"What else could it mean?"

"I won't be destiny's puppet. Whatever the future holds, we'll make those choices ourselves."

Shayera made her way to the data room where she knew he would be there. He always was, inputting god knows what for hours on end. He glanced over his shoulder when he heard the door open. His eyes stayed on her while she took the seat next to him, leaning forward on her elbows to look at him closer.

"Tell me about my son."

"John told you." He said, his expression unchanged.

"Yes. Please Batman, I need to know."

"No, you don't. And you shouldn't."

"Hasn't the future already changed since the two of you returned? What difference would it make?"

"Why would it matter if you did?"

"You truly are a selfish bastard." Frustrated, she stood up and walked away.

"He was a warrior. A good man. That's all you need to know." He said before she reached the door. She stopped in her tracks for a second before continuing.

"I'm staying with Mari."

The words stung in the back of her mind. All this while, even when she was away from the league for all those months, even when he acted like she didn't exist while passing each other in the Watchtower, she couldn't deny that she still had feelings for him. They never got proper closure and with the revelation of their future child, she couldn't think of a point where they ever will.

Vixen was well enough to be brought back Earthside with the help of some crutches and John trailing behind her. Shayera watched from above as Vixen stumbled to get on the teleportation deck and John was quick to catch her. The way they smiled sweetly at each other made Shayera's eyes roll. She swore Vixen knew she could see them.

"Hawkgirl." She heard Mr. Terrific say in her comm. "Are you well enough for a mission?"

"Better than I'll ever be." She replied.

"We need to retreat." Captain Atom said as they were being bombarded by heavy fire. Using a car as cover, Shayera watched as Batman slumped to the ground, slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Good idea, Captain." She said.

"The sewers…" Batman said and true enough, a few feet away was a manhole cover. But it was still too far away without getting hit.

"I'll cover you, get Batman out of here!" Captain said, and flew to the sky. Hawkgirl immediately lugged Batman over her shoulder and ripped the cover with one hand. She successfully put Batman down on the wet ground before going up again for Captain Atom. But just as her head peeked out of the opening, she saw him explode in a spectacle in the sky.

"No…" Shayera said and retreated back down. He was still unconscious so she carried him and walked away before anyone could get to them.

"Do you even know where you're going?" She heard a deep voice say after 10 minutes of walking.

"How long have you been awake?" She said, putting him down to lean on a wall.

"Never slept." He said. Shayera cracked a tight smile, he was stubborn even with a dislocated arm. "You're going to need to set my arm."

"Okay, how?"

"Pull then push. Simp…" Before he could finish his sentence, Shayera did it quickly and efficiently. He groaned painfully and hit his head behind the wall.

"You really thought I don't know how to set a dislocated arm?"

They managed to find their way to the Batcave a while later, with Batman leaning on Shayera. They set off an alarm he had placed when he first built the lair and Alfred was there to greet them at the entrance with a shotgun. Upon seeing that it was them, he quickly got them inside.

She placed him on a well-used but clean gurney in what Shayera could deduce as a medical bay. Alfred went on to prepare medical supplies while Batman took off his cowl with his good arm.

"You should contact the Watchtower. Tell them about the captain." He said. She couldn't help but notice how blue his eyes were.

"Yeah."

Using the Batcave's computers, she managed to contact Mr. Terrific for the update. He told her Captain Atom was fine and the blast that he took managed to be rerouted to destroy whatever terror machine they had and the culprits had been apprehended with help from other members of the Justice League. He also mentioned that the teleporter was broken so they couldn't get back to the Watchtower just yet.

Shayera looked around the Batcave. It was dark and cold, a fitting place for the man who lived there.

"You should get that looked at." Batman said and pointed at the large graze from a high calibre bullet on her thigh.

"It's fine, I heal a lot faster." She said while she looked at his thoroughly wrapped abdomen and arm in a splint.

"Well, you're bleeding on my floor." He mentioned. She looked down to see that she really was.

Batman came back with gauze and a bottle of antiseptic. She stood up and crossed her arms as he took the seat and faced her. She leaned on the computer desk and he attempted to lift the sleeve of her tights.

"Wait." She said and he pulled away. Instead, she dropped her shorts to the ground and kicked it off in front of him. It revealed only a pair of standard white panties. He didn't react one bit.

He managed to wrap her wound without any hitches, even with one good hand. She briefly wondered what he could do with two.

"You should get some rest." She said while she put her pants back on.

"Can't, concussion. I need to stay awake."

"Well you're definitely not working." She said. He didn't move from the chair. "Come on Batman!" She couldn't believe that he was still thinking about work when the mission was over.

"Unless you can think of something better to do." He said in a tone that she had never heard before. She couldn't help but grin.

"That doesn't involve sleeping? I have something in mind."

"God that's good." Shayera said as she moaned.

There was a whole leg of lamb on the kitchen counter and a few other smaller plates of mash and salad. While Batman was eating quietly with a fork and knife, Shayera had ditched the civilities early on. She noticed that he looked quite amused.

The both of them were wearing civilian clothes after Alfred insisted he wash her sewer stained suit. They sat side by side at the kitchen counter, overlooking the beautiful garden through a large glass window. It had been a while since she had food away from the commissary, and even when she had, she had never tasted food as good as what was in front of her (not even when she and John were together).

"So, this is how the rich dine on Earth. I've been missing out."

"I don't normally indulge. It seemed like you would enjoy it."

"That is awfully sweet and irritating, Batman." She finally saw him smile. "I bet you couldn't get Wonder Woman to do this." She said and he raised an eyebrow. "Because she doesn't eat meat."

"Right."

"You two really never…"

"Why would we?"

"She always seemed interested in you. And she's very beautiful and strong. Or are you not into any of that?"

"Workplace romances rarely turn out well." He said and looked straight at her while taking a bite.

"Touché."

John entered the data room to see Shayera leaning very closely to Batman. To make matters worse, the man was smirking.

"Excuse me Batman, but Wonder Woman asked for you." He said, controlling his voice. Batman gave Shayera one last look before heading out.

"John, wait." Shayera said but he pretended to not hear her. "Hey." She said and frowned when she caught up to him.

"What?"

"Why are you so grumpy?"

"I'm not. What do you want?"

"I just… thought we should talk. About the other day. Just as friends."

"We're talking right now."

"I was thinking maybe lunch, somewhere private."

"Just say what you want you want to say, Shayera." His uncalled-for demeanour irritated her further.

"I wanted to talk about closure, John. Between the two of us. A proper one."

"Fine, whatever. There's nothing going on between us. Now you can go be happy with your boyfriend." He said and attempted to leave but she stopped him.

"Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me. I know about you and Batman, ever since that mission in Gotham you two have been real cosy."

"So, what if we are? You're the one who was all about choosing our own destiny."

"I know, but Batman? Really? That man has had more women in his bed than utilities under his belt." She didn't realise how much anger had bubbled up inside her until she slapped him.

"How dare you? You don't even know him."

"And apparently you do." This time he successfully walked away.

She was sitting in front of a large computer with her head in the clouds. She was on her shift at the Watchtower and Steel was the only other person in the room with her. Even he was preoccupied with the computers. She got an idea to check the location of a certain someone.

Batman was on top of a roof, watching a gang of young men in suits gathering by a warehouse. He had been waiting for an hour but still no sign of the ring leader. Suddenly, his comm opened up.

"Watchtower to Batman, are you there?" He heard.

"Copy, what happened?"

"I'm checking your location and there seems to be a large meteor headed your way." He immediately looked up and around the skyline. "Made you look." The comm continued.

"Very funny, Hawkgirl."

"Couldn't help it. You can be very uptight."

"I'm leaving."

"Wait, stay on. I'm bored." She said, looking around. Steel was still not paying attention to her. There was quiet static for a few seconds.

"Me too." He replied. She smiled at the small victory.

"What baddie are you chasing around Gotham tonight?"

"Escaped mental patient, missing gold, the usual."

"Need help?"

"Unlikely. But I'll keep the comms open."

"Good." She kept silent for a while. "Anything you want to ask me?"

"What are you wearing?" He said and she bit her bottom lip.

"Maybe later you can find out." She replied. He gulped.

"Got to go." And the line went dead. She knew he would chicken out.

Batman watched the warehouse beneath him. Still nothing. He shook his head and sighed.

The good thing about being a founding member was that you got your own sleeping quarters. She couldn't imagine having to share a room with the likes of Supergirl or worse, Vixen. But Shayera was sure Vixen slept in John's quarters anyways.

She was on her way there when she saw a trail of muddy boots disappearing off into one of the rooms. It was his room, Shayera thought. Curiously, she opened the door which was uncharacteristically unlocked and saw a muddy pile of black leather in one corner of the room. Coming out of the en suite bathroom was him dressed in boxer shorts and a white t-shirt. He didn't seem too startled when he saw Shayera there while he was drying his hair with a towel.

"I just came in to see where the lose pigs went." She said while looking at his big arms.

"Just me." He smirked.

"Okay, I'm going to go to bed now." She excused herself and turned for the door.

"Hawkgirl." Shayera turned around and saw him lie down on his queen-sized bed. He rubbed the empty side next to him. Bold, she thought. Accepting the challenge, Shayera went and lied next to him.

"Your bed is nicer than mine." She said and frowned. She sat up and took the covers to her face. "My god, these sheets are so soft."

"I wasn't going to give Egyptian cotton to everyone on base." He said nonchalantly.

"Well since I actually live here, maybe you can spare a pair for my room." She said, lying back down, turning toward him.

"Don't need to if you're going to be here anyway."

He was a totally different person without his mask on. It was the most bizarre thing. She wasn't sure which one was the mask but she honestly couldn't care too much about it.

"What makes you so sure I will?" She said. He was lying down with an arm behind his head, the good arm.

"You're here aren't you?" He said confidently. Shayera realised what John meant about him having a lot of women. He was very good at the game when he wanted to be.

He was gone when she woke up in his bed. Everything was back in its pristine order, dirty clothes had been hauled out, floors were clean. She hadn't even stirred, she was so comfortable.

She exited the room and by some sheer luck, Vixen was down the hall and walked toward her.

"So, the rumours are true, huh?" Vixen said with a playful smile.

"Mind your own business, Mari." Shayera said.

Alfred was not a man of judgement, that was not his job. But when he noticed how much better Bruce's mood was on a day-to-day and that he actually ate the meals he prepared for him and that there was an influx of backless clothing in the laundry basket in the master bedroom, Alfred couldn't help but be incredibly pleased.

One morning he woke up to find both Bruce and his companion were already awake and were cooking in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Alfred." Shayera said.

"Good morning, Miss Shayera. Master Bruce. Shall I take over the making of breakfast this morning?"

"Oh no, we'll be cooking for you today Alfred. Although I've never done any cooking myself back in my home but Master Bruce here is teaching me."

"Mmhmm." Bruce said while eating a piece of bacon. He turned to hold her by the waist and kiss her cheek which caused her to get annoyed at the oil on her face.

Alfred sat down and read the paper and quietly watched them from the corner of his eye. Ecstatic was a better word.

The world was going to end. It was only a matter of seconds. Superman couldn't stop Brainiac, Wonder Woman was down before the fight even started and Flash couldn't run them to victory again. It was over.

"Shayera…" John said and looked at her. They were worn down from the brutal fight. Cuts, bruises and the sheer grime of war were all over them.

"John..." She said, they both reached to hold each other's' hand.

T minus 10 seconds.

"I know we've had our differences." John said but she pulled him into an embrace.

"I'm glad we're here together, John." She whispered in his ear. He hugged her tighter.

T minus 5 seconds.

"I love you." John said.

"I love you too." In the moment, they kissed.

And then nothing. No giant explosion, no bright white light. Everything was just the same. They pulled apart and looked around.

"What happened?" She heard Flash say in the comms.

"It was Batman… he did it." Superman answered.

When Batman appeared on the Watchtower with Superman, the whole place clapped and cheered in victory. It was the closest to destruction any one of them had ever felt and of course it was Batman who managed to send the bomb to an uninhabited earth in an alternate dimension just in time.

Batman being the creature that he was walked briskly through the crowd, only nodding at every human interaction that came his way. Shayera who was among them made eye contact with him and he actually smiled a little behind his cowl.

"John and I are getting back together." Shayera said, a week after the near death incident. He didn't say anything. "But you knew that was going to happen right?"

"I knew you still loved each other. And being with me wasn't going to change that." He said in a cold tone.

"That's why you allowed us to happen. Because you knew it was temporary." She said. He didn't deny it. "You are a piece of work."

"Don't pretend that it wasn't the same for you." He said before she left.

"How did it go?" John asked when they met at the commissary hall.

"He didn't seem too bothered by it." She answered, calmly.

"Typical. He is a cold, crazed loner."

"He's not that bad." She couldn't help but defend him.

"I know. It's just… with so many lives depending on him you would think he would at least try to be better with people."

"That's just Batman, I guess. What about you? How did yours go?"

"Not as good as yours." He showed her the other side of his face where there was a giant red mark on his cheek. She couldn't help but chuckle and kiss it better.

He was working on the Batmobile in the cave when Alfred came in.

"Master Bruce, Miss Shayera is here for you. Shall I bring her down?" It truly surprised him. It had been a month since she went back to John.

"Ok, Alfred." He said and slid out from underneath the car. He cleaned his hands with a cloth and watched her be escorted into the cave. Alfred closed the door to give them their privacy.

"I bet you weren't expecting me today." She was wearing jeans, a plain t-shirt and a warm jacket. He always liked seeing her in plain clothes.

"No, I did not. Why are you here?" It wasn't accusatory, just cold. She couldn't look at him in the eye.

"I'm pregnant." She said.

"I'll be sure to congratulate John." He said, attempting to clean his tools.

"We haven't…" She gulped. "It's yours, Bruce."

She was met with silence.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked.

A/N: So are you team Batman or team Lantern?