Stop the World (Supergirl)

Chapter 6

"You're looking better today, Alex," Lena said, as she removed her hat and coat and hung them on the back of the door. It was raining again, and Lena and Kara had walked to the post office in the morning, Alex, though invited, had opted to stay inside due to the weather. Kara and Lena had kept their morning discussion light, while both ruminating on how to tell the other everything the needed to know.

Lena was happy to be back at the hotel after lunch though she had a knot in her stomach. Caoimhe was very happy getting pats and affection from Kara, and Alex finally had some colour in her cheeks.

"Thank-you, Lena," Alex said, "It's nice to be feeling a bit less like death-warmed-up too." Both of the Danvers sisters were dressed in their own clothes, and were the more comfortable for it. Though Alex had initially thought that some of Kate's choices in what she had sent them were peculiar, she now realised that everything Kate had sent was practical, warm and comfortable, and Alex made a mental note to send a thank-you letter.

Lena smiled and pulled her chair over. "Well, I'm very happy to hear that, and glad to know I don't need to get the coroner to come up from Galway. Awful bit of paperwork that is. Now, if Kara's finished fussing over Caoimhe - "

"Well she is the best dog and she needs to be told it all the time, don't you, Caoimhe? Yes, you do. Because you're the best girl," Kara gushed, rubbing Caoimhe's ears as the dog rested her head on Kara's lap.

Alex rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Start dealing, Lena, and she'll either have to pay attention or skip a turn."

Lena swallowed and pursed her lips. "Actually, there's something I need to tell you," she said, her stomach tightening.

Kara and Alex exchanged a glance. "There's something we need to tell you too," Kara said.

"No, I - please," Lena said. She had worked herself up to this, and it was too easy just to push it aside for another day. "You deserve to know. It's possible that - well, almost everyone in Ireland knows, so - " Lena looked at the sisters, and had a feeling they knew exactly what she was going to say. "Lex Luthor is my brother. Half-brother, technically, but - there's a reason I live alone on the edge of the world, and he's it. But - you knew?"

Alex and Kara gave a small nod.

"We figured he was your brother," Alex said. "We know he defected."

"I'm sorry, Lena," Kara said.

Lena shrugged, not sure if she felt relived or deceived, and fiddled with the packet of cards. "I don't know if you can defect from a neutral country," she said, avoiding the eyes of the sisters. "But since he was a contractor to the British Government at the time..." Lena sighed. "I - I'm just sure I..."

"You don't have to tell us if you don't want to," Kara said, giving Lena an encouraging smile. "And we certainly don't hold you to anything your brother did."

Lena shook her head. "I have to tell someone. I need someone, anyone to know. And - I'm rather short on people willing to listen." She felt sick confessing how alone she was, and didn't know if she wanted pity or compassion or just to offload everything onto anyone available. She was used to having any vulnerability used against her, and didn't quite know how to respond to Kara and Alex's receptiveness.

"We're listening," Kara said, shuffling down the bed to be closer to Lena.

"My family owns more than just land in and around Luthorsport," Lena said, "My ancestors founded the Greater Western Maritime Engineering Company. Nice vague name, it doesn't give away their country of origin. My father had a lot of clients in the United States, plenty of quays and piers and docks and lighthouses needing to be built over there. Lex spent about five years there when I was still at school and expanded the company into new fields. Chemistry was his forte and he ended up in submarine development, sea-to-air missile development, plus heating, cooling and lighting naval, passenger and commercial ships. He's clever. Very clever. I - "