When Does Hope Begin?

Cymbidium

It never happened despite Steve's promise of finding a place so she could leave with him. Steve hadn't been able to be there, and he hadn't been able to call every appointment. Being six months pregnant, she decided to keep the gender a surprise. It was going on three weeks since their last phone call. They had been somewhere in Europe, and he said he was close to finding them a place. Peach merely hummed a response. Her heart was in a constant state of ache. While her business hadn't suffered, courtesy of Tony Stark, who kept it afloat thanks to Ellis and Ross's smear campaign against her, she was sure it was simply to assuage his guilt again. His solution was to throw money at the situation, but it wasn't like she was open to talking.

It didn't get any better when she ran into him two months after her original appointment. While she could still easily hide her pregnancy, he caught her right outside her doctor's office. He looked at her, and it seemed t click into place. He demanded answers, and she gave clipped answers. Peach had not given Tony much time that day to process what he realized, and she would still not tell where Steve was. He was very much aware of what Ross was doing and hadn't stepped in before. She supposed it made her vulnerable being pregnant, alone and having two very powerful enemies in the government. It didn't change the fact that she did not know where Steve was. He kept that close to his heart and would keep it till his dying breath if it meant keeping her and the baby safe. That didn't stop her from missing him. In fact, some days, it was just everything she could do to breathe.

Peach set her keys on the counter of the flower shop. She had chosen to close early due to the exhaustion eating away at her, and while her shop was less busy with Ellis and Ross breathing down her neck, Tony's business kept her busy. Had it not been for the baby, she would have spit in his face when he showed up in his pristine suit. He knew it, too, and used her weakness to his advantage. Oddly enough, it wasn't like he was offering charity. He had expectations and deadlines, which made it only a smidge better. He was part of the reason her whole life was turned upside down. With a sigh, she turned to examine her shop, almost hating it because it was a reminder. Everything was a reminder of Steve. She had started sleeping on the couch because the bed was far too big for her. Even with her growing belly, and it was growing, her gait was slowly beginning to change. The doctor never got out of her about Steve, just that the father was no longer in the picture, which... It was part of the truth. Steve couldn't be there with her.

The jingle that alerted her that the door was being opened c used her to curse. Baby brain made her forget to turn the lock. "I'm sorry, I'm closed," she finally looked towards the door to see who'd come in and froze. Ross and Ellis stood there with grins on their faces as if they'd found a way to catch her.

"We saw. However, we have some questions we need you to answer," Ellis piped in, strolling over the wood floor as if he owned the place.

"This is an unwelcome surprise, but we've been around this bush a thousand times," she turned and squared her shoulders. The black baby doll shirt meant to hide the growing bump suddenly seemed less of a shield than she needed it to be. "I don't know where Steve is. He hasn't been here. You can check my security tape. I mean, that's how I know when you've been loitering outside my store when I'm closed." Peach knew baiting them wasn't the best option. In fact, they had the upper hand, but she was tired of all of it. She was losing hope that Steve would ever come for her.

"Yes, we've noticed you've been closing on a relatively regular interval. At first, we assumed it was because you were lacking business... We realized you weren't here at all," Ellis pressed on nonchalantly, causing a prickle of unease to take residence in her stomach. They knew something. Did they find Steve? No, Peach quickly decided they would have started gloating about having imprisoned them.

"I'm tired, gentlemen. Get to the point and then leave my shop," Peach knew it sounded like a snarl, but she was in no mood to play games. They had been after her for months, and nothing she said or did would make a difference. They would ruin the rest of her life before they were satisfied, and she couldn't fathom giving them the pleasure of seeing her buckle.

"We had you tailed," Ross stepped in, his grin turning to a stern look. "You've been hiding a secret, Ms. Manchester." Tsking as he approached her, moving past Ellis, who chose to quit moving forward, looking slightly displeased at being outshined.

"You're pregnant, entering your sixth month now," Ross shook his head as if he was unbelievably disappointed in her. She felt cold terror grip her, so they knew she could pass it off as not Steves. She could lie and say she'd jumped into bed with the next customer who'd grace her shop. Peach briefly considered saying it was Tony Starks, a one-night stand gone wrong. Severely disrupt the man's life if it didn't make her gag just thinking about it. "You never put down a father. Why is that? Trying to keep the identity a secret?"

"That's none of your business, and my pregnancy has nothing to do with what you're here for," Peach shot back, her heart pounding painfully against her ribcage as she tried to breathe normally. "You got that illegally. That's private information."

"Not when you're being investigated as a traitor to the United Nations," that was it. Ross finally brought it all to a head. It was almost a relief her shoulders sagged. At least this way, Peach would have an excuse to pressure Steve into getting her.