Lena awoke and immediately felt her heart racing in fear. She wasn't sure if it was the loud bang or Kara's scream that woke her and made her pulse quicken. She quickly turned on the lamp beside Alex's bed and strained her eyes to see Kara. She had taken her contacts out before bed and her glasses were still at the bottom of her backpack. Kara was sitting upright in her bed, holding her palms to her ears as tears streamed down her cheeks. It took Lena less than a second to run across the room and leap into Kara's bed, taking the taller girl into her arms. Kara allowed herself to lean into Lena.

"I'm so sorry," Kara whispered.

"For what?"

"Uh... Waking you up?"

Lena chuckled softly. "You're too polite for your own good."

Just then lighting struck somewhere nearby and the rumbling thunder shook the small house. Kara jumped and pressed her palms harder to her ears.

"It's just thunder, Kar. Everything is going to be okay."

Kara looked into Lena's eyes and nodded as more tears fell. She pushed her head into Lena's shoulder allowing for Lena to hold her closer.

There was a soft knock at the bedroom door and Eliza entered.

"Kara, are you alright?"

Kara did not answer. Lena forced a smile. "She will be."

Eliza did not look convinced but offered a fake smile in return. She walked over to Alex's side of the room and pulled out an iPod and earphones. She fiddled with it then placed it in Lena's hands. Lena slowly pulled Kara's hands away from her ears and plugged in the earphones. Kara moved her arms to around Lena's waist.

Eliza nodded then whispered. "She is still adjusting to this new... place. She hates loud noises and crowded places. If you are serious about being her friend you should keep this in mind. Look out for her."

"Of course, Mrs Danvers. I'll watch out for Kara."

Eliza smiled and left the room.

"It's alright, Kara. You will be fine. I'm right here."

Kara pulled an earphone out and placed that ear against Lena's chest.

"Thank you, Lena" Kara whispered.

Lena smiled then lifted a hand to stroke Kara's hair. She was not used to physical contact, in fact she hated it, but something about Kara made her want to stay in that position forever. She wasn't uncomfortable and she wasn't wishing for it to end. Kara was so strong and seemed like a literal beam of sunlight but at that moment she was fragile and broken in Lena's arms and that broke Lena's heart. For the first time in her life Lena felt like she had an actual responsibility... One that she cared about at least. She felt that she needed to protect Kara. With Lex she wanted to protect him but she knew that what he was doing was wrong and she made the painful decision to let go. She could not protect someone that so desperately wanted to murder. Kara was different. She was pure. Lena had not known her for very long but she could tell. Lena had a bad history with people, they always played on her feelings to get what they wanted. It had destroyed Lena over and over again. Kara had a kind heart that shined right through her doubt and low expectations. Kara was pure and Lena needed to make sure that she stayed that way.

An hour went by and the storm seemed to pass on. Kara reluctantly released her grip on Lena and leaned back. She put the iPod beside her bed and smiled at Lena through red cheeks and puffy eyes.

"You okay?" Lena asked.

Kara nodded then mumbled, "Your heartbeat is pretty."

Lena raised an eyebrow then laughed softly.

When Kara finally broke eye contact she noticed the large dark spot on Lena's shirt. Her eyes widened. "Oh Rao! I'm such a baby! My tears completely destroyed your shirt!"

Lena laughed. "It's your shirt and as far as I know your tears aren't laced in chlorine. It will dry. What is a Rao?"

Kara did not reply, she simply turned and walked to her closet and fished out another sweater for Lena to wear.

Lena rolled her eyes and laughed at Kara when she threw it at her.

"Fine. I'll change."

Lena hurried off to the bathroom to change. When she returned she found Kara on the far end of the room. Seated infront of a large canvas. She looked focused so Lena slowly walked around her, for the first time noticing the amount of canvases piled on one another. Lena had never seen that many paintings in one room, and she had been to many art galleries.

"What are you painting?" Lena asked quietly.

"This...uh... This place that I dream of sometimes."

Lena smiled as she sat on the floor and began going through the piles of paintings.

Kara had many paintings of Alex, Eliza and who she assumed was her adoptive father that died. There were also paintings of other people, people Kara assumed were Kara's biological family. There was also one of what looked like a baby superman. Majority of the paintings were landscapes of which many had a red tint to them. Was this Kara's dreamland? It was beautiful. Lena got lost in the artwork. As she observed she wondered about Kara's life. Where did she come from? What happened to her family? Although many questions came to her mind, many answers came through the art too. Lena felt like she understood Kara a little more.

"Lena?"

Lena hesitantly looked away from the paintings and at Kara.

"We've been sitting here for over an hour. Do you want to go sleep? It's almost four."

Lena looked at her watch. They had indeed been awake for over two hours. Lena smiled and got up. They both climbed into their seperate beds and turned the lights out.

Just as Lena began slipping into sleep, Kara spoke.

"Thank you Lena. I think we could be great friends. Thank you for understanding me."

Lena couldn't help but smile. "You're an amazing person, Kara. I think we could be great friends too. Don't ever let yourself believe that you need to apologize for your existence."