Notes. See below.
Disclaimer. I do not own the rights to Supergirl, the characters belong to DC and all those associated.
COUNTDOWN
heartbeats
She can pinpoint every moment of her life down to the second. The day her cousin was born. The hour her planet died. The minute she landed on Earth. And every day, hour, minute, second since, she's counted. She keeps track, because it helps. Her sister doesn't understand, but Alex counts with her anyway. The day she left for college. The hour they talk on the phone. The minute she comes home. When she's worried, or scared, or anxious, she counts. Kara didn't think anyone noticed. Winn certainly didn't. James didn't say if he had. Lucy made a brief comment once, but it was forgotten twelve point eight seconds later. Kara knows. Kara counted.
At the DEO, she counts Alex's heart beat. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight and on and on until she reaches a thousand. Then she starts again. It soothes her, keeps her grounded. It's different at CATCO, because at CATCO, she counts Cat's heart, and Cat's heart beats different.
In the morning, just before the elevator doors open, her heart beats steady. It's a rhythmic thump telling Kara that Miss Grant's latte had better be scalding hot and full of caffeine because she's either hungover or exhausted. The doors open, her hand darts out, and she can nearly see the relief behind expensive sunglasses as Cat takes that first sip.
Her heart quickens then. The shot of coffee giving her that extra boost to start her day and Kara listens, counts, and works. It's background noise that keeps her focused, and after two months it becomes second nature. Listening to Cat's heart, letting it soothe her own. She doesn't even have to think about it anymore.
Just before lunch, Cat's heart slows. The first time it had happened, Kara had panicked. She'd burst in to Cat's office with eyes wide and "Miss Grant, are you -" dying in her throat. The office is made of glass, but Cat likes to stand on the balcony and Kara hadn't thought. She saw her then, with her eyes closed and head bowed, deep in thought. Kara counts to keep calm. Cat breathes. Kara knows that now, so when lunch approaches, she watches as Cat wanders out to the balcony, and she orders. Fifteen minutes is all the time Cat allows for her brief interlude, so that's all the time the delivery boy has to get Cat Grant's order from the restaurant to CATCO, and Kara counts every second.
Cat's heart is steady from then on, with the occasional upset in routine. Whenever Cat has council, or a board meeting in process, or she's on the phone with her mother or ex, her heart races. Kara knows she's worked up, angry, and she slinks in unseen to refill Cat's stock of whiskey, scotch, vodka, wine - there's a full glass placed on Cat's desk, another topped with chocolate, and Cat's usual dose of Lexapro left to the side, just in case. Cat never notices her, or Kara doesn't think she does, but she counts the seconds it takes for Cat's heart to return to it's usual pace anyway.
But then there's Carter. When he's in the office, or when Cat so much as mentions her son, her heart is so loud and so strong, Kara can't help but smile. And Carter's heart beat is just like Cat's, and it soothes her too. She's not sure why the Grant's have that affect on her, the same kind her sister does. She's been best friends with Winn for years, but his heart is so fast and erratic that she can't listen for too long or she'll get the equivalent of a Kryptonian headache. And James, his heart is oddly slow. Like he's in a constant state of calm, and that unsettles her. She didn't notice at first, a bit too awestruck and maybe a little head over heels, but she's over that now and listening to James, counting his beats, only tires her. Lucy is a constant state of buzz, even when she's upset, or angry, Kara can hear her heart thu-thump, thu-thumping. She listens to Lucy when she's in a good mood, because Lucy's heart is happy. But Cat… Cat's like Alex, and Kara's yet to figure out why.
Notes. So I haven't written in a few months, I'm working on the next chapter of Finder's Keepers, but I've recently joined the Supercat Bandwagon and wanted to give it a shot. So this is just a small drabble series that revolve around counting. I have five planned chapters for it but if anyone wants to prompt anything, feel free too. Like I said, I'm pretty new to the Supergirl/Supercat fandom so go easy on me, yeah? You can find each instalment on my new Tumblr: allymcbae ( linked in my profile ) and once I get the invitation, I'll be posted to AO3 as well. Ok, that's all. Thanks for reading guys! Leave a review if you liked it, xo.