A couple of hours later, Alex opened the door of her sister's apartment with a bag full of clothes. Once inside, she quickly saw Kara and Cat sitting on the couch, watching TV. The noise made the kryptonian turn and it made Alex smile. Kara seemed happier and had a big spoon of rice stuck in her mouth.

"Alex, you're back." Kara cheered as she had been waiting for this moment

"And you're eating." Alex cheered back as she saw the light shade of pink climbing on her sister's cheeks

"It's her third plate." Cat casually said. She was about to make a comment on Kara's fear of throwing up earlier but revised herself and chose an other sacarstic comment. "I think I'll have to make an other saucepan."

"Thanks for taking care of her." Alex said sitting in the seat opposite to the couch

"I only made rice because she asked." Cat tried to deminish her role in all this.

But Kara disagreed and shook her head.

"No Miss Grant." she started putting her spoon down. "You cooked me rice, you brought me sunflowers and I don't know exactly what you did with Supergirl's press but I'm sure you said amazing and inspiring things to the people of National City." Kara added with all her thankfulness

"It's my job to inform people." Cat countered. "And if what I did impress you, wait until you see what the people did." she smirked

"What do you mean?" Alex asked

"Since the first announcement of Supergirl's indisposition, people started to transform CatCo's entrance in a virtual shrine. For days they had been bringing all sorts of things from flowers to letters and drawings." Cat paused to look directly in Kara's eyes. "I'm not the only one who cares about Supergirl."

Seeing the two sisters were speechless, Cat took changed the chanel to the put on the news. She knew the only subject on TV at the moment was Supergirl so CatCo would be on the front page. And as expected, the first thing the three women saw on the screen was a reporter, in front of CatCo, talking about Supergirl's absence and recovery. But Kara wasn't paying attention to what he was saying. All her mind was overwhelmed by the extand of gifts that was and was still displayed on the ground.

Leaning forward, elbows on her knees, Kara hadn't seem to realize how much people cared about her alter ego. Until now. Such devotion brought joy and hope in her heart, replacing a bit of sadness and fear that had settled.

"They did this for me?" the young kryptonian asked in disbelief

"Yes." Alex breathed out, almost as astonished as her sister

"They figured CatCo would be the best place to do it." Cat added with a smile, glad people's affection was making her assistant feel better

"And they were right." Kara said still staring at the TV

Once the TV was off, Alex decided to bring more serious matters in the conversation.

"How did you do to bring the flowers in the base?" she asked Cat with a serious look

"Don't worry, I didn't delivered them myself. I only asked my IT hobbit to search for Agent Vasquez' address, which he found quite promptly, and then I made them be delivered there after writing Kara's name on the card." Cat answered like it was nothing

"So you made Winn trespassing the law for you..." Alex concluded with a small glare

"Please, I'm sure he's already used his haking capacities to do much worse... Like gathering personnal e-mails, I suppose." Cat countered making Kara shrink. "Now, if you'll excuse me."she added standing up. "I have to pick up my son."

"Of course." Alex said standing up too so she could walk her to the door

"Thank you again, Miss Grant." Kara called as her boss was already almost at the door.

Cat looked at her like a friend would.

"I know it might be a little soon to ask but people would be really gald to see Supergirl and hear her speak. Let me know as soon as you're ready...please" she asked trying to make it sound as far as possible from an order.

Kara nodded with acceptance and waited for Alex to come back. She didn't wait long as the other woman sat right next to her as soon as her boss was gone. They decided to watch a movie together, like an usual TV afternoon. But this wasn't usual. They couldn't watch Game of Thrones or Homeland. They didn't have the heart to it and didn't have to speak to understand that. Tension was still there but only slightly perceptible. At least for now.

"Alex, can I ask you something?" Kara demanded after the movie ended, her face suddenly changing

"Sure. What is it?" the agent questionned slightly concerned

"How long was I out?"

The question hit her hard in the face. Of course Kara would want to know about what happened. It was normal. And sure, it was the healthy thing to do. Alex had to talk about what she experienced as much as Kara did. But it didn't mean the young agent was thriled about it. The only thing Alex wanted to do was to forget and move on. And talking about it, even if it was painful, was the only way to do it.

"Ten days." she finally said looking at her hands resting on her lap

"Ten days..." Kara repeated trying to realize it. "I-I slept for ten days." she said making her sister nod in confirmation

"And you apparently had one d-nightmare each days."

"So what you're saying is... I created my own reality within my sleep?" the young kryptonian asked definitely hurt

"No...The virus did." Alex countered. "Kara, I lived in a nightmare for ten days straight. Not knowing if you were going to wake up was horrible. Mom and I fought so hard to find a cure while the meds weren't working. Your temperature was so high and... And your heart stopped, Kara. It stopped beating, you died three times in front of my eyes." she explained, her voice trembling more at each sentence. "And I couldn't do anything about it."At the last word, Kara lunched herslef forward and took her sister in a tight embrace. Alex was just sobbing but the emotion was fully there. "I was so scared to lose you."

Kara closed her eyes against Alex's neck and stroked her back softly.

"I'm ok now. I'm not leaving. And neither do you." The last sentence was more for Kara to convice herslef than anything else

"No, I'm not." Alex insisted. "You fought for me, Kara"

Suddenly, the young woman pulled out of the hug and jerked backward with a panicked look. Confused, Alex didn't know how to react and observed her sister carefully before gripping her by the shoulders.

"Kara, what's wrong? What did I say?"

"You said -You said 'fight for me'..." Kara started only earning Alex to be more confused. "That's what you said to me right before Lane's soldier put a bullet between your eyes." she added with fear fully settled on her face

"Oh Kara, I'm so sorry." Alex said before cupping the younger woman's face. "None of this happened, I swear." she promise, her head a few centimeters away from Kara's face

"I know but it felt so real." she confessed with wet eyes

"Why don't we go in your bed? I think we need some rest." Alex proposed only for Kara to nod.

After a quick shower, Alex was laying next to Kara in a comfortable large T-shirt. The sisters were both looking at the ceiling, eyes wide open. They weren't ready to sleep and they both knew their conversation wasn't over.

"They used us against each other." Kara started out of the blue. Alex didn't said a thing and just waited. " They chained us to a wall and asked questions. They wanted to know about aliens in the DEO, about J'onn and kryptonian technology." Her voice was calm and monotone. They were still looking at the ceiling. "But we kept quiet. And everytime we did, one of us was getting punched." That was the sentence that made Alex look at Kara while she was still staring blankly above her. "I was already weakened by a kryptonite bullet in my shoulder and you were already hurt. But we hold on." Kara paused like if she wanted to put an end to this chapter of the nightmare. "We tried to escape. Once." she said making Alex hope they had succedeed for the sake of Kara's mind. "But we failed and Lane injected me like he did Astra." With this, the agent's body tensed and didn't quite wanted to know more of how her sister suffered but Kara needed to talk. "When I woke up, I was chained back to the wall. And the next time Max and General Lane showed up was for the ultimate question. They changed their methods and threatened to shoot you if I didn't talk. And so I did. I talked." Kara continued without changing her speed or tone. She was still calm and relaxed. On the other hand, Alex tensed more. Did Kara really broke under the pressure of the threats? "But I only told them a lie about J'onn and where to find the message my mother sent with my pod. I knew they couldn't do anything to turn it into a weapon." Alex almost sighed in relief. So Kara was as strong and smart as she thought. It made her proud of her little sister. "Then they asked me about the fortress of solitude." Kara's voice broke at this instant. It made Alex fear what was coming next, wondering if her death was near. "But you know I don't know where it is and that's what I told them. They didn't believe me. They thought I lied. And that's when... That's when the soldier asked you if you had a last word to say." Kara's voice was now shaking. "And you told me to fight for you. One second later you were dead." The young kryptonian stopped for a few seconds, fighting back tears. Alex sighed with sadness and wondered if that was as far as Kara's torture had gone. "After they left, I watched your body for I don't know how long. I watched, feeling so guily and helpless, as blood was pouring out of your head. I swore I wouldn't give them anything else. And I kept my promise. Even when they brought Winn in and killed him just like they did you." The young woman paused once more as she felt that Alex needed time to process all this. Since the beginning of her monologue, Kara had heard her sister's heartbeat accelerate with each difficult part. Once she heard a barely audible sigh, confirming Alex was ready again, she continued. "Then, Lane decided I was no use for him so he let Max do all kind of test and experiments on me. All I was was a lab rat. I understand now that I passed from mental torture to physical torture. Max and his crazy minions tested my resistance to electricity, my lung capacity and my resistance to pressure. Until I broke." And like if it was a signal, Kara's voice broke for the second time and went crescendo for the final part of her speech. "I couldn't take it anymore. The pain was excruciating. They were trying to break my legs. Alex, it was so horrible I gave up." Kara was almost crying now. "I gave up and I wanted to die. I asked Max to kill me and he said yes." the young kryptonian said with high pitch voice on the last word. Without a word, Alex turned on her side, intertwined their fingers and silently started to stoke Kara's hair. The touch was so light that Kara didn't even flinch and continued staring at the ceiling. "He said yes and the last thing I know, I'm lying on a bed with your face right in front of me. I was so confused and disoriented; I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to suffer any longer." Kara shifted quickly on her side to face her sister and allowed the agent to stare into her wet blue eyes. "Alex, I don't want to suffer." she begged with pleading eyes.

The other woman let a tear roll down her cheeks and immediately pulled Kara in a hug, gripping her shirt harder at each second. More tears followed but Alex wasn't crying. It was just some tears from exhaustion, sadness, guilt and fear, following each other on her face.

"You won't. I'll do everything I can, I promise."

Morning came slowly in Kara's apartment, crowling through the window. Kara woke up slowly and opened her eyes carefully. Waking up in the morning was a bit frightening for the young woman. Since the day before, she was definitely conviced her nightmares were just dreams and that this right moment was all that mattered because it was the true reality. But in the very back of her mind, there was still that echoeing fear of being stuck again. What if her nightmares would come back and haunt her at night? Kara hadn't had bad dreams since she was out of danger but she couldn't help herself think that it was all thanks to Alex. What will happen when her sister would eventually leave and go back to her normal life?

Kara was lying on her side, facing the wall. She saw on her clock it was only six in the morning. She wasn't tired though. Speaking to Alex and explaining her torture had been hard but it had also been a relief. A huge burden was gone off of her shoulders. The young kryptonian was relaxed by the soft sound of Alex breathing. It was regular, profound, soothing. Turning on her back, Kara continued her motion and turned her head in Alex's direction. The agent was sleeping on her back, one hand on her stomach, the other next to her head which was slightly turned towards the wall. Watching her sister sleep was only comforting Kara more. She seemed relaxed too, but had this small frown between her eyes that was only there when something wasn't right deep inside. Only Kara was trained to see it. Alex would make this face during daylight too. The young woman had had a hint of what her sister felt while she was out but she couldn't fully pictured how traumatizing it had been for Alex. Was she as broken as she was? Probably not. But she was close to it. Kara couldn't even think of being in Alex's position, not knowing if she would live or not.

Kara decided it was her turn to do something for Alex. Deep inside she knew she was the one who needed the most support but it didn't mean that Alex was supposed to be alone. Slowly and carefully, the young woman lifted the sheets and stood up. She stood immobile for a few seconds, waiting for the usual vertigo to come. Kara smiled when it didn't. With that, she noticed her fever was almost completely gone. Glad she was at least physically healing, the kryptonian headed in her kitchen.

There, she opened all her closets, searching for all the breakfast food she could. Kara smiled whe she saw the untouched bag of chocolate waffles in one of them and a new bottle of milk in an other. Still in silence, she heated up her milk with her heat-vision but stopped after just two seconds. A sudden vertigo took her and made her drop the bag of waffles she was holding. Fortunately for her, her mug was on the table. Kara winced and had to take the table as a support to keep standing. Using her powers so early wasn't a good idea. Besides, Heat-vison was maybe the most energy-needy power she had.

When the vertigo passed, Kara bend down to pick up the waffles. When she stood up again, Alex was in front of her.

"Are you ok?" she asked wondering how the bag ended up on the floor

"Yeah, I just dropped the bag." Kara said putting it on the table. "I just didn't want to wake you with the microwave so I tried to heat up my milk with my heat-vision and failed miserably." Kara confessed half joking half denigrating herself.

Alex sighed and watched her sister turn on the coffee machine for her.

"Kara, you didn't have to do this for me. You're not ready to use your powers yet." she warned

"I think I figured this on my own. But thanks, Alex." Kara said a bit colder than she expected.

It took Alex of guard and she stayed quiet, trying to figure out what was wrong with her sister. She watched as Kara poured Alex a coffee in an other mug and placed it in front of her. She watched as the young woman started to unwrap the waffles. And that's when Alex understood.

"Kara-"

"I just want to help!" Kara snapped. "I feel so helpless and useless. I am sick for the first time in many years, I can't even remember the last time I was ill on Krypton." she started, angry. "I still have my powers and yet I can't use them. What's the point of that, huh? You keep taking care of me and I'm not even capable of letting you sleep." she finished, pacing, running a hand in her hair.

Alex was a little taken aback by the declaration but didn't lose her temper. Now was certainly not the time. So she kept a calm and stady voice.

"Kara, I don't need-"

"Don't tell me you don't need my help!" Kara interrupted glaring at her, two meters from her. "I know too well you need it and you know it too! If you could feel what I'm feeling right now, all of this would be much easier; but you can't." Kara finished panting from all the energy she had displayed in her anger.

Alex stared at her, frustrated but also intimidated. Even in her weakness, Kara still wanted and had the energy to help others, especially her. But what made Alex took a step further towards the fighting side of this conversation, was that Kara wasn't understanding her side of the story.

"I'm not saying I don't need your help, Kara..." she started standing up. "I don't want it." the agent added before anger took control. "You say I can't understand how powerless you're feeling right now, but I do! I do because that's how I felt when I woke up to the sound of the flat line, when I saw you lying lifeless and miserable on your bed, when I saw Hamilton shock you with a defibrillator twice! That's how I felt when I waited for nine endless minutes for your heart to beat again after you were injected." Alex paused threatening Kara with her finger.

A daring silence settled between the two women. They were glaring at each other. Alex's frustration was hiding her concern for her panting sister and Kara's anger was hiding her trouble to breathe. The young kryptonian finally sat on a stool in the kitchen. Alex followed her but stayed standing on the other side of the table. Kara hung her head and pushed her hair back, gripping them with her hands.

"I saw you die, Alex. For good." she started with a low voice before looking up. "And there wasn't a defibrillator waiting on the side. You had a hole in your forehead." Kara added.

"But it wasn't real." Alex contered

"To me it was!" she snapped but instantly regretted it. "I lived it. I was there and I saw all of them die." she added more calmly.

With all the details Alex just gave her, Kara could understand her frustration. But the young kryptonian was feeling like she still had to defend herself. Even if she knew that in the end, she would lose the fight.

"But you know now it isn't. What I saw was really real and I can't step out of this reality like you can with your nightmares." And there Alex exposed her winning argument.

Her voice was firm but calm at the same time. Their fight was coming to an end and neither of them wanted to feed and restart it.

"Listen, I know it's hard for both of us. I'm not trying to make it a competition. That's the last thing I want." Kara assured not letting her eyes from Alex's. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. But you have to let me help you, Alex. I'm just starting to feel better and I need you to let me help you." she finished almost begging.

"Ok." Alex finally accepted, sitting down in front of Kara.

The young agent took her hand and squeezed it lightly. The kryptonian smiled at her sister for a few seconds, settleling a comfortable silence. After a few more seconds, Alex saw that Kara was glancing at the waffles. The agent's smile grew bigger at the idea that her sister was starting to be herself again. Without a word, Alex pushed the bag Kara was covetting so much towards her. A smirk settled on the young kryptonian's face.

"Thank you." she chuckled taking a waffle.

AN: I am so sorry I didn't post earlier. Something crazy happened to me and I need to take some time away from everything. So i'm uploading now and that way, I can tell you that I probably won't update before the end of the week. I just need to think for a while.

Anyway, I hope this chapter satisfied you. It turned out to be more angsty than I thought. Don't forget to tell me your thoughts about Kara's monologue and the fight between the two sisters.

I will still read and respond to your reviews, even if I don't write. You can also submit your ideas for the next chapter.

Next, (I think) Kara will get definitely better and may return to CatCo and make a few Supergirl appearance. I will probably skip a few days in the story so she would be recovered.