“Her name is Alura,” she says quietly. “She is my mother, and when I was young, we would sit out and watch the stars, trying to guess where in the sky my father was on his current interplanetary trip. She combed my hair at night while I told her stories I’d made up. I love her, and she is missed.”

Cat digs her phone out, drawing Kara’s attention. She turned the screen to show Kara a picture of an older man, with graying temples, crows feet, and sagging skin below his chin.

“His name is Jonathon. He is my father. Or was? Do we say all of this in present tense?”

Kara swallows hard and nods. “They live through our memories.”

“He is my father. He didn’t always have much time to spend with me, but whenever he did, he made sure we did something fun, just the two of us. I rode my first horse with him and caught my first fish.” Cat clears her throat and adds, “I love him, and he is missed.”

Beaming, Kara continues, and they trade off speaking of lost loved ones. When the list is exhausted, Kara extinguishes the candles and sits quietly for several minutes. Cat follows suit.

“Come, we need to eat and drink some caffeine if we’re going to make it.” Kara stretches her hand out and leads Cat to the kitchen. There isn’t much she can offer Cat that’s healthy, but she does her best, and they spend the next several hours keeping each other awake.

As the sun peeks above the horizon, Kara drags Cat back to the window and coaches Cat through last part of the ceremony: a greeting to the sun. When the sun is fully above the edge of the land, Kara turns and yawns.

“Thank you for joining me, Ms. Grant.”

“And miss out on seeing this firsthand?”

Kara smiles knowingly; Cat has never been one to clearly state her feelings, and hiding behind journalistic intent is easier than admitting the need for closeness. “You’re welcome next year.”

Cat yawns as well, her hand fluttering up to cover her gaping mouth. “I think I’m too tired to drive home. I don’t suppose you have a guest room?”

“No, I don’t.” Kara tactfully doesn’t mention that Cat only needs to call for her driver. “But you’re welcome to my bed. I can sleep on the couch.”

She doesn’t mind. Honestly, she thinks Cat Grant might have hung the sun in the sky–and there’s no definite proof to the contrary–so just being nearby is sufficient. Kara has known a lifetime of loss and grief, and she knows better than to undervalue the connections she has while she has them. So, if all she ever is to Cat is friend and supporter, then she’ll be content. But if something did happen…

Smiling up at the moon, she closes her eyes and listens to the quiet thrum of the city’s nightlife. People seem to be up and about at all hours, which she finds comforting when she can’t–or doesn’t want to–sleep. She can come up to Cat’s balcony and watch and listen. As long as she leaves before daybreak, she doesn’t disturb anyone, and nobody has to know she’s there.

The sliding glass door opens, and she turns to face Cat, who rests against the wall in a robe. Her hair is sleep-tousled, and she’s not wearing makeup, but Kara’s tongue ties itself into knots at her simple beauty. She flushes red a moment later as her brain catches up and realizes she’s been caught.

“I’m sorry–”

Cat cocks an eyebrow. “I’m sure you are.”

“I didn’t mean to disturb you. I’ll go–”

“Kara.”

Hesitating, Kara turns back. “Yes?”

“This balcony is rather chilly, don’t you think?”

At first, Kara wants to respond that she doesn’t feel the cooler temperatures, so she’s not actually sure if this is chilly or not. Then, she understands that the question is rhetorical, as so many of Cat’s tend to be. If it’s not a serious inquiry, it can only mean that Cat doesn’t want her to go just yet. She might be reading too much into this, she thinks, but she doesn’t stop herself from taking a few curious steps forward.

“Come in.”

Kara does so and gently closes the door behind her. Cat wiggles her fingers in what could be construed as a come-hither gesture and heads deeper into the apartment; Kara’s legs move of their own accord while her brain and heart argue about what this means. When they end up in Cat’s bedroom, Kara’s brain concedes defeat and shuts down for the rest of the evening, while Kara’s heart all but explodes.

“It’s warmer in here,” Cat says, moving to the bed and tossing the comforter back. “Join me?”

Kara trips over her feet but regains her footing just in time to keep herself from looking completely foolish. She removes her boots and slips under the sheets. She hasn’t noted a change in temperature, but she’ll have to trust Cat. When Cat sidles up to her, tangling fingers in her hair and staring intently at her, Kara flounders for a good response. Should she say good night? Should she ask what this is? Does she dare do what she’s dreamed about for years now?

She settles for the only thing she can manage, a lame, “Warmer now?”

She felt even more silly when Cat followed Carter down the steps in a tightly fitting Wonder Woman costume. Kara couldn’t stop her eyes from drifting down to the cut in her top, which showed off a delicate flash of cleavage. The costume was definitely sexy, but Cat had somehow also managed to keep it classy. To relieve the sudden burst of heat in her belly, Kara dragged her eyes to Carter, who wore a dinosaur costume that was certainly not a realistic rendition of a T-Rex.

“Kara!” He collided with her middle and squeezed her in a hug. “I mean, howdy pardner!”

She touched the brim of her hat and tilted her head. “Rawr?”

“Dinosaurs probably made more of a skraw’ing noise, I think. I read this article about how they were probably feathered, and birds are close to them. So it would make sense if they made bird-like noises, except I don’t know if they had beaks or not.”

Cat made a show of checking her watch. “Come on, you two. National City does have a Halloween curfew.”

“Trick-or-treating ends at ten p.m.,” Kara recited, ever trying to please Cat to the best of her ability.

“Exactly.”

Carter took off toward the next house with a front light on, leaving Kara to walk more slowly with Cat. She couldn’t form a full thought at the moment, so she kept her lips pressed tightly together. She was already embarrassed by her costume and the situation, and she didn’t need to garner further shame by saying something stupid–like admitting how badly she had it for the older woman.

“Loosen up,” Cat murmured.

Kara nodded stiffly. She lied, “I just haven’t ever done this before, so it’s a little weird. I’ll get used to it, I’m sure.”

“Well, go on, then. I’m sure Carter wants you to say those magic Halloween words with him when he knocks.” Cat pushed her gently toward the door, where Carter awaited her.

This trend continued through the evening: Carter choosing targets, Kara following faithfully behind, and Cat looking fabulous while she waited. By eight-thirty, Carter needed to use the restroom, so they detoured back home, and Kara found herself sitting awkwardly in the living room of Cat’s house and trying not to look at Cat’s bare skin. Cat watched her with keen interest.

“Are you having fun?”

Kara fiddled with the edge of her chaps. “Yes.”

“Yet you’re still anxious about something.”

“Oh? Am I?”

Cat sidled closer. At this distance, Kara couldn’t help but look. She also couldn’t help but wonder how Cat would look with even less on. Like maybe nothing on at all. Wonderful, probably.

“I said, are you just going to look, or are you planning on touching?”

“What?” Kara’s eyebrows shot up as she realized Cat had been talking and she hadn’t been listening. And then to have that question? She fumbled for a response.

“My lasso of truth. It’s a little crooked.”

Kara reached out to Cat’s hip and adjusted the rope. “Better?”

“Keep your hands on it, so I know you’re telling the truth.”

“It’s just a costume–”

“Obey the spirit of the lasso.”

Kara found herself agreeing, even as her nerves told her not to. “Okay.”

“Are you having a good time?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you acting like someone placed broken glass in my sofa?”

“I’m afraid I’ll embarrass myself.”

Cat moved directly in front of her. “You’re not afraid of doing that at the office. Why now?”

“Because…” Kara sighed, not seeing a good way out of this situation. She hoped Carter would return soon, but his prolonged absence now seemed planned. “Because you’re very attractive.”

Cat slipped onto her lap and kissed her, and Kara was suddenly grateful for the few handfuls of chocolate she’d eaten along the way this evening. If she’d known this was going to happen, she would have brushed her teeth before coming over–or popped a mint or something. Instead, she probably tasted like sweets when Cat’s tongue eased between her lips. She gripped Cat’s hips gently, and her eyes fluttered shut.

She settles into the break room after four hours of nonsense and lets out a breath of relief. A brief call confirms that Carter is doing well with his babysitter and having a good night, so she tries not to worry any more about him. It’s only after she tosses her phone onto the coffee table that she notices she’s not alone. Some nurse sits nearby, head dipped politely down and away.

“Kiera, right?”

The head bops up, and she’s met with sparkling blue eyes. “Kara, actually.”

“How did you get stuck here on Halloween?”

“Oh, I didn’t get stuck. I like to volunteer for this shift.” Kara smiles. “With so many people getting hurt, it’s a nice chance to really feel like I’m making a difference.”

The sweetness is almost unbearable. “How long have you been doing this?”

“Two years.”

Cat snorts and leans back. “Hold onto that optimism while you can.”

“I will. To be honest, you’ve been an inspiration to me.” Kara’s cheeks flood with color. “When I wanted to give up, I saw how good you are at your job, and how tirelessly you work to help people, and I wanted to be like that. Like you.”

Cat tries to remain unaffected, but she can’t help but soften. She’s used to hero worship from most of the staff, but this feels different somehow. This shy nurse, who could probably bench press her, isn’t trying to curry favor. No, her words have no intent other than communicating a fact.

“Don’t you have anywhere else you’d rather be?”

“Home, I guess. I have a cat, but he’s pretty independent. So, I’d just be on my couch with him and maybe a soda and a bad romance movie.”

“Not horror?”

Kara shivers and shakes her head. “I don’t like the gore.”

Cat laughs at the incongruence of being a nurse in the emergency and being squeamish. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

“It’s worse when you know someone inflicted it just to be cruel, which is really most of the injuries in horror movies. I prefer romance because a lot of the times, there’s a happy ending. Or if it’s not happy, it’s at least thoughtful.”

Cat could relate. She’d been, by her peers’ assessment, a bit of a prude during her undergraduate schooling. When she’d finally gone out to celebrate her degree, she’d totally gotten out of control, and she’d been lucky her father was so understanding. The only repercussion she faced was a hangover, so she feels compelled to give Kara a similar experience.

She’d paid the shop owner for the damages and assured him that Kara was simply inebriated. If his agreement had been encouraged by a hefty tip, then all the more reason to not remind Kara in the morning about everything that transpired.

For the time being, she gets Kara to her apartment, flushing ever so slightly as she roots around Kara’s pockets for a set of keys. Her flush increases tenfold when Kara drags her down into bed; Kara’s just collapsing, she tells herself. Kara doesn’t mean to be so intimate. Kara wouldn’t have done this sober.