Author Note: Wow. I never thought this story would get so many views and reviews and whatnot! Thank you so much to all my readers and reviewers I can't tell you how much it means to me that you've taken your time to read&review this story! Some people asked about continuation and well, obviously I am continuing it. I think at this time I'll be able to finish it in two more chapters. This chapter took a bit of a different turn than I had previously planned but I rather like how it turned out. I gots lots planned for this story and I hope that you, the readers, will enjoy it. Thanks again! ~gods-property
ps, I realized this story isn't exactly chronologically correct as Failsafe was set in October but I do have a reason for making all this happen in September.

Hope you enjoy!

Wally snored when he slept.
When Artemis woke up, she almost had a full on heart attack. She and Wally were still lying in their little corner, away from the other people. The blanket Wally had draped over the two of them had fallen to their waists. Wally had his arms around her and she was curled against him, head tucked into his chest. Even with the absence of the blanket, she was perfectly warm against him.

Her eyes wandered over to the other guests and staff members. Some of them slept while most of the others dozed. Artemis could hear loud howling from above and assumed the storm still raged. Another loud snore from Wally drew her eyes up to him and she smiled. His mouth was gaping open and he would snore every now and again. His light red eyelashes brushed his freckles and his eyes fluttered under his eyelids probably from a dream.

Although Artemis was revolted at the very thought of enjoying this moment, she was doing just that. She rarely let anyone get close to her, least of all her teammates, from whom she kept her true identity, but in Wally's arms she felt safe for the first time in quite a few months. And she was starting to love it. And she was scared of it.

Wally stirred suddenly. Artemis instinctively tensed, not sure how he'd react to this.

Slowly, his green eyes fluttered open and he frowned at the ceiling, not knowing where he was. He felt a tiny bit of movement on his chest and he looked down into a pair of gray eyes.

He was startled at first and the look in her eyes was some kind of mixture of guilt and fear. Wally looked around once more, blinking and trying to figure out where he was.
With a small shake of his head, he remembered everything. The mission and the storm, the hotel, Artemis. He looked back down at her and smiled. Her eyes searched his face but slowly she returned his smile.

"Morning, Beautiful." Wally whispered.

Tiny bit of crimson flushed upon her face. "Morning, Baywatch." She replied.

Wally lifted one of his wrists to his face and peered at his watch. He groaned a little. "We have to be back at base in two hours."

Artemis' previously happy face fell and she pushed up out of his arms to a sitting position. She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. Wally sat up next to her.
"You okay?"

Her gray eyes slowly opened and she stared straight ahead. "I don't want to go back." She whispered.

Wally stared dumbstruck at her and slowly her head turned. She smiled a tiny bit. "I don't want to go back to all the fighting and stress. I kind of enjoy this…" she paused.

"This…?" Wally prompted.

Artemis pursed her lips. "This relaxing. Not worrying about being stabbed in the back or captured by someone."

A small smile tugged at Wally's lips. "We're not exactly completely safe here. There is a tornado raging thirty feet above us."

Artemis rolled her eyes and punched his shoulder with a smile.

"You know what I mean."

Wally smiled and leaned back against the wall, massaging his hurting shoulder. "Yah." He peaked at her from the corner of his eye. "We could do it, you know?" Artemis turned to him with a confused expression. "Run away. Between you and I, we could disappear easily."

"Together?" Artemis whispered. Her gray eyes sparkled.
Wally face flushed and he nodded. Artemis' eyes were filled with longing as she stared back up at the ceiling. Her smile faded and she sighed. "We can't. We have families and the Team. We can't do that to them."

Wally sighed and looked at his lap. He pulled an energy bar out from his glove compartment and split it in two, handing half to Artemis. They ate silently. It was during this silence that Wally released the civilians were no longer there. He frowned and mentioned it to Artemis.

"I guess that means the storm's passed," she said. She popped the rest of her snack into her mouth and stood up. She stretched her arms then extended a hand to Wally. "Come on, we should go check."

Wally finished his snack and was pulled to his feet by Artemis. They shared a look then walked to the staircase that would take them up to the hotel. Artemis groaned as she set her foot on the first stair and looked up to the many flights of stairs awaiting them. Wally smirked at her and scooped her into his arms before she could blink. He was setting her down in the hotel lobby in thirty seconds.

"Thanks, Baywatch." She said.

Wally grinned at her.

The walked towards the reception desk. The receptionist was on the phone when they walked up but she hung up shortly after they arrived. She greeted them with a smile.

"Good morning." She said brightly. "I hope you slept well."

Wally frowned and glanced at Artemis who was glaring at the receptionist. "Why didn't you wake us?"

Her smile never faltered. "You both seemed pretty cozy and I didn't want to interrupt."

Artemis blushed. "There was nothing to interrupt."

The receptionist cast them a playful look. "Okay, sure." She winked knowingly at Artemis. "I understand."

"There's nothing to understand!" Artemis said defensively.
"Artemis, it's okay." Wally said quietly. He looked at the receptionist. "I take it the storm has passed. Is there much damage?"

"Not to here, obviously," she said brightly. "But some parts of the town were hit pretty bad. Customers are flooding in. I can barely keep up!"

Wally smirked at Artemis who had crossed her arms and was still sneering at the receptionist. "Well, we'll be checking out soon so you'll have another room open." Wally said.
The receptionist smiled wider and said goodbye to them as Wally drug Artemis to the elevator. As soon as the doors shut behind them, Wally clutched his gut and started laughing as he slid down the elevator walls.

"It's not funny!" Artemis said.
Wally gasped for breath and wiped his eyes. "It kind of is."

"She was infuriating, insinuating you and I… Ugh!" Artemis threw her arms into the arm and folded them across her chest as she leaned against the wall.
Wally looked up at her. "Well is that really such a bad idea?"

"Ye—" Artemis paused and avoided his eyes. "I mean, it is, isn't it? We aren't supposed to get along, right?"

Wally slowly got to his feet and slumped against the wall next to her. "Why, though?"

Artemis glared at the doors in front of her. Wally peered at her. Finally, she sighed. "I don't know." She whispered quietly.

Wally took a breath to speak but at that moment the doors slid open and Artemis rushed out of the elevator. Wally sighed and followed her out.

When he reached her again she was standing in front of their hotel room door digging in her pockets.

"Where's that blasted key?" she growled quietly.

Wally slipped his hand into his own pocket and pulled out the key. He smirked at her as he reached around her and put it in the lock. She glowered at him as he swiped the card and the door unlocked with a click. She passed him in flourish and by the time he had shut the door and walked into the room she already had her bag on her bed and was throwing her clothes in.

Wally shook his head and walked over to his closet, where he pulled out his own bag and started packing up, making sure to go slowly. For a few minutes, the only sounds were the rustlings of clothing being tossed into their bags. Wally peaked at Artemis occasionally but she never once looked over at him.
Wally stood up from his bag and scratched his head, going through his checklist. He sped into the bathroom when he realized he had forgotten his toothbrush. It wasn't on the sink.

He walked around the tiny bathroom looking for it but couldn't find it anywhere. He huffed and stuck his head out the door.

"All right, Arty, where'd you—Artemis?" his playful expression fell when he heard her sniffle and saw her hand swipe at her face.

"I-I'm fine." She turned to him. Her eyes were red and puffy. "What do you need?"

"Artemis," he left the bathroom doorway and walked into the room. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Wally." She said at a whisper and went back to packing.

Wally moved closer to her and reached a tentative hand towards her.
"Artemis," he pleaded quietly. He took her hand tenderly and sat on the edge of her bed, trying to catch her stormy eyes. She was staring at the floor but hadn't removed her hand from his.
"Wally, drop it. I'm fine." She insisted. The single tear that slipped from her eye told him differently.
He gently pulled her to the bed and made her sit next to him.

"I'm not going to stop bothering you until you tell me what's wrong."

Artemis' jaw clenched but she made no move to pull away from him. They sat like that for a few moments, Wally staring at her and Artemis doing her best not to look back. Finally, Wally leaned forward and put his other hand over hers.

"Artemis, please. Is this about the receptionist? You shouldn't let that bother you, Beautiful. She was only—"

"It's not her, Wally!" Artemis interrupted. "It's us." Wally leaned back, a confused expression on his face.

"What do you—"

Artemis held up their hands. "This, Wally! This whole… thing."

"Thing?"

She took her time answering, "This relationship…" she sighed. Wally remained shocked and silent. "I'm not the kind of person to let others get close to me. The Team is as close to anyone that I've ever been. I've never been close to a guy, as in romantic close. And…I'm scared."

Wally exhaled and looked at his lap.

After taking a moment to make sure his heart was still beating Wally sighed. "I'm sorry, Artemis. I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable. You know I'd never want to hurt you."

"You may not mean to but there's things about me you don't understand. Things about my past."

They were dangerously close to her greatest secret. Wally knew she had one. Everyone on the team did, he knew that much. He even did, though his was more along the lines of an obsession with country music. The others' were probably a bit more secretive but hey, Wally was an open guy. He didn't keep very many secrets.

Wally leaned forward in anticipation. He knew this was hard for her but he wanted to help her in any way he could.

"Your past?" he asked quietly.

She took a breath and shook her head. "It's complicated." Her hand slipped from his and she stood up. "Let's just get finished packing and get going."
Wally sighed and got to his feet wearily.

"There's nothing I can do?" Wally asked.

Artemis exhaled. "When we get home, after we debrief, can you never speak of this mission again? It's too painful."

Wally was about to argue but Artemis looked ready to crumble. He'd never seen her like his, never thought she could even act like this.

He sighed. "Sure thing, Beautiful."

He caught her blush as he turned away and resumed packing.