The morning breeze had a chill hidden in its kiss.

Alex Danvers leaned on the frame of the open window, a cup of steaming coffee in her hands. It had been another sleepless night, though last night even more so. She glanced at the lone cupcake with a single, burnt-out candle abandoned on her island countertop. Yesterday had been the twenty-second of September; Kara's birthday. Alex swallowed, the coffee tasting burnt and bitter on her tongue. She would have been thirty in Earth years.

Alex sighed. Kelly had tried to help her get past this pain of losing her little sister, but even after eighteen months, she couldn't. A part of her still felt like Kara would come home.

Alex had lit Kara's birthday candle last night, opened a bottle of beer, and wept. To the good memories and the bad. To all the things her sister had been and all the things she hadn't had the chance to be.

Kelly had taken Esme for a walk just to give Alex some privacy with her sister's memory, and this morning, Esme was at school and Kelly at work. And Alex was alone.

She drank the last of her black coffee and pushed off the window frame.

A knock shattered the stillness of the apartment.

Alex couldn't help the sigh that escaped, but she put her mug down and called, "I'm coming." As she opened the door, she forgot how to breathe.

Kara stood on the other side of the threshold.

Kara. Her sister.

Alex could only stare. It couldn't be. Her sister was dead. She'd been gone for almost two years.

Alex drew the gun from her waistband, aiming at the imposter before her. "What the hell are you? Why the hell do you have my sister's face?"

Kara's face fell. Sadness glistened in her blue eyes. "Alex." God, even her voice sounded like Kara's. "Alex, it's me."

Alex shook her head, her eyes stinging. "No. No, my sister is dead."

"I'm not dead." Kara took a step forward, hands raised at her chest. "It's me, Alex. I promise."

The hammer of the gun clicking echoed. "Don't take one more step."

Her brow pursed, grief wrinkling the corners of her eyes. "You know that won't hurt me, Alex."

Every time she said her name, Alex wanted to collapse to the floor. She wanted to believe this was true, but after working for so long to accept her sister's absence, her mind was fighting. She continued shaking her head. "No. NO. How do I know it's you?" Her chin trembled but she stared Kara in the eyes. "I want to believe it's you."

"When I first got to earth, I was scared of the popcorn machine. I thought something was wrong that little rocks were exploding inside." Kara let out a small chuckle. "I would beat you to the bathroom by using my superspeed to get there first." She stared at Alex, the intensity in her eyes burning. "And the first time I took you flying, you said, 'So this is what freedom feels like.'"

The gun clattered to the floor. Alex pressed a hand to her mouth, her cheeks wet and eyes red. "Kara?"

She smiled, tears of her own falling. "Hi, Alex."

"Oh my God, Kara." Alex wrapped her arms around her little sister, crushing her in a hug. She felt her hair, her heartbeat, breathed in her perfume. This was Kara.

She didn't want to let go, but pulled away anyhow. "How? What happened? Where were you?"

Kara held up a hand. "It's a long story."

"Well," Alex said, arms out to the side, "I've got all the time in the world."

"Soon," she said. "I'd rather tell everyone all at once. At the DEO." She cocked her head. "Speaking of which—why aren't you there?"

Alex closed her eyes, rubbing the back of her neck. "About that..."

"What?"

"Look," she sighed, "a lot happened while you were gone."

"Which is what, exactly?" No condescension in her tone, just concerned curiosity.

Alex picked up her gun and tucked it behind her. The she turned, busying herself with her dirty coffee cup at the sink. She poured some soap into the bottom and filled it halfway with hot water before scrubbing the mug far more than necessary.

She felt Kara's presence in front of her, though she didn't lift her gaze.

"Alex, what happened?"

"You're the one who just came back from the dead. I should be the one worried about you."

"Well when you say something like that and don't expand, I'm not going to just let it go." She grasped Alex's wrist. "Please, Alex."

Her shoulders sagged and she loosed another sigh, but she finished with the mug, placing it in the rack to dry. She leaned her palms on the counter edge. "When you disappeared," she said, looking at Kara, "I lost it. I couldn't live without you. I used up far too many DEO resources looking for you, but I wasn't going to give up. Three months passed, then a year. I started drinking." She shrugged. "I couldn't care less if I was on duty or not. I showed up intoxicated, drunk, hungover—it didn't matter. The only way I was able to live with your absence was by shutting myself off."

Something in Kara's gaze guttered.

"Kelly, being the angel she is, helped me through that dark time. But the damage had already been done." She shook her head, took a breath. "The Higher-Ups said I was unfit to perform directorial or authoritative duties."

"That means—"

"I'm no longer Director of the DEO."

Kara clicked her tongue, sympathy written in her expression. "Oh, Alex."

"It doesn't matter that I did what I did out of grief—I was still irresponsible and negligent of my duties to the DEO and the citizens of National City. Actions have consequences and I knew that when I started drinking. I just chose to ignore that." She shrugged, giving Kara a sad smile. "I made my bed and now I have to lay in it."

Kara rounded the island, arms open. Alex accepted. "I'm so sorry," Kara whispered as she rubbed Alex's back. "I know how much being Director and Sentinel means to you."

"It's okay. I haven't been either in quite a while."

Kara pulled away, taking Alex's hands in hers. "We'll have to change that."

Alex sighed. "Kara, look, I know you're back now and everything, but Kelly and I—we have—stuff going on now. Our lives are more than just being superheroes or vigilantes. We have—"

Kara's eyes lowered, and her thumb brushed against the ring on Alex's left hand. "You—You're married?"

Alex's lips twitched into a rueful smile. "We never had a ceremony. I had wanted to wait. I'd wanted to wait for you, but then—" She squeezed Kara's hand. "After you didn't come back I—it didn't feel right to walk down an aisle without my sister by my side."

Kara blinked. "You're married?"

"I am."

Her face broke into a grin filled with both sorrow and joy. "I'm so happy for you, Alex."

Alex wrapped her arms around Kara, burying her face in her hair. "I'm so sorry you weren't there."

"Can I still come to the ceremony?"

Alex chuckled. "Of course. Just because you missed the first time, doesn't mean you're excused from Maid of Honor duties."

"I'd be honored," Kara whispered.

Alex released her sister and gave a slanted smile. "Kelly won't be home from work until this evening and I have to pick up Esme in a few hours, but if you wanted to stay, I could order lunch—"

Kara tilted her head. "Esme?"

Alex shut her eyes, sighing. "I completely forgot." She lifted a hand, fingers splayed. "Esme—she's a Dyralian. She mimics any alien's powers, but when she first came to us, she couldn't control it. It's been a long road, and she's not perfect—but neither are Kelly and I. God, she's just the most wonderful—"

Kara's eyes were wide and her jaw hung open. "When she came to you?"

"She was a foster child. She bounced around between families and the group home because everyone was terrified of what she could do. Kelly had been working with her."

"You—" Kara's eyes shifted as she seemed to be putting all the pieces together. "You adopted Esme?"

Alex nodded.

"You have a daughter?"

Alex couldn't help the smile that lit her face. "I do," she said, nodding vigorously. "I'm a mother, Kara."

"Oh my God, Alex!" Kara gasped, throwing her hands in the air. "You're a mother! This is what you've always wanted!"

"I know!" she said. "I sometimes still can't believe I get to call that adorable little girl my daughter."

Tears glistened in Kara's eyes along with another emotion Alex couldn't place—something that cast a shadow over the joy she was radiating.

"So," Alex said. "Where were you all this time? What happened? And don't say it's a long story. I've got time."

That shadow in Kara's eyes grew darker. She seemed to nearly shut down at the mention of it; her smile faded and that powerful aura she displayed as Supergirl came out.

She let out a dry chuckle. "I don't know if I want to talk about it."

"Okay," Alex whispered. "Okay, we don't have to talk about it." She took Kara's hand in hers. "Just know that I am always here. Always."

A sad smile ghosted Kara's lips as she nodded. "Thank you, Alex." She wrapped her free arm around her sister. "I love you so, so much."

"I love you too, Kara." She sniffed, not wanting to let go. "Oh, and—" She turned, plucking the cupcake from the counter. She presented it to Kara with a shrug. "Happy Earth birthday."

Kara stared, mouth partly open. When she met Alex's gaze, confusion fogged her eyes. "When?"

"Yesterday."

"How, uh—how old am I?"

Those hesitant words cut through Alex's heart. Wherever Kara had been, whatever had kept her away from home—she'd lost all grip on time. And that made her see red. Alex cleared her throat, her smile thin. "Thirty. In Earth years, anyway."

Kara managed to summon a grin. "The big three-oh, huh?"

"Yeah, but you don't look a day over twenty-five."

Kara chuckled.

Alex handed her the cupcake. "Welcome home."