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It started like this.
“Lena, hey! You have to see this! I just woke up because I heard a bang and I was shocked when I saw her, but you have to hurry–!”
“Kara, I think I got it.”
Lena is not sure what to expect when Kara called her, rambling in her ear. Kara usually calls at midnight when she wants potstickers so it was a slight shock to her when the call was for something.. different.
“...Okay, Lena? Get here as fast as you can!”
Lena promptly hangs up, assuring the blonde she'll be there in fifteen minutes. In her defense, it's twelve and it's pitch black and all the brunette wants to do is read a book, not drive in the streets this late.
But, and Lena has to remind herself constantly, Kara deserves this ‘I'll show up in the middle of the night because you said so.’ For almost a month now, Kara didn't use her ‘pretty please’ voice on the phone, nor the do-a-trick-puppy one that she reserved for when Lena was holed up in her office at work. So Lena gets up, pulls on something Kara will disapprove of less than her pajamas with doggy prints and fucked up hair, and drives her ass over to Kara's loft.
“What do you want?” she questions, cranky despite her not sleeping before she was ‘woken up’ with a hasty phone call when Kara swings open the door, her not-so-subtle attempt at looking like she just got out of bed. It quickly cuts off into a, “what the hell is that?” once she notices that Kara has company – if a tiny form in a light purple blanket, whose angelic, the sleeping face is the only thing exposed, can count as ‘company.’
“It's a baby,” Kara deadpans as if Lena doesn't have any sense.
At the moment, it’s okay. Lena doesn’t feel like she earned a claim over her intelligence. It's the first time in forever she's very serene to the point where she's perplexed.
“It's a baby,” Lena repeated, rubbing her temples.
“Uh-huh!” Kara hitches the baby up higher. It makes a quiet snuffling sound and turns its face toward the heart of her sweater, nuzzling its cheek there. The motion made a bright smile appear on the blonde's lips. “A cute one at that.”
Lena snaps her jaw shut and swallows, the smile froze on her face. She must look like an idiot, but crazy things happen.
“Where did she come from?” she inquires, fiddling with the string on her robe, standing awkwardly.
Kara observes Lena's stance and moves out of the doorway to step aside and let her in. While rocking the baby back and forth, cupping the back of her precious head, Kara sighs, and replies, “I found her at my doorstep with a note. Lucky me?”
“Okay,” Lena mumbles, face scrunched up in thought. She can’t imagine anyone willingly abandoning their child, but she knows it does happen, from experience, and because that some circumstances are bad enough to merit it happening. After a second, she holds out her hand. “Let me see the note. Then, give me the baby.”
Kara sticks her tongue out at the demands but does as asked. The paper's texture throws her off when it’s transferred between them, but Kara's fingers linger at Lena's wrist, silently telling her things were fine.
Hey Kara,
It's been a long time since we've talked to each other, but I know I can trust you as you are the most trustworthy person I've ever met.
I understand how all of this may seem confusing, but I have no real explanation albeit that I'm sorry for putting this responsibility onto you.
The baby's middle name is Estrella. That was my closest friend's name, who is now missing. I give you the honor to name her.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
L.
Lena finishes reading and sucks in a deep breath. “You can’t guess who this person is?”
“No, I’ve tried,” answers Kara. She’s tired. Lena can tell because a loose strand of her otherwise perfectly curly hair falls into her face and lends it a softer, younger look, something almost vulnerable.
Lena leans forward to take the baby from her and suggests, “how about you sit down? It's been a long night. I'll take it from here.”
The baby – Estrella, for now – smiles at the brunette, eyes open a crack. She can see that they’re ocean blue, like Kara's. Her hair is darker though, darker even than Lena's, more reminiscent of her adoptive mother. She wonders if a passerby on the street would ever see her and Kara with the baby and think she was theirs. It wouldn’t bother her if they did.
She likes the idea.
Kara plops down onto the couch. She holds her head in her hands like it’s too heavy for her shoulders to bear.
“What am I going to do, Lena?” And this time there's no enthusiasm behind her words. She lets herself lean into Lena a bit when she joins her on the couch.
“What are we going to do,” Lena amends, smiling down at the peaceful look Estrella's sporting and rubs Kara's back with her unoccupied hand. “The answer is, we're going to be the best like we are at everything else. We're going to be the mothers your mom, up until you were sent away, and Lillian was never to us.” Kara lifts her head, her cheeks flushed and a smile on her face. Lena giving encouraging speeches? That's never transpired rarely. “You’re Kara Danvers, remember? You're the brightest alien to cross Earth, okay? You can do anything you set your mind to and I will be right by your side. You and I are doing this together.”
“Does that mean I won't have to call you to buy me potstickers anymore since we're going to be close by?”
Lena allows another smile to cross her lips and chuckles. They’ll be fine, all three of them.