Dale looked up from his paperwork when he heard the short rap on his door. Diana entered and wished him a good morning as she took a seat on the couch across from him. He watched as, in her usual way, she first crossed her legs and then leaned on the arm of the sofa with her forefinger pressed against her temple. If he had to describe Diana Prince in one word, he wouldn't be able to if his life depended upon it. She was just so... He couldn't describe it. So once again he put it out of his mind to think about another time...

"Diana, you have finally come to your senses. I was beginning to think that maybe you weren't human! You never want your vacation time; you work around the clock... do you even eat?" He laughed good-naturedly at his little joke.

"I just figured it was time. As I told you on the phone yesterday, I have made arrangements to leave this afternoon if that's still okay..."

"Diana, it's fine. Believe me. I'm just very relieved that you will be getting some rest and relaxation. You will be getting some rest and relaxation, won't you? By the way, where are you going?"

Diana groaned inwardly. Here we go again...

Just then the telephone rang. Obviously, still awaiting her reply Dale picked up the phone without taking his eyes off her. But the call must have been important and soon his attention was focused elsewhere.

Diana breathed a sigh of relief. She realized that anything she said would inevitably lead to more questions. So she stood up and motioned to her watch until Dale took notice and mouthed that she needed to go.

Dale cupped his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone and told her to have a good trip and please, by God, relax a little!

She nodded for indeed that was her plan. In fact a sense of calmness swept over her just thinking about being with her family and reacquainting herself with once familiar surroundings. She had already decided not to tell her mother that she was coming so that it would be a surprise to her and Drusilla. Although... the Queen might be a little suspicious after becoming aware that Diana had summoned the invisible jet after all this time.

And then, there it was again... The twinge of guilt she felt over the time that had lapsed since her last visit. Many times Diana had similar pangs for what she thought could surely be considered abandonment by some... abandonment of her family, her Queen and her whole background and way of life. Not being able to grasp the larger picture, she knew from the start that some would not understand. Even her mother. Sometimes Diana had felt as if the Queen had not fully understood her reasons for coming back to what she considered a barbaric world. True, this world was at times barbaric and cruel, but it needed her. And she liked being needed.

Her mother could say that she too needed her on Paradise Island to fulfill her role as Princess. But it was not the same and she had given up long ago on trying to convince her mother of that. There was no easy way to admit it, but when she had returned to the States the last time, it had become her future and Paradise Island had become apart of her past.

All of these thoughts were like a whirlwind in Diana's mind as she made her trip from her new home to her old aboard the invisible jet.