Shayera could have sworn she somehow caught the sound of Emma crying before she even realized she had woken up. Quietly, so as to not wake John, she rolled out of bed and hastily made her way to Emma's room. She found that the one-year-old was wide awake and holding onto the railing of the crib to stand.

"Hey, Emma baby," Shayera said with a light yawn, her voice a bit groggy still. "What's the matter?"

Emma immediately stopped whimpering the second her mother came into her line of sight and began to giggle. She reached a hand out to her, "Mommy!"

Shayera lightly rolled her eyes and smirked, "I should have known. You just wanted my attention so you pretended to cry. You're too smart for your own good sweetheart."

She hadn't fallen back to sleep until two hours ago and technically, since John had gotten more sleep than her, it should have been his turn to get up. But truthfully, Shayera didn't mind sitting with her daughter in the early hours of the morning. She rather enjoyed it.

Carefully, Shayera lifted Emma out of the crib and gently hugged her with a soft smile as the little girl chattered away in her own little baby gibberish. "You are awfully chatty this morning. You definitely got that from your Uncle Wally."

"Unk Ally," Emma mumbled causing Shayera to chuckle.

"Yes your overly talkative Uncle Wally," she then left the room and walked into the living room with her. "Maybe we shouldn't leave you with him so much." Shayera then sat on the couch and sat Emma on her lap so that she was facing her. "But you love your Uncle Wally a lot. Don't you Emma?"

"Love Unk Ally," Emma then simply giggled again as she grabbed a fistful of Shayera hair and tugged.

Shayera grimaced as she tried to pry her hair from her daughter's grasp, "What is it recently with your fascination with my hair? That actually hurts when you pull on it." A prideful smirk then appeared on the Thanagarian's face, "Though that shouldn't be surprising. You are Thanagarian after all."

Emma's response was a loud squeal followed by laughter.

"Shh, not too loud Emma," Shayera lightly laughed, bringing her face close to her daughter's as she then kissed her cheek. "We'll end up waking up Daddy if we're not careful. Unlike Mommy, who can go without her beauty sleep, Daddy gets all cranky and grouchy."

"Daddy crank-be," Emma repeated.

"I heard that," she heard John's amused tone come from the direction of the hallway. "You two having a party out here without me?" John feigned a hurt expression as he entered the living room and sat on the couch next to Shayera.

"Hey, you snooze you lose Lantern," Shayera shrugged. "But really, we were only just chatting."

"Oh really, about what?" John put his arm around Shayera's shoulder and pulled her close to him.

"You know just about the weather, football, alien invasions...the usual," Shayera sarcastically said with a smirk.

John rolled his eyes as he chuckled, "I see you're broadening her horizons with intellectual commentary."

"Oh most certainly," Shayera snickered. "She needs to know how refs call pass-interference during a play."

"Babe," John began. "Even the NFL doesn't know how to call pass-interference."

"Point taken but at least Emma will know how to and be able to call bullshit on their shitty calls."

John lightly frowned, "How many times have I told you to not curse in front of her? I'm honestly surprised her first word wasn't a swear."

Shayera lightly chuckled, "That sounds quite Thanagarian actually."

The Green Lantern let out a sigh as he shook his head, "Of course you'd find that amusing."

"Of course I wou-ow!" Shayera suddenly exclaimed as Emma had grabbed her hair and roughly yanked it. "Stop pulling my hair!"

"Bullsheez," Emma giggled as Shayera groaned and John gave her a pointed look.

He gestured towards Emma, "That's what I was talking about Shay."

"Technically she didn't say it," Shayera pointed out.

John gave her an unamused look, "Mispronunciation still counts." He then shook his head and chuckled, "What am I going to do with you Shay?"

Shayera smirked, "Absolutely nothing because you love me the way I am and you wouldn't want me to change."

"You're lucky that's the truth," he kissed her cheek. "You up for breakfast yet or are you feeling nauseous at all?"

Shayera shook her head, "I actually feel fine. I didn't throw up once last night. Rex seems to be taking pity on me."

"You're still that confident it's Rex this time?"

Shayera once again smirked, "Who was right last time that it was a girl?"

"Smartass," John muttered with an eyeroll.

"Ass," Emma repeated causing Shayera to laugh.

"Who's the one cursing in front of her now?" Shayera rhetorically asked him.

"That was one time compared to your dozens," he pointed out. "Anyway, what do you want for breakfast?"

Shayera shrugged, "I don't really care. Whatever is fine with me."

"You sure?" John raised an eyebrow. "I don't want to hear you complain when you don't get what you want."

Shayera rolled her eyes as she slid off of the couch and sat on the floor, placing Emma on the floor next to her, "Yes I am positive John. Now if you don't have any other questions I have to fulfill my harsh motherly duties of playtime."

"Oh the horror," John snorted back a chuckle before he sarcastically added on, "You obviously have it so hard. I don't know how you handle it."

Shayera lightly chuckled, "Somehow I manage."

John had only in the kitchen for five minutes when he was startled by Shayera's sudden yell, "John, get in here!"

John cracked his knee against the kitchen counter as he whipped his body around, causing him to momentarily flinch in pain, "What's wrong?"

"Hurry it up and get in here Lantern!" Was the only response he received from his wife.

John rushed into the living room and saw Shayera sitting there, looking perfectly fine. Still, John could feel the worry rise within him. "What happened? Are you ok?"

Shayera titled her head and raised an eyebrow, "What? Nothing's wrong at all John. What gave you that idea?"

John narrowed his eyes at her, "This better be good for nearly giving me a heart attack."

"Oh, I guess that was a bit overdramatic, sorry," the Thanagarian said with a sheepish smile before she pointed. "Look at Emma."

John looked and was confused at first as to why Shayera needed him to rush all the way to the room to see Emma. That was until his brain finally registered what Emma was doing. The little girl was standing up on two legs, one hand on the edge of the couch, taking a few steps forward. Emma looked the most concentrated John had ever seen her and he found it quite adorable honestly. Not that John would say that out loud. At least, not with Shayera in the room where she could hear him.

"I thought something happened to you Shay," John sighed a breath of relief. "Oh thank God that's all it was."

"Thank...John! You're supposed to be excited not relieved!" Shayera complained, sounding astounded and slightly appalled.

"I'm relieved she's walking and not destroying things or getting herself hurt Shayera," John said with a smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I honestly thought a Thanagarian kid would be much more destructive than a human one. After all, she is your daughter Shayera. I'm surprised she hasn't destroyed anything yet."

"Very funny," Shayera gave him an annoyed look. "I thought you would have been a bit more enthusiastic about our daughter finally walking."

"Shay, it's one of those things that's bound to happen," John shrugged. "I mean she does learn everything fast like you. It's probably that Thanagarian in her."

Shayera immediately smirked and raised an eyebrow, "Is that your way of saying I'm a genius?"

"Nice try," John jokingly shot her down and Emma seemingly giggled in agreement.

Shayera playfully glared at them as she continued to smirk, "Traitors."

Emma then stumbled over to her mother. Shayera caught her just as she was about to fall over, pulling the giggling baby into her arms and kissing her cheek.

"You're lucky you're so adorable," Shayera said to Emma as she hugged her, which in turn made Emma giggle more.

John silently watched the two. The tender, maternal look on Shayera's face was unmistakably the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. John found that, despite being a former lieutenant and for being a warrior, motherhood suited Shayera perfectly. While many knew her for her warrior persona, John knew the real Shayera that she had buried deep within herself. The loving and caring side to her that Shayera would only allow John and Emma see. The love and devotion she had for Emma, and if she was correct than soon enough Rex as well, was unparalleled. John knew even her love for him couldn't compare.

If someone had told him all of those years ago when he had first met her during the Imperium invasion that the brutish Hawkgirl was going to be his wife and the mother of his children, John would have openly laughed at the notion. Even through the first few years of knowing her, John never would have believed it that they would wind up together. Sure the bickering was still there and they got on each other's nerves quite often but the love had never faded over the years. Even after everything that had happened.

John knelt next to Shayera and she turned to him, giving him a curious look. He didn't say anything as he pulled her into a kiss. He could feel the smirk appear on her face as the kiss broke off and she rested her forehead against his. Not for the first time recently, John contemplated his life so far.

Perhaps being destiny's puppet wasn't such a bad thing.