AN: Oh, I know! My updates are so random! 13 months apart... jeez! But good news! I had a burst of inspiration and wrote this chapter. It's not super long but I think it's fun. I'll tell you guys something. I almost gave up this story completely last year. I'm a free watermelon supporter and the actress (whose name i shall not say) who plays the version of the character i fell in love with almost ruined it for me. But, it's not her i admire and look up to it's Diana Prince. Diana would never justify the brutality that we've all witnessed in the last 14 months - for either side. Especially when it comes to hurting innocent men, women and children. It is her message and what she stands for that I truly admire and we need those kind of characters in our lives. So here I am, posting not only this chapter... oh yes, after this one I have another two that are ready to go. I'll tell you more at the end. Go on. Hope you enjoy, dear reader!
10
"Ms. Prince," Alfred bows his head politely. "Captain Trevor. I hope you had a pleasant flight."
I smile at Alfred's always impeccable manners. "We did. How are you, Alfred? It's been a while since we last saw each other."
Steve sets down our bags. "Has Bruce been going easy on you?"
Alfred purses his lips for a moment. "Master Wayne has been as headache-inducing as he has always been. At least I can't say I'm not constantly entertained."
Steve and I chuckle. "He's lucky to have you, Alfred."
"And I him, Ms. Prince. Please, go to the meeting room. For the first time in the history of the league, you two are the last to arrive."
Both Steve and I are surprised. We usually have to wait for Arthur and, ironically, for Barry before we get the meeting started.
"We should get going then," Steve says.
Alfred steps aside and motions for us to go. "Oh, one more thing if I may?"
I stop and frown. "Yes?"
"Congratulations to the both of you." Alfred says with a tender smile.
Steve intertwines his fingers with mine. "Thank you."
I made no effort to hide my six-month pregnant belly. That's what we're here for anyway.
We walk hand in hand to the meeting room. A series of beeping noises goes off as the facial recognition activates. The door opens and everyone is in fact already here.
"Oh shit! I guess that right there is the reason for the meeting!" A booming laugh explodes out of Arthur as he slaps his thigh.
"What is?" Barry says looking up from his phone.
I smile at him endearingly waiting for him to notice.
His eyes travel down a little and his eyes go wide as saucers and his mouth forms a perfect 'O'. A gust of wind ruffles my hair as Barry zooms right in front of us.
"I'm going to be an uncle?!" He asks, bouncing on his feet.
Steve and I laugh.
"I guess you are." Steve confirms.
A squeal comes out of Barry that makes Vic chortle as he gives us the biggest and sweetest bear hug.
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! This is so awesome!"
I rub his back absolutely loving his excitement at the news.
Bruce looks up from his screen and looks at Steve and me. His eyes drop to my stomach and he squints his eyes, as if trying to scan me. My eyes immediately go to the person who actually can.
Clark closes his eyes and smiles. "You know what you're having?"
We nod. "A girl." I say.
"She has a strong heartbeat."
Steve squeezes my hand.
"My man!" Arthur shouts as he hugs Steve. "You'll know joy, brother. Just you wait."
Steve pads Arthur's back. "Thanks, Arthur."
"You two have a very strange way of doing things." Bruce tells us from his sit. I smile at him and know he's happy for us but he is Bruce Wayne and he can't handle reacting normally.
"How have you've been saving the citizens of Paris with that?" He says pointing at my belly.
"I think that's his way of saying congratulations. You sound more robotic that I do, Bruce." Victor says as he stretches his hand to me and Steve. "Congratulations."
I smile at him. "Thank you, Victor."
As we move to sit around the big conference table, Bruce asks again,
"So, shouldn't you be at home with a ball of yarn at your feet or something, instead of out in the streets fighting crime?"
Steve snorts. "Do you know her?"
I decide to actually discuss the matter seriously because we could go on and on. It's happened before.
I clear my throat. "I've been home a couple of times. I was instructed on the adjustments I had to make and through continuous training, I have been able to do my job well enough; even better I would say since my senses have become sharper.
Nevertheless, as my pregnancy advances, it's going to be harder to hide it. I'm six months along I would think I have another month before my pregnancy becomes unmistakeable. The only reason Steve and I are worried is because of Waller. We all know she's not above using children for her own ends."
I look around the table and I see everyone nod. I can see everyone's gears turning as they deduce what we're going to say next.
Steve continues.
"We've discussed this thoroughly, and we believe that for the safety of our daughter, it would be best if Waller, or anyone with plans to hurt Wonder Woman, remained ignorant that we have a child."
"But that would mean that for two months – potentially even four – my jurisdiction would remain unprotected." I finish.
Even though it was inevitable for me to have to pause my job as Wonder Woman to have and take care of my daughter, the decision still wasn't an easy one. At the end of the day, people would be left unprotected and alone in a particular moment in time where things seem to be shifting for the worse.
There were a couple of months there where things were surprisingly quiet but it unnerved me. It was like the quiet before the storm. In the last few months disaster after disaster has needed my presence there. Fires, floods, robberies with military-grade weapons, terrorist attacks, etc. Not to mention that my absence also means Steve's.
I don't know what Waller will do or how she will take a prolonged absence from Steve. Is she going to twiddle her thumbs? Or is she going to do something to compromise us as she has no one to ask us directly? We know Bruce will probably handle her but still.
Turns out having a baby and being a superhero is not for the faint of heart.
Bruce taps the screen, and a hologram of the world appears. The map is coloured-coded indicating which areas correspond to whom. North and Central America is generally covered by Bruce and Barry. The Caribbean, South America and certain Pacific Islands are covered by Arthur with Mera's help. Europe is covered by me; Africa is covered by Clark and Asia by Victor.
"How's the situation in Iran, Victor? Do you think you could cover Diana?" Victor's eye glows red as he revises data in his mind.
He shakes his head. "It's volatile right now. I could, in theory, handle it, but things change constantly."
I nod. He's right. If it's not nuclear threat, then it's a social issue. He can't leave his post.
"I'll do it," Clark says, and we turn to look at him. "Remember a couple of months ago I reported several cases of civilian mass killings in several countries in Central and South Africa?"
We nod. A chill goes down my body as I remember reading the details of such horrific crimes.
"Well, I've been following some leads and they have taken me to Bwunda. A name has come up… Cadulo. He is not the head of the snake but he's definitely going to point me towards it.
With Victor's help, we've discovered that he has many bank accounts setup across the world. Coincidently, every time a massacre occurs the accounts that have activity are the ones in Europe – specifically France and Belgium. We were gathering a few more details but the next step was to contact you, Diana."
Steve leans forward examining the map. "What seems to be the thing they're after?"
Clark exhales, "A little bit of every sinister thing you can imagine: human trafficking, drug trafficking, recruitment of child soldiers, sexual abuse, theft, among others."
My eyes close.
And here I was thinking I could take four months of vacation.
"I hardly think 'vacation' is the right word for having a baby, recovering, and taking care of her, Di."
I open my eyes and narrow them in Clark's direction. "Don't read my mind."
He chuckles at my fake exasperation. "You were thinking so loud."
Steve takes my hand knowing how hard I can be with myself with this specific scenario: the world or my daughter.
"Are you sure it's not putting too much on your plate, Clark?" Steve asks him.
He nods. "I can hold the fort for four months."
"We don't know that for sure, Clark. It could be less time." I tell him.
He smiles sweetly at me. "Take the four months, Di. I only have one condition."
"Name it." I tell him.
He points at his chest. "I'm the first to hold her."
Steve and I chuckle. "Deal."
"Aw, man!" Barry exclaims. "I'll go second!", he says raising his hand.
Bruce taps the screen a couple of times and Europe changes to red indicating that two months from now Clark's going to be the one protecting it.
"Well, there's that then. What else is there to report?" Bruce asks as he looks around the table.
The meeting lasts almost four hours. As always there were too many emergencies to be taken care of and not enough of us. We go through the painstaking task of having to prioritize cases and go through them one by one.
After all the intense discussions, we made our way out of the conference room, feeling the weight of our decisions. It's never easy on any of us. It takes a toll doing what we do. No matter how hard we try, no matter how efficient we are there will always be someone somewhere who we cannot help. It pains us. Right now in particular I feel an anguish in knowing I will be leaving my post. I know it's for my child. It is not wrong or illogical and yet… I can't help but feel like I'm letting the ordinary person down.
"Hey." Steve pulls my hand. "Do I need to repeat what I always say?"
I smile and shake my head. "No need. I was just literally telling myself that our child also deserves our care and attention and that I'm not forsaking the rest of the world for putting her first."
Steve nods. "Good. Saved me some time there."
I chuckle and lean forward to give him a peck. "You'll probably will have to remind again soon."
"Guys. Do you have a minute?" Arthur says jogging towards us.
"What's up Arthur?" Steve asks.
"Hey, don't worry too much about Waller. Mera actually made a pretty good point when I kept swimming in circles at 3am."
We laugh. "What was it?" Steve asks.
"Waller would be a fucking idiot to lay a finger on Junior. He is a prince of Atlantis. The whole might of a far more advance civilization would descend on her. We are her go-to people to deal with those kind of attacks. She cannot lose us. She can think about it all she wants but it wouldn't be very smart of her to act on it."
I exhale. He is right. Baby Arthur and our baby's situations are very similar. If Waller were stupid enough to harm our daughter not only would she face my wrath and Steve's, but the league's as well. Not to mention my mother would have zero qualms in deploying her troops for her only granddaughter.
I squeeze Arthur's hand. "Thank you, Arthur. How is Mera and the baby?"
The biggest smile lights up his face. "They're great. My little man is growing every day and Mera's doing like 5 gallilion things at the time. I can't even comprehend how she does it. Actually…"
He looks at his watch.
"I should get going. I promised I'd be there for bedtime."
"Send Mera our regards. Go on. Don't leave them waiting." Steve tells him.
"Thank you once again, Arthur." I give him a hug and he runs off.
We all retire for the night. I tuck myself in bed resting my head on Steve's shoulder. His hand automatically rests on my belly.
"Arthur's right. Waller can't touch her without serious repercussions. We should still be cautions though. She may have a tantrum and act out." Steve says.
I rest my hand on top of his and nod. "Yeah. Taking the four months off might end up being really beneficial besides the obvious reasons. Let us form a true plan once we get to Themyscira. Let's take advantage of my mother and Antiope's brains."
He nods. "Yeah, it's not long now. Three months. Wow, she's almost here."
I smile as I feel a swift kick to my ribs. "Oh, so you're listening, huh?"
Steve scoots down so he's eye level with my belly.
"Don't you worry, kid. We're not going to let anyone lay a hand on you. I promise." He kisses the spot where the baby kicked.
"Not even a finger." I also tell her.
With that solemn promise we go to sleep.
AN: What did you think? I'm excited about the next chapter. It is all about Barry and Diana. Grief will be the main topic of conversation for these next two chapters. I will be posting on Sundays. After that, well... I just don't know. Let me know what you think!
