Hello darling Superfans!

After a very action-packed beginning, here is a nice fluffy chapter for your enjoyment. I know the last few chaps were a lot more action-oriented than usual…there was just a lot of stuff that had to get set up for the rest of the season. Thanks for your patience. Now we can get back to the super-sweetness we know and love.

A/N: All Kryptonese words are courtesy of the officially-unofficial Kryptonian Dictionary, at . The song in this chap is the one Grant Gustin sings in the adorable Supergirl/Flash musical crossover ep, "Duet"—aka the "don't forget we were all on Glee!" episode. The song is called "Running Home to You," and if you haven't heard it, go listen now! It's sweet and beautiful and hearing the music will only deepen your imagination-experience when reading the chap. Enjoy my dears. And don't forget to keep giving me your feedback!

….

I'd Carry A Plane for You (Season 2)

Chapter 4: Running Home to You

….

Kara was alone on the balcony of a high-rise Midtown Manhattan hotel, comfortably curled up in a lounge chair with a blanket, looking out at the dazzling lights of the New York City skyline. It was peaceful, somehow…even surrounded by the frenetic energy of several million people crammed together on a small urban island, there was a tranquility to it all, a pulse that everything seemed to move to, like the city was one big living creature. Kara decided she liked it.

"Hey…you have another nightmare?" Alex yawned softly, shuffling out onto the balcony in her light pajamas, just a spaghetti-strap tank top and a pair of soft grey sleep shorts. She shivered a little as she rubbed her eyes.

"C'mere," Kara grinned softly, holding the blanket open with a familiar, protective glow in her blue eyes. Alex grinned sleepily back, and crawled into Kara's lap, giving a contented little sigh as she curled up with her face resting against the curve of the blonde girl's throat. Kara wrapped her arms around Alex under the blanket and played with her hair. They both looked out at the city lights together.

"Hmm…you're always warm," the dark-haired girl sighed, pressing her face into her solar-powered alien's soft skin, and rubbing one hand over her bellybutton. "Like a kitten."

"Meow," Kara smirked teasingly in the darkness. Alex grinned and raised her head, leaning up on one elbow a little and drawing her other hand up from Kara's stomach to cup her face. The blonde girl leaned in magnetically, and they traded sleepy kisses in the moonlight.

"…You never answered my question, sneaky kitty."

"What was the question?"

"Did you have another nightmare?" Alex prodded gently. Kara sighed and looked away.

"Hey, c'mon now, don't do that. You don't get to protect me from your pain," Alex said firmly, taking Kara's cheek in her hand again and forcing her to make eye contact.

"What about my spazzy flailing fists? Can I protect you from those?"

"Is that why you got up?" Alex's dark eyes were suddenly full of remorse. "You won't let yourself sleep because you're worried you're gonna have a bad dream and clock me?!"

"It's happened before," Kara mumbled darkly.

"One time. In seventh grade," Alex cooed reassuringly, threading her fingers soothingly through Kara's blonde hair.

"One time is all it takes. One time could kill you," Kara replied in a small voice, letting Alex see the worry and fear in her eyes.

"That's not gonna happen, bluebird."

"How do you know?" Kara pressed.

"I just do," Alex shrugged, smiling serenely, calm in her utter confidence. She leaned in and kissed her fretful little alien between the eyes. "Like in tribal cultures, how moms who sleep next to their baby in the bed never roll over them and squish them to death." Kara rolled her eyes, but her mouth betrayed her by pulling into an unwilling smile.

"Is one of us a baby in this metaphor?"

"We both are…we both take care of each other," Alex replied smoothly, snuggling back down against Kara's warmth and rubbing her face contentedly into the blonde girl's hair. "That's the deal, you know." She ran her fingers over Kara's wedding ring deliberately. "You have to sleep, babe. Even if you have bad dreams…I'm right here with you. Please don't run away. Just talk to me."

"I'm really scared I'm gonna hurt you, Lex," Kara whispered, her voice trembling slightly. "I keep having this horrifying dream that General Lane comes into the DEO to take me away, and J'onn and Astra and Winn and, and everyone, they just let him…and you're never there, I'm scared he hurt you…and no one will help me. In the dream I'm always fighting, as hard as I can, fighting for my life. Do you know what could happen to you if I punch you in the face as hard as I can while I'm asleep?"

"You've been having this dream for a week, Kar. You haven't punched me. You're not really fighting, it's just a dream," Alex hummed reassuringly, rubbing Kara's stomach under the blanket.

"It only has to happen once," Kara whispered despondently, staring off at the city skyline again.

"It did happen once. Thirteen years ago. And I'm still here," Alex sighed, smiling reassuringly as she picked her head up one more time, kissing Kara lightly on the lips. "I'm still here, baby…I'm right here," the dark-haired girl hummed. Kara wrapped one hand into Alex's dark red hair, pulling her gently back down for another kiss, deeper this time. They shifted against each other under the blanket, all other thoughts falling away as Kara's hands slipped under Alex's flimsy tank top, and pulled it up over her head.

"Beautiful girl…" Kara murmured, grazing her teeth across her baby's silky skin, that always smelled like heaven, even when she was sweaty and gross.

"Take me back to bed," Alex purred, her hands wrapping tight into Kara's long hair—so tight it would've been painful for anyone else. Not for Supergirl, though.

"As you wish, Princess Lexie," Kara smiled, levitating quickly to her feet with Alex's legs locked around her. The dark-haired girl giggled, wrapping her legs tighter around her unbreakable wife's slim waist.

"You be on top," Alex murmured as Kara approached the bed, grazing her teeth against the blonde girl's warm throat.

"Hmm, twist my arm why don't you," Kara growled happily, floating up over the bed with Alex held tight in her arms, and laying her down on her back, still hovering teasingly just a few inches above her. Alex just made a soft little whining sound, her hands running down Kara's body and raking her nails over the smooth skin. That was all the encouragement the blonde girl needed to forget her airborne teasing, and land lightly on top of her baby girl.

"Ra͡ʊp ʒa͡ʊ," Alex whispered into Kara's mouth, holding her tight by her long blonde hair.

"I love you too," Kara murmured back, resting her forehead briefly against Alex's as they moved against each other, feeling each other's heartbeats pounding through their skin. "I love you, Lexie…"

…...

It was another similar warm summer night when thirteen-year-old Kara fell asleep in Alex's arms, in her new earthly home, enjoying one of her favorite activities on her newly adopted planet—a sleepover with her best friend. At first Kara had felt embarrassed about how much she wanted Alex in her bed, almost every night; she thought it made her seem childish and weak-willed, unable to sleep alone on her new planet, so desperate for comfort and reassurance from her very favorite human.

But Alex had been quick to reassure her that this was a normal part of life on Earth, and there was nothing wrong with having sleepovers every weekend if that was what made her happy. Kara would have preferred every night to every weekend; and by eighth grade, when they were more settled into their lives together and confident, they would begin sneaking into each other's bedrooms at night with far greater frequency. But for now, Kara was still timid of breaking rules and getting in trouble, and she limited herself to parent-sanctioned weekend sleepovers. They were almost always at the blonde girl's house in the beginning, since her room at the Danvers' had lead-lined walls, which helped her handle her heightened senses enough to fall asleep until she learned better control.

Lead-lined walls couldn't keep out nightmares, though. As much comfort as it gave her to fall asleep in Alex's arms, pressed up against the warm, steady beat of her heart, Kara still had bad dreams sometimes, as her subconscious mind tried to process the loss of her world. When she was awake, she tried not to think about it; but that didn't keep away the nighttime visions of Krypton exploding into white-hot stardust in front of her. If anything, pushing it down during the day just made it push back even more stubbornly when she closed her eyes.

This time, Kara's dream revolved around her parents trying to force her into the pod as the planet shook and cracked around them; but Kara wouldn't go, she wouldn't. She was screaming and begging, Don't leave me, I won't go, please don't make me go. Fighting as hard as she could.

Then, suddenly, she jolted awake in her bed in Midvale, shaking and covered in sweat; and Alex was sobbing on the floor, curled up in a ball and holding both hands over the side of her head, a small pool of blood collecting on the carpet. There was blood staining the corner of the bedside table, too.

"Alex!" Kara gasped, her sleep-fogged blue eyes going wide with horror as she scrambled out of bed and down onto the carpet beside her best friend's shaking body. "Eliza! Help!" Kara screamed, pulling down the sheets and wadding them up into a ball to push against Alex's bleeding head wound. "Lexie, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry…I was dreaming, I didn't mean it…" The light flicked on, and Eliza and Jeremiah came charging in, alarmed by the panicked sound of Kara's scream. They understood at once what had happened.

"Kara, sweetheart, look at me. Breathe," Jeremiah said soothingly, his voice calm and steady as he pulled Kara around by the shoulders to face him. Tears were streaming down her face, her eyes wild and unfocused until they finally locked on the reassuring gaze of her foster dad.

"I d-didn't mean to hurt her," the blonde girl whispered brokenly, her eyes drawn unwillingly back to Alex's shaking body curled up on the rug, with Eliza now applying a pressure bandage to her bleeding head. "I was dreaming…"

"It's all right, Kara. She'll be all right. It was an accident," Jeremiah said firmly, holding her chin in his hand and forcing her to look up at him. "We just have to take her to the hospital now, she needs some stitches. It's going to be fine, sweetheart. Take a deep breath." Kara felt a hot lump of shame drop into her stomach. They shouldn't be wasting time comforting her…they should be comforting Alex.

"P-please just help her," the blonde alien girl sniffled, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand.

"We will, just relax. It's going to be fine, all right? Alex, honey, you're gonna be okay," Jeremiah said soothingly, scooping the dark-haired girl from Eliza's arms, now smudged with Alex's blood. "Get the car," he said quietly to his wife. "Kara, honey, grab your jacket. And Alex's. Come on."

The trip to Midvale Memorial was a blur to Kara; all she saw was Alex, curled up with her head leaning limply against the blonde girl's shoulder while Jeremiah held pressure against the bloody cut on her temple. Kara held her hand and sang to her softly to distract from the pain; it seemed to help her distract herself from her crushing guilt, too, if only for a moment. Once they got to the ER, it turned out not to be as bad as Kara had thought, from all that blood; only five stitches. That was still five stitches more than she ought to have.

While Eliza went to call Mr. and Mrs. Grey, and Jeremiah was getting coffee from the hospital cafeteria, Kara sat at Alex's bedside with her arms wrapped tightly around herself, scared to even touch her best friend. All she wanted was to wrap her sweet girl up in her arms and beg forgiveness; but that was selfish. What she wanted didn't matter now. Alex was hurt, and it was her fault, and nothing could change that. Kara didn't bother wiping away the tears sliding silently down her face until Alex opened her woozy hazel eyes, and her sleepy voice broke the silence.

"Don't cry, bluebird."

"Lexie…are you okay? How do you feel?" Kara sniffed, wiping hastily at her eyes as she realized her best friend was awake.

"I'm fine, Kar. Really. It only hurts a little," Alex smiled bravely; but Kara could see her wincing through the smile. A fresh bolt of guilt stabbed right through the blonde alien girl's stomach.

"You don't have to lie to make me feel better. I should be the one making you feel better," Kara sighed, wiping the tear tracks guiltily from her face.

"I'm not lying, bluebird," the dark-haired girl murmured, holding out one arm. "C'mere, come cuddle me…"

"Are you kidding? Do you have a death wish?" Kara snorted, shrinking back with her arms wrapped tight around herself again, like anything she accidentally touched might explode.

"It wasn't your fault, Kar. You were asleep," Alex said firmly, still holding the blankets open with one arm. "And you said you wanted to make me feel better…so come here. Now." Warily, Kara climbed into the narrow hospital bed, and Alex curled up against her, resting her face against Kara's warm collarbone and closing her eyes with a soft sigh.

"Is that good?" Kara asked gently, her guilt momentarily taking a back seat to the more immediate goal of giving Alex comfort, in any way possible.

"Mm-hmm," the dark-haired girl murmured. She had a black eye forming; not on the side where the bloody bandage was, but the opposite side. That was where Kara had hit her, sending her head smack into the corner of the nightstand. It made the blonde girl's stomach hurt just looking at it.

"Will you put your hands in my hair? That makes me feel better…" Alex yawned softly, and Kara obeyed without a word, her fingers grazing lightly through Alex's dark red hair and tenderly rubbing her scalp, staying far away from the injured area. They stayed like that in comfortable silence for a minute.

"I'm so sorry, Lexie…I'm so, so sorry," the blonde girl whispered finally, and Alex could hear the tears welling up in her voice again.

"I know, Kara. Shh, I know…please stop torturing yourself, it was an accident. You have PTSD, you had a bad dream. It could have happened to anyone," Alex hummed softly, nuzzling up to Kara's throat and rubbing her stomach gently.

"Yeah right," the blonde girl mumbled darkly. "Don't worry, I learned my lesson…next time we have a sleepover, I'll sleep on the floor. I won't hurt you. Not ever again."

"What? No!" Alex cried, pushing herself up on her elbow to look Kara in the eye, even though it caused her a stab of dizziness. "You can't do that, Kara!" The blonde girl was shocked to hear the tears welling up in her best friend's voice now.

"I don't want to, Lex. I have to," Kara shook her head regretfully, running one hand slowly through Alex's soft, shiny hair to soothe her. "If I ever hurt you again…"

"You won't," Alex said fiercely, her dark eyes blazing with conviction.

"You don't know that," Kara shook her head miserably, tears of regret welling up in her exhausted blue eyes again. "I can't take that chance…"

"Kara Zor-El, look at me right now," Alex growled, holding Kara's chin in her hand so she couldn't look away. "We are not going to let one nightmare ruin our lives. Got it? And refusing to let me sleep next to you would hurt a thousand times worse than a few stitches. We're both okay, bluebird. I won't let anything change that…I promise. Do you believe me?" The blonde girl smiled through her tears, not pulling back when Alex wiped a few away with her thumb.

"I believe you," Kara nodded shyly. "I'll always believe you, Lexie."

…

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a great treat for you tonight. You know her as the girl of steel, the caped crusader, protector of truth, justice and the American way. In her first-ever television appearance, please welcome—Supergirl!" Trevor Noah stood up and beckoned Kara out from her waiting spot just behind the door to the backstage area, and she walked out waving at the live audience, who were going completely berserk with cheering. The blonde girl beamed at the people cheering her, with a full-on, thousand-watt Supergirl smile lighting up her face.

Trevor held out his hand, but Kara hugged him instead. He must have felt how fast her heart was pounding, because he whispered in her ear, "Just breathe, you'll be great. They already love you."

"Thanks," Kara whispered back shyly, and he squeezed her shoulder before ushering her to her seat. It took a minute before they could get the studio audience quieted down again. Kara saw that many of them were holding up homemade signs saying We Love You Supergirl! and other enthusiastic messages of support.

"Welcome to the show, Supergirl," Trevor nodded to her as he took his seat across from her. "We are so honored to have you here, all the way from National City."

"Thanks Trevor. I'm happy to be here too. New York is amazing!"

"This is your first visit to the city, yes?"

"That's right," Kara nodded.

"And what's been your favorite thing so far?"

"The food," Kara admitted sheepishly; and everyone laughed. "Yeah, no one who knows me will be surprised about that. So far we've tried the world's best potstickers in Chinatown, the best pizza in the West Village, best barbeque in Chelsea, best burgers in Times Square…not just the world's best, actually. Best in the galaxy!" Kara grinned like the cat that ate the canary, and everyone laughed again.

"Well on behalf of the entire city, we humbly accept the 'Galaxy's Best Food' title," Trevor winked at her. "I did notice that you said 'we' just now, in regard to your city-wide food tour—so Supergirl has a travel buddy? Is that a family member, a boyfriend perhaps?" Kara could feel the energy in the room shift, as the audience became still and silent, eager to hear her answer.

"I wish it was safe for me to tell you all about the wonderful people I have in my life," Kara smiled a little sadly. "But you know I can't do that, Trevor. It wouldn't be safe for them. That's sort of the whole point of this." She gestured to her Supergirl suit.

"Any bad guy wishing to attack National City, or hurt you personally, would only have to kidnap or threaten your loved ones to force you into submission."

"Exactly," Kara nodded.

"And now that list of bad guys includes, potentially, the NCPD and the United States government," Trevor prompted. Kara hesitated, chewing thoughtfully on her lip.

"There are…certain people and offices in the military and law enforcement arenas who for whatever reason, see me as the enemy," Kara said slowly. "One in particular who's tried to have me killed, more than once. But I don't think he had any legal sanction for that; it was his own personal vendetta."

"And now?" Trevor prompted her again. "In light of your very public arrest last week, and the revelation that your own city's police force has created a kryptonite holding cell, presumably intended for you alone?"

"That…kind of broke my heart," Kara admitted, her voice becoming a bit softer as the memory flooded back. "I've been protecting National City for over a year now…I saved the whole planet from Myriad. My cousin's been protecting Metropolis for over a decade. Now all of a sudden it's 'vigilante justice?' I don't understand what's changed," Kara shook her head. The young host raised his eyebrow at the audience knowingly, and everyone laughed a little.

"I think I know one thing that has changed," Trevor offered. Kara grinned a little sadly.

"Yes, I know…President Trump is no friend to alien refugees. Or any type of refugees, for that matter. I just never thought it would go this far."

"I don't think any of us did," Trevor said sympathetically. "Tell me—when you save thousands of innocent civilians from a terrorist attack, only to have your actions be characterized as criminal activity, 'disturbing the peace'…does it make you regret risking your life to help the very people who are persecuting you? Even just a little?"

"Oh, no—no way," Kara shook her head vehemently, looking shocked at the question. "When you have the power to help people…you can't imagine how it feels to just sit back and let bad things happen around you. That was my life growing up, I wasn't allowed to use my powers, it was supposed to be for my own protection. I made a choice when I first put on this suit—the choice to help people. Period. Choosing who gets to be rescued and who doesn't…that's not what heroes do. That's what dictators and tyrants do." The audience roared with cheers again, and Kara smiled shyly.

"I think they like you answer," Trevor teased, causing a few more claps and hoots. "Now, the protest where the terrorists attacked—that was a demonstration against President Trump's first Executive Order, requiring all Extraterrestrials to register with the US government."

"Yes," Kara nodded.

"And you were there as part of the protest—before the terrorist attack even happened."

"Yes," Kara agreed again.

"This was your first public political act as Supergirl, wasn't it?"

"As Supergirl. Yes," the blonde girl nodded. "But I've been to protests and demonstrations before…I was at the Women's March on Inauguration Day. Just, without the cape and boots." She grinned, and the audience laughed and cheered again.

"So what motivated your decision to change that now? Critics, of course, are saying it's a deliberate manipulation of public opinion, using your fame to support a political cause. And of course, that it's an act of self-interest."

"Who shows up for a political cause that isn't in their own interest?" Kara asked rhetorically. Trevor laughed.

"Indeed, very true."

"As for using my fame for a cause…celebrities do that all the time. I never have before because I never wanted Supergirl to be the story. I want the story to be the story. You know?"

"Yes. Absolutely," The young host nodded, to more scattered cheers.

"But now…Supergirl is part of the story, there's just no way around it. I take this cape off, and I'm a person…I go to work, I pay taxes, I have people I love. I'm a person who's affected by this crazy Executive Order." More cheers, louder and longer this time.

"And what would you say to those who hold the view that any alien who is a law-abiding citizen has nothing to fear from this order—that it's intention is only to weed out those who are dangerous?"

"I'd say that being arrested for stopping a terrorist attack doesn't feel like nothing to fear."

"Well said. And I suppose you're still not going to tell us if you have a boyfriend?"

"Aww, Trevor, you need a date for Saturday night huh?" Kara teased, playing off the question as she had done countless times before. The good-natured host laughed and clapped her on the shoulder, and the audience laughed too.

"That's all the time we have for tonight, unfortunately. Thank you so much for being here with us, Supergirl." He shook her hand, and the crowd burst into wild applause again. Kara felt herself blushing under the bright lights of the studio cameras as she waved out at the people one last time.

…

Though The Daily Show aired at 11pm, the taping was finished by 7, giving Kara and Alex one more chance to experience another night out in New York City before flying home in the morning. Kara wanted to try Korean BBQ, so they took the train to Herald Square and walked a few blocks to Koreatown, where Kara stunned another group of waiters with her ability to eat four or five different entrees all by herself. Finally they paid their bill and headed out for phase II: Karaoke. (Or Kara-oke, as Alex liked to say.)

There were a ton of karaoke bars right in the neighborhood where they ate; but they didn't just want any old karaoke bar, they wanted to go to a New York City gay bar. So they took a leisurely walk uptown to Hell's Kitchen, until they got to a glowing pink neon sign that just said RISE. Even though it was only a Tuesday, the place was packed; possibly because it was karaoke night. Kara put her name down, but she wasn't overly surprised when Alex declined—the dark-haired girl had a gorgeous voice, but she was awfully shy about singing in front of anyone but Kara. Getting up on a real stage and singing into a real microphone in front of a hundred strangers was definitely not on her to-do list. But she loved watching Kara sing, and experiencing a super-gay night out in New York was sure to be anything but boring. Alex decided to let loose a little, and ordered a Jack and Coke. Kara's head practically exploded when she saw that the bar offered a whiskey-bacon milkshake. Even though she couldn't feel the effects of alcohol, she still ordered it virgin; she'd never really liked the taste of booze.

The MC was an adorable boy in chunky hipster glasses, a sweater-vest and bow tie, who went by the name of Mr. Wonderful; and by the way he introduced some of the singers, and the reactions of the crowd, it was clear that many of them were regulars. They ranged from not bad, to flat-out jaw-dropping amazing, and for a minute Kara actually felt a little nervous about singing in front of this very impressive crowd. But then she just reminded herself of who she was really singing for, and the nerves turned into happy butterflies dancing around her stomach.

When Mr. Wonderful finally called her name, Kara bounced up excitedly onto the stage, and whispered something in his ear; he nodded and winked at her, and she gave him her phone with a smile. Then she turned and waved to her audience, for the second time that day. But this time without the cape and boots—she was just a person here.

"Hi everybody! I'm Kara. And this is my first time in New York."

"Yeah!" The crowd cheered and hooted, definitely more raucous than the studio audience at the TV taping had been.

"This is a song that a friend of mine wrote…he gave me special permission to sing it for you." She didn't bother telling them Barry's name, because they wouldn't be able to look it up unless they had a search engine for alternate dimensions. Smiling widely, Kara found Alex's dark eyes in the crowd, and locked onto her. "This song is for you, Lexie…all my songs are for you." She gave Alex a little wink, and a chorus of awwww's drifted up from the crowd. Mr. Wonderful plugged Kara's phone into the sound system, and she picked up the microphone and began to sing, just to Alex. Everyone and everything else just fell away.

"This world can race by far too fast, hard to see while it's all flying past. But it's clear now, when you're standing here now…I am meant to be, wherever you are next to me..." Alex looked like she was going to cry…but it was the good kind of crying. The audience had fallen completely silent, spellbound by Kara's voice; she really had no idea how good she was. Alex knew, though. The dark-haired girl basked in the glow of her beautiful, perfect little alien's love; it was intoxicating, the feeling of having all eyes on her girl, all of them wishing to be the one she was singing to. But Kara would never sing loves songs to anyone else. All of Kara's songs were for Alex.

"All I want to do, is come running home to you, come running home to you… And all my life I promise to, keep running home to you, keep running home…to you." The audience screamed with applause, which became even wilder when Kara came down from the stage and wrapped Alex up in her arms for a heart-stopping kiss.

"You…are such…a romantic," Alex sighed, grinning like an idiot when Kara finally stopped kissing her.

"Baby, I am just getting started being romantic," Kara grinned back wickedly, rubbing her thumb in little circles over Alex's hip as she thought of the sea of rose petals she'd instructed the hotel bellhop to leave on their freshly-made bed that night.

"Maybe we should go back to the hotel now?" Alex asked, feigning innocence as she gazed up wistfully at Kara and batted her dark eyelashes.

"Maybe we should," Kara agreed, kissing Alex again and nibbling on her bottom lip before she let go. "…But first can I just have one more bacon milkshake?"