Send in the Back-up
Maggie was in a state of blissful shock when she finally got to bed. There was crazy shit going on - fun crazy shit, she’d hopefully made some friends and most importantly, her girlfriend was coming over to join in on all the chaos. As she’d predicted, it hadn’t been hard for Alex to persuade J’onn to assign the mission to her. By the time they’d stumbled out of the Sheriff’s department, Alex had called to confirm that the mission had been assigned to her. Even though Alex was considerably over qualified for a trip to Canada, he was a romantic at heart liked to facilitate any opportunity he could for the two of them to work together. There was a risk that J’onn could end up sending additional back up due to the creative exaggeration of the report Maggie had sent in but it was likely that, if that were the case, he’d send Supergirl and Supergirl’s arrival wouldn’t be that bad. Waverly would be delighted, Maggie thought. Nicole less so though.
Getting Alex from the airport was proving to be a bit of a challenge though. Nicole, it turned out, was quite a stickler for regulations and had refused to loan her the patrol car. She was working on Wynonna to let her use the Earp truck but Maggie found out at breakfast that this attempt at persuasion had simply ended with Waverly stealing the keys.
“I’d do a lot of things to reunite two love-birds,” she smiled, “petty theft is only the start,” and she handed over the keys.
“Waves, I appreciate the sentiment but sometimes I’d really like it if you could remember what my job is,” Nicole said from the stove.
“I’m also a cop but I’m prepared to let this one slide,” Maggie grinned as she pocketed the keys.
“What time’s her flight get in?” Nicole asked.
“Midday.”
Waverly winced, “Ooohh you’re gonna want to hit the road pretty soon.”
“That’s the plan,” Maggie said, getting up from the table.
“Hold up,” Nicole said abruptly, “I’ve packed you a thermos and snacks for the journey.”
“Awww, thanks. That’s really sweet.”
“Don’t mention it,” Nicole said, batting a hand.
“Ok, I better get going,” Maggie said, accepting the bag and thermos, “I’ll see you later. And thanks for letting Alex crash here.”
“We’re just excited to meet her,” Waverly said, clasping her hands excitedly.
***
The drive to the airport was long and incredibly boring and she appreciated Nicole even more as she’d done it for a complete stranger. Her visit to Purgatory was the first time she’d been to Canada and she’d been forced to conclude that the country was pretty much empty. The road to the airport was bordered by an expanse of nothingness with brutalist mountains in the distance. She was thankful for Alex’s toughness; there weren’t many girlfriends who’d take kindly to being summoned to the middle of nowhere for an unspecified mission especially considering the absence of aliens.
As she walked briskly to arrivals, she wished she’d brought a sign with Alex’s name on it before wondering if the cutesiness of Nicole and Waverly was rubbing off on her. Alex was stood at the side, partially hidden by a pillar with her arms folded and her suitcase at her feet. Her face broke into an unrestrained smile when she spotted Maggie and she stretched her arms out ready to greet her. Maggie broke into a run and threw herself into her girlfriend’s arms.
“Hey!” Alex said into Maggie’s hair, “I take it you missed me.”
“You’re becoming quite the detective, Danvers,” Maggie grinned before kissing Alex.
“It’s only been a couple of days,” Alex said as they broke apart.
“But they’ve been a long couple of days,” Maggie said, looping Alex’s hair behind her ear.
“Well, you can tell me all about it on the drive back.”
“Don’t worry, I will,” Maggie said as she grabbed the case and hooked her arm through Alex’s.
***
The beat up truck was a far cry from the motorbike Alex was used to but at least it meant she was used to bumpy rides. Maggie’s journey back felt much shorter with Alex at her side. She explained the revenant situation and the curse of the Earps and The Ghost River triangle and enjoyed watching Alex’s face light up in excitement.
“And you’re sure this isn’t alien?” Alex asked when Maggie got to the end of her tale.
“Positive.”
Alex frowned, “And there’s really nothing we can actually do?”
“That’s right,” Maggie said, grinning at Alex in the rear view mirror, “There’s one weapon that works and one person who can use it.”
“So why am I here?” Alex exclaimed, “Why are you here?”
“I thought it might be fun,” Maggie said tentatively, “We can think of it like a vacation.”
“Just with gun-wielding demons.”
“But they’re mostly just regular guns so it’s much safer than National City really. Even better, I don’t think any of them can fly.”
“Ok. You’ve convinced me. I’m glad you lied on a report to get me sent her,” Alex grinned, “and not just because I get to see you.”
“And I haven’t even got to the best part.”
“Really?!” Alex asked incredulously which was Maggie’s cue to start filling her in on Wynonna and how she’d won her round, kind of. She made sure she didn’t gloss over Doc and his thwarted flirting and the mysterious Dolls who she was unlikely to ever meet. Not forgetting Nicole and Waverly and the imminence of many double dates.
***
By the time they pulled up outside Nicole’s house, Maggie had truly won Alex over to Purgatory life. Nicole wasn’t home - she was either at work or at Waverly’s Maggie explained. Maggie had begun a tour of the house but the focus had quickly become their bedroom: there wasn’t much to see anyway. Then Alex decided that she really wanted to see the town and Maggie pretended that she knew the town well enough to show her around.
Their first stop was the sheriff’s department which was worryingly empty. Nicole was clearly very busy with Waverly. Alex did a terrible job of masking how unimpressive she thought it was although she did lighten up considerably when she saw the ridiculousness of Maggie’s completely empty desk. Maggie got her revenge by waiting until Alex was comfy on the couch before telling her its history and watching her squirm in discomfort, peering suspiciously at the cushions.
After the limited tour and Alex had made 100% sure that they weren’t going to get through the mystery door without blasting it with her gun (something Nicole was bound to notice) especially as the gun was back in National City, they begun their meander down the street in an attempt to ‘explore’ Purgatory.
“So… how are you finding your vacation?” Maggie asked.
“I probably would have preferred somewhere with a beach,” Alex said, playfully squeezing Maggie’s hand, “but I am excited for demon hunting.”
“Revenant,” Maggie corrected.
“Get you! You’re practically a local,” Alex teased, “is it always this cold here?” she asked, pulling her coat tight around her.
“Yep, I’ll make sure you get some of your socks back,” Maggie said and pulled Alex through a doorway, “Let’s get a drink,” and they stepped inside Shorty’s.
Both Alex and Maggie were regulars at the alien dive bar so they’d forgotten what it was like for a bar to fall silent when you step inside. Maggie looked around frantically for a familiar face but was disappointed so she settled Alex in a booth in the corner before heading to the bar with more than a little trepidation. She was just about to attempt getting the attention of the bartender when she heard her name being called. Waverly was behind her, beaming at her excitedly.
“Waverly, hi!” Maggie said, glad to see a familiar face.
“So,” Waverly said, diving straight in, “is she here?”
It took Maggie a moment to figure out what Waverly was talking about, “Oh, uh,” she said eventually, “Alex, Yeah. She’s in that corner booth,” she said pointing at Alex who was looking nervously around her. Waverly skipped over to the table leaving Maggie to get the drinks.
When she got back, Alex was just finishing off telling Waverly about the journey she’d had.
“Thanks for the truck,” Maggie said as she sat down beside Alex.
“No worries! Have you got the keys? I’ll drive it back to the homestead. Hopefully Wynonna won’t have noticed it’s gone.”
“Wynonna’s your sister, right?” Alex asked.
“So you were listening,” Maggie said, impressed.
“Yes. Wynonna’s my sister. She’s the heir. I’m the spare,” Waverly laughed as she said this but the falseness in her giggle was obvious.
“And will I get to meet Nicole?” Alex said.
“Definitely!” Waverly said as Maggie looked at her girlfriend with pride: it was no mean feat keeping up with the slew of information Maggie had inflicted on her. “In fact,” Waverly continued, “What are you doing tonight?”
“Nothing, I think,” Alex said, looking at Maggie for confirmation.
“Yeah, I hadn’t thought much beyond picking you up from the airport,” Maggie said.
“Fantastic!” Waverly said, clapping her hands excitedly, “Why don’t you come over to the homestead for dinner? It’ll be like a double date but with Wynonna and Doc so a triple date, depending on how things are between those two.”
“Cool,” Maggie and Alex said.
“About seven work for you?”
They both glanced at each other before nodding eagerly.