Author's Note: Trigger warning for discussion of suicide.

"Hey, Lena—"

"Kara!" the brunette cried, rushing towards the girl.

Before she gave into her impulse to embrace her former partner, Lena found herself stopping cold in her tracks, realizing what she was about to do.

"Sorry," Lena mumbled, dropping her gaze immediately.

"Wait," Kara whispered, stepping forward and lifting the girl's chin. "It's okay."

Expression pained, Lena looked into Kara's eyes, confused.

But when Kara's arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace, she softened. Falling into the hug, Lena breathed deeply, taking in the scent of her.

"You smell amazing," Lena blurted, not thinking fast enough to stop herself from making the personal comment.

"Thanks," Kara replied softly, a light blush tinting her cheeks.

After hesitating awkwardly for several moments, Lena gestured to the nearby table and the two sat down across from each other in the cafeteria.

"So… How are you?" the brunette asked, biting her lip as she noticed herself suddenly and unexpectedly not knowing what to say.

Since when was Lena Luthor shy?

"Don't worry about me. How are you? Are you okay? Are you feeling any better? Is it—"

When she saw the look on Lena's face, Kara could immediately could tell the girl was overwhelmed, so she quickly blurted, "Sorry. Just… worried about you."

"I'm…" Lena started, biting her lip and not wanting to lie. "I'm not… not really feeling better, no."

"I'm sorry…" Kara said softly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Honestly, Kara… You being here has been the best thing to happen to me since my admission. It feels like everything is going wrong. I just wanna go home."

"Lena… Can I ask you something?"

"I'd rather you didn't," Lena sighed, seeing the serious look on the blonde's face and knowing the question wouldn't be one she wanted to answer. When Kara just nodded respectfully, though, Lena huffed, "Alright. Ask."

"Okay. But listen… if you can't be honest, or don't want to be, please just say you don't want to answer. Don't… Don't lie to me, okay?"

Hesitating longer than she likely should have, Lena nodded and agreed, "Okay."

"If they let you out today, what would you do when you got home?"

Lena's lips parted slightly, an expression of surprise on her face. Kara had definitely caught her off guard with this.

"I can't answer that," she realized out loud, dropping her gaze.

"Okay," Kara told her softly. "I understand."

"No, you don't," the patient told her, firmly but without sharpness in her tone. "You really, really don't, Kara."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I just meant that I understand your choice not to tell me. Not that I understand what you're going through."

Taking in a deep breath, Lena finally confessed, "If I left today and went home, I would likely get high and kill myself."

Kara's lips parted as though she was about to speak, but no sound came out.

"I'm sorry," the brunette sighed. "I know that's not what you want to hear. But I don't want to lie or fake it anymore."

"I don't want you to either, Lee," Kara told her. "You don't need to fake anything with me. I'm just glad you're here getting help when you need it."

"I'm not getting help," the star asserted.

"Are you doing therapy? Groups?"

Scowling reflexively, Lena stared at Kara, gritting her teeth, and replied, "No. Why would I?"

"Lena. You just told me you'd go home and kill yourself if they let you out, but you don't think you need help? How can you even pretend that makes sense?"

Lena tried to speak, but just as Kara had fallen silent a few moments before, she suddenly found herself without words.

"You and I both know you need to be here. And it's okay. But I wish you'd just use what you have here. They're trying to help you."

Hearing the attending speaking through Kara made Lena's scowl return.

"Don't act like you know what's best for me."

"Don't be like that, Lena. You know I care about you." Then, irritation finally bleeding through, Kara added, "And hey, as crazy as this sounds, I just don't want you to go hang yourself and fucking die."

The severe tone in Kara's voice left Lena somewhat taken back. It wasn't like Kara to be so sharp-tongued. It meant she was serious. And frustrated. Even angry?

"You have every right to be pissed at me," Lena sighed. "I'm sorry, okay? I just can't help it. I feel how I feel." Nonchalantly, Lena tacked on, "And just so you know, I'd never hang myself. Chance of failure is too high."

"What?"

"BANG."

Kara's mouth fell open. Staring in disbelief, she could no longer speak. Even if she'd wanted to, she had no idea what to say.

So, without knowing where she'd go next if she managed to say something else, she simply said, "Lena…"

"I'm just saying."

"Time's up, Miss Luthor," the mental health worker interrupted them, signaling that visiting hours were over.

Looking as sad as she felt, a frown turning her lips down and making her eyes water - Lena stared at Kara hopelessly. Silently, she pleaded, Get me out of here.

And Kara heard her loud and clear. Sadly for Lena, even if the blonde had been able to do so, she wouldn't have. Kara knew she needed to be there. They both did. Kara was just more ready to admit it than Lena was.

So, before Lena could say goodbye or either of them could go back in for a hug, Kara gave her a small wave and a sad look in reply.

~!~!~

The next day, Kara visited again, and the meeting was pretty much the same. Lena was still depressed, still defiant, still stubborn as Hell, and still very, very suicidal.

This time, though, Kara's frustration returned more quickly, and her level of patience waned before she could catch it to get it under control.

So, when Lena said, "This place is Hell, Kara. Being here isn't helping. It's not making me less depressed. It's not making me less suicidal. It's a fucking prison," Kara snapped in response.

"You know what, Lena? Of course it's not fucking helping. You're not doing anything to help yourself."

Lena's jaw dropped. Boy, was Kara calling her on her shit. And that hurt. So much, in fact, that Lena's chest clenched tightly at the sound of her words and the realization that Kara wasn't being harsh at all; she was just being honest. And she was right.

Of course, Lena fucking hated this, so her instinct was to shoot back with some sort of rebuttal. But for some reason, this time, she was able to listen to her better judgment and stopped herself from lashing out at the one person who cared about her more than anything.

"I'm going to have the doc call you," she said simply, making Kara tilt her head in confusion.

"What?"

"I told you I'd sign a release so you could talk to him. I'm going to have him call you and tell you what he thinks and get your input. It can't hurt. They're never letting me out of here anyway, so it doesn't really matter what either of you say. I don't care what you say to him, and I don't care what you know about my hospitalization. I trust you."

"But why do you—"

"I don't know," Lena said with a shrug. "Maybe he'll gain some magical insight into my psyche, or maybe you will. Who knows? Unless you don't want to talk to him…."

"No, no! I do!" Kara cried, nearly rising from her seat from the enthusiasm of her response. "I really do. I care about what's going on for you and what they think. You know you better than anyone, but it would be nice to at least try to understand where the doc is coming from with his assessments."

Lena nodded, glanced at the clocked, and sighed.

"Time's almost up."

Biting her lip, Kara nodded, saying, "Yeah…"

"Be good, kid," Lena told her softly, locking their gazes with a half-hearted, melancholy smile.

"You first," Kara asserted, offering an equally as sad expression of warmth.

With a shrug, Lena rose from the table and left Kara in the cafeteria with her head spinning.