Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

FIVE YEARS AGO

Samantha was at the S.T.A.R Labs parking lot waiting for her girlfriend. It’s Friday afternoon and both of them always leave work early on that day. Sam left Palmer Tech a few minutes earlier to be able to surprise Lena. She went home to leave her car and took an Uber to get to the lab. Closer to the lab there’s a flower shop, she went there and chose one single flower for Lena because she knows she hates to receive huge bouquets in public. Actually, Lena doesn’t really like flowers that much but she loves everything Samantha gives her. Sam waited outside the building until she received a text from Lena saying that she was leaving work the she went to the parking lot because she also knows that Lena always send these texts from inside her own office.

So, there she is, leaning against Lena Luthor's car, waiting for her to go out the elevator doors, with a hand on her back hiding the small gift. And, there’s Lena, leaving the elevator with her head down, probably looking for the car keys lost inside her purse.

“Found it.” She heard Lena saying. Just as I thought.

“The car keys again?” Sam spoke so that Lena could be made aware of her presence.

“Sammy! What are you doing here?” Lena took the keys out of her purse and went straight to her girlfriend to give her a small kiss and a hug, without realizing that she was hiding something.

“I wanted to surprise you and take you home.” She had an innocent smile on her face, one of Lena’s favorites. “Also...” She showed the flower that she was hiding and handed to the smaller brunette. “I know you don’t really like flowers but I didn't want to show up here with my hands empty.”

Lena took the flower from Sam's hand and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I like when they come from you.”

Sam wrapped both arms around Lena's waist and pulled her closer to her body while Lena placed only one behind Sam's neck because the other was holding the flower and the purse. The taller placed her head closer to the other shoulder and had her nose in her neck. “I missed you.”

Lena shivered when she felt Sam's breath so close to her. “You saw me this morning.”

“Yeah?” Sam left a small kiss there and moved away to look at her. “But I missed you anyway.”

Lena smiled and gave a quick peck on her lips. “I missed you too.”

Sam took the opportunity of the position they were in and the proximity to take the car keys from Lena's hand and when they moved away from each other she headed for the driver's door. “I’ll drive.”

“Of course you will.” Lena laughed and entered the car.

“So, how was work?”

“Pretty much the same.” They left the building and Lena realized that they were following a path contrary to home. “Where are we going?”

“Oh, I received a call saying that our clothes for the party tomorrow are ready, so we are going there to pick up.”

The next day will be the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Samantha's boss, Ray Palmer. He personally invited her and asked her to take Lena so that he and his wife, Nora Darhk, could finally meet her officially.

“What about Ruby?”

“I talked to Anne already and she said she can babysit her tomorrow.” Anne is a lovely teenage girl who leaves in their building. She takes the babysitter job sometimes to save money to go to college next years. She takes care of Ruby when there’s an emergency on both of their works and the little girl loves her.

“Did you tell her mother that she’ll need to sleep there because we'll probably arrive late?”

“Yes and she said that’s fine.”

Lena had been thinking about not going to the party because of Ruby. It will be the first time that they will go out at night and leave the little girl at home, so she has been nervous.

“It’s okay, babe.” Sam held one of her hands and made Lena look at her. “She’s gonna be okay.”

“I know.”

After they took their clothes to the party, they went on their way home, but first they went on their way home, but first they went to the nursery to pick up Ruby. Half the way was done in silence. That morning Sam had received a strange call, but not so strange for the family parameters that she and Lena lived in relation to both families. Calls like that always affected both of them and she didn’t want to tell Lena because she knew her girlfriend would be worried about her. But she needed too.

“Babe.” She said and chose not to look at Lena and pay attention to the road but she knew Lena was looking at her. “Patricia called me today.”

“Really?” Lena was surprised, her mother-in-love hadn’t called them in a while. Since graduation, to be more exact. “What for?”

“She’s selling the house.”

“Okay...”

“And she wants me to go there and get the rest of my things or she will get rid of them.”

“What? She can’t do that.”

“You know her, Lena.” Actually, she didn’t. She had never met Patricia Arias.

“What are you going to do?” She took Sam's right hand in hers. They do that a lot when the other is driving. They can’t spend much time without touching each other, they'd been like that since their first kiss on a rainy night in Boston. At least they can be relieved that both cars have automatic transmission and allow them to keep their right hands free to maintain this type of contact.

“I talked to Mr. Palmer this morning when he went to my office to know if we’re going to the party and asked about some possibilities. He said I can take next week off to deal with these things.”

“So, you've already decided.” Lena looked forward a little sadly as they always made those decisions together, mostly because of Ruby.

“No, I wanted to talk to you first. Should I go?”

“I don’t know, Sammy. But I think you should.” She looked at Sam again. “Those are your childhood belongs. Things that you will want to show Ruby and she gets older.”

“I don’t think I'm ready to face her. The last time I saw her was before I got pregnant.” Lena could see that her lover's eyes filled with tears so she squeezed Sam's hand to let her know that she was not alone. And she'll never be.

“I can go with you.”

Sam gave a shy smile. She was so grateful to have Lena in her life. She was always willing to do what she could to make anybody around her feel good. Especially if that person was the love of her life, Samantha Arias. “That would be easier for me. When you’re with me I fell I can handle anything.” Lena kisses her hand when she heard that. “But that would only make the situation worse. And plus, we would need to take Ruby too.”

“Samm...

“It’s okay, babe.” Sam took Lena’s hand to her lips and did the same. “You don't deserve to deal with Patricia Arias' rage. I can do this.”

“Okay. At least we can take the Sunday all to ourselves and have the perfect family time, only the three of us.”

“We can. Now that Ruby has two mothers.” Sam had already parked the car in the daycare lot where Ruby spent the day.

“Easy there.” Lena laughed. “I’m her legal guardian in case of something happens to you, not her other mother.”

“Yet...” Sam took off her seat belt and slowly approached Lena. She took advantage of the proximity to put a lock of Lena's hair behind her ear, looking her in the eye with the same intensity as always. “It’s only a matter of time.” She whispered and Lena smiled as she noticed the distance between them getting smaller and smaller.

“Is that what you want?” Lena spoke in the same tone reversing the look between Sam's eyes and her lips that seemed to be approaching in an even slower camera.

“Ever since our first kiss on that rainy night.” And like that their lips touched. There’s a thing that both of them always think about when they kiss. How the touch of their lips always feel like their first kiss but at the same time the feeling inside of them is increased by a new kind of intimacy and more and more love.

The lips parted and Sam took hers to the girlfriend's ear, always leaving small kisses along the way. Lena, in turn, took the opportunity to recover the breath that had been lost during that act so intimate and so wonderful.

“I love you, Lena Luthor.” Sam whispered.

Lena almost lost her breath again. These three words, whenever they left the woman's mouth in front of her, seemed to bring to her the same sensation that her kisses provided. “I love you too, Samantha Arias.”

And she would never get tired of hearing those words. Just like Samantha.

Sam was almost ready playing a board game about colors with Ruby when the doorbell rang. She heard Lena screaming for her to answer.

“It must be Anne.” She got up from the floor and left a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. “Mama will be right back, monkey.”

Passing by the door of her bedroom she could see Lena still in her bathrobe tying part of her hair. At least her makeup was already done.

She opened the door and the teenager was there carrying a backpack.

“Hi, Miss Arias.” She said.

“Hi, Anne.” Sam walked away from the door for the girl to enter. “Just Sam, please.”

“You look amazing.” And she was. Sam was wearing a black button-up shirt with two open buttons and black slacks. The hair was tied up with just a few loose strands in the front. “Please, tell me you’re wearing heels and a suit jacket.”

“Thank you and yes.” Sam laughed when she answered.

“That’s game on.” They both laughed together. “Where’s Miss Luthor?”

“Still getting ready.”

“And Ruby?”

“She’s already in her room waiting for you.”

The girl whispered okay and put her backpack closer to the couch.

“Ruby already ate and brushed her teeth. I was going to put her to sleep but she said she wanted to wait to show you a board game she got from her aunt Andrea.” They talked as they walked to the little girl's room. Sam opened the door and Ruby was lying on the carpet playing with the stuffed giraffe, her favorite toy.

“Rubes, look who is here.”

The girl got up when she saw the blonde teenage and went running to hug her legs. “Ann.”

“Hey, kid.” The girl bent down and picked the little one up.

“I’m going to see if Lena needs anything. We talk to you before leaving, okay?” The blonde nodded and Sam closed the door.

She went to the kitchen to have a glass of water before going back to her bedroom to finish getting ready. When she opened the door, Lena was in front of the big mirror, already in her dress and putting her earrings. She entered and went towards her girlfriend, stopping behind her and placing her hands on her hips.

“So, you’ve decided to keep your hair down?” She planted a small kiss on her shoulder.

“Yes, what do you think?” She looked at Sam in the mirror.

“You look stunning.” Sam said and Lena only smiled. She was wearing a long black dress that had straps hanging just below her shoulders. The dress was glued to the body and would probably accentuate the brunette's beautiful curves once the zipper is in place.

“Help me with the zipper?”

Sam did as she was asked and zipped up slowly, taking the opportunity to leave some kisses on her lover's shoulders and neck. “When we get back, I can help you with the zipper again.

Anyone with eyes could see that Lena was holding her breath. She closed her eyes and turned his head to the side so that Sam could have more access to her neck. Lena sighed and she threw her head back against Sam's shoulder. Sam would love to do the opposite of what she had just done and unzip Lena's dress but they would be late if that happened and they didn't want to get home too late after the party. They're going to have plenty of time for this later that night.

Sam gave her one last kiss on the shoulder, neck and cheek and released the hands that held her waist. “Let’s go?”

When Lena felt the loss of contact between both bodies, she turned showing the huge slit on the side of the dress that would show one leg as she walked. Sam was by the bed finishing putting on her heels and putting the suit jacket over the shirt. She looked so gorgeous, Lena thought. She looks so good wearing a suit, although not surprisingly, as she wears it almost every day to go to work, but Lena couldn't help but admire her.

“No tie?” Lena asked, finishing putting her red lipstick.

“Not this time.”

Lena pouted before answering. “That’s too bad.”

Sam held Lena's hand as they left their room and went to Ruby's before leaving the apartment. “You only want me wearing a tie so you can pull me for a kiss like that Halloween night.”

“You know me too well, Arias.” Lena approached Samantha and with her free hand caressed her face since she couldn't kiss her right there because of her lipstick.

“Are you excited for our sleepover?” They heard Anne saying when they’re by the door of Ruby’s bedroom. “We’re going to watch The Jungle Book.”

They opened the door that was leaning and saw Ruby respond with an excited and at the same time sleepy ‘yesss’.

“Monkey.” Sam said and Ruby looked at her. “We’re leaving, okay? Don’t give Anne a hard time.”

“She never does, right Ruby?”

The girl only nods and gets up to hug her mother and her aunt Lena.

“Anne, sweetie, thank you for staying with her.” Lena bent down to kiss the little girl's forehead. “We will leave some money near the TV in case you want to order something to eat. After Ruby sleeps you can watch TV, no problem, but if you want to sleep, we have prepared the guest room for you or you can sleep in Ruby’s room.”

“Okay.” Anne got up too to follow them to the door and lock it after they leave. “Thank you for trusting me with her.”

They both smiled and Lena said to Ruby. “Behave, sweetie. We love you.”

The party was being held in a huge ballroom with stairs and everything. Ray told Sam that they decided to hold a party not that big but what they were seeing was totally the opposite. The decoration was black and white, entirely disproved of other colors to look like it was in another period of time. It was only for the look because the music being played by the most famous jazz group of Metropolis was from the last decades. The hosts table was set closer to the band and separate to the guest tables, that were aligned in a circular way around the dance. That way, all guests would have the perfect view of the dance floor where, probably, the couple would dance together since they take dance classes.

The couple was closer to the entrance talking to a guy that Sam recognized as being one of the board members of Palmer Tech who was who was accompanied by his husband. The two approached to greet them the moment the other guy walked away. But Ray unhooked his arm from his wife waist and she went to talk to some woman when they were getting closer

“Samantha! For a moment, I thought you wouldn't come.” He hugged her after fixing his bowtie.

“We wouldn’t miss but, you know, we have a three years old at home.” The three of them laughed. Lena was holding one of Sam's hands, a little embarrassed that she was finally getting meeting one of her inspirations in the tech field. “Ray, this is my girlfriend, Lena Luthor. Babe, this is the great Ray Palmer.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Lena. I heard that you’re the greatest mind of the Luthor family.” They exchanged a hand shake.

“My mother and my brother would be pissed if they heard you saying this but, thank you.”

“And I'm sorry that you missed my lecture at Harvard.”

Lena looked at her girlfriend when Ray finished what he was talking about, discredited that she had talked about it with him. “Sam, I can’t believe you told him that.” Then she smiled.

“Sorry babe, but I was so excited when I first talked to him after being accepted at this job that I let it slip.”

They spent a few minutes talking about Ray's lecture at Harvard a few years ago but were interrupted when Nora approached her husband again.

“Honey, you’re back. You remember Samantha Arias, right?”

“Of course I remember of the most promising employee of Palmer Tech. “Nora greeted Sam with a hand shake. “It would be hard to miss the name you’ve being scouting since she was in college. Nice to officially meet you, Samantha.”

“You too, miss Palmer.”

“It’s Darhk, actually. We chose not to use each other’s last name.” Ray spoke as he took a glass of champagne for each one and handed it to them.

“And you can call me Nora.”

“Right, Nora.” Sam put a hand on Lena's waist as she introduced them both. “And this is my girlfriend, Lena Luthor.”

They exchanged handshakes and phrases of pleasure in meeting you. The four talked for a moment before the couple was called by the master of ceremonies and Lena and Samantha headed for the table that had been reserved for them.

Their table was next to the tables of some Palmer Tech board members, which Sam found strange at first. She knew that Ray trusted her a lot, even though she hadn't worked for the company that long, he saw enormous potential in her. She was flattered, even though she sometimes didn't understand what Ray Palmer saw so much to put so much trust in someone he knew so recently. In addition to being flattered, she felt very grateful, it was a huge opportunity for her career, especially for someone who spent time thinking that she didn't deserve much.

“This place is so huge and so beautiful.” Lena said. She chose not to sit in front of Samantha but instead beside her, so they would not be far from each other, which would allow them to talk normally as they were so close to the Jazz band that was playing, and would also allow her do not keep her back to the dance floor and the hosts' table.

“Yes. If I didn't know them, I would say that this is a wedding party and not a renewal of vows.” She put a hand over Lena's and intertwined their fingers.

“They look so young to be married 10 years ago.”

“They decided to count from when they first met, which, in Ray's words, turns 10 years next week. They got married 6 years ago. But they are really young.”

“Young and successful both in both in personal and professional life.” Lena completed her girlfriend's words.

“It doesn't surprise me that much. You are 22 and are rich, you have a beautiful daughter and a gorgeous girlfriend.” Sam spoke, raising her eyebrow as she looked at the brunette and with a suggestive smile on her face.

“How convinced.” Lena said smiled and placed a quick kiss on her lips. “And about the money, that’s family money.”

“I’m not talking about the Luthor money but about that one you earned when you sold that thing you created.” The older one remembered the partnership Lena had with NASA when she was still in college.

“Oh, yeah. You’re right.”

“I always am.” She was again with that same smile on her face.

“Okay, Ms. Right.” Lena kissed her cheek. “But I think your boss-friend is calling you.”

Sam looked at the same direction that her girlfriend was looking and saw Ray Palmer waving at her while he was talking to what she thought were other business people. “Not even on a party day does he stop talking about work?” She laughed to herself and got up, leaving Lena alone at the table.

A few minutes later, Lena was looking at the direction that she saw Sam going to talk to Ray, to see if she found her since they were no longer in the same place, when she saw a person well known to her greeting Nora when entering the hall. She stood up, leaving the small purse that she carried with her on the table, and went over to the person who had just arrived.

“Andrea?” The woman that had her back to Lena turned around surprised to see her.

“Oh my God, Lena.” They exchanged a tight hug. “Long time no see. When was the last time we saw each other in person?"

“A year ago, in National City.”

“Yes. Dad was there looking for a perfect place to build the new Obsidian headquarters. I was on vacation and went with him.”

Andrea Rojas looked even more beautiful two years after seeing her for the last time. She was wearing a white dress and Lena could not help but notice the ring she carried on her finger.

“You didn't tell me that Russell had proposed to you.”

“That is because he didn’t.”

“So, you two broke up and you didn’t tell me that either.” Lena feigned a hurt expression to her friend.

“No.” Andrea laughed. “I proposed to him. I didn't tell you because the madness that day was cannot be told over the phone.”

“Oh, okay.” Lena took Andrea’s hand to look to the ring more carefully. “Since you are in Metropolis we really need to catch up.”

From a distance, when looking for Lena, who was not sitting at the table, Samantha saw the interaction between the two. She had met Andrea Rojas a few times, on a birthday of her father that Lena insisted that she (and Ruby, still a baby) went with her and once she was in National City, also with her father. She had also heard some stories about their adventures when they were at boarding school together. Sam knew that Andrea had a boyfriend and that Lena was entirely involved in their relationship, but she still felt a twinge of jealousy when she saw the two of them together, but not that wasn't completely healthy.

This time was no different, seeing Lena take the hand of her ex-girlfriend and now a friend to her lips brought a different feeling to her. What she didn't see is that Lena was just analyzing the ring that the other had in her finger and that, in fact, at that time, the two were talking about her.

“Samantha hadn’t proposed to you yet?” Andrea asked as it was an absurd. “From the photos and videos you post, it seems that you have been married for years. I've told you before and I'll tell you again, the world would love to see your family if you took that lock out of your account.” Andrea was a social media sensation. But it had to be. She would be the new face of Obsidian North and intended to turn the company into the big name in virtual interactions.

Lena rolled her eyes. She didn’t like this type of exposure and preferred to preserve both her relationship with Samantha and the life of little Ruby, since she was a well-known person because of her last name. “Every day I think about proposing but I didn’t do yet and I don’t know if I want to wait for her.”

“And why haven't you already?”

“I don’t know? I'm a little unsure about it, and besides, I still don't have a ring.”

“No problem. I'll go back to London on Tuesday so we'll go on Monday and take the opportunity to catch up.” When Lena was about to answer and Andrea knew that was a negative response she interfered. “Do you want to marry her or not?”

“That was not why I was going to deny it.” They knew each other very well, after all, they spent the second-best part of their lives together... The best was now. “But I have to work.”

“You leave early. Your boss will not deny this to the great Lena Luthor.” Lena laughed when Andrea said that.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Where’s Sam, by the way?” Andrea asks.

“Talking to her boss somewhere...” When she turned around to look for Sam again, the ceremonialist told everyone to return to their proper tables so that the party could begin. “That’s our cue. We talk later?”

“Absolutely. It’s so good to see you.” They exchange hugs again and each goes its own way.

When Lena returns to her table, Sam was already there looking at something on her phone. The brunette sits and give her girlfriend a kiss on the cheek.

“Oh, back already?” Sam speaks ironically. “I thought you’re going to stay the entire party with Andrea.”

Lena rolls her eyes and smile. “If you saw was why didn’t you went there to talk to her? She asked about you.”

“I didn't want to disturb. You seemed very invested in the conversation.” She crossed her arms and refused to look at Lena.

“Oh, babe.” Lena put her hand on her chin and made her look at her. “I can’t believe you’re still jealous of Andrea.”

“I’m not jealous.” She looks away again.

“Yeah? And I’m Supergirl.” Lena does the same move again but this time she seals Sam's lips with hers when she turns to face her. The kiss is slow, just so they can feel the sensation of the other's lips. Lena also feels Sam's smile open in the middle of the kiss but when Sam was about to part her lips with her tongue, she ends the kiss with a peck. “I found it cute when you are jealous.”

Sam rolls her eyes and caress Lena’s cheek. “Am I a joke to you?”

Lena laughs and seal their lips in a peck again. Then she turns to see what was about to begin since the hosts were in the middle of the dance floor. The chairs the two of them were sitting on continued side by side, so Sam put her left arm behind the chair Lena was sitting on and the brunette leaned her back against her.

The couple was standing in the middle of the dance floor while they waited for all the guests to sit at their proper tables. The two were holding hands and each held a microphone. They were beautiful. That kind of couple that most would like to mirror and be the same. Ray was wearing a black tuxedo with a white vest and bow tie, to complement the look, he wore a red scarf in his left pocket. Perhaps also to match the wife who wore a long red dress. The dress code of the event consisted of black and white for the guests, so, to differentiate, the hosts decided to use red (or a red detail in his case).

When everyone sat down properly, the band started playing the Moonlight Serenade melody. Perhaps everyone thought the couple would dance, but instead Ray Palmer started talking about how he and his wife met.

"Nora and I met through some mutual friends. They are here too." He looked towards one of the tables on his left side where two wonderfully beautiful blond women were sitting. "I would make a toast to you if I had a glass of champagne." Everyone present laughed, including Nora. "But thank you so much for that, Sara and Ava. I have no other words to express how grateful I am that you, Ava, actually, introduced me to the woman of my life."

The crowd applauded and made some noise, he waited for the hall to be silent again before he could continue.

"Believe it or not but I also met my father-in-law on the first day. He is no longer with us but Nora allowed me to talk about him once or twice if I promised not to speak badly of him." He was funny in the same way he seemed to be, but he was also very serious when he wanted to. "I'm sure neither of them liked me when we first met, Nora says it's my impression and that she just didn't care about showing interest."

"Babe, you were very annoying." Everyone laughed again. “But I have to agree that it made you very cute. I'm sure that every time I ignored you, you did everything you could to not cry in public but then cried hiding anywhere."

“Hey, that is not true.” He looked hurt. "Okay, it's true that I didn't want to cry in front of you but I didn't hide to cry. I really swallowed the cry."

“You’re such a baby, Ray Palmer.” She placed a kiss on his cheek. “That’s one of things I love the most about you.”

“Seriously now, guys.” He kissed Nora’s hand and continued. “This woman right here is the most fantastic person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Our relationship started out quite complicated, which is surprising because most relationships start like a bed of roses and over time difficulties begin to appear. In our case, the opposite happened. I fell in love with Nora the moment I saw her and kept falling in love even more each time she ignored me, because, apparently, I hate myself." He took a little time to laugh. “But eventually, I managed to break down the barriers she raised to keep us apart and I was able to show her that I had the best of intentions. And the best of them was to make her the happiest woman in the world.”

He stopped looking at the guests and started looking directly into his wife's eyes.

“I think I have mastered my goal. Every time I look at her and see the smile that lights up all my days on her face. In fact, I think I have been able to accomplish my goal because this is a goal that I need to strive for to continue hitting. Every day I need to make sure that she is the happiest woman in the world, that I am the husband that, maybe she did not dream of having, but that she is more than happy to have, that our son has everything he needs to grow in the best family environment. And last but not least, that our family is synonymous with love and inspiration for many other couples.”

Nora had tears in her eyes that everyone was able to see that she was holding on to not let slip because of her makeup.

“Nora Darhk, I love you with everything I have in me.” He knelt in front of her. “Would you give me the honour to this dance?”

She leaned down to be on the same level to place a small kiss on his lips. “Absolutely.”

He got up and the band finish the melody of that song to start to play another one. Everyone knew that this time would come because one of the many things the couple was proud of was the dance classes they had for years.

While the musicians started the initial chords of Etta James' song At Last and the couple was getting ready for the first steps, the ceremonialist addressed the guests and asked everyone to stand up to enjoy the moment. The couple started with slow steps and during the song they showed perfectly rehearsed movements for the occasion.

In one corner of the room were Lena Luthor and Samantha Arias smiling, accompanying each movement of the couple and whispering some praise for the other to hear. Samantha had both arms around the beloved's waist, while Lena leaned her back on the taller brunette's body and had her arms over the other's arms. They also moved slightly along the chords of the song.

"It could be us if you weren't so clumsy to dance." Sam whispered laughing in her girlfriend's ear and received a pat on the arm. In reaction she just pressed her closer to her body and placed a small kiss on her shoulder. "But I don't love you any less for that."

"Sometimes you are not as charming as you think you are." Lena leaned her head on Sam's shoulder so she could speak those words so that only she could hear.

"Yeah? But you like it." Sam gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "I hope they don't invite other couples to dance too, I don't want to be embarrassed."

"Samantha!" Lena spoke in a false offensive tone but then smiled at the sound of her girlfriend's small laugh in her ear.

The older woman had barely finished speaking those words when they heard the invitation for the guests to also go to the dance floor to accompany the couple in yet another song. Sam pulled Lena's body out of her arms and took her hand, placing a small kiss on the spot and guiding her to the dance floor.

"That's the charming Sammy that I love so much." She spoke smiling.

Everyone positioned themselves on the dance floor when the band started the chords to a song so well known to all. Sam put an arm around Lena's waist and would hold her hand if she hadn't stopped her by taking the other arm towards her waist as she wrapped her arms around Sam's neck.

"That's better."

They started to move slowly the same way they were doing before. The bodies getting more and more close together until Lena rests her chin on Sam's shoulder. At one point in the song, Sam started singing softly next to Lena's ear.

“You are all I long for, all I worship and adore.” Sam could feel Lena's smile spread when she started singing and was sure when Lena pulled away to look her in the eye. Sam smiled back at her and continued singing. “In other words, please be true. In other words, I love you.” At the end of that verse, Lena came over to lean her forehead against Sam's.

They stayed in that position until the end of this song and the next song, when the moment was over and everyone returned to their proper places.

It was almost 2 a.m. when Sam and Lena decided to go home because of Ruby and because they said to Anne that they won’t be coming back too late. They had already said goodbye to the hosts and were in the garden outside waiting for the Uber, since they had not driven, when Lena's friend approached them to say goodbye too.

"Lena. Sam." She spoke closer to them, especially Sam, whom she hadn't spoken to before.

"Hi, Andrea. Are you leaving yet too?" Lena replied, hugging her friend.

"Yes, Russell has a meeting early tomorrow." Andrea replied, greeting Sam this time. "I didn't see you earlier, Sam."

"I was talking to Ray when you guys saw each other. Good to see you, Andrea." Sam replied.

"Really?" Andrea asked, raising her eyebrow and holding a smile.

Sam looked at Lena in disbelief when her girlfriend started laughing. "Lena! I can't believe you told her."

"What?" The latina didn't let Lena answer and said before she even opened her mouth. "That you are jealous of her with me?" She asked laughing. "I've known this for a long time. But don't worry." Andrea pulled Lena around the waist, hugging her sideways. "I’m not gonna steal her from you." They both laughed while Sam just rolled her eyes.

It was good for Sam to know that neither of them took her "joke" seriously.

"What's going on here?" Andrea had already released Lena's waist when a man approached her, hugging her from behind.

"Russell." Lena said. "What a surprise to see you."

"Hi, Lena. Sam." He spoke and greeted the two. "It has been crazy to be between London and Buenos Aires."

"Yeah." Lena replied. "You are hardly there when I see Andrea and when you are, you’re always rushing." She laughed.

"And now it won't be any different." He replied looking at his fiancée. "Babe, the cab is already waiting for us."

"Okay, cariño." Andrea spoke and was already saying goodbye to Lena and Sam while Russell was doing the same. "I'll call you later to talk." She winked at Lena and then looked at Sam to see her roll her eyes again.

They walked away and at the same time their Uber arrived. When they were already on the way home, Sam was with her arms crossed and with a fake sulky face.

"I still can't believe you told her."

Lena laughed and even managed to get to her to kiss her cheek even with difficulty because of the seat belt. "I really am a joke to you."

When they entered the apartment and both took off their heels, the two realized that the TV in the living room was still on and that the girl was sleeping on the couch.

"Anne?" Lena said, approaching the couch and turning off the TV.

"Lena." The girl woke up quickly and was already standing up thinking that she was going to take some complaint.

"Why are you sleeping on the couch?" Sam asked.

"Oh, I was watching a movie and ended up falling asleep." She responded by rubbing her eyes.

"Did Ruby behave properly?" Lena asked.

"Yes." She answered. "We were playing in the room and she went to sleep a little after you left, I think she was tired of playing so much."

"Why don't you do the same?" Lena asked heading towards the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"In fact, I think it's better if I go home." Anne spoke looking at Sam who had a confused expression on her face. "My mom called to tell me that she is going out early tomorrow to buy groceries before work and I have to stay with my brother. I think it's better to sleep at home than to wake you up early to open the door for me. You must be tired. "

"Okay." Sam replied. "I will accompany you to your apartment."

"You don't have to, Sam."

"Yes, she has to." Lena spoke back in the living room. "It's late and even inside the condo it's best not to leave you walking alone at this hour."

"Okay, then." The girl spoke and went to say goodbye to Lena while Sam had gone into the bedroom to put on something other than heels so she could go out with her.

They went in silence to the elevator. As they lived on the top floor the elevator would take a while to go up so the girl decided to break the silence.

"I admire you both very much." She said.

"Really? Why?"

"Because you seem to love each other so much and your family is perfect. Ruby is also a lovely little girl and you, as mothers... I don't even need to talk much."

"Thank you, Anne." Sam smiled at her. "Is there a special reason why you brought up this subject?" She spoke when the elevator arrived and they entered.

"My father..." She lowered her head and waited a little to continue. "I wouldn't have to go home very early if he took care of my little brother when my mom needed it. He's never there."

"I'm sorry, Anne." Sam put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"It doesn't make that much of a difference either." She sighed. "I prefer it when he's not at home because he only knows how to fight with everyone."

"Does he..." Sam would finish the question but the girl quickly understood what the question was.

"No... He never laid a finger on any of us. He just screams and when he's sick of us he leaves the house."

The elevator door opened and the two of them walked side by side until they reached the girl's apartment.

"I'm really sorry, Anne." Sam spoke putting her hand in her pockets.

"Okay, Sam." She gave a small smile.

"You are delivered." Sam took the money out of her pocket. "Here."

"Thank you."

"We thank you."

"Still, thank you so much for trusting me." She took the money and hugged Sam out of nowhere.

Sam smiled and hugged her back. "We wouldn't trust our little one to someone else. You are a wonderful person and you have a way with children."

"When you need it again, just call me."

They said goodbye and the girl went into the house. Sam waited for her to lock the door so she could get back to her apartment.

When Sam left to take Anne home, instead of going to the bedroom to take off the party clothes and makeup, Lena went to Ruby's room. She was going to the bedroom, but when she passed the little girl's bedroom, she saw that the door was slightly open and decided to go in to look at her before going to sleep. She went in, saw that the room was tidy, with all the toys stored in place, and sat in the armchair next to Ruby's bed. She watched the little girl sleep while thinking about the conversation she had with Sam about adopting her and the conversation with Andrea about the marriage proposal.

From the beginning of the relationship, Lena was sure that Sam was the woman of her life, the person she wanted to marry and spend every moment of their lives together. She never doubted that. She also never doubted of the intensity of Sam's feeling for her. But, the only certainty that she still didn't have, was if this was the right time for them to get married. Not because of the age of the two or the 3 years of dating, but it was just over a year since they had moved in and were beginning to settle down each in their job. Although Sam always told Lena that she wouldn't be able to spend much time working in someone else's lab and putting other people's projects in the foreground. It was as if S.T.A.R. Labs was just a temporary job and Lena never disagreed.

Thinking on the professional side, maybe this was not the best time for a wedding, but on the personal side... Lena didn't want to spend another month just being Samantha Arias' girlfriend. She would do what her friend said and buy the perfect ring to propose to Sam at the first perfect opportunity she had.

The brunette's thoughts were interrupted when she looked at the bedroom door and saw that Sam was standing there just watching her. When she met her eyes, a smile came over their faces.

"How long have you been there?" Lena got up and went to Sam.

"I just arrived." Sam brought her mouth close to Lena's hair and left a kiss there. "I thought you were in our bedroom."

"I was going there but I stopped here to see if everything was okay with Ruby and ended up distracting myself thinking."

"Thinking about what, can I know?"

"Us... and Ruby." Lena took Sam's hand and walked out to her own room, pulling her with her.

"Okay..." They entered the room and Sam closed the door. Lena went straight to the bathroom to remove her makeup; the dress would be for later.

Sam took off her pants to keep in the closet with her jacket and then sat in an armchair that was in one corner of the room. She was unbuttoning her shirt and waiting for Lena to come out of the bathroom.

"Actually..." Lena came out of the bathroom completely without makeup. "...I was also thinking about something you said today." She moved closer to Sam but stopped by the bed to touch something on her cell phone. A few seconds later a calm melody started to play and Lena continued on her way until she was facing her girlfriend. "Help me with the zipper?"

Lena turned on her back and Sam stood up to unzip the dress she was wearing. When she was done, she held Lena's waist and brought her mouth to her ear. "What did I say today?" She whispered.

"I won't need to say it..." Lena turned again to face Sam and left a light kiss on her lips. "...you'll see. Sit down."

“Wha...” When Sam was about to ask, Lena pushed her making her sit on the armchair.

Lena stood in front of her and dropped her dress, leaving only her bra and underwear on. She turned on her back again and started to move according to the music that was playing. The rhythm of the song was slow as well as her movements, but she increased by running her hands over her body. She stepped forward and shoved the dress off the floor with her foot before turning to face Sam. She walked slowly, stopped in front of her and leaned over to get close to her ear.

"Remember what you said?" She whispered as the hand searched the exposed skin of her girlfriend’s body through the open buttons of her shirt, from the neck to the abs. She felt Sam shiver at the touch.

Sam closed her eyes when Lena came over and threw her head back so she had more access. With her hands free, she took them to her waist, descending slowly until she reached the ass. She was about to pull Lena to sit on her lap when she pulled away.

"I've not finished yet." When she finished saying that, the melody from her cell phone started to get faster. She moved away from Sam and turned very slowly. She spun and moved according to the rhythm of the music. When her back was to Sam, she stopped. The music was over. She felt Sam shift in her chair, maybe about to get up. "Patience, love." Another song started to play and Lena took part of her body forward, also bringing her hands to the floor. She got up again and continued dancing, not forgetting to run her hands over her body.

Since her back was to Sam, there was no way of knowing what her reaction was, but she was sure she had a malicious smile on her lips. She was not wrong. Aside from the smile, Sam wasn't sure if she was still breathing properly and refused to even blink her eyes. She would never have imagined that an unkind comment about the way Lena dances would present her with such a wonderful private show.

When the song was nearing its end, Lena approached her with her back turned and, without stopping dancing, sat on her lap, only to get up again at the end of the song. At the end of the show, Lena stood up just to face Sam. She placed each leg on one side of her body and sat down again on her lap. She took one hand to Sam's abs and went up until it reached the collar of the shirt, she pulled it slowly making her move away from the chair. With the movement, Sam glued her forehead to Lena's and closed her eyes.

"So..." Lena spoke softly. "Do you still think I'm a clumsy dancer?

"No, babe," Sam brought a hand up to Lena's face and stroked the spot. "You are the best dancer I have ever seen dance."

"Good." Lena kissed her. The kiss started slowly but didn't last that long. She quickly invaded Sam's mouth with her tongue, starting a battle that would probably be won by both.

Sam got up from the chair, still holding Lena on her lap, and carried her to the bed, placing her gently on her back and standing on top of her. At no time they separate from the kiss.

While both tongues struggled to seek more contact, their hands were no different. Sam balanced herself with just one hand to keep from falling on top of Lena while the other kept its way to one of her legs. Lena, on the other hand, alternated between running her hands over Sam's neck or behind her shirt. They continued with the kisses until Lena interrupted by lightly biting Sam's bottom lip. Sam looked at her, watching her smile.

"As much as I like the concept of you all in black, I would love you without that shirt." Sam gave Lena space to sit and take the shirt she was wearing herself. While Lena pulled the shirt down, Sam took the opportunity to distribute kisses around her neck and shoulders.

Lena realized that when she completely took off her shirt and tossed it anywhere in the room, Sam had unhooked her bra. Sam did what Lena had done with the shirt and laid her down on the bed again. She ran a hand over Lena's body, starting at her thighs until she reached one of her breasts, she placed her hand there and used her finger to play with her already hard nipple. Her mouth left Lena’s neck and shoulders and start to went down on through her body, stopping in each breast to leave wet kisses. Sam could her Lena moaning softly at the touch of her mouth, that kept her going until she reached her belly.

She stopped there to look at Lena, her eyes were dark of lust. Sam returned her mouth to her body, this time leaving kisses on her thighs, still going down and bringing her panties with her. With Lena’s underwear thrown somewhere on the floor, Sam went up again to give her quick peck on the lips before going down again. When Lena felt Sam’s lips on her, she threw her head back on the pillow and put a hand on her hair.

The rays of sunlight on that Sunday morning passed through some curtains when Lena woke up. The last few hours awake of the last night had been intense but she didn’t seem tired of the less than four hours of sleep, but she couldn't say the same thing about Samantha who was sleeping peacefully face down next to her. The night before had been perfect. It had been a long time since they had gone out together to enjoy each other's company. Since they still lived in Boston, actually, when they got out to have dinner just the two of them to celebrate the move.

Lena was remembering that dinner when she felt the other woman move next to her, she thought she had woken up but she had only moved her arm, removing it from under the cover and making the cover fall to her waist, revealing her bare back being lit by the sun. The Luthor then turned on her side and used a hand to caress Sam's back while approaching to leave a trail of kisses through her shoulders. That woken her up, murmuring some not understandable words and putting a smile on her face.

“Keep doing this...” Sam said and Lena moved closer, placing herself half in top of her sleepy girlfriend.

“Good morning, sunshine.” She said and kissed her neck.

Sam turned around to face Lena and put some locks of her hair that fell on her face behind her ear. “Morning, my love.”

“Did you sleep well?” Lena gave Sam a quick kiss on the nose and the other woman closed her eyes at the gesture.

“Like the happiest woman on earth would sleep.” That sent a smile to Lena’s face. “Come closer.”

The Luthor did as she said and placed her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder, her right leg on top of both of her legs and her right arm on her naked waist.

“What are we going to do today?” Lena asked.

“Hm... I thought about making a delicious breakfast for you and Ruby at first...”

“Wow...” The younger interrupted. “Are you going to cook? Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“I can manage breakfast, but about lunch the only thing I can do is assist you if you want to cook, if not we can order something.” Sam said. “At noon we can watch Disney movies and play some of Ruby’s games.”

“What about the night?”

“I really wanted to cook something for our dinner after Ruby go to sleep but you know I’m a disaster.” Sam pretended an ashamed face and Lena laughed, kissing her chin right after.

“I can teach you something and we can cook together, something easy so we don’t waste so much time on the kitchen because you’re only traveling tomorrow but I already miss you.”

Sam quickly made them switch positions, standing on top of Lena supported by her arms, preventing all the weight of her body from falling over that of the other woman.

"Or... We could order a pizza and enjoy the night together." The older one came over and distributed some kisses around her girlfriend’s neck.

Lena closed her eyes and moved her head, giving Sam more space to continue what she was doing. "What do you have in mind?"

Samantha brought her lips close to her girlfriend's ear and left a small bite on the spot, but when she was going to open her mouth to whisper an answer, they were interrupted by Ruby's voice coming directly from the baby monitor. The woman got up from the bed quickly and went towards the closet, she came back soon already dressed and threw some clothes for Lena on the bed.

"I'm going to get her, get dressed and come to the kitchen."

Lena put her head on the sweatshirt and answered. “It's still too early for breakfast, babe. Bring her here.” Sam just nodded and went to get Ruby from her room while Lena got dressed.

The three managed to spend the entire morning inside the bedroom, being convinced by the little girl to watch cartoons on the bedroom TV and being content with only cereal ank milk for breakfast. When it was getting close to lunchtime, Lena tried to leave the room several times to prepare the food, but every time she got up, she was thrown into bed again by Sam and soon afterwards attacked by Ruby with tickles. So, they ordered pasta for lunch and didn't leave the room until the food arrived.

The afternoon was more peaceful. Ruby had loved the idea of watching Disney movies and even insisted for her mother to make a fort in the space that was the coffee table in the living room, but as the fort took away the visibility of the television, the little girl was content with just a few pillows and covers scattered on the floor. They managed to watch a movie but fell asleep in the middle of the second. Lena and Sam had each laid on one side, leaving the middle space, which was quite large, for Ruby, but the little girl did not like this division of space and fell asleep with her head against her mother's chest and the legs above Lena's waist.

And so, they stayed like that for the rest of the afternoon, until they woke up when the sun was starting to set and the view of the phenomenon was perfect seen from the apartment's balcony.

Ruby was the first to wake up, waking her mother up as soon as she sat down and pulled her head out of the comfort of her chest, and saying she was hungry. Sam got up and went to prepare a snack for the three of them, because if there was at least one thing she knew how to do in the kitchen, that thing was coffee, in addition to her daughter's favorite juice. With the afternoon snack ready, Sam woke Lena up so she could join her and Ruby on the balcony to eat together watching the sunset. After lunch they came back to watch the movie that was not finished, later Ruby took another baby bottle before going to sleep and watched half of another movie before falling asleep and Sam carried her to her bedroom.

For dinner, Lena taught Sam how to make a very easy cheese risotto recipe. It was difficult to say if she learned anything because she was quickly distracted and could not keep her hands off her girlfriend. Fortunately, as the recipe was easy, dinner didn’t take too long to get ready and the two were able to savour it in the starlight on the balcony accompanied by a few glasses of wine.

Later that night, Lena and Sam were lying in the dark room, enjoying only each other's company. Each lost in their own thoughts, sometimes remembering the past, contemplating the present and trying to visualize the future. The only sounds that could be heard were the small noises that came from Ruby's bedroom through the baby monitor and the sound of their breath.

“I have a feeling that this trip is going to change our lives forever.” Lena broke the silence after a long time. "But I can’t tell if it’s for good or not and that makes me so scared."

"I have this same feeling, babe." Sam spoke and turned to the side to face Lena. She put one hand on top of the girlfriend's hand that was near the pillow. “But we're going to be okay. Nothing can ever break us apart. ”

On the next day, Lena woke up with something making noise in the room, she opened her eyes and saw that the only light that came to the room came from the closet, a sign that the run hadn’t risen yet. She looked at the light source and saw Samantha leaving the room and heading towards the bathroom, dressed only in jeans, bra and the hair stuck in a ponytail.

"Sammy." She spoke in a voice muffled by the pillow. "What time is it?"

"There are only a few minutes to five." Sam appeared at the bathroom door with the toothbrush in her mouth. "It's still early, you can go back to sleep, love."

"Are you leaving already?" Lena sat on the bed and held the pillow Sam had previously used on her lap.

"Yes." Sam came out of the bathroom and put on a green sweater that was hanging on a hanger by the door. "The sooner I leave, the sooner I come back home."

After Sam said that, a cold wind came through one of the windows that were ajar and took Lena by surprise, making her shiver and pull the covers closer to her body so she could warm up.

"Are you sure you should go?" She spoke softly. "In addition to waking up because I didn't feel your warmth in bed, I also felt a strange sensation."

Samantha sat next to her girlfriend on the bed and held one of her hands that were in her lap on top of the pillow. “Nothing is going to happen, love. I'll be back in two days.”

She didn't want to tell Lena not to make her even more worried, but she hadn't been able to sleep much during the night. Every time she closed her eyes, flashes of dark places appeared in her mind, followed by a few screams. Sam preferred to stay awake, with her eyes wide open during the night, just feeling the wonderful feeling of having Lena, who was all night with her head resting on her shoulder, one of her arms around her waist and her breath hot on her neck, so next to her.

Lena put a hand on Sam's face and left a caress right there, looking at her in the eye with concern. "Do you promise to keep me updated?"

Sam used one hand to cover Lena's hand that was on her face and the other to caress her girlfriend's face. "I promise."

Lena gave her a quick kiss on the lips, wrapped her arms around her neck to hug her tight and buried her face there. Sam returned the hug in the same intensity, wrapping her arms around her waist, not wanting to get out of that warmth too soon. Having Lena in her arms always felt so right.

"I need to go, love." Sam whispered in her ear.

"I know." Lena tightened her grip, as if it were possible. "Just a little bit more."

They held each other for a while longer, in silence, just feeling each other's breath, until Sam pulled away and left a kiss on the top of Lena's head. “I really have to go, love. If I don't leave now, I will end up getting traffic at the exit of the city. You know the chaos it gets when it still early in the morning.”

"But it is all the fault of that endless construction." Lena gave Sam another kiss on the lips. "Are you still going to see Ruby before you leave?" She asked and Sam just nodded. “Do me a favor? Bring her here before you go.”

Sam got up from the bed, slowly letting go of Lena's hand she was holding and left the room to go to her daughter's room. A short time later she returned with a sleeping Ruby on her arms. She put the little girl on the bed, next to Lena, placed a kiss on top of her head and whispered. “Mama is going to be back soon, monkey. I love you." She lifted her head and saw that Lena was watching her with a shy smile on her face. "I love you both." She whispered.

"We love you too."

Sam smiled, walked around the bed to give her girlfriend one last kiss, grabbed a backpack that was near the door, probably with some clothes to spend the next few days and left.

In the comfort of the room, it took Lena a while to get to sleep again. She watched Ruby sleep as she ran her hand over the little girl's dark hair, sometimes brushing aside the bangs that insisted on falling over her eyes.

The day only started two hours later. Ruby took a little longer than she should to wake up, as she always did when she slept with her mothers, and it almost made them late. They were supposed to leave the house early for Lena to leave the little girl at the daycare, which was in the Palmer Tech building and it was always Sam who took her, so Lena wouldn't be late for work. She was not late, but only because of very few minutes.

On the days that Lena needed to leave early, such as on Friday, she didn’t use the two hours of lunch that all lab employees were entitled to and ended the shift ahead of schedule. That day was no different. She had arranged to meet Andrea for lunch together, but decided to exchange lunch for a coffee in one of the best coffee shops in the city, which was close to Palmer Tech, as well as the jewelry store that the latina said she would take her.

The two friends met a little after 4 p.m. at the coffee shop, where they remained talking for about an hour. Andrea told how she had proposed to Russell on a tour they took together in Buenos Aires on a weekend that they went to visit the latina's father in Argentina. She also showed the photos they took together and the dinner they had at the mansion of the great Bernardo Rojas, who had been an accomplice to his son-in-law ever since Andrea introduced him to her father. This information surprised Lena, as she remembered that, after the two broke up, Bernardo had been extremely upset with his daughter because he liked Lena very much, and made the life of Andrea's other boyfriends and girlfriends a hell, but the latina said that that changed when he met Russell and they got along immediately. Mr. Rojas even entrusted the guy with some Obsidian projects.

After talking a lot about herself, Andrea suggested that they should continue the conversation on the way to the jewelry store or Lena would be late to pick up Ruby. She also insisted on making Lena think about how to propose. She was not very successful, as Lena had no idea of how she would do it.

In the store, the seller had already been in stock for the third time and Lena still couldn't choose the perfect ring. Andrea was saying something to her, but she had stopped paying attention when a message notification arrived on her cell phone. Lena took the phone out of her jacket pocket and saw that it was Sam. In the message she said that she had stopped to fuel the car and eat something and that she would stop again to rest in a hotel before going back to the road, since she would only arrive at her mother's house the other day. Sam also said she would call her later.

"Lena..." Andrea waved her hand in front of her friend's face to try to get her attention. "You weren't listening to me."

"I'm sorry, Sam texted." She just answered.

"Now that you've heard from her, could you focus on what we came here to do because I'm sure you still hadn’t chosen it because you were worried about her."

"It's true..." Lena locked the screen, without answering the message, and put the phone back in her pocket. "Since she left earlier today, I have been distressed by this trip... Actually, since she said she would need to do it."

"Wanna talk about it?" Andrea asked, visibly concerned.

"There's not much to talk about, I just had a bad feeling... Now that she's texted me, I'm more relieved."

The woman had returned with five more boxes, probably containing beautiful rings inside and placed them on the counter.

"So, I believe that now you are ready to choose the first step of the next chapter of your life..." Andrea said smiling and turning to the saleswoman, taking with her the attention of her friend who had not noticed the woman's arrival.

After almost an hour, Lena finally managed to choose what to buy. She opted for a ring with a small white gold stone. Andrea insisted that she could have chosen better, and bigger, but Lena knew she had made the perfect choice. A ring with a large stone would draw too much attention and she knew Samantha too well to know that she always hated being the center of attention.

Andrea quickly said goodbye to Lena when she finished paying for the ring, saying she would have dinner with some Obsidian investors that night and had not finished packing to travel on the next day. They promised to keep in touch and the Latina still insisted that she wanted to be the first to know when finally proposed. After she left, Lena went to get Ruby.

The drive home was made with the little girl chattering about what she had been doing all day. She talked about the special snack they had and a little friend who had been hurt when he got out of the chair that he was sitting and fell, but luckily, he had only scratched his knee. She said that the boy was very sly and didn't want to play for the rest of the day, but that it was okay because he was hurt, so she kept drawing with him so he wouldn't feel alone. That made Lena smile. She loved that child so much and knowing that she was so loving and caring, just like her mother, even at the age of 3, made her emotional.

When they got home, Ruby went straight to the bathroom with Lena right behind her and complaining that she didn't need help, that she was able to bathe alone. After showering, already in pajamas and with unicorn slippers, Ruby laid on the living room couch to watch cartoons while Lena went to shower and then prepare their dinner. The girl never ate much before sleeping, just a baby bottle made her happy and if she ate more than that she couldn't sleep very well. And for Lena just a cup of tea.

Ruby was almost done eating when Samantha called.

"Mama." It was the first thing she said when she saw her mother's face on Lena's cell phone.

“Hey, monkey. How was your day?" Sam was somewhere in the dark. Of course, the lamp was on but still the light did not illuminate her face very well.

"I was cool. A friend of mine got hurt today but I took care of him.”

"Really?" The brunette asked and the girl just nodded, putting the bottle in her mouth soon after. "And Lena, did you take care of her?"

"Mommy, did you get hurt too?" She looked at Lena with a confused expression.

"No, sweetie." She laughed but feigned an angry face at Sam. "Stop confusing her, babe."

"Ma, where are you?" Ruby asked.

"Remember that trip I told you about?" Ruby nodded yes. Sam had told her daughter about the trip the day before, but preferred to omit that she was going to the girl's grandmother's house. She didn't want to generate any more questions and make Ruby discover that Patricia never wanted to meet her granddaughter. “So, I came to pick up some things but I'll be back the day after tomorrow. Are you missing me?”

"I am." She replied and stopped for a while to think. “Can I sleep with mommy today? You know... to protect her.”

Sam and Lena smiled as she spoke. Ruby would never stop surprising them. "Ask her." Sam spoke.

"Can I, mommy?" Ruby looked at Lena, who couldn't stop looking at the little girl with tears in her eyes.

"Of course you can, my love."

The three chatted some more and Ruby asked if Sam wanted to watch a cartoon with her. Ruby watched while Sam just watched her daughter, sometimes she asked some questions about the cartoon and the little girl described the scenes exactly as they were playing on TV. After a while Ruby fell asleep with her head lying on Lena's lap.

"I think you better put her on our bed." Sam spoke.

"Nah... I want to enjoy you a little bit more." Lena replied. "I know that if you hang up now, we probably won't be able to talk again today, you have to rest to continue your trip early tomorrow."

"Okay..."

Lena turned off the TV and got up to dim the light in the living room, then went back to the couch and put Ruby's head back on her lap.

"How was the day today? Much work?"

The Luthor realized that, while she had gotten up to turn off the lamp, Sam had already laid on the hotel bed.

“Not as much as I expected. I managed to leave early to have that coffee with Andrea.”

"Oh, Andrea Rojas." Sam made that same grimace she always made when she pretended to be jealous of Lena’s ex-girlfriend from when she was a teenager and Lena pretended she hadn’t seen.

"How was the trip?"

"It was quiet, without many cars on the road." Sam replied and yawned. "I think I'm going to leave before 5 a.m., so I get there even before breakfast and I'll be right back to Metropolis."

"I better let you sleep then." Lena spoke and gave a weak smile. “Rest babe and text me when you go on, I will probably be sleeping but at least I will have updates when I wake up. And please be careful.”

"Fine." Sam yawned again. "I love you. Dream with me."

"I love you too."

They hung up. Lena picked Ruby up, carried her into the bedroom and laid her on the big bed. She brushed her teeth and, before going to bed, went to the girl's bathroom and took the toothbrush to brush her teeth, since she had fallen asleep before doing it. The brunette didn't take long to fall asleep.

The other day, when Lena woke up, she had a message from Sam even before 4:30 a.m. saying that she was leaving the hotel and that she was supposed to arrive at her mother's house at 7 a.m.

When Sam left the hotel, the sun hasn’t risen yet. She woke up during the night and could not sleep anymore, she rolled in bed for a while until she decided to get up. She knew it was not a good idea to continue traveling during the night, but staying awake at the hotel doing nothing would be a waste of time, so she gathered her things up and handed the room keys to the hotel reception. Fortunately for her, the convenience store next door was open during the night, so at least she could buy a coffee.

She drove for about 30 miles, listening to a jazz playlist that she and Lena used to listen to when they wanted to relax, before realizing that some lights were following the car. She felt her whole body freeze when she saw it because they didn’t seem to shine from another vehicle, in fact, her car was the only one on the road, and she didn’t know if it was a consequence of fear, but Sam also started to see some shadows passing around the car.

It all happened very fast. In an instant Samantha was trying to accelerate the car to escape the shadows, but to no avail, and in the next, one of the shadows stopped moving in the back seat of the car and materialized into something she couldn't see in the rearview mirror because of the darkness. Sam soon felt something like a needle in the back of her neck. Immediately she started to lose consciousness, but very slowly. The brunette still tried to stay alert and keep control of the car, but was soon pulled hard through the window.

Being held by one of the “shadows”, floating in the darkness of the highway, Samantha passed out.

Another being stopped beside the one holding the woman and together, they both watched the car lose control and hit a tree on the right of the road. The “shadow” that was not in possession of Samantha's faint body went to another tree in the opposite direction from the one hit by the car and left a mark there. When it returned to the side of the accomplice, the two joined together, forming a single smoke of a grayish but in a dark color, and disappeared, taking the woman's body with them and followed by the lights Samantha saw earlier.

Lena was bogged down in reports from the latest researches, trying to focus but at the same time worried about Samantha, who had not yet called or at least texted her that she had arrived at her mother's house. When she was returning from the lab canteen, where she had gone to get a coffee, Lena was startled by a call from an unknown number from another state. She thought about not answering, but maybe it was Sam calling from another number because she had forgotten to charge her cell phone at the hotel during the night, as she always did.

But that's not exactly what happened...

“Hello, this number is listed as the emergency contact of a woman named Samantha Arias. My name is officer Stone from De Soto Police Department, in the state of Kansas. Am I talking to Lena Luthor?”