Conversations on a Balcony

91

A/N: Chupeydupey asked: "Reader request...can we see an Abby spends time with aunt Alex on a balcony? I think Alex is probably blown away by how intelligent her niece is."

Not sure if this is exactly what you had in mind but ask and you shall receive! The weather is cold and wet here and I'm feeling a little melancholic.


Aunt Alex was sitting on the small couch on the penthouse's living room balcony with Abby snuggled in her lap against her chest. Even through all the closed doors, Alex could hear Kara crying and she closed her eyes as her own tears rose and trickled down her cheeks.

"Aunt Alex, is /:ieiu/ ok?" the little girl asked worriedly. Then she lifted her blue eyes to look at her aunt in dismay. "Are YOU ok?"

The director had to swallow before she could answer. "Something bad happened today. /:ieiu/ and I got some bad news but we'll be ok."

"What bad news?" Abby asked, placing her hand very gently against Alex's cheek. "Is it something bad with Olivia?"

"Oh no," Alex replied, summoning a reassuring smile as she took Abby's hand and kissed her fingers. "No, Liv is completely fine, Baby Girl."

"Then what?"

Alex took a moment to gather her thoughts. "You know how /:ieiu/ and I believe that helping people and saving them is very important?" she asked.

"Yeah," the little girl nodded.

"Well, today, we were trying to help people and, unfortunately, someone didn't make it. That person was a very good friend of your /:ieiu/'s and mine. We're both just very, very sad."

The older Danvers closed her eyes as her niece wordlessly hugged her. Alex and Kara had become close with Trainee Agent Clarence, a young woman with the brightest smile and biggest heart of all the new agents, after her mother had been diagnosed with cancer and she'd needed someone to confide in.

Today, that huge heart had stopped beating when a giant alien lizard, Kara was fighting, had fallen on her and crushed her under its weight. Kara had screamed out her horror as she'd lifted the beast off their friend. But it had been too late. Joa Clarence would never smile again.

And Kara was taking that responsibility, and the blame for it, squarely on her own shoulders, crying devastated sobs into her wife's neck in their bedroom.

There was quiet for a moment and then Abby looked up again. "Aunt Alex… did your friend believe that saving people is important too?" she asked.

"Yes, Joa believed that saving and helping people is the MOST important thing."

"Then," the little girl mused. "Then she died doing something that was very important to her. I'm sad she died, but I'm happy that she died doing very good things." She paused thoughtfully. "Mommy and /:ieiu/ always say that we should always do only good things."

Alex blinked, unable to speak for a long moment. Then she shook her head and kissed her niece's cheek. "How old are you, Kid?" she asked softly.

Abby held up four fingers. "Four."

The director chuckled. "How old are you really?"

Abby frowned. "Four, Silly!"

And Alex just wrapped her up in a tighter hug and let her tears fall.