Chapter Text
They were on the way home from their date when Maggie’s radio chirped. She glanced over at Alex, her hand halfway up. Alex answered by tugging her side-arm out from the back of her pants. Maggie grinned and picked up the mic, letting dispatch know she was enroute.
“The more things change,” Maggie said as she flipped her lights and sirens on.
“What’s date night without a little adrenaline rush?” Alex asked as she called in to the DEO. From the sounds of it, the NCPD might be enough to handle the situation. But it never hurt to keep everyone informed.
When they caught up to the stolen 18-wheeler, Maggie radioed for a road block ahead of them. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Alex leaned out of the window and aimed at the tires. The moment she saw the grenade launcher, Maggie yanked Alex back into the car and swerved. The patrol cars behind her followed her lead and fell back, managing to avoid a direct hit.
The truck braked suddenly and Maggie winced as her car slammed into it. When she tried to brake and back off, her stomach dropped when she realized they were hooked onto the trailer. On the one hand, that meant no more grenade launchers could reach them. On the other hand-
That back of the trailer rolled up to reveal a massive gatling gun.
Maggie wished for the first time in months that she was still bulletproof.
Supergirl landed on the hood of the Charger and blocked the bullets. When the gunman made a run for it, Kara shoved the car off the trailer’s bumper with the force of her take off.
“That crunch sounded expensive,” Alex muttered as they got out of the car.
“What’s a date night without a new mechanic bill?” Maggie asked as she waved down the approaching patrol cars.
“C’mon, we’d be bored otherwise.”
Maggie slid into the passenger seat of one car while Alex headed for another. By the time they caught up to the semi, Kara was gone and the men in the cabin were out cold.
“Do you get the feeling she’s not over her break-up?” Maggie asked quietly as they started to secure the scene.
Alex sighed. “Only a lot.”
Two months ago, Kara ended things with Mon-El after he started to insist she live full time on New Daxam. He tried to convince her to rule at his side. Kara wanted to stay on Earth and continue being Supergirl, not take on the unknown responsibilities of being a queen. Talk of an heir led to a volatile discussion of New Daxam’s politics and brought up old differences between their people. Maggie had watched from the sidelines, telling Kara she was biased towards protecting the world over any and all relationships. While Maggie’s actions in the last year had proven that wasn’t exactly true, Kara respected Maggie would sacrifice Alex for the planet if it really well and truly came down to it. Fortunately for Maggie, neither Danvers sisters held it against her.
Two hours later, Maggie was shoving her useless power coin back into her pocket as the elevator dingged. Alex stepped out and sent her a distracted smile as they headed for the DEO garage.
“I was told forty eight hours was all it would take to fix the Charger,” Maggie said. “I guess you feds can work fast enough.”
Alex rolled her eyes. “Only because it’s different from their usual work.” She signed out for a set of keys and headed for an SUV. “Anything major wrong with it?”
“Most of it’s cosmetic.” Maggie took the passenger seat and watched Alex for a minute. “What’s up?”
“It’s stupid.”
Maggie said nothing, knowing Alex would get to it. As much Maggie wanted to say nothing was stupid, Alex would just ignore her and list every reason why it was true.
“Am I unrelentingly serious?” Alex sounded so put out and peeved that Maggie had to wonder what the hell had been said in the command hub while she was with the DEO’s mechanics.
“When the situation calls for it.” Maggie saw her pout. “Alex, that’s a bit of a necessity for our line of work. Sure, we crack jokes here and there, but focusing on the task at hand saves lives.”
Alex sighed. “Winn said Kara’s attitude has gone from sunshine to me. I’m not that bad?”
Maggie bit back her grin. He wasn’t wrong. “Alex, you’ve gone rogue with the full intention of wiping a Cadmus base out of existence. And for all Kara is very much her own person, she did pick up a few things from you.”
Alex huffed. “Why is it I like it when you say these things?”
Now Maggie let her grin loose. “It’s because you like me best.”
Alex looked over at her, a small, soft smile on her face. “Yeah.” She reached over and laced one hand with Maggie’s. “I’m still sticking our kevlar in the backseat next date night.”
Maggie rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. It probably wasn’t the worst idea, anyway.
“Sawyer!”
Maggie stood without looking up, quickly saving her documents before locking her screen. Before becoming the official DEO/NCPD liaison, she could’ve risked her co-workers seeing what she was working on. These days, her computer had DEO level encryption and had a strict her-eyes-only rule. When she reached Jack’s office, she motioned to the door in a silent question.
“It’s fine open,” he said, motioning to the chair across from him. “This’ll be quick.” He put a hand on a pile of a dozen manila folders. “These are this week’s Science Division cases that involve Supergirl.”
Maggie winced. “And she’s picked up the habit of vanishing instead of giving any officers a statement.”
“Was there a change in protocol that I missed a memo on?” He didn’t sound particularly angry, just confused.
Maggie twisted around in her chair and shut the door. “I’ve been told Supergirl is grieving a personal loss. She’s been just as short with the DEO as she has with everyone else in the city.”
Jack nodded knowingly. “And instead of taking time to recover, she’s thrown herself into her work to lose herself in more immediate thoughts.” He gave Maggie a look. “Not that I don’t know anyone who’s ever done -that- before.”
“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about, Captain.”
He scoffed. “You’ve come a long way, Sawyer, but just because you don’t dwell in the past, doesn’t mean you should forget it.”
She nodded once. “Yes, sir.”
“Now, I don’t expect you’ll be able to track her down. But, if you could pass along the message that she is operating in a city with an established law enforcement that works because of its standard procedures, that’d be great.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” It wouldn’t be a conversation Maggie wanted to have, but it was a necessary one.
“All I ask for is your best, Sawyer.” He dismissed her and she returned to her desk.
Maggie tugged out her phone and texted Alex. [I may have to instigate a Ranger intervention if Kara keeps this up.]
[Why? What happened?]
[I have a file box full of Supergirl related cases that don’t have statements from her. It’s not a requirement, but it helps when things get to court.]
[I understand that, but why does this mean a Ranger intervention?]
[She’s forgotten she’s more than just her cape.] Maggie understood the heartache of a breakup. She acted exactly as Kara more than once. But after a month, Kara showed no signs of stopping or allowing even Alex to help her. At least, at her worst, Maggie didn’t deny Kim and Trini’s friendship.
[Let me see if I can get through to her one more time.]
[Good luck.]
Maggie shoved the door to the bar open and took a deep breath of the night air. It didn’t smell all that great, but it was cooler than the inside of the bar. Once on her bike, she called Trini and let the brief ringing echo in her helmet.
“What’s up?” Trini asked in greeting.
“Do not let me cancel this wedding.”
“Is this because Alex has bad taste in decorations or is she freaking out again.”
Maggie took a corner too quick and too tightly. “She’s freaking out again.”
“You talk to her?”
“She’s not ready to talk about it.”
“You coming over here?”
Maggie sighed. “No, I’ll head home. I just need you to talk me down.”
“Remember the days I would be the one to rile you up?”
Maggie snorted. “Only with the utmost regret.”
“Ass. Call me if you need anything, Mags.”
“Will do.”
Maggie took a deep breath and decided she would have to ambush Alex to get her to talk. By the time Maggie had gotten home the night before, there was a text from Alex telling her of a lead on the terrorist. Maggie had barely roused enough to ask Alex if everything was okay when Alex got home. When their morning alarms went off, it was a bit of a dash to get ready and head to DEO before coming out to Luthor’s little presentation.
“Danvers, you on comms? I’ve got something that needs your attention.”
“I’m here. East side. You?”
“West. All clear.” Maggie’s hand slipped into her pocket and closed around her power coin. “About last night…”
“Uh, this is neither the time nor the place to talk about what I think you wanna talk about.”
Ah, the Danvers Sisters, pros at avoidance. “Do you not want to marry me?”
“Of course I do.” Alex stopped her patrol to look at Maggie through the crowd. “Look, I wanna be your wife. I wanna have a dog. I wanna have a house. All of it.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I just...I just don’t want a big wedding.”
“Why?” Maggie watched Alex look out towards the water. “Talk to me, please. You have to tell me what’s going on.”
“Because my dad won’t be there. He can’t come. He can’t walk me down the aisle.”
Well, at least it was something Maggie could relate to. “You could’ve told me that.”
“I didn’t wanna make a big deal outta it. You’re already dealing with family issues that I can’t imagine. So I just...I just hoped that I would let it go.”
Maggie made a mental note to bring up Alex’s habit of disregarding her own need to talk things out. Maggie might’ve had trust issues before Alex, but Alex was one who thought no one cared for what was going on in her mind. “Look, I’ve had more practice at choosing my family because I’ve had to. And I think, if you take a deep breath, you’re gonna find your way outta this. You have so many people who love you. Just think about how they can make our day good, and tell me how I can help.”
“Okay.” Alex caught Maggie’s eye from across the way. “I can do that.”
“Okay.” Relief seeped into Maggie’s bones. “I love you.”
“You too. Forever.”
Maggie was infinitely pleased her teammates trusted Alex to the point they rarely felt like eavesdropping through the team comm unit.
“You two are my favorite couple.”
Oh, right. Winn.
“Winn, shut up,” Maggie said, hoping he wouldn’t send a recording to Zack. She would NEVER hear the end of how much of a romantic cheeseball she was if her little speech made its rounds.
“Winn, get off the comms,” Alex half ordered.
Maggie did another sweep as Lena began to speak. The youngest Luthor was far better at sounding natural and genuine than her brother. But Maggie could still feel a threat in the air, and she couldn’t find it in herself to take her hand off her power coin. She knew it was useless, knew she would never morph again, but it had been a source of her strength for so long-
The ground shook and people tumbled to the ground.
Maggie instantly made her way towards Alex as J’onn ordered Winn to locate the source of the explosion. Back to back with Alex, Maggie was ready to face any threat even without her powers. It was Kara that figured it out a minute later.
“The pressure regulator wasn’t meant for high altitude, it was meant for low altitude. They’re underwater.”
But of course.
The next explosive ripped open a crack in the ground and destabilized the nearest building. Alex and Maggie started to haul people up and away from the fissure. Kara flew above the water while J’onn started to evacuate the building.
Kara disappeared below the surface as another blast rocked people back down. Maggie kept her balance and kept moving. She had a feeling the bedrock couldn’t take more than two more hits before the entire waterfront slid beneath the sea.
“Kara, answer me!” Alex demanded over the comms, catching Maggie’s attention.
She ran towards the railing and found Alex. She tapped at the Ranger comm. Alpha’s reply was instant.
“We have a teleportation lock, but we need to wait until her heart stops.”
Maggie said nothing, knowing the line they toed was a very delicate one. Maggie and Alex were no longer active Rangers; they weren’t allowed access to the technology available to the team, especially to aide other allies like Supergirl. Maggie and Alex weren’t allowed to ask. However, if the team just happened to do something without prompting….
“C’mon, Kara,” Maggie said, knowing some part of Kara had to be listening to them.
The water roiled half a mile away. The rising hump burst and revealed a submarine. Kara held it above her before heading away.
“Lucy’s been wanting an excuse to get out of the cave, yeah?” Kara asked over the comms as she disappeared over the city skyline.
Alex’s hand found Maggie’s and squeezed. “Tell her the cloaking device was stolen from a project the General was running. That’ll make sure we get to keep it.”
“I’ll let her know.” For the first time in two months, Kara sounded alive and devious to Maggie’s ears.
J’onn clapped them on the shoulders. “Let’s get the site re-organized.”
Maggie and Alex turned, taking in the situation before parting to help in their specific ways. As Maggie started to coordinate with other NCPD officers, her thoughts didn’t stray once to her power coin. Maybe, just maybe, she could handle things without wishing she was more than human.
Alex curled around Maggie hours later than either of them planned. Though they had meant to have a couple drinks with their friends, Kara’s arrival meant the winding down had turned into a kind of celebration. Maggie didn’t have any regrets. She had numerous reports to write up, anyway, and wouldn’t be out on the streets for her next shift.
“I asked J’onn to walk me down the aisle.”
Maggie turned around to look at Alex. “Really?” Seeing the shy smile on Alex’s face made Maggie grin. “He said yes.”
“He did.” Alex kissed her softly. “He’s been… He helped me succeed and get where I am today. I think, if anyone deserves the honor, it’s him.”
Maggie nodded in agreement. “He does care a lot about you.”
“Have you given any thought to it?” Alex asked quiet, unsure, not wanting to upset Maggie.
“Alpha.” Maggie kept her face lax and calm for all of eight seconds as she watched Alex compute her answer. “I’m kidding, babe.” She laughed as Alex briefly tickled her in retaliation. “Sheppard, the Captain, and Zack are arguing with each other why they’re the best choice.”
“Zack, not Jason?”
“Jason is very much our big brother, and he’s always ready to take on anyone who’s hurt us. But Zack...He didn’t let anyone mess with me and Trini in high school, and he’s always been a guardian before we’ve ever known we needed one.”
Alex kissed Maggie’s forehead. “I’m glad you have so many people looking out for you.”
“They’re looking out for you, too, now.” Maggie squeezed Alex tightly. “Our two families of choice are going to become a single bigger one.”
Alex hummed happily in agreement. Neither of them wanted it any other way.