Chapter 104

Once the family group hug breaks apart, it's Jeremiah and Eliza's turn to say goodbye. By now, everyone has given up trying to act like they're not crying. Even the Queen of the Danvers Kingdom, infamous for her kind yet clinical demeanor, has tears streaming down her face.

She pulls her youngest daughter into her arms and hugs her as tightly as she can. Kara sniffles and rests her head against her mother's shoulder. Eliza inhales shakily and presses a kiss the the side of Kara's head. She pulls back and meets her daughter's eyes, then Lena's.

"Take care of my girls, okay?" She says, her voice only wobbling slightly.

Lena blinks, trying not to give away how surprised she is to be included in that. Apparently, she doesn't succeed like usual.

Eliza smiles softly and reaches out to take one of Lena's hands. "You're part of the family by now, Lena."

Lena can hear her heart stutter in her chest and her breath hitches for a moment. The tears are back and she doesn't even try to blink them away. Kara wraps an arm around her waist and Lena lets her head drop slightly to the side to rest on Kara's head.

What's really getting her emotional this time is that she's part of a family. A family that welcomes her and wants her to be as she is, not wanting to change or mold her to fit their own wants. A family that actually loves her, not an ideal of who she could be, or the false love that Lillian offered her as a reward for Lena "behaving."

Eliza hugs Lena next and Lena melts into this hug. Lena can feel Kara's thumb gently rubbing her back, a consistent pressure that's calming. Gods, Lena's going to miss these people.

She lets go of Eliza and meets her eyes. "I'll take care of Kara, I promise."

"And I'll take care of Lena," Kara says.

Lena gives her girlfriend a soft look.

"Good. I don't want you girls taking too many risks. Be careful," Eliza urges. "I know it's your Kingdom, Lena, but there's bound to be some who still support Lillian and her ideals."

Lena chuckles. "Trust me, I'm aware of that."

Eliza smiles sadly and squeezes Lena's hand again. She lets her husband get in and hug Kara and Lena. He wraps them both up in a tight hug.

He pulls back and gives them watery smiles. "You girls better take care of yourselves, not just each other. Okay? I know I can count on Kara to make sure you don't work through the night because you lose track of time. And I know I can count on Lena to make sure Kara at least eats something green."

Kara wrinkles her nose. "Ugh."

Lena laughs, trying to wipe some of the tears from her face. "I don't care that you can eat whatever you want on this planet and still look flawless, you need to eat healthy."

Kara grumbles good-naturedly but Lena knows she'll listen to her.

"I love you," Jeremiah chokes out.

"Love you too, Dad." Kara says.

Jeremiah bursts into tears and hugs them again, though this time Eliza joins by placing a hand on each woman's shoulder. There are more tears involved now, more emotions for both parents. Kara, up until now, has never called them mom and dad. Not out loud, at least.

It takes a moment for Jeremiah to gather himself enough to pull away from his youngest kid and her girlfriend. He and Eliza stand off to the side to let Alex and Maggie have their turn. Jeremiah leans on Eliza and she hands him a tissue for him to try to wipe his face and nose with.

"You haven't even left yet and you're already messes." Maggie teases.

Her head cocks to the side slightly the way it does when she's joking. Maggie's eyes are shining with unshed tears and there are more drying on her cheeks. Alex isn't faring as well, with tears continuing to roll down her face. If this were under pretty much any other circumstance, she would be embarrassed by how emotional she's being. But this is her baby sister, the weird little alien she took under her wing, going off into the world. Alex is immeasurably proud but also sad (for obvious reasons).

She knows that Kara will come back, she has to now that Alex is engaged. But this is the ending of one chapter in their lives and the beginning of a new one, and to be honest that's kind of terrifying. Definitely terrifying.

"You had better come back," Alex says through her tears. "Both of you."

Lena smiles at the inclusion of herself. "With your wedding and everything, I'm sure Kara and I will be coming over so often that you'll be sick of us."

"Impossible." Alex shakes her head.

Kara lets out a soft cry and pulls Alex and Maggie into a hug, the force of it lifting their feet from the ground at first. They hug her back and Maggie gestures for Lena to join. With a sad smile, she complies.

"I'm really going to miss you guys." Kara says. "I know I keep saying that, but Rao. I've never really been that far away from you before, Alex."

Alex's jaw trembles and she nods. "I know, but you're strong. Being with Lena will help, I promise. And I expect you to fly over at least once a week with Lena, assuming that Lena's okay with flying that often."

Lena nods. "I don't particularly like flying, but I'm okay when it's with Kara. I know I'm safe when I'm with her."

Kara sniffles. "Stop, you're going to make me cry."

"Darling, you are crying." Lena points out, gently swiping a thumb across Kara's red cheek, blotchy from crying.

"Right. I've been doing it so long I can't really tell anymore." Kara sniffles again. "And Alex, how about I come over once a day?"

Alex chuckles. "As much as I would love that, I know that coming back so often won't be good."

Kara pouts but nods, understanding.

Next chapter, they actually leave! Holy Rao, I didn't expect it to take this long to say goodbye haha! And someone requested that there be more fighting stuff/angst (no deaths or break ups because I'm not evil) so there will be that coming up! Thank you all for reading and for your lovely comments! Stay awesome!