"Good morning, sunshine," Alex grumbles from the couch as Kara strides out of the hallway. "You look nice."

"Thanks." Kara smiles. "I'm just going to grab a quick bite and then head off. I want to get a good chunk of time at the lab today before I take you guys out later for another excursion."

Lena frowns, sitting next to Alex before she is forced to move by the heavy weight of Alex's glare. Kelly sits between the pair in the spot Lena just vacated not ten seconds later, and Alex's glare lets up to make way for a soft smile.

Looking at her with pinched brows, Lena looks confused. "Wait, why are you going back again? You spent quite a while there yesterday after we got back from the Jewel Mountains."

"I know. I just promised I'd help with what I can, I don't want them to turn around at the end of these few days and try and say that I didn't uphold any part of my side of the deal. I want this to be a clean break, and to do that, I have to make sure that I'm playing the good little girl I was back in the day when this planet was still my home. As long as they see that, I think they'll behave themselves."

Alex jumps in as she wraps an arm around Kelly's shoulders. "Why are you going now though? Can't you go later on?"

"I could, but the place I want to take you is somewhere quite warm, and no, it's not the Firefalls just yet. It cools off mid-afternoon, making the trip much more pleasant for us. I think you'll like it, but it's very much something you can't do earlier on, so I'm going to go and spend some time with my father before I come back and pick you up."

Esme seems to pop up out of nowhere, her hands clutching at the soft pleats in Kara's dress, a light lilac number that makes Lena create a mental note to buy her more purple clothes when they're back on Earth. She looks downright regal, and she's totally not resisting the urge to bow at her feet. That would be ludicrous.

"Aunt Kara?"

"Hey, bud!" Kara grins down at her niece, startled by her sudden appearance but way too excited at seeing her at her side to care.

"I want to come with you."

Kara presses her lips together tightly, her smile straining. She doesn't know how to handle this one and looks to Alex and Kelly for assistance.

Kelly, ever the hero, comes to her rescue. "Esme, baby, she has to work. It would be super boring for you in the lab with her and her father."

"But I want to be like Aunt Kara and sit at the desk while she talks to me about science like she said she did."

The pieces click in Kara's mind. She has mentioned more than once how her father used to take her to the lab with him and use her as a sounding board while he worked through his projects. It made her feel like a real scientist and only gave her all the more enthusiasm towards her studies so she could one day stand beside him as an equal in that lab.

She supposes that on some level, she has gotten there now. Maybe not in the way she had imagined and not with the qualifications she aimed for under her belt, but she's beside him nonetheless. Now Esme wants to be beside her and feel that same joy she once felt.

"I want to go." Esme presses herself to Kara's leg, wrapping her arms around it and leaning into her as Kara's hand drops to the back of her head, stroking her hair out of her face.

Kara shrugs at the little girl's parents. "I can take her but she might get bored. I have no doubts that it'll be safe for her there. Nobody will try anything."

"I'm not worried about that." Alex shakes her head before continuing. "Well, I am, but that's not my main concern. Will you be able to finish everything when you're looking after her?"

Nodding firmly, Kara smiles at them. "I'll be good. I'd love a little bonding time with my niece. It's been a while."

"If you're sure, go for it." Kelly gives in without much of a fight.

"Alrighty then, Miss Esme. It looks like you're joining me for a trip into the city today. Do you want to take anything with you in case you get bored?" Kara tucks a stray tuft of light brown hair behind her niece's ear.

Esme nods. "I want my teddy."

"Go grab him then and once we've had breakfast we'll head off."

"Ok!" Esme shouts, running through the accommodation to go and fetch her teddy before either Alex or Kelly can call out and tell her not to run.

The group watches her go with fond smiles across all of their faces.

"She's my favourite." Kara declares until Nia walks over and hands her a plate of food. "I take that back. She's joint-favourite with Nia."

Nia punches the air with a grin. "Yes!"

"Hey!" Lena sticks her tongue out at Kara and Nia.

Nia sticks her tongue out back, raising her middle finger at her, which is quickly returned. "I win. I bet this means she's going to tell me her plan before you guys too."

"No, it doesn't," Kara says, sitting down and balancing the plate on her lap so she can dig in.

Alex tilts her head at her, clearly annoyed. "When are you going to let us in on the plan, Kara?"

"Later. When I take you out of the city tonight, I'll tell you the plan. I have to. We start working on it tomorrow. For today though, I want us to have fun. Think you can wait?"

Alex sighs. "Do we have a choice?"

"Not really." Kara shrugs.

"Then we can wait." Kelly chimes in. "We trust you and we've got your back, Kara."

"Thanks, guys. I appreciate it. Now, I'm going to eat this and then Esme and I will head off. I want you to just relax and prepare yourselves for a nice day. Make sure to dress in something appropriate for lots of sun, and by that, I mean cover up. Sunburn sucks."

Nia salutes her mockingly. "Aye aye, captain."

"Kara? Is that you, Inah?" Alura calls out as Kara walks into the apartment.

In lieu of an answer, Kara just walks out into the living area where her parents are sitting on the couch, each reading from a separate information crystal.

"Oh, you brought Esme with you." Zor-El's eyes are wide with surprise.

"I did, I hope that's alright. I thought that maybe I could talk her through some things the same way you used to when I was little."

Zor-El softens his gaze, looking into Esme's eyes. "Are you excited to learn about science?"

Esme nods her head rapidly, one arm clutched tightly around her teddy and the other clinging to Kara's hand. "Aunt Kara is going to teach me."

"She is? I've heard she's an outstanding teacher." Zor-El smiles.

Esme shuffles a little closer to Kara, her nervousness kicking up in the presence of Kara's parents. Kara looks down at her and can't help but wonder if taking her away from her friends and kids her own age could have done some damage to her socially. It's been months, and to a four, almost five-year-old, that's a long time.

Alura watches the way Esme nuzzles into Kara's side with sadness. She knows Kara will grow up without them. At this point it's undeniable, and Kara has spelt it out for them very clearly. However, facing her daughter standing before her, all grown up and with a small child beside her, makes it real. She's never going to see Kara with a child of her own. She's not going to see her mature and find her way in the world. Any world. She's just going to lose her, and if she lives past sending her away, she'll lose herself too.

Kara clears her throat. "I like to think I'm a pretty good teacher. I've been teaching her about Krypton on our travels and it's gone great. She's been learning, and I've had the chance to relive and remember many things I hadn't thought about in a really long time."

Zor-El swallows thickly. "I can't wait to see you in action. It was truly wonderful to see you in your element in the lab last night, so to see you stretch your wings and add teaching young Esme here will be a treat for everyone to see."

Kara is not sure what to do with that compliment, so she fixes a polite smile on her face and nods, placating him with a simple movement. "Shall we get going then so you can see it in person?"

"Of course. Please allow me a few moments to grab my things." Zor-El claps his hands together once as he stands and passes the pair with a squeeze to Kara's shoulder.

Kara's gaze follows him dutifully as he leaves the room with hurried steps before she focuses on her mom. "Will you be joining us in the lab today? I half expected you to be there last night."

"I can only join you for a short while, unfortunately. I have an important meeting to attend that I cannot miss. Likewise, I also had an important meeting last night. The council is very aware of the planet's state now and they know we don't have much longer unless something is done. Your father's plan has been approved now. Your plan has been approved now."

"We were working on it before it was approved?"

"Did you think we would wait for it to be approved when the planet is in danger?"

"Good point." Kara gives in easily. She can't deny the logic.

Zor-El reappears with a smile. "I'm ready."

"Ok, let's go," Kara announces, looking down at Esme and their linked hands for a moment before they head back out to the pod.

Finishing up in the lab for the day, Kara carries Esme's teddy out to the pod for her, carefully holding it close, both arms wrapped around it. Her niece skips a couple of steps ahead of her with more excitement than she expected her to have. She may have mentioned where they're going for their day trip and a few cool features of their destination that now have her practically vibrating with enthusiasm and excitement.

Zor-El walks beside her, his eyes naturally falling on Esme and watching her to ensure she doesn't get hurt as he talks to Kara. "We got much done today. We should complete a large portion of the project before you leave."

"That's what I'm hoping," Kara says. They've been avoiding the topic of her leaving while they are in the lab, but she guesses that now they're out of there, her father has garnered the courage to bring it up, albeit passively.

"Will you be joining me in the lab again tomorrow?"

Kara hums. "Yeah. I'm just thinking. I think I'm going to take my family to the Firefalls tomorrow. Would it be better for me to take them early in the day or wait for the evening?"

Zor-El takes a moment to ponder the question, one hand coming up to stroke his stubbled chin. "Hmm, that's an excellent question. If you visit in the morning, you will have a better view of the general area as well as the falls. However, if you go in the evening and wait for dusk, you will see the true illumination of the falls. I would say that the latter will be a much more memorable sight for Esme, perhaps something she will carry with her for a long time."

"I'm really hoping that she's made a lot of memories here that nobody can take away from her. She's only young but I hope she doesn't forget."

"She will. We all will one day. You won't though. You won't forget her smiles. They'll be scarred onto your heart, just like yours are scarred onto mine." He pauses, a wistful smile gracing his lips. "I took you to see the falls in the morning. I wish I had waited, but I was impatient to take you. Take them in the evening."

Kara ducks her head, her gaze falling to the carpeted floor as her feet shuffle forward. She takes a deep breath before changing the subject somewhat. "How has your time with young me been working out for you?"

"Great." He smiles to himself. "You've been practically attached to my hip the past few days. You love that your mother and I have been making sure to have at least one meal together each day, and we've been reading a book by Kir-Wat. It's about the—"

"The planet in the next solar system over. Jespern, if I remember correctly. Pretty much every creature there is radioactive, and the only reason we know is because of the probes that were sent down to the planet's surface and then brought back up killed every scientist on board the ship sent over to investigate."

Zor-El nods approvingly. "Yes. You remember it?"

"I do. It's not the kind of bedtime reading the average twelve-year-old goes for, but I quite enjoyed it. Plus, I was proud I beat you."

"You remember we agreed to race to see who can finish first?"

"Yes. I was convinced that you let me win, but now I see that it was just because your mind is somewhere much more important."

He shrugs, his pointer finger drawn as he grimaces guiltily. "I actually already won. I'm not telling young you that, obviously. My competitive streak won out and I read the whole thing in one night. I had to sleep in considerably later the next morning but stayed late in the lab to ensure my work was still done. I get to win and young you will get to win too. Apparently, I don't hide it well though since you had an inkling."

"Your poker face really needs more work."

"My what?"

Kara's brain freezes for a second before she understands why her father isn't understanding her. "Your lying face. Poker is a game of cards on Earth that requires players to be able to fool their opponents. To do so, they must not express their intentions and feelings through facial their expressions, hence why it's called a poker face. You have a terrible one and would lose that game rather quickly."

"I do not doubt that you're correct, Inah. That game sounds fascinating. Perhaps we could discuss it over lunch tomorrow?"

"Sure, but I think Esme will want to come again, and any card game will get derailed so she can teach you how to play Go Fish."

His eyebrows furrow. "I'm not certain how fish relate to cards, but I'm certain that I will try my best to learn the game quickly so I can play with Esme. She's a delightful little girl; no doubt she takes after her aunt."

"I'm not going to take any credit. She's just amazing. My sister is doing a great job with her. I couldn't be prouder."

Shaking his head, Zor-El runs his fingers through his hair as they reach the pod. "That still sounds strange. I've had time to process it, but it still doesn't sound quite right to me. You have a sister. My daughter has a sister."

Kara's not sure where he's going with it so she focuses on getting Esme into the pod. She settles her into her seat before placing the teddy down beside her, tucking it under the little girl's arm.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to upset you."

Kara turns around to see her father looking at her, a vague look of shame overtaking him.

"I'm not upset. You're welcome to your feelings and I can understand how this isn't easy for you, just as it's not easy for me. You're facing your child who has grown up without her parents being able to be there for her teenage years and having to come to terms with the fact that other people filled the role you and mom vowed to fulfil back when you submitted your application for use of the birthing matrix."

"That doesn't give me the right to make you feel as though I'm criticizing those people. They took care of you when we couldn't and for that, I will always be eternally grateful."

Kara swallows thickly. "If it helps at all, they never replaced you. I do count them as my parents too, but they're not replacements. I have room in my heart for all of you. I just view you all as my family."

Zor-El sniffs, wiping his eyes before tears can even threaten to escape. "That does help, and I'll be sure to relay the message to your mother. I think she will take comfort in the knowledge too."

It brings Kara comfort to see this side of her father. She's aware of his other side, which is selfish, manipulative and dark. She can't forget that side of him but she likes seeing him how she remembers him. It's nice and it's not something she's upset about.

She offers him a tight-lipped smile and climbs into the pod before making space for him.

He shakes his head at her. "I have been able to acquire a temporary pod so we don't have to share. I don't like the thought of you being left at the accommodation without a means of transportation, but I cannot be without the pod as I was last night either. It unsettled me to know that I couldn't get to the lab in an emergency."

Kara hums understandingly. "I get it. Thank you."

"For what?"

"For thinking of me."

"I will never stop thinking of you, Kara. Now, go. I think your passenger is restless and aching to go and collect the rest of your family. The Plane of Wanan awaits."

Kara lands just in front of the accommodation, excited for them to get moving so they can go and see another wonderous sight Krypton has to offer. Esme pushes her teddy towards her and Kara takes it once again. "Come on, let's go and make some food to take with us and round up your moms so we can go," Kara says, tucking the teddy under one arm and lifting Esme down from the pod with the other. She's sure there's a button she can push somewhere that will make steps protract from the side of the pod, but she hasn't had enough time to figure it out yet.

They walk into the accommodation like celebrities arriving at a movie premiere, all smiles and waves."

"Are you guys ready to go see a thing or two?" Kara asks with a grin so wide that not a single person can resist smiling back. Despite that though, not even Lena gets up to greet them.

Esme doesn't seem to mind, running to her moms with the intent of filling them in on her exciting morning with her aunt. However, Kara is left standing there, teddy in hand as she tilts her head in confusion. "Are you guys not ready?"

"We are. We just know you well enough that we're certain you have things to do before we leave." Nia offers up helpfully. "You're pretty much the queen of doing things at the last minute."

"I resent that." Kara huffs, crossing her arms.

Alex pins her with a knowing stare. "So does that mean that we can all go and climb into that pod right now because you're ready to go?"

"Well, yeah. I just have to pack us some food to take, but other than that, yes." Kara answers defensively and rolls her eyes when the group starts snickering. "You know what? You guys don't deserve a nice trip out; you're all being mean to me and I think I'll go alone." She turns on her heel and marches towards the kitchen to the melody of her family's laughter, all of them seeing through her flimsy threat.

She comes out of the kitchen a while later, food all packed up and ready to take with her and Esme's teddy still with her since she forgot to put it down before she stomped off. She sets the picnic basket down on a nearby table and walks right past everyone to go and put the teddy away before coming back.

"I'm only taking people with me who apologize for laughing at me." She announces.

Lena gets up, smiling at her fondly before kissing her cheek. "Darling, you're not going to win this one. Give it up." She says, taking her hand and pulling her to the door, her other hand snatching up the basket as they pass it.

Kara is almost to the door before Lena's charm wears off enough for her to put up a fight. "Wait, no."

"Come on." Lena tugs her hand, using their linked fingers to make sure she doesn't stop. "I want to get going."

Kara quickly finds herself ushered out of the building and towards the pod, the rest of the group trailing behind them and talking amongst themselves. "You know that I'm offended, right?"

"Kara, you have to admit that you're kind of known for your last-minute plans."

"Not always."

"No, not always, but a lot of the time." Lena smiles softly, tucking a lock of blonde hair back behind her ear and leaning in once again to press her lips to her cheek. "Don't worry, I find it endearing."

Kara huffs but steps back to let everyone climb into the pod before getting in herself. She's a little grumpy now but Lena sets her hand on her thigh right after she starts up the pod and that helps alleviate her souring mood somewhat, even more so when her nails start softly dragging against the bare skin she finds through the thigh slit in her dress. Lena knows she can't stay mad when she scratches her softly with her nails, it's too relaxing. Damn it. Sometimes, it's annoying just how well Lena knows her.

Kara steels herself whilst simultaneously turning to jelly in her seat under Lena's tender caress. "You don't play fair."

"And you're only just figuring this out now?"

Kara shrugs. "Sometimes I forget just how many scenarios you can run in your head at once and how you can pick and choose which one to move forward with at any moment."

"Really?"

"No." Kara laughs. "Why do you think you haven't been told the plan yet? I have a very good plan and while you could probably improve it, I think it'll work."

Lena shakes her head. "Are you actually going to tell us today?"

"Uh-huh. We start working on stuff tomorrow, so I need you to know what's happening."

Stretching her legs as much as possible, Lena rolls the stiffness out of her shoulders. "So, you wouldn't be telling us if it wasn't time for us to help with your plan?"

"Exactly." Kara points at her. "See, I've always known you're smart."

Fixing her with a deadpan expression, Lena speaks. "And sometimes I think the opposite of you. Do you really believe that taunting a Luthor is a good idea?"

"I'm taunting my girlfriend, not just a Luthor."

"Double trouble then."

"What are you two doing? This is disgusting to watch." Alex complains, her eyes positioned firmly on the back of their seats so she doesn't accidentally catch her sister canoodling. She doesn't want to be traumatized more than she already has been by her kid sister and her apparent overwhelming appetite to somehow merge her body with Lena's based on how much time she spends touching her.

"Babe, let them flirt, it's cute." Kelly nudges her.

"If that's what flirting looks like, then I need to re-evaluate a lot of things in my life." Alex mutters through her hands as she covers her face, well and truly exasperated.

"Chill out." Lena turns her head to glance in Alex's general direction. "This is just how we express our love."

The redhead huffs in response. "That's the problem. You can express your love however you want, but that doesn't mean you get to do it while in a pod with the rest of us."

"Fine. We'll tone it down." Kara jumps in, nudging Lena when her mouth drops open, ready to fire back at her. "We'll wait until we're on our own next time, ok?"

"You better do."

All the while, Nia and Esme are huddled together, utterly oblivious because they're too busy playing eye-spy out of the window, completely taken by the views the flight is offering them.

Kelly and Alex follow their lead and refocus on looking out of the window for the rest of the flight, and Alex tries to let the sights alleviate some of her irritability.

While they do that, Lena shuffles closer to Kara, resting her head on her shoulder and pressing a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

"Don't you want to look out of the window too?"

"I've already got a good view," She shrugs, "I'm happy here."

They fall into a semi-comfortable silence, all of them thinking the same thing. They could use a break from these people when they get back to Earth. They all love each other, but after months of being together almost every minute of the day, they're done and need a break.

After a while, Kara takes the pod off autopilot, referencing some notes for the directions for a moment, hovering the pod in place while she looks before continuing on for a while.

"We're here."

Alex squints, her eyebrows furrowed as she tries to understand how they have reached their destination when they're very clearly just in the middle of a bog-standard desert. "Did you forget to turn on autopilot?"

Kara rolls her eyes, turning her head slowly before pinning her sister with a freezing cold glare that even has Lena grimacing.

"Darling, I'm excited to see whatever it is you want to show us. Do we get out here?" She squeezes Kara's thigh softly.

Kara shakes her head. "Not yet. Hold on."

She had completely stopped the pod, but now she starts it up again, flying close to the ground and going slowly, barely more than a walking pace.

"Are we lost?" Nia asks tentatively, not wanting to be on the receiving end of a Kara Danvers stare-down. She can be scary, and in many ways, she'd prefer to go up against Lena than Kara.

"No, just wait. You'll see it in a minute." Kara says, the annoyance evident in her voice even though they can all tell she's trying to have a little more patience.

They all lean back into their seats, trusting that Kara knows what she's doing, even if they aren't one hundred percent certain of that at this exact moment.

The pod keeps crawling forward at a snail's pace, taking them slowly across what looks like a pretty standard-looking desert, nothing to write home about. The white sand glistens beneath the red sun, coating it in a blood-red hue that is nothing short of magnificent, yet it doesn't impress them compared to all the other things they've seen.

"Kara, last time we were in a desert, you told us there were snakes. Is there going to be snakes here too?" Nia questions.

"Snakes? No. Not snakes." Kara rounds a large sand dune and waits for the gasps as everyone spots what she really brought them out here to see.

"Oh, Rao." Kara gasps, taken aback by the sight she thought she would be unaffected by, but alas, even after all the years away from such a remarkable view, it still has a pull over her she will never be rid of; something she couldn't be more grateful for. "Now, this is what I brought you out here to see."

Lena's grip on her thigh tightens, her jaw slack and hanging open as she squints out into the desert plane ahead of her, a sight taking hold that she never thought she'd see, a picture she couldn't dream of even if she sleeps for the rest of her life.

Kara tilts her head to look at the rest of the group and smiles smugly at their dumbfounded expressions. "See, I told you, no snakes in sight, just an awe-inspiring view that you're never going to forget."

"With a sight like that, I wouldn't even care if there are snakes." Nia leans forward, itching to get a closer look.

"No snakes, but there are ducks."

"In the desert?"

"Yeah…desert ducks." Kara points generally out of the window.

"You're lying."

"I am not."

"Lena," Nia whines, trying to get her to step in.

Lena doesn't react at all, too busy staring out at the vision ahead. Before them lies a quarry of sorts, a large, sunken hole in the ground. That's not what's impressive though. What is impressive is the gigantic, majestic sand pillars emerging from the pit's base.

The sand has hardened, or it's stone or something along those lines. Kara's not entirely sure, but the sand pillars are taller than the quarry itself, and they imitate the pointed tops of Christmas trees, flaring about halfway down and then sitting steady on a solid 'trunk'.

Somehow, that's not what's taking their breath away though. No, that's the great sandstorm billowing through the shapes, carving them into their elegant forms with the mighty force only a haboob can hold.

The sand blows up within the wind, forcing it into a dance of abstract shapes, harsh lines and soft gradients in the sky that even a physicist would struggle to explain. It's nothing quite like what they've ever seen before.

"When I was a little girl, my aunt Astra brought me out here to see the ducks and the lizards. She wanted to teach me about them and decided that we could hang out here too. This is a place not many people visit because of the haboobs."

"What's a haboob?" Kelly asks, head tilting in confusion and looking like the human embodiment of a Shih Tzu.

"It's basically a sandstorm. The Plane of Wanan is known for them, but this one is the most famous. It's trapped in the quarry, never-ending, just lingering and slowly eating away at the pillars. One day, it'll completely break them down into nothing, escape its confines, and eventually die out. It lives on through its capture. There's a strange kind of beauty in that."

"Can we get out and take a closer look?"

Kara shakes her head. "No, I'll have to move away from it, but there's a good dune just South of here that'll be perfect to sit on while we take it all in. When I was little, we used to stare into the sand and try to make out shapes of animals and landmarks.

"Sounds awesome, but I haven't seen a duck yet."

"They don't come out when impatient people are around." Kara sticks out her tongue at Nia. "Just wait, they're coming."