Alex walked through the door of her apartment feeling mentally drained. Everything Sam had reviled about the project she had helped Max with was a game changer for CADMUS and they couldn't let Max get the info he wanted. Alex was perfectly willing to let him have the aliens he wanted if it meant he wouldn't get his hands on the missing piece of the formula.
Sam had to pick up Ruby from school, but Alex had caught her before she walked out the door and asked her to come by her place around 7pm so they could talk. Alex sensed Sam was afraid that this secret she had kept was going to push them apart. While Alex did have a lot of questions about the project and why Sam hadn't said anything, she wasn't going to leave Sam because of it.
She wanted Sam to come by so she could reassure her that she wasn't going anywhere and to ask some questions. Alex had uncharacteristically decided she would cook herself dinner as a distraction from watching the clock. Waiting for Sam to show up. Maggie had shown her the simplest mac and cheese recipe that she had successfully cooked under Maggie's supervision several times and she happened to have the ingredients needed to make it. She knew she couldn't just eat mac and cheese, so she rummaged through her freezer and found a microwave bag of seasoned broccoli and some chicken breasts. She had just finished defrosting the chicken when there was a knock on her door.
Alex looked through the peep hole and found Sam. She wasn't surprised Sam had arrived 30 minutes earlier than the suggested arrival time. She had sensed her nervousness ever since she walked back into the containment room. Alex opened the door and motioned for Sam to come in. She looked scared and Alex hated that she thought she was going to leave her. Alex was about to say something to reassure her that she wasn't going anywhere but Sam had started nervous rambling.
"I know today came as a shock to you. The project and my involvement with it. That I knew what Max wanted to do with the formula once we had cracked the exact ratios. I was only thinking of myself and Ruby. I thought that Max had changed from his old ways of only sleeping with bimbos and that he actually cared about Ruby and I, of a potential future out of wondering where our next meal or where her new pair of shoes would come from because she had outgrown the last pair quicker than I had anticipated."
Alex just listened as Sam went on with all of the reasons why she had made the choices that she had. She watched as Sam walked all over her apartment while explaining all of this because standing still was too much. Alex listened until she couldn't anymore. Just like the night Sam had come here for the first time Alex could only think of one way to stop the rambling. The next time Sam passed by her she grabbed her wrist and pulled her close.
She kissed Sam in a way that left the other woman breathless. When Alex pulled away Sam looked shocked and confused. Alex couldn't help but laugh which only pissed Sam off which made Alex laugh harder.
"What do you find so funny Danvers?"
Once Alex had regained her composure, she pulled Sam back toward her. Placing a hand on her cheek, she gently kissed her girlfriend. She pulled away and looked into Sam's gorgeous honey brown eyes and said, "It takes more than Maxwell Lord to scare me away Arias. I'm not going anywhere."
It took Sam a minute to process what Alex had said. She wasn't going to leave her. Sam couldn't help what happened next, she threw her arms around Alex and held her as tightly as her arms would let her. It was in this moment that she realized why the thought of Alex wanting to leave her because of what she had done with Max was too much.
Alex was stable. Something she hadn't realized that she needed. She had only known Alex for a few weeks at this point, but she knew Alex was someone she could count on. Someone that wouldn't run when the going got tough. She had always known that but after today she wasn't so sure anymore. It felt good to have the reassurance that Alex wasn't going anywhere.
Except today it got tough and she for sure thought Alex was going to run. But she was still here, still willing to be a part of Sam's and Ruby's life despite her poor choice in men when she was younger. "You sure you don't want to run for the hills Danvers?"
"No, I think I'm good. Have you eaten yet?"
"No, I've been too busy worrying that my girlfriend was going to leave me."
"Still don't know how you thought that you keeping secrets about your project with Max would have been cause for me to leave you but that doesn't matter anymore. Mac and cheese, chicken and broccoli is on the menu that work for you?'
Alex was pointing to what appeared to be a counter full of ingredients which had Sam worried. From what Lena had told her and through insinuations from Alex herself the woman was a horrible cook. "You sure that's a good idea?"
Alex mocked being offended and went to the kitchen and started boiling the water for the macaroni. "If I didn't know that Lena has told you how horrible I am in the kitchen I would be highly offended. This is about the only thing I can cook that isn't breakfast food. Maggie taught me how to make the mac and cheese which is very simple and practically fool proof. Have a seat and we can start discussing our plan of attack while I make dinner. Do you want anything to drink? I've got beer in the fridge, some wine and water."
"Don't worry about it just point me to the glasses and I'll open a bottle of wine."
Alex pointed out the cabinet with the wine glasses and the drawer that held the corkscrew. Sam selected a bottle and poured them both a glass and settled into one of the bar stools across from Alex. "Before we start discussing our plan of attack, I know you have a lot of questions. Ask me anything you want."
"I don't even know where to begin. I know he wanted you for your brains…I guess that train of thought leads me to my first question when did you start working for Max? I know you dated him your junior and senior year, but you never did say when you started to work for him."
"I started working for him a few weeks after the beginning of spring semester my sophomore year. He had admired my genius in class and ran into me at my waitressing job that night. He told me I was too smart to be working as a waitress at a dinner. Offered me a job on the spot. I was barely making ends meet and was lucky enough that the woman who was watching Ruby had been in the same situation at my age with her son that she never charged me for watching Ruby when I was in class or working.
"I tried to pay her back when my first paycheck from Lord Tech came in. She wouldn't take it. Told me to put it in savings or use it to get something nice for myself. It ended up being the first deposit I made into a college fund for Ruby. Once I got out of college and landed my first corporate job I did go back and repay her. She still refused to take the money, but I told her why she deserved it and she took it I've been sending her Ruby's school pictures with updates about our life every Christmas. I should probably go back to Metropolis and visit her. Ruby remembers bits and pieces of her time with her and it would be nice for them to see each other in person again."
Sam took another sip of her wine and watched Alex cook. If no one had told her Alex was horrible in the kitchen she wouldn't have been able to guess it with what she was seeing now. Clearly this was a dish Alex knew how to make. Sam shook her head, "Sorry I got off on a tangent. Everything always seems to go back to Ruby."
Alex smiled at Sam. She had answered her question and the one she hadn't asked which was how they had started dating. Based on what Sam had already told her about why Max had wanted to date her in the first place Alex put the pieces together. As far as her past with Ruby it was more info into Sam's life and it only gave Alex more reasons to love Sam and the strong independent woman she had become.
"You don't ever have to apologize about talking about your life. I am still amazed at how you managed to raise such an amazing daughter while going to school and working full time. When I was still thinking of adopting on my own, I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to do it. Which is when I tried to quit and got promoted instead."
Sam was shocked that Alex had tried to quit because she was going to attempt to adopt a child on her own. She admired the woman for it and briefly thought what it would be like to raise a child with Alex, but she quickly brushed those thoughts away that would be many years into the future if things continued to go well for them.
"That's why you were trying to quit the DEO. You were thinking of adopting a child and trying out the single parenting life. If it helps, I think you would have done an outstanding job. Are you still thinking of adopting or is that on the back burner?"
Alex was glad someone thought she would have been able to do it on her own. Kara hadn't been convinced. She was excited by the fact that she would become an aunt and have a niece or nephew to spoil but she wasn't sold on the idea that Alex would be able to do it alone.
"I'm glad you think I would have done an outstanding job. It means a lot considering Kara didn't think I was up to the task. As far as adopting goes it's on the backburner for now. I was given a case worker and with my job at the DEO they didn't feel comfortable approving me for adoption or even foster care. I was pissed when they first told me but now having had time to reflect it was the right decision.
"Ok dinner is served let's go out on the balcony. It's a nice night and I know I said we would discuss our plan of attack against Max but let's just table that conversation until tomorrow morning."
"I like the sound of that." Sam took their glasses of wine and brought the bottle as well. She set them down on the table and was stunned by the great view Alex had of the city. She sat down in the chair opposite Alex and appreciated the view, the nice night and the fact that she still had Alex. She was still beating herself up a little for even entertaining the idea that Alex would leave her.
She turned to look at Alex who was also appreciating the view of the city or maybe contemplating today's events. Either way it didn't matter. "It's quite a view you have here. I imagine you pay a pretty penny for it."
Alex snorted, "It definitely isn't cheap but probably not as much as you think. I know this part of town can get a little on the pricey side, but I've been the easiest tenant for the landlord in the 6 years that I've lived here that he's given me a good discount."
"I've never heard of a landlord doing that. Must be because your hardly ever home."
"Probably has something to do with it. I've only called him twice and that was 3 years ago. I only had to call him twice because the repair man that came out to fix the issue with the fireplace didn't and almost managed to blow up the building. Now that I think about it when I went to renew my lease 8 months later that's when my rent dropped and hasn't gone back up. I know for a fact the price has been raised on this style of unit because my neighbor across the hall has been complaining about it for months. Anyway, that doesn't matter let's eat before it gets too cold."
Sam picked up her plate and took a bite. She was surprised at how good it was. "Maggie taught you well. This is delicious Alex."
"It's about the only thing I can cook that isn't breakfast related. Pancakes and waffles are my specialty. Scrambled eggs I'm getting better at. My dad taught me everything I know about breakfast food, but I've been researching different techniques for scrambled eggs and I've picked up a thing or two."
The only time Alex had mentioned her father was when she talked about him betraying her and J'onn. Sam had guessed that was a touchy subject for Alex and she hadn't ever asked anything about either of her parents. Sam had briefly talked about Patricia but there wasn't much to tell on that front anyway.
"Don't let Ruby find out that you are good at making pancakes. They happen to be her favorite of all the breakfast foods. Usually on Saturdays I make us pancakes. It's a long-standing Arias tradition. On the rare occasion I have to do a little work on Saturday morning we'll have them on Sunday. If she finds out, you can make pancakes well she'll probably organize a competition between us, and I wouldn't put it past her to say yours are the best she has ever had."
Alex grinned at Sam the thought of getting to make the Arias women breakfast was almost too much to think about. She did love the idea though. She hoped one day in the not too distant future she would be able to. "I wouldn't take the criticism too hard. Your lasagna is the best I've ever had, and I thought my moms was the best until that night. Maggie who is an expert home cook never made lasagna that good. Coincidentally it's my favorite home cooked meal. So, I could be the queen of pancakes in this relationship and you could be the queen of lasagna and probably most other home cooked meals."
Sam couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. Things were still too early for Sam to be thinking of a future with Alex, but she liked the thought of Saturday mornings waking up next to Alex and following her downstairs and watching her fix breakfast for them and Ruby. She shook those thoughts from her head and focused on what was happening now. "I think I would be ok with that. Lucy asked you earlier about your dad being able to figure out what the missing piece of the formula was. You mentioned that your mom would probably be able to figure it out fairly quickly, but your dad would need a break down of the ingredients of the formula to be able to figure it out, but it would still take him awhile. How smart is your family?"
Since finding out that her dad worked for CADMUS and was willing to betray her, she wasn't too keen on talking about him. Sam didn't know any of the finer details about that whole situation or her life before she had thought her father was dead.
"We're pretty smart people. My mom is one of the leading bioengineers in the country, but she also specializes in genetics. My dad specialized in alien DNA, specifically kryptonian DNA, but he did study other aliens as well. He taught me almost everything I know about science and genetics. Mom was who I learned math from until Kara entered the picture and dad was gone. Then I was on my own.
"I don't think my mom meant for it to happen, but it did. She was so consumed by Kara being ok that she forgot about me. Forgot that I had lost my father, the only person on the planet who I had formed a connection with at that point. Everything became about Kara. It's like she completely forgot that I still needed to be assured that I was important. That I still mattered. That I needed to be reassured about life just as much as Kara did. I'd imagine that you feel about the same way. Your adoptive mother dismisses you once she finds out your pregnant."
Sam had no idea that Alex had essentially raised herself during her high school career. She knew Eliza had been hard on Alex but hadn't known that it went that far. She felt for Alex. She had clearly had a connection with her father and lost him at a young age. Kara's wellbeing had been at the forefront of her mother's mind which wasn't good but made sense. Alex's protective nature had come in when Kara had become her sister.
She hadn't seen Kara and Alex interact since the night she first met them. But she was getting to know Alex and she would be lying if she said she didn't pick up on some things that are still affecting Alex's life because of decisions her mother had made when she had needed her most.
"I think you turned out ok considering everything. Who did you hate more during that time your mother or your new sister?"
No one had ever asked her that. She set her plate down, picked up her glass of wine and took a sip. She leaned her head back against the wall behind her chair and really thought about it. "Before my father 'died' I didn't hate Kara I hated that my mom made it my life's mission to keep Kara safe and make sure she was able to live as normal a life as possible. All while still keeping my grades up. After my father 'died' my mother's sole focus was Kara's well-being and that is when I hated my mother the most. I never really hated Kara. I resented her for taking all my mother's attention. My mother and I never really understood each other, and I think it was because we are too much alike. If you ask her today, she would say I'm the best parts of her and my father and I wouldn't disagree. As a kid my dad was the only one who could understand how my mind worked so we were very close. When he was suddenly gone my mother didn't know how to handle me because she didn't understand me the way my father did.
"I know I bring her up more than I should, but Maggie really did help me deal with a lot of those issues. I know I've told you this before but until Maggie brought it up, I held on to that hatred far too long. We aren't ever going to have the perfect mother daughter relationship but we're getting better. Do you think your mother will ever come back into your life?"
"I really can't answer that. I've thought about it over the years and I've never been able to give a definitive answer. If she did show up randomly one day, I wouldn't turn her away, but she wouldn't be able to see Ruby until I knew she wasn't going to leave. Ruby would be heartbroken if Patricia came back into our lives only to leave again. Which is part of the reason I've was picky about who I dated and why I waited as long as I could before introducing them to Ruby. Until you. You came in my life and changed everything."
"You've changed mine too you know. It's crazy to think we've only known each other for a couple of weeks and how crazy things have gotten but I wouldn't change any of it for the world."
Now that Alex had said it Sam thought about everything that had transpired in her life since meeting Alex Danvers. It had truly been crazy. The worst of it happening today but she trusted Alex and Lucy to make this bump in the road to go away as quickly and easily as possible. She still hated that they had to involve Lucy in all this and potentially Lena.
"I wouldn't change any of it either. Except for this mess with Max."
"I'll agree with you there. I'm beginning to think we may never have a normal relationship. As long as you and Ruby don't find yourselves in the middle of a surprise alien attack, I think we'll be ok."
"Yeah I could do without that again. Speaking of Ruby, I should probably get going. I don't want to leave her with Lena for too long. She might unintentionally let the cat out of the bag."
"As much as I've loved keeping everyone in the dark, I can't wait to finally tell them tomorrow night."
"I couldn't agree more." Alex walked Sam to the door gave her a kiss goodbye. She closed the door, leaned into it and breathed a heavy sigh. Her life was about to get crazy and she was thankful that Lucy was back at the DEO.
