So this took until the last minute to write, I like it, it was fun, this one's a little different, had another flashback chapter, next chapter will be the same but with Alex and Maggie. After that we'll be in the endgame or more accurately close to it. Anyway thanks for reading, please review and as always enjoy.

Chapter 14

Lena sighed, leaning further back in her desk chair. It was times like these that she got lost in her thoughts. She found her memories a good distraction from the current situation she found herself in. She had spent the entire night working on Kara's suit only to come up empty. Even with the DEO's assistance she hadn't been able to get past the wall had found herself pressed against. There was a part of the puzzle she was missing that she just couldn't figure out. She had forced herself to take a break in her office to give her a chance to clear her head before she went mad.

All she really wanted was to go home and sleep. She would have no such luxury until Warden and Donovan were arrested, if that was even possible. With Kelly having been completely sidelined the upcoming confrontation looked worse and worse for them. Part of her wished Alex would have been easier on Kelly; her daughter had only been acted on a primal fear of her father. The other part of her knew that Alex was right to keep Kelly away from the case. There was this darkness in Kelly that Lena knew all too well. Alex must have noticed it to, otherwise things may not have gone the way they had.

The darkness in herself had been deeply seeded in betrayal after Kara had lied to her for years. To find out the truth of her best friend, of the woman she loved, from her brother as he took his dying breaths. It had been to much for her back then, it had changed her, made her do things she had never thought herself capable of doing. She had been the good Luthor, the one who was nothing like her family. After than moment with Lex as he died in front of her she had been more like Lillian and her half-brother than she had ever wanted to be. It was because of that she knew what Kelly was struggling with, the conflict between doing the right thing and doing what she felt would tear her away from her family name, the only thing that could make her more than Kelly Donovan.

Kara had pulled Lena out of the darkness back then. Or, she had for the most part, the Crisis had a lot to do with how they changed. She had been angry, but not so angry that she was blind to the aid Alex needed to save the people of Earth-38. One moment they had thought everything would be alright, then the next there had been nothing. It had been weeks after things had been restored that Lena had learned what had really happened to her, learned what Kara had done to bring her back that her darkness started to recede.

Lena remembered helping Alex with the gate to start the evacuation of Earth-38 and then…nothing. One moment she had been there, the next she was gone. The next memory she had was of Kara rushing up to her, picked her up, tears streaming down her face thanking Rao that her family was alive. Or at least the majority was, she hadn't been able to bring back Argo City.

In the moment Lena had forgotten their fight, forgotten the betrayal, and hugged the Kryptonian back. Part of her was missing, but in that moment with Kara's strong arms around her, she felt grounded, felt almost whole. The moment was short lived, with Kara pulling away, wiping the tears away from her face as apologies slipped from her lips. Lena had stood there holding her arm, not knowing what to say. She wanted to forgive Kara, knowing that her former friend had sacrificed so much and only just barely managed to bring back her Earth. It wasn't that simple; Kara had betrayed her and that wasn't something she could forgive.

"You don't owe me anything Lena," Kara said barely above a whisper. "You can go on hating me for the rest of your life. I deserve it, I know that after what I've done to you. Just know you are good; you are so much more than your last name and I hope you can find it in yourself to do something good with that."

For months all Lena had heard from Kara was apology after apology as she begged for forgiveness. Lena had never expected Kara to give up on their friendship, but suddenly the blonde had lost all her fight. She was willing to accept Lena would never allow her back in, she was ready to live her life without Lena in it. It hurt more than Lena ever thought it would.

"Kara…"

She couldn't bare to meet the Kryptonian's gaze as she spoke her name, she knew if she did, she would break. "I don't think I have it in me to forgive you, but maybe…maybe you could fill me in on what just happened…"

Kara nodded slowly before looking away. "I will, but I can't right now…not yet." There was a pain in her voice that Lena knew all to well. It wasn't that Kara didn't want to talk, it was that she couldn't, the pain of whatever had happened holding her back. Lena accepted that it would take time before Kara could openly talk to her about what happened.

"You know where to find me Kara," Lena said. "You take care of whatever you need too. I can wait."

"I won't make you wait too long," Kara said with a loud sigh. "I've made that mistake before."

Lena watched as Kara took off, heading for what she assumed would be the DEO. She could only imagine how Kara was feeling just then, after losing Krypton for the second time with Argo City having been destroyed. Her heart went out to the blonde, no matter how angry she was she didn't think Kara deserved to lose her family for the second time. No one deserved that, no matter what they had done.

It was a week later before Lena saw Kara again. She looked exhausted, like she hadn't been sleeping at all over the last seven days. Lena stood aside, letting the blonde into her apartment. Kara moved without the certainty she usually had, she hesitated as she moved towards the kitchen as if she didn't belong there. Maybe she didn't, it was to soon for Lena to know for sure if she really wanted Kara there or not.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to come here," Kara said stopping in the threshold that separated the kitchen from the living room. "Alex needed my help, the city is in complete chaos, but I'm sure you knew that."

"The world did just end, everyone is going to be a bit on edge for a while," Lena said, joining Kara in the kitchen.

"Not everyone knows what happened," Kara admitted. "There is a hole in their memories when they were erased, but you know that. The only reason you know what really happened is because of my sister."

Kara fell silent, she was having trouble admitting it, but she felt uncomfortable being there. She had realized during the Crisis that her friendship with Lena would never be fixed. Watching her planet die had broken her but bringing it back had only strengthened her resolve to let Lena go. Neither of them would move on if she didn't let her go.

"Why don't you tell me," Lena offered, taking Kara's hand after a moment of hesitation. "Don't spare any details."

Kara let herself be led over to the couch. As soon as she began to speak, she couldn't find it in herself to stop. She told Lena everything, from Earth-2, to watching Argo disintegrate to losing Oliver. She retold everything that she remembered down to the fight with the Monitor, taking the book back and reversing all the destruction, or almost all of it. They couldn't bring Argo back, or Oliver or countless other lives they had lost. Kara, like always, was shouldering the guilt and blame for the events of the Crisis. Lena sat listening as Kara recounted the events wishing she had done more to help but knowing that there as nothing else that she could have done.

Lena watched Kara as she finally broke down, unable to hold back the tears that had been threatening to spill since they sat down. Instinct took over as Lena moved to wrap her arms around the Kryptonian. She cried into Lena's shoulder for what seemed like hours. Lena never let her go, all the pain and betrayal forgotten for the time being. As they sat there, holding each other Lena realized that things may never be the same between them, but in time they would be alright.

Back then things had moved so slowly, it took them months to get back to a semblance of where they had been before Lex's death. Once they got back to that point their relationship started to change quickly. They went from enemies to friends to girlfriends in a little over a year. Kara had proposed not long after Alex had adopted Kelly, much to Lena's surprise. Things had always been a little difficult between the two of them but after the Crisis they knew they could get through anything together.

"Darling please settle down you're going to give yourself an aneurysm," Lena said with a sigh.

This had been going on for almost an hour now. Kara had come home from the DEO all red faced and annoyed. She had immediately started to rant to Lena about her sister's poor decision making. Lena had agreed Alex made bad decisions more often than not she didn't exactly agree with Kara once she figured out what her fiancée was actually talking about.

"What gives Maggie the right to waltz back into Alex's life?" Kara threw her hands up in exasperation. "She was the one who left in the first place."

"If I recall correctly, and I know that I do, Alex was the one who broke it off, not Maggie," Lena was getting tired of the conversation. She just wanted to go to dinner.

"Yeah because Maggie didn't want kids," Kara was starting to pace again. "Which Alex now has."

"People change."

"But…" Kara collapsed onto the bed unable to come up with any form of argument. "I don't want Alex to get hurt again. It took her months to get over Maggie. What if it happens again? What happens to Kelly? How will it affect her?"

Lena laid back with Kara, putting her hand on the Kryptonian's chest feeling her heart beat rapidly. Kara would get worked up over the strangest things. She had to admit that Alex and Maggie were moving fast for two people who hadn't seen each other for the better part of three years. She figured it was because they had already done all the song and dance when they were first together and didn't feel like doing it all over. Things had changed and they had accepted those changes and had decided to go forward with their relationship. Kelly seemed to be happy about it too. Lena could tell the first time she saw Maggie with Kelly that Maggie would be a good mom to Kelly, even if she originally hadn't wanted the job. Kara was having a hard time getting past how the breakup had affected Alex.

"You worry too much," Lena said after a while. "They're adults they will figure it out. Now as your fiancée I demand we leave for dinner because I am starving."

"Can't we just eat in? I can get Noonan's."

The glare she earned from Lena made it clear that the suggestion was not an option. Kara had promised to take her out and she was going to hold the Super to her promise. They did this every single time they had planned to go out. Kara was one who preferred to stay in and have a quiet evening at home. Lena, though she enjoyed those nights they stayed home, enjoyed being out around people, especially when she was out with Kara. It was her silent way of bragging that National City's most renowned reporter had picked her over anyone else. Kara never fully understood why Lena would need that kind of affirmation, but she knew it made Lena happy so she usually went along with it.

"Give me two minutes to get dress," she said peeling herself away from Lena's side.

"You have one," Lena challenged with a smile.

It only took them half an hour to get to the restaurant, Kara having stopped to pin Lena against a wall, kissing her breathless on more than one occasion. Once they actually got their dinner Kara had fallen into an unusual silence. Lena knew she was still stuck on what was happening with her sister and Maggie but she wasn't about to let it become the central topic of one of their few nights out. Every conversation she tried to start with Kara faded quickly as Kara's mind wondered off.

"Kara could you please stay with me for more than two minutes," Lena asked as Kara pushed a piece of kale around her plate. "I know you're worried about your sister but she knows what she's doing."

It was then that Kara set her fork down, eyes looked everywhere but at Lena. "I have a question," she said keeping her focus on something behind Lena. "Do you want kids?" The question caught Lena completely by surprise, so much so she nearly choked on her wine. It wasn't that they hadn't talked about it before, because they had, they hadn't wanted to make the same mistake that Alex and Maggie had when they first got engaged. It was that it was so out of the blue that it had Lena's head spinning.

"You know that I do, eventually," Lena couldn't hide her confusion from her voice. "Where is this coming from Kara? What's going on?"

Kara shrugged. "Alex is always rushing into things, she didn't even think when it came to adopting Kelly… I just don't want to be making the same mistakes." Lena smiled at the confession. The bond between Alex and Kara was strong but Kara wanted to be better. She had already lost Lena once, she didn't want to lose her again over something the two of them could easily talk about. Not talking had been the end of their friendship once. Kara would hate to lose her again because she kept quiet about something.

"I was thinking Kara," Lena started, wanting to save the rest of Kara's conversation for when they were at home. "I know you have a responsibility to the city, but you haven't had a break in over a month. What if we took a couple of days out of the city, just the two of us?"

She didn't think Kara would even entertain her idea. One thing she loved about Kara (and that she hadn't known she loved about Supergirl for the longest time) was how dedicated to National City she was, both as a reporter and as it hero. Being with her allowed Lena to see how much her role as the city's hero effected the Kryptonian. She knew how important every single life Kara saved was to her. It wasn't in her blood to walk away, even if it was to care for herself. Kara never put herself first, but she always tried to put Lena first.

"Is that what you want?"

"Only if you're willing to take a break," Lena said. "I think you should take a break, but if you don't want to I won't make you."

Lena reached across the table, taking Kara's hand in hers. "I know you have a responsibility here and I don't want you to ever think I don't understand that." It was Kara's turn to smile at her.

"Have you ever been camping?" Kara asked her grin growing.

"I can't say that I have," Lena said after hesitating.

"We should go camping," Kara said with so much enthusiasm Lena started to wonder how she ever said no to the blonde. "If there is something Alex can't handle she can always call me back. What do you say?"

Kara seemed excited about the possibility of camping with Lena in the middle of (what Lena assumed was) nowhere. She knew Kara had gone camping with Alex and Eliza on multiple occasions when she was younger but in recent years (since starting her job at CatCo) she hadn't been able to go. Though it wasn't exactly what Lena had in mind, it would be perfect for the two of them, it would be quiet which is all Lena really wanted.

"I'd love th-"

Lena was cut off by an explosion somewhere in the distance. Kara was on her feet in an instant. Lena wasn't far behind her, having gotten into the habit of staying near Kara in the face of any sort of danger. Together they made their way outside of the restaurant with several other patrons that chose not to run away in fear of whatever was happening. Outside they were greeted by rising smoke as flames raged through a building down the street. Lena knew Kara needed to go. She could hear people shouting for help, whatever had caused the fire needed as much attention as the people trapped by the fire. Kara could be there faster than the fire department.

"I'm sorry," Kara said immediately as she pulled Lena away from the growing crowd.

"Don't be," Lena assured her with a smile. "Now go, they need you Supergirl."

Out of the way of any watchful eyes Kara removed her glasses in true Supergirl fashion. The nanotech slowly expanded from her hand, crawling over her body until the suit was fully there. Lena had to give it to Brainy for his ingenuity in creating the new suit, though she was sure she could have done just as well. She did miss the skirt Kara use to wear but she knew her super was much happier with the pants.

Lena stopped Kara just before she took off, pulling her close for a deep kiss. She knew Kara would come back to her but she always made sure to kiss her just in case Kara didn't come back. The Super smiled at her as they pulled apart, one last assurance before she threw herself in the face of danger. Lena remained in the alley watching the love of her life fly off towards the emergency, unable to keep a smile from her face.

Over the years Lena had gotten used to seeing Kara off during emergencies. Every time Kara fought some giant purple alien or assisted in the takedown of Children of Liberty sympathizers Lena could help but feel proud. She was married to National City's most revered and loved hero and no one truly knew. That's what made the situation so difficult for her. Kara being unable to do her job and protect the city was one of the worst things that could happen to Kara. It made her feel useless and in effect Lena felt completely at a loss being unable to help.

She knew what she had to do. There was only one way she could figure out what her new suit was missing and that was to get Kelly to provide the data she needed to understand how the Photokinesis worked against Kara. Alex had made it very clear that Kelly was to have nothing to do with the Warden situation, but at this point Lena didn't care what her sister-in-law had said. The only way to protect Kara was with Kelly's help, and Lena would be damned to let her wife suffer because Alex was too damn stubborn.

Standing firm in her resolve Lena picked up her phone to call the front desk. "When Kelly comes in for her shift send her to my office, she and I need to speak." She hung up before the woman on the other end of the line could respond. This was how things had to go. She only hoped Alex could forgive her afterwards. She really hated fighting with a Danvers, it was light arguing with a wall. For Kara, and for her family, it was worth it.