Hi! I hope you are having an amazing day and that this makes it even better. This is the probably last chapter of Trade-Off. Thank you for being supportive; this was my first story, and I wasn't sure how quite to aporoach it, but your reviews were all helpful and nice. Please enjoy this chapter of Trade-Off!

Chapter 9

Alex sat quietly by her sister's bedside, in between Lena and Kara. Her primary focus was Kara, but Lena deserved to have someone there for her if and when she woke up.

It had been about a day since Kara had woken up last and seen her friend's condition. She was sleeping off all of the pain, but Alex knew that even several hours under the sun lamps wouldn't heal her because of Lillian's kryptonite.

She also knew that both Lena and Kara would require a lot of help mentally getting over their abuse. Thankfully, they were both too out of it to be having nightmares, but both Alex and another doctor thought the next time Kara woke up, she would be able to stay awake. The jury was still out on Lena.

Alex closed her eyes and rubbed her fingers over Kara's hand, which she had not let go of since she had last slept a few hours ago. J'onn had forced her to leave and take a break.

All of a sudden, she felt Kara's hand squeezing hers. It definitely did not feel like she had her powers back yet.

"Hey," Kara croaked. Alex smiled and felt a tear fall as she turned to Kara. Her sister was obviously fighting to keep her eyes open, but it looked like it was getting easier with every passing second.

"Hey, Kara," Alex responded. Now it was Kara's turn to smile.

"I feel a lot better. Not yet Supergirl, but as Kara Danvers. How's Lena?" Kara asked as a shadow of concern swept across her face.

Alex was hesitant, but Kara was already sitting up against medical protocol, and Alex couldn't hide the truth from her sister.

Kara sighed softly as she saw the pale Luthor, her head rested against DEO pillows.

"She's in better shape than she was when you last woke up a day ago," Alex offered. "We honestly don't know when she'll wake up. She had multiple broken bones, and her cuts are deeper and more deliberate than yours. She'll probably live, though."

"Probably?" Kara breathed as she swung her legs over the side of her bed. Alex tried to stop her from standing, but it was a doomed attempt.

"Kara, Kara, wait. If you absolutely have to stande, you have to use crutches. Broken leg, remember?" Alex reminded her sister. She walked quickly to a wall in the med bay and pulled a set of crutches from it. She walked over to Kara and helped her support her weight with them.

Kara sighed as she realized she was confined to crutches until they could figure out a way to activate her healing powers, if that was even possible. Squaring her shoulders and refusing to listen to the negative thoughts, she hobbled over to Lena.

Her dark hair was spread around her head like a halo. Kara looked across her to look at her medical chart; she bit her lip on concern when she saw all of Lena's injuries in detail. Lena had endured a lot of pain for her.

Alex put her hand on Kara's shoulder as they both regarded the Luthor.

Kara didn't know how Lillian could have done this to her own daughter, but it was terrible to see, so Kara was glad she didn't understand.

As Kara stood there, contemplating, Lena woke up.

Where am I? What is this? Why can't I open my eyes? Is Kara finally safe? Lena thought. She tried to open her eyes and sit up from whateber bed she was in, but everything hurt too much.

She heard two very familiar voices above her.

"Kara, her heart rate is picking up. She's waking up," Lena recognized this as Alex.

"Lena?" That was definitely Kara, Lena knew. She had to open her eyes. She debated falling back asleep briefly, but she knew it wasn't fair to abandon Kara so soon.

She opened her bright green eyes, relieved that it didn't hurt as much as she would have thought. She saw Kara leaning over her with a look of intense concern and relief. Alex patted her sister on the shoulder and walked out, knowing the two friends needed privacy to talk.

"Lena..." Kara began. "I'm sorry."

Lena shook her head, then realized that was a terrible idea as her head spun and ached. "Don't be," she said simply. "This was my mother's fault."

Kara looked away and sniffled. "Yeah, but-"

Lena cut her off. "Kara, I may barely be able to talk with you right now, but I swear, don't you dare finish that sentence."

Kara nodded, but she still looked stricken. "Are you in too mich pain for a hug?"

Lena laughed against the pain. "Never from you."

Kara smiled, abandoning her crutches to lean in and hug the Luthor.

The two friends were comforted by the hug. They knew that despite everything that had happened, they would be okay. Together.

The end