Kelly quotes from Supergirl

Alex

My commanding officer and I both agree that we think that something suspicious is going on at the Department of Alien Affairs, and I am trying to tell her that we can't just follow their every order, but she insists on the chain of command. And I don't know how to reach her.

Well, uh... can I take a stab?

Alex

Please.

Kelly

You need to stop getting angry and get smart. Okay, now I had a real jerk of a C.O. We were stationed at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Bashur. And one day, a man pulled up in this decrepit pickup, his pregnant wife in the back, and he's just trying to get to the only midwife in the region. Just a half mile across town. And the C.O. doesn't care. Rules are rules and he doesn't have the right papers.

Alex

So what did you do?

Kelly

I yelled and screamed about doing the right thing and got nowhere. But my sergeant convinced the C.O. that it would be safer for his unit not to risk the life of the man's wife and child. He knew what the C.O. cared most about; his men. You can't change people. But you can appeal to who they are. Even the toughest C.O.s care about something. [silence, as Alex mulls things over] Let me guess, right now you're wishing that you never called me.

Alex

Actually, it's quite the opposite. I'm really glad you didn't leave.

Brainy

By George, I think we've got it. We stumbled upon your core trauma, James. And surprisingly, it isn't a Lex Luthor murder attempt. It's your father's death.

James

Brainy, you said that whatever I saw in your mind palace was gonna be based on real memories. I wasn't at our father's funeral.

Brainy

Yes. You were. Incontrovertibly.

Kelly

No, Brainy, he wasn't. I was alone. That is not something you forget.

Brainy

Consider the possibility that James was there, and you, Kelly, did not see him.

James

I was across the street. At a diner. I got locked in the bathroom and nobody could hear me. By the time the manager opened up the door, his funeral... his funeral was over.

Brainy

Perhaps that is merely a picture of the truth that got framed and hung in your mind. An excuse you invented that, over time, even you came to believe. The mind will play tricks to protect itself. Think of memories like a watercolor. While you're painting, the colors blend into each other without clear borders until they grow opaque. Once the painting dries, the picture is set.

Kelly

Yeah, I'm sorry, I need a break.

Alex

I just don't wanna fail.

Kelly

Why do you think you'd fail?

Alex

My mom was, uh... she was incredible with me. I mean, she always just... hugged me when I cried, and she... fixed up my bumps and my bruises, and work on my science projects with me.

Kelly

Hmm.

Alex

And she made me feel so loved. And, you know, for a lot of my formative and toughest years, she did it alone. And she is the one that inspired me to think that I can do this on my own. But now that this is... I mean, it's right in front of me, and I'm just not sure I could even be half the mother that she's been for me.

Kelly

Okay, look. I've only known you for a short time. But from what I've seen, you're the most nurturing person that I've ever met. You take care of your friends, your sister, you took care of my brother when he was in the hospital. And even me. Who you barely knew. You care too much to fail, Alex. I mean, you are gonna be an amazing mother.

Kelly

I was engaged.

Alex

James never mentioned that.

Kelly

Yeah, well, he didn't know. No one did. Because I was in love with my sergeant. And we couldn't be out while serving abroad.

Alex

What happened?

Kelly

She died while on patrol. And I couldn't mourn her. I was just numb. Alone in my pain. And I, um... I didn't face it until I was back stateside a few months later. I thought that wound would never heal. And then I got her farewell note. Service members send them sometimes before tours of duty in case they don't come back home. I never thought that I'd have to read hers. She said that she had every faith that I would find another person who would make me smile. And so will you. You will get a second chance at everything. Don't lose hope. Today, this is absolutely a deep wound. But someday, it'll be a faded scar.

Kelly

This is nice, you in my office.

James

Well, I'm not so sure if I actually have an office anymore.

Kelly

Yeah, I, uh, ran into Kara in the elevator, and I had to tell her that I couldn't join her crusade against my new boss on my... second day?

James

Yeah.

Kelly

I'll support whatever you guys decide to do. Just mostly in the abstract.

James

I'm just really proud of the company that we built over the last few years. It's a strong, serious, hard-hitting news organization that actually affects people's lives. Whatever this vision Andrea has for CatCo, I don't recognize it. And I don't think I can play that game.

Kelly

Then don't.

James

What do you mean?

Kelly

CatCo and journalism isn't all that you are. You started helping people long before dad put that camera in your hand. And, look, I know that you think that you have to muscle your way through everything. But, for once, just take a step back and ask... what does James Olsen want?

Alex

You know, I, um... I-I realized that my spiral this morning about the blueberries wasn't... wasn't really about the blueberries.

Kelly

What do you mean?

Alex

We haven't been together for very long, so, you know, it just made me realize how much we still don't know about each other. And, you know, I really frickin' like you, like, a lot. And so... that scared me.

Kelly

Alex, you're safe with me.

Alex

I know that now. Earlier when I... when I touched her hand, I knew that wasn't you. Because you can't fake how that feels. Just like you can't fake being who you are. So, on that rooftop, when you made that very selfless choice, I knew exactly in that moment which one of you was my Kelly. And I might not know every little detail about you yet, but I know you.