Chapter Text
At Luthor-Danver's mansion, the Future
Summer had peaked.
For weeks National City was humming with warm air, sweat and this dualistic energy, where those who have to work suffer, while others enjoy life under the bright sun, screaming in swimming pools, reading under the shadow of trees and umbrellas, long lines at the ice cream parlor.
But for the first time in months, Kara felt exhausted.
It had been a busy couple of weeks.
By now, Kara relied on more than twenty years of experience as a journalist and editor.
She had been offered the CEO position three times and declined every time. Being Supergirl already took too much from her family.
As a Kryptonian, Kara didn’t suffer from the heat, but she felt the tension around her.
The constant heat of summer brought out the worst in some people.
Whenever she'd managed to put out a fire, a new one had appeared elsewhere.
And during the last weeks the number of people breaking the law had tripled.
At least everything was running smoothly at home.
Her wife's company was thriving and the children were doing well. The youngest, Liam just turned 15.
Kara opened the door to the house she shared with her family.
She and Lena had come across the mansion out of sheer luck on one of their Sunday excursions. Lexi, their oldest daughter, had just turned one and they had found out that they were expecting again.
The old mansion had been renovated carefully over the years until it became a perfect blend of Lena’s elegance and Kara’s warmth.
When the blond hero saw her son's sneakers, her youngest daughter's boots, and her wife's high heels, all neatly placed next to each other in the open shoe cabinet next to the closet, all stress evaporated. Kara put her cloak and slippers in their places.
She listened to the heartbeat of her wife. Lena was in the living room.
Kara entered the spacious kitchen, grabbed some of the leftovers out of the huge refrigerator that at times had to supply five permanently hungry (half) Kryptonians.
The open kitchen led from the light-tiled kitchen to the wooden floor of the living room.
Everyone had fallen over the step between the rooms at some point.
When Kara’s eyes turned to the raven-haired woman on the couch, she still thought that Lena was the most beautiful being in the galaxy.
Coming home to her wife of many years was still the best part of her day.
Lena - now in her early fifties - sat on the wide blue couch with graceful posture. Kara stood a second and just looked at the woman she built this life with.
A few strands of silver had stolen into her full, soft, and shiny hair, already styled for the afternoon.
She didn’t look up when she said:
“ Hi darling, I am just looking at our baby. She was so tiny…,”
pointing to a picture of Lexi, prominent in the photo album Lena was flipping through.
Kara sat down next to her. On the picture, Lexi had just been born.
———
When they had found out that Lena was pregnant, building a family was the last thing on their minds.
Lena’s firm was just about to branch out, Kara had been asked to step up as CEO for the first time and Lex had not been seen for over a year.
Looking at the data in her hands, Lena panicked. She had been sick for a few weeks and decided to do a blood test to find out what was wrong with her.
She stared for 17 minutes at the results, completely overwhelmed. This couldn’t be.
She hadn’t been unfaithful to Kara. It was quite the opposite. She was bound to her wife in body and soul more deeply than she had ever thought possible.
But the data was unambiguous. And she didn’t make mistakes.
Her body started to tremble.
That’s when Kara had arrived at their apartment.
“What is wrong baby? Your heartbeat is … baby, what’s up. Is it Lex?”
Kara came closer to her pale wife, taking her into her arms. Lena’s skin felt cold, she was shivering.
Then she found the medical data.
"Are these yours?" Kara whispered.
Lena nodded.
Surprised, holding her wife even close:
"You're pregnant?"
Lena nodded again.
Kara’s body tensed even as she soothed her wife:
”Everything is going to be fine.”
Kara keeping the million questions forming in her head for the moment, tenderly holding her love, until Lena’s heart finally stopped beating like crazy.
They sat together on the bathroom floor for a long time, just holding each other.
“We have to go to the DEO,” Kara said carefully.“ Alex will help. We’ll find out how this could happen and make sure you’re safe.”
At no point, Kara doubted that this was their child.
When Lena later asked her about it, Kara would say, that she could simply feel it.
Alex didn’t ask much, knowing her sister-in-law.
According to Alex, Kara’s body had essentially decided reproduction was possible — something Kelex later verified.
They also confirmed a stable early pregnancy.
Back at their apartment Kara made tea, while Lena stood on the balcony and looked out over the city. Her long hair floated in the wind, her face stoic.
Kara approached her carefully and gave her a cup. Lena warmed her cold, long fingers on the heated cup.
Kara began to speak softly:
“I really didn't know it was possible. We haven't even talked about children. Not really. I just want you to know, that I support every decision you make. I love you. I will love our child. But it’s you I am concerned about right now.“
Kara stood next to her wife, instinctively didn't touch her yet.
Moments later Lena was the one who leaned against Kara's side and encouraged the blonde woman to put her arm around her waist.
"I know that it must be like a dream come true for you. Something of Krypton can live on."
Kara wanted to protest, but Lena would not allow it, turned to the superhero, and put a finger to her mouth.
"Sh, I know. And I won't do anything that I don't want to, well I would for you... but that’s not the point. The truth is - I want this. And that's what really terrifies me.“
She turned her gaze back to the city.
"Because how can I want that? Me a mother. And the child is already cursed by Luthor blood and will be constantly being threatened because they are born into our family. How can we be so selfish ... "
"Lena, I carry the Luthor name with pride - and you are caring and strong and creative and … You are just the greatest person I know. A kid would simply love you.“
Lena’s smile was sad, but hopeful:
„Dork.“
“I am serious! If you really want this... I am all in. 1000% in.“
Lena leaned back against Karas side and they silently looked at the sky.
Into the night Lena said:
“Thank you. For trying to make it easy for me."
Lena trembled a bit when she said this thought out loud:
"I want this. With you. But that won't stop me from panicking."
“And it´s my job to tell you that everything will be fine, especially if you're scared,"
Kara said with warmth in her voice, a tiny tear in her eyes, and kissed her wife’s forehead.
Lena slowly turned her head to kiss her wife. Kara kissed back and pretty soon the kisses became more passionate.
Sometimes it was just easier to talk with the body.
——-
It was rare that they went down memory lane together.
But today was the day their oldest would finish university. A big milestone. Kara put an arm around her wife.
“She was very tiny. And now, all grown up. Did you check in with the girls? Everything according to plan at the campus?”
Lena, who was turning a page of the photo album, paused:
“Yes, Lizzy just wrote. They’re expecting us at the ceremony hall in three hours.”
“We will be there on time,”
Kara tucked a loose strand behind Lena’s ear before turning back to the photos.
“I loved your glow during the pregnancies,” Kara murmured warmly, running her finger along Lena’s prominent belly on the picture.
Lena smiled.
“And I loved the little surprises. Like that time you called me in the middle of a board meeting, because you kept floating to the ceiling,” Kara recalled.
“I remember you enjoying my raging hormones until they became even too much for you,” Lena teased.
“I still feel Lexi laying in my arms for the first time. I knew she would grow up looking just like you… “
“… but with your eyes. Something I hoped for, since I knew I was pregnant,” Lena added.
They skipped through the pages. Lexi in a baby bouncer and her toothless smile, Lexi on Eliza’s lap, granny and baby fast asleep after a long day in Midvale and then one of Kara’s most beloved memories - Lexis first time eating dumplings.
Between the picture handwritten dates and names, first words and other things, Lena never would forget, but still wrote down in carefully crafted letters.
The picture Lena currently was looking at showed a two-year-old Lexi holding her little sister Lisa. She looked at the pink bundle with curiosity and care.
Lexi’s birth had been carefully supervised by Alex and her medical team.
Lisa, however, arrived with fanfare.
“Oh, I remember the pain we ran through finding the right dress for that evening. You felt too much already and almost skipped the price award. I still made you go. Kandra Beckstein was doing your laureate and I knew you would regret not hearing your greatest role model gushing over your achievements.”
“I never imagined giving birth in the backstage of the National Museum.”
“She looked like an angel though. With her blond hair, her fair eyes.”
“Who would have thought that the one resembling you the most, would be a little devil.”
“Our little devil.”
“Yeah, our little baby devil. Why can’t they stay like that forever. Or at least a bit longer. I am not ready to let them go.”
“Baby, don’t be afraid. They won’t fly far.
And it could be nice, having more time alone with you again.”
Like on cue, Liam, their youngest, chose that moment to turn up the volume of his speakers.
“I don’t know why he keeps on blasting that thing, like he wants to tear the house down. I don’t need superhearing to feel the beat in every nerve of my body,” Lena groaned.
“I’ll go check on him. He might need a reminder to get ready, too,” Kara said, getting up from the couch.
The room suddenly felt quieter without Kara.
Lena looked back down at the album.
Soon she would be surrounded by family.
Her family. Her greatest accomplishment. And the biggest gift. A gift that hadn’t come easy. Her brother had threatened her often enough. But then, he had died in a tragic explosion years ago.
Since then, her family had been safe.