Work Text:
1.
Lena is sitting in her office doing paperwork when she gets the phone call. She and Alex have been married for three months and she has legally been Audrey’s mother for two months, when she gets the first call from her daughter’s school. Apparently they couldn’t reach Alex and Audrey has been in a fight. Lena hangs up and immediately has Jess cancel all of her appointments for the afternoon because she has a family emergency.
Her heart beats erratically for the entire drive to the school because the principal was very vague about the events that led up to her daughter being sent to his office and she has no idea if Audrey is okay or not. She tries calling Alex about seven times but her wife has her phone switched off which means that she must be in the lab.
Her driver pulls up to the curb in front of the school and she is out the door before he even has a chance to switch off the engine. Her heels click loudly as she strides down the abandoned hallways as she makes her way to the principal’s office.
Audrey is sitting on a bench by herself in the empty hallway with tears silently streaming down her face when Lena approaches her. She gathers her daughter up in her arms and whispers reassurances into her hair as Audrey grabs onto Lena’s blouse with shaking hands.
The door to the office swings open and a balding, middle-aged man clears his throat impatiently. Lena presses a kiss to Audrey’s forehead before standing and straightening out her clothes. They are led into the office and seated on stiff, uncomfortable chairs. Lena notices that aside from the principal there is also a male teacher, a boy around 12 years old and his parents.
“Nice of you to finally show up.” The boy’s father grumbles irritably.
“Excuse me?” Lena straightens her spine until it is rigid and she glares thunderously at the man slouched in his seat.
“You heard me. We’ve been waiting here for nearly an hour to sort this mess out.” He scoffs dismissively.
“If these people have been here for an hour, why was I only called twenty minutes ago?” Lena turns her attention to the principal, who seems to wither under the force of her silent fury.
“We tried calling Alexandra but she refused to answer the phone and as you are not Audrey’s real mother we didn’t see the point in calling you. However, we can’t wait forever so we called you so that Mr and Mrs Bailey can get back to work.” The principal states irritably as Lena’s blood boils. She has to physically hold herself back as she notices Audrey deflate when the idiot man says she isn’t her mother.
“How dare you. Audrey is my daughter in every way but blood and I will not sit here and listen to you trivialise my relationship to her. Now why am I here?” Lena slips into her take-no-shit CEO mask effortlessly and the effect has the principal sweating nervously. She has destroyed greater men than this for much less and they both know it.
“Right, yes. Your daughter has assaulted another student. Audrey pushed Cooper here down a flight of stairs and he’s incredibly lucky that he wasn’t seriously injured.” The principal puts sarcastic emphasis on the word daughter and it leaves a metallic taste in Lena’s mouth.
Audrey is staring resolutely into her lap and Lena gently lifts her chin so that she can look her in the eye. “Is that true Audrey?”
“Yes, but I didn’t mean for him to fall down the stairs, I promise!” Audrey’s lip wobbles and her eyes glaze with tears. “I just wanted him to leave me alone.”
“What was he doing to you?” Lena asks quietly, ignoring the sound of Mr Bailey scoffing derisively.
“He kept flicking my skirt up. He was laughing with his friends and he wanted to know what my underwear looked like. I told Mr Preston but he said I should ignore it because they’re just boys and they don’t mean any harm, but Lee I didn’t like it. I just wanted him to stop.” Audrey sniffles and slumps dejectedly into her chair.
Lena frightens herself with the sheer force of the fury she feels towards the people in this room. If she had laser vision she is pretty confident that they would all be dead. For some ridiculous reason they seem to think that Audrey is in the wrong in this situation and not the boy that is at least 3 years older than her. If Lena ever thought she wasn’t capable of loving Audrey like a real mother, this moment shows her that she was wrong. Every protective instinct in her body is screaming at her to protect her baby and it is taking every ounce of self-control she has to keep calm.
“As you should be aware Miss Luthor, we have a zero tolerance policy for physical violence at this school.” The principal says nervously.
“As you should. Sexual assault is a serious offence.” Lena watches as all of the other adults in the room recoil in shock at her words and the principal turns an alarming shade of red.
“Now, now, that’s not what happened. We are talking about the injuries that Cooper sustained from his fall.” The principal sputters indignantly as Mr Bailey rises out of his seat.
“My boy never sexually assaulted anyone and you’re just blowing this out of proportion to get your way.” Mr Bailey shouts causing Audrey to flinch and Lena to stand so that she is physically standing between her daughter and everyone else in the room.
Lena’s heels have her standing at the same height as Mr Bailey and she uses it to her advantage. “From what I’ve heard my daughter told your son to stop flicking her skirt up. He was trying to see her underwear and when he wouldn’t listen she went to an authority figure that ignored her concerns and her safety.” She levels a glare at the teacher in question and he immediately shrinks away from her gaze. “Her last resort to protect herself was to push him away and try to escape. Yes, it is unfortunate that he fell down some stairs, but he is clearly fine. Now you are trying to tell me that my nine year old daughter is the aggressor in this situation, when your son has to be at least twelve and nearly twice her size.”
“Miss Luthor, Mr Bailey please take a seat so that we can talk about this.” The principal does his best to placate the angry parents but Lena is too furious to be contained.
“He’s just a kid, it wasn’t anything serious.” Mr Bailey states as his wife starts crying.
“Would it be appropriate if Mr Preston or Principal Sheridan flicked up your wife’s skirt?” Lena demands.
“Of course not, but they’re just kids!” Mr Bailey shouts.
“And you are teaching your son that that kind of behaviour is acceptable, when it is assault.” Lena says through clenched teeth.
“And what are you gonna do about it?” Mr Bailey gets right up in her face, but this is hardly the first time that Lena has been threatened and her lack of a response seems to startle the man.
“You have no idea who I am, do you?” Lena smirks dangerously. She is going to enjoy ruining this man. “My name is Lena Luthor and I am the CEO of L-Corp. My wife works for the FBI. My brother-in-law is the head of CatCo Worldwide Media and Cat Grant herself is a close and personal friend of mine so when I say the word lawsuit it means something.”
“Miss Luthor, don’t you think you are over-reacting?” The principal has paled significantly at the mention of a lawsuit.
“Are you worried that if I press charges against him for sexually assaulting my daughter I will also press charges against the school for allowing him to do it?” Lena turns on Principal Sheridan with an icy glare. “My daughter has been in tears the entire time I’ve been present here and as I’ve been informed she was forced to sit alone and afraid for over an hour until I was told of the incident. Now I am taking Audrey home, regardless of whether you think we’re done here or not, and anything further that needs to be discussed will be done through my lawyers. Audrey will no longer be attending this school as I am concerned for her safety and wellbeing.” Lena stands protectively over Audrey as she picks up her backpack.
Lena holds Audrey’s hand tightly as they walk to the car and she allows her to sit in her lap for the drive home as she cries inconsolably. She calls her lawyers from the car before leaving another voicemail for Alex letting her know that they are almost home. Lena is nowhere near as fit as Alex but she manages to carry Audrey inside and she lays her down on her bed and wraps an arm around her protectively until her sobs subside to sniffles.
“I’m really sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean to hurt Cooper.” Audrey says quietly.
Lena’s heart clenches for so many reasons. This is the first time that Audrey has called her Mom. Audrey has always acknowledged her as a Mom-figure but she has always called her Lee. Hearing it now is kind of bittersweet.
“Audrey, my darling, you did absolutely nothing wrong. I love you so, so much and I’m really proud of you for standing up for yourself.” Lena presses a kiss into Audrey’s hair as the little girl shuffles in even closer to her body.
“Love you too, Mom.” Audrey says around a yawn.
Audrey falls asleep quickly and Lena is surprised to find Alex standing at the bedroom door with tears in her eyes. “She called you Mom.”
“Yeah she did.” Lena says as she wraps her arms around her wife. The events of the afternoon have left her more shaken than she originally realised.
They walk out to the lounge room and sit on the couch with a glass of whiskey each before Lena runs Alex through everything that happened at the school. She still gets really nervous about making decisions for Audrey without Alex present and this is a very big thing to have happened. Alex listens attentively with a growing frown on her face as Lena explains it all and once the brunette has finished speaking she fidgets anxiously. Alex places her glass on the coffee table and runs her hands through her hair.
“It’s probably a good thing you went instead of me because I definitely would have hit that guy.” Alex seethes.
“Which one?” Lena asks as she throws back the last of her whiskey.
“All of them.” Alex admits before taking Lena’s glass and sitting it beside her own.
“Believe me, I wanted to.” Lena chuckles sadly as she realises her hands are shaking.
“Lena I love you so much. You are the perfect Mom for Audrey and you are the perfect balance for me, I’m so proud of you for stepping up today and making the hard calls without me.” Alex wraps her arms around her wife in an attempt to calm her trembling.
“You’re not mad I made such big decisions without you?” Lena asks quietly.
“Of course not! Today has shown me that no matter what happens to me, I know Audrey will always be safe with you. I knew it before, but now you know it too.” Alex squeezes Lena reassuringly. “And I’m so, so sorry that you had to be there without me. I was working in the lab and Winn eventually tracked me down to tell me that my phone was going crazy in my locker.”
Alex gets up to check on Audrey while Lena makes dinner and they don’t come out until she tells them it’s ready. Audrey goes to bed after she’s eaten and once the kitchen is clean Lena and Alex decide to have an early night as well.
Lena is sitting in bed when Alex comes in from the bathroom. She sets the alarm on her phone for in the morning and plugs in the charger before sitting it on the bedside table. Alex jumps up onto the bed and crawls into Lena’s lap before hugging her fiercely.
“What’s this for?” Lena asks breathlessly as she returns the hug.
“Audrey told me what you did and I just love you so damn much.” Alex reverently traces her fingertips along Lena’s jawline.
“What did I do?” Lena asks as she tries to remember something happening that she hasn’t already told Alex about.
“She said you made her feel safe. You stood up to all of the angry men and kept yourself between them and her. She said that she knew her Mom would protect her.” Alex says adoringly as Lena’s eyes go wide in surprise.
“I didn’t even think about it.” Lena admits.
“That’s when you know you’re a real Mom. You don’t have to think about it, you just do it.” Alex beams happily.
“I’m a real Mom.” Lena states in wonder.
2.
Lena frowns as she watches Audrey make her way over to the car from the soccer field. She has become really quiet in the last few weeks and Lena has no idea why. Alex has been spending a lot of afternoons with Kara in her final stages of pregnancy helping with Mike while James is out of town. She doesn’t want to worry Alex unnecessarily when it could just be hormones. Audrey is fourteen now after all.
“How was practice?” Lena asks as Audrey slides into the passenger seat.
“It was fine.” Audrey shrugs noncommittally as she pulls her water bottle out of her bag.
Lena attempts to start a conversation a few times as they drive home but Audrey mostly just stares out the window and ignores her. Lena is genuinely worried by the time they get home and she has no idea how to approach this new closed off version of her daughter.
Audrey has a shower while Lena throws together some leftovers for dinner. They sit together at the table to eat and Lena watches Audrey push her food around her plate with concern.
“Audrey you’d tell me if something is wrong, wouldn’t you?” Lena breaks the uncomfortable silence and sits down her knife and fork because she is nowhere near hungry.
“Everything is fine Mom.” Audrey sighs and abandons her utensils as well.
“I’m just worried about you. You haven’t seemed yourself lately.” Lena stands and takes their plates to the sink. Audrey’s chair scraping along the floor alerts her to her daughter leaving the room and Lena’s shoulders droop with worry.
Lena makes her way to Audrey’s room after she hears the door slam and she knocks quietly before going inside. Audrey is curled up on her bed with tears streaming down her face. Lena feels her own eyes sting at the sight so she rushes over and lies down next to her daughter and wraps her arms around her. Audrey shifts so that she can hide her face under Lena’s chin and she cries inconsolably as Lena gently rubs her back. Eventually she stops crying, but neither of them move from the embrace.
“Mom, am I ugly?” Audrey whispers quietly.
Lena’s heart shatters at the broken look on her precious daughter’s face and she pulls her closer to herself in an attempt to shelter Audrey from the world. “Of course not. You are beautiful and I’m not just saying that because I’m your Mom.”
“But I’m nothing special.” Audrey scoffs in disbelief.
“Of course you are, my darling. You are the most special thing in the world to me and your Mama.” Lena gently runs her fingers through Audrey’s hair in an attempt to soothe her.
Audrey sniffles and fidgets with the material of Lena’s shirt, but she doesn’t acknowledge what her Mom has just said to her.
“Audrey, did something happen at school?” Lena asks softly. She knows how cruel teenagers can be and she only wants the best for her little girl.
“Some of the girls on my team found out that I’ve never kissed anyone before and they asked the boy’s team if any of them would do it and they all laughed and said no. They all think I’m gross, Mom.” Audrey admits quietly and she refuses to make eye contact with Lena.
Lena’s heart stutters painfully in her chest at the desolate look on Audrey’s face and she wishes that Alex was here to help her make their daughter feel better. “Auds, you are only fourteen and there is nothing wrong with you. You shouldn’t feel like your first kiss is something to just get out of the way. One day you will be special to the right person and they will be that for you and it will be so much better than kissing someone just to say you’ve done it.”
“You promise?” Audrey wipes the tears from her cheeks and stares hopefully at her Mom.
“I promise. You never have to do anything that you aren’t comfortable with and if you want to wait that is perfectly okay.” Lena kisses the top of Audrey’s hair and wonders when exactly her baby girl got old enough to worry about kissing people. She blanches at the thought of telling Alex that they are due to give Audrey the sex talk, but they promised each other that they would be open and honest with their daughter and her sexual health.
“Thanks Mom, I love you.” Audrey smiles contently as Lena rubs circles into her back.
“I love you too, darling.” Lena melts at the sight of Audrey’s dimples and can’t resist the temptation to poke her cheek. Audrey squeals and jumps up off the bed before taking off in the direction of the kitchen with a laugh.
3.
Lena is sending the last of her work emails from the office when she gets a cluster of text messages, one after the other from Audrey. Alex is in Geneva for a conference and Audrey has been spending the afternoons by herself at home until Lena finishes work. She’s seventeen now and Alex and Lena both trust her to make responsible choices, so Lena just assumes her daughter is wondering about dinner. Lena unlocks the screen and opens up her message thread with Audrey.
Mom can you come home?
I’m ok but I’m upset
I just need to talk to you
It’s not a big deal, so don’t freak out
Tyler broke up with me
Lena immediately shuts down her computer and lets Audrey know that she is on her way. Tyler was her first boyfriend and they were dating for nearly six months. Audrey was absolutely smitten with him but Alex and Lena both had their reservations about him. There wasn’t any reason they could pinpoint as to why he unsettled them both, but they never managed to warm up to the boy. Kara insists that it’s because they are overprotective parents and he is the living proof that their little girl is growing up.
Lena messages Alex to let her know what’s going on as she makes her way to the garage. Her phone alerts her to a message as she slides into the back seat of the car and she snorts in amusement at her wife’s response.
Good riddance
But give Auds all of the hugs for me. I miss you both
I love you Lena
Lena responds to Alex with a bunch of heart emojis before she messages Kara to meet her at home with Audrey’s favourite ice-cream. The Danvers all have an unnatural love for ice-cream and Lena knows that it will help cheer up her daughter. Kara meets her outside and Lena gives her the rundown on what’s going on. Kara wishes her luck before driving home to help James with their boys. Lena opens the door and nearly drops her bag and the ice-cream as Audrey barrels into her for a tight hug.
“Thanks for coming home, Mom.” Audrey chokes out through her tears.
Lena automatically squeezes Audrey tighter before leading them over to the couch so that they can get more comfortable. Lena kicks off her heels and discards her blazer before she sits down and Audrey tucks herself into her side so that they can be close.
“Are you ready to talk about it?” Lena asks once it seems like Audrey is comfortable.
“I really liked him, Mom. He was sweet and funny and he’s so handsome. It’s my fault, I ruined it.” Audrey wipes at her face with her sleeve and Lena decides it’s best to not mention the snot that she just wiped onto her sweater.
“I’m sure it’s not your fault. Sometimes things just aren’t meant to be.” Lena does her best to remain neutral before she has all of the facts.
“Promise you won’t get upset?” Audrey twists her fingers anxiously and Lena already knows that whatever her little girl says next will make her furious.
“I promise.” Lena says calmly.
“Tyler came home with me after school, because he wanted to keep me company while you were at work.” Audrey admits nervously as Lena goes completely still.
Lena already knows that this conversation is heading in a direction that is making her incredibly nervous but she doesn’t want to jump to any conclusions and make Audrey more upset. She nods her head to encourage Audrey to keep speaking and does her best to make her spine feel less rigid.
“Well we were doing our homework for a while and then we stopped for a snack.” Audrey takes a deep breath before continuing and Lena pointedly ignores the blush burning up her daughter’s neck. “We were kissing and he asked if we could go to my room so we could be more comfortable and I said yes. We weren’t doing anything we hadn’t done before and he’s a really good kisser.”
“What happened, Audrey?” Lena keeps her voice completely neutral for Audrey’s sake but she is feeling anything but okay about what she is hearing.
“We were kissing and he was on top of me and he was touching me over my clothes and it was nice, but then he wanted me to take my shirt off and I was nervous so I said I didn’t want to.” Audrey shifts away from Lena and stares resolutely at her bare feet, determined to finish the story. “He said that it was okay, we could just keep kissing. I was okay with that so I let him, but then he was grinding against me and I could feel how hard he was. I told him to stop, but he said that this is what having a girlfriend is for and he wasn’t going to wait forever to have sex with me.”
Lena absently realises that her hands are shaking and that she is suddenly feeling nauseous. Audrey can’t even look at her and Lena is silently thankful that Alex wasn’t here for this part of the conversation because her wife would already be halfway to Tyler’s house with her gun. “Did he force himself on you?”
“No. I told him that I wasn’t ready to have sex with him and that if he loved me he would wait. He called me a prude and said that if I wasn’t ready I shouldn’t have wasted his time. He said that we are over and then he left.” Audrey admits as her eyes well up with tears again.
Lena breathes a sigh of relief that he left without a fight. “Darling, I’m so proud of you that you stood up for yourself.”
“Yeah, but if I’d just let him, he wouldn’t have broken up with me.” Audrey shrugs sadly and Lena’s blood runs cold.
“Audrey, no. You never, ever have to have sex with anyone if you don’t feel like it. It doesn’t matter if you’ve just met them, or have been dating for months, or even if you’re married. If you don’t want to it’s up to them to respect your choice, just like you should respect theirs. If Tyler dumped you for something as petty as this, then that says more about him than it ever will about you.” Lena grips Audrey’s hands tightly as she speaks, hoping more than anything that her message is getting across.
“But what if I’m never ready?” Audrey chokes out around her tears.
“The right person will love you and respect you anyway. Auds, you don’t have to worry about that though, you are still so young.” Lena wraps her arms around her daughter and holds on to her tightly.
“Is that what it’s like for you and Ma?” Audrey asks once she stops crying again.
“There have been plenty of times when neither of us were in the mood, but it never mattered because we were always happy to just spend time together. I love your mother more than anything and I would never intentionally put her in a position that would make her uncomfortable.” Lena admits truthfully. She knows at this point that blatant honesty is the only way to really get Audrey to believe her.
There is a beat of silence before Audrey says “Gross, way too much information Mom.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Lena gently shoves Audrey and delights in the giggles that her daughter is desperately trying to contain.
Audrey flings a cushion in Lena’s direction and accidentally knocks over a lamp. They both freeze at the loud noise it makes as it clatters to the floor, but somehow it doesn’t break. Audrey clambers back over to Lena to claim the half melted ice-cream and starts eating it with a fork that Lena is sure she pulled from under the couch cushions.
“Thanks for being there for me Mom. I know not many people can talk to their parents about this stuff, but I know that you’ve always got my back.” Audrey admits after they’ve settled down and put on a movie. “I know Ma loves me just as much as you, but she tends to freak out a bit and I know that you’ll wait until you’ve processed everything before you react.”
“I’m glad I can be that person for you.” Lena chokes up a bit at the trust and love that her daughter has for her.
“Also Ma is useless once she gets embarrassed. You just get all stiff and silent, but at least you’re still listening.” Audrey chuckles at the emotional contrast between her parents, but she knows that she is incredibly lucky to have them both.
“Well, you’re not wrong.” Lena admits as she steals a bite of the ice-cream.
4.
Lena wakes up to the sound of her phone vibrating on her bedside table. It stops ringing before she can reach it. Alex is still snoring softly beside her so she grabs the phone and leaves the room so that she doesn’t accidentally wake her up. A phone call at 4am is rarely good news and she panics once she realises that she has three missed calls from Audrey. She calls her daughter back immediately and starts pacing nervously through the kitchen as the call connects. Audrey picks up after the first ring.
“Mom?” Audrey slurs.
“Auds, are you alright?” Lena does her best to contain her panic at the sound of her daughter clearly drunk on the other end of the line.
“Hey Mom, can you come pick me up?” Audrey says tiredly.
“Of course, darling. Are you in a safe place? Do I need to stay on the line?” Lena immediately rushes into the bathroom to change into a pair of tights and a sweater.
“Yeah I’m fine. Just, can you not tell Ma about this until in the morning? She worries too much about me.” Audrey says sheepishly.
“Fine, but I don’t want you to make a habit of this.” Lena frowns as she starts scrawling a note for Alex to find in case she wakes up and Lena isn’t back yet.
“You’re the best. I’ll text you the address.” Audrey says quickly as she hangs up the phone.
Lena rubs her eyes tiredly and double checks that she has her phone, keys and wallet before leaving the house. She feels slightly guilty for not waking up Alex but she has been working overtime this week on a big project and Lena would feel worse for making her miss sleep when Audrey clearly sounded fine. Drunk definitely, but it doesn’t seem like she’s in danger. Audrey has been living out of home since she started college, but at least she stayed in National City and they still have family dinners once or twice a week. Audrey turned 21 six months ago and they all sat down and talked about responsible drinking practices and this is the second time that she has called them asking to be picked up. Alex and Lena don’t care about getting up in the middle of the night to pick up their daughter if it means that she will be safe.
There isn’t much traffic about so Lena makes it to the address in just under twenty minutes. It’s a small apartment building not far from the University campus and Audrey comes outside just after she stops the car. Her hood is pulled up to ward off the cold and she is stumbling slightly but she appears to be unharmed so Lena finally relaxes her shoulders slightly. Audrey opens the door and flops into the passenger before she pulls her hood down. Lena immediately tenses again at the worried look on her daughter’s face.
“Mom, I fucked up.” Audrey runs a hand through her tangled hair and frowns as one of her fingers gets stuck in a knot.
“What happened?” Lena watches as Audrey fumbles with her seatbelt and does her best to not freak out.
“Okay, so me and the girls went out tonight and I met this cute guy. Dan… or Dave? Not important. Anyway…” Audrey gets momentarily side-tracked as she finally manages to get her seatbelt clicked in. “I went home with him, this is where he lives by the way, and we had sex.”
“Was it consensual?” Lena asks as she tries to assess just how drunk Audrey is right now.
“Oh yeah, it was awesome. He can do this thing with his tongue that…” Audrey seems to remember that she is talking to her mother and trails off awkwardly. “Anyway, that wasn’t the problem. I only realised as I was waiting for you to pick me up. We didn’t use protection. I didn’t even think about it.”
Lena grips the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles throb from the pressure. She hates every second of this conversation but she knows that she has to ask the question. “Did he come inside you?”
“Yes.” Audrey hides her face in her hands.
“Are you up to date with your birth control?” Lena cringes at the unfortunate mental imagery that popped into her head and she wonders if she can invent a device to delete certain memories or thoughts.
“Maybe? I honestly don’t know.” Audrey leans forward and thumps her head into the dashboard. “Mom, what if I’m pregnant? I’m not ready to be a Mom. I can’t do it, what am I gonna do with a baby?” Audrey starts hyperventilating and Lena unbuckles her own seatbelt so that she can reach her.
“Just breathe Auds, you’ll be fine. We’ll fix this.” Lena rubs circles on Audrey’s back until she gets her breathing back under control and she almost laughs as she imagines the look on Alex’s face if she had been present for this.
Audrey sits up and breathes steadily for a few moments before she suddenly swings the car door open and vomits onto the footpath. Lena cringes and reaches into the backseat for a bottle of water. Audrey swishes the water in her mouth and spits it out before Lena starts the car.
“First things first, we’re going to get you a morning after pill, then you are coming home with me to sleep this off. Tomorrow we are having a long conversation about the difference between having fun and being reckless.” Lena states as she tries work out where she can find a morning after pill at nearly 5am.
They arrive at the house just as Alex is getting up to go for a run and Audrey immediately passes out in her room, leaving Lena to tell her wife what happened. Alex runs through a riot of emotions before she wordlessly leaves the house to run until she can think clearly again. Lena would be amused if she wasn’t still concerned about her daughter. She starts up her laptop to book an appointment for Audrey to be tested for any sexually transmitted infections and she writes down the information to give to her later.
Alex returns sweaty and exhausted, but she is calm and incredibly thankful that Lena has already sorted everything out. They eat breakfast together and Audrey emerges from her room around lunchtime. They have a long talk and reassure Audrey that they still love her more than anything and she promises to be more responsible in the future.
Lena gets a text from Audrey a week later saying that she isn’t pregnant and that she is STI free. Lena shows Alex the message and she insists on taking them both out to dinner to celebrate.
5.
Lena frowns in confusion as she hears the front door open. She doesn’t expect Alex to be home from work for at least another few hours, so she gets up to investigate. She finds Audrey dragging a large suitcase through the door with tears stained on her cheeks.
“Auds, what happened?” Lena rushes over to hug her daughter.
“He cheated on me.” Audrey sobs as she sinks into her mother’s embrace. “We were together for three years and he cheated on me, so I’m moving out.”
“Oh love, I’m so sorry.” Lena tightens her hold as Audrey shakes in her arms.
“I hope you don’t mind if I move home for a while.” Audrey says with a sad laugh.
“You are always welcome here, for as long as you want.” Lena releases Audrey and pulls her towards the kitchen to make her some tea.
“I never imagined being twenty five and moving back in with my parents.” Audrey fills up the kettle as Lena prepares the cups with Audrey’s favourite tea.
“We would have kept you forever, but you were the one that insisted you had to leave and be independent.” Lena teases gently as the kettle boils.
“You two are the best parents I could have ever asked for. I hope you know how much I appreciate the both of you and everything you’ve done for me.” Audrey clasps Lena’s hand in her own and squeezes it gently.
“You made it very easy for us. You are the best kid we could have ever asked for.” Lena declares as she pours the hot water into their cups.
“Even better than Mike and Ollie?” Audrey teases.
“Listen I love your cousins and your Aunt Kara and Uncle James are doing a fantastic job raising those boys, but you are all we’ve ever needed.” Lena bumps Audrey’s shoulder playfully.
“Did you and Ma ever want another kid?” Audrey asks as Lena sits next to her at the counter.
“We talked about it when you were still young, but we decided that you were more than enough for us and we are still happy with that choice.” Lena admits as she gently blows at her tea to cool it down.
“You never wanted a kid of your own?” Audrey asks quietly.
“What do you mean?” Lena studies Audrey’s face carefully for any clues to how her daughter is feeling.
“Well I look so much like Ma. You never wanted a kid that looks like you? I know Grandma Lillian was upset about it.” Audrey taps her fingernail against the side of her cup as she waits for Lena to respond.
“Audrey, blood doesn’t make someone family. You have been my daughter completely since the day I started dating your mother and I already had the perfect child so I never wanted another one.” Lena says seriously as she mentally adds another tally to the reasons she has trouble trusting her mother.
“You’re such a sap.” Audrey chuckles.
“Don’t tell anyone though; I do have a reputation to maintain.” Lena jokes in her most serious CEO voice.
“No-one would believe me anyway. People are terrified of you.” Audrey scoffs in amusement.
“It’s why I’m so successful.” Lena winks as Audrey rolls her eyes.
+1.
Lena takes Alex’s hand as they walk around the house towards the backyard. Audrey and her husband Colin have finally finished landscaping their backyard and they have invited everyone over for lunch to show it off. Lena and Alex have come over early to help them set up before Kara, James, Mike and Oliver arrive.
“Moms!” Audrey shouts as they round the corner of the house. “I’m so glad you’re here! What do you think of the yard?”
“It’s fantastic! You’ve done a great job.” Alex says as she hugs Audrey.
“It’s wonderful, darling.” Lena smiles as Audrey drags them both towards the large deck that overlooks the yard. She may be thirty two years old now, but their daughter still has the same bright exuberance that she had as a child.
Colin walks out the door with a large bowl that he sits on the table before he comes over to hug them both. The day that Audrey brought Colin home to meet them they knew he was the one. All of her previous relationships seemed to diminish her in some way, but Colin helped her shine in all of the best ways possible. Lena definitely has a soft spot for her daughter’s husband.
“Can I get anything for you to drink?” Colin asks politely as Audrey seats them at the table.
“No, we can wait until everyone else gets here.” Alex says as she relaxes into her chair and leans her face back to catch the sunlight.
Lena watches the way that Colin and Audrey both fidget in their seats and she knows them both well enough to know that they have something to tell them. “What is it?”
“How do you always do that?” Audrey throws up her hands in exasperation.
Alex sits up straight and watches them intently. Lena gently squeezes her wife’s thigh as they wait for Audrey and Colin to finish their silent conversation.
“We’re having a baby.” Audrey admits with a bright smile on her face.
“We’re going to be grandparents?” Alex asks with a reverent smile on her face.
“Yeah, you are.” Colin grins as he rubs Audrey’s stomach gently.
“Shotgun being called Grandma.” Alex says as happy tears stream down her cheeks.
“I think I’d prefer being a Nanna anyway.” Lena says as she gets up to hug her baby.
Colin runs inside for the sonogram pictures as Audrey tells them that they are having a girl and Lena’s heart feels so full. Audrey is absolutely radiant and Colin dotes on her and it is everything that Lena ever wanted for her little girl.
“Oliver James Olsen if you don’t get off that phone right now I will take it from you. Seventeen is not too old to be grounded.” Kara’s voice carries from the side of the house, alerting everyone to the arrival of the Olsen family.
“She’ll do it bro, you’d better give it up.” Mike laughs at the scowl on his little brother’s face.
The boys jog up to the deck and everyone looks up to greet them. They both grew up to be taller than their father, which puts them both at nearly seven feet tall.
“Good to see you, Aunties.” Mike greets as he leans down to hug them both, lifting Alex off the ground in the process making her grumble in protest.
Ollie hugs Colin and Audrey before greeting his aunts and in that time Kara and James make it to the group. Once everyone has said hello and claimed a place at the table Audrey informs the rest of the group about her pregnancy. Kara squeals excitedly as Mike and Ollie try to puzzle out the shape of a baby in the sonogram.
Lena watches her family with a soft smile on her face. She had no idea it was possible to be this happy when she first met Alex and Audrey all of those years ago and she wouldn’t change a single thing.