A/N: This is set a week after Sam going to the bar with James and Winn. I'm trying to write a chapter a day (to stay a steady 3 chapters ahead of my posting) so that I'm able to post daily. I may miss a day or two here and there but I solemnly swear to do my best. Scout's honor, cross my heart. It should be much more frequent than last month. Thanks for reading!
The Luthor case was over. Lillian had disappeared. The paperwork was finished. Things were slowing back down at the DEO and Alex was beyond grateful because she was exhausted. She had barely the time to see Kara outside of work and Maggie she only saw when Alex trudged in and collapsed into bed at night. But tonight, it'd be more than a sleepy kiss hello and good night. Tonight, they could have dinner and relax together and actually go to bed at the same time.
Alex moved around her kitchen. She opted to cook for the night. No takeout, no premade oven dinners. Actual food that she was actually going to cook. It was probably going to be a disaster but she wanted to try for Maggie. Who should be off any minute and heading over. Alex checked the clock as she bent to put in one of her baking sheets.
That exact moment her sauce pan boiled over. Red sauce overflowing down the sides and the lid trembling in its place from the steam.
"Damnit." Alex shot up, kicking the oven closed on her way up. Her first instinct was to grab for the lid. Which she did. And burned her hand. "Fuck."
She grabbed the towel next to the stove top and grabbed the lid as she turned down the heat with her other hand. There was red sauce, quickly burning on the hot surface, on the stove and what was left in the pot looked a little suspect. "Well fuck."
"I think this is the most colorful dinner show I've ever seen."
Alex whirled around. Pot lid still in hand and sending a few drops of sauce around her kitchen. "Maggie. You scared me." She laughed a little after the initial shock wore off. She hadn't heard her come in. "And yea. I don't know why I thought this was a good idea. My mom wasn't kidding when she said I couldn't cook."
Maggie smiled at Alex as she shrugged her jacket off. "Have you talked to her yet?"
"No." Alex turned back to clean up the mess she made. "And I don't think I will until Sam comes back around."
"As long as you do eventually." Maggie's voice was much closer now. Alex turned slightly to see her leaning on the counter. "Is there anything I can salvage over there?"
"I think so. The sauce is DOA though." Alex placed the pan in the sink and turned the faucet on to let it soak. She turned back to Maggie with her arms wide then letting them drop back to her sides, "My kitchen is yours Chef Sawyer."
Instead of jumping into dinner, Maggie walked up to Alex and lifted her arms back up. She slid into them. "I'd rather you just be mine. The kitchen doesn't have to be included."
"Good thing I already am then, huh?" Alex laughed a little. "You're such a dork."
"I know but I wanted a hug before you put me to work."
Alex tightened her arms and nuzzled into Maggie's shoulder. She really wasn't going to complain about this. Maggie could have as many hugs before cooking dinner as she wanted. They really didn't even need to have dinner. They could just move on to other, more exciting things.
Maggie had other plans though. She pulled away, pecked Alex on the cheek then turned to survey the disaster of the kitchen. Alex hit the faucet off, the reddish water overflowing the pan and leaking down into the drain.
"I swear things were going well until the sauce exploded."
"Babe. Exploding sauce means that nothing was going right."
"Pfft. Yea, well, it was fine."
Maggie chuckled as she started to move around the kitchen. Alex settled at the island, after pouring a glass of wine for both of them.
"This is nice."
"Yea. It is." Maggie answered with her back still to Alex, a dish towel thrown over her shoulder.
They chatted as Maggie prepped their meal. Got into the deeper stuff once all there was left to do was wait while things cooked. And it really was nice. Exactly what Alex needed.
They moved to the dining table once the food was plated. The silence while they ate was easy and relaxed. Neither woman felt the need to interrupt it. Both were content to eat and steal glances and smiles. Alex quickly did the dishes when they were done; Maggie sprawled out on her couch.
"Scoot." Alex nudged Maggie's side with her knee. Once enough room was made, she got comfortable on the couch too. Maggie laying half on top of her. "What are we watching tonight?"
"I think the Lakers are playing."
"Please don't make me watch sports."
"You asked what we were gonna watch. I was just giving a suggestion." Maggie rolled to her side to look up at Alex. "It'll probably be a good game too."
"Mags, I don't even like sports and I know the Lakers suck this year. It probably won't be a good game."
"Fair enough. What's your vote then?"
"Nothing crime related. Or sci-fi. My real life already has enough of that."
"And that leaves…?"
"Something funny; like Modern Family or The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."
"I vote Modern Family."
"Vote passed. Put it on, babe."
"Season three, right?"
Alex nodded. They bickered a little over which episode exactly they left off on. They tried Alex's guess first but it turned out that Maggie was right. Alex rolled her eyes at Maggie's smug smile as she exited the first episode and went to the next.
"Oh, shut up."
"I didn't even say anything."
"You didn't have to! That face says it all." They both laughed then fell silent as the episode started: Luke's old man friend, Walt, dying, Phil trying to have a special day with his daughter, Alex, and his other daughter, Haley, trying to throw a party all while Cam and Mitch had their fathers over for dinner. It was funny but hit a chord for Alex. Not the old man dying but a father trying to be a good dad to his daughter.
Instead of letting the queue go to the next episode, Maggie exited the whole thing once the credits started to roll. She sat up and looked at Alex. It was uncanny how she always seemed to know.
"You okay?"
"Yea. It's just different than before, now that we know he's out there somewhere. It like a new wound again and seeing all that dad stuff just hit harder than I expected."
Maggie gripped Alex's hand but didn't say anything. The floor was Alex's to continue or stop, whatever she needed. Alex wasn't sure which it was though so she just let her words flow. Do as they wanted, go where they wanted.
"Our dad was like that. How Phil wanted to give Alex a special memory with him. Before Kara, we had a Dad Day; usually Sundays. Dad would take us to a Sharks game or a Dodgers game if it was a special occasion. Sometimes it was just to the park and for ice cream or a movie marathon or day at the beach. Anything as long as it was us and him.
"Then Kara came and Dad Days stayed the same except we had Kara with us. We went to more museums and specific parks or sightseeing in the city. It was less about spending time with Dad and more about acclimating Kara to Earth."
Alex hadn't thought about Dad Days in a long time. Not since she was fifteen or sixteen. Not since she realized it only gouged her hurt deeper to think about the good days with him.
"Sam loved it though. You probably wouldn't believe me but she used to be all about being the center of attention." Alex smiled at the memory of a very different little sister.
"No way." Maggie was the picture of disbelief. Brows scrunched and lips pressed together, trying to hide a smile. It probably was funny to try and picture the grumpy, ready to rumble Sam as a little kid who got excited and easily liked people.
"Pretty much every little kid is like that but Sam definitely loved the attention. Enough that she would set aside the fact that she had to share it with Kara just so she could point out things at the museum that she knew about or show Kara how to use the equipment at the parks. It was sweet." Seven-year-old Sam running along and pulling Kara behind her and beaming when their dad would tell her she was right or add to the story Sam was telling. It was so long ago and so far from where they were now that it didn't feel real.
"Do you think they'll ever get back to that?"
Alex nodded. "I hope so. Kara keeps telling me that her and Sam found common ground when I left for college but it used to seem impossible to me. Maybe not though. They got along before Mom came into town, right? That's gotta mean something."
"They did." Maggie agreed.
"How is Sam?"
"I was gonna ask you the same thing." Maggie leaned into Alex's shoulder, resting her head on her shoulder. "She said she was going into the DEO for a check-up with you."
"She totally didn't have to. That was J'onn trying to help."
"Did it work?"
"Kind of." Alex reflected on her med bay encounter with Sam. It was better so, technically, yes, J'onn did help but how much of that was J'onn versus time passing?
"Physically, how is she?"
"Good. Definitely no concussion and her hand should be okay by now. She called in to schedule her physical evals so she, at least, thinks it's good to go."
"When are they?"
"Tomorrow."
"Good luck to Sam. How do you think she'll do?"
"Hurt or not, Sam will be fine. She's in shape. She's had similar training from the Army so there aren't many things that will surprise her and throw her off. It all just depends on how well she does. It makes a difference in the DEO, determines where you start."
"Wouldn't she just become an agent? Or are there like separate levels of agents?"
"Officially, we're all just agents but certain teams are comprised of higher ranking agents. That's why I train so often. We are constantly tested and re-evaluated so that we are all assigned to teams where we can do our best work.
"And, the teams are assigned certain jobs so I barely have to do recon but those who are on recon teams don't have to be on the front lines. Like I usually am. It's actually kind of complicated, Mags and I don't mean that you won't understand, just that it's a lot and I don't really want to explain it."
"No, you're good. I don't think I'm up for all that learning right now either." Maggie chuckled.
"Your turn, how is Sam? She's still not giving me any more than she needs to."
"She's okay. I think she's coming back around more and more. James told me him and Winn got her to go out with them last week."
"Really? Wow."
"Yea." Maggie nodded. "I know. I was surprised too. He said she left before they got up in the morning but she left a note so it wasn't like she just disappeared. They had a lot of fun, I guess."
"That's good. That's what Sam needs, I think."
"I think so too. Other than that, the same old. She quit CatCo and James and I took her that mattress from my aunt's."
"Thank you for that."
"I didn't do it for you, babe, but you're welcome."
Alex shifted out from under Maggie's weight. Now she sat perched on the edge of the couch. "I know you didn't but still, thank you. Whether it's for me or not, I really appreciate that you're there for Sam. It makes it easier for me to be patient with all of this because I know she has you."
Maggie leaned forward and brushed Alex's hair back, trailing her hand along her ear and down her jaw. She let her palm rest on Alex's cheek.
"I really think it's all gonna be okay, Al. It's not like when she was staying with you. It's better and I think it's all because this is on her terms now. She's not letting us in because she feels like she has to. It's more like she wants to. Just give her a little more time."
Alex didn't have time to respond to that. Her phone was aggressively buzzing to life on the coffee table, the pinging she had set for work accompanying it. She snatched it up.
"Danvers."
"We need you at headquarters ASAP. We have a situation."
"I'm on my way."
Alex jabbed the 'end call' button, looking at Maggie. She didn't have to say anything or make up an excuse. Maggie shooed her away as she settled back against the couch.
"Duty calls, Danvers." She smiled. "I'll be here when, if, you get off."
Alex leaned forward and kissed her. The last attempts at dating Alex had, she was constantly making up excuses and spouting apologies left and right. She would never be able to express to Maggie how grateful she was that Maggie understood and accepted what Alex did.
"Bye." She whispered as she pulled away. She didn't get far as Maggie's hand curled around the back of her neck and pulled her in for another kiss.
"Be safe."
