273. Chapter 273

She swears she’s not nervous, and they’ve been training her to – among other things – be an expert liar.

But Alex puts her hands on Yve’s shoulders and stares her steady in the eyes anyway.

“I was terrified my first time out, Agent Butler. But you have done incredible things: you’re ready for this. You were born ready for this: to protect your friend, and beyond. I believe in you, okay?”

Yve nods and wishes vaguely that they’d let her wear her denim jacket instead of this damn DEO uniform thing, but Alex had known exactly what to say: calling her an agent, to invoke her protective streak. To tell her she was born ready.

Because she was.

“Yes ma’am.”

Alex grins. “Let’s move out then.”

It’s a routine recon mission, coordinated with the NCP – Alex hadn’t been expecting too much danger, and Maggie met them at the scene.

She was wrong about the not expecting too much danger part.

Because within a few minutes of them infiltrating the old Cadmus warehouse, they discover what even Winn’s most sensitive equipment couldn’t – that it’s not so old after all.

Because within a few minutes, bullets are raining down on them from all sides, and Alex’s stomach twists, because Yve is trained, and Yve is ready, but Yve is a child, and Maggie, Maggie, Maggie.

She swallows her fear, just as she was trained to, and shouts out orders and covers the techies brought along to salvage what they could from the old Cadmus computers behind her.

She glances at Maggie and all the has to do is jerk her head, and Maggie knows. The two of them circle around behind their Cadmus attackers while Alex’s team lays down cover fire and, moving as one body even across the warehouse from each other, they slap cuffs on their targets.

“Nice work, Danvers,” Maggie grins grimly, and the bang comes out of nowhere.

So does the yell of Maggie’s and the sickening sound of bullet meeting flesh, and Alex doesn’t shoot to injure, she shoots to kill, because Yve is bleeding on the ground and it could have easily been Maggie and Yve’s blood is on her shoes and Maggie is shouting for a medic and Alex Danvers is nothing if not ruthlessly protective of her team.

Of her family.

“Hang in there, Agent Butler, you’re gonna be just fine,” Alex tells her steadily as she kneels next to Yve, biting her lip and trying not to groan, her head in Maggie’s lap and Maggie’s fingers joining Alex’s on Yve’s upper arm to pressure the wound and stop the bleeding.

“Why would you do that, Yve? Why the hell would you do something so stupid?” Maggie’s voice cracks, and she runs a shaking hand across Yve’s sweaty forehead.

“The gratitude,” Yve chokes, and Maggie lets out a shaky laugh as Alex takes over on Yve’s arm.

“She’s alright, babe, I promise, it’s just a graze,” she whispers to Maggie, and Alex’s voice, Alex’s skills, Alex’s confidence, Alex’s reassurance, is the only thing that keeps Maggie together.

But it doesn’t take away her anger.

“Yve – “

“You’d do the same for me, Maggie,” she cuts her off through gritted teeth. “Look down into my gorgeous eyes and tell me you wouldn’t.”

Her voice is weak and strained and painful, but she forces her eyes open to look up from Maggie’s lap at the woman who recruited her, at the woman who thinks it’s her fault she’s been shot, but Yve knows differently: it’s Cadmus’s fault she’s been shot, and Maggie is the reason they found her friend all those months ago as she was starting training, and Maggie is the reason she founded a queer support group in the DEO last month, and Maggie is the reason she gets to wear this stupid, non-denim, amazing uniform.

“I would in a heartbeat, Yve,” Maggie tells her and leans down to kiss her forehead, and Alex wants to kiss Maggie’s lips, but she waits because the medical evac team is loading Yve out of Maggie’s lap, out of Alex’s hands, and onto a stretcher now.

Alex wants to kiss Maggie, to make love to her, but not yet.

Later, later, later.

Soon.

“Agent Butler,” she calls, standing, and the evac team pauses. Alex bends over and strokes Yve’s cheek.

“Thank you. For protecting Maggie. It should’ve been me, not you, it… thank you.”

“What are secret agents for, Agent Danvers? And hell, it’ll make a great first mission story,” Yve grimaces bemusedly.

“And here’s to many more.”

Yve grins broadly. “Alright boys, take me away on my throne to the med bay!”

“Do we only recruit massive nerds to the DEO?” Maggie asks as she stands shakily, hugging her arms around her own chest. Alex goes to stand behind her and wraps her arms around her waist, pulling her close and kissing her hair.

“Naturally. Come on babe, I’ll give you a ride back to the DEO. Yve’s gonna be on some great painkillers when they take the bullet out of her arm, and Adrian is definitely gonna want to get on the phone with her for that.”

“Good god, what have we done?”

“Bringing Yve into the fold? Made the world a safer place, that’s what we’ve done.”

“You promise she’s alright?”

“I promise. I promise.”

And she is. When later that night, she walks out of the med bay with her arm in a sling, it’s to the applause of all the agents on shift.

“Glad you’re back on your feet, Agent Butler. We need that courage and those smarts of yours,” J’onn nods in solemn gratitude and approval, and Yve bites her lip as seasoned agents applaud her, thank you, wish her well.

Because she’s sacrificed for people before – too many times before – and she’s never gotten recognition, gratitude, appreciation, love, from virtual strangers that welcomed her into family, not like this.

Because this? This is the start of the rest of her life.