The calmness didn't last long. As soon as Lena caught sight of the mansion, her chest was filled with heart palpitations and the sensation of being embraced by a boa constrictor.

"Wait," she blurted. "Kara, I can't. I can't go in there."

Immediately, Kara pulled over just before reaching the driveway, looking concerned as she glanced over at Lena, who was clearly in a panic.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't be here, Kara. Don't take me home."

"But I thought—"

"Please. Please, Kara. Anywhere but here. I just can't."

Hesitating only briefly as confusion struck her, Kara pulled the car back onto the road and turned left down the next road.

Sniffling as slow, quiet tears dripped down her cheek, Lena finally asked, "Where are we going?"

"Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere. I don't care."

"Skate park."

Lena raised an eyebrow as her lips curled into a small, satisfied smile.

"Good choice," she praised the girl. "Never even would've thought of that."

"It's been a while…" the blonde said slowly, biting her lip as she stared ahead as the road.

With a soft sigh, Lena nodded her head and muttered, "Yeah." Then, after a long pause, she added, "I'm sorry, Kara."

Reflexively, Kara shook her head and scolded her friend, "Don't. Don't be sorry. It's okay. I get it. You were struggling."

"I am struggling," the brunette confessed.

"I'm right here, though, you know," the star's best friend told her. "You're not alone, okay?"

Lena wasn't sure how to respond. She wanted to believe her. She really did. But it was just too hard.

Then, she thought back on Dr. Edwards' words. They were just friends now, but maybe Kara was worth fighting for. And maybe, even if that didn't work out, it would be worth it to stay friends. Kara was the only one who had always been there for her, when it had been possible. Thinking back on it, Lena felt guilty for her belief that Kara should have stayed in the relationship, despite Lena's circling the drain. She understood now that this was nowhere near a fair request. Kara needed to keep herself healthy, mentally, and staying with her wouldn't have allowed that. And besides… setting boundaries in relationships is the only way to keep them healthy in the first place. Even if it hurt them both.

So, Lena stayed silent the rest of the drive, unable to respond to Kara's kind words. She knew Kara cared. That was obvious, as she thought about it. But the words of appreciation she wanted to say were stuck deep behind the walls of her own insecurities.

By the time they finally arrived at the skate park, Lena was feeling much better, as evidenced by a smile and a significantly slowed heart rate.

"Ready?" Kara asked, offering a weak smile.

She couldn't deny that she was hurt by Lena's lack of a reply to her offer of companionship and loyalty, but she knew her friend was struggling, so she tried to be patient and understanding. Forcing a smile was the best she could do.

The brunette nodded and got out of the car.

"You got your board?" she asked.

Kara nodded, opening the trunk and removing two boards as she said, "Yours too."

"Wait, how'd you get mine?"

"Magic."

Lena blinked a few times before shrugging away her puzzled expression and taking the board that was offered to her.

"You should take mine…" she said suddenly. "Yours is pretty beat up."

"Hey, shut up! Jasmine is fine!"

"Uh, what?"

"Her name is Jasmine. You know, like the Disney princess? Lots of sass, wit, and determination."

"Uh… Okay, buddy," Lena chuckled, walking away from the parking lot towards the half-pipe.

Before she could make it there, though, Kara caught her hand and told her softly, "You know, if you just want to sit and talk - or not talk - it's okay. We don't haveto skate."

"No, I want to. Need to expend some of this energy and get some fresh air."

With a nod of understanding, Kara announced, "Okay, then, slow poke. Let's go!"

Positioning the skateboard appropriately before diving in, Kara jumped onto the skateboard with enthusiasm and a grin. Lena followed and fell directly onto her ass after only moments on the board. Kara scraped to a stop and rushed towards the girl, who was rising to her feet and brushing the dirt off her jeans.

"I'm fine," Lena laughed, smiling up at Kara. "Relax. Don't be so overprotective."

"But, I— You're—"

"I'm fine, hun. It's okay."

When Lena turned around to get back on the board, though, Kara noticed a huge spot of dust and dirt all over the girl's back.

"Hey, uh… you missed a spot," she mumbled, touching Lena's shoulder.

The star spun around and said, "Huh?"

"Your… um… back… and…"

"Well, don't just stare. Get it," Lena chuckled.

Blushing slightly, Kara dusted off her friend's back until it was mostly clean - though not entirely, of course - and then looked at the girl shyly.

"What?" Lena asked.

"You've… got… some… uh…"

"Get it," Lena teased playfully, realizing that Kara was trying to tell her that her ass was covered in dirt.

Kara shook her head and looked down.

Trying not to look as sad as she felt - she'd just been trying to be playful, not trying to upset her friend - Lena dusted off her rear and got back on the board, saying nothing.

Following the celebrity's lead, Kara did a few tricks on her own board, keeping an eye on her friend the whole time.

But Lena didn't fall again. In fact, she seemed to have gotten a great deal better at the sport, and Kara was impressed.

"Hey," she called out, interrupting Lena's focus.

"Yeah?"

"You're doing great."

"Thanks," Lena replied, beaming. "It's hard and I still suck but I'd like to think I stay on the board a little longer than I used to."

Kara nodded, offering an encouraging smile, and enjoyed another ten to fifteen minutes of skating before Lena dropped her board and huffed, "I'm wiped. I don't have as much energy as I used to. Definitely didn't get much exercise in the looney bin."

"Lena!" the blonde cried. "Don't call it that!"

"Whatever," the star laughed, shrugging her shoulders. "Anyway, I'm beat. Can we sit for a bit?"

"You wanna head back to my place?"

Considering this briefly, Lena then shook her head and answered, "Nah. Let's go somewhere else to relax."

Kara smiled, knowing exactly where to go.

~!~!~

They arrived at the beach about twenty minutes later, after Kara had blindfolded Lena with her own sweater and refused to tell her where they were going.

When she took the blindfold off and Lena saw the sunset glistening over the water, it took her breath away.

"Wow," the brunette mumbled. "That's… That's beautiful."

You're beautiful, was Kara's immediately thought. Thankfully, that stayed in her head.

"Come on. Let's go sit," she said instead.

After grabbing a just-in-case blanket from the trunk, Kara led Lena to the break in the sand where soft, warm grains faded into a wet, gritty mess. When the blonde went to lay the blanket down, though, Lena grabbed it from her, threw it to the side, and jerked the girl down into the sand. As they sat next to each other, Lena hugged the girl tightly, resting her head on her shoulder.

"Thank you for bringing me here," she whispered. "This is truly beautiful."

After briefly opening her mouth to speak, Kara shut it again, swallowing the words. Maybe this wasn't such as a good idea. Beaches were kind of their thing when they were together. Now, they weren't together romantically, and Kara was starting to feel the sting of reality hitting her again. The ferocity with which the realization hit her was excessively painful. She's not mine, the blonde told herself.

So, saying nothing at all, Kara simply leaned back and supported herself with her hands as she looked out onto the ocean.

But Lena wasn't about to let her get away with silence.

"Kara," she whispered. "Say something?"

"I love you," came tumbling out of Kara's mouth at the pace of a bullet train, exploding like a bomb between them.

Lena's jaw dropped. Friends, she scolded herself rapidly. You're just friends. It's platonic. Just friends.

But the brunette couldn't deny the piercing look in her 'friend's' eyes. Kara was looking at her like she had the beauty of every star and moon in the sky. Her eyes were soft and almost pleading as a tear slipped down her cheek.

"Kara—" Lena tried, but the blonde raised a single finger and pressed it to the star's soft, naturally tinted lips and shook her head.

Heart racing as though it were winning the Kentucky Derby, Lena stared helplessly into her former lover's eyes. No more tears fell - just the one - but she could still see the pain in Kara's eyes. And longing. Deep, deep longing. But it wasn't for her. Maybe she was just hurt. Maybe it was longing for normalcy or—

"I love you," Kara repeated.

This time, the words were slow and intentional. Kara realized all too quickly that despite her embarrassment at the confession - which of course had been anything but platonic - it was entirely true.

When the blonde finally removed her finger from Lena's lips and dropped her hand to her side, the young star found herself unable to speak.

What does that mean? she wanted to ask. Then again, she didn't really want to know. What if it wasn't what she was hoping for? She'd be crushed. So, why not simply tell herself that it was platonic and leave it at that? Why open the floodgates to a pointless ray of hope?

"I shouldn't have left you," the blonde whispered, wearing the expression and sadness of a beaten animal.

"What?" Lena breathed, not believing what her friend had so suddenly told her.

"You deserve a partner who will stick by you, through sickness and in health. I couldn't do that for you. You deserve better."

Immediately, without even thinking about her response, the girl told her former partner, "I don't want anyone else. I want you."

"You do?" Kara asked, looking confused. "But I—"

"Kara, you did what was healthy for you. And I admire that. Did it hurt? Fuck yeah. But it was the right thing to do. And I'm not being a martyr. I'm serious. I respect that you made the decision to set a boundary with me. I needed that. I needed to lose everything to motivate myself for change. It took me a while, but I'm there now." As the blonde looked shocked, Lena added, "I'm here now. With you. I'm in this."

"I'm in it too," Kara assured her, cupping her face in her hands. "Lena, if you'll have me, I—"

But Lena wasn't waiting for Kara to shut the fuck up. Instead, she crashed their lips together like white water rapids and kissed her with a flaming passion that sent a series of electrifying pulses through the blonde's core.

"Thank you," Kara muttered. "Thank you, thank you, th—"

"Shut up and kiss me, you idiot," Lena scolded her. Then, after what felt like forever - but not long enough - of locking lips, she added, "Did you really think I'd reject you?"

"Well, yeah. I—"

"Kara, you're everything to me. You saved my life."

"What? I wasn't even—"

"You've give me hope. You've given me love, and even when we were apart, that love was unconditional. I see that now. And I'm sorry for the things I said when I was wasted. I know it must have been devastating. But I promise - I promise - I didn't mean it. And I know that doesn't make it better. I know I can't take it back. But I—"

Then, it was Kara's turn to interrupt with a passionate kiss as she pulled Lena in tightly against her chest, tangling her fingers in the brunette's smooth locks of hair to hold her close.

"I love you," she finally said, this time softly kissing Lena's forehead. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, but—"

"But?"

"I just want you to be sure that this is okay for you and that—"

"I'm not leaving you again. And honestly, Lena, thinking back? I could've set boundaries very differently."

Tilting her head, Lena asked, "How so?"

"I could have asked for space, or a break, until you were sober. I could've stayed committed to you without bailing on our relationship. I didn't have to break up with you. To be honest, I did it because I was scared and didn't know what else to do in the moment. I'm sorry."

"I still think you did the right thing."

"Either way, I'm not leaving again. I'm yours, in sickness and in health. I'll set boundaries with you, but I won't abandon you like everyone else has."

This struck a chord in Lena beyond what she'd even experienced in therapy. Kara had hit the nail on the head. Abandonment issues. Boy, that sucked. She hated admitting it, but that's exactly what this whole thing had triggered for her. 'Everyone leaves.'

"I love you," Lena told her, hugging Kara tightly.

Beaming, Kara asked, "So… does this mean…"

"It means you're mine, always. And I won't let you down. I promise."

Kara kissed her cheek and continued to smile.

Then, as if she'd just then heard what the girl had said several moments ago, Lena asked, "Wait… You said… in sickness and—"

Blushing, Kara nodded her head, interrupting the brunette, and confirmed, "In sickness and in health."

"Does that mean you still want—"

"I'd marry you now, if I could."

Which is exactly when Lena's jaw hit the bed of sand beneath them.