Chapter five
"............and that's how we defeated Hades."
To say that Preston's eyes were
bulging out of his head would be the understatement of the evening. He was
sitting on a comfortable, overstuffed couch in the den of the Watchtower,
munching on chips, listening wide-eyed to Diana, who was sitting opposite him,
talking animatedly.
From her post on the opposite loveseat, Katma smirked
inwardly. They had been at the Watchtower for only half an hour,
and Preston had already managed to make an
impression on each and every member of the Justice League.
Preston was always like that, she thought
reflectively. Even in the old days when she was dating John, he had always
managed to keep people wrapped around his little finger.
Maybe it was his wide smile, his sense of humor, or his
large, innocent-looking eyes that drew people in, but whatever it was- it
worked like magic. He was now seated comfortably with Wonder Woman and Superman, talking casually about battles they'd been
through, as if he'd known them all his life.
Even she, who'd met them before, was much more reserved.
She had kept her own conversation to a minimum, and most of it was directed to
J'onn J'onnz, who was sitting beside her and seemed to think it his
responsibity to make her feel welcome. After a bit of meaningless small talk
that included both the weather and the state of the roads, even he had fallen
silent.
Katma sighed inwardly. In a way, she envied Preston. They were
around the same age, but her being a woman and a Green Lantern made her
naturally tough and defensive- and that came along as coldness to many people. Preston, on the
other hand, had no such scruples, and his charm won people over almost instantly.
He had time to......be himself, and have fun doing it.
Crash!
Katma was startled out of her thoughts by the sound of
breaking glass, and what sounded like.....metal clanging to the floor. Then a
woman's scream.
"Flash, are you TRYING to kill me?!?!?"
"I'm sorry, Shy! The tray was wobbly-"
"And I suppose it makes perfect sense to bring it
over at warp speed........" Hawkgirl's vocie was growing tenser by the
minute. And more sarcastic.
"Well, it did at the time!"
Katma stifled a laugh. Flash, in an uncharacteristic show
of concern, had been so shocked at Hawkgirl's state that he had immeadiatly
volunteered to act as her nurse till she recovered; and in the thirty minutes
he'd been caring for her, he'd already spilled water on the bed, nearly set the
kitchen on fire in an effort to warm up her favorite sesame seed rolls; and
apparently, now, spilled lunch. His voice came from the room again, highly
agitated.
"Just hold still a minute while I......"
another crash.
"Flash!" wailed Hawkgirl.
Katma laughed aloud and stood to her feet. "Let me
go and check on them, J'onn," she said to the Martian, who had already
risen. He nodded and sat back down, and Katma headed for Shayera's bedroom.
Shayera was sitting up in bed, water all over the front
of the gray t-shirt she was wearing (with a pang, Katma noticed that it was a
Marines t-shirt) and was attempting to get up and snatch her mace away from
Flash, who was running around the room, trying to pick up the spilled food.
"I am gonna........"
"You're not supposed to get out of bed!"
Katma couldn't help it- she laughed out loud. "Flash- over here!" He tossed the mace to her and
dashed for the door, his legs a red blur. "No one
appriciates my talents....."
"WHAT talents?" Hawkgirl yelled after him, indignant. Then she
caught Katma's eye, and the two women began to laugh.
"Sorry you had to see that," Shayera said,
matter-of-factly. "He's really a sweet guy, and means well, and I feel bad
for yelling at him, but he's........he's........"
"A terrible nurse?"
"I was going to say a speeding disaster, but that
works, too." The two laughed again, and Katma handed Shayera her mace. She
took it and laid it lovingly on the bed. "Please. Sit with me for a while.
All the others are busy, and if I have to hear one of Flash's "mack
session" stories again........"
Katma smiled and sat with only a few second's hesitation.
The two had formed a tentative truce since Hawkgirl's release from the
hospital, and the fact that the woman seemed to hold no grudge against Katma
for shooting her made her feel somewhat......obligated to be civil, at least.
She had been surprised to find Shayera intelligent, learned- and quite funny.
If it hadn't been for John, they might have been very
good friends.
Hawkgirl picked at the blue Watchtower-issued blanket
that was now coverin g her legs, apparently having nothing to say. Katma
cleared her throat. "Um, how are you feeling? Is everything......all
right?"
"My pregnancy is normal, if that's what you
mean," Shayera said tartly. "Batman checked me out and said
everyhting was okay."
"I did not mean-" Katma was embarassed for a
second, then paused. She DID mean the pregnancy- so why pretend? And as long as
they were being so direct- "When do you plan on talking to John?"
Hawkgirl's eyes narrowed, and
Katma wondered belatedly whether she had violated the unspoken rules of their
truce. "What's your business there?"
"John is....my friend, and........" who am I
kidding with this touchy-feely stuff? Katma wondered irritably. "Look.
Are you still in love with him?" Two can play this honesty game.
She felt vindicated when Hawkgirl looked suitably shocked at her question.
"I......." this time, it was Hawkgirl's turn to
stammer, and she fixed her eyes on her bedspread once more.
"You are." Katma had never been so sure of
anything in her life. It didn't stop the sensation of having a heavy weight
punch her in the stomach, though. She ignored the feeling and spoke again.
"You have to tell him that."
Hawkgirl looked up at her in disbelief, as if shocked
that Katma would take her non-admission admissoion so calmly.
"I........can't. He hates me. And with a good reason....." she
squeezed her eyes shut, remembering the anger she'd felt emitting from him even
after she'd freed him and Flash.......even after she'd sacrificed herself to
Kator's wrath for their sake.......her hand crept involuntarily to her womb as
she processed the memory. No one would ever know about THAT. No one........
"He may SAY he hates you.......but he doesn't."
Katma's answer was flat, but rang with sincerity. "Trust me on that
one."
Hawkgirl blinked. She certianly wasn't expecting THAT
comment.
"So you think I should tell him that I........"
"That you what?"
Both women's heads swiveled around to face the doorway,
looking for the source of the deep, baritone voice that had just spat out a
question.
"John!" Hawkgirl gasped. Katma stood to her
feet, clutching her fist at her side. How much had he heard?
John wasn't looking at HER, though. His eyes were fixed
on Hawkgirl- or more noticably, on her abdomen.
She looked down, blushed, and covered herself
defensively.
"Hawkgirl," he said, and his voice was low and
calm, yet scarier than anything that either woman had ever heard.
"What the hell are you not telling me?"
