• July 02, 2017 •

Kara stepped out of the ICU and saw Jonah who was standing in wait. The man nodded in acknowledgment as if thanking her for being there with Zach but then went in without a word.

In the meanwhile, her gaze trailed toward Ava and her mother who were in the corridor. Before approaching them she put back the contact lenses as her eyes weren't tearing up anymore.

She knew she had taken enough risk already and had Zach not been injured, he would have noticed the difference and could have found out that she was Supergirl. She didn't want to risk it with Aviana because she knew unlike Zach, she would point out the similarity in an instant.

"Kara," Ava had stood up from the chair she was sitting on as she saw her approach them and shortly after, she had squeezed her into a hug.

Kara wrapped her arms around her reassuringly, knowing that Ava was a lot worried and needed comfort at the moment.

Though when they pulled apart, Aviana's eyes lingered on Kara's slightly disheveled state. She didn't look badly injured but there were scratches on her skin and it seemed as if she had come out of a worse situation too.

"What happened to you?" Ava asked, hands gently lingering on her arms, "are you alright?"

"Yeah..." Kara realized that in her haste she hadn't even washed off the soot and dust from the debris properly so it did seem like she had been there at the time of the blast.

"These scratches..."

"I just got into a minor accident," she tried to cover it up, "I had gotten so worried when I heard that Zach..."

But she stopped herself just in time knowing that she didn't have a proper excuse for how she knew that Zach had been at the trade center. 

"How did you know Zach was there?" Ava's eyes had flickered in suspicion but then she answered that question herself, "he must have told you himself... He wanted to pick me up for lunch and knowing him, he must have made a plan of gathering all of us..."

Kara nodded, "yeah, that's how I knew..."

Morena spoke up, "you were with him, right? How is he?"

"He's... He's very injured," she hesitated because she didn't know how much the nurse must have told them yet she didn't want to worry them further, "but he's conscious now. He'll get better with surgery, I'm hoping and praying for it."

"So are we," Morena nodded, patting her shoulder reassuringly, "we can't change what has happened but we can still hope for the best."

"Yeah." 

Kara looked at Ava who was unusually silent. Noticing her gaze on her, Ava looked back, "if he's conscious and knows he's injured, does that mean he knows he won't be able to compete too?"

Her voice was low because she was realizing the intensity of that thought. Zach had set his heart and soul upon achieving his place among the qualified candidates but considering the current crisis, he would not be able to see his dream come true.

"He knows," Kara recalled his crestfallen expression, "he was devastated."

"Poor dear," Morena's eyes welled up, "I must go see him too."

Jonah did step out just in time for Morena to go in and comfort Zach. Ava wanted to meet him too but didn't dare because she knew she wouldn't be able to hold her tears back which would make him worried. And the last thing they wanted was for Zach to get more disturbed than he was already. 

He had suffered the weight of not being able to compete, his surgery was due in a few minutes and he was going through the uncertainty of not being able to survive eventually.

Burdening him with having to console Aviana as well would be too much.

"I hope things get better," Ava mumbled, "none of us can bear to lose this little nuisance..."

Although her words reminded them of the title she had serenaded him with and kept using to annoy him, right then there was a painful layer to it. All they could do at the moment was hope and pray that the surgery went successful and Zach would be able to recover.

***

• July 03, 2017 •

Almost eighteen hours had passed since Zach had been taken for surgery. The Smith family wasn't alone in the waiting hall by then as Clark and Connor as well as Alex had arrived there too.

Normally, it would have taken twelve to fifteen hours but as there were complications already due to the combined effects of the collapse as well as the explosion, he had suffered twice more. 

All they knew was that the surgery had been undertaken but whether it was successful or not was yet to be determined. But Zach had been kept in the recovery room for postoperative care.

The anesthesia was allowed to wear off naturally and as it was a heavy dosage, it would take time for him to wake up. Hence all they could do was wait and pray for him as it was a very critical stage for him.

"Which one of you here is Ava?" An unfamiliar voice reached them as the nurse had stepped out of the O.T.

Aviana looked up in surprise, seeing the nurse look back at her, "I am..."

"Can you come in with us, please? Your brother is recovering from the anesthetic dose and he has been constantly asking to see you."

"Oh."

Aviana went with the nurse to the recovery room though she was confused about why Zach would want to see her at that moment. But then he had been under the influence of heavy anesthesia, he could be expected to ask for something much more outrageous even.

The recovery room was like a long corridor with sections demarcating the space for each patient. Ava followed the nurse into a section with blue curtains put up all around and braced herself to see Zach.

Even though she would never admit it, Ava was terrified of blood and injuries and that was mainly the reason she had avoided seeing Zach earlier too. But now that she was there, she took in a deep breath to calm herself down and stepped in after the nurse.

"Look who's here," the nurse spoke softly and Zach's head tilted ever so slightly in their direction.

He was bandaged all over and his eyes were barely open, heavy drowsiness lingering over him due to the slowly fading anesthesia.

"Ava..." Seeing her, his eyes fluttered open, a twinkle flickering in those brown irises.

"Hey," she mumbled, stepping closer as the nurse left, "welcome back to the world of the living."

His lips twitched and it was clear that he would have laughed if he could, "you... Didn't meet me... Earlier."

"Uh, well..." She tried to find an excuse but couldn't at such short notice.

"Disappointing..." He clicked his tongue lightly as if expressing how disappointed he had been to know that Ava had refused to come to see him before surgery.

"Don't you even dare start on that topic," she warned, gradually easing as she was beginning to see that he was going to get better, "I've done enough for you already. No more favors."

"And I've said thanks... A lot of the time... No more of that either."

"For someone who just has anesthesia wearing off, you are remarkably sane," she remarked.

"What were you expecting?" His voice was hoarse but as time passed, it was getting steadier.

"Nothing."

"I'm pretty sure I said weird... Stuff a few minutes ago," he mused, trying to recall what he could after gaining consciousness, "but I asked them to keep it... Confidential."

She shook her head, looking a lot more relieved than earlier, "aw man, you just made me miss my first chance of seeing a person waking up from anesthesia and behaving like a drunk chipmunk."

"Ava, your eyes look like the pincers of the crab from Spongebob..." He remarked all of a sudden, taking her by surprise. Even his eyes held a fascinated look as he blinked twice to see clearly, "so big and red... Puffy... Were you crying?"

"Shut up. Why would I cry?"

"Awww," he chuckled but ended up coughing.

"You're such a nuisance," she huffed, looking away from him, "and don't you dare compare me to a cartoon again."

"But you do look like..."

"Shush, stop talking. You aren't supposed to overexert yourself," she interrupted him before he could bring up another absurd comparison, "just shut up and rest."

***