IV: Safe Haven

Alex packed up the mess on her desk. She had been waiting for Kara to make a brief in-person report to the DEO like she does every Thursday evening right after her Catco hours. Something must've come up. They seldom walk home together because her unit's about six blocks west from the DEO while Kara's is five to the north. There was a curious question in Alex's head, and she was unfortunately hoping to have Kara answer it.

Alex grabbed her satchel and locked her lab.

"Alex!" Kara yelled. "I just spoke with Hank. Got no buzz from the office today."

Alex plunged a hand into the paper bag Kara was holding and got herself a doughnut. "You're a little late than usual."

Kara winced. "Yeah, well, you know… Snapper. Had to work the extra hour, sorry."

"It's cool," Alex mumbled as she patted doughnut crumbs off her hands. "I was just catching up on Krypton stuff lately and I have something to ask you."

"Then, shoot! Hey, wait, can you give me a ride home tonight? Please?"

Alex rolled her eyes. "Kara, you can fly."

"Flying takes an amount of energy that I don't have."

"Well, I'm walking home tonight."

Kara grunted. "Fine. What was it that you wanted to ask me?"

"Lacarnoff," said Alex. "I know that 'noff' means that it's a liquid mix, and-,"

"Lacar what?"

Alex furrowed her brows. The Kryptonian didn't seem to get the Kryptonian word. She retrieved the vial from her pocket and showed it to her.

"Oh, Lacarnoff!" She read.

Alex sighed - feeling embarrassed by the difference in pronunciation that Kara had of the word.

"Alex, where did you get this?"

She shrugged. "It's just an item from the abandoned gift shop that Winn and I told you about."

Kara chuckled. "The real Lacarnoff was sort of like a 'taboo' item back in Krypton."

"Really? Why's that?" She suddenly felt the evening wind freeze her skin.

"Well, because it's poison."

Alex felt every hair on her body stand. She witnessed as heat escaped her hands. "N-no. Lacar means to pass out gas and-,"

"What? No, you got it wrong." Kara grinned - completely unaware of her sister's situation. "You see," she held the vial and showed Alex the label, "it used the uppercase L so this word becomes a noun… much like in the German grammar you guys have here. If it used the lowercase L, then yeah, it's the verb for passing out gas."

Alex gulped nervously. "So this… this is Poison Juice?"

Kara took a big bite off the doughnut. "Not this one. The REAL Lacarnoff," she said with her mouth full. She finally noticed the paleness that Alex's face had become. "Why? What's happening? Alex are you o-,"

Kara scanned her environment as they reached the outdoors. "Someone's crying for help. Hold my doughnuts!" She tossed the paper bag to Alex and ran back at the DEO to fulfill one last task as Supergirl.

Alex, left alone and scared, hurriedly retrieved her phone and dialed Maggie's number. Whether or not this was the authentic Kryptonian juice, she wouldn't take chances on Maggie Sawyer's life.

Being in the "minority population" had honed Maggie Sawyer into the strong, confident woman that everyone lauded her for… or at least, that was the image everyone had of her. She had fought her way into the life and the career that she had now, and while she had made mistakes in the past, Maggie was positive that things would fall in place someday. A trail of failed relationships was a highlight of her past. The fact that she couldn't progress a single date into something more made her realize the damage that the last woman had caused her. With the recent threats to National City, Maggie had never felt more unsafe: Unsafe from the environment, unsafe from her own demons. She had always believed that her mistakes would eventually catch up to her and strike her back - feeling guilty that she had not been receiving just consequences for hurting people who were important to her. Some days, Maggie would remember every single heartache causing her to regress to unhealthy coping behavior. She was delightful that this day was not one of those days.

All night, Maggie was trying to ring Alex to give updates on the forensics of her latest case. The day had not gone tiring for the detective; she was kept busy by her curiosity in the investigation. What kept on bugging her all day too was the thought of a particular DEO agent that she felt particularly attracted to. Maggie usually did not have worries with letting women know that they were being admired, but Alex calling her out on her pretense of not recognizing the Rattlec sent her mind into a hot mess. Alex invited her for a drink the previous night but the timing was bad. Alex followed her to the club later that night, but again, the timing was awful. Alex had been on her tail all this time and the night that Maggie finally was catching up on the chase, Alex wasn't there… or so it would seem. She finally gave up, and took her ritualistic late night shower.

Maggie sat in her couch and watched the late-night news while she enjoyed a bag of chips. Her phone rang the loud Marimba. She had set the ringtone exclusive to a specific caller ID. She smiled and picked up.

"Hey, you didn't tell me we were already on the booty-call stage-, wait, slow down, Danvers. I'm fine. Nope, no belly aches, I-,"

Maggie turned the television off. Alex sounded frantic and sincerely worried on the other end. Maggie walked to the window as she continued listening to Alex's voice.

"I'm almost there, hang on," Alex voiced, causing Maggie to raise a brow.

"At the precinct? I'm already home, Danvers."

"I know."

"You know where I-," Maggie turned as she heard loud knock on her door. She opened it to an uneasy Alex Danvers who invited herself in without a word.

The DEO agent went for the nearest desk to rest her small duffel bag. "Have you had any fever lately?" Alex inquired as she ransacked her bag for a thermometer and a stethoscope.

Maggie gently closed her front door and approached Alex. "No? What's going on?"

Alex turned to face her. "You seem unsure. How about palpitations?"

"Well the… uh-uh-," Maggie didn't get to answer the latest query because Alex plunged the thermometer into her mouth.

"Kinky," Maggie teased - earning her a playful slap from Alex.

The taller woman dragged her to sit on the couch. Alex sat beside her before donning the earpieces and placing the bell of the stethoscope over Maggie's second rib - just below the collarbone.

"Danvers, you're scaring me. What is going on?" Scaring was a strong word to use. She liked it that Alex was with her at the late hour, but the peculiarity of her actions grew her a yearning concern for the woman.

"Shhhh, I can't hear your heart," Alex whispered.

"That's because it's broken and I've been needing for someone to bring it back to life," Maggie joked - grinning.

Alex then placed the stethoscope bell under Maggie's shirt and under her bra - at the base of her left breast. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her heart rate.

"Kinky. You couldn't ask me out on a date first before you -,"

"SHHHH!" Alex glared at her. "And stop saying kinky."

Maggie tilted her head and smiled as she watched Alex listen to her heartbeat. It had been a while since she felt like this: like home could be a person, like how sometimes, a safe haven is in someone else's voice. So Maggie smiled, and thought that whatever she did to deserve this moment could either be a blessing or a curse… and Maggie felt determined to find out which one it is.