Prompt: Mike and Lena's conversation after the big fight in 1x02


Lena stared at her phone with her thumb hovering over the Decline button. She was not in the mood to talk to him right now. In fact, just seeing his name on the screen had her blood boiling again. But she had already ignored his call three times today and she knew he wouldn't stop until she answered. If he and Stef had anything in common it was an enduring stubborn streak. Rolling her eyes and with great reluctance, Lena accepted the call.

"Mike," she said curtly. She may have to be civil but she certainly didn't have to be pleasant about it.

"Hey, Lena." Mike's voice was practically oozing with charm and she found it even more unappealing than usual. "Can you talk right now?"

"I'm at work," she said, not bothering to hide her disdain.

"I uh… I can call back later."

"Don't…" Lena sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. "It's fine." She leaned back in her desk chair and closed her eyes, suddenly weary.

"Listen. About last night. I uh… I shouldn't have said what I did."

"I know," she said coldly. Mike chuckled half-heartedly.

"Right." Silence fell heavily on the other end of the phone and Lena stared blankly across at her closed office door. When Mike finally spoke again, he was uncharacteristically humble. "Listen, Lena. I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to imply that your opinion didn't matter and there's no excuse for it." As Lena listened she could already feel her resolve weaken.

"I appreciate that."

"I was a complete jackass and I didn't mean it. We're very different people and our parenting styles are completely opposite. But I know you love Brandon and that you have his best interests at heart." Mike's sincerity left Lena feeling pleasantly surprised. She looked at the photo of her family that sat on her desk. Brandon's face, still round and soft at just nine, took her focus and her heart softened immediately as she reminded herself that without Mike, she wouldn't have her son at all.

"Thank you, Mike. Brandon means the world to me and I would never make a decision concerning him that I didn't believe was going to be the best for him."

"I know that. Just, maybe when it's something this big, next time you guys could run it by me?"

"Of course. I'm sorry that we didn't. We absolutely should have."

"Thank you. Well, I should let you get back to work. Are we okay?" Lena smiled to herself, remembering her partner checking in with her after their fight last night. Another quality Stef and Mike had in common was kindness. It was no wonder Brandon had so much of it. He got a double dose.

"Yes. We're good."

"Good. I'll let you go…" He trailed off, sounding apprehensive.

"Is there something else, Mike?"

"Yeah. Uh… I just wanted you to know that… I think of you as Brandon's parent, too." A brief silence hung between them again as Lena processed her shock at his confession. She bit her lip in an effort to push back the tears that sprang to her eyes. Though he had never denied it, this was the first time Mike had ever acknowledged her parenthood outright. She took a deep breath, hoping for a steady voice.

"Thank you. That means more to me than you could know."

"Yeah, sure." Mike was back to overcompensating with his casual charm. He was always so uncomfortable with genuine sentiment. Thank god Stef didn't share that with him, even if she could be a bit thick from time to time. "I'll talk to you later, then."

"Definitely. Goodbye, Mike." Lena ended the call, setting her phone down on the desk. She picked up the photo of her family, studying the smiling faces of the four people she loved most in the world. A smile grew on her lips and as she ran a finger over the face of the little boy she had been blessed with a decade ago, her heart felt lighter than it ever had.