Everything about this time around was different. Lena's hormones stayed out of whack for the first month or so after Alexis' birth. That topped with a lack of sleep meant the woman cried at a drop of a hat, was more likely to feel overwhelmed than she had been with Andrew, and was more likely to snipe at Kara. Kara didn't take it personally. She understood that her wife was a vortex of hormones, but she did take any chance she could get to slip away when Lena was really bitchy but only if she could leave Lena safely in the hands of her mother, Alex, or Sam. She would be grateful to Rao forever for Sam and Eliza. Since they had experience to draw from they were a huge help to Lena and Kara. If Lena was feeding Alexis, Eliza would keep Andrew busy. If Lena needed a nap and Kara was spending time with Andrew, Sam would cuddle with Alexis, if Lena was a melting snowball of emotions they both knew just how to empathize and make her feel better. That came in really handy at around three weeks in when Alexis developed colic.
Lena was near her wits end trying to figure out how to ease her daughter's discomfort. She'd modified her own diet just in case it was something she was ingesting that was causing it. She tried every tip Eliza and Sam had to offer, warm baths and tummy rubs, holding her tummy down along the length of her arm. They were even starting to consider using formula since they'd never had this problem with Andrew. Then one evening when it felt like nothing was helping and Alexis continued to wail with her little knees drawn up and her tiny hands balled into fists, Lena handed their newborn over to Kara and stepped out of the room. Eliza had told her that when she felt that overwhelmed it was alright to remove herself so she could catch her breath, and that she shouldn't feel guilty for having to do so. Lena needed a moment to just cry and scream into a pillow, to wallow in her self doubt, and then pick herself up and go back to it.
But Lena hadn't even made it half way up the stairs when silence suddenly filled the penthouse. Going back downstairs to see why Alexis had suddenly stopped, she found her wife holding their daughter tummy side down along the length of her arm, Alexis's little head in the palm of Kara's hand, while Kara floated near the ceiling. Lena blinked her burning, tired eyes. "Are you kidding me?" She said softly while looking up at her wife and daughter. "Are you fucking kidding me? Flying soothes her!"
Kara laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "Apparently."
Even after the colic subsided the best way to calm Alexis when she was overly upset and nothing else worked was for Kara or Sam to float with her. They would lay her along the length of their arm, tummy down, and close to their chests and Alexis would sigh happily and close her eyes and smile when she was old enough to actually smile.
It was towards the end of the first month that Alexis started to really take on the features and traits she'd inherited from her mothers. Her hair was blonde like Kara's, but with soft red highlights which were actually a Luthor trait. Eliza said that the baby's hair would get lighter and darker as she aged just as Kara's had. Alexis also had Kara's cute little nose and Kara's crinkle whenever she was mad or upset. Lena had been in the shower the first time Kara had noticed it. She'd been sitting on the sofa cuddling with Alexis and telling Andrew a story, when Alexis suddenly decided she was hungry. The baby had no patience when it came to food, much like her Kyprontian mother, and her soft protests quickly turned into angry demands. That's when Andrew pointed at his sister's face and said, "Look Mama, just like you when your grumpy hungry."
Kara looked down and gasped then growled softly, "Crinkle!"
The shape of Alexis' face, her jawline, and her pale skin tone were all Lena. So were her green eyes. Kara had watched with utter fascination as Alexis' eyes changed from newborn blue to a soft blue-green, to a pale jade. They would probably get a little darker as she continued to grow and develop but they were most certainly going to be green like Lena' Kara did wonder if Alexis' eyes would change hues and shades the way Lena's did depending on her mood or the colors she wore when she got older.
Andrew was not impressed with his new baby sister. For the first six weeks or so she didn't do anything but sleep, eat, cry and stink. Lena and Kara did their best to make sure they spent time with him, but he was getting a little frustrated with not really being able to interact with his sister. Then one evening he noticed that Alexis was watching him as he played with a new zebra toy he'd gotten from the zoo that day. The zebra and Bean, his stuffed platypus, were having a conversation about Pam the flamingo in legal.
Kara had chuckled. "Pam from legal? He really listens to when we talk doesn't he?"
Lena nodded, an amused smile on her lips and a new mental mom note, as Sam called them, to be more careful about what they talked about around their soon to be four year old son.
When Andrew stopped talking Alexis would begin cooing and gurgling and twisting her head to look for him. When he started the conversation back up she would settle and watch him. Lena noticed and asked Andrew if he would bring his zebra over to show Alexis, telling him that tiny baby's her age liked black and white things. Andrew sat beside his Mommy and his sister and showed Alexis the toy while telling her all about zebras. Alexis' focused on her brother, smiled and cooed at him, and Andrew beamed, "She likes me!"
"Of course she likes you, bud." Kara said sweetly from the other side of their son. "You're her big brother. She loves you."
"She's getting older." Lena explained. "She's becoming more alert to the people in her life and the things around her. You'll have to teach her all about her new world."
It would be years before Alexis' body matured enough for her Kryptonian genetics to fully kick in, so until then she was a normal human baby. Which meant normal human baby check ups with a specially selected highly trusted doctor who'd been over seeing Andrew's care since he was a baby. Lena's hormones hadn't really leveled out just yet when it was time for Alexis' first round of vaccinations, so they had expected her to be the one upset by the experience. However, it was Kara who needed to be reminded that using heat vision on the doctor would be bad.
Lena had a bit of a smirk on her lips as she handed her wife a tissue before sitting beside her on their bed. Their daughter was sleeping soundly on her back between them, one little fist stretched out above her head, gently sucking on a pacifier that made it look as if she had a mustache, and wearing a purple onesie that said 'Future Legend' which had been a gift from Sara. "I think you've shed more tears than Alexis did."
"I still don't understand why she or Andrew even need to get shots." Kara said with a soft sniffle while removing her glasses to rub the tissue under her eyes.
"Because," Lena said gently. "Until their bodies are mature enough to handle their respective alien genetics, they're just plain ordinary human babies who can catch plain ordinary human illnesses."
Kara sniffled again as Lena tucked strands of blonde hair behind her ears. "Why do shots have to hurt? It's not fair. They're just babies!" Kara paused, her eyes flicking down to her daughter to make sure she hadn't disturbed her. "They don't understand that its for their own good only that it hurts."
"It only hurts for a moment." Lena reassured. "Alexis cried for thirty seconds and then glared at the doctor like she was the one I had to talk down from using heat vision."
That made Kara chuckle softly. "No, that was her Luthor glare."
Lena smiled fondly and kissed her wife's forehead. "Be that as it may, our daughter is fine, Kara. You my love are the one still in tears." She kissed Kara softly on the lips. "My soft hearted superhero."
The first time they go out after Alexis is born isn't easy on either of them. There was guilt, and nerves, and more guilt. It took a good forty minutes for Sam and Alex to push them out the door after they arrived to babysit.
"Its dinner and a movie not a trip around the world." Sam said as she shoved Lena's purse into her hands. "You both took showers and put on grown up daytime clothes. Don't waste it."
Alex chuckled softly as she cradled Alexis in her arms. "We'll be fine. Go, have an adult conversation."
The first time they try to make love after Alexis is born isn't easy on Lena. She'd become self conscious about her body, and the differences that came following pregnancy. Logically she understood it would take time for her to get back the body she had pre-pregnancy, but logic had very little influence over a new mother. Thankfully Kara had plenty of influence over Lena and she made it her mission to make Lena understand just how beautiful she would always think she was. Kara worshiped the body that had given life to their daughter until Lena's uncontrolled scream woke said daughter.
"Lee!" Kara laughed from between her wife's legs.
Lena panted and glared at her wife. "Don't Lee me this is your fault!"
Kara bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. "Lets just wait a moment and see if she'll go back to sleep."
Thankfully Andrew was a pretty heavy sleeper and Alexis did soothe herself back to sleep, so they were able to finish their night, even pushing it into the early hours of the morning.
For his fourth birthday party Andrew wanted a zoo party. So of course Lena threw him the best zoo party. Kara had to actually talk her out of buying out the actual zoo for the day, reminding her that they had an infant and staying home would probably be the better idea. So Lena, with Jess and Eve's help, turned the first floor of their penthouse into a zoo. There were stuffed monkeys and lemurs hanging from the ceiling on vine streamers and in paper mache trees. A huge stuffed giraffe stood in the corner of the room with a zebra and a hippo, and a stuffed lion lurked in tall grass nearby. There were stuffed penguins clustered together on the ottoman which was draped in white to make it look like an iceberg, while a killer whale watched from the sofa. A black panther chilled by the fireplace. A Giant Panda lounged near the food table which had Cuites with tiger faces drawn on them, buckets of animals crackers, elephant shaped sandwiches and cookies in the shape of the number 4 with animal print icing. There was an elephant near the drinks table, and smaller versions of all the animals waiting to go home with Andrew's friends from the L-Corp and CatCo daycares. There were masks and animal costumes and face painting so the kids and adults could dress up like their favorite animals.
Andrew's favorite animal was the giant panda so he and his Mama would be dressed like pandas, and since Alexis' favorite thing to do was cuddle and koala babies like to cuddle, she and Mommy would be koalas. Lena was actually really anxious about having so many people at the penthouse and around Alexis, she was the same way with Andrew wanting to keep his little world small and safe for as long as she could, but she couldn't deny her little boy a birthday party. Thankfully the upstairs was off limits and she had plenty of people she trusted to help watch over Alexis, allowing for her and Kara to spend more time with their birthday boy.
There was an upside to opening their home to so many guests. Lena got to spend time with her nephew. Conner had been with Clark and Lois for a little over a year now. He was still adjusting to things but he was doing well with them. It still struck her heart a little funny when she would see Lex in him, it was still very much bittersweet for her. According to Lois, Clark's dog was a huge help when it came to Conner and the two were inseparable. Which is why Lena didn't mind Conner bringing Kypto with him. Not even when Andrew came running up to her and Kara to ask if he could have a dog too.
The next time their little family expanded to include Clark and his was when Alexis was six months old. Lena understood the importance of traditions, she really did, and she would never deny Kara any of her Kryptonian traditions. She just didn't like the idea of flying her six month old daughter to the arctic.
"It worked out fine with Drew." Kara reminded her.
Lena huffed. "I didn't like it then either."
Of course Lena relented. The Fortress was the primarily place were the physical memory of the House of El was. So of course that's where Kara would present her daughter to the ancestors and Rao. Though it would not be the first time she declared her daughter's name before her family. That had happened a week after Alexis' birth in a small room at the DEO before the holograms of her mother and aunt, with Lena, Alex, Eliza, Sam, Ruby, J'onn, Winn and James in attendance.
Kara stepped up to the dais and smiled down at the peaceful face of her daughter before looking up into the holographic faces of her mother and her aunt. "I bring forth into the light of Rao my daughter, to be known to all as Zee El, daughter of Kara Zor-El, granddaughter of Alura In-Ze Zor-El."
It was a beautiful moment. So was the repeated moment at the Fortress were Kara presented her daughter to the elders, right up to the point where she found herself arguing with the hologram of her uncle. According to custom a daughter's house name always included their father's name. Kara held firm on the name Zee El, not Zee Kara-El or Zee Kara Zor-El, just Zee El. Clark deactivated the hologram seconds before Kara stuck her tongue out at Jor El and moaned, "For such an advanced civilization we were really patriarchal. Stubborn old men. No wonder the whole planet blew up."
Lena, Sam, Alex, and Lois smirked while Clark looks as if he were worried lightening might strike them.
Winn was pouting. He took great pride in the fact that Andrew had chosen the platypus he had given him as his favorite stuffed animal, his security toy. Wherever Andrew went Bean was there too. So Winn had been hoping that Alexis would love the stuffed llama he'd given her just as much as Andrew loved Bean. When Alexis was old enough to pick the stuffed animal that would become her childhood best friend it wasn't Winn's llama but a really soft blue and white hippo from Ruby. When Winn would come over for a game night or a movie night he would try to get Alexis interested in his llama but all that would get him was a sharp scream and a hard glare. On nights Ruby was there she'd tease him and that always led to Winn pouting.
"Winn." Lena said gently with a warm smile. "With all the Christmas, birthday, and just because presents you're going to get her over her lifetime I'm positive that you'll give her more than a few favorite things."
Every little milestone as well as major milestone went in Alexis' baby book. The book itself had been a gift from Sam. She told them how special Ruby's was to her, and how she'd put it together from bits and pieces she'd gotten at the dollar store while she was pregnant. When she'd given Lena a book for Andrew, Sam had told her that it was important to not just jot down the firsts and the month to month stats, but to write down how they were feeling as well. Someday when their kids were older and they gave them the books it would give them a way to understand them better. Both Lena and Kara liked the idea and had taken it a step further. They kept journals where they would write to Andrew and now Alexis as if writing them letters, telling them about how they felt, and about hopes and dreams, and how they would make mistakes but they promised to always do their best.
Kara was sitting on the floor with the kids playing after dinner as they waited on Lena to come home. Lena had had a late meeting that ran just a little long and had missed giving the kids dinner, but had sent a text promising to be home before bathtime. When her wife finally walked through the door Kara smiled, stood, and made her way to Lena to kiss her welcome home.
Andrew watched as his sister shifted from a sitting position to a crawling position, and then to a standing position. "Mommy. Mama." He called out to his parents as he watched Alexis gain her balance. "Mommy. Mama."
"In a moment Drew." Kara said gently, before returning her the hushed conversation she was having with Lena about her day.
"Ok, but you're gonna miss it." Andrew said.
Kara turned from Lena and Lena sidestepped Kara so they were facing their children side by side. It was Kara who asked, "Miss what?"
Lena gasped, her hands flying over her mouth as her eyes widened. She crouched down with watery eyes and held open her arms.
Kara pulled out her phone.
Alexis had a very determined look on her face as she held out her arms on either side of herself and carefully lifted one foot a bit off the ground. Later after sending the video to Alex she would say the look was Lena's 'I'm Lena Fucking Luthor and I'm doing this!' face. After a few more practice foot lifts Alexis took a tentative step forward, and then another. The look on her face in that moment, according to Alex, was Kara's, "Holy shit! That actually worked!' face. With a giggle and a clap of her hands Alexis then began a slow drunk like wobble walk right into her mother's outstretched arms.
"Well done, Bug!" Lena praised as she cuddled her little girl and kissed her nose. "Look at you, big girl. Walking on your own!"
Of course walking was a game changer because now Alexis was mobile and could get to places on her own and get into things on her own. The Luthor children were sitting on the floor of their mother's L-Corp office playing when the door opened and Sam walked in. Both of the children's faces lit up at the sight of her. Sam smiled over at Lena but made a beeline for the babies.
"Oh, I see how it is." Lena teased. "You no longer come to see me you come for my babies."
"Yeap." Sam replied just as teasingly. "I'm all about the littlest Luthors now."
Alexis stood and began toddling towards their aunt while making a hissing noise. She was fairly good with sounds like the hiss at the start of Sam, or the moan at the start of Mommy or Mama, but actual understandable words hadn't happened yet.
Sam was holding out her arms to the brand new walker when she felt Andrew crash into her legs. She blinked as she looked down at him.
Andrew stood with his back pressed against Sam's legs and his arms held out as if to block his sister from reaching her. "No, Lexie!" Andrew said firmly. He would often alternate between calling his sister Alexis, Lexie, and sometimes Lex, which Lena wasn't sure how she felt about that. "No! Bad baby! This is my Aunt Sam!"
The looks on Lena's and Sam's faces showed their surprise at Andrew's sudden behavior. Sam had held and interacted with Alexis plenty of times before. What was suddenly so different? "Hey now, little man." Sam said gently but sternly as she moved Andrew off her legs so she could crouch to his level. "Yes, I am your Aunt Sam, but I'm Alexis' Aunt Sam too. I love both of my little beans."
Andrew shook his head. "No! I don't wanna share you too!"
Sam and Lena, who'd gone to Alexis when her little lip began to quiver as she looked at her big brother as if he'd just broken her heart by raising his little voice to her, shared a look before Sam asked, "Share me too?"
"I haves to share Mommy, and Mama, and Streaky, and Grandma, and even Pops." The little boy said as he looked into Sam's eyes. "I don't wanna share you too."
Standing, Sam take's Andrew's hand and leds him over to the sofa. Picking him up she sets him on her lap and smiles warmly at him. "I know it must be hard sometimes, huh? Having to suddenly share so much with your sister. But you know sharing love isn't like having to share your toys or your snacks, because love is magically. There will always be plenty of love for you and for Alexis from everyone who loves you. That includes me, and your Mommy and your Mama, and Aunt Alex, and our whole oddball little family."
She paused a moment so Andrew could think about that. Then he replies, "Mommy said that too."
"Well your Mommy's a pretty smart cookie." Sam smiled reassuringly, and cuddled him. "You know there will be things that you and I like to do together, and there will be things Alexis and I like together, and things we all like to do together. Why don't you tell me one thing that you and I can do together that's just for you and me?"
Andrew thought about it and said, "Go to the fishy store."
The top floor of L-Corp where Sam's and Lena's offices were had a big beautiful custom made fish tank. Andrew loved watching the fish and he really liked getting to pick out new ones. Sam smiled and nodded. "Ok, then that's the one thing you and I do together that you don't have to share with Alexis." She promised. "Now, what do you think we can all do together?"
Again the boy thought about it and said, "Can we take Lexie camping?"
Sam chuckled while Lena groaned. Lena hated camping. "When she's big enough we're totally taking her camping." After a few moments pass Sam asks, "Are you feeling better now?"
Andrew sighs softly and shrugs. "Yes."
"Then I think you need to tell your sister you're sorry." Sam said firmly. "You scared her when you raised your voice like that, Drew. She isn't use to you doing that."
Andrew looked over to see his baby sister cuddled against their mommy with her cheeks flushed and tear stained cheeks and her eyes watery. He sighed softly as he moved from Sam's lap to sit beside them. "I'm sorry, Lexie, please don't cry."
Alexis sniffled, then hiccuped softly, then reached for her brother as she said, "Drew."
Sam's and Lena's eyes went wide and so did Andrew's. "She said my name!" He blinked and smiled as he took his sister's hand. "Say it again, Lexie."
"Drew." Alexis said clearly as day.
Lena laughed, her eyes filling with tears. "Her first word is her big brother's name."
"You're going to cry aren't you?" Sam teased her friend. "Not just happy about my baby's first word cry, but, like triggered cry?"
"Yes." Lena answered.
Sam pulled out her phone. "I'm texting Kara. She's the only one who can deal with that kind of crying."
The first time Alexis says one of their names as a full word and not just the letter M sound, Lena's in the park with the kids. They'd just finished with their mommy and me playgroup and were about to have lunch with Alex and Sam who'd wanted to talk to Lena about something important. Andrew was playing close by with one of his friends while Lena stood with Sam and Alex, Alexis perched on Lena's hip. When Lena heard the all to familiar and comforting flutter of a red cape, and the soft thud of boots hitting the ground, she couldn't help but smile.
Supergirl nodded and smiled back. "Ms. Luthor. Agent Danvers. Ms. Arias. What a beautiful afternoon."
Alexis titled her little head to the side, stared at Supergirl for a few moments, blinked once, then let out a giggle as she held out her hands and squealed. "Mama!"
Jaws dropped and eyes went wide. Kara and Lena didn't want to burden their children with the secret of Supergirl at such a young age so they did their best to never let them see that said of Kara. When she or Sam floated with Alexis when she was a baby it was never in front of Andrew, and now that she was older and capable of learning and understanding they didn't do that with Alexis at all anymore. They had never seen her super suit, though Kara did go without her glasses around the house sometimes, and she never used her powers around them.
Alexis continued to make grabby hands towards Supergirl while leaning towards her. "Mama."
"That's Supergirl, Bug." Lena said softly. Alexis was a little cuddle bug and the nickname had just kind of stuck. It wasn't very original she knew that but it felt right, especially after dreams filled with faded memories of an accented voice whispering, 'You're Mummy's wee love-bug, aren't you, baby girl.'
Alexis looked back and forth between her mothers several times, and then looked at Lena like she was crazy or an idiot or something. She pointed to Supergirl and said, "Mama."
Alex lost it. She laughed so hard she doubled over.
Lena looked at Sam with a soft glare. "Why is your girlfriend laughing so hard?"
Sam shrugged. Alex rested her hands on her knees, took a couple of deep breaths, and said to Lena, "She's not even a year old and she figured it out faster than you did!"
Lena huffed at her sister in law. "Keep it up Danvers, see if I help Sam knock you up."
Supergirl squeaked. "What?"
Lena looked at her wife and said in a whisper only Kara and Sam could hear, "Go change before our baby blows your secret."
Of course by then the kids in the park had noticed and there would be no quick escape for Supergirl. So it was Lena who had to remove Alexis from the scene. She chuckled softly as she nuzzled her nose against her baby's cheek. "Well, aren't you just the smartest little cookie crumb."
Alexis' third word wasn't quite as clearly spoken as her first two. For days every time she said it her mothers thought she was saying fuck. Which kept Alex in hot water with both of them, and Lena in hot water with Kara. Turns out she hadn't been sayin fuck, but duck. At some point and for reasons unknown to any of the adults in her life she'd named her soft blue hippo Duck.
The entire first floor of the penthouse looked like pink bombs went off everywhere. There were balloons and streamers in various shades of pink, and white all over the place. A giant pink and white rose covered number 1 sat beside a pink bucket nearly as tall as Alexis, which had dozens of balloons floating over it. It sort of looked like a mini baby sized Up inspired hot air balloon. Apparently that's where Alexis would stand while her mothers opened her birthday presents for her, at least according to Jess.
A white wooden high chair draped in white tulle, pinks roses, and gold letters that read "One" is where Alexis would eat her pink unicorn smash cake. For guests there would be cupcakes with pink icing and unicorn horn suckers and 1 shaped rice crispy treats drizzled with pink chocolate. There was pink milk and pink lemonade for anyone under twenty-one, and pink champagne for those over. It was just as elaborate as Andrew's first birthday had been, only more pink.
While planning Andrew's first birthday Kara had talked to Lena about going overboard. It had been agreed after a short argument that Lena could go all out for milestone birthdays. One, five, ten, sixteen, eighteen and twenty one for sure, though Lena had tried to slip in twenty five and thirty much to Kara's amusement.
"I can't believe she's one already." Kara said softly into Lena's ear as they watched their baby girl cover herself in pink and white frosting while wielding a marshmellow unicorn horn like a sword.
Lena sniffled and leaned back against her wife's body. "I know. I hope the rest of her life doesn't go by as quickly. I don't want them to grow up, Kara. I want them to stay little forever."
"Me too, love." Kara agreed. "Me too."
I am looking forward to writing more about Alexis and Andrew as they grow up! I love the idea of exploring their personalities and the relationships they'll have with their family. I'm not sure if this is the end of Child of El, but I do know I plan on doing a new story called Children of El (L) and maybe even a grand crossover story later on.
So, ff you're excited by the idea of seeing more of Drew and Lexie too and have any ideas, thoughts, or prompts you'd like to shoot my way go for it! Either send me a private message here, or on Tumblr, or leave a comment. :-D
Thank you all for reading and a special thanks to all who commented.
~Reese