Work, work, work, work, and more work. Their professors definitely didn't show any mercy. Wally was swamped with mathematics and physics work. At this point he would be fine with dropping dead. It was dark as he sat at the table. All of his books and papers spread out around him. It was dark outside, the lights from the city making their living room twinkle. A yawn escaped his lips. He ran a hand through his hair as he stared down at his work.

Light footsteps trailed down the hallway and into the kitchen. She raised an eyebrow seeing that he was still awake. It was late, he should've been in bed already. "Hey Baywatch" she said breaking the silence. He looked back at her. Blonde hair trailing down her back, her back facing him. "Yeah beautiful?" he asked before yawning yet again. Turning around she leaned back against the counter. "Want some hot chocolate?" she asked, the light shining against her grey eye's.

Those eyes, he could stare into them all day. He hummed in response as she rolled her eyes. She could tell just how tired he was. With everything that's been happening sleep was the last thing on their mind's. Before they left Dick's house earlier they all spoke about what's been happening and how they feel. "The funeral is on Wednesday" she said putting the kettle on to heat up some water.

Yet again he hummed in response. Lazily scribbling answers down onto the sheets of paper spread across the table. She pulled a chair out and took a seat. "I'm still trying to take it in, to just know that she's gone" she said, voice cracking in the middle of her sentence. To hear her so distressed, it broke his heart. Artemis was his number one priority. She was always going to be his first priority. He reached over, hand resting on hers as his thumb ran across her skin comfortingly. That's when the kettle began to howl and hiss.

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It was dark by now. The air colder than ever. His phone buzzed as he unlocked it. The glow of the screen illuminating his face as he stared down at it. A small smile playing against his lips. He was to see Wendy soon. The two of them were going skating. His heart skipped a beat when he showed up in front of her apartment building.

She was staying in an apartment with a couple other friends. When she walked outside his eyes went wide. She looked so, so pretty. "Hey Conner, ready to go?" she asked with a smile. She could see the light shade of red tinting his cheeks. It was quite cute. In the winter Gotham put up a skating rink in front of city hall. There were dozens of people already there when they arrived.

They got the skates and sat on a nearby bench to put them on. It was easy for Conner but she found herself staring at the laces in confusion. "Need help?" he asked with a smirk as she crossed her arms.

"No" she said as he rolled his eyes.

It was silent.

"Okay maybe I do need help" she said as he let out a light laugh.

Holding her foot out he kneeled down and began to tie the laces. She didn't know how he did it. In truth Wendy has only been skating once when she was ten. That was a long time ago compared to now. Shakily she stood up before quickly grabbing onto him. "This is bad" she said as a light laugh escaped his lips. Slowly he guided her towards the ice. She nearly fell as soon as she stepped on.

Conner was like a pro. She stayed near the wall where she could hold onto it in case she were to fall. Which almost happened a couple times. He skated over and stopped in front of her. Now skating backwards he gave her a smirk. "I thought Wendy Harris wasn't afraid of anything" he taunted.

"Oh ha ha" she said sarcastically.

"Here take my hands and I'll help you" he said holding his hands out to her.

"I think I like the wall better" she said with a cheeky smile.

"If you come with me I'll buy dinner after?" he said as she immediately nodded.

Reluctantly she put her hands in his and they went skating.

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Her whole body felt like it was on fire. Was this how it felt to die? Was she in hell? All of these questions were going through her head. There was faint whispering in the background. She heard a door shut, slowly her eyes began to open. The room was bright, too bright. It took a moment for her eyes to focus. She heard humming, almost like a young child would. It felt as if she had been stabbed in the chest one hundred times.

When she tried to sit up all she could feel was pain. A hiss escaped her lips as she laid back down. Someone yelped. A child stepped into view with a gun in her hands. She got a glimpse of bright green eyes and long blonde hair. "Oh your awake" she said lowering the gun. A kid shouldn't be wielding a gun. She walked over and sat in a chair in front of her. "Where, where's your parent's?" that was the first thing she asked.

She didn't care how she got here or how she was alive. This child was here with no parents in sight. "My mommy is working" she said fidgeting with her hands. It was hard to see her face with her hair in the way. "Where's your dad?" she then asked, it hurt to speak. The girl looked up, pulling her hair from her face. She pointed to the scars on her face. They looked new. "He did that. Daddy doesn't want me so he hurt me" she said as the woman lying in front of her frowned.

"Where does your mom work?" Zatanna asked.

"On the street" the young girl answered.

Zatanna stayed silent. What kind of house has she been brought into now? Anything was really better then staying with John. He hurt her in unimaginable ways. In ways that would haunt her forever. The girl brought her a glass of water and some pills. "Mommy told me to give you these. She said it would make the boo boo's stop hurting" she said as Zatanna nodded taking them. How could a little girl like her be so smart? She then climbed into the bed next to her with the remote to the television.

It looked as if they were in a motel room. The girl flipped through the channel's like any child would. Before finding the cartoon channel. It was dark outside, frost formed against the windows. "How long was I asleep?" she asked as the little girl shrugged.

"A long time" the girl answered.

"What's your name?" she then asked.

"Melody" the girl said proudly.

It felt like hours until the door opened. Blue eyes darting over to see the intruder. A part of her thought it would be John. Instead it was a woman. She stood in the doorway, hand behind her back. Melody smiled brightly. The woman then blew her a kiss.

She wore a black and gold dress, it looked like she was holding a knife. The woman noticed that Zatanna was awake. "This is my mommy" Melody said jumping off of the bed and running over to hug the woman. The woman wrapped her arms around her daughter. It was definitely a knife. "Good you're awake" she said eyeing her. The dress and outfit sort of gave her an idea on what she's been doing out there. "Okay pumpkin time for bed" she said tossing the knife to the side.

The young girl giggled as she was picked up. It took a couple minutes but soon the girl was tucked in and fast asleep on the couch. The woman didn't say anything to her. "Am I a bad motha'?" she asked out of the blue. Now taking a seat on the chair in front of her. There was a sadness in her eyes. Zatanna didn't know what to say. "Elaborate" Zatanna said.

"My daughta' and I, we've been running. Then we found you by the river freezin' to death and injured. We took you in, took care of ya. Am I a bad motha'? I've been workin, around. I need the money to take care of her, she's all I have" the woman said, eyes trained on her lap.

"No, no you're not. I would be doing the same for my daughter. To make sure she has a roof over her head and food to eat. Even if it meant doing bad things" Zatanna answered.

And that was the truth.

A/N: Should I start using my pictures in these chapters like I did for this one? Oh, and those of you who read like all of my books should know who Melody is ;) If you do know then your great.

Skycrystal23 ;)