Next of Kin Part 29 - So Not a Nurse

Arms hanging at her sides and hands in loose fists, Kalia stood on the balls of her feet in front of the closed hospital room door. Her right foot was slightly forward. Her balance was even, shoulders steady as she moved a bit, her weight shifting back and forth. Brown eyes watched the woman in front of her, but she didn't stare intently. She held eye contact, then her own gaze flicked about watching for any hint of movement that might signal danger. To the casual observer, it might look like a natural meeting or perhaps a tense one. It was one wrong move away from a fight.

Alex sighed loudly, her hands in plain sight and palms out as she sensed the very real threat from the woman in front of her. "Look, I just came here to—"

"Apologize. I know. I heard you the first dozen times," Kalia said, her voice completely impassive and her body language not changing. "And I told you, it's not going to happen. You go into that room through me. You ready to try that?"

Moving just her head forward, Alex asked, "Can I talk to my sister?"

"I don't know. Can you?"

"Oh, you're that person." Looking at the door, Alex waved a hand at it, and a bit more loudly said, "I just want to apologize!"

"What are you doing?" Kalia asked.

'"I..." Since 'Trying to get my sister with her x-ray vision to pay attention to me.' didn't seem like a good idea, Alex just dropped her hand, shook her head a bit, and said, "I'm not going to cause any trouble. I won't raise my voice. My hands will even stay in my pockets if that will help. It's been pointed out to me that I may have overreacted and taken out my anger on the wrong person."

"May have?"

Moving her jaw back and forth to try and release the tension, Alex said, "Okay, you and I got off on the wrong foot."

"The one I stuck up your ass?"

Eyes closed, Alex took several cleansing breaths. She was in a great place when she came down here. Maggie had spoken to her yesterday and again today. She knew she'd stepped over the line. What mattered now was getting everyone on the same side, and that was working together against Lillian.

"Yes, that foot. Thanks for that. Felt great," Alex said with a wry little smile she didn't feel. "Hope we can do it again soon. Next time I'll bring the lube."

Kalia snorted a sort of smile on her lips.

Heartened, Alex added, "Actually, that take down you used on me was impressive. I've never seen it. What style was that?"

Kalia narrowed her eyes slightly, but replied, "Brazilian Jiu Jitsu."

Slowly, Alex nodded. "Right...makes sense makes sense. I prefer judo and Thai kickboxing."

"You have a long reach," Kalia said.

They eyed each other for a few moments, both looking like they might say something else when a voice caused Alex to turn.

"Alex, what the heck are you doing here?"

"Kara," Alex said turning to face her sister who was walking down the hallway toward the room. "I was just...you're not in Lena's room."

Kara held up a large white bag from Noonan's. "I went to pick up dinner, but you still didn't answer my question. Why are you here especially when I'm not here?"

"She wanted to get in and talk to Miss Luthor," Kalia supplied.

Inhaling sharply, Kara tensed up and surged forward at her sister. "You tried to talk to Lena!? You tried to get in to see here when I'm not there!?"

Hands held up and stepping away until her back hit the wall, Alex said, "Hey, I didn't know you weren't in there. Kara, I've sent you dozens of texts since yesterday and called you five times. You've been ignoring me. It's about dinner time, so I thought you'd be there. I wasn't trying to sneak around you, I swear. I asked to speak with you. Tell her." She looked over at Kalia. "Tell her. Come on, tell her."

With a shrug, Kalia admitted, "She did. She even waved at the door for some reason."

"It's still not okay," Kara said huffing in her sister's face. "Lena doesn't need to hear from you again. She needs to heal, and your negativity isn't going to help with that."

"No negativity today," Alex assured. "I'm here waving a white flag. I've come to apologize."

"For real?"

"For real. Can I speak with her?"

"Well..." Kara considered the question, then replied, "That's not for me to decide. That's Lena's choice. I can ask her."

Kalia cleared her throat, eyes narrowing a little bit.

"And if she says yes, am I going to have to fight my way in there?" Alex asked.

"No," Kara replied, looking at Kalia and then back at her sister. "I've seen you two go at it. I don't think you can fight your way past Kalia." Kara pulled out some take-out, handing it over to Kalia, then entered Lena's room, closing the door behind her.

Checking the contents of her container, Kalia's mouth twitched for a moment. When she spoke, she was still looking at the food. "You want to try now? My hands are occupied."

"I'm good. I really didn't come here to fight." They stood awkwardly for a few moments and then Alex asked, "What'd you get?"

"Hmmm?"

"Food, what did you get? It smells good."

"Oh, bourbon barbecue ribs, sweet potatoes fries, and the mashed cauliflower and cheese."

"From Noonan's," Alex said.

"From Noonan's," Kalia agreed.

"Damn." Alex rubbed her hands together. "Noonan's has great ribs. I haven't had them in...my girlfriend's a vegan. I don't have to eat that way, but we eat at my place or her place together a lot. When you're a couple, you try and—"

"Why are you talking to me?"

"Uh...small talk? I don't know, making conversation I guess. It's polite, right? I know we got off on the wrong foot, the one up my ass like you said, but there's no reason that we can't at least—"

"Don't talk to me. I don't like you. You're prejudiced. You act like a damn bigot, and I don't like bigots," Kalia explained. "I don't need you to like me. Let's not try to be friends, or acquaintances, or people who don't want to spit on each other. Let's not pretend. Let's just not."

Alex took a step back, shocked by the accusation. "I...I'm not prejudiced. I'm not a bigot."

"You're not."

Head shaking, Alex found herself blinking rapidly. She worked with a diverse group of people. She worked with people from other planets. Her sister was from another planet. How could she be less bigoted?

"You treat Miss Luthor like the enemy because of her last name. You blame her for what her adoptive mother has done. If you knew anything about their relationship, instead of blaming her for an accident of birth, you'd never treat her this way. You blame her for what her brother has done. You don't know Miss Luthor. You are judging her, prejudging her, based on the deeds of others. What do you call that?"