The Rescue

Chapter 40

When the call goes to voicemail, Sam makes them both a cup of tea to settle their nerves. She waits patiently for Lena to say what's on her mind.

"Wh- what made you and Alex think there was something wrong with Kara?"

"Well, it seemed like she had been running for most of the day. Alex made it seem like that was weird for her."

"But... she runs all the time. She's told me her distances. Isn't she training?"

"I don't know, Lee." Sam takes a sip of the steaming hot coffee. "But it's more than that. She... well, she wasn't answering Alex's questions and seemed just... off. I don't know how to explain it. It was-"

"Was what, Sam?" Lena's voice takes on a fresh edge of concern.

Sam takes a deep breath as she puts down her mug to plant her hands on the counter, as if to steady herself. "It was like on the beach... She freaked about causing one of your panic attacks, and I had to calm her down to focus. She had the same look in her eyes, like guilt or concern or... something. I don't know her as well as you or Alex, but... something was there."

Lena's heart rate spikes again. Guilt. What could Kara be feeling guilty about? If anything, it should be Lena with all the guilt. They had been doing so well together, and she just had to ruin it. She's destroying her relationship; she feels guilty about pulling Sam away from Ruby. Her company has been more or less abandoned since her first panic attack in years. She should've paid more attention to Kara this morning. She should have at least stopped to look at the woman before going into work. Maybe then she would've seen something... noticed something. God... she just can't get anything right.

Lena can't even hear Sam's voice anymore. She falls into a full blown spiral. All she hears is her heartbeat and the harsh trill of the line ringing and ringing before Kara's cheery voicemail kicks in. Lena's shaky hands are quick to hang up and redial. She keeps doing it... over and over and over again. She can't stop until she can ask Kara herself if she's okay. Sam was right; she can't focus on herself if she's too busy worrying about the unknown with Kara. How could she not know that something was wrong this morning? Why didn't Kara come to her with anything after Kelly spoke with the blonde? Doesn't she know that Lena wants to be there for her as much as Kara has been there for her?

What if she just doesn't come back... ever?

Lena literally has to shake her head to try to dispel that thought. Her brain just keeps repeating over and over again that she should have noticed. She hadn't even heard Kara leave in the morning. Now... now, Lena doesn't know what's going on, but she knows that she trusts Sam's and Alex's judgements of Kara's demeanor. Something's wrong. And all Lena wants to do is fix it.

After about the dozen failed attempts to get through to Kara, Lena is quick to grab her keys and leather jacket. Sam tries to step in her way; Lena brushes past her to jam the elevator button. Sam is quick to squeeze in before the door closes. She lets out a heavy sigh.

"You are not in a state to drive. Give me the keys." Sam holds out her hand expectantly.

Lena glares at her, but the tears building up in her eyes diminish it's power. She wordlessly slaps them into Sam's awaiting palm. Sam sends her a smirk in response. In the tense silence, Sam whispers, "Alex went to find Kara. She's not alone, Lee."

Lena doesn't even acknowledge what Sam said. She can barely stand still; she's too full of nervous energy. As soon as the elevator opens in the parking garage, Lena takes off to her car, not waiting around to see if Sam was following. She practically flies into the passenger seat with her leg bouncing uncontrollably. Sam does the best she can to keep up with her best friend. Sam hurries along, but she doesn't dare speed or cut corners driving over to Kara's loft.