When Cat walked into the office the next morning, she reached to grab her latte from her assistant's hand, then almost tripped as she glanced at Kara's outfit. She managed to recover before falling, but spilled her latte all over the floor. Cat quickly escaped into her office to compose herself, while Kara mopped up the liquid. Once there, however, she couldn't help staring at Kara from behind the glass walls. The young woman looked stunning. The black dress accentuated her curves, her stunning body, and her gorgeous arms and legs. What happened to the ugly outfits she'd been wearing the previous few days? Cat almost missed those outfits. They made it much easier to concentrate.

"Kiera!" She needed to act like everything was normal. At least until she figured out how on earth to get Kara to open up to her. Kara came rushing into the room, looking terrified. "Kiera, that outfit is… not terrible."

Kara looked up in surprise. "Thank you, Ms. Grant," she said, not sure what to make of the non-insult.

"Mmm. You should wear things like that more often. I'm guessing your sister took you shopping?"

Kara nodded, confused. "Yes, she mentioned she talked with you."

"Well, it's clear that she inherited all the fashion sense in the family. Tell her to take you more often."

"Oh, she's not actually related to me," Kara volunteered. Wondering why she was bothering to tell Cat Grant this, she nonetheless continued, "She's the daughter of my foster parents."

Cat looked up, and lowered her glasses. "That's right, I had forgotten you mentioned foster parents. How old were you when you went to live with them?"

Kara wasn't sure why Cat was suddenly taking such an interest in her family history, but it was unsettling, to say the least. "I was thirteen."

"It must have seemed overwhelming, starting a new life at that age." Cat frowned. "Did you always get along well with Alex?"

Kara nodded. "She's looked after me since the day I arrived. I think she resented me a little at first, but she got over it pretty quickly. Now she's my best friend."

Cat looked at her intently for a moment, seemingly trying to decipher something in her expression. "She seems fascinating. I would enjoy getting to know the sister of the best assistant I've ever had."

Kara tried, unsuccessfully, to stop her mouth from falling open in surprise. She was speechless. Where was this all coming from? She thought she'd been one misstep away from being fired – and that was before the spilled latte.

Cat had uttered the sentence intending to provoke a reaction, but she winced at the look of utter shock on Kara's face. The girl honestly did think that Cat hated her.

Recovering her ability to speak, Kara attempted to respond. "I can… I can bring her by sometime."

Cat nodded. "I would like that," she answered briskly. "Now, go get me another latte." She hesitated, and then decided she needed to make an attempt to be nicer. "Please."

Kara looked up in surprise, then nodded and disappeared.

Well, at least she knows that I don't hate her now, Cat thought. She hadn't gotten very far, but she'd obtained some valuable information. Clearly, she had a lot of work to do.

SCSCSCSCSCSC

Kara was trying to function. She owed it to Alex to not be a burden. She loved her older sister so much, and it wasn't fair to let Alex worry about her. Causing Alex more pain was the last thing she wanted to do. If she could somehow push her sister away before hurting herself, then things would be easier, but she hadn't yet found a way to do that without upsetting her sister.

She wanted to be dead. She hated knowing that she had hurt so many people, and that it could easily happen again: she would always be just one failed Max Lord experiment away from losing control. The only way to avoid that was by not being Supergirl, but refusing to don the cape took away the one thing that made her worth anything. If she couldn't help people, then she didn't deserve to be here. Not after everything she'd done.

Why had she stabbed her wrist while Alex was there? Was it because she knew her sister would react? Why couldn't she just leave Alex out of this? All she'd had to do was convince Alex she was okay, and her sister would have left her alone. And if Alex had just left her alone, she could be dead right now.

Kara didn't know what to do anymore. Would it be better to be gone, once and for all? Once Alex got over the shock, she'd be better off; Kara knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Alex would have a chance to live her own life, rather than always having to help with Kara's. Right now, though, she couldn't seem to convince her sister of that.

For the moment, Kara would try to minimize the impact she had on her sister's life. She would have to be okay, at least as far as Alex was concerned. She refused to be a burden on her sister. Alex had devoted herself to taking care of Kara, and Kara couldn't stand the thought of hurting her. She would have to stay alive, for now at least, until she could find a way to minimize the impact of her death on her sister – or better yet, managed to convince her sister of the truth: the world was better off without her.

"Fire at warehouse on 14th St. You available?"

Kara sighed. Alex had taken to sending her texts whenever something was happening that could use Supergirl's assistance. Kara knew that Alex was just trying to help, but she hated those texts. They reminded her of how useless she was now, and how pathetic. So when she saw Alex approaching her desk at lunchtime, Kara shook her head. "No, Alex, I'm not doing it."

Alex sighed. She knew that Kara would continue to refuse, although it upset her that Kara thought so little of her abilities. "Actually, Kara, I brought you lunch." She held up a pizza box.

Kara couldn't help it. Her eyes lit up at the sight of pizza. The look of delight was quickly replaced by one of guilt and despair. "Alex, you didn't have to do that," she protested weakly. "You have much more important things to do."

"More important than feeding my sister? Not a chance," said Alex, smiling gently. She was so worried about Kara. There had been no sick days, and no threats of injury, since that awful night. But Kara's mood hadn't really improved. Kara was obviously trying to hold herself together for Alex, trying not to call attention to herself. Alex almost wished that her sister would make her feelings more obvious, because at least then she could address the sadness she saw lurking in Kara's eyes. Instead, she resigned herself to small gestures of love like this one. Eventually, she would get Kara to talk.

Cat Grant, staring at the sisters from behind the glass wall, was having similar thoughts. But Cat was not nearly as patient a woman as Alex. She had seen the emptiness in Kara's gaze, the spark that was missing from her eager assistant, and the sadness that crept across her face whenever someone needed help. She had made small inroads in the last few days, learning bits about the young woman's past, but she couldn't stand to sit by passively anymore. She needed to do something.

"Kiera!" she barked, and saw Kara stiffen and Alex glance over with a curious gaze. A moment later, Kara appeared in her doorway. "I'm about to have lunch, and I see that your sister has arrived with yours. Come have lunch with me on the balcony, and bring your sister along, if she has time. I'd like to get to know her."

Kara paused. What was Cat doing? Why had the woman been so interested in her personal life lately? Why would she want to have lunch with her assistant? Was this one of Cat's little games, just another way to manipulate Kara? Pretending to be nice, so that it would hurt that much more when she turned around and fired her assistant?

Suddenly, the lunch she'd been about to enjoy seemed much less appealing. She nodded, thoroughly overwhelmed, and turned to break the news to Alex. To her surprise, Alex looked up at Cat and smiled, and said she'd like that.

The two entered Cat's office. She beckoned them toward the balcony, lettuce wrap in hand. When the three had settled into chairs, Cat watched as Kara grabbed a slice of pizza. The girl had the taste buds of a twelve-year-old, focused entirely on takeout and junk food. It must be nice to have the Kryptonian's metabolism, she thought, amused and slightly jealous.

Never one for wasting time, Cat got right to the point. "Alex, I'm glad you're here. I do want to get to know you better, but I brought you out here to help me talk with Kara." She saw the superhero look up in alarm.

Alex nodded slightly. "You're ambushing her," she stated, not seeming particularly surprised or upset by the tactic.

"I prefer to think of it as an intervention," Cat said, smiling slightly. "It sounds a bit more positive."

In a panic, Kara glanced from Alex to Cat, and back again. Why was this happening? Why wasn't Alex putting a stop to this? Cat had even used her real name. This was not good. She desperately searched for a way out of this conversation, but found none. "What is going on here?" Kara asked desperately.

"Kara," Cat began, "I'm worried about you. Something is clearly wrong. Now, you know I'm not particularly good at expressing my feelings, but what I'm seeing is bothering me enough to get over that and talk with you."

Kara immediately began to apologize and promise she would do a better job, desperate to please her boss. Cat held up her hand to silence the girl. "I'm not concerned about your work. You are always excellent at your job. I'm concerned because you seem very unhappy, and I want to help."

Alex chimed in. "Kara, you're isolating yourself. You're trying to pretend that things are better, but they're obviously not. I wish you would let me in."

Oh God. They were ganging up on her. Kara looked down at her shoes. "Ms. Grant," she began unconvincingly, "I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. I had a rough couple of days, but I'm okay now. Please don't worry about me."

Cat shook her head. "Kara, you're not okay. Not even close. The life is gone from your eyes. You're keeping to yourself, and you seem very alone. And Supergirl has gone missing, and that's such an integral part of you that I can't stand seeing you abandon it."

At the mention of Supergirl, Kara leapt out of her chair, pizza forgotten. "Ms. Grant, I told you, I'm not Supergirl. I don't know where she's gone, but I assure you it has nothing to do with me." She turned her panicked gaze to Alex, expecting her sister to support her denials. Instead, she saw Alex looking at her with a sad, worried gaze.

Alex briefly considered siding with her sister, and maintaining the illusion of secrecy. But she could see how concerned Cat was about Kara, and she knew that the older woman wouldn't divulge Kara's secret. The two of them needed to work together to help Kara, and that was the only important thing right now. "Kara, it's okay," she said softly. "She already knows, and she's not going to expose you, or fire you. She wants to help you. So do I. We're both worried about you."

Kara walked quickly to the edge of the balcony, grasping the railing as if she wanted to fly away and never return. She looked scared, angry, and defeated; like a trapped animal, ready to take off at any moment. Cat thought she had never seen Kara looking so beautiful. She wanted to reach out and comfort the hero. "Kara, please just listen to me," she said in a quiet, soothing voice. "Please let us in. We want to help you, whatever it takes. I hate seeing you isolating yourself. People love you, and one bad week could never change that. Whatever you need, I'm here."

Mind reeling, Kara tried to process what she was hearing. She wanted to run as far away as she could from these caring, penetrating gazes. She didn't deserve their sympathy, or their time. She didn't deserve to be alive. Why were they trying to pretend that she did? Why were they making things so much harder? Why couldn't everyone just leave her alone?

She shook her head. "Why are you doing this?" she asked sadly. "Can't you see it's not helping anyone?" A few tears ran down her cheeks. "I deserve to be alone. I don't deserve to even be here right now. I don't want you to care. I don't want anyone to. Please, can you both just go on with your lives and stop wasting your time on me? I don't want your help. I don't deserve anyone's help. I just want to die." She sank to her knees and put her head in her hands as the tears started pouring out.

The pain in Kara's voice broke Alex's heart. She stood up and walked over to Kara, wanting to envelop her in a hug. Instead, Kara flinched and jumped off the balcony, hovering a few feet away. "Please don't," she whispered, voice breaking. "Please, Alex." She took off, soaring into the distance so quickly it took a moment for Cat and Alex to realize she was gone.

Alex sank into a chair, defeated. She couldn't stand seeing Kara like this. She didn't know what to do, and she was so afraid for her sister. She curled up and buried her head into her knees, a few tears escaping.

Cat squeezed Alex's shoulder, trying to hold back her own tears. "Alex, we'll figure out some way to get through to her. We have to."

Keeping her feelings buried was something that Cat did exceptionally well. It was a useful skill to have, in the boardroom and in negotiations, but it had become so ingrained that sometimes she didn't even recognize her own feelings for what they were. In the case of Kara, she had buried them deep.

For a long time, she had acknowledged that she felt protective of Kara. She criticized Kara to toughen the girl's skin, knowing how important it was for a woman to maintain her composure in the face of adversity. Compliments were rare in this business, and Kara needed to get used to that if she was going to advance. But recently, she had taken it too far, going out of her way to hurt Kara whenever possible. She saw it as justified, based on Kara's rejection of her son, but she understood why Kara had ended that relationship. Being Supergirl made it hard to begin a relationship with anyone, and she knew that Kara was just trying to protect Adam. When Siobhan had written that fake email from Kara, she knew instantly that the girl could never have written it, and it reminded her that while she was being petty and demeaning, Kara was always the ultimate professional. She wished she could take back some of the awful things she'd said, but she would have to move forward.

Now, she was finding it harder and harder to deny what she really felt for Kara. She had a crush on the girl. Cat sighed. Of course she did. What better way to fit the middle-aged boss cliché than to fall for her young, gorgeous assistant?

At this point, she would be happy if the girl would just talk to her. She knew that Kara desperately needed support, and she wanted to be there to help the young woman. But so far, Kara was refusing to allow anyone in.

She turned to Alex, who had calmed down enough to stop crying. "Alex, do you have proof that Max Lord was involved in last week's incident?"

Alex nodded warily. "He was the one who told us. He helped us to come up with the antidote."

"Hmm." Cat considered the situation for a few moments. "I think it's time for Max to come clean about that. Maybe that would help the public to rally around Supergirl. And perhaps if Kara sees that, she'll realize that she hasn't lost the city."

Alex nodded thoughtfully. "It can't hurt. If nothing else, it will help clear her image. Just be careful not to reveal anything that could harm Supergirl. And remember, nothing is ever easy, with Max."

Cat laughed. "Oh, I'm well aware." She thought briefly of her complete lapse in judgment that had led to a short fling with the scientist, and shuddered. But enough of that. "Alex, will you please call me when you hear from her?"

"Cat, I can do better than that. We have a tracker on her phone. I don't like to use it except in case of emergencies, but I'm pretty sure this qualifies." She pulled up an app on her own phone. "Right now she's… wow, she's moving fast." She looked up. "Looks like she's blowing off some steam. I'm going to head to the… my office. I'll keep an eye on her, and let you know when I hear anything, okay?"

Cat nodded, and went to work on exposing Max Lord.