All heads on base turned to the Girl of Steel instantly, entering by crumbling the concrete underneath her feet as she landed, and carrying an unconscious Maggie Sawyer in her arms.
When she was sure two agents had Maggie safely in their grip to bring her to Medical, Kara launched herself into the air again, to fly back and extract Alex.
The agent was still right where she'd left her, staring at the spot where some of Maggie's blood had dripped red on the dusty floor. Kara had grabbed her by the shoulders, but even after convincing her sister more than five times that Maggie was fine, she still wouldn't budge.
Eventually, Kara grew tired of not being heard, and took her sister in her arms, speeding off, and whispering into her ear the entire journey through that she'd be reunited with her girlfriend soon. All Alex could do was sob.
Kara hadn't forgotten about the bullet still lodged in Alex' vest, and it pained her to see it stuck in there, so close to doing damage, so close to making her sister bleed. So the second they touched down – after the blonde grimaced at the damage she'd done to the base previously – she looked her sister in the eyes. "You need to get to Medical."
Alex started walking to the medical wing, but Kara grabbed her by the wrist, forcing her to look her in the eyes once again. "Alex. You need to get checked out first before you check on her."
"No, I… I need to be with her. I'm fine."
Kara rolled her eyes. "Alex. Don't make me drag you into a bed. Just a little check-up to make sure you're not hurt, okay?"
Alex allowed her sister to pull her into Medical, and took a seat onto one of the beds. Looking over the medical wing, she didn't see Maggie anywhere. She grabbed Kara by the wrist. "Where is she?" Her voice sounded hollow, and raw.
"They must have taken her elsewhere. I don't know." Seconds later, doctor Hamilton appeared in the doorway. "Supergirl. Alex."
"Amelia." Alex sighed in relief at the familiar face. "How is she?"
"She has some cuts and bruises, and a bump on the back of her head, but it doesn't seem like she has anything besides a mild concussion, so I honestly don't understand why she's not conscious."
Alex cleared her throat, the professional in her surfacing again. "She has type 1 diabetes. She went into hypoglycemia at CADMUS, and I couldn't find anything to give her."
Hamilton scribbled something down onto her clipboard, before speeding out of the room. Kara squeezed her sister's shoulder. Alex sighed. "I didn't help her. I have an M.D. and I didn't do anything."
"Alex, you did help. You did everything you could under the circumstances." Kara tucked a stray piece of hair behind her sister's ear. "And she's going to be okay."
"If she just told me…" Alex rubbed at her face in frustration. "She said she was embarrassed, Kara! Who is embarrassed by something so serious? We've been dating for months, I should have known…"
Kara seemed speechless for a second. The only thing she did was wrap her arms around her sister, and allow her to sob into her shoulder.
After what seemed like hours, Hamilton appeared back into the doorway. "Alright, Danvers. Let's get you checked out."
Alex' gaze traveled upwards to meet the doctor's eyes, silently asking the question that had been on her mind ever since this started.
"She's doing better." Hamilton said. "We're monitoring her glucose levels, and giving her fluids, her numbers are way better now. She should wake up soon."
Alex sighed, the relief making her light-headed for a second. Hamilton frowned, and took a seat on a stool next to the bed. "Now, what happened to you?"
"Took a bullet in the Kevlar." Alex pointed down to the metal object, her hand now slipping down to link with Kara's. Hamilton nodded, and wrote something down. "Any trouble breathing?"
"At first, yeah. It got better after a while."
"Any chest pain?"
"Probably cracked a rib or two."
Hamilton smiled, she'd almost forgotten how stubborn agent Danvers really was when it came to medical stuff. Alex insisted she treated herself when her injuries weren't too serious, as 'she herself could perfectly assess the amount of painkillers she needed'. Or something like that.
"Alright. Can you take off the vest and your tactical gear?"
Kara helped Alex undo the zipper on her black DEO gear, and Alex gently shrugged it off her torso.
The blonde couldn't help but wince when she saw the dark, almost black bruise covering her sister's chest, near the right side. She narrowed her eyes, scanning her sister's body for damage.
"I can see fractures in at least 2 ribs. No, wait, 3." She turned to Hamilton, who nodded and wrote it down. "We'll do an x-ray just to have visuals. Pain? From 1 to 10?"
"4. I can take it, Amelia. I can barely feel it."
"Well, be that as it may, I still want you to take some painkillers and get some rest." Hamilton looked her friend and colleague in the eyes. "When you wake up, and the pain is manageable, I'll see what you can do to help monitor detective Sawyer."
Alex nodded sincerely. "Thank you."
Hamilton grinned. "Not much I could do to stop you either way, might as well help."
She gave Alex a dose of painkillers, and after making sure she was comfortable, left the pair alone. Kara smiled weakly at her sister. "I love you."
"Did you…" Alex was now slurring herself, the painkillers getting in her system almost instantaneously. "Did you get enough time under the sunlamps?"
Kara nodded. "Good as new, big sis."
"Good." Alex' eyes drooped closed. "Good."
Kara held her sister's hand until she was absolutely sure that she was out like a light, and told herself to get some rest after the battle as well.
As she was dozing off, her superhearing picked up a conversation in the hallway, not too far from where they were, but far enough that they wouldn't be heard by anyone.
"…Didn't tell her. She needed to rest." Hamilton.
"You know her. She'll find out either way when she wakes up, and she won't understand why you didn't tell her."
Kara's stomach somersaulted. She walked out of the room, taking big steps towards the voices. When she turned a corner, she saw Hamilton speaking to another doctor. The pair must have sensed that Kara was angry, because the other doctor excused himself quickly.
"What was that?!" Kara glared.
Hamilton frowned. "I don't know what you're talking about, Supergirl."
"I heard you two talking. What's wrong with Maggie? Why did you lie to Alex?"
Hamilton smiled sadly, and pulled her aside. "Her blood sugar levels were dangerously low. J'onn went to her apartment to get her glucose meter, and we accessed the saved data. She hasn't been taking care of herself, Supergirl. Her levels have been too low for a few days now. It's no wonder she crashed."
"Why would she do that?" Kara stammered. "I don't understand."
Hamilton shrugged, unable to provide an answer. "We'll have to ask her when she wakes up Excuse me."
As the doctor walked off, Kara was left alone in the corridor, wondering what went through Maggie's head those last few days.
She walked through the hallway, and finally arrived at a closed glass door. Behind it, one of the DEO doctors was changing an IV fluid bag, and tapping the wire connected to Maggie's wrist.
The detective looked pale, gray and sweaty. It broke Kara's hart to see the tough, badass she'd always been a little jealous of lying so helpless. For a nanosecond, she didn't want Alex to see her girlfriend like this.
But then again, Alex was the only person who Maggie let in to her private life, so Kara wouldn't be surprised if Alex was the only one who could put her back together.
"Don't worry Maggie." Kara smiled weakly against the glass. "Alex is on her way."