It had been another four days of restless sleep for Kara until Dr. Hamilton decided to discharge her. The nightmares were concerning, but not enough grounds to keep her bedridden, so J'onn and the Doctor reluctantly let her go, with strict instructions for Alex to monitor her, of course.
Alex drove Kara in the car, which was a weird feeling for both. Kara was 22, and had never sat passenger before, let alone seen her sister drive. Ever.
Alex had never taken her sister for a drive and was admittedly uncomfortable with Kara riding shotgun. Kara's knuckles were white as she tightly held on to the door handle, trying to keep calm. The last time she had been in a car, she was 12. And that did not end well for anyone.
After a relatively tense, yet also strangely comforting car ride, they finally arrived at the apartment complex.
Kara was buzzing with excitement at seeing her big sister's place. Alex was laughing at the unnecessary excitement.
Just sister things.
They finally got to the door, and Alex slowly opened it, teasing Kara by adding suspense. Her little sister was antsy to burst in.
When Kara finally stepped in, she gasped in surprise. It was beautiful, but also felt and looked cozy and comfortable.
It was perfect.
Exactly how they had described when they were younger.
Alex watched her sister's reaction, amused. That's when Kara spoke.
"It's... amazing, Lex. I can't believe... you modeled it after the apartment we always talked about having. With the huge white couch against the wall, and a cute brown table nearby for pizza and chinese. You have the TV perfectly positioned and everything. It's just... It's perfect."
Alex smiled sadly. "It was always our dream to come out to the city and get an apartment together. We had built our ideal imaginary apartment, and when I came out here to work for the DEO, I worked hard to make it happen. I wasn't going to give up on our dream, and I didn't give up on you. I always knew you'd make it here."
Kara wrapped Alex up in a hug and squeezed tight, whispering. "Thank you, Alex. It's beautiful."
They then walked into Kara's new bedroom and found everything all prepped and ready to go.
Alex remarked,"Hm, Eliza must have been here earlier. I guess your room is all ready to go then."
Kara smiled happily and ran towards the bed, like she was that same 12-year old child she used to be. She jumped and plopped down into the comfort of the memory foam, and relished the feeling of a soft bed. Something the DEO infirmary didn't have, and something Cadmus definitely didn't have.
It was the first time in ten years she was feeling a comfortable bed.
Alex told her to take a nice hot shower, and that food would be waiting for her when she got out.
True to her word, chinese takeout was on the table when Kara had finally gotten dressed.
"YES! Thank you for the food, it's been too long since I've had this."
Alex laughed and encouraged her to dig in. Kara eagerly scarfed down food for a solid minute, before claiming to be completely full.
Alex's brows furrowed together in concern. "Are you feeling okay? Do you feel sick or something? Maybe you should move to the couch."
As Kara walked over and plopped heavily on the couch, she responded. "I swear to you, Lex. I legitimately feel full. It's like I want to eat more but my stomach is just not letting me."
The gears were turning in Alex's head. "Hmm, maybe... Kara... Usually, people's stomachs shrink when they haven't eaten enough recently. I remember learning this in biology. That's why I never understood people starving themselves before Thanksgiving dinner, because they actually tend to eat a lot less. The more you eat, the further your stomach expands."
Alex looked over to make sure Kara understood, before she asked. "How much did you eat when you were there?"
Kara cringed, knowing Alex would not like the answer. "I believe humans can go about one week without water and three weeks without food, and still be able to survive. At least, that's what Lillian told me." She turned to Alex, who nodded in confirmation. However, her big sister did not like the direction the conversation was going.
Kara continued,"She fed me enough to keep me alive. Since we had the solar lamps, I had ample nutrition for my cells, and my alien physiology helped me survive..."
Alex jumped in. "Kara, just tell me how often you ate. I can see that you're stalling."
Kara sighed in resignation. "She gave me half a cup of water every two weeks, and one slab of meat every month. That was it."
Alex gasped in horror. "WHAT?! Kara, that is not enough. I can't imagine... And the torture with the physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion... God, Kara how did you survive?"
"It's nothing to worry about now, Alex. I'm fine now. I just gotta start eating more, and my stomach will expand back to normal size."
Alex shook her head. "Kara, that's not the concern anymore. The amount of nourishment you had over the course of ten years. That's so unhealthy. A kryptonian should not have survived that. How did you...?"
Kara cut in. "It wasn't that bad, Lex. You don't need to worry. What we do need to worry about is that I'm thirsty right now."
Alex slowly stood, moving away from Kara reluctantly to pull out a glass. "We are so not done talking about this."
Kara gave a tiny and sad smile and nodded, already having prepared for this exact reaction.
Alex turned to her and asked. "Do you want a water or a smoothie or something?"
Kara replied,"Um, maybe a smoothie. Thanks, Lex. You're the best."
Alex went to make it, adding in many healthy greens that she knew Kara would dislike, but having the recent diet revealed, she felt it was necessary. She blended it all up to make a nice green smoothie, and poured it into Kara's glass.
As her little sister turned around, she saw the green smoothie in the glass and froze, fear flitting across her eyes. She was unknowingly thrown into a flashback, mistaking Alex for Lillian.
"I... I... G-Get away from me, Lillian! Don't make me drink it again! Please."
Alex was horrified, and didn't quite know how to react to that one.
She is definitely not as okay as everyone thought.