A Little Bit of Sunshine

Chapter 23: Kara

I was sitting quietly in the back of the boardroom, listening to James prattle on about the upcoming issue when my phone vibrated. Frowning, I pulled it out, hidden under the desk in my lap.

Lena Luthor: Mommy I needs you

Kara Danvers: Aww baby... Is it still your head?

Lena Luthor: I feels yucky

Kara Danvers: Baby please go home. I shouldn't have let you go to work today...

Lena Luthor: I don wanna walk dere

Kara Danvers: You want Mommy to come take you home?

Lena Luthor: peas

Kara Danvers: Alright baby. Sit tight and I'll be there as soon as I can.

Lena Luthor: I sowwy...

Kara Danvers: Don't be sorry, Bug. Try and sip some water for me okay? I'll be there soon.

I slipped my phone into my pocket and gathered my notes as quietly as possible. A few people glanced my way, but for the most part, no one seemed to care. I mouthed, "emergency" to James, who simply nodded and continued talking.

A simple message to Lena's driver, a pit stop at my desk to grab what I needed, and I was heading towards the elevator. Lena never asked for help. In truth, I figured I would have to be the one to check up on her throughout the day, and then have to be the one to force her to go home. She would rather suffer than ask for help and I would know. It was like pulling teeth to get her to ask for even the simplest things. At the moment, it was making me incredibly nervous. She must be feeling really bad if she broke down, and even more so if she was feeling little.

Security waved me through when Frank stopped at the entrance to L-Corp. They were used to my random appearances at this point, and it was a good thing because I didn't have the patience to wait for them to make a million calls and frisk me.

Jess was perched at her desk outside of Lena's office as usual, and even she appeared frazzled. She stood up the second I caught her attention.

"She won't tell me what's wrong but she said to let you in right away."

"Thank you, Jess. We're going to be leaving for the day so if she has anything left on her schedule, you're gonna wanna move it."

She didn't even hesitate, and went about doing as I asked while I gently pushed open the door to Lena's office. What I saw broke my heart.

Lena was curled up on the couch under a blanket. She looked even more pale than usual and maybe a little green around the edges.

"Aww baby bug..." I whispered, kneeling down in front of her and pushing the wisps of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail away from her brow. She was sweating and clammy to the touch.

Lena scrunched her eyes shut, leaning into my touch with a groan. A lone tear rolled down her face. "I no feel good."

"I know honey. Let's get you home okay? Frank is downstairs waiting for us, and Jess is clearing your schedule."

She didn't complain, which was even more of a red flag than anything else she had done all day. Instead, she let me help her to her feet. That was easier said than done as she wavered on her heels almost immediately.

"Do you need anything packed up?"

"No. Jus my purse."

I grabbed it from the cubby she liked to keep it in and met her at the door, gently taking her arm in my own to keep her steady. I didn't bother to try and get her arms in her jacket, and instead draped it around her shoulders. Jess popped up again as we passed, brow pinched, but otherwise silent. Lena had her head down anyway, eyes trained on the floor. She didn't like this and I knew it. Appearing weak in front of anyone was a hard subject to breach even at the best of times.