A closer look at six conversations Alex has through the end of 2x05 (Crossfire) and 2x06 (Changing), all dealing with her coming to terms with her orientation. You may want to read these beforehand:

s/12258151/1/Five-Times-Alex-Looked-at-Maggie

s/12267008/1/What-We-re-Meant-to-Be

What You Said... About Me

She walked into the bar and immediately spotted Maggie sitting alone at a table, her back to the door. She saw her head tilt back and correctly made the assumption that Maggie had just taken a shot.

"I heard what happened," she said, approaching the detective. "You okay?"

Maggie had half-turned her head, not enough to look at Alex directly, but enough to acknowledge that she'd heard her. Alex walked over to stand opposite Maggie at the table.

"I've seen some crazy stuff since I joined the science force, but that was... uhm..." She shook her head. "That was..." she trailed off and looked up at Alex. "What're you... what're you doing here?" Maggie was acknowledging that they hadn't spoken or texted at all in a couple of days, not since they'd had the uncomfortable conversation wherein Maggie had thought Alex had been hitting on her.

Alex absorbed the acknowledgement quietly and looked at her carefully. "I was worried about you," she said, sincerely. It was true. She'd heard that the gang using the alien weapons had all suddenly dropped dead as the detective was preparing to transport them and knew that it had probably rattled Maggie. Even someone as strong as Maggie Sawyer would probably be unsettled by the sudden deaths of the prisoners.

"Look," she said, completely ignoring Alex's attempt to discuss the work situation. "I'm sorry if I was too forward the other day. That wasn't my place," Maggie apologized.

Alex took a breath. She was conflicted. She'd genuinely come by to see how Maggie was doing and kind of hoped they could avoid the topic of conversation from the other day. She wasn't done figuring things out and didn't feel entirely ready for a real conversation about it. But then, she reasoned, Maggie was gay. If anyone might be able to possibly help her out, it would be Maggie, wouldn't it?

So Alex took a seat across the table from Maggie and placed her forearms on the table, clasping her hands together so they wouldn't shake. She leaned in and began to speak.

"My whole life has been about being perfect. Perfect grades. Perfect job. Being the perfect sister. Taking care of Kara." She stated it all fairly matter-of-factly. She took a breath. "But," she admitted, "the one part of my life that I have never been able to make perfect... was dating."

Maggie smiled at that and gave a tiny nod. Not because it was funny. Not because she was making fun of Alex. It was a smile of resonance. Alex recognized it and appreciated it. And so the floodgates opened.

"I just never really liked it," she confessed. "I... I... I don't know, I mean, I, I tried, you know," she smiled. "I got, I got asked out," she underlined, feeling the need to convey to the woman across from her that she was no stranger to being asked out. Her eyes pulled away from Maggie's and she searched for the words to convey her experiences, her feelings. "I just, I never liked..." She took another breath. "Being intimate," she finished, quietly, looking right into Maggie's eyes. She shook her head, looking down. "I just... I don't know. I thought maybe that's just not the way that I was built, you know? Just not my thing." She paused. "I never, I never thought it was because of the other..." She idly scratched her temple. "That... that..." She laughed nervously. "Maybe I..."

The words came to her and she didn't push them away. 'Maybe I'm gay,' she thought to herself, but she couldn't bring herself to say it, not even to Maggie. Not yet.

"I mean... I don't... I don't know. Now... now, I just, I can't... I can't stop thinking about..." She left the sentence unfinished and took a shaky breath.

"About what?" Maggie pressed, a reassuring smile and a solid gaze meeting her across the table, as if to say 'I'm here. It's okay.'

Alex looked at her. Maggie raised an eyebrow encouragingly and Alex wanted desperately to say 'you'. But she didn't. That would have been way too scary. The conversation was already scary enough.

"That maybe..." she looked down. "There's some truth," she flicked her eyes back up to Maggie's, "to what you said," she finished, giving Maggie a look.

"About?" the other woman prompted, quietly, giving her another chance to say the words.

Alex gave her a crooked smile. "What you said..." She pulled her eyes away from Maggie, unable to look at her as she finished the sentence. "About me." She allowed herself to drop her eyes back to meet the Latina's.

"Mmm hmm," Maggie responded, with a kind smile and a nod. Alex knew that in just about any other circumstance, Maggie would have taken the opportunity to say 'I told you so', but she appreciated the other woman's kindness. Yes, Maggie had tried to get Alex to say the words, but she didn't press when Alex resisted. Alex wasn't quite ready to verbalize things just yet, but that was one of the amazing things about Maggie: she just knew. She just understood.

That level of understanding was almost enough to keep her at the bar, but having opened up so completely to Maggie left Alex feeling incredibly vulnerable and off-kilter. So, while looking deeply into Maggie's eyes, Alex somehow mustered the strength to leave. "I have to go," she said, quirking a grin. As she stood, she smiled quietly to herself for a moment, proud of having talked to Maggie, for having admitted things, even in obscure terms. "I'm glad you're okay," she said to Maggie, patting the table in front of her. Then Alex walked out of the bar, feeling exhausted and exhilarated, tired and proud, scared and excited, all at once.