The door in front of her opened to reveal Kara clad in gray sweatpants and a faded old blue T-shirt and sporting a look of confusion.
"Lena? What are you doing here?" Lena didn't say anything, just continued to sit against the wall, staring up at the beautiful woman standing in front of her.
"You look like an angel," she mumbled in awe, her laughter finally dying down.
"Rao, Lena, are you drunk?" Kara moved from the doorway, coming to bend down in front of the inebriated woman.
"Jus' a bit," Lena slurred.
"Okay, come on,' Kara said, picking Lena up as easily as if she were a stuffed toy. "Let's get you inside."
She carried her to the couch, gently laying her down on the cushions, before retreating to the kitchen. Moments later, she returned with a glass and gently handed it to Lena.
"Here," she said gently. "Drink this, Lena."
Lena swatted Kara's hand away. "Don' need it."
"Yes, you do, Lee. Please, drink it for me."
At hearing the nickname, a sob burst out of Lena's chest. She collapsed against Kara, her tears flowing freely. For a moment, the other woman was stiff beneath her, then she felt her soften. A pair of strong, gentle arms wrapped around Lena and cradled her to Kara's chest. They stayed like that for a long time, Lena crying into Kara's lap, Kara holding her. Finally, the tears subsided and Lena looked up in the warm, gentle face she loved.
"I'm s-s-sorry," she stammered out. "Don' know why I'm here."
"It's okay, Lena," Kara said softly. "Do you feel well enough to drink some water now?" Kara handed her the glass and Lena downed it.
Lena lay back onto the cushions as Kara got up to retrieve a blanket. She laid it over the drunk woman, tucking her in gently.
"Go to sleep, Lena. You'll feel better in the morning."
Lena's eyes felt heavy. There was so much she wanted to say, but she couldn't bring herself to sit up. Tomorrow, she thought. I'll tell her tomorrow.
Excruciating pain. There was an icepick jammed into her frontal lobe. That had to be it. There was no other explanation for the white hot pain that roused her from sleep. Slowly, she opened her eyes, blinking in the sunlight. She turned her head and felt a jolt of nausea run through her. She closed her eyes again, breathing in and out through her nose. After a few moments to compose herself, she pushed herself up onto her elbows and opened her eyes.
Where am I?
She glanced over at the coffee table next to her and saw a glass of water and some pills. Gingerly, she reached over and took the pills, gratefully swallowing them.
"You're awake," a soft voice said from somewhere to her right. Lena glanced over and saw Kara, clad in jeans and a gray sweater, standing against the kitchen counter with a mug in hand.
"Barely," Lena groaned. "I feel like death."
"I'm not surprised," Kara said. "You were more than a bit drunk last night." The previous evening's events came crashing back and Lena felt hot mortification spread through her.
"God, I'm so sorry." Lena's head dropped into her hands. "I'm so sorry for showing up here last night and harassing you."
"You weren't harassing me, Lena. Worrying me, maybe. But not harassing."
"Thank you...For taking care of me last night," Lena said, raising her head to look at Kara. Kara's blue eyes met hers and Lena felt her heart skip a beat.
"You're welcome," Kara said softly.
The two remained silent for a moment. Lena wanted to say more, to tell her why she had come last night, why she'd shown up in a drunken stupor on her doorstep. But her head was pounding and felt like it was going to explode. She couldn't organize her thoughts.
"There's coffee if you'd like some," Kara said, pushing off from the counter and moving to the cabinet.
"That would be great, thank you."
Kara retrieved a mug and poured coffee, before handing it to Lena. Lena's heart clenched as she noticed it was the #1 Reporter mug she'd gotten Kara for her birthday three years ago. She pushed the thought out of her mind and took a sip, savoring the warm, flavorful liquid.
"Thanks," she sighed.
"Anytime," Kara said. "How are you feeling?"
"Like my head got pounded with a sledgehammer," Lena joked, though the way she winced gave away how serious she was.
"Sorry to hear that," Kara said. "Is there anything else I can get for you?"
"No, you've already done so much," Lena said quickly. "Thank you." She felt so stupid. All she could do was sit here and inanely repeat the same lame thank you over and over.
Pull yourself together, Luthor, she berated herself.
"Really, Lena, it's fine." Kara stood with her arms crossed and, despite her words, Lena could feel the uncertainty radiating off of her. Lena wanted to do or say something to make the woman feel more comfortable, hating that her presence had such a negative effect on Kara.
"How are you liking being back?" Lena asked, desperate to say something, anything at all.
Kara sighed, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "It's okay," she said. "It's good to see everyone. I didn't really keep in touch when I was...away. And it's nice being back at CatCo."
Lena noticed that she didn't say anything about her return as Supergirl.
"That's great," Lena said. "I...I'm glad you're back."
"You are?" The surprise in Kara's voice cut right through Lena.
"Yes," Lena whispered. "As soon as you were gone, I felt terrible about the way everything went down...the way I treated you. I- I looked for you, when you were gone."
"You did?" Kara's mouth fell open slightly and Lena felt the absurd desire to laugh at how endearing it was.
"Yes. I hired a private investigator and everything. But I never could figure out where you went."
"Well, I didn't really want to be found...by anyone. Alex was the only one I really told where I was going, but I didn't even keep her fully in the loop."
"Yeah, I gathered that when I went to her for help and she directed me to a little town you'd already left."
"You went to talk to Alex? How did that go?" One side of Kara's mouth curled upwards in a small, crooked smile.
"Uh, well, she wasn't exactly receptive. But I managed to convince her to help me."
"Wow," Kara breathed out. "I never would have guessed that Alex would crack."
"I was pretty pathetic," Lena said. "I think she took pity on me."
"She's never been big on pity," Kara argued.
Lena just shrugged slightly. She began to fiddle with the hem of her sweater nervously. Tell her the truth. Tell her how much you missed her. Tell her you still love her.
She took a deep breath. "Kara, I-"
Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Kara glanced over to the door and Lena could tell she was using her X-ray vision to see who it was.
"She's here early," Kara mumbled, pushing off the counter and walking to the door.
"Morgan," Kara said as she pulled the door open. In the doorway stood a tall, breathtakingly beautiful brunette. She was dressed in jeans, a red and white flannel shirt, and ankle high boots. Immediately, Lena's heart constricted at the sight.
"Hey, Kara," the woman smiled warmly. "Are you ready to go? Sorry, I know I'm a little bit early…" She trailed off as she caught sight of Lena. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry if I'm interrupting."
"You're not interrupting," Kara said. "Please, come in. This is my...friend, Lena. We were just catching up a bit."
Morgan strode into the apartment and over to where Lena was now standing by the counter. She smiled at Lena and stuck out her hand.
"It's nice to meet you, Lena." The woman's bright, warm smile was a bit dazzling in Lena's current state.
"Nice to meet you, as well," Lena said, doing her best to keep her voice even. She turned to Kara. "Kara, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had plans this morning."
Kara squirmed slightly under Lena's gaze.
"We're just going for a walk in the park," Morgan said breezily. "You're more than welcome to join!"
Lena swallowed the lump in her throat. "No, that's very kind of you, but I really should be going. Kara, it was lovely to see you," Lena said, grabbing her purse off the counter and walking towards the door.
"Good to see you," Kara said softly.
Lena let the door close behind her, determined not to cry in the hallway.
