A/N: A big thank you to reviewer blah for his kind words. I appreciate it.
The sheer force behind Superman's hit sends Wonder Woman flying into the wall. She hits the concrete, a large crater forming as her body slams down. A cry tears through the premises. Diana can't tell if it's hers or not. She's in too much pain to even think. Her lips don't feel like they are moving but she can't be sure. In fact, agony is all she knows right now. She burns, and burns, and burns so bad that she wishes death would claim her. Unfortunately, she's made of sterner stuff. Everything goes black and something warm trickles about her.
"Why didn't you tell me?" is the first thing she hears upon waking up. Diana's startled blue eyes beg Bruce to understand. "How could you not tell me?" he yells, face twisting in rage and disbelief. The thin thread of trust is about ready to snap.
Automatically, Diana's hand flies to her abdomen. "I was going to," she says, her voice barely a whisper. "Today, after the mission, I was going to." An unspoken question makes the temperature drop. Diana hold her breath, waiting for Bruce to quell his fury. She gulps as his face looses all emotion. Slender fingers press harder.
Bruce shakes his head and for a brief moment he looks like he might talk. But he doesn't; his eyes travel to her abdomen and his gaze holds its position. It takes five of Diana's heartbeats – the longest time, an eternity – for him to shift his stare to the wall. Rather unexpectedly, his fists start pounding the innocent structure. Punch after punch, he lets out wrath and anguish, disappointment and horror. "If you'd just told me," his voice cracks, like a whip, slashing over her. This violence scares even Diana, who can only look bewildered at her torso while her lover destroys whatever he can get his hands on. A breakdown is nothing less than what this is.
With a jolt, a hard yank from Bruce, Diana almost falls off the bed. And it finally sinks in at this point. Tears well up into her eyes. "Why?" That's the last coherent thing that leaves her mouth for the next few hours. She's too caught up in her own grief to help Bruce through his; this is the second time they both lose family. It is with regret that Diana thinks of not telling Bruce earlier. She had so many opportunities.
Superman is the least sympathetic. He's known about Diana's pregnancy and to his mind it is better that things should be as they are. "An infant has no place in out line of work," he states, a few weeks after. The wound is still raw and Diana almost throws the blame on him. It is, after all, the Man of Steel who caused this directly. Then she reminds herself that Kal is a friend and she's grieving and throwing the blame on him doesn't help. For his part, Superman neglects to tell her that his aim had been indeed right and there was no mistake. It is better for Diana and Bruce to never know it.
"We could try again," Bruce tells her, eyes sunken and red-rimmed from lack of sleep and acute misery. He doesn't want it; he fears it, but he is willing to try again despite it all. "There are ways, Diana," he says, because he does want a child, eventually. He wants one with her.
"No!" Her refusal is vehement. She can't and won't try it again. It's some sort of punishment, she's sure. But for what? Why are the Gods punishing her? "I don't want to talk about this now." She closes her eyes and flinches when the door shuts with an angry, loud bang.
