Carry Me

Now and Forever

"Happy birthday, Babe!"

"Beautiful, it's too early," He grabbed her pillow and put it on top of his face. She laughed at him, which suddenly made him want to wake up. He took the pillow off and smiled. There was nothing more he loved than her smile and laughter. It filled a room. Then again, his eyes were always on her. He definitely wouldn't have it any other way.

"I don't think it's too early for pancakes with sprinkles, whipped cream, and lots of syrup," She suggested as she stood up from the bed, "So you better get up before I give them all to Brucely."

"That's wicked, Babe," Wally frowned while he sat up.

"Happy birthday, Baywatch," She smiled at him as she left him to change. Wally chuckled to himself, wondering how he got so lucky to be with a woman like his spitfire. The world would never know.

"Wake up!"

Wally groaned before rolling onto his side, "It's too early."

"Wallace, it is eight in the morning. Get your ass up and walk your stupid dog," He heard footsteps walk away from their bedroom. Wally cursed as he pushed off his blankets and got ready for the day.

As he opened his dresser, he muttered to himself, "Why did I ever marry a woman like Linda?"

When he walked into the living room, he immediately walked over to Brucely, who was whining to go out. He patted his head before grabbing his leash. Once it was clipped on, Wally looked at his wife. "You know, he would cry a lot less if you walked him?"

"Oh please, all that old dog does is whine and stinky up the house. Plus, that mutt isn't my dog. It's yours. If it was up to me, that thing would've been re homed," The black haired woman dismissed her husband with a swipe of her hand. Wally didn't argue with her, not having the strength today, and headed out the door.

It was safe to say that Wally was miserable. He hadn't always been. He used to be known for being happy all the time, enjoying life, and just having fun. However, that was years ago. That was when Artemis was alive.

The day Artemis died haunted him. Being retired heroes, he always thought that an old enemy would hunt them down and take her away from him. Never once did he think a drunk driver would be the one to claim her life, especially after everything they had been through.

The angry he felt was almost unimaginable. The man who had walked away, left Artemis in the car, and tried to hide. If he had stayed, called the police or an ambulance, or even tried to help Artemis a little bit she could have lived. She would have had a chance. And the fact that he hid? Wally promised to find him and with the help of Nightwing, he did. Wally would have killed that man that night if Dick hadn't stopped him from beating him to death.

After the anger, there was numbness. That's where Linda can into the picture. He met her at a bar. She was out with friends. Wally just need to leave the flat he used to share with his dead girlfriend. The two hit it off really well, shared numbers, and then two weeks later started dating.

The team and his family were shocked by this. They didn't understand how Wally could move on so quickly. It had only been two months since Artemis' death. He clearly wasn't okay. Most importantly, how could Wally move on with a girl like Linda? She was a nasty person, who hated Wally's friends and his family. Still, Wally married her a week before the one year anniversary of Artemis' death. From that point on, it only got worse.

Wally snapped out of his thoughts when Brucely let out a whine. He frowned, "What is it, Boy?" The dog whined again and nudged his hand. The redhead sighed and rubbed his dog's head. "At least you remember my birthday, Brucely."