Emma walked into Kara's room to find her deep in thought. It was the morning after they had last spoken, so Kara was one day closer to getting out of here. "Hey, Kara! Counting down the days till you get out?""

Kara laughed. "Yeah. Don't get me wrong, I like you very much, Doctor. But seriously I want to move. And being confined to the bed is not exactly conducive to that desire." Emma just laughed at her.

Kara sighed. "Only four more days for me in here, huh? Gonna miss your first patient?"

Emma smiled. "Well, you were a pretty good patient. But seriously if we're being honest, you're going to miss me way more."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

Emma approached her bed and brandished a pizza box. "I always bring you pizza."

Kara's smile lit up the room. "Emma, you're seriously the best." The doctor just laughed at her. "Case and point, Supergirl."

To be honest, Kara was extremely excited to finally be leaving the confines of the infirmary, but she was going to miss Emma. It was nice to have a fresh and friendly face. She turned to her newfound friend. "I mean, you can always bring me pizza, right? Because if you'll only bring me pizza when I'm sick and dying, then I think there's a serious problem with this relationship."

Emma laughed at her. "Sure, anytime you want. Agent Rose Pizza Delivery Services are open 24/7, but only for Supergirl." She teased Kara. "You know, all that time and effort I put into becoming a doctor and going to medical school, only to become Supergirl's personal pizza slave. I mean, I'm not even getting paid here."

Kara smiled. "All part of the doctor job."

"You know, I don't really think that's true."

Kara had really grown to appreciate Emma's company and lighthearted banter. She was a friend Kara didn't think she would find, and definitely the friend she didn't know she needed. Emma also had grown particularly fond of the superhero. Everyone knew her to be this badass hero who saves lives and fights crime, but Emma had also gotten to know the fun and goofy side to her. The real side.

She felt lucky to really know Kara. Just in their few days of friendship, Emma had learned so much about her that a lot of the agents had no idea about, and she felt almost privileged that she got to see both sides of Kara.

Emma sighed. "I will miss your company though. It'll be lonely in here without you, if I'm being honest. I was doing a routine checkup on Agent Burrows the other day, and he is the literal definition of boring. I couldn't stand it. Everyone's always so serious. Guess that's what you get for joining a clandestine black-ops government organization though."

Kara took this as an opportunity to tease her. "Wow, you have to stay in the infirmary and help people. What a drag." Emma laughed. "But you said you were only going to be a doctor here until Hamilton got back, and I heard she'll be back in about a week. So we'll probably be seeing each other in the field."

Emma smiled. "I totally forgot about that! You have some pull with the Director, you should get us onto the same unit. That'd be so much fun."

Kara shrugged. "Well, I don't know about pull. He's banned me from field duty for the time being."

"Why?"

"Cadmus is coming, Emma. And Lillian wants nothing more than to experiment on me. In the event she can't, then she'll kill me. He thinks it's too dangerous for me to go out there and fight like the rest of you."

Emma frowned. "But isn't it? She has kryptonite, doesn't she? That could very well kill or incapacitate you. And though I'm clearly an extremely qualified doctor, I think everyone would prefer it if you weren't constantly in the infirmary."

Kara sighed. "It's hard to explain. But to me, it's worth the risk. I was sent here to protect my cousin, and I couldn't even do that. I help people, it's just what I do. Any risk is a risk I'm willing to take. I just wish J'onn would see that. He can't seriously expect me to sit off to the side while everyone else in here risks their life to protect me. Last time someone risked their life for me..."

The young hero's voice trailed off. Emma watched her friend watched her friend suddenly and completely just closed off, almost retracting into herself. Saw so much guilt in her eyes. She could practically see the fate of the world weighing on her shoulders. "Kara, I'm always here if you need to talk about it with someone."

Kara shook her head. "I'm not comfortable... I mean, I don't really open up that easily. And I love your company, and you've been such a great friend in my time here, but I've only known you for a couple days. I don't know if you're ready to hear all of my baggage, and frankly, I don't know if I'm ready to lay it on you."

Emma placed a comforting hand on the troubled hero's arm. "Kara, I know we've only known each other for a solid half week now, but I'll always be here for you. I'm not just your doctor, I'm your friend too. I was so nervous coming here, and I was intimidated by the thought of having to transfer to a new facility, and to have to take care of National City's hero. But you welcomed me with open arms, and you've been my only friend. I'll always be here for you, regardless of what you need."

Kara did everything she could in her power to avoid eye contact. "I don't want to burden you. It's all I ever seem to do. I burdened my adoptive family with all the baggage that I brought, and I constantly put them in danger. My sister had to give up her entire life just to be there for me."

She looked up at her friend's warm brown eyes, and she felt so helpless. Emma squeezed Kara's shoulder. "You wouldn't burden me, Kara. You know that. All I've ever wanted to do is help you, whether that's medical or something else. You need to talk about something that is burdening you. But once you let go of that, it's not like it'll be transferred to me. It's just something you need to get off your chest, and I'm just here to listen and talk to you about it. And also, I'm sure your adoptive family doesn't see you as a burden, regardless of how much you blame yourself, or how much you think they do."

Kara sighed heavily. "It's not easy to be so confident about that, especially when I cost someone his life. If it weren't for me, he'd still be alive. He would be here, right now."

Emma really didn't know who they were talking about, but knew this is what had been weighing Kara down for God only knows how long. "Kara, I'm positive that whoever it is you're talking about wouldn't blame you. And I know he wouldn't want you blaming yourself."

"Emma, he died for me. He sacrificed his life for me. I was supposed to be the one to protect us. I told him to promise me he wouldn't do anything stupid, and he agreed. I'm pretty sure taking a bullet for me is stupid. He promised me that he would get my sister out safe."

"Well he did, didn't he?"

Kara's eyes welled up. "I didn't mean at the expense of his own life. I didn't want him to die in the process. I should have done something. I could have done anything. If I had just done something, he'd be here right now. Alex and I promised him a better life, a life where he could live without the threat of Cadmus, where he could be safe, and see what the world had to offer. How can I even say that, knowing I'm the reason his life was taken?"

Emma looked to her friend, and saw a young girl who had lost far too many people in one lifetime than anyone should ever have to. Her blue eyes were drowning in guilt and misery, and she looked so lost. So alone. "Kara, it's not your fault. He gave his life to protect you and Alex, and make sure you both made it safe. You can't live the rest of your life being weighed down by that. He wouldn't want you to. He did not give his life just so you could feel guilty for something he did. Wherever he is, I'm sure he's watching over and looking after you, Kara. And he wouldn't want this. He would want you to go make the most out of the life he gave you."

Kara held her head up a little higher and wiped her eyes. "You're right. It's just going to be hard to forget."

Emma shook her head. "No, you never forget him. Never. You need time to grieve his loss, but you won't forget him. And I know you don't want to. Don't tell yourself that he's gone forever, because he's not. He lives on in you. He'll always be there in your heart. That's something you should never forget."

Kara's watery blue eyes looked up and met Emma's warm and reassuring ones. They were still heavy and dark, but somewhere in there, there was a light waiting to come out. There was just a little less guilt than there had been before, and if Emma even did a tiny bit to help with that, she felt a great sense of pride. Knowing she had made Kara's life just a little easier.

Kara suddenly drew Emma into a tight hug, and whispered into her shoulder. "Thank you."

Emma hadn't been expecting it, but it was nice, and she could tell a hug was something Kara desperately needed. She immediately returned the embrace. "I'll always be here for you. Anytime you need me. Okay?"

Kara nodded, and they sat there for the rest of the night, talking and eating pizza.