Halley opened her eyes without knowing where she was, her gaze focusing in the person that slept by her side, Kara was still deeply asleep.

She moved wanting to stretch her arms while yawning, she could assure that she was still tired, but seeing the daylight didn't let her fell asleep easily.

Her cousin woke up because of her sudden movement, confusion reflected on her face before smiling and hugging her tightly, which made her smile too as she hid her face on her cousin's shoulder.

"Good morning, sweetie" Kara kissed her hair. "Have you slept well?" she asked her making her nodded slightly.

She stayed in that position during the most time possible, feeling for the first time protected and the truth was that she had missed feeling that way, being able to trust someone without being scared of getting hurt. That made her start crying, sobs that she tried to hide, but Kara noticed it quickly looking directly into her eyes.

"Hey, What's wrong, Halley?" her cousin asked her, so she bowed her head not wanting to look at her. "Sweetheart, look at me" Kara asked grabbing her chin.

She started crying with even more strength when she realized the sadness in her cousin's eyes, who embraced her again trying to calm her down, not really getting it.

She grabbed Kara's t-shirt after noticing how she tried to pull her away, but she wasn't ready to end that hug, which made Kara keep her embraced until she was all calm.

"Are you hungry?" her cousin asked her making her shake her head, the truth was she wasn't use to have breakfast. "Sweetie, you need to eat something" Kara brushed her hair away from her face before getting up and helping her to get down from the bed.

She took her cousin's hand to follow her to the kitchen, trying to sat down on one of the stools, but needing Kara's help to get it. She observed Kara cooking, her stomach growling because of the pancakes' smell, so, without being able to contain herself, she started eating.

"Do you like it?" Kara asked wiping her mouth as she nodded.

"Thank you" she whispered shyly.

"Don't thank me, kiddo" her cousin smiled. "You know that you can talk with me about anything, right?" she asked her. "I just want you to feel comfortable with me, sweetie" Kara brushed her hair away from her face.

Halley looked away without understanding the meaning of her cousin's words because she knew there was something else, but she didn't know what she was referring to.

Her coughing caused her abdomen and chest start hurting, every movement seemed to make it worse, which made her cry a little, but not enough to concern her cousin.

Both of them turned when they heard the door getting open, her heartbeat racing while watching the scene, relaxing when she saw Eliza at the door with some bags.

"Good morning, girls" Kara's mom smiled at them. "I brought a few things for Halley" she explained as Kara approached her.

"You didn't have to" her cousin replied taking out the clothes from the bags.

"You need help, Kara, and this is my gift for the little one" Eliza smiled approaching her, so she couldn't help but look at her before stretching her arms towards her. "Come here, sweetheart" she picked her up, embracing her while she was feeling how the feeling of protection was appearing again, fresh tears being contained in her eyes.

Kara and Eliza looked at her concerned, but she needed to admit that feeling protected and loved was something that hadn't happened in a long time, something she had missed and had needed all those months.

After deciding which outfit she should wear, she went whit Kara to the DEO, even though she didn't want to go at first because she still remembered J'onn's words, those that said they could hurt her. However, if Kara trusted them, maybe she should too.

Kara held her hand to help her feel secure there, because she pulled away the moment she saw all the people who worked there, all of them watching them curious because it was the first time they saw Supergirl with a child.

"Kara" that voice made her cousin stop walking before she could see a woman walking towards them. "Hey, you must be Halley" the woman kneeled down to her height, which made her hid behind Supergirl's cape. "I'm Alex, I'm Kara's sister" the red haired woman said offering her hand to greet her, but she just looked at her cousin without knowing what she should do.

"It's okay, sweetie, she's not going to hurt you" Kara crouched down beside her, so she ended up accepting the greeting, grabbing Alex's hand.

Alex guided them to a different room where her cousin sat her down on a stretcher, which made her frown while grabbing her cousin's cape so they couldn't be separated.

"It's okay, sweetie" Kara embraced her, but she was focused on Alex, burying her face on her cousin's neck. "She only wants to know that you're healthy, Halley" the young superheroe said, but it didn't convince her.

"What do you think about Kara doing it first? "asked Alex, making her nodded seeing how Alex put the stethoscope on Kara's chest.

She kept silence trying to hear whatever Alex was listening to, frowning without understanding what was going happening.

"Do you want to do it?" the woman asked her, helping her using it so was able to listen her cousin's heart beat, but that only confused her because she was able to hear it without that instrument. "Let's see your heart beat, kiddo" Alex smiled at her while putting it on her chest, she couldn't help but bow her head still not comfortable with her. "Hey, shh, try to breath normally" she asked her, so she tried to calm down. "Good job, sweetie"

However, her tranquility was gone shortly after watching Alex with a syringe in her hand.

"Halley frown angry. Indigo kept trying to make her feel responsible for everything that was happening, which only was making her angrier.

She couldn't stand that woman, she had never done it, so they, her father and Indigo, couldn't pretend for her to accept her as her new mother because she would never do it.

The kid sat on a chair with a book in her hands as she tried to evade herself from there. It was true that she couldn't read properly in kryptonese, but the pictures from that book where beautiful, showing each of the cities or landscapes. Honestly, she would have liked to get to know her biological planet.

"What are you doing, brat?" Indigo's voice was present and she only needed to look to the door to see her standing there observing her. "Since when your father let you come out of your room?" the woman asked approaching her, but she didn't answer anything. "You're not going to answer me, huh?" the Coluan took the book from her hands, which made her tried to pull back, but without getting anything.

The five year old bowed her head knowing she wasn't going to get anything, because it didn't matter if she cried or not, Indigo didn't felt compassion the same way she would. She waited for her to leave her alone, but that woman wasn't going to do it.

"Nice necklace" Indigo grabbed the one she was wearing. "Your mother's, I guess" the woman said making her nodded.

However, she soon regretted it, watching how Indigo's hand formed into a fist before pulling the necklace from her neck, which made her cry because of the fear of that Braniac breaking the last thing she had from her mom.

Indigo smiled the moment she grabbed her arms begging her not to do it, but that only made the Coluan breaking it into pieces.

She broke down sobbing as she kneeled down to pick all the pieces, Indigo's laughing being heard.

"What's going on here?" her father asked and, for the first time, she looked at him waiting for him to defend her.

"She doesn't have manners, She hasn't said a single word to me" Indigo commented. "And she has broken your wife's necklace" the woman pointed to her hands because at that moment she was holding the pieces.

"No... I..." she couldn't talk while crying. "It's not true" she sobbed seeing how her father was watching her.

"Halley, come with me" he looked at her serious before starting walking. "Now!" he added after noticing that she didn't get up from the floor.

"But..." she tried to talk.

"I don't want to hear it" he interrupted her, giving her a second chance to follow him, so she did without wanting to make him angrier than he already was.

She followed him to a separate room, her father's facial expression was serious, fear being present with each second that passed.

"Why have you broken it?" he asked.

"I didn't, It was Indigo" she acused the Coluan.

"Don't lie to me!" he shouted scaring her.

Her father turned like if he was meditating on what to do with her, seeing him leave making her hoped he wasn't going to hurt her, but she couldn't avoid bowing down her head after watching him coming back with a syringe in his right hand.

Fear was reflected on her face not understanding what was happening, however she kept looking straight into his eyes.

"Are you going to lie again?" he asked crouching down to her height as she shook her head. "Okay. Who broke the necklace?" he questioned grabbing her chin to force her to have her head up.

"Indigo" she answered in just a whispered not prepared for her father to slap her.

"I've told you not to lie" her father said as she was putting her hand over her red cheek, trying no to start crying. "Last chance. Who did it?" he asked.

She decided to keep silence because it didn't matter if she said the truth or not, she was going to be grounded anyway, so she bowed down her head while framing herself.

Her father shook her head while grabbing her by her shoulder, the needle piercing in her neck making her start crying because, whatever that was, it was burning in her blood, so she ended up falling on her knees.

"You're still weak, Halley" she heard him comment as he pushed her to the floor. "Next time you'll think about lying me" her father kicked her ribs making her scream, it had hurt more that the other times.

She watched him leave, being alone in that room while trying to get air inside her lungs, which wasn't working because of her sobs.

Honestly, she couldn't explain what had happened, but she could assure that everything was going to change for worse."

Halley was hidden under the stretcher, tears falling down her cheeks as both sisters were looking at her without knowing what they should do.

"Halley, come here, sweetie" Kara called her, watching how her cousin moved away from them.

"We're not going to hurt you, kiddo" tried Alex, but the kid only cried louder, which made them look at each other. "Hey, Why doesn't Kara do it first?" asked her sister making her to look at her scared.

She was afraid of needles, she had always been afraid of them, so she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to be brave only to calm down her cousin, but she ended up nodding.

The five year old looked at them for a few seconds as if she was thinking what to do, tears still running down her cheeks, but she ended up approaching them.

She embraced her without being able to imagine why the child was so afraid of needles because Halley was only five years old, too young to have suffered that much.

She sat down on the stretcher with her cousin on her lap so she could keep embracing her while Alex was drawing blood from her, having to look away when she saw it flow.

"It's only a tiny prick, okay?" said Alex as the little one started breathing with agitation.

She could observe how the kid closed her eyes while turning her face, so she hugged her with more strength, making her cousin trying to get rid of her embrace when Alex finished.

"Hey, hey, shh, it's okay, Halley" she kissed her hair as her cousin was calming down.

"You did so good, I have something for you" said Alex approaching them with a teddy and a lollipop in her hands, smiling while watching the kid taking it.

"Thank you" Halley whispered, talking for the first time since they had arrived the DEO.

"Don't thank me, kiddo" smiled Alex.

Kara sighed. She should go to CatCo, but that meant that she had to leave her cousin there with Alex and she knew Halley wasn't ready for that.

"I have to go to CatCo" she said as the kid grabbed her cape to prevent her from moving, so she looked at her kind of sad. "I need you to stay here with Alex, sweetie" she pointed to her sister.

"No" Halley shook her head. "Don't leave" the five year old begged between sobs, her heart breaking with only seeing the child like that.

"Everything is going to be fine, I promise" she whispered wiping her cousin's tears. "Alex is going to protect you, okay? You're going to have so much fun with her, she's amazing, kiddo" she told her seeing how she was calming down. "I'll see you later" she kissed Halley's forehead before leaving that room without knowing how was going to behave her cousin.

Hello!

Alex has finally met Halley! Next chapter they will spend some time together, so let's hope it goes well for both of them. Chapter four will also explore Alex feelings about what has been happening to Halley.

Thanks so much for reading, let me know what you think,

Ayrin