It's been years.
God, it's been years.
They'd broken up three years ago – and the last time she saw Maggie was about two years ago, when a joint taskforce brought them into the same briefing room.
The reunion had been short. The NCPD was only advising on the case, and Maggie was just there to tie up any loose ends. A brief nod and an exchange of 'how are you – I'm good's later, and Maggie was out the door.
Two years since she'd seen the woman she had vowed to spend the rest of her life with.
Alex had attempted other dates – but neither the apps nor the blind dates her coworkers and friends set her up with worked out. The closest she got to something stable was the sixth date with a woman named Casey, a prosecutor. They shared many common interests, and she was genuinely interested in Alex's work. But in the end, both their busy schedules made it impossible to keep the casual dating going – and neither seemed ready for the next step.
With Maggie, conflicting schedules worked out. They saw each other on crime scenes or stolen lunch dates.
Alex realized at a certain point that she just didn't want to put the effort into any woman that wasn't Maggie.
And Maggie – well. Two years ago had been the last she'd heard of her. She'd gone completely off the radar. Alex was 99% convinced she'd actually moved away from National City, because living in the same city meant bumping into each other at least once every blue moon, right?
The last time Alex was going through a rough patch, she called Kara to her apartment, and asked if she could go check up on Maggie, just to know that she was still alive. For all the agent knew, she could have been KIA or lying dead in her apartment with nobody left to notice.
Kara had taken a deep breath, and explained that when Alex and Maggie had broken up, Kara had offered to help her move. Maggie had declined, but had invited her to grab a coffee.
And had asked Kara to stop checking up on her.
"Forget my heartbeat." She had asked the superhero. "I know you can't, but just pretend you can. I can't deal with that anymore."
Alex had sobbed upon hearing it. In the breakup, Maggie had not only lost her, but lost her friends as well. Being the loner type, it seemed that Kara, Winn, J'onn, Lena… were the first people that Maggie had to casually hang out with in a long time.
Had.
Kara, who had much more contact with the NCPD than Alex, had admitted that she too hadn't seen Maggie in at least months.
"I know it hurts, but it's not your responsibility anymore." Kara had said.
"But what if something happens to her? She's got nob—" Alex had cut herself off, feeling a deep, dark well of emotions threatening to spill over once again.
Only the thought of Maggie made her feel that way anymore.
Two years later, and she still had no idea.
Until one fateful day in December.
The holidays were coming up, and National City had been hit with unusually bad weather. Icy winds, torrential rains and hailstorms had been causing damage all around the city.
Kara had been helping wherever she could – taking days off work to go full superhero mode, working pretty much around the clock.
Thankfully, in part due to the weather conditions, field work had been relatively quiet for Alex. She mostly traded her bulletproof vest for a lab coat, helping in the Biotech labs and researching alien physiology.
She spent most of the time at the DEO, sometimes staying the night on the couch in her office.
There was nothing to go home to anyway.
Not that she minded. While it had taken a while to reset her brain back from the domesticity that her stable relationship with Maggie had brought – single Alex was living for the job once more, and the results were staggering.
She'd gotten a lot more work done. And it hadn't gone unnoticed – a few months ago, she was officially promoted to Director of the National City DEO field office.
J'onn had offered her the job as soon as he knew she was ready, and had wished her all the best – before leaving for the airport. With his alien background and skillset, he had wanted to do long-term undercover work for a long time now, but his position at the DEO had always sabotaged that wish.
Alex was all too eager to hand him whatever assignment he wanted.
Sporadic check-ups from the last few weeks showed him all over the map – Bucharest, Seoul, Nairobi… whatever he was working on, he seemed to be having the time of his life.
Alex couldn't feel prouder.
As for her own responsibility – nothing changed much. She called the shots – she could lead her own strike teams or delegate, at her own discretion.
It was a good system.
The only issue was that she didn't really have a hand above her head anymore. Somebody to keep her in check.
Kara tried, but they both knew Kara wasn't the dominant one between the two of them. Being the older sister, Alex almost felt it natural that she didn't listen to a word Kara said.
Thankfully – there hadn't been any situations that had sent Alex in a downward spiral of grief, alcohol and misery. Not yet, anyway.
Although the blizzard currently attacking her windows and sending her to crank up the heat in her apartment once more – well. That was testing her limits a little.
She raised the volume on her tv, and settled onto her couch once more. Upon reaching for the research data she'd printed out before heading home, her hand made contact with her teapot – accidentally knocking it over and toppling it onto the ground.
She reflexively tried to reach for it – resulting in the majority of the hot tea inside spilling onto her hands, as the teapot shattered onto the ground mercilessly.
"Fuck!" she cursed to herself, walking to the sink to run her burned hands under cold water.
Well – at least she had a plan for the next 20 minutes.
The cold water on her hands didn't help the chill that had seeped into her bones ever since she left the DEO on her motorcycle – skipping a hot shower to settle into her couch with her research.
A choice she was regretting more and more.
Before she could let out another string of curses, a knocking on her window made it clear that she had a visitor.
Her apartment being on the fifth story – the list of visitors by window was pretty short.
Usually limited to one person.
Alex pulled the curtain back and opened the window, practically shoving her sister inside to shut the window again as soon as possible.
Kara attempted feasibly not to flood the apartment – her uniform and hair completely soaked. "Rao – this is the coldest I've ever been."
Alex moved back to the faucet, and frowned. "You literally fly to the arctic every other month to train."
"The arctic doesn't have buckets of rain falling out of the sky at once." Kara huffed. "It could at least snow – then people would be sitting inside all cozy. Now it's just cold, and wet. Speaking of…" Kara folded her arms, looking amused. "… didn't mom teach us not to leave the taps on?"
Alex glared at her sister. Kara laughed – and then saw the shattered teapot on the ground. "Ah – I see. A lost battle with a worthy opponent."
"Ha, ha." Alex deadpanned. Kara picked up the ceramic shards, and dropped them into the trashcan, before reaching into a cupboard to get a cloth to wipe up the rest of the tea.
"How's it going out there?" Alex asked, breaking the silence. "Not too bad?"
"Some car accidents because of bad visibility, flooded basements, that kind of thing." Kara explained. "Nothing too—"
Alex looked up when Kara cut herself off mid-sentence. The blonde's eyes were glancing to the side – which Alex knew meant that she was listening to something.
"You gotta go?"
Kara shook her head slowly, trying to pull herself back into the apartment with Alex. "Uh – no. Just… you know. Always noise."
Alex raised an eyebrow – indicating that she didn't believe her. But before Kara could respond, there was a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" Alex asked Kara. But when the blonde looked over her shoulder back to her sister, Alex knew instantly that something was off.
Kara moved towards the door, taking a deep breath before unlocking the chain and throwing it open.
And as Alex's eyes met the brown ones she hadn't seen in years, her heart skipped a beat. And then another.
Maggie glanced between the two sisters. "Can I come in…?"
Alex shut the faucet off, and dried her hands as she nodded – unsure about what was going to happen in the next few minutes.
As Maggie stepped inside – limped, actually – Alex got the first good look at her ex-fiancée in two years.
The first thing she noticed was that Maggie was soaked through, much like Kara. She was wearing a navy blue pantsuit, but it looked ripped in places. And definitely not the kind of thing to wear in a hailstorm.
The second thing she noticed, was that Maggie was shaking. And heavily favoring her right side. The dark blue made it impossible to see whether it was just wet from the rain – or something else was going on.
Alex decided against confronting the woman immediately, though she wanted to. Her stomach clenched with worry – and the flame that she'd willed herself to extinguish after all this time suddenly roared back to life.
In an instant though, she was motioning Maggie over to the couch, hastily moving the files, leftovers and remote control out of the way.
Kara, however, seemed far less interested in personal space, and watched the detective with wide eyes. "What happened?!"
Maggie looked up at the blonde towering over her. With her crossed arms and superhero suit on, she looked intimidating to say the least.
But Maggie knew Kara, and didn't look enthralled to explain herself. Kara glanced backwards at Alex, and disappeared to the bathroom after mumbling something about a first aid kit.
Alex knew that she had to do something with the few seconds of alone time her sister had given her, but she found herself frozen between the kitchen aisle and the couch – half sitting on one of the stools.
"I'm sorry." Maggie croaked, breaking the silence once more.
Alex felt a lump in her throat upon hearing those words, but willed herself to stay in the moment. "Don't be. I'm glad you're here."
It was out of her mouth before she could stop herself. And while she didn't regret it – she hoped Maggie wouldn't take it the wrong way.
Before she could elaborate, Kara was back with the first aid kit. Maggie looked at the small white box in the blonde's hands, and smiled weakly. "I don't think that's gonna cut it, little Danvers."
The smile on Kara's face upon hearing the nickname again quickly made way for a frown when she considered the words Maggie had said.
Maggie took a shaky breath, and began taking the blazer off. Below, she was wearing a white longsleeve shirt – that stuck to her right side.
A dark red patch spread almost from collar to hem.
Upon seeing the blood, something clicked in Alex – pushing emotions and feelings away for a second to focus on the task at hand. She walked over to the couch, and crouched down in front of Maggie.
"I'm not going to ask you what happened, or who did it. I just need to know what it is, so I can help." She spoke.
Maggie nodded, seemingly considering her words carefully. She cleared her throat – wincing slightly – before speaking again.
"It's a botched nephrectomy."
Everything that Alex had considered upon seeing the blood – stab wound, gunshot wound, alien claw marks…
… a botched kidney removal was not high on her guess list.
She forced herself back into her role, and nodded. "Can I see?"
Together with Kara, she managed to peel the shirt off. Using a fresh kitchen towel to wipe away as much blood as possible, Alex finally saw the damage.
After that, it was hard to keep her composure.
"This is… not professionally done. This isn't how a nephrectomy is done at all."
Maggie managed a small smile. "I figured – they weren't exactly Harvard-looking types."
The joke fell flat – as Alex's composure broke.
"Who did this?!" She asked, her eyes wide with worry, panic, anger, and a thousand other emotions that threatened to come to the surface. "This is a botch job, this could have killed you - easily! What the hell were you thinking?!"
"I wasn't thinking for most of it, actually." Maggie said. The louder Alex became, the quieter she got. "…I didn't really have a say in the matter."
Kara's shocked gasp made her wince.
Alex rubbed her face in frustration – undoubtedly getting blood all over her. But it did manage to calm her down enough to continue the conversation without breaking the nearest thing in her apartment.
"We have to get you to a hospital. I can't see whether they managed to remove it or not – but either way, you pulled some stitches and from what I can see – they all need to be redone as quickly as possible."
"I can't go to a hospital. They'll know I'm there." Maggie shook her head. "Can't you do it?"
"Not without anaesthetics, or properly sterilized material. I'll just make it worse." Alex said, considering her options. "But we can go to the medbay of the DEO – they can't get you there."
"Alex, please."
It was the first time in so long that her name had fallen off Maggie's lips -and Alex felt herself out of breath instantly upon hearing it.
Maggie was looking up at her with pleading, glassy eyes. Tears threatening to spill.
Alex could count the times she'd seen Maggie cry on one hand – and still have fingers left.
"I want to help you." Alex whispered, still breathless as the weight of Maggie in the same room, Maggie in her apartment hit her like a truck. "Please tell me how to help you."
"This was a mistake." Maggie whispered back – more to herself than to Alex. She tried to get up from the couch, but the angle made it awkward to pull herself up with her left side, and if Kara's reflexes weren't as fast as the speed of light – she would have toppled over onto Alex's coffee table.
"I'm not letting you walk out of here like this." Kara said, looking at her ex-sister-in-law with determination. "You can call this whatever you want, but you're not leaving if you're not safe."
It stayed silent for a few seconds. Kara's arm remained around Maggie's waist. Alex hadn't even noticed that her own fingertips still lingered on Maggie's wrist.
After the tiniest of nods, Alex walked over to a drawer and fished out a writing pad and a pen, scribbling down a list. As she handed it to Kara, the blonde almost went cross-eyed at Alex's hasty, messy handwriting of words that were too long to comprehend.
"Give it to whoever is on rotation at medical – make sure they get everything."
Kara made sure to fold it neatly and put it in her boot to prevent it from getting wet, before walking out of the apartment through the door – likely to save Maggie the stress of the icy wind blasting at her from the window.
As soon as the door closed, another awkward silence ensued. Alex now stood on the other side of the coffee table, unsure how to proceed. Now that the medical side was on hold temporarily, she didn't know what to do.
"There, um…" Maggie swallowed thickly. "There was an opportunity for me, two years ago. Washington wanted to expand the Science Division program to every major police force in the US, so they were looking for people to help set up shop."
Alex nodded – moving closer to Maggie and taking a seat on the coffee table – far enough that there was still space between them.
"I figured – not much else going on. The pay was really good, I got to travel a lot. Never in one place long enough to get settled, but… I didn't need that." Maggie paused to take a deep breath. "I was making a difference, I was helping people. That was enough."
Alex bit back every response as to not interrupt her – because she knew the story wouldn't exactly have a happy ending.
"… A couple of days ago I was in Metropolis. I was supposed to meet with one of the SciDiv guys over there, but he didn't show. According to the others in the precinct – guy was flakey as hell. Wasn't the first time he didn't show up to a meeting, so they weren't worried. But I didn't fly all the way there to sightsee, so I got pissed. Wanted to track the guy down." Maggie laughed dryly – before wincing at the jarring movement in her side.
Instinctively, Alex leaned forward and eased her back into the couch. Maggie didn't respond, but allowed herself to be pushed back until she was lying down.
"Anyway – long story short: SciDiv guy was kidnapped by a gang of Tyrrazians. I caught the trail, and ended up kind of lone-wolfing his rescue."
Alex waited for the rest of the story, but after it was clear that Maggie had ended it there, she wasn't exactly satisfied. "And they… cut out your kidney?"
"Not really – the friendly neighboring Haldian gang did that." Maggie grunted, her hand instinctively nursing her side. "I think the leftover Tyrrazians tipped them off for retribution after the MPD arrested most of their friends. I uh…"
Maggie looked down. Alex frowned at the sudden change in demeanor, and scooted even closer for whatever Maggie needed. When the detective looked up again, tears were running down her cheeks.
"… I… was on my way back to the airport to fly to Washington for a briefing with the FBI… when they… jumped me. I was… sitting in the back of a taxi, and they tore the cab driver's head off, and pulled me out of the car. In broad daylight."
Maggie took a shaky breath. Alex wanted to hold her.
"They brought me to their headquarters – somewhere on the east side. They kept me awake, didn't give me food or water. I… I thought there was no goal – just… to… to make me suffer as much as possible before something killed me. Hunger, exhaustion, dehydration – whatever. But… a few days later, I overheard them talking. They wanted to make a profit off me. I figured they'd… either sell me off to some alien trafficker, or kill me and sell every part of me they could."
Alex flipped the switch, and moved over to sit in front of the couch, taking Maggie's right hand in both of her own, and resting her head on it. I'm here. I'm here for you. You're safe.
Maggie didn't speak for a few seconds, finding the strength to continue the story. Alex's grip didn't falter.
"They needed them as fresh as possible, so their plan was to knock me out, cut one of my organs out, then wake me up again, wait a day or two, and start again. Over and over, until I finally just dropped dead or they ran out."
Alex's next question died on her lips when Maggie continued.
"I was dissociating. Hadn't slept for days, I had no energy left. I was just… in a haze all the time. They didn't use any medical supplies, they just knocked me over the head with a two-by-four and went to work."
"Jesus…" Alex whispered against Maggie's hand, shaking her head. How had Maggie endured all of this, days ago. Why did she not know? If only they were still—
Alex cut her own thoughts off abruptly.
"… I woke up in the middle of it – the guy that took the lead was barking orders apparently. I didn't understand the language. There was a lot of blood – on them. On me. I knew I was gonna die. I just… knew. And…"
Don't say it…
"… and the only thing I could think of was you, Alex."
Alex clenched her eyes shut, feeling her own tears slip down her cheeks upon hearing those words. Everything she'd tried to shut out for the past years, all of the loneliness, all of the failed dates…
… everything always led back to Maggie.
As gently as she could, Alex wrapped her arms around the detective, careful not to cause her any more pain, but promising herself she'd never let go. Ever again. The fact that Maggie was only in her bra didn't deter either of them from clinging desperately to the other.
"How did you get away?" Alex whispered into Maggie's shoulder.
"I got lucky." Maggie shook her head. "There was a police cruiser in the neighborhood and they got warned by a lookout. They took a break from… it – and I just… hopped off the table and started running. I don't know how, but… the next thing I remember is sitting on a curb. And… I thought I saw Kara."
Alex frowned. "Well, with all the blood loss, you probably hall—"
"-It wasn't her." Maggie smiled weakly. "It was Superman."
Right. Metropolis.
"He asked me what happened – I couldn't tell him. I was in shock, I couldn't…" She trailed off with a deep sigh. "I told him I had to get back to National City. And he gave me a ride. Well, a fly."
"You always hated that." Alex laughed wetly. She felt Maggie nod her head below her. "Never been more grateful to pass out."
"So… what – you've just been wandering around?"
"He told me he knew a few people that could help me. But I knew he meant you, and he didn't know who I was – not that it mattered. But… I told him not to."
Alex understood damn well why Maggie wouldn't want to be dropped off at the DEO, or her own apartment for that matter – but then something had to have changed her mind…
Maggie seemed to follow her thought process, but stayed silent for a bit – steeling herself for the final part of the painful story.
"I… I didn't have anywhere else to go."
Alex pushed her lips together, willing herself not to lose it. She knew damn well that was the case – she'd told Kara many times. Yelled it during drunken stupors. Cried it during weak moments. She'd made the mistake of cutting Maggie out of her life, but she had so many people to rely on.
Maggie had nobody.
"I bought a needle and thread at a hobby store and tried to sew myself up after a bottle or two, but… m-my hands were shaking too hard. And I couldn't sleep through the rain and the cold and…"
Maggie's voice finally broke as she collapsed into Alex, who was still holding on to her, whispering comforts. "It's okay. It's okay, when Kara gets back I'm going to stitch you up properly, and get you some painkillers, and you can get some sleep, okay?"
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" Maggie continued to cry. Alex's heart broke once again upon hearing just how broken Maggie sounded. She rocked the woman as gently as possible, kissing her temple and trying everything to calm her down.
When Kara re-entered the apartment with a duffel bag filled with medical supplies, she found the two lying on the couch. She knew instinctively what happened, but chose not to comment on it, as she started unpacking everything onto the coffee table.
As Alex untangled herself from Maggie to get to work, she shot Kara a grateful look – for everything.
The blonde knew that her work was pretty much done. She walked over to Maggie and whispered something in her ear, before announcing that she was going to do another check-up of the city, and disappearing into the hallway again.
As Alex pulled on a pair of latex gloves and reached for a bottle of antiseptic, she saw that Maggie had a dopey grin on her face.
She put two and two together, and frowned in amusement. "What did she say?"
"She told me she missed hearing my heartbeat."
Alex smiled weakly. "Well, that makes two of us."