Chapter 23
“Wha, no,” Kara scoffed, looking at the paper. “This can’t be real…”
“Kara, what do you remember about last night?” Kate asked, sitting down next to the blonde on the bed.
The younger woman’s face scrunched slightly and a far away looked entered her eyes as she tried to think back, but all she got were flashes of brown hair and mesmerizing brown eyes, along with a colossal headache. “I don’t remember,” she answered honestly. “I remember we were at the casino, and then we went to the lounge and started drinking, and then I saw someone, you guys left, she came over to talk… Do you think I got married to her?”
“God I hope so,” Lena muttered, “I don’t remember much either, but I remember she was gorgeous and just your type.”
Kate rolled her eyes at Lena before looking back at Kara, “Do you remember her name?”
Kara shook her head, “No, everything is a blur.” She glanced down at the marriage certificate in her hand, “This can’t be real right? I mean, who allows drunk people to get married?”
“Happens more often than you think,” the redhead sighed. She examined the piece of paper again and groaned a bit when she realized that the other woman’s name was smudged, making it nearly indecipherable. “We can get it annulled Kara, it happens with Vegas weddings all the time,” Kate reassured her. “We just have to file the right papers, prove you didn’t mean to get married, and then boom, never happened.”
“It doesn’t work that way Kate,” Kara groaned, falling back on her bed.
“Sure it does sweetie,” the redhead tried to reassure her, “We just have to file all the correct paperwork…”
“You don’t get it Kate,” the blonde retorted. “I’m Kryptonian, divorce was forbidden on Krypton, it wasn’t something that we did. When we mated, married, bonded, it was for life.”
“It’s not a divorce, it’s an annulment…”
“Just because you use a different word, do you think it’s not the same thing?” Kara growled, hopping off the bed. “Even though it wasn’t a full, Kryptonian bonding ceremony, that doesn’t mean that I don’t recognize it as a fully bonded marriage. This woman, whoever she is, is now my mate, and I don’t even know her name or remember anything about her.” Tears started falling down Kara’s cheeks as she glared at Kate accusingly, “And you tell me that we can just have this human ceremony done away with like it didn’t even happen, I can’t just do that Kate. I can’t just make my beliefs go away, or my biology, how I feel. It doesn’t work like that.”
Kate stood up and wrapped the crying Kryptonian in her arms, holding her as she tried to wiggle away. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she whispered, “That was insensitive, I’m sorry. I was just trying to help you, I didn’t know about your beliefs, I’m sorry.” She shushed the girl, calming her tears. “I don’t want you to give up your beliefs, we’ll figure out something to do Kara. We’ll get this sorted.”
“Well first thing we can do is figure out Kara’s new last name,” Lena said, staring at the paper, “Sanvers? Damvers… No, Danvers, definitely says Danvers, so I guess that would make you Kara Danvers now wouldn’t it?”
“What makes you think I took her last name?” Kara retorted.
“Smudge Grant doesn’t sound too exciting now does it?” The brunette said dryly.
Kara barked out a laugh, “You’re ridiculous.” She clutched at her stomach, a full belly laugh leaving her as her situation fully it her. “This whole situation is ridiculous isn’t it?”
“You aren’t the first one to end up getting drunk hitched to a stranger in Vegas and you won’t be the last,” Kate said, ruffling blonde hair. “Do you want us to find this person? I’m sure it won’t be hard to find the wedding chapel and get another copy of the marriage license.”
“It’s not too far from here,” Lena added, looking up the chapel on her phone.
“I don’t know,” Kara told them, sighing. “It’s all very confusing right now. I just want to check out of the hotel like planned and get some breakfast, I’m starving.” Her stomach let out a loud grumble at that, causing the other two to look down at it.
“Basically human in every way right now except when it comes to food,” the redhead sighed. “Well, go on, get yourself cleaned up, shower. Get all the sex wash off of ya, I don’t need to think about my baby sister in such a way.” Kate shuddered at the thought, “Lena and I will clean up out here.”
“We’ll what?” The brunette started but Kate nudged her harshly in the ribs to keep her from talking. Kara looked at them both strangely for a moment before disappearing into the bathroom. “Why are we cleaning up?” Lena asked once she was sure the shower had started.
“I am packing Kara’s clothes, you are hacking that wedding chapel and getting the name of whoever she married,” Kate said, poking Lena’s just with a sharp finger. “If Kara is going to be married to this woman, then I am going to make sure of what kind of person she is, whoever she is.”
“Fine fine,” Lena sighed before rifling through her bags until she found her tablet and started typing away on it. Breaking into a Vegas casino security and computer system, difficult, breaking into a Vegas wedding chapel service? Like taking candy from a baby. “Shit,” she muttered when she got a good look at their files.
“What’s wrong?” Kate asked after folding the last of Kara’s clothes and placing them in her suitcase.
“The files, they’re all corrupted,” Lena said, perusing through the data. “Each and every one of them, all of the marriage certificates they have are corrupted, and I’m betting the only hard copy is the one we currently have.”
“So we’re no closer to finding out who this person is,” Kate stated, rubbing her face. “Fantastic.”
“We can always run a search on the name Danvers,” Lena suggested, “How many can there be?”
“I know of at least ten families with that name in Gotham alone,” the redhead sighed. “That won’t work.”
“So what do we do?” The brunette asked.
“ We don’t do anything,” Kara said, walking back into the room. “Powers came back while I was in the shower,” she told them when she took in their curious looks. “Look we obviously can’t do anything about it now. I’ll just have to wait, I can’t help but imagine that this is the way things aren’t meant to be for right now.” She twisted the ring on her finger and pulled it off, looking at the band. “I don’t think I’m ready for a mate, a wife, and even though I have one, she’s not here. I have time to… grow up I guess, find out what I want to do.”
“We can hack the state files,” Lena suggested, “The marriage certificate would’ve been filed with them as well, though it might be corrupted as well.”
“Just leave it for now,” the blonde replied, “It’ll work out when it’s supposed to.”
“If that’s what you want then we’ll honor it,” Kate told her despite Lena’s grumbled protests. Kara sped around the room and finished packing her things and cleaned up the mess from the night before, stripping the sheets off the bed in the process. She was a whirlwind of clothes and fabric, one the other two were used to so they ignored her as she moved around. The blonde stopped after a few minutes and the room was cleaned, all evidence of the night before was gone other than the dirtied sheets.
Kara picked up her ring from where she left it on the bedside table and examined it again. It was just a simple band, nothing fancy or any sort of engravings, nothing like she imagined she would get if she ever got married. She dreamed of being able to have Kryptonian marriages bands, but knew that it would be impossible on Earth. She still hoped to have her ring engraved with words of affection or undying love, something chosen just for her, selected out of love. Instead she got a generic gold band that was most likely sold at the chapel for people wandering in to get married. She slipped the ring in her manicure kit before putting it back in her suitcase and turning to face her two friends.
“You guys ready to go?” Kara asked, “I’m so ready for some breakfast.”
“I could murder some pancakes and mojitos right now,” Lena agreed, grabbing her own bags.
Kate followed after the two younger women before a thought entered her mind, causing her to freeze in her steps. “Oh my god,” she said, looking at Kara in horror, “What are we going to tell your mom?”
“Stop talking,” Cat muttered as she rubbed at her forehead in frustration. Her daughter was standing in front of her in her home office, shifting her weight nervously from side to side as she looked at her. The older woman was thrilled when her daughter came in through the front door over an hour ago since she hadn’t seen Kara for over two months, longer than she had ever been separated from the girl since she’d adopted her. She wanted to hear all about Themyscira and the Amazons, but the nervous look on the younger blonde’s face halted her inquiries. Prompting the girl to speak, Cat listened to Kara’s nervous stutter, her mind instantly capturing on the keywords coming out of her mouth; her daughter was married. Kate and Lena had taken her girl on a whirlwind weekend trip to Las Vegas while Cat was dealing with her idiot ex-husband and Kara was powerless after her battle with the Amazonian queen.
They got her drunk, encouraged her to drink and left her alone with an unknown woman in a lounge bar. Kara’s inexperience left her vulnerable and she ended up marrying this woman. Cat knew without even asking that annulment was out of the question, Kara’s beliefs would never let her consider something even remotely similar to divorce. “So you’re saying that you agreed to something as irresponsible as going on a wild trip to Vegas, where you had alcohol without the benefits of your powers for the first time, and you ended up married as a result.”
“Yeah,” Kara murmured, glancing down. “Are you angry?”
“No,” Cat bit out, “I’m furious. I’m furious that those two idiots put you in this situation, and disappointed that you let yourself go along with the idea.”
“I let myself go along with it?” Kara returned, “Mom, I had fun, I was able to experience something human without it having to be painful like when I got shots or the tattoo. I had fun, yes the end result wasn’t exactly what I had imagined, but still…”
“You think this was a normal human experience?”
“Drinking too much and suffering from a hangover is pretty much the normal college experience, but I didn’t get to experience that at any point. The getting married part was a bit much, but I got to experience it, I got to go through it as a human, I got to mess up, make a mistake, be normal.”
“Being normal in this case is overrated,” Cat scoffed. She stood up and started pacing, “I can’t believe you did this Kara, I taught you better than this.”
“You taught me to never shy away from anything, to never back down,” the younger blonde returned. “You taught me to seize every opportunity.”
Cat shook her head, “This is what you thought I meant? You don’t even know this girl, this person that you married, you don’t even know her name. Whatever you do reflects on me Kara, don’t you know that? How could you be so stupid…”
Kara felt like she had been slapped, and stepped back away from the older woman. “It’s a good thing you’re not really my mother then isn’t it,” the younger blonde said, tears filling her eyes. “You would never have someone so stupid.” She fled the room before Cat could say anything, barely taking in the dumbfounded expression on her face as she left the penthouse. Darkness had fallen over the city by the time she strode out of the building; the weight of the words spoken and heard out of anger kept her on the ground as she walked down the sidewalk. Her feet unconsciously carried her away from the building towards the local park she often frequented with Cat and Carter to feed the ducks. It was her favorite place in the city if only because it held precious memories of her first few months on Earth, coming to feed the aquatic birds bits of rice and corn.
The park was quiet now as the last of the people out enjoying the late summer weather returned home for the evening, grabbing food on the way home or waiting to make dinner back in their own kitchens. Kara knew that she really shouldn’t be out by herself at night, more for appearances sake than being in actual danger, but she didn’t know where else to go. She found her usual bench and sat down, staring out at the dark water with only the occasional street light falling on the water.
It was close to half an hour later when she heard a familiar heartbeat coming towards her, getting louder in her ears. She had plenty of time to run if she wanted to avoid the confrontation, plenty of time to leave. She had just told her mother, Cat, that she learned not to run away from problems, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk with the older woman at the moment, to hear what she had to say.
Cat sat down next to her daughter and stared out at the water, thinking about what she wanted to say. After she adopted the lost little alien, she read everything she could find at how best to raise an adopted child. All of the research, all of the scholarship, everyone talked about similar problems that adopted children face. Kara’s situation as an alien seeking refuge on a foreign planet after the destruction of her own was different from the usual situation, but the core problem was the same. The girl was orphaned after a terrible tragedy and her world was put in a tailspin; her only living family was set to abandon her because he could not cope with raising a child. This spoke of abandonment issues and other underlying problems that hadn’t presented themselves fully because up until this point, Kara’s life had been relatively stable. Cat worked to provide the blonde with a safe and stable home, someplace where she could grow in peace and not have to feel the pain of her lost world, her lost family.
She miscalculated somewhere though and had inadvertently hurt her daughter due to her careless words. Yes she was angry and disappointed that Kara had gotten herself into this situation, but more than that, Cat was scared. She was scared for her daughter about the suddenness of the relationship, and the permanent nature of it. Kara would never get a divorce or annulment, but would she be able to have a meaningful relationship with someone she barely knew, someone it was unlikely that she would see again? Cat wanted more for Kara than what she had in her life, more than a series of failed relationships with only her children as the silver-lining for each one.
“I’m sorry,” Cat said after a few minutes, “I shouldn’t have said what I did. I’m not mad at you, disappointed yes, but more I’m afraid for you.”
“Afraid?” Kara questioned, her eyes darting over to look at the older woman before returning to the dark water in front of her.
“Yes,” the older blonde laughed mirthlessly, “I wanted so much for you, more than what I have in my life. I know you won’t even consider divorcing or annulling the marriage.” She sighed and carded a hand through her hair. “I wanted you to have love, have something meaningful, have a partner you could love, depend on, especially after everything that happened with Laurel.”
“I know Mom. I messed up, I know that, but I’m not upset that I did this. I can’t help but think this was meant to be maybe,” Kara said, tilting her head back to look up towards the stars. Humans wouldn’t be able to see them with the lights of the city but she could see them clearly, shining brightly in the sky. She wondered briefly how many of those stars were suns themselves with planets revolving around them. “I know there is a low chance that I’ll meet the woman again, but maybe… There is a chance you know?”
“Yes,” Cat murmured, “There is always a chance.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Kara glanced over at the older woman. “I’m sorry too, for saying that you’re not my mother.”
“It’s alright Kara, I know that I’m not Alura-”
“No, that’s, that’s the thing,” Kara said, fully turning to the woman. “No, no you’re not like her, my other mother. I loved her growing up you know, I wanted to be just like her. But after everything, then being adopted by you, raised by you, I realized that she wasn’t a good mother. She didn’t spend time with me like you do, or like my aunt Astra did, she was always too busy dealing with the judiciary council.”
“I’m sure she loved you Kara,” Cat told her, wrapping an arm around the younger woman’s shoulders and pulling her closer.
Kara nodded, “I know she did, and showed it in her own way, but you’re just as good a mother to me as she was Cat, probably better, I shouldn’t have said what I did.”
“Mhm, truthfully I was waiting for it much earlier though,” the older blonde commented, rubbing her daughter’s back, “Everything I’ve read indicated that it happens at least once with adopted children.”
“You read up on adopted children?” The younger blonde asked, a light chuckle escaping her lips.
“Of course, you should know by now that I don’t take anything lightly,” Cat replied. “And truthfully, I was afraid that I would say or do something that would hurt you, so I wanted to know everything I could. I ended up saying something hurtful anyway.”
“We both did,” Kara said, leaning into the older woman.
The sat in silence for a few moments and Kara let her senses expand around her. Whenever she was out with her mother or brother, she always kept an ear out for paparazzi or regular people with cameras. She knew Cat wasn’t ashamed of them, but she wanted to maintain privacy for her family, keep public and personal lives separate. Cat’s voice broke her out of her thoughts. “So what do you remember about this temptress?”
Kara rolled her eyes and looked over at her mother, “She wasn’t a temptress Mom.”
“Well she must’ve been something special with she managed to get you to marry her,” Cat returned, “So what do you remember?”
The younger blonde’s face scrunched up slightly as she thought back to the night before. It was only the night before; her life managed to change so much in less than a day. “She was beautiful,” Kara whispered, snuggling into her mother’s shoulder, “Long brown hair, though not as long as Lena’s, dark eyes, tight pants, leather jacket…”
“So your type.”
“I don’t have a type Mom,” the younger blonde muttered, rolling her eyes.
“You have a type.”
“She was really nice,” Kara continued. “She was… incredible really, better than anything I ever experienced with Laurel or any of the other people.”
“While I can appreciate that as a woman, as your mother, hearing about your sexual exploits is slightly disturbing,” Cat said, distaste clearly showing on her face.
“You should be glad that you don’t actually have to hear them, I know a bit too much about you and your last boyfriend.” The younger woman’s face twisted in disgust as she shuddered, “Far too much.”
Cat cleared her throat but refused to be embarrassed that her daughter overheard her having sex with her latest dalliance. When raising an alien child, one learned to let some things go. “On that note, we should probably talk about your living situation.”
“I’m going to start looking for an apartment, I know you said I could stay with you, or you want me to stay with you but-”
“But you want to go out on your own, I know,” Cat finished. “I understand, I do. I didn’t at first because I wanted you to stay here with me, but you do deserve your own space. I couldn’t wait to get away from my mother, went to college and never went back.”
“Mom, I don’t want to get away from you, it’s a different situation, we have a different relationship from you and your mother, and truthfully I would try to get away from her too, she’s terrible.”
Cat barked out a laugh, “It definitely wasn’t sunshine and rainbows growing up with that woman that’s for sure. More like Jurassic Park.” The younger blonde giggled and soon the two women were laughing at the mental picture conjured by the reference. Getting control of herself, Cat returned to the previous conversation, “Anyway, what I was going to say, during the time you were gone, I had my lawyer contact different apartment buildings around the city. Nothing pretentious or excessive, I know you won’t like that, but I did find a few places that I deemed safe, acceptable, and within a reasonable price range. We have appointments to view them in a few days if you want to.”
“Do I wan- yes, yes of course!” Kara squealed, pulling her mother into a tight hug.
“Oof, not so tight Kara,” Cat laughed, patting the girl’s back.
“I’m so excited!” Kara bounced up off the bench, pulling Cat with her. “Thank you for doing this Mom.” Her stomach let out a loud rumble and she placed her hand over it, glancing down, “And hungry, so hungry!”
“Come on, let’s get home then. I’ll order your favorites.”
“All food is my favorite.”
“So there’s a chance that I can get something I want as well,” Cat smirked and the two walked back to the penthouse arm in arm.
“I forgot how exhausting looking at apartments was,” Cat huffed as she followed Kara up the stairs to the fifth floor building.
“You could’ve taken the elevator Mom, I would’ve met you at the door to look at the place.”
Cat’s nose crinkled, “Someone bathed in Axe body spray before stepping into that thing, no way was I setting foot into that thing.” She stopped to lean against the handrailing to stare up the three flights of stairs she still had to do.
“This is the third apartment we’ve seen, and we still have two more after, why didn’t you arrange all of these in one day?”
“I don’t like drawing things out,” the older woman replied, rubbing a bit at her heel encased foot.
Kara looked back at her mother and knew better than to ask her why she wore heels if she knew that they would be walking around a bit, possibly going up and down stairs. She glanced around, quickly looking for prying eyes or possible cameras before moving down the last few stairs back to her mother. “It’ll be much faster if I carry you,” Kara said, holding her arms out for the woman. When the older blonde didn’t move right away, Kara sighed and turned around, motioning towards her back.
“Alright, if you must,” Cat grumbled, setting her hands on Kara’s shoulders. “Don’t go too fast.” The younger blonde bent slightly, and grabbed her mother’s legs before jogging up the stairs, being careful not to jostle the woman too much. She set her mother down on the landing before reaching the fifth floor and the two walked up the last few stairs together.
“It’s the one here at the corner,” Kara said, gesturing towards the door. Cat pulled the correct key packet out of her purse and unlocked the door. Her lawyer arranged with the realtors to receive copies of the keys to view the apartments alone so long as they were returned by the end of the day. The two entered the apartment and instantly started to assess the space. Kara was immediately enamoured with the open floor plan, the clean kitchen and counter island, and the balcony just outside the kitchen and living room area.
“It’s a single bedroom,” the older blonde murmured, “The bedroom area is separated from the rest of the apartment by a few stairs and a sliding door, big enough for a king sized bed I suppose if you want one. The main bathroom is down here…”
“Look Mom,” the blonde cried, tugging at the woman, “There’s a gas fireplace here, and look this area in front of the balcony could be the dining room or the place where I could do my painting.” She looked around again, spinning around in the space, “It’s perfect Mom.”
Cat turned her gaze on Kara’s excited face before glancing around the apartment, trying to see through her daughter’s eyes. “Yes,” she said after a few minutes, “It does have potential.” She walked over to the bathroom and glanced inside, deeming it an adequate size as she looked back Kara. “I want to see the other two apartments before we make any offers, and I want to hear more about what you’re picturing in your mind. What do you see?” The woman listened as Kara explained her vision, what she saw in her mind when she looked around the apartment.
She imagined a cozy couch with quilts and pillows situated at an angle towards the fireplace, but also so that one could see the entertainment system next to it as well. A few matching, but comfortable, chairs and end table near the sofa, and a small dining room table and chairs behind the couch near the balcony. She would have her easel and paints set up near the table to catch the light streaming in from the window but in an out of the way place so that people wouldn’t trip on or interfere with her work. The bedroom would have a large king sized bed, and warm, cozy colors, more quilts and blankets, things that she loved. As Kara spoke, Cat could see the vision coming to life, along with a few artistic, sophisticated touches here and there, this apartment would make an amazing first home for her girl. “I like it,” Cat said, smiling over at the younger blonde. “But,” she held up her hand to halt any excited bouncing, “We’re still going to see those other two places.”
“Of course Mom,” Kara agreed, skipping back to the door. “After you,” she opened it with a bow, knowing that her mother was most likely rolling her eyes at her antics.
“And you’ll let me buy it for you.”
“No Mom, I-”
“I know you have money,” Cat interrupted, “You have a trust funded, what you’ve made from your job, and whatever you scooped up during your ridiculous trip to Vegas. But this is something I want to do. The rest of your money can supplement your expenses, your still outrageous food bill and other things, but this is something that I want to do for you.”
“Thanks Mom,” Kara replied, hugging the older woman tightly.
“Yes, well, no more of that, let’s get going. The sooner we get done, the sooner I get out of these shoes.”
“You know, you could’ve just not worn heels.”
“Don’t start spouting nonsense now that you’re moving out Kara.”