This has not been edited or proofread at all. I just wanted to post something.
Shayera stared at the ceiling. She was numb- emotionally speaking. Physically, she was in so much pain. Her back felt like it was on fire- a fire that spread to her chest every time she inhaled. Alfred couldn't come with the pain meds fast enough. Just when she was beginning to sweat, Alfred entered the room. "Apologies, Miss Shayera," Alfred smiled kindly. A tray of what she assumed to be food was in his hands. A small, hesitant smile was all she could manage. She was in too much pain to speak. "Medicine first," he said, revealing a needle and syringe.
"Wha-what is that?" Shayera asked weakly as Alfred cleaned the injection site.
"A gift from a friend of Black Lightning's," Alfred answered as he tied her arm. "I believe his name is Painkiller. Our meager pain meds have little effect on you. We had to create our own. Black Lightning was able to…persuade Painkiller into sharing his secret recipe for anesthetizing his victims. Bruce and J'ohnn made a few modifications. And…voilà," he said as he inserted the needle.
A warm feeling spread through Shayera's limbs, and it no longer hurt to breathe. "We also used it to put you to sleep when you threw me across the room," Alfred added.
"Sorry about that," Shayera felt herself blush.
"Not to worry, Miss Shayera," Alfred said as he helped her sit up slowly. "Just a few bumps and bruises."
"I'll feel bad," Shayera said, feeling her body relax. Her back was no longer on fire, thank Ar Rheon. The pressure on her chest had dissipated.
"You were emotionally, mentally, and physically absent. You had no idea where you were. You could not tell friend from foe," Alfred placed a tray on her lap. A bowl of odorless broth sat on the tray with a jug of water. "Flavorless broth and a jug of water. Master Bruce and I want to make sure you can keep food down." Shayera nodded in understanding. "Can I be of any more service? Perhaps some television?"
"No, thank you," Shayera shook her head with a sad smile. "I haven't watched TV in two years. I'm okay." Alfred gave her a nod.
"There is a small intercom on the night table. Press it, and either me or Master Jason or Master Tim will come running."
"Thank you, Alfred," Shayera smiled again. Alfred gave a slight bow of his head before exiting the room.
Shayera stared blankly at the bowl of broth. She felt…wrong. She wanted to cry, but she refused to. Crying was weakness, at least, that's what she'd always been taught. She couldn't remember the last time she cried. Age 3, maybe?
She sighed before slowly lifting the spoon to her mouth. Introspection could wait. Time to force feed herself.
Bruce pulled his cowl off as Alfred came down the steps. "How is she?" he asked his butler.
"Depressed and sad," Alfred answered.
"I mean physically," Bruce said with an eye roll.
"She has lost a lot of weight."
"Alfred!"
"Just having a bit of fun, Sir. I gave her something for the pain. She is now eating broth as we speak. How was the meeting, sir?" Alfred asked as Bruce began to undress.
"Shayera will be staying with us for a while."
"Until she recovers?"
"She's probably going to need to be rehabilitated, too."
"And the Watchtower…."
"Out of the question. I don't trust the other heroes around her. They might do more harm than good."
"But Diana –"
"Is not to be anywhere near Shayera without either me, Flash, J'ohnn present. I doubt she'll come visit anyway," Bruce said as he pulled on a pair of loose sweatpants.
"Calling it a night already, sir?"
"It's only 7:30. The sun hasn't even gone down, yet. Besides, I want to check on Shayera," Bruce added as he pulled on a wife-beater.
"Sir, I don't think she's well enough for…strenuous activities."
"I wasn't even thinking that," Bruce glared.
"No?" Alfred smirked.
"No," Bruce's stare hardened.
"If you say so, Sir."
"Regardless of what people say, sex is not the first thing I think of when I see a beautiful woman."
"You consider Miss Shayera a beautiful woman? And I didn't say it was the first thing you think of. But it is nice to know that it has crossed your mind with Shayera."
"What!"
"I think I prefer her to Miss Kyle. You two really weren't good for each other. Both hard-headed, neither of you willing to compromise. Always physical, nothing emotional."
"Alfred!" Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose. "I will not be having sex with Shayera."
"Tonight."
"Ever," Bruce replied as his face reddened.
"Now, now, Master Bruce, I'm sure the young lady will come around. I'm sure she is no longer upset with you voting in favor of kicking her off the team." Bruce's glare became ice. But since it was Alfred, it had no effect. "I'll be your wingman," Alfred added.
"Alfred," Bruce frowned, "don't-"
"Bruce! Bruce!" Both men turned to see Tim sprinting down the stairs of the batcave. "It's Shayera," Tim gasped. "She's throwing up. A lot."
"I don't know what else we can try," Bruce said as he helped Alfred clean the mess Shayera had made. She hadn't been able to make it to the bathroom on time being that she could barely walk, much less run.
"The broth was bland," Alfred frowned.
"Her body may still be in shock," Bruce suggested, flinching when hard, retching sounds could be heard coming from the connected bathroom.
Jason's head appeared from the doorway. "We're good," Jason smiled, "no blood, here. Just a lot of water." Bruce frowned as Jason disappeared.
"I have more towels," Tim announced as he entered the room.
"Thank you, Master Tim," Alfred took the towels from him. "Why didn't we think to put a trashcan next to the bed?"
"How is she?" the young teenager asked. The three paused when the sound of vomiting was heard again.
"We've been fed her intravenously for weeks," Alfred said. "Perhaps we were too ambitious in our efforts to get her eating normal."
"Good thing her system isn't like a humans," Tim said, looking down at an iPad. Bruce assumed he was studying Shayera's scans. The 14-year-old had been fascinated by her body's unique structure since she arrived in their home. "She's been surviving on IV and nutrients for three weeks. But the problem isn't the eating per say. It's her stomach." Bruce turned to the young genius with interest. "I think we underestimated just how integral her wings were to her body."
"I think you're right," Bruce sighed. "Maybe J'ohnn has some ideas. He is very knowledgeable about Thanagarian anatomy. He and Shayera did spend a lot of time together on the Watchtower."
"Maybe you should bring her to the Watchtower?" Alfred suggested.
"No," Bruce shook his head as he tossed a used towel into a hamper, "emotions are too high. It's bad enough that the founding members of the League can't agree on what to do with her. I don't want to think about how the newer and younger members will react to her presence." Alfred nodded in agreement.
"This room needs to be aired out," Alfred said as they stripped the bed.
"She can have my bed. I'll sleep in the room adjacent to it," Bruce said. He looked up in time to see Alfred giving him a knowing look. "We aren't going to have sex," Bruce emphasized.
"What?" Tim looked at the two in confusion.
"Nothing," Bruce quickly said, "go check on Jason."
"You mean Shayera?"
"No, I mean Jason." Bruce turned back to Alfred who was still smirking at him. "I say this in the most respectful way, Alfred," Bruce paused, "shut up." Alfred's smile only grew.
"She's finished puking!" Jason called from the bathroom. Sticking his head out the doorway once more, he added, "And I gave her some mouthwash."
"No, you didn't," came Tim's voice, "I did."
"I'm coming!" Bruce called to the two before they could fight…again. Before disappearing into the bathroom, he gave Alfred one last warning look. The old butler just shrugged and grabbed the hamper full of used towels.
"Thank you, guys," Bruce said upon entering the bathroom, "I will take it from here." Jason walked out of the bathroom without a second look, and Tim followed.
Shayera sat on the toilet seat with her head in her hands as her red hair fell forward, affectively covering her face. "Shayera," Bruce said approaching the broken hawk. Shayera lifted her head, blinking back tears. "Are you okay?" Bruce crouched to be on her eye level.
"I'm sorry about the mess," Shayera she answered woefully. "I'm so embarrassed," she covered her face with her hands. Bruce gently pulled her hands away from her face.
"It's okay," he said with a crooked smile, "Dick threw up many a-times when he lived with me. He even threw-up on me." Shayera didn't smile back. Her face remained neutral. "Come on," Bruce helped her stand to her feet. He wrapped one arm around her waist, and the other under her elbow and stood right behind her. It took only two steps for her legs to completely give out. Bruce scooped her up in his arms before she came close to even hitting the floor. Shayera didn't even argue or look embarrassed. Even though she no longer cared about her pride, she still couldn't look Bruce in the eye. "Are you okay?" Bruce asked her knowing what the answer was.
Shayera didn't say anything until they left the room. "Where are we going?" Shayera asked as Bruce stepped into the hallway.
"I'm putting you in a different room."
"I'm sorry to be such a bother," she sighed. Bruce paused in hallway and looked into the green eyes of the woman in his arms. "You're not," he stated.
"Really?" she asked clearly not believing him.
"Life was dull until you got here," she heard a male voice from behind a closed door.
"Jason, go to sleep," Bruce said loudly as he continued to walk.
"It's only 8:30!" Jason's voice came out muffled from the behind the door. Shayera gave a small, quiet laugh.
"What?" Bruce asked with a raised brow.
"Nothing," Shayera said looking away shyly. "Jason is a character."
"Don't I know it," Bruce replied. "Tim is his exact opposite."
"I never thought Batman would adopt more than one child," Shayera added.
"You and me both," Bruce said. "Here is your new room," Bruce said as he walked through the bedroom doors.
Shayera's jaw dropped at the size of this one. It was huge! She thought the other one was big, but this one- the only thing it was missing was a kitchen. Her green eyes continued to inspect the room with awe as Bruce gently set her on the bed. "Bruce, these sheets are silk," she said slowly dragging her hand across them.
"Yes," Bruce answered in amusement. "They are. Those doors over there lead to a balcony, and the bathroom – "
"This room is huge," she interrupted him.
"It's a little larger than – "
"This is your room," she stated.
"Your observation skills are still on point."
"I can't stay in your room," she said.
"Why not? I won't be far. There is a room that connects to the bathroom. That's where I'll be."
"This is – "
"Shayera," Bruce said sitting on the side of the bed close to her. "Tell you what," a playful look covered his handsome features, "if you can walk to the door by yourself, you can stay in a different room." Shayera fixed him with a hard glare.
"You know I can't," she muttered. Bruce just gave her a victory smile. "Fine," she huffed out. Once again, a comfortable silence overtook them. "I wish I could understand what you're going through," Bruce said. "But I know what it's like to fee helpless."
"Helpless?" Shayera scoffed. "You were sent to a planet by your superiors to observe and report? The same planet where you made friends only to find out later that your superiors were lying to you, and then made you choose sides- only it was a lose-lose situation because you ended up losing your friends anyway and then when given a chance to redeem yourself your superiors decided to abandon you on the same planet that hates you only to come back just to permanently disfigure you? That's your definition of helpless," she finished with tears in her eyes. Bruce just stared at her. "I'm sorry," she whispered, closing her eyes. "That wasn't fair – I'm sorry," she opened her eyes, now dry.
"Stop apologizing," Bruce said.
"What?" Shayera looked at him peculiarly.
"I already told you, you have nothing to be sorry for."
"I have a lot to be sorry for."
"You don't," Bruce stated firmly staring deep into her eyes. Their faces were inches apart. "You don't," he repeated softly.
"Why are you helping me? How can you of all people not be furious with me?" she searched his eyes for answers. "How can you forgive me?" Bruce's eyes darted down to her lips, then back up to her eyes.
"It took me a while," he answered in a shockingly soft voice. "But, you were betrayed, too, Shayera." Shayera felt her face flush as Bruce continued to gaze at her. "And I get that, now." Shayera's heart raced in her chest. She'd always had a crush on Batman. Who didn't? But this was dangerous territory. She couldn't, shouldn't, fall for him. She didn't deserve that much happiness…but couldn't look away from Bruce's scrutinizing gaze. He leaned forward, their lips centimeters apart.
"I need to sleep," Shayera was able to sputter before quickly turning her face away. "And don't you have a business to run?" she asked looking everywhere but at Bruce.
"I go in when I want," Bruce said standing from the bed. "I can just as easily work from home. But I agree, you do need to rest." He turned to look at her before leaving the room and turning off the light. "I'm just on the other side of that bathroom if you need me."
"Okay."
"I'm serious," Bruce said. He looked serious.
"Okay," Shayera nodded.
"Okay. Good night."
(4 hours later)
The hawk agent flew stealthily through the dark streets of Gotham. She landed in a dark, vacant alley and brought up a hologram image on her wrist bracelet. "Agent Kol to Lieutenant Hol," she said quietly.
"Speak."
"No sign of her in Gotham."
"Are you positive?"
"I've been searching for the past four weeks. If she's here, they are keeping her very well hidden."
"Fine. Prepare to be extracted in three days."
"Copy that." The hawk agent disappeared into the night, completely unaware of the blue eyes that had been watching her every step.
