Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Wayne Legacy: Outtakes

By BetterInTexas

Outtake 08: Hippolyta’s Perfect Day

Hippolyta & Diana

Timeline: Knightmare, Around Epilogue II

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Hippolyta woke an hour before sunrise as she usually did. She loved to go to the back of Wayne Manor and watch the sun begin the day, wondering what new experiences she would have. Before joining her daughter in man’s world, she knew what each day would bring.

Atlanteans had left Themyscira alone after the last war between their kinds. Amazons couldn’t chase the bastards into the sea to finish them off and they could not fight on land, so Themyscira settled into peace.

Each day always began the same. She would sit on her throne or walk through her kingdom, solving petty disputes. She would watch the warriors train, read, perhaps listen to the entertainers sing.

Nothing changed.

Then she became pregnant. It was the happiest time of her life. She felt life growing inside her, a daughter, someone to love more than anyone, someone to teach and take pride in as she learned. Everything would be fresh, even renewed, looking at life through her daughter’s eyes, watching her grow.

She never experienced that for herself. Cronus happened and by the time her daughter returned, she was grown and no stranger to reality. She had discovered man’s world and taken it over.

It had been an easy decision, in fact, no decision at all. When Diana gave up her immortality, Hippolyta did as well. Perhaps she could still discover the world through her daughter’s eyes, only it would be she who was learning.

Hippolyta never feared death. She may have been immortal but knew she could be killed. Dying of old age was not a way she ever expected to go but it didn’t matter. As long as she got to be with her daughter, she feared nothing.

She dressed in her running gear and jogged out the back, waving to security who were patrolling the walls. She knew the laser grid was turned off at four a.m. and dayshift security doubled to begin the day so there were always plenty of guards around by the time she exited the manor to begin her run.

An attack dog broke away from one of the guards and ran towards her. She knelt down as the man tried to stop the beast. When the dog reached her, it sat down and lifted its nose, butting her gently under her chin. Hippolyta chuckled, rubbing his neck, and patting his nose.

“You have to stop running from your human. I did not bring a treat today.”

The dog whined, gently butting her head with his snout, obviously knowing otherwise. Hippolyta laughed, opening her fist, and offering the small piece of jerky she brought out every morning. He ate it quickly, before the guard caught up to them.

The poor man was out of breath. “I am so sorry, Dr. Prince. He got away from me… again.”

Hippolyta smiled at the man, scratching the obviously happy dog behind his ears. “It’s fine, Donald. I enjoy greeting this beautiful boy on my runs. Besides, he wouldn’t be so eager to escape from you to be petted and given treats if he were given more during the daytime. You know I will not stop… and how would I get to say good morning to you if I didn’t lure him away?”

The man smirked, calling the dog back to his side and waved at her. “Have a wonderful day, Dr. Prince.”

“You as well, Donald. Tell your comrades I will be making the three-mile circuit.” Hippolyta patted the dog once more, encouraging him to return to his handler.

She began stretching as the sun rose, its beautiful light reflecting off of the pond. Once it had fully risen, she took off at a brisk pace.

For most of her life, Hippolyta could run forever and never be winded. Though no Amazon had Diana’s strength and power, thousands of years of physical work and training made Amazons the ultimate warriors.

When she first arrived in man’s world, Diana had taken her to the healer called Eliza. The woman estimated her age to be that of an extremely healthy woman in her late thirties or perhaps early forties. Her eyes made her look older but no one could see what she had seen for three thousand years and have eyes that appeared young.

Now that she was mortal and aging, exercise was more important than ever. The members of the household exercised vigorously, except for Diana who mostly spotted Steve and Dig as they lifted weights and kept a close eye on Kara who was usually running or swimming, though some mornings she used the exercise bike.

Hippolyta’s pace was brisk, and though some days she would go at a more leisurely pace, today was her day to make breakfast, so she cut across the golf course and began returning, having decided to complete a three-mile run rather than the seven-mile circumference of the manor walls.

When she returned, she took the elevator to the basement, and found everyone in their usual spots. She had learned Bruce only worked out in his room. Alfred was watching Kara in the pool with a timer. When Kara touched the wall, he called out a time. She quickly exited the pool, rushing to the treadmill and began running.

Diana smiled at her when she noticed her exiting the elevator, something that never failed to warm Hippolyta’s heart and brighten her mood.

“Would you like to ride into work today with me?” Diana asked, walking over to stand by her.

“I would love to.” She assured her daughter.

She and Diana had been spending much more time lately, especially since her daughter’s birthday, and she felt their bond growing. They weren’t as formal around each other and their conversations flowed more naturally.

Hippolyta was constantly asking questions about this new world even though Diana never asked much about Themyscira, which was fine. She knew Diana was curious and would come to her for answers when she was ready. Her hope was that, sometime in the future, Diana would wish to visit Themyscira for a few days. She knew Kara was interested in a visit if Diana was and her daughter would never leave Kara behind. Nothing would please Hippolyta more than to share her former home with the two.

After her sets of calisthenics and ten minutes pounding a heavy bag, she quickly made her way upstairs to shower and prepare her breakfast feast.

As the family sat around the table, reading words on tiny electronic drawing boards, she prepared a treat she had recently discovered. These delicacies were possibly one of the best foods she had discovered in this world and only took one minute to prepare. The first time she had prepared dinner for the family, Diana hadn’t been thrilled about her killing a deer in the neighboring property, field dressing it and serving steaks. Since then, she had learned to make what was only in the pantry or refrigerator.

She brought out a platter and placed it in the middle of the table with a pot of coffee.

“Jimmy Dean’s breakfast sausage biscuits.” Steve said, his eyes lighting up. “Beautiful. I love these.”

“I didn’t even know we had them.” Kara said excitedly, grabbing one immediately.

Diana looked dubiously at them, sighing, and grabbing one as well.

“I am glad you all approve. These are so delicious. I would love to meet this Jimmy Dean. He must be very proud.”

Hippolyta sat down, enjoying her own. “Is Bruce not joining us?”

“He was out last night.” Diana said, and the tone of her voice made it obvious she was not impressed.

Breakfast went smoothly and soon, she and Diana were in the very fast, blue car her daughter usually drove.

“I’m just saying, I have gotten very good. Perhaps I could give it a try.” Hippolyta suggested.

“You don’t have a driver’s license.” Diana told her.

“I’ll never get one if I don’t practice.”

Diana pulled over and parked on the side of the road. “You can drive stick?”

“Alfred has taught me well.”

“And you remember which side of the road to drive on?”

“The one you are driving on now… right?”

Diana closed her eyes. “This is such a bad idea. You can drive to the city but when I tell you to pull over, you will. You aren’t ready for traffic yet. Understand?”

“Perfectly.”

“Stay under sixty miles an hour.”

“That would be the dial on the left, right?”

“Right, left, I mean yes, left. Under sixty.”

“Kara told me this car had a top speed of one hundred and eighty-two miles an hour.”

“Of which you will be traveling a third of. There should be no need for you to go past third gear.”

Diana stepped out of the Lamborghini and switched sides with Hippolyta. Once inside, she took a deep breath.

“Why are you so nervous? You are indestructible.” Hippolyta pointed out.

“You aren’t and I like having you around. Just… be careful.”

The former Queen smiled brightly and took off, only to be stopped suddenly by a horrendous noise.

“What was that?”

“The transmission falling to the ground. Gentle. This isn’t one of Kara’s muscle cars. This car has to be coaxed, treated with care. Pay attention to the clutch and do not release it so quickly.”

Hippolyta did as directed and was not stopped by a loud and vicious jerk this time. Instead, the tires squealed and the backend drifted but the tires must have caught because they were on the road and traveling smoothly.

“Slow down.” Diana told her.

“I’m only doing fifty-five.”

“You are doing ninety-five and you know it!”

Hippolyta laughed, enjoying herself immensely. She slowed to take a turn and was proud of Diana for not breaking anything, considering how tightly she was holding onto her seat.

“Pull over!” Diana finally shouted.

Hippolyta saw a bridge up ahead and knew heavier traffic waited on the other side.

She did as told, despite not wanting to relinquish control of the powerful vehicle yet.

Diana sat back down in the driver’s seat, visibly shaking.

“I thought I did rather well.” Hippolyta bragged.

“I said don’t go past sixty miles an hour, don’t go past third gear.”

“Was I going faster?” she asked innocently.

“You went to fifth gear and hit one hundred and twenty on the last straightaway!”

“I’m still having trouble with the American numbering and metric system.”

“No, you are not!” Diana snapped. She took several breaths then calmed herself.

“I am going to buy you a minivan with a four cylinder and you can learn to drive in that.”

Hippolyta frowned, not liking the sound of that. “How fast can something like that go?”

“Seventy if you are lucky.” Diana responded.

Hippolyta scowled. “I was a queen. I will start riding an armored horse around Gotham before I drive something like that.”

Diana shook her head and pulled back onto the road, making it into the office twenty minutes later.

When they reached the garage, Diana surprised her by kissing her on the cheek. “I am sorry if I lost my cool. I haven’t had as bad a driver since I taught Kara when she was fifteen.”

“She was a poor driver?” Hippolyta asked, trying to calm her heartbeat after the unexpected affection she’d received from her daughter.

“She was too good… drove me crazy. Kara had way too much confidence and was addicted to speed. She knew I’d let nothing happen to her so she was constantly pushing to go as fast as she could and still control whatever she was driving.

“We should get to work. How much money is Wayne Enterprises going to spend on art today?” Diana asked as they entered her private elevator.

Hippolyta was not happy to talk about that subject. “Nothing today until I can convince my former employer to sell us the Mona Lisa . It’s only worth eight hundred and twenty-two million and I offered them nine hundred million yet the Louvre refuses to sell it to us.”

Diana’s eyes widened. She looked at the woman, hoping she was joking but the consternation on Hippolyta’s face made it all too real.

“Why… why would you want the Mona Lisa ?” She finally asked the former queen. “Why would you offer that much money for a painting I think is ugly?”

Hippolyta rolled her eyes. “It’s an investment of course. Kara told me there was some sort of code on the back that led to something called the Holy Grail which is more valuable than the Mona Lisa . I am good at decoding puzzles. Once I have the painting in hand, I will be able to recover this Holy Grail and we can sell it for a nice profit, then sell the painting. I’m just doing my part to help the business. I told you I would take this job seriously.”

Diana started at her for a moment in disbelief. “I… okay… I…”

“Brilliant isn’t it?” Hippolyta told her happily. “I’m surprised Kara never tried. She is so good at mathematics but didn’t believe she could solve it. I told her the two of us could accomplish the goal and find this Holy Grail. I’ll do most of the work but let her feel as if she is involved.”

“But you see… I… It’s that… I’m… you can’t…” Diana took another deep breath. At this point, she may have well attended a yoga class that morning and it wasn’t eight yet. “They won’t sell us the Mona Lisa . We don’t have the security to keep it safe. It’s an overvalued, ugly work and there is no code on the back. Kara believes that because she saw a movie once about it and thinks it is perfectly reasonable. Have you watched the movie?”

Hippolyta shook her head. “I don’t want to know their work. I want to come at it with fresh eyes. Spoilers, sweetie.”

Diana’s eyes went wide as she sucked in a breath, the whole conversation had her off-balance. “Oh God, she has you watching Doctor Who. Okay, listen, the movie wasn’t real and Kara’s theories about life in general aren’t always sound. She lives in her own world at times. The Mona Lisa… first of all, don’t offer nine hundred million dollars to buy anything! I won’t even let Kara spend over ten million on projects without my approval!”

“It’s not like you can’t afford it.” Hippolyta told her.

“The reason I can afford it is because I don’t spend nine hundred million on art! Everything you want to buy comes through me. Don’t make any offers unless you talk to me first, okay?” Diana’s tone was firm, but there was a hint of pleading behind it.

Hippolyta shrugged. “As you say.”

The door opened at the ninety-first floor where Hippolyta’s office was. Since Diana had done it first, she leaned over and quickly kissed her daughter on the cheek then walked out.

As soon as the elevator closed, she took out her phone and texted Kara.

It worked, she was totes freaked out . She then added a few emojis Kara had taught her that seemed appropriate.

I knew she would fall for it! Kara replied, followed by an emoji of a yellow ball with eyes smiling and crying.

She relaxed in her office and wondered, not for the first time, why she didn’t have a personal servant like Kara, Samantha and Diana did. Apparently, their servants did not like to be called ‘servant’. That was a ‘fail’ as Kara would say.

She turned on her computer and saw she had an email. It was a design for a new art gallery she hoped to convince Diana to build. She had contacted various architects for design options and this man was the first to respond.

She pondered his design for a while, then clicked on YouTube. Nothing caught her eye, so she listened to podcasts for an hour before not being able to stand the boredom any longer. She would either go to Diana’s office or find Kara and follow her around for a while.

She had also enjoyed getting to know the loud, red-haired computer expert Kara was so fond of. She had asked Hippolyta if she could find original movie posters for her floor, particularly Tron, the Matrix and WarGames. Hippolyta had patted her on the hand and assured the young woman she would, then walked away having no intention of finding something as ordinary as posters. Lyta Prince was a serious art collector and curator. She had no time to search for posters. The girl was fun to watch though.

Then again, if she had a servant… executive assistant, secretary-type person to do lesser work for her, she could delegate the search to them and have the posters for the red-head already.

Instead, she decided to get to know the man who would soon be her son‑in‑law.

Steve’s office was a lot smaller than the ones on the top floor, but for some reason, she understood Diana liked eating lunch here almost daily.

The man saw Hippolyta and motioned her to come inside. He was on the phone with someone.

“Yes, General, I am sure Kara can build what you want. The question is are you ready to pay for it? The troop carriers have already been approved. The costs of ten are very significant and will take a large amount of the Air Force’s budget this year. The Navy has already placed orders for hundreds of next gen fighters and drones that will begin production as soon as the aeronautics center opens next month. If you are asking for tank busters… Diana isn’t going to make them for free. She loves her country but she isn’t running a charity. They are also going to be backordered possibly for a few years according to priority. A minimum of one hundred must be ordered and the Joint Chiefs are not going to prioritize tank busters over other types of aircraft. Kara has satellites that can burn a tank with one focused laser.”

Steve cringed, listening to the loud voice on the other end.

“Sir, my job isn’t to convince Diana to change terms of the contract. I simply keep the military informed on how the projects are coming along, cost estimates and progress on products. If you want these built, you must go through the Defense committee.”

Steve smiled at her. “Yes, sir. I understand I will live to regret this. Thank you for allowing me to live. Goodbye, sir.”

“A general?” Hippolyta asked.

Steve shrugged. “He is a one star, a ceremonial promotion before he retires in six months. Has no real power. I think he wants to relive his glory days and hopes Kara will build some next generation Wart Hog. There is as much chance of that happening as Diana driving a minivan.

“So, what’s up?”

Hippolyta had a seat. “I am bored. I thought we could get to know each other better, but I can see you are busy.”

Steve waved it off. “No way. That was just junk. Usually, people call Diana directly and only want to talk to me when she does something weird like hiring a Japanese mercenary as a bodyguard or lets a curator move into the manor but are too afraid to ask her about personally. If I had an executive assistant, I wouldn’t need to come in at all.”

“Exactly! We should have servants, right?”

“Yes… but I don’t think we can call them servants.”

“We call then servants at the manor.” She pointed out.

Steve leaned back and put his feet on his desk. “I’m not sure if we are supposed to. Maybe they are staff. Servants is kinda old school. Have to ask Alfred about that.

“So, what do you want to do?”

Hippolyta sighed. “I have no idea. The last time I bothered Diana in the morning, I had to listen to her on a conference call about the cost of corn starch rising and her wanting to know why the wheat crop has grown by seventeen percent and not the twenty-two percent she had expected. Did you know seed costs have gone up?”

“I don’t think I could make myself care.” Steve admitted.

“Which is exactly why I don’t bother her in the morning. Will you two be having lunch in here today?”

Steve frowned and shook his head. “Today is Wednesday so she has lunch with Silver planned. I’m not invited.”

Steve brightened. “Want to have some fun?”

“Yes.” She answered immediately.

“Let’s go to the airport.”

“Can I drive?”

“No way in hell.” He replied quickly.

After making a phone call on the way to the airport and finding a parking spot, the two walked inside. Hippolyta followed Steve closely as he showed a badge to several security personnel and told them she was with him. They walked through a large door and found themselves on the airport tarmac.

Hippolyta was impressed the first and only time she saw the wide variety of aircraft, and it still took her breath away, imaging these large hunks of metal flying. She knew what Steve’s job had been in the military and was even more impressed.

Her daughter had chosen a worthy mate.

“Sir?” A man in a pilot’s uniform with a Wayne Enterprises’ patch, practically ran to him.

“Yes, Captain?”

“I understand you plan to take Wayne One for a local flight?”

Steve nodded. “Yes, simple test flight, shake out the bugs and I want to ensure it is in shape for evasive maneuvers.”

Steve’s status as Diana’s fiancé left many unsure of how to handle him.

The doubt was obvious on the captain’s face. “Does Miss Wayne know you have filed this flight plan? It is highly unusual to plan a training exercise for a jet of Wayne One’s size at the last minute. A precheck hasn’t been done.”

“Isn’t it always kept in tip-top shape?” Steve asked, deflecting.

“Well, yes sir… but…”

“Then no problems, Captain. I appreciate your efficiency, but Diana is perfectly fine with this. She is in a meeting all morning, something about the cost of corn feed, so she can’t be bothered. Just trust me, she will be fine if she finds out.”

“If she finds out?” the Captain caught that phrase.

“Yeah, if she finds out you questioned me, she will be fine.” Steve hedged quickly. “I’ll smooth it over for you guys.”

“Thank you?”

Steve patted him on the back. “Don’t mention it… to anyone.”

“Sir, don’t you need a copilot?”

“That’s what she is.” Steve replied, pointing to Hippolyta. “I got this. Go relax, do whatever it is you do when you aren’t flying.”

The two walked out and climbed the staircase into the largest jet of Diana’s fleet, the one modeled after Air Force One but slightly smaller since there was no need for media space.

“This never fails to impress me.” Hippolyta said, remembering the trip to Paris. “You wish to fly. Why this one and not one of the smaller craft?”

Steve shrugged as she followed him to the cockpit. “I’ve never flown this one, it has more thrust, and I want to test out its wings, see what she really has under the hood.”

“And if Diana finds out?”

Steve waved it off. “He isn’t sure if he should have let me go without calling her. Since he did, he is hoping everything is okay and won’t bother her so she won’t know. It’s not like we are hurting anything. I’m fairly certain she wouldn’t have a problem with me taking the jet out for a flight.”

“Fairly certain?”

“Mostly certain. Close enough to certain.” Steve said, attempting to reassure Hippolyta, but it seemed he was trying to convince himself. “Have a seat and buckle up. We are going to see what kind of wings this bird has.”

Thirty minutes later, they had taxied and taken off. Fifteen minutes afterward, they were high over the Atlantic.

“Okay, we are clear of traffic, lower than most flight lanes and I don’t see any personal craft. Time to open her up. Let’s try a few evasive maneuvers.” Steve said, a gleeful twinkle in his eyes.

Hippolyta held on and laughed wholeheartedly as Steve dipped and tilted the jet, made several steep dives, hard banks and fast climbs.

“This is amazing!” she shouted.

“It is pretty cool! Let’s see how quick of a turn we can make to loop back towards the airport.”

Ten minutes later, the plane had touched down and taxied to its spot on the tarmac.

“That was incredible.” Hippolyta told him.

“It was a blast. Good job, copilot.” The two relaxed for a moment and waited for stairs to be rolled to the door.

When they opened the cockpit door, both froze.

The entire plane was a disaster. Broken bottles, glasses, trays and couch cushions were thrown all over the place.

To make matters worse, the passenger door swung open and Diana walked in. She crossed her arms, never looking at them, only surveying the damage.

She was eerily quiet and neither Steve nor Hippolyta wanted to be the first to speak.

As Diana walked to the back, they followed her, keeping as safe a distance as possible.

Steve cringed as he saw the back was tossed as well, even the mattresses off the beds were blocking the bedroom doors.

Diana finally turned to them and walked slowly, her eyes on fire and her arms crossed.

“I got a call from the Flight Operations making sure I was safe at Wayne Tower because my plane was going through evasive maneuvers that only a crazy man would pull off. I suspected who it was immediately and called my lead pilot. He informed me that Captain Steve Trevor said I was ‘cool’ with you taking the jet on a test flight.”

“You’re not?” Steve asked, then looked away when she looked at him sharply.

Diana’s gaze fell on Hippolyta as she slowly looked her over, her face void of expression but her eyes were flashing with anger. Reaching over, she grabbed Hippolyta’s shoulders gently. “Are you okay? You didn’t get sick, did you? You weren’t scared, were you? I need to know how much trouble he is in.”

“I’m good. I had fun.” Hippolyta said enthusiastically. “Steve is a very good pilot. We turned sideways and then raced down, the water was coming so fast… it was thrilling! Then, we shot back up into the sky and I have never…”

Steve cleared his throat. “Not the best time to tell her about our very safe flying, Hippolyta.”

Diana walked up to Steve. “Don’t ever do this again… at least without informing me. If you feel the need to pretend to be Maverick from Top Gun, I will give you options that include my participation and will not leave my top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art airplane’s interior destroyed.”

She turned to Hippolyta with a smile. “Would you like to join me and Silver for lunch?”

“I would love to.” Hippolyta agreed.

“Can I come?” Steve asked hopefully.

Diana raised an eyebrow. “Of course… as soon as you clean up your mess.”

Diana and Hippolyta walked off, leaving Steve standing inside a jet that looked like it had been hit by a tornado.

Lunch had not been in the office but at a seafood restaurant by the harbor, overlooking the water. Diana had even convinced Tatsu to sit and enjoy lunch with them.

Hippolyta enjoyed listening to Silver tell stories of their childhood and their teen years. She was glad that, despite the pressure on her, Diana had a friend who made it her mission to make her daughter have fun.

After lunch, they walked to Wayne Tower, taking their time. Instead of entering the front through the lobby, Diana took them around to the back of the Tower. While the front had the spacious and beautifully manicured plaza where people enjoyed spending a moment in nature amongst the middle of tall skyscrapers, the back was a large area of cut grass, a few benches but no real decoration or use. The harbor was directly behind the back of the Tower and the ships passing by caught most people’s interest.

The two sat on a bench, Tatsu hanging back, always the silent sentinel. They were quiet for a few moments, enjoying the sounds of the boats on the water and each other’s company.

Diana finally broke the silence. “A large area. Nothing has ever been done with it. I’ve considered making it similar to the Plaza in the front, but it just never felt right. It’s a beautiful area, the water view, the clean open space. Don’t you think so?”

“I do.” Hippolyta agreed.

Diana nodded. “My manager of local real estate told me he has been getting numerous calls from friends of his working in architectural firms. Apparently, Wayne Enterprises has been asking for proposals for an art gallery design.”

Hippolyta nodded. “It’s just an idea I’ve had. I know you love your art in the lobby but Gotham only has the art museum. From what I have studied since I began this new life, I don’t believe the collection there is all that impressive. I thought perhaps I could talk you into building a more suitable gallery that would allow us to showcase more of your collection.

“There is so much in the vault, more than can be displayed at any one time in the manor. I wanted proposals on possible looks and property before I approached you with the idea.”

Diana shook her head. “If Wayne Enterprises were to have a gallery dedicated to our current collection and any pieces we might acquire, you would be required to be there.”

“I will be.” Hippolyta assured her, wanting Diana to understand she took her job seriously.

Diana’s expression relaxed and she smiled warmly at her birth mother. “I’ve come to realize, I like keeping you close… where I can keep an eye on you, of course, so this area is yours. Talk with designers, architects, take proposals. I would like it accessible from the harbor side and the front lobby of the Tower. Make it as large as you need.”

Hippolyta smiled widely, hoping Diana wasn’t joking with her as she had joked with her daughter that morning.

“Truly?”

Diana nodded. “You have an eye for art. You obviously need something to do to keep you busy and it really is a wonderful idea. It would be the perfect expansion to Wayne Tower.

“I will have a man from our design department and a woman who handles our local construction projects meet with you tomorrow morning. You tell them what you want, the look you want, the feel you are going for and they will blend it into the Tower. We haven’t expanded in a very long time. This will be exciting.”

Diana’s eyes were twinkling, the joy on her face matching her words. Hippolyta wiped a tear from her eye, hoping her daughter had not noticed.

“Thank you.”

“You are very welcome.”

“Can I have a… an executive secretary… person?”

“Yes, you can have a servant so long as your do not call them a servant. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

Still smiling, Diana stood, motioning for Hippolyta to do the same. “I’ve transferred all my calls to Sam for the rest of the day. Let’s pull Kara out of whatever lab she is holed up in and go shopping.”

That night, after a dinner of fine sandwiches Hippolyta placed on the table, she sat in the sitting room on the first floor, with a drink in hand, watching the news.

Diana came down before ten and sat next to her then yawned.

“Not ready for bed?” Hippolyta asked.

“Soon. What about you?”

“I’m watching the news and realizing how terrible the world can be… but it can also be wonderful. I saw a refugee camp, and in the background was a van delivering food and water. The van had Wayne Enterprises on the side.”

To Hippolyta’s surprise, Diana laid down on the couch, laying her head on Hippolyta’s lap and closing her eyes.

The woman wasn’t sure what to do at first but then gently began running her fingers through Diana’s hair.

“That feels so good. I’m not making you uncomfortable, am I?” Diana asked quietly.

“Of course not.” She assured her daughter.

After a long, quiet moment, Diana spoke softly. “They would have loved you.”

“Who?”

“My parents. They wouldn’t have felt threatened. They would have loved you.” Diana said with no doubt. “Kara loves you, Steve and Alfred love you. Dig loves you. Even Bruce likes you. That’s high praise from Bruce.”

“I love them as well.” Hippolyta replied in a soft voice, caught up in this unexpected moment with her daughter as she felt the tension in Diana’s shoulders and neck ease under her gentle touch.

Diana opened her eyes, the open expression on her face easily captured Hippolyta’s gaze. “I’m more reserved with my emotions, more guarded I suppose. I may not show it as much, but I want you to know… what you gave up, not knowing if I would accept you or not… it means so much to me.”

Diana sat up, reaching out to caress the former queen’s cheek with one hand, wiping away an errant tear. With a gentle smile, she leaned in and kissed her mother on the cheek.

“I do love you… don’t ever doubt that and… thank you… for choosing me. It means everything to me to have you here, to have you in my life. I just wanted you to know.” Diana told the stunned former queen.

With those words, words Hippolyta had longed to hear, Diana stood and walked out.

Hippolyta’s entire body and soul were infused with such happiness, she was overcome with the emotion of this special moment. Diana had gifted her with the greatest gift she could ever receive… her love and acceptance.

She finally smiled and walked to her room, getting ready for bed. All and all, she considered this a perfect day.