"You're looking better today, Alex," Lena said, as she removed her hat and coat and hung them on the back of the door. It was raining again, and Lena and Kara had walked to the post office in the morning, Alex, though invited, had opted to stay inside due to the weather. Kara and Lena had kept their morning discussion light, while both ruminating on how to tell the other everything the needed to know.

Lena was happy to be back at the hotel after lunch though she had a knot in her stomach. Caoimhe was very happy getting pats and affection from Kara, and Alex finally had some colour in her cheeks.

"Thank-you, Lena," Alex said, "It's nice to be feeling a bit less like death-warmed-up too." Both of the Danvers sisters were dressed in their own clothes, and were the more comfortable for it. Though Alex had initially thought that some of Kate's choices in what she had sent them were peculiar, she now realised that everything Kate had sent was practical, warm and comfortable, and Alex made a mental note to send a thank-you letter.

Lena smiled and pulled her chair over. "Well, I'm very happy to hear that, and glad to know I don't need to get the coroner to come up from Galway. Awful bit of paperwork that is. Now, if Kara's finished fussing over Caoimhe - "

"Well she is the best dog and she needs to be told it all the time, don't you, Caoimhe? Yes, you do. Because you're the best girl," Kara gushed, rubbing Caoimhe's ears as the dog rested her head on Kara's lap.

Alex rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Start dealing, Lena, and she'll either have to pay attention or skip a turn."

Lena swallowed and pursed her lips. "Actually, there's something I need to tell you," she said, her stomach tightening.

Kara and Alex exchanged a glance. "There's something we need to tell you too," Kara said.

"No, I - please," Lena said. She had worked herself up to this, and it was too easy just to push it aside for another day. "You deserve to know. It's possible that - well, almost everyone in Ireland knows, so - " Lena looked at the sisters, and had a feeling they knew exactly what she was going to say. "Lex Luthor is my brother. Half-brother, technically, but - there's a reason I live alone on the edge of the world, and he's it. But - you knew?"

Alex and Kara gave a small nod.

"We figured he was your brother," Alex said. "We know he defected."

"I'm sorry, Lena," Kara said.

Lena shrugged, not sure if she felt relived or deceived, and fiddled with the packet of cards. "I don't know if you can defect from a neutral country," she said, avoiding the eyes of the sisters. "But since he was a contractor to the British Government at the time…" Lena sighed. "I - I'm just sure I…"

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Kara said, giving Lena an encouraging smile. "And we certainly don't hold you to anything your brother did."

Lena shook her head. "I have to tell someone. I need someone, anyone to know. And - I'm rather short on people willing to listen." She felt sick confessing how alone she was, and didn't know if she wanted pity or compassion or just to offload everything onto anyone available. She was used to having any vulnerability used against her, and didn't quite know how to respond to Kara and Alex's receptiveness.

"We're listening," Kara said, shuffling down the bed to be closer to Lena.

"My family owns more than just land in and around Luthorsport," Lena said, "My ancestors founded the Greater Western Maritime Engineering Company. Nice vague name, it doesn't give away their country of origin. My father had a lot of clients in the United States, plenty of quays and piers and docks and lighthouses needing to be built over there. Lex spent about five years there when I was still at school and expanded the company into new fields. Chemistry was his forte and he ended up in submarine development, sea-to-air missile development, plus heating, cooling and lighting naval, passenger and commercial ships. He's clever. Very clever. I - "

Lena paused and sighed. "While he was in America, Lex became obsessed. I'm not quite sure what with, I was still at school, and was lucky to get one letter a term from him. But he came back in the summer, and he was so overjoyed, almost manic. He wouldn't tell me what he was working on, but he went on and on about his new friend Mr Kent and the wonderful things they were going to do together."

Kara looked at Alex, who gave a small shrug.

"But a couple of years later," Lena continued, not noticing the exchange between the sisters, "Lex returned for good, vowing never to return to America and cursing this Mr Kent. I don't know what happened. Later that year was when I went to America with my father and step-mother, but everyone was very pleasant and whatever world-ending fallout Lex thought he had endured was nowhere to be seen."

"When was this?" Alex asked.

"1930," Lena replied. "After we returned I started at Trinity College in Dublin and spent four years there, but never graduated, thanks to Lex. That was when our father passed away and Lex - he's always been very good at manipulating me. When I was little I didn't understand what he was doing, but by time I was about 14 or 15, and I noticed the other girls at school doing the same thing, I understood what it was, but it was too late, and Lex knew it. He knew people at the university, and because I had displeased him, he made sure that all my credits added up to nothing."

"What were you studying?" Kara asked.

"All sorts of things," Lena said, smiling faintly. She had enjoyed a small amount of freedom during those years that she had seldom had throughout her life. "I chose what I wanted. Mostly maths and physics and biology, but also chemistry, engineering, accounting, agriculture, classics, theology - it was Trinity College after all."

"But you displeased Lex?" Alex asked.

Lena swallowed. "I was engaged. Lex approved of the match. James was clever, nice, handsome, reasonably well-off, though my personal wealth meant that his being less wasn't a concern, since I'd be able to support myself. Everything you could want in a husband. But as soon as we were engaged," Lena sighed, absent-mindedly wringing her hands, "I kept finding excuses not to see him. I refused to set a date for the wedding, inventing more excuses and reasons why I wanted to wait. Eventually I worked up the courage to call the engagement off. I guess I did it the coward's way, wrote a letter, popped the ring in the envelope and sent it off to him. But after I dropped that letter in the post, I felt the most immense relief. I still remember thinking that if ending something felt that right, then it had to be the right thing to do." She bit her lip and looked over Alex's shoulder out the window. Lena had never discussed this with anyone.

"But Lex wasn't happy?" Kara asked.

Lena leant forward to pat Caoimhe, who sat up at her mistress's touch. "No. Marrying me off would mean he'd be free of me," she said. "But now I was tainted. I never saw or heard from my then ex-fiancé again. Lex forced me to finish my studies at the end of the semester and return to the family home. It's about three miles from Luthorsport, and even though I can drive, he would hide the keys to the car, and keep it locked up after he realised I knew how to hot-wire it. So I was trapped. I'd walk to Luthorsport once or twice a week, weather allowing, but," Lena sighed and shrugged.

Kara wanted to wrap her arm around Lena, to hold her and tell her everything was going to be all right now. Lena looked so lost and alone sitting on the chair at the end of the beds.

"So, what did you do?" Alex asked.

"I helped him," Lena said, "Resigned myself to my reality. Lex would give me projects to keep me occupied. He knew I was clever and curious and needed to be kept out of 'trouble' if you will. In '38 he got a contract with the British Government to do with submarines and then another for naval ships, and then a huge one for upgrading and repairing the dockyards needed to build them. He was back-and-forth to London during this time, and would often take me with him, partly not trusting me to be left at home, and probably hoping that some eligible suitor would come along. In March '39 my step-mother, Lex's mother, died after a short illness. Lex was devastated, and threw himself into his work even more."

"But why did he defect?" Kara asked.

"I don't know," Lena said, chewing on the inside of her lip. "It was almost exactly twelve months ago. I knew he was going London, but I'd been a bit unwell, so was staying behind. That wasn't unusual. But when I woke up in the morning, all his things were gone. Everything. Every last paper, every notebook, every file, everything. I didn't know what to do or who to contact. I didn't have anyone besides Lex. A couple of days later, there were photos of Lex side-by-side with Herr Hitler all over the papers. He'd stolen documents from the British Government. British and Irish officials questioned me, but I knew nothing."

"Lena, I am so sorry," Kara said.

Lena shook her head, hot angry tears welling in her eyes. "So now I'm trapped here. I'm not allowed to leave Ireland. I moved from the family house down to Luthorsport to at least be near anyone, even though Lex always called the townsfolk 'vulgar' and 'common'. Maybe they are, but I couldn't bear being in that big, draughty hall all by myself. People in Galway want nothing to do with me, much less society in Dublin. I can't go anywhere, I can't even go to Belfast - "

"Do you want to go to Belfast?" Kara asked gently.

"No one wants to go to Belfast, Kara, that's the whole point!" Lena snapped. "Half the population of Belfast don't even want to be there. I can't go anywhere. Nowhere wants me." Lena stood up suddenly, causing Caoimhe to scramble to her feet. "I don't know why I care. It's been like this my whole life."

"Lena, we - "

"I don't - you don't understand," Lena said, turning away to wipe her eyes. She grabbed her hat and coat. "I don't know why I told you all this. It's - I don't matter. None of it matters. Just forget it. I - " Lena shook her head and opened the door, closing it behind her with a bang.

Alex and Kara sat in silence for a minute, listening as Lena stomped down the stairs and slammed the front door shut.

"Go after her," Alex said.

"Alex, I - "

"Lex's 'Mr Kent' is Clark, isn't he?"

Kara bit her lip. "I think so."

"It would explain how Lex knew about kryptonite. Do you think he knows about Clark? Could that be why he put kryptonite in the lighthouse?"

"If that's what it is, but I don't know," Kara mumbled, her shoulders drooped. "Lena's not like that."

"I know," Alex said, standing up and taking Kara's hands. "I believe her. I believe that she is so lonely and she is desperate and for whatever reasons, she had chosen us to confide in. Go after her, Kara. She needs to know about us. And she needs to know she is not alone anymore."

…

"Lena! Lena, wait!" Kara called, running across the wet cobblestoned street to catch up to her friend. There wasn't a breath of wind, but the misty rain had set in. "Please, please wait."

Lena slowed her pace, and Caoimhe bounded down to Kara.

"Hullo there, good girl," Kara said, giving the wet dog a quick pat on the head.

"You should go back to the hotel. It's too wet to be out," Lena said, continuing to walk on as Kara fell into step beside her. Lena allowed Kara share her umbrella.

"I need to tell you something," Kara said.

Lena shook her head. She felt exhausted, drained. "I doubt there's anything that important."

"Please," Kara said. "Alex and I were going to tell you this afternoon. We weren't expecting - "

"My story?"

Kara nodded.

Lena stopped in front of a sturdy, two-story stone house, and fumbled with her keys. She felt too tired to argue with Kara, and some part of her wanted Kara to stay. "Don't worry about your boots," she said, opening the door. "You can hang up your hat and coat. Caoimhe, go to Aine. Go on," Lena said, pointing down the hall. Kara heard someone else whistle, and Caoimhe bounded towards the sound.

"My cook," Lena said, removing her hat and coat, "Though she doubles as my housekeeper. She'd have to be the best housekeeper this side of Dublin."

"Isn't Dublin pretty much the most easterly point of Ireland?" Kara asked.

Lena chuckled.

"Oh," Kara smiled, "Right."

Lena walked into her study and turned on the lights. Even though it was only half-two, the low clouds had blocked out a lot of the light that mid-January offered. "Take a seat," she said to Kara, gesturing to the couch.

Kara sat down and looked around the impeccably decorated room. The exterior of the house betrayed nothing of it's interior. It was one of the most fashionable rooms Kara had ever seen, yet retained its own character and was clearly personalised for Lena. "This is a very nice room," Kara said, taking in the large mirror above the fireplace, the big desk, tall bookcases, and various artworks and decorations.

"Thank-you," Lena replied, busying herself by putting a log on the fire, then pouring them both a glass of whisky. She sat down beside Kara and handed her a glass. "So…?"

Kara took a sip and swallowed. It was like drinking pure warmth. She wished she could just sit in here and talk about everything and nothing, the way she and Lena did on their walks. But she had to tell her the truth. "I am Supergirl."

"Oh," Lena said, sipping her drink. "Is that a real thing?"

"What?"

"It's not a publicity stunt? Like Captain Britain?"

"What? No, of course not. I - I am Supergirl."

"I don't really know what that means," Lena said, looking at Kara. The golden light from the fireplace and lamps contrasted with the blue of Kara's eyes.

"Oh," Kara said, noticing that Lena's legs were very close to her. Though Supergirl was revered in London, Kara realised that her fame may not have spread very far outside the capital. "Do you - you have heard of Supergirl?"

"I've seen her mentioned in the papers a couple of times. There was a blurry, grainy photo once, but most folk around here think its just propaganda. Something to give people hope."

"Oh, Supergirl brings lots of people hope," Kara smiled.

"I'm sure she does," Lena said, still sceptical.

Kara bit her lip. This was not going the way she expected. "I - I have powers. Unusual powers. I can fly. I think you saw me. Flying."

"Back into the waves…" Lena said, her eyes widening.

Kara nodded, grateful that Lena was beginning to understand. "I also have super-strength - "

"Like how you can carry Alex as though she was a baby?"

"Oh, I can lift a lot more than just Alex," Kara smiled. "There's a few other things too, but - ah, I'm not like everyone else."

"I'd ask if invincibility is one of those things, but you were ill when you arrived here, and you weren't well yesterday either…"

"I generally am pretty close to invincible," Kara confessed, "Unless there's kryptonite around."

"Should I know what that is?" Lena asked.

Kara looked at her glass and swirled the remainder of her drink. "It's a substance not from this earth. I - this might sound like I'm deviating, but you mentioned that Lex had a friend in America, a Mr Kent?"

"Yes," Lena said.

Kara took a breath. "You wouldn't happen to know his first name?"

"I never met him," Lena said, "And Lex almost always just referred to him as Mr Kent, but I think it was something American like Grant or Clint or - "

"Clark?" Kara asked.

"Clark Kent. That's it. Do you - do you know him?"

Kara nodded. "He's my cousin."

"You didn't say you knew Lex."

"I don't," Kara said, "Clark's a older than me, similar to you and Lex. When we're together, we get along like a house on fire, but 20-something year old men don't send letters about their buddies and general exploits to their teenage cousins. But," Kara sighed, "Clark is like me. I - I'm not from here. This earth. And neither is he. I was adopted by the Danverses, and Clark by the Kents, and - "

"You think Lex knows about your cousin? And possibly you?" Lena asked.

Kara nodded. "It's partly why we left London. Reasonably good intel was received that the Nazis had developed an incendiary-style kryptonite weapon to drop on London. If the people of London saw Supergirl drop out of the sky, well…"

"It would like destroying St Paul's, tearing down a symbol of hope."

"Exactly," Kara said. "So it was recommended that we lie low for a little while, until this threat was either confirmed or could be discounted. Not to mention that Alex and I were both desperate for a break. We were granted leave, and were flying up to the Isle of Islay, but the storm pushed us off course, then our plane was damaged, so we bailed out. I was holding Alex. We saw the lighthouse, and I knew there'd be a town nearby, we could get ourselves sorted out, then go back to London. Only - "

"You think there's kryptonite in the lighthouse," Lena said.

Kara shrugged. "It would make sense."

Lena finished her drink and put the glass down. "Luthorsport is much further west than Islay."

"Oh, we knew we were well off course," Kara confessed.

"But why leave in the middle of a storm?"

Kara shrugged. "Protection? Harder to be shot down by the enemy or accidental friendly fire with clouds like that. No one can hear or see you. And we had other intel regarding the Blitz, and it was decided that Supergirl wouldn't be needed quite as much as she had been in December."

Everything Kara said sounded mad, yet Lena found herself believing every word. "You didn't want me to call a doctor when you arrived because you didn't know how to explain yourselves?"

"Exactly," Kara said.

"But Supergirl, London's beacon of hope, is an American?"

Kara chuckled. "Apparently they're developing a radio show of Supergirl's Grand Adventures or something like that, but I have been told that I will not be voicing myself."

Lena gave a small smile. "Well I think you have a lovely voice, but I am not surprised," she said. "Another drink?"

"Oh, I'm not finished this one," Kara said, realising she still had a mouthful left in her glass. She gulped it back and looked at Lena. "Thank-you."

"For the drink?"

"For sharing your story with us."

"I - it's not…" Lena gave a small shrug, and noticed that her knee was touch Kara's, but neither of them moved. "Maybe it's easier telling you because I know you're going to leave and then that will be that."

"We're not leaving yet," Kara said. "And I've kind of taken a liking to this place."

"There's not really that much to like," Lena said.

"Oh, I think there is," Kara said.

Lena sighed, her shoulders drooping. "It's all Lex's fault. You ending up here, Alex being sick and injured…"

"Don't do this," Kara said. "Every time you say something is Lex's fault, I can see you blaming yourself. And yes, it is his fault, but it is not yours, Lena," Kara put her empty glass on the floor and took Lena's hands. "You have been nothing but kind and hospitable and trusting of Alex and I. You are not to blame for any of this."

Lena squeezed Kara's hands, tears welling in her eyes. "You still have to leave."

Kara nodded. "But not now. Not today. And you're not alone anymore, Lena. Please believe me that you are not alone."