"No!" Alex's response was firm. "You are not doing that to her. She'll listen to reason. She's just a little over-excited right now."
Hank Henshaw regarded his favorite agent with affection, though he schooled his face into an impassive mask. He loved how Alex always wanted the very best for Kara.
"Agent Danvers, you have to understand. It's for her sake, as much as for anyone else."
"You are not going to shoot her out of the sky. She deserves better."
"But next time she flies without authorization..." Henshaw started.
"Well she won't be doing that this week. She starts her new job tomorrow, she's so excited about that. She's not going to have time to think about using her powers. And I'm seeing her tonight, I'll talk to her again. I don't want her humiliated like that."
Henshaw held up his hands. "If she doesn't fly, she doesn't have anything to worry about," he said, reasonably.
Alex nodded. "Thank you," her tone was grudging. "Sir. Thank you sir." Sometimes Alex struggled with authority, but she was getting better. Just when it came to her sister, she forgot herself. Kara and Maggie. They were everything to her.
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"I know, Alex, I know," Kara hugged Alex. "And you're right. This week is going to be insane. But … I don't know Alex. I don't know how long I can keep everything hidden." She saw the expression on Alex's face. "Let's not argue. I don't want to talk about that," she grinned. "I want to talk about Maggie."
Alex couldn't stop a mushy grin spreading across her face. "She's great. Sends her love."
"You can bring her to sister night, you know? She's like a sister too."
"I told her that. But she says we need to spend time with just us. She's so intuitive, Kara. And she's so sweet."
"I love Maggie," Kara said.
"She loves you too," Alex told her. "Says you're the first real family she has had."
"So...," Kara's smile was wide.
Alex blushed a bright red, and she coughed. "Water," she strode to the tap. Kara blocked her, and passed her a bottle out of the fridge. Alex held it to her overheated face. She saw Kara's smirk, and she couldn't stop her own smile. "She's amazing," Alex said, softly.
"It was okay?" Kara's tone was gentle, loving. She wasn't asking for details; she was just checking in on her much-loved sister.
"It was beautiful," Alex admitted. "I had no idea."
Kara hugged her again. "I'm so happy for you, Alex."
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Maggie looked at her phone, not recognizing the number. But Alex was with Kara for the evening, so she had time to kill. She answered the call.
"Officer Sawyer?"
Maggie recognized the voice, but couldn't place it. "Yes, that's me."
"I hope you don't mind me calling. It's Jo. Joanne Greyson. Your friend rescued my son, the night of the plane crash."
"Of course!" Maggie remembered. "How are you? How is he? Stevie, isn't it?"
"We're both good," Jo replied. "I have a favor to ask of you. Well, of Agent Danvers, really, but I don't have her number. And if she doesn't want to, it's fine."
"What favor?" Maggie asked.
"It's Stevie," Jo took a deep breath. "Look, it's kinda a long story. Do you have some time?"
"I have all evening," Maggie told her. "Is Stevie okay? Is he hurt?"
"He's fine. Physically. But … I'm sorry to burden you with this," she hesitated.
"Hey, it's fine. You can tell me anything," Maggie's voice was kind and gentle. She could tell the woman was struggling.
"That night we were on the plane. We were going to visit my parents in Geneva. It was because I couldn't think of anything else to do. My wife," her voice cracked. "My wife died. Four days before the flight. And we'd only lived here for three months. So I thought … I mean, they're not the greatest, but they are my parents. I just wanted to ..."
"To not be alone?" Maggie intuited.
"Yeah," Jo cleared her throat. "Anyway, Stevie has been amazing. But he can't quite understand where Ashley has gone. I keep telling him."
"How old is he?"
"Three. And two months. And he gets nightmares about the plane crash, and Ash was always better at calming him at night."
"What can we do to help?" Maggie's protective instincts kicked in.
"It's a big thing to ask. And she can say no. I would understand. Stevie keeps drawing pictures of that night. I mean, they're not any good," she laughed. "Let's just say the art world is not waiting for his talent to develop. But he wants to give a picture to Agent Danvers, one he did of her saving him. I told him I'd find a way to mail it to her, but he wants to give it to her himself. I know it's an imposition, but I thought it might help him process."
"Alex will want to meet with him," Maggie knew immediately that that was true. Alex's heart was so big, she would want to do anything she could to help this family deal with their tragedy. "I'm sure of it. Let me talk to her. I'm seeing her tomorrow evening, we'll talk then and I'll call you back so's we can arrange something."
"I don't want to put her under any pressure," Jo stressed. "I mean, she's already done so much. Without Stevie, I … I don't know what I would do."
"Your wife … can I ask what happened to her?"
"She was a cop. Liquor store robbery. If the bullet had been an inch higher," Jo's voice cracked.
"I'm so very sorry," Maggie said. "I know Alex will want to help. And she'll want to see how Stevie is getting on. That was the first thing she asked, in the hospital. They had to sedate her, after everything. And when she woke up, she wanted to know if Stevie was okay."
"She's very special," Jo said.
"Yeah," Maggie's voice betrayed her affection. "She really is."
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Kara looked up, annoyed. She had to leave in twenty minutes, as she didn't want to be late for her first day on the job at Catco. Miss Grant's moods were legendary, so she had to start off right. She peered, and realized it was Maggie standing at her door.
Kara opened the door, and pulled Maggie into a bruising hug.
"Oookay," Maggie said when she was released. "At least now I know why you are so strong."
Kara looked abashed. "I'm sorry, Maggie, I ..."
"It's fine, Little D," Maggie said. She smiled. "I kinda like it. It's a good hug. You're a good hugger."
Kara grinned. "You okay? Is Alex okay?" panic went through her.
"Danvers is fine, as far as I know. She texted me a half hour ago, and she was fine then."
"So …?" Kara was confused. And then she noticed the small box in Maggie's hand.
Maggie held the box out shyly. "Just to wish you luck on your first day."
Kara was astonished, and incredibly touched. She didn't even know that Maggie realized she was starting work at Catco today. She took the box, and stared at it.
"Open it, Little Danvers. Jeez, if you don't show more initiative than that, the Grant woman is going to destroy you."
Kara lifted the lid and gasped. Inside was a Cross rollerball pen – clearly expensive. "Maggie," she whispered.
Maggie shrugged. "Everyone needs pens. And I reckon you're going to be a reporter one day. So you'll need to write stuff down."
Kara hugged her again.
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Alex hung up the phone. "Saturday. Noonans. At 11am," she told Maggie. "God, Mags, that poor woman. Can you even imagine? And she has to keep it together for her kid."
Maggie wrapped her arms around her from behind, and rested her head on Alex's shoulder. "I knew you'd want to see them."
"She's so isolated. Her parents sound like jerks. And she says she'll never fly again anyway. Can you believe they're not coming over now to take care of her? Apparently, they disapprove of her lifestyle. Their daughter has been widowed, and they haven't even met their grandson."
"Maybe this will help her. Want me to come along?"
Alex nodded. "Would you?"
Maggie tightened her embrace. "Of course, babe."
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"It was great!" Kara gushed, over the phone. "I mean, she's a real dragon. And she calls me Kiera. But it's such an amazing place. And Winn has applied for a vacancy in the IT department. We could be working together!"
Alex was so pleased to hear her sister so full of enthusiasm. Maybe if she got caught up in her career, she might forget all about the superheroing? She could only hope.
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Alex stood as she saw the pair approach the table, little Stevie holding on to his mother's hand. Stevie spotted her, and pulled away from Jo and ran toward her. Alex laughed as she swept him up and he wrapped his little arms tight around her neck.
"You saved me!" Stevie said. "You're the brave lady that saved me."
Jo looked a little shaky, and Maggie guided her gently to the table.
Alex smiled when little Stevie insisted on sitting next to her. "Momma, where's my picture?" he demanded.
Jo opened her bag and passed it to him. Stevie pushed it towards Alex. "It's a picture of you. You're a hero."
Alex's eyes filled with tears. This little guy was so cute, and he had to deal with the trauma of losing one of his mothers. "It's a wonderful picture," she told him, squeezing his shoulder. "I'm going to take it straight home and put it on my fridge."
Maggie noticed Jo's eyes fill with tears. Jo was pale.
"Restroom," Jo said. "Be right back."
Maggie gave her a few minutes, and then quietly left the table to go in search of her. Jo was standing at the handbasins, dabbing her face with a wet paper towel. She looked like hell.
Maggie put a gentle hand on her arm. "You okay?"
Jo's face crumbled. "I didn't think. I mean, it just didn't seem possible."
Maggie guided her to a cheap plastic chair in the corner, and made her sit down. She waited for her to continue.
Jo took a deep breath. "That morning. Before Ash was...," she choked back a sob. "We went to the clinic. We'd been trying for another child. I told her I wanted her kid this time. She said she didn't want to get pregnant. Long story short, they implanted her embyro into me. And then … everything fell apart. And I … I know it sounds dumb, but I forgot about it. It so often doesn't work, first time. And we had eight embryos, so we expected it to take time. And after … after Ash. But then I got sick yesterday, and my boobs have been kinda tender."
"You're pregnant," Maggie spoke quietly.
Jo nodded, tears streaming down her face.
Maggie pulled her into a hug. "You're not alone," she said softly. "Not any more. We can help you. Both of us. Alex has already fallen in love with Stevie. Whatever you decide."
Jo nodded. "You are so kind."
Maggie grinned. "Hey, we dykes, we've got to stick together, right?" she teased.
"So you and Alex?"
"Yep. I'm the luckiest woman on the planet."
"I think she's pretty lucky too."
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Alex was spitting with fury. "You said you wouldn't do this!" she yelled at Henshaw.
He shook his head. "I said we wouldn't need to shoot her down if she didn't fly. Not the same thing."
Alex's head swam. "She's never going to forgive me," she ran to Kara's side. Her sister was still unconscious. "Turn those damn emitters off," she barked at Vasquez.
Henshaw nodded his agreement, and Vasquez turned down the dial. In a few moments, Kara started to come to. Her hands were still bound in the Kryptonite cuffs.
"She doesn't need these," Alex unclipped her, and took Kara's hand. She was shocked and hurt when Kara pulled it away. Kara was so affectionate and tactile normally. Would they ever get past this?