Shayera stood outside in one of the palace's many gardens. Alindra approached from behind and addressed the red head.

"Shayera, the city has been retaken, and the palace is secured. Diana found the intelligence officer she was seeking, and surprisingly, they found Queen Audrey's husband alive. He has been moved to a secure medic wing, and is being attended to. He lost his arm, and a lot of blood. Right now he is in a coma, but the doctor's are hopeful to keep him comfortable and eventually he will wake up. His body just went into shock."

Shayera nodded, but said nothing, and kept her gaze on the flowering sanctuary.

Alindra stood next to Shayera, staring at her face for a few silent moments. "What is on your mind?"

"Nothing that should be. Not right now anyways. Our mission here is clear, but I admit that I am a bit distracted."

"By what?"

"Diana and Audrey."

"Shayera, you have to trust Diana. If you don't then your marriage is doomed to fail."

Shayera turned to Alindra, and sighed. "I got to the window just in time to see Audrey kissing her."

"Did Diana return the affection?"

"No. Not that I could tell. Diana collapsed. She could barely hold herself up."

"Then there is your answer. Diana didn't initiate anything. However, you can't rip Audrey's arms off either. She was probably overcome by the whole situation."

Shayera nodded, but then added, "There is something else though. When we left the city, we took Audrey and her son to a lodge in the woods."

"So?"

"Diana was willing to leave her there by herself. Why would she do that? She had to have known that Audrey would be safe there. And that means she has been there before and knew that the queen would not be discovered. Yet she didn't say that. Instead she told me that Audrey was sure that the place was private, and hence safe. Given her importance in all of this, would you gamble her safety if you were Diana? You wouldn't."

Alindra held her peace for a moment, and then approached the subject with ease. "Shayera can I be honest here?"

"Yes. Alindra, other than Helena and Dinah, I consider you to be a trusted friend. So be blunt."

"I think that you need to stop over thinking everything. Even if Diana had been there before, what does that matter now? It is a part of her past. Let's say that they used to rendezvous there at some point. They don't now. And Diana wouldn't tell you that because she would try and spare your feelings. Given how hot headed you tend to be, I wouldn't tell you either. I care for you Shayera, but you are being very unfair to Diana in all of this. She has tried to stay even tempered with regards to your past relationship to John hasn't she? Even though he pushes her buttons all the time. Why are you not cutting her the same slack?"

"I-I..."

"You are wrong in this. And if you continue to be an obstinate, frankly, bitch about it, you will lose Diana. You will have pushed her away because you don't have a grip on your jealousies. She has shown trust in you, and you owe the same to her. If you don't trust her, then you should never have married her. And from what I know, she has not given you a reason not to take her at her word. Shayera, if you love Diana, and I think you do, stop this nonsense, she deserves to be treated better than what you are doing now."

"I was horrible to her at the Lodge. Alindra, I am pushing her away. I can't help it. I don't trust Audrey."

"Then talk to her. And try listening for once. Don't go in swinging. Use that brain of yours. I know you are smart."

Shayera grinned slightly at her friend. "Were you this wise before dating Athena?"

Alindra laughed. "I would like to think so, but I don't mind saying that she probably has influenced how I think."

Shayera reached out and hugged the blonde general. "Send word to Diana that you and I are going to retrieve Audrey and bring her back. I want a few words with the queen, and then I will talk to Diana."

Alindra pulled back slightly, "Do you think you can control your temper when talking to Audrey?"

Shayera laughed, "That is why you are going with me. You will keep me from snatching her bald."

Alindra smirked, ''Gods woman. Okay. I will go with you. Leave your mace here though please."

Alindra walked away for a moment to pass along Shayera's message, and then the two took flight to go and retrieve the queen.

Diana, the former Justice Lord, sat in a chair in the den of the lodge. Audrey was currently sleeping on a couch in the same room, albeit fitfully. She was tossing and turning and mumbling occasionally. Nothing she said was coherent, but Diana imagined that her dreams were filled with the events of the day. She felt a small pang of sympathy for the smaller woman. In their conversations earlier, it was apparent that the queen had been through enough in the last few years to last a lifetime. And still, she had so much ahead of her.

Quietly, Diana stood and walked over to where Audrey was trying to sleep. She leaned over, and gently stroked the smaller woman's hair. And barely above a whisper, she began to sing a lullaby that her mother had sang to her as a child. Diana closed her eyes, and recited every syllable she remembered about the song that calmed her fears as a child. Audrey's body reacted by stilling, and calming some. The blonde sighed in her sleep and her face softened into contentment. Diana finished the song, and then turned to go back to her seat. Her hand was caught just before she walked away. Diana looked down and saw blue eyes staring back at her.

"You sing?" Audrey whispered.

"I-I thought it might help you rest. You seem to be having a hard time finding peace."

Audrey sat up, and still held onto the Amazon's hand. She looked down at the appendage, and couldn't help but notice that it was different somehow from the other Diana's. There were callouses on her palm, and Audrey silently wondered what this woman had been through.

"Thank you. I, I am not sleeping well at all. The nightmares that I worried about for my son have invaded my dreams. Better me than him, still..."

Diana reached down with her other hand, and drew the tiny woman up into her arms. "Audrey, let it out."

And with the utterance, the flood gates that Audrey had tried to hold back, burst. Her tears ran down her face with a force like never before. "I am trying to deal with all of this. I feel like I am failing miserably. I know that this is not how a proper queen should react. I need to be stoic, and do my duty. I can't help it though. I can't stop the tears."

Diana drew Audrey in closer still, wrapping one arm around her waist and the other enveloping her head. Audrey relented and allowed herself to be held up by the stronger woman. She wrapped her arms around the Amazon holding on tightly to her anchor.

"Dmitri is dead. My country is at war with terrorists, and I know I need to get a grip. I need to be strong for everyone, and I am struggling to breathe."

Diana nodded slowly. "I understand that it is overwhelming. Cry now. Get it all out. You cannot wallow though. Your people deserve more from their queen, and your son will need his mother to be strong. And I know you can be. I can't imagine that I would ever...well that Diana would love a weak woman. So I know that the strength is there."

Audrey pulled back slightly, "I know you aren't her."

Diana smiled slightly. "I know. I am prettier."

Audrey smiled, and then began laughing, a little snort escaping her nose. "Prettier? I would have thought you would have gone with stronger or smarter."

"That goes without saying doesn't it?"

Audrey buried her head back into Diana's chest laughing still. "Maybe it does," she whispered.

Diana heard the sentiment, and felt her heart skip a beat. The woman in her arms was already beginning to affect her, and that wasn't good. But Diana ignored the voice in her head. She lifted Audrey's chin with her finger, and gazed into the other woman's eyes. Slowly she leaned in and pressed her lips to her forehead. Audrey's eyes went wide at the sentiment, but said nothing. Diana leaned down further still and began moving towards Audrey's lips.

Shayera and Alindra found the lodge and landed outside the door.

"Wait here Alindra. I want to speak to Audrey about Diana, and then we will go."

Alindra arched an eyebrow.

Shayera laughed, "I left the mace in the city. I promise that I am only going to talk to her."

"Very well, I will wait out here. Don't do anything rash though. I don't want to face Diana's wrath if we don't bring Audrey back in one piece. And by one piece, I am sure we will need her to be breathing and functioning. No killing her."

Shayera smiled and shook her head. "No killing her. Okay. God you drive a hard bargain."

Shayera turned and walked inside the lodge. She walked through the den, and farther back into the house. But when she turned the corner to the den, her stomach dropped to her toes. There was Diana, leaning in to kiss the blonde. Rage built up in the Thanagarian, and she was suddenly left regretting not bringing her weapon with her.

"DIANA!" she bellowed.

Instantly the couple parted, and Audrey tried to speak, "Shayera, wait, you don't understand..."

Shayera railed, "You can go to hell! I understand completely. You miserable bitch. Diana and I are married. How dare you try and sink your claws into her? AND YOU..." Shayera turned her wrath on Diana, "You spout a bunch of bullshit about trusting you and what do I find you here doing?"

Diana's eyes hardened. "Shayera, shut up and listen..."

"Shut up?" Shayera's eyes went wide, and she lunged at the pair.

Diana stepped in between the redhead and Audrey. She put her hand out and effectively stopped Shayera's advance by gripping the other woman's shoulder.

"Shayera, I need you to listen to me."

"No. I am done listening to you. I am done with you completely. I cannot believe that I even thought for a second that you loved me."

Diana's fury was beginning to boil. "Shayera, for love the of Hera, be quiet. You don't understand."

Shayera's green eyes were welling with rage. "I understand. I understand all too well. You simply couldn't resist what you used to have. I fought for you Diana, and this is how you repay me?" Shayera jerked away from Diana's hand and tried to move around the Amazon. Diana reacted quickly and snatched Shayera up by her armpit.

"You will not advance on Audrey like this. Are you prepared to listen, or will I have to make you?"

Shayera was shocked. She reached out with her other hand and slapped Diana. Audrey winced at the sound, but Diana jerked her eyes back even to the redhead's. "Shayera! Dammit, stop!"

"I hate you! I hate you both!"

And suddenly a crash was heard coming through the window behind them. A very angry, and very determined Wonder Woman came barreling through the room from the outside of the lodge. She had only seen Shayera being roughly handled from a distance, and had seen Shayera react with a slap. Wonder Woman's anger drove her like a bullet through the glass and she tackled the offender who had dared to lay her hands on the redhead. The Justice Lord felt the tackle strike her back and her breath vacated her lungs quickly. She let Shayera go as the force of the blow sent her flying forward towards the wall. She struck with a thunderous impact as Wonder Woman never let go. Quickly the Justice Lord send her elbow flying back, connecting with Wonder Woman's nose. It was just enough to get the other woman off of her back. She turned quickly and threw a right hook sending her twin stumbling back. The moment she realized who she had hit, the Justice Lord dropped her hands.

Audrey screamed, "Shayera! Stop them."

Shayera stood in shock at what she was seeing. There were two Diana's. And just as her feet caught up to her brain, the two Diana's were tangled up again. Wonder Woman recovered and lunged again. She didn't care who the other woman was, no one would ever put their hands on Shayera as long as she had anything to say about it. Wonder Woman head butted her opponent, and then sent a sharp kick to her chest. The Justice Lord was sent flying back into the wall again. She kicked off the wall and flew straight into Wonder Woman's gut, and the two landed in the middle of Audrey's desk, breaking it in half.

Alindra ran into the room and jumped on top off the quarreling pair, with Shayera joining right in. They both struggled to separate the women, but the two Diana's were way too strong, and neither would budge off of each other, still throwing punches as they rolled around on the floor.

Finally Audrey yelled, "Dammit stop! This is my home!" The smaller blonde worked her way into the middle of the fracas and immediately both the Justice Lord and Wonder Woman stopped fighting. Audrey reached down and offered her hand to her protector. Shayera looked at the twins, and noticed for the first time, how differently the two were dressed. Alindra spied the other Diana, looked her over thoroughly, saw her wrists, and suddenly it dawned on her. She placed herself between the group and pointed her finger at Wonder Woman.

"Stop fighting and listen. You cannot continue this altercation. You don't realize who she is."

Wonder Woman grunted, "I don't give a damn who she is. No one puts their hands on Shayera."

The Justice Lord gritted, "If Shayera would have just listened I wouldn't have touched her. But she didn't and I won't allow her to harm Audrey."

Alindra interjected, "Shut up both of you!" Her tone softened, "With all due respect to you both Princesses, you are fighting each other, but you are on the same side." She turned to the Justice Lord, and grabbed her wrist. She held it up, and asked, "You are Aphrodite's champion aren't you?"

"I am."

Alindra turned to Wonder Woman and Shayera, and showed them the 8 pointed star on the other woman's body. "She bears the emblem of the Goddess of Love. Athena visited me, and told me that she would be coming. I didn't realize it would be this soon. So, as you can see, we are allies."

Wonder Woman merely nodded, "So she is Aphrodite's champion. I still want to know why she thought it was okay to try and manhandle Shayera. And this better be good, because I am not..."

Audrey interjected, "Shayera wouldn't listen. We tried to tell her that it wasn't you in here with me."

Wonder Woman turned to the redhead, "Shayera?"

"I thought she was you when I came in here. They were, well, about to kiss, and I lost it. I didn't give them a chance to explain."

Wonder Woman turned back to her twin, "Why were you trying to kiss Audrey?"

Shayera railed, "Why do you care?"

Alindra squeezed her eyes shut. This needed to be worked out and soon. "Can we all just sit and talk openly here?"

No one said anything. They all stared at each other. Finally, Audrey took the Justice Lord's hand and led her to the couch. "Please sit here. I will grab some ice for your eye, and we will talk. Alindra is right. We need to sort this out."

Shayera looked at her Diana. Her lip was split, and she was glaring at her twin. "Sweetheart, I am sorry. I think Audrey has a point. Please sit in the chair, and I will get ice for you too."

Wonder Woman shook her head, "No. We talk now."

The Justice Lord agreed. "No ice. I am fine. I have been hit harder before."

Audrey sighed, "Both of you are stubborn. Then fine, if you don't mind, let's make this less confusing." She turned to the Justice Lord, "Do you care if I call you Di and her Diana? This will keep everything straight, so to speak."

"Di is fine. I don't mind it."

"Good. Then I will start." She turned to Shayera, "I owe you an apology for earlier. I had no right to kiss Diana. I was overwhelmed with everything, and while I know that is a poor excuse, I am sincerely sorry. My past came bearing down on me, and I reacted incorrectly. I am not trying to get to Diana, and I know that you may not believe me, but it is true. I know that you and Diana are married, and that she loves you more than she ever did for me. It is obvious where her heart is, and I..."

Di reached out for Audrey's hand. "You don't have to do this."

Audrey squeezed the other woman's hand in return, but continued, "I do. Shayera, I don't know what I can say other than I am sorry. I swear that I am not pursuing Diana."

Shayera eyed the blonde suspiciously, "Then why were you in here almost kissing her twin?"

Audrey blushed, "That was unexpected. I know that they are not the same person. I am not even sure what was happening there, but that is between her and I."

Wonder Woman looked at her twin and then to Audrey. She knew she shouldn't care, but she didn't like the idea of something romantic blossoming between the two. It wasn't born of jealousy, just concern for her former love. The Justice Lord deserved a second chance at her life, but she did not like that it might involve Audrey. As if reading her mind, Di spoke.

"I know what you are thinking. But she is right. It is none of your business or Shayera's."

Wonder Woman edged to the end of the seat. "Audrey has been through enough. She doesn't need your baggage as well. I get that you are being given a chance at redemption here, but keep your lips to yourself."

Di moved to stand, "Round two then? Because you surely don't get to dictate shit to me."

A/N: Well? Audrey apologized again, and what is going on between her and the former Justice Lord? Diana is right to a point. Given everything that is happening, does Audrey really need the baggage that would come with Di? Tell me what you all thought...thanks to all that review, and to the newbies who have popped up out of the wood works. We have reached over 100 reviews, and I cannot begin to tell you what that means to me. Thanks as always!