Lena looks over at her phone, and she wonders who could possibly be ringing her on Christmas Day of all times. Some sort of emergency right now is the last thing in the world that Lena wants. Lena just wants to spend a nice Christmas, her first real Christmas, with this little family here, and mostly Kara and Lori, who she loves with all her heart. So, Lena then looks over at her phone, and she sees that it is her lawyer calling her, or at least her main personal lawyer, as she literally has a team of them. Upon seeing this, Lena knows that it can't be anything good. Lena's first thought is that this call is going to have something to do with her brother, or maybe even her mother. Lena thinks that maybe one of them has decided to break out of prison on Christmas day or something. Or alternatively, Lex has become a real comic book super villain, and decided to come up with a master evil plan to take on Supergirl or Superman on Christmas day, in an attempt to ruin Christmas for everyone, because he didn't get a good enough Christmas as a child or something. Lena knows that it is going to be something like that.
"Hello Mark." Lena says, as she answers her phone, taking a deep breath first to gather her nerves.
"Hello Miss Luthor." Mark, Lena's main lawyer replies, "I hope I didn't wake you, or interrupt you or anything. I just felt this call was very important for you to have today."
"Yes." Lena sighs, "I know this can't be anything good if you are calling me on Christmas day. What's happened?"
"As you know, part of my job, as you have directed me, is to keep an eye on all your interests, both personal, and in regards to L-Corp." Mark explains, "This time, I got a call of a more personal nature last night, that I think you should know right away, even though nothing will be able to be done about it until everything opens up again in the New Year."
"What is it?" Lena asks, now getting worried, "Has my brother done something?"
"No." Mark replies, "Last night I received a courtesy call from one of my contacts in the National City child services agency. Apparently, a Mr Stephen Andrews has come out of the woodwork, and filed an appeal to take full custody of Lori Smith."
"What?!" Lena says, shocked, her stomach dropping, this being even worse news than if Lex had broken out of prison, "How.... how is this possible?"
"Mr Andrews is a blood relative of Lori. He's her father's younger half-brother." Mark explains, "Apparently a few years ago, at the time of Lori's father's death, Mr Andrews was on a charity mission, in the middle of El Salvador, and because of that he didn't learn of his brother's death until he returned to the US 9 months later. By this point, he was the only living blood relative of Lori's, but he saw, from a far, that she was in a foster family. So, his story is that at that point he decided he wanted to get his life together, into a more financially stable state, so he could eventually file for custody of Lori. Currently, he is working as a doctor, specialising in child medicine, in New York state, with his practice located in a very posh area of Manhattan."
"You are telling me about his practice, because that means that his clients are powerful people, who can help him, aren't you?" Lena asks.
"Yes." Mark replies, "One of his patients is the deputy attorney general of New York, or at least his child. Or maybe he doesn't just see children as part of his practice. The details aren't very clear right now."
"Mark." Lena says, in a firm voice, "Be blunt with me. How bad is this?"
There is then a pause.
"Bad, Miss Luthor. In cases like this, even though Mr Andrews has had little to no contact with Lori, a blood relation carries a lot of weight, even more so in the case that Mr Andrews is a respected children's doctor, and has friends in high places. Miss Danvers could lose Lori." Mark says.
As Lena hears those last words, her stomach drops so far it basically hits the floor, not only for herself, not only for Kara, but for Lori. This is the last thing in the world that Lena wants to happen. Kara is Lori's mom, that is what the situation is now, some random blood relative can't even hope to replace that. But Lena knows that courts don't really take that stuff into consideration.
"Miss Luthor, are you still there?" Mark asks, after several moments of silence from Lena.
"Yes. I'm still here." Lena replies, "I...... When exactly is this all going to come to pass?"
"Rather quickly after the new year I would think." Mark replies, "We have, of course, been working for Miss Danvers to adopt Lori, and the courts are aware of that, so I think she will get a phone call, officially informing her of this development sometime next week."
"Okay." Lena nods, "What are our options?"
"There aren't many, Miss Luthor. This will likely go to trial, and it will depend on where the trial is held, be it in New York, or National City. Then it will also depend on who the judge is." Mark says.
"That's not what I was asking, Mark." Lena replies, "I'm asking what are our options. I don't care if it's illegal."
"Miss Luthor I...." Mark begins.
"This is about a 7-year-old girl, who I care deeply about, and I know Kara does too. If you, or anyone, for a second think that I am not going to fight tooth and nail to stop Lori being taken away from the woman she now calls her mother, then you and the world have another thing coming. I am sure you have seen what Luthors can do when we are unleashed. I have never allowed that to happen for myself. But I am more than willing to unleash my full might on this Mr Andrews, and the New York Attorney General's office if I have to." Lena says, with anger building in her voice now.
"I.... I understand Miss Luthor...." Mark replies, "But..... before we get to that..... there might be another option. A less drastic one."
"What's the option?" Lena asks.
"We would call it..... opposition research." Mark replies, plainly.
"You mean you want to dig up any dirt you can find on Mr Andrews, to either use it against him in court, or blackmail him to pull out of this legal battle." Lena says.
"Miss Luthor blackmail is against the law and I..." Mark begins.
"I DON'T CARE." Lena says, angrily, "I'll do it if you won't."
Mark then sighs.
"Yes, Miss Luthor. That is what I mean." Mark says.
"Okay." Lena replies, "Then get a team together and do all the research you can on this Mr Andrews. I won't everything you have on him by the 28th. That is the first day that I'll be in my office again. I don't care how much the legal bill will cost me."
"Very well, Miss Luthor." Mark says.
"And Mark...." Lena says, stopping the lawyer from hanging up.
"Yes, Miss Luthor?" Mark replies.
"If this leaks to the press, or anyone, I will hold you personally responsible, do you understand?" Lena asks.
"Yes. I do Miss Luthor." Mark replies.
"Good." Lena says, and then ends the phone call.
Once Lena ends the phone call, she just takes a moment to compose herself. Lena knows that she can't tell Kara about this today, because she doesn't want to ruin Christmas for her, and in turn bring everyone's mood down. But at the same time, Lena knows this is going to completely ruin her Christmas, because she doesn't like the idea of spending the entire day lying to Kara, or at least keeping the truth from her.
Eventually, after a couple of minutes, Lena composes herself enough to get changed into her clothes that she has prepared to wear on Christmas day. Then just as Lena is finishing getting dressed, there is a knock at the bedroom door.
"Yes?" Lena calls out.
"It's me. Can I come in?" Kara asks.
"Yes. I'm decent." Lena replies.
Kara then enters the bedroom, giving Lena a smile.
"I just came up here to grab my things as I won rock paper scissors with Alex to take the next shower." Kara says.
"Okay." Lena nods, but with a dejected look on her face.
"Is everything okay?" Kara asks, noticing Lena's look.
Lena then looks at Kara, and in that moment, she realises that she can't lie to Kara, because the blonde will likely be able to tell from her heartbeat. But Lena doesn't want to tell Kara the truth of everything, and ruin today. It's not like they can do anything today anyway.
"Uhmmmm..... I just got a phone call about something." Lena says, "It..... I don't want to spoil today or anything with it, so can we talk about it tomorrow?"
"Sure." Kara nods, "If you want that."
"I do." Lena replies, forcing herself to smile.
"Okay then." Kara replies, "I'm going to hop in the shower now."
"Alright." Lena replies.
Kara then grabs her things, leaving Lena alone in the bedroom. Once she is alone, Lena simply falls down onto the bed, and lets all the thoughts gather in her head, with all her feelings also circulating through her body.
After a couple of minutes, Lena takes a deep breath, and composes herself, knowing that she will have to push this all to the side for today, as she certainly does not want this news to ruin Christmas for anyone. Telling people now isn't going to do anything but cause trouble, as it's not like they can do anything about it currently.
About 5 minutes later, Lena leaves the bedroom, now having changed into her clothes, and she heads back downstairs, where she sees Lori and Esme sitting on the floor in the living room, playing with each other. As Lena watches, she feels so much love for Lori, and she knows that if there is a fight coming, she is ready for it, and she is going to do everything in her power to make sure Lori isn't taken away from them.
"Lena, come look!" Lori says, turning around to look at Lena with a smile on her face.
Lena smiles back at Lori, and then takes a seat on the floor in between Lori and Esme, wrapping one of her arms around Lori, and giving her a hug, and a kiss on the top of her head. Right now, Lena really does want to cry, but she knows she has to keep it all together and everything, so that is exactly what she does.
After this, the whole family have a lovely Christmas together. Lena tries to keep her mind occupied by staying busy, with a main part being helping Eliza in the kitchen, and being very insistent when Eliza tries to tell her she needs no help. This all leads to the group having an excellent Christmas dinner, with Turkey, stuffing, gravy, roast potatoes, parsnips, vegetables, mini sausages wrapped in bacon, and all sorts of different desserts. Needless to say, Kara eats most of the food, leaving nothing left over to eat for the next few days, like most families have after eating Christmas dinner. Kara will consume any food she sees, after all.
Once the group finish eating their Christmas dinner, they return to the living room, where they play some games, watch a few Christmas films, chat while listening to music, and do a bunch of other stuff. Eventually, the day turns into night, and both Lori and Esme start to get very sleepy, having each completely tired themselves out from all the Christmas fun they have had, while also probably coming down from the sugar highs they have each experienced, after eating countless amounts of candy and chocolate today. So, with this, Kara, Kelly and Alex put Lori and Esme to bed, with Lena deciding to stay in the living room with Eliza, giving Lori a kiss on the forehead before Kara carries her upstairs.
"Lena, is everything okay?" Eliza asks, once she and Lena are alone in the living room.
Lena looks at Eliza, surprised the Danvers matriarch is asking her that questions.
"What?" Lena says, surprised.
"I'm sorry if it's nothing, but....... I don't know if I'm reading too much into it.... but after you went upstairs to have your shower, your mood seems to be different. It's almost as if something is upsetting you, or on your mind." Eliza asks, "I'm not asking to be nosy. I just wanted to make sure everything is okay with you?"
Lena then looks at Eliza for a few moments, with the phone call she got earlier running back through her head.
"No. Everything is not okay." Lena says, and then bursts into tears.
Eliza quickly moves over to Lena, and takes the CEO in for a tight hug, allowing Lena to sob into her chest. About a minute later, Kara, Kelly and Alex come back into the living room, and all having surprised looks as they see Lena crying.
"What.... what's wrong?" Kara asks, confused, as she quickly moves closer to her girlfriend, and wraps her arms around her.
"I'm not sure." Eliza says, as Lena continues to sob, "Once you left, I just asked Lena if everything is okay, because I've noticed her mood has been a bit down since after her shower this morning."
"The phone call." Kara says, now thinking back to the fact Lena took a phone call earlier, and said they would have to talk about it at some point.
"What phone call?" Alex asks, confused.
Kara waves her hand at Alex, dismissing her, and instead moves closer to Lena.
"Lee, I'm here, okay. Whatever this is, we can deal with it together." Kara says.
"Yes. We are here for you, Lena." Eliza says, in a caring voice.
A few moments after this, Lena finally backs away from Eliza's embrace, and wipes the tears from her eyes. Lena does still want to cry, but she knows she now owes Kara an explanation of everything, she can't keep this from the blonde any longer. Then as Lena wipes her eyes, she glances around the room, and she sees that Eliza, Kara, Kelly and Alex all have concerned looks on their faces.
"I uhhmmmmm....... I got a phone call earlier.... From.... From my lawyer." Lena begins.
"On Christmas Day?" Alex asks.
"Don't interrupt, Alex." Eliza says, in a slightly scolding voice.
"Sorry." Alex says.
"Go on honey." Eliza encourages.
"Uhmmm..... My lawyer.... He...... he....." Lena says.
Lena then feels Kara place a hand on one of her arms, which causes the CEO to turn and look directly into Kara's eyes. Lena then takes a deep breath, just so she can get this explanation out.
"He told me that..... Lori has an uncle.... Who is located in New York, a doctor, who has connections to the Attorney General there, who has filed for custody of Lori." Lena explains.
"Wha... what?" Kara says, her eyes now going wide, and tears clearly appearing in them.
Lena takes another deep breath.
"The reason I pay my lawyer so much, isn't just to be my lawyer, it is also to know things that are coming down the pipe at me, and now, at you and Lori, as him and his team have been working on your official adoption of Lori. In doing this, he has heard from a source that Lori's uncle is going to file for full custody of Lori, very soon." Lena explains.
"How can this happen?" Alex asks, "Where was this guy when Lori was in a foster home?"
"Apparently, he was doing work in El Salvador when his half-brother, Lori's father, died, and he didn't find out about his death until he came back to the US, several months later. He then decided to get his life in order, so that he could eventually file for custody of Lori. Or, that is at least what he is going to claim." Lena says.
"And... he's a doctor?" Kelly asks.
"Yes. He specialises in children's medicine. But apparently also the Deputy attorney general of New York is also a patient, or a friend or something. So, he has some pull there." Lena says.
"So..... what is going to happen now?" Alex asks.
"Well I...." Lena begins, but she is then interrupted by Kara quickly getting up from the couch, and running outside.
"Kara!" Alex calls out, but it doesn't stop the blonde.
*******************
It is now about an hour later, and it's completely pitch black, around 10PM, on a cold Christmas evening. Currently, Kara is sitting in her spot, in the park in Midvale, a place where she went through all her feelings, and she's crying. Kara is crying because what Lena told her, that is the worst news she has ever had since coming to Earth. It plays into some of Kara's worst fears, fears of abandonment. Kara feels that way because of what happened to her parents, and how they put her on a pod and sent her away, even though she didn't understand why they couldn't come with her, and be in some other pod or something, even today, Kara still doesn't understand that. So, to think that there is the possibility that someone is going to take Lori away from her, it's breaking Kara's heart.
Kara is sitting in this place, in the Midvale park, just to try and process her emotions, while also giving her an opportunity to be alone and everything. However, Kara is soon interrupted by a bright light moving towards her from the trees of the park. A few moments after Kara focuses on the light, she sees Lena and Alex walking towards her, both of them carrying torches. Lena then says something to Alex, and walks over to Kara, while Alex remains standing on the trees edge.
"Kara." Lena says.
"Hi." Kara says back.
"We were worried about you." Lena says, taking a seat on the big rock next to Kara.
"Yeah.... I'm sorry." Kara says.
"It's okay." Lena replies, "I thought you might come here; I just didn't want you to be alone."
Kara nods her head, not saying anything in response to Lena saying that.
"I can't lose her, Lena." Kara eventually says, after several moments silence.
"Kara..." Lena begins.
"No." Kara interrupts, "I can't lose her Lena. She's my daughter. I don't care that we are not related or anything. I know that I love her more than this random uncle will. And I know that she loves me more than she could ever love him. This.... this isn't fair!"
Kara then begins to cry, which causes Lena to wrap her arms around the blonde.
"I know it isn't." Lena says, as she hugs Kara, "But, this isn't over, Kara. I'm not going to lie to you. My lawyer did say that this will be difficult, because courts always look favourably at a blood relative challenging for custody, and as I said, he does have friends in high places, who might be able to influence the outcome. But you've got me. If this is going to be a fight, then I say bring it on. I don't care how much money I have to spend, or how many lawyers I have to employee, I'm going to make sure that Lori stays with us..... I mean... you..."
Kara then turns to look at Lena, staring directly into Lena's green eyes.
"No. It is us." Kara says, as she takes Lena's hands into one of her own.
Lena nods her head, not having any response to that right now.
"I think we should get married." Kara says.
"What?!" Lena says, shocked.
"If we are married, that gives me.... us.... a better chance at keeping Lori, even if it's a 1%, or 0.1%. I know that courts look more favourable at married couples." Kara says.
"Kara...." Lena says, with a sigh, "We..... we can't get married for that.... not for those reasons..... as much as I want you to keep Lori. Plus.... you are forgetting that..... I'm still a Luthor.... and marrying me could backfire, as they may look on you as being someone who has married a Luthor, and therefore does not have good judgement. Or, at least that will be what they'll try and argue in court."
Kara falls silent after Lena says that.
"O.... okay..." Kara nods, after about a minute of silence, "I.... I'm sorry..... I shouldn't have suggested that."
"It's okay." Lena says, "I understand it's coming from a place of love, and wanting to keep Lori. But I promise, I'm going to do everything within my power to make sure you keep Lori, and get to sign those adoption papers so she becomes Lori Danvers, your legal daughter, with no one, no matter their relation to Lori, being able to take her away from you. I will do whatever it takes, even if it...."
Kara now looks at Lena again in the eyes.
"No." Kara says.
"What?" Lena replies.
"I don't want you doing anything illegal or shady, just for me to keep Lori." Kara says.
"Kara I...." Lena begins.
"No." Kara says again, in a firm voice, "You are the person that is supposed to look after Lori if something happens to me. I can't have you doing something stupid, which could get you caught, and put in jail or something. So, promise me Lena. Promise me you won't do anything like that."
Lena doesn't say anything for a while, as she looks into Kara's eyes.
"I promise." Lena says, although, deep down, Lena knows that if it does come to it, as a last resort, she will do whatever it takes to make sure Lori stays with Kara, even if she ends up in prison, or it ruins her friendship with Kara. Lena is willing to make that sacrifice for both Kara and Lori.
"Thank you." Kara says, breathing a sigh of relief.
Lena nods her head, and the two then sit in silence again, looking up at the nights sky, and the various stars they can see.
"Are you two coming?!" Alex soon yells out, "It's really cold out here."
Lena lets out a little amused huff.
"You ready to go back?" Lena asks, as she stands up and reaches her hand out to Kara.
"Yeah." Kara nods, as she takes Lena's hand.
Kara and Lena walk back over to Alex, and then walk through the woods, and the park, and get back into Alex's car, and begin their drive back to Eliza's home.
"So, what happens now?" Kara asks, as she looks at Lena.
Lena sighs.
"I've told my lawyer to make sure they have all the information within the next few days. That will be when we first meet with them to discuss all this." Lena says, "We won't be able to do anything until then. This isn't even officially filed by the uncle yet."
"Right." Kara nods, "But...... what about Lori?"
"What about Lori?" Lena asks, confused.
"Should I tell her?" Kara asks.
"No." Both Lena and Alex say at the same time.
"Kara, you don't want to worry Lori with this. You don't even know how far this will get." Alex says.
"Yeah." Lena agrees, "Your job, as her mom, is to protect Lori from things, and in this case, it does mean keeping some stuff from her, to make sure she isn't anxious, worried or unhappy. There may be a time when she does have to know about all this, but that's not now. Let her be happy right now. We can deal with the rest later."
"Okay." Kara nods.
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