She feels just a little better when she next opens her eyes. A little stronger even. Not much but enough to allow a weak smile to spread over her lips as she rolls from her side onto her back as best, she can in her current sandwiched position.
Alex on her left. Maggie her right. Both of them sound asleep if the soft synchronized snores were any sign. Their hands clasped tightly together now resting above Linda's bellybutton rather than at her hip as they slept.
The lightest of taps against the doorframe has the trapped Kaznian peeking over toward the end of the bed. It seemed Rory had been banished there earlier but she seemed not to care much if the sleeping thump of her tail against the mattress told anything.
"Need a hand?"
Linda grinned with a shy nod.
Papa Bear J'onn gives a lopsided smile of his own as he moves toward Maggie's side rather than Alex's. Linda knew why. Even half-asleep her sister was lethal. "My count." he murmurs
Linda nodes getting ready.
Like two pieces of a puzzle fitting together so smoothly as soon as Linda was freed and Maggie was gingerly returned to the mattress Alex was snuggling closer leaving Maggie to fall into the 'little spoon' roll as soon as Alex's searching arms found the shorter woman's hip, just as she had in the fragments of memory the tiny tiger of a detective had shared after her ordeal as Cadmus's prisoner.
Linda had obediently written everything down just as Maggie had spoken it doing what she could to help Maggie cling to her sister until they could find one another again.
Linda was glad this seemed to have worked out and Maggie had gotten her memory back. Her tiny tiger of a best friend deserved happiness after everything she'd suffered. J'onn does his best not to disturb the sleeping couple as he replaces the comforter over their tangled bodies. "Eliza and I brought back some gingerbread kits if you're up for a little decorating." He whispers once his task was finished.
"Da. Please." Linda nodes her soft gaze still drinking in the sleeping pair nuzzling one another in sleep remembering from talks with Maggie how much fun that holiday activity was. Now she finally gets to see for herself.
This really was turning into the perfect day. And to think real Christmas was still a full month away yet she was getting to immerse herself in all its festivities early.
"Just wait till you see the build materials." J'onn adds on no doubt reading Linda's thoughts on the matter as he pulls her in for a fatherly kind of hug, his eyes also lingering on the sleeping pair. "it's one of those limited-edition Oreo centric house kit."
Her Papa's fondness for the chocolate and cream biscuit cookies rivaled Linda's own making it all the more fun as the pair race one another back to the kitchen. Linda choosing to move at a much more human pace rather than a Kryptonian one.
The scent hits her before they even turn into the last hallway separating the rooms from the kitchen.
The rustic musk of the cabin, the fresh scent of cookies just pulled from the oven, the sweet flavor of warmed icing-
"Finally, Lin can you tell speedy here to stop eating all my build materials please?" Kate grumbles giving a guilty-looking Barry a hard elbow to his ribs when his blur of a hand goes for another grab toward the bowl of M&Ms sitting beside her half put together house.
It seems Kara and Lena are still napping too. Linda reasoned taking in the sight of her finally happy family dotting the kitchen.
Her Papa Bear pauses beside a woman Linda has never met personally but knows to be called M'gann standing over beside the sink.
Maggie talked a little about her White Martian friend and from what Linda knows from Kara's memories she and their Martian Papa were rather close. Given the now whispered banter passing between the two Martians as her Papa picked up one of the knives, M'gann was using to chop the vegetables for supper Linda didn't doubt that.
It was good her Papa had found someone. Linda didn't like the idea of him being alone. As if the prove this M'gann leans over to press a kiss against Papa Bear's cheek then sends a reassuring wink Linda's way.
Linda drops her gaze blushing a little at being caught. The move earning a low chuckle from the female Martian as she turns back to her work as Linda hunts around for something to take the focus off herself.
She didn't need to look any farther than the two chairs situated on Kate's other side at the table. "Who are they?" she questions her tone distrusting earning a rather surprising round of protective glares from the other members of her family but Linda is positive she has never laid eyes on either one of the new faces in her short life.
"This is Kenzi and her brother Ryan sweetheart you know that." Eliza answers her hand resting against the young woman's back while her arm slides protectively around the young boy's shoulders.
A pair of strong arms snake around her waist from behind momentarily cooling Linda's flash of anger as the body they belong to tugs her back against his front. The dull but still dizzying scent of Winn's aftershave tickles her nose on Linda's next steadying breath.
"They are friends." He soothes his warm breath tickling her ear as he spoke. "We can trust them." He promises his chin hooking over her shoulder. His voice was low and rougher around the edges like he'd just woken as well. It made Linda shiver, but she hoped he wouldn't notice as she leans back into his hold. She wanted to ask about the trick he'd used that created two of him earlier but decided against it for now as she faced the newest possible threats to her family.
"We can trust her." Winn repeats feeling more than seeing Linda's remaining mistrust as he leads her over toward the table.
"I'm glad to see you're feeling better." The woman -Kenzi- says with a shy kind of smile as Winn holds the chair out for a blushing Linda to sit down.
The boy -Ryan- reminded her so much of Mikhail it hurt when he smiles over at her. "I saved you the best pieces." He explains proud of himself as he pushes the tray of different sized chocolate cookies, tubs of different colored icings, and a small bowl of little decretive candies toward the watching Kaznian. "Barry's been trying to steal them, but I think it's only fair you get to build one just like the rest of us." He winks earning a high five from Winn now leaning against the counter behind Linda's chair.
"Come on man you know I have to keep up my calory intake," Barry complained another half a what should have been a supporting wall for a house halfway toward his mouth.
"Yeah but that doesn't mean you have to eat all the cookies in the house before Lin gets to finally make a gingerbread house." Winn fires back his arms crossing enough that his arms flex drawing Linda's gaze from the candy assortment Ryan had managed to put together for her.
"Just for that, I'm kicking your butt in Mario Cart later." The speedster sulks tossing another stollen hand full of candies into his mouth once he'd finished the 'wall' cookie.
"Hey, I'm the king of the carts." Winn calls after him making Linda giggle at the brotherly banter. So like Alex and Kara at times especially when Winn chases the speedster out of the kitchen demanding Barry submit to his claim of being 'King of the Carts'.
"Can I do the door?" Ryan asks from beside her breaking the Kaznian out of her daze. Again, his eagerness was a mixed punch to her stomach as she looks at him. "Sure kid." Kate answers having grudgingly stopped working on her own house with her depleted supplies and had moved to help Linda with hers "But Lin gets to decorate the roof sound fair?" she bargains as Linda blinks away a few traitor tears.
She hides her face against Kate's shoulder when the boy gives a happy cheer in trade.
So like Mikhail.
A hand cupping under her chin. The warm brush of a thumb whipping away the start of her tears.
Winn had returned.
A single calloused digit presses against her lips to quiet her when she opens her mouth for a greeting. "I don't have a lot of time." The whispered comment puzzles her while he kneels beside her chair.
The first thing she notices besides his tired expression was that he'd changed his clothes before returning to her. Gone were the sweatpants and rather skin reviling shirt he'd been wearing whilst chasing Barry out of the kitchen replaced with jeans and a grey tee-shirt that had put thought the wash one too many times.
She wished he'd change back.
His might not be of the physical strength like Mon-El or Kal or Barry, Linda knew but that didn't stop her heart rate from kicking up a notch or three every time she spotted those rare sights when Winn would roll up the sleeves of his shirts exposing his arms while he worked.
None of her immediate family seem to have noticed his reappearance nor his change in wardrobe yet Linda noticed the way Kenzi's head had turned in their direction.
Surprise in her expression as she watches the pair.
Had she noticed the change too? Linda wondered and immediately feels the twist of jealousy.
Winn was hers to admire and hers alone.
He smiles that heart-melting lopsided one Linda loves so much when her eyes lift to meet his. It was as if he didn't notice the others around them. "You have to wake up." Winn's voice is that low husky timber like warm honey as he reaches up tucking a few loose strands of her hair back behind her ear.
"I'm already awake," Linda argues with a soft chuckle leaning into the innocently given touch, but Winn shakes his head. "No, no, no." He pleads seeing the deepening shade of red clouding the blue of her eyes. "It's red kryptonite. It's making you more susceptible to whatever mind control they are using." The name registering in her mind, but Linda is far too distracted by how real Winn feels to remember why it should upset her. "You have to fight it."
"I don't want to." She argues
"No Snowie, please. I know everything seems perfect here, but you have to fight this." His voice is breaking now. Linda doesn't like that. Winn has suffered enough to be so heartbroken now. "Please Linda." He tries again his gaze pleading as it holds her own. "You have to wake up. if you don't—"
Rory gives a loud bark from the hallway startling the dazed blonde enough that she looks away for a fraction of a second. One quick twist of her head but it seemed to be enough considering when she looked back to ask Winn to repeat what he'd been saying he's gone.
Had he even come back to her at all? She wonders with a saddened sigh. But the flash of what she'd learned to be desire the kind only he brings out was still fresh. He had to have come back to her. Right?
"Told you so Sawyer." Alex's accompanying voice says following the dog into the kitchen.
"Nope, you said you smelled gingerbread Danvers, and this isn't gingerbread." Maggie chimes in sending the giggling Kaznian a playful wink as she and Alex take the chairs on the opposite side of the table as Eliza sets out more building materials for them.
J'onn and M'gann having moved their veggie chopping into the adjoining little sitting room to lessen the crowd in the kitchen. The Danvers mother taking over watching the cooking meal on the stove.
"Whatever," Alex grumbles pulling the chuckling detective onto her lap so the reunited couple could share the only open chair at the table.
"What I miss?"
Linda looks up at the voice.
Winn.
She's in front of him in seconds, drinking him in.
He was back in those DEO sweatpants he'd had on before as well as the dark red tank top that had Linda's mouthwatering the only new addition being a half-finished candy cane hanging between his teeth as she throws her arms around him needing to hold onto that warm happy feeling he'd brought with him.
"Missed you too., Snowie" He says his arms sliding around her waist to steady her, but it was off somehow.
Fake.
But why had it seemed so real before?
Winn's head jerks up from its pillowed place on his arms the rush of nothing but power naps and coffee having finally caught up with him. He'd wanted so badly to test his supposed link with their missing Snowbird, but something held him back. Too many unknowns he needed to know the answers to first.
Would it work if he was the one opening a connection?
Would she even realize he was trying to reach out?
Was he right looking into her mind like that? Even if it meant finding some way to track her down?
And the most important question of them all.
Why him? Why not Alex, or Maggie? Kara? Why had Linda picked him?
Seemed he hadn't been as careful as he'd thought in trying to stay awake long enough to find his anwsers.
"But I thought the tracker—" he heard someone saying only to be cut off by a grumpy looking Alex.
"The tracker is less to useless to us now." Winn hides a shudder behind a yawn at the more mechanical sounding voice. He hoped Alex wouldn't be needing the replacement in a few days given how much effort she'd been making to actually use her own voice again.
"I think I have a way to look for her without the tracker."
All eyes fall on him. Winn pauses making a self-conscious swipe at his mouth just in case he'd been drooling as he slept. "Linda and I we-erm." He wracks his mind
"Linked?" Alura offers with an understanding expression.
Winn nodes. "Yeah, she and I linked just now." He tells the room. "but this was different. I saw a woman and a boy with her along with a few of us I mean. Someone I didn't know. Someone, I don't think even she knows."
J'onn leans forward a question in his eyed but Winn is already nodding in consent knowing J'onn had been holding back on looking into his mind while he was asleep too worried that should he be probing Winn's mind when he linked with Linda the added strain of both minds would overwhelm their weakened Snowbird. "It's fading fast. Like trying to remember a dream."
"That's because it was a dream, Agent Schott." J'onn reminds him while Kara hands over a sketch pad and a pen. "Just do your best to remember them and we'll go from there." Winn takes a deep breath trying again to picture the strange duo as J'onn's hand flies over the open sketchbook pen in hand.
