Damn, I am so bad at getting these done on time. (Though, it is still Saturday where I live.) And I'm still putting off homework to finish it.
"Keira, what are your plans for this weekend?"
Kara stopped short in her approach to Cat's desk. Her eyes bulged and a tiny squeak escaped her throat.
This is it! a voice cried out in her head, before her rational mind could catch up. She's asking me out!
Don't be ridiculous, her voice of reason spoke up. Of course she isn't. Cat Grant will never see me that way.
"Um, well I –"
"I'll tell you what your plans are. You see, I've finally agreed to let Carter get a puppy. His therapist suggested it, and he's been begging me for years. So this weekend, you are going to stay with us and help him train it."
Kara's mouth dropped open at the unexpected information. Of all the reasons Cat Grant might have had for wanting her assistant's weekend open, that was definitely not one Kara had considered.
Kara's surprise quickly turned to pure excitement. A PUPPY!
Cat rolled her eyes at the blindingly bright smile stretching over the girl's face. Her heart most certainly did not swell at its appearance.
"A puppy? That's so exciting!" An audible sigh left Cat's lips. She honestly couldn't comprehend how Kara could always be so full of positive energy. It sometimes exhausted Cat just to observe. "But, why do you want my help?"
"Well God knows I don't have the time myself, and his nanny will be in Metropolis for her grandmother's birthday. Besides, you're perfect for the job, considering you're basically a puppy already."
Kara cocked her head to the side, brows furrowed and eyes wide, like this notion confused her. Cat fought the irrational instinct to pat the girl on the head. "What? How am I like –"
Cat cut her off again. "You will be at my house at exactly 8 o'clock Saturday morning. There is a reputable breeder who lives only a half an hour outside of the city. We will go and pick it up, and you will spend the rest of the day and all of Sunday at our house. You will come into work with me Monday morning and the nanny will help him with it after school from there."
Kara gaped at her boss for a moment. "How long have you been working this out?"
"Since I paid the breeder two months ago," Cat replied simply, attention already back on her work.
"And you're just telling me now, why?"
"Because I knew you wouldn't have anything else to do on the weekends. Was I wrong?"
Besides saving the city from various destructions and crimes? Not really. Kara remained silent.
"Exactly. Now get back to work, I don't pay you to stand around gawking at me."
S
"Does she have a name yet?" Kara inquired from the seat across from Carter.
They took the town car (the look on the breeder's face when they pulled up had been priceless). His new puppy was lying asleep in his lap, his hand running over her fluffy golden fur in a continuous motion. He was staring very intently at her face.
"What about 'Kara'?" he suggested, grinning at her mischievously. Kara rolled her eyes.
She was surprised at the suggestion, considering it took the puppy a considerable amount of time to warm up to her. All animals were that way at first, despite how much she loved them. They could smell her otherworldly-ness and it made them nervous.
"You've been talking to your mom about me, haven't you?" Cat glanced up from her phone to glare at Kara. Carter smirked at them both. An idea came to Kara as she observed the puppy. "If you really want to name her after me, what about 'Ellie'?"
"Why Ellie?" he asked curiously.
"Um, well, when I was born my last name was El... lis." She dragged out the invented last half of her family name, tacking it on as she realized that just 'El' might raise a few questions. It wasn't exactly a common surname.
Cat's expression softened considerably, as it did whenever Kara mentioned her family. Carter had already turned his attention back to his new friend, eyeing her shrewdly. "Ellie. I like it," he declared.
Cat was dropped off at the house while Kara went with Carter and the puppy to the pet store. Carter had already ordered the essentials online earlier in the week, but Ellie still needed toys, a collar, and a tag.
He chose red for the collar, like Supergirl's cape, he explained with a blush. Kara did her best not to gush and tease the boy. He put Kara's number on the tag – gold colored and diamond shaped, the closest he could find to Supergirl's crest – reasoning that Cat would just send Kara to get the dog if she ever got out anyway. "Carter," she cooed, no longer able to contain herself. His blush darkened, but he accepted her arm around his shoulder.
They got back to the house to find Cat had made them each a sandwich – not nearly enough for Kara, but she couldn't exactly tell her that – and they spent the afternoon setting up all the puppy stuff and taking her out on the hour while Cat worked from her home office.
Alex called around four with a Supergirl emergency.
"Hey Carter, I have to take this call real quick. Will you two be okay for a little while?"
"Of course. I'm not a little kid, Kara."
She smiled indulgently at him before hurrying out the front door.
S
Kara was gone a lot longer than she'd intended to be, so she stopped at a pizza place on her way back and brought three large pizzas with various toppings back to the house. She opened the door to a greeting of "KEIRA!" and winced, wondering what she could possibly have done to upset her boss.
"Where have you been?" she demanded when Kara entered the kitchen, completely open to the living room where Cat stood, livid.
"I – my sister called. I went outside for some privacy, and got hungry, so I thought I'd go get dinner." She smiled uncertainly, holding up the three large boxes as evidence.
"And you didn't think to warn me that you were leaving?" Kara grimaced, still unclear as to the cause of her boss's ire. "Carter stepped away to use the bathroom, and mini-Keira decided she should do the same." Cat pointed to a spot on the floor and Kara's eyes widened with fear. "Clean. It. Up."
So Cat and Carter dug into the pizza while Kara got to work on the soiled carpet. (She may have used a tiny bit of super strength and speed to get the job done faster.) She looked longingly at the hardwood floors of the kitchen before sending an accusatory glare at Ellie asleep in her crate. "You couldn't have gone ten feet to the left?"
Of course there was still plenty of pizza left when she got to the table. She tried not to alarm the Grants too much with her inhuman appetite, but she was still hungry from their light lunch.
"Where on Earth do you put it all?" Cat wondered, sounding amazed. Kara shrugged in response, laughing slightly around her mouthful of food at the phrasing.
"Just good genes, I guess." She grabbed another slice to make her point.
S
Carter went to bed with assurances from Kara that she'd get the puppy to sleep. They'd set up a gate in the door of the main bathroom, laid down newspaper, and put the puppy crate in the corner.
She slept alright for a few hours, but around midnight she started crying. Kara waited several minutes to see if she'd settle herself. When she didn't Kara slipped out of the guest room and down the hall, hoping to quiet the puppy before she woke Cat up. She could only imagine how much trouble they'd be in if that happened.
She found Carter propped up on the wall by the door, holding Ellie in his lap, his eyes blinking tiredly.
"Hey," Kara whispered, stepping over the gate and seating herself by the boy. "Why aren't you in your room?"
"I felt bad that she was all alone," he explained sweetly. "Why aren't you?"
"I didn't want her to wake up your mom." Carter nodded, understanding completely. "And I guess I felt bad too."
Between the two of them petting and scratching her Ellie stopped whining, and only a few moments later Carter fell asleep on Kara's shoulder. Kara's head fell on top of his mop of hair not long after, and her eyes slipped shut.
That's how Cat found them after only a few minutes, when she wandered down the hall to investigate the sudden quiet. Her heart clenched tightly at the sight of her two favorite people snuggled up with an admittedly adorable puppy, and in the dark of night Cat didn't have to fight the warm Kara-related smile that spread across her face. She bent down to run her fingers through Carter's hair, combing it away from his face, before carefully moving to do the same to Kara. She checked that the young woman's breathing was even before letting the tips of her fingers slide over the skin of Kara's cheek.
Her eyes moved down to the puppy, who was now sitting up and watching her expectantly. Cat rolled her eyes, mostly at herself for indulging her softer side, before reaching down and picking up the little monster, cradling her to her chest.
Hearing Cat's footsteps retreat in the direction of the living room, Kara's eyes snapped open and she grinned wide. She pressed a hand to her face, the skin still tingling from Cat's affection.
This was inspired by my parents telling me this week that WE are getting a puppy! Apparently writing is also how I process positive emotions.