"So, I told my daughter that my partner is moving back in, and she and my sister are now suggesting we get married in May. Like… This may," Supergirl told her therapist.

"And how do you feel about that suggestion?"

Supergirl shrugged and confessed, "Honestly, I like it. But I'm scared. I'm scared my partner will change her mind or something bad will happen and my hopes will get up and come crashing down again, like they did last time."

"That's good insight," her therapist pointed out. "But do you have any evidence to support that that might happen?"

"Sure, I do. The past."

"Does the past circumstance apply now, or are you just holding on to that and applying a past narrative to your current situation?" the therapist challenged.

Eyes slightly wide, the hero answered, "I guess… I guess we have mended a lot. And she hasn't really given me a reason not to trust her. And I do want to marry her. Like, now, if I could."

The therapist smiled and said, "You lit up when you said that."

Blushing, Supergirl dropped her gaze and mumbled, "Yeah. I guess I probably did."

"You seem happy with her."

"I am. I really, really am. And my family loves her. I couldn't ask for a better partner."

"You're just scared to lose her, so you're holding back. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, it makes sense. I lost her once and don't want to lose her again. On the other hand, no, because if I love her so much, I should take the leap."

Her therapist smiled and smoothly told her, "I think you just answered your own question."

"Guess I did," Supergirl chuckled. "I think I'm gonna go for it, if she is. She's talking to her therapist about it too. But I'm on board. Why hold back? If it doesn't work, at least I gave it my all."

"Exactly. This is a healthy relationship you're in. It's not like you two have been malicious to each other. Your relationship is strong, and you've worked through a huge hurdle between you. You're on the other side now. I, of course, can't predict the future, but I think there's a lot of hope for you two."

"I think you're right."

"You know… I think you're answering most of your own questions now."

"What do you mean?"

"You come in here and share with me your concerns, but then you reach the answers on your own. That's always been the goal of therapy."

Staring horrified at the sudden realization of what her therapist was saying, the hero blurted, "I'm not ready to end therapy."

"I'm not saying end. I'm just saying… How do you feel about maybe lowering frequency a bit? You see me every week, and most of those weeks, you come in happy, smiling, and coming to your own conclusions, with very little guidance. You've processed trauma, you're processed life events, you've processed her own self-esteem, which you yourself have said has greatly improved. What makes you want to come in each week?"

"It's comforting," Supergirl quickly answered, her eyes pleading with her therapist to understand her need for support.

"I don't think you need me as much as you think you do. I promise you I'm not going to kick you out of therapy. I just think we should try bi-weekly for a little bit to see how you do. If something happens and you feel it's not working or you want support and want to go back to weekly, we'll do that immediately, okay? I won't fill your spot for a few weeks to see how it goes. Is that a deal?"

Sighing, Supergirl nodded her head and answered, "That's fair, and I know you're right. I need to push out of my comfort zone. And I can honestly say I have made good progress, with your help. I have the tools I need now. Just scared."

"It's completely okay to be scared. Just know that I'm here when you need me, okay? But you're right. You have the tools. You can do this. I'm just a backup safety blanket. And happy to be that. I enjoy working with you. You're definitely the coolest hero I've ever done therapy with."

The Kryptonian laughed at this, shaking her head and saying, "Bad joke."

"You laughed, though."

"I did. Thank you." Then, glancing up at the clock and noticing their time was ending, the hero said with a smile, "See you in two weeks."

"It'll be my pleasure. Call me if you need anything sooner."

~!~!~

"So, what did your therapist say?" Kara asked her partner a few days later, as they sat at the table together, each with a cup of coffee.

"She wouldn't give me an answer," Lena laughed. "She told me to trust myself. I struggle with that."

"So what did you land on?"

"Well, first, tell me what your therapist said."

"She said I answered the question myself before she even had a chance to. She said I light up when I talk about marrying you and that I don't need to be scared. She reminded me that we've worked our shit out, and I can trust you," the reporter replied. "So… What did you decide?"

"I want to marry you," the brunette told her partner seriously. "And I don't think we should wait."

"Me either," Kara agreed with a grin, kissing Lena's lips. "I love you, Lena, and I'm ready to commit to you for the rest of my life."

"Good," Lena chirped. "Then let's tell the girls."

~!~!~

Of course, Alex and Alura were elated to hear the news. They immediately started planning, and to the couple's surprise, all they had to do was say "yes" or "no" to various options, and Alex took care of the rest. She even seemed happy to do it.

"Alex, are you sure you—" Kara tried to protest a few times, but her sister silenced her with a bright smile.

"I got this!" she'd cry. "Relax."

So Kara would sigh and answer any remaining "yes" or "no's" that Alex had.

Luckily, Kara's yes's and no's lined up with Lena's almost perfectly. Boy, was that fortunate.

Soon, the wedding plans were complete, just in time for them to say their I do's. It had been cutting it close, but it was worth it. On the day of the wedding, Lena had no one to walk her down the aisle, so they decided that the two of them would meet at the back and walk together as Alex and Alura stood at the front crying at the sight of them. And of course, as soon as the couple saw each other, they cried too.

Kara nearly had to choke herself to stop the tears, but silently threatening herself to knock it the fuck off seemed to just barely do the trick in getting it together.

When they were pronounced married, their kiss was passionate, their hearts beating in time with each other, a fast, erratic pace that somehow matched perfectly. Kara could hear it ringing in her ears, and she loved it.

After the reception, Alex brought them straight to the airport, where the two headed off on their next adventure: the honeymoon!

Of course, after five days of rides, fancy restaurants, character meet-and-greets, and wild, crazy, post-wedding hotel sex, they still weren't ready to go home. The only thing that got them on the plane back to National City was the fact that they missed their family terribly. As much as they loved being together, alone, and being able to be as loud as they wanted while making love, they knew where they belonged.

To neither of their surprise, when they arrived back home, the girls greeted them warmly with excitement and relief at their safe return.

"We missed you!" Alura cried happily, hugging them both tightly. "Auntie Alex let me eat ice cream for dinner every night!"

"You little liar!" Alex cackled, playful nudging her niece. "It happened once."

"Alex!" Kara cried. "Once was one time too many! Ice cream for dinner? Seriously?"

"Kara," Lena chuckled. "Once won't hurt her."

"Fine, fine. Whatever. Just don't let it happen again. Dinner first!"

"Okay, Mom," Alura agreed cheerfully, hugging her parents tighter. "Love you guys."

"We love you too, baby girl," Lena told her, and Kara quickly agreed.

"And you, Alex," the hero added. "You're the best sister, best friend, and best aunt that ever walked the face of this planet."

Alex laughed at this and replied, "Couldn't be prouder to call myself your family. I'm lucky to have you guys."

~!~!~

FIVE YEARS LATER

On the morning of Alura's high school graduation, Lena found Kara collapsed in the shower, sobbing.

"Kara?!" she cried anxiously, rushing to her side. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"There's no fucking way she's graduating. I can't believe it," Kara sobbed. "When did she grow up?"

Lena couldn't help but laugh at Kara's display of tender emotion, despite the fact that she was completely serious. It was too sweet to bear.

"Darling," Lena said gently. "She'll always be our baby girl, even as she gets older. You know that, I know that, and she knows that."

"But she—"

"Babe. This is the day you've been waiting for. You are so, so proud of her. And so am I. Let's be happy for her today."

"I am happy for her!" Kara wailed. "I just don't want her to grow up."

"I know, buttercup. But this is what happens when you have kids. They get older."

Rolling her eyes and scowling, Kara shot back, "Thanks for that novel piece of information, you turd."

Laughing, Lena kissed her partner's forehead and softly urged her, "Get dressed, baby. I'll be right there the whole time, holding your hand. You've raised a smart, beautiful, strong, capable young woman. You have so much to be proud of today, and so does she."

"We. We raised her."

Smiling, Lena felt her heart warm as she replied, "Yeah, I guess we did. And she turned out great, didn't she?"

Sniffling, Kara nodded and rose to her feet.

"Alright, get out so I can get dressed."

"Why? You don't want a quickie?" Lena asked with a devilish grin.

Raising an eyebrow, the hero asked, "Is that an option?"

Lena nodded, dropped her panties and climbed into the shower with her wife. Luckily, this was enough to take Kara's mind off her daughter's rapid growth spell and the way time had flown – at least for most of the day.

~!~!~

"And now," the principal of the high school announced, "allow me to proudly introduce our Valedictorian, Alura Danvers."

And that was when the waterworks started all over again. Thankfully, Kara was able to keep her tears silent as she watched her daughter step up onto the stage and begin her speech.

Kara, Alex, and Lena could all tell that Alura was nervous as she gripped the edges of the podium after setting her note cards down in front of her, but after taking a deep, steadying breath, Alura surprised them all by completely ignoring what she'd written down. To their amazement, she had it memorized.

"The National City school system has been a second home to me for many, many years," Alura started, voice shaking slightly. Then, gaining confidence, she projected more clearly as she continued her speech, "And it's been a love-hate relationship since day one." The crowd laughed – even her own mother – knowing this was true. "I got in trouble over and over again, until I finally got expelled in middle school. It was a rocky road for me, and I had a ton going on in my life that I couldn't comprehend at the time. But you know what? This school system believed in me enough to see me through. I wrote my apology letter, I worked to get back in, and I worked to turn my life around. And now look at me. Class nerd, right?" Alura grinned, and the crowd laughed again. "But here's the thing. We all worked hard. We all had shit – sorry, stuff – going on in our lives. But here we are. GRADUATING! Way to go, class! Couldn't be happier to congratulate you all on your accomplishments, because every one of us deserves to be up here. Thanks for the ride, National City! On to the next adventure!"

For the last time, Alura's class cheered, throwing their graduation caps in the air and giving her the standing ovation her speech deserved.

Squeezing Kara's hand as she noticed the woman crying, Lena scooted closer to her wife and smiled at her, kissing her cheek.

"She's amazing, isn't she?"

Unable to speak, Kara responded by nodding rapidly.

"She's perfect," Alex chimed in with a grin, continuing to clap her hands, hooting and hollering with the crowd.

After the class spent a while walking around hugging and saying their goodbyes – most of them were off to college at the end of the summer – Kara finally saw their daughter walking towards them, so she tapped Lena on the shoulder to get her to turn around and look.

In unison, the three adults turned to find Alura approaching them, hand-in-hand with another girl in graduation robes.

Immediately, Lena saw their hands clasped and raised an eyebrow, but before she could speak, Alura took a deep breath and announced, "M-Mom… Ma… Auntie… This is my girlfriend."

Mouth hanging open, as this was exactly what Lena was not expecting to have to manage this day, the brunette fainted almost instantly and dropped to the floor.

"Wow, um…" Kara gaped, catching Lena and trying to make it look like it was a bit of struggle, though really it was effortless. "Hi."

Kara tried to smile at the girl holding her daughter's hand but was honestly just as shocked as Lena was. Tending to her wife then, Kara focused on Lena until the woman came to, just a moment later.

"You okay?" the hero asked quickly, stroking Lena's hair back.

Alura and her girlfriend were as red and beets and looked as though they wanted to shrink back into the crowd.

"You okay, Mrs. Danvers?" Alura's girlfriend asked gently, kneeling beside Kara and Lena.

Lena nodded and mumbled, "Sorry," wiping the sweat from her forehead. "Just… surprised." Then, looking up at Alura, she managed, "Happy for you, sweetheart. Just surprised."

Alura blushed and said apologetically, "Sorry, Ma. I should've told you guys sooner. I guess I was just nervous you'd… you know. Pass out."

Lena laughed as Kara helped her to her feet.

"You should come over for dinner tonight, if you don't have other plans. We were just going to celebrate Alura's graduation and acceptance into Yale."

"You got accepted into YALE?!" Alura's girlfriend gaped, staring at her.

"I, um… I…"

"Oops…" Lena mumbled, looking over at her wife.

"If you don't want to come over, I understand," Alura blurted, dropping her gaze to hide her embarrassment.

"No," her girlfriend said quickly, grabbing her hand back. "I'll be there." Then, looking up, she said, "I'd be happy to come over. It was lovely to meet you. See you all later?"

The women nodded, and Alex said, "Nice to meet you too, Little Miss. You better take good care of my niece."

Alura's girlfriend nodded, and they all laughed before saying their goodbyes for the afternoon.

As soon as the young woman was out of earshot, Kara leaned forward, so that only the three of them could hear, and said, "Secrets don't make lovers, Alura. You know that."

"I just wasn't ready to tell her," Alura whined. "She's probably pissed that I'm leaving. She's staying at National City Community College. She…"

"If she really loves you," Lena said sternly, "she'll be happy for you and encourage you to reach for your dreams."

Nodding, Alura mumbled, "I know, Ma. I was just scared."

"Fear doesn't get us anywhere, Alura," Kara told her. "It just holds us back and hurts the ones we love. Without vulnerability, there is no growth."

Again, Alura nodded her understanding, knowing her mother was very right about this.

"I'll talk to her," Alura said honestly. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys."

"It takes more courage to be honest than to lie," Lena warned her. "But we understand. Just… try to be more open with us in the future, okay? We're never going to judge you. We promise."

"Nope," Alex chimed in. "Not ever. We're so, so, so proud of you, honey. Top of your class, headed to Yale, and you have a super pretty girlfriend."

"Shut up, you," Alura countered with a bright blush.

"She is cute," Kara agreed.

"She seems very kind," Lena added. "I like her so far."

"I'll kick her ass if she hurts you," Alex promised with a devious grin.

Laughing, Alura told her, "I know, Auntie. I know."

"Alright, champ," Kara said with a smile, wiping the last of her tears. "Let's go home."

Hand-in-hand with her mothers, and her aunt close behind, Alura headed home with her family.

Alright, guys! That's it! The final chapter in this story. Thank you so much to all of you who read, commented, and talked with me about your thoughts. You can't know how much it means to me. It's the difference between finishing a story and not. Yes, I write to channel my creativity... but when I get discouraged, it's easy to quit. You guys keep me going! Thank you so much for making it this far, and I hope you enjoyed the ride! Much love.