Always Traught Part II

Mama's Boy

"Mama, mama, mama!"

"Aren't you going to respond?" Dick asked as he dropped his book against the bed. Artemis chuckled before shaking her head.

"He's not calling me, Dick. It's just the only word he knows how to say," The blonde picked up her one year old and sat him in her lap, "Right, Little Dami?"

"Mama, mama, mama," The child wiggled in her arms before settling down and watching the television with his mother. Dick couldn't but smile as the toddler watched the screen. Artemis had been watching re-runs of Arrow. Dick had been reading on her bed.

It had been hard for Artemis in the past two years. After a mutual break up with Wally West, Artemis got in a relationship rather quickly. No one judged her since in the end Wally's and her relationship was more like a really good friendship. She seemed to be really happy with her new boyfriend, Justin. But the team started to notice things. She couldn't hang out with anyone unless Justin was there. Even then, the stubborn and sarcastic archer they knew was much too reserved. The crop tops the blonde loved to wear slowly turned into long shirts, even in the summer. She stopped going on missions, but every now and then the team saw bruises and cuts on her body. And it only got worse when Artemis got pregnant.

Artemis came into the cave while everyone was in training. She was out of breath, bloody, and had a terrible bruised eye. M'gann and Dick ran up to her and caught her right before she almost passed out. The team stopped training and tried to help until Dick told them to give her space. The martian and acrobat helped the blonde up and brought her to the medical bay.

Once they settled her down on a bed, Artemis started to speak so fast they couldn't understand her. They only caught onto things like, "He was going to kill me," and, "My baby. You have to make sure my baby's okay!" Dick told her to slow down and explain. Artemis took a deep breath and told the story as M'gann and Dick aided her.

Artemis had taken a pregnancy test since she hadn't been feeling well. It was positive and she let herself get excited, so when Justin got home she ran up to him and showed him. He got furious and started to beat her. She told them how he would always hit her. Artemis was so used to being hit that she let him hit her for thirty minutes, but then she thought about her baby. Artemis broke a mirror and stabbed him a shard. Justin went to the hospital but told her to stay put and wait. That's when she ran to the nearest zeta tube and came to the cave.

After the incident, Artemis broke it off with Justin. But then began the road to being a single parent. It was hard. Artemis had to move into a different house. She wouldn't be in a apartment where her baby's father nearly killed them both. Doctor appointments were awful, too. Artemis felt lonely and embarrassed when she went in alone. And instead getting a full college experience, she took online classes. It was a really good college, of course, but she really wanted normal classes. Plus, pregnancy was fun for no one.

One night, the archer called Dick and broke down sobbing. She was around three months pregnant at the time. Artemis didn't know if she could be a mom anymore. She worried about the safety of her child. There was a court case going against Justin at the time, adding onto the stress of being pregnant. It was all too much to handle alone. Dick calmed her down eventually and stepped in, immediately. Ever since high school, the two had been best friends. Now was not the time to leave her with a baby all alone.

"Mama," Damian stood up in his mother's hold and turned around in her lap. For his position, he looked at Dick and held his hands out for him. Dick playfully rolled his eyes before sliding down onto the ground and sitting next to the two. Artemis let her son go over to him and smiled as Dick gently tossed Damian in the air. Damian giggled when Dick caught him.

"He loves you more than me," Artemis joked, a smirk on her lips. The young man scoffed before hugging Damian to his chest and laying down on the carpeted floor. The blonde laid down with him.

"Oh come on! Damian is a total mama's boy. Right, Little Dami?"

"Mama!" The one year old giggled before tucking himself against Dick's chest.

Artemis rolled her grey eyes, "I'm not sure if he proved or didn't prove your point with that move," Dick rolled eyes back at her before kissing her cheek.

"Who cares? He loves both of us."

"You're right, Boy Wonder. Also, the kiss was weak as fuck. Gimme a real one," Artemis demanded. Dick laughed before leaning in to kiss Artemis on the lips.

"OW!" Dick yelped when a small hand smacked him in his cheek, right before kissing his girlfriend. He rubbed his skin before looking down at the tiny culprit. Damian was smilingly devilishly at him, "Freaking mama's boy!" Damian giggled before crawling over to Artemis, who was laughing at the two. She quickly stopped when Dick bat-glared at her.

"It's genetic," The blonde smirked.