Oliver and Alex help Kara relax...


Accompanying Kara up the stairs to apartment 4A, Oliver couldn't stop thinking about the moments he was sharing with her. He remembered what he felt the night that he and Kara spoke when he was on Earth-38 the last time, how he felt so comforted by her presence and how he placed so much trust in her. He rarely ever spoke his five years away to anybody. It took him months, and even years before he delved into detail about it to his closest friends, Diggle and Felicity. He'd only spent around a week with Kara before he told her about his first year on Lian Yu. At the time, he believed it was because she was the doppelganger of the woman he loved, but that night was also when he started to see her as more than a doppelganger. He started to see her as her own person, someone different from the Earth-1 Kara that he knew.

The last night before he left Earth-38 was when he first realised what he was beginning to feel for her. The love that he was beginning to develop for her was because of her, not her doppelganger. When he first met her, he could only see and imagine her doppelganger in his mind. By now, that had all changed. He had recognised that they were two mutually exclusive people, which unexpectedly made his feelings for Kara even stronger. What surprised him, was how she returned and welcomed his gestures over the past few days. He wanted to think it was because she was vulnerable, hurt and that his presence made her feel safe, but a glimmer in her eyes made him think it might be a little more than that. But how could it be true? The wound on her heart from her loss of Mon-El had barely begun to heal. Now was not the time for Oliver to tell her how he felt. Plus, there were too many things that would keep them apart, let alone the fact that she was suffering now because of him.

Her apartment door was unlocked, with Nyssa having just been there. Oliver opened it and stepped aside, allowing Kara to walk in first.

"Home sweet home" said Oliver warmly as he walked in behind her. He watched her become less and less agitated with each step into her apartment, as her shoulders relaxed and her head was being held higher and higher. She looked around, studying every corner of her apartment. Oliver saw eyes lingering over the windows, figuring that she was noting the distinct difference of the glass and the metal reinforcing the wooden frames.

"We added bulletproof panes to the windows" said Oliver, drawing out a nod of acknowledgement from Kara. He realised that she was still dressed in the delivery uniform, and thought that maybe she was feeling a little cold due to the weather, "Hey, why don't you change, and I'll make something for you to drink in the meantime. Coffee? Hot chocolate?"

"Hot chocolate" she replied.

"Alright, great" replied Oliver, who turned to walk to the kitchen while Kara went to her room. He filled the kettle with water before letting it boil. He didn't know how Kara liked her hot chocolate, but on a day like this, it was best to make it creamy and milky. A minute later, she came out wearing a grey cotton jersey with grey sweatpants, walking over to the couch and sitting down on it. Oliver walked over to her and handed her the mug before sitting down next to her, waiting for her to take a few sips before speaking up.

"You feeling any better now that you're back here?" asked Oliver politely.

"Yeah" replied Kara, "Just the bulletproof windows are going to need getting used to."

"Don't worry, they're going to be needed" replied Oliver, reassuringly. Just as he finished speaking, the door to her apartment opened, and Alex came practically running in. Oliver immediately got up from the couch, making space for Alex to sit next to her sister. Alex unintentionally ignored Oliver as she ran next to her sister, hugging her.

"Are you alright? Are you okay?" asked Alex hastily.

"Yeah, it feels a lot better to be back here" replied Kara. Oliver, seeing that she was reunited with her sister, decided to start heading for the exit, but Kara noticed what he was doing, "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I thought I'd give you and Alex some alone time" replied Oliver politely.

"You can stay, Oliver, I don't mind" replied Kara.

"I don't want to intrude Kara" he replied, but he realised what she truly meant as she said her next words.

"No, please stay…" The tone in Kara's voice made Oliver's train of thought halt and just focus on her, "I want you to stay. Please" pleaded Kara. She felt safe when he was around, and Oliver couldn't deny her that, not at this time. He nodded, acknowledging what she meant and walked back to take a seat on the chair next to the couch she was on.

"Do you want to watch something? A movie?" asked Alex to Kara, trying to lift her spirits.

"Sure" replied Kara. Oliver leaned back in the chair, relaxing himself as Alex selected a movie and pressed play.


(Kara's Apartment – 21:38)

A movie and several episodes of Kara's favourite TV series later, night time had fallen and Kara was going to bed. It was a stressful day for everybody involved, but Kara felt particularly a bit more drained than everyone else, as expected. She was in bed already, while Oliver and Alex were in the living room. Oliver was setting up his sleeping bag on the floor, something which caught Alex's attention.

"Hey, what are you doing? You can't sleep on the floor" said Alex concernedly.

"Of course I can" replied Oliver.

"Don't you want to take the couch? You're a guest on this Earth and it wouldn't be right of me to make you sleep on an uncomfortable floor."

"Alex… I spent the better part of five years on an island in the North China Sea. Trust me, I would have killed to sleep on a floor like this during that time" replied Oliver. Alex was content with arguing more, but recognised that Oliver's stubbornness would prevail, so she just accepted her fate and started setting up the blankets and pillows on the couch for herself. Oliver took the time to ask her a question which he needed to know the answer to.

"Hey, are you fine with me staying here?" asked Oliver, curious to know her answer.

"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?" asked Alex.

"You know… she's your sister, and I know you want to be there for her. I wasn't sure you'd be comfortable with me here."

"Oliver, honestly, I'm fine with it. She trusts you, and you make her feel safe" replied Alex sincerely, "And besides... apart from J'onn, you're probably her only friend that understands what she's been through, and that can help her through it. Kara told me about yours scars. James was tortured by Lex Luthor, but I don't think it was anything like what they did to Kara" continued Alex. Oliver could only nod at Alex's words. She was right. Apart from J'onn, Oliver was the only one who came close to having experienced what Kara had. He pondered what Alex's reaction might be if he had told her that he was tortured just 6 months ago by Adrian Chase. She climbed into her blankets on the sofa, while Oliver turned off the lights and walked over to the window.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" asked Alex.

"Not yet" replied Oliver, as he stared out of the window of Kara's apartment. He looked far out into the surrounding buildings of her apartment, spotting the hefty figure on a rooftop not far away. Oliver recognised the body type as James, with Roy probably being perched on a rooftop on the other side of Kara's apartment.

While it was impossible for Kara to leave his mind at this moment, he couldn't stop his mind from drifting to a focus on Lacroix. Three full days since Kara was rescued, and still absolutely nothing. The bug was turning out to be useless, and they still had no idea what this 'war' of Lacroix's was going to entail. Oliver couldn't be patient anymore. He pulled out his Earth-38 phone, entering the call app and dialling J'onn J'onnz.

"Oliver. What's going on?"

"Simon Lacroix. It's been three days and we still have nothing on him. We can't wait any longer to find out what he's planning."

"Yeah. What do you have in mind?"

"Winn needs to hack into the Stellmoor International mainframe ASAP. There has to be some clues in there that can tie him to Cadmus or his activities in Komodo."

"Right. I'll get him on it immediately."

Oliver hung up the phone before looking back up at the National City moon. A storm was coming, and it was going to be arriving soon.


A/N: The next phase of Lacroix's war against Oliver and the DEO begins...