Author's Notes: Here it is, my lovelies! The final chapter!

The haze from before had returned, welcoming and comfortable, a cocoon of warmth. She basked in it. Something niggled in the back of her mind, something she knew she should remember, but instead of trying to figure out what it was, she dove back down into the comfort and let the darkness wrap her up.

…

…

…

Growing awareness ignited her mind once more. She could sense the surface nearing and wanted to withdraw again, vaguely recalling that her last breech had not been a pleasant one.

At the same time there was a soothing orange hue that had begun to cut through the dark. An invigorating light — it was calling to her, drawing her upward through the thick, woolly fog.

…

…

…

It was bright now. Still warm, but now stiff and far less hospitable. The light felt good on her skin, but it stung her eyes even with them shut. She turned her head to hide them and it was that movement that brought her back to herself.

She was not meant to be hiding. She was meant to be…

Alex.

"Alex!" she gasped, snapping her eyes open. It hit her all at once — the biting light, the aches, the rigid slab beneath her back. Most of all though, it was the familiar walls of the DEO and the relief that came with the revelation… until it returned to fear for her sister.

She blinked rapidly, trying to get used to the sudden brightness and clear the nettling burn in her eyes, and attempted to reach up to push the panel covering off of the solar table so she could get out.

The light panels lifted on their own with a soft mechanical hiss followed by an, "Easy, Miss Danvers," from a very familiar voice.

Henshaw stepped into her line of sight and Kara had a distinct moment of déjà vu. It was just like the time she'd taken that huge fall after flying so far up to dispose of—

"There was a bomb!" she suddenly blurted as it all came rushing back to her. She tried to sit quickly up only to have Henshaw force her back down with a halting hand on the shoulder.

"We're aware," he told her. "We were the ones who pulled you out."

She frowned slightly. "You were?"

"Yes, and you sustained significant damage from the blast. It's a miracle you're still alive."

Kara's mind immediately went back to the most important detail. "Alex," she said. "Where's Alex? She-she fell through the floor trying to get her phone! Is she here? Is she alright?" She tried to sit up again with the same results. Henshaw seemed intent on keeping her prostrate.

"Your sister suffered some injuries from the fall, and she also needed surgery to remove a kryptonite fragment and repair some minor damage it caused to her spleen, but we have her here and expect her to make a full recovery," Hank replied.

The air whoosh from her lungs at the news and she felt heady with relief. "Really?" she asked. "She's okay?"

Hank nodded, his expression notably inscrutable. "Yes," he said. "In fact, she's been particularly belligerent since waking up. Keeps asking after you."

Kara raised an eyebrow. "Belligerent? Really?"

"Ornery perhaps."

She considered it for a moment and gave an accepting nod. "She's not fond of confinement, especially when she needs to be confined."

"I've noticed."

"She was worried." Just like me. "Can I see her?" She needed to see her, needed to make sure for herself that Alex was okay.

"Considering the level of damage you're recovering from, it would be advisable for you to remain here for the time being." She opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off by a silencing hand lifted to halt her and the addition of, "But since I know you both possess a particularly vexing penchant for ignoring my orders, I will take you to her, provided you both continue to rest once you're together. If not…" She heard the threat in his tone and almost smiled. She wasn't sure what he'd actually be able to do (besides maybe strapping her down with kryptonite cuffs) should they decide to (again) ignore his orders, but it was nice to know he cared enough to at least attempt to give them.

"We will," she promised.

He shook his head. "Very well." He took a step back away from her to give her room.

Kara began to push herself up, pausing midway to wince at the tight ache in her muscles and the wooziness in her head. "Ugh…" she groaned.

"Careful," Henshaw cautioned. "You're still recovering."

"I'm okay," she said as she gingerly sat the rest of the way up.

"I don't think you understand, Miss Danvers," he said seriously (or more seriously that his usual seriousness), "The blood loss was immense. You were very near the verge of singing the great hymns with the Kryptonian gods."

She frowned. "I didn't realize…" She vaguely remembered thinking about being near death, but to hear someone else confirm it was very unsettling.

Hank gave a solemn nod. "You're very lucky you sister got the call through to us when she did."

Ever after having fallen through the floor, Alex had still called the DEO? A strange mixture of thankfulness, awe, and an anxious, urgent desire to see her sister burned hot in Kara's chest. She swung her legs over the side of the solar table and climbed quickly to her feet.

Too quickly.

The world around her spun wildly and her knees went weak. She would have collapsed, she realized, if Hank hadn't been right there to grab her.

"Easy!" he scolded, tone gruff. "Did you not hear a word I said a moment ago?"

Kara leaned back against the solar table, bracing herself so she wouldn't fall. Hank kept his hand wrapped around her upper arm, clearly not convinced that she wouldn't just keel over. "I'm okay," she said, panting softly. "I just… need a minute." She waited for the world to stop whirling around before her eyes before she looked back up at him and offered a weak smile. "Thank you."

Henshaw blew a sharp, long-suffering breath of air out of his nose and shook his head once. "You lost a lot of blood, Miss Danvers," he reiterated, "and were exposed to a near-lethal amount of kryptonite. You need to take it slow." The last three words were said slowly and gave no room for argument.

Kara nodded and tried again, this time slower. She still felt weak and was thankful for Henshaw's hold on her, but her head didn't swim nearly as much nor did her knees feel like complete jelly. Encouraged, she smiled again at Hank. "Slow," she said. "Got it."

His expression still held a great deal of rather reluctant forbearance, but there was also something else there… something that, if she looked deeply enough, seemed akin to fondness. "Let's go then," he said.

In a careful, unhurried manner, the pair moved out into the hallway and headed in the direction of the small infirmary near the forensics lab. They passed a few agents along the way, all who gave nods of acknowledgment as they moved along, and it occurred to Kara that this was the first time she'd been inside the DEO without her Supergirl suit on. She knew that everyone there knew her actual identity, but walking around now without it on, and in scrubs no less, made her feel very… exposed. Very vulnerable.

It made her want to be at Alex's side all the more. She may have been the (near) indestructible Kryptonian, but Alex had always been the protector.

It seemed though, Kara mused darkly, that neither Kryptonian nor protector had been able to stop the person who had meant them harm and that frightened her. So many terrifying "what ifs" battled for top spot as the most nauseating thought in her head. What if Alex had been the one to find it? What if she hadn't tampered with it and it had gone off later on when Eliza had been there as well? What if whoever it was tried again?

And it was then that Kara realized she hadn't actually asked about who. She glanced at Henshaw. "Do we have any idea yet who, uh…"

"Planted the bomb?" Hank filled in. "No, not yet. There was very little of the bomb left to process, but we're still working on it."

That did not fill Kara will a great deal of confidence. She'd always been the optimistic one, the one who always believed in the goodness in others and in positive outcomes in even the most dire of situations. Even her fifteen-year-old neighbor, Jordyn, from down the hall called her a cinnamon roll (whatever that really meant) because of her cheery nature and forever-hopeful outlook on life. Today, however, in that moment, Kara truly wasn't feeling all that upbeat about things.

Then she heard Alex's voice coming from two doors down and felt an immediate surge of joy.

"I'm not even joking this time, Hernandez," Alex was saying, "It's been… thirty-seven hours and fifty-three minutes. Do you need the seconds? Because I can give you the seconds. I'm done with waiting. Get me some crutches or a wheelchair or a goddamn hoverboard, I don't care which, or I'm just going to hop my way there and make hell out of your good stitch work."

"You will do no such thing, Agent Danvers," Hank countered as he and Kara walked into the room. He nodded to Hernandez and the doctor slipped out the room.

"But, Sir—" Alex stopped short when she spied her sister at Henshaw's side. "Kara!"

Alex's face was pale, making the freckles across her nose and cheeks stand out, and it was lightly peppered with bruises and cuts, the largest being the one with the butterfly stitches that faded from her right temple back into her hairline. Her knee was in a brace and propped up on a pillow. She looked worn out, uncomfortable, and strangely small in the infirmary bed.

And she was literally, Kara thought, the most heartwarming and beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

Tears suddenly sprung to her eyes as an overload of emotions flooded her system — relief and joy at seeing her alive; fear left over from not knowing if Alex was okay and of what could have been, and guilt over knowing that she had been the cause of her sister's pain.

Alex must have seen the tumult pass over her face because she immediately held out her arms to Kara and hugged her tight when Kara crossed eagerly to her and sank into her sister.

After a few seconds of just silently holding Kara, Alex softly said, "I was so worried about you."

"I'm okay," Kara sniffed, pulling back and sitting on the edge of the bed, "thanks to you." She paused a beat as if recalling something, then narrowed her eyes at Alex and added, "And if you weren't hurt, I'd slap you for it."

Alex's jaw dropped open slightly, then she smirked, seemingly remembering that she'd said those same words to Kara right after the bomb had gone off. "I suppose that's fair," she replied.

Kara reached forward and took Alex's hand into her own. "Are you okay?"

Alex nodded and smiled gently. "I'm fine, Kara."

"Director Henshaw said that you needed surgery. And your knee!" She gestured at it.

"I'm okay. Really. The director no doubt exaggerated the direness of the situation."

Henshaw clearing his throat to the side of them brought their attention back around to him. He raised an eyebrow at them. "When have you ever known me to exaggerate?" he deadpanned.

Alex smirked slightly and squeezed Kara's hand, drawing her gaze back to her. "It wasn't a big deal, I promise," she assured her. "I could have left everything as it was, but I made them operate because I actually wanted to be able to hug my sister again."

Kara smiled slightly. It definitely would have been difficult to be anywhere near Alex had she left a chunk of kryptonite floating around inside her. Though something told her that her sister was lying, that she was just saying it to make things better, but for now Kara decided not to push the issue.

Henshaw shifted his weight and Kara looked back at him. He had that long-suffering expression on his face again. "Thank you, again, for coming for us," she said.

"Wasn't my first choice," he replied.

"Sir?" Alex questioned while Kara just cocked her head slightly to the side in question.

"You called me in the middle of a REM cycle, Agent Danvers," he said, expression and tone utterly seriously. "Do you know how often I actually reach a REM cycle with this job?"

"I'm going to guess… not often?" Kara offered tentatively.

"Not often," he intoned. "I had half a mind to tell your sister to figure it out herself, but then decided I didn't want to have to deal with the Kryptonian temper-tantrum that undoubtedly would have occurred had she died because of it."

Both the Danvers sisters just stared at him.

"Anyway, I'll leave you two be, but remember the deal, Miss Danvers," Hank said sternly, holding Kara's gaze. "Rest."

Kara blinked at the door as Henshaw disappeared out of it then slowly turned her head back to Alex. "Okay, two things. One, was he… joking just a second ago? Because, if so, weird. And two, since when is he so… grumpy-but-almost-caring dad-like? I was quite literally waiting for him to slip in the fatherly 'Make good choices' line before leaving just then."

"I… don't know," Alex said, still staring at the door, "the answer to either of those questions." A moment later, she pulled her chestnut eyes away and met Kara's blue ones. "I think maybe he was worried about us?"

Kara considered it for a moment. "Weird," she reiterated.

Alex nodded in agreement. "Very weird."

They smiled at each other, but the seriousness of what had happened continued to lurk in Kara's mind and her expression soon turned from amused to painfully worried, "Surgery?"

Alex squeezed Kara's hand. "Really, Kara, I'm alright. You were the one who almost bled out."

"I know, but…" There was something about the entire thing that just bothered Kara. "It was kryptonite, what they had to remove from you. And I'm just confused, I think. Did it happen when you fell through the floor?" Had she been impaled then by some random piece?

"Kara, it's not—"

"Alex, please…"

Alex looked away from Kara for a few long seconds before she took a breath and returned her gaze. "No, it happened in the initial explosion."

"I knew you were using the Jesse Barker tone!" Kara accused, a strange panicky feeling flittering in her chest. Alex had been hurt and hadn't said anything? What if they hadn't been rescued when they had? Would she have bleed out, too? "Why didn't you say something?"

"Because I know you, Kara. You were going to blame yourself for there even being a bomb there in the first place —which is straight nonsense, by the way— but then to add on the fact that I got hit, too? I wasn't going to let you feel guilty about something you had no control over."

Kara was silent.

And then she was crying again. Knowing that Alex had been badly injured that whole time combined with just… everything catching up with her all at one — it simply was just too much.

Alex sighed. "Kara…" She let go of her hand and she reached forward, pulling Kara to her chest and tucking her head under her chin.

"I'm sorry," Kara softly wept. Alex had been right. She did feel guilty, she just couldn't help it.

But it was also more than that, more than the guilt. It was a helplessness, a feeling that no matter what, no matter how hard she tried, she was always going to fall short of the hero she believed she was meant to be. She couldn't even protect herself and her sister. How as she meant to protect an entire city?

"No, we're not doing that," Alex told her. "It wasn't your fault. You did not do this."

"They were targeting me," Kara hiccuped, "and you were hurt because of it."

"You don't know that for sure."

Kara frowned and tipped her head backward so she could look up at Alex's face. "Um, it was a kryptonite bomb, Alex," she countered. "So, unless it was just a huge, crazy coincidence, pretty sure it was meant for me."

"Doesn't make it your fault," Alex replied. "Now stop it. We're going to figure it out."

There was no room for argument in Alex's tone, so Kara just deflated and tucked her head back under her sister's chin. She remained there until she noticed Alex's breaths hitching every so often. Kara frowned slightly, pursing her lips. "I'm squishing you," she concluded in a flat voice.

"You're squishing me," Alex replied lightly.

Kara rolled her eyes and pushed herself up off of her sister. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing."

"I'll stop apologizing when you quit hiding stuff from me." The words came out with far more bite than she'd intended and she had to drop her gaze to the floor when a frown darkened Alex's face.

"Kara, what…" Her tone was clearly taken aback.

Kara took a breath and brushed her hair back out of her face. "I just feel like…" She stared up at the ceiling for a beat searching for what exactly she was trying to say before she finally looked at her sister again. "People keep lying to me. And I know you all believe that it's to protect me and I love that you all care enough about me to want to do that… but I'm just… I'm tired of it, Alex."

She shook her head and ran a hand over her face, wiping at the tears of helplessness and frustration that were welling up. "My entire life has been shrouded in secrets and lies and I'm just… tired," she sniffed.

Alex regarded her with infinitely-pained eyes. "I'm sorry, Kara," she whispered. After a moment, she took a breath and gingerly scooted over in the bed, wincing in pain only once before clenching her jaw to keep any others from escaping.

Kara frowned. "Alex, what are you— You're going to hurt yourself."

Once far enough over, Alex patted the spot she'd vacated. When Kara didn't move to take it immediately, she leveled the younger Danvers sister with a look, a look Kara knew very well not to ignore. She carefully climbed up onto the bed beside Alex and settled down next to her so that they were sitting up against the pillows shoulder to shoulder.

Alex nodded, satisfied. She reached and pulled Kara's hand over into her lap, squeezing it between both of hers. She stared at their hands as she spoke. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just didn't want to tell you at the time because I didn't want to make the situation worse. I needed you to focus on you, focus on you staying with me. I didn't want you wasting what little precious energy you had left worrying about me."

"Alex—"

"And I know, it wasn't really fair, but you have to understand, there was… there was so much blood. I've never been so terrified in my entire life." She glanced at Kara, eyes haunted, her expression a maelstrom of barely-contained emotions. "I thought I was going to lose you and I just… I just needed you to focus and stay with me."

Kara leaned over and pressed a kiss to the side of Alex's head. "I'm sorry I scared you," she said softly.

Alex gave a small smile and nestled into Kara's side, resting her head against the Kryptonian's shoulder. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth."

Kara nodded. "It's okay," she said, "but can we promise from now on that we won't keep anything from each other? Please?"

She felt Alex stiffen slightly against her and there was a curious beat that passed before Alex finally replied, "Of course."

Kara thought momentarily to question the delay, but was distracted when Henshaw knocked on the door and stepped inside.

"I hope I'm not interrupting?" he questioned, though he said it in a way that made Kara think that he had something to say and wouldn't have cared either way if he had interrupted.

Alex stiffly straightened back up and shook her head. "No, Sir."

"Good," he replied before hesitating just a second, "because I've come with some news."

Kara frowned slightly at the look on his face. In general, he didn't have many different facial expressions, but once you got to know him, it got easier to notice the subtle shifts, the nuances, and what his face was saying right now wasn't good. There was a reluctance and disquiet behind his eyes. He was clearly troubled by something.

"Is it about the bomb?" she asked.

"Yes," he said before he took a breath and launched into it. "Given that kryptonite was used, it's clear the bomber was aware of your identity."

Kara and Alex both nodded. "We were discussing that earlier," the older Danvers sister said.

"We figured it was that or a very wild coincidence," Kara chimed.

"Well, we don't believe in coincidences here at the DEO, so we've had forensics working over your apartment and with the few bomb fragments we were able to recover. We were able to find trace amounts of DNA from inside the casing and even managed to pull a print."

"I assume you ran them both through the database?" Alex questioned. "What did it come up with?"

Henshaw's jaw clenched tightly for a moment. "They were both a match to the same person—"

"Me," Kara interrupted, deflating in disappointed. It made sense. She had been the one to open up the bomb right before it went off.

"No."

Alex frowned and Kara blinked. "What?"

"We discounted you, Miss Danvers, because we knew you had handled the device prior to detonation."

"So who does the print and DNA belong to?" Alex asked, tone and expression urgent. Kara knew she was as desperate to find out as Kara was herself.

Henshaw held Alex's gaze for a few long beats before replying, "Both belong to you, Agent Danvers."

There was a befuddled silence that filled the room.

"But… Sir, that doesn't make any sense," Alex said, brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah, she never touched the bomb," Kara interjected. "Only I did." She glanced from Hank to her sister and then back again. "Could the DNA or whatever have transferred in the explosion?"

Henshaw just looked at Alex who blinked confoundedly and upon realizing he was waiting for her to address the question, shook her head slowly. "The, uh, the DNA maybe," she said, dragging her eyes from Hank to meet Kara's questioning look, "but not the fingerprint. I would have had to have touched it either before or after the explosion for it to be there."

"And the piece in question wasn't found anywhere near where the two of you were in the apartment," Hank filled in.

Kara frowned. "So, what? This is- this is what? Someone put Alex's print on the bomb and it's creepy calling card or something? A way to taunt us both?"

"We're not sure," he said. "We're still working and we're going to find out all we can." He looked from one Danvers sister to the next. "We'll figure out who did this."

Alex gave a numb nod. "Thank you, Sir."

Hank looked conflicted, like he both wanted to stay and leave at the same time, but eventually he nodded in return and took a step back. "I'll let you both rest." And then he was gone again.

Rest? How were they going to rest now? Kara ran a hand over her face and up into her hair, brushing it back away from her eyes. "None of this make any sense," she said.

Alex didn't reply though, just remained silent, staring at the door Hank had just walked out.

Kara turned her head to look at her sister. She frowned slightly at the chaos she could see behind her sister's eyes. There was so much confusion, so much fear, but there was also something else… She wasn't actually considering…?

"What if it was me?" Alex whispered, eyes wide and terrified.

"That makes less than zero sense," Kara pointed out.

Alex fell silent again and stared down at their hands.

"I-I don't remember coming to your apartment, Kara. I passed it off as that kind of haze you slip into when you're driving somewhere you've been a million times and just don't pay attention, but what if—"

"Don't even say it, Alex! It wasn't you."

"But what if it was?"

"How is that even remotely possible, Alex? It's not! It's not possible. You wouldn't stick a bomb under my Christmas tree!"

"Of course I wouldn't, but… I just… I just feel like something makes sense. I don't know what, but something. I can't… remember or… I don't know." Alex sounded so lost, so pained, and she looked as if her mind was going a million miles a minute, like this revelation had triggered a rapidly-approaching overload. It was scaring Kara. "I just feel sick," Alex continued, "and I think… I don't know… I think…"

"No," Kara cut in, tone firm. She shifted her position so that she was sitting on her knees, facing Alex. She grabbed both of her hands in hers. "This was not you. I don't know what's suddenly going on in that head of yours or where all of this is coming from, but the Alex I know, my sister, wouldn't even consider having done something like this. She would know that it made zero sense, she would take a breath, push aside all the insane thoughts, and resolve to take control and figure out what was going on." She squeezed Alex's hands and softened slightly. "And that's what I need you to do right now, okay?"

Alex blinked at her and just stared for a few long beats. Kara watched as she warred with herself, then finally she took that breath. Alex gave a nod. "You're right, I'm sorry. I don't know what…" She just shook her head.

Kara smiled and leaned forward to place her hands on either of her sister's shoulders. "We're going to figure it out," she told her with all the confidence she could muster. "Because, remember, you and me? Together? We can do anything."

Alex snorted softly and gave another nod. "Anything," she breathed out.

Nodding in return, Kara moved back to her previous position beside Alex and settled back a bit more into the pillows. Alex scooted over a smidge so that their shoulders were touching before she rested her head back. From there, both sisters fell into a long silence, both lost in their own heads.

Until a stray thought had Kara speaking up again. "So, this is random, but I need to know."

Alex stirred beside her. "What?"

"I heard you talking to Doctor Hernandez…"

"And?"

"Do we seriously have hoverboards here? Because that would be awesome."

There was a pause and then Alex slowly turned her head toward her. "Kara," she said, "you're an alien from another planet, you arrived here in a spaceship, and you have superpowers, one of which allows your to not only hover on your own, but fly. How would hoverboards even be remotely awesome?"

Kara shrugged. "I loved the 'Back to the Future' movies…"

Alex shook her head and settled back down again, closing her eyes.

Pursing her lips, Kara crossed her arms and stared at the wall across the room. She didn't know what was going to happen after this, didn't know who was after her (or Alex) or if they'd try again. She didn't know if they'd truly be able to capture them. What she did know, however, was that she was just glad that she had someone by her side to help figure it out. If anyone would be able to discover the truth, it would be her sister.

Together they could anything, she'd told Alex, and she believed it completely. No matter what, the two of them would overcome this.

"Yes," Alex's drowsy voice cut into her thoughts. Kara looked at her to see her sister's eyes were still closed.

"Yes what?" she asked.

"We have hoverboards here."

A grin bloomed across Kara's face.

Fin

A/N's: I know, I know. WHAT THE HECK, HERRENEGADEHEART?! WHERE'S THE RESOLUTION? WHO PLANTED THE BOMB?! AHHHHHHHHH! *throws tables*

Okay, so here's the deal: when I started this, I never intended to actually explain who planted the bomb as it was never meant to be about the bomber. It was just meant to be a story about the two sisters overcoming a deadly situation. That is why I ended as I did.

THAT SAID, I've had quite a few of you express your excitement and DEEP NEED to know who would do such a thing and that is why I kind of finished this off with an almost episodic ending, where I slipped in some more (confusing? intriguing?) details to draw you back... because I have decided to write a sequel to give you all the answers you need! ...Of course, that is if you want me to write a sequel...? :D :D

Anyway, thank you for coming along for the ride. I hope you enjoyed!