Chapter Text
Peggy pulled back and looked at Diana’s face. Diana’s beautiful face and into her gorgeous eyes, her gorgeous open eyes. “Crikey O’Reilly!”
“Misí kardiá mou, ti eínai láthos?”
“Love, that’s not English. Can you speak in English?”
“Bien sûr, je peux.”
“French.”
“Jag talar på engelska”
“Swedish.”
Diana closed her eyes and took a slow breath. “English...is hard.”
Peggy laughed through a sob, “Oh, Love, if you want, I’ll speak Greek to you exclusively.” She held Diana’s face in her hands and kissed her on the forehead, her left eye, her right eye, her cheeks, her lips and finally the end of her nose. “I’ll learn to cook for you.”
Diana laughed heartily. “You shouldn’t threaten me like that. I’m recovering.”
“Har de har har.”
“Why can’t I move?”
“You’re...wrapped...let me help you.” Peggy began to unwrap Diana but realized she would have to sit up. “Stay still.” Peggy took a knife out of a sheath at her side and began cutting the wrappings. As she was pulling them away she took in Diana’s body, all of Diana’s body. “You’re nude.”
Diana looked down. “It appears so.”
“My God, you’re perfect,” Peggy said as she touched Diana’s throat in amazement.
Diana raised her hand to touch Peggy’s cheek, “You look so beautiful, like when we first met.”
“There’s no need to flatter me. I’m a bit long in the tooth for that.”
“I’m not flattering you, misí kardiá mou. You look like you did right after Andy was born. You’re glowing.” Peggy touched her face and it felt different. She held Diana’s hand to her face.
“Do I really?”
“Yes. I confess I’m going to miss the silver at your temples.”
“How?”
“I don’t know, but right now I’m not going to question it.”
“Neither am I,” Peggy said as she leaned down and kissed Diana softly, slowly. It was like a first kiss in its tentative exploration. Peggy seemed to be refamiliarizing herself intimately with Diana’s mouth. “I’m so glad I get to still do this,” she said against Diana’s lips.
“Me too,” Diana said kissing Peggy deliberately.
Regretfully, Peggy pulled away. “Darling, everyone thinks you’re dead, your mother, Andrea. We have to go tell them.”
“How long?”
“I’m not sure. Hours at least. It seemed endless to me. I…”
“Shh…” DIana sat up and held her. “It’s over now. Let’s go and let everyone know. What is the situation with Hydra?” Diana said as she sat back and released Peggy.
“After Menalippe and Kara used the lasso on them, they were pushed back beyond the borders of the island. They will not remember being here. Anthony disabled the tracker that Steve had embedded in the back of his arm. So they won’t be able to find the island again.”
“Good.”
“We need to get you some clothes.”
“I do not mind going like this,” Diana said and gestured to her body.
“Princess, if you think you’re leaving here like that you have another thing coming.”
Diana grinned. “Jealousy after all these years?”
“I was thinking of our guests.”
“Um hum.”
“I’m sure I can find something. Don’t...on second thought, come with me. I don’t want to take any chances that this will all be a dream,” Peggy said as she held out her hand.
“Yes, misí kardiá mou, whatever you say.”
o0o
Kara had been gone about fifteen minutes and Miranda was sitting in a cushioned wicker chair by the open window watching Hippolyta and Andrea, who were seated on the sofa, murmur to one another. They both looked shell shocked to her, holding hands and every now and then one of them would remember something and tell the other who would smile a watery smile. She wanted to comfort Andrea, be useful in some way, but knew that what the woman needed now was someone who had loved Diana as much as she had. So she sat, stared out into the night and kept Andrea in her peripheral vision.
Andrea needed the comfort of family now and that she considered the twins family...well, Miranda was just thankful for the miracle that was Andrea. Her girls loved Andrea fiercely. She was marvelous with the girls, just the right amount of authority and fun. The girls still pranked Andrea but after she began to prank them back, they had slowed down considerably and she had won their respect and affection.
After the press had gotten wind of Miranda and Andrea’s relationship and some very unflattering things had been said in the papers about Andrea, the girls had somehow hacked into the online version of The Post. Thus far, no one had been able to prove anything. Miranda had upped her retainer amounts to her lawyers, just in case. The page had exposed the secrets of every gossip reporter at that unfortunate publication. Of course, the police and the FBI had showed up at her office accusing her of reigning destruction down on her enemies who had dared to besmirch her lover. Miranda’s confusion was genuine at the time.
Miranda thought back to that night. When she had offhandedly mentioned it at dinner and the fact that the authorities would not stop until they found the culprits, Andrea looked at her with concern and said, “Really, Miranda you shouldn’t have done it. I don’t care what they say. If I get to be with you and the girls, I don’t give a damn what anyone else says.”
Her twin terrors were oddly silent to this declaration and were staring resolutely at their plates pushing their dinner around. Miranda felt a frisson of fear. “Girls?”
No answer.
“Girls,” more forcefully. They looked up and Miranda could see it instantly on Cassidy’s face. Caroline’s expression was a bit harder to decipher but since she looked at that expression everyday in the mirror she was able to discern it easily enough.
Then Andrea spoke with concern dripping off her words, “Girls, you didn’t do anything stupid for me did you?”
Because she she shared her mother’s stoic disposition it was odd, that it was Caroline who broke first. “No. It wasn’t stupid. They’ll think before they do it again.”
Andrea got up and knelt between them. “Girls, not that I don’t appreciate the effort, but I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. The four of us know the truth and that’s enough for me.” She paused and then continued, “But why when they said something about me? They say awful stuff about your mother all the time. Why not go after them then?”
“Mom won’t leave,” Cassidy whispered.
“Leave?”
Caroline picked up the thread of conversation. “We were afraid you’d leave.”
“Look at me, both of you. I will not leave unless your mother wants me to go, and I mean really wants me to go, not like she’s mad because I left my messenger bag in the floor mad, but really, really does not want to be with me anymore.” Andrea looked up at Miranda then. Miranda could see the promise on her face, the love.
Miranda let all the love in her eyes show, communicating wordlessly.
Andrea nodded and her face broke into a grin.
“Now, you two. What am I going to do with you,” Miranda asked.
Caroline said emphatically, “Uh...we were defending Andy’s honor!”
“Do you have any idea what types of penalties you are facing if you’re caught? How many laws you’ve broken?”
Cassidy tried her argument. “Mommm! They said she was a gold-digger that slept her way to a recommendation at a substandard publication after a lover’s spat. They said she must not have been very good only to get a job at the Mirror! They said maybe this time she could get a better job if she could satisfy the Ice Queen!”
“Bobbsies, you know Mummie loves that you want to defend Andrea but you need to leave this to the adults. Besides, not a word of that was true and you know it. We must never let them know that they’ve hurt our feelings. I’m sorry, but we’re going to start with no electronics for a month. Then re-evaluate. I think perhaps we’ll throw in some public service too. Think about what type of project on which you might want to work.”
Angry faces met Miranda. Then finally, “Yes, Mom.”
“Bobbsies, I must ask you. Will the FBI show up here?”
Caroline looked like the Cheshire cat. “No. We covered our tracks and used some burner devices that can’t be traced to us.”
“Don’t look so pleased. A simple ‘no’ would have been sufficient. I don’t want to know any more than necessary. Now, clear the table. Notify your friends you will not be participating in online life for the next thirty days and bring all your electronics to the study.”
Andrea and Miranda walked into the study to wait on the girls. Andrea turned to look at Miranda and they both burst into quiet giggles.
“I can’t believe they took down The Post for me!”
“They love you as I do, Andrea,” Miranda said as she pulled her in for a kiss.
“Hopefully not as you do,” Andrea said pulling away from the kiss.
“Maybe not exactly as I do, but with just as much intensity it seems.”
Miranda was brought out of her reminiscence by Hippolyta’s laughter. “And then,” she continued to laugh, “then Peggy, said, ‘I told you we should’ve picked the north beach.’”
“Oh gods! I’m glad I’m not the only one who used to walk in on them,” Andrea laughed.
“Indeed, I seem to remember a very awkward situation with Astrea.” Miranda turned to the voice and emitted a gasp. Diana stood in the doorway with Peggy, arm in arm. They were both dressed in full-length ivory colored dresses with silver accents. Peggy’s had an empire waist and Diana’s had a halter top that emphasized her breasts.
Andrea jumped up and ran to them. “Mama! Mummie!”
Miranda watched in fascination as Diana picked Andrea up off the floor and twirled her. It reminded her of the scene in her townhome a few days ago but this was more carefree. She had a vision of a much younger Andrea running to her mothers. Then she noticed Peggy. The woman now looked to be Andrea’s age. No gray hair. No wrinkles.
Out of the corner of her eye, Miranda saw that Hippolyta was standing with tears running down her face. Diana walked to her mother and they hugged a long moment then clasped arms. The stream of Greek was so fast that she only caught a few words. Then finally, “My greatest love, you have come back to us!”
“Yes, Mother I have. Though I’m not sure how. Nor am I sure why Peggy seems younger as well.”
“Hmm. Perhaps it’s best not to examine a gift from the gods too closely,” Hippolyta said with an inscrutable look.
“As you wish, Mother.”
“Well, I for one would like to know,” Andrea said.
Hippolyta turned her head and regarded her grandchild. “Sweet one, when something this wonderful happens, it’s best not to insist that it make sense. The gods might see that as an insult, and I for one hold your mother too precious to chance that.”
“But, Ta Ta.”
Hippolyta sighed. “You were in the baths?”
“Yes,” Peggy answered.
Hippolyta looked at Diana then back to Peggy. “What was happening?”
“I was...I was saying goodbye,” Peggy stammered. “I kissed her, one last time, and she kissed me back.”
“Oh, misí kardiá mou,” Diana brought Peggy’s hand to her lips and kissed it, “I’m so sorry.” They stared into one another’s eyes as if they were the only ones in the room.
“You were in the water with her?”
Peggy turned her attention back to Hippolyta. “Yes.”
“Were you...were you crying?”
“I was sobbing.”
Hippolyta smiled. Andrea looked offended on Peggy’s behalf. Hippolyta held up her hands. “I take no pleasure in it. I merely think I know what happened. The goddess Artemis has been known to heal our warriors. She was a hunter surrounded only by women in some legends, and in some she loses her lover Orion. I believe that either she or Aphrodite healed Diana and reversed the effects of age on Peggy. Possibly, both goddesses helped. I do not know. I know that whatever happened to Diana was strong enough to affect Peggy as well.
“However, as an old Phoenician trader I used to know would tell me about the dance of the seven veils…’Do not worry how it is happening. Just praise the gods that it is,’ and that is exactly what I plan to do.”
“I want one of the healers to examine them just to make sure,” Andrea said.
“I will make it so,” Hippolyta said and left the room to speak with one of the guards in the hallway.
Peggy turned to Andrea, “You haven’t called me ‘Mummie’ in a very long time.”
Andrea walked up to Peggy and touched her hair. “I’m sorry. It just slipped out. You look like you did when I was little.”
“Don’t worry, my little love. I liked it very much.”
Andrea’s smile was blinding.
“And you called me ‘Mama,’” Diana beamed.
“I did. You still look the same though. You always have. I guess I was just caught up in the moment.”
“Well, it was nice. It reminded me of many things,” Diana said.
Miranda finally spoke, “I must admit, it was not hard to imagine a very young Andrea running to meet her mothers.”
“Miranda, you must think us so rude,” Peggy said.
“Not at all. You all have been quite busy,” Miranda said and there were hums of acknowledgement. “I had no frame of reference for the past few days before this. Now a resurrection. Tell me, do you turn water into wine as well?” Miranda arched a perfect eyebrow at Diana.
Diana smiled broadly, “Miranda, where do you think Amazon wine comes from in the first place?”
Miranda looked gobsmacked and Andy couldn’t hold back her laugh. “She’s kidding, Miranda. She’s kidding.”