Chapter 11

What if we don't live forever? Most people don't like to think about death. But, death is inevitable. We all have limited time. It's scary, but it's the only way to really see what matters most, to not take things for granted. And, maybe that's why Kara agreed to meet with Eliza when Alex requested it. Because no one lives forever and before it's too late, she wants to see Eliza, at least one more time.

"Kara. Are you sure you wanna do this?"

Kara nods but Lena doesn't feel reassured. The blonde has been in auto-pilot since Alex came to their home the other day. It's like she had turned off, which gives Lena another reason to hate Alex.

"Darling. I know you have a big heart but you shouldn't feel forced to meet the Danvers. If you want I can talk to them and ask them to leave you alone"

Yeah, Lena would be more than happy to kick them out of their lives. She has always felt uneasy when there's family in the mix. And, while the Danvers are not linked by blood to Kara, they are considered family for the pregnant woman.

"No, Lena. It's okay. I can deal with it..."

"But, Kara. We don't do well with mothers! Or, family in general, we don't need them, we have each other, that is enough, right?!"

It's more than enough, Kara reassures her. Lena smiles but still feels compelled to avoid this meeting.

"This is causing you stress, it's not good for you or the baby. We should cancel the meeting"

"Lena…"

The brunette is convinced that letting the Danvers come to have dinner with them will end in a disaster, and she wasn't completely wrong. Especially when an unexpected guest arrives for dinner too.

"Mother…"

Lena freezes when she opens the door and finds Lillian. She was getting ready to look strong and powerful in front of the Danvers but all that armor vanishes the moment Lillian meets her eyes.

"Are you not letting me in, Lena. Where are your manners?"

Lena gulps hard, she wasn't sure if letting her mother in tonight was the best idea of them all, but, it's not like if she had a choice. Lillian makes herself feel like home and when she does it, the first thing she notices it's the pregnant woman who's settling the table.

Kara stiffs when she finally meets with Lena's mother. She has seen her in pictures, she has seen her on TV, but, in person, she's more imposing. Lex always joked about how terrifying his mother was, Kara always thought it was a joke but now that she gets the chance to meet her in person, she realizes it wasn't a joke at all.

"You are…?"

"Kara. My name is Kara"

The blonde closes the gap between them when she goes for a hug instead of a simple shake of hands. Now, it's Lena who looks terrified to death. Lillian doesn't like human touch, it's like she was allergic to it. So, she can just imagine what she will do to Kara because the pregnant woman dared to touch her without notice.

It's in that precise moment that the Danvers finally arrive and for the first time in her life, Lena is happy to see Alex again. Lillian hates nothing more than making a scene in public. Maybe that's why Lillian doesn't do anything against Kara. The blonde breaks the hug when she hears the sweet voice of the oldest Danvers.

"OMG! Kara!"

"Eliza!"

Kara looks happy but mostly shy in front of the woman who is like a mother to her. The encounter is less than ideal but it's more than what Eliza could ask for. The old woman rushes to hold Kara between her arms, tears are shared, so many emotions, something with which Lillian as well as Lena don't feel comfortable. Maybe that's why Lilian decides to leave.

"You have guests. I should leave then"

Lena nods and deeply exhales, feeling a big relief because Lillian prefers to leave rather than asking her to kick them out so they can talk. The raven-haired woman was more than happy to escort her mother to the door when…

"Wait! Ms. Luthor! You came to see Lena. You should stay for dinner as well"

"What?! Kara, no!"

Lillian would prefer to leave, she has no intention to socialize with the Danvers but a big smirk appears on her face when she sees the shock on Lena's face with such a proposition. Getting under the skin of Lena, it's her speciality, maybe that's why she accepts Kara's invitation to stay. The guests start to sit while the two girls are in the kitchen, serving the dishes for the guests.

"Oh, Lord. Please help us"

"Relax Lena. There's plenty of food"

The quantity of food is not the problem, the brunette wishes the other woman could see that. Lena is internally freaking out. She wasn't ready to deal with the Danvers and she was definitely not ready to deal with her mother too. Maybe that's why from the moment they sit to eat, Lena hears in her mind the constant 'tick tack' sound, expecting to watch when this dinner will just boom like a bomb.

"No wine on the table?"

Lillian frowns when Kara offers just water or lemonade to fill her glass.

"I brought wine!"

Alex feels like the saver of the dinner when she shows the bottle of wine she brought but before the bottle could touch the table, Lena takes it away, asking her to keep it to herself.

"Kara doesn't like alcohol in the house. Everyone at this table should respect that…"

The blonde smiles and Alex gulps hard, she understands the aberration against any liquor due to the past of Kara's parents and gets angry to realize how Lena takes better care of Kara than herself when they were younger. If someone is keeping score on who's better to take care of the blonde, Lena is winning, and that is another reason why Alex doesn't like Lena at all.

The abstinence of liquor from Lena's behalf is something Lillian finds hard to believe, nevertheless she says nothing about it and just quietly observes them. For what she can see, this is the first time someone has such an influence on her daughter.

The dinner continues its course, no deep chat besides the constant questions Eliza has for Kara. Do you keep liking to read? Have you been eating well? The old woman is trying to fill the blanks on the time gap they were apart, sadly Kara is not ready to employ more words than 'Yes' & 'No' this evening. Eliza tries to not take it to the heart, but it's painful to see that Kara is not opening up to her.

It's when the dessert is served when the notorious subject in the room is finally approached.

"Kara, about your pregnancy, it's… uhmmm… are you two… ahmm..."

It's funny to watch that Eliza stammers her words just as much as Kara when she's nervous. Lena wonders if Kara got it from her, but that's not the matter here. The issue is that they haven't really talked about their future besides the fact they want to be there for the baby.

Lena wonders why her mother is so quiet about it, she hasn't said anything about Kara and Lena wants to know what is happening inside Lillian's mind but the young Luthor cannot focus on finding it out as Eliza doesn't stop to make questions about the baby.

"Do you know the sex of the baby?"

"No"

"Do you want to know?"

"No"

"Can you use more words than 'yes' & 'no'?"

Lena rolls her eyes while Kara pouts like a kid when Eliza points out their lack of response. The interrogation seemed to end when Lillian finally speaks to ask just one question.

"Are you together?"

Lena and Kara look at each other, they get red of blush. And, this is the question they don't dare to answer with a 'yes' or a 'no' because they don't know. They live together, they will have the baby together. They feel something for each other even if neither of them have said a word about it. They know there's something there, so, are they together? Or, they want to be together as a couple?

The CEO has no idea of what to say. The idea of being a parent is a reality even if they haven't decided the details about it but, what about Kara? Will they always be together? Will they be something more than parents?

Lena takes a moment to think, she has no idea how to define what is and will be her relationship with the blonde but, closing her eyes, wondering what future holds for her, all she see is Kara with their kid, feeding it, holding it; it brings such joy to Lena's heart that she decides to not worry about it and she allows herself a moment to dream about Kara & the baby, dismissing whatever is happening around her till Alex decides to change the topic of conversation when she makes a statement that takes everyone by surprise.

"Kara, we would like you to have the baby in Midvale"

"WHAT?!"

"Mom is a doctor, I'm a doctor, we can be there for you all the time and I've already started to change the studio of Dad into a nursery"

Lena and Kara are shocked by the proposition, Eliza looks shy but it's obvious she's supporting Alex's idea. Lillian doesn't say a word, she just takes a sip of her lemonade, wishing it was liquor so this drama would be less annoying.

"You're better off away from the Luthors, Kara. Please, just come back home with us"

Alex looks at Lena into the eyes, this is a declaration of war and Lena wants to rip off her head right now for her insolence but before the dear Luthor could say a word, someone else has something to say.

"I'm staying with Lena. And, if you don't like that. You should leave now, Alex"

Eliza gulps hard, Kara shows no seconds thought as she requests them to get their things and leave.

"We should leave, Alex"

"What? No! Mom! We cannot leave Kara with her! She…"

Eliza looks at Alex, telling her with the eyes to not say a word of what they know about the Luthor's family. The last thing she wants, it's to cause more damage to Kara, she really believes it's not the moment nor the place to reveal some truths but she doesn't know they are not the only ones who know the links of the past that join them. Lillian puts down her glass and starts to talk when she realizes no one has the guts to address the elephant in the room.

"Kara, did you know that your father worked for us?"

"What? Jeremiah?"

"Well, yes. But, I'm also talking about your biological father. Both of them worked for a project founded by Luthor-Corp"

The blonde looks confused, she has no idea of what is happening but something in her heart tells her she's not ready to hear this. Alex & Eliza look at each other, fearing the worst as Lillian gets ready to talk about the past. And Lena just wonders what underhand plans has her mother in mind.

"Mother, what are you scheming?"

"I'm scheming nothing, Lena. Unlike your other guests, I'm not the kind of person who likes to beat around the bush"

Lillian turns her look towards the other old woman, making clear that if she's not willing to talk what she knows, she will. Eliza gulps hard, she's still not willing to reveal anything, she just hopes that Lillian will have some tact to deliver the news. Something Lillian doesn't have at all.

"I don't know if you remember, Lena but the ambition of your father was insatiable. He was always the kind of person to push and push without considering the limitations of the others"

Lena remembers, she recalls how many hours she spent riding horses so she could make his father proud. Winning the gold in a competition should have been enough, but it wasn't for Lionel. Competition after competition, Lena had to win them all, she had to practice for that and she did, non-stop till she broke… she broke her ankle when she was too tired to control the horse. Big disappointment, that'what Lionel said, and that's when Lena understood that no matter what she would do, it would never be enough for her father. And, while Lena recalls how her father was, her mother continues talking.

"Mr. Danvers decided to quit the project when he started to feel the constant pressure of Lionel. Maybe if your father would have done the same, Kara. He would still be here around us"

Kara as well as Lena gulp hard, scared to find out the meaning of those words.

"After Jeremiah left the project, all the pressure to lead the project went to your father, Kara. He couldn't stand to the high standards of my husband and it broke his spirit"

Leave it to a Luthor to crush people without laying a finger on them. Lena can just imagine the abusive behavior of her father with his workers. More than once, there were rumors that the pressure in the work was so high that many people decided to quit their own lives. Of course, the company never took responsibility for it, RH and the big board of lawyers were too clever to always find a way to link such deaths with a personal issue.

"From what I know, Kara, your father started to use alcohol to manage the stress. And, that was just the beginning of the end…"

Kara gulps hard, feeling sad about the circumstances her father had to bear. Trying to hold on to a secure position, in one of the biggest companies in the world, it was a dream he wasn't ready to quit. So, each time the pressure was too high, when he had no energy to stay awake and keep working, he would find relief in a glass of whiskey. With time, one glass became two, then three and before knowing it, he was no longer able to function without liquor running into his veins. It's sad, but it's the reality of so many people who use drugs, liquor for their day-to-day work.

No one says a word till Alex gets up, upset, ready to share some words with Lillian.

"You pushed Kara's father to kill himself! Just like you pushed my father to the death too!"

"Alex! Calm down!"

Eliza tries to be the voice of reason but Alex is too emotional to pay attention to her mother's words. She angrily looks at Lilian, waiting to hear her reply to the accusation. And to her surprise, Lillian replies very calmly.

"I can understand why you believe it is our fault for the heart attack of your father, Miss Danvers. But, just because my husband had a phone call with him before he died, it doesn't mean we kill him…"

"You're monsters!"

"Being powerful and untouchable doesn't make us monsters, Miss Danvers. Jeremiah had a call with Lionel. I don't know the details about that call beside the fact that Mr. Danvers had a change of heart and decided to speak out about the abusive behavior of Lionel as a boss…"

Kara wonders if that change of heart was caused by their talk on the lack. Big part, it was, but, it was also his conscience that was constantly telling him to do something about it. That day when Jeremiah died, after his talk with Kara, he realized that taking care of Kara wasn't enough. More people could end like Kara's father if he didn't speak out, and, that's why he decided to confront his ex-boss about it, once and for all. Sadly, his heart wasn't strong enough to deal with it.

"My husband had a strong argument with Mr. Danvers on the phone. And, if Jeremiah's heart wasn't strong enough to deal with my husband's threats when he tried to make the buzz about the destructive behavior of Lionel. Then, the only one responsible for his death is himself…"

Alex screams in a moment of rage. Contrary to the young Danvers, Lillian shows no emotion at all about what she's saying. It's like if it doesn't affect her at all and Lena gets sick to her stomach, because she was just like that before Kara came to her life.

How many employees quit because the workload was too much? How many times she heard about the burn out increasing in the company and she didn't care at all? Lena was more human than her parents, but she was still very insensitive to the limitations of others. Programmed to always be the best of the best, like her father, she was used to pushing people to their limits, thinking it was the best for them even if it wasn't always the case.

Thinking about it, Lena also relied on the liquor to deal with things. Now, she wonders if she has led others to the same path than Kara's father. Her mind goes crazy and Kara sees it, she sees fear and regrets reflected in those beautiful green eyes but when she tries to touch Lena and give her any kind of comfort, the dear Lena does what she does the best when she feels a turmoil of emotions, she walks away.

"Lena? Where are you going?"

The brunette doesn't reply, she just leaves without turning back.

What if we don't live forever it's no longer the question that hunts them the most, what if they cannot get past the error of their parents is the question now. What's going to happen if they can no longer live happily together?

Being a Luthor has always been a burden, but now, it's more than that, now, it feels like a curse, a guilt that Lena is not sure if she could ever feel free to share with Kara at all.