Sam stood another moment in Astra's embrace until she was sure she wouldn't cry again. "Thank you, Astra, I apologize for my outburst, it's been a long week and Kara is very important to me."
"Samantha my child, I am older, but I am not blind, you" she looked behind her to make sure Kara was still asleep "you care deeply for my niece, so much so that you are harming yourself by protecting her. Go with your family and your youngling and get some rest, I will honor my word, Lena Luthor will not be harmed."
"Thank you, Astra, do you need anything, some food? Something to drink?"
"Non and I developed a taste for, Sherry, I believe it is called. And grilled cheese sandwiches."
"I'll see what I can do." Sam smiled, what an interesting combination.
As she headed towards the elevator, she texted Lena Astra's request and asked her to send Ruby to the lobby so they could head to the condo.
Ruby came off of Lena's private elevator at the same time Sam stepped into the lobby, Sam greeted her with a hug then watched as she charged Nia. Watching the two of them hug brought a huge smile to Sam's face. Her daughter had seen so much in the past week, but Nia was helping her cope and giving her someone to connect with. Nia may have been older, but she just rolled with the punches of having a 14-year-old bombard her with questions constantly.
She walked up to Alex and gave her a quick squish, Alex smiled tiredly and leaned into Sam. "Lena supplied us with two SUVs for the week Alex, so getting back and forth should be easy, and I called over and had the fridge and freezer stocked so we can eat more than just take out."
"Sam, we all can't thank you enough, between Kara and Lena and you running point for all this, I don't know how we will ever pay you back."
"You can pay me back by never saying that again, this is family Alex, and I know you are used to being Kara's protector, but you have got to let us help, if something happens to you, Kara will be devastated." Sam said, very seriously, "I also want to thank you, Alex, for not arguing with me about Lena."
"I wanted to Sam, I did, but you are right, Lena was Kara's only hope for the blood poisoning. I never would have found a cure in time."
"Alex, you have done everything you possibly can for Kara, don't let one thing overshadow everything you have done, you are an amazing sister and friend, now let's go get some sleep, it's going to be a busy week."
"Yeah, okay."
Sam jumped into the driver's side of one SUV, while Alex drove the other, and off they went. 10 minutes later they arrived at the condo. "Alright everyone, it's big, but not that big. Mom's get the master, Kelly, and Alex, bedroom 2, Lois and Lucy, I hope it's okay, I put you two in the same room and I had maintenance bring up a travel crib for Jon. J'onn and Brainy, you guys get the twin beds in #4 and I get the study. Nia and Ruby, if it's okay with you two, you get the couches in the living room." Sam said, feeling exhausted.
Everyone trudged off to their bedroom, except Eliza, who stayed to say goodnight to Ruby, then she turned and hugged Sam "Thank you." She whispered.
Sam stretched the hug out just a moment more "You're welcome." Then Eliza headed to bed.
Sam got a glass of water and headed into the living room to check on Ruby one last time. "You okay baby."
"Yeah, momma, long day though," Ruby answered with a smile.
"Do I need to leave?" Nia asked, feeling like she was intruding.
"No Nia, you can stay, I was about to ask how you are doing?" Sam answered.
"I'm okay, I'm ready for Kara to get better, and I am not looking forward to Monday. The city, it will be so lonely without her patrolling.", Nia said sadly.
Sam took a sip of her water and rested her hand on Nia's. "Nia, this is only temporary, until she can get over this incident, and get her powers back, Kara will be back, and she will still be in Midvale, so you know you can call her whenever you need advice."
"I know, it's just, well Kara's always been there for me, I'm kinda scared. What if people don't take me seriously without Kara to back me up?"
"Honey, you have been covering the city without Kara for almost a month and a half now, you got this," Sam said smiling at the young superhero. "Now, I'm going to bed." She finished her water, hugged Nia and kissed Ruby on the forehead, "Love you, Ruby."
"Love you too momma," Ruby said sleepily.
Sam padded through towards the study, stopping long enough to rinse her glass. "And you never know Nia, you might have a new Supergirl, to help out," Ruby whispered.
"I heard that," Sam said, just loud enough for the two girls. All she got was giggles for her response. Then she headed towards the bedroom, knowing her dreams would be full of a certain gorgeous blonde.
Meanwhile back at L Corp, Lena was exhausted but had one more thing to do before she could crash on her couch for the night. She headed down to her lab to check on Kara and deliver a bottle of Sherry and 4 grilled cheese sandwiches from the nighttime cafeteria cook.
She knocked on Kara's door to let Astra know she was there. "I brought you something to eat."
"Come in Ms. Luthor," Astra answered. "And thank you."
Lena entered the room, holding the food in front of her. "I'm afraid I only have a small bottle of Sherry, Kara was the only person who ever drank it, so I didn't keep a lot around. And here are your grilled cheese sandwiches." She set the tray down on a small rolling table and moved it in front of Astra. "Go ahead and eat, I just need to check a few things, then I will leave you two alone."
Astra offered Lena a sandwich "Ms. Luthor, have you eaten? Would you like one?"
Lena only had to think for a minute, she and Lex had spent many nights with the chef devouring grilled cheese. "Are you sure you don't mind?"
"If you are to take proper care of my niece, you need to eat, so no, I do not mind," Astra answered. "And could you explain to me what you are doing so that I may understand it please?"
Lena was shocked, Astra wanted to understand the therapy. "Of course." She answered between bites "I developed the vaccine using Samantha's blood, she acquired a small immunity to Kryptonite due to some genetic manipulation that was done when she was an infant."
"On Krypton?" Astra asked.
"I am assuming so, her cells show signs of DNA manipulation, but this would have been done when she was either in her mother's womb or shortly after she was born. The manipulation caused a severe case of split personality disorder. I'm sorry, my degrees don't cover this particular field." Lena explained.
"No go ahead, Kara was better at science than either me or her mother, but I can understand the basics," Astra responded.
'Kara was good at science?' Lena thought to herself, before continuing "I helped Samantha overcome the personality disorder, with both Supergirl, Kara's help and her own. I noticed however that Kryptonite had a very small effect on her blood, and at the time, I was working on a cure for Kryptonite poisoning that would assist your niece by helping her overcome that weakness. I can bring Kara's blood sample up on that screen if you would like to see it?" Lena asked.
"That would be nice, yes. So, you and Kara worked together in the past? Why then did you hurt her?" Astra asked, confused by the situation.
Lena took a deep breath, "I found out that Kara was Supergirl from someone other than Kara. I have trust issues, and your niece found a way past those. I felt betrayed and I took it out on Kara, and I'm so sorry. I did this to her." Lena brought the image of Kara blood up on the screen, you could still see the Kryptonite in the blood, but it wasn't nearly as bad as before.
Astra stood to look at the screen, she was looking closely at the antibodies as they fought to clear the kryptonite from Kara's bloodstream. "Can you cause this image to stop moving Ms. Luthor?"
"I can," Lena answered, slightly confused.
"I am looking for a marker, you said this vaccine is from Samantha's blood."
"Yes ma'am"
"All the people of Krypton are descended from four houses, and each house's blood is slightly different, there are markers, differences that are noticeable to the trained eye. I thought that maybe, with it mixed in Kara's I could see those markers." Astra said, absentmindedly.
Lena paused the screen, then heard the one sound she wasn't expecting.
"Lena" Kara whispered; the fear evident in her voice. Lena turned to head towards the door, to escape. Kara searched the room and saw Astra standing there and took a deep breath "Lena stop." Kara said, in her Supergirl voice. Even Astra turned, making certain that her niece was okay.
Lena turn "Kara?"
Kara took a deep breath again and tried to control her trembling hands by placing them in her lap. "Lena, thank you. Thank you for saving me again."
Lena was dumbfounded, Kara knew it was her, "How, you have been unconscious most of the time, how do you know?
"Well you are here, and that means I am" she looked around "in one of your labs, which I have visited many times. My whole family was here, and they all looked to you when Astra lost her temper." Astra hung her head, shame evident on her face. "And you are checking on me, my progress at whatever time it is which must be late because I can see the exhaustion in your eyes from here."
"Kara, I am, I don't, I'm not sure what to say," Lena answered, her lip trembling.
"Say you're welcome."
"You're welcome Kara,'' Lena said as a tear rolled down her cheek.
Tears started to form in Kara's eyes "Lena please don't cry, I am barely able to hold myself together right now, there is no way I could handle that." Kara said, gritting her teeth, trying not to hyperventilate.
Lena wiped her eyes and turned back to her equipment. With her back turned Kara let out a shaky breath, willing herself to breathe, in and out, and concentrate on the fact that Astra was there with her. She looked towards her Aunt, was that her blood on the screen. "Is that my blood?"
"Yes," both women answered.
"Why are there Zod markers in my blood?" Kara asked.
"Niece, it infuriates me when you do that, I have been looking for the markers and you wake up and look one time and see them. I know you were the youngest person ever selected for the science guild, but must you do that." Astra was trying hard not to laugh, now that Kara had pointed them out, they were obvious.
"Sorry, Aunt Astra.", Kara smiled from under her hair. And Lena got a look at the old Kara, the one who had made her days so much brighter. She turned her head before Kara could catch her looking. "Lena, whose blood did you use?"
"Sam's." Lena said, "Is it a bad thing?"
"No, while transfusions were rare on Krypton, our blood is all the same, except for the markers, but now we know which house Sam is descended from."
"Why is that a big deal?" Lena asked.
"I will explain it to you one day, for now, can you tell me how I am doing, then go get some sleep," Kara said.
"The vaccine is working, however, because of the amount of Kryptonite in your blood, I estimate that you are looking at 5-6 days before it completely flushes from your system, and then 3-4 months before your powers return in full," Lena said, trying not to sound too clinical.
"3-4 months" Kara whispered, on the verge of tears. She brought her good hand up to her face, to wipe away the tears, then turned her head towards Lena.
"I'm sorry Kara, so sorry." Then Lena left the room.
Astra came over and sat on the bed beside Kara as her niece cried. "That was brave of you Little One, I could hear your heart racing, but you faced your fears like the wonderful woman you are."
Kara wanted to scream, yell, to throw something at Lena Luthor. "All this because of my secret."
"Little One, you will get better, no matter what has happened in the past my dear niece, you have to look towards the future. You have your family to support you and protect you and you have the heart of a warrior, there is no doubt in my mind that Supergirl will be back, and she will be stronger than ever." Astra said, rubbing Kara's back as she cried.
"Thank you, Aunt Astra. Thank you so much for coming back." Kara cried.
"Thank you, Kara, for believing in me." Astra cried softly.
They sat there with Kara resting her head on Astra's shoulder until they both fell back to sleep.
Lena arrived back in her office, she was hyperventilating and reached for her phone, she dialed the first number that popped up.
"Lena? Do you know what time it is?" Andrea Rojas answered on the fourth ring.
"Andrea, I need someone to talk to," Lena said through her panicked breathing.
"Lena, are you okay?" Andrea was panicked "Where are you?"
"L Corp." Lena got out.
"I'm coming, stay on the phone with me Lena."
"Okay" Lena let out shakily.
Andrea rushed around her condo, getting dressed, keeping Lena talking, making sure she was calming down. "Lena I'm coming, I promise, I'll be there." Andrea kept repeating. Finally, she was out the door, stepping into her personal vehicle, a black Audi R8 Spyder, she pressed the start button and sped out of her garage towards L Corp.
14 minutes later she entered L Corp using Lena's personal code and headed up to the CEO's office. "Lena I'm here, I'm on my way up."
As she stepped off the elevator, Lena was there. Andrea scooped her into a hug. "Lena, I'm here honey. It's okay, it's going to be okay, breathe, breathe, take a deep breath."
Lena was listening, trying to follow Andrea's instructions. "Thank you," she said between shaky breaths. "I'm so sorry"
"Lena it's okay" Andrea didn't understand what was going on, but this was so unlike the Lena she knew. She picked Lena up, thankful for once for the powers that the medallion had unlocked. She carried her friend into her office and settled her onto the couch. She stepped up to the bar to get Lena a drink.
"Can't have alcohol." Lena gulped out between tears.
If Andrea was shocked, she didn't let it show, she changed gears smoothly and got her friend a glass of water with ice and a twist of lime. She carried it to Lena and made her drink it. "Slowly Lena, don't gulp." She scolded, lightly. "You want to tell me what is going on?
"Not right now, please. I just needed a friendly face." Lena answered.
Andrea looked at Lena's face, really looked. Her normally put together façade was at this moment, very broken, she was pale, paler than usual for Lena, and her eyes had dark circles under them. She also seemed thinner than the last time they had visited. "Have you been eating? Lena?"
"I'm on a timer, my psychiatrist, she made me set my watch, so I don't forget to eat," Lena answered, then covered her mouth.
"Lena, when did you start seeing a psychiatrist? Who are you seeing?"
"This weekend, her name is Harleen Quinzel." Lena lowered her face, ashamed that Andrea was seeing her like this.
At that moment, Andrea felt nothing but pride for her friend, she didn't understand what had led to this moment for Lena, but she was secretly happy that her friend had decided she needed help. "Lena, lift your chin, I'm not going to judge you, after all, you have done for me, I will be right here for you as well."
Lena looked Andrea in the eyes "Thank you. Could you maybe stay here with me tonight, please?"
Andrea knew in her head that Lena meant just for sleep, but she couldn't help the reaction in her heart when Lena asked. "Of course, I can Lena, you have pillows and blankets?"
Lena nodded "In the closet."
Andrea moved the coffee table and pushed Lena's couches together, she gathered up what she needed in the closet, including some MIT sweats for Lena. She got Lena changed, ignoring the urge to stare at the bruises on Lena's stomach and how much more pronounced her ribs were against her skin, she may be eating, but not enough. While Lena finished getting dressed, Andrea set the couch up for her, getting everything just right. Then she pulled off her jeans, thankful she had opted for one of her t-shirts before heading over. She tried to maintain a good distance between her and Lena, but as soon as her body hit the couch Lena moved closer. Then she realized, Lena was craving touch, so she pulled her friend closer to her and felt Lena finally relax. Lena starts to fall asleep, pushing herself into Andrea, but just before she lets the exhaustion overtake her, she speaks "Please don't leave me."
"I'm not going anywhere honey, just sleep, just rest Lena, I'm right here."
As Lena falls asleep, Andrea lays there and just looks at the wall, wondering what could have led to this moment. And where was Kara?