Alex stared fixedly at her coffee. This was such a mistake. She should have said "no" the minute she read Maggie's text.
Coffee at Earth Bean? 9:00? My treat.
The request had seemed innocent on the surface, but Alex had learned that very little Maggie Sawyer did remained innocent for long. They'd met for lunches, coffee, and even one dinner in a cramped diner near Maggie's precinct to discuss cases.
No matter the grisly nature of their work, Maggie managed to slip in the most god-awful innuendos and jokes at Alex's expense. Each of Alex's blushes drew a smirk. When Alex stuttered in shock or embarrassment, Maggie's dimples flashed.
It was too much like high school, like the days when Alex wasn't a strong and dangerous federal agent and was just that nerdy Danvers kid.
Before Alex could talk herself into leaving, Maggie slid into the seat across the table. "Thanks for coming," she said. There was no wicked lilt to her voice. No twinkle in Maggie's eyes at the double entendre. "I…I need your help, Danvers."
Alex sat up straight. "What's wrong?" She automatically scanned the restaurant again, this time with much more intent.
"I want to show you something. You got time for a field trip?" Maggie was already out of the booth, rocking impatiently on her heels, as Alex considered the request.
"Is this an official NCPD request?" Deciding she needed more information before blindly agreeing, Alex stayed put and sipped her coffee.
Maggie shook her head. "Definitely no. I mean…" Tilting her head, she peered at Alex. "It can be. If that's what you want. But I'd rather this just be you and me. The people I want you to meet." Maggie's voice dropped. "They don't really like most cops, you know?"
No. Alex didn't. She wasn't a cop, and the only "people" who didn't like Alex were Fort Rozz aliens or anti-alien terrorists trying to kill Supergirl. "Sure. I've got time." Maggie's request was unusual enough (as was her behavior) to warrant Alex's cooperation. For now.
"I'll drive." They walked outside to a beat up, unmarked police car. It was so filled with empty coffee cups and fast-food wrappers that Alex nearly reconsidered. She'd have skinned any DEO agent alive for leaving an official vehicle in this condition.
Maggie must have seen her hesitation. "Sorry. I didn't have time to clean it up." Grabbing handfuls of trash, Maggie relocated them to the back seat.
"No problem," Alex lied. She dropped into the seat. Something hard pressed into the back of one thigh, and Alex tried not to imagine what it might be. She reached for the seatbelt, but it didn't deploy.
"What do you know about the fire down at the docks?" Maggie pulled the car into traffic.
Alex turned in the seat and watched Maggie as she drove. "There was a fire." She hadn't really paid attention. There had been a new Alien of the Week the day before, and Kara had been sprawled under the DEO sunlamps after a near burnout. "A bunch of abandoned warehouses, right?"
"Right." Maggie's jaw tightened along with her hands.
What was that all about? "Did I miss something?" Alex tried to remember if there'd been anything else in the news.
With a shrug, Maggie flipped on the turn signal and pulled into an alley. Alex lost track of the number of side streets, alleys, and abandoned parking lots Maggie drove through after that. Alex was so turned around she couldn't have called in a DEO strike team or arranged a Supergirl rescue.
Alex didn't say anything, though. Maggie's expression was forbidding. There wasn't a smirk or smile in sight. If anything, Maggie's frown etched deeper into her face as she pulled the car behind a ramshackle building. The windows were boarded up. The metal loading dock door appeared stuck halfway down. "Let's go."
Maggie was out of the car so quickly that Alex had to scramble to keep up. "Jesus! What's the rush?" she called.
"Keep your voice down!" Maggie responded in an urgent whisper. "We can't risk anyone seeing us!"
What the fuck? Alex's hand automatically reached for the butt of her gun where it nestled in the holster under her left arm. She ran, half-crouched, behind Maggie as they slipped along the wall of the building. There was a security door that Alex hadn't seen on the drive in. Maggie easily slid inside without needing to move the gaping door.
Alex followed as best she could, feeling a jagged edge catch at her leather jacket.
The interior of the building was filled with broken pallets, rusting metal barrels, and trash. It reeked of chemicals and waste. "Look, Sawyer…" Alex was tired of the unexplained cloak and dagger.
"Patience is a virtue, Danvers. Didn't your parents ever tell you that?" Maggie asked, voice still lowered. She stepped nimbly through the broken glass littering the concrete floor and began to climb the stairs at one end of the main floor.
Alex debated returning to the car. This field trip was becoming more involved by the minute. Finally, though, she followed Maggie up the stairs – nearly running into the other woman at the second-floor landing.
"What the…" Alex reached for her gun.
"No! Be cool, Danvers." Maggie plastered herself against Alex, a tiny, determined shield between Alex and the dozens of people, of aliens, gathered in groups. They huddled under tattered blankets and peered from the openings in faded tents. A few might have passed for human. The rest were decidedly not.
Muscles taut as bowstring, Alex kept her hand from her gun butt by sheer willpower. "What the fuck is this?"
"This is what I wanted you to see," Maggie answered softly. "I thought…I thought after the op, with you and Kara…" Her shoulders slumped even though she didn't move from in front of Alex. "They're refugees, Danvers. Homeless refugees who were living in those warehouses that burned."
Grappling with the information, Alex simply stared mutely at Maggie.
"I was hoping you'd know someplace safer for them to stay," Maggie murmured.
"Why would I know something like that?" Alex asked. She was confused and angry.
Maggie surged forward. Her hands seized Alex's in a bruising grip. "Oh, I don't know, Danvers. Maybe because you work for a secret government agency that deals with aliens? Or that you're practically married to an alien?"
"Kara's not…" Alex started then faltered. Kara was an alien. Just…Staring over Maggie's shoulder, she realized that she'd never put Kara in the same category as the aliens in this warehouse. Homeless. Afraid. Desperate.
Lowering her gaze, Alex met Maggie's imploring stare. "I don't know of anyplace for them to go. Kara might."
She sensed Maggie's discomfort. Maggie and Kara weren't friends; Alex usually tried to keep them separated – for safety's sake. The two of them often ended up arguing. Over everything.
"You good if I call her in?" This was Maggie's show. If she didn't want Kara involved, Alex would do what she could for Maggie's friends on her own. While she waited for Maggie to make up her mind, one of the squatters wandered over.
The little girl couldn't have been more than four or five. Dark skinned with a shock of curling black hair – and a nasty cut running across one cheek. "Hey, there." Alex dropped to a knee. "I bet that hurts."
The girl didn't respond, only stared at Alex with eyes the color of cocoa. Alex reached out slowly. "I can make it better."
The kid trembled at Alex's touch. "Shh! It's OK. I promise."
Her promise wasn't enough. The girl took a step away, and the building…shook. Boxes and several of the refugees' tents tumbled down. Plaster and dirt rained from the ceiling. Another woman shouted something that Alex couldn't understand.
The girl answered – and everything stopped shaking.
"She's Phorian," Alex announced. There had been three imprisoned in Fort Rozz. Alex remembered the information in the Fort Rozz database. Phorians were telekinetic, and shared telepathic bonds with other Phorians.
"Her parents died in the fire," Maggie answered. "This group moved here a few days ago. It's not big enough and the owner put the property up for sale last month. There are potential buyers in and out of here too often."
Now Alex understood Maggie's sense of urgency. Illegal and truly alien squatters. Best case scenario, Maggie and her team at the NCPD would be forced to arrest everyone in the building. Worst case… The owner could shoot first and never ask questions, or CADMUS might find them.
Alex took out her personal phone and texted Kara. Need some Sunny Danvers help. Time sensitive so skip the bus. "Looks like you convinced me, Sawyer. I'm calling in the big guns."
"Supergirl?" Maggie asked in a disbelieving whisper.
"No." Alex didn't address Maggie's continued (and obvious) dislike of Supergirl. Maggie had asked for help. She'd take what Alex provided. "Too many of the local alien population are from Fort Rozz. They blame Supergirl for their unfortunate incarceration."
The twist of Maggie's lips pissed Alex off. She'd have texted Kara back, told her not to come, but it was too late. She heard soft footsteps on the stairs.
"I got your text." Kara's smile wrapped around Alex like a physical hug. "Luckily, I was in the area working on a story."
Maggie snorted. "Yeah, lucky us."
Alex jumped in before Kara and Maggie could start sniping at each other like they normally did. "Do you speak Phorian?"
"Of course." Alex barely refrained from rolling her eyes at the verbal "duh" in Kara's tone. "Why?" Then she seemed to see the inhabitants of the building for the first time. "Rao, are they living here? Alex, we have to help them!"
"That's the plan, Little Danvers." Maggie was more professional as she addressed Kara this time.
"Can you talk to the young girl over there, Kar? She doesn't speak English and I scared her when I tried to help with the cut on her face," Alex said.
Kara walked over to the girl and knelt on the dirty concrete. The words she spoke were soft and musical – and the kid's eyes widened. Alex chuckled when, instead of running away or starting another near-earthquake, the girl threw herself into Kara's arms.
"No one can resist Sunny Danvers," Alex said proudly. She watched Kara settle the girl against her as she returned. "This is Uquzi."
"Pretty name for a pretty girl," Alex said. Kara whispered something into Uquzi's ear, and the girl giggled. "Ah, I like that sound. Is it OK if I look at your face, kiddo?"
"Yeah, she's good. I told her you were a medic." Kara kissed the top of Uquzi's head. She began humming as Alex carefully turned the little girl's head to one side, hoping for better light.
The cut was jagged and dirty. Luckily, though, it wasn't deep enough to need stitches. "We need to clean this up and apply antibiotic. You got more than trash in your car, Sawyer?"
"Like what? Don't tell me you're hungry, Danvers." Maggie ran a hand through her hair.
"Water, for one." Tilting her head, Alex indicated Uquzi. "Hard to clean a wound without it. And I'm betting no one in here's had more than scraps since the fire."
She wasn't counting on the sudden fire in Maggie's eyes. "You've been here all of ten minutes and you think you know what they need?" Maggie's voice, barely a whisper of sound, lashed across the space between them. "Where do you think those wrappers you were afraid to touch came from?"
"Hey. Let's everybody calm down," Kara said in a sing-song voice as she danced in place, swaying Uquzi with each step. "Phorians are telepaths, and I have no idea if this little one's gifts extend to feeling human emotions. I don't think we want her to get scared and raze the building."
Having seen Uquzi's talents earlier, Alex nodded and rolled her neck to loosen the knotted muscles.
"I can bring in food and water." Kara held Uquzi out to Alex, murmuring in what Alex assumed was Phorian.
The little girl pouted at Kara's comments but willingly snuggled into Alex's chest. "Will she…?"
"She knows I trust you, and that you'll take good care of her and her friends here." Kara's smile was soft and warm. "I'll be right back."
Kara walked at human speed to the stairs, but a sonic boom sounded seconds later.
"Not very subtle," Maggie complained.
Alex stiffened. Enough was enough. She spun, ready to let Maggie know – and realized that Uquzi watched her with wide, frightened eyes. Closing her eyes, Alex shoved her irritation at Maggie deep down and slammed a lid over it. "Shh, Uquzi. Shhh! It's OK."
The little girl's expression eased until she smiled, teeth bright against her dark skin.
It pulled an answering smile from Alex, and she forgot all about Maggie and her constant disdain for Supergirl. To give Maggie space, Alex walked toward the small tent city. "Can you introduce me to your friends?" she asked.
The little girl stared up at her with a wise, otherworldly gaze, as if Uquzi understood the question. She pointed to one of the aliens sitting on an overturned crate. The being was tall, with a beaked face and furled wings at his back. A Thanagarian, if Alex remembered the Fort Rozz files correctly. "F'Handor," Uquzi said. A small hand patted Alex's face. "Alex."
"Nice to meet you, F'Handor." Uquzi's delighted grin indicated her happiness at the introductions. That, or she was laughing at Alex's butchery of the alien's name. Alex chose to believe Uquzi was simply happy. "Who's next, little one?" Alex pressed a smacking kiss to an unwounded part of the girl's cheek, grinning at her shriek of laughter.
One by one, Alex met the rest of the nearby aliens. Uquzi might have continued the tour, but Alex heard movement downstairs. Maggie heard it, too, and she moved toward the stairs until Kara reappeared, arms laden with plastic bags of food. "There's more downstairs. I couldn't carry it all."
"You managed to get it downstairs," Maggie said.
Alex sighed, and Uquzi mimicked the sound. "They're like little kids," she told the girl, who watched her intently. "I should send them to their rooms and ground them, shouldn't I?" She got an energetic nod in response. "You're so smart."
She joined Kara. "Stay with Kara, OK? I need to help with the bags." Alex put Uquzi down and took the bags from Kara. They made a pile on the floor around her. Inspiration struck. She took two bags and held them out to Uquzi. "F'Handor and Chente."
Uquzi nodded. Face set in determined lines, she toddled toward F'Handor with the bags.
There was a mountain of food and bottled water. Kara noticed Alex's raised eyebrow. "J'onn helped. He didn't stay, though. In his Martian form, he's tied to Supergirl."
"Good call." Three trips later, all the food and water had been distributed or stored. Alex wiped a smear of ketchup from Uquzi's face. "Want anything else?" she asked the little girl.
Kara translated and then gave Alex the reply. "She's better now."
"Better but tired." It was hard to miss the drooping eyelids. "Let's get you cleaned up and then we can try to figure out something more permanent for housing." Several napkins and a fresh bottle of water got the blood and dirt from Uquzi's cheek. With gentle fingers, Alex spread over the counter antibiotic cream along the cut then applied a large adhesive pad. "All better now," she said.
Uquzi hummed a bit of the song Kara had used earlier. She snuggled against Alex's chest, head tucked tightly beneath her chin.
"I think I have a solution to the housing situation," Kara announced. She stared hungrily at Alex's leftover fries until Alex offered them. "I had Winn check out abandoned or out of business motels all over the city. There are five that would hold everyone."
"Who's going to buy them?" Maggie asked with an aggressive tilt to her chin.
There was no squabbling. Kara's face hardened and her shoulders squared. "I'm working on that, Detective. I understand, more than you'll ever know, what it's like to be alone and afraid on a new planet. I was lucky. I never had to hide thanks to Alex and her family. That doesn't mean I'm unaware of the dangers these refugees face."
Sensing Kara's anger, Alex moved closer. "What's your plan?"
Kara turned away from Maggie. "I called Lena."
Of course. Lena had more money than most First World countries combined, and she was already a major player for alien rights. "Is she your silent partner?"
"Not silent." Kara wrapped an arm around Alex's waist and leaned into her. "She's making an offer on all of the properties." One hand rose, brushing through the tangled mess of Uquzi's hair. "They'll be the first part of The Sanctuary, temporary homes for refugees until they can find employment and homes on their own. Thanks to the Alien Amnesty Act, no one here has to worry about being arrested or detained."
"You're amazing," Alex told her.
Kara blushed and ducked her head. All her stern, Kara Zor-El mien fading into the more familiar Kara Danvers.
"What about Uquzi? She doesn't have any family here." Alex glanced down at the sleeping girl.
"I'm sure one of the other families will take her in?" Kara asked more than stated.
Alex frowned. She observed the other refugees. They had relaxed, no longer on guard against Alex and Kara's presence. Some slept. Some sat and chatted over food and drink. None had come to care for Uquzi. "What if they don't?"
"I…I don't know," Kara answered. Her arm tightened around Alex.
Uquzi stirred against Alex. One hand gripped Alex's shirt tightly. The other reached out in Kara's direction. She murmured a single word in a sleepy voice, and Kara gasped.
"What did she say?" Alex demanded. "Kara?" Was Uquzi in pain? Was she hungry?
"She said…she said, 'Mama'." Eyes blazing behind a curtain of tears, Kara stared imploringly at Alex. "Could we? Foster her the way your family fostered me?"
It was so fast. So unexpected. Alex waffled. "Kara…" Then she remembered a pair of terrified blue eyes and hollowed cheeks from a skinny alien dumped in the Danvers' front lawn. They had a chance to save Uquzi. To give her a home. "Well," she said, voice wavering slightly, "we've already filled out the paperwork for adoption. I'm sure Winn can make sure our names are right on all the forms."
"I love you," Kara said. She kissed Uquzi's hand. "Welcome home, Little One."