A/N: I'm tremendously sorry for taking so long to update. Life got crazy busy. Hopefully, this super long chapter makes up for the wait. As always, thank you for all your favorites, follows, reviews, and reads! Also, the poll has been updated. :)
Major thanks to lightning1997 for the prompt, which you can find at the bottom of this chapter!
Rain pattered against the CatCo windows. Thunder pounded in the dark sky, so loudly that Kara could practically feel the vibrations.
"How are you feeling?" Alex asked, spinning slowly in her chair at the DEO and speaking into the phone.
On the other end, Kara tilted her head back so it touched the wall and she leaned against it, exhaling slowly, heavily. "I'm just tired." She rotated her shoulder, stretched her legs. "Maybe a little sore. Where were you last night? Netflix marathons just aren't the same without you. "
"I'm sorry, I got caught up at the DEO. We've been overrun lately."
Kara sighed. "That's what you said last time. And the time before that, and probably the time before that, too."
"I know, but I only said it because it's true."
Kara rolled her eyes and tried to suppress the hurt she felt pulling in her chest. It'd been practically forever since she'd spent time just her and Alex.
"You need to take it easy today," Alex said, her voice authoritative even through the phone.
"Alex," Kara huffed and dragged a hand over her ponytail as she straightened and paced the CatCo hall. "I'm fine."
"I just don't want you to overdo it. Yesterday was a tough fight. You need time to recover."
"Oh Rao, I know."
"I know you know, but you don't have the best reputation for acting like you know you need to take care of yourself."
Kara saw Cat looking from her desk into the workroom. Employees buzzed around, typing and printing, doing their best to avoid the scrutiny of their boss.
"And," Alex continued, "I need you at the DEO tomorrow afternoon. You're scheduled for a medical checkup. Until then, you should-"
"Yeah, look, Alex," Kara interrupted as she threw another glance toward Cat's office, where her boss was engaged in a new story, paying no attention to the menial tasks of her employees. "I have to go. Ms. Grant is calling me."
"Love you," Alex said just as Kara hung up and the line buzzed.
The blonde vacated the hallway and dropped into the chair at her desk. She rubbed her forehead, feeling the beginnings of guilt rise inside her. At the same time, miles away, Alex mirrored the action before letting out a sigh. Maybe she was being overbearing, but every time she'd tried to talk herself out of calling Kara, Alex's mind conjured images from the previous night—Kara fighting, Kara losing strength, Kara getting thrown around before finally overpowering the hostile alien. Then, there were the memories of Kara under the DEO solar lamps, uncharacteristically tired, looking so out of it that she'd had to physically prove to the DEO agents that her powers still worked.
And, in addition to all her worry, Alex felt the guilt of being distant start to surface inside her, not for the first time in the past few weeks.
She shook her head and spun in her chair, turning back to the data she was studying. Just as she began recording her observations, there was a knock on the door and J'onn entered the lab.
"Agent Danvers, go home," he said, sending her a soft look. "It's late, your shift ended over an hour ago, and it's the first time in weeks that we haven't been overwhelmed with work."
Alex pushed away from her desk. She wasn't in the mood to argue with anyone again. "I know," she said, standing and quickly cleaning the area before throwing her bag over her shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow."
J'onn waved her goodbye as she vacated the base. Alex slipped into her car and started the engine, pulling out onto the dirt road, made compact and heavy by the rain that had pounded the street earlier. A few minutes passed before she pulled onto the highway and tugged her phone from her purse.
Three rings and thirty seconds later saw Kara's voice coming through the line again. "Alex?"
"Yeah, hey, it's me." Alex glanced around her, where the sun had slipped beneath the horizon and the moon had risen to fill its place. "Listen, Kara, I'm sorry for blowing you off and nagging earlier. I was just worried about you—you know how I get sometimes, and with your powers acting so intermittently I wanted to make sure you were okay… even if it was the fifth time I checked today."
Kara laughed, swiveling in her chair inside the nearly empty CatCo floor and picking through her desk drawer to see an old picture of her and Alex. It was taken in high school during their first few months together, after they'd finally started to feel like sisters. It'd always been one of Kara's favorites. "It's all right. Sometimes it's nice having you check on me all the time, even when it is a bit excessive."
This time Alex chuckled before Kara took a breath and continued, "Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight. No work or emergencies or weird, secretive government calls, just you, me, and pizza. And a movie or something. My place?"
Alex sighed in relief and stopped at a red light. "I wouldn't miss it for the world," she answered.
"Awesome!" Kara said, a grin breaking across her face. Alex could practically hear it through the phone. "How does eight sound?"
Alex glanced at her car's clock then back toward the highway, estimating her time based on the exit signs. "I'll be there," she declared, unable to keep away her smile. She'd missed their sister time, too.
Kara filled with warm and had already begun packing up her stuff at CatCo, straightening her desk and saving documents for the next day. "Great," Kara said, powering off her computer as a crack of thunder shook the sky. "Drive safely, Alex, it's pretty nasty out there."
"I will," Alex promised and turned on her windshield wipers. "I'll see you in a bit. Love you."
"Love you, too," Kara said and Alex clicked off the call before tossing her phone into the passenger seat.
/
With pizza ordered, pajamas on, apartment slightly neatened, and blankets gathered in the living room Kara flopped onto the couch fifteen minutes to eight and began flicking through channels. She shifted uncomfortably, her body felt sore; her muscles achy and tight. Kara sighed and thought back to earlier that day, when she'd tried to heat her own coffee with laser vision only to find that the beams of warmth were spotty and weak—half functional at best. She'd pushed it aside as brief error, after the initial glitch passed and she managed to heat the liquid filled mug on her third try. She'd been a little dizzy earlier, too, but it'd also been a full six hours since she'd eaten, so there was a logical explanation. But maybe she'd mention it to Alex later, just in case. Kara had pushed hard the night before—she was likely on the verge of another power blow out.
Yeah, she'd definitely mention it to Alex in—Kara glanced at the clock—ten minutes when her sister was supposed to arrive. Until then, Kara snuggled against the couch, nestling her nose into the fabric, maybe a ten minute nap would do her good. It sounded nice, she decided, as she tugged a blanket up to her cheeks and her eyes slipped close, smiling softly at the thought of spending an easy night cuddled with her sister. Just ten minutes, she thought. Ten minutes and Alex would be there and everything would be okay again.
/
Alex heaved a sigh as orange cones reflected moonlight and cut off her typical route into the city. With an eye roll, she pulled a U-turn and curved onto a small dirt road that would take her the long way around before dropping her off on the other side of National City. Totally not where she wanted to be. But, whatever, it was her best option now.
The road was thin and slick, as Alex took a right turn she heard her wheels spin out beneath her and eased off the gas. Arriving at Kara's a little late was better than not arriving at all. Alex couldn't even imagine how heartbroken and hurt Kara would be if she missed another sister date. Alex resettled her hands on the steering wheel and flicked up the intensity on her windshield wipers as rain poured down, obscuring her view. A flash of lightning sprang across the sky, blinding Alex.
She squinted in the light. A second later it flashed away, a dark figure appeared, just feet in front of her car. Alex slammed on the brakes, screeching to a halt with so much force she flew forward and was launched back into her chair by her seatbelt as the back tires swerved and the car spun a quarter of a circle around.
Her breathe was fast and shallow, her heart thumping so quickly she felt like it'd break out of her chest. Her shoulders slowly relaxed, easing back down as the figure in front of the car glanced into her headlights, revealing its big innocent deer eyes and small, thin deer body before racing off into the stretch of forest lining the road.
Alex closed her eyes and let her head fall against the steering wheel as she sucked in a slow breath, allowing her heartrate to ease and her hands to steady before taking to the road again. She eased her car back into drive and straightened out, slowly moving down the next bend on the sleepy, empty street.
It was past nine now, and she wondered how the time had passed. Her usual semi-quick route home had been made long by traffic diversions and the rain splotching her windshield and clouding her vision. She considered sending Kara a text, but at this point she was ten—maybe fifteen—minutes out, and, anything that split her vision from the road made her want to cringe. Her breath was finally calm again when she came around the curve and another torrent of rain stormed above her.
Bright headlights slit through the downfall. First distant dots, like two reflective white eyes of a nocturnal animal, but then the dots began to swerve. Alex figured it was just the rain distorting the image until the headlights grew closer. And closer.
And closer,
And closer and closer.
Until they didn't, and they were so close she couldn't see anything but light filling her vision. The sound of rain sloshing and beating pounded in her ear. She smelt gasoline and took a sharp breath that burned in her chest. Then there was a loud bang and a groan and the shrieking of metal reverberating through the night air, and pressure that gave way to pain. Hot, white flashing, pulsating, throbbing pain that scorched every cell of her body and stole her vision; stole her breath. There was blinding light and then there was nothing.
/
Thunder cracked in the sky and Kara peeked into awareness. She pulled her eyes open, blinking heavily, slowly, as she squinted around her apartment—lights still on, TV still droning in the background, rain still pouring outside and pounding on the windows. She rubbed a hand across her face and squeezed her eyes closed again as she pushed herself up. She opened her eyes and immediately felt the urge to close them a second time and fall back into sleep. But something was wrong, something was tugging in her brain, there was a reason she needed to stay awake.
Alex.
Her gaze fell on the clock. 9:04.
With a sinking feeling, Kara straightened. She couldn't believe Alex blew her off again. Not this time.
No, she wouldn't.
Kara bit her lip and grabbed for her phone; no texts from Alex, no missed calls.
Kara felt her chest tighten.
Alex wouldn't just not show up without warning. Even if Kara was sleeping Alex would let herself and plop right next to Kara on the couch. Alex would rub Kara's shoulder or her leg or stoke her sister's blonde hair. Alex wouldn't leave without tucking the blanket tightly around Kara, pressing a soft kiss to her hair, and leaving a note or something. But there was nothing.
Kara felt hot and sticky and sick.
She needed to look for Alex, needed to listen for her. The blonde glanced at the window, hesitating slightly before leaving her apartment and heading to the stairwell, instead. She flung up the door and took the stairs two at a time before reaching the rooftop. Rain crashed onto Kara as she climbed out of the stairwell and onto the roof. Wind whipped her hair, sent it into a tangled mess snapping behind her and against her back. Kara pulled off her glasses and scanned the city, her eyes and ears focused on finding Alex.
She caught her hint, finally, as she scanned the city perimeter. A faint heartbeat, the image of her sister's body in a crumbled car, upside down and smashed on the side of the road. Kara felt like ice was running through her veins. It felt like she couldn't breathe.
Kara pushed off, jumping into the air. Screw secret identities, she needed to get to Alex. But, not three seconds after she was in the air, Kara's feet hit the ground again. Her stomach tightened. She backed up, running a few meters across the roof before making a second attempt.
She crashed onto the concrete and saw blood prick from her palms. "Oh god, no," she whispered as tears gathered in her cheeks and mixed with the rain dripping from her hair, saturating her clothes.
Kara shoved herself upward and tore back down the staircase. She was in her car a minute later, a shivering, shaking mess. She fumbled with the key, trying to fit it into the ignition. "Damn it! Come on," she cried, screaming out into the dark parking garage. She wasn't used to cars or the weakness that racked her body. Finally, the car started and Kara whipped through the garage and out onto the street.
The weather and late hour had turned the roads nearly empty as Kara speed down the block. She passed a sole pedestrian on the outskirts of the city, he stumbled down the sidewalk, drunk and soaked, with dirt caking his clothes and shoes. Kara's hands quivered against the wheel, vision blurry with tears. She pressed against the gas pedal, willing the vehicle to go faster, faster, faster as she pulled down the final stretch of road a minute later, Alex's car taking form under Kara's headlights.
Flames flickered from another vehicle, appearing abandoned and unoccupied. Kara stopped her car and rushed out, confirming that the burning car was empty.
"Alex!" Kara yelled, moving toward the black car and pulling her cell phone from the pocket of her sweatpants. The fire grew closer, moving to close the short distance to Alex's car, where it was mutilated and smashed on the side of the road.
It took Kara two tries to dial 911, fingers shaking and slipping. "My—my sister's been in a car accident," she told the operator, panting as she broke into a sprint toward the shell of Alex's vehicle. She should have done this sooner. Her feet splashed against the pavement. Thunder continued to crackle above her. She relayed their address, their names. "No, I'm fine, I'm fine. But—my sister, Alex, she-she isn't responding. I don't know where she is," Kara sucked in a quick breath, "I don't know where she is," Kara repeated, her voice high and cracking into tears as she spoke. "I can't help her and there's fire and it's getting closer and—" Kara was cut off, dropping her phone to the ground. The fire caught gasoline and sparked onto Alex's car, sending it up in flames.
Kara stumbled into the ditch, skidding down the decline as mud soaked the cuff of her pajamas and mushed into her shoes. It didn't matter that she wasn't currently made of steel, it didn't matter that her heart was racing and her hands were shaking and sweat was gathering around her hair, it didn't matter that she was currently battered and bruised and human and vulnerable. Kara was getting Alex out. She felt flames lick her skin as she tugged open the car door and the metal groaned. The fire scorched and burned, Kara wanted to scream. Instead, all she could do was call Alex's name over and over and over again, like it was the only thing her mind could think. Her hand met something soft and solid at the same time and Kara just knew it was her sister. She scrabbled around as the fire closed closer toward them.
Kara got ahold of Alex, yanked and pulled until her sister was in her arms. It was dangerous, but it was Alex's only shot of living. Kara gathered Alex and stumbled out of the car, depositing her sister in soaked grass by the road.
She watched as the car was swallowed in flames, the gold heat flickering in the wind and rain howling through the sky. "Alex," Kara breathed, looking at her sister's broken, bloody body in the light of the fire. "Come on, Alex, you have to be okay, you have to wake up."
A sob caught in her throat, tears flooded from her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. Her breathing came faster and faster, her chest tighter and tighter. She needed to fly, she needed to get Alex out, but all she could do was wait.
Kara looked around. It was one of the darkest nights of her life—sky black, thunder booming, sister dying in her arms.
She searched for a pulse. She wasn't used to having to try to feel something; she wasn't used to anything. Kara wanted to—needed to—hear her sister's heartbeat but she couldn't. A blur of red and blue lights appeared in the distance, their sirens ringing through the night.
Kara hiccupped and everything felt like it was closing in. She gently pushed Alex's hair from her face. It was bruised and bleeding. Kara retracted her blood soaked hand and felt her stomach turn. She was going to be sick, she couldn't breathe, she was going to die. Alex was going to die.
Breathe, Kara screamed inside her head, just breathe. But she couldn't. The night was so dark. Alex was dying. There was so much—too much—she couldn't do.
Kara was losing control, her whole body shivering and soaked. Her shoulders heaved with each sob; each breath as she hyperventilated. She was having a panic attack and this time she didn't have Alex to help her.
That's how the paramedics and fire department found them sixty seconds later. Everything had been dark and silent, until, suddenly, it was a burst of activity. Kara couldn't focus. She held Alex's hand and pulled tighter into herself as the site exploded with action.
"Help," she yelled, Alex's need for medical assistance breaking through the panic enough that Kara found her voice. "My sister needs help."
A group of medics gathered around them and blocked Alex from Kara's view. Kara's breath grew faster again, her vision spotty. She made a movement to stand, but her legs quivered and her body swayed. Arms grabbed Kara and held her up, she looked to see a woman, probably of forty years old keeping her standing.
The woman lowered Kara back into a sitting position a put a blanket around her shoulders.
"I need you to focus on me," the medic said. Her words were calm and solid, her voice something Kara could use to ground herself. A minute passed as the woman helped bring Kara down, helped her count and talk and get her breathing to resemble something closer to normal.
"Are you okay?" the medic finally asked.
Kara nodded, looking past the woman as she tried to keep an eye on Alex, watching as they moved her onto a stretcher and wheeled her into an ambulance.
"What's your name?"
"Kara. Kara Danvers."
"Okay, Kara. My name's Stephanie. I'm going to make sure you're doing all right. That's your sister?" she asked, tilting her head toward the ambulance.
Kara nodded slowly. "Her name is Alex."
The EMT pulled out a flashlight and began checking Kara's eyes.
The blonde shook her head and took an unsteady step back. "No, no, I'm fine, really," she said and her voice quivered, her breathing still wobbly and too fast. "I wasn't in the car crash."
"Your arms are burned," the medic stated, she shifted her gaze from Kara's wrist to her eyes. "I'm going to treat it, okay? It might sting a bit, but it could've been much worse, it's only superficial."
"Is Alex going to be okay?" Kara asked, sniffling. She really just wanted to be with her sister.
"We're going to transport her to the nearest hospital where our doctors will do everything they can to make sure she recovers."
Kara swallowed hard and gave another nod. She hadn't realized how much her arms hurt until this moment and throat burned a bit and even beneath the blanket she was shivering beyond control, her whole body convulsing.
"It looks like my colleagues are about to take Alex to the hospital, I take it you want to ride with her?"
Kara found that nodding was all she could do, with tears in her eyes and a lump in her throat. The medic, Stephanie, put a gentle hand on Kara's shoulder and guided her into the ambulance. It was so busy Kara could only see Alex's hand as the rest of the EMTs bustled around, attaching IVs and running tests.
"Kara," Stephanie said softly, taking a seat beside the blonde. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"I don't know," Kara answered and looked back toward the stretcher, eyes searching for Alex. "Alex was supposed to be at my apartment but she was really late and there was nothing from her, no text or call. I…" The blonde took a deep breath. "I got worried because she doesn't do that, she always calls or something and the storm was so bad. So, I—umm—I know it's weird but I just had this horrible feeling and I checked the location on her phone and it wasn't moving and then I saw that the car was off the road so I drove over here to see this…" Kara ran a hand over her rain saturated hair and gestured out the window to the scene beyond the ambulance just as the vehicle began to pull away.
Stephanie nodded. "Your sister was unconscious when you got there?"
"Yeah," Kara said, her voice breathy. She couldn't pull her eyes off the blood blooming across the sheets of stretcher.
/
A coma. Alex was in a coma.
It's the word that was whispered when Kara had first entered the hospital and stood dripping outside the door in the ambulance bay as Alex was wheeled away. The water gathered and pooled by the blonde's feet as she stayed there, frozen. Tears and rain had mixed on her face, her clothes a mess of blood and mud. She wasn't sure how much time passed until a nurse came out in search of her, found her crumbled form, put a blanket on her shoulders and led her inside. The woman had given Kara a change of clothes: a warm hospital sweater and matching pair of sweatpants. Then, there was nothing to do but wait.
It's what the doctors officially told Kara within a few hours of the sisters' arrival. ("I'm very sorry to tell you but your sister is in a coma. We don't know if or when she'll wake up. We'll have a better idea in the next twenty four hours.")
She heard it again, after those twenty four hours passed. ("Alex appears to be improving, when she arrived at the hospital she was in a deep coma, but we're seeing progress. She's shown some pupillary movement and responses to pain. You should talk to her," the nurse had said with a warm smile, "She might be able to hear you." So, Kara did. She talked and she talked for hours, until her throat was raw and she could hardly keep her eyes open. She told Alex she loved her, and when they were alone, she whispered stories of Krypton and memories of their teenage years spent together on Earth. )
Then, Kara had to say it out loud, let the word slip from her mouth, leaving a metallic taste in their wake when she'd told Eliza and Hank over the phone. A coma. It'd taken two days to tell them, because her cell phone had died and she hadn't thought clearly until a doctor had gently asked if there was anyone else they should contact for Alex while she dialed the hospital phone.
Hank had made a brief appearance, baring reassuring words and a change of clothes and real food, but the DEO had business and, if Kara was being honest, there wasn't much going on in Alex's hospital room, anyway.
So now, Kara was waiting. Waiting for a lot of things. Waiting for Eliza's flight to land, waiting for an update on Alex, waiting to have her sister back and for everything to be okay.
Kara released a heavy exhale and leaned forward so her elbows were propped on the edge of Alex's bed and dropped her head into her hands. The hospital monitors beeped a symphony, upsetting the otherwise too silent, too sterile air. The blonde readjusted herself so her cheek rested against Alex's thigh and she threaded their fingers together, looking up at her sister's pale face. If Kara tried really hard and focused on Alex's heartbeat with her newly returned powers, she could almost pretend the agent was sleeping. Like the lazy weekend mornings when they were teenagers and Alex had no sports games or meets or projects and she'd sleep in late while Kara waited and waited for sister to wake up so they could watch tv or talk or just take the car and drive.
Kara blinked slowly, sleepily; she didn't want to think about the hospital or the machines, just wanted Alex better and smiling and present again. "Alex, I miss you," she murmured softly. "Keep on fighting, okay? We'll do something fun when you wake up and you're all better; go on vacation or anything, whatever you want." Kara pressed her nose into the cloth surrounding Alex. "You just have to wake up. Promise you'll wake up." Her voice paused and quivered. "You… you always say how much the world needs Supergirl, but Alex-" The blonde broke off, taking a slow, shaky breath before continuing. "Alex, the world needs you. I need you. I can't live without you, I just can't," she finished, tucking further against the brunette. Kara closed her eyes, so that it was easier to hear her sister's heartbeat.
/
"Kara."
There was a soft voice calling her name as the heaviness of sleep ebbed away. The blonde blinked in the darkness, feeling the warmth of a hand rub her shoulder then fall to rub circles on her back. It was a touch she'd known for a long time.
"Eliza!" Kara cried as she stood up and turned, throwing her arms around her foster mother. "I'm sorry," the young woman said in an outpour of shaky breath as she held Eliza in a tight hug. "I'm so, so sorry I couldn't protect her."
"Kara, sweetheart, there was nothing you could have done. I don't want you blaming yourself for this. It wasn't your fault, okay?"
The blonde nodded against Eliza's shoulder and bit back tears, giving a small whisper of 'okay.'
Eliza leaned back and looked Kara in the eyes, tucking a strand of mused blonde hair behind the younger woman's ear. "The nurses filled me in on Alex's condition, they also filled me in on you. Honey, you've got to take care of yourself, too. When Alex wakes up she's going to need you. I hear you're barely eating and was this really your first time sleeping since you two came in?"
Kara shrugged and she looked miserable; skin pale, eyes tired.
"It's nearly ten PM, Kara, go home, even if it's just for the night. I so appreciate you being here for Alex, but please don't forget about yourself. I'll stay with Alex," Eliza said and Kara noticed for the first time that Eliza was standing between the two, one hand holding Alex's, the other on Kara's shoulder. The three Danvers women, struck by grief again.
Kara opened her mouth to argue but stopped. "Okay" she agreed, even though everything in her heart and head wanted to stay. It felt like when she'd been younger; when she was tiptoeing. She didn't want to be a burden, she didn't want to argue with Eliza; it wasn't fair to the older woman, not when she gave so much and Kara just blazed in a path of destruction and pain and mess.
"Thank you," Eliza said and pulled Kara into another hug. The blonde breathed in the presence of her foster mother one more time, soaking up the warmth and comfort. Kara hadn't realized how much she'd missed her. She waited a few seconds longer before pulling away.
"Go take care of yourself, sweetheart. Get some rest, eat something—eat a lot," Eliza said with a smile, drawing a small laugh from Kara. "Shower, change. I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay," Kara said, swallowing through a lump in her throat. "You'll call me if anything happens, right?"
"Of course," Eliza promised and gently patted Kara's back. "Now go get some sleep. I love you."
"I love you, too," Kara said, looking at Eliza and casting a long glance at Alex. A knot formed in her stomach as she walked out of the room, and this time it felt like stepping out of the car on her first day of school on Earth, or dropping Alex off at college; like everything was changing and she was all alone.
A few minutes passed and Kara was up in the sky, soaring through the dark air. She whipped around, hair flying behind her as she traveled as quickly as she could willing herself to go faster, faster, faster. It was all too similar and she couldn't bring herself to go back to her apartment. Not yet, when her head was busy and her heart was racing and it felt like everything was collapsing in.
Somehow she found herself in front of CatCo, and without really thinking her legs carried her through the lobby and into the elevator and then she was moving up and out into the workroom before she could stop herself.
It suddenly felt important that she find the picture of her and Alex, the one she'd been examining the night of the crash. The floor was nearly empty and Kara quickly closed the distance to her desk, pulling open the drawer and shuffling around until she found the photograph and tugged it out.
She ran her fingers over the image and it was almost as though she were back in that moment. It'd been hot and sunny and she could remember the feeling of the UV rays warming her skin. Kara pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, she wanted to cry but all she felt was a numb sadness radiating through her body. Maybe she'd cried herself out on that first night, because there hadn't been any tears since then, just a persistent, pulsating pain and the feeling that it was getting harder to breathe.
Kara continued to look at the picture, back where things were good and safe. Both sisters were beaming, the color vibrant, the moment preserved. They had their arms slung around each other and Alex was wearing a sports jersey for their high school. It must have been for track or cross country or something to do with running because the jersey didn't have any sleeves and Kara could see teal peeking out beneath the fabric, it was Alex's lucky sports bra, the one she absolutely could not race without. The brunette had just won something, her cheeks were flushed, her skin shiny with sweat; and Kara remembered being so proud to have Alex as a sister. Alex had been so happy; so alive, and now, Kara didn't even know if her sister was going to wake up.
Footsteps snapped through the hall of the floor buzzing with a few late night employees finishing up articles or making last minute edits. Kara didn't look up.
"Kiera, what on Earth are you doing here at this ungodly hour and where have you been for the past two days?" Cat walked in, hand on her hip and shoes clicking.
Kara's head snapped up, she stood frozen, mouth open slightly as if to answer but no words came.
"Well," Cat snipped, looking Kara up and down. "You look atrocious. This better be vaguely interesting and catastrophic at the least, if you hope to keep your job. The lies James and that hobbit have been spewing have been remarkably unfulfilling."
"I—umm." Kara looked down and tugged the sleeves of her cable-knit sweater over her hands, they were shaking. She squeezed the picture between her fingers.
Cat snapped impatiently.
Kara's words fell out in rush of quick breaths. "My sister got into a bad car accident Tuesday night, it was raining, there was a drunk driver, the police found him down the road, walking into town; perfectly fine. He'd walked away from the crash. Left—left my sister, left Alex, there to die." Kara pulled in a huge, shaking breath. Cat stood, silent. "She-she was supposed to meet me at my apartment but she was late and it kept getting later and I was so worried. When I found her… when I found her, on the side of the road, she was all alone, she was covered in blood, she was barely breathing, she wasn't even conscious. And then he car caught fire and I pulled her out but after that there was nothing I could do but wait and just hope that she wasn't going to die in my arms on the side of some stupid road in the middle of thunderstorm and now—now she…"
Cat grabbed Kara's wrist and pulled the younger woman into her office. Kara followed without protesting, hiccupping softly as tears began to stream down her cheeks. She didn't move from her boss' side as Cat shut the door and closed the blinds.
With a gentle hand, Cat guided Kara to the couch and motioned for her to sit while the older woman sat across from her. She fought a cringe as Kara sniffled and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her sweater.
"She's in a coma," Kara said, finishing and telling the whole story for the first time. Saying it out loud solidified the reality of the situation and Kara felt worry churn in her stomach. When she looked up there was a softness in Cat's eyes that Kara only saw on rare occasions.
Cat handed Kara a tissue and leaned forward, pointing at the brunette in the picture still grasped between Kara's fingers. "Is that your sister?"
Kara nodded, sniffling and wiping her eyes. "Sorry," she murmured, shifting her gaze downward. "I know you don't-don't like crying in the office."
Cat reached out and took Kara's hand. "You don't need to apologize, not this time. This is different."
Kara shook her head and squeezed her eyes closed tightly before opening them again.
"I'm sorry about your sister," Cat said and Kara whispered a quiet thanks.
A short silence stretched between them. Cat sat examining her assistant. It'd been a long time since she'd seen someone so distraught. Something tugged in Cat's chest; despite what her hard façade would suggest, she cared about her assistant. She believed in the younger woman, saw great things in her future, especially if she had a mentor to guide her, and Cat was proud to see herself as that mentor.
"Is there anything I can do to help Alex?"
Kara shook her head and her bottom lip quivered as she whispered another thanks.
"What about you?" Cat attempted, and tried to catch Kara's eyes. "You're not holding up well, are you?"
The young blonde's shoulders rose and fell in a hopeless, heavy shrug. Her whole posture seemed to sag as her breath hitched and a sob caught in her throat. It was as though once she'd started crying, she couldn't stop. The weight of the past few days finally descended on her, now that she didn't have to be strong for Alex or Hank or Eliza. Her whole frame quivered, the strength of each sob racking her body.
Cat pressed her lips together, tilting her head as she looked at Kara with soft, concerned eyes. It looked like the young woman was being swallowed by the couch; swallowed by grief. In that moment, Kara wasn't an adult or an employee to Cat, she was just a kid. Cat saw Carter in Kara, saw Adam. Saw a girl who'd lost her parents and might lose her sister now, too.
Cat hesitated briefly before standing and taking a seat beside Kara. The woman put a hand on Kara's shoulder, seeing how Kara responded. The blonde turned into the touch and Cat pulled Kara into a hug. The young woman was tense for a second before she relaxed. She was clinging to Cat, she was clinging to something—anything—that would keep her afloat.
Warmth radiated from Kara and her body shook against Cat. She closed her eyes briefly and ran her hand over Kara's hair, over her back, holding the girl firmly as tears soaked Cat's shoulder. She'd held Carter like this before and wondered why the world always got to the good ones, why it always tried to tear them down.
Kara's shoulders heaved violently, her breathing fast, her tears hard.
"It's my fault," Kara whispered, and the embarrassment she felt at falling apart in front of her boss was overpowered by anguish.
"What's your fault?" Cat asked, pulling back slightly to try and get a look at Kara.
"The car crash, Alex getting hurt, Alex in the hospital—I was the one who invited her over, and then I couldn't protect her," Kara managed between hiccups and her slowing tears.
"Kara, this is very important," Cat said, leaning back. "I need you to look at me."
The blonde sniffled and raised her head, brushing away tears from her red-rimmed eyes.
"Good," Cat said when they finally made eye contact. "Were you driving the car?"
"What?" Kara scrunched her brows together. "No?"
"Did you drink and then decide to get in a car and drive?"
"No," Kara answered, confusion still tinting her voice.
"Then it wasn't your fault."
Kara straightened up, ran a hand through her hair. "But-"
Cat held up a hand, interrupting Kara. "It was an accident—a preventable, stupid accident, but an accident nonetheless, and it was not your fault. The blame lies with the man who made the irresponsible, reckless decision to drink and drive."
Kara gave a nod and rubbed away the remainder of the tears slowly trickling down her cheeks.
"Do you believe me?"
"I want to," Kara answered with an apologetic look.
"Well I suppose that's a start," Cat said standing up, relieved to see Kara crack a small, watery smile.
"Thank you, Ms. Grant, for everything and I'm sorry," Kara said as she followed Cat's lead and moved from the couch, pocketing the photo of her and Alex.
The woman waved a dismissive hand. "Stop, I'll have none of that. What's happened has happened and is perfectly fine, so long as no one else in this office gets any ideas. God forbid I have to see Greg from accounting cry on this couch one more time."
"His name is George and you fired him last week."
"Ah, well, I guess that's one less thing I'll have to worry about," Cat said with an air on nonchalance as she gathered her things. "Chop, chop, come along now. I'll have my driver drop you off on my way home."
Kara shifted uncomfortably. "Ms. Grant, you don't have to do that."
"Of course not, but I want to, so hurry up before I change my mind."
"Thank you."
"Stop saying that."
"Okay," Kara replied with a small grin, finding comfort in the normalcy.
/
Alex was beginning to show greater signs of improvement, she was withdrawing to pain and although she hadn't spoken yet, she'd opened her eyes and even responded intermittently to commands.
Kara was alone in the hospital room reading a book, or at least she had been before she fell asleep to the hum of Alex's monitors and the trickle of rain just beyond the window.
In her dream she was outside CatCo chasing some obscure alien when it stopped, turned around and grabbed her hand. She wrinkled her nose in confusion. Around her, people brushed by and she glanced behind her, but when she looked back the alien was gone. Instead, her mother was holding her hand, she could feel the warmth, the softness this time as she focused.
A drizzle fell from the sky and someone was still holding her hand.
Kara smoothed the front of her skirt and squinted. Someone was holding her hand.
Someone was holding her hand! Someone was squeezing her hand!
Kara's eyes shot open, she glanced down at her hand, sprawled on Alex's bed, and saw her sister's fingers curled around it. Kara looked up, saw Alex's open, but they were different this time, sharper; and then, Alex spoke.
"Kara," she rasped through the oxygen mask. Kara's hand flew up to cover her own mouth, tears spilled from her eyes as a smile split across her face.
"Yeah," she nodded. "Yeah, Alex it's me."
The blonde returned the squeeze to Alex's hand, and with her other, pressed the button to alert the nurses.
"Oh, Rao, I've missed you, Alex. You have no idea how much I missed you," Kara said, gently running her fingers through Alex's hair. The brunette gazed at her sister drowsily and a sleepy smile tugged across her lips. It was the best thing Kara had ever seen in her life.
"Love you," Alex murmured, her words were slow and a bit slurred, but they made Kara's heart swell and sing and she couldn't wipe the growing smile from her face.
"I love you, too," Kara said and brushed a tear off Alex's cheek with the pad of her thumb. "I love you so much and all of this is going to be fine, you don't have to be scared. You've made it this far. We're in it together, okay?"
Alex gave a small nod, still blinking up at Kara, still holding her hand, still every piece of the fighter she had been, and still knowing, amongst the confusion in her head, that with Kara by her side everything would end up okay.
A/N (continued): Thanks for reading. :) I hope you liked the chapter and I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Prompt: Alex gets into a car crash and falls into a coma