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Eliza Danvers still remembered the first time she’d seen Alex in her DEO attire, a gun strapped to her daughter’s thigh. The sight had hit her like a sucker punch to the chest, a protest crawling up her throat and sitting heavily on her tongue, but Eliza had remained silent, willing herself not to react for Alex’s sake.
Over time, it had gotten easier to see her daughter move, look, and act like a soldier instead of a scientist, but something about the sight always caused a pang in Eliza’s chest. While she was immeasurably proud of the beautiful, brilliant woman Alex had become, Eliza would never shake the image of Jeremiah in a similar uniform, chasing down similar dangers. The DEO had already claimed her husband, and Eliza couldn’t bear it if the DEO took Alex too.
In many ways, though, it already had. So much of her daughter’s life was wrapped up in the walls around them. Alex was full of secrets instead of dreams. She read briefings instead of books. Alex knew so little about the world around her because her head was always fixed on what came from the heavens above. Her world had become too narrow, too focused, too fixed on her sister and her work and nothing else.
And then the phone call had come. Alex still checked in like clockwork every few weeks to touch base, to see how Eliza was doing, but this time her daughter hadn’t been vague about her life. This time Alex had mentioned meeting someone new.
Maggie.
Eliza smiled at the name. She’d heard it often in the handful of months that followed, learning more about the NCPD detective with the apparently adorable dimples with each passing call. Alex’s world was getting brighter and bigger again, and this woman who seemed to have captured Alex’s imagination completely was to thank for it.
While Eliza had suspected her daughter might be gay in the past, Alex’s gushing about the other woman confirmed it. Eliza had been disappointed Maggie hadn’t been invited to Thanksgiving dinner, but then she’d understood why as Eliza watched her daughter painfully, and drunkenly, try to come out.
Her poor Alex. So brave in everything but her heart.
But now the woman Alex couldn’t stop thinking about, talking about, was another room away. Eliza studied her through the glass as Alex stitched Maggie up with the utmost care. Even at this distance, Eliza had to admit Maggie Sawyer’s dimples were quite impressive. It wasn’t hard to see why Alex had tripped all over herself falling for the woman.
“You want to know what they’re saying?”
Eliza started, turning on her stool to meet the blue of Kara’s eyes. “No,” she murmured. “And you better not be eavesdropping, young lady.”
Kara grinned weakly. “I’m just glad Maggie’s all right.”
Eliza nodded, returning her attention to look at the pair. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Alex so taken with someone before.”
Kara stiffened slightly at her side. “Oh. Well… um… Alex is… Maggie and she...”
“I know, sweetie.” Eliza patted Kara’s bicep. “Stop panicking.”
“Oh thank Rao,” Kara breathed before eyeing her carefully. “You… you’re okay with it, though, right?”
Eliza smiled and looked up at her daughter. “Very okay.”
Leaning against the counter and crossing her boots, Kara relaxed marginally. “So Alex told you?”
“We talked, yes, but the way your sister goes on about this woman, I already knew.” Eliza glanced at Kara again. “Are they dating yet?”
Kara pursed her lips and shook her head. “No. Maggie… doesn’t like Alex like that. Which I can’t understand. How can anyone not love Alex?” She sounded very put out by the idea.
Eliza grinned, grateful her daughters had become so close. There was a time there, in the beginning, when she hadn’t been so sure that would ever happen. “I don’t buy that. Do you see the way Maggie is looking at your sister, like Alex hangs the stars? I looked at Jeremiah like that.”
Kara’s features softened as she watched them. “I wanted that for Alex, but not the heartache she’s been having. Falling in love is supposed to make her happy.”
“I want that for both of you, but falling in love always comes with some heartache, sweetie. Alex and Maggie will figure it out. What I’m seeing is mutual.”
“I don’t know,” Kara murmured. “Maggie really hurt her.”
“A mother knows, Kara.” She gripped her daughter’s hand, squeezing hard enough for Kara to feel it.
****
With simulations running on nearly every computer in the lab and Alex nowhere in sight, Eliza decided she had a few minutes to sneak away. When it came to her daughter’s heart, she’d make the time. Hurrying across the DEO, she stepped into the locker room Maggie Sawyer had entered a few minutes prior. They’d given Maggie a standard DEO black polo to change into and Eliza wanted a few minutes alone with the woman who was drawing Alex out of her shell and back into the world.
Maggie had just thrown her old shirt, bloodied from the encounter with the real Hank Henshaw, into the trash. The polo she wore fit her well, revealing muscular arms and a fit, trim body. Eliza smirked. Her daughter had good taste.
Turning, Maggie jumped a little when she saw Eliza. “Whoa. Didn’t hear you come in.” She smiled and Eliza got to see those devastating dimples up close.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.” Eliza drifted closer. “How’s the wound?”
Maggie blinked in surprise at the question, but then she took in Eliza’s lab coat, assuming she was a doctor. “Much better. Agent Danvers patched me up. The drugs are making me a little wobbly, though.”
“Do you need a ride home?”
“Alex arranged one.”
“Of course she did.” Eliza grinned, pleased with her daughter’s chivalry. “Actually, I just wanted to say hello before you left. I’m Eliza.” She paused. “Eliza Danvers.”
The drugs slowed her reaction, but after a moment, Maggie blinked in alarm and drew in a slow, uneven breath, her eyes widening slightly. “Oh.” She offered Eliza a shy, bordering on embarrassed, smile before Maggie huffed out a soft laugh. “Um… Maggie. Maggie Sawyer.”
They shook hands and then Maggie didn’t seem to know what to do with hers, lacing her fingers and twisting them slightly before she reached up to scratch self-consciously behind an ear. Maggie’s sudden nerves were precious, and it said a lot to Eliza that the younger woman wanted to make a good impression.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Maggie. Alex has told me a lot about you.”
Another nervous laugh. “Good things I hope.” Maggie’s smile was tight, her eyes the slightest bit sad.
“Very good things,” Eliza said sincerely.
A little of the tension eased from Maggie’s frame as she slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans to still her nervous fidgeting. She winced a little as her stitches clearly pulled, but she left her hands where they were. “Alex told me that… she told you.”
Eliza nodded. “I guessed, actually, but I’m glad she’s come to accept it. I’m glad she had you to help.”
Swallowing, Maggie shrugged her left shoulder. “I know what it’s like in the beginning. It can be pretty scary. You and Kara made this a lot easier on her. Alex is lucky to have you.”
“I can see why Alex likes you. She isn’t the most trusting woman, my Alex, but when she does let someone in, it’s usually someone special.”
Even in the low light, Eliza could see Maggie’s blush as the detective dipped her head, biting her lower lip with the compliment.
“Your daughter is…” Maggie hesitated, drawing in another shaky breath before meeting Eliza’s gaze and holding it. “You raised an amazing woman, Dr. Danvers. I don’t make many good friends, but Alex… she’s different.”
“I guess it’s good you can see past her stubbornness and passion for science to see that,” Eliza joked.
“Those are two of her best qualities,” Maggie teased right back. “I think it’s cute when she’s being a nerd.”
Eliza’s heart soared at the response.
“I didn’t realize you worked at the DEO,” Maggie said slowly.
“I don’t. I’m a scientist, actually. Alex asked me to come in and help with the virus that killed all those poor people in the bar.”
“I knew some of those people.” Maggie’s features grew serious. “I appreciate your help with that.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Been that kind of week,” Maggie admitted.
“Certainly reminds you, though, doesn’t it?”
“Reminds you?” Maggie looked uncertain.
“Of how fast it can all be taken away. Things like that… I always use them to remind me that the time to live is now. It honors those I’ve lost in some way.”
Maggie swallowed, her gaze drifting to the floor as she considered Eliza’s words.
“I lost my husband years ago. So many things I wish I’d said, wished we done together. All the reasons why we didn’t seem so stupid after he was gone.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Maggie glanced up at her, curious.
Eliza smiled, impressed by the shrewd detective her daughter was falling so hard for. “Because I saw the way you were looking at my daughter. And I saw the way my daughter looks at you.”
Maggie searched Eliza’s features for a moment, but her lips turned up in a sad smile. “Things are… complicated there, Dr. Danvers.” It wasn’t a denial and both acknowledged that.
“Chalk me up to being a meddling mom, but if you had died today, if that laser had struck a few inches to your left, would ‘complicated’ have mattered? Or would you have wished you’d taken a chance?”
Maggie looked away.
“Just something to think about, Detective. Life is so short, and we don’t take enough chances when it comes to our own happiness. I’ve always wondered why that is.”
“When you’re happy, it can be taken from you.”
Eliza’s gaze sharpened on Maggie’s features, getting a glimpse of some hidden hurt. “It can. I know that all too well. But I wouldn’t have traded a minute that I had with Alex’s father to save myself the pain of losing him later.”
Slowly, Maggie nodded.
“Sorry if I made you feel ambushed,” Eliza said after a moment, letting Maggie off the hook for now. “I just wanted the chance to meet the remarkable woman I’d heard so much about and to thank you for all the help you’ve given Alex.”
Snorting out a weak laugh, Maggie shook her head. “You Danvers women tend to speak your minds.” She smiled. “That’s a trait I admire, actually.”
“Lucky for me.” Eliza gently put her hand on Maggie’s uninjured shoulder. “It was very nice to meet you, Maggie.”
“Likewise, Dr. Danvers.” Maggie shuffled past her, getting to the door before she turned back. “Alex’s father… you really wouldn’t have changed things?”
“I would, actually. I would have told him I loved him a lot sooner.”
Maggie gave Eliza one last glimpse of those dimples before she left.
A few moments later, the door pushed open and Kara stepped inside, crossing her arms over her family crest. “What was that? You know Alex will kill you for trying to meddle.”
“What did I tell you about eavesdropping?” Eliza muttered. “And fortunately, my other daughter is Supergirl. I think I’m safe.”
“One of the only people on the planet that scares Supergirl is Alex Danvers. You’re on your own.” Kara drifted closer. “Maggie really likes Alex, doesn’t she?”
“Like you said earlier, how can someone not fall in love with our Alex?”
“You think they’ll work things out?”
“I gave Maggie a gentle push. We’ll see what happens.” Eliza could only cross her fingers and hope her beautiful daughter, who’d been so strong for all of them for so long, would finally have someone who would love her as much as she deserved to be loved.
“I never knew you were so sneaky,” Kara murmured.
“You sound proud.”
“Just a little.” Kara pulled Eliza into a hug. “I hope it works. That Maggie heard you.”
“Me too, sweetie. Me too.”
“But if she hurts Alex again, I’m throwing her into space.”
Eliza chuckled and held her daughter a little tighter.