Conversations on a Balcony

108

Mommy, /ieiu/, Liv and Abby were on the airport viewing balcony, looking out at the planes taking off and landing. It was a typically sunny day, and the light breeze lifted their hair as they listened to the roar of the engines on the runways below them.

Abby was tired and a little cranky. She'd missed her nap and hadn't slept in the car, due to her baby sister's wailing. She was SOOOO over her baby sister's wailing. "Can we give her back?" she suddenly asked, looking up at Cat, who had the restless infant in her arms.

Her Mommy chuckled softly. "No, Baby Girl, we can't give her back. There's a no return policy."

Abby pouted EPICALLY, crossing her arms as Kara stroked her hair gently. "I know she cries a lot," /ieiu/ explained. "But that's what tiny babies do, Honey. They can't talk to tell us what they're feeling, so they can only cry. She won't cry as much when she gets older."

"I hope," Cat muttered under her breath. She had dark circles under her own eyes that her makeup was barely masking.

"It's just so… loud," Abby stated, putting her hands over her ears.

Kara and Cat exchanged a look and the hero crouched in front of her daughter. "Honey, does it bother you a lot? The loud?"

Abby nodded. "It's always loud, /ieiu/."

Kara shook her head, disgusted at herself. "I'm sorry, Baby Girl, I didn't think. I should have…" She felt Cat's hand on her shoulder and took a deep breath, settling herself. "Ok, I want you to do something for me."

"Ok," the little girl replied.

Kara gently took her daughter's hand and pressed its little palm against her own chest. "Can you hear my heartbeat?"

Abby nodded as she closed her eyes tiredly. "It's nice."

The Kryptonian smiled tenderly. "I want you to listen to my heartbeat, Baby Girl. Just listen to it until all the loud goes away, ok?"

The little blonde head nodded, and Abby did as she was asked. She stepped closer to her /ieiu/ and rested her head on her shoulder. Kara wrapped her arms around her and stood, rocking her slowly. Within moments, the little girl was asleep, snoring softly.

Cat reached out and caressed her wife's arm. "Don't blame yourself, Kara," she said.

"I should have realized, Cat. I saw how tired she was."

"Baby, you know as well as I do that being a parent is a lot of moving parts. We missed one. It happens. We know now and we can do something about it."

"I need to start her training," Kara stated. "This weekend."

The older woman nodded. "Agreed." Then she looked at the information board. "Flight's landed, let's go to the meeting area."

They walked through the arrivals level to the meeting place and grinned as they saw Carter coming down the hallway toward them, a tall, handsome black man with him.

"Wow," Kara said, exchanging a look with her wife. "Jordan's REALLY good looking."

"He is," Cat agreed. "They look good together." Then she smiled broadly and held out one arm to hug her son to her. "Hello, my Darling!"

"Hi, Mom, /ieiu/," Carter said with a huge grin. "This is my boyfriend, Jordan McKay. Jordan, my Mom, Cat and my stepmom, Kara."

Jordan smiled and shook their hands. "A pleasure. Carter has told me a lot about you." His smile broadened then. "And I assume these gorgeous things are Abigail and Olivia?"

"Abby's the one drooling on my shoulder," Kara chuckled. "And the one who sounds like the world is coming to an end is Liv."

Carter leaned in to look at Liv and Cat passed her over to him to cradle in his big arms. It seemed to her that her son had been working out. He seemed bulkier than the last time she'd seen him and he'd also grown a beard. "Oh my God, she's beautiful," he breathed, nuzzling the top of her head. He was just about to say that she looked like Cat, when he caught himself. Kara was supposed to be the only bioMom. Olivia immediately stopped crying, her eyes big as she gazed in wonder at the face looking down at her.

Cat smiled, her eyebrows raised. "Isn't she?"

Just then, Abby stirred and lifted her head, rubbing her eyes. "/ieiu/," she said. "Can we go home?"

Kara turned her to face her brother. "Don't you want to say hi to Carter first?" she teased.

"What?" the little girl asked, confused and still half-asleep.

Carter passed Liv back to Cat and then stroked his little sister's hair. "Hi, Cutie," he said, kissing her cheek.

Abby looked at him and then her face crumpled into tears as she reached out her little arms to him. He took her and cradled her against his chest. "Awwww… don't cry, Bubbles. I came to see you. That's a happy thing."

"She's overtired," Kara explained. "The baby's been keeping her awake. How about we head home?"

As they all headed for the parking garage, Kara moved closer to Jordan. "How was the flight?" she asked, looking up at him. The man was so tall that she had to resist the urge to hover a few inches off the ground.

"It was pretty good actually," Jordan replied. "Although the leg room was lacking."

"Only for those with six-feet-long legs," Carter teased with a big grin, laughing softly as his boyfriend pushed him playfully. Abby glared at Jordan, and he laughed softly.

"I surrender, Sweetheart!" he added, holding his hands up.

The glare eased but Steely Eyes continued to watch him all the way to the car and Kara realized that her daughter was a protector, just like Supergirl was. The Kryptonian grinned and beeped their SUV open. With the visitors, the kids and the luggage, they wouldn't have all fit in either her BMW or Cat's Tesla, so they'd bought a Suburban earlier that day. Kara had asked to drive the big vehicle, beaming a smile all the way to the penthouse as Cat watched her lovingly.

But now it was Cat's turn and, as she pulled out of the parking deck, she looked at her family reflected in the rearview mirror, and felt her heart swell with love and pride.