It rang during the day, his phone. He was the only one home, his wife busy in a biology course at the university. She wouldn't be home for an hour or so - the phone wouldn't stop ringing. Finally he reached over and answered it, he knew who it was. "Hello father, I was in the shower." he lied, why wouldn't he? This man was far from his father as far could be.

"Kaldur, how nice of you to answer my calls. I was in town hoping we could discuss something's. Dinner with you and my daughter-in-law at eight? I'll send a car to pick you two up, don't keep me waiting." his father said, the last thing he said sounded vaguely like a threat.

     Before he could say anything the line went dead, Roquette was going to kill him. "You did what?" she yelled when he told her three hours later. She arrived later than he thought she would. Already she looked as if she were about to explode with anger. "He doesn't know I'm pregnant, I want to keep it that way." she seethed flicking him in the forehead. Kaldur didn't want his father to know about one baby let alone two. Now they had four hours until the driver would pick them up and take them to wherever.

      Knowing the kind of man his 'father' was this place wasn't going to be like McDonald's. "You're lucky I love you." she mumbled before heading upstairs to take a shower. The car indeed picked you up and the driver was nonetheless intimidating. The large man didn't breathe a word the whole ride leaving the atmosphere to be thick and uncomfortable. "Welcome to the Cat's Eye." the driver said opening the door for them.

     Many people turned their heads to gaze curiously at them when they stepped inside of the club. She felt his arm snake around her waist pulling her flush against his side as they walked through. The atmosphere was heavy and dark - the two of them most certainly didn't belong in a place like this. "My son, you've arrived. I see my daughter-in-law has accompanied you, beautiful." his father approached them and gently brought her hand to his lip to kiss it.

     She could see where Kaldur got some of his formalities from. "Come, this way." David said leading them to a room blocked off by a velvet rope. There were a few people in the back room, most she didn't recognize. One of them she did though, Vicki Vale. The reporter's eyes lit up, a smirk on her face when she saw the two of them. Already Roquette could see the headlines for tomorrow's report. "Excuse me for a moment I need to use the ladies room?" she excused herself and headed towards the nearby washroom.

     Along the way she bumped into Vicki, as she apologized she managed to steal her recorder and cellphone from her purse. Of course she wasn't proud of this skill she gained from the past but sometimes it was useful. The door to the washroom opened as Vicki swept inside. "It's funny what you see undercover in a club like this; America's Olympian and his trophy wife waltzing around the Cat's Eye getting cozy with the pirate of the sea? Well I find that quite interesting." Vicki smirked at her in the mirror.

"I thought reporter's need proof? It's hard to get it when you don't have a phone or recorder." she showed the woman a glimpse of the stolen items in her purse.

"That's stealing!" the redhead shouted.

     Roquette strutted up to her and gave her a cold hard look, one that would send shivers down the spines of the most feared criminals. "Listen here you bitch, I am not a trophy wife, you don't know what I am. However I will do anything to protect the man I love and I mean anything. Run along Ms. Vale, and take your toys with you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Four days had past since Megan had last seen Sam, perhaps it was for the better. However that didn't stop Peggy from dragging her to this double date. "You can't go bowling for a date." Megan had her eyes narrowed and arms crossed. Her ideas for a date let alone a double date did not involve bowling. If she was being honest she was trash at bowling which is why she never went. Peggy was just trying to embarrass her now. "I'm going to go get ready, you have fun with - this." she said gesturing to the green ointment covering Peggy's face, she looked like a zombie in her opinion.

     Although Megan didn't want to go on this double date she did try to look nice - sort of nice. There was a knock at her door as she was in the middle of curling her hair, a low growl escaped her lips as she strided over to the door. "Peggy I already told you I'm getti - oh, Conner, hello." she gave him an awkward smile when she saw him. He hadn't really called before arriving and she didn't have time to be consoling him again. It sounded rude but it was true, Peggy would probably murder her.

     Plus, she had a double date and isn't it rude to not attend an occasion such as that? "You look nice." he said trying to force a small smile onto his face.

"Do you want to come in? I don't have to go for another twenty minutes and I can talk if you need me to when I'm doing my hair." she moved to get out of the way of the door and offered for him to come inside.

"No it's okay I'm just dropping something off," he pulled out a necklace, " - she gave it to me but I have no use for it anymore and you like wearing jewelry so, here." he said holding it out towards her.

     A frown tugged at the corner of her lips, now he was giving all of her things to her. "Really Conner you don't need to, it's a good sentiment." he simply shook his head and dropped it in her hand. Her eyes flickered down for a moment to look at the necklace before back up to him, he looked so sad. "So, who's the lucky guy?" he asked shoving his hands into his jean pockets. The air was thick with awkward, the word was practically spelt on his forehead. "Peggy set up a double date, it's her boyfriend's best friend, nothing really." she quickly said before glancing over at the clock.

     Ten minutes until Peggy and her were to leave to this 'double date'. "I guess I'll go then, I just wanted to give this to you. It'll look nice." he said with a warm smile. He left right after that which left her to scramble around to finish getting ready. Conner's unexpected visit shaved ten minutes off of her time she was supposed to be using to get ready. They were going bowling, she didn't need to wear anything extravagant. "Megan hurry up, Steve's here!" Peggy yelled as she burst through her dorm room.

"You're wearing a t-shirt and jeans on a double date?" Peggy raised an eyebrow at the redhead.

"What's wrong with that? We're going to bowl not to a Wayne Gala." she rolled her eyes at her friend who was all dolled up.

     It felt like there was a rock in her stomach and a frog in her throat, she could barely speak. Sure she was nervous but she's never been on a double date before. The dynamics were so much more different than a regular one on one date. "You look like you've seen a ghost, don't be so nervous." Peggy whispered with a sly smile as they walked up to the car. Actually she was surprised to see that she wasn't going to be riding with Peggy and Steve, her date had a motorcycle.

     If her uncle J'ohnn were here he would never let her go in a million years, even if she was twenty-two. "I'm Megan, nice to meet you," she trailed off. " - Bucky." he answered shaking her hand. She was waiting for the awkward tension to ensue but it never happened. "Have you ever been on a motorcycle before?" he asked as she shook her head. Bucky simply smirked and tossed her a helmet. The ride over to the bowling alley was thrilling and scary - most of the ride was spent with her eyes held shut in fear.

     Megan never felt happier to feel the ground underneath her feet once she climbed off. "You good?" he asked taking his helmet off.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" she asked with her hands on her hips.

     He laughed when she stumbled on her first step, her legs felt like jello. They found Peggy and Steve inside of the building. The music was raging, pins falling, and people laughing and chatting around them. "Ever been bowling?" she asked as they grabbed their shoes. Bucky shook his head; the two of them were basically in the same boat. "Oh good you're not dead and you haven't ditched yet, I'm proud." Peggy said with a laugh. "Oh I'm just kidding." she continued with a goofy roll of her eyes.

     The lights were off, replaced by the special UV lights to make everything glow in the dark. Her shirt and a bit of her shoes were glowing purple, effects from the lighting. Peggy cheered her on from the table as she walked up with the heavy turquoise ball in hand. The pins glared at her from there spot a couple feet away from her, bowling was quite intimidating. As soon as she rolled the ball her chances of getting a strike were close to none. "Come on, please." she whispered, her eyes glued to the blue ball rolling away from her.

     Just before it hit the end pin it swerved off into the left gutter. The screen above her head had a picture pop up and the words 'gutter ball' flashing in bright pink letters. "Wow you suck at this game, this is how a real pro does it." Bucky said walking past her to grab a ball, he even winked at her. Instead of taking her seat she turned, hands on her hips as she watched him walk up. A minute later the screen read 'gutter ball' in all pink letters. "The king of bowling right here everyone!" she announced - albeit sarcastically - while smirking at him.

"Oh shut up, your losing streak is rubbing off on me." he loomed over her now, eyes directed down at her and a smug smile on his face.

"You think they're going to stop sucking faces anytime soon?" he asked peering over her to look at Peggy and Steve making out on the bench behind her.

     Megan shook her head, them stopping what they're doing was quite unlikely. "This place sucks, wanna get out of here?" he asked as she looked back up at him with a raised eyebrow. It's not that she didn't like him, she just didn't. There wasn't that spark she was looking for. It was more like a friendly rivalry between the two of them. Her looks said it all because he immediately began to shy away from her. "No, not like that!" he shook his head and flashed her a nervous smile. He was roguisly handsome, respectful, and a little cocky.

     She had to admit that Peggy and her boyfriend were killing the vibes. It also just so happens that Megan ends up friend zoning every single hot guy she meets, not that she minds. After everything she was sort of 'dated-out' for now. "I know a coffee shop nearby we can hit up if you're interested." she said as he nodded.

     It was an hour later and her third cup of coffee - for Bucky it was his fifth. The two of them were laughing, she even got a glance at his prosthetic arm. He didn't say much about it, him and Steve were in the military and one thing led to another - short story was that his arm 'fell off', his words not hers. It was different from other prosthetics she had seen before which made it all the more interesting. He smiled and looked down at his half empty cup of coffee. "You're not too bad Ms. Morse." he said, eyes flickering up to look at her.

"You're not too bad yourself Barnes." she replied with a smug smile.

     Later on he dropped her back off by her dorm, he was so kind to walk her all the way to her room. There was an awkward silence that filled the air around them as they stood in front of her door. "That was nice, 'friend dates' are nice to go on." she said with an awkward smile. They had been talking so easily to one another before but now she didn't know how to say goodbye. "I bet I've been the best one so far." he said with a grin.

"I mean should we hug or," she trailed off not knowing what to say.

"How about a fist bump? Hugs are second 'friend date' material." he said with a wink.

     With a roll of her eyes she gave him a fist bump and waved goodbye before heading inside. That was awkward, fun, and thrilling all at once. So yeah, maybe she did friend zone every hot guy she met but she just wasn't ready for dating yet. Peggy of course was going to give her an ear full in the morning for ditching the double date but for now all she worried about was sleeping. So she laid her weary head to rest and closed her eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     The rain slowly began to tap against the kitchen window. Artemis was leaning against the counter and eating the sandwich she finished making a few minutes prior. Her boyfriend was lounging on the sofa, she could just see the top of his head from where she stood. "Do you have to go out?" he hollered from the living room. She paused and swallowed the food in her mouth. "Oh shut up! You're such a whiny baby." she heard him laugh from her sarcasm or lack thereof.

     Zatanna; one her closest friends asked her to go shopping today. She should have left five minutes ago to the store yet she was still lingering in the kitchen eating a sandwich. The dog sitting at her feet began to whine, she scoffed. "I swear I'm living with children." she muttered while shaking her head. A couple minutes later she was slipping a pair of shoes on and grabbing her purse off of the floor next to the doorway. "Hey beautiful!" Wally yelled running up to her. She spun around on her heel to see him holding an umbrella out to her.

     His cheeks were flushed a lovely shade of red and a nervous smile made him all the more adorable. "I'll be back later okay?" she smiled and took the umbrella before standing on her tippy toes and giving him a quick kiss. Gotham's sky was dark and Gothamites were bustling around to try and get from one place to another. Zatanna said she would meet her at a nearby shopping mall. The young woman was waiting at a Starbucks sitting in the back. "Sorry I'm late." the blonde apologized.

"It's okay, I haven't been here long." Zatanna smiled and took a sip from her coffee.

     Artemis slid into the booth across from her and shed her wet jacket pushing it to the side. "How are you, really?" Artemis asked, her grey eyes flickered with equal parts concern and genuine curiosity. Lately she had been busy studying and keeping up with all of the projects she had been receiving. Her and Wally just wanted it to be summer break already. University was quite stressful, even for her and she had been put under plenty of stress when she was younger. It has been almost three years since they graduated high school.

     Back then was so chaotic, she was glad that now it felt actually sort of normal. Zatanna sunk low into the booth and let out a troubled breath. "Not good, I'm having these nightmares and I don't mean to but I flinch whenever Dick is around me." she spoke softly so only Artemis could hear.

"It's okay," Artemis reached out and took her hand, " - I had nightmares to after what happened with my Da - Lawrence and my mother." Artemis whispered.

     After all she did understand how Zatanna was feeling. Her father killed her mother in front of her, the maid, and attempted to kill her as well. She understood what it was like to constantly look over your shoulder or to have nightmares so bad you'd fear that you wouldn't wake up. However Artemis had years to cope with what happened, nightmares occured less often now. "Did you get over it?" Zatanna asked.

"No, you never get over something like this." her eyes flickered down to the table as she drew in a sharp breath.

     They sat there for some time and Artemis stayed and listened to what her friend had to say. She didn't so much as breath a word as to what happened with her and John but she did talk about what she did at home and how Mar'i was in England. "So has the little princess made friends?" she asked, she sipped her hot drink. She purchased the hot drink a couple minutes after she got here. It seemed like she was going to be here for awhile. "She's made two friends, Antonia Huxley and Colette Kincaid. They sound like nice enough girls." Zatanna smiled and stared down at her drink.

     That name; Huxley, it sounded vaguely familiar. Artemis had heard the mention of it once before years back when her father was still alive. "That's good." she hummed, her mind was still trying to narrow down where she had heard that name before. They sat there and chatted for another hour or so. Artemis seemed spaced out, her thoughts occupied on that damn name. "I should be getting back now, Dick will start worrying." Zatanna smiled and scooted out of the booth they were seated in.

"Yeah, Wally is probably a bored mess without me." the blonde laughed.

     The two said their farewells before leaving the coffee shop. Wally was waiting for her when she got inside of their apartment. "I don't see any bags, no shopping?" he asked quirking an eyebrow. She shook her head as he leaned down and planted a kiss to her forehead. "The place was getting quiet without you." he whispered against her skin. The two of them were cuddled up on the sofa until they deemed it late enough to head to bed. Her eyes snapped open hours later, she gasped for breath as she sat up.

     Wally groaned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes when he felt the bed shake. "Arty it's three in the morning, what the hell are you doing?" he groaned. She said nothing as she reached over, her hand reaching around the bedside table. Once she grabbed a hold of her cellphone she immediately began to dial her best friends phone number. "Pick up, pick up." she muttered.

     It took a minute, after two rings a sleepy voice croaked over the phone line. "What is it?" Zatanna asked, she could hear the fatigue in her voice.

"You need to get Mar'i as far away from Antonia Huxley and fast" she warned.

"What, why?" Zatanna was more alert now.

"Just do it, now!" Artemis yelled before hanging up.

     Her hands went up into her hair as she pulled frustratingly at her blonde locks. It shouldn't have taken her this long to remember why she knew that name. The Huxley's were bad people, their entire bloodline was tainted. She knew because her father used to associate with them. That was during her father's peak in his career as a mafia boss, she hated every minute of having the Huxley's around. Which was why she warned Zatanna.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     The last time she spoke to her parents was three days ago. That was when her phone wasn't broken of course. It was a small little mishap in the washroom that got her phone broken. Let's just say phone plus sink water is not a good combo. She sat in the library in her usual spot with a book in both hands reading peacefully. Colette and Toni were seated next to her completing their homework individually.

     Despite what many people thought of the three of them, they did indeed do their homework. Mar'i could live without speaking to her parents for another month and a half. She couldn't believe they were halfway through May now. It was warm, sort of, she didn't shiver when walking outside now which was a plus. Toni turned and quirked an eyebrow at her, "Don't tell me that's another book that he read before." she drawled.

"Actually I picked it myself." Mar'i replied, eyes glued to the page.

     Toni rolled her eyes and continued working whilst shaking her head. Both of the girls by now knew practically everything there was to know about Damian Wayne. The girl always spoke of their adventures to them, he was once her best friend after all. Hopefully when she returned home for summer break he wouldn't be angry with her anymore. The clock ticked by until an hour later when everyone was called to the dining hall for dinner. "Do you think we're having ice cream for dessert today?" Colette asked taking a seat across the table from Mar'i.

     The dark haired girl looked up from her bowl of soup and shook her head. "I think the chef would rather die than give us proper ice cream." Mar'i laughed bitterly. The chef at this school stayed clear from anything too sugary and always chose the healthiest options. Even if that meant throwing lettuce onto a plate and calling it dinner. It was strange that Toni was late to dinner, the two girls took note of that.

     They chatted like they normally would about school, life, and Colette even asked her a few questions about America. The seat was pulled out next to Mar'i as their friend sat down with a sour look on her face. "Is everything alright?" she asked concerned. It wasn't everyday that Antonia was late to dinner, let alone sitting down with a sour look on her face. Instead of answering the girl picked up her spoon and began to shove spoonfuls of soup into her mouth.

     It was unusual but the two girls elected to drop the questions and continue on eating and conversing like they normally would. Dinner went by smoothly, Toni even joined in on the conversation later on. "I still can't believe we got tangerines for dessert again!" Colette yelled falling onto her bed. Mar'i rolled her eyes and dropped her bag at the foot of her bed before turning to face Colette who was face down in her pillow. "You whine too much." she commented.

"That's because I'm starved of sugar." Colette snapped back.

     By now Toni would've said something or laughed at Colette's antics but instead she was silent. "Toni are you okay?" Mar'i asked looking at her friend sitting on her bed frowning. She had never seen Toni look this upset before. The girl had always been full of smiles since the day they met, this was simply unnerving to see. "My mum and dad are going to New York for a month on business, I won't get to call them or see them for a long time and I hate it." Toni expressed, her arms crossed and eyebrows knit together in anger.

     Mar'i related to how she was feeling and it sucked to feel like your parents didn't care when they did. She walked over and sat down on her bed next to her and sighed. "Your parents don't hate you y'know, they just have work to do. They'll be back before you know it." she smiled and pulled her friend into a side hug.

"I know but it isn't fair. They never tell me what they're doing and the only answer I ever get is that it has to do with 'work'." Toni spat.

     Work was something almost every grown up did and Mar'i understood that. However she knew what her mother, mama, and father did whereas Toni didn't know much of what her parents did. It was a strange thought to have, her not knowing what her family did if they didn't tell her. She could understand how aggravating it must become when the only answer you're given for their absence was 'work'. She glanced over to her side table where he broken phone sat upon.

     At the moment she sort of wished she could talk to them. Perhaps she could write a letter to them explaining that her cellphone broke. She could imagine how worried they are without hearing from her in days. "Daddy says I'm going to be a part of the business when I'm older but how can I be a part of something that I don't even know about?" Toni hissed. Mar'i frowned, she didn't know how much pressure her friend was under until now.

     She was just glad that her family supported her for her choices and whatever she wanted to do. The girl still had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. Thinking of what she was going to be when she was older always gave her a headache. "Well I mean you don't have to always do what they want you to do." she proposed the idea with a nervous smile. This was her new found rebellion speaking for her at the moment.

"We don't always have to be what people want us to be, just be yourself and do what you want to do." she continued.

"Thanks Mar'i." Toni mumbled before flashing her a thankful smile.

"No problem."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     There wasn't a better feeling than lounging outside in the sun sipping a cold glass of lemonade. It was late in the afternoon and Pamela decided to spend her recovery days out in the garden. After all she enjoyed spending her time in the outdoors. Nature just seemed to speak to her through the wind and the soil. The music from the radio played quietly in the background as she hummed along to the current song playing.

     Her green eyes opened when she heard the back door slide open. Pamela watched amusingly as the small blonde girl strutted over with a glass of lemonade like a Victoria Secret model. "You look angry." Pamela commented as the girl took a seat on the lounge chair next to her.

"I am, Damian is being - he's being stupid!" she yelled throwing a hand into the air for exaggeration.

     Pamela felt like she's heard this story a thousand times, probably because she had. "What did he do this time?" Pamela asked before taking a sip of her cool lemonade. Harley was better at handling these problems than she was. Which was why she tended to float in the background and eavesdrop. "He won't admit that he misses Mar'i but I know he does, I miss her too." Melody confessed with a frown painted onto her face. Not even the homemade lemonade, the girl's favourite, could make her smile.

     This was something she did know, Melody missed her best friend dearly. "How do you know he misses her?" Pamela asked.

"I know Damian misses her because he's sad." she answered.

     In the back of her mind Pamela was cursing her girlfriend for not being here to handle this situation. She wasn't very good at giving advice of talking to Melody about feelings. "How do you think I can make him feel better?" Melody asked looking to Pamela for guidance. This was the type of thing Pamela dreaded, this was the type of job for a mother. She didn't believe she was a good enough to be a mother which was why she blanked out when she heard the question.

     Plants were so much easier to deal with than children. They weren't fussy, troublesome, or stressful to deal with, not that Melody was any of those. However the girl seemed to completely baffle her sometimes. With everything she had been through she still managed to smile and be the perfect kid. "You should," she paused, " - I think your mother is calling give me a minute." she quickly stood up and hurried into the house. Her hands were shaking as she dialed her girlfriend's phone number. "Is everything alright Pammy?" the quirky voice asked.

"I'm not ready to be a mom Harley." she admitted.

     There was a pause, she could hear music and chatter in the background. She knew Harley was working in a diner but she didn't know how loud it was in there. "What did Melody do now?" Harley asked audibly sighing over the phone line. It wasn't that the young girl had done anything wrong, she was just asking too many questions. Especially ones that sounded too 'momish' as she called them. "You're a better moth'a than half of the women I know Red, you're better with her than me." Harley smiled over the phone.

     At times the woman did believe that Pamela was a better mother than her. Melody wasn't as angry or fidgety with her as she was with Harley. "What am I supposed to say? You're her mother." she whispered whilst glancing back at the back sliding door. Pamela wanted to make sure the girl wasn't hovering by the door and listening in to the conversation. "Yes and I'm also working a crap job at the moment while you're lounging at home like the Queen of bloody England!" she lectured.

"Anyways, just speak to her as you would your own kid or tell her to be a big girl and fix the problem on her own." Harley continued.

"You're quite imaginative you know. If I was the Queen of England I'd be lounging somewhere exotic not in my backyard on the outskirts of Gotham City." Pamela laughed.

"Whateva same thing, anyways I have to get back to serving the most rude and disruptive customers. I'll bring dinner in on the way home." Harley bid her farewells before hanging up.

     The redhead placed her cellphone back down onto the table and ran a hand down her face. "You can do this, you can do this." she whispered to herself as she stepped back out into the garden. Melody was seated by the edge of the pool with her feet swishing in the water as she sipped on her lemonade. "Hey, how are you doing?" Pamela asked lowering herself down onto the pool deck next to her. The water was cold when she dipped her feet in, she had yet to turn the pools heater on. "You're a great mom Ivy." Melody smiled and put her drink down before giving her a hug.

     She went stiff as she looked down at the child wrapped around her. After a second she let out a deep breath and smiled fondly down at her. "Thanks little flower." she whispered patting the top of her head. "Now I may have an idea or two.."

A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner this month has been crazy with my birthday and tests and all that stuff. Hopefully I'll have another update up soon. This book is slowly coming to an end and the next book is the last in the Life series. Don't forget to comment because I enjoy reading how you all react to certain parts.

Skycrystal23 ;)