Page 38 of Dandelions and Smoke

Her arms slide around my neck, legs circling my waist as I pull her from the seat. My hold on her tightens as I press her against the cool metal of my truck, concealing us between it and the woods. My lips leave her mouth, softly trailing down her jaw and neck until they meet the soft fabric of my hoodie.

“Next time you wear this,” I grunt between deep breaths. “I don’t want there to be anything else underneath it.”

She lets out a surprised giggle, dipping her chin to look at me through her lashes, and I smile before planting a kiss on her nose.

“I don’t want to stop, trust me,” I say, using all the strength I can find. “But we need to get to the hospital.”

She pinches her lips together, the fear replacing everything else in an instant. I place her back in the seat carefully, buckling her in as she fidgets. Tilting her chin up, I give her a soft kiss.

“It’s going to be okay,” I reassure her.

She blinks rapidly, fighting the emotions trying to resurface as she offers me a soft smile and nods her head.

We make it to the hospital after everyone else from the house, which isn’t surprising. Somehow, though, we arrive at the exact same time as Blake and Emma. With one look through the windshield, Blake’s gaze catches on the hoodie hanging off his little sister’s frame. His expression hardens almost imperceptibly before he looks at me. My shoulders drop slightly as my stomach clenches, feeling disappointed that he feels that way, but not willing to walk away.

Emma stands at the passenger door, saying something I can’t quite hear. After Rory peeks her head into his Bronco, she nods. With her lips pinched and brows turned down, she makes her way back to me with Emma, but no Blake, as we walk into the hospital. I don’t bother to look back at Blake as I place my arm around Rory’s shoulders. I can already feel him burning a hole in my back. Yet, I can’t help but wonder why he isn’t on the other side of her.

“He’s not ready to be back here after his mom…” Rory whispers, answering my unspoken question.

We walk into the waiting room to see that everyone is here. Billy and Mark have changed into their civilian clothes. Ainsley gets up, rushing to Rory as soon as she notices us, grabbing her hand and leading us to a few open chairs. Emma sits across from us next to Callie, Tom, and the baby. Soon, Della and Caiden arrive, but although there are so many of us, no one would know if they closed their eyes.

The waiting room is uncomfortably silent aside from the sounds of the hospital. There’s faint beeping from monitors through the doors, along with the shuffling of nurses who line the hallways. The air is cool and smells clean, sterile. A security guard stands at the entrance, making sure no one gets through who isn’t meant to. Though I’m not sure he’d have a shot against any of us right now if we decided to find Levi and Tris for ourselves.

My money is on Rory. Always.

If she wants to find a way in there, she will.

Rory slides her hand into mine and leans against my arm as she sits beside me.

“I think I could take him,” she whispers, reading my thoughts again.

“How do you do that?” I ask, placing a kiss on top of her head because I can’t help myself, catching a sideways glance and smirk from both Ainsley and Billy.

She turns her head slightly, meeting my gaze. “It’s one of my superpowers. Hypervigilance. Though it’s not as cool as my ability to hyperfocus or my intuitive troubleshooting, as I like to call it. I’m usually great in a crisis, though you wouldn’t know it based on tonight,” she says, lightly, like she’s forcing herself not to spiral, as she watches me very carefully.

She cares about what I say next, about my reaction, but all I can think about is hers. “Do you like having these superpowers?” I ask, using her own words, and enjoying the way her brows shoot up like that’s not something anyone has ever asked her before.

She pulls her lip in between her teeth and looks down, her one brow twitching before looking back at me. “Sometimes,” she says with her lopsided grin. “Sometimes it’s really useful. I can’t say I don’t enjoy being able to read a room within seconds of walking into it, or that solving problems in a way no one else has thought of isn’t kinda awesome.”

Her eyes avert to where she fidgets with her hands, and her mouth dips down.

“But?” I ask, watching her carefully.

“Sometimes it’s exhausting. Being on.” She shrugs it off, but her eyes don’t match. “Like a runaway train. My mind, the engine, is firing at one hundred percent, but the brakes are malfunctioning. I can see the track is running out, but the wheels are still spinning, and I don’t always know how to stop.”

She avoids my eyes, watching the hair tie she now spins between her hands instead, before looking back anyway.

“You can be whatever you want to be when you’re with me, on, off, Kara Danvers or Supergirl. Just be,” I say, shifting so that I can wrap my arm around her and pull her into my side. “I’ve got you. Turn it off. I’ll do the thinking for both of us if that’s what you need.”

Rory’s gaze turns glossy, and she stops fidgeting. Tucking further into me, she lets the silence sit instead of filling it… Of course, that doesn’t last very long.

She quirks her head up at me, pursing her lips. “Who’s Kara Danvers?”

I swallow a laugh since, given the circumstances and where we are, it seems highly inappropriate. I bury my face into the top of her head, her pink curls tickling my skin. I linger there, pressing a tender kiss into her hair with a quiet, disbelieving shake of my head.

“Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Clark Kent, Superman’s cousin,” I explain.

“Oh, huh.” She grins to herself. “I’m going to have to start keeping track of all these new nicknames.”