Chương 83: 83. Fighting
October 15-16, 2017 (pregnancy week 32)
Sunday morning Sam woke up feeling deliciously sore in all the right places. She could feel Douglas wrapped around her from behind, and she just laid there for a few minutes enjoying his presence. She could definitely get used to this. Unfortunately, her peace didn’t last long. A knock on her door startled her.
“Mom? Are you getting up today?” Ruby called in to her. The doorknob rattled, but the door was locked.
“I’m getting up!” she called back. “Give me a few minutes.”
Douglas groaned and stretched at being woken up. “Did we sleep in?” he yawned.
Sam looked at the clock. It was almost 9:30. “A little,” she replied, turning into his embrace.
He kissed her on the forehead. “Good morning, my love,” he said, voice still gravelly from sleep.
Sam grinned at the nickname. “Good morning.” She kissed his chest and gave him a hug, but that was a mistake because she could do that all day. She grudgingly pulled away before sitting up and trying to find their clothes. “Are you hungry? I can make us some breakfast,” she offered.
Douglas nodded. “That sounds great.”
They got showered and dressed and headed downstairs.
When Ruby saw them, she scowled. “Wow, really?!” she scoffed.
“What?” Sam and Douglas shared a look of confusion.
“I get into trouble for kissing my girlfriend, but you can let your boyfriend spend the night? How is that fair?” Ruby demanded.
“I am an adult, Ruby,” Sam huffed. “And I wasn’t sneaking around. You knew perfectly well that I had a date with him last night.”
“So that makes it OK? I’m almost 13! I’m not a little kid anymore!” Ruby insisted. “You’re being unfair!”
“Ruby, you will understand when you have kids of your own,” Sam parried.
“I should be able to do whatever I want with my girlfriend,” Ruby repeated her statement from the previous night. “Even if we wanted to have sex, which we don’t yet, it’s not like we can get each other pregnant!”
“Ruby, that is not the point,” Sam sighed.
“Then what is?” Ruby shrieked.
Sam rubbed her temples. “The point is that you didn’t have permission to be doing what you were doing last night.”
“Did you get permission to do what you did last night?” Ruby retorted.
“I am the adult! I don’t need to ask permission!” Sam huffed.
“Even if I had asked permission, you would’ve said no!” Ruby cried angry tears. “So what’s the point?”
“The point is that I’m your mother, and it’s my job to keep you out of situations that you’re not ready for yet,” Sam pointed out.
“How do you know whether I’m ready or not?” Ruby spat. “You’re not me. You got pregnant when you were 16! I’m not going to do that.”
“Don’t you see that that’s all the more reason I don't want you fooling around like that?”
“We’re two girls!” Ruby snapped. “It’s fine!”
Sam sighed. “I don’t feel like you're listening to me.”
“Well, I don’t feel like you’re listening to me!” Ruby growled. She grabbed her phone off the coffee table and stomped upstairs.
“Should I leave?” Douglas checked with Sam.
“No! Please, don’t go!” she begged. “I know things are a little awkward right now, but she’ll come around.”
“I don’t want to make things worse on you,” he frowned, stroking her cheek.
She kissed his hand and then hugged him. “I would feel worse, if you left,” she admitted.
“Alright,” he conceded. “Can I help you make breakfast?”
“No, you treated me last night, it’s my turn to treat you,” she insisted. “You just sit there and look pretty.”
Douglas mimed fixing his hair and sat down at the kitchen island with a flourish. “Is this pretty enough?”
Sam giggled and gave him a kiss. “Gorgeous, darling.”
She made pancakes for the three of them and called Ruby down for breakfast when she was finished. She half-expected her daughter to just stay upstairs and sulk, but she was pleasantly surprised when Ruby joined them. She didn’t talk to them, but at least she ate something. When Ruby was finished, she washed her plate and went back upstairs, presumably to text Jessie and to listen to music on her phone since she was grounded from nearly everything else.
Sam hadn’t bought Ruby any new books lately, so after breakfast, Sam and Douglas took Ruby to the bookstore at the mall to get some while she was grounded. She didn’t think Ruby had read His Dark Materials yet, so she wanted to get those at least. The series was one of Sam’s favorites, and she and her daughter tended to like the same kind of fantasy fiction, so she hoped Ruby liked it too. They bought those three books and a couple others that Ruby picked out on her own.
After that, they wandered around the mall for a while. Sam ended up buying Ruby and herself a few clothes, and Douglas bought the two girls matching earrings and necklace sets. Sam tried to talk him out of it, but Ruby was all for it, so Sam eventually gave in, insisting that he not make a habit of doing that kind of thing.
“Yeah, yeah,” was all he replied.
They went to lunch at an Italian restaurant near the mall, and then returned to the house. Sam gave Ruby the option to go start her new books or to stay downstairs and play games with her mom and Douglas. Ruby chose to go read one of her new books.
Left alone, Sam and Douglas put on a movie and just cuddled. They kissed a little bit, but neither of them wanted to get yelled at by Ruby again, so they kept it to a minimum. When the movie was over, Douglas wanted to cook dinner for the girls, so he went to the store to pick up a few things, and Sam went upstairs to talk to Ruby.
“Ruby?” she knocked on her daughter’s bedroom door.
“Go away,” Ruby told her.
Sam opened the door and peeked into the room. Ruby was sitting on her bed with her book in one hand and her phone in the other. “Hey,” Sam said softly.
Ruby just pouted.
“Douglas is going to make dinner. He went to the store. Can we talk?”
Ruby shrugged, and Sam sat down on the bed with her.
“Ruby, you know I love you, right?” Sam said first.
“Yeah, mom,” Ruby sighed. “But I don’t feel like you’re being fair.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Sam replied.
“You guys never let us be alone together,” Ruby complained. “Being grounded from Jessie feels like the worst punishment ever.”
Sam let out a heavy breath. “Really? The worst punishment ever?”
“Yes!” Ruby insisted, tears now streaming down her face.
Sam softened a bit. “You really love her, don’t you?”
Ruby nodded and sniffled. “Yes. So much.”
Sam thought about how she would feel if someone tried to tell her she couldn’t be with Douglas. It didn’t feel very good. But she was also scared from her own personal experience getting sweet talked by a Fuckboy and ending up pregnant and alone. She was a little torn about what to do. Ruby was a smart kid, but so was Sam at her age, and that didn’t stop her from getting into a sticky situation. What if the twins turned out to be like Kara, and Jessie and Ruby decide to have sex and forget or refuse to wear a condom? But there had to be some sort of compromise they could come to. She didn’t want her daughter to hate her for keeping her from the one she loved. “Come here, baby,” Sam said, opening her arms to hug her daughter. “What do you think I should do here?”
Ruby scooted forward and let her mom hug her. “I think you should let me be around my girlfriend, and you should give us some alone time once in a while. Sometimes we just need to talk about stuff, and we don’t even want to kiss. It’s hard to find the chance to talk about private things when there’s ten other people listening in. But even if we do want to kiss, I don’t think that should be such a big deal.”
“Honey, I just don’t want you making the same mistake I did. The same mistake Alex and Kara made. It’s hard to have a baby when you’re a teenager. It’s a big responsibility,” Sam pointed out.
“We’re two girls!” Ruby argued. “And kissing doesn’t make babies, anyway!”
“That is not a comfort to me when Jessie runs a chance of being like Kara,” Sam parried. “Need I remind you that Kara got three different women pregnant at the same time?”
“That was Jamie’s fault,” Ruby grumbled.
“It may have been, but that’s not my point. My point is that Jessie may very well be able to get you pregnant some day, and I don’t want you two rushing into things just because you think the rules don’t apply to you.”
Ruby looked thoughtful for a while. “I didn’t think about it like that. I mean, she told me that she might be like that some day, but I wasn’t thinking about sex when she told me.”
“That’s probably a good thing,” Sam chuckled.
“How about this,” Ruby proposed, “I promise never to have sex with anyone that can get me pregnant without a condom, and you give me some alone time with my girlfriend?”
Sam nearly had a heart attack at hearing her daughter’s words. “No sex until you’re 30.”
Ruby scoffed. “You’re not 30!”
“25.”
“Nuh-uh.”
“21.”
Ruby laughed disdainfully.
“I’m not going any lower than that,” Sam huffed.
“Look, after Jessie and I have been together for two years, we’ll fly to Hawaii if we have to,” Ruby said stubbornly. “We don’t need a plane.”
Sam wanted to throw up in horror. “Oh, God. I don't think so. ”
“I think that’s more than fair,” Ruby said simply. “Two years is a long time. You and Douglas didn’t wait that long.”
“We’re adults.” Sam rubbed her temples and tried to comfort herself with the fact that Ruby and Jessie probably wouldn’t be together that long. They were only kids, afterall. “Two years, huh?”
“Yup,” Ruby nodded emphatically.
“So you’ve already talked about this with her, then?” Sam checked.
“Yup,” Ruby confirmed with another nod of her head.
“I don’t know that that’s going to be any comfort to her parents,” Sam pointed out. “They have the same fears that I do.”
“You don’t have to tell them, you know,” Ruby challenged.
“No, I think all of us are going to sit down and have a nice long chat this week,” Sam shut her down. “You’re still grounded for sneaking around, but I’ll see if we can come up with a compromise.”
“What kind of compromise?” Ruby wanted to know.
“Possibly something that involves hard labor, but also possibly something that involves you getting some alone time, but it’s not completely up to me, Ruby, so we’ll have to wait and see.”
“OK, Mom,” Ruby conceded. “Thanks.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Carter laid sullenly on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Sundays were usually his day for spending time with Jamie, but since he’d been banned from seeing her for a month, he didn’t know what to do with himself. Normally, when he didn’t have anything to do, he would just play video games, but his heart just wasn’t in it. He wanted to see Jamie. His heart ached to see her cheerful smile and hear her melodic laugh. To hold her hand. Last night’s kisses were still etched onto his lips, and he traced the pads of his fingers over them at the memory. He and Jamie hadn’t moved as fast as Jessie and Ruby, but that was OK with him. He didn’t need more yet. He just wanted to be around the sweetest girl on Earth and hug her and tell her how wonderful she was. Texting was OK, but he knew it meant more to say things like that in person.
A knock on the door caught his attention. “Come in,” he called.
Cat poked her head in and looked at the state of him. “Son? Are you alright? Have you been in your room all day?”
He shrugged. “I guess.”
Cat sat on his bed next to him and patted his belly. “Is this about Jamie?”
Carter turned on his side to face her, but he didn’t look her in the eyes. He just stared blankly ahead of him. “I just… I can’t believe I’m grounded from my girlfriend,” he admitted. “That’s like the worst thing I can possibly imagine.”
Cat frowned.
“I didn’t mean to get in trouble,” Carter continued. “I didn’t really think about it as sneaking around. I just wanted to kiss her. She looked so pretty and soft, and I couldn’t help it.”
Cat had to admit that she’d been there, but only to herself. She didn’t want her son to get any ideas. “I’m sorry, son, but you’re only 13-years-old. I have to set boundaries for you. You’re far too young to be fooling around that much.”
“We were only kissing for like five minutes,” he grumbled.
Cat sighed. “Honestly, son, I don’t like the idea of you two kissing at all. It’s not that I don’t love Jamie, I do, but I don’t want you moving too fast and then getting your heart broken. Who knows what’s going to happen between you in the future? Love is fickle, and not all relationships last forever.”
“I hope ours will,” Carter sighed. “I love her.”
“You love her?” Cat repeated. “Wow, I didn’t realize you had it so bad.”
“Yeah,” he said dreamily.
“But you know, that’s all the more reason for me to be concerned,” Cat pointed out. “If you two move too fast, it could really wreck you psychologically. I don’t want that for you.”
“What are you even talking about, Mom?” Carter huffed. “We were just kissing a little, geez.”
Cat took a deep breath. “Son, I can respect that you love Jamie, OK? She’s a good girl, and I’m pretty sure she loves you too. But the fact of the matter is that that makes me slightly more nervous because I don’t want you two thinking you can just have sex whenever you want to just because you’re in love.”
“We’re not trying to do that!” Carter groaned in embarrassment. “Why do you keep bringing that up?”
“Because I know what it’s like to have a child when you’re not ready, and that’s something that I have to live with every day of my life. Your older brother practically despises me, and I don’t want anything like that happening to you. You’re a good boy, and I’m proud of you. I don’t want that to change.”
“It won’t, Mom,” he insisted. “Just because I have a girlfriend, it doesn’t mean I’m going to have a baby.”
Cat nodded. “And I want to make sure of that.”
“How about I make sure of that, and you just trust me?” Carter suggested, finally looking her in the eyes.
Cat closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You’re being very bold right now, young man. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this.”
“I promise, you can trust me, Mom,” he said seriously.
Her eyes softened, and she stroked her son’s cheek. “Well, I guess you haven’t proved to me that I can’t trust you, so… I guess I can give you the benefit of the doubt for now.”
Carter’s face was hopeful. “Does that mean I can see her?”
“Well, it’s not 100% up to me,” she replied. “I’ll have to talk to Alex… But you have to swear on your life that you’ll behave yourselves.”
The boy’s face fell. “Does that mean I can’t kiss her anymore?”
“It means take it slow and no sneaking around,” she clarified.
“How else are we supposed to get any alone time?” he pouted.
Cat sighed. “We can negotiate, I suppose, but like I said, it’s not totally up to me.”
Carter sighed too. “OK, Mom. You’ll talk to Alex?”
“Yes, dear.”
Carter actually sat up and hugged her. “Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, my love.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Monday morning, the gang was back with their noses to the grindstone. The reports of the Worldkiller’s activities were still coming in, with the exception of Saturday night, but one night off did not alleviate Kara’s stress. She wanted to find this person and put an end to all the killings. Bad guys or not, no one had the right to just end people’s lives like that. She was about to throw caution to the wind and allow The Legion to go out and hunt with her at night, never mind whether people get freaked out or not.
Speaking of The Legion, they were pretty sure they’d gotten the ship mostly fixed now. There were still a few things that needed some work, but they were almost certain that they could fly now. Kara didn’t dare let them try it out yet, though. It was still too soon after the Daxamite invasion to introduce a new spaceship. People would really freak out about that!
Eventually, Kara had an idea about how to get the Worldkiller’s attention. She flew up to the roof of the Catco building and used her heat vision to etch the Crest of El into the concrete. It was a last resort, but she was going to try it or be damned.
XXXXXXXXXX
Instead of going to their regular jobs, Alex and Lena went to L-Corp to run some tests on Sam. They cleared the rooms that they needed so that Sam could have some privacy.
“So, Alex, you were a doctor before you joined the DEO?” Sam chatted nervously.
Alex nodded. “Yeah. I was gonna be a researcher, so I had a job at a hospital in Midvale for a while. But then, as it turns out, I needed a little more action than just a microscope and an Excel spreadsheet.”
“Well, thank you very much for doing this. Both of you,” she told them. “You're sure it's okay that we use the L-Corp lab?” she asked Lena.
“I am,” Lena assured her. “No one will bother us here.”
“Sorry, I just don't like hospitals,” Sam sighed. “Hate being sick. Hate tests.”
“Well, MRI's don't hurt,” Alex promised, putting a pillow down for Sam’s head.
“Okay.” Sam laid back on the machine bed.
“All right, put your legs up,” Alex told her, sliding a pillow under her knees.
“So, I looked up my symptoms,” Sam told them. “Memory loss, headaches, it could be really bad. Like, brain tumor bad. ALS.”
“You know what else causes memory loss?” Alex asked her, covering Sam up with a blanket. “Caffeine withdrawal. Yikes.”
“Right,” Sam chuckled.
“Which is why we're taking pictures. OK?” Alex urged.
“We're gonna find out what's going on, and when we do, we're gonna deal with it. Whatever it is. OK?” Lena added.
“All right,” Sam nodded.
“OK.” Lena and Alex went into the computer room to turn on the MRI machine.
When the test was over, they all watched the imaging together.
“So, what do you see?” Sam worried.
Lena and Alex shook their heads. “Nothing,” Lena replied.
“Is that a good thing?” Sam asked.
“Well, it's neither good nor bad,” Alex told her. “It just means that whatever's causing the blackouts isn't showing up on the images.”
“OK,” Sam sighed. “So, where do we go from here?”
“Well, we send the images to an expert along with some blood work,” Lena informed her.
“Are you okay?” Alex asked. “What are you thinking?”
Sam sighed again. “The truth is that I'm becoming a burden. To L-Corp. To you. To my friends, and my boyfriend. To my daughter. I don't wanna be that person.”
Lena pulled out the equipment they needed to do the blood work.
“I'm afraid of needles,” Sam admitted.
“It's really not that bad,” Alex promised. “I'm gonna make it painless.”
“Can you go quick?” Sam begged, looking away.
“Yep,” Alex nodded. She drew Sam’s blood as quickly and painlessly as she could. “Hmm? See? Painless. Listen, your being sick isn't a burden to anyone.”
“I might be your boss, but I’m also your friend,” Lena pointed out. “Please, don’t forget that.”
“You guys, I've handled everything on my own since I was 16,” Sam countered. “Ruby, college, work, everything. Been white-knuckling my whole life. It's bad enough I included you in all these problems. So, I'm... I'll be fine.”
“I know what it's like to be afraid to let other people in,” Lena said softly. “I have always been used to dealing with things in my life on my own. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned about being a Danvers, it’s that we’re stronger together, and a Danvers doesn’t just let their friends go through something scary alone. You can forget about doing things alone anymore. You’re a part of our family now.”
Sam grinned “Okay.”
Lena handed Sam a sucker.
“I get a lollipop?”
“You get a lollipop,” Lena answered with a smile.
“I'll take it. It's my favorite.” Sam popped the candy into her mouth with a laugh.
“How’s Ruby?” Lena asked. “Is she still mad?”
Sam sighed and shook her head in dismay. “Not mad, but definitely frustrated. I promised her that I would talk to you guys and possibly figure out a punishment that doesn’t involve the kids being grounded from each other. She said it was the worst punishment ever.”
“Yeah, that’s basically what the twins said too,” Alex admitted with a sigh. “I just don’t want them to think that sneaking around like that is OK, and I don’t want any of them thinking they’re old enough to have sex yet. From the way Kara made it sound, Jessie and Ruby were halfway there the other night.”
“Would it make you feel any better to know that they talked about it and decided they weren’t going to have sex until they’ve been together for two years?” Sam offered.
Alex’s eyes widened. “Um, not really. 14 isn’t old enough either.”
Sam chuckled. “Honestly, I love you guys, but they’re so young, I’d be surprised if they were together that long. I mean, I can hope because Jessie is overall really good for my daughter, but I just don’t know. You know?”
“I hear you,” Alex nodded. “And that is a good point. We can’t really bank on them being together that long, unfortunately. I mean, part of me hopes that they are, but I don’t want them having sex at 14.”
“Maybe we can talk them into waiting until they’re 15?” Lena suggested.
Alex scoffed. “Who’s side are you on, here?”
“I’m on the side of diplomacy,” Lena replied. “Were you really trying to give the kids the worst punishment ever?”
“Of course not,” Alex defended. “I don’t think it is.”
“But the kids think so,” Lena reminded her. “Isn’t that the same thing?”
Alex frowned. “I guess.”
“I think all of us should sit down and have a talk,” Sam said. “Kids included.”
“Alright,” Alex agreed. “Maybe tonight?”
“I think that would be for the best,” Lena told them.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Maggie laughed loudly at a joke that her boss had just told her. She was feeling much more light-hearted after her visit with her dad, and it seemed to be doing her wonders. She’d slept well Sunday night after spending the day with the Kavanaughs, and she’d arrived at work bright eyed and bushy tailed. She had hopes that after Kara’s demonstration of Winn and Lena’s shields, the Chief would let her do her real job now. That’s what she was here to talk to him about. The pair had taken off for lunch to spend some quality time together away from everyone else. They drove to a place far enough away that they wouldn’t run into anyone from work to a Mexican restaurant that Maggie swore by. The server led the pair to a table, and they sat down to look over the menu.
“Order whatever you want. It’s my treat,” Chief Williams offered.
Maggie chuckled. “You sure you want to do that? I’m feeding a Kryptonian.”
“Of course,” he smiled. “Gotta take good care of my girl.”
“Thanks, Chief,” she returned his grin.
“I’m glad you’re feeling better today,” he told her. “You had me worried last week.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I think I was more nervous about my dad coming to visit than I thought. But now that that’s over and done with, I can get on with my life.”
“I’m glad.”
“Speaking of getting on with my life,” she spoke hesitantly, “I was wondering, since Winn and Lena designed those shields for us, maybe I could go back to my regular job?”
The Chief frowned. “Maggie, I’m sorry, but I still don’t feel comfortable letting you do that, especially when you’re so far along in your pregnancy. Please, don’t be angry with me. I know you’re bored, but I need you safe. That’s more important to me than anything.”
She sighed, but nodded. “OK, I had to try.”
“You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t,” he chuckled. “Honestly, I miss having you in the field too, but I’m not risking it.”
“I understand,” she said, trying not to pout.
Apparently, it didn’t work because the next thing the Chief said was, “Don’t look at me like that, please.”
“Sorry,” she lowered her eyes to the table and fidgeted with her silverware. “Thank you again for bringing me to lunch. I really appreciate it.”
“I’m here whenever you need me,” the Chief told her, placing his hand over her fidgeting one.
She laced their fingers together and squeezed. “I’m grateful for that.”
“So what are your plans for the birth?” he asked. “Are you going to do it naturally, or are you going to get a C-section?”
“Well, I’m going to try to do it the old-fashioned way and go from there,” she replied. “I will be getting an epidural, no doubt in my mind about that part. I only want a C-section if it’s 100% necessary. I don’t want a huge scar on my abdomen if I can help it.”
“That’s understandable,” he nodded. “What hospital will you be going to?”
“Just National City General,” she said. “We’re seeing the same OB that delivered Jessie and Jamie.”
“So she knows about the babies being Kryptonian?” he checked.
“Yeah, she’s always known,” Maggie replied.
“Good,” he nodded. “What are they going to do for Alex?”
“I think someone’s going to bring up a big red sun lamp for the birthing room,” she informed him. “That way, the baby’s powers won’t hurt anyone, and they can still give her her immunizations.”
“Ah, I see. That’s very clever.”
“Yeah. Lena already made the baby-sized sun band for her. It’s so cute and tiny,” she giggled.
The Chief let out a quick laugh. “I can’t wait to see it.” His face suddenly grew serious. “I’m really glad she’s OK, and I hate that she had to go through what she did. Is she really OK, overall?”
Maggie nodded. “Yeah, for the most part. She still has nightmares sometimes, but once she wakes up and realizes she’s at home and safe, she seems to be OK. When she first got home, she had a lot of trouble with the shower, but after a few months, we were able to help her calm down enough to not be afraid of the water. It didn’t help that our shower at the penthouse was a big closed box that reminded her of the cell she was kept in when she got kidnapped.”
“I’m glad she’s doing better,” he sighed. “She’s not the type to show weakness to others, so I knew I wouldn’t get a straight answer out of her if I asked.”
Maggie chuckled. “You noticed that, huh?”
“I’m the Chief of Police,” he laughed with her. “If I can’t notice that in a person, I don’t deserve my job.”
“I think you’re pretty great at your job,” she offered.
“Thank you, honey,” he grinned at her. “I think you’re pretty great at your job too. I look forward to when you can get back out there. I know Clemmens misses you. That noob is driving him nuts.”
Maggie laughed again. “I know, I have to hear about it pretty much every day.”
The Chief chuckled. “At least you’re still communicating with each other. That’s good to hear.”
“Yeah, he’s almost worse than you sometimes,” Maggie shook her head and snickered. “He’s always on me about eating enough and getting enough rest and things like that. I swear, sometimes he gets the whole precinct in on it. I have people checking on me every fifteen minutes, claiming Clemmens sent them.”
The Chief let out a big, low belly laugh. “Well, at least you know you’re loved.”
“That I do,” she smiled appreciatively.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara and Alex met at the house for lunch. The twins were still mad at them for grounding them from their significant others, so there was a bit of tension as the four sat at the table and ate. When they were done, the twins excused themselves to their rooms until it was time for their next lesson. That left Kara and Alex alone downstairs, and that was OK with them. They cuddled up on the couch, and Kara rubbed Alex’s back.
“Oh man, that feels good,” Alex purred.
Kara’s brow was furrowed from searching out the knots in Alex’s back, but she kissed her wife on the head in acknowledgement. “Is this pressure OK?” she checked.
“Actually, you can use a little more,” Alex encouraged.
Kara pressed her fingers a little harder into her wife’s muscles. “Like this?”
Alex let out a low moan. “Yeah,” she replied breathily. She buried her nose in Kara’s neck, breathing in that soothing Kryptonian scent and felt herself relax more than she had in days. “Thank you, Angel.”
“Anything for my baby girl,” Kara replied with a kiss to Alex’s nose.
Alex wrinkled her nose and giggled. “You know that tickles.”
“Sorry,” Kara winked.
Alex caressed Kara’s cheek and looked seriously at her for a moment before saying, “You know, I’m really proud of you Kara. You’ve been doing so good lately, and you haven’t seemed quite as stressed out as you were not too long ago.”
Kara nuzzled Alex’s hand. “You helped me do better. You always help me do better.”
Alex pulled Kara in for a tender kiss. And then another. And another. “How did I do that, exactly?”
“You reminded me that Supergirl isn’t all that I am. That I’m Kara Danvers too, and that comes first. You, Maggie, Lena, and our kids… That’s my life. That’s what makes my life worth living. Supergirl is just something that I happen to be able to do. Kara Danvers is me.”
Alex smiled gratefully. “I hope you don’t forget that. And I hope you never forget that I love you more than life itself.”
Kara let her forehead fall gently against Alex’s. “I love you more.”
Alex waited a beat for the rest. “More than what?”
Kara shook her head. “Just more.”
Alex laughed and pulled Kara in for more kisses. After a few minutes, she remembered her conversation with Sam and Lena. “Oh, by the way, Sam wants us all to get together with the kids to talk about what happened on Saturday. Apparently, the punishment did not fit the crime because the kids are all completely distraught, and that’s not what we were going for.”
Kara nodded. “Ms. Grant… I mean Cat… wants the same thing.”
“OK. I guess we’re having everyone over for dinner tonight.” Alex laid her head on Kara’s shoulder and just rested. “This is nice,” she sighed. “I haven’t had much alone time with you in quite a while.”
“I know,” Kara said softly, lifting Alex’s chin to kiss her again. They were allowed a few more minutes of alone time before the doorbell rang with the twins’ next tutor. “I guess that means it’s time to get back.”
“I guess so,” Alex agreed.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
A few hours later, Kara picked up the kids from the house and took them to the DEO for their afternoon training. The kids had been having a blast training with the Legion members, and they were ecstatic that Amy had come back to train with them as well. They had to use different techniques to fight each person, and it was great experience for all of them.
Of course, the Legionnaires adored the kids and doted on them constantly. This made the kids a bit happier than they were to start out with. They were still upset about being grounded from their significant others, but thankfully, the attention helped, and by the time they were finished, the kids' moods had improved significantly. After the training was over, Amy and Lyra went to work, and the Legionnaires headed back to the ship to work on the repairs.
Kara and the kids were just about to head home and make dinner when Alex and Winn came rushing into the training room.
“Kara, the Kryptonian responded!” Winn exclaimed.
“How?” Kara demanded.
Winn shrugged. “Just… showed up right where you left your mark.”
“And waiting for you,” Alex added.
Kara put her game face on and started towards the door.
“Hey,” Alex ran after her.
“I have to go,” Kara insisted.
“Hey, not like this,” Alex stopped her. “Listen to me. I know that you've been struggling for the past few months and I have been trying to get you to embrace your humanity, but forget that. Be cold. Be Kryptonian. I don't know why, but this thing really scares me. So, please, be alien.”
Kara’s face hardened, and she nodded once before heading out.
“I wanna help!” Jessie exclaimed.
“No!” Kara, Alex and Winn all told her.
“You girls stay here in the training room where it’s safe,” Alex demanded.
The twins whined “No! I want to at least watch Mama fight the Worldkiller!” Jessie complained.
“No, I’m not having you two think you can just run out and do whatever you want,” Alex put her foot down. “You’re staying here until the fight is over.”
The girls pouted.
“Hey,” Kara caught their attention. “I’m gonna get her. OK? Don’t worry. I love you both very much.”
“We love you too!” they each told her, wrapping her in a hug sandwich.
“I’ll wrap this up, and then we can go home and have dinner, like always.” Supergirl flew up to the Catco building where a woman floated above the Crest of El burned into the rooftop. The rogue Kryptonian wore all black with a mask over her face. They both landed on the roof and sized each other up, watched by several helicopters.
“So you're supposed to be the Devil?” Kara spoke first.
“The Devil isn't real,” the woman replied.
“Then who are you?” Kara wanted to know. She couldn’t see through the mask.
“I'm from the time before fathoming,” the Worldkiller answered. “Born to cleanse the scourge and deliver the awakening. I am Reign.”
“How did you get here?” Kara continued.
“I survived Krypton's death. Sent here upon its destruction.”
Kara frowned in confusion. “If that's true, then where have you been?”
“Dispensing justice,” Reign sneered.
“By terrorizing people?” Kara challenged. “Killing people?”
“This world has sunken into chaos and sin,” Reign explained. “Too many have eluded judgment.”
Kara put her hands on her hips. “I'm not gonna let you hurt anyone else. Surrender now before I make you surrender.”
“So full of hubris,” Reign smirked. “Just like the righteous Kryptonians who feared my makers. Worshiping false gods as they watched our planet suffocate by shame and burn from memory. Stand down, or I will make you join them in their purgatory.”
“I'm not going anywhere,” Supergirl insisted.
“Then I will dispense my justice on you,” Reign said matter-of-factly.
“Take your best shot,” Supergirl challenged.
Reign said nothing more. Instead, she rushed towards Supergirl, grabbing her and sending them both hurtling through the air. They landed a few blocks away, crashing through the windows of a big office building and disturbing a private Halloween party. The people screamed and tried to duck away as the pair of Kryptonians tumbled into the tables and destroyed the ceiling tiles in the center of the hall as they wrestled for dominance.
Reign’s blows hurt, but Supergirl was giving as good as she got. They fell into a sort of boxing match for a moment while Supergirl looked for an opening to get Reign away from the innocent civilians. The Worldkiller seemed to have no qualms with putting other lives in danger. The hero leapt into the air to deliver a crushing blow to the Worldkiller’s head, but the rogue Kryptonian ducked, and instead, Kara went smashing through a spooky ice sculpture instead. The ice rained down around them like Christmas in the mountains, and Reign took the opportunity to snatch Supergirl around the neck. Kara struggled for a moment before breaking Reign’s hold on her by hurling her elbow into Regin’s arm, then punching her square in the chest to knock her back. Reign tried to regain her ground, but Kara spun out of her grasp, using her momentum to send the Worldkiller flying across the room. Taking advantage of Reign’s disorientation, Supergirl grabbed hold of the woman in black and flew them out of range of any innocent lives.
The next thing they both knew was that they were landing roughly on a cargo barge. Reign was up first, and before Kara knew where she’d gone, the ship was tilting to the side throwing her off balance, and two giant storage lockers came hurtling towards her, smashing her between them and the ones behind her. It took a few seconds for her to recover, but she shoved the containers off of her and darted at the Worldkiller.
Reign surprised her again by flying them both back into the middle of the city and crash-landing them into the middle of a crowded street. Kara didn’t let her have the upper hand this time. She snatched Reign by the collar and punched her right in the jaw. The next punch was blocked by the Worldkiller, and suddenly, Kara was taking blow after blow, being pushed back by every strike of Reign’s fists. By the tenth time Reign hit her, Kara fell to the ground, a bit dazed.
When a little girl tried to run to her, she called out, “Get back! Stay back!”
She was dizzy and in pain, but she had to stop this Worldkiller. She’d beaten Kal to the ground, and she fully intended to beat this woman as well. It may not be easy, but she had to do it. Before she could even stand back up, she felt something strike her head like lightning, and she stumbled again. Something warm dripped down her forehead, and when she swiped at it, her fingers came away red. Kara looked at her hand with horror. How the hell? Her vision blurred, and she felt like she was going to be sick. That little girl was still standing there watching her, and she knew she had to get up. She stood with much difficulty and faced Reign again. The Worldkiller struck her in the chest, but Supergirl fought back. At least for a few blows before she felt her ribs crack from Reign’s knee connecting with her sternum. It knocked the wind out of her, and she couldn’t breathe for a moment. When Reign headbutted her in the face, she felt her lip crack open and bleed. After that, Supergirl just hung there, supported only by Reign’s hand on the collar of her tattered suit. The Worldkiller smirked and let the hero drop to the ground and then stomped on her already broken ribs, making Kara cry out in pain.
As Reign walked away to grab another weapon, Kara got up and blocked the blow with her forearm. She snatched the rebar out of Reign’s hands and spun it around, hitting Reign and sending her flying down the road. Kara struggled to climb the small mountain of concrete that was in front of her to see where the Worldkiller had gone. She should have stayed down, though, because as soon as she got to the top of the rubble, Reign threw a flaming car door at her, clipping her in the legs before she even had a chance to defend herself. Kara felt herself spinning mid-air for a moment until she felt the sting of heat vision burning into her chest, and suddenly she was flying through the air again. When she landed, she thought she was on the roof of a building, but she couldn’t be sure. Everything in her hurt more than any other fight she’d ever been in.
“I’m gonna kill you,” Reign told her as she landed next to the hero.
Kara struggled to push herself up. “You don’t- You don’t scare me.”
“You're no god,” Reign sneered down at her. “Just as I'm no devil. All I am is truth.” She picked Kara up by her destroyed suit, making the hero groan in pain. “And judgment.” Reign dangled Supergirl over the edge of the building. “And death.” They both looked down for a moment. “And I will Reign.” Without another word, Reign dropped Supergirl off the edge of the building, and Supergirl fell and fell and fell, making a crater in the sidewalk below when she landed.
The helicopters hovered in the air above her, and the people on the street surrounded her as she laid there unmoving.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Alex watched in horror as Supergirl was pummeled into the ground. She thought for sure her wife had this in the bag, but that was not the case as the cameras closed in on a closeup of the hero with blood streaming down the side of her face. Winn was already trying to contact the Legionnaires, but their comms were down while they were doing maintenance on the ship. J’onn flew to the ship to retrieve them, but by the time they got to the scene, Supergirl was down for the count. They pushed their way through the crowd and Liin delicately picked the blonde up and flew her back to the DEO as fast as he could. Alex and Eliza had a gurney ready for them, and Liin gently set Supergirl down and let the medical team take over. He had tears streaming down his face as he watched her be wheeled away.
“She’ll be OK,” Imra soothed him.
“I know,” he swallowed. “But it’s still scary to watch.”
“Yes, it is,” she agreed.
Brainy inserted himself into the medical ward where Supergirl was currently being intubated. “We need to get her to the ship,” he told them. “We can put her in one of the pods, and the super serum will help heal her.”
“I’ve got to get her stable first,” Alex replied distractedly. They continued to do what was necessary to take care of Kara, and when the Kryptonian’s vitals finally seemed to level off, Alex sat down on a stool with her head in her hands. “I'm so sorry, Angel. I did this. I mean, I'm the one that pushed you into that fight. I told you that Kara Danvers was my favorite person, and then I told you to forget who you were. And now I'm... I don't know if we can do this without you.” She choked back a sob and swiped at her tears.
“It’ll be OK, sweetie,” Eliza soothed, stroking big circles on Alex’s back. “She’s so strong. She’ll pull through.”
Alex didn’t answer. “Brainy? Are you ready?”
“Yes,” he replied seriously. “We’ll bring the ship back here to lessen the chance of anymore trauma.”
“Yeah,” Alex nodded. “There’s a helipad on the roof. You can just park your ship there, and we can bring her up on the elevator.”
“On it,” Brainy said, turning and leaving right away.
After a few moments, Alex registered her phone ringing. How long had it been doing that? She shook her head and answered it. “Maggie!” she exclaimed.
“Alex, please tell me she’s still alive!” Maggie whimpered.
“She’s alive, Maggie,” Alex soothed. “She’s alive.” The call waiting beeped on her phone. “Hold on, Lena’s calling me.” Alex clicked the button to allow Lena on the same call as Maggie. “Lena?”
Lena was sobbing hysterically on the other end of the line. “Alex?” she sobbed.
“It’s OK, Lena, she’s alive, OK?” Alex told her. “She’s alive. Badly beaten up, but alive. We’re gonna put her in a pod on the Legionnaires’ ship. It has a super healing serum in it, and it will help her heal faster. We’re gonna get our girl back, I promise.”
“I’m coming up there,” Lena said firmly.
“Me too,” Maggie agreed.
“OK. I haven’t had a chance to tell the kids yet,” Alex sighed. “So just wait in the briefing hall until we’re done taking care of Kara. We can tell them when she’s all squared away.”
“Where are they?” Maggie wondered.
“Downstairs in the training rooms. I didn’t want them running off and joining the fight,” Alex explained. “I’m really glad I did that too, because Kara is in a bad way, and I don’t want that happening to my little girls too. It’s bad enough it happened to anyone, especially poor Kara.” She sniffled and wiped a few more tears away.
“Alex?” Brainy called. “We’re ready.”
“I gotta go. I’ll see you guys when you get here. Love you.”
“Love you too,” Lena and Maggie echoed.
Alex hung up the phone, and she, Eliza and the medical team escorted Supergirl to the roof of the building where the ship from the future sat waiting for them. It didn’t take long to load Kara into the pod, and soon all that was left to do was wait.
Alex and Eliza stayed with Kara for a few more minutes before going downstairs to meet Maggie and Lena. When Alex found her wives, they hurried to her and hugged her tightly. “It’s OK,” Alex cried. “It’s OK. She’s gonna be OK.”
“Can we see her?” Lena asked, eyes bloodshot from crying.
“Yeah,” Alex nodded. “But let’s go get the kids first.” She took both of her wives’ hands and the four of them walked together to the training rooms. Alex knew they must look a fright from crying, and it was going to be a dead giveaway as soon as they walked into the room, but it couldn’t be helped.
Sure enough, as soon as they walked into the room, the twins knew something was wrong. They ran to their family and embraced them. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
“Mama?” Jamie squeaked.
“She’s alive,” Alex assured them quickly. “But she’s hurt really bad.”
The twins looked mournful, but they didn’t cry yet. “Where is she?” Jessie asked.
“Up on the roof in the Legionnaires’ ship,” Alex replied. “They have a special healing serum in the pods they slept in, so we’re gonna let her sleep in there for a little while.”
“Can we see her?” Jessie pleaded.
Alex took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. “You can, but I don’t know how you’re going to take it. She looks pretty bad.”
“I want to tell her I love her,” Jessie whimpered. “Even if she’s asleep, she still might be able to hear it.”
“I think she’d like that,” Alex nodded. “Brace yourselves. Are you ready?”
“Yeah,” the twins confirmed, their faces serious.
“OK, let’s go.” Alex led her family back up to the roof to the Legionnaires’ ship. Brainy opened the door to let them in, and the Legionnaires stepped outside to give them all some privacy.
When the Danvers saw the state that Supergirl was in, they all started crying. Kara’s whole face and neck was black and blue. There was a huge gash in the side of her head, her lip was broken open, and her suit was completely destroyed. Every slash and tear in the fabric revealed even more bruises, and Kara floated there in the pod lifelessly. The only sign that Kara was even alive was the fact that there were tiny bubbles coming out of her nose as she breathed.
“How can she breathe underwater?” Jamie asked.
Alex shrugged. “I’m not sure. I haven’t had a chance to ask about what’s in there yet, but I know it’s not water.”
“I don’t want to just leave her here,” Jessie whimpered.
“I know the feeling,” Alex frowned. “But we need to let Mama heal for a while.” She put her arms around her daughters. “Let’s go downstairs and have dinner, and we can come back up here and sit with her for a little bit. OK?”
The kids sighed. “OK.”
“We’ll be back, Mama,” Jamie said to the pod Kara was in.
“We love you so much, Mama,” Jessie added.
“So much,” the others echoed.
The group went downstairs to the mess hall, and Alex’s phone started ringing again. She didn’t even check who it was, she just put it on silent and put it back in her pocket. She knew she would have to talk to people eventually, but she didn’t have the energy to deal with all that right now. When Alex wouldn’t pick up, the others’ phones started ringing, but they put their phones on silent too.
Thankfully, the members of the DEO didn’t bother them while they were eating dinner. None of them talked much during their meal, and none of them could eat as much as they should have, but they were just too distracted by worry. When they were done, they took care of their trays and returned to Kara’s pod. They lingered for a while until the moms-to-be couldn’t stand around anymore and they had to go home and rest. It would be a restless night for everyone, but they had to at least try to get some sleep.
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