AN: You guys... I post my fics here and AO3. I uploaded chapter 9 over on AO3 more than a year ago and forgot to put it on here! I am so sorry! I have a few more chapters that I managed to write and came over to upload chapter 10 and I realised my mistake. I guess instead of three new chapters you'll have four and two to read right now! Enjoy dear reader!

9

"So? Mission accomplished?", Monsieur Martínez asks a few moments after Barbara Ann leaves with Pierre.

I can't help the big smile that pulls on the corner of my lips. "Mission accomplished, général."

Monsieur Martínez pumps his fists very discreetly. Steve and I laugh.

"I knew you would succeed, Diana!"

I shake my head. "Actually I had very little to do with it. It was all Barbara Ann."

He pauses. "Really?"

Steve nods. "Really."

"Huh." Monsieur Martínez' eyebrows almost disappear under his hairline. "Well, I should thank her then. Where is she?"

"Uhh…" Steve and I say trying to put elegantly where Barbara Ann is.

"She's…"

"Celebrating her win." Steve cuts me off. I elbow him discreetly.

I spot Dr. Llodra and his son and decide to say hi to them before Monsieur Martínez decides to keep asking about Barbara Ann.

"Oh, Docteur Llodra! Et Monsieur Llodra. It's so nice to see both of you."

Docteur Llodra extends his hands and I take them kissing him on both cheeks.

"Madame Prince. So lovely to see you! You look absolutely beautiful as always."

I smile kindly at him. "Thank you. You look very handsome tonight. Both of you."

His son, Lucas, nods his head forward with hands behind his back. "You're a very good liar, Madame."

I can see how sick he is. I only ever see them during this event and the transformation I see in Lucas from last year is heart-breaking. His eyes are sunken, his skin is pale where it used to be olive, he has lost so much weight and there's this look in his eyes…

I shake my head. "I never lie, Monsieur."

He smiles in appreciation. "Well, then. I'll take the compliment. You're very kind."

"Madame Prince, congratulations are in order. Such a blessing! I'm very happy for you!"

Lucas looks confused at his father and then at me. "Forgive me. What are we congratulating?"

Docteur taps his forehead and looks upward. "My boy, you were always impressively unobservant. She's having a bébé!"

I see Lucas and Monsieur Martínez' eyes flick down to my belly and their eyes widen.

"Oh! Congratulations!" They both exclaim at the same time.

I turn to Steve and stretch my hand to him. "We're very happy. Merci. You're the first one who has noticed. Let me introduce you to my partner, Steve Trevor. Steve, this is Docteur Thomas Llodra and his son, Lucas."

Steve shakes both of their hands. "Nice to meet you both."

"You're a very lucky man, Monsieur Trevor. Very lucky! There are few people in the world as impressive as Madame Prince. May you have a child as kind and smart as she."

Steve snakes his arm around my waist and looks at me. "I hope so."

I look at Steve and feel butterflies in my stomach.

"And here I am abusing your kindness, Diana! Congratulations to both of you!" Monsieur Martínez exclaims.

"Thank you, sir. We couldn't be more excited." Steve tells him.

We exchange a few more pleasantries before Lucas touches his father's arm.

"Papa, we should go. Forgive me but I'm running on low batteries these days."

I turn to look at him and I can see the effort Lucas is making to keep his posture straight.

"Oh, yes yes. Let me say goodbye to a few people. I'll meet you outside. I hope you three keep enjoying the night! We certainly have. See you soon."

"See you soon." Steve and I say.

"I'll walk with you." Monsieur Martínez says to Docteur Llodra. He nods and they turn and walk away. Lucas stays behind.

"Well, we only ever cross paths during this event, Madame. Unfortunately, this may be the last time we see each other."

My face falls. "Don't say that. You don't know that for sure."

He smiles but it doesn't reach his eyes.

"My body has taken as much as it can take. I've fought. But unfortunately, I can take no more. I know that. My father knows that. Which is why he practically threatened Monsieur Martínez with bodily harm if he didn't change the date of the ball. He knows I'm on borrowed time."

Acceptance. That's what I saw in his eyes. He has accepted he is dying.

"I just wanted to thank you personally for the donations you've made to the children's hospital. You're the only one in this whole room who volunteers her time to read to the children. Did you know that?"

I nod. More than once the nurses have brought it up to me.

"Well, I won't take any more of your time. It was my pleasure. Honestly. Congratulations to both of you and good luck with your baby."

Steve stretches out his hand. "Thank you. I hope it's not too painful."

Lucas shakes Steve's hand. "It won't be. He won't let it get to that point."

He stretches his hand to me but I shake my head. I take a step forward and hug him. He is a good man and what is happening to him is horrible. Even though we don't really know each other, I've always expected him to be here every year since I started working at the Louvre and now he won't be.

"Goodbye, Diana."

"Goodbye, Lucas."

I watch him walk out of the room. I watch him take one last look with a smile. He touches the marble wall and then leaves.

That's the last time I see Lucas Llodra.

"Are you okay, Angel?" Steve asks rubbing my back.

I nod looking up trying to keep the tears from falling. "Yeah. He is a good man. It breaks my heart."

Steve pulls a handkerchief from his inside pocket and hands it to me. I wipe the tears from the corner of my eyes.

"Yeah but it's good though. That he won't suffer I mean. Not everyone gets to dictate how they go."

I fold the handkerchief and hand it back to Steve. "Thank you. Yes but I'm also thinking about the docteur. Having to be the one to put an end to his child's suffering…"

I shake my head and I can't help but rest my hand on my small but undeniable pregnant belly.

Steve lays his hand on top of mine. "I can't even imagine. You can be there for him when…"

Steve's phone beeps loudly. He pulls it out and quickly unlocks it. "Angel…"

I lean a little closer and see what the alert was for and my eyes widen.

Notre Dame is engulfed in flames.

Steve and I don't have to say anything. We have to go. He intertwines his fingers with mine and we start walking. As we move through the room, I see people pulling out their phones. Hushed voices turn into a gasps of disbelief.

The very identity of France is up in flames.

"I need to go to my office. My armour's there." I whisper to Steve as we climb the stairs out of the room.

"Okay, let's go there. I'll contact A.R.G.U.S from your office and let them know you're in the move. I'll wait there for you until you come back."

I guide Steve through the museum at a quick pace. I pull out my key card and swipe it through the sensor. The door unlocks and I let go of his hand and start sprinting now that we're out of sight.

Fires spread quickly.

"I might take a while Steve. I think it'll be better for you to work from home. I wouldn't be surprised if the ball is called off. You might be stuck inside the museum."

Steve keeps up with me. I see my office and quickly descend the steps throwing the door open.

"Yeah okay. I'll make the call and then I'll go home." Steve pulls out his cell phone and starts pacing as he waits for his call to be answered.

I open my safe and pull my armour and lasso out. I change quickly and pull my sword and shield out from there hiding place.

"This is Trevor, Steve. ID: Tango, lima, niner, eight, foxtrot, four. WW has been alerted to a fire in the cathedral of Notre Dame. This is a high alert mission. Civilians and public servants are under threat. She is on the move."

I turn to Steve and nod. He looks at the screen and puts himself on mute.

"Go. I'll wait for you both at home."

I give him a quick kiss and I'm out the window flying towards Notre Dame.

It doesn't take me long to get there. The night sky is illuminated by the orange flames of the fire. A crowd has already formed there; the police have setup barricades keeping the people at a safe distance away. I see the pompiers fighting bravely against the flames but it doesn't look like it's doing much. The fire is so big already.

I land next to a fire truck and, as soon as I do, the people start calling my name.

"Wonder Woman! S'il vous plait! Les aider à!"

Please, help them.

"Is it under control?" I ask one of the fire fighters.

He wipes the sweat off his forehead smearing the soot from the fire. "Barely but we need to get men in there. There are too many relics in there. We need to safe them."

I look up the cathedral. This is an 850 year-old structure. It was built with stone and a lot of wood, which is exactly what's stoking the fire since stone doesn't burn. Not to mention that within the structure there's lead. Extremely toxic and at these temperatures definitely hot enough to be dripping down on anyone who goes in there.

"It's too dangerous! What could possibly be in there that's worth any of your lives?"

The firefighter looks to his left at a man in a suit who I hadn't spotted.

"You want to tell her? It'll be a lot quicker if you do."

I look confused at the older man just noticing the white band on his collar.

A clergy man.

He looks at me and I stare him down. There's no time to waste.

He seems to be battling with himself but he eventually relents. "I don't know exactly where it is. I was only given a vague reference. It's not my secret to hold."

My patience starts running thin. "Where what is?"

He swallows and leans in. "The most holy of relics. Jesus' crown of thorns. It must be saved!"

Oh… well Jesus!

I close my eyes. There's no denying that is an extremely important object for those devout to the Catholic faith and the French are extremely devout Catholics.

I, myself, am not huge on basing my faith in any object since the last time I did my brother turned it to ash in my hands.

But, it is an important object not only for the French but for Catholics around the world. So I could at least try to find it.

"Who knows its exact location?" I ask the man.

"The archbishop. But he's on a flight to Namibia. He can't be reached!"

Figures.

"Tell me what you know."

The priest gives me two very rough directions to where it could be. The captain and I split up. He goes to the back of the cathedral, which is a little further away from the worst of the fire and I go directly behind the altar, where currently I can see the cracking glass and debris raining from above.

I pull my shield out and cover myself as I walk the steps up the altar. That is as much information as the priest gave me: somewhere behind the altar.

I crack tiles hoping it'll be hidden under one of them but I have no luck. I pull down paintings carefully and set them aside. Somehow they're in good condition and hopefully I'll be able to bring them out. I have no luck in finding anything behind them.

A massive crack sounds from over me and I look up to see the spire collapse crashing into the Cathedral.

Where are you?, I ask myself.

I don't have a lot of time.

I take a step back and my back hits the marble altar. I turn to look at it and crouch. I start touching the marble underneath and that's when I see it.

In one of the tiles at the base of the altar there's a mark that looks a lot like a crown of thorns. I wipe away the ash and notice a depression that continues onto the next tile. I follow the markings up to the base of the cross. I touch the gold base and see that it's a separate piece from the actual cross. I rotate it and it gives. There's a distinct click and a tile to my right pops up.

I kneel and see a metal box with a lock.

I waste no time in grabbing the box. The ceiling is about to cave in. I grab it and run.

When I come out of the cathedral I see the captain is also holding an identical box to mine.

"You found one too?" I ask him confused.

"Oui, they look the same." He asks perplexed and a little out of breath.

We both look at the priest.

"One's a decoy. I don't know which box contains the real one. Once I see it, I'll know. I have to see it. Now. My superiors will ask."

I waste no time since the fire seems to be getting worse. I fist the lock and crash it. I do the same with the captain's box.

Both boxes, in fact, contain a crown of thorns that's protected by what looks like glass with gold details; all sitting in a satin pillow.

The priest quickly looks through both of them and confirms that my box has the real crown of thorns.

"Get it to safety. There's still work to be done." I jump towards the ceiling and secure a structure that was precariously leaning towards residential buildings right next to Notre Dame.

I'm there for hours. I help the pompiers remove as much art as possible. I help some of them who got terribly burnt by dripping lead. The fire starts dying down about twelve hours later. The pompiers did a wonderful job. Before I go, they ask me to help secure scaffolding that was there before the fire. Due to the high temperatures, it had melted and was threating to collapse and cause further damage.

I go up there and quickly use the lasso to bring down the parts that hang precariously over the cathedral. I inspect my work and exhale. I look around and see the damage. It'll definitely take a lot of work to rebuild, but it can be rebuild. It didn't burn beyond repair.

"Okay, time to go home." I tell myself satisfied with a job well done. As I'm coiling my lasso I feel a flutter.

I freeze and my eyes widen slightly.

"Did you just move?" I ask my daughter not willing to voice or do anything that might give away that Wonder Woman is pregnant.

I wait a few seconds and I feel it again.

I exhale and I can't help the smile that pulls on my lips. "Let's go home to your daddy, huh?"

I fly off in a rush to tell Steve that I just felt our baby move.

AN: What did you think? Let me know what you think and then go on to chapter 10 :)