Stepping off the elevator with Jess to her right and Eve to her left Lena made her way towards the ground floor conference room. She was listening to Jess update her on the meeting she was heading to while reading emails from Sam who was currently in London. They were working on a huge acquisition that would give a major boost to L-Corp's engineering division. Lena was about half way across the lobby when she heard a woman's raised voice. It was a vaguely familiar voice, one she'd only heard once or twice in the past but enough to make her frown when she heard it. Looking up from her tablet she directed her attention towards the sound. Standing near the first security desk was an older woman with short white hair, classes, and a rather severe look on her face. Lena had only ever met Patricia Arias once and that had been enough of an experience for her.

After telling Jess and Eve to wait where they were Lena walked across the lobby to the security desk. "Is there an issue, Jim?"

"Not at all, Ms. Luthor." The security guard replied.

"Ms. Luthor." Patricia said as she turned her focus on Lena. "I'm…"

"I know who you are, Mrs. Arias." Lena said, cutting the older woman off. Now that she was face to face with Patricia she could see that the woman looked a bit more frail than the last time she'd seen her. "What can I do for you?"

Patricia took an unsteady breath and said, "I need to see Samantha, please, Ms. Luthor."

"Sam isn't here." Lena replied and before Patricia could accuse of her lying she added. "She's currently out of the country working on an L-Corp project. Is there something I can help you with Mrs. Arias?"

Dropping her head Patricia sighed softly and then reached into her purse and pulled out a sealed envelope. Seeing Sam had been a long shot anyway. Sam wanted nothing to do with her and Patricia couldn't blame her. Holding out the envelope the older woman looked at Lena and asked, "Would you please give this to Samantha."

Lena accepted the envelope with Sam's full first name written across it in a shaky scrawl. Looking up to meet Patricia's eyes Lena suddenly found herself nodding. "Of course I'll pass this along to Sam."

"Thank you Ms. Luthor." Patricia replied.

Lena didn't tell Sam about Patricia's visit when she called to check in that afternoon. She figured whatever brought the elder Arias to L-Corp, whatever was written in the letter to Sam, it was personal. There had been something in Patricia's eyes that had seemed uncomfortably familiar, she just couldn't put her finger on what that was. She waited until Sam was home and had had time to spend with her family before taking the letter to her.

Sam smiled as she ushered Lena into the house. Her trip to London had been successful, and after a couple of meetings at L-Corp to get everyone update on the project Sam had been left alone with her girls for the last twenty-four hours, which meant she was in a really good mood. As she followed Lena towards the sofa she asked, "Glass of wine?"

"No thank you." Lena replied softly before stopping and turning to face Sam.

There was something in Lena's voice that caused Sam to stiffen a little, and as soon as she could look into her best friend's eyes she was flooded with concern. "Lee, what's wrong?"

Lena sighed softly before replying. "You mother came to L-Corp the other day."

Sam blinked. She couldn't have possibly heard that right. She hadn't seen or talked to her mother since Patricia had shown her her pod in the barn. That had been the first and only time Sam had seen Patricia since the woman had thrown her out. "Patricia was at L-Corp? Why?"

"She wanted to see you." Lena answered and then slipped her hand into her purse to retrieve the letter. "Or if she couldn't see you, then to leave this for you."

When Lena held the envelope with her full first name written across it in her mother's handwriting Sam took a step back from it like it were kryptonite or something. "What is it?"

"Just a letter." Lena said softly.

"What does it say?" Sam asked, her golden brown eyes flicking between the envelope and Lena's gaze.

"I don't know, Sam." Lena said as she placed the letter on the coffee table when it was clear Sam wasn't going to take it. "It's for you. I didn't read it."

Why on earth would Patricia write her a letter? Why would she show up at L-Corp to see her after all this time? What could Patricia possibly have to say to her after everything that's happened between them? Patricia wasn't the type of person to admit she was wrong or to apologize. In fact Patricia had still insisted that kicking Sam out when she got pregnant hadn't been the wrong thing to do, that she had somehow been teaching Sam a lesson. Looking at her life now, it had undoubtedly been for the best. She had two beautiful daughters, an amazing wife, and a loving and supportive family that was there for her no matter what. Alex, Kara, and Lena had chosen her, accepted her without hesitation, flaws and all. They would do absolutely anything for her and never asked for anything in return. Their love was absolutely unconditional. Patricia's had always come with expectations and limits.

"I know you're first instinct is to ignore the letter, to just toss it into the fire." Lena said gently when Sam's eyes were on her again. "But Sam, please don't. At least think about reading it first."

"Why?" Sam asked, her voice laced with the anger and hurt she was feeling. "Why should I give it, give her, any thought at all?"

"Because something in my gut is telling me you need to read it." Lena answered. "There was something off about Patricia that day, Sam, something I haven't been able to put my finger on."

"Something in your gut?" Sam repeated, an eyebrow arched. "You sound like my wife."

Lena smiled. "Your wife has pretty good instincts. Talk to Alex before you decide to do anything."

As soon as Sam heard Lena's car drive off down the street she picked up the letter and walked over to the fireplace, intent on doing just what Lena had said, burn the damn thing unopened. Then she saw her name written in Patricia's jittery handwriting. Patricia was naturally left handed but she'd grown up and was schooled during an era where being left handed was wrong, and she'd been forced to learn how to use her right. That had caused Patricia's handwriting to always look a bit off. Sighing softly Sam took the letter upstairs and dropped it into the draw of her nightstand.

It would take three days before Sam even mentions the letter to Alex.

"So you haven't read it yet?" Alex asks as she sits on the edge of their bed and looks up at Sam who's sitting cross legged in the center.

Sam shook her head. She was looking down at Milo as she ran her fingers through his soft fur. The little ball of fluff that Lena had given the girls wasn't so little anymore, but he was still fluffy and soft. "I'm not sure I want too."

"That's understandable." Alex replied gently.

"Lena thinks I should." Sam said as she looked up to meet her wife's gaze. "What do you think?"

Alex moved closer and put her hand on Sam's thigh to offer physical support. "I think it's up to you, babe. This isn't something I can tell you to do or not do. But whatever choice you make I will be right here with you, I'll support you in whatever way I can."

Sam leaned forward until her forehead was pressed against Alex's and then she closed her eyes and focused on the sound of her wife's heart beating. She loved this woman with all her heart and soul. Why should she give Patricia even a moment of thought when she knew her mother would be disgusted by her relationship and disapproving of her marriage? Patricia hadn't approved of Ruby, wouldn't approve of Maya or Alex, Sam should just burn the letter and forget about it. Forget about Patricia. But instead she puts it back in her nightstand and that's where it remained for another week.

Eliza was visiting from Midvale and they'd had a huge family dinner. Sam had spent the day watching her mother-in-law play with her grandchildren, all of them, and it touched Sam even after all this time that Eliza treated Ruby, Andrew, Alexis and Maya all the same, they were all equally her grandchildren. Sam also watched Eliza with Alex. Sam knew that Alex and her mother hadn't always had the relationship they have now, that Eliza Danvers was in no way a perfect mother. Eliza had expected a lot from Alex, and had missed seeing what her expectations were doing to her daughter. Alex spent a whole lot of years thinking she wasn't good enough, that no matter what she did or what she achieved she would just end up a disappointment to her mother. Alex had told Sam that not long after Kara had become Supergirl everything had come to a head and she and Eliza had finally had it out and from there had been able to repair their broken relationship.

Eliza loved her daughters. She loved and supported Alex, and had been willing to do whatever was needed to make things better between them. And there lay the difference. Patricia didn't love her. Or at least that's what Sam kept telling herself because it somehow made it all easier to bare. It was so much easier to distance herself from the heartache as long as Sam believed her mother didn't love her.

Sam sat on the patio sofa with Milo, a glass of wine, and the letter which she tapped the edge of against her glass. This was it. She was either going to open it or burn it in the patio fire pit. Inside the home she had made for herself she could hear the soft breaths and beating hearts of her daughters as they slept. The soft sounds of Alex cleaning up the last of dishes in the kitchen. Across town in the highest penthouse the city had to offer Kara was playing with Peanut Butter and Streaky while Lena and Eliza talked in soft tones. J'onn had gone back to the DEO. Myr'nn was home listening to a new jazz album. Winn was playing video games.

"Babe?" Alex called out with concern.

Sam jumped, which startled Milo causing him to bark at Alex. Opening her eyes Sam looked up to meet her wife's worried gaze. "Sorry. What?"

"Are you ok, Sam?" Alex asked as she shooed Milo off the sofa so she could sit beside her wife. "I said your name three times before you came back from wherever you were."

"I'm alright." Sam reassured her wife as she set her wine glass on the table. "I was just listening. Reminding myself of what I have and taking a moment to be grateful for it."

Alex put her arm around her wife and pulled Sam close into her side. They sat like that for awhile just cuddled up together watching the fire burn in the pit. When Sam finally pulled away from her Alex watched as her wife gave the envelope in her hand one finally look before turning it over and opening it.

Dear Samantha, I owe you an apology. I was an awful mother to you. You deserved so much better than what you got in me, and I am truly sorry. I wish I had been strong enough, brave enough, willing enough to see and accept the mistakes I made when it came to you, sooner. I wish I had more time to make it up to you. To earn your forgiveness. This is incredibly selfish of me, and completely unfair to you, but I don't want to leave things between us unsettled. I'm sick, Sam. Cancer. Kim Oscar brings me into the city every Wednesday for treatments and to see the doctors. I would really like to see you, Sam, but I understand if you want nothing to do with me. I didn't say it much to you when I should have, so I know you have no reason to believe me, Samantha, but I do love you, and I am so proud of you. Momma.

"Sam?" Alex said softly when her wife lowered the sheet of paper. There was a mix of anger, shock, and hurt on Sam's face that made Alex want to wrap her up and hold her until whatever was making her feel like that went away.

"She's sick." Sam said, her voice thick and cracking with emotion. Turning to look into her wife's eyes Sam could feel tears welling in her own. "Patricia, she's sick."

Alex pulled Sam into her arms and held her. "I'm so sorry, baby."

Several days later, after taking time to digest what was happening, Sam drove out to Patricia's house. Sam didn't think her adoptive mother's motives for reaching out had anything to do with Patricia trying to get anything like money out of Sam. Patricia had a lot of faults but using someone like that wasn't one of them. Waiting until she was seriously ill to reach out and try to mend fences, however, was one of her many faults. Sam had been swinging back and forth when it came to how she felt about this. She was angry as hell that it would take a cancer diagnosis for Patricia to finally admit she made mistakes when it came to her. She was also struggling with a mix of sadness and disbelief every time she thought about what this might all mean. The little girl in Sam didn't want to see her mother die, no matter how bad her relationship with Patricia was.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come in with you?" Alex asked as Sam parked the car outside her childhood home.

Sam squeezed her wife's hand which had been holding hers since they pulled out of their driveway that morning. "I need to do this on my own, baby, but thank you for coming with me."

Alex leaned over and kissed Sam's cheek. "I'll be right here if you need me. I love you."

"I love you." Sam replied and then slipped out of the car and began walking towards the front porch. This wasn't easy for her, not only because she was facing Patricia and their messed up relationship, but also because the last time she was here it had led to her becoming Reign.

As she stepped onto the front porch one of the boards creaked and Sam's mind was flooded with memories. Hearing that creak and knowing her father was home from work and rushing to the living room to see if he'd brought her a treat or stopped to get a new record or cassette to listen to after dinner. Stepping on that spot as a teenager sneaking in and hoping her mother hadn't heard it. Stepping on it the day Patricia threw her out, the creak of the board followed by the slam of the screen door. Sam had to take a deep breath before reaching for that screen door now, she needed a moment to ground herself before knocking on the door.

There wasn't a response right away so Sam knocked again and called out, "Patricia?" Reaching for the door knob it turned easily in her hand so she pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Patricia?"

From the kitchen Patricia called out, "Francis Pierce, I told you the next time I caught you in my house looking for pills, I was going to put a hole through your thieving head!"

Sam watched with a sliver of amusement as her mother came out of the kitchen cocking her shotgun which she aimed before truly seeing who was standing in her living room. "You know that won't have much of an effect on me these days."

Patricia blinked, lowered the gun, and softly whispered. "Sam."

"Hi Patricia." Sam replied. "I, um, I got your letter."

The last time Sam had been here the tension between her and her mother had been bitter and sharpe. This time the tenison was far more awkward and uncertain. They migrated back into the kitchen where Sam finished making the tea Patricia had started before Sam showed up. Patricia sat at the kitchen table watching Sam move around the room as if it hadn't been eighteen years since Sam had lived here. Sam had asked about her diagnosis and Patricia told her what the doctors had said. When she was finished, just as Sam set a cup of tea for each of them on the table, she smiled sadly and said, "I guess thirty years of your father's two packs a day habit had an effect on me too."

"Are you sure there's nothing that can be done?" Sam asked. She kept her hands wrapped around her tea cup just to give herself something to focus on, not smashing the tea cup. "Who are your doctors? Are they any good? What kind of insurance do you have these days? Are they willing to pay for the best?"

"Our family doctor retired a few years back so I've been seeing the young man who took over his practice. He sent me to a specialist in National City." Patricia answered. "I still have the same insurance covered by Daddy's pension, it's a good plan, I'm well covered."

"What about experimental treatments?" Sam bulldozed into asking next. "L-Corp has several medical research companies under its umbrella, I'm sure one of them must have a trial you can get into. I'll look into…"

"Sam." Patricia said softly as she reached out and put her hand on her daughter's. "This isn't why I reached out to you. I wasn't looking to get you to do me any favors."

Sam swallowed against a suddenly dry throat. She could not recall the last time her mother had touched her in such a soft and comforting way. Her eyes flicked down towards Patricia's hand where it rested on her own and then up to look the older woman in the eyes. "Then why did you reach out to me? Why now, Patricia?"

"I know it's selfish of me." Patricia answered. "But I didn't want to die without telling you how sorry I am for the way I treated you, for turning my back on you when you needed me the most. Oh Samantha. You are so good, so kind, you are everything I wasn't."

Sam wasn't sure what to say. Hell she wasn't even sure what to feel.

"I don't expect you to forgive me." Patricia continued. "I'm just trying my best to give you closure. I didn't want to leave you with any regrets when it came to me."

They spoke a little more but everything that needed to be said right now was already said. Patricia walked Sam to the door and thanked her for coming over. She told Sam she loved her, told her she wished she'd said it to her more, and then watched as Sam stepped off the porch and walked down the path to where her car waited. Patricia stepped back into the house and as she turned to close the door she watched a woman with short red hair in jeans and a leather jacket wrap her arms around Sam and hold her tight.

"Are you ok?" Alex asked softly as she released Sam from the hug so she could reach up and cup her face. She used her thumbs to wipe away a couple of tears and looked into Sam's eyes to see how she really was.

Sam nodded. "Ok as I can be I guess. Can we go home?"

"Of course we can babe." Alex said gently. "We can do whatever you need."

Sam spent the afternoon in Alex's arms. She skyped with Ruby under the pretense of checking in on her college freshman daughter. She played in the pool and baked cookies with Maya. And then after a long hot bath drawn for her by her beautiful wife, Sam called Lena. She asked her best friend if there was a way she could pull some strings to get Patricia into one of the many experimental trials run by the research doctors currently being funded by L-Corp. Of course Lena agreed to see what she could do.

Stepping up to the reception window Sam once again asked herself why she was there. Patricia hadn't asked her to come. She hadn't heard from her adoptive mother again despite having left her cell phone number on the memo pad on the fridge. She just knew that Patricia saw her oncologist every Wednesday. "Excuse me." She said politely to the woman behind the window. "I'm looking for Patricia Arias, I was hoping to catch her before her appointment."

The woman smiled a huge smile. "They just took your mother back to a room. Hold on a second and I'll have one of the nurses come get you so you can join her. It's really good to see you here, Ms. Arias. Having a strong support system can mean a lot."

Sam blinked, unable to hide her surprise. "You know who I am?"

"Of course I do." The woman replied. "Mrs. Arias loves showing us pictures of you and her beautiful granddaughters."

How the hell was Patricia showing people pictures of her and the girls? She's never once sent Patricia a single picture in all the years since she'd been kicked out. It wasn't until the nurse leading her through the hallways to the room were Patricia waited mentioned plant shaming and how her husband teased her about how much time and money she'd put into her own garden, that Sam realized Patricia must follow her on instagram.

Patricia was more than surprised when Sam walked into the room. When Sam said she hadn't meant to intrude Patricia said it was alright and that Sam could stay if she wanted.

"I just wanted to give you a heads up." Sam said once they were left alone in the exam room. "Lena found a treatment trial that you could join if the doctor agrees. He should be meeting with your doctor right now."

"Sam." Patricia said gently. "You didn't have to do that."

"I know." Sam replied.

It started off slowly. At first Sam would just meet Patricia at the hospital for her appointments with the doctor. Then she started sitting with Patricia during treatment. Then she started taking her out to have an early dinner to make sure Patricia was eating. She hired a nurse to look in on Patricia five days a week. She would have made it seven but Patricia asked if she could just have Sundays to herself, and every Wednesday Sam had started taking it on herself to drive out and pick Patricia up for her appointments and then bring her home.

One early morning as Patricia handed Sam a travel mug of coffee she smiled at her daughter and said, "Wouldn't it be easier for you to just fly here and drive my car then getting up at five a.m. to drive here in yours?"

Sam blinked, then stared at Patricia, coffee halfway to her lips.

"Don't look so shocked, Sam." Patricia said as she started towards the kitchen door. "I know you're Astra, I know you help Supergirl when she needs it."

Sam didn't know what to say. She did know this would mean DEO paperwork though. She sighed softly and followed Patricia out to the car. She would have to talk to Alex later.

Once they were on the road Patricia asked, "Why that name? Why Astra?"

Sam hestated in answering that but then admitted, "Astra was my Kryptonian mother's name."

Patricia inhaled sharply which caused her to cough a little. She used one of the inhalers that was apart of her treatment plan and when she could breath easily again she asked, "You've found out about her?"

"I have." Sam said with a nod.

"If you ever feel like it, I would like to know about her." Patricia said softly. "I'm assuming since you've taken her name, giving you up wasn't by choice?"

"It wasn't." Sam answered. "Maybe I'll tell you all about it sometime."

After that Sam flew to Patricia's every Wednesday morning and drove her into National City using Patrica's car. She would spend all day with her at the hospital and all evening with her at the house making sure Patricia's was comfortable and settled before flying home. Alex would be waiting for her, ready to listen if Sam needed to talk or to simply hold her if she didn't. It didn't really feel like she was getting to know Patricia all over again, but more like she was getting to know her for the first time. Patricia was strong willed, and for the first time Sam was able to take that in without the taint of their past and their broken relationship. Even with the new experimental treatment there was no guarantee that Patricia would survive, but her sheer willpower to make things right between them kept Patricia fighting.

"I like that outfit much better than all that black leather you wore as Reign." Patricia said as she watched Sam, watched Astra, land in the privacy of her backyard.

Again Sam was taken by surprise. "You know I was Reign?"

"I knew it the moment I saw that symbol on the news." Patricia answers. Then instead of handing Sam her coffee like she always did she pushed herself out of her rocking chair, with a little help from Sam, she was pretty weak these days, and said, "Help me up to your room."

Sam wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but seeing her room just as she had left it wasn't on the list. Everything was the exactly as she'd left it. Teen magazine pinups on the wall near her bed, ribbons and awards on the wall by her desk, her old stuff rabbit sitting on the shelf. Sam's heart squeezed painfully in her chest, so much so that she nearly missed what Patricia was saying.

"When you were ten years old you came down with a high fever." Patricia said softly. "It scared the hell out of your Daddy and me, especially when the doctor couldn't give us a reason for it. You spent three days in that bed in and out of what we thought were fever dreams. Then the fever just went away and you were fine. It happened again when you were thirteen, and then again when you were fifteen. Each time you would be in and out of those fever dreams, and when you were awake you'd draw, doodle on anything you could get your hands on."

Sam watched as Patricia ripped down the wallpaper to reveal the Worldkiller crest. She gasped softly and covered her mouth.

"You never remembered the image afterwards." Patricia told her. "So we just chalked it up to the fever."

"Reign was a virus." Sam said when she finally regained control of her emotions. It still wasn't easy for her to see the symbol. "A biologically engineered virus leeched onto my DNA to make me into a weapon." She thought about what Patricia was telling her and what Lena had told her about the Reign virus. "I'm guessing that each time I got that high fever it was the virus trying to emerge but realizing I wasn't physically mature yet and going dormant again. I'd have to check with Lena to make sure though."

"Is Ms. Luthor the one who saved you?" Patricia asked.

"Lena, Supergirl, Alex, Ruby…" Sam replied. "They all played a part. But yes, Lena is the one who found a way to remove the Reign virus and Supergirl destroyed it."

"Then I owe them both, I owe them all, my thanks." Patricia said softly. "For saving my little girl."

For the first time in a very long time Sam didn't stiffen up when Patricia touched her. "We should get going. We don't want to be late for your treatment. Mrs. Green will get the good treatment chair and the best donuts if we're not there first."

A business trip to Singapore would have Sam gone from National City for at least a week. When Patricia's nurse said she wouldn't be able to work the Wednesday Sam would be gone she almost thought about asking Lena if she could go instead. Then Ruby, who was home from school on break, offered to take Patricia to her appointment.

"I'm not sure, Rubes." Sam said as she looked up from making Maya's peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwich. "You haven't even met her yet."

"So let's fix that." Ruby said between sticky bites of her own lunch. "Mom, you've been working so hard on mending your relationship with Patricia for the last couple of months. Maybe it's finally time you two faced what finally ended you're already shaky relationship. Me."

Sam frowned. "You weren't the reason Patricia and I fell out, Ruby."

"Not totally." Ruby said. "But I was the straw that broke the camel's back, and I think that letting her face me will help you both go further along your path of healing."

Sam wasn't easily sold on the idea of Ruby meeting Patricia despite things being better between herself and her adoptive mother these days. Sam's natural instinct to protect Ruby played a part in her hestatance but so did a touch of resentment that she was still holding on to. Patricia had chosen to throw her out, to remove herself from her life as well as Ruby's. Why should she get the chance to meet her granddaughter? But Patricia had apologized, had told Sam countless times that the choices she'd made back then were mistakes and if she could do it all over again she wouldn't have kicked Sam out, she would have helped her raise Ruby.

"You're still wondering if she would have reached out if she hadn't gotten sick, aren't you?" Alex asked as she watched her wife stare at the flames from in the fire in their patio firepit.

"Kind of cynical of me, huh?" Sam replied as she shifted on the wicker sofa to snuggle closer to her wife.

Alex tightened the hold she had on Sam as she replied, "You carried around a lot of pain, anger, and resentment for a long time Sam. It's only natural for it to be hard to put down. You and Patricia have come a long way, and I'm so incredibly proud of you for working through this, but you have a long way to go too."

Sam sighed. "I know, and a part of me agrees with Ruby. This would be the next obstacle to get past. I just don't want to see her get hurt."

"Are you afraid that Patricia will reject Ruby or Maya?" Alex asked.

She had to think about it for a few moments but finally said, "No, I don't think that's it." She fell silent again as she examined her thoughts and feeling and then sighed. "I'm afraid they'll get attached only to end up losing her."

"Sam." Alex said gently as she pushed Sam back a little so she could look into her wife's beautiful golden brown eyes. "Are you afraid of letting Patricia in again because you're afraid of losing her? It's been months baby, and well, you still use her first name when you talk about her."

Sam bite her lip and after several minutes tears welled in her eyes.

Alex reached out and pulled Sam into her arms, holding her close and tight. "Oh Sam."

With the Singapore trip fast approaching Sam didn't have a lot of time to dwell on what she was going to do. After talking it out more with Alex and also with Lena and Kara, because she respected their points of view and they often helped each other see different sides to things, she decided to go ahead with this next step. Lena especially seemed invested in the out come of all this. She had given up on any kind of reconciliation between herself and Lillian, so she was kind of living vicariously through Sam and Patricia. So that morning as they waited to see Patricia's doctor Sam decided to go for it. "I was thinking, if you feel up to it that is, that maybe we'd try something a little different after your appointment today."

"Oh?" Patricia replied as she looked over at her daughter.

"I thought maybe since you don't have a treatment today you might feel up to having lunch." Sam said.

Patricia smiled. "Sam, you always take me out to lunch. You worry about me not eating right."

"You need to keep up your strength to make it easier to handle the treatments. That means eating healthy, exercise, and sleep. Don't think I don't know about you trying to bribe your nurse into letting you skip yoga, and the late nights binge watching Golden Girls and NCIS." Sam said firmy and then softened. "And as for lunch, I thought what could be different is where we go."

Patricia rolled her eyes while her daughter scolded her but couldn't hide the soft smile. "A new restaurant?"

"No." Sam said softly. She bit her lip nervously and then said. "My house." She watched the shock playout over Patricia's face as she continued. "Ruby's home from college on break and well, she'd like to meet you."

Tears welled in Patricia's eyes. "I would very much like to meet my granddaughters, but only if this is what you want, Sam."

Sam reached over to put her hand on Patricia's. "I think it's time."

Both women walked into the house as if they were expecting something to go off. Trepidation and nervousness clung to them like the lingering smell of hospital soap on their hands. Sam led the way further into her home, hanging her keys on the peg below her name on the key rack Ruby had made her last year at summer camp, and placing her purse on the island as she watched Patricia take everything in. "Can I get you coffee or tea or I think we have a fresh batch of raspberry tea and lemonade?"

"Something cool would be nice, thank you." Patricia said as she stood just at the edge of the open space of her daughter's living room. She was trying to meld the image of the teenage girl whose room was full of magazine pin up posters and awards on the walls, stuffed owls and rabbits on her shelves, books and records neatly arranged on her window nook, with the grown up tastes of a adult woman with a spouse and two children of her own. Patricia hadn't been there to see the change in Sam, to watch her and guide her as she built her own home, created a safe, warm space for her family.

"Patricia?" Sam said gently as she held a glass of tea in her hands. "Are you alright?"

Patricia smiled as best she could. This hurt more then she'd imagined it word, facing the truth about what she had missed out on in her own child's life. "I'm fine dear." She reached for the glass. "Thank you." She took a sip and then moved away from Sam, towards the fireplace where there were pictures on the mantel. "Are we the only ones here?"

Sam shook her head. "Ruby's upstairs. Alex takes Maya and our niece Alexis to a toddler tumble class on Wednesday mornings, but they'll be back in time for lunch."

The pictures on the mantel and walls told Sam's story. An old picture in a cheap frame showed a young Sam in a hospital bed holding her newborn daughter, while a newer picture in a more expensive frame showed a woman with short red hair in a hospital bed with Sam seated beside her holding a newborn, on the other side of the redhead stood Ruby and an older blonde woman who had her arm around Ruby, and a tall broad shouldered stoic looking man. On the other side of Sam stood a younger blonde woman with glasses, and Lena Luthor, each with a small child. Sam had gone from being totally alone to being surrounded by people who from the looks on their faces loved her and Ruby very much.

All she ever wanted to do was protect Sam but all ever did was make mistakes and hurt her. She had convinced herself that Sam would have a hard enough time in life because she was an alien, which they could hide, which she had hidden from Sam for so long. When it became clear Sam liked girls, that she was most likely gay, Patricia's first instinct had been to hide that too. She had tried to steer Sam away from those thoughts and feelings and it ended up driving Sam into the bed of a pickup truck with a boy who apparently had no idea what a condom was.

Setting her drink aside, Patricia reached up and picked up the white picture frame with a picture of Sam and Alex in white dresses on a beach as the sun sank behind the sea. Even in a photo she could see just how happy Sam was.

Sam wasn't sure what to say as she watched her mother take in the moments of her life on display in the pictures around her home. It wasn't ok that Patricia missed out on those moments, so she didn't want to say it was. So she just let Patricia take it all in and feel whatever it was she was feeling until she heard footsteps on the stairs.

Patricia had just put the picture back when she heard someone coming into the room. She went tense, the air catching in her lungs for a moment. Then the moment she saw the young woman, tall and slender like Sam, her hair long and dark with streaks of green and pink, her eyes the same golden brown as Sam but with flecks of green. She looked so much like Sam, like the girl Patricia had thrown out of her home, out of her life, she couldn't stop the choked sob that escaped her mouth.

As soon as Ruby saw the older woman's reaction to seeing her she went to Patricia and asked, "Are you alright?"

With her hand over her mouth to stifle any more sobs Patricia nodded and then lowered her hand to say, "You're so beautiful." She started to reach out a hand towards Ruby but stopped herself. "You look so much like your mother."

Ruby smiled reassuringly at her grandmother. "I'm really glad to finally meet you."

"You shouldn't be." Patricia replied with a shake of her head as she distanced herself from Ruby. "Not after everything I did, everything I didn't do." She looked around the room, at the pictures, at Ruby, at her daughter, and the tears just wouldn't stop as she looked into Sam's eyes. "I failed you as a mother, and I lost you, and I have lived with regret ever since. Here you are giving me a second chance… I don't deserve it, Samantha. I don't."

Sam walked over to her mother and took her hand in her own. "We can't change the past, and to be honest, I wouldn't want too. It wasn't easy, but it lead me to where I'm at now, it led me to Alex and my girls, and our life together." She looked into Patricia's tear filled eyes and truly saw a mother's remorse for the mistakes she'd made, and for the first time Sam believed it. "What's important is what we do now, what we do moving forward. We don't know how much time we have left together, Momma, lets not waste any more of it on what's out of our control."

Patricia gasped at the sound of Sam calling her momma. Pulling her hand from Sam's she reached up with shaky hands to hold her daughter's face. "I love you, Samantha. I'm so sorry for all the pain I've caused you."

"I know you are." Sam said, finally giving her mother the forgiveness she'd been holding back. "I forgive you. It's going to be ok."

Ruby smiled as she watched her mother hug her grandmother. When Patricia asked if she might have a few minutes alone Ruby showed her to the guest room, and then went to check on her mom. Sam reassured Ruby that she was alright and when she hugged her it was extra tight. "You're a really awesome mom and I love you."

"I love you too, Rubes." Sam replied.

Once Patricia had regained her composure she joined her daughter and granddaughter on the patio. While Sam made lunch on the grill, Ruby filled her in on the details of her life. She attended Stanford, was part of a team of teenage superheroes, and was dating a boy named Jaime from Texas who was also on her team. When Alex got home with Maya things became a little tense and uncomfortable for little while. Ruby did her best to ease the awkwardness, but it lingered until they were well into eating the meal.

"Goodness." Patricia said as she watched Maya inhaling bits of grilled chicken and chunks of cheese. "She eats the way you use too. Your father tried to get you to slow down once and you ended up accidentally biting him, and then looked mad about it. You look him right in the eye and said, Daddy, you not chicken, yuck."

Ruby laughed. Alex snorted.

Sam huffed. "Alien physiology, even without active powers we need more calories."

They would never be as close as they could have been. The burned bridge between them had been repaired, but it would forever bare the scars of the damage done to it. But there would be no regrets between them, and the time they spent together would be peaceful and full of good memories. The experimental treatment gave them more time together, time Patricia would have never gotten without it, but she was still old and the treatment was in no way a cure for cancer.

"What are you going to do with the house?" Alex asked as she watched Sam lock the front door of the old farmhouse where she'd grown up.

Sam didn't reply right away. She moved away from the door to the porch's edge and looked out over the yard to the big tree with the tire swing. She watched Maya as she played, switching between running around the tree and putting herself into the center of the tire to swing on her belly as if she were flying. She had action figures in each hand, Supergirl and Astra, and several others littered the dirt patch under the swing. "Maya, baby, it's time to go." Sam called out. "Make sure you have all your toys."

"Ok Mommy!" Maya called back in response.

Sam's mind flashed back to a different dark haired little girl playing on that swing.

"Sammie!" Patricia called out from the front porch. "Dinner's ready, come wash up."

"Coming Momma!" Little Sam called back. Leaping from the tire swing she ran towards the porch, crashing into her mother's legs. Looking up into her mother's face with her big brown eyes Sam smiled as she said, "I love you Momma."

Patricia returned the smile and brushed hair from Sam's eyes. "Go wash up, girl. I've made your favorite for supper."

The words had be extremely rare but Sam had realised that her mother had said I love you back in other ways. A favorite meal, a new toy for no reason, a random stop at the ice cream parlor when they probably shouldn't have spent that extra few dollars.

"Babe?" Alex said softly, coming up and putting her hand on the small of Sam's back.

Sam turned to look at her and smiled as tears welled in her dark eyes. "There are a lot of alien kids finding their way to Earth without anyone to care for them. They'll need a home, just like I did."

Alex smiled. Leaning in she kissed her wife and then said, "I think that's a great idea. I love you, Sam."

"I love you too." Sam replied to Alex just as their daughter crashed into Sam's legs. She looked down and into Maya's golden brown eyes and smiled. "I love you too Maya."

"I love you more, Mommy." Maya told Sam.

Sam picked her daughter up and tickled her. "How about we stop for ice cream?"

"Yay!" Maya replied as she threw her arms around her mother's neck.