It had been a long day at the DEO for the team and Maggie, who had been assisting them with the capture of a violent alien who had launched an attack on innocent civilians in National City. Thankfully, the team's meticulously planned operation resulted in Supergirl successfully capturing and containing the threat. With the alien behind bars, and the citizens of National City no longer at risk, the team decided the interrogations could wait until the morning.

Alex, still pumped from her adrenaline-fuelled operation, suggested that they all go for a well-deserved drink: "First rounds on me!" she shouted, as she tried to tempt a hesitant crowd. Supergirl was exhausted from her efforts to detain the alien, and reluctantly declined the invitation in favour of some much-needed rest. After all, she wanted to be on top of her game when they interviewed the prisoner the next morning. J'onn also declined, insisting that he remain at the DEO to be on hand should anything go wrong with the captive: he couldn't afford any mishaps with an alien possessing such a brutal character as this one. Alex nodded, disappointed, but not surprised. Winn and James had already left, since James had bought them tickets to a baseball game a while ago, to which they were already running late. That left just one. Alex turned to Maggie, making sure to put on her best puppy eyes, so as to deny Maggie any possibility of backing out. Maggie, as usual, submitted to Alex's irresistible charm: "Hmmm. Ok, but just the one drink this time – I mean it!". "Yes - knew I could count on you!", Alex said with a cheeky grin on her face. Maggie smiled in return: "I'll meet you at the usual in an hour?". "Sounds great!", replied Alex excitedly.

Alex rushed home as she wanted to take a quick shower before heading back out. She was just pulling on her jeans when she heard her phone buzz on the counter. Worried it was Maggie saying she could no longer go, Alex quickly scuffled over to her phone, buttoning up her jeans as she went. She blew a small sigh of relief when she saw that the message was from Jess, the girl Alex had been seeing recently. It was nothing serious yet, but they had been out on a couple of nice dates. Alex swiped her phone to see what Jess wanted. "Heya - just wanted to see if you fancied hanging out tonight?! Would be great to see you again. J x", it read. Not wanting to turn Jess down, but still wanting to grab a drink with Maggie, Alex decided to invite Jess along to the bar as well. Alex was nervous about this: Maggie and her had been on great terms recently, and would often talk about their respective dating lives, but Alex hadn't actually introduced anyone to Maggie. She hadn't even met anyone that went beyond one or two dates yet. But Jess was different; she was easy-going and Alex had always had fun on their dates, although she hadn't really considered anything serious. Jess replied, "Sure, sounds nice! I'll meet you there in an hour or so. J x". Alex thought she better give Maggie the heads up before they headed out, and thus texted Maggie asking if it would be OK for Jess to join them later on. Maggie was aware of Jess, although had only briefly heard about her from what Alex had relayed, which wasn't much. Alex, anxious that Maggie would decide not to come, was relieved when Maggie replied saying, "No problem – can't wait to meet her. See you soon". With that, Alex quickly applied her makeup and sprayed a dash of perfume before hurrying out the door.

Maggie was already there and had ordered the first round when Alex walked in.
"Oi, I said the first round was on me!" Alex joked.
Maggie turned around to the sound of Alex's voice. "I know, but I thought I may as well seeing as I was already here. Plus, I needed a drink!".
"Oh yeah, why so eager?!" Alex replied.
"Well, if I'm going to meet this Jess girl then I need something to relax me a little first!", Maggie said, tilting her glass in an indicative way before taking a large sip.
Alex gave a half smile, wondering why Maggie was the one who was nervous about Jess coming. Indeed, it was Alex who had been sweating about the two meeting ever since Jess had accepted her invitation to join them.
"Ah, you have nothing to worry about – Jess is great fun", Alex tried to reassure her. "You two will get on like a house on fire!".
Maggie took another a sip of her rum and coke before responding, "I'm sure we will."
Alex wasn't sure what was wrong, but she could sense that Maggie was off with her in some way or another. Not wanting to press the matter, Alex quickly challenged Maggie to a game of pool, noticing that the table had just become vacant.
"Well, I've got to end your winning streak at some point!", Maggie laughed as she accepted Alex's challenge.
One game and one round of drinks later, and Alex had won again. "I guess the third rounds on me then", joked Maggie. Maggie swiftly returned with two more rum and cokes in hand, and the two had just started a re-match when Jess walked through the door. Alex's heart immediately skipped a beat as she wondered how she was going to introduce the two.
Alex shouted across the bar to get Jess' attention: "Jess, hi!"
Jess looked up and saw Alex walking over from the pool table – "Hey!", she replied.
They shared a brief peck on the cheek, before Alex brought Jess over to introduce her to Maggie. As they turned to her, Maggie suddenly became aware of the subconscious jealousy inside of her that had manifested as she stared at the pair. She quickly produced a fake smile as she raised a hand to acknowledge Jess's presence. Alex, having known Maggie for almost a year now, could tell that Maggie was forcing her smile, though she had no idea why. She knew that something was bugging Maggie, and that bugged Alex in return, but she couldn't ask her about it now - not in front of Jess. The truth was, Maggie had known she had feelings for Alex ever since Alex had kissed her out of the blue in the alien bar a few months ago. But Maggie had turned Alex down because she wanted her to experience this journey by herself, rather than immediately jumping into a relationship with Maggie. She was sure she was doing the right thing, and had always been there for Alex through each step along the way since. She always listened to Alex's different experiences with meeting new girls, and she genuinely felt happy for Alex, although there was always a part of her that hurt when Alex would gush over these other beautiful women. Something inside of her wished it was her that Alex was talking about, but she kept pushing any feelings she thought she had below, convincing herself that it was the right thing to do. She was so used to doing this that it almost came naturally to her now, and so when Alex had talked to her about Jess, Maggie would just listen contently, expecting it to be another interest that eventually fizzled out. But now it was real. Suddenly Maggie was standing in front of the girl that Alex had been gushing over for the past three weeks. Suddenly, all of those feelings that had long been supressed came bubbling back up to the surface. They were more apparent now than ever before. Maggie tried to act as natural as possible, exchanging pleasantries with Jess as she and Alex came over. Maggie thought she was playing it cool, but Alex could sense a coldness about her. The Maggie that Alex knew was always so warm and welcoming, and so it almost offended Alex when Maggie was barely able to string a sentence together for Jess. Alex kept trying to keep the conversation flowing, by talking about how Jess was a doctor, and laughed about the fact that they had met after she had hurt her wrist during an arm wrestle with Winn. She still beat him though, of course. But Maggie just stood there, occasionally throwing in a forced chuckle to make it seem as though she was paying attention. In reality, it was just too painful to hear Alex talk about this girl who was now standing right in front of her. She envied the way Alex would flirtatiously touch Jess' arm, and the way Jess would respond by placing her hand over Alex's. All she could think about was how she wished she had told Alex how she felt about her instead of simply ignoring her feelings. Now it was too late; Alex was falling for someone else. Unable to bare it any longer, and wanting to be alone, Maggie decided to leave them to enjoy their evening.
Maggie had to interrupt a babbling Alex: "I'm sorry guys, I'm not feeling too great so I'm gonna head home if that's OK."
Jess wasn't sure what to say having only met her briefly, and so she simply nodded, adding that she hoped Maggie felt better in the morning.
Alex, on the other hand, was confused; Maggie was fine ten minutes ago. Sure, she had been acting a little weird, but ever since Jess had walked in she had simply been acting plain rude. She was pretty much ignoring Jess, and responded with little more than 'yes' or 'no' to anything Alex was saying.
Alex questioned her: "Why, what's wrong?"
"I don't know, I just feel a bit iffy – maybe I had one too many to drink!", Maggie replied, trying to divert Alex's clear concern as to Maggie's more than odd behaviour.
"I've seen you drink, and it takes a lot more than three to make you feel even a little bit 'iffy'."
"Well, maybe it was something I ate then. Anyway, I don't want to spoil your evening so please, don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow." Maggie grabbed her coat and walked out.
Sensing that Jess was slightly uncomfortable, Alex apologised, explaining that this was very unlike Maggie and how she had never seen her act like this before.
"It's fine, don't worry about it", Jess kindly replied.
Alex was upset, and even slightly angry at Maggie's behaviour. She knew full-well Maggie didn't feel unwell, and so she decided to go after her to get Maggie to explain why she was acting the way she was. There was clearly something upsetting her and Alex just couldn't let it go.
"I'm sorry Jess, just give me two seconds, I'll be right back". Jess didn't have time to respond, as Alex quickly hurried out of the bar to stop Maggie before she got in a cab.
"Maggie, wait". Alex yelled, as she saw her hailing a ride home.
"Go back inside Alex. I'm fine".
"Yeah, you keep saying you're fine. But somehow I don't believe you. I mean, you've been acting strange all evening. So just tell me what's wrong, Maggie, 'cos something is clearly bothering you."
"Alex, please, just let it go. I'm just tired – it's been a long day and I could do with a good night's sleep".
Alex could tell Maggie was still avoiding the issue. "Not until you tell me what's actually going on. Look, you've always been there for me, now let me at least be there for you to talk to".
"Isn't Jess waiting for you inside?"
"Stop avoiding the question, Maggie. What the hell is going on with you?"
"Let it go Alex, it's nothing".
"It's not nothing Maggie. In fact it's quite the opposite. I mean you would barely talk to either of us in there, which is completely unlike you. So .. " Alex left it open-ended, hoping for a response.
"So what?" replied Maggie.
"So, something is bothering you and I can't just 'let it go'. And to be honest, you're coming across as kind of rude, especially in front of Jess".
"I just … Look, I don't want to talk about it OK?"
"Clearly, you've barely spoken to me all night".
"Alex, please, just leave me alone and go and enjoy the rest of your night".
"I can't enjoy the rest of my night when I'm worrying about you. Maggie, just talk to me".
"Actually, you're the one person I can't talk to".
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing, I shouldn't have said anything."
"Well, you did. So what did you mean?"
"I just mean I can't talk about it, to anyone in fact, just, let it go, OK?"
"No Maggie, I can't just let it go. Enough with the bullshit. Just tell me what's going on – I'm worried about you. This isn't like you. Is it work-related? Cos I have some contacts I can ….."
"I'm in love with you Alex."
Maggie couldn't help but feel a contradicting sense of relief and regret. Alex was so busy rambling in her anxious state that at first she didn't appreciate what Maggie had just blurted out. "Wait, what?"
"You really want to know why I've been acting strange all night? Well, that's why. I'm in love with you. And I know that's not fair for me to say, because I rejected you. But that's the truth, OK. So I'm sorry, but I can't sit there all night listening to you talk about how much you like this Jess girl. Because quite frankly she seems great. She's pretty, she's funny, she's intelligent, and as selfish as it might be, I can't stand there and act happy for you cos all I can think about is how I wish it was me. So please, just go back inside and have a nice evening. And can we please pretend like this never happened."
Maggie just couldn't contain it any more, and so it all just came piling out. Alex just stood there, stunned, not knowing how to react. Maggie hailed another taxi to head back to her apartment. Before she got in, she turned to Alex: "You said you wanted to know. Well, now you know".

As the taxi pulled away Alex suddenly realised she had left Jess waiting inside. It was starting to rain, though she hadn't noticed this in the heat of the moment, and so she quickly turned to head back into the bar. As she turned, she noticed Jess standing on the steps. She had heard everything.
"Jess, I'm so sorry. I … I .. I had no idea. I don't even know what to say right now."
Jess replied understandingly: "Honestly, I'm not surprised. I saw the way she looked at you."
Alex looked shocked: "No, no, we're just friends. We agreed. It was better for us that way".
"Was better. Things change Alex. Look, I like you, but I don't want to get in the middle of whatever is going on between you two."
"There's nothing going on between us".
"I also saw the way you looked at her, Alex. That's not nothing."
Alex thought about what to say, but the truth was she had always felt something for Maggie. She just never considered that Maggie would reciprocate those feelings, and so she had taught herself to shut them away. But now, after what Maggie had said, everything was rapidly changing. Those feelings she once felt so strongly were coming back, and she couldn't avoid them. Alex just stood there, trying to think of something to say, but the only thing she could think about were those three words Maggie had just thrown upon her.
Jess intervened to break the silence: "It's getting late and I have rounds tomorrow so I think it's best if I head back."
Alex unconvincingly tried to get Jess to stay: "No, no there's no need to leave. Just, just give me five minutes and I'll be fine, honestly".
"I think you need to take some time to yourself to think this all over, Alex."
Alex knew Jess was right – how could she possibly spend an evening with Jess when the only thing she could think about right now was Maggie?
"Yeah, yeah – you're probably right. Well, um, I'll call you or something?"
"Sure". Jess smiled before she got into a cab to take her home.

Alex stood there, frozen in a state of shock and panic as she debated what to do next. It began to rain quite heavily and so she decided to head back to her apartment. On the way home she kept playing it over and over in her head: 'I'm in love with you, Alex'. How long had she felt this way? Why didn't she tell me this earlier? Did she really mean it? Is it something she hopes will pass? These were questions Alex couldn't help but keep asking herself. It just didn't make sense to her: she was the one who kissed Maggie, and Maggie turned her down. As far as Alex was concerned it was because Maggie didn't feel that way about her. But now she's told her she's in love with her, and Alex can't help but wonder, since when? It was a 15 minute journey but Alex was so absorbed with what had just happened that it felt like 15 seconds before they pulled up outside her apartment block. Alex handed the driver a $20, instructing him to keep the change, before making her way up to her apartment. She was in the lift as the doors opened on her floor. She stood there for a moment, still mulling over the events of that night. And then suddenly, and overwhelming urge struck Alex: she needed to see Maggie. She was so caught up in how she felt about everything that she hadn't even considered what Maggie was doing or thinking right now. Alex immediately pressed the button to take her back to the ground floor. As soon as the doors opened, she just ran. She didn't even bother getting a cab, despite the fact it was raining heavily. Maggie only lived a ten minute walk away and the only thing now going through Alex's mind was her urgent need to speak to Maggie. She had so many questions for her.

In her hurried state, it took Alex no more than 8 minutes before she was standing outside Maggie's front door. She stood there for a minute, under the porch, but still dripping wet from the journey over there. Alex's body was numb and so she barely even noticed how cold she actually was. Eventually Alex pulled herself together, and with a moment of hesitation, she knocked. Maggie was startled – she wasn't expecting anyone. But she quickly realised who it must be. She wasn't sure whether to be excited or terrified. In truth, she was a bit of both. She walked over to the door, slowly, contemplating the best way to react. She opened the door, and, unable to speak, they both just stared at each other. It was only for a brief moment, but it spoke a thousand words. Finally Alex just said: "You're in love with me?" It wasn't what Alex had intended to say. In fact, she didn't really know what she intended to say. But it's all she could think of right then, and all she had been thinking of since Maggie said it.
Maggie paused for a moment, before replying: "Look, Alex, it's not a big deal. I just …"
Alex interrupted: "Not a big deal? I'd say it was a fairly big deal".
Maggie sighed: "I know. And if I could take it back I would – it wasn't fair to spring that on you. That's why I was trying to avoid it, but you kept pressing me and I just … I couldn't contain it any more, I'm sorry".
"I don't … I don't understand though? You made your feelings fairly clear when I kissed you and you rejected me. And now you're telling me you're in love with me? It doesn't make any sense Maggie."
"That's not … I didn't reject you because I didn't like you, Alex. I just didn't want you to get hurt. I've been there before and it didn't end well. I wanted it to end well for you. I wanted you to have a chance to explore yourself. And you couldn't do that if you were with me".
"I don't even know what to say right now".
"You don't have to say anything. This is my problem, Alex, not yours".
"But it is my problem. It's both of our problem."
"No. I shouldn't have even said anything but I did, and I can't take it back now so we're both just going to have to find a way to move past …. "
Maggie found herself interrupted as Alex suddenly grabbed her arm, pulling her round, such that they were now closely embracing each other. Alex just looked at her, confused, but also convinced more than ever before that she too felt the same way about Maggie. Alex's eyes flickered between Maggie's eyes and lips. Her eyes had a slight sparkle in them from where she had clearly been crying before Alex arrived. But all Alex could think about was how beautiful Maggie was, right there, in that moment, standing right in front of her. Alex always knew she was beautiful, but she had come to only look at Maggie in a friendly sort of way. But now she was looking into the eyes of the woman who had just confessed her love for her. And so it was a different kind of look than before; more meaningful, more longing. Alex cupped Maggie's cheeks, pulling her face in towards hers. She gently pressed her lips against Maggie's. Maggie couldn't quite believe what was happening; it was a kiss Maggie had dreamt about but never possibly thought would happen. Gradually Maggie allowed her body relax into Alex's, as they stood there, in the open door way, their lips blissfully interlocking with one another's. Alex slowly pulled away, though their foreheads remained pressed tightly against each other, as she whispered: "I love you too".