Whew, sorry for leaving you hanging like that! Thank you for your reviews of the last chapter. I have to warn you that this one is very dark and upsetting.

Kara feels like she's having an out-of-body experience.

She can't process what's happening in front of her anywhere near as fast as it's happening.

It's all too much.

The shriek of the heart monitor and the contrasting silence of Lena's heart.

The horrid sound that comes from Lena's chest as Alex compresses it as she fights, fights, fights to revive her.

The squeak of the defibrillator as it charges and the thud of Lena's limp body as it bangs violently against the bed.

The pounding in her own head that clouds her brain and worsens with every second that passes.

The stillness of the strikingly beautiful woman whom she has come to love more than anything else in the universe.

"Agent Danvers," someone, Kara thinks J'onn, says. His voice is solemn and he places a hand on Alex's shoulder as she continues compressions.

Everybody knows what that means. No one wants to admit it. No one wants to believe what it implies.

She can't be dead. It's not possible, so Alex doesn't stop trying to make sure that she's not.

"Agent Danvers," J'onn tries again.

"No."

Kara watches through blurred eyes as Alex shrugs off J'onn and begins to press harder against Lena's chest. She feels the arm that Maggie has wrapped around her waist tighten and without knowing it, Kara squeezes Maggie's hand, almost too tight.

The detective doesn't have it in her to say anything. She's not sure that she even could if she tried. Her throat feels like it burns as she tries to fight the tears that are already slipping down her cheeks and her breaths are short and shallow.

J'onn looks around the med bay at the faces of the four people who mean more to him than anyone else on Earth.

He sees the determination set in Alex's jaw as she wills Lena's heart to work.

He sees the shock mingled with slight pain in Maggie's as she holds Kara, gripping onto her as if to support herself almost as much as the Kryptonian.

He sees the disbelief, the fear, the despair in Kara's half-glazed eyes as they stare at her sister and her girlfriend, the two people whom she would do anything to protect and save.

Finally, despite the tension and the panic and the dread that has overcome everyone in the room, he sees Lena's tranquillity. Her body only moves because Alex's powerful compressions force it to. Her eyes have fallen closed and the rosy colour in her cheeks has long gone. He feels her mind slip away and that's when he knows that Alex's desperate attempts to save her are futile.

"Alex," J'onn says, his voice a little more firm but still gentle. "You have to call it."

Alex doesn't want to call it. She doesn't want to be the one to pronounce her sister's girlfriend dead.

She can't be dead, she just can't be. She was fine fifteen minutes ago. Sure, she was under the influence of some particularly evil Red Kryptonite and had verbally abused pretty much everyone in the building but she was alive and seemingly getting better. That was a thousand times better than what they're facing now.

Alex knows she's failed. She's failed Lena, she's failed Kara, she's failed herself.

And now she's going to break her sister's heart.

She looks over at Kara through glistening eyes, through her hair that has fallen free from her ear. She notices the death grip that Kara has on Maggie's hand, the way that she's using it to steady herself. She can see the way that her legs threaten to buckle beneath her. She can see her bottom lip trembling as her crinkle creases across her forehead.

It kills Alex to see Kara like this, but the thing that crushes Alex's soul in its entirety is having to witness the terrified face of the little girl who arrived almost fourteen years ago and had just lost her entire world because it's happening all over again.

"I'm sorry." Alex's voice is barely a whisper. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

She's sorry to Lena for getting it wrong, for not bringing her back, for not saving her.

She's sorry to Kara for letting her down, for failing to protect her from hurt and pain like she always promised she would.

She's sorry that the world has lost an incredible mind, an incredible person who only ever worked to change it for the better.

Alex looks away from Kara as she stops giving compressions. She takes a small step away from Lena's med bed, almost bumping into J'onn who places his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

She takes a long deep breath, which seems so wrong when Lena can't, before glancing at her watch. She can't bring herself to look up at she speaks so she keeps her steely gaze averted to the ground. The words crack and catch in her throat and they devastate every person in the room as her wavering voice trembles through the heavy air.

"Time of death, 04:22."

/

Lena Luthor was nothing like her poisonous family, but she still couldn't get away from her name. In the end, that was what killed her.

She tried every day to make the world a better place, to create technology that could save lives, to put her immense knowledge, power and wealth to the most important and unselfish uses.

She fought even harder to prove that a Luthor could be good, that not all Luthors were warped mass murderers with an anti-alien agenda.

She helped to stop alien invasions and save National City and the world, but for the right reasons. She openly dismissed Cadmus and their sick beliefs and twisted methods.

She even turned in her own mother to the cops. Twice.

But in the end, no matter how much distance she put between herself and her family - which could never be enough for her - it still caught up with her and ultimately cost her her life.

It didn't seem fair that she should die when she seemingly had so much life ahead of her. Regardless of all the incredible things she achieved in her short time on Earth, there was so much she didn't get to do, like truly change people's perception of her or learn a new language or see the Northern Lights or climb Mount Everest or cure cancer. She never moved in with Kara or proposed to her as they shared a picnic in the summer sun beside the Eiffel Tower or held her close as they slow-danced at their wedding or shared their first anniversary dinner on the canals of Venice or had the family she knew they both wanted or got to grow old with the woman she loved.

Despite all of those things, there's only one thing that Kara wants and that's to tell Lena that she loves her more than all the stars in the sky.

But Lena will never hear those words again.

She'll never see Kara's face light up when she walks into a room, she'll never hear the sweet giggles that used to make her insides turn to mush.

Kara will never see those beautiful green eyes staring deep into her soul or feel Lena's comforting body heat beside her as they snuggle together in bed.

She'll never hear her heart beat again.

"Kara!"

Alex's cry doesn't do much to snap Kara from her haze. Her eyes are completely vacant, staring straight ahead and somewhere in her mind she registers that she's sitting on the floor, though she doesn't know how she got there and she can't focus her mind enough to even think about caring. She feels Maggie's hand on her shoulder as the detective crouches beside her, but something inside Kara finally snaps when Alex sits next to her.

A sudden loud strangled sob escapes Kara's lips. It cuts through the air like a knife. There's the tiniest of silences as she tries to inhale but her lungs scream, her brain screams, her heart screams and the silence turns to wailing.

Alex pulls Kara's head to her chest, wraps one arm around her shaking body and gently runs her free hand through soft blonde curls. Alex rests her cheek atop her sister's head and periodically plants long, comforting kisses into her hair. She moves her hand from Kara's hair to rub it up and down her back before wrapping it around her and squeezing her as tightly as her human body will allow. She doesn't know whether Kara recognises any of it but it doesn't matter because it's all Alex can do to comfort her little sister and make her feel like she's not entirely useless.

Kara wails, tears pouring freely from her scrunched eyes. Her whole body judders with each sharp but shallow inhalation and as she grabs Alex's arm and shirt, she's scared of ever letting go in case something happens to her too because the people she loves the most always end up leaving her.

Maybe Lena would have been safer if Kara had never loved her at all.

Alex holds Kara tighter and tighter before beginning to slowly sway slightly from side to side and shush quietly into Kara's hair. Maggie kneels beside them and wraps her arms around both of them and she can sense immediately that Alex is crying properly now too. She knows that she'll be blaming herself and that she needs to show her that it's not her fault, but for now all her girls need is to be held and comforted and loved, so that's what Maggie does. She can't help the tears that slip silently down her cheeks as she mourns the loss of Lena and cries over the pain that her Danvers girls are feeling, because she feels it too.

J'onn has watched this entire exchange from Lena's bedside. The room seems so much quieter without Lena's extraordinary mind buzzing in it. Hers and Alex's were always especially loud because of their immense knowledge the fact that they were always alert and switched on to everything, their minds constantly ticking, ticking, ticking.

He can't help but feel the grief of losing another daughter. Of course they weren't bonded by blood, but she was just as much his daughter as Kara and Alex and Maggie so he feels the pain of the loss just like he does when any of them get hurt or are in serious danger. As his papa bear instincts kick in, he finds himself on the floor beside them, holding all three of them in his tight embrace. He can sense their desolation and shock through the silence of their thoughts.

The four of them remain huddled on the floor for so long that no one knows how much time has passed.

No one cares because time is an irrelevance.

Despite the commotion radiating through the DEO as agents work to find Lillian and respond to other calls across the city, no one cares because for Kara time has stopped and for Lena it will never start again.

Kara cries until there's nothing left inside her. She sobs and sobs and sobs until there's nothing but a widening void of emptiness that threatens to drag her into its dark depths. She hasn't felt this lost since she first arrived on Earth.

She tries to draw comfort from Alex and Maggie and J'onn but there's nothing anyone in the world, in the multiverse could do to make her feel better right now.

Becoming Kara Danvers was a huge moment in the Kryptonian's life. It gave her the chance to live and love and restore some normalcy to her life despite her tragic past. It gave her a family and a home and a sense of belonging. It gave her the best sister anyone could ever ask for, and for that – and to Alex – she will always be indescribably grateful.

Becoming Supergirl gave her purpose. She had always wanted to be more than Cat Grant's assistant or a waitress as Noonan's. She wasn't able to look after her cousin but that didn't mean that she couldn't stop trying to help others and protect the city. Her cape and the positive impact of her house sigil gave her a new direction, another focus in her life.

But being with Lena… Lena gave Kara's life meaning. Lena taught her how to love with her whole heart, how to trust someone with her deepest secrets, how to let someone in during her darkest moments to tell her that everything would be okay. She showed her that it's okay not to be okay all the time, that sometimes it's hard to escape your past but that now is what matters.

Kara was going to tell her the truth, but she wasn't quick enough. No, she was far too slow. Lena had taught her all these things and Kara might as well have thrown them right back in her face.

A simmering anger begins to build in Kara's trembling body. Her sobs stop and are replaced by gritted teeth and a clenched jaw. She squeezes her eyes closed and her grip on the bottom of Alex's shirt tightens.

"Kara?"

Alex immediately senses the change in Kara's demeanour. She can feel her body tensing in her arms and she glances at Maggie and J'onn. From the looks on their faces, they're thinking the same thing.

"Kara?"

The Kryptonian suddenly releases her hold on Alex's shirt and struggles to get free from the caring embrace of her family. Her sudden movements shock them all. She shrugs them off and stumbles to stand, her legs unsteady beneath her.

For a moment, Kara hesitates. She sees Lena's pale body lying on he med bed and a fresh pool of tears springs to her eyes.

And then she can't look anymore.

She tears from the room, leaving a confused Alex, Maggie and J'onn scrambling to get up after her.

"Kara!"

Kara doesn't respond to Alex's calls. She powers down the hallway, ignoring the glances other agents send her way. She quickens her pace as she enters the main control room. It seems particularly busy and is buzzing with voices that overload Kara's sensitive hearing.

Upon seeing the Girl of Steel hounding through the room, the voices begin to quieten until they're nothing more than hushed whispers, especially when they see Alex, Maggie and J'onn following her.

What's up with her?

Has she been crying?

Does that mean Luthor is dead?

Maybe it's for the best.

Kara halts. The anger she already feels doubles and as she balls her fists, she sees the agent responsible for that last comment freeze.

"Kara!" Winn shouts from across the room. He had been completely oblivious to the change in atmosphere because he was so focused on his work, which seems to have paid off. "Wait up, you guys!" He scuttles from his chair as he follows Kara and her entourage, trusty tablet in hand.

Kara takes a deep breath to try to calm some of her anger, deciding to ignore the inconsiderate agent; he's not worth it. She finds her stride once more as she makes her way up the stairs towards the balcony.

"Kara!" Alex shouts again. Her heart thunders in her chest because no matter how fit she is, it's really hard to keep up with a Kryptonian on a rampage, but it bothers her more that she doesn't know what has prompted this sudden change in her sister's behaviour and there seems that there is little she can do to stop it. "Kara, please!"

"Kara, sweetie, please talk to us!" Maggie tries, but Kara doesn't stop.

Winn catches up with Alex, Maggie and J'onn. "Wh-what's going on?"

Alex keeps all her attention focused on trying to get Kara to stop, but a single look from Maggie tells Winn all he needs to know.

"Oh my God," he mutters quietly, his eyes widening in shock.

"As you were," J'onn bellows to the room, throwing one of his best glares at anyone who doesn't move immediately. Their thoughts were being far too noisy and intrusive to Kara's situation and they have jobs to do.

Alex throws a desperate look at Maggie. The detective slips her hand into her girlfriend's and gives it a tight squeeze, though it does nothing to reassure either of them.

Alex, Maggie, J'onn and Winn stand at the bottom of the stairs and watch as Kara makes it onto the balcony, looks up to the sky, pushes off from the ground and is quickly absorbed into the night.

"Where's she going?" Winn asks quietly, picking at the corner of the tablet in his hands.

Alex throws her hands up in the air. "I d-don't know," she gulps, bringing a hand to cover her eyes as she begins to cry.

"Oh, baby," Maggie coos, instantly wrapping her arms around Alex's shoulders.

There had been a time where Alex blatantly refused to cry at work because she didn't want people to know that she could. She had a tough front to maintain. Now, though, none of that matters.

Maggie can feel the sobs as they shake Alex's frame. "Hey, shhh," she whispers, planting a gentle kiss into her wavy hair. "C'mon, baby." With an arm wrapped over Alex's shoulders and the other holding the arm that covers her face, Maggie guides Alex towards her office, whispering quiet words of reassurance into her ear.

J'onn makes to follow, to be there for Alex like he was Kara but Winn stops him.

"Sir," he says, watching as Maggie closes Alex's office door behind them. "I know there's a lot going on right now but I think you'll want to see this."

J'onn puts his hands on his hips as he studies the tablet that Winn thrusts under his nose.

"It's her," Winn says as the CCTV footage he's playing shows a woman stepping out of an SUV and heading into a warehouse outside the city. "We've found Lillian Luthor."

/

The cold sting of the night air bites at Kara's cheeks.

She's hovering far above the city, high enough that it would be difficult for anyone to spot her without knowing that she's there, especially amidst the torrential rain that batters her as it falls from the rumbling clouds.

Kara hates thunderstorms. They serve as a constant reminder of everything she's lost, of her parents and her dead planet and being adrift in space.

Now they'll permanently be tied to losing Lena.

Every time there's a storm, she'll be forced to re-live the most painful part of her childhood and witness, in her mind, the death of the woman she loves over and over again. She'll never be able to escape it.

Whenever she felt scared, Lena was always there to hold her, even if she didn't know the real reason behind Kara's astraphobia.

Lena isn't here to comfort her this time, nor will she ever be again and that thought terrifies Kara more than any storm ever could.

Being so close to the clouds, the thunder booms in Kara's ears but she doesn't flinch. Even through her closed eyes she can see the flash of the lightning that forks through the dark sky. She tilts her head backwards to feel the full force of nature's brutality, to let the rain splatter against her face, run across the parts of her skin that are exposed and soak through her suit. The wind whips through her sopping blonde hair, rattles her cape and chills her to her core.

She knows that she shouldn't be able to feel the cold. That means that her powers are somewhat depleted.

And she's tired, so, so tired.

Tired from the crying and the emptiness and the never-ending rollercoaster of the last few days. Tired of always feeling scared that everyone will leave her, even if they don't mean to.

She begins to tear through the air once more, ignoring the hounding of the rain and the flashing threat overhead.

She just wants to feel anything other than the ache and the pain and the hurt that is lacing itself further and further through her entire being.

For the first time in a long time, she feels weak.

Lena had been her strength and her light and her fight so without her she is broken and this time it won't be as easy to pick up the millions of tiny pieces to put her back together again.

The first time Kara's world imploded, Alex had done a pretty damn good job of helping her to heal and feel loved and not alone, and she still does, but some of those pieces could still never be found because they were scattered across the universe, separated by hundreds of thousands of light-years and spread out amongst the stars.

This time, all of those pieces are lying together in a single bed in a cold medical wing on the other side of the city but it doesn't mean that they're going to be any easier to repair because the reason for her breaking in the first place is exactly the same.

As the jagged streaks of white lightning continue to cut violently through the sky, Kara flies so fast towards the DEO that she leaves a sonic boom tearing through the air in her wake.

Normally she's careful of breaking the sound barrier because it causes mass panic and confusion, but right now she doesn't care and the sound is partially absorbed by the deafening roar of the sky anyway.

Being out in the storm isn't curing or even suppressing any of the feelings that are jumbled and piling up inside her. She can still feel her anger fizzling away beneath the surface, burning deep into her fractured soul.

As she almost crash-lands on the slippy balcony at the DEO, there's only one place that Kara wants to go, to release the rage that is threatening to consume her. She's not ready to see Lena, her Lena, lying in that bed again, or to say goodbye, not yet, so as she steps inside and leaves long puddles of water splattering behind her, she walks purposefully in the other direction.

/

Maggie rocks Alex gently from side to side. The agent's face is pressed deep into the detective's shoulder as tears stain her shirt and soak into her skin. She presses kiss after kiss into her short hair and rubs soothing circles along the length of her back.

"I j-just want to make it all b-better," Alex mumbles into Maggie's shirt. "I couldn't save h-her. I s-should have saved her."

"Lexie, you did everything you could. No one understands human and Kryptonian DNA or Red Kryptonite like you do so if you couldn't help Lena, nobody could." Maggie speaks quietly and gently but never stops rubbing circles on Alex's back. "You tried and Kara knows that. If Lena could speak for herself, she'd say exactly the same thing. No one could or would ever blame you."

"I just don't u-understand why it d-didn't work. This should never have h-happened to Lena. We shouldn't have left her, we should have d-done more to find her, I should have done more to protect h-her, to protect both of them." Alex's voice is muffled. "And now Kara is gone too."

Maggie takes a deep breath and a moment before speaking again. She carefully pulls Alex away from her body and looks down into her favourite mahogany eyes. "Alex, listen to me. None of this is your fault and Kara will come back from this. She's one of the most resilient people I know, and it's not just because she's practically indestructible." Maggie softly caresses Alex's rosy cheeks and slowly thumbs away the tears that still slip down them.

"But what if Kara is actually gone? I can't even begin to imagine how much my world would feel like it ended if I lost you and she's already lost everything once. She didn't deserve it the first time."

"It might feel like she's lost everything but she has so many people who love her, and yeah, none of us will ever be Lena but we can show her how loved she still is and always will be. You guys are constantly saying how much stronger you are together, so we'll be her strength until she can find it and builf for herself again. I promise you that things will get better."

Alex begins to nod, accepting Maggie's words. The detective places a quick kiss on her girlfriend's lips before brushing her hair out of her face. Alex's presses her forehead against Maggie's and they sit like that, eyes closed, breaths deep and steadying until the door flies open.

"We've got a location on Lillian," Winn declares, jumping out of the way of the door as it rebounds back at him.

Alex immediately snaps into agent mode, leaving a stunned Maggie on the couch. "Get a team together-"

"Babe, wait!" Maggie shoots out of the room to follow Alex. "Ally!"

"What is it with you guys and power walking today?" Winn mutters but no one hears him.

"We leave in five." Alex feels a hand on her shoulder.

"Not you, Alex," J'onn says firmly.

"But-"

J'onn waves his hand in the air to silence his best agent before placing it on his hips. "I think it's best you stay here, just this once. You've all had a lot to deal with."

"So have you! I'm coming with you." There's a steely determination to Alex's voice and Maggie picks up on the slight edge too. "I need to do this."

"What you need is to take a minute. We've got a tactical plan in place but I need you to run things here."

"No-"

"Agent Danvers-"

"I'm co-"

"Stop arguing!" Maggie shouts at both of them. They stare at her, a little shocked. "You're giving Lillian exactly what she wants!" She can see Alex's frustration and completely understands why she feels that way but this is doing nothing to help them catch Lillian. "Alex, J'onn's right, you should stay here in case Kara comes back. She's gonna need you now more than ever."

Alex takes long, deep breaths to try to rein in her annoyance. Deep down she knows that J'onn is doing what's best for her, even if all she wants is to be the one to bring Lillian in, lock her in a cell and throw away the key. Most of all, she knows that Maggie is right. Alex needs to take a step back, compose herself and be there for her sister.

"Fine," Alex mutters. "But the second you bring her in here, I call dibs on her interrogation."

"You and Kara both," J'onn says, knowing that Maggie feels the same too.

"Uh, yeah, about Kara," Winn begins. He flinches a little under Alex's tough gaze as it turns to him. "She came in here about ten minutes ago."

"What? Why didn't you tell us?" Alex does her best to hold her tongue.

"I guess I thought she'd want her space," Winn responds quietly.

Alex's stare softens when she sees that Winn thought he was doing the right thing. "Where is she?" She asks a little more gently.

"I think she was heading towards the training room."

/

Concrete crumbles to the floor and sends plumes of dust billowing into the air.

Kara's clenched fist pummels a training pillar unrelentingly, sending cracks raging through the concrete. Each violent punch is accompanied by a cry of anger and frustration and sadness. Each superhuman thwack grumbles through the room and sends vibrations through the floor. Every tired connection doesn't make her feel any better and that only makes her blows harder.

She delivers a single brutal kick to the centre of what remains of the pillar and watches as it topples to the ground with an almighty thud.

Kara stares at it, her shoulders rising and falling significantly with every ragged breath through gritted teeth. Her hands stay closed and clench tighter and tighter until she can't hold it in anymore.

Heat vision surges from her eyes and rips through the pillar, splitting the little that remaines in half. A deep guttural roar builds in her throat and escapes from her lips as she pours every last ounce of energy into the searing power that pours from her eyes.

When the heat eventually dissipates and she has nothing left, Kara falls to her knees. She feels a pair of arms catch her from behind as she drops, preventing her from collapsing completely. Her heart skips a beat until she realises that it can't be Lena.

Alex lowers Kara into a sitting position, keeping an arm wrapped around her as she sits down next to her. They sit in total silence and Alex doesn't even begin to try to assess the damage that Kara has caused to the training room.

Kara doesn't cry anymore; her eyes are dry despite the rest of her still being sopping wet from the storm. She feels too numb to do anything except stare at the wall ahead of her.

Alex sees that Kara's hands remain tightly closed. She takes one in her own and holds it tight, although it only relaxes a little and not for long.

"Winn found Lillian," Alex announces gently after a few minutes of silence. She feels Kara's body tense next to hers. "J'onn's bringing her in."

Kara nods but doesn't say anything, because there's really nothing to say.

Eventually, she moves her head so that it rests on Alex's shoulder. Her damp hair soaks her sister's shirt but Alex barely even notices. Exhausted, they sit together, their minds running over everything that has happened over the last seventy-two hours or so.

Without her powers, the weight of everything feels like it sits even heavier on Kara's shoulders. She can feel fatigue washing over her muscles and weariness overcoming her mind. Before she can even contemplate allowing herself to sleep, though, there's one more thing she has to do.

"Take me to her…" Kara's voice is tiny and quiet and it almost gets lost in the large room. "Please."

Alex twists to look at her sister. "Are you sure?"

Kara nods against Alex's shoulder.

The agent responds by lacing her fingers between Kara's, squeezing them tightly and standing up from the floor. She pulls Kara to her feet and guides her towards the med bay to see Lena there for the last time.

/

Alex doesn't have the heart to tell her sister that they're going to have to move Lena soon.

She re-draws the curtain that separates the beds and gives them privacy from prying eyes before beginning to search through various cupboards in an attempt to source what she's looking for.

Kara's eyes briefly flit up to watch Alex as she moves around the room before returning them to Lena. Her face looks peaceful, like she's sleeping.

Kara had studied her features so many times whenever she couldn't sleep. She had memorised the arch of her eyebrows, the shape of her nose, the length of her eyelashes, the fullness of her lips and the strength of her sharp jaw line.

In the daytime, Kara's favourite thing was Lena's smile and the way that she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth when she was thinking or teased her with a single raised brow.

Kara slips her hand under Lena's and rubs her thumb softly over her knuckles. It's cold, especially against Kara's skin, which is still warm despite her blowing her powers. Lena was usually cold and Kara was always the one to warm her up.

Alex drags something behind Kara, pulling her from her thoughts. She hears the flick of a switch and a faint buzzing sound, even without her enhanced hearing. She feels warmth begin to seep over her body as Alex adjusts the yellow sun lamp so that its rays fall on her.

"I'll, uh, give you some time alone," Alex says, placing her hair behind her ear. "But I'm right here if you need me."

Kara nods her thanks and Alex slips through the curtain, ensuring that it's pulled across entirely.

She finds herself familiarising her mind with Lena's features one last time and despite the length of time that Kara has been holding her hand, this time it doesn't get any warmer.

Kara is suddenly overcome with a million things that she wants to say to Lena, that she wishes she had told her when she had the chance.

"I'm sorry, Lena," she says, fighting to keep her voice steady. "I'm sorry for everything. I know that I'll never be able to make it up to you but I promise to remember you and think of you every day, to honour you in everything I do. I'll cherish every memory forever in my heart because no one will ever come close to you."

Kara sniffles. She shifts her chair forward and sees the contrast of Lena's pale skin against the golden light that fills the room before resting her head against the soft med bed. Her eyes begin to droop closed; she doesn't even realise it and she doesn't want to sleep yet, but she can't help it.

"I guess what I'm really trying to say, is thank you for being you, for loving me, for turning my life upside down and changing it for the better. I'll always, always love you, Lena Luthor."

Kara's eyes finally flutter closed and she's dragged into unconsciousness under the embrace of the sun lamp, Lena's delicate hand still resting in hers.