Alex had arrived at the DEO even earlier than usual, and she saw the half-alien child in the arms of Sally, one of her favorite nurses. "How's she doin'?" Alex asked.
"Unsettled," Sally said, as she rocked the child gently. "But she's okay. She's eating, her temp's normal, and she is sleeping. As much as you can expect from a baby this young, anyway. Do we know her name?"
Alex shook her head sadly. "All we know is that she is the only survivor of her village. It's only because of her superhearing that Kara found her."
The door opened, and Kate entered. Alex looked at her watch. 0545hrs. "Hey, Sergeant, you're not due in until 0800hrs. Everything okay?"
"Everything's fine. Kara just wanted me to check on this one," she nodded toward the baby. "She wanted to come in herself, but Snapper's just called her in early, he wants coverage of another of those anti-alien rallies. I tried to stop her," she saw the expression on Alex's face. "But you know Kara."
"Did she sleep last night?" Alex asked.
"Not much."
"She had a rough day," Alex was not surprised.
"She's promised me that she'll come home as soon as the rally's over. Though I'm betting she stops in here first," she looked down at the small, blonde child. "Yes, little one. My girl's gonna want to see you're okay. She is okay, right?" she looked anxiously at Sally.
"She's fine," Sally agreed. "Though I think she's bored with me now. Here," she eased the baby into a surprised Kate's arms. "See," she smiled as she watched the baby snuggle into Kate's front. "She's happy."
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Maggie zipped up Addie's coat, and set her woolen hat on her head. "You all set, slugger?" she held out her hand, smiling as Addie took it.
Addie nodded. "Jamie loves Auntie Angela," she looked back at Angela's small guest house that was set within the grounds of Jane and Maura's house.
"Everyone loves Auntie Angela, and not just because she makes the best cannoli," Maggie grinned, clutching a box of the sweet treats in her hand. "Your mama's going to love these. We'll have them tonight, after dinner, okay?"
"Mommy, can we go flying again soon?" Addie asked. She was so proud to have two parents who knew how to fly, and she couldn't wait until she was 14, when she had been promised that she could take the controls herself.
"Sure, Addie. If we're not too busy today, we'll let you have another go in the simulator this afternoon after school, and I'll talk to your Mama about fixing a date to take the Cessna up again. Maybe we can do it next weekend, if it's available, and if the weather looks okay."
Addie hugged her tightly.
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"We can't put her into the system," Alex told J'onn, after she had managed to get him alone in his office. "She looks human, and the Aquarians' physiology is very similar to humans, but the webbing between her toes, everyone will know. And I know we could cut it away, but I really do not want to do that. It's part of who she is. She needs to know her heritage. We can't just bury it. It wouldn't be right. That's a decision only she should make, when she's old enough to decide."
"She needs to be with people who understand what it is like to be an alien, but still be able to pass as human," J'onn tried to hide the twinkle in his eye. "C'mon, Alex. I know you're thinking it too."
"Can we bypass the system like that?"
"We ARE the system," J'onn said. "You said it yourself. It's not safe for her to go through the usual adoption processes. And it's not like they're not a stable couple. They've been through hell together, and they're stronger than ever. And they want children."
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"Okay, Sawyer, pony up," Kit laughed at the look on her partner's face. "You bet two, I bet six. He's finishing up his fifth cup now. Any minute," she pointed over to the waitress who approached with the coffee pot, "and there we have it. You owe me a dollar," she held out her hand.
Ellie pretended to huff as she passed over the bill. "I should never bet against you when we're on stakeout. You always win."
"What can I tell you, Sawyer? I can't help it if I'm always right."
"Are you and Cam up for game night tomorrow?" Ellie asked. She wanted to get her own back at the pool table. So far, only Alex had managed to beat her, and even when she did, the games were always very close.
"You bet we are," Kit agreed.
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"Kara, it's okay," Kate touched her wife's hand. Kara had been distant since they had been offered the chance to adopt the alien baby when, instead of accepting immediately, she had asked for some time to think about it.
"But it's not okay," Kara's eyes filled with tears. "It'll never be okay. Not for her. She'll always know. She'll know that she wasn't wanted by her own people, because she is half-human, and she'll know that there are some people on this planet who will always fear her because she is half-alien. She'll never have a normal life. And if she lives with me, she still won't be normal."
Kate knew that Kara, of all people, knew what she was talking about. She had been taken in by the Danvers family, but there were times, even now, when she felt, literally, alienated from her adopted planet. "We don't have to take her, Kara," Kate tried to keep her voice soft. Non-critical. Loving.
"But if we don't take her, then what will happen? Will they have to operate to hide the webbing? And what happens when she gets older, and they find that she can stay underwater for up to fifteen minutes? She'll be a freak."
Kate took both of Kara's hands in her own. She led her to sit on the couch, and sat next to her, still holding on. "Is that it? Do you think you are a freak?"
Kara blinked. "Sometimes," she admitted. "Not with you. Or with Alex. But there are times … just when you think you are part of everything, something happens to remind you that you are an alien."
Kate nodded. "I'm so sorry, honey. I hate that you ever feel like that."
"Never with you," Kara reiterated.
"Is it that you can't bear to watch it happening to her? Or is it that you don't think we'll be good enough parents?" Kate spoke evenly, without accusation, without judgment.
"What if we aren't good enough? What if she could be happier with someone else?" Kara's eyes flooded with tears. She knew she had been lucky with her adoptive family, but she also knew that so many were less lucky.
"We can't know how good we would be. But we have a lot of love to give. And we have a great support system. She'd have family. Cousins. Aunts. Uncles. But Kara, if you don't feel ready to do this, it's fine. Truly. I don't want you to do anything that you're uncomfortable with, just for me. As long as she finds a loving family, I'll be happy."
"But you want us to be that family?"
"Only if you do, 100%. Kara, I love you so much. And if we don't have a family ourselves, it's okay. All I need is you. That's all I'll ever need."
Kara reached forward and wiped away a tear that Kate hadn't realized had fallen. Kara cupped her face, and leant in for a soft, tender kiss. "Maybe we should go see how she is?"
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Maggie looked up as the door to the infirmary opened. She grinned when she saw Kara and Kate. The warm bundle in her arms shifted slightly in her sleep.
"You babysitting, Sarge?" Kate teased.
"Just doin' my stint," Maggie smiled. She stood and carried the baby over to Kara. "I know you've met before," Maggie lowered the child into her arms. "Time to get to know each other." She smiled and slipped out of the door.
Kate watched Kara's face melt with love at the sight of the baby. She watched as Kara used one finger to very gently stroke the baby's face. "You don't even have a name," Kara's voice hitched, as her heart opened to the helpless infant. "How can we not even know your name?"
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Maura looked over at Jane, who always turned to mush when Maura was breastfeeding. Baby Rosalind slipped off her breast, and emitted a satisfied sigh. Expertly, Maura raised her over her shoulder and rubbed her back to expel the excess air.
Reluctantly, Jane picked up the car keys from the table. "They've finished at the bowling alley," she told Maura. "I'm just going to pick up Bobby and Mikey."
"If Aoife's there, tell her I'll call her in the morning," Maura said. She was making plans to open her own gallery, and she hoped that she would be able to persuade Aoife to be her principal artist.
"I won't be long," Jane leant down and kissed Maura softly. "You okay here?"
"Of course," Maura smiled, looking down at their slumbering daughter. "We'll miss you."
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Ellie threw her keys on the side. "Hey, honey, I'm hoooome!" she called. There was no answer, so she knew that Aoife had to be either in her studio, or in the pool.
Ellie opened the door to the studio and, true enough, Aoife was sitting at her easel, her brush in her mouth as she leant forward to smudge a bit of oil paint on the canvas. Her favorite aria from the Magic Flute was playing loudly, on a loop. Ellie knew that she could listen to that one tune – the majestic Queen of the Night – for hours on end, as her creative juices flew.
Ellie contemplated the canvas, which was a beautiful oil close-up of trees in the snow. It looked strangely familiar. She reached out and switched the light off and on again, to alert Aoife to her presence. She had found this was the best way to get Aoife's attention without startling her.
Aoife looked up, and her face split into a wide smile. "Hey, officer, I was just thinking about you," she reached out to turn off the music.
"Trees make you think of me?" Ellie teased. She stepped forward, and kissed Aoife carefully. She didn't want to get oil paints on her uniform.
Aoife grinned. "This one does," she pointed to the main tree in the picture. "You were looking the other way, so you won't remember. But this," she gestured to a leaf which supported an unfeasible amount of melting snow, "was my view. At the lake. When you had your way with me on our walk."
Ellie's mouth went dry. Of course it was. She would never know how Aoife managed to do it; she put emotion, and memories, and love into all of her creations.
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"We're gonna need a name for you, little one," Kate rocked the baby gently. She looked in wonder as little blue eyes fixed on her own. "Just a couple more days, and we can take you home. I hope you're going to like living with us. Your mommy is a wonderful person. And she can teach you so much that I can't. She'll teach you how to be happy here."
"Of course she's going to be happy," Kara had slipped into the room without Kate noticing. "She has you as her mom. And she's already got a big family, haven't you? I've been thinking about names, and I don't know what you think, but I think it might be good to have something that relates to the sea and water. Aquaria was so much about water, and seas and lakes. So I looked it up. Cordelia means 'daughter of the sea', or 'jewel of the sea'. I was thinking of maybe having Cordelia as her middle name?"
"I think that's perfect. We just have to find a first name now."
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Maggie turned over in bed, and grinned. God, Alex was beautiful, even when she slept. Especially when she slept. It was early, and they still had another half hour before they had to get up. Maggie could watch her wife all day.
"Quit staring at me," Alex grunted, and turned her face into the pillow.
"I don't know how you always know," Maggie said.
Alex turned over to face her. "I know everything about you," she teased.
Maggie grinned, and nodded. "Yeah. I reckon you do."
"I even know what you're thinking now," Alex said.
"Then why are you wasting time? We have 28 minutes. Take that t-shirt off."
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"Last day of quarantine," Ellie checked her phone. "I can't believe it's happened so quick."
"What time are you meeting them?"
"Kit and I are picking up the furniture at 11am, while Alex and Cam are getting some stuff from the baby store."
"Some stuff?" Aoife teased.
Ellie grinned. "That's why Alex is going. She knows what babies need. Kit and I are going to put the furniture together."
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"Did you come up with a name?" J'onn was filling out the paperwork.
Kate smiled and brought the baby over to J'onn. "Uncle J'onn, we'd like you to meet Elizabeth Cordelia Collins. Our daughter. Beth."
Eliza blinked away tears when she saw the look in Kara's face.
"For you," Kara mouthed at her step-mother.
"Let's get this little one home," Kate carefully settled Beth into the car seat.
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Eight weeks later, Aoife lay in stirrups, her hand in Ellie's. "Here goes nothin'," smiled Ellie as the fertilized embryo from Ellie's egg was carefully implanted into Aoife.
"You really think we're ready for this?" Aoife asked her wife.
"I do. We are," Ellie was confident. "And you are going to be one hot pregnant lady."
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"Oh no you don't," Alex took her eyeglasses from her new niece's hand. Beth loved to snatch them from her face. "And I don't care if you learned that pout from your mommy, these glasses are expensive. Mags, is that bottle ready?"
Maggie came over, the bottle in hand. They were babysitting Beth for the first time that evening, although Kate had tried to pull out at the last minute. "You two need time alone," Maggie had told her firmly. "Trust me on this."
Alex smiled as Beth reached up for the warmed bottle. The baby was swaddled in just a towel and her diaper, as they had lit the fire and the room was cosy and warm. They would dress her in her sleepsuit once she had finished her milk. Alex toyed idly with her toes, smiling as she caressed the small amount of webbing. "You're very special, you know that Miss Collins?" she addressed Beth directly. "You've made your moms so happy."
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"I was going to take you out to an expensive restaurant," Kate complained when Kara came back to bed, the take-out pizza in her hand.
"I know. And it would have been great. But it has one drawback," Kara was grinning.
"What drawback? The food there is great," Kate replied.
"It's the dress code. It's kind of … restrictive," Kara grinned as she reached over and unbuttoned Kate's pajama top. She pulled the fabric apart, and her smile widened. She then sat back and reached for a slice of pizza.
"Hey!" Kate complained.
"What's wrong, Sarge? I just wanted a nice view while I'm eating. Ambience is all-important," Kara took a large bite.
"But I thought, as Supergirl, you'd be an experienced multi-tasker," Kate smiled when Kara pulled the pizza box up the bed with her, and then climbed on top of Kate, straddling her and pinning her loosely to the bed. Kara was always very careful that Kate never felt genuinely trapped by her; sometimes her super-strength could be intimidating, and she would hate if she ever had that effect on her wife.
Kara swallowed her pizza, and then lowered her mouth to Kate's torso. Slowly and tantalizingly, she kissed down the valley between her breasts, nipping and licking as she went. Finally, she latched on to a rock-hard nipple, and Kate could feel her smiling at her own reaction. "Jesus, Kara," Kate's voice was higher than she had expected.
Kara rolled over in Kate's arms, and looked up innocently at her. "Pass me another slice," she commanded. "We have work to do here."
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Six months later
Ellie grabbed Aoife's hand; she watched her take a deep breath outside the clinic. "This time," Ellie said softly. "I have a good feeling about this one. This one's gonna be a super-embryo."
Aoife tried to smile. "I feel like I'm letting you down all the time."
The look of shock on Ellie's face was genuine. "You have never let me down, Aoif. Never. You never could. We're in this together. And if we don't make it, we'll work something out." She pulled Aoife into her arms. "We're gonna be fine, baby. More than fine. Our life together is only at the very beginning. Think of all the exciting things we have to come. We have Addie's birthday next week. We have our wedding anniversary in a couple of months. Five years, can you believe it? It only feels like weeks."
Aoife pulled back a little, and looked carefully at Ellie. She could tell she was absolutely sincere. "I'd like us to be moms," she said softly.
"And we will. One way or another," Ellie replied.
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"Eleven," Kit marveled, as they all watched Addie blow out the candles on her cake. "Can you even remember what it was like to be eleven?" she asked Cam.
Cam laughed. "I can barely remember what I had for dinner yesterday. She's great, isn't she?" she watched Addie smile as Jamie clambered into her lap, knowing that proximity to the cake could only be a good thing.
"You sure you're happy with the no-kids thing?" Kit was anxious. "I mean, if you've changed your mind, we can talk about it. You are so great with Addie."
Cam looked at her and smiled. "So are you, Kit. Addie and Jamie adore you. All kids do. It doesn't mean we have to have them ourselves. I never saw kids in my future, and that hasn't changed. But we'll keep talking, huh? If you are having second-thoughts..."
"I'm not," Kit replied quickly. "I'm really not. I just don't want you to give up anything for me."
"It looks like we're on the same page. And I swear I'll talk to you if I start to feel differently, as long as you do the same. Deal?"
"Deal," Kit agreed happily.
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Addie pulled her three-year-old sister on to her lap, so that she could get a better view of the Chutes & Ladders board. They were playing the game with Kate and Maggie, while the others were involved in a very competitive pool tournament. "It's your turn to roll, Sprout," Addie passed her the dice.
Together, they counted along the board, and Jamie let out a peal of laughter when she landed on a chute, and was taken back almost to the beginning. Addie hugged her. She loved that her sister was so positive, and found humor wherever she could. Rather than complaining, she thought it was funny.
"Are you looking forward to going in the airplane on Sunday?" Addie asked her.
Jamie nodded firmly. "Mama says she's going to teach you to fly a real airplane when you are 14. Are you really going to be able to fly, Addie?"
"She already can," Kate said, "right Doodlebug?" she ruffled Addie's hair. "She's a real expert in the simulator."
Addie smiled. She loved Kate. She loved Kara and her new cousin Beth too. "Is Beth still asleep?" she asked.
Kate nodded. "Kara's listening out for her. She's having a nice nap, right honey?"
Kara smiled her assent.
A shout of triumph came from the pool table. Alex was hugging Kit and laughing. "We won!"
Jamie clambered down from Addie's lap and flung herself around Alex's legs. "You're so clever, Mama."
The buzz of the doorbell was met with more cheering. The pizzas had arrived.
"We'll get them," Maggie put a restraining hand on Kate's back. "We'll be right back."
The pizza delivery guy was unfazed by the huge stack of pizzas that he delivered. Alex paid, and tipped him handsomely as he set the boxes on the side table. "What?" she saw the wide smile on Maggie's face as she shut the door.
"He's in love with you," Maggie laughed. "Another victim to your charms."
"Bullshit," Alex scoffed.
"No," Maggie's voice was soft. "Not bullshit. You don't see it, but I do. We all do. You're amazing, Danvers. The total package. And I know a lot of it has been hard," her tone was serious now. "We've come through some real shit. But we did it. We got through it. And our family …," she blinked when she thought of the gathering in the basement. "It's pretty great," she finished lamely.
Alex reached out and brushed away a tear from Maggie's cheek with her thumb. "I love you so much," she said.
"Right back atcha," Maggie leaned in for a kiss.
"PIZZAS!" Kara yelled from the basement. "You two can make out later. I'm hungry."
Grinning, Alex and Maggie made their way down the stairs with the pizza boxes.
THE END