied the redhead breathing softly beside her before she considered that, yes, she would even give up this life for him. To ensure that they could live on, spend as much time as they could together. Not even the thrill of hunting would be able to sway her from the prospect of living a long life together with Wally.

But how could she ask that of him? They weren't even lovers.

Taking on Wally West, she decided, had to have been the worst and best decision she had ever made.

And when Artemis awoke in the morning to find herself entangled in his arms, his warm breath rolling across her shoulder, she still had the same conclusion.

What do you think? Frustrated that they still aren't together yet? Well the point of this story was for them to fall in love slowly and naturally, so just give it a little more time.

Please review and let me know what you think! The next (and last!) hunt will be starting Wed-Thurs this next week!

Love, Veg