Author's Note: Hello, and welcome back to another chapter! I hope your day is going well and that this update makes it even better! I'm sorry for the long wait; I've been busy, but I'll try to do better. I'm currently working on a Supergirl one-shot, which is taking up a decent amount of my time, but I hope to have that out for y'all soon. Please enjoy, read, and review!

Chapter 25

Lena ran her fingers through her hair. She had failed. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, one thing she absolutely detested, it was letting down the people closest to her, and this certainly counted.

Everyone else in the room held their breath, quietly waiting for a verbal reaction from her. Kara stepped lightly forward and placed her calloused hand on Lena's shoulder.

"Hey," she said. "Are you okay?"

Lena couldn't bring herself to look up into the blue eyes she knew would be looking at her with concern. Kara's voice was gently and soft, and she knew she was just trying to make her feel better, but it was an attempt made in vain.

She allowed herself three more seconds of rest, silently condemning herself for each moment she took to herself.

"I'm fine, it was just slightly more intense than I believed it would be," she replied, finally returning Kara's eye contact. Her guarded green eyes quickly glanced around the room, challenging the occupants to disagree with her and insist that she needed to sit down and drink something and let Kara do the dangerous part.

No one met her gaze. Caitlin shuffled her feet ever so slightly, and Cisco was seemingly very busy with something on a slim black tablet.

"Mr. Ramon," she said, "Put me back in. I'm ready." She left no invitation for debate in her tone, yet Kara still offered resistance.

"Lena, no! Your heart rate spiked way too high while you were in! It's a risk to Lilith and yourself!" Kara's eyes softened slightly. "Let me do it, Lena, please let me do it," she asked.

Lena calmly gazed at her friend. "Kara, I am more than capable of making contact with Lilith. The first time just... shook me up a little. This time, I am fully prepared for the experience. As Lilith would say, 'this isn't my first rodeo."

Kara was so distraught at the idea of two of the people she was closest to being in danger that she didn't even bother to correct Lena's slight misuse of the phrase.

"But-"

"No buts, Kara. I'm doing this." She spoke firmly and slowly to allow her words to resonate with the Kryptonian.

Kara seached her eyes for what felt like a moment too long, but she eventually bowed her head to concede.

Cisco cleared his throat. "Ready?" he asked, a hopeful gleam in his eye.

Lena nodded once. She closed her eyes, ready for the next vision to spring forward.

When she opened her eyes, she was forced to blink as a bright warm light filled her line of sight. As her senses began to fill in her surroundings for her, she became aware of a grumbling hunger deep inside her. She was used to putting off meals for work and ignoring the sensation until it left, but this was present and strong.

Lena could also hear voices. She snapped her eyes open, blinking twice as the rest of her world filled in.

"Lena?" she heard a voice from slightly in front of her.

As her gaze finally focused, she saw that it was her daughter that was standing in front of her, eyeing her skeptically.

"Lilith!" Lena exclaimed, joy evident in her tone. She was worried she was going to have to find her, but there they wete, together from the start.

Lilith's face broke into a wide, easy grin as she realized Lena was paying attention.

"Come on!" she said with enthusiasm. Her small, pale hand grabbed Lena's cold, even paler hand. "Kara said they were supposed to start fifteen minutes ago! We're going to be the last ones there, again!" she groaned playfully.

Lena allowed herself to be dragged through what appeared to be Kara's apartment building - it certainly looked like it, and it matched what she knew so far. As Lilith towed her right up to Kara's door, the same happy expression on her face the entire time, Lena found it hard to remain on edge. Still, she managed to surreptitiously check her watch for the date and time.

December 13th blinked at her from the digital display, and Lena internally nodded; it had been about that time when they had left for Earth One. Unfortunately, she didn't even think to check the year they were in.

Lilith knocked on the door, bouncing with excitement, before whirling around to Lena.

"I'm soooo excited for this party! Kara said that she invited everyone! And Grandma Eliza is supposed to make her chocolate pecan pie!" Lilith said.

Lena found her energy contagious, and even in the potentially dangerous territory, she found her lips curling up at the edges.

"Now Lilith, don't get too excited! You won't be able to have any sweets whatsoever if you keep this up!" Lena playfully teased back with twinkling eyes.

"Oh, that was a low blow, Mom!" Lilith shook her head, still smiling, but Lena's face froze immediately at the title Lilith had given her.

She wasn't hurt by it, of course, it was simply foreign and strange. It managed to raise her defenses as she reminded herself that this was no normal world where she and Lilith went to parties at Kara's and made light banter as they conversed, but a hostile world that Lilith had dreamed up.

Luckily, someone from whatever party Kara was hosting had finally elected to open the door at that moment, and Lilith didn't see the odd expression on Lena's face.

Her instincts immediately kicked back in as the person spread his arms out wide with a jovial expression. "Look who's finally here!" he called behind his shoulder. "How are you?" he asked the pair.

Lena didn't respond because in the short amount of time she had seen him, her blood had ran cold with the realization that the man in front of her was none other than her brother.