AN-
Hey guys, here's chapter 2! Personally I'm a fan of this one. Well.. I like this story in general. Thanks for the comments and reviews I've enjoyed talking with some of you.
Keep the reviews coming! Always looking for where you guys think things should go. :)
A couple of hours and a couple of clusters of bananas later Supergirl had just stopped some kids from getting run over again at a crosswalk. These people really need to pay more attention when they're driving.
She had changed back into her now wrinkled powder blue button up and some slacks when she received a facetime from Cat asking how she was doing. She wanted to tell her the truth, she wanted Cat to give her some advice on how to feel better, but she couldn't bring herself to do that. She plastered on a smile and answered that, "Yeah, I'm doing alright." She flashes a megawatt smile. "Things are busy but really good."
"Good, I'm glad. I've read your articles. You're turning into quite the reporter."
"Thank you, Ms. Grant. That means a lot."
"You look happy Kara." The woman smiles on the other end. Cat's answer had nearly broken her down on the spot.
"Yeah," Kara tries not to give away how much that had hurt but she felt like all the air had just gotten sucked out of her lungs. Like a swift hit to the gut, and Kara knew exactly what that felt like. Was she really that good at pretending? Was she really that good at spreading out her troubles so no one even knew the full picture of the inner turmoil she was dealing with? Or did no one care enough to notice that she was dying right in front of them... "I am. I have to go Ms. Grant. It was nice talking to you."
"Have a good day, Kiera, make sure that Jimmy Olson doesn't ruin my empire." The Press Secretary winks at her before hanging up.
Kara considers a visit to Maggie because she needs someone. Not to talk. Talking solves no problems- for humans maybe, but not for her. There was no point in talking but Kara felt herself cracking. She was just exhausted.
She couldn't go to Alex. She didn't know how to even try to face Lena. She felt so alone and that wasn't helping. She felt like she was pulling apart from her already frayed edges and allowing that to go any further would be the point of no return. She couldn't break, too many people were relying on her. She didn't get to be broken. Admitting to herself that she wasn't strong enough to hold herself together right now was tough but that was no excuse for breaking.
Kara pulls out her phone and takes a deep breath as she unlocks it, internally debating all the while if she should really text her soon to be sister in-law. She holds the breath in her lungs in a moment of strength-or is it weakness? She really isn't sure-she types out the message and presses send before she can talk herself out (or think better) of it.
Little Danvers: Hey, are you busy?
Maggie: Nope, just in the office. What's up?
Little Danvers: Can I come over?
Maggie: Yeah, I'll open the window
Not a few seconds Maggie's office is filled with a quick breeze and the young hero standing by her door. She looks all kinds of defeated, exhausted, just down in general. The way she picks at her hands in front of her and shifts nervously from side to side not able to look Maggie in the eye tells the detective that the hero in front of her is fighting so hard to keep it together but it's not quite working. She understood. Maggie had felt that way before. Plenty of times. "Can I um… Can I just sit here a while?"
"Yeah, of course." Maggie had fully expected Kara to sit at the chair across from her desk or in the corner, not on the floor leaning her back into Maggie's chair for support. The blonde's shoulders slightly touching her leg. Kara was surprised too but she couldn't help it as she found herself nearly collapsing on the floor allowing herself just the smallest of human contact.
Maggie keeps working as they sit in silence, reaching her hand down to rub Kara's head in a soothing motion. Yeah, the detective was a little busy with the usual paperwork but Kara hadn't reached out to anyone since before the invasion. Kara's head dips back to rest against Maggie's thigh as she allows her eyes to close with a sigh. Maggie picks up on the exhaustion radiating from the blonde. "When's the last time you've slept?"
Kara only shrugs slightly "a few weeks or so." A month and a half. Six weeks. 44 days. Pick one. She wants to say. Maggie I'm so...so...tired. "It's ok though."
"Weeks? How are your powers?"
"Sluggish but there." Kara doesn't tell her how the are starting to fade in and out. She doesn't tell her about how she aches all over. Or about lingering bruises from her last fight with an oversized alien after they had parted ways this morning. Or how sometimes when she's flying she falls for a second before she catches herself. No. Why would she tell her that?
"Are you eating?"
"Yeah, enough." She shrugs again. Funny how she doesn't have to eat as much when she eats real food instead of the junk she used to consume. It was like switching from the cheapest stuff at the gas station to JP8. She could hardly taste food anymore anyway. "I'm not punishing myself."
"Never said you were." Maggie's fingers slide down to knead at the Blonde's neck and Kara finds herself relaxing. Maggie thumb presses into a knot that causes Kara to twitch in surprise. She doesn't get knots. Without a word Maggie releases the cape from Kara's shoulders and brushes her long blonde waves over the tense shoulder.
Kara feels Maggie's legs frame her back as she twists to sit sideways on the chair and both hands start to work on the young woman's shoulders. Kara allows herself a moment to revel in the warmth of the touch before leaning away. Maggie doesn't grip harder to keep her there, but she doesn't let go either. "Maggie you don't have to… You can work on stuff I just needed… well I don't know exactly... but I knew you wouldn't judge or say anything and I just-"
"I'm glad you came. Sometimes I need that too." Her hands continue to press into what should be rock solid muscle free from the irritation of overuse "injuries." But Maggie doesn't say anything about that either. She is truly honored, touched, that Kara trusted her enough to seek her out when she didn't feel like she had anywhere else. "And let me. I just finished. Just tell me if it's too much," too much pressure, too much stimulus, too much comfort. Kara only nods. "Just keep breathing ok? Slow in and out. It helps."
The blonde mutters "ok" as Maggie's fingers walk across the top of her shoulders before she's rubbing Kara's back. The two enjoy the silence for a while. Kara occasionally twitching when the pressure is a little much or Maggie hits a sore spot but she never says anything. They find a rhythm in that. Maggie getting a sore spot, Kara twitching, Maggie rubbing the spot with the flat of her hand for a moment as the Kryptonian relaxes again, then she continues on the tender not.
This quiet is somewhat comforting and any noise feels like it will tear her from this momentary reprieve her bones were aching for. All people do anymore is try to get her talking and she really can't stand it. Kara doesn't know how long they sit there, Maggie pressing into her back, occasionally checking on her as if she knew Kara wasn't used to the sensation of knots or soreness lingering for more than 20 minutes. Eventually Kara finds it a little easier to breathe and skinks into the comfort offered by her… friend? "Thank you." Kara whispers hardly loud enough for Maggie to hear. She's not really sure if she was meant to or not.
"You're welcome, Little Danvers." is uttered just as softly with a tenderness she'd never heard from Maggie. The detective turns her legs again going back to work but still rubbing Kara's shoulder with one hand. A few minutes tick past and her hand moves back to gently running through the young woman's long blonde hair and messaging her scalp.
This young woman was so frayed, as if she was hanging on by that last thread for dear life. Maggie couldn't get the image of a steel cable unwinding, and each little string snapping one by one out of her head. That was Kara. And if this could grant her any relief Maggie would give it. Kara, whom she is quickly realising has weaseled into her heart in a way very few people had, needed someone. Maggie smiles to herself thankful that in finding Alex she got a little sister too. She just wished Kara wasn't in so much pain.
Kara feels her eyes flutter shut, she doesn't even have the energy to fight that anymore. Each little movement of Maggies fingers through her hair taking her closer and closer to sleep. She lets her head drop sideways to lean against the lower edge of the desk. By the time Maggie has finished with all the paperwork she had let pile up for the last week Kara is sound asleep.
The older woman chuckles to herself at the gentle breaths she can hear from the tired hero. As carefully as she can Maggie gets out of her chair and grabs Kara's cape from the floor, draping it over the back of the chair for a moment. She retrieves the cushion from the chair in the corner and sets it by her feet as she kneels down next to the sleeping blonde. Supporting Kara with one arm she pushes the chair away with her foot and slides the makeshift pillow below where her head would be. With all the care in the world she lowers Kara back to the ground wishing there was some sort of bed for her to use but also knowing that sleep was sleep and at this point it didn't really matter if that was on old scratchy coffee stained carpet or a in plush bed.
Maggie stepps back and grabs the cape looking at the curled up hero on her office floor for a second before draping the strange fabric over her. She's a little surprised at how well it covers Kara but then again not really. Kara really wasn't all that big, especially not when she had curled herself up into a ball and was now resembling a puppy curled up in front of a fireplace.
Alex: have you seen Kara? She's not at CatCo or the DEO or answering her phone
Maggie: What's going on?
Alex: nothing, there was a little scuffle at the bar but we handled it. She's been all over that stuff recently and I got worried. Lena also said she had missed their lunch plans and was getting worried.
Maggie snapps a quick photo of her love's little sister sleeping nearly under Maggie's desk, curled up under her cape. She looks peaceful if not a little bit comical. Maggie hadn't seen that kind of look on the littlest Danver's face in months.
Maggie: I've got her
She feels her phone buzzing in her hand before she sees the option to accept or deny the call from her fiance. She steps out of her office closing the door gently but standing so she can keep an eye on Kara through the window in her door. "What's wrong? Is she alright? Why is she sleeping on your floor? Is she hurt? I'm coming over there."
"Alex." maggie starts softly as the woman she loves spits the questions at her rapid fire. "ALEX." She whisper yells not wanting to stir the Kryptonian with super hearing even a little bit. "Alex she's fine… well maybe not fine but she's ok. She's not hurt. She came by earlier and just wanted to sit and not talk. She fell asleep leaning against my chair while I did some paperwork."
"Were you doing the hair thing?"
Maggie smirks at that but feels her expression softening at the whispered question from Alex. Some nights that's the only way she got the older Danvers to sleep after a particularly rough day. "Yeah, babe," she lets a light laugh escape "yeah I was doing the hair thing. Turns out Little Danvers is a fan of my hands as well."
"Gross." A small laugh on the other end lets Maggie know she succeeded in making the probably very much worried older sister crack a smile. "Thank you, Maggie. For taking care of her."
"Alex, don't thank me for that. Of course I'm going to take care of her."
"Did she say anything? She isn't sleeping is she? I knew I should have…"
"Alex there isn't anything you can do that you haven't been. She's hurting, way more then she lets on, we all know that. I just think she needs time and all we can do for now is be there when she needs us." By the silence on the other line she knows Alex is contemplating her words about to come back with a rebuttal about how Kara is pushing everyone away but something else was nagging at the detectives attention. "Does Kara get sore?"
"What?"
"Like knots in her muscles from over using them-sensitive to the touch-type sore."
"No. I rub her back sometimes when she's upset but that's more for the sentiment than actual practicality. I could never get my hands to actually press into her muscles to know if she had knots or not. Why?"
"Her shoulders felt like gravel. She was all twitchy when I'd get a tender one and she said her powers were sluggish but I'm pretty sure that isn't the whole story. I think it's from her lack of sleep so hopefully this helps." Maggie glances in the window again to see the hero move a little bit, to tuck her cape up under her nose, before settling back into a deeper sleep. "I'm not telling you so you can baby her. Just keep an eye on it. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't come back to me if she thought I told you."
"You're right. I hate that you're right." Alex sighs heavily. "I'm glad she has you if she feels like she can't come to me." Alex's voice gets choked at the admission.
"Oh, Al," Maggie wipes her hand over her face keeping her voice at a whisper "I don't think it's like that. Haven't you ever had something that you couldn't share with her right away? Usually you come to me for that right? She had gone to Mon-El. It wasn't because she doesn't trust you, Al. She didn't want to talk or anything, or anyone trying to fix it. You're a fixer, babe. She just wanted to sit. She needed some company. I don't think she even intended on leaning against me or falling asleep. It just happened."
"I know. I just want to be able to do something. I feel like she's slipping away. She hardly smiles anymore. She's always been so touchy and she doesn't want hugs and she just shrugs any contact away. I miss her, Maggie, and I see her every day."
Davis pokes his hand around the corner waiving Maggie over and mouthing "We have to go." She nodded and tells him it'll be a second with a wave of her hand. "Now. Like right now."
"Hey, babe, I gotta go. We can talk about this later. She'll be ok. I love you, Alex."
"Be safe. Love you too."
Two hours later when Maggie and some DEO agents are pinned down for 20 minutes before they contain the situation with no sign of supergirl Maggie is a little concerned but lets it go. "She still asleep?" Alex asks her as they walk away from the parting group.
"I hope so. She needs it."
"Yeah. Will you go check on her?" Alex drops her head trying to hide the worry peeking through her usually stoic exterior while at work. She had come to a stop before issuing the plea. Her hands shaking as she raises them to brush her hair away from her face.
Maggie rubs her arms in comfort before pressing a quick kiss to the top of her head. "Of course. I'll keep you updated. Love you."
When Maggie gets back to her office the alien is still on the floor but when she opens the door Kara springs to her feet landing in some sort of a startled-half-asleep fighting stance. She bumps a little into Maggie's desk and barely catches the detective's computer before it crashes to the floor. She straightens the desk up a little bit before turning to Maggie with red cheeks. "Sorry. Uh…"
"It's ok." The detective laughs and shakes her head, crossing her arms over her chest to take in the puppy version of Kara returning for a moment. "Didn't mean to startle you."
"How long was I asleep?" Kara relaxes her posture and wipes a hand over her face. A baby yawn escapes and she presses her fist to her mouth and rubs at her eyes..
Not nearly enough apparently. "A couple of hours."
"A couple of - oh Rao.. Work.. the DEO… lunch with Lena… Did anything happen?" Kara feels her heart speeding up in her chest as she thinks about her sister. Crap. "Alex is going to kill me."
"Relax, I have it covered. You needed the sleep." Maggie leans back against the wall as she takes in the sight of the rambling supergirl. It was really hard to get annoyed at the hero both making their job as police easier and harder at the same time when she was such an adorable person.
A thought seems to slam into Kara's head at the mention of Maggie taking care of her sister for her. Maggie had to deal with a frustrated and probably worried Alex. She had been working when Kara had came in too...The blush is rising on her cheeks again that Maggie had to stop doing what she was working on to take care of her. "Oh my gosh… I didn't mean to put you out. I'm so sorry. You were working and I -"
Maggie takes a step off the wall and grabs a water bottle from the little shelf in the corner of the room. Taking a long drink before cutting Kara off. "You didn't. Promise."
"Thank you." She blushes waving her hand around "for all of this."
"For what letting you sleep on my gross office floor? If you weren't immune to pretty much everything I'd highly suggest a vaccine."
"You know what I meant." Suddenly the confident hero has trouble finding it in her to make eye contact with the detective. She makes a motion to stuff her hands into her pockets only to realize that she was in her suit and didn't have any. She really should talk to Winn about that, pockets are awesome. Supergirl settles for gripping her fists in her skirt instead and finding something on the floor very interesting.
"Yeah, anytime Little Danvers." Don't mention it.
"I know we aren't super close but… thank you. You didn't have to do that. You don't have any obligation to me just because you're gonna marry my sister. I kinda feel like I used you. I'm so sorry."
"No, I get it. I'm glad you trust me. I need something similar sometimes." Maggie can't help but smile at the mention of marrying Alex. It's not her fault really, the older Danvers just made her so happy. She remembered a time when she never thought that would come. When she never thought she would deserve that kind of love and Alex showed her every single day. Also stop apologizing "It's ok to need comfort, Kara. And it's ok to allow yourself to be comforted, too."
"I know." Maggie quirks an eyebrow - do you? Kara drops her head and starts to put her cape back on. Her shoulders going from the more slouched position associated with the young reporter to the proud posture of Supergirl.
Maggie swears it actually hurts her heart to see… It's really as if she can see all the weight on Kara's back for a second. See how hard it was for her to push herself aside to go help others, in whatever capacity that may be. See how painful it was to put that armor back on. How painful it was to go back to pretending everything was great when that couldn't be further from the truth. "I gotta go, duty calls and all that."
"Want to get lunch sometime, just me and you?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'd like that." She offers a small smile tilting her head up she looks at Maggie through those long waves. As she opens the window again before taking a step back inside the room.
"If you need anything don't hesitate to call me. I'm here, any time. I mean it." Kara nods and is out the window in nearly the same motion. "Oh, Little Danvers… what am I gonna do with you?"
Finally alone back in the sky Kara allows herself to take stock. Aside from the initial wake up Kara feels more exhausted than she had before but at least it was something. Landing on the roof of the precinct she looks down to check her phone. A bunch of missed calls and texts from Alex. A few from Lena. Missed news updates send a string of vibrations through the device in her palm. She makes herself check the texts first, then she would deal with whatever disaster she probably had missed during her brief rest.
Lena: I missed you at lunch today. I'm sorry. I'm not mad Kara, I'd never be mad at you for protecting yourself. Please text me back. I'm getting worried. Really worried.
Kara: I am so sorry I missed lunch. It was not on purpose. I dozed off in Maggie's office for a little bit on accident. I wasn't avoiding you. Please don't worry. I'm ok.
Lena: I have a feeling I'm always going to be a little bit worried. I'm glad you got some sleep. Have a nice day, Kara. Stay safe
Kara: you too
Kara wanted to smile at Lena's teasing but she couldn't bring herself to do it. It was too much like what she had said to Mon-El about being mad. Which was no less true today as it was then. She is just a little mad that he isn't around. Why'd he have to be from Daxam? Why'd they have to be allergic to lead? It was childish and she knew it but it helped… a little. It did… Maybe...
She just plane ignores the string of texts she had received from Alex and reads the last one that's timestamped about 30 minutes ago. Her sister texted too much. It was insane. If Kara could go with a flip phone she totally would but with both of her jobs it was damn near critical she was constantly connected.
Alex: I love you, Kara. So much.
The sentimental texts from her sister had gotten heavier and more frequent in the last couple of months since the Daximite invasion. Kara didn't mind really. This one, however, brought a tear to her eye. Maggie must have at least told Alex a little bit about her falling asleep. She knew Alex was worried but her just telling Kara that she loved her instead of "checking-in" like she had been trying to do for the last three weeks was really touching. It helped. Even if it was only a little bit.
Kara: love you too, be by the DEO soon. That meeting's at 4:40 right? I'm sorry I went MIA for a couple of hours
Alex: Don't be, we got it covered. See you at the meeting. Dinner tonight, my place?
Kara: yeah just let me know what time to swing by. I don't know how much time I'll have though
Alex: ok
Kara finally allows herself to look at the news notifications to see that, yes, she had missed quite a big accident. People were dead. She suddenly regrets breaking down enough to let Maggie stroke her hair until she slept. 12 DEAD. TRAIN CRASH IN NEW YORK. As soon as she reads it she's off to the city to help do what she can to make up for those lost when she could have saved the. If only she hadn't allowed that moment of weakness.