Chapter 9

A/N: Thanks again for the favorites/follows/reviews so far. Hopefully, this chapter will answer some questions about what's going on with Alex and Maggie. Enjoy!

Kara sat in the waiting room for Gotham General's ICU, keeping an ear on Maggie's room as she tried to sort out her own thoughts. Teo was with his sister at the moment, and it sounded like they were definitely on track to mending their relationship. But she noticed that Maggie avoided talking about Alex, and Kara wasn't sure if it was because the subject was too painful, or if the ex-detective was trying to keep herself from being sedated again. Dr. Shepherd's tests hadn't found anything to explain Maggie's outburst when she'd first awoken, but that didn't necessarily rule out some sort of psychological issue. Though, according to the doctor, there hadn't been any repeats in the week since. Hence Kara finally being allowed to come visit again.

To be honest, Maggie's insistence that Alex wasn't dead had made Kara start to question some things. She'd even snuck into Midvale to visit her sister's grave and x-ray it. As expected, there was a body in the casket. The weird thing was, the only injuries that the body showed signs of were the ones from the day Alex had died. No healed fracture in her right arm from where Kara had accidentally broken it shortly after arriving on Earth, before she'd learned to control her strength. Not to mention the numerous injuries Alex had compiled in her time at the DEO. The break – also in her right arm – that Kara had caused while under the influence of the Red K. The fractured ankle she'd sustained the year Kara started at CatCo – supposedly from a skiing trip, but (as she'd learned after Alex came out about her real job) was really from fighting a Byrnian. Others she couldn't specifically recall at the moment which should have left some marks behind on Alex's bones. It was as though the body in that grave had never been hurt at all prior to what happened in the warehouse. She'd returned to Gotham and asked Barbara about cloning, but the hacker wasn't aware of anyone who had the technology to create a human clone. Still, Kara couldn't think of another explanation for what she'd seen. It didn't mean Alex was alive, but whoever had gone to the trouble of creating that copy was clearly trying to hide something about her sister, and the Kryptonian couldn't help but wonder if it had to do with whatever secret Alex had been keeping from her.

Hearing someone approach, Kara lifted her head to see Dr. Shepherd take the seat across from her. "What are you doing out here?" the doctor asked softly. "Shouldn't you be in with Ms. Sawyer? I did say it was alright for you to see her now."

Kara shrugged. "Teo is in with her right now, and it sounded like they were getting along just fine. I didn't want to intrude. He's her family, after all."

"So are you. Hell, I'd say you're even more her family than this 'Teo' person. You were the one who's been here with her pretty much from the start, while he jumped in just when she was about to hit the first goal line or whatever you want to call it."

"Maybe," the Kryptonian sighed. "But siblings are important – especially when you're a twin. My mother was a twin, and she had a horrific falling out with my aunt. They're both gone now, and Mom died without ever having the chance to reconcile with her sister. I won't deny Maggie that chance if she wants it. God knows I'd do anything to get my sister back if it was possible. Alex and I weren't twins – I was adopted into her family after my parents died, and she was almost two years older than me – but we couldn't have been closer if we had been." She shook her head, wiping away the tears that trickled out as she decided a change of subject was in order. "So how is Maggie? You were kind of vague on the phone. Have you figured out the spinal issues?"

Dr. Shepherd nodded. "From what I've seen so far, it would appear that Ms. Sawyer – Maggie – is paralyzed from the waist down. It's hard to say at this point whether or not it's permanent, but I told her to prepare for the worst, and I'm asking you to do the same. Now, patients with an injury to that part of the spine generally retain a good bit of function overall. She might even be able to eventually walk with the use of crutches and braces. And even if that's not the case, she'll still be able to use a manual wheelchair instead of having to get one of those motorized ones. Maggie will need help while she adjusts, of course – and I get the feeling she'd prefer it from you – but she should ultimately be able to live on her own if this does turn out to be permanent."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Kara mused. Barbara certainly seemed to be managing her condition pretty well, and if Maggie's injury was similar, it probably wouldn't be hard to figure out how to help her do the same. What happened was horrible, of course, but at least Maggie was alive. "What about her mental state?"

"She doesn't seem too depressed by her condition, but I'd recommend keeping an eye on her in case that changes. Depression is – unfortunately – pretty common among patients who've suffered spinal cord injuries. But she's doing about as well as can be expected right now. I have a feeling that she's holding some things back, most likely to avoid further sedation. Of course, I'm not a shrink. I've seen enough of them, but it's hardly my area of expertise. Perhaps you'll have better luck getting her to open up."

"I'll see what I can do." As she spoke, Kara heard Teo and Maggie saying their goodbyes, with Teo promising to bring his fiancé by the next time. A moment later, she spotted the FBI Agent leaving Maggie's room. "Guess that's my cue," she shrugged, rising from her chair.

Dr. Shepherd stood up as well. "Of course. I'll be around if you guys need anything." The doctor walked away from the waiting area, and Kara drew in a deep breath before heading to Maggie's room for the first time in a week. She paused in the doorway, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets as she looked over her would-be sister-in-law. Someone had raised up the head of the bed so Maggie could sit up, and the ex-detective's color was certainly looking a lot better. A lot of the bandages were gone, too – including the ones around her head. Some of her hair had grown back, leaving her with a thick, dark layer of fuzz covering her scalp. But it was still weird seeing Maggie without her usual shoulder-length locks, though Kara supposed it was better than the alternative.

"Don't just stand there, Little Danvers," Maggie called out, disrupting the Kryptonian's train of thought. "I'm not going to bite you."

Face flushing, Kara moved into the room. "I-I never thought you would."

"Relax, Kara. I'm just teasing. Though maybe I'm the one who should be worried about getting bit. Teo said you nearly took his head off when you two met."

"That's a total exaggeration."

Maggie's eyebrow shot up. "So he wasn't lying about you being – what was the word? – 'prickly.' Never thought I'd hear anyone describe you that way."

"Things change," Kara muttered, dropping her gaze.

"So I've heard. Babs tells me you haven't really been in a good place, lately. Is everything okay?"

"You talked to Barbara?"

"Don't sound so surprised, Little Danvers. Gotham used to be my home. And I got to know a few members of the Bat Family pretty well." She shook her head. "You didn't answer my question."

"I'm not the one in a hospital bed, possibly looking at spending the rest of my life in a wheelchair."

Maggie sighed. "No, you're not. And that part sucks. But it doesn't make your pain any less valid."

"No offense, but you're the one who doesn't believe that what I've been going through is real."

"Hey now," the ex-detective frowned. "I never said that. You're putting words in my mouth."

"Am I? The first thing you did when you woke up was insist that Alex is still alive somewhere and demand that I go save her. I've hardly gotten any sleep since that night at the warehouse because every time I close my eyes I see her broken body lying under that rubble and remember how horribly I failed the one person who's never failed me. Eliza hasn't spoken to me since the funeral because she blames me for saving you instead. And I can't tell her why because that would mean outing Alex, which I would never do even though she's no longer around to care. You're the only family I have left, Maggie, and having you act like the hell I've been through is nothing…." Kara trailed off, dropping onto the edge of the bed as she finally broke, dissolving into a sobbing mess. The next thing she knew, Maggie's arms were wrapped around her, pulling her close.

"I'm so sorry," Maggie soothed, stroking Kara's hair as the Kryptonian cried into the shoulder of her hospital gown. "I never meant to make you think that I was dismissing your pain. No matter what I believe is happening, your grief is real. But I promise, you're not alone. I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere…not again." Kara nodded, wiping at her eyes as the sobs started to taper off. "You want to get out of here, Little Danvers?"

Kara pulled back, confused. "What do you mean?"

Instead of answering, Maggie reached out and hit the call button for her room. Moments later, a blonde nurse whose name the Kryptonian could never remember walked in. "Is everything okay?"

"Any chance you could get me a wheelchair?"

The nurse frowned. "If you're trying to leave, I believe Dr. Shepherd made it clear that it's too soon."

"I know that," Maggie shot back. "But I don't think a little fresh air would kill me. I've been cooped up in this room for way too long."

"I'll see what I can do." The nurse left, and Kara opened her mouth to ask what Maggie was up to, but the ex-detective shook her head before the Kryptonian could get a word out.

"Not here."

The nurse came back, alongside an orderly pushing a wheelchair. Kara gently extricated herself from Maggie's arms and slid off the bed so the staff could do their jobs. She watched the nurse unhook the monitoring equipment and the IV (though the needle and tubing were left in place on Maggie's hand), after which the orderly made his way over. The ex-detective seemed a bit uncomfortable at that, so Kara quickly stepped in.

"I'll do it," she told him, grabbing a robe from the closet and helping Maggie into it before gently lifting her from the bed. Both the orderly and the nurse seemed a bit surprised at the ease with which Kara picked Maggie up, but she didn't pay them any attention as she carefully deposited the ex-detective into the wheelchair they'd brought and arranged her legs – both of which were still in casts – on the chair's footrests. She snatched the blanket from the bed and laid it over Maggie's lap before grabbing the wheelchair's handles and steering it from the room. No one tried to stop them, so she assumed that nothing else needed to be done before they could head out. "Where to?" she asked, pushing Maggie towards the elevators.

"If I remember correctly, there's a courtyard on the main level with a garden. Let's talk there."

"Okay." An elevator ride and a few twists and turns later, and Kara found herself guiding Maggie's chair into a huge open-air sanctuary that reminded her of the National City Botanical Gardens. Definitely not what she was expecting.

"Courtesy of Wayne Industries, the hospital's biggest donor," Maggie chimed in, as if she'd read the Kryptonian's mind. The ex-detective pointed towards a grove of trees in full bloom with brightly-colored flowers that Kara couldn't immediately identify. "Let's go over there. Should give us plenty of privacy."

Nodding, Kara steered the chair in the direction Maggie had indicated, putting the brakes on the wheels once they reached said spot and taking a seat on a nearby bench. "So what's with all the cloak-and-dagger?" she finally asked.

"What I'm about to say isn't something I want broadcast across the hospital. And I have it on good authority that this is the best spot here for really private conversations."

Kara sighed. "If this is about my sister still being alive…."

"I know this won't be easy to hear, Kara."

"Understatement of the year," the Kryptonian snorted. "We had a damned funeral, Maggie! With a body!" She shook her head. "I went back and x-rayed her grave after what you said, and there's something off about the body we buried. But that doesn't mean Alex is alive, and the last thing I need is for you to get my hopes up, only for them to get dashed all over again. I don't think I could handle that."

"And I'm not. I promise." She reached forward with her uninjured hand and took hold of Kara's. "Remember that fight with the Gordanians? Before all of this registration bullshit got started?"

Kara nodded. "Alex told you about that?"

"She said that you were positive her heart had stopped for several minutes and were pretty freaked out."

"I was. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"What if I told you that Alex really did die that day? Only she didn't stay dead."

Kara frowned. "I'd say you lost your mind. That kind of thing doesn't happen."

"I'm not crazy, Little Danvers. Hell, I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen it firsthand. The night Jo…disappeared…I got a call about some unusual activity in the park. And when I got there, I found Alex lying in a pool of her own blood, with several bullet wounds in her stomach. I wanted to get her to a hospital, or at least to the DEO, but she insisted on going home instead. She asked me to call Vasquez – who was apparently in on whatever was going on – and when we reached the apartment both Vasquez and Hamilton were there waiting. And once we got Alex inside and Hamilton was ready to get the bullets out, I watched Vasquez snap your sister's neck to keep her still. I was ready to kill the woman – gave her a pretty good shiner – but then Alex came back to life with her stomach fully healed. Okay, so Vasquez had to 'kill' her a few more times to get rid of the poison the bullets had been laced with, but after seeing all of that it was hard to deny that Alex had become something more than human."

The Kryptonian stared at Maggie for a few moments, trying to wrap her head around such a fantastical tale. "How is that even possible? People don't come back from the dead."

"Some do, it would seem," Maggie shrugged. "To be honest, I still don't completely understand it myself. But the way your sister explained things, there are some humans who come into this world with the potential for what they call immortality. Some signs are there early on. They're all foundlings, and none of them can ever have children of their own. Otherwise, they seem perfectly normal until they meet a violent or unnatural death. That, apparently, activates this gene or whatever that makes them immortal. From then on, they don't age or get sick, and they'll come back from pretty much anything short of losing their head. Which is the even weirder part, because they're all caught up in some dumbass 'game' that involves whacking each other's heads off over some bullshit 'prize' that no one can even say for sure exists. It's why Alex had started wearing that long coat. Apparently, she kept her sword in there, just in case someone came along looking to take her out."

Kara got up and started pacing, still trying to reconcile what she thought she knew with what Maggie was saying. On the one hand, if it were true it would explain so much of Alex's odd behavior over that last month or so. But – given what they'd discovered about Kryptonian longevity on Earth – why wouldn't Alex tell her that they both now had roughly the same lifespan? Especially after Kara had confessed her fear of being left alone. She could remember the night the orphanage was attacked, when Alex had admitted to having a secret and promised to let her in on it once it was 'safe.' Safe from what? What was her sister trying to protect her from?

"Hello? Earth to Baby Danvers!" Maggie called out, jerking the Kryptonian from her thoughts and earning a glare at the nickname. "Sorry, but you seemed a bit lost there."

"It's just a lot to take in, Maggie. Especially the part where Alex kept such a huge secret from me – her own sister. Assuming that any of it's true, of course."

The ex-detective nodded. "I know the feeling. And I wish I could get you some proof, but you're going to have to trust me. I'd never lie to you…especially not about something like this."

"I know," Kara sighed. "So is this 'immortal' thing why Alex always seemed to walk away from those big fights without a scratch, even when everyone else involved got hurt?"

"Yeah. Your crazy-ass sister even took a header out of Max Lord's penthouse window one time, trying to save your pal Mon-El. I was the one who had to scrape her off the street and haul her back home. Seeing her like that still gives me nightmares."

The Kryptonian frowned, not liking the idea of her sister playing daredevil, no matter how sturdy she might be these days. "But if Alex survived the warehouse collapse, then where the hell has she been all this time? You don't think she faked her death to 'protect' me, do you?"

"No fucking way. However concerned she might have been about your safety, Alex would never put you through that. My guess: Lord and his Cadmus pals got to her."

Kara's frown deepened. "Yeah…you mentioned Lord and Cadmus when you woke up. Along with General Lane and Lena's mother. How can you be so sure that they're working together? Or that they're responsible for what happened to Alex?"

"I…." Maggie trailed off, idly picking at the blanket with her good hand. "If you didn't think I was crazy before, you will now. And I'm not entirely sure you'd be wrong."

"Try me," Kara shot back, resuming her seat on the bench.

The former detective sighed. "Since being in the coma, I've been having these really weird dreams. Only I'm not sure they are dreams. Not my dreams, anyway. At first, it was fairly normal dream-type stuff."

"Define 'fairly normal.'"

"I'm pretty sure you don't want me to do that, Little Danvers. Not with your big sis being involved."

"Why…? Oh…." Kara muttered, face flushing. She really didn't need those mental images. "So what about the not 'normal' stuff?"

"That's where the weirdness comes in. The earliest one I can remember had Alex chained to the wall of this dark room via some kind of metal shock collar around her neck. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't a dream – or at least not mine – because she looked terrible. She was talking to me, but like I was some kind of hallucination, and I was just along for the ride. I couldn't control anything I said or did. Though I was somehow privy to her thoughts and her memories about what she'd been going through. Which is how I know that Lord is part of Cadmus and first gave Alex to Lillian Luthor for some sort of twisted experimentation, after which he sent her to General Lane. Then I remember her being dragged from that cell to an interrogation room, where Lane questioned her about our operation and the aliens we'd helped. Fucker had our Vuldarian friend, too…took his head off with some high-tech guillotine that Alex remembered the DEO confiscating from some guy named Draper, and then told Alex that she was doomed to the same fate once Lord was finished with her. After that, Alex was taken to some prison cell block where Cadmus has been keeping its alien captives and using them for slave labor." She sighed. "Assuming this isn't some sort of coma-induced delusion, your sister has been going through hell. Occasionally, I've been able to break through and encourage her to keep fighting, but those instances have been few and far between." Maggie shook her head, running her good hand over what was left of her hair. "I know it sounds insane, but those dreams felt real."

Kara started pacing again, rubbing the back of her neck as her mind raced. Maggie was right – the dream thing did sound insane. But at the same time, the description of her experiences triggered a memory from Kara's time on Krypton. An old story her Aunt Astra had told her. She'd never thought the tale could be applied to humans…then again, at the time she'd never really considered too much of the universe beyond her own solar system. "Shesur ehrosh," she whispered.

"What was that, Little Danvers?"

The Kryptonian paused in her pacing, turning to meet Maggie's eyes. "Shesur ehrosh. The…uh…closest English translation would be 'journey of the soul,' with 'journey' referring to a lifetime and not a mere trip. There was an old legend on Krypton about how Rao – who, by the time of my birth, was revered not only as our Creator, but as a god of science and logic – gave the High Council a means of devising mating bonds based purely on who was most genetically compatible and whose offspring would improve our race. But Yuda, the goddess of the moon and of love, wasn't exactly thrilled with that plan. She didn't have Rao's power, but she found a way to link souls together so intimately that they were destined to find each other in every lifetime, Rao's logic be damned. And in the stories, souls that were bound together in that way would often develop the ability to walk in each other's dreams and even hear each other's thoughts…an ability that would usually manifest if they were somehow forced apart. Such a link was rare, though. I never saw one myself. Not until now, anyway." She sighed. "I know the legend was from Krypton, but Aunt Astra told me once that souls didn't have a race. And if I'm right, it would seem that you and Alex have such a bond."

"Wow," Maggie muttered, clearly a bit thrown by the theory. "So you're saying that Alex and I are soulmates?"

"Earth's notion of so-called 'soulmates' is shallow and overwrought. You throw the word around so often that it's lost all meaning. Shesur ehrosh goes much deeper than that…it transcends all barriers, real and imagined. Two souls so entwined are destined to be together forever, far beyond a single mortal lifetime. They cannot bond with anyone other than the one with whom they are meant to share the shesur ehrosh. Which is probably why it is so rare. Rao would never have stood for Yuda disrupting his great plan too terribly. If I remember the legend correctly, Telle – the god of wisdom – stepped in and helped Rao and Yuda find a balance. His system of devising the majority of mating bonds through science, in exchange for the occasional disruption by Yuda's bonded souls. Doesn't really seem fair if you ask me, but Krypton was a patriarchy when that legend first took shape, and even after our system became more equal no one ever thought to revise Rao's dominance over Yuda despite other portions being altered to fit with our growing reliance on science and technology. Granted, the legend of the shesur ehrosh was far more obscure than the tales of the war between Rao and Cythonna, the goddess of ice. And I'm rambling…."

"It's fine," Maggie chuckled. "I'm guessing you don't get to talk about Krypton very often."

"Not really, no." Kara dropped back down onto the bench, and the two fell silent for several long moments.

"So…are you saying you believe me, now? You agree that Alex is alive somewhere?"

Kara sighed. "Rao help me, I do. I don't want to, and I'm terrified that it will end up a wild goose chase and she'll really be gone. But if you two really do share the shesur ehrosh, then there's no other explanation for your dreams. You wouldn't be seeing into her mind if she were gone, and if she'd died and been reborn already you'd be seeing the mind of an infant…assuming it even still works if one of the bonded dies and is reborn in a new body before the other's lifetime is up."

"Do you think she's seeing my dreams?"

"I don't know," the Kryptonian shrugged. "The legends weren't that specific. But if you're dreaming her dreams, then I would guess that Alex is pulling you towards her instead of the other way around. Though a good bit of what you described didn't sound much like dreams."

"Like I said, she believed she was hallucinating, so I have to assume she was awake at the time. Though I suppose hallucinations are a kind of dream…."

Kara nodded. "Any idea where she is?"

"Not a clue, other than underground somewhere. Lord has apparently been really careful about keeping her in the dark when she's moved and protecting her location. Something about lead and promethium shielding the bunkers or whatever."

"Damn," the Kryptonian growled. While she'd be able to detect the locations by the lead shielding, she wouldn't be able to see whether or not Alex was inside. And Cadmus had to be using something to keep sound from getting out as well, since she hadn't heard Alex's heartbeat anywhere since that night at the warehouse. She relayed her concerns to Maggie, who also swore (albeit a bit more colorfully). "So what do we do? I can't just bust into a random facility and hope that Alex is there. If I get it wrong, they'll move her…or worse."

"We're going to have to play this smart, Little Danvers. Investigate Cadmus and take them down piece by piece. If my dreams are correct, we know Alex is with General Lane. So I'm thinking we start going after the other players and facilities…make sure they can't move her someplace else once we're ready to take the General down. Maybe Teo could help. He did mention that he was part of a team looking into Cadmus."

Kara nodded. "He also told me that he suspects Lord is part of it, or at least involved. Which is what it sounds like your dreams have been telling you. Right?"

"Kara, if my dreams and apparent glimpses into Alex's mind are anywhere near accurate, Lord is the fucking founder of Cadmus. He's been at this shit for decades."

"Wait," the Kryptonian frowned. "Are you saying that Lord is like Alex?"

"It's why she didn't want to tell you what was going on. She was afraid you'd go after him to try to protect her and end up getting yourself killed."

"But if he's part of that whole 'game' thing you mentioned, what's to stop him from killing Alex now if we get too close?"

"His ego, hopefully. And his plan." She sighed. "Lord's had plenty of chances to take Alex out permanently, and he hasn't. So I can only assume that there's something bigger going on that he needs her alive for. Hopefully, whatever it is, it'll buy us enough time to figure this shit out and get her back."

"Right," Kara nodded, praying that Maggie's assessment was correct. "So I guess you can get in touch with Teo, and I'll call Babs and Lena. Maybe the DEO, too. But what do I tell them?"

"Well, since the body you guys buried is probably some sort of clone, all we have to say is that Cadmus kidnapped Alex and faked her death so we wouldn't go looking. Frankly, I wouldn't feel right telling anyone else her secret. She only gave me permission to let you in on it, and that was if she couldn't tell you herself for some reason."

Kara shrugged. "Fair enough." She saw Maggie shiver and instinctively moved next to her. "You okay?"

"We probably should head back inside. Doc said something about me not being able to regulate my body temperature properly anymore, at least not in my lower half. And I really don't want to end up with hypothermia or something on top of everything else."

"Alright," the Kryptonian nodded, grabbing the wheelchair's handles and steering Maggie back inside the hospital. "So…how much longer are they keeping you here?"

"The ortho guy said the casts should be ready to come off in about a week, though I'll probably end up with airboots or something in their place for awhile. But once the casts are gone, I'm hoping I can talk the doctors into a discharge. I know a guy who can help me with the physical therapy, and I was kind of hoping I could stay with you."

"Of course you can. But what about Teo?"

Maggie shrugged. "What about him? Yeah, he's my twin and all, but I can't just forget about him turning his back on me when we were 14. I mean, I understand now why he did it, and at least he's making an effort – unlike our older brothers, who agreed with Papa that I'm an abomination who's going to burn in Hell – but it's going to take time to get back to where we were. Besides, you're my little sister now. The only one I've ever had. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have helping me out. And if I stay with you I know I'll be kept in the loop on the search for Alex."

"What makes you think you won't be helping? Your brain still works."

"That it does, Little Danvers. And I get the feeling I have you to thank for that." Kara opened her mouth, about to deny any involvement, but Maggie held up a hand. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. But I'm not stupid. I was down long enough to be considered a vegetable. Coming back with a fully functioning brain was a fucking miracle, and I'm grateful to whoever or whatever was behind it."

Kara sighed. "Let's just say I got a bit of help from home and leave it at that."

"Fair enough," she grinned, reaching out and giving Kara's arm an affectionate squeeze. "Now why don't we get me back to my room before Nurse Ratched decides I'm not taking my recovery seriously enough and tries to sedate me again."

"Come on…it can't be that bad."

"This is Gotham, kid. You want sunshine and rainbows, try Metropolis."

Frowning, the Kryptonian steered Maggie's chair into the elevator and hit the '4' button. "I'd rather not," she grumbled. "Kal and I aren't really speaking at the moment."

"Yeah, Babs mentioned something about that, too. And your new hobby – which, by the way, I think is totally badass. But don't tell Alex I said that. I'm not sure which of us she'd kill first."

Kara couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "Believe me, I have no intention of telling Alex any of this when and if we get her back. Far as she's concerned, I've been a freaking choir girl since she saw me last."

"My lips are sealed," Maggie nodded as the elevator opened. "So what the hell else have I missed? How's Lena? You two seal the deal yet?"

"I…uh…haven't really been thinking much about that," Kara stammered, face flushing. It was a blatant lie, too – especially given how the phone call from the Fortress had ended.

The ex-detective laughed, clearly not buying the denial. "It's okay, Little Danvers. Wouldn't want you to have an aneurism or something. But I'm here if you ever decide you do want to talk about it. Not like I'm going to run out on you," she added with a grin.

Kara scowled. "How can you joke about something like this?"

"Come here," Maggie sighed, putting the brakes on her chair. She grabbed Kara's hand and pulled the younger girl in front of her. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear you and Alex were blood-related. You both have the same fucking guilt complex that drives me up the fucking wall." The ex-detective shook her head. "Kara, you have nothing to feel guilty about. If anyone's to blame for this, it's Lord and his evil henchmen at Cadmus. You are the reason I'm still breathing, with all my marbles intact. Yeah, not having the use of my legs sucks big time, but it's a hell of a lot better than being dead. At least I still have hope that it could get better someday. So quit beating yourself up and let's focus on the here and now. Okay?"

The Kryptonian nodded, kneeling down in front of Maggie. "Do…do you really think we'll find her?" she whispered. "That I'll get Alex back?"

"Kid, I've never been more sure of anything in my life. It won't be easy, but with the two of us and the Superfriends – or whatever you want to call them – on the case, Cadmus doesn't stand a fucking chance. And Alex is a fighter. Granted, hallucinating is never a good sign for one's mental state, but at least I'm getting glimpses of what's going on with her if you're right about the soul thing I can't pronounce," she added, keeping her voice low so it wouldn't carry. "Whatever's going on in her head, she's not letting those fuckers beat her down. Knowing that is the only reason I'm not freaking out right now. We're going to find her, Kara. One way or another, your sister is coming home."

"Thank you," Kara sobbed, moving next to the chair so she could wrap her arms around Maggie. She buried her face in the ex-detective's robe, and a moment later felt the older woman's hand gently stroking her hair.

"You don't have to thank me, Little Danvers."

"But I do," she insisted, raising her head to meet Maggie's eyes. "You've given me hope…something I haven't felt since that night. Just for that, I owe you more than I could ever possibly repay."

Maggie smiled, using her thumb to wipe the tears from beneath Kara's eyes, the way Alex would have. "You already gave me my life back, and brought me into your family," she said, patting the cast where Kara had drawn her house crest. "I may not have been conscious, but I remember hearing you talk about El-Mayara and adopting me and Alex into the House of El. It's been so long since I've had a real family…having you make me part of yours – officially – means more than I could ever hope to repay. So I'd say we're even."

Nodding, Kara looked around to find that they were starting to draw a bit of attention. They'd been keeping their voices low enough that no one else should have heard them, but still…. She stood up, released the brakes, and grabbed the handles of the chair once more. "Back to your room?"

"Yeah," Maggie agreed, obviously having noticed the same thing Kara had. The Kryptonian steered the chair down the hallway and back to Room 487. Putting the brakes back on, she carefully lifted Maggie from the chair and returned her to her bed. She rearranged the blanket over the ex-detective's lower half, backing away when the nurse came in to check Maggie's vitals and whatnot. Once the nurse was satisfied, she left the room and shut the door, giving the two some privacy. "You going to be okay, kid?" the ex-detective finally asked, after several long moments of silence.

Kara shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. I mean…what you said about Alex…I feel lighter than I have since the warehouse. But only until I think about everything else still going on. Lord's rule over National City, which the Federal government has done nothing to stop because there are people in it who want to see his idea implemented nationwide. General Lane dosing Lucy with one of those damned parasites just to get her back under his thumb, and the fact that the DEO still has no reliable cure for human hosts – though they did at least fix Mon-El. Sue being stuck in Belle Reve, presumably to keep her quiet about Alex. Saving my sister is still my top priority, but there's a lot of other stuff that needs to be fixed, too. I'm just not sure how."

"Wow…I really missed a lot, didn't I?" With a sigh, Maggie somehow managed to maneuver herself closer to the right side of the bed. She patted the empty space, looking at Kara expectantly. After only a moment's hesitation, the Kryptonian pulled off her boots and climbed in next to Maggie, who automatically wrapped an arm around Kara's shoulders as the younger girl cuddled up against her side. Kara gently laid her head on the ex-detective's chest, taking a minute or two to memorize her heartbeat the way she had Alex's. Oddly enough, Maggie's heart sounded almost identical to her sister's, perhaps only a beat or two faster. More proof that her theory about them sharing the shesur ehrosh was right? "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Nothing," Kara smiled, moving her head to Maggie's shoulder. "What about you?"

"Well, I don't know what to do about the Maxwell Lord issue – not until we've torn Cadmus apart, anyway – and I'm pretty sure the DEO can deal better with that parasite crap than I could. But I do have a few contacts that know their way around Belle Reve. I can make some calls…see about arranging a jailbreak. Much as I'd prefer to go the legal route, the fuckers who run that place aren't exactly known for letting patients leave once they've been admitted, even with court orders and such. But if my contacts are as good as I remember, they'll have her out in no time. And then we can get her whatever help she'll need to shake off the crap those fucking sadists are no doubt putting her through even as we speak."

"Do you really think these contacts of yours can pull it off?"

"If they can't, no one can."

Kara nodded. Much as she wanted to argue that she could probably do just as well as Maggie's contacts – if not better – she knew it was too much of a risk. Supergirl (or any alien for that matter) breaking a patient out of a supposedly legitimate mental health institution would just give the anti-alien factions in the government the ammunition they needed to push a Federal version of the ARA through Congress, possibly with enough votes to override President Marsdin if she vetoed it. "Do I want to know who these friends of yours are?"

"Probably not. And I never said they were friends. Just people who don't mind getting their hands dirty."

"Right," the Kryptonian nodded again, just barely managing to stifle a yawn.

Maggie's eyebrow shot up. "I know Kryptonians don't need as much sleep as we humans do, but when was the last time you even took a nap?"

"I don't remember."

"Well, you're taking one now. No arguments," she added, before Kara could even think of opening her mouth. "If we're going to help Alex, you need to be at your best. Which means getting the proper amount of sleep. And you know she'd be telling you the exact same thing if she were here."

"But…nightmares…."

"It's okay, kiddo," she soothed. "I know I'm not Alex, but I can chase bad dreams away with the best of 'em. You just stay right where you are and close your eyes. I'm not going anywhere. And if any of the hospital staff have a problem with this arrangement, too fucking bad. I said you're not alone, and I meant it. El-Mayara."

"El-Mayara," Kara repeated, snuggling closer to Maggie and closing her eyes. She felt the older woman place a soft kiss on her forehead the way Alex would have, then gently take her glasses off. It was almost like her sister was there with her, wrapping her in the sensations of safety and security. For the first time in what seemed like ages, the Kryptonian was unafraid to let herself drift off. Maggie would protect her, just like Alex. Before Kara realized it, she'd fallen asleep in her sister-in-law's arms, and for once there were no nightmarish images waiting for her….

TBC (And for the record, the Kryptonian soulmate deal and the legend behind it are entirely my creation. I made up the term using words I found on , though I'm not entirely sure it's grammatically correct and I apologize if it's not. Anyway...see you Wednesday with Alex's next chapter!)