Lucy isn't… a great cook. She's military, and as long as it was filling and edible, her interest generally dropped off. Plus, she didn't exactly grow up in a family dinner kind of a place, especially after her mom passed. But she'd insisted, with that eye tilt that meant she her mind could not be changed, so Maggie surrendered.

If she wanted to attempt to cook for Date Night 2.0 then so be it. Didn't stop the cop from making sure the fire extinguisher was still within its use by.

"You have been holding out on me," Maggie mumbled, eyeing whatever the pasta-y tomato-y thing on her plate was.

Lucy smiled around her wine glass; eyes set on the Detective.

"You do know that I didn't just go from my dad's military compounds straight into the army, yeah? I did go to law school – I had to fend for myself, however briefly."

"Then why haven't we been enjoying your skills the last year?"

Lucy tipped her head to either side, setting down her glass. "I don't really enjoy it, per say. Cooking that is," she smiled salaciously when another moan escaped Maggie's mouth from a particularly fake-cheesy bite. "I am seeing other upsides now."

Maggie actually, genuinely, laughed at the wiggling eyebrows thrown at her, both dimples popping and making Lucy's heart stutter.

"You should cook with me," Maggie offered, pausing to another bite. At Lucy's arched brow, she explained. "You might not like cooking, but I do. It'd be nice, doing something like that together, don't you think?"

The lawyer had to draw upon years of courtroom experience to ignore the prickling behind her eyes – heart warm, smile soft. "Sounds like a date."

So, everything is going well. So, well in fact. For the first time in months they were just Lucy and Maggie, no haunting absence in the room. It wasn't that Alex was gone per say, it just felt like one of those nights the doctor was trapped in the lab running an overnight experiment or committed to a sister's night - but she'd still insisted that the other two crash at hers. If they wanted. And they had always wanted.

But instead of fooling around on the couch (or enjoying the extra space on Alex's bed) they'd actually committed to a date just between the two of them, reminiscent of the beginning of the triad. Lucy had insisted that she and Maggie date occasionally without their third – that they actually take the time to get to know each other before committing to something so complicated. It was nice – and probably the healthiest single evening since Alex left.

They'd even curled up on the couch together, the first time they have truly relaxed since March. Lucy could just feel the ends of sleep tugging her under, Maggie's hands in her hair, head on the cop's lap while she tucked herself back into the corner of the couch. Slowly, soothingly, Lucy had slipped her hand under the edges of Maggie's shirt, running light fingers over the warm flesh. It seemed both were holding off on other types of intimacy for the evening, but this was soft and romantic and a step forward. Then static lit up their TV.

"To his captors... We demand you turn over Mon-El of Daxam. We know where he is harbored. If you do not relinquish him by dawn, we will take him with force."

For fucks sa-

PERSONAL LOG: DR ALEX DANVERS (#1)

When the screen lit up, there was no one in the frame. But the audio picked up a scuffle off to the left.

"Would you please just sit down!" exasperated, followed by a series of grunts and bangs. "For Feys sake Alex- Urgh! No licking- that is disgusting! What's the matter with you!?"

A somewhat manic laugh, punctuated by another sound, like the squeaking of rubber on the floor. "Guess you didn't grow up with siblings, huh!?"

"Bleh, what would possess such a revolting-HA!" Suddenly, Alex entered the frame violently, the hands of the second person just visible as they shoved her into the chair in front of the camera. "Now would you please-"

"No! I really don't wanna to do this El," she was still laughing as she spoke, facing her apparent assailant rather than the camera.

"You can't just do those stupid logs every two weeks! You are in here more than everyone else combined and you are like, the only one who hasn't made anything for your family!" Rolling her eyes, Alex turned to face the camera, raising a single eyebrow as if sharing her exasperation with the imaginary audience.

"That seems like my business, don't cha think?"

"Well, I'm making it my business!" Someone leaned into the frame, human looking as far as aliens went - Normal-ish skin tone, two eyes, a mouth. But tucked behind slightly too sharp ears was broad leaves instead of hair, highlighted by a startling red color. She grinned directly into the camera, leaning over Alex's shoulder and resting both hands on the arm rest.

"Hello family of the Great and Stupid Doctor Alex Danvers. She loves you all very much and talks about you incessantly! Unfortunately, she has refused to A) tell us your names so that we could do this for her. AND B) do one of these herself because she is, quote 'too fucking pissed off by the whole thing to be anything but an asshole.'"

She leans back in the frame, patting the disgruntled but still smiling Alex on the shoulder, who looked up at her. "So, I have bodily dragged her down here. Or, well," she looked off to the side, red eyebrows pulling together. "I guess I tricked her, then dragged? I couldn't drag her more than a couple feet, she's freakishly strong for a human… ANYWAY!" Clapping her hands together with a little jump, she returned her eyes to the frame. Alex rolled her eyes back to the camera. "I'll leave her to it. I hope she says nice things. But even if she doesn't, you should know that she does miss you. I personally think she works harder than everyone here to get back to you – even if not everyone lets her."

With a last smile, and a final pat to Alex's shoulder, the Alstarian exited the frame, leaving a slightly rumpled Alex alone.

"Ah… So, I guess I have no choice, huh?" She gave a half smile, tucking jaw length hair behind an ear. "I know that I should have done one of these ages ago. I just," her smile faded before she shook out her hands and tried again. "Ella's right. I am pretty angry all the time, and I didn't want to have your last memory of me be… assholary. Though, Luce I know that you would say that is my primary setting anyway, and I should lean into it."

"It's been… almost a year since we left. And I have missed you all each and every day – but that's also what keeps me going, I guess. We are only about 30% through our journey, which is the most depressing sentence I have ever said. But Scho'ty assures me that we are moving at a good speed, given our goals and limitations. I just 'need to be patient' or whatever, so you know, my strong suit," she smiles self-deprecatingly.

"I guess if you have this drive, then you also have my logs. So, you know the general situation… or what I felt I could say that would be publicly available to the crew. It was… tough for me, at the beginning. I mean, it was tough for everyone! It's just, I was the only human and working for… who I worked for made me look really bad. I don't blame them for being suspicious…"

"The only reason I survived those first months is because of people like Lyra and El, and those that I helped save really early on. Most of the crew wanted to string me up… literally. Things were pretty bad until the battle of Hemithea. They'd never seen me fight, I guess, and Lyron is nothing if not practical… since then I have mostly gained the crews trust."

She waved her hand around her vaguely, "I don't even have a guard following me around anymore!"

Her chuckle kind of trailed off, as she rubbed at the side of her face angrily. "Sorry, I probably shouldn't tell you guys about that. Doesn't matter anyway," she sat up straighter again, dropping her hand with a forced smile. "I'm still the head medic– not cause we don't have other doctors! The aliens Lillian captured came from all kinds of backgrounds, some with hundreds of years of experience and knowledge that I can't even grasp! But, aside from Dryl, who is a bio-mechanic, not many had experience with multiple types of biological make up. So… my background made me a better fit to help the most people. I have learnt so much! If this were any other scenario, it would be exciting…"

"After Hemithea I also help with the guard. I generally don't do any of the trading work, that requires going off ship. Most planets aren't too humanly friendly, if you catch my drift? Not to mention that the galaxy we just left had a very unpleasant anti-female vibe. But I help with training, and Lyron sometimes, quietly, takes my advice on strategic matters."

Suddenly, genuine excitement and affection lit up her eyes, a smile pulling at her. "Plus, I asked the mechanics if they would give me some useful training in the engine room! Ky is dying to get in there, but there's a strict age bar. So, I figure I could get some training, learn a helpful skill and help her out. She's probably 11 now and is dead set on becoming an engineer or mechanic – but our education out here is pretty limited so gotta be creative!"

Smile fading, her eyes focused more directly on the camera, envisioning making eye contact with the family she was speaking to.

"I really do miss you guys. I promise, I'm doing everything I can to get home. And Winn," taking a sudden deep breath, pushing away the desire to cry. "I'm gonna do what I promised okay? I'm gonna bring Lyra, and everyone else back. And I'm… I'm just so sorry that this happened, okay? I need you all to know, that I did everything I could to stop this, and now I'm doing everything I can to fix it. I love you all, and I just," her eyes pinched as she looked away, fingers digging into her knees as her eyes reddened. "I'm so sorry."

Lucy's heart had lurched. The moment her missing girlfriend's baby sister vanished into some alien beam of light (because Kara Danvers would not lose another person) her heart tried to puncture out of her ribcage.

The only thing – the only thing – that kept her from falling apart, was that this was work.

She was standing in the DEO, in her DEO blacks, surrounded by DEO agents, and she was not allowed to scream bloody murder.

Oh – but there would be a murder – all that was up for debate was whether Mon-El or Kara is on the chopping block.

So, she took deep breaths and ignored J'onn's knowing look. She followed protocol and listened calmly when Kara radioed in. She told Winn, who kept glancing up at her anxiously, to get her the moment Kara returned and did paperwork in an empty conference room. For two hours she sat professionally and filled out meaningless documents. She did so without complaint, without a hair out of place, and silently. Then her phone buzzed.

It took exactly one look at Kara's face to know things were about to go poorly for Mon-El.

Something he seemed unaware of. "So, you survived the first dinner with the fam!"

Walking towards the balcony platform, Kara turned her back on Lucy. But she didn't need to see her face to read distain in her voice. "You're a liar."

"I'm sorry, okay? But can you really blame me for wanting to just be Mon-El, a regular guy from Daxam?"

"Oh, wow," Kara said in exasperation, half turning away.

"With how you feel about Daxamites, if you had known that I was the crown prince, would you even talk to me?"

"You didn't even give me the chance!"

"Okay!" Lucy got between them – pressing a hand to Kara's chest. "Conference room – Now."

Holding his eyes for another angry moment, Kara stormed off. Sweeping a hand in her direction, Lucy encouraged boy wonder to follow, half a step behind. Neither of them noticed that every DEO agent in the room avoided looking in their directions – like the kids being dragged out of class for a scolding.

Kara had marched right into a meeting room and was staring out the bank of windows – back to the door, arms crossed – looking every bit the vengeful superhero. This was a deep contrast to Mon-El's cautious steps.

"Now," Lucy locked the door behind them, walking to stand between them again. "One of you is going to explain what the hell is happening, and you are going to do so like the professional's you pretend to be."

"I have nothing to say."

"Kara, come on," his voice boarded a whine. "I tried to tell you so many times, okay? I really did."

Silence – Lucy was almost proud.

"Me being the prince… doesn't change anything," probably the most insane single sentence of the night, "it doesn't change how I feel about you," but apparently boy wonder was sweeping past the groundbreaking information back into high school drama.

Still, Supergirl stared out into the city – but the Director could see her expression in the glass's reflection– Kara Danvers was looking back. I'm broken echoed in Lucy's ears, as it had every day since that junk yard.

"Please, Kara, just tell me what to do, okay? I said that I'm sorry, what more do you want?"

Supergirl's head tilted forward, and as she turned, she raised it to look into the Daximite's eyes. Her jaw was tight with fury and hurt, but her eyes were clear. "You lied to me – you made me believe that you're something you aren't. And right now, with everything else," her voice hitched, forcing her to take another breath to steady herself. "I can't be with someone who I have to prop up – I can't be your mentor or teacher anymore, Mon-El. I can't be your reason anymore."

Reality was dawning on his face. "What are you saying?"

"I can't – I can't do this. I can't be with you."

"Look, Kara, if this is about Al-"

"Don't!" It was years of military that kept Lucy rooted to the spot when Kara suddenly advanced, eyes on fire. "Don't you dare say her name."

That rendered him silent. The entire room dragged into the tension of the missing loved one and the idiotic man-child picking at the wound.

"Okay," Lucy turned to face Mon-El. "So, what I gathered from this is that you are not, in fact, a royal guard who was just another subject of a corrupt regime. Rather, you are the crown prince of a slave keeping planet. And currently hovering over my city with the large threatening guns, is your mother, the Queen. And she is under the impression that you are… our prisoner?"

"She doesn't think I'm a prisoner anymore."

"But everything else – the lying and the royalty and the angry gun-wielding mother, that's all a full and accurate description of our situation?"

He paused, eyes flicking between Kara's furious eyes, and Lucy's… furious eyes.

"Yeah, that's accurate."

"And what is it she wants?"

"Me to return to Daxam."

"Okay," the Director nodded, pressing her palms together and then against her forehead. "So, this is what is going to happen. Mon-El, you have two choices. Option one, you return to your home planet, taking your mother and her guns with you. Option two, you are going to talk to your mother and explain that you need time to think about this, and in the meantime, could she not fire on the city in which we all live. Understood?"

He hesitated, waiting for Kara to chime in, say literally anything. She remained silent; arms folded. Defeatedly, he nodded, turning and yanking the door open to leave with his tail between his legs. Lucy made a mental note to have maintenance repair the freshly gouged doorframe.

She waited for the door to swing closed against before she let her suppressed… everything come to the surface.

"Now you!" Kara's eyes widened imperceptibly, before narrowing back into Supergirl's persona. "Never do that again!"

Lucy was still pointing, still glaring, still standing tall in her DEO issue boots and looking ready to kill an invincible alien – but anger was gone from her voice. Now, it was fear that drove Lucy's mind into a panic.

"I didn't know he was the Prince! I couldn't just let him go up there alone!"

"You just vanished into space!"

A pause.

"Oh."

"Oh is right!" Lucy's breathing was shallow, her heart slamming against her rib cage, making her feel lightheaded.

"I radioed down."

"You radioed-" Pinching the bridge of her nose, Lucy took one cooling breath which did exactly nothing to calm the fear raging in her chest. "For ten minutes I thought I had lost another Danvers sister – For ten minutes all I could imagine was you being teleported to the other side of the universe."

Wide eyed, Kara didn't even try to rebut.

"Do you understand? Do you understand that I can't lose you too Kara?"

"I'm sorry Lucy," she whispered, biting her lip. "Really, I didn't think. It won't happen again."

After a moment, Lucy exhaled harshly and nodded – It was too hard to stay mad at her anyway, the giant puppy. Kara raised her hand, wiggling her fingers in offering, warming Lucy's still racing heart.

Breathing out a laugh, she reached back, tangling their fingers. "I'm going to hold you to that."