"I don't think I've ever seen so many sheep in my life," Alex said as they stepped back onto the street. Though Alex had relapsed for a couple of days after she and Lena walked to the lighthouse, for the past week and a half she had been well on the mend, going for a walk of gradually-increasing length everyday with Kara and Lena. Today, since the weather was reasonable, Lena had taken the sisters for a long walk through the winding roads between the paddocks behind Luthorsport, showing them a couple of good vantage points with spectacular views of the rolling hills inland, or of the dramatic coastline and seemingly endless Atlantic Ocean.
"It was only one herd of sheep," Lena said, Caoimhe trotting along beside her.
"It was a lot of sheep," Kara said, backing up Alex.
Lena chuckled. "If you think that was a lot of sheep, you have clearly never been to an agricultural show."
"No! Can we go to one?" Kara asked with enthusiasm. Lena might find Luthorsport small and provincial and the people 'common', but the charms of the town and it's rugged surroundings had certainly rubbed off on Kara.
"Well, the one in Galway isn't until the summer," Lena said. "Plus there's the Galway County Show, which is about equestrian and horses, rather than sheep, but I think you'd like that too."
"I would love that! Why don't we have this in America?" Kara asked.
"I think we do," Alex said, as they reached the hotel. "You've just never shone any interest until now. Gosh, I've gotten unfit."
"You've been unwell, and that was a huge walk. Even I want a sit-down," Kara said.
"Oh, come on, Kara," Lena said, "You could do that again, no worries."
"Well, Caoimhe needs a sit-down, don't you Caoimhe?" Kara said, patting the dog, "You liked chasing the sheep. You're a good girl. Yes, you are."
"Kara, don't encourage her," Lena said. "And please don't say 'good girl' and 'chasing sheep' in the same breath because the dog chooses to connect the two, and I do not need the farmers up in arms because my dog is much too entertained by their livestock."
"Next thing she's going to be wanting a puppy of her own," Alex chuckled, shaking her head as they walked inside. She pulled off her gloves. "It is good to get the blood moving, but I definitely need to put my feet up after that."
"I'm very glad you've recovered," Lena said. "When I first saw you, I genuinely thought you were dead."
"You weren't the only one. Kara! Grab the dog and come inside."
Kara was playing with Caoimhe in the street, her and the dog feeding off one another's boundless energy and enthusiasm. Lena whistled and Caoimhe bounded inside and barked.
"No barking inside," Lena said, closing the door behind Kara. Caoimhe trotted into the dining room, where a lone figure sat at a table, an almost-empty glass in front of her.
"Well, well, well, look what the tide washed in," she said, looking up from the glass.
"Sara!" Kara cried, and leapt into the dimly-lit room, flinging her arms around Captain Sara Lance. "When did you get here? Why are you here? What - what are you doing here? This is so exciting! I am so happy to see you. Is anyone else here? Is Kate here?"
"Kara, slow down," Alex said. "Hullo, Sara."
"Alex," Sara gave a nod as she disentangled herself from Kara's embrace.
Alex made introductions, and Sara informed them that she'd already spoken to Mary, who had set up the bedroom opposite Lena and Kara's for her, had taken up her suitcase and found her something to drink.
"I'm afraid this visit isn't as social as I'd like it to be," Sara said, after they'd all pulled up a chair, and Lena had grabbed the bottle of Irish whisky Mary had opened for Sara and poured everyone a glass.
"You were sent here," Alex said, bristling.
Sara sighed. "If you're not back at the office on Monday morning, you'll be court marshalled for desertion."
"What! No, no, H said - "
"H has bought you three weeks so far, Kara," Sara said. "I'm sorry. I - I'm the delivery service. Either you come back with me, or well…" she shrugged.
"This isn't fair," Alex said, feeling angry and betrayed and foolish. She'd convinced herself that they were allowed to stay in Luthorsport as long as they wished, though of course that couldn't be the case. "H hasn't written to us. We've have no warning, and we're volunteers. We're not even British."
"Doesn't mean you can just disappear," Sara said.
"We haven't disappeared," Alex snapped. "H knows where we are."
"Alex, I - "
"I - no. I'm not doing this right now," Alex said, standing up and marching out of the room.
"I'll go," Kara said, pushing back her chair. "It's just - she…"
"Let me," Sara said. Kara sat back down while Sara knocked back the rest of her drink before following Alex upstairs. Their bedroom door was ajar.
"I get it," Sara said, pushing the door open to Kara and Alex's room.
Alex was standing at the window looking out at the sea, her arms folded defensively across her chest. Her coat was draped across the end of her bed, and looking around the room, Sara found it particularly homey.
"You can't 'get it'," Alex grumbled. "If anything happens to Kara…"
"Kara will be all right," Sara said, slowly approaching Alex. "She always is."
Alex shook her head. "That night, after the firestorm, you - you didn't see her then. She was wrecked. It's killing her, and if - if…"
"This Miss Luthor of yours," Sara said, changing the subject, "Is she any relation to - "
"His sister. Half-sister or whatever, but still…"
Sara nodded and stood beside Alex.
"But she is good, Sara," Alex said softly.
"What does she know?"
"About Kara and I?"
"Yes."
"Pretty much everything."
Sara sighed. "And her brother?"
"I think she has an address for him. Otherwise, nothing."
"Nothing about Kryptonite being used in weapons?"
Alex shook her head. "As far as Lena knows, Lex doesn't know that Kara Danvers has superpowers, doesn't know the connection between her and Supergirl, and possibly hasn't made the connection between Supergirl and what exactly she is. I guess we're hoping that the intel the other week was wrong."
Sara reached out and took Alex's hand. She lifted it up and looked at the pink scars, tracing her finger along them. "What happened? Really?"
Alex wanted to give Sara the abridged version of events, but as she started talking, more and more details found their way in. "So you see why I have to protect her," Alex finished, tears prickling her eyes, "She is vulnerable. And around Christmas, every night, knowing Kara was out there, and she would come home utterly exhausted, and I know that she's strong, but that doesn't mean she can't be hurt or killed or - I can't lose her, Sara."
"I understand. Really," Sara said. She bit her lip and let go of Alex's hand. "Laurel's dead."
Alex felt as though she'd been punched in the stomach. She should have known something was wrong. Sara looked like she hadn't slept for days, she'd been drinking before midday, and of all the people in the world, for Sara to have been the one sent to Luthorsport…
"I'm so sorry," Alex breathed. "I didn't know."
"How could you?" Sara asked, her voice cracking. "You've been over here, on your little holiday."
"Sara, I've been sick, I - I nearly drowned, I - " Alex didn't know what to do, but making excuses wasn't helping. "What - how did…?"
Sara sat down on Alex's bed and stared out the window. "About ten days ago. I didn't know. I wasn't there. I should have been there, but - but I…"
Alex sat down beside Sara. "What happened?"
Sara's shoulders slumped. Alex had never seen her look so small. "She was working a case. They were up in Manchester. Something went wrong and one of the crooks stabbed her and they… she taken to hospital and I didn't know. I didn't know what had happened, Alex. I could have made it, I could have caught the train and been there, but I wasn't. She came for me. But I wasn't there and my sister died and I wasn't there to hold her and tell her I love her and now she's gone and it's so stupid and…"
Sara broke down. Alex cradled her and rubbed her back, forcing back tears of her own. She had briefly met Laurel Lance a couple of times, and had heard a lot about her, and knew exactly how much she meant to Sara. There was nothing she could say. Nothing would help, or make things better. Laurel was gone, and Sara would have to learn to go on without her. Alex just held onto Sara, hoping she could be enough, and silently praying that their positions would never be reversed.
"I keep waiting for a letter," Sara mumbled, clinging to Alex. "Demanding to know why I haven't written to her. Asking if I'd got other letters. Wondering if they'd been lost in the post. Telling me to eat something and drink something other than alcohol and take care of myself. But the letter isn't coming. No more are coming. She would have known she was dying, and I - I didn't. I didn't know she was gone. I - I know what it feels like, to think you're going to die. To think that, and be so alone, and - Laurel would have know. She would have. But I wasn't there. I wasn't there…"
…
Lena and Kara finished their drinks, then Kara suggested a short walk to give Alex and Sara some time. They wandered along the beach to towards the pier, Caoimhe jumping at the waves.
"If you don't mind me asking," Lena said, "Who exactly is this Captain Sara Lance?"
"Her job is classified, sorry," Kara said, "But she was one of the first people we met in London."
"You never mentioned that she was a woman."
"Didn't I? It didn't seem important," Kara knew full well that the few times she'd mentioned Sara to Lena, she'd been very careful just to refer to her as Captain Lance.
"She's a Captain. There's not many female captains."
"True," Kara said, feeling called-out. "But I - I guess I was protecting her. And Alex."
"Alex?" Lena asked, raising her eyebrows.
"I - it's a bit of story," Kara said, able to look at Lena.
"You don't have to tell," Lena said, and gave Kara a smile.
"No, it's all right," Kara said, taking Lena's arm. She felt guilty, both for keeping things from Lena, but also that she may be betraying Alex's confidences. "A few weeks after we arrived, I pulled Sara out from underneath a building. That attack was early, we were caught off-guard and it was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time for Sara. When I found her, I thought she was dead, and I was so afraid to lose one of the few people over here we had come to know quite well. But it turns out Sara Lance is pretty hard to kill, and a month later, multiple lacerations to her arms and torso, and broken ribs and wrist be damned, she was back at work."
"So she's like you and Alex," Lena said, "Stupidly brave."
"Ha," Kara said. "More stupidly reckless, though Alex would probably say the same about me. Sara fights hard, she has fought hard to get where she is. Like you said, there's not many female captains. She doesn't care what people think, she doesn't suffer fools, but she's fiercely loyal and protective of her people."
"Sounds familiar," Lena said, glancing at Kara. "But what does this have to do with Alex?"
"Well," Kara said, "In the middle of December we were all at a friend's wedding. I'm sure I told you about Lieutenant Allen? It was his wedding. And, well, Alex and Sara got rather drunk together, and…"
Kara suddenly realised that Lena might not be au fait with what happened. Or she might not understand what Kara was implying. Such acts were illegal for men, but only frowned upon or dismissed as not actually real for women. People in Britain generally turned a blind eye to women doing such things so long as they were perfectly discreet about it. But Kara wasn't sure what the laws or attitudes towards such behaviour was in Ireland, let alone Lena's personal feelings on the subject.
Lena looked out to sea. "Have you ever been - drunk at a wedding?" she asked.
"Oh, it is pretty hard to get me drunk," Kara said. "I hold my liquor very well, I can - " She stopped, not sure of the meaning of Lena's question. "I, ah - not like how Alex and Sara got drunk. No." Did Lena understand what she was saying? Kara felt uncomfortable. She didn't have the words to easily describe Alex and Sara, and didn't understand her own feelings.
"Oh," Lena said in reply. "Should we head back?" They'd reached the pier.
"Yes, I think so," Kara replied. They turned around, and Lena whistled for Caoimhe to follow. "But I - don't think I'd be opposed to getting drunk at a wedding."
Lena chuckled. "Kara Danvers, I am very glad that of all the villages to wash up in, you happened to wash up here."
"Only because your evil brother had a system in place that made me fall out of the sky!" Kara teased. Lena laughed and the tension that had been there moments ago broke. Kara gushed about the merits and assorted adventures of Sara Lance as they walked back to the hotel.
"Now I am famished," Kara said, pushing the door open. "I wonder what Mary will have made for lunch. I bet Sara will enjoy some non-rationed meals."
"I still can't believe that tea will be rationed here," Lena said, ushering Caoimhe inside and closing the door. "This country just about runs on tea."
"Well, in England - Oh. Hullo, Alex."
Alex sat at the bottom of the stairs, her arms wrapped around herself. "Laurel Lance is dead," she said.
Kara gasped. "Oh, no. Poor Sara. I - is she - "
"She cried herself to sleep on my bed. I doubt she's slept for days and I don't think she's let herself feel her loss until now, either. But she's right Kara. We have to go back. I'm sorry, but we have to go."