Diana slipped off her blazer and threw her hair up in a quick messy bun, then grabbed the brush and began cleaning up the edges of the Degas painting she was commissioned to restore. It was boiling hot in the labs today and she wasn't nearly close to being finished. A frown etched over her face as she stared at the buildup of plaque and residue from years of neglect that had nearly destroyed the rare original piece of artwork. She still couldn't believe it had been hiding, abandoned in an attic all these years, being passed from family member to family member without anyone ever realizing the treasure they possessed. That is until it landed in the hands of one Andrea Rojas.
The woman in the painting seemed to mock her abilities as she eyed her with suspicion. The delicate sway of her hips and swoops of her hands were elegant and paid tribute to Degas' ability to capture effortless movement in a single moment of time. She had taken to working longer hours, slipping back into the miserable existence she held before her time with Kara and found the mundanity of the work both soothing and distracting. If only for a time.
"Diana, when you are finished here I need you to identify a few artifacts that have arrived earlier this afternoon."
"Be right down, Marcus." Diana called back blindly as she continued her careful strokes. It had been a few weeks since she had spent any meaningful time away from work. The day at the Center being the one exception. Her mind drifted unwillingly back to thoughts of Kara and her bright smile as she played with the children. She had moved on, and she was grateful for the time she had with Kara, but those pesky feelings kept presenting themselves without regard to her continual attempts at squashing them. Which was becoming an inconvenient hindrance to her otherwise controlled acceptance. Andrea stopped by her office a handful of days later, the painting wrapped in brown paper and tucked awkwardly under her arm as she shifted uncomfortably at her office door. It was a surprising turn of events, she hadn't expected to see Andrea outside of the small circle of friends she had managed to make since moving to National City.
"Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot."
"That's putting it mildly." Diana said, crossing her arms as she leaned back in her office chair. Andrea let out a slow breath and seemed to deflate as her head sunk low and her eyes drifted down. "I know. And it was my fault that things between us are so discontented."
Diana continued to stare at her as her index finger tapped impatiently on her bicep.
"But I think, well no, I'd actually really like it if we could start over." Andrea said and Diana watched as the woman before her waited with bated breath for the final blow of rejection.
She sighed heavily and did her best to recall Kara's words at the gym. "I don't take lightly the things you have done in the past. They were tactless and petty and I will not tolerate that sort of behavior going forward." Diana gave her a sharp look that held no room for arguing.
Andrea nodded, hope glinting in her eyes at the small window that Diana seemed to be opening to her. "You didn't tolerate it much before either." She said with a timid smile and then upon seeing the gentle raise of Diana's eyebrow took a step forward and amended. "Which I respected, both then and now, even if I wasn't very good at showing it. I have a temper and I have a very hard time letting go of things. For that I am sorry. I know the damage I caused is irreparable."
Diana unfurled her arms from across her chest and sighed. "It was inevitable. As much as I hate to admit it, Kara wasn't meant for me."
"Lena was never going to stay with me either." Andrea said as she looked off to the side.
"We make an interesting pair."
Andrea smirked and they looked at each other with a new appreciation and deeper level of understanding. She raised her shoulders with a new resolution. "I'd like for us to be friends."
Diana smiled and stood from her seat circling her desk. "I think I'd like that too." She put her hand out and Andrea shook it smiling down at it as a look of relief flashed over her face softening her features in a way Diana had never seen before.
"On that note, I have something I was hoping you might be able to help me with. I thought, if you could restore it I could donate it to the Center. I saw the dance studio and thought this might be able to find a home there."
She wiped her hands clean of the dirt and grime that had accumulated on them while she was deep into her restoration of the painting. She had made fine progress so far and was excited to soon be able to share the final result with Andrea in the next day or two. They weren't quite friends yet, Andrea was very guarded and she had to admit a part of her still held some doubt as to how much she could trust her, but she was finding she enjoyed the challenge of figuring her out.
"Diana?"
She turned around quickly to the familiar sound and smiled widely even though her eyes scrunched up with surprise and confusion at the teen standing in her doorway.
"Ruby! This is quite unexpected. What brings you here?" She pulled her into a warm hug.
"Field trip." Ruby shrugged. "Thought I'd come say hi." Diana crossed her arms and looked down at her knowingly, forcing Ruby to fidget under her gaze.
"I know you're lying, Ruby. Field trips are scheduled for morning hours and it is nearly the end of the day. I was just about to head out in a bit myself, so?"
"I was in the neighborhood." She said with a flip of her hand and Diana continued to watch her silently. "I missed you?" Ruby tried again with a wincing smile.
Diana chuckled and put her arm around the girl and guided her to sit on the stool she had just vacated. "A great attempt at flattery, but how about you tell me the truth, or do you want to experience the lasso up close and personal?"
Ruby seemed to perk up at that. "Really, you have it here?" She looked around as if it was just lying around haphazardly. Diana shook her head and Ruby huffed and sagged her shoulders before mumbling something unintelligible. Diana squatted down and placed a soothing hand on the obviously distraught girl's knee tilting her head to regain eye contact the teen was trying so desperately to avoid. "What's the matter?"
Ruby sighed shakily as the weight of the world seemed to press down on her tiny shoulders and the cracks in her bravado made her nerves more apparent by the second. She looked up at Diana with conflicting emotions dancing around in her glossy eyes. "I can't sleep." She whispered. "Ever since the attack… when I close my eyes…"
Diana frowned deeply, disheartened by the girl's confession. "I see." Diana sighed and shuffled a little closer to her side.
"How do you do it, how do you stay brave?"
"By learning the hard way that bravery is learning to be ok with weakness. I rely on the people I trust to lift me up when I can no longer do so on my own. Why haven't you spoken to your mom about this?" Diana asked gently.
Ruby sniffed and rubbed her nose with her sleeve before her eyes fell back to her lap. "I didn't want to worry her. I can't talk to aunt Lena about it, cause then my mom will know. I can't talk to Alex about it, cause again my mom will know… and Kara… well I suppose I could tell her, but she and Lena have been really close lately and I don't want to risk my mom knowing. So you see my problem…"
Diana smirked and turned to pull another stool up to sit down in front of Ruby. She rested her hand on her shoulder, hoping it provided the little one with much needed comfort. It's too easy to forget that Ruby is still just a kid. "Your mother is a force to be reckoned with, but she's also a fierce defender of the ones she loves. I wouldn't keep something like this from her for too long. You're suffering Ruby, and it's perfectly natural, you survived a very harrowing experience. Post traumatic stress is not something to take lightly."
Diana's heart twisted painfully at Ruby's troubled expression as tears began to fall rebelliously down her cheeks. "But it's been months! Months Diana, and I was fine, I was happy, I carried on like everyone else as if it never happened."
Diana pulled her into her shoulder and smoothed her hand across Ruby's long dark hair. "But it did happen, no one has pretended otherwise. People got hurt and we were all very fortunate that none of our friends ended up in the crossfire. Whether you realize it or not they are all coping with it just as much as you are." Ruby scoffed disbelievingly and shook her head. "You're finally at a place where you feel safe enough to allow yourself to process it. You've been keeping yourself busy to avoid it. Why?" Diana asked tenderly.
"Because I'm surrounded by strength, and power and the extraordinary and it's expected of me to not be weak." Ruby supplies.
Diana's heart plummets at that. "That is unmitigatedly false. Ruby no one expects anything from you, other than your honesty. Those expectations are not put on you by your mother, or anyone else. It sounds to me as if you have set those up for yourself."
Ruby just shrugged.
"Ruby, you asked how I stay brave. The answer to that is simple. Surround yourself with people who will help you carry the burden of fear so you don't have to bear the brunt of it."
"You are just saying in a very fancy way that I need to talk to my mom." Ruby grumbled.
Diana chuckled. "Yes, and no. You are nearly an adult now, but you aren't one yet, and even adults struggle to manage their fears. You are so intelligent, witty, and whether you believe it or not, brave too." She stood up and pulled Ruby close to her as she grabbed her coat and bag with her other hand. "I'm proud of you, you sought help and that takes courage and a willingness to admit you can't do it alone. You have already succeeded where so many fail. I wish there was something I could say that would magically make everything better, but I'm afraid it's not going to be that simple. I'm here though, anytime you need me." Ruby wrapped her arms around Diana squeezing tightly, a whispered 'thank you' barely audible in the quiet space between them. Diana kissed the top of Ruby's head, a new sense of protectiveness overcoming her for the teen. "Come on, let me take you home, but I need to take a look at a few artifacts for a colleague of mine before we go."
"Alex!"
"Yeah?"
"Get the door, I just got out of the shower."
"And you think telling me that will somehow make me open the door faster? Now all I want to do is repeat what we just–"
"ALEX!"
Alex laughed as she walked over to the front door. "Ok, alright I'm going!"
"Diana?" Alex said in surprise and crossed her arms when she saw Ruby peak out behind her. "Ruby?" She wasn't sure whether to be concerned or stern so she settled for a grumble that sounded something like 'teenagers are going to be the death of me, not terrorists.' as she stepped aside to let the two of them in. "Mind explaining to me why you aren't currently doing homework in your room?"
"I finished it."
Well that…ok… new strategy. "Still doesn't explain why you left without letting your mother or I know."
"I know, I'm sorry."
"Still grounded." Sam said as she stepped out of the hallway wrapping her robe tightly around herself. "Back to your room now, I'll be in to speak with you in a moment." Ruby hugged Diana quickly causing a surprised little 'oof' sound to escape her lips before she smiled down at her. "Good night little one."
"Night Diana." She turned and hesitated for a millisecond before hugging Alex just as tightly and Alex had her own moment of brief surprise before she was wrapping her arms tightly around Ruby and smiling into her hair. "Night Alex."
When Ruby pulled away Alex cleared her throat and nodded. "Um, yeah, good night." Ruby scurried away quickly with a timid look back at her mom who was watching with a careful curiosity.
Sam looked back at Diana. "Can I get you a drink?"
"No, thank you, it's late and I'm sure you are all ready for bed. I just wanted to make sure she got home safely." She took a small step back towards the front door when Sam stopped her with a gentle touch to her arm.
"Nonsense, it's barely past eight and Kara is actually on the way here soon to whisk Alex away so you're welcome to stay for a bit. I am curious about what happened with Ruby. Stay at least long enough to fill me in on what I missed." Sam looked at her pleadingly and Diana smiled and agreed as she allowed Alex to take her things. "Let me make us some coffee." She said and hurried into the kitchen to start preparing a fresh carafe. Alex grabbed her shoes and walked over to the couch to finish getting ready, as Diana followed Sam into the kitchen. "I'm sorry my daughter inconvenienced you tonight, but I'm grateful to you for getting her home safely."
"She was no inconvenience. She is struggling though." Diana thought back to earlier when Ruby was ashamed to even admit her worries.
"What's wrong?"
"She's still having a difficult time processing the attack, she was in the thick of it, and that kind of stress can take a toll on anyone, but for Ruby…" Diana sighed. "Well she's under the impression that reaching out for help is a sign she isn't strong enough to handle it on her own…" A gentle thud of boots landed outside and a light tap of the balcony's glass door affirmed Kara had just arrived. Diana's heart skipped a beat as she saw her enter and flushed at the rush of excitement it still caused her. "...Especially since she lives amongst those who are considered gods among men." She murmured more to herself than to Sam.
"Hey guys!" Came the light, cheery voice that always seemed to brighten every room it blessed with it's sound. It was just as effective at knocking the breath from her lungs as well.