I'm back, bitches! :D Just kidding. You guys aren't bitches. Man, it's been like, what, six months? Well the reason for that is... this book sucks. It really does. But, well, it's my baby and that's why I'm updating now. Please enjoy!

OoOoOo

Recovery was slow and painful.

Celeste had never felt this was before. Sure, her mother leaving left her with a gaping hole in her heart. And of course losing her grandmother had made it heavy with guilt. And Alfred's death had damn-near ruined her. But this was. This was an entirely different feeling altogether. Her heart felt even heavier with grief and sorrow. She couldn't stop herself from thinking about what could have been. What should have been.

Currently, she was sitting on the roof of Wayne Manor above her old room. She was always the smart one, the one in control of everything. Nothing phased her. How could she have let this happen?

Because you had to be the stubborn fool you always are.

Celeste clenched her teeth at the malicious voice inside her head. "Shut up," she snapped at herself. No matter how many villains she faced - Circe, Ares, or otherwise - that voice would be her worst enemy. She was her own worst enemy.

Your baby is dead because of you.

"Shut. Up."

What man would want to marry a woman who can't even keep his kid?

"SHUT UP!" she finally screeched, tears streaming down her face. In a flux of emotions, her hellfire spiraled out of control. She hit a nearby tree, the leaves burning right off of it. She sighed, returning the fire to her palm. Her hugged her knees to her chest and silently sobbed. No matter how hard she tried, someone always ended up hurt because of her.

"Thought I'd find you here."

Celeste turned to see Olive taking a seat next to her. "What do you want, Olive?" she grounded out, doing her best not to snap. It seemed as if everyone was worried about her; Rex, Jon, Clark, Olive, Terry, even her father. She didn't need to be fussed over. She needed time alone so that she could get through this like she did everything else. By herself.

Olive rested her head on the taller woman's shoulder. "I want to talk to my sister," she answered simply. "How's work, Peaches?"

Celeste blushed at the old nickname. She hadn't been called that since they were three, before this whole mess started. "Livy, I don't work," she deadpanned. "Unless you count buying back the company from Powers as work. I don't."

There was silence for a moment before the Olive spoke again, "Rex is worried about you."

The raven haired woman snorted. "No shit."

The blond's green eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare as she sat up. "You're not the only one hurting, you know," she reminded her harshly. "Rex lost his kid too. It's not fair of you to shut him out like that."

Yet another thing that was her fault. Every time something happened to her, she shut out the people closest to her. Her friend was right in saying it wasn't fair. It was beyond unfair. But Celeste didn't know any other way to cope. "So you came all the way from Star just to tell me that I'm a heartless bitch with ice running through her veins?" She scoffed. "I already knew that."

Olive's eyes softened. "Hey, don't say that," she chided lightly. "You're not heartless and if anything, you have hellfire running through your veins."

Celeste glared at her, but couldn't hold in her laughter at the awful attempt at a joke. She had cried so much in the past month that it felt good to laugh. It was nothing more than a chortle, but it was enough. "Thanks, Liv. I needed that."

Olive smiled. "That's what I'm here for," she joked. Her face grew somber as the two stared into the horizon. "How are you holding up?"

She shrugged. "Eh."

"Celeste."

"Sometimes it's better not to feel anything," admitted Celeste. "Olive, I killed my child. I knew I was pregnant, I knew that the fight would be dangerous. Yet, I still went. What kind of twisted psychopath does that?"

"You're not twisted and you're not a psycho," insisted Olive sharply. "You made a mistake. You may be a quarter goddess, but you're still three quarters human. You're not perfect."

"Olive..."

The blond sighed and shook her head. "I know you won't believe me. Just... go and talk to Rex, okay? You haven't been to his apartment in a month, you barely talk to him."

Celeste hung her head in shame. "I took his child away from him," she whispered. "How can I face him after that?"

"He loves you," Olive reasoned. "Please, at least try."

The Amazon hesitated before nodding. "I... I can try."

"That's my girl."

OoOoOo

When she arrived at her lover's apartment, Celeste hesitated. Would he even want to see her? Why would he? She was sure he would be angry with her. But she had to do this. She had to own up to her mistakes. So, she rapped her knuckles against the door.

It opened so fast that she almost got whiplash. "Celeste," she heard him breathe. Before she knew it, she was being enveloped in his strong arms, his face buried in her hair and her nose nestled into the crook of his neck. They stayed like that for a moment, just basking in the comfort, warmth, and love they were able to provide for each other.

"I'm really bad at this," she admitted to him, her voice muffled.

Rex chuckled, setting her down onto the ground. Their eyes met in an intense gaze and he brought a hand up to move a dark strand of hair behind her ear. "We're both learning," he reasoned.

Celeste smiled at him, but it soon fell. "You should have talked to me."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You weren't exactly approachable." He didn't sound upset, just exasperated. Somehow, that made her feel worse.

She hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry."

Rex took her hand, leading her into his apartment. "Don't be." He sat her down onto the couch, kissing her forehead. "This was no one's fault, Princess. Okay? It was a freak accident."

"But I-"

He stopped her with a raised hand. "I know that you knew you were pregnant. But it was a level five threat and Superman was off-world. You're our next biggest heavy-hitter. We needed you and you knew it. Even if I had known, I wouldn't have been able to keep you from helping if I tried. You're more like your mother than you think."

Celeste sighed, resting her forehead against his. "When did you get so wise?" she teased lightly.

Rex softly pressed his lips to her nose, eliciting a giggle out of her. "It's varied through the years," he joked. "Don't blame yourself, Princess."

The corners of her mouth twitched as she leaned her head onto his chest. "And what about you?"

"What about me?"

Celeste pulled away, staring up at him. "I know you very well, Rex Stewart. You feel guilty about something, I just don't know what yet. What's wrong?"

He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "I don't know, I guess I'm upset that I didn't see the signs," he confessed. "You were vomiting, but you didn't have a fever. You'd been acting weird for the past week or so too."

She took his chin in her hand. "Hey, you couldn't have known," she soothed softly. "I didn't even know." He was the last person she would blame for this mess. She wanted to make sure he understood that this was her fault, in anyone's.

"I know. Doesn't stop me from feeling like a shitty boyfriend, though."

Celeste pressed her lips together, thinking. "How about this?" she proposed. "There were things we both could have done better, but we didn't. And we can't change the past." She took his larger hands in her smaller ones, placing them on her waist. "But we're together. And we're going to help each other. Sound good?"

Rex looked at her for a moment before his face broke out into the biggest grin she's ever seen. In one swift movement, he tugged her closer and his lips were against his own as he held her firmly to his body. Her own hand traveled to the nape of his neck, gently running her fingers over his skin. She was rewarded with a low moan and smirked against his mouth.

Celeste broke their kiss, but didn't pull away. "I love you," she told him. "I know I don't say it a lot - not nearly as much as I should - and I only really show it when we're alone, but it's true. I love you. I love you, I love you, I-"

He silenced her with another kiss. This one was a lot softer and much more chaste than the first. It was also short, only lasting for around five seconds before he pulled away. "I love you too, Princess. More than you'll ever know."

OoOoOo

"I fucking hate it when you're right."

Olive smirked. "I know."

Celeste thought for a moment before she gave the blond woman a smirk of her own. "You know, I can't help but notice that you and Jon have grown closer," she observed. Two could play at that game and her friend should know that Wayne's didn't like to lose. "Now that I think about it, you two were mostly alone the entire three years I was gone. What's the deal with that, huh?"

Her plan worked as Olive's face flushed. "He's just a friend, Celeste," she hissed venomously.

The woman titled her head to the side, observing her friend. She tried to remember the last time Olive dated someone, but couldn't place her finger on it. In all the years she had been back, not once had she seen the blond in a relationship. "Liv..." she spoke seriously, eyes sparking with realization. How could she not have noticed this before?

Olive's green eyes shifted nervously. "Yes?"

Celeste gently took her shoulders. "Are you gay?" she asked seriously. What kind of friend was she if she had missed something like this?

Tears were coming out of the blond's eyes. "Yeah..." she admitted.

The raven haired woman bit her lip. "How long?"

Olive looked absolutely helpless. "Since we were fifteen."

She'd been in the closet for eight years? That was almost a decade! "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

She shrugged. "You had your own shit to deal with. Compared to what you were going through back then, being gay seemed insignificant."

"Don't say that," snapped Celeste sharply, startling her friend. The guilt at being so wrapped up in herself was eating away at her. "I don't care what you think I'm going through, you're my best friend. My sister. Your problems aren't less significant than mine. Ever. Do you understand?" There was no excuse for her to not be there for her friend. Absolutely none.

Hera, why was she such an awful person?

"I... I guess."

Celeste smiled, kissing the blond on her temple. "Do Aunt Dinah and Uncle Ollie know?" she asked.

Olive hung her head, ashamed. "No. I haven't. I'm afraid of what they'll say."

"You know they'll love you no matter what, right?"

A tear rolled down her cheek. "But what if they don't accept me like this?"

Celeste raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you're giving them enough credit." This didn't seem to cheer her up, so she decided to reveal something she had never told anyone. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm bi."

Olive blinked, surprise evident on her face. "Really?" she questioned. "Does Rex know?"

Celeste smirked. "Nope. I haven't been hiding it, but I've been dating Rex since I was thirteen. It's not like I could have had a girlfriend at the time."

"What about the Amazons?"

Her face contorted into one of disgust. "Liv, that's gross. They're like my aunts." She gave the other women a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. "I know it's scary, but this is apart of you. It's nothing to be ashamed of, okay?"

"Okay."

OoOoOo

Okay, so I was originally going to have this as OlivexJon for a side pairing, but I've changed my mind. I made Olive a lesbian because I needed something to develop her character. It's something that she's going to struggle this, especially since she isn't out of the closet yet. Now, I'm leaning towards OlivexMareena. I mean, can y'all see it? I can. Anyway, please review!