YJ- A Shot in the Dark (part 17)

"C'mon! You have to help me," Wally begged, gripping Dick's shirt tightly.

"To stalk her?" Dick raised an eyebrow. "You do realize she'll kill us if she finds out, right?"

"So?"

Dick blinked. "Yeah, just clarifying," he said and disentangled himself from Wally's grip. "But isn't that going against everything Batman, Supes, and Green Arrow agreed on?"

"Yeah, pretty sure they were hoping I'd forget about her entirely," Wally pointed out. "Plus I know GA's been to Keystone in the last week."

Dick sighed and shook his head. "If you get busted, I was not a part of this."

"Deal," Wally agreed with a nod.

"Alright, alright, fine," Dick groaned, spinning his desk chair to sit on it backwards before leaning over the keyboard. "Babs was nice enough to leave behind some tech when she left, that'll decrease the threat of Artemis attacking us by at least fifteen percent."

Wally winced. He hadn't meant to bring that up, but then again Dick's break-ups were the most amicable he'd ever heard of. And clearly the boy wonder wasn't having issues with it as he merrily typed away on his laptop. "So," the Bat-Brat drawled. "What am I looking for exactly?"

"A way to insert myself back in her life," Wally instructed, dragging a stack of course books closer to sit on.

"Yeah. Got that part," Dick confirmed, rolling his eyes. "Like what, Kid Idiot?"

The redhead hit his friend upside the head in retaliation, but turned his attention to the screen. And promptly frowned. "What is that?"

"Her schedule," Dick reported, trying to rub the back of his head dramatically. "Based on movements on the credit cards Batman and I set up for her."

Wally looked at his friend in disbelief. "Just from her credit cards?"

Dick pulled his eyes from the screen. "Well, her credit cards and then what tech she buys," he explained sheepishly. "Like her alarm clock-it goes off every day at six-twelve. She punches her code into the apartment garage between seven and seven-fifteen. Gets to the studio around seven-thirty- -."

"And you thought I was being a creeper," Wally mumbled, his eyes scanning the list of information faster than Dick could summarize.

The younger man's face lit up with a blush. "It's not creeping!"

"You've lived with Bruce too long if you actually believe that," Wally teased with a smirk, reaching around him to scroll further down the page.

"You're the one who asked me to," Dick pointed out, pouting.

"Just an observation," Wally said innocently, though his smirk only grew.

"And it's Babs' program," Dick added.

Wally hummed in agreement, his main focus still on the screen. Since when did Artemis actually go to hair salons? "On that note, though," he commented, rolling over a dentist appointment. "I'd check to make sure she didn't leave some nano cameras behind, if I were you."

Dick blinked at him for a moment before his blush flared again. "She wouldn't bug me!"

The elder hero snickered and glanced up at him. "Sure, she wouldn't. Are we talking about the same Gordon?"

Dick gaped, mouthing wordlessly for a few moments, before he glowered at the computer screen instead. But a short moment passed before he huffed out a laugh. "Well," he said, typing a few more commands. "Here's something."

"What?" Wally asked, leaning over his shoulder.

"Oh, I'm gonna have to yell at her," Dick boasted.

"What?" Wally repeated, trying to read the gibberish on the screen.

"This'll be fun."

"Dick!"

"Though no one would ever suspect it."

"Dude, I swear to god- -!"

"Wally?" Dick called his attention sweetly.

"What?!"

"I think you need to start working out."

. -. -.

It had been months since her kidnapping. Months since Deathstroke tried to destroy her and everyone she loved. Months since the Flash and Nightwing had interrupted the assassin's plans and gotten her to safety. But it had only been weeks since her hospital stint, which had been longer than most had intended due to her restless nature. She was fairly sure Dick had something to do with that.

Now, though, Artemis was free and fairly able (and allowed) to move on with her life. Work was still giving her time off, though, and milking the public version of her story for all it was worth. Which created a surprisingly good sized pile of fanmail wishing her well. After all, Linda Park's kidnapping and near death by a drug ring had lead to said ring being rounded up and prosecuted with the Flash there as witness.

Artemis had tried to follow that story thread, but she had to face it-with her out of commission, the news was decidedly lacking. A thought that made her laugh on a daily basis, who knew she'd fit into that life so well? But even with a new life that she could handle even with her new limitations, she'd be lying if she'd said that adjusting to it wasn't practically killing her.

Well, theoretically, anyway.

That was why, three weeks after hospital release and imprisonment in her apartment, she was found at the gym on Paramount and Fifty-third, trying her damnedest to return to the routines that had been the most reassuring form of familiarity to her since she was fifteen. And having a hard time of it.

She built up a routine quickly. Moving around the impressive space only just before it got obvious that she wasn't really strong enough yet, going from cardio to the classrooms to weights. Eventually she found her way to something of a sparring room which could easily have been used as a training area for wrestling. In all honesty, of those she saw in there, she wasn't at all surprised to find several members of the police force working off steam.

On her fourth visit, she'd moved on to a punching bag, on the second floor and off to the side in front of the windows, trying to build up her speed and force against it. Each movement was stiff and weaker than she'd ever want to admit and, really, it only made her angrier. The bag was indistinct, bland brown and full of sand, but it might as well have been human shaped and painted orange and black.

The echoing memory of Deathstroke's taunts and laughter swirled around her, blocking out all noises that came with being at a gym. She knew this feeling, it was the same feeling she had when she first joined the team-when the fear and frustrations were fueled by her father instead. She didn't show reactions well, not to fear anyway. She could hide it in the moment, when the adrenalin was pumping and she either had to "get traught or get dead" as Dick put it once, but now that the fight for her life was over and the effects of hospital medication had worn down... Well... Now there weren't distractions to keep the emotions from catching up with her.

No, she couldn't actually beat them back, but she could definitely try.

"Ah!" the gasp of pain escaped her as her fist connected badly. She quickly pulled it back and cradled it against her chest, biting her lip against the pain.

"Hey! You okay?" an anxious voice asked only moments before hands reached forward to help her sink to her knees.

Artemis pulled away from them as soon as her knee caps touched the smooth tiles. "I'm fine," she snapped quickly, though even she could hear the strain in her voice as she tried to hide the pain scooting across the floor caused her. "I'm fine!"

The man gave a soft snort of disbelief. "No, you're not," he informed her. "Hey... aren't you that girl from the news? The reporter who... uh...?"

His question died in the air and Artemis sighed. It wasn't a new reaction for her, but it was quickly wearing down its welcome.

"Yeah," she replied softly. "Linda Park."

She nearly broke character when she lifted her gaze, finding herself staring into familiar green pools that sparkled at her above a cheesy, lopsided grin.

"Hello, Linda Park," he said, holding a hand forward. "I'm Wally West."

Artemis stared at him for a moment, before remembering that there were others in the gym and reached her still throbbing hand forward to gingerly shake his. "Hi."

"C'mon," he said, his grin broadening as he moved to help her back up. "If what the news says is true, I don't think you should be in here just yet."

"Oh yeah?" Artemis raised an eyebrow at him even though she let him guide her back to her feet. "And you're a doctor or something?"

"Or something," he agreed, holding her a little more closely than was needed for a "first meeting," but Artemis wasn't about to stop him. He nodded in greeting as they passed several of the cops at the sparing mats, who nodded back with somewhat knowing smirks. "I've got a doctorate," he explained. "But it's in Forensic Science. I work with the Central City and Keystone City crime labs."

"Ah, so it's CSI West?" she inquired, wincing a little as they headed downstairs to the main level. Maybe she shouldn't have done cardio earlier, her ankle and knees weren't exactly happy with her either at the moment. Actually, there wasn't any bit of her that wasn't aching. But why'd it wait till now for her to feel like she was falling apart?

The answer was simple and it was supporting her weight as they went down the hall to the changing rooms.

"Uh, I don't think I'm allowed inside," he commented as they came to a halt in front of the doors.

"Right," she mumbled and ruefully pulled herself free. She grimaced for a few paces, clearly her body had enjoyed the help far too much, but soon enough she was confident that she could make it to the showers and then her locker without too much of an issue.

"But, um, would- - uh- - how about," Wally stammered quickly, drawing Artemis's attention back to him from the doorway. "You know- - if you're not busy, of course- - but, I was thinking, uh- -."

Artemis rolled her eyes, unable to entirely fight off the smirk that was coming to her lips. Whether he was just acting nervous or he really was, it didn't matter and it was endearing to watch. But she couldn't torment him forever. "Spit it out, West!"

The ginger blushed, giving her a sheepish grin as he scratched the back of his head. "Um, would you want to… grab some lunch?"

She wanted to burst out laughing, but managed to hold it in. Had he actually been anxious about asking her out? "Yeah," she answered with a bemused smile as a blush of her own warmed her cheeks. "Sure. Uh. Just let me get changed."

Wally lit up like he was made of Christmas lights, giving her the most excited grin she'd ever seen on him. "Great!" he announced. "I'll be right here- - I mean, I'll get changed too! Then I'll be right here."

A laugh escaped as she stepped through the doorway, hoping she could change quickly enough for a speedster and smiling more than she had in a long time.

. -. -.

Dick grinned to himself, swiveling back and forth on his desk chair as he watched the security footage playing. His advice had been perfect, setting it up so that Wally West and Linda Park would cross paths publicly and not while working. Better yet, it had been in front of plenty of people that Wally knew. And, at this point, who didn't know Linda Park?

Finding a camera that showed Artemis going at the punching bag (with a little too much zeal) had been mildly predictable, or at least to him it had. Not that he'd liked the idea of her breaking the whole bed-rest idea, but he couldn't have staged it better if he'd been a Hollywood director. Signaling Wally to step in and rescue her from herself just before he saw her lose control of her swing had been a stroke of genius.

In fact, Dick was almost tempted to edit the footage and show it to a few friends he had tied to the film industry just to show them how much their films were lacking. But explaining how he got the footage might be somewhat hard to explain, so Dick just let himself simmer in the smug self-satisfaction that came with each passing second of his friends rekindling their romance.

Wally stammering like an idiot was a nice touch. You'd almost think he was worried she'd say "no" to him. And it was definitely worth hacking the gym's security feeds to see the redhead do the most ridiculous happy dance after Artemis disappeared behind the changing room door. Which was quickly interrupted seconds later, when a man from the KCPD force emerged from the men's rooms, giving him a look of bemused judgment. Expertly sending Wally off to the locker rooms to hide from his embarrassment.

Dick was grinning like an idiot, so focused on his cinematic triumph that he didn't notice the door to his studio apartment open (despite the locks). Or the new presence in the room. At least, not until he heard the echoy voice give a command.

"Peels no retupmoc eht tup!"

"Hey!" Dick yelped as the screen went dark, jumping to check the system.

"Tup yats."

Instantly he lost control of his body, staying perfectly still in the chair, though he couldn't help smiling as the chair was spun for him to face his invader. "Nice to see you, too, Zee."

Zatanna Zatara smirked as she leaned down to look him in the eye. "When you called me earlier, I was under the impression that you wanted to go out," she informed him before moving to sit on the nearby end of his bed. "Not that I'd have to pry you away from the computer."

"I did!" He promised, to which she raised an eyebrow and he quickly rushed to add, "I do! You don't, I swear!"

"But?" She asked with a sigh.

"I… got… roped into playing wing-man," he said slowly, with a sheepish groan.

Now both her eyebrows rose. "To who?"

"Well," Dick drawled. "If you let me turn the computer back on…"

"Oh, no," she laughed. "I know that trick, and then we'll be here for the rest of the night. Uh-uh. Let's go, boy wonder. You can tell me over a cappuccino."

"No," Dick whined as she pulled him by chair towards the door. "But- - I- - Zee! They're my OTP!"

"Your what?" Zatanna laughed in disbelief as she looked down at her hostage, then shook her head with a bemused smile as she locked his apartment door. "Nope, forget it. Oir ot og s'tel."

With a swirling shimmer and a final whine from the college student, the two left Bludhaven (and Keystone City) to some much needed privacy.

. -. -.

"Alright, alright," Wally conceded, waving surrender with his fork. "But you have to admit, Moffat really knows how to keep people watching."

"True, but that doesn't make him any less evil," Artemis pointed out, smirking victoriously as she popped another French fry into her mouth. "I swear he's in league with some of those big baddies in making us wait so long for season four."

"You realize that there are probably criminals who watch 'Sherlock' too, right?" Wally pointed out, picking up what was left of his club sandwich.

Artemis merely rolled her eyes and picked up another French fry. "Then they're just reacting because they've run out of patience. So it's his fault again."

Wally laughed, making her grin as he shook his head.

She'd slowly grown more and more terrified back in the gym locker room, only made worse by how long changing seemed to take with her injuries. Fears that she'd changed too much, that Wally wouldn't like who she was now, or even that he'd changed too-and hundreds more deterring thoughts flittered through her mind straight up until she distractedly pushed her way through the women's room doors. To find Wally waiting there, looking as anxious and hopeful as she felt if not more so.

Only a ten minute bus ride later brought on a new wave of ease. She could only describe it as bliss. Sitting in the overly 50's themed diner, complete with a friendly old woman named "Betty" as their waitress, she and Wally could just talk. Just be there and enjoy each other's company without bringing up anything hero related. Well, other than helping to argue points involving a certain British director/producer. And, really, that was perfectly acceptable conversation for reporter Linda Park and CSI Wally West on their first lunch out.

For a moment, she could almost forget that she wasn't Artemis Crock anymore. That she'd been through hell and nearly gotten killed. That she and Wally had ever been parted for longer than her undercover assignment.

"Alright," she said as their laughter started to die off. "Have you heard about that show on Channel five on Sundays?"

"The one about all electronics crashing?" Wally asked, then made a show of mulling it over. "Yeah! My cousin told me about it. Honestly, haven't watched more than twenty minutes of it. Pretty sure that'd be a form of hell."

She started laughing again, to which he raised his eyebrows as though offended that she'd be so dismissive, but he was definitely having issues fighting back a smile.

"C'mon!" he objected. "You don't think so? No computers, no TVs, no cars?"

"Well, yeah, I'd probably miss my motorcycle," she consented. "And the microwave, but c'mon- - people only started needing those things in the last hundred years."

"Exactly!" he urged, still smiling as he leaned over the table to emphasize his point. "We're so far from that! Half of us would die if it ever went back."

"Survival of the fittest then," Artemis teased. "I take it you'd be doomed?"

"Oh definitely," he affirmed, now taking a forkful of coleslaw to his mouth, which he quickly chewed and swallowed to add. "I'm not as bad as a friend of mine, but I'd probably be one foot in the grave. Same goes for that show about being stranded on a desert island."

Artemis rolled her eyes, sipping her lemonade. "Don't worry, Baywatch," she said with a smirk. "I'm pretty handy when it comes to roughing it."

Wally raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you saying you'd help me… Miss Park?"

Her smirk broadened. "Well, this lunch hasn't been too bad," she commented. "I'd say there's a distinct possibility."

It earned her another grin, which strangely made her blush and Artemis turned her attention back to the large pile of French fries that were still waiting on her plate. She could easily see why Wally liked it here, the portions were huge.

"So, what else? What kind of hobbies do you have?" he asked, smiling as he brought the coffee mug to his lips. "What makes you different?"

A lopsided smile came to her face as Artemis lifted her gaze again. He was searching, just as much as she was. Trying to feel out what three years had done. What aspects they'd have to get around in order to return to what they'd had.

"Well," she said. "You know I go to the gym."

Wally nodded with a smirk, replacing his cup its saucer and taking up a French fry to help her out. She watched him with a contented smile for a moment.

"I like watching old movies."

The redhead's eyebrows rose. "Really? Old as in Die Hard or are we talking Connery's Bond?"

"Black and white, actually," she informed him with a small smile, trying to decide what to make of his expression. "But I like those, too."

He looked kind of impressed when his initial shock faded and he nodded in acceptance. "Alright, I can handle that," he said, then looked at her curiously. "What got you into old movies?"

A stronger smile came to her face as her thumb rubbed the strange texture of her lemonade glass. "A couple of things," she relayed with a shrug. "But mostly because there's nothing good on TV when I'm not working and I just end up with TCM on."

Wally nodded again, regarding her with a look that was almost intrigued by this new trait.

"Old music too," she continued. "Like swing and lounge jazz. Even classical."

His eyebrows shot up again and a slow smile crawled across his face, after which he laughed. "You know? I've never really given it a listen," he said, his eyes locking on hers. "Any suggestions?"

She smirked. "Maybe," she conceded. "I might have some tracks I can lend you."

"Much obliged," he responded with a grin, living his mug as though to toast her.

Artemis let the conversation pause as she watched him for a moment, her smile fading with contentment. "What about you?"

"Hmm?" Wally hummed curiously behind the mug, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, we've been talking about shows I watch," she pointed out. "Movies and music I like- - even my obsession with old architecture. But what about you? Other than your fear of a computer crash causing the apocalypse."

He blinked at her, seeming a little astounded by what she'd pointed out. But he only grew more perplexed as he tried to think of an answer.

"Uh," was his intelligent start as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well… Okay, I guess… I dunno… it's like I've been a man pulled out of time lately."

Artemis raised an eyebrow quizzically, but it felt like her stomach was starting to freeze inside her as the double meaning cut like a knife. If it had been any form of hell to do without him for three years, what had they been for him? More so, what had coming back been like? She remembered a night-terror he'd had once, when they'd first started living together. When he'd woken up with a panicked cry that had pulled her from her own typically rocky sleep, only to take another hour for him to calm down and admit that it had been of being frozen in place.

Had that become his reality? Did he feel like he'd been standing still instead while the rest of the world surged past him?

She caught a brief flicker of pain in his eyes, but he was quick to push it away and give her a cheesy grin. "Guess I should stop working so much, huh?"

A snorted laugh preceded her hum of agreement, but the unease that had joined their conversation refused to leave until the couple was arguing over who was going to pay the check. Which, luckily, brought back at least a little more of the familiarity they were both desperately clinging to.

By the time Betty brought back their change and a few "to go" boxes, Artemis was wrestling with wanting to think up something else to do with the man who walked next to her out the door and the fact that she probably shouldn't.

"So," Wally's uncertain voice cut into her internal debate easily and she nearly laughed to realize that he was struggling with the same thing. "So, uh, I guess… we… um…"

"This was fun," Artemis supplied, flashing him a grin.

Wally stared at her for a second, then blinked and huffed out a relieved laugh. "Yeah," he agreed, giving her a grin of his own. "Yeah, it was. I'm glad you were at the gym so soon after-I mean-."

"Are you saying that you're happy I nearly broke my hand again, Mr West?" Artemis asked, a coy sparkle filling her eyes.

"What?! I- - No!" he objected, panicking slightly as he glanced at other passersby. "I just- -."

He let his defensive protests drop and rolled his eyes almost comically as Artemis laughed at how easily he'd fallen for her ploy. Sighing and shaking his head as a rueful smile came to his face, Wally's eyes glittered with a joy that had been missing for far too long.

"Not at all, Miss Park," he corrected smoothly. "But perhaps you could give me your schedule so that I know when I need to step in to rescue you from doing so again?"

She found herself raising an eyebrow at the smooth response and her smile softened as she placed a hand on his arm. "The same goes for you, Baywatch."

Just like that, she could see the pain in his eyes again. Like the barriers he'd put up while they were apart were starting to break and soon they'd flood forward, but he was doing everything he could to fill the cracks on his own.

"Even heroes need rescuing sometimes," she reminded him softly, offering one more smile.

Wally nodded, able to keep his composure as he let out an irritated huff before fishing his phone out of his pocket. His eyes quickly scanned the face of the device. "And that's work," he announced even as he shot back a response and tucked the phone away again to give her a sheepish smile. "Guess I can't see you safely back."

Artemis gave a small shrug. "You know where to find me."

He let out a laugh and walked with her towards the bus stop just as the public transportation pulled to the curb. She was still smiling as she stepped on board the bus, before she looked back and rolled her eyes with an almost impatient expression. "Get going, Baywatch! You're gonna be late!"

"Right! Going," he promised, stepping back with a grin. "I'll see you soon, Beautiful."

The bus hadn't even pulled back onto the street again- - Hell, Artemis hadn't even dropped onto one of the first seats before a glance out the window told her that the Flash was well on his way to whatever scene was waiting for him. And she was definitely sure she heard a whoop of delight on the breeze.

A/N: Ta-da! The end! :D For now... I may or may not have some thoughts involving a certain wedding... Anyway, thank you, my dear readers, for plugging along with me through hell and high water to see this story to it's end :D I've greatly enjoyed your feedback (including the panicked "Where's Barry?!") and wish you all well. Hopefully this chapter ties it up well enough for you ^_^ And, yes, I do see Dick as a fanboy who ships Spitfire :D