A/N: Thank you for the comments.
Guest - Maggie and Ale will have a much longer talk later.
"Hey." Alex said as she squeezed Kara's hand as Kara started to wake up.
"You're really here?" Kara asked.
"I'm really here." Alex said. "And I know why you aren't healing."
"Why?" Kara asked
"You have a shard of Kryptonite embedded in your bone." Alex said. When she saw how surprised Kara looked she asked. "How did you not know? You must have felt awful."
"I did." Kara confessed.
"Then why not tell anyone?"
"I thought it was because I was missing you." Kara said.
"I was gone for weeks. Your leg, your shoulder, your ribs didn't heal. Surely you must have started thinking that it was to do something other than grief?" Alex said frustrated.
"I don't know. Maybe. But by then it didn't seem to matter. I didn't deserve to feel better." Kara said. Not really sure what to say Alex didn't speak for a while before saying.
"I have an idea for taking out the Kryptonite, but I need some help, so I am going to see Lena."
"Lena?" Kara asked.
"Yeah."
"I don't think she'll help."
"Why?" Alex asked confused.
"I may have told Lena I was Supergirl." Kara said.
"She didn't take it well?" Alex guessed.
"She said she already knew. Then I yelled at her."
"Well it sounds like I have missed a lot. When you are better you can fill me in on everything. But right now I need to get that Kryptonite out and I need Lena."
"You're coming back?" Kara asked, her voice pleading.
"Of course I am." Alex smiled.
-00-
"Are you okay?" J'onn asked approaching Raffa who sat in the empty room he had set her up in.
"There are so many emotions." Raffa said. "But they are not the problem, I am getting better at shielding those."
"Then what's wrong?"
"Once a link has been established we are more empathic with that person."
"So you pick up Alex's emotions more than others?" J'onn asked.
"Yes. And because I have been so sheltered, so out of practice, I have lost the ability to shield myself from that link. Her emotions have consumed me and almost feel like my own. I can feel the anger burn inside me. I have not felt anger this intense for a very long time."
"Would it help to meditate?" J'onn asked.
"I don't know. Normally distance and time fixes things."
"If there is anything I can do let me know." J'onn offered.
"Thank you."
"What do you plan to do now?" J'onn asked, assuming there was a reason why Raffa was still there.
"My clan were not happy with my decision to help Alex. They do not trust any human. When I took Alex home I was told that if I returned they would not be there."
"I'm sorry." J''onn said.
"I knew the consequences when I made my decision." Raffa replied.
"You are welcome to stay here as long as you want." J'onn said. "And if you were interested, we could use your talents here."
"Work with humans?" Raffa asked.
"It's not as bad as it sounds. At least think about it."
-00-
"I thought I said I didn't want to be disturbed." Lena said before looking up and seeing Alex. "Alex? You're alive? Does Kara know?"
"Yes." Alex said, answering all three questions with a single word.
"Is she okay? Are you okay?"
"I'll be fine. Kara isn't."
"She took your loss badly." Lena said. "Which is why I'm surprised you're here. She needs you."
"Unfortunately she needs more than that. There's a piece of Kryptonite embedded in her femur, which has stopped her healing."
"She's had Kryptonite in her all this time? How did she not know? Why didn't I see it?"
"Everyone missed it. Kara cutting herself off didn't help." Alex replied.
"We shouldn't have let her. If the situations had been reversed Kara would have moved in with me." Lena pointed out suddenly lost in her own thoughts.
"Well it's not to late to help and I can't help her by myself." Alex said.
"I'm not sure Kara would want my help. Our last meeting didn't go well. I don't want to make the situation worse."
"She didn't mean it." Alex said. "But she does think you hate her."
"And what do you think?"
"You wouldn't have paid the rent or bought her food every week if you hated her." Alex argued. "If I thought for a second you meant her harm I wouldn't be here. So will you help me?"
"What do you need?"
"I need a piece of precision machinery capable of making a screw."
"Pretty sure Home Depot would do." Lena pointed out.
"Not for this type of screw."
"What's special about this screw."
"It's made of bone."
"Bone?" Lena said confused.
"To remove the Kryptonite I am going to have to damage the femur. To repair it, it will need to be pinned. But if we use traditional pins or screws, it will always be a weak point for her. The metal will not be as strong as her bone, assuming she heals after we remove the Kryptonite. If she does heal we don't know how that metal pin will mesh with the bone, or if she won't heal due to it being there. Her body may even reject it."
"I'm still not sure I see the solution." Lena confessed.
"I am going to remove a small piece of bone from her hip. Best case scenario as soon as she is free from the Kryptonite it will heal right up, worse case is it won't, but the location I will remove it from shouldn't cause problems."
"Then you will turn the bone into a screw and use it to fix Kara's leg in the hope her body won't reject it and that the bone screw will completely fuse with her leg when her powers return." Lena concluded.
"Yes." Alex said. "I know it sounds crazy, but it's Kara's best chance."
"Alex, a few months ago we split Sam into two people...it doesn't sound that crazy."
"Can you make the bone screw?"
"There is a machine that could definitely make it, but it is too big to move to the DEO. There is a portable machine, but we would need to run some tests. Do you have any spare bones lying around?"
"So you will help me?" Alex asked.
-00-
"How are you feeling?" Alex asked walking into Kara's room.
"Alex? You're back?"
"I told you I would be." Alex smiled. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. You should get some rest. You've done enough for me already."
"I'm your big sister, it's my job to look after you. But I am resting, that's why I'm here. I thought I'd sit with you for a while." When Kara didn't say anything Alex asked. "Aren't you going to ask how it went with Lena?" Not giving a chance to answer. "She is setting up her equipment now."
"Lena is helping?" Kara asked.
"Of course she is." Alex said. "While she is doing that you need to decide if you want this surgery."
"Why wouldn't I?"
"It's dangerous, not been attempted before and may not work." Alex pointed you.
"You said it is my best chance. That's good enough for me." Kara said.
"Okay. Well once Lena is set up we'll get started. After I get the Kryptonite out and you have healed we are going to have a long talk. But for now get some rest."
"Do you have to go?" Kara asked.
"I can stay for a while."
-00-
"Ms Luthor." J'onn greeted.
"Director." Lena nodded.
"Thank you for helping, again."
"Kara's my friend." Lena shrugged. She then sighed and said. "And that's why I need to ask this. I hate to ask this, but are you sure Alex is Alex and the Alex you know?"
"You have reason to doubt it?" J'onn asked.
"Well, my mother was involved in what happened and she has ways of making bad situations worse."
"Whilst I agree with that assessment, I have been in Alex's head. She really is Alex."
"That's good." Lena smiled.
-TBC...
A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing.
