A/N—There will be an epilogue following this chapter and then the story is finished. Thanks to all of you who have stuck by this story. Unfortunately my dearest beta Hepburn is experiencing computer problems but lucky for me The-Lady-Isis has stepped in to beta this chapter. Thank you Isis for all your help. Please read and review.
Disclaimer—All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
I'm Lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm Lucky we're in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday—Lucky by Jason Mraz
Chapter 25—Lucky
Artemis sighed as she watched Orion sleep. After rescuing Aetes Pelops, she and Lightray had brought Orion to the hospital set up on New Cronus. The doctors from New Genesis had treated his leg and given him a sedative. They had told her that by morning he should be completely healed.
She had left and gone back to the planet to help with the dead and wounded. She had worked most of the night and she was exhausted—her head still ached from the head-butt she had received from Sparta the day before, and the need for sleep ate at the ragged edges of her mind. But here she was, sitting next to Orion and watching him sleep.
She shook her head and looked down in shame. She was an Amazon warrior who had trained to be the very best for thousands of years. She had a beautiful home in paradise and sisters that loved her completely. She was the joy of her mother's life—and she knew how very disappointed Antiope would be if she could see Artemis right now.
The redhead was so very confused. She had always believed that she wanted what her mother wanted. The men she had met as a child had been vile and repulsive and she never thought she would desire one. But she was sitting next to a man who made her heart race. Whose kisses gave her such pleasure. Suddenly, spending eternity a proud virginal warrior like her namesake seemed so very undesirable.
"Artemis," Orion said in a low and soft voice.
Her gaze darted up joyfully as she looked into his warm brown eyes. "You're awake!"
She wanted to laugh at herself. She had only been in Man's World for a month and she had fallen for a man. Even Donna had lasted longer than that and that girl was beyond foolish when it came to men. But she didn't stop him when he caressed her cheek and pulled her down for a kiss. Instead she went into his arms willingly and returned his kiss with all the passion in her heart.
"How are you feeling?" she whispered as their lips parted.
"Better now that you are here. My leg is entirely healed by now. I am after all a New God and we heal quickly. How are you feeling? You have been through a lot in the past few days," he asked.
Artemis was warmed by the concern and tenderness in his eyes. "I'm fine. A bit of a headache and I very tired but I'm fine. I guess I should be getting some sleep. Mnemsoyne set up quarters for everyone in the city," she said as she moved away from him.
"Artemis, wait. I think we need to talk," Orion said.
Artemis thought she knew but romance wasn't her area of expertise. Did people discuss their feelings for the opposite sex with the one that they had feelings for? "About what?"
"About how we feel toward one another," Orion said.
"Oh you mean the lust that seems to spring from nowhere," Artemis said in her usual blunt manner. She didn't know how else to put it.
"I think it is more than lust, Artemis. I have desired—or as you say, lusted—for other women since my wife's death but I haven't felt about them the way I feel about you," he stated.
Artemis blushed at the intensity of his stare. "How can you know that? We have only known each other for a few days. This is…so confusing for me."
"How so?" he asked gently. He was not a patient man by nature, but with Artemis he felt he could be a lot of things he normally wasn't.
"How much do you know about my people, the Amazons?" she asked.
"I know that you worship the Olympian Gods and that you are all immortal warriors and that your tribe is only made up of women," he said.
"Yes, there were only women on the island on which I grew up. So when it comes to you…I..I don't know what I feel. I wasn't raised to seek a man for a mate. I wasn't supposed to have a mate at all. I am an Amazon warrior who is to serve her gods. Sex was not a part of my upbringing though I know some of my sisters have sexual relationships with each other. I am not supposed to feel desire and want for a man. I am to remain a pure and devoted warrior."
"But you do want me?" he asked.
"Yes, but it goes against everything I was ever raised to believe! My adopted mother, Antiope, raised me to be the Amazon ideal. She named me Artemis to honor the virginal warrior goddess. She would be so ashamed of me if she knew I felt this way. I don't want to hurt her. I cannot," she stated.
"But you told me the story yourself about how Artemis loved her Orion but he was killed. You saw her gazing at his image in the sky. Don't you think she would choose to be with him if she could?" he questioned, not wanting her to pull away from him.
"Maybe, but I don't know, Orion. I can't just abandon my beliefs for a moment of passion. What happens if I give into our desires and we find that it was just lust? I would hate myself," Artemis stated bluntly.
"It isn't just lust, I know that but I can be patient. We can take our time, get to know each other. I am not the easiest person to get along with but with you it doesn't seem so hard," he said with a smile.
"I like that you state what you are thinking. I have no patience for people who can't speak their minds. Of course we will probably argue often," Artemis said returning his smile.
"And that is a bad thing?" he smirked.
"My mother will not be happy," Artemis said sternly.
"I will do what I have to to prove my honor to her. Just please—give us a chance," he requested, his expression fierce.
"It won't be easy and if you can't handle it just let me know. I promise I will understand," Artemis said quietly—she knew she was ready to say yes.
"I am a New God and quite strong so I don't need 'easy'. I am also immortal so I have all the time in the world to prove my worthiness for you. The only thing that will make me go away is if you say you don't want me. So will you give me a chance?" he asked and Artemis found herself wanting to believe in him.
"Yes," she said softly as Orion pulled her in for another kiss. "Yes."
Donna sighed as she snuggled deeper into Dick's warm body. She had slept and there had been no bad dreams. Just Dick's loving arms wrapped tightly around her. She was happy just to be alive and have a chance to live those visions she had just before dying.
She realized that she just wanted to go home. She had completed the mission that was her destiny and saved the Titans. Now she wanted to have the life that Dick had promised her before their last battle.
"Short-Pants, wake up," she said as she sat up in bed. She reached out and shook him when he only groaned.
"Donna, it is way too early for you to be waking me up," he said as he grabbed his pillow and pulled it over his head.
Donna looked out the window and saw the pale light of early dawn but shrugged her shoulders as she was wide-awake and wanted to go home. She leaned down and removed the pillow from Dick's head. Then she started kissing his neck, trying a different method of waking him. She heard him groan again but he pulled her under him and pressed his mouth to hers. Donna enjoyed the passion for a moment before rolling them over so she was on top and sat up while straddling his torso.
"Let's get dressed. I want to go home," Donna chirped, obnoxiously cheerful for so early in the morning.
Dick glared at her with eyes that were a little red from lack of sleep. He had spent hours helping with the repairs to the Javelin after she had gone to sleep. He was exhausted and certainly not in the mood for her uber-happy behavior. And the brat had used sex to wake him up—when had she learned that guys never turned down morning sex? Especially with a beautiful and naked Amazon.
"If we aren't having sex then I'm going back to sleep and if we are having sex then I am going back to sleep afterwards. I'm not superhuman, Brat, I need sleep," he growled.
She gave him a sexy pout and said, "Please Dick, I have done what I needed to do here. I want to go back to Earth and see my sister and then go apartment hunting. You still want to get a place in the Village right?"
He was so tired and suddenly he had nightmares of her waking him at the crack of dawn every morning. She was going to drive him crazy but as he looked at her he suddenly didn't care. All he knew was he wanted her. He sat up and kissed her and for the next half hour made her forget about getting up and going home.
Afterwards she lay sated in his arms as he drifted back to sleep. Maybe they didn't have to rush home quite yet. She lay there in a dreamlike state as more elaborate versions of the visions she'd had just before dying played through her mind. Somehow she knew the bad was behind her. She smiled as she saw their loft. She would know it immediately when they found it. She almost laughed as she saw Dick rushing around their home tie askew as he was late for his first day in the New York City District Attorney's Office. She handed him his briefcase, fixed his tie and kissed him goodbye. She could feel her excitement as she snapped photos of the models in beautiful clothes. Tears came to her eyes as she saw the lovely white bouquet in her hands and looked up to see Dick smiling at her at the end of the aisle. She was crying as she saw the sonogram of the bump on her belly and she could hear the technician tell Dick and her that it was a girl. The sweet baby smell seemed to fill her nostrils and she could almost feel the downy softness of her daughter's dark hair as she stroked the sleeping newborn.
Donna wasn't even aware of falling back to sleep until she heard the knock on the door. She sat up and noticed Dick had also been awakened.
"Just a moment," she yelled as she pulled a simple white chiton over her head. Mnemsoyne had placed clothing in her room last night. Dick and staunchly refused to wear a chiton so she threw him a robe. When he was decent she answered the door.
Mnemsoyne and Coeus entered the room. "We are going to have a celebration in your honor today. You have saved us all and we wish to show our appreciation. A great banquet has been set up in the main hall so as soon as you are ready please join us," Coeus said with a bow.
Donna's knew her wish of going home right away was lost but she put a smile on her face and said, "You didn't have to go through all the trouble but I am honored. We will join you in twenty minutes."
Mnemsoyne handed her a beautiful long chiton that was the palest lavender color and trimmed in gold and a beautiful pair of gold sandals. "Please take this as a gift from us as your other garment is completely ruined." She also handed Donna Dick's Nightwing uniform that had been cleaned and repaired.
"Race you to the bath," Donna said as she set down the clothes and ran to the sumptuous bath in the other room. She pulled off her chiton and stepped into the heated water and walked to stand under the waterfall at the edge of the bath. She felt Dick's arms go around her as he joined her and she returned his kiss then allowed him to bathe her body before returning the favor. They didn't rush and the twenty minutes turned out to be closer to forty minutes.
Donna dressed in the chiton and enjoyed the feel of the soft silk against her body. She twisted her raven curls into a simple updo that she secured with several ornate gold combs she found in the room. She didn't realize how lovely she looked until she looked into Dick's appreciative eyes.
"You are so beautiful sometimes it takes my breath away," he said. Donna blushed at his praise but returned his passionate kiss a moment later.
"We better get moving, Short-Pants. The sooner we get to this celebration the sooner we can leave. I honestly just want to go home and see Diana. I know she is worried and we will both feel better when we see each other. Besides you and I have a loft to find," she said with a bright smile which Dick returned as they left her sumptuous room.
They headed to the banquet hall of the large palace and Donna was greeted with cheers and applause as she entered the room. Music filled the air as Thia led her to a table at the front of the room and large trenchers of food were placed before them and glasses of wine were poured and given to them. Dick raised an eyebrow at Donna at being served alcohol for breakfast but she just shrugged. Celebrations on Themyscira always had wine, no matter the time of day.
She picked up some grapes and started eating. She saw Artemis sitting nearby with Orion and they seemed to be lost in conversation with each other. Artemis let out a low laugh and Donna nearly choked on her grape. Artemis had a dry sense of humor, Donna knew, but she had hardly ever seen her laugh. She was never amused by Donna's antics. She looked again at the two and smirked. Oh how the mighty have fallen. All those lectures on how men were unnecessary came to Donna's mind but then she looked at the happiness on Artemis' face and any thought of giving her a hard time vanished. She deserved love as much as anybody.
Donna looked up and noticed Batgirl and Flash moving toward them. Wally had two huge trenchers balanced in his hands. Nobody ate more than Wally.
"Donna, you look gorgeous," Wally said as he set down his food across from Dick and her. "For a moment I forgot that I'm engaged to Linda."
The sincerity in his voice made Donna laugh. "I'm sure she would love hearing that."
"Oh man, you're not going to tell her I said that are you? She'll kill me," Wally said as he stopped his rapid stuffing of his face.
"No, Donna wouldn't but that doesn't mean I won't. Just remember I have another weapon in my arsenal to use against you," Dick smirked as Wally's face paled.
"And if you ever do you can sleep on the couch for a month," Donna said with an imperiously raised eyebrow.
Barbara laughed softly as she saw Dick's face whiten a little and mumbled, "She certainly has your number," earning her a glare from him before turning to Donna and saying, "You do look nice, Donna. I envy you not having to were a mask or uniform."
"Well at least you don't have to wear a disguise in your regular life. This whole secret identity thing really stinks. I know why I must do it, but it isn't the Amazon way," Donna sighed.
"Yeah, Diana would go everywhere in her armor when she came here. She only adopted a secret identity after being in Man's World a couple of years. I don't think she likes it much either but at least I can meet her for coffee as Wally West without a problem. Of course most of the League has gone and I think those left know our identities," Wally said with a shrug as he finished the massive amount of food he'd brought to the table. "I must say that the food here is really good. Is it like this on Olympus?"
"Yes, well actually it may even be better. The food is beyond delicious. Every grape, strawberry or apple is perfect. Demeter only brings the best produce to be consumed by the gods and Hestia is a perfect cook," Donna explained. "I think this is about what the food is like on Themyscira."
Wally's face got a dreamy expression and they all laughed when it fell at Donna's next words. "But mortals are not allowed on Olympus so you can never eat there and you're a man, so eating on Themyscira is out too."
"Figures, well I will just have to enjoy as much of the food here as I can," Wally said and zipped away only to return seconds later with another large trencher of food.
As he sat down Donna noticed Hyperion standing up. He raised his arms and the music stopped and everyone turned toward him. "This holiday is in honor of our child who was willing to sacrifice herself to protect us. We can never repay you child but you will always be honored among us as our champion."
Thia walked toward Donna carrying two beautiful and ornate silver vambraces. "Troia, Hyperion and I wish to give you this armored metal forged by the sun's own flames. It is indestructible and will provide you protection in future battles," she explained as she handed them to Donna who had risen to except them.
Oceanus and Tethys moved forward carrying a black and silver pendant. It was round and a crescent and circle were etched in silver on the black surface. "Please accept this pendant. We all wear them to honor our fallen leader Cronus. You are and always will be welcome here on New Cronus as part of our family," Tethys explained as she fastened it around Donna's neck.
Iapetus and Themis came forward next. Themis held a beautiful gold and silver earring in her hand. "We give you this earring whose stone was used to balance the scales of justice. Wear it as a reminder that fairness must always prevail," she stated as she attached it to Donna's ear.
Crius and Mnemosyne came forward carrying more cloth spun from the starry firmament. "We wish to give you more of this cloth of starry firmament. May you always remember were you came from and always know where you are going. May it also help protect you and keep you safe," Crius explained as he handed her the material.
Coeus stepped forward next and gave her a silver arm cuff. "This belonged to Phoebe who sacrificed herself to bring you here. You are so like her that you were also willing to give your life to save all of us. You honor her memory and I know she would want you to have it," he explained and Donna shed a few tears of compassion at the sorrow in his eyes. She took the cuff and slid it up her arm.
Xanthi and Athyns came forward next. "Sister, we would love to have you join us here on New Cronus. You could help us to do so much good in the universe," Athyns stated.
"I am honored by your request and I will always think of you as my brothers as well. But I have another family on Earth and wish to stay with them. But if you ever need me just call," Donna replied.
"And we will always come to your aid if you need us," Xanthi added as Donna embraced him and Athyns.
"Thank you for the gifts and the celebration. It has been my honor to serve you and I know I will always be a part of you, but it is time for me to return home," Donna said as she knelt and bowed to the Titans.
"Rise, child, and take you leave and know that we are proud of you," Hyperion stated as music again filled the air.
"Come on guys lets go home. I cannot wait to see Diana and tell her everything," Donna stated as she, Nightwing, Batgirl and Flash left the hall.
Both Diana and Bruce were waiting in the Cave when Donna, Dick and Barbara transported there from the Watchtower. Bruce had been debriefing returning League members and filing a long report on the mission when he received word that Donna and the others had returned to the Watchtower and would be transporting down shortly. He had immediately called Diana down to the cave.
Tears rolled down Diana's cheeks as she embraced her little sister. "Don't ever scare me like that again, little moon. I don't know what I would do without you. And I don't know what my daughter would do without her godmother."
Donna smiled through her tears. "Godmother. Hera, I can't wait to hold the little squishy." Donna kneeled in front of Diana and spoke to her stomach. "You need to start growing, little one, 'cause Auntie Donna can't wait to meet you."
Diana laughed and said, "Little sister, it is so good to have you home."