They run into one another so rarely these days, it's been torture and peace in so many ways. Tonight Kara's breath catches in her throat and Alex squeezes her arm, so what if it was clique to bring family as your date when you weren't dating anyone. She was still married anyway, why would she be dating anyone. "She's beautiful," Kara breathes quietly.
"You should talk to her," Alex tells her when they've found themselves alone in a quiet corner.
Kara shakes her head, "We've been avoiding each other for over a month, Lex, why change now."
"Because you have a son to think about, Kara," Alex says sharply. "Carter may not be yours biologically but he is yours and he does depend on you. Yet you haven't seen him in a month. Go talk to her damnit or I will."
Blowing out a long breath Kara straightens her shoulders and makes her way towards the small group of people where Cat is speaking with James and Lucy. She stops just outside of the group, in Cat's direct line of sight. Cat's easy smile doesn't slip away but it does change to a rather fake one, "If you'll excuse me," she says, "I've just seen someone I need to discuss a rather important issue with."
James nods, knowing Kara is behind him, "Of course, Ms. Grant."
Cat moves away from them and towards Kara, wrapping a hand around the younger woman's forearm and dragging her away and into a room off the side of the hall, "What the hell are you doing here?" she seethes.
"I was invited," Kara grounds out, teeth clenched. "Am I not allowed to attend media galas just because you may be there now?"
"You're allowed to do whatever the hell you want," Cat snaps back, "but stay out of my way while you're doing it."
The older woman starts to storm past the younger but Kara grabs her wrist, "What the hell happened?" she demands, her grip tightening but never enough to bruise or harm the other woman.
"I am NOT doing this here," Cat stresses, wrenching her wrist free of Kara's grasp.
She continues towards the door, "You never want to do it anywhere, why should here be any different."
Whirling around Cat marches straight back to Kara and slaps her, "You left," she seethes, "you left me. You don't get to judge because you fucking left me, Kara." Cat brushes roughly at the tears on her cheek, "You left me alone in that damned hotel after Carter's father dropped the biggest bomb I'd ever had thrown at me."
Kara stares at Cat, "I didn't leave you," she says quietly. She reaches out then, replacing Cat's rough swipes at her cheeks with her own gentle ones, "I went down to the cafe down the street to get you coffee and breakfast. I came back to the desk manager telling me that you'd left in flurry of bags and cursing without letting him explain where I'd gone. You haven't spoken to me since."
"It's not like you've tried very hard," Cat sniffs.
For long moments Kara stares at Cat, remembering the twenty messages she'd left on Cat's phone in the first three days alone, "I know," she says, "that you push people away when you're hurt, Cat, I've fought through it every time you've tried to push me away. I want to fight through it this time," she looks away, "I'm so tired of fighting alone." She closes her eyes, moves towards the door, "Tell Carter I love him and that I'm always here for him if he needs me, all he has to do is call." She stops at the door, hand on the handle, "It's all you have to do too." When Kara gets back to Alex's side she allows her older sister to wrap her arm around her and steer her from the gala, tears already forming in her eyes, she misses her family.