Maggie startled awake, and felt Alex's hand in her hair.
"S'okay," Alex's voice was soft. "You're okay."
Maggie blinked, and took in the unmistakeable view of the DEO infirmary, its smell and the noises of unknown machines beeping quietly. She saw the drip in her arm.
"You should stay until the bag's finished," Alex kept her voice calm. "Another hour or so. Then we'll go home, okay?"
Maggie nodded. "I'm so sorry," she started, "I..."
"Don't," Alex was firm. She took Maggie's hand. "You don't have anything to be sorry for babe. The situation … it's awful. You were just trying to keep going," she touched the dressing on Maggie's knuckles. Maggie had taken her frustrations out on the bag in the gym, and had unwittingly damaged her hands in the process. "You didn't do anything wrong," Alex reiterated.
"I guess we both have daddy issues," Maggie's voice was hoarse, and she tried to smile. "I don't know why this has gotten to me."
"He was your father," Alex understood better than most. She had had to shoot her own father, a man who had turned bad. But she still loved him. And she knew that part of Maggie still loved her father, despite the terrible way he had treated her.
"Ellie?" Maggie tried to sit up, worried about her sister.
"She and Aoife are going to Maura's cabin. Aoife's taking care of her. She'll be okay. And you'll be okay."
"I know," Maggie smiled at her wife. "I'm okay already. I have all I need."
"Kara says they'll pick up the girls, take them bowling and keep them for a sleepover."
Maggie nodded. "I'm so tired," she admitted.
"I know, babe. You've barely slept. Just relax now, I'll take you home soon."
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Kate laughed as she lifted the toddler Jamie so that she could push the bowling ball down the chute. Ever since their neighborhood bowling alley had introduced its child-friendly lanes, with smaller pins and balls, she and Kara had found any excuse they could to take their nieces along, often with Addie's friend Robert, who was joining them tonight, along with the rest of his family.
"How are they doing?" Maura asked Kara, while Jane and Kate got the kids organized with the bowling. She knew what a tough time it was for them all, especially Maggie and Ellie.
Kara shrugged. "It's hard for them," she admitted. "And Maggie … she's so tough. And she always wants to protect Alex. But at least they're talking about it now. It's easier in a way, with Ellie. She's so young, she hasn't learned to protect herself, not like Maggie had to. So she and Aoife are working through it."
"It must be hard for Alex," Maura sympathized.
"She understands. She's had her own problems, and she did the same, tried to handle it on her own. They know they're stronger together. It's just hard for them both; they're so used to being the protectors."
"Strike!" Jane yelled, and lifted Addie into the air triumphantly.
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Aoife looked over at her sleeping wife. Ellie had fallen to sleep about ten minutes into the four-hour journey, and Aoife was greatly relieved. Ellie looked so young, so vulnerable. She was young, Aoife reminded herself. They both were, though somehow they both felt older, with all that life had thrown at them.
She reached out and touched Ellie's arm gently. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty," she teased. "We're here."
Ellie grunted, and opened one eye. She looked up. "My turn to drive?" she asked groggily.
"No, baby. We're here. Shush," she held up her hand as Ellie started to protest. "You needed the sleep. You can drive all the way back if you want. Let's get in and light the fire, it looks like it might snow."
Ellie hefted the last bag of supplies into the kitchen. "Are we staying all year?" she grumbled as Aoife stacked the groceries in the fridge and in the cupboards.
"You want to waste our vacation shopping?" Aoife fixed her with a glare. "Or," she grinned, "can you maybe think of something better to do?"
Ellie smiled back. A whole week, in a beautiful cabin, in a secluded area, with just Aoife. "I have a few ideas."
Aoife nodded to the bag on the floor that contained their 'toys'. "You should store that in the bedroom then. And then maybe you can split some logs while I cook, and we can light the fire in the living room, and the one in the bedroom. We don't want to get cold."
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Addie insisted on being the one to carry Jamie into Kara and Kate's house, after she fell asleep in the car on the way home. The child murmured in her arms. "It's okay, Sprout," Addie whispered into her hair. "Nearly there."
They decided to forego the bath just for one night, and Addie expertly undressed Jamie and dressed her in her pajamas, all without the toddler waking. Kate watched from the doorway, smiling when Addie kissed her sister on the head and pulled the covers up.
"You're so good at that, Doodlebug," Kate told her.
"I love Jamie," Addie said simply, with a fond smile. "She's so cute. And she's so funny. Did you see her hiding Robert's sneaker?"
Kate grinned. Robert had seen Jamie steal one of his sneakers, but he had played along and pretended to hunt for it, which had resulted in peals of laughter from Jamie.
"She is funny. And she loves you too, Addie. She is so happy that you spend so much time with her."
"Is Mommy okay?" Addie climbed into Kate's lap on the couch.
"She's a little sad," Kate admitted. "Her daddy died, and even though he wasn't very nice to her, she's still kind of sad he's gone."
"Like you were when your mom died?"
"Yeah. Just like that. I don't know if it's the same for your Mommy, but part of why I was sad is that I suppose I had always hoped that … maybe … one day, it might be okay. And when she died, I knew it never could be. But I'm okay, Bug. I have Kara, and I have you, and I have all the rest of our great family. And I now know what's important. I'm one of the luckiest people I know. And so is your Mommy. She has your Mama, and she has you and Jamie, and that makes her so happy. So she might be sad for a while, but she's going to be okay."
"How long will Kara be?"
Kate smiled. "You never can tell when she's superheroing!" Kate laughed. "She's cleaning up a chemical spill, so she might be a while. Shall we watch some cartoons for a while, see if she gets back before your bedtime?"
Addie nodded. "I love you Sergeant Kate," she snuggled into her lap.
"Yeah? I kinda like you too, kid," Kate hugged her tight.
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Three days later
"I'm coming with you," Maggie fixed Alex with a stare that was so stubborn that Alex struggled not to laugh. Alex had just been called into the DEO to deal with a new chemical threat, and Maggie did not want her to go alone.
"Okay, Mags," Alex agreed, mildly. She had been amazed that Maggie had let her keep her at home for the past 72 hours, and during that time Maggie had done everything she could to get better. She had allowed Alex to sedate her on the first night, and she had made a real effort to eat properly, and to drink lots of water. She had kept away from alcohol, and even limited her caffeine intake. Most impressively, in Alex's mind, was the appointment she had made with a counselor that Friday.
Maggie looked startled. "You're not gonna argue?"
Alex quirked a smile. "And just when have I ever won an argument against you?"
Maggie grinned, her usual cocky grin with her dimples on full display. She caught a quick flicker of doubt in Alex's eyes. "I am okay, Danvers," she said softly. "I swear. And I'll talk to you when I'm not."
"I know," Alex kissed her gently. "C'mon then, Sergeant. Let's stop these bastards."
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Ellie flopped on to her back, her lungs heaving, sweat slicking her body. She had never known love like it. She and Aoife had spent the past four days talking, crying, laughing, and making love. The connection between them deepened every day. She knew now that Aoife was all she needed. She loved the rest of her family fiercely, and relished the challenge of her job, but none of it meant anything without her wife. Her beautiful, sexy, loving, soulful, perfect wife.
She turned to face Aoife, smiling when Aoife reached out to stroke her cheek. "Hey," she said.
"Hey," Aoife replied. Tears pricked her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Ellie was instantly concerned.
Aoife blinked, and grinned sheepishly. "Nothing's wrong. Nothing at all. I just … you know … looking at you. It's kinda amazing. You're kinda amazing."
Ellie laughed. "You amaze me too, Aoif."
Aoife reached for her sketchpad, and Ellie rolled her eyes. "Again?" she pretended to be exasperated, but in truth she loved that Aoife needed to draw her all the time. Seeing herself from Aoife's viewpoint was a revelation.
"It's your fault. You shouldn't be so cute," Aoife batted Ellie's hand away. She had promised her that she would show her all the sketches before they left, but right now she was keeping them from her.
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Maggie was grateful that her team welcomed her back without making any fuss. She efficiently directed them to their tasks in the hunt for the bioterrorist who had made anonymous threats to the DEO. He had already made mistakes, by failing to hide his IP address, but he had abandoned his apartment by the time they got there. It took them just seven hours after that to track down the operation to an abandoned warehouse by the docks, and by midnight, all those involved were in custody. They were sharing out the interrogations, but Maggie couldn't hide a smile when she saw Alex emerge from Interview Room 3 with a smirk on her face.
"You gave them the usual Danvers charm, huh?" Maggie teased.
Alex turned, and her face softened when she saw Maggie. "Let's just say I was persuasive," she grinned. "How was yours?" she nodded over to Interview Room 2.
"Same," Maggie couldn't quite mask her feeling of triumph. It was so good to get back out there, to do what she did best, and to succeed. She loved it when the perps mistook her diminutive stature for weakness. She flexed her hand.
"Bruising?" Alex asked.
"Nah," Maggie boasted. She knew how to land a punch.
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"Hey, Rosie, it's okay," Jane rocked their baby daughter. Maura was late back from her meeting with a new gallery owner, and Jane was exhausted, having put the boys to bed. The last thing she needed was a fractious baby. Rosalind sneezed, spraying Jane's shirt. Jane grimaced. "So that's it, baby girl, you gotta cold, huh? It's okay. Let's try some Calpol, and then we'll just sit a while, okay?"
When Maura returned from her meeting just after 930pm, she was entranced to see Jane asleep on the couch, with a snuffling baby wrapped tight in her arms. Jane's head was thrown back, so that she emitted a light snore. She looked ridiculous and adorable, and Maura couldn't resist taking a quick snap on her phone.
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Alex quirked an eyebrow when she saw Maggie check her phone and then smirk. Maggie showed the screen to her, and she laughed too. The picture of Jane and baby Rosalind asleep was just too cute. "Remind you of anyone?" Maggie teased.
Alex swatted her. "That was one time," she pretended to be offended. "Thank God you deleted it."
Maggie scrolled for a moment, and held the phone out again. The picture showed a naked Alex, sound asleep on her face in their huge bed, her hand on the back of a slumbering six-month-old Jamie, who was also naked apart from her diaper. "Who said I deleted it?" Maggie laughed. She snatched the phone away before Alex could take it from her.
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Aoife had noticed that Ellie was a little more clingy, than usual, but there was no doubt that her wife was benefiting from their break away in the cabin. Aoife knew that she needed to adjust to her new reality, one in which she would never get the chance to reconcile with her father, even if she wanted to. And she was also acutely aware that the funeral was taking place that afternoon; she and Ellie had been banned from all services.
Aoife looked out, and saw that a fresh dusting of snow had settled on the ground. "Wanna take a walk around the lake?"
Ellie blinked, and looked up. "Sorry. I was miles away." She saw the underlying anxiety on Aoife's face. "Sure. I need some exercise."
Aoife was tempted to make a joke; after all, they had been getting plenty of exercise in the bedroom since their arrival. But Ellie looked somehow fragile today, and she knew instinctively that it was not the time for levity.
As they walked around the lake, Ellie reached out for Aoife's hand, grasped it with her own, and tucked it into the pocket of her warm coat. "You should have brought your gloves," she said.
"I dunno," Aoife said softly, squeezing her fingers. "I kinda like this."
"Me too," Ellie said, as they walked on.
A duck landed on the frozen surface of the lake, and skittered across the ice. The sun glinted through the trees, and framed Aoife's face, almost like a halo. "God, you are so beautiful," Ellie whispered. She pulled Aoife to her, and cupped her face. "I mean, like ridiculously beautiful. You're like a painting. And you married me," she blinked away a tear. "You committed to me. You love me," her voice held a hint of wonder.
"Shut up and kiss me," Aoife's reply made Ellie bark with laughter.
Ellie pushed her gently against a tree. The kiss started out soft. Gentle. Loving. Then she felt Aoife's fingers pushing their way under her shirt. She gasped at an unexpectedly sharp tug on her nipple bar.
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Maggie was checking her watch. As the minutes ticked by, she knew that the funeral service for her father would start in two minutes. And then she heard her office door open. She didn't even have to look to know who it would be.
Alex's face was anxious, caring. Loving. "You wanna go out for coffee?" Alex suggested, her voice tender.
There were excellent coffee machines dotted throughout the DEO, but Maggie knew that Alex's suggestion had nothing to do with the quality of coffee available, and everything to do with wanting to make today as painless as possible for Maggie. And Maggie knew that the only thing that could make today better was time with Alex. "Yeah," she replied.
In a small coffee shop close to the DEO, Alex Sawyer-Danvers smiled as she watched her wife picking out the small marshmallows from her hot chocolate, and savoring them individually. Maggie was being playful and, while Alex knew this was just to distract herself from the horror of the day, she couldn't help but smile. "Let's finish here and go get the girls," she suggested. "We can take the rest of the afternoon off. There's enough snow to go sledging in the park. Jamie's never been in a sledge."
"But we told J'onn we'd be back in an hour," Maggie protested.
Alex took out her phone and sent a quick text. "And now he's not expecting us back until tomorrow," she grinned. "Let's go get Jamie from Angela, and then we'll break Addie out of school an hour early. She'll love that."
Later that night, Maggie kissed her eldest daughter and pulled up the covers to her chin. She had insisted on doing the night-time routines for both girls, and Alex hadn't argued with her. Alex knew only too well how grounding it was to be reminded of all the good things in their lives. And Maggie knew that her life was amazing. She had a job that she loved, friends and family who filled her with joy, two beautiful daughters and, best of all, she was married to the best person in the world. She went into their bedroom, and saw Alex, sitting cross-legged in the middle of their huge bed, glasses perched on her nose as she read an electronics journal. "Nerd," she said quietly.
Alex's head went up, and she grinned at the sight of Maggie. "Need something, Dimples?" she teased.
Maggie climbed on the bed, took the journal from Alex's hand, and dropped it on the floor. More carefully, she removed her glasses and set them on the nightstand. "Yeah. Yes I do need something. You. I need you."
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Ellie pressed Aoife back against the wall of the shower; they were both panting and moaning. Ellie thrust again, hard, and Aoife cried out her climax, shuddering against her wife. Ellie used her fingers and tongue to draw out her release, and seconds later Aoife came again and collapsed into Ellie's arms. They had been making love for hours.
Ellie dried Aoife off tenderly, and led her back to bed, where they lay, towel-draped, just staring at each other. Ellie turned on her side, and pulled Aoife's towel down. She lay one hand against her flat belly, and looked up at her, her eyes filled with adoration. She stroked very gently. "Aoif?"
"Yeah?"
"I've been thinking. We're settled, right?"
"Yeah," Aoife agreed.
"Things are going well."
"Yeah."
"Can you say anything other than 'yeah'?" Ellie teased.
"Yeah," Aoife grinned. She kissed Ellie.
Ellie smiled back, and resumed her stroking. "We always said we'd have kids, right?"
Aoife nodded, her heart rate increasing. Was it really possible that they were this much in sync? She had been thinking more and more about children in the past few months.
"I know we're young. But … I dunno. I feel kind of ready. And I can't think of anything I'd like more than to see you carry our child."
Aoife smiled widely, and reached out for Ellie, kissing her deeply. "I think that could be kinda neat," she agreed.
"Neat?"
"Neat. But one condition. If we can."
"Anything you want, babe," Ellie was so excited that Aoife was on board with the idea.
"I want to use your egg. The first time. We need more of those Sawyer dimples in this world."
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Maggie laughed as Jamie dropped her spoon. Just in the last few days, as soon as Jamie had had enough to eat, she would drop her spoon dramatically on the floor, and grin wickedly. Maggie knew she shouldn't laugh, but it was just too damned funny. "Okaaay," she said, trying not to smile. "So we've had enough then, kiddo. Time for your bath," she lifted out of her chair, and picked a bit of spaghetti out of her hair.
Addie appeared at the doorway, and she couldn't fail to notice the huge smile that came across Jamie's face when she saw her. "Addie!" she held out her arms.
"Oh no," Maggie said. "Your sister is in clean pajamas. You are not getting near her until you are clean."
Jamie pretended to pout, but she had known that anyway. "Stories, Addie!" she demanded.
"You want to join us for stories after Jamie's bath?" Maggie asked Addie.
Addie nodded. "Is Mama coming home?"
"She has a few things to do at work. She'll probably be back after your bedtime," Maggie knew that Alex wouldn't leave until Supergirl was back from her latest mission. "She might even stay there tonight. But we'll see her tomorrow."
"Tomorrow's Saturday," Addie said, sadly. She liked to wake up on the weekend, knowing that her whole family was in the house.
"I know, baby girl. We're still going to go swimming, now that Ellie and Aoife are home."
"And Mama will come?"
"I hope so, Addie."
A short while later, Jamie snuggled into her sister's arms, as Maggie read her a story. "You two wanna sleep in our bed tonight?" Maggie felt the need to keep her family close, even if her wife wasn't there. Maybe especially because her wife wasn't there.
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Alex rested a hand on Kate's shoulder. Kate flinched, and then she realized who it was. "Sorry," she tried to keep the tension from her voice.
"It'll just be the comms," Alex reassured her. It was now over eleven hours since they had heard from Kara, and Kate was climbing the walls. They both hated that Kara had taken the pod and traveled to the nearby planet Aquaria to help out with a catastrophic flooding problem that had devastated the small world.
Kate nodded.
"You need to eat," Alex was gentle.
Kate's face lost all color. "M'okay," she swallowed.
Alex squeezed her hand. "I'm so sorry about the adoption meeting," she spoked softly.
"She wouldn't have canceled unless it was important," Kate defended her wife.
"I know. It's just … I know it's hard for you. For both of you," Alex knew how much they both wanted to be mothers. But she also knew that Kara couldn't ignore a cry for help. It was what she did. It was who she was.
Kate shrugged. "Maybe it's just not meant to be," she tried to sound nonchalant, while all she wanted to do was cry. More than anything, she wanted to know that her wife was safe.
The alarm on Alex's computer started to beep loudly. Alex sprinted to the keyboard, and pressed a few keys. A small smile spread across her face. "Airspace has been breached," she told Kate. "By a Kryptonian pod. Her comms must have gotten damaged. She'll be back in around 15 minutes."
Kate was waiting on the landing pad as the pod landed, and she ran over to it as soon as it was safe. The pod looked a little battered, but then she saw Kara emerge, her face and suit dirty. The look of devastation on Kara's face tore at Kate's heart.
"It's gone," Kara whispered. "Aquaria. So many died. Nearly everyone died." She fell into Kate's arms.
Alex held back, keeping a tactful distance.
"We evacuated nearly 2,000 people. That's all that were left," Kara spoke in gasps, trying to hold herself together. "Clark and I got them to Kardon, the nearest planet with similar conditions. It was … oh Rao. It was …," Kara buried her face in Kate's shoulder.
"It would have been even worse without you," Kate spoke quietly, her hand gentling Kara's back. She knew Kara would want to get out of there, she wouldn't want to fall apart in public. "C'mon, honey."
Kara drew back. "Just need to …," she walked unsteadily back to the pod. Carefully, she reached in and pulled out a small bundle, wrapped in her cape.
Alex's heard a small cry. She stepped forward, and took the bundle from Kara.
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"Nobody wanted her," Kara sounded numb, as she was examined in the infirmary. She wasn't even looking at Alex, who was tending to the tiny baby girl, who was maybe six weeks old. She looked human, and didn't have the tell-tale high forehead of the Aquarians.
As she examined the baby carefully, Alex realized that she had webbing between her big toe and its neighbor. This was a classic Aquarian trait.
"She's half-human," Kara said. "Her parents died. Her whole family died. Everyone died."
"I should get you home," Kate said. "Is that okay? Kara's okay, right? We don't have to stay here?"
Alex looked up. "Take her home," she agreed. "We'll take care of this little one." She passed the baby to Dr Hamilton, and walked over to Kara, who was getting shakily to her feet. Alex wrapped her in a warm hug. "Let Kate take care of you," she said, and kissed her sister on the top of her head.
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When Alex made it back home, just after 2am, she entered the bedroom quietly, and saw her two daughters and her wife, all asleep, tangled up in each other. It had been a hard day, but now everything was good. She slid into the bed, the two girls between them, and smiled as Addie turned in her sleep and moved into Alex's arms.
Maggie stirred, blinked and looked up at Alex. "Kara okay?" she whispered.
"She'll be okay. She's safe. She has Kate."