Work Text:
June 12, 2016
National City
6:00 am est
Cat Grant was scrambling around her house trying to get ready and get her things together as quickly as she could. She was on the phone with one of her producers. They were working out how to cover the story.
She had gotten the call at half passed four in the morning. She reacted immediately on instinct, ordering CatCo’s news network to fly people out and get reporters on the ground. After a few minutes of relaying orders, she had hung up.
Then she hung her head. She hated having to cover these stories.
Cat walked up to the door of her bedroom and waited outside while she was still on the phone. “Yes, as soon as they can.” Pause. “I know. It’s going to be hard for everyone there, but it’s our responsibility to get the information out. Tell them to just do their best.”
She ended the call and quietly opened the bedroom door. She needed to get her shoes from the closet and her tablet from the night stand. The TV in the bedroom was still tuned to a local station in Orlando. Cat had muted it so she wouldn’t wake Kara.
She walked around to the closet, retrieving her shoes. Then she stood by the bed for a moment, watching Kara’s sleeping form. Her eye caught the television and she sighed deeply.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Cat gently stroked Kara’s arm until she stirred. “Hey,” she whispered. “I have to go into work.”
Kara’s voice was filled with sleep. “Everything okay?”
“There’s been a shooting in Florida,” Cat told her.
Kara woke quickly and sat up. “Let me come with you.”
“No, I need you to take Carter to his father’s.”
Kara rubbed her eyes and nodded. After a second, she said, “Yeah, of course.” Then she saw the TV playing the local news in Orlando. Police cars and emergency vehicles with their lights flashing. She read the captions. “It was at a gay club?”
“Yes,” Cat told her quietly. “They don’t know a lot, it only happened a few hours ago. All the information is preliminary.” She hesitated and then added, “But there was a lot of shooting.”
Kara grabbed the remote to turn the volume up and scooted up to the foot of the bed. Cat walked around to get her tablet. Numbers were starting to come in.
“Oh wow,” Kara whispered. Cat looked up at the new information. Twenty-four dead and forty-two injured. Cat looked at Kara’s concerned face. She knew what Kara was thinking. She came and sat down beside her.
“We can’t protect everyone,” she told her.
On the screen, images of people being carried to ambulances were being shown while the bloodiest scenes were blurred out. Tears were already welling in Kara’s eyes.
“I don’t understand things like this.” Kara quickly reached her hand up to wipe her eyes before the tears escaped. “Sorry,” she said.
Cat sat down next to her. “Don’t ever apologize for being compassionate, Kara. It makes you who you are.”
She sat with her for a little while, both their eyes glued to the screen.
Then Kara said, “I’ve seen so many races, from so many different worlds and the one thing they all have in common is hate.” She turned to Cat and told her, “There’s always hate.”
Cat looked at her, considering her superhero. She pushed a lock of Kara’s hair behind her ear.
Then she told her, “But there is always love. Remember what you said in your speech?” Kara shook her head, so Cat reminded her. “You said that there is so much love, out there for the taking.”
Kara nodded, turning back to the television, still discouraged. So Cat did something she hadn’t done since Carter had had a particularly bad ear infection as a baby. She sent a message to her producer, saying that she wouldn't be able to come in early after all and they needed to handle it.
She slipped her hand into Kara’s, intertwining their fingers. Then she leaned her head on Kara’s shoulder and Kara leaned her temple against the top of Cat’s head.
“I thought you needed to go in early,” Kara said.
After a pause, Cat simply said, “I don’t need to anymore.”
They stayed like that, letting the heavy weight of what was happening creep over them. They watched the TV until it was time to take Carter to his dad’s.
And they felt blessed to be with someone they loved who loved them in return.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Boston
9:00 am est
Maura was standing in her office. She was streaming the news, live, on her computer. She kept stopping her work to come in and check it for new developments. But this time she stayed for a while.
As she was watching with her arms wrapped around herself for comfort, Jane quietly came into the room. Jane knew Maura would come in to work even though it was a Sunday. Keeping busy helped them both feel useful.
“Hey,” Jane said, softly.
Maura gave her a weak smile as Jane came to stand next to her.
“Have you seen this,” Maura pointed to the screen. Jane shook her head. “They put out calls on social media for anyone in the area that could to come and donate blood.”
Jane’s face softened as she observed the line, stretching on for blocks, of people who had come out to give blood to the injured.
“That’s really beautiful,” Jane said with her voice still quiet. She wanted to be reverent to the moment.
“They’re asking specifically for O negative blood since it can be universally received.” Of course, she knew that Jane knew that. But she kept talking anyway. “You know, it’s considered the universal blood type because it doesn’t contain any of the usual antigens found in other blood types. So it’s, uh, it…,” her voice trailed off.
Jane understood. Facts were comforting to Maura. When she felt sad or stressed, she used them to cope.
Jane noticed Maura’s arms wrapped around herself and Jane moved to slowly and tenderly replace Maura’s arms with her own, putting them around her small waist.
Maura immediately turned in her arms, allowing Jane to hold her as the put her head on Jane’s shoulder. “It’s so senseless, Jane.”
Jane nodded against her hair. “I know.”
They held onto each other as they listened to reports coming in over the computer.
And they felt blessed to be with someone they loved who loved them in return.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
South Dakota
10:45 am est
Helena came back into the living area at the B&B. She was carrying her tea and Myka's coffee. She came up to sit beside Myka on the sofa, handing her the hot mug.
“Thank you,” Myka said, without looking at her. She unconsciously leaned into Helena as she sat down next to her, needing the sure comfort that the older woman always offered.
Helena asked, “Anything new?”
Myka shook her head and said, “Local law enforcement is about to have a press conference.”
The pair had been sitting on the sofa all morning. They were on their third cup of coffee and tea. Other residents of the B&B had been filtering in and out. They were saddened by the events, of course, but it didn’t seem to touch them the same way as it did HG and Myka.
The press conference began as the police chief made a statement. Both women’s lips parted in shock at the numbers. Fifty dead and fifty-three injured.
“My god,” Myka whispered. They both knew what the numbers meant. This was the worst mass shooting in US history.
Helena put an arm around her shoulder and drew her a little closer. Myka was one of those rare people that truly felt the pain of others. She always needed comfort during events like this. They listened until the press conference was over. The regular news coverage continued.
“All the things we’ve seen,” Helena said. “All the artifacts that we’ve seen and worked with that have the power to destroy the whole world and yet the most destructive force on this planet remains mankind.”
Myka closed her eyes. Helena had seen the worst humanity had to offer across the centuries and she had somehow found a way to love again.
Looking at Helena, Myka asked her, “How do you do it?”
Helena turned to her. “Do what?”
Myka turned back to the television for a moment, then back to Helena, “See so much death for so many years and still have hope.”
Helena gave her the smallest smile as she reached up and grazed her fingers across Myka’s cheek.
She quietly answered, “I cling to every good thing as if it were the very oxygen I breathe.”
Then it was her turn to look back to the news. Images of bloody bodies being pulled from the night club splayed across the screen. Eye witnesses were giving frightened accounts of the horrors inside.
Helena turned back to her. “When I see things like what happened today, I force myself to look away from the evil and turn my eyes toward what’s true. And the love I feel for you is true. That is what I cling to.”
Myka held her eyes for long seconds. She leaned in and tenderly kissed Helena’s lips. They both turned back to the television, feeling the need to watch. If for no other reason than to honor what was happening.
And they felt blessed to be with someone they loved who loved them in return.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Storybrooke, Maine
2:30 pm est
On the farthest east side of the country, Emma sat on Regina’s sofa with her legs curled up, intently watching the events in Orlando unfold.
She had come to Regina’s house as soon as she saw it on the news. Regina quickly opened the door, somehow knowing who it was.
Emma asked her, “Have you seen the news?”
Regina had just nodded and stepped aside to let Emma in. Since then, they had been watching all day.
Now, Regina was walking in from the kitchen with two mugs of hot cocoa, whipped cream and cinnamon included. She handed one to Emma and sat down on the opposite side of the sofa.
On the television, they were relaying new knowledge of the gunman. Emma felt anger rising up in her. As his picture flashed across the screen, Regina heard Emma mutter under her breath, “Son of a bitch.”
Regina cast her a sideways glance and then looked back to the TV. They continued watching and taking it all in. At this point, the same gruesome images were playing almost on a loop as they did new interviews. Occasionally, law enforcement would break in with new information.
Suddenly, Regina’s voice broke through reporter’s voice when she quietly asked, “What makes us different than him?”
Emma quickly turned to her. “Don’t do that,” she told her. “You have to stop. You are nothing like him.”
Regina just looked at the floor. Emma leaned toward her. “Look at me.” Regina barely turned her eyes toward her. “You are good, Regina. You are. Him,” she pointed to the screen, “he’s the evil one, not you.” She said the words emphatically.
Regina gave her a thankful smile. Emma’s constant encouragement had become a lifeline against her dark thoughts.
After another few minutes, Emma laid down across the sofa, tucking her feet behind Regina. Their initial shock was finally wearing off. In the middle of the afternoon, more media was coming out from what had happened inside and outside the club. Fear stricken texts and video from victims.
Regina felt tears stinging her eyes. All the fear and panic they must have felt. Her heart went out to everyone passing across the screen.
She glanced over to Emma. Needing to feel comfort, she slipped across the sofa and slowly laid down. Emma pushed herself into the back of the sofa, making room for Regina.
“All those people,” Regina whispered.
After a moment and a deep sigh, “In all the realms we’ve been to,” Emma said, “people always hurt people.”
Regina reached behind her, finding Emma's hand, she pulled Emma’s arm around her waist. She said back to Emma, “We’ve always seen people help people, too.”
Emma finally smiled a little and nuzzled into the familiar scent of Regina’s perfume. “You’re right.”
They settled into one another and turned their attention back to the television. They both focused intently as more news poured in about the victims. They tried to memorize the names and faces. They watched as the LGBT+ community around the country began offering support to the city of Orlando.
And they felt blessed to be with someone they loved who loved them in return.