Once Upon National City
A/N: So this was originally supposed to be a single drabble. But then it turned into a two-parter. And now, well, now it's going to be a three part drabble. Lol. Hope y'all don't mind. :P
While we're all waiting for the next, what looks to be action packed episode, who's up for some drama? XD
Just a heads up, some mild language used in this drabble part. Nothing too extreme though. ;)
POST DRABBLE REVIEWS
Supergirl Fan - Thanks for the review! :) That was a rather heartbreaking scene, wasn't it? Lol. I'm glad Alex and Maggie worked it out in the end though. ^^ As for what's going to happen to our leading ladies in this mini drabble series, well, you'll get to see in the next drabble. XD Thanks for reading!
Badassfox – Thanks for the review! :) I did know that thing about the ribs. That said, I seriously didn't have the heart to make Maggie do that just to revive our beloved Alex Danvers. Lol. I'm a softie. XD You'll be getting more soon. Don't worry. ;)
Disclaimer: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them.
Summary: Buried alive who knows how far underground, Maggie comes to realize one thing. She'd been a fool to think she could remain just friends with Special Agent Alex Danvers. Sanvers. Romance/Drama.
*** ~ Just Another Day – Part II ~ ***
~ An hour ago ~
The first thought Maggie had when she opened her eyes was that everything hurt.
A lot.
That and it was dark. And... warm?
Lying unmoving on her back and squinting up at the darkness overhead (it was hard to tell just how high up it went as the soft glow illuminating her battered form from behind only went so far), Maggie's brain sluggishly searched its memories for something to explain how she got here.
Wherever here was.
It took a few minutes, but the pieces came together eventually.
Maggie remembered paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork. She remembered a call on the radio, some bar brawl gone bad. She remembered racing to the bar. She remembered a giant, purple alien hell bent on destroying anything it could get its hands on, including her NCPD cruiser. Then Alex was there, the DEO agent coming to her rescue Supergirl style, kicking a car into the path of rubble which would have surely taken off Maggie's head. Then the pavement gave way underneath her and she fell into nothingness.
A groan.
Ah, now it all made sense. And here she wondered if she'd been used as Supergirl's punching bag and didn't know it.
Wiggling her fingers and toes, Maggie breathed in relief when she felt all of them, each aching in various degrees of pain, but still somehow attached. Gritting her teeth as she flexed her arms and legs for the first time since the fall, all four limbs also still attached, Maggie paid little heed to the multiple areas which throbbed with hurt, her back spasming the worst. Knowing she woudln't be able to sit up without toppling over just yet, especially as the heavy fog still clouding her head had yet to dissipate, Maggie opted to roll onto her side for a bit as she fought against the increasing temptation to close her eyes again, succumbing to unconsciousness.
"Wh-What...?"
At least, that's what Maggie tried to do until she noticed the limp weight around her waist.
A black clad arm was wrapped loosely around her waist from behind, bars of white lights along that arm flickering as the seconds ticked by. Frowning at the familiarity of those lights, it took Maggie nearly a minute to remember where she had seen such things before. The lights looked a lot like the ones lining Alex's exo-skeleton suit, the DEO agent-
Wait.
Maggie looked back over her shoulder, her eyes quickly following the length of that arm and blinking lights, her gaze soon landing on-
"Danvers!"
Maggie's pain was forgotten in an instant, the NCPD officer hastily rolling off of the brunette, vertigo be damned. Maggie almost ended up somersaulting sideways thanks to the head rush which followed that sudden movement (she nearly threw up too but somehow managed not to), the limp arm around her waist flopping to the side lifelessly as Maggie's entire world narrowed down to the woman known as Alex Danvers.
Alex, who was deathly silent laying on her back.
Alex, whose face was half covered in crimson, the nasty gash over her left eyebrow still oozing blood.
Alex, who had somehow ended up underneath Maggie, and broke what would have been without a doubt a fatal fall for her.
Scrambling over to the DEO agent's side on all fours, she shook her head against her swimming vision, Maggie not even feeling the bits of gravel and broken rock covering the area biting into her palms and jeans clad knees. Her heart thundered in her ears as she tried to assess the extent of Alex's injuries, but God damn it! She was not a doctor! She was as police officer for Christ's sake! What the hell would she know about stuff like this?! All she had was some basic first aid training, the lack of anything useful for this situation fueling the surging panic within her breast as most, if not all, coherent thought escaped her along with her very breath.
Maggie had seen a lot of things in her days as a NCPD Science Division officer. There were aliens for starters. And while the death of Chet Miner on her watch was one of the more recent, jarring experiences for her, seeing Alex like this, like death itself, was much more horrifying than anything Maggie had ever witnessed before.
Her police training kicking in, Maggie's scratched and bruised fingers immediately sought out a beat from the DEO agent's neck. It took her a few seconds to remember where exactly to place her fingers, but when she did, Maggie found exactly what she was looking for. Alex's pulse was very weak, but it was a pulse nonetheless.
Sitting back on her heels, only then did Maggie remember to breathe. Hanging her head in relief, her shoulders instantly sagged as the tension once gripping them bled out. Her fingers still pressed to Alex's neck, Maggie unconsciously started to count the beats, that activity keeping her grounded if nothing else.
Then the beats stopped.
Maggie froze, her head snapping up again, her eyes wide.
"D-Danvers?"
Without thinking, Maggie's free hand moved to hover over Alex's nose and mouth and she held her breath. Surely she was just imagining things. Surely the stress of the situation was making her think the worst. It kind of came with the job, what with being a police officer and all. Maggie had to be able to anticipate the worst case scenarios, so she could react accordingly should they ever come to pass. Yet even as her very nightmares were coming true here, Maggie still couldn't believe it.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Maggie exclaimed when she realized a whole minute had passed with the DEO agent unresponsive the entire time.
Clawing at the exo-skeleton chest plate strapped to Alex's front, Maggie yanked at it with all her might. Fumbling for the better part of thirty seconds, straps snapped as she tore them apart with brute force fueled by adrenaline, leaving her hands red and raw, the exo-skeleton chest plate soon ripped away and tossed behind Maggie, forgotten. Immediately pressing her ear against Alex's chest, Maggie nearly choked when she confirmed what she already knew.
No heartbeat.
Bolting upwards again, Maggie's hands were on the brunette's chest in an instant, the NCPD detective pushing down on the centre of Alex's chest, beginning chest compressions.
Maggie bent over the pool table, her eye on the ball as she pulled her arm back with the pool cue and lined up her shot. Confident she had the right angle, she thrust the pool cue forward, the white cue ball scattering the other balls with a satisfying crack.
"Hey Maggie."
Maggie looked up, a large smile stretching across her face the moment she put a voice to a face. Alex Danvers was walking up to her in that moment, in that lovely tan leather jacket of hers, complete with a black top and dark coloured jeans. And swagger. Maggie could not ignore that swagger.
"Danvers, hey," she said, her gaze softening as she walked around the pool table to meet the DEO agent part way. "I was hoping you'd turn up. Any interest in a game?"
Maggie gestured to the pool table next to her.
"Danvers! Don't do this to me!"
She was shaking. She was shaking worse than a leaf in a storm, Maggie swiping at the tears which she hadn't even realized started to fall, even as she roughly wiped them away to see. After the first set of chest compressions did nothing, she stopped and tilted Alex's head backwards. Pinching the DEO agent's nose shut, Maggie covered Alex's lips with her own and breathed.
"Well actually," Alex said, leaning casually against the side of the pool table and just out of arm's reach. "I was wondering if you were still good for that drink you promised me."
It took a split second for Maggie to process those words, and when she did, she couldn't hide her excitement.
"You told Kara?"
Alex grinned, the teethy kind, and nodded.
"Don't you dare die on me!" Maggie exclaimed.
Another breath and she went back to chest compressions.
"Yeah you did! Oh I'm so happy for you."
Setting her pool cue aside, she took Alex into her arms, Maggie relishing the feel of the brunette against her, Alex sinking comfortably into their hug as much as Maggie did. Silently reminding herself not to get too attached, Maggie soon pulled back, ready to fulfill her promise from the other day.
"I'm buying all night," she said. "What are you having?"
Just as she spun away to head to the bar, a hand on her wrist pulled her back, Alex kissing her a moment later.
Maggie gritted her teeth as she powered through another set of chest compressions, still not getting the desired results. Breaking from that again to breathe for Alex once more, Maggie fought against her own breathlessness, something which seemed to worsen as more time passed, the brunette still unresponsive.
"Damn it Danvers! Breathe!" Maggie shouted, pumping Alex's chest again. "Breathe!"
"Wow..." Maggie said, slightly breathless as she pulled back and looked up into those sparkling hazel coloured eyes.
"I've been wanting to do that," Alex said, her smile brilliant.
"Yeah, I can tell," Maggie said, swallowing down the lump in her throat, the feelings fluttering within the recess of her heart threatening to spill out. She looked down for a moment to get a hold of herself.
She couldn't. She just couldn't. For a long time now, Maggie knew in her heart she couldn't just be friends with Alex. She couldn't. Since meeting the brunette months ago, Maggie didn't know what it was, but she was drawn to the enigma that was Alex Danvers. The DEO agent was like a Matryoshka doll. Just when Maggie thought she had the elder Danvers figured out, Alex revealed yet another layer underneath.
Somewhere in between working together on various cases and bumping into each other at the alien bar to play pool, the brunette had made a home inside of Maggie's heart. It startled Maggie when she realized that, months after the fact. Yet as shocked as she was when she recognized that, Maggie was even more shocked to realize that maybe she had wanted that all along. Sadly, things just weren't meant to be.
"Was that not okay?" Alex asked, somehow picking up on her discomfort, in spite of Maggie's best attempts to hide it.
"You didn't do anything wrong," Maggie said shaking her head, her left hand unconsciously grabbing at the edge of the pool table as she fought to steady herself.
"But something's wrong," Alex said, her once jovial expression now turned hesitant in spite of her smile.
Rumbling overhead and the fine coating of dust falling from above went unnoticed, Maggie frantic as she finished the third set of chest compressions to no avail. Darting forward again, her lips trembled as they connected with Alex's own, Maggie's thoughts travelling back to the first time she had tasted those surprisingly soft lips weeks ago, a feeling that both exhilarated her and terrified her at the same time. Unlike weeks ago however, these lips were not passionately kissing her back right now. No, now they were just limp and unmoving, not unlike the brunette Maggie was desparately trying to resuscitate.
"Well," Maggie began, looking to the side for a moment to order her thoughts. She forced herself to turn back to the woman in front of her, her heart falling as she saw fear and anxiety creeping up into Alex's gaze.
"We're at really different places," she said, Maggie mentally kicking herself as Alex's expression dropped even more. The DEO agent nodded forcefully at her words.
"Everything is changing for you" Maggie continued, fighting against the urge to pull Alex into another hug. "Everything is going to feel really heightened, and... Shiny..."
Her last girlfriend had called her sociopathic for a reason. And hard headed. And insensitive. And obssessed with work. Whether or not those statements were true, Maggie didn't question their validity. All of her previous relationships had ended in failure after all. Some more explosive than others. So who's to say what she had with Alex, whatever this was, wouldn't follow that pattern?
Maggie was cursed. She truly and utterly believed that. She believed she was meant to be alone. And because of that, she refused to tell Alex just how much she loved her. Just how much she treasured her. Just how she wanted nothing more than to be with her. All out of fear of what would happen if she actually did.
"You should experience that for yourself. Not to just be with me."
Alex's brow creased, Maggie clenching her free hand at her side as the brunette took her words like a champ. Yet as much as it hurt to smile right now, Maggie did so anyhow. Alex had to know. She had to understand. Maggie was not doing this to be mean. This was for her own good. And Maggie's. Alex was pure, and innocent, and genuine, and Maggie refused to screw that up, to screw Alex up.
"I shouldn't get involved with someone just fresh off the boat," Maggie said, her smile one of regret. "Those relationships never really work out."
She was nearly hyperventilating now, Maggie dizzily pulling back from Alex's face to start up chest compressions for the fourth time. At this point, she didn't even bother swiping at the tears blurring her vision as ever second lost doing something else meant Alex was that much closer to never coming back.
Ever.
That wouldn't do. Maggie wouldn't allow it.
Pressing down harder on the DEO agent's chest, to the point where she could feel Alex's ribs starting to creak under her weight, Maggie continued to perform CPR, her words from that day weeks ago coming back to haunt her.
"I'm here for you... But as a friend..."
She was a fool. All this time, Maggie had been a fool. For a woman her prided herself on her smarts and her vast amount of courage to face all challenges no matter how insurmountable they seemed, rather than kiss the girl she wanted to kiss, she instead ran away like a coward. She was such a fool. And because of her idiocy, Alex may never get the chance to know how Maggie really felt about her.
"ALEX!" she screamed, slamming down a fist on the DEO agent's chest, over Alex's heart, when she no longer had the strength to continue chest compressions.
And just like that, Alex jerked under Maggie's hands, the elder Danvers sputtering and gasping for air, her body shuddering.
"You're my friend, Maggie," the brunette continued. Alex's expression was so open and honest.
And vulnerable.
Maggie's heart dropped a bit.
"And like you, I'd rather not imagine my life without you in it."
Getting her wits about her, Maggie almost laughed as she hastily scrubbed away her tears with the back of her hand. Gently pulling Alex's upper body and head into her lap, she watched with great affection as the tremors in the DEO agent's body began to fade. For the first time since this whole thing happened, Maggie finally felt like she could breathe. And breathe she did, an almost possessive arm wrapped around Alex's front, a hand on the agent's shoulder. Her thumb gently stroked Alex's collar.
"Hey," Maggie said, her voice thick with emotion. "Easy. Easy now."
Maggie smiled as the elder Danvers found her breath again, the NCPD officer tucking a lock of dusty brown hair behind Alex's ear. Hazy hazel coloured eyes fluttered open at her touch, the brunette immediately seeking her out, Maggie holding Alex's gaze.
"Maggie…?" came Agent Danvers' scratchy voice.
Sliding her hand down from Alex's shoulder, Maggie's elation grew when her fingers curled around Alex's, their digits intertwining together like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Yeah, Alex," Maggie said, a watery smile stretching across her lips. "I'm here."
END OF PART II
A/N: As previously mentioned, this drabble can be seen as the alternate to Drabble # 3, "Just Friends", except Maggie was there too. In the show, Maggie was often saved by Alex/DEO/Supergirl, so I figured it would be a nice change for Maggie to be doing the saving instead. :)
Despite being rather comfortable with Alex and how to write her personality, I wasn't so sure when it came to Maggie's character. There was still so much left unknown about her, so I was a bit hesitant on writing her character here. Hopefully she came across true, or at least close to true, to what we've seen in the show so far.
A Matryoshka doll is otherwise known as a Russian nesting doll. For more info, check out this linek (replace commas with periods): en,wikipedia,org/wiki/Matryoshka_doll