"I'm glad you had a good day." Lena smiled as she walked through the door with Lori. She took the keys out of the front lock as Lori walked over to the counter. She then proceeded to the kitchen, where she went to the kettle and put it on, "Do you want a cup of tea?"
"Please mom!" The youngster asked, still pumped full of joy, "Seriously, why did you never tell me about this stuff? L-Corp is amazing and everything but Catco is incredible! And Kara was so…" Lori looked lost for words. She pulled out a stool at the counter and sat down, "She was beautiful."
Lena was standing, facing away from her daughter as she went into the cupboard to pull out two mugs. She was truly happy that Lori liked Kara, but she felt something inside that she couldn't describe. It was almost a bitter feeling.
She was jealous of Kara.
The woman shook her head, trying to rid her mind of the thoughts. Yes, Lori was Kara's daughter but Lori didn't know that and she didn't know that, so why she was jealous, she didn't understand.
"So what else did you learn today?" Lena asked Lori, trying to get her off of the subject of Kara. She wasn't being mean, but anyone could put two and two together to figure out that both Lori and Kara were mother and daughter. Lena wanted to pretend for a while longer. She didn't want the day to come when Lori would figure out the truth.
It terrified her. She was scared that if Lori knew the truth, she would hate her.
She wasn't ready for that.
Meanwhile, Kara was at home in her apartment, alone. After seeing Lori properly in the flesh today, it ignited a mothering instinct that she never even knew she had. The hero sat with a glass of wine in her hand, while looking through a photo album.
She missed Alex, and as much as she wanted to talk to her sister about how much she had grown up and how beautiful she looked, she just couldn't.
After turning over her current page to the next, she smiled sadly at the memory. It was a great memory, the first time Kara had gotten an ice cream from the ice cream van. Kara had been truly amazed.
"Kara! Come on!" Alex called after her sister. She had a few dollars in her hand, and Kara sped up with her. She was instantly by Alex's side.
"Oh Rao!" Kara gasped, in awe. She looked at the many different flavours they had to offer. The young Kryptonian wanted all of the flavours but she was limited.
"So.." Alex said as she looked at her sister, "Which flavour would you like to try?"
"Alex! It's Ice-Cream on wheels! It comes straight to our door!" Kara said gleefully.
Kara was now fourteen years old, while Alex was a little older. Alex never got tired of how child-like Kara could be. She envied the fact that everything Kara was experiencing was for the first time. The world was still so bright and beautiful to Kara, it truly fascinated Alex.
"Alright." Alex laughed, "But what do you want? Strawberry? Bubble gum? Chocolate? You can even have nuts, sprinkles and a chocolate flake!"
Kara's eyes inflated instantly, "All of this in one van?!"
"Yes." Alex chuckled, "So what do you want?"
"Girls!" Eliza called over, "The game is about to start on TV, you have two minutes."
"Okay Ms Danvers!" Kara called back over.
Alex's brows knotted together, "You can call her Eliza, or mom, you know?"
Kara nodded slowly before gasping, "Could I have a chocolate one with strawberry sauce, sprinkles and a flake?"
What a strange combination.
Alex nodded, "Okay, for sure." She then turned to the guy who stood in the van, "What she just said, and a vanilla with chocolate sauce and a flake for me please."
Once they got their ice-creams, Eliza stood with a camera on the lawn.
"Mom!" Alex said, embarrassment clear in her voice.
"Come on! We need to fill up the new album and this is a new experience for Kara." Eliza responded, readying the camera.
"The first among many, mom." Alex laughed, before putting her arm around Kara, "I can't believe this."
Kara only laughed at her, "You have ice cream on your nose."
"You have it all over your face." Alex said with a laugh, while Kara shrugged.
"Okay girls, say cheese!" Eliza called out to them.
"Cheese?" Kara questioned, with a frown just as Eliza took the photo.
Back in present day, Kara closed the album, placing it on the table in front of her. All those times as kids were frozen, only a mere memory of what was.
Kara hated that. What was, meaning, it could never happen again.
An audible sigh left Kara as she stood up and walked over to the window. She stood and looked out, upon the stars. A lump formed in her throat as she thought about how much she missed Alex. There had been no more sister nights, no game nights. Nothing.
When Alex died, almost everything stopped.
Her death, Kara blamed on herself.
They were out in the field late one night when there were aliens robbing a bank. Kara just went out and didn't pay attention to orders. It happened so quick that Kara couldn't stop it.
"Supergirl, if you go in now, you comprimise the whole mission." Alex warned on the coms, "Supergirl?" Kara had gone silent. Not a moment later, Alex heard gunfire.
"Crap." She sighed. "All units go ahead!" Alex called into her radio before advancing on the scene herself.
Once Alex got to the bank, she saw at least five bodies on the floor. She sighed heavily, and as she looked around there weren't any of the aliens that they were tracking in sight. Slowly, she advanced to the back where Kara was.
"Anything?" Alex asked her sister as she looked in the vault.
Kara shrugged her shoulders, "Nothing got taken. Not a penny." As she turned around, she saw a huge alien arm that looked like a sharp bone being lifted in the air.
Shock froze Kara in place. She wasn't quick enough to react and just as she was about to call out her sister's name, the arm went straight through Alex's back and exited by her chest cavity. The arm pulled out a moment later.
Alex fell to the floor only a moment later, and Kara caught her. She kneeled beside her sister as the alien responsible was shot upon hos own exit.
"K-" Alex tried speaking. Blood was already pooling in her throat. Alex knew her time was up, but Kara wanted to hold on to something, anything.
"Alex, hold on. I can get you to the hospital." Kara said to her, pleading. Tears streamed down her face as she held her sister tightly, "Alex, don't go. I can't be on my own Alex, please." She begged, shaking.
Alex smiled sadly at her sister, and a small tear trailed down her cheek as she stared into Kara's eyes. She had never properly noticed how blue they were until now. It was like an angel had found her already, and even though Alex didn't believe in that, she believed that Kara was her angel. She always had been, she just never truly saw it until now.
"I'll be with mom." Alex gasped, "And dad." She was truly crying so hard now. She didn't want to leave Kara on her own, but she couldn't survive this, she knew she couldn't.
"Kara, look after yourself. Be amazing, and whatever happens, you have an amazing, beautiful daughter who needs you."
Kara felt how much Alex was shaking in her grip.
"When she comes to you…When you're ready…You will be the most amazing mom."
Her heartbeat was slowing, and Kara could hear it.
"I love you Kara. So much."
Supergirl was torn in two. She could not handle losing Alex.
"I love you too, dummy." Kara laughed tearfully. Alex managed a laugh herself before in an instant, all life that was there before vanished before Kara's eyes.
"No." Kara gasped in a whisper, "Alex." She said a little louder before a gut wrenching scream came from the blonde. It was so loud that agent Vasquez heard it from outside the bank, and Winn was sat in the DEO.
They all knew that Kara would never sound like that unless it was something truly dire.
Time stood still for everyone in that moment, while Kara wished so hard that she could turn back the clock, but she couldn't.
Alex was dead, and there was nothing anyone could do.
Kara sat on the side of her bed, holding a pacifier. It was the first pacifier that Lori had, and after seeing her today, it really hit her how much she wished that she hadn't given her daughter away.
The blonde put the pacifier back in her bedside drawer before getting in bed. She lay down, but she didn't sleep. Loneliness gripped her once again. She just wanted so badly to talk to someone, but Winn was away, and Lena…Lena was the mother of her kid and she didn't want to bother them.
Back at Lena's, she lay on the bed beside Lori going through her homework with her.
"So that's your maths homework done, English and what about science?" Lena asked Lori as she put the young girl's books into her school bag. A heavy sigh came from Lori, "I don't get science."
Lena lay back against the headboard, "Why don't you get it?"
Lori shrugged, "I get the whole acid, alkali stuff. I just don't understand things like half-life's. The periodic table, what is that? I mean, I know what it is, I just…" She shrugged, "I don't get science at all."
"It's a good job your mother is a scientist then, isn't it?" Lena said with a smile. "Hey, Lori, we don't all get everything. We have things that we are strong at and then there are things that we need to push at and get better at. For example, you struggle with maths and science, but with practice, it gets better."
"You have all these brains and I'm just…Everyone is supposed to get maths, right?" Lori asked her.
"Wrong. Lots of people struggle with maths, like I said before, if you work at it…You will get better and learn more than before. Lori, you're young and you have a while to imporve. Don't feel like you should have to achieve everything at once, because that is nearly and almost impossible. Take it one step at a time." There was then a silence between them where Lori looked upset over her lacking in maths and science.
Lena nudged her slightly, "Hey, you'll get better. I promise."
Lori leaned on Lena's arm, and Lena felt like something was wrong.
"Lori." She said after taking a breath, "Is there more to this than the maths and science?"
"No." Lori said quietly.
"Are you sure?"
"I just…Dad is never home. It's been two weeks and we haven't seen him at all."
"Your dad is very busy. He's in Moscow right now. How about we FaceTime him or something?"
"I've tried. He doesn't pick up." She sighed, "I just…I miss him."
Lena sighed and kissed her cheek, "I miss him too. He'll be home soon though. Your dad is just busy doing things in order for money to come in, like I do with Catco and L-Corp. Your dad is just away from home a lot more."
Lori sighed.
Her mother wished she could do more for her, but she couldn't.
"I love you Lori, to the moon and back, so does your father." Lena said quietly.
"He's not my real dad though. Who is my real dad mom?"
Lena's heart skipped a beat, how could she answer this when she didn't even know herself. She opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out, "I can't answer that baby."
"Why?" Lori asked her.
"Because…" Lena began, "Because it's complicated." And it was, Kara didn't tell her, and how was she supposed to know if Kara never told her.
She was about to hug her daughter when she heard the door open. "I think daddy is home." Lena smiled. She got up to go and greet her husband when she was greeted with the sight of her mother.
"What do you want?" Lena sneered at Lilian as she stood there with two henchmen.
Lillian had a smirk on her face, "I think you know."