4 – Virtual Rescue

"No! Supergirl! Supergirl!"

Kara immediately jerked awake and sat up, looking around her in confusion. She thought she had heard her name but the room and indeed the whole house was quiet and pitch black. With a sigh, the hero lay back down again and closed her eyes. She was breathing deeply, trying to calm the frantic beating of her heart when she heard it again.

"Supergirl, help me!"

"Cat," she gasped, pushing back the soft cotton sheets and climbing out of the tall bed. Within a split second, she was in Cat's room, fists raised and ready to take on an intruder, but even in the darkness, she could see that the room was empty. She checked behind the door and in the closet and knelt down to look under the bed but, when she was on the floor, she heard a whimper and another cry.

"Help, Supergirl, please help me!"

Suddenly it made sense. Cat was having a nightmare and was calling for the hero in her sleep. When Kara stood up, she could see Cat thrashing with her arms raised to protect herself. Large tears were running down her face from the corners of her eyes.

Immediately, the hero went to her and sat on the edge of the bed. She cupped Cat's cheeks, stroking her cheekbones slowly and gently with her thumbs, erasing the tears from her face as she spoke in a gentle tone. "I'm here, Cat, you're safe now. I've stopped them and you're safe." She continued to stroke her friend's face and speak the soothing words until finally, as the sun peeked through the window, Cat calmed and slowly opened her eyes to worried blue gazing down at her.

"Kara? What?"

The younger woman smiled. "It's ok. You were having a nightmare and calling for Supergirl."

Cat sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry I woke you," she said, her face flushing with embarrassment.

"Don't be," the hero replied with a bigger smile. "I'm here for you, Cat, I promise. Do you want to try to sleep some more? I'll stay with you."

"Yes, please." the CEO replied tiredly. She just scooted over and made room for Kara, who climbed onto the bed and when Cat turned onto her side, pressed close to her back and put her arm gently around the older woman's waist. Kara smiled as she felt Cat's hand on hers and before long, they were both sleeping again.

..

It was the housekeeper's sharp gasp that woke Kara at close to eleven the next morning. She opened her eyes and pursed her lips as she saw the woman scuttle back out of the bedroom. Then she looked down and realized why. Yes, indeed, Cat was a cuddler. Sometime that morning, they had both turned and Cat was sleeping half on top of Kara with her fingers laced through the hero's hair at her neck and one knee thrown across her thighs. At that same moment of realization, Kara's body woke up and gave her a good morning call at southerly points that made her heart beat faster. She squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed.

Then Cat stirred and her knee pressed into a very sensitive spot that almost made Kara groan. She immediately moved and gently slid herself out from under her friend as Cat's eyes opened sleepily. She was completely unaware of the heat radiating through the Kryptonian's body. "Mor…" Kara's voice broke and she cleared her throat. "Morning, Cat." She chucked a thumb toward the door behind her. "I'm just going to take a shower…" She headed for her own room. "A cold one," she added under her breath.

Breakfast was a quiet affair and Cat wondered why her housekeeper wouldn't make eye contact with her. When the woman headed off to another room, she looked at Kara. "She's acting weirdly."

"She... um..." The hero cleared her throat and scratched the back of her head. "She… kinda walked in on us in a… compromising position."

"Compromising pos… it's not like we were having sex, Kara." Cat laughed.

"No, true," the younger woman replied. "But you were kinda… half…" She paused, making an action with her hands and tilting her head. "You MAY have been lying kinda on top… of… me…" She looked away before peeking back at the older woman. "She freaked out and ran away."

Cat closed her eyes for a long moment as she tried to gather her thoughts. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," she finally said.

"On the contrary," Kara replied, smiling as Cat's eyes snapped up to meet hers. "It was the best sleep I've had in ages and," she added honestly. "It's not like I wasn't wrapped around you too." She shrugged. "Guess we're both cuddlers."

"It was the best sleep I've had in ages too," the CEO admitted. She picked up her coffee and took a sip. "Kara, I've decided to work here rather than at the office until Carter gets back and, if it's ok with you, I'd like you to do the same and of course continue to stay here. I also promise to not get in the way of Supergirl's duties."

Without even having to think about it, Kara was nodding. "Absolutely, Cat. I'll run by the office and pick up some stuff from my desk later on. Is there anything you need from your office?"

"I don't think so," the CEO replied. "But if you see anything you think I might need, please bring it back with you. Also, I'm not going to do any face to face meetings until I get back to the office…" She indicated her heavily bruised face. "…for obvious reasons, so please move everything to conference calls."

"I think you should take a couple of days off," Kara interjected, solidly meeting Cat's eyes. "Today is Thursday. Please at least take til Monday?"

They stared at each other stubbornly across the breakfast table and Kara thought that Cat was going to turn her down flat but finally, the CEO sighed and nodded. "Maybe you're right."

The hero immediately reached across the table and took the older woman's hand, bringing it to her lips. "Thank you."

It was also that exact moment that Cat's housekeeper decided to make a re-appearance and she stopped dead at the door as she saw the two women holding hands and gazing at each other. Without even really looking in the woman's direction, Cat spoke directly. "Hailey, Miss Danvers is my dear friend. She will be staying here for the foreseeable future."

"Yes, Miss Grant. I read the paper this morning and I'm very sorry about what happened to you." She looked at Kara then. "Welcome, Miss Danvers." She scuttled back out of the room again as Cat's mouth dropped open.

"Paper? It's in the paper? Oh my… why did I not..." Her hair blew back as Kara arrived back at the table, paper in hand. The younger blonde opened to page two and there it was.

"Oh... wow," she murmured as she scanned the article.

Cat's hands were shaking. "Please tell me there are no details."

Kara began to read out loud. "We are sorry to report that Cat Grant, Editor-in-Chief and CEO of CatCo Worldwide Media, was assaulted at an undisclosed location two nights ago. As of this time, National City Police have not made any arrests and the details of the assault have not been released. Miss Grant is not available for comment and is not expected to be for the foreseeable future. All members of the National City media community are sending their thoughts and prayers to Miss Grant at this difficult time."

The CEO sighed. "More than acceptably vague," she commented. "Who wrote it?"

Kara smiled. "I… um… did. I… I emailed James last night while you were sleeping to get ahead of it and to let him know that you would need his help for the next couple of days."

Cat swallowed and nodded. "Thank you, Kara and please thank James for me when you see him?"

"Of course," the hero replied as Cat's phone rang.

"It's Carter," the older blonde sighed. "What am I going to tell him?" She got up with a heavy heart and headed toward the living room. "Excuse me."

Once Cat was gone, Kara folded her arms on the table and leaned her forehead on them, closing her eyes and smiling to herself. The older woman had listened to her for once and taken her advice and it made her feel trusted and… yes… special.

..

After her call with Carter, during which she told him she was completely ok and to stay with his father, Cat called the hospital to see if the results of her tests had come in. She'd come back to the kitchen to do it, needing her friend's presence and support. "Hello, I'm calling to see if my test results are available? Catherine Grant." They both waited with closed eyes and held breaths. Kara could clearly hear the other side of the conversation.

"Miss Grant, I'm please to say that all tests came back negative. You're ok."

"Th… thank you," Cat whispered and then hung up, relief relaxing the lines across her brow. Kara just tugged her gently to her feet and hugged her tightly, closing her eyes as the trembling woman buried her face in her neck and held on to her. But Cat finally found a smile to offer to the younger woman. "Kara, I want you to take til Monday off too. And… there's somewhere I'd like to go. Would you mind coming with me?"

The hero nodded, blue eyes sparkling. "Anywhere."