Thank you for the reviews! Here's a longer chapter. I'm aiming to have them closer to this length. I'm not overly fond of the short chapters either. Almost all of them after this point will be around this length, maybe longer.
WARNING: Major Character Injury and descriptions of another mission and an explosion/explosive device.
Alex was reluctant to admit it to herself, but she really missed Maggie. She had been lonely at night before Maggie had come, and now it was just like before. She had no one to talk to and no one to ease her out of the nightmare she had that first night alone. Sleep wasn't happening, not the amount she needed to properly do her job.
Three and a half weeks… That's all she'd have to get through until she wouldn't be alone at night anymore. She'd see Maggie and she'd be with her sister and brother-in-law. Three and a half weeks… She could do it…
Alex finished her lunch and got up and put her tray away. She shook the thoughts from her head, walking back to her quarters. She had some work she wanted to finish before her afternoon training.
During the two days that Maggie had been home, she'd spent just as much time with Kara and Winn as she did alone relaxing at her own apartment.
Her favorite thing to do in the mornings was go for a walk and get a fresh cup of coffee with honey in it from one of the cafés on the waterfront. She'd take it with her and go to the park. She'd done it twice now, picking the same bench under one of the large trees and just took it all in.
Maggie liked the park. It was a peaceful place with the sounds of birds, water, children, and dogs in the background. To anyone else, it might even be a little too noisy, but it was just what Maggie needed. She looked forward to it each morning. She couldn't wait to go to Metropolis in less than two weeks and take her own child to the park.
As clichéd as it was, Maggie loved drinking her coffee and reading the newspaper on that bench. She could see herself and Alex coming and sitting on the bench together someday, enjoying the simplicity of it all.
The first morning she did it, she twitched and nearly ducked everytime someone on a bike went by and shifted gears. It definitely justified Maggie's reasoning to stay here for two weeks before going to Metropolis. The sounds around her at times were so similar to what she was used to hearing at war. They were everywhere.
Around the tenth time someone shifted gears near her, she had it down to just a twitch and turn of her head to be sure. She expected this and kept reminding herself that she was safe where she was. Those sounds didn't mean destruction and danger here. She just had to retrain her brain.
The second morning, things were better. She had kept her window open at night to familiarize herself with the sounds of the city again. She was making progress and once again, was thankful that most of her time in service hadn't been dealing with active missions. She was faring well and was pleased with herself.
She knew those instincts to duck and go for cover weren't going away anytime soon, but with each recurring sound, her reaction was decreasing more and more. She was home, she was safe.
Today, Maggie went earlier than normal for her walk, intending to head over to Kara's and Winn's afterwards.
Winn had explained to her that for a while, Kara had been skeptical about her. She's extremely protective of her sister and didn't want Maggie to end up hurting her, intentionally or not. But after Donovan had died, Kara had been concerned about someone having Alex's back the way he did, which Maggie proved she did.
On a few occasions, it saved both of their lives knowing that they had someone on their six. They were able to rely on each other for missions as well as the other times when they just needed a friend. Kara could see that, even through skype, which is why they extended their home to her almost three days ago and have no intention of leaving Maggie high and dry. Kara was so grateful that Maggie had been there for Alex. Anyone willing to protect Alex and have Alex protect them, was a part of their family. That's just how it went in the world of the Danvers.
And that's how Maggie found herself sitting at Kara's dining room table after her walk, right next to Kara waiting for the skype call to be answered. It was time for Alex's weekly skype session with her sister, and until further notice, with Maggie too.
Sure enough, moments later, Alex's smiling face showed up.
"For the record," Alex began, "it is so weird to see the two of you together on the other side of this screen."
It was early in the morning in National City, but the time didn't bother Maggie. Her body was still used to the time zone she was in, in Afghanistan. The second reason Maggie was so awake was that she was excited to be spending another day with Kara. She was going to go to work with her at her shop today. She'd be just hanging out and offering her help wherever it was needed, but it was something. She needed something to do and some kind of routine if she was going to start adjusting back into civilian life. Kara wasn't going to complain about the extra help either.
"Just a little under four weeks left, Danvers. Then none of us will have to talk through a screen. We can make regular phone calls and send texts."
Alex smiled at them. "Kara, you're going to get such a massive hug when I land. I've missed your hugs and sister cuddles so freaking much."
"Believe me Alex, if I could reach through this computer and hug you, I would've done it three years ago when we started Skype calls again… Or done that during your first tour."
"That is very true…" Alex looked over at Maggie, "are Winn and my sister treating you well?"
Maggie nodded, showing her dimples. "Yeah, they are. I never knew it was possible for pancakes for dinner to be so delicious. We ate in here on my first night back."
Alex laughed, "pancakes and breakfast food, they can do. Just don't let her try to cook anything else for you. The fire department is fairly familiar with them at this point."
"Hey!" Kara shouted in mock offense, pouting. "I'll have you know that I've been getting better at cooking, thank you very much! Winn and I have both been taking classes."
"Wow… Really?" Alex asked. As far as she knew, Kara and Winn were both happy eating takeout forever. They both ate like children on a spree when their parents aren't home. "What made you want to start doing that?"
Kara shrugged, "Mom may have came here and dragged us…" A sheepish smile grew on her face.
Alex snorted, "of course Mom did."
"I'm planning on trying out some of my new-found skills on this one," she said pointing with her head at Maggie, "hopefully tonight. Last week we learned how to make this amazing breaded fish. It was even edible!"
Both Alex and Maggie chuckled at her excitement. Maggie guessed that expressing such excitement over breaded fish meant that they really had been terrible cooks.
"Well maybe I can give you a few tips too." Maggie suggested. "I'm not too terrible of a cook… Not too shabby at baking either. If you're up for cupcakes, I can make some tonight."
"Stopppp, now I want cupcakes!" Alex whined.
"Well I'll make you your own batch when you get back here!" Maggie said to her.
Alex was going to say something else but stopped when someone's head popped into her tent. Alex stood immediately at attention. "Danvers, we need you. Now. New intel and we gotta jump on it." Alex nodded and he disappeared.
"I gotta go." Alex said to the two women.
"Okay, I love you Alex. Be safe." Kara said to her.
"Love you too sis… See ya Mags."
"Bye Danvers."
…
Later, they all would come to regret not saying more.
…
"Major, I think we need another day to pull this off properly." Alex said to Major McNeil. "I don't like the intel we have. We're essentially flying blind. This isn't the person I want to go after without being fully prepared."
"We might be flying blind Danvers, but if we don't move now, they'll be gone. This guy has slipped past us several times already. Tomorrow will be too late and you know it. You've got roughly four hours before this needs to happen. I'm sorry, Danvers, but this is above me. This target needs to be acquired or taken out."
Alex took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was right, and they weren't really given a choice with this. But that didn't mean Alex was happy going in somewhere that hadn't been fully scoped out. "Alright, we'll be ready to go in four hours." They nodded at each other before Alex left the tent.
…
"I want everyone to use extreme caution when carrying out this mission… More so than normal. We don't want to take any chances when it comes to this guy." Alex said to everyone before they headed into the waiting helicopters.
…
"Everyone in position?" Alex whispered through the comms. She got the affirmative from each designated person in response. "Entering now," she said before they silently entered the house that was at the edge of a destroyed town.
The teams quickly and efficiently eliminated all of their targets as they came across them. After months of evading them, they were finally able to eliminate their target, the ringing of bullets ending into the quiet night. It hadn't been easy by any means. Quick and efficient didn't equate to easy. Gunfire had been exchanged but they were all taken out.
But something didn't feel right. Nothing about this mission, from the briefing until now, felt right. They knew everyone had been taken out. It was just them left alive in the house.
Alex took out her comms as did a few of the soldiers around her. "Something feels wrong. Be careful looking for intel. This guy doesn't seem like one to go quietly." After receiving nods, Alex followed Matthews out of the room and down the stairs. He took one room and she took the next.
Nothing in the room she was in could offer anything of value, so she went to find Matthews when he called out for her.
"You find something?" She asked, entering the last room. It was significantly larger than any of the others in the house. It looked like it would've been a meeting area, but it was cleared of tables and chairs. Everyone else was already starting to clear out of the house, taking with them the notebooks they found.
"Yeah, look at these markings on the ceiling." He said pointing up. She looked up from the doorway. It almost looked like it was a playbook that extended down.
Matthews continued to wander around looking around him, not watching his steps. There was a rug across the floor, and as Alex looked closer, something didn't look right.
She saw it too late and had no time to say anything before Matthews' foot was ready to take the next step. He wouldn't stop in time… She was right when she said what she did upstairs. There was no way that guy would go out quietly.
Her blood ran cold and she dove at him.
…
Everyone dove for cover when an explosion rang out through the night. Guns at the ready, the soldiers couldn't locate any enemies. The explosion had come from inside the structure, causing a section of it to collapse.
Anti-Personnel Mine.
One of the soldiers, Marcus, realized that two of them were missing: Danvers and Matthews.
… … … … … … … …
"… Tourniquet! … Disloca- … -oulder … Losing! … Keep- … -wake!"
"You got- … -hold on Al- … -ld on!"
The ringing and shouting were beyond disorienting. Nothing felt like it was connecting in her head. The movement made her feel like she was floating above the ground, people blurring around her. The night sky was above her and there were muffled sounds of chopper blades that were a lot closer.
"Marcus! Get her talking!"
"… -vrs … Danv- … -ers … Danvers! …"
Marcus' face came into view, blurry, but Alex could still see who it was. She was still really confused.
"Soccer or football?" He asked, but it was too muffled to understand.
At Alex's growing confusion, he asked again. "Soccer or football?"
"S-soccer?" Alex answered.
Marcus smiled, or that's what it looked like. Alex couldn't really tell. "You ever play it? You look like you could."
"S-school, 'n college." She answered. She was growing more and more tired. She didn't understand what was happening or why this seemed like the most important conversation Marcus has ever had with someone.
"I knew it. What position?"
Alex's eyes were closing. "T-tired." She just wanted to sleep.
"No, Danvers! I've got a bet going! I've got twenty bucks on the line! What position did you play?" Marcus tried again getting her attention.
"F-forw-ward. S-sometimes d-def-fense. Al-always badass." Alex smiled weekly, or she thought she was smiling. She used to play in the yard at home in Midvale. She'd play with her dad and Kara. Her mom would always have fresh lemonade and snacks for them when they were done. She'd cheer them on and keep score while they ran around in that summer sun…
Alex felt like she was flying. Was she flying?... She thinks she might've broken her promise to Maggie. She's sorry… She's really sorry.
"Danv- … -ers! … -anver- … D- …"
PAIN.
… Nothing.
.
Remember, Alex Danvers will not die.