At first, Lena thought she’d just eaten something that had gone bad. The cramps weren’t that regular, and they weren’t any worse than what she’d had while in pre-heat, so she busied herself with some yoga, did some cleaning, finished the laundry. But they’d persisted, to the point where she'd even begun to feel nauseous, but being the stubborn punk that she was, she said nothing to Kara as she left for her latest mission of the day, but bid them safe travels before settling in on the couch with kara for a movie marathon. She’d managed to sit through three Disney films, before rising with a groan and making her way to the nearest bathroom. The ache had somehow spread to her back, and it was screaming in protest as she leaned over to retch in the toilet.
Kara wasn’t far behind her, kneeling beside her, worry written all over his face, and for good reason. The last time Lena had been sick like this was when she’d been exposed to a poison, something that would’ve killed anyone else if Kara wasn't here at time. For lena to be having this kind of reaction was definitely a sign that something was seriously wrong.
But she didn’t have a fever, Lena protested as Kara helped her to undress and climb into the tub for a bath -- she’d gotten some sick on herself, and it was a good a time as any for a relaxing bath. Still, the hot water helped some in relieving the ache in her back, so Lena let herself get as comfortable as she could manage.
Kara offered to make something light for her to eat, after which she’d go straight to bed. Both of them knew that it would pass just as quickly; they trusted Lena body to take care of it. So off Kara went to make some clear soup and toast, while Lena soaked in the tub.
The cramps hadn’t subsided at all, she thought miserably to herself, if anything they’d just gotten worse. And there was pressure now, low in her abdomen. She tried to ignore it in favor of the comforting bath, but not quite fifteen minutes later, she was climbing out of the tub and onto the toilet, sitting with a grimace as the pressure she’d relieved as she stood only intensified as she sat again. She’d only been meaning to relieve herself, but as soon as she let her muscles relax, there was a gush of fluid that left her, and she yelped, startled as much as she was embarrassed. Still, whatever it had been, it had relieved quite a bit of pressure, so after she flushed it away, she got back in the tub, only to find moments later that the cramps were worse by twofold now.
Unable to take it any longer, she cried out for kara, who came rushing in, clearly alarmed.
“Lee, what’s the matter?” she asked, coming to sit beside Lena.
“I- I don’t know , Kara, it hurts so bad,” she gasped out, the pain peaking before slowly ebbing away, “It hurts.”
It alarmed kara to see lena so distraught over pain -- lena was never a complainer, to the point where it was detrimental to her health, really. Hell, there were so many instances where Kara wished Lena would complain more. So the fact that lena was all but whimpering had to mean that the pain was excruciating.
“Do you want me to call the DEO ? I don't have my power because of the fight” she asked softly. Lena seemed to consider it, which only proved Kara’s concern, but she shook her head.
“Could you- my back’s killing me, could you give me a quick massage instead?” Lena asked tiredly, and Kara could only do as she was asked. She watched, otherwise helpless, as Lena’s breathing went ragged, shoulders tensed as she grit her teeth against the pain, only to sag back in relief against Kara as the pain passed. The more time that went by, the shorter the lulls between cramps there seemed to be, and at some point, Lena had started to make soft pained noises in the back of her throat, and it broke Kara’s heart to see her in such pain and be so powerless to do anything to help. She brought up the DEO to Lena a few more times, but each time, her mate refused. It didn’t make Kara comfortable, but she trusted Lena to know her body, to know her limits.
Little did she know that by the time Lena realized her own limits, it would be too late.
Grunting and gasping, Lena endured the pain, and Kara remained beside her the entire time.
“I gotta push.” Lena said suddenly, face flushed. “The pressure, it’s too- I need to- on all fours, Kara, please, you gotta help me, I need to- please.”
Kara wouldn’t admit it, but she was a little more than scared. Her mind wouldn’t stop racing to ideas of parasites or bugs or bacteria that might be the cause of this, and she was regretting not calling the DEO up earlier. Still, she was careful and offered support as Lena shifted positions from sitting, to get on her hands and knees. The water was getting cold, so once Lena was settled, Kara went about draining and refilling the tub with warmer water. The tub was only half full when Lena began to low loudly, her face growing redder as she began to bear down.
Kara had no idea what to do or say -- she was so terribly out of her element, and she didn’t even have the slightest idea of what was going on, but she found that soft reassurances came more naturally.
“That’s it, you’re doing good, Lee.” she murmured, keeping her hands on Lena, cupping the warm water to pour onto her trembling girlfriend’s back. Moments later, the young girl gasped, her breath hitching.
“Something- something’s coming out!” Lena grit out, sucking in a breath through her teeth, “It burns, Kara-” she groaned, “I can’t stop it, it’s- my body- it’s just-”
“Okay, it’s okay, deep breaths, sweetheart.” Kara tried weakly. Lena keened, her back arching. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from her girlfriend, chest heaving as she sucked in air, sweat plastering strands of hair to her face.
“Need your hands. On my back, Kara, please, I need-”
“I can do that.” kara assured her, her voice a little more steady this time.
“Hold my- my hips together.” Lena begged, “Feels like ‘m gonna split in two.” And then she was grunting into the pain again, until, “Oh shit, it’s out. Something’s- it- it’s coming out!” Kara’s brows shot up, and she pulled back just far enough to take a look, almost afraid of what she was going to find.
“What is it?” Lena panted, “Kara ? What’s happening?”
Kara was having hard time wrapping her head around what she was seeing.
Because coming out of Lena, right before her eyes... was a head. A baby’s head. Their baby.
“Lena, it’s- I- it’s a baby.”
“What?” Kara was sure if Lena had had the energy, she’d have been shrieking. But instead, it was more of a breathless sigh in disbelief.
“It’s a baby, Lee. O-our baby.” She was having trouble believing it herself. “You’re... You’re giving birth, Lena.”
“But- but that’s not possible.” Lena turned his head to look up at Kara, her bewilderment plain to see on her face. “I’m not- I can’t be-”
“Doctors were wrong.” Kara was positive her own expression must mirror Lena’s right now, because how could this be happening ? Lena had been told that had the insemination didn't work. Her body wasn’t supposed to be able to carry kara's gene the doctors had said.
Clearly, they’d been wrong. Because Lena was bearing their baby right now.
“But I don’t even look pregnant, nothing’s happened to show that I’m- oh, fuck -” Lena’s protests were cut short as her body began to push again of its own volition. “Fuck, I don’t- it can’t-”
“Sweetheart, it can, and it is. Our baby’s coming out of you right now, Lena, so- so take a deep breath, and push, alright? It’s almost out.” Kara encouraged, her head straight despite the unbelievable turn their day had taken. Her girlfriend and their needed her to be strong for them right now, she thought as she began to act on instinct, and it would do neither of them any good for her to give into her nerves. With her newfound understanding of the situation, she now knew that they had something to work towards.
Lena whimpered as she pushed, but she leaned into Kara’s touch as she bore down, unable to quite yet believe that she was in labor right now -- that she was giving birth. The pain was grounding if nothing else though, and she strained to get the shoulders out, but once they popped out, the rest of it slid out with a few more easy pushes. Kara must’ve caught it, she thought dimly as the pain dulled into a throbbing ache between her legs.
“Lena.” Kara was calling her name. “Lena, turn carefully, and sit back. Sweetheart, you just- it’s our baby.”
Lena moved almost mechanically, but as soon as she felt Kara hand her the little squirming thing wrapped in a fluffy towel, her vision blurred, and she realized she was crying. It had a healthy set of lungs, if it’s loud screams were anything to go by, and somehow that realization made her cry even harder. This baby was her unattainable dream, from before they even started dating because who doesn't want a kid with supergirl.
“Oh my God, Kara,” she hiccupped, looking at her girlfriend, tears still rolling freely down her cheeks, “It’s- it’s our baby.”
“A little girl.” kara informed her, her voice thick with emotion. Tears were gathered in her eyes too, and she leaned down to press a kiss to Lena’s temple.
“How- I wasn’t- I’m not supposed to be able to.” Lena’s mind was a mess, hormones making it hard for her to really think critically at the moment. “Christ, Kara, we’re not ready to be parents, the apartment’s not baby proofed or anything, we don’t have a crib or diapers-” Clearly, she had it together enough for her to start to panic though. Kara did her best to soothe her, offering her kisses and soft words of endearment.
“It’s okay, Lee. It’ll be okay. We’ll figure it out,” Kara promised her, “But first,” she added gently, “I think she might be hungry.” Lena looked ready to protest right up until she’d said that, but she stopped abruptly, clearly startled. “You’re... You’re leaking, sweetheart.” Kara said, nodding towards Lena’s chest. Lena blinked and looked down, to find that Kara was right. Warm, white droplets were beading at the tips of her nipples; the translucent, milky substance could only be... well, milk.
“O-Oh, how do I-” Len attempted to hold the snuffling baby against her, her mouth close to her skin, and with a little help from kara, latched onto Lena and began to suckle. The two of them watched her for a while in stunned silence, still hardly able to believe what they were seeing. As soon as her hunger was sated, she fell right to sleep, and Kara was about to suggest they move to somewhere more comfortable, when Lena let out a pained hiss.
“Lena...?” She said uncertainty, and her mate met her curious gaze with a look of pain and exhaustion.
“I think there’s another one.” she murmured, fear flickering in her eyes.
“What?”
“I can feel... something moving down.”
“Twins?”
“I- I guess so?”
“Oh, wow, okay.” Lena wasn’t supposed to have even been able to carry to them, and here she was, delivering what looked like a pair of healthy twins, as far as Kara could tell. “Let me- We’ll cut the cord, and... um. We can move you to the bed. Might be more comfortable for you, right?”
Lena looked unconvinced, still clearly shaken by the fact that she’d given birth , but gave a conceding nod, and let kara help her and their daughter (their daughter!!) to the bedroom. She lay their sleeping girl on the bed as she paced the room as Kara gathered towels to lay down. There was an unspoken understanding between them at this point that neither of them wanted outside interference, this birth was uncomfortable enough as it was. They’d get through the second as they had the first: together.
As Kara lay down the final layer of towel at the foot of the bed, Lena immediately stepped onto it and dropped into a squat, brows furrowed as she took deep, measured breaths.
“Already?” Kara asked, coming to sit in front of her, crossing her legs. Lena's hands immediately came down over her shoulders, using her for support as she nodded tightly.
“Guess the second time around, things move faster.”
“Alright, Lena, when you’re ready, you go ahead and listen to your body and push. Just like before.” Kara murmured, running a warm hand up along Lena’s arm. She knew her mate was tired and in more pain than she’d ever admit to, but lena still seemed to be able to muster up enough strength. When the pressure in her pelvis finally became utterly unbearable, she gave into the urge and began to push.
However, she was definitely trying to keep her voice down this time, presumably to not disturb their sleeping baby just a few feet away. So she grunted and whimpered and panted, giving in to her body’s whims as it forced her to strain through each contraction, and with each contraction, she could feel the baby move further down, until it began to crown. Now that she knew to expect, Lena thought she’d be better able to handle it, but as her body yawned open around the head, she cried out, unable to help herself. It was by some miracle that their daughter didn’t wake, and Lena keened as the head finally slid free, accompanied by a gush of amniotic fluid.
“kara, oh my God, Kara,” Lena looked at her helplessly, eyes glistening as she looked at her girlfriend, “I can’t- can’t believe that this-” She groaned.
“You’re doing so well, Lena, you’re absolutely amazing.” Kara hummed. “You’re almost done, honey. So close, you’re working so hard for our babies, you’re so close.”
And she really was. With just a few more pushes, a snip of a cord, and another feeding later, they had two babies sleeping on the bed, swaddled haphazardly in the thinnest towels they could find.
Lena was aching, but she was certainly riding the oxytocin high as long as she could, just taking time to admire the two little ones on the bed beside her. A girl and a boy. They hadn’t managed to pick out names yet, but the DEO left them with the assurance that both were in good health, at a good weight, as was Lena.
When there friends called to check in on them that night, they had quite the story to tell. The two young moms asked their families not to visit them during the first weeks of their newborns' life in order to enjoy the first moments with their miracle children.
And this is how Kara Danvers and Lena luthor started there little family.