NB: This is the end of my Partners series so for those that have been following along, thank you! I've really, really loved writing this so any feedback you would like to leave would be much appreciated as I want to keep writing better stories! I hope you, dear reader, enjoyed this as much as I did when it was running around in my head.

Epilogue

Alex hit the punching bag with a ferocity that would've scared grown men. Her teeth were clenched and her face shone with sweat. Her knuckles hurt where she'd decided not to bother with boxing gloves, but she ignored the pain. She kept throwing her punches, sending the bag swinging around crazily on its chain.

It had been nearly three weeks since the battle against the Anti-Alien Resistance cell. Maxwell Lord had been inducted into the DEO, much to the chagrin of many of the agents, including Supergirl. Alex had tried to move on from all the complications that had arisen in that week, but her thoughts still kept her up at night.

She hadn't really had a chance to process everything that had happened, least of all her strange new relationship with Max, and it had built up inside of her like a ticking time bomb. She'd been avoiding Max for days and she even found it hard to talk to Kara about it because her sister was still opposed to the idea of calling Maxwell Lord a colleague, let alone a friend.

So much had happened between the two of them, from taking her anger out on him in combat training to him kissing her after he'd helped render a whole basement full of Kryptonite redundant. It was like they were completely different people. She was reluctant to pursue the relationship because of their history, but Max had made it pretty clear what he felt about her and that left her feeling like she was being pulled in three directions at once.

Boxing had helped. This morning she'd woken up feeling like she was drowning in her confusion, completely overwhelmed by the indecision that Max had created in her life. She was finally being given the chance to get it all out and she wasn't going to let up. Her fists thudded into the bag at a frenetic pace. Right hook, left hook, right jab, right jab, left hook. Her adrenaline was sky high and she didn't think that she'd ever be able to stop.

A drop of sweat trickled down the side of her face as she heard footsteps approaching the gym. Go away, she thought angrily without slowing her attack.

'Alex?' Max's voice sounded from the doorway.

'What?' She growled.

'Hank wants to talk to you,' Max replied warily, knowing full well the damage she could do when she was angry.

'He can wait.'

Max turned to go, but then paused, watching Alex with curiosity. He was surprised the punching bag was still attached to the chain.

'Are you ok?' He asked tentatively.

'Fine,' she spat back.

Max thought he heard her voice crack, but he didn't want to push her. She'd more than likely come after him and that wouldn't help anyone. He stayed just inside the doorway and kept quiet, figuring that she wasn't that interested in him right now and would probably forget he was even there.

Alex's breathing started to get a bit ragged. Max had broken her rhythm and now she felt herself coming down from the adrenaline rush. The pain in her hands was beginning to register and her punches were slowing. She felt a tear escape from her eye and slide down her cheek. The bag swung back and forth erratically as she threw one last explosive punch before collapsing to her knees with a sob. Her body heaved as tears streamed down her face and she lost control. The feelings that she'd bottled up over the last few weeks roared through her heart like a mindless wave. She felt like her chest had caved in.

'Alex!' Max appeared suddenly beside her, his voice heavy with worry. He had rushed in the moment she had fallen to her knees, concerned for her well being. When he realised that she was crying, he knew that she was most definitely not alright. He draped an arm over her shoulder and went to clasp her hands, but stopped when he saw the mess that they were in. 'Jesus,' he hissed.

Alex was holding her hands awkwardly in her lap. They were covered in blood, the knuckles rubbed raw. White bone glinted underneath a loose flap of skin on her right hand. Her fingers were curled loosely into her palms as if she was still preparing to throw another punch. She'd been boxing bare knuckled for nearly an hour.

'Jesus Christ,' Max whispered again, pulling Alex's head to his chest.

Alex didn't resist his comfort. She was beyond caring if anyone saw them. Her sobs racked her body, her tears dampening Max's shirt. She was vaguely aware of his fingers on her trembling wrists, a soft sensation in comparison to the pain.

'Come on,' Max said firmly, 'I'm taking you to the med-bay. Your hands are…' he trailed off, horrified that Alex had been able to ignore that much pain.

'No,' Alex mumbled, struggling to get the words out. 'Hank can't…can't see me…like this.'

Max stroked her hair with a sigh. She was curled into a tight ball against his chest.

'I'll tell him I found you passed out in here,' Max murmured.

After a moment of consideration, Alex nodded. She fought to get her sobbing under control as Max wiped her tears away. Slipping one arm under her knees and tightening the other around her shoulders, Max lifted Alex from the ground and stood up. He was thankful that his leg had healed so well or this might have been a bit more difficult. Alex winced as the movement jostled her hands, but made no sound. Her eyes closed as she rested her head on Max's shoulder, pretending to be unconscious like he had suggested.

Max hurried out of the gym, carrying Alex towards the med-bay. Hank looked up as he came into the command centre, Alex's limp body in his arms.

'Alex,' Hank whispered to himself, darting over to them immediately. 'What happened?' He demanded.

'I don't know,' Max lied. 'I found her on the floor in the gym. Her hands…'

Hank glanced down at Alex's hands and drew in a sharp breath.

'Get her to the med-bay,' he ordered, eliciting a nod from Max. They hurried across the room and Hank held open the door for Max. He lay Alex gently down onto the surgical table and jumped into action before Hank could call one of the medics.

Alex kept her eyes closed and her breathing as even as she could as she felt Max wash the wounds on her hands. Her muscles tightened as he cleaned each knuckle as gently as he could. He stitched up three of them and stuck pads on the others. She groaned involuntarily as he began wrapping a bandage around one hand, giving up the pretence of unconsciousness.

She opened her eyes and stared blearily at the ceiling, attempting to look disoriented when Hank rushed to her side.

'Alex, can you hear me?' He asked. She nodded in response, not trusting herself to speak. 'Stay still,' Hank continued, 'everything's going to be alright.'

Max finished treating Alex and rested a hand on her shoulder. He knew she would be dreading having to answer all of Hank's questions, especially since he'd want to get to the bottom of what was wrong with her. He'd had to hide his own feelings for Alex over the last few weeks which hadn't been easy.

'What's the last thing you remember Alex?' Hank asked softly.

'I'm ok Hank,' she replied, her voice quiet and shaky. 'I just overdid it. I just need some rest.' She gave him a small smile, trying to reassure him.

'Alex, your hands are shredded. That's more than just overdoing it.' Hank wasn't convinced. Things had been stressful lately. He was worried about her and wanted to do everything he could to make sure that she was ok.

'I got carried away. I just need some rest,' she repeated.

Hank pursed his lips, eyeing her seriously. He was reluctant to leave her, but she clearly wasn't going to tell him what was wrong at this point in time. Eventually he nodded and backed away.

'Ok,' he sighed, 'but you call me if you need anything. Anything at all. I mean it.' He pointed a finger at her to make sure she understood. 'Max, let her rest.'

'Actually I've just got to give her one last thing,' Max said quickly. 'Just to make sure her sugar levels are ok and she's not dehydrated.'

Hank raised a suspicious eyebrow, but didn't pursue it. Max watched Hank nervously as he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Alex let out a sigh. 'Thank you,' she said to Max who smiled sadly.

'What the hell were you doing?' He asked, brushing a strand of hair away from her cheek.

She averted her eyes and bit her lip. 'Getting some stuff out,' she said eventually.

'Would that stuff have anything to do with me?'

'Not everything is about you Max.' He laughed at that, grinning down at her as she continued. 'Ok, maybe it had a little bit to do with you.'

'I knew it.' He ran his fingers slowly through her hair. 'Just tell me. Or hit me. Whichever works best for you.'

There was a time when talking about her feelings to Maxwell Lord would have repulsed Alex. There was a time when showing any sort of weakness in front of him would've been unacceptable. That seemed like a long time ago now. She couldn't deny how utterly relieved she'd been when Max had cradled her to his chest after she'd collapsed. She couldn't push him away any longer even if it made life difficult for her at the DEO. Surely she deserved to be loved by someone, even if that someone was Maxwell Lord.

'I'm sorry I pushed you away,' she whispered. 'I don't really know…how to do this.'

'I get it,' Max shrugged. 'Overprotective, super powered alien sister who would most definitely not approve. Cranky boss who would skin me alive if he caught me so much as looking at you the wrong way. Slightly complicated. Geez, I feel like I'm back in high school.'

Alex laughed. He made it all sound so trivial.

'Come on Agent Danvers. You'd run headfirst into a room full of aliens and beat them all up with your bare hands. Surely I'm a walk in the park?'

'You'd be surprised.'

'I'll take that as a compliment.' Max leaned down and kissed her gently on her forehead. 'I know normal isn't something that occurs around here a lot, but how about pizza and a movie at my place once you feel better?'

'I'd like that,' Alex nodded gratefully.

'Deal.' He wandered over to the door, pausing to look back with his hand on the knob. 'You'll have to fight me if you want to pick the movie though.'

Max winked at Alex and left her to rest, smiles plastered across both their faces.