DISCLAIMERS/NOTES

1. This is a fan fiction based on characters owned by DC Comics. I DO NOT OWN THEM. This is just for fun.

2. As always, I'll point out this was written over a decade ago. Here in the UK, Season 2 of the JL cartoon had yet to air, so Hawkgirl had not been revealed as a spy. And the massive, every-hero-in-the-DCU roster of Unlimited wasn't a factor. My timeline picks up after the Season 1 finale, The Savage Time. All my Wayback Wednesday stories are numbered chronologically, if you get stuck.

3. There are aspects of these stories that, in hindsight, I would change. However, I have kept them as I originally wrote them for history's sake. Not laziness.

PART 5

Shayera sat in the kitchen, Tarran in her arms and a bottle in her hands. The baby quietly sucked away at the bottle, taking in the milk. Shayera rocked her slowly in her arms. It was a miracle that she had not been harmed earlier. If it was not for Flash, both of them could have been killed.

Flash. She kept thinking back to him. He had risked his own life to save theirs. He had been there for her, as he always had been. He had kept her calm when they were trapped… not with words, but by him simply being there.

Of course, she had seen the shyness in him. He was always shy around her, to the point of being rude. She knew why, though. She had always known.

He loved her. He had loved her since that Christmas, at least, when she had first been with John. She remembered the mess that happened in the run-up to New Year's, with her conflicting feelings for both John and Flash. Of course, it did not take her long to realise her feelings for Flash were nothing more than that one would feel for a close friend, while her feelings for John were deeper. But it seemed that Flash had never let go.

She remembered when he left. He just walked in and said it one day. There was no discussion, no warning. He just told them, and no matter how much they tried to persuade him to stay, he would not. He left that day, and had come back to the Watchtower sparingly since then.

And she knew why. He was running. He was finding it harder and harder to see her with John… and when Tarran was born, he distanced himself even more. She knew something was going to happen.

Of course, she had hoped his time away would help him. Hopefully his feelings for her would fade… and she knew that was part of the reason for him to go. As crass and immature as Flash acted, he did not want to break up a family. That was why she had not gotten into contact with him as much as the other Leaguers. She wanted him to forget about her entirely.

But today… it was clear he had not. He still cared about her. Still loved her.

She had to do something about it. She had waited long enough.

She heard footsteps, and looked up to see Flash and J'onn at the doorway. "Hello," J'onn said.

"Hi," Shayera said quietly, looking at Flash. She noticed how he was looking at Tarran.

"The Manhunter remains are in our storage bay," J'onn said. "John would like to see you as soon as possible. He wants to spend some time with you."

"OK," Shayera said. "J'onn, can you leave Flash and I alone for a moment?"

Flash looked confused, but J'onn nodded, an understanding expression on his face. "Of course." With that, he turned around and left.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments, as Shayera and Flash just stared at eachother. "So…" Flash eventually said uncomfortably, "how are you feeling?"

"We're good," Shayera said with a smile.

Flash looked away. "Good." He began to twitch, and darted his eyes to the door. "Well, I'll be going then. I'll… see you sometime. Take care." He quickly turned around, but stopped at the sound of Shayera's voice.

"Why did you leave?"

Flash looked over his shoulder. "What?"

"Why did you leave?" Shayera repeated. "You never gave us a reason."

Flash turned around slowly. "You know… the usual…"

"No," Shayera said, gently but sternly. "Tell me."

Flash was silent. Shayera could tell he did not want to talk about it… but he had to. "Flash…" she said quietly, "why didn't you just tell me?"

Flash sighed, and looked at the ground. "I tried. But by the time I did… you had chosen John."

Shayera looked sadly at him. "I'm sorry…"

He held up his hand. "Don't be. I'm OK. I was just being an immature kid with a crush…"

Shayera sighed. "Really?"

Flash looked at her, his eyes sad. Shayera felt deeply sorry for him. He was in love, but had not had that love returned. She knew how painful that was, and how hard it must have been for him to see her with John.

He laughed slightly. "No. You know that. I… loved you, Shayera. I still love you. That's why I had to go. I can't be the guy who breaks up a family. And as much as he gets on my nerves, John's too decent a guy for me to do that. I'll get over it, Shayera. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"Why don't you come back?" Shayera asked.

Flash looked down again. "I don't know… it probably won't be such a good idea…"

"Flash, please," Shayera said. "We miss you. It hasn't been the same without you. And it'll be fine, don't worry. Just think about it."

Flash looked at her. He smiled slightly, and sighed. "I'll… think about it." With that, he turned to leave the room, but bumped into Lantern. "Oh, hi," he said.

"Hey man," Lantern said. "Look, thanks for earlier. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there for Shayera and…"

"Don't worry about it," Flash interrupted. He looked at Shayera. "I'll be off. I… might be back." He turned around and left the room.

Lantern watched him go, then looked at Shayera puzzled. "What was that all about?"

"Nothing," she said, smiling. "What's up?"

"I wanted to make sure you were OK," he said, going upto her. He sat down on a chair, and leaned close. He tickled Tarran's chin gently. "I almost lost you today."

"WE almost lost YOU," she said. "You do that again, I'll kill you."

Lantern smiled. "You know what got me through today? You know what made me gather the strength to free myself from the Manhunters' whips?"

Shayera tilted her head. "Your uniform was getting creased?"

Lantern laughed. "No. It was the thought of not seeing you again. I couldn't bare that. I had to know you and Tarran were OK. That was all that mattered to me. You're all that DO matter to me."

Shayera leaned closer to him, and they kissed gently. They separated, and Shayera sighed. "Let's go spend some time together… as a family." They got to their feet, and went towards the door. "We can watch another one of romance movies…"

Lantern sighed. "Great…"

They left the room…

None of them noticed the bat-shaped shadow by the slightly-ajar store cupboard door…

/

Ra's Al Ghul stared out of his window, looking over the desert beyond.

His plans to cure the Earth had failed.

For now.

He heard footsteps nearing, and turned around. Talia was at the doorway. "Father," she said.

"Yes, Talia?" he said.

"He is here."

"Good." Al Ghul walked towards the door, and left the room, closely followed by Talia. They went down the corridor, until they reached a small room. They walked in and saw a figure sitting at a small table, two guards with guns behind him. The figure wore a loose, baggy coat, and hood that covered its face.

Al Ghul looked at the guards. "Has he caused any problems?"

"None, master," one of the guards said.

Al Ghul looked at the figure. "So, how may I be of service, stranger?"

"You know me," the figure said in a male voice. "And it's what we can do for eachother."

"As you said when you first contacted me," Al Ghul said. "Do you agree to follow my orders, and do as I say?"

The figure nodded. "Yes… master."

"Good," Al Ghul said. "Then we will begin your training tomorrow. Be ready at sunrise."

"I will," the figure said.

/

Batman walked down the corridor, more determined than he ever had been before.

He had listened in on Shayera's talks with Flash and Lantern. He had not liked it, but he had to. He had to see how other people talked through their problems… as he was so bad at doing it himself.

His relationship with Diana was on the verge of ending. He knew it. Their arguments over the past couple of days… the way they had been avoiding eachother at the Watchtower… things were bad.

Why? How did things get so bad? They had never argued before… not like this. The closest they came was when Prometheus set him up with Catwoman. But besides that… nothing. They just did not fight. They loved eachother that much.

So why could she not see how much he loved her? She was ALL he cared about. She was his life. He could not imagine his life without her. But that could very well happen, if he did not fix things, now.

He went to their room and stopped at the door. Diana was in there. He knew she put Faith and Thomas to bed at this time everytime they stayed over. And, although they had not discussed staying over tonight, it was clear Diana was going to. She probably felt more comfortable here than at the Manor.

That thought made his heart ache. If she did not want to be with him tonight… would she not want to be with him ever?

He had to fix things.

He opened the door slowly, and looked in. Diana was sitting on the side of the bed, staring out of the window. Faith and Thomas were in their cots, asleep. Batman opened the door fully, and looked at his wife. A box of tissues was beside her, and she was sniffing quietly.

He walked in, and closed the door. He looked at her, the woman he loved more than anything. He could not bare they being angry at eachother anymore. "Diana…" he said quietly.

Diana kept her head facing the window. "Bruce… go away. I'm not in the mood right now…"

He sighed, and put his hands to his face. He pushed back his cowl, determined he was not going to hide behind it. He stepped forward. "Diana…" he repeated. "I…"

"Bruce, please," Diana said. Her voice was choked as she spoke between sobs. "I can't do this again. I… it hurts too much…" Her head dipped.

Bruce went closer, stopping a foot away from the bed. "I'm sorry," he said.

Diana's head went up. "What?"

He walked around the bed, and knelt down by her side. He saw her face, her eyes red and heavy, tears pouring down her face. "I'm sorry. I… didn't mean anything I said… I just…" He reached out, and took her hand in his. She turned her head and looked at him. He gently pushed her hair away with his other hand, and wiped her tears away. "I just can't bare to lose you. If anything happened… if you… died… I don't know what I'd do…"

She took a deep breath. "I'll be OK…" she whispered. "The only way I won't be is if you're not with me…"

Bruce stroked her shoulders. "Do you want me to be?"

"Of course I do…" she said. "But I have to know you want this too…"

"I do," he said. "I just… got scared. I'd be lost without you…"

"I thought I'd lost you," she said. "I thought you didn't want to be with me anymore…"

He raised her hand to his face, and tightened his grip. "Diana… I will always be with you. I want to have children with you. I can't imagine my life without you."

She smiled, fresh tears pouring down her face. "I love you," she breathed.

"I love you too," he said. "I love you so much…"

They leaned closer to eachother, and kissed tenderly. They then looked at eachother, and he got to his feet and sat down next to her on the bed. She put her arms around the back of his neck, and he put his hands on her back. They embraced, holding eachother closely.

They held eachother for a long, long time…

THE END