Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Will stood on the roof overlooking the city. It had been a long and painful day, and he couldn’t get the idea that his siblings hated him out of his mind. Jay had made his feelings pretty straightforward, and though Kara hadn’t said anything, she’d stayed out of most of their conversations and had left the second he’d started in on them.

“Hey.” He was startled from his thoughts as Natalie walked up, putting her hands on his arm in comfort. “You okay?”

Looking down, he sighed. “I could have been a better son.” He told her honestly. “Could have been a better brother.”

Natalie’s heart broke for him, and she shook her head. “Oh, Will…your dad knew you loved him. And so does Jay.” She rubbed his back. “And you know that Kara absolutely adores you.”

Looking up at her, he nodded in acceptance before leaning into her touch. “How is she?”

His fiancé sighed. “She’s upset, understandably. But not at you. She’s just tired and sad and couldn’t take the fighting anymore.”

The redhead frowned. “Did you know this is the fourth parent she’s lost?”

Natalie shook her head. “She’s adopted?”

“Yeah,” Will told her. “It’s not something we talk about, because honestly, it doesn’t feel like it. I sometimes forget that we don’t share blood. But then something like this happens, and it wasn’t until she said something that I remembered how much she’s lost.”

“How did she lose them?” Natalie asked him quietly.

He turned to face her, still keeping their physical contact. “When our parents adopted her, they told us that it was a fire. When she got comfortable with us, she said her home exploded…she’d barely gotten out alive.”

“That’s terrible.” Natalie kissed him. “But there is something important to remember.”

“What’s that?”

“She still has you, and she still has Jay.” She reminded him. “And you still have both of them. And me…you will always have me.”

Nodding, he gave her a small smile. “Thank you.”

“Always.”

Taking a deep breath, Kara walked back into her father’s room. Jay was alone now, and she figured he and Will had argued themselves out. At least, she hoped they did.

Sitting down on Pat’s other side, she sent her brother a small, reassuring smile to try and alleviate the tension. “Sorry about that.”

“You okay?” His voice was scratchy.

She shrugged. “No, not by a long shot.” She paused. “But I will be. Eventually.”

“Listen, I’m sorry about before…”

Kara shook her head, her glasses slipping slightly down her face. “Please don’t be. Having to make a life or death decision when family is involved…it’s never easy.”

“What do you mean?” He asked curiously, brows furrowing.

She sighed. “When my parents died, we knew it was the end before we could escape. There was only enough time and resources to get two people out, so my aunt and uncle sent my cousin out first as he was only a baby.

“Then they had my parents get me out. I knew they were all going to die, and I had to choose to stay with them or leave and protect my cousin. He was only a baby, a newborn, so I knew what I had to do. But it doesn’t make the decision any easier.”

“I didn’t know any of that.” He told her. “I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “It’s life, Jay. All life is different, but some things remain the same. Unfortunately, this is one of them.”

He nodded in silence, and they looked back at their dad. The doors slid open quietly a few minutes later, and someone cleared their throat.

“Hey, guys.”

Looking up, Kara smiled. “Winn.”

Sending her a sympathetic smile, he walked over and took a seat in the chair next to her. “Sorry, it took me so long. Dropping your stuff off took slightly longer than anticipated.” Then he looked at Jay. “Hey, dude, I’m sorry.”

Jay just nodded. “Thanks, man.” He paused. “Thanks for coming.”

The younger man shrugged. “Your family is pretty much all I have in that department, so…”

They lapsed into silence again, and Kara leaned on the side of the bed. Her left hand reached out and grabbed Winn’s, who moved his chair closer to hers. They stayed like that for a while before the doors opened again, and Will came in.

“Hey, Winn, thanks for coming.” He said after a minute, hoping to ease the room’s tension.

“Like I told Jay…he’s family.” Winn sighed.

“Kara…”

“We’re good, Will.” She told him honestly, fiddling with her glasses.

Knowing she only did so when she was nervous, he went to speak until she slowly shook her head and glanced at their brother. Seeing her gaze shift, he set his sight on Jay.

“I’m sorry, Jay. For everything.” Will’s voice cracked, and Kara squeezed Winn’s hand. “For not being there for you, and Dad, and Kara. For not giving either of you space to grieve. We’ll keep him on the vent as long as you want.”

Blinking slowly, Jay spared a glance at their sister and saw agreement in her eyes. “Who am I kidding, man? I know he’s not coming back. Let him go.”

Both boys looked up at Kara, who had tears in her eyes and a death grip on Winn’s hand. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. “He wouldn’t want this. Just let him go.”

Clapping Jay on the back, Will sat down next to him and nodded sadly at his sister. Kara held Winn’s hand in her left and her father’s in her right. She saw Winn lean over and clap Will on the arm, rubbing it slightly, sharing a look of sorry with the grieving doctor, before dropping his hand and leaning closer to her.

Taking in the comfort of having the three most important—living—men in her life around her, she finally let her heart grieve for the man she had lost. She prayed she would never have to do this again, at least not for a very long time.