Recap: The two unsuspecting women hugged while Alex held a hand to her mouth as a single tear trailed down her face.
The next few days of the couple's vacation were a bit rocky. Alex had pulled back from Maggie and Maggie was very confused. The brunette had grown accustomed to joining the DEO agent on her early morning walks through the fields. For the past three days, Alex had been getting up and leaving on her own. She really hadn't said too much to her other either. Eliza went into work for a little so the women were on their own in the massive house. Being the detective Maggie was, she concluded that Alex had overheard her conversation with Eliza. Maggie needed to make this right and she didn't want to wait any longer. She had the Matriarch's support so she needed to follow through. It was cruel to drag out the charade any longer. Maggie sent out a text to Alex and Eliza, "I'm cooking dinner tonight. It will be ready by 7 p.m. sharp. Don't be late! -M."
Alex was at the lake, staring at the water when she got the message. She heartlessly laughed and shoved her phone back into her pocket, kicking the sand. She ran a hand through her hair, sighing deeply. This wasn't how I thought my vacation would go. I'm glad she and mom get along, but what about me. What about my feelings? I should have noticed the signs. Maggie and I will have to talk tonight. She trudged back to the house with a heavy heart. The car was gone and so was Maggie, but there was a note on the counter. "Danvers'! Went to the store, needed supplies. Dinner is still happening at 7 – Maggie." Alex clenched her jaw, sniffled, and went upstairs to shower. Maybe I didn't hear them right. I could be wrong. Maggie isn't going to break up with me…Even though she's been pretty distant and keeping me at an arm's length. I wish I knew what those weird phone calls were about.
The DEO agent noticed Maggie was having phone calls with people and abruptly ending them when she walked into the room. Alex could count on both hands and feet the number of times she walked into her apartment and the brunette would slap her laptop shut. She was being suspicious. If the detective hadn't pulled away from her, she would've thought Maggie was working on her kidnapping case. She hadn't really talked about the whole kidnapping thing with the brunette and Maggie could have lost her. Alex stepped out of the shower and stared at herself in the foggy mirror, I've fought how many bad guys and helped stop how many Earth takeovers? Talk to Maggie and stop with the guessing. No more guessing. Tonight is the night.
She nodded at herself in the mirror, "I can do this." Alex went to get changed and heard the front door slam and laughter. She changed and made her way downstairs. It was thirty minutes to dinner time. "Alex! Sweetheart," her mom practically shouted in her face and blocked her path to the kitchen. "You're going to ruin the surprise. You can't come in yet. Let's go sit on the porch until Maggie comes to get us. We haven't had much mother-daughter time yet." Eliza placed a glass of wine into her oldest daughter's hand and pushed her outside.
"Mom, you know I'm not a big fan of surprises. Maggie has been so distant with me lately. I hope…well, I just… no, forget it. Never mind." Alex plopped onto the bench with a huff, running a hand through damp hair. "Alex… I'm going to tell you this because you're my daughter and I love you. Sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't. You will never know until you make that leap. If you have to force it…then it wasn't meant to be. I've seen you and Maggie together. Just talk to each other, sweetheart. You both have to be willing to try, it can't all be on the shoulders of one person okay?" The older woman was rubbing circles on her daughter's back. Keeping Alex out of the loop felt so wrong, but it wasn't her place to say anything. "I will always love you. Remember when you came out to me and how nervous you were that you were letting me down? My beautiful Alexandra, you have always made me so proud. I just want you to be happy. Whatever the outcome is after you two talk, I will always support you."
The Danvers women cried and hugged each other. Alex pulled back, "Mom, what—" Maggie's voice interrupted them, "Ladies! Dinner is served!" Eliza squeezed Alex's hand and went inside. Alex took a deep breath and stood up. She wanted to finish the rest of her wine right there, but whatever needed to be talked about required sobriety. She sniffled and walked into the house towards the kitchen. Her mother was at the table already, fidgeting with something. The table and kitchen had been reconstructed to look like they were at a restaurant. Alex half-expected Maggie to show up with a menu and ask where she'd like to be seated.
"Alexandra," Alex whipped around, not realizing the brunette was behind her. "It's come to my attention that you have not had my infamous garlic-lemon shrimp pasta. I wanted to do something special for the Danvers women. Don't worry, I'll make some for Kara when we see her. Please, sit and I will bring you your plates." Maggie walked into the kitchen and returned with bowls for everyone, "Babe. You plan on eating standing up?" Alex finally sat down, thoroughly confused. This was a very pleasant surprise, but she was skeptical. She looked over at her mother who was squirming in her seat. She was about to ask what was going on when Maggie presented her with a mouth-watering bowl of food. "Now, I know you can both scoop your food yourself, but I'm doing it first because 'Presentation darlings.' Would either of you like garlic bread?"
Maggie finished serving everyone and the plates looked delicious. Everything was fresh and Maggie had spent the morning making the spaghetti from scratch. They all stared at each other. "Well? Enjoy," the detective nervously smiled. Eliza took the first bite and immediately gushed about the flavor. Alex took a few bites and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. "Damn! This is really good. You made everything from scratch," Maggie nodded, "You've been holding out on me Sawyer!" The detective let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. The women continued their meal with light conversation. Maggie and Eliza kept exchanging looks and after the fifth time, Alex slammed her fork onto the table, "That's it! What the hell is going on? Maggie, you've been acting so weird and distant and I refuse to believe you've been so nervous and aloof because you wanted to cook for us. And you," she pointed at her mother, "You're not a fidgeter. What's going on? I love you both just please be honest with me. I can't take this anymore. I wanted to go on vacation with my girlfriend to see my mother. If something's wrong, can I fix it? Just tell me!"
Maggie frowned. She had hoped to get through dinner, but it would seem fate had other plans. "Okay, Alex. You're kinda right. I was definitely nervous about dinner, but that's not the highlight of the night." Maggie looked at Eliza, who then presented the brunette with a box with a bow, that she had been hiding under the table. The brunette took the present knelt next to Alex, who was even more confused. What the hell is inside the box that could hold a grapefruit? "Alex Danvers, I know we only briefly talked about this, but I thought, after you getting kidnapped, I didn't want to wait to do this any longer. Here," Maggie gestured the box towards the woman, "Be gentle." Alex removed the lid to see a small black kitten pop its head up. "What," Alex screamed, startling everyone in the house, "Are you doing in here? Oh, aren't you precious!"
The kitten was all black except for white toes and a small white diamond on her chest. Alex scooped her out of the box and held her in the light for a better look and completely missed what fell off the kitten's tail. A small clunk sound happens and the DEO agent looks down to find the source. Maggie is on a knee holding a ring, smiling at her. "Alexandra Danvers. I love you with my whole heart. My whole being. I know we briefly talked about kids and a family and I basically blew you off. That's because past Maggie was never that type of person. I've never been in a relationship with someone who truly wanted me to meet their parents. If you had asked me to meet your mother when we first met, you would have never seen me again. I've never—I never knew what love like this felt like. You are my world, Alex Danvers. I want to continue being one of the main people in your life who makes you smile, who makes you feel loved, who is your safe space. I want to go on walks on the beach with you while we're old and gray and bitching about young kids in their bikinis running amok, getting sand everywhere. I want to grow a family with you. I—I want to be part of your family for the rest of our lives. I know I've been distant lately and that's because I've been in contact with the jeweler, the animal shelter, and checking for LGBTQ+ friendly adoption agencies and fertility clinics. I wanted to give you everything you've ever dreamed of and more. You are my soulmate. Alex, will you marry me?
The house is completely silent, except for sniffling from all three women. "Yes! Yes, I will marry you," Alex sobbed. Maggie slipped the ring on her finger and the couple kissed and hugged crying into each other. The kitten was crying because she wanted out of the hug. The newly engaged couple looked over at Eliza to find she's been recording the whole ordeal; which Maggie also had planned. "Maggie, I'm so happy, I'm so fucking happy," they all chuckled, "But I'm so fucking confused. I overheard you telling my mom 'all good things come to an end.' What was that about?" The brunette winced, "Yeah, I figured you heard that. You've been pretty MIA for the past few days. We're no longer just girlfriends. I'm no longer someone who was looking to pass the time with someone. That Maggie is gone. We have a whole new beginning to look forward to." Both Danvers' women stared at Maggie and waited until she cracked. Even the kitten wasn't buying her story, "Okay! I talked to Eliza about proposing, got her approval, and then immediately thought you were going to say no. I was preparing myself for rejection and she was comforting me. You know how my relationship with my family is. I'm used to rejection from the Sawyer side so that negativity and anxiety have been eating at me. I wasn't sure you'd say yes."
Alex chuckled, scaring the kitten, "There's the Maggie I know and love. Sawyer! I would love to marry you and have kids with you. We can use Socks here," Maggie and Eliza protested the name immediately, "As practice for a baby. I'm told changing diapers and changing babies is often like trying to swaddle a cat." The kitten was placed back in the box and put on the opposite side of the table while the women finished their dinner. With Eliza's help, Maggie had made Rhubarb pie, and apparently, that was a hit with the Danvers' women. The newly engaged couple tried cleaning up but were shoved out of the kitchen by Eliza.
"Your mom isn't very subtle," Maggie smiled at Alex, who was staring at the newly adorned ring on her finger. The redhead wordlessly stared into chocolate eyes, that looked back questioningly. Their lips met in a chaste kiss that quickly turned heated. Alex moaned and pulled back out of the kiss, "We still have to talk babe. I know this was all a surprise, but there are some things you still could have talked to me about. Join me on the porch?" Maggie nodded in response and followed the taller woman out to the porch.
The couple sat on the couch and stared at each other, waiting for someone to speak first. Alex cleared her throat, "I guess I'll go first. I'm absolutely shocked that you proposed to me, Maggie. You succeeded with your surprise for sure. Why did you feel the need to look up LGBTQ+ friendly adoption centers and fertility clinics and go to an animal shelter by yourself? You know I would have loved to go with you." Maggie ran a hand through her hair. She knew these questions were coming. She had asked herself these questions too. Maggie thought back to the original conversation with Alex and her reaction hadn't been particularly…. positive.
"To be honest, I'm completely different from when we first started dating. You know how I was. I would've run for the hills. But when you mentioned marriage and a family, and seeing that twinkle in your eye. I stopped and thought about whether I could be that person for you. So, I watched our interactions with our friends. They're basically our family away from home. Kara and Little Luthor are already like sisters to me. J'onn is both of our father figures, and then there's Eliza. The family I was so scared of gaining through marriage has been here this whole time. Would adding children and pets be just as seamless? It was kind of a test for myself. I think I was afraid of having to do these huge things on my own, without family and support. Seeing that I already have that, I needed to see if I could go to these places on my "own" and see what I felt." Alex put a warm hand on her lover's knee and patiently waited for her to continue. The moonlight was shining on the redhead in such a manner, it looked like Alex had her own spotlight. Maggie smiled with tears in her eyes, "I saw you Alex. When I went to these places, I saw you pregnant and I was pushing a stroller. I saw us taking kids with us to the dog park and grumbling about how everyone was getting dirty. I saw Kara playing with our kids. I saw Eliza fussing over our newborns during the holidays." The brunette wiped tears with her free hand, noting that Alex was also crying. "I saw us having our own family and I wasn't scared. I wanted all those things with you. I needed to make sure you knew I want those things with you."
The women held each other, sniffling and whispering "I love you" to each other. "Mags…You should have saved that for our vows," the couple laughed. "Words can't explain how happy I am. I get to share my future with my soulmate. I love you so much. In the future, I want to go to these places with you. We're starting a life together; I want to do these things together." Maggie agreed and gave Alex's hand a gentle squeeze. They exchanged a tender kiss and snuggled together. The newly engaged couple sat in silence looking into the field that the moon illuminated. "So…. you really don't like 'Socks' as a name for the kitten?" Before Alex could explain her reasoning, Maggie's laughter echoed into the night. "Absolutely not Danvers! Damn do I love you, but we're not naming our hairy child Socks." The redhead pouted while Maggie continued to laugh at her fiancé's antics.
A/N: Special thanks to Steph and Swizzle for help with this couple. What do y'all think the kitten's name should be? I may be late posting as my computer screen is a bit wonky. Bear with me while I get my baby fixed. Leave a review and let me know what you think! Ttfn -T