The sudden shift of Shayera cuddling against him woke John up. He laid quietly in bed, listening to the sound of breathing coming from the body snuggled up against his own. It wasn't every day that he was awake before her. He looked over at the digital clock. It was quarter to six and John internally cringed at how early he had woken up.

She shifted a bit and pressed her body further against his as she wrapped an arm tightly around him. John looked down at the Thanagarian. Shayera had been more spaced out than usual the past three days. She had been like that for nearly three weeks but it seemed to be hitting an all time high now. John knew Shayera clearly had something weighing on her mind. He wished that she would just talk to him but reminded himself that he was dealing with Shayera. He lightly sighed and moved one of her bangs away from her face.

"John," she groggily mumbled as her eyes fluttered open. She lightly stretched out her body but remained glued to his side, "What time is it?"

"Too early, go back to sleep Shay," he muttered.

Shayera lightly shook her head, "Not a chance, I'm awake."

"You don't have to be awake though," John commented.

Shayera softly chuckled against him, "Very cute John, you know how light of a sleeper I am."

"Well I know that I'm going back to sleep," he said but then felt Shayera move from his side and lay directly on top of him.

Shayera slyly smirked, "Who gave you permission to do that?"

John wrapped his arms around her waist as he smirked back, "Didn't think I needed permission."

Shayera kissed him before breaking it off after a few seconds, "Well I say that you need permission."

The two went in for another kiss before both of their commlinks went off. Shayera let out a frustrated groan and John rolled his eyes.

"Meet in the main hall conference room now," they both could hear, by his tone, that Superman sounded somewhat irritated.

"Shay," he said softy as the Thanagarian moved to her side of the bed and buried her face into her pillow.

"I don't wanna go," she mumbled. "Tell them I'm sick."

"You sick? That'll never fly," he kissed the top of her head. "Come on Shayera, we have to go."

"But John," Shayera moved her head so that only one eye could be seen.

"Come on, the meeting can't take that long," he moved to get out of bed only to be pulled back down. "Shayera!" She just gave him a sly smile before pulling his head down until their lips met in a soft kiss. When he was finally released from her grasp, John knew that he had a grin on his face. "Loved the kiss but bribery won't work. We still have to go." He pulled her out of bed as she groaned.

"So anyone know why we're here?" Wally asked as he looked around the table consisting of six out of the seven founding members. "I mean Big Blue called us all in here and he's still not even here yet. What gives?"

Diana shrugged, "Superman must have a good reason. He doesn't call meetings like this very often anymore."

"Agreed," J'onn stated with a light nod. "Superman is not one to waste our time with trivial matters."

"Yeah since he only called us in here at least ten times a week when Luthor was around," Shayera sarcastically added as she crossed her arms over she chest. "I can't imagine what he wants this early in the morning."

Wally shrugged, "Maybe he finally told Lois his secret identity and he couldn't wait to tell us. Why are you guys looking at me like that? It's possible! What do you think Bats?" Wally nudged Batman with his elbow. Bruce in turn slowly looked over at him and darkly glared at the speedster. Wally nervously smiled back and scooted a few inches away. "Right, you seem like you're in a bad mood so I'm just going to leave you alone now."

"We mustn't cut into his brooding time," Diana joked as she smirked over to Bruce but his frown only deepened. "Oh come on Bruce, it's been awhile since all seven founding members were together in one room at the same time."

"You can have your little reunion by yourselves. It's a waste of my time," he curtly replied as he narrowed his eyes. "I have better things to do than sit here and wait for Kent to show up. I know what he's calling us here for and I'm already working on fixing it."

"If you know so much then please enlighten the rest of us," John gestured with his hand for Bruce to continue.

"Read Gotham Gazette's front page," Clark said as he stomped in, slapping the paper down on the table.

Engaged Hawkgirl Seeking Citizenship With the Help of Gotham's #1 Billionaire Bruce Wayne!

By Vicki Vale

"Is there something the three of you would like to share with us?" Clark asked with a raised eyebrow. "I've read the article and there's a few things you three have kept from the rest of us these past two weeks." His gaze shifted towards Shayera and John as he continued, "Like you two getting engaged and having Bruce help Shayera obtain an U.S. citizenship."

"Oh no," Shayera mumbled as she pinched the bridge of her nose. This wasn't supposed to happen; this wasn't supposed to go public. She then glared at Bruce. "You said this wouldn't happen."

"Alright, it's about time!" Wally fist pumped but received stares from the other six. He looked around with a small smile, "I'm happy for them and I don't see why you guys aren't. You can't say you didn't see this eventually coming. They already fight like an old married couple."

"Flash does have a good point. Something like this was inevitable," Diana said as Wally beamed at her. "I don't see the big deal in this really. It's a matter of privacy after all and we should respect that. I'm sure they were going to tell us when they were ready to."

J'onn spoke up, "Marriage is a time of happiness, not anger. I'm sure their intentions were not meant to be malicious in any way."

"I know that. It's just that the two of you should have told the rest of us. I mean," Clark had a hint of disappointment in his tone as he sighed. "We all agreed that we consider each other as family and I thought we were going to be honest and not keep secrets on matters that are this important."

"We didn't mean to not tell you guys. It was a spur of a moment decision on our part and we readily take the blame for that. We were going to tell you guys only if we got the marriage license. Obviously we didn't," John said as he then gestured to Shayera. "It was her idea."

"Yet you willingly agreed with me," she retorted as she frowned. "Still, how did this get on the front page? We were very careful. There's no way this should have gotten out."

"Perhaps Ms. Vale had seen the two of you together and bribed someone to talk," J'onn theorized.

"I didn't see her at all." Bruce stated.

"Neither did I," Shayera affirmed.

Bruce continued, "I don't think she personally saw us though. If she had seen us then she would have made a scene so that everyone else would take notice. Stealthy reporting isn't her style but playing dirty is. I can easily see her paying someone if they offered her the information."

"Then someone with a personal vendetta against Bruce Wayne must have went to her and told her everything they knew about the situation," John said with a frown. He knew Shayera was most likely mortified right now. He knew that she didn't want her personal life thrown out for the viewing pleasure of the public.

"Thinking about it from a reporter's view point, someone thought they had the story of the century and sold it to her," Clark opined. "Big stories often equal a lot of money. I've seen it plenty of times at the Daily Planet. If someone thinks they can get famous or rich quick then they'll spill their guts out. Nothing talks more than the possibility of a lot of money and notoriety."

"What about your ex-girlfriend that's helping us?" Shayera asked Bruce. "She's the only one that knows almost every single detail and, from what I've seen, you two aren't on the best of terms. Lawyers are cutthroat; it's part of their job description."

"Rachel wouldn't tell anyone," Bruce said defensively as he glared at the Thanagarian sitting next to him. "She wouldn't do something like that. I know and trust her. Vicki Vale has her own vendetta against Bruce Wayne, along with a whole line of other women and disgruntled former business partners. It could have been anyone. It could be someone with a vendetta against Hawkgirl and there's plenty of people on this planet that hold a grudge against you."

"Asshole," Shayera glared at him. "If it makes you feel better than keep telling yourself that."

"How about we not point fingers?" Clark suggested, trying to calm down the Thanagarian and Dark Knight "What's done is done. Arguing amongst each other isn't going to undo or change anything. We have to concentrate on helping you out Shayera. Everyone here wants to see you and John happy."

"Thanks for the offer but Bruce has it covered," Shayera answered. "Or at least I thought he did."

"It's not Bruce's fault that this happened," Diana said to her with a light frown. "Take your anger out on Vale when you see her. She's the one who wrote this"

"When we catch the person that told her, you can be the first one to deal with them." Clark offered.

"We need to find Vale before she writes anymore articles," Bruce stated. "There's no telling if she knows about the other situation."

Shayera narrowed her eyes at Bruce, "Keep your mouth shut Bruce."

"Either you grow a pair and tell them or I will," he threatened as he returned the glare. "I'm sure you don't want everyone, especially John, finding out because it's another headline on the newspaper. The choice is yours. Who are they going to hear it from, you or me?"

"You wouldn't dare!" Shayera growled but Bruce remained unfazed.

"Shayera, what is he talking about?" John asked her.

Bruce answered instead, "She's pregnant."

Perhaps Bruce shouldn't have been so surprised that Shayera had tackled him and slammed his back against the wall. Within seconds he could feel that his neck was pinned by her right forearm. He attempted to struggle against her iron hold but the Thanagarian wasn't budging in the slightest; even as Wally and Diana were trying to pry her off of him. Wally had grabbed onto Shayera's left arm, as she had reared it back to punch the Dark Knight. Diana on the other hand had placed the Thanagarian in a light chokehold.

"You son of a bitch! You swore you wouldn't say anything!" Shayera yelled as she struggled against the two founders.

The next thing anyone knew, a green light wrapped itself around Shayera as John flew them both out of the room. They all could tell by the scowl on his face that John was not happy.

Batman grunted as he fell to the ground. He slowly stood as he massaged his throat and muttered, "That could have went better."

"Why did you tell?" Diana asked Bruce as she tilted her head. "It's not like you to do something like this."

"Out of pure concern, she's been on active duty since she found out," he stated with a frown. "What if something happened to her during a fight?"

"Her body is more resilient than a human's," J'onn stated. "Though I do see your point. She's completely Thanagarian but the child is only half. The hybrid pregnancy does pose a slight threat to their health as we do not know what to expect. We also face countless amounts of danger everyday."

"Exactly," Bruce started. "If our enemies found out that she's pregnant, what would they be willing do to get to us through her? Anyone could use her to even get to John in a heartbeat. It's a matter of her own safety."

John had carried Shayera across the Watchtower, not caring who saw them. He entered an unoccupied elevator, turned off the power, and released her. Shayera could tell that John was seething and honestly she could care less. She wanted to get to Batman and rip him apart piece by piece.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked her. "This is why you've been acting so strange and being so spaced out recently, isn't it? Why couldn't you have just told me?" She remained silent and averted her gaze. He took a deep breath and sighed, "How long have you known?"

"Roughly two weeks," she quietly answered. "Turn the power back on and let me out."

"No," He stated as he moved in front of her to block her path.

Shayera scowled, "I am stronger than you and I will force my way out if I have to."

"How come Bruce knew and I didn't? You seem to be able to confide in him more than me."

"He only knows because he's the one that performed that stupid blood test on me. He found out when I found out."

"When were you going to tell me exactly?" He asked as his eyes narrowed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I was going to tell you!"

"What when it became blatantly obvious?"

Both of them were raising their voices. They both knew the screaming match was soon going to start if they weren't careful.

John then raised an eyebrow, "Wait, this is why you wanted to get married so quickly. You would never have asked me to get married if you weren't pregnant."

Shayera frowned and glared at him, "That is not true! I would never do something like that to you."

"Oh because you have such a great track record with not lying," he sarcastically retorted as he rolled his eyes. "If you can confide so well with Bruce than maybe you should just marry him instead."

"I'd be better off," she muttered. "I should have just taken my chances and returned to Thanagar after the Thanagarian Invasion."

John's frown deepened, "Not like the people of Earth would have missed you though I can't imagine you having it much better on that planet of yours."

"Oh believe me I'd have it so much better than here," Shayera rolled her eyes.

"I don't see how."

"First off, you humans are the most pathetic creatures I have ever met," she scathingly commented. "Secondly, at least on Thanagar I wouldn't be having some wingless half-breed. You humans are inferior to us Thanagarians in every single way possible."

"Then go back to where you belong with the rest of the filthy hawks!" John snapped at her.

Immediately her eyes widened and he winced at his own words. John didn't know what possessed him to say that. He was angry and hurt. He simply lashed out without thinking. He didn't mean to call her a filthy hawk.

John swallowed as he tentatively reached out to grab her hand, "Shayera, I didn't mean-"

"Save it," she moved away out of his reach as her voice cracked and she clenched her fists.

Shayera could take other people insulting her. It wasn't new for her to be hated but being hated by him was a new thing entirely. He had always been her rock but now he was like all of the others that hated her for what and who she was.

Shayera silently moved around him towards the control panel and John quickly grabbed her wrist to stop her. Just as soon as he did this, she nailed him on the right cheek with a left cross that sent him flying against the wall. Stunned, he cracked open his eyes to see the elevator door opening and her exiting. He shut his eyes tight together as his head started to throb. He then heard the door open once again.

"I thought I told you not to screw it up with her?" A feminine voice said to him.

John groaned as he opened his eyes to a blurry orange image. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. In front of him stood Vixen, who did not look amused.

"Mari," John quietly said as he rubbed the back of his head. She was the last person he wanted to deal with at the moment.

"Getting her angry is never a good idea," she stated with a smirk. "Thought I'd let you know."

"Thanks for info," he sarcastically responded with an eyeroll. "Not to be rude but why do you care?"

"Unlike the two of us, Shayera and I are still good friends," Mari said while helping him up. "What did you do to get her so upset?"

"What I did?" John sounded insulted. "More like what she did!"

Mari rolled her eyes, "Great the blame game. It seems I'm going to get nowhere fast with you."

"You still haven't fully answered my question."

"I don't like seeing my friends hurt," she replied with a light frown. "How about you and I go have a little talk? I think you could use it. Obviously you need to blow off some steam before you try to talk to her again."

John frowned as he muttered, "Assuming that I want to."