Chapter 4

Breathe, dammit, breath. She could barely move his chest with her pounding. Turning his head up again, she began mouth-to-mouth. There were those odd moments during a crisis when time seemed to almost stand still. Diana was unaware of the five others around her. She couldn't even see him, as she held his nose closed and tried desperately to breathe life back into him.

Her mind went back to when she kissed him in front of the others. It was impetuous. Rash. She was so glad now that she had done it. It was hard to understand why they hadn't done it before– or more often. If that was their last kiss—No! Concentrate on the task at hand. She would not give up.

Trying to breathe into Superman's lungs was like trying to blow up a steel tank. She could barely get a rise, but it was something. One breath, two—did she hear something?

She pulled back and turned his head, just as he expelled what seemed to be a gallon of sea water. She gently wiped off his lips with her hand, then picked him up enough to cradle his head in her lap. Thank Hera he was going to make it. She raised her head, eyes closed, and silently thanked every god she could think of.

He took in a deep breath and coughed. His eyes sprang open to see Diana's smiling face looking down on him. He smiled back.

"We were worried about you. We thought you had left us."

He swiveled his head around without leaving her lap. "We?"

Diana looked around to see that the other Leaguers had gone, presumably to check for any damage that might have occurred and to see if anyone was injured. Right now, she didn't care where they went. She was just glad they were gone.

He reached up and brushed her wet hair aside so he could see her more clearly. "Tears, Diana? I thought Amazons didn't cry."

"We don't—" She stopped herself and started again. "Who told you that nonsense? We are a race of warrior women, not warrior machines." She smiled at him. "Besides, it's just sea water." Then she winked at him. Diana winked at him?

He shook his head to clear it, then despite how comfortable he found himself at the moment, he needed to get up. "I need to see what I can do to help."

With a finger on his forehead, Diana pushed him back down without effort. "Oh no you don't! If I can push you down that easily, then you are too weak to help anyone. You are going back to your apartment and rest."

"Diana, really, I'm fine. Honest." She reluctantly let him get up and laughed as his shaky knees almost betrayed him.

"What's so funny?"

"You are. The rest of the team has the situation well in hand. They don't need your help." She patted her lap. "Lay back down here for a moment."

He did as she ordered, and not as reluctantly as he would have thought. His gait was that of an old man, hunched over and shuffling until he managed to lay down again with his head back in her lap. She had to stifle another laugh.

He closed his eyes as she slowly massaged his temples.

"Remember those times when you carried me somewhere or another when we had to go someplace really fast? Well, you're too weak to fly, so now I get to carry you for once. I'm quite looking forward to it."

Not long after letting the team know her plan to take care of Clark, they were airborne. As she rose above the clouds, she cradled him in her arms and he put an arm around her neck. To make himself more comfortable, he told himself. He felt a little strange at first, but soon began to enjoy the trip. Diana was grinning from ear to ear watching him adjust to his new role as passenger. She had no intention of flying very fast, either. She was going to take her time and enjoy this new arrangement too. It gave them a chance to talk as well.

"So, what's the last thing you remember before the explosion? Oh, and I'm very angry at you, too."

He reddened slightly before replying "Last thing I remember is when you kissed me. And why are you angry with me?"

She smiled slyly. "I'm glad that it was memorable enough that even a massive explosion wasn't enough to jar it from your memory."

To her surprise, he managed to redden even further.

"About my anger…What was the last thing I told you before I left?"

"umm, I don't remember. That was one helluva kiss."

"And you're one helluva lousy liar, Clark.", but she laughed as she said it. In a exaggeratedly stern tone, she added, "We'll discuss that later."

"Later?"

A wicked smile crossed her lips as she hugged him closer so she could whisper in his ear, "Oh, didn't I tell you? Since you can't follow simple orders and rest as you should, I'm going to be staying with you to nurse you back to health."

She'd never seen his face so red before, but at least he was smiling. And that gleam in his eyes was something she wanted to explore further. In private. She began to fly faster towards Metropolis.