a/n: Hey guys! Sorry this update is so late! I've been having trouble piecing together how I want this story to go, but I'm back on the right track again. Thank you all so much for reviewing! I love reading what you guys think :) I'm not sure how long this story will be, but it's safe to say this will probably have anywhere from 5-8 parts! Also, another reviewer asked if I would be using any of the other YJ characters in this, and I thought, why not? So there's a special cameo here in Part Three. This chapter is a little longer than the first two, so enjoy! Please let me know what you think! :)

rated: T
pairings: wally west/artemis crock
words: 4,500+
summary:In 1921, Wally West meets the beautiful but mysterious Artemis Crock, and his life is never the same again.

Part Three

The speed is what he enjoys most about his new condition. The world is but a blur to him as he strides after Artemis and her long, flowing blonde hair. He pushes himself faster until he surpasses her, dodging the trees of Central Park left and right and hopping from shadow to shadow. The moon is bright above them, but is little more than a streak in the sky as he moves. Finally, he comes to a halt by a small isolated lake. He's not even winded, there's no indication at all that he's traversed hundreds of yards in a few split seconds. He laughs, feeling surprisingly giddy for a guy who's just been turned into a vampire a week ago. He stretches out along the shoreline, marveling at all the sights, sounds, and scents around him.

"You're fast," Artemis says as she comes up behind him, her feet touching the ground almost soundlessly with every step. "Probably the fastest vamp I've ever met."

"And how many have you met, sweets?" he asks, patting the ground next to him.

She rolls her eyes at the pet name, but gracefully folds herself down next to him.

"A fair few," she answers cryptically.

He leans back on his hands, studying her in the moonlight. He has to retract his first thoughts upon seeing her because he's sure she's the prettiest dame he's ever laid eyes on. Her olive toned skin and long blonde hair are an exotic combination, and couple with her stormy grey eyes she presents a most enticing package. But it's not just her beauty that captivates him. He has this unshakable urge to know everything little thing about her, to understand what makes her tick.

She catches him admiring her, and if vampires could blush he would have sworn that her cheeks would be on fire right now. She rolls her eyes playfully again before ducking her head demurely, a small smile on her face.

He casts his gaze across the still waters of the lake, a victorious grin on his face. "What's your favorite part of being a vampire?" he asks her.

"The freedom," she responds almost instantly. "No one to tell me what to do or where to go. I'm in charge, I'm the one that does the controlling if need be."

"I can see why that would appeal to you," Wally says without thinking.

Artemis looks at him sharply. "What do you mean?" she asks, a warning edge to her voice now.

Wally shrugs. "I'm just sayin', it sounds a lot like you had a tough time growin' up."

She holds his gaze, not moving. "Maybe I did, but that ain't any of your beeswax," she snaps in a rushed sort of way as if she wants to get this conversation over and done with. "I was born, I lived, I was made a vampire, and here I am. Got it?"

Wally clears his throat awkwardly. "Sure, dollface," he says easily. "Whatever you say."

Artemis looks away, sighing. "I'm...I"m sorry, Wally," she says stiffly. "My past isn't something I like to talk about."

"Don't sweat it, babe," he tells her, smoothing back a piece of long golden hair behind her ear. He can't help himself. It's like he's drawn to her in every way imaginable. He doesn't want to pry anymore, but this is a serious question. He has to know what he's got to look forward to. "What do you miss most about being human?" he asks, thinking it could be a number of things: her family, growing up, the possibility of having children, food (something he already misses).

But it's none of those things, because no matter how complex she seems, she keeps surprising him. "The sun," she replies without hesitation, looking longingly up at the crescent moon. "I would give anything to feel the sun's rays on my skin again. The moon just doesn't compare."

"I think to see you in the sunlight would be a sight indeed, beautiful," he muses aloud.

She turns her head to meet his gaze and there's a glimmer of some nameless emotion in her eyes. He knows better than to call it happiness. Instead, he thinks it's more like...hope.

Wally's eyes flew open. He wasn't laying on the ground in the middle of Central Park anymore. Instead, he was curled up on a dilapidated couch in a one room apartment in Chicago. He swung his feet onto the floor and ran his fingers through his hair in an effort to tame his messy bed head. Across the room at the kitchen table, Artemis sat avidly reading the morning paper she'd probably stolen from their neighbor.

"Afternoon," she said, not once looking away from the newspaper.

"You sleep at all?" he asked her, pretty sure she'd been in the same position when he'd decided to hit the hay.

"A few hours," she supplied, waving his concerns away. "The older you get, the less sleep you'll need."

He nodded although she couldn't see and stood up, stretching as he went. He smirked when he saw Artemis casting a furtive look at his bare chest out of the corner of her eye. He caught her gaze and gave her a suggestive eye wiggle, which made her immediately turn her attention back to her reading. He chuckled, enjoying their usual game of cat and mouse (although at times, he really wasn't sure which one he was), and slipped on a shirt. He walked over to the only window in their apartment and peeked out, careful not to let the forbidden light hit him or Artemis.

There was a different hum to the city in Chicago than there was in the Big Apple. The hustle and bustle seemed the same, and yet there was something darker, more sinister in the air, and that, Wally mused, was the reason they were there. Find Stefan, and find Damon, Wally repeated to himself. They'd been in Chicago for two months and had so far seen neither hide nor hair of either of the Salvatore brothers.

It was hard to believe that he'd been a vampire for almost three months now. It was nothing like Wally had ever dreamed of. At times, he felt like the same Wally West he'd always been, but then he would get a whiff of human blood and he would transform into a predator, a blood thirsty monster with the speed of a hawk and the strength of a bear. He was dead as sure as his heart sat silent in his chest, and yet he'd never felt more alive in his life. Through some sort of miracle, he had yet to actually kill anyone, purely thanks to Artemis, whom he'd made promise to rein him in. She'd reluctantly acquiesced.

"We're vampires, Wally," she had said, when it became clear that he didn't want to take a life. "We kill humans. It's part of the fun."

But Wally had disagreed and had even tried to curb Artemis' appetite for doing away with innocents, as he saw them. She hadn't appreciated his interference, and her protests were loud and clear, and yet she hadn't decided to hunt without him, which made him think that maybe she wasn't so opposed to it.

They'd developed a sort of rapport these last few months. He called her babe, sweetheart, doll, and a million other pet names he knew she didn't hate as much as she said she did. She, in turn, taught him everything she knew about being a vampire: how to blend in with the humans around them; whose blood to stay away from and whose to covet; how to stave off the cravings for as long as possible; how to spot other vampires (something he hadn't come across yet); and how to hone the special assets that came along with being a vampire. He would be lost without her, and sometimes he thought she felt the same about him.

He heard the rustle of papers and turned his head to see Artemis laying down the paper in a huff. "There hasn't been a single Ripper murder since we got here," she said, frustration evident in the rough edge of her voice. "They're here though," she said with conviction. "I know it."

"Chicago's a big city," Wally reasoned, striding over to sit across from her at the kitchen table. "Especially for two fellas who probably don't wanna be found."

"I know," she moaned, hanging her head. "I just had hoped we would have smoked them out by now."

Something about the way Wally was wired made him incapable of standing by and watching this pretty dame who'd put him through so much be sad. He moved to cover her hand with his, and she immediately peered up at him warily. "Don't beat yourself up about it, babe," he said, giving her a half smile. And idea was rapidly forming in his head. "Hey! What I think you need is a break from all this. A night out on the town. Luckily, I happen to know a guy, red hair, incredibly handsome fella, who could show you a good time."

Her lips twisted into a smile and seeing it, he could help but break out into a full blown grin. He must have looked too happy, or enough to give her cause for concern, because a moment later and she had slid her hand out from under his, tucking it under the table with her other one. Wally sighed heavily, smile fading. He had been trying and trying to get closer to her in the months since he'd been turned but to no avail. She had become adept at keeping him out, keeping him from chipping away at that wall that she had built up to protect herself.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Wally," she whispered, eyes downcast. "We have to find Damon-"

"What is so important about finding Damon?" Wally asked loudly, frustrated over her obsession with finding the Salvatores.

"He has something that I need," Artemis gritted out, his irritation giving rise to hers.

"And that is?" Wally pressed. He'd been left in the dark about this more than he'd cared to be. It was time for her to be straight with him. "It's not really fair to be keeping secrets from me, babe. I'm tryin' to give you a hand here, and I can't do that if you keep shutting me out."

She stood up immediately, the action startling him. "You're absolutely right," she said, starting to collect her things from around the apartment. He slowly rose out of his chair, watching her warily, trying to gauge her next move. "I shouldn't be burdening you with my problems. I'll look for Damon and Stefan on my own."

He was shaking his head even before she finished speaking, and was in front of her within a second. She threw him a sharp look when he stayed her hand, but allowed him to turn her around to face him. "You know that ain't what I meant," he said gently. "I just wish you would trust me enough to tell me why we're really here."

Her fierce expression slowly melted away at his words, those enticing grey eyes of hers looking up at him sadly. "I do trust you, Wally," she murmured. "Lord knows I don't deserve it, but you've really swell to me these last couple months. A great help."

"I could be more," he blurted out, cursing his stupid brain for letting the words leave his mouth. This was an opening he couldn't afford not to take, however. He gathered both of her hands in his and brought them close to his chest. Her eyes were filled with the same loneliness that Wally felt in his own unbeating heart, and in that moment he felt like he would do anything to ease her pain.

Her gaze followed him even as her whole body stilled, and for the first time, he was unnerved by the fact that she didn't need to breathe. Her eyes were uncertain, but she wasn't pushing him away, so he slowly, giving her a chance to back away if she wanted to, dipped his head down and pressed his lips to hers. He was gentle at first, not wanting to scare her off, but his emotions won out before long. He deepened the kiss, pouring his frustration, his desire, and his happiness at being with her into the embrace and was gratified when she started to respond, her lips moving eagerly in time with Wally's and her hands letting go of his to grasp tightly at his shirt. He moved his fingers along her cheeks to cup her face.

"Artemis," he gasped, breaking away from her momentarily to place light kisses across her jaw.

"Wally, please," she pleaded raggedly, and they would have been the sweetest words he'd ever heard if they hadn't been accompanied by her whole body freezing up. She leaned away from him, shaking her head. "It would never work."

"How do you know?" he asked, his voice matching her hushed tones. "How do you know I ain't exactly what you need?"

"I'm damaged goods, Wally," she told him, tearing her hands away from his and turning away from him. Her arms came up to wrap around her torso protectively.

"So am I," Wally argued, placing his hands on her shoulders. She flinched but didn't remove herself from his grasp, instead she leaned back into him, letting him support her.

"Don't you understand?" she said, and there was an edge of desperation in her voice. "I destroy everything I touch!"

Wally shook his head stubbornly. "I don't care."

She turned back towards him, eyes were glistening with unshed tears. He hadn't seen her cry since the night of his turning. "Haven't I already hurt you enough, Wally? How can you even stand to look at me after what I've done to you?"

"Because I forgave you not even a week after you turned me!" Wally exclaimed in his frustration to get through to her.

Silence rang out through the room after his words. Artemis gazed at him with big, confused eyes. "What? Don't futz around with me, Wally. Not now."

"I'm being straight with you, sweetheart," Wally said earnestly, trying to calm down. He needed to in order to explain this to her. "Look, before you walked into Club 21, I was alive, but I wasn't livin'. I was just goin' through the motions. For the first time in my life I feel...special. And I have you to thank for that."

She said nothing in response, but her eyes was fixated on him as though she was seeing him for the first time. He knew it was warped, thanking her, she who had been basically his murderer, but the way he saw it, she could have really killed him easily and she hadn't. That meant something to him. He just had to figure out if it meant something to her.

"Tell me that you feel nothin' for me, that I'm just imaginin' things, and I'll leave you alone, I swear," Wally challenged her, feeling emboldened by her response to his kiss. "You may think that you don't have emotions anymore, that being a vamp excludes you from them, but I know that ain't true. I wouldn't be standin' here if it was."

"You think you know what being a vampire is about so well, but you don't, Wally," she whispered sharply. Her fierce, grey eyes bored into his and he wondered for what felt like the thousandth time what exactly had happened to this girl that had made her so jaded. She abruptly turned away to the heavily curtained windows, and he could feel the tension in the room slowly dissipate. The conversation was clearly over. "The sun's going down. I'm hittin' up Green Mill Cocktail Lounge tonight. Are you comin', or what?"

Wally sighed. All he wanted was for her to let him in but she kept pushing him away. "Well, I ain't gonna let you go alone, that's for sure," he told her. He would drop the conversation for now, but she couldn't hold him at bay forever. Besides, he didn't hear her denying that she had feelings for him, and he counted that as a point in his favor.

"So, what number is this?" he asked her, trying to regain his usual upbeat manner.

"29," she answered coolly.

Wally sighed again. "Lucky number 29."

"Lucky number 30?" Wally asked when it became apparent that neither of the Salvatore brothers were at the Green Mill.

Artemis, hanging on to his arm and looking dazzling in a bright green frock Wally had splurged on with some of his leftover bartending money, cast her eyes over the joint in disappointment. "I had such a good feeling about this place," she said, sounded defeated.

"Chin up, babe," Wally prodded trying to sound positive. "Maybe somebody here knows somethin'. It wouldn't hurt to ask around."

Artemis nodded, steeling her shoulders. "You're right," she agreed. "Time to go sweet talk some fellas." She turned to Wally, fussing with her perfectly pinned, blonde curls. "How do I look?"

Wally surveyed her with pleasure from head to toe. "Like you're dressed to kill, babe."

They shared a secret smirk at his statement. Wally went to break away from her to see what information he could scrounge up, but she caught his hand in her gloved one. He glanced back at her questioningly.

"I just wanted to thank you," she said timidly. Her face betrayed a vulnerability that he'd rarely seen on her and it erased years from her face. He known she'd had to have been young when she was turned, but he wondered now if she'd even celebrated her 20th birthday. "For the dress and for everything."

His humble response died in his throat when she cupped his face in one hand and stretched up to kiss him on the cheek. She pulled back before he could do anything and was gone in a flash of mysterious grey eyes and sparkly green dress.

The grin that split his face had him looking like a sap, but Wally couldn't help himself. He was stuck on this dame, and he had a feeling there was no turning back now. He cheek was burning with her touch, but he tried to focus on the matter at hand. Straightening his fedora, he eyed the bar, looking for someone to chat up. He spied the perfect candidate in a young bird with short red hair, tapping her feet energetically along to the music. She was dolled up and kept casting hopeful looks over to a group of fellas smoking by the dance floor. Well, if she's looking for a fella, it's her lucky night, Wally thought as he swaggered over.

The girl, a chatty cathy by the name of Megan, happened to be a regular at the Green Mill and didn't know a lick about any Salvatores that might have frequented the joint. He'd gotten the information, or lack of, that he'd sort her out for, but he was a polite sort of guy, so he invited her to dance, well aware of the two grey eyes that were following him across the room. They were halfway through a jazzy tune when Artemis suddenly appeared besides them, halting their lively quick step.

She looked Megan dead in the eye. "Scram, missy," she said, grabbing Wally's arm. "This fella's mine."

Megan's eyes grew wide and she backed away from both of them, fleeing the dance floor before Wally could apologize. "You could've at least compelled her," Wally chided, giving her an amused look.

Artemis smirked and shrugged unrepentantly. "Where's the fun in that?" she asked. "Now, are you going to ask me to dance or what, Wallman?"

He nearly gaped at her life a goof before regaining control of his facilities. He brandished his fedora and bowed to her. "Will you do me the honor, Miss Artemis?" he asked, a playful gleam in his eyes.

"Only if you can keep up," Artemis challenged, taking his fedora and flipping it onto her head. "I'm a bit of a floorflusher."

"If you like to dance, sweet cheeks, you've come to the right fella," Wally informed her, pulling her close and marveling at the feeling of her in his arms. "Ain't no one can cut a rug like Wally West."

"We'll see about that," Artemis said slyly, running a finger along his jaw and sending shivers down his spine. He didn't know what had gotten into her, but he liked it.

The band transitioned into a faster, catchy number and then they were off, Wally's hand high across her back, Artemis' encircled around his neck, and their two other hands clasped together. Cheek to cheek, they glided across the floor, moving in time with the spirited music.

"You sure seem like you're in a good mood, babe," Wally commented, spinning her away from him.

Her grey eyes sparkled, and he was sure he'd never seen her look so excited. "You were right about lucky number 29," she told him, shimmying along to the beat. "I know where Stefan's been keepin' court."

"Attagirl!" Wally exclaimed, pulling her back to him.

"Yeah, apparently he's been holing up at-" she started to say.

"Hold that thought," Wally told her, before flipping her over his shoulder using only one hand.

It was a move that he'd never been strong enough to attempt before he'd been made a vampire, but one he executed with ease now. He swung her back into his arms and she kept up with every move, their bodies mirroring each other's actions. She let out a genuine laugh of pleasure when he twirled her around one last time and clung to him tightly as the song winded down. He grinned down at her, enjoying the sight of her bright smile. The band let out it's final note but they didn't let go of one another. Instead, their grins faded and their eyes locked intensely, neither of them wanting to blink lest the connection be broken.

He wasn't sure who leaned in first, but suddenly they were necking out in the middle of the dance floor. Artemis cupped the back of his head and slanted her lips over his urgently while he laid his hands on her waist, pulling her tight against him so that there was barely any room between their bodies. He reveled in the feeling of her mouth moving against his and stifled a groan upon feeling her nibbling on his bottom lip. Ever since he'd been turned, he'd craved only one thing: blood; but now, he found that he craved her even more. After all, he may not have been human, but he was still a man.

He forced himself to draw away from her a hair. "What's say you and I get outta here, sweetheart?" he asked, his gaze lingering on her dark pink lips before meeting her heated stare.

There was no hesitation in her response. "Let's."

The cab ride home did little to cool the spark between them. As soon as they made it back into their apartment, Artemis had Wally up against the door, pulling off his suit jacket and kissing up and down his neck feverishly. He followed her lead and pushed his suspenders off his shoulders, taking off his fedora and flinging it somewhere in the room. He pressed her face into his neck, sucking in an unnecessary breath when she nipped at the skin there.

An uncontrollable urge ripped through him, and he turned the tables on her, quickly pinning her to the door and tipping her face up to his to devour her lips. One moment they were upright, and then suddenly they were on the couch, Artemis straddling his lap. In the span of a split second, they went from the couch, to the kitchen table, to the wall next to the window, all without breaking their liplock. Artemis' legs were wrapped around his waist, her short dress riding up to the tops of her thighs. Wally pulled away to look at her, and her eyes fluttered open to meet his. Keeping eye contact, she reached up with both hands to remove the pins from her hair, and Wally watched as her long, blonde tresses fell around her in waves.

"Beautiful," Wally told her in a hushed, reverent tone. Artemis bit her lip and looked down shyly. He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger, feeling his whole body crying out to join with hers. She leaned her forehead against his and his eyes drifted shut. "Tell me you want this as much as I do," he pleaded

Her heard her quick intake of breath and quickly opened his eyes. She was silent, her gaze searching his. Whatever she was looking for, she must have found because she nodded against him, slowly at first and then more confidently. He beamed down at her, feeling like the luckiest stiff in the world, and she gave him a small smile in return. Leaning down, he captured her lips in a smooth and sensual kiss while slowly walking them both over from the wall to the bed.

What followed was a flurry of shed clothing, heated caresses, and euphoric releases. As the sun rose, they finally succumbed to the exhaustion that even their vampire stamina could not help.

Wally pressed a sweet kiss into Artemis' bare shoulder. "If this ain't love, I don't know what is," he whispered in her ear, not even registering her body stiffening as he drifted off into a sated, uninterrupted sleep.

When he awoke to an empty bed and apartment the next day, all of Artemis' belongings gone, he wondered why he wasn't more surprised.

a/n: Soooo, we've got lots going on here...I'm thinking about doing an M+ rated outtake for this chapter. Let me know if you guys would like that. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think! :)