A/N: In this next update, Kara and James head to the Fortress to talk. Kara has an epiphany. Decisions are made, and then later, James is beginning to hope, but things aren't as they seem. Please continue to read and review. I hope you enjoy it. Read on!

~o~o~

Chapter 4: Burning Bright

The night before their trip to the Fortress:

That night, Kara lay awake remembering their last visit under very different circumstances. She hadn't been there before but James had, then he explained how to get in, but not much else. He told her how strong she is; how fast she is; even faster than her cousin; and she rejoiced in his praise.

She also remembered other things he said, that he would always be her friend and that she wasn't alone. She needed to hear those words more than anything. It just felt right that he was the one who told her the truth about belonging and being accepted.

Being a part of Earth brought so many challenges, not only fitting in but the need to be recognized for everything she was, inside and out. James made her feel that way, like she belonged here on this planet. Of course, she had her family, and they always accepted her, but with James, it felt different and she needed it in a way she couldn't understand. She would always be grateful, but it became clear over the past week that he still cared about her and not just as a friend.

James, meanwhile, couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned all night thinking about returning to the Fortress. She wanted to talk about their feelings, why she broke up with him, and why he became Guardian. He just hoped she would understand and forgive him.

Also, thinking of the past week, he didn't think he could give up being a vigilante. He felt as if he had found his calling; a true purpose. Thinking of his Father, a career soldier, who fought for freedom all over the world. In this one way, he felt he could carry on his Father's legacy.

The alarm startled him out of his thoughts. He rubbed his tired eyes, jumped in the shower and tried to wake up. After getting dressed, he made coffee, had a bite to eat and waited for Kara to arrive. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang; it was time.

Time to face the truth, but were they ready for any of it?

~o~o~

Before dawn, the next morning:

James, dressed in a hat, parka, knee high boots, he was ready to go, but he was still freezing.

"I thought global warning was happening. It's freezing." He shivered. "I hope I don't freeze to death."

Kara chuckled. "Just hold on; we'll be there in a few minutes."

"Can you slow down; the wind isn't helping."

She slowed down but not by much. "I want to get this over with."

"Same here."

"Can we at least be civil to each other? All of this is your fault. We were going along just fine, but you had to," she hesitated.

"No, we weren't going along just fine. You broke up with me." He paused. "Oh, you're talking about Guardian? I told you why I did it."

"You wanted me not to forget about you. Well, I haven't and I never will. You'll always be," she hesitated.

He waited for her to tell him the truth; he needed her to say it.

Before he could think of what to say, she spoke to him. "We're here."

They landed, then she picked up the key. His eyes softened but it seemed to him that she wasn't ready to tell him how she felt. "Kara, I'm sorry; I shouldn't have done it."

"Done what?" She asked and placed the key in the lock.

"I shouldn't have become Guardian without telling you the reasons why."

Relieved that he would apologize, she relaxed. "Apology accepted."

He smiled, relieved they could at least be civil. "Well, let's see who this guy is; shall we?" He followed her inside.

Once inside, enthralled by what she could see, she said, "This place; I'll never get over it."

James wasn't looking at the scenery. "I won't either."

His voice did something to her; she decided to ignore it, but that is what got her into this mess, not talking about her feelings, or the real reason she broke up with him.

After walking further inside, then a few moments later, Kelix, the floating android, approached them.

"May I help you, Kara?"

"Yes; you remember James Olsen; he was here the last time."

"Yes, Mr. Olsen; it's nice to see you again."

James chuckled. "And you too."

"Kelix, we're here because Mon-El has arrived from Daxam."

"Mon-El is here on Earth?" Kelix asked.

"Yes, he's here, but Kal-El and I are concerned because we don't know why his family is called 'El' like ours, when he calls himself a 'Daxamite'."

"Yes, he is, but he is an enemy of the 'El' family going back hundreds of years."

"But why are we enemies? He said something about Kryptonians being more advanced and his family isn't quite like us. Didn't we share the same technology and?" She began but he interrupted her.

"Kara, if you must know, Daxamites are not exactly like us. They were not born naturally, not like you."

She frowned. "You mean like Kal-El and I?"

"Yes, you and Kal-El were born naturally."

"I see, so he will have powers like us, the same as all Kryptonians who've arrived here?"

"Yes, he will be powerful, the same as you and Kal-El, but it may take time," Kelix explained. "But Kara, there is something you should know."

"Go on," she said.

"Daxamites are different from Kryptonians. Bred to be soldiers or guards for princes and kings, not scientists or explorers, nothing more. They're kind and forthcoming, but only on the outside. Inside, they're cunning, unforgiving and untrustworthy."

Kara thought about that. "Did you say princes and kings? I remember stories about them, but he's not like General Zod; is he?" She asked.

He paused, then, "It is a possibility."

Kara didn't know what to do. "But you could be wrong about him, right?" Kara didn't believe that people couldn't change their instincts.

"It's alright," James said hoping she wouldn't have go through when Kryptonians arrived here and turned against her and tried to kill her.

"Maybe he just needs more time to adjust," Kara said, confused about what had just heard. She turned to James but he was confused as well.

"Do you need anything else from me?" Kelix asked.

Tears blinded her. James felt so bad for her. He touched her shoulder.

"No, I don't. Thank you, Kelix."

"Goodbye, Kara. Mr. Olsen."

"Thank you," James said.

"I can't believe this. He traveled so far."

James didn't know what to say. She needed a distraction. "Kara look!"

"What is it?" She looked up. "It's beautiful. What is it?"

"It's some type of alien rock. I know Clark has a special place where he keeps these 'mementos' of his travels and," he stopped at her look. "You didn't know? Take my hand; I'll show you."

She hesitated, then she took his hand.

"It's not far." He walked further inside through a corridor and there it was.

"Oh, it's beautiful and warm," she said and followed him. "Look, he's named everything." There were various rocks; unique animals who seemed to be doing alright; but then they came upon a very special statute. "Oh, it's Lara and Jor-El. They're beautiful," she said becoming emotional. "It's really them. He must have had this made." She couldn't hold it back; then she started to cry.

He took her into his arms. She didn't resist, but held him tighter.

"Kara, do you ever wonder what would have happened if Winn hadn't walked in on us?"

She wiped at her eyes, pulled away, but she couldn't lie to him. "Yes, sometimes, I do."

"I do too. I guess those moments that we shared; it just wasn't enough."

She didn't know what to say.

"You don't have to say anything. I thought you and I could go on a great adventure."

"An adventure?" She smiled at that idea.

"Yeah, but it took me a while to realize it wouldn't have been yours; only my adventure."

She frowned not understanding.

"I guess I'm not making myself clear, but I don't want you to feel tied down; to clip your wings, so to speak."

She understood now. "You wouldn't have done that; that's not who you are."

"But that's how I felt, Kara, and so, I'm letting you go. Take to the skies, fly, be yourself. I want that for you, more than anything." At her silence, he turned to go, but she stopped him.

Truly grateful, she said, "I think I needed to hear that; thank you, James."

"You're welcome." He took a deep breath and laid it all out. "Kara, I have one more thing to say. You're an extraordinary woman and our friendship means everything to me, but these past few weeks, everything is clear."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't be your friend; it's not enough."

She understood. "I see, but things are so complicated right now."

"The same was true for me for a long time, but," he started but she interrupted him.

"Do you mean Guardian?"

"That's part of it yes, but that's not everything that I need, and I think you know that."

"I do know that." She walked over to a glass cage and watched the animals and they looked content and happy. "For a long time, I felt caged and restricted, unable to help people, to save people, unable to use my powers. The day I saved my sister, I realized I could be what I've always wanted, Supergirl, but," she hesitated.

"But what? What were you going to say?" He prompted and held his breath.

She turned and sat down on a bench. He sat next to her. "James, I know what you want from me, but I don't think I'm ready." He seemed upset; she took his hand. "You want me to be sure; don't you?" He nodded. "All I ask is that you give me some time."

He thought of her words and he supposed he couldn't ask for more. "Of course, I can. You know where I live; where I work?"

She chuckled. "Yes, I know."

He smiled. "Can we stay here for a little while longer?"

"Aren't you cold?" She smiled in return.

"Only a little," he replied.

"Come here," she said and pulled him close, warming him up. They sat that way, her head on his chest content to be able to do this, and it didn't feel awkward or uncomfortable.

He stroked her hair and it felt nice. The both sighed with relief, happy to be able to confront their feelings and move forward, but to what; they didn't know.

~o~o~

A little while later, they left the Fortress and returned to National City with the hope they could take their time, think things through and hopefully, remain friends and maybe something more.

After dropping James at his place so he could change, they decided to meet up for lunch at the office.

After removing her suit, Kara got a call from Alex. Mon-El was asking for her. Back in the suit, she headed to the DEO.

Once there, she went directly to his room. "I'm so glad you're adjusting to your new home; I can see it."

"I'm feeling alright, but I'm bored," Mon-El said.

Kara chuckled and came closer. "Well, do you have any interests, something you like to do?"

"Well, I was in the military back home," he replied.

"Oh, I see," Kara said and thought of Kelix and his warning. "Did you learn any other skills besides being a soldier?"

"Let's see, I did enjoy working on technology, you know, stuff like that," he replied.

"Oh, that's interesting," Kara said and thought maybe he could work at CatCo, with no knowledge of Earth's technology, but maybe he's a fast learner.

"What is it? Did you think of something I could do?"

"I'll have to speak to a friend first, but I might have something for you," Kara replied.

Very relieved, he said, "Thank you, Kara. I mean that."

"Don't thank me yet," Kara said.

"No, I mean, for all of it," he said.

"You're welcome; I'll see you later," she said and left him alone.

~o~o~

Alex caught her before she could leave. "Well, how did it go?"

"He seems fine, but he's bored," Kara replied. "But he said he was a soldier on his planet and I may have a job for him at CatCo."

"Oh, I see, well, if you think that's a good idea," Alex said with doubt in her voice.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Kara asked.

"Kara, James is there and now you want to bring in someone who's like you, I mean 'he's the same' as you. James may feel like he's second best. You broke up with him or did you forget about that?"

"No, I haven't forgotten, but you should know something." Alex frowned and followed her into her office.

"What is it?" Alex asked.

"James and I, well, we talked at the Fortress and we've worked things out," she replied being evasive.

"What does that mean?"

"Let's just say that we're speaking to each other. He said he would give me time to think about things."

"Kara, James is a good guy and for him to wait for you to work out your feelings; it says a lot about his character." She was silent. "Why did you break up with him?"

Kara sat down. "You already asked me that and it's still true. At the time, I thought we didn't fit and he was on the fringes of my life, but now?"

"Things have changed because of … Guardian?"

Shocked, Kara stood up. "How did you find out?"

"I figured it out pretty quickly." Kara raised her eyebrows. "Winn showed me the video of you two 'chatting'. I didn't hear what was being said, but he swore me to secrecy."

"He wasn't supposed to tell anyone. It was James's secret."

"How did you find out?"

"He dropped me a hint about my writing and that's when I knew."

"I see, well; that was pretty smart of him." She shook her head. "I have to say that I'm impressed with Mr. Olsen."

"Hey, don't you have a girlfriend?" Kara asked with raised eyebrows.

Inwardly smiling at Kara's jealousy, she replied, "Oh, you mean Maggie; we're just friends."

She watched her sister closely. "But you want more?"

She shrugged. "I don't know but I like her; she's nice."

"But why aren't you two out on a date or something?"

"She has a girlfriend."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kara said feeling sad for her.

"No biggie," Alex said. "So, exactly what happened at the Fortress?"

She sat back down and thought of the past few hours. "I'm not going to say that James being Guardian had nothing to do with it, but it did. Yes, he's Guardian, but he was also just James and he brought out these feelings that, at first were closed off to just Kara, but Supergirl saw things differently. Does that make sense?"

"You've grown up a lot this past year." She said, then, "It is complicated and I'm happy you two took the time to talk, and worked things out."

"Oh, I'm happy too, very much so."

"What else happened at the Fortress?"

"You may want to sit down for this," Kara replied and began her story.

At that moment, Mon-El, unaware of his super hearing ability, left his room to get a bit of exercise when he heard them talking.

~o~o~

The next morning at CatCo:

Kara quietly knocked on the side panel to get James' attention. "Hey, got a minute?"

"Of course, come in," he replied and stood up.

"I still can't get over how different you sound without, you know."

"Oh, Winn did that and it worked," he said. She did seem like she wanted to talk. "Come and sit down." He patted the sofa and she sat down.

Then Kara felt nervous. "I have a question and it may sound weird, now that I think about it."

"I'm listening," he said.

She relaxed. "You always say that." She took a deep breath. "It's about Mon-El."

"Oh, what about him?"

"He's bored and he needs a job and," she hesitated.

"You want him to work here?" He concluded.

"He could be a gopher or anything that doesn't involve manual labor where he could possibly break things; like I used to do."

He chuckled, then he stood up. "So, I gather he has powers like you?" That got him thinking.

"Yes, he does." She followed him. "James, I know this may feel a little strange for you."

His eyebrows rose. "Why would it be strange."

"Well, Mon-El and I are similar; I mean he does have super powers."

"Doesn't he want to fly around and be a superhero like you?" He asked and wondered what she was thinking to bring him here.

"No, but he might in the future," she replied.

"Kara, did you forget that I was at the Fortress, when Kelix revealed who and what this guy is capable of?"

"No, I haven't forgotten, but this way we could both keep an eye on him."

"You may have a point. Okay, then, we'll try him out as an intern working for me, and if that doesn't work, we'll take it from there."

"Thanks, James, I owe you one," she said and smiled then turned to go.

"Kara wait; I know you want him to adjust and possibly change his instincts, but that may not be possible. Please don't set yourself up to be hurt … like before."

Inwardly smiling; he truly does care about me, she thought. They both smiled.

"Oh, am I interrupting?" Winn asked and watched them closely. Are they back together? He wondered.

"Oh, hi, Winn, James and I were," Kara started.

"Don't say anything," he said. "These are for you." He held an envelope out to her. Kara took it, then he turned to go.

"Winn, wait; James and I were talking about Mon-El, and whether we could find him a job here at CatCo."

"Is that true?" Winn asked James.

"Of course, it's true," Kara answered him. "I'm not lying."

"Oh, you're not lying really?"

"Winn, you can go now. There's no need to make a scene," James said.

"I'm going," he said and left in a huff.

Kara felt awful. "I'll talk to him." She turned to go.

"Kara wait," he said and came closer. "Will I see you … later?"

"Sure, we'll see each other," she replied and placed her fingers over her eyes and drew them open, indicating 'Guardian's' disguise.

Chuckling, he got it. "Bye, Kara."

"Bye, James," she said and then she was gone.

~o~o~

Back at the DEO:

Winn walked into tech center, still in a huff. Alex noticed him when he began to bang on his keyboard.

"Hey, what's got you so worked up?" She asked.

"How could you send me over to CatCo?" He asked and watched her face. "You knew about them?"

"Yes, I knew. Look, they talked and decided to take some time to figure things out. They're not actually back together."

"Oh, I see, so Kara changed her mind about them?"

"Yes she did and I think we should support her decision."

He turned back to the computer. "Well, mark my words, it will end sooner rather than later."

"Okay, Winn, stop typing and listen to me."

He sighed and turned to her. "You still care about her, but she doesn't feel the same way, but I won't hold it against her if she changed her mind about James."

"A woman's prerogative; is that what you're trying to say?"

"No, I mean yes; look, Kara was going through a difficult time and I think it changed her thinking about a lot of things." She paused. "I was just as stunned as you when she decided to break up with him, but I didn't question it. I let her work it out and this is what came of it."

"Well, I knew James stilled loved her. Being Guardian did the trick; didn't it?"

"Maybe, but I do know this. Kara cares about him, and being Guardian may have awakened those feelings, and I won't judge her for it."

He sighed again. "I won't either. She does seem happy."

"I think she is too." She paused. "Now, can we get to work?"

"Oh, about that, Mon-El needs a job, and Kara thinks he could work at CatCo as an intern."

"Okay, but with his military background, I had hoped he could work here." She paused and thought about it. "Let me know if you need time off to help him."

"Apparently, Kara is handling his 'training," he said and turned back to the computer.

Alex thought that was odd. "I hope it works out, for all our sakes," she said and thought of what Kara learned at the Fortress.

TBC!

~o~o~

Song Inspiration: Torches, Daughtry.

A/N: I haven't decided whether Mon-El is 'evil incarnate' or not. I'm thinking about it. Karolsen, taking things slow, seems to fit, so to speak. Please don't spoil my mood. My Muse was pretty determined. *LOL* More in a week. Now, tell me your thoughts! Thanks for reading!