The five year old observed Alex knowing she should trust the woman, but it wasn't that easy, not when Kara wasn't there to tell her that everything was going to be fine.

Kara's sister looked at her for a few seconds before approaching her, which made her try to get away but she was to fall from the stretcher, so she stayed still putting her knees to her chest and her head leaning on them.

"You okay, Halley?" Alex asked getting her to look up. "Are you scared?" the woman asked without even trying to touch her, but she had to nod because she was afraid of being hurt again. "I'm not going to hurt you, sweetheart" Alex told her grabbing her tiny hands, that time looking directly into her eyes.

The agent smiled at her as if she wanted to show her that everything was fine, that her words weren't a lie and the truth was that she couldn't find evil in the woman's eyes.

"What do you think about doing something? Do we look for J'onn?" Alex asked helping her to get down from the stretcher. "Do you hold my hand?" the agent offered her hand for her to grab it, so she did.

Her left hand was holding the woman's hand firmly while holding the teddy and the lollipop close to her chest with her right arm, showing her cousin's sister the treat.

Alex seemed to understand what she was asking for because she open it before giving it back to her, which made her look at the lollipop without knowing how to eat it making the woman laugh before explaining her.

She followed her while holding her hand, her fear increasing as she was watching all the new people that were there, but calming down when she saw J'onn walking towards them.

"Hey, What are you two doing?" he asked. "I see Alex gave you a lollipop, huh?" J'onn ruffled her hair as she was showing him the teddy. "The teddy as well?" he asked making her nodded. "That's because you behave really good" the director picked her up, again the pain was spreading all over her chest.

Her slight movement to get comfortable worried both of them because Alex as well as J'onn started asking what was happening to her, but she didn't know how to answer, how to explain it, so she just looked at both of them with fresh tears in her eyes.

"Where does it hurt?" asked Alex making her point to her right side. "Okay, let's go back to the med bay" the agent told her as J'onn followed her with her still in his arms, her head leaning on his shoulder.

He sat her down on the stretcher, both of them trying to keep her calm, but it wasn't that easy because she started getting nervous when Alex was about to touch the zone. At the exact moment the agent fingertips made contact with her side she couldn't avoid to start crying as she was pulling away from her.

"Hey, shh, it's okay, sweetheart" Alex wiped her tears before putting her hand again, that time being careful. "I need you to cough, okay?" the woman asked her making her nodded before doing it, the pain being even worse. "Good job, kiddo" Alex caressed her face as if she wanted to keep her calm.

"Let me know, Alex" J'onn asked before leaving.

"I need to take you t-shirt off, okay?" Alex told her right before helping her. "Lay down, Halley" the agent asked her, so she did while observing her. "Does it hurt here?" her cousin's sister put her hand on that zone making her cry. "Okay, I'll do a x-ray, it's not going to hurt"

Alex explained her what was going to happen before doing it, but she got scared anyways. However, she tried to keep calm during the x-ray, wanting to sit down when Alex came back.

"Hey, it's okay, sweetie" the agent calm her down while helping her getting dressed up. "You have a broken rib, kiddo" Alex told her, which made her frown. "It's a bone, it will heal, probably quicker if you lay down under this lamps" the woman explained while turning on the lamps, moment in which she started to panic, Was Alex leaving the room? "I'm not leaving, calm down, sweetheart" the agent held her hand to prove her words.

Both of them stay in silence for a few minutes, Alex thinking as she was observing her cousin's sister, she had never imagined that so many people would take care of her. However, a part of her was still thinking about the possibility of all being a dream from which she was going to wake up and she would be stuck with him again.

"Is he dead?" she asked with fresh tear in her eyes, she wasn't ready to hear a denial or a possibility, she didn't want to go back with him.

"Who?" Alex asked making her to look at the woman, who seemed to understand what she was asking. "He is" the agent answered as she started crying. "Hey, Are you okay?"

"I don't want to go back with him" she said between sobs, Alex getting closer to embrace her, her little face hidden on the agent's shoulder wanting to feel protected.

"You're not going back with him, sweetheart" her cousin's sister whispered in her ear. "Was him who made all those marks and bruises?" Alex asked with so much worry pulling her away a little, just enough to look at her eyes as she nodded.

Her father, someone she should have admired, but she ended up fearing him, was the only one responsible for every single mark or bruise she had all over her body. However, he was not only responsible for that but for her insecurities and fears.

She wiped her tears pulling away from Alex, but after looking at her, the woman picked her up to sit her on her lap and keep her hugged, her head resting on the agent's shoulder while continuing crying, eventually falling asleep.

Alex kept the little one on her arms, tears falling down her cheeks, her heart completely broken after hearing the kid saying that.

Honestly, she felt responsible for everything that had happened to the little girl, if she hadn't killed Astra, something would have been different, the kid would have been protected.

She observed the child for a few seconds. Halley was just like her mother, seeing how the kid kept hugged the teddy that she had given her previously, which made her remember her that J'onn was going to wash the blanket the little girl had when they found her, so she texted him to bring it.

The moment she had it, she wrapped the child with the blanket keeping her still in her arms, being able to see how the kid breath with agitation before calming down.

"Hey, how's everything going?" Kara asked standing at the door, which made her bow down her head.

"It's my fault" she claimed between sobs while increasing the strength of the hug. "I'm the reason why she's hurt" she looked at her sister, who was sitting in front of her.

"You've seen the marks, right?" Kara asked making her nodded.

"She has a broken rib" she said brushing the hair away from the kid's face. "I did this to her, Kara, I killed her mom" she blamed herself one more time.

"That's not true, you're not the one to blame" her sister shook her head. "Even if Astra was alive, Non would have found any moment to hurt her" Kara told her. "But that doesn't matter anymore, because now she has us and we're going to protect her" Kara claimed making her nodded.

She was going to do it herself, she was going to protect that child, no one was going to hurt her, but the most important thing was that kid was going to be loved.

"We're having dinner at my place" Kara told her as she was looking at the child in her arms.

"Protect her, Kara" she asked. "I have to leave, but wait for me to go back home, okay?" she looked at her sister seeing her nodded as she was laying the kid on the stretcher, not leaving without haven't kissing Halley's forehead.

Kara had explained her something about a dinner, her cousin had told her that her friends was coming to the dinner, which made her nervous.

At that moment Eliza was making dinner while she and both sisters were watching a movie, the three of them cozy under blankets, her head leaning on Kara's shoulder.

When the doorbell rang Alex sat up to open the door, both, Kara and her, looking to see who it was, J'onn appearing at the door frame.

"Do you give papa J'onn a hug?" Kara asked while sitting up.

"Papa?" she looked at her cousin kind of confused, approaching Alex and J'onn. "Is it okay if I call you papa?" she asked him, seeing he smiled while kneeling down to her height.

"It is, little one" J'onn answered before picking her up.

She hugged his neck, her head resting on his shoulder, hiding her face when she heard the door opening again to reveal two men, who she knew were Kara's friends.

J'onn increased the strength of the hug as if she wanted to show her that everything was fine, but she couldn't avoid being nervous.

"Is that her?" she heard one of them ask.

"Winn, you're scaring her" said Kara approaching them. "Hey, sweetie, Do you say hello?" her cousin asked as she looked at her before looking at her friends.

"Hi, I'm Winn, I'm Kara's best friend" talked the one who was closer to them. "He's James also Kara's friend" Winn presented him.

"Hi, kiddo" James smiled.

"Do you tell them your name?" Kara asked her.

"Halley" she barely whispered still with her head leaning on J'onn's shoulder.

The subject of the conversation was changed shortly after that, all of them sitting on the table to have dinner, Alex and Kara offering her different options, but food was still strange for her.

She rubbed her eyes while yawning, her head starting to rest on Alex's shoulder, who embraced her before sitting her on her lap.

"Are you tired?" Alex asked making her nodded. "Okay, let's go to bed, sweetie" the woman said picking her up before going to Kara's room and laying her on the bed. "Good night, little one" Alex tucked her in before kissing her forehead.

"Can you stay with me?" she barely whispered.

"Sure, sweetheart" Alex laid down beside her, hugging her against her. "Try to sleep, kiddo"

She smiled while closing her eyes, for the first time in a long time she felt really protected by all of them.

Hi!

Well, Alex finally spent some time alone with Halley, who seem to like her. Let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading,

Ayrin