Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Ma’am,” Agent Vasquez called out, “local news stations are reporting a plane circling the city with engine trouble.”

“Put it on the main display,” Alex Danvers ordered, standing from her workstation, coffee in hand. Sure enough, a large airliner with what looked like an engine on fire was flying at a low altitude over downtown National City. “Vasquez, what flight is that?”

“National City Airlines Flight 237 to Geneva, ma’am.”

Alex frowned. That was the flight she’d told Kara she would be on. She hated lying to her sister about her work, and particularly about her 96-hour duty shifts as acting director of the Department of Extranormal Operations. She’d been promoted a few months prior and it meant that, every month, she’d be in charge of the department for a few days, generally working out of the desert base. Director Henshaw had informed her that, if she wanted to advance in her career, she would be expected to put in the time, so she lied to Kara every month about her whereabouts. Alex didn’t like it, but it was a necessary evil. She cursed under her breath, as she’d chosen the Geneva flight by chance. There’d been a Women in STEM conference in Geneva that had caught her eye as a plausible cover. She’d picked out the flight because it would have been the last one out to Switzerland she could catch and still be on time for the conference. She’d bought a ticket for the flight and registered for the conference, too. The DEO was very thorough about covering its tracks.

“Any other federal agents on the flight, Vasquez?”

“Checking,” she said, tapping at her console. “None we’re aware of, ma’am.”

Alex put her coffee down and folded her arms across her chest, tapping the fingertips of her right hand against her left bicep in thought.

“Send out the rescue teams.”

“Ma’am?”

“Use the FBI cover,” she said, “but have them help with the search and rescue effort and have them take charge of the investigation. Liaise with the actual FBI and inform them we suspect potential alien involvement.”

Since she had supposed to have been on the flight, it wasn’t wholly out of the realm of possibility that there’d been a sabotage attempt with her as a target. They had several aliens being held prisoner and it wasn’t impossible that one or more of them had an associate or friend who wanted to exact revenge for their incarceration. It was better to be safe than sorry, she’d reasoned. This way, she could also offer as much help to the National City Police Department as possible. The poor local cops would be way out of their depth at the disaster management, anyway. There wasn’t anything else to do. The plane was doomed.

As Vasquez sounded the alert for six rescue squads to suit up and head out, Alex sighed and picked up her coffee. She was sipping at it when the fuzzy footage of the plane seemed to almost level out. She swallowed her mouthful of coffee. “Did they regain engine power?”

“Negative, ma’am.”

“Then how the hell is it… doing that?”

“I… I’m not sure, ma’am.”

She took another sip of coffee and spat it out as she watched the plane gain altitude and fly over the two central towers on the Otto Binder bridge. “What the hell is going on? Can we get a better visual?” she groused as she wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “Someone get maintenance in here,” she barked.

“Can’t get better visuals, ma’am, I’m sorry,” Vasquez said, as the plane then descended, landing in the river.

Alex squinted and saw a moving shape in the sky at the absolute far-right of the frame, which vanished a moment later.

“Get those teams out. I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Alex stalked towards the locker room. She needed to have a talk with her sister.

***

“I still can’t believe I did it!” Kara exclaimed breathlessly.

“Yeah,” Alex said, “neither can I.” And it was true. After years of being careful, of keeping a low profile, how could Kara do something so dangerous? “Are you okay?” she asked.

“Me?” Kara giggled, “am I — am I okay? Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“Were you scared?” Kara paused. “Well, I mean, I was scared, too, but you, you had to have been terrified, because you had no idea I was coming to save you!”

Alex sensed the start of a headache coming on. “Kara.”

“Did you think the landing was okay? The whole flying over the bridge thing wasn’t easy and I would have gone between the towers but—”

“Kara.”

She stopped and turned, looking at Alex.

“Kara, I wasn’t on the plane.”

 She blinked. “You…”

“I wasn’t on the plane,” she repeated.

Kara frowned. “But it was the flight to Geneva. You…” She looked up at her again. “Alex, you said you were going to Geneva.”

Alex swallowed. The moment she’d been avoiding for years had arrived. “I lied.”

“Why… why would you lie? To me?”

She inhaled and walked to Kara’s fridge and pulled out a beer, snapping the cap off with a nearby bottle opener. She took a healthy swig. “Kara, I… I’m a scientist, but not for the FBI.” She steeled herself. “I’m an agent for an organization called the Department of Extranormal Operations. The DEO.”

“An agent?” Kara’s forehead crinkled. “What… does that even mean?”

“It means I’m certified in a variety of weapons and combat skills, along with my science background. I’m the assistant director and I spend most of my time outside the city limits at a remote location, monitoring for…” She sighed. “For signs of extraterrestrial life.”

“What, like… like me? Like Clark?”

She nodded. “Aliens exist and not all of them are kind like you… or your cousin.” She swigged her beer. “It’s my job to protect the planet from any kind of extranormal threat.”

“So, when you told me you were going to Geneva…”

“It was a lie,” she repeated. “Every month, I have to spend four days at one of our bases, in charge of the department. The Director tells me I have to put in the time to advance my career…”

“Wait, this… lying to me wasn’t just a one-time thing? How long have you been lying to me?” Kara asked, clearly hurt.

“Kara…”

“How long, Alex?”

She blew out a breath and braced herself. “I’ve been working for the DEO for a couple of years.”

Kara looked as though she’d been slapped.

“Does Eliza know? Am I the only one who's been kept in the dark?” she asked, after a too-long silence.

Alex scoffed. “No way, no one knows, especially not Mom. And you can’t tell her,” she pointed at her with the tip of her beer bottle. “You can’t tell anyone, Kara.”

“What about Jennie?”

Alex exhaled at the mention of her girlfriend. “Not her either. Kara, I mean it, you can’t tell anyone.”

Her sister sat heavily on the sofa, her arms curling around her midsection.

Alex took another drink of beer for courage. “There’s one more thing.”

She looked up.

“You can’t ever do anything like that ever again.”

“What? Alex, I… I feel more alive than I ever have in all my time on Earth!”

“My department will find you and take you into custody and I won’t be able to stop them.”

Kara scoffed. “I thought you were like the assistant director or something.”

“Sure, but you don’t think I get overruled by my boss? Or by Congress? Or the president?”

Kara blinked. “The president?”

“The president.” Alex sat next to her sister. “Kara, they’re afraid of your cousin. And they're aware of you. They recruited me because of you.”

“What?”

She sat back and took another drink. “They occasionally communicate with  Clark, Kara. He’s the one who told them about you because otherwise, the DEO would have been there to get you out of your ship.” She sighed. “They’re the ones who suggested our family, because of Mom and Dad and their work.”

“And… and they think, what, that I’m evil?”

“No, no,” Alex said, cursing herself. She’d practiced the speech a thousand times over the years, but had never found the right words, as if the right combination of syllables might somehow erase the betrayal of trust. “Just… you have to keep a low profile, okay? Did anyone see you saving the plane?”

She shrugged. “I swam away from the plane underwater and was far enough before I flew away, I think. It's possible that some people saw me when I first reached the right wing?”

“Okay. We’ll worry about that later,” she said, putting the beer down. “But Kara, I’m serious. You can’t just… do that sort of thing, okay?”

Her sister seemed so small, so tiny in that moment. “I was… just… I thought you were going to die, Alex.” She looked up at her.

“I know, Kara. I mean, I appreciate it, obviously. And you saved a bunch of people,” she said. “It’s just that… the DEO will come for you if you do it again. We’re really lucky people haven’t figured it out, that the media hasn’t got some kind of image of you.”

“I…” Her sister sighed. “I’m kinda tired,” she said, “I, uh, I just carried a plane on my back… I’m gonna get some rest.”

Alex pulled back, realizing she was being dismissed. She gave a curt nod. “All right,” she said, standing up. “I love you,” she said.

“Me too,” Kara replied, pulling a blanket over herself and turning on the television.

Alex let herself out, locking the door behind her, knowing it hadn’t gone as well as it could have.

***

Rather than return to the desert base, Alex headed to one of the downtown office locations. The standard interview process of the passengers would take place the next day at the office building they rented out as an FBI field office. She wanted to keep an eye on those interviews to determine if anyone had seen Kara.

She got herself comfortable in the office she’d use when at that location and asked Vasquez if she could patch things through to her terminal there.

“All seems quiet, ma’am,” she said, over the comms, as the typical readouts and scan results appeared on her screen.

“Thanks, Vasquez. Appreciate it.”

“Of course, ma’am. I’m on duty until 0600, so please inform me if there’s anything else I can do for you.”

“Acknowledged,” she said, “Danvers out.” She tapped her earpiece and cut the active connection. She glanced down at the watch on the inside of her right wrist. It wasn’t even midnight yet, which seemed ridiculous to her. This day just wouldn’t end.

She pulled out her phone and scrolled through the messages with her girlfriend. Jennie was someone else she lied to regularly. However, she hadn’t told her she was flying to Geneva. She’d said she’d be spending time with Kara that weekend. Jen and Kara almost never spent time together and didn’t communicate with one another without Alex, so it had been a fairly safe lie, since Alex would be reachable throughout the weekend. They were independent enough in their relationship that it wasn’t odd or unusual for them not to spend the night together. In fact, they spent more nights apart than together. Alex hadn’t ever thought about it until Jennie had brought it up two or three months prior. Still, despite Jennie having a full life outside her relationship with Alex, Alex’s job was a frequent source of tension between them. That’s why she hadn’t used the work conference as a cover for her girlfriend, since that wouldn’t have been seen as “reasonable”, while work was something that Kara inherently understood as being important.

She sighed, thankful that she no longer had to lie to Kara, at least.

Hey, hope you had a good evening. Bedtime here, she texted. The lie came easily to her and she wasn't certain she liked being able to lie to her girlfriend with such aplomb.

yeah, had fun with the work gang. beat todd twice at pool so he bought me dinner lol!

She smiled. Glad to hear it. I’m not surprised, you’re crazy good at pool.

that’s what you get when you grow up skipping class so you can hang out in the local pool hall. ;-) so hey crazy shit with that plane right? did you hear anything?

Alex chewed her lip. She’d already decided what to tell Jen, but telling Kara had made her feel… lighter, perhaps? It was a relief to come clean to her sister, despite the fact that Kara was angry with her. Still, she’d thought about telling her girlfriend. What could it be like to have the ability to talk to her girlfriend about her day and not lie? She sighed. Whatever her decision, it wouldn’t do to tell her via text message.

No, but interviews should happen this weekend. We took over the investigation, so I’ll go in tomorrow and see if I can help. As soon as she sent it, she realized it was a mistake. She shouldn’t have mentioned going in to work.

Alexandra Danvers, don’t you dare go in tomorrow.

Alex winced but tried to play it off with some humour. Ooh, the full name treatment. You must mean business. ;)

Alex, I mean it. spend time with your sister. it'll be good for you and her. socialize with people outside work.

Fine, fine, Alex responded as she lied, yet again, I won’t go in tomorrow.

good. tell your sister i said hi and that we should get lunch sometime.

I will. Goodnight, sweet dreams.

goodnight, sweetheart. sleep tight. xo

xo

She tossed the phone on to her desk and sighed. They’d been dating for just over a year. Wasn’t she… wasn’t she supposed to want to spend time with her girlfriend? The situation was reminiscent of when she was still dating Bobby Warner back in college. He had been an obligation, a responsibility, someone who complained about the work she put into her studies. He wasn’t a bad guy, but she’d broken up with him and ended up at a party. She'd wound up kissing a girl on a dare and her life had changed drastically as she realized what she’d been missing all those years.

When she’d started dating Jennie, they’d been pretty much inseparable for the first few months of their relationship. Yet, over the last few, they’d spent less and less time together, mostly owing to Alex’s job, which she couldn’t be open about with Jen. She leaned back in her chair and, her elbows resting on the chair’s arms, she steepled her fingers in front of her. The relationship issues had begun with her promotion. Beforehand, there were the occasional complaints about long hours and weekends, but Alex could still bring up the subject of work to Jennie without getting yelled at.

They used to go away on short trips over the weekend at least once a month. When was the last time they’d done that? The last time they’d played pool together? Even gone to a movie? She couldn’t remember. Worse, she wasn’t so sure she’d missed too much of it, since things seemed strained more often than not with Jen. It was almost certainly her own fault for taking the promotion, for prioritizing work over her girlfriend. “I shouldn’t have to feel badly for wanting to do well in my job,” Alex muttered to herself.

She tucked aside her personal issues to set up a scan for various keywords to alert her to any important news regarding the plane. Then, she sent out an email to several agents, copying in the Director, informing them they’d be required the next morning at the office for interviews and told them what to look for. Specifically, anyone mentioning a person or theories involving a flying individual, who wasn’t Superman, should be flagged. She further informed them all they should isolate anyone who claimed such things as it dealt with classified information.

Alex had already explained to Director Henshaw why she wanted the DEO to take over the investigation, which was because it had been Kara who had saved the plane. All she’d received in response was “handle it, Danvers”. So at least he hadn’t ordered the DEO to take Kara in. Even so, it meant that she had to contain this. She was already apprehensive about anyone theorizing anything and had considered calling up Clark to ask him to lie.

Alex had snorted at herself. There was no way that the alien boyscout would lie, not even to protect the knowledge of Kara’s existence. After all, he stood for truth, justice and the American way, didn’t he? She scoffed. She was fairly certain her sister’s cousin would encourage Kara to do more, to become a hero like him. So she dismissed it and hoped that she could offer some other explanation, any kind of explanation, that didn’t involve her kid sister.

After sending the emails, Alex stood and turned out the lights in the office before sitting down on the small couch. She slipped her sneakers off and curled up on the sofa, hoping to get some sleep in. She drifted off, listening for any alerts from the computer terminal.

***

No alerts had sounded throughout the night, but Alex had slept terribly anyway, so she had trudged home for a quick shower and change of clothes. She’d decided on black slacks, a silky pale short-sleeved, scoop-necked top and a black blazer to complete the look. She studied herself in the mirror and determined that, yes, she looked like a good approximation of an FBI agent.

As she walked back to the office tower, she briefly wondered why she was assigned to the desert base 98% of the time. This three-block commute was one she could get on board with. She snagged a coffee from a vendor on her way and arrived at the office just after nine in the morning. Six agents at a time were taking passengers into various rooms for their interviews to collect their statements. Most of the interviews only lasted a few minutes, so they should be able to go through all 329 passengers before the end of the day. If, of course, none of the interviews got flagged by her team.

Each interview room had a mirror, behind which was another room where agents were recording the video and the audio and comparing notes. Alex spent her morning walking through those rooms, listening in on various interviews and reading through notes. There were two main theories the passengers had settled on. The first was that Superman had saved them, which wasn’t an unreasonable theory. Thankfully, Clark hadn’t gotten himself cornered by the media to deny the allegations, at least not yet. The second theory was that the pilots had executed a safe landing, against all odds. Alex nodded to herself. She could work with that. It would mean talking to the pilots, even just one, to get them to sell the story, but they could do that. There were various inducements she could offer.

While her team was conducting the interviews, the salvage teams were working to recover the plane, particularly the sections where Kara could have left hand-prints in the metal. Alex had given the teams explicit instructions to classify any evidence to that effect. The plane was a write-off anyway, so the airline was happy to let what they thought was the FBI work to recover the jet.

As the day progressed, Alex was increasingly confident she could pull this off. By mid-afternoon, she was convinced that the only thing that could endanger her cover-up was Kara.

Hey, she texted her sister. Just wanted to check up on you. Are you okay?

She didn’t respond. Alex sighed. It was probably for the best to let Kara cool down before she talked to her.

How’s your day going? she texted Jen.

good thanks! enjoying a beer and some bad tv shows from my couch. you? how's kara?

She’s good. We’re going to the movies soon. Just wanted to check in.

thanks sweetheart. hope you guys have fun. xo

xo

Alex slid her phone back into the inside jacket pocket, satisfied that her girlfriend wouldn’t suspect she was working and wouldn’t be likely to interrupt her for the next few hours. She walked back into the back portion of one of the interview rooms, where two of her agents were working. She looked out through the one-way glass at the sparse room. Seated at the table was a stunningly beautiful dark-haired woman, wearing blue jeans and a black leather jacket. She was drumming her fingers on the tabletop, looking somewhat bored as she waited for her interviewer to arrive.

“Who do we have here?” Alex asked, intrigued. She folded her arms across her chest as she gazed at the other woman.

“Uh…” One of her agents, Decker, flipped through a folder and found the relevant paper. “Margarita Sawyer, American, aged 29. She was in row 33, seat J,” he said.

“We have anything else?”

Decker shook his head. “We haven’t taken her statement yet. Edwards is heading in soon. I think she’s just finishing up with her paperwork from the last one.”

Alex nodded. She hadn’t stopped staring at Margarita Sawyer since she’d walked into the room. She was tempted to perform the interview herself, but recognized it would be best to let Edwards do it, since she’d been asking the same questions all day. Alex didn’t want to unduly influence Ms. Sawyer, after all.

A moment later, the tall, blonde agent walked into the room. “Hi there, Ms. Sawyer, thanks for your patience,” she said with a smile. She sat down across the small table from Sawyer and held out her hand. “I’m Special Agent Patty Edwards.”

“Detective Maggie Sawyer, NCPD,” she replied, taking her hand and shaking it.

Alex’s head whipped around to Decker. “An NCPD detective? Why weren't we aware?”

“I… I’m not sure, ma’am,” he muttered, “let me pull up more information.”

“You do that,” she spat, returning her attention to the interview.

“Detective,” Edwards repeated with a smile that belied her surprise. “Homicide? Vice?”

“Science Division,” Sawyer answered. “We handle all cases involving aliens and things that go bump in the night.”

Edwards smiled again while Alex frowned. “Science Division? Decker, what the hell, this should have been in the dossier!”

Decker turned red as he scoured his files for more information. Wisely, Agent Holmes kept her mouth shut as she monitored the recording equipment.

“How interesting,” Edwards said. “Well, now, Detective, I won’t take up too much of your time. First, I wanted to say we’re all so relieved that everyone on the flight is more or less all right. Were you injured in any fashion?”

Sawyer shrugged. “Some bumps, a few bruises. Had a wicked headache last night.”

Edwards took that down. “Concussion?”

She shook her head. “The ER docs checked me out, declared me concussion free.”

“Good, good, glad to hear it,” Edwards said, jovially. “Now then, would you please tell me what happened, from your perspective?”

“Sure,” Sawyer replied, crossing her arms across her chest and leaning back in her chair. “At 7:53pm, less than twenty minutes after takeoff from National City Airport, we lost one of the jet engines on the left side of the plane. I was in the lavatory at the time and was just leaving it when it exploded.”

Alex noted the precision of Sawyer’s words and felt a prickle of fear at the back of her neck. She had a terrible feeling about this interview. If Sawyer had seen anything to do with Kara…

Edwards was scribbling things down as quickly as she could. “It was an explosion, then? You saw it?”

“Well, there was a loud sound, which resonated through the entire plane. Then we dropped in altitude pretty fast, causing me to bang my head against the low ceiling in the bathroom. I re-entered the cabin and looked towards the left side of the plane and saw flames and smoke by the wing. I then got back to my seat and strapped myself in.”

Alex turned away for a moment to examine the table behind her to check the seat map. “33 J,” she murmured, “shit.” It was a window seat, directly behind the right wing. She looked back up, hands on her hips, and studied Detective Sawyer’s face, noting her body language. She was projecting confidence, on the verge of cockiness. Nothing was reassuring to Alex.

“I see,” the agent said, taking more notes. “Then what?”

“Well, naturally, pandemonium ensued, with people screaming. I talked down my seat mate, an older gentleman who was panicky, explaining that it was fine, we were still close to the airport and we’d probably make an emergency landing.”

“Have you been in an emergency in the air before?”

She shook her head. “No, but I know how to keep my head in emergency situations.” She shrugged. “Comes with the job.”

Alex crossed her arms across her chest again and drummed her fingers against her arm. Clearly, Sawyer wasn’t just some dumb cop. She nodded in approval for a moment. She might have liked to get to know her if the situation had been different. As it stood, Alex suspected that Detective Maggie Sawyer would ruin her cover-up around the flight.

“Please, go on.”

“The co-pilot came on to the speakers and announced we’d had an engine failure and that we were turning around to go back to the airport and not to panic. People still panicked. The co-pilot said though there had not been a loss of pressure, he was releasing the oxygen masks as a precaution.”

“Did you use one?”

“No. If there’s no loss of pressure, why would I bother?”

Edwards nodded. “Go on.”

“So over the next few minutes, we descended. It was faster than normal. By looking out the window, despite the wing covering most of my view, I could tell we wouldn't make it back to the airport. We were following the river and it appeared a water landing would be the best-case scenario. I took a moment to point out the safety features to my seatmate, and the emergency exit nearest to us, and he nodded. I was satisfied that he and I would be in good shape for an emergency evacuation if we landed in the water.”

“Did you know your seatmate?”

“Not at all. We had never met before. His name was Bill and I told him my name and helped calm him down.”

“Kind of you to take the time to reassure your neighbour,” Edwards commented.

She shrugged. “What else was I going to do?”

Edwards smiled. “What happened next?”

“A few minutes later, at 8:02, an engine on the right side of the plane exploded and we dropped in altitude so quickly, my seatbelt bruised me. At least I was strapped in so I didn’t crack my head that time,” she joked. “Had a great view. There was a huge fireball and plumes of dark smoke. That was the first time I thought panic might be an appropriate reaction.”

Alex listened intently, studying the detective, noting everything from her dimples when she’d laughed to looking for beads of sweat to break out on her forehead. She waited.

“As we descended even more rapidly, the co-pilot came back on saying we’d lost a second engine and telling the flight attendants to brace for impact. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and prepared myself for what I expected.”

“Which was?”

“Death,” she said, unfolding her arms and leaning forward. She clasped her hands in front of her on the table. “I thought about regrets. Former lovers. My family. That sort of thing. I accepted that I was about to die. But…”

“But?”

“Then we levelled out.”

Edwards scribbled down more notes while Alex held her breath. “And to what do you attribute that?”

She gave a slight shrug. “The alien woman who was balancing the plane at the right wing. A Kryptonian, if I had to guess.”

Alex swore. “Have Edwards finish up but keep Sawyer in there. I’ll go in for a follow-up. I need to tell the Director.”

Decker nodded. “Yes ma’am.”

“A Kryptonian? Do you mean like Superman?” Edwards asked.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean,” Sawyer said. “I think there’s another Kryptonian on Earth and I think she saved my plane last night.”

Alex stalked out of the room and down the hall into what served as her office. She pulled her phone from her jacket pocket and called her boss, knowing this wouldn't be a pleasant call.

“Agent Danvers, I’m hoping you’re calling to interrupt me with good news,” Henshaw said.

“Sir, at least one passenger saw a woman she identified as a possible Kryptonian outside the plane, levelling it out by holding on to the wing,” she blurted.

“Danvers,” he sighed, disappointment clear in his voice.

“Sir, we’re on it, I'll do the follow-up myself. The passenger is an NCPD Science Division detective and she already admitted to a head trauma, so it should be fine. We’ll fix this.”

“You’d better,” he warned. “And Alex?”

She blinked. He never used her given name. “Yes, sir?”

“Make damn sure your sister doesn’t pull any other stunts like this again.”

“Yes, sir. On it, sir.”

“Good. Keep me posted.”

“Yes, sir.”

The line went dead and Alex sat down on the couch, resting her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. She would need to bring her A-game to this follow-up interview with Sawyer.

She looked up at the sound of a knock on the open office door. It was Edwards.

“My notes, ma’am.” She swallowed nervously.

“It’s not your fault, Edwards,” Alex said, accepting the file folder. “Good job.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

Alex flipped open the folder when the agent left and skimmed the information. Somehow, she had to use this to convince Detective Sawyer that she wrong in her assessment of the situation. She stood, took a breath, squared her shoulders and walked out of her office and down the hallway to where the detective was waiting. Alex put her hand on the doorknob, took one last breath to brace herself and walked into the room.

With a smile, she made eye contact with the detective. “Detective Sawyer,” Alex said, “thanks for your patience today. We really appreciate it.” She turned and closed the door behind her and then approached the table, hand outstretched. “Special Agent Danvers.”

Sawyer reached out and gripped the proffered hand firmly and shook it once, twice, three times. “Nice to meet you, Agent Danvers. Now when can I get out of here?”

Alex kept her smile on. This would not be easy. “Well, now, Detective,” she said, “I’ve just been going through Agent Edwards’ notes here,” she said. She put the folder on the table, then pulled out the chair and sat down.

“Find anything interesting?”

“A couple of things,” she answered, looking into the deep brown eyes. “For example, I notice you stated you hit your head when the initial engine exploded.”

Sawyer’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, even someone as short as I am can be cramped in an airplane’s bathroom. Couldn’t really help it when we dropped what, like a thousand feet instantly.”

Alex nodded. “And you said the emergency room doctors cleared you, saying you had no concussion?”

“That’s right.”

“Any lingering symptoms? Headache, dizziness, nausea, sensitivity to light or noise, blurred vision?”

Sawyer folded her arms across her chest. “What, exactly, are you implying, Agent Danvers??”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, Detective,” she smiled. “I got my medical degree before joining the Bureau, so I'm just checking to make sure you’re all right. So, I ask again, do you have any lingering symptoms such as those I listed?”

She narrowed her eyes. “No. I'm fine. Great, in fact.”

“Excellent, that’s wonderful,” Alex said, trying to sound delighted, when, in actuality, her stomach started churning. If she couldn’t get Sawyer to doubt herself due to the head injury, she’d have to lie. A lot. And, from what she’d already observed of the woman, Sawyer wasn’t likely to take it well.

“So you’re in the Science Division at NCPD?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“It says here,” Alex looked at the scribble, “that you investigate, and I’m quoting here, ‘all things involving aliens and things that go bump in the night’.”

“That’s what I told Agent Edwards, yes.”

Alex gazed at Sawyer, steepling her fingers in front of her mouth. “What sorts of things regarding aliens?”

“Anything, really,” Sawyer said, uncrossing her arms. “You might think it’s primarily based on aliens committing crimes, but our statistics show overwhelmingly that it’s humans who commit crimes against aliens.”

“Do you know any aliens personally?”

“I’ve met dozens.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Do you interact with them in a non-professional setting?”

“I don’t see it’s any of your business, Agent Danvers.”

“Aliens who don’t go through the proper channels are in National City illegally, as you should know, Detective.”

“What I do off the clock, so long as it’s within the bounds of the law, is none of your concern,” Sawyer retorted, leaning forward across the table. “Except when I’m on a flight to Geneva for a conference and apparently get flagged because I said I saw a Kryptonian out my window.”

“And what makes you think, if there was anything to see in the first place, it was a Kryptonian? That’s rather specific.”

Sawyer scoffed. “First of all, I know what I saw. Second, the being outside the plane was…” She held up her left hand and ticked off points with each finger, starting with her thumb. “A) flying, b) super-strong, c) able to withstand the heat and smoke from the burning engine, d) human in appearance, e) not Superman.” She rested her hands on the table in front of her. “True, I didn’t see any heat vision or frost breath, nor did I witness super speed, but the flying alone eliminates the vast majority of known aliens species. The super-strength and the seemingly indestructible nature of this individual seem to point to traits commonly exhibited by Kryptonians under the influence of a yellow sun. And, finally, the being was human in appearance but wasn’t Superman. All of this evidence supports my claim that there is a second Kryptonian on Earth who saved the plane.”

Alex considered the best way to tackle the rest of the conversation. “And what if I told you, Detective, that the pilots had performed a maneuver to give them a little bit more lift?”

She snorted. “I’d say that sounds like one hell of a cover story.”

“But you find a second Kryptonian on Earth to be more believable?”

“I know what I saw,” she said, stubbornly, crossing her arms across her chest again.

“You are aware, aren’t you, Detective, that Krypton exploded decades ago?”

“Yes.”

“And that Superman has repeatedly identified himself as the sole survivor of his world?”

“Yes.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “And how would you reconcile his prior statements regarding Krypton with what you claim to have seen?”

“Simple,” Sawyer smiled. “Superman was wrong. Or he was lying. Either way, I'm positive that the woman I saw saved the plane and, to do so, she had to be Kryptonian. No other alien race fits that description.”

“What about an alien species who can change how they appear?” she challenged.

“What, like a Martian?” The detective shook her head. “Obviously, yes, they can fly. And sure, since a Martian can change how they look, I’ll even give you that,” she nodded, unfolding her arms. She leaned her forearms on the edge of the table. “I could even believe a strong Martian could save a plane. But the invulnerability?” Sawyer shook her head. “No way, not a chance. Martians, either White or Green varieties, if there even are any Green Martians left, don’t hold up under extreme heat, especially fire.”

“No other species come to mind?”

Maggie shook her head. “And don’t even try to sell me on the idea of an Andromedan. The woman was blonde, possibly a brunette, but not a redhead and not as pale-skinned as an Andromedan would be.”

“You’ve given this some thought,” Alex said, somewhat surprised.

“I’m good at what I do, Agent Danvers.” She looked at Alex. “I’m willing to bet you are, too. So why don’t you just read me in?”

Somehow, Alex maintained her stoic gaze, despite being taken aback. “Read you in to what, Detective?”

“Read me in on the new Kryptonian and I’ll sign a non-disclosure agreement and I’ll get out of your hair.”

She blinked as she briefly considered the offer and realized her mistake when Sawyer grinned. “Is that a yes, Agent Danvers?”

Alex closed the folder in front of her and stood, the legs of the chair scraping against the floor as it moved backwards. “I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said, impassively. “Can I send in someone with a bottle of water? A coffee?” she asked as she picked up the folder.

Detective Sawyer leaned back in her chair, clasping her hands behind her head and placing her feet up on the table, crossing her right ankle over her left. “Water would be great, thanks. Take as long as you need to clear it with your superiors, Danvers. I can be patient.” She smiled brightly at Alex, her dimples coming out in full force.

“Water it is, Detective. I’ll be back soon.” Alex let herself out of the room and closed the door behind her. She sighed and asked an agent at the door to get Sawyer a bottle of water, while she went back down the hall to her office to consider the detective’s offer.

She tossed the folder on to her couch and sat down in her chair at her desk. On the one hand, telling the detective about Kara, in the vaguest terms, and having her sign a non-disclosure agreement was the best course of action. That another Kryptonian had survived Krypton’s destruction could easily become public knowledge without the NDA.

It would, however, confirm to someone that Kara existed and she bristled at the very thought. It was inconceivable to Alex that telling someone about Kara was the right thing to do. She’d spent years, more than a decade, being told to protect Kara, being told to keep her secret. Her own girlfriend wasn't even aware.

She ran her fingers through her short hair and took a deep breath. She had to think about this rationally. If it had been any other alien, would she be this wary of confirming things to the detective? Or was it because this was Kara? For the first time in her career, Alex felt as though she couldn’t separate the personal from the professional. Years of lying to Kara, lying to her mother, lying to Jennie, none of it had been at all as difficult as this choice in this moment. The goal was to prevent exposing Kara, so why couldn’t Alex just accept the deal and read in the detective?

She blew out a breath and took out her phone, calling the Director for the second time in an hour.

“Agent Danvers,” he rumbled, “please tell me you've dealt with the detective.”

“Director Henshaw, sir, I couldn't convince Detective Sawyer that she was mistaken in what she’d seen.” She paused, waiting for the inevitable rebuke.

“And?”

“And,” Alex said, with a sigh, “she said if we read her in on this second Kryptonian, she’d sign a non-disclosure.”

“Well, what are you waiting for, Danvers?”

She swallowed. “Sir, I just… I feel…” She sighed. “My whole life, sir, I’ve spent so much time and effort to make sure no one knows about Kara. This… it feels wrong, somehow. It feels like I’m, I don’t know, not protecting Kara.”

“The detective wants to sign an NDA?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then telling one person so that the one person doesn’t tell dozens, hundreds, thousands more is still protecting your sister, wouldn’t you say?”

She opened her mouth to argue, but words failed her. “I guess.”

“Email me with a copy of the signed NDA. You can use the Level 2 Incident template for it.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, sighing.

“Danvers.”

“Sir?”

“You won’t win every battle. I'm aware this must feel as though it’s an unacceptable compromise, but it’s the lesser of the two evils,” he said, reassuringly.

She took a breath. “Thank you, sir.”

“Email me the copy when you get it, Danvers. Good work.”

With that, he disconnected. Alex stared at her phone for a moment, thinking. He was right. It still didn’t feel good, but he was right. As he usually was. She printed out two copies of the fourteen page Level 2 non-disclosure agreement, tucking them into her folder. She snagged a pen from the desk and, feeling somewhat better, walked back to Sawyer’s interview room.

Once again, she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders before entering the room. The detective was standing in the corner, opposite the door, arms folded, leaning against the wall, and, for a moment, her attractiveness distracted Alex. She composed herself and closed the door behind her.

“Detective Sawyer,” she greeted, indicating the table with her hand.

“Agent Danvers,” she responded, smiling, as she took her seat.

Alex sat down and opened the folder, placing one copy of the NDA in front of her. “This is a standard non-disclosure agreement which states, among other things, that you may not inform anyone of the nature of our conversations regarding National City Airlines Flight 237.”

Sawyer nodded.

“Upon violation of the agreement, you would be taken into custody and held by the FBI for questioning as we determine the nature of the breach.”

“I’m not gonna tell anyone, relax,” she smiled.

Alex looked up at her.

“So you gonna tell me who that was?”

She exhaled. “You were right. There is a second Kryptonian on Earth.”

“Obviously,” she chuckled.

“She saved your plane last night. We would have liked it if she hadn’t revealed herself, of course.”

Sawyer stared at her. “Right, sure, because over 300 people dying is preferable to revealing that another Kryptonian exists on Earth,” she scoffed. “It’s been a long while since someone told me they wished I was dead to my face, Danvers. Thanks for that.”

She paused. “My apologies, Detective, that’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean?”

“I meant that it would have been better if she hadn’t had a reason to risk revealing herself.”

“Right.” Sawyer’s tone indicated that she didn’t believe Alex in the least.

She sighed and continued. “This Kryptonian doesn’t wish to be a public figure like Superman, which is why we’ve agreed to you signing an NDA. This agreement is contingent on no one else knowing what you saw. You haven’t mentioned it to anyone?”

“Just posted a pic on my Facegram account,” she said, casually.

Alex’s eyes widened.

“Whoa, whoa, relax, I’m messing with you,” she laughed. If not for the sheer panic flooding Alex’s body, she was sure she would have enjoyed the sound.

“So you haven’t told anyone?” she confirmed.

“No, I haven’t.”

“No one at work?”

“Nope.”

“Your boyfriend?”

She chuckled. “Danvers, I haven’t had a boyfriend since I was twelve years old.”

Alex raised an eyebrow, then understood. “Oh, uh, um…” She cleared her throat. “Uh, what about your, uh, your girlfriend?”

“Currently single,” she said, with a grin. “So no, I haven’t told anyone.”

Alex nodded, peering down at the text of her copy of the agreement. “Good.”

Sawyer smirked. “Good that I’m single?”

Alex snapped her head up to look at Sawyer. “Excuse me?”

She shrugged. “Just making a joke, Danvers.”

“I see.”

“So what if the Kryptonian puts on a cape to be a do-gooder like the big guy?”

She frowned. “What?”

“I mean, how does that affect my NDA? What if the Kryptonian makes herself a public figure after all?”

“That won’t happen,” Alex said, confidently.

Sawyer raised an eyebrow. “Uh huh. Okay.”

She shook her head. “There were specific circumstances that led to last night’s rescue,” she said, “and the chances of something like that happening again are extremely slim.”

The detective bit her lip as she gazed at Alex, clearly thinking. “Why is the FBI handling this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if the FBI takes over an incident like this, it’s because you presume there’s a terrorist link.”

“And?”

“So what’s the link?”

Alex shrugged. “We’re not sure yet, but we have substantive information that could mean an agent was the target.”

“An agent was on the plane?”

“Not as far as we're aware.”

Sawyer frowned. “Then how was an agent the target?”

“That’s classified.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I get it. An agent was supposed to be on the plane.”

Alex blinked. “Uh, no, that’s, uh—”

“And the agent has ties to the Kryptonian.”

She sat there, stunned, hoping it wasn’t written all over her face.

Sawyer looked at her as though she were obtuse. “It’s obvious, Danvers, come on. If the agent was supposed to be on the plane and you have information that implies that the agent was a target, what would cause the Kryptonian to save the plane? The only logical reason is that someone the Kryptonian cared about was on that plane.” She beamed, dimples in full effect. The detective was clearly happy with herself.

Well, shit, Alex thought to herself.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to confirm it,” she said. “Where do I sign?”

Alex indicated the spots for her to initial and sign on both copies, counter-signing the first as Sawyer signed the second, then quickly counter-signing that copy, too. She slid the second copy back to the detective. “That one’s yours,” she said.

“So is that it?”

She nodded and stood from the table. “That’s it. You’re free to go, Detective,” she said.

Sawyer rose from her seat and smiled at Alex. “Been a long day for you, Danvers?”

“Uh, yeah, you could say that.”

“You have much left to do?”

“A mountain of paperwork, finishing up some interviews, that sort of thing, yeah.” She frowned. “Why?”

She shrugged. “Was just wondering if you wanted to go get a drink.”

“Excuse me?”

“No big deal, just wanted to see if you wanted to go get a drink.”

“You want to get a drink with me?”

“Yeah, with you,” she chuckled.

Alex frowned as she tried to understand what on earth was going on. Was Sawyer asking her out? On a date?

“And I’ll take that as a no. No worries,” she said, cheerfully, picking up the agreement. “Thanks for the NDA and for a fun follow-up interview.” She strode to the door and opened it. Before walking through it, she turned back to face Alex. “See ya ‘round, Danvers,” she said and let the door close behind her.

Alex was a bright crimson. She could sense the heat rising through her chest all the way up to her hairline. She turned to the mirror in the room. “Don’t even,” she muttered to Decker and Holmes through the glass. “Not a word.”

***

hey sweetheart, wanna go for dinner?

Alex sighed at the text. It was late Monday afternoon and her 96-hour shift at playing director was just about over. The last thing she wanted to do was go out. All she wanted to do was crash in her own bed, alone, and sleep for twelve, uninterrupted hours. She was tired, particularly after having convinced not just one, but both the pilot and the co-pilot to explain away the sudden levelling out and altitude gain. Still, she was at the downtown location, finishing up paperwork, so it’s not as though she was far from her apartment. She sighed and tapped at her phone.

Sure, but it’s been a busy weekend with Kara, so I don’t want to be out too late.

okay. i've missed you.

She sighed. Jennie was a wonderful person. She loved her, but was the relationship reaching its expiration date? Alex had her doubts and it had been rather apparent that weekend, as she did her best to dodge her girlfriend’s calls and texts. Was it a repercussion stemming from lying to her and not being able to tell her the truth about what she did, about Kara, about anything of significance in her life? They’d been dating for a year and yet, if asked, Jennie wouldn’t be able to name a single, real, true thing about Alex’s life. Wasn’t a partner someone you could share things with? Feelings? Events? Concerns? She definitely didn’t have that since she couldn’t confide in Jennie. Alex sighed and sent out a response.

Come by my apartment around 6:15?

see you then. xo

xo

It was half-past five when Alex left the office building, officially relieved by Director Henshaw. She had strict orders not to show her face at work until nine in the morning on Wednesday. Maybe she’d stop by Catco on Tuesday and see how Kara was doing. She still hadn’t heard from her sister beyond a text saying she was fine.

After a quick shower, Alex was feeling more human. Clad in blue jeans and a plaid shirt, she was just brushing her hair when she heard the knock at her door. She left the bathroom and walked through the living room to peer through the peephole. Standing there, all five-feet-eight-inches of beauty, was Jennie.

She opened the door and Jennie smiled. “Hey, gorgeous,” she said, coming in and slipping her arms around Alex’s waist.

“Hi,” she said, sliding her hands up her arms and behind her neck. She lifting her head up for a kiss from the taller woman.

“Mmm, I missed you.”

Alex smiled and stepped out of the embrace to grab her jacket. “Where do you want to go for dinner?”

“Ooh, you know what was great?” she said, as she put her long, red hair up in a ponytail. “The place I went for drinks with work the other night.”

“Sure, sounds good.”

Fifteen minutes later, Alex was in what could only be generously called a dive bar. Still, it had Barenaked Ladies playing over the speakers, so it couldn’t be all that bad. She and Jennie snagged a booth together.

“I'm aware, it looks like a dump,” Jennie laughed. “But trust me, the food is tasty and the atmosphere is fun.”

“Cool.” She browsed through the menu. “So how was your day?”

“Oh, the usual,” Jennie responded, setting her menu aside. “I had a few client meetings, then a few internal meetings. I still hate Abodo with all of my heart and soul.”

Alex made a face. “They’re still giving you trouble?”

“They still yell at me at 10am every Monday morning on our weekly call.”

“Can’t you, I don’t know, fire them as a client?”

“I wish. They’re our sixth-largest client, though, so my boss told me I have to just deal with it.”

“Sorry, Jen,” she said, reaching out and squeezing her girlfriend’s hands with her own. “That sucks.”

She shrugged. “I’ll live. I’ve started timing how long my contact bitches for before he lets me get a word in edgewise. You know, making it a game.” She grinned. “The current record is over six minutes.”

Alex laughed. “That’s impressive.”

“Caspian does love to talk.”

She snorted. “I still can’t believe his name is Caspian.”

“Right? I thought we would get along because I love the Narnia books.” She shook her head. “Could not have been more wrong.” She smiled and pulled Alex’s hands up to her lips and kissed her knuckles. “So how about you? How was your day? Any news on the plane?”

She shrugged. “Oh, the usual, boring as always,” she lied. “Turns out the pilots pulled some kind of emergency maneuver that gave them just a bit of lift, enough to clear the bridge and land safely in the river.”

“Huh. So any news on why the engines exploded in the first place?”

Alex smiled as she shook her head and pulled her hands back. “Jen…”

“I know, I know,” she said, raising her hands in mock-surrender, “it’s all classified. You can’t blame a girl for trying!”

“I guess I can’t,” Alex admitted.

They continued to chat about various things throughout their dinner. Alex enjoyed talking to Jennie. She was smart, she was funny, she was interesting. Still, Alex felt stifled. As she listened to her girlfriend, she again gave serious consideration to letting Jennie in on the secrets in her life. It would require clearance from Director Henshaw, a non-disclosure agreement and, scariest of all, the faith that Jennie wouldn’t hate her. Given how things had been going for the last little while, the chances of Jennie not feeling betrayed were slim. It would be so much easier if she could just tell people at the outset of the relationship instead of when she deemed they were serious enough. Not that Alex would easily do even that, if she were being honest.

No, Alex’s preferred modus operandi was to keep everything to herself to protect those around her. She was well-aware it was a failing of hers and it could be the reason that this was the longest romantic relationship she’d ever been in. The one time in her life she’d been to a therapist, the message conveyed through the six sessions was that Alex needed to open up to people more. The therapist had encouraged her to make herself more vulnerable with others to feel more connected. Alex had scoffed at the notion, but had been revisiting the idea over the last few days.

Jennie drained her beer. “I have to go to the bathroom,” she said, snapping Alex out of her deep thoughts. “Wanna rack up a table for us?”

“Oh, right, like I want to get my ass handed to me,” she joked.

“You never know, Alex, tonight might be your lucky night.” She stood and kissed Alex on the top of the head before heading off to the bathroom.

Alex picked up her beer bottle and wandered over to the pool tables. She picked the only one that was available, closest to the door, and set her beer and jacket down on a nearby table. Methodically, she placed the balls into the triangular rack, a satisfying thunk with each. Solid, stripe, stripe, solid, eight, solid, stripe, solid, stripe, stripe, solid, stripe, solid--

“Danvers! Fancy meeting you here!” came a vaguely familiar voice from behind her, causing her to fumble the fourteen ball she had in her hand. It rolled down the length of the table as she turned around to see Detective Maggie Sawyer standing there.

“Earth to Agent Danvers, come in Agent Danvers,” she chuckled, waving her hand in front of Alex’s face.

“Uh, hi, yeah, sorry, uh…” She transferred the five ball from her right hand to her left and held out her now-free right hand to the detective.

She took it and shook it firmly for a moment before releasing it and putting her hands on her hips. “So what brings you to the finest drinking establishment in all of National City?” she asked, a smile on her lips.

“Uh.” Alex blinked. “Uh, just came by for a drink or two and some food,” she said, feeling the fringe flutters of panic dancing in her stomach. There was no way she would avoid introducing Sawyer to Jennie unless Sawyer left the table immediately. Even then, she was certain the detective would notice Alex and Jen playing pool together and who knew what that would lead to?

This was bad. It was so bad. Hopefully it wouldn’t somehow get worse.

“Can I interest you in a game?” Sawyer asked, indicating the table with a wave of her right hand.

“Uh,” she said, turning to look towards the bathrooms, “uh, I’m…” She cleared her throat. “I’m kinda, here… with, uh… someone.”

Sawyer smirked. “Oh, is that why you turned me down for drinks the other day?”

Alex felt her face fill with blood, the blush rising. “I, you know, I-I, uh, didn’t actually, like, say no,” she stammered.

The detective tilted her head to the right and raised her eyebrow. “Oh, so I read you wrong?”

“Hey sweetheart,” Jennie said, coming up next to Alex, slipping her left hand into Alex’s right. “Who’s this?” she asked in the tone that Alex recognized as being the false, sickly-sweet tone she used when she was annoyed.

“Detective Maggie Sawyer, NCPD,” she said, holding out her hand.

“Jennifer Pearson, Alex’s girlfriend,” she replied, taking the detective’s hand.

“Danvers, you didn’t mention you had a girlfriend!” Sawyer said, excitedly, as she shook Jen’s hand. “What a pleasure to meet you, Jennifer.”

Jen turned to Alex and let her hand drop from Sawyer’s. “You didn’t mention you had a girlfriend?”

Alex cleared her throat. “It was, uh, you know, a, uh, a work thing, so, uh, it wouldn’t… it wouldn’t have been appropriate.”

“To be fair, she was interrogating me pretty thoroughly, Jennifer. It’s not like there was an opportunity to mention her partner, or I’m certain she would have,” Sawyer added, with a charming, dimpled smile.

“Interrogating you?”

Alex cut in. “Sawyer means I was asking her for all the information the NCPD had regarding potential terrorist threats and what they’ve previously seen in terms of sabotaging jet engines. She’s part of the Science division.”

“Oh,” Jennie nodded, “I see how that information would be helpful concerning the plane.”

“Uh, yeah, exactly,” Sawyer agreed.

“Maggie, I’m going to get another drink. Why don’t you join us for a drink or two? A game of pool, maybe?” Jennie asked.

Alex gave Sawyer a brief, wide-eyed look of panic.

“Oh, that’s so nice of you, Jennifer, but I can’t, I’m actually just leaving to meet up with some friends,” she said, apologetically. “How about next time?”

“Definitely,” Jennie said. “Another of those for you?” she asked Alex, indicating her beer.

“Please,” Alex smiled.

“Great. Be right back. It was a pleasure to meet you, Maggie.”

“Likewise!”

Jennie headed to the bar and Alex finally exhaled. “Thank you,” she said, seriously, “for going along with that.”

“Danvers, I don’t even have the words,” she chuckled, “first, you have a girlfriend? I was hoping you were family, but I wasn’t sure. And she doesn’t even know what you do? I wouldn't make things even more difficult and awkward for you, not once I realized that.” She shook her head. “Can you not tell her because it’s classified or what?”

Alex sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“It always is. You should tell her if you’re not, like, under an NDA,” she teased.

“I’ll take that under advisement,” Alex muttered. “But seriously, thanks. I appreciate you not…” She waved her hand ineffectually.

“Sure thing,” Sawyer said. “I’m gonna head out.”

“Didn’t you just get here?”

“Yeah, but I also just told your girlfriend I had to leave to meet friends.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Alex said, gently.

“No, but, uh, no offense, I don’t really think hanging out with you and your girlfriend would be my idea of a good time.”

“Gee, thanks,” Alex laughed.

“Nothing against you,” she said, with a smirk. “But I get jealous easily.”

Alex blinked at that.

“You’re cute when you’re oblivious, you know.” She grinned, showing off her dimples. “See ya ‘round, Danvers.”

“See ya,” she murmured, finding herself hoping that she would see the detective around again.

***

Alex found herself at the dive bar more regularly over the next few weeks. She’d been trying to spend more time with her girlfriend, trying to open up to her more. They usually ended up going to the bar together on Fridays, sometimes more often than just once a week. Each time they went, Alex half-hoped that she’d run into Sawyer, but also hoped that she wouldn’t, since she was always there with Jen. Sawyer’s words to her had stuck in her head.

At least she was back on speaking terms with Kara, so she’d gotten her sister to sign an NDA and had patiently answered all of her sister’s questions regarding the DEO and their mission. They delved into her own responsibilities, her job, and what being taken in by the DEO might mean. Kara was still on the fence about keeping a low profile and Alex had learned from experience that if she tried to force Kara in one direction, she’d stubbornly go in the other. To counteract that, she kept her answers simple and factual. She might have also deliberately let it slip that the DEO possessed a stash of kryptonite in their vault, which seemed to keep Kara from literally flying off and doing something foolish.

It was good to talk to Kara about things, Alex decided, as they arrived at the bar and grabbed a booth. Darla, the waitress, came up to them. “Where’s Jennie? Don’t tell me you two broke up!” she’d exclaimed. “But if you did, can I get her number?”

Alex laughed. Darla flirted with Jennie pretty regularly, though it was all in good fun. “Nice try, we’re still together. This is my sister, Kara. Kara, this is Darla.”

“Nice to meet you,” Kara said, adjusting her glasses.

“Ditto,” Darla replied. “What can I get you ladies?”

They placed their orders for drinks and Darla headed off to prepare them.

“Fun fact,” Alex said to Kara, in a low voice, “Darla’s an alien.”

Kara squeaked and whipped her head around to look at the waitress. “What? Really?”

“Really,” Alex confirmed. “She’s a Roltikkon. They can form telepathic connections with the dorsum of the tongue.”

“In English?”

“The top of the tongue.”

“So, like, if they lick someone, they can read minds or something?”

She nodded.

“How do you know this?” Kara looked at her pensively. “Are you cheating on Jennie?”

“What? No! Work!”

“Oh.” Kara considered. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

“Cheating on Jennie,” she scoffed.

“Well? You keep trying to figure out if you should tell her or not. Who knows if you’re exploring what else is out there?”

“I wouldn’t cheat on my girlfriend, Kara,” she said, sternly. “What on earth makes you think I’d even be capable of that?”

Her sister snorted. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

She opened her mouth to argue and then closed it. After lying to her sister for years, she didn’t have a leg to stand on. “I suppose not,” she conceded.

Darla came back with their drinks and took their orders. She was rather impressed by Kara’s order of three burgers, two sides of fries and an order of eight wings. Darla was just finishing up when Alex heard a somewhat familiar voice from behind her.

“Darla! I’ll have a beer, please!”

Alex froze in place almost comically, her beer bottle at her lips.

“Coming up, Mags.” Darla smiled at them both and headed back to the bar, oblivious to Alex’s reaction.

“What’s wrong?”

She put the bottle down. “Nothing, uh, nothing is, uh, nope, nothing… is…” She sighed as she saw Sawyer walk right up to the bar, not ten feet from their booth. “Shit.”

“Alex, what is it?”

She glanced at Sawyer. She was radiant, a huge smile on her face, dimples showing, her hair loose and flowing to her shoulders. “Uh,” she swallowed, forcing herself to focus. “Remember I told you that there was, a, uh, a witness?”

“You mean the cop?”

Alex nodded and glanced towards Sawyer.

“Oh. Oh!” Kara went wide-eyed.

“Relax. Breathe. You’re my sister. It’s fine. This is perfectly normal,” Alex murmured. “And maybe she won’t even—”

“Danvers!”

“… see us,” Alex finished, belatedly. “Shit.” She forced a smile. “Be cool.” She turned to face Sawyer. “Detective,” she greeted, as she walked up to their booth.

“It’s been a hot minute, Danvers, how are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m, uh, good, yeah, yeah, good,” she stammered, her mouth suddenly dry. She forced herself to swallow. “This is, uh, my sister, Kara Danvers. Kara, this is Detective Maggie Sawyer, NCPD Science Division.”

Sawyer looked over at Kara, her eyes narrowing for a moment before she stuck out her hand.

“Hi,” Kara said, shyly, shaking Sawyer’s hand tentatively.

“You keep surprising me, Danvers. First I find out you have a girlfriend, and now I find out you have a sister?”

Alex frowned at that. “Lots of people have sisters.”

Sawyer grinned at her. “Yeah, but I’m definitely a little surprised.”

“What, what’s… what’s surprising about Alex having a sister?” Kara asked, nervously.

“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” Sawyer smiled. “Hey, Danvers, can I borrow you for a minute?”

Alex glanced at Kara and then returned her gaze to the detective. “Sure,” she said. “Be right back, Kara.”

“Okay.”

She stood up and followed Maggie over towards the pool tables.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“So I left out a detail when you were interviewing me.”

Alex frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” she said, “you never asked, so I never volunteered.”

“What are you talking about, Sawyer?”

“You know you never told me your first name?”

Alex paused at that. “What? Is that the detail? I’m confused.”

“I’m getting to that. And no, you didn’t tell me your first name. You introduced yourself as Special Agent Danvers.”

“Okay…” She frowned again, trying to understand what the detective was talking about.

“And, because of that, I didn’t know for sure. Not until Jennifer introduced herself to me that time.”

“Didn’t, uh, didn’t know what for sure?” Alex didn’t know what Sawyer was alluding to, but she wasn’t feeling good about it.

“I didn’t know you were the one being paged at the airport to check in for the flight. They kept paging Dr. Alexandra Danvers,” she explained. “That’s what I didn’t offer up as information.”

Alex swallowed.

“Of course, the infamous Dr. Alexandra Danvers never showed up. And all that stuff happened to the plane. And then… the person I signed the agreement about did her thing because she thought Dr. Alexandra Danvers was on the plane, didn’t she?”

“I have no idea what you’re getting at, Sawyer,” Alex declared, hoping her denial would at least throw off the detective.

“I was going to the Women in STEM conference in Geneva, Danvers,” she said, stepping closer, stopping just outside of Alex’s personal space. “After Jennifer mentioned your name was Alex, I checked with my friend at the conference. Dr. Alexandra Danvers was registered. It was you, wasn’t it? You’re the agent who was supposed to be on the plane. You’re the reason why your sister did what she did.”

Alex did her best to remain calm, despite Sawyer’s deductions and her proximity. “My sister? You think… you think my sister…?” She made an angled forward motion with her hand and snorted. “You’ve seen my sister! Scrawny, nerdy… There is no way Kara could be mistaken for… what you think she is.”

“I know what I saw, Danvers,” she said, softly, gazing up into Alex’s eyes. “I’m still under the NDA. It’s okay.”

She returned the look, focusing on Sawyer’s brown eyes, on the empathy there, the compassion, the understanding.

“You can talk to me, Alex.” Her voice was gentle and kind and encouraging.

For a moment, Alex could imagine a world where she could share things with another person. For a moment, she could practically feel how much lighter the perpetual weight on her shoulders could be. For a moment, she thought that maybe, just maybe… Then, she came crashing back to reality. Alex bit her lip and shook her head. “I, uh, I’ve gotta go. I’ll see ya,” she said. She headed for the door. “Kara, we have to go,” she whispered, knowing her sister would hear.

“Alex, don’t go,” Sawyer called after her.

She didn’t stop until she was a block away, where she finally leaned against the brick wall of a nearby building, taking deep breaths, forcing the cool evening air into her lungs.

Sawyer was right, Alex acknowledged. She was under the NDA. She could have told her everything. And yet, she couldn’t even allow herself to confirm what the detective had logically deduced. The question that chased her was a simple one: why couldn’t she?

***

Alex had avoided the bar after that. She’d spent the rest of her evening alone, holed up in her apartment where she avoided Kara and ignored most of Jennie’s texts. After too much whiskey, she’d realized what had made her leave the bar. It was simple; she was tempted by Sawyer. Sure, the detective was attractive, but that wasn’t even the whole reason she was tempted. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t noticed the curve of Sawyer’s hips, the way her dimples appeared when she smiled a certain way, how Sawyer’s laugh was absolutely delightful. But it wasn’t what was tempting her. It was that she could have talked to her. She could have opened up to her. More than that, she wanted to.

It would have been wrong, she’d decided. Sawyer wasn’t her girlfriend. If there was anyone she should open up to, it should be Jennie. So, after more than a year, she was ready to take the risk of telling her everything.

After her next 96-hour shift at the DEO, after another weekend of lying to Jennie, Alex was done. She’d gotten Henshaw’s permission and printed out two Level 1 DEO non-disclosure agreements, both already counter-signed by the director.

Alex hadn’t even texted Jennie as she headed over on her motorcycle, the paperwork in a file folder in her backpack. She didn’t want to give herself any opportunity to back out. She would not accept any excuses. Tonight was the night.

She arrived at Jennie’s apartment, 409, and knocked.

“Alex?” Jennie asked, through the door, as she looked through the peephole.

“Hey,” she said, smiling.

Her girlfriend opened the door. “Hey, you,” she said. “Uh, did I miss a text or something?”

Alex lifted herself up on her toes to kiss Jennie lightly. “No, I, uh… I just wanted to see you.”

Jennie blinked. “C’mon in,” she said, pulling the door open all the way.

Alex walked in and her stomach started to churn. This was it. She was going to tell Jennie. She was terrified of the possibility of rejection, but buoyed by the hope she could, finally, have a partner with whom she could share things. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her chest, she wondered if it was audible.

They sat down in the nearby living room, facing each other on the couch.

“You know, I’m glad you’re here, actually,” Jennie said.

“Me too,” she said, excitedly, as she dug through her bag.

“Alex…”

There was something in the tone of Jennie’s voice that stopped her in her actions. Alex looked up. “What? What’s wrong?”

Jennie took a breath. “Alex, I think we need to accept that this just isn’t working anymore.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

The redhead stood and walked away a few paces before turning back to Alex. “I mean,” she sighed, “we hardly see each other anymore. And when we do, you appear as though you’re on another planet. You’re not present. You don’t talk to me. We barely spend the night together anymore… I can’t even remember the last time we had sex.” She folded her arms. “Do you realize we texted exactly twice during this weekend while you were away with Kara?”

“Jennie, I can, look, just listen, sit down, let’s talk about this and I can explain.”

“Explain what? That you regularly go off with your sister and don’t even think to invite me? That you have no desire to tell me what’s going on with you? I’m not an idiot, Alex, it's obvious that you’re dealing with something. I can only assume it’s work-related and so it’s classified. But that doesn’t mean you can just freeze me out.” She ran the fingers of both hands through her hair, frustrated. “Limerence fades, it’s fine. It’s normal.” She took a breath. “So, let’s just go our separate ways.”

She shook her head. “Jennie, no, c’mon, I—”

“I had a lot of time to think about it over the weekend, Alex, since you were too busy to check in much.” She crossed her arms and set her jaw. “I, uh… I’ll pack up a box with anything you might have left here and I’ll text you later in the week and we can do an exchange.”

“Jennie,” she said, standing up, taking a few steps over to her. “Jen.” She placed her hands on Jennie’s upper arms, gently holding her. “Come on. Can we talk about this?”

She shook her head. “The fact is, Alex, you haven’t been in love with me for a long time. And, if I’m being honest, it’s been a while since I’ve been in love with you.”

Alex slumped, dropping her arms to her sides. “So that’s it? This is how we end?”

“We’ve been over for a long time, Alex,” she said, softly.

She forced herself to inhale, pushing away her feelings for a moment. She walked back over to her bag and slung it over her shoulders. “Bye, Jennie.”

“Bye,” she said, brushing away a tear with the back of her hand.

Alex swallowed and walked out of the apartment, down the stairs and out of the building, all the while trying to hold back her own tears. She knew Jennie was right, but she couldn’t help but think that if she’d gone to Jennie beforehand, she might have been able to save the relationship.

She allowed herself a moment or two of weakness to let the tears escape before she pulled on her helmet. There was only one place she could think of going, and it wasn’t home. She got on her bike and drove.

On the way, she let her brain process what had just happened. She’d been so close to revealing everything to Jennie. Everything. She’d even decided that if things had gone well with the job-related stuff, she’d have told her about Kara. Less than an hour ago, she’d been ready to open up to Jennie in a way she’d never done with anyone else. And now… She scoffed aloud at herself. How could she have been so stupid to nearly read Jennie in like that? Disaster averted, she supposed. Jennie clearly wasn’t someone who could be trusted with that kind of information.

Or, she considered, as she took a tight turn on the bike, it was possible she’d just waited too long. Nothing Jennie had said was wrong, if she were being honest. She hadn’t shared things with her, they had become increasingly estranged, both emotionally and physically. Alex sighed. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d slept together either. As to being in love… She knew she loved Jennie, as a person, but she also recognized it was true. She wasn’t in love with her anymore.

Limerence, then? Was that all it had been? It sure seemed like it. But could she have changed it if she hadn’t waited more than a year to trust her?

Alex pulled up to the bar, dismounted and secured her helmet before heading inside. She needed a drink. Possibly several drinks.

Once inside, she looked towards the booths for a free one, when she spotted a familiar face sitting alone. Sawyer.

It changed her mind about drinking alone and she slid into the booth across from the woman. “Detective Sawyer.”

“Danvers!” she exclaimed with a smile. “Wasn’t expecting to see you. It’s been a while.” She paused. “I, uh… You know, I, I wanted to apologize for the whole Kara thing, the last time we saw each other.”

“It’s fine.”

“No,” she said, leaning her forearms on the table. “It wasn’t my place. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Alex repeated. “You were right, anyway.”

“Well, I knew I was right, Danvers,” she chuckled. “I just thought I was out of line to sort of confront you like that.” She smiled. “I’m sorry. Okay?”

She nodded in acknowledgment. “Okay.”

Sawyer tilted her head to the side. “So if she’s your sister, then…?”

Alex smiled at the unasked question. “Adoptive sister.”

“Ah.” She took a drink of her beer. “So, what brings you here?”

“I was wondering if you still wanted to take me out for a drink.”

Sawyer frowned. “Uh…”

“You asked me out for a drink. I could really use one, so I’m cashing in, if the offer’s still good.”

“Uh,” Sawyer cleared her throat, “yeah, sure, okay.” She tilted her head to the side. “You okay?”

“Fine.”

“Does, uh… does Jennifer know you’re here?”

“Nope.”

She rubbed the fingers of her right hand across her chin, clearly considering Alex’s uncharacteristic responses. “Well, should you tell her?”

“Nope.”

“Don’t you think she’ll put out an APB for you if you don’t?”

“Not likely,” Alex muttered. “We broke up.”

“Oh my God, what happened?”

“She dumped me.”

“She dumped you?” Sawyer was incredulous. “Who would do that?”

“She did,” Alex said. “Convincingly.”

“Well, maybe… maybe it was just a fight?” she offered.

“She said she’s not in love with me and hasn’t been for a while and that limerence fades and we should go our separate ways. So I’m pretty sure it’s over.” Alex waved at Darla over at the bar. “Whiskey!” she called out. Darla nodded back.

“Well, her loss,” Sawyer finally said, after a long pause.

She sighed. “I just thought… she was…”

“Thought she was what?”

Alex inhaled. “Special? Or something.”

Sawyer frowned. “Well, she’s not that special if she broke up with you.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “I thought she was. I was going to tell her everything.” She dug into her bag and slid the folder across the table, avoiding the remnants of Sawyer’s meal.

The detective looked up at Alex. “What’s this?”

“I was going to give it to her tonight.”

She opened the folder and saw the paperwork. “Holy shit, Danvers.”

“Right? And she dumps me before I get the chance.”

Sawyer looked up at her. “No, Danvers. I didn’t know you were…” She looked around and then lowered her voice. “I didn’t know you were DEO.”

Alex blinked and then swore. “Fuck. We gave you the FBI version, didn’t we?”

She nodded. “Don’t… like, don’t freak out, okay? I won’t say anything.”

Alex cradled her head in her hands. She took a breath. “Fuck,” she muttered.

“I promise, it’s okay.”

She sighed. “Some kind of clandestine agent I am, I can’t even keep that a secret, apparently.”

“Alex.”

She looked up at that.

“It’s okay. Okay?” Sawyer was looking at her, eyes filled once again with that understanding and that compassion she’d seen a few weeks earlier.

Alex nodded. “Thanks, Sawyer.”

“Sure thing, Danvers.” She snagged a leftover french fry. “Now, you gonna tell me what happened with Jennifer?”

Darla arrived with a whiskey and glass of water for Alex. “Here you go, hon.”

“Thanks, Darla.”

“It’s on my tab,” Sawyer noted.

Darla raised an eyebrow at that but just nodded before returning to the bar.

Alex sighed and took a drink of the whiskey, enjoying how it burned her throat on its way down. “Kara didn’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

“About me, my job.”

Sawyer snorted. “Wait, so your… your alien sister,” she said, quietly, “wasn't aware you worked for an agency that’s dedicated to protecting the planet from extraterrestrials?”

“Nope.”

She laughed. “That’s amazing.”

“Right?”

“So Kara didn’t know… but she knows now?”

“She found out that night.”

“Oh, the night of the crash?”

Alex nodded. “So I yelled at her, told her never to do that again, she was understandably pissed…”

Sawyer snorted. “Danvers, why is it, in all these ideal scenarios of yours, that plane ends up crashing and probably killing everyone on board? Including me?”

She winced. “I didn’t mean it like that,” she muttered.

“I’m just teasing,” she smiled. “It complicated your life a lot. I get it. Go on.”

“So she was pissed, but…” Alex exhaled. “But she knew. For the first time in my adult life, someone I cared about knew what I did for a living.”

“And?”

“And… it felt great. It was amazing to be able to talk to Kara about work. And since I don’t have to hide her secret when I’m talking to her, well, she and I have gotten a lot closer over the last couple of months,” Alex said. “It’s been good.” She took a sip of her drink. “But.”

Sawyer tilted her head to the side. “I’m listening.”

“But being so open with Kara made it hard to be so closed off to Jennie.” She considered. “It’s like… as soon as I opened up to someone, it made it so much harder not to be open with everyone else.”

“Ah,” she nodded. “Did she know about Kara, at least?”

Alex snorted.

“So that’s a no.” She chewed pensively on another french fry. “Wait, your girlfriend didn’t know about your sister and she didn’t know about your job? What did she know?”

Alex quirked a half-smile. “And that, Detective, is the problem.”

She frowned. “So she knew nothing about your life?”

“Not a thing.”

“Wow,” she breathed. “I knew it was complicated, but I didn’t know how complicated.”

Alex took another drink. “The thing is, if I wait too long to read a girlfriend in, then she’s going to be pissed that I’ve been lying to her. Which is, like, totally understandable. I get it. I’d be pissed, too.”

“But if you read her in too early…?”

She sighed. “I don’t know if she’s trustworthy yet. Honestly, I haven’t ever told anyone I’ve dated about either work or my sister.”

“Ah,” Sawyer nodded in understanding. “So basically, you need to find someone who already knows most of this stuff. Like someone at work, possibly?”

Alex shook her head. “Uh, no, no, no, not doing that again.”

“Hm?”

“Dated a cute analyst at one point and it didn’t go amazingly well. Then I had to see her daily for three months after I broke up with her, until she transferred to a different office,” Alex confessed.

“Ooh, okay, no, no dating at work.” Sawyer considered. “Well, you can worry about this stuff when you get over Jennifer.”

Alex leaned back. “It’s weird. I’m upset, but not as upset as I thought I would be.” She drummed her fingers on the table. “More angry with myself because I’m the one who fucked up.”

“Danvers, you didn’t fuck up.”

She shook her head. “If I’d told her six months ago…”

“Then your relationship might have ended six months ago. Or it's possible something else would have happened. You can’t know these things, Alex.”

“I guess not,” she conceded as she stole one of Sawyer’s fries. Then she pulled the file folder back and scoffed at herself as she put it away in her bag. “I’m… you know, vacillating wildly between thinking I should have told her before or I should never have even considered it.”

“That’s not fair,” Sawyer said.

“What?”

“Never even considering telling her.”

“How is that not fair to her? She just broke up with me.”

She shook her head. “It’s not fair to you.”

Alex furrowed her brow. “Excuse me?”

“You’ve just been sitting here saying you wanted to tell her because it was so hard to not be open with people after the dam broke with Kara,” she said, reasonably. “Alex, I firmly believe that in any successful relationship, the top two concerns are trust and communication.” She chuckled. “Not that I’ve had a lot of what you’d term successful relationships. Though at least Darla doesn’t hate me.”

Both of Alex’s eyebrows sprang up. “Darla? Waitress Darla?!”

“Yeah.”

“Did you… I mean… she’s an alien!”

“A Roltikkon,” she confirmed.

“Yeah, I picked up on that.” She glanced over at Darla. “When did you two date?”

“Probably about eight months ago? Something like that. She’d just arrived from off-world.” She smiled. “I, uh, I might have taught her how to speak English, if you catch my drift.” She took a swig of her beer.

Alex’s eyes grew wide. “Fascinating.”

“Yeah, it was fun, but it didn’t last too long.” She shrugged. “I don’t strictly date aliens, just for the record.”

Alex smiled. “I may have figured that out when you said I was cute when I was oblivious.”

She grinned. “I’d been wondering.”

“I’m definitely not what you’d call smooth with the ladies,” Alex admitted, “but I’m not completely dense.”

“Says the woman who just sort of stood there when I asked her out for a drink. Couldn’t even manage to say no, and say you had a girlfriend.”

She laughed. “Okay, in my defense, I wasn’t expecting it! You realize I was having probably the worst day of my entire life and you were part of it?”

Sawyer snorted. “There you go again,” she laughed, “wishing I’d died on that flight.”

“That is so not what I meant!”

“That’s what, three times now that you’ve actively wished me dead to my face? Way to be charming, Danvers.”

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

Sawyer smiled brilliantly at her. “Never.”

Alex sighed exaggeratedly. “Great, just great.” She finished off her whiskey and considered the funny, smart, beautiful woman in front of her. “Give me your phone.”

Sawyer looked at her, clearly unsure as to whether or not she should do so.

“Just give me your phone.”

With a raised eyebrow, she unlocked the device and slid it across the table to Alex.

She navigated to the contacts and inserted her contact information before sliding it back across the table.

Sawyer looked up. “What’s this?”

“In case you want to buy me another drink at some point,” Alex responded. “I should go, but, uh… Call me sometime.”

She grinned. “Will do.”

Alex smiled and patted the table in front of her once in satisfaction. “Good.” She stood and pulled her bag to her shoulders. “Thanks for the drink, Sawyer.”

“See ya ‘round, Danvers.”

***

Alex finished her 96-hour shift as acting director of the DEO and she smiled happily as she slipped on her backpack. Thirty minutes later, she was at the bar, only slightly dusty from the ride on her motorcycle from the desert base of operations.

She unzipped her jacket as she walked in, a half-familiar, high-tempo song playing on the speakers. Within a moment, she’d spotted the detective at a pool table, wearing a white button-up shirt and grey jeans.

“Hey,” she said, stepping up to the table.

“Danvers! I was hoping you’d show up soon.” She placed the cue on the table and walked over to her, arms open.

Alex stepped into the embrace, slipping her arms around her girlfriend’s waist, her chin resting on Maggie’s right shoulder. She closed her eyes as she felt Maggie’s arms close around her and inhaled deeply, feeling safe and secure. She forced herself to pull away and lightly kissed Maggie’s lips.

“I’ve got a surprise for you,” she said.

“A surprise?”

“Yup.” She dug into her bag and presented her with a file folder.

Maggie tilted her head to the side. “Is this…?”

“Open it.”

Inside lay two copies of a Level 1 DEO non-disclosure agreement between the DEO and Margarita Sawyer.

“Happy one-month anniversary,” she said, shyly. “I know that, uh, that you already know a lot, but, uh… This, this lets you in on the rest.” She paused. “If… if you want, that is. We've, uh, we've only been together for a little while, but…”

“No, Alex, this is the best present I could have ever hoped for.” She smiled hugely at her, dimples on display. “Got a pen?”

She pulled one out of her bag. “Of course.”

“Always prepared,” she smiled as she took the pen and signed both copies, right there on the pool table, in the indicated spots. She closed the folder and turned to Alex. “Thank you,” she said, sincerely, “for trusting me.”

“Thank you,” Alex responded, “for understanding I couldn’t tell you everything immediately.” She stepped forward and kissed Maggie softly.

Maggie pulled back and looked up into Alex’s eyes, brushing a stray lock of hair behind Alex’s ear. “Hard to believe, isn’t it?”

“What, how amazing you are? Not at all,” she chuckled.

Maggie grinned, eyes twinkling. “How one of the worst days of your life, one of the scariest of mine, ended up with us having found one another?”

Alex smiled. “That day has had so many unexpected repercussions, it’s kind of crazy. Where would we be if Kara hadn’t done what she did?”

“There you go again, killing me off in your daydreams and ruminations, Danvers,” she laughed.

She kissed her, firmly. “You’re wrong. Every single one of my daydreams involves us being together.”

“What about your ruminations?”

“Those too.” She kissed her again, more gently. “Take me home.”

“It would be my pleasure,” she answered.

“Oh, it will be,” promised Alex, with a smile. “It will be.”