Contributions to society extended cut edition

Chapter 3 - how we got here

Dates: Mother Day 2011-June 2 2019

After that strange dream, Alex woke up feeling drained and depressed. It was the age-old “afraid to sleep in case I see you, afraid to wake up in case I lose you” case.
“You ok?” Maggie heard Alex sighing as she woke up.
“Yeah, fine,” Alex muttered. “Did I wake you? I’m sorry...”
“Alex,” Maggie interrupted Alex with a knowing look. For a moment, then, Alex looked away, unable to verbally deny Maggie’s implied accusation, but unable to confirm it either, but then she heaved a sigh.
“Another dream,” she confessed and Maggie’s face softened as she took Alex into her arms, hugging and kissing her gently. No words were said, but none were needed. Instead, they remained in that position for half an hour more, Alex trying to reconcile the fact that Kara was truly dead while Maggie simply supported her through it all, just like always. How had Alex been so lucky to have someone as kind and caring as Maggie in her life? She didn’t quite know, but she never ever took it for granted.
Around midday, then, Alex was in slightly better spirits. It was clear that she was still a bit traumatized by that dream, but going through her normal morning routine had returned some spring to her step. At one point, then, she even decided to go out for lunch with Lena and Maggie, because she finally felt ready to talk about her dream properly, without breaking down. But in the end, it wound down to just her and Lena, since Maggie’s lunchbreak didn’t line up with hers or Lena’s.
“Thanks for coming,” Alex smiled as Lena hurried over to her, taking a seat in the booth across from her.
“Thanks for inviting me,” the Luthor replied, returning the smile. For the next hour, then, the duo shared laughter, memories, stories and food as they reminisced about Kara.
“Remember how we got here?” Alex asked at one point, a bittersweet smile on her face. “How we all became friends?”
“How could I forget?” Lena replied, and then she and Alex became lost to their memories once again...
Five years before Kara went missing, the Danvers had all gone out to eat at a restaurant called “the Cactus Club”. Kara ordered 12 burgers, Alex ordered two and Eliza had a steak.
“You pig,” Alex had teased, seeing Kara devour her mountain of meat.
“It’s good!” the Kryptonian defended, mouth full of pork, bacon, chicken and beef.
“Kara!” Eliza chided warmly. “No talking with your mouth full!”
“Yeah, jeez!” Alex teased, sticking her tongue out playfully. This earned her a look from Eliza.
“Ha!” Kara jeered as Eliza’s playful ire turned on Alex.
This lighthearted banter carried on until Kara spotted Lena Luthor herself walking on by.
“Lena!” she shouted, temporarily forgetting her mother’s words.
“Kara?” Lena’s head whipped around when she heard Kara’s voice and she began to smile the moment their eyes met.
“Join us!” Kara pleaded, waving the Luthor over. Lena’s smile widened in response to the offer and she made a beeline over to the Danvers.
“Thanks!” she said, taking a grateful seat beside Kara. Neither of them noticed Alex and Eliza giving Kara disappointed and distrusting looks.
By the end of the meal, however, those frowns had turned upside down. When the waiter came around, he was quick to take Lena’s order and serve her up some food to match the Danvers (Kara had also taken the time to order a few more burgers and a steak).
“Kara!” Alex and Eliza both sighed as Kara downed even more food. She only shrugged cheerfully at them while Lena laughed a little.
“If you want, I can help pay,” she joked. “I know how much this girl can put down. Luckily, my wallet is bigger than her stomach!”
“Wanna bet?” Kara replied with a smirk of her own as she took a big bite of her steak. And as the time passed, the other Danvers began to warm up to Lena as well and, by the end of the meal, they were all laughing and smiling together.
“I think we’ve made a new friend,” Kara grinned as she wrapped an arm around Lena. Eliza and Alex both nodded, agreeing warmly. Any of their past wariness had evaporated during that one little meal, finally seeing the softer, sweeter side of the mysterious Luthor.
“And here we are now,” Lena heaved a bittersweet sigh as the memory ended. Suddenly, she and Alex were back in the present, eating burgers and steak just like before.
“If only she could be here with us now,” Alex sighed ruefully.
“She is,” Lena replied, a rare smile spreading across her face as she reached out to comfort the surviving Danvers sister. “In spirit, she is with us today, and she will stay with us for as long as we remember her...” and even though her words were rather cliché and sappy, they did the trick and Alex found the strength to smile once again. It was a good day.