A/N: OMG. This chapter and I are in a love/hate relationship. Love because I really do like it and hate because it took me forever to get out! I'm so sorry guys! I really, REALLY had hoped to get this out for a Christmas present, but it's more like a Happy 2013 present! I just want to thank justplainsomething from Tumblr for helping my muse along and giving me this idea. Her idea was a little difficult but it spurred me on nonetheless! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Set during before and during Performance.

DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately, none of these characters belong to me. If Wally West belonged to me, I would be the only one allowed to play with him ;-) Any dialogue or plot that looks familiar belongs to DC and Greg Weisman and other people who are not me.

Summary: This is the story of Artemis and Wally and their evolution from teammates, to friends, to boyfriend and girlfriend, to husband and wife, to soul mates and everything and anything in between. Please review! XD

The EVOLUTION of SOUL MATES

Evolution: the gradual development of something, esp. from a simple to a more complex form.

Chapter 16: Dream

His head was pounding when he slowly drifted towards consciousness. He couldn't remember what it was he'd been doing right before he'd fallen asleep that would give him such a headache, but he hardly cared what with how warm and snuggly he was in his bed. He shifted his weight around and shoved his face deeper into his pillow, which smelled inexplicably of lavender. He inhaled deeply, idly wondered when his mom had started using a new fabric softener.

"I know you're awake, so quit pretending," a husky voice said right next to his ear, giving him goosebumps. He stiffened upon feeling lips caressing down his neck. "Merry Christmas, babe."

His eyes popped open immediately, and, though the lips should have been a giveaway, he was jolted wide awake by the realization that there was a girl in bed with him. An honest to goodness, living, breathing, girl. And not just any girl; he would have recognized those grey eyes anywhere, even if they were full of sleep.

"Ah!" Wally yelled, falling back over the edge of the bed in his hurry to get away from her. He fell to the floor in a tangle of sheets and was suddenly very much aware of the fact that he was wearing only a set of boxer shorts.

"Wally, what the hell?" he heard Her hiss as he lay in a heap on the carpet. He jumped to his feet, drawing the sheets tight around his bare upper torso.

"Wha-what're you doing in my bed?" he asked, mentally trying to jumpstart his brain into remembering exactly what had happened last night. His eyes flitted around nervously, and he quickly realized that this wasn't in fact his room nor was it his bed.

Artemis - impossible, stubborn, beautiful, amazing Artemis - looked at him in concern, raising a wry eyebrow. "Well, usually when people are married they share a bed," she explained. "Not that you were ever very good at sharing-"

"M-m-married?" Wally sputtered, feeling his heart skip a shocked beat in his chest. He looked down at his left ring finger, only just now feeling the weight of the gold band there.

"Yes, married," Artemis repeated impatiently. "You know, in sickness and in health, 'til death do us part? Is this ringing any bells?"

Wally felt all of the blood drain from his face as he went into full panic attack mode. Married? He was only 16! He didn't even have his driver's license yet! Hadn't even graduated from high school! Hell, his voice still cracked sometimes when he spoke! He couldn't be married! And to Artemis? He hadn't even spoken to her outside of missions since the New Orleans fiasco, although he wasn't enjoying giving her the silent treatment. How could they be...married?

Artemis slipped out of bed, giving Wally an eyeful of what she was wearing; a slinky purple negligee, the kind of which he'd only peeped at in the Victoria's Secret catalogues that his mother embarrassingly enough subscribed to. It left little to the imagination and Wally averted his eyes towards the side, feeling his face grow hot. He let out an audible gasp as he caught sight of himself in the mirror. Or at least he thought it was himself. He was older somehow. Gone was the gangly, freckled face Wally West he'd been when he'd fallen asleep. In his place was a man; one with his same unruly red hair and pale skin, but with broad shoulders and a lean powerful torso. He turned his face from side to side. His cheeks were chiseled, all baby fat gone along with, surprisingly enough, his freckles. If he hadn't been so shocked he would have preened over how good he looked.

"Are you feeling okay, babe?" Artemis asked, using as warm a tone as he'd ever heard her use in his presence. She had made her way over to him and was staring up at him with worry evident in her eyes. He would have seen the worry if he'd been able to lift his eyes from looking down the front of her low cut top. Don't stare at her chest, don't stare at her chest, she can kick your ass! Wally thought frantically, averting his eyes once again. He spied a robe of the same material as her nightie flung over a nearby chair and grabbed it.

"F-f-fine, here, lemme just, put this on you," Wally mumbled, trying to drape the robe over her front.

"Wally, what-?"

"There we go!" He stepped away from her, satisfied to see that the robe was covering her from head to toe. She stared at him blankly before taking the robe off. "Hey!"

"Wally, really, what has gotten into you?" she asked, tugging the robe on the correct way. Wally breathed a little easier when she closed it and tied it tight around her. "You weren't even this bad when we first started dating."

Wally chuckled weakly. "Yeah, uh, just for, uh, old time's sake, when was that exactly?" he asked.

He had noticed by now that it wasn't just him that appeared to be older; Artemis had aged as well. She was, if it were possible, even more beautiful than she'd been when he'd last seen her. Her blonde hair fell in waves around her face, and was a little shorter, reaching only a few inches past her shoulders. She'd filled out in all of the right places, and he could feel his cheeks turning red at the thought of all that supple skin he'd seen before he'd thrown the robe over her.

"Really, how hard is it to remember an anniversary that's on New Year's?" Artemis scoffed. "And I thought Valentine's Day was bad..."

Wally took a deep breath, trying as hard as he could to not have a panic attack. He was dreaming. He had to be. There was no other explanation to be had except for those that he ruled out as being scientifically impossible. A dream, that was it. After all, how else would such a crazy scenario as this be created. Him and Artemis, married? There was no way. The apocalypse happening was more likely than that. He wasn't even sure Artemis liked him, which made his feelings for her that much more pathetic. No, he was sure he would wake up soon and have this all be a dream. He just had to go with the flow until then.

"New Years, duh!" Wally told her playfully. "I was just testing you!"

Artemis regarded him warily for a second before sighing and rolling her eyes. "Uh huh," she said. Her features became coy and she stepped closer to him, clasping her hands behind his neck. "Can I finally have my Christmas kiss, then?" she asked, her voice practically purring.

"Uh, uh, sure," Wally stuttered, transfixed by her inviting eyes and her lithe body so close to his. And really, if he was dreaming, why not enjoy it as much as he could? Especially seeing as how it would never happen.

He untangled his arms from the sheets just in time to wrap them around her waist as she pressed her lips to his. He was struck dumb by how right it felt, as though kissing her was the most natural thing in the world. His mouth knew exactly what to do, slanting over Artemis' soft pink lips gently at first, and then with increasing fervor. He let his body take over and was rewarded with her moan at the touch of his tongue to hers, the sound sending shivers down his spine. He suddenly had the uncontrollable urge to be even closer to her, so he hoisted her up by her thighs, and her legs naturally wrapped around his waist, like they belonged there. His mind was racing even as his lips kept moving. This had to be a dream. It was too good to be true, and yet it felt so real. She felt so real.

A crash in a room nearby and a dog's barking, followed by shushing sounds startled them both out of their embrace. Artemis leaned her forehead against Wally's as she sought to catch her breath.

"I was hoping the kids would stay asleep longer," she commented, sliding back down onto her feet and retying her robe, which had come undone.

Wally mourned the loss of her in his arms even as he processed her words. "Kids?" he squeaked out, the word getting caught in his throat.

Artemis arched an eyebrow. "You know, for one of the fastest men alive, you are being awfully slow this morning."

She left him there, jaw gaping wide. "Jaden and Ellie West, don't you dare touch those presents!" Wally heard her yell down the hallway.

He dug his fingers through his hair, feeling his panic from earlier returning with a vengeance. Children? Marriage was one thing, and his subconscious was obviously enjoying playing that trick on him, but kids were a whole different story. He took a deep breath, trying to convince himself that it couldn't be as bad as he was imagining.

After seeking out a robe for himself, he cautiously ventured out into the hallway of what looked like a modest two-story home. He shuffled down the stairs and was greeted at the bottom by an old white pitbull. The dog barked at him in greeting, and Wally knelt to pet him on the head.

"Hey, boy," he said, noting the name on the worn collar: Nelson.

The dog barked in his face and left a wet present on his sleeve before trotting away. Wally followed him into what must have been the living room and wasn't quite prepared for what awaited him there. In front of a big Christmas tree stood Artemis with a little girl situated on her hip, her strawberry blonde hair gleaming in the lights, and, running circles around them was a red-headed little boy, his hair the same shade as Wally's. He's got my superspeed, Wally thought in amazement, watching the boy zip around the tree. He noticed Wally standing there almost immediately and was in front of him within an instant.

"Dad, Dad!" the boy, Jaden, exclaimed, speaking so quickly, it was a miracle Wally understood him. "Did you see all the presents Santa brought us? How many do you think there are? What should I open first? I hope he brought me the new game I wanted!"

"I'm sure he did, sport," Wally answered, though the boy had already returned to inspect the presents piled under the tree.

"Daddy!" he heard a little voice say, and the word should have sounded strange to his ears, but for some reason it didn't. Artemis put the little girl, Ellie, down and she ran straight to him.

He instinctively bent to pick her up and settled her on his hip as he'd seen Artemis do; as he himself had done only last month in the Happy Harbour High gym.

"Merry Christmas, Daddy!" she greeted brightly. Her green eyes, identical to his own, sparkled with excitement. He felt his heart melt. He'd always had a soft spot for kids, and there was no doubt about it that she was adorable.

He kissed her on the forehead. "Merry Christmas, princess," he replied, the endearment rolling off of his tongue effortlessly.

Wally could feel eyes on him from across the room, and he turned his attention from the little girl in his arms to Artemis. She was wearing an expression that he'd only seen on a few people before. It was the dopey look Uncle Barry got on his face whenever his Aunt Iris happened to be in the room. It was the fond gleam in his aunt's eyes whenever Barry was making a fool of himself. It was his dad's adoring smile whenever his mom handed him his cleanly pressed laundry, or the way his mom always laughed at his dad's jokes even if they weren't funny. It was love. The kind of love that only comes with knowing someone inside and out. And the fact that Artemis was looking at him like that was simultaneously amazing and terrifying.

He swallowed down the lump in his throat and made his way over to her, casually throwing his free arm around her shoulders and drawing her close to him. He hoped she couldn't tell that his hands were shaking.

He tried to take a deep, calming breath. "Well, these presents aren't going to open themselves, are they?"

In what seemed like no time at all, the room was full of torn wrapping paper and new toys. Wally watched fondly as Jaden inspected his new bike. For a son created by his subconscious, he was a pretty cool kid. Little Ellie was an angel, as well; although her sweet disposition reminded him more of his Aunt Iris than Artemis. Speaking of his 'wife,' she was opening her last present. Wally watched her read the tag on a small white box tied with a green ribbon.

"To, My Little Spitfire," Artemis read, a smile on her lips. "Love, Your Baywatch. Aww, thanks, babe."

Wally winked at her, as curious to see what was inside the present as she was. Artemis unwrapped the bow carefully and opened the box. She gasped softly, and Wally leaned closer to look inside. Nestled in the tissue paper was a silver bracelet, decorated with several different charms. He could see a bow and arrow, a mortarboard cap, the Eiffel Tower; even the Flash's lightning bolt symbol was there.

"Wally, it's beautiful," Artemis said softly, lifting the bracelet out of the box and admiring it.

"You like it?" he asked, wishing he knew the meaning behind some of the charms, like the tiny surfboard or the Stanford University logo. He didn't know why it mattered so much to him to know. This was a dream after all.

"I love it," she assured him, leaning over to press her lips quickly to his. She pulled back and held the bracelet out to him. "Help me put it on?"

He complied, wrapping the silver chain around her wrist and clasping it shut securely. He didn't let go of her hand, though, enjoying the warmth of it in his, the connection. It was cruel, he realized suddenly. It was cruel of his subconscious to show him this when it could never be. He felt his earlier nausea returning. He wanted to wake up and he wanted to wake up now-

-Wally walked through the Cave, bologna sandwich in hand, mulling over Dick's reasons for not wanting him on the Haley's Circus mission. As his best friend he wanted to be there for him, but Wally knew how hard it was for Dick to admit any weakness. He was sure the Team would figure out what was going on even without his help.

He ambled down the hallway to the training facilities at the Cave, figuring if he couldn't be on a mission, he might as well get some rec time in. However, just as he was brushing away the last crumbs of his sandwich off of his hands, he heard a noise that gave him a pause. It sounded like someone was...crying. He moved a little ways down the corridor, the sound getting louder and louder. He came to a halt right in front of a door. Wally gulped when he realized it was Zatanna's door. The poor girl just hadn't been her usual bubbly, mischievous self since her father had promised himself to Dr. Fate. Wally rued the day he'd ever put that godforsaken helmet on his head.

Wally sighed. He couldn't just walk by and pretend he hadn't heard her. Plus, it was Christmas time, the best time of the year. He didn't want anyone to feel alone on Christmas. He tentatively raised his fist up and knocked on her door, the sound echoing in the empty hallways of the Cave.

"Zatanna?" he called out, shuffling his feet nervously. He never knew what to do with crying girls. Maybe I should have called Black Canary, he thought.

"J-just a second," came Zatanna's response from within. After a few seconds, the door opened and the dark haired girl smiled weakly at him, her blue eyes bloodshot and watery. "Oh, hey, Wally. I didn't realize anyone else was here. You didn't go on the mission?"

"Nope," he replied, shrugging. He threw his hands in his pockets for lack of a better place to put them. "Was just passing by, thought I'd see how you're doing."

Zatanna chuckled darkly. "Well, as you can see, I'm a mess," she said, her voice taking on a high pitched, strained tone. She retreated into her room, leaving the door open, and Wally took that as an invitation to follow. He stepped over threshold, taking note of the many boxes that still sat unpacked around her room. Wally figured she couldn't bring herself to unpack them, as though settling in would make it all too real. His heart broke for her.

"It's okay to be upset," Wally reasoned, sitting beside her on her bed. She had curled herself into a ball, resting her chin forlornly on her knees. "No one would think any less of you."

Zatanna sighed. "I know, but if I let myself go just once, I'll fall apart," she whispered. "It's just, it's really hard, especially during this time of year. Christmas is mine and my dad's favorite holiday. I've never spent it without him," she told him, wiping away a couple tears that had trickled down her cheeks. "I just wish I could see him again..."

Her voice trailed off at the end, but not as if she was finishing her sentence, but as if something had given her a pause.

"What?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course!" she exclaimed, suddenly standing up. "Why didn't I think of it before?"

"Think of what before?" Wally repeated, getting up as well. A sense of foreboding began to inexplicably form in the pit of his stomach.

Zatanna turned to him, her blue eyes looking more alive and vibrant than he had seen in weeks. "There's a spell my dad does, or used to do," she added after a second. "The spell allows a person's mind to travel back in time to relive a memory. Zatara used it all the time to help witnesses remember crimes they'd seen."

"And you can do this spell?" Wally asked uncertainly. Magic ranked only slightly below religion in his book of skepticality, and only because he'd seen some pretty inexplicable things since he'd put on Dr. Fate's helmet. As always, Kent Nelson's words came back to him: Believe in what you can no longer deny.

"Well, I know the basics," she said nonchalantly. "Practice makes perfect, too, and I know just the person to help me do that."

It was a second before Wally realized she was looking at him expectantly.

"Wally?"

"Wally?"

Wally blinked, trying to focus on the three sets of concerned eyes on him. Jaden poked his cheek hard, and Wally snapped back to attention.

"Hey, quit it, kid," he said, rubbing his cheek. Jaden, Ellie, and Artemis were all gathered in front of him, Artemis on her knees, staring at him like he'd suddenly grown two heads. He flicked his eyes over from one face to another, finally settling on Artemis' for an explanation. "What happened?"

"You tell us," she retorted, arms around both of her children, almost as if she were protecting them. For what, though? From him? "One second you were here, and then it was like you were a million miles away. You completely spaced out for almost two minutes."

A small sniffle drew both of their attentions to Ellie, whose eyes had welled up with tears. Wally's heart dropped at the sight of her distress and went to comfort her, but Artemis beat him to it.

"It's okay, sweetheart," she reassured her, wiping away the little girl's tears with her thumbs. "Daddy's fine, see?" she asked, prompting Wally to smile as best he could. "Come on, let's find a place for all your new toys up in your room," she suggested, her eyes flicking up at Wally tensely. She smiled down at Ellie, however, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head as she stood up. "You, too, Jaden."

The kids began to collect their toys, and Artemis gathered up her presents as well, resolutely not looking at him now. Wally jumped up, trying to grab her hand.

"Artemis-"

She discreetly, for the children's sake he guessed, slid her hand away. "Look, I don't know what's going on with you today," she said under her breath, "But when we come back downstairs, you'd better have it together, got it?"

The warning in her tone was not to be misunderstood, so Wally nodded hastily in response. In a split second her glare turned into a bright smile as she turned back to Ellie and Jaden, shooing them out of the room.

Wally released a deep breath as soon as they were gone. He shut his eyes tight against the panic that swelled up inside of him again, before opening them. His feet took him to the bathroom, and he closed the door behind him and leaned his back against it. What in the blazes was going on? What was that he'd just had? Was it possible to have a dream within a dream?

He swung around to face the mirror and was once again startled by his own reflection. The face in the mirror was so familiar except with subtle differences. It was like getting a sneak peek at what he would look like years into the future.

"Wake up, West," he said out loud, his voice echoing slightly off the tiles of the bathroom floor. Nothing happened, causing him to groan in frustration. "Wake up-"

Wally met Zatanna's expectant expression with an incredulous one of his own.

"Who, me?" he asked, touching his fingers to his chest. "No no no no no. No, you don't want me to help. Dr. Fate said it himself: my body is magically challenged or something like that. So, really, no, sorry, I can't."

Even before he'd finished speaking, her lower lips had started curling into a pout, while her big blue puppy dog eyes peered up at him. He couldn't avoid them.

"Please, Wally," she pleaded, clasping her hands together in front of her. "I just want to see my dad. You know, remember the happier times."

"Won't that, I don't know, possibly mess with the time stream?" he asked, a last ditch effort to get out of this.

She shook her head, however. "It's not like I can go back and change what happened. I could experience it again, but what happens during the spell doesn't affect what's already occurred. It's hard to explain," she told him, getting back to the point. "Please, Wally, let me just practice it on you once. I'm sure I can pick it up. If I get it wrong, the worst that can happen is you'll be asleep for a few minutes."

She appeared so hopeful and confident that Wally couldn't say no again. He heaved a deep sigh. "Okay, fine."

"Yes!" Zatanna cheered, giving him a quick hug before leaping back. "All right, sit here," she instructed, leading him to sit on her bed again. "Now, for this to work, you have to focus on one thing. A single memory or moment in time that you want to go to."

Wally tried to ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him this was the worst idea ever and do as she bid him. What moment did he want to experience over again? Maybe the forming of the Team? Or the trap he'd sprung on Count Vertigo to save the little Queen Perdita? No, as awesome as both of those memories were, there was one moment that stuck out in his mind. It had occurred only a few short weeks ago, but his anger and disappointment had already tainted his memory of their conversation on the bioship: Artemis' hard glare melting with only a few words, words he'd been afraid to say for fear of her rejection.

"Got your moment?" Zatanna asked him. He nodded in response, and she arranged her hands close to his temple. "All right, think of that moment and only that moment."

He closed his eyes, recalling the way Artemis' grateful smile had made him believe, for the first time, that the two of them could be something; that they could have a future together. He wasn't talking marriage and kids or anything, but it had made him think-

"Emit si fo eht ecnesse!"

When he came back to himself, Wally was staring at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes widened as realization struck him like a lightning bolt. He wasn't dreaming within a dream, he was remembering. And this wasn't a dream at all...It was the future!

But it can't be! Wally thought, fingers gripping his hair wildly. Zatanna's spell was meant to help people relive the past, not send them to the future. This couldn't be the future! It was too impossible, too improbable, too...perfect! There was no way he could be in the future!

"Wally?" he head Artemis say outside the door. She didn't wait for his response, instead, turning the knob and letting herself in. Her brow was furrowed and her grey eyes were full of worry. "Babe, you're starting to scare me, not to mention the kids. What's going on?"

He tentatively cupped her cheek in his hand, gratified when she didn't pull away. She brought her own up to press it over his, and her wedding ring, a wedding ring that he'd bought for her at some point, glittered in the light.

"If I told you," he said haltingly, "That the last thing I remember is being at the Cave while you, Rob, and the others were in Europe investigating Haley's Circus, what would you say?"

Artemis' lips parted in shock, and he thought she was going to step away from him, but she didn't. She searched his face for any sign that said he might be pulling her leg, and he kept it as serious as possible.

"I would say," she started, the words seeping out slowly, "That that's the first thing you've said all day that's made any sense."

Wally heaved a sigh of relief. She believed him. She wasn't running to find her arrows and use him for target practice. Maybe there really is a God, he thought.

He was startled by her sudden intake of breath. "Zatanna's spell!" she gasped, looking at him in amazement now. "We knew it went wrong, I guess we just didn't know how wrong."

"I thought I was dreaming," Wally told her, scratching his head.

"Glad to know I starred in your teenage fantasies, Baywatch," she teased, causing Wally's ears to turn bright red. Artemis chuckled at his expense. "This is too much fun," she said, before gesturing for him to follow her.

"Fun?" he echoed incredulously, surprised that he was being so nonchalant about this. He lowered his voice as he trailed after her to the kitchen just in case Ellie and Jaden were nearby. "This isn't fun. This is weird! How do I-how do we end up married?"

Artemis began taking out ingredients here and there for breakfast, enough to feed an army of speedsters it seemed to Wally. "We fell in love, Wally," she said, impatiently brushing a wayward strand of hair out of her face. "Crack those eggs for me, will you?" she asked him, before returning to the subject. "I stopped shutting everyone out, and you were there for me to open up to. You grew up and followed your dreams, and together we made a life for ourselves."

It seemed so simple to Wally when she put it like that, but he still had questions. "Are we still heroes?" he asked hesitantly, carefully cracking the eggs as she'd instructed.

"Yes, although we weren't for a time," she answered cryptically. He decided to leave that as it was.

"And the kids, Jaden has my superspeed," he started. "He didn't try to-"

"He didn't try to recreate the Flash's experiment like you did," Artemis assured him. "It's genetic, as I suspect it will be with Ellie when she gets older."

It took Wally a second to digest that. He'd never thought his powers would be inherited by his children. Jaden was very young, also; a lot younger than he'd been when he'd gotten his powers. The kid probably drove them both nuts.

"They're a handful," Artemis told him, probably guessing at his thoughts. "But after you, they're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Wally stopped cracking the eggs and turned to watch her stir up a large bowl of pancake batter. "Are we, are we happy?" he asked her, startled by how much he craved the answer. Did they fight all the time or did they get along? Were they one of those lovey dovey couples or did they keep their affection hidden behind closed doors? Were they still passionate about each other or had the love faded with age? He suddenly wanted to know everything.

Artemis let the spoon she was holding fall to the side of the bowl and turned to meet his gaze. "Yes," she said simply, and that one word lifted the heavy weight on his chest. "Happier than we ever dreamed we could be." She walked across the kitchen to him and slid both of his hands in hers. "I won't lie to you, it hasn't been a smooth road to get to where we are today. There are things that will happen in your future that make you question everything you thought you knew. But we get through it just like we always have. Together."

He couldn't swallow the urge to hold her, and when he realized he didn't have to, Wally pulled her into his arms, tucking his head against hers. Just as before, he couldn't ignore how right she felt in his embrace, how they seemed to fit together like two puzzle pieces. This was real, and it was scary, but he couldn't deny that he wanted it more than anything.

"Please, wake up. I, I know we haven't been on the best of terms these last few weeks, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you. Because I do care. A lot. Ugh, what am I doing? I bet you can't even hear me."

Wally pulled back from Artemis abruptly, startling her. She gave him a questioning look.

"Did you say something?" he asked.

"No," she replied, drawing out the word in confusion.

"But I heard you say, at least it sounded like you," he asserted. He gazed down at her as her voice came to him again, only this time he was sure she wasn't moving her lips.

"I just want you to know that I'm...sorry for not listening to what you said on the bioship. I know I didn't show it, but those words meant a lot to me."

Was he going mad now? Hearing voices? Wide-eyed, he met Artemis' gaze once more. She seemed unfazed, almost as if she knew what was happening.

"It's me," she told him, although she corrected herself almost immediately. "Or me in your present. I'm calling you back home. You should be waking up soon, if I remember right."

"Oh," was all he said, feeling oddly hollow at the thought of leaving this place behind; or forward, depending on how you looked at it. Something dawned on him though. "You know, this could totally throw the timestream out of whack, me being here, seeing all of this; knowing what's going to happen."

But Artemis was shaking her head. "No, it won't," she stated. She paused for a moment, looking down and taking a deep breath. When she looked back up, her eyes were filled with sympathy. "Because you won't remember any of this."

Wally became deadly still, processing her words. "What?" he asked in a low, serious tone. "I won't remember anything?"

"You might for a few minutes or so, but not much past that," she explained, shrugging. "I think my Wally would've mentioned it if he'd remembered something like this."

"Just wake up, Wally. It's Christmas. You're missing out on all the food. I'm sure your family's worried sick. Just...please? I think I'm actually beginning to miss the sound of your annoying voice."

"But I don't want to forget," Wally protested frantically, ignoring the Artemis in his head in order to focus on the one in front of him. "I don't want to forget Ellie, or Jaden, or Nelson, or-or you. I-"

"Shh," Artemis soothed, laying a finger against his lips, halting his rambling. "Don't think of it as forgetting. You'll see us again someday. I promise."

"Maybe a Christmas kiss will wake Sleeping Buffoon here."

Wally nodded reluctantly, a lump in his throat preventing him from talking. Artemis shook her head, a smile playing on her lips. "Here, something to remember me by," she said, and she grabbed the back of his head and brought his lips down to hers. Wally made the most of it, responding eagerly to her kiss and lamenting that their embrace was over so quickly.

Artemis pulled back first. "I think it's about time I got my husband back, don't you think?"

He woke up in bed again, but this time the beeping of the machines in the infirmary made it clear exactly where he was. He struggled against the heavy pull of unconsciousness and fought to open his eyes just as he tried to retain all that had happened to him. Ellie, Jaden, Nelson, Artemis, New Years. Ellie, Jaden, Artemis, New Years. His eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Wally?" he heard a voice ask in disbelief. Artemis' voice. Christmas kiss, My Little Spitfire, the Eiffel Tower. "Are you awake?"

"New Years," he mumbled. He had to tell her about New Years. He didn't want to forget. But he was starting to forget what he was supposed to remember. Ellie, Artemis, New Years.

"Zatanna, Tornado, he's awake!" Artemis announced, and he could just make out her outline through the bright lights.

"Artemis, New Years," he insisted, the fog of sleep clearing up. He didn't know what was so special about New Years. Just that it had something to do with her.

"It's Christmas, Wally," Artemis told him, brushing back his hair. The gesture was soothing and surprised him, although, for some reason, he felt like it shouldn't have. "New Years isn't until next week."

Wally surveyed the room around him, slowly becoming more alert. "What, what am I doing in the infirmary?" he asked, his throat dry and his voice hoarse from lack of use. "How long have I been asleep for?"

The blonde archer started to speak, but was interrupted by the entrance of Zatanna and Red Tornado. Zatanna let out a huge sigh of relief when she saw him awake, while Tornado immediately went to check his vitals. Wally absentmindedly noticed Artemis retract her hand and clasp it along with the other in her lap.

"Wally, oh my gosh, I, how are you feeling?" Zatanna asked frantically. "I'm so sorry. I never meant for this to happen!"

"What exactly did happen?" he asked, scratching an itch on the top of his head. His gaze slid over to Artemis, and he couldn't figure out why she suddenly looked so different to his eyes. It occurred to him that this was probably the first civil words they'd spoken to each other in the last couple of weeks. Their eyes locked for a moment before they both looked away awkwardly.

"My spell didn't work for some reason," Zatanna told him, hanging her head. "You should have only been out for a few minutes at the most, but you were unconscious for so long that you slipped into a coma. Did anything happen while you were out? Could you hear us speaking to you?"

He felt like there was something important he was forgetting, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. "I don't think so," he said, looking from Zatanna to Artemis, whose expression seemed a mix of relief and disappointment. Again, something tugged on his heart when he looked at her.

His lips tingled suddenly, and his fingers flew up to press against them. "Must've been a doozy of a dream, though," he joked distractedly. He vaguely recalled lips being pressed to his softly.

He was startled out of his thoughts by Artemis scrambling up out of the chair at his bedside. "I, I have to go," she told them, gathering up her things. Her eyes looked over at him quickly before flicking away. Was that a blush on her cheeks? "Merry Christmas, everyone."

She was out the door before he could respond, and he turned to Zatanna for an explanation. She shrugged, but had a small, knowing smile on her face that had Wally scratching his head again. Red Tornade declared him to be in perfect health and removed all of his IV's before leaving to go do whatever robot den mothers do on Christmas.

"So, you really don't remember anything from when you were asleep?" Zatanna asked him.

He strained his brain, thinking back on his dream. Everything was a bit fuzzy, but he remembered vaguely a dog, something about eggs, the color purple, and he was almost certain that Artemis had been in the dream at some point. He cursed his subconscious for making him dream about her when he was still mad about what had happened in New Orleans. All he wanted to do was forget about his stupid feelings for her, which was next to impossible it seemed.

"It's mostly just a blur of this and that," he said before changing the subject. "So, do you want to come to my house for Christmas dinner?"

Zatanna looked perfectly surprised before looking down shyly. "Oh, no, I couldn't intrude. Not after being the cause of you being late."

"Please," he pleaded, hurriedly tying his sneakers. "I'm sure my folks would love to have you. Just think of all the food! Turkey. Stuffing. Mashed potatoes!" His stomach was practically growling just thinking about it.

"Well, if you're sure," she said hesitantly.

"You're coming," he insisted, a big grin on his face.

Zatanna returned his smile gratefully. "Thanks, Wally."

"Of course," he told her. "What're friends for?"

He absentmindedly licked his lips as they left the room, heading towards the zeta tubes. They tasted vaguely of strawberries, except he'd obviously not had anything to eat in a couple days. A thought dawned on him, stopping him in his tracks. Zatanna noticed he wasn't keeping up with her, and turned to look at him, a question in her eyes.

"Zatanna, which of you girls wears strawberry chapstick?" he asked, already knowing the answer from the many times of watching her put it on.

The young magician squinted her eyes in thought. "Um, Artemis, I think," she finally said. "Why?"

Wally absently licked his lips again. "No reason."

tbc

A/N: Well? I hope it was well worth the wait! I really wanted a kind of special little holiday centric chapter, especially considering it is that time of year both presently and in the episode Performance. Please let me know what you think. Special thanks to TheRantDragon for proofreading and iloveyou-iknow for letting me bounce ideas off of her in my google doc.

Also, a big THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I wish I had time to respond to you all, but I unfortunately don't. Do know that I read and cherish all of your reviews. Thank you so much!

~Melissa