And So, Friendship Follows

by In-betweens

Sequel to And So It Begins, part of the And So It Goes Supercat Series. Three months after Kara Zorel has saved Cat and Carter Grant from the clutches of death the awkward vice president of Wayne Corp arrives back in National City for her next challenge: a lunch date.

Title: And So, Friendship Follows

Author: InBetweens
Rating: PG-13
Plot: Three months after And So It Begins.

Part 1 of 1

-National City-

-Three Months Later-

-2002-

"Good afternoon, Miss. We are rather full at the moment. Do you have a reservation?"

"Yes, Kara, for three."

"Hold on one moment as I check our…oh! There you are. Two adults and one infant high chair. We have your table ready. You are the first to arrive of your party." The matradee smiled warmly as he stepped around the podium that held the seating chart he'd just browsed to find Kara's reservation. She hadn't bothered with her last name.

This restaurant wasn't the crème de la crème of National City any more. Not after the scandal with the owner cheating on his wife—who was his primary financially backer—with the sous chef. It was the last place the paparazzi would come looking for her or for her guests for that matter. The restaurant was known for not being child friendly as it was meant to be a get away for upstarts and the movers and shakers of the city.

Now, although the matradee mentioned that they were full, Kara could see several empty tables along the back wall of the restaurant. The front was surprisingly packed, but Kara wondered if that had more to do with the fact that it was lunch hour and for the restaurant to stay afloat they were now offering unheard of prices on prefix menus that offered some of the best culinary choices in the city.

Kara had done her homework. This restaurant only held a 21% probability that she and Cathryn would be spotted eating together. Many of the other restaurants that had been recommended to her had much higher probabilities. As it was, Kara had been doing her best to remain as unconnected to Cathryn Grant as possible.

The woman had taken motherhood and the corporate world by storm as of late. CatCo Worldwide Media had two locations; their grand openings would be held within the next several weeks. After that, Kara was unsure when they would be able to see each other socially. As it was, this meeting had been impromptu—on Cathryn's part. Kara, on the other hand, had taken several hours to comb through the best National City had to offer, and yet still find a place where anonymity could be achieved.

It hadn't been easy, but she had done it and the reward would far outweigh her frustrations. This business trip has been Kara's schedule for months and although Clark had practically begged –he refused to admit that he had sunk so low—to come with her, she hadn't brought him. Clark had final exams this week and could not afford to miss them.

Eliza Danvers had already agreed to spend the four days Kara was in National City with Clark. She'd even brought along Alex, who was finally old enough to start playing some of the board games and video games that Clark enjoyed playing. If Eliza was right, Clark might have a bit of a competitor in Alex. There was almost eight years between them, but Alex had inherited more than just her parents' affinity for aliens.

"Can I take your coat for you?"

"Oh, uhm. Yes. Thank you." Kara stepped back quickly, clearly making her point as she took off her own jacket and handed it to the man.

He smiled nervously at her, obviously slightly taken aback by how quickly she'd moved away from him when he'd gone to assist her. She dropped her eyes away and fiddled with her glasses as another hostess made her way towards her.

"Right this way, Miss."

Kara nodded and followed in step with the young woman, who couldn't be that much younger than herself. With her head bowed she watched her feet as she walked and tried not to cringe at the abundance of noise produced by the lunch crowd as she was shown through a maze of tables and chairs. The smells were immense and so long as she focused on one her nose wasn't as overwhelmed as her ears.

She rubbed self-consciously at the shell of her ear as she stopped and stood at the table the hostess marked as her own. The reserved sign was removed, and Kara's chair was pulled out for her.

"Thank you. No need to push me in."

The hostess' eyes were the only thing that crinkled at the tone of Kara's voice as she gave the blatant instruction.

"Of course. Your server will be right with you."

"Thank you." Kara blushed as she took her seat and scotched the chair further under the table on her own.

The patrons around her were busy chatting amongst themselves so Kara took the time to look over the menu left for her. The wine list was extensive and there were a few bottles that Kara might consider ordering before she realized that Cathryn most likely could not drink. Not if she was breastfeeding, and that seemed to be a new trend that was on the uptick. At least, so her research showed. Where before formula was the preferred method, there were new studies linking a great many medical advantages to breastfeeding; prime among them was the transference of immunity of certain viruses.

Kara knew quite a lot about raising a child. Although Martha Kent had been Clark's primary care giver (and yes when she was feeling nostalgic—Martha was Clark's mother) and Martha insisted that Kara merely have the role of sibling and/or cousin. Even with Martha and Jonathan trying to insist that she didn't need to carry her burdens alone, Kara had still been very active in Clark's rearing.

Especially after the Kents' death.

They had been with the Kents for three years, seven months and twenty-two days when they died. In those nearly four years Kara had learned what it meant to have a family—at least one here on Earth. Martha was warm, Jonathan was present, and they didn't expect the world of Kara. They wanted her to be happy, safe, well fed—because Kara missed Martha's homemade soups and Jonathan's, roasts-but they also wanted her to remain hidden, to hide her true nature and where she came from. They helped explain the world to her in ways that no computer program ever could.

Kara's whole world had changed four years before when she'd been forced into a pod and sent away with her baby cousin to a planet she'd known very little about. The journey to earth had been one of learning. Where Clark's pod had kept him in stasis, Kara's pod had initialized a training regimen for her long journey. She learned several Earthen languages, their different forms of government, religion, and she learned their financial systems. It had been nearly a year where Kara's body was in stasis, but her mind was active. Kara was petrified by what it would mean to take care of an infant on a planet she didn't understand, but by the time she landed on Earth she understood its history and systems better than most of its inhabitants. Yet, Martha and Jonathan Kent were not part of that equation and for four years they offered her love and support and guidance as they raised her as if she were their own.

Kara wanted nothing more than to save them. She could have, easily, but Martha had sent her away. She'd pushed Clark into her arms and told her to run. Clark's eyes were red and puffy as he cried and reached for Martha, like being in Kara's arms was the worst burden to ever befall him. When Kara had frozen, refusing to leave, not when she could hear Jonathan groaning in pain and exertion as he tried to free himself, Martha turned back to her, grabbed her cheeks and told her to look after Clark. "Go, the underpass. Now!" Martha demanded in a tone that warranted no arguments.

Martha started to try and dislodge Jonathan's leg from where it had gotten caught under the steering wheel due to a car having been dropped on top of their front hood. The tornado that had formed over the ground just a few miles west of the freeway they were stuck in traffic on, had dropped it onto the car, rattling them all.

There was a large crowd under the underpass and Kara stumbled as she tried to run there without tripping over debris, her eyes were useless to her in that moment as they were filled with tears she couldn't let herself shed. Every step she took away from the car with Jonathan and Martha literally tore at her heart. She had felt as if she couldn't breathe, that the oxygen here on this planet was too heavy—just like it had been when she'd first arrived. Clark was screaming in her arms and calling for Martha and Jonathan and it took every ounce of strength she had in her body to keep him from breaking free of her grasp, knowing he would run back to the car and she would be forced to save him.

It was in those two hundred yards that she came up with a plan. She would drop Clark under the overpass and promise him that she would get Martha and Jonathan if he would stay put. If she just ran through the crowd and came from behind, she could take off her shirt and wear only her undershirt and tie her hair back and lose the led lined glasses. No one would know it was her when she came back to get Clark. No one would know the person who'd just run faster than a speeding bullet was her.

She could save them.

She would save them.

Except she couldn't.

Except she didn't.

Being forced to watch them die was a harrowing moment for Kara. The last thing the Kents had asked of her was to stay hidden, even when their own lives were at stake they had chosen Kara and Clark's safety and well being over their own. The world wasn't ready for there to be beings like them.

Kara had been about to run and save them, sure that she could stay undetced. Sure, that Clark would listen to her. Sure, that she could save the two people that she had come to love, that had come to love her.

Just as she put Clark down and turned back to the car, Kara saw it. It was too late. She watched as she tornado lifted up the car and saw Martha and Jonathan holding onto each other tight.

"Take care of Clark, Kara. We love you. So much." Martha spoke through sobs.

"Keep each other safe. The world isn't ready. Not yet. But it will be. You'll know when. Good luck, Kara." Jonathan and Martha looked at her through the window of the car before it was lifted up into the funnel of the tornado and they disappeared.

Kara screamed with all her might, her face bright red and her fists pressed against her chest as her legs gave out and her knees connected with the ground, the very earth shaking at the impact.

The way that they had held each other tight in the end and professed how much they loved one another, loved her, warned her that the world wasn't ready, it haunted and inspired Kara. The world wasn't ready for her and Clark. She had learned that first hand when secret agents of a secret government agency broke through her apartment door and several windows, and starting shooting at her while she was unarmed. The bullets actually pierced her skin and made her instantly sick to her stomach. When they took her having made sure they didn't get Clark was the only solace Kara had in the months that followed. The unimaginable pain: physical, mental, and emotional pain they made her suffer—just because they could-was worth it because she'd kept Clark from befalling the same fate.

It was during those months of captivity that Kara understood the level of the Kents love for her and their understanding of the world. They died so she and Clark would not feel the pain she experienced at the hands of the DEO earlier.

Losing the Kents had been very hard for both Clark and Kara. Clark had lost the only parents he'd ever known, and he was still very young—too young—to understand that Martha and Jonathan weren't really his parents. So, Kara didn't tell him, because they might not have been his biological parents, but they were his mother and father. They raised him. They loved him, and they died for him (and her).

The escape back to Smallville had been quick. Kara had picked Clark up and run as fast as she could to get there. She needed to hide their ships somewhere and she needed to get clothes and money because they would need new identities. She also couldn't let anyone know they were alive. The Kents had a contact, a shady one, that had helped them fake birth certificates for Kara and Clark when they first arrived. Trying to find that contact had taken almost an hour.

It was by accident that she found a personal phone book hidden in the top drawer of Martha's bedside table that had the number she was looking for. It also had four fake passports and documentation for the Zorel family.

Kara had promised herself she wouldn't cry. She had lost it along the side of the road, but she had promised she would be strong and she wouldn't cry, she wouldn't lose control like that again. She was Kryptonian. She was not meant to be so emotionally unstable. Yet, as she stared at the passports and the birth certificates and social security cards, Kara cried. She held the small booklets against her chest and dropped her head onto the top of the Kents' bed, their scent which still clung to the sheets and the clothes hanging in the closet, soothed her.

The Kents had been ready to disappear, to leave everything they'd ever known behind them— to take care of Kara and Clark at a moments notice. The thought that they knew something could happen which would force them to leave had never phased Kara. But then, when she was faced with this reality she was incredibly grateful for their foresight, even if now she wondered if they thought she would make a colossal mistake and reveal what she was to the world.

There had been bank account information within the documentation that Kara found. It wasn't much, as the Kents weren't rich, but it was enough to start with. So, Kara had packed the photo albums and as much clothes as she could carry in suitcases, and she set fire to the Kent's home, making it look like a gas leak. She hoped that it would all look like a great tragedy, that the family all died together in that freak storm and their house burned down on the same day.

No one had come looking for them and Kara kept tabs on Smallville. Everyone just assumed that they'd all died in the accident. The land was sold, and all proceeds went into the bank account that Kara had sole access to. It helped fund the first few months of being on her own.

Kara found an apartment in Gotham (in a relatively safe area. It wasn't that she'd feared anyone being able to overpower her but rather she didn't want to draw attention to herself with being able to overpower anyone that came after her.

The apartment was cheap, but it had running water, heat, and was clean. It wasn't the Kent's farm house, but it would have to do.

She'd enrolled Clark into Pre-K, and Kara had learned quickly that no matter how smart she was, without a degree (of any kind, not even a GED) it was almost impossible to get a job that could support her and Clark. So, Kara took part time jobs that paid minimal salaries with no benefits and tried to make it through school. As a Kryptonian she was better suited for such work. It was almost like being back home on Krypton and doing all that was expected of her had she been able to mature on Krypton and enter one of the guilds.

Kara faked paperwork for a GED and got enrolled in Gotham's community college. She paid semester by semester, sometimes needing to take off to make enough money to cover the next semester. She worked hard at school, at her jobs, and worked even harder to be there for Clark no matter what. Her dedication and intelligence impressed her college professors one by one until they were all singing her praises.

It was one of those very professors that she'd impressed that helped her get her paid internship at Wayne Corp and a book keeping job that paid more than all three of her part time jobs combined. Still, being able to work one of the part time jobs on top of the book keeping job meant she had the ability to save. As Kara found it harder and harder to find a safe place to live—that didn't require her to almost accidentally 'out' herself or Clark in order to protect themselves—she started to feel less and less inclined to not use her intelligence to her advantage. Knowing it could be dangerous, but needing the money to get an apartment in a safer neighborhood, Kara started investing in the stock market. Her ability to read trends and follow the market and predict where it would fall and when, helped move her out of Gotham and into Metropolis within six months. She could put Clark into private school and herself into Metropolis University.

At Metropolis University Kara met Eliza Danvers nee Howard in her biology class. She was the one that introduced Eliza to Jeremiah Danvers, the dorky but incredibly intelligent wanna be physicist. Eliza and Jeremiah became god sends when Kara's ability to read the stock market was leaked to a coworker at Wayne Corp.

It was by accident that one of her coworkers at Wayne Corp found out about her stock market trading skill. But that skill got her a better job than her paid internship and the book keeping, so she took it. It meant longer hours and kept her away from Clark longer than she'd like, but it made her money they needed as she became a stock broker for Wayne Corp International.

She was in that job for a year when she went to quit, citing the long hours as reasons why. As much as she needed the money, she needed to be there to raise Clark the way he deserved to be raised as well. Her boss scrounged for a way to get her back to Wayne Corp. Even without her college degree the VP of finance wasn't ready to give her up as an asset yet. So, he found a 'cushy' job for her in the budget department. Kara worked there until she got her first degree, a duel BS in environmental science and engineering.

After receiving her degrees Lucius Fox stole her from the finance department and put her in research and development.

Kara loved the experiments that she got to run. She also found she loved school, and with her role in Research and Development she had a lot of 'free time' since the department only consisted of three people. Kara got to spend a lot of time at home so long as she worked on the theories and manufacturing questions posed by Lucius, who became a mentor and a dear friend. The free time (which she suspected he gave her because he favored her) let Kara attend a few classes but also be home to spend time with Clark after school every day.

Kara didn't have many friends; she hadn't had many friends even in Smallville or on Krypton. But Jeremiah, Eliza, and Lucius became more than just friends, they became family. She watched Eliza and Jeremiah fall in love and stood as a witness at their wedding, Clark serving as Jeremiah's best man while she took the role of maid of honor.

The Danvers made the human world more real for Kara. They helped her fit into the human society that Kara's very genetics told her to rail against. Eliza was a confidant that Kara needed, and Jeremiah was a friend who made her laugh.

When Clark accidentally outed their alien nature to Eliza while Eliza was babysitting, they hadn't run in fear. They had stayed, and they hadn't pried for everything. They trusted her, they let her come to them. Not pressing her for more than she was willing to share was hard for them, as they were both dedicated scientists. It took a few weeks, but Kara did open up. They were the only other humans to know what she and Clark were since the Kents, and they were just as accepting as Martha and Jonathan had been. Luck had been on her side.

Still, the open way both Eliza and Jeremiah accepted Kara and Clark's heritage brought nightmares, doubts. She was plagued with guilt for letting the Kents die. The Kents said the world wasn't ready. But here were two more people who easily accepted them. Why could the world not do that same? Had she let them die in vain? Had she let their fear rule her?

For two years Kara had been forced to remain silent about the devastation she'd felt at Martha and Jonathan's deaths, but after Eliza knew: Kara broke down. She lamented how she wished she had saved them and faced the scorn of the world, so long as it would mean that the Kents and Clark were safe. She sobbed over how she felt like she was failing Clark, failing the one purpose she had been given by her parents, by her aunt and uncle, by her people. She was failing them all just as she had failed the Kents.

It was Eliza who helped her understand that the world wasn't ready. Martha and Jonathan's sacrifice ensured that she and Clark were safe for several more years. Their decision to not let Kara save them gave the world more time, time to loosen its beliefs that all things different from them were evil.

The world hadn't quite made it to the point where it could accept beings like Kara and Clark. The scars along Kara's upper arms and down her back was proof of the worlds uneasiness.

"Uhhum…"

Kara kept her eyes open as she looked up from the menu that she had been staring at for the last several minutes.

The waitress offered a slightly nervous smile, "Good afternoon, my name is Lily. I'm going to be your server today. Would you like to place your drink order now or wait for your company?"

Kara stared at Lily as if she didn't understand a word she was speaking before her eyes traveled back to the menu in her hands. The lines around her eyes scrunched up as she browsed the options.

Lily shifted her weight again, Kara's silence could be unnerving to those that knew her, it was often frightening to those that did not.

To fill the silence Lily continued speaking: "I see you've found our wine list. Is there anything there to your liking or would you like a few recommendations?"

Kara snapped the wine list closed and noted the tick above Lily's left eyebrow and the way she fiddled with an engagement ring, twisting it as she held her hands at her waist, and she stared at the young woman's eyes and noted the specific coloring around her irises. "I'll take a seltzer with cherry juice and a cup of cherries."

"Of-of course." Lily took the drink order and scurried away from the table without asking if Kara would like to put in a food order.

Kara felt the right side of her lips twitch. A part of her, the part that had once been friendly and open hearted and optimistic, found the discomfort of the waitress entertaining. But that part of Kara had been murdered four years, eight months, five days, and ten hours ago.

Kara diverted her attention to the lunch menu. She already had it memorized, but she allowed herself the mundane chore of reading over it once again. Trying to pretend like she didn't already know that she would be having the chicken picatta with linguine and a side of their asparagus was easier than thinking about the 97 days, seven hours, and twenty-five minutes she had been in the hands of the enemy.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, you wouldn't believe the traffic coming down Fifth."

Kara's head shot up, her ears perking at the voice, but as she listened more carefully she frowned. Cathryn was nowhere in sight and the woman who'd uttered the request for forgiveness looked nothing like Cathryn. She wasn't even at this side of the restaurant, rather she was at the east end by the windows at least a hundred feet from Kara's table.

Kara sighed and stared back down at her menu, but placed it upon the surface of the table. She dropped her hands into her lap and played with the felt napkin that she'd placed there almost as soon as she'd sat down.

As Kara's eyes slid down to the watch on her wrist her frown deepened. It was twenty minutes past the agreed upon time. Cathryn Grant, the woman who was notoriously early to everything, was late.

Kara's grip on the napkin tightened as she started to ring it up and then unroll it. She counted her breaths and focused her eyes back down on the menu. Cathryn was just late. The woman five tables over had just mentioned how atrocious the traffic was, Cathryn would arrive shortly, and they would share their meal in peace and…and…what?

Kara's thoughts faltered, just as they did every time she thought about why she had reached out to Miss Grant to have lunch. Her constant answer was that she had promised she would contact Cathryn when she was in National City. She was just keeping her word. It had nothing to do with a small, itty bitty, teeny tiny idea that she wanted to see Cathryn. It was just her keeping her word. Nothing more.

Except it wasn't.

Kara was a terrible liar, and it seemed that trait meant she couldn't even lie to herself.

She had spent the last three months watching after Cathryn Grant through any means of media she deemed necessary. Lucius had been the one to stop her from tapping her phone. It was just a precaution though. With all the crime that Kara saw splashed across the papers of The Daily Planet and Gotham Times she had just wanted a way to keep tabs on Miss Grant's safety. It had absolutely nothing to do with wanting to hear Cathryn's voice.

Except it did.

Kara was enamored with Cathryn Grant. The woman fascinated her and called to a part of her that Kara thought long dead. Kara was…happy, almost playful, when it came to Cathryn Grant. She was also bashful and very sensitive to the topic of her 'celebrity crush' as Eliza called it. No one took her crush very seriously, no one that is, save for Bruce.

Bruce was not happy that Kara had helped fund CatCo Worldwide Media, but in the end, he didn't have a choice. Kara didn't take any money from Wayne Corp. she only made it appear as if she had. If a lawyer looked closely at the paperwork they would see that although Wayne Corp. was mentioned in many places, Wayne Corp was not the donor of the 20 million: Krypton Industries was.

Krypton Industries was a small company of twenty-five individuals that worked under the guidance and partnership of Wayne Corp. The company was the brain child of Kara. Krypton Industries allowed her to contribute patents to Wayne Corp., Themyscira Industries, and Queen Industries without conflict of interest.

It was the company she could fall back on when she eventually left Wayne Corp.

It wasn't Kara's financial investment that Bruce was worried about. Bruce was skeptical about Kara's infatuation. He did not trust that Kara could keep her secret from the perceptive woman and although Bruce would never admit it; he worried after her. It wasn't all just about her secret or his. It was about how fragile she was and how he would worry about her if whether she decided Dick Grayson was more to her liking or Cathryn Grant was. He would worry no matter who she aligned herself with professionally and/or romantically.

Kara thought he was worried for nothing. She thought all of her friends were just over-reacting. None of them had ever seen her like this. And maybe, just maybe, Kara had never been like this before; never so invested in making a relationship with a human work.

With Eliza and Jeremiah, it had been 'easy'. Eliza was stubborn, and Jeremiah was too sweet to ignore. Barbara Gordon and Diana Prince were intelligent headstrong women that didn't let Kara shy away from their friendship.

In all of her relationships Kara had never been the one to actively pursue the forming of the bond. All of her friends (and family) had been the ones to slip their way past her walls and barriers. To see Kara actively interested in making someone like Cathryn Grant be friends with her surprised them all. At first, they let her be, to keep her from losing interest or freaking out if she realized how invested in her quest she was. But as the first month went by, and then the second, they started slipping in comments, questions, and soon the jokes began. Jokes that made Kara blush and wave them away.

She just wanted to know her. Was that such a terrible thing? To want to make a friend? Even if it was a celebrity crush, Kara was a bit of a celebrity herself, didn't that negate the 'celebrity' aspect of the crush?

No matter what her friends and family thought, Clark's opinion was the one that mattered the most, and he was very supportive of her desire to get to know Cathryn. Kara wasn't sure if it was altruism that helped her gain Clark's support or Clark's own crush on Miss Grant. But she would take either one.

Kara's eyes drifted away from the menu to look at the face of her watch, the minute hand had moved another ten minutes since she'd last checked.

Kara had a meeting that she could not miss at 3:30pm. She had calculated that it would take her forty minutes to get to the meeting from here. That would give her and Cathryn plenty of time to talk, nearly two hours in fact.

Except, Cathryn was nowhere to be found and it had already been 30 minutes.

Kara was surprised that the waitress hadn't returned to the table in the time she had been lost in thought. Then again, she had been looking at the menu, even if she wasn't truly reading it.

Sighing, Kara put the menu down and closed it. As soon as it touched the tabletop the waitress was making her way over to the table. "Can I start you off with an appetizer while you wait?"

It was only as the waitress spoke that Kara noticed the glass of cherries, and the cherry seltzer she had requested sitting on the table, the glasses perspiring.

Kara's stomach was in knots, but it was also moments away from growling as well. "I'll have an order of your crab cakes and the soup of the day."

"Of course. The soup of the day is one of my favorites. I'm sure you'll enjoy it." Lily smiled brightly and turned on her heel and left the table and Kara behind.

Kara watched the young woman walk away, she couldn't be more than four years younger than Kara herself. There was an innocence in Lily's eyes that Kara envied. It was something she had lost a long time ago.

Kara didn't want to get lost in her own memories again so instead she focused on listening to the conversations going on around her. The lead of her glasses helped with the noise and her x-ray vision, but she could still easily hear what was being said by the arguing couple on the other side of the restaurant, or the business partners who were whispering about their plans to oust the third partner of their law firm, or the nice older woman who was sitting alone but spoke fondly with many of the servers and wait staff.

Kara closed her eyes and allowed the lives of those around her to consume her thoughts as they were far less complicated than her own.

By the time Kara finished her soup and her crab cake, Cathryn was an hour late. Kara glanced more frequently at her watch, as if by doing so Her wayward lunch date would appear in front of her, offering heartfelt apologies for why she was late.

Except that never happened. Cathryn never showed up.

Lily, the kind young woman that she was, didn't comment on how Kara's guests never arrived. She dutifully brought over the check and hoped that Kara had enjoyed her lunch—which she hadn't even been able to enjoy—and wished her a good day. Kara left her a 100% tip, as Kara did appreciate Lily's discretion when it came to the other wait staff who had whispered in her ear their questions about Kara. Lily had waved them all away and remained polite and kind the two hours that Kara waited for Cathryn to arrive.

Kara retrieved her coat and left the (name of restaurant) behind. She had been right, there were no members of the press to be found as she exited the restaurant and hailed a cab. A part of her wondered if that would have been the case if Cathryn had showed up. She would never know now.

Kara's car pulled up to the curb and she stepped in before the driver could come around to open the door.

Kara's mind was forced to focus on the presentation she would be presenting in less than an hour. She didn't have the time to analyze why there was a sharp ache in her chest.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"What do you mean you forgot to remind me about my lunch meeting?! How could you possibly forget to remind me? Did you not think it odd that I would ask you to fetch me lunch if I had a lunch meeting on my calendar? No-no. Don't answer that." Cat held up her hand to quiet her quivering assistant.

Cat pinched the bridge of her nose. "Who was it with again?" She turned her back on her assistant, instead she let her eyes roam around the office. The wall behind her desk was too plain. She would need to add something there. Maybe not a painting but…something.

"Ah, uhm…a K.Z."

Cat's musings stopped instantly at her assistant's uttering. K.Z. She spun around on her heels and stalked the five feet between herself and the quaking young woman and snatched the day planner from her hands. There, in blue ink, was the notation that Cat was supposed to be at lunch—three and a half hours ago—with K.Z.

Cat had been so overwhelmed that she had forgotten today was her lunch date with Kara. She could have sworn that was tomorrow. But, looking at the day planner she flipped between yesterday, today, and tomorrow's dates and it appeared that she had been mistaken. Lunch wasn't on Thursday, it was today. And she'd missed it.

"Shit, shit shit shit shit…SHIT!" Cat threw the day planner at her assistant—whose name she would now never learn—and she rushed over to her desk and picked up the phone. Except…she didn't have a number to call. She didn't even know where Kara was staying during her trip here.

Cat groaned, she was going to have to call Jonathan.

"Shit-shit-shit-shit-SHIT!" Cat grumbled as she started to dial Jonathan's number. Her ex-husband was going to have a field day with this situation. He had made it very clear in the past three months that he thought she was silly for discounting a relationship—romantic or otherwise-with Kara because of their age difference.

Cat was nearly eleven years older than Kara, and they were both in very precarious positions in their professional lives. Cat wasn't sure either one of them could handle any bad press. she knew that she certainly couldn't. Not with CatCo only just growing up from the soil beneath her feet as if by sheer force of will alone.

The last three months has been the most stressful and happy of her life. She spent as much time with Carter and Jonathan as she could, and she built her company into a worldwide media contender. It would take another 18 months before Cat could accurately decide if her projections were correct. But as of now, CatCo WorldWide Media was an infant just learning how to walk. She needed to be around as often as possible to protect it from falling or others from tripping it. Bad press would be that slimy, stuck out foot just waiting to watch her baby topple over.

Cat wouldn't let that happen, not now. Not when she was so close to having everything she'd ever wanted in business, and in her personal life.

"Jonathan McCaffery's office, Margaret speaking, how may I help you?"

"Margaret, it's Cat. Put Jonathan on the phone."

"Oh, of course Miss Grant. Transferring you now."

The phone rang three times before Jonathan picked it up, "Jonathan McCaffery speaking." In the background Cat could hear Carter giggling at something Jonathan was doing. The sound of her happy little boy made her smile brightly, even through the dread she felt building in her chest.

"Jonathan. I need you to do something for me. And not make a big deal over this. I'm beginning to panic, and I don't think I could handle your sassing right now. Can you do that for me? Please?"

"Woah, woah, Cat? Okay. Okay, first are you alright?"

"Yes, yes. I am…" Cat looked behind her towards the open bullpen area and her assistants—ex-assistant's (once she could touch base with a temp agency) desk. "No. No, I'm not, Jonathan. I am three minutes away from freaking out." Cat openly admitted in hushed tones, her head dropping low as she spoke into the phone she held tightly against her ear.

"Okay, just take a moment to breathe. Sit down and breathe deeply. In and out. That's it. A deep breath in….and a deep breath out. There you go. Calm down. Everything's going to be alright. Now, start from the beginning and let me see how I can help."

Cat did as Jonathan instructed, taking the deep breathes and letting them out through pursed lips. It helped calm her racing heart and feel less like she was going to throw up any second.

Oh god…What had she done?

"What happened, Cat? Talk to me."

"I, I thought today was—I don't know what day I thought it was. I just thought that I didn't have lunch with her until tomorrow. I thought it was tomorrow, Jonathan. What am I going to do!?" The woman who had given CatCo twenty million dollars. She'd stood up her largest benefactor. She stood up the woman who had saved her life, the life of her son!

Cat's mind started to run wild with what ifs as she tried to figure out what to do. How she could fix the mess that she had put herself in? Tapping her pen against her bottom lip she focused. How could she make this right with Kara? What would she need to do to mend fences with the sensitive, shy young woman?

Kara wasn't like any other millionaire that Cat had wined and dined and charmed. Kara was special, in so many more ways than one. This wouldn't be about flattery or expensive gifts to apologize. Kara could easily afford any gift Cat could buy her. The only way this apology could work was if it was heartfelt, if Kara believed she truly meant it.

That's when it clicked. "Jonathan! Do you have any idea where she's staying?"

Jonathan hummed, "Hmm…let me see." He started rifling through his paperwork that was stacked in mini towers of organized chaos. He'd written it down somewhere… "Gotcha. She's staying at The Heartford."

That was all Cat needed to know. "I hope not to be home early this evening."

Jonathan laughed, "I'd rather you didn't come home at all if it means you finally get your head out of your a…"

Cat hung up, refusing to listen to anything her busybody ex-husband had to say about why he'd be happy she didn't come home tonight. He had some crazy notion in his head that Kara Zorel might be romantically interested in her. Cat thought it was absurd. Kara was too…innocent wasn't the right word. The horrors that Kara had experienced would have stolen the innocence that most would think Kara possessed. Yet, Cat understood Kara's differences had kept her at arm's length from people. Her experiences had sheltered her in a way innocence sheltered children.

Cat sent out several emails, postponing her meetings for the rest of the day, a job she would normally have her assistant handle. But the woman was as good as fired as soon as Cat had time to call the temp agency and have a replacement available for her tomorrow morning.

"Make sure that not one phone call is missed. I want detailed messages, names and numbers and times they call ready for me tomorrow morning." Cat ordered as she grabbed her bag, by the time she made it to the elevator her assistant had already called for it, and the doors opened as she stepped to it. When they moved locations—her projections showed within the next seven years CatCo would need its own skyscraper—she was designing it with a private elevator. The germs alone in this crowded death trap were things of nightmares.

"Yes, Miss Grant. Of course."

Cat sighed as the doors closed on the young woman's face. Maybe she wouldn't fire her. It wasn't her fault that Cat had given her the wrong day.

Cat would wait to call the temp agency, her assistant's future now rested in the balance of how well seeing Kara Zorel went.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Kara smiled as she relaxed into the largest lounge chair her suite at The Hartford hotel had to offer. It was placed in the corner of the room next to the large bay windows overlooking National City, with perfect line of sight of the door into the suite. She put the hotel phone in her lap and dialed her home number. With only a few rings Clark answered the phone.

"Hey Kara! How's National City?!" The sound of Clark's voice settled the uneasy feelings swaying to and fro within Kara's chest. It was amazing how Clark could always settle her when her mind was a turbulent mess. He was her rock, the only thing that kept her whole.

"The city is as it always is, Clark."

Kara could practically hear Clark roll his eyes, "How are you doing in the city then?" Clark hated how literal Kara could be, it was a quirk that he secretly didn't mind as much as he pretended to.

"I'm doing well. The business deal has been completed. I should be returning to Metropolis sooner than expected."

"I thought you needed the whole week?" Clark questioned, surprise lacing his voice.

"You can stay with the Danvers for the rest of the week, if you'd like. I don't want to interrupt your time with them. They have spoken of how much they miss you."

"No, I mean, thanks. That sounds nice. We're having a really nice time. I just, I thought you know…maybe there'd be a reason for you to stay longer."

Kara sighed, her fingers reaching down to play with the material of her pajama pants. They had been a Christmas gift from Eliza and Jeremiah last year. They were fluffy and had pictures of Hello Kitty on them, but they were her favorite. They were gentle against her skin and the shirt was the softest silk one could buy, which saved her the discomfort of rougher material irritating her scars.

"It appears there isn't any reason to stay in National City any longer than necessary. Once I've contacted the pilot I will be sure to call with my flight information. But I'll be staying with Barbara for the rest of the week."

"No! You should come home. It'd be nice for all of us to be together again, that is if you don't need to stay in National City." He seemed disappointed. Kara knew he wouldn't be the only one disappointed with her early return.

"It seems there isn't a reason that I should stay here in National City, Clark."

Clark puffed out irritated breaths, which was usually accompanied by him tugging at the top of his head on the hair that kept growing and growing longer and longer. Kara would have preferred if he cut it, but he liked it long.

"What happened?" His voice was soft, gentle, like he was talking to a skittish creature that his only goal was to comfort.

"It's of no real consequence, Clark. I will be fine." Kara hated that he needed to be so gentle with her, so soft and soothing and careful so as not to make her break. Her body may be as strong as steel, but her soul was tattered and torn, the wounds from four years ago still healing.

"Will be implies that you're not fine right now." Kara could hear the frown in his voice. "Did Ms. Grant say something that hurt your feelings?"

"No, she did not." Ms. Grant hadn't said anything to her since they'd hastily arranged these plans almost a month ago. After all, the woman hadn't deigned Kara worth the time to show up to their lunch. The sting of that rejection was unfamiliar; Kara was not used to feeling this type of disappointment.

"Then what happened?" Clark asked, exasperated that he had to pull teeth to get Kara to explain what was bothering her.

"Ms. Grant did not…"

*KNOCK* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

Kara froze, her head whipping to the side to stare at the door. She squinted as she stared at the door, her eyes peering at the lead lined door as if she could see through it. Kara growled, she should have made sure to stay in a room that did not have a lead lined door.

"Clark, someone is at the door. I need to go."

"No! No!" Clark screamed into the line in a sudden panic. "You aren't expecting anyone, are you?"

"No."

"Then stay on the line! Don't hang up on me until you see who it is."

Kara sighed, but did as Clark asked, she picked up the cradle of the phone and carried it as far as it would go before resting it on the other side table and using the stretch cord to keep it against her ear as she made it to the door. Kara kept the secondary lock set and opened the door a crack, her shoulder resting against it in case she needed to use her strength and body weight to knock it closed.

"Who is it?" Kara asked, body tense, muscles taught, ready.

"Room…" A throat was cleared, and all sarcasm was gone, "It's Cat."

Kara's eyes widened, and she closed the door with a quick slam. She could hear Cat's gasp of surprise and then her shoulder heavy sigh. The slam of the door must have echoed through the phone because Kara could hear Clark panicking, and Eliza's voice asking him what was wrong.

"Kara…Kara?!"

Kara heard Cat's feet shuffle this way and that outside the door, pacing in front of it. She threw the latch to the side and opened the door a crack, and a loud enough "Come in…" before her focus was back on the phone to calm a panicking Clark.

"Clark, I'm fine. I'm fine. It's just Miss Grant. Please, Clark. Calm down. I'm fine. It's okay. Everything is bright." They had code words for their current situation so if they were ever in trouble but didn't want to make it obvious that they were calling for help, or back up, they could say words like "bright, dark, hazy, cloudy, muggy" and the other would know what was happening and what type of assistance was needed.

"Kara?" Cat's voice called into the room as her head poked around the door.

Kara's attention was on the phone she cradled tightly against her ear. Kara could hear Clark's breathing start to even out, but it wasn't Clark's voice that came over the phone line, it was Eliza's. "Okay, Good. Touch base again in an hour anyway."

"I will." Kara promised.

"I've got Clark. Have fun on your trip."

Kara felt her heart clench in her chest, she hadn't meant to worry him enough to cause him to panic. Both Kryptonians had anxiety regarding the other's safety in ways not many people could understand.

Kara sighed heavily and walked back to put the phone on its cradle before she turned her attention to Cat. The woman stood in the doorway, the door still slightly open as her hand rested on the doorknob. Cat was dressed in cream colored slacks and a sky-blue blouse that made her hazel eyes shimmer a deeper green than Kara remembered them being. Kara looked down at her own outfit and her lips drew into a thin line, her hello kitty pants mocking her as she silently damned them for being so comfortable.

"Was that Clark?" Cat asked of the phone Kara had just hung up.

"Yes, I wasn't expecting any guests. I became…apprehensive." That seemed like the appropriate word to use. Especially when she hadn't told Cat where she would be staying, and if she had come to the hotel Kara's reservations were made under a different name, she shouldn't have been able to locate her. And yet, here she was, standing in the doorway of her hotel room.

Cat's eyes widened, as if understanding why Kara would be 'apprehensive' at receiving a guest she wasn't expecting. "I apologize, I should have called first." Especially knowing intimate knowledge of Kara's past. "I wanted to come and say how truly; truly sorry I am for missing lunch."

"You could have offered the apology over the phone. I understand that you must be incredibly busy, and lunch with an associate isn't at the top of your list of priorities."

Cat internally flinched at the veiled jab. Externally she frowned and shook her head sadly as she closed the door and stepped into the room.

"You're right, I could have called. But you're wrong, lunch with you is –was– a priority of mine. I could offer you a dozen excuses for how I lost track of time and the very date, but I'm not going to. I didn't come here to give you excuses. I came here to tell you I'm sorry that I left you waiting for me at that restaurant. I came to tell you that I have been looking forward to meeting with you all month, and—and to ask you..." To what, Cat thought. She hadn't made it this far into her plan yet. She'd been far too focused on making sure she could offer her apology to Kara face to face.

"To ask me what, Miss Grant?"

Cat slapped her palms against the side of her thighs. "I don't…dinner?"

"I've already eaten." Kara lied, crossing her arms over her chest and raised a brow as she stared at Cat, wondering if the media mogul had anything better to offer.

"A late-night snack then? Room service, or the best pizza in National City?"

"I don't eat pizza."

"Thai?"

"No."

"Indian?"

"Nope."

"Chinese?" Cat asked, already forming Japanese on her tongue figuring Kara would say no to Chinese as well. But when Kara faltered in saying no, or saying anything, Cat smirked.

"I know a hole in the wall that has the best Chinese on the West coast. I can have the best pot stickers and egg rolls you've ever tasted here in forty minutes!" Cat held her breath as Kara seemed to weigh her options.

"If I said no?"

"I'd stand here offering up options until I've exhausted my long list of cuisines."

Kara sighed, her eyes finding the floor. She didn't understand her own actions. A part of her wanted Cathryn to stay, the other part of her wanted nothing to do with the other woman at the moment. She was still bitter over being stood up; she could recognize that at least. What she couldn't recognize was why she couldn't so easily gloss over it. Why she was making Cathryn work to gain her forgiveness.

"Kara, please. I'm sorry. An hour and a half of your time, a few hours late, but I'd like to spend it with you. I'd like to hear about how your meeting went today, about how Clark is doing..." Maybe even ask Kara a few questions about the night Carter was born.

Cat knew, without a doubt, she would not be standing in anyone else's hotel room begging them for forgiveness and 90 minutes of their time. This need to apologize and subject herself to this humiliation was only because it was Kara Zorel that she had stood up. Kara was the woman who saved her son's life, her life, gave her the money to accomplish her dream, her life goal, all in the span of three days.

Kara saw the earnestness in Cathryn's eyes as well as her determination. Kara was sure if she refused the Chinese food Cat would stand there offering 20 different cuisines, many of which Kara wouldn't have heard of. The thought of that made her lips quirk up into a small smile. "Chinese sounds good. If these pot stickers aren't the best, I've ever had you'll owe me." Kara warned.

Cat's eyes twinkled, "Fair, though, if they are as good as I say, what do I get?"

Kara floundered for a moment, her senses easily picking up on the changes in Cathryn's tone, scent, sound of her accelerated heartbeat. "What, what would you want?" Kara asked, her fingers grasping onto the sides of her PJs to find comfort in brushing over the material.

"Your friendship." Cat spoke without even realizing what she was saying until she'd said it.

Kara's eyes widened, and her cheeks blushed a soft hue of pink as her lips quirked up into the most adorable smile Cat had ever seen.

"You have that already." Kara whispered, her eyes shying away from staring at the older woman.

"Well, now I'd like to earn it." Cat stepped forward before stopping. She wanted to rest her hand on Kara's arm, but she recalled how Kara withdrew from physical contact and stayed where she was.

"Very well." Kara picked up the phone and handed it to Cathryn. "We shall see if your Chinese food is as good as you say."

Cat picked up the phone with a smile and flourish and dialed away.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Cat was stuffed. She couldn't possibly eat another bite. It appeared that Kara could though, as the woman demolished another helping of pot stickers. Leaning back in her chair Cat watched as the other woman silently consumed her meal.

During their wait for the food they had a chance to talk. Kara asked compelling questions about CatCo and how everything was going. Cat asked about Clark and how things at Wayne Corp were fairing. Then Kara had asked about Carter and how his health was. It surprised Cat to learn that Kara had taken care of Clark as an infant. The age difference shouldn't have surprised Cat, but the boy wasn't as young as she thought he was. He was actually a few years older, which made Kara that much younger when she'd helped take care of him, and they'd lost their parents.

Kara didn't talk about them much or how they died, just that she had become Clark's guardian when he was nearly four years old. Jonathan and Martha were their names. Kara said their names with love and the deepest sadness Cat had ever heard. Cat had quickly changed the subject after making a note that Kara's father shared the same name as her soon to be ex-husband. The reporter in her wanted to know more, but the friend left the subject alone.

"You were right."

Cat blinked away her thoughts and paid closer attention to Kara. "I'm sorry?"

Kara repeated herself, "You were right. These are the best pot stickers I've ever had."

Cat beamed, "Then I suppose you'll have to come back to National City more often to enjoy them."

"So long as the company stays the same, I believe that can be arranged."

Cat laughed, "I'll make sure to be there on time. Though, you might be seeing more of me sooner than you'd like."

"I could never not want to see you more." Kara blushed a deep crimson but said nothing more on the subject.

It took Cat a moment to compose herself, her own blush flaming across her cheeks at Kara's honest reply.

"Well…" She cleared her throat, "…be that as it may, CatCo is going to be opening its second headquarters in the next six months."

"That's wonderful. That's almost a year faster than you'd projected." Kara sat forward in her seat and fiddled with her glasses in a way that bespoke her interest in the subject.

"It is. It's very exciting. You can imagine how busy I've been with preparations…" Cat laughed, shaking her head at the 'kid in a candy' store excitement that was flowing off Kara in endearing waves.

"The new location, have you picked the destination? It was between Paris and Metropolis in your…" Kara stopped talking and smiled brightly, realizing what had started this part of the conversation in the first place. "You've chosen Metropolis."

"I have. I am currently looking to find an appropriate architect to remodel one of two sites we've already chosen."

"Bruce will be…thrilled." Kara sarcastically commented, a smirk in her eyes.

"That dark knight can be as thrilled as he'd like. CatCo is going to be sprouting roots all over the world soon, and there is nothing that can stop that."

The type of determination and steadfast strength that Cat exuded reminded Kara a little bit of her Aunt Astra. There was a real power that Cat held, even if she were just human. Kara could not imagine the media mogul ever not getting what she wanted. There was just an air about Cathryn that made her so much more than ordinary.

"I have little doubt in your capabilities, Miss Grant."

"Oh Kara, what have I been saying all night?"

"For me to call you Cat." Kara recited it as if she were answering a question that decided whether she passed or failed a class.

"And why haven't you?" Cat took a sip from her glass of water—the wine offered at this hotel wasn't to her liking after all and she'd prefer to be sober in the presence of Kara Zorel.

Kara upturned her nose in a true show of distaste, "I do not wish to refer to you as if you were a feline."

Cat nearly spit out her water, rather she just ended up choking on it as it went down the wrong pipe.

Kara rushed quickly across the room and patted Cat on her back, the touch hardly anything more than a caress as Kara's eyes were wide with concern, her free hand trembling with uncertainty. Humans were so fragile, and she had seen this woman at her frailest, something she never wanted to see ever again.

"I'm okay," Cat wheezed as she took another sip from her water, her choking spasms decreasing as she breathed in deeply.

"You have a very strong name, Cathryn. It means pure of heart or clear in Latin. There are numerous variations of the name for different cultures and…"

"Kara, Kara!" Cat laughed as she waved her hand in front of herself to make Kara stop reciting as if from a dictionary about her name. "Thank you for the lesson. I'll keep that in mind."

"Why do you not like your name?" Kara asked, tilting her head to the side in curiosity.

"Who says I don't like my name?" Cat asked as she hid a grimace behind her glass of water.

"Your left eyebrow tilts inwards every time you hear me say it." Kara didn't mention that she could also sense how Cat's pulse jumped and her skin temperature raised an infinitesimal amount.

"Very astute of you." Cat blandly stated as she swirled the clear liquid in her glass around, a part of her wishing it were vodka and she could drown away this conversation with alcohol.

"You do not need to tell me. There are many things that bother me as well that I am not always willing to discuss." Kara shared, feeling an awkwardness reemerge that hadn't been present since they'd sat down to enjoy their meal together.

Cat sighed, watching as Kara's face fell into what should be considered a pout, but was a merely unjudging understanding. Cat couldn't believe that she was about to talk about why she didn't like her given name. She hadn't talked about this with Jonathan until they'd been married for a year and she'd had four too many martinis.

"I'm named after my mother." Cat raised her hand, stalling Kara from saying something about how honorable that is or something just as sappy and sweet. "My mother is the cruelest person I've ever met, and I've been working my way up the corporate latter as a blonde-haired woman in a male dominated field. So that's saying something." Cat sighed heavily as she put down her glass of water, almost bitter at it for being alcohol free. "I don't like my name because I'm named after the one person in the world who hates me more than anyone."

Kara internally cringed, wondering how a mother could hate her own child. She didn't question if that were true, that would belittle the honest answer Cat was trusting her with.

"And my mother hated when her name was shortened to Cat or Cath. So, naturally as a teenager I made sure people called me Cat." Cat shook her head from side to side, "I'm sorry. This isn't exactly dinner conversation…"

Kara panicked for a moment. She wanted Cat to understand that she was grateful for the trust Cat was placing on her by telling her this truth. A truth that obviously hurt Cat on a deeply emotional level. With little thought Kara reached out, her hand touching Cat's gently as she squeezed it in reassurance. Her own face surely in a grimace as the mere act of touching another person was hard for her. Her muscles tightened but she forced herself to offer Cat a gentle smile and softened her eyes as she peered into the green orbs of her…her friend.

Cat's eyes winded as she felt Kara touch her hand. She knew that Kara suffered from hapnophobia, meaning Kara had a fear of being touched or touching someone. The fact that Kara was willingly touching her—again—made Cat's heart flutter in her chest.

"I am honored that you would share that with me. If you truly wish for me to call you Cat, then I shall."

"No…" Cat blinked out of her stupor as Kara removed her hand from hers. She instantly missed the softness of it. "…No. I like when you call me Cathryn. Makes me think I deserve to be considered pure of heart."

"You do!" Kara insisted immediately.

"We'll see if you're still saying that in a few years from now, hmmm?"

"I doubt there is anything you could do Cathryn, that would make me think differently about you then I do now."

Cat smiled indulgently at Kara, sure that as the years passed, and their friendship deepened and grew Kara would find herself regretting her words. But a small, very small, part of Cat hoped she wouldn't. She hoped, deeply within her very soul, that Kara's opinion of her only grew rather than dwindled.

"We'll see." Cat promised.

Kara just smiled, and Cat couldn't help it as she smiled back, butterflies fluttering around unabashedly in her chest as she stared into the deepest blue eyes she'd ever seen.

Later that night as Cat drove home to Jonathan and Carter, she found herself smiling foolishly at nothing but the open road in front of her. Because as crazy as it might seem from the outside Cat was sure she had just gained a true friend in Kara Zorel. Somehow, after everything they'd been through together, and everything they were sure to go through together still, friendship had followed.

The End