"Well that was a blast," Kate had a wide smile on her face. She held Addie's hand firmly, as they all walked back from the park.

Two hours of softball with her favorite five-year-old, alongside three of the nicest women she had ever met – Alex, Maggie and the charmingly kooky Kara – had eased her soul and reminded her of all the good things that this life had to offer. Friendship, and real, genuine warmth from people that really cared.

She looked down at Addie's smiling face, and remembered back to her own childhood. She knew better than most that blood wasn't the most important thing. For her, it had been the love from the nuns at St Cuthbert's. Seven years there, from the age of 9 until she enlisted in the army at 16, where she found a new family. And now, it seemed, she was part of the DEO family. Somehow she seemed to gravitate to organizations that valued their members as people as well as as employees.

"You will stay for dinner, Kate?" Maggie asked.

"No, that's okay, thank you, I don't want to intrude."

"You're not intruding," Kara interrupted, taking Kate's other arm cheerfully. "Alex is cooking. And she's a great cook."

Kate raised an eyebrow. Somehow she hadn't attributed domestic skills to Agent Danvers.

Alex saw the look on her face, and laughed. "What?" she teased. "I cook, you know."

"You're full of surprises, boss," Kate said.

"C'mon, it makes sense," Kara was playful. "She has me as a sister. She needed to learn to cook."

Kate smiled. "Yes, I have noticed that you enjoy your food."

Kara grinned, and lowered her voice. "Flying around National City burns a ton of calories, you know. Please say you'll stay. Addie wants you to."

Addie nodded vehemently. "I want to show you my new drawing," Addie said.

"Well in that case, that would be lovely," Kate smiled. The thought of a home-cooked meal in the welcoming embrace of this family warmed her heart.

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"That was a wonderful meal. I'm impressed, Agent Danvers," Kate kept her tone light. "I really must go now. But thank you all. It's been a great day." She knelt at Addie's level. She reached into her pocket and brought out a small parcel. "I got you some coloring pencils, for your first day at pre-school tomorrow."

Addie squealed with excitement when she saw her name engraved on each pencil. She flung her arms around Kate's neck and hugged her.

"You'll be great," Kate's tone was reassuring. "You're going to have such a good time, and you'll make lots and lots of friends."

Addie whispered into Kate's ear. "I'm kinda scared," she admitted.

Kate touched her face. "That's okay, Doodlebug. Everybody gets a bit scared when they start school. But I just know that, within an hour or two, you'll forget all about how scared you were, because you'll be having so much fun."

Addie nodded.

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Alex and Maggie both took Addie to school the next day. They had decided that, for the first week, they would both be there to take her in, and to collect her. After that, at least one of them would be there. But they wanted to show a united front. Each of them took a hand as they approached the school gates.

"Miss Charlotte," Alex smiled as the young teacher greeted them.

"Hi," Charlotte smiled, looking kindly toward Addie. She crouched at her level. "You remember me, right, Addie?"

Addie nodded, smiling shyly. She had liked this lady.

Charlotte held out her hand to Addie. "Are you ready to come in and meet everybody?"

Addie nodded, solemnly, suddenly overwhelmed.

Alex and Maggie hugged her quickly. "We'll see you later, Bug," Alex tried to keep her voice even. She felt worse than when she sent soldiers out into the field.

"Okay, Mama. Bye, Mommy," Addie waved, as she resolutely made her way into the classroom.

Alex strode swiftly to the car, wanting to hide her tears. When Maggie caught up with her, she turned to her to apologize for being over-emotional, and then she saw the tears on Maggie's cheeks. She laughed.

"We're more upset than she is," Maggie smiled. "She'll be great, Danvers. And they have all our numbers if there's a problem. And Kara's number. And J'onn's."

"And Kate's," Alex admitted. "Just in case the rest of us are caught up in something."

Maggie laughed. "Give me the car keys," she teased. "You're a mess."

Alex handed them over ruefully.

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Kate looked grave as Alex entered the lab. "J'onn needs to see you," she said, without preamble. "Both of you."

"Maggie's with Winn. I'll go get her."

"I'll go," Kate put a hand on her arm. "You go see J'onn."

Alex's heart turned to ice. She knew this could only be bad news.

She sprinted to J'onn's office. "What is it?" she demanded, as she threw the door open.

J'onn looked up. He gave a small smile. "Hey, Alex. Where's Detective Sawyer?"

"I'm here," Maggie entered the room, followed by Kate.

"He's back. Tenkmab," J'onn got straight to the point.

Alex thought she might be sick. The evil bastard that was trafficking children – who had almost destroyed Addie – was back. She had prayed that he had gone to another galaxy or, better still, died. "How?" her voice cracked.

"It seems he's been living on a spaceship. He's been … servicing his clientèle … from there. Girls as young as 11. But, according to my informant, he's back on Earth. To … restock," J'onn spat out the word.

Alex swayed, steadying herself by putting one palm flat on the table.

"Where?" Maggie's tone was icy.

"He's got a warehouse. Somewhere in National City. Supergirl's up there, she's using her x-ray vision to check out possible sites."

"We have to do more than that," Alex said. "It could take months doing it that way."

"That's why we've got all available personnel working on it. Detective Sawyer, I need you to talk to your contacts at the alien bar. Somebody knows somebody who knows somebody."

"Why not set up a sting?" Kate suggested quietly. "They don't know me at the bar. I could let it be known that I am … interested in young girls," bile rose just at that concept.

Maggie nodded. "It could work. Hergam is the man you want to talk to. Or let him overhear you."

"Who's Hergam?"

"Real bottom-feeder," Maggie explained. "Never does any of it himself, but he always knows about what's going on. He has contacts. That's why we never bust him for long. You wanna know what's happening on the fringes, he's your man."

"This could be dangerous," Alex warned.

"Take Vasquez," J'onn advised. "On Tuesday night. You often play pool there on a Tuesday, right?" he looked at Maggie and Alex.

Maggie smiled. "We always used to. Every Tuesday. But since Addie, we've only been a couple of times."

"Mom will babysit," Alex said. "She's coming in tonight for that conference."

"I'll go get Vasquez," Kate offered. "We can make plans."

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That night, Alex curled tight in Maggie's embrace. Addie was sleeping – peacefully, thank God – and they were snuggled in close together. Alex's life had been enhanced immeasurably by the addition of Addie to their family, but she hated that it had only been made possible by an evil alien who had destroyed her whole existence. She would not allow more youngsters to be hurt.

At least Addie hadn't yet been pimped out to any clients – it was her stepmother who had suffered that dreadful fate, before she was viciously beaten to death in front of Addie. But everything she loved had been taken away from her. And she still had those deep scars on her back, from when she had tried to protect her stepmother.

Alex's breathing quickened, as she tried to control her emotions.

"You can let it out, Alex," Maggie spoke softly.

Alex shook her head. "When it's all over," she said.

"Okay, babe," Maggie held her tight.

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Trying to stay normal for Addie was the hardest thing. As soon as Eliza learned the bare outline of what was going down, she freed herself up for two weeks, so she could stay at the house, and take away the stress from Alex and Maggie. But they still managed to get home at a reasonable time each day, most of the time, and so far one or the other of them had picked her up from school.

The one bright point was that Addie was loving school. She had already made several friends, and she loved learning and playing. So she was full of energy and enthusiasm, and she brightened all their lives with her chatter and energy.

The sting had gone well – it was clear that Hergam had heard Kate and Vasquez's private conversation and, a week after their first visit, he approached them at the bar. He slid over a piece of paper with a number on it. "Beautiful girls," he said, his tone so slimy that Kate wanted to punch him. She pretended not to see him but, ten minutes later, she reached for Vasquez's hand and stood up to leave. Surreptitiously, she slid the paper into her pocket.

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"We've got to be clever about this," J'onn said. "We can't go storming in. You're going to have to meet the contact, and set up a meet with Tenkmab," he said to Kate and Vasquez.

Kate nodded.

"You'll have back-up," Alex explained, as she pulled out the detailed plans. "Insist on meeting in a coffee shop, in daylight. He wants your money. Let him pick the spot, we don't want him to get suspicious."

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"Mama, I did draw you a picture of an airplane," Addie pulled out the picture with a flourish. She pointed at the drawing. "That's you, driving it. And that's you, Mommy," she pointed to two chairs on the side of the airfield, "drinking coffee with Auntie Kara!"

"And where are you?" Maggie wanted to know, smiling as Addie climbed into her lap on the couch, pulling the drawing with her.

"I'm there, Mommy," she said earnestly. "Sitting next to Mama. In my special flying jacket that Auntie Kara gave me."

Maggie smiled. "That's such a good picture. Isn't it, Mama?"

Alex nodded. She had been quiet all evening, and Maggie knew that it was because of the operation the next day. "It's beautiful," she said, with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

"C'mon, Addie," Maggie got off the couch. "That one has to go on the fridge. Are you going to help me stick it on?"

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"I hate this," Maggie's jaw worked furiously.

"I know," Alex's tone was gentle. "But you know it makes sense. One of us has to stay behind. We should avoid going on the same missions. If anything happened, we have to think of Addie."

Maggie nodded. "I am going on the next one."

Alex kissed her on the forehead. "Deal," she said, quietly. "And I'll stay behind and get all anxious. I know it's going to be harder for you than it will be for us."

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It all went to hell when they stormed the warehouse. But they were all highly trained and, apart from one broken wrist and one collapsed lung when a bullet struck on of their operatives' vests, no serious injuries were sustained by DEO personnel.

Importantly, Tenkmab and most of his cohorts were now under lock and key. As soon as all the perpetrators were packed off in armored vans en route to their cells at the DEO, Alex pulled out her phone and called Maggie. The phone was answered on the first ring. "It's done, Mags, and I'm fine. We're all fine. Went like clockwork." Alex heard Maggie's strangled gasp.

"Get back here, Danvers," Maggie tried to keep her voice even. "I need to check you over. Is Kate okay? And Vasquez?"

"We're all good. Nothing serious for anyone."

The warehouse had been grimy, and all any of them wanted to do was to shower. Alex went to see Maggie first, so was surprised to see a towel-clad Kate coming out of a shower stall when she let herself into the bathroom.

Kate smiled, and turned to grab her clothes from her locker.

Alex gasped when she saw a large dressing in the middle of an even larger bruise on Kate's shoulder.

"You got hurt!" she said, accusingly.

Kate started. "No," she remembered too late.

"Don't lie to me, Sergeant," Alex was furious. She needed her operatives to be honest with her. Every injury in the field needed to be documented, recorded.

Kate turned to Alex. "It's true," she said, softly. "That didn't happen today."

"Well when the hell did it happen?" Alex could see fresh blood seeping through the dressing, probably caused by the shower.

Kate colored. "Last night," she said slowly. "Look, it's not anything you need to worry about. They fixed it at the Emergency Room. And it won't happen again."

Alex could see the lines of tension on her face. Her voice softened. "Tell me. Please?" she asked quietly.

Kate nodded. "I will. Just let me dress first."

Alex nodded. "I'll shower quickly. Then we'll go to the Med Bay to talk. And I need to redress that wound."

"Not the Med Bay. I don't want everyone seeing."

Alex nodded again. She reached into her back pocket, and passed her a card key. "My quarters. Wait for me there. I'll be five minutes."

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"Take your shirt off," Alex commanded. "And sit on the couch."

Kate did as instructed.

Objectively, Alex couldn't but admire the physique of the woman in front of her. She was finely muscled – strong and lithe. She averted her gaze from the high, firm breasts encased in a black bra. She knew that Kate was single, and she was sad. She hoped she would meet the right woman soon, and be as happy as her and Maggie. She was a gentle, honorable, sweet and caring person.

Alex peeled back the soggy dressing, to see a neat row of twelve stitches. Efficiently, she cleaned up the wound, and applied a new dressing. She put a soft hand on Kate's shoulder. "All done," she kept her tone light. Kate pulled her shirt back on.

Alex reached into the drawer of the nightstand, and pulled out a bottle of bourbon. She took out two glasses, lifting them in invitation.

Kate smiled. She looked at her watch. 1947Hrs. "Why not?"

Alex poured them both a healthy slug. She sat next to Kate on the couch. "First," she clinked her glass against Kate's. "Well done. Your behaviour in the field was exemplary. We've taken out … the very worst," she tried not to let her fury show. "One day, when she's old enough to understand, we'll tell Addie what you did for her. For others like her."

Kate nodded. She took a sip, closing her eyes as the liquid burned satisfyingly in her gullet. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. About this," she shrugged her shoulder. "The truth is, I was … well, embarrassed more than anything."

"Is this something to do with your mother?"

Kate looked away, as she tried to control her emotions.

"I know you were at St. Cuthbert's," Alex said gently.

Kate nodded. "She was more interested in booze and men than she was in me."

"Did you lose contact?"

"Yeah. Until she saw me in the market, two years ago. I thought I could help her," Kate said, bitterly, letting out a hollow laugh. "And I wanted to … be part of a family, I suppose. I know how ridiculous that sounds."

"Not ridiculous at all," Alex put a hand on her arm. "We all need to belong. And it's hard when you feel you don't. Kara had so many problems when she first joined our family. But," she smiled fondly. "She knows now that she truly belongs. She's happy. And she's the best of all of us."

"Because you all love her," Kate sounded wistful. She liked Kara. She found it hard to reconcile what she knew of her history with the bright, sunny, sweet girl that she knew and admired.

Alex smiled. "Yeah."

"I just wanted that. Family of my own. I mean, the nuns were great. They truly were. And they had great counselors. They took care of me. But I … it was arrogance, I expect. I thought I could fix my mother."

"And last night?"

"Last night, she tried to fix me. With a broken bottle."

Alex could see the anguish in the proud young woman's eyes. "You know you're part of our family now, right? Addie thinks you're just wonderful."

Kate's face brightened. "She's such an amazing kid. If I ever have kids, I'd want them to be just like her."

Alex's face softened, as it always did when she thought of their daughter. She looked at her watch. "She'll be asleep by the time we get home. Please say you're going to come to game night tomorrow? She'd love it if you were there. So would Kara, you wouldn't believe how seriously she takes game night."

Kate smiled. "I wouldn't miss it." She looked into Alex's eyes. "Thank you," she said, seriously.