Authors Note: Hi guys! OMG, I have wanted to come back to this story for SO LONG but... life had gotten in the way. Behold the glorious (I hope) FINAL chapter of this labor of love. There will be an epilogue, hopefully in the next week or so, because Alex and Sam deserve nothing but good things! We started this story with a TON of angst but I love these girls too much to end that way. Without further adieu...

Sam has finally gone home with her family but will things ever the same? Alex and Kara struggle with a shocking discovery and all the 'super-friends' start taking steps to move forward.

Late morning sunlight streamed through the curtains, warming the skin of Alex's back and shoulders. She burrowed deeper into the soft linens, reveling in the feeling for a few minutes more before she realized something was missing. Not something, someone.

"Sam!" The agent bolted upright, ignoring the pulsing in her ribs as panic flooded her whole body.

It couldn't have been a dream! Sam had been here and she was okay! Wasn't she?

Alex found that she couldn't draw in enough air, couldn't still the wave of shame that washed over her at having failed Sam again. A pitiful whimper filled the room and she absently realized that it may have come from her but couldn't be bothered to care.

"No,no,no..." Alex drew her knees to her chest, aggravating her ribs but grounding herself in the pain. She tried desperately to quiet her anguish; worried she would wake Ruby as she unraveled.

Sam had awoken early that morning, filled with gratitude and awe for the woman slumbering beside her.

Alex looked so beautiful in the early morning light and Sam was relieved that her love was finally getting the rest she had been sorely missing. It still filled Sam with burning guilt that Alex had run herself into the ground caring for Ruby and searching for a cure while still acting as the backbone to their little "found" family. With a lingering kiss to her mate's forehead, Sam had headed to her daughter's room to recruit some help, still sore and fatigued as she was.

Ruby had practically jumped out of bed, something very uncommon for the girl; thrilled to have both her parents back under one roof. Alex had been an amazing addition to their family and Ruby's rock while Sam had been away but the girl had missed her mother terribly. She couldn't stop herself from touching her mother, snuggling deep under her arm, wrapping tightly around her waist. Sam just smiled and took it in stride. She, too, had been missing the feel of her daughter wrapped around her and if that meant she had to make pancakes with one hand, then so be it!

Just as the pair finished setting the table, Sam headed gingerly back upstairs to wake her love. As she reached their bedroom door, she heard a muffled whimper that settled into a pit in her stomach. She hurried inside; worried Alex had somehow injured herself in her absence. The sight that greeted her broke the tall brunette's heart. Alex was curled up in their bed, whimpering in anguish, slowly rocking herself.

"Oh, baby..." Sam whispered, trying not to startle her distraught mate. At the sound of Sam's voice, Alex's head snapped up, eyes rimmed red.

"Sammy?"

Before she could react, Alex had bolted from the bed and wrapped her in a bone-crushing embrace! Sam hugged back just as fiercely, trying desperately to assure Alex that she was real and whole. She rocked the agent, kissing her forehead tenderly as she kept repeating, "I'm here, baby" and "I'm safe" and most importantly "I love you so much".

Sam wasn't sure how long the pair had been swaying in the doorway but she was keenly aware of her daughter joining the embrace, the two Arias women surrounding Alex as best they could. Ruby was pressed against Alex's back, hugging the agent fiercely. She wanted to be strong for her pseudo mother, support Alex as she had her in all those weeks Sam had been gone.

"It's okay Alex," she whispered, her tears soaking through the woman's shirt. "Mom's here. We're here. You saved her, just like you promised you would. We love you."

Eventually, Alex relaxed her grip on the pair and pulled away, just enough to see their faces. She reached a shaking hand up to cup Sam's face, sagging with relief when her palm met warm, soft skin.

"It wasn't a dream?"

"No, baby, it wasn't." Sam smiled sadly, leaning in to press a gentle kiss against the other woman's lips.

"God, I missed you so much." Alex admitted, voice barely above a whisper. "But I had to be strong for Ruby. When I woke up this morning without you..." the agent broke off, voice once again choked with tears.

"Shhhh, baby..." Sam soothed her, hands running gently up and down her sides. "I'm back. You did that. And I promise, you'll never have to wake up without me again."

"Sammy..."

"Move in with us." The brunette interrupted.

She had wanted to ask Alex before Reign had crashed into their lives and now she could think of nothing better than having her beloved agent by her side day and night. Alex looked shocked by the suggestion but a quick glance to her left showed her that this was something Ruby wanted as well.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Sam confirmed with another gentle kiss as Ruby piped up "All your stuff's here anyway!"

The teen's candor broke the somberness of the moment and Alex sagged into them with relief, fatigue from her panic attack crashing down on her. They steered the exhausted agent back to the bed, Sam noting the way Alex cradled her wounded ribs. She placed her hand gently over Alex's.

"I know you're hurting, baby. Just rest and we'll get you some food and your pills." Sam assured her but Ruby was having none of it.

"No, mom you're supposed to be resting too. Aunt Lena said so. I'm gonna bring you both breakfast in bed and then call Aunt Lena and Aunt Kara to come help too."

"Thanks Rubes." Alex mumbled with a sleepy smile as the teen headed downstairs, Sam echoing the sentiment.

The pair snuggled comfortably in bed; Sam curled around Alex, softly rubbing her mate's sore side. By the time Ruby returned with two plates piled high with pancakes, both women were fast asleep, content smiles on their faces. Th teen covered them with a warm blanket before tiptoeing out to call in her reinforcements.

It had been six weeks since Reign had been banished from Sam's body.

In that time quite a few changes had transpired for the "super-friends". J'onn had decided to leave the DEO in Alex's very capable hands to further honor his father's legacy by aiding his fellow off-worlders. Alura decided to remain on Earth for a while, desperate to reconnect with her daughter. Kara had welcomed her efforts with open arms and the pair had even gone to visit Kal-El and Lois in Metropolis, the elder super thrilled to meet his aunt in person. Lena and the younger super had finally admitted their feelings for one another and surprisingly Maggie and Lucy had grown quite close.

Alex and Sam were happily cohabitating, the agent's apartment was Sublette, and her prized Ducati was finally sufficiently protected from the elements. Sam had been all too pleased to wake up on Sunday mornings, pad out to the heated garage with her morning coffee, and find Alex hunched over her bike explaining all the parts to a star struck Ruby. It was the picture of domesticity, so perfect that Sam could hardly stand the thought that she had almost lost this.

Almost lost them.

Reign may have been gone, but her legacy of terror was long-lived.

Sam was still plagued with nightmares, unsure of which visions were actual memories or hellish scenes whipped up by a guilty conscience. In any case, Lena had been all too happy to grant her CFO an extended leave of absence while she and Alex continued sifting through reams of data in order to figure out if any bits of Reign were still lurking in Sam's subconscious. Thus far, all the pair had discovered was that while Reign may have been gone, her powers remained.

Sam was certain she had no desire to become a superhero and feared hurting her family with abilities she couldn't control. She had nearly wept with relief when Alex placed two identical bracelets on her wrists, the faint green glow the bangles emitted hinting at their true nature. The moment her love locked them into place, Sam once again felt the weight of gravity pulling her down, the heat of the California sun, and the gentle brush of Alex's fingertips over her skin.

While Sam's powers had been contained, the continued search for more information about her heritage had yielded a shocking discovery; one Alex had no idea how she would break to girlfriend. The DEO had discovered The Worldkiller's lair, the coordinates having been hidden in the data logs of Sam's ship. Once there, Kara had managed to decipher some of the texts embedded in the fortress revealing a dangerous and shocking secret!

When Kara confronted her mother about what had been discovered, Alura had reluctantly confirmed the texts were in fact true. Sam and Kara were related by more than just their Kryptonian origins, they were related by blood.

Now, Alex and Kara just had to find a way to break the news to Sam...

Both sisters had been grateful Lena didn't ask to be included in the reveal as there were matters related to Sam's parentage that even she didn't know. Alex summoned her girlfriend to her office at the DEO under the guise of reviewing more test results and perhaps a late work-lunch.

Surprisingly, Sam took the first part of the revelation fairly well. Perhaps she had tempered her reactions to 'alien-madness' after fighting and defeating a literal murderous demi-god buried in her head.

"So my birth mother was...Kara's aunt...and Alura's twin... and a general who tried to destroy the world?" Sam asked as she sank into Alex's couch, thankful to be away from prying eyes and listening ears.

There were only a select few within the DEO that knew Sam had been Reign. It was a secret kept close to the vest considering how many agents and their families had been negatively affected by the madwoman's rampage. The last thing Alex wanted was for her girlfriend to become a target in her own organization.

"And my father, believed so much in his cult that he gave me to them without telling her?" Sam asked, voice breaking slightly.

"Yes." Alex answered honestly, eyes filled with sorrow.

That had been one of the more difficult parts of Sam's origin story. Non had been such a devout parishioner of the Cult of Rao, was so deeply assured in their rightness, that he hadn't thought twice about giving them his newborn child to further the cause. Poor Astra had been convinced her only child had died at birth and that deception fueled her destructive rage.

How differently might things have turned out if she had known the truth?

"And Kara," Sam gasped softly in disbelief. "We're...I can't believe we're actually family."

"Well you are an alien so..." Kara gave her a crooked smile, hoping to elicit the same response from Sam.

It worked.

"Now why didn't I think of that?" Sam teased back, smile growing slightly. "I just kinda wish I had a chance to meet her. Is that wrong? After all she did?"

"No, baby." Alex sighed as she knelt before Sam. She took her hands in her own, gently kissing each knuckle in reassurance, her thumbs barely brushing the kryptonite bangles encircling each wrist. "It's not wrong to want to know where you came from."

Sam nodded absentmindedly before asking, "How, um, how did she ... die?"

Alex stiffened immediately, barely managing to keep her expression neutral and her hands rooted in Sam's. Behind her she could hear Kara move closer before she felt a firm hand on her shoulder.

"General Astra and Non, were behind the Myriad signal," Alex began in a shaky voice, trying to find a way to tell the truth without breaking Sam's heart into a million pieces. "We, the DEO I mean, tracked Astra and her soldiers to a series of antenna stations that they were trying to use to send the signal..."

She looked up to find her love watching her with open, earnest eyes.

It was too much.

Alex quickly stood and started pacing. "There was a fight and Astra, she just wouldn't give up! So, um J'onn came and before she could throw me off the roof, they started fighting..."

Sam gasped at the explanation. "J'onn killed my mother?"

"What?! No! Sam, no...He didn't..." Alex ran a hand over her face in frustration fearing actually uttering the truth.

Things between the pair had been going so well, after so many months of turmoil and uncertainty, Alex was terrified to upset the careful balance. To have Sam look at her the way Kara had that day, the day she'd found out how Astra died, Alex was sure it was more than she could bear.

Thankfully, Kara intervened. "Astra died in battle Sam. She was a brave woman, even if she was misguided in the end."

"In battle?" Sam repeated, watching Alex still pacing the office like a caged animal. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Sammy," Alex beseeched her, eyes pleading. "You don't...you really don't wanna know..."

"Alex, how did Astra die?" Sam asked again, holding her mates gaze. "Don't lie to me. We promised each other we would never do that."

"Please Sam." Alex pleaded again. "I can't..."

"Sam..."

"No, Kara. I want to hear it from Alex. How did my mother die?"

Neither sibling answered right away, each shrinking beneath Sam's unwavering gaze. She needed to know the truth, deserved it after all she had endured, and it needed to come from Alex. The silence stretched long until the elder Danvers finally spoke again, shattering the silence with a few syllables.

"It was me." Alex whispered knowing both Sam and her sister could hear her. "I didn't have a choice. I'm a solider and this...this was war. So I stopped Astra because I couldn't let innocent people die."

Alex's words rang like a cymbal in Sam's ears and it took several moments for her to distinguish what had actually been said. The agent took her mates silence for anger and she scrambled towards Sam seeking forgiveness.

"I'm sorry, Sammy! I'm so, so sorry and I love you so much and I'm sorry I keep taking things from you. From Kara..."

Alex was shaking now as she fell to her knees before Sam, unable to keep upright, weighed down by an anguish she thought she'd distanced herself from. Kara moved to comfort her sister but Sam was faster.

"Alex, look at me." Sam demanded, eyes steely as she slid off the couch to kneel with her love, wrapping her arms firmly around her. "Alex, please."

The Director raised watery eyes to meet hers, surprised and confused by the love and acceptance she saw there.

"You haven't taken anything from me Alex. You...you gave me EVERYTHING. YOU gave me my life back. YOU protected our daughter when I couldn't and YOU gave me a family, Alex."

The agent crumpled further into herself at Sam's words and the taller woman wasted no time pulling her tighter into her arms.

"I won't say it doesn't hurt that I won't get the chance to know her. But I know YOU. And the woman I know, the woman I LOVE, would have done whatever she could to save lives."

"I'm sorry." Alex managed to whimper once more as she sagged against Sam pitifully.

"I know baby, I know." Sam whispered against her hair. "Thank you for telling me the truth."

The pair felt another set of strong arms wrap around them and Alex could hear Kara's quiet sobs join her own. None of them knew how long they stayed huddled on the floor but when they finally rose, each woman couldn't deny that she felt just a little lighter.

Alex made her way to the main doors of the DEO with a slight frown on her face.

Being the Director had its many perks, unfortunately, dealing with pompous, self-serving government officials was definitely not one of them. She undid the top button of her black dress shirt, as she longed for the familiar weight and feel of her tactical uniform. With a nod to the guard on duty she leaned against the counter to brood while she waited.

"Ieiu!"

Alex was broken out of her brooding at the sound of a familiar voice and converse squeaking across the lobby's polished floors.

"Hey, Rubes!" The words were pushed from her in a rush as her daughter all but slammed into her for a hug.

"I missed you this morning." Ruby pulled back with an exaggerated pout.

"Sorry kid. Heads of state weren't aware it was 'pancake-o-clock'!" She replied, bopping the girl's nose playfully. "How was school?"

Ruby rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "It's seventh grade, Ieiu..." she huffed as if Alex should know the answer.

"Rubes! You forgot your backpack." Kara hustled into the lobby, adjusting her glasses, as she held out the item in question.

"Oh! Duh! Thanks, Aunt Kara." The teen piped up, shouldering her bag as she hugged the super tight.

"Thanks for doing pick up today. Heads of state also don't care if you have to go pick up your kid early." Alex sighed, hugging her sister quickly. "Why was practice cancelled?" she turned to ask Ruby.

The teen made a disgusted face before answering simply, "Stomach flu."

"Oh, Rao, not again!" Kara exclaimed, no doubt remembering the last time the sickness ripped through Ruby's school. Alex, too, shuddered at the memory. It had been one of the few times she could remember being physically unable to work without being injured.

The horror began with Ruby, the poor girl unable to keep anything down for three full days, raging with fever. Next to fall was Sam, as she'd been Ruby's primary caregiver despite Alex's protests. Finally, the mighty Director of the DEO collapsed in her lab after too little sleep and the stress of caring for her family while running a shadowy organization.

Alex had been horrified to wake, hours later in she and Sam's bed, with an I.V. drip, Hamilton hovering above her with a concerned expression. Kara had found her, facedown on her lab's floor, and promptly alerted the doctor before flying her home. They knew Alex would never want her staff to see her in such a vulnerable state. It was embarrassing enough to have Hamilton stop by daily for over a week to keep the Director hydrated in lieu of a hospital stay.

No one in the Danvers-Arias household was eager to repeat those hellish two weeks. It would seem, this time, the epidemic had started in Ruby's locker room.

"You left your soccer stuff at school, right?" Alex inquired, eyeing her daughter's backpack suspiciously.

"Duh." Ruby replied with an indignant snort! "My mamas didn't raise no fool!"

"That's my girl!" Alex exclaimed, tossing an arm around the teens shoulders.

Kara couldn't help but grin at how naturally the role of motherhood sat upon her sister's shoulders.

"Alright, you two, I gotta go." She jerked a thumb towards the door. "Snapper's gonna blow a gasket if I don't get those revisions done!"

"Go, go!" Alex shooed her playfully. "Thanks again."

"Of course! As if I'd ever miss a chance to fly with my favorite niece!"

"You what?!" Alex roared, livid that Kara almost compromised herself and Ruby.

"Oops! Gotta go. Love you, bye!" Kara exclaimed as she scuttled out the door.

Alex spun to face her daughter, hands firmly planted on her hips. "You flew?"

Being half-Kryptonian, it was pretty much a given that eventually Ruby would get some version of powers. Alex swore she had weekly panic attacks imagining the trouble her daughter and Kara would get into. Unauthorized flight was already a problem.

Ruby shrugged, a sheepish look upon her face. "Just a little...no one saw..."

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to remain calm. "You're gonna be as bad as her, aren't you?" She sighed, dropping her hand in exasperation.

"She is my aunt." Ruby argued. "And my cousin?"

"Don't try to confuse me with the family tree young lady!"

The teen dissolved into giggles at her mother's outburst and Alex was hard-pressed to maintain her grumpy demeanor.

"I don't know why I bother." She sighed, steering the girl towards the elevators. She made a mental note to have Brainy check and wipe all the traffic cams between Ruby's school and the DEO.

"Sorry, Ieiu." Ruby apologized, using her best 'puppy-dog eyes'.

"I'll just bet you are..." Alex mumbled, as they stepped into the elevator and she punched a number. "How about Chinese for dinner since your mom is working late?"

"Hell yeah!"

"You get exactly one 'hell yeah' a day, kid, hope you enjoyed it."