The Next Day

"How did you know?" The first words that left Kara's mouth as she stood next to Lena in the cafeteria at the university. She watched how Lena glanced at her briefly in the corner of her eye and elaborated, "How...How could you tell that, that version of Nia was…" She shrugged and lowered her voice, "A shapeshifter?" Cautiously, Kara looked around them to see if anyone had overheard at all.

"This is hardly a subject to talk about so out in the open." Lena replied quickly, "And if you must know, there are forces of nature greater than me that want revenge for what Lex did, so, why not torture me the only way they seem to know?" In that moment, Kara went quiet, nodding slowly at Lena picked up one of the bowls in the dessert section, whilst Kara picked up three, before following Lena to a nearby table, "Lena." Kara began as she sat down, "If that was the case, why didn't they come to your place? Why did they come to me?"

Lena frowned, "Wait, so it wasn't you that sent the message? The SOS?"

Kara laughed, "No, you know me, I can protect myself." She then frowned, "SOS?"

Lena nodded as she began to eat, "Yes, I got a text message from you saying that you needed help, so I came. But…" She drew off, "Going by this reaction, you didn't send anything."

"So, who managed to get a hold of our numbers?" Kara asked, rhetorically. There was a long pause before Kara quickly started talking, "You don't think the shapeshifter would have-"

Lena lifted her fork, "How else would you have sent a message without your own knowledge? That thing wanted me there, I don't think it had any intentions to hurt you physically. It had intentions to harm me mentally, but I know better."

"Lena." Kara said softly, "You did seem very distressed about it when you saw what looked like an older version of Nia staring back at you."

"Can we-can we change the subject please?" Lena asked, distress clear in her tone. Kara nodded slowly and went back to eating her own food before a hitched breath from Lena instantly grabbed her attention. The crinkle was out in action along with a frown, "Are you okay there? You, you hesitated as though you were about to say something."

"It's just-it said some stuff about the future." Lena began, "It's foolish, I know. Because time can be rewritten, and it has…It doesn't change what you did…But if we know what is supposed to come, we have the ability to change it."

Kara sighed, "Lena, if you remember what Nia said, she said that time will heal itself and what we know will be forgotten because it will still happen. What we know will be forgotten and the future will still happen."

Lena dropped her fork, frustratedly, "Where do we go from here Kara? I mean, I keep trying to let myself forgive you, but I can't. You're not my partner anymore, or whatever we were. I'm past that."

Kara sighed heavily, "Lena." She began as she twisted her fork in her pasta, "I'm…Okay if you move on, if you want to be with someone else, do it." Kara was lying to herself, but she couldn't stand to see Lena still suffering anymore, "You can move on, under the terms that I can start seeing Nia."

Both women suddenly locked eyes with each other. Lena saw love and devotion in Kara's eyes, she tried to find reservation in her former lover's eyes, but it was not there. Slowly, Lena looked away, "I thought you would never get over me."

"I'm not that clingy." Kara laughed, "Despite how I act sometimes. I just-" She took Lena's hand across the table, "I want you to be happy."

"Thank you, Kara." Lena said softly, "I appreciate it."

Kara smiled, "That's what friends are for."

There was a long stretch of silence, and in that silence, Kara pulled her hand away from Lena's hand and the both of them changed their posture. Lena started to giggle in that moment, "Sorry, Intense silences…I'm not good at them…and the last time you said that…It was many, many moons ago."

"It was a very long time." Kara giggled, "But anyone who had a heart would let you go, if it means that you get to be happy."

"But are you happy?" A question that threw Kara so far off, she almost choked on her food. After managing to chew, she scoffed, "Lena, there is no point in being in a relationship in which one isn't happy. Sacrifices have to be made sometimes for the ones we love and while yes, I still am wildly in love with you, I need to let you go. Lena." She sighed, "You need to be free. You have a big heart, a universe even and I need to let you create and destroy just so that you can be happy."

Lena frowned, "What did you mean by create and destroy?"

Kara shrugged, "I…I may have watched Doctor Who again, I was…I was trying to make a Doctor Who reference."

Lena then laughed, "Which episode?"

"You know, the one with the Doctor and the invasion of the small cubes. It's the one where the Doctor has a heart to heart with Amelia before the whole Weeping Angel's thing."

"That one makes you sob uncontrollably." Lena laughed, making Kara blush.

"I adored Amy and Rory, that was a very cruel way to get rid of them."

"But they still lived out the rest of their lives, just in the past."

"I refuse to watch that episode, it makes me cry so much."

"I believe the quote you are looking for is, 'This is one corner… of one country, in one continent, on one planet that's a corner of a galaxy that's a corner of a universe that is forever growing and shrinking and creating and destroying, and never remaining the same for a single millisecond. And there is so much, so much to see."

"Yeah, that one." Kara said pointedly.

"You are ridiculous." Lena laughed before checking her phone, "Right, I need to go and set up my next lecture…Thank you Kara." She said as she stood up, "I hope you find someone who loves you as much as I once did."

Kara smiled sadly, "I hope so too. Have a good day Lena."

"You too Kara." Lena said before turning around and heading off with her tray, dropping it off on her way out.

Kara sat quietly, sadness dawning on her. A lump slowly formed in her throat as she began to think of a life without Lena. The only good thing that came out of today was that Kara was now able to see her child without there being much of a problem. The only reservation she had was of who Lena's future partner might be, and whether they would let Kara see her or not.