The next morning, Alex is the last one to wake. She finds Sam, Lena, and Kara out on the balcony enjoying some coffee together and discussing their weekend plans.
"There's the sleepy head," Sam teases lightly. She grabs Alex's arm and pulls her into her lap. Alex groans at the sudden movement, and then suddenly blushes when Sam kisses her cheek.
"Gross," Kara mumbles from her curled up position, leaning heavily into Lena.
"You're gross," Alex quips.
Lena rolls her eyes before locking eyes with Sam. "We are dating toddlers."
Sam chuckles, "Correction: we are dating a couple sugar babies."
"Are you guys going to keep talking like we aren't here?" Alex asks.
"Very needy sugar babies," Sam deadpans.
Lena cracks and starts laughing once she catches the pout on her girlfriend's face. "Aw, baby. Sammy didn't mean it." Lena kisses the top of her head.
Kara snuggles in further to Lena's side with a small smile at the affection. "So, when do I get to meet Ruby and beat out Lena for favorite aunt?"
Lena scoffs in fake offense. Sam just laughs. "Well, I'm going to pick her up this afternoon. We could go get some ice cream or something before Alex and I take her to dinner?"
Kara's eyes light up at the mention of ice cream. Lena is nodding her head in agreement, eager to see her favorite niece after so long. Alex looks at her hesitantly, "Can I go with you to pick her up?"
"Of course," Sam says softly. "I was hoping you would."
Alex smiles back and loops an arm around Sam's shoulders to pull her into a half hug. They all settle into a comfortable silence - that is until Kara's stomach interrupts it with a loud growl.
"I suppose I should feed you, huh?" Lena asks. "What do you all think about going to Noonan's for breakfast?"
Everyone quickly agrees. They move about the penthouse to get ready and dressed to head out. Lena arranges for a driver to pick them up out front of the building. The Danvers sisters both have a strong love language of touch, so the two couples are disgustingly cute as they wander into Noonan's. Kara's arm is looped around Lena's waist, holding her tight. Alex leads Sam's hands to rest around her shoulders, pulling her close.
Lena leads them back to a corner booth and settles in. They joke and laugh as they look over the menu, waiting for the server to stop by. As they joke around, Lena suddenly tries to hide behind Kara. Kara quickly looks around to see what has the CEO on edge. She stiffens when she locks eyes with them. Kara is quick to turn and envelope Lena into a bear hug, pressing Lena's face into her chest. This triggers Sam to look around and Alex to have a silent conversation with her sister.
Sam audibly grinds her teeth when she sees Veronica and Andrea in line for coffee. Alex places her hand on Sam's tensing forearm, running her thumb against the skin. They can hear Kara whispering to Lena, but they can't make out what she is saying. After a couple minutes of tense silence, Sam gently informs them when the coast is clear.
Lena cautiously leans back and peers over the blonde's shoulder just to double check. She sits up but stays pressed to Kara's side with a slight frown.
Alex debates with herself before asking quietly, "Who were they?"
Sam practically growls, "Veronica and Andrea."
Lena looks up to big blue eyes, "Thank you."
Kara smiles softly in response. "Do you want us to order to go?"
"No, no. Let's not let them ruin our day. I'll be okay." After a hard stare from the blonde, Lena quickly adds, "I promise to let you know otherwise."
Kara kisses the top of her head just as the server comes to take their orders. It takes a while before they find their rhythm again, but they do. Sam carries most of the conversation, trying to bring out the CEO from her head. By the time the food arrives, Lena is smiling again. What none of them can see is that Lena really put what Kelly taught her to practice. Before therapy, Lena would have spun out and been a mess for most of the day until she buried herself in work. Now, she is able to bounce back and still be present with the people she loves.
At the end of breakfast, Kara provides Lena an out to return to the penthouse. She insists that she needs to go back to take more pain meds and rest as well with her wounds still healing. Lena knows that the blonde is only saying this for her benefit, to give Lena a chance to decompress in the privacy of her own home. Lena is grateful for it. They all agree to meet up in the afternoon after Sam and Alex pick up Ruby from NCU.
As Lena and Kara hop in the town car, Alex suggests that they go for a walk. Sam readily agrees, eager to spend more time with the woman.
"Are you nervous?" Sam asks.
"To meet Ruby?" Sam nods in agreement. "Honestly... yeah, a little bit. I want her to like me."
Sam chuckles a bit. "She's 18. I'm pretty sure they don't like adults in general."
"Still. You know what I mean."
Sam loops her arm with Alex's as they continue walking. "I do. I'd be lying to say I wasn't nervous, too. You're the only one that I will have ever introduced to my daughter."
Alex stares at her in awe. "Y-you've never?"
Sam shakes her head. "Like I said, I'm not the most dateable woman. There has never been anyone serious enough to warrant it."
Alex blushes at that piece of information. It calms her nerves that Sam must be pretty serious in order to have her daughter meet Alex. It also calms her that Ruby must realize the weight of this introduction as well. They walk in silence a few more blocks, just enjoying the physical connection that so rarely have. Alex rests her head on the taller woman's arm as they wander the downtown area. Before they know it, they are back at the fountain by Kara's apartment. Alex buys them some hot cocoa from a stand, and they pass the time sitting and chatting.
By the time it is ready to go pick up Ruby, the women decide to walk to campus. Sam had promised Ruby to pick her up in front of the student center. The women don't have to wait long before Sam can hear Ruby calling out.
"Hey, Mom!"
"Ruby!" Sam wraps the teenager into a hug, even though Ruby would much prefer not to. "How was your night?"
"Mom," Ruby whines from Sam's arms. "Quit embarrassing me." Sam lets Ruby step back as the teenager quickly looks around to see if anyone was watching. "It was fun. Thanks for letting me stay the night with them."
Alex smiles warmly at the interaction. Sam holds a breath with some tears building in her eyes. "It was a good trial for both of us since you will be moving in the summer."
"You can't cry yet! I haven't even graduated!"
"I'm your mother; I can cry whenever I want to," Sam says with a sniffle.
Alex comfortingly rubs Sam's arm with an understanding smile. Ruby immediately latches onto the action. "You must be Alex."
"Yes, I am. It's nice to meet you, Ruby. Your mom has talked a lot about you."
Ruby keeps an appraising eye on the shorter woman. "Mom's said a lot about you, too."
Alex glances at Sam and smiles. The silence breaks with a honk from their driver to take them to the park closer to Lena's penthouse. They climb into the car together with Sam and Ruby sitting next to each other and Alex sitting across from them.
Ruby breaks the silence. "So, what are your intentions with my mom?"
"Ruby," Sam admonishes with a blush.
Alex smiles in amusement. "Well, I really like your mom, and I'm hoping to get to know her better. We will see where it goes from there."
Sam blushes at the pointed conversation and the redhead's answer. Ruby presses on, "How did you meet?"
"Ruby, I told you this already."
"Well, I want to hear it from her to make sure you weren't giving me the kid version!"
Alex chuckles at the banter from the mother-daughter duo. "We met through Lena and my sister, Kara. We had teamed up to get those two to admit that they have feelings for each other."
"Yeah, I heard all about how they were being big dumb dumbs," Ruby says, rolling her eyes. "Aunt Lena is a bit stubborn."
"I'd like to see you say that to her face," Alex jokes.
Ruby smiles a little. "I'm Aunt Lena's favorite. I'm the only one who can."
After they giggle about that, Ruby tries to get serious again. "Right, right. Next question. Are you going to hurt my mom?"
Sam and Alex both viscerally react to the question. Alex takes a moment to gather her answer; she looks Sam in the eye rather than Ruby. "I don't intend to, but if I do, it'll never be on purpose."
Ruby eyes her scrupulously, but even the 18 year old can see the adoration in Alex's eyes. "Fine. You have my blessing, but you hurt my mom, I'll stick Aunt Lena on you. Doesn't matter if she is dating your sister or not."
Sam bursts into laughter at the audacity of her daughter. She leans over and pulls her into a side hug. Sam kisses the top of Ruby's head as Ruby stares down Alex. Shortly after, the car pulls up to the curb at the entrance to the park. The women pile out and it takes all of two seconds for Ruby to take off running to barrel into the CEO in a giant hug. Kara looks stunned, but Lena is laughing gleefully as she squeezes her favorite niece as tight as she can. Kara smiles softly at seeing Lena so happy and unencumbered. Sam is shaking her head as she walks up with her arm wrapped around Alex.
Kara and Alex subtly nod at each other in their silent communication saying they are both alright. Sam watches her best friend and her daughter laughing and enjoying themselves. The entire scene is filled with love and carefree spirits. Lena is getting much better answers from Ruby on how her overnight was on campus. They all walk into the park and pick the path that goes around the pond. Once Lena catches up with Ruby, the high schooler turns her attention to the bubbly blonde.
"You must be the infamous Kara."
"Infamous?" Kara says with confusion.
Ruby nods resolutely, "I'm happy you two got over your issues."
They both blush at being called out by her. "Sometimes, relationships and feelings are complicated," Lena defends.
"Not that complicated. You're just stubborn."
Lena scoffs in amusement, "I'll have you know that I'm a fierce business woman and one of the youngest CEO's in history."
"Classic deflection," Ruby teases.
"You little," Lena messes up Ruby's hair with a smile on her face. Only she can so quickly and easily get to the heart of the matter with the CEO.
Alex and Sam just laugh at the interaction. Kara wisely stays silent, less she attracts the attention of the ruthless teen. Lena's eyes are bright as she locks onto blue. "I'm glad I got over my stubbornness to let her into my life."
The moment is tender. No one dares break the spell as they continue to walk. Ruby loops her arms with Lena's as Lena's other arm is wrapped around the blonde's waist. Alex and Sam walk behind the three of them. They all share laughs as Ruby takes up the same line of questioning with Kara about her intentions with her aunt. Kara sputters and is much less graceful under the pressure.
"If you hurt my favorite aunt, I'll sick my mom on you. She's scarier than Aunt Lena."
Sam playfully slaps Ruby. "You can't be going around telling people that."
"Why not? It's true!"
"We are both scary!" Sam exclaims.
Lena chips in, "We are only scary when it comes to protecting you, Rubes."
They all spend the afternoon walking around together. Kara insists that they go to the 'best ice cream spot EVER' five blocks away. Ruby immediately warms up to the childlike wonder Kara has with food. They swap their rankings of flavors and store brands. Kara tells embarrassing stories about Alex. Alex fires stories right back about Kara. Ruby is laughing until her sides hurt at the sisters. Sam is mentally sighing in relief that everything is going so well. When it comes time to part ways for dinner, Ruby begs for Kara and Lena to join them. After several rounds of back and forth, the women finally relent and agree to come along.
The evening is spent talking about NCU, and what Ruby wants to study. Alex and Kara advise her on which professors to avoid and which electives to take. They keep their college stories PG13 to keep bad ideas out of Ruby's head. When Sam is in the restroom, Alex and Kara quickly promise to be available to come pick her up from any house parties or bars without telling her mom if she is drunk. Sam immediately catches on to the loaded silence when she comes back and eyes everyone at the table to get someone to fess up for whatever was said in her absence.
As it gets later, Sam tells Ruby that they need to head to the hotel. Sam puts up a little bit of an argument, trying to convince her to let them all go back to Lena's new place instead. Sam promises that they can see her place sometime soon, but they both have an early flight to get back to Metropolis. Lena orders two cars as they leave the restaurant. Ruby hugs all her aunt and the Danvers sisters. Sam hugs Kara and Lena, wishing them luck. Sam gives Alex a lingering kiss on her cheek, causing her to blush. Alex kisses the back of Sam's hand in response with the promise to call each other tomorrow after Sam lands in Metropolis.
Alex, Lena, and Kara head back to the penthouse. Kara's done a fantastic job avoiding and ignoring the fact that Mike's hearing is the very next day, but by the time they are in Lena's private elevator, she is a bundle of frayed nerves. Lena wraps her arms around the blonde's waist and Alex keeps a hand on her sister's shoulder reassuringly. Kara mumbles that she just wants to go to bed. Alex and Lena have a silent conversation. Lena's eyes promise to take care of her. Alex's promise to be up most of the night if she needs help. The older Danvers watches as Lena leads her baby sister down the hall and into the spare bedroom. Alex knows it's going to be a long, hard day tomorrow.