The closest thing to a daughter

Season 2 Episode 29

"Abigail... I need to talk to you," Steve began, and a crease stretched across his forehead. "Yes, what is it, Mr. Rogers?" she welcomed him, trying unsuccessfully to coax a smile from him. "I'm just kidding. What's up?"

"Something happened that brought you to the attention of the state." His words stop across the room and made Abigail freeze. After all these years, was the past really going to catch up with her? "A certain Thaddeus Ross is waiting for you in the dining room." Followed by Wanda and Steve, she initially walked without fear to the said dining room, only to be welcomed by gray slicked hair and stern looking blue-gray eyes. "I'm Secretary Ross and I'd like to talk to you about some serious problems," he began harshly, roughly shaking her hand. "It has come to our attention that you possess invaluable powers but do not know how to control them." Abigail's eyes widened; he was exaggerating beyond measure. "For the safety of the country but also of herself, it is my duty to take her with me." At his words, Steve's bones stiffened beside her. "Oh God, Ross. That's how you see it? This is internment. She's just a child," he yelled angrily, shoving protectively in front of Abigail. "Give me a break! I'm just doing what's necessary. To avoid worse." The further discussion of the two adult men, passed only vaguely before her eyes, while she imagined her future without Natasha for the second time. Why wasn't she here at this very moment to protect her? Or would she let her go again? No she certainly wouldn't this time. A rough hand snapped her out of her thoughts and pulled her close. Steve watched with sad eyes as Ross pushed her ungently toward the door. "I'll bring Natasha back and together we'll get you out of there, I promise," Steve called until they were out the door. Abigail didn't even bother to believe his words and put all her hope in them. Unfortunately, she was used to promises made out of desperation to fall for them. People tended to make impossible promises in hopeless situations. So it was unfortunately.

Once again, she saw her built-up world shatter before her eyes, go down with a loud roar and be torn into the dark depths of a hole in front of her. But even worse, this time Natasha was not by her side and her last conversation with her had not ended very well. This time she was not there to fulfill her promise to protect her forever. No one was there to save her. Nat was gone, Tony was gone, and Steve and Wanda had let her go and fobbed her off with an empty promise. And it drove her crazy that in life it was all or nothing. Once life had started to really break down, it wasn't going to stop anytime soon with that. If it did so at all. Maybe there were good phases every now and then, just for the reason to tear one even further into the depths. She needed someone to heal her, but that person was looking for the phantom of her imagined damnation, while at her feet lay all her deserved happiness. Only she was too selfless to realize this, to even begin to understand that she deserved this life, which she so often imagined in front of her.