Drowning – Part 2

A revelation about Kara and a nice chat at the cafe.

Warning: Kara was sexually assaulted. I do not under any circumstances want to upset anyone and I promise I'll treat it with respect.

Kara slowly walked along the corridor to her office and flopped into her chair to look at her computer's calendar.

"No more clients today," she mused out loud to herself as she grabbed a bottle of water and took a few sips. She leaned back in her chair and thought about her newest client, Cat Grant, smiling to herself. The woman had a lot of self-confidence, she was beautiful and eloquent… Kara's smile faltered… but water had been the woman's undoing. Kara wondered what had caused the trauma. For some reason the instructor didn't think it was the usual stuff she heard from clients. Cat had been fine at first but something had changed...

Kara's desk phone rang and she picked up, twirling the cord around her fingers. "Breathe Fitness and Spa, this is Kara."

"Hey, Kid. What you up to?"

"Alex, hey. Meh… nothing much. Just chilling. I just finished with a new client."

"Oh yeah? He or She? And are they hot?" Kara's sister was always curious about her clients' dating potential.

"It was a she," the instructor replied. "And yes, she's hot in that older-woman-hot kinda way." She heard the creak come down the phone line as her sister leaned forward in her chair and Kara headed her off. "But you know I don't date clients, Alex."

"You don't date anyone," came the snippy reply. Then Alex's tone softened. "Sweetie, will you just consider trying to get back out there? I worry about you being alone."

"I'm not ready, Alex," Kara replied. "I don't know if I'll ever be ready. My last four dates were disasters. I just can't relax."

"It's been four years…"

"Don't you think I know that?!" The blonde slammed her free hand down on her desk in frustration. "Don't you think I'd be back at the Olympics this year if it hadn't happened?! I'm only twenty-five for God's sake!" Tears rose in her blue eyes and spilled over as her voice gentled. "I've done years of therapy, Alex, and I still have the nightmares. How can I sleep next to someone knowing that they'll have to deal with that every night?"

"I know. I'm sorry I upset you, Kara. I'm… sorry."

The blonde let out a long calming breath. "I know you just want what's best for me."

"It was my fault… what happened to you…" Alex's voice cracked and Kara's eyes widened in shock.

"What? Alex… no…"

"It was, Kara! I was supposed to be with you! Supposed to have your back! But I left you alone in that hotel room and those guys..." Alex's voice was heavy with tears.

"Hey…" Kara said softly. "It wasn't your fault, Alex. It was THEIR fault. They were the ones who broke into my room. They were the ones who said they wanted to thaw my icy exterior. If you'd been there, Alex, they would have done it to you too and I'd NEVER wish that on anyone, especially not my big sister."

For a long moment, neither of them said anything and Kara listened as Alex's sniffles echoed through the phone. "I'm so sorry," the older woman whispered.

Kara's hand wrapped around the phone like it was a precious object. "I love you, Alex," she said in reply. "I wish I could see you. When are you back from London?"

"Another week or so," the older woman confirmed. "The conference is wrapping up on Friday but I'm spending a few days of vacation too."

"Good." Kara smiled. "You need a vacation. It's been… how long?"

"Three years," Alex chuckled a little. "I promise, when I get back, we'll do pizza, beer and the sappiest romantic movie we can find... and we'll talk more about this."

"I'll hold you to that," Kara replied. "Bye, Alex."

"Love you, Kid. Call you later in the week."

Xx

Cat was sitting in the sun at an outdoor table, a cup of coffee and a sandwich in front of her as she scrolled through the long list of emails in her inbox. Most of them, she was just ccd on since she'd left her management staff in charge of handling everything, so she just skimmed them and kept going. A shadow moving closer distracted her though and looked up to find her new swimming instructor strolling along the path toward the parking lot with her gym bag thrown over her shoulder. Kara Danvers was beautiful. There was no denying it but, as she twirled her car keys around her finger, Cat could see that she was distracted... upset maybe.

Then Kara's head turned and their eyes met and the instructor's mouth lifted into a quirky but endearing grin as she changed course and headed for Cat's table. "Hi, Miss Grant. Enjoying some lunch, I see. The food at the café is pretty good, right?"

"Actually, it is," Cat replied. There was only one bite gone out of her sandwich but she'd thought it was acceptable. "Heading home for the day?"

"Yes, Ma'am. No more clients for today. I'm already thinking about a long, hot shower and some pizza. What have you got planned for this afternoon?"

Cat shrugged and leaned back in her chair to cross her legs as she picked up her coffee cup. "Nothing special," she replied. She sipped the coffee and winced. It was luke warm now and she hastily put it down. Her own fault, she knew, for being distracted by work.

Kara chuckled. "Let me get you a fresh one. I know the barista."

Cat nodded gratefully. "I'd appreciate that, Kara. She's a friend of yours?"

The instructor twirled her keys around her finger again. "Um... yes?" she replied, her blue eyes looking elsewhere.

The older woman chuckled lightly. "Ah... I see."

Kara put down her keys and gym bag, picked up the coffee cup and chucked a thumb over her shoulder towards the café. "I'll be right back."

"Famous last words!" Cat called after her, receiving a grin in return.

True to her word, Kara arrived back moments later with a fresh coffee for Cat and one for herself. "Mind if I join you?"

Cat indicated the seat across from her. "Please. I was wondering if you remembered meeting me before when you did that interview at CatCo. I'm the CEO. We met briefly but you were much younger."

"Thirteen," Kara replied. "Just after my first Olympics. I remember." She wrapped her hands around her mug and a small smile shaped her lips. "You gave me candy out of the jar in your office when you heard I wasn't allowed to have any."

Cat chuckled. She didn't remember that. "And you won that year?"

The instructor's voice was strangely quiet. "A bronze. Four years later, I won a silver and two bronzes, and four years after that, three golds."

"But you're not competing this year, right? Did you decide to retire after the last games?"

There is was. The question Kara always dreaded. She dredged up the usual answer but, when she lifted her eyes to meet Cat's, something happened inside her. She couldn't get the usual words out. The curiosity and compassion in the CEO's green eyes made her want to tell the truth.

But Cat Grant was a reporter at heart and Kara was afraid to tell her the truth, lest it end up in the paper. Not that Kara Danvers was really news anymore, but sexual assault that went unpunished during the 2014 Olympic Games would definitely be newsworthy to the dynamic and powerful CEO.

But still.

Finally, Kara managed to stutter out an answer. "I... um... I guess I... I didn't want to compete this year. I couldn't. There was... Something happened at the last Olympics that soured me on competing this year."

The words were out there. Hanging between them. And Kara waited for the inevitable question.

"It's something that's obviously painful to you," Cat said softly, watching as Kara's eyes widened in surprise. "And I'm sorry it affected your career. Do you see yourself ever competing again?"

Kara swallowed as she gathered her thoughts. "I don't think so. By the time the games roll around again, I'll be twenty-nine and too old."

"Michael Phelps is thirty-one," Cat pointed out with a shrug. "And he's still swimming circles around younger athletes."

The younger woman nodded. "True," she replied. "I don't know, Miss Grant. It was pretty bad and... I think I'm done with it. I like my job here and it pays well. I get to set my own hours and meet interesting people." She grinned then. "Plus no more daily four-hour workouts followed by four hours in the pool. And I get to eat whatever I want."

"What's so bad about that, right?" Cat asked with a smile of her own.

"I know, right?" Kara finished her coffee and gathered her gear. "And on that note, I've gotta get going. I'll see you tomorrow at eleven, Miss Grant."

"Yes, you will," the CEO replied. "Bye, Kara." She watched as the young woman headed for the parking lot and once she was out of view, Cat picked up her phone and did a Google search for Kara Danvers Olympic Games 2014