Broken
Chapter 3 – Awakening
Disclaimer: Guess what? I still don't own Justice League. Betcha never saw that one coming, eh?
Author's Note: Remember this? Yup, at long last, an update! Ta-daaaa! Remember, constructive criticism is your friend!

Flash was sprawled across his chair, his chin resting lazily on his hands. Whether he was bored or just in deep thought was anyone's guess – he tended to look bored when he was thinking, and when he was bored, he tended to think. Right now, there wasn't much else to do – Diana was trying to focus on a book, her attention swept away by the smallest of sounds. Superman was sitting in the corner of the room, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. For the first time since the accident, Flash found himself grinning a bit. When the man of steel wanted to, he could do an impressive impression of Batman.

Speaking of Batman, where the heck was he? After Flash had told him what had happened, he'd just sort of slunk off. Big surprise. He sighed, fidgeting restlessly. "Hey, princess? What're you reading anyway?"

"Some romance novel. Very generic." Diana said, shaking her head. "Boy meets girl, boy loses girl because he's too full of himself to admit he likes the girl. The entire thing is a poorly structured excuse for a story. Dull, really."

Flash raised an eyebrow. He'd never pictured the princess to be one for those types of books. "So…if it's so boring, why're you reading it?"

"Because it's something to pass the time." Diana shot him a harsh look. "If you ever let me get back to reading it, anyway." It didn't really matter. Even without him interrupting, she'd been on the same page for nearly a half an hour. But it hadn't hurt to make an attempt at doing something productive. Something to try and take her mind off the situation. Even if it didn't work, it made her feel a bit better anyway.

As the door to the medical bay slid open, for the second time today Flash eagerly eyed J'onn as he stepped out, scooting forward until he was on the edge of his chair. "So, she's okay again?"

"Yes."

A simple answer to a simple question. "And GL?"

"He's as well as can be expected."

At that, Flash sunk back into his seat again. He didn't really know how he expected John to be; no matter how well Flash knew him, how would he know what the Lantern was thinking? He wasn't a psychic! Not like some people…

Diana snapped her book shut with an audible clap. "How long do you think it will be before she awakens?" Her voice was low. "Days? Weeks?"

"I'm not certain." Superman had opened his eyes and was now watching J'onn along with the rest of them. The Martian released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding until then. "Remember, Thanagar is a planet none of us would have ever known of if not for Hawkgirl. We may know her, but we know little about her kind. We've seen her recover faster than expected before, but she's never suffered an injury of this caliber before now." Diana's gaze fell silently to the book resting in her lap.

Without a word, Superman shut his eyes again. Flash wasn't the only one who had been thinking. He honestly wished he'd been there – the entire situation would have probably had a much different outcome if he had. Not that he was about to say that out loud. John was already upset enough, and they'd have enough to contend with when Hawkgirl came to. He'd done the best he could.

Flash wasn't exactly thrilled with the answers he was getting. Out of the entire league, Hawkgirl and GL were the ones he felt closest to. He was still angry at GL, even if he didn't really want to be. Part of him argued that what had happened was GL's fault, and that he had every right to make sure he knew it. The other argued that the Lantern needed a friend right now, not someone who was ticked off at him. Still…

He lunged out of his seat again. "I don't know about you guys, but a mocha frappe would reaaaally hit the spot right about now. Anyone else?"

She opened her eyes to a wall of haze. Even after a good long series of blinks, it held strong. Vaguely, she was aware of several sounds that she was sure shouldn't have been there: the whir of machinery, an irritating beeping sound that would have grated quickly on her nerves if she had been fully aware, and…breathing that wasn't hers? Definitely not sounds she usually woke up to.

She went to sit up, only to find that her body wasn't feeling all that cooperative. Numb, it barely felt like it belonged to her at all. Instead, she just tilted her head to a side (even that in itself took some real effort), her vision blurring again. What was wrong with her? She gave a low moan, shutting her eyes again long enough for her world to stop spinning so sparatically. When she opened them again, a dull sense of realization hit her -- the breathing hadn't been her imagination. He'd dozed off, one hand lightly grasping her own. She hadn't even noticed before then. But why was he sleeping by her bed? "John…?" she murmured, giving his hand the best squeeze she could. Which wasn't much of one. "John…?"

He snapped awake, surprised he'd even fallen asleep. The lantern felt a wave of sickness wash over him as he saw Hawkgirl staring up at him, lids half-closed. Not because of her (the sight of her could never make him ill, no matter how battered she was), but at the shock that it hadn't been a dream after all. God, what he wouldn't have given for this to have been one of Destiny's twisted illusions. He took a deep breath, tightening his own hold on her hand. "Hey…how're you feeling?"

"Mmmmmph…dun ask." Hawkgirl grumbled. "Where…where am I? How'd you…what…?"

John would regret it later. With his free hand, he lightly stroked the top of her helmet. Feathery soft and hard as rock, all at once. Just like she was. "Shh. You're in the tower's medical area."

"Again?" The thangarian, even in her drowsy state, gave an indignant snort. Figured.

Had it been any other time, he would've cracked a grin. "You took a pretty bad hit…it was my fault." He took a deep breath. Here it went. "I'm so sorry Hawkgirl, I -- " The lantern cut himself short when he noticed she'd dozed off again. He sighed. " -- accidentally crippled you with my ring. No hard feelings, right?" he finished sarcastically to himself, a bitter edge to his voice. Damnit, what was he going to SAY to her? Sorry? What good would sorry do now? He didn't know what she'd do, how she'd take it, what would --

John sat back again, the thought of releasing her hand never even passing his mind. So long as he could still hold it, he was going to. Who knew if she'd ever let him close enough again? To hold her hand, to stroke her head, to watch her sleep with such a peaceful expression.

She'd regained conciousness at least. Sleep was an improvement. A big improvement. He'd be the last person to complain about that. But everything, every moment took her one step closer to realizing what had happened. Hawkgirl wouldn't sleep forever.

God, what was he going to say...?