Summary:

There is a thief in Town.

Lena struggles after the incident at the barn.

Alex discovers who told Maxwell his secret.

It had been a week since the incident at the barn. Alex and Lena were preparing to get into bed. Alex was there in his vest and underpants, Lena was wearing her undergarments and had just finished brushing her teeth, she was about to get into bed when Alex stepped up behind her and wrapped his warm arms around her, "I love you baby," he whispered in Lena's ear.

Lena shuffled out of his embrace and got into bed, she lay on her side, pointing away from her husband. It had been like this all week. And now Alex was getting really worried about her. He got into bed and gently wrapped an arm around her from behind.

"Lena, are you okay?" Alex rarely used her name, it was mostly the cute pet names he used, like Baby, or hun'.

Lena sighed, "I'm just tired Alex, go to sleep."

Alex removed his arm, turned over and lay on his back. He looked up at the ceiling, which he could just see because there was a full moon tonight and it lit up their room. And his mind was racing, ever since that day a week ago Lena had not wanted to be intimate with him. They didn't even share any soft kisses, no tender touches. Alex knew Lena wasn't usually like this, but he didn't know what to do to help her, he wasn't very good when it came to feelings at the best of times, never mind deeper ones like this. Alex turned on his side, away from Lena and tried to sleep.

Lena lay there unable to sleep, when she felt Alex was sleeping she reached for her handkerchief on the bedside table and wiped her eyes. She hadn't slept well at all since the incident with Maxwell. Every time she closed her eyes all she could see was his smirking face. So in turn every time Alex tried to touch her all she could think about was Maxwell. She decided the best thing to do was keep her distance as much as she could, because it wasn't fair on Alex to be making love with him while remembering horrible things. She wiped a few more stray tears away and closed her eyes, willing sleep to come and hoping for no nightmares.

The next morning Alex went to work, meeting Kara outside the Marshal's office. Whilst Lena stayed at the Saloon and helped out in the kitchen. She would usually go down to the stables, do the horses and then make sure the workmen had everything they needed as they completed the build of the house. But she couldn't be around men right now, and she kept getting serious flashbacks every time she went to the stables.

"Hi Kara, are you ready for another day of collecting taxes and clearing drunks off the streets?" Alex asked as he put the key in the door of the Marshal's office and unlocked it.

"Sure am," Kara smiled. Alex had given her a uniform of sorts, beige trousers, white shirt, and a brown Sheriff's hat.

Once inside the office Alex went about checking for telegraphs. Kara took a seat and waited for further instructions.

"So," Alex said across the room from her, "How do you like being the new town Sheriff?"

"I love it Alex!" Kara replied enthusiastically, "Thank you for hiring me."

"No worries sis, you're really good at it," Alex smiled.

Alex came through with a couple of telegraph messages and sat down at his desk.

"How's Lena?" Kara then asked. She had been so worried about her friend and hadnt seen much of her as she was either hiding in her room or working in the Saloon kitchen away from the men in the bar.

Alex frowned, "Funny you should ask, she hasn't been herself."

"Oh? Is it because of what happened?" Kara leaned forward on Alex's desk.

Alex sighed and nodded, "She's closed herself off and she won't talk to me. It's been a week Kar, and I don't know what to do or say to make her feel better. I really miss her." His heart ached as he spoke.

Kara sighed, "Do you want me to talk to her?"

"Would you?"

"Of course, do you want me to go and see her now?" Kara said, going to stand. Eager to help her brother and her friend.

"Sure, let me know how you get on? There isn't much to do here right now anyway," Alex looked up at his sister with a worried look on his face.

"I will," Kara gave him a small smile and made her way out.

While Kara went to see Lena, Alex read the telegraphs, there was one from J'onn back in National City's Sheriff's Office.

Marshal,

I looked into your concerns but I couldn't find anything on this end. I think it must be someone in Midvale, be careful. Hope you and the wife are well.

Sheriff Jonzz.

Alex read the next one from the Marshal's Office headquarters.

Marshal Danvers,

At your request we will leave matters to you in Midvale. If you need anything let us know immediately. We are putting our trust in you knowing you are fully competent.

Alex put them in his desk drawer and made his way out to do his rounds around town and make sure all the locals were behaving. He stepped outside into the dusty hot street of Midvale town centre and looked across at Maxwell's Store with the closed sign on it. Alex needed to find out who would be taking it over now the man was deceased. He was walking along the dirt road when one of the locals came running up to him.

"Marshal?" He called.

"Yes?" Alex looked to the man.

"There's a thieving son of a bitch in this town," he claimed annoyed.

"What? What are you talking about? And who are you?" Alex asked, confused.

"The name is Charles, I live downtown, someone stole some of our valuables in the night," He replied.

Alex looked thoughtful, "Hm, you ain't the only one, a few people have reported similar things this week."

"So what are you gonna do about it Marshal?" The man looked pissed and was chewing on tobacco.

"Did you see anyone?" Alex asked.

"A kid, this high," he said raising his hand just below his waist, "I didn't see the kid's face, I'm guessing some homeless scavenger."

"I'll keep a lookout, and the Sheriff too, you don't need to worry about that, we will find out who is doing it," Alex told him, "I have got to go."

Alex walked on leaving the disgruntled man standing in the street unconvinced.

Lena was in the kitchen cooking when the new Sheriff walked up to the bar and called out for her.

"Can you finish this Sam?" Lena asked her assistant Samantha Arias.

Sam took over for Lena, and Lena stepped out and into the Saloon to where Kara was waiting for her.

"Take a seat Sheriff," Lena smiled at her new friend in her uniform, "That looks good on you."

"Thank you," Kara smiled proudly, "even the hat fits."

They both sat down and Lena called over to Sam to bring them a pot of tea.

"So what can I do for you Kara or is this just a social call?"

Kara took a deep breath, she wasn't sure how Lena was going to take this so she wasn't at all that happy about asking, but it had to be said. Kara decided to ease into the topic gently.

"Are you okay Lena?"

Lena smiled, "Of course, why?"

"You can be honest with me, we're friends," Kara prodded gently.

Lena sighed and was about to speak when Sam arrived with their pot of herbal tea and two cups.

"Thanks Sam," Lena smiled and then took the pot and poured two cups.

"I mean it Lena, you can talk to me about anything, and I won't even tell Alex if you don't want me too," Kara reassured her friend.

Lena sat back and considered what she was going to say, she did trust Kara and she was her best friend in Midvale apart from Andrea, and well she couldn't really talk to her right now.

"I keep thinking about last week, about Max and what he tried to do to me," Lena finally whispered over the table to Kara.

"Well, that is understandable," Kara said, "you are sure to be traumatised, but why aren't you talking to Alex about this?"

"He's a man Kara, a very proud one. I don't know if he would understand," Lena sighed and looked down at her cup, then she took a sip and hoped it would calm her, "don't get me wrong, Alex is very kind, attentive, loving man but when it comes to sharing his feelings…"

Kara nodded, "I know, he isn't the best. But this time, give him a chance to understand, I am sure he's learnt a lot since he met you. He is so worried about you Lena, I see it in his face every day at the office."

"You're right, I know. Maybe I am not giving him enough credit where it is due," Lena replied thinking about it, "he has changed a lot since we first met."

"See," Kara smiled and took a sip of tea, "this is good tea, Cat would like this."

"You and Cat should come over for dinner sometime," Lena smiled, "Or lunch, whatever you fancy."

"We would like that," Kara smiled, "so, have you been having bad dreams too?"

"Not so much," Lena replied, "that is one good thing, the problem is I keep seeing the man's evil face when I close my eyes, and I keep remembering what he tried to do," Lena shivered, "it was horrible Kara."

"I know, but maybe talking about it will help?" Kara told her.

"Maybe, I guess I can try and talk to Alex tonight," Lena finally agreed, "he doesn't deserve my silence. He has been so good this week, he hasn't pressured me once."

"He always was thoughtful and considerate, I think it comes from growing up with two women in the house," Kara smiled.

"You are probably right," Lena smiled back at her friend, suddenly feeling much lighter, "Thank you Kara, this talk helped."

Kara smiled and finished her tea, "And now I best get back to work."

The two said their goodbyes and Lena went back to the kitchen to clean up after the morning rush.

Alex meanwhile was checking out the local houses and asking if they had seen a child, Alex was guessing from the description that man gave him, around eight years of age. That was when Alex found out a few more homes had visits from the strange kid, and those houses were also robbed of valuables too. Afterwards Alex made his way home with a quick stop at the office to see Kara.

"Hi Kara," Alex said as he walked in and found his sister was sitting on his chair behind his desk, "How did it go with Lena?"

Kara sat up, "Do you want your chair?"

"No, you're fine, I'm not stopping," Alex stood and waited to hear if it was good or bad news from Kara.

"Well, I think I know what the issue is," Kara said, "but Lena is going to talk to you tonight."

"Oh," Alex looked at Kara puzzled, "how about giving me a clue here? Cos I ain't got one."

Kara wrinkled her nose at Alex, "She's struggling with what happened to her, okay?"

Alex shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet, suddenly finding the floor very interesting, "You mean with Max?"

"Yes, Alex please look at me," Kara told her brother, Alex looked up, "You need to listen to her, you can't just forget something like that. It can haunt you."

Alex sighed, "I know, I just don't know how to deal with it."

"Just listen, Lena will come to you, you will know what to do when the time is right, be there for her when she needs you to." Kara softly smiled. She loved her brother but he hadn't got much clue about women's emotions. He truly was a man.

"I will and thanks for talking to her, it probably helped her more than I could have done," Alex turned to leave, "I'll leave you to lock up, I have to go do the horses before I head on home."

After doing the horses and checking on the building work Alex made his way back to the Saloon, he couldn't stop fretting about what he was going to say to Lena. On his way he passed Lillian's Brothel and looked over, he saw Maggie and Eve sitting outside in the evening sun chatting, that was when he suddenly remembered something. The night he had gone to the brothel with Maxwell Lord, the night he was drunk out of his head, Maggie had tried to get him interested in her. Alex began to piece the details together, he had slumped down in a chair in the room drunk and Maggie came over to him and started to unbuckle his belt, then she opened his pants. Alex's stomach churned as he remembered her touching the bulge in his underwear. He had tried to tell her to stop, that he didn't want her, but she kept going and found what was hidden there. And as realistic as it looked Maggie knew it wasn't real. She had stepped back in shock and gasped at him.

"What the hell!" She had cursed, "Did you have an accident or are you… a woman?"

Alex had been too drunk to know what on earth she was talking about, he did up his pants quickly, and told her he wasn't interested, again, and that he needed to get out of there and get back to his wife. Alex had stood on wobbly feet, he went to leave when Lillian had walked in on them.

"Shit!" Alex cursed as he walked faster towards the Saloon, "Maggie knows! It must have been her who told max!"