Lena left L-corp and thought briefly about where she should go: she knew Kara would be home late and she also knew that Alex should see the article before having to buy it in the store. With this in mind, she texted Alex and headed home with Elsa in toe. Arriving home, Lena put her things away and settled into the living room, not ever changing out of her outfit from work, but letting her hair out of the ponytail it was in: a tactic Kara suggested when they first began dating because she knew Lena struggled to relax, but this was a small thing the CEO could do for herself even if Kara wasn't around. Lena sat on the couch thumbing through the article in a mindless haze, only being brought back to reality by a knock at the door. Lena smiled when Elsa took off like a shot and was gently barking as she ran toward the front door. Lena calmly walked over and pulled Elsa back gently by her collar.

"Hey, relax, it's a nice person, ok. This person we like, so no barking. Now, sit and wait." Elsa still had a goofy grin on her face, but she listened to Lena and sat in the spot she was in. She was all but vibrating, something she and Kara shared in common when happy, but she stood still while Lena opened the door. Alex stepped inside and had to laugh.

"So, I'm a nice person you like huh? I didn't mean to excite her, but I didn't want to open the door and have her run out or anything." Lena smiled and nodded toward the dog, that she was surprised to see looked excited to meet Alex even though, so far, she wasn't wild about new people.

"She hasn't gotten this excited over anyone she has met so far, but we are trying to get her not to bark at new people, but she could have been barking at the door which is a pretty normal dog behavior." Lena saw how badly the dog wanted to see Alex and finally she stepped away from Alex, "you prepared to meet her?"

"Um, it is an adorable puppy that wants to love on me Lena, I am so ready for this." Lena rolled her eyes and smiled. She went and stood by Elsa and gently tapped the dogs nose and had her follow her finger to Lena's nose.

"Elsa, watch me." The dog looked very intently at Lena and Lena smiled, "good watch me. Elsa, visit." The dog broke away from Lena and bolted toward Alex, not jumping on the agent, but being very excited to make a new friend. Alex of course, promptly sat down in the hallway and allowed herself to get kisses from the puppy while frantically offering belly rubs.

"You managed to adopt a dog with Kara's personality AND blue eyes. Very impressive Lena." Lena smiled as she watched the dog lay on her back and get all the attention she wanted from Alex. Lena pointed to the living room, "if you would like to be more comfortable while playing with her, maybe you'll both join me in the living room. Unless you like sitting on the hardwood floor in front of my door." Alex got up and followed Lena, calling for the dog to follow her. Alex joined Lena on the couch and Elsa stood in front of the two women, clearly begging to get up there and join them. Lena rolled her eyes and shook her head, "you know the rules if you want up here." Alex watched in a bit of amazement as the dog went over to a basket full of the new toys and things they had bought and returned with a large blanket that has been folded neatly. Lena took it from the dog and laid it out between herself and Alex. Elsa waited, looking intently at Lena for a command. Alex watched the exchange, watching Lena lock eyes with the dog and then a few seconds later patting the spot next to her, telling the dog 'up'. Of course, the puppy didn't need to be told twice before she jumped up between the two women and quickly licked Lena's face before snuggling into Alex's leg.

"Wow, you guys trained her a lot in just a few days."

"That is thanks to your sister. They trained her a bit at the shelter, but Kara knew we would both let her get away with murder if we didn't teach her certain things. She is allowed on the bed, mostly because Kara made a joke when we brought her home and it stuck. Otherwise if she wants up here she knows to grab this blanket or the others near her basket of toys. This couch is older anyway so I don't care about the hair, its more so just making sure her nails don't dig in. But when Kara was up late finishing the article she would work with Elsa on commands and she is doing very well so far. Aren't you my sweet girl?" Lena offered the dog ear scratches and the puppy leaned into Lena's hand, clearly enjoying it. Alex sat back and had to smile at the sight in front of her: the mighty Lena Luthor talking sweetly to an animal and letting that animal on her furniture without so much of a hint of discomfort.

"I never pegged you as an animal person." Lena smiled at the puppy as she continued to gently pet her fur. "If anything, you shouldn't be surprised: human beings have let me down my whole life, animals on the other hand were fiercely loyal so long as they were cared for and loved. Maybe the only kind thing my mother ever did was 'forcing' me to take riding lessons. Being around the horses, riding, even grooming them, it made me feel connected to something that was real and alive, something that didn't want anything from me, something that loved me just because I loved it."

Alex sometimes forgot that her normal sarcasm she used with Kara would not always land with Lena because of her childhood being less than a loving place.

"Lena, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just nice to see you fawn over the puppy. Usually those heart eyes are reserved just for my sister."

"You are correct about that. But now I share these eyes with someone much furrier." The dog gave Lena a quick kiss before flopping on the sofa again. Alex ran her hand along the dog's body when Lena handed her the copy of CatCo magazine that she had read earlier.

"I read it this morning and I think you should before it comes out." Alex lifted the papers from Lena and set them in her lap, "does Kara know you have this?"

"Of course, she told me I could read the advanced copy. I read it today before I left work and I…I think you should read it Alex. Before it hits shelves that is."

"Why?" Lena looked softly at Alex and smiled, "she talks about you Alex and how you helped her through things and I am trying to give you a chance to read it and talk to her about it before she is swarmed by the press about her story within this story. Jess was throwing the word Pulitzer around today and in my biased opinion I agree." Alex flipped through until she hit the marked page where the article began. Lena made herself busy by checking emails on her work phone, answering some emails from wedding vendors and she tried hard to give Alex space despite being 5 feet from her. She watched Alex out the corner of her eye as she read and she noticed when Alex would pause and look away from the page, trying to collect herself. She noticed Alex hold onto Elsa more as she read and she even noticed the puppy inch closer to Alex to offer more comfort. When she put the magazine copy down a few minutes later, Alex looked straight ahead of her and out the floor to ceiling window in front of them.

"I forgot I ever told her that when she first came to live with us. Who forgets being that awful to their sister? Jesus, I knew I had been a brat to her, but that was just mean. I might as well have said I'm never gonna love you please get out of my room. And I said that to a girl who had lost her whole family, her whole world. All of that pain and I couldn't be a decent human being for 10 minutes." Alex let her head fall against the back of the couch and she rubbed her face with both hands, like you would when you have a headache.

"Alex, she doesn't blame you for anything and the next few sentences after that one show that while you didn't need a sister, you were more than ready to be a great one to Kara. She knew you had her back always, even when you didn't know what you were doing, you never let her know pain alone. I can promise you, that is the Alex Danvers she remembers best, not the teenager she met that first day she got to earth. The sister she holds in the highest regard is the same sister who promised to make her nightmares go away. That is the Alex Danvers she loves more than anything else and it is my professional opinion that it is that Alex Danvers that is sitting on my couch right now."

"I was so mad when she showed up, but after even a few hours I wanted to help her. Then days went by and I, I started to see her as something other than this inconvenience that fell from the sky. She became my sister so fast, I just, I never thought much about that first day and how I treated her: it takes a special asshole to be mean to someone who just watched their whole life go up in smoke."

"That is true, but consider this Alex. It takes an equally special person to love someone so deeply and profoundly that they don't lose faith in humanity. You may have been cruel to her when she arrived, but you changed. You started to love her and who could blame you, Kara is, if anything, very lovable. You loved her even though your teenage cynicism told you that you should hate this new girl, that her very presence threatened the life you had with your parents. You loved for everything she was and everything she wasn't and you stuck with her when she needed a tether to this world. So, yes, you were mean to someone who had just lost everything, but then you made sure she gained everything. You couldn't rebuild her home planet, couldn't bring back her family, but you helped her build one here, on the only planet you and I will ever consider our home. So maybe the woman you are today can forgive the teenager who made a snap judgment that happened to be wrong. Kara forgave that girl, maybe you should too." Alex nodded and brushed stray tears away before looking back at Lena.

"You're right."

"I usually am." Lena winked at Alex and the agent laughed.

Alex then pointed to the magazine copy in her hand. "I didn't know she still blamed herself for them dying though. Then again, I never asked about it. I just assumed she knew Kyrpton dying wasn't her fault."

"For what it is worth, even I didn't know it still haunted her this much either. She gets very triggered on anniversaries of the planet blowing up and is so sensitive to loud noise, but I never thought that it was because she felt a sense of responsibility over what happened."

"Maybe she thought we couldn't handle it?" Lena shook her head thoughtfully, "I think it might be more that she didn't think she could handle it. If she said it out loud, it would be real and real things hurt. I think she did it to keep herself safe, not to keep us safe." Lena stood up and pointed to the kitchen, "I should figure something out for dinner so that she has something to eat when she finally gets home. You are welcome to stay, but I don't know if you have plans with Kelly."

"It's her late night tonight so she won't be done till 8 and she usually does notes for an hour before coming home so I've got no plans." Lena nodded and called the dog to follow her. Alex followed and watched as Lena grabbed a few things out of the cupboard in the pantry and return to the island. She and Alex made dinner for themselves, setting aside a large portion of food for Kara (Lena even added some of Kara's favorite pot stickers that she kept on hand in the freezer). Lena and Alex had fallen into an easy conversation while Lena put the dishes into the dishwasher and Alex helped feed the dog. It was during this time that Lena heard the front door open and gently close, Kara's voice filtering through the house as it happened. Of course, this combination of sounds caused Elsa to bolt from her food dish toward the front door. Lena heard Kara's happy exclamation as she was greeted by the dog. She entered the kitchen hold the puppy like it was a small child in her arms and Lena was unsure who looked happier: Elsa or Kara.

"Kara, you know the puppy can walk right?"

"But she looks so happy when I do this Lena." Kara did finally put the dog down, moving to offer her sister a hug.

"I didn't know you were coming over. Did I forget plans?" Alex shook her head as she returned to her seat. "No, Lena invited me over to check out your newest article and I just stayed since it is Kelly's late night." Kara seemed to become very nervous.

"You read it?" Alex nodded and offered Kara a comforting smile, "is it ok that I read it? Lena said you knew she was reading it and she felt it would be a good idea for me to read it before it hits shelves." Kara looked over to Lena with a shy smile and Lena knew she had made the right call. Kara never would have asked Alex to read the advanced copy in the fear of hurting her feelings.

"Of course it's ok. I would've asked you to read it myself, but I…I didn't want to hurt your feelings." Kara looked instantly uncomfortable at the thought of upsetting Alex with the truth of their past and Alex felt an extra layer of guilt.

"Kara come here." Alex held out her hand and led Kara to take a seat next to her. "Why were you afraid of hurting my feelings?"

"Because I talked about stuff from when we were kids and it happened such a long time ago. I guess I didn't want you to think I still was hurt by what happened back then."

Alex nodded, "and are you? Still hurt about what happened back then?" Kara opened her mouth so fast to say no, but no words came out because on a deep level, she just couldn't lie to Alex. Not about this, anyway. Alex saw this and knew she had made her own point.

"Kara, listen to me, ok. You are my baby sister, no matter how old we both get ok. That means that if something hurts you, I am going to fix it and make it better. It just so happens that this time the thing I have to fix and make better is a really awful thing I said when you first got to earth. More than anything Kara, I wish I could take back what I said to you. I didn't know what it would mean for you to hear those words right after losing everything. I was mad and instead of using my damn words to say that exactly, I made my intense feelings your fault and that wasn't fair. You gotta know something though Kara. Loving you was so damn easy, that I quickly lost that attitude I had and even though we fought, we fought like sisters fight, not enemies. There wasn't anything I wouldn't do for you and there is still nothing on this, or any, planet that I wouldn't do for you."

Kara fiddled with her fingers and nodded, not ever really looking Alex directly in the eye. Alex grabbed her hands and made Kara look up at her.

"Kara, I'm sorry I ever made you think I didn't need you, even if it was just for that moment."

"It's not like you haven't made up for it since then Alex."

"That may be true, but I shouldn't have said it to start with."

"You aren't mad I wrote about it?"

"What's that plaque Lena gave you when you got your first cover. 'You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.' I should've behaved better, so no Kara I'm not mad. Besides, you follow it up with some very nice stuff about me so how could I ever be mad?" Kara smiled at Alex and looked over at Lena who was leaning against the kitchen island.

"What did you think about it?"

Lena smiled, "I think my opinion is biased, but I thought it was the best thing you've ever written. It was hard to read emotionally because I could feel how much pain you must have been in, but it was impressive Kara."

"I feel better now." Lena looked back at Kara with a slightly raised eye brow, all but telling her lover that she didn't believe what she just said.

"Kara, it's ok to still feel pain around this." Kara looked at Lena and nodded, "I know, but pain and anger are different." Lena nodded as she walked around the island to stand in front of Kara.

"Why didn't you tell me it was still this painful for you Kara? I could have helped you sort through some of those feelings, or at least make you feel like you weren't going through it alone." Kara seemed caught in her thoughts and Lena realized her probable mistake a little too late. Asking Kara something like this, after a long day, most of which was no doubt emotional for her, was all but guaranteeing that the superhero would have an adverse reaction.

"I didn't think it still hurt me this much, I thought I was handling it ok. Then she said what she said about forgiving them and it made me remember…" Kara trailed off and started to pull at her ear, not hard, but enough to show Lena that she was beginning to struggle.

"Made you remember what love?" Kara shut her eyes and before Lena could try and say something Kara lunged forward and kissed Lena hard, pulling the CEO close to her. Alex wanted more than anything to look away, because she didn't need to see this, but something seemed off. Kara, while always affectionate with Lena, never was that forward with PDAs, so this was out of the ordinary. Alex watched as Lena very skillfully and gently broke the kiss and held Kara in place in an effort to ground her.

"Kara, no. I know I struck a nerve and I am sorry, but you can't use sex as an excuse to feel something love. You just need to talk to me, ok. It's just me and Alex." Kara seemed suddenly embarrassed that her sister had seen her try and use being physically close to Lena as a way of avoiding her feelings. Kara fumbled with Lena's fingers, refusing eye contact as she ran her thumb across Lena's engagement ring.

"When I sat in my car, after the interview. I thought about what she said, about forgiving them for dying and for leaving me. And part of why it hurt so much to hear that and to face it was because I was afraid to forgive them." Lena ran her hand through Kara's hair and hummed her understanding, while gently encouraging Kara to say what it was she was trying to say.

"Why were you afraid to forgive them?" Kara swallowed hard and softly answered Lena, saying, "I was afraid if I forgave them I would lose their memory totally. At least if I was still hurting and angry, I wouldn't forget them. I don't know, it sounds dumb when I say it now." Lena shook her head and moved her hands to gently cup Kara's face, forcing her to look at Lena.

"Kara, it's never a mistake to hold on to a memory. Sometimes its all we're left with." Kara nodded, looking tearfully at Lena, "I miss them."

"I know you do love." Kara kept grabbing at her ears and again, Alex watched as Lena quickly, and seemingly without thinking, took Kara's hand and rested it on her chest, just above her v neck. "Just listen to my heartbeat Kara, not the other stuff. Just my heartbeat, and Alex's heartbeat and my voice, ok? That's all you have to hear right now." Kara nodded and the three of them settled into the silence in the room for a few minutes, until Kara took her own hand away from Lena and brushed away stray tears from her eyes.

"I think I'm gonna go shower and then I would like to go to bed." Lena nodded, "I'll make you a sandwich then, because you need to eat something before you go to bed." Kara knew better than to fight it and she knew Lena was right. Lena left Kara's side to go make her some food, leaving the sisters to themselves. Kara turned to Alex and tried to offer a smile.

"Sorry you had to see all that." Alex shook her head, "don't ever be sorry for having a hard day Kara, or for being upset. You've seen me have those days. Just because you are a superhero doesn't mean you don't have hard days just like the rest of us." Alex offered her sister a tight hug and quick kiss to her hairline.

"I love you. You know that now right?" Kara smiled and nodded. "I knew it back then too Alex."

"Just making sure you heard it from me." Alex winked at her sister and gestured toward the door. "I will leave you to get ready for bed and Kelly should be home by the time I get here anyway, so I should head out." Alex said goodbye to Lena and offered final pets to Elsa before Kara walked her out of the penthouse. When she returned to the kitchen she grabbed half the sandwich from the plate Lena laid out for her and retreated into the bedroom to shower before bed. Lena put the rest of the sandwich on the counter in the bathroom and then returned to the living room with Elsa in toe. She sat on the couch reading for about 30 minutes when she heard Kara come into the kitchen and walk over to where she sat on the couch.

"You going to make me sleep all alone in our bed and steal my dog?" Lena smiled, "Oh, so he's your dog today?" Kara smiled and kissed Lena before pulling her up onto her feet.

"Feel better?" Kara nodded, "a little, I'm tired though. I said I'd be in at the normal time tomorrow, cuz I can't do this timeline again."

"Good, then let's get National City's hero to bed so that I can cuddle with my wife and fight for my own spot in my own bed because of a certain dog." Lena looked down to see Elsa with the goofy grin she always had, knowing full well she was being talked about. They returned to the bedroom and Lena was less than surprised when Kara passed out hard within minutes of her head hitting the pillow. Lena snuggled closer to her and with Elsa wedged between them, the CEO quickly followed suit and fell asleeop.