To those of you who have not read "Rann-Thanagar War" this is several months past the last chapter of said fic. The only knowledge you need to still read this installment is of the character, Usi. He's a Kemswt - very dog/cat-like in personality and appearance (a native animal on Thanagar that Shayera brought back to Earth after the war ended.) That, and Shayera's "human" alias is under the name, Kendra Saunders and she currently works at a museum. Also heavy references to chapter 2 - Twick a Tweat!

Aside from that, you're all set (unless you haven't finished JLU. If that's the case... why are you here? Spoliers, you dummy. Go watch the show, and then you can come back.)

Much love! -Kris

Usi licked his lips and whined softly. Something was wrong with his person and he couldn't find the source. She had fussed at him just moments prior, demanding he go to his mat and leave her be. He wasn't sure what exactly he did to upset her, but he decided he would wait until she'd allow him to continue his search.

He watched her carefully - his head on the cool flooring as he stared up at her with somber eyes.

"Yeah, I know." Shayera said into the device resting between her cheek and shoulder, rubbing her temple, her other free hand twirling the phone cable. "-Tell Ryder I'll be back as soon as I get over this... Okay, thanks, Tammy. Yeah, I'll check back in tomorrow... bye."

She placed the phone against its mount before sliding against the wall and down to the floor onto her butt. Her head fell onto her forearms with a shaky sigh escaping her, and Usi went into action. With his hooves clicking against the kitchen tile, he slunk over to her and pressed his body into her. He cooed and cried as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, hiding her face in his coarse, grey fur. Her breathing felt rigid and he felt helpless - unsure of how to fix her.

The man who also helped her during times such as this was nowhere to be found, worrying Usi greatly. The man - John - hadn't been home for many days. His smell around their home had even begun to fade.

Usi laid down and nuzzled his face against her stomach and chest, looking up at her with sad eyes - begging for resolve within her. Holding his chin in her hands, she smoothed back the short hairs on his face. Not even that seemed to help as he watched tears slide down her cheeks, falling onto his head.

Hours had passed and while she physically appeared better, he knew that something was still upsetting her greatly. After deciding the floor wasn't necessarily the comfiest, she had found home on the couch. She lay unmoving, staring off at nothing in particular. While she mindlessly pet his coat, Usi could still feel the turmoil radiating off her.

Usi huffed, smacking his lips in frustration.

She sighed in response - her voice raspy. "Me too, Us."

Even her voice didn't sound right to Usi's ears. Raising his head from her body, he tilted his head in questioning. Shayera ran her fingers along his pointed ears. "I'm sorry ...I know doing this has you all worked up. I just," her voice trailed off as her hand dropped from his head back to the couch. "-I don't know what to do." Her voice cracked, but she cleared her throat to rid of her rising emotions. She was a soldier at heart, and soldiers didn't cry.

Usi couldn't take this anymore. Jumping off the couch he turned to face her, staring holes into her head.

He sniffed angrily and stomped his hoof.

He repeated himself, pawing at the carpet in hopes of getting her up. When she didn't acknowledge his attempts, he ran over to where his leash and collar hung next to the door and yanked it down. Grabbing it up in his mouth he brought it over to her and dropped it next to the couch - the metal tags clanging against the floor loudly. "Usi, no. You were just outside."

Though he knew it was against the rules, he squawked at her in demand. She groaned bitterly and threw a fierce glare at him. "Fine! ...Brat." She grabbed his leash from off the floor and eased herself upright. Squinting her eyes she softly moaned in discomfort, but pushed past it. "-Alright, let's go."

He strutted happily along the path as they traveled to a nearby park within their neighborhood. His "paws" padded through the dense snow, and he looked up to his companion. She'd put on her coat, scarf, and mittens but still seemed too chilled to enjoy the crisp, fresh air - much to his dismay.

"Kendra!" A voice called out from across the street, drawing their attention over.

Shayera looked up and smiled. "Hey Jackie! Enjoying this lovely weather we're having?"

The woman ran up to meet them, rubbing her arms over her jacket. "Oh, you bet." She teased, giving Usi a scratch to his head with a greeting. "-You two leave John at the house?" She asked, matching their pace as they traveled up the sidewalk.

Shayera shrugged and gave her a tight smile. "No, he's on a business trip for a good while. So... it's just me and Usi at the moment."

"Oh?" Jacklyn said, raising a brow before grinning. "-Well, if you need anything while he's away, you know I'm just right across the road."

Shayera nodded, her pace slowing some. "Right... Thanks."

The woman pouted in wonder at Shayera's shifted tone of voice and tilted her head. "Is everything okay?"

Shayera quickly smiled and turned to her neighbor. "Yeah, sorry! I just really hate the cold... Where I'm from we never really get snow, so I'm not used to all this." Shayera said, gesturing to the weather around them.

Jacklyn nodded in understanding, chuckling. "I'd say that'd be pretty shell-shocking, to say the least. But hey, again ...if you need anything, you know where I live. Okay? I'm going to finish my run, so I'll see you later!"

Shayera gave Jacklyn a small wave as she took off down the path. Once the woman was out of sight, Shayera's smile faded and she breathed a sigh through her nose - puffs of chilled air floating about her. Usi looked up at her confused and sad. He had hoped coming out and interacting with someone would improve her mood, but she seemed just as off as before.

"Come on, Usi." Shayera said as she pushed her feet forward. "-Let's get your energy out at the park so we can go home."

Locking the fence behind them, Shayera leaned down to unclasp Usi's leash. She slapped his rear to signal his freedom, and he took off running and bounding through the snow. Shayera smiled easily at her little goofball as he sunk in and out of the snow, practically swimming through the mounds of white.

She hugged her arms to capture whatever warmth she could channel, watching the sights around her.

"Usi!" She heard the squeals of some of the neighborhood kids running up to the "doggie". He wagged his tail fiercely and he tackled the kids with slobbery kisses, running alongside them as they played. They threw snowballs at him and he chomped at the snow as though he were catching a ball. Shayera found momentary peace wash over her but was quickly startled at something cold hitting her in the back. "Hey!" She yelled, spinning to find her assailant giggling at her.

"Got'chu Kenny!" The little girl - Rebecca - taunted with a sing-songy voice and more giggles. After Halloween, Shayera and John made friends with the little girl's mother, Audrey. Now rolling towards the end of January - the couple found themselves entertaining Bec from time to time as well.

Shayera chuckled and scooped up some snow, slowly mounding it into a ball. "Ohh, Becs... you shouldn't have done that," she playfully threatened. Rebecca squealed in delight as Shayera tossed the snowball at her. The little girl quickly balled more snow to throw at her, and Shayera strategically worked on her own at a much slower pace.

Completely spent, Shayera lifted the tuckered-out, four-and-a-half-year-old into her arms. "Come on, kiddo. I think that's enough for today."

Rebecca yawned and rubbed her eyes. "I not syeepy yet, Kenny." Shayera shook her head, beginning her trek over to Audrey. "Well, maybe I am."

Audrey smirked as Shayera passed the girl over to her, now completely asleep and lightly snoring. Shayera ruffled the girl's dirty blonde hair and huffed with exhaustion. Usi - who was now directly at her side - looked up at her with a wide grin and soft pants, wagging his tail so hard it kept smacking her in the leg. "Thanks for playing with her, Ken. She just adores you and John both. Speaking of, where is -"

Shayera cut her off with a small smile. "Business trip." Matching Audrey's pace, Shayera sighed heavily, "And before you ask - I don't know when he'll be back. But, it's fine. Gives me time to ...work on stuff, I guess." She shrugged.

Audrey gave Shayera a look and furrowed her brow. Having become close friends with the woman next to her, she had begun to pick up on certain things. For starters, her tone didn't match the smile on her face. Usi even seemed to do a 180 - looking up at her with concern in his eyes - reading the woman just as well as herself. Audrey stopped completely in her tracks and raised a brow at her friend, who stopped and looked at her in utter confusion. "What?"

"Spill it," Audrey demanded in her no-nonsense, "momma bear" tone.

"...Spill what?" Shayera asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Audrey pointed at Shayera's posture with her free hand, the other still holding onto Bec. "See ...right there! You're getting defensive, which means that something's up."

Shayera groaned in annoyance, dropping her hands to not be 'defensive'. "Nothing's up! Why do people keep asking me what's wrong? ...I'm fine. Maybe I'm just missing John! You ever think of that?" She crossed her arms again without thinking, giving herself away.

Audrey smirked. "Well, is missing John bothering you so much that I'm not the first person to notice? ...Or, is it something else?"

Her mouth fell and she immediately snapped it shut.

With a shake of her head, she started walking ahead of Audrey, with or without her. "Look, I don't feel like talking about this. Okay? I'm cold, I feel like shit, and I just ...want to be left alone." Her voice cracked some at her last statement, and she ran the back of her hand under her nose and sniffled. She hated that she couldn't seem to get a grip on her emotions, growing angry with herself for getting worked up so easily.

Shayera felt a hand grip her arm and hold her in place. She was met with Audrey's concerned face and immediately felt ashamed. Her throat felt tight and her eyes stung, and she couldn't necessarily blame it on the weather.

Audrey hugged her without so much a warning, mindful still not to wake the sleeping child.

She held her, gently rubbing Shayera's back in comforting motions and swaying them. "...You're not alone, and you don't have to be."

Shayera didn't know why but hearing those words - the sweet tone of her voice - struck her deeply. Or maybe it was the gesture altogether. Maybe it was simply the situation itself. Whatever it was, she couldn't bite back the sobs that suddenly raked through her. She internally screamed at herself to stop - that soldiers don't cry - but she clung to Audrey tighter and wept even harder. "John... He's going to leave me," Shayera mewled pitifully, choking on her breath. "-When he finds out, he's going to leave me. I can't -" her whole body trembled and shook. "-I don't know what to do."

Groggily, Bec raised her head and looked around her in confusion. "Mommy? ...Why is Kenny cwying?"

Audrey chuckled and held the two tighter, kissing her daughter's cheek. "I told you, big girl's gotta cry sometimes too. Kenny's gonna be just fine, baby. You just go right back to sleep and I'll take care of her, okay?"

Bec nodded and gave a few gentle pats to the top of Shayera's hair, before dropping her head back to her mother's shoulder. Shayera hiccuped and pushed herself away from Audrey's embrace, ridding the tears from existence with her sleeve. She couldn't find it in herself to meet her friend's gaze. Thankfully Audrey picked up on her hesitancy. She rubbed Shayera's arm and took her hand with a squeeze. "Feel a little better?"

Shayera forced a chuckle but shook her head with a frown. "Not really," she admitted, lifting her gaze.

Audrey smiled sympathetically and nodded her head in understanding. "I'm sure... Do you want to tell me why you think John's going to leave you?"

Hearing it aloud cut like a knife, but she held herself together - having cried enough for one day. She released a shaky breath, mist forming around the hot air. She swallowed and hugged her arms for warmth and reassurance. "John doesn't want children, and I -"

Shayera met Audrey's gaze, watching as the woman slowly but surely began connecting the dots. "-I think I'm... you know." She didn't dare say the word, but she was thankful her friend didn't need to hear her say it.

"-I don't know how I'm supposed to tell him... I don't... we didn't plan this." She touched her stomach, retracting her hand just as quickly and casting her eyes to the ground. "-He doesn't want this." Her stomach turned and knotted, and she felt nauseous. That wasn't new, but Shayera didn't think the reaction had anything to do with her current morning sickness. She knew it was because she was scared.

Hiking Bec higher onto her hip before looking at her with all the love she held for her daughter, Audrey sighed. "This sweet girl has a similar story..."

Shayera's eyes widened, and Audrey nodded her head towards her home. "-You wanna talk about it over some hot cocoa?"

Usi bumped into Shayera's side, tail wagging as if he was practically begging her to accept. "...I'd like that," Shayera met Audrey's stride as they veered towards the home. They walked a few paces in silence before Shayera faced Audrey. "-Thank you."

"...You're welcome, Kenny."