Hope

16

Mon-el and Shaylee walk up to Kara's loft and hesitate before walking in.

"Dad knock."

"Oh yeah right. Just a second." He states, pulling out his phone.

"Weirdo."

Shaylee knocks on the door and Kara immediately swings it open with an unsettling expression on her face. Shaylee looks at the two adults and a million theories begin to run though her head. Oh my god did they finally take the leap and get together? Did they do more than just get together? Ewww, I mean good for them but like ewwww.

"Shay?" Kara asks. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just zoned out for a moment."

Shay walks into Naomi's room and finds it empty. Naomi must still be with Lena. She then walks down the hallway and grabs a snack from the pantry, sensing the awkward tension.

"Um Kara is it okay if I grab a quick shower? I just got finished training and feel all gross."

"Yeah sweetheart of course. Go for it."

She runs into the shower and tries her best to take as long as she could, not wanting to sit in on the awkwardness. After a good half hour, she decided to step out and hears talking coming from the living room. Creeping back down the hall, she finds a spot where she can hear yet be unseen.

"So are we going to talk about what happened today?" Mon-el asked.

"About training?"

"Yeah... training."

"Mon-el I swear I didn't mean to take it that far. I was just frustrated."

"You weren't picking up as fast as you thought you would. I get it. But I've seen it when you get frustrated and that wasn't it. What's really going on Kara?"

"There's nothing going on. I promise, I'm fine."

"Kara please." Mon-el begs. "Talk to me."

The more Mon-El continued to ask her what was wrong, the more irritated she gets. She walks away from him and starts to pave around the kitchen, trying to calm down.

"Kara what's going on?"

"You want to know what's wrong with me? It's you, you and your new daughter." Kara states. "When you left, we were a mess. There were nights when both Naomi and I would just lay in bed together, crying over how much we missed you. Then suddenly you waltz back in with a daughter, acting like nothing happened at all. You found another woman, you had the most perfect daughter, and I'm sure you didn't give them half the shit you gave me. You just moved on like we didn't mean anything to you. Reminds me of the jackass you used to be."

"Kara-"

Shaylee gets chills down her spine as she realizes about what's about to go down. She had no idea that Kara was feeling this way and wished she would've noticed earlier.

"Like that time you promised not to leave the DEO and got wasted. You were reckless, selfish. You lied and didn't even apologize. And then there was that time I got you a job at Catco. I vouched for you at my place of employment and you had Eve do all your work for you and then screwed her in the closet. You didn't apologize for that. Shocker! I apologized to you for trying to make you into a better person. And the most fucked up of them all. When I told you I was pregnant with Naomi, you told me you wanted nothing to do with her. You left me alone, scared out of my god damn mind with an infant for months before finally manning up and taking your responsibilities as a father."

"I hear you."

"See I don't think you do. I forgave you for all of that because I still loved you and we had a daughter to care for. But I don't think that you get that I gave my heart to a lying jackass, who was unaware of his behavior towards me, who disrespected me at every turn, who is now suddenly this reformed person who wants to come back into my life and pretend like nothing happened."

Shaylee immediately stands up and walks down the hall to face the two adults. She looks over at her father and can see the tears in his eyes.

"Dad go get some air." She whispers in his ear while giving him a hug.

"How much did you hear?" He asks.

"All of it. Now go, I'll catch up with you in a second."

Mon-el nods and walks out the door, taking a deep breath. Shaylee walks over to the kitchen with tissues in her hand and gives them to Kara.

"I'm assuming you heard all of that." Kara states.

"Yeah I did."

"Look sweetheart I didn't mean to bring you up in such a negative way. This wasn't in any of your control and I shouldn't have brought your name up. I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it. This isn't about me." Shay sighs. "I know all about how much of a jackass Dad used to be. He used to tell me all the stories about how he screwed over his beautiful girlfriend and how incredible she was for forgiving him for all he had done. But Kara, you have no idea the how much he grieved while he was away. When my Mum and I found his pod, he was a wreck. He'd go out and get drunk all the time, rambling on and on how it's over and how he'd never see you guys again. But soon he realized what he was doing was wrong and was making nobody proud by getting wasted. So he got his act together. The drinking stopped and the training begun. He learned the new ways of the future all while helping my Mum cure people. They eventually formed the legion together and things were finally in motion. He was doing it all for you, for Naomi."

Kara looks at the girl intriguingly as she talks about Mon-el's journey. Shaylee grabs Kara's hand and continues to tell the story.

"I remember the first time we tried to get the ship to go back in time. He was so hopeful that it would work and when it didn't, it crushed him. I caught him that night crying, clutching onto that necklace. We tried a few more times but it never worked. Years have passed but he never gave up. He tried over and over again and when my Mum passed, he put his efforts aside to make sure I was okay. He cared for me and stepped up as a parent when he really didn't have to. Look I'm not defending him just because he took me in. Because from what I heard, he was a total douche back then. It's because I watched him grow and turn his life around for the better."

The doorbell rings and Kara uses her X-ray vision to see who it is. Lena and a giggly Naomi standing by her side are patiently waiting for Kara to open the door.

"I think it's best we reschedule movie night. Give everyone some time to work things out."

"Yeah me too. Naomi might not be as happy."

"She'll get over it. She's a tough kid." Shaylee states. "Look Kara, I'm not asking you to forgive him but just consider giving him a second chance. I know this relationship means a lot to the both of you and I'd hate to see it broken."

"I will. Thanks Shay."

Shaylee swings open the door and greets Lena. She quickly explains why the movie night has been rescheduled and gives her a few words before walking out to find her father.

"I'm sorry about movie night. I promise we'll make it up to you. Be good for your Mama okay? Oh and give her cuddles. She needs them extra tonight." Shay whispers, kissing Naomi's cheek. "I'll see you soon. Happy Birthday."

I'm backkk. This chapter man... intense. My updates are probably going to be a lot slower since I started summer school so apologies in advance. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I appreciate all the votes and comments. See ya soon and have a wonderful day.