Lena turned in her sleep, muttering under her breath. A hand touched her arm and she flinched away, afraid of the pain that would follow. Her mother stood over her and she backed away, hitting the metal wall of the tiny room after a few seconds.

"Why'd you let her kill me, Lena?" Lillian's mouth morphed into a grotesque grin and Lena shuddered. "Is it because you really are a Luthor? Letting other people do your dirty work?"

"I didn't want you dead," Lena whispered.

Lillian tilted her head. "No, but Supergirl did. And you sided with her."

"She—heroes aren't supposed to—"

"Supposed to? Look at what Superman did to your brother. You think he felt an ounce of remorse for what happened to Lex? Lex will be in prison until after your grandchildren die," Lillian snarled. "Stop thinking like a child, Lena."

"Lex went insane." A movement in the corner of her eye made her turn; the two men that had beaten her the day before were entering the room. "No. Please."

"Be grateful I don't bring Haldrak back in here. You cried like a baby the last time."

"Don't do this." Lena cowered in the corner of the room, her hands coming up to protect her face. The first man grabbed her right arm and snapped it like a twig; Lena let out a scream and cradled her arm to her chest.

"Maybe if you hadn't been so ashamed of being a Luthor, you would've been on my side." Lillian watched as Lena curled in on herself.

The second man brought his foot back and Lena whimpered, her body paralyzed with fear. She could hear her mother humming the same old french song and saw the steel-toed boot swing through the air. She closed her eyes, screaming herself awake.

Something was pressing down across her chest, stopping her from sitting up. As she came out of her dream, Kara's worried face swam in and out of focus and she could hear her saying her name over and over again. Lena gasped in a breath and sank back against the pillows, realizing with a jolt that she was back in Kara's bed. Kara had stopped saying her name but was looking at her with a concerned expression, the crinkle between her eyebrows deepening as Lena stayed silent. She moved away and put her hands in her pockets, standing awkwardly.

"Did you carry me in here?" Lena asked after she caught her breath. Apparently Kara had also put the sling back on her arm.

"You looked uncomfortable on the couch." Kara pushed her glasses up. "You were muttering and kept moving around in your sleep. But I guess it was just a bad dream." Truth be told, she didn't want Lena sleeping on her couch because she felt more comfortable with Lena's presence in her bed. She had fallen asleep listening to the other woman snoring softly, a smile on her face. "Was it bad?" Kara asked shyly. No stranger to nightmares, she didn't want to pry, but she was curious as to what demons plagued her friend while she slept—there were too many to choose from.

Lena bit her lip. She wanted to tell Kara everything but she also wanted to protect the innocent-looking blonde. She had no idea what had happened to Lena, just that Lena had gone missing then come back, screaming herself awake. She gave Kara a weak smile. "Just my mother. The biggest nightmare of all," she said unconvincingly.

Kara picked up on her hesitation and frowned. "What's wrong?"

Lena looked out Kara's window, not meeting the reporter's eyes. The sun was just rising but Kara looked like she'd been up for hours. "Are you going somewhere?" she avoided the question.

"I was going to stop by Cat Co. and check on the draft. It goes to print tonight and there's an article about you that I wanted to edit before it goes out."

Lena raised an eyebrow. "What article?"

"It's just about how L-Corp's stocks have risen since you disappeared, and that maybe you weren't really kidnapped. Maybe it was all a marketing ploy." Kara touched her glasses frame nervously.

"Are they serious?" Lena sat up indignantly. "I'm going in." She swung her legs off the bed and her body protested, pain shooting through her torso and her temples. Kara caught her and pushed her back into the bed.

"You can't go anywhere, you need rest. I can take care of it," she pushed Lena down again as the latter tried to get out of the bed. "Where are your painkillers? Take some." She looked around for the bottle.

Lena rubbed her eyes and groaned; it felt like a stone column had caught her instead of Kara's arm. "My jacket pocket. I think it's out in the hall."

"Stay here. I'll go get them." Kara glared at Lena until she lay down then hurried out the bedroom door. She was back in moments, the bottle rattling in her hand. "Here. Please don't fight me on this, just take one."

Lena reached for the bottle eagerly and swallowed two of the pills. The second they slid down her throat, she sat up. "Okay. Now I'm going in to work."

"I can't let you do that," Kara took a protective stance in front of the door.

Lena narrowed her eyes. "Your sister may have some power over you, but I'm still your boss. I outrank you."

"You could try to force your way out of here but I wouldn't suggest it." Kara crossed her arms.

Feel free to flirt with her. I'm sure you know by now it's hilarious when she's flustered. Lena smiled to herself and watched Kara carefully. "I wouldn't mind wrestling with you."

Kara opened her mouth and her face turned red. "I mean, if you really want to come in you can. I can take you," she conceded, knowing she would give in to Lena sooner or later. "But I already made you breakfast," she said sheepishly.

Lena smiled in spite of herself. "You did? For me?"

"Yes." Kara looked away. "And I got you that coffee you like from the shop across town."

"You would've had to leave at five a.m. to get back in time with city traffic."

"Um, not really." Kara scratched the back of her neck.

"Not really yes, or not really no?" Lena teased.

"Just appreciate the coffee," Kara rolled her eyes.

"You're my favorite. And Kara?"

"Yeah?"

"Be a dear and call a press conference, will you?"

"I—of course." Kara looked back at Lena and blinked quickly. Her hands fidgeted with her collar; she had put her suit on underneath but she was afraid Lena would catch a glimpse of it. "I'll, um, get right on that." She started to leave the room so Lena could change.

"Thanks, darling," Lena called out cheekily as she left. Kara's face flushed again and she kept her head down, walking faster.

Kara followed Lena out of the elevator a few steps behind the brunette. The office went deadly silent as they walked toward Lena's office until Eve stepped out from behind her desk with a warm smile.

"Welcome back, Ms. Luthor."

"Thank you. Ms. Teschmacher, right?"

Eve practically beamed. "Yes. Just call me Eve, please."

Lena smiled easily. "Eve it is." She reached out to shake Eve's hand and Kara saw the miniscule change in her face. Lena had taken the sling off before they'd left the apartment despite Kara's objections and now she was paying for it. They walked into the office and Kara closed the glass doors behind her.

"You should really keep the sling on," she said in a concerned voice.

"No. The press conference is in an hour and appearances are everything."

"You were missing for so long and you—and who knows what happened to you all that time? Wearing a sling isn't going to make you seem weak. You're a survivor."

"This isn't a display of strength so much as I'm saying something and I want it to be taken seriously. I don't want to look like I'm an angry woman looking for revenge."

"Revenge. Against Cadmus?"

"Against Supergirl."

There was a tense moment of silence as the two women stared at each other; Lena lifted her chin, she knew Kara wasn't going to take that well but she didn't want to hide anything from her friend.

"For—for what happened to your mother?"

"Yes. My mother was no saint, but Supergirl can't fly around playing god, deciding who lives and dies."

"I don't think that's what happened." Kara's scars ached. She had been checking on them everyday since Lena had pointed them out but they hadn't faded at all.

"And how would you know?"

"I, um, there was—just, I don't think she meant to, that's all," Kara stammered. She went over to the counter and poured a glass of water for Lena, needing to do something with her hands. Lena took it with a strange look at Kara. She waited for the reporter to turn away then opened the pill bottle in her purse quietly, slipping another one into her mouth.

Kara heard the bottle open but thought nothing of it, wrapped up in her thoughts about the upcoming press conference. Lena waved her hand to get the blonde's attention, setting down the glass of water.

"Is everything okay?"

Kara's head snapped up. "Of course. Why wouldn't it be?"

"I've been saying your name for the last few minutes. Are you sure there's nothing bothering you?"

Kara inhaled and held her breath. "It's just," she said after a moment, "should you really publicly denounce Supergirl so soon after your mother's death?"

"She can't go around playing judge, jury and executioner."

"You sound like you're becoming what people expect from a Luthor."

"So you're saying I'm turning into Lex." Lena's tongue clicked on her brother's name and she crossed her arms.

Kara backed off. "No, Lena I don't mean that—"

"You do."

"It's not intentional," Kara sighed, leaving her sentence hanging.

"But there's no such thing as a good Luthor," Lena finished, raising an eyebrow.

"No. You know I've never believed that; I think people should be judged on their own merits."

"I see you've been talking to Supergirl."

"What—what do you mean?" Kara pushed her glasses up her nose and went to refill Lena's water.

"She said the same thing to me, almost word for word."

Kara almost dropped the glass she was holding. "She—she did?" She cursed internally for always forgetting herself around Lena; not separating things Supergirl did from things she did as Kara Danvers, not paying attention to the rest of the world.

Thankfully, Lena was distracted by a stabbing pain in the front of her skull. Kara saw her nose wrinkle and forgot what they were talking about. "What's wrong?" she hurried to the brunette's side. "I told you to wear the sling. What is it? Are the painkillers not working?"

"I don't think so," Lena said through clenched teeth. Her head spun and she closed her eyes, hoping Kara would chalk up her behavior to her injuries. Lena knew better; the weeks spent in the DEO with the IV of morphine had kept her hooked on the drug, and it hadn't helped that unbeknownst to Alex she'd been taking extra pills to feed her habit. Now that she only had the pills she was feeling the effects of withdrawal, but she couldn't run out suspiciously early.

"Do you want another? I can get it for you," Kara x-rayed Lena's body and watched her heart beat slowly, hearing each pulse loudly in her ears. Fumbling for Lena's purse with one hand, she supported her back with the other, lying her down on the couch.

"The press conference," Lena said groggily, sweat beading on her forehead. Kara looked at her anxiously; her overall condition had deteriorated so fast that Lena must have been hiding it for a while. "It's happening soon."

"No, no. You aren't going to that." Kara pushed her down on the couch and brought out the pill bottle, rattling it. "Here, take two."

Lena reached for them eagerly with a shaking hand and Kara held the glass to her lips as she swallowed them down. Her head fell back and she sighed, waiting for the pills to kick in. She tried to rehearse what to say for the press conference but nothing would stick in her brain; her stomach was turning and every time she tried to repeat something in her head she would get distracted by nausea or her head spinning or the smell of Kara's clothes.

Kara waited patiently, the crinkle between her eyebrows lessening as Lena's body relaxed while the drugs took effect. She couldn't sense the calm euphoria Lena was feeling but her breathing evened out and she slowly sat up, holding a hand to her forehead.

"Sorry," she said guiltily. She had started to worry about developing a dependence on the drugs being pumped into her while her mother held her captive, then when she was hooked up to the IV at the DEO—Alex had tried to stop the morphine all at once to give her body time to heal, but she had almost immediately felt the effects of withdrawal and the agent had started them up again. Alex had had a strange expression on when she opened the valve and she hadn't said anything but Lena suspected that she had an inkling of what was going on.

"What are you apologizing for?" Kara smiled weakly. Her initial panic had abated but Lena still looked pale and her hands were shaking in her lap. "I don't think it's a good idea to go ahead with the press conference, maybe you should just put out a statement," she suggested.

"No." Lena was insistent and Kara's eyes widened as she took a step back. "No," she repeated in a softer tone. "I refuse to hide. My mother is dead, but I am not some scared little girl. I won't sit back and let them twist the story. I own a media company for god's sake."

Kara bit her lip. "Lena," she hesitated, "Your mother is not—she wasn't a good person."

"You think I don't know that?" Lena looked up, tears of frustration in her eyes. "After what I've been through, you think I'm elevating her to some kind of saint?"

"What happened while you were gone?" Kara asked quietly. She still hadn't seen what Lillian had done to her daughter, only the aftereffects, and those alone kept her awake at night.

Lena stared at her hands. "It doesn't matter. Years and years of trying to separate myself from the Luthor name, for what? I have to side with my family here. It's the right thing to do, Supergirl be damned." She seemed to be talking to herself more than Kara.

Kara turned away, trying to keep her face impassive. "Why are you so ready to condemn Supergirl?" she said with her back to Lena.

"For one, she seemed perfectly fine neutralizing her enemies with non-lethal methods until her enemy's last name was Luthor. What's to say she won't do the same to me?"

"She wouldn't because you are a good person, Lena."

"And secondly," Lena continued as though Kara hadn't said anything though her friend's words struck a chord in her, "I haven't seen or heard anything from her since it happened. I know she's an all-powerful alien and I'm just—well, I'm just me, but I bet you a million dollars if my last name was Smith, she wouldn't have left me alone. And, maybe, if I wasn't a Luthor, she might even feel bad for what she did."

"She—I'm—" Kara sputtered then took a calming breath and faced Lena. "Lena, I know she feels horrible about what happened. And she isn't staying away from you because your last name is Luthor. It's because she values your opinion too highly and she's afraid that you hate her."

Lena stayed silent, her drug-addled brain trying to follow Kara's thought process. Kara watched her anxiously, hopefully, waiting for her response.

"Maybe," Lena said slowly. The drugs were helping her body but breaking her mind.

"Just give her a chance to explain herself," Kara pleaded. It broke her heart to see Lena using her own name against herself; she was invalidating the person she was, the person she worked so hard to be, because of a single word she never had a choice over.

"I'm proud to be a Luthor," Lena said, making Kara pause.

"You should be," the blonde said carefully, "You should be proud of who you are."

"That's what they told me," Lena said distractedly.

"Who's they?"

Lena didn't answer her, caught up in her memories of torture. Lillian had tried to force her to engineer a second, more potent virus, having her beaten when she didn't comply, but she also told Lena that she had been grooming her to take over Cadmus. In Lillian's sudden absence, the job fell to her and the people Lillian controlled were waiting for her orders. It wasn't indefinite; sooner or later someone would come for her and force her to work for Cadmus, but for now Lena lived with the fear of knowing she was the only thing standing between Cadmus and the rest of the world. She wanted to tell Kara but the reporter had her hands full with everything else.

"Lena, last chance, do you still want to hold this press conference?" Kara's voice broke through her thoughts.

She pursed her lips and nodded. "Yes. You can come, of course."

"Oh, no. I couldn't possibly—I wouldn't want to—"

"Kara, please. You're the ace reporter of Cat Co. and one of my best friends."

"I really—I just have this thing to do," Kara stammered.

"Is this because of your friendship with Supergirl? Look, I realize you may be right. I'll give her a chance to explain herself, but I don't think it'll help. There are things at work here that you don't know about." Lena stood up, bracing herself on the table by the couch.

"I'll try to make it, I promise," Kara said earnestly.

"Alright, I'll see you down there, hopefully." Lena left the office and Kara headed for the window, undoing the buttons on her shirt with one hand and reaching for her phone with the other.

"Alex? I need a favor."

"Absolutely not."

"Alex, please?"

"I said no, Kara."

"It's for Lena. It's hard to explain but I need the video feed that you said you had." Kara looked down at the street from the roof of Cat Co. to the reporters and paparazzi gathered at the entrance. Ms. Teschmacher was speaking to the crowd and she could see Lena waiting just inside the doors.

Alex shook her head, forgetting Kara couldn't see her over the phone. "I'm not giving it to you. There's a reason J'onn wouldn't let you see it."

"But it's not just for me, don't you understand?"

"What I don't understand is why you aren't hearing me. The answer is no." Alex rolled her eyes and looked over at Winn who was shrugging.

"You're rolling your eyes, aren't you," Kara said accusingly. "Come on, please? For me?"

"No, Kara! Why would I make an exception now?"

"Because it's for Lena!" Kara said as though that would explain everything. "I need to show her what happened."

"You know what happened."

Kara paused. "I can't remember anything clearly. Not after the first bullet."

Alex didn't say anything for a while and Kara listened to her sister breathe through the phone. "What's the last thing you remember?" she said slowly.

"I remember jumping in front of Lena and feeling the bullet...and I remember smelling blood and feeling like my veins were on fire. I remember the other two gunshots, pulling you out of the way, Lillian's voice in my ear. Then...nothing."

Alex swallowed, the vision of her sister bleeding out on the floor flashing through her mind. "You took that bullet for me. The one in your lung, it was meant for me."

"Of course I did. I'd could never sit back and let you get hurt, you're my sister. But what happened after that?"

"You and Lillian fell to the floor. You wrestled for a bit and then the gun went off again. I'll spare you the gory details, but the final bullet killed Lillian. There's no question."

"But did I fire the gun?" Kara said tersely.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know? You were there!"

"I don't—I was worried about you. I didn't know if you were alive, I just—let me watch it." She nodded to Winn, who hit play on the computer.

The footage from Alex's mission camera started to play. She winced and closed her eyes as she saw Kara take the bullet meant for Lena, only opening them again when the second one whistled through the air. The angle shook and backed up slightly when Kara threw her sister behind her, and a quiet, choked noise worked its way out of Alex's throat as the third one slammed home into Kara's lung. She saw Kara's body twist from the angle off the ground, and saw her shoulder crash into Lillian's body; both of her hands were visibly not on the gun as the final shot rang out and Alex sighed in relief.

"Kara?"

"Yeah?" Kara said breathlessly. She'd heard the shots over the phone and was dreading what Alex might say.

"You didn't do it. You couldn't have, you weren't touching the gun."

Kara closed her eyes. "Alex, send me that video. I'm begging you."

Alex felt her will start to crumble but she didn't give in. "Kara, I don't want you to relive it. I've been shot. I've also seen the mission footage from someone else's body cam, and it does something to you. It makes you think you're weaker than you are, it makes you heal slower. It's a psychosomatic thing, you can't help it."

"It's for Lena," Kara said again.

"No," Alex said, realization dawning on her, "It's for you, too. You really think you killed her. You don't believe me."

"Please, Alex." Kara ignored her sister's comment. "I took a bullet for you and you can't even send me a minute-long video?"

Alex sighed, kicking herself. "I still won't send it to you. But—" Kara started to argue but Alex cut her off. "I'll send it to Lena." Alex gave Winn the number and waited for it to send. "There. All done, now stop worrying."

"Lena? Why Lena?" Kara stepped closer to the edge of the roof. Lena was heading towards the doors, looking at her phone and Kara heard her heartbeat pick up.

"Because maybe she'll be able to convince you that you aren't a killer."

"Alex, wait—" Kara pulled her phone away from her ear; her sister had hung up. "You could at least say 'bye'," she grumbled, putting the phone away. Her cape lifted in the wind and she got ready to fly down to the podium, but just as Lena put her hand on the door to open it, she paused. Kara's gut twisted in anticipation, she didn't know what to say and she was getting nervous. Lena didn't go outside, though, but held up a hand to Ms. Teschmacher.

"If you'll just wait a moment, Ms. Luthor is attending to some business," Eve said smoothly at the cue from her boss. The reporters continued to shout questions but Eve just smiled politely and asked for their patience.

Kara was zeroed in on Lena. Her heart was pounding harder and faster, and she heard her say "oh my god" under her breath before standing up straight, shaking her shoulders back and plastering a calm expression on her face. She opened the door and walked to the podium.

"Thank you all for coming," she started confidently. "I've decided to change this into more of a statement than a conference. I won't be taking your questions, but some of the things I say will answer questions you already have."

There was a collective groan from the gathered group but no one dared to speak out.

"I have three things to say. Firstly, I am back for good. I am taking over Cat Co. and Samantha Arias will remain in place as my CEO at L-Corp. Secondly, my mother's death was no accident, but neither was it a surprise. When you lead the kind of life my mother led, you make enemies. Dangerous ones. And third..." Lena trailed off as Kara swooped down, landing next to her in front of the flashing bulbs and recording devices.

She nodded almost imperceptibly to Lena. "Ms. Luthor."

Lena raised her chin. "Supergirl." She looked back out at the crowd. "I would like to thank Supergirl here for saving my life once again. She is the one responsible for my safe return, and she helped neutralize the very real threat that my mother posed to the city." Lena shot a side glance over to Supergirl. "Did you have anything to say?"

Kara met her eyes and for a moment, the shouting and the cameras faded away. She took a deep breath and turned to face the crowd. "I would just like to say that though National City may still be under threat, I won't stop protecting my city. This is my home too, now. I hope I never let you down." She looked directly into a camera and narrowed her eyes. "And another thing," she said, getting carried away. "Ms. Luthor is under my protection as well. It would be unwise for anyone to come after her. I'll leave it at that." She stepped back and glanced at Lena who was looking at her in confusion. "That's all," she said in a softer voice. She started to turn away but a gasp from Lena made her jerk back. "Ms. Luthor?"

Lena's eyes had gone wide and she was holding her right shoulder to her body with her left hand. Her breathing was coming in shallow pants and her eyes were starting to glaze over as Kara watched. "Where—"

"Lena!" Kara caught her as she stumbled back, shoving the podium away from her. She looked into Lena's eyes and saw pure terror in them, and followed her gaze to a man in the crowd who was holding his phone above his head. Another second and Kara recognized the the song that was playing from the phone's speakers, sounding tinny from several meters away.

"La Vie en Rose. Edith Piaf. Nineteen seventy-seven classic tune."

Lena tried to push her way out of Supergirl's grip, pulling Kara's focus from the man. "I need to get out," she said, completely unaware of her surroundings. "Trapped. I'm—I need to—" she choked out, gasping for breath.

Kara shot a startled look at all the cameras that were still rolling and made a split-second decision. Sweeping Lena's legs out from under her, she picked her up bridal style and launched herself into the sky. Lena kept fighting against her, desperate to break away from Kara's steel-like hold on her.

"Ms. Luthor, calm down, you're alright. Nothing can get you up here." Kara tried to calm her down but Lena didn't seem to be able to hear her.

Lena's eyes searched for Supergirl's, her breaths slowing down as something in her registered that she was in the open sky. "The music—"

"I know, I know," Kara said in a soothing voice. "It's gone. I've got you, you're going to be fine." She scanned the buildings near her for a place to take Lena and the first place she saw was Alex's apartment. "Just hold on for a little longer."

Lena seemed to acclimate herself quickly to being in the sky and looked up. "Wait," she said. "Please, just...can we stay here a little longer?"

"Of—of course," Kara answered quickly, caught off guard. Lena's hair had come loose in the flight upwards and the wind was blowing it into her face; she could smell the CEO's shampoo but she shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "Did you want me to fly around?" she asked, remembering that Lena had been kept in a submarine.

"I don't mean to ask so much of you," Lena said quietly, but Supergirl had already started flying slowly, first higher then heading north. Lena could feel her heartbeat through her suit and wondered how someone could seem so alien yet so human at the same time. "What you said about me—"

"I meant it," Kara said seriously. "As long as I'm able to, I'll protect you."

Lena nodded. "Someone...sent me a video. Of the rescue mission you went on."

"Which one?" Kara asked without looking at Lena.

"Me, my—when you saved me." Lena watched as Supergirl swallowed. Is she nervous? "And I must say, I had some...strong opinions of you for a while. But I see now they were unfounded."

Kara looked down into Lena's eyes. In the clear, sunny sky, she could see the difference in her eyes better than when they were on the ground. Lena's left eye had more green in it, whereas her right eye was mostly blue. "I'm glad to hear it," she said slowly. Even at the slowest possible speed, they had reached Alex's apartment. Kara passed it and mapped out a long loop through the city, speeding up slightly so the wind would blow Lena's hair back. "Are you going to tell me what they are?"

"Probably not," Lena admitted. "But there's something you should know." She watched Supergirl's cape flying behind her, her blonde hair streaming loosely. Why would you ever land on the ground if you could feel like this all the time?

Kara veered left. "And what's that?"

"When my mother...took me," Lena started. She felt Supergirl inhale deeply but kept going. "She told me that I was raised to take over Cadmus one day. And now that she's dead..."

"You think they're going to come after you," Supergirl finished. "I'll keep a close eye on you, Ms. Luthor, but nothing's going to happen to you."

"It's not just that. They're waiting for orders. From me. And I'm not quite sure what to do, my mother never really went into the details—"

"Let me worry about that, Ms. Luthor. And can I just say, I'm very sorry for your loss." Kara looked down to see Lena's eyes widen.

"Why are you apologizing? She was—it's not your fault." Lena thought about the video that Alex had sent her and paused.

"She was still your mother. I told you before, I know what it's like to be disillusioned with one's parents. I also know what it's like to lose them. I wanted you to know that you weren't alone." Kara saw tears gathering in Lena's eyes and started to float down to the roof of Alex's apartment complex.

"You're from another planet, and yet you always have more humanity than the rest of us. How do you do it?" Lena whispered.

"Because I know what it's like to not belong. To be all alone. And if I can help someone else feel less alone, I'll do whatever it takes." She touched down on the roof but held Lena in her arms. "Whatever it takes."

"Thank you."

Maggie dropped the razor blade she was holding on the floor as the apartment door opened. "Alex, is that you?" she called out, reaching for a paper towel. Her girlfriend wasn't supposed to be home from the DEO until later that evening and it was only lunchtime. She wouldn't let Maggie go back to work yet and Maggie was going crazy staying in the apartment by herself all day, as was evidenced by the three fresh cuts on her right leg.

"Hello?"

"Kara?" Maggie panicked; she hid the razor and bloody towel under the sink and hurried to open the door, pulling her pants up. She could hide the evidence from Alex, not so much from her sister who had x-ray vision.

"Actually it's—Supergirl."

"Supergirl? Oh." Maggie stopped short as the door opened. Kara was standing over Lena who was sitting on her couch, looking a little worse for wear. "Hello."

"Detective Sawyer." Supergirl stood up and approached Maggie. "Sorry to bother you. And Alex Danvers is on her way here, if that's alright."

"Of course it's alright, she lives here." Maggie peered over Supergirl's shoulder at Lena. "Does she need something?"

"Just water. And if you have any painkillers could you bring them over?"

"Sure. Just give me a second." Maggie headed for the bedroom, avoiding looking at the bathroom door. Guilt weighed her down and she was panicking, wondering when she would get the time to clean everything up before Alex got home. She came back into the room and handed Supergirl a half-filled pill bottle. "The best thing I have for you is leftover OxyContin from when I broke my leg."

"I think that'll do." Kara had filled a glass with water and shook two pills out into her palm. "Ms. Luthor, take these. They'll help with your pain."

Lena's headache had started to return so she swallowed the pills quickly, not listening to Supergirl explaining to Maggie what had happened. As they stopped talking, Maggie's phone buzzed and she turned away from Supergirl to check it.

Hey babe. Apparently Kara's coming over with Lena? So I'm heading home. How're you?

Maggie held up her phone. "You're right, Alex is on her way."

I'm good. See you soon.

"I was about to shower, so..." Maggie noticed Kara eyeing her strangely and tried to distract her, her fingers twitching against her leg.

"Oh. Right. Do you mind if Ms. Luthor waits until Alex Danvers arrives? I think she's bringing her sister too."

"She can stay, no problem. I'll just be a few minutes." Maggie headed for the bathroom. "You can stay if you want, wait for Alex and Kara," she said with a glance back at the younger Danvers.

"I can't. I have something to attend to," Supergirl said smoothly.

"Alright then. Lena, you good on the couch?" Maggie paused, the bathroom door halfway open.

Lena's eyes were closed and she had started to fall asleep on the couch. The oxy was more powerful than the morphine pills Alex had given her and she felt like she was wrapped in a warm blanket. "I'm good," she mumbled. Kara looked her up and down then nodded once.

"I'll check on you tomorrow, Ms. Luthor." Supergirl left the room and Maggie watched Lena for a moment.

"Are you sure you're good?"

"Just...tired." Lena relaxed against the couch, her head leaning back. "Need sleep."

"If you need anything, give me a shout." Maggie gave her one more cursory glance then closed the door.

Where are you going to hide this shit? She turned the water on then opened the sink cabinet, pulling out the blood-stained towel. Tossing it into the bath, she watched the water rinse away the blood for a minute before looking back. She picked up the razor delicately, the edge of it catching her eye. Butterflies started up in her stomach and her skin itched to feel the sharp edge gliding across her skin, but Maggie clenched her other hand into a fist and took a deep breath. Looking in the trash can, she found an empty soap box and shoved it in, closing it up and tossing it back before she did something she'd regret. Sitting down on the floor, she slid her pants halfway down and hissed in a breath as the cotton rubbed against the cuts she didn't have time to cover up. There was blood on her pants and she pressed some toilet paper to the wounds, gritting her teeth. Getting her pants all the way off, she reached back into the cabinet under the sink and brought out the medical supplies Alex had bought after the first night she'd seen the cuts. Little did she know that Maggie was blowing through the supply, but she hadn't checked the box. Maggie put a bandaid on; she never bothered with cleaning the cuts; and stood up slowly. Another minute and she shut off the water, wringing out the now-clean towel. She cracked the door and saw Lena sleeping on the couch, and decided to make a break for it; she speed-walked to the bedroom in her shirt and underwear, tossing the dirty pants into the laundry hamper and slipping on a pair of pajama pants just in time to hear Alex's key in the lock.

"Maggie?"

"Hey babe." Maggie walked out of the bedroom, her chest lifting the way it always did when Alex walked into the room. She could still picture the blood dripping off the razor and she clenched her stomach to stop the butterflies, the feeling that she needed more, that she needed to do it again.

Alex kissed her lightly and saw Lena on the couch. "Where's Kara?" she asked once she saw that the CEO was sleeping.

"She was supposed to be coming with you. You didn't see her on the way here?"

"She's right here." Kara entered the room and immediately went over to Lena. She was holding the sling that Lena had left at her house and gently put it back on, careful not to wake her friend. "Sorry. I had to go back for this."

"No problem." Alex cleared her throat. "So did she convince you?"

Kara brushed Lena's hair back out of her face. "I think so. I mean, I still haven't seen what happened but if she says it wasn't my fault, I guess..." Kara trailed off uncertainly.

"I promise you it's not." Alex went over to give her sister a comforting hug. "What happened? Why did you bring her here?"

Kara stepped back. "We were at the press conference," she pictured the crowd easily, "And someone was playing the song. The french song that Maggie knew."

"Vie en Rose?"

"Yeah, that one." Kara sat down at the counter and took her glasses off, rubbing her eyes. "It must have triggered something in her, because she started to freak out. She was acting like she was still trapped in that metal room. So I had to get her out of there; I just flew away with her and then she wanted to stay up there for a while, so we looped around the city before I brought her here."

"But why'd you bring her here?" Alex asked.

"Because the press most likely trying to find her and I didn't go to my place. I wasn't really thinking"

"That's fine," Maggie spoke up. "I'm glad you came over. Alex won't let me go to work so I've been sitting alone losing my mind."

"It's not that I won't let you go back to work, Maggie," Alex said exasperatedly. She had been hiding things from Maggie but it looked like they were about to come out.

"Then what?"

"It's because I keep getting calls from Timothy Denfield."

"Why didn't you tell me? He asked me come back to work after I resigned, you just haven't let me go in."

"Because, Mags, he wants to talk to you about the investigation."

Maggie knit her eyebrows. "The investigation?"

"You. Your investigation. About, you know..." Alex shot Kara a glance, too afraid to go into details. Her sister knew what had happened but not the specifics, and she didn't want her to.

Maggie's jaw clenched. "I told him I'd come back as long as he promised to drop the investigation. Collins got fired, he's moving several states away and he's on the registry."

"You know that's not good enough. He could still—he'll do it to someone else." Alex stuffed her hands in her pockets.

"Can we just not talk about this right now?" Maggie stared at the ground.

"Kara?"

The Danvers sisters both turned at the sound of Lena's voice and Kara hurried over to her, crouching down.

"Hey. Hey, you're okay. We're at my sister's apartment. Do you remember what happened?"

"Not really." Lena's eyes were barely open but she frowned. "I remember the press, then...then I was flying. You were right, Kara." Lena let her head fall back. "Supergirl didn't do it."

"Oh. Is that what you talked about?" Kara reached up to fix her glasses then panicked when she realized she'd left them on the table. She looked away from Lena and thankfully her sister was thinking the same thing, because she grabbed Kara's glasses and held them out to her. "I'm glad you got that sorted," she said, leaning closer after putting her glasses back on. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I just want to sleep. Your hair looks nice," Lena mumbled. "I like the windswept look. You look like you've been flying, but I've been flying. Hm." She lapsed into incoherent mutterings and closed her eyes.

Kara smiled guiltily, her hands hurrying to flatten her hair. "Okay. I'll let you sleep."

"And I'll go make some pasta," Maggie said quickly, leaving Alex to stare after her.

"Show me the video." Alex jumped as Kara whispered in her ear.

"No," she hissed back. "I told you already."

"Oh, come on Alex."

"How about we talk about something more important, your scars?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

Kara leaned back, a hand pressed to her stomach. "I don't know why they aren't fading. It's strange."

"Maybe if you ask Lena out they'll disappear," Alex said snidely as Maggie bustled around the kitchen.

Kara flushed. "That doesn't make any—oh, stop messing with me." She punched Alex lightly in the arm. "I'm being serious. They even hurt sometimes."

"I can check you out at the DEO later if you want," Alex offered, frowning. "I don't know why that kryptonite left a scar. And by the way, J'onn's been looking into the synthetic K signal we tracked to Lena's house."

"Kryptonite." Lena mumbled, raising up. "I need to go home." Kara supported her with an arm and helped her sit up.

Alex narrowed her eyes. "That sounds super innocent and not at all evil from someone who's brother tried to kill Superman," she hissed under her breath to her sister.

"Shut up. Can you take her home?" Kara saw Lena's eyelids flutter and lowered her voice.

"Why do I have to take your girlfriend home?" Alex jerked her thumb at Maggie. "My girlfriend's making an early dinner. You can handle yours, it'll be cute."

"She's not my girlfriend. And I just can't exactly zip on over to somewhere developing kryptonite, can I?" Kara said quietly with a look at Lena. "I know she can't be to blame for it. I was at her house a few months ago and nothing happened."

"A lot can happen in a month, if life has anything to say about it." Alex watched Maggie wistfully. She was constantly worrying about the cop, wondering if she was okay at home all alone, but Maggie had brushed off her offer to bring her into the DEO. Since she'd seen the cuts Maggie had been more open with her, she thought, but she hadn't shown her anything else since that night. "Am I taking her to her own house?"

"Yes," Lena said before Kara got a chance to contradict her. "My house. I need to go home."

Kara bit her lip then nodded at Alex. "It's fine. I'll listen for her but I can't keep her away from her own house. She's not a prisoner."

"Can you carry her down to my car, at least? Not all of us have arms of steel."

"Will you stop? Kara said flustered, with a side glance at Lena. The brunette seemed too out of it to understand what Kara was saying, but she couldn't be too careful.

"Fine. Just bring her down. Maggie, I'll be back soon," Alex called out to her girlfriend.

"Better hurry back or I'm going to eat all this pasta." Maggie came up and kissed her on the cheek. "Drive safe. Don't blow up the car."

"Piss off," Alex said with a snort. "You know you love me."

"I do."

Kara smiled watching them banter. She imagined one day talking to someone like that, and for some reason her mind dredged up Lena. She saw herself bickering with Lena decades into the future but in a loving way; who gets to cook, waking up too early, why each person missed a lunch appointment. "Come on," she said quietly, helping Lena off the sofa. She took her in her arms bridal style and looked to Alex to take the lead. "Let's go."

"You smell nice," Lena mumbled into Kara's shirt and the blonde smiled nervously. "I can hear your heartbeat. It's strong, like you. "

Alex snickered as her sister turned red. "Come on, let's leave before you melt through the floor."