Author's Note: The "ALEX" episode gave me all the feels and I just had to write a little one-shot about it! There may be additional chapters later on because Alex is LIFE and Maggie would do anything to protect her. This story is completely un-BETA'D because I couldn't wait to share it!

ALEX

She had felt her heart drop as her sister told her that the signal she had worked so hard to send, digging the tracker from her skin with only a broken credit card, the tracker that was supposed to lead Kara right to her, had failed. Instead of a sibling reunion, Kara had been met with an empty warehouse and Alex with freezing water pouring from a pipe she was unable to stop up. Her sister was no closer to finding her than she had been hours before and frigid water was quickly filling the box, chilling her to the bone. She knew it wouldn't take long; a few hours, maybe less. If she somehow managed to avoid drowning, hypothermia was still a very real threat.

There was no way out.

The tracker had been her best hope and all it had accomplished was stealing more time from her, more air from the box, more life she was unwilling to give. Despair was quickly engulfing her, even faster than the bone-chilling liquid. She mentally replayed her last words to her sister.

"Supergirl is bigger than me!"

It had always been that way. Alex had lived for ten years in her sister's shadow without complaint and would have done so forever but, it wasn't her choice. Not anymore.

Maggie.

Maggie had been her choice; the hardest and most rewarding of her young life. A life she thought she would have so much more of with her first love. Thought she would have so many more opportunities to make those pivotal memories.

Firsts.

Maggie had rambled on about them through sobs that wracked her small frame. Alex had only wished she could have seen her one last time; told her those three small words that meant so much.

I love you, she thought, resting her forehead against the cold glass in resignation. I love you, Maggie. And, I'm sorry.

Sorry Maggie would have to find her floating in some tank, helpless and cold. Sorry that Maggie would blame herself because if she hadn't fought with Kara, Alex would never have left the apartment that night. Sorry that Kara, her eternally bubbly little sister, would feel the agony of losing someone else; losing another world.

Because Alex was Kara's world; her home. And Kara was hers. And then Maggie had shaken everything apart only to end up fitting in so perfectly once Alex put her life back together. It was too much. It hurt too much; more than the ache in her lungs as they screamed for air. More than the insistent throb in her shoulder from her impromptu surgery. Even more than that time one of Non's soldiers had thrown her through a plaster wall and singed her entire right side with heat vision.

This pain... this pain consumed her, seeped into every fiber of her being and she knew. Alex knew she was dying, knew she'd run out of survival tactics, knew there was no more time. As she floated weightlessly in the tank she thought she heard something, imagined Maggie and Kara calling for her.

Her world exploded.

Everything was bright and loud! There was air forcing it's way into her lungs and her body ached at a cellular level, wracked with uncontrollable tremors.

COLD. She was so very cold.

And then... warmth. Arms she thought would never hold her again, soft lips brushing her forehead murmuring things like "you're safe", "just breathe baby", and "I love you so much." The last sentiment caught Alex off guard because even though she'd felt the same way for quite sometime, neither woman had voiced it yet. She wants to reciprocate, wants Maggie to know she feels the same, that everything Maggie is feeling, she feels too.

But she can't.

She's too cold; too tired; exhausted in ways she never thought possible. So she simply turns her face into Maggie's chest, inhales the sweet scent of leather, gunpowder and flowers as deeply as her battered lungs will allow and fades away.

Six hours.

Maggie sighed audibly before turning her attention back to the bed. It had been six hours since she'd nearly died herself when she saw Alex floating in that box. Six hours since she held her girlfriend's freezing, trembling frame. Six hours in which she'd whispered "I love you" countless times hoping for a response.

She gripped Alex' cold, limp hand tighter before bringing it to her lips and kissing each knuckle reverently. They were still bruised and swollen from Alex' attempts to punch her way out of her predicament. So much like her sister. Maggie's eyes were locked onto Alex, quietly observing her face for any change, any indication that all hope was not lost.

Yet even as Alex' chest rose and fell, sometimes steadily, other times in a ragged rattle because it had been filled with water earlier that day, Maggie found no solace. With another sigh she rose and paced over to the window of the med-bay, the beeping of the monitors her only company. She watched agents scurry by the window, each one peeking in to check on Alex, torn between their duties and being there for a fallen comrade. Maggie allowed herself a small smile at the knowledge that the entire base was almost as concerned as she.

She knew Kara was going out of her mind, consuming a mountain of pot stickers in a frantic attempt to fill the pit in her stomach, brimming with guilt over her sister's condition. Maggie had found that she couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and couldn't bring herself to leave that room until Alex could do so as well. So she waited and she continued to brood, fingers idly running over the amazing alien gun her girlfriend so coveted.

"Nice gun."

Even her captive had been impressed with Alex' extraterrestrial hardware. Maggie would give anything to have Alex jump from her bed and strap it on her hip before leading her on another action-filled adventure. But no, first Alex had to wake up. The rest ... the rest could wait; Even some unfortunate pup that she would now have to name Gertrude.

"Hey you..."

Maggie spun around so fast she quite nearly dropped the strange alien gun, which could have been extremely dangerous since she wasn't even sure where the safety was, let alone if it was on.

"Careful... he's my favorite..."

"Alex!" Maggie breathed out. She placed the gun on the windowsill before rushing to her girlfriend's side, perching on the edge of the bed. "Baby, I was so worried!"

"It's okay," Alex squeezed out, still sounding winded and weak. "I'm okay. Are you okay?"

Maggie stared at Alex aghast. Was she okay? No she was not but Alex was more important, would always be more important to her. She placed her hands on the other woman's face, gently stroking her cheeks with her thumbs, careful not to disturb the thin oxygen cord that ran under her nose. There had been some lengthy explanation about the type of air being given to Alex and words thrown around like oh-two levels and nitrogen and things Maggie didn't know or care about. As long as Alex could breath, as long as she was breathing.

"I'm fine, baby. I've just been worried about you. I was so scared that we were too late." Maggie's voice broke when she thought of all the what-if's and Alex raised her hands shakily to cup the smaller woman's face.

"Shhhh..." she soothed, voice still hoarse from her ordeal. "I knew you were coming. I never doubted you. I just knew I had to hang on."

Maggie nodded tearfully, smoothing the hair back from Alex's forehead before placing a gentle kiss against her skin. Alex hummed in response remembering how safe she had felt when Maggie had done the same thing just a few hours before to comfort her.

"You know that whole 'skinny-jeans-flotation' thing was pretty bad-ass!" The detective chuckled and Alex laughed with her in return until she began to cough in earnest.

Maggie quickly jumped from the bed and hastily sat Alex up hoping the change in position would help. Alex continued to cough, a death grip on Maggie's forearms as she rode out the worst of it. When she finally settled, Maggie made a move to pull away.

"I'm gonna go get a doctor or nurse or scientist or whoever helps patients around here!" She rambled, panicked by the difficulty with which Alex was breathing.

"Wait..."

"Baby, it's okay. Let me get someone to help you, please?"

"I need to tell you something first..."

"Alex..."

"You didn't let me finish... before..." As Alex continued speaking, Maggie moved closer so she wouldn't have to speak up and strain her fragile voice.

"I'm listening."

Alex nodded, eyes closed before she focused on Maggie again and their joined hands, the feel of skin on skin. "You told me that we have a lot of 'firsts' ahead of us and you were right. I want all those firsts and I want you and ... I love you... I love you, Maggie Sawyer."

Maggie was floored and a little frustrated, because she had wanted to say it first. Had said it, repeatedly while Alex was unconscious. But looking at the beautiful, strong woman before her who looked so unsure, worried she had misjudged, none of that mattered to Maggie.

"Yeah?" She whispered hopefully.

"Yeah." Alex responded with a small, tired smile.

"Me too. " Maggie beamed as she said it. "I love you too, Alex Danvers. More than I could ever have imagined."

The smile Alex gave her could have recharged Kara's kryptonian cells it was so full of sunshine and Maggie felt blinded in the best way. She surged forward to kiss Alex, trying and almost failing to be gentle as she poured all her love into the meeting of their mouths. She pulled back sooner than she would have liked because an aggressive make-out would not aid Alex' recovery. Leaning their foreheads together she held Alex as close to her as she could, mindful of how frail the other woman was. It was Alex who predictably broke the silence.

"You really want a dog?"

"Yeah," Maggie replied leaning back to cup Alex' face once more. "But we are not naming it Gertrude!"