Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Survivors

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 07: Taking a chance

Kal El’s eyes closed and his breathing evened out just as Kara finished the lullaby, one of her favorites. Aunt Astra would save it for the few times she had a fever and whenever she suspected Kara was feeling alone, isolated, the times her mother and father were away on important business. Despite the extended family around her, Kara always wished she had a sibling. She knew some parents on Krypton had two children and though it was not common, her mother was a twin and she suspected her parents would have been offered the option.

For the most part, Kara shrugged it off and found ways to entertain herself, singing, art, studying law, her lessons which she excelled at. Though she loved the beauty and elegance of science, the girl felt drawn to follow her mother’s footsteps and enter the field of law. Her mother had been her example all her life, perhaps because Kara had more interaction with her. Her father was a kind man, and she loved him, but only her mother seemed to show any real affection. Her mother and Aunt Astra.

Watching her mother, the few times she saw her work, had instilled a strong sense of justice in the girl. Right and wrong seemed clear cut. You followed the law or you were punished. There were no grey areas.

Then her life slowly changed and though the girl didn’t recognize it at the time, it was falling apart, as was the planet around her. Aunt Astra disappeared. She had seen her only once when she called her with the spy beacon and her mother had found them together. Kara left as her mother instructed and she never heard from or saw her aunt again.

Then the strain began showing more on her mother’s face. Kara had assumed it was her work, but her father also showed changes. While he did not smile as much as before, he was always with mother when Kara laid down at night, which was unusual. He kissed her forehead each night as her mother had always done. He held her more often when he saw her, though he had been away longer hours during the day. She was also told to spend her days taking care of her newborn baby cousin while her parents were at work, even having her take a leave of absence from her lessons.

This made absolutely no sense, as education was everything in her family. Kara did not question though. She, as always, did what she was told. Instead of learning about planets and species and quantum physics, she was learning how to change diapers, feed a baby, burp the child for Rao’s sake. Kara did not ask questions.

Now she wished she had. Since that fateful day when she had been woken from bed and sent from her home, her ideas of justice had changed dramatically. Right and wrong did not matter as much anymore. She still believed in justice and had it been just her, she may have starved to death before ever stealing. Having a baby depending on you for life changed things. Right and wrong did not matter, her honor did not matter. All that mattered was keeping Kal El alive, whatever it took.

Now things had changed again. It was no longer just the two of them fighting to stay alive, hiding, running, stealing. Another had entered Kara’s life. When she had run out of land to travel, she had been found by an angel sent by Rao. Alex was not only kind to her but she enjoyed herself around the girl. For brief moments she wasn’t stricken by near paralyzing anxiety and fear. She wasn’t hearing the destruction of Krypton in the back of her mind, or the times she woke up in the pod surrounded by nothing but darkness before falling back asleep. Instead she could focus on the beauty of this new planet, that she had not had time to appreciate before.

But the anxiety was still there, only stifled. Kara knew this could not last forever. She had to find a better way, a better place to raise Kal El, away from other humans. She knew not all were like Alex just as she knew that the longer she spent around Alex, the more danger the girl would be in.

Lying back, with Kal El safely tucked into her side, so he would be safe in the event her eyes decided to… do whatever they had done when she had a nightmare or was frightened by a large monster, Kara tried to rest. If she could have four hours of uninterrupted sleep, sleep with no nightmares, the girl believed she could figure out her next move.

Before she could clear her mind and drift off, she heard a noise, the unmistakable sound of footsteps. Kara moved to the entrance of their rocky room and the side, hiding herself but keeping an eye on Kal behind her. She knew if someone who meant them harm entered, she could not just grab Kal from behind and run around them. The exit was too narrow. She thought of jumping through the slight opening in the top, but while she had thought it would make a good escape route before, it looked very small now.

The blonde felt a bit sick, realizing if anyone found them here, she would have to harm them, to get Kal and their supplies safely packed and exit. Once in the open, she felt she could avoid pursuers without harming them but right now she was trapped.

Kara took a chance, looking hard through the stone, thankfully not becoming dizzy this time, and only saw one figure. It was dark and the rock and lack of light made it difficult to tell if it was Alex. She had to wait. Her wait didn’t last long. A beam of light lit up the narrow corridor and a voice whispered through its tunnel.

“Kara? Don’t worry, it’s just me. Are you still awake?”

Kara let out a sigh of relief, her whole body nearly collapsing as the massive amount of anxiety she had felt drained from her.

“Alex.” she answered.

The shuffling of feet told her Alex was nearing. She backed up and turned on the lantern. What she saw when Alex entered, chilled her.

Alex was afraid. Of what, Kara couldn’t tell but she was afraid.

“What is wrong?” Kara asked, using one of the many phrases Alex had taught her the last four days.

“I need to you to listen to me, and not run, okay?” Alex told her, pointing to her ears and shaking her head as she points to Kara’s feet. Kara slowly nodded.

“My parents?”

The blonde nodded, understanding that phrase well.

“They know about you.”

“ No. Do they know where I am? ” Kara asked, then covered her eyes and pointed to herself.

“No, I wouldn’t tell them. They want to see you. You can trust them.” Alex told her slowly, using her eyes and heart to make sure the girl understood.

Kara did understand. Alex had been discovered and her parents wanted to know where Kara was.

“No.” Kara told her immediately. It was enough that Alex knew and the blonde had known it was a matter of time before her friend was discovered. Now Alex was in trouble and she wanted Kara to place her parents in danger as well.

“I go.”

“No! You can trust them. They want to help. They won’t tell anyone. Trust me.”

Kara understood. Alex believed her parents would not report her. What Alex didn’t understand is too much was at stake. Her parents would never believe she was an alien. They would think she was just a young girl on the run with a baby. They would have to call authorities and Kara would have to run regardless. Then the authorities would question them and if anyone knew what she really was, because surely her pod had been discovered, they would be detained, questioned and Alex had the most contact with her.

“Thank you.” Kara told her. Alex seemed to relax, thinking Kara would come with her. Instead the blonde walked around her and began preparing the back pack. She would take what she came with and the supplies Alex had given her for Kal.

Alex shook her head, her relief turning to anxiety. She tried to grab the pack but couldn’t take it from Kara’s grip.

“No! Trust. Trust me, remember?”

Kara looked at her sadly and then smiled. “Thank you.” The blonde hugged her friend gently as Alex stood rooted to the spot. “Go home. Be safe.”

Kara moved quickly, everything packed that she needed in five seconds, before Alex’s disbelieving eyes.

“They swore they wouldn’t tell! They want to help Kara. You need help, more help than I can give you! You can’t go alone. What if you need a bathroom, how will you eat, you can’t sleep in another cave, you need a mattress. Sticky Buns! Who is going to give those to you? Bananas? Apples? Cheese? Chocolate! You can’t live without chocolate. What about Wipes, and you are going to need more diapers and you can’t leave me!”

Kara didn’t turn around from the bag to look at Alex. She knew Alex was crying and she knew she had tears in her eyes but she had been selfish enough. She wouldn’t place her in more danger. Gently lifting a stirring baby who had been awoken by Alex’s pleas, Kara wrapped him in his two large red blankets. She felt Alex trying to turn her but couldn’t face the girl right now.

“Kara you are my only friend! You must trust me! You said you would trust me! You can trust my parents I swear. You can’t do this alone!”

Cradling Kal into her chest she turned quickly and kissed Alex on the cheek. She had learned many phrases and one from one of the many movies the two had watched the past two days. There was one with sisters and they hugged and the phrase they uttered made sense to Kara.

“I love you, Alex. Thank you.”

Kara ran, not trusting herself to stay any longer. She decided to follow the coast in the direction Alex had told her was North, based on the largest, brightest star in the sky. She believed if she made a long enough circle and headed back inland away from the ocean she may be able to find more caves, more wooded areas, more places to hide. One thing she was certain of, she would never place anyone like Alex in danger again.

She ran for an hour until she could no longer hear Midvale. Finding a large tree, Kara sat, hoping Kal could get more sleep while she stayed up, watching for creatures, listening for humans. Kara knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep until she found another suitable hiding spot, this time not so close to a small city, where she could be discovered by anyone.

The blonde tried to forget the tears in her eyes, focusing instead on rocking a grumpy Kal El back to sleep. He had cried a bit, mostly whining but now refused to go back to sleep, not that Kara could blame him.

“Alex?”

Kara shook her head. “Just me and you again Kal. No Alex.”

“I want play.” he told her, using the English translation of I and play.

“It’s still dark. Time to sleep. You are speaking much better.”

“Play Alex?”

Kara rested her head against the tree trunk.

“I want to play with Alex too, but we can’t anymore. Her parents… she is in trouble and they want to meet us and they can’t. We can’t trust them Kal. I trust Alex but they will… I don’t know what they would do. I guess I will never know.”

While Kara held a grumpy Kal El close to her, sitting against a tree stump, Alex had made the trek back to her house. Her mother and father were waiting on the porch, relieved to see her back and distraught that she was alone. As Alex marched closer to the light her parents could tell she was crying and angry, very angry. The girl marched up the porch and passed them.

“Alex?” Jeremiah started. “She wouldn’t come? Would she feel more comfortable if I went with you and she could see that I was alone?”

“She left!” Alex yelled. “I told you she would! You should have trusted me instead of sending me back right away. You thought you were helping and now she is gone! She is on her own again. She didn’t even take the food I had brought for her, just food for the baby! It’s all there. I can show you in the morning. She didn’t take the lantern or her mattress. She is going to be in the dark, no mattress, no pillow, no nothing! She told me thank you and that she loved me and she left! Is this what you wanted? I told you she wouldn’t come and now she is in a worse situation! You can’t follow her. It took her five seconds to pack up and she was a blur. Now she is gone and on her own. I hope you are happy.”

Alex stormed into the house and ran quickly up the stairs. Jeremiah moved to follow but Eliza’s hand stopped him.

“Let me.”

Alex’s mother walked slowly up the stairs to her daughter’s room. Alex was standing in the dark, looking out the window towards the ocean.

“Go away.” she told whoever had entered her room. Eliza saw the girl had her arms wrapped around herself and was shaking. Her voice was hoarse. Walking slowly behind her, Eliza wrapped Alex in her arms. Thankfully the girl didn’t fight her, she just cried harder.

“I’m sorry Alex. I really am. I want… I’m sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter now. She is gone.”

Alex eventually laid down, and passed out from exhaustion, knowing when she woke up, she wouldn’t see the blonde who had become such a huge part of her life in such a short time. She would never see Kal giggle again when she tickled him.

Her parents stayed at home with her the next day but it did not matter. Every attempt to speak to her was met with indifference. The girl would not come down from her room and refused to eat, stating that she was not hungry. Jeremiah tried to apologize, offer solutions on how they could find her but Alex knew better. Even if Kara was found, she couldn’t be stopped. The girl had made it on her own, been shot at, starved, who knew what else. She was a survivor and her life would be miserable but she would stay free. Alex spent most of the night sitting in front of her window, hoping the sudden storm that appeared wasn’t over wherever Kara was. Maybe she found another cave but what if it flooded? Kara hated loud noises. How would she deal with thunder? The same way she dealt with everything else. She would handle it and move on.

Kara was not as lucky as Alex had hoped. Though it was a different storm, then the one over Alex’s home, she was caught in another one. The severity of it frightened her and Kal, who she kept wrapped head to toe in his blankets so he would stay dry. She was not as lucky. The girl had found an old cabin eventually and after running circles for miles, determined that it was abandoned. By the look of it, it had been abandoned for a long time. Rain fell through the holes in the roof but there were enough dry spots to let Kal’s face out from under the blanket so he could cry to his heart’s content. The noise scared him but it devastated Kara. Only what she had learned was called a gun had ever been as loud as this thunder. She was used to storms on Krypton. The planet had no shortage of them and no one who wanted to survive dared leave the compound. Even the rain was poison, burning the skin of those who ventured out. It had started before she was born. Her father had told her once that it had not always been like that. The planet was dying and Kara ignored the signs, believing her parents when they told her it would be fine. They knew better but she didn’t. They lied to her.

Now the thunder reminded her of the last sound she heard before she went to sleep in the pod. The shaking old walls reminded her of the earthquakes she learned to live with. The rain was frustrating but if the thunder would just stop, she would be fine.

“I wish it would stop, Kal.” she whispered, holding the baby close. She tried to feed him a bottle but for once he refused. He was scared, they both were. Neither slept that night. By the time the sun was rising, the storm had given way to light rainfall that stopped and started all day. Kara decided to stay for one more day and be alert, watching for humans. She had dozed a few times, jerking herself awake, when she did. Kal was walking a bit, wearing one of the outfits Alex had bought him, playing with a ball he had found in the backpack.

“Alex?”

Kara took a deep breath. “I miss her too, Kal.”

By the third day, Alex had begun eating a bit, a sandwich at least. Her parents had been unable to cheer her up and unable to think of any method for finding the lost girl and baby. Jeremiah mentally berated himself the past two days for forcing Alex to visit her at night, or not having a better plan. Perhaps… it didn’t matter. He had never seen his daughter so depressed and it killed him. Eliza was hurting for the girl as well but feeling a bit better seeing Alex at the breakfast table. She barely ate her cereal but at least she was eating.

“Why don’t you go to the beach today Alex? Maybe being with your other friends might… I don’t know…”

“You don’t get it, Mom. I don’t have other friends. Have you seen anyone come to the house and ask me to come over or spend the night? Nobody cares about hanging out with the Area Science Fair champion. I’ve tried but… she was my friend. Go to work. I won’t be going anywhere. I’m leaving the supplies she left behind in the cave. Maybe she will come back and take them if she thinks no one is watching.”

Neither parent said anything, deciding that their presence was not helping the girl. Jeremiah and Eliza kissed her on the cheek and she let them without complaint. Her parents stepped out onto the porch and saw a sight neither expected.

A blonde girl, a bit smaller than Alex, holding a baby swaddled in red blankets, was standing in front of the house. Both recognized Alex’s old sneakers, t shirt and shorts. The girl was a mess, her clothes filthy, her face covered in dirt, legs covered in mud, a backpack too large for her, strapped tightly around her shoulders and small waist. Her hair was stringy and the blonde was streaked, not in colors but in dirt.

Neither said anything, taking in the sight of this child who had obviously been sleeping and hiding in the wilderness through the recent storms. Eliza was the first to step forward. Kara flinched a bit, took a half step back then steadied herself.

“Kara?” the mother asked, taking her eyes off the baby and looking at the dirty child who she could tell even under the mud, was beautiful… and frightened. Opening her arms in front of her, hoping to show she meant no harm, Eliza slowly approached the girl.

“You are Kara?”

Kara nodded.

“I’m Eliza. I am Alex’s mother.”

Kara nodded once more. Her eyes were not hard, wary, but not angry. Instead Eliza decided the girl looked exhausted, scared and beaten.

“I’m dangerous.” Kara told her, not threateningly, just wanting her to understand.

“I don’t care. We can protect you. You can trust us.”

While Eliza had been slowly making her way to the girl, Jeremiah had hustled a confused Alex outside.

“People will look for me. You will be in danger if I am discovered.” then shook her head at slipping into a language they had no hope of understanding. “Dangerous. Have to hide.” she decided on, pointing at herself.

“Kara? Is it really you?”

Kara took her eyes off the woman and saw Alex. Tears pooled immediately, seeing the girl who had become her only friend, the one who had shown the most kindness to her, the only kindness since she had arrived here.

“I have to hide. I trust you.”

Alex did not approach her slowly, instead running to her and wrapping them both in her small arms. Her parents stood back in astonishment, not suspecting the bond between these two was this strong, after such a short time. They obviously saw how Alex had reacted to Kara being gone but seeing the smaller girl breaking down as well as their daughter was a shock.

“I… we will hide you. Trust me?”

Kara nodded, “I trust you.”

“Then can we please come inside because you stink and need a shower?”

Kara smiled and nodded, taking Alex’s hand with the one that was not holding Kal in her arms. The two slowly walked up to Eliza who had been joined by Jeremiah.

“Hello. I’m Jeremiah. I am very glad you are here.” he told her softly, kneeling on front of the much shorter girl. Kara looked at the porch but smiled slightly. Jeremiah wasn’t fooled. He ducked lower so she would have to meet her eyes.

“I will keep you safe. Do you understand? All of us. We will keep you safe.”

“We are going to help you. Thank you for coming back. I missed you so much.” Alex told her, running her hand through Kara’s stringy, muddy hair. “Come inside. I bet you haven’t eaten since you left. I can hear your stomach growling. I can make you sandwiches and…”

“I’ll make her sandwiches. It is good to meet you Kara and Kal.” he offered his hand which she hesitantly took. Her grip was strong, too strong for a girl her size and Jeremiah knew she was holding back.

Kara followed Alex into the house, who took Kal from her and pointed upstairs.

“Shower. I will get you clothes and we can clean Munchkin, then eat.”

Kara left Kal with Alex and enjoyed the hot water. Despite the discovery that temperature didn’t bother her as it should, she felt horrible and even the blankets could only keep Kal so warm. The blonde wasn’t sure why she had come back. It was selfish, she knew this, but as she traveled her feet kept bringing her back here. She would just be vigilant. If she stayed as out of sight as possible, if she would not do anything noticeable, perhaps Alex and her parents wouldn’t be targets. She just had to be careful. She also had to be ready to protect them, the same as she would protect Kal.

Kara must have lost track of how long she had been in the shower because Alex was in the room.

“You okay?”

“Yes.” Kara told her.

“Take your time, I was just checking. There are clothes, here and Kal is in my room, waiting on you. I fed him and have food ready. You are sure you are okay? You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”

“Yes… No?”

Alex sighed. “At least we can have more time to work on English so you won’t have to guess most of the time. After you eat we can give Kal a bath. He kind of stinks too and he has a diaper rash. Mom said some powder should take care of it. It’s in your bag but I didn’t want to go into it without you there.”

Kara made it down after brushing her hair and wearing an incredibly comfortable pair of sweats Alex had given her. The Danvers parents were waiting at the table, all smiles, while Alex bounced a laughing Kal on her knee.

“Your brother is adorable.” Eliza told her.

“We haven’t gotten to adorable yet.” Alex informed Eliza. They hadn’t gotten to a lot of things but at least they had time. Kara took in the multiple sandwiches in front of her, some including meat she had not tasted before.

“Roast beef on three of them. It’s good. I can hear your stomach. Eat.” Alex ordered.

The blonde sat slowly at the table, next to Alex and across from Jeremiah and Eliza. They were smiling but their eyes never left her, making Kara a bit nervous. She took a bite of one sandwich and chewed slowly, keeping an eye on them. At least until she felt a smack on the back of her head.

“I know you haven’t eaten since you left. Eat already.” Alex instructed. Kara glared at her, but then shrugged her shoulders. Jeremiah and Eliza sat stunned as the sandwiches disappeared in under a minute, along with a bag of chips. While both parents had believed Alex’s assertion that the beautiful girl was an alien, neither had seen her exhibit any signs of it until now. She truly was a blur.

“Wow. I’m beginning to understand the food bill.” Jeremiah said with a chuckle. “Alex has she said what… planet she is from?”

“Kara, he wants to know the name of your home?” Alex instructed.

“Krypton.” Kara answered.

“I wonder if I got a star chart if she could point it out. Maybe there were solar flares that bombarded… I wonder if she knows where she landed.”

“Stop Jeremiah. The questions can wait. The first thing we must do is help her communicate. She will always feel lost and isolated until she can understand everything that is said around her.” Eliza explained.

“I’m doing a good job. She didn’t know any English until we started. She knows quite a bit now.” Alex told her mother proudly.

“You have done an outstanding job, Alex, but right now she is memorizing what you are saying and connecting it to meaningful emotions, actions or objects. She needs to know how to read, right? She may know how to say Sandwich but… I have vacation time saved up. I will stay home for the next month. Jeremiah, you can cover for me, correct?”

“Yeah… think I am going to call us both out for the rest of the week, in my case.”

“Alex we can start with the basics. Learning the alphabet, sounds, simple words and move on from there. What do you think? You have been spearheading her education. Does that sound like a good place to start?”

“Seems cool. I can go to the bookstore…” Alex stopped at the look from her parents… “no, seriously, I will go to the bookstore this time and pick up some early learners. One is all it should take. She is really smart. Once she figures something out, it sticks. It’s like she has a photographic memory.”

Jeremiah took a deep breath. Perhaps it was too soon, but he had to ask, he needed to know if any family may have been separated from her.

“Kara, are your parents…” he stopped seeing the look on the blonde girls’ face.

“Can you show me tonight where Krypton is?”

Alex looked at her and pointed to her eyes and then up. “Krypton.”

Kara shook her head. “No.”

The girl stood up and beckoned Jeremiah to follow her. All three walked outside, Kal pulling Alex’s hair and chewing on it.

“She isn’t going to run, is she?” Eliza whispered to Alex.

“No, her bag is upstairs with the crystals and Kal’s supplies. Plus she would have him. She would never leave him.”

“Did you say crystals?” Eliza asked, fascinated already. “What is she…”

Kara had bent over and grabbed rock slightly larger than her fist from the ground. Turning back to Jeremiah, she showed it to him.

“Krypton.” she told him, then before the parents astonished eyes, ground the granite rock into dust with her tiny fist.

“Krypton gone.” Kara finished, letting the dust fall out of her hand. “Parents gone. Kal’s parents gone. Every… every…”

“Everybody.” Alex helped.

“Everybody gone.” Kara finished, her voice cracking. Eliza reached for her but she stiffened, then relaxed, allowing Eliza to touch her shoulders. Alex stepped up and wiped a tear from her eye.

“Hey, you are here. You got us now, okay?” Kara only nodded in response and gave her a shy smile.

“Her parents and Kal’s parents aren’t the same. He must be a nephew or cousin.” Jeremiah whispered. “We really need to teach her the language. We won’t find out what happened until she can… understand.”

“I think her demonstration explained what happened, Jeremiah. She was sent here… her planet is gone. How old do you think she is? How old is he? How long as the poor girl been here living in the wild?”

“The sooner we teach her English, the sooner we can find out.” he reminded his wife. It didn’t matter at this moment, he supposed. The loss was obviously fresh, the girl traumatized and everything she had grown up with was dead. Jeremiah wondered how they could get therapy here for a girl probably suffering from PTSD, grief, shock, severe anxiety he was sure she had and admitted to himself that it was going to be impossible. His only option was to begin reading every book he could find on the subjects.

“Let’s just leave her alone for a few days with the questions so she can relax. Everything she has been through, I can’t imagine.” Eliza suggested.

The two sat watching Alex and Kara sit in the living room that night, playing with Kal. Both parents were amazed at how motherly Kara was with the boy but also equally amazed at how well Alex interacted with him. He was obviously very comfortable with her. The two girls bathed him and Eliza provided powder Jeremiah had run to the store to buy. She thought of all Alex had bought and ran through her mind, how much more the grocery bill would be considering the cost of raising a baby and the amount she had seen Kara consume. It was no wonder Alex had such a high bill when she did her clandestine shopping.

The baby moved towards Eliza who had slid onto the floor with the girls and she noted Kara tensed. Meeting her eyes, the blonde girl saw Eliza’s face and dropped her head.

“I won’t hold him if you don’t want me to, Kara.”

Kara shook her head. “It is… okay.”

“Yes! We got okay down. Remember the sign?”

Kara laughed quietly and put her thumb and forefinger together in a circle.

“Feel privileged Mom. It took a couple days before she relaxed enough to let him near me for any length of time. She was very protective of him.”

Eliza nodded her head, not saying that it was obvious the girl was still extremely protective around him. Considering what happened, she was probably stemming off the grief she felt by focusing on him alone for the most part, plus the enormous pressure of raising a child at her age in such an extreme situation.

Kal himself was a bit shy, only having been around Kara and Alex for so long, Alex only recently. When Eliza opened her arms, he stared at her for a long time and looked back at Kara.

“It’s okay. You can trust her.”

Eliza was not sure what exactly Kara told the little toddler who couldn’t have been more than 18 months old, but it must have worked because he moved into her arms. He yawned and lay his head on her shoulder then shook his head and moved back to the floor, towards his cousin. Sitting on the floor, he unceremoniously dropped his head into her lap. Kara also yawned.

“Alex, I bet Kara hasn’t slept since she left and I doubt the baby has much either. Why don’t the two of you go to bed. You realize you are going to have to share a room. We can make the extra room into a nursery.”

“I planned to share with her. That way I can keep an eye on her. She can sleep with me until we get her own bed. I can move mine to the wall and there will be plenty of room. If I start to hear her mumble I can wake her before the nightmares really bother her. We should probably invest in some fire extinguishers just in case.”

“Good point.” Jeremiah agreed. “We have a small one in the kitchen but I will pick up a few more tomorrow. Is your bed big enough for the three of you? Will it be… okay?”

“If it isn’t I can make a pallet on the floor and sleep with Kal. She needs the bed. She is exhausted.”

That decided by Alex’s decisive proclamation, the three went upstairs and they lay down on Alex’s queen size bed. The girl knew she would have to get a smaller bed but that was fine. She hoped Kara didn’t mind that she snored.

With Kara on her back and Kal snuggled between the two, the brunette and baby were fast asleep. It was only hours later that Alex woke and realized Kara was not in bed. At first, she panicked, thinking that the girl may have run off again, but relaxed, feeling Kal next to her. Kara would never leave Kal behind. She quietly got out of bed, and looked at the floor, searching for the girl. Becoming worried, she checked the window of her room, the first floor roof just below her room, sticking out a good twenty feet. There she saw Kara in the moonlight, lying on her back, head on her pillow and red blankets covering her, no mattress under her on the roof. Alex thought of calling to her but wasn’t sure if it would frighten her.

“What’s wrong? I heard you moving.” Jeremiah asked, cracking her bedroom door.

“How the heck did you hear me moving?”

“Your floorboards creak, something to remember if you ever think of sneaking out. I haven’t been able to sleep. A lot of stuff going through my head. How is she… where is she?’ the man asked, seeing the sleeping baby but no blonde.

“Out there. I guess she slipped out the window. I can’t tell if she is sleeping or not but she hasn’t moved.”

“Why is she out there? Has she gotten that used to sleeping outside?”

“I think she is… scared?”

Jeremiah understood, walking over and lifting the window up quietly in the event the girl was asleep. “Lay back down with Kal so he doesn’t wake up. I will handle this. If she is asleep I can carry her back in.”

“Just don’t scare her.” Alex warned him. If Kara had an incident, the girl would run again.

Jeremiah winked at his daughter and crawled out onto the roof. He slowly made his way next to the girl and sat down. He was not surprised to see Kara awake, gazing at the stars.

“I know you have to be tired. Why don’t you go inside and sleep on a nice bed?”

Kara turned her eyes towards him then pointed to her eyes.

“Alex told me. You are scared of these powers you have. They are new… uh…” he pointed to his eyes and then to the sky, then shook his head. Kara looked back up and shook her head.

“Something about this planet is making you have these powers. You have obviously got the strength thing down and the speed but… Alex may have mentioned you can see through walls. I wouldn’t even begin to know how to ask that with hand gestures. The laser beams, they only happen when you are scared.”

Kara was looking at him now and even in the dark he could see how tired her eyes were.

“How many times?” he asked her, pointing to his eyes and counting with his fingers. Kara stuck up two fingers.

“That’s not bad. I’m sure it freaked you out. I couldn’t imagine that happening, but we are going to help you control it. For now, Alex can wake you when you have nightmares before you get too scared.”

Kara smiled, not quite understanding but she knew he was telling her Alex could help. But she would never be able to sleep inside, next to the girl, knowing what could happen.

“Okay, I know how to fix it, but we have to wait until I can get you a bed tomorrow. I guess we will do whatever makes you feel comfortable tonight.”

Jeremiah stood up and shuffled back into the house. Kara relaxed until he came back five minutes later, pillow blanket and two bed mats. He handed one to Kara and laid one for himself.

“You won’t be alone again, I promise. Go to sleep. Tomorrow I will have your bed facing the window so if something happens the worst you can do is break the window and cause a light show over the ocean. Now I am exhausted so let’s sleep.”

Jeremiah laid back, his arms behind his head, against the pillow and closed his eyes. Kara stared at him in disbelief then smiled, copying his movement and closed her eyes as well. She focused on his breathing and tried to match her own. The next thing she knew, the sound of chirping birds and the warmth of sunlight told her it was morning. She had slept all night with no nightmares, no dreams at all. Sitting up, she saw Jeremiah next to her drinking a cup of coffee.

“I would offer you some, but something tells me you are more of a chocolate milk fan. How about this view?”

He pointed to the ocean and Kara smiled, catching his meaning. It was beautiful.

“Eliza is cooking breakfast and Alex is feeding Kal. You hungry?”

The blonde nodded. Despite her food last night she was definitely hungry. She was also rested, a strange feeling.

“Let’s go get breakfast. Let me fix a plate first and you can have the rest. Forget the other two.” Jeremiah told her, winking and moving quickly inside. Kara followed, seeing clothes had been laid out in Alex’s room for her to replace her pajamas. Alex also laid a toothbrush and toothpaste on the counter.

Kara stopped at the room and realized that today, she would not have to worry about food, not have to worry about the weather or hiding or clothes. She wouldn’t have to worry many of the things she had worried about recently.

She heard Alex holler from downstairs to hurry up. The smell of food was calling. Kara wiped a tear from her eye and walked downstairs for her first breakfast with the Danvers.