Diana Prince watched him, as if trying to commit his every move to memory. She did it on the sly—when she was crossing the office to put a file back in the safe, or when she handed him a report to sign. She memorized the way his dark hair brushed the collar of his shirt, and how he would massage the back of his neck with one hand when he was thinking. She stared at his hands, the square cut fingernails clean and freshly trimmed, remembering how strong they were. She watched him sip from a cup of stone cold coffee absently as he loosened his tie and leaned back in his chair to read yet another report from the front lines. She smiled at his grimace, and swallowed a laugh when he drank it anyway—needing the caffeine, and knowing that there wasn't a chance of a fresh pot so late in the evening.

Since the announcement of Hitler's death, the mood around the office had been celebratory and manic simultaneously, as calls poured into Military Intelligence from every sector. Information was offered, information was demanded, and information was traded all day long. All across Europe, the fighting was coming to an end, and an entire generation of men and women were finally beginning to see the light at the end of the very dark tunnel they had been trapped in for the last five years. It may take time before they reach that light—but they could see it. It was almost tangible.

But regardless of the good news being reported almost hourly from Europe, life in the office went on. There was still work to do, reports to make, paperwork to be done. Charlie Niles had been by the day before with a box of records for Steve, who had been combing through them all day at his desk. Diana was hard at work getting Steve's files and reports in order both for the move to the new Pentagon facility, but also so that whomever were to replace her as his secretary would find everything in apple pie order, and not have a worse time of it.

It was the little details—like trying to imagine some other girl trying to decipher Steve's handwriting,which was getting less legible by the hour, or making sense of the attempts at shorthand Diana had first made before she had gotten a book on proper shorthand from the library—that brought it all home to her.

She was leaving.

She had accepted it—there was no sense railing against her mother's decree. With the Nazis defeated, there was nothing holding her to Washington. Nothing except her feelings for Steve Trevor. And for all she adored him, if he loved her at all, it was the love of a symbol. A star-spangled ideal, not a living, breathing woman. She had basked in that adoration for years, but in her heart she knew that wasn't what she wanted.

What she wanted—what she had dreamt of—was loving and being loved in return for who she was. All of her—not just the different faces she showed the world. And there could be no love without honesty.

So, she watched him. And when he looked up and caught her staring, she blushed, stammering something about the time.

"Wow, it's later that I realized—" Steve said as he glanced at his wristwatch. "I'm so sorry to keep you from your family, Diana."

She shrugged, not wanting to leave him just yet. "Dru called this afternoon to tell me they had plans—very cryptic. So I guess I'm on my own tonight."

"Say, are you hungry? How about picking us up some dinner from the Café?"

"Sure. What would you like?"

"Anything's fine," he said as he took some coins from his pocket and pressed them into her palm.

She pulled on her coat—it was drizzling again, and she could see a sea of umbrellas in the lamp-lit streets beyond the office window. "I'll be right back!" she called as she put on her hat, and he waved at her as he reached for the phone as she pulled the office door closed behind her.

General Blankenship's office window was dark—Etta had left with Charlie about an hour ago, and she'd seen the General turn off his desk lamp and put on his coat as she'd come back from the file room the last time. Her footsteps echoed on the linoleum floor as she made her way through the nearly deserted building. She was struck suddenly by the realization that she was actually going to miss this place. As she walked over the rain-slick streets, she realized she was going to miss the easy camaraderie of servicemen and women all dedicated to the same cause. Miss the hustle and bustle of the War Department. But most of all, she would miss the people that had become her extended family during her time in Washington.

It was later than she realized. Almost all the lights were out in the Café, and Maggie was just turning the cardboard sign in the window from 'Open' to 'Closed' as Diana arrived. Maggie waved her inside, and Diana waved at her husband Hank Miller, who was the only customer at the counter. He waved back at her, and then headed into the storeroom through the singing door next to the kitchen.

"Thanks, Maggie—is the kitchen still open?"

"For you, anything. What'll it be?"

"Can I get two ham steak dinners wrapped up to take back with me?"

"Another late night at the office for you and Major Trevor?"

Diana nodded, counting out the dollar twenty for the dinners, and a nickel for tip. "You know how it is, Maggie. The work just never seems to stop."

"How about dessert? I've got cake," Maggie said, and Diana gasped as the lights came up in the diner.

"Surprise!" came half a dozen voices as Etta came through the storeroom door carrying a cake decorated with icing roses. Behind Etta were Charlie, General Blankenship, Hank Miller, Danny Robbins, and Drusilla and Hippolyte. She heard the door open behind her and there was Steve, a bit damp and breathing hard from most likely running the whole way from the office.

"Surprise, Diana," he said, grinning to beat the band.

"You planned this!" Diana accused,

"It was mostly Etta. I only wish I could have seen your face," Steve said as he took off his hat.

"You're awful!" She punched him in the arm, but she couldn't help grinning, and her hands flew to her face as Etta set the cake on the counter and she could read the legend "We'll Miss You, Yeoman Prince" written across the top in wobbly letters made of icing.

"Mother, you too?" Diana was surprised the Queen would have been a party to something so mundane as a going away party.

"It was this one's idea," Hippolyte brushed Drusilla's hair back from her cheek. "Private Candy enlisted her help, and she's been here all afternoon."

"Maggie let me help her ice the cake," Dru said proudly.

"She did a real great job too," Danny said, grinning, and Diana swore Dru actually blushed.

"It's beautiful. You're beautiful," she said, pressing a kiss to her little sister's forehead. "Thank you; all of you! I had no idea— This is all just so—" Diana trailed off, overcome with emotion.

"And, before I forget," Etta waved over Charlie, who had a camera around his neck. She grabbed Diana and she and Steve stood on either side while Charlie made a picture. Diana blinked to clear the spots from her vision from the flashbulb. "There! Now you can't leave until I've had three copies made—one for each of us. You know, to remember us by."

"Oh, Etta." Diana's eyes filled with tears, and she hugged the other woman fiercely. "I'm going to miss you so much!" There was a ripple of joyful laughter as they held onto each other, crying into each other's shoulders for a moment.

"Now, now, Yeoman Prince," General Blankenship said as he offered her his handkerchief. "Did you really think we were going to let you go without a big sendoff?"

"Thank you, sir," she said, dabbing at her eyes.

"Two ham steak dinners, right?" Maggie said as she brought out the steaming plates, and as she set them down at a table, Diana gave the proprietress a heartfelt hug.

"You're all just so wonderful! This means so much to me. It really does."

"Well, as a token of our appreciation," Steve said, pulling a paper wrapped package from the pocket of his overcoat, "we wanted you to have this."

"It's a letter of commendation by Captain Sue S. Dauser, Superintendent of the Navy Nurse Corps, for your exemplary service in the War Department," General Blankenship explained as she carefully removed the paper and string, and ran her fingers over the framed letter in amazement. "Steve was the one who thought of it—and I couldn't have agreed with him more. You've been a remarkable asset to our offices, Diana, and we'll surely be sad to see you go."

Diana set the frame carefully down on the table and engulfed a surprised Steve in a hug. "Thank you," she whispered next to his ear, and his arms tightened around her briefly. She knew her mother was watching—she could feel the Queen's eyes. But for a few seconds, she simply no longer cared.

"Hey, if you're handing out hugs, just let me know where the line starts!" Danny laughed, and Diana wiped away fresh tears with the back of her hand and gave the counterman a one armed hug and quick kiss on the cheek.

"How come he gets a kiss?" Steve protested good naturedly, and the room broke out into laughter once again.

"Hey, your dinner will get cold!" Maggie said as she steered Diana back to her chair. "And while you're eating, I'm going to cut the cake. Don't worry—I'll make sure you get the best piece!"

"Oh Steve, it's too bad you couldn't have invited Wonder Woman to come," Etta said as she bit into a rose made out of icing. "I bet she would have wanted to say good-bye, too."

"I'm sure she would have," Steve murmured, but it was Diana he was watching so intently that she could feel a blush rise in her cheeks.

Author's Note: Please, if there's anything that doesn't work for you, or is factually or grammatically incorrect, don't hesitate to tell me! Constructive criticism is the greatest gift you can give an author. I'm not a delicate flower who will curl up and die at the first sign of criticism. I want to make this story the very best I can, so please let me know what works for you, and more importantly, what doesn't.