"She's still not back?"

"No," Alex said shortly. J'onn had been asking her every day for almost a month. Communications with her sister were few and far between; she left Clark in charge of that side of the planet, focusing her energy in Europe and Asia. She had already captured and sent back several Cadmus operatives and stopped a trade war, and drone attacks had decreased by sixty percent in war zones. And none of it changed the fact that Alex missed her sister. Everyone at the DEO knew to stay out of her way, Maggie was consumed with wedding planning and Jeremiah was the only one that saw Lena regularly. She kept testing the eyes she had made, hoping that nothing would go wrong. Every time she drove past Kara's apartment she felt the emptiness like a fresh wound; the gossip magazines had Kara's face all over them, always next to a picture of Lena and her new boyfriend.

"Alex." J'onn waved a hand in front of her face.

The motion made her look up. "I'm going to train," she said in a shaky voice. Heading for the space to clear her head, the room where she could beat the shit out of dummies and spear bullseyes from twenty paces, she squeezed her hands into fists. She slid her gun out of its holster as she turned in the doorway, bringing it up to aim. That's for you, Nicholas Masterson. The first bullet blasted through the flimsy paper target. And you, Lena Luthor. The training dummy skidded across the floor, a hole in the middle of its head. Standing over it, she fired six more shots into its chest, breathing heavily. Fucking asshole. One more shot and then she threw the gun to the side, seizing the dummy. She lifted it up and tossed it across the room, letting out a frustrated yell; a figure standing in the doorway caught her eye and she snatched up one of the wooden knives, pulling her arm back in preparation. "Mom?"

Eliza walked into the room and took the knife from her daughter. "Hi sweetie." She opened her arms and Alex melted into them.

"I miss her," she said into her mother's embrace.

"She's out there doing great things, just like you." Her mother sighed and Alex felt it in her chest. "Have you talked to her recently?"

Alex nodded. "Six days ago. This is so...horrible. Lena Luthor, thinking she can come in here and walk all over my family and pretend like she did nothing wrong."

"She doesn't think she did nothing wrong."

"How do you know that?" Alex looked at her mother accusingly.

Eliza hesitated, knowing Alex's reaction could be volatile. "I've been talking to her."

Alex immediately stepped back. "You what?"

"I talk to her about Jeremiah's condition. I don't think she's as happy as you think she is; she and Kara loved each other." Eliza brushed Alex's hair back, wishing she would understand.

"She broke Kara's heart. She cheated on her."

"I cheated on your father and we still love each other."

"You..." Alex's voice was strained and her knees felt weak. "No you didn't."

Eliza nodded sadly. "I did. Right before Kara came to us."

Shaking her head, Alex didn't listen to what her mother was saying. "That's not true," she interrupted her. "I would've known."

"You were a child, honey. We wanted to protect you. I never brought it up, but I think you should know. Lena isn't happy, no matter what you think. You should go talk to her," Eliza encouraged.

Remembering how Kara laid on her bed for a day Alex got angry all over again. "I don't have to do anything for her. She made her bed and she gets to lie in it."

The older woman sighed, picking up the training dummy. She reset it and replaced the paper target, smoothing it out like she had smoothed out her daughters' sheets when they were younger. Her daughters who had grown up and gone out into the world and gotten hurt and could always come back to her where she would always make them tea and patch them up and send them right back out. She knew Alex hadn't always been close with Kara, but seeing how the distance between the sisters was pulling on her eldest daughter Eliza's heart ached sympathetically. "Forgiveness is a powerful thing."

"So is loyalty. And honesty. And respect. And Lena Luthor deserves none of those things from me." Alex shook her head again and left Eliza standing alone.

"Lena?" Nicholas looked up at the sound of the door opening. "Where you been?"

"Work." Lena sat down on the couch next to him and smiled. They had been living together in her apartment since that night and fallen into a routine of work and mindless sex.

He smiled back at her but it didn't reach his eyes. "Are you happy?"

"Happy?" She scoffed. "Happiness is overrated."

"But are you?"

She hesitated before answering. "I think so. Are you?"

Ignoring the question, he pulled a crumpled letter out of his jacket pocket. As he unfolded it she recognized the handwriting instantly; it was a letter she had written to Kara and never sent. Like mother like daughter. He left it on the couch with her while he went to the fridge, opening another beer. The noise of the bottle opening drew her attention and she saw with dismay that her kitchen counter by the fridge was already lined with empty bottles. He sat back down with a groan, ripping the letter from her hands. "Let's have a read, shall we?"

"Nick, it's nothing, it's old. It's not important," she said quickly.

"Old? Not important? I made you breakfast two days ago and you write about how mine isn't as good as hers," he said indidnantly. "What is this? I can never measure up?"

"It was a bad breakup," Lena defended herself, her voice raising an octave. "It was horrible and messy and she left without so much as a goodbye." Her voice caught on the word 'she' but she cleared her throat. "You are important to me, so you can't—please don't go, not over something as silly as the letter of an angry woman."

"Angry woman? You think I'm stupid? This isn't some 'silly letter', this is...I don't know what this is but it's not inconsequential." He took a swig of beer and started reading aloud in a monotone. "'Kara. Please come back, I can't do this without you. I know we left things badly and I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing by staying with Nicholas, but I know I loved you. I am still in love with you and a love like that isn't something you give up on easily. So I'm not giving up on you. I'm waiting in case you change your mind, so that if you ever miss me you know you can come home to me. Please come home.'" He crumpled up the letter and tossed it away, looking her in the eye. "I mean, what the hell, Lena. Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" The sight of her emotions crumpled up on the floor threatened to choke her and she swallowed past the lump in her throat, her back stiff.

Nicholas scratched his head and stood up. "Do you not want to be with me?"

The thought struck her that after everything she had done she would end up alone, pining after Kara, and she rebelled. "I do, I do! Want to be with you." She stood and grabbed his hand but he didn't return the gesture.

"Do you love me?"

"I—" Her breath caught and she looked at the ground. I am a terrible person. When she looked back up at him his face had darkened and she knit her eyebrows. "What's that look for?"

His arm came up in a deadly arc and she barely had time to blink before he had slapped her across the face. She stumbled back, dropping his hand and clutching her cheek with a cry of pain and surprise. Peering through her haze she saw him standing over her and his face flickered, transforming him into her mother for half a moment. This isn't real. The walls were closing in on her and she took deep breaths, her hand still on her cheek.

"You mean to say you've been leading me on? Is anything you say true?"

She let her her hand fall as she felt the blood rushing to her face, a mixture of shame and anger that made her eyes defiant. He must have seen it because the second her hand left her face his own came up again and struck her, sending her reeling back. Before she had the chance to say anything he smashed the beer bottle on the floor and slammed the bedroom door on her, leaving her alone, her cheeks burning.

Surveying the mess she ran a hand through her hair and tried to pull herself back to the present but her survival instincts were kicking in, she was already gone. She knelt down and started gathering up the pieces of broken glass, unaware that it was cutting into her hands. When she looked down and saw drops of blood dotting her white dress pants, something in her mind shifted and she rose on unsteady legs to knock on the bedroom door. After a few knocks it opened and Nicholas stood there with his shirt off. He took one look at her; her blank stare, the blood on her hands, her hunched shoulders, and sighed. "I'm so sorry, Lena. I didn't mean it. I didn't mean any of it. I know you've had a hard time with the people closest to you and if you weren't ready to say it I shouldn't have pushed you." Lena didn't say anything and he slowly uncurled her fingers, prying the broken glass from her grasp. "Baby, let go. Let it go." He tossed the glass away and swept her up bridal style, carrying her to the bed. The emptiness in her eyes made him feel even worse and he brushed her hair away from her face, kissing her forehead. "I'm so sorry."

"I have been trying and trying to understand but you are making this impossible. Alex, I just want to have a wedding, is that so hard?"

"And I'm trying to keep my family together. Kara is off doing god knows what and only calls me once a week and dad goes for his appointments with her but I don't know if he's ready. One more week," Alex pleaded.

"I already had the invitations made from the list we had so you've only got two weeks to put it off. Don't get cold feet on me, Danvers."

J'onn waved her over and Alex groaned. "Okay, okay. I'll see you later." She walked over to him, her hands on her hips. "What's up?"

"There's a disturbance in midtown, looks like a Cadmus-coordinated attack."

"Did you ask Lena's mother?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, J'onn sat down. "I did. The only good thing about having her hologram here is the information. Otherwise, it makes me uneasy."

"Well what did she say?"

"Her death set certain wheels in motion. There are things that even she doesn't know because she put the answers in the hands of her second-in-command, and the agent is asking for him." He looked up at her.

"Absolutely not."

"There's no other choice, Alex."

"He's not ready."

"He's more ready than you're willing to admit."

Crossing her arms, she frowned. "Then I'm not ready. I'm vetoing it."

"Veto?" He raised an eyebrow. "That's a power specific to the government and unhappy mothers. We are a black ops department and I am your superior. If I tell you to do something, you do it." His voice raised and Alex stepped back, narrowing her eyes.

"What is it that's bothering you?"

Sighing again, J'onn steepled his fingers and rested his head on them. "It's harder to manage with Supergirl on the other side of the world. And now, needing Jeremiah in the field—I would just feel more confident if she were here."

"I can handle my father." Alex put a comforting arm on his shoulder. "I'll go get him. Send me the location." She headed for the conference room that Jeremiah spent his time in while she was at work. When she burst into the room she interrupted a video call between her parents; Jeremiah blushed and tried to cover the screen.

"Alex!"

"What the fuck, dad! I work here!"

He pulled his pants up hastily while Eliza ducked out of the camera's view. "Honey, you should've knocked."

"Is that why you're sitting in the corner with the screen covering your—gross! Get up. We have somewhere to be."

"Hi sweetie," Eliza called from the computer.

"Hi mom." Alex averted her eyes and shuddered. "We're leaving. No news on Kara," she said shortly. She dragged her father out of the room by his collar much to his chagrin and the amusement of the other agents. Stopping before the truck, she pointed a finger at him. "We are never speaking of this ever again."

He nodded quickly, his implanted eyes darting around. "It's human nature, but fine, no problem."

"Shut up." They filed into the back of the truck and he grinned, sitting down.

"You know we've done it before."

"I said shut up."

"We had you." He bumped her knee and the other agents looked between themselves nervously, the expression on Alex's face setting them on edge.

"I will shoot you myself."

They sat in silence for the rest of the ride while J'onn debriefed them. Apparently the Cadmus agent had started shooting in a crowded mall, trying to hit as many people as she could. She had been Jeremiah's direct subordinate and it was reported that she asked for him by name. The car pulled to a stop and J'onn gave them a few more details. "Doctor Danvers, we need you out in the field today but don't be a hero."

"Yes, sir." He checked the gun at his waist and got ready to confront the agent.

Kara's phone rang and she sat up in bed, the covers falling down. "Mom, I'm really busy," she lied.

"Hi honey. Just wanted to remind you that Thanksgiving is coming up and it would be really great it you could be there. Please try to make Thanksgiving. It's in a week, and then the wedding is pretty soon after that."

Kara looked out the window of her new bedroom. She had since gotten in touch with U.S. Intelligence operations stationed in other parts of the globe and after a brief stint in the middle east was staying in London. They had asked her to stay in France for a while, specifically Paris, but the city of love was too sore a topic for her. London was fit for her, a rainy town that went with her rainy mood; what with all the crimes being committed by regular people she felt more needed in the British city anyway. "I'll try," she huffed. It was getting close to one in the morning and she lay down, the phone on speaker resting by her head. "How's Alex?"

"Not taking it well. She had to go with Jeremiah to bring in a Cadmus agent. It went fine as far as I know but she misses you. When are you coming back for good?"

She tried to think of an answer but as always, Lena popped into her head. Lena, with her perfect hair and perfect voice and perfect lips. Lena who had slept with someone else and then gone and done it again in the same day. She couldn't face her without some sort of implosion happening inside so she was putting it off as long as she could. It wasn't reasonable, she left her life, her family, her friends. Then again she never could be reasonable when it came to Lena. "Soon."

"I hope so. I miss you too." Eliza watched the clock tick on the wall and sighed. "How are you?"

"Good," Kara yawned. "I'm in London now. I'm glad I'm getting to see so much of the world, I was getting too wrapped up in one city."

"London? I haven't been there since ninety-seven. Is Doctor Vaughn still the head physician at University of Cambridge?"

"I don't know. I'm actually really tired, I think I'm going to sleep soon. I'll talk to you later?"

"Sure, no problem. Get some sleep, I love you."

"I love you too." Kara ended the call and fell back, staring at the ceiling. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the city; buses and people chatting to each other as they walked down the street, their accents sounding so classy compared to what she was used to. She could hear the ocean easily, and the large bodies of water that surrounded England. She could hear as far as a boat several miles out and then nothing; no sound of an American accent, no sound of Lena pacing her office late at night, no sound of Lena getting ready for bed. The brunette had been on Kara's mind every second of every day, like she was tuned into a Lena-only show that she couldn't switch out of. Everywhere she went she thought she saw her, she constantly heard her voice during the day and in her dreams. She had left the country to get the beautiful woman out of her mind but it seemed to have the opposite effect, and every time she thought about it she didn't know if she felt more angry or depressed. Rolling over in bed she tried to pretend that Lena was with her, that she was an arm's reach away, that she hadn't broken her heart, but there was no one there.

Lena found herself yet again cleaning up Nicholas' mess. He hadn't even meant to spill the pasta salad all over her floor, he was too drunk to know what he was doing, yet here she was, on her hands and knees cleaning it up. He had apologized profusely but the part of her that had been brought up properly said 'no, it's fine' and started cleaning while he disappeared to take a shower.

"I'm so sorry." He appeared in the doorway in boxers and a t-shirt. "I didn't mean to."

"Nicholas, it's okay. Stop apologizing." She smiled up at him and he bent down to kiss her before going over to the cabinets and taking out a bottle of wine. She watched in dismay as he opened it, pouring himself a full glass. "Don't you think you've had enough?"

Something in the air snapped and he turned on her. "Why? Can you not afford another bottle?"

"I can, I just think we should go to bed," she said carefully. The last week had revealed Nicholas' surprisingly short temper, the charming man could be surprisingly nasty when he wanted to but growing up in a house full of truly horrible people had trained her for this.

"You don't get to tell me what to do just because we're in your apartment. I've invited you to mine but you won't come over." Her phone rang and he squinted at her. "Who is that?"

"It's just Sam. I should probably take that, it could be work."

"No. Look at me when I'm talking to you." He swallowed a mouthful of wine and set the glass down, waiting for her to put the phone away. "Why do you act like you don't want me here?"

"I do want you here, I do. I just thought maybe you'd had enough to drink. I can help you to bed if you'd like." She rose and gently touched his arm.

He shoved her back and she hit the counter, her hands bracing out to stop her momentum. "I don't need your help. I don't need your charity."

"That's not what I meant, I'm just tired Nick." She looked at him with worry in her eyes. He's drunk. He won't remember this in the morning."I want to go to sleep."

"We haven't had sex in two days."

"Two days isn't that long a time," she pointed out.

He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him; she resisted for a second but one look in his eyes and she let him kiss her. "I want to fuck you," he growled, shoving her to the bedroom.

I deserve this, Lena thought as she took her clothes off, moving with him. She lay down as he pulled his boxers off then grabbed his shoulders, bringing him closer. His brown eyes bored into hers and she held back a gasp when he entered her unexpectedly. It was uncomfortable but she didn't care, she was used to it. Here was a man that everyone thought was good, that everyone thought went well with her—who was she to argue? She let her mind wander as he moved back and forth, thinking about all the work she had to do.

"Are you paying attention?"

Lena blinked, focusing on his now-sweaty face. "Yes."

"No, you're not." His fingers dug into her collarbones and she flinched away but he forced her to look him in the eye. "Why don't you look at me when I'm fucking you?"

"I'm looking at you now," she said with a hint of fear. Not misplaced fear because a second later he had backhanded her across the face.

"You never give me any goddamn respect," he growled. "I deserve better than this."

I don't. "I'm sorry," she said reflexively, reaching for her clothes. The familiar burn in her cheek had woken her up like a shot of caffeine and she suddenly felt dirty, like she wasn't supposed to be there.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" His first came out of nowhere and she let out a cry, falling off the bed. His body language completely changed and he knelt over her, his hands hovering over her naked body. "Lena, I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened, I just—oh my god are you okay?"

Every bone in her body revolted at his presence. She pushed him away and stood up, the whole right side of her face throbbing. "I'm going to shower." Humiliation rose in her throat and she closed the bathroom door, starting the shower without really seeing it. As the hot water drummed against the tub she walked by the mirror and froze. Her eye had red welts around it, one particularly nasty one from the college ring he still wore. "What are you doing, Lena?" she muttered to herself softly, her fingers resting on her cheek. Stepping into the shower she rinsed away the pain and shame under steaming hot water, resetting her body for the day. Everything is fine. He just lost his temper, he got a little out of control. She felt safe with him, she was supposed to be with him even if they were both unhappy. Everything is fine.

By the time she came out of the shower Nicholas had calmed down and was reading a book with the bedside lamp on. He looked up as she sat down. "Hey."

"What are you reading?" She pulled her hair up into a bun and stretched, not looking at him.

"Anna Karenina. Tolstoy really knows a lot about the human condition."

"Hm."

He reached over to her side of the bed and gently hugged her from behind. "I'm really sorry. I am." He had put on cologne, she could tell, and she leaned into him, letting him spoon her.

"I know," she whispered, closing her eyes. "Thank you for being here." He pulled the covers over their bodies and kissed her cheek, light as a feather.

"I love you."

When Lena woke up the first thing she saw was a note. Her right eye felt swollen and as she reached for the paper she could still feel his fingers in her collarbones; the note lifted to reveal a pill bottle.

Got these for you. Sorry about last night. Nick.

She stared at the bottle for a long ten minutes, deliberating. Do I really want to go down that road again? Her cheek ached and the humiliation from last night washed over her, forcing her hand forward. The rattling of the pills reverberated in her ears as she read the label. Vicodin. Acting on its own, her hand plucked two out and brought them to her lips where she hesitated before swallowing them.

Ring. Ring.

Shit. "Sam, hi."

"Are you coming by later? We have to talk about the stats from this month."

Lena walked over to her closet waiting for the pills to kick in. "I can be there in half an hour." She rifled through her clothes and threw something on, not paying attention.

"Great! See you then. Are you still coming to Alex's for Thanksgiving? Ruby will be in town."

Her heart stuttered. Alex. Kara. Kara wouldn't want me to do this. She wished she could take everything back; sleeping with Nicholas, the last few weeks, the pills she had just swallowed.

"Lena? You still there?"

"I don't think Alex wants me there," she said hoarsely.

"Bullshit, you're coming if I have to drag you myself. Just maybe don't bring Nicholas." Sam hung up and rested her head on her chin as she skimmed through the dossier. She was trying to get a work situation under control with a business she had acquired that wasn't doing as well as she'd hoped. Nicholas Masterson, Lena's new boyfriend, had run a biohazard company that they had decided to buy but it seemed like a sham. He was always in the office getting paid and doing work but there were never any results to the work he claimed to be doing.

She was still deep in thought when Lena arrived, looking up as the younger the office and smiled. "Hey there, pretty lady. How are you?" She didn't claim to understand how Lena's mind worked though she knew her better than anyone—anyone except Kara—and yet, she couldn't for the life of her understand her and Nicholas' relationship. Lena had always been like a dog with a bone with Kara, her only end goal was to end up with the blonde so why was she throwing it all away?

"Good morning." Lena was wearing a large pair of sunglasses and Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Is it that sunny in late November?"

"Migraine." Lena waved away her concerns and sat down on the couch. "Nick's company still isn't doing well?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I was looking into it and it doesn't seem like it was ever doing well." Sam handed her the file and frowned. Lena had had a certain style of dressing ever since she was in college; professional, put-together, sexy. But today she had on skinny jeans and a turtleneck sweater and coupled with her sunglasses it seemed like she was trying to fly under the radar. "Rough night?"

"What?" Lena looked up in alarm but when she saw that Sam was only joking she relaxed. "Something like that."

Sensing that something was off, Sam sat down next to her. "Did you get my call last night?"

"Yeah, sorry. I was busy. Nicholas wanted to have sex," Lena said bluntly, shifting away from Sam.

Sam's eyebrows knit and she frowned. "It sounds like you didn't."

"I did," Lena said quickly. "I enjoyed it. We've just got a lot of work to do."

"Are you sure that's the only thing bothering you? You seem a little...I don't know, weird."

Lena nodded slowly. "Like I said, migraine." She kept reading the files as though Sam didn't exist and the older woman narrowed her eyes.

"This is the second time in less than a week that you've had a migraine bad enough that you needed sunglasses indoors and you haven't had a migraine in all the years I've known you."

"People change," Lena snapped.

"No kidding." Sam got up to pour herself a glass of water, bringing one to Lena. "Want to talk about it?" she said gently.

"There's nothing to talk about." Lena closed the file and sat back. "We need to work on this turnaround. Make a profit. L Corp is so invested in science, how is it we can't find a market for biohazard material handling? We literally create the market for things like that." She eyed Sam and blew out a breath. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason." Sam hesitated, her gut telling her not to drop it. "Actually, there is something. Could you take a look at something down at the lab?"

Lena stood up, relieved to have something to do that was science-based and would keep her busy. "Of course, what's it for?"

"Just a little project I'm working on."

They rode down the elevator in silence, Sam stealing glances at Lena while concern knotted her stomach.

"Where is it?"

"Just over there." Sam pointed to a microscope and Lena walked over.

"You said this was for a project?" She let her hair down, obscuring her face as she took the sunglasses off to peer into the microscope. "This looks like human heart tissue. What project is this?"

While Lena was immersed in the viewfinder, Sam stepped around her and her breath caught when she saw Lena's face. There were dark bruises around her right eye and a painful-looking welt just underneath. Her cheek was slightly swollen and she was having a hard time keeping her eye shut. "The project's called stop lying to me and tell me what's going on."

Lena's body tensed and she pulled back from the microscope, turning away from Sam. "I don't know what you're—"

"Cut the crap, Lena. You look like you lost a fight with a wrestler."

"I dropped something."

"On your face?"

"I tripped over it. Hit my face on the counter," she mumbled, sliding the sunglasses back on and hiding from Sam's prying eyes.

"Lena, don't lie to me."

At the word 'lie', her body tensed and she clenched her jaw, defensive anger rising up inside her. "How dare you accuse me of lying to you?"

"Then why won't you look me in the eye?" Sam refused to back down.

Lena heard the change in Sam's tone and her walls went up. "I don't have to explain myself to you. I'm going back to the office. I suggest you find somewhere else to be." She left the lab without looking back and Sam watched her go, her arms crossed.

When she got to the office Lena headed straight for the couch, lying down once the door closed behind her. A part of her felt relieved that Sam had noticed, the other part of her was weighed down by so much shame and guilt that she felt she needed to defend Nicholas. It wasn't his fault that she couldn't get over Kara, it wasn't his fault that she was using him to do just that. Opening her purse she took out the bottle of Vicodin and downed another two before falling asleep on the couch.

Sam walked in around lunch time. She knocked on the door twice but after no answer assumed that Lena had gone out and pushed the door open only to see her friend passed out on her couch, her body curled in on itself. As she approached the sleeping woman she paused, taking out her phone. "Please don't wake up," she muttered to herself, carefully removing the over-sized sunglasses. Making sure the sound was off she took a few photos of Lena's eye, sympathetic tears welling up in her own eyes. She stood back, the sunglasses dangling from her hand and Lena seemed to sense her because her eyes opened a fraction.

"Sam?" she mumbled sleepily. "How did I get here? What are you..." She covered her face with her hands, sitting up. "It's not what it looks like." Seeing Sam's expression of disbelief she hurried to explain herself. "I fell and hit my face on the corner of the table."

Sam's eyebrows knit and she handed Lena back her Oakley's. "Really? Because last time you said you dropped something."

Lena froze. "I did?"

"You don't remember?"

Shaking her head, Lena hid her face. "No, I...you wanted to do something in the lab, I remember."

"We already did that," Sam said sadly. "Are you going to tell me what's going on now?"

"Nothing is going on," Lena said harshly, gathering up her things. "Get off my case, Sam, and run my company." Shoving the sunglasses back on she stood to leave but the door opened.

"We're in the middle of something," Sam said without looking as Lena turned to see who had barged in.

"Nicholas." The relief in her voice was unmistakable and Sam looked at her incredulously.

He smiled, a row of perfect teeth that Sam immediately didn't trust. "Someone said you were in here. Got time for lunch?"

Leaning back for a kiss, Lena smiled back and looped her arm through his. "I always have time for you." They left Sam in the office, talking and laughing as the door closed.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry again. Did you get my present?"

"It's okay. Stop worrying about me, I can take care of myself." Lena pulled him closer as they left the building, trying to steal his body heat the way she always used to steal Kara's.

"I know you can." He kissed her again, blocking the sidewalk traffic for a moment before noticing a camera man at the end of the block. "Ugh, the paparazzi's back."

Lena followed his line of sight and groaned. "It's died down. Let's just get into a restaurant."

"Wait. I want to try something." Nicholas stared directly at the camera then swung Lena down and kissed her, a long, deep kiss that took her breath away. The camera man got closer and closer until they could both hear the shutter going off a hundred times a second and he pulled her back up, grinning. She was laughing nervously, a little shocked at the sudden motion.

"Nicholas, not for the cameras," she hit his arm playfully while he tipped his hat to the paparazzi. Wheeling around they started in the opposite direction and walked past the L-Corp entrance before turning onto the main street and into a pizza place.

"What can I get you?"

"Large vegetable pizza please," he ordered and they sat down. "You should take those off," he pointed to her shades.

She looked away, playing with a corner of her napkin. "I don't want to."

"Why?"

"I don't want you to feel bad," she said truthfully. "Out of sight, out of mind, right?" Except for Kara.

He bit his lip. "I deserve to feel bad. Take them off." When she slid them off he took a deep breath and reached for her hand. "I'm so sorry," he said again. "I love you, I never meant to hurt you. Do you forgive me?"

He was looking at her so earnestly that Lena felt she had no other option. "Of course I forgive you. I'm still here, aren't I?" Unlike a certain someone who flew across the globe to get away from me. She smiled at him, hoping he couldn't sense what she was thinking about.

"Yes, you are." Right then the pizza arrived and he leaned away, offering her a slice. "Ma'am," he said jokingly, the cheese stretching across the table.

"Thank you, kind sir." She laughed when he bit into his slice too early and it burned the roof of his mouth. "You should be more careful."

He stuck his tongue out at her and chugged a cup of water. "They didn't say it would be hot."

"It was steaming!"

"There was no label," he reasoned, blowing on it to cool it down.

Kara could've cooled it down in seconds, she thought to herself. Tearing her mind away from the blonde who was most likely not thinking of her, she took a small bite. "This is amazing. I haven't had pizza since..." She trailed off. The last time she'd had pizza was with Kara, a week before she'd bought Nicholas' company.

"Pizza is a great food for any occasion." He reached across the table and held her hand, his other hand bringing the pizza to his lips. "It's still hot!"

"Take a smaller bite then," she laughed, neither of them seeing Sam standing at the door. She'd followed them on the street and watched their interaction.

Why is she hiding things from me? Nicholas seemed like a nice man but the way he'd kissed her outside...there was something territorial about it. And Lena hadn't reacted like she was madly in love, she looked like she was tolerating the kiss before he broke it. Determined to get to the bottom of it, she pulled out her phone. It picked up on the third ring and she exhaled. "Alex? I need your help."