Chapter 17 - Unexpected Introductions

Joining Kara on the couch, Cat placed a hand on Kara's shoulder and rubbed it.

"How are you feeling, Kara?" Cat asked softly.

"I am . . . adjusting," Kara said. "Alex promises me I will enjoy having powers. Though, that is currently not the case," she said with a frown, glancing to her sister, who sat down on her other side.

"When you get control of them again, I plan on telling you I told you so," Alex warned with a smile.

Kara eyed her dubiously, then heard something and suddenly looked towards the source of the noise. "Someone is outside your door," she said to Cat.

"Probably mom, she tends to forget things," Alex said with a smile that faded when she heard keys in the door lock.

"The maid . . . ," Cat said automatically, then hesitated. "Though . . . it isn't her normal day," she added curiously and stood, motioning for them to remain seated as she went to the door.

"Your Earth name is Kara Danvers," Alex blurted softly, prepping her for visitors. "People don't know Kara Danvers is Kryptonian. It's safer that way . . . ," she added, feeling bad for the frown she caused.

"Mom!" Carter said with surprise when he opened the door and found her standing in the foyer.

"Carter, what happened?!" Are you all right?" Cat asked with alarm, looking him over then to his father, who followed him inside.

"I'm fine, mom," he said.

"I have to postpone our trip, Cat," Gregory explained apologetically and received a murderous glare. He quickly held his hands up in appeasement. "Cindy was in a bad accident and I didn't want her in the hospital alone," he explained. "You know her family is back East."

"That's terrible," Cat said, her anger immediately evaporated. "How is she doing?" she asked with genuine concern. His long-time girlfriend was not horrible and actually tried with Carter, though he still felt uncomfortable around her.

"Not so great. A cement truck driver was drunk and plowed right into her BMW. She got a broken leg and shoulder. It's amazing it wasn't worse," he said, shaking his head. "The officer said it was the guy's fourth DUI. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? We will definitely be suing. I'm . . . ." the lawyer shared.

"Kara!" Carter blurted happily, interrupting his father when he noticed her on the couch. He started to go towards her, then froze, greatly alarmed. Kara wasn't wearing her glasses and wore his mother's Supergirl nightwear with her hair down! Was she trying to get caught?!

"Sorry for rambling on, I didn't realize you had company," Gregory said, glancing curiously to the women on the couch.

"Well, I don't want to keep you," Cat said pleasantly, trying to usher him out the door.

"Not so fast, Cat. I have to meet this 'Kara' Carter keeps talking about," Gregory said with a chuckle and slipped past Cat to enter the living room.

Cat exhaled with great annoyance. Gregory never did listen to her.

Carter looked at his mother with alarm as his father approached the Danvers sisters.

"I'm Gregory Redmond, Carter's father. You must be Cat's assistant, Kara Danvers," he said warmly as the sisters stood.

"So I am told," Kara said with a thin smile, looking at Alex, who plastered on a smile.

Gregory chuckled. "Well, I'm sure you would know if you weren't. Cat isn't shy about firing people," he joked.

"I'm Alex, Kara's sister," Alex blurted, holding her hand out, which the man shook.

"Pleased to meet you, Alex," he said and looked to Kara, holding out his hand.

Kara stared at it and frowned. "It would not be wise to shake my hand at this time," she said, not wanting to risk accidentally hurting him. While Kelex could take care of the injury, it would be difficult to explain Kelex to someone who was not supposed to know she was Kryptonian. But why would he not know when Catherine did, she wondered.

Alex jumped in with an explanation. "Uh, she's getting over a bad cold so you probably don't want to risk getting sick," she said with a cringe, glancing at his hand with a shrug.

"Oh! Thanks for the warning," Gregory said with a polite smile, dropping his hand.

"Sickness sucks," Kara added with authority, glancing to Alex with sly pride that she used the term in the appropriate context.

Alex bit her lip.

"I didn't mean to interrupt, but I really wanted to meet you, Kara. Carter can't stop talking about you," he said conspiratorially.

"Daaaaad," Carter complained, drawing Kara's curious gaze. Cat stood next to the curly haired boy with an arm around his shoulders. Kara couldn't help but smile as he dropped his head into his hands and shook his head in embarrassment.

Gregory nodded to the Supergirl tee-shirt. "Love the shirt."

"It is very comfortable. I am grateful Catherine let me borrow it to sleep in," Kara said, prompting a confused look, which turned into a suspicious one as he glanced expectantly over to Cat, who rolled her eyes. It certainly wasn't any of her ex-husband's business why Kara would be wearing her clothing.

"We can thank the exterminators for that," Alex offered with a weary sigh.

"Exterminators?" He asked, confused.

Cat, Kara, and Carter all turned to look at Alex curiously.

"Yeah. We hired them to deal with a termite problem. It took forever to arrange an inspection and when they finally came, they said the house needed to be fumigated," Alex shook her head with disgust. "And THEN, they came too early! We rushed around to set up the house at the last minute and managed to grab our clothes. Unfortunately, Kara forgot her pajamas," Alex said with a sigh.

"I hope she wasn't too attached to her pajamas, sulfuryl fluoride is probably hard to get out," Carter chimed in helpfully, earning proud looks from Cat and Gregory for their smart boy.

Alex looked at him, impressed by his chemical knowledge. "Yup. Very nasty stuff," she said, patting Kara on the shoulder as she shook her head in sympathy. Kara nodded weakly.

"Thankfully, Cat was kind enough to let us stay for a few days until it's safe to go back and loaned Kara some sleepwear. She was a life saver," Alex finished honestly, nodding to Cat, who was impressed with Alex's tale and acting. But she supposed Alex did have a lot of practice being the sister of an alien and working for a secret government organization.

Kara nodded and glanced at Cat with amusement. "Yes, definitely a life saver," she said, prompting Cat to smirk.

"Wow. You must be a really good assistant to have Cat Grant take you and your sister in," Gregory said with a laugh, smiling at Kara, who returned a weak smile.

"She is a kind person," Kara responded simply.

Gregory looked at Kara with surprise. Of all the things Cat Grant was accused of being over the years, kind was never one of them — especially from her employees.

"Well, Kara is an exceptional assistant," Cat interjected firmly, with a warm glance to Kara. "And it doesn't hurt having her close by for any work-related issues," she added with a shrug, playing into his assumptions.

"Ah ha!" Gregory exclaimed knowingly, causing Kara to cringe at the sharp sound. "Now the real reason comes out!" he chuckled. "An assistant at your beck and call 24/7!"

Kara frowned slightly at his comments that continued to insinuate negative things about Cat.

"You know, that shirt suits you," he said, motioning towards Kara. "You'd have to be Supergirl to meet Cat's exacting standards," he chuckled again. "You even sort of look like her," he added with an easy smile.

Carter looked at his mother in panic. She just squeezed his shoulder and sighed.

"She gets that ALL the time," Alex quickly interjected, rolling her eyes dramatically. "I've told her she'd clean up at Supergirl cosplay competitions, but she's not interested," she said with a shrug, looking at Kara, who just stood quietly with a polite smile, intending to ask Alex later what in the name of Rao she was talking about. The list of questions for Alex was becoming quite long, she considered with irritation.

While Cat found Alex's ease at disinformation impressive, it was starting to border on disconcerting.

"Well, I'd agree with you there," he said, glancing slowly over Kara with appreciation, prompting a glare from Cat and frown from Alex. "I'll have you know, I made a passable Darth Vader to Carter's Luke at one convention," he announced proudly with a smile.

Happy for Carter, Alex genuinely smiled. "That's great."

"Well, I won't keep you any longer. I just wanted to put a face to the name. There are not too many people Carter takes a shine to. You must be pretty special," he said to Kara with a smile.

"I'd say so, but I'm biased," Alex interjected.

"It was an honor meeting you," Kara said, getting a curious smile at her formality.

"I'd say so, but I'm biased," Gregory joked with a grin, winking at Alex, who plastered on another smile. He nodded at the sisters before turning and joining his son and Cat.

Kara watched closely as he squeezed his son's shoulder, apologizing for the aborted trip and promising to make it up to him. When Gregory made a quiet comment about her being really pretty, just like he had said, Carter immediately looked at Kara, mortified.

She could only smile at the young man. Her smile disappeared when Gregory leaned in and kissed Cat's cheek. An odd tingling sensation built up behind her eyes. Public displays of affection were rare on Krypton, but this was neither a public space nor Krypton, she considered, thankful it was just a chaste kiss. He was good with his son, she begrudgingly acknowledged, knowing that bespoke of good character, an essential trait in a worthy mate. The tingling sensation grew as she concluded it was not surprising Catherine would choose this attractive man. Unable to avoid the chaotic emotions that welled up, she sucked in a startled breath as her eyes suddenly exposed everyone's skeletal structure.

"Alex!" Kara quietly hissed as she shut her eyes and turned away from everyone. Alex immediately glanced to Gregory, who thankfully was walking to the door with Cat and their son, missing Kara's struggle with the latest, reemerging power.

"It's your vision powers, Kara," Alex whispered unnecessarily, earning a glare from the Kryptonian, who had already figured that out from the walking skeletons she was seeing.

Alex's eyes widened with alarm, seeing a bright glow replacing her normally black pupils. "Just hold on, shut your eyes and breathe slow, deep breaths," Alex quickly said with confidence, rubbing Kara's shoulder soothingly. "Think about something happy. Like puppies…." Alex said, then noted a cringe of confusion and quickly added, ". . . or potstickers."

Kara nodded uneasily and shut her eyes, trying to breathe as instructed and calm herself. A few breaths later, it started to work.

When Cat closed the door, Carter blurted "Kara!" and barreled towards her, giving her a hug which she awkwardly returned. "I was worried about you," he admitted and pulled back from the hug with a frown at her tee-shirt. "But you really need to avoid wearing the symbol unless you are actually being Supergirl," he scolded her.

Of course Cat's son knew, Alex had to chuckle in spite of her concern for her sister.

"Are you ok?" he asked, noticing Kara cringing and blinking, as if she had something in her eyes.

"Carter, she's having trouble with her eyes . . . you might want to be careful around her until she gets used to her powers," Alex said.

Cat looked at Kara with concern, noting her troubled face as Kara took several uneasy breaths. She could only imagine how terrifying it was to suddenly be out of control of your senses.

Carter looked at them in confusion. "Get used to . . . ?"

A knock on the door startled Cat, who frowned. "What now?!" she growled, going to the door. Looking through the peephole, she gushed "Oh thank God," as she swung the door wide open and quickly pulled in a surprised Eliza, who almost tripped over the rolling travel bag she packed for Kara.

"What's . . . oh!" Eliza said, seeing Kara's crunched up face and closed eyes. She rushed to her side. "Sweetie, I have something for you that will help you control your vision," she said soothingly, pulling out the glasses and placing them on Kara's face.

Kara sighed with relief as the tingling sensation dampened and her vision returned to normal. The periodic loud noises she had difficulty blocking were also suppressed. "Nahkluv . . . uh, thank you," she said tiredly, adjusting the glasses on her face awkwardly.

"What's going on?" Carter asked, confused.

"Carter, sit down. We need to discuss a few things," Catherine said in a no-nonsense tone.

"What is it?" He said worriedly, sitting down slowly on a plush chair, looking at everyone.

"First, why was your father dropping you off home alone?" Cat asked with displeasure, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why didn't he call the nanny or someone to watch you?"

"I told him I'd be fine alone?" Carter said uneasily and saw his annoyed mother take a deep breath. "Mom, I'm almost 14!"

"Thank you for that reminder, Carter. I almost forgot the day and year I spent 9 hours in labor having you," she sniped, making him slouch in defeat, knowing he was going to be grounded . . . probably until he was 18 . . . if he was lucky.

"And if you actually manage to reach your 14th birthday, your actions are making me reconsider a celebration," Cat said tersely, causing him to slouch further.

Eliza shared a look with Alex, both remembering a familiar argument that they had before Kara came, when a 13-year old Alex went on a shopping trip with two friends, Doug and Tracy, at a new mall 80 miles away, without permission. They all told their parents they were just hanging with their friends that day. Eliza only found out about the trip because she got a call from Doug's mother, who wanted him to come home and finish his chores. After a call to Tracy's parents, it was clear the three were not at anyone's home. When Alex finally returned home, Eliza quickly extracted the truth.

Alex shook her head slightly, vividly recalling the argument that ensued, well, her defiant ranting that she should be trusted enough to be able to take a stupid bus, which was not rocket science and of course, that she was always being treated like a child. That recurring complaint evaporated when a younger, alien girl, arrived on their door step and Alex was entrusted with a very important job - to look after Kara.

Of course, Alex found other things to complain about.

"Carter?" Kara spoke, surprising everyone, except Carter, who looked at her, preparing himself for an admonishment, hating the thought that Kara would be disappointed in him.

"Independence is a worthy goal," she said, sitting on the sofa across from him. "But rushing towards that goal is unwise," Kara said sagely. "As is worrying your mother," she added with a small smile.

Carter looked at her oddly, then to his mother, then back to Kara.

"You're acting . . . differently," he said hesitantly.

"And that is the second thing we need to discuss," Cat said and heavily exhaled as she sat on the sofa, next to Kara. "In saving us all, Kara got hurt. Our massive headaches were caused by a device called Myriad, which was on a big ship that Kara had to push into space."

"But . . . you can't fly in space," he said with alarm, looking at Kara.

"That is what I am told," Kara said uncomfortably, causing him to frown at the odd comment.

"She got stuck out there, after pushing it away from Earth," Alex offered.

"And Alex got her back, essentially hot-wiring the pod Kara came to Earth in, and flew it to rescue her," Cat said.

Alex shifted uncomfortably under his amazed gaze and offered, "But Kara suffered some braincell damage, which we are not sure can be repaired."

"Not even if you concentrate the sunlight?" Carter asked, impressing Alex and Eliza with his question.

"Even with concentrated sunlight, we're not sure," Eliza answered honestly.

"So, what does that mean? Is she retarded?" Carter said with a cringe at the horrible thought, looking worriedly at Kara.

"Carter!" Cat gasped, appalled by the insensitive word he knew better than to use.

"Carter, my brain is functioning, but I have lost my Earth memories," Kara interjected. "I do not remember arriving or living here. I do not remember Alex, Eliza, or Catherine . . . or you," she said apologetically.

"Oh. That must be very scary," he said sympathetically, gaining a small nod. "But . . . do you still remember your home on Krypton?" Carter asked curiously.

"I do."

"Well, that's good," he said with relief. "There are not a lot of Kryptonians left. And of the two I know about, you're the only one who's actually lived there," he said thoughtfully. "I hope you can share those memories with me," he said hesitantly, making Alex like the intelligent boy even more. Eliza fought off the urge to hug him.

Cat beamed proudly.

"I look forward to it," Kara said honestly, making him smile.

SGSGSG

While Eliza enjoyed watching Alex and Carter in a massive video-game battle, Kara joined Cat in the kitchen.

"Do you need anything?" Cat asked with a smile as she filled her glass with ice water from the refrigerator dispenser.

"No, thank you. I think Alex, Eliza, and I should stay at the DEO now," Kara said reluctantly.

"What? Why?" Cat asked, baffled.

"Your son will need his room back and your husband will likely not want your home so . . . crowded," Kara said uncomfortably. "But I want to thank you for your care. I'm not sure what I would have done without you," she said earnestly.

Cat's eyes widened with surprise before chuckling, confusing Kara.

"He is no longer my husband, Kara," Cat explained with amusement. "We're divorced. Our marriage ended amicably, thank God," she said. "And, thankfully, he's usually a good father. But we ultimately realized we were not good together . . . and that was not good for Carter."

Kara took in the information and nodded slowly. She felt sad for Carter and guilty for her relief.

"And . . . there are no other . . . mates I . . . uh, we, would be displacing?" Kara asked awkwardly, trying not to sound too hopeful.

Cat smiled at the question, knowing she had the perfect opportunity to tease Kara. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Kara was dealing with far too much at the moment. "No. No other . . . mates," she said as smirk pulled at her lips. "I live here only with Carter."

Kara's relieved smile faded. "Still, he needs his room," she insisted, adjusting her new glasses as she glanced to the boy, who joined them in the kitchen.

"What's going on? You guys look way too serious," Carter asked as he got a pitcher of iced tea from the refrigerator to refill his glass.

"Now that you are home, Kara is worried about imposing on us," Cat said.

"Why? There's plenty of room," he said with a shrug, pouring the tea.

"I was using your room. Do you not want it back?" Kara asked with concern.

Carter froze, then glared incredulously at his traitorous mother, who sighed and rolled her eyes. He shook his head, irritated that both his parents seemed to enjoy embarrassing him. Looking to Kara, he sincerely offered, "If you were comfortable in my room, I'd like you to stay there."

Cat smiled proudly. At Kara's skeptical look, he added, "It's no problem, Kara. Really. I could always stay on the couch in Mom's office or in the living room. Mom would never have uncomfortable couches."

"No, you will use my room, Carter," Cat firmly countered. Before Carter could object to bunking with his mother, she quickly continued. "I'll take the office couch. I have some work to do and it will be late before I retire," she announced. Seeing Kara's worried look, she added "It's not the first time I've slept there."

Carter just shrugged. "Whatever," he said and left the kitchen with his iced tea.

"But . . . " Kara said worriedly.

"No arguments," Cat declared.

Kara sighed. "May I at least see this office of yours?"

"You are not going to talk me out of my decision," Cat countered firmly.

Kara muttered in Kryptonian.

"I suppose I'll need to learn Kryptonian to understand you, like Alex had to," Cat said, looking at Kara in challenge.

"You have already gotten quite proficient in saying zha," Kara grumbled, recalling her clear objection to going back to the Fortress.

Cat smiled with satisfaction. "No is an important word . . . in any language."

"Agreed," Kara allowed with a nod. "But another important word, one which I would prefer to hear in response to my question, is 'zhi," she said with a small smile, leaning a bit closer as if sharing a secret. "Which is 'yes,' in case you had not yet learned."

"I didn't say zha to the office tour," Cat noted with a playful smirk.

"And you did not say zhi," Kara countered.

"I think you know why," Cat responded with a pointed look, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kara sighed in resignation. "If I promise to not argue with your position on sleeping arrangements, will I get to see your office?"

Cat beamed with satisfaction. "Zhi. Follow me," she said regally and crisply turned and headed to her office.

Kara followed with a small smile.

SGSG

Carter sat back down next to Alex and picked up his controller.

"What was that all about?" Alex asked, nodding her head towards the kitchen.

Carter chuckled and teased, "Bet you wish you had super hearing."

"Among other powers that I don't have. So spill," Alex said bluntly, nudging him with her elbow.

"Kara was being . . . Kara," he said, blowing out a breath.

Alex and Eliza shared a smile, knowing that could mean a number of things.

"She's was worried you guys were imposing on us. Which is ridiculous," he said as if it were obvious. "Then she was worried about taking my room."

"I'm sure Kara wouldn't mind sharing with Cat," Alex suggested with a smirk.

"Alex!" Eliza hissed.

"What? It's better than Carter bunking with Cat," Alex said innocently, making Eliza shake her head.

"True. But they're not ready for that yet," Carter said thoughtfully.

"I'm glad someone is being mature around here," Eliza said with a chuckle. "I'm only sorry it isn't my adult daughter."

Carter smiled at Alex, who frowned.

"Ready to get your ass . . . uh butt handed to you?" Alex challenged, not needing to see the displeasure on Eliza's face to know it was there.

"Ha," he said in defiance. "Bring it!"