Prologue

Growing up, Alex had always known that Kara had more problems than she let on. Nights she would wake up to find the bed next to her empty, the window open, curtains fluttering in the wind. Of course, she had never cared where her sister had gone, only the fact that she had left the window open, the draft from the night coming in and interrupting her slumber. Kara was always back in the morning however, dark circles under her eyes, and inhaling her breakfast like nothing was wrong. Then time passed, and Alex pushed these memories to the back of her mind, becoming more focused on her work, her life, and becoming a better sister. Memories like that however, have a tendency to bubble back to the surface. For most people, it's just a matter of when.

National City, Inside the DEO, 8:00 P.M

Kara collapsed on a chair in the DEO, exhausted from the days events. She sighed, running her hands through her hair in an attempt to calm her whirling brain. Alex had been right, her fears couldn't define her, but that didn't mean they still weren't exhausting to deal with. Her hearing picked up footsteps from around the DEO, Jonn yelling to an intern about reports needing to be on time, Winn tapping away on his keyboard, and multiple briefings and debriefings going on. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her now racing nerves. Looking around and making sure not many people were there, she sat up in her chair.

"I cant believe I'm doing this…" Kara whispered to herself as she focused in her hearing, looking for one sound in particular. It didn't take as long to find as she thought it would, her mind already knowing what she was looking for, years of practice kicking into gear as she located the steady dum, dum, dum a couple miles away. Kara sighed, partly because she was relieved that Alex's heartbeat was near and normal, meaning she wasn't hurt from today's events, and partly because she was terrified that she felt the need to seek out Alex's heartbeat. She hadn't done that based on a panicked feeling since they were teenagers, when she had felt her senses going into overdrive, the panicked feeling that the walls were closing in around her, and everything was spiraling out of her control…

"Kara? Kara… KARA!" Winn shouted. Kara jumped, she hadn't even noticed that he had come in. That was even more worrisome, and did nothing to calm her growing nervousness. She swallowed.

"Yea, what's up Winn? Am I needed for a debriefing or something?" Kara asked her best friend, hoping he hadn't come to get her for something. She really just wanted to go home.

"Um, I just wanted to ask if you were, you know ok? Not many people just sit in the DEO with a really zoned out look for 20 minutes in a room with no people in it…" Winn said, fidgeting with something in his hand. Kara looked down and gave a slight smile to notice Winn was holding the high tech fidget cube (which Alex had dubbed the nerd cube) Kara had given him for christmas. Winn noticed Kara looking down at his hand and blushed, tucking the cube into his jeans pocket.

"Uh, yea… thanks for that again. I especially like the mini logic puzzle you and Alex built into it." Kara smiled at this. She really had needed Alex's help when it came to customizing the thing to keep Winn's genius brain and fidgety hands active when it came to his time spent at the DEO. Even Jonn had complimented them on their work.

"It's no problem Winn, I'm glad you like it. And yea, I'm fine, I was just thinking about something. I think I'm gonna head home, I'm really tired."

"Well, alright then, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. I'll let Jonn know you headed home." Kara nodded at Winn, smiling at her best friend as she stated to walk away.

"Hey, Kara?"

"Yea Winn?"

"You know, you can always come and talk to me, you know, if you need anything…" Kara smiled, she really did have the best friend in the world. But right now, she just needed her couch. And some potstickers. DEFINITELY some potstickers.

"Thanks Winn. I'll see you later ok?" With that, Kara walked out of the room, intent on going back to her apartment and ordering potstickers for delivery. Winn looked at his best friend leaving the room, his concern for her mental state at the moment becoming interrupted from an alert on his phone.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED IN THE AREA

Before he had time to dwell on this however, he heard his name being called by Jonn to go over possible sightings of the the metahuman attack on surveillance cameras. Winn sighed, an agents work was never done.

Kara's Apartment, 10:00 PM

Kara had landed in her apartment, feeling more exhausted than ever, but a bit less tense then she was at the DEO. Flying through the air had always helped calm her nerves. The weather was perfect tonight, it was one of the reasons why she loved National City, the weather was always so perfect. An alarm going off on her phone interrupted her thoughts, as she went over to check what it was.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED IN THE AREA

"Oh no,nonono…" Kara said, backing up, her hands suddenly shaky. Thunderstorms hadn't bothered her in years, so why were they bothering her now? Her hands, shaking even more, started to slowly crush the phone in her hand. Kara didn't notice this however, she was to busy sinking to the ground, trying desperately to control her breathing. The phone, now crushed into pieces, started to fall onto the ground, grabbing Karas attention.

"Oh Rao.." Kara's whole body was now shaking, as she looked at the shards of her phone on the ground. She, she hadn't lost control of her powers like that in a LONG time. She covered her face with her hands, as the first boom of thunder caused her eyes to light up, and her sobs to grow louder.

Alex's Apartment, 10:15 PM

Alex had the feeling something was wrong. She just couldn't place her finger on it, which for her, was the most annoying thing about the feeling. She had seen Kara after PSI had been captured by the DEO, but, like everyone else, she had assumed Kara went right home after the event. It had been a long day for everyone, especially Kara. So Alex had went home as well, called Maggie to tell her that everything was alright, and had sat down with a bottle of beer. And yet she still couldn't get the thought out of her head that something wasn't right. As she dwelled on this possibility, her thoughts were interrupted by a crack of thunder, then the distant ring of her cellphone. As she went to answer the call, she mused on who could be calling her. Kara maybe, hoping for an impromptu sister night? Jonn, wanting her to come into work for some late night paperwork?

WINN (LOVEABLE NERD) CALLING

So the last person she had expected to call her was calling? Alex didn't even remember putting Winns number into her phone, Kara must have put it in there. She answered the phone with a sigh, thinking he would need her for a problem at the DEO.

"Whats up Winn?

"Hey Alex, I was just wondering if you had checked up on Kara after the PSI attack?" Alex frowned at this. She had thought that Kara wanted space and went home directly after the attack.

"No? Why, what's wrong." Alex's big sister instincts immediately going into overdrive.

"Well, before Kara left the DEO I went to go check on her, you know? But she was acting super weird, like, not normal Kara weird, and she was zoning out and tilting her head like she was listening to something, and then we were talking about my cube thingy and she said she was tired, but remember earlier today when you and I were talking about what happened to her with PSI and-"

"WINN! Winn. Slow down. What's wrong with Kara, she was acting weird? And what do you mean about what happened with PSI?"

"I mean earlier, when I told you what Kara told me. She had to witness her planet blow up again Alex. A loud bang. And look at the weather forecast for tonight." Alex face paled as Winn said this. She hadn't thought about the weather tonight, it was always sunny in National City. She put the call on speaker and scrolled through her notifications to see

SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED IN THE AREA

"Crap. I have to go Winn, thanks so much." Alex said before pulling on her shoes and coat.

"Yea, just, make sure she's ok Alex? Please." Winn said before hanging up the phone. Alex used this time to gather a few things from around the apartment, Karas favorite blanket she had accidentally left the last sister night, her wallet and keys, and she shot a quick text to Maggie saying she wouldn't be home tonight (she would explain later), before trying to locate Kara's phone via the tracker she installed (she wasn't crazy, she was paranoid, and their line of work wasn't exactly the safest in the world). Alex sighed when she saw the blinking dot going off inside Kara's apartment, before frowning when the dot abruptly went away. She didn't have time to worry about that though, Kara must have just turned her phone all the way off. She got the keys to her motorcycle, cramming the fluffy blanket in the small compartment in the back, and took of towards Karas speeding through the rain, red lights be darned. A flash of lightning invaded her vision, quickly followed by a crack of thunder causing Alex to speed up more than she thought possible in the city, only stopping when she "quite literally" slid into the parking garage near Kara's apartment, the tires of her motorcycle slick with the heavy downpour that had cast itself over National City.

"Comeon Kara…" Alex mumbled under her breath as she used her time in the elevator to look up Kara's location again, willing the little red dot to start flashing again. It didn't. Alex swore than an elevator had never taken so long in her life. Of course she was just being paranoid, when she walked into the apartment Kara would be curled up on the couch watching one of her musicals, and Alex would join her begrudgingly, even if it was The Sound Of Music for the upteenth time. Alex assured herself of this. What she hadn't prepared for, was to walk into a darkened apartment.

"Kara?" Alex called out, stepping into the apartment and dropping her keys and the few items she had brought with her on the counter. When she was about to call out for her sister again however, her foot crunched against something on the floor. Inspecting the mysterious item further, Alex had to take a double take as she recognized the shards of glass on the floor.

Kara's phone.

Suddenly feeling sick to her stomach and a surge of panic flood through her, Alex spun wildly around the room, blindly feeling for her tactical gun she always had strapped to her side before remembering she had never bothered to take of her pajamas off before leaving her apartment, only half hazardly throwing on a rain jacket and boots.

Please let there be no green, please let there be no green, please let there be no-

A earth rattling BOOM followed by a whimper was the only thing to break her train of thought, and Alex's momentary relief that Kara was here, Kara was safe, was quickly replaced by the anxiety that the whimper she heard must have been Kara's. Alex slowly made her way to the bedroom, not wishing to startle her sister anymore than she already must me.

"Kara?" Alex tried again, much softer, gentler this time.

"A-Alex?" Kara let out a whisper before whimpering again as another crack of thunder ripped through the apartment. Alex turned on the bedside lamp, and with the room now bathed in light, quickly located Kara in the corner of the room, tears streaming down her cheeks, knees hugged to her chest, and looking utterly terrified. It took everything in Alex not to just break down right there, but she had to be strong.

"Hey Kar, what's wrong, are you hurt?" Alex almost face palmed herself. Here her sister was, crying and rocking in the corner and she was asking if she was ok. But Alex knew Kara, she needed to voice her feelings, or else she would keep everything bottled up inside, holding the weight of the world on her shoulders. So she had to start small, take baby steps in order to help Kara, help peice her back together.

"I-I don't know, everything, everything's, it's all to loud Alex, it's to lou-." Kara rambled, but was interrupted by another loud BOOM of thunder. Only then did Alex notice that Kara's hands were pressed to the sides of head, in a futile attempt to block out the loud noise. If Alex had felt stupid before, she certainly did now. Kara had had episodes like this all the time when she first came to earth, noises overloading her senses and causing her to panic, so why hadn't she noticed that this was what Kara was experiencing?

"Kara, Kara! I need you to listen to me." Alex said, Kara looking up the tiniest bit to meet her eyes. "Where are your things?" Alex needed to know, she couldn't just go running around the apartment slamming open every drawer in the apartment, creating even more noise. She just had to pray that Kara had actually kept them, she hadn't needed them in years.

"To- top drawer of the nightstand." Kara whimpered out.

Alex sprung into action, walking as quietly yet as fast as possible to the other side of Karas bed and opening the drawer Kara mentioned. Inside sat a little shoe box she recognized, the first ever shoes Alex had helped Kara buy on earth, a pair of sunny yellow converse. She opened the lid to find what she was looking for, devices and items Kara used to use when she first came to earth, when her senses were overloading every second of the day. An extra pair of lead lined glasses, a pair of heavy duty gloves that Eliza had invented in case Kara's super strength ever got out of hand, and what Alex was looking for, a pair of noise canceling headphones. Alex went to grab them when she noticed two initials carved into the side of the metal.

J.D. Jeremiah Danvers. Her dad had made these for Kara and she kept them all this time. She kept them and Alex never knew that a piece of her dad was here, in Kara's apartment.

Alex shook her head, she didn't have time for thinking about her Dad, that would have to stay in the past. For now, she quietly rushed over to Kara, gently moving her hands away from her face placing the headphones over her ears. Immediately, Kara relaxed the slightest bit before shaking again.

"I-it sounded just like Krypton Alex. The thunder, the booming, the lightning, it- just all came rushing back." Alex nodded her head, looking at her sister sadly, wanting to interrupt and tell her that she was ok, that everything was going to be fine, but not knowing that Kara had to get this off her chest.

"And I wanted to call you, but, my powers… Oh Rao, I lost control of my powers! Alex, I, haven't done that in years…" Kara whimpered, and Alex had to intervene.

"Kara! I don't blame you. In fact, I blame myself. I should have been a better sister, I should have checked up on you after the fight with PSI, I should have known something was wrong, please don't blame yourself."

"But Alex-"

"No, you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders all the time Kara. I need you to know that it's ok to break down sometimes, to let yourself unravel, because I will ALWAYS be here to pick you back up. Always." Kara smiled a little at this before speaking again.

"Sometimes, sometimes I feel like I can't break down, because I always have the memories of Krypton to deal with, and these powers to keep in check. That's why I always keep those things I used when I first came to Earth around, but I never have to courage to use them Alex!" Alex hugged Kara close.

"But Kara, that's why you keep them! You know that it's ok to let yourself break a little, and you still want to protect people. Kara you are more of a hero than anyone will ever be. And don't you think that I forgot about those yellow converse of yours…" Alex smiled, relieved when Kara smiled and even laughed.

"You remember? How I thought they were the best thing in the galaxy?"

"Yea, until you discovered potstickers." Alex laughed.

"I stand corrected." Kara laughed, then realised she couldn't even here any traces of thunder anymore, only her and Alex's voices. She slowly reached up to her ears, gently taking the oversized headphones off. Alex, watching this action, realised that she couldn't here anymore thunder either, only the soft pitter-patter of the rain of a passing storm.

"Thanks Alex, for coming over and talking with me." Kara stood up, pulling Alex with her, then quickly added, "Oh, and for getting me my headphones. I really forgot how big and uncomfortable they are, but they really did help." Kara laughed, trying to lighten the mood. Luckily it worked, Alex softly laughing along with her, an idea already forming in her mind.

"That's what sisters are for. Now how about we move to the couch instead of the floor, and have an impromptu sister night? Pizza and potstickers on me?" Alex smiled.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Kara's Desk at CATCO, One Week Later

Kara sat down at her desk to a tiny package and note. Intrigued, she opened the note and smiled to see Alex's familiar handwriting.

Kara, I hope these help whenever you need them. Remember, I'm always here for you. Love, Alex.

Kara opened the package to reveal a pair of bright yellow cordless headphones with a white volume button on the side. She grinned, and put them in her ears, and relished in the dampened noise of the busy office. She quickly connected them to her new phone (also a present from Alex) and selected The Sound of Music. She sighed as the music filled her ears. She really did have the best sister in the galaxy.

Fin.