Hello, my lovelies.

Is there anyone still reading this? I'm sorry I haven't been able to update this in a while. Life has been... Weird...

I have close to 50 pages of dialogue already written for this fic, and only now I'm working on the exposition, so bear with me, please.

Also, thank you so, so, so much for all the love you've been showing to this story. I read and treasure every comment. I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

This picks up where the previous one left off.

It was late in the afternoon and the pair of friends had moved to the living room. A movie neither of them was particularly paying attention to was playing on the TV.

They were sitting comfortably on each end of the luxurious couch. Lena's legs were stretched out in front of her and she was using the armrest as a recliner for her upper body while Kara had her bare feet propped on the ottoman situated before the couch.

Lena had a plate secured in her hand since she, at last, had given up on turning down Kara's insistent requests for her to try to eat something. She was still feeling a little queasy when Kara suggested for the umpteenth time she gave food a try, but once she had tentatively attempted that first bite, there was nothing that would have stopped her. She was starving, considering she hadn't eaten anything other than a cup of yogurt and some sliced pieces of apple since the previous afternoon.

Kara had brought her a grilled chicken salad, a simple dish that was one of Lena's favorite. Lena was sure Kara had selected that because she knew it would be something that would soothe her, a comfort food of sorts.

Lena glanced quickly at her friend. She felt a rush of gratitude towards having Kara in her life, and suddenly she found herself releasing a shuddering breath as fought back tears.

That reaction was another reminder of the changes taking place in her body, in her life.

"Is everything okay?" Kara's quiet voice made her look up from her plate.

"Yeah," Lena smiled and gestured to her plate, "This is really great. Thank you."

"Lena," Kara didn't let it go.

"It's just the hormones, I promise," Lena tried to reassure her friend. "They are all over the place, and I'm always set to burst into tears nowadays, it seems," Lena explained. "Which is just the perfect trait for a CEO," she added with a note of annoyance in her tone.

Kara's lips twitched and she squinted her eyes that tiny, almost imperceptible fraction; the kind of micro expression that wouldn't be detected if someone didn't know the person in question all that well, which is precisely why it didn't go unnoticed by Lena.

Lena was grateful Kara didn't press her into talking, but she could see that Kara was struggling with something.

She knew her friend was probably full of questions; she herself was full of them. This concept of friendship she shared with Kara was still new to her, but her friend was a great guide, so she did what she knew Kara would have done it were the roles reversed.

She nudged Kara's thigh with her toe and spoke softly, "Talk to me."

Kara, who was doing a stellar job at pretending to be engrossed in the movie for the past few minutes, turned her face towards Lena and shifted on the couch so she could take a hold of Lena's foot and place it on her lap. "I'm sorry," Kara said with a trembling voice and teary eyes.

"What could you possibly be apologizing for?" Lena asked as she adjusted herself to a sitting position; the sight of Kara on the verge of tears had caught Lena completely off guard.

Kara ducked her head and pressed her lips into a thin line, a defeated look settling in her features. It was all it took for Lena's puzzlement to vanish, giving place to an understanding as to why Kara had been so quiet in the past couple of hours. Her chest ached for her friend. Absorbed in her own pain, fears, and grief in the days that followed Jack's death, Lena didn't realize Kara was experiencing her own share of guilt. "It's not your fault," Lena spoke sympathetically.

A drop won and slid down Kara's face and Lena stopped herself from leaning forward to catch it with her thumb. "Lena, if I hadn't been so adamant about finding out the truth… If I had used another approach maybe-"

"He would still be dead, or he would have gone mad, and then he would have died as a side effect. I," Lena emphasized the word bringing a hand to her chest, "Could have ended up dead because of it." Kara's eyes widened at that, her finger that had been gently tracing patterns on Lena's foot stopped and she clenched her jaw.

"There was nothing we could have done at that point that would have provided a good outcome for him," Lena spoke with sorrow in her voice. She would have known if there was, she had run multiple scenarios in her head in the weeks after and not a single one of them had Jack alive and well when everything was over.

"Okay?" Lena asked in that firm yet gentle tone she used when there wasn't any room left for arguing.

Kara nibbled on her lower lip and gave a weak nod.

"You know," Lena said after a while as she leaned over to place her empty plate on the coffee table. "He and I talked briefly about children when we were together," Lena revealed wistfully.

"You did?" Kara shuffled on the couch, tucking one leg under her so she could have a better look at Lena.

Lena recalled that day. She and Jack were just out of college, their startup was in full swing and so was their romance.

They were having a rare afternoon stroll in the park and there was this toddler who was just learning how to walk. The little girl managed to get up on both of her feet by herself, and then she wobbled one, two little steps before she was flat on her diaper encased butt squealing with delight at her not so successful attempt at walking. She repeated that sequence a few times until one time she just took off, a wide grin on her face as her parents, Lena assumed, cheered her on to continue.

Lena was observing the child, her perseverance in accomplishing the task at hand, when Jack brought her hand to his lips and said with a gleam in his eyes, something Lena only saw when they had a breakthrough in the lab or when he was looking at her, "I want one," he had said.

Lena nodded coming back to the present. "Years ago... I wasn't really sold on the idea, but it was something he wanted and I had agreed to revisit the topic… Someday," Lena let out a sharp breath and pressed her lips together.

It was a couple of years later now and this baby she was carrying was his last chance of having a progeny, but he wasn't there anymore. There was no way for them to revisit the topic. This was a decision that was supposed to be made by the two of them if it came to it. But now it was all on Lena and she needed to decide what to do.

She never thought about having kids until that day at the park.

It had never occurred to her the idea of motherhood until Jack had brought it up.

Lena's entire concept of motherhood was what she had experienced as a daughter.

And that's not something she wanted to inflict on another human being.

However, when she thought back to these past few days, to when she started to put the pieces together of what was going on in her body; to when she refused to actively think about her new condition, to acknowledge it silently to herself; to when the fears were still locked away, she found her answer.

Even when she refused to admit it or to make a decision, Lena realized she already had, with every time she discarded her coffee; with every time she yearned for a drink, but abstained; with every time that she could have gone to a clinic, but didn't.

And as if her best friend could read her mind, Kara broke the silence.

"You know… You don't owe it to him to go ahead with this pregnancy," she paused as her eyes searched Lena's, "You can honor him by doing other things… And I want you to know that whatever you decide, I'm here for you… And the baby, if you choose to go ahead with the pregnancy," Kara spoke; every word filled with warmth. "That promise I made you," Kara's fingers closed around one of Lena's ankles in a sign of comfort, "It extends to them as well."

If Lena hadn't already made up her mind by then, Kara's reassurance would have been the final argument.

"Kara?" Lena called and she was met with a puzzled look, "I'm having a baby."

Kara's smile was a match for the one that had blossomed on Lena's face.

I'd love to read your thoughts on this one.