Hold On

Surprise

As the sun rose in the morning, blue eyes opened to the darkness of her best friend's bedroom. The curtains blocked any light trying to come through. Looking to her left, she found Lena lying there, facing Kara. Her knees were brought up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them protectively with her hands balled into fists. Her eyes were shut tight, and Kara could hear tiny whimpers escaping her slightly parted lips. Whatever was happening, it was only getting worse. Lena's knees were getting closer and closer to her chest as her hands clenched and unclenched themselves. Slowly, the brunette's hands found their way to either side of her head, her fingers finding individual paths through the dark brown hair just above her ears. Stop it. A tiny voice broke through the whimpers. Leave me alone. She cried again.

Carefully resting a hand on Lena's shoulder, Kara spoke, "Lena. Wake up. Please." Don't touch me. The brunette cried as she tried to turn away. "Lena, please. It's me. Kara." Small, incoherent words came from Lena as Kara tried to wake her up. Watching Lena rock herself back and forth, mumbling who knows what kinds of words to herself, Kara was at a loss. One thing she was certain about what that Lena was terrified, and she could pick up a few of the things she was mumbling. Back off, and don't touch me came up a lot. Unsure of what else to do, she looked at the clock. 8:30 a.m. Good. Lillian should be getting up soon if she isn't awake already. Shifting Lena to the center of the bed so she doesn't accidentally rock herself onto the floor, Kara climbs off the bed. Quietly leaving the room, she goes to the room at the other end of the hallway. Knocking on the last door on the left, she hears a quiet "come in." She opens the door to Lillian sitting on the edge of her bed, sliding her feet into her slippers.

"Good morning Kara." She says, looking up at the blonde. "What's wrong?" She asked, standing up. Just as Kara was about to speak, they both hear a stop it with so much fear behind it. Looking at each other, neither hesitates to leave Lillian's room, rushing towards Lena's room, Kara staying back a few paces, allowing Lillian to enter the room first.

Walking quickly into the room, Lillian sat on the side of the bed next to the whimpering girl. Taking one of Lena's hands, she softly spoke. "Lena, honey, you need to wake up." Lena's body tensed under the gentle hand on her shoulder, her own hands still clenched into fists on either side of her head. Slowly, Lena's dulled blue-grey eyes opened to meet Lillian's worried gaze.

"Mom?" a quiet, child-like voice mumbled out.

"It's okay baby. I'm here now." The older woman whispered, pulling her daughter to her chest. No other words were said between the two. Nothing needed to be said for Lillian to understand. All she needed to know was that Lena was there, in her arms. Safe, though not entirely sound.

Standing in the doorway, Kara watched her best friend shake in Lillian's arms. She watched Lena's shaking hands cling to Lillian's nightshirt, wrinkling the fabric. The tears streaming down her pale face soaking the collar of her mother's shirt as the blonde stood silently. Lena has always appeared to be strong. Always made herself appear as though nothing could hurt her. Kids at school mocking her intelligence. Going out of their way to make her feel unwanted. She always let it roll off her, like water down a window in a storm. But now, it was freezing on contact, forming icicles as it rolled off her.

Lena had never seemed to be bothered by the fact that she was adopted. The fact that she wasn't actually part of the family she loved never became more than just what it was, a part of her past. While she always wondered who she belonged to before, she knew that the people in her life now cared for her, loved her, and most of all wanted her. She couldn't imagine herself with anyone else. She cherished the family that took her in, taught her, showed her what life was like outside the confines of her vague memory. The Father that brought her to her new family, opening the door for her to learn all about love and what it was like having people there, supporting her unconditionally. The Mother that, though Lena wasn't hers, loved and treated Lena like she was. Lillian taught her anything and everything she asked about. She even taught Lena the piano when she was eight. Her small fingers barely making the jump from key to key as she followed her mothers' more skilled and agile hands dance across the ivory, contrasting strongly against the deep midnight black of the rest of the instrument. She loved her Brother. The boy who was there to support and teach her right from the start. He took her in and showed her any and all tiny projects he had been working on at the time. As years went by, and Lena learned more about the science and mechanics behind Lex's projects, he recruited her. At first, he bounced ideas off her, seeing what she thought, or if she had any ideas. As time went by, she started working more hands-on with his projects. A new drive here increased airflow there, and pretty soon Lena managed to help Lex improve countless numbers of his projects.