Pep-Talk
A/N: I have no clue about the science behind bullets, so I took some "poetic license". I kinda turned Alex into MacGyver ;-)
Eliza Danvers, scientist and mother, hummed softly to herself as she bustled around the kitchen preparing breakfast for herself and her daughters. It had been a while since they'd visited from National City and she was so happy to see them doing so well. The last time she'd seen them, they had both been nursing heartaches. Alex had been devastated after breaking up with Maggie, and Kara… Kara had been coming out of a crisis of identity that had scared Eliza a little. Yes, her younger daughter was not human but that didn't make her any less full of humanity.
But they both seemed a lot better now, happy compared to back then she thought, as she plated a large breakfast of eggs, bacon and pancakes. She also made two carafes of coffee. The girls had been out the night before and she smiled as she thought about the giggled shushes that had woken her up while they were trying to be quiet. They'd probably need that coffee. Well Alex would anyway. She chuckled to herself.
Eliza glanced up at the clock. It was almost eleven and breakfast was ready, so she headed up the stairs to the large bedroom the girls had always shared. It was quiet inside, so she slowly pushed the door open and stuck her head in. In one bed, she could see a sleeping shape, but the other bed was empty. She wondered if Kara had gone for a walk… or maybe had gone out flying earlier. Her Kryptonian daughter had always appreciated moments of solitude.
Crossing the room, her footsteps creaked a little but didn't stir Alex, who was sleeping on her side tucked under the covers with her back to her mother. Eliza reached out and touched her daughter's shoulder. "Alex? Time to wake up, Sweetie. Breakfast is ready."
Alex groaned and turned her head. "Mmmm… what time is it?"
"Almost eleven. You had a late night," she grinned. "Seems like you two had fun. Do you know where your sister is? She's not…"
Alex's eyes widened suddenly as her brain woke up and, at the same time, a different voice groaned from under the covers. "Alex, did you cook? I smell bacon." A blonde head popped up with sleepily blinking blue eyes fixed on the agent. Then to make matters worse, Kara pushed the covers down, revealing the fact that her blonde head was attached to her completely naked body that was entwined with Alex's completely naked body.
Alex grabbed the sheet and immediate covered them back up as Eliza just stood there, dumb struck. "I… I don't understand," she finally uttered, holding up her hands. "Are… are you two… sleeping together?"
"Mom," Alex said gently as she hiked up on one elbow, clutching the sheet to her chest. "I'm so sorry you had to find out like this. Kara and I came here to tell you this weekend."
But the older blonde shook her head. "I can't…" She turned and walked away.
Kara sighed. "Eliza please…" But the woman didn't stop. "Oh God, Alex."
"I know." Alex slid out of bed and started to dress. "Let me go talk to her."
"No," Kara replied. "This isn't going to be another case of you taking the blame and protecting me, Alex. We're not kids anymore and we're in this together. I'm coming with you."
For a moment, the brunette looked like she was going to refuse but then she nodded and leaned over the bed to kiss Kara on the lips. "You're right. I'm sorry."
As Kara got dressed, Alex stood staring out the window, wondering to herself how she could confidently fight off the fiercest aliens and criminals on the planet, yet, the thought of having this conversation with her mother terrified her.
"Ready?" Kara asked as she wrapped her arms around her lover's waist from behind and kissed her temple.
"Not even remotely," Alex replied softly, as she rested her hands on top of the blonde's "I love you so much, Kara, and I want you to know that, no matter how this turns out, I want… no… I need to be with you." She turned and wrapped her arms around Kara's neck, bringing their foreheads together. "Forever, Zrhueiao."
"Forever," Kara murmured against soft, supple lips. She caressed Alex's cheeks and then cleared her throat. "We should…"
"Right." Alex let her go and squared her shoulders before leading them out and down the stairs to the kitchen.
Eliza was sitting at the kitchen table with a mug between her hands, staring at nothing, but her eyes moved to her girls as they took seats across from her. Alex poured some coffee for herself and Kara, adding cream and sugar to both mugs. "Mom," she said softly. "Are you ok?"
The older Danvers' eyes rested on her daughter and then moved to her adoptive daughter. "I was a fool," she said softly. "That I didn't see this coming."
Kara reached across the table and put her hand on her mother's forearm. "You're far from a fool, Eliza," she said. "Alex and I didn't see this coming either. It was just a truth that we couldn't deny anymore."
The older blonde shook her head. "But I saw the signs, Kara. When you were much younger, and you only had eyes for Alex… She was your whole world… then and now."
Alex's brow furrowed, and she glanced between her mother and Kara. "What do you mean, Mom?"
Eliza turned her head, looking out the window as she recalled memories that she'd long forgotten. "Kara came to me, about a year after she landed, and asked me for permission to bond with you."
The brunette's mouth dropped open as she turned to look at Kara, surprise etched all over her face. "You did?"
"I did," the hero chuckled. "I was still learning the dynamics of interpersonal relationships and I had the biggest crush on you, Alex. I wanted to bond with you. I had even saved up part of my allowance each week to get you a bonding bracelet."
"Wow," the agent smiled. "I had no idea. What happened then?"
Eliza sighed heavily. "I made a huge mistake," she said. "I should have told Kara that you were both too young and to give it more time but instead, I panicked, and I told her that you were her sister and that sisters weren't supposed to be together like that. I knew she didn't understand. To her, you weren't her sister. You were simply a girl that she'd fallen for. I honestly thought it would go away. I was so wrong."
Kara nodded. "I was too young to get it back then… but I get it now. You were trying to protect me. I was different enough as it was without adding trying to date my sister on top of it."
Eliza nodded. "I was just so afraid for you both all the time, but at the same time, I could see you just getting closer and closer."
Kara took Alex's hand, lacing their fingers together. "What I felt for Alex back then just grew and evolved over time. It never went away."
"I think I knew that deep down," their mother replied. "I remember when Alex went to college and you'd sneak out and fly all the way to Stanford just to see her. You came back one night, and you were devastated because, when you'd arrived, Alex hadn't been alone in her room."
"You knew about that?" Kara asked, surprised.
"I pieced it together when you were crying and said that Alex didn't need you anymore. That she'd found someone else to love."
Alex frowned. "So that's why you stopped coming to see me. I had wondered." She kissed Kara's temple. "I'm sorry, Zrhueiao."
Eliza looked surprised at Alex's usage of the Kryptonian word. Even with her limited knowledge, she understood its meaning.
"Not your fault," Kara replied with a grin. "You had no idea that I was stalking you. Andy was cute by the way. I understood why you liked him."
"Meh, we dated through college because it was expected. He was nice and safe, but I had no qualms about saying goodbye to him when we graduated."
"So, what about you, Alex?" Eliza asked. "When did you realize your feelings for Kara."
The brunette's breath hitched, and Kara tightened her hold on her hand. She knew this was hard for Alex. "It started when she told me she'd um…"
"Slept with Mon-El," Kara finished as Alex nodded.
"My chest hurt, a lot, but I was with Maggie and I just thought I felt that way because he was a misogynistic asshole. But I think maybe a small part of me knew I was in love with Kara too."
"I think you can love more than one person," Kara mused. "Alex was in love with Maggie. I was in love with Mon-El, yet what we felt for each other too was confusing. It eclipsed everything. We'd do anything for each other and I think it was a source of some conflict in both our relationships."
"It was," Alex agreed. "I remember one day Maggie actually said to me that, the way I ran off at Kara's call, you'd think she was the one I was in love with." She pursed her lips. "I think that was the day I had an epiphany of sorts. It got me thinking about how I felt about Kara."
"So how did you end up together?" Eliza asked as she refilled their coffees.
Alex chuckled and blushed a little. "I saved her. As my reward, I got kissed."
Kara laughed and shook her head. "It was a little more complicated than that."
"Yeah. It started with her getting into trouble as usual. We were out chasing down an alien…"
"Supergirl, we've got him. Two blocks away. Be careful, ok?"
"Got it and I promise I'll try," Kara responded with a role of her eyes and a chuckle.
"The operation went south kinda quickly," Kara went on. "I got myself caught in a cage under kryptonite lights. Turned out that the whole thing was a Cadmus trap."
"I went in," Alex continued. "Myself and a small team of agents. We knew where Kara was being held and that we needed to get to her right away. Lillian Luthor had a bad habit of trying to take Kara's body parts to study. When I got there, though, there was a second part of the trap. Lillian wanted me too."
It was too bright. Alex groaned and rolled over, reaching up to shield her eyes from the lights and then crying out as her broken arm protested.
"Alex, I'm here. Can you hear me? Are you ok?"
"Supergirl? Where…" The agent sat up, cradling her arm. Her sister was in the cell next to her, green light pouring down on her. She was pale and weak. "Oh my God. Supergirl."
The Kryptonian hero just smiled. "I was thinking about you," she said softly. She leaned back against the bars of her cage and took a deep breath, her eyelids drooping as she struggled to stay conscious. "I was just thinking that… if I'm going to die, at least I'll have a chance to say goodbye to you."
"Don't say that!" Alex replied forcefully. "We are NOT dying here." She got up and crawled around the cage. "This cage is different than yours. It's not unbreakable."
A weak smile crossed Kara's lips. "That's great but we still can't get out. I have nothing left, Alex." Her body started leaning to the side as the tunnel vision drew her in.
Alex scooted to the bars between them and pushed her hand through. "No! No, Supergirl, you stay awake. You stay with me; do you hear me?" Alex fished one of her spare magazines out of her pocket and removed two bullets. She grabbed a metal bar she could barely reach from inside her cage and set the bullets at the hinges of the door. Then she said a quick prayer and started to hit the first bullet with the bar. At first, nothing happened and then suddenly, it went off, breaking the hinge enough for her to work the pin out. She quickly repeated the process with the second bullet and then she was pushing through the door. Kara was unconscious by now and her breathing was shallow and irregular. Alex felt fear well up in her chest. It was almost debilitating, but she pushed through and smashed the mechanisms that were sending the kryptonite down on her sister. Then she managed to pry the lock off Kara's cage. Her arm screamed at her with every movement, but she ducked into the cell and lifted her sister's upper body into her lap.
Kara stirred a little, her eyes fluttering and finally opening to look up at her sister. "Alex, what happened?"
"Shhh," the agent replied, looking around frantically. "We need to get out of here, but my arm is broken. I can't carry you, Supergirl. I need you to help me. I need you to get up."
"I can't," Kara groaned. "I can't." Her eyes fluttered shut again but Alex shook her shoulders hard.
"Yes, you can. I love you, Kara. I'm IN love with you and I can't lose you. You are AMAZING, and you can do anything you put your mind to. Now GET UP!"
Kara gritted her teeth and used every ounce of strength she had left to help Alex get her to her feet. She managed to stay mostly upright as they staggered out of the cell room and along the corridor toward the exit. They were almost there when they were met by J'Onn and the rest of the DEO agents, who had taken care of most of the Cadmus mercenaries. J'Onn lifted Kara into his arms and carried her while Vasquez helped Alex and they made their way out of the building. Moments later they were in the DEO vehicles and on their way back to headquarters.
"Wow," Eliza swallowed some pancake and washed it down with a sip of coffee. Kara and Alex were also digging into breakfast and the story continued between bites.
"Later that night," Alex said. "When Kara was recovering, and I'd had my arm treated, I was lying alone on the bed in my quarters and my head was spinning. What I'd said to Kara about being in love with her had been completely spur of the moment. The words had just… tumbled out and I realized that it was true. I had no clue how long I'd felt this way, but after admitting it, I suddenly felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Then, of course, I wondered if Kara would remember what I had said and if she'd be upset." She chuckled. "But I needed to see her, so I went to the med bay and sat with her."
The painkillers were starting to kick in. Alex no longer felt like she wanted to chop her own arm off. She was sitting quietly on a chair next to Kara's still form, holding her hand as the yellow sunlamps poured healing light down onto her. It was early morning and starting to get light outside. Alex was exhausted, but she couldn't leave. She had to be there when Kara woke up.
Luckily, she didn't have to wait too long. Kara's eyes blinked open and the blue that Alex loved so much turned to her. "Hi."
"Hey." Alex gently stroked her hair and smiled. "Glad to have you back."
The hero sat up with a wince and swung her legs over the side of the bed to sit on the edge and face her sister. Then, without a word, she reached out and grasped her gently by the front of her shirt, pulling her close and looking up into her surprised brown eyes. "Did you mean it?" she asked softly. "Or was it just part of the pep-talk to get me on my feet?"
Alex could hardly breathe, and she suddenly felt dizzy. "I… I meant it…" she stammered, unable to look away. "I mean it, Kara."
And then Alex was dizzy for another reason. Kara was suddenly kissing her with a passion that the agent had never felt from anyone before. And her body reacted, sending her fingers into long blonde hair and pulling the hero closer, kissing her harder, deeper and dragging a moan from her throat. And then Kara was dragging her to her quarters…
"And then she asked me if I'd meant what I said. When I said I did, she kissed me," Alex shrugged. "And I kissed her back. That's… kinda it." She exchanged a smile with Kara who knew differently but just nodded along.
Eliza nodded too. "You seem really happy together and all I want for you both is to be happy and healthy."
Kara grinned and squeezed her mother's hand again. "Then you're getting what you want. I've never been happier."
"Me neither," Alex added. Then she looked down. "Mom, are you ok? I know this is a surprise and not what you envisioned for either of us."
Eliza Danvers, scientist and mother just beamed.
