A/N: Thanks for everyone who reviewed – here's the aftermath of Diana's/Bruce's dream.

Chapter Eleven – Double Trouble

For a moment all she could do was sit there, still sobbing silently and drenched with cold sweat. She'd never been so scared, so utterly bone-freezingly terrified in her life. She'd never had a nightmare like that before- she'd woken afraid after bad dreams, but never experienced the grief that came along with this one. Looking around the empty room, Diana had never felt so alone. She got out of the stifling covers with one thing in mind. Bruce.

Leaving the room, she headed to the living area – only to find that he wasn't there. The feeling of being alone intensified. She heard a faint sound from the kitchen, and flew there as quickly as she could. She set down silently on the floor once she got there, gawking. He was shirtless – and any other time Diana would have been thanking the gods for a) sculpting such a creature, and b) letting her see. But she wasn't, simply because of the way he was slumped over. Bruce was standing with one hand on the table, leaning against it, fatigue in every line of his body. It was the only time she'd ever seen him allow himself to look fallible. He held a glass of water loosely in the other hand. She took a step closer, realising that he was also dripping in sweat, and breathing as hard as she was.

"Bruce?" she asked. She winced as she heard her voice – it was still shaky with suppressed sobs, and he turned quickly.

"Diana? Are you alright?"

She made a diagonal motion with her head that wasn't confirmation or denial. "Nightmare," she confessed quietly.

He frowned. "I was hoping we were far enough away from people for that not to happen."

"It wasn't like the others," she said. "They were…unfocused. Just flashes of vague terror. This was clear…like a memory." She shuddered.

"Perhaps it was," he suggested.

She shook her head. "No. I hadn't seen a gun until I came to Man's World, and the people in it…" She frowned. "I didn't know them, but they seemed so familiar to me." And they'd obviously meant something to her as well – she still felt grief-stricken.

Foreboding began to inch its way up his spine. "Familiar how?"

"Like…I've seen a picture, but never met them. But it definitely wasn't a memory – I saw it from the perspective of a child, and my being in Gotham as a child is impossible."

He stilled, muscles tensing. He held his voice rigidly controlled when he spoke. "Diana…what happened? In your dream, what happened to the people?"

Even remembering it was painful. "They were just….he just…he killed them…all because of some pearls."

The glass in Bruce's hand shattered, making her jump. He didn't seem to have noticed – nor was he blinking, eyes fixed on her face, wide and- and- and terrified. "Bruce?" she whispered, taking his hand. When she reached to pull the shattered pieces from his palm, his fingers gripped hers, heedless of the pain he must have been in. "What's wrong? Are you-" It was her turn to feel her eyes widen, as comprehension dawned horrifyingly clear. "Oh Hera," she whispered. He looked away, and she took the opportunity to tug the shards of glass from his hand, then wrap a clean dishtowel around his palm. He didn't seem to notice. "You know it," she said.

When she'd finished, he looked back at her face. "I know it. It's my nightmare, Diana. It's the nightmare I've had almost every night for the past thirty years."

"And the people were-"

"My parents," he muttered quietly.

Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his chest, closed her eyes and reeled in horror against his body. He stiffened, and she prayed he wouldn't misunderstand, and think she was pitying him. She wasn't pitying him, and she never would – but now she understood. Now she knew why. Now she knew him. And with that-

She loved him.

It hadn't been that solid before, that concrete. Or that simple. But it was now. She loved him.

With that realisation, it was Diana's turn to stiffen, and pull out of his arms, unsure how to deal with it now. "I don't understand why I…saw your dream," she whispered. "Why-"

"J'onn said that dreams are more emotion than thought," he said, feeling suddenly cold. "And during sleep the barrier that I provide you would be down. I'm sorry, Diana," he finished.

She looked back at him, her mouth dropping open. "You're sorry? Bruce, what in Hades are you sorry for?"

"Making you see it…you don't deserve that."

She gave a bitter laugh. "And you do? What exactly does anyone do to deserve that?"

"It's still not your burden to bear," he replied stubbornly.

She turned away, inexplicably disgusted with him. "It is only yours because you refuse to share it." She tried to walk away, but he grabbed her shoulders and spun her back to face him.

"What would you have me do?" he hissed. "What do you want me to do, Diana? Pour out my heart to everyone I meet?! What happened that night is my business, and it is up to me how I choose to deal with it!"

"Deal with it?" she shot back. "You think you're dealing with it?"

His voice went venomous. "Drop it, Diana."

She narrowed her eyes and lifted her chin. "No. You would never have told me, or anyone else for that matter. Well the Fates have given this thing to me now, for whatever reason. And I'm not letting you run from me."

They glared at each other for a few minutes more – it was the first time she'd ever been able to hold his gaze without wanting to drop hers, and both of them knew right then and there that his glares would never work on her again. "You done?" he snarled after a while.

"Not quite," she replied. "I'm not asking you to become something you're not. But stop pretending you're alone. It's selfish, pretentious, and cowardly." One arched eyebrow raised a fraction in challenge. "Now I'm done." With that, Diana turned her back on the man she loved, and left the room.

---

Skatha was enjoying her new life. Thanks to her interaction with the Amazon champion, she'd been able to restore at least some of her youth; it wouldn't least all that long, but Skatha didn't need it to – there were a million ways she could prevent herself from growing old in this world, and so many people she could destroy. It had taken her a while to decide which mortals she wished to target first: the leaders of nations or the so-called heroes that protected this world. Heroes. Ha. Obviously this world was a far cry from the one she'd left – the days of Achilles and Hector were glorious, where men became heroes because of what they did, not what they were born as. Where she had to search to find their strengths before she wiped them out.

Still, it was probably best that she got rid of this pesky Justice League first – then she could set to work destroying the mortals. Besides, as long as she didn't touch Themyscira (apparently the only connection to ancient Greece left), there was nothing the other gods could do to stop her.

Sadly, it did not look as though she was going to get a chance to cripple Earth – Skatha felt a shiver of warmth move up her spine; it was a warning sign. There was another god nearby, but when the presence grew stronger, Skatha smiled, recognising it. A touch at her mind told her where to go, and Skatha eagerly transported to where her sister would be waiting.

"Eris!" she grinned, holding her arms out.

When her twin made no move to enter them embrace, Skatha dropped her hands, a scowl forming. "You have betrayed me," she said quietly.

"Oh, now don't look so surprised," Eris purred. "Hera gave me a good deal, and you are resourceful, sister. I'm sure you can work out a way to twist it to your advantage."

"This is because of the Amazon is it not?"

"It is," her twin confirmed. "Though I am curious – do you even know who it was you cursed?"

"She was an Amazon," Skatha shrugged. "I always hated them anyway, and it is particularly fun when the greatest strength in a person is compassion. It's so delicious watching them rip themselves apart."

"She's Hippolyta's daughter," Eris told her.

"Hippolyta has a daughter?" she squealed, delighted. "How wonderful!"

"Unfortunately Hera does not see it that way," her twin said. "You know what they will do to you for this."

"Oh I know. It will not be my first time in Tartarus. Lord Hades is always fun."

"And the Amazon is also his daughter," Eris told her. "I doubt you will find your welcome to be warm." (A/N: I know you never find that out for sure, but I just think it adds another dimension to Diana.)

"Hmmm…I daresay you may be right, Eris. I could work this to my advantage."

Eris grinned like a wolf and only then embraced her sister. "I knew you would. Good luck, my sister."

"How long do I have?"

"Oh, about another day, I should think. Hopefully enough for you to do what you do best at least once more – and for the Amazon to lose her mind."

"Very well," she replied. "Then I had better get to it. I will see you when it is the turn of chaos to rule the Earth once more."

"Be well, my sister."

With that, the two dark goddesses went their separate ways, with Skatha returning to her own task. Still grinning in anticipation, she made her way down the corridors to her prey.

"Hey, you're back!"

She gave the man a predatory smile. "I am back indeed."

"Seeing as you don't like coffee…" Flash grinned. "I brought you some tea instead."

---

The atmosphere in the Arctic was…frosty.

Both of them refused to be the first to cave, and instead sat at opposite ends of the couch, studiously ignoring each other. Diana was, in fact, pretending that her heart wasn't pounding every time he shifted even slightly. Why did she have to fall in love with him now? It just complicated an already volatile situation, made everything tense. Her outburst had not helped things either of course. And she was beginning to want to apologise. Discovering her love for him had unsettled her, and made her lash out. Bruce wasn't the empath, he couldn't be expected to realise how she felt. Though she was beginning to wish that she could know what he was feeling. Angry was a good guess.

She'd found a library on another exploration of the Fortress, containing amongst other things, to her great delight, a copy of the complete works of Shakespeare. Not that reading Shakespeare was helping her to not think about being in love. However, by Love's Labour's Lost, she couldn't ignore how much she hated him being so…Batman. It was disconcerting when he didn't have the cowl on. She closed the book and turned to him. "Are we going to not speak to each other the whole time we're here?"

No reply. He didn't look up from his personal computer that he'd produced from his utility belt.

Suppressing the urge to tell him he was being childish, Diana carried on in a hopeful tone. "Would it help if I told you things about me you didn't know?"

He made an impatient noise. "Diana-"

"I don't like feta."

Finally putting the computer down, he turned. "Diana, stop-"

"My favourite piece of Shakespeare is sonnet number 116."

"Diana, I know everything about you, stop-"

"I don't have a belly button."

"There's no point- What?"

"I don't have a belly button," she repeated.

He blinked. "How can you-" A small chuckle of surprise escaped him. "No, I guess you wouldn't."

"See?" she smiled. "You don't know everything about me."

"I could have worked that out."

"Did you know the other things?"

"Yes. Like I said, I know everything else about you."

"Like what?" she asked.

He sighed. "Like the fact that you don't eat Hershey's chocolate, only Cadbury's. You know all the words to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Whenever you have a free day, you teleport to the Grand Canyon at sunrise. You knew who Flash was before the Thanagarian invasion. You think you may have inadvertently let Lois know that Clark Kent is Superman before he told her-"

"Ok, ok, stop," she said.

He smirked. "Point made."

"I overreacted," she said, sobering.

"Yeah."

"But what I said still holds true."

He evaluated her for a moment silently. "Maybe."

"It's not weakness to accept comfort from a friend," she said. "But I…have this feeling that you're going to…pull away from me because of it."

He sighed and didn't speak for a moment. Diana's heart sank. She couldn't lose him, not now. "Diana…You have to understand…this is…incredibly difficult for me. You were right when you said I'd never tell you- I've never told anyone. Alfred knows, but he's never had to ask. In truth…the idea of anyone knowing- or seeing that…I can't-"

She nodded. "I know, Bruce."

He didn't say anything more, and only got up from the couch, walking away and leaving Diana wondering if she was forgiven or not.

---

It was late by the time Shayera got back to the Watchtower – 3 am GMT, and past the occasional hero going to bed, or Booster Gold on monitor duty, the Watchtower was surprisingly quiet. She slipped into the quarters she shared with her fiancé, quickly undressing and getting underneath the covers, smiling a little at John as he stirred and opened his eyes, smiling sleepily at her. "Hey you."

"Hey yourself," she murmured, kissing him softly.

"Find anything?" he asked, more awake now.

She shook her head and yawned. "Not really. I'll explain in the morning."

"It's morning now," he pointed out.

"And I'm tired," she said. "And pregnant. You sure you wanna keep me from my bed?"

He grinned, a white flash in the darkness, and kissed her forehead. "'Night, Shay."

She smiled and snuggled a little deeper into his arms, drifting to sleep blissfully…

…until she was woken up again, five minutes later. Or what felt like five minutes. But unless the clock was lying, it was eight hours later. She smiled again, recognising the slow, rhythmic stroking of her wings as belonging to John's hands. He'd always loved her wings – it was one of the first things she'd fallen in love with him for. On Thanagar, wings were nothing special. Here, they made her his angel.

"Sorry to wake you," he said. "But Dr Thompkins is expecting us, and the transporters still aren't working." Since it was an unusual pregnancy, and would likely draw a lot of press attention, Batman had given them the number of Leslie Thompkins, assuring them that she was a friend; reliable and discreet.

She nodded. "What time?"

"An hour."

Thirty minutes later, showered and breakfasted, the couple took Diana's jet down to Gotham, and parked the invisible plane on a handy rooftop. There wasn't a lot Shayera could do about her wings, but at seven am in Gotham, there weren't many people entering the clinic. The kind-faced woman smiled warmly at them; she was only person in the building, apparently. "You must be John and Shayera," she welcomed. "Or do you prefer Green Lantern and Hawkgirl?"

"John and Shayera is fine," the redhead smiled, somewhat nervously.

"Wonderful, I'm Leslie. And I imagine you're anxious to get this over and done with."

The parents-to-be nodded. "This way then," the doctor said gesturing.

The three of them entered a neat and tidy examination room, complete with ultrasound machine and a table that she gestured for Shayera to lie on. The Thanagarian had to hide a smile – she'd never seen John look so nervous before.

"Now, this gel is a little cold," Leslie said, squirting a liberal amount of Shayera's exposed stomach. Her muscles twitched under the temperature, but she didn't react otherwise. Leslie switched the machine on and picked up the scanner. "Ok. Now I won't be able to tell you the sex of the baby at this stage-"

"We already know," both of them interrupted.

Leslie raised an eyebrow but didn't enquire how they knew. "Well, you will be able to hear the heartbeat. Let me just…" She moved the scanner over Shayera's skin until a rhythmic pulsing sound came clearly over the machine. "There," she smiled. "That's your baby's heartbeat." (A/N: She's six weeks in, 'kay? Excuse any plot holes caused by that lol)

The silence was…profound. Leslie smiled absently as the two superheroes in front of her underwent the same expression changes as all prospective parents did. There were some things that didn't change no matter what species you were or what powers you may have been blessed with. "It's so fast," Shayera whispered.

"Well, the smaller things are-" Doctor Thompkins broke off with a frown. "Actually…that is a little fast." She moved the scanner again, still frowning – it wasn't till John and Shayera were very scared that the smile came back into her face. "Ah, I see. That would explain it." She looked up. "You're having twins."

---

A/N: Ha ha! Betcha didn't see that one coming did ya? ...or maybe you did. Let me know and review please!