Warnings and Disclaimer in Chapter 1. Enjoy.
"Director J'onzz." J'onn looked up at the unexpected voice, smiling when he saw who was standing in his doorway.
"Director Lane," he gestured for her to come in. "What an unexpected surprise. What brings you out of DC?"
"I heard about Agent Danvers," she said quietly. J'onn's smile immediately fell. "How's she doing?"
"Not good," he admitted reluctantly.
"I brought something I hope can help," she said, reaching into her briefcase. She pulled out a folder and handed it to him. He took it curiously, opening it and skimming the documents. His frown deepened as he read.
"DNA resequencing," he murmured under his breath, "genetic splicing." He closed it sharply. "Adams!" he called out to a passing agent, who quickly diverted to his door. "Get this to Dr. Hamilton immediately." The agent nodded, taking the folder and running out of the room. J'onn refocused his gaze on Lucy. "What was that and why is this the first time I'm seeing it?" Lucy sighed, sitting down heavily.
"This is the official proposal Dr. Storm submitted to the DEO." She paused for a minute. "After the Daxamite invasion, when the DEO was brought out into the open, the DC office was flooded with mail." J'onn nodded. He had expected the massive amounts of mail after the agency was outed and was relieved when he was told everything was being diverted to Washington. "Our office got thousands of letters. Some thanking us for keeping the world safe, others informing us that their next-door neighbor was an alien and we should come take them away. Then proposals came from every scientist, entrepreneur, writer, even historian. It took us months to sort everything out. To figure out what was real and what wasn't."
"But this one slipped through the cracks," J'onn said angrily. Lucy sighed.
"It was flagged initially," she told him, "which is why I even remember it. The science was a bit far-fetched but all hypothetical. It made it to the second level of scrutiny." J'onn sighed.
"Where it was killed once you investigated Dr. Storm and realized he did not exist." J'onn put his head in his hands. The answer was right in front of them the whole time. They could have saved Alex all this pain if they had just looked closer. But, he admitted to himself, he would have done the same thing. He would have killed the hypothetical research when the name associated with it was fictitious. Lucy reached out and covered one of his hands with hers.
"I'm sorry we didn't dig deeper," she told him. He raised his head, seeing the guilt in her eyes. The same guilt that was in his.
"You found the proposal," he reassured her. "That's more than we had."
"I also brought a team in to help," she smiled at him. "An expert team of paper pushers. They're down at the warehouse right now."
"Paper pushers?" J'onn asked. Lucy smirked.
"It's a skill you develop when working with politicians," she told him. "You learn to read between the lines, figure out what a document is really saying. Now, my team won't know what any equations or medical jargon on the paper means, but they'll be able to tell which ones need to go to Dr. Hamilton right away and which ones can wait."
"Thank you," he said, smiling slightly.
"She's my friend too," she said quietly, before straightening up. "But I do have an official reason for coming. A proposal President Marsden and myself have been working on." She reached into her briefcase once more. "We would like to get your thoughts, unofficially and officially." She handed him another folder, this one much thicker. "Take your time. I'm going to be in town for a while and I know you have other things on your mind right now. Just look at it when things calm down, or when you need a distraction." He put it on his desk and was about to open it when he was called to Command.
"Never a dull moment," he said as he stood up. "You're welcome to join me." Lucy shook her head.
"I think I'm going to check on Alex." He nodded and left his office. She followed him out and then made her way to the Med Bay. She didn't need to ask to know which room was Alex's. There was only one room with doctors and nurses rushing in and out. She stepped into the room, just inside the doorway and watched.
Alex's fever was clearly spiking again. A team of nurses were to the side, preparing an ice bath, while a second team of nurses were doing everything they could to lower Alex's temperature. Dr. Hamilton stood at the head of the bed, eyes flitting between the monitor and Alex. Every few minutes she would issue new orders, but it seemed like nothing was working. Lucy frowned when she saw the temperature reading, which was steadily going up.
Alex herself was awake, but clearly not aware what was going on. She was struggling against everyone around her, including Kara. Kara was at her sister's side, squeezing her hand gently and whispering reassuring words, but Alex was beyond hearing. She was delirious.
"We're ready Doctor," one of the nurses said when they finished preparing the ice bath. Lucy frowned when she looked over. The tub was half filled with water, but Dr. Hamilton just glanced over and nodded.
"Kara?" she said gently. Kara nodded and stepped over to the tub while the nurses prepared to move Alex. Within seconds Kara had frozen the water. A few well-placed shots from her heat vision had the ice breaking into small chunks. It was an impressive display, and totally lost on Lucy who could not take her eyes of Alex.
As soon as her sister stepped away, the nurses pulled away the thin sheet that was covering her. They started disconnecting her from the various machines that were recording her vitals, but all Lucy could focus on were the restraints. How bad must it have gotten for them to put Alex into restraints, or for Kara to allow that.
"Dr. Hamilton?" Kara's quiet voice broke through Lucy's musings. She watched as the doctor studied the readouts once more before nodding.
"Now Kara," she said, motioning for the nurses to remove the restraints. Alex nearly toppled out of the bed as soon as she was free, but Kara was there to scoop her up.
"It's okay Alex," Kara said quietly as she carefully carried her to the ice bath. Alex fought her the whole way. "It's okay. I've got you. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Alex gasped when Kara gently lowered her into the bath and fought harder. Kara was ready though, and easily secured her flailing arms and legs while maintaining her gentle grip, so she didn't sink completely down. After a minute her strength left her, and she sagged into the icy water. Hamilton ordered Kara to slowly lower her down until she was totally submerged, with Kara only keeping her head out of the water. They watched as lucidity slowly crept back into Alex's eyes. Finally, Alex was able to focus on her sister. She gave her a weak smile and raised a shaking hand.
"M..Mags," she forced out over shivering teeth. A woman Lucy didn't know rushed over, grabbing her hand as she knelt to the side of the bath.
"I'm here Alex," she cried quietly, squeezing her hand as hard as she could. Alex squeezed back as hard as she could but kept her focus on her sister. The three of them stayed like that for a few minutes before Dr. Hamilton spoke.
"Can you lower her head slowly," she asked Kara gently. Kara nodded, never breaking eye contact. She readjusted her grip on Alex's neck and slowly lowered her head. She didn't stop until Alex's head was almost completely submerged. Alex gasped, her grip tightening ever so slightly, but she never broke eye contact with Kara. Her teeth started chattering as her body shivered uncontrollably, but nobody moved. Finally, her body relaxed. Her grip slackened, and her eyes rolled up as she lost consciousness.
"Okay," Dr. Hamilton said after a few minutes. "That's enough." Kara nodded and easily lifted her sister from the ice. Lucy blinked and realized the room had not been idle while she was focusing on the three women. The med team had a gurney next to the bath, where Kara gently deposited her sister before stepping back. Dr. Hamilton and her team surrounded the unconscious woman, doing their checks while they dried her off and put her into a clean gown. A quick look at the bed showed the linens had been changed and everything was ready again. Lucy frowned. This was obviously not the first time they had done this. A quiet sob drew her attention to the opposite side of the room.
Kara had pulled the mystery woman to the side while the med team swarmed her sister. The woman was crying quietly into Kara's sweater while they watched the activity.
"It's okay Maggie," Kara comforted the mystery woman. "It's okay. Her heart's still beating strong." Kara listened hard then frowned.
"What is it?" Maggie asked, glancing at Kara's face. Kara smiled down at her.
"There's a small wheezing when she breathes," she said quietly before smiling at the other woman. "I'm sure it's nothing. Dr. Hamilton warned us this might happen."
"What might happen?" Lucy asked, stepping closer to the two women. They jumped, obviously not hearing her come in, then Kara smiled brightly.
"Lucy," Kara beamed. Maggie tried to pull away, stand up straighter with a stranger standing so close, but Kara wouldn't let her go. With one arm firmly around the detective, she opened the other arm for Lucy. Lucy complied, falling into the hug easily. She had forgotten just how comforting Kara's hugs were.
"Kara," Lucy started when she pulled away, only to notice something different. "You're blue." Kara laughed as she held out her hand for Lucy to see.
"Alex did always say blue was my signature color," she joked, releasing some tension. Maggie snorted but stopped trying to pull away from the Kryptonian. Instead she just leaned against her as she watched the med team working on Alex. "It will go away soon. I'm much more immune to the cold then the average human." Lucy frowned before realizing what happened. Kara had been holding onto Alex since she was first lowered into the tub.
"Are you okay?" Lucy asked. Kara nodded before remembering the woman tucked into her side.
"Lucy, this is Detective Maggie Sawyer," Kara introduced them. "Maggie, this is Director Lucy Lane." Maggie threw her a quick glance before focusing on Alex again.
"DEO?" Maggie asked. Lucy nodded. "Is J'onn in trouble or something?" Lucy frowned. The DEO might be public knowledge now, but they still operated in secrecy and this detective knew a lot. Lucy was going to retort when Dr. Hamilton joined them. "How is she?" Maggie quickly asked.
"Her temperature has stabilized," Dr. Hamilton told them. "I'm going to keep her on the ice packs and cooling blanket. Hopefully we can keep her temperature down." They all sighed. They all knew it would just be a matter of time before her fever started rising again. Hamilton paused before turning to look at Maggie. "She developed a slight congestion in her right lung."
"What does that mean?" Maggie asked, looking between the doctor and Kara. Kara hugged her tight.
"We knew there were risks using the ice bath," Amelia told her gently. "The sudden temperature change puts tremendous strain on the body. Pneumonia is a very real possibility."
"You think she's developing it?"
"We'll be watching very closely," Dr. Hamilton told her, "and treating it very aggressively. I'm going to start her on Oxygen. You can take the mask off when she's lucid, but please keep it on the rest of the time." Maggie nodded. Dr. Hamilton returned to Alex's bed and made a few notes in her chart. Once they were ready, Kara gently moved Alex back into her bed. Then she stepped back and they all watched as the nurses hooked Alex up again. Once they were done they left and Maggie and Kara took their places next to the bed. Kara on the right and Maggie on the left.
"Kara," Lucy started carefully as she watched from the foot of the bed. "Don't you think it's a little dangerous to let someone else know your secret?"
"What?" Kara asked, looking behind her. "Oh. Maggie's not just some random stranger from the streets. She's family." Lucy looked confused. "She's Alex's fiancée."
"Alex's fiancée?" Lucy sputtered, looking between the two women. Maggie glanced back at her, her hand never leaving Alex's.
"Do you have a problem with that?" she asked seriously. Lucy shook her head.
"I just never realized," she started. Maggie turned back to Alex.
"It was all very sudden," Kara said, looking at her sister lovingly. "She and Maggie met over a crime scene. They instantly connected, though Alex wasn't exactly sure how at the time. They started hanging out and one day Alex realized."
"She was gay," Lucy finished. Kara nodded and added.
"And in love with Maggie. I guess it has been a quick romance, but certainly not without its ups and downs. It's been truly awe inspiring to watch." She looked to Lucy. "Everyone here knows and supports them. I would like for that group to include you too."
"I would like that too," Lucy said, smiling at the detective before looking to Kara. "When you say everyone?"
"James included," she said sweetly before grinning. "Although Maggie and Supergirl still butt heads from time to time."
"Only because someone can be incredibly stubborn and pig headed," Maggie added.
"Only because someone else can be way to cautious," Kara retorted. Lucy rolled her eyes.
"Kara! Do we need to go over the secret part of secret identity?" Kara grinned shyly.
"Is this a bad time to tell you I told Lena Luthor?"
"Kara!" Lucy exclaimed as turned to leave. "I'll check back later okay?" Kara nodded.
"Who was that?" Maggie asked once they were alone again.
"Lucy Lane," Kara told her again.
"Lane?" Maggie asked thoughtfully. "As in Lois?" Kara huffed.
"Don't let her hear you say that name," she warned. "She hates being compared to her older sister." Maggie smiled.
"Finally, someone in this city has a normal family dynamic." Kara frowned, which caused Maggie to smile more. "Relax little Danvers. So, she's an old friend?"
"Kinda," she admitted. "She's James's old girlfriend. She followed him to National City so they could try again. She kinda joined the club that way. Of course, she's an amazing woman in her own right, so even though things didn't work out with James, she stayed."
"At the DEO?" Maggie asked. Kara frowned.
"No, she actually was Army. With the JAG core. When J'onn was outed, she was appointed Interim Director. Then Non activated Myriad and J'onn and I were the only ones not effected. Once we saved everyone, General Lane tried to get Lucy to take J'onn back into custody. She refused and has been with the DEO ever since."
"As Director?" Maggie asked. Kara nodded.
"She stayed at the Bunker for a while," she explained. "The Bunker was designed more as a prison than anything, but when we were rounding up Fort Rozz prisoners almost every day we based our operations out of there. The prisoners were just too dangerous to be taken into the city. When Astra died and Non was defeated, the remaining Fort Rozz prisoners all faded into the shadows again. J'onn and most of the field agents went back to National City, while those at the Bunker became the jailers they were trained for. After a few months a position opened up at the DC office. Lucy applied, got the job, and has been doing amazing work there."
"Washington DC? I didn't think there were any aliens in DC?"
"Have you not seen Congress?" Kara joked. Maggie laughed. "But seriously. National City is the first to offer aliens amnesty, the first to give aliens a home, that's why there's so many here. So many living openly too. A few live in Metropolis, under the blanket protection of my cousin, but some blend in so well they live all over the world. That's why the DEO has bases all over the world. The one in DC doesn't get a lot of field action. It's mostly administrative, but it's highly political. Something that Lucy thrives at."
"She keeps you going so you can keep the world safe," Maggie surmised. As a detective, she spent enough time playing the game to know how the world works. She was about to say more when Alex started blinking. "Hey you," she whispered, putting herself directly in Alex's line of sight.
"Hey," Alex smiled, then frowned when she realized something was covering her face. Kara quickly slipped the mask off and just as quickly fetched some water. She held the cup steady as Alex drank as much as she could, her eyes never leaving Maggie's. "It happened again, didn't it?"
"It's okay," Maggie told her. Alex sighed, closing her eyes heavily. "Do you need anything?"
"Hold me?" Alex asked weakly as she shuffled to the side of the bed. Maggie, already knowing what was coming, had kicked her shoes off and was sliding into the small space, her arms circling her lover and pulling her tight. Alex relaxed into the embrace. They both knew it would only be a matter of minutes before she was sleeping. Kara gently reapplied the mask before placing a gentle kiss on Alex's forehead.
"I'll just go check on any progress," she said, kissing Maggie's forehead as she left, determined to give them some time alone. Maggie nodded distractedly as her entire attention was focused on Alex. Alex, who was sleeping peacefully against her. Alex, who would soon enter fevered dreams and delirium. Alex, who would soon start fighting so hard against everything around her, herself and Kara included, that she would need to be restrained. Alex, who would soon be dunked in that ice bath again, only for the cycle to start again. Alex, who was fading before her eyes and there was nothing that Maggie could do to help her.