The Superman & Wonder Woman Fan Archive

CHAPTER THREE

'Those mutterings about snow and hoping it will hold off for five or six hours don't mean that you're thinking of going straight to Themyscira today, do they?'

He looked disbelieving. Superman knew that Wonder Woman did not really like the cold

weather. She was tough, tougher than almost anyone else he knew, but she still hated the cold.

Considering that she had flown down there, in the bitter cold of the night two days ago, and then back again yesterday evening, Superman could be forgiven for looking at her as if she must have taken leave of her senses.

Diana knew that Superman knew that though she could withstand extreme cold and heat, she was not invulnerable like him, and she really, really hated the cold. But she had had very good reasons for making both those un­scheduled journeys, and if she felt that Superman would ever be interested in the reasons, she might have been tempted to confide them to him.

As things had turned out she had more reason than ever for wanting to be back among her family for Christmas. She knew the special emphasis that this world placed upon this festival and this season, and she knew that it was a time to celebrate family ties.

She certainly intended to be there with her family, with them all when Donna and Terry cel­ebrated their engagement; those two, more than anyone else she knew, deserved happiness, and she was thrilled that they had found it together. Hippolyta, her mother, had promised, this year, when declaring Christmas on Themysicra to adopt all the traditions of the festival. Paradise Island would celebrate Christmas on Themyscira for twelve days.  A Christmas tree, wreaths, gift giving…Hippolyta was doing everything! Diana certainly did not intend to miss it. The very first Christmas Themyscira would have. She had even thought long and hard on what her gifts would be.

'And if it does?' she challenged.

'Then I no longer just think that you’ve been working you too hard, I know that you have,’ he re­turned grimly. 'You must know as well as I do that the long-term weather forecast is snow, snow, and more snow. You would have to be insane to go out into that again and especially to Themyscira!’

She raised black brows. 'I don't think I’m in the frame of mind to listen to you right now.'

Blue eyes flashed. 'I'm just offering you sound common sense.'

'Kal, you never offer advice,' she mocked lightly.

He stiffened, very tall and handsome in his light blue and red costume, his cape flowing around him. 'Meaning?'

'Meaning that I intend going back to Themyscira today, no matter what the weather forecast, no matter what you have to say about it—'

'No matter what anyone says, by your reckless attitude,' he bit out tersely. 'When did you get to be so stubborn?'

'Oh, I've always been pretty determined,' she dismissed casually. 'You've just never taken the time to notice before now.' As he hadn't no­ticed a lot of other things about her!

Like the very fact that she loved him madly, passionately—futilely.

There had never even been the faintest flicker of awareness on his part of her as a woman. It was all so—depressing.

But she wasn't about to let him see that emotion, today of all days. He might just mis­interpret the reason behind that depression. Oh, she was upset at the thought of no longer working so closely next to him, but it was the thought of leaving Kal as a person that was upsetting her more—the fact that her love for him had always gone by completely unrecognized by him.

Not that she wanted him to see her like some fawning idiot, either, with no hope of having him return her love. That was the trouble with loving Superman; she couldn't ever come out the winner.

Which was why she had to go.

Now, before the flippant façade she had constructed over what she had just done cracked a mile wide and left her emotionally broken…

'Diana—'

'I have to go, Kal,' she told him lightly, doing her best to shut out that huskily per­suasive voice; if Superman chose to put his mind to it he could charm the birds out of the trees. He just didn't feel so inclined most of the time and, even when he did, there was always a crisis looming that put that thought firmly out of his head.

The snow isn't going to hold off forever,' she told him brightly, shaking back her hair as she picked up the box again in readiness for leaving. 'I guess I'll have to forgo the usual leaving party,' she added self-derisively; she had never envisaged leaving Superman in quite these circumstances. She had never envisaged leaving him at all!

His expression darkened even more, almost black brows low over his eyes.

Diana wished she hadn't looked at those eyes. They were incredibly beautiful eyes for a man, deep, clear pools of sapphire blue, surrounded by the thickest black lashes she had ever seen.

Diana did not come from a sentimental people. She had never ever grown up with dreams of marriage and a baby. In fact, thoughts like that had never even crossed her mind when she had left Themyscira. But she had spent in enough time in this world, away from her sisters, and she had seen the closeness that men and women could enjoy in a relationship. She had seen Ollie and Dinah and more recently Donna and Terry, had even been attracted to the pure love that Trevor Barnes had been as a wonderful human, but had rarely thought beyond that. With Kal, it had been different. He seemed to call to her very essence, seemed to awaken emotions within her that she did not know she had. And she had begun to have the strangest of dreams.

Oh, the dreams she had once had of one day holding a baby of her own in her arms with Kal’s eyes…

She swayed slightly, her lids closed over the emotions that displayed so well there. How foolish were her dreams!

'Forget the leaving party.' The rasp of Superman's voice steadied her, and she met his gaze calmly. 'You're too tired to fly all that way again today; you're almost asleep on your feet!'

If she was honest, she didn't relish the journey for a third time in as many days, but there was no way she was going to miss being with her mother and sisters for the festive season for the first time in years.

Where had she and Superman spent Christmas last year? Oh, yes, on Apokolips, and had returned just in time to get the last few hours before Christmas Day had passed. And the year before that they had been at another crisis, with the JLA-ers, in Metropolis. And the year before that… Oh, what was the use of dwelling in the past? This Christmas she intended being surrounded by the warmth of her family, by people giving and receiving gifts in love and friendship.

She quickly banished from her mind the image she suddenly had of Superman showering his love and attention on Lois, of Clark and Lois together, over a romantic candle-light dinner.

'It's Christmas Eve,' she said again brightly. 'The thought of spending Christmas with the family will be enough to keep me awake and alert. Oh, I forgot to tell you—' her eyes glowed with pleasure '—Terry is there, too.'

Superman frowned. 'You mean Terry Long?'

'Mm.' She smiled confirmation. 'Do you know that my sister will be marrying him?'

'No, I don’t believe you told me,' Superman nodded abruptly. 'But I also thought he wasn't—into family occasions?'

'Oh, all that’s changed.' Diana laughed happily at the thought of how loving Donna had changed Terry's life. 'And Cassie will be joining us too. It promises to be a won­derful Christmas with all the family together again at last.'

Superman turned away to gaze out of the porthole of the JLA satellite at the moon’s bleakness. ‘Then I'd better not keep you any longer.'

It should have been her turn to say, 'Just like that?' No matter what she had said in the last few minutes, Diana couldn't believe this was really goodbye. But she knew that it had to be, and the uncompromising set of Superman's shoulders beneath the body-hugging suit didn't encourage her to say the actual words to him.

She took one last lingering look at the room and the man before rushing out of the door.

How she managed to say goodbye to Dinah and the few other JLA-ers around, she didn't know; her throat was aching with the effort of holding back the tears by the time she got into the teleportation tube, and was deposited in her apartment.

She just wanted to get away, pausing only long enough to change into a fresh costume for the journey ahead of her and pick up the box of gifts that she had brought. The last thing she wanted was to be alone in her apartment any longer than she had to be.

Which was why she muttered and mumbled to herself as the doorbell rang just as she was bending down to pick up the mail. It was probably the janitor calling for his Christmas tip!

She stared dazedly up at Superman as he stood outside her door, no longer the handsome hero the world recognized, but the mild-mannered reporter, Clark Kent, looking just as devastatingly attractive in fitted black trousers and a thick Aran sweater worn beneath a black leather jacket.

Having resigned herself to the possibility of perhaps never seeing him again, Diana could only stare at him in stunned surprise.

'As you're so adamant about going down to Themyscira again today,' he told her in measured tones, 'I've decided to accompany you.’