A/N: As a warning this is nothing but pure fluff ahead. Maybe a little angsty stuff here and there but still mostly fluff.

Also to the anonymous reviews, which I deleted, asking when I was going to update again...

If you guys haven't already please follow my account on here so you get updates on all of my stories. I am currently writing a Shayera-centric story: Flight of the Hawk. It goes through her time when she first came to Earth and before the Justice League came about. So most of my time will be going to that story for the time being.

The apartment was quiet.

To anyone else that would have been nothing to think twice about but to Shayera that seemed like a minor miracle at the moment. She and John were alone, finally, with their daughter. Even if she was the only one of them still awake and that too was surprising. Shayera was simply worn out and she just wanted to be in her bed but her newborn daughter apparently had other plans that night for her. There were a few members of the Justice League who had some form of experience in matters of child-raising, through helping out with nieces or nephews, and had forewarned Shayera of the many sleepless nights ahead for her. The Thanagarian thought it was rather unfair of her daughter to try and fulfill that warning as soon as she was brought home.

After countless trips pacing around the bedroom, Emma had finally shut her eyes. Shayera looked over at the bed longingly. She thought it was unfair that she was the one awake and pacing when she was still exhausted and sore from going through childbirth just three days ago. Shayera had hoped that immediately after giving birth that her body would go back to some sense of normalcy from before her pregnancy. That was wishful thinking on the Thanagarian's part. Her back and wings were still constantly aching and she was even more hormonal than before. Right now she wanted nothing more than to curl up against John in their nice warm bed and sleep.

Then there was a whimper from her arms. Shayera involuntarily let out an exasperated groan as she tilted her head back in defeat.

The whimper grew louder. Shayera took one last, wistful look at the bed and hurried out the bedroom before it turned into a full-blown crying.

She made it halfway down the hallway before that happened. In the silence of the apartment, it was enough to make her wince. If having enhanced senses didn't make the volume worse. She had been so close. Why did she ever think that her having a baby would be a good idea? Her life wasn't her own anymore. It had only taken her a few hours of being home with Emma to come to that conclusion. Surely new mothers were supposed to get more of a honeymoon period than that.

Evidently not. Her daughter was now wailing again, without the slightest bit of evidence as to why. Shayera just sighed in defeat and walked into the living room.

"Here we are. Scream all you want, John won't hear you out here. I don't suppose you want to be cooperative and quiet down now? No? I didn't think so."

She resumed the steady pacing she had been using in the bedroom. At this point she was pacing more for her own nerves than to quiet down her daughter.

"There's nothing to cry about, Emma," Shayera quietly said to her as if the infant could understand her. "You were fed, you were changed, and it's past midnight already. You have to be tired by now. I'm an adult and I'm tired."

To tell the truth, she was still more than a little anxious about this whole parenthood thing. There was so much more to it than Shayera could have anticipated. Of course John had reassured her time and time again throughout her pregnancy that she would be fine but somehow that didn't make it any easier. This was only the first day with Emma at home and Shayera was already feeling overwhelmed.

She stopped the pacing as it wasn't helping in the slightest and flopped down onto the couch with a tired sigh. She then tucked her legs underneath her and leaned against the armrest. Shayera tilted her head back as she looked at the ceiling, "Why did I remotely even believe there was a possibility this could be easy?"

She sighed once more as she looked back down, noticing a book on the floor. She shifted Emma to hold her with just one arm, something that Shayera was impressed that she learned how to do on her own in just one day, so she could pick the book up. Shayera rolled her eyes when she saw it was one of those post-pregnancy books Wally had brought over for her earlier that day. She tossed the book haphazardly onto the coffee table. She then lightly smiled. As much as she hated those pregnancy and baby books, Shayera knew Wally was only trying to be helpful. She couldn't fault him for that.

"Your Uncle Wally probably did this when he visited earlier. Let me tell you, he's a complete disaster on two legs. He literally goes through rooms like a whirlwind. I dread the day when we allow him to babysit you. Your Uncle Wally thinks you're going to take after me, you know that?" Shayera then paused as a small frown formed on her face as she glanced down at the still crying newborn cradled in her arm. The thought of having a daughter that was exactly like her terrified and worried Shayera to no end. "I hope with my entire being that you turn out nothing like me. At least for everyone else's sake if not your own."

Thankfully Emma reduced her wailing to just crying now. Shayera held her closer. Maybe, if she kept talking, it would distract Emma from whatever was bothering her and finally get her to go to sleep.

"Perhaps we can somehow talk your Uncle Bruce into babysitting you instead," Shayera continued tiredly with a slight smirk. "He's much more sensible. Though I think I have a better shot at teaching a lion how to read than getting Bruce to babysit. Not that you're short on people that can watch you. You're a really lucky kid, you know that? You have the founders of the Justice League to watch over you. They're your family. You see, while we might not be related by blood, the founders are our family. It's not like we have any family outside of that," she then paused for a moment before sighing. "Besides you...I have no biological family. You're all I have. Well you and whenever Rex finally comes along. You two will be my legacy," she then let out a light, humorless chuckle. "I'm not even a mother for more than three days and I'm already thinking about when I've kicked the bucket. Though I guess that is something all parents think about. What happens when they're no longer there and how their kids turn out as adults."

That was when it struck her like a physical blow as she looked down at her daughter. Did her own mother have any thoughts like that at all when it had come to her? Shayera had very high doubts and she didn't really need to speculate. She knew how Thanagarians regarded the whole child-rearing process; Shayera would have been considered more of a thorn in her mother's side than anything else. Unlike other female Thanagarians, Shayera wasn't a typical Thanagarian by any means. Nearly everyone that personally knew her regarded her more as a human than Thanagarian at this point; she certainly acted as such. It was nearly unheard of for a Thanagarian to want children for a reason more than to simply supply the military with more soldiers. Shayera had wanted something seen as frivolous in Thanagarian culture; she had wanted a family of her own.

Emma was looking up at her, now only whimpering, and Shayera figured she had better continue if it was working. "You don't know how fortunate you are that you were born on Earth and not Thanagar. I never knew either of my parents; they died when I was still a kid myself. I was raised in the military like all other Thanagarian children. You on the other hand," Shayera softly chuckled. "You'll be in the military over my dead body. You'll have both me and John; we'll always be here with you. I never even thought about my own parents until I came to Earth and saw the bonds that human parents shared with their children. At first I thought it was unfair I had never got to experience that myself growing up. I never got to have a family. That is until now."

Family would have actual meaning to Emma as she grew up compared to the lack of meaning it held for Shayera when growing up. Shayera found it odd that it was possible for her to be a bit envious of her own newborn daughter.

She wondered, in a distant way, whether she would have changed her perspective at all if she had never left Thanagar. If family would come to have meant anything to her like it did now. If she would have come to desire to have children of her own so that she could have a family.

Then again, Shayera knew that most likely wouldn't be the case since she wouldn't have been influenced by the humans on Earth. The Justice League wouldn't have become her first family. She never would have fallen in love with John.

Emma was now only giving the occasional whimpering hiccup. Shayera's emerald eyes locked onto her daughter's. She smoothed the few strands of amber hair back gently.

"You really do look like me. You're going to be a heartbreaker when you're older," she quietly said to her in amusement. Emma innocently looked up at her with her own emerald eyes. "Oh I can tell you're plotting right now to wake me up at some ungodly hour of the morning. Good thing your father's getting some sleep right now. He's going to be the one that'll have to get up. Unless you feel merciful and allow Mommy to get a couple of hours of sleep tonight."

On cue and much to Shayera's relief, Emma's eyelids drifted down. Shayera softly smiled as she gently stroked her finger against her daughter's cheek. She was so soft and small and delicate. Shayera couldn't comprehend how children grew from this to adults.

"That's right. It's finally time to go to sleep."

Shayera careful stood from the couch and walked as quietly as possible down the hallway. By the time she was almost to the bedroom, her daughter's eyes were fully closed and she was fast asleep.

She opened the bedroom door slowly and cautiously. Even her breathing was barely audible, though the apartment was silent. Emma stayed asleep all the way, right into the bedroom. She hadn't even stirred when she was placed in her crib.

Shayera stopped for a moment, looking down on her. The feeling still hadn't faded, even after three days. The knowledge that she had a daughter who was something like her and something like John but yet her own person. The miracle of finally having the family she so long desired to possess.

Shayera bent over to kiss Emma on the forehead, thankfully not waking her in the process

"I'll always love you," she whispered with a gentle yet tired smile.

Just as she was getting into bed, she saw John's eyes were open halfway. "You're still up?"

"Yeah but it's alright. Don't worry."

"Alright, night Shay," she heard him mumble.

"Night John," Shayera lightly chuckled, feeling him drape an arm over her and pulling her close to him.

To Shayera, the sleepless nights ahead would be worth it.