4:02 a.m

He would give almost anything right now to lay his head back on the pillow, forget the exhausting mission he came back from, his aching muscles and the repeat of this process some other day. Most of all he wanted hang up on the unresponsive line pressed to his ear.

But then he had heard it. A choke on the other end. A breath filled with shudders. The sound she made to clear her throat.

"Kaldur? Hey... can I...could I maybe-talk to you?"

4:23 a.m

As she walked, her boots made the faint crunching noise on the snow. She had no idea why, but she liked the sound. Or maybe she liked the way her footprint showed up nicely on the flaked ground. It distracted her for a while and God knows she just wants to think about anything other then where she currently was. Yet, she was always constantly reminded by her shivers and numb toes. She had to be the dumbest person in the world to leave her coat behind.

4:04 a.m

Is something the matter?

No, why do you keep asking?

It concerns me to wake up to a call this early.

You were sleeping? Oh, of course you would be. Sorry. I just-couldn't sleep.

Forgive me, but I can't help but to feel that...Something is off.

You're just itching to hear bad news aren't you?

When you are taught to be a soldier, you must observe and be expected to notice something out of place.

Like?

Forgive me for my ignorance, but it is currently 4 in the morning. Is it normal in the surface to call one another at this time?

Silence.

Is there something you feel you need to discuss with me in particular?

4:24 a.m

She mused over the thought of making snow angels. It was one of those bizarre thoughts that flashed over in one's mind for a brief second, making one shake their head and wonder why they had thought of it in the first place.

Besides, would her mother be able to see them when she woke up-or even bother to glance out the fourth story window before the snow melted?

Artemis hoped so. She was never the one to send patients flowers in hospitals. Not that she ever needed to. Perhaps not until now.

4:30 a.m

She strolled listlessly along, wondering why she didn't head back home again. Even if she knew it wouldn't feel right without her mother being there. Obvious that she wouldn't feel safe being in the apartment alone. Clear that she wouldn't be able to sleep a wink at night due to the fold of events. Of course she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. Not with everything like this. She choked but her eyes refused to give up anymore tears. It's given up its fair share for tonight.

Why do things have to be overwhelmingly overbearing sometimes?

4:32

She paused and stopped in her tracks, taking note of the fresh footprints on the ground- the ones that didn't belong to her.

"You're here,"she registered dumbly, voice growing hoarse,"why are you here?"

A dark overcoat was draped around her, with dark webbed hands working to fasten the buttons. A wooly scarf was suddenly found wrapped loosely around her neck. She looked up that the dark atlantean, who's arms and neck were bare from anything to cover with.

He looked down upon her, with an eyebrow quirked up slightly and simply said, "It would feel as if something was off."

She begun to feel very tired at this point, having stood in the cold for hours with nothing but warm but a hoodie and her fur boots.

"Maybe you should go inside now." Kaldur whispered softly. Maybe it was the drowsiness and weariness that started to kick in or maybe it was the fact that it was Kaldur who was dragging her by his arm draped around her shoulder, but suddenly she felt complied to do so. His arm was wrapped around her back and his hand was squeezing her arm gently, and for once this whole night, she felt as if everything was leveled off and not so overwhelmingly overbearing anymore.

The snow angels can wait.