AN: Hi everyone just to warn you that I'm French and all the mistakes are mine.
Four months after the whole kissing fiasco, things were better between Alex and Maggie. The agent had been avoiding the detective for basically two weeks after the incident but she quickly figured they were linked through work anyways and had to see eachother, even if it was just a couple minutes arresting aliens. So after understanding this and many efforts from Maggie trying to keep a friendly relationship, Alex had resolved herself to spend time with her, talk to her. Like friends do.
Except Alex still didn't want to stay friends. Even if she knew Maggie had been right to push her away, she just couldn't accept it. The detective was too precious for that. Alex wanted her and no one else. And even if it hurt, even if it took all the fibers of her being not to cry in her presence, the agent couldn't stay away from her because it would hurt a thousand time more.
Like everything, time made it easier, less awkward, more comfortable. Their relationship, their game, was almost back to normal. Almost. Because now Maggie knew and even with all her strength, she couldn't ignore the fact that Alex might be in love with her. She still couldn't be sure because she had been where Alex was. She had felt the thrill of finally firguring herself out, she knew how good and euphoriant it was to experience it. So Maggie knew it was easy to feel things in that period. Things that wouldn't always be true with time. Besides, The detective had just been dumped by the woman she thought would be the one. So that was why Maggie had made the wise choice to stop Alex from doing something they would've both regreted. Maybe.
"Hey, Danvers!" Maggie called as Alex stepped out of the police station, causing her to stop and face her. "Thanks again for the help."
"No problem." Alex assured. "Besides, if it wasn't for your tip, they wouldn't be behind bars. And you said it yourself; we make a pretty good team." she added with smirk.
A very short silent settled between them where Maggie was smiling at her feet and Alex was doing her best not to blush at the sight.
"So, what do you say?" Maggie asked playfully. "One drink before bed?"
"No, sorry." Alex anwsered a bit awkwardly. "It's been a couple of rough days, I think I better get home."
"Ok, then. I should probably call it a night too." The detective accepted a bit disapointed but hiding it with her signature dimple showing smirk
"Probably, yeah. You look like a zombie." Alex teased as she was about to walk away
"Do you own a mirror?" Maggie shot back with a grin
"There's a reason I don't." the agent joked, walking backward.
Maggie laughed and turned to get back into the precinct as Alex was leaving for good. But just as she was about to turn around the corner, the agent heard tires shriek loudly and when she looked up, an armed man rolled down the window and passed his gun through it.
It all played in slow motion for Alex. Following the movement of the car and the direction of the gun, horror crept into her eyes. Maggie's back was in the line of fire. Without thinking twice, Alex turned on her heels and ran back to the precinct.
"Get down!" she shouted as she approached the detective.
Maggie, hearing her friend's voice, turned around in confusion just to be tackled on the ground at the second gun shots were fired. She hit the pavement hard, face on the ground, with a muffled cry feeling Alex's body fall on top of hers. The car sped up and left the area with an other sharp turn, the sound of the motor fading away in the night. Maggie stayed dumbstruck for a short moment. Catching her breath, she tried to get her arm from under Alex who was still yet to move. The detective was about to make a snarky comment on how the danger was gone when she finally managed to free her arm. That's when she noticed the red liquid all over her hand and sleeve. Now more than worried, Maggie quickly turned on her back and extirpated herself to better see, still blocked by Alex.
"Danvers?" she called, afraid, as the agent's body came in contact with the pavement.
That's when she heard the muffled groans and the difficult intakes of breath. Quickly, Maggie spun Alex on her back, causing her to emit her first true cry of pain.
"Oh my god." the detective breathed out as she discovered the small hole in her friend's stomach and all the blood pourring out of it.
Alex was looking at the sky, trying to stay still and calm. The pain was horrible, causing her to squint her eyes shut occasionally when a wave would spread through her entire body. She was vaguely aware of her surroundings. She knew Maggie was above her because she could see her, hear her, feel her. But it was distant for some reason. All the sounds, the noises, were hard to hear clearly. All of this certainly due to the excrutiating pain she was in. Alex couldn't realy move and she didn't want to because she felt a pair of hands on her and knew the best she could do was stay as still she could to keep the damages to minimum.
At the sight of the wound, Maggie pressed it with her two hands. Trying to contain the blood loss as much as possible, she did her best to ignore the cries of pain and laboured breathing and took a look at Alex's body, checking for other wounds. When she found none, finally becoming aware of her own panicked breath, Maggie lent her eyes on Alex's face, seeing her pained expression for the first time.
"Danvers, can you hear me?" she asked with fear and urge in her voice
"Y-Yes." Alex managed between cries
"Ok. Good. ok...I need help here!" she yelled inside the precinct before focussing back on Alex
"How bad is it?" the agent asked in one go that earned her a wave a pain
"Don't know. But you should stop talking." Maggie almost ordered.
Alex closed her eyes briefly and nodded silently, still trying to calm her breathing. But the blood didn't seem to stop pourring out of her stomach so Maggie pressed harder on the wound. The gesture caused Alex to scream in pain, arching back in reflex.
"Sorry! Sorry." the detective quickly apologized without deminishing the pressure, as three officers walked out of the building calling for an ambulance.
It took a few seconds for Alex to get use to the added pain but she finally managed. Except it wasn't voluntarily. The blood loss was too important. Her muffled cries became fainter and the spasmodic movements of her body lessened as the pain felt more distant. Maggie noticed right away and saw her friend's face slipping out of her control.
"Danvers, stay with me!" she shouted, cursing she couldn't do more.
But it wasn't working. Alex's eyes were glossy and unfocussed. Soon, they would roll to the back of her head.
"Alex! Alex!" Maggie called desperately.
It was in vain. Alex heard her name in the distance, not knowing if it was real or not. And then, her eyes closed and her mind was flooded with darkness. A wave of panic engulfed Maggie deeper into her concern as she saw the agent's head roll the the side and felt the movements of her body stop under her fingers.
"Damnit." the detective said to herself.
She was useless here. With very basic notions of health and anatomy, the only thing she could do was stay immobile and try to contain the blood loss with her bare hands. Waiting more and more impatiently for the ambulance, Maggie didn't even notice the jacket an officer folded under Alex's head.
Five long minutes later, the red and white truck finally came into view, sirens screaming. Alex was quickly loaded into the ambulance and Maggie pushed her way through the EMTs to stay with her. She didn't have to argue very long, or at all, flashing her badge with an angry glare. They were unfortunately used to it. However, Maggie stayed quiet during the longest ride of her life, letting the professionals take care of her uncounscious and injured friend. She only opened her mouth to anwser the few questions she was asked. Other than that, the detective stayed silent, staring with eyes full of concern.
Once arrived at the hospital, Maggie watched as the doctors brought Alex to a place she didn't have access to. And when the doors closed, she was left alone in a relatively crowded emergency service. The woman looked at the clock above the reception desk, it was nearly midnight. She was exhausted. Maggie took the time to look at herself for the first time since the shooting. Her black lether jacket was stained with blood still fresh and her hands were as red as those of a murderer.
From the corner of her eye, she saw her phone in her pocket. That was when a thought struck her: Alex's sister. Kara was her name, right? She had to call her. Suddenly it became Maggie's only goal. With an energy she didn't know she had left, the detective closed the distance between her and the reception. There, she interrupted a nurse that was filling some document.
"The woman who just went through those doors." she started, pointing at them. "I need her phone."
"It doesn't work like this here, ma'am. And the police might want to take a look at it later." the nurse gently informed, causing Maggie to see red anyway
"It does for me. I'm the police" the detective said with force, slaming her badge on the counter. "It should be in her jacket." she added, still glaring at the nurse.
A bit intimated but understanding, the woman stood up and left, promissing the said phone. Maggie watched her walking away carefully. But before the nurse went through the forbidden doors, she turned back and pointed at the other side of the room, clearly for Maggie's attention. The detective followed her finger and saw a door with a bathroom sign on it.
Relaxing the slightliest, she crossed the room and pushed the door open. Maggie slowly approached one of the sinks. There, she looked up and saw her reflexion in the square mirror. And before even assessing her own face, a memory flashed in her brain.
"Do you own a mirror?"
"There's a reason I don't."
Maggie had to use all her might and her entire breathing not to shead a tear. Trying to shake off the memory, she focussed on her face. A bit of brownish red was staining her forehead. It brought back the attention on her hands, still awfully red. Maggie made good use of soap and water and finally, after long minutes, she managed to get rid of the unwanted gloves. Then, she washed her face quickly before using some water to fix her hair.
When she eventually walked out the bathroom after twenty minutes, she looked at the reception desk and saw the nurse she had confronted earlier. On the counter, Alex's phone was next to her badge. Laughing at herself for forgetting it, Maggie walked to the desk calmer than earlier.
"Thank you." she simply said, getting the nurse's attention
"You're welcome." she answered politely.
Maggie took the two objects and was about to leave when she decided otherwise.
"I'm sorry for ealier. I shouldn't have yelled at you."
"Apologies accepted." the nurse smiled. "And don't worry I've seen a lot worse here." she assured.
Maggie smiled back and walked away, a bit ashamed but glad about that little moment of positivity. Not feeling like sitting down nor staying in a room full of either injured or worried people, the detective headed outside. Leaning against the wall just next to the entrance, Maggie took Alex's phone from her pocket. Thanking God the agent wasn't discreet at all while unlocking it, she entered the code and went straight for the contacts. Quickly finding Kara's number, she hit the button and waited, nervous. Maggie hated doing this. This was the main reason why she didn't do partners.
After suffocating seconds of waiting, a sleepy voice answered.
"Kara Danvers?" Maggie said, trying to keep her voice as steady as she could
"Who is this?" the kryptonian asked now fully awake
"Maggie Sawyer." the detective answered, figuring introducing herself without her firstname would be weird considering she was speaking to Alex's sister. "Something happened." she added, trying to delay the inevitable as much as possible
"Is Alex ok?" Kara questionned without preamble
"I don't know." Maggie almost said.
"She's at National City General. She was shot... protecting me." she announced instead, letting some guilt creep into her mind
"I'll be right there."
That was all Maggie heard before the line went dead. With a long sigh, she leaned back her head against the wall and closed her eyes. This was going to be a long night.
SSSSSSSSS
"I'll be right there." Kara said before quickly hanging up.
The kryptonian rushed in her bathroom grabbing some clothes that were hanging on a chair. She didn't care if they matched, if they were even clean. Right now wasn't the time to think. Throwing some icy water on her face to shake off the last bit of sleep, Kara used super-speed.
Alex was hurt and she hadn't been with her. She didn't know where or when she was shot, if it wasn't that bad or if she was dying. So many questions were racing through Kara's mind, almost as fast as she was getting dressed right now. The only thing she knew was that Maggie had been with her when it happened and apparently it was her fault. She was the target and Alex protected her. Kara knew it was wrong to think like that. Alex would've done it for a complete stranger but it was Maggie we were talking about and Kara knew too well how she was making her sister feel. How she had broken her heart, how she was distracting her everytime she was near her, physically or just in her mind. And Kara knew Maggie was a good cop, a good person even but right now, with Alex in danger, it was just hard to think rationally.
Slipping her hair in a simple poney-tail while leaving the bathroom, the young woman sat on her couch and almost cursed as she struggled to put her shoes on. That was when Kara decided to stop what she was doing and take a second to breathe. Her hands were shaking. Closing her eyes briefly, the kryptonian sighed and went back to her task. Grabbing her coat, she shoved her phone and keys in her pockets and took off. Litterally.
Barely a minute later, Kara landed in an alley next to the hospital. Walking fast, she stepped inside the hall and stopped a few meters in. Looking all around her, she was about to go talk to the nurse at the reception counter when she spotted a familiar form sitting alone in a corner of the waiting area. Kara quickly recognised Maggie. She was supporting her head with one hand, looking nervously at a pair of white doors, and her right knee was trembling up and down faster than any human Kara had ever seen doing. The young woman walked up to her.
"Detective Sawyer." she called causing Maggie to stand up quickly, her face full of concern and fear. "What happened? Where is Alex?" Kara asked with impatience and worry
"That was fast." Maggie said automatically but quickly corrected herself. "She's in surgery. Doctors didn't want to tell me anything." she added but seeing Kara was looking at her with an expression she couldn't quite read yet, waiting for the other part of the answer, she quickly continued. "We were outside the precinct after arresting four men for alien weapons possession when it happened. A man shot at me from the window of a moving car and your sister... She saved me." the detective explained, guilty.
Maggie watched as Kara sighed, hanging her head and crossing her arms. A moment later, the young woman looked at the white doors she was staring at earlier and then glared at her. It surprised her a little but not as much as what was about to come.
"You should go." Kara advised with force.
It was so sudden, so unexpected from someone like her that Maggie realized for the first time how much the young woman could be intimidating. Noticing she was slightly taller than Alex, making the gap of hights between them even bigger, she swallowed
"Wh-Escuse me? No!" Maggie exclaimed.
She saw how her answer didn't quite please Kara. Her arms uncrossed and became threatening. Her face closed with some kind mix of anger, frustration and worry. Internally, Kara was furious. And seeing the blood on Maggie's jacket, Alex's blood, only added to her feelings.
"Alex is here because of you! She's hurt because of you." the young woman snapped
"She would've jumped in front of that gun for anyone." Maggie countered with force, trying to keep her emotions in check
"Leave this hospital now." Kara ordered, taking one threatening step closer. "Leave her alone." she added louder.
Maggie didn't say anything back. She could only sustain the death glare the kryptonian was giving her. It reminded her of the first time she had met Alex and even if she knew the Danvers sisters weren't related by blood, they sure had a lot in common, starting with their stuborness and the intensity of their glare. Giving up after a good five seconds, Maggie hung her head in defeat and left without looking back. She did it not only because it wasn't her place to argue with Alex's sister, but also because of the guilt Kara had installed in her. She was right. If Maggie hadn't had a meter long list of enemies, if she hadn't called Alex for help on her case, her friend wouldn't be in an operation room. Yes, but she would be dead.
Sad and full of guilt, Maggie didn't even bother calling for a taxi. Alone in the night, she walked all the way to her apartment, inflicting herself some kind of punishment.
SSSSSSSSSS
The anger Kara was feeling faded instantly when the detective left the hall. Sitting without thinking where Maggie sat earlier, the young woman took her head between her hands and sighed heavily. Now, all her thoughts and energy were directed towards Alex like if she were trying hard enough, some of it would help her sister. The feeling of helplessness grew in Kara's mind. Not knowing how Alex was and not being able to help her was killing her and the kryptonian quickly caught herself in the same position she had found Maggie in. Stopping her knees from shaking, Kara crossed her legs and tried to be patient.
After what felt like an eternity but was really fourty minutes according to the big clock on the wall, Kara decided that sitting was to stressing for her. She stood, up starting to pace the hall, looking all around her, detailing every elements. Spotting a vending machine, the young woman put her hand in her pocket and found a couple of dollars. She let the machine swallow her money and waited for a bottle of water to fall. Kara placed both hands on the machine with a sigh, staring at the screw bringing the object closer to its fall. It was so infuriatingly slow. Everything was going too slowly around her; and not just because she was gifted with super-speed.
Finally, the bottle dropped with a clung and Kara bend down to retrieve it. Walking back her seat, she uncapsuled it and emptied the half of it. Fear and concern were making her thirsty. An umpteenth look at the clock informed her it was nearly two in the morning. Fatigue was making things harder. Figuring she wasn't ready to sit down yet, Kara headed for the reception counter for the third time of the night.
"Escuse me... again. Do you have any news?" she asked politely, not needing to precise any name at that point
"Yes. I was about to go see you." the nurse softly answered, causing a light to switch on in Kara's eyes. "Your sister just got out of surgery. The doctor should come speak to you in a minute."
"Thank you." the kryptonian said sincerely before heading back to her seat.
All the fatigue she had accumulated felt like gone. Now she was too exited to hear about her sister and Kara couldn't help but feel hopeful because the nurse didn't seem sorry at all. She seemed calm. The young woman discovered a new kind of hope when she saw a doctor heading her way, talking to a nurse. He seemed tired but had a smirk on his lips when he parted ways from his colleague.
"Miss Danvers I presume?" he asked as she stood up quickly. "Doctor Patterson." he added shaking her hand
"How is she?" Kara asked quickly
"Your sister is going to be fine. The bullet didn't do any major damage and the blood loss was impressive but easy to fix. She's very lucky." he explained with a smile.
Kara sighed with relief and felt her body becoming lighter as six tone of worries flew away.
"Can I see her?" she questionned
"Right now, no." the doctor said, causing Kara to lose a bit of her light. "She's going to be under close observation for the night and we gave her painkillers and a sedative to keep her asleep."
Kara didn't respond and looked away for a second. She wanted, she needed to see Alex.
"You should go home and get a few hours of sleep and in the morning, your sister will be waiting for you in a room." the doctor added with a compassionate smile.
Kara nodded and smiled slightly in return.
"Thank you, Doctor." she said before leaving.
On her way home, Kara was persuaded she wouldn't sleep. But to her own surprise, as soon as she brought the covers to her chin, everything went dark and exhaustion took over.
SSSSSSSSSS
The next day, at the precinct, Maggie was stuck at her desk until the investigation on the shooter would get somewhere. And while she finally had the time to complete the obnoxious mass of paperwork on her desk, the detective couldn't support the weird looks of concern her colleagues were occasionally giving her, neither could she support staying a minute longer without seeing Alex. She knew from a quick call to the hospital that she was fine and out of danger but Maggie couldn't just get her out of her head. Sighing for the tenth time in the minute, she stood up from her desk and took her jacket before heading out.
"Sawyer!" she heard behind her, causing her to stop dead in her track. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Don't worry, Captain, I'm not hitting the streets. I'm going to the hospital." Maggie said with attitude, seeming unstopable
"The hell you are. Someone tried to kill my only alien expert, I'm not about to let you just walk away."
"Hey things like this happen all the time and not just to me." the woman started, walking towards her superior with determination. "Whatever gang is responsible will stay low until things calm down. So whether you like it or not, I'm going." she added before turning to the door again
"Walk out of this building and you're fired!" the Captain tried a bit hopeless
"It's not like I've never heard that before." Maggie countered with a smirk. "And besides, I'm the only alien expert you have." she added before leaving for good.
The captain stood speechless and noticed the silence in his building. Everyone was looking at him. Some where even laughing.
"What are you waiting for? You have work to do!" he shouted just for effect, before storming in his office. "God I hate this woman." he mumbled, shaking his head with a grin.
SSSSSSSSSS
After a nurse kindly told her the number of Alex's room, Maggie walked down the hallway with exitement and nervousness. Stopping in front of the open door, her fear became reality. Kara Danvers was sitting next to her sister and the two were ingaged in a conversation. Forgetting the woman that had specifically told her to stay away from her family, Maggie couldn't hep but smile at the sight of Alex. Or rather couldn't help but smile at the sight of Alex smiling. The woman was a bit pale and seemed tired. But then again, who doesn't after being shot in the guts. Eventually, Maggie decided to make her presence known and knocked tentatively on the door. The conversation stopped instantly and all the eyes in the room were directed to her. It made her feel a bit oppressed.
"Hi. Sorry to interrupt." she said simply.
Alex smiled at her but quickly stopped and brought her attention to her sister whose face had turned completely from happy to angry in a matter of milliseconds. Kara stood up, ready to defy the intruder.
"I thought I told you to leave her alone." Kara barked, still not understanding that it was impossible to keep Alex from seeing Maggie and vice versa.
Her attention shifted when Alex grabbed her hand. Kara looked at their laced fingers and then at her sister. Alex was looking at her with a gentle, pleading and reassuring look.
"Kara, it's ok." the agent promissed with a weak voice. "Please." she added when the kryptonian didn't seem to agree.
With that, Kara gave up and squeezed her sister's hand before leaving the room. Maggie felt the cold air as the young woman walked passed her and waited a second before entering further in the room.
"I'm pretty sure your sister hates me." she chuckled
"Sorry about that. She'll come around." Alex started, rolling her tired eyes. "Kara knows it wasn't your fault."
"The nurse told me you got lucky?" Maggie asked already knowing the answer
"Yeah, the bullet didn't hit anything very important." Alex confirmed
The detective suddenly found herself with nothing to say. She looked at the chair next to the bed and hesitated to use it. Finally she decided against it. Putting awkwardly her hands in her pockets, she looked back at Alex.
"Thank you. For saving my life yesterday." she said softly, earning a nod from her friend. "Even if I still think it was really stupid." she joked
"Yeah, Kara gives me a lot of those." Alex chuckled weakly.
But the laughter sent a small wave of pain in her stomach that the painkillers couldn't protect her from. Wincing slightly, it took Alex a second to center herself. Seeing the agent in pain only reminded Maggie of the long minutes spent pressing her hands on her bloody stomach and the sharp comment Kara had made later.
"Your sister... Last night she was angry at me, still is but-" Maggie paused, trying to find the right words. "She blamed me for hurting you. She didn't mean only physically, did she."
Alex's eyes met her in a soft stare. She was too tired to be surprised and it would be non sense to be since she had made her feelings for the detective pretty clear.
"I'm sorry for hurting you like this." Maggie stated as she tried to conceal her own feelings and her guilt
"It's ok..." Alex tried. "I'm over it." she added, not very convincing
"And yet you haven't started dating since that night." the woman pointed
"You haven't either." Alex countered softly, never letting her eyes down as she felt more confident with the drugs in her system
As a consequence, Maggie chuckled nervously. Understanding for the first time that Alex didn't want to date not only because of fear, but also because she didn't want to date a woman other than her, Maggie began to accept her own feelings for the woman in front of her. The nervousness let the place to a confident smirk. And when she took her hands out of her pockets, taking a step towards the bed, nothing could've stopped her. Maggie leaned closer to Alex, just slowly enough to give her time to say no. The detective cupped her cheek with one hand and closed her eyes, pressing her lips on hers. It was slow, it was gentle. Just like in the bar but with a whole other meaning added to it.
Alex was in heaven. She had dreamed of this moment and cried, fearing it would never happen. Feeling those soft lips, that were somehow rough at the same time, sent a warm shiver down her spine. And if the simple act of lips caressing eachother was making her feel so much, she couldn't wait to do more. The kiss lasted longer than the first and after a few seconds Maggie pulled away and straightened with Alex's lazy hand brushing her arm in the motion.
The detective looked at her with a smile while Alex was still recovering from the warming embrace. The agent was speechless so after a second, she found out she could only smile and look down to hide her slight blush.
"You better get well fast." Maggie said, bringing her back to reality. "Alex." she added playfully before leaving.
The last word struck Alex in all the right places and as she caught herself smiling like an idiot, she realised she had never heard Maggie call her anything other than Danvers. Or nerd.
Her smile widdened when not three seconds after Maggie's departure, Kara walked in with a sheepish smirk on her face. Of course she had heard everything. If not seen everything.
"So I guess I can't be mad at her anymore." she said sitting in the chair
"No. You can't." Alex confirmed before sighing slightly, still floating on a cloud of happiness.
AN: Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review and I will happily reply ;)