Alex was poured over Sam's scans in Med Bay, where she had been ordered to stay until her ribs healed up. She was meticulously combing through each one, desperate to find a hint that would give Sam the answers she needed. Her hair fell, covering her face; she straightened up and pushed it back into place. I caught her eye and she smiled once she saw me and made her way to the door.

"Were you spying on me?" she asked, coyly. She held the door while I stepped through, with my hands full.

"Thanks." I passed her one of the coffees I was holding. She sighed and thanked me. "How else would I stay one step ahead of you?"

"I wish you were one step ahead of me on this one," she said, sitting on her stool and taking a sip of her coffee. She stretched, feeling the stiffness settling in the came with the healing process.

"Has someone looked at your ribs today?" I asked, watching a smirk cross her lips.

"No, it's Connors on today. And his hands are always so cold," she said, sitting back from the desk and shrugging off her jacket.

"Oh, so that's why you sent me on the coffee run," I teased, moving beside her and lifting the side of her shirt. The bruising had softened from the dark, violent purple to pink and yellows. "Better here?"

"Yeah, no where near as bad as last week," she flinched, as I pressed gently on her healing bones. I lowered her shirt and held her jacket for her to put back on.

"The swelling looks much better and the bruising is dissipating," I said, looking over her shoulder at Sam's file. "Unlike this case." I moved back to the side of the desk and took a sip of coffee.

"I feel like I'm so close and it's just staring at me," Alex turned in her chair to face me. "Kind of like you, what's going on with you?"

I looked down at my coffee, working up the nerve. "Do you want to grab dinner sometime?"

"Sure, what do you want to order tonight?" Alex asked, grabbing the menus from the drawer and flipping through them. "No more sushi. The last time we had that stuff my stomach was rolling for hours."

"I meant, would you join me for dinner? Like outside the DEO. Like a date," I said, leaning on the counter beside her stool.

Alex's face flushed and she hesitantly smiled. I've wanted to ask her out for a while now, but I'd heard that she was having a hard time with her break up. I didn't want to push her into anything or be a rebound. But for some reason, today, I finally got over my nerves and hoped she would too. Maybe it was the way she looked at me or how natural we felt together; but it made me feel a certain way. Well, over my nerves until she hesitated. But just as quickly as her flush appeared, she relaxed. "Yeah, dinner sounds great."

My smile instantly returned and my nerves faded away. "Okay, how about Friday?"

"Friday sounds good," she answered, grinning. "I'll pick you up at eight o'clock, after Charlie is in bed?"

The thought of getting back on her motorcycle still concerned me, but the excitement I was feeling told me I'd go anywhere with Alex.

"Perfect," I answered, leaning a touch closer to her; that smile was my favourite. But before our perfect moment could get any more perfect, Supergirl rushed past the doors.

"Guys, we need you both at the Command Centre."

"I can't believe the last couple days. How's Winn holding up?" I asked Kara, as we walked to the command desk the next morning.

"He just wants to work and pretend like nothing has changed. It's like we're not even going to his Dad's funeral this afternoon," she answered, clearly not liking his approach.

"Well, his relationship with his father was strained at best. Winn basically disowned him after the murder trial. It probably felt like he died then," I said. The loss of Winn's dad was bringing up issues of my own.

"I know, but he's still hurt and he needs to process everything instead of just jumping back in and putting everything into work."

"Kara, you can't fix everything, although, sometimes we wish you could," I said, as we walked up to the desk where Rae was.

"Yeah," she sighed, nodding hello to Rae. "Okay, car leaves in ten." She left me at the desk with Rae while she went to find J'onn.

"Hey, how's everyone doing?"

"I think they're fine, maybe just a difference in coping," I answered, leaning my elbows next to where Rae was sitting. "Thanks for coming with me today. I hate funerals. I mean, obviously there aren't many people that enjoy them. But still, I feel better knowing you're there."

"Of course, I'm sure Winn can use all the support as well," smiled Rae.

She was looking very serious out of her long sleeve DEO t-shirt and back in her sleek black suit. I took a moment to admire her in it; the white collared shirt unbuttoned just enough.

"Right. What are you working on?" I asked, hoping to lighten the conversation and take my mind off how great Rae looked.

"I grabbed some journals I found on cell regeneration and mutation. I was just curious since the yellow sun clearly has different effects on different people. I was hoping to get a better grasp as to why that is," she said, leafing through the pages. "I was wondering if maybe it would help us understand what's happening to Sam a little better."

"Well, I've studied a bit of Supergirls' DNA, maybe I can be your study buddy," I offered, nudging her shoulder with mine. Rae grinned and I noticed how perfect her lips looked.

"Okay! Let's do this!" announced Kara, with a loud clap heading toward the garage.

A quick glance at Rae, who shared the same smirk I did, told me she had been thinking the same thing. I was more than ready for our date tomorrow.

Alex and I walked up the pathway that led to Mr. Schott's final resting place. Winn was there with James, his expression looking blank. I walked up to Winn and gave him a quick hug.

"If there's anything you need, just call," I reminded him, he nodded but his look didn't waver. Alex followed behind me, holding Winn close for an extra second or two before straightening back up. We moved to the other side and waited while the others showed up. J'onn and Kara walked up with the facilitator and Kara took her place beside Winn, holding his hand. As we listened to the man speak, I noticed Alex becoming increasingly uncomfortable. She continuously shuffled her footing while looking at her hands in front of her. I stepped closer to her, allowing our shoulders to meet and subtly slid my hand into hers. I saw her look at our hands and felt her body become less tense. As we watched Winn throw a hand full of dirt at the coffin, we all straightened when we saw a woman approach him. We watched, as Winn didn't look entirely impressed by her presence.

"What is it?" I heard Alex ask Kara.

"I can hear something," she said, straining her hearing.

"Yeah, I can hear it too, like a ticking," I said, straining to hear where it was coming from.

As I said it, Kara's eyes widened. "Bomb!" She yelled, diving to cover Winn and the woman who claimed to be his mother.

The next thing I knew, I was on the ground with Alex above me. "Little slow today eh?" she asked, when the dust settled. I unclenched her jacket from my hands, which I had grabbed when she pushed me to the ground, to block me from the explosion.

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks," I said, sitting up.

"Anytime," she offered a hand to help me up.

"Although next time, I think I should be on top," I suggested, brushing myself off. "Since I have that whole self healing thing going for me."

"You want to be on top. Gotcha," said Alex, with a wink. I couldn't hide my smirk, as Alex walked over to Kara and helped Winn and the woman off the ground.

Friday found me at home, looking at journals and reports scattered all over the kitchen table. It felt like every time I had a theory, the next journal would have a discovery that proved it wrong. I had been reading medical jargon since breakfast with Mom and Charlie. It was now after lunch and Mom thought it would be a good idea to walk over to the market and see if she could get Charlie down for a nap. I got up to stretch my legs and grabbed another coffee. As the clock ticked down, all I could think about was my date with Alex. I was trying to figure out what to wear when my phone rang.

"Agent Gand," I answered, not looking at the screen.

"Hi Hun."

"Oh, sorry Mom, what's up?" I said, grabbing my coffee and moving back to my desk.

"Rae, do you think you could come pick us up? I'm just not feeling like myself."

"Really? That's weird, you can't be getting sick," I said, knowing that wasn't possible on this earth. "Okay, I'm on my way. I'll call you when I get there. Maybe it's your inhibitor."

My lunch with J'onn and his dad had been great, until Mr. J'onzz asked me to leave. I didn't mean to overstep, I was just trying to protect J'onn. He needs to know how far along his fathers condition has progressed. Clearly, his father did not feel the same way. I walked into Cat Co. looking for Kara; I needed to shake this horrible feeling before my date tonight.

"Hey," she said, greeting me at the elevator.

"Hi," I answered, handing her a coffee. "Do you have a second?"

"Of course, what's up?" she said, sitting at her desk. I leaned against the desk and took a sip of my coffee.

"I think I upset M'yrnn while we were having lunch this afternoon. I suggested that he tell J'onn how his condition had progressed and he got pretty mad and asked me to leave," I said, feeling horrible.

"Well, I'm sure hearing the truth out loud is hard to hear. Especially when he's just worried about hurting J'onn," she said. "An amazing person once told me, you can't fix everything."

I rolled my eyes. I hated when she used my words against me. "I said you couldn't fix everything, that didn't mean I couldn't."

"Well, not to dismiss your lunch, but don't you have a date to be getting ready for?" asked Kara, with a grin bigger than usual.

"I'm so nervous," I admitted, feeling that smile I got every time I thought of Rae. I reached for my phone to check the time and realized I must have left it at J'onn's when I rushed out. "Dammit, I forgot my phone when I left lunch. What time is it?"

"Time for you to go and change your outfit about five times and put on that new perfume I've smelt you wearing this week," answered Kara, gently pushing me towards the door. "Don't be nervous, you're amazing and anyone would be lucky to spend an evening with you."

"Thanks Kara," I said, giving my sister a hug before heading home.

I had brought Mom home and got her to bed. I checked her inhibitor to make sure it was still working and everything seemed fine.

"I'm not sure what's causing you to feel sick Mom," I said, covering her up. "I think it would be best if we went into the DEO and ran some tests."

"Don't be silly, I'm fine. I just need a quick nap and then you can be on your way to meet Agent Danvers," she said, sounding weaker than on the phone.

"Mom, I'm not leaving you to look after Charlie while you're not feeling well. Alex will understand," I said, slightly disappointed that I'd have to cancel with Alex. "I can monitor you for now while you rest, but tomorrow, we need to go to the DEO. We need answers."

I picked Charlie up off the bed and closed the door to my Moms' room so she could rest. We headed to the kitchen and I sat Charlie in her high chair with a snack. I stared at my phone wondering what to say to Alex. I felt horrible for having to cancel but now I had no babysitter. Finally, I sucked it up and dialled the phone number. It rang until voicemail picked up. I sighed, hating that I'd have to leave a message.

"Hey Alex, it's me. I'm really sorry to do this but I'm going to have to reschedule. I don't have a babysitter for Charlie. Something's come up with my mom. I'm so sorry. I really hope we can still make this happen, I was really looking forward to tonight. Anyways, give me a call when you get this."

"Lame," I mumbled to myself, feeling super bummed and worried that Alex would take the cancellation the wrong way. I looked over at Charlie, who was still working on her cracker.

"Well Miss, looks like it's just you and me tonight," I said, making her laugh. "I'm thinking pizza, what do you think?"

Charlie clapped her hands and mumbled something that resembled half of the word pizza.

"Okay, sounds good to me," I said, picking her up and moving to the living room floor with all her toys. I kept checking my phone waiting for Alex to text or call me back. I was already regretting my message. I put my phone down, resisting the urge to call her again.

I checked my hair for what felt like the hundredth time and it still looked the same. I grabbed my keys and the flowers I picked up on the way home. I knew they were cheesy but I wanted to do this right. My relationship with Maggie always felt born out of drama and rushed into passion because we were running high on adrenaline. It made things great but I wanted this time to be different. I wanted to take things slow with Rae and actually feel everything. I wanted to strip everything back so we know exactly what we want in one another; that's what I need. And old fashioned dating did that, so flowers it was. I reached for my phone to check the time and annoyingly remembered I still didn't have it. Finding the clock on the stove, I figured I could leave now and causally be a couple minutes early. I grabbed my helmet and headed towards Rae's.

With each passing house, my stomach became more and more knotted. I fought dangers every day and I've never been this nervous. What was crazier was that I've seen Rae almost everyday for almost half a year and she still made me feel this way. I pulled up in front of her house and pulled off my helmet. I saw Rae in the window, dancing around with Charlie. They were laughing and twirling around and I had never seen anyone so beautiful. I left my helmet on the bike and grabbed the flowers and headed up the walkway. I took a couple deep breaths before knocking. The moments between my hand leaving the door and it opening felt like forever and my heart was crashing against my chest.

"Hi! How much do I owe-Alex?" answered Rae, looking shocked and confused.

"Hey, I know I'm a little early," I said, when I saw her confusion.

"You didn't get my message," said Rae, looking behind the door to check on Charlie. "Sorry, I should've tried again."

"I don't have my phone," I mumbled, realizing Rae had cancelled our date. "You wanted to cancel and I came anyway. I'm sorry. I'll go."

"No, Alex, wait," she said, reaching for my hand and stopping me. "I definitely did not want to cancel. I was really looking forward to tonight. But something's up with my mom, she's not feeling well. It's actually something I wanted to discuss with you. Obviously, not at this moment. But, at some point. And now, I'm rambling because I was super nervous for tonight and now you're here and I'm not dressed and I'm not ready and I don't have a babysitter."

I smiled as she rambled and pulled her blonde hair to one shoulder. Something, I've come to recognize as a thing she did when she was anxious.

"I think you look great," I said, when she finally stopped talking and met my eyes. I handed her the flowers.

She smiled and smelled them. "Thank you, they're beautiful." She checked behind the door, once again.

"Well, I should go," I said, pointing at the bike. "But we should definitely reschedule."

"Actually," she said, pausing to think about what to say next. "I know it's not the most romantic first date, but pizza and a cute third wheel could still be a fun night." She pushed the door wide open to reveal Charlie climbing up the step from the living room. I couldn't help but laugh as the baby clapped and pointed at me. Charlie took another couple of steps once she conquered the stair and reached out towards me. I picked her up and smiled at her.

"Pizza and this adorable girl, sounds perfect," I said, accepting the invitation in.

"Okay, she's in her crib, but still in her clothes. I didn't want to risk waking her to attempt pyjamas. I think I've handled bombs that were easier to put down than that baby," said Alex, taking the wine glass I offered her and laughing. "Thank you."

"I'm sure you have! And when she wakes up after a power nap, you're in trouble." We walked back into the living room and I picked up the toys we had all over. Alex started to help. "Oh you don't have to do that, I'm just making room so we can sit."

"I think I pulled majority of these out of there," she smiled, passing me a handful of toys to put in the toy box. "I think I was having more fun than Charlie."

"Charlie had a blast, she's so comfortable around you. It's nice to see her open up to someone other than my mom and I. She's usually pretty shy. She definitely never falls asleep in my lap without some coaxing," I admitted.

"Really? I'm glad she likes me. She's got quite the personality already. She's just like you," said Alex, sitting on the couch and taking a sip of her wine.

"Thank you for being so understanding about tonight. I know it wasn't what I had in mind for our first date but-"

"But it was amazing," finished Alex, turning in her seat so we were facing one another once I joined her on the couch. The flames from the candles I had lit earlier were dancing in her beautiful brown eyes.

"Yes," I agreed. "It was."

I saw her eyes drop to my lips and I pushed her hair back before letting my fingers brush through it. I moved closer and felt her soft lips on mine. I closed my eyes and it felt like fireworks through my body. I traced her bottom lip with my tongue and I felt her hand slide up my neck as she deepened the kiss. I leaned back against the arm of the couch and felt Alex lean into me. Her body fit perfectly against mine, my hands were moving under her shirt, feeling her soft skin.

"Mama?" came through the monitor linked with Charlie's room. Alex stopped and leaned back with a smirk.

"Sorry," I said, checking the monitor and seeing Charlie roll over before falling back asleep. We didn't say anything while we tried to catch our breath. I reached out and touched a piece of her hair that had fallen around her face again.

"I've wanted to do that for so long," Alex said. I leaned back up to reach Alex, who was still sitting between my legs.

"Me too," I answered, before kissing her again. She kissed me back. I wanted so much more but she pulled back and looked into my eyes.

"I should get going," she said. We heard movement from the monitor again and both smiled.

"Yeah," I agreed, knowing any second that little voice would call my name again. We stood and I walked Alex to the door, handing her jacket to her.

"Thank you for tonight," she smiled, holding my hand.

"I'm glad you stayed," I answered. I pulled her to me by the front of her jacket and felt her hands on my hips. Our lips met once more, slowly.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, opening the door. I nodded, wanting to pull her back and kiss her all night.

"Good night," I said, watching her walk down the driveway to her bike. As she drove away, I closed the door, leaning against it. I let out a huge breath and couldn't stop the smile that appeared.

"Good morning!" I smiled, as Kara walked over to the Command Centre. Her face instantly broke into a huge grin.

"Well, good morning! You're awfully chipper! Much more chipper than your usual non-morning self. I take it the date went well?" she asked, leaning on the desk with both elbows.

"It was amazing," I said. "And it all started off so unexpected. She had called to cancel because she didn't have a sitter. But I didn't have my phone, so I ended up going to pick her up anyways. We stayed in with Charlie, and played, and talked, and ate pizza. And it was kind of perfect."

"Oh my god! Talk about everything happening for a reason! That's so cute!" gushed Kara. Then she stopped to look at me.

"What?" I asked.

"I missed this Alex. You look really happy," she said.

"I feel pretty happy," I agreed. "I couldn't stop smiling all night."

"So, are you going to make me pry out the details?" Kara asked, nudging my arm.

I was about to go on when I saw Rae walking in with her family. "Later," I blushed and walked around the desk to greet them. Charlie was walking, holding Rae's hand and I thought pointing at Supergirl. But when she got close enough she walked right around Kara and came to me.

"Good morning Sunshine!" I said, squatting down as Charlie ran to me. I picked her up and gave her a squeeze.

"Sorry Supergirl," I heard Rae say. "Alex taught Charlie how to fly last night and she hasn't stopped talking about it all morning. Looks like she's got her own superhero."

"That's okay," replied Kara, watching me with Charlie. "Agent Danvers is pretty amazing."

"Can I get that in writing?" I asked, lifting Charlie onto my shoulders so she could pretend to fly again. I heard her giggle and it made me smile. While we made our way around the Command Centre, an agent brought Rae a gurney for her mother. "Good morning Mrs. Gand, how are you feeling this morning?"

"Good morning Agent Danvers. I think I feel slightly worse than yesterday, but only slightly," she answered, looking at Rae.

"Okay, let's head up to Med Bay and find out what's going on," I said, also looking at Rae. Our eyes met and I felt a blush rush across my face. She started to push the bed and I walked beside her with Charlie.

"How was the rest of your night?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation light.

"It was good. I think I'm getting an understanding of what happens to the DNA when we enter Earth's atmosphere" she said. "How about you?"

"Well, I definitely wasn't tired so I went for a little drive and checked on things here," I smiled.

"I think I would've liked if you had stayed longer," she said in almost a whisper, giving me a side glance.

"Me too," I replied. I opened the door to Med Bay and held it while Rae pushed her mom through. I had already set up everything we needed, hoping that it would bring some comfort to Rae. She was definitely having some trouble covering up her concern.

I breathed a small sigh of relief when Alex found that my mothers' inhibitor had a small crack in it. Apparently, my mom had slipped down the stair while playing with Charlie and didn't want to worry me.

"We need Winn working on a more durable and permanent solution. If this cracked from a small fall, imagine what could happen while you're being slammed into and through a wall," said Alex, looking at the inhibitor under a microscope. My mom was sitting with Charlie and Supergirl, who had come in to give us a hand.

"Do you think that's all it was? A small fall?" I asked, staring at the inhibitor. "Or do you think there's more to the story than she's telling me?"

"You mean something more, like in Mr'ynns case?" she asked, looking up from the scope. I nodded. "I think she would tell you if she needed help."

"She lied about slipping on the stair," I pointed out. "She could've died from lead poisoning." I stood up and walked out of Med Bay. I didn't want my mom to see I was getting worried. Alex followed me into the hall.

"I just mean, I think she would have to tell you because she couldn't put herself in a situation where her ability to take care of Charlie would be impacted." Alex walked over to me and touched my arm. "It's important to be aware and open to the possibilities, but you can't always assume that there's a problem. Sometimes, things just happen, they get fixed and we move on."

"I know. I just hate feeling like I'm not in control."

"So, you're admitting you have control issues?" asked Alex, as she walked back over to the microscope.

"I didn't say that," I smiled.

"That's literally what you just said," argued Alex, grinning. "I just want to know what I'm getting myself into here."

"I just like knowing what's going to happen," I laughed.

"Mhmm," she smiled, getting back to work.

"Guys, there's a lead on the Pestilence outbreak. Mon-el and I are going to go check it out," interrupted Supergirl. We nodded and watched her head out.

"I'm going to get these guys home. If the world killers are close, I don't want them anywhere near here in case of a breach," I said.

"I agree. I'll grab your Mom a sling, which should help until the freezing wears off her shoulder. Do you want an agent to sit on the house while your mom recuperates?"

"No, she should be okay. Thanks though, for everything," I said.

I gave Charlie one last hug and handed her over to Rae.

"Thanks again for your help today," said Rae, swinging Charlie onto her hip. "I really appreciate it."

"Of course," I smiled. "Just remind your mom to take it easy. And keep that remote somewhere safe. We don't need an encore of what happened when you were using this one. I'll check in with Winn to see where he's at with the updated inhibitors."

"Okay. And maybe I could thank you with a real dinner, once we catch the world killers?" asked Rae, covering Charlie's ears. "Just me and you this time?"

I laughed, as Charlie tried to wiggle away from her mom's hands. "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Okay, I'll see you when I get back," said Rae, leaning and kissing my cheek. "Don't get into any trouble without me."

"I won't," I said, wanting more of Rae's touch. I watched the SUV drive out of our garage and headed back inside.

"Okay, what's the plan? How do we get this last world killer?" I asked, as we all stood around the table.

"Well, unlike Purity and Reign, her thing is to spread disease and death across the planet," explained Mon-el.

"So we need to know what we're up against," said J'onn. "Alex, Winn we have civilians that are sick. We need tests run and samples taken. Mon-el, Brainy we need the cure extracted and doses ready."

Everyone nodded and set off to complete their tasks. J'onn walked over to me.

"Where's Rae?" he asked.

"She's just taking her family home, Sir. She won't be long."

"Right, let's get her on the birds when she gets back. We need to know how this is spreading, whether it's airborne or not. Until then, let's act like it is and take all precautions," he said, talking about me specifically, since he would be able to fight it off better.

I text Rae to let her know about the assignment and headed up to Med Bay to get supplies. This was going to be a long day.