The Unique

by Control123

Lena disappears and comes back seven years later. There's a chance it has something to do with the little girl glued to her. Lena has some explanations to do... Post S6 - Canon - Supercorp Fluff (a lot) and some DRAMA - Witch Lena - Lena Luthor knows Kara Danvers is Supergirl - Multi Chapter - Rated T for later

7. Day Six

DAY SIX

After only six hours spent in the medical bay of the satellite and being awoken by the numerous coming in and out of too many heroes to count, Lena had decided that she preferred to be resting in the Tower med bay. She had agreed with Kara. Their daughter was traumatized by what had happened and Lena didn't want her to be overwhelmed again by all the commotions in the satellite. It seemed that the peace of the world was in jeopardy once again and everybody was ready to fight. Except Kara who didn't want to leave Liz in care of a wounded Lena. And Lena had been kind of thankful for the respite because she couldn't really walk on her two feet or run after a six-year-old. Not that she would admit needing help. It was just more convenient.

That was why, when she woke up in a daze, Lena wondered where she was or what had happened to the warm silk sheets she was so accustomed to. The feeling strongly reminded her of the mornings she would wake up in her office at L-Corp after a night of indulging in scotch and ruminations while trying to fix an equation that her engineer in chief couldn't fix himself. Lena hadn't had a night like this in a very long time but her body hadn't forgotten one bit.

With what felt like cotton balls in her mouth and cramps all over her body, she sat up on the bed and brushed a lousy hand in her hair. Her head was hurting but a lot less than the day before. She examined the room. A glass of water and painkillers had been placed on the nightstand. She wasn't linked to any machine anymore. She remembered assuring to Alex that the beeping was more annoying than anything else.

As she leaned aside to grab the glass of water, a sharp pain erupted in her left knee. Lena looked down and remarked the enormous bandage covering her leg. She opened wide eyes. She wasn't wearing any pants, only the underwear she had been kidnapped in, and her night tank top. She touched at the bandage carefully. It was covering her from mid-thigh to mid shin and forming a sort of a ball around her knee. Some traces of orange and red could be seen on the bandage, from remnants of disinfectant only used for surgery.

Lena frowned. She didn't recall undergoing surgery. Kara hadn't mentioned it when they were in the satellite. Had her mind been that foggy the day before? Looking at the foot of the bed, Lena noticed the note holder that should summarize all her stats since she had been brought back. She danced a little towards it, since leaning wasn't an option at the moment and, after some struggling, finally grabbed the holder. It was filled with Alex's remarks. Lena's eyes scanned the information.

She had been intoxicated by the fire smoke but her oxygen level was back to normal, even if they should monitor it for the next few days. Her feet were burnt on second degree, not enough to need a skin graft but enough to damage the skin tissue and prevent Lena from walking properly for some days. Enough to need the bandage to be replaced twice a day. Lena tried to jiggle her toes and winced in response. In retrospect, it wasn't the best idea.

Her wrists had burns too from the shackles. Lena immediately touched her bandaged wrists. She had no idea how they had managed to get rid of the enchanted shackles. And finally, she had had surgery just after she had been brought in because the cruciate ligaments around her knee had been torn. The fact that she had walked on it a whole day, even tried to run, hadn't helped it either. Lena scrunched up her face and she looked down at her knee. She had never really been into sports but she knew this type of injury took time to heal. And hurt as hell. It wouldn't stop her from trying though.

Bracing herself for standing up, Lena inhaled deeply. She just had to take a step and grab for the wheelchair that was next to the nightstand. Nothing crazy. Nothing too hard. She had walked on a broken knee, tried to escape while it gave up on her on the way, had stood up on it the whole day in that bloody cage. She could do it.

The first touch of her right foot on the floor made a whimper escape her mouth. The pain was insufferable, even for her. The next one was worse. The moment her weight shifted from her hips to her knees, Lena realized it was a mistake. The fall happened in slow-motion. Lena saw the ground approached her face. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the impact. But it never happened. Instead of her nose hitting the ground, her face met soft fabric and strong muscles.

"Easy there. You don't want to hurt that pretty face of yours."

Lena opened her eyes slowly. She wasn't touching the ground anymore. Two secure arms were around her waist. She looked up, confused, to find Kara smiling down on her. They were levitating. Kara had caught her just before she fell on her face.

"How did you…"

"I heard your heartbeat and thought you were just waking up. You're lucky I'm fast." Kara answered her silent question cheekily. She placed her back gently on the bed. "You wanted something?"

Lena cleared her throat, her tongue felt swollen. "The glass of water, please." Lena motioned towards the nightstand. Kara gave her the glass and the painkiller pills. Lena took them graciously. Kara watched her swallow the whole glass.

"Can you move the wheelchair over too?"

Kara turned around and glanced at the wheelchair as if it had insulted her. "Why? You should rest, not roll around. It could open your wounds."

Lena rolled her eyes. "I won't stay here all day. We still have to find what the prophecy is about. And I need to see Liz."

The crinkle on Kara's face showed her disapproval. "I can take the spell book and Liz to you. You've been seriously injured. I think you can stay in bed a couple of days without people thinking you're slacking."

Lena groaned in frustration and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine. I won't use the wheelchair. Can you bring me to your living room, at least? That way I won't feel left out."

Kara seized her up and down. She was probably analyzing if that was a good decision. Finally, she sighed loudly and approached tentatively. "Don't you want to put something on first?"

Lena looked down once again. She had totally forgotten she had no pants on. Blushing profusely, she nodded. "Do you have a blanket or something?"

She knew pants were out of the question. A skirt or dress would be weird and she terribly needed a shower first anyway. She watched as Kara enveloped her in the bed sheets.

"There." Kara said, tying the sheets around her waist in a loose knot. "Can I?" She motioned towards Lena. The brunette nodded shyly. Kara glided an arm carefully under her thighs and another around her back, then lifted her from the bed without difficulty.

Having Kara that close had always been something Lena was scared of. Not that she feared Kara hurting her – she was terrified of Kara for a whole lot of other reasons – but she was always scared of her own reactions. What if she couldn't stop herself from smelling the blonde's neck too obviously? What if her hand touched a place it wasn't supposed to touch?

They walked to the elevator in silence – well, Kara walked and Lena tried hard not to think how awkward it felt to be carried around. The proximity of their bodies provoked a burst of memories in Lena's mind. The touch of Kara's thin fingers on her waist shot electricity towards all ends of her body. It was the same fingers that had enveloped her hips two days ago and pined her to her kitchen counter. Lena swallowed loudly and squeezed her eyes shut. Oh, her mind had a cruel sense of clearing itself when it wanted too and for torturous matters only.

Now that she was completely awake, Lena realized that they had a lot to talk about. Even if she preferred not to talk about anything, at all, she knew Kara would not give up on the matter easily. She would probably let her unbothered for a day or two but then the subject would resurface. But Lena didn't know what she could say. What she wanted to say. It was too complicated.

"Mom!" Liz exclaimed once the elevator opened on Kara's loft. Her daughter was coloring quietly on the kitchen table. She jumped down her chair and ran to Lena and Kara.

"Careful, bug. Your mom is injured. Help me arrange the couch for her?" Kara asked and Liz eagerly went to the couch to push away cushions and her plush fish to make room for Lena. Kara eased her down with all the care in the world and replaced the sheets around her legs, adding a blanket on them.

"Come here, love." Lena motioned to Liz, who looked torn, not knowing if she could touch her mother or not. Kara helped Lena carry Liz and sit her on her thighs, the entirety on her weight weighing on Lena's good leg.

"I missed you." Liz said, engulfing herself in her mom's chest, her little gloved hands pressed in a ball securely between them. Lena squeezed her close, her nose diving in her hair. The perfume in there was different from the one she was used to, probably because Liz had to use Kara's shampoo. But it was so reassuring to have her baby back against her. She had thought that she wouldn't see Liz anymore. She had thought she had lost them all. But they were all there and safe.

Lena opened an eye to look at Kara who, she knew, was still hovering next to them. Kara was sitting on the coffee table, her face serious and emotional. Lena extended a hand, asking for Kara to take it silently. Kara took it and squeezed gently, an affectionate look passing across her face. Her slim fingers brushed delicately against the bandage on Lena's wrist. It tickled. The brunette remembered she had some questions. She must have been too knocked out by the painkillers to consciously consider what was happening, what they had done to fix her body.

"How did you get rid of the shackles?" She tilted her head. Kara looked at her wrists and looked up, anger written in her burning blue eyes.

"J'onn first tried a Martian technology but it didn't work. I asked him to scan Liz's mind to find Florence's cave, since he can't enter yours. It took her several attempts but she did it."

"Florence is here?" Lena's eyes grew wide. Her mentor had never left her cave. It was an implicit understanding. Lena was the one to go in and out to retrieve ingredients for their potions. Florence was too scared of being attacked or recognized by old acquaintances.

"She is. I should've thought about this earlier. She's actually working in your old lab. She also wants to question the guys who kidnapped you but Alex doesn't want to let her on the satellite without your approval."

That was surprising to say the least. Florence had left the safety of her cave to help Lena. Of course, they had a strong connection. They were part of the same coven and linked by the protection spell but Lena had never thought she would see the day Florence would go out of her cave voluntarily. Lena didn't think it was only for her though. The threat of a witch hunter cult could be enough to scare Florence.

"What is she working on?" Lena wondered aloud, frowning as she watched Liz cuddle more into her. Kara leaned over to brush a lock of hair out of Liz's face. The girl was rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"She's preparing a potion for you to heal quicker. She said she could take a look at the spell book after that."

Lena accepted the explanation. The painkillers were starting to work. She felt lighter. "And what happened to my half bro-" She cut herself short, looking down to Liz. She realized that she couldn't say the words without her daughter asking question. Kara understood immediately.

"They're all locked up in a cell, separated. Usually, the league doesn't keep prisoners. We drop them off in front of a police department with a note. But this time, I asked for them to be questioned. Maybe they know what happened to you seven years ago. Even if I really doubt that. I thought you'd have questions too."

Lena stared at Kara's face with blank eyes. Kara looked serious and understanding. Lena had questions, obviously, but she had thought Kara wouldn't let her be close to Jason after what he had done.

"I'll stay with you the whole time. If you want to see him." Kara added, once again understanding Lena's thoughts before she could speak them out.

Lena wanted to face them and learn more about her father's role in the group but she wasn't ready for the revelations it would entail yet. The questions brought by Jason's little speech the day before were enough already. She knew she needed time to process what it meant for her and for all of them.

"I think it can wait for now." She said, squeezing Kara's fingers.

A grumbling stomach interrupted their discussion. Liz looked at them sheepishly. Kara chuckled and stood up to take her from Lena's lap.

"This young lady refused to eat until you were awake."

Lena's face softened and she smiled at Liz in Kara's arms. "Well, now there's no excuse."

Kara agreed. "You should eat something too anyway."

Lena nodded, her stomach making itself known as well. "Please, don't burn the kitchen."

Kara scoffed. "It strongly feels like déja-vu."

"Yeah, exactly. But I can't help this time so be careful." Lena admonished from the couch.

She watched them work around the kitchen as Kara was teaching Liz how to make French toasts and pancakes. The blonde put flour on Liz's nose. The girl giggled and chased her hand away.

"No, Mommy! It had to go in there!" The girl said, pointing at the batter.

Lena saw Kara freeze in her movement. The blonde slowly turned towards her, her face a mix between apprehension and astonishment. Lena only grinned wide.

"Mommy?"

Kara grinned back. A small wet laugh escaped her lips. She looked proud, somehow, and emotional. She kissed Liz's head, the girl focused on pouring milk in a cup, not at all aware of the commotion her words had caused.

"That was fast." Kara commented. Lena hummed, the smile never leaving her face.

"Children don't complicate things like we do."

Kara's head shot up. She threw a glance at Lena, her face reddening a bit. Her mouth opened and closed several times before Lena saw her shoulders tense. "Speaking of complicated things, I think we should talk."

The lightness in her tone was all fake, all illusion so that Liz didn't take on the seriousness of their conversation. Lena hummed once again, not knowing what to say. She knew Kara would want to talk sooner or later, she had just wished it would happen later.

After minutes of silence, Kara cleared her throat. "Liz is meeting Eliza today. I don't know if you want to be there."

"Of course, I do! I just need a shower first." Lena blurted out then blushed at the implication.

Kara nodded thoughtfully, already planning on how to make that happen, apparently. The cogs in Lena's mind were working hard. She couldn't find an excuse for Kara not to help her. And she really needed a shower. And she definitely couldn't take it by herself or non-assisted. She sighed heavily. Oh, her life would be a definitive hell for the next few days.

---

Lena was right about life having a weird sense of humor. She might not believe in any deity, but it certainly felt like someone was dictating the flow of her life. It always strangely happened around Kara. Otherwise, why would she happen to be in a bathroom with her, undressing, only for the superhero to ease her in the water with her superpowered arms? No, Lena didn't believe in God, but she was sure someone was taking pleasure in putting her in embarrassing situations.

She had searched excuses. Plenty of them. While they were eating breakfast, Lena had let Liz and Kara talk together and had taken refuge in her mind, searching endlessly for a reason to prove to Kara that she could take a bath alone – knowing too well that she couldn't really do it alone anyway. But once the blonde had stated the advantages of taking a bath rather than taking a shower not to damage her bandage, the battle had been lost.

The situation was awkward. Embarrassing. Stressful. Painful. Uncomfortable. No, not uncomfortable. If Kara was one thing, it was comfort. Her arms were soft and gentle. Her hands were delicate around Lena's curves. Her warmth was preventing Lena from being too cold on the bathroom tiles. No, Kara was anything but uncomfortable. Lena had thought Kara would blush or be a total flustered mess while seeing her undress herself but she absolutely wasn't. The blonde kept her focus on helping Lena keep her balance as she was discarding herself from the bed sheets she was enveloped in. Then came her tank top and bra. That felt weird. Lena had taken all her time, as if peeling a bandage on a child's knee very carefully not to tear off the hairs and the irritated skin around the wound. Kara kept her gaze on the ceiling the whole time, probably listening closely to what Liz was doing in the room next to them, her forearms on display so that Lena could lean on them and put as much weight as she needed to keep her balance. When Lena tried to tear off her panties, the task began to harden. Standing on her two feet at the same time was painful but bearable for the time being, but balancing from one foot to the other was the worst. Lena couldn't even describe the pain. She gritted on her teeth, sweat gliding on her face from pain and exertion. Kara heard her gasps and winces, obviously, and asked multiple times if Lena was okay.

"I'm done, Kara. Can you do it quickly please? I can't stand anymore." Lena was panting, breathless from the way she had held her breath all this time not to scream from pain.

"Okay, I promise I won't look."

Lena could have laughed, had her heart not felt like it was beating in her knee and that she was about to fall any second. Kara could have looked and it wouldn't have mattered anymore. Lena didn't care. All she wanted was not to be in pain anymore. Oh, how she hoped that Florence's healing potion would work. She could not wait for the end of the day, for the potion to be ready.

Kara's arms eased her down in the hot water. The heat wave was still striking outside but, in the Tower, the temperature was cool, chilly even in some rooms, because of the high concrete walls. Lena felt her body relax immediately once her torso had completely been swallowed by water. Kara's right arm came out of under her and out of the water. She grabbed at a towel and put it on Lena's bare legs that she had leaned on the side of the bathtub. Kara's mission was to keep them from falling into the water while Lena was washing her hair and upper body.

"Is it okay?" Kara asked, motioning to Lena's legs. Lena rose her head slightly and nodded. Her knee was throbbing, her feet felt like they were burning all over again but it was necessary. She needed to wash away all her misadventures of the day before.

Their eyes met and Kara looked away instantly, a shy blush birthing on her cheeks. There, it was. And to say Lena thought her Kara had disappeared.

"Thank you for doing this." She said while putting water on her hair. She saw Kara shrugged from the side of the bathtub. She was sitting on a wooden stool, which Lena had only seen in Kara's old bathroom.

"It's nothing compared to all the things you've done for me."

Lena took the time to wash her hair, scrubbing with her nails thoroughly. She looked at Kara the whole time. She could only see the right angle of her face, the blonde keeping her eyes on Lena's feet or the faucet, Lena couldn't really tell. Kara was gorgeous. With her blue eyes, darker in this light, deeper, and her tanned skin that looked like glitters were coming out of the pores. She had a hand on her chin in a thoughtful pose, her elbow leaned on her leg as the other hand was securely around Lena's ankle. She wasn't just gorgeous. She looked like she had been sculpted in sandstone.

"So how do we feel about playing bait?" Kara said in an amused voice, interrupting Lena's thoughts. Lena shook her head, the image of a statue of Supergirl vanishing from her mind. She squinted her eyes. Seriously?

"You really want to do this now?"

Kara shrugged. "Well, at least I know you won't run away."

Lena snorted. She still found it incredible that Kara knew her this much. She wouldn't have run, per say. Avoid the subject for sure. Make sure she was never alone with Kara, maybe. Disappear from the planet if it was happening ten years ago, perhaps.

"You want me to say it?"

Kara gave her a pointed look only to divert her eyes immediately. Lena was scrubbing her neck and chest.

"Fine." Lena sighed. "You were right, it was a bad idea. Next time, I'll listen to you."

"We're lucky you have a fantastic bond with Liz or you'll be dead by now." Kara grumbled without moving her hand from her chin, her words coming out half chewed.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Lena remarked absentmindedly. To be fair, she was focusing on washing her most intimate body parts without actually thinking too much about the fact that she was washing her most intimate body parts with Kara a foot away from her.

"I'm sure it didn't happen once in the last six years, right?" Kara replied and Lena saw that she wanted to look but controlled her head movement at the last moment. Lena didn't reply. It was true. There was no one who could threaten her in Ireland. She was just another single mother there, doing a pretty typical job, living a typical life. Nothing fancy. Nothing out of the box. Nothing like the life of a Luthor.

"Liz was terrified. We all were but she was…" Kara whispered, her eyes lost in the reminiscing of their daughter's cries. "She's traumatized, Lena!" She finished in an accusatory tone, her face torn between guilt and fright.

Lena rose her hands in the air, splashing water all around them. "What do you want me to say? I didn't plan on it."

Kara's eyes whipped around and she finally looked at her for the first time since she had put Lena in the bathtub. "You were ready to sacrifice yourself to have answers."

Lena scoffed. She grabbed at the toothbrush she had brought with her and put toothpaste on it. "Well, wouldn't you? I need to know how I lost six months of my life in that bunker."

She put the toothbrush in her mouth, Kara never leaving her gaze. "I understand but it wouldn't change anything." The blonde said, almost in disbelief. "Liz would still be here. You can't risk your life only because it could give you what you want, that's unfair on the people who love you!"

Lena scoffed once again. She didn't bother spitting the excess of toothpaste to talk. "I'm not that important." She said, rolling her eyes.

"What was that?"

Lena knew Kara had heard her right. She just wanted her to say it again. To embrace her thought. So she spit the toothpaste and talked as confidently as she could manage. Even in denial, Lena was smart enough to know her words would rise anger in Kara.

"I said that I'm not that important." She repeated.

Kara scowled, her hands swiping invisible mosquitos in the air. "Oh, right because we're nothing for you, uh?"

"I didn't say that!" Lena rushed to her own defense. "I said I wasn't important, not that you all weren't important to me."

"Well, it's not better." Kara pouted. "You matter to us all. You matter to Liz." Her hand came back on Lena's ankle and squeezed lightly. "You matter to me…" The blonde exhaled in a broken voice, her gaze avoiding Lena's.

"Kara." Lena sighed. She crossed her arms to shield herself. "Don't start, please."

It only had the effect of infuriating Kara more. "No, we have to talk about it, Lena!"

They were now looking at each other without a care in the world about Lena's naked body or Kara's close position. Had Lena spared a minute to think about it, she would probably blush and then find it comical. The whole scene was comical. From all the places they had important and serious talks, the bathroom in the Tower wasn't the one neither of them had ever thought to put on the list.

"Why? It's not like I plan to stay here forever. I live in Ireland, Kara! Liz goes to school there. There's nothing to talk about."

"You had a life here, once. Why is it so weird to imagine you could have it back?"

Lena's hands splashed once again in the water. At this point, she didn't care if her arms were covering her chest or not. She just wanted to make her point. "Because I don't want to-" She cut herself short to grab at her wet curly hair. "Argh, I don't know, okay?! I'm just better off in Ireland."

"You're alone in Ireland!" Kara replied, as heated, her voice getting louder. "And you think I'll stay away? Once everything here is over, you think I'll stay away from Liz? From you?"

Lena made a pause at that. She hadn't really thought about the after. Coming back to National City, she had thought a lot about all the conversations they had to have, about all the scenarios possible concerning everyone's reaction to Liz and to Lena disappearing to raise her child. But she hadn't thought about what could happen once Kara knew she had a daughter. Wasn't it the point of coming back? To stay? Because it was too taxing to stay away any longer? Seriously, Lena, seriously?

"No, of course not…" Lena sighed dejectedly, her voice coming out all small and fragile. She hated everything about it. "You're welcome anytime you want."

Kara huffed. "Then, what? Am I not enough? Am I nothing to you? We kissed, Lena. You can't tell me it meant nothing."

Kara's accusations hit hard. Lena was fed up with explaining herself. She was fed up with finding reasons to fight. She just wanted Kara to give up on the matter once and for all. Or she didn't. She was lost. Truthfully, Lena would never admit that she wanted to scream a big Yes to all of Kara's questions. Of course, Kara was enough, she was so much more than enough. She was everything to Lena. She was the sun on her skin and the air in her lungs. She was the smile on their daughter's face, and the crinkle on her forehead, and the glint in her blue eyes. Kara was comfort and warmth and care and love. But for all these reasons, Lena couldn't let herself fall. She couldn't let her hopes go up, knowing too well how much it hurt when reality would take it back. Because it was inevitable. Life would take Kara away from her at one point or another and she wasn't brave enough to bear it. No, she wasn't brave enough. Instead, she was a Luthor. And Luthors bit when they felt threatened.

"Yes, I can. Because that meant nothing. We can't go there. You know we can't. I'm not into this like you are. I don't want you."

Lena watched as every one of her words hit Kara like a tangible slap in the face. It was probably the most painful thing she had to do. Even more painful that the burns on her feet. More painful than giving birth. There wasn't anything that could compare to crashing the hopes of the Paragon of Hope.

For a moment, Kara's only reaction was to watch Lena closely. She analyzed her, all the details in her features. She was probably listening to her heartbeat as well and Lena tried to rule it in, to take easy, even breaths, but it was to no avail. Kara could see right through her, without super hearing.

"I don't believe you. And I don't know why we can't be together. That's what I keep asking. Tell me why it's not possible. Tell me." The blonde ordered with a pointing finger tapping authoritatively on Lena's bare leg.

Lena was speechless. Her plan had seemed perfect on the moment. Flawless. She hadn't planned that Kara would persevere. She knew her, she knew her stubbornness but she just hadn't thought about it. Or she had unconsciously wanted Kara not to give up on her.

Since Lena stayed her mouth agape, her eyes as wide as a reindeer caught in headlights, Kara leaned over. The blonde took advantage of her height to hover over Lena's body, their faces mere inches away. She had abandoned Lena's ankle to balance herself on the side of the tub, her fingers grazing Lena's skin.

"Tell me you'll feel nothing if I kiss you." Kara whispered through a warm breath. "Right here. Tell me you don't feel the same."

A shiver ran down Lena's whole body. A deep red blush appeared on her cheeks and neck. Everything was visible. From the goosebumps on her arms to the redness of her skin, to the tremor in her legs and knees. Kara could see it all. She could see the effect she had on Lena instantly. A devilish grin spread on her lips and Lena cursed in her head. What a good way to appear confident.

"Kara, stop. Please." She tried, her eyes focusing on the bubbles in the water instead of Kara's piercing blue eyes.

"Just tell me, Lena." The blonde whispered back. She wasn't pressing, really, she was just in Lena's space in a way that made Lena uncomfortable just because she wasn't sure she could control herself when Kara was this close. And she had been proved right two times already.

"I can't tell you that. You know it." Lena replied in a whisper too. The intimacy of their talk wasn't allowing more than that. Lena didn't want to burst their bubble anyway. She wouldn't admit it but this confident, forward side of Kara was making her squirm inside.

"Then let me just…" Kara leaned closer, clearly to kiss her. Lena turned her head at the right moment and Kara kissed her cheek instead. It was enough to make them both blush profusely.

"I asked you to stop. Please." Lena said in what she hoped was a stern voice, even if she was as flustered as a schoolgirl. Kara's flirtation was working so well.

The blonde only sighed and pushed away in deception. "Why are you so afraid of letting me in?" She asked sternly.

"I'm not…" Lena couldn't gather her thoughts at the moment. It was just a succession of lips and hair and eyes and hands and biceps in white shirt. "That's not…" She sighed. She didn't have the time to find a good excuse so the truth, it was. "Because I can't let myself fall. It hurts too much."

Kara frowned, the crinkle in the middle of her eyebrows questioning her firmly. "No, it doesn't. It hurts only when it ends."

"You're a superhero. I'm a Luthor. It'll end someday. It's fate."

Lena couldn't look at her, it was too much. Too much sincerity. Too much truth while she had promised herself not to dive into it. She had promised herself not to go back to the way it was before with Kara. But it was unavoidable, wasn't it? They were like magnets trying to stay away.

"You can't deprive yourself from being loved just because you're scared it'll hurt you at the end. It's lonely." Kara said, as if it was obvious, because it probably was.

As obvious as two plus two made four and water equal wet and love equal hurt. It was on the same line. To Lena, all of this was true. She was a scientist and scientists worked with experimentation. And her experimentation of life had taught her that all of this turned to be proven to her, one time or another. And she was too smart to keep running in the same circles. She had suffered enough. It had been so engraved in her, from a young age – too young - that she couldn't fathom a world where Kara could prove her wrong. She wasn't ready to accept it.

"Loneliness doesn't hurt as much as heartbreak. Not anymore." She murmured in a strangled voice.

And then, because she was tired of being questioned while naked in that bloody bathtub, she softly asked Kara to lift her up.

"Yeah, sorry. Come here."

Kara lifted her out of the water and sat her cautiously on the stool. She enveloped her in huge towels as if she was so fragile she could break from cold. And they worked together to dress Lena properly, without a sound escaping from their mouths. Lena thought for an instant that she had won, that Kara had understand, that her silence was proof that she had accepted Lena was right. She was wrong. Kara was only wondering how a being as astounding and marvelous as Lena could think that way. Lena didn't know that Kara was preparing to prove to her that she could be loved without being hurt. Thankfully so, Lena didn't know. Because she wouldn't be able to stay this close to Kara, had she known.

---

Alex was known for her impatience but she had inherited it from her mother. Eliza was a doctor in biotechnology. She was a scientist and scientists tended to want results. And quickly. Kara had heard her pacing the living room the whole time it had taken them to fly from the Tower to Alex and Kelly's house. Eliza's heart was beating fast and Kara knew it was because she was anxious of all of this secrecy. Alex had told her nothing. She had only insisted that Kara should be the one telling what was going on.

The day before, Eliza had waited patiently for her daughters to tell her why they were not welcoming her properly. Alex had swung by hastily, taken a shower, told her Lena had disappeared (again) and that they were busy finding a way to find her, that Kara was on the Justice League satellite and could not reach her at the moment. It had been enough to make Eliza wait one more day. But now, she knew that Lena was safe, that Kara was back in the Tower, that Kelly and Alex were not that busy. She needed explanations.

As they put feet on the ground, Kara took Liz's hand, sharing a look with Lena who was still leaning on her, Kara's hand firmly on her waist to prevent her from touching down. Alex came out to meet them with a wheelchair and Lena stubbornly walked the few steps necessary to sit in it. When Kara looked up towards the front door, Eliza was there. Her eyes were fixed on Liz. Thankfully, the little girl only had eyes for her mothers. Kara cleared her throat and crouched down to take Liz in her arms.

"Here goes nothing." She whispered as she walked forward, leaving Lena to be rolled around by Alex.

Eliza looked tired, with deep purple bags under her eyes and tense features. She was also keeping a surprised face, her gaze traveling from Kara to the child in her arms. Kara stopped right in front of her and smiled easily.

"Hi, Eliza. How have you been?" She leaned forward to hug Eliza from sideways, the woman encircling her hesitantly.

"I'm good, I… Who's that?" Eliza stammered, cutting right to the matter. Kara glanced at Liz who was hiding shyly in Kara's neck.

"It's Liz. Wanna say hi, baby?" She said, shaking Liz a little from her shoulder. Liz shrugged then waved slowly.

"Hello…" She croaked out.

"Nice to meet you, Liz." Eliza smiled. Kara let her analyze Liz a bit before motioning towards the house.

"We should go in. I have a lot to tell you."

Eliza nodded and turned around to reenter the house. They were quickly followed by Alex and Lena. When they all walked in the living room, Kelly and Esme were already waiting for them with lemonade on the table and huge smiles on their faces.

"Here you are!" Esme exclaimed. She rushed to Kara to ask Liz if she wanted to play in the pool.

"Esme, say hello first." Kelly chastised gently. The girl jumped excitedly on her feet and gave Kara a hug, then rushed to Lena and kissed her on the cheeks.

"I'm so happy you're okay, Aunt Lena."

Lena only smiled, her face all soft and affectionate. "Thank you, sweetheart. Now you can go. Liz has her swimsuit on her."

Liz shuffled in Kara's arms to be settled down. They watched the two girls run towards the garden.

"Be careful!" Kara shouted to them as they disappeared through the bay windows.

"Don't worry, I'll go with them." Kelly winked before following the girls.

There was a pause during which nobody knew what they were supposed to do. Kara looked at Alex helplessly. Her sister rolled her eyes and cleared her throat.

"Well, I think it's better we sit down."

Alex took the responsibility to roll Lena around the table and put a blanket on her lap, as Kara and Eliza took their places on the chairs.

"Lena, I'm sorry, I didn't… How have you been?" Eliza asked immediately.

"I'm okay, thank you for asking. It's just some cuts and scratches."

Kara scowled hearing her minimize her wounds so easily but she didn't want to put her on the spot so she said nothing. Alex poured them all a glass of lemonade and the silence fell flat around them.

"I'm sorry for-"

"So I imagine-"

Kara and Eliza spoke at the same time, cutting themselves short when hearing the other talk. After a small chuckle, Kara motioned for her adoptive mother to go ahead.

"So I imagine what you want to talk about has something to do with this little girl." Eliza said hesitantly, pointing towards the garden. Kara nodded.

"It does. Hum, as you know, Lena had disappeared seven years ago and… Hum…"

Kara didn't know how to say this. She had told it once to her mother but it was different. What was the best way to tell Eliza that Lena had been sequestrated for months and violated – the word rape was flashing in her mind so often these days that she wondered how Lena was this calm explaining it every time they would talk about it – and that now they had a beautiful daughter. Or should she tell her just like that? Telling her mother had been easier. Kryptonians were born in genetic chambers so it hadn't shocked her mother to discover what had happened to Lena. And Alura didn't know Lena as well as Eliza. It was really too embarrassing and disturbing to explain all the situation to Eliza with Lena in the room.

"Kara, do you want me to…" Lena asked, trailing off. Kara met her jade green eyes. She could see all the understanding in them. It wasn't the first time Lena had to explain it. She was more accustomed to it. Kara simply nodded and closed her eyes, ready to hear the whole thing once again, praying Rao that her stomach would bear the tale.

"I was abducted seven years ago in my apartment." Lena started, addressing Eliza factually. "I woke up six months after that."

Eliza gasped. "That's horrible!"

Lena lifted a warning, knowing hand. "That's not all. I was in a bunker in Malaysia. The people who did that to me had done experimentations." She swallowed the lump in her throat and dove her eyes in Eliza's blue maternal ones. "I woke up six-months pregnant."

Another gasp was heard but Kara couldn't tell if it was hers or someone else's. She looked aside and saw Lena watching her lap shamefully. Kara had discovered a long time ago how Lena had the tendency to recoil in her old cold self when a situation would be too emotional or generate too many feelings from her audience. Too many feelings towards Lena herself who couldn't bear the thought of someone taking pity in her. This time wasn't different. Lena was trying to stay rigid and formal, dignified in a strong imitation of Lillian Luthor's demeanor, just like she would do during a business meeting, but cracks could be noticed. It was in the shaking of her hands and the crinkle on the sides of her eyes and on the twitch in her lips.

Kara leaned to take her hand and looked up. Eliza was covering her mouth with a pale shaking hand, as if to prevent the flow of questions and insurrections to come out. Lena's fate was unfair. They were all aware of it. Furious about it too. Kara knew too well the frustration, the desperation, the cruelty of the situation. The guilt too, because it happened to Lena because she was a Luthor who was friend with a Super. They were all furious, maybe Kara even more than the others, that something that cruel had happened to Lena, who already had suffered mistreatment and harassment and brainwashing from her family, who already had suffered enough since the age of four. It was unfair and infuriating but all they could do was accompany Lena in her pursue of answers.

Kara squeezed Lena's hand. The brunette rose two shy pupils on her, the shyest ones, the ones which looked just like Liz's. She was fearing judgement. Even if they hadn't really talked since their discussion in the bathroom, Kara couldn't bear seeing Lena doubt about her worth. Eliza wouldn't judge her. There wasn't anything to change. Lena hadn't chosen to have Liz. She hadn't chosen to be abducted or be part of an experimentation. People had chosen for her once again. And just like any difficulty Lena had faced in her life, she had gotten back up again and faced the music.

"Liz is our daughter." Kara declared with a deep confident voice and she smiled to Lena. "She has Kryptonian powers like me, and magic like Lena." She added to avoid any ambiguity.

Eliza frowned then stood up abruptly. The curiosity was shining in her scientific's eyes. "You're saying she's your daughter? To you both?"

Kara nodded eagerly, sensing excitement in Eliza's voice. Her adoptive mother rounded the table and crouched down in front of Lena, tears in her eyes.

"This is… wonderful!" She exhaled, putting a warm hand on Kara and Lena's joined ones. "I mean, I have a hundred questions but it can wait. I'm sorry to hear all the things that have happened to you. You don't deserve it at all and I'm sure it must have been really hard to struggle through all this alone." She gave a pointed look to Lena, meaning that she shouldn't have done it alone in the first place but accepting that she had done it anyway. "But you obviously managed to come out of it stronger and I'm really excited to meet my granddaughter."

Lena inhaled shakily. Kara was sure that she was the only one to hear it. The distinctive swallow just before Lena would burst into tears. The breakdown she was actually trying to rule in. Kara squeezed her hand again and felt Lena squeeze back. They were a team now, even if Lena didn't want to admit it. Kara would always stay with her to face whatever fate life would throw at them.

"Thank you, Eliza. It means a lot. Liz is really nervous to meet you."

"She seemed shy. It reminded me of when Clark had introduced Kara to us the first time. I'm sure the crinkle in between her eyebrows was formed back there."

Kara chuckled. "I was terrified."

"I know but look at you now! I'm so proud of you, Kara. I know your parents are too."

"Thank you." Kara blushed slightly. "They're arriving tomorrow, by the way, do you want to see them?"

"Of course! I wouldn't miss it. They already know?"

Kara nodded and explained all the reasons why they had to inform Alura of Liz's existence. It was a painful conversation, filled with questions and answers. Eliza was quick to understand they were all a bit disturbed by all the questions left unanswered.

"I hope you find who did this with this memory player."

"I hope too. It's been a long time. I'd like some closure." Lena admitted softly.

The quietness that fell on them allowed them to hear the squeals and giggles of Esme, Liz and Kelly playing in the pool. Kara smiled towards the window from which she could see Kelly tickling Liz.

"So, do you want to join the girls outside?" Alex asked joyfully to her mother. "The pool is all yours, if you want."

Eliza chuckled. "I'm okay staying dry for now, thanks. I'm sure the girls will appreciate having the whole pool for them."

"Oh, you bet! Esme loves to starfish."

The four of them got out in the summer sun and reclined quickly under the arbor. The middle of the afternoon was the hottest in National City at this period of the year. Kara saw Lena fold the blanket on her lap and put it on the back of the wheelchair.

"Do you want to go on a deck chair?" Kara asked her because she thought it would be more comfortable for her, but Lena dismissed her.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks. I'll stay under the arbor though. I forgot how hot it was here in summer."

"You mentioned Ireland. How is it you moved there?" Eliza asked her and Lena rolled her wheelchair closer to the table so Eliza could sit, leaving the two sisters alone watching Kelly and the girls in the pool. Alex started towards the water and discarded herself from her flip-flops on the way. Kara followed her and they both sat on the side of the pool, their feet shuffling the water. From their position, they could either watch Kelly teaching Liz how to swim or see Lena and Eliza talk.

Obviously, Kara's eyes stayed on Lena the whole time. Liz and Esme would often ask for their attention, demanding to be clapped at or to pass the volleyball back because it had been thrown too far. But Kara's eyes stayed on Lena. The more she was looking at her, the more she could see traces of nervousness in Lena's behavior. And apparently, she wasn't the only one.

"Lena seems tense." Alex remarked.

"Yeah, we had a fight this morning."

"Oh, I thought it was the pain. Or the nerves of meeting Eliza."

Kara frowned. "They'd already met at Thanksgiving years ago."

"Yes, but Lena wasn't Mom's second grandchild's mother."

Kara frowned deeper. What a weird way to put it. "I don't think she's nervous. Her heartbeat is calm. It only quickens when I go closer to her."

"Oh."

Kara let the silence voluntarily fall between them. She knew Alex knew. Alex knew she knew. Kara knew that Nia, Brainy and Kelly knew too. J'onn probably too. But she had never talked about it with any of them until Nia very recently. It had become a taboo. Nobody dared talk about Lena with Kara, not when they didn't know where the brunette was. None of them had dared express something close to knowing what Kara was feeling. They knew better. But now that Lena was back with them, Kara felt guilty about all the time she had lost with her sister. Alex had always been the person she was going to for advice. She was a bit older and way more adapted socially speaking so she had always been Kara's guide. A lighthouse in a sea of unknown territories. Kara could not really remember when their relationship had felt this complicated. When, exactly, their link had broken. She could only think about all the hurting words she had said, and all the painful ones she had kept to her. It felt too much, once again. Too much not to do something about it. She had to fix this. Alex deserved better. She had sacrificed so much for Kara, the least she could do was to try and mend their relationship.

"We kissed."

Alex startled, choking on her own spit. "Wow! About time! How did it go?"

Kara remembered the tone of Lena's voice back in her apartment, the cries in the brunette's throat after she had left. "Awfully." She grimaced.

"Really? I always thought she'd be a terrific kisser."

"Hey! No, I mean, the kiss was… Incredible." Kara blushed. "It's the after that went astray. I tried to talk to her about it this morning but she's all closed off."

Alex looked at her sideways then shrugged. "Well, she'd always been guarded. What did you expect?"

"More communication, at least." Kara grimaced again. "She doesn't even want to talk about it. It's more than being guarded. It's as if she doesn't think she deserves to be loved. She's terrified that it would hurt her more than living without it." She rambled heatedly. She was desperate for a solution.

"Without you." Alex pointed out.

"Yes, whatever. Even if she doesn't want me, she deserves to be happy with someone else. But she doesn't believe in that."

Kara heard Alex swallow in her throat. There was a beat during which Alex shuffled the water thoughtfully and Kara waited impatiently. Alex then swallowed again, her face taking a serious expression. "She didn't grow up in the kind of family that shows happily ever after can happen. Give her some slack. Do you remember she had never decorated her own Christmas tree before we made her? Can you imagine living with this level of psychos? Who doesn't decorate for Christmas?" Kara chuckled bitterly because Alex was funny in her wording but Lena's lack of family normalcy wasn't funny at all. "Anyway, no wonder she's careful. I would think twice about trusting people if I was her."

"Thanks. You're terribly not helping." Kara grumbled.

"Hey, I'm here to annoy the crap out of you and show your children how to do it when I'm not around. I'm not wise enough to give advice."

Kara scoffed and shoved her gently. "You're wrong. You know I trust you."

"Yeah, except when you're so upset you think nobody can understand you."

The words were out before Alex had the time to filter them and it showed on her surprised face. She didn't take them back though. What was said, was said. She meant it and Kara felt even more guilty for it.

"Alex, I'm sorry for the way I pushed you away. I felt like I was the only one concerned by Lena's disappearance and I couldn't bear seeing all of you resuming your lives as if nothing had happened."

Alex shook her head with deception. "We kept searching, you know." She said, eyeing Kara pointedly. "On our own because we knew it was too hard on you. Legitimately so. You lost trust and hope and it's not okay but I'm not mad at you. I just missed you a lot. Esme and Kelly missed you too."

Kara nodded, accepting the accusations. She had lost hope when she wasn't supposed to. She was a Paragon, she had responsibilities. She shouldn't have lost hope in her team. She should have confessed in them, and trusted them, not pushed them away. "I know. I missed you all too. I wish I could reverse time and be less stub-"

Alex put a firm hand on Kara's thigh. "Kara, stop. Don't think that way. You have enough guilt on your shoulders for the whole human race. What's done is done. Just keep showing up now. We need you as much as you need us."

It was easier said than done, as clichéd as it sounded, but Kara was ready to move forward. She had to mend a lot of relationships, to apologize to plenty of people, but she was ready to do it.

"You're right." She smiled lightly and pulled Alex over to hug her.

"I'm always right."

"Nope." Kara chuckled while pulling away. "Not when you said the pepper cover wouldn't sting the hell out of my tongue if I leaked it."

Alex snorted, her fingers scratching her nose. "That was a lie, not an opinion."

"And the time you said all black attires were cool?" Kara tilted her head.

Alex's head swayed from right to left as she thought about it. "Alright, I may have misunderstood the trend there but I'm sure Lena would agree with me. Black is always the new black."

Kara snorted. "Yeah, I think she likes the invisibility that black clothes give her."

"Hum." Alex smiled. They fell in a comfortable silence, surrounded by the splashes in the swimming pool as Kelly was attacked by two little ocean monsters. Kara felt her insides warm at the scene. Liz was smiling and giggling, her worries for Lena far gone. It was a huge difference from the girl who had guided her through the country to find her mother. It was a huge difference, too, from the girl who couldn't leave her sides because she was terrified by what could happen to her.

"You know, you shouldn't give up." Alex said confidently.

Kara looked at her and frowned. "What do you mean?"

Alex motioned to Lena on the other side of the garden, still in deep conversation with Eliza.

Kara shook her head. "She clearly doesn't want to have anything to do with me."

Alex snorted. "Oh, she does. How did it feel when you kissed?" She asked without really waiting for an answer. The blush on Kara's cheeks was answer enough. "I thought so. Keep going after her. I'm sure she secretly wants you to. She just wants to be proven wrong. It'll take time but, seriously, Kara, the woman has been all over you for years. She could have found solutions for Liz by herself. She came back here for you and only you."

"You think so?"

"Yes! Go get your girl." Alex shoved her away.

Kara giggled. "Okay, fine. I hope you're right this time." She said with a wink. Alex just flipped her off.

Kara chuckled on her way to Lena and Eliza. They were talking about Ireland and what Liz was doing there, the activities in her school, what Lena had taught her already.

"She's very perceptive. I don't know if it's her powers or just her personality but since she was born, she always seemed to feel all what was happening in a room." Lena explained passionately. Kara had remarked that, when Lena was talking about their daughter, she had no filter. No mask on, no little box to put her feelings away. She was natural and passionate. She loved Liz deeply and she wasn't scared to show it.

"She got it from you, I'm sure." Kara commented while sitting on a chair beside her. Lena shook her head playfully but a clear blush appeared on her cheeks.

"And how is she doing with those powers?" Eliza asked with pure curiosity. "I remember how hard it was for you to control them." She addressed Kara.

"It was." Kara agreed. "She's still learning but she's doing good."

Behind Eliza, Kara saw Liz turned around in the pool and smile at her. She had clearly heard the conversation.

"She's getting good at eavesdropping, apparently." Lena remarked, having noticed Liz's little knowing smile too. The girl only gave her a bashful smile, guilty as hell but still proud of it. Kara snorted.

"Yeah, she's all you."

"Uh uh, not with that goofy smile, it's you." Lena arched her eyebrow, daring Kara to contradict her. Kara only grinned. She loved that Liz had taken some of their physical and personal traits in her genes. It was just awesome.

"Liz, can you come here please?" Lena asked the girl in an even tone, knowing Liz would hear her.

Kelly helped her out of the water and shoved her towards the table. Kara watched as Alex got undressed quickly beside the pool, her swimming suit already beneath her clothes, before diving into the water with her wife and daughter. They wanted to give them privacy with Eliza and Kara appreciated it.

Liz walked to her mother with her bottom lips in between her teeth. Being this close to Lena, her confidence wasn't shining anymore. She thought that she was in trouble and, honestly, Kara didn't even know if she was or not.

Lena pulled her gently to her and grab a towel that was on one of the chairs. She enveloped her in it and tried to lift her but she couldn't with her inability to lean on her knee.

"Let me." Kara said and lifted Liz quickly to put her on Lena's lap. The girl hid in Lena's neck, causing Lena to wince slightly at the cold skin against her own.

"You remember when we talked about Kara's parents, love?" Lena asked Liz who only nodded against her. "Eliza is your mommy's other mother. Remember we talked about that too?"

Liz nodded once again then lifted her head and smiled shyly. "My name is like you." She said to Eliza who smiled back, a hand on her heart.

Lena agreed and corrected her. "Like yours, yes. Elizabeth." She winked to Eliza who had shiny eyes.

"Lena named Liz after her mother, but also after you, Eliza." Kara added, wanting to know Eliza had the same importance as both of their biological mothers.

Eliza nodded in acknowledgement but her eyes never left Liz who was sipping from a glass of lemonade with a straw. Kara watched as Eliza approached a trembling hand to Liz's hair and pushed a lock behind the girl's ear. Liz smiled at her with that charming smile Kara knew from having seen it so many times during galas on Lena's face.

"You are a carbon copy of your mother." Eliza said.

Liz tilted her head, curious. "Mom or mommy?" She asked as if she was really interested to know.

Eliza chuckled. "Both, actually. I can't tell for the personality, though." She said playfully, eyeing Kara pointedly. The blonde only lifted two surrendering hands.

"I didn't do anything. Only taught to eavesdrop."

"As long as you don't teach her how to roast a turkey, I think we're good." Lena quipped and Eliza laughed out loud, reminiscing all the times Kara had tried to cook the turkey for Thanksgiving or Christmas with her heat vision. Liz was already looking at Kara with wonder in her eyes and Lena caught up on it.

"Not in your dreams, young lady." She adverted Liz with a warning finger. "You have many powers to control before this one."

Liz pouted immediately but said nothing. Kara leaned on the table conspiratorially towards her. "Don't worry, I'll teach you to be so quick she wouldn't be able to catch you." She lightly whispered, throwing a wink to Liz who giggled, Lena shooting daggers at her with her eyes.

"Don't you dare."

Kara lifted her hands again. "It's only in her capacities. I don't force anything."

Eliza laughed with their banter and patted a hand on Lena's forearms. "I'm just a call away if you want advice on how to rule two Kryptonians in a house. I'm sure it's close to raise only one."

Lena thanked her, chuckling lightly, her cheeks reddening under the assumption of the three of them living together. Kara stared at her and they shared a look, only for Lena to look away hastily. It wasn't so hard to imagine. It was pleasant, even. Liz running around because she was late to school. Kara kissing Lena quickly before flying to CatCo. Lena drinking a green smoothie before work, pregnant with their second child.

Kara's eyes grew three sizes and she excused herself to stand up and walk back in the house. She walked in the kitchen and put water on her face to clear her mind. She leaned on the counter with her eyes closed. Images of Lena with a rounded belly and a golden ring on her left hand kept swirling in her mind. It was not hard to imagine. At all. Just maybe a bit too presumptuous.

---

Before the end of the afternoon, they were back in the Tower. Florence had asked Kara not to go see her too late or the healing potion, that she had prepared for Lena while they were at Alex's, would be good for trash. Lena rolled out of the elevator confidently and waved to Kara and Liz who were going a floor above to give Liz a necessary bath after her time in the swimming pool. When Lena entered her former lab, Florence was bent over her mother's grimoire while Nia was reading Lena's spell book and Brainy was actively searching the internet on a computer.

"Lena!" Nia exclaimed when she noticed her. She turned on her stool and walked eagerly to her to take her in a hug, Brainy right behind her.

"I'm happy you're okay. You've scared the crap out of us all." Nia said while squeezing her gently. It seemed to Lena that she was hearing this sentence in repeat.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize, babe. Those guys were creeps." Nia dismissed with a flourish of her hand.

"Yeah." Lena sighed.

"Lena!" Brainy hugged her quickly. "Ever thought of putting a tracker under your skin? Would be helpful."

Lena chuckled a bit but her laugh died down when she realized that he was serious. "Where's the fun in that?"

Brainy shook his head with a smile. He already knew Lena would never accept the idea anyway. He motioned to the benchtops behind them. "We were searching for data on the prophecy."

"Good. Anything new?"

"None." Florence grumbled from her place while straightening up. "Come here to drink this so at least you can walk properly."

Lena rolled her eyes at the lack of sympathy in her mentor's tone. She rolled to her and took the vial that was extended to her. Trusting Florence wholeheartedly, she gulped down the thick purplish liquid in its entirety and put the vial back on the benchtop. Immediately, she felt her body relax, her limbs begin to lighten, the cramps going away. The aches in her neck and head were forgotten. Her knee was feeling better and Lena tentatively bent it. Carefully, she watched as her leg could bent an entire angle then be stretched completely. She didn't need the wheelchair anymore. She grinned and tried to stand up only to be stopped by the pain in her feet.

"Oh! Oh!" She winced, falling back ungraciously in the wheelchair. "Everything's healed except my feet."

Nia and Brainy were looking at her in panic. Florence mumbled unintelligible words to herself with a finger on her chin then approached and crouched down. She placed a cautious hand on one of Lena's feet and whispered a Latin incantation. Lena's foot started to glow with blue rays passing through the bandages.

"What are you doing?" Lena asked.

"I casted a charm to know if any type of magic has been used on you. The fire wasn't just a normal fire."

Lena looked at her in disbelief then her gaze dropped back to her feet. It should not shock her. The group her half-brother was a part of was well trained and well informed. They had used magic to try and kill her. Who was the monster now? The one who was naturally magical or the one who used magic because they were scared of magical beings?

"So you can't heal my feet?" Lena asked as she watched Florence swipe the pages of her own spell book hastily. She didn't even raise her head to reply.

"I'm searching, child, but I think it can't be healed by magic. It has to heal naturally."

"Fabulous." Lena grumbled. "Now I'm stuck in this wheelchair for weeks."

"Kara still can carry you around." Brainy said, trying to be helpful. It only guaranteed him a fiery glare. "Okay, no carrying."

"What about enchanted shoes? Can't you just cast a spell on your favorite sneakers so that your feet won't hurt in them?"

Lena and Florence's heads whipped around towards Nia with wide open mouth, aghast. Her friends were nice and all, but they knew nothing about magic. Nia was part of the magical world but it wasn't really the same type as Lena. The brunette knew they wanted to help and, usually, she would welcome their creativity but not this time.

"It's…" Florence started.

"I appreciate your ideas but Florence is right. Burning witches on a stake is the most effective way for a reason. We're historically and magically linked to fire. The only way to heal is to do it the old way." Lena explained with tight resigned lips.

"That sucks." Nia said, disappointed.

Lena agreed thoughtfully. She didn't add the fact that she knew her healing would take more time than a normal burn. Her body was naturally weakened by fire and since Jason's group had been well informed, she knew that the skin on her feet would never gain its previous elasticity back. It was as if the fire was still burning inside her cells. It would forever be sensible and scarred.

"Nia." Brainy called out, two fingers on his ear. "We have an emergency. Black Lightning needs us in Metropolis."

Lena's eyebrows shot up. Since her brother wasn't causing trouble in Metropolis anymore, she was surprised to hear there was still problems there.

"Cyber-attack on the general services. He can't put the electricity back up alone. He needs Nia's dream energy and my ability to enter systems." Brainiac explained to Lena who nodded, understanding a bit more.

"Be careful, you two." Lena advised, hugging Nia as strongly as Nia was embracing her.

"When aren't we?" Nia joked as she pushed away.

Lena watched them leave the building hand in hand. She shook her head pensively. Those two were perfect for each other. She heard Florence clear her throat so she turned around in her wheelchair.

Florence motioned to the grimoire. "Did you find anything? Because I didn't and I read half of it already."

Lena shook her head and rolled around her to place herself in front of the grimoire. The benchtop was too high for her to reach it so Florence helped her. Lena rolled her eyes. It was so annoying to depend on others.

"I didn't have the time to study it but I'm sure it's in there. I feel it."

Florence only nodded with that usual stern look on her face. "Don't forget to protect yourself from charms. We don't know what your mother had placed in these pages."

"Don't worry. I'm not a beginner anymore."

Florence smirked. "No, you aren't. You're a Luthor mixed with a Walsh, that's worse."

Lena chuckled, knowing too well what Florence was hinting at. During her first years of learning magic, Lena had formed a strong bond with Florence. The old woman had laughed a lot when Lena had recounted all the times she had been kidnapped or almost murdered. Florence had a theory that it was linked to Lena's ancestry. Being a Luthor, in itself, was a curse. Being a Walsh, in itself, was not well accepted. But being a mix of both families could only be synonymous of trouble. And since she had discovered that her father might be linked to a witch hunter cult, the Purifiers, Lena started to think that it may be true.

"I'm going back to Ireland. I need to inform everyone and search if anyone knows about these hunters. Will you be okay?" Florence asked while fumbling with her fingers in front of her.

Lena smiled lightly. It was Florence's way to show she cared about her. They weren't into hugging or even patting shoulders but they were into bantering playfully and Lena could feel Florence's affection through their link anyway. She tapped on her wrist, where her tattoo was and winked.

"Yes, thank you, Florence. I appreciate seeing you out of your cave just for little old me." She smirked as Florence scoffed.

"It wasn't for you." The mentor insisted while gathering her things. "I came to see who those bloody hunters were. If there's more, we'll have a problem."

It was true and Lena knew that she wasn't the only reason why Florence had come out of her shelter. The reality hit her once again. If there was more of them, none of the witches in their coven were safe.

"I'll send you a letter if I find anything on them or the prophecy." Lena said. Florence nodded once. She approached to pat Lena on the cheek affectionately then took a step back and closed her eyes. A second later, she had disappeared and Lena was left alone.

Her gaze dropped on her knees where there was the heavy grimoire her mother had traveled with. Now, it was just her and her books and words and words on witchcraft. Lena secured the grimoire closer to her and rolled towards one the chairs. She could at least be comfortable if she had to search a heavy book for hours.

---

It was endless. It had been two hours and Lena felt like the more she was turning pages, the more pages she had to turn. The grimoire was endless. She almost suspected her mother to have cast a shrinking spell on it so that it would only show its entire content while reading it. Kara's face of wonder when Lena had broken the charm on the grimoire came at the forefront of her mind. Lena groaned loudly. To top it all off, the more she was trying not to think about Kara, the more her mind seemed to want her to think about her. She found herself distracted by the softness of Kara's lips, the feel of her fingers on her wrist. It was making her crazy. She was going nowhere. She couldn't find anything on the prophecy. She couldn't find anything on her abductors. She couldn't find any reasons for her to say no to Kara any longer.

No. Lena couldn't let her mind dictate what she wanted to do. She inhaled deeply and resumed her reading. She came across several interesting charms. One to shape common objects into animals. Another to enter someone's blood system and detect any infection. Another to create a thick protective skin on a body so that it was protected from the sun and any possible threats. Lena made notes about it. It could be useful if she decided to go to the beach with Kara and Liz. The blonde wouldn't certainly need it with her tan skin and perfect Kryptonian genes, with her Greek-like sculpted abs and indestructible structure.

Lena shook her head. She was still on the same page and she didn't know how much time had passed.

"I'm sick of it!" She groaned in frustration, throwing the book away and grabbing at her hair with both hands. An easy chuckle came out in front of her and she peeked through her hands to see who it was. Kelly waved lightly, her hair damp and face make-up free.

"What are you doing here?" Lena asked in surprise because Kelly wasn't usually in the Tower at this hour.

"I was on a mission down the street. A giant snake was terrorizing your neighbors." Kelly tilted her head pointedly. Lena didn't bother corrected her on the mention of the Tower as her home. "I was covered in spit and blood so I thought I could take a shower in the old locker room before going back home. And then I heard you angrily talk to a spell book."

Len snorted and scowled at the said book. Kelly chuckled once more and came to sit next to her.

"Anything that could be salvaged from your apartment?"

Lena shook her head deprecatingly. J'onn had deposited suitcases with Liz's and Lena's clothes in Kara's living room while they were at Alex's. He had also brought Lena's cellphone and laptop, Liz's favorite plush toy and her coloring book. Everything else had been damaged whether by the fire Lena had provoked as she had thrown a thunder to one of the cultists or by the wind coming through the broken window, which had engulfed everything from papers to cushions and curtains. Lena didn't really care about the furniture in the apartment anyway. It was not her home. Her home was in Ireland. It was not like she wanted to go back there either. The Purifiers knew where she was, she could not put Liz in danger again.

"How about your feet?"

"Still painful but it's healing. My toes are covered in blisters."

Kelly grimaced in solidarity. "And the knee?"

"Magically fixed with a healing potion." Lena grinned. Kelly shook her head with a small smile.

"Don't say that to Alex. She was so stressed to operate on you correctly for you not to suffer later."

"I'll make up something so she doesn't think she did all this for nought." Lena winked. "She's already done enough. I don't want her to worry more."

Kelly smiled back and grabbed at the grimoire to open it in the middle and start reading. "So what's up with this? Does it have people stuck in it or something?"

"What? No." And since it was still a possibility in her world, Lena rose two horrified eyebrows. "I hope not!"

"Why were you talking to it then?"

A small playful smirk was playing on Kelly's lips. It reminded Lena of how James would joke around her. She sighed deeply. She scrapped at the skin around her nails for a minute or two. She didn't know if confiding into Kelly was a great idea. The woman was Kara's sister-in-law. Surely, Kelly was supposed to be on Kara's side, right? Lena used to be really close to Kelly. They shared a passion for biotechnology and since Kelly had started to take a major part in Obsidian's projects, Lena liked to debate with her about the advantages and the consequences of their inventions. Now, Lena wasn't so sure where they were standing.

"Hey, where did you go?" Kelly asked while putting a gentle hand on Lena's. Lena's gaze dropped on their hands and she pulled away.

"I'm sorry. I tend to drift away these days."

Lena could feel Kelly's scrutinizing gaze on her. Her friend had been nothing but identical with the one Lena remembered since she had gotten back. Kelly did not treat her differently. She was not questioning her about her motives, about her disappearance or the life that she had been living this whole time. She was just the old Kelly Lena knew. Attentive, passionate, cautious around her, playful too and smart. Lena had thought about why Kelly was not acting different. Because she was mostly the only one who was treating her as if seven years had not gone by and had formed a gap in their friendship. Lena realized, after thinking about it a couple of times, that maybe Kelly already knew the answers to the questions the others were desperate to have answers to. Kelly was a psychologist. She knew how the mind worked in extreme situations. She knew what to expect from someone as damaged as Lena.

"You're doing it again." Kelly said while shoving Lena lightly with her shoulder. "You know you can talk to me, right? Nothing has changed."

And just like that, Lena's strong demeanor cracked. Her lips started to tremble without her consent. She did not know what was happening. One minute, she was fine, and the next, she was crying her eyes out in Kelly's arms.

"It's okay. I got you." Kelly reassured, brushing her hand in Lena's hair.

Lena felt like a lost little girl once again and she hated it with every cell in her being. Kelly was wrong. Everything had changed. From her place in the group to her place in the world. Lena was not the little girl who had once lost her mother and replaced her with a brand-new horrible family anymore. She was not the freshly out-of-college engineer anymore, the one who wanted to revolutionize the world and cure every possible illness so that others would not live the grief that she had been still full of. She was not the young woman who had been tied up to a chair by her own brother to watch the world end anymore. She was not even close to the woman who had moved in National City to take back on the family business against all odds. Nor she was the one who had put that business back on its feet and fought every white rich man who told her she was not good enough. Nor she was the betrayed woman who had tried to hurt her best friend, simply because it had been one betrayal too many to handle. Nor she was the former CEO who had faced her brother and decided he could play his games all by himself because she was sick of it and handed him back the family business she had sweat on for years. Nor she was that woman who had sworn to be a good godmother and guide Esme through life. Nor she was the pregnant woman who had woken up in that bloody bunker to realize that she had been missing six months of her life. Nor she was the young mother who could not handle a simple diaper change because she was exhausted. Nor she was the same as six days ago, when she had decided that it was better for her daughter to know her other mother. Lena was not even sure that she was the same as the woman who had thrown spells at her half brother and prayed in that bloody cage the day before. No, everything had changed and Lena was not sure that it was for good or even if it was meant to be that way. Because if it was her destiny to hurt that much, then she preferred not to have a destiny at all.

As she pulled away, Kelly stayed in her orbit, brushed her hair away from her face, went to retrieve a glass of water, continued to express words of reassurance. After a while, they fell in an uncomfortable silence. Lena had never felt this ashamed. She had poured years and years of memories on Kelly. It was even more shameful than the time she had to sing Happy Birthday to Lex in front of the cream of Metropolis. Even more shameful than the only time she had said I love you to Andrea only to be rejected because she was not seeing her that way.

Lena did not know where to start. She wanted to apologize to Kelly, to express how unusual of her it was to pour herself into self-pity like that or how disrespectful it was to think Kelly deserved to be treated like that, but her mouth stayed close. The words were stuck in her throat, right next to the scream she wanted so desperately to release. So, Lena stayed against Kelly, listening to her heartbeat, waiting for the time she would have to face her friend. For now, she could just pretend that it had never happened. That breakdown was not her. She was already not this Lena anymore either.

"You know what I think happened in that bunker…" Kelly whispered, sliding a comforting hand on her arm. Her voice was soft and caring. Lena closed her eyes. She wanted to listen to Kelly's voice forever and fall asleep that way.

"Is that you woke up and realized you were pregnant, which was truly a violation of your body." Kelly rushed out pointedly. "And your mind went blank because it was overwhelmed and fed up with all the trouble, the hurt, the pain you've already had." She said, and Lena thought that she was done there, because she did not think that she could handle more truths than that, but Kelly continued to talk.

"And then you did the only thing you could do to survive this situation. You ran away. Because it was necessary."

Kelly's understanding was everything Lena needed at the moment without knowing it. A lone tear rolled down her cheek. Lena brushed it away frustratingly.

"I…" She cleared her throat, swallowed heavily. "It doesn't excuse what I've done."

Kelly shook her head quickly. "I don't resent you for that, I understand it. I understand why you're breaking down now. It's been a lot."

A whimper escaped Lena's lips. Kelly was giving her so much grace, so much kindness, that Lena was not sure that she deserved it. She did not deserve friends like Kelly and Alex and Brainy and Nia. She did not deserve to be loved. For if there was love, there was hurt hiding behind it.

"I know how you were raised. We talked about it, remember?" Kelly waited for Lena to nod. They had talked a lot about it, actually. It had been during one of these game nights at Kara's. Lena and Kelly had been sipping on their glasses of scotch and wine on the small balcony while their friends were finishing their round at Mario Kart. Lena had been pretty drunk and had confided into Kelly how lucky she had felt being surrounded by these special persons. It had been a first of many conversations about what Lena had felt and what Lena had wanted and what Lena had deserved. Kelly had been understanding and careful with the words she had used but had always assured Lena that she had her place in their group. That she had found a place to be herself and that she should not feel like a fraud around them.

"I know how you deal with emotions on a daily basis. I can see what happened. But I wish you had healed enough before all that to be able to come back to us instead of running away. It would've been lighter for your heart not to bear all these things on your own."

Lena pulled away slightly, not daring to look Kelly directly in the eyes. "I think I had to do it alone. That way I could only understand I needed you all in my life."

In the corner of her eyes, she saw Kelly's lips spread largely. "Sadly, it took you years to understand it."

Lena shrugged helplessly. It had taken time, but she had come around. "I'm a lost cause."

Kelly scowled immediately and put a finger under Lena's chin to meet her eyes. "No, you're not. Life had been hard on you but it doesn't define you. You have lived all these things but still came out on the bright side. You could have followed Lex's path but you chose your own. You're not a lost cause. You're a good person."

Tears rolled down Lena's cheeks once again and she rolled her eyes good-naturedly but a smile grew on her face.

"See! Better like that." Kelly said enthusiastically and they chuckled together. "You know, my proposition from years ago still stands. I have a few colleagues that could help you out."

Lena groaned and turned around to grab at the bow of tissue that was thankfully on the benchtop. "You know my answer to that."

"I know you don't believe in therapy but talking can help. If you don't talk to a doc, at least talk to your friends."

Lena looked at her guiltily. She knew that she had not been the best of friends for the last years and more so since she had come back. She wanted to talk to them, and to some extent, she had done just that, explaining what had happened to her and Liz. It felt intimate enough. It felt also like none of them could understand the amount of stress it was causing her not to know what had happened all these years ago. She always felt in danger, with a Damocles sword above her head, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"I do talk to you. I trust you. It's just…" Lena cut herself short, not sure if expressing her thoughts would hurt Kelly or not.

"I know it feels like nobody can understand." Kelly said. Lena looked at her with wide eyes. Had Kelly developed telepathy since the last time they had talked? Her friend chuckled. "What? You think you're the first to think she's all alone in this world? Do you happen to know Kara Danvers?"

Lena rolled her eyes once again. "Kara isn't like that. She's all hope and love and sunshine."

"Ah, funny you think that. The woman lost her whole people, her culture. She lost her family then found it again only to discover too much time had passed to fix the gap. And then she lost you. Twice. Do you really think she's still the same? Come on, Lena. You have eyes."

Lena frowned. She did not like Kelly's tone. It felt like she was hearing Alex. "You sound like your wife."

Kelly snorted. "I know, her irony is rubbing on me." Her laugh died down and her face took back its serious expression. "What I mean is, don't think you're alone in this. Everybody has struggles. Kara maybe more than the others. She's just good at hiding them and pulling a strong face." She shoved Lena lightly. "Just like you."

Lena shoved her back. "I know what you're trying to do here. That's not gonna happen."

"Oh, really? What am I trying to do?" Kelly smirked, the glint in her eyes expressing exactly what Lena was fearing.

"You want me to confide in her, to trust her, so that we can form the perfect little family."

"Well, that won't be such an awful thing, wouldn't it?"

Lena shook her head, already planning how to make her point. "Kara deserves to be happy and that can't happen with me."

Kelly frowned. "Why?" She asked in a whisper. Maybe it was made so that Lena would confess her thoughts more easily. Maybe it was because Lena had surprised Kelly. Lena could not know.

"Because… Because…" She could not say it now. She was scared, of course she was. Kara terrified her in the best of ways but it was not just that.

"Lena, she won't hurt you." Kelly said, sensing the truth laid right there.

"I'm not afraid of her hurting me." Lena admitted in a broken voice.

"Then what is it?"

Lena closed her eyes, inhaled, and exhaled a couple of times. "I'm afraid of hurting her."

There, it was. Laid there. Said there. Expelled in the air between them. Lena could not take it back now. As simple as the words were, they were reflecting her most inner fear. The fear that was consuming her since she was a child. Because she had caused so many issues. Because she had been responsible for so many bad situations in her life already. Her mother had drowned in a lake just so she could save Lena. Lionel and Lillian's marriage exploded because she was born. Lex lost his parents and his home because she came to live with them. Lex lost his mind because she had not been a good enough sister and had not been able to keep him on a good path. Jack had lost his life because she had not been a good enough girlfriend to prevent him from his ambiguous project. Andrea had lost so much money in CatCo, so much faith in her father because of Lena, because of her crazy desire to follow an old legend that had felt like the last link to her mother. Kara had been injured so many times because of her, just to save her, just because Lena had been betrayed before. Alex and Kelly and Esme and Brainy and Nia and J'onn had been hurt because of her, because she existed and people associated her with her last name, wanted revenge for who she was. Dick had been hurt too because she had taken upon herself to use him as her own puppet. Sam had to renounce to her values and lie for her. Even Liz had been hurt because Lena had decided to keep her, but had kept her away from a happy life, only promising a life full of paranoia and fear to the child.

Lena had caused so much hurt in her first thirty years of life. It had been enough. She did not want the responsibility of what could happen with Kara above it all. Her shoulders were weighing enough.

"You know it doesn't work like that. You can't wait for it to crumble, it may never happen." Kelly said in a stern voice, oscillating between sadness and determination.

"It will happen." Lena hammered with unshakeable conviction. "I already hurt her by staying away. I don't need her to be closer. It'll only cause her more pain."

"She loves you. I'm sure she just wants to help."

"But I don't need her help! I don't need a love partner. I just need her to be there!"

There was silence. Lena had never risen her voice on Kelly before. She was not usually that heated in their conversation. She was about to apologize but a clearing of a throat erupted behind her. She turned around, sensing Kelly's head rising to look above her. Kara was in the doorway with Liz hiding in her neck. She had a weird expression on her face, as if she had just eaten something sour.

"I was wondering what you were up to. Dinner is ready." Kara said evenly, her eyes never meeting Lena's. It was clear that she had heard some bits of their conversation.

Kelly cleared her throat and stood up from her stool. "I'll leave you two to talk."

With a pat on Lena's hand, she walked away. She took Liz from Kara's arms, stating she would be upstairs, feeding the munchkin. As the elevator doors closed behind Kelly, Lena felt like the room was closing on her. It felt small suddenly and the more Kara approached, the more she felt like she could not breathe.

"Kara, I'm tired of having these conversations. It's always a full circle." She said in a warning voice. It was true. They were always talking about the same things without going forward. They disagreed and none of them wanted to compromise on their opinion. It was endless. Just like that bloody spell book.

But Kara was anything but determined. She was stubborn and a real hero, which meant that she never gave up. Ever. And pursuing Lena was not an exception to this rule.

"Then give me an explanation." Kara said heatedly. "Why are you here? Why now? Why did you leave? Why can't we be together? You just said to Kelly you wanted me there. I'm here. So, tell me. What do you want?"

Her fierce eyes were hiding nothing but pure honesty and eagerness. Kara seemed ready to do anything Lena would ask.

"Because it's too dangerous for-" Lena started her old mechanism.

"I don't care!" Kara shouted. Lena shrunk back as much as she could on her stool. Kara remarked that and straightened her back. She rounded the benchtop and toned down her voice. She rose two apologetic pupils on her.

"Your life is dangerous with or without me in it. You said so yourself." She whispered. "That's why it was so stupid to keep my identity a secret for so long."

Lena swallowed the lump in her throat, turned her gaze away. "It's not only because of that."

Kara stepped forward, entering Lena's space. She put a hesitating hand on her cheek to force Lena to meet her eyes. "Then what? Tell me. Tell me Liz will not be happier if you stay. Tell me you don't want that for her or for yourself."

Her eyes were so earnest. Her perfume was intoxicating. Her breath was inviting. Lena wanted to give in. But she could not. She turned away once again, letting Kara's hand cupping thin air.

"Of course I do! I just don't… I don't know, okay." She replied frustratingly. She was struggling finding her words, organizing her thoughts. Kara always had this effect on her. Her mind was blurry and unfocused, as if she was under water and in the clouds at the same time, her thoughts invaded by fog, her little boxes drenched by the water.

The truth was, Lena had all the answers to Kara's questions. It was summarized in the words she had confessed to Kelly minutes ago. But she could not resolve herself to do it one more time. Not to the person it was the most important to lie to. Lena could not let Kara hope in a relationship between them. Kara was stubborn enough, if she had one tiny little reason to believe that Lena wanted her, she would be relentless, Lena knew that. So, she could not let her see right through it. She had to maintain the façade. Oh, how exhausting her life had become, suddenly.

Eventually, Lena looked at Kara, wondering what she had just said. Kara was looking at her questioningly.

"You don't know what?"

She probably had asked the question before but Lena was gone somewhere else.

"I don't know why I came back or why I ran away." Lena clarified. "I don't know why now and why we can't… I just know I can't."

Kara sighed heavily. Her frustration was visible on her face, in her fists tightening on the benchtop's tiles.

"There's a real difference between what you can do and what you want to do." The blonde said with emphasis. "And right now, I don't know if you just deny this…" She let her fingers travel between them. "Just because you still scared or because it's something you really don't want for yourself."

Lena ran her hands in her hair in frustration. Kara knew her too well and she was really tired to fight her. "I don't know Kara! I wish I could give you answers but I don't have them. I want for Liz to be happy and healthy and I want for her to know you. But otherwise…" She taped her finger on the blonde's chest at every words. "I. Don't. Know."

Kara nodded, looking at her boots. There was silence for some times. Lena took the time to look at her, to watch her thoughts reverberate on her face. Kara wore her heart on her sleeve. Every feeling, every emotion was visible on her facial expression, in the crinkle on her forehead or the blue in her eyes.

Kara was still nodding thoughtfully. Then she took a step into Lena's space. Lena held back her breath, surprised and unprepared to be so close to Kara. The blonde had been close before, but that was an entire other level. They were close enough that Lena could smell the remnants of coffee on Kara's breath.

"I know…" Kara started, taping a gentle finger on Lena's collarbone, imitating Lena's previous gesture. "That I want you. And I know…" She taped again, her face coming closer and closer. "That I love Liz." She paused to look at Lena pointedly, her gaze never the green eyes. Lena found herself pinned to the benchtop, unable to tear her eyes away either. Their lips were just a sheet of paper away from touching.

"Now you just have to search what's in there." Kara whispered, pointing at Lena's heart voluntarily. A jolt of electricity ran down Lena's body at the feel of Kara's lips brushing hers. "And tell me what you want. Because I can wait but I don't want to be fooled around."

With that, Kara pulled away then put a gentle kiss to Lena's now reddening cheek. "I'll wait you upstairs." She said while walking away in proud steps.

Lena never replied. She was dumbfounded. Why was she rejecting her again? Oh, right! Because she was so stupid and arrogant that she thought she could resist Kara Danvers. Lena shook her head to clear her mind and cursed under her breath. She was almost thankful to recognize that her fear of hurting Kara had the best of her or else it would be impossible for her to resist the blonde.

Turning angrily towards the grimoire, Lena opened it back in the middle. She did not want to face Kara or have to fake a discussion with her in front of Liz just yet. She could at least use this time to advance on their research. She turned several pages, ones she had already read. The known drawings and titles flashed in front of her eyes. Love filter. Nightmares explanations. Pages on different demon races. Legends about artefacts. Lena almost cursed her mom for being this disorganized. Her grimoire was not structured like hers was. Lena was methodic. She had a part for potion recipes, a part for charms, a part about the creatures she had encountered. It was easier to find what she was searching for when she needed it. But her mom's grimoire was a mess.

And then, just when she was about ready to give up for the day, Lena turned another page and there it was. She almost missed it, flickering through the pages absentmindedly, but the title was clear. Lena passed a curious finger on her mother's cursive.

The Unique Prophecy

A chosen one with great power.

A hero to protect them all.

The Other rising to push the Unique to the brink of Fate and,

In the ashes of the Earth,

Conquer or perish with the rest of humanity.

I came across this legend in my grandmother's book. It is known as the oldest Gaelic legend. The legend states that a Unique witch will rise every six generation to protect the world from her alter ego, the Other. During my research, I could trace back the Unique witches in history. I could not trace the first Unique witch but the oldest I could find was Hildegarde of Bingen (born c.1098 – dead on September 17th1179).

Before that period, it seems that there is no archive that lists the Unique witches. Hildegarde was a member of the Church. Her bloodline died out with her. My grandmother suspected Joane of Arc had been one too but she was supposedly a virgin so no daughter to find after that. Nana had a theory about the Unique witches only rising in Europe or Africa because of their ancestral link to magic. She also marked several dates in her journal that I think could help me (and others after me) to find the Unique witches:

Born on summer's solstice – circa June 20th

Said to rise on their 6th birthday

Meant to fight in the Other's 15th year, on winter's equinox – circa December 22nd

December 22nd, 1481 – December 22nd, 1603 – December 22nd, 1949 – December 22nd, 1989

Although, it seemed that the Unique was not particularly linked to a bloodline, I found two of them in the Walsh family tree.

Is our bloodline linked to the Unique Prophecy?

My mother's grandmother was the last one, which explains why my grandmother had the legend in her book. She did not mention who the Unique was before that and I could not find any trace of her either. According to my calculations, if the Unique had to rise in our family again, and if my daughter ever was to have a daughter, her child may be the next Unique witch.

Make research on the Fingal's cave

Is Hildegarde one of our ancestors?

As we have some names of Unique witches, it seems difficult to find anything linked to the Other beings. They are said to be evil creatures, only partly humans, born from hatred and darkness, destined to conquer the world and rule it with an iron fist. I searched the dates my grandmother indicated and they all traced back to huge events changing the curse of History forever. Sometimes it was a revolution or the murder of a king. Most times it was good and helped to improve the women's living conditions. I think that it means the Unique had always won her battle against the Other until now. I can only hope that it will be the case for the next generations.

Lena pulled away from the grimoire with a deep exhale through her nose. It was interesting, to say the least. Her instinct had been right all along. Her mother knew the prophecy. She had been writing her experiences and thoughts in her book the whole time but this page looked worn out, with the ink having flowed a bit and the corners having been torn, as if she had spent more time on it than on the others. It was accompanied by colorful drawings, one representing a being in a Vitruvian-man-like posture, the head circled by a halo, the hands glowing with a purple glow, another representing a sort of a map with the inscription Fingal's cave, Scotland under it.

Lena read the page multiple times, taking notes. If her mother was right, Liz was the next Unique witch. And judging by the words her daughter had said in Gaelic, Lena was prompt to believe it, rather than question it endlessly. She grabbed at her cellphone on the benchtop and searched for the Fingal's cave on internet. It did exist. She looked at the pictures of the place. Some of them were taken from the insides, showing paintings on the walls of the cave but the pictures were too blurry to see anything clearly. Lena swiped back to a picture of the exterior of the cave. It looked old and raw, the rocks having seen so much history already.

Inhaling deeply, Lena closed her eyes and decided that she could try and go there. She shut down the little voice in her head who was repeating how crazy an idea it was to go there alone, injured, and without telling Kara. She did not want to think about Kara and even less ask for her permission so the only thing that she could do now was find them information on their daughter's fate before it was too late. She inhaled and exhaled deeply two, three times. She thought about the cave, what it looked, what it was supposed to feel like under her feet, on her skin.

At the moment she felt her body shift to transport itself to the cave, Lena felt a sharp pain in her feet. She cried out loudly, her voice echoing in the lab. She looked at her feet furiously. It felt like it was going through fire all over again. She gritted on her teeth. At the back of her mind, Lena could hear the elevator doors open but she was too focused on her agony.

"What happened?" Kara said hastily. She was at her side in a flash, Liz following her.

Lena only shook her head. Furious at herself, furious at her half-brother, she thought about how her feet had been magically burnt. Of course, she could not transport herself to another place. Her feet were her link to Earth, her anchor. And without anchor, there was no possibility to draw the energy from Earth and move like she wanted it to.

"Lena, what happened? What can I do?" Kara asked again, her eyes traveling frantically on Lena's body, eager to help.

"Nothing." Lena said though gritted teeth. "I found the prophecy in the book."

Kara opened wide eyes. They both turned their heads towards Liz who was bringing a glass of water from who-knew-where for her mother. Lena caressed her cheek lovingly. Now, she had an idea why her daughter had been put in her. Liz was special. And Lena's guts were telling her that it would not be the last things that would surprise them.

---

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the long update, I was sure I posted the chapter 6 (DAY FIVE) but I hadn't here. If you're more into AO3, I'm there too under the name MySecondNameChloe123270797. Also, this one took me more time, I'm sick as hell and have written some of this with a fever so... Be warned.

Anyway, hope this one will make up for the long wait. Feedback is appreciated as always. I'll be waiting for your theories!

Sorry for the weird form of the Prophecy, it's a bit complicated to do something good here...

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. I don't know if I'll be able to update next week (work, life, my mom's birthday will come in the way and I'm still sick) but I promise it will definitely be updated at some point. I can't get this story out of my head.

Thanks again.

Take care.