Audrey looked at herself in the mirror. She had chosen a simple blue pants suit. It was dark navy, a color she figured was authoritative looking. It was effectively framing her petite body, and showed that she was all business. Around her neck was a gold necklace with a small charm in the shape of the sun. It was the insignia chosen by her people for their flag, and she held it close to her heart. Outwardly, she looked confident. Inwardly, she was scared. Not for herself, but for those she was surrounded by. She closed her eyes, and whispered, "I have no right to ask for anything more than what you have already given to me, but if you are listening, keep your champions safe. Whatever happens today, let them walk away unscathed."

A light knock at the door brought Audrey's thoughts back into reality. "Come in Di."

The tall Amazon entered, and sighed, "How did you know it was me?"

Audrey smiled slightly, although it didn't completely reach her eyes. "I was hoping it would be."

Di crossed the bedroom and stood next to the blonde. "You look official."

Audrey laughed, despite herself. "Aren't you a charmer."

"Don't laugh. Not now. This is serious."

Audrey nodded, "I know it is. Sorry."

"Please, reconsider doing this."

"Ask anything else of me."

"Audrey, I don't understand your need to place yourself in danger."

"I want the people to see me."

"What about Dane? How would we explain it if something happened to you?"

"DON'T. Don't use my son to try and change my mind. I want my son to be proud of me. I want to be able to build a great country for him to take over one day."

"What does that have to do with you risking your life unnecessarily?"

"Do you cower from your enemies? Or do you take them head on?"

"It isn't the same. You aren't invincible."

"It is the same principle. I will not hide behind these doors, and live in fear. If I did that, then they would win. That man that tried to kill me needs to know that he has provoked the wrong person. He threatened me, my family, and tried to kill us all. He has openly attacked my people. I want him to know what a monumental mistake he has made in making me his enemy."

Di stood silently. Audrey reached out and touched the Amazon's bare shoulders. "You look menacing."

"Good. Then I will have achieved the desired effect when I stand next to you."

"I am grateful that you will be with me."

"I know it is not the time, and I said so earlier, but you look...regal. You are a beautiful Queen."

Audrey squeezed the Amazon's shoulders and allowed her hands to slowly slide down the other woman's strong arms. She stepped into her personal space and laid her head against Di's chest. Instantly she was enveloped into a strong embrace, and she let herself be held, wrapping her own arms around the taller woman's waist, just enjoying the quiet moment. After a few moments, Audrey spoke.

"I can hear your heartbeat."

"Thank goodness. I have been told recently that I didn't have one."

"I like how it sounds. It's strong, and somehow reassuring."

"You make it beat faster."

Audrey whispered, "You do the same to mine."

Shayera stood outside the new nursery with Diana. "I hate that you will be going out there without me. Please be careful."

Diana smiled. "I will be. There is probably nothing to worry about. Audrey will only speak for a few minutes anyways."

"I know, but still, I don't like the idea of you being an open target."

"Shayera, you and I both know I am not the one anyone would be after."

"Make sure you sweep the podium before bringing everyone out. And did Alindra see to the positioning of the Amazon archers? And what about..."

Diana cut the last thought off with a kiss. Her hands cupped Shayera's cheeks, and she felt her wife's hands come to rest on her collarbone. Slowly, she deepened the affection, and the redhead responded fervently. It didn't matter how many times Diana had ever kissed Shayera, as each time she did, her body instantly warmed, and she knew that this woman would always be able to command her heart. It had ceased to be her own the first time she had kissed her wife. If she was honest, it was probably even before that. Kissing Shayera, and knowing she was hers could be the most overwhelming feeling, and Diana craved it.

Slowly, she pulled her head back a little, breaking the intimate contact. Shayera whimpered and kept her eyes closed. "Diana, kiss me again. Please."

Diana smiled, and leaned in and pecked the redhead on the cheek. Shayera's eyebrows furrowed and she opened her eyes. "Diana, if you do not give me what I want, you will force me to just take it."

Diana chuckled, and pecked Shayera's nose. The Thanagarian was not impressed. She arched her eyebrow in a challenge. "Must I repeat myself? If the next kiss I get from you is not..."

Once again, Diana cut off Shayera's thoughts and her lips found her wife's once more. The redhead moaned, and pressed her chest into Diana's, and her hands snaked around the Amazon's neck. Diana almost stumbled backwards, surprised at her lover's insistence. After a few moments, the couple was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

Quickly they separated, both blushing at the thought of being caught. Di stood a few feet away, a slight scowl on her face.

"Gross. It is bad enough I know you are doing that. I really don't want to see it too."

Shayera laughed. "I am sure you have kissed someone before."

Di nodded her head. "I have, however, looking at myself kissing you is disturbing on multiple levels. It leaves an odd taste in my mouth."

"Was I really so terrible to you in your world?"

"I nicknamed you Harpy."

Diana laughed and then looked at Shayera's face. The redhead was less than enthused at the little snide remark. Quickly, she stifled the mirth, and gave a mock glare at her twin. "That was not funny." A little gleam in her eye said the opposite however.

Di rolled her eyes. "Stop. I would rather witness you sucking out each other's air, then think you are whipped."

"Whipped? I am not whipped!"

"Right, whatever. Let's go. It is time for Audrey's speech."

Diana grabbed Shayera's hand and placed a small kiss on her knuckles. "Be back soon."

Diana and Di walked away leaving Shayera staring after them. She sighed. "Aphrodite, I don't know if you can hear me, but you have a lot of work to do on that one." She turned and entered the nursery to hopefully keep the little Prince occupied.

The weather in the Square was not kind. The wind was whipping, there were gusts swirling, and the rain was threatening to fall. The sky was darkening and the smell of the eventual downpour was apparent. The sun, although visible, was slowly being overrun by clouds. Di walked out to the podium first, with Audrey, Diana, and Alindra following closely behind. There were several reporters waiting to hear the Queen's speech, and a multitude of citizens of the capital were surrounding the area. As Audrey approached the podium, she looked around. Her personal guards were staying in close proximity, there were several Amazon archers on the edge of the area, and Kasnian soldiers stood with them. Audrey cleared her throat, and pulled the papers containing her speech from her pocket. She had to place a hand on them to keep them anchored to the stand. But as she looked at the faces of her countrymen, she crumpled the speech in her hand and began speaking.

"I prepared a few words, but now, as I look at you all that have come here and braved the weather, I find that they are not adequate. So I will get straight to the point. Joint efforts of our brave army, and with the assistance of our Amazon allies, the NKFR was dealt a defeat in our capital. The time of the reign of terror of our enemies is drawing to a close. We are determined to make sure that no one in this country fears this nefarious group. I am here today to show you that this monarchy will not bow to terrorism. We have suffered losses of our companions, families, and homes. This government will not rest until everyone involved in our suffering is punished."

Di, Diana, and Alindra scanned the Square. Di ran her eyes over all the buildings encircling their position. The contact lenses she wore were an impressive piece of technology. She was able to see minute details on buildings several hundred yards away. Her eyes darted back and forth looking for any sign of trouble.

"The NKFR has wreaked unfathomable damage, and we are moving to give aid to those who have been affected. As I speak, assistance is on it's way to help rebuild the dam at Fastad, as well as help our people there who lost their homes, and in some cases, their very way of life. To attack one Kasnian is to slap the face of the Queen who has struggled to ensure their safety and to bring peace to all. And let me assure you..." Audrey's tone hardened, "provoking the wrath of someone in my position is most unwise. So I say to you, all of those people who have attacked us will know very soon that this violence will not be tolerated. We will find them, root them out of their hiding spots, and unleash a wrath that the Devil himself would cower from."

As the last sentence was uttered, Di spotted a unique flash in a window at a distance. It was open, which she thought was odd, given the threatening weather. Then it suddenly occurred what the source of the flash could be: light off of a rifle scope! Her eyes went wide and she shoved Audrey backwards and stood in between the Queen and the podium. She barely managed to get her wrist up as a bullet came barreling down on her position. Diana and Alindra covered the Queen's body with theirs, and Di deflected the shot with one of her starred wristlets. She dropped down, turned around and screamed, "Get her out of here!"

Diana scooped Audrey up from the position she was in and flew directly back into the palace. The crowd in the Square began wailing and people began flooding in different directions. Di leaned over, keeping her back turned away from the direction of the shot.

"Alindra! 750 meters south of our position is a gray building. Approximately 15 floors up there is an open window. There was movement and a flash there. Fly out, but not directly at it. Circle to it at the last second. GO! Quickly!"

Alindra nodded and launched herself to the right off the podium doing as instructed. Di kicked off to the left and the two flew at the fastest speeds they could to the intended destination. Di reached the spot first. She rocketed through the open window and saw a man trying to exit through the door. She grabbed him by the back of his collar, and Alindra entered in time to see him get flung across the room and land into a corner with a large thud. Di stalked over to his position and hoisted him up by his throat. He reached to his waist and drew a small pistol. Di grabbed it with her free hand and crushed it in front of his face. Rage was boiling through her veins and she held tight to his neck. His face was turning red and his air supply was quickly reaching critical levels.

Alindra had never seen fury like she was witnessing now. "Di! Put him down. Don't kill him! We need to question him."

Di gripped tighter, contemplating just crushing the would-be assassin's windpipe. Instead she relented and dropped him to the floor. He clutched his throat, gasping, trying desperately to breathe. She leaned down and put her face in his. She quietly whispered, "I swear by the time this night is up, you will wish that she had just let me kill you here."

Alindra quickly looked around the room. There was a rifle on the floor, along with a small, green backpack. She bent over and picked up the objects. Crossing the room, she addressed the Amazon that was struggling to control her ire. "Di, carry these back to the palace. I will take him."

Di didn't move from her spot. She was staring at the crumpled man, and grinding her teeth. Swiftly she sent a kick flying to his nose. The crunch from the impact was a sickening sound, and blood instantly started to pour down past his lips and chin. Alindra dropped the objects in her hand, and yanked the Amazon back. "Stop! I get it. I don't blame you, but you need to get control of yourself. We need to take him back to the palace."

Never removing her glare from the assassin, Di gritted, "You and I will be alone soon. Start praying to whomever you serve." She turned and stormed over to the rifle and pack and picked them up. Alindra jerked the man up and tossed him over her shoulder and the pair departed through the window they had entered.

Once inside, Diana set Audrey down, quickly scanning the Queen's body for damage.

Audrey was pale, and clearly shock was grabbing a hold of her senses. She barely rasped, "Diana."

"You are safe. Di deflected the bullet."

"Di! Where is she? Is she okay?"

"She's still out there. I cannot leave you to check on her. We need to get you to your room. I will send for Dane and Shayera and leave you with them. Come on."

But Audrey staggered the moment she tried to take a step. Diana grabbed the small woman and held her upright. Gently, she lifted her up once again, and walked through the hallways to reach her destination. She barked at a soldier that met her in the hallway. "Find Illiana Stilenko. Tell her to meet us in the Queen's chambers. Also, go to the nursery and bring the Prince and Shayera Hol."

He stood and stared at her blankly at first. She was not his commander. But he saw her face contort with anger at his delay and quickly turned around to carry out the orders. This was not a woman to be trifled with.

"You warned me. I didn't listen."

Diana looked down at the blonde in her arms. "There is no time for that now. I will get you settled, and Shayera can stay with you. I will go after Di and Alindra once I know there is someone with you to keep you safe."

"I am so sorry. If anything happened to either of them, I..."

Diana cradled her closer. "Shhh. Nothing will happen to them. Alindra is smart, and has been through much more than this. She is protected by someone very powerful. Di is too stubborn to leave you. Trust me. You will see them both again. My sisters are very determined."

Audrey nodded her head, and said nothing more.

Diana reached the door, and Audrey struggled to get out of her arms.

"Can you walk?"

"I have to try. I don't want my son to see you carrying me. I don't want him to worry."

Diana nodded and gently set the Queen down. Shayera came around the corner with a sleeping Prince in her arms. She whispered, "What happened?"

"Sniper." Diana answered.

Shayera's eyes widened as she handed off the little boy to his mother. Audrey crossed the threshold, and placed him in her bed. She shrugged her jacket off, and sat on the edge of the bed and wept silently.

Diana addressed her wife. "Stay with her. Illiana should be here soon. No one comes in but us. I am going to go find Di and Alindra, and have the Amazons start searching the city. Hopefully we can find whoever tried to kill her."

Shayera nodded, and Diana left the room. Shayera looked at Audrey and crossed the room to sit with her. Gradually she reached out and placed her arm around the other woman. "Audrey, I know that we are not close, but try not to worry. Diana will find the others and we will get a better handle on what is happening here."

"Shayera, thank you. I know that you don't want to be here with me, but I am grateful nonetheless."

Shayera merely nodded and continued to hold the Queen in a semi-embrace.

Diana bumped into Illiana in the hallway. "The Queen is in her room with Dane, and Shayera. I need to go back out to the Square and look for my sisters."

Illiana shook her head. "There is no need. I just saw them. They had the would-be assassin with them. Di, and some of the Queen's guard are securing him in a cell, and Alindra went out to speak to the Amazons."

"Hold on. They found the sniper?"

"They did. My people took his weapon and are trying to trace it now. They also have a sack that was found with him. They are going through the contents as well. They were instructed not to speak to him, but to wait for me to come down. I wanted to check on the Queen first, and then will begin questioning the prisoner. We will figure out who he is, and who hired him."

With the last sentence, Di came around the corner. "Diana! Where is she?"

"In her room with Shayera."

Di barely nodded as she flew past her twin straight to the Queen's chamber. Diana looked at the intelligence officer. "I realize that you do not take orders from me, but I would like it if you would consider waiting for one of us to join you before any questioning begins."

Illiana nodded. "I will go now actually. The Queen is in good hands. I also got word that some of the things that you had me look into have yielded results. I will look the reports over and hopefully will have some news when you make your way to the detention area."

Diana turned to make her way back to Audrey's room.

Di reached the doors, and pushed them open. Shayera jumped up, but instantly relaxed once she saw who had entered. Audrey looked up, and saw her protector standing a few feet away staring at her. She wiped her eyes, and stood. Di's face looked pained and she quickly recovered and rushed across the room.

She grabbed the smaller woman and held her in her arms. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm shaken, but I am fine. I was so worried for you though."

Di looked down and tried to contain her emotions as a small tear slid down her cheek. Audrey reached up and wiped it away with her thumb. The Amazon squeezed her eyes shut. "Shayera?"

The redhead needed no other words to be spoken. She made her exit quickly, and closed the doors behind her. Di looked into Audrey's eyes, and before any thought crossed her mind, she crashed her lips onto the smaller woman's.

A/N: So this chapter was broken up a bit, mostly to cover the action as best as possible without extending it over multiple chapters. What did you think? Audrey was warned that something could happen, and it did. The sniper was caught, and Di is PISSED off. What do you think she will do to him? And, we got a quick kiss between Di and Audrey, and a couple between Diana and Shayera. And can I say for the record...I love that Di used to call the other Shayera a harpy. Seriously I crack myself up sometimes. ('Cause I am a total dork!) Thanks as always to everyone who reviews. JRBenson, you used to sign in, and now you don't so I can't reply directly. Thanks to you too. I can't wait to see what you all thought of this one.