POTUS

5

The first thing Alex realized when she came to, was that her head was hurting, and her ears were ringing. In what seemed like the far-off distance, she could hear muffled alarms and groans and screaming but, as she rotated her jaw, her hearing seemed to loosen up and things started to come back into focus. The air was hot and smoky, and papers were drifting all around in the air displacement from the small fires throughout the area. To her utter shock, she didn't think she was hurt and she shifted a little, testing her arms and legs and wiggling her fingers and toes.

Kara's body on top of her wasn't overly heavy, but the agent was obviously unconscious since she was totally slack. Then Alex had a terrifying thought. What if Kara wasn't just unconscious? The president tried to look around. She turned her head to the left and found a clear view out into the destroyed conference hall. On the missile's impact, the podium had shattered and littered them both with debris, but Alex got the distinct impression that it may have been the thing that'd saved their lives. They were shoved up against the bottom wall of the window, moved by the shock wave of the impact.

"Kara," she said into her friend's ear. "Can you hear me? It's time to wake up." There was no response, so she gently shook the agent, willing her to be ok. "Kara? Come on, Sweetheart. Time to wake up."

And then Alex almost fainted with relief when Kara stirred and groaned softly. "Fuck," she said. "Who dropped a damn anvil on us?"

"Roadrunner," the brunette replied. "Kara, where are you hurt?"

"I… I don't think I am," the agent said. She tested her arms by lifting her weight off the president's chest and she was able to press herself to the side, but as she did so, she saw blood on Alex's torso and gasped. "Alex, I think you're bleeding."

The president managed to sit up and she shook her head. "No, I'm not h…" She stopped suddenly though as she looked at Kara. "Shit. Kara, I think…" She pulled the agent's jacket aside and then gently encouraged her to ease over onto her back. "A piece of the podium impaled your side," she said. "It's fairly deep and we should get it removed at a hosp…" She stopped as the agent reached down and pulled the shard out with a grimace. "Or we could just do that," the brunette sighed, taking her jacket off and pressing it to the agent's side in an attempt to reduce the bleeding.

Kara brought her hand mic to her mouth, pushing the sudden pain back with purpose. "Secret Service," she said. "This is Lee. Sound off." She heard nothing but static for a long, terrifying moment.

"Rhodes. I'm alive but I can't walk. I think my leg is broken."

"Stafford. I think I'm ok."

"Goliath. I think my face is broken... but it might be an improvement."

Kara couldn't help but laugh softly. "Good to hear your voices. I have Supergirl. She's unhurt. Does anyone have eyes on Feeney?" There was no reply and Kara's eyes closed in worry. "Ok, let's rendezvous at Rhodes' location since he can't walk. Where are you, Rhodes?"

"I got blown clear down the room. I'm somewhere near the back entrance. I can see it to my left."

"Ok," Kara said. "Everyone make their way to Rhodes. First responders should be arriving any second now."

The agents all acknowledged, and Kara struggled to get to her feet with Alex's help. "We have Rhodes, Stafford and Taylor. Nothing from Feeney so keep your eyes open for him, Alex, ok?"

The agent was unsteady on her feet, so the president wrapped her arm around her, trying to keep her jacket pressed to the wound. "We'll find him," she said. "Where are we going?"

"Back of the room, right side of the rear exit."

"Ok, lean on me. We can make it," the brunette said gently.

Kara took a deep breath and then blew it out. "It hurts," she said, matter-of-factly.

"I know," Alex replied. "We just have to make it to the exit, and we can meet the paramedics on their way in. They'll give you some good drugs for the pain. Hey, I gave my phone to Tally to hold on to. Do you have yours?"

The agent tried her pockets but shook her head. "No, I don't know where it is. I must have lost it at some point."

"Ok," the president nodded. "Let's go."

By some miracle, the stage had actually survived, and the two women walked slowly down the three steps and along the aisle toward the rear exit. The center of the ground-floor room was one giant crater and Kara closed her eyes as she saw all the shattered bodies and lifeless eyes peering up at them. Then she looked up to see a huge hole torn in the roof above them. "Jesus," she said. "Who would do this, Alex?"

"Someone who thought they'd take advantage of the gathering of a lot of important people in one place." The president stopped walking for a moment and looked down. "That's Karkarov."

Kara grimaced, her stomach suddenly queasy. "How can you tell?"

"His ring," Alex replied, shaking her head. "I noticed it when he tried to feel me up earlier."

"Shit," the agent sighed. They kept walking through the thick smoke. Kara stumbled a little, but the president had a firm grip on her and carried her weight for a few steps before she found her footing again. "Sorry, I'm the one supposed to be protecting you." She shook her head disgustedly at herself.

Alex stopped them again and turned into the agent's chest. "You DID protect me, Kara. I probably wouldn't have survived if you hadn't made it to me. I would have died alone." Her breath hitched and she captured the agent's face between her hands to look into her eyes. "You did everything you could."

"Alex," Kara whispered, her fingertips hovering over the brunette's lips. "I… I…"

"I know," the president replied, as she slowly leaned in and pressed their foreheads together. It made Kara's breath hitch and tears rise in her eyes. "Come on," Alex went on. "We should keep moving."

The agent nodded and wiped her face, then leaned on the president again as they resumed their trip through the debris and blood and body parts. First responders were swarming into the room now and the noise level increased but sudden shouting made her worry ramp up another notch. Kara brought her mic to her mouth again. "Secret Service," she said. "What's going on?"

But she ducked suddenly, taking Alex with her as automatic gunfire sounded out. "What the hell?!" the president hissed. "What now?!"

"Madam President," Kara replied. "I think whoever fired the missile has come to finish the job or maybe to check that the missile achieved its goal."

Brown eyes widened. "Do you think I was the target?

"Possibly," the agent replied succinctly. "You've been pretty outspoken against the fossil fuel companies. Either way, we need to get you out of here." She groaned a little then as pain from her wound left her short of breath. "Secret Service, change of plan," she got out through gritted teeth into her mic. "Plan Delta. Someone help Rhodes." But there was only static. "Secret Service, sound off," she ordered. Still static. She looked at Alex. "I don't know what's happening," she said. "But no one is responding." More gunshots rang out. "We have to get you out of here right now. Come on."

Alex just nodded. "Maybe comms are just down."

"I hope that's all it is," the agent replied as they got to their feet and, staying low, moved through the debris field toward the side exit of the room to slip out and leave the gunshots and screams behind.

Xx

"This isn't where I expected to spend my evening," President Danvers said as she pushed Kara's jacket off and then lifted her shirt to look at her wound. They'd stumbled upon a staff bathroom with a solid door lock and had ducked into it when it was clear that Kara needed to rest. The agent was pale, and Alex knew the loss of blood was starting to get serious. "Ok…" she said. "It's not a very big wound but it's deep. She rounded a small wall to grab some paper towels and sucked in a breath in surprise. "Holy shit, Kara, there's a first aid kit!"

"Th-that's good," the agent replied, blinking with devastating innocence. "See if it has any ice-cream… or some of that excellent Swiss chocolate."

The president chuckled. "I see you haven't lost your sense of humor."

"Of course not," Kara said with a smile as she slid down the wall to sit on the floor. "Might as well die laughing, right?"

"You're not dying, Kara."

"S-sorry… bad j-joke." The agent was shivering, and Alex worked quickly to open the kit and sort through its contents. "Ok… let's see what we have here." She pulled out bandages and self-adhering gauze. "Ok, this is going to hurt, but I need to get pressure on this wound."

Kara nodded as she shifted to lie down. She closed her pained blue eyes. "Do it."

Then she almost passed out as the president pressed a gauze pad down as hard as she could and adhered it into place on Kara's skin. Then Alex grabbed the bandage roll and wrapped it around her friend's waist as tightly as she could without impeding her breathing. "Jesus…" the agent groaned, hand fisting and relaxing as she tried to deal with the pain.

"Ok… it's ok… I've got you," the president said softly as she sat on the floor and eased Kara's upper body into her lap. "Just rest for a minute."

"No," the blonde protested weakly. "We have to get you out of here. It's not safe."

"We will," Alex said with a soft smile as she caressed Kara's cheek. "Just rest for a minute and get your strength back."

A moment later, Kara was unconscious in her arms.

Xx

"Have they found her yet?" Winn demanded as he paced frantically back and forth, phone glued to his ear. "What do you mean she's not there?! She was at the damn podium when the missile hit! WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?!" He paused and listened. "How many?" He listened again. "All of them?" he whispered. "All of the Secret Service agents are dead? Oh my God. So the president… Oh… Lee? If Lee is still alive, then POTUS is with her, I can practically guarantee it. FIND THEM!"

The Chief of Staff shook his head as he hung up and stepped closer to the gurney on which the lifeless, ruined body of Tally Johannsen lay. "I'm sorry, Kid," he murmured, tears rising in his eyes as he rested his palm on her forehead. "I'm so fucking sorry."

Then he dialed a number, which was immediately picked up. "Vice President Mathers, this is the president's chief of staff, Winslow Schott," Winn said formally. "POTUS still hasn't been located. I don't know yet if she's dead or alive but Special Agent Lee is also missing so it's possible that they're together and in hiding. However, we need to invoke the twenty-fifth amendment, and have you sworn in as acting president until we know for sure what's going on."

"Understood, Chief of Staff Schott, I'll get the ball rolling. Let me know the instant you know anything."

"Yes, Sir, Mr. Vice President. Thank you."

Winn hung up the phone and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Where are you, Alex?" he whispered.

Xx

Kara drifted into consciousness to the feeling of fingers combing gently through her hair against her scalp, and she sighed softly as she floated for a long, pleasurable moment. "Lena," she murmured. The fingers stopped for a moment and then resumed their movement.

"No, Honey, it's Alex."

Suddenly the pain and fear came rushing back and Kara jerked into full wakefulness. She looked up into brown eyes and shook her head a little. "Alex, I'm sorry."

The president smiled. "You have nothing to be sorry for. How are you feeling? You've got some color back."

"How long was I out?" the agent asked, wincing as she sat up a little to rest more comfortably against the president's chest. She noticed that her gun was sitting next to Alex's right hand on the floor.

"Only about twenty minutes. There was some movement out in the corridor, but no one tried to get in."

"Ok, good," Kara nodded. "We should get moving. We need to get in contact with Chief of Staff Schott. I'm pretty sure he's had the twenty-fifth amendment invoked by now, but we still need to get you to safety." She managed to get herself up onto her feet and felt stronger than she had before. "That's an impressive field dressing, Ma'am," she grinned as she lifted her ruined shirt to look at her side. The bandage showed a bloodstain but was far from soaked through.

"Thank you, Agent Lee," the president chuckled as she got up herself, stomping her feet to return the circulation to her legs from the cold tile floor. "Ready to move?"

Kara accepted her gun back and checked its clip. "Ready." Alex nodded, and waited for the agent to unlock the door and slowly ease it open. Then Kara looked up and down the corridor. "Clear."

They stepped out into the quiet and Alex put her hand on Kara's left shoulder to walk behind her as the agent moved rapidly forward, gun extended. They reached a T-junction. They were still in a maintenance corridor and the small, metal map screwed to the wall told them that left would take them back to the destroyed hall where all the noise and activity was, but right would take them toward the lobby and potentially a command center for the police and first responders. Kara chanced a look left as Alex looked right, and the president patted the agent's shoulder to indicate it was clear.

Kara took a right and they were a few steps along the corridor when a voice suddenly sounded out behind them in a heavy accent. "Don't move, Bitches. I've got them. Maintenance corr..." But before the man had a chance to finish his sentence, Alex had spun and sprinted to him to slam her shoulder into his chest and shove him against the wall. She punched him and then grabbed his arm, twisting it and using her hip as leverage to throw him to the floor. Then she kicked him in the head knocking him unconscious. Alex chuckled as she took his gun, checked its clip and safety and shoved it into the front of her pants. Then she turned to look at Kara. "Pansy ass..."

But the agent was right there in her personal space, blue eyes half-lidded with desire... and then Alex's back was against the wall as Kara grabbed her face and surged forward to kiss her, pouring every ounce of passion and need and frustration she'd been feeling for weeks into it.

The president whimpered desperately as she returned the kiss, one hand clenching into Kara's hair and the other at the small of her back to pull her impossibly closer. When they finally wound down, breathing hard and foreheads pressed together, Kara caressed Alex's cheeks with her thumbs. "I probably shouldn't have done that… but you are fucking amazing," she whispered, dropping little kisses on the president's forehead, eyelids and nose.

Alex grinned, pecking the agent's lips playfully. "So are you but... as much as I'd love more of this... we need to move."

The blonde nodded as she eased back and looked up and down the corridor again. "You're right. This way."

Both armed this time, they made their way toward the lobby and came to a large double door. Alex pressed her back to one half, while Kara put her hand on the handle. "Three, two, one."

Kara jerked the door open, and Alex quickly moved through it, gun raised as she twisted her torso right and then left. "Clear," she said, disappointed to find it was another maintenance corridor, but she continued onward with the agent behind her. Suddenly though, she stopped and dropped to one knee, fist raised. Kara stopped and crouched behind her, hand on her shoulder as they listened to the voices approaching from another corridor. Alex looked over her shoulder, lifted her eyebrows and held up two fingers. Kara nodded and they crept forward to wait for the two men to reach them.

"That chief of staff guy will have an aneurism if we don't find her," one man said to the other, his soft French accent lilting. "We've been all over these maintenance corridors. What's last on the list?"

"D," the other man replied. "If they ARE alive, I hope they didn't get lost. This place is a maze."

The president chuckled and stepped into their view, gun raised. "Luckily, Special Agent Lee and I are good at following signs. Who are you?"

The two men's eyes widened. "Mon Dieu! Madame Présidente! Are you ok?" the first man said.

"Peachy," Alex replied. "Agent Lee, on the other hand, is leaking." Kara chuckled softly as she leaned a hand against the wall and nodded. "I asked you who you are."

"La Police Genevoise," the other man replied. "Geneva Police. We were tasked with finding you."

"Où sont les agents des Services Secrets du président?" Kara asked, eyes narrowed.

Alex blinked. "How many languages do you actually speak?" she asked, impressed.

"Three fluently in addition to English," Kara replied. Then she looked back at the men. "Answer me."

"I'm sorry," the first man said, looking down. "The Secret Service agents were all killed in the gunfight after the missile exploded."

Kara's breath whooshed out and she stifled a whimper as she felt like she'd been kicked in the chest. "Agent Lee," Alex began softly, but the blonde held up her hand.

"Madam President, we need to get you back to the world." Then she looked at the police officers. "Lead us out of here. Take us to the president's chief of staff."

The men just nodded and walked on.

Xx

"Oh my God! Madam President!" Winn exclaimed as he ran to Alex and crushed her in his arms. "Thank God. Thank God."

"I'm ok," the president replied, rubbing his back gently. "Is everyone else, ok? Where's Tally?"

Winn shook his head sadly and Alex moved away from him, rubbing her hands over her face. "No," she whispered.

Across the conference room, Kara was standing with her back to them. "Did they get all the terrorists? Alex took one out near the west side of maintenance corridor D."

"Yeah, the Swiss Police picked him up along with the others. Most of them died in the gunfight."

"What's the number of casualties?" the agent asked.

"Three hundred and forty-six... so far," the chief of staff said quietly. "They're still cataloging body parts."

Kara was silent for a long moment and then she surged forward and slammed her fist into a picture on the wall, shattering it and then watching it crash onto the floor. "FUCK!"

"Hey..." Alex crossed the room, wanting desperately to comfort her friend but unsure if her touch would be welcome. "Kara..."

The agent slowly turned and looked at the president, blue eyes shimmering with tears she refused to let fall. "Goliath's wife is seven months pregnant. How do I tell her that her sweet husband is dead, Alex?"

Alex stepped closer, holding the agent by the hips. "We'll tell her together... and Feeney's family... Rhodes'... Stafford's and Tally's." Winn watched quietly as his best friend pressed her forehead against the agent's. "You're not alone in this."

Just then, there was a knock at the door and Kara pulled away, quickly wiping her eyes and clearing her throat as she put a respectful distance between herself and the president. Alex closed her eyes and centered herself as it opened to admit the Geneva Chief of Police. "Excuse me," he said. "I have been asked to inform you that a motorcade is waiting to bring you to Airforce One, Madam President."

"Merci, Monsieur, nous vous remercions de votre temps," Kara replied. Then she looked at Alex. "What do you want to do, Madam President? Go home or stay?"

Alex looked at Winn. "Was the vice president sworn in as acting president?" she asked.

"No, it was supposed to be an hour from now but it's no longer necessary. Everyone's relieved that you're safe."

"Then I want to stay. Kara needs to be treated at a hospital and I want to bring Tally and the Secret Service agents home with us. I'm not leaving anyone behind."

Kara looked back to the Police Chief. "Please, Sir... I'd be very grateful if you could have the president's limousine guarded in a safe location. I don't have..." She paused a moment and swallowed. "I don't have any agents to take care of it ourselves at the moment."

The man nodded, his face gentling. "Of course, Agent Lee. It would be our honor." He shook hands with her, nodded respectfully to the president and Winn, and then headed out.

There was quiet in the room for a long moment and then Alex blew out a long breath. "I need some fucking chocolate." Then she looked at Kara. "Let's get you to the hospital."

The blonde nodded and followed the president to the door. Then she stopped and shook her head. "Wait, I can't... there'll be no one to protect you."

Alex ached to touch the devastated agent. "I'm coming with you. I don't go anywhere without you, remember?"

And Kara just offered her a small, grateful smile.

Xx

"Are you really ok?" Winn asked as Alex paced back and forth outside Kara's treatment room. The agent hadn't taken her eyes off her, but they winced every now and then as the doctor stitched her up.

"No... I'm not even CLOSE to ok," the president replied. "Hundreds of people are dead. Five people gave their lives for me, including a young woman who didn't even fucking sign up for that... and Kara..." Alex sighed. "Kara is barely holding it together and I can't even hold her."

"Something happened between you," the chief of staff said gently.

"Yeah..." The president looked away and folded her arms. "I realized... when I was terrified that she was dead after the missile hit..." She trailed off and looked at the agent's exhausted face. "I just... want to be with her. So badly. So, when she kissed me…"

"You let her?"

"No… I kissed her back."

Winn chuckled softly. "Called it."

"Screw you," Alex replied but a little grin pulled at her lips. She took a deep breath then. "Do the CIA or NSA have any idea who did this?"

The chief of staff shook his head. "Not yet. The weird thing is that there wasn't any reported chatter about it on the dark web. It had to have been a private hush job."

"Winn, how did Kara and I survive a fucking missile blowing up a conference hall?" the president said after a moment.

"Thankfully… poor planning on behalf of the terrorists. Preliminary reports indicate that the trajectory of the missile sent most of its energy into the floor. If you'd been sitting in your seat instead of speaking at the podium…"

"You'd be cleaning me up with a sponge," Alex murmured. "Jesus Christ."

Just then, Kara exited the treatment room, jacket over her arm as she held her hand against her wound. "It hurts more now than it did when I was wearing your field dressing," she chuckled as Alex gave her a worried look. "It's ok," she added softly. "I'm ok."

The president nodded and looked at her watch, noting how late it was getting, before looking back to Winn. "Is there anything else that needs to be done tonight or should we just head back to the hotel and try to get some sleep?"

"I think you've earned some sleep," the chief of staff replied. "Both of you have."

"C'mon, Madam President," Kara said. "Let's get you back to the hotel."

Xx

It was dim and quiet in the president's suite and Kara spent a few minutes making sure it was safe before letting her friend move away from the door. "If you need anything, I'll be right outside," she said as she let her eyes meet Alex's reassuringly.

But the brunette slowly moved back toward her, stopping in front of her to take her hand and bring her knuckles to her lips. "I NEED you to stay with me," she said very quietly, keeping their eyes locked.

"Alex…" Kara swallowed hard. "I can't…"

But the president shook her head and kissed her knuckles again. "I'm not asking for sex, Kara. I just need you close to me. Will you stay?"

And Kara wanted to stay. She wanted to stay with every fiber of her being. "Alright," she replied on the ghost of a whisper. The president smiled and led her by the hand to the bedroom, where she slipped out of her jacket and changed into a long t-shirt to sleep in, noting with a charmed smile, how Kara kept her eyes averted as she sat on the bed and took her boots off.

The president knelt on the mattress behind her and wrapped her arms around her shoulders to murmur in her ear. "I can't tell you how sorry I am for your loss, Kara."

The agent's breath hitched, and she nodded, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she turned her head and looked at Alex, trying to communicate with her eyes. She just didn't know what to say but she knew the president understood when the same pain was echoed in the brunette's brown eyes. "And I'm so sorry about Tally," she replied after a moment.

Alex looked away. "She wanted to bring her mom back Swiss chocolate," she murmured. "I should do that for her."

"Yeah," Kara agreed, reaching back to caress the president's tears away with her thumb. "We should definitely do that."

"Kara…"

"I know," the agent whispered. She got up and turned to kneel on the bed to face the president, cupping her face between her hands. Then she leaned in and kissed her… slowly… gently… with aching need and a restraint that she didn't know she was capable of. "You're so beautiful," she whispered then. "Outside and in."

"Oh God… you too."

Alex's breath was stolen then, and her hands moved to Kara's waist as she shuffled closer to kiss her again. She tasted salty moisture and suddenly realized that their tears were mixing. It made her kiss the agent even deeper and, when they finally parted, Kara pulled off her shirt and pants and tugged back the bedcovers to slip under them and open her arms to the president. Alex crawled to her and snuggled against her, hand caressing her stomach above the waistband of her underwear and thumb brushing her navel as she closed her eyes and sighed softly. The agent settled the blankets around them and tenderly kissed the brunette's forehead as she held her tightly. "Goodnight, Alex."

"Goodnight, Kara."

And the most powerful woman in the world had never felt as protected and safe as she did in that moment.