Two Weeks Ago…

"Bette, can you hand me that stool over there?"

"This one?"

"Yeah." Bette Kane kicked the rolling foot stool over to the spot her cousin, Katherine Kane, was pointing at. She still had to use her tippy toes with the stool, but she was able to grab the box on top of the shelving unit.

"Got it." Once she had a good grip on it, she hopped off the stool. Her and Kate and been busy cleaning out the back storage room for the past few hours, a task that was just as necessary as it was frustrating. When she set the box on the table, she let out an exaggerated sigh. "Three hours later and this room still looks the same."

Kate pat her cousin on the back as she brushed a few stray strands of her red hair out of her face. "Cheer up, on the bright side, we at least have a better idea of where everything is." Boxes were in tall stacks and littered around the room. "I think."

"Why did you buy so many books anyway?"

"Last time Linda was here, she critiqued the selections I offered."

Bette grabbed a box cutter and checked out one of the new shipments. "Really?" She pulled the book out. "Joel Osteen? Since when are you for feel-good prosperity gospel?"

Kate grabbed the book out of Bette's hand and put it back in its box. "My Spirituality & Religion section is practically non-existent. If I'm going to have a well-rounded book store, I need to expand my choice of books. Even to ones I'm not a fan of."

"Even to ones you're not a fan of," Bette mumbled mockingly under her breath.

The bell of the front door jingled and a familiar voice called out, "Anyone home?""

"Back here, Maggie," answered Kate.

When Detective Maggie Sawyer, off duty and dressed in jeans and a long-sleeve knit shirt, stepped into the back room she let out a 'whoa'. "Kate, Bette, I thought you were supposed to be cleaning today, not making things worse?"

"Oh, shut-up." Bette let out a snort at her cousin's retort. "I seemed to have gotten carried away with the book ordering."

"I can see that." Kate tried to smack Maggie with a book but the detective avoided the swipe at her narrowly. She laughed as Bette handed her a box cutter and pointed to the stacks of books to her left.

"I'm not sure what's over there but have at it. Just be careful when you cut the top. We don't need slices in some these. We're trying to sell them, not give them away." Kate shook her head at what her cousin's comment. "I'm going to order us lunch. What do you two want?"

"Chinese," Kate and Maggie said simultaneously.

"Of course." After Bette left the room, Maggie and Kate silently worked at opening the boxes. Kate opened one with bubble wrap on top of the books and a shipping slip under that. Kate pulled them off and grabbed the first book in the stack. It was an unofficial biography on Supergirl.

"Interesting choice. Since when do you care about capes? Or is it just this one in particular?" Maggie said while looking over Kate's shoulder.

"Ha ha. This isn't for me. This is for the people of Gotham City. This is book," Kate held it in front of her to show Maggie the cover, "represents the interests of the people. Plus, it's number four on the New York Time's best-sellers list."

"Mhm," Maggie said with a hint of incredulity. Kate shot her a glare then glanced at the back of the book. Her slight smile melted away and she stared at it. "Kate, what is it?" Katherine handed Maggie the book. On the back cover was a list of reviews. One of them was by Linda Lee-Danvers. "She hasn't called, has she?"

Kate shook her head then slid her hands into her back pockets. "She's in a Middle Eastern country trying to save lives the best way she knows how. It's not like she has the time or resources to talk to me, let alone anyone else."

Maggie reached out to Kate, paused for a moment, and then set her hand on her shoulder. "She'll get back home safe. Don't worry. I've known Danvers longer than I've known you. She'll be back."

"I hope so."

Now…

Bette stood in the doorway of Kate's bedroom. She kept wringing her hands as she waited for Kate to move. After the newscast, Bette sent Kate upstairs and helped the customers on her own. Once all of them were checked out, she sent the remaining stragglers home and closed the book store early. Kate was lying in bed and wrapped up in her comforter. Bette closed the door gently then went into the living room.

"She hasn't moved since I found her like that."

"She's in shock, Bette. She just learned the woman she loves is dead."

"I know, it's just…" Bette stopped in mid-sit down and stared at the other blonde standing across from her. "Love? Are you saying-"

"All I'm saying is that Kate cared a lot about what Supergirl thought of her. And you and I both know Kate never gives most people a second thought. It's not easy to lose a friend that means so much to you." Stephanie Brown glanced at the front door before shifting her feet. "Look, I've got work in a few hours. I can stay for another thirty minutes but then I have to go."

"Yeah, sure, that's fine. I just thought you might have some insight into my cousin since you've been hanging with her more so than I have these past few months."

Stephanie nodded. "Thanks. The best thing right now is to be here for her. She'll come out of her shell when she's ready."

"I hope so. I've never seen Kate like this before." Bette's phone buzzed. The PGN app just posted a new story. Bette frowned and clicked on it. She scanned through it then felt the air go out of her lungs. "Oh, no."

"What, what is it?" Bette held her phone up. Stephanie took a few steps forward and lent down to read the info on the tiny screen. Her reaction was similar to Bette's. She looked up from the phone and said, "It's one thing for her to lose Supergirl. Now Linda?"

"What do you mean, 'now Linda'?" Stephanie and Bette jumped and noticed Kate standing at the edge of the hallway still wrapped in her comforter. "What happened?" The two blondes exchanged a look but didn't say anything. "Tell me."

"Kate," Stephanie cleared her throat, "PGN just posted an update from one of their foreign correspondents. Apparently Linda was in southern Qurac when the earthquake happened. No one knows where she is. Kate, she's MIA."

Kate slumped against the wall and gripped her comforter tightly to her body. "Of course."

Four hours earlier…

Jason Todd watched Cat Grant freeze on screen, a first for her. He observed the people around him, how they were glued to the screen the moment Cat stopped speaking, and almost wanted to laugh. Spoilers. He walked away from them

Jason stopped again at a different storefront window and saw the circles under his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping for the past few days. He frowned then lifted his arm to sniff his armpit. His nose scrunched up immediately and he lowered his arm. Shave, shower, and sleep, he thought as he turned the corner. He was nearing one of Gotham's parks when a voice called out to him.

"Todd." Jason smiled then slowly rotated on his heels to find Barbara Gordon scowling up at him from her wheelchair.

"Long time, no see, Red. What can I do for you?" He glanced past Barbara and saw the coffee shop Beantasm.

"You can tell me what you know about Kaa's death."

Jason shrugged. "What do you want to know?"

Barbara nodded towards the park. Jason stepped off the curve and jay-walked over to the park's entrance. He waited there until Barbara caught up. "So tell me," she started as they moved together. "How much do you know about my best-friend's death?"

"A lot."

"Define 'a lot'." Jason slipped his hands in his jacket pockets when a gust of fall wind swept through the trees.

"She asked me to keep an eye on her."

"When you say 'her', what do you mean?"

"About six months ago," Jason scanned the area around him before continuing, "Kara started working with Dr. Havens. Several weeks ago she recruited me to help after Wonder Brat did a little digging and found out why Kara was getting weaker. We wanted to be a part of what was going to happen next so she sent me to assist Havens with taking care of the future version of her."

Barbara allowed silence to float between them before breaking it. "Are we going to get her back?"

Jason took in a deep breath then exhaled through his nose. "All I know is that six months from now we may or may not get Kara back. Nothing's for certain."

"Do you know why she didn't tell me? Why I had to confront her about what was going on?"

Jason shook his head. "Don't take it personal, Red. I don't think she planned on telling anyone."

Barbara nodded a few times before taking her glasses off. As she cleaned them, she said, "Would you like to join me for a cup of coffee?" She slipped her glasses back on. "You look like you could use a pick-me-up." Jason felt himself genuinely smile for the first time in days.

"Yeah, sounds good."

Just a heads up for those who read Gettin' By, The Other Side of the Story and now this. Originally I didn't plan for Bette to know her cousin, Kate, was Batwoman, but I think officially she does. She doesn't, however, know that Stephanie Brown is Batgirl. Just wanted to clarify that.

Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed this first chapter. The next few ones may or may not move along at the same pace. We have A LOT to cover in about 19 more chapters.