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“Of all the stupid things,” Lucy gives up on words, slams her hands on her dash.
“You alright there?”
Lucy holds up her hand to Maggie. “I’m not sure what was going through your head either.”
Maggie frowns at her, one hand slowly raising to press hers down and point to the road. “Can you,” Lucy places her hands back on the wheel, “thank you.” She sighs. “I didn’t expect her to go try and blow up Cadmus by herself. I at least thought she’d get Kara before trying that.”
Lucy presses down on the gas pedal further. “Kara’s there too.”
“She is?”
“Yes.” Lucy holds up her phone, tapping the speaker button as she selects the voicemail.
Kara’s voice is crackly, wind whipping her voice away. “I’m going to be a little late tonight Luce. I think- oh, okay, so Alex is in a ship?” Kara pauses for a moment. “A spaceship. That makes more sense Winn. Anyway, I’m going-”
A beep cuts her off, and Lucy stares down at the phone in her hands before dropping it in the cupholder.
“The Danvers sisters,” Maggie grins, and oh, Alex’s influence is in every inch of it, “they should come with a warning.”
When they pull up, they roll down their windows, both their mouths falling open.
“They’re going to need a warning once I’m done with them.”
By Alex is in a spaceship, Kara apparently meant Alex and a whole group of aliens are about to blast off through the galaxy unless she can push it down.
It sounds like a stupid idea to her.
Maggie’s smirk had slowly fallen from her face the closer they got to the warehouse’s location. Fire remains in its place, ash floating down from a smoky sky. The ship is hard to miss even in the dark, dark sky, the engine whirring loudly as it groans under Kara’s force.
She wants to shout, to yell at Kara, because god, she can’t do this again. Can’t watch Kara shoot up in the sky without knowing if she’ll come back down.
(She knows there’s only two options. Kara saves everyone, or they all lose the sisters and everyone on that ship.
She knows that Kara wouldn’t stop pushing, won’t stop trying to save her sister. Knows there’s no way for Kara to hold on once that ship accelerates.
She knows that either the ship lands or she’s going to watch Kara fall powerless from the sky.)
The feed in her ear is a mess. Alex trying to keep calm despite the hoarseness of her voice as Winn yells over the comms.
As his countdown continues, she wishes she could hear Kara.
The ship gets higher, higher, higher and Lucy realizes she can’t breathe right, a grip seizing her lungs, cutting off any air even though she’s gasping. A hand finds hers, Maggie’s eyes staying resolutely on the ship even as she squeezes their hands together.
(Lucy’s brought back to her father’s hand in her grip. Pain flaring in her head as they all watched Fort Rozz go up and up.
Kara didn’t come down.
But Alex went up.)
There’s a flash of white as the engines kick up and-
The ship levels out.
“Holy-” Maggie’s hand slips from hers as she drags her hands through her hair.
She ignores Maggie’s I think I’m going to be sick in favor of tapping her earpiece. “Winn, what’s happening?”
“You mean besides them not blasting off again?”
“Winn.”
“Oh, okay, you’re-” She thinks she hears him say irritated and angry. “I’m just gonna tell you what you want to know.” He mumbles under his breath before, “Okay, so Alex is trying to figure out how to land it which is so much easier when you’re not on a time limit, you know?”
“And Kara?”
“Her comm is still broke, but Alex says she’s okay.” Lucy heaves out a breath. “They’re okay Lucy. Alex is figuring out the controls slowly but surely. I- oh, she says she’s doing it fast enough.”
After pushing herself to drive faster, faster, oh, she wasn’t going fast enough- having to watch the ship slowly descend is almost anticlimatic. When it lands, Alex is the first one sprinting out, running towards the front of the ship, and Lucy scrambles after her.
Alex shouts up, hands cupping around her mouth. “Kara, are you okay?”
Lucy squints- is that? Kara’s arm flops over the edge. It’s Kara. Lucy breathes, she knows that groan anywhere, hears it every morning they have to get up to go to work. “I’m,” she sounds out of breath, too many seconds passing before she finishes with, “okay. I think.”
“Can you get down?”
“Mm, yep.” They all jump in shock when Kara simply rolls off the awning, almost eating concrete before floating at the last second to ease the impact. “There we go.”
Lucy scrubs her hands over her face before pressing them over her chest. If Kara could stop giving her mini heartattacks, she’d appreciate it.
Alex pulls Kara into her arms, pressing her nose into her hair. “You did it. I knew you could.” Lucy’s nails sink into her palms when she sees how limp Kara is, chin falling to her chest and fingers slipping from a weak grip on Alex’s arms.
She gives them a minute, Kara shifting only enough to duck her head under Alex’s chin and release a shaky breath. She drops to her knees then, wrapping her arms tightly around both of them.
“As a Director, I’m going to let J’onn handle your recklessness Alex. As your friend,” she hates how her voice breaks then, “I’m going to ask you to call me next time.”
Kara laughs, hand grasping at her shoulders to pull her closer. “And have two people I love about to speed off? No thanks.”
Maggie clears her throat, “Maybe next time, let’s have no one on the ship, okay?” Alex tips back her head to smile at Maggie, and oh, she thought Alex would be receiving stern glares and cold shoulders, but Maggie just gives her a relieved smile.
Lucy pulls Kara’s arm around her shoulder, Alex doing the same as they push upward to stand up. It’s a comforting weight, to have Kara leaning on her, solid and warm beside her.
She inhales deeply, breathing in Kara, a combination of smoke and ozone as Alex passes Kara to her to hug Maggie.
“I’m sorry,” Kara mumbles in her ear.
Lucy eases Kara’s hair from her face. “I know.” Kara hunches over, her jaw pressed against her temple. Lucy closes her eyes, still feels Kara’s chest rising and falling, thinks she’s here.
(She holds onto Kara’s hand the entire time.
As they ride home, Maggie and Alex in the front seats and pressed close together.
As they walk up the stairs together, for once Kara not skipping easily past her.
As she falls asleep, her hand gripping Kara’s tightly and she’s here, she’s still here.)
When she wakes up, she’s not.
There’s no warm, too warm body beside her or hand in hers. For a moment, the breath rushes out of her, fear feeling ice cold as it spreads through her body.
(Did she imagine it?
She’s too afraid to check her phone, to see reports of Supergirl going up in the sky with no return.
Not sure if it will be from last night or last year, but it terrifies her all the same.)
Until Kara peers out from the bathroom, toothbrush in hand. “My hearing is funny right now, so is that your heart or-” Her words trail off, eyes widening as she sees her grasping their sheets. “Lucy? What’s-”
“I’m fine.”
Lucy groans when Kara’s head creases, knows she won’t be getting out of it. She throws herself back against the pillows, presses a hand down over her chest to try and ease its rapid pounding. Kara disappears, blinking of out sight for one second before appearing at the edge of the bed, Lucy’s hair whipping up at the speed. “That’s totally believable.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Again,” Kara says as she slips up the bed, hovering over her and smiling down, “not suspicious at all.”
“I’m a trained agent, if I was lying, you’d never know.”
“Lucy,” Kara’s nose brushes hers, her hand cupping her face. “Tell me.”
“I thought you were gone,” she whispers, finds it coming more easily than she thought. “I woke up, and you weren’t here so I thought last night- that you-”
Kara shakes her head, the hand at her cheek trembling with the movement. “Oh Lucy, no. It’s- everything’s okay.”
“It almost wasn’t.”
“No,” Kara agrees, “but we got through it.” Lucy feels Kara’s smile spread across her face underneath her fingertips, “You and me?” Kara blinks, “and well everyone else too but, we’ll get through it. We always do. El mayarah.”
“El mayarah.”
(It’s more comforting coming from Kara, the dips and slopes of her language coming from Kara like only she can.
Familiar in the way that Kara whispers Kryptonian to her right before they fall asleep or on the bright mornings where Kara’s fully awake with the sun.)
“Bring the space trips down to a minimum though, Supergirl.”
Kara presses her lips against hers, smile still in place, and oh, Lucy can’t help her own until they’re more laughing with each other than kissing.
“Is that an order?”
Lucy’s wraps her arms around Kara’s shoulders to keep her there, only pulling away to say, “It is now.”
(And if Kara pressing her down to kiss her again is any indication, she thinks Kara agrees.)