Wrong Number, Kid

It's Not A Game

<<Tony>>

Banner comes back to the rest of us, and he doesn't seem happy.

"What happened?" Capsicle asks.

"She's not doing well. She doesn't seem to be in the mood to talk to anyone. She wouldn't look at anyone while I was in the room, and it doesn't seem like anything changed when I left."

"Shit," I say. "What are we going to do? I mean, what can we do?"

"Be there," Wilson says. "I mean, this seems like a PTSD episode to me, and so long as she knows that people are there for her, it has been my experience that the work pays off. It won't be today, it probably won't be tomorrow, but with time, she'll come around."

"Yeah, how long is this 'amount of time?'" I ask. "I mean, I get that this is going to take time, but I also don't want her to be constantly afraid of all of us because of her past. She deserves better than us playing the 'wait and see' game."

"Stark, it's not a game. She can't control it any more than any of us can."

"Lovely Wilson. Great. Just absolutely great. So we just have to watch this kid be scared of herself and everything around her while we try and get her to trust us?"

"Tony, that's not what he's saying," Cap defends. "We don't like it anymore than you do."

"Really? You guys have no idea what she is going through!"

"Okay Stark, and you do?"

"I know what it's like to lose your parents. I know what it's like to hate everything you do because someone has always been there telling you that nothing you do is good enough. That nothing you do is ever going to amount to anything in this world. Now, last I checked, the only other people that really know what that feels like are in that room with Delilah. So, you know what? I do know what she's going through."

"Tony, stop. Us fighting isn't going to help anything get better."

"Rogers, I don't care. I don't want anyone to pretend that they know what's happening when they don't. It's not fair to Delilah."

I walk out of the room and go to my lab. I just want to be alone. We can't help her. I just wish that she did t have to feel this way. I wish that we could just take everything she's had to deal with and let her be a normal kid.

There's a knock on my door.

"What the hell do you want?"

The door opens, and Pepper walks in.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know it was you. I'm just a little in edge right now."

"Yeah, we all are. Listen, I have an idea for helping Delilah, and I was hoping you had some large white boards that we could use."

"I do. Where are you going with this Pep?"

"Remember when she was texting us a while ago? She said that she made formulas for Spiderman as an outlet or something like that? I was thinking we could put some math problems on a board and let her take her mind off everything else by letting her do that instead."

"It's worth a try. I'll get them set up in here if that's okay."

"Awesome. I'll see if she's feeling up to it. I just don't want to push her into something she doesn't feel comfortable or ready to do."

Pepper leaves, and I start to get everything set up. 

<<Pepper>>
I go back to Delilah, and hope for the best.

"Hey sweetheart, I just talked to Tony, and he has some equations he needs help figuring out for some upgrades. If you would like, you can go help him. If you need some more time, that's okay too. Whatever you are most comfortable with."

"He wants my help?" She questions.

"Yes, love. You don't have to if you don't want to. Please understand that. This is your choice."

"But it's okay if I do want to help Mr. Stark?"

"Yes Delilah. It is completely okay if you want to help Tony with some math."

A small smile creeps across Delilah's face, which I take as a yes. I reach out my hand for her to take, and we make our way to the lab.

Tony is writing on the boards as we enter.

"Perfect, Delilah, I don't want to do math right now, and I figured you wouldn't mind. I have some parts to work on for my suit. Could you work on the equations while I work on not blowing something up?"

"Tony, I swear to God if you blow anything up with her in the room you will deeply regret it," I say.

Delilah laughs to herself. I'm glad to see her rather happy.

"So kid, can I get some help?"

Delilah nods and gets to work.

A/N: Hello loves. I know, it's been a while. Thank you for all the love you've given, and no, the story is not done. This is a short chapter, but I hope you still enjoyed. I know Delilah's POV is not in this chapter, but there will be more later. Have a good day or night, and remember that you are worth the world. In case no one has told you, you are loved. I love you.