Changing Focus

CHANGING FOCUS by BILLA1

Disclaimer: The characters Batman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Superman & Flash are all owned by DC Comics. This story is intended for my own pleasure and is not for profit. It has been posted to this site for others to read. Places and characters not own by DC Comics are my own creation. This story is based on characters from the Justice League Animated Series episode: Legends written Andrew Kreiberg.

Changing Focus

Rating: (PG-13)

Synopsis: In Legends, Green Lantern, the Flash, the Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl were transported to Earth-2 where they encountered the Justice Guild of America and Ray, the Junior Justice Guildsman. Ray turns out to be responsible for the conditions that exist in the post-war Earth-2. The four justice league members are unable to defeat Ray without the ultimate sacrifice of the JGA members. With Ray defeated, the four Leaguers have to try to get home. One of them takes a little longer to get home than the others.

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Chapter One

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The four Leaguers slowly re-entered the old house that was once the meeting place of the Justice Guild of America. The wood floors creaked under their weight. With Ray gone and no longer able to maintain the illusion of the well kept house, the true age and condition of the house was readily apparent.

"Are you OK?" Hawkgirl asked the Green Lantern as the four Leaguers walked into the hallway of the house.

The Green Lantern had a sullen look on his face. He spoke slowly.

"It's just so hard. These were people...no...ideals that I grew up with. The Justice Guild saved us. I just wish there had been some way for us to save them."

The Flash put his hand on the Emerald Knight's shoulders.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, GL," the Flash said, "It was Ray that kept them alive and when Ray was defeated, they died again, but they knew that was going to happen."

The Green Lantern acknowledged that he heard his friend and continued walking.

The group slowly made its way through the house toward the kitchen and to the entrance of the basement.

The Martian Manhunter opened the door to the basement, stood at the top of the stairway and said, "The problem we have now is how to get back home?"

From the top of the stairs, the Green Lantern looked down into the darken basement and said,

"Well, Tom Turbine said that he had started work on a dimensional gateway. Maybe he finished it."

Using his ring as a light source, the Green Lantern led the four Leaguers down the steps of the darken basement.

There was a collective gasp when they saw the dimensional gateway that Tom Turbine, a hero of Earth-2, had created. The Gateway was a circular ring of metal and wires approximately 30 feet in diameter. Heavy cables ran from the gateway to what appeared to be a power generator. The power generator was almost as large as the gateway itself.

The four Leaguers approached the apparatus cautiously being careful not to touch anything.

The Flash was examining what appeared to be a control console when suddenly; he smiled and then just as quickly frowned.

"Heyyyy. That's way wrong! I just got it. I just got it."

Hawkgirl looked up from where she had been examining the cable connections on the other side gateway opposite the Flash and said, "Got what?"

The Flash turned to Hawkgirl. "The Streaks' comment about GL being a credit to his people."

Hawkgirl looked down and shook her head, then glared at the Flash and put her hand on her mace handle.

"Remember what I said about being the fastest man with a limp," she growled.

"Ahhhh...yeah....Oh...Okay. Can we go home now?" the Flash replied sheepishly,

Meanwhile, the Manhunter had completed his examination of the gateway and announced to all but to no one in particular, "This gateway seems complete. It just doesn't have a power source."

The Green Lantern took a deep breath and said, "Maybe I can power it up with my ring."

All four Leaguers entered the threshold of the gateway. The Manhunter stood next to Hawkgirl and glancing down at her mace asked, "Your mace? Is it damaged? It seems to be arcing."

Hawkgirl looked down at her mace which was clipped to her belt and then back into the expressionless face of the Manhunter.

"Yes. It was damaged when I hit Ray's force field with it. I can repair it when I get back to the Watchtower."

The Green Lantern of Earth energized the portal by focusing an energy beam on the gateway power grid. The power grid lit up and bathe the Leaguers is a massive green glow. At that moment, Hawkgirl's damaged mace started sparking and bathed her alone in a glow of white light energy. The portal flashed in green and white light and Tom Turbine's invention had worked as the Leaguers had hoped.

All four Leaguers stepped out of the portal opening and immediately recognized their new surroundings as their home.

As Hawkgirl stepped out, she groaned, "Ohhhh," and her knees buckled.

The Manhunter noticed her collapsing and quickly grabbed her by the arm and helped her to stand.

"Are you okay?" he asked with a look of concern on his face.

"I think I'm okay. I suddenly felt weak in the knees."

The Flash suddenly appeared on the other side of her, grinned broadly and said, "I have that effect on females."

Hawkgirl unclipped her mace from her belt and held it in her left hand.

"Do you really want to see the effect you have on this female?"

The smile left the Flash's face. He cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me; I'll see if I can get us a ride to the Watchtower." He quickly disappeared in a red blur.

Hawkgirl turned back to face the Manhunter and said, "I'm okay. Thanks for the concern."

The ride to the Watchtower was a long one. The Flash didn't stop talking and the Green Lantern wouldn't talk despite several attempts of engagement by the Manhunter and Hawkgirl.

When they arrived at the Watchtower, the Flash immediately headed for the kitchen and Green Lantern headed to the terrace. Hawkgirl followed the Lantern. She had stopped her attempts to get Green Lantern to talk and decided that she would accompany him but give him the space to be alone with his thoughts.

The Lantern looked out into the void of space, lost in thought. Hawkgirl place her hand on his shoulder and asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"

The Lantern looked at her for a moment, weakly smiled and then looked back out into space. He took a deep breath and let it very slowly and said,

"You grow up with comic books," he said. "They help form you. They give you focus. They help you learn good from bad and right from wrong. Because of the Justice Guild of America, I became a Green Lantern. Now they're gone."

Keeping her right hand on the Lantern's shoulder she placed her left hand on his forearm and pulled herself closer to him.

"Lantern, nothing is really ever gone as long as you can remember it. They will live as long as we remember them."

The Lantern smiled at her and said, "Want to get some dinner before the Flash eats it all."

Hawkgirl returned the smile and said, "That's okay. I don't feel well. I have to fix my mace anyway, and then I am going to lie down."

The Lantern continued smiling and said, "Okay, I'll see you later."

"See you later." she answered.

Hawkgirl made the trek to her quarters. Upon entering her quarters, as was her custom, she made sure her door was locked behind her. She took off her helmet and placed it on the night table next to her bed and then laid her mace on the bed.

She went to her closet and took out a bathrobe and laid it on the bed next to her mace. Shayera slowly removed her costume, examining each piece for wear and tear. Satisfied that her costume was still serviceable, she draped it over one of the three chairs in her quarters.

She wrapped herself in her robe and opened one of her dresser drawers and took out a small tool kit. She sat down on the bed and examined her mace. She determined that the repair was minor and that the mace would be easy to fix. She decided that she would fix it after she rewarded herself with a warm shower.

She got up from the bed, stretched and spread her wings to their full length, stretching them out as far as she could. She walked to the bathroom, removed her robe and started her shower. She lost herself completely in mindless thought as the warm water beat down gently on her.

Finally, she turned the water off and spread and flexed her feathers to get as much water out of them as she could. She grabbed a towel and dried herself off. She wrapped another large towel around her now still damp hair and put her robe back on. Shayera walked out of her bathroom and was stunned as she looked into the smiling face of the Green Lantern in her bed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she screamed as she raced to the night table where her helmet was.

In one motion, she ripped the towel off of her head and put her helmet on. She grabbed her mace and energized it. She screamed at the top of her lungs at the still smiling Green Lantern in her bed.

"Get out of my bed! Get out of my room!"

The Green Lantern slowly got out of her bed and stood next to her night table. He was nude. Smiling a broad grin, he said, "Ohhh...the little lady wants to hurt me...okay, we can play rough tonight. Okay, how's this?"

And using his ring, the Green Lantern formed a giant hand which grabbed Hawkgirl around her waist and pinned her against the opposite wall. He then formed a second hand which started to open her robe.

Hawkgirl screamed, "Noooooo!" and fired an energy charge from her mace at the Green Lantern sending him flying against the opposite wall and landing on the floor in a heap.

The green hands disappeared when the Lantern lost his concentration dropping Hawkgirl to the floor. She leaped to her feet and then into the air and hovered near the fallen Lantern with her mace pointed directly at his chest.

"Owww, Shayera. That hurt. You're not supposed to play THAT rough," the Green Lantern groaned.

Her anger was near uncontrollable. She shouted at the Lantern, "What makes you think I was playing. How DARE you come into my quarters uninvited!"

"Shayera, what are you talking about? What do you mean uninvited? I'm your husband. What wrong with you?"

"Husband?" she yelled, "What the hell are you talking about? Mister - I am not married to you. I don't know what game you're playing but I'm not playing. And how do you know my first name."

"Shayera, what are you talking about? We have been married for two years. Ever since I was accused of destroying Aduris 4, remember?"

Hawkgirl landed near the foot of her bed still pointing her mace at the Lantern.

"Stay where you are!" she commanded. The Lantern adjusted his position on the floor but didn't attempt to get up.

Hawkgirl continued in a firm but softer tone, "Lantern! I remember the trial but I don't remember us being anything else but team mates. You're a team mate that I like a lot, but we are just team mates. Believe me; I would remember if we were married."

She sat on the edge of bed, and kept her mace pointed at him. She grabbed the towel laying on the bed that she had previously wrapped around hair and tossed it to the Lantern. The Lantern caught the towel in mid-air and covered himself with it.

"Damn you," she said softly. "Damn you!"

She looked at the Lantern sitting on the floor. He looked confused, no longer smiling and she was fighting back the tears. "I liked you. I liked you a lot. I never would have thought that you were capable of ...of...something like this."

She paused, "Wait a minute... Lantern, your trial was a year ago not two."

The Lantern never took his eyes off of her. He tried to make eye contact with her but from his position on the floor he wasn't sure he actually did because the helmet hid her eyes.

"No ma'am", he replied. He sighed and continued; "It was two years ago - right before Wonder Woman was killed?"

"What??? Diana's dead? Lantern, When?"

"Shayera, are you okay?" The Lantern's concern showed in his face. "Diana was killed by Aquaman almost two years ago and please stop calling me Lantern. And please take your helmet off. It's just John and Shayera in here."

Shayera didn't immediately move. She then nodded her head and removed her helmet. She turned her mace off and set it on the bed next to her. She ran her fingers through her still damp hair moving it away from her face.

"Lantern...er...John. Diana was alive two days ago."

Even though she had turned off her mace; the Green Lantern didn't attempt to get up.

"Shayera, I don't know what world you're living in, but she's been dead for a long time."

She looked down at the floor and then looked at John. "John, I don't know what world I'm living in either - but I do know she was alive two days ago."

Suddenly, Shayera felt panic. She grabbed her mace and energized it. Her eyes turned cold. She looked at John and said firmly, "Tell me what you know about me. Tell me what I have told you about Thanagar."

John was clearly puzzled by her change of tone.

"Well," he offered sheepishly, "you told me you were a soldier on your home world, not a detective as everyone else believed. But you worked hard everyday and even Batman is impressed with some of your sleuthing skills."

Her tone didn't change but her eyes did soften. "John, this is very important to me, so bear with me. For the moment, I will assume that we are married but do we have anything in common? I mean we are so different?"

His tone was equally soft to match hers,

"All I ever saw was a man and a woman who are as close as two people can be. You are warm and caring and we were all so happy for you when Thanagar opened its consulate in New York last year. You managed to get all of us an invitation to the opening and..."

Shayera cut him off. "Thanagar here? Last year?"

Her voice rose, "No. No. No. This is wrong....This is not right!!!"

John's voice now showed his concern. "Shayera, you are starting to scare me. Let's get you down to sickbay and have the Manhunter take a look at you."

She turned her mace off and set it beside her on the bed.

Without looking at John, she spoke, "Lantern... John. I need to think for a moment. Everything is wrong. This is so very wrong."

She looked at John. "John, I like you a lot but I don't love you enough to share my bed with you."

John looked at her and grinned. "Shayera, you have been sharing your bed with me for two years. Let me show you our wedding album." He paused, looked directly at her and then added, "If you will let me get up."

Shayera nodded.

John got up, walked over to the night table on the other side of the bed and opened the drawer. He pulled out a small white photo album and handed it to Shayera.

She opened the album and flipped through a couple of pages. The album held photos of the wedding couple of Green Lantern and Hawkgirl, taking their vows, cutting the cake and the couple dancing surrounded by fellow Leaguers and friends.

She then closed the album, placed it on the bed and started laughing hysterically, shaking her head.

"That's it. I have officially gone insane. Let me get dressed and let's go to sickbay."

Shayera grabbed her costume from the chair where it was draped and giving the Green Lantern a small smile walked into the bathroom and changed. She came out a few minutes later in her Hawkgirl guise. She noticed that the Green Lantern now was dressed in his uniform.

Shayera picked up her helmet and placed it on her head. She took her mace off the bed and clipped it to her belt mentally reminding herself that she still had to fix it.

The Green Lantern formed a transport bubble around them both.

As soon as the bubble was completely formed and started to move, Shayera heard a voice call her name. The voice created a pain in her head. Shayera moaned and fainted.

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Chapter Two

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"...passed out. Is she okay?"

"Blood pressure and pulse...normal range...labor for a long time...don't know what is a typical length for Thanagarian. Can't give her anything for the pain."

The voices faded in and out of her consciousness. Slowly, the darkness lifted ever so slightly for Hawkgirl as she regained her awareness.

She thought she heard a voice say. "All right, dear, another one is coming."

Hawkgirl had just start to wonder what was coming when she was seized by an enormous wave of overwhelming excruciating pain that she thought would rip her in half at its crescendo. Her eyes snapped open. She screamed and struggled against the straps holding her in position on the table she lay on.

"Shayera, honey...remember your breathing...we have to breath. Focus on me."

Shayera turned her head to the right, in the direction of the voice. It was John Stewart wearing a surgical cap, gown and mask. She recognized his green eyes against his dark skin.

"John," she pleaded breathlessly. "Help me, please. What's happening to me?"

"Darling, hold on. The baby is almost here." John placed his fingers in her right hand. "Here, take my hand and focus on me."

With sweat streaming down her brow, Shayera groaned, "Baby? What baby? ...I'm not pregnant... OHHH! DAMN. THIS HURTS."

A voice at her feet said, "That was a good one, dear. I don't want you to push yet, but we are really close."

Shayera tried to get her breath back. She turned her head to look at John who had a pained expression in his teary eyes. She realized she had been crushing his fingers during her contractions. She smiled to herself that she was at least able to share a little pain with him.

She swallowed, took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. "Are you the father?" she said flatly, never taking her eyes off him.

"After five years of marriage, I hope so," he answered. He wiped her brow, keeping the sweat out of her eyes.

She smiled weakly at his response even as she was confused by what was happening to her. She decided she could ask questions later. Right now, she would focus on making the pain stop.

"Okay, dear, this will be a big one. Don't push. Look at your husband. Focus on your husband," the voice at her feet said.

Shayera kept her eyes focused on John, never wavering in her gaze and let loose a string of profanity in Thanagarian, followed by a couple of seconds of shallow breathing, followed by a string of profanely in English. She alternated this pattern until the contractions subsided.

John wiped her brow again and said, "You know, contrary to what you just said in Thanagarian, my parents were married before I was born, they were not cousins and my mother was not a canine."

She grinned. "When did you learn Thanagarian?"

"Well, English was not your first language, but you learned it. After five years of marriage, I thought I should know a little of your language for moments like these, don't you think?"

Shayera closed her eyes and grinned, "Mister there won't be many more moments like these - I can guarantee that."

"Okay, mother to be, with the next one, you can push until I tell you to stop. Get ready," said the voice at her feet.

With the next contraction, Shayera pushed and grunted and pushed again and was rewarded with the cries of new life.

"It's a girl...with wings yet. Congratulations, mom and dad. We need to get her cleaned up a little and mom fixed up a little and let you meet the newest member of you family."

John and Shayera were both smiling broadly at each other. John bent over and kissed Shayera on the forehead and whispered "I love you."

Shayera smiled but didn't answer. He kissed her on the forehead again. A nurse appeared on Shayera's right side and held the new baby up for Shayera and John to see.

"She's beautiful," John said, "just like her mother."

"The first child I've seen with wings. Do you have a name for her yet?" The nurse asked.

Shayera looked at John but didn't say anything.

John smiled at Shayera and looked at the nurse. "Her name is Sarah. Sarah Hol Stewart."

Shayera repeated the name to herself and silently agreed that it was a good name.

"Dad, you follow me out and we will have our mother here in her room in a few minutes," said the nurse.

John left with the nurse and Shayera closed her eyes and tried to grasp what was happening to her.

Just a few minutes ago she had had John's baby. Her body told her that much was real. He had said something about being married for five years, but earlier leaving her quarters he said they had been married for two years. She had to get answers but now she was too tired to think of anything but resting.

"Hi, sleepy head."

Shayera opened her eyes and looked into John's smiling face. She was in a private room in a hospital. Stuffed animal figures were plastered on the wall, the room was filled with flowers and a crib was on the right hand side of her bed.

"Hi, yourself," she answered as she slowly sat up.

John pulled up a chair on the left hand side of her bed and sat down next to Shayera. He held her hand and kissed it and grinned like the proverbial Cheshire cat.

Shayera looked at John with an air of amusement and figured that nothing was going to wipe that smile off his face. "Men," she thought to herself.

"John, we need to talk." She said. "I need some answers because I am so confused so bear with me, okay?" Without waiting for his answer, she said, "How long have we been married?"

John looked puzzled. "Is this a test? Because if it's a test, I know the answer. The answer is five years and two months, right?"

Shayera stared into her lap trying to form the next question in her brain. She turned to John and asked, "Tell me again how we got together?"

John's face took on the pleased look of a little kid who had the answer that the teacher wanted. He smiled and said,

"That one I will never forget. I got back from the trial on Aduris 4 and I was still very depressed. And you reached out to me. You asked me to teach you how to play chess. And we played every day. In the beginning I won most of the matches, but you have beaten me every week for the last five years. I don't quit playing with you, because you make conceding so much fun. Anyway, you are everything I ever wanted, always there for me and I love you so much."

Shayera blushed and said, "John, I don't know what to say. I do care for you a lot. But, I don't remember any of the last five years and I do know how to play chess. John, something has happened to me and I don't know what it is or how to explain it."

At that moment, a nurse walked in the room. She was all smiles as she picked up baby Sarah.

"Time for mother and daughter to bond," the nurse said as she handed the baby to Shayera. Shayera held the baby awkwardly.

"No dear. She's not a weapon...Hold her like this." said the nurse as she adjusted the way Shayera held the child.

"Are you going to breastfeed?" the nurse asked.

Both John and Shayera answered at the same time but gave different answers. "Yes," he said. "No" she said.

Both John and Shayera looked at each other in surprise while the nurse looked at both of them and then said to John. "Ah...Dad, that's normally the mother's decision."

John looked down at his shoes in embarrassment and said, "Yes...you're right. It's just that we had talked about it before and I thought that what she said she was going to do...oh well... whatever she wants."

"Dad, here's a bottle," replied the nurse handing the bottle to John. "I'll be back in a little while."

After the nurse left, John handed the bottle to Shayera who pulled the baby closer to her and fed the hungry child. John sat on the edge of bed and leaned into Shayera who leaned back against him. He kissed the top of her head and thought for a moment he heard her purr.

John came back to the hospital bright and early the next morning. He entered Shayera's room and suddenly stopped. He found Shayera sitting up in her bed, with her eyes closed, breastfeeding little Sarah. Before he could say anything, she opened her eyes, glared at him and said, "Not one word, Mister. Not one word," and closed her eyes again.

John smiled and replied, "Yes, ma'am. Not one word."

"Mrs. Stewart. Mrs. Stewart. Time to wake up. Today's the day you go home. Here's Sarah."

Shayera sleepily took Sarah from the nurse and started breastfeeding. She thought about what had happened over the last couple of days. She distinctly remembered coming back from Earth-2 like it was yesterday and suddenly finding out she was married to the Green Lantern and then just as suddenly bearing his child. Five years of life in twenty-four hours. And she wasn't sure she could get used to being called Mrs. Stewart.

She had reasoned that she wasn't in her own reality or her own timeline. She had figured out that something must have happened when she entered the Earth-2 dimensional portal perhaps transporting her to a parallel universe or maybe she was simply asleep and dreaming all of this.

Yet, was this reality so bad? John was a good man and he clearly loved her. And this child at her breast was hers and she had the aches to prove it. Is this what she truly wanted with her life - to be a mother and a wife? She was a warrior, trained to fight, but was this life so bad that she had to find a way to leave it? It was all right and it was all wrong.

The Green Lantern stood at the doorway, holding a small bag, watching the Madonna tableau transpire in front of him. He thought to himself that Shayera looked as peaceful as he had ever seen her and maybe motherhood agreed with her.

He cleared his throat to let her know he was there. Shayera looked up at him and smiled.

"Here, John." She said, offering Sarah to him, "Take your daughter."

John put the bag down at the foot of the bed and took Sarah. "I brought your other 'baby' with me just in case you wanted it."

Shayera slowly got out of the bed and walked to the foot of the bed and opened the bag. There was her mace and clothing for her to wear home. She took the clothing and went to the bathroom to change. She came out a few minutes later and there was an orderly with a wheel chair waiting for her.

"Your ride is here, dear lady." The Lantern said as she stepped out of the bathroom.

Shayera sat in the wheelchair and took Sarah back from the Lantern. He grabbed the bag containing the mace and followed the orderly down the hall, past the reception desk and out of the hospital.

"Which car is yours?" asked the orderly.

Both John and Shayera smiled knowingly at each other.

"It's around the corner so I'll take it from here," the Lantern replied.

Still holding Sarah, Shayera stood up and the Green Lantern formed a transport bubble around them all. Shayera suddenly heard a voice call her name. It was the same voice that had called her earlier but this time it was much more painful than it had been previously. As the bubble started to move, Shayera fainted from the pain.

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Chapter Three

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"Mommy, wake up. You said you would fly with me today, remember?"

Shayera opened her eyes and looked into the face of a smiling little girl with reddish brown hair and brown eyes.

"Sarah?" Shayera said slowly. "Are you...are you Sarah?"

"Course I'm Sarah, mommy. Can we fly now?"

"Just a minute, dear," Shayera said as she sat up.

Shayera looked around the room. She was in a large bed with John Stewart asleep next to her. The bedroom was large and spacious but the furnishings and view from the large bedroom bay windows were unfamiliar to her.

The little girl standing next to the bed was dressed in a night gown that revealed a set of wings on the little girl's back. She appeared to be about four or five years old. Her eyes were bright and brown, her hair shoulder length.

Shayera realized that she had moved forward in time again, maybe four or five years. Her last memory was leaving the hospital with little Sarah. Something triggered this time shift but what was it and when would it stop?

"Mommy, can we go now? Please?"

Sarah's words broke her thoughts. Shayera smiled at the little girl. "Sure dear. Give me a minute, okay?"

Shayera got out of bed. John rolled over and continued sleeping.

Looking at Sarah, Shayera said, "Honey, get dressed and I will meet you outside, okay?"

"Okay, mommy." And the little girl ran off with wings flapping behind her.

Shayera went to the closet and chose a pair of blue jeans and a tee-shirt. She slipped on a pair of loafers and walked out of the bedroom. She stopped in the hallway outside the bedroom and marveled at the size of the house.

It was a very large house, brightly lit with natural light coming in from the many large windows high up on the structure. The bedroom was on the second floor along with five or six other rooms. As she started down the steps to the first floor she was greeted by a maid coming up the stairs who smiled at her and said, "Good morning, Mrs. Stewart." Stunned, Shayera returned the greeting and continued down the steps.

She found her way out to the backyard where Sarah was waiting.

"Okay honey. Let mommy see how well you fly."

With that, Sarah leaped into the air and hovered near Shayera and then flew a large circle around her mom.

Shayera, grinning the grin of a proud mother, exclaimed, "That's wonderful, honey."

She was amazed at how well Sarah was able to fly. Sarah's wings were smaller than they would have been if she had been a full-blooded Thanagarian. But Sarah had learned to compensate well and would have probably given any Thanagarian child her age a run for their money.

Shayera leaped in the air and joined Sarah in flight. They slowly rose in the air and flew in a large circle around the house and grounds allowing Shayera an opportunity to survey the entire property. Next to the house was a pool and tennis court surrounded by a well manicured lawn with trees and brushes forming the property boundary. This wasn't a home, it was an estate.

They flew with no particular destination in mind. Just a mother and daughter out for a morning walk or in this case a morning flight. She looked admiringly at the child next to her and thought that Sarah reminded her of herself when she was younger.

Suddenly to their left the Green Lantern appeared. Sarah cried out, "Daddy's here! Daddy's here!"

Shayera looked to her left as the Lantern pulled abreast of her and said, "Morning, John."

"Good Morning, love," came the reply.

Shayera called out to Sarah, "Sarah, honey. Let's head back home now."

"Okay mommy." came the reply and as quick as a little hummingbird, Sarah changed direction and headed back home.

Shayera flew slower, letting Sarah get ahead of her and John slowed down to keep pace with her.

"We have a maid, I see." Shayera said.

"Who? Maria? She's been with us for three years. Is there a problem with her?"

"No problem," She said, "We also seem to have a very nice house. I didn't think the Justice League would pay this well."

"Justice League? We haven't had any dealings with them in two years. Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm okay - just feeling a little lost right now," she said softly.

"Well the house is over there," he said pointing to the left.

"No, that's not what I meant. But that's okay...um... quiz time," Shayera said. "How long have we been married? How old is Sarah? And what do we do for a living? Are we happy? Where do we live? What day of the week is it?"

He grinned back. "Wow. If I get all the answers right, will you do what you did last night again tonight?"

Shayera looked shocked and then broke out laughing, "Just answer the questions, okay."

He laughed with her and said, "Ten years; five years; I am a very, very successful architect and you work in the Thanagarian consulate in Los Angeles; if you do what you did last night again, I for one will be very happy, outside of Los Angeles and Saturday. Did I win?"

They landed near the house and started to walk toward the back entrance. She stopped, gently grabbed his arm and said, "John, sit with me. Please."

She then sat cross-legged on the lawn. John sat down next to her.

"John, I believe you when you say that we have been married ten years but I can only remember three events. I remember a day when we were married for two years, I remember Sarah's birth and I remember waking up this morning. I have no memory of anything else in the last ten years. I don't know what has happened to me."

"Shay, I remember you asking questions when Sarah was born," John said as he reached down and held her hand. "When we got home from the hospital; I asked if you wanted to finish our conversation and you said you didn't know what I was talking about. So I dropped it."

"John, I seem to be drifting through time and I can't control it. I've wonder if I'm dead or asleep and dreaming. If I'm dreaming, I don't want to wake up from this."

"If you're dreaming," John said, "I don't want you to wake up either."

She leaned forward and said, "Kiss me."

John leaned forward and kissed her. The kiss was long and deep and when their lips parted, Shayera made up her mind she wanted to stay in this moment more than anything else.

The days turned into months which turned into years. It was all a blur, but it was the happy blur of contentment for Shayera. There were no more time shifting episodes for Shayera after this one.

John's business was prospering. Occasionally, he would leave on Green Lantern business but that soon became a rarity. Eventually, he resigned from the Green Lantern Corps altogether.

Shayera retired Hawkgirl and donated her mace and helmet to the historical center at the consulate. She found her work at the consulate satisfying as she was in charge of the protocol section.

Sarah grew up quickly. There were the violin lessons and the little league soccer games. There was the first sleep over and the first boyfriend at age nine and the tryout for the school cheerleading squad and the consoling when she didn't make the team.

There was the experience of learning to drive a car for both Shayera and Sarah. There was the high school senior prom and the high school graduation. There was Sarah's acceptance into law school and finally, there was her moving away. Both John and Shayera cried as they watched Sarah and her girlfriend drive off to the University of Metropolis.

"Shayera, hurry up. We're going to be late," John called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Just a couple of more minutes," she called back from the bedroom, "Besides, they're not going to start until I get there anyway."

John, dressed in his tuxedo, looked at his watch and muttered under his breath, "After more than thirty-one years of marriage, this woman can fly anywhere she wants in the world and can't be on time for anything."

He called back up the stairs, "Come on now. Sarah and the grandkids are going to be there. We don't want to keep them waiting too long."

Tonight was the night of the gala celebration commemorating thirty years of diplomatic relations between Thanagar and Earth.

Shayera stood at the top of the stairs and called down to John, "So, what do you think?"

She wore a black sleeveless evening gown with sequins running down the right side and a slit in the gown that came up mid-calf on the opposite side. Her hair, curled and pulled along the side of her face, was streaked with gray. She wore white pearl earrings and a black pearl necklace.

John whistled from the foot of the stairs and clapped.

"As always, you look fantastic," he said.

As she started down the steps, Shayera thought she heard someone calling her name. It was the same painful voice she had not heard in years. She tried to ignore it but the voice got louder and louder in her head. She stopped mid-way down the staircase, started swaying back and forth unsteadily, holding on to the banister with both hands.

She called out to John below, "John. John?"

Seeing that she was swaying on the stairs, John ran up the stairs to her side. There was concern in his face.

As he reached her, she looked at John and said softly, "I love you, John Stewart...don't ...don't ever forget that...but...but I think... I have... to leave you now."

She closed her eyes and collapsed on the stairway in his arms.

"Hawkgirl. Hawkgirl, can you hear me? Wake up. Can you hear me?"

Hawkgirl opened her eyes. Standing over her were the Flash, the Green Lantern and the Manhunter. She was in the medical lab of the Watchtower. She slowly sat up, assisted by the Manhunter.

"What...what happened?" she asked.

"You collapsed as soon as we stepped through the dimensional gateway. It may have been feedback from your damaged mace," said the Manhunter. "You've been unconscious for about twenty-five minutes."

Hawkgirl was silent and then said softly, "Thirty-one years in twenty-five minutes."

"What was that?" said the Flash.

"Nothing!" she snapped. Then turning to the Manhunter she said, "How soon before I can leave here."

"Another half-hour or so, just to make sure you're okay."

Looking at the Manhunter, she asked, "Did you try to mentally contact me while I was unconscious."

"Yes...but only as a last resort. You were not responding to other medical stimuli. But you finally did respond to my calling your name."

"Yes...yes...I did...thank you," she said, "Will all of you leave me alone for a few minutes?" She paused and then added, "Lantern, would you stay? Please?"

The Flash and the Manhunter looked at each other and then left the Lantern and Hawkgirl alone. When she was sure they were alone, she asked, "Lantern, bear with me as I ask you some questions. Is Diana okay? Does the name Sarah mean anything to you and when was your trial for Aduris 4?"

The Lantern smiled and said, "I not sure I understand your questions, but Diana was okay the other day, I don't think I know anyone named Sarah and that trial was last year."

"Thank you," she said, softly wiping away the tear that ran down from underneath her helmet.

"Are you okay?" the Lantern asked.

"Not really...thanks for staying behind, but would you leave me alone for a few minutes?"

The Lantern nodded and said, "Glad you're back with us," and turned to leave.

Hawkgirl called out, "Wait!"

The Lantern stopped and turned back to face her.

She smiled and said, "Will you teach me to play chess?"

END