Stop the World (Supergirl)

Chapter 7

 Lena and Alex didn't speak much on the walk to the lighthouse, both wrapped up in their own thoughts, and Alex needed all the breath she could just to keep walking. The wind was up, pushing the clouds quickly across the sky, allowing them irregular but welcome patches of sunshine. Everyday for the past couple of days Alex had been going for a short walk with Kara to try and increase her stamina, but the walk to the lighthouse was by far the greatest distance. Alex dragged herself up the last few steps to the top of the lighthouse, clinging to the rail for support. Her legs were wobbly and she was dripping with sweat, but she had to do this.

"Are you - you don't look great," Lena said, turning to Alex. She'd left Caoimhe with Kara back at the hotel as a sort of consolation, knowing that they'd keep each other company. Kara was more than happy to go for a ramble through the town with Caoimhe at her heels, though it had felt peculiar for Lena not to have Caoimhe sniffing and galloping along the beach beside her. Kara had half-heartedly suggested she go with Lena and Alex, but that idea was quickly shut down.

"Yeah, I - I'm..." Alex fought to catch her breath. She pulled off her gloves and wiped her forehead. "Think I'm going to need a sleep this afternoon."

Lena nodded. Alex hadn't looked so unwell for a week or more, and it made Lena nervous. "Right, well, here we are. I guess you know what we're looking for."

Alex made her way to the light and inspected it, but wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for. "You know more about electronics than me," she said to Lena. "Kryptonite is green, but it's possible it's encased in something. I've only ever seen it in solid form, but in theory it could be a liquid, so..."

"So find what looks unnecessary," Lena said, kneeling down to get a better look under the beacon.

Alex slumped against the wall of the lighthouse.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Lena asked.

Alex went to nod, but then shook her head. "Just give me a minute," she said, closing her eyes as a wave of nausea washed over her. "I just - I'll come good."

"You're not like Kara and allergic to this stuff too?"

"No," Alex said. "I'm just regular-unwell."

"This could have waited."

"No. It needs to be done. For Kara." Kara had spent hours at Lena's house on Tuesday afternoon, and a couple more hours happily debriefing with Alex everything Lena had told her about Lex and his time in America and their speculations about his knowledge of kryptonite, as well as Kara's amusement that Lena had thought that Supergirl was a propaganda stunt. Alex knew that Kara had kept some of Lena's secrets to herself, and accepted and respected that.

Lena pulled a screwdriver out of her pocket and lay down under the beacon. "You and Kara go to quite some lengths for one another," she said, carefully dismantling it, placing the pieces aside in order so that she could reassemble it without too much difficulty. These things were always easier to take apart than put back together.

"She's my sister," Alex said.

"In a lot of families that doesn't necessarily mean much."

"I know. But it does to us."

Lena was glad she had something to do with her hands and somewhere to look other than at Alex. She pulled out some cabling and detached a couple of wires. "Well, you're very lucky."

"I know," Alex said, her breathing slowly returning to normal. "Kara means a lot. Supergirl might help fight to protect London and its people, and she might have pulled me out of the ocean, but it's Kara Danvers who's saved me."