J'onn, Eliza, and Jeremiah were the first to arrive to the gathering. Alex gave her father an awkward smile, and Kara immediately walked over to make amends with him. Eliza walked over to Emma and gave her a hug, then pointedly stared at Alex.
Alex nodded. "We're good now, Mom. No need to worry about that anymore." Eliza smiled and pulled her eldest into a hug. "I'm glad you two worked it out." Kara walked over and joined the group hug. Eliza gave her a questioning glance. "Everything okay with you two?"
Kara nodded, smiling. "We're fine. I'm just glad to have him back." She then looked up to her big sister and motioned to Jeremiah. "I think maybe you should talk to him too." Alex sighed. "Yeah, I'll be back soon." Then she was off.
Kara was startled to feel a firm grip on her shoulder and turned around to find J'onn. She smiled and pulled him in for a hug. He returned her grin and squeezed her shoulder. "I'm so proud of the woman you've grown into, Kara. I never thought I'd see the day when the threat of Cadmus was gone, but you never gave up. Despite everything that happened to you, somehow you persevered. I admire you so much, and am proud to consider you to be like a daughter to me."
She felt her eyes well up with tears and sincerely returned his gaze. "I just want to say that I'm so grateful you helped Alex come get me all that time back. You guys saved me from what Cadmus was doing, and it was astounding to me because you didn't even know who I was, yet still wanted to help. I also want to thank you for being there for Alex when I couldn't, it means so much to me knowing that she had someone like you looking after her."
J'onn gave her a friendly smile and pulled her in for another hug. Their moment was interrupted by knocking on the door. Kara apologized, excusing herself, and headed for the door to find Winn grinning at her from the other side, holding pizza and alcohol.
He gave her a megawatt grin. "I brought the good stuff." Kara laughed, motioning him to step inside. "It's why I love you. But you really shouldn't have, Emma ordered pizza a while ago." Winn nodded. "I saw the pizza guy on the way up, and knew this was for you. I took it and tipped him, we're all covered there."
Kara smirked. "And what if that pizza hadn't been for me?" Winn smiled. "It was a calculated risk, with a very high probability."
She smiled and gave him a quick hug, before making her way back to Alex, allowing everyone else to mingle amongst themselves. She tentatively questioned. "How did it go?"
Alex gave her a small smile. "We talked. I apologized for getting all weird, and he promised he was going to do whatever it took to make it up to us. I tried to make him feel less guilty about it, but it didn't take. Guess I know where the whole guilt complex thing comes from."
Kara laughed. "Well at least you guys are okay. We can be a family again. A whole one." Alex grinned and pulled her sister in for a hug. "Thanks for always being there, Kar. You mean everything to me." Kara gave her sister a squeeze.
"Always."
She then began pouring the wine that Winn had brought into cups. She turned to glance at Alex, and her older sister smiled in return. "Water is good for me."
And that made Kara beam with pride.
Emma walked over to steal a glass, and brushed up against Kara. "I see the pizza has been delivered, I'm surprised you're not gorging yourself already." Kara laughed at her. "Oh, ha ha. Very funny, Emma. I'll have you know that I am saving some for the guests."
Emma snorted. "Wow that's a first. Can't remember the last time you decided to show me that same courtesy." Kara gave her an innocent smile. "Don't take it personal, it's because I love you." Emma laughed at that twisted logic. "Well for the record, I love you too... Even if you give everyone else the luxury of pizza except the person actually buying it for you."
Kara nudged her playfully before tugging her into a tight hug. "I'm so glad we grew close. I don't know where I'd be without you, I don't even want to think about what would have happened if you weren't there at Cadmus."
Emma smiled. "Well, you're here now and you're okay. So let's not dwell on that. I'm glad we became friends too. You were the first person here to accept me, and you've become so important to me."
Kara gave her a comforting squeeze. "In the short time you've known me, you've already saved me countless times. I think it'd be fair to say that you mean the world to me too."
Alex took this moment to cut in. "I'd also like to pitch in here by thanking you for saving my life. I was so caught up in the moment before, that I never got to properly thank you for fixing my leg." Emma looked down shyly. "It's no big deal, really."
Alex smiled. "It is to me. And thanks for doing everything to protect Kara. God only knows she needs it." Kara feigned mock insult. "You know, ever since you two grew all chummy, I have just been victim to incessant bullying."
Emma grinned at her. "It's what you get for making me your pizza slave." She turned to Alex. "So... Are we good?"
Alex laughed. "Yeah... Yeah, we're good."
At that moment, everyone decided to gather around the table for the rest of their wine glasses. They ended up forming a circle of some sort, and Kara took the opportunity to make a toast.
"I'd like to start by thanking everyone here. Every single person in this room was instrumental to the downfall of Cadmus, and for that I am forever grateful and indebted to you all. Everyone here stood by me, supported me, and never gave up on me, even when I was taken. I love each and every single one of you for what you have done for not only me, but also for the people I care about."
She looked out across all the people in the apartment, completely content with the happy ending they had all gotten. "We may not all share blood, but we are all connected by our love. Each of you has made me feel welcome here on this planet in different ways, and I cannot express the level of gratitude I have for that. I was afraid that when I survived Krypton, I'd be alone forever. But when I came to earth, I was instantly welcomed and loved, and that gave me the bravery to go with Cadmus.
No matter what anyone says, you are all family to me. You have all helped fill the hole in my heart that was left by Krypton's explosion, and you have all helped me heal from everything that has happened. It is ultimately love that brings us together. It is love that makes and maintains a family. And it is love that bonds us all."
Somewhere deep in the containment module of the DEO, Lillian was listening in on this speech, smirking. She had snuck her remote device into the cell with her, and she was listening through the chip in Jeremiah's bionic arm.
An evil grin overcame her face. "You can't keep me in here forever..."
Back in the apartment, Jeremiah's chip was glowing red. But no one noticed it under his shirt. Kara raised her glass in a toast.
"To family... Love bonds us all."
And though they may not have been aware of the dangers ahead of them, they decided to bask in the light they had been given. Because on this day, they could celebrate love, family, and happiness.
Because maybe, just maybe... If they tried hard enough... the light gathered on this day would protect them from the dark days ahead.
They all raised their glasses in response to Kara, and simultaneously spoke.
"To family. Love bonds us all."
The end.
A/N: So, I did leave it the ending a bit open with Lillian. Whatever comes of this now is entirely up to your guys' imagination. I did steal a little part of Kara's toast from Season 1, episode 20. I'm sure you all recognized the infamous line 'love bonds us all.' I also made reference to the ending of chapter 1 of Dark Days Ahead.
That is where this story ends, and unfortunately this wild journey as well.
I'd like to take a moment to thank every single person who has made it to this point, and who has stuck by me throughout the course of this story. Your support motivated me so much, and you all are truly inspirational. This was my second ever fic, and my first long story, and to receive this amount of support was beyond anything I could have imagined.
The success of this story was entirely due to you all as readers, and I couldn't thank you enough. In the very first chapter of this story, I said that I wanted for this to be an adventure, and it was. The best. You all made this possible, and each and every single one of you has my endless love and appreciation.
I will be spending the next two weeks revising and fixing any grammatical or punctuation errors in this story. I am aiming to have the first chapter of my next story up around the 14th. That is what we're shooting for, but I might be a couple days late. We'll see.
The next story's prompt will be: Kara gets kidnapped by Cadmus and Alex doesn't realize until a week later because she was too busy with Maggie.
Thank you all for supporting me as a writer and making this story possible. I'm excited to explore a new prompt, with new characters, from a new angle. It'll be very different from this story, but still mainly focused on the Danvers Sisters. In the meantime, you could go check out a little one shot I wrote called "A Hero's Sacrifice."
I'll see you all in two weeks. Until then, I hope you all have a great time :)