Hi guys!
Thanks for the love on chapter one, this is the kind of gooey fluffy goodness that feeds my soul. I'm glad other people enjoy the gooey-fluffy diet too! Here's some more for you. :)
…...
Power Outage
Chapter 2
…...
Kara was floating through a sea of sleepy blackness...then she opened her eyes in horror, panic rising up like hot molten lava in her chest as she looked around through the glass dome of her pod. Her pod...she was back in the Phantom Zone, outside time, outside space, lost in a crack in the universe where no one would ever find her.
"Alex!" She screamed, her heart beating so fast it felt like her chest would explode. "Alex, help me! Don't leave me here!" Even as she screamed, she knew it was no use; no one could hear her where she was. The blazing hot panic in her chest overtook her whole body, and she thrashed uselessly in her pod, terrified and hysterical and sobbing her heart out. She was alone...forever...
With a scream of pure anguish, Kara thrashed so hard under the blankets that she fell off the couch, landing with a thud on the cool hardwood floor of her own apartment, the world rushing back into her senses as she sat on the floor and wept, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms tightly around herself, holding herself together as if afraid she might float away again, right off this planet and back into the blackness of space. She was only like that for a moment before her big sister's arms were around her, holding onto her as tight as Kara was holding herself, trembling with terror and fever and confusion. It was a dream, it was just a dream. But that knowledge didn't diffuse the terror she felt twisting up her insides, as real as her pod in the blackness of space had been a moment ago. She snaked her arms possessively around her sister's body, which felt wonderfully cool and soothing now next to her hot skin, and cried her eyes out while Alex rubbed her back, rocking her slightly on the chilly hardwood floor.
"It was a dream, baby, it was just a dream," Alex cooed, keeping her arms and legs locked tightly around her little sister's shaking body, sensing that Kara needed to be held as tightly as possible while she recovered from her fevered nightmare. Kara buried her hot face in Alex's neck, sobbing until she coughed, her chest still heavy with congestion. She drew back from the safety of her sister's arms just enough to cover her mouth with one hand, worried despite all her own pain and terror about passing her germs along to her sister. But the coughing made her dizzy again, and she slumped limply against Alex's chest, unable to even hold herself up in a sitting position.
"You're okay, you're okay," Alex hummed over and over, reaching over Kara's shoulder to the coffee table and coming back with something wonderfully cool, which she dabbed over Kara's hot face and the back of her neck. "Come back to me, Kara, I'm right here..." Finally, after a few minutes alternating between coughing and hyperventilating, the younger girl took a calm, steadying breath and looked up into her sister's dark eyes, full of fierce love and protection. "Hey," Alex smiled gently, cupping Kara's flushed cheek in one hand and wiping away a few tears with her thumb. "There's my girl." Kara sniffled as her tears tapered off, forcing her hazy eyes to focus on Alex's face and nothing else. It was the only way to keep her consciousness from drifting off somewhere dark and scary again.
"I had...such a bad dream," Kara croaked softly, finding her voice to be much rougher than usual, raw and congested and weak from crying. Alex wiped the tears from her face with the cool washcloth while the young alien girl sniffled, the coldness of the floor they were sitting on finally seeping through her sweat-soaked pajamas to her hot skin, making her shiver, and her teeth began to chatter. The chill seemed to send a spark straight from her cold feet, all the way up her spine to her head, where it made her nose tickle with a jolt of intensity so strong, it felt like an ice cube had just been dropped inside her head. "Uhh'chhiew! *Snfl*..." Kara sneezed woozily, pushing one hand weakly against her pink nose in another bleary but determined attempt not to spray her sister with her germs.
"Bless you, sunshine," Alex cooed softly, not flinching away when her little sister sneezed on her. "Come on, let's get you off this cold floor..." Without another word, Alex scooped up Kara's shivering body and deposited her back on the couch, pulling the blanket back over her that she'd kicked off during her nightmare. Sensing that Kara's need for contact and physical comfort had not yet abated, Alex gently leaned her sister forward so she could slip in behind her, letting the trembling girl lean back against her and slipping one arm around Kara's stomach, which the younger girl held there tightly with both hands as her panicky breathing slowly returned to normal. Alex used her free hand to hold the cold washcloth against Kara's forehead, dipping it occasionally into the bowl of ice water that sat on the coffee table beside them and squeezing it out deftly with one hand before pressing it back to her sister's burning hot face.
"Lexie..." Kara finally croaked out softly, her voice weak and quiet now that she was no longer gasping with terror.
"Yeah, baby. I'm here," Alex hummed softly, hugging her tightly from behind.
"Am I...*snf*...am I sick?" The younger girl asked meekly.
"Yeah, Kara. You're sick. You remember, don't you? You lost your powers, Winn and Lucy and James called me to come get you at work...that was just a few hours ago, angel. You remember." Alex kept the cold washcloth pressed tightly to her sister's sweaty forehead until the heat of her fever had leeched all the coldness from the damp cloth; then she dipped it back in the ice water, squeezed it out, and began the process all over again.
"Yeah..." Kara agreed with a shaky sigh, closing her eyes briefly. "I remember. I just thought...maybe it was part of my dream...it was so scary, Lex..."
"Do you want to talk about it?" The older girl asked gently, snuggling down a little deeper against the couch as Kara's body relaxed into hers, making them both feel heavier.
"I was back in the Phantom Zone," Kara whispered, her hand squeezing Alex's tight against her stomach. "I woke up in my pod, and I was all alone...forever..."
"You will never be alone again, Kara. Never," Alex murmured fiercely, pressing a soft kiss to the top of her sister's blonde head.
"Tell me again," Kara whispered, her voice wobbling with insecurity like Alex hadn't heard in years. The blonde girl rolled over so she could press her ear to her sister's chest, seeking out that warm, steady heartbeat that always called her home.
"I will never leave you," Alex swore, her voice quiet but vibrating with intensity as she hugged her sister's weakened body tight against her. "Never, Kara...you're my sister, you're my heart."
"I love you so much, Alex," Kara murmured croakily, curling her legs up to her chest under the blanket so she was lying squarely in Alex's lap, one arm wrapped possessively around her big sister's waist. She coughed and rubbed her nose.
"I love you more," Alex cooed back, sifting her fingers through long blonde hair again.
"I love you the most," Kara countered sleepily, a woozy grin spreading across her face as her shivering finally began to ease, and her body went limp in the safety of Alex's arms. "To infinity and beyond..." They both giggled a little; Toy Story was the first DVD they'd ever watched together, and thirteen-year-old Kara had been almost unhinged with delight at the silly antics of the animated toys on the screen. Apparently cartoons, or entertainment-based media in general, were not part of life on Krypton.
A soft knock on the door roused them from their snug position on the couch together, and Alex immediately let go of her sister's back and tried to slide out from under her. "No," Kara whined, her fingers automatically tightening around the fabric of her sister's shirt again. But Alex was much stronger than she was now, and it was easy for the older girl to release her sister's hold on her.
"Shh, it's okay Kara. I'm just answering the door. It's probably Winn, I asked him to go to the drug store for you, okay?" Alex stood up and rubbed Kara's back one more time, dropping a lingering kiss on her forehead.
"Oh...okay," Kara conceded sleepily, rubbing her eyes. Alex padded over to the door and sure enough, there was Winn, smiling and holding a big bag from the drug store.
"Hey, Winn, thanks for coming over," Alex smiled gratefully, opening the door wider to let him in. "Fair warning, this apartment is like cootie-central right now. I'd understand if you just wanna give me the bag and not come in."
"What? No," Winn rolled his eyes at the young DEO agent, giving her the same "duh" expression that a teenage girl might. He loved Kara. Kara was sick. He was coming inside.
"Okay," Alex nodded, giving him a sideways grin of approval as he passed. She knew Kara didn't realize how Winn truly felt about her...but she also knew that Winn would be there for her little sister no matter what, and that made Alex want him around as much as he wanted to be there.
"Hey, Kara...how are you feeling?" Winn asked hesitantly, sitting beside her where she was still curled up on the couch on her side, and patting her leg awkwardly. He wanted to show her affection and comfort; he just didn't quite know how. But even though he didn't know how, his intentions always showed through, and she gave him a weak half smile as he patted her leg.
"So, so shitty," she said with a sigh; but she still managed to give him a smile. "But it's nice that you're..." She had to pause as a cough came over her, and she clamped a kleenex over her mouth again, determined not to spread her germs to her loved ones. Even in this sorry state, she still wanted to save everyone. "...You're here," she finished croakily.
"Of course I'm here." Winn beamed at her, clearly delighted to be needed. "You really must be feeling shitty if you're actually using a curse word. You never curse. You're so wholesome," the young IT director gently teased his best friend, trying to get another smile out of her.
"Yeah, well. Right now I don't really give a fuck," Kara grumbled; but a half-grin tugged at the corner of her mouth. Mission accomplished. Alex came around the other side of the couch and sat on the arm, by Kara's head, pressing the cold washcloth back to her forehead.
"Did you find everything I texted you?" The dark-haired girl asked, eyeing the bag. Kara sneezed, and Alex stroked her hair absently.
"Yep," Winn nodded eagerly. "What do you want first?"
"Thermometer, please." Alex held out her hand, and Winn passed her a small box that held a digital ear thermometer. With all the respiratory issues Kara was having right now, Alex really didn't want to make her hold anything in her mouth or have to breathe just through her nose. If she even could. "Thanks." Alex smiled gratefully, opening the package and turning it on with a little beep. She stuck it gently in Kara's ear, and it was only a few moments before it beeped again with the results. Winn leaned over Kara's body to look at the readout before Alex even had a chance to take it out of her ear again.
"A hundred and five?" The young IT tech squealed, so alarmed he stood up for no reason, like he was about to go charging off into battle. Against a fever.
"Calm down, Winn, she's not human. Her normal body temp ranges from 100.5 to 101.5." Alex patted his arm, trying not to be amused by his freak-out.
"Oh—okay, but that's...that's still bad..." He panted weakly and sat down again.
"I can take it. I'm the girl of steel," Kara smirked woozily.
"Yeah, well today you're the girl of snot," Alex teased gently, making a childish face at her sister. Kara giggled sleepily.
"Shut up, doofus," she murmured, still smiling although she was starting to look very sleepy again.
"Don't fall asleep," Alex said sternly, already noticing her sister drooping. "We have more meds for you." Winn handed over the rest of his shopping, which included another extra large bottle of Advil, plus an equally large value-sized box of Sudafed, and half a dozen bottles of maximum strength cough syrup. Winn watched Alex pop out five times the normal dose of the small red Sudafed pills, and suddenly understood why she had specifically told him to get the largest available size of everything. "Can you sit up a little bit, baby?"
"Mm-hmm," Kara mumbled, yawning as she pushed herself up shakily on one arm, tucking her feet underneath her. Winn saw her winding up for another sneeze, so he pushed a fresh tissue into her free hand. "Hh'chxshh! *Snfl*...ughh, fuck this," Kara mumbled into her tissue, wiping her nose for what felt like the thousandth time today.
"Bless you," Alex said with a small smile, weirdly amused to see her little sister cursing...which, as Winn had already pointed out, she never did. But it also meant she was still coherent and not about to go into respiratory failure, so that was good. She held out the handful of decongestants. "These should help with the sniffles." Kara gulped down her newest handful of pills obediently, drinking a lot of water with them which also made Alex happy. "Okay, now comes the yucky part...I'm sorry babe." Alex held out a bottle of cough syrup. "You have to drink the whole bottle. It tastes awful. But I'll bribe you with ice cream after."
"Whatever, I don't care," Kara sighed defeatedly, holding out her hand for the cough syrup. "If it makes me stop coughing up half a lung, I don't care what it tastes like." Alex took the cap off and handed it to her. Kara put her head back and gulped down a large mouthful. Then she made a horrible face of disgust, and pushed the bottle back into Alex's hands, grabbing for her water again. After she'd taken a few gulps, she glowered at her sister mutinously. "Ughhh, are you kidding me?"
"Ice cream. Think about the ice cream," Alex smiled encouragingly. Kara pouted, but she took the bottle back, making the same scrunched-up face of disgust after each gulp, but persisting on until the bottle was empty. Then she dropped the empty bottle on the coffee table and grabbed her water again, emptying that too.
"Ice cream," she demanded, feeling that she had thoroughly earned it. Then she sneezed again, pitching forward into her cupped hands. "Lexie, it's not working," she whined, sniffling.
"It takes a little more than five minutes to kick in," Alex explained patiently to her cranky sister, kissing the top of her head as she stood up. "And I'm getting you ice cream."