The yellow-orange glow reflected out of the MedLab window as Alex walked down the otherwise darkened hallway. As she approached the MedLab door, she glanced through the window and stopped to appreciate the view. Inside, her very much alive little sister was lying on the solar bed, engaged in a conversation with her mother. It was a sight that, only a few hours before, Alex wasn't sure she would ever see again. Over the course of the last two days, their world had been turned upside down. Sure, they'd been through stressful situations but, this – this had been different. Alex hadn't ever felt as helpless and as scared as she had these last couple of days and even though Kara had survived, she knew that even as Supergirl with all of her powers and strength, Kara was not invincible and that the future was ever so uncertain. Every moment of time was important and needed to be appreciated.

She pushed open the door and entered the MedLab. "Hey, anyone up for some pizza?" She asked as she dropped a pizza box and some beverages on the counter next to the wall.

Kara's eyes widened as she sat up on the bed. "Are you kidding?" Her eyes brightened and she swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I feel like I haven't eaten for a year!"

Eliza and Alex chuckled.

"Well, it's technically only been a day and a half since you've had solid food," Alex informed her, "but, I'm sure to you, that feels like a lifetime." She smiled as she handed Kara a plate piled full of slices.

"As much as I would love to stay and watch the end to this famine, I need to get going," Eliza said. "My flight leaves first thing in the morning and if I plan on getting any sleep before then, I better go now."

"Are you sure?" Kara mumbled; her mouth full of pizza.

Eliza smiled and nodded. "Yes, but you two enjoy it." She reached over to Kara and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in for a tight hug. "I'm so happy to have you back," she told her before releasing from the hug.

She then turned and gave Alex a matching hug. "You look after yourself and don't put so much pressure on yourself," she advised as she reached up and placed a hand against Alex's cheek. "Will I see you at your apartment later?"

Alex shook her head. "I'll probably just sleep here tonight. Make sure this one doesn't sneak out in the middle of the night," she indicated toward Kara.

"I don't know why I can't go home," Kara grumbled. "I feel fine."

"Dr.'s orders." Alex retorted. "You need to regain your strength and we need to make sure the kryptonite isn't still in your system."

Kara frowned and drowned out her sorrow by tearing away at another slice of pizza.

"Okay. Then, I guess I will see you both when you come down in a few weeks." Eliza gave a stern look to Kara, "you make sure to listen to your sister and rest. The world can wait for Supergirl to recover before taking on its problems."

Alex's eyebrows shot up as she looked at Kara, rubbing in her mother's demand that Kara listen to her. Kara rolled her eyes at Alex in return.

"I love you both," Eliza stated as she picked up her belongings and left.

"It's probably a good thing she didn't stay," Alex stated as she took a seat on the stool next to Kara. "I only brought one pizza and as it is, I'll be lucky if I get more than this one slice with you sharing it."

"Well, you heard Eliza," Kara responded as she picked up another slice, "I'm supposed to regain my strength," she grinned before taking a bite.

"Ha! As if eating a whole pizza is any different from all of the other times we've ordered, when you were at full strength." Alex stepped over to the counter, grabbed a drink and handed it to Kara. "Did Clark take off?"

Kara twisted off the cap and nodded. "He had some alien issue to deal with," she took a drink before continuing. "He said he would stop by later and check in on me. Not that I need checking up on. I'm fine," she mumbled.

Alex dropped her slice of pizza on the plate, wiped her hands off and placed them down on the edge of the solar bed and looked at Kara. "So, you want to talk about it?"

Kara stopped her arm mid-rise from inhaling another slice, "talk about what?" She asked, continuing her movement and then lowering both arm and head to the plate on her lap, attempting to avoid Alex's question.

"Talk about it…what happened to you…about that kryptonite entity." Alex pushed on, "about all of it."

Kara didn't want to talk about it. There were too many emotions in what happened, too many questions that she didn't have answers to that only brought more pain when examined on a deeper level. "There's nothing to talk about," she picked at the topping on the pizza slice. "It happened. I survived. We all lived. It's over."

Alex's own pent-up emotions suddenly bubbled to the surface and she let out an exasperated sigh. She clenched her fist and lightly tapped the side of it against the rail of the bed. "Kara," she started, "this is what I was talking about before. You can't keep things bottled up. It hurts you and everyone else involved." Alex took a deep breath before continuing. "I need to talk about it," she stressed. "I almost lost you. It had reached the point where I had to accept that you were not coming back, that all hope was lost," her voice cracked with emotion, "and I'm not okay with that."

Kara had lifted her head as Alex spoke and hearing what Alex had gone through only added to her own pain of the experience. It was much easier to battle a physical threat than it was to confront the emotional pain that she pushed deep down inside. But, Alex was right that the damage from ignoring those issues had widespread consequences and she needed to find the courage to examine them. She lowered her head back down, staring at the floor below her.

"Ever since my planet exploded and I lost," she paused and took in a shaky heavy breath, "everyone…it has never gotten easier. There are days that are better but, always, my friends…my family, are in the back of my mind." She glanced back at Alex, trying to somehow draw in more strength from her presence. "But, I've always been able to take some comfort in knowing that they were okay ˗ that they were happy and at peace in Rao's light." Kara dropped her head and bit her top lip.

"Now, I don't know what to think," her eyes widened and she shook her head in disbelief. "If that thing is right and that was my parents – my planet, then they're not in Rao's light, they're not at peace. Instead, they're in some tortured, miserable existence inside that gas." She lifted her head to look at Alex and the tears that had been slowly making their way to the surface, slipped down her face. "And everything that I have been told; everything that I have ever been led to believe, is not true."

Alex searched for the words to comfort Kara, to help rationalize what she herself was unable to understand. But, there weren't any pat answers; no great words of wisdom for her to give out. She leaned over and grabbed Kara's hand with both of her own and set them down on Kara's thigh.

"Kara, everyone has times in their lives when they question life and death," she looked up and met Kara's lost eyes, "and what happens to those who leave us. And there aren't any positives. How can there be?" She shrugged her shoulders, resigned.

"We don't know for sure exactly what that entity was, or what it contained." Alex reached up and lightly grabbed the back of Kara's upper arm. "But, you do know that your parents loved you. That is a certainty and even in death, they would never, ever hurt you like that thing did. They wanted you to survive and they would continue to protect you…wherever they are." She gently shook Kara's arm. "Okay?"

Kara looked at Alex and nodded. She sniffled and wiped away the tears with her free hand. "I'm sorry that what happened to me caused you pain, Alex."

Alex rolled her eyes and shook her head, "Kara, no. We've talked about this. What I went through is not your fault."

"But –"

"No buts. Did you not hear what mom said?" Alex interrupted. "You're supposed to listen to your big sister."

Kara groaned. "I'm never going to hear the end of that!"

Alex grinned. "Nope!" She dropped her hand off of Kara and stood up. "But, I do have a surprise for you," she announced.

Kara's face lit up and she eagerly leaned forward, grabbing the bars on the bed. "A surprise? What is it?"

"Well," Alex replied sheepishly, "you need to come with me and I'll show you." She picked up the pizza box and her plate. She glanced over her shoulder at Kara. "Grab the rest of it."

Kara gingerly slid off the bed, grabbed what she could and followed Alex out of the room.

Alex led Kara across the other end of the DEO under the dim, vacant hallway as many of the DEO agents had left for the night.

"Where are we going?" Kara half walked, half skipped behind Alex, unable to contain her excitement. "Where's the surprise?"

"Just hold on," Alex laughed. "It's right up here."

They stopped in front of a closed door.

"The workout room?" Kara questioned, her face scrunched into a frown. "Your surprise is to work-out? I don't really think it's a good idea to work-out, Alex. Dr. Hamilton told me that I needed to rest to regain my energy, not exert more."

Alex looked at Kara before pushing the door open and clicking on the light. Inside, the workout room had been fully transformed into a small living area, complete with a couch, refrigerator and television.

"What?" Kara peered around Alex, "What is this?"

"Well, as you said, you are supposed to be resting. And, since you are required to stay at the DEO for the next few days, I thought it would be nice for you to have a place that is a little more comfortable and private."

She walked further into the room and Kara followed behind her. "Everyone here wanted to help out, so they gave up their exercise room, moved out all of the equipment and brought in some furniture that they located." Alex dropped the pizza box on a small table and stepped to the wall, hitting another switch on the wall and flooding the room with more light.

"The guys from maintenance added solar lights into the ceiling so you can continue to recharge on the couch that actually pulls out into a comfy bed, rather than on that hard solar bed."

Kara wandered around the room, taking it all in, her mouth agape with amazement. "You guys did all of this for me?" She put her hand over her mouth and looked at Alex.

"I threatened everyone with latrine duty and scrubbing the floors if they didn't help," Alex threw out as she walked to the edge of the couch.

"You did?"

Alex turned to see Kara's shocked expression and laughed.

"No, Kara. It shouldn't be a surprise that other people respect and care about you. They all willingly volunteered to help."

Kara moved to Alex and wrapped her in a big hug. "I love you, Alex," she squeezed as hard as she knew she could without hurting Alex. "I'm so lucky that I got you for a big sister."

"I love you, too, Kara," Alex replied over Kara's shoulder. "And I'm lucky that I got you for my little alien sister," she chuckled and pulled away from Kara. "I have another surprise," she told her.

"Another one? Alex, you've already done too much."

Alex walked to the DVD player on a shelf under the television and held up a large DVD box. "I picked up the box set of all eight Harry Potter movies." She moved across the floor to the refrigerator and lifted up a sack. "And, an order of pot-stickers, and…" she opened up the refrigerator door, "a few cartons of ice cream."

"Oh, Rao!" Kara exclaimed as she quickly made her way to Alex. "I'll never want to leave!" She gave Alex another quick hug, grabbed the ice cream from her hands and moved to the television.

"You're going to stay aren't you?" Kara set down the ice cream carton and opened up the DVD box, pulling out the first disc and sliding it into the player.

"Of course," Alex grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and plopped down next to Kara on the couch.

"We get a Danvers' sister night for the next few nights." She pulled the blanket over the two of them as Kara leaned back next to her and clicked the power on the t.v. remote. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

XXXXXXXX

In the hallway outside of the make-shift room, a green gas lifted up to a ceiling register vent that opened into the room. The gas lingered quietly for a bit, taking in the sister interaction. Slowly, it moved away from the vent, making its way down the empty hallway and stopping at the corridor intersection as a high ranking official moved across its path. It waited, unnoticed by the man, as he continued down the corridor. The entity floated around the corner, following the path of the man. As he rounded the next corner, the gas quickly dropped down on him, invading his body through his respiratory system. The man immediately fell to his knees and hunched over to the floor. His body convulsed and he reached out in front of him, grasping at the tiled floor. After a few minutes, he stopped seizing and he pulled his arms back close to his body. He slowly stood up, straightened out his clothes and set his emerald green eyes on the exit door, pushing it open and walking silently into the night air.

Author's Final Note: This story leaves us with the green-eyed man/entity still out there, a threat. My plan is that, down the road, he/it will show up in a sequel and we'll see where that takes us *insert evil laugh.

Thank you all so very much for reading this story, leaving feedback, following and making my first experience writing a fanfic so enjoyable and fulfilling. When I started out, I had scribbled notes of a basic plot and characters and would have never guessed that it would eventually lead to 18 chapters worth of material.