Soooooooo sorry! My poor laptop has died! I am at the moment able to upload from a friend's computer.(: Don't think that I have given up on this! Annnnnyhoo... Enjoy as always!

"Damn it Shayera!" Katie shut her phone and slammed a hand on the steering wheel. She had just left her home and was on her way to Shayera's place. Shayera wasn't answering her phone.

"Of course she wouldn't answer the phone. She's probably stuck in bed with one hell of a hangover."

On the outside, Katie was good looking, gorgeous actually. She had it all. Gorgeous hair, gorgeous smile, amazing body, and even a beautiful voice. The only thing she didn't have was a guy. It was the only thing missing and frankly, Katie didn't want or need one. Katie sighed. She was worried about her friend. A chuckle escaped her lips. Her superhero friend.

At first, Katie had suspicions about the new assistant. She looked like the Thanagarian traitor, except for the fact that she had no wings. And her name, Scarlet, it seemed to fit her perfectly. She had fiery hair that seemed to flare around her as if she were a model and had a constant fan behind her, giving her hair a wind-blown affect. As time passed, the two grew close and Katie found something that she had been missing for a while, another thing she was missing. A best friend. Someone she could talk to and bear her soul to. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who was in need of a friend.

Since that first day, Katie had gotten a vibe from Shayera. This vibe told her that she was ridden with guilt over… something. Over what? Katie didn't know. She didn't think it was as big as it was. Her only thoughts were that she may have been a woman scorned, or she had done the scorning. Katie was close, but she was also way off. Her new friend, feisty Scarlet, assistant to Bruce Wayne, was actually Shayera Hol! Also known as, Hawkgirl!

In the car, Katie shook her head as she laughed at herself. Only this could happen to her. But she accepted it. Shayera wasn't a bad person. She had just been cornered by the two sides that were at war when all she had wanted was to do the right thing. Katie couldn't say she understood, but she could say that she knew what it was like when everyone seemed to think that you were a liar.

Again, Katie pulled out her iPhone and tried dialing Shayera. She knew it was against the law, yeah, yeah. But this was important. She held her phone up so that she could see it and the road. It rang, and rang, and rang. "Fuck." Katie cursed under her breath. Oh well, she was pulling up into Shayera's drive way now. She grimaced as she got out of her black Camero. What horrors would be revealed behind her door? She brushed off her thoughts. Her friend needed her, so she closed her car door, locked it, and walked over to the front door. She reached down with her foot and kicked up a half buried rock. She was surprised to see that there wasn't a key. Her worry grew. Not really knowing what to do next, Katie reached for the door knob and turned it, expecting it to be locked. When the door knob continued to turn and the door unlatched, Katie was surprised. She walked in cautiously and stuck her head in the door.

"Shay- Scarlet?" She heard someone whisper harshly.

Katie walked in, shutting the door behind her. "Are you still alive? Or are you still drunk off your ass? There better not be a guy here! You know the rules. If I don't have a guy, neither do you!" As she yelled out each statement, Katie came closer and closer to Shayera's bedroom. She passed by the living room and shook her head. Empty beer bottles were on the floor and table. "Damn Shayera."

Her head jerked to her left as she heard some clattering in the hallway that led to Shayera's room. Panic began to set in. Was there a thief here? Katie looked around as she tried to locate some sort of weapon. Finding an umbrella, she made her way to the bedroom.

The door was slightly ajar. Katie's panic rose to an all-time high as she saw a shadow come closer to the door. Katie lifted her weapon above her head and held her breath. She had been in plenty of fights in high school, and college, so she knew what she was doing. What she didn't expect was her friend sliding through the crack of the door and shutting it behind her.

"What the fuck Scarlet!" She lowered the umbrella. "I thought there was a fucking burglar in here and like… killed you or something."

Shayera sighed and leaned her back against the door. Her eyes had bags under them and she looked disheveled. "I'm sorry."

Katie looked at her friend. "What are you hiding?"

Her head snapped up, her eyes wide. "Nothing!"

"Uh huh. Well, I guess if I were to-" She ran towards Shayera and pushed her away from the door. "What are you hiding?" She asked again.

"Nothing!" Shayera shouted as the two fought over the door.

"Who's in there?"

"No one."

At the same time, both girls threw their hands on the doorknob. The two stared the other down. Katie was breathing hard and Shayera was simply staring at her. "Let go."

Katie stood her ground and smiled. "No."

The door knob jiggled and a voice came from behind it. "Shayera, open the door."

Shayera kept her eyes on Katie. "Damn it. No."

Then, the door opened.

Awkward.

That was the only term that would properly describe how the room felt. Shayera sat in the love seat, Katie sat on the couch, and John stood by the window. After the door had opened, and Katie got over the fact that she was in the presence of the Green Lantern, the three of them had gone into the living room, as John had suggested. That was 10 minutes ago.

"Well, this is awkward."

Shayera snorted. "No shit John."

She fidgeted and fought the urge to grab Katie and talk with her privately in the kitchen, explaining everything to her. Katie leaned towards Shayera over the coffee table.

"Are you going to explain, or do I need to come up with some more theories?"

Shayera laughed lightly. "No. I'll explain. I got drunk last night. Obviously." She added, kicking an empty bottle. Katie grimaced and got up and started to discard the empty bottles.

Shayera went on as she helped. "I got to the point where I wanted to go to sleep." At the look Katie gave her. "Alright, alright, god. I got to the point where I felt like I was going to pass out. Better?" Katie smiled at her victory of getting Shayera to admit things she didn't want to say.

"Then John came." He turned his head towards Shayera at the sound of his name. "Then, I passed out and he must've taken me to my room. When I woke up, I had a hell of a hangover so I went to the kitchen to get some painkillers and a glass of water." She laughed at herself. "You can imagine my surprise when I saw a man in my living room trying to clean up my mess." John smiled. As did Shayera. "And then, someone came knocking. I freaked at having a hero in my house, which alone could compromise my identity, so we hid in my room."

"Wait a minute." Came John's voice. "How is it that she knows who you are? Why hasn't she freaked at the fact that you have wings?"

Katie easily answered with a simple statement. "I'm her best friend." She looked at Shayera. "I guess you want me to leave, right?"

Shayera looked at her with a surprised expression. "Leave? What makes you think that?"

Her friend looked at her, then at John, then back to Shayera. "You two have a lot of catching up to do." Throwing away the last of the bottles, she brushed off her hands. She winked at Shayera. "Don't worry my love, you and I can talk later."

As Katie reached the door, Shayera jumped up and grabbed her friend's wrist. "Don't." She whispered. "Please. You know what I did. I'll only hurt him again."

Laughing softly, Katie twisted her wrist out of Shayera's vise like grip. "You'll be fine. Call me later." She smiled at John. "Nice meeting you!" Half way out the door, Katie whispered to Shayera. "Good luck."

Helplessly, Shayera stood by the door for a few minutes. John's voice snapped her out of her daze. "Shayera, I think it's time we had our talk."

Shayera cursed mentally. She turned around and stomped over to John. "Well, fine. Let's have this 'talk'." She angrily made quotation marks with her hands. "I ran away. I got hurt. Batman found me; he opened his home to me, and helped me get a job. After getting this job, I left Wayne Manor and started a new life of my own. I am no longer Shayera Hol; she died with her people and honor. I am Scarlet Hall, assistant of Bruce Wayne."

"How do you go out?"

Shayera went in her room, and came back with her device. She held it out so that John could see it. "It's a little device that temporarily transports my wings to another dimension. It doesn't hurt me or my wings." She pressed the only button on it. As she did, four tiny prongs with sharp points popped out. "These go into my back, at the same time, my wings disperse. I myself have never seen it happen, but I can feel it."

"Why didn't you come to me?" John decided to ask, getting the tough questions out first.

Shayera remained silent. She walked over into the kitchen and grabbed another beer. She ignored John's disapproving glance and took a long drink, never taking her rebelling eyes off of his. After her swing of liquid courage, she spoke again.

"I never went to anyone. Like I said before, Bruce found me. I was hurt and he patched me up."

John stared at her, willing her to go on. She sighed. "I was walking." She started silently. "It was about two months after I left the league. That's how it was for the two months. Going wherever I wanted to, avoiding society and people who hate me, I was alone and frankly I liked it." She sat down heavily on the love seat and rested her elbows on her knees. "At that time, apparently I was near Gotham. I didn't know it then. It was near a camp ground. It was night. I was getting ready to sleep in a little tent I …bought when they saw me." John went over to her and sat down beside her. "They were so angry. Three men, each of them lost someone during the invasion. Can you believe that? Every one of them lost someone. That's more blood lost and I'm to blame. So when they wanted to fight, I let them. I didn't fight back. I shut my eyes and imagined that I was somewhere else. But they didn't like that. 'Some Thanagarian.' They said. Hitting me wasn't enough if I wouldn't fight back." She closed her eyes, but a tear still escaped.

John hugged her. "You don't have to go on."

Shayera shook her head, as much as she could anyway; she had buried her face in his strong chest. "I can. After they finally left me, naked and bloody, Bruce found me. I never found out why he was in the forest. He took me to the manor and he and Alfred nursed me back to health. I owe them both so much."

John simply held her. One hand was between her wings, his thumb circulating and lightly pressed into her skin. His other hand caressed her head. He felt his t-shirt soak up her pent up tears. He knew she wasn't crying from one particular memory, he knew her so well. She was crying out the knot of sadness, guilt and regret that had been bound in her chest for so long.

A little after her tears stopped, Shayera remained in John's arms. She felt as though she should've moved away. This would give him a wrong signal. She didn't want to lead him on and let him think that she was ready to be a part of his life again. He deserved better, much better.

Sensing her discomfort, or just tired of the silence, John spoke. His voice calmed her frantic heart, just as it always did. That voice could change how you felt in an instant. It could make you feel as though you're the sun and the world seemed to revolve around you as the most worshipped thing. It could make you feel an emotion that had been missing from you for five years, loved. On the worst of days, that voice could be the first glimpse of the sun and blue sky after a terrible storm. This time as John spoke, his voice sent cold water over her, splashing reality right back at her.

"I can't let you get away from me again." He spoke softly, calming. Even in this soothing tone, Shayera couldn't listen, she wouldn't.

"Yes you can." Shayera tore herself out of his embrace. Her heart broke a little more, but it had to be done. "I'm bad for you John. I've said it before and you didn't listen. Please." She gave him a pleading glance. "Listen to me this time."

"I can't."

Shayera stood up. "You can and you will." Her voice was steel. She hated the idea of asking or begging. She would never beg again. An onslaught of memories of her own tragedy attacked her senses. She heard the cruel laughs, saw the twisted, sadistic glee of her attacks, felt pain worse than a shock and cut of an nth metal weapon, and staggered to the floor. John was there in an instant, carefully guiding her to the ground as she slumped against him.

"You need someone to look after you."

She pushed him away, but to no avail. Instead, she allowed him to sit beside her. "I have Katie. And to some extent, Bruce and Alfred. That's all I need."

He cracked a crooked smile. One she had always loved. "I'm staying. No matter what you say, or what Bruce says. I've waited so long to find you. I've spent countless nights wondering if you were alright, if you were even still alive. Now that I've found you, I can't let you go again. Please understand that."

His voice had gone low. It was his serious tone, one that made her give all her attention to him. She stared into deep brown eyes and saw the love he had for her still there. Some deep, deep, pushed down, locked up part of her broke free and compelled her to do something she hadn't planned on doing.

She put her hand on his cheek. Opening her mouth to say "I can't" Shayera found that the words stuck in her mouth. John took her hesitation as an opportunity. He leaned down the short distance between their faces and kissed her.

Shayera's grip on his face tightened as she readied to push him away. As the kiss deepened, she was reminded of the fiery passion of John. She found herself pulling him tightly against her and kissing him back. He seemed surprised for a second, but love and longing pushed him forward. Hands roamed over familiar paths and ignited a hunger that they both had missed. Somewhere, in the dark parts of her mind, Shayera felt a gut wrenching fear as she remembered the last time someone had touched her so. But then, her mind registered that where those hands were brutal and out of pain, John's touch was remarkable and full of nothing but love.

She stood up and took his hands into her own and led her down the hall and into her room. He kissed her as she closed the door and laid her on her bed. They kissed and Shayera felt his touch to burn all her memories away. She let herself be engulfed by her passion and her desire of her only love. She was intoxicated by the feel of him and lost in desperate longing that she had been pushing out of her mind. Feelings of joy and bliss made her deliriously happy.

As his touch made her feel better than she had in 8 long, lonely months, she felt that knot slowly begin to unbind itself, and the cracks in her heart begin to heal.